I Hate it When a Plan Comes Apart

Live blogging from the MGM poker room!

And it totally, totally sucks.

I had a plan--a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself.

Get to the MGM early today--New Year's Eve.  Take my laptop.  Set up shop in the Starbucks near the poker room.  Get work done before the New Year's Eve and Slut Parade watching commenced.

You see I wanted to get here before the traffic got crazy, the parking got impossible, and the snow starting falling (see previous post).  So instead of working from my current temporary residence, I'd work in the Starbucks and then be all set for a night of craziness.

Not only did I have a blog post to write and get posted, but I have a column due for Ante Up in two days.  That's right, despite the fact that this is a holiday week, I need to write a column on the Vegas poker scene due in 48 hours.  I was really expecting to be able to postpone it a week, since Friday is only January 2, but that just wasn't in the cards (so-to-speak). 

I was only a little concerned that I have nothing to write about (for the column) this month.  Faced with a deadline, I am usually able to pull something out of my ass in the nick of time.

Today seemed like a perfect day to do it, too.  Last year on this day, I arrived later in the day than I did today and used the Starbucks for writing a blog post (that didn't even go live that day).  So what could go wrong?

Everything.

I got to the Starbucks around 1:30pm and discovered that they had removed all the tables and chairs.  There was place to plunk down a laptop and actually write from.

The rest of the damn casino is mobbed and there is no space anywhere to use a table and a chair.  I tried the food court but it was packed.  

I considered using an empty poker table in the poker room (if they would accommodate me) but the place is packed.  I don't even want to impose to ask if I could use one of the empty ones (there are two empty ones right now) and as I can see the list, they will likely be using them soon.

So after a tour of the entire casino, I ended back in the poker room, where I am in the back, using one of the spare food carts they have as a base for my laptop.  This will only work so long, because it is way too low to be comfortable.  I feel my back going out as I write this.  In fact, using a poker table wouldn't work either even if I could.....that's too high for the chairs they have.

So I will likely give up after I post this and just start playing poker. I dunno when I'll get to the column.  I hate it when a plan comes apart.

Oh, so that title.  I guess I should explain that it is a flip of a catch phrase from the 1980's TV show (featuring Mr. T., among others), The A-Team, one of the favorites from that era.  Their plans all failed so spectacularly that they ended up actually working, but only because of the work of the scriptwriters.  Which would lead one of them to say, "I love it when a plan comes together."

This would appear to be the opposite of that--unless the day has a very happy ending.  You know, with me using the extra time playing poker to make a huge pile of cash.  Or perhaps, with an actual happy ending.

Younger readers might remember The A-Team more from the movie version they did a few years back.  I saw it, and frankly, don't even remember if I liked it or not.

The film starred Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel.  That explains the pic below because I find her a lot sexier than Mr. T.  (Or Bradley Cooper for that matter, even if People magazine disagrees).

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!