Aussie Millions Podcast
Due to circumstances going against the flow of the Tao, John Caldwell and I will not be able to do a live radio broadcast. Not to fear! We'll tape the shows live from the floor of the Aussie Millions then upload them over at Poker News and you can download them. Stay tuned for the first episode of Aussie Millions Radio.
Do you have any questions for us to answer on the air? If so shoot me an email and we will answer it on Aussie Millions Radio. Please write Radio Question in the subject matter. If you don't, we won't read it.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Doctah
Jules is quite the personality. She has the moniker "Loud Down Under" for a reason. She loves to talk at an increased volume and I swear that both times I saw her walk around the poker room at the Crown Casino, she knew at least 83.5% of the players and staff. I'm not shitting you.
She introduced me to several local characters like Mickey the Hoon. The term "hoon" is slang for a wild driver or a hooligan or thug. Jules also pointed out a guy named Billy the Croc (he finished second in yesterday's Limit event). Those are just a handful of Aussie gamblers that she knows. When she introduced me to one friend I got my first, "Oh, you're Doc-tah Pauly!"
Just like Boston accents, Aussies drop the "R" sound. Around these parts, I'm "Doc-tah."
And his second comment was, "Is Change100 here?"
That was the second request for Change100 in two days. She's got quite the following in Australia.
On Sunday night, Jules invited me over to her house for dinner. She travels a lot for work and understands what it feels like to have to constantly live in hotels and be away from home. I've been on the road for over two plus years, so I welcomed the opportunity to get some authentic home cooking. She fired up the BBQ and we feasted on steaks with mash potatoes topped with a delicious mushroom and onion wine sauce. I was in heaven and Graham's dog was eying my scraps the entire meal.
After dinner, we headed back to the Crown Casino. I played $2/$3 NL at the same table as Jules and Graham. The wait list was massive, but since everyone knows Jules, she got us bumped to the top of the list. The buy in was $200 and there's a $5 time charge and the rake is up to $8 max. Yikes.
The best part about playing poker in Australia is that it's illegal to tip the dealers. If you toss a buck at them, they'll politely decline it and give it back to you. If anything, you save a few bucks over the long haul. The bad part is that drinks are not free. Only for high rollers. So you have to pay for beers. Jules knocked back several glasses of champagne and attempted to tilt the table with her incessant chatter.
There were a couple of decent players and a slew of terrible ones. On a board with four overcards and a flush showing, a kid called with just a pair of sixes. He said it was a "tilt call" but suspected a bluff from the guy who re-raised him 3x his original bet on the river. Unreal.
I lost most of my stack early on when I defended my big blind with J-10s to a $15 preflop raise. I flopped and open-ended straight draw and check-raised the original raiser. He smooth called. He only had a few chips left and I put him all in on the turn after I picked up a flush redraw. He flipped over A-A. Yikes. I missed my draws and was crippled.
I saw a lot of flops but was totally card dead and not able to make too many moves. I eventually rebought and then lost more of my stack when I missed a flush draw and gutshot against the other chick at the table. She had turned two pair and I was back to being a shortstack.
Graham went on a rush despite the fact he had been bogged down in a brutal losing streak the last few months. Jules won a big hand when she doubled up with a set of Queens.
Around 1am, I was super tired and knew I'd have to get up at 5am to watch the Jets playoff game. I pushed all in for the rest of my chips with 9-9. Guy who just sat down at the table woke up to Q-Q and I got felted. The good thing about dropping two buy-ins is that after the conversion rate, the loss wasn't that bad. Of course I hit the craps table on the way out to try to get unstuck. No such luck.
I woke up for the Jets and they looked decent in the first half then blew it in the second half. Oh well. They never should have made it that far. I watched all four playoff games. The sports book had them going on and I could watch them on the TV in my room. The playoff games on NBC were fed through ESPN and the games on Fox were on one of the two Fox Sports stations. One of the Fox stations was broadcasting cricket and for the life of me, I can't figure that game out.
