My Article Is Up on Today's Vintage!

Hi Everyone!

My lastest article for Today's Vintage is up online, please check it out at
http://www.todaysvintage.com/decorating/contentview.asp?c=259340

The THIRD of July

I took this coming out of the golf course in Vegas the THIRD of July...

My Hair Hurts

Good morning everyone! Sleeping is not so simple in Las Vegas. The weather contributes to my sleep deprivation issue as much as the sun. The temperature outside was 90 degrees at 3:30 this morning, which was the coolest it has been here in days. Air conditioning is imperative in the desert. However, sleeping with the air conditioning blasting all night, basically sucks the moisture right out of the air and all life as we know it. I can feel my skin and hair drying up as I write this. Too much air conditioning also gives me a sore throat.

On the other hand, not having the air conditioning on while trying to sleep feels like laying in an oven set to broil. Then there is the issue of the sun. I mean give me a break, the sun rises at like 5 am and in an instant the pitch black room is so bright it hurts my eyes. If I go to sleep when it is still dark outside, within a few hours I am jolted from my dreams by the sunrise with my eyes, throat, and head all hurting at once. I don't even drink alcohol. That's when I get up, go to the bathroom, down a bottle of water, get back in bed, put on my movie star--don't bug me, kid--eye mask and wrestle with the elements until I fall back to sleep for maybe another hour or two.

I know the best time to sleep in the desert is at night, because it is the coolest and darkest time of the day. However, it's Vegas, baby. Why would I sleep at night?

I Am Almost Awake

I fell asleep around 4am and dreamed of testifying as a witness to a kidnapping, sprinkled with visions of being on the wrong side of the most horrible bad beats in poker, losing all of my money over and over and over and over. I didn't just dream one dream, but a series of related dreams. The overall feeling of my dreams were of very old Perry Mason episodes in black and white, although I don't think mine were in black and white. If my dreams this morning could have had a sound track, the music would have been those loud, heavy, disconcerted minor chord configurations, that punctuated every sentence I uttered under oath on the stand, while I testified on behalf of an innocent little girl or maybe a boy. The whole court experience was accentuated with cut-a-ways of a photo montage showing tilted close-ups of the cards I lost with, my agonized facial expression, the mouth of the guy who won as he laughed at my loss, and my hands as they shoved the mountainous pile of chips away from my side of the table.

I only got out of bed to stop losing all of my money.

WSOP Photos I Took

Click on the photos to make them larger

Things Are Different At The 2009 World Series of Poker

Well, I have been in Las Vegas for over a week and yesterday I finally made it down to Rio where the 2009 World Series of Poker has been underway for almost a month. Every year it is a circus and this year is no exception. However, every year Harrah's--the parent company of Rio and owner of the WSOP--is a little more organized. I am seeing a noticeable difference in how the separate tourneys, cash games, and satellites are set up. Two years ago I believe everything was in one big room, the Amazon Room. This year the satellites are in a separate room and the tourneys are ending up in the big room, but they are not all starting there. They are still offering cash games in the big room, but it does not look like they are spreading as many as last year. That might be, because they are still spreading games in their regular poker room, which is downstairs and about a mile away in the actual casino part of Rio. The WSOP is held in the conference area of the hotel.

Last year it seemed like every old, fat, greasy, and hairy guy playing poker had a young, blond woman, molded by plastic surgery and injections sitting behind them at the poker table. It looked like the women were just paid (by the fat slob playing) to sit behind him and watch their particular fat guy play poker. It was hard to say, if the women were all props, because a lot of those gross guys actually marry young, blond women. And when I say young, I mean they are 20 years old and the guys are 45 years old, minimum. However, yesterday I didn't see one couple that fit my usual interpretation of the Beauty and the Beast, which seems different...

Oh Yeah, It's Vegas Baby!

It's Vegas alright...my hair feels like straw, the inside of my eyelids hurt, my nose may start bleeding, and I have a sore throat. I always forget about how dry it is here. For June it isn't that hot, it seems to be hovering around 95 degrees during the day, which is nice. However, it is very arid and the air conditioning just adds to the dryness factor.

Wow, not a moment too soon...it is pouring rain outside.

Poker in Vegas!

I am feeling left out in the cold, literally, because I am not in Las Vegas cashing in on the 2009 World Series of Poker action and it's freezing here. My plan was to go to Vegas for the months of June and July. I know it looks like there is only one tournament when watching the WSOP on TV, but in reality there are over 50 tournaments ranging from $500 to $10,000 to enter every day for two months. This year's WSOP started on Friday. I am not a tournament poker player. I like to play the cash games during the tournaments. Last year I won the most playing people (mostly men) who flew in from all over the country and in some cases the world to play in the WSOP.

Many WSOP players are not really up to calliber. Most of the people entered in the Main Event for $10,000 don't really use their own money. Quite a few people win seats from online sites, like Fulltilt and Poker Stars and come early and play live with their own money or the stipend they won. The professionals have sponsors that not only put them in the Main Event--if not all of the events--they pay them. The year round Vegas grinders usually get someone to stake them in--at least--the Main Event or several smaller tourneys. The people that use their own money to play in the WSOP act like they have money to burn and a couple more grand at the Venetian seems like pennies to them, compared to the $100,000 already spent on tournament entries.

The low level poker grinders who can't get staked in any tournament, play one or many of the satellite games at Rio--where the WSOP is held--for coupons for tournament entry. Last year I saw many guys winning $500 tournament entry coupons at the $50 satellite tables and then selling them for cash so they could play the ring games. Tournament poker playing is much nuttier than live cash games. So, when someone gets knocked out of a 5 day tourney on day 1, the cash games start to look real good. However, that crazy hyper-aggressive play seen on TV is, basically money in the bank for the Vegas grinders who have been waiting for these guys all year. It's such a zoo this time of year. Ooh, I have to figure something out...

My Shout Outs!

Poker Shout Out
I am looking for a publication that will contract me as a reporter for the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Website Shout Out
Alan Bamberger has been kind enough to post my comments about San Francisco art openings on www.artbusiness.com, please check it out. I will post the links as they come up.

Magazine Shout Out
Today's Vintage has asked me to write about decorating vintage style for them.

Art in SF Shout Out
I helped my friend Charles Keatts put up some of his pieces in his "Window" series for the event Bar Code, in Pier 3 on the Embarcadero, happening this weekend. Check it out, www.shopthebarcode.com ...it's FREE!