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Getting Even
LA Card rooms: Bicycle Casino
While other poker rooms have seen tournaments attendance soften, the Bicycle Casino's Stars & Stripes tournament series kicked off last week with 615 players (60 tables!) showing up for the first event. With buy-ins of $120 to $545 and $260,000 of guarantees in this series, the Bike recognizes what poker players want in a weak economy—bankroll-friendly value—and like locusts, players swarmed to it.
In the old days, the Stars & Stripes was a mid-summer series extending over the July 4th holiday. The Bike moved it up a few years back, most likely to avoid the WSOP, and in an endearing, demented twist, dropped it smack in the middle of tax season. It’s been an April routine for me for the last couple of years—file an extension on my taxes, resolve to sort out my receipts at some later date and head over to the Bike to play poker. Pretty much the story of my life—procrastinate, let my conscience bother me for a few minutes and then cave to my basest instincts.
One of the things I like about the S&S and all the other tournaments at the Bike is that you can register online. I, for one, like a tournament I can register for with a laptop in one hand and a DirecTV remote in the other. More poker rooms should offer this option.
I was planning on playing a couple of the $335 and $545 events and wanted to see how they were setting the tournament up this year. In any event, I called a friend of mine over at the Bike to fax a copy of the structure sheet to me, but she didn’t have a copy of it handy so I headed over on Monday night to pick one up.
Sketchy? Compared to what?
For those of you who haven’t been, the Bike’s located in Bell Gardens, California directly off the 710 freeway at the Florence exit. The area, the corner of Eastern and Florence south of LA, used to be seedy when Stuey hung out there in the 80s and 90s, but now it looks like every major intersection in Los Angeles with strip malls on each corner. Except in this particular case, the second biggest and nicest card room in the city sits on one of the four corners.
Every so often, I’ll be reading a thread on a poker forum and some dude will comment about the Bike being in a bad area. That’s nonsense. I’m not saying you’ll find Whole Foods and the Apple Store nearby, but compared to its peer group, the Bike’s located in the middle a thriving village. At the Commerce, you’re pretty much stuck there unless you’re willing to drive. That’s not all bad, of course, but at the Bike, you can go outside, wander around and have something to visit other than the freeway on ramp and vacant lots.
Meet the neighbors
Need specifics? Directly across from the Bike, you’ll find Appleby’s, Ross, Marshall’s, Washington Mutual, Jamba Juice, some coffee shop called It’s a Grind and a trippy mariachi joint that’s a free-for-all on weekends. You’ll also find the Bell Gardens Hotel, formerly a Ramada Express. It’s not my favorite hotel, but if you’re looking for a shower and a bed, it’s fine. And it’s literally across the street. You could stumble out of the Bike, trip, roll down the driveway and, subject to cross traffic, come to rest at the bottom of the stairs to the hotel lobby. I’m not recommending that commute, of course, but it’s an option.
Across the street to the north is an IHOP (go hungry, leave happy!), Citibank, Big 5 Sporting Goods, RiteAid pharmacy, and a Food 4 Less grocery store. Across the street to the northeast is a Toys R Us, Hollywood Video, Starbucks Drive-thru, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken. You get the idea. Anyone who tells you the Bike’s in a lousy area is the kind of guy who orders a no foam chai latte and has a bottle of Purell next to his chip stack. Are you seriously taking advice on poker rooms from that guy?
Oh, the places I've been
You want sketchy? Try Inglewood (Hollywood Park) which lies in the direct landing path of LAX or Gardena (Normandie Casino) where the attendant in the fast food place serves you from behind bulletproof glass. Or maybe even my home poker room, Club One, where our neighbors include an odd mix of banks, bailbondsmen, ethnic markets, former theaters now serving as churches, homeless shelters, the county courthouse, a bunch of gutted buildings and a minor league ballpark. Trust me, we’d kill to be able to walk across the street to grab a decent cup of coffee or some Extra Crispy with 0 trans fat!
Ok, enough of that rant. I parked the car with the valet and wandered up to the Welcome Desk.
Welcome to the Bike, sir!"
The Bike has the nicest entrance of any casino in LA with marble and chandeliers that rival a Las Vegas casino. As you enter, you’re directly in front of a marble podium with a cascading waterfall directly behind it.
They usually have tournament info right at the front desk, but tonight the girl on duty directed me to the tournament room to the right, down a long hallway past the lottery kiosks.
Heartache? That's down the hall...
Tonight’s event was the $100 buy-in with one rebuy and 353 entrants showed up. I wasn’t into playing the re-buy so I just grabbed the structure and looked around. In the main tournament room, there were twenty-five tables, all full, and there was spillover in the hall and other rooms.
I like the Bike’s tournament room—it’s smaller than the caverns over at the Commerce or Hustler, but you can actually hear announcements and it’s harder for waitresses to ignore you when you’re in the mood to eat or drink. You can get a sense of it from these pics…
I looked around and didn’t see anyone I knew, so I headed back to the main poker area to see what was happening there.
Be honest, Ed, you're broke again, right?
The main poker room is to the left of the Welcome Desk and the high stakes poker room is located directly behind it.
If you’re ever looking for lakong, you’ll find him camped in a 5/5 NL game, making ill-advised plays out-of-position and scamming free food (all the yellow chips games are comped). I hadn’t played the Bike in a while and tried to keep a low profile, but a grey-haired dude with a voice recorder is an easy target.
“Ed! Where’ve you been? You’re not broke again, are you?”
I tried to convince my friends on the floor that I’d been living 5 days a week in Fresno running a card room and my table time was limited to propping 2/5 NL. The tale was so absurd they shook off my explanation as a complete sham. I had been grinding in the 2/4 over at Hollywood Park. They could smell it.
In an attempt to save face, I put myself on the list for 5/5 NL. The list was five deep, but there was a good chance another table would get down as the tournament coughed up victims. Here’s a look at the action in the high stakes room at 8:00p on Monday night:
Two tables 20/40 hold’em
One table 300/600 hold’em (the big game in the room)
Three tables 2/3 $100 NL
Two tables 3/5 $200 NL
Two tables 5/5 $300-$500 NL (with a list 5 deep)
Two 5/10 $500-no max NL
One 20/40 stud hi/lo
One table of pot limit Omaha 5/5 $500 min buy-in
Interest for pot limit mixed game
The Bike recently opened up the wall between the high stakes poker area and the Bar & Grill so you can get toasted waiting for a seat. That was, of course, a legitimate option, but I hadn’t been down to the Bike in a while so I figured I’d wander around, sober for once, and make some notes. It was certainly better than sitting on the rail being mocked by my peers.
Listen, when that seat opens, you know where I'll be...
Boldly going where more men go
The high stakes room is on the same level as the lobby but a step or two above the main poker room. The step acts as an ego boost for guys like me and a subtle obstacle to keep the riff-raff like LakeofFire sequestered in $40 NL and 2/4 limit where they belong. Tonight, though, I was a man of the people and wandered over to the main poker room to check the board.
Editor's note: immediately to the left of the Welcome Desk is the Bike's Cafe/Deli. Great sandwiches, good coffee--it's easily the best poker room deli in Southern California.
Past the 2R editor drooling in front of the deli, there’s a set of four huge monitors surrounded by four smaller ones and typically, a good-natured Asian guy on the desk ready to match you with your game. Signing up for $40NL via this set-up is a little surreal—it’s kind of like wandering on the bridge of the USS Enterprise and asking Sulu for directions to the head..
