Monday 7/02/07

Not a really catchy title but for me it was a mundane ten hour day (9 hours regular plus 1 of OT) from the confines of my house on a cool summer day in Upstate NY. I did nail my bonus for another month, actually the whole #2 quarter so that will be a nice little bonus come late September. I would love to head back out to Vegas during Caesar's Poker Classic budget permitting come this October. I kicked July off with a Bam nailing my stats for today. I had like 54 phone calls in for 4.5 hours. I can type, talk, fax and be pleasant and cheerful all at once. As a Customer Service Rep I Rock if I say so myself.

Snake is safe and sound in Vegas and has his seat for the Main Event. After the Brdweb event during the WPBT and talking to Chad and MiamiDon and reading Pauly's stories about tweekers and gangstas etc. I came home and said.. Do not walk at nite from the RIO to the GOLD COAST alone with money on you!!! He went out there with 20x what I did (his buyin is 10x what mine was and he plays much bigger stakes then me and hes out there for two weeks and I was out there for like three and a half days). Get the picture??. And I am not a nervous nelly by any means.

So he will be playing Day 1C and will start at table 203 seat II. Harrahs told him today they have over 5000 already registered.

And he told me he needed a pep talk. Although he has been playing a gazillion years and me not even III and I consider him my coach even great players have self doubt. He busted out in level II of a tourney at Casears last nite and went fairly deep today but missed the cash finishing 40 something of over 200. And he was holding himself up to the bar I set. I reminded him that I didnt play a tourney the minute I walked off the plane after a 5 hour plane flight with a three hour time difference. I socialized and bowled poorly instead. Maybe that wasnt such a good idea last nite. He agreed. And he was happy with his play today and just got the bad end of a hand when he pushed with A6 off the button, with those escalating blinds and the sb called with K7. He hit a 6 but the other dude rivered the K and stacked him to about 4000 chips from like 12000.

And of course he wanted to know about my Sunday tourneys so I told him about my bustout in the Big Game before I told him how I played really well in the Full Tilt MTT making all the right moves but falling a little short of the deep money.

I gave Snake my schedule for the rest of the week..

IG: Tuesday work all day to 7 PM but im off the phone all day processing claims so I can pick up anytime.. Off Wednesday.. Thursday: Work till 7 PM probably on phones most of the day. Friday work till 1:30 PM and then vacation begins and I am off till July 16th.

Snake5970: Did I miss something? Why are you off Wednesday?

IG: UMMMMM its the 4th of July for us working folk.

Snake5970: You see, for us retired folk everyday is a Holiday

IG: You are retired and in Las Vegas God Dangit and I'm in NY why dont you just rub it in. (and hes two years younger then me too boot and he retired the week before he left for Vegas---GRRR).

And of course we both laughed and I knew his poker self doubts would resolve themselves and bigger things were going to come. And I said.. Remember the feeling I had the night of the APL championship when I just knew you were going to take it down. I have one of my weird feeling again.. These little glitches are just bumps in the road you are going to be fine. You are going to play well in the Main Event.

And then he told me that when he looks out his window of the Gold Coast in the direction of Palace Station(I think he said) there is a billboard about 4 blocks away saying something about a Snake. Of course now I'm curious as to what it says and of course I think its an omen of great impending things and want him to take a cab by it to see what it really says. And then he laughs and says. Ive taken two cabs so far (one being from the airport to the hotel with two trips to Casears already) and am seeing if I can avoid them like you did. Man do I set the bar high or what!!!