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#578 – CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT – 3C – ENIGMA
This is the third and last part of the series of essay contests I’m conducting in connection with both Full Tilt’s final table trio and FTOPS X. Please check out contest 3A, Cash Game Killer, and 3B, Tournament Star.
This contest is dedicated to Kelly Kim, specifically to the his sweet arrangement, splitting his year between Whittier, California, and a gorgeous home in Las Vegas that he shares with a group of close friends, one of whom introduced himself to me as “the social director.”
For this contest, I want you to tell me a story, any story, as long as it has three elements: (a) you, (b) a buddy, and (c) gambling.
Ever since my research and interviews for Suicide King, I’ve been fascinated by gambling-buddy stories: Howard Lederer taking a $10,000 dare to eat a cheeseburger from his friend David Grey, Ted Forrest and Huck Seed running a marathon at the UNLV track on the 4th of July to settle separate bets with Mike Svobodny, etc. etc. etc.
You don’t have to be famous for the adventures to be fascinating. A poker pro from Florida, William Burdick, was seated at my table during a tournament at the Wynn Classic in March. At the time, I knew him only as “Seat 6″, but here’s what I wrote in my blog about the event:
“12:30 PM – Seat 6 is down 3,000 and clearly ready to tilt. He’s got a pile of toothpicks in fromt of him and unwraps one. ‘I misplayed a hand, I’m down 3,000, I don’t know if I just made a good laydown, and all I want is a cigarette to make it all better. But my buddy bet me $2,000 I couldn’t stop smoking. I gotta negotiate a buyout.’
“With that, he walks away from the table as the dealer pitches him his cards. He’s gone for just one hand. ‘My buddy says, ‘You’re weak, the bet’s off, get away from me.’
“Seat 8 mentions that he has two friends giving up smoking and they have an unusual bet: the loser has to take a job in a fast-food restaurant for a week.”
This isn’t really in the nature of a punch line but, though William introduced himself to me, I’m terrible at names and didn’t remember his. I remembered him – just not his name. I got moved to his table during the Main Event, we had a nice reunion, and he busted me.
That’s the contest; here are the rules:
1. Tell me a story, any story, as long as it has three elements: (a) you, (b) a buddy, and (c) gambling. There are no recommended minimum or maximum lengths.
2. Judging will be totally subjective and all my decisions are final.
3. E-mail entries to mrchaotic@aol.com. The subject line should read as follows: ENIGMA. Due to spam programs and the variety of things that can happen to an e-mail, I bear no responsibility for mislaid entries, regardless of the cause.
4. Entries must be received by Midnight, ET on Saturday, November 8. Late entries will be dealt with at my discretion. I will attempt to name winners on Monday, November 10 and post the winning entries and some of the others during the following week, most likely after I complete my coverage of the Final Table. If, because of the time it takes to judge all three contests and cover the final table, I may postpone my decision to sometime later in the week. If that happens, I will announce that by November 10.
5. All entries become the property of The Full Tilt Poker Blog and may appear, in whole or in part, edited or unedited. Bloggers, either reporting the contest or results or participating in the contest, may freely quote contest information and entries, provided they link to The Blog. Any bloggers wishing to enter will receive the same courtesy if their entries are quoted.
6. Prizes: The best response will receive entry into FTOPS X, Event #14, $200 + $16 NLHE-Turbo, scheduled for 21:00 ET, Tuesday, November 11. At my discretion, the prize may be substituted with tournament credit or a different FTOPS entry. (If I postpone announcement of the winner until after Event #14, I’ll obviously substitute the prize.) Entrants must be eligible to participate in FTOPS X to win.
7. All rules are subject to my whims and my decisions are final.
And remember, multiple entries are allowed, and you are allowed to enter all three contests – this one, Cash Game Killer, and Tournament Star.
Good luck!
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