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 19th 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:
0 comments:
Post a Comment