So I got back to Vegas for the 5k 6-Handed event and to play in the main event. I am so proud of my friend Michael Greco for placing 3rd and so close to winning his first of many bracelets this year in the 1500NLH. It really is more exciting when you have no pressure and can root for someone you care about. Felt really bad when he didn’t win as I know how much he wanted that to happen. He deserves it for sure.

Having a day free, a trusted friend thought I should meet the online player of the year for 2008 David “The Maven” Chicotsky as we have some things in common and a similar outlook on ways to give back to the world and the poker community having had a certain level of success. I must say I was most impressed with him, his business and his commitment to continually learning everything he can about tournament poker. He learned first from Ari Engel, which led him to other online greats and the creation of a system that has proven high returns for his students. I spent some time coaching with him and knowing that there are more new online players all the time making deep runs in major tournaments it was important for me to be aware of as much as I could of this system he was teaching. I played 3 tournaments in Las Vegas one in LA and 2 online. I cashed in 3 and made one final table so I would say it helped my game. The game is ever changing based on how those we play against are acting, and I needed to change along with it. The main event wasn’t much of a test as I ran into set over set in the first level crippling me and never recovered. I am inspired by my time with David though and look forward to adding my own knowledge of live play and bluffing and tells to the system. We are discussing a way to bring this information to the masses which would be very exciting.

I made it out to the Rio just in time to participate in the Champions Invitational, and what an impressive group of poker players and real gentleman there were. I was glad I finally got to meet a couple of past winners that I had not previously, and reconnect with some that I don’t get to see often enough. My friends from Affliction brought 2 limited edition beautiful jackets that were graciously signed by every champion there for us to auction off for charity. I must say launching my foundation has been more work than participating in every other charity event over the last 3 years but it will be well worth it.

Back to the 5 minutes I actually played in the event…I was seated with Carlos, Dan, Johnny, Robert and Greg (absent as he was at the final table of the 40k). Carlos and Johnny and my mom and I were telling stories of the Turks and Caicos Island tournament we all spent a week at 3 years ago which was a blast and second hand I get JJ late position with just Carlos behind me I raise he reraises which if you know him he could have absolutely nothing so I called. The board came low so I bet he called and now I think something is fishy and I might be in trouble. He would however do the same thing with top pair, underpair, AK etc. Turn gives me a straight draw with my JJ and now I feel a bit stuck, I check he bets I call. Blank on the river and I check he puts in a small value bet I tell him now I know he has QQ and I am stuck to call the 2k or so into 14k pot and he shows KK…aahhh well I could have played it better but Dan Harrington and Johnny both agreed it’s Carlos after all and the only bet I could have saved was the last bet. So I am real short now and get q10 on the button Johnny in the big blind calls the 150 and it comes q high…flash to end of hand and somehow I didn’t go broke he had aa in the big blind 5 handed oh well…last shot was on a flush draw against Dan and I missed for my last 750…it was a very fun 5 minutes.

I look forward to playing my first bracelet events this weekend, then back to LA for work and hope to get back once before the main event.

Over the weekend I met one of my favorite basketball players who wants me to coach him for the Main Event so I am excited to help and now have a small group of people depending on me to get them past day 1…we shall see, it will be a fun challenge.

I want to say a special thank you to my friend Phillip Baker for emceeing with me as well as acting as auctioneer. He came in at the last moment from Ireland to help out and was a champion. What a hard working professional, total class act. My new European agents, Poker Icons came through with the Everest deal, flew out to support the event, and were invaluable in their commitment to me. I am very fortunate to have them working with my amazing manager Sean and brilliant attorney Les. As we are in the process of launching our first event for my charitable foundation, I have to thank Angelica and her team for her tireless work for the cause. Finally, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lisa, you are just the best.

I am looking forward to the Invitational event which will be my first event at the WSOP. This year I am planning on playing a few events, most excited about the main event!

Have a big movie premiere in Los Angeles to support a good friend (and a hell of a poker player Todd Phillips) so my first trip to Vegas for the summer will be cut short.

I wish everyone the good fortune I have had in life and at the WSOP this year. Keep putting out positive energy in the world and give back when you can, time or money, it feels good and makes the world a better place.