Aye aye, Captain! Warp Factor 4!
Had I been so inclined, there was plenty of action to choose from:
One table 3/6 limit
Three tables of 4/8 limit
One table of 8/16 limit
Seven tables of $40 NL
Three table of $80 NL
Two tables 8/16 with a ½ kill
Interest for a $20 sit-n-go
One table of 3/6 crazy pineapple with interest for another game
Two tables of 3/6 Omaha hi/lo
One table of 6/12 Omaha hi/lo
A typical Thursday or Friday night will show roughly twice the action. If you haven’t been over here, the main room is big and there’s another tournament area for the dailies.
The main room
What I really want to do is direct...
The daily tournaments area
I was just a tourist in these parts and moved on. I headed past the Mexican poker area (about 6 tables running), past another of the million or so bars on the property (side note: the Bike has bars everywhere. We applaude the practice), over to the blackjack, pai gow and baccarat area.
Degens, welcome...
What’s that? Over in the corner, I saw a brand new craps table. Apparently, the Bike will soon start offering craps using the cards, somehow corresponding to dice. I haven’t played it, but once they start running the game, I’ll give it a shot. I like craps almost as much as IHOP.
Hard eight dealer! One time!
Behind the California games area, there’s smoking/gaming area called the Freedom Court where the Bike has managed to work around the state’s no smoking law by having a patio area with a vented roof. There’s no poker here, but eight or so tables of no bust blackjack, pai gow poker, super pan 9, pai gow tiles and Chinese poker. I’m not a smoker, but there seem to be plenty of people who think the Surgeon General is over-reaching. The room was packed.
Smoke 'em if you have 'em, fellas!
On the way back around, I took a couple of shots of the Bike’s high stakes Dragon Room. The décor is pretty staggering and our shabby little faux Buddha up at Club One is laughable by comparison.
Action? You have no idea...
At the time, the Bike was filming for some commercials for local TV and posted a disclaimer near the entrance of the Dragon Room:
“Filming and photography are taking place beyond this sign. By entering these premises, you hereby grant the Bicycle Casino the right but not the obligation to photograph and record you and your likeness, voice and other sound effects in the production, exhibition, distribution, publicity and advertising of the program without compensation in all media (including interactive media, internet and digital) throughout the universe in perpetuity.”
You’ve gotta love the lawyers. “Why would you limit it to just the Milky Way? There are a hundred billion other galaxies. You can’t say for sure there’s no life there, can you? And make it good forever, ok?”
Seat open? Why not?
I circled back to the high stakes room just in time for the tournament run-off to spawn some extra tables in the high stakes room. Even though I had a 5:00a run up to Fresno scheduled, my instincts took over, and I plopped into an open seat at a new 5/5 $300-500 NL table.
As I stood over my seat waiting on chips, I looked over in the corner of the room and caught a glimpse of Barry Greenstein and Frank Mariani (Jerry Buss’s long-time partner) sitting in the 300/600 mixed game behind velvet ropes. I also saw a couple of guys I know sitting well-rolled in the 5/10 NL game. It’s always fun to see two guys, both of whom owe you money, sitting 300BB deep in a game bigger than the one you’re in.
On the very first hand, I didn’t even have chips yet and picked up AKo. I raised to $20 on my good credit and got two callers anxious to stack the crazy old guy who just arrived and started raising with any two.
The flop came A
Q3
and I shook of the notion of one or both of my opponents hitting two pair. I bet out $40 and a doughy Asian kid in seat 7 called. When the turn blanked, I fired out another $100 and Asian kid insta-pushed for $180. I snap-called expecting to see AQ, but my AKo > AJo and I was up $325 without a chip of my own yet to touch the felt.If there was ever a spot for a hit-and-run, that was it--up $300+ without posting a blind or putting chips on the felt--and I'll be honest, I thought about it. In fact, I'm still thinking about it. And to be even more candid, if that perfect storm ever strikes again, you can bet I'll be checking my cell phone and pantomiming an urgent call I need to take. "Sorry, fellas. I know this looks bad, but there's been some sort of accident..."
After that hand, I went card dead of course. Fortunately, the high stakes room has comfy chairs and food comps in the yellow chip games ($200NL and up). I spent the remainder of the session stuffing myself with the best card room food in the city, attempting to collect from my deadbeat friends in 5/10 via text message and watching rodeo on the flatties scattered throughout the room. I did manage to go up another $100, but gave it back with AQs and finished the night up $296.
Sleep deprived tomorrow morning, I'd no doubt be cursing the Bike, it's staff and the printers they send their files to. But for now, up three hundies and a batch of good photos, I was fat and happy...literally.
"Who are you calling sleazy, Ed?"
The Bike’s a modern, standout property, and with the most bars of any So Cal room, it's a favorite of discerning players like me. It's come a long way since the 60 Minutes segment in which the late Ed Bradley called it “a sleazy second-rate casino on the outskirts of Los Angeles.” That's the kind of description that would leave us beaming with pride at Club One, but it's nowhere near accurate for the Bike. The Bicycle Casino's one of the nicest casinos you'll find in any jurisdiction and any serious poker player should put it on his must-play list.
In another post, I compared the Commerce/Bike debate to other classic match-ups like Sox v. Yankees, USC v. UCLA or Ginger v. Mary Ann. But those comparisons suggest that you need to pick a side and make a stand. More accurately, the Bike and the Commerce are the Grey Goose and Belvedere of So Cal poker and everything else is just a generic brand that will leave you angry you got seduced into trying it. Take it from someone who's tried them all and suffered the consequences. Stick to the premium brands!
Edmond
Yin/Yang at Club One
In the Chinese tradition, yin and yang represent “two opposing and, at the same time, complementary aspects of any one phenomenon." Yin qualities are characterized as “passive, dark, feminine, negative, downward-seeking, consuming and correspond[ing] to the night.” Yang qualities are characterized as “active, light, masculine, positive, upward-seeking, producing and correspond[ing] to the daytime.” (quotes from Wikipedia).
On Saturday, the 5th Annual Flop ‘til You Drop Charity Tournament was held at the Club One Casino in Fresno, California. Councilman Mike Dages (District 5) sponsored the event which included a buffet dinner and poker tournament in which prize money was paid to the charities of the contestants’ choice. Club One matched the prize money, dollar for dollar, and the event raised over $28,000 for local charities.
Special guests included some local celebrities and Fresno native and 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion, Jerry Yang. Yang was a huge hit with both participants and spectators and graciously posed for photos and signed autographs for several hours. He was the invited guest of one of the councilmen and, as it turns out, was related (distantly) to one of our casino hostesses.
I knew I was doomed to a brief and unimpressive showing when once again I was seated at a “featured” table. My tablemates included a judge, the former sheriff, the councilman’s lovely wife (a fine player) and Jerry. The WSOP champ exited relatively early when, short stacked, he shoved A9s and ran into TT, held by the eventual winner of the event. I busted out shortly thereafter when, 12BB deep, I raised from MP with ATo, whiffed the ragged flop and shoved the T on the turn. My opponent showed QQ, and I was back to running chips and busing tables.
The City took some of the sting of my exit away when, in a bizarre and unexpected twist, the Council proclaimed April 5, 2008 to be EdmondDantes Day and, in a separate proclamation, Jerry Yang Day. Now I don’t know if there was some subtle yin/Yang message that the Council was attempting to convey, but it was generally agreed that Yang was a bright, positive influence on the event. Well, if I’m the darker and more negative of the pairing, so be it. It was an honor to share the day with such a courteous and charming guy.
