lucko 7th out of 21 in WSOP Event #30

Wow -- our man lucko21 is currently 7 out of the final 21 in WSOP Event #30 -- $1500 No-Limit Hold'em. Best of luck in Day 3 today. Take it down, brudda!

Final Notice

No reservations needed, no agenda -- just a little meet and greet. All poker bloggers welcome!

Ready for Las Vegas

I leave for Las Vegas in just over 24 hours. I haven't been there since the December blogger gathering. Very much looking forward to this trip. When I return I will be posting about some trips I have made to spots that are part of music history. I just recently returned from one.

I have not made concrete plans as to what tournaments I will be playing while in Las Vegas. I usually spend most of my time playing cash games at places like Ballys and MGM. I suck at online cash games but do much better in person. I had a decent string of tournament cashes a few years back but have not had great success recently.

Although I rarely venture downtown, I might play in tournaments at Binion's and the Golden Nuggett. lucko's deep run, however, makes me wonder if I should play one of the ultimate WSOP donkaments. It looks like I could get in on Day 1b of WSOP Event #36. Could that be fate or what?

How Fitting

Many thanks to OhCaptain for organizing last night's charity tournament to benefit the Rochester MN Ronald McDonald House. And ... many thanks to all the people who played in it, registered even though they could not play, or donated winnings or miscellaneous funds.

I started the day with a 400+ mile drive, getting back home with enough time to eat and briefly see my family before the tournament began. Oh course, the trip was made a little more difficult when I spaced out and missed a turn -- and didn't realize it for about an hour! A little scenic detour usually does not hurt too much, but I was pressed for time because of the tournament.

Seeing as how I am the one blogger who has personally benefitted from the Ronald McDonald House, I wanted to win the tournament so badly I could taste it. Blogger tournament -- yum!

I flopped two pair early on and was able to get a big enough stack to keep afloat. I was one of the short stacks going into the final table, but we all know things can turn around drastically there. I was part of a last longer bet with PinkyStinky, CEM fromMD, OhCaptain, and his wife, OhCountess. Wouldn't you know it, OhCaptain was still in.

After wisely choosing my spots and catching some cards (including the biggie -- hitting a set of 9's on a dangerous board), I chipped up was able to eventually take it down despite some tough competition from willwonka, OhCaptain, twoblackaces, and others. First place in the tournament and the winner of a last longer bet -- yowsa!

So ... the guy who has benefitted the most from the Ronald McDonald House is in a great position to give back. And he gladly will.

TONIGHT: McLovin' the kids tournament & Last Longer bet

Don't forget to play in this tournament tonight at 9:00 pm Central time. It is being held in place of the Mookie. As with the Mookie, it will be broadcast on BuddyDankRadio.

PinkyStinky started a $10 last longer bet for tonight's McLovin' the kids tourney. The winner agrees to keep half and donate half to the Ronald McDonald House. To join in the bet, make a comment on the June 15 post of OhCaptain's blog.

Oh yeah -- you may as well just ship that last longer mobney to me right now. lightning36 FTW ...

REMINDERS

*** No agenda, no program. Just show up to meet and renew acquaintances with other bloggers.

*** Get kicked in the junk for a good cause. Played in place of The Mookie this coming Wednesday. Thanks to OhCaptain for organizing and providing the details.

Celebrating

Exorcising

Tonight I watched this YouTube video. It is the first time I have seen this footage since watching it live 39 years ago.

My favorite song of all time? Jumper by Third Eye Blind.

"Everyone's got to face down the demons. Maybe today we can put the past away."

Consider it done.

Big Online Charity Poker Tournament Wednesday Night -- Please Come and Help a Worthy Cause!

This coming Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. Central Time, a charitable poker tournament in support of the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester, MN will be held at Full Tilt Poker. Why should you consider playing? To tell you a little bit about this wonderful community resource, I am featuring a guest post by Mrs. lightning36.

"As most of you know, lightning and I had a recent cancer scare with our 15 yr. old son. Fortunately, a trip up to Mayo Clinic led to successful surgery and healing. Although not the greatest of circumstances, the Mayo experience was certainly an incredible one. What made it a comfortable one was our stay at the Ronald McDonald House.