I made a promise to a friend that I would attend an event on Friday night, thought I could go for an hour and it turned into 6. It was a charity event for the Children’s hospital and I ran into so many old friends that I just couldn’t leave. Turns out a few people I watch on TV every week that I have never met are actually fans, it always surprises me when that happens but I do feel most fortunate. This was a whole weekend event and I had to miss the Saturday festivities as my friend Hank was hosting his charity event on the beach down the road from my home. It was beautiful and star-studded as expected. This was a poker event giving away two seats to the WSOP so people were a bit competitive but very friendly and generous. Some events are a bit more expensive than others but I am constantly impressed with the amount of people willing and able to donate their time and hard earned money to these events. This one went into the wee hours of the night/morning, and I had to miss another charity event in Beverly Hills Saturday night, took some heat for it but life is about choices, and I just didn’t feel right leaving early. Sunday plans were moved to early in the week so I could take a much needed rest…

My foundation is coming along and we are planning some really exciting things which I hope to share soon.

A reminder for anyone that is planning on attending our event May 17th in Cannes…you need to sign up in advance so you don’t get shut out. It’s for a great cause, will be an incredible night as we have worked very hard the last 3 months putting this on. We are honored that Edward Norton is hosting and Bluff is one of our sponsors!

My good friend Ciaran O’leary made sure we saw some of Dublin’s pubs, and as always made the trip most worthwhile. Phil Laak arrived just in time from a world tour with Jen, and couldn’t believe that it took the Irish Open for us to spend time together. I miss them, especially the “theory of the universe” talks Phil and I get into sometimes. He is one of the most interesting, wise and kind souls on the planet. We did get seated at the featured table on day 2 after I played about as well as I could on day 1. This was a lot of fun as always, still wondering if he had me beat when I laid down the JJ preflop…either way I hope we gave some great TV for the production which they deserve… I don’t see how I could have played worse on day 2, really just gave my chips away and was very frustrated…oh well live and learn. I moved on and took 6th in the final tournament on my last day there going completely card dead at the final table, played well though, so the trip was a success all around. I plan to make the return trip as often as I can, love the structure and the rules, moreso the people are warm and lack the materialistic views so often coloring life here at home.

Unfortunately couldn’t play in the Bellagio, had business get in the way at the last minute but looking forward to the WSOP. We just announced our Cannes event which looks to be very exciting on May 17th in France.

I want to thank Bluff for wishing us luck and thinking that we deserved this one after how they busted me out of the last one…and for including me in the 40 greatest WSOP players in history. I hear that they put me on the cover of Bluff Europe, would like to see it…they have been very kind and fair to me in the past, actually reporting facts and not getting caught up in ridiculous rumors. I am honored and look forward to a fun and maybe successful WSOP! I think I am playing my best tournament poker since 2006, we will see after a few more tournaments how I am feeling.

I have agreed to be a part of 6 more charity events in the coming months, two of which I am hosting so I will update on those that include poker like the event we are doing at the Cannes film festival in France which should be most rewarding for The SunflowerChildren.org

On to Ireland…

So we drew for match ups and I drew Scott Fischman again! Last year we met in the 2nd round and had one of the best matches only to have the blinds get so high on us while nearly even we agreed we were just flipping for it…he came out the winner and this year looked to be a great match as well. Wouldn’t you know it we played each other brilliantly again to get to the same climax, this time we really laughed about it and understood we were a hand or two away from having to flip again, the blinds too high for our stacks and had to push with any decent hand, or call with any decent hand. He came out victorious again and I must say I wasn’t too upset, I really like him and he’s a great player who worked hard for it so I wished him truly well and went to spend time with my Aced team while in Vegas. I hope everyone is enjoying the site, I know I haven’t been able to play on it as much as I will in the future but you have to love the software, features are very cool and different…

So on to Bay 101. It was my first jaunt up there and though there wasn’t much around other than the tournament it was an interesting and different structure which made it very cool to play in. Along with 50 other poker pros, I had a 5k bounty for knocking me out which puts a little more incentive in calling me (as if people need another reason). Matt Savage and the group put on a first class event, and I felt for the first time I can remember in a tournament since I had that incredible run back when that my tournament game was at its best. I had a couple of unfortunate hands, flopping a set getting all of the money in and getting hit by running cards to beat me, that kind of thing but still felt great about how I played. I look forward to playing more when I have time this year; next one is the Irish Open after some fun with Dream Team poker this weekend.

