An Urgently Needed Break or Bad Beat Story?

I have been to Las Vegas a few times already to cover the World Series Of Poker previously, of which 2014 with just over six weeks for PokerNews was probably the most memorable one. This year, the WSOP decided to do the live reporting in-house and many freelancers must have applied. Either way after about one month I eventually heard back that they "are afraid there was no spot for me" on the reporting team and photographers were already booked as well.

So, is this actually good or bad news?

The start of the year has been quite extraordinary in terms of events to cover, I have already done about a dozen of them and will be heading to Malta next week for the Mega Poker Series. Physically, I am probably in the worst shape for the past 12 months right now but that doesn't have any influence on my writing during the events. There is still a certain lack of consistency when it comes to taking pictures, even though the feedback is mostly positive.

At the events itself, "yours idiot" is the first of the staff to be at the venue each day and the last to leave in the evening / night / early morning hours. I love my kind of work most of the time and it helps to be a workaholic and have German blood in the veins with regards to the work ethics. Fortunately there is also a specific sample of familiar faces that keep the spirit alive. And if everything else fails, a quick chat with the person that always makes you smile gives the extra boost to survive another day without going crazy.

They say, when one door closes, another one will open ... or you get hit in the back when failing to exit quickly enough. I will definitely miss a lot of friends on the circuit who are going to be at Sin City, but this hiccup also represents an opportunity to focus on what or who deserves more attention as well.

Whether a miracle happens still or any other events pop up instead, c'est la vie.

Until then, may the flops, turns and rivers be with you.

P.S. That was my two cent towards the topic of daily bad beat stories.

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My WSOP 2014 Highlights at a Glance

If someone would have told me only two months prior to the World Series Of Poker 2014 that I would be working there for more than six weeks, I'd shrugged and called them crazy. During the EPT Vienna I covered the Highroller events for a German website and chatted with Chad Holloway, who suggested to apply with PokerNews for the Series.

One week later I had an invite for EPT Sanremo to do a trial run and immediately accepted when the offer for Las Vegas came by email. Three other small live tournaments in Europe were proposed to me but the WSOP opportunity doesn't come that often, so the decision was quite easy.

Trips over the pond are always some kind of adventure when you live in the middle of nowhere and thus it took almost one full day from door to door. Fortunately I was able to avoid jetlag and after some brief introduction, we were all thrown in the cold water that is the Rio's. If you ever played an event at the WSOP in the past 10 years, you will know what I mean with cold and a hoodie is typically the best friend.

The by far biggest difference to the tournaments I usually cover is the fact that no media cards exist and early on, you simply have to stick to the familiar faces that you know.
Anyways, enough of the intro and straight to my personal highlights in no particular order. People tend to use top five or top 10 lists, but all the below experiences have the same important value for me.

The Year of the Germans and a surprising Interview

There may have been barely any German among the top 100 players of the Main Event, but it still was a very successful year with a total of five golden bracelets (two each for Dominik Nitsche and George Danzer as well as one for Florian Langmann) . Furthermore, a couple of Germans reached Final Tables (Heinz Kamutzki, Ismael Bojang and Manig Loeser among others) but the biggest surprise was possibly the 3rd place of Max Kruse in a 2-7 Lowball event. He is a football striker for the team that I support in Germany and I had the pleasure to do an interview with him for Pokernews that can be found here.

Mixed Game Specialists on the Rise

Aforementioned Danzer and Brandon Shack-Harris battle for the Player of the Year (POY) honors and both reached tremendous results with several Final Table appearances next to their name. While Shack-Harris only won 1 bracelet, he scored another 2 second place and 1 third place finishes this summer. Melissa Burr was the first woman to ever cash in the $ 50,000 The Poker Players Championship and impressed with four Final Table results, missing out on another by only four spots.

Hollywood Poker Open: Kitty claws and Deadman defeats Nemesis

Initially, I was disappointed that I was sent to cover the Hollywood Poker Open instead of the Ladies Event at the WSOP, but the location off the strip was most excellent . The tournament itself under the guidance of Bill Bruce had an excellent structure and they looked after my colleague Aaron and I the whole time. Maybe it was also quite appreciated because of the bikini contest at the pool during Day 2. Either way, I was quite happy about the third place of EPT regular Kitty Kuo. And then there was Simon Deadman, who had already racked up a ton of second place finishes in 2014 and finally scored that long-overdue big win.

