There is a place in far West Texas we enjoy going when we want to see trees, mountains, green golf courses and such and don’t want to drive all the way to East Texas. It’s called Ruidoso.
You kind of just go out to Seminole where our good friends Frank and Starlie live and just keep on going at 80 mph and in three or four hours, you’ll get there. It doesn’t smell like
Real Texas or look much like Real Texas, but seems like everyone I run into up there is FROM somewhere in Texas. I just always called it far northwest Texas. BTW- that is a real Texas speed limit sign.
What they have up there is a pine smell. It doesn’t smell like Texon oilfields and feedlots. Kinda strange smelling to me, but after I cleaned out that 500 bbl. tank that time as a kid, I can’t smell all that good anymore.
The air smells kind of rainy sometimes also. Mountainy. Different than the Real Texas flatlands I’m used to. The place we go is surely Texas because they race horses there and everybody gets excited about that. The little wife enjoys going to the Indian Reservation and playing blackjack. She’s pretty good and I go to watch the people. I never really learned to play cards all that good, but I do watch the people and go by her table every now and then and she hands me those chips. I like them because they have $100 written on them.
I never understood why we have to go somewhere that smells so different to play cards. My mother and her bridge club played cards in our living room and all I could smell there was cigarette smoke. They all wore those cat-eye glasses and had a cig hanging from their lips and were cackling about bid, no bid, dummies and other stuff. The smoke boiled from the room and they seemed to have a great time. Real glamorous too with the cigs hanging from a lip.
There is a Texas Legislator who must not like having to drive so far to play a competitive game of cards. He wants to legalize it and have gambling halls for Texas poker players. He will probably go to hell for it, but it does have one redeeming virtue. It’s not just any old poker game, It’s named after the Great State. It is called Texas Hold’em.
It will all be discussed in 2009 which is right around the corner. Texas State Representative Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) has reintroduced legislation designed to put poker’s availability in the state that gave poker’s currently most popular game its name. Yep. That would be Texas, ya’ll. As in Texas Hold’em
Included in the bill is a wide range of possible poker hide outs, including existing parimutuel outlets, bars and taverns, social clubs, and other charitable organizations. Your local VFW or American Legion perhaps? Why not the PTA? OK, bad idea. I can almost see Jim Bowie and Maverick sitting together to play a little poker at t
he saloon.
Licensed poker operations would fall under the authority of the Texas Lottery Commission, which would work with other state agencies to establish a regulatory framework and license all poker providers from the organization through dealer levels.
Ok, I knew it. Right there is that ‘foot in the door’ I knew was coming sooner or later. They let that Texas Lottery in and now they want to play cards and gamble some more. Ya’ll are all going to hell for sure. Yep, you little scratch off ladies too!
Menendez’s bill also calls for the creation of a fund, with 50% of net proceeds to be used mainly as aid for the homeless. I say he’s just trying to stay out of hell by adding in a few good things in there to show good intentions. You all know what road is paved with those.
Some tournaments would be allowed. Electronic poker tables are also included in the bill. The bill keeps legalese found in its 2007 version that requires new card decks to be brought into play after each 50 hands, which would add a lot to the expense and could actually promote electronic tables as a preferred alternative. It’s all a foreign language to me.
“Texas hold’em is being played around the state every day,” reports Menendez. The state representative also sort of referred to a VFW hall poker raid that gave state officials significant bad press. “My interest is in seeing places where people could play poker and feel safe,” added Menendez. It all sounds pretty good to me and after Texas secedes, we could return to our saloons and gambling and whisky drinking like Real Texas was built on.
I risked my mortal soul and played Texas Hold’em at a charity event one time. I sat next to a very pretty, very drunk young lady with a very low cut top. I decided then and there I liked the game. I hope Menedez is successful in 2009. I might even pay attention to the cards next time I play.
I’m David Werst and I’ll see you out in Real Texas.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Isn’t Ruidoso in New Mexico? Just found your Blog and Ia m very much enjoying your commentary will b e sending it to all my texas friends
There is also a Ruidoso, Mexico.