HAPPY PREFLOP DAYS

Day 3...

Remember those girls? Well, zip your flies back up because they're yesterday's news, and it looks like we're left with the sorry sight of Billy Connolly, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Rod Paradise as the only known kilt wearers. Sad times indeed.

Today was strictly business (well, and chops) as Dana and I attended a PokerNews meeting at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in Henderson. It was a bit of a change heading off strip, and a long awaited first in fact after four trips to Vegas, yet it was worth the wait, as the surburbs really are a treat. Many players who migrated to Vegas recall how they played the strip for the first three months of their tenour, before tiring of the plethora of tourism and sticking to more local jaunts - I believe Jim '777dave' McShane was the same.

Around sixty people will be working the World Series for PokerNews this year, and most of them were at Lucille's. Head honcho John Caldwell gave a standard pep talk, before introducing every single member of the team - rather embarrassing and for some unknown reason I decided to wave with both hands like a gooseberry when I was required to stand. However, the most shocking moment of the meeting was when he announced a 'no shorts' dresscode. Wassup wit dat?! How can I woo the ladies without my chiseled pipes on display, I can't work on charm alone?! I guess I'll just have to roll up my sleeves and invite them to the gun show instead.

After placing an array of meaty treats into a doggy bag (PokerNews spent an impressive $900 on the meal, although I believe they could have rounded it up to a grand), Dana and I headed over to the Rio for the bloggers' meeting with Garry Gates. On route, I spotted Barry Greenstein, Katja Thater, Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer and Jamie Gold in the corridors, so expect to see them in tomorrow's opening $10k Omaha event. I also gave Sorel Mizzi a wave, but I've never been aware of his Omaha prowess, so perhaps he's braced for event two.

The Amazon Room itself is pretty much the same, if perhaps swamped with even more advertorial banners than before. Surrounding the room they've brought back the giant picture banners of previous main event winners, now accompanied by Player of the Year victors, which means Jeff Madsen, Daniel Negreanu and Allen Cunningham will now be peering down at you as you play.

Our blogger (bloggers write, field reporters observe) meeting was an amusing one, predominatly due to the in depth discussion about whether no limit should be capitalised or if cutoff was one word or not (it is, apparently). A big kerfuffle occurred when the issue of 'preflop' and 'postflop' cropped up, but after about thirty minutes of back and forth debate, history was finally made on Orange Table Twelve when it was announced that these words would NOT be hyphenated. Many were delighted, but some were clearly appalled, even suggesting that they would take hostages until the hyphen was returned.

Today also saw Dana and I set up camp in the Rio after two nights in the Orleans. I've never been a fan of the Rio - it's loud, gaudy, crowded, expensive, elitist etc - but it's worth it to save the daily commute. The most annoying thing is that it's inexplicably difficult to find food. At 11.30pm we found ourselves heading back to the Orleans just to grab some cheap tucker in their 24 hour diner. I feel so uncomfortable in the surroundings of the Rio that the serenity of the Orleans was welcomed with open arms. What's more, I had a full breakfast for just $2.95 whilst Dana munched on steak and eggs for $3.95. Now that's value!

Having said that, the rooms at the Rio are impressive. Comfy bed, nice big sofa, floorspace - and what about the view, it takes half an hour to close the curtains of a night! What does concern me, however, is the little window connecting the bedroom to the bathroom. I caught Dana peering through today whilst I was on the kazi like a horny peeping tom or a salivating pervert at a peep show. I had to close the shower door to obstruct her view, but it was a highly disconcerting experience nonetheless.

Although the Series starts tomorrow, Dana and I aren't pencilled in until Monday as updaters are being asked to cover the entirety of each individual event. This most likely means that we'll be working six (or maybe even nine) days straight, so I guess I'll have to make good use of my days off. The bar will be a good start, and maybe even Seamless strip club if I can convince Dana that it's a form of art.