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Lead Story. May 15, 2001 Dan-O-DebtThe plane-ride back from Las Vegas is never the same as the one out. Faces are ashen, contemplative. Grief, loss and disbelief are general; a stark contrast to the propitious exuberance of the crowd heading westward. But none of the lost souls I witnessed on my flight east could compare to the one presented to me by Dano as I breezed through the door of apartment 5E Tuesday night, fresh in from JFK. The losses have been piling up for the beleaguered wrench-head over the last few months. Last night was no exception, and perhaps marked the nadir of his TNP career. Inside Chowhound's awkwardly lit dining alcove, the ultra-wide playing surface seemed like a moribund green sea for the rudderless play of our favorite grease-monkey. Raising and re-raising $2 every round in every game, Dano seemed hell-bent to push the envelope on his own all time loss record. Unfortunately, he was trying to win. His bizarre extreme strategy had one fatal flaw. It was stupid. Feltman, Chowhound and Koneo, all with cars no less than ten years old, seemed most concerned with Dano's downward trend. "It's a little scary when your mechanic starts losing like that...especially when you got an '84 Volvo," said Koneo. By about 11:00 he had had enough. After losing a ton, mistakenly trying to use a wild card to build a low in 'Lets Go Shopping', Dano attempted to evacuate the game. "Mark me down for an 'Abruptly Left Game' stat, Felt. I'm outta here." Though it took ten minutes of high pressure coaxing, the fish o' the day finally capitulated, put down his incongruous royal blue 'Jeep' knapsack, and continued play. He stuck to his kamikaze strategy, and like a cornered dog, Dano clawed his way back to a mere $80 loss. Yes, his bonehead play was plain to see, mismanagement-chipectomy, next time, for sure, he'll call the nurse.
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