As I’ve said in other articles, I love poker because it allows world travel to be a fun and lucrative venture. For instance, last month I grabbed my backpack and drove over to the University of Miami to pickup one of the girls I’ve been seeing and have lunch. We wandered around sampling all the really good South American food from the little shops nearby. After a couple hours, I told her I had to catch a flight to Atlantic City for a big poker tournament that weekend. I took off intending to take I-95 to the airport, but then I had a better idea.
I drove past the Marquis building to see the “condo up in Biscayne” that Drake always raps about, then I drove over to Key Biscayne to see the kind of houses I’m shooting for. After a little while I decided I wanted to take the scenic route aka Florida State Road A1A along the East Coast all the way to the Fort Lauderdale International Airport parking garage. Then I jumped out of the car and hopped on a flight to Atlantic City.
On the flight I read “Secrets of Short-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha” by Rolf Slotbloom because it’s important for me to do my homework off the table. I was about halfway through when I landed at midnight and had to figure out a way to get over Harrah’s. I walked out of the airport and all I saw was about 12 limos and a bus called a “Jitney.” I asked the locals where the cabs were and they laughed and said just take the Jitney. So after a little more confused conversation I learned that a Jitney is a mini-bus that will take you anywhere you want to go in Atlantic City for $2.25.
On the bus I struck up a conversation with one of the locals. He ended up telling me, “Son, if you walk on Atlantic Ave after 10PM – YOU WILL GET SHOT!” There wasn’t much explanation after that. Needless to say, I didn’t walk on Atlantic Ave after 10PM. Anyway, all the major casinos were booked but I ended up finding a little hotel somewhere on Pacific Ave and managed to get some sleep.
Thursday: I woke up early and walked over to the boardwalk. From there I walked past the Caesar’s Pier, had lunch at a sub shop, walked past the Steel Pier, and then walked over to the Borgata to play 5/10NL for the afternoon.
Friday: I wandered past the Miss America Parade, entered $560 PLO8 event, and busted – very tilting. It was even more tilting because busting late on day one caused me to miss the Lil Jon party at MurMur – with all the Miss America girls there (#LifeTilt).
Saturday: I played 5/10NL again.
Sunday: I played the Borgata Main and made day two. Then I ran into my friend from Minnesota, Chris “Fox” Wallace. You know, the guy that won the 10K H.O.R.S.E. bracelet this summer. We had dinner and he was like, “Wanna do an interview for PokerNews?” I’m not one to say no to self-promotion, so I did an interview with him basically explaining why Miami is the greatest place on earth and I’m never leaving.
Monday: I busted the Borgata Main, took a Jitney over to the world famous White House Subs shop and had a sandwich. It wasn’t anything mind-blowing. While I’m having a sandwich, Red Chip Poker’s finest, Christian “Chinster” Soto, texted me and said to take a Greyhound up to New York so we could hangout. I had never been to New York, so I couldn’t really say no.
I arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and was promptly picked up by Christian and his GF. They took me across the Hudson so I could see the NYC skyline (which is pretty cool for a guy that grew up in a small town in Minnesota). Then we went to a local bar and they introduced me to Angry Orchard beer. It’s basically just regular beer, with a hint of apple cider, served in a “Thor God of Thunder” sized glass – pretty solid with some quesadillas.
Tuesday: Christian took me to Times Square, the top of the Rockefeller building, the 9/11 Memorial, and over to an underground game poker game (Teddy KGB wasn’t present due to the lack of Oreos). We both got crushed. Still a fun experience though.
Wednesday: I got enough coaching from Christian that I could figure out the subway system and get over to Central Park. I had fun getting lost several times and running into landmarks that I’d seen in movies. Eventually Christian texted me and said we needed to go to another poker game. We both got crushed again. I’m not sure about these games…
Friday: Christian and his friend Anton took me to Parx Casino in Pennsylvania. The games were so good that we decided to stay the weekend. Consequently, I won enough money to make up for all of my tournament bustouts and the poor cash game sessions earlier in the week.
Total cost for the trip: $1,300
Dollars won during trip: $1,500
Net: +$200
Experience: priceless…
You found the Museum of NH boring? And you were bummed because you missed the party at Murmur???
OK. Next time try sitting in the Indonesia room in the Rockefeller exhibition room. A lifetime experience. Jeez.
The Museum of NH minerals exhibit was very interesting. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty boring. Perhaps, I didn’t sleep enough the night before? I’ll keep the Indonesian exhibit in mind next time. Thanks!
Where’s the pokernews interview link?