Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2nd Luckbox Last Longer Challenge. It was a huge success... made even better by the $2000 added prize pool from our friends at PokerStars!

We had 24 teams enter for a total of $720 in entry fees. If that doesn't scream, "Hammer!" then I don't know what does.

In the end, Team Roach bested us all with a remarkable combined finish of 43. Poker Gnome finished 5th, Recess Rampage finished 16th and Bayne finished 22nd. They each walked away with $120 plus $500 from PokerStars.

The lovely ladies from Team Hammer Girls finished 2nd with a combined finish of 65. Katitude finished 19th, Maigrey finished 21st and Maudie finished 25th. They each cashed for $72 plus $500 to split from PokerStars.

Last, but not least, Team Tao of Pot proved that chemical enhancements can pay off. Their combined finish of 78 was 8 better than 4th place. Change100 bubbled the final table in 11th, Derek finished 28th and Pauly finished 39th. They each took home $48.

Here's the rest of the top 10:

(Apologies for any spelling errors or incorrect names. Please alert me in the comments.)

4th: Team Last Minute - Alceste, California April, DawnSummers (86)
5th: Team Waffles - Jordan, Dr. Chako, Waffles (90)
6th: Team Geek Nation - Penner, Alan, Garth (91)
7th: Team I Kissed One of These Girls - F-Train, CK, The Wife (92)
8th: Team LA D-Bags - Joe Speaker, Absinthe, Shane (98)
9th: Team Two Chicks and a Grump - Poker Grump, Katie, Writer Jen (105)
10th (t): Team Bonus Code Iggy - Obie VIP, Iggy, Rooster (113)
10th (t): Team Bad Football - Butch, Matt, Columbo (113)

Thanks again to everyone who participated. We'll definitely do this again, especially if we can get PokerStars involved!

Oh...

And for the record Team Up For Poker finished with a total of 132 which was ahead of the defending champs, Team Mizzou, who came in at 137.

It was waaaay back in 2004 when the WPBT held it's first live event in Vegas. Back then, I wrote: "If you didn't know, our WPBT event coincided with the National Rodeo Finals. That meant Vegas played host to the largest collection of cowboy hats and plastic breasts since the release of Western Barbie."

One of the highlights of that trip was Sunday at the Mandalay Bay sportsbook. Here's what we wrote:

G-Rob wrote: "Another Damn trip report....I'm almost done...really!"
Otis wrote: "From Rock Gardens to Sherwood Forests"
The Luckbox wrote: Well... nothing. For some reason I teased an entry called "Sports Betting is Evil" but never got around to writing it. Instead, I'll give you this gem from the 2005 WPBT called "Too Drunk to Call."

Why am I telling you this? Well, if you're going to still be there Sunday, we've got a spectacular set up for this year's sports betting excitement!

It's called Lagasse's Stadium and it's at The Venetian. We've got a private luxury suite reserved under the names of AlCantHang and The Luckbox for the entire day of NFL games. That suite has seating for 25 but room for others. It's got two 52" TVs with remotes, a pool table, a private bathroom and an iPod docking station.

The catch? Well, we're going to have to be sure to buy at least $1500 in food and drinks among the group. I figure with the folks we'll have there, it won't be too hard. The great people at The Venetian are giving us a pretty sizeable discount on the minimum food purchase. Once again, someone's showing some love for the WPBT!

The sports book opens at 8am and Sunday NFL kickoff is 10am. Space is limited so if you're name isn't AlCantHang or The Luckbox, you better make sure you get there in time to be part of our private luxury suite.

Here's an article in the Las Vegas Reivew Journal with more on Lagasse's Stadium. And if you check out the Casino City Gang podcast on November 19th, they talk a little more about the sportsbook.

If you think you'll be there Sunday morning at Lagasse's Stadium, let me know in the comments so we can get a sense of just how crazy the day will be!

I want to thank those of you who have already signed up for the L-cubed challenge with the $2000 added prize pool from PokerStars!

The best news is that the vast majority of teams entered thus far are horribly flawed. Team Up For Poker is ideally suited to run away with the $1500 top prize. The rest of you are still eligible to win the $500 consolation prize.

Before I list the teams currently entered, I'll remind you how to get your team in the challenge. Team entries can be left in the comments of Up For Poker on THIS POST, sent to cusephenom -@- yahoo DOT com, or done in person in Las Vegas between noon and 12:45pm during tournament registration.

Without further ado, the teams as currently entered:

Team Up For Poker: CJ, Otis, G-Rob
Team Gambling Tales: Falstaff, Special K, Mrs. Falstaff
Unnamed Team: Bayne, RecessRampage, smizmiatch
Team Fluffy Unicorns: lj, chad, augie
Team Waffles: Dr. Chako, Waffles, Jordan
Team Canada: Fuel, Schaubs, Bam-Bam
Team "I Kissed One of These Girls": F-Train, CK, The Wife
Team LA D-Bags: shane, Speaker, Troublecat
Team D-Listers: lightning36, OhCaptain, pokerpeaker
Team Wheelchair: Drizz, AlCantHang, StB
Team Procedure: BadBlood, TheMark, Moutray
Team Name Forthcoming: iggy, Obie VIP, the rooster
Team Tao of Pot: Pauly, Derek, Change100
Another Unnamed Team: Astin and a couple of buddies
Team-To-Be-Named-Later: Katitude, Maigrey, Maudie

So far, those are the 15 teams entered for The Luckbox Last Longer Challenge. I'll update this as we go.

Also, when you talk about this on Twitter, Facebook and your own blog, don't forget to give PokerStars some love. After all, we don't want this to be the last time Stars throws a little money our way!

Let's start with the breaking news:

PokerStars will be adding $2000 to the Luckbox Last Longer Challenge prize pool.

Let me say that again.

The awesome folks at PokerStars are once again showing their support for the WPBT by adding $2000 to the prize pool for the Luckbox Last Longer Challenge at the Winter Classic (and find it on Facebook).

Let's just say this little contest of pride and wills just grew into something awesome. Now let's get to the details. With this much money now at stake, we're putting down some rules. Read carefully!

• Teams of three must be formed before the tournament begins and submitted to The Luckbox. Team entries can be left in the comments of Up For Poker on THIS POST, sent to cusephenom -@- yahoo DOT com, or done in person in Las Vegas.

