Here we are. The cards just went in the air on Day 2C...which is 1200 players shy of the 3768 they started Day 1C with on Monday. Five levels were played and at the end of the night, all four of my sponsored players (by 73 individual investors) were still standing. Oh...none were sporting monster stacks...but why would that be any fun!??
Early in the action on Monday, an article appeared in the Live Reporting thread on PokerNews...an article penned (or pecked I guess) by Chad Holloway, who I've gotten to know fairly well through the years. With the exception of the photo of me he chose, one I'd never laid eyes on before and if I had would have burned...and his letting the cat out of the bag on my 'strategy' should any of my Four Horsemen of the Monkpocalyspe make it down to the final three tables (yes Kai, I'm giving you creative credit for that moniker) it was a fun and appreciated mention! Here, in case you missed it was the feature itself.
http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2014-wsop/main-event/post.233959.htm
So as you may or may NOT have been aware, this Friday was a frenzied affair! I woke up needing to still sell a few shares to get our 3rd player into the big game....and that was immediately remedied by (a) writing a blog (b) posting on Facebook and Twitter and then (c) sending out an email to my 1800+ distribution list that I use primarily for my sports pools. As a matter of fact, they were sold within an hour of the notification...and then oversold, to the point that I found myself turning away enough to cover half of another player.
Then it happened. One guy...who I won't name, announced he'd take 20 shares if we could get one more, a 4th guy...into the tourney. Boom! Done! And so like that...we had 42 covered. The last shares went quick....and suddenly there were four. Now my biggest problem, was going to be getting my hands on $40k and getting it to Vegas. That proved to be a nightmare. First, Friday was the 4th of July...so all banks were closed. I'd received a lot of the money on PayPal...which, if you have PayPal you know it takes 3-4 business days before a withdrawal from there actually hits your account. Oh, I tried to find someone in Vegas who would let me send them 10k on PayPal and in turn hand one of my players already there 10k in cash. No dice.
My money mule, who I'd given $30k in checks to...to cash...on my way home from Vegas...had elected to NOT GO to Vegas...creating another roadblock. Oh boy! In a last second hail mary...I woke up on Saturday morning, found the nearest Wells Fargo that was open on Saturday (until 2) and drove there from our vacation condo in Orange Beach, Alabama. What took place for an hour after I got there about drove me to do things I'd never in my life contemplated, like robbing your own bank of the money that belongs to you! Seriously.
Between my three accounts with Wells Fargo...I had a total of about $42,500. And I needed $40k of it. When was the last time you walked into your bank needing to take out 96% of your funds? Needless to say...they weren't letting it go without a fight. Just when I thought we were all good to go, in steps....The Bitch. Aka...'transaction supervisor.' Wait! There was a deposit on Tuesday....yeah...TUESDAY....for $18k that hadn't cleared. Huh? You mean the one that was quoted as clearing on Wednesday? That one? Now...as a side note...three checks..one for $50 (guy was in the middle of closing an account) and one for $500 and $750 from the same guy...a guy who is supposed to be a friend, would both end up bouncing later on. That friend just played the $10k Main Event...and when pressed about the bouncing checks was sitting at the $500 Aria Main Event requesting not to be questioned about it because it was 'tilting him.' I had already held those two checks for 45 days per his request...and told him they were going in once I got home from Vegas. Ahhhhh friends!
But I digress! Back to the deposit that The Bitch didn't want to credit to my account because it was now, for some reason...showing a post date of 7/7/14...yeah, MONDAY! As soon as I heard that I started getting faint. My head started spinning....I started getting all hot, my skin was kind of tingling. Oh my god...this is NOT happening. I am envisioning my inability to get at least two of the players money...of the investors who's trust in me would be destroyed. Of this bank bitch...who once she walked out of work in less than an hour now...would most likely be run down by a 2005 Toyota 4Runner with 144k miles and a recently rebuilt engine (for those following my Vegas trip this makes sense!). Then I started feeling nauseous.
