Bopping Around with Tony Bigcharles

"well she looks like her, just like the guy in chicago who paid me money for sex when i was 21 looked exactly like obama"
                                     TBC on Twitter Feb 6, 2020

I imagine that some people saw this Tony Bigcharles tweet and said "What in the world is this guy talking about?" It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it is just, in a sense, part of just another day in the wacky world of TBC. I am not sure how many other people he might have stated this to, but I actually heard it several years ago as we were driving around Las Vegas. I swear, he was dead serious in thinking that a pimp in, I believe, Philadelphia, was really President Obama in Obama's earlier years. I assured him that there was no way this could be correct, and further advised him that he might want to consider not blasting this all over the internet, especially as Obama was president at the time!

But oh, this was just one of the funny times I have had when meeting up with TBC. Most were in and around Las Vegas, but there were some fun times when Tony's sockroll was dangerously low and he was forced to spend significant time in 2013 a bit south of Las Vegas in Jean, Nevada, at the old Gold Strike Casino.

In a scene straight out of The Big Bang Theory, ...

Not only was the elevator not working on his floor, but the air conditioner in his room was not working properly. His room was hotter than hell! On the way back to Las Vegas (with Tony in the car), my brother - thundering36, ManInBlack and I discussed good places to dump his body in the in the desert-like area along the interstate. Good times! I imagine that thundering36 will post a comment about Roman Noodles!

After my first trip to Jean, I wrote the following in my blog:

Monday was the unofficial TBC day. I drove down to Jean to finally see the Gold Strike Casino, an interesting mixture of the past and the present. Tony was playing his usual Dealer’s Angel video blackjack machine (four spots) and was upset at a guy watching him play. It didn’t help that Tony was mad that he was down some and then hit the wrong button when he meant to cash out, losing four more bets. Watching how long the cashouts took reminded me of old Las Vegas. Tony had arranged for buffet lunch comps for us but first wanted to talk outside in private. He had a bone to pick with me and was frustrated with some other things and didn’t hold back. I was surprised to see how many different ways he could use the word “mother fucker” when he was angry! It was the first time I had seen one of the famous Tony explosions. Frankly, it was a little scary even though I know that Tony is a fearful guy. Little wonder that many casinos have 86ed him after seeing him explode.

Yes, the time in Jean sure was interesting!

Back in 2014, we played poker a few times at the Suncoast Casino. Tony liked to play there because they used to spread Seven Card Stud and Omaha Hi Low. Now I have always told people that I thought that Tony was a very good O8 player. Unfortunately for Tony, when playing a low-level spread game, some of us recreational players have a little fun with starting hands. I wrote this after one trip:

Monday was a day to start off leisurely. I grabbed lunch at the Palms buffet and waited for Tony Bigcharles to get his butt out of bed. It was time for our triumphant (?) return to the Suncoast Casino to play in the O8 spread game. I played in the game with Tony a few trips back (leading to TBC's famous "even lightning won" quote) and did quite well. In fact, I have come out ahead each time I have played 08 spread in Las Vegas.

I was fortunate to begin the game by getting several excellent beginning O8 hands. TBC, on the other hand, was in el foldo mode. I was able to build a decent stack but really wanted to dig into the stack of a guy at the end of the table who was showing a very good profit. So, when the time seemed right and he was in a hand, I jumped in with a hand that would normally be folded in O8: a middle-level trapping hand with both straight and flush possibilities. It's called thinking outside the box, Mr. Bigcharles. As the pot kept building, I was in good position for a big win -- or so I thought. Unfortunately, Tony was also in the hand chasing a flush -- one that was bigger than mine. The river game me a straight, allowing me to scoop a big pot. It also, however, drew the ire of Mr. Bigcharles, who texted that I was a "mf donkey who ... thinks he's good." My official response to this statement: "Muhahahahaha. Suck it!"

Yes, I guess I can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but my Uber services was free!

Back in 2015, Tony was in Reno for quite some time. I was taking a vacation in Scottsdale, AZ in June and decided to head to Reno for a few days to visit Tony before heading home. As always, there were some fun times playing poker. One hand which I liked:

I was getting hungry as the evening wore on, but Tony wasn't and the game was good, so we played on. Early in the evening, I woke up to find that I was dealt pocket Aces. I raised and Tony stayed in the hand. I remember the hand a little differently than Tony. In my mind, the flop was A-8-9 -- I had flopped top set. Tony remembers the flop as A-9-2. Tony started going through his usual jabbering about the hand, and all the guys at the table, who I am sure were tired of his talk, watched the hand closely. It was pretty obvious who they were rooting for in the hand. I raised and Tony talked and talked. I just kept quiet. Tony remembers an 8 on the turn, which gave him two pair. I remember him already having two pair on the flop. Whatever.

The jabbering continued, and I had no idea that Tony was that strong. He told me that he considered shoving on the turn, which would have been sweet to the tune of over $300 from the sockroll. However, he held back. The river was an Ace, giving me quads. Fortunately for Tony, the card scared him off and he folded instead of shoving to my raise. He still jabbered on while I was silent, and all the guys at the table had a chuckle when he tabled his two pair and then saw that I had quads. The quads were good for an immediate $75 high hand bonus, and it held up several hours later to give me an extra $100 for the top hand, 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.


But as we know, poker is a game that can humble us.

Wednesday was pretty much more of the same -- poker, poker and more poker. However, Wednesday was just one of those days when things did not go right. For example, I raised with A-Q and got a few callers. The flop was Queen high with two rags. One guy stayed with me and my raises  preflop, after the flop, and after the turn. What could he have? I was concerned I was just playing right into his hands. The river seemed to be an innocent looking deuce. Only this time, when I raised on the river, he re-popped me. I called. He showed Q-2! What? He called all my bets with top pair worst kicker and then sucked out on the river? That was pretty much how the entire day went.

Mr. Bigcharles himself donked me in a hand. Sorry, but with a week having gone by and my life being filled with many challenges at work and in my personal life, many of the details are lost. But as I recall, I raised with A-K, Tony called and stayed along, then hit a flush on the river. What I mostly remember is that I had had a really rough poker day and was really pissed at the beat. I was looking for the nearest stapler to throw, but not seeing one, laid into Tony pretty good. I think he was a bit surprised that I got so angry in losing a hand. Hmmm ... perhaps his play-by-play chatter had something to do with it?


We took some time to drive to Lake Tahoe, which, if you have never been there, is a pretty awesome place.

But, u see, no trip with TBC can be complete without at least one stop at a casino.

The trip back to Reno (via Carson City, where we stopped at a couple more casinos!) actually allowed for a conversation of several hours with Tony. I asked a lot of questions about his upbringing and his past. In short, he feels like he lived a pretty horrible life when he was younger. I found out that one of the things that frustrated him was that so many people criticize his life style, yet, in his mind, based on how crappy his early life was, he was a success. It is all a matter of perspective.

I felt compelled to write this post today after seeing that Tony tweeted something that sounded, well, like Tony. If you come along for the ride, I promise you, his exploits will get you thinking, one way or another.

Thanks for reading!