• The Luckbox will be at the tournament site at Noon, one hour prior to the scheduled start time of the tournament. Live registration ends at 12:45pm, 15 minutes prior to scheduled start time of the tournament. Sorry, no exceptions.

• Each team requires a $30 entry fee ($10 per person).

• If you are unable to find two teammates prior to the end of the Last Longer registration, you are ineligible to participate in the Last Longer competition.

• It is each team members' responsibility to notify The Luckbox (or his representative) upon his/her elimination. If notification is not made at the time of bust out, the player will be assigned the same amount of points he or she would have earned for busting out first.

• At the end of the event, each players' bust out number will be added together and the lowest total finishes first, 2nd lowest finishes second, etc. If two teams finish with the same total, the tie-breaker is the team with the top finishing player.

• From the added prize pool: $1,500 to winning team ($500 apiece) and then $500 for for second place team ($170 for top player on team, $165 for other two players). The added prize pool will be transferred into your PokerStars account. From the entry fee prize pool: 50% to the winning team, 30% to 2nd place and 20% to 3rd place. The entry fee prize pool will be handed out at the conclusion of the tournament. (Astin asked in the comments about people with no PokerStars account. First, it's free and easy to sign up! Second, you can provide us with whatever Stars account you wish if you're on the winning team. So if you want it deposited into someone else's account, we can arrange that.)

• Any and all disputes will be handled by The Luckbox and thisisnotapril. All decisions are final.

• By paying an entry fee, you are agreeing to the rules set forth here.

We want to make sure that the great people at PokerStars know how much we appreciate this so when you talk about the Luckbox Last Longer Challenge (we're going to call it the L-cubed), please give PokerStars some love (your blog, twitter, facebook, etc.).

If you have any questions about this, leave them in the comments or email me at the email address listed above!

I can't believe there's even a discussion about this. Everyone knows that Belichick was wrong. He made an arrogant decision that cost his team a victory. Yet rocket scientists and amateur poker players everywhere are breaking out their protractors to justify this game-losing decision.

Well, I spent about 10 minutes doing my own research. I present: Other numbers.

Over the last 6 weeks of the 2009 NFL football season, teams have attempted to go for it on 4th and 2 on 14 different occasions (including Belichick's dumb decision). Any idea how many times those 14 attempts have been successful? I'll give you a minute to guess.

Yep, it's zero. That's right. A big 0%. Eight incomplete passes, two failed runs, two interceptions, one sack and Belichick's pass that came up inches short. I wonder if Belichick knew how difficult it is to convert 4th and 2 when he made his bone-headed decision?

Anyone who understands football understands the difficulty in converting 4th and 2. It's a little too far to run meaning teams can play for the pass. In fact, Belichick made it even easier on the Colts by emptying the backfield eliminating any threat of a run at all.

Of course, many argue that had New England punted that Manning (because he's so super-awesome) would have lead a TD drive anyway. I wonder what the numbers say?

Over the last 6 weeks of the season, Indianapolis has had 37 drives starting from the 30 or behind and they've converted TDs in 10 of them. That's 27%.

Over the last 6 weeks of the season, New England's opponents have had 44 drives starting from the 30 or behind and they've convered TDs in 5 of them. That's 11%.

What about when New England and Indianapolis play each other? Here are some more numbers.

In this year's game, Indianapolis had 12 drives starting from the 30 or behind and they converted TDs in 3 of them. That's 25%.

Since 2006 against New England, Indianapolis had 29 drives starting from the 30 or behind and they converted TDs in 6 of them. That's 21%.

Of course, Indianapolis got the ball from the 40 yard line or closer twice against New England since 2006 and, predictably, both resulted in TDs, including the game-winner a week ago.

So what do the numbers tell me?

4th and 2 conversion rate last 6 weeks: 0%
Indianapolis' TD rate from 70+ yards vs. NFL last 6 weeks: 27%
New England's opponents' TD rate from 70+ yards last 6 weeks: 11%
Indianapolis' TD rate from 70+ yards vs. NE last week: 25%
Indianapolis' TD rate from 70+ yards vs. NE since 2006: 21%

I don't know about you... but those numbers certainly don't support going for it on 4th and 2. Looks like NE had a chance somewhere between 75% and 85% of stopping Indianapolis on a long TD drive but very little chance of either converting the 4th down or stopping the Colts if they failed on the 4th down conversion. And that doesn't even include the fact that the Colts would have been attempting this drive with just 1 timeout and just 2 minutes left in the game which likely lowers the Colts' percentages.

Of course, lots of people will say I'm cherry-picking. Guess what? That's what statisticians do. They cherry-pick numbers to support their case.

This was a bad decision by Belichick. It's clear that the decision was last-second which only compounded the mistake. Had New England really intended to go for it on 4th down no matter what, there's little chance they throw the ball on 3rd down. Not only would a run have been a surprise on 3rd (giving it a better chance of succeeding) it also would have forced the Colts to burn their final timeout and it would likely have gotten them closer for their 4th down attempt (which, given the spot, would have made all the difference).

When New England failed on 3rd down, most of the offense was running off the field and New England was then forced to burn their last timeout which prevented them from challenging the spot on 4th down (although I'm not sure a challenge would have worked). If the plan was to go for it on 4th all along, wouldn't the offense have known that? After all, they had already burned a timeout in that same drive!

Not to mention, going for it in this situation brings all kinds of factors into play, including crowd noise and the potential of the home crowd to influence any close spot in favor of the Colts.

Of course, context doesn't matter to the people with their fancy equations. Context is irrelevant, right?

On December 1st, 2005, I wrote this:

I haven't discussed this with Otis or G-Rob, but that's okay. They're just going to have to deal with my bravado whether they like it or not.

Up For Poker is issuing a challenge to any other threesome in a last-longer for the WPBT Winter Classic. Here's how I figure it will work:

1) Final results of the three entrants will be added together, lowest total wins.
2) Each member of each team will throw in $5 and the winning team will split the last-longer prize pool. (All teams are playing against all teams and the winning team will win the total prize pool.)

So find your team, and leave it in the comments. I'll bring a list to Vegas and you all can hand over your money. After all, you think anyone can beat the combination of Otis' skill, G-Rob's agression and my luck?

