Another Day in the Office - Part 4

By Neil Channing - June 2005

Having got up late on Wednesday I thought I'd pop down and see if Barnsey was still in the Short-Handed hold-'em. He wasn't. He did make the final though causing what Padraig described as "The greatest shock since Foinavon" (100/1 Grand National winner).

Hats off to Dave, I say. People may rush from all corners of London to play him in the cash games but you can't really knock his tournament record, even if he hasn't got a clue. He was also quick to fork over my 2% for $1000. He'd only been out about an hour and was already in a decent looking omaha game. I suggested we go over the Palms for their evening tournament. He liked the idea but had just ordered a coffee so he suggested I take a seat for a while until he'd had his drink. One top set and $1900 later we left for the tornament.

The Palms is a short walk from the Rio ("I told you we should have got a cab Neil. It always looks nearer than it is, I'm an old man", moan,moan.) and they have a small poker festival on (by a strange coincidence). This effectively means they have two daily hold 'em tornaments at noon and 7pm . The noon ones are either a $500 freezout or a $230 with one $200 rebuy, and the 7pm ones are the latter. 200 runners are the norm and the tournaments are well run with a half an hour clock.

I found a loony table and got an early double up. I tripled up with QQ v two lots of AK. On the turn with a King high board and a flush draw around I was down to one out. Can't really remember what happened after that but I know I didn't miss the eleven o'clock 2nd Chance at The Rio.

That one didn't last long for me so I thought I'd get into a one-table satellite(1ts). I've been plaing a few of these now so I ought to give you the lowdown on them. Unlike the old days when the one-tables were based on the game we would be playing the following day, almost all sats are nl hold'em. The buy ins vary from $65 to $1060. You get 1000 chips starting 25/25 with 15min rounds until you get up to $300+juice where you get 1500. If you play the 525 or 1060 you get more chips and 20min rounds. The juice is also much lower relative to the buy-in and the standard of play is not that much better. I would definitely recommend only playing the bigger ones.

I sat in one with Greg Hopkins again (wouldn't have been my choice but otherwise it had a good line-up). In these days of sponsored players a lot of the top players don't need to bother with satellites anymore which makes them even better value. I was able to wrap this one up with no deals for a profit of $4535. We had a side bet of $100 each on who would last longest so that was an extra $500.

It has been unusual so far to find a 1ts which doesn't include Hollywood superstar James Woods. I've played three with him and as well as being a "satellite slug" he's a really nice guy. When playing, the Americans have almost learnt to treat him like a normal person, although off the table he gets a lot of attention. He told me a very funny Paris Hilton story which I can't really recount here and was good company. At one point a guy came up and tried to slip him a business plan for some poker related project. He did a perfect acting job but as soon as the guy went he sighed:

"What do these people want from me, I'm an actor for Christ's sake, they seem to think I'm Warren Buffet."

I laughed when I saw  James and Devilfish trying to chat up the two promotional girls who are selling cigars outside the tournament room. They knew Devilfish from TV poker and were all over him. Dave had to explain to them that "his friend James" was a big Hollywood star. I think they thought it was a line.  

All around the Rio the "TV players" are treated like stars. It seems funny watching Gary Jones get stopped while people get a shot on their camera 'phone. I saw a group of people stop Chris Ferguson the other day. The girls got in a picture with him and the guys got their hats signed. Jesus walked away looking geniunely pleased to be asked. As he got out of earshot I heard one of the guys say:

"I hope he wins something soon so I can sell this on ebay."

Thursday was a fun day but I used up a lot of shoe leather and didn't win a sausage. I started with a relaxing swim in the pool at The Gold Coast. It's not the biggest pool in the world. In fact if a train of Camels arrived at it after 6 days of walking through the Sahara their leader would probably suggested:

"No stopping here, we don't want to ruin our appetites until we get to a proper stop later."

However, like the pool at The Horshoe, most poker players wouldn't be seen dead there so I had a peaceful hour and a quick go in the whirlpool. When the geezer next to me answered his mobile with a "...the turn was a Jack of Hearts" I decided I'd had enough.

I got to The Bellagio in time to be #1 alternate for their 2pm competition. Sun through Thursday is a $540 freezeout and Fri+Sat are $1080. I bumped into Roy "the boy" and we swapped 2%. He was out of the tournament before alternate #1 got a seat.

I didn't last much longer and was soon at the Palms for the 7pm special. Unlike my previous visit there I got a very tough table. Adam Schoenfeld, Garry Bush and Robert Binelli didn't seem that chuffed to see me also. I lost a big pot with KK against AA and got to the Rio for 11pm . I keep playing well in the Late Night tournaments there but have suffered a few beats and tonight I suffered a cold-deck in the blinds.

That gave me a chance to play a very lively 1ts. The five of us in the last longer bet were the only ones left and all could play. One guy had won a big tournament in The Bellagio's April fesival. He called a large bet almost all-in against me holding 33, I had A10. When a broadway straight came on the turn he went mad shouting and swearing at me and the dealer. Although he was quite a big tough looking guy he really annoyed me. I told him he should grow up and try and take it like a man rather than being so childish. If he was going to be a professional poker player he might occasionally lose a 50/50 and if he couldn't take it he should maybe do something else, I added. I also pointed out that it wasn't the dealers fault that he had called to either be even money or 4/1.

Although he didn't seem too pleased to take my advice we played on and he outlasted me. I saw him the next day and he came up to speak to me. He was very friendly and asked me how I was doing. I think he realised he had acted badly. I saw him the next day and he greeted me like an old friend. He was also wearing an Arsenal top so maybe he's not such a bad bloke.

I turned in for the night dreaming of winning the $2000 nlh.

Neil Channing is sponsored by Betusa.com

Click here for part 5