How to cover a Mixed Game

I love to play Seven Card Stud and Pot Limit Omaha (both Hi and Hi Lo) in my rare free time but you barely ever get the chance to do the live reporting on these poker variants. It was a hell of a challenge for me especially since it was held in limit as well. But after being confused for quite some time on the first day, I eventually got used to it and mastered the challenge that was $ 2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (Event #25) thanks to the help of Chad.

Wizards getting their Reward

One of the biggest names to win a bracelet this year was definitely Phil Ivey. But I was even more pleased by the wins of Dan Kelly, Paul Volpe, Bryn Kenney, Calvin Anderson and Vanessa Selbst. The latter once again confirmed that she is by far the most feared woman on the international poker circuit. Kelly finally won his second bracelet whereas the other three online wizards finally claimed the important first victory.

Magicians from Belgium: Davidi Kitai and Pierre Neuville

Davidi Kitai was already a member of the elusive Triple Crown club even though some media outlets argue that the WPT Invitational win should not count. However, there is little doubt over the mad skills of the Belgian at the poker table though and he confused the hell out of Phil Hellmuth on the way to his third WSOP bracelet.

EPT serial qualifier Pierre Neuville set several records in Las Vegas this summer, cashing in eight WSOP events as over 70 year old, including an impressive second place finish in the $ 5,000 No Limit Hold'em - Six Handed (Event #24) for $ 385,041. He is probably the most friendly and polite player I have ever met on the international poker circuit and showed all the young guns that age doesn't matter.

Meeting old and new Friends

Of course these big festivals also draw the attention of all regulars on the circuit and gives you the opportunity to see all the familiar faces that one otherwise only knows from TV and poker videos on YouTube. You walk through the huge rooms filled with poker tables everywhere and stumble over friends that you haven't seen for a few years. New friendships are established and all those cherished moments help a lot to get through the long grind and lack of sleep.

The Poker(News) Family

Every deep run of a friend sparks some extra motivation but we all have those days when nothing seems to go right. A saying suggests to simply "go left" when that happens and then there is also the smile, handshake or hug to cheer you up. Further, it is important that all colleagues help each other and I for one as "PokerNews newbie" definitely needed and appreciated that a lot.

Lessons that I learned

- I am too stubborn
- Almost all women like chocolate
- Consistency is the key to success
- I need to improve on my writing and taking pictures

The whole Vegas trip was a massive learning experience for me and should improve the performance at my other future live coverages significantly. All the tiny mistakes add up, but often one should just concentrate on getting the work done and worrying about the rest later. Nobody is perfect but as long as you learn from the mistakes, it will be worth it and makes you stronger.

On the way back home, I had the unfortunate timing to fly from Las Vegas to Charlotte while Germany gobsmacked Brazil in the semi final of the World Cup of Football. At least I was back home in time to watch the final victory over Argentina, otherwise it would have probably been even more cruel.

Last but not least I would like to thank PokerNews for this awesome opportunity and hopefully I didn't drive too many people insane with my funny German accent.

Hasta la promixa vez!

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Back to the roots, Sin City is calling

Some days a simple email confirmation can cheer you up after the start of 2014 was pretty blurry to say the least:

___

Thank you for your 2014 World Series of Poker media credential application.

We have processed your application and have approved your media credential request for this year’s event.

You may pick up your credential in the WSOP Media Center, located in the Palma H ballroom at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino beginning 11:00 am, May 27th or anytime afterward during media center hours of operation, 10:00 am – 4:00 am.

Palma H is located in the WSOP tournament area, across from the Amazon tournament ballroom.

We appreciate your interest in the World Series of Poker and look forward to working with you this summer.

___

The last two weeks I first had a trial run with PokerNews at the EPT Sanremo to see if I can fit and do have the writing style and work ethic to maybe get hired for the summer during the WSOP. When I arrived in Madrid for the Mega Poker Series last week Tuesday the email offer was in my inbox and I therefor applied for media credentials immediately as requested.

Three years ago I started doing live reporting for the Pro Team of Poker770 and though not much is going on there anymore, it still gave me the opportunity back in 2011 to work at the Rio's in Las Vegas for about a week. Ironically an unscheduled backup on the WordPress blog page killed all content that I had written back then.

In 2014 this will definitely not be the case as I will be grinding the rails for PokerNews during almost the entire Series. Only the final booking details are missing for now but will be sorted out in the next few days. I may not be the best poker writer out there and can partly blame that on being German and that English is not my native language, but that would be a weak excuse.

However, one thing is for certain: I tend to work my ass off during the events and always try to get back to the tables quickly to get as many information as possible out there to all readers. In Madrid I was the only blogger for the English reporting and did more than 90 posts per day on average including the daily recaps, press text and website updates.

