It’s been nice knowin’ ya, but I’m outta here. Will be away from Pokerati for more than a week — yikes, that will be the longest I’ve been away from the controls ever. We’re not shuttin’er down or anything. I’m just taking my first real vacation since deciding to give up on the whole “job” thing back in ’01. (Yeah, I know I work for Thrillist, too, but that’s not really a job, it’s a gig eating and drinking.) And it’s not even a vacation at that … I’m doing important poker research on the nuances of 40th Anniversary celebrations — you know, in preparation for the 2009 WSOP. Heading out with the entire family to the Caribbean — the folks, sisters, bro-in-laws, nephews, Grandma — for mom and dad’s 40th, but I won’t be bringing my computer (lie), so emails, comments, phone calls, etc. ain’t happening. Awesome Sorry.
I will be playing a little poker, mind you. Apparently the Carnival Imagination has a tourney or series of tourneys played on PokerPro electronic tables (neato!) and one of my “goals” for the vacation is to follow in the footsteps of this familiar face and win the whole dang thing:
In the meantime, California Jen (editorial) and Ed (technical) will be in charge … so please, bug them to keep you informed/entertained. KevMath, Goldfarb, and maybe even BJ Nemeth will be joining them to pick up the Danslack, which as we all know isn’t really that much.
Bon Voyage, suckers!
Even in Vegas, there’s poker going on elsewhere from the WSOP. The Rio itself has left its Westside poker room open — really, I bet it’s more than a mile away from the Amazon room — offering $1/$3 NL, plenty of low-stakes limit, and $2/$5 NL games with a waitlist more than a dozen long. In previous years the Rio shut that room down during the WSOP. But this year it’s open … and it’s boomin’.
There’re also two other tournament series going down in town that coincide super-intentionally with the World Series to offer a high-thrill tournament experience for buy-ins in the hundreds as opposed to the thousands. Basically you’ve got the Minor League World Series at the Venetian (Deep Stack Extravaganza II) and Little League World Series at the Golden Nugget (Grand Series of Poker). I actually wrote about these two poker festivals over at Thrillist this week … along with some info about a kick-ass new steakhouse at the Monte Carlo, a cool near-daily free happy hour that moves around town, and an apparatus you can attach to your penis for greater comfort at the poker table and beyond.
Check it out, and of course sign up if you want a Vegas-minded weekly email of this important-service ilk …
Sorry if I’ve seemed a little non-posty since setting up shop in LV. I’ve been going to too many porn parties playing too much poker busy helping get a new web service off the ground: Thrillist Las Vegas.
Basically, Thrillist will be sending an easy-click email once a week to subscribers about some of the cooler shizznit going down in V-town … only I won’t be using phrases like “shizznit.” In the first edition, we talk about the VIP Suite at Red Rock Lanes (just in time for the PBA Tournament of Champions), the opening of a new restaurant, a more-than-beef-jerky jackpot, a fancy shoe store in the new Palazzo, and how swingers can tell when it’s time for a threesome. All very important to know, of course, whether you’re a local or a semi-regular visitor looking to indulge in ways most can’t find at home.
The premiere non-spam just showed up in subscribers’ inboxes early this AM … and their lives are presumably far better as a result. Did you get it? If not, sign up here.
WTF I’m doing in Las Vegas …
You should sign up. Like really. Because Vegas is for lovers.
