Phinally Philly

I apologize for my disappearance the last few days…I was out in Vegas for the Fourth of July weekend, the WordPress app on my iPhone wouldn’t work, and I wasn’t about to pay $15 a day to use the wi-fi in our Monte Carlo room. You bastards took enough of my money at the poker tables, the last thing I’m gonna do is drop even more cash on something that should be included for free with ANY hotel room.

Either way, here’s my a few observations from my weekend after the jump…

- First thing I did upon arriving at the hotel? Put a couple bets down on a few favorable baseball games that my buddy “Vegas Dave” recommended. The A’s and D-Backs both were underdogs despite having favorable pitching matchups…I thought about putting a few bills on the Phils but I had absolutely no faith in Rodrigo Lopez. Sure enough Lopez dominates, and the two teams I bet on got trashed (the A’s lost to the Indians 15-3?!? WTF!) Further proof why I should never, ever bet on sports.

- Despite the bad picks, my friend knows far more about sports betting than anyone else I know. He just started up a Pac-10 football site, so check it out if you get the chance.

- I usually put a bet on each Philly team to win the Championship when I’m in Vegas (except the Sixers, of course.) I declined to do so this time. Why? The ’08 Phillies were the first team I didn’t put a bet on because I distinctly remember standing in the sports book saying to myself, “There is no way in hell they’ll do it, so why waste the money?” Hah.

- For what it’s worth, Lopez could have thrown a no-hitter and I’d still want us to go out and get another starter. If you think we are repeating while relying on a 34-year old journeyman you’re kidding yourself. Get on it, Ruben.

- As bad as I usually am with sports-related predictions, I was spot on about the Sunday Phils-Mets game. My Twitter posts from Saturday:

“Break out the brooms, we’ll be sweeping a new york mess tomorrow! I’m betting on it!” 4:11 PM Jul 4th from Tweetie (Of course I didn’t bet on it…didn’t wake up in time on Sunday.)

“Joey B has been pitching well and I see him outdueling johan.” 4:12 PM Jul 4th from Tweetie

Hell yeah, I’m finally right about something! If you aren’t following me on Twitter you are missing out on a lot of brilliance, so make you do so immediately. Go do it now…I’ll be here when you get back.

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Done? Fantastic. Back to the weekend in review:

- Friday night I went up to MIX on top of THEhotel (dumbest name ever, by the way). The view was worth the $15 cover alone, but steer clear of the incredibly high drink prices. Hell, even a bottle of water was eight bucks!

- After taking down $160 at blackjack, I saw an older gentleman at another table with a Mets jersey on. I happened to have a Phils cap on, and thought about saying something to the guy, but I cut him some slack and just kept walking. Figured I could use all the good karma I could get but it still took every bone in my body to keep from tapping him on the shoulder, and saying “World Fuckin’ Champs baby!”

- I actually ended up down $160 on the trip…last no-limit holdem hand on the last day I get a flop of K Q Q with a K 10 hand. Bet $20. This dude across from me goes all-in ($52 more) while another guy folds. I put him on a king, but I liked my chances with the 10 kicker. Call. He has a K J. FML…this is why I only go to Vegas once or twice a year. Was it the smartest play on my part? Probably not, but I was in an “all or nothing” kind of mood and came away with zilch.

- On a sidenote, NEVER EVER play limit hold ‘em. It might be the most ridiculous waste of time and money out there (aside from roulette.) It is nearly impossible to bluff people out of hands, so you basically have to pray you luck out and end up with the best cards. That’s all there is to it. Case in point: I caught a straight on the turn and bet the max, only to have some fat, loud, dope at the end of the table call me with a flush draw. Sure enough he catches on the river. In a no limit game I make him pay ten times as much to see that last card. Again, DON’T PLAY LIMIT HOLD ‘EM! Comparing limit to no-limit is like trying to compare the WNBA to the NBA…don’t waste your time.

- Finally, welcome to Philly Chris Pronger! Hard to see how we are going to work out an extension with him though given how close to the cap we are. The Flyers are the Redskins of the NHL in terms of salary cap management. I still like the trade though…the Flyers desperately needed to get tougher and did just that by adding Pronger and Ian Lapperiere.

You might like these related articles:

• Blanton returns after Phils return to first place
• Phillies are prepared for when, not if, 6th starter is needed
• Lopez continues to state his case
• Phillies Take Out the Brooms for the Holiday
• Series win against the Mets puts the Phillies in prime position.