Entertainment (AC Trip Report Pr. 3)
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
As per usual, every hour, my memories of the weekend fade. After Ilan's win, we were all ecstatic. We were all famished and exhausted from the lack of sleep and food, and I found solace in the $1.50 Kit Kat I had purchased before our Saturday gambling party. Seizing the opportunity, I also made my way up to the new room after picking up my bag from the concierge. Randy was already napping. Roose and Robbie Hole got their Zzzzzzzzs in a few minutes before. I sat on one of the beds in the empty room (we had 2 rooms now) and flipped through the channels. My gambling urge was satiated and I was exhausted, but sleep seemed unrealistic at the time. Nonetheless, once transfixed on the X-Games, it was only a matter of time before my eyes shut.
It wasn't an hour later when I heard someone speaking at the top of their voice not 15 feet from me. Whatever was happening, Roose had decided to make a phone call to an apparently deaf person with total disregard for those sleeping. As my eyes openned, I saw Ilan and Robbie Hole were also in the room. Frankly, this was clearly no time for sleep. I was up and alert in 15 seconds. After some discussion on what to do about food (we had dinner reservations in an hour or two but were all hungry) we decided the hold off for dinner. Lord knows what we did until then. I have no recollection whatsoever.
Before dinner, we discovered that our group was going to be a lot smaller than expected. From 13 people sharing 2 rooms, we were reduced to 7. Three guests had canceled and three had arranged to get driven back home at 5 am. Dinner was also shorter, as the three who planned to leave at 5am (Scotty, JR and JR's cousin/driver Juan) were still en route. Instead, Roose, the Holes, Justin, Ilan, Ilan's brother Ari, Ari's friend Brian, and I went to Rifici's.
I almost am hesitant to tell you about Rafici's. It's kind of a family tradition to go there every Christmas Eve. We had decided on it for the bachelor party out of necessity. All of the larger restaurants on the Boardwalk were booked by the time we attempted reservations. Fortunately, Rifici's was amazing. An Asian Robert Goulet sang the classics (and my request, "I Get a Kick Out of You" by Cole Porter) while we drank and ate plentifully. The great thing about Rifici's is that it is not a hotel establishment. It's a neighborhood restauarant in nearby Absecon, NJ with a large interior and a huge menu. We started with some calamari, meatball and bell pepper dish, followed by soup or salad for the table (I went with the Caesar) and entrees (Veal with egglant and mozzarella). Fantastic across the board.
When we returned to the casino, I don't even think we went up to the room. Instead, we went to the craps table. There, Roose, Robbie, Randy Hole and I scattered ourselves along the rail. Randy, who had never played before, was near me. I suggest that this was a good thing. I know what's happening at the table, and unlike Roose and Robbie, my method starts fairly conservative. I bet the minimum Pass and back it up until I've won a couple of bucks. Then I reinvest those bucks on numbers, all the hards (just a dollar) and an occassional field bet. The key, though, is to only put profits on the table.
In 20 minutes we were all walking away from the craps table, up a combined $1200. A black guy on my right was rolling up a storm. Randy crapped out relatively quickly (welcome to craps, baby!) and I went on my own long roll or three. After me, an old lady who looked constantly surprised and scared started to roll like their was no tomorrow. After her, we all knew that we had been on a good roll and it was time to join the crew.
Of course, the order of these events could be all jumbled in my head. Another version of the story would have us play craps before dinner. In fact, after dinned I remember scurrying to the cage for more singles and the bathroom for more...well, relief. When Robbie Hole and I returned to the room, the late arrivals were there along with the rest of the crew. Everyone was sitting around and I figured out quickly that there was another peach-scented presence somewhere nearby. In fact, the strippers were already in the bathroom preparing for the show.
On the car ride home from the restaurant, we had some trouble finding parking. During the drive, Robbie Hole and I decided to get a prop bet going. We'd both choose three names, and if the strippers had any of our chosen names, the winner got paid. I went with Maya, Angel and some other random name. I think I went with a darkhorse Stacey on a hunch. Other names that I considered included Summer, Amber, Dawn, and Cindy. I don't fully recall Hole's choices, but whatever the case, we both lost. I was close though. One was, in fact, a Summer.