Edmond
P.S. Photos of the event, Yang and plaque confirming the proclamation (no, I’m not kidding) to follow…
On Saturday, the 5th Annual Flop ‘til You Drop Charity Tournament was held at the Club One Casino in Fresno, California. Councilman Mike Dages (District 5) sponsored the event which included a buffet dinner and poker tournament in which prize money was paid to the charities of the contestants’ choice. Club One matched the prize money, dollar for dollar, and the event raised over $28,000 for local charities.
Special guests included some local celebrities and Fresno native and 2007 WSOP Main Event Champion, Jerry Yang. Yang was a huge hit with both participants and spectators and graciously posed for photos and signed autographs for several hours. He was the invited guest of one of the councilmen and, as it turns out, was related (distantly) to one of our casino hostesses.
I knew I was doomed to a brief and unimpressive showing when once again I was seated at a “featured” table. My tablemates included a judge, the former sheriff, the councilman’s lovely wife (a fine player) and Jerry. The WSOP champ exited relatively early when, short stacked, he shoved A9s and ran into TT, held by the eventual winner of the event. I busted out shortly thereafter when, 12BB deep, I raised from MP with ATo, whiffed the ragged flop and shoved the T on the turn. My opponent showed QQ, and I was back to running chips and busing tables.
The City took some of the sting of my exit away when, in a bizarre and unexpected twist, the Council proclaimed April 5, 2008 to be EdmondDantes Day and, in a separate proclamation, Jerry Yang Day. Now I don’t know if there was some subtle yin/Yang message that the Council was attempting to convey, but it was generally agreed that Yang was a bright, positive influence on the event. Well, if I’m the darker and more negative of the pairing, so be it. It was an honor to share the day with such a courteous and charming guy.
Edmond
P.S. Photos of the event, Yang and plaque confirming the proclamation (no, I’m not kidding) to follow…
Freerollin' at the Commerce - Redux
An early omen
The tone for the day was set shortly after I met LakeofFire for breakfast at the Radisson in downtown Fresno. I was nursing a cup of bad coffee and shaking off yet another 16-hour shift of bussing tables and running chips at Club One when an angry troll jumped from behind a plant and shrieked something about the breakfast buffet. Lake’s traveled with me enough to know that mornings, for me, are edgy times and moved to diffuse the situation.
“Just turn away, Ed. I’ll handle this.”
He muttered something to the creature in guttural dialect and threatened it with a spoon, and it immediately slunk back to its cave. The beast reappeared twice more in the next twenty minutes, first to threaten me with scalding water and second to extort me with a toll receipt for safe passage. Both times Lake stepped in, first to glare it down, and second to convince me to pay the tribute and move on.
“Fresno’s an incestuous place,” he reminded me. “No telling which local authority calls this thing kin and we’ve no time for an overnight stay in the local lockup. Tonight’s the Free FM 97.1 Free-roll at the Commerce Casino. Remember?”
The allegations include…
Ah, yes. Repeat readers may recall our shameful involvement in the Dec 07 version of this sordid event. That one left the Commerce’s magnificent tournament room in shambles with Conway and Whitman listeners/erstwhile poker players looting TVs and furniture when the event spun wildly out of control. It took several days of round-the-clock work by the maintenance staff to restore the luster of the room, and several more of impassioned lobbying to keep hosts David Mosikian and John Griffo from inside front cover placement in the Casino’s banned book.
Earlier in the week, Mosikian had emailed me with an elegant invite.
“Dude, they dropped the charges AND the lawsuit! We’re doing the freeroll again!”
I was game, of course—Griffo and Mosikian go through life like merry fugitives, expecting to get caught and punished but committed to having fun in the meantime. That said, I presumed they were smart enough to realize the immediate civil and criminal ramifications of another on-air melee and had taken steps to minimize their exposure. I pressed them for details on how they planned to avoid another fiasco.
Griffo assured me that security would be a non-issue. They had recruited more Leykettes girls, reinforced them with a trio of hotties from Knob Creek bourbon and expanded the buffet to leave even the most rowdy participant comatose. In addition, he pointed out that the 97.1 FreeFM guys would deliver Danny Bonaduce , whose own shenanigans would likely establish a floor for bad behavior. This is a man, he noted, who as a child lived with David Cassidy and Susan Dey on a used school bus, and as an adult, engaged in fisticuffs with a transvestite, a Survivor contestant and Donny Osmond as a matter of public record. Griffo was confident even the most abhorrent acts by tournament participants would look tame by comparison.
Mosikian chimed in. “We figure if we stuff the listeners at the buffet and dull their senses with single batch bourbon, they’ll be too sluggish to cart off the ATMs again. Plus, Conway insisted the girls have all been properly trained in crowd control and showed me a DVD of one of them as proof. Besides, it looks like those welts and paper cuts you got from the flying chips and cards healed without a scar. Quit being such a wuss. You’re coming.”
These were the same savvy marketers that came up with the “Let’s just toss Asian models with fistfuls of cash into the pai gow pit” Chinese New Year celebration documented here two months ago. I was no match for the tag team—Griffo’s reasoned arguments and Mosikian’s breezy confidence brought me around. I marked the event on my calendar and posted Lake. Hence, his concern now that we avoid being unnecessarily detained in Fresno.
The Free FM Freeroll
Lake and I spent the day at Club One and headed south around 3p or so. The run down to Commerce went without incident and I pulled into the valet lot around 7p, plenty of time before the 8p start. I pitched my keys to the attendant, hustled up to the second floor and reviewed the situation for the 2R team. I liked what I saw. Lake had rolled in separately with one of my partners and was getting hammered in the Arena sports bar. I texted him and a couple other 2R writers with entry details.
“Meet me in the tournament room ASAP. This is a sick setup!”
As promised, the buffet for tournament participants was expanded to include chilled crab and shrimp, a variety of Asian dishes including dim sum, carved roast beef and a complete dessert setup. Last time, the Commerce set the buffet up in the tournament room, but this time they moved the whole setup out to the 2nd floor patio overlooking the pool area and main entrance to the casino.
Predictably, I found Mosikian parked near the bar.
“Dude! Glad you could make it!”
I complimented him on the spread.
“There wasn’t room in the tournament room for everything we wanted to put out. “ he confided. “And, out here, if we had to, we could just hose the whole place down at the end of the night. By the way, I put you at the featured table.”
His hospitality was a welcome change from the cheap buffets and brush offs I’m used to at other casinos, and Lake and I each filled a plate. As I ate, I watched Commerce restaurant staffers scurrying around like chip runners in a charity re-buy, bringing out endless platters of first class food. Gotta give these guys credit, they know how to spread a feast.
Uh, can I get a "to go" box?
After a couple of trips back to the shrimp stack, I waddled from the patio to the tournament room to find my seat. Griffo’s crowd management plan was obviously working. I felt more inclined to take a nap than play poker.
The stage thus set…
The Free FM broadcast setup was the same as last time with hosts Conway and Bonaduce up on the stage at the front of the room. Earlier in the week, the station announced that Whitten was leaving the show, but Conway and his production staff moved on without a hitch. As for Bonaduce, when I last saw him, he was face down in a puddle of his own blood, murdered by the “Miniature Killer” on CSI. I’m happy to report that he is alive, well and an entertaining radio personality. He’s now got his own show, The Danny Bonaduce Show, weekdays from 2-3p on 97.1 Free FM and shared his own twisted views on life.
Well, I was pretty wasted so I really don't remember...
