WSOP 2011

By Bill L.

Our annual trip to the World Series of Poker was off to a great start even before I got there.  I was flying in separate this year after a trip to NoCal which included a Giants game, a day of small production Zinfandel tasting in Sonoma and the Nascar race at Infineon so The Fluge was on his own for a few hours until my flight landed.

After his casino host pulled him aside in order to skip the long check-in lines The Fluge was escorted into the VIP area for the platinum guest private registration.  Knowing I was a few hours out he decided to hit the blackjack tables for awhile.  Now I know I understand blackjack – I’ve even played in the World Series of Blackjack in my younger days but I truly don’t enjoy it that much so I mainly stick with poker – but Nick LOVES 21 and is AMAZINGLY good at it.  I’ve watched him play many times now and he consistently beats the house.

In the three hours just waiting for me he was betting big and playing multiple hands.  Just the kind of Big Player the house loves and takes very good care of.  The problem is – Fluge WINS.  So not only did his first three hours of play net cash in his pocket and comps galore but the Casino upgraded his VIP status to Diamond level – the highest you can get.  It can take most gamblers years of play to attain this level but in rare occasion you can become “Diamond in a Day.”

I finally arrive, check in, toss my stuff in my room and make my way down to the tables to find The Fluge and try and get his head into poker mode.  He, like most smart players has no problem getting up from the table, so after coloring up, tipping both his dealer and cocktail waitress we head to the WSOP Pavilions.  We barely make it half way and here comes multiple WSOP bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen yelling FLUGE, FLUGE – Everyone remembers the big guy so we catch up for awhile and wish the poker gods to bring good fortune to us before hitting the registration desk for tomorrow’s event.  We find we’re at tables 107 and 17 respectively and chat with a few of the pro’s we’ve met over the years who are in line with us.

Nick and I decide to meet later at Voodoo Steak on the top of The Rio for our usual pre-tourney dinner.  After ordering we both agree we think we’ve had the same dishes for the past ten years only changing the wine selection based on what’s currently on the list.  I have to say this year’s bottle of a Turley Juvenile Zinfandel was outstanding!  We caught up on multiple adventure possibilities and vineyard happenings before getting to business and finalizing our strategies for tomorrow.  By the time the last bite was gone and the only the dregs of Zin were left we were rock solid comfortable with our game plans for the big event.

“Nick with friend and several time WSOP champion Scotty Nguyen”

I could see from the glimmer in his eyes that a little black jack would be on the agenda for the remainder of the evening so I followed the master to his favorite high-limit table for a few hands of 21.   I could only keep up with his pace for a short while basically breaking even and I left him for the night in the good hands of Yasmine the dealer and Brenda the cocktail server.

Finally- Poker Day is here and Nick and I meet for our traditional breakfast and leisurely reconfirm our strategies from the night before.  I can see Fluge is focused.  Normally with an hour to kill he’d get a few hands in at the bj table – but not today.  It’s all business.  We decided to head back to our rooms for a quick freshen-up and gather our gear for what hopefully will be a marathon of poker.  With a few minutes to go before the start  of the event Nick, being Nick, decided he’d like to get the winner’s vibe form the sacred bracelet podium and jumps the velvet rope and heeds to the podium where the winner’s bracelet resides in waiting and the wall of champions is located.  Maybe we’ll see him up there collecting his own bracelet down the road.

We each head to our tables – stand for Ben “Benba” Lamb’s bracelet presentation for winning the previous event – taking place at that podium Nick just left.  We stay standing for the national Anthem then it’s those famous words – “Shuffle Up and Deal.”  Our event has begun.

Nick is way across the huge pavilion of almost 3000 players so I can’t see him but texts are flying back and forth.  Up 2k – down 1k – up 3k.  At the first break after two rounds of one hour each we’ve had no crazy hands just solid poker.  We have 20 minutes to fight the hoard for a bathroom break.  Rounds 3 and 4 – blinds are up and so are we.  Nick about 6k and me right behind at 5k.  Four hours and so far so good.  Rounds 5 and 6 and we’re seeing a large exodus now.  I keep looking around a no Fluge – a good sign.  I get a text and he’s up to 15k.  NICE.  After 6 hours of poker and 40 minutes of breaks it’s dinner break time.  Chip counts are Nick @ 17k and me at @ 16k.  We have 90 minutes for dinner and lines are huge but The Fluge flashes his Diamond VIP card and we walk by the lines right to a table.  That’s how we roll.  Our separate strategies are holding and all is good.  Neither of us has had huge wins or losses – just steady “grinder” poker.

On to rounds 7 and 8 – blinds are getting big and we now have antes.  We’ve outlasted 1800 losers so far but we need to make some moves and add to our stacks.  Nick’s holding around 17k and I’m up to 19k but there are some big stacks at each of our tables.  We’re still alive after round 8 – down to 800 left.  There will be 2 more rounds tonight before chips are bagged and play resumes tomorrow.  We both agree we’re here for the final table and there’s no reason to go into day 2 with a short stack so we are going to attack and go for greatness tonight.  Round 9 we’re still alive but our stacks are dwindling.  Nick’s text says he’s down to 12k.  I’m at 17k and my table breaks and we each head to a new table.  As my luck would have it I’m assigned a new table and there are four huge stacks.  Matt Jarvis is showing off his bracelet from winning event #40.  There’s Ronny “RoNasty” Bardah who went deep in last year’s main event and Pro Matt Stout who I spent many hours seated next to last year.  He looks at me twice and says “Hey – grape guy.” He remembers me but unfortunately his next line is “too bad you’re short stacked.”

