As the weather gets a bit colder in Vegas I am trying to switch things up between walking, running, cycling and a mix of yoga and the exercise ball I use everyday. Upon further research, I found some great workouts that everyone can benefit from, especially if your male.
Enjoy…
Merry Christmas to everyone! I havent been much of a holiday person the past 10 or so years, mostly because my Mother always made a big deal out of every holiday, Christmas was no exception. That is all changing though as my son is about to turn 4 and he’s on his best behavior to ensure Santa delivers his black and white helicopter on Christmas day.
Although Christmas in Las Vegas is very different than when I grew up in Canada; the Weather (snow and ice), no shoveling sidewalks for extra money and we would sometimes stay inside for days due to the -40 degree weather warnings - the memories and habits when holiday season rolls around is very much the same when it comes to food and my diet.
My fondest memories of Christmas include eating until I popped with chocolate, candies and Christmas cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While the early memories make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, the days of eating chocolate oranges (my favorite christmas stocking gift) are long gone. Boy what I would do now to have the metabolism I had back then! There was a time when I could eat 5 big macs and still be hungry 3 hours later even when the 5 sandwiches were accompanied with fries, hot apple pie and an ice-cream cone for desert!
These days, I put on weight just looking at the chocolate my son scharfs down in 2.4 seconds and feel like I have to run 3 miles after watching a Mcdonald’s commercial. Truthfully it’s not that bad now that I exercise on a regular basis and watch what I eat, but trying to avoid eating comfort (38 years of feel good vittles) food at holiday time is something I think will always be a difficult thing for me. This is probably the biggest obstacle for many people trying to stay on course during the holiday season to achieve healthy living and balance. To the strong I salute you…to the weak, I understand you.
As I prepare for an explosive 2008 year in tournament poker with a quest to land corporate sponsorship at the Nascar level (but for poker) I have been researching and collecting information to ensure my future sponsors do not incur any surprises as I plunge back in as a professional poker player.
One issue that has the poker world steaming was the rumour regarding a new Tax law that will implemented by the IRS on March 4th, 2008. I use the term “rumor”, as I haven’t been able to find any credible sources (until now) on what the tax law is and why its being implemented. Previous to talking with Blaise Dusenberry of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel, thousands of poker players across the US believed that 30% of all tournament winnings over $5000 would be withheld by the IRS, in conjunction with the casino where the tournament was held (described by the IRS as the Sponsor). Poker players further believed this chunk of cash would be taken from the player at the time of winning and they could retrieve the withholdings at tax time the following year when they filed. This is absolutely, positively 100%….not true.
Today I called Ms. Dusenberry, who took the time to explain to me that the IRS is not witholding any taxes from any players unless the casino (where the tournament is being held) is unable to verify a players’ valid Social Security Number with a matching picture ID. She went on to tell me that the reason the tax procedure and law is being implemented is for those players who refuse to provide a Social Security Number and try to avoid receiving a W-2G form. Apparently there has been a plethora of players over the years who have been avoiding gambling tax winnings and the IRS stepped in to ensure everyone was on the same playing field when it comes to winning and paying taxes. Ms. Dusenberry was very passionate in describing to me how players that abide by the tax laws should not be the only ones to comply with IRS regulation while other players have been getting around the tax system for years avoiding taxes all together.
This new law will simply force everyone to provide a Social Security at the time of winning, and if they refuse or are from out of the Country, 28% of the total will be withheld by the Casino in escrow for the IRS. For Canadians and other tax treaty countries, players will be able to retrieve their withholdings by going through the proper government channels of their respective country or use services like RefundManagement.com that will provide you with a refund in a short time and go through all the red tape for you to ensure any withholdings are recovered.
As a professional poker player that is coming back onto the circuit on a full time basis, I have to say I was relieved to learn and understand exactly what the IRS was doing and squash the rumor that is circling the poker world. I’ve copied and pasted the tax procedure as it was pointed out to me on the IRS.GOV site from Ms. Dusenberry:
Poker Tournament Winnings Must be Reported to the IRS |
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Were now in the middle of the 5 diamond event at Bellagio and it’s a treat to be home surrounded by comfort and first class service. There is truly nothing like Las Vegas as even the tournament staff for sattelites at the Bellagio is polite, professional and always friendly, the complete opposite of the foxwoods’ experience.
Although I haven’t made any significant cashes, I was able to watch David “the dragon” Pham win yet another bracelet and a first place in the $2500 event. I watched him bluff his way to another huge cash and put him in a class of his own when it comes to a player who consistantly is in the money year after year.