Through the course of the show, he and Conway fielded calls about being involuntarily tossed from a casino and interviewed the Leykette girls on what they did for a living when fully-clothed. Bonaduce offered up candid insights on his own drunken and debauched behavior and responded to a listener inquiry about how he avoided becoming a pornstar when his career soured in the 90s. Other topics included how strip clubs fare in a recession and careful assessment of the Leykette girls calendar in the context of the station’s sexual harassment policy.
Ok, let's review. If her jeans sit low on her hips, we're in a recession...
At one point, Bonaduce pitched the concept of a threesome with his girlfriend and, Gina, one of the Free FM staffers. Now if I tried to set up a threesome with my wife in the privacy of our home, I’d likely spend the next three weeks eating takeout food in the garage. Not so, Bonaduce. He had his girlfriend and Gina intrigued on stage, in public, and can reference a recorded on-air transcript for confirmation.
Danny Partridge, salesman.
Overall, all the topics covered by Conway and Bonaduce were a refreshing change from the election year drivel to which we’ve been subjected by most talk radio hosts. Public intoxication, gambling, strip clubs and lewd behavior? These were the real issues on the minds of the electorate and Conway and Bonaduce were courageous enough to confront each of them head on. If you’d like to hear their platform or Bonaduce’s artful pitch for his ménage-a-trois, you can hear the podcasts here.
Dodgeball!
Enough on talk radio; we were here for poker. The tournament structure was 1000 starting chips and 25/50 blinds—the rough equivalent of playing dodge ball at point blank range—but it was free and the Commerce added a prize pool of six thousand dollars and iTunes gift cards so no one was complaining. In fact, Mosikian spent most of the night playing Godfather to the endless stream of sycophants anxious to get invited back to the next event. It was pretty nauseating to witness, but I’d probably do the same in a similar position.
“Hey [your name here], nice to see you! Glad you could make it. What? Of course, there’ll be spot for you next time. Always. Hey, I meant to ask you…what’s the price for some new rims for the Lexus? What? No, I couldn’t. That wouldn’t be right. Well, ok…if you insist. I’ll drop the car off Monday…”
The “featured” table was really a collection of riff-raff handpicked by Mosikian and appeared to comprise players to whom he was related or owed money. Early in the tournament, the Knob Creek girls hovered by our table, seduced by the notion of “featured” players. They were struggling to hold an absurd amount of swag so I offered to find a good home for some items.
“A Knob Creek flask? Well, as it turns out, I AM a bourbon drinker. This will come in handy on those long nights editing the home page. How about one of those t-shirts? What, I have to choose? Ok, how about one of those pens…”
Tools of the trade
Ok, one for the fellas fighting overseas...
The hands
As you might guess given the structure, there’s not much skill involved in one of these freeroll tournaments. It’s kind of like being a carpenter with a Fisher-Price toolbox. You can make some noise and have some fun, but it’s probably not something you can count on for rent money. In any event, I had a few hands worth noting.
With the blinds at 25/50, I raised with AKs and took the pot. Ok, that sounded better on tape.
I called in position with 55. Bet at 832 board and took it. Edmond the Courageous.
I called in position with 55 again. I called a small flop bet and folded to sizable turn bet. Edmond the Timid.
Sitting with 1000 chips and the blinds at 50/100, I pushed with JJ, got two callers and was unanimously criticized by the table for overplaying a premium hand. Uh, ok.
After some skilled play I’d prefer not to discuss, I was sitting with 1475 in chips, and in a massive hand, a set of fours cleared four players from our table. Clarification: a massive hand, in which I was not involved.
With about 2000 chips, I called in position yet again with 55 and hit middle set on a 5
49
board. Checked to me, I bet 350 into a 650 pot and took the pot. So you guys call everyone else with bottom pair, gutter draw…but not me…
In the spirit of the night, I donked off half my stack on some piece of trash hand, and shortly after the blinds jumped to 200/400 with a 25 ante, I moved in with A4o for my last 1200 chips. I was insta-called by two hands including 97s by the big blind.
A9x. Fine. Turn J. River 9. Bah.
I was out.
You again?
After I busted, I had some time to look around. I have to give the Commerce guys credit—they know how to lure them in. Through radio spots and an email campaign, they had about 3000 applicants for 450 tournament seats. I counted another 70 or so alternates for a total of 520 participants. Even better for the home team, the players seemed to roll over into cash games as soon as they busted from the tournament.
Nice crowd for a Thursday
A typical Thursday night at the Commerce will feature 8-12 baby NL games (1/1 blinds $40 max buy-in) running. Tonight as the tournament broke down, I counted 20. That’s more low stakes NL games than most Vegas poker rooms have TABLES. 180 players committed to low stakes NL—frightening…but impressive!
Hanging around the snack bar, I ran into both the #1 and #2 finishers (Paul Hsu and Michael Friedman, respectively) at the prior 97.1 Freeroll. I re-introduced myself to Michael (the #2 finisher), who seemed genuinely flattered that I picked him from the crowd.
“Wow. How did you recognize me?”
He clearly didn’t understand how the blog editing process works.
“I stared at your picture repeatedly one weekend. Your mug still haunts me.”
He commented that he exited the tournament when his AA fell to AKo, all-in pre-flop, and was surprisingly nonchalant about the nasty beat. “It happens,” he said. “But this is a cool event. I’ll be back.”
As luck would have it, I saw Paul Hsu (the winnah last time) loitering nearby and reunited him and Michael for a photo op.
At least one guy recognized us!
I later asked Mosikian if he conned them into attending using the pretext of a sponsor’s exemption, but he insisted they returned on their own initiative. What? Hsu had never been to Commerce prior to the last event and now he was a cash game regular. And Friedman was laughing off a gross 15 to 1 beat and vowing to return. It was clear that this freeroll concept has merit.
I stopped by the Leykettes girls and picked up a poster/calendar to replace the other one I’d worn out and grabbed some gratuitous photos for the 2R staff.
If it’s only guys in the office, there’s no sexual harassment problem, right?
Hmmm…is it a puppy?
Killing time, I wandered downstairs to the main poker room. I noticed that it was kind of a quiet Thursday overall, but still, Commerce had sixteen 4/8 games going. SIXTEEN. This, of course, filled me with lust—if we had two 4/8s going at my regular room, we’d be beside ourselves. I cleared my mind of the vengeful thoughts and went back upstairs to check on the tournament progress.
The field narrows
10:00p…11 tables left.
10:40p…4 tables left.
Funny. I liked the structure a lot better when I was out and waiting for the tournament to end.
As the field wound down, I spent some time with the floor staff chatting about local food joints. We agreed that the best local steakhouse is Dal Rae, an old school place in Pico Rivera, and for pizza, Bollini's Pizzeria in Monterey Park. Mosikian rattled off his favorites for burgers (Ari’s), tacos (Taco Village) and chili dogs (who knows?) but honestly I didn’t give much credence to his recommendations. I’m sure he’s got an open tab at all those places and looking for any way possible to close them out.
Suddenly, without warning, the bubble broke at 11p. The tournament paid to 27 places with $50 to the first few money spots. I didn’t even know they were close—no tense, drawn out bubble battle here, just a few nudges and “Hey, wait…I think we’re in the money…”. Of course, big cheer erupted when all 27 realized they just locked in $10/hour and a free meal for the night’s work. Not only that, they were now within striking distance of some decent money. First place $1700; second place $1100. Even an untrained observer like me could tell that was real dough for these cretins.
