Wsop Circuit

In what many poker professionals and media members believe is a first, the chip leader in a major tournament was disqualified at the final table and his chips were removed from play. The bizarre incidents took place during the first event of the World Series of Poker Circuit now running at Caesars in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Reports of players and spectators who were there, relate a story even more bizarre than the tournament report given here, this release comes from Nolan Dalla, the WSOP Director of Media. The report has been edited to include only the outlandish actions.

8th Place – Next, an odd thing happened when “Karate Mike” Santoro got chopped off the final table under the most unusual circumstances. Committing every poker player’s nightmare blunder, he admittedly misread his hand when four diamonds were on board, and (mistakenly) thought he held the king of diamonds.

7th Place – Don Mercer was one of two North Carolinians at the final table. On what proved to be his last hand, he took a tough beat when his A-J was crushed by the chip leader’s Q-4, resulting in a seventh-place finish. Mercer had A-J suited but Andy Santiago managed to flop two pair – queens over fours.

Then, the real drama began. One of the biggest hands of the tournament unfolded when the eccentric and boisterous Virginian, Lesley Thornburg got tremendously lucky and survived his first all-in of the day. Thornburg, who had been given two warnings for unsportsmanlike behavior on the previous day, pushed everyone’s patience to the limit with a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours. Nearing disqualification, opponents breathed a temporary sigh of relief when he called an all-in raise by Andy Santiago – holding a totally dominated hand (Thornburg’s A-7 a huge dog versus A-Q). Kaboom! A seven flopped and the Virginian had seized the chip lead with a cavalier display of luck.

6th Place – Just two hands later, Thornburg the new chip leader caught lightening in a bottle once again. He called an all-in bet by Edward “Yank” Sullivan, who had raised all-in pre-flop with 7-7. Thornburg tabled 4-4 and needed help. Wham! A four flopped, and the huge crowd turned a mental backflip. Thornburg ended up making a full house and all poor Yank could do was walk away with a bad beat story.

5th Place – Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone’s patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, “all in.” Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg’s immediate disqualification.

Thornburg’s chips were removed from play. By default, Andy Santiago had regained the chip lead. Following the ejection, play was considerably more civil with the remaining four players cordially trading chips and conversation back and forth.

As mentioned before, spectators onsite say that Nolan's description in this report is kind if not overly generous to the antics of the disqualified player. One veteran player and sometimes poker writer told me:

"I am surprised he was not tossed out of the building the day before and I am equally surprised that someone didn't deck the obnoxious bastard on several occasions. Hell, I would have taken a poke at him, if the story hadn't been so good."

For all those who have ever been to Tunica and remember the long stoplight littered drive down old Highway 61 from Memphis, well NO MORE! Yesterday the Mississippi Department of Highways opened the I-69 connector from South I-55 over to Highway 61 and they opened it three years early!

The nice new stretch of Interstate is only 12 miles long and is there to get folks in and out of Tunica. It connects to Highway 61 right at the northern Tunica County line only a couple of hundred yards from the first casino turn-off.

Who says gambling dollars don't help the community.

GRAND HOTEL & CASINO TUNICA RESORTS, MS--With the departure of the tournament reporter from the Mother Ship, it appears that Amy and I are now the sole surviving media at this WSOP Circuit Main Event.

197 players took the flag yesterday in this $5,000 NLHE feature event. Just before midnight last night the 56 Day One survivors bag up their chips. The event is paying 18 places and at 5 PM today we are down to 25 players at three tables. Glyn Banks remains in good chip position, I am sorry to report that we recognize no other familiar faces but we will bring you the final table players once we have them. It will be 9 players moving on to the 2 PM CDT start tomorrow. Payouts below:

Final Payout Table
1st ..... $296,822
2nd .... $155,470
3rd ..... $91,611
4th ..... $73,289
5th ..... $54,966
6th ..... $45,806
7th ..... $36,644
8th ..... $27,483
9th ..... $18,322
10th ... $14,657
11th ... $14,657
12th ... $14,657
13th ... $12,825
14th ... $12,825
15th ... $12,825
16th ... $10,993
17th ... $10,993
18th ... $10,993

Right now the big poker action is taking place in 1) New Jersey -- where tough contenders are fighting for big money in the U.S. Poker Championship; 2) Aruba -- where most of the top pros are enjoying big potentially televised action; and 3) Tunica -- for the WSOP Circuit. While following some of the Tunica action here on PokerBlog, I'm getting more and more confirmation that the regional, local nature of the Lake Tahoe event was not an anomaly. That's what the WSOP Circuit is apparently all about ... "biggish" events for local bad-asses that also give a taste of the WSOP to area small-timers with a few well-decorated pros dropping in to work on their games and take a stab at a little extra bling.

