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//May 4, 2006
Just finished filming the World Poker Tour Battle of Champions 4 last week in Vegas. As always, I drove the 3 hour mono trek from Los Angeles to Vegas by myself and my new favorite toy, my Sirius Radio. I really enjoyed listening to great music as I cruised through the beautiful desert with no traffic and just seductive dreams of what lay ahead of me the next 3 days in Sin City. Always fun. So much happened, but I’ll just to get to some highlights. First night I went broke in the No Limit Hold’em big game. There went my WPT paycheck for the week. The good news was I went broke fast. 3 hours, so I got a good night sleep. In bed at 9. By the way, there’s nothing worse than finding that rubber band in your pocket after losing all your cash. That rubber band just had so much glamour when holding your roll of thousands just hours before. But after going bust, it takes on a whole different light. That lowly band is reduced down to what it really is: A dirty, smelly, useless reminder of what cash you used to have and don’t have anymore. It reminds you that you’re a huge busted-out sucker who should be looking into getting a real job, a day job, a nine-to-five job. It also makes you think that every player at the table was laughing at you as you walked away, completely tapped out and humiliated – and all you’ve got left is this stinking rubber band that you thought was so cool when it held your roll of thousands and now all you want to do is chop it up into little pieces and never see it again. But perhaps I’m taking my losses a little hard. I’ve gotta entertain myself. Next the WPT Battle of Champions 4 was played. I bet Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizachi a nice sized bet that he wouldn’t win at the final table – I gave him 4 to 1 odds too. I laid down my cash up front, but this time without my hard-luck rubber band and proceeded to win back some of my poker loses – not without a scare though; he finished third. What a genius poker player this 25 year old is. I won’t tell you who won incase you want to see it on TV when it airs. Next did some running or jogging in Vegas last week. That’s right: When I host WPT tournaments in smoke filled casinos all over the world I try to go the other way – I try to get healthier on the road – especially in Sin City. Did some weight lifting, oatmeal eating and cardio. Sounds boring yes, but I save my decadence mostly when I am home in Los Angeles. In my mind, this gives me an edge. Anyway, I ran on the strip between Bellagio and Mandalay and back. You would not believe how dusty the street has become due to the newer bigger casino construction. Sad to see the old jockey club getting ripped down. Enough about Vegas. When I got back to LA I went to the daytime Emmy Show with my wife – big spectacle. My wife, in case you don’t know, stars as Ashley on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. We were picked up in a limo. I had a tuxedo on, my wife wore a beautiful gown by some famous designer and looked incredible. The limo was stocked with cocktails and to make the upcoming red carpet walk a little less stiff, we decided to partake with a glass or two of some of the drinks. My wife started with the Champaign, I went right to the bottle of Corona. Within seconds, my Corona bottle spilled into the lap of my lovely wife. Quickly mopping it up and apologizing profusely, I proceeded to minutes later getting a severe case of car sickness. An hour later we finally got to out destination: The red carpet in front of the Kodak building in the middle of Hollywood ready for our walk to the Emmys. We reeked of stale beer and I swore I’d never be driven by a limo again. But the night turned out to be fun. Lots of big stars were there, good attitudes by all, but between you and me, I’d rather be lounging around the house in my t-shirt playing online at Hollywood Poker while very confidently sipping my Corona – there I can spill all I want. Till next time, stay out of my pots.
~ Vince Van Patten
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