Friday, March 02, 2007

Quake N' Shake Part One!

WooHoo! My first California earthquake. I've been out here for YEARS and this is the first one that I felt. It was a bit like the furnace kicking on in an old apartment/house and then a couch giggle no stronger than your neighbor shaking their leg...but I FELT it. There have been 3 or 4 in the Bay Area since I've been here but I have been driving or sleeping and they have been pretty small. It was about a 4.0 centered in Laffayette, which is a bit north of me. Some of my co-workers actually had a house shaker, so bully for me on not moving yet. Anyway, that seemed significant enough to blog.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Big Vist, Big Win, Big Weekend to come.

I have recently been away from the blog for a while and I have been getting no end in grief, so allow me to recount a great weekend with my little otter in St. Louis. She is going to be 4 in April and in a snowed in environment, she is her own entertainment center. We did too much paling around to recount everything but I'll highlight a few things. We built our first snowman while we were playing at the Rabbit Run park. It was great watching her play on the playground and explore with another three year old that was there. We have VIDEO and photos that need to be put on disk and mailed out to the family. So, now you can bother me about that! ;) We had an interesting nap time where she insited on putting ME to bed and then reading me the story I read her. Of course, then she was tired and tossed me out so she could sleep. Hilarious really. She is so stubbon and independant that I hope I can hone it into a plus in her later life so she can chase things down that she really wants. Her Mom and stepdad need a lot of support and prayers now so please drop them a line and include them daily. They have been through a ton and have been great parents and role models for the little otter. These aren't the kind of things that you get paid for in life, but they should be. Bless them. Bless them big.

On a complete flip side of my life, your boy may finally hit it big. A huge tournament win this past weekend (and a horrible beat, but lets focus on the positive) I have won my way into the $10,000 WPT (World Poker Tour) Bay 101 Shooting Star here in San Jose. That means I will be playing for the 1.5 million dollar first prize with the likes of Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negranue and more. I'm am completely nervous and pumped at the same time. I am hoping that my friends in the poker world can talk me though this and get my head straigh because I am fairly sure I can take home some cash with my "A" game and with some luck, some life changing money. This has been a dream of mine since I started playing tournament poker right before the 2003 Chris Moneymaker led poker boom and next to the main event of the World Series of Poker, this is about as big of a stage as you get. Its wierd to have people rooting for you in a poker room. Strange, because it tends to be such a selfish environment. Stange because you are afraid they want something but they are legitimately happy for you in many cases. Well, this is going to be my shot on March 12th. That reminds me, I need to put in for leave.

I know many of you might not understand my poker 'hobbie' or the fact that it has paid for many things I would not have otherwise been able to afford or kept me afloat when I was jobless. Know that this is not taken lightly, but is something I have put years of study and practice into and is something I know how to do. And yes, I am taking all precautions necessary, but as I stand on the edge of playing with the pros, I have to ask for your support and understanding. Who knows, your boy might be on TV soon.


This is the Otter, aka RuntCake, aka The Waldo Brother 2, out.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Super Bowl Sunday. At least they have commercials.

Funny note from NFL.com. In a fan poll, the LEAST popular option for "who would you like to see in the Super Bowl" was Colts v. Bears. Most popular Saints v. Patriots. I couldn't agree more. I hope I'm wrong but I can only think its either going to be a Manning led blowout for the Colts. Or a defense dominated, low scoring yawn fest for the Bears. But! Record setting ad spend, so that should get funny.

I'm heading to VEGAS tomorrow. Yes, for work. I think I'll sneak in some time at the Venetian poker tables as well since I'll be working there most of the days. I might even get to see Jerry Lee Lewis play. Something that will make my Dad wildly jealous, but I'm sure Old Killer is more Old than Killer now-a-days. I don't care, BB King still rocked the house, I'm sure Jerry Lee will make it work too. Look for an update and a new article on www.lifesabluff.com afterward.

Work is killing me lately, thus the lack of posts. Please forgive my lack of communication. Its not you, its me. Really, I should see other selves because I'm probably holding me back from real happiness.

On the born and breeding front! Mr. & Mrs. Schmucke have brough beautiful Ms. Addison into the world and Mr. & Mrs. Tuck have announced they are expecting another bundle of joy. Beautiful people that deserve beautiful children. Congratulations!

Friday, January 19, 2007

D Day for the Saints!

