The motel is still there.
It sits near the end of the ocean on Walnut Street on the outskirts of Hollywood, FL., just a couple of miles from the Hard Rock Casino.
The last time I visited the Walnut Motel and Apartments, I took an upstairs room that had no telephone. Glorious!
Through my open window the tropical breezes came in off the ocean, less than 500 feet away. Pelicans and other seabirds settled in the coconut palm trees that surrounded the cottages along the street.
The owners then were two partners who were seafaring types. They were friendly and valued my privacy. Their rates were reasonable. Their rooms were the picture of serenity.
One night I met an island girl on one of the poker cruises that left from the pier just down the road. She was beautiful and worked as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines. When the Vegas Express docked around 3 a.m., giddy with champagne and flushed with winning, we wandered down to the beach and made love on the white sands.
The Walnut Motel is a special place and so is the Hard Rock Casino owned by the Seminole Indian Tribe. From March 16 through April 9, the Hard Rock is sponsoring a World Poker Tour series of poker tournaments.
One of the events is a $3,500 buy-in, $2 million guaranteed, competition.
South Florida is filled with poker players. Retirees, computer experts, police officers, truck drivers, attorneys, school teachers, and university students and professors. They are all addicted to the world's most popular card game.
I am going to be in Hollywood for the WPO event.
Specifically, I plan to play in a $300 buy-in limit Omaha High-Low tournament that will take place on Friday, March 17. The event starts at noon and rebuys are allowed.
I may play in other tournaments as well, but that one is the apple of my eye.
The Hard Rock is a great casino and card room. It offers horse betting and entertainment. When I was last there, the food was terrific.
The card room offered one table sit-and-goes where for a $120 buy-in, you could play nine other players and if you won, walk away with $1,200.
The action never stops at the Hard Rock Casino.
I will stay at the Walnut Motel and Apartments -- Motel Serenity -- and sleep late lulled into the deepest of sleeps by the waves gently rushing onto the white sand beach.
There is a poker tournament for every taste and pocketbook. Just bring money.
On March 20, for a $150 buy-in you can play for $150,000, guaranteed. Re-buys are permitted.
Also on Monday, March 20, for $360 you can play in a $100 bounty event, $30,000 guaranteed.
Then on Thursday, March23, for a $570 buy-in, you can play for $1 million guaranteed.
A tournament for seniors 50 and over will be held on Marh 23. Buy-in is $300 and re-buys are allowed.
On Wednesday, March 29, a super high roller event is planned. The buy-in is $50,000, there are re-entries, and $1 million is guaranteed.
On Friday, March 31, for a $3,500 buy-in -- re-entries are permitted -- you can compete for $2 million guaranteed.
See why I love South Poker?
Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