Anyhow, here are a few leftover pics from the WSOP at Harveys Lake Tahoe:

With a 14 percent vig, all players got a free meal, alternating each day between pizza and hot dogs. Doesn't look too different from a Texas underground shindig.

At my final table the other night in event #1 (No, I did not say THE final table; I said MY final table). Anyway at the final table I played on the other night, the gentleman on my right and I had some conversation and when I departed I lost track of him and the rest of the field (I went and played drunken Pai-Gow with the boyz).

Today another of my table mates told me that the first gentleman followed me out of the tournament about ten minutes later but that he took $200 of his winnings and went down to the high limit slot room and won $108,000! He then came back up to show his former table that indeed:

"Sometimes losin' is the quickest way to Winnin'."

He also had come back to the poker room to give the guy who busted him $500 as a thank-you but alas that player had also 'left the building.'

TUNICA RESORTS, MS--Most of the professional players are sunning themselves in Aruba right now at the UBClassic. From emails and phone calls it appears that very few of them will be making the trek here to the WSOP Circuit at the Grand. Yes indeed, we have a scheduling conflict.

As more and more tournaments and tours are competing for the attention of the big name players, we have more and more tournaments overlapping with the result that without a $10,000 Main Event and television coverage, you simply will not attract the recognizable faces to an event.

The WSOP Circuit at the Grand has a $5,000 Main Event and no TV, for that reason we expect few professionals to make the trek, which would be a stopover between Aruba and home. What that means, however, is that a lot more local players are making the trip to Tunica. The events at the Grand have been large and larger. The good news for poker, if not for "poker pros" is that more events mean more opportunities for the average and "second tier" pros to compete and hit that first big score at the table.

TUNICA RESORTS, MS--He who shall not be named has suggested my HED lines needed to draw more attention. How am I doing?

Let's talk about juice or as the more refinded call it--the house charge for spreading your tournament game. Some casinos charge a flat add-on fee to the tournament buy-in [$500 +$40]; $500 goes to the prize pool and $40 to the house for putting on the event. Some tournaments have a flat rate charge to the buy-in; in the case of this year's WSOP Main Event the juice was 6% or $5,263,800.

Shall we take a moment and just say it together:

"Five Million Two Hundred and Sixty-Three Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars."

Quite frankly, part of being a complete poker player is considering the house fees before entering a tournament. How much of the players entry fees are you really playing for? I bring this up because more and more the house is taking more and more. Here at the WSOP Circuit events at the Grand; they house is taking both a tournament fee and a % of the total prizepool

Event #1: $300 + $40 and 3% of prizepool. [total juice 16.33%]
Event #2: $500 + $50 and 3% of prizepool. [total juice 13.0%]

Over a year ago I wrote a similar post at another event and the tournament staff came to me and said I had my numbers wrong. I didn't then and I don't now. I played in yesterday's event and I read the structure sheet and I totalled the final prizepool. Did you?

TUNICA RESORTS, MISSISSIPPI--I stand corrected (not for the last time) we are officially and governmentally not in Robinsonville nor are we in Tunica. This area is now officially designatived as Tunica Resorts, Mississippi.

The good news is we are back in Tunica and the first two events here at the Grand Hotel and Casino have seen large fields. The bad news is that like everywhere else in this great poker land of ours, the corporate influence continues to change the game. The comps are down, the free eats are gone completely. The attention to detail, in the players favor, depends completely on the staff member you are dealing with. The corporate policy of "players are prized customers" is no longer the rule of the card room.