When we first learned we were headed up to Rochester, MN, I immediately went online to start looking at places to stay. There were several concerns, however. The first was not knowing how long we would need to be there, making it difficult to reserve a room for the proper time. Location and cost were additional concerns, especially since we had never been to Rochester before.

Ronald McDonald House was better than any hotel could have been. Being able to do laundry when we realized that we’d be staying longer than planned was wonderful. The house even provided the detergent! While our son recovered enough to travel, he really just wanted to rest. In a hotel, we’d have been stuck in our room, or at best the lobby, where our son, with his 6 inch scar and swollen face, would have felt self conscious. At RMH, we had the option of staying in our room or being in the lounge. In the lounge our son laid on the couch while I read and snoozed in the recliner and lightning played online poker! Being able to go get a snack in the kitchen any time day or night was a real plus. No trying to figure out what restaurants or convenience stores might still be open. What was a real boon for us was the supply of freshly baked cookies made daily at the house by volunteers. Whenever we left the house, we grabbed a bag or two. Those cookies were our only meal for many hours on more than one day. Finally, just being able to talk with others about our experience and listen to them share theirs was helpful to us. We certainly felt blessed as we listened to the heartbreak and difficulties of some of the other families, some of whom had been there for over 6 months.

Ronald McDonald House truly became our home during a difficult situation. The staff was fabulous, the accommodations restful, and we could really focus on our main reason for being there—to get our son healthy again.

I cannot express in words what a blessing Ronald McDonald House was to us. I truly can’t imagine a better situation in such a trying time other than being in my own home. With 300 Ronald McDonald Houses now open, the number of families cared for annually is incredible. The program relies on private donations and volunteers to provide this wonderful service to families. The cost to stay is minimal. If people cannot afford to pay, it is free.

Please be as generous as you can in supporting RMH. And if you’re lucky enough to live in a community with a House, stop by and see what you can do to help! "

The mission of the Ronald McDonald House is to provide a "home away from home" and offer support to families seeking medical care for their children. We can attest by our own experience that the House does exactly that.

Details
Date: Wednesday, June 16
Time: 9:00 p.m. Central Time
Place: Full Tilt Poker
Cost: $5 + $5 ($5 to the Ronald McDonald House)
Tournament: #164273435
Password: vegas1

The tournament will be broadcast live on BuddyDankRadio. It will be in place of the regular Wednesday night blogger tournament, The Mookie.

Life certainly has its ups and downs. Places like the Ronald McDonald House see to it that the downs are bearable. Please come by and support this worthy cause!

I Have Been Waiting My Entire Life To Say This:

Chicago Blackhawks: Stanley Cup Champions

Hawks Shine -- One More Win Needed

The Chicago Blackhawks overwhelmed the Philadelphia Flyers last night en route to a 7-4 win in game five of the Stanley Cup finals. This was the team we have seen most of the season -- intense, hard-working, successful. Fortunately, the crappy incarnation that had reared its ugly head in several playoff games was nowhere to be found.

Flyers fans sure seemed to be cocky after game four. Chicago fans, no strangers to seeing defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, have been more subdued. To quote Rick Morrissey, Chicago Sun-Times columnist: "When the Hawks play hard, they're the better team. When they don't, they aren't." That has been the problem. No doubt Flyers fans are pleased with their team's efforts. Philly has shown a lot of heart. It has been frustrating to see the Hawks come without their "A game" in some playoff games. Not last night.
On to game six Wednesday night in Philadelphia. I still get the feeling that the Hawks will close it out in game six. No one wants to see a seventh game.

Totally Oblivious

It is amazing how we can sometimes live within a vacuum. My son and I drove home down I-57 late Saturday night after the White Sox - Indians game. Sure, it was windy and the rain was terrible. I did not think much of it until I saw that tornados touched down in several Illinois communities at about the same time we were driving home. One touched down within several miles of the interstate. So how close were we to a tornado? I think I am glad that I do not know the answer.

Battle Royale Epic Failure

Not much to say about the BBT5 Battle Royale. I did not have my head in the game early on and called off my stack with trips 10's from one of the blinds. Sneaky, I thought. Unfortunately, SmBoatDrinks upgraded his flopped set of Queens to a full house on the turn -- as I hit my trips. I guess I "owed" him that since I sucked out on him deep in one of the BBT5 invitationals -- the one I went on to win. Well played, sir. gg me. Yuck.

