Friday, Day 16....chillin.

...when we last left off I was looking for something to do. I found it.

Walked Allie over to his table in the 3500 Mixed Event, which he would end up making it til the end of the night. Went over several times to pester/amuse him and managed to get Dutch Boyd annoyed with me a couple of times, even though we kind of know each other. No biggie, he just really takes his poker seriously, I respect that. (I guess) Jen Harman was at the table too, and we are kind of buddies, after we sat next to each other much of Day 2 in last years Main Event. Pretty sure she was about THISCLOSE to coming with us to Sapphire when we went much later.

I jumped into a SNG. A $175. Big mistake. Stupid Rio. Didn't last long. How can you? 1000 starting chips? One hand goes awry early and your next hand is an all in job. Wonderful. Did, however manage to win a $40 last longer with a guy, so it wasnt a total disaster.

Looked at my watch and it was 6:58pm. Might as well play the $340 7pm tourney. So I go buy in. Sit at my table, start ordering drinks and immediately start hot. Then the hand of the day happens. I raise $350 and basically announce that I have AA, when really I have AJ. I get five callers. Cool. The flop comes Kh,10h,7s. It checks to me. I bet out 1200. Everyone folds to the guy in the BB who goes all in. Another 2200 to call. Damn. Whoops. But then I start to think. Hmmm...he check raises me. I tell him....
"well, I do NOT think you have the DEVIL, K10, because with that flop I think you would lead out, and not risk a suckout. Nope, I am quite certain you have a flush draw. But you have a lot of outs. But now I have created this huge pot...and I am getting 2 to 1 to call you. Yep, I think you have a flush draw....I call!" He turns over QhJh. Ugh...wow, great flop for him. But good call by me. I am leading with A high, and have his J killed. The whole table collectively gasps at my call, which always gives me a little high.He bricks on all 15 outs...or was it 175? Felt like it. And I had a good stack, and the total respect (and fear I think) of the table.

Things would progress nicely. I end up getting moved to a table and am sitting next to Jose Canseco, who has been here all week. This is one very unusual man. He has his moments where you want to like him...but then its usually all blown when he comes out of leftfield (no pun intended) with some incredibly bizarre rant, and you're left thinking to yourself "wow, is this guy going to be on the news one day after wiping out a family in McDonalds?" He would make two wonderfully bad plays and leave about 20 from the money.

We had this dude from Dublen, Ireland who looked like droopy dog. Literally. Saggy face, hollow eyes, never talked, never smiled...just sat there...raising, and raising, and raising. With anything. I was about the only one who played back at him...and when I did, he would always insta-muck. His face alone started to give me a conniption fit. He got down to 3200 chips (avg being 12,000) and goes on this sick heater to get up to like 65k! All in about one hour.

Then I pick up AcKd on the button, and because its him...I just jam it all in for 28k. He calls. With AhKh. Wow. No hearts please. Nope....THREE clubs on the flop....river K of clubs. FLUSH! Huge stack for Monkey. And now I start fantasizing about first place....$12,000. I am now close to being the chipleader.

To our table comes this guy...think they were calling him either DJ, or David G. He is asian, and has this very strange hairdo, not sure if it was real or not. His nails are a little too fancy, his face is a little too pretty, and I am about 79% certain that he is a flamer, so I start calling him Sulu (George Taki). Well, he is kind of an idiot savant. Acting stupid. Telling me and Bryan Micon he has seen us on TV...that he feels intimidated being at our table. Yeah yeah Sulu...whatever.

I pick up 10-10 and raise UTG. He calls my 5500 raise from the button. Annnnnnd, just like in all of 2009, I hit the flop....Jc-10d-9c. Wow. I c-bet it 7500. And then the show begins. Blah Blah Blah....."I will gamble with you" and he moves all in. I insta call of course, and our little friend turns over KQ. Yep. Just the current nuts. Wonderful. And of course, I do NOT hit a boat. I now get creamed down to only 4500 chips, 8 from the money. Great. Not this SHIT again!

I double up with AK vs. AJ. Then I move in with 89d and get called by AQ. I river a straight. Hmmm...back in it. Then just slowly start building my stack up. We are on the bubble FOREVER. Finally we make the money. ($750) We get down to 12 pretty quick. Then I experience "The Bitch"...there always seems to be one. I have never seen this lady, ever. You know the type. Sweatshirt. Overweight. Most likely a lesbo, and if not, miserable because she never gets laid. Wears glasses that are WAY too dark. Thinks she is a great player. Ya know her? Sure you do.

Well, Taki raises my BB. I have KJ. I start to chat him up, getting into his head, his soul and his mind...when here it comes, the muttered phrase from over there in the corner in Seat 10...."yeah, you got what you want...you ARE the center of attention" and that is when I basically went off on her and embarrassed the shit out of her in front of what was now about 20 railbirds. They were howling. Who watches Family Guy? Remember when Stuie is giving some presentation at the front of the class and that little bitch says something to him...and he goes off on her and makes her cry? It was kind of similar to that. I felt rather proud of my 2 minute monologue and pretty much left her like we left Hiroshima 64 years ago.

Ahhh, but she would get her revenge. The hag. With 11 left and me having slowly lost chips....I raise her with 66 at cutoff. She moves all in. After a long delay, so I am thinking she has a so-so ace or KQ maybe. I don't care, I am not folding to this broad. Unfortunately she has 77. Dammit. Then she starts berating me..."Oh, real nice hand!" Yeah, lady we are 5 handed, I am at cutoff and I raised you with 66? Yeah, awful raise. And you shove with 77. Whatever. Nice hand. I lose. It cripples me, and I get it in with something not very good (can't even remember now) and lose. I go get my $1150, and go check on Allie.

Then play a $120 SNG for no apparant reason whatsoever. I start out good too. Then David, nickname Cowboy...flops a flush draw to my top two pair, he bets, I raise, he goes all in, I call...he hits his flush on the river and that is over.

Then me, Kai (who lost his Shootout match) Keith, a couple new guys I met from Canada, Jeff Timms and Jennifer from Arkansas (the one from New Orleans who just got the new rack and lost some weight and is feeling good about herself) all pile into a limo and head to Sapphire for a night of heavy drinking and showing our appreciation for Las Vegas' finest ladies. I am happy to report I didn't spend much money at all. THAT was nice, kind of made up for losing that $500 chip two days ago!

We would end up back at the Rio at like 7am. I slept for about 5 hours, just woke up and decided the $550 Venetian was out of the question. Mainly for two reasons. (a)I'm too tired (b)I've been invited by some very cool dudes to go to Tao tonight, where they have a table...so I don't want to get wrapped up in a tourney that ends at 2am and miss out on that and (c)I'd rather go to the pool for a couple hours then go meet Rooster over at Venetian and play some SNG's and try to keep my bankroll healthy and entertain the thought of playing tomorrow (Saturday) at Rio in another $1500 event.

Two more days til Squirrel arrives. I have been getting a lot of really cool/nice/complimentary emails from readers. THANKS! Now...I must go get my tan on!

MONKEY