Weekend At Daniel's Hockey Edition

[DanielNegreanu 141]

Here is the story of the weekend from my perspective.Weekend at Daniel’s: Hockey Edition began with the nine winners and guests meeting for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the pool at Caesars Palace, and ended with me running over the field at the final sit-n-go of the weekend. (More on that later…) For those of you that don't know this weekend was the grand prize in a series of hockey pools run by Daniel and FCP during the 2005-2006 NHL season. You can find more details here http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...showtopic=46448The entire trip from beginning to end was a first class experience. Many thanks to Jeff and Brandon, our hosts and tour guides for the weekend, to Patty, Daniel’s totally organized assistant, Lori and Daniel’s mom for hosting us for lunch on Sunday and to Matt who guided the whole Survivor Hockey experience and for whom I understand congratulations are in order.As we were milling around prior to the kickoff lunch I overheard one of my fellow winners remark that he had asked the restaurant hostess if there was a group booking, only to be informed that the restaurant did not take reservations. Yet sure enough there we were – group table for 20 in the prime location. The tone was set for the weekend – the regular rules were not in effect.Our group was a great mix of people and we settled into a groove with each other right from the start. Over lunch Brandon and Jeff explained how the weekend would work. There was to be a series of team challenges culminating at a pool tournament after dinner on Sunday. Points would be awarded and tracked and the events would kick off with a trip to Caesars sports book. Each of us was handed a crisp fifty dollar bill and told to try and win the most money possible betting on any sport that closed by noon on Sunday. After placing our bets we were to make our way into the poker room where Daniel would be joining us for a two-table tournament.Judi and I placed our bets then mingled in the poker room. While we were there Caesars was recording a tournament for television twenty feet from our location while two tables the other direction held a high stakes game featuring bracelet winner Eskimo Clark, a very loud Sean Sheikan, and, wearing a very nice silk shirt while working the room and giving massages, legendary cash game player Chau Giang. Several Ferraris worth of chips were flying around on that table.We were taking our seats when a noticeable increase in the buzz in what was already a noisy room heralded Daniel’s arrival. Daniel proved to be a congenial and charismatic host, quickly learning everyone’s name and keeping up a running banter during our tournament. It was a bit of a surreal experience, playing poker with one of the greats on a raised platform at one of the world’s legendary casinos. The experience must have been quite intimidating for some of the wives and girlfriends, most of whom did not play, though a lack of experience would prove not to be a detriment for this tournament. A thick group of railbirds quickly formed, cameras flashing continuously, and as people were eliminated we became quite good at answering questions from the crowd on how much our buy-in to the tournament was and how regular schmoes like us came to be there. I wish I could I could tell everyone how my brilliant play took me heads up against Daniel with me emerging victorious – but that would by lying. In reality my pocket queens were beaten by Brett’s A9o with all the money going in preflop. With barely enough left over to pay my blind I was then eliminated on the final table bubble when Daniel’s AQo held up against my A7d. All in all it was a great experience. My highlight came when when I did manage to get Daniel to lay down a hand pre flop with a brilliantly timed bluff (that is my story and I’m sticking to it).The final group of four players included Rich, who makes his living as photographer of cartoons (sorry man - I couldn't resist), Daniel, and poker neophytes Victoria and Jen. Victoria made the play of the day when after Daniel had moved in on her big blind, coolly looked straight at him and asked how much money more money he had. Somebody caught it on video – well worth seeking out and watching especially for Daniel's reaction. Jen and Rich ended up heads up, and Jen, after some coaching from our bemused dealer on the mechanics of betting, ended up as the winner of the weekend’s first contest.From Caesars we caught limos over to ESPNZone’s private room to watch the game 3 of the Edmonton-Carolina Stanley Cup Final. At the restaurant we were joined by Big Matt and Little Matt. Little Matt has faced lots of challenges in the last few of his 13 years of life and Daniel has been a big part of his ongoing recovery. Little Matt is a true story of courage and determination and was a great inspiration over the weekend and it is a testament to Daniel's humanity in the role he plays in Little Matt's life. The kid’s not a bad poker player too taking me out early during our Sunday tournament then cruising all the way to a second place finish.Despite some misguided chanting of U-S-A, U-S-A from the American part of our contingent the Oilers managed to squeak out a win much to Daniel’s delight as he had placed a fairly large bet on the Oilers to win. During dinner we had competed in picking period ending scores for points and then wrapped up dinner with a hockey trivia contest. For the record I will now never forget that Brian Boucher played for the Philadelphia Flyers and my utmost thanks to Judi who knew the final score in the USA’s 1980 Gold Medal game. Kudos to Ed for scarfing down (and keeping down) and entire plate of carrot cake to win a $500 sidebet. Hey Ed, at least it wasn’t wasabi this time!After dinner we headed up to play some video games before getting into a bus for the ride back to Caesars. By this point it was getting late by east coast time so the group started to break up. Judi went to crash; Daniel, Jeff and a few of the crew headed out to a night club; and a bunch of us went to play some poker. In hindsight I should have gone to the nightclub. I got killed at the table when my made king high flush was busted by a guy with 9-3 on a board of Kc 9h 3h Jh. With all the money in on the turn the river was the inevitable 3s. I rebought for a few hundred more but could barely keep my eyes open at that point. Note to self – stick to limit instead of no limit when running on fumes.Sunday morning Judi and I watched the Mexico-Iran game for a while. It’s amazing what having a few bucks on the game does for your interest level – especially when it’s for points in a competition. Meeting up