Sunday at 11am Pacific I will walk OUT of wherever I am an into the "fan zone". Truly, I have waited 22 years for this day...and we are not into the Super Bowl yet. I know they are playing uphill...In Chicago, Outdoors in cold weather, against a killer defense...but I know they can do it.

Manning or Brady in the Superbowl and I think the Saints, playing a such a super-team, can take them down. There is just one hurdle between the Saints and the longest SuperBowl dry streak ever.

I have never felt this freaked out about an upcoming sporting event. Even if you count some of my biggest poker tournaments or games as sports. Roll Saints! Lets knock em dead.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

London on Ice...with a Bar too!

Basically, I have promised and promised an update on London and have failed. This is just a highlight of the trip and a way to let some of the fellow travelers on that trip have a way to download the pics as they appear to be to big to email. So, without further adue, the Ice Bar London, a room where you have to dress in a special thermal parka (great for the fashion challenged like me) and EVERYTHING is ice, right down to the glasses.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Stupid f*£%^g fortune cookies.

Well, it was a mildly unfortunate weekend. It started off when I brought home some take out Chinese coming home from work. Food was ok, but I was eating "healthy" so, no MSG bliss (or post meal hyper-bowel evacuation...but that isn't what you tuned in for is it?). Even non-superstitious people hate getting weird vibes/omens. We'll our two fortunes were something along the lines of "Your Luck Will Return in the Autumn" and "The best throw of the dice is to throw them away." At least one was a fortune and not a piece of wisdom, but that weekend the Chiefs stunk up the joint and the Eagles will now be playing the Saints next week. I can't hide my fervor for the Saints this year (or any year...just something to cheer about this year) and Piggy's favoritest team is the Eagles, so I might be sleeping on the couch soon. This is not the situation you want with your GF. Well, I guess that is the price you pay for having a tall, sexy, sports-loving, gas-tolerating lady in your life.

Anyway, went out on the bubble of a WPT satellite/tournament and came within 8 of 10K. It tough to deal with, but I thought I played really well on a short stack with cold cards for the longest time. Lost a race and there was one call I could have made with no guarantees, but I have to like the fact that I play one decent tournament live a week (most weeks, not counting the holiday tourney-fest between Christmas and New Years) and I've been finishing in the top 18 consistently, that is something to be proud of. The cash games actually made the whole thing to a positive day by fraction, but a positive none the less. Yeah bankroll stabilization!


Working the online angle a bit. Cashed in one for $891 during Christmas and while that is not that big, I was happy to survive the insane play that accompanies the holiday/break time tournaments. Also, since the online frontier is one that I've been hacking away at, this years positive growth and "chunk-o-cash" deposit in the bank makes it feel worthwhile. Now I just have to get my earning-per-hour up to speed and we will be talking about viable "earned from home" income that will keep me off the road hunting for good games.

Piggy did some great cooking over the Holidays including a Christmas spread I haven't had since I was living at home and the grandparents were alive! Plus super-duper baked goods. They are gone now and the road to a slimmer, trimmer, more aero (aqua?) dynamic otter begins!

Peace and luck in the New Year...and ignore your fortune cookies.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

The new year starts off with a COUGH!
"So that is how the world ends, with a whimper, not a bang."

Well, its 2007 now. I've been sick since Christmas and I'm still getting over it now. I went ahead and took a day off work today to rest up as I have a TON going on this month with travel, events and a backlog of pre-end of year housekeeping...taxes, insurance, and maintenance junk. Ugh! One of my goals (resolutions) is to get back to the positive outlook I had on things pre-2000, but its gonna be hard. Oh well, that is the choice you make getting out of bed in the morning.

My New Years Resolutions:
1. Make an impact at my job and become a key player in the system during my first year.
2. Get down to 200lbs. by June.
3. Bet that poker bankroll up to $20,000 by the end of next year! (Sub goals to this I won't bother you with now.)
4. Move closer to the city and my job, get more time for a life.
5. Send more pictures to my family. Yeah, it could be on this blog!

Anyway, just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone. I was miserable the whole weekend so thanks to those that called me and sorry if I missed you otherwise.

Check out the new interviews and articles I've done at www.lifesabluff.com

(Yes mom, its about poker)

Monday, December 25, 2006

Chiefs nail the Raiders and I'm still alive!!!