I've been chatting with plenty of locals and getting fantastic stories about the poker scene in Australia along with some hilarious tales involving punters. That's slang for gamblers. Australia is a sporting nation with a rich history of gambling engrained in their culture. Originally it was horse racing and the Melbourne Cup is national holiday. Yes, people get off for a friggin' horse race.
During a wave of immigration in the 1950s, plenty of Greek and Italians came over and they started playing a game called Manila or Two Card Manila. It was Australia's version of Hold'em and The Poker Shrink has a great explanation of Manila on his blog. Eventually casinos and sportsbetting were legalized. But along the way, just like in America, a criminal element lurked behind the scenes in the early days of gambling's infancy.
The best story I heard all day involved a sports bettor who paid off a jockey to lose a race. For whatever reason the jockey didn't lose on purpose and ended up winning. The punter lost a ton of cash on the race and was obviously super pissed with the jockey. He eventually tracked down the jockey, roughed him up a little, then hung him upside out the door of a helicopter as it circled around Sydney Harbor. The jockey quickly understood the ramifications of not throwing the race. On his very next race... the jockey promptly lost.
I shall return tomorrow with more Australian gambling lore. For now, check out the latest piece I wrote about Day 2 of the Aussie Millions. Keep checking back for live updates via Poker News.
Also, take a peek at this cool video (shot and edited by Justin Shronk) which includes some of the new Hand in Depth next generation technology that Poker News introduced this week.
If you are viewing this via Bloglines or a RSS feed, you need to click here to view the video.
Jules is quite the personality. She has the moniker "Loud Down Under" for a reason. She loves to talk at an increased volume and I swear that both times I saw her walk around the poker room at the Crown Casino, she knew at least 83.5% of the players and staff. I'm not shitting you.
She introduced me to several local characters like Mickey the Hoon. The term "hoon" is slang for a wild driver or a hooligan or thug. Jules also pointed out a guy named Billy the Croc (he finished second in yesterday's Limit event). Those are just a handful of Aussie gamblers that she knows. When she introduced me to one friend I got my first, "Oh, you're Doc-tah Pauly!"
Just like Boston accents, Aussies drop the "R" sound. Around these parts, I'm "Doc-tah."
And his second comment was, "Is Change100 here?"
That was the second request for Change100 in two days. She's got quite the following in Australia.
On Sunday night, Jules invited me over to her house for dinner. She travels a lot for work and understands what it feels like to have to constantly live in hotels and be away from home. I've been on the road for over two plus years, so I welcomed the opportunity to get some authentic home cooking. She fired up the BBQ and we feasted on steaks with mash potatoes topped with a delicious mushroom and onion wine sauce. I was in heaven and Graham's dog was eying my scraps the entire meal.
After dinner, we headed back to the Crown Casino. I played $2/$3 NL at the same table as Jules and Graham. The wait list was massive, but since everyone knows Jules, she got us bumped to the top of the list. The buy in was $200 and there's a $5 time charge and the rake is up to $8 max. Yikes.
The best part about playing poker in Australia is that it's illegal to tip the dealers. If you toss a buck at them, they'll politely decline it and give it back to you. If anything, you save a few bucks over the long haul. The bad part is that drinks are not free. Only for high rollers. So you have to pay for beers. Jules knocked back several glasses of champagne and attempted to tilt the table with her incessant chatter.
There were a couple of decent players and a slew of terrible ones. On a board with four overcards and a flush showing, a kid called with just a pair of sixes. He said it was a "tilt call" but suspected a bluff from the guy who re-raised him 3x his original bet on the river. Unreal.
I lost most of my stack early on when I defended my big blind with J-10s to a $15 preflop raise. I flopped and open-ended straight draw and check-raised the original raiser. He smooth called. He only had a few chips left and I put him all in on the turn after I picked up a flush redraw. He flipped over A-A. Yikes. I missed my draws and was crippled.
I saw a lot of flops but was totally card dead and not able to make too many moves. I eventually rebought and then lost more of my stack when I missed a flush draw and gutshot against the other chick at the table. She had turned two pair and I was back to being a shortstack.
