Al Riccobono’s Blog

Aside from the Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) at the Atlantis in early January, the 2011 “Poker Year” recently got underway here on the East Coast, with the 2011 Borgata Winter Open.  Now I am no poker expert by any means nor do I claim to be, however, I do play my fair share of tournaments on the East Coast, enough to form an educated decision.  And for what it’s worth, there seriously is not even a close second to the poker experience one could experience playing at the Borgata.

In past blogs, for the one or two of you who have read them, you would know that this place is my favorite.  It certainly is my “home” casino.   But to reiterate, I am extremely lucky to be under three hours away from “the greatest poker show on earth.”  There are so many different reasons why I feel this way and I will try to touch on a few.  It obviously starts at the top, with Tab, the best tournament director in the business.  I am sure he could not do it without the help of Ray, Joe, Darcy, Stan and the best tournament staff around.  Then it is the way they market this event, from the booklets, internet, social media and mailings.  Literally, I can not think of more than a handful of poker players that I have met over the years that did NOT attend at least one of these many events during this series.  It is because of these

marketing efforts that the attendance is HUGE and hence, the VALUE of playing in these tournaments is second to none.  Where can you play in a $300. tournament that has a $100,000 first place prize?  Steps have been taken (and hopefully more in the future) to make the experience for the poker players a memorable one.  Starting with good values on rooms, discount programs all over the hotel, including dining in the best restaurants in all of Atlantic City and even free internet over the course of your stay for the players.  May not seem like much but, trust me, ALL of us appreciate it who stay there for an extended period of time and those costs certainly add up.  It is an acknowledgment of these so called “small things” that other venues do not even stop to consider that sets the Borgata apart.  I for one, appreciate it and I am pretty sure, in speaking to many other players, that they feel the same way.  Thanks Tab, Joe, Stan, Ray, Andrew, Darcy and many, many others for making my “home away from home” very welcoming.

On to the poker.  Things got off to a pretty good start for me.  After blanking in the first two events, I played in Event #4, the $560. N/L event.  343 players started and after we broke the money bubble, only 19 remained after day 1.  I was one of them and looked forward to moving up, even coming into day two with the second shortest stack.  I got my hand when I was dealt JJ and got it all in preflop vs. AK.  I faded the flop and turn and was ready to get right back into the thick of things until a K came on the river, eliminating me in 19th place.  Oh well, I got it in good and was ahead into the river, it’s pretty much all you can ask.  The rest is up to the poker gods.  So, being the first one out on day two, I had a free day but decided to get right back on the horse and play in a $500 Survivor tourney, which, by the way, are the best things to play in.  PLEASE Borgata….have MORE of these in the future!  Anyways, I was lucky enough to win this tourney as well later that night and into the next morning to make for a really great day!

The rest of the trip, I ate well…..uh, but I digress.  Actually, I tried thinking of something good there to say about my poker play for the balance of the trip but it just did not happen.  In fact, on January 28th, I played in FOUR tournaments, a feat that is not easy to duplicate….and went 0-4.  Now we know that cashing in 15-20% of tournaments makes for a pretty good player, but….if I played in 200 that day, I would have been 0-200!  It was just not my day and it began to snowball into poor play on my part and the rest was history.

On January 30th, the Main Event got underway with 718 players competing for the over a half million dollar 1st prize!  I made it through Day 1 and was eliminated in day 2 when my AA ran into J-10 off when he called me on a flush draw after the turn, knowing he was behind.  He missed his flush but hit his second pair to eliminate me.  It was a fitting end to a rather awful last week of the series.

Overall it was a long two weeks of poker but lots of fun.  I have a lot of good friends that I enjoy catching up with during these series and got to spend some time with them.  One of the best highlights, however,  was seeing my man, Mike the Nose Castaldo win his first title.  He is at the top of his game and it is no coincidence that his biggest fan and close friend of mine, Liz,  was by his side the entire way.  One thing I have learned, if nothing else, from playing poker is this: your mind MUST be in the right place, mentally, to be successful in poker.  Too many distractions can be a recipe for disaster.  In Mike’s case, make no mistake about it, his settling influence was there every step of the way.  His demeanor was obvious and I also had this “feeling” about him before this began.  I had it once before about him, it was before his deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.  Liz (and Mike) will confirm this and tell you that I said it.  He was extremely focused and she would not let him stray from his goal.  It is a nice thing to witness and was happy to share that experience with both of them.  Congrats Nose!

Next stop: Palm Beach, Florida for the WSOP Circuit Series being held for the first time at the Kennel Club in West Palm Beach.  The Nose is also coming so that is always good for a few laughs.  We are going to sneak in a round of golf with my friend Jimmy, who lives out there, on the 24th before starting our first tourney on the 25th.  Should be interesting to see how Florida draws players to this “new” event.

Thank you for all your support throughout the Borgata series of events and for the encouragement.  It means more to me than you know and I certainly appreciate it.

