Checking Macau Off the Poker Bucket List

I have a bucket list of places I’d like to visit for poker, and up until a couple weeks ago, Macau was at the top of the list. Working in the poker industry I’ve heard dozens of stories regarding the island gaming capital located a short 50-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong. They said it was the most rapidly expanding gaming market. They said Macau casinos dwarfed their Vegas counterparts. They said Macau was the home of the world’s highest poker cash games. They were right.

I had the opportunity to cross Macau off my bucket list when I was assigned to cover the 2013 Asia Championship of Poker for PokerNews. Since we were contracted to work – Tim Duckworth, Sarah Grant, Alex Wilson, Heath Chick and myself -- we weren’t allowed to play on property, and that was just fine by me as I was more focused on taking in a new culture in between trips. After all, this was my first trip to Asia.

The journey there was long (16 hours alone from Chicago to Hong Kong), but I’ve become so accustomed to flying that I was able to weather it with ease (I watched plenty of movies including The Way, Way Back, which was fantastic). Once I landed I had to grab a ferry, which was actually a turbo jet. Imagine a giant jet ski that held 100 people or so. Those things can fly. Fortunately they have a terminal right there at the airport, so getting to the island and catching a cab to the Hard Rock Hotel at the City of Dreams went as smooth as can be (that wouldn’t be the case on the return journey).

The City of Dreams is a complex of casinos that include the Hard Rock and the Crown Casino. Just across the street from both is the Venetian, which is identical to the one in Las Vegas except about three times the size. Seriously, the thing is massive and by far the biggest casino I’ve even seen. Speaking of Macau casinos, the first thing that struck me was that the casino floor practically contained more table games than slot machines. Chinese players certainly love their baccarat.

The week was mainly comprised of live reporting the HKD$100,000 Main Event and HKD$250,000 High Roller, but I don’t want to bore you with poker details. Instead, I want to document some of my memorable experiences and observations. Here they are in no particular order:

The Red Market

• Wilson and I woke up early one day and took a cab in the non-tourist part of Macau. More specifically, we went to the Red Market. The place was wild. Imagine a flea market that sells animal products, fruits and vegetables. We first walked into what I guess could be called the seafood section, because there you could buy fish spread out on ice, crabs in boxes, and bags of frogs – and all of those animals were alive. Upstairs was the meat section, and it wasn’t for the faint of heart. Raw innards and limbs hung from hooks, and it was akin to being in a slaughter house; in fact, there were cages of live chickens they’d slaughter for paying customers.


• There was a pig face on one table, and when I mentioned it to Wilson, the woman at that stall overheard, picked up the pig’s face, and began waving it at us. It felt like something out of a horror movie.


• Sarah dressed up for Halloween, which isn’t really a thing over there. Casino security didn’t take too kindly to her getup and she was promptly kicked out of the casino. Leave it to Sarah.


• Duckworth, Chick and I played pool at the Hard Rock Café. I managed to beat Ducky without even sinking a ball (he scratched the eight) and followed that up by beating Chick. Nothing too great, I just wanted it on record.
  
  
  

  Sarah Grant all dolled up for Halloween.



• The PokerStars Party at the event was crazy fun, and they scheduled it so everyone (media included) could attend. Now I’m a big whiskey fan, and they happened to have Johnnie Walker Black at the open bar. This brand in China seemed strange to me, but I wasn’t about to question it. Ironically, I read a great article a couple days later that explained Johnnie Walker and its foreign policy. Anyway, I got good and drunk and was about to accompany tournament director Danny McDonagh (who has the ability to party all night and walk in the next day – oftentimes with little or no sleep – like nothing happened the night before) and his posse to some club. Fortunately I managed to restrain myself and passed out instead. Probably a good idea as I’ve been told it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between a real woman and what they call “lady boys.”


• I paid a special visit to the Poker King Club at the StarWorld Casino, which is home to the legendary high-stakes cash games. The poker room wasn’t overly impressive and the games weren’t going, but it was still cool to be on such sacred ground. I even bought the Poker King Club’s trademark red jumper, so I look forward to sporting that in the future.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my return journey. I had to be up at 6 a.m. to catch the ferry back from Macau to the Hong Kong airport. I arrived at the ferry terminal early, but apparently not early enough. The line was huge, and after waiting for about 45 minutes, I was two people from the counter when they announced that the 7:30 a.m. ferry was closed. Since the next ferry didn’t leave until 9:30 and my flight left at 11:00, I had to call an audible.

