Atlantis Recap...Kinda Late

Quote of the Day

"I wouldn't mind dying -- its that business of having to stay dead that scares the shit out of me."
-R. Geis


the trip was interesting as soon as i landed in miami. there were a slew of poker players there going to nassau. on the flight i sat next to a semi known pro, whose name i will not disclose. i've played with him before, and although he's a nice guy...he smells like a mix of rotten milk and with rotten fish. thankfully the flight was short. in the row ahead of me...was dario minieri which would have been interesting to strike up a conversation with. oh well.

as i got off the plane, and got some much needed bahamian fresh air, i ran into victor ramdin who was coming off another plane. he and my dad are old friends from new york, so we got to catch up. he was with amnon filipi, who ordered a limo to the resort. victor invited me to come along...so how could i refuse?

i got to the resort and waited for the players party to start up. it was pretty cool, but it was difficult to meet people that i've played with. i decided to make a visor with "whaassuuppp" on it, and it drew a couple conversations with online opponents. it was a bit annoying because every time i try to introduce myself to a new player, and tell them my online name, they just think i'm saying hello. many conversations were as followed...

them: hi, i'm ______ on stars. its nice to meet you.
me: i'm whaassuuppp. nice to meet ya.
them: whats up to you too.
me: no, no...that's my name on stars.
them: huh?
me: that's my name on stars.
them: oooooohhhhhh.
me: (thinking to myself) did i really have to create my poker name from those budweiser commercials from 2000? i couldn't have thought of anything more creative or witty? sigh.

after the party, i called it an early night. the next day the tourny started and it was going along fine, until about the 3rd level. i had aces in the cutoff, and make a standard 3x raise. small blind called. flop came j,10,2 with two clubs, he check raised, and i was sick. there were no reads on this guy, and i sat for 4 minutes not sure what to do. i basically shoved, and he turned over jj...and i was done. i went around asking very good tourny pro's what they would have done, and they all had the same answer. they would have called the flop, and got it in on a non scare turn. which i found enlightening, that they would all say the same thing. so i'll remember that for next time. if i did do that, turn was 5h, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway, but still a good learning lesson.

after the tourny i didn't want to play poker at all. i just wanted to enjoy the resort and the amenities. and that's what i did. got a massage one day, did the dolphin encounter another...did the water park a couple days, and went to nice restaurants during the week.

there was also a $2500 battleship HU side event. i was really excited for it. i feel confident playing heads up with just about anyone, and enjoy the challenge of playing good players. i really try to get into the head of my opponent, and its something i wish i did better in my mtt game. first round i played acespades11, who is a very good mtt player. i made some adjustments during his game, and hit a couple of hands, and ended up winning. my next opponent was bbbbb33. i've played him a few times online, and had some familiarity with his game. i went card dead, and every move i tried didn't work....but....i won a few all ins and ended up winning that match. now there were 16 left, and top 8 got paid. so it was the money round, and i draw bigredak. who i know is another solid tourny player. i lost a big pot early, and got a huge double up with i had jj vs. his 10's. then i had kk on the button raise, he calls. flop comes 654, with 2 hearts. i also have the Kh. he check raises, and again im sick, but i have to shove. he calls with 77. the turn was such a great card...2h. so here it is...one card away from the money! all i have to do is dodge a non heart 8,7,3....................................................7 of spades hits the river, and i go down 3-1. i then get all in with AJ vs. A2 to get back to even, and a 2 hit the turn, and i was done. oh well. guess there's always next year.

the trip was really a great time, and i will try to make it a yearly thing. hopefully with elite in sight, i don't have to play any more satellites to get in. atlantis is really a world class resort, and i commend everyone involved. from the pokerstars staff, to the atlantis staff. everyone is so friendly there, you wouldn't believe it. which brings me to my housekeeper...

everyday i would come out of my room around noon and see her. i would always exchange pleasantries with her. i would joke around with her and ask her if she would make it to the water park on that day. she always laughed it off. so as the days went on i continued asking. i always got the same answer, "oh no sir, thank you though." the day before i left i asked her if she had ever been to the water park, and she told me no. i was shocked. she was about 30 years old and told me she worked there for 10 years and has three kids. the whole thing didn't make any sense to me. so i asked her, "why not??" she simply replied, "its too expensive."

again i was in shock, because i would have thought the water park would have been free for employees, or at least at a big discounted rate. she didn't know how much it was to go, so i made a couple phone calls. i found out it was $50 for employees to go. i think its $80 regular price for locals. and it was $30 for her kids to go. so on the last day before i was ready to leave my room for the last time...i packed up my things in my suitcase, and went outside into the hall. there was mia, and her well wishes for me and my trip. i went up to her, and told her she was an extremely friendly person, very genuine, and i appreciated it...and her on a day off, take her kids to the water park, and enjoy it...and handed her $150. she came up to me with a tear in her eye, and said "thank you so much sir", and gave me a hug. i tried to get a gift certificate for her, but was not allowed to. I hope she went with her kids on her day off...but i'm glad i helped in any case.

i know this was just a small token of appreciation from me, but it was pretty meaningful. again this is something i debated whether to write about or not, but i want to illustrate the point that there are so many people struggling. there are many different ways that people could be helped. if this will inspire one person to do donate to a charity, or volunteer their time in an organization, or just helping out a neighbor...then its worth me writing about.

I failed you

Quote of the day

"In the land of predators, the lion never fears the jackal ."
-Dexter

i admit it. i have been MIA. there has been an APB out on me. i know...i know. all i can do is apologize, and come back. the year has been full of interesting events and stories, so i'll try my best to break it down.

first off there was atlantis in january (which i actually wrote after the tourny ended, but never posted it.) whoops! i'll give it a day or so until i post it.