Bond18 - Around the World in 90 Days: Day 24

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

Barcelona Spain, May 23: It is a manic day. Reflecting on last night I realize I was pretty wound up but a good night’s rest has mellowed me out. That has kind of become my process when things get close and then fall apart; tap the table politely and say good luck, walk home, and spend the next two hours rambling at Celina about “those fucking live motherfucking nit bastards.” Then a few hours later or the next morning everything is fine.

Still, today is weird because I have to seek out 5,300 Euros in less than 24 hours. When I fire up the computer I find a private message from Timex which reads: “He hasn’t replied yet [referring to someone who was supposed to help with a transfer], western union was all automated and I could never get to a real person after trying for a while, you still in the prelim?”

It is some absurd hour in Canada and I do not see him online. I also receive two PM’s from Tamas (in the previous report I spelled it “Thomas,” which is as I heard it, natural mistake with accents and all) the first which reads: “hi, im Tamas from the 1k side event. Im not going to the casino until saturday when i play the main event, so i dont know if its worth the bother, i cant believe none of your p5ser friends can help you. I came 3rd though :-)”

I find his wording pessimistic and a bad sign. The second message contains his MSN and I log in and begin a conversation.

He tells me that he’s had a horrible 24 hours and after the tournament he to some degree loaned the editor of “Bluff-Hungary” 5,000 Euros which was to be used for cash games and then to buy Tamas into the main event. According to his story they did an interview after the final table of the 1k and then there was some agreement about the money which Tamas gave him. Now the man Tamas gave the money to is no longer responding to his calls and he doesn’t have the man’s full name.

In the sane working world of normal people, I would say there is a 1% chance this story is true and 99% chance it’s a “polite” way to back out of doing something he feels uneasy about or just can’t be fucked with. In the poker world, the chance this story is true is at least 50%. Either way, the message is clear and he has no obligation to help me.

Tamas asks if there’s not someone else I can get the money from and during conversation with him I sent a message to Atimos on AIM and ask if he doesn’t have the spare 5k Euros. A few days ago he told me there was some, but not a huge chance, that he would have it. He immediately agrees and tells me it is no problem. I love Russians. It’s also worth nothing that StevoL and Dhubermex, when hearing about my plight, immediately offered to call Western Union or whoever else to try and make a transfer available to me, so major thanks to both of them.

Around the same time Zpaceman PM’s me about making arrangements for dinner. I ask Atimos to join and bring the rest of the online guys and we set a meeting at 8:30pm in front of the casino. Zpaceman also offers to rip out another 1,000 Euros to help out with the situation, but I tell him not to bother since there’s not much point. I do ask if he doesn’t mind changing 300 over just so I have some spare spending cash instead of being such a ridiculous broke ass.

I also call my bank in Australia where I have had a $15,000 AUD term deposit finish. I want to move $10,000 of it into a proper account so I can withdraw it at ATMs and not have to bother people about this shit anymore. I call the main banking center at 11am on what’s Friday in Australia and they tell me I need to call my branch. I call the branch and nobody answers. I call again 15 minutes later, nobody answers. I call again 30 minutes later, again, no answer. I then call the main banking center and ask them if there’s some reason the branch wouldn’t pick up at this hour on a Friday. They say there is no reason and they will call them for me directly. They receive no answer. I try once more half an hour again with the same result. Fuck, does nobody in that country actually show up for work?

Celina and I arrive about 10 minutes late to dinner with Zpaceman and I’m immediately in apology mode. We stand around waiting for another 20 to see if the rest of the guys show, and when they don’t we just assume they got caught up with online poker and flaked out. The four of us go to dinner and my assertion that “I’m not a big wine drinker, besides I think I have to play tomorrow” soon turns into three or four glasses of wine and a couple beers. I realize I’m starting to get drunk and begin downing water to prevent any level of hangover. Zpaceman is one of those guys who has lived in so many random places around the world his accent is messed to a point of being almost unrecognizable, though you can tell at its root he’s from England.

We walk back to the casino then further on back to the hotel. I immediately search online for Atimos or whoever else from his hotel, as well as calling Annette’s room to see if she knows where they are. Nobody is around, and when I try and call their hotel I end up calling the wrong one and getting a confused Spanish man who can barely understand what I’m trying to ask. I decide there’s only one place that group can be; the casino. I walk back and naturally find all of them in a Sit & Go, except for Atimos who is playing 20/40 PLO with the money he’s to lend me. Luckily he’s up over 7000 so everything is fine, and after he cashes out he hands me the necessary 5500. I quickly go to the booth and buy-in before anything else can get complicated. Table 6, seat 9. I hate seat 9, but at this point I’m just happy to be sitting anywhere.

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