Category Archives: Uncategorized

May
02
2009

Why Do I Want to Pay a Rake?

Like most of y’all, I’m on the Poker Players Alliance’s email distribution list. I think I may have been a member once. Don’t get me wrong. There are clearly some things they’ve done that have had value. They did some good work in PA and MA and they arranged for some responsible and coherent testimony […]

By java | Comments (2)
Apr
21
2009

Shronk 1981-2009

I called BJ yesterday. But when I started to leave my message, I just broke down. BJ emailed me, saying he couldn’t call me back, because he wasn’t sure he could keep it together. It was one thing to know Shronk was gone. It was a whole different level of pain to have to say […]

By java | Comments (2)
Feb
22
2009

Consulting the WTF Guru

I was having a total WTF moment on Friday, trying to ride out the market’s bank nationalization paranoia and the new rabid bevy of speculators who profit on the short. I needed to make a decision about a bank preferred stock that was getting hammered. I thought it was way oversold. But the problem with […]

By java | Comments Off on Consulting the WTF Guru
Feb
16
2009

Lipscomb Scores, Berman/Beal Burnt?, Phelps Chillin’

Proving bankers aren’t the only ones to profit when their stocks tank, it appears that Steve Lipscomb won’t suffer much with the World Poker Tour’s stock languishing in the sub-$0.50 range. In a recent SEC filing, Lipscomb will now get 5% of the company if it changes hands this year – which will come right […]

By java | Comments Off on Lipscomb Scores, Berman/Beal Burnt?, Phelps Chillin’
Feb
10
2009

Spirit in the Sky

When I die and they lay me to rest, Gonna go to the place that’s best. When they lay me down to die, Goin’ up to the spirit in the sky — Norman Greenbaum I never believed in god. That’s one reason why, when I was little, I thought Spirit in the Sky was a […]

By java | Comments (2)
Jan
18
2009

Two Legends Team Up For the LAPC

I’d been playing poker for over five years before I stepped foot in the Commerce. As much as I had heard about the legendary card room, I was still awed by its majesty. It was a temple built to please the poker gods – and all those who came to worship at its tables. I […]

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Dec
28
2008

Reclamation

I feel like I’ve been cloistered away for the last few months. Basically I’d get up about 5:00 am, start a huge pot of coffee, feed the cats, and work on the book. At 8:20, I’d jump in the bathtub, throw some clothes on and head off to work. The book totally claimed the weekends. […]

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Dec
06
2008

Family Traditions

I celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving – only our family’s traditions are a little different than most, I suppose. We always go to Central Market the day before Thanksgiving to buy our Turkey while my brother scouts out hot women in the cheese department. There’s the annual trip to Terra Toys to play with the wind […]

By java | Comments (2)
Nov
16
2008

Clonie Gowen: All Lingerie and No Vest?

In my tenure as a consultant for commercial lawsuits, I read more than my fair share of initial complaints. Early on I realized these complaints often overbet the pot with farfetched claims, many of which can’t be supported by facts. So I wasn’t totally surprised by the far reaching claims of Clonie Gowen’s complaint against […]

By java | Comments Off on Clonie Gowen: All Lingerie and No Vest?
Nov
12
2008

How the NFL Grinch Stole Online Poker II

In the waning days of summer 2006, the recently appointed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and past commissioner Paul Tagliabue wrote Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) in an attempt to sway him to tag the UIGEA onto “must pass” defense spending legislation. Warner told them to go pound salt. But that didn’t slow […]

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