Vegas will be much worse time wise. You probably gonna see me with the usual grumpy face. And I will love the opportunity to once again show what I am capable of under pressure. We all do. Even until the early to late morning hours. Without love for the game of poker itself this is not possible, at least not over such a long time span. But nobody ever said it is gonna be easy.

Still sounds like a dream job? Well the above was my two cents. And the below is from my last trip ;)

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#WSOP 2011 Breaks All-Time Records

 

42^nd Annual World Series of Poker® Sets All-Time Records

Total Prize Money and Participation Establish New High Marks

Total Participation Finishes Over 75,000 Entrants for First-Time Ever

LAS VEGAS (July 10, 2011) – The 42^nd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) Presented by Jack Links Beef Jerky at the Rio-All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas established a host of new records as poker enthusiasts from more than 100 nations traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the game’s grandest spectacle.  The WSOP remained the industry standard-bearer, with a record 75,672 entries in 58 events creating the largest prize pool in WSOP history: $191,999,010.

The new all-time high in entrants surpassed by 3.7 percent the previous record of 72,966 set last year; this year’s record prize pool eclipsed the previous high of $187,109,850 set in 2010 by 2.6 percent. 

For the seventh consecutive year, the WSOP generated a total prize pool well in excess of $100 million.

In the 42-year history of the WSOP, the prestigious tournament has now awarded more than $1.4 billion in prize money.  (Actual figure is: $1,420,374,131)

Legions of amateur players competed alongside legendary poker pros, Hollywood A-listers and international sports figures to establish the new milestones.  Among the notable non-poker playing names competing during this year’s WSOP included Jason Alexander, Nelly, Ray Romano, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Tilly, Shane Warne, Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion, Petter Northug, David Lee, Phil Kessel, Jeff Fenech, Patrick Bruel and Brad Garrett.

The youngest player in this year’s WSOP was Logan Deen, from Cocoa, Florida who played Day 1-B of the Main Event, the day of his 21^st birthday – and he did survive the day. The oldest player to participate in this year’s WSOP was 91-year-old Ellen Deeb, who played Day 1-C of the Main Event, but unfortunately Ellen didn’t make it through. It didn’t stop her from pulling out $10,000 cash from her purse to try and re-enter the tournament (not allowed), but she’ll have to wait to 2012 to play again.

"This summer underscores the appeal of the game and the power of this event.  We're so thankful for all those who came from around the world to demonstrate that poker continues to grow," said World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart. “All across the board at the 2011 WSOP, from our signature gold bracelet events to cash games to satellites and daily tournaments, records were made to be broken.”

Many within the poker community speculated that participation in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship – commonly referred to as the Main Event – would suffer this year, however it remained right in line with where it has averaged the last five years (6,753).

The 2011 WSOP Main Event attracted its third-largest field ever, with 6,865 participants. As a result, the prize pool for the 2011 Main Event alone stands at $64,531,000 million, with the winner’s share amounting to $8,711,956.

In addition to overall participation and prize money, the 2011 WSOP established new records for:

Most million-dollar tournaments: Forty-six of 58 events in this year’s WSOP boasted a prize pool of $1 million or more, up from 44 events set last year.

Largest Seniors event in history: Event #30 attracted 3,752 players, eclipsing by 19 percent the previous record of 3,142 set last year. Year-over-year event prize money was up nearly 15 percent from last year, jumping from $2,827,800 to $3,376,800.

Biggest single day attendance ever: 3,752 players in Event #30 ($1,000 buy-in).

Biggest single day attendance ever for $1,500 buy-in event: 3,389 players in Event #56

Most consecutive years with multiple event winner: Brian Rast’s two victories stretched the multi-event winner record to 12 consecutive years.

Most consecutive annual WSOPs played: Howard “Tahoe” Andrew of Walnut Creek, Calif., extended his record for most consecutive years played at the WSOP: 38.

Most cashes at WSOP without a win: Tony Cousineau of Daytona Beach, Fla., extended his record as the player with the most cashes – 49 – without a win.

Longest span between Event Cashes: The 35-year span between Artie Cobb’s first cash in this event (1976) and his most recent cash in the same event (2011) represents the longest time span in WSOP history.  He accomplished this in Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split (Event #25).

All-time Cashes and Final Tables: Phil Hellmuth added to his record as the individual all-time leader in cashes (84) and final table appearances (43).