Well, to all of you who thought I would die in the black hole, sorry to disapoint ya. The Chiefs took it to the Raiders and have a chance to drop into the playoffs a little bckwards with a win against Jacksonville. Scratch that. Jets won and they got nadda of a shot. I think if the Jets loose to the Raiders (pfft, right) the Chiefs might have a shot to win in, but I won't cross my fingers too hard. HOWEVER!! The Saints have locked up a spot for the first time in years!! What a GREAT year for my boys! Hell yes. This will be the year someone gets decked for calling me a bandwagon fan...I'm fairly sure of it. Saints v. Charger Superbowl. You heard it here first!!


Pics from the Raider/Chief beating. Hint: They ain't friendly or happy with a 2-fer team!











































Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Its the Thanksgiving Travel marathon!!! Well, I am off to the following states: PA, NY, NJ, MO and possibly KS. Now go play Scrabble with those.

Its a run to do the Holiday Hello thing and catch up with my family which is scattered all about. I'll be meeting my brothers up in NYC for dinner and maybe a show after meeting Philly Piggy's parents and seeing her old stomping ground (rooting grounds? Who knows...) with a trip to Atlantic City with her Mom worked in there. The its off to Missouri to meet up with my Mom, visit my little otter and maybe get down to see dad or over to see the crew in KC. I try to stay flexible on these things as holiday travel can be anything but predictable most times.

I know I owe a London write up, I'll try to work on it on the plane. I'm backed up on real work so that will take precedence. Hope this helps everyone keep up with Waldo.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Well its been a fun, challenging and enlightening experience the last couple weeks. I head home tomorrow morning and then immediately proceed to bounce out across the country on holiday travels. I think those should be fun too.

London has been great but I am a little to tire to get into it now so expect and update soon with pictures (I took a lot!). Don't forget to check out the WPT Website The guys from Life's A Bluff have been made their official web comic! Go do the clicky-clicky thing and make sure that they stay on! Its in the lower right hand corner...go now!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

CARDS WIN!! ...and I'm leaving the country.

So the World Series news is old but I've had some busy days recently and havn't had time to update the old BLOG. Great news for St. Louis on the tail of being voted the most dangerous place to live. yeah murderers from East SI-EEED.

I'll be hopping a plane to London on business soon. I'll be gone a couple of weeks so I expect the Piggy to be happy and partying with her friends in the mud hole. I'm snaking in some pleasure and sightseeing along with the business as it is my first time there. Wheeee! Rack up another country for old Uncle Traveling Matt.

Monday, October 23, 2006

'Pine Tar' Rodgers ties up the series.

I try not to get too worked up...I really do. I usually fail as I am little too passionate about things. I was willing to get past the pine tarring accusations until I heard KR's response that it was just "a big ole clump of dirt...I washed it off". What kind of dirt is shit and caramel colored and leaves a visible yellow residue after being washed off? Either admit to it or tell us you didn't wash you hands after the bathroom ran out of TP. Man.

OK, I have to get back to work but this had to get out there.

GO CARDS! ROLL SAINTS!!

PS -- I am in two outter hell. Knockouts both days on the incredible 3% turn cards. But again, I think I'm handling it well. Nothing is broken in my car, house or card room! ;)

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Molina comes up to bat, YADDA YADDA YADDA, Cards are going to the World Series.


Old news as of today, but I have been a little busy. I could not, however, resist this Seinfeld reference. Tonight's win makes me feel GREAT! (Tiger pun attended) Still a soft spot for D-roit as to my years on the T-ball and little league team of same name, but screw that, CARDS IN '06 BABY!

The Bay 101 Open 1K Spread Limit Hold 'Em event was today. I played with JJ Lieu, last years top female points finisher (Card Player Magazine) for most of the event but was busted in 87th place when my Aces were cracked by Kings when the two-outer hit on the turn. (For the un-initiated, that means there were two cards left to help him and the 4th card out of 5 was one of them.) Big 2K is tomorrow so off to bed and victory for me now.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

MOB OF WALDOS TO ATTACK SAN FRANCISCO!! Some believed to be ZOMBIES!

Ninjas and Pirates of the Bay Area are planning a retaliation.

My brothers, now is the time for every WALDO' of the world to UNITE!! From the fabled book character to that poor nerd in the Van Halen Video "Hot for Teacher." November 11, 2006!!

http://waldo.castlepeakstudios.com/

Monday, October 16, 2006

Saints Win, Chiefs Lose, Go Cards and a Poker Update.

