Rough Start

Well, I’ve had a really rough start to this trip. Wouldn’t you figure that the worst run of cards I’ve ever seen in my life had to happen the first night I’m in Las Vegas? What a game I was in. We were standing looking at the wall of Champions in Binions and I turn around and Ronnie is gone. Nowhere to be found. I’m just about to lead him upstairs to the steakhouse and he takes off. Well, he’s a big boy. I walk all around the casino looking for him and then realize that he’s taken off, so I decided I might as well play a little cards while waiting for him. I sat down in a 2-5 No Limit Hold’em game, and just started to play. I took one of the sickest beats I’ve ever seen. I’ve raised with the kings and an older fellow in with a checked shirt and white whiskers reraises me to $60, so I figure I’ll just call and set him up. The flop comes j-8-6, rainbow. He bets $150 and I call. It comes a 4 on the turn and he bets $300 I move all in for like $550 total and he calls and turns over ace-jack. And of course the jack comes on the river. I was so mad, I couldn’t even see straight. I had him set up so perfectly. Then this idiot at the table, this kid with a UNLV hat, he starts laughing at me. That’s what happens when you slowplay, he says. He’s not even in the fucking hand, and he’s gotta open up his mouth when I just lost my stack. I decided I wasn’t quitting this game as long as this guy was there, and it just got worse. I was playing fine, but I’ve never seen cards like that. They were hitting everything on me, everything. These locals can’t play bad. If any of them knew how to play they’d be up at the World Series of Poker. I played until this afternoon and decided forget about Binion’s. I just woke up and I haven’t eaten anything since I got here. I had a ham sandwich about seven am from the snack bar at Binions on the way back from the bathroom. Ronnie showed up about ten am and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the Rio with him. I should have gone, I’m definitely going up there, I’m going to play with some real poker players. I’m starving. It’s about ten o’clock at night right now. I woke up and Ronnie was nowhere to be seen again, I think I might go up to the Rio and find him. I gave him fifty bucks this morning, I wonder if he’s still playing off that. It was really a bad start to the trip last night. I’ve never seen cards like that.

It was just dark when I woke up and left the hotel, but you wouldn’t know about it once you hit Fremont Street. There’s this huge roof covering the whole street and it makes it like it’s just daytime outside. When we were checking in the lady at the front desk said they have a light show there at midnight that we shouldn’t miss, so I might grab something to eat and then go see it. Tomorrow I’m going to go up to the Rio. I’m not going to be here for the World Series of Poker and not go try and play in the World Series of Poker. I’m done with this Binion’s stuff. I want to see some of the real poker players…