A complete list of tournament records set at the 2011 WSOP below:

·         Biggest Heads-Up tournament prize pool in history ($3,040,000) – Event #2

·         Largest live Omaha High-Low Split Tournament in history (925 entries) – Event #3

·         Largest live Six-Handed tournament in poker history (1,920 entries) – Event #10

·         Biggest Deuce-to-Seven tournament prize pool in history ($1,184,400) – Event #16

·         Largest live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3157 entries) – Event #18

·         Largest live $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3175 entries) – Event #20

·         Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,332 entries) – Event #18 and Event #20

·         Largest live Pot-Limit Omaha tournament in poker history (1,071 entries) – Event #22

·         Largest Mixed-Game (Eight-Game Mix) in poker history (489 entries) – Event #23

·         Largest Seniors tournament in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30

·         Biggest Seniors No-Limit Hold’em championship prize pool in history ($3,376,800) – Event #30

·         Largest single-day live tournament start in poker history (3,752 entries) – Event #30

·         Largest consecutive-days starting field sizes in poker history (combined 6,580 entries) – Event #30/Event #32 (broke Event #18/Event #20 record from earlier in 2011 WSOP)

·         Largest four-consecutive days field sizes in poker history (2,500+3,752+2,828+3,144 =12,224 entries) -- Events 28, 30, 32, 34, June 16-19, 2011

·         Largest Mixed Pot-Limit tournament in history (606 entries) – Event #39

·         Biggest Pot-Limit Omaha prize pool in live poker history ($3,393,400) – Event #42

·         Largest live $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in history with single day start (3,389 entries) – Event #56 (broke earlier series record for Event #18)

ABOUT THE WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport's top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker's longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  In 2011, the event attracted 75,672 entrants from more than 100 different countries to the Rio in Las Vegas and awarded over $191 million in prize money.  In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit www.WSOP.com.

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Las Vegas 2011 - short trip summary

Some go to Las Vegas for fun, others for work even though it might sound weird when you think about Sin City. But yes, there are some zombies and insomniacs that go to Las Vegas and do their job regardless of all the temptation. This year I was fortunate enough (money wise) to be the latter and even though it sucked not to spend more time with dear friends, it was still worth it. There are even some crazy people that live at Las Vegas for work reasons!

To most it either sounds fascinating or boring to work at the World Series of Poker, depending on the point of view, but in fact it is nothing else than hard work with long work hours and most of the time not as much as fun as it may sound. Still, it is a job that has to be done to get the latest news and updates out there and at the end of the day, you simply crawl back to the hotel and prepare for the next event. 

There were no Bracelets and good / bad beats + ugly setups like in every other poker tournament and you get to share the ups and downs with the players, take interesting pictures and share stories. That might sound like a dream job but before you get too enthusiastic and want to try it yourself … are you ready to work 12h+ day in day out for 1-2 weeks in a row? I still enjoy this work because I know what I am doing and don’t have any problems, the interaction in different languages is an added incentive to improve your own knowledge and it is always nice to see some familiar faces from previous events. 

I had most of my shopping done the very first morning at 9am and went to work at 11 … the rest of the shopping was completed on half a day off towards the end of the trip. The coverage for the team was okay, lots of setups and bad beats as well as busts in the late levels of the starting day, but that is part of the game. Besides the 19^th place and the 2 cashes of online qualifiers, I would describe the coverage as uneventful. Okay, the ladies of the team are always a pleasure to watch on and off the tables.

Fortunately I was able to meet up with some friends for breakfast and the last 2-3 days of the trip had some time to relax in mind, including a day downtown and a BBQ at Henderson. If you live far away and don’t get to see dear friends that often, you have to truly appreciate these opportunities and I usually try to bring over some presents in exchange to make up for the long time since I seen them. The smile on the face is reward enough and the time spent together always a gift itself. Well, this might sound a bit cheesy for most, but those are the moments we keep in our memory and make these trips so special, right?

The travel back was long ... too long, as I spent about 33 hours on my way back to Germany and was awake for ~54 hours in a row, but at least I don't feel any jetlag at all. Now it's time to dive back into the usual daily routine and workaholic style, should not be too difficult once you get used to it. But I am already working on the details for my next trip ... .

You can also check out a little pitcure gallery below as well:

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An "ordinary" trip to Las Vegas

It was kinda weird to be back at Vegas after 2007, 2009 and 2010 because this year it was actually the first time with full media credentials for the World Series of Poker. I am used to the blogger work from previous EPT’s and WPT’s, but the WSOP is always different and for the vast majority I haven’t seen much more than the poker room, the press box and the hotel. It would have obviously been more fun to spend more time with friends, but after all it was no fun trip and I was here to work.