Well, the Chiefs embarrassed themselves in Pittsburgh this weekend. As a friend of mine put it "they found out that the Steelers could wake up and remember they were a SuperBowl team and take it out on someone." Why not last week in San Diego then? Damn. But, I am happy to note that my new pick for NFC Champion...the New Orleans Saints, are now 5-1 after beating a formidable opponent in the Philadelphia Eagles. Since this is Piggy's team, it made for some cold conversation, but I can woot and cheer all I want on my blog! WOOT! CHEER! ...ah, who am I kidding.

The Bay 101 Open Players Points freeroll kicked off the Bay 101 Open Tournament series this Sunday. Yours truly finished 6th taking home a nice prize package but falling a few short of my goal of a big win or at least a seat in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star in March. But, I still have a few months to shoot for that. Big games this Saturday or Sunday so if you have any lucky objects, rub them for me. If you have any voodoo dolls, please take the pins out!

GO CARDS! by the way. If last night's shellacking ties it up, the Cards have a LOT to prove as they head back to New York to stomp down the Mets shot at the World Series. I will admit to having a secret hope for the Detroit Tigers after my years of suffrage on jr. teams of the same name. Rawr.

Friday, October 13, 2006

I....Bluffed...JamesWoods! (Sung to the Family Guy tune of "I love James Woods")

While it only happened once, it did give me a chance to write that headline. To be honest, I think he was on to me, but had no hand whatsoever and had to fold. But James is so good, you can't tell when he's acting, on screen or at the table. (Yes, that is a complement.) What....OH! You want an explanation. Geez.

OK, so last weekend I shot down to LA to play in a few of the Big Poker Oktober tournaments and interview some of the regular players in the Live At The Bike webcast high stakes game for www.lifesabluff.com while I was there. This was also a warm up for a few big tournaments I have won my way into locally, the Bay 101 Open Player's Points Freeroll, the Oct. 21st 1K event and the Oct. 22nd 2K event. How the hell else can I afford to fly everywhere, visit everyone and send out Christmas gifts to all you wonderful people?

A few bonuses happened along the way, unfortunately, one of them was not me winning the tournament. I only played one tournament. It was an expensive one and the bad luck that kicked me out was palpable for about a 3 table radius. But, I kept my chin up and kept it fun and light. Brooding leads to bad play and besides, ya can't win them all. What this DID do is end up putting me in a cash gam on the casino floor with none other than James Woods and his darling girlfriend. Both quite excellent players. I left the game up 150% from my buy in, so I was a happy man at 3 a.m. but not nearly as happy as the fellow who left up about 5K or Mr. Woods who was probably sitting on a couple extra grand. I'll have to tune into his new TV drama "Shark" (sleazy defense lawyer turned tricky prosecutor) to see how he does there. He's planning to appear at the Bay Area's big event, the Bay 101 Shooting Star and we joked that we'd see each other at the final table. At least he did. He can watch me in reruns on TV next year.

I got an interview not only with the team of Live @ the Bike fame (all of these faithfully transcribed by Piggy, the darling) but also poker pro and fast rising star Kenna James. What most impressed me was his work with the Wounded Warrior Project and I knew that I had to get him on tape for an interview. Kenna is pleasant, jocular and took time for an AMAZING amount of people from pros and well knows (Jerry Bus, James Woods etc.) to people from his old playing days in LA. A class act. Look for those write ups.

Well, fast forward to me surviving a late night drive back up the state and you get to where I am now. Itching for this weekend and the Bay 101 Open freeroll and next weekend and the big events.

Hope you enjoyed hearing about this little poker romp. Cheers big ears!!

Monday, October 02, 2006

A Saintly Chief's Performance but Not a Chiefly Saint performance....

OK, so that intro line sucked. Pardon me I'm mostly deaf and tired from a late night rock concert last night with Shine Down, Rob Zombie and Godsmack. For those of you who don't know them, just skip down a paragraph. I had a GREAT time at the show and Piggy concurs (http://phillypiggy.blogspot.com/) that Uncle Rob stole the show. Godsmack did a hell of a job, but the Zombie Army isn't one yo want to compete with for stage presence. I don't know why the hell I waited this long to go to a real hard rock show. THROW A GOAT UP AND SAY HELL YEAH!!

