Scattershooting, while wondering whatever happened to….

Scattershooting, while wondering whatever happened to…Giorgio Chinaglia.

• First, I’ll be the bearer of some sad news.  Today we learned that Chad Brown is battling a tough fight at the moment.  The beloved poker pro likely won’t be coming to the WSOP this year.  He’s been going back and forth with cancer for the last few years.  In today’s gold bracelet ceremony, Will “the Thrill” Failla took the microphone and asked for a moment of silence to keep Chad in our thoughts.  I’ll pass along that moment here to readers.  If you know Chad, keep him in your thoughts today.  We all love him and hope he stays strong.

• My writing’s been in a serious funk these last two months.  Nothing particularly creative nor enlightening has tingled from the fingertips to my keyboard.  Incomplete thoughts and shallow words don’t make for good columns.  Yet the alternative is going dark or seeing a blank screen.  Writers know when their stuff is good or not.  We know when we “mailed in,” so to speak.  Writers pressed by deadlines or those who pump out volumes of material occasionally have to “mail it in.”  I’ve just been doing that a lot more lately than usual.  Reminds me of the old saying — do you want it fast or do you want it good?  George Gershwin only had so many Rhapsody in Blue’s swimming around within his imagination.  Those same energies used to write great songs or post provocative essays are indeed limited by what the mind and body can physically accomplish, sans the distractions.

• The flowery bouquet that is the 2014 World Series of Poker now taking place at the Rio Las Vegas receives most of my nourishment at the moment, whilst everything else in life seems like one of those sad potted plants that haven’t been watered in three weeks and the leaves start dying.  When your pets no longer recognize your face and run away when you come home, maybe that’s the sign you’re at work too much.

• Major breaking news is coming soon at Poker Night in America.  That’s all I’ll say for the moment.  But stay tuned for some exciting news if you like watching poker on television and are interested in a new behind-the-scene type of reality-based show.

• Chris Grigorian is a real prince of a man.  In poker, he’s known as “the Armenian Express.”  You might remember Chris from about 10 years ago when he went on a huge rush.  Chris came by on Saturday night and we talked for a while.  He’s gone through some good times and bad times in this game.  But he’s always held his head high and kept his pride at stake.  Here’s hoping that this year’s events are good for Chris.  I’ll openly say that I’m cheering for him to do some big things.  I wish more people in poker were like him.  We could use more Chris Grigorian’s in the world, too.

• One of this week’s more interesting discussions/debates took place at a dinner with Paul Harris, the nationally-syndicated radio personality from St. Louis.  A few years ago, Paul clued me in to TAM, which stands for The Amazing Meeting, which I hope to attend in July.  Paul is one of those rare people you can have a three-hour conversation with, which seems more like a half-hour, and there are still lots of territories to cover.  His most interesting provocation when we talked — America should no longer aspire to the virtues of democracy because oligarchy will always prevail, and populism has no real chance of succeeding.  I’m paraphrasing here.  Instead, Paul proposes a benevolent dictatorship as our best means of federal governance.  Paul, if that happens, please pick me as dictator, okay?  Ig to just the plan.

• Not too far off-topic, dollar for dollar have you ever witnessed a more wasteful allocation of financial resources in politics that has been spent by Republican fat cat donor Sheldon Adelson?  I suspect most of those burned-out former politicians sucking on the money tit collecting inflated consulting fees couldn’t really care less about Adelson’s pet peeves and phobias — including his obsession with trying to destroy Internet freedom and wipe out potential competition in the gambling sector.  Those bought off by Adelson are perfectly willing to whore themselves out for a buck, and no one pays more bucks at the moment than daddy moneybags.  So far, they can’t point to a single victory on anything.  What a monumental waste.

• Speaking of what’s going on in Washington right now, I implore the pro-online gambling forces NOT to compromise in any way with Adelson’s organization.  There’s some talk of creating a legislative carve-out for poker where both opposing camps win something.  Supposedly, poker would avoid the gallows of prohibition while it’s online gambling that gets totally outlawed at the federal level.  Fact is, Adelson’s two bills in Congress are going nowhere.  They’re dead.  They’ve stalled even before being debated by a subcommittee.  Let those embarrassing failures hang in the wind for a while for us all to enjoy.  Rejoice in his floundering failure to impact the political landscape one iota, even after spending $100,000,000 on U.S. elections and lobbying since 2012 (add another $30 million or so for Israel).  No compromises.  No carve-outs.  Let Adelson lose, and lose big.  Then, let that stench of failure hang for a while.  Rotting political flesh from the far right.  It sure smells wonderful.

• In recent weeks, we’ve had three more mass shootings, including a couple of batshit lunatics who gunned-down two Las Vegas Police Department officers while they were eating their lunch.  Guns don’t kill people?  People kill people?  Bullshit.  Here’s some unsolicited advice for the National Rifle Association….might as well keep your stale yellow post-it notes with outdated 19th Century arguments handy.  No reason to file them away.  It’s just a matter of time before another gun turns up at a school somewhere or inside a crowded restaurant or another public place where someone goes temporarily insane, goes out and buys a gun, and starts murdering innocents.  Meanwhile, all the rest of us can do is hold our breaths that it won’t be us next time the bullets start spraying.  Sick mentality isn’t it — when we hope someone else gets it in the next shooting.  But that’s what life in America has come down to.  A giant game of Russian Roulette where there are no winners, except for the gun lobby.

• Congratulations to writer-pal Anthony Holden on making the prestigious Times of London “Best Seller” list on his latest book “Poems that Make Grown Men Cry.”  The author of “Big Deal” among other books sadly won’t be coming to the WSOP this year.  Too busy hanging around weeping men, I suppose.  Oh, and he’s already been commissioned to write a follow-up, which will be something about poems that make women cry.  Tony, you’re going to need therapy once these last two books are done.

• So, the United States is considering re-invading Iraq again.  More billions.  More lives.  More bombs.  More madness.  About 5 percent of us were opposed to invading Iraq-Afghanistan back 12 years ago when everyone was beating the war drums.  I hate to say this, but WE TOLD YOU SO.  Pal Steve Goldman analyzed it best a few years ago when he basically said the following (quoting from memory), “What’s the best we can hope for in either place?  A corrupt oppressive government beholden to religious extremists who will continue to be a thorn in our side for years.  Essentially, one despot (Saddam) is replaced by another.”  

• Talked with former Army Colonel Phil Miller, a.k.a. “ChipMonk” this morning about the looming re-invasion.  His comment pretty well summed it up:  “You can never win an ethnic or religious war.”

• Speaking of war, I asked a group of the payout ladies here at the WSOP their opinion about world affairs.  What if we replaced all the positions of leadership in every country with women, instead of men, I wondered.  Would wars end?  Would the world be a more peaceful place?  The consensus view among the ladies was that the world would indeed be more peaceful for 29 of the 30 days.  But one day a month, the nuclear weapons would start flying.  They said it, not me.

And finally, Giorgio Chinaglia was the loathsome but lovable Italian soccer star who came to play for the New York Cosmos in the late 1970s.  He played alongside two other aging legends towards the ends of their careers, Pele and Franz Beckenbauer.  Chinaglia remains the greatest player in Lazio’s history and ended his career as the all-time goal scorer in North American Soccer League history.  Yet on the field and off, Chinaglia was a bombastic polarizing force.  Those who love people who play with passion were fans of Chinaglia.  His detractors were many.  The soccer great passed away a few years ago.  But he’s worth remembering as we celebrate the World Cup this month.