In closing, before I leave for Florida, my family and I will be celebrating my Grandmother’s 100th Birthday this coming Saturday.  Aside from my Mom, this is the most influential and amazing woman I have ever met.  Born in 1911 and still talking to me about the Jets losing in the playoffs and WHY they lost, doing her own bills and cooking for herself and for me (not an easy task) on a regular basis are just a few of the things I continue to be baffled by.  They certainly do not make them like they used to!  Happy Birthday Grandma and thank you for always being one of my biggest (and perhaps only) fan.  You are an inspiration to all the lives you have touched and I love you very much!

It’s pretty safe to say that there are certain places I feel “more comfortable” than others playing poker.  Borgata being #1 and Mohegan Sun a very close 2nd.  Things just feel more “at home” for me there.  Of course, it never hurts to have had success in these places, certainly adding to the comfort level.

However, there are certain places that truly are not comfortable for me.  Foxwoods, a stop on the WPT tour and relatively close to my home (2 hours) should be a place I enjoy playing.  Practically in my back yard (in poker distance), I would love to look forward to being there.  But here is the deal: the place blows!  I mean right down to the tournaments, the structures, the payouts, the color of the walls, the lack of things to do, the people are weird, etc…  Trust me, I could go on and on, but won’t.  But I have ultimately decided I will not go back.  There are a few nice people there, like Jimmy the floor guy and Jose the director, but all in all, adios Foxwoods and best of luck!

Now, just 10 minutes away is Mohegan Sun.  And it might as well be across the country as far as the comfort level it gives me, personally, and others I speak to as well.  Mohegan Sun is a place that feels comfortable, warm and inviting.  It is not this cold massive, hard to get around casino.  It is simple, centralized and classy.  Now as far as the poker goes, there is an issue.  Mohegan once had poker, ran into problems, closed it and now has it back.  However, I found out that there are issues with available space and a lack of advertising that is “restricting” them from “booming” (defined as getting the number of players they should be getting).  The tourney director there, Rick Landry is a really good guy.  He goes out of his way to make the players feel welcome, listens to suggestions and really cares about what he is doing.  Players appreciate that and it shows.  I really want them to succeed and get bigger and bigger but they need to work out some kinks and have the reins lifted in order to compete with Foxwoods or Borgata.

Had a rough start to my trip to Mohegan, fresh off my final table finish (7th) the last time I was there after the WSOP ended in July at the Summer Showdown.  I was knocked out, and early in two of the first four events.  Once with AA all in preflop to AK… quick exit, oh well.  So I started 0-4 with only the Main Event left.  A great structure, combined with what I think I played sound poker, resulted in making Day 2.  I came in about 98K with the average being 120K with 66 players coming back from the 205 that started.  I played well, got a few hands and ultimately knocked a couple people out and got my stack up to 680K at one point!  A stack that i felt would be hard to pry from me.  Unless I ran into a cooler or a donkey.  I ran into the latter when I got JJ on the button on a hand right before they were braking my table.  With blinds at 5/10K, I raised from the button to 50K and just wanted to take it down right there and told them to fold, I had a big hand.  The BB (some Indian psycho woman) calls.  Flop comes QQ5, one diamond.  I bet out 100K.  She calls.  Hmmm…I doubt she has a Q.  Turn, Kd.  I bet out 150K, she flat calls.  River 10d, so I slow down and check and she bets 85K.  I just had to see what this woman was calling with.  She flips over AJd for a runner runner flush.  What was she calling with on the flop?  Ace high?  Thought about the hand over and over and though about how to play it differently.  Couldn’t think of anything.  So I lose to this “player” and drop to 380K.  Still plenty of chips to do damage.  After the money bubble I got involved in a few hands that I missed the flop with and dropped to average stack and ultimately tried getting off another “player” on a board of K-7-7-5-2 board by going all in after betting all the way and got called with 99.  Either he is a pshycic, I stink or he sucks, but he won and I lost my stack, bottom line.  Finished 19th and took home $3,400.  Not even close to the $87K I wanted but one of these days, it will happen.

Thanks to those of you who send your good luck wishes throughout the tournaments, it really means a lot. It’s Harrah’s WSOP Circuit Events in December, followed by Borgata Winter open at end of January, followed by the Palm Beach WSOP Circuit that Kerry K and Monica from Blue Shark Optics (http://www.bluesharkoptics.com/Gallery.html) told me about just today.  I have to get down there and plan on it this year!  Visit their website for the best poker glasses on the market, by far.  Great people to boot!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!!

It’s been about two months since my last post so I need to get up to date here….

Always good to count on “ol’ reliable”, Atlantic City’s “Borgata” to get things rolling.  After my final table finish at Mohegan Sun after the WSOP in mid July, my next stop was the Borgata on August 1st for their “Double Play” tournament.  As always, they yeilded over 500 players and I fell a bit short, cashing in 34th place when my KK got cracked by 6-2, yes, 6-2.  It was actually a friend of mine, Jessica DeSantis, who was priced into my pre flop raise from the big blind and she hit bottom two to send me packing.  She was very sweet about it and I told her there was no need to explain.  These things will eventually happen over and over with friends and acquaintences the more you play with the same people so it is something you have to be able to deal with. 

