Chicago...and on to the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo
The Four Winds Casino is a beautiful hotel casino in the city of New Buffalo, about an hour out of Chicago. What I didn’t know about New Buffalo is that it’s a total beach town in the summer. I happened to be there in January, so I only got to experience the rain and cold weather. But I hear it’s amazing in the summer… beaches… parties… girls in bikinis… I’m defi nitely going back!!
I was there for a poker tournamen. What a surprise-) LOL! The beautiful thing about this tournament is that it would be played on a PokerTek fully automated poker table. Their poker room is one of only a few FULLY automated rooms. By that I mean that every single table in the room is a PokerTek poker table – not one dealer. And although I love the dealers, playing on the PokerTek table does have MANY advantages: no dealer error… no tipping… and more hands per hour. It really is a beautiful thing.
The tournament was sold out, and although it was a smaller buy-in than I was used to, I really wanted to win. Fighting a hangover from the night before, I decided to play my best; but as much as I tried, I couldn’t get anything going. After a couple hours of folding, I took a stand with the old A-7 off-suit and couldn’t beat the A-10.
After I busted, they had an autograph session lined up for me. Usually after I bust out, all I want to do is disappear, but this was a different situation. The people were incredibly nice and super appreciative of me being there. I’m trying to say this without sounding like an egotistical poker pro, but I was rather popular. More than I’m used to. And for that reason it was my absolute pleasure to sign as many autographs and take as many pics as needed. They had a little section set up for such.
All was good until I saw the girl who would be taking the pics: Ms. Nica 2194. (All employees had a number next to their name stating which number employee they were at the property. So 2194 meant that Nica was the 2,194th employee to be hired.) Nica was the former Miss New Buffalo and I certainly did not mind her taking pictures of me all day!
After the tournament I congratulated the winner, and onto dinner we went. I love nice looong dinners. One of my favorite things to do. Especially when there is good company. But this dinner was one step better… it was in a private room of the steakhouse and I was given the wine list with the FULL freedom of picking whatever wine my little heart desired!!! As my friend Ronnie Ebanks says, “IS IT SO WRONG?!?”
We had a beautiful dinner. All that was missing was Tony. He was really hurting from the night before and could not attend the festivities. Jeff pulled it together, and so it was Jeff, Nick Bello, Mike Shortt, Gabriella Oliva, Jennifer Wilson, me, and of course the one and only Ms. New Buffalo. We had a wonderful dinner and what came afterwards was PRICELESS.
We all went up to my room and had Nick (dressed in a suit) go into the bedroom to tell Tony he needed to vacate the room. Tony was so out of it that we thought this might actually work. Nick proceeded to tell Tony it was now Tuesday (it was actually Monday) and that Jeff and I had already left the property and he needed to clear the room. Although Nick did a fantastic job of delivery, Tony wasn’t buying it. He knew we would never leave him. But it was a great laugh.
Overall, I had a fantastic time at the Four Winds, and if you are ever in the Chicago neighborhood, try to make it down there. The poker room is the nuts! Thank you, Chris Manley from PokerTek, for getting me out there.
