Lodden Thinks at Table 63

Table 63 has been called "The Featured Table" by at least one player who isn’t seated there, wondering whether or not it really represented a random draw. Here was the lineup a short while ago:

Seat 1.  Bryan Piccioli  –  34,000  (56 bb)
Seat 2.  Jack Hirschman  –  31,000  (51 bb)
Seat 3.  Christian Harder  –  78,000  (130 bb)
Seat 4.  Will Failla  –  17,000  (28 bb)
Seat 5.  Peter Ippolito  –  27,000  (45 bb)
Seat 6.  Dwyte Pilgrim  –  64,000  (106 bb)
Seat 7.  Chris McCormack  –  38,000  (63 bb)
Seat 8.  Victor Ramdin  –  45,000  (75 bb)
Seat 9.  Scott Blackman  –  91,000  (151 bb)

As per usual, Will Failla was the life of the party, getting everybody talking and laughing as they played a game of "Lodden Thinks."

The Rules For "Lodden Thinks"

Technically, the only ones betting were Harder, Failla, McCormack, Ramdin, and Blackman, along with one other player to fill the role of Lodden.

For those who aren’t familiar with the game, Lodden thinks starts with a question that has a numeric answer, but not a clear answer. For example, "How many apple pies does a single McDonald’s sell in a single day?" Or, "How many hands of poker has Doyle Brunson played in his lifetime?"

The actual answer isn’t relevant. The person who has been designated as the "Lodden" writes down his or her guess as to the answer, and keeps it secret. Keep in mind that this guess is probably wrong, but the Lodden gives it his or her best effort.

The betting players then take turns picking higher and higher numbers, until one of them calls by saying "Under." The player who chose the most recent number is stuck with the over, and the other players pick whichever side they want.

At that point, the "Lodden" reveals the original guess, whether it is over or under.

Today’s Lodden Questions

One of their first questions was "How many flatscreen TVs are in the Borgata?"

A few players asked questions to clarify, and this question covered the entire property, from the executive offices to the hotel rooms to the poker room to the attached Water Club.

Dwyte Pilgrim was playing the role of Lodden, and he wrote down his guess. Victor Ramdin was the first player to guess, and he went with 1,585. The next two players bid it up to 2,000, but then Pilgrim started laughing and giving off some obvious tells that his number was nowhere near that.

The players voided the question, since the Lodden isn’t supposed to offer any information or tells. Pilgrim tried to conceal his guess and scratch it out, but somebody said they thought they saw "300" written down.

The next question was "How many days from now will the first player in the USA be able to play a legal hand of poker on PokerStars?"

Pilgrim wrote down his answer, and the bidding began again with Ramdin picking 402 days. After three rounds of raises, Ramdin chose 490 days, and Blackman called for the under. The other players chose their sides, and then Pilgrim revealed his answer.

Pilgrim chose May 25, 2013, which is 288 days away. The under won.

The next question was about Playboy founder Hugh Hefner — "How many sexual partners has Hugh Hefner had in his lifetime?" It was clarified to include both male and female sexual partners.

This time, the role of Lodden was being played by Peter Ippolito. He made his guess, and wrote it down.

Christian Harder started the bidding low at 50, and then it slowly increased until Blackman bid 402. Harder took the under, and then both Failla and Ramdin took the under as well.

Ippolito revealed his guess: 920. Blackman swept that round with the over, earning $20 from each of the other players.

The Worst Answer in the History of Lodden Thinks?

The next question was "How many hot dogs does Yankee Stadium sell during a single baseball game?"

This time, the Lodden was Scott Blackman, and he thought for a few moments before quickly writing down his guess.

Will Failla kicked off the bidding with 10,000, and it escalated from there. But they were only able to get out a few guesses before Blackman started laughing uncontrollably, because his guess was nowhere near where they were guessing.

Once again, the round was invalidated, and everyone wanted to see Blackman’s number. He showed them — 117.

Everyone was shocked, like he was trying to level them or something. Surely nobody would think that Yankee Stadium only sells 117 hot dogs in a game.

Failla laughed and said, "Buddy, I eat 117 hot dogs during a game by myself."

Blackman said he figured they sold about 35 hot dogs an hour, and extrapolated from there. The other players mocked him, and Blackman eventually said that he got confused and was just figuring out how many hot dogs were sold by a single hot dog stand during a baseball game.

Harder was calling it the worst answer in the history of Lodden thinks, and took his assessment to Twitter. (See below.)

Unfortunately, the game dissolved shortly after this when table catalyst Will Failla was eliminated.

Playing Lodden thinks – "how many hot dogs are sold during a yankees game" and die hard Yankee fan Scott Blackman was the Lodden & said 117

— Christian Harder (@realcharder30) August 11, 2012

That has to be the worst answer in the history of Lodden thinks.

— Christian Harder (@realcharder30) August 11, 2012