I took the next month off planning a charity event on 9/11 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that Maria and I run each year called our Family and Friends’ “Picnic for a Cause.”  What originally started as our “family” picnic has turned into a major event to raise money for this cause very close to our hearts.  As you probably know by now, my wife and I are cancer survivors and I lost my Mom to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (which is what I currently have) about six years ago.  We had such a great day weather wise as 172 people showed up and we raised about $8,000 thus far.  It is a little shy of what we made last year but that is expected with how tough times are for everyone.  I want to thank everyone who was a part of making that day a success and for donating via the website as well (http://pages.lightthenight.org/wch/Wstchstr10/MRiccobono.)  Maria and I were blown away by the outpouring of support that is shown to us each year.  For that, we are very thankful and truly blessed.

Then it was time for the Borgata Poker Open the next morning after the picnic.  I played my first event on Sunday, September 12th.  It was strange for me to play poker on the first Sunday of NFL games since I am usually in my basement in front of the three TVs with all my friends.  I didn’t do too well in that first event but was back at it the next day in the $400. Deep Stack Turbo with two re-entries allowed.  I did not have to rebuy and instead built up a nice stack after the rebuy period was complete.  I went on to final table the event, finshing 6th out of 280 players and was pleased with how I played.  The next day was the most interesting of the tournaments, the 2K Heads Up double elimination tournament.  This has 64 of the best players going at it and is a real battle of the minds.  I drew Will “the Thrill” Failla, who won a big heads up tourney at Caesar’s Palace, LV a few years ago.  We had a real good match that went back and forth quite a bit and then with 28K in front of me and Will with 22K, I limped in with 10’s and Will raised to 3500.  I went all in and he called preflop with AQ.  The flop was J-10-6 and I flopped a set, but gave him a gut shot straight draw, which he hit on the turn (K).  I had him finsihed off but it wasn’t meant to be.  He went on to win after crippling me and I went on to play in the loser’s bracket against some guy Cheng I believe.  I beat him rather easily and who was waiting for me to play in round three?  My friend, Dwyte Pilgrim.  Anyone in the poker world knows what Dwyte has done (as I type this he is #1 in the world).  Dwtye and I have some history that goes back to Harrah’s Circuit Events in 2008.  We final tabled the 2K event there together and got to know each other.  From there, Dwyte can not be stopped, as you can check out for yourself what he has done since that 2K at Harrahs!  Anyways, Dwyte played a heads up match for the ages.  He had me 3 to 1 in chips, then I had him 3 to 1, then we were dead even for most of the match.  Neither would give or budge and we really battled it out.  I sure know that I respect his game and it seemed to be his feeling that this was the toughest match he was going to have this entire tournament, according to him.  After 3 hours and 20 minutes, Dwtye took me out and I was eliminated from the tournament.  Pretty cool article on our match from the Borgata poker blog here: http://borgatapokeropen2010.blogspot.com/2010/09/balboa-vs-creed.html  I took a couple of things out of this one with me for the future.  Number one, it gave me the confidence that I can play with anybody, and I don’t care who it is.  Number two, I think I made a few of the “expected to win” pros work pretty damn hard to get past me and take note of what I can do.  So that one did not go too well but there were more to come.

It was not until the World Poker Tour’s televised Main Event ($3,500) that I made a bit of noise again.  I made it to day three of this event, making the money and then getting it all in with As9s vs. KQ.  When a Q came on the turn, I was eliminated in 95th place (out of 1,043).  That was, again, quite a tournament with a loaded field of players.  Oh, by the way, Dwyte went on to win the damn thing for 750K!!!

The Borgata puts on these events that are seriously second to none and I have Tab, Stan, Ray, Darcey, Joe and all the staff there to thank for making poker such an enjoyable experience there.  Being away from home for two weeks is rough and these people somewhat become your family and they are great at what they do.

Mike the Nose (from Fatty’s) and I did a pretty funny radio interview about “Fatty’s” reaity show on September 13th on a Florida Sports radio station after the Yankee broadcast from Tampa that you can hear here: http://pokeractionline.podbean.com/   Also, there was an interview with the Borgata here: http://borgatapokeropen2010.blogspot.com/2010/09/big-al-looking-for-fatty-chips.html

All in all, the Borgata once again showed again why it is my favorite place to play for so many different reasons and it was a successful trip.  Now, it’s back to reality.  Home with Maria, celebrating my 43rd birthday today.  Also, this Thursday, I go for my cat scans (every six months, but haven’t taken them since last September), so keep your fingers crossed that we get no surprises.

Looks like it’s up to Foxwoods next in October (although it is NOT one of my favorite places to play).  Thanks for the support and well wishes everyone while I was at the Borgata and I will be talking to you all soon!!!

Well, the Fatty’s Reality Show project has really taken off and it was one heck of an experience at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event!  There were 10 of us from Fatty’s Poker Club that went out to Vegas, plus Eric, our marketing director, andour VIP player/host, Lacey Jones, playing in the Main Event.  What a whirlwind from the moment we arrived!

