Sunday, June 29, 2008

THE END

Days 29 & 30…

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Another year, another World Series, yes, I’ve come to the end of my Vegas tenure and now write to you from the comfort of my own upright British chair.

Expensive prices, claustrophobic surroundings, jocks whooping on the craps tables, male strippers in bow ties, gaudy burlesque shows, loud music, and a ghastly car that hovers above while some skank throws beads down – if I could imagine a run in hell, a month of the Rio would be at the forefront of my mind. So, for the last two days, Dana and I decided to escape the confines of our prison and move into the New York New York Hotel down the road.

Sandwiched between the Excalibur and MGM casinos, the New York New York (I’m already tiring of typing that twice) was surprisingly pleasant and boasted a serenity that the Rio sorely lacked. Of course, the forced theme was inevitably gaudy at times (one sign reads ‘Authentic New York Pizza’), but it presents everything in a less ‘in-your-face’ manner, meaning that if need be, you can escape to a far corner for a moment’s peace.

The view from the bedroom window was incredible, if a little different to that of the Rio, in that it boasted the majority of the rollercoaster. The muffled screams were reminiscent of a game of Rollercoaster Tycoon on the PC, and every time they sounded I would peer out the window to confirm that this was indeed real life. That’s when I notice the Statue of Liberty staring back at me.

Now I’m back in Birmingham, I’m finding it hard to adjust. After becoming accustomed to heading down the Rio of a day, working long hours and hitting the sack unconscious, the pace here seems incredibly slow and part of me is itching to get back in the game. I’m sure those feelings will expire when I start covering UK events again, but whilst the Series is still running, I can’t help but feel as though I’m missing out.

The jet lag upon return has been tough to handle. I tried to watch Mongol with Dana yesterday, but passed out about half way through. It was only five o’clock. I recall it took me about a fortnight to recover a couple of years back, but I hope it doesn’t take that long this time. I have lots I want to do, and I can’t afford to waste time feeling sleepy during daylight hours.

I’ve been trying to work out a suitable way of finishing my WSOP account, and concluded that it would be best to compare it to my previous visits. Well, apart from a few minor changes, the experience was pretty much the same. A big giant room with lots of poker – that really is about the size of it. You might witness a few differences, such as the heightened organisation, the eradication of the tent, a few new stalls and so on, but who cares, poker is about the characters, and as always, they remain the same. Scotty still says “baby”, Doyle still hobbles around, Sklansky still accompanies a random teenage girl, Phil Ivey still puts more than first prize on the game on the plasma screen, Mike Matusow is still centre of attention, Phil He11muth is still a twit, Erick Lindgren is still a smug git, Gus Hansen is still a ladies’ man, Bill Chen is still a nerd, Jennifer Tilly is still sizzling hot, TJ Cloutier is still losing a fortune at craps, Howard Lederer is still huge, Dutch Boyd is still speaking to the voices in his head, Roland de Wolfe is still wearing the ghastliest of shirts, Patrik Antonius still boasts the chiselled features of a Michaelangelo masterpiece, Greg Raymer still dons shorts, sandals and white socks, Marcel Luske is still stark raving mad, Davood Mehmrand is still psychotic, Freddy Deeb is still knee high to an oompa loompa, Andy Black still looks like he just got out of bed, Devilfish is still dressing like a teenager, Chris Ferguson is still the carrot-chopping messiah, Allen Cunningham is still unbeatable, Todd Brunson still looks like a pony from the back, Dave Singer is still a pain in the ass and the Brits still suck at poker.

Unless Doyle finally pops his clogs within the next twelve months, WSOP 2009 will be exactly the same… but that’s why we love it so.

I hope you enjoyed my WSOP blog, it sure was tough to maintain, so much in fact that I think I need a rest. I don’t know when I’ll post on the blog again, if at all. Writing a blog can be time-consuming at times, and I’m wondering if maybe this should be my last post. I’ve always tried to bring my readers an honest account of all things poker related, whether that be Vegas, my travels around Europe, or my own personal experience with a game that deals out so many beats. I’ve done this without shoving banners, advertising or anything commercial down your face because the pure essence of poker is important to me. Although we embrace the poker boom, we also need to keep a hold of the reality… It’s just a game of cards.

See you around.

27 Comments:

At 11:47 AM, Blogger Mark said...

It would be a pity if you gave on the blog snoops, its always been a good read imo. Yet thats up to you, blogging mainly should be about the blogger get something out of it, rather than vice versa.

 
At 5:22 PM, Blogger nicnicnic said...

enjoyed your daily updates Snoop, I'm sure your enthusiasm for blogging will return. very impressed with that cyst you were sporting a while back also.

 
At 4:59 AM, Blogger C said...

don't give up. your post are always well written and crack me up!!

