Vegas and the road to the Gold Bracelet!

Ted and I had planned a trip to Vegas for November of this year. I was ready to visit again. I miss living in Las Vegas. I Love all the great restaurants, places to visit, all the Poker, and seeing all our old friends. The weather is beautiful except for two months in the summer. We arrived on Saturday around noon. When we got to the rental car agency It looked really crowded. We proceeded up to Hertz as we are Presidents Circle customers (meaning we always us use them and have preferred status.) We were told at Hertz they had a 3 hour wait but since we were Presidents Circle we would have a car in about 15 minutes. Sure enough we got our car. We proceeded to drive towards the big line at the exit. After about 15 minutes waiting in line we realized the first car had not moved. I got out of the car and went to find out what the problem was. Apparently Hertz's computers had gone down. By now there were about 45 cars in line to get out. People started honking and getting mad. No one was getting out. There was a gentleman trying to help but really not doing anything but causing more confusion. He would tell people to move to another line only to tell them to get back in the first line. It was a awful! After an hour of this Ted and I got so mad we decieded to take our luggage and go take a taxi. We left the vehicle in line with the trunk up went to the Hertz counter handed them the keys and said cancel our reservation. We got to our hotel Bellagio and were finally able to relax. The next day I went down to Avis which is at Bellagio and rented a car. It wasn't the tier that I payed for but at this point it was a car since they didn't have any more. Ted was playing a big poker tournament at Resorts World so we drove over. After a few hours I decied to leave and go play a poker tournament on line at the WSOP (World Series Of Poker). I like playing on line. You get to put on comfortable clothes and play in bed. I have a head tremor and when I play live events its a little embarasing. When I got to the garage I put the key in the ignition but it would not turn to start. I tried to turn the wheel to unlock it but it would not budge. On further inspection I noticed they rekeyed the car. So apparently they didn't do a very good job with the key. I tried calling the Avis office at Bellagio but it was closed. I called Avis road side assistance and trying to deal with their computer system was extremely difficult. I was screaming answers I was so frustrated. I probabally looked like a mad woman sitting there. Finally after the 5th try and an hour later I was connected to a person. They sent a notice to their on call tow truck and told me it would take about an hour and 40 minutes. I was beside myself. I recieved a text from the tow truck and called the phone number to explain I was stuck in a parking garage and could they please come quicker. They were so nice and came about 10 minutes later. The tow truck driver was a really nice guy. We had a great conversation on the way to the airport so I could pick up another car. When I got to the airport the text from Avis said I should go to the front of the line since I had an issue with the car. The people behind me were not happy. It was a big line. I tried to apologize to the woman I went in front of but she just gave me a loud "Whatever". I had to remind myself I wasn't in Jacksonville anymore. Jacksonville people are so nice. After finally getting another car I was able to drive back to the hotel and put on my PJ's and get ready for the tournament. A few hours later I was still in the tournament and recieved a phone call from an unhapppy Ted saying he busted out and would be back later. I knew what that ment! Ted would come up to the room after a few beers and not in a happy or good mood. Sure enough a few more hours later Ted came up. I was deep in the tournament and playing for a lot of money and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. As soon as he walked in I told him please don't talk I need to really concentrate here. He actually was really good about it and very respectful. After another hour I made a really stupid bluff and he erupted and told me I didn't know what I was doing. At this point I got my pillow, went in the bathroom and sat on the floor to finish playing. I kept telling myself stay focused you can do this. I was able to focus and didn't make anymore stupid moves. I took my time and thought about each move before I did it. Finally I got to the final table. I couldn't believe it, was I really going for a Gold Bracelet?? There were 8 players between me and a Gold Bracelet. This was getting very reaI! I kept thinking don't make any stupid moves. I was heads up against a person that was the chip leader the entire tournament. He was a very aggressive player but I had a 3 to 1 chip lead on him. During the heads up match he took the chip lead leaving me questioning my play. After a break he came back very aggressively. I slowly got a big chip lead on him. I just waited for a hand to trap him and sure enough I was able to do it. At the end of the tournament I had 29 million chips (you started with 15,000) and my first WSOP GOLD BRACELET! I came out of the bathroom very excited. Jumped into Teds arms and said "Now you can't throw it in my face that you have a bracelet and I don't." Ted was very happy at that point and said I played great. Which really ment alot to me. I went through just under 2000 players to win the tournament. It was alot of fun! Now as I write this blog its very surel I'm waiting for the WSOP to send me my bracelet. I'm sure it will get real when I finally see the bracelet. Ted won a WSOP gold bracelet in 2004 and now 20 years later I was able to win one. I think that is so cool. Plus I believe that there are only about 10 couples I can find online that both husband and wife have bracelets. I know were definately the oldest couple! Going into this event I did not really concieve that I could do it but the Poker Gods were on my side this time!

#WSOP

#Ladies International Poker Series

#Women's Poker Association

#Hertz sucks

#Avis sucks