Greetings from the Great State of Texas!
It's been a while, so prepare yourselves for a hodgepodge of info as we catch up.
Ms. Duck and I have not been to Vegas since our New Years trip, which you can hear about HERE. With the reports of violence on the strip and in the casinos, combined with the Chinese flu restrictions, it may be some time before we make our next trip.
Our poker league (Vegas or Bust) was scheduled to be completed in April, but because of the virus, we didn't finish up until last month. I was able to win the league once again, but the players voted to give everyone back $200 of their buy-in and the two winners received $1,400 in cash. My argument with that was the fact that we completed all 12 tournaments and the two winners should still get the original prize, which was a $1,000 WSOP tournament buy-in and $1,400 spending cash. We would delay playing until the summer of 2021. However, when it came to a vote I knew I was screwed. People are not going to pass up the chance to vote themselves money.
Needless to say I was not happy about the outcome. We decided to try and start the league again in April, depending on where we are with the virus. I'll probably play again, but I'm not 100% at the moment, still a little butt hurt about it.
As a way to ease my poker withdrawal symptoms, I have begun playing craps. Well, practicing craps. I even built a dice receiving station to practice on. With my carpentry skills, to build anything is a challenge, and I was pleased with the result. Learning proper dice setting and tossing has been both fun and frustrating. Add to that figuring out a betting strategy and you have a full time hobby! It will be interesting to see how things work out once I'm at a table in a casino setting.
As you know, I also like to bet on sports, specializing in college football and basketball, as well as Major League Baseball. I have certain trends and stats that I depend upon, but things are so weird in the world of sports, those systems are not as reliable as they are under normal circumstances. As a result, I have not bet one single college football game this season and only bet on three MLB games. The good news is that I won all three!
Speaking of baseball, we just completed the 30th season of the Twin Rivers Baseball League, which is a fantasy league. I've only been in it for five years, so I'm still a newbie, but I was able to win the league this year, giving me two championships in the last four seasons. It felt good after finishing second last season.
The team name you ask. The Lucki Ducks of course!
Ms. Duck and I are enjoying our first time as grandparents. The only downside is that our granddaughter lives in Lubbock, which is a six hour drive. That limits our opportunities to properly spoil the child. :)
As I write this missive, we are having the roof on our home replaced. We had a nasty hail storm in April and since we had no leaks, decided to wait until the fall to have it replaced. Ms. Duck said she didn't want to have to pay the $3,000 deductible more than once. Truth.
I hope everyone is holding up well through this strange and difficult time. As the original two week lockdown has turned into months in some states, depression and unrest abound in our country. I think we all are ready to get back to living our lives. Like the line from Shawshank Redemption, "Time to get busy living or get busy dying." Here's to living!
Finally, I was shocked and saddened to learn of our friend Dave "Memphis Mojo" Smith's passing. I had communicated with him many times commenting on one another's blogs over the years, and finally got to meet and visit with him at the WSOP the last couple of years. He was the hero of our blogger circle when he finished third in a WSOP event a few years ago and was also known for his expertise playing bridge and shooting photographs. A true gentleman that will be missed. Prayers for his family and friends.
I think that about covers the last few months. If you find yourself at a poker table, win the flips. If it's a craps table, may all your rolls be winners!
