Chicago in the rearview mirror

I finally got a chance to spend a little time with my daughter, Mary on this trip.  It was worth the drive from Hammond to the other side of Chicago to see her.  Monday was one of the first times I got off early.   Barry, my roomie this trip and travelling companion and I drove through Chicago, up Lake Shore Drive and after killing some time at the Old Orchard Mall, met Mary for dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood.  This was the last chance to get together with her before we start back to Tampa on Tuesday morning.

 

We worked very hard on this trip.  I think we averaged over 11 hours a day through Sunday night without a day off since the event began on October 11th.  Working that many hours is somewhat by choice.  The DC (Dealer Coordinator) maintains an EO (Early Out) list. Putting your name on the EO list doesn't mean you will go home right away, but as the tournaments melt down and fewer dealers are needed, the DC usually looks at the EO list to see who to cut first.  Some dealers come in and sign up for EO every day, others, who don't mind working (and you only make money if you work) very rarely sign the EO list.  Obviously, if I didn't get a kick out of dealing, I wouldn't be here, so I rarely sign up for EO.  I figure that as long as I am here, I may as well be working.

 

Interesting development in Event 11, which started on Sunday. Two ladies, Wendy Freedman and Amanda Musumeci made the final table.  This is rare on the WSOP Circuit because the fields are made up chiefly of men.  Poker is a lot more popular with men than women. At the 2012 WSOP women made up only 3.77% of the entrants.  The Event 11 final table took 5 hours and resulted in Amanda and Wendy squaring off heads up, with Amanda "The Real Mander" getting the best of it and winning the ring.  This was one of the few WSOP sanctioned events where women finished 1-2.

 

Amanda keeps a blog of her exploits as a poker professional at therealmander.blogspot.com .  She also advertises on her blog for backers i.e. people to pay her tournament entry fees in return for a percentage of any of her winnings.  I wonder how that is working out?  She has been a money maker in 2011 and 2012 on the circuit.

Chicago Poker 2012 WSOP Circuit

I'm back on the circuit at the WSOP Circuit Event in Hammond, IN, just outside of Chicago. It's one of the best events on the WSOP Circuit for both the players and the dealers. Overheard at the table, from a writer for "Ante Up" magazine, "This tournament is the best value anywhere. You can't beat the structure. It's the best."  It's good for the dealers because there is a lot of work and they negotiated a good rate on the hotel.

They are keeping us very busy. Turbo tournaments have been added to fill in as the main tournaments wind down. The Turbos are good for us because they melt down quicker, take less manpower and generate revenue for us.  This is exactly opposite of adding the Deepstack tournaments at the WSOP in Vegas. The Deepstacks take a long time to melt down and dilute the pay rate for the dealers.  

Rumor has it we are getting new cards today. Hooray!  We have been using playing cards from 2008. Not only have they warped over time (the Ace of spades is bowed in each deck) they get dirty and sticky with use making them difficult to spread, shuffle and pitch.  

I do wish we had a little time off here. Sure, it wouldn't be "efficient" but it would give me time to visit with my friends and relatives here in Chicago. I hate not having a day somewhere in this to visit my daughter.