After 9+ hours of play yesterday in the $340 NLHE event, I am passing on today's event to bring you timely and engaging reports from the Tunica Resorts (OK, I am butt-tired and want a break); perhaps an interesting ring game at one of the other casinos later today and a colorful Southern tidbit or two.

Back soon.

Ahh, the memories. I am not in Tunica right now (or "Robinsonville" as some call it) but I sorta am, thanks to Shrink's updates. And let me say, it takes me back. The Mississippi swamplands provided me my first glimpse of big-time poker anywhere other than Las Vegas.

It's also where mine and Amy's eyes first met across a crowded room, incidentally. And shortly thereafter, I would experience for the first time $100 bills in play at the cash table. I moved all-in against a short-stack of chips (with my relatively large stacks), and he called. Turned out I was drawing nearly dead. But no big deal, I thought ... small stack ... take your 60 bucks.

"He's got you covered," the dealer said.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I've got like $600!" I shouted back, at which point the other player fanned out about seven or eight bills. Gulp. I didn't realize that in Tunica (and just about every casino out there) that Benji's on the table counted as real money.

Anyhow, long-winded, self-indulgent intro to a link to this story about poker in Tunica that you may find worth the read even if you don't recognize one of the main characters.

ROBINSONVILLE, MS--Just a quickie at the dinner break 112 players remaining from a starting field of 841. Somewhere north of $60,00 to the winner and Yes! Sports Fans, yours truly is hangin' in there with an average stack.

8:30 PM CDT Update: "We're in the Money!" I just made $24. 72nd-81st pays $364 on a $340 event.

10:00 PM CDT There is no joy in Robinsonville: 52nd place $570.

ROBINSONVILLE, MS--Sure we all call this Tunica but we are, in fact, in Robinsonville, Mississippi in the County of Tunica just up the road from the town of Tunica and no matter what they call it we are on the banks of the Big Muddy, the Mighty Mississippi. The core of the “boyz” all came in last night (me & wildbill & amy). It appears that when the first event of the WSOP Circuit at the Grand goes off today ($300 NLHE) we will all be in the field.

Besides at least two or three circuit events and the perfunctory Super Satellite crap shoot. I will be visiting all of the card rooms in great Tunica err Robinsonville ummm Northwest Mississippi to bring you up-to-date reports on the state of poker here.

The Poker Road has reached its first destination.

Tahoe is in the books. Borgata is over. Tunica is next.

I am not sure who of the PokerBlog Big Three are attending the sessions in Mississippi, I assume that the UB Aruba tournament might be more of a lure... but fear not PokerBloggers both Amy and I will be heading to the great Northwest of the Old Muddy. Expect our reports as soon as this weekend and continuing until we can take no more of the wonderful southern hospitality of the Tunica hotels and casinos.

The WSOP Circuit Events at the Grand in Tunica start on Sunday the 24th with the Main Event running October 2-3-4.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--Watching 60 Minutes in the casino ... it's hard to hear over the announcing of the heads-up main event.

7:08 pm -- Free advertising for PartyPoker!

Leslie Stahl is figuring out the difference between dot-net and dot-com.

7:10 pm -- Argh, I can't hear because they're all-in with the main-event championship. Why is there so much whooping and hollering?

7:12 pm -- Scott Arents apparently just beat Jerry Renfroe. $196k to the winner. $102k to the loser. Neither of these two guys qualified online.

7:13 pm -- They're in London right now, where online gaming is a real industry. They are talking to a politico that I can only assume is Frist or Goodlatte.

7:14 pm -- Live-blogging is hard.

7:15 pm -- Someone just came up to me asking for directions. I don't fucking know! (Actually I do ... but can't they see I am busy?)

7:16 pm -- Talking about David Carruthers, BetonSports CEO, and his arrest. That's all they had to say.

7:17 pm -- Commercial is next. Enjoy Flomax if you have urinary problems. Another two old ladies came up to me asking where they can buy Texas Hold'em t-shirts. I directed them to the half-price WSOP merch booth.

7:19 pm -- Story on Howard Stern is coming up. People are cheering in the tournament section. Congrats to Michael "Scott" Arents.