I hopped a different ferry into Hong Kong city, and then had to grab a cab from there to the airport. I wasn’t sure how far it was nor how much it’d cost, but I was hoping it be under HKD$150 because that was all the cash I had on me. If not, I planned to use my credit card. Well, it ended up being quite the trek and the fare was HKD$300—and the cab didn’t take credit cards! The driver was patient yet clearly annoyed. I told him I’d go into the airport and hit an ATM. He had no choice but to wait with my bags as I scurried about the airport. Of course the ATM wouldn’t work, so I had to negotiate with one of the money exchange companies. Easier said then done with the language barrier and all. Eventually I got it sorted out, the cabbie got paid, and I made my flight. It was just a little more stressful than I expected.

Macau was more work than play, but I still had a great time.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.

Stalking Ben Affleck & Justin Timberlake at the Runner Runner Premiere

Sarah Grant and myself on the red carpet.

I am a cinephile, so to have the chance to attend the world premiere of Runner Runner, the new film starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, was a surreal experience. I’ve written an extensive piece on the adventure for PokerNews, but I wanted to supplement that with a fun little story on how I followed my instincts and almost got into an exclusive meet and greet with the stars.

As you can imagine, I was giddy with anticipation on the day of the premiere. I decided to head over to Plant Hollywood a few hours early to scope things out. For those who’ve never been there, Planet Hollywood is a hotel and casino in the heart of the Miracle Mile Shops. To put it another way, it’s a casino surrounded by a shopping mall.

I was set to meet PokerNews hostess Sarah Grant and cameraman Adam Brown at 5:30 PST, which was the call time for the press. Despite being a full two hours before the scheduled premiere, Planet Hollywood had transformed from housing a hundred our so Wednesday afternoon slot players to swelling with hundreds of fans lining the red carpet hoping to catch a glimpse of a star or starlet.

The red carpet actually began on the casino floor, ran through the gaming pit, and incorporated the aforementioned escalators into the path. After meeting the team, we utilized a secret elevator that helped us avoid the throng of enthusiasts while delivering us to the end of the red carpet, which was atop the mezzanine.

After setting up on the red carpet, we still had plenty of time to kill. As we’d soon find out, things rarely start on time at a movie premiere. While Sarah and Adam had to remain on the red carpet, I wasn’t so constrained.

Workers setting up the red carpet.

“Maybe I’ll go to the Diamond Lounge,” I thought to myself after seeing the exclusive club was on the upper level across the way. You see, every World Series of Poker bracelet winner is also awarded a Diamond Card for a year, which provides numerous perks.

As I was debating whether or not to leave the merriment, a thought crept into my mind—not only are we waiting for this thing to start, but the famous folks were too. That meant they had to be waiting somewhere, and what better place to keep them than in an elite lounge? It seemed like a long shot, but I didn’t really have anything better to do in that moment. It was off to the Diamond Lounge.

After presenting my card and gaining access I was pleased to see that my suspicions were true. In the back of the lounge there was a doorway roped off an guarded by two hulking security guards in black suits. Beyond was Runner Runner promotional material and it was apparent something was going down.

Sure enough, a quick check with my waiter revealed that an private meet and greet with the film’s stars was taking place. My Diamond Card had gotten me that far, but I doubted it would get me where I wanted to be; however, I did have my media credentials for the premiere draped around my neck. My plan was simple – walk as confidently as I could toward the security guards and see if they’d notice my media badge and open the ropes.

I down the rest of my drink, tipped the waiter (who told me my plan probably wouldn’t work), and began walking down the short hall. Within seconds it became apparent my attempt was futile. I was only about halfway to my destination when one of the guards stepped forward and asked, “Can I help you sir?”

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but in fact it had. “I’m just looking for the…” I began to say before noticing the restrooms were to my direct left. “I was just looking for the bathroom,” I said before ducking in to reevaluate. I may have been stonewalled, but I hadn’t gone that far only to give up. I decided there must be another way in.

Sarah doing what she does best.

