The end of the week and the tail end of a gorgeous spring day converged as my little blue bug ferried me eastward on Highway 9. The sun was sinking to the horizon behind me, a golden spotlight burnishing the way in front of me. It's a drive I've taken many times on treks to the lake or, as a part of my job, visits to Little Axe, a small rural community east of Norman. I'd passed Thunderbird Bingo rarely giving it a second thought other than maybe a reminiscence of my time as a bingo hall employee many years ago ('nuther story, 'nuther day).
Somewhere in the establishment's timeline it morphed from Thunderbird Bingo to the Thunderbird Wild Wild West Casino - kind of a misleading title if one was expecting Vegas casino action. But let's fast forward to the new day of a new gaming law and now.....
I wound my way eastward on this Oklahoma back road and wondered what I would encounter upon my arrival. I expected to see a lot of college denizen in the poker room. This is a university town and I figured there had to be a healthy dose of young guns chomping at the bit to get some live casino action. There wouldn't be what one could call "regulars," as of yet. The room had only been open a few days.
Before
I knew it, I rounded a curve and there it was. I pulled into a brimming parking
lot and found a space a distance from the entrances. I spied a golf cart circling
the lot picking up folks and transporting them doorward. Of quaint note was
the horse-drawn stage coach which served the same purpose. I opted to walk the
few extra feet to the door, which gave me time to whip out the phone cam and
knock off a shot of the entrance.
I'd spied a couple of college aged kids outside by a side entrance when I circled the lot, so when I entered the casino I played my hunch that the poker room would be to my left. Slots filled the floor and, as I snaked through them, I came upon several black-jack tables in full action. The walls were festooned with "wild west" ambience - an attempt at making you feel you were walking the streets of an old western town. Emphasis on "attempt."
Eventually I spied a sign which read "Poker Room" - my heart quickened along with my step. There it was - 12 tables of poker goodness. There was a line of folks putting their names on a waiting list for games, so now I was faced with my first decision of the evening. No, it wasn't what limit to play.. it was what "personage" was I going to be. As those of you who are long time readers may remember, "Maudie" is a nickname and not the one I was born with. It's the name I chose to blog under in order to retain a bit of anonymity for some sound reasons I won't go into here. It the name I went by in Vegas, and I've grown quite fond of it.
But being on my home turf, and likely to run into people I know, I wondered should I go in under my common name, or retain continuity with the poker personage of "Maudie?" This was running through my brain as the line got shorter and it was my turn to go on the list. "What games are you spreading?" I asked, allowing for a stall before I had to make a decision. "2-5 blinds no-limit, 3-6 limit, 4-8 limit... and we've got interst for 10-20 limit..." was the answer. Uh-oh. I realized I'd failed to do advanced recon on the limits and was now concerned I hadn't brought enough cash. I was thinking there'd be 2-4 or a 1-6 spread, like in, uh, Vegas. I quickly did the mental math - badly - as I spied an ATM out of the corner of my eye. I picked the 3-6 and he said "Name?" Beat.
"Maudie," I answered.
"Mutty? M-u-t..."
"No-Maudie - M-a-u-d-i-e'..."
"Last initial?"
"B," I replied. And so there I was. Maudie B. On the waiting list for 3-6 hold-em.
Stay tuned for Part II
