The action continues today at the Commerce Casino for day two of the main event. I mentioned earlier that Dr. Pauly is live blogging the event, but don't forget another one of our own WBPT bloggers is also there working day and night so we don't have to do more than click a mouse to know what is going on at any given time. Check out Jason 'Spaceman' Kirk's work over at Bluff Magazine, and his personal blog at Catching the Antichrist. (Sorry, Jason!)

Only two of my fantasy poker pool players are remaining: Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak, both of which I added to the roster at the last minute!

Top 20 chips counts at the end of day one were as follows:

1.  Michael Carroll  154,375
2.  Alan Goehring  128,375
3.  Bill Gazes  123,750
4.  Ali Eslami  122,300
5.  Brian McCann  119,875
6.  Hasan Habib  113,550
7.  Abraham Bergis  105,450
8.  Jon Luu  102,200
9.  Jeff Rine  100,375
10.  Albert Alshamn  99,900
11.  Eli Elezra  96,300
12.  Ayaz Mahmood  92,925
13.  David Plastik  92,425
14.  Glyn Banks  91,850
15.  Adam Spiegelberg  91,400
16.  Erick Lindgren  88,000
17.  Chuck Pacheco  87,500
18.  Mike Carson  86,925
19.  Anh Van Nguyen  85,450
20.  Edward Moncada  85,400

There are dozens of WPBT Las Vegas trip reports trickling in throughout the blogosphere, and the common phrase among them is "words just can't explain what it was like." Truer words have never been spoken. I find myself at a complete loss while attempting to recount the feeling of simply just being there. 

The sheer talent at the tables was staggering. At times I felt it could have been the Bellagio Five Diamond Classic across the street that I was sitting at, rather than the Imperial Palace amongst my friends, my peers, my heroes and my partners in crime. Often I found myself just sitting back observing everything and everyone, trying to etch it all into my mind so I wouldn't forget a single sound, voice, action or emotion. 

Each and every one of these people are completely fascinating. They all have unique backgrounds, lifestyles, stories and histories, and to capture even one of their personalities through mere words would be impossible. Even if I had podcasts and video available, it would still be impossible to capture the true essence of any one individual. Multiply that by over one hundred attendees, and you have a room filled with so much life and energy it is simply stunning. 

We began the tournament day mingling in the convention space the Imperial Palace had prepared for us. Poker tables were set up in a roped-off area in the center of the room, banquet rounds were available for those eating or drinking, and tables were set up at the entryway for registration and to display the generous gifts donated for the event. There was also an open bar set up in the room, but that didn't interest anyone attending this event. We were all there to play some serious poker. Ah hell, who am I trying to kid. The open bar was a great touch and was highly frequented by everyone - which is just a nice way of saying that half the room was loaded by noon.  

Several fantastic pre-tournament speakers shared their thoughts and insights with us prior to the game, including Barry Greenstein, Charlie Shoten, and Michael Craig. Once they were ready to begin, we drew seat cards and made our way to the tables. 

Sitting next to me were none other than two thirds of the G-Vegas contingent, Otis to my left, and CJ to my right. Also at my table were Poker Geek and Mrs. Poker Geek, Bill Rini, and On_thg. Quite a table to start with. I didn't take notes on who else was there, but I can assure you there was certainly no lack of talent at any chair in the room. 

I made it down to the final two tables, and won several bounties along the way - the most special being a signed copy of Jen Leo's hilarious book 'The Thong Also Rises' after I unfortunately KO'd her from the tournament. Sorry Jen, but thanks again for the book - I love it. 

I found myself short-stacked and card dead, and couldn't manage to climb out of the pit I landed myself in. I busted out in 17^th place, which left me with mixed emotions. I was upset with my play in the final hour, but I couldn't really be too upset with my overall performance. I had to remind myself that sometimes I take tournaments too seriously, and this certainly was about participating, rather than winning. 

Thanks again to Bill Rini, The Poker Prof, Otis, Wil and Poker Stars, Full Tilt, the Imperial Palace, and all the others who contributed to organizing the event, speakers, and prizes. If I missed any names, please let me know.

I will be following up with a couple of 'How Would You Play It' hands, as well as some more anecdotes about the trip. Stay tuned for more.

After a whirlwind week, I am just about ready to head to the airport for the quick three-hour flight home. My internet connection has been sketchy again today, so I am going to leave the full trip reports for when I arrive back in Canada. Thanks to all the readers for bearing with us this week as we descended upon Vegas and weren't able to post a great amount of content on the site. We will be back in full force again tomorrow though.

