The Big Orange Poker Room

Thanksgiving Holiday is always a special time for me... SURE!, it's a nice time to get everyone together, but plus or minus a few days either way... it's my birthday! It fell on a Saturday this year. Every now and then it falls on Thursday so I get to enjoy being a Turkey on Turkey day!

This year I took a short trip to Belterra Casino Resort & Spa, Belterra, Indiana. It's about a four hour drive from Knoxville, TN. Pretty easy trip door-to-door. Straight up I-75; turn west on I-71 to Exit 55 and head North on Rte 1039 across the Ohio River and it's just about a mile East of the off-ramp...can't miss it! The Belterra is a nice place with a show theatre, a few eateries and minimal shopping. The Casino boat is out the back through a long winding corridor. Lord I hope you enjoy second hand smoke!

Main deck of the casino consists of the table games and they have a pretty good spread of what you'd expect in a riverboat or any other casino for that matter. Lots of slots on the main floor and the deck below. The Poker Room is on the main floor. Just as you enter the casino area, turn left and go all the way to the back of the room and you will run right into it. The poker room is kinda small with only a few games spread at any given time. It's only a 24 hour room from Thursday through Sunday. They carry a couple of tourneys each day @ 12pm & 7pm.

This trip out I arrived Friday morning and got settled in to my hotel in Vevay... just about 7 miles west of the Casino. Let me tell you something... I don't know why you'd want to stay in the Belterra at at typical Casino hotel when you can enjoy a VERY nice suite in the Ogle Haus Best Western just a few miles down the road for a fraction of the cost! For only $59 per night, I ALWAYS stay at the Best Western Ogle Haus Inn. What a cool little place with a bit of history as well. It is allegedly HAUNTED! According to one of the local experts... okay it's Roddy the Bartender... Doors in the Inn open and close by themselves. Makes one wonder... if you're asleeo at night (or in the day if you're a poker player), and your closet door opens... does that mean a ghost is coming out of the closet?... and just what does that ghost have to gain by coming out of the closet at THAT point?.... Hmmmm nevermind!

Well, the girls at the Ogle Haus always treat me right when I come into town and give me a nice suite! This time was no different and they even upgraded me to a King Master Suite. Pretty dern nice room and the Hot Tub was big enough for EVERYONE on the short bus! (Hey! You missed yo Bus!) ANYways... Not only did I enjoy the Jacuzzi, but also the 52" HDTV over the fireplace. Okay... enough about the room!

Hit the poker room after getting freshened up just in time for the 12pm tourney. Like I said, it's not a large room... somehting like 10-12 tables, but it's non-smoking...unlike the rest of the cancer center-boat. The tourney filled out 6 full tables. A few hours later we were down to eight players at the final table. The tourney paid out to seven places and someone made the suggestion to chop. Everyone was up for it as a chop paid all eight players $325. We all agreed and I was especially agreeable since I was close to sith or seventh in chips and DEFINATELY didn't want to go out on the Bubble yet again! So we all took the money and ran. NOT before tipping the dealers a nice $25 tip from each of our winnings. I only wish all the tourney players were as agreeable to pay a portion of theur tips to the dealers. There are some tight-ass players out there!!! MAKE SURE YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR DEALERS!!!!

I jumped into the cash game after taking a short break and quaded up my buy-in after only a few more hours. Not a bad day at the table. But I always seem to do well there @ Belterra. Last time I was up there I placed 2nd in the Friday tourney and trippled up my starting bankroll in just the cash games alone over a 2-day period. The tables are somewhat soft in my opinion... or maybe I'm just a Rock Star!..... nahhhhh.... they're soft...

I broke out of there early that night to head out for a drink... or 10 before heading back to the room and to relax in the Jacuzzi and enjoy the Plazma....

Played in the Saturday noon tourney once I washed the cobwebs out but didn't do so well this time. Lasted a through a couple of breaks but was limping most of the game. Jumped on the 1/2 waiting list and sat down at a 2/4L game while waiting. GAAAAK! Donate a Benjamin everytime you sit down at a Limit game! Not too fond of it... but I WAS watchin' the UT-UK game while playing so it wasn't SO bad.... DAYUM! that game drove me nutz in the second half!

Busted out of the Casino early that night... went out to Mo's for a nice piece of Prime Rib (X-tra Rare)... and another dip in the Jacuzzi and kicked back to watch a lil TV.

Checked out brigt and early Sunday morning to make sure I beat the Holiday weekend return traffic and made it hope in good time with no delays.

Lemme say one more thing about the staff in the Belterra Poker Room... All the Supervisors and Dealers are nice as pie. Steve, Sam, Karen and Georgann (George) (She can't even spell her name right) . Steve looks JUST like Corey Nix; Sam looks like a tall Danny Devito; and I'm not even going to get myself into trouble by trying to compare the ladies to anyone. I'm not a COMPLETE idiot! They have a copy of my driver's license..... they're libel to come after me!

Wing Wing!!!