Roy The Boy says...

The Boys Are Back in Town

Thursday 7 Feb 2008

If the Ladbrokes' Poker Cruise III had come with a theme song, you know like every World Cup and Olympic Games does, it would have been Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’.

Why? Well the jaunt down to the Caribbean from wind-swept icy-cold New York was more like a coming together of boisterous old friends than the SAGA holiday for pensioners and obese Americans these trips normally are.

Furthermore, as the song goes, drinks did flow and blood was spilled, but if the boys are gonna fight you better let ‘em!

By disembarkation time the injury list numbered a broken finger, broken rib, lacerated foot, burst stomach ulcer and an accidental concussion suffered by an enthusiastic poker-mum who came a cropper when watching her son being pummelled by a Scandinavian five-a-side football team.

Of course, speaking like the true Brit that I am – whose patriotism is as long as a shoelace and less substantial – I was neither disappointed or surprised by the UK’s dim showing in either the football or the poker. It’s called realism.

The seriously outnumbered Scandinavian poker playing contingent filled the first five places in the $2,500 main event and landed every side tournament that could be fitted into the eight days at sea.

But their alarming dominance at this game of poker, a thought so many find unpalatable, is not the grounds of this report, it is the coming together of people from all walks of life through the medium which is Ladbrokes Poker.

I often jest that I have met people through the game which I would never normally meet – representatives from the credit card company, the bank’s re-mortgage adviser, the magistrates, even the bailiffs! – but, in all seriousness, where else do road sweepers sit alongside barristers and toilet attendants face off against actors?

Amongst the homogonous mix which helped fill one of the biggest cruise liners on the high seas were a few jokers such as Dave Ulliott, the artist who prefers to be known as "Devilfish".

As predictable as a bar of laxative, the man, often so annoying he could conceivably be the first person to be beaten up by the Quakers, announced he was going to buy me a dress and a pair of high-heels should he see me pushing around a pram with my young son in it once more.

Indeed, my baby cannot walk and talk just yet but, because his own little girl has recently completed the two tasks and took fortnight off of school for this trip, the pride of Hull proudly paraded her around the ship for an entire week.

The actor I previously referred to was Michael Greco, the former Eastenders star – some cruelly refer to the popular soap as Deadenders based on the lack of further career opportunities the show offers its stars following their departure from Walford – was actually the most successful UK player in the feature tournament finishing sixth.

Despite putting me on tilt when dogging my flush – we were also in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle at the time where things are known to disappear, such as my chips – I maintain Michael is a good guy with a sense of humour and as sharp as a pebble.

Talking of senses of humour, Terry Sherring and his wife Jo did a fine job organising a lot of the vital behind the scenes tasks on the cruise. Terry must have a sense of humour - he supports Aldershot FC after all!

At the Sherrings’ end-of-cruise presentation the popular Steve Mills delivered a brilliant piece of stand up comedy in front of a large crowd, sections of which I must confess vexed me by their belief they were obliged to abuse the free bar and did so shamelessly. They were not Scandinavian.

According to the closing verse of ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ "…the nights are getting warmer, it wont be long, it won’t be long till summer comes, now that the boys are here again."

That sentiment was underlined in essence by Edward Ihre, the new head of Ladbrokes Poker, who also took to the stage to remind one and all that Europe’s premier online poker site will be sending 100 players to the World Series of Poker in just a few months time.

That leads me to the two poor unfortunates who found themselves stranded on the Island of St Thomas. It must have been a beat like runner-runner straight flush returning to the port to find their floating hotel had vanished.

I don’t know if these two boys are back in town or not just yet but let’s hope they can make it to Vegas where the theme song for a lot of us will be "It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To!"

Roy "the Boy" Brindley - Ladbrokes-sponsored professional