Well, guess what? I still haven't discussed this with Otis or G-Rob, but it's on again. The Up For Poker crew is challenging you. Same rules. Same prizes.

(FYI: Comments currently require approval while I work out some spam issues, so you won't see your comment right away.)

I'm not sure how it's happened, but it has.

Otis, G-Rob and The Luckbox (that's me) are all above .500 ten weeks into the fantasy football season and all have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs.

Doesn't sound like a big deal? Well, let's take a look back at history. In the past 5 seasons, our three teams have a collective 4 playoff appearances and no Super Bowl crowns. We have a collective record of 89-104-3. We have a total of 5 winning seasons among us.

Of course, Otis does a lot to bring that total down. All I'll say about his career fantasy football record is that his only winning season is the year we played XFL Fantasy Football. I'm serious. He won the Super Bowl.

But this year, the three of us are bunched at the top of the Carolina Division. I'm at 8-2 and Otis and G-Rob are both at 6-4. If the playoffs started this week, G-Rob and I would both be in the playoffs. Otis trails G-Rob by just two points for the final playoff spot and both of them trail the 3rd place team by a game.

Of course, there's still 4 regular season weeks left for something to go wrong. The only thing guaranteed is that at least one of us will be in the playoffs this year. Which sure beats last year when we were a combined 15-26-1!

My shoulder hurts.

It's probably the number one reason why I find Wii Sports Resort to be one of the more realistic sports games I've ever played. The pain I feel in my shoulder is similar to the pain I experience after a round of frolf. Is that sad?

Disc golf is just one of the two dozen plus games offered on Wii Sports Resort. There's bowling, golf, ping pong, archery, canoeing, water skiing, and more. And most of the games offer multiple variations.

The key to the game is the Wii Motion plus. It's a piece of hardware that connects to the bottom of the traditional remote. It's probably what the Wii was supposed to be when it was initially released, but the technology wasn't there yet. Now, instead of just tracking motion up and down and left and right, the game can sense when you turn your wrist. This makes games like frolf and bowling and ping pong just about as realistic as they get.

If you've got a Wii, I'd suggest you get this game. But if you do, be sure to the get the new version of the game that comes with the second Wii Motion Plus. For someone reason, the first release of the game included just one, which didn't make much sense. You can order the new version on Amazon for about 70 bucks. It's worth it.

And my next Wii purchase? I'd expect it to be the New Super Mario Bros. I'll let you know how that game plays as soon as I get my hands on it!

It's clear it's been too long since I've attened a "proper" WPBT event. It's been so long I can't even remember when it happened. I seem to remember Otis, G-Rob and I each brought along Up For Poker t-shirts as a prize to the players who busted us.

That's all about to change in a month.

It's the 2009 WPBT Winter Classic and I plan to bring all of my luckbox skills to bear on all of you. I've been saving it up. It's been months since I've pulled a three-outer on the river and I'm thinking I'm well over-due.

As an added bonus, many of you will likely get to meet Lady Luck. As part of my unbelievable string of good fortune, it turns out that Lady Luck thinks Vegas is amazing. This will be my fourth trip to Sin City this year and my third with her along. We'll be arriving on Wednesday night and I'll be spending the first two days with her. Starting Friday, it'll be a whole lot of poker, some championship Pai Gow action and a Sunday morning in the sports book.

Will I see you there?

When I met the woman who would later become my wife, I was just 19 years old. I had a long, long ponytail. I delivered pizza.

In 1994 I was thin, carefree, and spent more time planning my next road trip than with silly "conventional" distractions like rent, gas, and cable TV.

I saw the Grateful Dead at Soldier Field that year. I saw Phish in Cincinnati and Louisville. I crashed a Phish show on my 20th birthday way up in Bethlehem, PA.

I ended that year with the same wife-to-be and two of my closest friends, by spending New Year's Eve in Amsterdam.

Those were heady days my friends and, now, if it's possible to have a mid-life crisis at 34, welcome to it's heart.

Maybe it starts with Phish. Could be Bonnaroo. It may be that having my brother living so much closer has a mutual bad influence. We've already caught the start of the Dead tour (as posted below) and now here's a rundown of the summer to be :

May 31 Phish@Fenway Boston, MA

My friend "Uncle Ted" scored the tickets up in the rightfield grandstand. My brother and I are flying up that morning. We get in at 11:30. We leave Boston at 5:00AM Monday. It's a whilwind, what Timmy calls a "Rockstar Vacation".

We're just going to RAWK! Should make for a pretty interesting return flight in any event.

June 9 Phish@Asheville Civic Center Asheville, NC

Hard tickets to score but I paid the scalpers. This will bring about some scorn in the -Head community. I absolutely do not care. Otis, Pauly, and my wife will be there too. Should be silly since it's the smallest venue on the Phish tour this year.

This is an old-school venue. I plan to act in a very stupid manner.

As soon as the show ends my wife and I will hop in the fully-loaded car and head to Charlotte for a few hours sleep before hooking up with my brother, his wife, and "Uncle Ted".

We'll be getting an RV.

June 10 Phish@Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, TN

We'll take that RV 4 hours down I-40 to Knoxville and hook up with a half-dozen more friends. We've got 12 seats for this one. Hopefully the Joker and TD will be there. Some other friends, both new and old will be using some of the 12 tickets my brother and I scored (all at face value) through various means.

My seats are fantastic. Lower level, Pageside.

After the show we'll load up the RV and hit a hotel just 6 miles away.

This will be the last clean bathroom for days.

June 11-14 Bonnaroo Manchester, TN

This is my fourth Bonnaroo. B and I went in 2002, 2004 and 2007. My brother and his wife will be with us for the third time. Uncle Ted, Matt, and Julie-Steakdoses are back for a second time.

It's awesome for a long list of reasons but my favorite are :

Phish is playing both Friday and Sunday nights.
Plus,
The Beastie Boys.
David Byrne
Bruce Sprinsteen and the E Street Band
Snoopy Dog
etc.
etc,
etc,

I can't wait.

August 15 Phish@Merriweather Post Pavillion Columbia, MD

I threw this in for good measure. I scored 4 tickets on the Fishman side in the lottery. My wife, my brother, sister-in-accodance-with-law, and I will have fun.

You know, because its the Phishes.

