Monday, July 17, 2006

Sleepy Vegas

"Here's Debbie Gibson naked," Grubby said as he handed me a copy of her nude photo shoot in Playboy.

"Cool," I said as I ogled her boobs. "I used to have a crush on her when I was 13."

Grubby was in the process of throwing out bags and bags of garbage. One bag in particular held copies of old poker magazines and Playboys. He's moving to Chicago on Wednesday to take a new job as Change100 moved in last night. I lost one roommate and I gained another.

Grubby and I headed over to Green Valley Ranch to eat at the Grand Cafe. They offer slices of pie for $5, which is the equivalent of two slices. But they sell pies for $20-$22, which is an amazing deal. Grubby has racked up over $250 in food comps and he picked up the breakfast tab on Sunday. I'm gonna miss eating free meals with Grubby in Las Vegas.

I also lost Grubby's car in a prop bet. If you don't know, I won his car earlier this week. We gambled on the opening weekend gross of Pirates of the Caribbean II. I said it would gross more than Spiderman and I was right. The prize... Grubby's car.

Since then I used his car in another big bet. I had a prop bet with Wil Wheaton. The final table of the $50,000 HORSE featured some of the best poker players in the world. He picked Phil Ivey to win. I took Chip Reese. Ivey finished in third, while Chip went on to win. If I lost, I would have given Wil the pink slip to Grubby's car. Since I won, I get the 2007 residual checks from Stand By Me. Just so you know, both the car and residuals are not very much.

Anyway, inside of a ten day period, I nailed bets on Italy winning the World Cup. I won a shitload of cash on the American League winning the All Star Game. Then I picked up Grubby's car and Wil's residuals. I was on a rush, then I lost Grubby's car in another bet.

Grubby and I had a second bet on the second weekend of Pirates of the Caribbean II. I lost since it grossed more than I said it would. If I won, I would have gotten Grubby's $900 couch and his TV. As is, the car is back in his possession.

On the poker front, I'm playing in my first WSOP event today at Noon. I played in two last year so I'm eager to go deep in this year's event. Pot Limit Omaha is much different from the poker you see on TV. The game is dominated by Europeans, but I like my chance in a smaller field. Wish me luck... and send out good vibes to me all afternoon. I'm gonna need it!

* * * * *

It's been 110+ degrees the past few weeks. I should have been angry especially when I was caught in hellacious traffic on 215 headed towards the Strip the other day. It was basically at a standstill but I wasn't on tilt like I normally am under awful traffic conditions. I had the Grateful Dead to keep me happy. I haven't listened to them since I left for Las Vegas. It's hard to be in a bad mood whenever I heard Jerry Gracia plays his guitar. It was a bootleg from 1977, which is my favorite era of the Dead.

Wil Wheaton played in a few WSOP events for Team Poker Stars. He's also working for Poker Stars Blog, which is also run by Otis. Wil's been posting some of his best writing (and poker writing) to date on Poker Stars Blog. Stop by and read what he's been doing. I'm impressed with how he's been able to capture the atmosphere of the WSOP.

The other cool part of Wil doing the writing over there is that means he'll be spending more time in Las Vegas. I get to see him everyday and hang out. We've developed a unique friendship over the past year or so and get to hang out on sporadic occasions, usually when I got to Hollyweird. Just being able to have a pint with him and talk about writing has helped keep me sane.

* * * * *

In the past five weeks, I've gotten the least amount of sleep than I can recall. Last year I rarely slept during the WSOP but that was because of the 16-20 hour days at the Rio. I wasn't partying much and my body adjusted. The past five weeks have also inlcuded serious binges and lots of air travel. I'm shocked that I haven't gotten sick yet. I was so exhausted that I went to bed before Midnight on Saturday. I popped a Xanax and slept until 7am. I wrote for two hours then went back to sleep for three more hours. I haven't had seven straight hours of sleep at all this year. It felt good to finally catch up. My goal is to get another 8-10 hours later this week.

BG commented that I've been in a much better headspace this year as compared to last year. Part of that is because I got paid a ridiculous amount of money up front to cover the WSOP. Well paid employees are happy employees. The work load is much lighter and I don't have deadlines looming over me everyday. Last year, I was writing for 5-6 different organziations and everyday I had to put in a long day at t he Rio, then come home and write for 3-4 hours to meet my deadlines.

Living in Henderson and away from the city of Las Vegas has been a blessing. I can still see the minous light from Luxor, but I have an amazing view of the mountians. I'm not a fan of the commute and I wished they had subways. But being away from the casinos keeps me sane. When I breathe too much casino oxygen and are around gamblers all the time, my mind tends to get warped and fried. Vegas can kill your soul and turn your brain and wallet into Swiss cheese.

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