Damn You, Molly Bloom

"It didn’t matter who his opponent was, he outplayed them every time..." -Molly Bloom- (Molly's Game)

"I felt like a fly on the wall in a top-secret, masters-of-the-universe club..." -Molly Bloom- (Molly's Game)

"And, for all the negative stigmas, gamblers seem to have an endless reserve of hope and optimism.  They all believe they can make something out of nothing..." -Molly Bloom- (Molly's Game)

Good morning everyone.  My sleep patterns over the last week-plus have been horrendous, so it should come as no surprise to you that I'm writing a blog entry at about 4:00 a.m. PST today.  I'n sure that your surprise is that I'm actually going to post something for the second time in a week...  :)  So back to my irregular sleep.  First, it seemed that the universe was conspiring against me getting any sleep last week.  In this instance, 'the universe' being defined as anybody out to make a ridiculous amount of noise at my apartment complex.  Some "temporary" residents were here (enough that I saw them leaving together the next morning in a van), and they were loud, and I was trying to sleep...   A few mornings later (and by the way, I was sleeping til 1:00 p.m. because I didn't work until 3:00 p.m.), it seemed like they were completely filling an empty unit with furniture, because a loaded dolly kept RUMBLING past my apartment, and it sounded like a FREIGHT TRAIN, every..., single..., time...  Okay, so that's the sleeplessness that I'm blaming on random people.  Next, I'm specifically blaming Molly Bloom.  I could blame myself for buying Molly's book, but I wouldn't want to lose any sleep over it........   ANYWAY, Molly used to run an underground poker game for some of the rich and famous people in Hollywood (actors, athletes, other celebrities, wealthy businessmen, etc...), and she wrote a book about it.  'Molly's Game' has been well-received, and has also been into a movie.     

Well, yours truly thought that it would be a good idea to start reading Molly's book right before going to bed every night.  A poker junkie, already countng down the days until this summer's World Series of Poker hits town, thinking that Molly's stories of poker and money and her part in all of this would somehow soothe and calm me, and help me get to sleep faster at night...  WRONG...  :)  Needless to say, I finally figured out that I shouldn't try reading this book right before going to bed, but I highly recommend 'Molly's Game' for any of you who are looking for a very interesting read.  I have also heard great things about the movie also...

In totally unrelated news, I woke up for no reason EARLY yesterday morning, my first of three days off.  When I'm awake at 6:00 a.m. PST, I tune into the NBC Sports Network and the 'Dan Patrick Show.'  Normally I'm upset to be awake that early and find that the show is not on, due to DP being on vacation, or something else bumping the broadcast temporarily, but yesterday was Patriots Day in New England, and the Boston Marathon is traditionally run on that Monday.  Back in my youth, I previously completed three marathons, so this 26.2 mile challenge peaks my interest...

I was IMMEDIATELY sucked in further when I learned that the temperature was 39 degrees, with rain, and wind gusts of up to 25-30 miles per hour.  Hey, I wasn't running...  :D  So I settled in, and was able to enjoy watching Des Linden become the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985.  After posting an update on Facebook, I learned that one of my former athletes is a big fan of Linden's, so thanks to Jenn, you get to see these photos that I took as the race concluded...

One point of intrigue in both the women's and men's races is that runners who broke away and led for long stretches of each event were not the eventual winners.

So, now that I've finished my "monthly" blog post, I have tons of chores awaiting me in the next two days.  Wash, a haircut, shopping, continuous and endless apartment cleaning, finishing Molly's book...  :)  The one big obstacle that has been erased from last week is having to do my taxes.  Since my coveted WSOP and the extra poker action that it brings to town are about 42 days out (not that I'm counting), I should probably get to it.  Have a great week and I'll see you soon! 

April Showers

Good morning everyone.  As Aprl has arrived, I hope that y'all are ready for the change in seasons, and I hope that everybody has filed their tax returns.  Unlike you procrastinators, my return has been filed for....  HOURS...  If you haven't filed yet, why are you reading this right now?  :)  As always, it has taken me longer to return here than I had anticipated, and maybe all of my life stories and musings are going to have to wait until I'm retired, when the highlight of my day will be sitting down at my desk (which I don't possess yet) with a cup of coffee (which I also don't have currently) and tapping away at a keyboard.  But since I am here right now, keeping up my torrid pace of posting almost once per month in 2018, let's get you caught up on life in Las Vegas.  Fortunately for everyone, there isn't anything to distract me on t.v., so this post should go up pretty fast.  I watched the crew of Apollo 13 safely splash down AGAIN about twenty minutes ago if that's any indication, and this was preceded by watching the U.S. beat the Russians at Lake Placid AGAIN back in 1980...

Anyway, it's April here in the desert, and we've been showered with sunny weather in the 80's.  The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and all of the action that it brings to Las Vegas has come and gone.  Next up for us are the NHL and NBA Playoffs, baseball, and the Kentucky Derby early next month.  As things begin to slow down a bit at work, this will be offset in my life by more poker, especially once the World Series begins at the end of May.  I have continued to represent Texas State and San Marcos with my Bobcat tees and Rattler card protectors at the poker tables, and I have recently added a little more to that arsenal....

These ballcaps are destined to spend more than their fair share of time at the Rio and other poker settings througout Las Vegas this summer.  Having a job obviously removes the pressure of me "needing" to win at poker, and this has made the game very enjoyable for me as of late, as I can choose to play when it's convenient, and I don't feel it necessary to play in bad games (against nine other local poker players for example)...

I'm going to let you go for now as I have a poker book (SHOCKER) that I want to begin reading before I go to bed tonight, but hopefully I'll see you soon.  Within a month anyway, right???  :)  Have a great weekend everyone!