I’m lucky enough to be working downtown these days, so today at lunch I took a walk down to the casino to see if I could see what all the fuss was about.  This was the first time that I’ve been down there that there WASN’T a line to get in so I was thrilled to be able to take a stroll through.

I have to say, I’m THRILLED to have this sort of attraction in Cleveland.  I love this town and to see this kind of thing tells me that hopefully we’re on the right track in terms of re-building our downtown area.  I had no intention of playing on my lunch hour, so I was really able to just kind of mosey through and take in the sights and sounds of the Horseshoe.

Observations:

• This is REAL.  This may sound kind of silly, but it struck me that this is the real deal.  With the Nautica Charity Poker tent that we’ve been subjected to for the last couple of years it was nice to see pros doing what they do.  This is truly something that Cleveland can be proud of.
• The limits were pretty high.  I didn’t walk the entire casino floor, but the cheapest craps table I saw was $50.  Blackjack was $15 and I saw a few $10 three card poker tables.  That said, the tables were relatively fully especially for a Tuesday afternoon.
• There were a whole SLEW of people walking around carrying oxygen.  This probably isn’t specific to Cleveland (especially on a Tuesday afternoon) but it was prevalent enough that I noticed.
• Games.  There was a great variety of table games and a TON of slots.  I’m not a big slot player but there seemed to be quite a good selection and enough room between machines so folks aren’t going to be standing and sitting on top of one another.
• Signage wasn’t great.  I had a hard time finding the poker room (which is on the third floor).  The signage has arrows pointing to different areas of the casino, but especially for the poker room it wasn’t clear that I needed to go UP a floor.  This may have been just me.
• Speaking of poker… THIS is poker.  From a quick 2 or 3 minutes on the rail, I could immediately tell that the caliber of poker player was far and above that which was found at Nautica.
• High Limit Room – this was very nice.  Not a ton of action going on when I was in there, but a nice quiet area for big time players.
• Parking – I wasn’t parking near the casino, but I noticed quite a few garages marked as “full” which I suppose is a good thing and shows that folks are here to play.  I also noticed that the prices on those garages is quite a bit higher than it was in days past.

I’ll have to write up another post once I actually make a bet or two, but my overall impression was that I’m jazzed to have the casino here in Cleveland.  I’m #Cleveland through and through and anything that can put the “Mistake On The Lake” back on the map in a GOOD way (screw you LeBron) then I’m all for it.

In closing, I have to say that Cleveland has done an outstanding job building around the Horseshoe.  Restaurants, billboards, radio and print advertising have all been touting the fact that the casino was coming (and is now here).  Whether you agreed with having a casino here in Cleveland or not it’s here and here to stay.  Horseshoe has taken a Cleveland landmark (the Higbee Building of A Christmas Story fame) and reshaped it into a true attraction.  One that quite frankly Cleveland really needed.

Have you visited the Horseshoe Casino yet?  What did you think?

This is Bond on steroids… plain and simple.  The best way I can describe it is to say that Bond has been given the “Jason Bourne” treatment.  There’s a scene early in the movie where Bond engages in some high flying parkour on a chase scene that’s absolutely amazing.  You NEED to see this flick even if it’s just for this scene.  With that being said, you REALLY need to suspend disbelief but it’s really breathtaking.

I’m a big poker player so I’ve had many people tell me that I need to see this flick strictly for the multiple poker scenes in here.  Honestly I’m not a real big fan of poker in the movies cause more often than not they get it wrong.  While the poker in here “looks” right it doesn’t quite “feel” right.  Not sure what it was that bugged me, but I can say that I wasn’t a big fan of seeing a full house, lose to a bigger full house, lose to a straight flush.  Can that happen?  Sure… but the odds are about a billion to one.

My other bitch about this one was that it was LONG.  It really did seem to go on forever.  Not that I was bored with it by any stretch, but I found myself wondering when it was going to be done.  Perhaps it was because the story itself (outside of poker) is a little convoluted.

All of the bad stuff behind… if you’re a Bond fan you definitely need to see this one.  Daniel Craig gives a great performance and Eva Green makes a damn fine “Bond Girl”.  I can’t say that this is near the top of my Bond list from an overall perspective, but if we’re taking pure action it’s surely at the top.

RANDOM NOTE: Every time I type “Bond” during this post it came out “Bong”.  That’s funny.

In retrospect, it actually shocks me that we were able to get away with this.  Not only were we obviously drinking on our *cough cough* dry campus, but we were obviously gambling as well.

People often point to Chris Moneymaker or the movie Rounders as the start of the poker boom… I like to think it was the fine folks at 406!