7:20 pm -- A woman from his cheering section (his wife? I dunno, she's got a wedding ring on) is on the cell phone screaming: "He fucking won! He fucking won! 196,000 dollars, and the ring, and an entry into next year's fucking main event!" [Dancing, screaming, and hugging of another woman ensues.]

7:22 pm -- People looking at me strangely, presumably wondering why I wandered about 50 feet away from the tournament area during the last bits of it all. It took just three hands after dinner break to move from three players to the end of the tournament. Much excitement.

7:23 pm -- Just got confirmation that the 60 Minutes episode I went to live-blog was a rerun.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--Oooh! We're down to five players here at the WSOP Circuit main event (7-foot poker player Randy Gil has surrendered the chip lead to Darrell Steed Jerry Renfroe) and we just had a chip-count discrepancy! After a break, there were apparently 1,275,000 in play. Poker is so fun, especially when tourney officials are scared!

The problem was noticed by Kaeline from PokerPages (whom Harrah's has presented a $50 Starbuck's card for her assistance, even though the casino Starbuck's is currently unable to accept gift cards). TD Jack Effel disputed her claim, saying there would only be an extra 500 in play ... to which Kaeline said no, because if his round-up explanation were valid, it would be an extra 1,000. (Because the 500s were just taken out of play.)

LAKE TAHOE, NV--By the way, Tim and Amy, I inquired how chip counts were being handled differently ... because indeed, WSOP tourney officials all acknowledged this was a big issue now. (Kudos to our PokerBloggers looking to keep the game honest!) But I couldn't get a definitive answer on procedural differences.

I'm still trying to get an official word, but so far the best I have gotten is, "we're being very careful."

So what does that mean? Well, they have been doing the chip-ups with players at the table, and a dealer at the table, and another tourney official looming behind ... not watching every move or counting every stack, but letting everyone know he is there. After that, Harrah's suits are doublechecking against the manual chip counts performed by Kaelaine from PokerPages.

As Tim points out below, it's working fine here at this main event ... but again, there's a big difference between goind through this process at a couple tables and more than 100 tables.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--There was an amazing chip-and-a-chair story brewing ... Randy Rodgers from Reno got it all-in with pocket 10s vs. pocket kings, and the favorite held up. He began walking away from the table but was called back ... he still had a single 500 chip. (Blinds were like 1k/2k with a 300 ante.) He was all-in again on the next hand with K-Q and flopped trip queens, but his pothead opponent had flopped a boat. Ultra-bearded dude was plenty congratulatory when the fourth queen came on the river and Rodgers septupled up.

A few rounds later he had rebuilt his stack to nearly 50,000 -- and the crowd suddenly had a favorite. Alas, he made it to the faux final table (they reseated when down to 10) but busted out in shortly thereafter. Still ... a nice example of a single 500 chip being worth more than $2,400 in increased payout.

So with Rodgers gone, here's the final table for tomorrow, where the payouts range from $12k to $196k:

LAKE TAHOE, NV--While Gonz is skilled at doing real radio, I seem to get the fill-in spots on internet Skypecasts. Tune in to Hold'em Radio in a few minutes, and I'll be sharing "Pokerati Bedtime Stories" with Angie And Sharron on Naughty Poker Angels.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--Our favorite total random has been eliminated. Steve Irion and his grandpa's fish eggs moved in with 3-3 and got called by two overcards. He lost the race and busted out in 18th place: $7,259.

Nice job, Steve-o.

Of the remaining players, two three four of them are WSOP bracelet winners ... Scott Clements and Paul Kobel (below). Kobel, by the way, gets our pothead-of-the-day props, for obvious reasons:

The other bracelet winners fighting for a WSOP-Circuit ring are Joe Petro (1987 - 7-stud hi/lo) and Burt Boutin (2001 - PLH).

LAKE TAHOE, NV--I just asked none other than Dr. Tim's lover favorite assistant tournament director to clarify something that we have had much debate about here. In this particular WSOP Circuit main event, they redrew for seats at three tables. Why not two, once they are into the money, I inquired.

"We do it at three tables, then two, then one," he explained.

Um, OK, but why?

"You mean other than because that's how [legendary WSOP tourney director] Jack McClelland taught me to do it?"

