Tonight Peter, Cindy and the rest the Pedro's Inn people-- with the help of four other nearby establishments-- had organized a special event they called "The Poker Run". Cindy at Pedro's explained to me that anyone who wants to play simply has to pay the entry fee of 25 BZ (US$12.50) and just show up for a chance to "win the pot" (the amount remaining after a small donation to charity). The most important factor for me was that absolutely zero poker talent or knowledge was required - since I rarely play poker and usually can't even remember the rules! The way the game is played is that everyone who signs up and pays the "ante" takes golf carts and vans to the starting point, at which place eveyone has a couple of beers or cocktails while getting to know a whole different crowd of people. After about a half hour, the name of each player is announced and the player is given a playing card to hold onto. The player's name and card (i.e., Ace of Spades) is also written down by the event coordinator. After visiting all five bars and receiving five cards, the player who is still standing and holding the best poker hand wins all! Sounds like a blast! I am in! I quickly handed my 25 BZ to Cindy.
About forty people had signed up for the event, so my quick calculation told me that the pot might be close to US$500! We got started at about 7:00 PM. The first place we visited was a bar by the name of Roadkill. Everyone had a few drinks and chatted away, and received a card as his or her name was called and the card was recorded. Then it was off to the second venue-- El Divino. The same thing happened here, and at the next place (Wahoo's) -- and by this time most of the players were proceeding to get pretty hammered (including your's truly)! By this time I was starting to feel the slight rush of possibility, as I had just been handed my third spade in a row! I certainly know how difficult it is to end up with a flush, but at this point I realized that I definitely had a shot! The fourth place was called Playa Chel. More drinks (or beers) and more chit chat. Unbelievable! I got my fourth spade! Wow! This NEVER happens to me. Seriously. Now I was starting to get a little nervous. Only one more card to go! The party had been planned to end up at Pedro's Inn-- my home base! I thought that perhaps that was a good omen. A few more beers at Pedro's and the magic moment arrived. Voila! The dealer handed me a wild card! I had ended up with an ace high flush! I couldn't believe that- even with forty other players -- anyone could beat an ace-high flush! Sure enough, one guy had a flush -- but his top card was lower than an ace. So I was the big winner! And the funniest thing about the whole night -- and my kids and my friends can attest to this -- is the fact that I usually never win anything! But this was also an amazing good omen for my trip -- my "big adventure". I was starting out with good luck and a little "insurance policy" in case I over spent my budget (or perhaps had something ripped off or damaged along the way).
When they announced my name ("Ronaldo") as the big winner and everyone was cheering and screaming and they were taking my photo with my winning poker hand and big wad of NINE HUNDRED BELIZE (US$450.00!) I was in kind of a drunken state of shock (see some of the photos below)! So when Peter - the proprietor of the Pedro Inn - announced that "it's optional, but oftentimes the winner 'rings the bell' and buys a round for the house" I simply could not say "no". So I went ahead and rang that old bell like crazy! And the crowd went wild screaming for the great and generous Ronaldo! Of course, I found out a few days later that the 30 shots of Yagermeister I bought that night (@ US$5.00 each) set me back US$150.00! What the hell- even after all that I still cleared 600 BZ! Not bad for a night of carousing in Belize! But even though I was the big winner of the night I STILL couldn't get to first base with young Danielle. There was a point at a later point in the evening that I thought I might have a remote shot, and then into the bar at Pedro's Inn walked (in no particular order) Marco (the male supermodel- and I'm not kidding), handsome young "Tex" from Harlingen, Texas AND the soldier from Liverpool that Danielle had also seemed to take a fancy to (even though he wasn't handsome by any means-- but he had that KILLER accent). At this point, I knew I was fucked. And I was...
About forty people had signed up for the event, so my quick calculation told me that the pot might be close to US$500! We got started at about 7:00 PM. The first place we visited was a bar by the name of Roadkill. Everyone had a few drinks and chatted away, and received a card as his or her name was called and the card was recorded. Then it was off to the second venue-- El Divino. The same thing happened here, and at the next place (Wahoo's) -- and by this time most of the players were proceeding to get pretty hammered (including your's truly)! By this time I was starting to feel the slight rush of possibility, as I had just been handed my third spade in a row! I certainly know how difficult it is to end up with a flush, but at this point I realized that I definitely had a shot! The fourth place was called Playa Chel. More drinks (or beers) and more chit chat. Unbelievable! I got my fourth spade! Wow! This NEVER happens to me. Seriously. Now I was starting to get a little nervous. Only one more card to go! The party had been planned to end up at Pedro's Inn-- my home base! I thought that perhaps that was a good omen. A few more beers at Pedro's and the magic moment arrived. Voila! The dealer handed me a wild card! I had ended up with an ace high flush! I couldn't believe that- even with forty other players -- anyone could beat an ace-high flush! Sure enough, one guy had a flush -- but his top card was lower than an ace. So I was the big winner! And the funniest thing about the whole night -- and my kids and my friends can attest to this -- is the fact that I usually never win anything! But this was also an amazing good omen for my trip -- my "big adventure". I was starting out with good luck and a little "insurance policy" in case I over spent my budget (or perhaps had something ripped off or damaged along the way).
When they announced my name ("Ronaldo") as the big winner and everyone was cheering and screaming and they were taking my photo with my winning poker hand and big wad of NINE HUNDRED BELIZE (US$450.00!) I was in kind of a drunken state of shock (see some of the photos below)! So when Peter - the proprietor of the Pedro Inn - announced that "it's optional, but oftentimes the winner 'rings the bell' and buys a round for the house" I simply could not say "no". So I went ahead and rang that old bell like crazy! And the crowd went wild screaming for the great and generous Ronaldo! Of course, I found out a few days later that the 30 shots of Yagermeister I bought that night (@ US$5.00 each) set me back US$150.00! What the hell- even after all that I still cleared 600 BZ! Not bad for a night of carousing in Belize! But even though I was the big winner of the night I STILL couldn't get to first base with young Danielle. There was a point at a later point in the evening that I thought I might have a remote shot, and then into the bar at Pedro's Inn walked (in no particular order) Marco (the male supermodel- and I'm not kidding), handsome young "Tex" from Harlingen, Texas AND the soldier from Liverpool that Danielle had also seemed to take a fancy to (even though he wasn't handsome by any means-- but he had that KILLER accent). At this point, I knew I was fucked. And I was...
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| Some of the Fun Party Action at One of the Stops Along the Way on the Poker Run! |
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| More Poker Run Party Fun! |
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| "Ronaldo" the Big Winner Showing His Winning Poker Hand (an Ace-High Flush!) |
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