Jan
22
by Katrina Lim
Dinner, poker and friends made for a great weekend at the Bellagio.
I’m back in Orange after spending a whirlwind weekend in Vega$ at Bellagio with BFF and her family. We had so much fun!! Finally took BFF to Naked Fish and we loved the soft shell crab salad and house special sushi rolls! We also stopped at the liquor store to pick up some “supplies” for the birthday weekend as happy hour was everyday before dinner at the Bellagio. Had lunch at Todd English’s Olives and ventured back to Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill where I shared a 22 ounce rib eye with Mr. Tim fer dinner. Both of us were so full and we still had enough meat for another full meal! Had a shot o’ Patron with Mr. Tim & Mr. Tyler. Happy Birthday Tyler!!! Then on Sunday we enjoyed dinner at Rumjungle and saw Lion King at Mandalay Bay. A quick fun weekend. And I was able to squeeze in some poker too! Got some $1/$2 and $2/$5 action at Bellagio and Ballys.
Also want to give a special thanks to Steve and Mel for meeting me and playing with me at Ballys and Bellagio and treating me to breakfast Friday morning. Good to see both of you again and I had lotsa fun playing with you! Hope to see you two soon!
BFF and I won some $$$ betting on the Jets too. We watched both football games and even though football isn’t as fun fer me as some Kobe, it sure was fun to watch when yur team wins ya some ca$h too! I still gotta ca$h out my Bellagio ticket!
The weather here in CA is awesome! Storms and more storms! There can never be too much rain in sunny CA. We need it! Cleans up the air and makes the flowers grow. I am really enjoying this current barrage of rain.
Now fer the fun part…bro helped me set up a new bomb ass entertainment center! I now have a 50” plasma to play all my 360 and PS3 games on! I am catching up on all my blu-rays in style. And…I am enjoying all this video game carnage in 5.1 digital surround sound too!!! It’s like being in the video game itself!! Watching Kobe is like having a courtside seat now!! Life is good.
All my pals are back from Bahamas but I haven’t had a chance to catch up. Just been chillin’ here and getting ready fer the Mexican Riviera cruise. Gonna get back to work tomorrow at Hawaiian Gardens fer the rest of the week and grind again. The diet is still going well. I was so good in Vega$ too…eating healthy. Eating lotsa salmon and steamed broccoli and asparagus at HG fer lunch.
Prayers for Haiti and help if you can.
Jan
7
by Katrina Lim
Happy New Year!! It’s been a while and I’ve been running all over Vega$ and CA for the holidays. And while my pals are in the Bahamas now for PCA enjoying themselves without me, my new year has started on a good note! I’ve had 3 winning sessions thus far. Playing some live $1/$2 and $2/$5 and have been able to bank a few grand in a few days. Not too shabby at all. I feel really good about 2010. I really believe this is going to be a great year for me!! Less bad beats = more $$$ = more ballin’. About time.
I’ve already looked and booked my LA Poker Classic Schedule too. February is going to be tourney central at the Commerce. Can’t wait! I know qualifiers are also gonna start soon for the EPT and I will be aiming to make it to San Remo and Monte Carlo in the Spring.
As for the new year, I ended up staying in the condo to watch the fireworks on tv, but I could hear them outside loud and clear. It was a bit disappointing. Would’ve been better if every hotel on the Strip participated. The family had a fun time in Vega$. Dad and I played together, Mom shopped like crazy, and sis and Boogs roamed around but enjoyed playing video games too. Played a lot of L4D & L4D2. I really need to get back on the COD: Modern Warfare 2 track. I also wanna get started on Borderlands. So many games, too little time.
The diet is off to a good start and I promised BFF I would really try hard. She thinks I can drop the weight quickly as long as I stick to “her diet plan”. This is pretty much no carbs for 4 weeks and eating smart. I’ve loaded up on raw veggies, peanut butter, and cheese. And drinking a lot more water too. Ugh. Eating a lot of salads too! I really like Panera so when I’m craving fer a big ass burrito, I’ll go to Panera instead and get the ½ soup, ½ salad. Yummy! Ordering salads at the casino too. Ugh. Rabbit food is jank!