Twenty minutes to go I get a tap on the shoulder and my man The Fluge is out.  He played real well but couldn’t catch the cards near the end.  Mike Stanton from the World Poker Tour is there and tells Nick he watched him for awhile and he played great.  Mike was wondering when we’d try our luck in a WPT event.   Fluge is not down though and says he’s off to kill ‘em at black jack.

15 minutes to go and I get a hand.  This is it.  There’s a raise from under the gun and everyone folds around to me on the button.  I’ve got pocket 10’s and go all in for about 20k but the big blind with the big stack snap calls all in – not good –and the first raiser folds.  I turn over my 10’s and he turns over a wired pair of Kings.  The flop, turn and river are no help and I’m out in 400^th place.  Better than 2600 others but not good enough after almost 13 hours of play.

It turns out this year’s winner from our event was Athy Polychronopoulos.  He was the big blind with the big stack who took me out.

Our 2011 WSOP is over – we didn’t win a bracelet but it was a blast as usual.  We’ll get ‘em next year!

PS.  This year’s WSOP Europe is in Cannes in October.  Will there be an Art/WSOP Poker story from the South of France?  Stay tuned.

“Nick with Mike Sexton, voice of ESPN’s World Series of Poker”

Fluge Global Adventures will be represented by a team of 5th graders from Oregon at the Destination ImagiNation Global Finals! What is Destination ImagiNation? DI is an organization created in collaboration with the world-renowned Center for Creative Learning to provide educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork, and problem solving.

Every year over 100,000 students across the United States and in more than 30 countries compete in teams to solve mind-bending challenges and present their solutions at tournaments. Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together, and devise original solutions for the challenges they are presented. The teams learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving. Teams that advance past regional and state/country tournaments are invited to compete at the Global Finals.

Oregon’s “5 Musketeers” are the 2009 Oregon State Destination ImagiNation Champions. They have competed at regional and state tournaments over the past two years with much success. They will be traveling to the University of Tennessee on Memorial Day Weekend to challenge hundreds of teams from all over the world in the culminating event of the season, the Global Finals. The atmosphere will be electric as they battle wits against many of the worlds future leaders. Maybe the world’s next Nick Fluge will even be there!

Oregon’s 5 Musketeers Going Global!

In 2007, Nick Fluge and Bill Lowblad drove one of 25 limited production “Bad Boy Saleen’s” across the United States in the Great American Run (aka Cannonball Run). Leaving Central Park in New York they battled with other exotic cars over many states and thousands of miles finishing several days later in Los Angeles. Their 8th place finish was relished given the international and oddball group that took part in the event. The event was featured in National Lampoon’s “Great American Run” documentary. Little did they know then that a short two years later their 160 mph plus driving on public highways would turn into 5 mph creeping on a dirt speedway in farm country. In 2008, Fluge and Lowblad played in the World Series of Poker while plotting their next great battle of machines. In 2009, their planning took the form of participation in the Great “Combine Demolition Derby”. That’s right…Farm Equipment…Big Farm Equipment!

The first task was to find two John Deere combines – ready to be tortured by other agricultural behemoths. That occurred earlier this summer. The next job was to secure Steve Gatrell and the ProFab team to craft roll cages and other magic demolition ‘tricks of the trade’. The final effort would occur in late August when Fluge and Lowblad arrived at the Sunset Speedway, armed with nothing more than Red Bull and a pile of bravado. The pit crew of Spence Gatrell, Patrick Hinkle and James Marlow was lead by Steve Gatrell – whose job it was to keep the combines on the track through as many heats as possible.

The FGA team quickly found that the other competitors were farmers, welders, and people who didn’t find the poker playing, race car driving, mountain climbing FGA, triathlon, and bike riding squad all that threatening. In the first heat Lowblad was able to keep his machine in play (although his small rear tires were quickly trashed by the more experienced farmers). Fluge’s first run was shaping up to be a good one. (Fluge had the turbo John Deere with the huge front tires – weighing in at just over 32,000 pounds). With that said, at the ‘starting horn’ the local farm contingent immediately swooped in for the kill and dismantled Fluge’s rear (turning) wheels and suspension. He was left flailing being forced to take full on smashes from the other demons of the farms.

Lowblad kept the FGA spirts up however with cagey driving that put him in the final events’ top five. The wise and experienced combine veterans finally took out Bill as well leaving him and Nick with little more than a cold beer and 65,000 pounds or so of scrap metal. Our thanks do go to the many FGA fans who came out in significant numbers and who were sporting rather outstanding FGA “Sieve of Destruction” TShirts – (Good job Randy and Instant Imprints!)!