So, the Chiefs awoke from a slumber and went spare on the lowly 49ers, fresh off their beating by Philly (I witnessed it and put an old-man-stomach-punch-hoodoo-curse on the Niners apparently) and they get Arizona and fresh faced rookie QB and Hilton Boy-Toy Matt Linert next week. Ahhhh, the joys of finally having a soft scheudle and a concious QB. Look for them to go big again next week. Also, look for me to die somewhere around December 23rd as I will be at the "Black Hole" in Oakland in full Chief Gear for that ass kicking as well. More details later.

The Saints played a hell of a game Sunday but could not stop a recently re-gelled Panther's squad at home. One escape and run by DeShaun Foster and a slow 3rd quarter left the Crecent City Boys huslting to the end. They did it with some beautiful play (Colston will be a home town hero), guts (beautiful 2 pt. conversion) and gaul (A deep onside kick they failed to recover) but I still expect them to remain on top of the NFC South all year, just cause I said so! ;)

Hope everyone has a great week. Wish me luck as I sojurn to LA to push my luck at the Bicycle Casino's "Big Poker October" event. It is running along side the start of a big event in Vegas so I'm hoping the overlay will be nice and the competition thinned out! More money for the "bail me out of college loans" fund.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Monday Night Football...best game EVER!!

Well, until the Saints arrive at the Super Bowl at least. Anyway, last night's 23-3 victory by the Saint's in their return to the Superdome may not have been an offensive clinic, but I won't argue with the results. The Crescent City Crew eliminated the advantage of the most prolific athalete in the NFL and his crew with crushing defense and a non-stop, sprit filled effort from every team memeber. I have no doubt that Atlanta will do well this year, but the Saint's showed that when they are playing at the top of their game that they will be VERY difficult to shut down this year.

3-0!!! Can you believe it! I watched the whole thing at a place called the Royal Exchange on the Embarcadero here in the Financial District. There were a couple other Saints fans in attendance, but it was mostly me, Piggy and two aquantinces from work chowing down, drinking up and roaring for the team. Man, it was amazing from the first series to the final gun.

Congratz Saints! And roll on!!!!!

EDIT NOTE: Apparently, it was the best game ever in a sense. ESPN reports that it is the most watched cable show of all time. 11.8 share and 10.8 million homes watching!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Eagles win! ...and geriatric violence.

So it was a really good weekend. I started off by getting up WAY to early on a Saturday for my sojourn down to the Bay 101 Casino to play in the poker tournament that they hold there on Saturday. Its now the only one in town and starts at OH MY GOD o'clock so it keeps the pretty hardcore in attendance. But hey, as a workin' man, I have no options. Well, luck was with me as well as some crappy cards (how is that good you ask? well, trust me, it can be) and I ended up splitting the first place prize and heading home quite a bit heavier in the wallet. Even though I had the chip lead I gave up a $50 jacket for the chance to to loose a couple thousand. I thought it was smart. My usual style was stunted as I saw almost zero decent hands and played only 2 before the first break (won them both) and 5 after that break (before the final table) that weren't my unraised big blind. Thankfully, I won them all due to a tight table image and not getting run over. At the final table I took my only bad beat and was left literally with a single $5K chip and a chair and battled my way back to have the chip lead at the finish. As usual, it was noted I was having "too much fun" being happy and generally good natured about the whole experience, but I figure if you aren't having fun, you shouldn't be there. Besides, smiling scares people a lot more than frowning most days. (I could go in depth here but since my audience is mostly family and friends you probably either get it or don't care.)

