Positively Fifth Street by James McManus

It’s the time of year when we think of the opportunities we have. Those who have come before us have made it possible to accomplish what we want.

I’m talking about the Main Event at the World Series of Poker. What did you think I was talking about?

Next week thousands of professional poker players, amateurs and Matt Damon will convene in Las Vegas for the shot to win millions of dollars and a gold and diamond bracelet. No other sport has more people compete for the chance to win one championship. Thousands of bar poker leagues send representatives for the chance to make the Main Event. It’s not unheard of for an unknown amateur to make a Cinderella run. Last year, Darvin Moon almost became the WSOP champion, finishing second only to a bulletproof Joe Cada.

However, Moon wasn’t the first Cinderella at the final table.

Ten years ago, journalist Jim McManus was sent to Las Vegas for two reasons; to cover the Ted Binion murder trial and to chronicle the rise of women players at the WSOP. While he does his task, he takes his advance and enters a satellite tournament. The winner gets a seat at the Main Event. He outmaneuvers poker pro Hasan Habib and plays his way into the WSOP Main Event.

This is the incredible true story in Positively Fifth Street, penned by the man who made an incredible run to a fifth place finish. His book plays out a lot like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, where the writer becomes part of the story, mixed with a cast of characters who you think are too unbelievable to be true.

We spend some time with Ted Binion’s murder and the accused killers; his cheating girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her boy-toy Rick Tabish. The trial has many twists and turns that would have made the writers for “Law & Order” have a plot orgasm.

The tournament coincides with the WSOP Main Event, which is being played for the last time at its ancestral home, Binion’s Horseshoe Casino (yes…the same Binion). McManus, a lifelong poker player, pores through poker books the same way a college student crams for a final. He practices poker hands on a computer while reading David Sklansky, T.J. Cloutier and Doyle Brunson (Side Note: You can’t get two styles of play that are more different than Brunson and Cloutier). In the Main Event, McManus plays face to face with poker psychic (which if you’ve ever seen him correctly guess what other players have; you’d use the same word. It’s downright scary) Daniel Negreanu, has a return go around with Habib, plays his “mentor” Cloutier and eventual champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

It’s so well written with a judicious sprinkling of classic literary references.

Even if you’re not a poker fan, read it. If you become a fan after that, watch the highlights on ESPN.

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Season 2 of Pawn Stars Starts Tonight

About a month ago, D had possession of the remote and landed on the History Channel. We saw this big bald guy dressed in all black buying a 1982 Harley Davidson off of a guy who looked like he didn't get the memo that ZZ Top had broken up. This show is called "Pawn Stars", and it has quickly become my favorite reality television show (except when the Colts are on, of course).

So here's the main point of the story. Rick Harrison runs the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, north of the strip in Las Vegas (the official Ian Shane preferred vacation spot). It's actually owned by his father "The Old Man", and he is grooming his son, "Big Hoss", to one day take over the family business. Corey's best friend, Chumlee, is the Pawn Shop's "village idiot" who is pure unintentional comic relief.

Now most people think of pawn shops as the one seen on Trading Places, seedy and run by Bo Diddley who says things like "In South Philly, it's worth 50 bucks." The show is not quite like that. It's more like "The Antiques Road Show", but people actually sell stuff. Some of the items are very rare and extremely cool. From Leon Spinks' IBF Heavyweight Title Belt to a 1950's Coke bottle dispenser, it's obvious that the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop is a haven for serious collectors. What separates this show with other reality shows is that each minute is a teachable moment. Rick usually knows the value and history of each item, but sometimes he calls in experts to tell more about the merchandise.

Plus if you're into the drama of a reality show, there is plenty of that. The Old Man has a hard time adapting to the changing times. He doesn't understand why everyone is dressed in jeans, and he refuses to admit that he is getting old (like the time he miss identifies a Carson City minted coin, because he couldn't see the "CC" on the bottom of the coin. It's the difference of $50 and $500). Rick struggles to keep things going while in the down economy. It's not that people aren't bringing things in, it's that the collecting market is down. And Big Hoss struggles to earn the trust and respect of his father (buying a boat for $16,000 without consulting his father).

I highly recommend this show. Season 2 starts tonight on the History Channel.