At 11:40p, there were still two tables but barely. Finally, at eleven players, one player moved in with A4o but survived when he hit his flush at the river. Still short, he moved in on the next hand with Q9s and was called by the big blind with Ax. The flop brought an ace and a roar from the other players. He turned a Q and rivered his 9 which brought a howl of protest until the spectators pointed out that the 9 gave the other player a flush. Final table!
They broke for ten minutes and, I overheard the winner recapping the hand for a friend. “He hit his queen, but then I rivered a straight!” Or a flush maybe, hon. What’s not to love about freeroll players?
Final table!
Your first time? Seriously? I had no idea...
As they were seating the final table, one of the railbirds came up to me.
“Hey, man…those girls that were with the radio show were talking about you. One of them thought you were her type!”
O rly?
“Did it occur to you to mention that to me before they left the building?”
Come on now. I’m happily married, but did he even stop to think my wife might like some confirmation that her husband still has curb appeal? Pretty thoughtless, if you asked me.
Ya basta with the ocho!
The final table got going shortly after midnight and dragged a little bit. There was no tension really, but there was a fair bit of showboating by all the final-tablers. It was the first, and perhaps last, final table appearance for most and they wanted to enjoy the moment. As for the play, it had all the drama, enthusiasm and civility of a frat house food fight.
Two of the final group mirrored the antics of Humberto Brenes involving their card protectors in even minor decisions. From your living room, watching Brenes rant on ESPN gets tiresome. At 1a when you’re sweating the end of a live tournament so you can get a few pics of the winner and get the hell out of there, watching someone mimick Brenes leaves you homicidal.
One player insisted that I get a shot of his card protector/savior, Ocho. Against my better judgment and taste, I’m presenting it here.
Next time, consider using a live pitbull
Uh, kings are good…
Paul Hsu, again the winner last time, was sweating one of the final table participants. He’s a good guy and we laughed about some of the awkward moves we saw. In fairness, the final table stack sizes (about 6x the BB) didn’t leave much room for decision-making. It was shove or be shoved upon, and hope your hand would prevail—Darwinism…with outs.
The event finally spun down to last two players, and despite a 2 to 1 chip disadvantage, Mike Kilker, a 21-year-old aspiring pro, looked good to take the title. The chip leader, Ted Hampton, was a likable, 40-ish guy who seemed to be playing in his first live event and just happy to have something for his kids to brag about. Hsu and I both liked Kilker’s chances.
Heads up
Through aggressive raising, Kilker took a chip lead but gave it back when his Ax didn’t hold against Hampton’s Jx. Now struggling for chips, Kilker button-shoved J5o. Oops. Hampton turned over pocket kings and it was over. Silly me, thinking the poker god assigned to the Commerce was something other than a sadist. Kilker picked up his $1100 and Hampton pocketed $1700 and the title.
Runner-up: Mike Kilker
The Winnah: Ted Hampton
Conclusion
I’ll be honest. At the start of the evening, if anyone had offered the action, I’d have bet my bankroll that Griffo and Mosikian would finish the evening in Men's Central facing multiple charges of moral turpitude and hocking their watches to make bail. But watching the crowd and listening to general feedback, I’d have to concede their freeroll event was, once again, a massive crowd pleaser.
The rail at most tournaments is lined with grim and tired faces and bad beat stories are thick in the air like flies around picnic trash. On the rail at the Commerce/97.1 Free FM Freeroll, people were laughing as they busted out—fat and happy, literally and figuratively—and it was clear that every one of the railbirds was looking forward to the next one. As for me, I’d be back, of course. I had unfinished business...
“Ok, take your time and focus. Which one was it?”
Edmond
The tone for the day was set shortly after I met LakeofFire for breakfast at the Radisson in downtown Fresno. I was nursing a cup of bad coffee and shaking off yet another 16-hour shift of bussing tables and running chips at Club One when an angry troll jumped from behind a plant and shrieked something about the breakfast buffet. Lake’s traveled with me enough to know that mornings, for me, are edgy times and moved to diffuse the situation.
“Just turn away, Ed. I’ll handle this.”
He muttered something to the creature in guttural dialect and threatened it with a spoon, and it immediately slunk back to its cave. The beast reappeared twice more in the next twenty minutes, first to threaten me with scalding water and second to extort me with a toll receipt for safe passage. Both times Lake stepped in, first to glare it down, and second to convince me to pay the tribute and move on.
“Fresno’s an incestuous place,” he reminded me. “No telling which local authority calls this thing kin and we’ve no time for an overnight stay in the local lockup. Tonight’s the Free FM 97.1 Free-roll at the Commerce Casino. Remember?”
The allegations include…
Ah, yes. Repeat readers may recall our shameful involvement in the Dec 07 version of this sordid event. That one left the Commerce’s magnificent tournament room in shambles with Conway and Whitman listeners/erstwhile poker players looting TVs and furniture when the event spun wildly out of control. It took several days of round-the-clock work by the maintenance staff to restore the luster of the room, and several more of impassioned lobbying to keep hosts David Mosikian and John Griffo from inside front cover placement in the Casino’s banned book.
Earlier in the week, Mosikian had emailed me with an elegant invite.
“Dude, they dropped the charges AND the lawsuit! We’re doing the freeroll again!”
I was game, of course—Griffo and Mosikian go through life like merry fugitives, expecting to get caught and punished but committed to having fun in the meantime. That said, I presumed they were smart enough to realize the immediate civil and criminal ramifications of another on-air melee and had taken steps to minimize their exposure. I pressed them for details on how they planned to avoid another fiasco.
Griffo assured me that security would be a non-issue. They had recruited more Leykettes girls, reinforced them with a trio of hotties from Knob Creek bourbon and expanded the buffet to leave even the most rowdy participant comatose. In addition, he pointed out that the 97.1 FreeFM guys would deliver Danny Bonaduce , whose own shenanigans would likely establish a floor for bad behavior. This is a man, he noted, who as a child lived with David Cassidy and Susan Dey on a used school bus, and as an adult, engaged in fisticuffs with a transvestite, a Survivor contestant and Donny Osmond as a matter of public record. Griffo was confident even the most abhorrent acts by tournament participants would look tame by comparison.
Mosikian chimed in. “We figure if we stuff the listeners at the buffet and dull their senses with single batch bourbon, they’ll be too sluggish to cart off the ATMs again. Plus, Conway insisted the girls have all been properly trained in crowd control and showed me a DVD of one of them as proof. Besides, it looks like those welts and paper cuts you got from the flying chips and cards healed without a scar. Quit being such a wuss. You’re coming.”
These were the same savvy marketers that came up with the “Let’s just toss Asian models with fistfuls of cash into the pai gow pit” Chinese New Year celebration documented here two months ago. I was no match for the tag team—Griffo’s reasoned arguments and Mosikian’s breezy confidence brought me around. I marked the event on my calendar and posted Lake. Hence, his concern now that we avoid being unnecessarily detained in Fresno.
The Free FM Freeroll
Lake and I spent the day at Club One and headed south around 3p or so. The run down to Commerce went without incident and I pulled into the valet lot around 7p, plenty of time before the 8p start. I pitched my keys to the attendant, hustled up to the second floor and reviewed the situation for the 2R team. I liked what I saw. Lake had rolled in separately with one of my partners and was getting hammered in the Arena sports bar. I texted him and a couple other 2R writers with entry details.
“Meet me in the tournament room ASAP. This is a sick setup!”