I arrived in Vegas on Tuesday, July 6th.  I flew in with Carmine and his girl, Shea, from Fatty’s and sat with Ross Mallor, a good friend and poker pro on the flight.  It started to get the ol’ blood pumping in anticipation of what was to come over the course of the next week.  Never did I expect all that was to come for the Fatty’s Crew.  Nor did I expect running into Shaq in the lobby upon my arrival.  Largest man in the civilized world, EASIILY!

We all met for dinner the following night to discuss a few opportunities that came up in terms of sponsors and media opportunities.  Lacey met all the boys for the first time and we enjoyed a great meal at Cafe Mortorano’s at the Rio, my favorite at the Rio for sure.  We ate like….well…..”Fatty’s”….and the camaraderie was alive and kickin’.  We met in The Nose’s room for a briefing by Eric and got our sponsorships and patches lined up for the “uniform” we would all be wearing.  Nose spoke to the crew, as did Scott and I (the three creators of the show).  We looked like Nascar drivers, to be honest, but sure beats the hell out of not having any sponsors!

Day 1 started with a team breakfast and then it was down to the Full Tilt Suite (PPI got us a deal in which they agreed to allow Fatty’s use the Red Pro suite during the entire tournament, a perk that would eventually be very rewarding and enjoyable on breaks, days off, for meetings, etc) for pictures.  Eric also worked out a deal with Andrew Feldman for us (Nose, Scott andI) to be interviewed before the start of Day 1.  What a trip!  It’s sort of weird looking at my name on those ESPN graphics that I spend half my life looking at.  Me?  For real, ESPN, you need to raise your standards..lol.  Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0nwZM-XDY.  Day 1 was pretty successful for the twelve of us, as we ALL made it through to Day 2.  Day 2 saw us lose five players and the highlight of the day was ScottE Mayhem’s knock out Phil Ivey!  Seriously….huh?  How?  Well, Scott can die a happy man now.  It was pretty funny and I am sure we will be seeing that on the ESPN telecasts of this year’s event coming soon.  Day 3 we lost two more andwent into day 4 with Kenny, Scott, Newman, Eric and I still in the hunt. 

On Day 4, about mid way through the day, I was in a handfrom the button in an unopened pot with 8d-10d.  I raised andgot called by the big blind.  The flop came 10-9-7.  He checked andI fired out a pot sized bet with top pair and open ended straight draw and he shoves all in.  I should have gotten away from the hand right there.  Why risk my last 65K (well below the average stack at the time) on what could be a draw (I could be dominated but I did not put him on a better 10 or two pair)?  Well, I was right, it was even better for him, he was holding the ol’ 6-8 off suit.  OMG!  Great play by him and bad call by me.  I regretted doing it now but felt I was ahead and he only had an 8 and was pushing on me on a draw as well.  He had the 8 but, also the 6, ugh..oh well…maybe next year.  Out in about 1100th or so (out of the 7,319 that started).  That is six WSOP Main Events for me now.  Two cashes, two Day 4’s, one Day 3 and one Day 2.  Scott went out in about 900th or so and Newman about 800th.  Good showings but not good enough and we were disappointed.  Maybe we will all learn from this and do better next year.  Eric S. cashed and then our very own Kenny went real deep, cashing in 276th place for about 42k!!  Great job Ken, especially in your first WSOP event!

Throughout the course of the week, we agreed to a partnership with Blue Shark Optics (Manny and Monica…great people) to wear their glasses thanks to the Nose’s gift of gab (and boy can he gab).  Also, we met Steve Soffa (another great, talented guy), the designer of this year’s WSOP bracelets and owner of Hardcore Watches http://www.hardcorewatches.com/.  Steve gave each and every one of us from Fatty’s a beautiful Hardcore watch to wear and after an impressive showing by the group as a whole, he told us to KEEP them!  Real nice gesture and I was honored to meet Steve.  Very smart and talented man.  Also, Norman Chad and I met each other four years ago at the Main Event and have been very friendly since.  Norm is one of the main reasons ESPN poker is so popular and is a really great guy who genuinely cares about people.  He remembers things I told him about me four years ago as if it were yesterday.  Him and Lon, his sidekick, were following the Fatty Boys all the way and know our entire story.

So all in all, between the exposure the show got, our players, the very respectable runs guys made in their first shot out there, the contacts, sponsorships, media oppotunities and fun we had, the trip was a success, albeit, very stressful at times.