Team Aced will be there to support my friends that created this new and innovative concept where it’s not about you, it’s about your team.

On the charity front, which consumes most of time these days (thank you Aced.com again for pledging to support my endeavors and allowing me the time to continue to help affect change in the world, your understanding even though you have invested a lot in me matters and thank you) I have agreed to host an event at the Cannes film festival in May. Look for our billboard in Times Square NYC! The charity is Sunflowerchildren.org and it is one of the causes I work for regularly and was honored to co-host their event in NYC last Thanksgiving with Russell Simmons and Helena Hudova. This event will be an incredible one, with Maybach as our first sponsor signed and one of the most influential celebrities in the world has agreed to fly there with me. More in the next blog, and information on our next event in April in Los Angeles for LOVECURESCANCER.

“Make alot of money, give back what you don’t need to those in need”

I was planning on having the LAPC at the Commerce Casino be my first major event with Aced.com but an opportunity came up to join Daphna Ziman and the team that put together the after-party for the Oscars at the Beverly Hilton benefiting CUN (Children Uniting Nations), a hugely successful foster care organization that has raised tens of millions in support of an incredible cause. Amazingly, less than 50% of American children are graduating high school these days and one of CUN’s programs-utilizing trained mentors- increases that percentage by a staggering margin, to over 95%. If you figure that 87% of America’s incarcerated have come from the welfare system, this program will have an enormous direct impact on society by not only lowering the crime rate but by presenting those less fortunate with options they previously would never have enjoyed. Jennifer Aniston, Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Pierce Brosnan and the Black Eyed Peas are just some of the hundreds of celebrities, icons and influencers that support this cause.

When it comes to charity, you can donate your time or you can donate your money and I think it’s really important that every one of us do either one or the other. That said I was truly happy to help them put on a last minute poker tournament in conjunction with their event and it seems like we were able to pull it off in high style.

Of course, I wasn’t alone in my charitable efforts-some friends from the poker world also supported the cause.

Lisa Wheeler, the guru of poker marketing and an awesome human being, came though in an unbelievable way by bringing us her wealth of experience and contacts including Matt Savage, former WSOP tournament director, current LAPC tournament director and founder of the Tournament Director’s Association. Matt not only did an incredible job at the event-he even went so far as to shut down the LAPC by 8:30 PM so any and all that wanted to support us could make it. And make it, they did-some of the poker world’s biggest stars took part, including: Phil Hellmuth, David Williams, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, David “Chino” Rheem, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Ali Nejad, and Layne Flack.

Former super-model and absolute sweetheart Amber Smith from VH1′s “Sober House” not only took part but actually finished 3rd-and it was her first time playing! She knocked me out, Chris Ferguson, Layne, and I think Phil, or at least crippled him if I am not mistaken. My good friend Kasey Thompson made a last longer bet on her behalf against Phil Hellmuth, and so he went home very happy. Phil and all the guys were most generous with their time, made it fun for all their fans and participants, and I can’t thank them enough! Our poker community has always supported each other and I think it’s a very special thing that doesn’t always exist in business communities.

Although he didn’t play, Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau-with innumerable film roles to his credit including the kind-hearted judge who saved Mike McD’s bacon (played by Matt Damon) in Rounders-dropped by to say hello, one of many Hollywood heavyweights in attendance. How cool to have an Oscar winner from the movie that sparked my epiphany leading me to where I am now…

The tournament’s winner received an incredible WSOP package, including the $10,000 WSOP main event buy-in, airfare and hotel accommodations, and private coaching from me prior to the event, all courtesy of Aced.com. Jeffrey Pollack and the World Series of Poker were supportive of our last minute endeavor and we thank them for that as well.

