"Mymymy Poker Face, My PoPoker Face"

"Who is this Lady Gaga I've been hearing so much about?" ~Ben "Superdome" Peters

"First prize at the World Series of Poker is a million bucks. Does it have my name on it? I don't know. But I'm gonna find out." ~Mike McDermott, Rounders
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The $1,500 Stud tournament last year paid exactly $135,753 for first place. I've been secretly plotting what I'll do if I win that amount. Four C-class Mercedes, 675 Nintendo Wii's, and 271,506 McDonald's apple pies are all in the running.

After taxes, it's not really quit-your-job-and-turn-poker-pro money. But damn it, it's close. My workload lately has just been bananas, so I would have to think looooong and hard about walking away if I made a big score. Of course, such speculation is the definition of counting a chicken before it hatches. In actuality, I don't really think so highly of my stud game to expect to take down a major tournament against the pros on my very first try.

But I can dream.

At work, however, I have to keep up appearances and pretend that I have some interest in the tasks that I'm performing. In reality, I'm just going through the motions for a few more days until I hit the desert. My heart is in Vegas. Honestly, that's probably where the money would go if I did go deep in Event #16. The Wife and I are seriously considering buying a house out there. The prices of homes are ridiculously low in that area right now, especially compared to West Los Angeles, where we live. Buying property out there would definitely be on the table if I won. It can't really get much cheaper than it is now.

So at my job lately, it's all I can do to appear like I give a crap. It's my poker facade. I'm sure once I've gone broke and return to town with my tail between my legs, things will go back to normal. Yes, soon enough I'll be able to continue with the "f**king grind" that is my life. For now, though, the dream is alive.