Pawn Stars & Poker Action

Today was one of the most interesting of the winter.

Starting off, I wrote a feature on Folgarelli's Market for the Northern Express. Also I pitched three story ideas to the travel editor of the Booth Newspapers and she wants me to do two of them - a 900-word piece on 10 Fun Things to Do In Vegas That are Free (or Nearly Free). And a 500-word feature on the Pinball Hall of Fame, a cool place that houses hundreds of vintage pinball machines. It's run by a former Lansing guy who donates a big portion of its profits to area charities. Deadline for these two stories is Feb. 15.

I had a few errands to run and Helen asked me to roll by the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, where Rick, The Old Man, Chumlee and Big Hoss work on the History Channel show "Pawn Stars." She wanted to know if the shop was handicapped-friendly and if she could roll into it in her wheelchair. The shop is right on Las Vegas Boulevard, about two miles north of the Stratosphere. It's a seedy part of town littered with shabby motels, bail bonds joints and, well, pawn shops.

As I pulled into the parking lot, around 10 a.m., I saw a film crew taping The Old Man who was walking across the parking area toward a VW Dune Buggy-type that was on a trailer. It looked like they were taping for the show and I glanced over as I walked toward the front door. All of a sudden, bald-headed Rick hustled right past me, almost clipping me in the process, toward the VW and the taping session.

Entering the shop, my first impression is that it was smaller than I expected. Most of the inventory - maybe 60 percent or so - seemed to be jewelry. There were some coins and art items. Over in a corner, I saw a guy taking a photo with his phone. Upon closer inspection, he was taking a pic of Chumlee and one of the guys buddies. After the pic, Chumlee hustled out a back door and vanished.

I didn't hang around long because I wanted to play poker at Ballys. So I rolled down the Strip and got a seat at a brand-new $1-2 no limit game around 11 a.m. On the third hand, I looked down to find A-A. That netted me a pot of about $30 and I was on my way.

About 30 minutes later, I had about $150 in front of me ($100 was my buy-in) when I looked down at Q-9 of hearts. I was the big blind and limped into the pot for only $2. The flop came with two small hearts and I anticipated snagging a flush. The turn card was a small club and one guy bet $15. I called and saw the river card - K of hearts. I bet $15 and the only other player raised me to $30. I re-raised to $90 and I thought that would cause him to fold, but HE CALLED and showed a straight. He was not happy to see my heart flush and I was up almost $150 at this point.

But the biggest hand of the day came about 1:30. I was sitting with about $200 in front of me when I was once again dealt Q-9, this time off suit. I limped into the pot for $2 and was pretty pleased when the flop came Q-10-9. My two pair looked strong, so I bet $20 and was frankly surprised with three other guys called. I estimated that at least two of them were looking to hit a straight and the other might have something like A-Q or K-Q.

The turn card was a 7 and I bet $40, hoping to scare off any of those hunting their straight. One guy raised it to $90 and I shoved "All In." I was not happy to see two other guys call my All In play.

One of them showed his cards and my heart sank. He had a 8-6 for a straight. But the river card was THE 9 OF HEARTS - giving me a Full House and meaning that I tripled up my chips with this HUGE pot. There was more than $400 in the pot and I was feeling pretty good. I only stayed for about 6-8 more hands before cashing in with a profit of $426 - my best total of the month and the third highest win total of the entire winter.

For dinner, Helen and I celebrated with some deli sandwiches from Jason's Deli. We're winding down with some TV tonight. "The Office" reruns are on for a 3-hour block from 8-11 , so it'll be a real chucklefest.

Tomorrow our adventure continues...