Sunday was more fun as we went to Monster Park to watch the Eagles and the Niners as mentioned below. Besides being fairly ghetto, this was a great place to watch the game and it was nice and sunny in our seats so I got some late summer sun and generally had a good time. Most of the fans were cool as we discussed how much better the Niners were getting even though they were loosing from the starting whistle (almost literally, the Eagles scored in their first three plays from scrimmage) except for one old crotchety bastard that happened to be sitting right in front of us. He seemed to take offense at every cheer for the Eagles and every comment from "good play" to "ow! you have to catch those" and was spending most of his time calling his home team "pukes" and "losers" and being pretty damn negative. Not that I didn't participate ein a little tet a tet with our grumpy old Niner fan, but I'd have to say the initiation of violent behavior was all on him. In the second half, Frank Gore fumbled on the goal line and a 330 lb. lineman scooped up the ball and ran the length of the field for an impressive touchdown. Needless to say, Piggy and I and every other Eagle fan in the pace (of which there were many) went absolutely nuts! During this process, a little beer splashed on old growly and I immediately offered him some napkins ans to buy him a beer with my apologies, but he seemed to take it as intentional and stood up demanding that I move, shut up, go to hell and fuck off in no real order. I tried to laugh it off, dissuade him, get his friends to corral him and ignore him and finally told him to shut his geriatric ass up and watch the game before he got us both thrown out. His response, apparently was to punch me in the stomach when I was looking at his seatmates for a little help. It didn't hurt, I laughed "did you just hit me?" and that didn't make him much happier. By this time his buddy returned and sat him down and about the whole section apologized for him being a jackass. If it wasn't so surreal, it might have put a severe damper on the day, but as it stood, I still had a great time. This did not stop him from getting off a "menacing" final message to me as he left with him team down about 30 points eluding to "meeting me in the parking lot" and "showing me just how geriatric his ass was". I waved him on and later thought it funny that he wanted to show me his ass in a parking lot...but it is San Francisco. (OK, I'm going to hell for that.) Perhaps the "geriatric" comment was out of line but he was half my size and weight and I don't think he realized how close he was to taking a trip over the top rail if he started anything. I get in the wierdest situations.

Anyway, besides a rabid nearly 60 year old half-badger half-fair weather fan it was a killer day and Piggy and I really enjoyed it. The old fantasy football league and KCoL Pick 'Em Football is going great too, so if you are playing, keep up the good work!

Friday, September 22, 2006

Cheesesteak Birds of Prey versus Gold Rush Mining Enthusiasts: This Weekend Only!!

Well, as a half-birthday suprise for my favorite Piggy I Craig'slisted (I think that is how they write it out here) a pair of upper level tickets to this weekend's Niners/Eagles game. While she is the Philly superfan (The sudden prospect of Philly in double playoffs does my job for me at home, let me assure you.) I am pretty enthusiastic about this game A) Because its Pro Football and B) Because both of these teams that were duds last year are looking like equally matched STUDS this year. It will be interesting to see if Alex Smith, Antonio Bryant and Frank Gore can penetrate the defense of the Eagles and if McNabb, Westbrook and Stahlworth (Ex-N.O. WR) can nail it down on the road. The NFC East will be a tough one this year, so I know every win counts for them.

Lets see, other updates:
1. The IRS will try to charge you twice. I paid a refigured tax estimate for 2004 a year or so back and the IRS decided I needed to be tracked town aobut it today. It caught me on a bad day and I really blew up (scaring my entire apartment complex I'm sure) but I had just finished paying quarterly tax estimates on the lines of about 7 grand that week and did not want to see my meager bank account depleted further by our "screw the middle class" tax system. When I calmed down and called them a few days later, they noted they had "researched further" and found that it had been taken care of. Real confidence inspiring huh? What if you sent that stuff to someone that was broke and suicidal? A shame you didn't look in the "paid" or "unpaid" checkbox before sending out more forms to validate your job's exisitance. On another note, a parential "oopsie" still haunts me as the SS Admin dosen't want to help me change my birthday back to its correct year. Crazy guys think I want to be older.
2. Vegas again. Nice corporate meeting in Las Vegas. Henderson, actually, at the lovely Green Valley Ranch property. If you havn't seen Vegas lately, this is part of the new face. Its not 3.99 prime rib and cheap glam. They are world class and they expect you to pay for it. Sure, there are a some old standard "trailer park" properties but revamps like Green Valley are showing of massive pool complexes, multiple tiers of top end resturants and lounges and entertainment that is no longer "where it goes to die" but people making serious fiscal decisions to set up regular gigs in Lost Wages. They are a Station Casino property, known for middle of the road places that were "acceptable" on most levels but have taken a Wal-Mart-esque approach to setting up bigger and better ourside of the city limits. GVR and Red Rock being their top spots. 3. Ah poker. Love to love it and hate to hate it and I do both some days. Still net positive but some ugly beats lately have me squirming. Grrr. That hasn't stopped people from wanting my opinion however, check out the community section of "Life's A Bluff" for my article on why massive changes to the WSOP would be wrong. www.lifesabluff.com

That is all my short term memory will divulge for now. Back to work.