Crusade to Poker Mecca

Well, it has been ages since I've posted here. That's changing now. We're coming up to a very exciting time. Our dear friends Evil Debbie and Cupcake have ventured out to Vegas the past two years to play in one of the WSOP $1,500 Buy-In No Limit Hold'em Bracelet Events. The time has come for us to join them in this trek. As a matter of fact, it's not just Merlotgirl and I joining them, but a plethora of friends are going on this adventure. 13 in all. A baker's dozen. I'm not sure how many of us are playing in Event #28, but it's looking like at least 10. Maybe all 13. Hopefully the Final Table will be full of us sporting those very fancy Plano One-Outer Poker Shirts. They'll be all the rage!!



The roll call of brave souls venturing on this odyssey are as follows:

• Evil Debbie


• Cupcake


• RJonTilt


• EndZoneDance


• Buck Nekkid


• Counting Girl


• Nanuck


• Pinky


• Kim (we really need to get nicknames for Kim and Gary)


• Gary H.


• Cast Iron Butterfly


• Merlotgirl


• Shamrock

The event starts at Noon PDT on Saturday, June 13th. Members of the team will be arriving throughout the week preceding the event. Some arriving as early as Wednesday the 10th. Others, such as Kim, Gary, Buck, Counting Girl, Merlotgirl and myself arriving a scant 24 hours before the cards are in the air.

In a similar event last year (Event #27) there were 2,706 starters. In the 10th hour of play they broke the bubble (top 270) and finished the day at 224 players. Day 2 they played down to the final 2 tables. The eventual winner was Vitaly Lunkin. He pocketed $628,417 for his efforts. Yesterday, that very same Vitaly Lunkin won his 2nd WSOP Bracelet by beating 200 other players in the largest buy-in ($40,000) No Limit Hold'em event ever sponsored by the WSOP. (The $50,000 HORSE is a mixed/limit game).

This past Saturday we had a little warm-up tournament at our house for this event. We started with 4,500 in chips and played 60 minute blinds for the first 4 blind levels. Due to space restrictions we limited participation to 25 players, rather than 2,706. Nevertheless, the tournament progressed about the same as Event 27 did. We ended up paying the top 5. And had to reduce the blind levels to 45 minutes for levels 6-8. And then to 30 minutes for the remaining levels. In Event 27 last year the bubble burst in Level 10. At the warm-up on Saturday the bubble burst in the same level, when Ms. America got all her chips in and lost. Soon after that Kevin McD. took 5th. We played another blind level or 2 with chips just moving around the table. Leo could barely see over his huge stack. The other 4 players decided to concede victory to Leo, and chop 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Results

• 1st - Leo $490
• 2nd - Counting Girl $230
• 2nd - Evil Debbie $230
• 2nd - Gumba $230
• 5th - Kevin McD. $ 70

The long structure, and ante's after level 4 were something a lot of us had never experienced and it was a lot of fun to see everyone play much, much tighter than in the normal turbo, or super turbo games we've become used to. It is a totally different game.

I'm announcing right now that if Merlotgirl or I win this thing and bring home some WSOP bling, drinks are on us at Varsity Club. The tournament will be a terriffic experience and spending several days in Vegas with a great group of friends will be an annual pilgrimage we'll be looking to expand upon next year.

Follow the progress of the Plano One-Outers misadventures in Vegas right here!! I'll be trying to update daily from Sin City, and I'll be relying on our team of reporters to provide information for all of those inquiring minds who just need to know.

Viva Las Vegas!!