I washed my hands, exited the restrooms and went back the way I came. I left the Diamond Lounge and began to search the grounds. Sure enough, there was a roped off area with a much more friendly-looking older lady holding a clipboard. I think myself a charming guy, and I liked my odds a lot better with this tender woman than the statuesque security guards.

“What’s going on back there?” I innocently asked even though I already knew the answer. The sweet old lady then told me about the meet and greet. “I’m a member of the media,” I said while flashing my credentials. “Does this get me in?

“Unfortunately it does not,” she replied, “you need to have a bracelet.” Obviously she didn’t know about my WSOP gold bracelet. I’d been denied twice, but I was determined to gain access. I began to wander the area scoping out people’s wrists to determine what color bracelet I would need. I also kept an eye on the floor to see if any had been discarded. I was getting desperate, and I wonder how far I would have gone had the red carpet not begun.

The roar of the crowd and announcements over the P.A. let me know that I needed to get back, so I abandoned my futile quest. I never did get into that room, but it wasn’t from lack of trying.

Even though I failed in my mission, I was pacified by the fact that I would soon be rubbing elbows with Affleck, Timberlake and company on the red carpet. I hurriedly made my way back to our spot, but to read about that you’ll have to check out my feature on PokerNews.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.

Semanisin Wins Ho-Chunk Nekoosa’s Pulse Pounding Tournament

On Saturday, September 28, Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa hosted the 3rd Annual Pulse Pounding Poker Tournament, a tournament held in memory of former table games employee Kevin Abbott. I was very excited to take part in this tournament as an invited celebrity bounty, meaning whoever knocked me out would receive $200. The tournament attracted 40 runners, which created a prize pool of $12,500 and raised $1,800 for the Foundation of Saint Joseph's Hospital to the Cardiac, Cancer and Diabetes Funs.

“The Pulse Pounding Tournament event started in 2011," Nekoosa's poker room manager Adam Estes explained. "The previous year, we had a co-worker and friend named Kevin Abbott pass away. He loved poker, dealing and talking to people. We wanted to create an event to honor his memory and raise money to donate to help others in need at the same time. We chose the Foundation at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield as our charity because Kevin had spent time there the past couple years before he passed."

Aside from myself, local radio personalities Kim Carr, Bryan Scott and the entertaining "Panama Jack" served as bounties. Also in attendance was Nikolas Stone, who you might recall as the runner-up in the 2012 World Series of Poker National Championship.

The championship bracelet.

For a small casino in central Wisconsin, Ho-Chunk Nekoosa sure knows how to throw a top-notch poker tournament. The chips and tables were akin to those you’d find on the European Poker Tour, and the structure of the tournament was among the best I’ve ever played. On top of it all, the staff was surprisingly accommodating. They provided players with a full spread of food and drink, and also went out of their way to create a special bracelet for the winner. I have a WSOP bracelet, but believe me when I say the Pulse Pounding silver bracelet looked nice and was something I wanted around my other wrist.

“I give all of the credit to my staff. They are a great group of employees,” Estes said. “They are very knowledgeable in the poker area and spend a great deal of time listening to what the guests would like to see. We always try to cater our tournaments to what our guests want to see. My staff puts forth the extra effort to make sure things run smoothly and attend to the players needs. We talk often about what we could do differently to make tournaments or poker better.”

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for me and I was sent to the rail in 33rd place or so. I neither played well nor ran well. It’s a bad combination, but I had fun nonetheless, even when I had to ship my bounty chip over to a young local player named Will. He played well and I was surprised that he didn’t cash in the tournament (well aside from my $200 bounty of course).

Here’s a look at those players that did cash in the 3rd Annual Pulse Punding Poker Tournament:

The winner of the event, Miroslav Semanisin.

3rd Annual Pulse Pounding Final Table

Place	Player	Winnings
1st	Miroslav Semanisin	$3,500*
2nd	Kevin Koscal	$3,000*
3rd	Troy Miller	$3,000*
4th	David Nelson	$1,250
5th	Ben Rock	$1,000
6th	Robin Weideman	$750

*Denotes three-handed deal.

Ho-Chunk Nekoosa’s next big tournament will be held in December. You can learn more on that event, and view other photos from the Pulse Punding tournament, by liking Ho-Chunk Nekoosa's page on Facebook.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.