Upon returning from Vegas, I really did not plan on what I would do next, however, I decided to take Maria to Mohegan Sun for the weekend to play in the Summer Showdown Main Event there.  It was an $1100 entry and we went wtih another couple, my good friends, Tommy (Newman) andJennifer.  On day 1, Tommy got the most raw deal you could get when he got all his chips in the middle of the table with AA vs. KK and the guy hits his K on the river to knock him out, which sucked.  However, he’s been on a sick run of cashes andas anyone who plays poker regularly knows, this will not be the last time he goes out with AA and is disappointed.  He has many very good days ahead of him, as he is a very good tournament player.  I was fortunate enough to make day two, which brought back 38 of the original 211 entries.  As day two progressed,  we got down to 27 players, I was in 27th, very short stacked and they were only paying 25.  Thankfully near the bubble, I doubled up twice and grinded my way to the final table!  As we got down to the final nine players, there was a lot of talk about ending a very long two days via an equity chop.  My friend Dave Zeitlin, who won this event a year ago, was again at the final table and used a computer program that uses a formula to determine your equity in the tournament based on the number of chips you have left.  Long story short, that is what we ultimately decided after much deliberation and I wound up getting $11,500. for an official 7th place finish.   This recovers me mentally and financially from what the WSOP Main cost me to play, gives me and my backers more shots to crack a big one some day soon and most importantly, I feel like I am playing very good poker right about now.  Something is going to happen soon….just a matter of when.  If I continue to reach final tables or put myself in good positions to win these things, some day I will.  I am confident that will happen.

So, I plan on heading to the Borgata on August 1st for the Double play tourney with Maria, as we celebrate our 12th Wedding Anniversary the following day, 8/2.  I told her if I play on the August 1st (Day 1A), I am definitely off on the 2nd (Day 1B), so we can spend the entire day (poker free) together andcelebrate with a nice dinner that night.  I then will head back to the Borgata on the 13th of September until the end of the WPT Main Event for the Borgata Poker Open.  Subject to change, as always, but that’s the plan right now.

I want to thank everyone for their support while I was in Vegas and also at Mohegan playing the Main Event.  It really does help knowing your friends and family are behind you and support what you do.  For that, I am very lucky and very blessed.

I am really excited to announce a project that I have been involved in the past year is starting to make its way into the poker community.  Myself, my close friend, Mike “The Nose” and another friend, Scott spoke about a possible reality show for guys, of sorts, to take place at Mike’s membership only poker club, Fatty’s.  Picture Cheers, but from a poker standpoint, with that dynamic of all walks of life that come together at the same place to blow off steam at the end of the day.  So we took this concept and began filming for three months at the club and it has snowballed into something very substantial.  We are pretty far along and have an official website (www.fattyspoker.com) where you can find out a lot more about the club, it’s players and have the chance to participate in Fatty’s Fantasy Poker Challenge.  It is 100% FREE and you can win three seats into the 2011 WSOP, including one Main Event seat by playing the game.  You are even able to pick me as one of your players!  Go to  http://www.fantazzle.com/invite.php?referrerid=kml2 now and win yourself a 10K seat for free!

So, this project has taken up ALL of my time, the past few months especially, so here’s hoping that it will be a big success in the near future.  We are already working with lots of potential sponsors, partnerships, alliances, etc that have brought the project to where it is today.  Also, Lacey Jones, Mike and I’s personal friend, has agreed to be the “VIP/Host player” of the show and we are very excited to have her on board.  She will be bringing many of her poker professional and celebrity friends with her to NY to appear on the show.  So, real exciting things in the works and I will keep you all posted on the progress.

Heading to Vegas Tuesday night for the WSOP Main Event, which I begin on Thursday, July 8th, along with the other 10 or so players from Fatty’s.  Write to you from out there!  Until then…..stay well!

Well, I took off for the World Series Of Poker preliminary events in Las Vegas at the Rio, on June 1st with my friend “Mike the Nose” in hopes of cashing in a few events out here and trying to win the coveted “bracelet!!”  On the night of the 1st, we had a business meeting with a friend out there for a project that Mike, I and Scott are working on.  That went VERY well (more to follow) and the trip seemed to start out on the right foot.

The interesting thing about the structures of the tournaments at the WSOP is obvioulsy the lack of chips you receive for your buy in.  Us east coast guys are spoiled rotten since the best tournaments in the world are held at the Borgata, with many of them being deep stacks.  When you come from that, and then sit down to 3K in chips, the margin of error comes into play rather quickly.  For example, one bad cooler hand with 3K in chips and you are finished rather than having plenty of play left if that happens with a deep stack.  But, that’s the way it is, so no sense complaining, we all played by the same rules.  I just know it doesn’t suit my style of play too well. 

Mike and I bought into Event #8, the $1,500 N/L event on 6/2.  I was out half way through the field and Mike was doing pretty well actually, until he ran into some awful hands and fell short of the money.  Long, long hours of play with nothing to show for it makes you tired and grouchy.  So, I spent much of my “free time” in my room, resting or on the computer.  I spent a total of about one hour in the sun by the pool in the 10 days I was there.

The next day, the $1,500 Pot Limit event was held and I really enjoyed that event and will be sure to give it another try next year, God willing.  But…no luck again for either of us.  I took the time that day to buy into the Main Event for Day 1D on July 8th because I did not want to get shut out.

Then the $1,500 Limit event, one of my favorites was the following day.  I made a decent run in this one, only to fall short once again.  Mike also tried this….but we were sweeping the board…0-6!

So on the 5th, we played in the $1K, which really did not serve us much better.  I am purposely sparing the hand details because they make me feel a bit ill when I talk about them.  Bottom line is it’s a good thing there is good food in Vegas!