Second prize was no slouch, either-a $10,000 diamond ring donated by my friend and fellow philanthropist Dan that owns Who’s Your Daddy Energy Drinks. This went to Kelly Griggs who flew down from San Francisco at the last minute to lend a helping hand.

The post-Oscars CUN event was the first test of my new relationship with Aced.com, as it forced me to choose between playing in an event that is very important to them and participating in an extremely worthy charitable endeavor. As it turned out, Houston, Xander and Brandon at Aced not only championed my decision, they supported it financially, physically with tireless efforts and even donated my buy-in by supplying the event’s top prize.

I should mention, no one involved with putting on the tourney was paid for their services-volunteer efforts all around-and the continued efforts by the poker community to give back, even in this troubling economy, is really heartwarming. I have been very careful never to accept money when donating my time, but don’t expect others to be able do the same. It’s amazing to be a part of it. Special thanks to Steve Thomson and his company, Creative Developers, without whom this never would have come together. Juliette Harris at It Girl Public relations was an incredible powerhouse coming through at every turn with tireless round the clock “make it happen with class” attitude. Daphna Ziman has a beautiful spirit and should be applauded for her efforts.

I’m really looking forward to next year’s pre-Oscars charity poker tournament; the night before the Oscars, open to the public, this way everyone will be able to attend. We’ve already started on the arrangements and with a whole year to put it together I’m certain it will be the place to be in Hollywood prior to awards night.
Next on the calendar is WPT’s invitational this weekend and then NBC’s heads up tourney which is always a lot of fun. I hope you get to come play with me on Aced and have as much fun as I am having, without having to play against the best players in the world

Until next week…

In addition to being an upstart poker site with enormous promise, Aced.com shares my sensibilities by giving back to great causes and I’m looking forward to representing them. As such, they are paying me enough money so that my family and friends should not have to worry about anything for a long time.

I started playing on Aced.com before the weekend in the biggest games they currently offer-$50/$100 NL and $25/$50NL with a $10,000 buy-in-and I quickly bluffed off somewhere in the realm of $80,000! It took me the entire weekend to win it back and I’m happy to report that I’m now ahead-for the moment, anyway. I’m genuinely excited to play with at least $50,000 a day on Aced.com and look forward to mixing it up with a wide range of players.

One of the things I love most about the site is that they really listen to players’ feedback. Anything that is good for the player they see as being good for them and are happy to implement it if it makes sense.

I am so excited to have six of my own tables being created this week with games ranging from $1/$2 NL to $10/$20 half-and-half (PLO/NLH) with no max buy-in all the way up to $50/$100 NLH with no-max, which I’m sure will be going quite often.

Aced.com has some additional amazing features that I really love and I’m learning about more about every time I play. The Running It Twice feature can be very helpful and it cuts down your risk a little bit; it shows you the percentages when you’re all-in and how they change when each card hits the board. I also love being able to show one card instead of both. And when players talk it comes up in a bubble over your avatar instead of in a chat box so it feels like we’re really talking to one another. Finally, Aced.com has live customer support 24 hours a day. Being able to speak to someone over the phone really helps as I’ve been frustrated in the past by not receiving return e-mails to my questions and concerns from other larger, less personal poker sites.

My welcome tournament was a lot of fun and I was actually lucky enough to win it. Even better than winning, my mom and her best friend were in the final three with me. Of course, nobody cashed in on the $500 bounty that was on my head so for next week’s $100 tournament, the bounty has been increased to $1,000. However, once my tables are set up this week, the only way to play with me is by signing up directly with Aced.com. Before, you could play with me via the Merge Network but that will no longer be the case. Similarly, the only way you can play in my weekly bounty tournament is to sign up with Aced.com. The weekly Sunday tourney kicks off at 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific. Starting with the next tourney, there will also be a $250 bounty on my mom. And speaking of my mom, she will be the next player that Aced.com signs.

I wish I wasn’t inundated with so many other projects (TV, film, charity) so that I could have played in the recent PLO or the Head’s-Up events but I will definitely make the LAPC Main Event and the WPT Invitational at the Commerce Casino.

