LOS ANGELES–I just got back from The Bike … my first venture into a California poker room. Played some Little-Big Game … $2/$3 NLH…

Buy-in: $100
Cash out: $965

Tore that shee-it up! But I had to leave because it was no-limit after all, meaning it was only a matter of time before I might give a hefty portion back. And, I wanted to play in the $300 Stars & Stripes LIVE tourney. (Scroll down for coverage of yours truly.) There were 177 people competing for a first-place payout of about $20k. I finished 41st — 23 shy of the money, but not too bad, considering my tournament play has been shee-it in a bad way for the past couple years. Besides, with my near-bubble performance, I was just emulating Tom.

So anyhow, yes, The Bike. I found it quite pleasing — and I haven’t even begun to tell you about the food. Sadly, I will not be returning to The Bike on this trip … because while I was fighting to stay ahead of the blinds, Gonz (who was presumably on tilt from a bad-beat jackpot hand that got counterfeited on the river) was picking a fight with a member of the floor staff and eventually getting ejected from the casino. Good times!