Now here are my concerns,

I'm not 19. I'm older, fatter, and more pampered. I do have actual responsibilities.

And kids.

I played in a decent frolf tournament Sunday and played well. Today my back and legs have been extremely sore. That makes sense. I competed for a full 11 hours.

You know, competed.

At standing, walking slowly, and throwning a frisbee.

Yikes. If that hurts now, I'm more than a little worried about the stamina required for a summer of '94.

We'll see how it goes.

I have a scabbed over gash that runs from the top of my left triceps down past the elbow. The left hand has a few nasty scratches that make it look like I lost a catnip fight with a panther. My special "frolf shoes", actually Teva trail shoes, are so badly torn I haven't even tried to wear them in a week.

Plus, I had to buy a new skeeter.

Still the worst part of my past week was the following admonition from my wife :

"I don't think you should play alone anymore. If (Otis) can't play, you should just go to the gym instead. It's too dangerous."

She actually said that!

I'm so ashamed.

I started playing frolf regularly, by which I mean almost every day, about 8 years ago. That first initial infatuation lasted a good two years before taking a 5 year snooze. Then, last summer, Otis and I rediscovered what we loved about it in the first place :

It gets us out of the house.
It gets us outside.
It gets us away from our wonderful and better-than-we actually-deserve wives.
We can pretend we're competitive without, you know, skills or talent.

I've played pretty much every day for the past year.

But even a true love needs a fresh look, a new position to try, a fresh approach. After playing almost exclusively at "Timmons Park" we we thrilled to get a new course out in Greer.

So without further yammering nonsense, here's my take on the new "Century Park" course and details of my latest frolf humilation.

Now that the leaves are coming in, the course is looking good. The city of Greer had to redesign the course last year and brought Innova in for the course architecture. That led to a complete clear-cutting of all the underbrush. Before the spring it had a real zombie apocalypse feel. If you've read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", this is the landscape you pictured.

Now with some leaves on the trees it looks like the apocalypse...with chlorophyll. That's an improvement in my book.

The layout is actually quite superb, a mixture of tricky elevation changes, long bombs, and at least a few relatively easy birdies.

Notable are :

- The third hole which is over 400 feet and has a tough uphill lie that begins about midway.

- The 7th, which should be the easiest in Greenville but has caused me to develop a frightening mental block. There is only one tree to hit. I always hit it.

- The 10th which lies to the right of the teepad with that path obstructed by heavy trees. It's a pretty easy birdie for a lefty who can get a good long range fade but is tricky for a righty who has trouble with a turnover disc.

- The 11th is the hardest hole in the area IMHO. Otis' too. 397 feet with a steep uphill and some pretty dense tree obstructions about midway. A par here is very impressive.

- The 15th. Notable because, while long, it is not a particularly difficult shot. Somehow, this is an Otis mental block hole.

- The 16th. A case could be made that this is actually the easiest hole on the course. I, however, have now lost two midrange discs here...including my daughter's "Skeeter".

Last week I threw a fade shot that I thought would curve into the basket. I had the range right but actually pulled it a bit and caught the side of a tree. That sent my skeeter a good 50 feet away and at a 90 degree angle from the hole.

When I crossed the creek and found my disc, I found that there is actually a SECOND creek perpendicular to the first. My disc was beyond a good 20 feet of dense bramble on the opposite bank.

After sloooowly stepping through the thorns, I got to the near bank and devised a retreval plan :

Step down about two feet onto the near bank with my right foot.
Quick step with left foot across 2 feet width of creek to far bank.
Scoop Skeeter.
Push back onto right foot.
Climb out.
Resume play.

In my defense, a strategy much like this has worked thousands of times before.

Instead it went bad fast.

When I stepped down, my right foot sank a good 8 inches in the mud. When I lunged forward it wouldn't come loose.

I tried to re-adjust and threw my weight backwards, my arms flailing in a spiral.

With my left hand I reached backward for something to grab and stop my fall. With my right I tried to break my fall into the creek.

The left hand found something to grab. A thornbush. It ripped my hand open (my throwing hand no less) and I finally let go falling entirely into the mud.

The mud was so soft now that I couldn't stand to get out. I had to find some sturdy sticks nearby to get solid footing for the climb from the creek.

When I did, my right shoe stayed behind. I had to get on my stomach and pull it out.

I left the skeeter behind.

Now I'm not allowed to play alone. And, sadly, this is my SECOND major frolf injury of the year. This one, luckily, was without witnesses.

The last was in a competitive tournament.

/Frolf Content

It's the first lesson I taught my wife when she joined me for a round on the frolf course. She'd never seen disc golf before so I figured I'd start easy.

**TINK**

"F%$#!!!"

It's the sound of a disc hitting the basket, but not staying in, and the subsequent reaction of the player. It only took about 5 minutes before we heard it happen the first time to a player in a group behind us.

It's been more than a year since I've been on the disc golf course, and it felt good to be back!

The course in E-Vegas is amazing. All 18 holes have nice concrete tee pads and pictures of the hole at each tee. In fact, a number of the longer holes have alternate tee pads for women, amateurs and G-Rob.

There's a lot to like about the set-up of the course, too. There are mandatory openings through which you must throw the discs. There are lots of places where a bad throw could land you out of bounds or in the water. And the holes offer lots of opportunities for a variety of shots. It's a longer course than Timmons Park back in Greenville, but it also doesn't have as many Death Star trench-like shots either.

On this day, I managed just one birdie (despite what the course suggests, regular frolfers consider all holes to be a Par 3). But I was happy with how I threw considering it had been so long since I was on a course. And I can't wait to get back out and do it again!

Plus, this gives the guys from G-Vegas just one more reason to visit. 1) Free place to stay. 2) Casino boat with poker room. 3) Disc golf course. 4) And for Bad Blood... some adult establishments.

(Posters Warning : CJ told me this blog now has a more diverse focus. I still plan to stick to gambling in some sense. Because I am a problem gambler, this still leaves an immense range of topics about which I can, and will, post. I just felt like writing again.)

I saw a wookie bounce off the hoods of three cars. He streaked past me, with clumped hair flapping and woozy knees wobbling, presumably running FROM something that only he could see. With wookies there's an equal probability that he's running from :

A) The Law.
B) His Past.
C) His Imagination
D) Soap.

