Day 2 - Part 1

I remember waking at 4:00AM local time feeling like a new man. Whatever internal batteries that had been fully discharged (hey, my pants were still dry) had recharged sufficiently for me to make my way back downstairs to the poker room. Shower? Not necessary yet, nothing seemed to be growing under my arms. I believe I did brush my teeth however. Oral hygiene is very important. Very.

I headed straight to the poker room and saw only G-Rob playing no limit. I grabbed a seat immediately. Unfortunately for G-Rob, I’ve played with him before and kind of have a read on when he’s trying to buy a pot. When I was dealt A,Q and limped, I knew G-Rob would raise. The flop was an ugly 4,6,7 and I checked. G-Rob, true to form, bet out about $35. I was pretty sure even though the flop missed me that I still had him beat. So the only proper thing to do was raise him all-in. He reluctantly called and showed his 8,3 and his gutshot draw. A Q on the turn sealed his fate, and G-Rob muttered something about the problem with playing with people who know how you play. He went to the bar to drown some sorrows.

Not long after I see Otis and what I originally thought was one of his Missouri posse hanging out on the rail. Oddly, this other guy seemed to be staring at me in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable. He was staring with this wry smile and at first I thought he was sizing me up so he could kick my ass later. Being on the friendly side, after I folded a hand, I went to introduce myself. I asked Otis if this was a friend of his. Otis replied, “I just met him.” Odd. Nonetheless, I introduced myself and he mentioned something about being a fan of my blog. Even more odd. My blog’s not really anything to write home about, unless you like heavy metal and strippers.

So I went back to my seat and again watched as this person stared at me. Finally, after a couple more minutes, this guy mouths the words, “I’m Iggy.” Ok, now my pants weren’t dry, for I shat them. The man, the myth, the non-dwarf??? I cashed out and immediately went with Iggy and Otis to the Sherwood Forest for drinking and drinking and more drinking.

We all got lit up rather quickly and like so many others have mentioned, it was like meeting old friends for the first time. I am not a wordsmith, I’m an engineer by trade. I have no words to describe how awesome it was to drink with Iggy, Mr. & Mrs. AlCantHang, Pauly, Otis, Big Mike, Daddy, Derek, and everyone else I may have missed. What was a trip centered around poker became a trip centered around new friends. Eventually, I got drunk enough to start flexing my arms for anyone who asked. Trust me, they’re not that impressive on the world-scale, but I can’t help myself after beers, shots of SoCo and great company. I apologize for any undue flexing that may have occurred. Also, when I’ve imbibed large amounts of alcohol, out come pictures of my kids. Mini-Blood and mini-bloodette are my pride and joys. I’m sure I whipped out those pics for people too many times too, but I can’t help it. When you’re a proud, drunk dad, that stuff happens.

Up next, the listening party in the limo and the tourney at Sam’s Town…