Graham went on a rush despite the fact he had been bogged down in a brutal losing streak the last few months. Jules won a big hand when she doubled up with a set of Queens.
Around 1am, I was super tired and knew I'd have to get up at 5am to watch the Jets playoff game. I pushed all in for the rest of my chips with 9-9. Guy who just sat down at the table woke up to Q-Q and I got felted. The good thing about dropping two buy-ins is that after the conversion rate, the loss wasn't that bad. Of course I hit the craps table on the way out to try to get unstuck. No such luck.
I woke up for the Jets and they looked decent in the first half then blew it in the second half. Oh well. They never should have made it that far. I watched all four playoff games. The sports book had them going on and I could watch them on the TV in my room. The playoff games on NBC were fed through ESPN and the games on Fox were on one of the two Fox Sports stations. One of the Fox stations was broadcasting cricket and for the life of me, I can't figure that game out.
I've been chatting with plenty of locals and getting fantastic stories about the poker scene in Australia along with some hilarious tales involving punters. That's slang for gamblers. Australia is a sporting nation with a rich history of gambling engrained in their culture. Originally it was horse racing and the Melbourne Cup is national holiday. Yes, people get off for a friggin' horse race.
During a wave of immigration in the 1950s, plenty of Greek and Italians came over and they started playing a game called Manila or Two Card Manila. It was Australia's version of Hold'em and The Poker Shrink has a great explanation of Manila on his blog. Eventually casinos and sportsbetting were legalized. But along the way, just like in America, a criminal element lurked behind the scenes in the early days of gambling's infancy.
The best story I heard all day involved a sports bettor who paid off a jockey to lose a race. For whatever reason the jockey didn't lose on purpose and ended up winning. The punter lost a ton of cash on the race and was obviously super pissed with the jockey. He eventually tracked down the jockey, roughed him up a little, then hung him upside out the door of a helicopter as it circled around Sydney Harbor. The jockey quickly understood the ramifications of not throwing the race. On his very next race... the jockey promptly lost.
I shall return tomorrow with more Australian gambling lore. For now, check out the latest piece I wrote about Day 2 of the Aussie Millions. Keep checking back for live updates via Poker News.
Also, take a peek at this cool video (shot and edited by Justin Shronk) which includes some of the new Hand in Depth next generation technology that Poker News introduced this week.
If you are viewing this via Bloglines or a RSS feed, you need to click here to view the video.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Sunday Pimp
Check out Otis' coverage of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Grubby is the latest blogger to get gobbled up by the Poker Works Junta. Take a peek at his new digs.
My first piece is up at Poker News. Take a peek at Aussie Arrival.
And don't forget to check in for Live Updates at the Aussie Millions. Event #2 $1K Limit started a few hours ago and the final table for Event #1 is underway.
And here's a great interview with John Caldwell and Shannon Elizabeth:
If you are viewing this through a RSS feed or Bloglines, click here to view the You Tube video.
Check out Otis' coverage of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Grubby is the latest blogger to get gobbled up by the Poker Works Junta. Take a peek at his new digs.
My first piece is up at Poker News. Take a peek at Aussie Arrival.
And don't forget to check in for Live Updates at the Aussie Millions. Event #2 $1K Limit started a few hours ago and the final table for Event #1 is underway.
And here's a great interview with John Caldwell and Shannon Elizabeth:
If you are viewing this through a RSS feed or Bloglines, click here to view the You Tube video.
Aussie Arrival
Either God (if he exists) or the powers to be who handled the seating for my UAL flight from LAX to Sydney has to have a wry sense of humor. I was able to upgrade to Economy Plus for $99 after refusing to pay $5K for an upgrade to business class. For $99, I was still stuck in coach, but gained five inches of extra leg room and a coveted aisle seat.
I needed the extra leg room for the huge boner that I promtly popped when the hottest chick (a cross between Jessica Alba and Carmen Elektra) on the flight sat down. If I was sitting next to her on a JetBlue flight from JFK to Las Vegas, I would have pegged her for a stripper.