And then....I remembered the movie I'd been watching that morning (for the 847th time)...Rocky II. And I rallied. I could hear that song....how it starts with the chiming of bells...Clang!.....Clang! Da da da ta da da da da ta ta! Da da da ta da da da da da ta ta....da da da da ta da....DA DAAAAAA!!!!! And I went ballistic on that bitch! Started hitting the speed bag...doing pushups...some situps...chased a wild chicken around the lobby...was doing sprints out in the parking lot...me and Apollo Creed...and I went off on her!
Lady! I've banking with Wells and Wachovia for 20 years! I've never written a bad check! I've never been overdrawn...not ONCE! You guys TOLD ME that deposit would clear on WEDNESDAY! This is Saturday! 9k of that deposit was my OWN MONEY! $4k in cash, and $5k from my other bank! This is BS! If you don't approve that deposit a LOT of people are going to suffer...one of them being YOU!
"I'm trying to help you sir...but if you keep raising your voice I'm not going to!"
Oh yeah? Really!??? That's your comeback!??? Ha! You aren't going to threaten me with withholding service! Like I said...you think you're worried about your job NOW regarding approving a deposit that is shown on your computer to not post until Monday...if you approve it? I promise you....I will move heaven and earth to make sure you are living off Obama's meal ticket by Monday morning if this isn't put through. I know how you people do things...one of your customers makes what is seen as a run on the bank and the roadblocks just start popping up for why they can't have their money. You WILL give me my money...all $40,000 of it!!!!
Well....The Bitch got on the phone and started making a bunch of calls. I calmed myself, sat down in a lobby chair and let the process play out. What I believe happened, was someone on the other end of the phone with some common sense looked at my account...noticed my daily average balance on all accounts was/is around 45k...and noticed my banking history....and told her to process the withdrawal. If I heard her say (on the phone to whoever she was talking to) "well, I'm just trying to protect my job" one more time? I was going to walk over with a machete and whack her head off.
I got the money. All of it. Walked out of there with it in an old-school lunch sack...like THAT isn't conspicuous or anything, right!??? Memo to readers: If you have hit rock bottom and have decided to knock over a bank? Don't do it...it's not worth it. However...if you just park outside the bank and wait for 'that guy' to walk out with the brown paper lunch sack? Well....
I returned to Orange Beach. Made the most of my wasted first day at the beach with my family, our friends, and a condo (penthouse at least) full of 11 kids. You heard me...eleven! But honestly...it wasn't as crazy as that might sound. And Carley had a total blast for four days...yes, we stayed an extra day...getting home finally last night. (Tuesday)
Back to Saturday. Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed...I slipped out around 1am...drove (halfway, per the agreement) to Loxley, Alabama...to an Oasis Truck Center (your welcome for the free plug) and waited on Kai Landry to arrive. I stepped into the cafe, called Derailed Diner (again, your welcome) home of the greatest liver and onions I've ever had the pleasure of feasting on (at least five times in the past) and placed my order with the old waitress who's skin was trying very hard to escape the rest of her body...yes, it was freakishly creepy. That is when she informed me that liver is not served after 10pm!
WHAT THE!!!!???????
French toast it is. The crowd moans......
Kai finally showed up. After an hour of chit chat...we retreated to the parking lot and my 'little brown bag' to cut up the buy in money. Somehow...when I got to him, the last one ...I fell $400 short. C'mon! How did THAT happen? Well...no big deal, I opened up my iPad and fired him the $400 on PayPal. Later on...Joshua discovered I'd given him $100 too much...and like a solid, honest man I knew him to be...brought it to my attention. Thank you sir!
Kai made his way back to Biloxi...I returned to the beach...and my job was DONE! Well, aside from all the various investor updates and rounding up the remaining 10k or so in payments still due (of which most were sitting in my mailbox last night when we got home!). Him and 'Wild Bill' Phillips made their flights on time the next night...the guys all met up in Vegas...and per my instructions, bought in around midnight to avoid the massive crush of players on Monday morning...and sent me their proof of registration for me to send to my investors....as well as a very cool, 'Jersey Boys-like' photo of the four of them in front of the big WSOP sign in the hallway of Rio. Very cool stuff. Of course...I didn't see any of that until I woke up because when you go to the beach...for some reason, you can never manage to stay awake past 10pm, can you!???