I am looking forward to making many new friends at Aced.com, as well as playing with some of my old friends. Rest assured, we will definitely have one of the most entertaining and exciting big games anywhere in the world-but please keep in mind that I will now only be playing at Aced.com.

Until next time…

I was invited to get involved with the Ante Up For Africa tourney on Annie Duke and Don Cheadle’s behalf and was honored to emcee the event for them. An exciting group of celebrities and poker pros took part. My thanks to all for supporting such a worthy cause and to Robert for sharing the mic with me.

At Sundance, I was invited to stay in a house with great friends and new friends, members of the Hollywood professional community, finance and poker. Lot’s of friendly poker was played there late night! Joseph Reitman, another really talented thespian and director (CSI: Miami, The Shield, Judging Amy, etc.), was supposed to join us but he booked an acting job at the last minute. While we were naturally excited for him, we were also disappointed as spending time with Joe is always a pleasure.

Overall, it was an overwhelming 24-hour-a-day experience. Between the charity events, the parties and the movies, I was exhausted. I used to go every year as a Hollywood professional but now I’m actually going as a guest of others and being involved with the charity events makes it that much more rewarding. Congratulations to Kasey Thompson, our good friend, for winning the charity event!

After a two solid years of focusing the majority of my playing to support charity events, I’m feeling the itch to get back into the action of the professional poker tour. To that effect, I’m currently considering several different offers from online poker sites that share my same values towards charities and giving back. As you’d expect, these offers are also very generous towards me and I will make a decision before the LAPC’s first $10K event (the PLO $5k rebuy).

It’s important that I continue my work in the television and film business, so which site I choose to go with has to understand my previous commitments. It’s been a most rewarding career to say the least, and I look forward to helping poker become more accepted in the main stream of media, which will certainly help overturn the laws! There are a couple of projects that I am confident will do just that, never know in “Hollywood” but a group of us are doing our best to make it happen. We all know it’s a game of skill with elements of chance, incredible we are still not completely able to play anywhere anytime online without restriction of bank transactions. Needless to say I am looking for, and will find a site that we can all trust, accepts US players, and will teach and support their players without worry of impropriety or monies not being safe.

A reminder, on February 22nd, the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA will host the 3rd annual Fallen Heroes Memorial Poker Classic.

Benefiting the Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides financial assistance to the families of fallen officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty while serving and protecting the citizens of Los Angeles County, the tournament starts at 4 PM and the $120 donation/entry fee also includes a hat, shirt, card marker challenge coin and an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. Levels are 30 minutes long and unlimited $100 re-buys can be made during the first three. There’ll be many celebrities and poker pros in attendance, and some truly great prizes will be up for grabs so please mark it on your calendar. My new friend Scott Diamond has worked tirelessly to make this happen.

Until next time…

The election of Barack Obama was the most important election in our country’s history and, potentially, in the history of organized society. If Obama can implement the ideas and strategies that formed his campaign platform, better times for all are sure to come.

In the meantime, there is still much to be thankful for. For my friends, for my family, and for myself, 2008 proved to be a very exciting year and, while finances were fleeting for many, that scenario can always be resurrected. Health and happiness are the most important commodities and the people I love and care about were blessed with both.

On the poker front, there are those who believe poker has reached its peak. However, nothing could be further from the truth. According to the search engine Lycos, poker was the #1 searched for term in 2008. Not Paris Hilton, not Barack Obama – poker.

And worth noting is that our new President Elect is, himself, a longtime poker player. Hopefully, that fact, coupled with the tireless efforts of poker advocacy groups, will spell doom for the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act) and any other ill-advised anti-gaming bills that may crop up in the future.

Speaking of poker advocacy groups, I’d like to extend my personal gratitude to the Poker Players Alliance – aka PPA – for their continued vigilance on behalf of poker players everywhere. To all the PPA’s key members: John Pappas, Alfonse D’Amato, Linda Johnson, Greg Dinkin, Bryan Spadaro, Jan Fisher, Allyn Shulman, Chris Ferguson, Mary Magazine, Rich Muny, Greg Raymer and Howard Lederer – a hearty THANK YOU!

