I must say the Irish Open was a blast! Anywhere you can still speak about the contents of your hand when heads up has my total respect and admiration for allowing poker to be played the way it should live… as a psychological game. All of the people from Paddy Power Poker were so accommodating every moment and a special thanks to Eric and Noel for constantly going out of their way to be the most gracious hosts. Liam “The Gentleman” Flood took us out for a wonderful meal in Dublin and it was more than kind. Philip came over from his office at Bluff in the UK, and I really appreciated spending time with him. Bright and warm, wise and down to earth, I look forward to more time spent!

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.