Well...Monday came finally...and about half way through the day I realized the MyStack app wasn't working too well for anyone. Forming a group proved to be impossible. Bill and Kai were having major problems getting their app to work. Finally...I created a Facebook Group page...and added all the players and every investor and/or family member of them that had Facebook to the group. They all seemed pretty pleased with that move. It gave the players a better place to post stuff...and it was a lot easier to access.
ALL FOUR PLAYERS SURVIVE DAY ONE! When we started, I said I would be happy if 3 of 4 made it through. I know how tough it can get. I also know how easy it can sometimes be getting through Day 1. Well...our players faced a LOT of ups and downs all day...some really crazy hands. Some of them got up as much as 50k at one point...but when the dust settled, BJ McBrayer led the way with 32k...Kai Landry had around 22k...Josh Reichard had right at 20k...and Wild Bill Phillips was at 18k...but seemed to be the most confident...which reminds me of myself. Sometimes the fewer the chips I have in a nice, long, deep structure...the better I like my chances!
As I type this...and maybe I should have waited, but why? BJ texted me a little while ago telling me he had busted. He had QQ...and raised...was 3-bet by another crazy Euro...then a short stack with 18k shoved all in. BJ decided to isolate by shoving all in over the top only to get snap called by the guy....holding aces. Oh boy. To make it worse (if that's possible) the small stack was holding KK. Ouch for that guy! BJ was relegated to needing to hit a two-outer and hoping it held. It didn't come. And BJ is our first 'Minion' to see his 2014 Main Event come to an end. Bummer.
A few people texted or Facebook'd me telling me they couldn't find Josh anywhere in the field....so I texted him and he replied, telling me he is at table 385...the same table as NBA player Paul Pierce. That must be a pretty entertaining table!! Pierce does a lot of talking...not like Maurice 'The Black Mouth' Hawkins (black mouth since there is already one 'Mouth' in poker...Mike Matusow of course) who will talk the felt off a table...and the two tables next to it!
Well...that will do it for your Monkey's Grinders update in the early stages of Day Two...with 3 of our guys (as far as I currently know anyway) still alive and kicking!
MONKEY
Early in the action on Monday, an article appeared in the Live Reporting thread on PokerNews...an article penned (or pecked I guess) by Chad Holloway, who I've gotten to know fairly well through the years. With the exception of the photo of me he chose, one I'd never laid eyes on before and if I had would have burned...and his letting the cat out of the bag on my 'strategy' should any of my Four Horsemen of the Monkpocalyspe make it down to the final three tables (yes Kai, I'm giving you creative credit for that moniker) it was a fun and appreciated mention! Here, in case you missed it was the feature itself.
http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2014-wsop/main-event/post.233959.htm
 |
| I will assume Chad searched for the picture that best illustrated my utter disdain for the WSOP and their reasons for keeping me on the sidelines of the worlds biggest NL Tourney. |
So as you may or may NOT have been aware, this Friday was a frenzied affair! I woke up needing to still sell a few shares to get our 3rd player into the big game....and that was immediately remedied by (a) writing a blog (b) posting on Facebook and Twitter and then (c) sending out an email to my 1800+ distribution list that I use primarily for my sports pools. As a matter of fact, they were sold within an hour of the notification...and then oversold, to the point that I found myself turning away enough to cover half of another player.
Then it happened. One guy...who I won't name, announced he'd take 20 shares if we could get one more, a 4th guy...into the tourney. Boom! Done! And so like that...we had 42 covered. The last shares went quick....and suddenly there were four. Now my biggest problem, was going to be getting my hands on $40k and getting it to Vegas. That proved to be a nightmare. First, Friday was the 4th of July...so all banks were closed. I'd received a lot of the money on PayPal...which, if you have PayPal you know it takes 3-4 business days before a withdrawal from there actually hits your account. Oh, I tried to find someone in Vegas who would let me send them 10k on PayPal and in turn hand one of my players already there 10k in cash. No dice.
