I just returned from three weeks split between Sanremo, Italy and Monte Carlo, Monaco for back-to-back European Poker Tours, which closed out Season 10. It was a great season, and I’m happy to say I was at every stop except for PCA and Deauville, neither of which I particularly sad to miss. The latest trip was long, grueling, and full of work, but it was also filled with some fun times with good people.
This marked the second time I’d been to Sanremo, but this trip was much better as the weather was nicer, the hotel was closer, and the food better. Sanremo is a quaint town along the Italian Riviera with shops, outdated hotels (my room had a brass key), and plenty of cafes and restaurants.
It also has plenty of coastline with a biking/walking trail that stretches for miles. I’m not certain, but I think it may have been constructed over an old railway line. Anyway, I made it a point to jog the trail every other day, and the view was amazing. Likewise, it was also the trail that Sarah Grant, Will Thomas, and I traveled when we rented a three-person rickshaw. It was the most fun I’d ever had for €7.00. Here’s a photo featuring Sarah and I (Will is hanging on the front taking the picture).
After Vicky Coren Mitchell became the first two-time EPT champ, which you can read about here, members of the media gathered at a little bar outside the casino. It was our time to unwind, and several of us did including Marc Convey, Joe Stapleton, James Hartigan, and EPT President Edgar Stuchly, who was kind enough to pick up the bill (Always a classy and much-appreciated gesture in my book).
After the bar closed, we headed upstairs to someone’s hotel room to raid the minibar. By then everyone was pretty well lit – or at least buzzing – and I remember being a bit more talkative than normal. At one point Mad Harper, the EPT media vixen, asked me what I had done with the winnings from my World Series of Poker bracelet win. With a drink in hand I deadpanned, “Mad, I invested it all in a company called ‘Cock Socks.’ It’s a company that makes socks with pictures of roosters on them. I’ve lost it all, Mad.” I’m pretty sure she believed me too.
It was also at this social gathering that I was told about a small liquor store nearby. If you know me, then you know that I like to bring back a few bottles of booze when I travel (my collection has grown quite extensive). I was told the prices were reasonable, so on our day off set about locating the storefront. It turned out to me a “mom-and-pop” type store with two rooms filled to the brim with bottles. About half of it was dedicated to wines, but the other had whiskies, rums, and all my favorite types of firewater.
I’m a big fan of Havana Club, which was the first alcoholic drink I’d ever tried (it was on a study abroad excursion to Cuba way back in 2004). It also happens to be unavailable in the United States due to the decades old Cuban Embargo. Anyway, I always bring back a bottle or two, and I wondered if this hole-in-the-wall shop in Sanremo might have some Havana Club. Sure enough, tucked away on the shelves were two old bottles that I’d never tried before, one of which was the rather rare Havana Club Barrel Proof. I snatched it up (at a very reasonable price), and am excited to add it to my collection. I think there’s only one type of Havana Club rum that I don’t have, and that’d be the Maximo, which runs something like $2,000 a bottle. I’ll buy it someday, but I needed another big tournament score or two before I do.
After visiting the liquor shop, my three colleagues – Frank Op de Woerd, Danny Maxwell, and William Powell – and I decided to explore the city. Instead of sticking by the coast, we headed to the hills and just by lucky happenstance came across a great lookout point. I think these two photos speak for themselves:
After Sanremo is was down the coast to Monte Carlo, Monaco. This is a small country known for its glitz, Grace Kelly, Formula 1 racing, and expensive cars. It’s essentially built into the side of a mountain along the sea. Really quite beautiful, but definitely a place designed for the rich and famous. I didn’t really belong, but I wasn’t about to complain.
Monte Carlo was filled with work, but I also found another trail to jog with perhaps an even better view than Sanremo.
Another highlight from that portion of the trip was the EPT10 Grand Final €2,000 Freeroll Media Tournament. My track record in EPT media events isn’t good, but I was intent on getting my hands on some free cash. Plus, 2003 WSOP champ Chris Moneymaker and Full Tilt Poker Professional Gus Hansen played and chummed it up with us. What’s more, Hansen offered a €500 bounty on his head, which he upped to €1,000 when Moneymaker matched his €500 bounty. Unfortunately I never got the chance to play with either as I once again busted early (thanks a lot Lee Jones). For the record, Scott Collins took down the tournament.
Speaking of Moneymaker, he asked if I wanted to do a last longer bet prior to the start of the tournament. I accepted and agreed to put €50 on the line. I obviously lost that. It sucked to lose money in a freeroll, but at least I have a good story to take back home to my friends (all of who were products of the Moneymaker boom). Oh, I almost forgot, a couple days later Chris saw fit to rub it in a bit. I was walking through the cafeteria minding my own when I hear, “Hey Chad.”
I turn around and it’s Chris eating with a couple of other people. He pointed at the spread laid out in front of them and said, “I bought all of this with your money!” It was a good needle, but I know the prices in Monte Carlo and there’s no way he got it all for €50! Don’t believe me, perhaps you will when I tell you that a can of Coke was €7.00, or $9.71 to my friends in the States. I told you it was a place for the rich.
While working the Grand Final I also had the chance to take part in a little poker media trivia segment filmed for broadcast on EPTLive. I know my poker history, and I love how in the final product I come across as the smart one. Check it out:
I had a lot of fun over the last few weeks, but I’m happy to be heading home. I’ll be working a Mid-States Poker Tour in the middle of this month, and then on the 22nd I’ll be heading out to Las Vegas for my fifth WSOP with PokerNews. I’ll also be attempting to defend my title in the Event #1 Casino Employees. I imagine I’ll have a blog post or two from some Sin City debauchery.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.
No comments:
Post a Comment