Leaving Las Vegas - In the money

Just got back from a four day trip to Las Vegas. Every year I go out to stay with my brother when he is working at the National Finals Rodeo; you can't beat a free hotel room and rental car. Played 5 poker tournaments, with 3 cashes. The results?

Sun - Rio noon tourney - 3rd
Sun PM - Orleans HORSE tourney - 7th
Mon - Binions 10 am - 8th
Mon PM - Caesers 10 pm - 3rd $420
Tues - Rio 6 pm - chopped 1st $160
Weds - Mirage 11 am - 5th $196

I was beginning to doubt myself about my poker playing lately. It's been a while since I have cashed in a tournament, so I feel really good going forward. Made some great plays and great reads, and yes, got a little lucky here and there. Since when does luck not factor in the game? Everyone who goes deep in a tournament has to get lucky once or twice during the tournament. So I ain't complainin!

A few memorable hands:

Late in the Tuesday Rio tournament, we were down to 4. I'm getting short stacked and waiting to shove the rest of my chips in. I'm in the big blind with 95 offsuit, UTG called and SB just called. Flop was 9-2-9, with 2 hearts. I shove, UTG calls, SB goes all in. I figure someone is on a flush draw, but hold on a sec. UTG had 77, and SB had slow played AA. No hearts anywhere! I triple up, 3 minutes later I knock out 4th, and chop a little later. Lucky SB didn't raise with his aces. I never would have been in the hand.

At the Mirage, it's pretty early in the tournament. There are 3 or 4 Germans at my table, with 2 immediately to my left. Don't know what was going on, but I figured there were about 10 Germans there playing in the tournament. Anyway, I'm on the button with K5 of hearts, and it's 4 ways to the flop with the 2 German guys to my left in the blinds. The flop is Q-8-2 and two hearts. SB bets $500, BB calls, MP folds, then its to me. I had won several hands previous to this, and I could afford the 500, so I call. Turn is a 10 of hearts. Sweet! SB bets $500, BB calls, I go all in. I figured both would fold and I would get a nice pot. They both call!! SB has AQ, with top pair and the Ace of hearts for the nut flush redraw. BB flopped a set of 8's. All I have to do is dodge any heart or paired board. River is a blank, and I win a huge pot. That helps me get all the way to 5th. A great tournament!

At the Caesers, I'm in the SB with KQ of spades. 5 way unraised pot, we see a flop of A-J-4, with the AJ of spades. I have a Royal Flush draw and I'm sending out mental shouts, "DON'T BET"! As aggressive as this table has been, my jaw hits the felt when it gets checks around. The magical 10 of spades hits the turn, and I'm sending out mental shouts again. This time it's, "SOMEONE PLEASE BET"! No one bites, and the river is meaningless. I bite my lip and check. Aggressive players all around the table, someone has to bet, right? Finally someone bets $600. I raise to $1200, but everyone folds. I have to show, of course. Then everyone starts saying I get $500 bucks extra, but they were just kidding me. That's only in the cash games.

Overall had a great time. Now I have to wait 'til June...and the World Series!

Who's in Charge?

So Rick Perry is running for President. The Lieutenant Governor runs the state when Perry is out of the state. The Lieutenant Governor is David Dewhurst.

Oh wait, Dewhurst is running for the U.S. Senate. So, according to the Texas Constitution, that means that the President ProTem of the Senate runs Texas when both the Governor and Lt. Governor are out of the state. The President ProTem of the Senate is Sen. Mike Jackson, (R) of LaPorte.

Sen. Mike Jackson, a politician that Texas Monthly, in a recent article on the Best and Worst Legislators of Texas, labeled "Furniture". According to them, the term "furniture" was born "to describe those lawmakers whose level of participation in the legislative process was indistinguishable from that of their desks and chairs".

Is that who's running our state? Why, yes. Yes it is.

Rick Perry for President???

hubris - hyoo-bris (n) excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.


Whenever I read an article on Rick Perry these days, I am reminded of a saying I heard my father-in-law use one time when speaking about someone. He said, "if his lips are moving, he must be lying".


I am amazed by the crap that comes out of Perry's mouth these days. I think the defining moment of this was when I read in the Dallas Morning News yesterday morning. Perry, when addressing his "prayer event", said, "Our hearts break for those who suffer....those who have lost jobs, lost their homes, people who have lost hope".


WHAT??


For Rick Perry to even think those words, much less have them eminate from his lying mouth, is almost too much to take. Rick Perry's arrogance is staggering. Examples:

He passes a budget that cuts school funding by $4 billion over the next two years, then spouts off at a news conference and says, "The lieutenant governor, the speaker, their colleagues aren't going to hire or fire one teacher, as best I can tell. That is a local decision that will be made at the local districts."

