Bella Donkey

Half Way Through Biloxi: SNGs, $300/$600 Badugi, Scott Williams, Employee Dining

2012-01-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

We're at the halfway point of the Biloxi event. I've had such a great time here.. I could stay in Biloxi, easily, if there were full-time house jobs just laying around. But there aren't, so I'm off to the next one at the end of the month. I've had so many of you come up and tell me you read, and it's been overwhelming. Bloggers.. all bloggers, love nothing more than to hear who some of faces

New Year in Pictures, Destin, Biloxi, Processing for the Next Poker Event & Cat Stick.

2012-01-05T02:14:00.000-08:00

So I didn't get out a blog-post-a-day after all. I got pretty damn close though.. I was 2 short. I can live with 2 short. I am going to make a greater effort to update while on the road this year. I found it all to be so overwhelming last fall that unfortunately, the blog fell to the back burner. Today's entry will be mostly in pictures. Either to sum up my travels, or share something I found

2011-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

This blog post is brought to you courtesy of procrastination. I SHOULD be packing my car and hitting the road, as I am definitely leaving this morning (early afternoon). However, I pulled a late night last night and I'm not moving as fast as I used to be. This is face of exhausted, hung-over & "just can't hang like I used to". Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: #3Procrastination & On the Road

Followup on Ben Breedlove: Family & Funeral; A Personal Note on Death

2011-12-29T22:45:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a quick update to the Ben Breedlove story I wrote a couple days ago. The blog post, overnight, received more "hits" than anything I've ever written. Easily over 20,000 in just 24 hours. This is a well traveled blog, but that's a pretty extreme jump. It seems people everywhere were just as fascinated by this young man's videos, his message and sadly.. his passing. The guest

Blog-A-Day Countdown: Poker Players go Bowling, Prop Bets, Steven "Cupcake" Terry

2011-12-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be hard pressed to actually get out a blog post a day, and finish the remainder of my countdown before 2012. I'm going to do my best though. Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: #5Poker Players Go Bowling, Prop Bets, Steven "Cupcake" Terry My time here at the farm is winding down.. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, though I haven't done anything fancy and I've been on a pretty strict budget

Read/Repost Request: The heartbreaking & inspiring story of Ben Breedlove. A must see.

2011-12-26T23:45:00.000-08:00

I was absolutely done for the night, shutting down the computer, cleaning up the kitchen.. and came to check my Facebook to make sure the last blog post posted. A link to a video with the post "Do you believe in God?" caught my eye. The kid was kinda good-looking, in that shiny sort of way.. so I clicked the link. (A followup to this post has been added, link at the bottom). And here we are.

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: Depression be Creepin', Ready to be Productive Again

2011-12-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: #7Depression is a Creeper, Ready for Work I have 100,000 things I COULD write about.. but I'm just feeling rather run-down. Back to work next week, and I'm ready for it. Granted, I could stay here at the farm for ages more and not get tired of it.. but I'm just ready to be doing something with my time. I didn't go to Florida. Last minute issues.. Mom was sick,

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: Merry Christmas to ALL

2011-12-24T21:59:00.000-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring.. except me and CatBeast. Mom is in bed. Tonight we watched a few episodes of Grimm, cooked an epic dinner-for-two and opened presents. Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: A short and sweet Merry Christmas to All. (And to All a Goodnight!)#8 I got a bunch of cool girly items (skin care stuff, more Garfield

Blog-A-Day Countdown: Grateful for my Mom this Christmas, CatCat watches Grimm

2011-12-24T02:27:00.000-08:00

Today will be a short post. I spent the majority of the day Christmas shopping, followed by wrapping presents. I'm beat, and I've still got a few more things to take care of tomorrow (or rather, later today). Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: #9Grateful for Mom, Almost Ready for Christmas In the right lighting, it ALMOST looks like someone with skills wrapped these gifts. It's a sham though, I'm

Blog-A-Day Countdown: My (sad) Abstinent Love Life and Scotty Shops for Sex Toys

2011-12-23T00:52:00.000-08:00

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012, #10My Sad, Lacking Love LifeScott Goes Shopping I went Christmas shopping tonight. To no avail. I ended up buying CatCat some food, a lanyard for myself and.. well.. that about sums it up. I fail. I was in the company of my good friend Scott Williams, so at least I had fun. We met up at the mall, which was fairly lame, and then went and ate Mexican. After that,

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: Lock Poker Experience, Florida, Game Over and CatCat flips the Bird.

2011-12-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

I can either sit here and type out a short - to the point - blog post, and then scurry off to bed with the CatBeast. Or I can run up to Exxon, load on up something caffeine-y, and settle in for the long haul. .....feel free to talk amongst yourselves.... 22 minutes later.. I'm back from the corner store. 1 can of cat food (A peace offering for not choosing bed over blogging), 1 can

Blog-A-Day Countdown to 2012: The Meltdown of a Fellow Blogger

2011-12-20T00:54:00.000-08:00

I am really enjoying being at home. Hanging out with Mom and being on the farm is such a welcome break from casino-life. I expected just a few days into this to want to be back on the road ASAP, but the truth is.. two more weeks doesn't feel like or sound like enough time. I'm sure after the holidays I'll be rearin' to get back to work. It doesn't matter how many amazing sights you see

Countdown to 2012: A blog post a day until the New Year.