All that losing made us take the day off on the 6th and decided we would try the Venetian tourney on the 7th.  15K in starting chips….ahhhhhh…a REAL tourney that allows more than one mistake.  Count me in!  Well, needless to say, I made a deep run and was four from the money when I got it all in from the button with AQs only to run into the BB with JJ.  I do not win races and was out in 49th…. as they paid 45. 

So after 0-5, I wasn’t exactly feeling my best or most confident.  I decided I would try ONE more, the $2K limit event, what I consider my best game.. for sure.  Mike took off back to NY and I stayed for this event on 6/9.  Well, it is NOT easy to get eliminated in a limit tourney with 6K in chips in less than an hour, but I managed to do it.  Cooler after cooler with two sets getting beat in the first hour that devestated my chip stack.  I never recovered and was sent packing (literally). 

Finished the trip 0-6, packed up and was ready to get the hell out of Vegas the next night.

The nightmare has ended and I am hoping that this small little get together that begins on July 5th-8th is a tourney I can take down.  I think they call it the World Series of Poker Main Event, or something along those lines.  I will be there and it WILL be better.  So…stay tuned!

Anyone who has ever been to, or stayed at the Borgata in Atlantic City will understand this.  I have stated many times this is the best place to play poker on earth and I will stick to that.  However, I have to get this off my chest.  Am I the only one who notices that this place either smells like marajuana, bad old women’s perfume or someone’s ass at any given point during the day?  If you tell me that you have taken an elevator ride in this place without getting high off the marajuana, then you are lying.  While I am on this soapbox, a few other words of advice for the Borgata; get new TV’s please…the 30 inch tube televisions that weigh more than I do are not exactly attractive.  Also, who makes the beds?  Can you PLEASE tuck the sheets under the mattress.  Is there training for this?  One other thing and then I am done…I promise; NO wireless internet in the room?  Must I sit at this desk, located in the corner of the room, hardwired to the internet on an angle that I can not turn the 900 pound TV to even watch it?  Hello…..wireless internet…..a novel invention.  You have it in the “Living Room” lobby.  Would it be too involved to add it to the rooms?  I lied, one last thing….is the restaurant that I am craving CLOSED ONLY on the nights I want to go there?  I mean, these restaurants are closed more than they are open it seems. 

Anyway, while on the subject of scents and “smelling”…..this was one that Mike, “The Nose” was ready for!  We arrived on Sunday to begin play on Monday in the Spring Open Main Event.  Never in my life have I had a roller coaster of a day like Day 1 in this event.  From 30K to 34K instantly, to 25K, to 28K, to 21K, to 16K to 8K….until late in the day, hitting a nut flush and having my opponent shove on me felt real good and bagged 43K.  On day two, I could not get too much going and picked the wrong time to shove with my 10s post flop when a K came on the flop and got called by K9 off.  Of course, he stayed in preflop for 6K with 200-400 blinds, I mean why not?  He opened to 2K, I raise to 6K and this so called cash expert calls for 4K more.  I mean ya know…he’s committed.  LOL.  Very disappointed in myself. 

Oh well, time to root for Mike “The Nose” at this point, who finished day two with 173K with only 79 players left from the 385 who started.  I stayed to sweat him on Day three and it was down to 27 after the day ended.  Mike survived the short stack of only 5 big blinds at four players off the bubble to get back into it.  With the “cashing” out of the way, it was time to focus on the 355K 1st prize!  Stayed to sweat this disgusting man on day 4 once again.  Mike went out in 11th place after an incredible fight for four long days, representing “Fatty’s” quite well in this tournament series.  Nice job Nose….you did us all proud. 

Special thanks to Tab, Darcy, Jeff, Kaylene, Andrew, Joe, and all the other staff and dealers at the Borgata for yet another well run tournament series!  Looking forward to the deep stack on the 16th and 17th of May.  This will be it for me before I head to Vegas in June for the WSOP preliminary events.

In closing, want to wish my Mom Happy Birthday in heaven.  Impossible to tell you how sorely you are missed.  I think of you every day that passes.  When I win something, the first thing I want to do is pick up the phone and call you and Dad, but…I can’t.  I am sure you know what’s going on.  I Hope Dad is taking you somewhere nice up there tonight!  I love you very much and thank you again for anything that is “good” about me (whatever that may be).  I owe it ALL to you.  You are my idol and my angel.

Coming off my first ever “title” at the NAPT Mohegan Sun Bounty event, I headed to my favorite place on earth to play poker, the Borgata in Atlantic City.  I have said it before and I will say it again, this is the best place to play poker that I, personally, have ever been to.  It holds the best tournaments in the country (thanks to TD Tab and his staff) and gives players the most value for their money.  I also believe that it is the home of some of the world’s best players, most of them not as famous as the pros you see on TV, but it is only a matter of time. 