BFF will be back in Vega$ again next weekend and we’re gonna hit the restaurants again and watch Lion King. Two weeks ago we went to Julian Serrano and Mesa Grill and my fave, Mon Ami Gabi. We also had dinner at Nora’s in Summerlin. It’s our favorite place and the sommelier loves us now! Good food and great wine! Can’t ask fer more than that! We also went to QUA spa at Caesar’s for some relaxation. Got a much needed massage. Always a great time with BFF! I love you, BFF! Then the following week I’ll be cruising along the Mexican Riviera. I’ve never been on a cruise before so I’m excited but a bit nervous too. 7 days on a boat? Hmm, don’t know if I’ll make it. We hit Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Hope to take a land excursion. Haven’t decided which one yet. Dad says I will be fine cuz they have a casino onboard. Hmm, ok.
So my calendar is pretty much booked til the end of February. The family will be back in Vega$ the last week of March again as I got a 4 day comp at Palazzo. More fun awaits! In the meantime, just grinding as usual. 2010 is good thus far. Only 358 days left so I betta enjoy it. Happy New Year to all and may this year bring better health, more happiness, less bad beats, and more food! Now go win!
Dec
14
by Katrina Lim
Celebrated family birthdays all weekend. Started with Mama’s on Friday, G-Dog’s on Saturday, and Jensen’s today! Eating out all weekend makes tummies expand…I am Balloon Girl now. Although we had a nice birthday dinner last night for Jensen at Romeo Cucina in Laguna Beach, today there is a party for him at his school and another family dinner tonight to celebrate all 3 birthdays…again. Mama insists on having her Peking duck tonight and at $12 per quack, the deal is irresistible.
I’m supposed to head to Vega$ tomorrow morning but I just found out Anna is sick and I sure don’t wanna get the flu! Right before Christmas too! Ugh…so, I may just wait it out til New Year’s now. Today the Bellagio 5 Diamond Main Event starts and good luck to all my pals playing!!! Win something. Also, at her insistence, hafta give a shout out to my pal, Marilou Morelli, fer killing Aces full of Kings at HG to win the jackpot! Her quad Kings earned her an extra $20k…a nice surprise. But wow, the full house loser won an extra $60k+ just fer losing. Must be nice. Hmm, and I am still trying to win just $7.00 and that’s hard enough. Adding her $20k jackpot surprise to her $78k 3rd place WSOP Ladies finish this year, Marilou told me she’s made more than $100k in 2009 with her poker hobby. Hmm, sure beats needlepoint bwahahaha!!
Marilou offered to take me to dinner since she has lotsa extra disposable ca$h now cuz she didn’t expect her hobby to be so profitable in the last 6 months. I told her just for saying that, I predict Marilou will go on a really hot streak in 2010 and will start ca$hing a lot more than $100k…just so she can treat me to more meals next year. I win too! Marilou is a great player and 2010 will be her breakthrough year! $100k is just a tiny taste of how much she’s gonna win next year. I told her to get ready and be prepared for the upcoming publicity that comes with winning a lot. I’m sure she will handle it all very well. Most importantly, I’m gonna make sure fer each time she ca$hes, she’s gotta take me to lunch lol. Hmm, sounds good. Thanks, pal!
As fer me, I played in a fun home game satellite Saturday night for the LA Poker Classic. Seven players and I only knew 2 of them. Ended up winning it (Good job, me!) and now I have an entry to one of the $1065 buy-in events in February. Thanks to John and Margie for graciously hosting us. Looking forward to winning lotsa ca$h in February for me and my new team.
Bahamas is still a distant dream. Still playing qualifiers and still getting bad beat after bad beat. Amazing. Making good decisions pre-flop but hands just won’t hold. Still have a coupla weeks left to try. For some, it is more exciting to win a seat before the week of the tourney. For me, I always like to know what I’m doing months in advance so this sucks. Boo.