Don’t get me wrong, I like my job, but sometimes less and sometimes more … the AC is still crap and some things never change, at least I didn’t have to break with my tradition and will fly back the 4^th time in a row with a flu. This time it’s just the bloggers flu and please don’t mix it up with the man flu, because those two have different levels of grumpiness.

The last few days and meeting up with a few of my most dear friends made up for some of the stress, it was good to see them again even though it sucks that this just happens once or twice a year though. Sh1t happens, guess you can only make the best out of it and keep on going, because standing still is no option and doesn’t pay the bills either. I met almost all people I really wanted to see and the smile on the face when you have over small presents is reward enough. 

Now that the time is almost over and soon the shuttle bus to the airport will be ready “for boarding”, it is time to say goodbye and dive back into the old daily routine. Las Vegas can’t really get totally boring, but you can get used to it and know most of the stuff already, the first time is always the best unless you win big on a later visit. But I actually doubt that this will be the case any time soon and will probably limit the time that I gonna dedicate to poker for a while.

Some things have been put into perspective, others appear less important and it might be best to fully concentrate on work and getting things done, besides sorting out some stuff in my regular life. I appreciate the opportunity I have been given and don’t want to risk losing that, it does pay for my bills and I have to think about my not so distant future as well and want to make sure that I can support my family if needed.

I want to work out more again and get back in shape, well okay that might take some time but it will be by far better for my whole mindset and balance and I will hopefully be able to master all upcoming challenges much faster and in a more efficient way. Sometimes you just need to set priorities and I am happy with my choices so far, they might not be perfect but at least I cannot hurt any other people close to me either. Because that would be something I cannot forgive myself and I will do whatever it takes to avoid that. 

We don’t know what the future might bring and that is one of the exciting challenges, along with being prepared to handle all potential scenarios rather quickly without investing too much time and effort into it. It will work out somehow, but there is no need to panic yet and all problems will be dealt with one after the other.

Guess I better wrap this and my stuff up now, because I have to go back to the hotel first to grab my bag and take the shuttle to the airport. Yet another 30h+ trip is promising lots of fun NOT, but that is just one of the daily headaches that we all have to deal with. 

Goodbye Las Vegas … I gonna miss you … for now … I really do.

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Invade Vegas II - Live OFC 2011

*** Pre-Registration Is OPEN ***
Only 200 Seats Available, So Act Now! Pre-registration ends June 15th.

You will be allowed to register on site but you will not be guaranteed a gift bag or free entry into Gold Diggers on Sunday night!

Global Gaming Events is having its second LIVE Event in Fabulous Las Vegas! Get ready for INVADE VEGAS II

In June 2011, The Golden Nugget Casino and Resort will be hosting some special tournaments and parties for us. We welcome you to join us and have a blast! Meet your online friends in person and play in our second Live Forum Challenge Event.

Golden Nugget Casino Special Rate

We have a special code for you to use when booking at The Golden Nugget Casino and Resort for your stay. Use code Grand11 and get a rate starting at $42 Weekdays (weekends are a little more). Visit http://www.GoldenNugget.com or call 1.800.634.3454 to book your room now. Need help making your travel arrangements? Use our travel search at http://www.InvadeVegas.com

Charity Tournament - Win Your Way To TV
There will be a Suzy & Howard Lederer charity poker event seat up for grabs from Invade Vegas! The winner of this seat will gain entry to the charity tournament to help the Boys and Girls Club. Win the charity event and you will win a $20,000 entry to play on Poker After Dark and be on TV! (you can buy in directly to the charity tournament for $330 with $200 rebuys and a $100 add on)

How do you win it? We will be running a $10 last longer for the tournament entry! Donate $10 to the charity and if you make it longer than everyone else donated $10 in the last longer bet in the June 30th Invade Vegas Main Event on June 30th, you win the entry and your shot at TV!

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
5:00-7:00 PM - Invade Vegas II check in and pick up gift bags - This will be held at the Golden Nugget Casino extended poker room area. Cash bar available.
5:00-7:00 PM - Meet and greet. Players will also be able to register for the tournaments for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
8:00 PM-Late - Gold Diggers Nightclub opens up 1 hour early for our group with a cash bar.

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
2:30-4:00 PM - Invade Vegas II check in and pick up gift bags (for those who didn't check in on Tuesday) - This will be held at the Golden Nugget Casino extended poker room area.
4:00 PM - Warm Up Event. Buy in will be $50+15. Additional bonus prizes to be added.

• 4000 Starting Chips & for $5 Tip to the dealers you will get 1000 more
• Blinds start at 25/50
• Blinds increase every 30 minutes
• The tournament will be broadcast LIVE over the internet so people who cannot make it to Las Vegas can participate!