He'd just run down our aisle when he darted between cars, bouncing off one, into another fender, then off a hood. I thought he got away. I later heard he was slammed down by three cops.

For those of you playing at home, that's "A".

Now, generally I like to get all settled in before wookie watching, but since this is the first Dead tour in years I was prepared for anything. My wife, brother and I got to Greensboro at least 3.5 hours before showtime. Presumably enough time to either drink a dozen beers or wait once in the porta-potty line.

The good news is that most of the salesmen were pretty savvy. That's unusual for a wook. The two most active undercover cops were a big burly guy in a yellow shirt that said "Dead" and another guy, also burly, but at least 6 foot 6 with a crew cut and a blue 'do rag.

I saw douche-rag guy hit up one pipe vendor near our car. Pipe vendor was holding his glass in a black case and strolling down our lane when douche grabs a random pipe and whips out a wad of cash. My car was blasting tunes at the time and I couldn't hear everything said but I saw douche-rag point several times to the "bowl" portion of this young wooks glass. Wook, again, was savvy. The only part of the conversation I actually heard was wook telling cop, "These are for tobacco man. I could hook you up with THAT if you want."

Cop grabbed his money back from the wook, put the glass back, and stormed away without a word.

That's the gamble that is the Dead lot these days. I remember back in the day, we'd see more of everything than you can imagine ( I mean wow, really, everything) and the cops did nothing. It used to kinda freak me out the way cops would just ignore all the obvious, illegal activity at a GRATEFUL DEAD show. Maybe Jerry was responsible for greasing the locals, but the cops ain't cool these days and they haven't been for quite some time.

Granted, like the wookies themselves, some people deserve what they get. One kid, a girl who I'd say was about 17, came by our car holding a ticket in her hand. She showed it to me....busted for drinking in the lot. Now, here's where she got super-extra-mega-dumb. Her girlfriend was in the process of getting busted by yellowshirt guy (who again, could have just worn the uniform for all the subtlety he brought to undercover work) and our kid goes up to give her friend a hug. During the bust. While holding an open beer.

Sigh.

These are tomorrow's leaders.

So once inside we take totally excellent floor seats just to by the soundboard (Philside) and I continue the now standing bet I have with Pauly. We each pick 3 songs for 1st set opener. 3 more for second set. 3 more for encore. I took $20 off him when Phish opened with Fluffhead at Hampton.

We pushed all three for the dead.

Here's the setlist for those who care :

Set 1

Music Never Stopped
Jack Straw>
Estimated Prophet >
He's Gone >
Touch of Gray
I Need a Miracle >
Truckin'>
Miracle

Set 2

Shakedown Street
All Aong The Watchtower
Caution
Jam
Drums
Space
Cosmic Charlie
New Potato Caboose
Help on the Way >
Slipknot! >
Franklin's Tower

Donor Rap

Encore:

Samson and Delilah

Some notes :

I love Music Never Stopped but am unable to NOT hear Donna scream OHHHH YEAH at crucial parts of the song. I'm not sure what that means. I've never actually SEEN Donna but that's what years of bootleg cassettes will do for a man.

My brother and I really, really, really, really, really, wanted to see Estimated Prophet simply because we like screaming AH NA NA NA NA along with Bobby Weir. We're amused by simple things.

He's Gone was written long before Jerry died but when you're touring without him you do know the audience assumes it's ABOUT him now....right?

Miracle was the highlight of the first set. I got stuck in the beer line during Touch of Grey and missed part. In fact, I missed so much that I missed Truckin'. I was so oblivious to it that I PICKED Truckin' as one of my 3 second set openers with Pauly. It was a dumb bet.

I enjoy the song Shakedown Street very much.

I also Enjoy All Along the Watchtower and Warren Haynes really shredded it up on this one.

Caution was awesome and this is the best thing about having Warren play with the band. He can actually sing the blues. Not the douchey Bobby Red Rooster blues but the good ol' Pigpen brand. If you get to see the Dead this year, hope that they play this song.

During Cosmic Charlie my wife said, "you know the DEAD never played this but all the after-bands (Phil, Ratdog, the Dead) play it all the time. I wonder why."

Then they played New Potato Caboose. Wow. I don't even own a bootleg version of this soon. I couldn't remember the name until it was half-over. I do remember that "touching makes the flesh cry out loud." That counts for something.

The band started the Help>Slip>Frank at 11:30. That's 4 hours in.

My brother and I assumed all day, it being Easter and all, that we'd see either Promised Land (my guess) or Greatest Story Ever Told (his). Samson and Delilah is what we got.

C'est la vie.

This is the kind of crap I blog about now.

It did contain some gambling.

That counts.

I showed up early for Monday's South Carolina Senate subcommittee hearing. Up for debate and public input were two bills that would effectively make legal home poker games and charitable raffles.

South Carolina is one of two states in the country that bars raffles (thanks to Utah for making us seem less antiquated and ridiculous). The Palmetto State also makes any game with cards or dice illegal (read: poker, Monopoly, bridge) etc.

With that in mind, you might expect the decriminalization hearing on the 200 year old law to be ridiculous. You would be right, you just don't know how right you are. By the end of it, I was so frustrated I couldn't even speak clearly.

So, after the jump, I grade the major players' effectiveness (Note: this is for more than South Carolina poker players, as the national Poker Players Alliance had big role in the hearing).

Poker Players Alliance: The PPA, the most legitimate of all the poker advocacy groups in America, has spent a great deal of time and effort in South Carolina recently. It supported the Mt. Pleasant Five in a February trial (see your April issue of Bluff Magazine for my article on the subject) and has been exceptionally vocal about legislative efforts here.

The PPA surprised me by pulling on board one the state's most respected legal minds. Billy Wilkins, former chief judge of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, spoke on behalf of the PPA. While Wilkins could've been briefed a little better on the subject matter, he was expectedly well-spoken. It was was a coup for poker players to have Wilkins on their side. I would never have guessed the poker industry could've pulled such a big name from the local pool. The PPA also did a great job of rallying the troops to the meeting. Its online outreach was hard to miss.