We shared the middle section seats and both had aisles seats. The two seats next to either of us were empty. Like most Australians I've met, she was friendly, cordial, funny, and extremely chatty as she bombarded me a ton of questions about why I was traveling to Australia.
"I'm a writer," I explained. "I got hired to drink regularly at the Crown Casino and get paid to write about it."
"Sounds lovely," she added. "Wish I could get a job like that."
I had one of those moments, "I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this."
That's when the old lady in front of me switched seats. In her place was a young mother with a two year old. On the verge of tears. In the seats across from me were a young couple with another baby.
Sense of humor? Indeed. One hot chick negated by two babies. Where were my pharmies?
That's the one thing I have a tough time dealing with. Babies. Crying babies on long flights.
The flight from LAX was delayed which was the first of several crappy moments. The three meals they passed off for ffood sucked ass. Plus, I barely slept about two or three hours over the course of the 14.5 hour flight.
I sat through four movies; three bloody awful flicks and Little Miss Sunshine. The baby in front of me started crying at the Louvre scene in The DaVinci Code and by the end of the flick, both babies were crying in stereo. I suspect they didn't like Tom Hanks fucked up hair or they loated the script from Akiva Goldsman.
That's when I popped the first valium after I ordered a beer. I was saving the pharmies for an emergency. That was one. I almost wanted to kill myself when I decided to watch Guardian, the awful Coast Guard flick with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. I should be shot because I watched the entire thing. I wanted to talk to the hot chick but she was sleeping after drinking a glass of wine and popping what looked like two sleeping pills somehwere near Hawaii.
I read one hundred pages of a Dave Eggers memoir and watched four episodes of 30 Rock before the hot chick woke up and chatted me up the remainder of the flight. I missed the first glimpses of Australian soil as my plane landed because I was fixated on the hot chick's cleavage.
Welcome to OZ.
* * * * *
I met up with Justin (the producer of the radio show) at the airport. John Caldwell picked us up and we eventually checked in. I have a swanky room at the Crown Promenade which is located in the Southbank area of Melbourne along the Yarra River.
I took a walk around the impressive Crown Casino. The place is huge with tons of slot machines and over 50 places to eat. The food court is dominated by Asian fare and I already crushed a Green Tea milkshake.
There is only one craps table in the entire casino and no Pai Gow. What the fuck? There are other table games like Sic Bo and Pontoon, a variation of Spanish 21. In my mind those games are called... Take Pauly's Money. I'm already stuck $100 playing craps. I haven't even been in the country a full day and I was chasing a loss.
I wandered down to the poker room area which blew me away. There are PokerTek tables which have $0.50/$1 and $1/42 NL tables. In addition there are 50 other poker tables in the huge room.
When I walked in, Event #1 of the Aussie Millions had just begun. Over 515 players signed up for the $1K event which included Dan Alspach, Scott Fischman, Kenna James, Marsha Waggoner, Shannon Elizabeth, Tony G, Mel Judah, Sarah Bilney, Mark Vos, and Matt Hilger. In fact, Hilger made the final table of Event #1 which will start at 4pm local time.
You can follow the action over at Poker News. Tim Lavalli is heading up a super team of live bloggers which icludes "The Barracuda" aka Chris Newton. Take a peek at their Live Tournament Updates.
I went to the cage to cash my US dollars into Aussie bucks...
I don't officially start work until Monday, so I can play tonight. On Saturday night, I met up with one of the CBCG (Canadian Butt Grabbing Chicks). Jules and Graham met me for drinks and dinner. They were kind enough to show me around town and clue me in on how an American should adapt to the local surroundings.
We had drinks at Servo in the Crown Casino and I had several bottles of James Boag's beer. Jules made reservations at a swanky Italian place on Lygon Street, which is Melbourne's version of Little Italy. The food was amazing and we wandered down the street to a local pub for more booze. I took in the late night scene and was fortunate to have Jules and Graham as my local guides. And yes, she grabbed my ass once.