 
At 2:21 AM, Blogger Mr Origami said...

Would be a pity if you droped it mate, its a crackin read!

 
At 4:31 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't give up on the Blog Snoopy. From a selfish point of view I would miss it terribly as it’s always a great read.

But from your own point of view I think you need the pure essence of something so supremely un-commercial to keep the rest of your writing on an even keel. What I like about you commercial stuff is it has the essence of your blog in it, namely it’s from your perspective and about the stuff that interests you.

well you might lose that if you stopped blogging.

Good luck either way, thanks for the effort put into your blog over the years. It’s been appreciated.

 
At 3:07 PM, Blogger Short-Stacked Shamus said...

Kevin makes a good point, Snoop. And I'm with all these guys -- would definitely miss seeing the System being further outlined for us all every now & then.

Was good to meet you, man. Take care.

 
At 3:27 PM, Blogger Random Table Draw said...

Hey Snoop...just met you and you are thinking of quitting already? Who will key me in to nutty British play!?! This is Matt from Life's A Bluff (and the BCG), I hope you keep it up and I hope to see you and an event in the UK soon. I may repost your summary, it made me laugh.

 
At 10:40 PM, Blogger Pojo said...

Snoop - we didn't get a chance to speak much while you were here in Vegas, but the poker world would take a serious bad beat if you were to stop blogging.

 
At 6:39 PM, Blogger Austintx said...

For better or worse, I enjoy reading your blog and posts at blondepoker. GL with the poker goals and hope to see you at the WSOP in 2009.

 
At 7:41 AM, Blogger Jumper said...

Snoops - keep it going enjoy the read when I get a chance to - have been doing my own also with a link to yours so hope some people have gandered on to yours from mine.

Look forward to meeting you on the felt during the year.

I saw Flops, Jen and Jungle briefly during my foray in the HORSE and limit hold em shootout.

my blog is now taking shape after 100 or so posts ...

http://burningskylongwhitecloud.blogspot.com/

Keep it going. Hope to have a successful 2nd half of 2008.

Take Care Greg.

 
At 9:19 AM, Blogger Amatay said...

lol, good post fish, you crack me up

 
At 3:01 PM, Blogger Richmagpies said...

Hope you do keep the blog going snoopy as its an excellent read and one of the few (out of the gazillions out there) that I read regularly.

 
At 8:29 PM, Blogger Small Stakes Poker said...

One of the best blogs out there
Hope you decide to continue it
gl gl

 
At 6:42 PM, Blogger Amatay said...

write another post pls fish, this was one of the top poker blogs on the net imo

 
At 6:54 AM, Blogger Otis said...

Snoopy...

I need to chat with you about something ASAP. Can you shoot me an e-mail to editor@pokerpapers.com ?

 
At 2:51 AM, Blogger TheMuse said...

Thanks for the link up....I've done the same. I enjoyed reading about the vegas trip and hope you start updating again soon.
Z

 
At 8:45 AM, Blogger Wildcat said...

Great shame you've stopped blogging, was an excellent read. Hope you decide to take it up again, either way best wishes for the future.

 
At 12:09 PM, Blogger AllanDuke said...

Update!!

 
At 5:04 AM, Blogger Trevor Johnson said...

Get on with it you lazy bastard.

 
At 8:26 AM, Blogger Extremapoker.com said...

Dear friend:


We would be pleased to Exchange the link with you. We are from
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We would like to invite you to the first free roll tournament we are just about to open with 800 dollars prizes. Rigth now we´re just 12 players. Lets poker.
If you are interested to exchange the link , leave us a message in our site.
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.

 
At 6:17 PM, Blogger Alex Martin said...

update imo u lazy git

 
At 4:40 AM, Blogger Poker Professor said...

Hello

My name is Jonathan and I am the marketing manager representing an online poker school - PokerProfessor.com.
Poker Professor offers to teach how to play online poker. We also offer up to $150 free no deposit required to all of our player community.
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I am writing to you because I see that you have the exact audience I am looking for and am interested to explore profitable options and work with you.

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Best Regards
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At 6:37 PM, Blogger poker outings for a confused mind said...

sweet blog. looking for poker friends, so check me out/add me, let me know and ill add you too!
poker outings for a confused mind:
http://pokeroutings.blogspot.com/

 
At 5:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bring it back!!!!!!

 
At 6:50 PM, Blogger Gugel said...

Funny that you gave up. Your blog is still popular though...

You ranked 74th for the top 100 poker blogs. Congrats :)
http://www.anskypoker.com/2009/04/top-100-poker-blogs-of-2009/

 
At 7:59 AM, Blogger RAS said...

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At 7:20 PM, Blogger Unknown said...


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