at the bus we all took a meandering drive over to Daniel’s house for brunch. Our driver took a confusing route filled with U-turns cunningly designed to prevent us from finding our way to Daniel’s house again . When we finally figured out the route and arrived the first sight we saw was a large pickup parked in the laneway with WSOP 04 plates. I wonder who’s vehicle that could possibly be?Daniel greeted us and welcomed us into his home – a very gracious and extraordinary gesture given that we were really just a group of strangers who won a contest. Over sandwiches and a few beers we played NBA Jam, watched videos of Phil Helmuth melting down on High Stakes Poker, played a sit-n-go at which yours truly had the honor of busting out first, and held our next event, the Golden Tee Classic. I managed to make the final four on Golden Tee, when, on the first hole, Daniel made an eagle by holing a 200-yard fairway shot. I hope that kind of luck carries over to the real course Daniel! I did manage to take second by making birdie and salvage a little bit of my pride wounded by my early poker exit.While at Daniel’s I had a chance to spend some time with his mother, a remarkable lady who is obviously very proud and very close to her son. I also met Lori who struck me as a very solid and down to earth person. Our Drill Sergeants Jeff and Brandon rounded us up, and accompanied by a tub of full of ice and beer, we headed off to Fast Lap for our next challenge, high speed indoor go kart racing. On the way Daniel regaled us with stories from his golf game including the fact that Doyle Brunson drives his kart right up to the ball – even when it’s on the green – and the that one of the game’s regulars, whose name will remain anonymous, has the remarkable luck of always finding his errant balls coming to rest with a good lie and a clear view of the green. As Doyle said to Mr. Lucky Nuts, “Now I’m not saying that you’re cheatin’ – but I’m a mighty suspicious!” Daniel and I also came up with the next smash reality TV show – sure to be seen soon on a channel near you. Daniel let me know where I should send the treatment I’ve developed For those of you who have never tried indoor go karts, these are not the putt-putt machines of yesterday. These open wheel racers easily reached 40 miles per hour and required skill and fitness to guide them around the tight indoor track. After donning our head scarves and helmets – which should make for some funny pictures – we split into groups and started racing. After a bunch of laps they took everyone’s fastest qualifying lap and seeded us into the championship and consolation races heats. I managed to place on the starting line just beside Ryan who qualified for the pole in the championship heat. Ryan and I, hotly pursued by Daniel, traded the lead for 5 or 6 laps before my rear tire blew. Determined to finish I was pushing my cart as hard as possible while glumly watching kart after kart pass me by. It was when I starting smelling gas and looked behind me to see a trail of gas spewing from the back of my kart that I decided discretion was the better part of valor and pulled off to the side. Sure enough my fuel line had disconnected and I was one spark away from an explosive ending to the weekend. Still I had managed fast enough times to qualify for the final though my start position was now from the back of the field. Daniel and Ryan were one-two, and if not for a catastrophic mechanical failure on the part of Daniel’s car it could have been an exciting finish. As it was Ryan romped home while I managed to claw back a spot or two and finish sixth. My apologies to Jeff – I saw a hole and went for it buddy and Daniel you did indeed have the fastest lap times before the kart gods dealt you that bad beat! Little Matt came in second with a great display of skill and I get the feeling his trophy is going to occupy a place of honor at his house.Hot, sweaty and more tired than any of us expected we piled back in the bus for a quick trip back to Caesars to freshen up before our final event. My thanks to Carlo and Kim for offering the use of their room as Judi and I had already checked out. Meeting back up at the bus we made our way to PT’s pub for dinner and the final event, the pool tournament. Prior to the start of the tournament Brandon rejoined us from Caesars Sports Book where he had been cashing out our various sports bets from the first event. Happily Judi and I squeaked out a win in the event thanks to the 41 year old Bernard Hopkins pulling out an upset decision victory over Antonio Tarver which paid out 3-1. I will say that as a group we should stay away from betting sports. Only two or three of us increased our bankroll and there were an awful lot of goose eggs laid by various teams.Playing pool we quickly discovered that Ryan, erstwhile Calgarian and online prop player, was also a major shark. He made short work of Daniel in the first round then proceeded to steamroll the rest of us to take first. With that victory Ryan and Jenn sealed first place overall. Second, thanks in a big part to Jen’s win at the poker table, were Leo and Jen from Carolina, and in a tie for third were the powerhouse teams of Ed and Victoria and yours truly and the missus. Jeff passed out the cash prizes to the winning teams as we all made our way back in the bus to Caesars.Back at Caesars there was time for a few last photos with Daniel before he and Patty headed off into the sunset. Jeff hooked the rest of us up with a private table in the poker room for one last $20 single table sit-n-go. I wanted to play but had a flight to catch in just over two hours. Of course being the sensible, level headed guy that I am I took the safe route and joined the game I tell you, knowing that you needed to leave the table 10 minutes ago in order to get your plane makes you become an extremely aggressive player. After my Q-10 busted Ed’s A-Q (mine were suited though Ed), A-J busted Leo’s A-Q and A-9 busted Rich’s A-K, I finally started to catch some cards! Going into the bubble as the big stack and now more than 30 minutes behind schedule I started pushing with any hand better than 2-3. Sure enough the miracles kept coming and I ended up the winner! Good thing too as the final poker table winnings were just enough to pay for the bribe to bypass the 30 minute taxi line and secure an emergency limo ride to McCarran Airport and our red-eye back to reality.All in all a great weekend that continues the first class experience we all have with Full Contact Poker. Many thanks to Daniel and the team for the events, the experience and the great time we all had. Best of luck to Daniel in this year’s WSOP and more importantly good luck out on the links.Cheers,Steve