We stumbled back into the Crown after Midnight and Graham ended his poker-hiatus by sitting at a 10/20 table while Jules headed over for 2/3 NL. I sweated them for a while before I had to leave. I had to sleep.
After that long ass flight, a three hour layover in Sydney, then another flight I was more tired than expected. I crashed hard. I slet for four hours staright before getting up for 30 minutes before passing out for four more hours. Now, it's Sunday morning and I have the NFL playoffs on the TV. The NBC feed is coming through via ESPN and it looks like I'll be able to see the Jets-Pats game tomorrow. BG would be happy... there's two horse racing stations on local TV.
That's it for now. You can follow the Aussie Millions over at Poker News. Saty tuned for more updates and head over to the Tao of Pauly for more pics and stories.
Editor's Note: There are Pai Gow tables... I haven't found them yet. But they do exist. Time to get unstuck!
Either God (if he exists) or the powers to be who handled the seating for my UAL flight from LAX to Sydney has to have a wry sense of humor. I was able to upgrade to Economy Plus for $99 after refusing to pay $5K for an upgrade to business class. For $99, I was still stuck in coach, but gained five inches of extra leg room and a coveted aisle seat.
I needed the extra leg room for the huge boner that I promtly popped when the hottest chick (a cross between Jessica Alba and Carmen Elektra) on the flight sat down. If I was sitting next to her on a JetBlue flight from JFK to Las Vegas, I would have pegged her for a stripper.
We shared the middle section seats and both had aisles seats. The two seats next to either of us were empty. Like most Australians I've met, she was friendly, cordial, funny, and extremely chatty as she bombarded me a ton of questions about why I was traveling to Australia.
"I'm a writer," I explained. "I got hired to drink regularly at the Crown Casino and get paid to write about it."
"Sounds lovely," she added. "Wish I could get a job like that."
I had one of those moments, "I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this."
That's when the old lady in front of me switched seats. In her place was a young mother with a two year old. On the verge of tears. In the seats across from me were a young couple with another baby.
Sense of humor? Indeed. One hot chick negated by two babies. Where were my pharmies?
That's the one thing I have a tough time dealing with. Babies. Crying babies on long flights.
The flight from LAX was delayed which was the first of several crappy moments. The three meals they passed off for ffood sucked ass. Plus, I barely slept about two or three hours over the course of the 14.5 hour flight.
I sat through four movies; three bloody awful flicks and Little Miss Sunshine. The baby in front of me started crying at the Louvre scene in The DaVinci Code and by the end of the flick, both babies were crying in stereo. I suspect they didn't like Tom Hanks fucked up hair or they loated the script from Akiva Goldsman.
That's when I popped the first valium after I ordered a beer. I was saving the pharmies for an emergency. That was one. I almost wanted to kill myself when I decided to watch Guardian, the awful Coast Guard flick with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. I should be shot because I watched the entire thing. I wanted to talk to the hot chick but she was sleeping after drinking a glass of wine and popping what looked like two sleeping pills somehwere near Hawaii.
I read one hundred pages of a Dave Eggers memoir and watched four episodes of 30 Rock before the hot chick woke up and chatted me up the remainder of the flight. I missed the first glimpses of Australian soil as my plane landed because I was fixated on the hot chick's cleavage.
Welcome to OZ.
I met up with Justin (the producer of the radio show) at the airport. John Caldwell picked us up and we eventually checked in. I have a swanky room at the Crown Promenade which is located in the Southbank area of Melbourne along the Yarra River.
I took a walk around the impressive Crown Casino. The place is huge with tons of slot machines and over 50 places to eat. The food court is dominated by Asian fare and I already crushed a Green Tea milkshake.
There is only one craps table in the entire casino and no Pai Gow. What the fuck? There are other table games like Sic Bo and Pontoon, a variation of Spanish 21. In my mind those games are called... Take Pauly's Money. I'm already stuck $100 playing craps. I haven't even been in the country a full day and I was chasing a loss.