All of that said, the PPA still has some issues it need to address if it wants to be a serious force. It could have done a much better job lining up and briefing people who planned to testify. One of the better parts of organizing grass roots efforts like this is making sure your people are all on the same page and are well-educated on the subject matter. The PPA needs people who know how to do more than send out e-mails. It needs to be pushing hard in the media, rallying larger groups of people, and educating the masses. A media campaign couldn't hurt either.

Finally, the PPA's social media strategy was either badly conceived or badly executed. Here are a few examples of the Twitter messages sent out to more than 1,200 Twitter followers during the meeting.

"at the Greenville NC poker hearing which just started."

"Greenville, opposition just said that no one has every been arrested for playn poker n SC! Read the paper much?"

"Greenville, opposition sweating bullets right now."

"opposition doesn't support charities that save lives w/ funds received from raffles."

"opposition does not support the burn center thats supported by charity events."

"Franky's Fun Park is full of games of skill not chance! LOL"

"opposition doesn't support personal responsibility. "

"opp doesn't support Sheriners."

"looks like were rapping up."

There were a ton more like that. From misstating where we were geopgraphically, to rampant spelling mistakes, to out-of-context immaturity, the Twitter feed was embarrassing. I couldn't figure out who was sending the messages. He might be a really good guy, but he needs a better understanding of both social media and reasonable, mature ways to win hearts and minds. If the Twitter feed was the PPA's only voice, I would not associate myself with the group. Said B.J. Nemeth, top poker writer, "These tweets sound absurd. You're making it sound like anti-poker people hate children, charities, and puppies. Clearly untrue."

The PPA has come a long way recently and I still wholeheartedly support the group's mission. It's clearly on the right track. It just needs some good counsel on how to handle some of its outeach efforts. Grade: B-

A few poker and raffle proponents, including your humble correspondent in the background and on the edge of a mental breakdown

The legislators: Several legislators from around South Carolina came to Greenville. It started about as badly as you might expect. Committee Chairman Robert Ford is from the Low Country. He likes to party and is a laid back guy. He's obviously from the coast. The problem is that his brand of humor doesn't play here. He knew coming into the Upstate that he was going to be facing a very conservative crowd. Rather than respect it, Ford started the meeting by saying, "I guess since we're in Greenville, we need to start with a short prayer. We didn't do that in Charleston."

There is no greater way to tick off a group of praying people than saying, "I guess we'll do it since we're in your house, but we wouldn't do it we were home." Ford is a fun guy, but he is not one to sway hearts and minds. He seemed more intent on debating that convincing. Bad play, sir.

Senator Jake Knotts, a retired cop from Lexington County (around the state capital), is no better. While obviously being in favor of the bill, he spent more than half his time arguing on tangential subjects such as whether the stock market was gambling and whether a local arcade contains games of chance or skill. He also left before the hearing was over (I know, because I left two and half hours into it and he was ahead of me in the parking lot). Knotts is a fierce advocate for whatever he believes in. Sadly, most of the time he throws a punch, he misses his target and hits the referee.

Senator Brad Hutto is yet another Democrat from the coast. He is seemingly a smart guy. He also listens very well. Unfortunately, he stayed too quiet through most of the meeting. He could've used what seemed to be his openmindedness to convince the opposition. Instead, he sat and looked annoyed. I don't blame him. I looked annoyed, too.

Senator Phillip Shoopman is actually from the Greenville area. Despite apparently being opposed to the law change, he was also level headed. He seemed to imply he could handle a poker home game decriminalization measure as long as it didn't involve opening up the state to new raffles. Of all the opponents in the room, he was the most reasonable. I appreciated his ability to disagree with me without resorting to name calling and being judgmental.

Senator Mick Mulvaney from York County won the day. If there was an eye-on-the-ball legislator Monday night, it was Senator Mulvaney. Erudite, polite, and mature, Mulvaney was exactly what the conversation needed. If the entire legislature was made up of people like the York Co. senator, there might be a little more confidence in the intelligence of the body. Mulvaney is a Republican and we disagree on many subjects. That said, I can respect his style and his ability to allow me to disagree with him without resorting to tired and childish forms of debate.

I'm quite pleased the lawmakers are taking the time to deal with this thorny issue. I'm less impressed with their way of handling their detractors. I covered lawmakers from 1996 to 2005. I'd forgotten how disenchanted I was with the people and the politics. I got a quick reminder Monday night. Grade: C-

The Anti-Gambling lobby: Wow. I mean, wow. I know I live in the conservative part of a state that is one of the most conservative of the nation. I've seen the huge anti-gambling forces fill gymnasiums to fight against video poker. I know there are people who don't like gambling around here. I get that part. That said, the folks who came out of the woodwork to fight the possibility of raffles and legalized poker home games were just...impressive.

Chief among the detractors was Tony Beam, a conservative radio host and bigwig at a Southern Baptist university in the north part of Greenville County. Well-spoken and persuasive, Beam is a debater of the first order and has all the charisma of Rush Limbaugh. He is also the king of the straw man. He and Bob Jones University professor Dr. Bob Taylor (a doctor of math, if you can believe it) both rallied the troops by stating that allowing raffles and home games would open the door to casino gambling in South Carolina. They state this despite the fact the bills clearly state that such gambling would be strictly forbidden. They state it because the only way to really rally the anti-gambling crew is to offend their sense of morality. They would get nowhere if they said, "Fight against people's rights to play cards in their own home! People playing poker in their home could turn your children into sinners. Charitable raffles in churches are the agents of Satan." Even the most fervent of gambling haters would have a hard time getting a rise out of that.

So, the detractors create the king of the straw men: home poker games and church raffles will mean MGM and Harrah's will set up shop in Mauldin next week. It doesn't follow, it's silly, and it's just wrong.

Here's the best part. The most vocal of the opponents at the hearing were from Bob Jones University and North Greenville University. Both are privately funded schools and take no state money. Fair enough. That said, their student body is made up of students who are there on scholarships. Many of those scholarships are funded by...wait for it...the South Carolina lottery.

Later Monday night (yes, at a poker game) a graduate of Bob Jones University (who financed his way through school gambling on backgammon) asked why I thought his alma mater was so fervently against home poker games and raffles. Without understanding the motivation fully, I answered. First, they want to impose their morality on as many people as possible. Second, it's an opportunity to be heard. They are an interest group and an interest group is nothing without an issue to fight for or against. And so, the stickers that say "No new gambling" on their chests. And so the tear-filled speeches about lost families. And so the wavering voice of a radio host who talks about the people he has brought back from the brink of video poker addiction.