• Tonight’s poker night for the Cleveland Poker League – that makes me happy.  I hope I play better than I did last game but even if I don’t it’ll still be a good night.
• Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  These things are here to stay people.  I tried for a long time to stay “off the grid”.  At this point I’m so on the grid that I’ve got grid marks on my ass.  Standard case of “it is what it is”.  Get used to it.
• Amanda’s going to be gone pretty much all day on Saturday so I’ve got Daddy Duty again!!!  I’m guessing it’s won’t be nearly as interesting as last weekend but you never can tell.
• I hope I get to a point in my career one day where I can simply cancel a meeting if I’m late for it.  That would be cool.
• I’ve been thinking for years about getting a tattoo – I’ve always said that when the Indians win the World Series I’d get Chief Wahoo.  Doesn’t look like that’s going to be happening any time soon cause, “they’re shitty again”.  That said I think I’ve come up with a design that just might change my mind.
• SPAM is funny.  Just about every morning I’ve got between 20 and 100 spam comments on this blog.  When will they learn?

Amanda was in Denver for a wedding and was away from me and the boys for the first time since they’ve been born (for those of you keeping track that’s over 3 years!)  When I left work on Friday afternoon I really didn’t know what I had in store for me.  Being Super Dad (in my own head) I KNEW that everything was going to be just fine.

Friday Night
Actually this went pretty well.  My folks spent the day with the boys and there were PERFECT for them.  Actually… they were too perfect.   By the time I got home it was just a matter of finishing up dinner and doing bedtime.  Piece of cake.  Actually it was a beautiful evening so we took the dog for a long walk around the golf course. 

After they were in bed I jumped on Full Tilt Poker for some online action – but that’s another story for another blog.  I also got to watch a GREAT hockey game where my Pittsburgh Penguins took down Lord Stanley’s cup… amazing.  I doubt very seriously that the Pirates are going to keep the trend going but right now Pittsburgh is looking like title town!

Super Dad 1 – Kids 0.

Saturday Morning
No grand parent help… Super Dad is on his own.  Had a kick ass breakfast (eggs, bacon, fruit, oatmeal) and we were off and running.  I recently got a crack in my windshield so we had to be home between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM for that dude to show up.  They called to confirm at around 10:30 and of course I missed it due to a diaper change.  When I called back 3 minutes later he informed me that the technician had been sent to another job and he would be at my house after noon.  Awesome.  So, I packed up the boys and off we went to the bank, UPS, etc.  Drive through… a dad’s best friend.

Twitter/Facebook Update
Day #2 of the “dad and boys alone” experience off to a good start. #fb
8:49 AM Jun 13th from TwitterBerry

After our errands we came home and played for a while before it was time for lunch.  My boys can both eat… BIG TIME.  So meal time can be a pretty drawn out process.  Before I knew it nap time was upon us.

Super Dad 2 – Kids 0.

Saturday Afternoon / Evening
At this point I was cruising right along not really understanding why mom ever had a problem with these guys… they were AWESOME.  We’d been playing, laughing, eating and generally having a great time.  The other shoe just had to drop soon right?  Hell yeah it dropped… big time.  Here are my next four updates (note the times):

Twitter/Facebook Update
On the way to get fitted for tuxedos with the boys. #fb
4:56 PM Jun 13th from TwitterBerry

Well that didn’t work out. #fb
6:54 PM Jun 13th from TwitterBerry

On the way home. Almost bedtime for the boys. Then its time for dad to relax. Not sure how mom does this. #fb
8:51 PM Jun 13th from TwitterBerry

Boys in bed… 2 days down, 2 to go. It’s Miller time!
9:43 PM Jun 13th from TweetDeck

What happened you ask? Well… let me tell you.  As I stated before my brother is getting married in July and G and I are in the wedding.  So, we needed to get measured for our tuxedos.  I’d told him on Friday night that we were going to get measured so he’d know what to expect.  He seemed generally excited to “stand like a statue” and get measured.  So we rolled up to Beachwood Place and tried to find the Men’s Warehouse (which if you’ve never been there is pretty fucking difficult to find – I spent 20 minutes walking around the mall and that was AFTER I looked at the map).  Anyhow, we get in there and are helped by a 18-20 year old dude that has no idea what he’s about to get himself into.  G does pretty well getting measured (while C watched on from his stroller) but then proceeded to unroll about half the ties in the joint.  So, now I’m not only trying to make sure that G is measured properly, but I’m making sure that C isn’t tearing shit apart and I’m trailing behind G re-rolling the ties on the table.  Houston – we may have a problem.

Once the dude got all of G’s measurements it was off to the dressing room.  He proceeded to give us a jacket that I could have fit into.  I looked at him and told him he’d have to go a LOT smaller if we were going to fit the G-man at all.  I told him to give the smallest shirt, jacket, pants and shoes they had.  At this point G was starting to get a bit testy with me.  A couple of jackets and shirts later he was really starting to get pissed and on the third pair of pants he went completely ballistic. (Not sure what part of “give me the smallest” the clerk didn’t understand).  Tears, screaming, and a general 3 year old meltdown.  (For those of you that have never been fitted for a tux, the stores are generally pretty small.  If you think a screaming 3 year old is loud outside, try listening to them in a changing room).

