A few months ago, I wrote a column about the fact that as tournament
players, our lives seem to revolve around the World Series of Poker. As
soon as the "big one" ends, those of us who usually play the event start
thinking about and anticipating the following year's event. I went on to
say that for me, this year would be different. I would be anticipating a
blessed event instead of the World Series. My daughter, at the time I
wrote that column, had just found out that she would be having twin
girls.
Many people made it a point to congratulate me and express their
agreement that an event such as having twin girls far surpassed all of
the anticipation of a plain ol' World Series of Poker. And most everyone
asked me to let him know when the blessed event occurred.
Well, on Oct. 3 at 3:29 a.m., Sara Giovanna Bredice arrived in the world,
and was followed very shortly by her sister, Grace Elena Bredice, at 3:31
a.m. My daughter, Sunny, and both little girls are doing fine, and I am
very thankful for such a miracle. I also want to thank everyone in the
poker community for the genuine concern and best wishes that were
extended to me.
Before I talk about something else, and while we still are on the subject
of births, one of the nicest and most popular guys in the poker world,
who just happens to be one of the top Omaha split players in the world,
recently experienced his own miracle. Mark and Mary Gregorich became
proud parents of a little girl named Mary Olivia on Aug. 22. Please accept
my somewhat belated but sincere congratulations, Mark and Mary.
Now, it's not going to be easy to make the jump from talking about little
babies to talking about poker, but I've been so high the last few days
that nothing is beyond my capabilities. Maybe I won't entirely leave the
subject of family. Maybe I'll just try to point out how poker and family
sometimes can go together.
About seven or eight years ago, my wife, who had been pleading with
me for years, finally convinced me to "try" a poker cruise. The upcoming
Mexican Riviera cruise will be our 12th cruise in eight years. I'm still not
100 percent convinced that I like them, but I definitely am leaning in that
direction. Oh, who am I kidding? Card Player poker cruises are the
absolute nuts!
When you go cruising, there is one thing that you do learn quickly:
Almost all poker players have family -- really! This is a thought that
never may occur to us if we know our fellow poker players only from the
poker tables. You see lots of players whom you may have known for
years, but now you see them in a different light. You meet their spouses
and sometimes their children. You'll even find out that poker players
have mothers and fathers. Yes, even Howard "Tahoe" Andrew has a
mother, who is a regular "cruiser."
You'll share many dinners, buffets, shows, and all of the other fun things
that go on at sea with poker players and their families. You may go on
an excursion while in port with other couples. You may even end up at
Señor Frogs in Mazatlan. There, you will find almost every poker player
on the cruise with his or her mate. Señor Frogs is where you also will
see all of us from Card Player who happen to be on the cruise – and you
definitely will see all of us in a completely different light.
I have mentioned before in other columns that when playing poker at
sea, the atmosphere is much different than normal. Everyone has fun,
and everyone is on his best behavior. After all, who wants to act like a
jerk in front of part or all of his family? You will find yourself talking to
and getting to know players and their families from all parts of the
country. It is one of the few ways to mix family and poker.
You might want a cruise to be the family vacation, because you can bring
your kids and/or maybe your parents. I can guarantee that you will have
fun, and you'll get to know lots of the players and their families. It also
will give whomever you bring a chance to meet and get acquainted with
the people with whom you spend a good deal of your life. When you
step off the ship at the end of the cruise, I'll bet that you'll say things
such as, "You know, Vince, Mike, and Barry really have nice families. And
they aren't such bad guys, either – once you get to know them."
Let me try to wrap up this column by again thanking everybody for your
kind thoughts about "my" new little girls. I apologize, once again, for not
writing more about poker. I know that most people read Card Player to
learn about some aspect of poker, and not about a columnist's family.
But if you will forgive me this one time for diverting, on this very special
occasion, I promise not to get off track again for a long, long time.
It's just that occasionally something happens in our lives that makes us
want to go to the highest mountain and shout out how we feel. My
problem is that my wife won't let me climb any mountains, because she
says that I'm too old and might hurt myself. So, in lieu of doing that, let
me just stand up and shout, "I'm the happiest, proudest, luckiest grandpa
in the world!"