Thursday, June 30th, 2011
4:00 PM - OFC Live Forum Challenge Event - $100+15 Buy In. 4000 Starting Chips & for $5 Tip to the dealers you will get 1000 more

• Blinds start at 25/50
• Blinds increase every 30 minutes
• The tournament will be broadcast LIVE over the internet so people who cannot make it to Las Vegas can participate!

Friday, July 1st, 2011
Tentatively 2:00 PM - Turbo Bounty Event - $30+10 Buy In. 2000 Starting Chips & for $5 Tip to the dealers you will get 1000 more. $5 bounty on every player you can take out.

• Blinds start at 25/50
• Blinds increase every 15 minutes

7:00 PM - Tentative Pub Crawl - Details to come.

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My Vegas OFC Live Trip at a glance

Alright, since every other Pokerspacer that attended the OFC Live a few days ago already put up a personal blog already, I guess it is my turn to do so as well. Please keep in mind though that "at a glance" in zed-ish means less than 5.000 words ... lol!

The trip itself started pretty creepy with my flight being cancelled and losing a whole day at the airport at Frankfurt, I finally arrived at Vegas one day later than planned and Steve, Chris and Lesley already been waiting for me with a bottle of Scotch lol ... Steve was supposed to play in a WSOP tourney though the next day! We might have been a bit tipsy and went for a drink on the Freemont Street ... well we tried but every bar was already closed at Downtown Vegas around 3am lol. So when we tried to get in the room, we didn't succeed (and yes, all 3 tried lmao) and decided to go to the Venetian and just fall to sleep there. Lesley didn't even manage to get off the couch and was just fallen asleep right next to me ... Chris was still pretty sleepy and after 4 hours Lesley and I decided to go for breakfast and it was just really smooth to talk to her in real life for 2 hours rather than typing through yahoo. We than went for some shopping while Chris was still sleeping (lazy bastard!) and I returned to the Golden Nugget and obviously managed to get in the room straight.

I pretty much completed all my shopping in the first two days after arriving at Vegas and also met up with the lovely Vger, first thing we have done was getting lost in Margaritaville hehe. On the Sunday before the meet and greet I was a bit late from shopping and on the way back to the elevators, I met John and we knew each other from the first second, even though it was the first time we met in real life. It was nice to see all Pokerspacers and we also managed to take a small group photo as well:



I guess everybody has already seen the pictures on various other blogs about the wild party at the Gold Diggers, I won't mention any details though but it was definitely a blast ... that's all I can say :P Again, Steve was doing the same preparation for his WSOP tourney the other day hehehe. On the Sunday morning I met up with John and his awesome family for breakfast, it turned out that we were a bit late and headed to the lunch ... if you really want to see a great buffet, just go to the Main Street Station hotel at downtown ... it was like 8 bucks and they had such a great variety of food.

Before the warm up we decided to bring Steve over to the RIO's for his WSOP tourney so he doesn't fall asleep and when we just been heading out, I heard someone yelling at me from the check in waiting line ... you should have seen the smile on my face though, because Tracy finally arrived ;) She also had some heavy issues with her flight and lost a whole day, but finally made it to Sin City. We stayed at the Rio's for just about 45 minutes and also seen Daniel Negreanu taking out Dan Harrington with pocket rockets, Steve was doing ok in his tourney and he also cashed later on but unfortunately didn't go deep.

You can pretty much sum up my 2 tourneys at the OFC Live with one word: gawd. I was pretty much carddead and tried to pick some spots on the table against weaker opponents, but never been able to build up my stack and various suckouts kept my stack pretty much on where we started. The blinds moved up and I was getting desperate in the warm up, made one tricky resteal against a limper with pocket Kings and wanted to get him in ... by leaving 100 chips behind on the reraise. Unfortunately he folded and I just picked up the blinds and ante + his limp. I got moved to another table just when the blinds moved up and from being on the button as smallstack, I went straight into the BigBlind and was obviously pissed off. I was waiting a few more hands and finally got a playable hand with pocket tens and ran straight into Kings ... thanks lol. If I remember correctly, we had 5 Pokerspacers busting with 10s that day and in the most spectacular hand of the day, 10s also been involved in a 4way all in with TT vs TT vs AK vs AK:



Poolshooter and SuperrSam bubbled straight before the money and Cory was hanging in as one of the shortstacks, he made a helluva a game and a comeback on the Final Table, just to miss out on the added WSOP seat by one place and getting second.