My money mule, who I'd given $30k in checks to...to cash...on my way home from Vegas...had elected to NOT GO to Vegas...creating another roadblock. Oh boy! In a last second hail mary...I woke up on Saturday morning, found the nearest Wells Fargo that was open on Saturday (until 2) and drove there from our vacation condo in Orange Beach, Alabama. What took place for an hour after I got there about drove me to do things I'd never in my life contemplated, like robbing your own bank of the money that belongs to you! Seriously.
Between my three accounts with Wells Fargo...I had a total of about $42,500. And I needed $40k of it. When was the last time you walked into your bank needing to take out 96% of your funds? Needless to say...they weren't letting it go without a fight. Just when I thought we were all good to go, in steps....The Bitch. Aka...'transaction supervisor.' Wait! There was a deposit on Tuesday....yeah...TUESDAY....for $18k that hadn't cleared. Huh? You mean the one that was quoted as clearing on Wednesday? That one? Now...as a side note...three checks..one for $50 (guy was in the middle of closing an account) and one for $500 and $750 from the same guy...a guy who is supposed to be a friend, would both end up bouncing later on. That friend just played the $10k Main Event...and when pressed about the bouncing checks was sitting at the $500 Aria Main Event requesting not to be questioned about it because it was 'tilting him.' I had already held those two checks for 45 days per his request...and told him they were going in once I got home from Vegas. Ahhhhh friends!
But I digress! Back to the deposit that The Bitch didn't want to credit to my account because it was now, for some reason...showing a post date of 7/7/14...yeah, MONDAY! As soon as I heard that I started getting faint. My head started spinning....I started getting all hot, my skin was kind of tingling. Oh my god...this is NOT happening. I am envisioning my inability to get at least two of the players money...of the investors who's trust in me would be destroyed. Of this bank bitch...who once she walked out of work in less than an hour now...would most likely be run down by a 2005 Toyota 4Runner with 144k miles and a recently rebuilt engine (for those following my Vegas trip this makes sense!). Then I started feeling nauseous.
And then....I remembered the movie I'd been watching that morning (for the 847th time)...Rocky II. And I rallied. I could hear that song....how it starts with the chiming of bells...Clang!.....Clang! Da da da ta da da da da ta ta! Da da da ta da da da da da ta ta....da da da da ta da....DA DAAAAAA!!!!! And I went ballistic on that bitch! Started hitting the speed bag...doing pushups...some situps...chased a wild chicken around the lobby...was doing sprints out in the parking lot...me and Apollo Creed...and I went off on her!
Lady! I've banking with Wells and Wachovia for 20 years! I've never written a bad check! I've never been overdrawn...not ONCE! You guys TOLD ME that deposit would clear on WEDNESDAY! This is Saturday! 9k of that deposit was my OWN MONEY! $4k in cash, and $5k from my other bank! This is BS! If you don't approve that deposit a LOT of people are going to suffer...one of them being YOU!
"I'm trying to help you sir...but if you keep raising your voice I'm not going to!"
Oh yeah? Really!??? That's your comeback!??? Ha! You aren't going to threaten me with withholding service! Like I said...you think you're worried about your job NOW regarding approving a deposit that is shown on your computer to not post until Monday...if you approve it? I promise you....I will move heaven and earth to make sure you are living off Obama's meal ticket by Monday morning if this isn't put through. I know how you people do things...one of your customers makes what is seen as a run on the bank and the roadblocks just start popping up for why they can't have their money. You WILL give me my money...all $40,000 of it!!!!
Well....The Bitch got on the phone and started making a bunch of calls. I calmed myself, sat down in a lobby chair and let the process play out. What I believe happened, was someone on the other end of the phone with some common sense looked at my account...noticed my daily average balance on all accounts was/is around 45k...and noticed my banking history....and told her to process the withdrawal. If I heard her say (on the phone to whoever she was talking to) "well, I'm just trying to protect my job" one more time? I was going to walk over with a machete and whack her head off.
I got the money. All of it. Walked out of there with it in an old-school lunch sack...like THAT isn't conspicuous or anything, right!??? Memo to readers: If you have hit rock bottom and have decided to knock over a bank? Don't do it...it's not worth it. However...if you just park outside the bank and wait for 'that guy' to walk out with the brown paper lunch sack? Well....