[socalpoker_j 1]

Thanks for sharing this story, good read and sounds like you had an amazing time.

[CodyHartman 0]

great read, any pics to go with it?btw the link doesnt work.

[Oziumrules 0]

Great post! Sounds like everyone had a blast! Cant wait for the pics.

[bucktooth1 0]

hey steve, great review, i had a blast. My brother has a ton of great pics so we'll get em up here soon.jeff

[Nitro 0]

Sweet, wish I was there.

[nutzbuster 7]

Sounds like another full blown over the top incredible FCP weekend at Daniels was had by all. Few things live up to the hype like the weekend at Daniels events. First class all the way. Daniel is the ultmate host and his team is top notch.

[Yoda 1]

I might skip the full trip report since it seems to be covered very well both here and in Daniels blog - but I do have a TON of pictures to put up later in the week when I have a chance, and the Jen that won the big tournament was my fiance so I am pretty proud of her for that! She doubled off DN for a TON of chips late with AQ on an A-x-x board vs. DN's flush draw. We were also the team that came in 2nd for $600 thanks to a 2nd place finish in sports betting and 2nd place finish in pool. (That AQ vs AJ at the end still stung though).Anyway, I will post some pictures and add my opinions on some things later this week. All in all, the weekend was incredible and the rest of the winners were very fun to hang out with.Thanks Daniel, Jeff, Patty and Brandon for the weekend! And Matt for running the league so smoothly!P.S. Funniest moment of the whole trip - first thing Daniel says to me when I tell him I'm Yoda on the forums is, "Ohhhh Yoda! Your the one with the two girls right?" Classic.