LAKE TAHOE, NV--Fishy Steve Irion begins today with 25,900 chips as he fights his way toward the bubble at the WSOP Lake Tahoe main event. (Eighteen players will get paid.) Last night Steve had a lot of big stories about big games in his Sacramento basement where he developed his skills, but his wife, Christine, sent me this photo of Steve (left) and Foxy (right), which tells a different story about where this contender really cut his teeth.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--We're starting off the day with 31 players here at the WSOP Circuit main event. Click here to see a roster of who's remaining. Scott Clements and John Esposito are the biggest "names" still alive, but neither of them are in strong chip position.

Playing down to a final table of nine today. Will let you know what they're serving for lunch.

UPDATE: Esposito is out. And I was right ... today's free food for players (and sneaky media folks) is hot dogs. Complete with ketchup and mustard.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--The players are on dinner break right now, and Mike Wattel is the chip leader with about 33,500 chips. Wattel, from Phoenix, is a semi-familiar face around the big-money poker world, as he can often be seen at high-stakes cash tables. He also has done quite well in tournaments, with one WSOP bracelet to his credit. I get the sense he's trying to keep a low profile, and wearing a goofy, gothic-font "Texas Hold'em Player" sweatshirt -- the kind they are selling here with all sorts of WSOP gear for half-price -- is part of his schtick to convince the others at the table he's just some sort of fish. But clearly he is not.

Then again, he hasn't won a major event since 1999, so you know, what has he done lately?

Oh, right, I almost forgot ... He also is reportedly dating Cyndy Violette, so that kinda makes him a winner no matter how he finishes here.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--Fish eggs, fish eggs, roly, poly, squishy fish eggs...ok so I changed the words of the song a little...but this has to be the most interesting card protector I have seen yet. I think this beats Humberto Brenes shark head.

Stephen Irion from Sacramento uses a 20-year-old jar of salmon fish eggs labeled "Balls of Fire: Soft but satisfying." The jar belonged to his grandfather who loved to fish. Irion doesn't fish, but said he uses this card protector because he feels it's a way for his grandfather to watch over him while he's playing. Apparently it's working. Steve won a $200 satellite tournament earning his seat in this main event. Currently, he's sitting with about 20,000 chips.

If that isn't sweet enough for you, Harveys is where Irion and his wife Christine got married two years ago. According to Christine, her husband didn't play poker before they got married...or was it he "learned" how to play during their honeymoon in Tahoe? All she knows is there was no pre-nuptial mention of poker and now she has to schedule everything around Thursday night poker. Bait and switch if I ever saw it!

"If we are going out of town," she said. "I have to make sure our flight leaves at 6 a.m. Friday morning NEVER Thursday night."

Trials and tribulations of a poker wife.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--The WSOP Tahoe Circuit Main Event is underway and there are three sassy ladies to watch.

With 99 players remaining Marina Baroco from Pensacola, Fla., sits with 8,650 chips, Joanne Gionnatti from Lake Tahoe is holding on with 6,000 chips and Nancy Tyner is cruising with 20,000. Go ladies!

Photographed in order: Marina Baroco, Joanne Giannotti, and Nancy Tyner.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--We're down to 109 players inside Harveys Lake Tahoe ... and outside it's snowing. Tiny tiny flakes, but still, kinda cool.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--While they're probably a few levels in at the Borgata, we're just underway with the $5,000+150 WSOP Circuit main event here at Harveys Lake Tahoe. It's kinda funny -- not too unlike the real WSOP on a smaller scale ... in that a bunch of other media has suddenly shown up, a few of whom are acting like they've been here all week.

ImageMasters, PokerPages ... I'm sure someone from CardPlayer is here, too. But I haven't seen them yet. Would it be cliche for me to assume they are busy messing up chip counts somewhere?

Anyhow, the pros have arrived as well. Max Pescatori is playing right behind me, Sean Sheikhan was milling around in shorts and on a cell phone, and Joe Awada is playing. A couple other bracelet winners whose names I don't recognize are supposedly here as well -- will let you know.

According to Asst. Tourney Director Jimmy Sommerfield, there are 122 entrants, and he is going to lose a bet since he set the over/under at 125.

UPDATE: Final tally is in ... 127 players. Eighteen will get paid. First prize is roughly $196k.

UPDATE: Sean Sheikhan is out early. I have no clue what the hand was, because I got sucked into a $65 sit-n-go. (They are now playing "satellites" for a pure cash payout.) I totally dominated, but got sucked out on multiple hands in a row. 4th place.

By the way, for a $5,000 event, this WSOP Circuit main event is hardly a deep-stack tourney. Blinds start at 50/100. All players do, however, get free pizza.

LAKE TAHOE, CA—Sticky, sweet, Texas BBQ goodness is all I have to say about Womack's Texas Style BBQ. The Womack’s grew up in the East Texas town of Gary. They must have felt at home with all the pine trees around here, and I’m glad they did. Until last night with the exception of the awesome pastrami and Swiss sandwich I had at PS The Brewery just up the street, a good meal had been hard to find.

Womack’s is not 5-star when it comes to service, but they really took care of us. A laid back mix of snow boarder-dude and East Texas gent, our server as well as son of the owner, Anthony made us feel right at home.

For the meal, I enjoyed sweet barbecue baby back ribs, HOT links, the best black-eyed peas I have had in my life and a nice Sierra Nevada to top it off. After dinner, I introduced Dan to Womack’s hot-spiced wine, a yummy mixture of burgundy and merlot blended with cinnamon and citrus. I love mulled wine or as they call it in the Alps, Glühwein (gluvine). It was perfect compliment as the first big chill had blown through Tahoe.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--A little update from the $500+$50 NLH tournament I mentioned earlier. Heads up with Edmund Liu (right), Poker Nutz Rafael Perez went all in with A-9 after the flop came K-10-9. Lui's A-K gave him top pair. A queen came on the turn giving each a possible straight, but a blank card on the river gave Liu victory.

For a small event there were definitely some characters like deli owner Karen Bochenek who raced from her final table debut to the next tournament a few minutes later. Silently sipping his neat Chivas Regal was Nick Loader. The day before the finals, loader bluffed Bochenek bringing her to the final table with a low stack disadvantage. We also had returning champion Clint Baskin who early on looked as though he might regain the title, but fell when his K-J lost to Liu's pocket 9s. Finally, our second place winner, boistrous, colorful Rafael Perez who knocked Bockenek and her pocket 3s out of the tournament with his third round of pocket aces. Perez held top pocket pairs seven times that day; five of them were aces. Talk about lucky.

Click below to check out more photos from this event.

LAKE TAHOE, CA--That's the title of the paper attached to the bathroom door from professional snowboarder and owner, Marc Frank Montoya, of The Block Hotel telling his "Coo' Ass Peeps" not to mess up his crib.That's the nature of The Block, young, artsy, cool and hip.

A converted motel created for snowboarders, The Block has an internet cafe, free wi-fi and movies for all ages to check out. The hotel also offers free energy drinks, energy bars, and thank God for Dan (and myself) free samples of deodorant at the front desk. Guests have their choice from one of the many modern rooms or can choose a signature theme room like The Napster Room, the pokery Delta Nine Room or The Vivid Room complete with stripper pole.

All rooms boast a large plasmaTV, PS2 game consoles, boot/glove dryers, board racks and refrigerators. From noon to midnight, Hip Hop music thumps from the court yard which also hosts a cozy deck, a barbeque area, and up above a little hot tub after a day on the slopes.

While The Block welcomes all, it is definitely a place for the young or at least the hip-at-heart. Personally, it's been a sweet change from staying at a big casino hotel.

LAKE TAHOE, NV--Karen Bochenek placed 9th at the $500+50 NLH final table today and heads back to Truckee, Calif. with $1,513. That is, after she plays in the $200+30 second-chance tourney that began 30 minutes after she was knocked out.

Knowing there was a tournament an hour after her final table began Karen, said she would be playing all or nothing at the final table today.

“Today was more about getting a lot of chips or having none,” she said.

Karen only watched poker on TV, but started playing almost a year ago when a friend pushed her into a satellite tournament at the Hilton in Reno.

“We were remodeling our bathroom so I had no water for the day,” she said. “I wasn’t going to sit around the house with no water, so I thought why don’t I go down and try to play poker.”