As promised, the buffet for tournament participants was expanded to include chilled crab and shrimp, a variety of Asian dishes including dim sum, carved roast beef and a complete dessert setup. Last time, the Commerce set the buffet up in the tournament room, but this time they moved the whole setup out to the 2nd floor patio overlooking the pool area and main entrance to the casino.
Predictably, I found Mosikian parked near the bar.
“Dude! Glad you could make it!”
I complimented him on the spread.
“There wasn’t room in the tournament room for everything we wanted to put out. “ he confided. “And, out here, if we had to, we could just hose the whole place down at the end of the night. By the way, I put you at the featured table.”
His hospitality was a welcome change from the cheap buffets and brush offs I’m used to at other casinos, and Lake and I each filled a plate. As I ate, I watched Commerce restaurant staffers scurrying around like chip runners in a charity re-buy, bringing out endless platters of first class food. Gotta give these guys credit, they know how to spread a feast.
Uh, can I get a "to go" box?
After a couple of trips back to the shrimp stack, I waddled from the patio to the tournament room to find my seat. Griffo’s crowd management plan was obviously working. I felt more inclined to take a nap than play poker.
The stage thus set…
The Free FM broadcast setup was the same as last time with hosts Conway and Bonaduce up on the stage at the front of the room. Earlier in the week, the station announced that Whitten was leaving the show, but Conway and his production staff moved on without a hitch. As for Bonaduce, when I last saw him, he was face down in a puddle of his own blood, murdered by the “Miniature Killer” on CSI. I’m happy to report that he is alive, well and an entertaining radio personality. He’s now got his own show, The Danny Bonaduce Show, weekdays from 2-3p on 97.1 Free FM and shared his own twisted views on life.
Well, I was pretty wasted so I really don't remember...
Through the course of the show, he and Conway fielded calls about being involuntarily tossed from a casino and interviewed the Leykette girls on what they did for a living when fully-clothed. Bonaduce offered up candid insights on his own drunken and debauched behavior and responded to a listener inquiry about how he avoided becoming a pornstar when his career soured in the 90s. Other topics included how strip clubs fare in a recession and careful assessment of the Leykette girls calendar in the context of the station’s sexual harassment policy.
Ok, let's review. If her jeans sit low on her hips, we're in a recession...
At one point, Bonaduce pitched the concept of a threesome with his girlfriend and, Gina, one of the Free FM staffers. Now if I tried to set up a threesome with my wife in the privacy of our home, I’d likely spend the next three weeks eating takeout food in the garage. Not so, Bonaduce. He had his girlfriend and Gina intrigued on stage, in public, and can reference a recorded on-air transcript for confirmation.
Danny Partridge, salesman.
Overall, all the topics covered by Conway and Bonaduce were a refreshing change from the election year drivel to which we’ve been subjected by most talk radio hosts. Public intoxication, gambling, strip clubs and lewd behavior? These were the real issues on the minds of the electorate and Conway and Bonaduce were courageous enough to confront each of them head on. If you’d like to hear their platform or Bonaduce’s artful pitch for his ménage-a-trois, you can hear the podcasts here.
Dodgeball!
Enough on talk radio; we were here for poker. The tournament structure was 1000 starting chips and 25/50 blinds—the rough equivalent of playing dodge ball at point blank range—but it was free and the Commerce added a prize pool of six thousand dollars and iTunes gift cards so no one was complaining. In fact, Mosikian spent most of the night playing Godfather to the endless stream of sycophants anxious to get invited back to the next event. It was pretty nauseating to witness, but I’d probably do the same in a similar position.
“Hey [your name here], nice to see you! Glad you could make it. What? Of course, there’ll be spot for you next time. Always. Hey, I meant to ask you…what’s the price for some new rims for the Lexus? What? No, I couldn’t. That wouldn’t be right. Well, ok…if you insist. I’ll drop the car off Monday…”
The “featured” table was really a collection of riff-raff handpicked by Mosikian and appeared to comprise players to whom he was related or owed money. Early in the tournament, the Knob Creek girls hovered by our table, seduced by the notion of “featured” players. They were struggling to hold an absurd amount of swag so I offered to find a good home for some items.
“A Knob Creek flask? Well, as it turns out, I AM a bourbon drinker. This will come in handy on those long nights editing the home page. How about one of those t-shirts? What, I have to choose? Ok, how about one of those pens…”
Tools of the trade
Ok, one for the fellas fighting overseas...
The hands
As you might guess given the structure, there’s not much skill involved in one of these freeroll tournaments. It’s kind of like being a carpenter with a Fisher-Price toolbox. You can make some noise and have some fun, but it’s probably not something you can count on for rent money. In any event, I had a few hands worth noting.
With the blinds at 25/50, I raised with AKs and took the pot. Ok, that sounded better on tape.
I called in position with 55. Bet at 832 board and took it. Edmond the Courageous.
I called in position with 55 again. I called a small flop bet and folded to sizable turn bet. Edmond the Timid.
Sitting with 1000 chips and the blinds at 50/100, I pushed with JJ, got two callers and was unanimously criticized by the table for overplaying a premium hand. Uh, ok.
After some skilled play I’d prefer not to discuss, I was sitting with 1475 in chips, and in a massive hand, a set of fours cleared four players from our table. Clarification: a massive hand, in which I was not involved.
With about 2000 chips, I called in position yet again with 55 and hit middle set on a 5
49 board. Checked to me, I bet 350 into a 650 pot and took the pot. So you guys call everyone else with bottom pair, gutter draw…but not me…In the spirit of the night, I donked off half my stack on some piece of trash hand, and shortly after the blinds jumped to 200/400 with a 25 ante, I moved in with A4o for my last 1200 chips. I was insta-called by two hands including 97s by the big blind.
A9x. Fine. Turn J. River 9. Bah.
I was out.
You again?
After I busted, I had some time to look around. I have to give the Commerce guys credit—they know how to lure them in. Through radio spots and an email campaign, they had about 3000 applicants for 450 tournament seats. I counted another 70 or so alternates for a total of 520 participants. Even better for the home team, the players seemed to roll over into cash games as soon as they busted from the tournament.
Nice crowd for a Thursday
A typical Thursday night at the Commerce will feature 8-12 baby NL games (1/1 blinds $40 max buy-in) running. Tonight as the tournament broke down, I counted 20. That’s more low stakes NL games than most Vegas poker rooms have TABLES. 180 players committed to low stakes NL—frightening…but impressive!
Hanging around the snack bar, I ran into both the #1 and #2 finishers (Paul Hsu and Michael Friedman, respectively) at the prior 97.1 Freeroll. I re-introduced myself to Michael (the #2 finisher), who seemed genuinely flattered that I picked him from the crowd.
“Wow. How did you recognize me?”
He clearly didn’t understand how the blog editing process works.
“I stared at your picture repeatedly one weekend. Your mug still haunts me.”
He commented that he exited the tournament when his AA fell to AKo, all-in pre-flop, and was surprisingly nonchalant about the nasty beat. “It happens,” he said. “But this is a cool event. I’ll be back.”
As luck would have it, I saw Paul Hsu (the winnah last time) loitering nearby and reunited him and Michael for a photo op.
At least one guy recognized us!
I later asked Mosikian if he conned them into attending using the pretext of a sponsor’s exemption, but he insisted they returned on their own initiative. What? Hsu had never been to Commerce prior to the last event and now he was a cash game regular. And Friedman was laughing off a gross 15 to 1 beat and vowing to return. It was clear that this freeroll concept has merit.
