The Chicago troops and I headed to the bright light city for a couple days of bachelor debauchery. My buddy Hebda will be taking the eternal plunge May 12. My cohorts had their eyes peeled for blackjack tables, poker tournaments and Bunny. In stark contrast, my mind set on one man, Howard Schwartz.

That’s right, the librarian for gamblers himself has shop just ten minutes from the strip. This is the home of the Gamblers Book Shop; a virtual candy-land for a gambler. I brought an entourage of two with me, Don Burgess of ppwellness.com, Chicago’s finest personal trainer and damn good Tommy Boy impressionist. And Matt Booma of amalgamstudio.com, the creative genius that designed my poker history book. Impressed? Neither am I. As I walked into the corner lot of the book shop, it became very obvious what a tri-peon monster we were entering the gambler’s sanctuary. Sure the dark red book I authored stood front and center, but of course I gave Howard notice of my arrival. I gazed up at the collection of photographs Howard had hanging up bordering the book shelves. Famous actors, movie directors, sports figures and poker icons all freeze framed from the otherwise non-descript concrete shell ten minutes from the ritz of the strip.

The Gamblers Book Shop opened its doors in 1964. Fifteen years later, Susan bore Mark Rogers, and Howard Schwartz took the marketing director role at GBS. Coming from a journalism background, Howard traveled this country from New York to California writing for various newspapers. He has authored numerous gambling articles and his gambling book reviews are featured in many publications. Having conquered the gambling scene long before I was a twinkle in the poker world, Howard remained a gracious and extremely excited host. My “Eric” and “Turtle” joined me, as Howard gave us the tour of his second home as if it was his first time. Leaving the public space behind, we ventured into room after room, I didn’t remember the CMU block extending that far from the outside. Filing cabinets were filled with historical gambling data, old WSOP flyers lay on shelves, and newspapers from the 1800’s stuck in the corners. The whole time Howard filled our ears with stories of Doyle Brunson, Jack Straus and countless other dignities to share a moment of history at the book shop.

Recounting his stories blog-style would be an injustice to the storyteller. Instead, I recommend taking the time from Vegas’ vices, to make the trip to Howard and his shop. Give the place a call first, make sure Howard is there. The librarian for gamblers is as much a part of the GBS as the annals of gambling books that store their.

Gamblers Book Shop
630 South 11th Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-382-7555
www.gamblersbook.com

Mark Rogers is the author of “52 Greatest Moments World Series of Poker”
www.52pokermoments.com

So, a couple of months ago, I agreed to do a bit on the Ante Up! poker show. It was a good idea, but six weeks on the road in the last seven derailed it a bit. Still, Chris Cosenza and his crew are doing a great job, so I figured the least I could do for the partnership was give them some props and tell you all where to find the show. Here’s the paragraph Chris sent at my request:

“Ante Up! is the longest running Internet poker show in America as hosts Chris Cosenza and Scott Long bring you big name guests, such as Johhny Chan and Daniel Negreanu, hand analysis, including Columbo’s One Minute Mystery, and amusing anecdotes about their poker adventures. They also have a photo gallery, blog, forum and monthly tournaments. Go to blogs.tampabay.com/poker and join the Ante Up! Nation.”

Thanks guys. Once life calms down a bit, I’ll be back

Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com

It’s been a long couple of months for me folks. At the end of this week, I’ll have been on the road for six of the last seven weeks, but its starting to really pay off. Wise Hand Poker is starting to make a couple of dollars here and there, which we’ve been able to funnel back in to getting some of our writers to do a little more regular work.

You’ve probably noticed Jen Newell’s news updates, Ryan Lucchesi’s This Week in Poker series and Tom Bostic’s Poker Quizes. Well, that’s the tip of the iceberg. We’re growing fast now and I’d look to see more of the good stuff coming, with a redesign set for completion before the World Series of Poker.