Despite the economic turmoil, poker players raised and contributed millions of much-needed dollars for fantastic charities and causes in 2008, further illustrating their bottomless generosity and compassion. These incredible statistics make me truly proud to be a part of the poker community. To that effect, the early months of ’09 have a number of amazing charity poker tournaments and I am confident the turnouts will be equally stellar, if not even better.

Personally, I can’t wait for 2009, a year I welcome with excitement and anticipation. I have major media projects coming to fruition – projects that I am both proud and elated to be working on with really close friends and extended family.

I want to thank Eric Morris, Matt Parvis, Jeff Markley and everyone at Bluff Magazine for giving me the opportunity to have this voice online in a poker forum, as well as continuing to support my Poker Philanthropist articles which, besides calling attention to great causes, I believe will play a small part towards the legalization of online poker.

My deepest thanks must also go to Leslie Abell and Sean Fredericks for their undying loyalty, care and hard work. And a special loving thank you to Adam Slutsky, whose tireless efforts have made all this possible.

In closing, I’d like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and hopeful 2009.

Sincerely,

Jamie Gold

On February 22nd, the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA will host what promises to be a truly memorable charity poker tourney, the 3rd annual Fallen Heroes Memorial Poker Classic.

Benefiting the Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides financial assistance to the families of fallen officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty while serving and protecting the citizens of Los Angeles County, the fund was founded by Officer Scott Diamond, an avid amateur poker player with over 22 years of law enforcement experience – two decades of which with the LA County Sheriff’s Department – and his good friend, and another big fan of poker, Officer Craig McClelland.

The tournament starts at 4 PM and the $120 donation/entry fee also includes a hat, shirt, card marker challenge coin and an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. Levels are 30 minutes long and unlimited $100 re-buys can be made during the first three.

Legendary actor and ardent poker player James Woods will be in attendance, along with a bevy of world-class poker professionals, such as: Nam Le and Quin Do.

Just some of the numerous high-profile sponsors include: Full Tilt Poker, Card Player Cruises, Wise Hand Poker, the Los Angeles Lakers and, of course, the host site for the event, the Bicycle Casino.

There’s an impressive list of prizes including:

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of returning to the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas for the inaugural Dream Team Poker Tournament. This is a fantastic new concept in poker, allowing three-player teams to compete in the same event. With each player amassing points for his/her order of finish – the higher the better – the team that compiles the most points wins.

Dream Team Gaming is the brains behind the event and is comprised of CEO Daniel Delshad, Chief Game Architect Mario Ayala, DTG President Homan Sefaradi and the three remaining DTG cofounders: Edward Fishman, Lawrence Cohen and the honorable Mayor Jimmy Delshad.

The weekend consisted of some amazing dinners with friends, a slew of off-the-hook private parties, a pre-event VIP red carpet chock full of photographers and media and, of course, the tournament, itself. I had the pleasure of teaming up with two of my closest friends: Sam Simon, creator of The Simpsons, arguably one of the most successful TV shows of all time, and established freelance writer/Bluff columnist Adam Slutsky, both of whom happen to be darn good poker players. Unfortunately, both Adam and Sam got taken out on Day 1; at least they got their chips in when they were ahead. I advanced to Day 2 and was in pretty good shape – great shape, I thought – when I took pocket kings up against the pocket 8s of Bluff Magazine’s publisher, Eric Morris. But his four-card flush sent me to the rail. Congrats to Team Bluff (which also included Bluff’s illustrious editor Matt Parvis and super-talented young poker pro Justin Bonomo) who went on win the event. Don’t rest on your laurels, guys – we’ll be gunnin’ for you next year!

The event was a phenomenal success and attracted a wide array of poker stars. My compliments to DTG for doing such a fabulous job with the first-time tournament and, as always, my sincerest thanks to all my friends at the Hard Rock who always take such great care of me whenever I’m in town.

Next up was the filming of a fantastic documentary on poker, shot right on the beach in Malibu, just the flip of a chip from my home. I was well prepared for the taping and my buddy, Sam Simon, was also in on the action.