For what it's worth ...
players, our lives seem to revolve around the World Series of Poker. As
soon as the "big one" ends, those of us who usually play the event start
thinking about and anticipating the following year's event. I went on to
say that for me, this year would be different. I would be anticipating a
blessed event instead of the World Series. My daughter, at the time I
wrote that column, had just found out that she would be having twin
girls.
Many people made it a point to congratulate me and express their
agreement that an event such as having twin girls far surpassed all of
the anticipation of a plain ol' World Series of Poker. And most everyone
asked me to let him know when the blessed event occurred.
Well, on Oct. 3 at 3:29 a.m., Sara Giovanna Bredice arrived in the world,
and was followed very shortly by her sister, Grace Elena Bredice, at 3:31
a.m. My daughter, Sunny, and both little girls are doing fine, and I am
very thankful for such a miracle. I also want to thank everyone in the
poker community for the genuine concern and best wishes that were
extended to me.
Before I talk about something else, and while we still are on the subject
of births, one of the nicest and most popular guys in the poker world,
who just happens to be one of the top Omaha split players in the world,
recently experienced his own miracle. Mark and Mary Gregorich became
proud parents of a little girl named Mary Olivia on Aug. 22. Please accept
my somewhat belated but sincere congratulations, Mark and Mary.
Now, it's not going to be easy to make the jump from talking about little
babies to talking about poker, but I've been so high the last few days
that nothing is beyond my capabilities. Maybe I won't entirely leave the
subject of family. Maybe I'll just try to point out how poker and family
sometimes can go together.
About seven or eight years ago, my wife, who had been pleading with
me for years, finally convinced me to "try" a poker cruise. The upcoming
Mexican Riviera cruise will be our 12th cruise in eight years. I'm still not
100 percent convinced that I like them, but I definitely am leaning in that
direction. Oh, who am I kidding? Card Player poker cruises are the
absolute nuts!
When you go cruising, there is one thing that you do learn quickly:
Almost all poker players have family -- really! This is a thought that
never may occur to us if we know our fellow poker players only from the
poker tables. You see lots of players whom you may have known for
years, but now you see them in a different light. You meet their spouses
and sometimes their children. You'll even find out that poker players
have mothers and fathers. Yes, even Howard "Tahoe" Andrew has a
mother, who is a regular "cruiser."
You'll share many dinners, buffets, shows, and all of the other fun things
that go on at sea with poker players and their families. You may go on
an excursion while in port with other couples. You may even end up at
Señor Frogs in Mazatlan. There, you will find almost every poker player
on the cruise with his or her mate. Señor Frogs is where you also will
see all of us from Card Player who happen to be on the cruise – and you
definitely will see all of us in a completely different light.
I have mentioned before in other columns that when playing poker at
sea, the atmosphere is much different than normal. Everyone has fun,
and everyone is on his best behavior. After all, who wants to act like a
jerk in front of part or all of his family? You will find yourself talking to
and getting to know players and their families from all parts of the
country. It is one of the few ways to mix family and poker.
You might want a cruise to be the family vacation, because you can bring
your kids and/or maybe your parents. I can guarantee that you will have
fun, and you'll get to know lots of the players and their families. It also
will give whomever you bring a chance to meet and get acquainted with
the people with whom you spend a good deal of your life. When you
step off the ship at the end of the cruise, I'll bet that you'll say things
such as, "You know, Vince, Mike, and Barry really have nice families. And
they aren't such bad guys, either – once you get to know them."
Let me try to wrap up this column by again thanking everybody for your
kind thoughts about "my" new little girls. I apologize, once again, for not
writing more about poker. I know that most people read Card Player to
learn about some aspect of poker, and not about a columnist's family.
But if you will forgive me this one time for diverting, on this very special
occasion, I promise not to get off track again for a long, long time.
It's just that occasionally something happens in our lives that makes us
want to go to the highest mountain and shout out how we feel. My
problem is that my wife won't let me climb any mountains, because she
says that I'm too old and might hurt myself. So, in lieu of doing that, let
me just stand up and shout, "I'm the happiest, proudest, luckiest grandpa
in the world!"
For what it's worth ...
Small Pair
By Vince Burgio
By Vince Burgio
