Time Out, Time OUt

Where to begin. I’ve just worked out that we’ve been in Las Vegas for less than 3 days and I feel like I’ve been here for 3 weeks. When I woke up Anthony was snoring heavily – I’ve never been so pleased to see him. I picked up his copy of Super System and chucked it at him. “You okay?” I asked, and when he eventually came too he offered a pretty humble “yeah”. “You?” he asked, and my “yeah” wasn’t hiding anything either. “We should go and have something to eat and catch up”.

It's 3pm, 3 fucking pm, that's 3 hours too late.

So after this internet stop we’re heading somewhere for something to eat, I don’t know what he has been up to over the past 72 hours or so but I know it’s probably not good. But we need to clear the air. And I’m sure he’s pretty nervous to hear what I’ve been up to aswell… he should be.

24 hours ago, where was I, and was it really only 24 hours? Actually it was more like 36. I met Anthony in Binions, he was acting mad at me but I know a man on tilt when I see him, especially my brother, and Anthony was raging at the game. I tried to get him to quit and come for breakfast, I thought my El Cortez success might change the subject, but he wasn’t for moving and I’ve learnt to just let him go in that situation, however costly it might be. He threw me 50 bucks to get rid of me – jes thanks, what shall I do go get coke and crisps? But I didn’t say anything other than a see you later.

What next… the Rio, it feels like last week. I was over whelmed to be there, I saw Ram Vaswani, Phil Hellmuth (taller than expected) and Daniel Negreanu (shorter than expected), I was a bit star struck to be honest and that isn’t me at all, I blame a lack of sleep. The tournament area is heaving, it’s massive, and it’s all painted in this really ugly beige colour that makes you feel a bit sick. My head was spinning a bit so I headed outside into the corridor and decided to get in line to register. Now the line was long, but at that moment I didn’t really mind because a bit of standing still was going to do me the world of good. I am at the WSOP, I am at the WSOP, Ronnie Flicker is at the WSOP and he has just registered to play… Ronnie has entered the building. Strangely nobody else seems to appreciate the momentous moment – I decide I need to sit down and where better than at one of the 150 dollar single table satellites. These things are starting all the time apparently and my sit ‘n’ go form has been good of late. Ronnie Flicker takes his seat at the WSOP, the crowd are hushed… I told you I was tired.

I only went and won the bloody thing.

Two and a half hours it took, I played really well and only had to luck out twice to make it through. I’ll write a more detailed report of some of the hands later, they handed me 3 x 500 dollar tournament chips, I’m on a roll and I now have enough to enter the $1000 re-buy tomorrow… I have enough to enter a World Series event, I’m pinching myself. Sorry, I wish I could write this with more enthusiasm.

The other most significant thing about the game was meeting Steve “Station 92” I think his surname was Biston or Bishop, a player from California. He was playing in the game, we’re about the same age, 21 and 24, and he’s part of a whole crew of young players who have come out for their first World Series. Anyway he congratulates me on the way I played and we decide to go for a wind down drink, I’m wired. I tell him I want to sign up for the 1000 dollar tournament first and he helps me get my chips in – I’m in, I’m playing a WSOP event tomorrow. Quick drink, back to the California, sleep and then fresh for the tournament.

So I follow Steve and he heads up to the Voodoo bar in the Rio and there is a huge line and Steve just walks straight past it, nods to the doorman in the VIP queue and we’re in, and I’m totally impressed. A waitress (oh my God I’m in love) takes us through the club and into a roped off area and a huge cheer goes up as Steve and I enter – “Stevie boy where you been”. There must be 15/20 guys, I get introduced to them all and they’re all very welcoming and I have a drink in my hand within seconds. Turns out they’re all young poker players who by all accounts are making a fortune online. I tell them that’s what I do to, “how much you up this month buddy?” “oh about 100” I say, “100k not bad, I’m doing about 300 so far so it’s been reasonably quiet” – I didn’t dare tell him I meant 100 dollars straight – and that this is an exceptionally good month for me.

So the drink flows and I’m having a great time. I mean these guys are really doing well online and I feel very tuned in to their game and style and I feel very much at home in their company. Someone suggests we move on to a club and before I know it I’m in the back of this huge hummer stretch limo and we’re heading to a nightclub called rhino, and I didn’t have a clue until we got there. I fell in love 20 times last night – (Rhino is a strip club where the girls do lapdances for you and by all accounts plenty more if… am I the only person in the World who didn’t know this).

It all started to get a little fuzzy, those guys are treated like superstars, I remember brief things, like having a conversation about the re-buy tournament and being asked how many re-buys I expect to take and getting a really good laugh out of everyone when I say none… I go with the joke, it became my thing for a while and they started calling me “re-buy” and bought me another lapdance – “rebuy for rebuy” and another girl would come over – which completely numbed my growing insecurity about the re-buy tournament.

And last of all I remember Steve bundling me into the back of a cab asking where I was staying and looking totally bemused when I said the California – but by now I was just the English guy and nothing surprised them – somehow I made it to my room, and there was Anthony fighting with the door key too. We looked at each other through Vegas glazed eyes and without saying anything agreed to deal with it in the morning.

Which pretty much brings me to my sore head now and the worst part of the whole thing – I’ve missed the re-buy tournament – my chips are being ante’d away as we speak, I woke up 3 hours after the thing had started and I can’t even begin to imagine going down there to protect them… the only question is, how much of this do I tell Anthony?