The future, as usual, remains unclear – but with the growing contingent of FGA supporters we’re sure we’ll have another adventure in the works soon.

By Bill Lowblad

After spending the winter emphasizing the “global” in Fluge Global Adventures, Nick was ready to put the brushes and canvas away for awhile and trade them in for cards, chips and the felt of gaming tables.

The World Poker Challenge at the Grand Sierra resort was just the answer. We tried to get the whole FGA poker team together but other members were prepping for their own upcoming Costa Rica adventures so that left Fluge and Lowblad alone to take on the action.

The WPC is one of the top preludes for the pros to warm up for this summer’s World Series of Poker. The dealers had just flown in from a WSOP satellite and the likes of Jennifer Harmon, Howard “The Professor” Lederer and many other pros were on their way.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon in preparation for the Friday event starting off the WPC. We checked in, tossed our bags into our rooms and headed to the tables. Fluge to test his skills at Black Jack and me to hit the cash games in the Poker room. After four hours of cleaning up at poker it was time to find Fluge and make our dinner reservation at the Charlie Palmer Steak House. It wasn’t hard to find the Fluge (I just looked for the largest and loudest peanut gallery he always seems to attract). Fluge colored up his chips to all pink, accepted the heartfelt thanks for his generosity in tipping from the dealer and we were off to dinner. Not only was the Fluge way up but his big time play in just those few short hours had earned us a fully comped dinner at Charlie Palmer’s.

Dinner was incredible – commanding VIP table in back which had a view of the entire dining room, steak, lobster, so many sides they filled the table and an incredible bottle of wine. Being in the wine business there aren’t too many people I’d defer to choosing the wine, but Fluge is one of them and he selected a big time winner. Now that evening was a great example of rollin “Fluge style” and all on the house.

Friday was day one of the WPC. We had a few hours to kill before the noon start and we both headed to the Black Jack tables. Immediately after Fluge sits down the table gets red hot and we are winning right and left. Fluge is playing multiple big bets and each one has a side bet for the dealer. Me, I’m just playing normal stakes but we’re both winning along with Carlito our dealer who is giving us knuckle bumps after pocketing his tips from each hand. Finally time to head to poker and once again time for Fluge to ‘color up’.

Time to get serious – Poker time. After making the final table in January at the Venetian tourney in Vegas I’m feeling good and Fluge looks to be in the Zone. Luck of the draw puts me at seat 7 and Fluge at seat 4 of the same table. Also at our table is professional player and author Lou Krieger who is autographing some of his books. ‘Eskimo’ Clark is two tables behind us and there are other familiar faces throughout the room. Things start off slow for me – I’m “card dead” – 7/4 off suit or the like hand after hand. Meanwhile Fluge is rolling along taking down his share of pots with consistency. He really is in the Zone. After the dealer change I’ve still yet to see a good pair of down cards or win a hand. We’re on dealer #3 now and I’m frustrated by lack of cards – I’ve still yet to win a hand. Fluge is playing what I call ‘quirky- serious’ and other players can’t put a read on him. Their stacks are going over to his. First break at 2 hours of play. I haven’t won a hand and I’m getting short stacked and Fluge is table chip leader after knocking out a couple of players already. Back from the break – our 4th dealer now. Finally I get a hand, THE hand, Ace Ace down. No one wants to play and I end up winning the lowly blinds. Bad sign. Three hands later I get another hand JJ down. I’m low on chips and go all in. My opponent flips KK and I’m felted seconds later when no J shows up. Fluge gives me a pat on the back as I walk out feeling like a survivor just voted off.

I head to the cash games to get my respect back but I get on the rail every hour or so to check on the Fluge. Hour 3 I watch him bluff an opponent into laying his hand down. Hour 4 – second break – he is the table chip leader. Hour 5 his chips are going 3 stacks deep. After 6 hours of play it’s the dinner break. Fluge probably has one of the largest stacks of chips in the room. He has been a commanding presence in the tourney so far.

Passing by my cash game on the way back to the tournament after the dinner break Fluge has brought me a burger and fries from Johnny Rockets – after downing a quick ‘burger from hell’ for himself on the way back to the tourney. Oh, and by the way, he hit the Blackjack tables for a few minutes on his way back and took them for a quick 6 bills. I check on him again at hour 7 – he’s sitting back and playing smart with a big stack, letting the desperate fight it out and coming in with the right hands. Hour 8 more of the same and only 6 tables left. I’m beat. I have redeemed myself with a big win at the cash games and head up to my room to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for Saturday’s event. Eventually I get “the phone call.” unfortunately it’s not morning which means that Fluge is out a bit too early. He finished in 33rd place. Awesomely respectable. His play was strong and was but a few bad beats from really making the final table.

Saturday it’s just me as Fluge has to get back early for his next adventure – The new GT-1 Derhagg Corvette and this year’s SCCA and Professional Trans Am series of sports car racing. Before leaving Fluge has one more shot at the Blackjack tables and is on fire as usual. Not only is he killing them again but sizable chips are flying through the air in my direction for my next entry fee.

Alas, I did not make the final table. I did better than the day before, top 30 but no final table. Maybe it will happen at this year’s WSOP?