"How's it going for your big cruise, Hobby? By the way, I've decided to go."

"I already had you down as a passenger, Joe. It's going well. Sue said she'd sail to Cabo with us and fly home from there if Kim would too."

"Kim's all for it, especially after I told her I'd pay for her flight."

"Great. How are you doing on your project to find a chef?"

Playing limit hold 'em in our local casino's poker room and holding 8h-7h on the button, I raised. Five players called. The dealer flopped 8s-7s-2d. They all checked to me. I bet; three players called. The dealer turned the Qd. I bet and two players called. The dealer turned the 3d. I bet; the remaining caller mucked his hand when I showed down my two pairs.

There's something singularly upsetting about losing with a pair of aces. At the beginning of the hand, anytime I look down at my hole cards and see two aces, it's always a lovely little rush. I've got bullets, the pocket rockets-the absolute best starting hand in the game. I've got the powah! Best of all, nobody knows it yet. Thinking of all the ways I can trap my opponents and drag a big pot with those beautiful aces is a delicious feeling.

A few days ago I watched my friend Brian play a very short no-limit session. He bought in for the maximum in a brand new nine-handed game with $5-$5 blinds and a $300 to $500 buy-in range. On the fourth hand Brian was dealt 8c-8s on the button.

Should the prohibitions on internet gambling have a carve-out for online poker?

The question is much more complicated than it seems. If the argument is that poker is not gambling but rather a contest of skill, should the exemption be limited to poker tournaments? What is "online"-what about people playing against each others at terminals in a club, or linked clubs? Which laws are getting changed, federal or state? And who is doing the changing: legislatures, courts, or regulators?

Let's start with what should be the easiest question: "What is poker?"

The Grand Sierra Resort Casino has what could be one of the two or three nicest poker rooms in the entire area-if only they'd consistently get enough players for a few decent games. The room has gorgeous tables, very comfortable chairs, and a bright, well appointed room. They spread $4-$8 limit hold'em with a half kill. The rake is 10 percent with a $3 maximum. Although they just hosted a 35-event tournament they only had one table going on a Thursday night. 775.789.2313.

Each year, the California State Poker Championship draws the best in the West, and the 2008 edition begins Tuesday, September 2, at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.

This year's 18 events, with buy-ins ranging from $120 to $1,580, will draw leading Southern California players and some national stars to compete for their share of an anticipated $7 million prize pool. The main event winner is expected to take home more than $300,000.

Win a Video Poker or Slot Machine at Palace Station. Earn one entry for each hour of live poker from August 1 through September 29 with a maximum or seven per day. Drawings will take place on September 15 and 29. The grand prize is your choice of a video poker or slot machine and is limited to Nevada residents only. Plus, every two hours the high hand in Texas hold'em will win a mystery prize. For more information see the Palace Station ad in this issue of Poker Player Newspaper.

The Heartland Poker Tour recently held the largest dollar and participant tournament in Colorado history at Blackhawk's Golden Gates Casino, 40-50 minutes from downtown Denver. The $300 buy-in sold out and created a prize pool of nearly $500,000. The real story was the heads-up battle between Mike Haggard, an amateur player and businessman from Evergreen, Colorado, and Steve Klaus, also an amateur and a Denver chiropractor. First prize was $129,000 and second was $64.000. Steve slow played pocket kings to knock out Johnny "The Lion" Lima in fourth.

Who says lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place? Yuval "yuvee04" Bronshtein accomplished an impressive feat that might never be matched, when he won two FTOPS events... in the same day. Bronshtein is a young player originally from Dunwoody, GA. He made some waves at the 2007 WSOP when he made a final table and finished third in the $2,000 pot-limit hold'em event. He took home over $100,000 during his first WSOP cash. I took note of him for the first time At the Empire Casino in London during the 2007 WSOP-Europe.