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So, my time at the 2022 WSOP has come to an end. It was an interesting experience as I waded back into the gaming circuit, an environment I'd hoped to avoid rejoining but I was tired of doing nothing and the money is too good to pass up for just 6-7 weeks of work. As a poker floor supervisor I got to do quite a few cool things including being the supervisor for the televised heads up matches between Vince Vaughn and poker pros Phil Helmuth, Joe Cada and last year's main event winner, Koray Aldemir. I also got to know and had some nice conversations with Greg Raymer (fossilman), Chris Moneymaker and Kevin Pollack. It was pretty cool and along the way I learned a few things among them...
1. I was grossly out of shape. Now I knew I'd gained some weight, had been inactive because of the time I spent waiting for Covid to run it's course during which I sat and ate and drank. At my last check up in March I was 225, which for me is almost 70 lbs overweight (small frame) My blood pressure was also a bit high, unusual for me--so I tried to watch my intake and worked out a bit and was at about 215 prior to the WSOP, still I was too inactive to make a difference. Then came the WSOP--I worked 55 days with only 5 days off starting with 13 days straight, 9-11+ hours a day and few breaks if any (most days no breaks) Walking most of the time. I walked over 1.5 million steps in all days I worked put together, about 16 miles a day and had no time for big meals--I have no idea how much I lost yet (no scale to confirm) but I'm visibly much thinner, my belt went down 2 notches and my overall health (back, knees etc) is vastly improved. I hope to never get back to where I was pre WSOP and continue my quest to get back to 155-170 which NOW I know is possible if I just don't sit on my ass everyday.
2. Covid is everywhere--It's like French Fries--you can get it pretty much anywhere and people don't really seem to care/worry about it much anymore. I came into contact with at least 100K people at the WSOP. People from all over the world, MOST of them were not wearing masks in fact very few wore masks at all. I know for a fact several of my co workers had/got covid during the series. Several Guests/players, had it/got it during the series--some masked, some never went home as they refused to test in fear they'd miss out on the money they make by being there daily. A couple of friends who I have that live in Vegas had covid/got it during my time there--so this stuff is everywhere. I never came down with it or if I did, was asymptomatic. I have had both vaccinations and 2 boosters so that and the fact I'm normally a healthy guy who rarely gets sick had to have helped. No I wasn't masked at anytime during the series. I thought about it, but didn't feel the need as I hadn't been sick prior to nor during the event. That might not have been smart, but then I'm a gambler and not so smart at times.
3. Vegas has changed, most of the casino websites are out of date and seem like no one cares if they're current or not. Shows have closed for good, eateries as well and everything seems to close early now as opposed to being a 24 hour town. Vegas used to go out of it's way to accommodate guests and now it's pretty much take it or leave it, we're not really going to try too hard. There used to be a style to Vegas--it was special and now it's just like every other overcrowded destination--It's sad really, but I guess that's the world right now.
4. Panic is Real. The current state of Mass Shootings in this country has exacerbated the fear of being killed by an active shooter. I remember reading Ken's account of his experience in Vegas when the Mandalay shooter was killing people down the street from where he and his pals were, how even though it was a ways down the strip, there was panic that reverberated up the boulevard and shared how harrowing it was. Last Saturday a glass door at the MGM was shattered in front by the Valet and people thought it was a shooter, they panicked and the rumor of an actives shooter reached all the way to the WSOP and when players got wind of it, they panicked, stampeded out of the room knocking over tables, chips, people, staff. There were broken bones, severe cuts, concussions among the expected emotional distress. All tournaments were postponed until the next day, chips bagged (if they could be recovered in accurate stacks) Some players and staff didn't return Sunday for the restarts. I had left for the day so I only got a stream of picks and short videos of it all, it looked pretty stressful and all over a unsubstantiated Rumohr. But I guess that's the world we live in now--If it's this disturbing for us adults, just imagine the trauma kids go through when they're forced to deal with these things.
All in all I appreciated the opportunity to get back out into the world, get back to being active and look forward to unpacking all my old clothes I could no longer fit in during the stay at home covid era. And now that I have time on my hands again, I can't restart spamming trade offers in all my leagues.
Have a good one.
1. I was grossly out of shape. Now I knew I'd gained some weight, had been inactive because of the time I spent waiting for Covid to run it's course during which I sat and ate and drank. At my last check up in March I was 225, which for me is almost 70 lbs overweight (small frame) My blood pressure was also a bit high, unusual for me--so I tried to watch my intake and worked out a bit and was at about 215 prior to the WSOP, still I was too inactive to make a difference. Then came the WSOP--I worked 55 days with only 5 days off starting with 13 days straight, 9-11+ hours a day and few breaks if any (most days no breaks) Walking most of the time. I walked over 1.5 million steps in all days I worked put together, about 16 miles a day and had no time for big meals--I have no idea how much I lost yet (no scale to confirm) but I'm visibly much thinner, my belt went down 2 notches and my overall health (back, knees etc) is vastly improved. I hope to never get back to where I was pre WSOP and continue my quest to get back to 155-170 which NOW I know is possible if I just don't sit on my ass everyday.
2. Covid is everywhere--It's like French Fries--you can get it pretty much anywhere and people don't really seem to care/worry about it much anymore. I came into contact with at least 100K people at the WSOP. People from all over the world, MOST of them were not wearing masks in fact very few wore masks at all. I know for a fact several of my co workers had/got covid during the series. Several Guests/players, had it/got it during the series--some masked, some never went home as they refused to test in fear they'd miss out on the money they make by being there daily. A couple of friends who I have that live in Vegas had covid/got it during my time there--so this stuff is everywhere. I never came down with it or if I did, was asymptomatic. I have had both vaccinations and 2 boosters so that and the fact I'm normally a healthy guy who rarely gets sick had to have helped. No I wasn't masked at anytime during the series. I thought about it, but didn't feel the need as I hadn't been sick prior to nor during the event. That might not have been smart, but then I'm a gambler and not so smart at times.
3. Vegas has changed, most of the casino websites are out of date and seem like no one cares if they're current or not. Shows have closed for good, eateries as well and everything seems to close early now as opposed to being a 24 hour town. Vegas used to go out of it's way to accommodate guests and now it's pretty much take it or leave it, we're not really going to try too hard. There used to be a style to Vegas--it was special and now it's just like every other overcrowded destination--It's sad really, but I guess that's the world right now.
4. Panic is Real. The current state of Mass Shootings in this country has exacerbated the fear of being killed by an active shooter. I remember reading Ken's account of his experience in Vegas when the Mandalay shooter was killing people down the street from where he and his pals were, how even though it was a ways down the strip, there was panic that reverberated up the boulevard and shared how harrowing it was. Last Saturday a glass door at the MGM was shattered in front by the Valet and people thought it was a shooter, they panicked and the rumor of an actives shooter reached all the way to the WSOP and when players got wind of it, they panicked, stampeded out of the room knocking over tables, chips, people, staff. There were broken bones, severe cuts, concussions among the expected emotional distress. All tournaments were postponed until the next day, chips bagged (if they could be recovered in accurate stacks) Some players and staff didn't return Sunday for the restarts. I had left for the day so I only got a stream of picks and short videos of it all, it looked pretty stressful and all over a unsubstantiated Rumohr. But I guess that's the world we live in now--If it's this disturbing for us adults, just imagine the trauma kids go through when they're forced to deal with these things.
All in all I appreciated the opportunity to get back out into the world, get back to being active and look forward to unpacking all my old clothes I could no longer fit in during the stay at home covid era. And now that I have time on my hands again, I can't restart spamming trade offers in all my leagues.
Have a good one.
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