Tao of Poker

Ground Hog's Day in LA

I'm still lurking in the shadows of the Los Angeles. I've become a cliche that I've been dreading... the drug-addled writer from New York City who can't leave the City of Angels caught up in a bumbling pack of strung out studio execs, c-list celebrities, and former German golden showers porn stars. I feel like Bill Murray's character in Ground Hog's Day. I wake up everyday in the same place and I desperately try to get out. I can't seem to muster up enough energy to leave this town. A jaywalking ticket and a dead cat isn't enough to pull me away from the sunshine and loose poker players.

Otis sent me an email earlier this week. Here's what it read:

Don't leave LA. There is a book there for you.

Love,
Otis

Otis has a point. There's a good book to be written about the LA, but not by me right now. I still have a Las Vegas book to finish and as soon as I get back to NYC, I'm gonna crank that fucker out. My previous novels have had cities as backdrops... Sweet Nothing: The Baby & Winky Novel (Seattle and New Orleans), Jack Tripper Stole My Dog and The Blind Kangaroo (New York City), and Gumbo (a collection of cities/locales including Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Atlanta, Tokyo, Seattle, New York City, and Jamaica.)

No worries Otis. I'm hoping to collect enough material for a book about LA in a couple of years. If and when this poker bubble bursts, I'm hoping to crash land in Hollyweird and find work as a literary whore. I already have ideas for the sequel to Snakes on a Plane.

Yeah, I'm still in LA. I simply extended my trip an extra week. The first eight days or so I had to cover the LAPC and didn't spend too much time exploring LA unless it was hanging out partying on Change100's couch, or driving on the congested freeways, or sitting in media row at the Commerce losing prop bets with BJ and Spaceman. With the exceptional weather (by East Coast standards) I decided to hang around and enjoy the outdoors. I headed to the beach a few times and drove around the different posh neighborhoods and ghettos of L.A.. I'm going to Showcase's play next week and I even took a piss next to a indie rocker at a West Hollywood cafe. I didn't know if I should punch him out or pee on his new motorcycle boots that his Asian-boy toy stylist picked out.

I'm also staying here during the Oscars. Never done that before and I hoping to see what the buzz is all about. Change100, Showcase, and I are trying to come up with a gameplan on how we can effectively crash some bigtime Oscar parties. It will involve a tuxedo rental, some rope, a 2x4 and a pocketknife...

I've been offered a huge prop bet. I don't think I can pass it up. I'll discuss the details next week.

For now, I'm off to a casino to play some poker. I started out March hot and closed out February with the strongest poker I've played in months. The junk numbing bad beats have subsided. The donkolicious plays from yours truly have evaporated into the smog-driven sunsets. Full of confidence, I'm ready to play for hours on end.

Stay tuned for my Oscar prop bet post. I'll write it later tonight. In the meantime, stop by the Tao of Pauly for random LA food pictures.