Sounds like the poker bloggers are having a blast out at the WPBT event in Las Vegas. I’m sad I wasn’t able to attend (again).
I had a really interesting night Saturday night. Thailand Friends was sponsoring an event they call The Amazing Race (yeah, not sure the television show would approve – but this is the land of the pirated DVD sold on every street corner so nothing too surprising). The object is that you have to visit a certain number of bars all over Bangkok and do at least one shot at each bar. Everybody competes as two man teams and this year in addition to doing the shots each team had to complete a task at each bar such as making pool shots, carrying a ping pong ball across the bar with a spoon, etc.
This year they cut back on the number of bars from 10 to 5. Last year some folks ended up getting sick afterwards so for the sake of everyone’s safety things were scaled down a bit.
Now, you can get around the bars in any order and by any means of transportation. Some go in a taxi but the really competitive opt for a motorcycle taxi. They arrange with the drivers ahead of time and they bikes are parked outside the starting point waiting. Motorcycle taxis have the advantage of being able to maneuver around traffic. But the speed comes at a price. Motorcycle taxis are notoriously dangerous. Partly because drivers in Bangkok are horrible, partly because motorcycle taxi drivers drive like they have a death wish, and partly because these guys drink . . . a lot!
Almost every soi in Bangkok has a motorcycle taxi stand at the top of the soi. The one on my soi always has a bunch of motorcycle taxi drivers mulling around drinking Leo beer and playing checkers. In Thailand, the fact that the person you’re about to entrust your life with has been pounding beers all day doesn’t seem to bother people.
German Jack and Ian were this year’s winners. They also won last year. The fact that Jack owns a bar might have something to do with his ability to get in and out of bars so quickly. 🙂
But it’s all for a good cause. The bars donate a portion of the proceeds they receive from the drinks to a charity. Last year the money was given to an orphanage. I think it was the same charity this year but didn’t check.
What surprised me though was I ran into someone I met on Thailand Friends a long time ago when I first joined. Never really chatted much but we exchanged a few words here and there. I asked why I hadn’t seen her on TF in a long time and she said she was too busy and when she’s online she likes to play poker. What? I was expecting her to tell me she played the free money games on Zynga but no, she plays real money poker on one of the largest poker rooms. Wow! I think she’s the first Thai online poker player I’ve ever met. Very cool.
Here on Bill’s Poker Blog
The Bill Rini Time Machine
The Blue Marble by Tommy Angelo
This is Starting to Get Out of Control
Bluff’s Reader Choice Awards
Super Duper Wadooper Gambling Domain Blowout Sale
Stop The Presses: Village Voice Discovers Poker is a Zero Sum Game
A Classy Response to a $4 Million Win
Over at Rakeback Report:
Absolute Poker Reload Bonus
Ultimate Bet Reload Bonus
Cake Poker Gold Stacks Promotion
Rakeback Strategy Tips: NL Rebuy Strategy
Poker Product Manager at PartyGaming
Macau Poker Cup Championship
Aaron Benton wins APPT Grand Final
James Akenhead wins Poker Million
Jan Skampa Wins EPT Prague
And as a special bonus, anybody who is interested in getting a free copy of Full Tilt Poker’s Tips from the Pros eBook, check out the offer over at Suited Rags.
photocred to mckaysavage