Another Day in the Office - Part 11

By Neil Channing - July 2005

Wednesday's $1500 nlh shows how arrogant some of these "name" professionals can be. Hassan Habib turns up 95mins late to our table and loses 425 in blinds. In a $1500 tournament this is ridiculous, and spotting the field this sort of edge in a World Championship event is moronic, ego run wild.

On Hassan's second hand I raise to 175 with KK and he calls. A guy from Walsall known as the "Mad Turk" goes all in for 1600. I have slightly less than him. The last time I played with this guy he went all-in for 22k from the small blind on my big when they were 300/600 with K6 and ran into my Kings. They don't call him Mad for nothing. I dwell before calling to suck in Hassan but he passes. The Mad Turk has 88 and when he flops an 8 I have an extra free day to fill.

I decided to go to the place it all started. The Mirage was always the greatest. It was there long before NYNY, The Luxor, The Bellagio, Treasure Island , The Venetian and now The Wynn had even been dreamed up. It was so cool. Bobby Baldwin was one of Steve Wynn's senior execs, and he and Doyle, Chip and the boys would sit in the big game there, while David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth walked around and tried to miss their blinds. The poker was great, the room was packed, and when you got a cocktail they felt you were adult enough to not need a cup-holder and let you keep it on the table with a napkin. Every table had strawberry daquiri stains.

When poker was dying around five years ago and The Bellagio had taken most of their regulars, The Mirage put a Keno lounge in the middle of the poker room taking a quarter of the area. I'm glad to say that thanks to TV and their Pokerzone Tournaments they hold The Mirage room is back on track and the Keno has gone. In the end it was so packed I didn't play there as I couldn't get in a game.

The last couple of days have been a bit lonely as some of my best pals are not here. Some strong invaders like Nick Gibson and The Camel have temporarily retreated making Macarthur like promises to return. Others, such as my good friends Jeff Duval and Dave Barnes, have gotten away with the spoils of war having avoided all the nippers and carried out successful "hit and run" missions.

On the subject of Dave it has come to my attention that certain readers think I'm geniunely suggesting that he's not a great tournament player. Obviously Dave knows I'm only joking with him, and a quick check on The Hendon Mob database shows me he is the 49th best money-winner in Europe . Apparently they don't include Saturday afternoon's in the Vic, but even if they did I may not be able to match that. Dave himself has pointed out that he has now made more WSOP final tables than me, a fact I'm still trying to check out. Anyway all I can say is my share with Dave is the only cash I've had this year and if I can have any other shares with him I'd feel privileged.

Other top European foot soldiers appear to be "missing in action". Gary Jones is rumoured to have returned home. Jac Arama's scooter has probably run out of batteries in the middle of the Mohave desert and Jamie Posner has not left his room at The Bellagio for days.

People say his occupation of his room and the internet poker available there is similar to Howard Hughes in the Desert Inn many years ago. Jamie apparently was so keen to stay in, that he got someone to drop by and cut his hair. On noticing hair clippings around the floor he rung housekeeping and a lady with a Hoover appeared. She then immediately dropped the machine on his $2000 computer and broke it instantly ending his seige. He's now spotted lurking around The Rio looking at computer brochures.

Neil Channing is sponsored by Betusa.com

Click here for part 12