ANOTHER FOXWOODS ADVENTURE

After two tries Robin and I finally made it for a trip together to Foxwoods for poker. The bus was pretty full, but Robin met it early in Albany and saved us good seats. There was no movie on the way down; it was great to have a long talk with Robin about all sorts of topics, especially things in the news. Robin always has read something of interest so the time went very quickly. For example, he told me all about an ancient tomb that had been found with crypt spots for an entire family with the same names as Jesus and his family. Then I told him about the turtle who had virgin birth, but he had already read that article. And so it went. We bet on our bus tickets as poker hands. Robin caught trip sevens and won my dollar.

We split an American Casino Guide $25 matchplay and lost it all on the craps table. First roll 4, then 7 and we were off to play poker.

In the poker room we were very crafty. It looked like they would start a new $4 - $8 game soon. A dealer looked like he was just waiting for a new game to start. So we bought chips, choose the best seats, sat down and talked to dealers.

One of the dealers was Shirley. She told us a great story about getting a Foxwoods award for “most spirited” and of the prizes she had won and the newspaper article coming soon. She also felt great because it meant she was doing a good job.

Soon they announced the new game. We had picked the right table. We were able to play right alongside one another all day.

We planned to have the free dinner buffet just before leaving. If we had left in the middle of the day, we might not get seated again, so we put the poker first and our hunger second. A few amarettos served me well. Shirley told us that some afternoons people wait a couple hours for a seat. In the morning it is open and easy.

To make it even better I found a bathroom that is very close to that section of tables, so usually I could make the run and miss just one hand.

I also think the morning players were easier. As the day progressed, the players seemed to get better and harder to beat. We had only one loose player at the table. He was wearing a red sweatshirt and he bet or called everything. But he was lucky, stealing many pots and winning others, often on the river. He did not make money, but he played a lot longer than we thought he would. I took a couple of pots from him, but I did not have very good cards most of the day. I played poorly too at the beginning, and I had bet all out the last of my $200 buy-in by the time a flopped wheel paid me a good bit back. By the time I left I was $21 up. My best hand was a flopped full house, jacks full of aces. Old Red bet into me so I did very well on that hand.

Add that to $10 in Keno minus $12 on the craps and a dollar on the bus ticket bet, and I ended up $18 for the day.

Robin was up a little too. He made nothing on the keno. He was well paid on his 4 eight's and again when he caught an ace on the river for aces full of jacks. But I guess he had some tough folds too. He had fun. He wants to go again.

Every time I go the trips get better. Thanks to Izzy I paid only $14 for this trip. Next time it will be free. I bought a voucher with my points from years ago and the voucher will pay for my bus next time. Also I found out that we earn points each time we book a trip at Yankee Trails. I did not know that. It just keeps getting better.

And now I know those things I like best on the Foxwoods buffet. The barbecue area was open this time. Good chili.

Anyone interested?
Click here Yankee trails
I’ll go anytime, but it sure is nice to have a friend to sit with on the bus. My neighbor is going sometime in late March. I’m ready to go again next week.

The movie on our way back was a cheesy football movie called Invincible.


Invincible Movie Synopsis: Inspired by the true story of Vince Papale, a down-on-his-luck teacher and part-time bartender lives every fan's fantasy of moving from the stands to the field when he makes it onto his hometown's professional football team during an open tryout.

Well, you know what “inspired” means. Barely close to the truth.

The sound was too low and we missed a lot of the dialogue. I don’t think I have ever heard anything on any film about football that was this quiet. It seemed every actor was a low talker.
These guys were from South Philly, but most of them talked like they were in the library. There were many night shots, many times when Vince gets some inspirational talk from his Dad (black lunch box on the steps kind of guy) or the hot blond who is hot for him. I guess south Philly is not like most inner cities. No one was on these streets. No gangs. No drugs. No kids hanging out. No boom boxes. Deserted streets. The noise came when all the locals met at the tavern ( sort of like Cheers on steroids) or at a place where they played rough football in the mud.

Of course the football game and bar scenes were noisy.

Well, it did pass the time, and this guy Vince Papale seems like a nice kid. But he’s no Dean Martin.