I want to thank everyone who’s supported the site, through clicking through our advertising banner, signing up for online accounts through those clickthroughs, participating in our forums and signing up for our newsletter. I don’t get to stop long enough to say thanks to you, our readers, for keeping us going through the lean times. They aren’t over yet, since we’re spreading the money thin, but I’m convinced it’ll be worth it in the long run.

Thank you for your continued support. We really do appreciate it. I really do.

Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com

It looks like five of us are making the five week trip to the WSOP this year. I know a bunch of people are going to be dropping by for a few days at a time, so we’ll likely have six in the house at any given time. After staying in an extended stay hotel 12 miles from the Rio last year, we’re looking to get closer and more comfy, and that means we’ll probably rent a house for the duration. I’ve done a lot of research, and I think we’re going to take a ballerin’ 5 Bedroom place with an indoor pool… assuming it’s available.

I’ve never been much of a NL player, but i’m about to put a lot of work in over the next few months so that I don’t have as hard a time finding good games. Last year, when I couldn’t find a reasonable limit game, which was often, I ended up playing 1-2 NL, and that’s not really a big enough game to have hope of making enough money to compensate for my costs this trip.

Last year, I put in a lot of time playing online when I was in Vegas. I’m hoping that being closer to the strip will prevent that from being the case this time. The fact is, i’m unsure enough about the future of the online game that the Vegas trip is going to play a big part in helping to determine what my backup plans are. Making a living in Brick & Mortar Casinos is not really the kind of thing I had in mind when I decided to make my living playing poker, but I want it to be an option at least. I’m sure I have a long way to go before I’ll be that comfortable with it.

I doubt I’ll play in many tournaments this year. I found the single table satellites to be profitable, but the side games at the Rio were fantastic, and once I really got into them, I never went back to the satellites.

I’ve been in Reno since Saturday evening for the WPT World Poker Challenge tournament. Despite my love of gaming and numerous trips to Vegas in the past, Reno had remained off my list of travel destinations until now.

The Grand Sierra Resort, where the WPT has made its home for several days, is a nice place with an old school feel. Others have expressed their fondness for the bowling alley, laser tag facility, golf driving range, or other amenities in this huge resort. I, however, like the casino itself, with its wood trim on the walls, huge almost-tacky chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, and the crowd of locals who clearly have made this their home-away-from-home for years.

I was able to get out one evening and see the Peppermill, which had its own flavor with the blue neon everywhere, mirrored walls and ceilings, and maze-like casino floor. The area surrounding the Peppermill seemed a bit like downtown Vegas with its casinos side-by-side. I wish I had had more time to explore.

From what I’ve seen of Reno, I like its ambiance, even though the small-town, old West theme really isn’t my style. The old school gaming environment is definitely to my liking.

But there are more reasons that I’m feeling comfortable in Reno. First, I feel that I’m finding my voice in my WPT Live Updates blog and becoming more secure in expressing myself. Second, I’m a little more at ease with reporters and representatives from other media outlets, just as they are getting used to seeing me around.

The third reason that I’m liking Reno is that it makes me think of my father, who died when I was eight years old. Most of what I knew about him comes from my memories and my mom’s stories about him. I was also fortunate to be in touch with his best friend, whom I met two years ago and related stories about my dad’s younger years.

My penchant for gambling comes from my dad. He was not only a recreational poker player but loved to bet on horseracing and took a job as a stockbroker for E.F. Hutton so he could spend his days dabbling in the stock market. However, he never traveled to Reno or Vegas, saving his vacation time with my mom for horse tracks in Kentucky.

If he were alive today, I think he would get the biggest kick out of the poker boom. He would probably be watching it on tv and visiting casinos whenever the opportunity arose. And when I look around at this casino in Reno, this is the type of place in which he would feel at home, and I knew that as soon as I glanced around it when I arrived. My mom also reminded me that the day I arrived here would have been his 70th birthday.