[nutzbuster 7]

Look forward to seing those pics! Congrats on the big cash!

[SideWinder 0]

You guys were an awesome group and Brandon, Daniel, Patty and I had an awesome time this weekend. Great post - really nailed the spirit of the weekend. I look forward to seeing y'all again soon.FCP Jeff

[Governator 54]

Pictures Pictures!http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/community/local-events.phpI'll also add them to the actual photo gallery but for now they are under Weekend at Daniel's Hockey Edition on the local events page.Cheers,Gov

[Vatche 0]

Pictures Pictures!http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/community/local-events.phpI'll also add them to the actual photo gallery but for now they are under Weekend at Daniel's Hockey Edition on the local events page.Cheers,Gov

thx for the pix gov...any chance of adding their names like the other fcp pics?

[Governator 54]

thx for the pix gov...any chance of adding their names like the other fcp pics?

Sure I just don't know who is who. If someone wants to help me out that'd be great.

[nutzbuster 7]

Excellent!My alter ego (Vic Ariously) has been satisfied.

[Royal_Tour 0]

There was a hockey pool contest?

[Suited_Up 2]

There was a hockey pool contest?

HAHAHA!!!That's kinda how I feel about it too.

[Yoda 1]

You guys were an awesome group and Brandon, Daniel, Patty and I had an awesome time this weekend. Great post - really nailed the spirit of the weekend. I look forward to seeing y'all again soon.FCP Jeff

Nice, you broke your forum cherry as promised! Welcome to the fun

[Yoda 1]

