|
I just got back from a wonderful trip to Barcelona. I was there for the WPT Spanish Open and, although I did not do well in the tournament, I had the time of my life. I was there with my very good friend David Wells and we were to meet up with our good friend Henrik Gwinner.
David Wells is the most laid-back chill guy you have ever met. Not exactly Mr. Social Butterfl y, but defi nitely a nice addition to any type of gathering! People often wonder how we are friends because we are such different people. I love having people around… the more the merrier. David is a bit more reserved and doesn’t really let people in that much. When I won the WPT at Commerce four years ago, I was sharing a room with David and I will never forget what he did. The second I won, he LEFT. He said, “Antonio, I love you, congratulations, but you are about to become way too popular for me right now.” And he said goodbye. So sick.
Henrik is one of my favorite people on Earth. He is such a character. I don’t even know where to start. Henrik’s nickname is Jimmy (Jimi) Hendrix. Nobody ever remembers Henrik, so long ago his friends started calling him Jimmy Hendrix, which actually works well for him. I met Jimmy in New York the very fi rst time I was there visiting Phil Laak. They were roommates. Jimmy took me to my fi rst NY club, which was the very fi rst place I experienced bottle service. In a way, I owe it all to you, Jimmy!!! Jimmy is from Denmark, and he is the type of guy who is super genius on so many levels but so incredibly slow on others.
I had a room at the Hotel de Arts (check out this incredible hotel if you are ever in Barcelona) and had both Jimmy and David sharing a room with me. I actually prefer to share a room than be solo when I am on the road. It’s more fun to have my buddies with me. The WPT was kind enough to get me a corner suite with an incredible view of the ocean, so there was plenty of room for three. However… there was only one bed!! A big bed, but nonetheless only one… the plan was to order a couple of rollaways.
After calling downstairs and fi nding out it was 120 euros (almost 200 US dollars) PER rollaway PER night, that idea went right out the window. It wasn’t even the money – it was the principle. You can get a hotel room for 120 euros a night (obviously not there… more than 500 a night), so how in the world could we justify spending that much on a rollaway!?!
Plan B – Two to a bed; and since it was my room, I was always getting the bed and David and Jimmy would gamble for the other side every night. Loser would get the blankets and big pillows and fi nd a way to create a bed out of the two relatively large lounge chairs or the ground. I cannot explain the joy going through my body every time they gambled for the bed!! Jimmy won fi ve out of six nights – it was so sick. Jimmy and I would lie there and not shut up about how comfortable the bed was and we just kept going on and on. It’s so sick how much we like to torture our good friends.
One night after returning from a night of drinking, Jimmy was hungry. And when Jimmy is hungry, Jimmy eats. David and I are all about equity and taking the safe play most of the time when it comes to life decisions. Jimmy is the exact opposite. He just does what he wants to do. And so when Jimmy was hungry, he opened an 18-euro pack of M&Ms from the minibar. That’s almost 30 dollars for candy!!! Now I’m not saying I never splurge or spend money on what I want, but to spend 30 bucks on some candy when you have the munchies is ridiculous. It’s so sick. I have no problem going out and spending 2k on one night of partying with my friends, but I cannot justify spending 30 bucks on candy from the minibar; I just can’t. And neither can David. We ripped Jimmy the whole week for it. All we would say is, “Wow, we wish we had your money, Jimmy. What does your net worth have to be to spend that much on candy???”
David felt more pain than anyone that week. We gambled for every bill we had, and I have to say I’ve never witnessed SUCH a beating as David took. David must have lost 19 out of 20, I think. It was brutal. Not that I felt bad or anything… Jimmy and I actually took great pleasure in David’s suffering.
The last day was the most brutal. After fi ve days of losing literally every single major bill (I think I lost one very minor one and Jimmy never lost one), David was already so sick of it. On the last day, we had the biggest dinner bill yet and David gets whacked. After dinner, off to the club where we had a 1400-euro booze bill (the biggest bill of the entire trip) and David loses AGAIN. It was poetic. Just remember, we were doing games of complete chance. No skill whatsoever. For him to lose so many bills among the three of us is ridiculous odds, but a very beautiful thing!! Thank you, David, for paying for our whole trip!!
I got purely hustled once by David, and I have to admit it really hurt that I got picked off. I walked into the gym and as Jimmy was doing some sit-ups, I noticed he was wearing a rather swanky Prada shirt. Somehow the shirt came up in conversation and David wanted to bet me it cost less than 150 US dollars. I asked him if he knew how much it cost and he said no. I know a Prada shirt, and especially one of that nature costs more than 150 and so we had a bet. Jimmy informed me that it was in fact not a real Prada and that I had lost. David, of course, had known it was not real Prada, and in a way I felt taken advantage of; but he did not stray from the rules. He never lied and I never asked him if he knew anything else that I didn’t. I lost fair and square. But it did hurt!!
During the tournament this kid got moved to my table. His name was Chris Leveron (universe112) and right away I took a liking to him. He sat down and right away started talking smack about a few plays I made on TV. He dug right into me and, to be honest, I kind of respected him for it! He was young, a bit arrogant, a little aggressive (not just in poker but in his personality), overly cocky, very ambitious, and incredibly smart. I asked him what he wanted to do in life, and in all seriousness he said, “I’m going to be President one day.” I really respected that because he wasn’t saying it just to say it. He actually meant it.
After a bit of conversation, we got involved in a hand. I had two red nines in the small blind and he opened in late position with a raise. One caller behind him, and I called from the blind and we took a fl op. I did not like being out of position here with the nines, but I didn’t want to reraise and get called or re-popped. Plus the blinds were relatively small, so there was plenty of time.
Flop: king, rag, rag. I check because I KNEW this kid was going to bet. He bets. Button folded; I call. Turn comes another king, putting two diamonds on the board. I check, he insta-checks. Now I know I have the nuts. River brings a small diamond. I make a relatively small value bet and he puts a huge raise on me. I go into the tank. He either has four kings or made a backdoor fl ush or it’s a pure bluff; and he can’t wait to turn it over and give me the needle.
The last thing I wanted was to fold the nines, only to be shown a bluff by this young internet wizard who was already driving me bonkers (in a good way). I started talking to him and this is where his ego got in the way, and he started chirping back to me relentlessly. After a bit of deliberation, I decided he wasn’t bluffi ng and folded the nines. As I folded, he said that if I show, he would show. So of course I show the nines and he shows me the A-4 of diamonds. Thanks for the extra info, kid!
A while later he offered me a last-longer bet at 2 to 1. He had me a little more than 2 to 1 in chips and so I took the bet and ended up teaching the punk a lesson. Thanks for the three dimes, buddy!! Oh, and by the way, when you are on the ballot for President, you got my vote.
Neither one of us did very well in the tournament. But being busted and having two of your best friends with you in Barcelona is not necessarily such a bad thing. We adventured around the city every day. Gaudi’s Park is a must. After a few pitchers of sangria, walking around this place was STUNNING. By far the coolest park I’ve ever visited. A must when you are there.
We rode the gondola over the city to this mountaintop where, of course, we had more sangrias! We ran on the beach every day. We ate sooo much seafood (some of the best I’ve ever had if not THE best). We partied. The Spanish women are so beautiful it’s insane. The language barrier is a bit tough and, to my surprise, there were not very many Americans there. I think the euro is just too strong.
All in all, one of the greatest trips I’ve ever had. Good luck to all at the WSOP and please tune into MOJO to watch Season 2 of I BET YOU. Antonio
|