Vegas III, In Review

Usually, I would get excited about going to Las Vegas. I pepper my blog with Pre-Vegas themed entries (such as Top 5 Vegas Movies, and Vegas Tips). That is if I know if I am going in advance. I found out about the latest and third trip to the real city that never sleeps about an hour and a half before takeoff. I had plans with my fiancée to celebrate her birthday (Thursday), wander around the Uptown Art Fair (Friday), and see one of my favorite bands, Flogging Molly, at the Irish Fair (Saturday). But first, we were going to pick up a friend of hers from high school at the airport on Wednesday night.

When we get there, I spotted my best man and one of my poker buddies. Confused, I asked the natural question.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"You're going to Vegas."

"I'm not going to no Vegas. I'm not packed."

"Yeah, you are," D said as she popped the trunk and pulled out my suitcase, and my computer bag (which I still want to know how she did that without me knowing). "It's your bachelor party."

It slowly started to dawn on me that D's plans for a weekend were not only a cover, but prevented me from making other plans. There was no friend of hers at the airport; it was just to get me to drive out there with her. So three friends of mine (and one we'd meet with out there) flew away to the Ian Shane preferred vacation spot. Lots of things were going on for the trip, so I'll just give you the Reader's Digest condensed version of the trip.

-Had a great room at the Luxor, however I found it amusing that they were trying to brand themselves as the "green" casino by installing energy efficient lights and a requesting that we re-use towels to save water. Keep in mind that this is the casino that has 7 high powered lights that shoot a beam into the air for no real reason.

-Playing poker in Vegas is not as scary as you would think. The prevailing logic is that the best of the best go there to play. It's poker Top Gun, and if you are a middle of the pack kind of player (which I am), then you'll lose quickly and you won't have any fun. The truth is that you're not going to find Dan Harrington playing a $52 dollar buy in tournament at the Lux, or a 1-2 no limit game. The fact is poker rooms are usually populated with drunken rubes and first timers. These are the people who watched maybe one or two WSOP tape delays and thought "This is easy. Anybody can do this." The way they play makes you believe that they would be more than willing to give you their money directly, but since poker room rules prohibit such acts of charity, they'll limp into a pot with a pocket Jack/4. If you play a patient game (which I admit, I didn't the last night there…fatigue was starting to set in.) you can walk away with a bit of money. I was up 100 bucks in 45 minutes in 1-2 no limit the first time I played.

-I don't care what the "How to Play Blackjack" books say about odds, when a dealer shows a six, nine times out of ten, the under card is a five, and the dealer will pull a face on the draw. Conversely, when you have an 11 and you double down, you'll draw a two 90% of the time.

-Never, never, NEVER play roulette. It's a game specifically designed to draw in newbies and rubes who think that they can beat the odds.

-Girls who wear the "Las Vegas Hottie" T-shirts aren't fooling anyone.

-Las Vegas is Spanish for "The Buffet". Which if you are looking for a great place to have a reception dinner after your Vegas wedding, it's not a bad place to be. You're paying 26 bucks a person, and you let the guests decide what they want. You don't have to painstakingly go through menu options. As long as your jerky guests don't do the annoying clinking of the glass to get the bride and groom to kiss, then you're welcome anytime.

-Pound for pound, I still say that Fremont is the place to be. I love the old school Vegas. We played poker at the Fitz, and it was the highlight of the gaming portion of the trip (although it may be the highlight because I finished better than everyone else in the party, and sixth out of 33 entrants).

-Trip highlight was the Diana Krall show at the Palms. The show was great, and her version of "Jockey Full of Bourbon" was lights out. If there's a Tom Waits song being performed by someone other than Waits, then it damn well better be Diana.

By the time we got on the plane, I was ready to leave that wretched place, and looking forward to the next time I go.

Vegas--Part Deux

Originally posted on ianshane.com 26 April, 2006

Sure, I was in Vegas for the NAB convention, but I spent some quality time away from the Hilton to renew my passion for Vegas. When I went last June, I was but a Vegas novice. Now, I am the master, and I shall pass along the Sin City Survival guide in the TOP 5 THINGS I LEARNED IN VEGAS.