So, as I prepare to leave Reno tomorrow, I’m thankful for the chance to have come here. I’ve found comfort on many levels, most especially in the memories of my father and in the knowledge that he and I would have had a special bond through our love of gaming.

The final table at Bay 101 was an experience; Ted Forrest defeated J.J. Liu in a historic event that lasted 263 hands. Longest WPT final table ever! J.J. recorded the highest finish by a female player ever in an open $10,000 buy-in event. While the Suicide King became the first player in history to have a WSOP bracelet, the NBC Head

Last weekend I was bored and considering playing some poker online. I noticed that Chip Jett was in a $5 razz tournament that was paying out to nearly 20% of the field. I have confidence in my razz game and liked how many people got paid, so I decided to enter. If you don

I spoke today with Nolan Dalla, heads of Communications for the World Series of Poker. Nolan and I ment three years ago when I was a fly on the Wall at WSOP and he treated me like I was visiting from Time Magazine. There are a lot of reason to respect him beyond that one, but it always stook out to me because of the personal nature of it.

Nolan has been at the middle of a small shit-storm of late. As so many players have before him, he accepted a payment from another player in chips then went to cash them at an MGM Grand window. When he was asked about the chips but a floor manager, he thought nothing of admitting the way the chips had gotten to him and the $5,000 was quickly confiscated.

Now, how dumb a move was this on MGM’s part? let’s see; they move in on an obviously clean guy, one who is connected from up on high and who works in a high ranking position in the more public areas of the gambling industry, and who writes well-read articles for companies throughout. Nolan’s got friend and they have friends and MGM wants them all playing at their tables, but once the word of this spreads, that won’t happen, because MGM is disrespecting a community-wise operating normalcy here. They’re going to lose a lot of business here regardless, but more if they do anything at the expense of one of poker’s most solid citizens.

For $5,000, they’re telling the poker elite that their chips aren’t worth the money that’s paid for them. Over $5,000??? For me and you, that’s a tidy sum. For these people its worth about as much as the clay it was printed on. Its certainly not worth the damage it will do to their coffers come WSOP time. People know Dalla and they’ll know his case. It’s one they’ll take strides to avoid by avoiding MGM properties.

I hope Nolan gets his money back and he’s sworn to fight for it. After all, this is fighting for a code we all hold dear, which includes always paying back a debt and paying off your promises. It’s a lot easier to carry $50,000 in chips than cash. Unfortunately, the latter may soon be our only option if this case is any indicator. Good luck with the chip Nolan, and anything we can do to help.

Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com

I think I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). No, I

In case you didn’t read the Bay 101 Final Day wrap up I wanted to share this with everyone…

Ted Forrest just won a grueling heads-up match with JJ Liu to take home his first World Poker Tour Title in four attempts. He called her “The toughest heads up opponent he has ever faced.” Ted had just kind of hung around the whole tournament and never even made any real noise until late on day three, just before we got down to the last few tables. A great victory to say the least.

Documented as the “Suicide King” himself in Michael Craig’s “The Professor, The Banker and The Suicide King” and a man known for his willingness to gamble on almost anything found an interesting way to celebrate his victory early Saturday morning.

Ted Forrest and I were staying in the same hotel during the Bay 101 tournament. In the hotel lobby they had the tiniest of convenience stores with two small glass incased refrigerators, a few snacks along with some postcards and knickknacks. I was just about to leave for the airport when I spotted Ted in this area. I glanced over and saw him picking out what appeared to be two frozen burritos and a soda out of the fridge. I looked over and couldn’t resist saying “There’s gotta be a better way to celebrate.”

He flashed a quick smile my way and said “probably” with a slight laugh. The man known as one of the most infamous gamblers of our time was stone sober at 4am buying a frozen burrito for $1.29 from a hotel lobby after winning over $1 million.

Not as glamorous as I would imagine, but celebrate however you want Mr. Forrest