Bellagio

Last night we actually had some fun. I think we were in the mood to do something Vegasy, and neither of us had been up to the Strip yet, so we took a cab up to the Bellagio. Now that’s a casino! I could hardly get out of the lobby, some people might say that the chandelier is gaudy, but I just loved it. It’s about a million pieces of colored glass and it’s a sight. The casino is just so huge, we kept getting lost. Went over to the buffet, and even though we had to wait in line for about thirty minutes it was worth every second. I’ve never seen a spread like that. I went nuts on the food for the first time since we got here. Roast beef, Chinese, shrimp the size of potatoes, we ate for an hour nonstop, and had a good talk as well.

I mean we are brothers. If we’re not in each other’s corner then who will be? This town can be really rough, believe me I saw some crazy shit the other night, and Ronnie and I have to watch each other’s back. Pokerwise, Ronnie has been flying, and this is our chance to make some noise. I said to Ronnie, this money I brought out with me, it’s all profit, and I’m going to feel worse if I go back home and we didn’t take our shots than I will if we go back home with nothing. I mean we got the Chipper and a good family and money coming in, let’s take our shot at the World Series of Poker. Forget this downtown completely. But Ronnie might have a lot of talent, I actually think the kid has got something, but he has no money management at all, and that’s where I’m gonna come in. If he wants me to put him into some of these satellites and tournaments he has to play when and where I say we’ve got a good spot.

We went and had a drink at the bar next to the poker room after dinner and that was a blast. I saw a guy I recognize from WPT season 1 at the bar, a really short guy whose name I can't remember, and I saw Bobby Baldwin walk through the room and he passed not ten feet away from me. Wow, The Owl, Bobby Baldwin. It doesn’t get any bigger than that. He was playing at some table in a closed off room with a bunch that I didn’t recognize except for Sammy Farha. The rumor is that there were millions on the table. Someone next to us said some internet kid from California had all the money. Ronnie knew who he was.

Then Ronnie gets all excited and wants to go sit down, he’d have played anything, and I said no. You’ve had four drinks and a big dinner and you fucked up this morning, we’re gonna go get some sleep and tomorrow we’ll go after getting into that pot limit Hold’em tournament that starts Friday. Everybody says the Europeans have the edge in pot limit.