I returned to Orange Beach. Made the most of my wasted first day at the beach with my family, our friends, and a condo (penthouse at least) full of 11 kids. You heard me...eleven! But honestly...it wasn't as crazy as that might sound. And Carley had a total blast for four days...yes, we stayed an extra day...getting home finally last night. (Tuesday)
Back to Saturday. Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed...I slipped out around 1am...drove (halfway, per the agreement) to Loxley, Alabama...to an Oasis Truck Center (your welcome for the free plug) and waited on Kai Landry to arrive. I stepped into the cafe, called Derailed Diner (again, your welcome) home of the greatest liver and onions I've ever had the pleasure of feasting on (at least five times in the past) and placed my order with the old waitress who's skin was trying very hard to escape the rest of her body...yes, it was freakishly creepy. That is when she informed me that liver is not served after 10pm!
WHAT THE!!!!???????
French toast it is. The crowd moans......
Kai finally showed up. After an hour of chit chat...we retreated to the parking lot and my 'little brown bag' to cut up the buy in money. Somehow...when I got to him, the last one ...I fell $400 short. C'mon! How did THAT happen? Well...no big deal, I opened up my iPad and fired him the $400 on PayPal. Later on...Joshua discovered I'd given him $100 too much...and like a solid, honest man I knew him to be...brought it to my attention. Thank you sir!
Kai made his way back to Biloxi...I returned to the beach...and my job was DONE! Well, aside from all the various investor updates and rounding up the remaining 10k or so in payments still due (of which most were sitting in my mailbox last night when we got home!). Him and 'Wild Bill' Phillips made their flights on time the next night...the guys all met up in Vegas...and per my instructions, bought in around midnight to avoid the massive crush of players on Monday morning...and sent me their proof of registration for me to send to my investors....as well as a very cool, 'Jersey Boys-like' photo of the four of them in front of the big WSOP sign in the hallway of Rio. Very cool stuff. Of course...I didn't see any of that until I woke up because when you go to the beach...for some reason, you can never manage to stay awake past 10pm, can you!???
Well...Monday came finally...and about half way through the day I realized the MyStack app wasn't working too well for anyone. Forming a group proved to be impossible. Bill and Kai were having major problems getting their app to work. Finally...I created a Facebook Group page...and added all the players and every investor and/or family member of them that had Facebook to the group. They all seemed pretty pleased with that move. It gave the players a better place to post stuff...and it was a lot easier to access.
ALL FOUR PLAYERS SURVIVE DAY ONE! When we started, I said I would be happy if 3 of 4 made it through. I know how tough it can get. I also know how easy it can sometimes be getting through Day 1. Well...our players faced a LOT of ups and downs all day...some really crazy hands. Some of them got up as much as 50k at one point...but when the dust settled, BJ McBrayer led the way with 32k...Kai Landry had around 22k...Josh Reichard had right at 20k...and Wild Bill Phillips was at 18k...but seemed to be the most confident...which reminds me of myself. Sometimes the fewer the chips I have in a nice, long, deep structure...the better I like my chances!
As I type this...and maybe I should have waited, but why? BJ texted me a little while ago telling me he had busted. He had QQ...and raised...was 3-bet by another crazy Euro...then a short stack with 18k shoved all in. BJ decided to isolate by shoving all in over the top only to get snap called by the guy....holding aces. Oh boy. To make it worse (if that's possible) the small stack was holding KK. Ouch for that guy! BJ was relegated to needing to hit a two-outer and hoping it held. It didn't come. And BJ is our first 'Minion' to see his 2014 Main Event come to an end. Bummer.
A few people texted or Facebook'd me telling me they couldn't find Josh anywhere in the field....so I texted him and he replied, telling me he is at table 385...the same table as NBA player Paul Pierce. That must be a pretty entertaining table!! Pierce does a lot of talking...not like Maurice 'The Black Mouth' Hawkins (black mouth since there is already one 'Mouth' in poker...Mike Matusow of course) who will talk the felt off a table...and the two tables next to it!
Well...that will do it for your Monkey's Grinders update in the early stages of Day Two...with 3 of our guys (as far as I currently know anyway) still alive and kicking!
MONKEY
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