Cubs Convention weekend

On Friday, January 16th, I left work early and headed to the Amtrak Station.  I took the train from Bloomington-Normal, IL, to Union Station in Chicago.  My destination?  The Cubs Convention, held at Sheraton Chicago on Water Street.  After an uneventful 2 hr 15 minute train ride, I hopped in a cab to the hotel I was staying at, W Chicago - Lakeshore. Once there, I checked in and dropped my bags in my room.  The room was nice, with 2 Queen beds.  The single King rooms were all booked by the time I thought about the opportunity to go to the Cubs Convention.  After checking Twitter, I saw that the author of my favorite Cubs blog, BleacherNation, was at Lizzy McNeill's bar, around the corner from the Sheraton.  They were running a shuttle from the W to the Sheraton every 15 minutes or so until 11pm, so I hopped on the next shuttle over to the Sheraton.  Once there, I navigated my way to Lizzie McNeill's, where I met Brett Taylor.  He's a great guy, huge Cubs fan, and great writer.  I had an Irish Cider, mingled with many other Cubs fans, and left the bar around midnight.  I got in a cab and a short ride later, was back at the hotel.  I checked out the hotel bar, and ordered a long island iced tea.  This prompted me to remember why I don't drink at hotel bars in Chicago.  $14 +tax for my drink!!  Okay, 1 drink was enough, as there was no one around to socialize with, and no women to hit on (just kidding, I AM married after all!).  Went back to my room, and went to bed.

Saturday--This was it....the Cubs Convention!  It had started Friday, but all of the events were over by the time I got into town, and so I waited until Saturday to check in and get my passes.  As part of the package I had booked, I got 2 passes to the convention.  While I obviously didn't need 2 passes, I took both sets of passes and bags.  I made my way inside the convention area.  There were 4 levels with different features on each floor.  I entered on what was actually the 3rd floor.  This had the Legends Lounge, a bar area for season ticket holders only.  A special bracelet was given to season ticket holders to allow access.  There was also a booth for Cubs Charities, a place to get on the wait list to become a season ticket holder, and a Cubs Social booth, which was dedicated to Cubs social media involvement.  The 4th floor contained the ballrooms where the panels were held.  I missed the first one due to sleeping late.  That one was the Ricketts family.  I sat in on the next panel, which was Cubs Baseball Management.  This included President of Operations Theo Epstein, GM Jed Hoyer, Assistant GM Randy Bush, and Assistant GM Shiraz Rehman.  They talked about the moves they had made to bring in Joe Maddon, Jon Lester, and others this past offseason, as well as thanking fans for sticking with the organization through the last few years.  They said the time has come to be excited, and I am hopeful that the years of futility are behind them.

The next panel was the business operations.  This panel discussed the renovations, season ticket holders, the new tv/radio deals, and other aspects of the business side of the organization.  It wasn't as exciting, and I left halfway through.  Part of the issue was also the fact that it was standing room only and I had been standing all morning already.

The 2nd floor contained "Vendor Alley".  Just as it sounds, it was a bunch of booths with goods related to the Cubs, and some other Chicago sports teams.  I found a couple of Kris Bryant rookie cards, and purchased them.  I shied away from the autographed memorabilia, as it was pricey.  At the end of the line of vendors was a room with tables set up by each of the Cubs minor league teams, from AAA Iowa, to AA Tennessee, to High class A Myrtle Beach.  Another table had 3 former players signing autographs--Lee Smith, Rollie Fingers, and Fergie Jenkins.  Donations were required.  I got an autograph from Fergie Jenkins on the jersey I was wearing.

The bottom floor contained a large area selling Cubs merchandise from the team store, and an Authentic store, with game worn jerseys and uniforms, and autographed game-used baseballs.  There was also the autograph stage.  6 different players/former players were signing autographs in 1 hour increments.  The lines were way too long for my interest.  Also, there was an auction stage.  All of the items auctioned off were from the previous season, and most were authentic game-worn items.  There were definitely people there with deep pockets.  Also, after talking to a couple of guys there, it turns out that some are professional collectors.  I also found out that in a previous year one of the players sent a representative from his charity to buy up a bunch of items to be resold for the charity.  Needless to say, I didn't get anything at the auction.