This is all because the American Legion wants to run a raffle to support its charities. This is all because I want to check-raise my friends in a cheap game of poker.

Right.

In short, the opposition is a lot like the proponents of the bill. They are so morally offended by the other side, they can't bring themselves to make a legitimate argument. They are exceptionally devoted and charismatic, but they need to read a book by Dale Carnegie. Grade: C-

Poker players: Despite a massive turnout in favor of the bill, a good portion of the people in the audience were there in support of charitable raffles. The local poker community is huge. Not enough of the players cared enough to show up. I knew going in that my presence wasn't going to make much difference. I was going anyway, but felt better about it when G-Rob said, "Nothing ever got changed by people doing nothing." I was disappointed by how few of my fellow poker players showed up. Grade: D

It's clear I'm frustrated. I'd hoped to write something a little more positive about the hearing. Sadly, nothing positive came from the hearing. The people on my side were unfocused, tangential, and irrational. The people on the other side were unfocused, tangential, and irrational. It was an act of legislative and advocacy masturbation and I am sad that I wasted nearly three hours of my life in the middle of it.

Because I've converted to Optimism, I look forward to what's to come. Because I still have latent fatalist tendencies, things don't look too good--for other side.

Photo courtesy GreenvilleOnline.com

Today, former Betonsports.com CEO and Director David Carruthers pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office says the Betonsports organization's conspiracy included:

"Creating and disseminating advertising throughout the United States which represented that its Internet and telephone gambling operations were legal and licensed. They failed to disclose known material facts, namely that the U.S. government and most state governments viewed such operations as illegal, and that they did not have a license to operate legally anywhere in the United States."

"Representing to potential customers that money transferred by them to BetonSports on account was safe and readily available to be withdrawn at anytime. BetonSports was actually using the funds to support and expand its operations, including the purchase of Easybets. When BetonSports ceased operations in July 2006, it could not repay its customers over $16 million held on account."

Carruthers now faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. He will be sentenced on October 2nd. The man who hired Carruthers also faces charges along with four other individuals. Those charges range from RICO conspiracy to mail fraud to the interstate transportation of gambling paraphernalia. That trial is scheduled for September.

I am naturally suspicious of people who use phrases like "call to action." It's one of those marketeer phrases that makes me cringe. That said, if you are a South Carolina poker player or one who travels here to play in some of the best home games around, you should be interested in this. Moreover, if you live in Greenville, South Carolina and don't join me on Monday night, you don't care about poker and your right to play it.

Monday March 30 at 5:30pm, South Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell will be holding two public hearings on a bill that would legalize home poker games and also expand charity gaming (including charity poker tournaments) in South Carolina.

I will be there and you should be, too.

Here's why.

Every Monday night I play in the best home game I've ever known. The action is great, the location is perfect, and the players are great people. The game has been running for years and shows no signs of dying off. There are games like it all over the state--friendly folks who just want to play cards in a safe environment.

Under South Carolina law, local law enforcement could come in at any time and cite every player for violating the state's gaming law. That we've never been raided is no great comfort. Even though this is a friendly game where the only rake goes to pay for drinks and snacks, it is still illegal. And if you think the local constabulary won't bust a game of this sort, you are sadly mistaken.

Last month I covered the trial of five people who were playing in a $20 max-buy no-limit hold'em game in Mt. Pleasant. The max rake on the game was 50 cents and the house owner, according to several people who testified, stopped taking rake the moment he had enough to cover the pizza and beer. The players were put on trial and, despite the magistrate's obvious distaste for the law, convicted. [See the April issue of Bluff Magazine for my article on the trial.]

A few years back, I held what was then my annual Bradoween poker tournament. It was not a huge affair. We had 43 people from around the country in town and crowded into my small house. The buy-in was insignificant and I charged no juice. People from other states laughed at me when I took the buy-in cash to my neighbor's house and left it there. They laughed harder when I programmed my police scanner to listen for a raid and put a couple friends outside to watch the door.

If I had watched myself that day, I might have laughed, too. It was ridiculous. It was a game among friends that wasn't even charging for the BBQ and sweet tea. Still, if the raid on a similar game in Greer (a nearby suburb) a couple months before was any indication, I stood an uncomfortable chance of getting busted. It had happened to one of my friends just weeks before. He'd been playing in a similar game and had been handcuffed in front of his wife and kids.

To people in less-antiquated states, this probably seems inconceivable. The simple fact i this: playing any game with cards or dice in South Carolina (read: Monopoly, bridge, poker, etc) is illegal.

President Pro Tempore Glenn F. McConnell, a Republican from Charleston County, wants to change that. His bill would decriminalize social gambling (including poker) in a private homes where no rake is taken. It would also allow for charity poker tournaments for churches and charities like the Lions and Elks Clubs.

Opponents of the bill suggest that opening the door to kitchen table poker is the equivalent of opening up the state border to the likes of MGM and Harrah's casinos. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You can read the full text of the bill HERE. The language is specific, more restrictive than even I would like, and would in no way allow for casinos in the Palmetto State.

All of the above is to say nothing of the rampant hypocrisy surrounding the debate. South Carolina is a lottery state. The South Carolina Education Lottery program is lauded by many of the same people who fight against decriminalizing home poker games. It's nearly impossible to go to a convenience store or turn on a TV without seeing an ad for South Carolina scratch-off tickets or Powerball jackpots. Make no mistake: South Carolina is, in fact, a gambling state, as long as the state is taking the rake.

McConnell held a hearing on his bill in Charleston last week. If news reports are to be believed, the pro-poker crowd outnumbered the anti-poker folks by 20-1. The Greenville hearing could be a lot different. The Upstate of South Carolina is a great deal more conservative than the Midlands and Low Country. In the past, I've seen giant protests over similar issues.

Even the legislators are worried about bringing the issue to Greenville. Said Senator Robert Ford to Charleston poker players, "Y'all get a couple of buses. I'm always afraid of Greenville on these kinds of issues."

It's my hope that we won't need Charleston poker players to defend our rights to play in Greenville. I know there are hundreds of poker enthusiasts in the Upstate who care about this issue. The question is, do you care enough to show your support in public? You don't have to speak. You don't even have to give your name. You only have to show up. It won't take but a couple hours out of your day.