Why I've Had It with Phil Ivey in Fantasy Poker

Back in May I told you about the 8th Annual ESPN Fantasy Poker League, which included a mix of ten players and media members including Daniel Negreanu, Matt Glantz, Andrew Feldman and myself, just to name a few. This year’s winner was none other than Kevin “KevMath” Mathers, who amassed 622 points due in no small part to adding Matthew Ashton the day before the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship—which he went on to win.

Here’s a look at the results:

2013 ESPN Fantasy Poker League Results

Kevin "KevMath" Mathers

Place	Player	Score	Top Scorer
1st	Kevin “KevMath” Mathers	622	David “Bakes” Baker w/ 235 points
2nd	Daniel Negreanu	564	Dan Kelly w/ 160 points
3rd	Josh Brikis	476	John Hennigan w/ 113 points
3rd	Jason Somerville	476	Daniel Alaei w/ 138 points
4th	Eric Baldwin	462	Marco Johnson w/ 163 points*
5th	Andrew Feldman	309	Chris Klodnicki w/152 points
6th	Matt Glantz	297	Rep Porter; points unknown
7th	Lance Bradley	216	Scott Clements w/ 92 points
8th	Steve “Chops” Preiss	214	Mike Wattel w/ 78 points
9th	Chad Holloway	182	Should’ve drafted himself

*Only team with 3 bracelet winners – Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow and Marco Johnson.

Last place this year? Yours truly, and I blame one man for that — Phil “Mother F***ing” Ivey. I’m about to sound off on my thoughts on this year’s league, but to give the rant some sort of coherence I’ll break it down into five points.

1. To Hell with Phil Ivey

Back in 2010, I won the 5th Annual ESPN Fantasy Poker League thanks in no small part to having Phil Hellmuth, Michael Mizrachi and Jason Somerville on my team. It was the first year I had played, and since I fancied myself a fantasy poker expert of sorts (I used to write a lot about it), the win was confirmation that I knew was I was talking about, or so I thought.

In 2011 only one man picked in front of me, and that was the inexperience Dwyte Pilgrim, who inexplicably selected Eric Baldwin with the first overall pick. The laughs were aplenty and I felt blessed to have Ivey fall to me at No. 2. I was already confident in my title defense, but what does Ivey do then? Boycotts the damn World Series of Poker. Sure, I could have dropped him and picked up someone else, but by the time his absence was confirmed it was too late. Ivey screwed me and I was angry. I ended up finishing 7th out of 11 players and had a bitter taste in my mouth

Fast-forward one year to the 2012 draft. I once again had the second pick, and while Ivey was selected first overall, I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t have taken him had he fallen given he’d done to me the year before. What did he go on to do? He made five final tables and earn 245 points, more than any other player selected. Ivey was a beast, and I couldn’t help but forgive him and give him another shot when he fell to me at No. 2 this year.

I was licking my chops at the points Ivey was sure to earn me, especially after his bracelet win at the WSOP-APAC. While I was excited to see him play nearly every event, my stomach turned each time he made an early exit. He played well over 50 events and do you know how many cashes he had? One. A single cash in Event #18 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $15,544—FML.

Ivey’s great, there’s no denying it, but I’m cursed when it comes to that guy on my fantasy team. Ivey gets my blood boiling, but there is one fact that calms me down. Of Ivey’s nine bracelets – none of which are in no-limit hold’em – the largest field he defeated was 478 (2010 WSOP Event #37 $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.), while I topped a field of 898 in Event #1 $500 Casino Employees in my bracelet win. There’s really no significance to that, but somehow it still makes me feel better.

2. Where’s JC?

JC Tran

Up until last year, a fairly well known player has been able to make the final table, but none of them entered as the chip leader. That changed with this year when two-time bracelet winner and World Poker Tour champ JC Tran made the November Nine with the biggest stack. Given his bracelet wins, which came in 2008 (Event #44 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em w/Rebuys for $631,170) and 2009 (Event #30 $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha for $235,685), it’s shocking that Tran wasn’t selected in our draft.