Hockey Weekend Trip Report - From the perspective of my fiance, Jen. Since is a better writer then I am so we'll go with this. She wrote this partially for family so excuse the parts that don't make much sense or are common sense such as "the bellagio has fountains in front of it".-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hello from our last hotel room in Vegas! This trip has been amazing!!!Today, Tuesday, is our last day and I have to say - I'm ready. My feet, my back, my skin, my insides . . . my whole body is saying it's time to go. We can never live here - it's just not healthy!Thursday we landed around noon after a short stop over in Phoenix. (I was thinking about all my 'peeps' in AZ and felt bad I couldn't just step out and go visit them all. I miss you!) We landed then cabbed it over to the strip to check in at our first stop - The Flamingo. This is where the fun began . . . Leo's Dad (Big Leo, AKA Truck) gave us his Platinum Players cards for the weekend. These things are great. We earned some playing points for him, and we avoided long lines for ourselves. At the Flamingo not only do you avoid the check-in lines but you get your own special room! (There were lines there, true, but they were VIP lines. It's different.) So Leo goes up to check in and minutes later he returns with a smirk. "What?" I ask, not sure if it's good or bad news. "They had to bump us up to a suite" he says. Whoooohooooo! They made a mistake or whatever and we got a very cool room for the night. The regular bedroom with TV etc. but an additional room with another TV, dining room table, a 2nd bathroom, wet bar, etc. It was a nice way to start off the weekend. Thursday flew by as we ventured out to the strip for a little slot play and just exploring. We saw the new Wynn (very nice, classy and RICH!), the updated Treasure Island and close by casinos. We lost and spent $150 but Leo went to the pokerroom after I went to sleep and won it all back!The next morning started very early for me as my body insisted I wake up at my “usual” East Coast time. I watched the sun rise over the mountains that were right out our window beyond the pool and back roads behind us. So it was worth the few hours I missed sleeping. Who sleeps in Vegas anyway?!Friday we met up with Leo’s college buddy, Benson, who lives about 20 minutes off the strip. We had lunch at Caesars then strolled around some more. I wanted to go to the Mirage to see the giant fish tank that sits behind the front desk, as well as the orchids and other beautiful flora they keep in their gardens, and, of course, the white tigers. There was only one at the time but it’s still cool to see those giant things loafing around in their showy habitat behind glass. We then drove up to Bensons place to rest a bit, have dinner and then visit Red Rock Casino. This place is gorgeous! The architecture, colors and small details truly mimic the mountains and desert surrounding the casino itself. It was classy and comfortable and they have better odds on the slots so we won some money! We headed to bed early – excited about the weekend ahead. Saturday morning started hot and sunny like the others but we knew this day was going to be different. Our friend drove us back to the strip and dropped us off at Caesars. But not before going to the sports book to cash in on his winning sports bets. (When in Vegas you can’t get away from it!) We got rid of our bags and found a group of lost-looking people like ourselves, knowing they were probably the other winners of this contest that brought us here in the first place. Before I go further, Let me say how amazing it is to meet people, talk to them, have amazing experiences with them and be able to call them your friend in as little as 32 hours. At 11am on Saturday we were shaking hands and introducing ourselves. Sunday night at 10pm we were hugging each other good bye, taking pictures and exchanging e-mail addresses. I feel so lucky to have experienced it and kinda bad that it doesn’t happen more often in life! Obviously the people we met were pretty cool. There were 8 winners all together and most had guests. I was happy to see there were other women there who were just as nervous about the activities - poker and go-cart racing - as I was! We enjoyed a breakfast buffet at Caesars before heading to the Poker Room. I don’t usually care too much about ‘Sports Books’ and Poker Rooms and haven’t given much thought to them in the past but I have to say I was impressed. They have multiple giant screens for sports and endless comfy chairs to sit and watch them in. And tucked into the corner is the Poker Room. Also something I never gave much thought to until then. We were ushered in the poker room to a special section at the end. Right next to us were cameras and lights – not for us. They were filming some Poker Tournament thingy for I don’t know what but it was cool to see real cameras and lights. Soon enough the attention would turn to us without the equipment. All we needed was a familiar face from TV who has a history of winning lots of money! After a bit of a wait, Daniel Negreanu, walks in. It was pretty cool to see this guy stroll in and know who it was. Like “Hey, I see you on TV all the time!” He came over and shook hands with us, asking the winners of the trips their ‘screen names’ on-line. Daniel recognized Leo as “Yoda” as well as a particular picture he has next to his name that is highly appealing to the boys but I had no idea about. Let’s just say it involves girls. (Haha – That picture is coming down.) Daniel then sat down at the other table and we started our mini tournament. Leo was at my table thank goodness. Not only are you sitting with strangers still at this point but, here I am not really having any clue as to what I was doing. I knew when to fold ‘em (and you never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table) and I knew what hands were really good. It was just the in between hands that were tough and what my next move should be. I happened to be sitting next to one of the organizers of the weekend, Brandon, who was pretty cool and helped me out. I don’t know how these people sit at the tables for so long. It really can be boring for much of the time. But that was also time for a little talking and joking. Daniel, from the beginning, was very personable and entertaining to everyone even from the other table. At some point, as players lost their chips and were knocked out, we combined the tables and moved to just one. Guess who was still standing – ME! It was me, one other girl Victoria, Leo, Daniel, and a couple of other guys. Again, Leo was close by which made me feel better because I felt clueless. As we played I started noticing the people gathering around us. Bystanders were crowding and they were watching US! Playing with Negreanu! "How did you get into this tournament?" "How much is that buyin?" People started making up ridiculous answers while trying to keep a straight face, it got pretty funny.Leo will give you the break down if you care but basically, Leo was knocked out at some point, and then it was down to Negreanu, Victoria, a guy named Rich and ME! (I basically built chips early but got eaten up by blinds late when Daniel started raising every other hand, when I made my stand I got in Ax vs two undercards but got drawn out on the river) I felt a little out-of-body as I watched myself play, as if I did it all the time. Again, folding wasn’t the issue - it was when to raise. One play in particular I had something good but wasn’t sure if I should check (meaning stay in play, for all the poker novices) or raise b/c folding wasn’t an option. I got a ‘life line,’ asked Leo and he said “ALL IN!” And so I was. I doubled up on Daniel Freakin Negreanu. (He had a flush draw against her AQ on an Axx flop - but no Heart came to make his flush!) That was pretty cool. (Meaning I won and got his chips and doubled what I had) Somehow it kept going . . . Victoria took Negreanu out, then she was out then it was me and this guy Rich. My hands were really shaking now. I never played heads up (just two people). I was encouraged to go all in several times with any decent cards because my chip stack was so high compared to his at that point. I happen to have the advice and the good cards in my favor and then the most amazing thing happened . . . . I won the tournament! What? I don’t even play poker! Again, I felt like I was just watching from the side rails with all the other people standing around. Looking back I wish I could have seen the faces on all those envious boys as a little girl like myself takes it all in!!! The girls were very proud and I got a lot of congratulations on that. After all, we were joking about losing quickly and going to the pool while the boys played! Leo, of course, was proudest of all since he’s been my teacher and good luck charm! Very quickly after poker we switched gears and had to leave quickly for an evening at the ESPN Zone in the New York, New York casino. A couple limos taxied us over there. Ahh . . . NY NY! This building is definitely a favorite of mine. It’s a mini city inside this giant building. Mini alleys, mini windows with mini fire escapes. They even have mini rats in mini garbage cans . . . just kidding. Didn’t see rats. But you can see a mini central park with mini bridges and tress. So cool. The group was ushered to the back to our own private party room. From then on it was unlimited drinks and food for the night! The organizers set up another small competition for the hockey game – making guesses on scores and the winners (we said “Go Canes!” but the Oilers won it which is just as well since it seemed like half the room was Canadian anyway. Besides, we wanted the Stanley Cup to come back to Raleigh during the next game anyway.) At the start, Brandon congratulated me for winning the poker game and gave me $100! Cool! Then the top 3 got to pick out hats and shirts (with Full Contact Poker logos – Daniels site). We ate, drank and cheered. Daniel dared this guy Ed, Victoria’s husband, to eat a plate of carrot cake (I would say half a cake worth) for $500 which he did willingly. Apparently Daniel loves eating contests! We then went up to the gaming room to play whatever we wanted. All the while, Daniel sat and talked with everyone. He was open to conversation about everything; took pictures with us and was really genuine.(He was giving me marriage advice lol)We left ESPN around 10pm and mini-bused it back to Caesars. As much as we wanted to stay up and party on the strip on a Saturday night we ended up going to bed. So much had happened already! We still had another day! We should have gone to Tao and laughed at Carson Daly, but oh well. Sunday we started a little earlier. We met at 10 then took a mini-bus over to Daniels house with the organizers, Brandon and Jeff. We got a little turned around on the ride up (Leo joked that maybe this was their way of making sure we couldn’t find our way to his house on our own!) We finally got there and much to our surprise, it was quite modest. I think that says a lot about the guy personally – just because he’s got money to play around with doesn’t mean he’s got to have a mansion. So it was even cooler that this guy was “real” and not a show off. The back yard had a small pool and nice patio to sit around. The kitchen was small and neat. His desk had a giant flat screen for his computer. The living room boasted a huge flat screen on the wall and his dining room table was, or course, a poker table. Other than that and the two arcade-style video games, awards and gold bracelets from poker tournaments, this guy’s house is like any other! Again we did a series of little games, all in order to win points for prize at the end. But mostly we had some lunch, hung out by the pool, talked with his mother and wife, played with his little dog Mushu and talked with one another. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Mid-afternoon we were ushered onto our bus again. Destination: Go-Karts! Daniel came along with us on the bus and sat in the back chatting and kicking back a few beers with us. I still couldn’t get over how cool this all was! Go-Karts, thankfully, was indoors as it was so hot – the norm for Vegas of course. We had a quick video to watch, funny sock thingys for over our heads, and helmets. I had done small go-karts before but this seemed to be a bigger deal (waivers and helmets and all) so I was a little nervous. But once you’re out there feeling the speed . . . it was quite a rush. Our group was split up into different heats, again all competing for points for fastest driver (without wiping out!) Neither Leo or I made it to the final round but they had a consolation race which Leo won and I placed 4th. Our arms were killing for two days after – it’s tough to steer around those corners, stay ahead of the pack and be fast! A short refresher at the hotel and we were back on the bus headed towards a bar off the strip, PT’s Pub, where we would have a pool competition and dinner. Leo was happy to hear about the pool as he happens to be very good. Almost good enough to place first – but 2nd is good too! By then I felt I had clicked pretty nicely with Victoria, 3rd place finisher in the poker game, so we sat and talked as the boys were playing She and her husband are from Rochester and we all seemed to have a lot in common. Jeff, an organizer, sat and talked with us as well. Again, really nice people it was a pleasure to get to know. Outside the pub we took some group shots and loaded up to head back to Caesars for the last time. The winners were announced for all the weekend events. 3rd was tied and one of the couple were Ed and Victoria! Leo and I placed 2nd for $600 and another couple from Canada were first for a “cool $1000!” Wow . . . I’m proud to say I helped us to win that money! Back at Caesars we said our goodbyes to Daniel, Jeff and Brandon and each other. Some went off to explore while about a dozen of us went back to the poker room. Jeff arranged for us to play our own game in there which apparently is not something just anyone can do. Once again we felt like royalty. Sunday evening we basically reveled in our weekend adventures, not quite believing it happened. (This is the end of Hockey weekend but read on if you care about our last day)Monday was lazy for the most part. I finally got some sun-time in at the pool before we moved over to the Flamingo. Leo’s friend Dan and his girlfriend Amy were also in town so we walked up to the Monte Carlo for lunch. It’s so fun to be there with friends! While we were walking out of there we stopped at a craps table. One of the guys I work for gave me $40 to place specific bets to “see if I was lucky”. It turns out I am! I turned his $40 into $180! Go ME! We then went to our pool and had fun on the slide (next to the millions of little kids running around!) and ended our evening later on at the Bellagio. Ahh . . the Bellagio. This is a must see. Their fountains are so amazing! If you don’t know – there is a large pool of water in front with fountains that “dance” to the music. They were playing my favorite one (some Italian Opera or something – so wonderful). It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. The last day was lazy as well as we were anxious to get home. The trip was long (delayed planes, and bumpy rides) but finally we made it to our cozy apartment in Raleigh. We both feel so lucky to have been part of such an amazing weekend. We can’t wait for our next trip to Las Vegas! Now it’s time for the Canes to win the Stanley Cup!