The 1K at the Borgata Spring Open was my next event and it was on a Saturday into a Sunday.  I play at “Fatty’s”, my home poker club, each and every Tuesday and Friday that I am in town.  We are holding a WSOP satellite event there so I can not afford to miss it.  So, I played at Fatty’s until about 6 am or so and had the brilliant idea of pulling an all nighter and driving to the Borgata with “The Nose” (my friend Mike).  We took off about 7 and Mike was fast asleep by 7:03.  Thank you for being an excellent co-pilot Nose!  I had to pull over at a rest stop to sleep for a half hour if I had any chance of making it in one piece.  After my alarm woke me up, we proceeded to the Borgata and arrived about 10 am.  The tourney began at 11.  What exactly was I thinking?

Well, things started out well and just continued to build from there.  I had two good friends at my table, Gordon Eng and Mike Dentale, both amongst the best players on the east coast.  I built up a healthy stack and unexpectedly played very solid and finished Day 1 (at 2 am, making my consecutive hours awake streak hit 42) with 182K with only 18 players remaining from the 206 that started.  On Day 2, I again started out pretty well, three betting Action Bob Hwang twice in the first three hands to build my stack well over 200K.  I reached the final table but got relatively low in chips compared to the others.  I made a bluff on a river bet against this kid who wound up winning the tourney that was called by his K high!!  I must really need to improve my bluffing if I am getting called on a big river bet with nothing!  Anyways, I finished in 7th place.  Very disappointed for sure, but it could have been worse as well.  I took home 8K for it and my confidence is heading in the right direction.  In the past two weeks I have a title and a final table.  In poker, that does not happen too often and so I will remember this well and appreciate what I accomplished.  And then after that, it will be back down to the Borgata for the Spring Open Main Event, which begins on Sunday.

I now am starting to think that I play better when I am not thinking at full capacity.  My first “chop” of a tournament at the Borgata last year was after I had drinks the entire day (something that I just have NEVER, ever done before).  Now, I stay awake for almost two days (at my age, that is a lot..can’t handle it like I used to in my 20’s) and I final table it, coming close to another win.  Hmmmm…….. 

Most importantly, I was out to dinner with my friends Mike, Scott and Eric to discuss a business venture the night after the 1K.  I received a phone call from a friend of my doctor friend, Nazar Sayegh, that made the hair on my arms stand up.  He left me a message saying that he hopes my luck down here at the Borgata matches what he is about to tell me.  He said that the latest CT scan on Nazar showed that his brain is 95-100% recovered from his brain anuerysm and massive stroke and that the doctors seem to think that he could quite possibly pull through.  Well, it was at that moment that I forgot all about poker and thought about my friend and his uphill battle.  I thanked God and asked for his continued help.  It was amongst the best things I have heard in my life and I hope that things continue to look up in the weeks to come. 

Fight my friend, we are all waiting to have you back…….

The NAPT came to Mohegan Sun in late March, the final stop on their inaugural tour.  I played in a few preliminary events with no luck and went back home for the weekend.  Wednesday was the Main Event, so I decided I would drive up Tuesday to “tune up” for the Main by playing the PokerStars $650 Bounty Hunter event.  118 players started the day and I played well early on and began to build up my stack and by dinner break, I was one of 27 players left, and they were paying 18.  I attended the PokerStars welcome party after going to dinner with my friend Donnie.  Somewhere between paying for dinner or getting a diet coke at the party before heading back, I lost my card protector!  It is a picture of my wife, taken in 2006 when she came with me to the WSOP in Vegas.  The “trade show” had a booth that made these personalized chips and it was my “lucky” protector.  I was upset about it and looked all over, lost and found, asking the floor people, etc….but, nothing has turned up as of yet.  I tried to keep my focus and not get upset or upset Maria, so I kept it to myself.  Oh well….back to the tourney.  We reached the money and I was getting short stacked but was fortunate to double up soon after and make the final table.

I went into the final table with 99K in chips, with the average at 102K.  There were many similar stacks and so someone had brought up that if we decided to do a final table chop (split the 40,000 that was left in prize pot) ten ways, we could all lock up 4K.  This is usually way too early to consider, however, with 10th place money being $900. and only 1st and 2nd place prizes being MORE than 4K, it was a deal that was tough to turn down.  Long story short, there always is one or two in the bunch that are greedy/clueless, so the short stacks had to give them a few bucks more before they agreed.  We all took 4K basically but the main thing, however, was that we were going to play it out for the win and the trophy.  There were some real good players in this event and I found three or four recognizable pros at this FT.  Keith Crowder and Ralph M. were two of them.  We played it out and I really wanted this for my first ever win.  I slow played KK with three players remaining and took out Ralph to gain an overwhelming chip lead on my way to the title.  It wasn’t the WSOP Main Event, but there were quite a few top pros in this event and I was as happy as I have ever been in my poker life.  I “chopped” a tourney at Borgata once before but finished 2nd when we played it out.

As I have said before, the money comes and goes, but the wins are what matters most.  I play for the competition and the glory.  On this night, I took it down!!  Pictures with the trophy, chips, etc….it was all good but…instead of celebrating, I had the Main Event the next day, so it was back to work and early to bed!

