Last Day In Vegas.......

Okay...I admit it, with everything else in my life falling apart, it would seem like the ONE thing I could keep on top of is my blog. After all, haven't I always been very timely with my updates? Through thick and thin? Admittedly, I have sucked this summer. I hear you folks. The emails, the posted comments, the Facebook reminders that I havent updated in days. I threw an impromptu quickie up a few days ago, promising big, juicy stories coming your way. I haven't forgetten this. And to add to that...more and more tales have piled up not just online poker ones either.

I woke up to an empty roomie bed this morning. Let me correct that. I didn't just wake up, as much as I was shaken from my sleep. Since we have been moved by the hotel from the 17th floor to the 10th floor...every day now between 9:30am and 11am I am jostled awake by the vibrating THUD that is music coming from the pool area. Quite possibly the most annoying sound/feeling every experienced. Don...who had a very frustrating summer himself...despite cashing numerous times...but never deep...caught a 6am flight home to the STL area. He satellited his way into both the Main at Rio and the Main at Bellagio, only to have super frustrating runs in both and losing in Day 1 both times.

My wife is on me to get my ass home...and trust me, I am ready to bolt this mass of flashing lights in the sand. But I have a few loose ends to tie up. One...I have a pocket full of chips from O'Sheas I have to cash in. Two...I have a $40 sports bet ticket in my pocket from Aria...which was given to me in lieu of cash by a buddy. Three...I need new windshield wipers...as the intense heat has split mine in half. Four...I need to hit the Buckle store in the nearby mall...in search of another pair of Big Star jeans...which are currently the most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever owned in my life. Five, I need to snap off one, huge...long ass, epic, wrap up blog to end this summer...which, btw, this is not it. This is another quickie...another "I'm still alive, and haven't forgotten about you all" blog. And six...my buddy, Christian Iacobellis...who is sitting on over 200k in chips in the Main...and who I have only seen once this summer, is demanding that I hang around one more night...and join him after Day 3 wraps up tonight...so we can catch up and enjoy one night before I leave.

As much as I loathe the Las Vegas club scene nowadays...I know that if he and I go out...it will be somewhere cool, and probably with a table...so it won't be so push and shove. Plus its Monday, so it won't be so crazy. And there are only a small handful of poker players that I like actually hanging out with...ESPECIALLY these days, as I am mired in a slump and a bit of depression...which generally drives me to my room to hide from the world. Well, Christian is one of those guys. So I think it might be to my benefit to spend some time with a good guy who genuinely gives two shits about me before I slither home.

The good news, is that after playing cash game ALL NIGHT on Saturday...despite having plans to go to a club with friends, that crashed and burned for a variety of reasons...and throwing my sleep schedule COMPLETELY off track...is that my sleep schedule is back on track. I got in at 6am Sunday morning. Slept a grand total of 3 hours. Woke up at 10am. Made it to Binions to play the Freeroll that I qualified for by winning their nightly a few weeks back. First hand...against 5 raises in BB...I call with 99. Flop comes 6-2-2. I lead out the pot. Everyone folds. Nice start. Next hand...this idiot to my left, who is showing his cards...min raises with A-4. Four callers, and my Q-9, I completed in the SB. Flop comes 9 high. He leads out for 500. (blinds were 100-200) He gets two callers. Well I know what HE has, but not the others. So I just call. Turn is a Q. I check. He bets 500 again. Other two call. I make it 2k. They all fold. Sweet. Nice start.

Then a few hands later a guy raises to 475. Gets two more calls. Yes...this table was chock full of calling stations. I look at AKh. Hmmm....why not? I move all in. First guy calls. Last guy folds 99. First guy has 10-10. It holds. Shit. So much for momentum and runnning this freeroll over! I get knocked down to 2k. Which I run up to 4k. Then the doofus on my left raises from 100-200 to 1000 with K10. Yeah, El Diablo. I have JJ. The guy who busted my AK calls the 1000. Yeah...just calls. Back around to me...I shove 3900. Idiot on my left calls...with 4000 total chips. Nice call. The other guy calls with 77. Wow. I'm ahead. Can I get it to hold? And chip up to 12,000? The way this summer is going?

What do YOU think? Dealer flops the guy a King. He smacks the table...complimenting himself for his awesome play...and the Monkey was Kaput...a victim to the dreaded El Diablo once again! Lucky for me my car was still in valet! Sweet, no long delays waiting to get the hell out of there!

I came back to my room, and alternated between sleeping all day and night and logging sessions playing online poker. I actually took 2nd in a $12/180 and then final tabled an $8 MTT in a profitable session online again. You know things are weird when I am running better online than in live play. Depressing actually. But during the last 24 hours I probably slept about 15 hours...so I feel back to normal...relatively speaking.

So, damn...now its 12:55. That went quick. The plan today is this. Go to O'Sheas...cash in my chips. Walk to Subway, buy a sandwich. Get in car...drive to Aria. Cash Sportsbet ticket. Buy into 1pm tourney, try to get run good for ONE day before I leave and win or cash a tourney there. After taking my bad beat there and busting short of the money...drive to the mall that contains the Buckle store...purchase my jeans. Drive to Wal-Mart...buy new windshield wipers...and in their lobby, locate a REDBOX and select 4 movies to watch on my drive home. Contact Christian, find out his whereabouts, and his chip count...to guage his mood. If he still wants to go out...make plans to join him. If he is depressed/pissed/steaming after an unexpected bust out...I will instead pack up my shit, load up the Monkey Mobile...and hit the road...after the sun goes down...which the ideal time for me to road trip. Hate driving in the middle of the day...when its hot as hell...and too sunny to see the screen on my stereo. Plus you get better mileage at night.

Okay...there ya go. Another quickie update. Trust me...I have a lot of good shit to write about later. Don't give up on me just yet. And by the way...I WILL be going to Tunica in two weeks to play at Goldstrike.

Monkey