After that it was off to NYC to emcee a star-studded poker event at Gotham Hall, hosted by Russell Simmons and Helena Houdova, benefiting the Sunflower Children’s Foundation. While you’ll learn more about this incredible event in an upcoming Bluff article, I’m proud to say we raised close to $1 million courtesy of some incredible big-ticket auction items, including a trip into space with Richard Branson, as well as a vacation on his private island.

Lisa Tenner did a phenomenal job of marketing the event and her husband, Mark, was equally amazing providing poker lessons to all those interested in improving their game before the tourney started. My thanks to James and everyone involved for making this a truly spectacular event.

Also on the subject of teaching& I was thrilled to be invited to UCLA as a guest lecturer for a Statistics and Probabilities class. This was really rewarding to me as I’m always excited to give back whenever possible. Approximately 70 students who really understand how statistics and probabilities relate to poker took part and I think I gave them many things to think about. They were all so gracious and kind; I enjoyed myself as much, if not more, then they appeared to. Perhaps in my retirement – or maybe another life – if I have the time, I could be a teacher. It’s a source of true joy for me, something I’m really comfortable doing and, without trying to sound pompous, I happen to think I’m pretty good at it.

Have a safe and fun Halloween and please check in next week. I’ve got some exciting adventures on the horizon. Until then…

Another impressive improvement at the Hard Rock worth mentioning is what appears to be the coolest anti-club in Sin City, Wasted Space. Co-owned by Carey Hart and all-star Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, the rock lounge will feature an ever-changing assemblage of today’s headlining rock artists coupled with some of the hottest DJs on the planet.

Next, Steve brought me over to the UNLV baseball diamond for a wild promo – to try my luck against an extremely tough pitcher. I was hoping I wouldn’t embarrass myself – it’s been nearly 20 years since I played ball – but somehow I managed to go two for three, earning $500 worth of Hard Rock chips in the process. I was also invited to take part in yet another cool Hard Rock promotion – Dream Team Poker; I’ll explain this event further in the weeks to come. I’m really looking forward to it.

The only downside to the weekend was seeing the Los Angeles Dodgers get eliminated from further contention courtesy of the Philadelphia Phillies, losing four out of five games, no less. I’ve been a lifelong Dodgers fan and I really thought this was going to be their year. I was hoping to see a Dodgers-Red Sox series, right along with all the network executives. They’ve got a great team – hopefully they can come back even stronger next season.

Prior to CAP Euro, I wasn’t that familiar with everything affiliates have to go through to create business for all the sites – business that funds the majority of our poker tournaments. I was truly impressed and I have a newfound respect for everything they do.

As it turns out, I missed some zaniness& The Mossos d’Esquadra (Spanish police) raided the Hotel Princesa where the CAP Euro freeroll poker tourney was taking place. While I don’t have all the details, I know the tourney was stopped and that cards and chips were confiscated. Fortunately, no one was arrested. Still, I feel sorry for everyone involved. Those are great people doing excellent work.

Anyway, I made innumerable new friends – people I look forward to getting to know in the years to come.

I also had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Michael Caselli (editor of Bluff Europe), Lou Fabiano (Casino Affiliate Programs owner), Jeremy Enke and Greg Powell (The Jeremy & Greg PAP Show), and Alex Pratt (publisher of iGaming Business Magazine). We enjoyed great dinners and insightful and entertaining conversations. Thank you for being such awesome hosts!

After Spain it was back to New Jersey to spend a little time with my Mom and some old friends. Now I’m down in Florida working on new business, an exciting project I hope to talk about more in the future. Until next time&

Now I’m on my way to Barcelona, Spain for the CAP Euro (Casino Affiliates Program; www.CasinoAffiliatesProgram.com) convention. The four-day gaming industry event attracts people from all over the globe and I’m both honored and excited to play a role in this year’s installment.

I’ll be talking about online poker, a subject I happen to know a little bit about. After all, it was because of online poker that I won the biggest prize in poker history. Were it not for the massive global explosion of tournament poker directly fueled by online poker sites, thereby resulting in a record number of entries for the ’06 WSOP main event (8,773) coupled with my own comped buy-in courtesy of Bodog, chances are I wouldn’t have the many opportunities I do today. To that effect, I’m honored to follow the legend, Doyle Brunson, as this year’s keynote speaker. I’ll be sure to give you a report about the trip when I return.