Super Dad 2 – Kids 1.

So we make our way out of the dressing room and it’s time for dad to get measured.  G continues to run around the store so I decided to take action.  I put him on a chair and offer him a bribe if he sits still.  It appears to be working until as I’m getting measured he says, “Daddy I need to go peeps”.  Fuck.  I stop what I’m doing and walk over to him and then I see it… he’s wet.  Dammit.  I can’t really blame him cause he’s 3 and hasn’t had an accident all weekend so Super Dad springs into action.  I swoop him up and tell the clerk that I need to leave ASAP and I’ll be back to take care of my fitting.  I’m obviously trying to get out of the store as quickly as possible but this guys takes THIS time to sell me on the Men’s Warehouse Perfect Fit Rewards program – really?  Do I have “jackass” stamped across my forehead?  Needless to say I declined his sales offer and managed to get out the door without them knowing that my son had just pissed all over their carpet.

Super Dad 2 – Kids 2.

I’m making my way back to the car (which of course has all the way across the mall cause I couldn’t find Men’s Warehouse) carrying G, pushing C and it’s looking like it’s going to rain.  I was carrying G cause I didn’t want him to have to walk around the mall with wet sweat pants but this unfortunately meant that my t-shirt was now soaked as well.  We make our way to the car and it’s just starting to drizzle.

• Right front pocket – no keys.  Hmm… that’s strange, I ALWAYS keep my keys here...
• Left front pocket – no keys.  Maybe I put them here…
• Right rear pocket – no keys.  This isn’t looking good.
• Left rear pocket – no keys.  Oh boy… here come the rain.
• Right cargo pocket – no keys.  Panic setting in, maybe I put them here…
• You get the idea.

I forgot to mention that during the screaming and pissing I’d handed my keys to C to keep him quiet.  He neglected to tell me that he’d placed them on the floor on the way out of the store.

Super Dad 2 – Kids 3.

Once we finally got back to the car I changed G into his spare shorts and underwear and it was off to the grandparents for dinner.  We were there about 20 minutes before I noticed the G-man just kind of “hanging out” on the patio with a weird look on his face.  Yep… accident #2.  At this point I think he’s doing it just to piss me off.  Well, I’d already burned through my backup pants/underwear combo so he was relegated to a diaper for the remainder of the evening.

Super Dad 2 – Kids 4.

Dad asked me what we wanted to drink for dinner.  I informed him that G would have milk, C would have water and I would have bourbon on the rocks.  The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful as we made it home with no more accidents.

As I sat in my chair after the boys were in bed, I watched Kill Bill Volume 2, played some poker, had a beer and reflected on my day.  They had me on the ropes but I was bound and determined to get through it without having them kill one another or me.

To be continued…

1. People don’t recognize the importance of Memorial Day nearly often enough.  One day per year is not often enough to thank the men and women who’ve died defending this country.  Each and every time I see someone in uniform I attempt to stop and shake their hand and say “Thanks”.  My boys are being taught to do this too.  It’s very important to me.  One quote sums it up pretty well for me – “All game some, some gave all.”  Thank you.
2. Memorial Day is not political in nature.  Fuck you if that’s what you turn it into.  Regardless of your party affiliation, stance on war, love/hate relationship with the current/past president it’s a day for remembering.  Honor those people who’ve died to give you the right to your opinion.  Take one day off from shoving your agenda down my throat.
3. Summer colds suck.  I can understand a cold in the winter.  It’s almost par for the course.  But being stuffed up and coughing when it’s beautiful outside just blows.  This happens to me a couple of times a year.
4. Carnivals are awesome… you get to eat some really bad food, ride really bad rides, smell really bad smells and pay way too much for it.  Oh, and you get to meet some of the most interesting people on the planet.  If this sounds sarcastic it’s not… I really enjoy stuff like this.  We attended Blossom in Chagrin Falls this weekend.  It really pumped me up for this summer’s Solon Home Days.  The boys LOVED it.
5. The time between poker games is always way too long.  The time during poker games is always way too short.
6. Little G is obsessed with the lawn mower.  He’s equally obsessed with the blower, the edger and the chainsaw.  This isn’t something that I learned this weekend but it was really on display.  We probably made things worse when we bought him his very own Little Black & Decker blower at Wal-Mart… we’re not very smart parents.  (OK, I’m not a smart dad).
7. The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t nearly as good as they think they are.  They really better pull their collective heads out of the asses or it’s going to be a long summer. (See point #8 below)
8. The Cleveland Indians are worse than they think they are.  I don’t understand why… but they’re really bad.  I’ve been a big Wedge fan for a long time, but it’s time for him to go.