Weird, and turning pro: The Mother Ship

About Me

Location: Kent, United Kingdom

Stephen Bartley writes about poker and gambling. His passions away from work and family are horse racing, tea, drink and politics. Having escaped London, a world that involved double locks and baseball bats hidden by the door, Stephen moved with his partner, step-daughter and young son to Whitstable, a seaside town in Kent, where he resides in a coastal fortress with astonishing fields of fire. That makes it good for nights in, watching American racing, drinking cocktails and getting early nights.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

The Mother Ship

Working on a Sunday. The temptation to have a day off is strong. The likelihood low.

The World Poker Tour continues today, starting at 8pm our time for five days of Poker on Mandalay Bay time. I've never been to the Mandalay Bay, neither has the WPT. It will be new and interesting.

It was December when I was in Las Vegas, for my first full-time week working for Gutshot. After Rehne Pedersen defeated Patrick Antonius in the Five Diamond Classic at Bellagio I had a night off before flying back to London. Not being the most outgoing bloke, I figured I'd start walking, looking inconspicuous, past the teams working the strip handing out flyers for call girls, and accidentally find a low stakes limit game, where I could lose money and fly back to London able to say 'yes, I've played in Vegas.' I did this in the Luxor, wrote about it, and left $14 down feeling quite happy with myself.

My second trip to HQ has now been finalised, and what I first thought might be a week away in the desert will now be a two-and-a-half-week gallop into 110 degree heat, starting on 25 July. It will test all sorts of things. Professional, personal and physical. I'm looking forward to it, in a schoolboy adventure way, but at the same time it may feel like longer. I know it will. I can be ready for most of it, just not everything.

2 Comments:

Jen Leo said...: For a second it sounded like you were coming out for the Mandalay Bay tourney. You woulda been in trouble if you were coming out here and didn't tell me! :-) John just went over there this morning.

Re Vegas, you'll be right. The AC is on at the Rio full blast, full time. You'll even want long sleeves or a thin jacket at times. Seriously, we rarely go in the heat. And everything over 105 feels the same -- too hot.

Are you staying at the Rio? Where, if not? Last year I remember getting a gang of the media to go out for dinner because I'd heard that Jay Greenspan hadn't seen daylight in four days.

You can even smoke indoors in the halls.

Ok, that's it. I look forward to your visit.; 4:48 PM
Stephen said...: Hi Jen
You can smoke in Las Vegas? This is excellent news. (kidding)

I'm coming out on the 25th so for the love of God, arrange for you and John to be there. It may be the only way I stay sane.

I'll be at the hellish Gold Coast the entire time, and will need to meet up so I can moan about how I'll be missing home...

Otherwise, in all other ways it will be great.; 4:54 PM