The budget cuts basic aid and state grants to school districts, eliminates more that 5,700 jobs at state agencies and universities, all the while there is more than $9.7 billion sitting in a rainy day fund. Then he has the arrogance to tell people attending the August 6th "prayer event" at Reliant Stadium in Houston that, "Our hearts break for those who suffer....those who have lost jobs, lost their homes, people who have lost hope".

Speaking of that "prayer event". It was sponsored by The American Family Association. Sounds good, right? I mean, America, family values, all that stuff? Mmmmm..... not so much.

A spokesman for the Association asserts that the Nazi Party was founded by gays.

Another sponser was the International House of Prayer, whose founder has called on Christians to use "spiritual warefare" against legalized abortion and gay rights.

Some invited guests? How about San Antonio televangelist John Hagee, who has called the Catholic Church "the whore of Babylon" and said Hurricane Katrina was "the curse of God" on a sinful New Orleans. Or how about Mike Bickle, founder of the International House of Prayer, who has said that Oprah Winfrey is the precursor to the Antichrist?

Perry said last month it was not fair to tie him to all the event's participants. I wonder if he said that back in 2008, when all the Republicans had their hair on fire calling for President Obama to denounce Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor at Obama's church that had said, "blacks should not sing "God Bless America" but "God damn America."

Guilt by association, Governor.

Perry said after he was elected last year that he was not going to run for President. He said, 'I have the best job in the world. Being Governor of Texas". Today he announced his nomination. Wonder what changed his mind? Could it be that the budget he signed off on was written so that the deepest cuts won't take place until the second year of the budget cycle, which starts just over two months before the November 2012 elections? He'll be long gone from Texas before then.  

I'm not sure if I'm happy or glad that he is running for president. I'm glad he'll be gone from Texas, but I'm scared to death if he is elected.

Perry has said he wants to "minister" to America as president.

Be afraid, America. Be very afraid.

At least Bush went to Yale

Rick Perry's transcripts from Texas A & M were leaked on Saturday. The results:

2 A's
20 B's
27 C's
9 D's

and graduated with a 2.2 GPA

...wow

Poker can be boring.....

....so people invent stuff to do with their chips. Thus, the picture below from this year's World Series of Poker (That's Bryan Devonshire).

Photo courtesy of Hard Boiled Poker. A great blog on poker and life you should all check out at
http://www.hardboiledpoker.blogspot.com/

On Sunday in the Dallas Morning News, there was an article detailing the growth of the Chickasaw Nation and the casinos that they own. A couple of things jumped out at me:

1 - Winstar World Casino, at exit 1 just across the border from Texas, is the third largest casino in the world, employs 2,800 workers and pulls in more than half a billion dollars a year....90-95 percent from Texas.

2 - 238 tribes now own casinos in 38 states. The revenue - $26,000,000,000.00

Yeah, that's $26 billion.

I have just one question for the Republicans and their King in the Governor's mansion...

..... how are those budget cuts coming?

Rob Kohler is an idiot

Rob Kohler of the Christian Life Comission, said in an article in the Dallas Morning News, that "the only people who win at this (gaming) are the owners of the casinos. The billions that they promise come from thousands of poor or struggling people, and their hardships are rarely heard."

I wonder if he says the same thing about the Texas Lottery.

He goes on to compare people who enjoy gambling to criminals who steal their wife's credit card.

Hey Rob, maybe, oh I don't know, maybe "thousands of people are poor and struggling" because legislators are cutting thousands of state and teaching jobs. I'm not sure what Rob's solution to the $18 billion shortfall in the budget would be, but he better hurry up and come up with a solution.

Hypocrites

According to www.thankyoutexas.com, Texans spend more than $2.5 billion dollars gambling in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico. $2.5 billion. But hey, that's okay. Texas politicians would rather cut thousands of teaching jobs than have casinos here in Texas. At least we have our priorities, right?

By the way, be sure and buy your lottery ticket tonight. Tonight's jackpot is worth $11.9 million. We support education!!

Rep. Mendendez, meet Snowball

With the November elections behind us and Republicans having a complete stranglehold of the state government, Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio appears to be the only one fighting for poker players in Texas. Rep. Menendez has introduced HB 382, a bill to approve and legislate poker in Texas. Rep. Menendez and Rep. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston appear to be the only ones who are trying to raise money rather than stop losing money.

With news today of the State cutting over 8000 state jobs in the new budget, apparently the Republicans would rather have 8000 people lose their livelihood than piss off the Baptists. I hope Suzii Painter can sleep better at night knowing thousands of people are going hungry rather than have a few casinos in Texas.

I'm sure that this is only the first of job cuts in Texas due to the economy, but fear not. I'm sure King Rick Perry and Suzi will lead us to the promised land. Its just that some of us won't get there with you.

We had to sell our car to pay for groceries.