1. If she's wearing black, high heels, and she's always checking her cell phone...
She's a hooker. Plain and simple. I know that we want to believe that she's a hot girl who is genuinely interested in what we have to say, but she's a pro. Sorry. They're crafty too. The really good ones will really chat you up until you're so into her, that you would really consider springing the five bills just to get her in the room. I'd consider letting my Advertising Sales class follow the really good ones around to learn how to pitch a client.

2 Even if you can't afford to stay there, the Venetian is the place to be.
This place is beautiful, and it's fairly easy to win. To this date, the Venetian is the ONLY casino that lost money to me. I don't know how that place stays in business with high rollers like me walking in and winning a grand total of $39.85. They hate me.

3. No matter how good the shoes, your feet will hurt at the end of the day.
I had comfortable shoe with new shock absorbers in the insoles, and I still felt like I walked to Hoboken in six inch heels with a rock in the bottom (not that I do that). Granted, I did a lot of standing and walking, but come on! Dr. Scholls is supposed to handle the job.

4. Penny slots are the dope places to play.
Low return, granted, but the odds are much better. The way to play is to bet as many lines as possible. Don't believe me, ask the kids at the Venetian (see item 2). You can play for hours on $10 and the waitresses will still bring you a scotch.

And, most importantly...

5. Don't drink with Richard.
Email me--I'll tell you the story.

Vegas, Baby! Vegas!

Originally posted on ianshane.com 10 June, 2005

In honor of this year's Vegas trip, I figured that finding the Top 5 Vegas movies was a worthy and noble quest. There are many fine movies about Las Vegas (like Oceans 11) and there are some God-awful flicks about Nevada 's number 1 vacation destination (Showgirls). Refining this list wasn't an easy task, but one I took with great enthusiasm.

1. The Godfather/The Godfather Part II
I have to group these together. Although it would be naïve to think that the mob was not in Vegas until the early 1960s, the story details how the Corleone Family took control of the Tropicana from the unlucky Moe Green (unlucky as the casino lost money under his management…oh yeah, and getting shot in the eye was unlucky too). Las Vegas isn't mentioned much in Part II, but the base of operation for Michael is still Sin City. I learned a valuable lesson from these two movies…never go fishing with a ruthless killer friend of your brother.

2. Swingers
Mike and Trent are in Vegas for only 10 minutes of the movie, but it still ranks #2 on the Top 5 list. From Swingers, we learn to always double down on 11 even if you're betting with “blood money”, Vegas waitresses are easy if you're money and you don't quote Voltaire, and to always wear a suit if you want free stuff in Vegas. I'll even forgive that Trent valet parks at the Stardust (on the Strip), and end up playing blackjack at the Fremont (downtown), and the shots of Strip are out of order if they are driving from the south (as they would be coming from LA).

3. Diamonds Are Forever
Vegas and Bond both featured in one flick? I'm in! The last real Bond movie with Sean Connery (Never Say Never Again doesn't count) takes 007 to Vegas to stop the flow of smuggled stolen diamonds from South Africa . Bond not only battles the first openly gay super villain couple, he also has to endure the worst Bond girl, ever (Jill St. John as Tiffany Case? What the hell was Guy Hamilton thinking?). Bond protects a guy who was more of a Howard Hughes than Leonardo DiCaprio in the Aviator (which isn't saying much), while Q wins big at the Circus Circus casino thanks to a smart looking device he created.

4. Very Bad Things
How many times have you gone to a bachelor party, only to have one of the group accidentally kill a hooker in the throws of some cocaine enhanced bathroom sex? This foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little bachelor parties everywhere. Even though it didn't do well in box office and in video sales, and the critics hated it, Very Bad Things deserves to be on this list. Jon Favreau (which if you're keeping score at home, is the only actor to be on this list twice) delivers a flawless performance in a dark comedy with shades of an Alfred Hitchcock story.

5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Sure, logic would dictate that Las Vegas is not the city you want to be in if you're on psychedelic drugs, but the movie proves this theory hands down. The first time I saw it, I hated it. However, since I've read the Hunter S. Thompson classic, I understand where director Terry Gilliam was coming from with the unusual animations. Fear and Loathing is a great insight on what being on drugs must be like.

Also receiving votes: Oceans 11 (the original), Rain Man, Bugsy, Honeymoon in Vegas, Leaving Las Vegas (even if Nick Cage is in the last two, they were still pretty good.)