In fact, Tran wasn’t selected last year either. The last time he was drafted was back in 2011 when Dennis Phillips took him with the fourth-to-last pick (Phillips had selected him 16th overall way back in 2010). It seems Phillips, who won the league in 2011, was onto something with Tran. Unfortunately when Phillips left, Tran did the same on our poker radar. Rest assured that mistake won’t be made in the future.

3. Good Pass on Merson

Greg Merson

While the entire league dropped the ball with Tran, they were spot on with the collective pass on Greg Merson. It’s not often a two-time bracelet winner from the year before – not to mention the defending Main Event champ – goes undrafted, but it seemed everyone knew Merson wasn’t going to bracelet hunt. He’s made no secret that he much prefers to play high-stakes cash games, which was evidenced by all the time he spent in Macau. Cash game players are detrimental to a fantasy team, and as tempting as Merson was prior to the WSOP, everyone managed to resist.

I’m not sure how many event Merson played (maybe one or two), but I do know he only had one cash – 167th in the Main Event for $42,990. A nice run after winning the year before, but meaningless as far as fantasy poker was concern.

4. Wrong Old Schoolers

My strategy at the draft this year was to select consistent players who have established themselves over the course of time. I ended up with a couple of old school players in Erik Seidel and John Juanda. I had the right idea, but unfortunately I chose the wrong players. Neither Seidel nor Juanda had a good summer, but plenty of old school players did including Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Erick Lindgren, Daniel Alaei and John Hennigan, with the former three all winning gold.

I’m happy with my strategy, just disappointed in my selections.

5. Andy, Andy, Andy

Andy Frankenberger

I’ve talked extensively about my fantasy kinship with Andy Frankenberger. He was my sleeper pick in 2011 after finishing as the WPT Player of the Year and he promptly won a bracelet. The next year he won his second bracelet by defeating Ivey in heads-up play. While I’ll no longer have a place for Ivey on my fantasy team (provided I don’t change my mind), I will always have one for Frankenberger.

That said, this year was a bit disappointing (especially to him personally) as he managed just three cashes (none better than 61st) for $16,880. Frankenberger’s career started out as hot as any I’ve ever seen, so it’s only rational that variance would slap him in the face at some point. That may be happening now, and while I know he’s a bit discouraged, I’ve no doubt he’ll bounce back. If no one else takes him next year, Frankenberger will once again be on my roster.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.

Charity Poker for a Great Cause: Nekoosa's Pulse Pounding Tournament

One of the unexpected benefits of winning a World Series of Poker bracelet this past summer is the influx of invitations to charity events. I've actually had two extended my way, and while I have to miss the All In for Wishes in upstate New York in October (I'm going to work the European Poker Tour London), I was able to accept a spot as a "celebrity" bounty at Ho-Chunk Nekoosa's 3rd Annual Pulse Punding Poker Tournament on September 28 and 29.

The tournament is held in memory of Kevin Abbott, a man I did not know personally but have heard nothing but great things. Kevin was a former table games employee at Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa, which is a small casino located in central Wisconsin. I'm very excited to take part in this tournament not only to play for a great cause, but because it's right in my backyard. Poker in Wisconsin is as strong as in any other state, and there are some great players that both started here (i.e. Phil Hellmuth, Trevor Pope, Phil Galfond, etc.) and still play here.

The Pulse Pounding Tournament event started in 2011," Nekoosa's poker room manager Adam Estes told me. "The previous year, we had a co-worker and friend named Kevin Abbott pass away. He loved poker, dealing and talking to people. We wanted to create an event to honor his memory and raise money to donate to help others in need at the same time. We chose the Foundation at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield as our charity because Kevin had spent time there the past couple years before he passed."

The proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Foundation of Saint Joseph's Hospital to the Cardiac, Cancer and Diabetes Funs, and I am honored to be one of their celebrity players. As such, there will be a $200 bounty on my head, which ought to make things interesting. I plan on having a good time, conversing with the other players and hopefully win some money. In the instance that I do, all of it will be donated to the charity. I don't expect every player to donate their winnings, but I do encourage them to donate a portion to the charity to help make the event a success.

"Our main goal is to fill as many of the 150 seats as possible," Estes explained. "That would allow us to raise the most money we can for the charity. A high turnout would also be a reward for my staff to see that their hard work over the past couple years has paid off. Players will not be disappointed with the experience. Hopefully word will spread that these tournaments are something that players don’t want to miss. It will give HCG-Nekoosa a good reputation and be a place more players would visit often."