I wandered down to the poker room area which blew me away. There are PokerTek tables which have $0.50/$1 and $1/42 NL tables. In addition there are 50 other poker tables in the huge room.
When I walked in, Event #1 of the Aussie Millions had just begun. Over 515 players signed up for the $1K event which included Dan Alspach, Scott Fischman, Kenna James, Marsha Waggoner, Shannon Elizabeth, Tony G, Mel Judah, Sarah Bilney, Mark Vos, and Matt Hilger. In fact, Hilger made the final table of Event #1 which will start at 4pm local time.
You can follow the action over at Poker News. Tim Lavalli is heading up a super team of live bloggers which icludes "The Barracuda" aka Chris Newton. Take a peek at their Live Tournament Updates.
I went to the cage to cash my US dollars into Aussie bucks...
I don't officially start work until Monday, so I can play tonight. On Saturday night, I met up with one of the CBCG (Canadian Butt Grabbing Chicks). Jules and Graham met me for drinks and dinner. They were kind enough to show me around town and clue me in on how an American should adapt to the local surroundings.
We had drinks at Servo in the Crown Casino and I had several bottles of James Boag's beer. Jules made reservations at a swanky Italian place on Lygon Street, which is Melbourne's version of Little Italy. The food was amazing and we wandered down the street to a local pub for more booze. I took in the late night scene and was fortunate to have Jules and Graham as my local guides. And yes, she grabbed my ass once.
We stumbled back into the Crown after Midnight and Graham ended his poker-hiatus by sitting at a 10/20 table while Jules headed over for 2/3 NL. I sweated them for a while before I had to leave. I had to sleep.
After that long ass flight, a three hour layover in Sydney, then another flight I was more tired than expected. I crashed hard. I slet for four hours staright before getting up for 30 minutes before passing out for four more hours. Now, it's Sunday morning and I have the NFL playoffs on the TV. The NBC feed is coming through via ESPN and it looks like I'll be able to see the Jets-Pats game tomorrow. BG would be happy... there's two horse racing stations on local TV.
That's it for now. You can follow the Aussie Millions over at Poker News. Saty tuned for more updates and head over to the Tao of Pauly for more pics and stories.
Editor's Note: There are Pai Gow tables... I haven't found them yet. But they do exist. Time to get unstuck!
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Australia Bound
Looking out at the Pacific Ocean
(photo by Change100)
In a few hours, I will be flying to Melbourne, Australia to cover the Aussie Millions for Poker News at the luxurious Crown Casino, which is the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere.
I will be writing a daily recap of the Aussie Millions on the Poker News website. In addition, John Caldwell and I will be doing a live two hour radio broadcast/show from the floor of the Crown Casino. Yes, Radio Free Pauly is back. I'll post the link to the radio broadcast shortly.
And of course, you can check back here at the Tao of Poker for random updates, pictures, and links as I head all the way to the other side of the world to play cards. Sometime this spring, High Roller magazine will also be publishing a feature article about my adventures and hijinks Down Under.
And here's the best thing about the gig... not only is Poker News paying all of my expenses (flight and hotel accomodations to Australia are pricey), but I'm also getting a $50/day per diem which is to cover my bar tab. Yes, Poker News and the Crown Casino threw in a free $50 bar tab everyday to keep me happy. Perks of being a faux doctor with a blog.
The trip is not all business. I'll have about two weeks to myself to explore and visit different cities. Garth gave me several great tips about his home country, so I feel as though I had access to privy information that not all travelers get to experience and hear. There's a Tool concert that I'm going to see with Caldwell. I will get to hang out with Jules in Melbourne, while Brandon Schaefer and I head up the coast to Sydney and Brisbane shortly after the Aussie Million's is over. There's a huge summer music festival going on while I am there, so I'll be able to combine several of my passions (poker, traveling, music, and writing) into one trip. Epic.