For those of you also reading Phil’s blog, he is absolutely right. Playing video games absolutely relates and can impact one’s poker game. I’ve been killing zombies so much that I notice my game is more aggressive. I find myself coming over-the-top more often now…especially with my favorite hand, Kobe (2-4)! Bwahahaha!!
I am considered to be a very tight player, so maybe this is good cuz I’m really mixing it up more often now. Yeah, it’s good killing zombies. Yeah, it feels good winning with 2-4. So, I’m gonna keep playing more M rated games cuz although these games can be so twistedly violent and skewed, they undoubtedly give a great adrenaline rush. The rush being a nonstop race to survive your surroundings…just like tournament poker. Wonderful! Bwahahahaha!! Anyway, gonna meet up with my sister soon to help her with Jensen’s birthday party at school. His entire class gets kool birthday cupcakes from Mrs. Beasley’s. Sis ordered gourmet Mocha, Chocolate, and Red Velvet. What happened to the days when yur only choice was Vanilla or nothing? Kids today…so spoiled. I remember when I was in 3rd grade and I wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid so bad fer Christmas and mama could only afford a knockoff Kid…a Lettuce Kid?! Bwahahaha!! But I loved my Lettuce Kid all the same. This Christmas, I really think Jensen will not only get his much anticipated 360, but also a PS3…and he’s only 10 today. Last night alone for his birthday, G-Dog gave him 5 video games! One being Left 4 Dead 2 (he doesn’t even have a 360…yet.) and G-Dog knows he doesn’t have his 360, yet. I guess we are all proud of the kid fer getting straight As this semester. But then again, yur Asian, lil guy! Yur expec ted to get straight As!!! Bwahahaha!! Damn nerd! But he’s a good kid…good ole Boogs!
So Happy Monday y’all! Be good to yurself and each other. Win big and share the wealth this holiday season. It will come back to you 100 fold!
Dec
2
by Katrina Lim
Black Friday is total madness.
Yes, it took 4 days to recover from my Thanksgiving foodfest. There was so much food this weekend and the leftovers tasted better! I am blessed.
Black Friday was fun. Went to observe the mayhem and it was kool to see all the fools lining up to buy $3 slow cookers, toasters, coffeemakers, etc. Thanks to all for making my Target stock rise by waking up at 4am and standing in neverending lines. Hope you got what you waited for. I ended up going shopping later that evening and picked up some kool games: Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5, Bioshock, Deadrising, and the Sega Genesis Collection. I love all the survival horror games and I’ve discovered this is the best way to get off tilt. No more broken laptops and wireless mice problems fer me. Just lots of shooting and zombie killing now. Left For Dead 2 is my current favorite right now and it’s so much fun playing online with family and friends. Before I know it, hours have passed and I still can’t put my controller down.
On Sunday I played another PCA qualifier and janked out in 27th place. My AK c vs. QJ off got outflopped. So frustrating. Gonna try it again this Sunday and maybe 3rd time’s a charm?! We’ll see… but the Bahamas beach is looking cold. Just need hands to hold. Please, Lady Luck, let the home team win!
The gang’s gonna be in Vega$ on Thursday for the 5 Diamond at Bellagio but I’m debating about going out there now as I’ve come down with a cold and I’m feeling miserable. Would like to see and hang out with everybody, though. But fer some reason, I am content in SoCal right now just blasting away at zombies. I also need to make some new jewelry for an upcoming holiday boutique martini party at BFF’s place. Yes, I not only enjoy killing zombies but also enjoy stringing beautiful Swarovski crystals into masterpiece necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Go figure.
Spoke to lil sis a coupla nights ago and she’s gonna be filming a doc for the UIGEA while she’s in Vega$ these next 2 weeks. Will be kool to see her on film with all the other pros. I should jet over to Vega$ just to spend some time with her. Haven’t seen her fer a coupla months and we’re all supposed to see New Moon and go to Naked Fish and Tea Station too. Hmm, will decide later this week…
I think fer now in my sick state, I’m just gonna rest easy and catch up on my movies. I have a stack of dvds I borrowed from bro months ago…time to sip the chamomile and watch em all.