[nutzbuster 7]

(Haha – That picture is coming down.)

roflmao! u r so busted dude.Very nice post. Cool u guys blew thru Phoenix.

[Yoda 1]

roflmao! u r so busted dude.Very nice post. Cool u guys blew thru Phoenix.

lol the real funny past was everyone kept asking Jen if it was her in the picture. The one on the left has a very similar looking face from the side. But alas, it is not her. And i'm only taking it down when/if I have something better

[FlyerFan9 0]

Wonderful recap of the weekend Jen. I think this is your year to play in the WSOP.

[Balloon guy 158]

So what's the over/under on when Yoda changes his avatar?4 days?

[Yoda 1]

So what's the over/under on when Yoda changes his avatar?4 days?

I'll not only take that bet, i'll give you odds! :-)

[Bohica 0]

I can say without hesitation that I am SOOOOOOO freaking jealous of the winners and the weekend you had.Jen, your writing is very good; I can see why your husband deferred to you for the recap.Daniel, you are a man among men...having given an experience such as this to people you've never met but who now sound like friends.Again, congratulations to the winners of the weekend and accolades to Daniel.

[Yoda 1]

I can say without hesitation that I am SOOOOOOO freaking jealous of the winners and the weekend you had.Jen, your writing is very good; I can see why your husband deferred to you for the recap.Daniel, you are a man among men...having given an experience such as this to people you've never met but who now sound like friends.Again, congratulations to the winners of the weekend and accolades to Daniel.

Jen is flattered at the compliments However that little bitch OrzyVibe slandered her in another thread. Please go out of your way to flame him any chance you get. Send him a PM even - everybody. I'd declare war, but that would be like the US declaring war on a 7 year old girl.