WSOP Report 3, June 6, 2011

It has been an eventful two days. Yesterday, June 5th, included a terrific lunch with professional and amateur poker players. It was convened by Linda Johnson, the First Lady of Poker, and included my friend Jan Fischer, the psychologist and poker thinker Arthur Rebber of Washington, and four others from the Las Vegas Monday or Wednesday poker discussion group -- and a couple of their spouses. My daughter Hannah also joined us. I was regaled with stories of no limit hold'em and pot limit omaha hands of note, played in recent weeks, in tournaments and live games,the players who played them, stupidly and well, and what happened to our heroes and heroines. I also heard about the many great scenic places I could take Hannah to expose her to the true natural beauty that surrounds Las Vegas in is too rarely seen by tourists.

There was also more sushi served to the ten of us than I had ever seen in one meal. It was fresh, served promptly, very tasty, and, unlike most of my sushi meals, ample. I surely ate too much -- 55 pieces by my estimate.

I shared the story of my tiny triumph the night before at the Poker Palace. Listeners pretended to be impressed. "There are no small tournaments -- just small players!"

Hannah and I left, eager to try out a drive suggested by Jan, that she had just completed on a motorcycle. We drove out Lake Mead Blvd all the way to Valley of Fire, and then circled back on to route I15. We stopped and slowed and filled the car with some ooos and aaaahs (at least I did), gaping at the beautiful color and formation of the rocks. My color vision is not good -- so I didn't see the intense and bright hues that were described to me by others. But Hannah seemed impressed by it all.

It was a long drive -- about three hours from start to finish. I was very tired when we returned and took a nap. I was so full from sushi that I didn't really think about eating until much later in the evening. Hannah and I had tickets to O, the great Cirque de Soleil show at the Bellagio. We headed over at about 7:45, found out that the restaurants there had dress codes and didn't allow me to dine with my shorts. Though I offered to take them off, they refused to relent. So we stood on line and eventually got in to the upscale coffee shop Cafe Bellagio. Our dinners were large and tasty (I had chicken with penne; Hannah the Fettuchini Alfredo). They were just the right preface to a great show -- though I must confess to a very small degree of disappointment. The acrobatics were astounding; the costumes, swimming and staging incredible. But for me, the clowns grew tedious, and the pacing seemed slow. There seemed too much filler and not enough meat. Also, our front row seats proved to be slightly obstructed. We missed nothing but the early opening in-front-of-the-curtain theatrics. But still, shouldn't all seats get the benefit of the entire show?

We dropped off quickly to sleep upon returning at about 12:15 or so. I woke up this morning at 5:30 and walked for an hour before making this post. It will be a beautiful and unseasonably cool day in Las Vegas -- clear skies and highs in the low 80s. It was about 55 when I walked. We're looking forward to a trip to Hoover Dam.