The only bad thing (aside from missing the Jets in the playoffs) is that I heard nasty rumors that the Untied Airlines flight from LAX to Sydney, which I happen to be taking, is the worst international flight in the history of aviation. Old plane, cramped germ-infested seats, geriatric stewardesses, awful food, and smelly crappers. Sounds like I'm about to embark on a fun filled 17 hour flight. I have two books, a fistful of pharmies, and I've downloaded several hours of TV shows like The Office and 30 Rock onto my iPod to keep me sane. If all else fails, there's always booze. I'll be leaving on a Thursday and arriving on Saturday morning. I lose a day when I cross over the International Date Line.
Stay tuned for Aussie Millions updates...
Looking out at the Pacific Ocean
(photo by Change100)
In a few hours, I will be flying to Melbourne, Australia to cover the Aussie Millions for Poker News at the luxurious Crown Casino, which is the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere.
I will be writing a daily recap of the Aussie Millions on the Poker News website. In addition, John Caldwell and I will be doing a live two hour radio broadcast/show from the floor of the Crown Casino. Yes, Radio Free Pauly is back. I'll post the link to the radio broadcast shortly.
And of course, you can check back here at the Tao of Poker for random updates, pictures, and links as I head all the way to the other side of the world to play cards. Sometime this spring, High Roller magazine will also be publishing a feature article about my adventures and hijinks Down Under.
And here's the best thing about the gig... not only is Poker News paying all of my expenses (flight and hotel accomodations to Australia are pricey), but I'm also getting a $50/day per diem which is to cover my bar tab. Yes, Poker News and the Crown Casino threw in a free $50 bar tab everyday to keep me happy. Perks of being a faux doctor with a blog.
The trip is not all business. I'll have about two weeks to myself to explore and visit different cities. Garth gave me several great tips about his home country, so I feel as though I had access to privy information that not all travelers get to experience and hear. There's a Tool concert that I'm going to see with Caldwell. I will get to hang out with Jules in Melbourne, while Brandon Schaefer and I head up the coast to Sydney and Brisbane shortly after the Aussie Million's is over. There's a huge summer music festival going on while I am there, so I'll be able to combine several of my passions (poker, traveling, music, and writing) into one trip. Epic.
The only bad thing (aside from missing the Jets in the playoffs) is that I heard nasty rumors that the Untied Airlines flight from LAX to Sydney, which I happen to be taking, is the worst international flight in the history of aviation. Old plane, cramped germ-infested seats, geriatric stewardesses, awful food, and smelly crappers. Sounds like I'm about to embark on a fun filled 17 hour flight. I have two books, a fistful of pharmies, and I've downloaded several hours of TV shows like The Office and 30 Rock onto my iPod to keep me sane. If all else fails, there's always booze. I'll be leaving on a Thursday and arriving on Saturday morning. I lose a day when I cross over the International Date Line.
Stay tuned for Aussie Millions updates...
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Truckin' - January 2007, Vol. 7, Issue 1
The first issue of Truckin' in 2007 has been published. Yes, I'm finally early with an issue. Let's hope that I can stay on schedule this year.
I ask that if you like these stories, tell your friends! Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you know anyone who is interested in being added to the mailing list or if you'd like to write for Truckin' in the future.
Thanks again to you the readers for wasting your precious time with Truckin'. Until next time.
The first issue of Truckin' in 2007 has been published. Yes, I'm finally early with an issue. Let's hope that I can stay on schedule this year.
1. Merry Ethan by Paul McGuireThe first issue of Truckin' in the new year includes a story from one of my favorite writers, Otis, about sweating in Las Vegas. We have some old faces contributing to the new year issue such as Sean A. Donahue and Doog. Nick Cantwell from London shared a poem, while this issue marks the Truckin' debut of Dawn Summers. I laughed and I cried as I read about her Thanksgiving. And keeping with a holiday theme, I have a story about crashing a Christmas party with The Rooster.