To The Laundromat We Go

It has been years and years since I had been in a laundromat. However, since our washer and dryer both broke at the same time and we are awaiting delivery of our new appliances, we had no choice. My wife decided that today would be the day to do it all. She even included the laundry from our kids, who have been trained to do their own. Man, that was quite a haul of clothes we took in. My wife played laundry ninja (nine loads at once) while I went out to get lunch for her and feed the kids.

I was surprised that the cost seemed so reasonable -- only $1.50 per load of wash and $.50 per four minutes in the dryer. My wife always loved having a washer and dryer in the house, but my fond memories were always of going to the laudromat with a monster pile of clothes and getting them all washed at one time. And, of course, always hoping that I could pick up a cutie while there -- in my unattached days, of course. Unfortunately, the only success I had there was in getting my clothes clean. You might say that more than the laundry was agitated at the time ...

Biggest Blackhawks Game Since 1971

Today is the day we find out if the Chicago Blackhawks have what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. The best of seven series is now down to the best of three with the Hawks having home ice advantage. However, the Philadelphia Flyers have won the last two and have momentum on their side. The entire series has been entertaining hockey and tonight should be no different. If you have never watched an NHL game before, tune in to NBC tonight. You will understand why playoff hockey is probably the most exciting sporting even to view.

I stick to my guns as a long suffering fan and predict the Hawks will win the crucial game tonight and then end the series in Philadelphia. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but that is why I am a fan, right?

An Evening at the Cell

Many thanks to fellow poker blogger genomeboy, who was in Chicago for a professional conference and treated this lowly White Sox fan and his son to a baseball game at US Cellular Field last night. genomeboy and I have discussed family and child rearing topics in the past -- always fun topics, right? Unfortunately, the Sox continued their losing ways and lost -- again -- to the Cleveland Indians. However, my son, who has not been at a baseball game since he was an infant, surprisingly wanted to go to try out a new experience -- and enjoyed it. It actually was a pretty boring game, but games are always good when the company is good, right?

Thanks again, Jason. It was great meeting you in person after sharing many e-mails with you. Let's keep in touch as we struggle to help our kids get through this wacky world.

All Good Things Must End

This afternoon is the final event of the Battle of the Blogger Tournaments 5: the Blogger Battle Royale. Up for grabs: a $2000 WSOP bracelet package for the winner and and additional $2000 to be split among the rest of the top ten. Schweet! Once again, a huge thanks to Full Tilt Poker and AlCantHang for these great tournaments. Please Al -- a BBT6 somewhere down the road?
I really liked the way BBT5 was set up: a decent amount of tournaments in a relatively short span. BBT4, as good as it was, took an enormous commitment of time. Also, BBT5 was important in getting some of the bloggers participating in blogger events again. The weekly Mookie was getting boring with just the usual suspects and small fields.

Who will win the final event today? I will be trying. It should be a blast.

Blackhawks Up 2-0 in Stanley Cup Finals

Philly Asshole Shows Why He Made My List

Two more wins -- so short yet so long -- until I finally see something I have been waiting a long time to see: the Stanley Cup in Chicago. Although I was alive when the Hawks last hoisted the Cup, I was too young to remember it.

Growing up in Chicagoland in the 1960s and 1970s, I began paying attention to sports during the really dry years of Chicago sports. There was a 22 year championship drought -- the period when I was growing up. The Bears finally broke through in 1986. The Bulls followed with six championships in the 1990s. The White Sox won it all in 2005. The only two teams yet to win: the Blackhawks and the Cubs (muhahaha). This is the year of the Hawks.

Game three is in Philadelphia Wednesday night. I picked the Hawks to win in five games, so I would not be surprised to see the Flyers win game three.

Today's featured player: Chris Pronger of the Flyers, who remains one of the game's dirtiest players and poor sports. Refs won't call cross checks against him, and he tries to get under the Hawks' skins by grabbing the end-of-game pucks and pitching them. Congratulations for demonstrating why you made my recent all-time hockey d-bag list. Well deserved!