It took a while to figure out the logistics of playing a 9 person SnG in a hotel suite with limited seating and table arrangement. But with a little rearranging it was managed. Gracie and Pauly decided to share the dealer duties rather than pass the deal with the button. As time went on, Gracie did more of the dealing as Pauly, er, relaxed.... We all took our seats:
Seat 1: Iggy
Seat 2: Gracie
Seat 3: Chris Halverson
Professional Poker Player™
Seat 4: Chad
Seat 5: Jason
Seat 6: Pablo
Seat 7: Pauly
Seat 8: Derek
Seat 9: Me
The pungent aroma of 'leaded incense' soon filled the air, mixing with the cigarette smoke and stale seediness seeping from the walls and carpets. The Plaza is a downtown icon, well past its prime, surviving on the welfare and social security checks of the local denizen who, like this tired monolith at the end of Fremont street, are too addicted to the action to recognize it's time to quit.
The
game got underway, and I got, well, silly. I'm sure it was the company, it couldn't
have been anything else (coff). Some people came and went - Drizztdj
and Mr. Hanel played
some poker online... which was surreal.
The SnG lasted roughly, oh, 3½ hours. Blinds went up... occasionally. The structure was... by consensus. I was enjoying the hell out of playing with a group of people all of whom are part of my favorite bloggers list. I was lifted out of my momentary depression and was reminded why I came to Vegas... to win money of course.. Heh heh.
Somehow,
I ended up heads up with Iggy - which was more like head to naval - even with
a booster cushion, Iggy barely cleared the table top. I think I got there 'cause
I was probably the most sober person in the room and not due to any sort of
brilliant card playing. Iggy never missed a beat, though - even smoothly posting
his blinds after slipping off the chair and rolling under the table... I was
in an all-in roll - simply because I was too fried to be able to determine how
many chips to bet or raise. The simple solution was to push...
We battled it out for a bit... well, battled may be to harsh... maybe giggled it out for quite a bit is a more appropriate description. Plus there were several breaks in there for good-byes to some folks, hellos and pictures for other folks. I remember at one point Al tossing me a McBurger (thanks, by the way...).
I'd
managed to get a bunch of chips and then Iggy pushed. I had an Ace
and an 8 in my hand so I called. A couple more 8s
came out of the deck, and it was all over. I won.
Afterwards I wandered downstairs with Pauly, Derek, and Iggy in search of burgers.
On the way, Iggy disappeared. We got the burgers and stopped at the bar so I
could reload my new favorite beverage - back up in the 
suite
I downed my burgers and then decided I needed to move on. I'd planned to remain
up until it was time to leave for the airport so I wandered back down to the
poker room.
I sat at a 2/4 table - between a local in a wheelchair and Carrot Top's lost illegitimate brother. On the other side of the wheelchair was oxygen-man hooked up to his tank. Two tourists and two other locals rounded out the table. Wheelchair rolled back frequently to visit the smoking area - all of two feet away at an empty table... Carrot Top commented at one point that I was either timid or knew what I was doing. I just smiled. I'm learning to keep my mouth shut and not give away information - and, yes Iggy, I put the kibosh on the chip tricks...
The players were horrible and my luck even worse. It only took a few orbits for me to fully realize that this trip wasn't going to see the plus side at any legitimate table in Vegas. Plus, I was fading fast. I wasn't going to make to departure time. I racked up, cashed out and went back to my room.
I kicked aside the chicken bone someone left at my door as, perhaps, some sort of sacrifice to the Vegas gods and went inside for a short nap until departure time. A couple of hours later, I made my way downstairs and after a short wait my ride arrived. A stretch limo. Well, well, well. I kicked back in that sucker and enjoyed the solitude before it filled up with 5 other people - a honeymooning couple; a father treating his son for his 21st birthday; and another solo lady from Tulsa.
I have a lot to chew on regarding this trip. Many conversations were begun that didn't get finished; too many people I didn't give myself the chance to have a conversation with; new friendships sparked and bonds from December cemented even further... I have to give a special, warm thanks, though, to my 2 "wingmen" - Iggy and Pauly - you guys rock... you accept me as who I am, don't patronize me and let me play tag-along... I'm already looking forward to seeing your mugs again, I hope, in the not too distant future..
