Welcome dear reader to 'Lucky Bastard 476' I do not know much about blogging so please bear with me as I get into my stride...
For the erudite pedants amongst you I welcome your editing skills to correct glaring grammatical errors(with the exception of the incorrect use of ellipses and triple question/exclamation marks), deviation from factual actuality and the inevitable spelling mistakes, so get proofing. Seasoned bloggers can pass on any useful information and general pointers. These and any other communications relating to this blog should be addressed to the Lucky Bastard 476 e-mail address at gmail.com
I have started this Blog to document a journey that started on Friday 21st December 2007 and with a following wind and a large slice of good fortune will conclude on Wednesday 16th July 2008.
A couple of months ago I received a telephone call from Nigel Blower, a good friend of mine who works for Ladbrokes and organises poker events for a living. The conclusion of The Ladbrokes Poker Million VI or final table in poker speak, was being televised by Sky Sports on Friday evening 21st December 2007 and Ladbrokes were hosting a party at The Marriott Hotel on Grosvenor Square which was to be attended by the friends and family of the finalists plus a veritable host of poker glitterati...
I have a keen interest in poker and started playing Seven-card stud with Nigel and a bunch of mates(who will undoubtedly make an appearance here as we progress)for pennies back in the eighties. With the rise in popularity of Texas hold'em I started playing on-line a few years ago and progressed to playing live tournaments in August 2006 at The Gutshot Club in Clerkenwell which has now been renamed The Powerhouse Club. The original band of Sunday night poker players have spread to various parts of England and Ireland, however we do occasionally get together for a game, usually around Christmas as we return to spend the festive season with our extended families. We have changed, the game has changed and needless to say the stakes have changed too...!!!
Nigel invited me to join his table at The Marriott, but as with most years I was planning an escape for Christmas and New Year. Although nothing had been finalised I was intending to go on an extended surf or ski trip and felt that I may have already left the country by the evening in question. So I had to decline his most gracious invitation. Those of you who know me will not be surprised to find out that by the middle of last week I had yet to fix my departure date. Seeing the note I had made in my diary, I called Nigel to find out if he had filled his table and advise him of my current availability should anyone drop out at the eleventh hour.
Unfortunately Nigel's partner Sharon had had to scrub at the last minute and there was therefore a spare place for slap up nosh, a free bar and good company in luxurious surroundings in central London. Now what can I say, 'free' and 'bar' are two of my favourite words, especially when they occur next to each other in a sentence that does not contain the word 'closed'...!!!
I accepted in a nanosecond.
I arrived just before 20:00 and made my way to table 14, the other guests were already seated and there was some hilarity as I have not had a hair cut now for over a year and my tousled barnet combined with the instructed attire of a shirt with collar no jeans or trainers was in direct contrast with my host and his male guests who were all suited shirted and tied... Oops...!!! Quickly settling into the first beer, the evening commenced in ernest. Norman Pace who is a keen poker player and Sky Poker presenter was comparing, and after a run through the six finalists, the first hand was dealt. Norman had been flanked on stage by a bevvy of pneumatic Ladbrokes promo girls resplendent in their uber low cut Ladbrokes red dresses and heels. As the event got underway they circulated through the room selling raffle tickets at "ten pounds a strip" for the draw that would take place later in the evening. Showing extreme fortitude I purchased a strip of five intending to purchase another strip later in the evening. Whilst conducting the transaction, fishing out the crisp score from my wallet and filing the tendered change I managed to maintain eye contact throughout, no mean feat I can tell you...
We finished eating and continued replenishing our fluid levels at regular intervals whilst watching the rather pedestrian early stages of the tournament. Round about eleven o'clock, at least I think that was the time, Norman was joined on stage by the delicious Sky Poker presenter Kara Scott who was going to draw the raffle. Kara and Norman can be seen on a regular basis on Channel 846 along with fellow co-presenters Helen Chamberlain, Richard Orford, Sean Boyce, DP Fitzgerald, Paul Musselle and expert analysts Tony 'Tikay' Kendall, Jason Barrasford, Trevor Harris, Ed Giddens, Tim Peters, Mark "Prince Charles" Banin, Grub Smith, Tom Sambrook, Caspar Berry, Matt Broughton and Nick Wealthall, a few of whom were also in attendance.
The room fell silent and Kara's hand rummaged through the tombola drum. Advancing to the front of the stage she joined Norman who had the microphone. After announcing the winning ticket colour and number the lucky winner made his way to the stage to collect the third prize...
- A Virgin Experience helicopter lesson
- A week of Corporate Hospitality at The Cheltenham Festival
The moment had arrived. The majority of people in the room had bought raffle tickets and you had to be present during the draw to win. Kara returned to the drum for the final time, as her hand withdrew from the multitude of tickets nestling in the dark confines of the hexagonal drum, I thought I detected a hint of yellow. BUGGER...!!! my tickets were green. It seemed to take an age for her to rejoin Norman with the winning ticket deep in the palm of her hand. The tension in the room was palpable, I had to shout, I had to pre-empt the next word, GREEN I shouted. There was a pause and then Kara spoke, "green" I could not believe it she had said green. The excitement was welling up inside me and I thought I heard myself shout out again, FOUR...!!! "Four" the word seemed to echo round the room, I was stunned to silence. "Seven" now I was poleaxed back in to my seat, the six to four dog and yet a country mile ahead of all but one person in the room... "Six" I was up on my feet in an instant and on my the way to the stage, my head spinning, my body shaking, camera flashes exploding around me, Sky cameras focused in bathing me in white light, could this really be happening...??? I showed Kara the ticket that matched the one in her hand, I had won first prize...
- A Team Ladbrokes World Series of Poker package including entry into $10,000.00 Main Event, Accomodation at The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino plus a further $ 2,500.00 worth of expenses... That equates to roughly £7,000.00 at todays rates.
OMFG...!!! The 2007 WSOP winner Jerry Yang beat 6,537 entrants and trousered $8,250,000.00 The tournament paid 621 places down to $20,320.00 and the bubble got a free entry to next year's main event.
Norman asked me what my name was and raised the microphone in anticipation of an answer...
"Lucky Bastard" I beamed.