Now I’m heading off to the Borgata to play in the Main Event. I’ll be staying at their new Water Club, which I’ve heard is quite amazing, and I also plan on sampling the fare at Izakaya, their take on a Japanese pub with sushi that is supposedly out of this world. It’ll be nice to be back in my home state of New Jersey and see my mom and a few close friends. I don’t get back often enough and I always cherish the time when I’m there.

Sadly, my crazy schedule means I won’t be able to attend the honorary Mayor of Northridge Nancy Cartwright’s Monte Carlo Night charity event at her home on September 20th. Benefiting the PALS New Devonshire Youth Center for At-Risk Kids, I was there last year and had an awesome time. This year is expected to be even better. Tons of celebs from the Hollywood and poker communities show up and I encourage everyone within a 1,000-mile radius to swing by!

Of course, my involvement also causes an upwelling of feelings that I’ve suppressed since his passing. It hammers home that I don’t have my dad anymore. But he’s with me in spirit and I know he’d be as excited for me to take part in this telethon as I am.

The telethon is in Las Vegas and airs Sunday night, in the vicinity of 11 PM Pacific Time. I’ll also be answering phones live on Monday in Los Angeles. So please, tell all your friends and, if you can spare it, help me to raise a ton of money so we can find a cure for this dreadful disease.

After that, I’m heading back to New Jersey to play poker at the Borgata (the Borgata Main Event) with my mom – one of my all-time favorite things to do. It’s been a while since I played there and I’m hoping to stick around a little longer this time – hopefully all the way to the end.

I have fantastic memories of gambling in Atlantic City, specifically at the Borgata, with my dad. He really wasn’t much of a gambler but he didn’t mind 21 every now and then I would drag him to the blackjack table with me and the pit bosses were kind enough to remove a chair so we could fit in his wheelchair. I’d ask my dad how much he wanted to bet, he’d say a hundred, I’d put a $500 chip up and he’d say Take that off! He was much more careful with his money than I was and I loved him for that. He kept me levelheaded – a great deal more so than my instincts would have. So many great memories there – really looking forward to it.

Beyond that, I really wanted to play in the Legends of Poker at the Bike but previous commitments kept me from being able to attend. Hopefully next year I’ll have the time.

Until next week&

First, I met up with my close friend Sam Simon (creator of The Simpsons) to support an amazing charity he has recently involved himself with – the One Step Closer Foundation (www.OneStepCloserFoundation.org). The organization’s founder, Jacob Zalewski, a young man afflicted with Cerebral Palsy, has an amazing zeal for life and his tireless efforts to help improve the lives of those who are similarly afflicted resulted in a kick-ass charity poker tournament at Hollywood Park. Numerous celebs took part (Shannon Elizabeth, Montel Williams, Jennifer Malenke, Miguel Nunez, Katie Gill, Dennis McCoy, Barry Greenstein, Eskimo Clark, Freddie Deeb, etc.) in what hopes to be an annual event, raising money and awareness for a great cause.

After busting out, I raced over to Ritual Hollywood, a hip restaurant/nightclub on Cahuenga Blvd, for another fantastic charity poker tournament. Put on by my close friends David Kelsey and Carla Mann-Woods to benefit the Fulfillment Fund (www.FulFillmentFund.org), an organization catering to financially-challenged students – 98% of whom are minority – with dreams of going to college, the venue was packed with members of the entertainment industry, as well as heavy-hitters from LA’s corporate and culinary arenas. My friends asked me to emcee the action and I had an absolute blast, watching people get as excited about the game of poker as I do.

Beyond that, I’ve been playing in a variety of home games, working hard to improve my poker skills and my Hollywood career has been keeping me insanely busy as of late, with a few projects that I am especially excited about. But as long as I keep surrounding myself with genuine, good-hearted people – which, believe it or not, the poker and entertainment communities are chock full of – I know I’ll maintain an even keel. Until next time&