Trading Places

Al Can Definitely Hang but . . . Derek and Lewey Can't!!!!

The Boathouse: Saturday, September 25th

Friday night I was entertaining some friends from out of town. I had plans to hang out with them on Friday and then again on Sunday for a BBQ. They're moving to Texas so I had to miss the Borgata trip with Paul and Al Can't Hang. After a night of partying with some friends, I woke up the next morning on Saturday and decided to hop on the train to Philly. I didn't want to miss the big party Al was throwing plus it was a chance to meet him, his wife, his friends and a few other bloggers. I missed the earlier train leaving Penn Station so I didn't get to Philly until after 2pm. The ticket cost $50. The train had problems which sucked but it was worth the wait. As soon as I arrived in Philly I saw Paul, Mrs. Can't Hang, and Boy Genius. They were waiting awhile and looked ready to party. We drove to the Boathouse to meet up with Al and his friends Big Mike and Lewey. A few mintues after I walked into the bar, Big Mike handed me a double shot of Jack. I drank it and turned around to watch the football game and Al brought me a plate of hot wings. Al was a great host. He was fun to party with. Anyone who offers you booze and food a few minutes after meeting them is cool as shit.

We started up a poker game less than a half hour after BG and I arrived. I had heard many stories about Lewey and his "loose" poker play. I've been told that the WPT should put him at every final table that Phil Hellmuth plays at. Bad beats galore. Paul said Lewey's favorite hand was 46o. Al and Paul have both told me of the bad beats Lewey puts on people. His reputation as a poker player definitely preceeded him. Lewey can send anyone on tilt. I planned on playing it tight in hopes of busting Lewey with a monster hand. I got nothing for the longest time. Everyone was harassing me for not seeing any flops especially with Lewey playing his J little offsuits like they were a high pocket pair. After a few hands were played, Al told me that MNorce was his friend Big Mike. I laughed because he was a pretty cool guy but he was the one who bad beated me in Iggy's tourney. Al said he was waiting for me to come down to tell me. Pretty funny. As soon as Al told me, Landow called and asked if I knew yet. Al, Big Mike, and Lewey were pounding SoCo shots, beers, and car bombs all day. I threw down a bunch of shots of Jack and SoCo along with some beers but nowhere near the amount those guys did. I used to drink like that 10 years ago and they're older than me. I was impressed with their stamina . . . even Lewey.

Landow showed up a little later. BG went all in a bunch of times when he was short stacked. Paul bluffed Al out of a pot. Al laid down a set of K's. Big Mike was not a fan of limpers. He kept raising preflop. Of course, Lewey was a fan of any two cards. He busted out quit a few times during the session. He was down over $200 at one point. He won a big pot at the end of the night when he caught a straight against Paul and won some of his money back. That was right before he knocked over a beer onto the table.

At one point earlier in the evening, he had Paul all in on the flop and in very bad shape. I was dealing too. Lewey had J7 and Paul called with A10. The flop was J-7-5. The turn card was a 5. Paul had outs but no one really noticed. I spiked an A on the river and the table exploded. I had a blast playing with the guys. Lewey was pretty drunk and loud by the time the game broke up. I'm sure everyone knows that by now!!

I won a big hand against Paul in the middle of the session. Big Mike kept raising my blinds so I finally decided to call it and see a flop. I had 25o. Pretty horrible hand! The flop came down A-3-4. I flopped the wheel. Paul and Big Mike were the only ones in the pot with me. Paul had A4s. Big Mike and I checked on the flop. Paul bet his two pair and I re-raised him all-in. There were two suited cards on the board and I didn't want anyone hitting a flush. I knew everyone was making fun of me for playing tight so no one was going to put me on 25o. Paul called and I flipped over my crap and doubled up. Nice!

The game broke up and it was time to join the party. There were some very good bands at the Boathouse. We actually played a few hands of poker with one of the band's bass players. His name was JDubbs. Everyone was getting hammered and Al brought me and Paul some burgers in the middle of this party. I chowed down and had a few more drinks. I was pretty hammered by now and tired as well. I'd been up since 6am and was starting to feel the effects of trying to party with Al and his friends. Lewey was still pretty loud and belligerent by this point. It was still very early (11pm) but I'd been drinking since I arrived. Landow decided to drive Lewey back home since he was wasted. Landow said that Lewey's never been this wasted before. As Lewey was being escorted to Landow's car, he decided to run away. He took off and went down this steep hill behind the Boathouse. The grass was pretty wet but Lewey made it all the way down without falling until his feet touched the asphalt. He slid and fell pretty hard onto the pavement. We all followed him down and Landow pulled his car over to where Lewey was lying. He was pretty banged up but Al declared Lewey free of any broken bones. Lewey had been anouncing all night that he was bleeding at the poker table. BG even tried to swipe his ATM card in Lewey's mouth. Well . . . . Lewey was bleeding for sure now. He cut himself up a little.

Landow needed to walk his dog so he drove Lewey home since they live in the same housing complex. Paul and I went along for the ride. When Landow was taking Lewey back to his own house, Lewey decided to do his best James Caan impression. In the Godfather, Sonny Corlene broke some reporter's camera and dropped some cash on the floor to pay for breaking it. Just like in the movie, Lewey threw some of his money onto Landow's car seat to pay for the damage!! His damage. I started laughing so hard that I got a little sick and puked all over the lawn. I puked out that burger and fries Al got me. Ouch! It tasted much better going down than up. Shortly after that, I was put to bed. I was hurting. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to hang out a little longer with Al, BG, Mrs. Hang, and everyone else. I guess I can't hang. Right before Landow dropped me off at the hotel, I noticed there was some blood inside Landow's car door . . . Lewey's a bleeder!!

I had a blast at the Boathouse Party. There was a lot of SoCo at the party and Al drank most of it. He's a warrior! One of the funnier moments during the party was when one of Al's friends starting bitching about the guy she brought to the party. This guy kept buying drinks and food and charging it to her. What class!! Wow . . . what a Saturday night! Carter from Cuban Links showed up to the party too. He was pretty cool too. I heard he passed out cold on one of the outdoor benches later that night. Al has some pictures of it. Paul has a pretty funny one too!

Thanks Al Can't Hang, thanks Mrs. Can't Hang and thanks to everyone I met and partied with that weekend, I had a lot of fun. I can't wait to go to Vegas in December. I'm going with Paul. Boy Genius will be there at the same time too with his brother, Bob. I'm hoping others will decide to go too. It will be fun!! How can it not be?? It's Las Vegas in December. What better place to be? We're going to hit the Sport book on Sunday to gamble on football and then play poker the rest of the time there.

So I'm really glad I had Saturday free and got to make this trip. I paid $50 to get to Philly and I won about the same amount in the poker game. Just like Bo Didley says in Trading Places, "In Philadelphia . . . it costs 50 bucks." This time . . . it was worth every penny!