When I was done with my public display of urination, The Rooster stood in front of the bar with Ethan Hawke who smoked a cigarette. That's when I yelled out, "Yo Ethan, who's better in the sack? Winona or Uma?"... More
2. By Mennen by Otis
I can't remember where I read it, but for some reason I believe that Adolf Hitler was so concerned about potential body odor that he went to extreme measures (I think it was surgery) to alleviate perspiration. Of course, I may be making this all up... More
3. Pulling a Dawn by Dawn Summers
She cleaned up the spill with paper towels and soap-soaked sponges and carefully picked up every piece of broken glass. Well, almost every piece. She apparently missed a shard that had slid near the fridge, but her bare heel stepped up to the plate and snatched it right up when Dawn went to get some butter. Dawn said some bad words as she left bloody heel prints from the kitchen to the bathroom... More
4. Reunion by Doog
For the first time, Sean noticed the evidence of years' passage on her face – the small wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, the youthful freshness lost from her skin. She was no longer the perfect girl he remembered from ten years ago, but she was certainly a very beautiful woman... More
5. The Tulsa Incident by Sean A. Donahue
I had to alert the authorities, I had to let them know that something shady was going on here, something wasn't right. I slowly started back toward my car, careful not to make any noise as I passed the men's room... More
6. Shadow Boxing by Nick Cantwell
We met in a Deli. I'd just finished training.
I spilt her coffee as I squeezed my big ass past her table.
I bought her another one.
She asked me what I did.
Punchbag.
Boxer I told her... More
I ask that if you like these stories, tell your friends! Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you know anyone who is interested in being added to the mailing list or if you'd like to write for Truckin' in the future.
Thanks again to you the readers for wasting your precious time with Truckin'. Until next time.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Welcome to 2007
A new year brings some new changes in the blogosphere. Congrats to Drizz for landing a new gig and to a few friends who were hand picked to move their poker content over to the Poker Works Junta:
Also congrats to the money winners in the 2006 Pauly's Pub Pigskin Pick'em NFL Pool:
* * * * *
By the way, Happy 2007 to everyone!
I had an amazing New Year's Eve. I caught an epic My Morning Jacket concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco with Change100. It was one of the best parties of the year that I attended. After the show ended, I bumped into a faithful Tao of Poker reader named Aaron from Portland.
I'm currently in L.A. and will be flying to Australia on Thursday to cover the Aussie Millions for Poker News. Just getting a few last things in order before I depart.
I have a couple of basic poker goals for 2007:
I wish everyone best of luck at the tables in 2007.
A new year brings some new changes in the blogosphere. Congrats to Drizz for landing a new gig and to a few friends who were hand picked to move their poker content over to the Poker Works Junta:
DrizzThose are some of my favorite scribes. To see them gain recognition for their amazing writing abilities makes me proud of them and even more lucky to call them my friends. Keep up the good work and best of luck with your new digs.
Change100
Maudie
Amy Calistri
JoeSpeaker
Also congrats to the money winners in the 2006 Pauly's Pub Pigskin Pick'em NFL Pool:
1. how bout a fresca (BradSinger) $400Congrats also to Derek, who took down the Pauly's Pub College Football Pool and the Grid Iron fantasy football pool.
2. Well T'anks for Nuttin' (Jerry) $200
3. Mean, Dumb, and Uglies (ScurvyDog) $100
4. Austin Drunks (MattS) $60
By the way, Happy 2007 to everyone!
I had an amazing New Year's Eve. I caught an epic My Morning Jacket concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco with Change100. It was one of the best parties of the year that I attended. After the show ended, I bumped into a faithful Tao of Poker reader named Aaron from Portland.
I'm currently in L.A. and will be flying to Australia on Thursday to cover the Aussie Millions for Poker News. Just getting a few last things in order before I depart.
I have a couple of basic poker goals for 2007:
1. Play winning poker and finish the year up.That's it. Nothing special or out of the ordinary. I'll be back to grinding it out at the Limit tables online and playing live NL cash games. I'm also hoping to earn enough money in the next few months playing poker and writing freelance articles for magazines such as High Roller, so I can take off five months after the 2007 WSOP ends to travel for a bit then complete the Las Vegas book.
2. Finally complete a book about Las Vegas.
I wish everyone best of luck at the tables in 2007.
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