None of the late afternoon panels interested me, and my phone was nearly dead.  I had seen everything there was to see, and I headed back to my hotel around 3pm.  I had unrealistic expectations of players wandering around, mingling and signing autographs, which was most definitely not the case.  Aside from the disappointment of not getting more autographs, I had a great time.  Now, what to do on a Saturday night in Chicago?  Before heading back to my hotel, I had sent a text to Lightning36 mentioning that I had nothing to do that evening, and that I was considering taking a cab to Hammond, IN, for some poker at the Horseshoe Casino there.  A cab ride like that was estimated to be around $50 based on figures I'd seen online.  Lightning was kind enough to inform me of a shuttle that picked up at the Sheraton Hotel....the very place I was at!  He said I should verify that the information was up-to-date, so I checked with the concierge desk, and they said that indeed Windy City Limousine did have a shuttle stop at their hotel, every 2 hours.  the shuttles were at 4:10, 6:10, and 8:10.  I rested and charged my phone in my room, and headed back to the Sheraton around 5:30.  I got on the shuttle at 6:10, and was on my way to the Horseshoe for some pokerz!

On the way over, I checked Bravo on my phone.  8 games of 1/2NLHE, 37 on the list!  Wow!!  Ok, I may as well call and get my name on the list.  Wait, they no longer take call-ins.  So much for that idea.  We got there in about 30 minutes, and I made a beeline for the poker room.  I'd been there before, and knew exactly where to go.  I got my name on the list, and they took my number so they could text me when I was close to getting a seat.  From there, I wanted to get something to eat.  I went to the buffet, and was seated after a short wait in line.  I made a couple of trips for some delicious food, and then received a text message that I would be seated soon.  I left and headed back to the poker room.

The poker room at the Horseshoe is very nice.  They have 30-35 tables, including a few in a high-limit room.  They had several different games going, from 1/2NLHE to 5/10NHLE, and 1/2PLO as well as a 2/5PO.  There may have been a NLHE/PLO mix game going also.  In all, there were 20-25 tables going.  I sat down at what would be a relatively soft table.  I bought in for $100, lost it early on, and rebought for another $100.  I had a double up plus, then ran it up to about $300 before I dropped down again.  I missed a flush draw, slow played bottom 2 pair and had an opponent turn a set, and found myself back down to $115.  I cashed out, as there wasn't much time before the last return shuttle of the night, and Willy Wonka was calling my name!  2 hands of note:  Early on, with my starting stack of $100 and no reads yet, I see 99 UTG+1.  I limp, player 2 to my left raises to $12, Button calls, I call.  Flop is 8-10-J, rainbow.  Not a terrible flop.  I check, preflop raiser bets $30, button calls, I shove for $88.  Both call with little hesitation.  Hmmm.  Turn is a 2, action goes check-check.  River is another J, no flush draw.  Preflop raiser bets $35, button calls, preflop raiser shows QJ.  QUEEN F'ING JACK!  He raised preflop with it, bet the J high flop strongly with it, and called my shove with it.  I thought he had a much stronger hand than that.  Not sure what the button had as he mucked.  Ok, there goes my first buyin, but I also had gained a lot of information there.  Next hand of note:  I have $140, having won a few small pots.  I look down at AKhh in the BB and raise to $12.  I get 3 callers.  Flop is J high, 2 hearts.  I lead out for $30, and the next player to act shoves for more than I have.  It folds to me, and I say what the hell, and call.  He shows KcKs.  The turn is a heart that doesn't pair the board, and I have the nuts.  Just for good measure, the river was an Ace.  lol  Pocket Kings cracked again!!  I win a few pots here and there after that, including one where I limp in on the button with 2-4o and see a flop of 2s3s2h.  I bet out after it checks to me and get no callers.  From there I went card dead, then slowly started bleeding chips and cashed out with $115 as I mentioned.

Between some decent hits on the Willy Wonka slot between my wife and I, and the bonus 50% tier credits at Caesars properties through March 31, I wanted to get some slot play in.  I ran through the first $100 with no bonus games.  The 2nd $100 saw 3 bonus games, one of which paid out $60, but alas, it soon was gone.  I wandered around the tables watching the games from there, and then went back out to wait for the shuttle.  It picked up shortly after 11:30, and I was back to the Sheraton shortly after midnight.  I hailed a cab to my hotel, and was asleep around 1 am after getting everything ready for an early departure.

I left the room the next day around 8am, planning to get breakfast at Union Station.  I grabbed a bite to eat at the corner bakery, and found the waiting area for my train.  Boarded the train, and about 2 and a half hours later, was back in Bloomington-Normal.  30 minutes later I was home!  It was a great weekend, I just wish I had been able to experience Friday night and Sunday.  I will certainly plan better for those if I should go back.  My only disappointment was the lack of players wandering around mingling with the fans.  I had hoped there would be some who were easily accessible for autographs, but it didn't happen.  I don't know if the large crowds had something to do with it, or if that just doesn't happen.  Maybe next time!