8.7.09

I made a little bit of money in Biloxi. The weather was wonderful. It was sunny, and the resort pool was loaded with lovely ladies. They were all feverishly tanning themselves, trying to reach that perfect crispness. Unfortunately, this is not reason enough to remain in this town.

I was unable to secure what I consider to be affordable lodging. The Beau Rivage had no rooms for the weekend, and the hotels in the area were all charging over a hundred bucks a night. I could understand paying a hundred plus a night at the Beau. The amenities are outstanding. I'm not paying that much at the Motel 6 down the street, especially when I can hop in the car and drive to Tunica, Ms.

Tunica is a rural area, in north western Ms. It sits right on the Mississippi River, and is about 35 miles south of Memphis, Tn. I decided it looked like it was about 5 hours directly north of Biloxi. No problem. Decision made.

The drive took me up route 49, north through Hattiesburg and Jackson, and then onto interstate 55, north towards Memphis. Route 49 was a four lane road, but it was not an interstate. It had some stoplights, and it also had other roads coming in from the sides. The speed limit varied, but it was mostly 65 mph. I'm not sure if you've driven on a road such as this, but 65 is a bit speedy noting how close some people like to cut it when they enter a road from one of its' tributaries. It was dangerous driving.

As I approached Hattiesburg I began to notice that I did not see a single white person. I swear this is true. I stopped for gas. There are no white people anywhere. This may be the blackest city on earth, well, not counting the cities in Africa, of course.

I passed by Southern Miss University. It looked like a very large high school. It looked very institutional. It appeared cold and it looked like it would not be a fun place to study. You realize, I hope, that this opinion was formed in the 30 seconds it took to roll past the place. So, take it with a grain of salt.

I also noted the large amount of mom and pop garages, fruit and vegetable stands, antiques stands, and even a large shoe store. The shoe store was named, get this, I swear I can't make this stuff up, it was named "The Watermelon Patch". There were about twenty cars outside of this store called the Watermelon Patch which was located in rural, black, central Mississippi.

With a store called the Watermelon Patch, could it be strange to expect to see a store that sells Rebel Flags right next door? You know, this store sells those flags affectionately referred to as the "Stars and Bars". I didn't see any protesters. I guess they have figured out how to all just get along.

I arrived in Tunica six and a half hours after my start. The Horseshoe casino is where I play most of my poker while in this town. They have had a poker room since before the big boom of 2003. I used to come here back when I played limit poker. The staff is great, the rooms are cheap, the food is free, the drinks are free, and it's just a great place to be a poker player. I actually feel wanted when I visit The Horseshoe.

I sat down to play, and the game was as I expected. There was a mixture of players, but the play was dominated by a couple of guys, with huge chip stacks and stacks of hundred dollar bills, raising constantly, and basically controlling the pace of play. These clowns would be my targets.

I double up early on when I flop a set of fours. I checked to the raiser on the flop, and he bet, of course. I raised all-in because of the flush draw on the board. I wasn't worried about him having a flush draw. I wanted him to think I was potentially on the flush draw and making a move at this pot. he bought it and called me with K8. He had a par of kings with an 8 kicker. Bad play friend, but thank you none the less.

Later, I was able to raise when I had a flush draw, and another guy laid down his hand. There was less pre-flop raising now. The game was slowing down. To Prevail Takes Apathy has changed another game. I've made it my own. This is really cool. It's almost like I can break their will by being apathetic. I really don't care if they want to run the game. I'll wait, patiently, and I'll snap them off, one by one.

I found a room, and it has wifi. It's amazing to me how many places do not have it. I'm going to eat my free continental breakfast.