My Sickest Night of Poker, EVER!!!

Ok, I've been awake for a good while, so bear with me. I also have a muscle spasm twitching away in my right eyelid, it's been going on for over a week. I almost waited until a later time to post this little story, but I just couldn't. I played the sickest night of poker ever, and I'll probably never top it.

I played monday night and things went ok until the last part. I only lost like $70 for the day, but I felt really down about it. On my way home from the strip at about 4:00am, I decided that maybe I needed to take a break from poker for a day. My confindence was waning and those old questions about why I'm playing at all were resurfacing. But I went home, ate, then had ice cream, watched New's Radio on dvd, then went away to sleepy land. I had some crazy dreams. I only wish now that I remembered what they were. I have no idea.

Well, as you could guess, when I awoke yesterday, that'd be tuesday, at 4:00pm, my doubts were gone and I was ready for action. I left $100 at home to cover most of the electric bill and headed of to Sunset Station with the other $400. I sat 4-8 limit for a bit while I waited for a 1-2 nl seat and won $16. They started a new 1-2 table and I sat there with $216. Pretty early I had AA and raised to $12. I saw the K high flop with 3 others and bet $40. I got called by QQ, yes, in a four way pot on a K high flop. Well, a Q hit the turn and maybe I over played it, whatever, I went to the felt. I put on $200 more and after several hours went busto. It was then 10:30pm and I didn't know what to do with myself.

I decided to jump in the car and head over to Carrabba's and pick up my paycheck. When I got there, the first thing Ken said to me was that the bad beat jackpot at Station's Casinos was $430,000. I told him I had just come from there and that the qualifying hand had dropped to quad 3's and he said he was going after work. I told him that if he was going I'd go back. I left to find a 24 hr. Check City to cash my $186 paycheck.

After driving all the way to the strip to Flamingo and Paradise and cashing my check, I went home and cooked pasta. I powdered the mound of penne with extra parmesean cheese and filled my belly. I sipped apple juice along with it and afterwards took a short, light nap to the sounds of News Radio once again. At exactly 2:17am, I was nudged awake by a force inside my mind. I looked at the clock and decided to get up and head over to the casino to play again. I grabbed $140 and out the door I went.

As I stepped into the poker room at Sunset Station, I wasn't sure if I'd play no limit or just sit 4-8. I just wanted to be in action and that damn bad beat jackpot was getting so huge that I just wanted to be there for my share if she popped. I decided on 1-2 and took seat 7 with $140. Ken wasn't there and he was one of the reasons I had decided to go back, though I didn't need much coaxing. I sent him a text and found out he had been there already, but he said he'd come back. He showed up minutes later and sat 4-8. Ken works at Carrabba's by the way, I guess you figured that.

My table was pretty mild, not alot of action, and everyone was sort of friendly. As you could imagine, the buzz about the jackpot was in the air. I played a few small pots and found myself down about $50 in no time. Then suddenly the hand that changed the night came down.

I looked down at 77 and limped from early position. The guy on my left in seat 10 (seat 9 was empty) raised it up to $10. The guy on my right called and I called from my $95 stack. The flop came down 10d9c7c. Nice, I flopped a set, but I wasn't fully comfortable. The guy on my right checked, I checked, and seat 10 bet $20. My right called and I shoved it in for $85. Seat 10 actually thought about it but then said "I caught to big a piece of that to fold," and he called. I felt sure that I was ahead and turned up my 77. But no, he turned up 99. My heart sank. I had already had a bad day earlier and now set over set? The dealer put the turn out and for a split second I felt elated that the 7 had hit and I now had quads. YES! But that only lasted about 1/10 of a second. I think the first person to scream for the case 9 was the lady in seat 1. But just as she started screaming for it, so did I and the rest of the table. Just before the dealer pealed the card, it occurred to him what the possibility was and he slowed waaaayyyyy down. Everyone's eyes were the widest they've probably ever been in anticipation of whether or not the miracle would come. This is when everything became clear as day, but also became a blurr. The appearance of the 9h on the river sent the table up in an explosion like I've never heard. I was yelling something repeatedly, I think it was "Oh my God". Every sinlge player at the table was on their feet, clenching and shaking the person next to them. It was almost like a real explosion, the release of enery was enormous.

Ken was in the bathroom when everyone started screaming. The bathroom is not in the poker room, it's out in the casino, but the roar was so loud that he heard it plain as day and came running. He knew it hit, but it wasn't until he came to the rail and saw my table jumping up and down and saw cards face up in front of me that the real deal set in. I had just won the largest share of the $430,000 jackpot.

I can't explain what I felt for the next hour or so while the hands were verified and the figures were tallied. I was in shock. Hell, I still am. I haven't been to sleep. It has been a mere 10 hours since that hand was dealt. The player share ended up being $1172 and 303 players, including myself, got that much. The guy who put the baddest of bad beats on me got $30,000 in addition to his $1172. And I, my friends, got paid $45,000 + $1172 for a grand total of $46,172. When I just typed that number, $45,000, I just shook my head in disbelief. 10 hours later, it still hasn't sunk in. My God, I had $140 plus my electric bill money last night, now I have over $40,000. I tipped my dealer $1,000 and then gave 3 other dealers and 1 floor man $200 each for a total tip of $1800. I also gave Ken $1000 because of an agreement we had. Ken's night, or maybe his month, was made last night as well. I took $13,000 in cash and a check for $30,000.

That jackpot hasn't hit in 7 weeks. 7 casions with a total of 90 tables, many of which are full most nights, 7 weeks, and I'm the one who got the miracle. Me. TheTrooper97. The guy who got robbed, busted, then almost robbed again. The guy who's been broker than broke since he got here 8 months ago. The guy without a roll now has a hell of a roll. I have some debts to pay. I have $43,000 right now. I estimate that when I'm done with paying people off I'll have about $30,000 left. I'm quitting Carrabba's I think. I'm about to focus all my time and energy into living the life of a poker player. The story just got good folks. Let's see what happens next.

I appologise for this post not being as well written as it should have been. It's probably a bit scattered, but I'm exhausted and elated and lot's of other things at the moment. I just won life changing money. It may not have been life changing for some, but for me, it's a miracle. I'm too good a person to not go to work in an hour and a half. I can't leave my micos hanging. But this will probably be my last night at Carrabba's. For those of you in G-vegas, a trip home for a few days will be happening in the near future. I hope to see all of you then. For now, I'm out.

Here are some cell phone pics of the miracle..... and of $13,000 on my washing machine at my

apartment...

Let's fly away through the rain

Fly high to ease the burning pain

Oh, the colors fading out

The light is shining in the night

It's up to you, it's worth the fight

Search before the colors fade

Here we stand, bound forever more

We're out of this world, until the end

Here we are, mighty, glorious

At the end of the rainbow with gold in our hands