A few weeks have now passed since my Foxwoods trip, I’ve calmed down considerably and will now document what i like to call, “DML’s believe it or not!”. But, instead of being angry and pissed off about it (which was the case during the event), I’m simply going to have a little fun (at foxwoods’ expense) and list some of the most ridiculous blunders and events I’ve ever encountered during my 17 year poker career:
Event #1: During a final table one of the players had over 300,000 in chips at the end of day 1. The player heads over to the final table on day 2 only to see that his chips were taken out of the bag and stacked without him. Knowing his chip count, which was also verified and written on the bag, he finds that 100,000 of his chips are missing and makes an inquiry. Camera’s are checked the day prior and the count it verified on day 1, however when trying to confirm what happened to the chips on day 2, Foxwoods’ tournament director Mike Ward had no answer. Incredibly, the player accepted his 100k loss of chips and Mike Ward wiped his brow with relief. What is more amazing to me than the disappearing chips, is how does a player just accept a 100k loss in chips? I know for a fact that if it was Mike Matusow or Phil Hellmuth that lost those chips, it would have taken 12 wild horses and the armed guards to carry them away if 100k of their chips had gone missing.
Moral: Dont let anyone unpack your chips and scream blue murder if they do it without you present.
Event #2. The table and chairs at the foxwoods’ event were average at best with tables criss-crossed and jammed up together like at most events (the WSOP being the worst for comfort scale). This interesting little event came about during my second week of the event when a player was asked by a dealer not to “double stack” chairs while sitting at the tournament table. The player requested the presence of a tournament supervisor and demanded an explanation as to why all of a sudden he couldn’t double stack his chairs as he had being doing it for weeks. In addition players around the table got involved, including myself and backed the player up by saying we’ve all been doing it and if you look across the room now you can see Paul Darden double stacking (which is how he often plays), plus some others. The immediate supervisor had no logical answer at the moment and felt the pressure of the players banding together (which should happen more often) calling on the help of Mike Ward, the tournament director. Mike listened to all of the facts from the players who pleaded that the “double stack” rule should be stricken from the Foxwoods’ 1001 rule book, of which Ward replied and i quote; “Foxwoods has created this rule for the protection of the casino, for in the event of a player falling off the double stacked chair at the high elevation he/she could sue Foxwoods for an injury on property”. The table burst out in laughter and Mike departed at lighting speed to further avoid embarrassment.
Moral: Beware of falling chairs and super heights
Event #3: Many players are now aware of the no cell phone rule at the table and are asked to step away to use it. I personally think this is a good rule to avoid any potential cheating or discussions between players while in a hand. Foxwoods has taken this rule to another level and enforces it like an inmate being screamed at by a prison guard in a penitentiary. At Foxwoods, if a player even looks at his phone, even while not involved in a hand, is given a warning then a penalty. The player must be 3 feet away from the table and must not be looking at the direction of the table or he is screamed at. (unless you are Phil Ivey, then you can get a massage, double stack your chairs and be on the phone the entire tournament). There was an instance where a supervisor came up and snatched the phone out of a players hand while he was standing up behind his chair and was threatened it would be confiscated if he talked on it again.
Moral: Don’t bring your phone to Foxwoods, Connecticut unless you want to be arrested.
Event #4: Tournament start times generally begin at noon around the globe with Foxwoods as one of the only places that begin at 10AM. For many players that live in the MidWest, Las Vegas or California this is a 7 AM start. Most poker players dont even start dreaming until that time of the day, giving western US players a disadvantage at the tables from the start…we are not even awake yet!
Moral: Dont even bother sleeping when playing at Foxwoods…drink lots of energy drinks and stay up all night!
Event#5: For the players who got knocked out early in tournament or decided to participate in some side action cash games during the Foxwoods event, here’s what they had to deal with; while the waits were long as they usually are for any side action at a WPT event (due to not enough tables), Foxwood made it even more diffucult by giving players between 5 - 15 seconds to get the call out desk or run to your table before the next player in line got there before you. To add to the “speed sitting” game, they constantly switched call desks so you didnt know where to check-in; and there were so many people crammed in the cash table areas (standing around) you could not make a mad dash for it even if you wanted to. In addition, there were no chip runners (you had to buy them at the cage which had line ups like a rock concert bathroom) and you further cant buy chips at the table unless you go bust in the game.
Moral: Figure out the radio frequency the staff are using to let the caller know you want your seat that you’ve been waiting hours for or bring your own airhorn to get their attention when they call your name.