I stopped by the Leykettes girls and picked up a poster/calendar to replace the other one I’d worn out and grabbed some gratuitous photos for the 2R staff.
If it’s only guys in the office, there’s no sexual harassment problem, right?
Hmmm…is it a puppy?
Killing time, I wandered downstairs to the main poker room. I noticed that it was kind of a quiet Thursday overall, but still, Commerce had sixteen 4/8 games going. SIXTEEN. This, of course, filled me with lust—if we had two 4/8s going at my regular room, we’d be beside ourselves. I cleared my mind of the vengeful thoughts and went back upstairs to check on the tournament progress.
The field narrows
10:00p…11 tables left.
10:40p…4 tables left.
Funny. I liked the structure a lot better when I was out and waiting for the tournament to end.
As the field wound down, I spent some time with the floor staff chatting about local food joints. We agreed that the best local steakhouse is Dal Rae, an old school place in Pico Rivera, and for pizza, Bollini's Pizzeria in Monterey Park. Mosikian rattled off his favorites for burgers (Ari’s), tacos (Taco Village) and chili dogs (who knows?) but honestly I didn’t give much credence to his recommendations. I’m sure he’s got an open tab at all those places and looking for any way possible to close them out.
Suddenly, without warning, the bubble broke at 11p. The tournament paid to 27 places with $50 to the first few money spots. I didn’t even know they were close—no tense, drawn out bubble battle here, just a few nudges and “Hey, wait…I think we’re in the money…”. Of course, big cheer erupted when all 27 realized they just locked in $10/hour and a free meal for the night’s work. Not only that, they were now within striking distance of some decent money. First place $1700; second place $1100. Even an untrained observer like me could tell that was real dough for these cretins.
At 11:40p, there were still two tables but barely. Finally, at eleven players, one player moved in with A4o but survived when he hit his flush at the river. Still short, he moved in on the next hand with Q9s and was called by the big blind with Ax. The flop brought an ace and a roar from the other players. He turned a Q and rivered his 9 which brought a howl of protest until the spectators pointed out that the 9 gave the other player a flush. Final table!
They broke for ten minutes and, I overheard the winner recapping the hand for a friend. “He hit his queen, but then I rivered a straight!” Or a flush maybe, hon. What’s not to love about freeroll players?
Final table!
Your first time? Seriously? I had no idea...
As they were seating the final table, one of the railbirds came up to me.
“Hey, man…those girls that were with the radio show were talking about you. One of them thought you were her type!”
O rly?
“Did it occur to you to mention that to me before they left the building?”
Come on now. I’m happily married, but did he even stop to think my wife might like some confirmation that her husband still has curb appeal? Pretty thoughtless, if you asked me.
Ya basta with the ocho!
The final table got going shortly after midnight and dragged a little bit. There was no tension really, but there was a fair bit of showboating by all the final-tablers. It was the first, and perhaps last, final table appearance for most and they wanted to enjoy the moment. As for the play, it had all the drama, enthusiasm and civility of a frat house food fight.
Two of the final group mirrored the antics of Humberto Brenes involving their card protectors in even minor decisions. From your living room, watching Brenes rant on ESPN gets tiresome. At 1a when you’re sweating the end of a live tournament so you can get a few pics of the winner and get the hell out of there, watching someone mimick Brenes leaves you homicidal.
One player insisted that I get a shot of his card protector/savior, Ocho. Against my better judgment and taste, I’m presenting it here.
Next time, consider using a live pitbull
Uh, kings are good…
Paul Hsu, again the winner last time, was sweating one of the final table participants. He’s a good guy and we laughed about some of the awkward moves we saw. In fairness, the final table stack sizes (about 6x the BB) didn’t leave much room for decision-making. It was shove or be shoved upon, and hope your hand would prevail—Darwinism…with outs.
The event finally spun down to last two players, and despite a 2 to 1 chip disadvantage, Mike Kilker, a 21-year-old aspiring pro, looked good to take the title. The chip leader, Ted Hampton, was a likable, 40-ish guy who seemed to be playing in his first live event and just happy to have something for his kids to brag about. Hsu and I both liked Kilker’s chances.
Heads up
Through aggressive raising, Kilker took a chip lead but gave it back when his Ax didn’t hold against Hampton’s Jx. Now struggling for chips, Kilker button-shoved J5o. Oops. Hampton turned over pocket kings and it was over. Silly me, thinking the poker god assigned to the Commerce was something other than a sadist. Kilker picked up his $1100 and Hampton pocketed $1700 and the title.
Runner-up: Mike Kilker
The Winnah: Ted Hampton
Conclusion
I’ll be honest. At the start of the evening, if anyone had offered the action, I’d have bet my bankroll that Griffo and Mosikian would finish the evening in Men's Central facing multiple charges of moral turpitude and hocking their watches to make bail. But watching the crowd and listening to general feedback, I’d have to concede their freeroll event was, once again, a massive crowd pleaser.
The rail at most tournaments is lined with grim and tired faces and bad beat stories are thick in the air like flies around picnic trash. On the rail at the Commerce/97.1 Free FM Freeroll, people were laughing as they busted out—fat and happy, literally and figuratively—and it was clear that every one of the railbirds was looking forward to the next one. As for me, I’d be back, of course. I had unfinished business...
“Ok, take your time and focus. Which one was it?”
Edmond
Bugsy's Diner: We never close.
by EdmondDantes on 03/09/08
To a person, my friends who know poker, gaming and the challenge of finding and buying a casino right have been excited for us and our new ownership. Despite my inference that I feel like a 24-hr busboy/bouncer, it's been a blast so far and, frankly, an ego boost. We've got a couple of thousand employees and market-leadership in our other businesses, but I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have 300+ people engaged, hands-on, in upgrading a business. And bottom line, even if it's just a mid-sized cardroom in a smaller market, it's still a licensed casino in the 2nd largest gaming state in America. We'll take it.
On the other hand, my wife is a part-owner of a children's clothing business and a yoga/pilates nut. She loves to see me engaged in whatever I do, but from her perspective, pretty much everything I do is nonsense. This morning, I was checking in on yesterday's results and incident reports and when I got off the phone, she commented, "It's like owning a Denny's. You guys never close." Well, sort of.
My friends think I'm living like Bugsy Siegel. My wife thinks I run a Denny's. It's all about perspective.
On the other hand, my wife is a part-owner of a children's clothing business and a yoga/pilates nut. She loves to see me engaged in whatever I do, but from her perspective, pretty much everything I do is nonsense. This morning, I was checking in on yesterday's results and incident reports and when I got off the phone, she commented, "It's like owning a Denny's. You guys never close." Well, sort of.
My friends think I'm living like Bugsy Siegel. My wife thinks I run a Denny's. It's all about perspective.
The Glamor of it All
by EdmondDantes on 03/07/08
Two weeks in
Ok, my partners and I have owned the card room for about two weeks now and we’ve noticed a slight pickup in both business and overall energy level. In fact, our first night of ownership was a “best-ever” night in the casino and we’ve had a few solid nights since. I’d like to think it’s because of our efforts to improve customer service, but more likely, it's some sort of honeymoon effect or just that the regulars are hanging around longer to figure out when they could fleece us most effectively. Regardless of what’s driving the activity, we’ll take it. Better energy, more people, continuous games—it’s all good for everybody.
Day and swing shift
For those of you who would like a more specific taste of the glamor of card room ownership, here are some highlights from the first couple of weeks:
Held introductory meetings with all employees. We’ve got some of the better dealers I’ve seen anywhere (a nice surprise) and a dedicated floor staff…that helps even more. Some even speak English.