The Pulse Pounding Poker Tournament will start on September 28 at 11:15 a.m. and conclude on September 29, 2013. If anyone is interested in more information, please feel to reach out to me on either Facebook or Twitter. I also recommend you like Ho-Chunk Nekoosa's page on Facebook for updates and pictures from the event.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.

The Miami Dolphins and the SHRPO $10 Million Guarantee

I love Miami. Well to be honest, I love the Miami Dolphins. They’ve been my favorite team since I was a kid despite only being to their home city just one, that is until I decided to cave in to the hype, jump on the bandwagon and book a ticket for the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10 Million Guarantee (SHRPO). It seemed the entire poker world was heading down to South Florida, and since I didn’t have to work, I thought it’d be a good chance to go down, hang with my friends and even play a little bit.

The plan was to try my hand at a couple of $575 satellites and hope to qualify for the $5,000 buy-in Main Event. I arrived on Thursday, August 22 just in time to catch the 2 p.m. satellite, and after dropping my bags off at the bell desk, I promptly registered. This particular satellite was held in the main poker room, which was across the property from SHRPO, so I began to make the long trek across the casino floor. A minute later I passed a well-known poker pro and something remarkable happened—I “qualified” for the Main Event!

To respect his privacy, I’ll keep the name of this pro confidential, but suffice it to say I’ve known him for a few years and we’ve always gotten along splendidly. Our paths hadn’t crossed in awhile, so we exchanged pleasantries before he asked if I was there to work. I informed him that I was there to play a bit and was going to attempt to qualify for the Main Event.

“You want me to put you in?” he asked nonchalantly while simultaneously leaving me flabbergasted. That’s a lot of money and I was honored he had enough faith in my to offer—I guess winning a bracelet has certain benefits. Anyway, I said let’s wait and see how I do in the satellite, which I promptly busted, and then took him up on his gracious offer. I was in the game.

I played Day 1b of the Main Event and I was excited to go despite having only one bullet to fire (you can read more about that in my recent piece on learn.pokernews.com). Aside from this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event, the SHRPO was the largest buy-in tournament I’d played, and given the smaller field size, I knew I’d get the chance to play with some fairly big names.

The biggest ended up being David “Doc” Sands, who I was pleased to learn doesn’t take as long to act as his reputation suggests. Sands and I didn’t get involved in any big pots against one another, and he eventually busted (he re-entered several times and ended up making a deep run). On the other hand, I had trouble getting anything going. We started with 30,000 and I did nothing but dwindle early on. I dropped to 8,000, worked it up to 40,000 and then ended up busting to Sam Soverel in the penultimate level of the night. Soverel was the bane of my tournament beating me over and over again (every time I had a good hand he had one a little bit better). It was frustrating but fitting that he was the one to finish me off.

I was extremely disappointed to bust, but alas that is poker. The toughest part is breaking the news to your backer, though he appeared to take it well. Whether or not he was being sincere I don’t know, but either way I was sure to let him know how much the opportunity meant to me. Even though I didn’t do much, I still got to play in one of the year’s biggest tournaments alongside the game’s best. Truly a great experience.

My bust-out disappointment disappeared on Saturday when I had the opportunity to attend the Miami Dolphins game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Granted, it was a meaningless preseason game, but I was still ecstatic to check out the Fins’ stadium, something I hadn’t done in the better part of a decade and only once at that. What’s more, my friend Garry Gates, who is a VIP host of sorts for PokerStars, won a contest on Twitter that gave us seats in a suite and a tour of the stadium.

Along with PokerNews Editor in Chief Donnie Peters and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Allen Bari, the four of us arrived at Sun Life Stadium to do a little pregaming. Beers, rum and a football got us off to a good start, and it only got better as free food was part of our reward experience. The best part for me was getting the chance to go down on the field during pregame workouts. What an experience to be on the ground looking up at the stadium—a surreal perspective.

Needless to say, I’m pumped for the upcoming season. Have a look at some of the pictures I snapped at the game.

The boys and I meet Dan Marino!

I was very excited to be at the Dolphins home turf!

A view from the field.

A view from the suite.

Ice cream break!

