Vegas is coming. Are you ready?

"I'm telling ya, the future is beautiful. Alright? Look out the window. It's sunny every day here. It's like manifest destiny. Don't tell me we didn't make it. We made it. We're here. And everything that is past is prologue to this, all the shit that didn't kill us is only - ya know, all that shit... You're gonna get over it." - Swingers

I'm over my shitty poker weekend, thanks in no small part to the support and encouragement of my fellow bloggers. I truly appreciate the kind words. By the grace of the poker gods, I won a SNG on Full Tilt and earned a $26 TEC. $14K tonight anyone?

Thanksgiving is alwas a little odd in L.A. Most holidays are. Not because it's 78 degrees right now under a darkening sky, but that the city will empty out halfway over the next day. Everyone goes back to where they came from. Because no one really comes from here. But I do. Instead of traveling with the masses, I'm looking forward to cooking and drinking some nice wine and spending time with my small immediate family right here in town. Showcase left for NY this morning, so it will be just me, my parents, my little Sis the camera operator, her photographer roommate Dillon, and maybe a couple of their holiday-orphan friends.

I ran into a poker-playing pal of mine as I was walking down Beverly Drive today. He used to deal at Hollywood Park and made a couple of final tables in some of their $100 NLHE tournaments last year. He took a long hiatus from poker after he just missed the $$ in the WSOP main event this year and has just started coming back. When I told him how cold I'd been running and that I'd pretty much stopped playing limit for now he looked like he wanted to slap me upside the head.

"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"When's the last time you played live?"
"I don't know, August maybe?"
"Are you kidding me? Fuck that internet shit. Don't you know that the 6-12 at Hollywood Park is pretty much an ATM for anyone with a little patience?"
"And a $500 buyin."
"Then play the 4-8, 3-6, whatever. That's how you're gonna fund your trip."

I think it's safe to say that after I've shaken off my turkey hangover, that's where I'll be Friday night.

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Vegas is coming. Are you ready? A taste of what I'll be doing to prepare.

10 THINGS TO DO BEFORE VEGAS:

1. Put oil in wheezing car.

2. Light Jesus candle and pray that car does not break on I-15.

3. Contact various pharmaceutical representatives.

4. Purchase "Chaser" tablets at Rite-Aid to shield delicate system from anticipated sicko hangovers incurred via excessive partying with professional alcoholics.

5. Investigate return policy at Circuit City and potentially "purchase" digital camera for trip-recording purposes.

6. Freakin' decide whether I'm driving out Thursday late-night or Friday morning.

7. Beginning seven days prior to departure, reduce sleep hours by thirty minutes per night.

8. Make hair appointment with my favorite stylist at the Palms salon to trim blonde locks now reaching hippie-girl lengths.

9. Fleece crabby drunks and LAG fratboys at Hollywood Park this weekend to pad bankroll.

10. Play good poker and the money will come.