Resigned myself to my position as the best-dressed busboy/maintenance person in the local hospitality industry.
Supervised lots of computer and network fixes. Even if we don’t know how to use it, it now works.
Switched from 50c chips to $1 chips in 1/1 NL and saw the rhythm of the game improve immediately—more hands per hour and fewer mistakes. Received several sitting ovations from players and am convinced I have at least 15 or so votes for a future mayoral run.
Learned pai gow. Correction: Sat in a pai gow game, dusted off a couple of hundred bucks and still have no idea what’s going on.
Ordered another 3-card poker table. “Next time there are more than 10 people on the list for a game, feel free to let me know…”
Toured facility with local PD. The casino has a good working relationship with the city and we’re of course inclined to keep it that way. Ironically, I now have the phone numbers of vice detectives from two California counties in my speed dial adjacent to those of deeb, Thay3r, nath, Bond et al. There’s an epic conference call here somewhere.
Uncovered a trove of local sports memorabilia in storage including photos of local heroes Tom Seaver, John Hannah, etc. “Ok, we can use these. You can toss any K-Fed pics.”
Added recycling bins behind the restaurant. Vetoed my wife’s suggestion that we remarket ourselves as the world’s first ca-greeno.
Started rethinking menu and bar items. Excited about the prospect of a decent hamburger and bourbon I recognize on site.
Found out we’re allegedly the number 1 seller of Corona in the area. “Hi, yes, I’m calling from the casino. We deserve a visit from the Corona girls. No…all of them.”
Played a few hours of 1/1 NL and picked up 6+ buy-ins. Played 30 minutes of 15/30 limit. Busto for 35 BBs. It’s about giving back.
Made a quick trip to NY to keep the day job running smoothly. Re-read local ordinances and state regs on the plane. Note to self: review compliance with staff. Hate to give Tater and Landlord the satisfaction of seeing me hauled away in an orange jumpsuit.
Started compiling approved promotion activities. I’m thinking an annual Curse of the Waffle series might have merit. We may even use a tournament structure with antes.
Issued first red card (lifetime ban for fighting) and a couple of 1-month and 6-month timeouts for other drunken confrontations. I knew all those times I watched Road House would pay off.
In short, it’s been two weeks of 18+ hour days doing everything from fixing computers, otherwise playing casino operator and bouncer—all of which I like far more than I expected.
The graveyard shift
As for 2R, lakong’s been working on the initial video cuts of the twisted sit-n-go we ran during the LAPC and expect to have a few within a couple of weeks. The first cuts look like they have lots of promise and high entertainment value. Deeb, watts, nath, Thay3r, vivek, Adanthar, Flack, Brunson and Canseco on camera? Even without sound and hole card cams, it’s must-see comedy.
In addition, we’ve noticed several new writers coming to the site and have added a New Blogger section to stroke their egos early and often. A guy writes for one reason—to be read. We’re here to help.
We’re also working on maybe adding special sections of the site for Bond18 and the W/C crew to do the things they do without hurting themselves or others. Think of it as padded rooms with one-way mirrors so we can witness their respective matter-of-fact depravity in safety.
Finally, since we live for upgrades here at 2R, we’re adding private messaging, better forums to allow easier commenting and a proprietary debate feature. We may even fix the Login and Post a Comment and avatar upload features. No, I'm not kidding.
Edmond
Ok, my partners and I have owned the card room for about two weeks now and we’ve noticed a slight pickup in both business and overall energy level. In fact, our first night of ownership was a “best-ever” night in the casino and we’ve had a few solid nights since. I’d like to think it’s because of our efforts to improve customer service, but more likely, it's some sort of honeymoon effect or just that the regulars are hanging around longer to figure out when they could fleece us most effectively. Regardless of what’s driving the activity, we’ll take it. Better energy, more people, continuous games—it’s all good for everybody.
Day and swing shift
For those of you who would like a more specific taste of the glamor of card room ownership, here are some highlights from the first couple of weeks:
Held introductory meetings with all employees. We’ve got some of the better dealers I’ve seen anywhere (a nice surprise) and a dedicated floor staff…that helps even more. Some even speak English.
Resigned myself to my position as the best-dressed busboy/maintenance person in the local hospitality industry.
Supervised lots of computer and network fixes. Even if we don’t know how to use it, it now works.
Switched from 50c chips to $1 chips in 1/1 NL and saw the rhythm of the game improve immediately—more hands per hour and fewer mistakes. Received several sitting ovations from players and am convinced I have at least 15 or so votes for a future mayoral run.
Learned pai gow. Correction: Sat in a pai gow game, dusted off a couple of hundred bucks and still have no idea what’s going on.
Ordered another 3-card poker table. “Next time there are more than 10 people on the list for a game, feel free to let me know…”
Toured facility with local PD. The casino has a good working relationship with the city and we’re of course inclined to keep it that way. Ironically, I now have the phone numbers of vice detectives from two California counties in my speed dial adjacent to those of deeb, Thay3r, nath, Bond et al. There’s an epic conference call here somewhere.
Uncovered a trove of local sports memorabilia in storage including photos of local heroes Tom Seaver, John Hannah, etc. “Ok, we can use these. You can toss any K-Fed pics.”
Added recycling bins behind the restaurant. Vetoed my wife’s suggestion that we remarket ourselves as the world’s first ca-greeno.
Started rethinking menu and bar items. Excited about the prospect of a decent hamburger and bourbon I recognize on site.
Found out we’re allegedly the number 1 seller of Corona in the area. “Hi, yes, I’m calling from the casino. We deserve a visit from the Corona girls. No…all of them.”
Played a few hours of 1/1 NL and picked up 6+ buy-ins. Played 30 minutes of 15/30 limit. Busto for 35 BBs. It’s about giving back.
Made a quick trip to NY to keep the day job running smoothly. Re-read local ordinances and state regs on the plane. Note to self: review compliance with staff. Hate to give Tater and Landlord the satisfaction of seeing me hauled away in an orange jumpsuit.
Started compiling approved promotion activities. I’m thinking an annual Curse of the Waffle series might have merit. We may even use a tournament structure with antes.
Issued first red card (lifetime ban for fighting) and a couple of 1-month and 6-month timeouts for other drunken confrontations. I knew all those times I watched Road House would pay off.
In short, it’s been two weeks of 18+ hour days doing everything from fixing computers, otherwise playing casino operator and bouncer—all of which I like far more than I expected.
The graveyard shift
As for 2R, lakong’s been working on the initial video cuts of the twisted sit-n-go we ran during the LAPC and expect to have a few within a couple of weeks. The first cuts look like they have lots of promise and high entertainment value. Deeb, watts, nath, Thay3r, vivek, Adanthar, Flack, Brunson and Canseco on camera? Even without sound and hole card cams, it’s must-see comedy.
In addition, we’ve noticed several new writers coming to the site and have added a New Blogger section to stroke their egos early and often. A guy writes for one reason—to be read. We’re here to help.
We’re also working on maybe adding special sections of the site for Bond18 and the W/C crew to do the things they do without hurting themselves or others. Think of it as padded rooms with one-way mirrors so we can witness their respective matter-of-fact depravity in safety.
Finally, since we live for upgrades here at 2R, we’re adding private messaging, better forums to allow easier commenting and a proprietary debate feature. We may even fix the Login and Post a Comment and avatar upload features. No, I'm not kidding.
Edmond