Wednesday saw 718 players enter the Main Event and from my point of view, there weren’t many top names missing.  On day one, I ended with only 33K in chips, when average stack was nearly 50K, so I was fine.  On day two, I slowly and steadily built my stack to 40K to 60K to 80K and to 110 K.  There were only 160 players or so remaining and after two table changes, I found myself at a table with my friends Bob Lauria and Vinny P. as well as Eric Froelich and Mike Beasley, along with other internet wackos.  Anyways, here’s what went down.  I am sitting on 100K, average about 120K.  I am in the SB with 8h-10d and Vinny in the BB.  I call and Vinny checks.  Heads up to a flop of Ad-Qd-Jd.  I check and Vinny bets 5200.  I call.  The turn is the 9h.  Now, I turn a straight and also have a gut shot royal flush draw (realistically, the 2nd nut redraw).  So I lead out for 14K.  Vinny tanks and says quietly “all in”, to which I got up and couldn’t believe what I had just heard.  Now Vinny is a fantastic player, one of the best I know personally.  I know he is capable of making moves at the right time.  However, I am also aware of my image (to him and others).  I think about it….and truly could not put him on the hand he would eventually turn over (since there is a less than 1% chance that he flopped a flush), so I called.  To my dismay, he was holding 4d-7d for a flopped flush, but even so, I still had seven outs.  Needless to say, it did not come and I was sent to the rail.  Could I have folded?  Should I have checked the turn?  All things that I have played over and over in my head and beat myself up over the past few days.  I spoke to quite a bit of well respected players who tell me it was not exactly a foolish call.  However, more importantly, I need to learn from it, get better from it and that is all I can do.  So I learned that there were numerous different ways to have played that hand, one of which was to fold the damn thing pre flop.  Good hand Vin and great play.

So, all in all the Mohegan NAPT was a good trip for me.  Finally getting a trophy/win under my belt feels pretty damn good.  I feel pretty good about the way I played in that tourney and in the Main Event, except that final hand.

I want to thank all of you who sent well wishes to me during my tournaments.  You can’t imagine how much that helps knowing you have people in your corner during these long, long days at the table.

Finally, I want to dedicate this trophy and win to my close friend and personal doctor, Dr. Nazar Sayegh, in Yonkers, NY.  I found out this morning that he had a massive stroke and brain aneurysm yesterday.  It does not look good at all.  He is one of the best people this world has, yet is facing his toughest challenge.  He is the man who saved my wife’s life by finding her cancer many years back so that she could get early treatment.  He is the man who found my cancer five years ago and allowed me to catch it early on.  He is the man who takes care of my family and closest friends with the diligence that is unmatched in the medical field.  He is only 49 (turning 50 on Thursday, the 15th!) with a lovely wife and two beautiful children.  This has sent me for a loop…real bad.  I pray for some sort of miracle, but I am being realistic.  I still can’t figure out how the best of the best get taken too early.  Never will.  Nazar, the win was for you….some small way of honoring one of the finest gentleman I have ever had the pleasure of calling my friend.  I love you.

Pretty exhausted of coming close without winning it all.  This time, it was the WSOP Circuit Events at Caesar’s Atlantic City, 1K event.  Finished 14th, making it my 8th WSOP cash that has yet to yield me a bracelet or ring.  I promised myself in THIS lifetime I would, so I might have to live realllly long at this rate.  Ugh!  I probably shouldn’t expect it without doing this full time but I have never been one for excuses.

196 players started, 31 advanced to day two and I was 8th in chips.  However, my Q high straight ran into “broadway” early on to cut my stack in half and it was tough to recover from there.  A run of bad cards and the increasing blinds put me short stacked as we reached the money bubble.  After the bubble broke, we went to dinner break and I had just 22K remaining, with the average at 110K.  I spent dinner with my friends Gene Castro, Dave Zeitlin and Adam Lippert (who was at my table) and told them I would make it a great comeback story.  After dinner, I got as low as 14K but doubled up to just over 40K at one point.  I was in the small blind on my last hand of the tournament with 10-7.  With the flop of 7-6-6, I shoved my remaining 35K in, only to have my lone opponent have 9-6 in his hand from the big blind.  Oh well, I probably would never have laid it down, even if I checked and he shoved, so….another “close but no cigar” scenario, as I was eliminated in 14th place.  I pray one day I will get there to reach my ultimate goal but it just hasn’t yet happened for me.  I am told by many that it will for me and they believe in me.  I do as well.  I can’t get this close…this many times….for something “not” to give one day.  At least that is my thought process and I am sticking with it…lol.

Also stopped by to play in the Borgata Deepstack 500K guarantee this trip but did not have much luck there after getting off to a flying start.  I was called for 60% of my stack on a gut shot by some psychopath and was crippled from there and never recovered.

My schedule for the next few months include a trip to Foxwoods, then Mohegan Sun for the NAPT, then back to Atlantic City for the Borgata Spring Open.  After that, I will take May off (or so I say now) and head to Vegas for the WSOP preliminary events the first week in June for about 10 days, and then back again for the Main Event on July 6th, playing on day 1D on the 8th.

Thanks again for all of your support, as always!