Paul Zimbler

From A to Zimbler and back again...

New Years Eve 1999

It was Boxing Day 1999 and after having only just recovered from Christmas Eve and my Dad's annual Christmas lunch, I made my way to Gatwick to begin a journey that was going to involve plenty of alcohol, gambling, women and, well, whatever else was available.

I was flying to LA to meet my cousin who lives there. And the plan was to drive down to Vegas and meet with some other friends who had already been out there for a while. Let me paint a bit of a picture for you.

I was only 21 and this was my third trip to Vegas in eight months. Got to love it, I lived like a king. I had money coming in from all angles and I managed to spend it three times faster than I was earning it. I felt like I was king of the world and had nothing to fear.

Back then I was what you might have called a high roller; casinos in the UK, Europe and now even Las Vegas were welcoming me with open arms or, as they used to, with free suites, food, drinks and anything I wanted. I thought I had it all! I know now it was cheaper to pay for these things but hey, we all have to learn our own way.

I Landed in LA, met my cousin and headed to the golf course; you can't beat a day on a sunny Californian golf course having come from a cold and wet UK. I was never a good golfer as I get bored very easily; concentrating for eighteen holes is not really my thing. But I love to play golf and still play now off the same handy cap; about 28.

We finished up there, grabbed some food and drink, got in the car and headed for sin city. I rolled a nice big fatty and with that, the jet lag and the exercise from the golf, I was ready for a nap. My cousin must have loved me; he was stuck driving as the sun was setting on what must have been the most boring drive ever through the desert. But I would make it up to him once we arrived in Vegas; that was for sure.

If you've never done the drive before from LA to Vegas then it's definitely something worth doing. There's a stretch of road as you approach Sin City where you can see the bright lights and the feeling suddenly hits you, just like it does when you fly over the strip. I think next time I go, I'll hire a Cadillac convertible, leave a little earlier, and arrive on the strip just as the sun goes down.

We arrived at the PARIS hotel. Ten years ago this was a good hotel; it still is but I was treated like royalty and if I'm honest, I like that feeling so they had my business. I'm a very loyal gambler; they looked after me so I only gambled in their casino.

I had my own suite with a joining room for my cousin and had my very own stretched limo outside the door 24/7 - not like it is today. This was MY OWN CAR anytime I needed it any time of day or night; it would take us wherever we wanted to go, wait for us, keep hold of my stash -you get the idea.

Fresh fruit and flowers were brought every morning with a box of chocolates and everything we spent on the trip was signed to the room. The only thing I had to pay was for the tips - but let me tell you they add up!

So it got to New Years Eve and the party atmosphere was building. There was a massive party planned on the strip for over one million people and at this point I was down about $15,000 - not too bad for a few days but still not good either.

The night began with drinks, a few more drinks and then some more drinks with a bit of a posh dinner thrown in to line the stomach. We'd been celebrating all day as using the different time zones around the world to bring in the new millennium as it seemed like a great idea.  We headed out to the strip at half ten to join in the celebrations and see if the world was going to come to an end at midnight as predicted.......

All I knew was that if it did, I had made the most of it and had done everything I had wanted to and lived life to the max. I cannot begin to describe to you the scene out there, it was near on impossible to move let alone get onto the strip. I don't think I have ever seen so many people all in one place at one time. We stocked up on drink and headed through the crowd to a spot on the strip where some American girls were enjoying themselves - ha ha - where else would we head for...?

So we were in the middle of the strip in Las Vegas where the bright lights glistened and the money flowed. You would think they would have synchronized the clocks that were on the streets so that they were at the same time, but they hadn't and this was hilarious as the countdown began to the new millennium. The first clock started the count down with ten...nine...eight; the next clock began when the first clock was on six; further down the strip they were already at zero. It was all so funny and no one cared as there was such a buzz out there.

I looked up when the clock was on four and saw a man swinging on the traffic lights. They were positioned high up and I wasn't sure how he got up there but I was pretty sure there was only one way down.  The next thing I saw was seeing him get electrocuted and falling head first towards the ground. I remember thinking he'd be okay as there was no room to fall and surely he'd be caught by the people below. Sadly for this man though, it was the end. He never made it to the year 2000 and it seemed no one cared to help him as the countdown hit zero and the crowd went crazy. The party started, the fireworks went off and it was feeding time at the zoo as far as the women were concerned. The English accent came in handy and worked a treat!

As soon as the fireworks stopped, my cousin and I headed inside with a couple of ladies for more drinks and a little more gambling. The problem at this point though, was that I only had $25 left and had to be at the airport in six hours. But I wasn't going to let this stop me.

We headed inside to the three card poker table where we meet a couple more ladies who were swinging these huge rattles around, and we all got on like a group of drunken people do.  I then placed my $25 chip onto the pair plus box and the dealer dealt out the cards. I only looked at two of them as I like the element of surprise; I saw the Queen and Jack of diamonds. I was in luck as I had something to squeeze and be hopeful for. I borrowed the rattle and began shaking it like a maniac. The dealer turned over her cards then came to mine. I said slowly please, she revealed the two cards I had seen already then low and behold the third card was the Ten of diamonds. It was like a miracle; a straight flush that paid something like 35 to 1 to give me $875. Can you imagine how happy I was now? Not only was I back in with a chance of getting out of my losses, I also had these two American beauties, who were now more excited than me,  sitting by my side. We were going crazy!

From here I managed regain my $15,000 within two hours and take a $200 profit. Who said never gamble drunk?  Only kidding; I was a very lucky boy but the truth was that I had nothing to lose - I took big risks for big rewards as in my mind the money was already gone and I just took a shoot at it. High stakes black jack and roulette are not advisable, but on this occasion they certainly helped.

The girls had a blast and I gave them money to gamble with. I paid off all my markers and headed upstairs with, I'm sad to say, only one of the girls. This seemed fair as I was with my cousin! The girl on my arm was the daughter of the musician who'd been playing that night and she was drop dead gorgeous. I only wish I could remember her name as I'd have looked her up in a flash on my next trips to the states.

I headed down at 6am - still drunk - and went to see my host. He sorted everything out before saying: "Great to see you Mr Zimbler. I hope we'll see you soon."  I then jumped into the limo and headed to the airport where I couldn't wait to board the plane and sleep for ten hours. It was my third trip to Vegas and was my only win at this point; and it was hardly a win at that.

Ten years have flown by now since my 1999 New Year's Eve and the time has flown by since those heady days. I think this year will be a little bit tamer though. But you never know...

Paul Zimbler is a Full Tilt pro and runs The International Poker School

Check out my blog at www.theinternationalpokerschool.com and follow me on twitter @paulzimbler

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