The next day, Tracy and I went for breakfast / lunch / brunch ... I don't remember lol - the OFC Main Event was not more fortunate and it was pretty much a déjà vu. An isolation on blinds 50-100 for example against a weaker player on the table who raised in EP to 300 shrunk my stack, I raised to 900 out of the Button with JJ to get rid of the blinds and get called, flop is KQ low and she instant shoves ... I open muck my Jacks and get proudly shown KJ, well played. Same again, I never got to build up my stack and on blinds 200-400 I look down on AJ from the button, the SB is pretty passive and the BB is almost even stacked. I raise and almost commit myself, BB shoves and I take the flip vs TT (what else lol) - flop T 4 4 and headshot, thanks a bunch sigh. I mean I am not unhappy about my play, it was maybe a bit passive but I never had a spot to float against a raise in front of me and highly doubt I would been successful at this table.

We did have a few Pokerspacers in the top 30, but just BartyUK got to the final table and came in 5^th, overall we took 3^rd place though and gonna have a private Freeroll at FeltStars. Tracy had to leave at 5 in the morning the next day and I met up with Lee and Amanda for lunch, it is quite interesting at times though how long women need to dress up hehe. In the following 2 pics you can see the difference between typical American / British lunch (Lee) and my healthy asian food:




We went for the Strip because they both wanted to see the water show at the Bellagio later that day and also go for a bit of shopping, we been walking around in the heat and after 2 hours or so I went for the MnM shop to find a lil prezzie for Tino. Would you believe that they have thousands of toys and w/e but all just in the friggin 4 main stream colors and not purple? Grrrrrrr - ah well, at least I got something and will ship it to the Toon early next week ;)




The time just went by too fast and I tried not to get drunk on the pub crawl on Wednesday, because I still had some work ahead and also the 24h trip back to Germany on early Thursday as well. I pretty much pulled an all nighter, was fallen asleep once but the wake up call saved me and I met up with Vger before I left to the airport. The trip back home almost turned into a nightmare again, because the flight to Philly was slightly delayed and the flight to Frankfurt was overbooked, I got my seat as second last of the standby list yuck. But than, all went smooth and we even managed to get to Germany 50 minutes faster than expected and I caught an earlier train - the whole trip was pretty short though, I didn't even lose a whole day on the way back home ... just 23 hours lmfao!

I would just like to thank the OFC, Ace Jones begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Feltstars and of course also Vger for putting up such an event and organizing all at Vegas, it was the perfect opportunity to meet all the Pokerspacers and even though I wasn't successful at the tables, it still was a blast. I also have to thank Steve for sorting out my trip and let me go there for a week, he knew exactly how much it meant to me to be there.

I got to meet my favourite online divas Vger, Tracy, Sadie and nutbreaker and also brought over some german wine and chocolate along with some pet toys ... you just gotta know how to treat the ladies ;)
It was great to see John and his family, you were actually exactly what I expected and just let me know the next time and I will of course take care of your daughter hehe.


My british gang, Lee, Amanda, Spiersey and Barty ... gawd I just love the English accent and it was just nice to meet up, I knew Spiersey and Barty before from some live events at the UK.

Amanda is just a cracker, just don't let her have a lot of drinks or she may go nuts hehe:


Chris and Lesley ... oh my gosh what a fun couple and I am pretty sure to know where the online nicknames come from haha. FlyingKOP and your family ... oh lord, what a cutie your daughter is and she will surely be a heartbreaker in the future and I just hope Lesley didn't teach her too well at Vegas ;)


Chad ... well what shall I say - we all know your online personality but you screwed that up with being a really nice guy at Vegas that everybody can get along with ... let's see if you can actually establish the bad boy image again after all said that you are a good guy. Mainervill ... Rick, you are just a lovely big and friendly teddy bear and it was a pleasure to meet ya

Cory ... it was a pity that we could not talk more, but from what I have seen at the tables is that you made a helluva showing and got what it takes to be really successful ... looking forward to the next time and we will surely catch up online as well via skype or IM

I know I have been missing out on a lot of people and just wish the whole trip would have been much longer, but after waiting for so long for this to happen, it just wasn't enough time at Vegas and I hope that the next one will even be more fabulous.

I will also upload the best pictures and create a slideshow and post the link here on the blog, I may also create an album at the Pokerspace Facebook page and if you are not a member there yet, hurry up and get there!

Link to the picture slideshow on Photobucket: Vegas OFC Live

So now, I need to finish up in style and there is no better way than to post my fav picture of the trip:

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My Las Vegas trip 2009 part 1: How it all began + travel to LV ...