I know poker is a solitary pursuit, but the battle to legalize it is not. Don't be the kind of player who complains but does nothing to remedy the situation. If you don't show up, don't complain about the law. When you finally have Republicans and Democrats agreeing something needs to be done about the antiquated South Carolina gambling laws, you know it's time to give just a little bit of yourself.

So, you coming?

Monday, March 30th
5:30-7:30 pm
Greenville County Council Chambers
301 University Ridge
Greenville, SC 29601

The South Carolina Poker Players Alliance is trying to get a good idea on who might come. If you'd like to RSVP for the hearing, you can do so HERE.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or send them to my e-mail address: rapideyereality -- @ -- gmail dot com

Message to the whiners: Who cares if there is no Cinderella?

In fact, I'll take it a step further. It's a good thing there's no Cinderella! It means the best teams are still playing. Sure, Cleveland St. and Western Kentucky were fun stories, but they're just not the same quality as the teams we have left. Instead, we have a selection of truly outstanding matchups:

Midwest

#1 Louisville vs. #12 Arizona: Don't let the seeding fool you. I was dead wrong about Arizona. They are for real. Perhaps it's my west coast bias that made me discount them. The Wildcats beat both Kansas and Gonzaga this year as well as UCLA. They also have two NBA players (Wise and Hill) and four players who hit 38% or more of their 3-point shots. I ignored my own rules when I originally discounted them. Absent that late 4-game losing streak, they were probably worthy of a 6 seed. And as for Louisville? They're very, very good. This should be an interesting game, but the Cardinals will be too much.

#3 Kansas vs. #2 Michigan St.: What's not to like about this matchup of traditional powers? Top coaches. Great talent on both sides. But I think this is clearly MSU's game to lose. They beat the Jayhawks by 13 at home in January. Kansas also has out of conference losses to Syracuse, UMass and Arizona. It'll be closer than it was in January, but the Spartans will move on.

West

#1 UConn vs. #5 Purdue: The Boilermakers are the only other party-crasher in the Sweet Sixteen. I'm still not a believer in Purdue. The lost 7 conference games in a Big 10 wrought with mediocrity. A bunch of good teams, but maybe only one great one (Michigan St.). UConn has silenced those that questioned their #1 seed by soundly thumping their first two opponents. I expect more of the same in the most lopsided game of the round.

#3 Missouri vs. #2 Memphis: You want a fun game to watch? This ought to be it. Missouri loves to press the tempo and extend the defense. It's what got them a lead over Marquette that was too much to overcome. After Memphis' slight scare in the first round, they played very well against Maryland. The Tigers have enough to give the Tigers a scare here, but the Tigers will end up winning. (I like Memphis in a close one.)

East

#1 Pittsburgh vs. #4 Xavier: I'm not sure why, but my pick to win it all (Pittsburgh) has made the first two rounds very interesting. Xavier, on the other hand, had little trouble getting here, and they're probably better than most people give them credit for (wins over Memphis, Missouri and LSU this year). However, it's the Musketeers' bad losses down the stretch (Duquesne, Dayton, Charlotte, Richmond) that make me believe they won't have enough for the Panthers.

#3 Villanova vs. #2 Duke: Another fabulous matchup. If you're a college basketball fan, you're excited about this matchup. These are two very good teams with solid NCAA histories. This has all the makings of being the closest game in the round, and I think Nova will have too much for a Duke team that lacks athleticism (apart from Henderson).

South

#1 UNC vs. #4 Gonzaga: It's everyone's favorite little guy from the Pacific Northwest against the most talented team in college basketball. The Tarheels future in this tourney comes down to the health of Ty Lawson's toe. I don't think the Zags will be able to exploit this potential weakness, so expect UNC to move on.

#3 Syracuse vs. #2 Oklahoma: It's clearly my favorite game of the round, but that's because I'm an Orange fan. However, I think even a casual basketball fan will find this game interesting. It's a matchup of the tourney's best remaining guard (SU's Johnny Flynn) vs. the best remaining big man (OU's Blake Griffin). If Syracuse can neutralize Griffin and hold their own on the boards, they should have the firepower to eke out a win. At least that's what I'm hoping!

Okay, so perhaps that's a slight exaggeration in the headline. I'm guessing Johnny Cash merely rolled over in his grave when he heard Adam Lambert's bastardization of the classic "Ring of Fire." Had Jaoquin Phoenix not already gone crazy, maybe he would have rushed the stage to stop what millions of Americans witnessed last night.

Instead, we get one of the most horrifying performances in American Idol history. If you missed it, thank your lucky stars. If you saw it, I hope you've managed to block it from your mind.

I'll keep the rest of my American Idol thoughts short going into tonight's elimination. Looks like one of the ladies is leaving tonight. If it's Megan Joy Corker, so long. If it's either Alexis Grace or 16-year old Allison Iraheta, than the judges will have a difficult choice on whether to use their one save.

Matt Giraud continues as my favorite after another strong performance last night with Danny Gokey close behind. I was glad to see Anoop Desai bounce back like he did.

As you can guess, I'm fairly certain the men will extend their lead in American idol finalists. Thus far, there have been 8 male and 6 female finalists. When this season is over, it will be 10 male finalists... and the men will tie the women in total winners at 4 a piece.

The Poker Players Alliance has just sent out notice of a poker legalization hearing in Charleston and Greenville, SC this month.

From the e-mail:

Playing poker in the privacy of your own home is a crime in South Carolina thanks to a ridiculous outdated state law signed 209 years ago. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell will be holding two public hearings to discuss S535 a bill that would legalize home poker games and also expand charity gaming (including charity poker tournaments) in the state. The first public hearing will be March 23rd in North Charleston City Hall and the second on March 30th in the Greenville County Council Chambers, both start at 5:30pm.

I plan to attend the March 30 hearing in Greenville. The PPA is looking for a large turn-out of pro-poker folks.

Details:
Monday, March 30th
5:30-7:30 pm
Greenville County Council Chambers
301 University Ridge
Greenville, SC 29601

I'll likely have more on the subject in the coming days. In the meantime, if you'd like to RSVP for the hearing, you can do so HERE.

To read the full text of the bill, click HERE.