Mike, you going to go out and try to be a professional gambler (again)? I seem to remember some of your fellow AoS-era staff commenting back then on your first departure that you were going to try your hand at gambling tournaments - or were they just joking from you having taken their paychecks in games after work?
I played a lot of poker several years ago. During the year after UO was moved to northern California, I became a regular at Artichoke Joe's in San Bruno. I mostly played the 3/6 and 6/12 limit games, and occasionally stepped up to the 10/15. I played tournaments every other weekend, and went deep in the money a couple times. I also started playing online a bit, and continued that after I moved back to Texas to go work on Tabula Rasa. I once managed to luck my way into winning an all-expense-paid trip to London to play in a tournament that was televised live, where I played against three pros and two other amateurs. I won the first round, which got me about $7500 in prize money, and busted out in the second round.
For a time there, it was looking like Texas was going to pass legislation to allow poker rooms in the state, but in the end it got buried on the schedule and got defeated for lack of being brought up for a vote. Over the years I slowly lost interest, and when the DoJ finally shut down online poker in the US I didn't have any money in it any more.
All in all I'm a slight net winner. I was never good enough or bankrolled enough to turn pro. I still play in friendly games, though, and even played some live Omaha Hi-Lo at the Charles Town Races over in West Virginia a couple months back.