Some might have been reading the blog when I was trying to qualify for a WSOP package not that long ago called "So close but yet so far", where I busted in 13th place and top 10 got a WSOP package (Side Event for 6-10 and top 5 got a Main Event package). In the super satellite afterwards where I received the coupon for as consolation prize for that bubble, I never got started and busted pretty early ... well I guess better early than bubbling again. I didnt think that I would be able to fly over to Vegas this year and meet some old and new friends from all over the world that I met online before through poker ... but plans changed all of a sudden on June 13th and the upcoming few days, when an "old" friend (thats not meant sarcastic, he is actually 64 years old !!!) won a WSOP Main Event package through the Everest Poker WSOP steps.

He didnt even know that he still had a coupon for the steps left and stumbled over it by luck 2 days before the promotion ended on Everest and well, he started on Level 2 and managed to go through straight to Level 5 the same day ... and on late saturday night (June 13th) he played the last 2 final steps for the WSOP Main Event package, each just a 10 seater SNG table to beat. Well surprinsingly he took it down and was stunned ... the screenshot hit the german forum where he is most of the time like a bomb and the next few days he set up the whole trip and tried to organise stuff. As I was already at Vegas in 2007, he contacted me via skype to help him and a good friend of mine that should fly over with him - Everest was generous and paid 1.000$ on top of the 13.000$ Main Event package for the flight tickets so he could enjoy that adventure together with a friend. Over the next days, we tried to get all booked and the flight tickets were not that cheap, but still ok and covered by the money from Everest. Well, online it would have been easy to book, but the friend hat no credit card that could have been used and he ended up getting screwed by the travel agency in his local area, that wasnt able to book everything in time. The prices went up and he could not afford to fly over any more, another buddy got asked and also said no as he was moving flats ... so within 2 very chaotic days, I was the chosen one to fly over with him.

I checked my schedule and decided that I can also take over my laptop to the States and do the most important one online, as I just need an internet connection. Additionally I had to post updates on 2 german poker forums where he is active at and got asked by the admins to write some updates from Vegas and how the event goes etc. No problem for me though as I love writing (a lot) and it all went fine, more details about his tournament to come later though. So actually I buzzed around my online contacts that were also meeting over at Vegas and tried to arrange a schedule where I could possibly meet the persons I really want to see in real life and others that I have already met. I went ahead and booked the flight tickets on June 16th though and was excited of course, finally the money from Everest also arrived a few days later and all was secured. The next days we have been skyping a lot and planning the whole trip, reminding each other what to bring over and not forget etc ... the days went and I informed all my business contacts where I am freelancing that I will be flying over to Vegas for 2 1/2 weeks and wont be online as much as I do usually. Just the day before the takeoff I actually received a longer translation and told to myself that I will stay awake all night and finish that work plus not gonna miss the train to the airport next morning. I had a long trip ahead anyway and could sleep either on the train or the plane. Well, I packed all my stuff just a few hours before I left my flat on June 30th and almost managed to miss the train because I was a bit late with the coffee at home LOL ... I eventually had to run to the train station but got there in time, well tbh 3 minutes before the train arrived.

The first omen was after only 10 minutes, as there have been technical problems with the train and we had to change to another one at the next bigger station ... very promising lol. But I arrived at Frankfurt airport in time and the check in there was already chaotic, the electronic preregistration that every visitor to the USA has to get through didnt work properly and it took much longer than usual to check into the flight and also drop the luggage ... well if that would have been the only problem! After the security check we been confrontated with the useless german US Airways staff and half of the passengers didnt have any seat number awarded, the confusion was pretty high and it took them over ONE HOUR to get all sorted and get each passenger his seat ... mostly in small groups or even just single persons! So we already been more than 90 minutes delayed for the takeoff to Philadelphia, funnily enough my friend that won the package had the problems afterwards in Philadelphia when he flew over to the States 2 days later. Fortunately I had 2h30 spare time at Philadelphia that went down to bout 30 minutes ... as I arrived from Europe, I had to grab my luggage and drop it again for the inner US flight - plus the security check again of course. Well, it worked out in time somehow and we kinda arrived in time at McCarran Airport, I went outside and grabbed an airport shuttle for 6.50$ to the Imperial Palace where I stayed for 2 days until my friend arrived (we moved into Caesars Palace from July 2nd to July 5th). Merely 35-40°C outside, not that bad lol ... I tried to reach a friend on her mobile but mine wasnt working properly and it took me some time to get it sorted. She was on the CakePoker party at Vegas and they came back late ... but well thats more likely to continue in the next blog, that will focus on the first few days of the trip from the arrival at Vegas until the start of the Main Event for my friend on Day 1D, Monday July 6th.

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