Blogger Holiday, Donkey Boy, and Other Ordinary Tales of Madness



I am on a weekend holiday. I won't be blogging on any of my sites until Sunday night. Check back then for the next new entry. I am out of town for a bit. After a few conversations with concerned friends, I am trying to avoid blogger burnout by taking a few days off every now and then. I'm a litte mentally drained after the launch of my poli-blog This Side of the Truth and a lot of work on the next issue of Truckin' (due out Monday)... and add to the mix writing for two daily blogs, as well as working on other literary projects, you got a writer who needs a breath of fresh air. Two days off will do wonders for my creative juices. I might sneak on to play a few hands of Party Poker, but I will avoid the computer the rest of the time.



Week 10: Pauly-BG Challenge



And the winner is... me! Boy Genius got 5 out of 12 possible points... he needed 7 to win. And that puts me ahead 6-4 after 2.5 months of prop bets. He almost guessed Lance Armstrong's correct time, off by just 41 seconds, but the WNBA games killed him, after picking just 2 out of 6 correct winners. I'll be awaiting next week's wager!




Poker champ... Ben Affleck

By the way, I forgot to mention that my buddy Ben Affleck won the California State Poker Championships and $350,000! Yes, everyone's favorite whipping boy outlasted a field of solid veterans and pros to gut out a nice victory and an automatic seat at the World Poker Tour Championships next April. Here's a bit of the article:

A new chapter in poker history was written tonight at Commerce Casino when, for the first time, a major open tournament was won by a film celebrity. Playing a very strong game, relaxed and obviously enjoying himself immensely, actor Ben Affleck took down the championship event of 2004 California State Poker Championship, $9,900 + $100 no-limit hold'em, winning $356,400 and a $25,000 seat in next April's Bellagio/WPT championship event.



His final opponent was journeyman pro Stan Goldstein. Finishing third was another show business figure, film/TV producer Chuck Pacheco, who finished 41st in this year's WSOP championship. Between them, Affleck and Pacheco (and sweater Toby Maguire) attracted probably the largest entourage for any poker tournament.



In a brief speech, Affleck said he got lucky and complimented Goldstein as a great player. Afterwards, he said he was also pleased that he didn't win by just sucking out and showed he wasn't a "complete donkey." He indeed had the best hands when he knocked out Pacheco (5-5 vs. Ac-Qc) and Goldstein (J-J vs. Ad-10d).

Congrats to Ben. I totally forgot to say something about his first tournament win. He had gotten a lot of shit after he lost to the gay guy from Sex in the City on last season's Celebrity Poker Letdown. I hope it doesn't go to this head.



Random Madness



I played for a little bit on Party Poker. I was eager to jump right into the waters after posting a decent win the night before. My session was filled with ups and downs, but I maanged to eek out a win... so that's two positive days in a row. Again that's something to build on. Be back soon.