The ladies were surprisingly attractive. One had a Paris Hilton with boobs thing going on. The other was a standard pin-up blonde chick, but better quality than your average stripper. Their performances left a bit to be desired by my account, but overall they got the audience into the show. I did hear a few sarcastic grumbles about the girls blatant desire for cash, but that was to be expected.
I've said it before, strippers don't do much for me, moreso than not. After a while, it seemed like they were going through a routine, the exact routine that two other girls went through at my bachelor party a year prior. I was watching the clock and anticipating more gambling. When they ultimately decided to get going (no extras for this class act), I was on my way to the poker room in no time with Robbie Hole in tow.
I should probably mention that on Friday night, Hole gave me the second shirt that he and I designed. I will probably take a picture and post it, but its essentially a superman logo in green with two vertical lines through the "S". So, its' a dollar sign Superman shirt. If you've been reading for a while, you know that the tradition red, yellow and blue Superman shirt was a standard poker uniform for me. It causes people to discount me as a player and I'll often get decent action as a result (sometime, like in the Friday tournament, I forget to account for image). The new shirt is my pride and joy, a one-of-a-kind shirt that is actually creative but also preserves the image of an immature person...which of course I am not...
Anyway, at the poker room, Hole and I went our separate ways. My table was fairly tight and solid. I hate when that happens. I considered moving tables, but I stuck it out once I saw that I could get a feel for the players. I also found the fish.
In one particular hand, I had AJ in MP and raised from 2 to 12. I got one or two callers, and a J-high flop. A player in early position bet out 20 and I considered for a moment before re-raising to 70. I really enjoy the big bets, especially when they have a purpose. The board had two clubs and I wanted to push off any drawing hands. To my surprise, he considered it for a while before calling. The turn was an offsuit Ace. I made my straight. It was checked to me and I bet out $100. I figured to bust the guy or get him off of his hand. I didn't mind winning the pot then and there. He took some more time but folded with a look of disgust in his face. "I'll show you for $1." He tossed me a chip and I tabled my AJ. "I had J6, two pair on the flop." "Tough hand, man." Inside, I smelled bullshit, but it was covered by the scent of money. His $1 went to the dealer along with another from me. Oh, and I planned to show anyway. The $1 just made it fun.
That hand put me ahead $50 or so. Over some more time, I dipped to $20 profit. When the floor came over to change decks, I saw it was time to move on. I was exhausted, it was late, and a break was in order.
When I left the room, I found the rest of the guys by a bar and the surrounding table games. Scotty was playing high-stakes craps, and was kind enough to toss some chips to Robbie Hole and Roose. They both won several hundred before paying Scotty back. Meanwhile, I won and lost $100 playing blackjack at the makeshift table by the bar, and lost $50 playing Roullete. The Holes and I hit up the Pai Gow where I got more Pai Gow than ever before (for you non-pai gow players, that meant that I was constantly dealt crappy hands). However, after some time, I ended up $8.50. I had enough of those silly table games.
We headed upstairs for some refreshments, and the rest of the crew was already there. After some drinks, I discovered that a group was heading to the club. It wasn't really in the cards for me. It was 5am, I was worn out, and I didn't even have any clothes that would fit their dress code. I stayed behind with Robbie Hole and Justin. Before everyone left, I had a chat with Scotty. He offered once again to buy a piece of me in a tournament. We agreed that I would look for a 300-500$ event and he would pay half the buy-in for a 50% stake. He wisely offered the same deal to Roose. I can't wait.
As I hit the sack, I contemplated playing a sit-n-go at the new Borgata Room on Sunday morning. I decided against it. Sunday morning gambling usually is just desperation. Instead, I was going to join Justin for an earlier exit to NYC. I was tired, my stomach was churning, my head ached, and I just felt generally abused, but I had another fantastic time in AC. I was looking forward to getting back to wifey Kim, but in my head I was already planning the next trip.
AC in November, anyone?
posted by Jordan @ 12:14 PM,
3 Comments:
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At 4:07 PM,
Poker4peace said...
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Good trip, good story!
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At 8:18 PM,
GaryC said...
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As always, J, great trip reports! Color me GREEN with envy.
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At 10:46 AM,
slb159 said...
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Fun times at the SNG last night. Sorry JJok wasn't good for you. Thanks for the coaching and maybe I can make the $ next time. We HAVE to do it again soon.
