I don’t really get into poker fiction too much — the real-life stories are sordid/compelling enough. But I just stumbled across this novel by John Blowers — Life on Tilt: Confessions of a Poker Dad — and I gotta say, seems kinda intriguing.
I won’t waste your time trying to tell you what it’s all about without having even read/listened to it … but as much as Blowers’s photo frightens me (he looks like The Butler), the first 20 seconds of his promotional vid makes me think it’s gotta be better than Lucky You.
Just flipping channels while changing Pokerati’s spark plugs … and Lucky You is on HBO. I’m Tivo’ing it. It’s only fair that if we’re gonna continue to look at this movie as the Greek Tragedy that poker has become, I should actually watch it.
5 minutes in — Dude’s in a pawn shop muttering … losing interest.
7 minutes in — Fontana Room, Sammy Farha saying “raisey daisey” … don’t care … ooh, wait, it’s the fat guy from Borat? At-the-table hand analysis and Andy Bloch’s hat … hmmm.
11 minutes in — Horatio Sanz as Robert Goldfarb?
18 minutes in — OK, tuning out for now. Got better things to do. Online poker joke, ha. Flush got there, damn.
Personally, Survivor isn’t one of my favorite shows but I’m tuning in this season (Thursdays at 8pm PST on CBS) because Survivor: China features poker’s own Jean-Robert Bellande. Bobby did well on the first episode, and rumors circulate that he doesn’t get voted off anytime soon. My only question is… Did he have to take a slow boat to China and make straw huts to get his chance at a million dollars? Sure, it’s a freeroll, but still…
Speaking of crazy, Russell Crowe has been known to do some ridiculous things, like throwing that telephone at a NYC hotel employee, but now he’s taking his antics to moral ground. He has decided that he doesn’t want poker machines in his sports club – or any Australian clubs or leagues – because a study revealed that some of the players use their welfare money to play. Ummm, that’s how gambling has survived the test of time, Russell. Duh.
Gambling brings us to the film Lucky You that was released in theaters back in May. The odds were against it from the start, not only because it was released on the same day as Spiderman 3, but it was a disappointing movie. Warner Bros. had an acclaimed producer/director, all-star cast, and even true poker pros as extras and consultants, but it just flopped. (Eliminate Drew Barrymore and it might have been less painful…) Well, the DVD is now available for rental or purchase. Do what you wish with your spare change.
And let’s end with Jose Canseco. He and a group of men showed up at the California State Poker Championship series to play in the… wait for it… Ladies No-Limit Hold’em tournament. Either long-term use of steroids confuse the brain, or he was making a point that ladies-only tournaments are discriminatory. Wouldn’t women go absolutely nutty if a casino tried to keep them out of a tournament? Seriously, let’s turn the poker tables here.
I don’t really get into poker fiction too much — the real-life stories are sordid/compelling enough. But I just stumbled across this novel by John Blowers — Life on Tilt: Confessions of a Poker Dad — and I gotta say, seems kinda intriguing. 