Miami was great and the SHRPO was a great tournament. I expect I will be down there again in the near future. In the meantime, I am off to Barcelona for the start of the European Poker Tour Season 10.

Before I sign off, a very special thanks to Mickey Doft for letting me crash in his room all week. I understand as well as anyone that it’s a big sacrifice to open up your room after working 14 hours a day, and I greatly appreciate his kindness.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.

My Trip to Ireland and Upcoming Poker Plans

After detoxing at home for a few weeks from the 2013 World Series of Poker, I had to jet off to my next assignment—the Full Tilt Poker Galway Festival in Ireland. This was my first time to that country and the first time I’d traveled to a foreign country without another PokerNews colleague from the States (though there are plenty of Irish and UK team members here… I guess I’m the one with the accent). Ireland has always been toward the top of my list of places to visit, and it feels amazing to be writing from the Harbor Hotel in Galway, which is on the west coast of the country.

The flight over here was amazing considering I had a whole row in Economy Plus to myself. First time I’ve ever been able to laydown on a flight and it felt good. Three movies (Broken City, Side Effects and Mud) made the time fly. After landing, I had a one-hour car ride through the countryside. I’ve never seen so many horses, sheep and stone walls in my life. Seriously, where do they get all those stones? I also appreciate how they build into the countryside as opposed to the U.S. strategy of bulldozing everything and building on the ruins.

The FTP Galway Festival venue is pretty sick. Imagine two giant beer tents next to each other—one for the poker action and the other a great big lounge. It’s a nice change from the usual casino floors and convention centers. I actually had some time to play, which is a rare occurrence when I travel. The first night I jumped into Event #41 €110 Triathlon NLHE. Unfortunately I couldn’t get anything going and was one of the first people out. Still, it’s cool to be able to say that I’ve played in Ireland.

Fast forward through five days of non-stop work and you’ll get to the FTP UKIPT Galway Party, which turned out to be an unexpected treat packed into 90 minutes. After working a full day, I decided to drop off my stuff and “make an appearance” at the party. I always drink spirits, but the open bar didn’t include that, so “when in Rome”… I ordered a pint of Guinness. By my second round, I had talked my photographer friend Danny Maxwell, who is an Irishman, into taking pictures of me with Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Gus Hansen.

Blom was first. I had heard the Swede enjoyed his liquor, and apparently that was true because when I nonchalantly asked him for a picture he noticed my full pint and promptly challenged me to a drinking contest. He had just received a full vodka and Red Bull, you see, and despite his attempts for me to give him a head start—his may have been a little fuller but mine was a thicker brew was my argument—we decided to see who could finish there’s first. I’ll just say that I’m born and raised in Wisconsin, and if it’s one thing we know how to do it is drink. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Blom challenges me and mixes his drink. He wanted a head start because he had a little more. I argued mine was a thicker brew. He asked to trade drinks. I said I would. He then backed out and stuck with his vodka Red Bull.

Cheers!

Drinking contest with VIktor "Isildur1" Blom in Ireland.

Bottoms up!

Kicked his ass. Not even close. I'm from Wisconsin, bitch!

Not long after I managed to get a picture with Hansen (who had denied me an interview earlier in the day). I’m afraid my story concerning that wasn’t nearly as interesting; in fact, it wasn’t interesting at all. Despite that, here is the pic:

Gus Hansen and I.

On the 22nd of this month, I will be headed to South Florida for the $10-million guarantee at the Seminole Hard Rock. I’m actually going to this event not to live report, but to play. I don’t know if I’ll play the $5,000 buy-in Main Event yet as that price is a little steep for me, but I will be playing a couple of $500 satellites. Other than that I will play some smaller buy-in events, do so pieces for PokerNews from the hyped event and spend some time with my South Florida friends (Mickey Doft, Garry Gates, Jason Mercier, Sam Cohen, Tristan Wade, etc.). I’m also hoping a trip to the watch the Miami Dolphins in preseason action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is in order.

I’ll be sure to do a post about that adventure as well as one for Barcelona, which I’ll be headed to straight from Miami to cover the European Poker Tour for the second year in a row. If you’d have told me a few years ago I’d be going to Barcelona twice in one year, well I’d have thought you crazy.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ChadAHolloway for more poker articles, stories and musings from the tournament trail.