2011-12-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

I have been a terrible blogger lately. Everything became so hectic, being on the road, and I really have no excuse. I'm going to repent for my slacking by writing a one blog post a day until 2012. True story. It's really the only shot I have of ever getting caught up. I'm going to do my best to do a synopsis of the last four months. I can't imagine this will be earth shattering journalism,

In Oregon, Car Exploded, CatCat has moved out, Sister Goin' To War

2011-11-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

I feel less and less like a new dealer and more like someone who actually knows what they're doing. Which is silly really, but the transition from floor to dealer, or player to dealer was pretty profound. It's entirely different having to only be aware of YOUR cards, or one ruling.. and being accountable for 10 people. Of which, at any given time, half of them think they're playing blackjack.

My Itinerary: Goodbye Reno, Hello San Francisco. CatCat & Coop Color Coordinate. Fallen World Leaders and More.

2011-10-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

I leave Reno today. Or rather, looking at the clock, in about 3 hours. Headed for Lake Tahoe. I have no excuse as to why I haven't updated in almost a month. It's funny how time slips away from you when you're busy living. Then, once a little time slips away, so much material builds up that the prospect of writing it all down seems daunting and gets delayed in lieu of watching Dexter or

A quickie update. Laughlin, Reno, Imperial Palace and More.

2011-09-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

We're still doing the comp-hopping. So far I've lived at Bally's, Harrah's, Circus Circus, The Orleans, Harrah's Laughlin and now Imperial Palace this month. I've enjoyed seeing Vegas in this capacity. It's certainly done a wonder on my love affair with the city.. it's diminishing, rapidly. Just the two days we spent in Laughlin were a breath of fresh air.. being back near water, and

Bella's Guide to Vegas Part 1, Peppermill, The Strip, Encore, Bingo, Ortiz and Mr. Olympia.

2011-09-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that I no longer need AP News, CNN or even Google. My facebook news feed has grown to such proportions that I generally know world news as it happens, AND what everyone thinks about it as well. Tonight was no exception, with hundreds of friends giving me a play by play update of the Mayweather-Ortiz fight. I don't care a whole lot about boxing.. I've seen some of the great

Life in Vegas Part 2. Breakdown, Miscommunication, Grinder Gear, New Friends and More.

2011-09-03T01:51:00.000-07:00

I keep promising prompt updates, and I keep slacking. The truth is, this whole "move cross country" thing hasn't been as easy as a blog post could possibly sum up. But I'll get to all that. Let's start where I left off with the last post. I'm in Vegas. Now what? I hit the city HARD the first week. Josh had a week to kill until he had to jet off to the Beau Rivage to deal to all you fine

Part One: The long road to hell. Roadtrip, Gang Initiation, Cooper, Sharkady, CatCat and MORE.

2011-08-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

Rather than write a novel, I'll do this in a couple of parts. I'm obviously way behind. So I live in Vegas now. But getting here was harder than it sounds. First, I had to pack everything I own in a Ford Focus. Which isn't as hard for me as it probably would be for most people. I don't give a damn about material items. Never have. In the slightest. So throwing away/giving away possessions is

Sometimes so much blog builds up...

2011-08-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

The text messages, emails and irate phone calls have begun. I realize you're all tired of reading about my last night in Memphis. I get it. I'm working on an update, I promise. The problem I'm facing is SO much has happened, and I have little to no time right now. I'm working all day every day at the Riviera. The first week, I was also going out every night.. because, well.. I'm in VEGAS!

Last Night in Memphis, Nostalgic, Emotional, Girl-Rant. Disregard this Entire Post.

2011-08-13T00:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at my mother's desk, drinking a Bud Light. Texting a few good friends, trying to think of something poetic to say. The truth is, my brain is so overextended with this move, that I don't have anything poetic left in me. Actual photo of my evening. The strawberry is a bit busted. Like my heart. Awwww. The beer reminds me of sitting on the deck of a bar in Florida with Scott

The End: My Farewell, the WPO, Cooper is the Catalyst, Scotty too Hotty's Brain Freeze and More.

2011-08-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

"When the pain of remaining the same ....becomes greater than the fear of change... surely we will let go." Really, it's all Josh Cooper's fault. Everything. He came into Tunica and destroyed worlds and crushed dreams. He made a grown man nearly cry, and a woman abandon her home to cross the United States in hopes of living the dream. When this all ends terribly, it'll be him we blame. As if

Naked Men in a Hot Tub, Barnhart, Cooper, Updates and Sparkly Things.

2011-07-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Breakfast and other revelations. This morning I had breakfast with Sam Barnhart and Josh Cooper. Actually, I was having breakfast with Josh and at the exact moment we were discussing Sam's success this summer, he walked through the door. I motioned him over to join us, and he did so without a moment's hesitation. I'm a sucker for sparkly treasure. Sam's bracelet, which he let me

Winehouse Takes a Bad Beat, Taming the Cock (With Photos!), WPO Off to a Great Start!

2011-07-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

I was on the fence about doing a blog post. I really should be getting ready for work and heading to Tunica early so I can be social and say Hi to everyone at the WPO. I haven't been down there since it started Thursday, which is unusual for me. However, while checking my email one last time I ran across this particularly delightful headline on MSNBC. Best. Attempt. Evar. Suicide attempt?

The Main Event: Sam Barnhart, Claudia Crawford, My Poker-Crush Slaughters Frenchie AND Brazil.

2011-07-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

I was asked repeatedly to make predictions regarding the 2011 Main Event. I declined, because really.. who can do anything other than guess with a field of almost 7,000? To my credit though, in Horseshoe Poker room back at the end of April.. I told WSOP Circuit Champion Kyle Cartwright that Sam Barnhart was the one to watch this year. To which he replied.. "$20/$40 Player? Nah.." I'm glad a