Also, a really quick thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of meeting over this past week. There is never enough time to get to know everyone, but I am glad that I was able to (at the very least) put faces to most of the names I have known for so long. I'll be back tomorrow!

It is 11am on Tuesday morning at the Imperial Palace. The fire alarm has just gone off. Instead of panicking, Bill and I look at each other and say: "What the hell is Iggy up to now?" 

I've been in Las Vegas for six nights, though I am sad to say the past two have been spent in my hotel room suffering from a terrible cold. I'm feeling better today at least, so I hope to get out and see a few more things before boarding my plane tomorrow night. 

My husband and I arrived in town early last Wednesday, rented a car, and did a run around town for some 'essentials' before checking into the Imperial Palace. Drinks (and in many cases, food) are free while gambling in Vegas, but if you find yourself in the position of wanting some beverages or snacks in your hotel room, you'll be paying a premium to have them delivered. Since we were going to be here a full week, we stocked up on just about everything you can imagine - soda, beer, champagne, and of course - bottled water.

Since I was unable to attend any of the previous WPBT get-togethers, we were making side bets on which blogger I would actually get to meet first. I am happy to say that it was none other than the lovely Maudie. Once settled in, we headed downstairs to meet up with the other early arrivers - the hilarious Falstaff, the infamous Grubby, and the Blogfather himself - Iggy. 

For those reading this that have played online poker against these people before, I am sure you have some pre-conceived notion about who they are and what they are like in person. I know I did, but it didn't even come close to capturing their true essence. They are all larger than life, and just so much more than I expected. 

The six of us headed over to Harrah's for some food and drinks. We had a great time swapping stories, telling jokes, drinking a lot of beer, and each sipping Grubby's $75 shot of Petron tequila. Ok, maybe it wasn't $75, but it was expensive. The highlight was definitely listening to Iggy and Grubby recount their attempt to find Iggy's hotel room. While some of us were placed on the 14^th and 18th floors, they stuck Iggy far down in the depths of the dungeons in a single-digit room, well away from the rest of civilization. Someone must have warned them about him in advance, and he has been wreaking havoc ever since. 

We headed back to the IP where they were good enough to open a blogger table for us. We played a seven-hour marathon 1/2 NL poker session, and even had some cowboys in town for the rodeo sit down and donate to our cause. Iggy was bound and determined to get us kicked out of the poker room on our first night, so before long we were all dropping 'f-bombs', receiving multiple warnings from the floor staff. No matter how hard we tried though, we couldn't seem to get kicked out. Eventually we gave up and headed over to the lounge at the sportsbook, where I claimed the title of rock, paper, scissors champion before heading upstairs to sleep - at 11am. 

Coming up next: Day two on two hours of sleep

Following my disappointing week of online tournaments, I was tilting - hard. In an attempt to revive myself and regain my mojo, I headed for the desert. Palm Springs to be exact. As soon as I saw the windmills on the 10 freeway I felt my excitement bubble with the prospect of a relaxing (and hopefully profitable) weekend.

First stop, Casino Morongo poker room. (It should be noted that it truly was my first stop, as I had yet to even check into the resort where I was staying.) I got there just in time to register for the Saturday morning tournament. I specifically wanted to play this tournament as I had heard it really was a mixed bag of good, decent and just plain terrible players. A good poker player needs to be able to play against all skill levels and I have yet to figure out how to win against inexperienced players. Hence my newfound interest in playing smaller, more obscure tournaments.

The field was 191 players. I started out playing pretty aggressively and was chip leader at my table by the first break. Not long after the break we were down to the last four tables. I called a guy's all in (he was pretty short stacked) with A-Q suited. He had pocket sixes for a coin flip situation. I flopped a queen, but the guy pulled a six on the river. Doh! This hurt, as the blinds were quickly going up and I was moved to a different table. I couldn't catch any cards and was really getting low in chips. Fortunately I made it to the final two tables and managed to double up against the guy who I had lost to earlier, knocking him out of the tournament. Next thing you know the blinds were 8000/16000 and I had to make a move as I barely had enough to cover the big blind which was the next hand. I looked at an A-7 offsuit and went all in with TWO callers. Shoot! One of my callers was also all-in with the same hand and the other guy had and 8-4 from the big blind. The flop came down 9-4-6 with blanks on the turn and the river. Knocked out by a pair of fours. Oh well, the upside of this was a 10th place finish and my buy-in plus $20! Wheeeeeee! Seriously though, I am thrilled with my results as I regained some confidence after my less than stellar results online.

The rest of the weekend proved to be relaxing, but not profitable since I decided to play blackjack in preparation for an upcoming tournament (more details to follow). I could not get anything going on the 21 tables and really should have just stuck to poker! Lesson learned. If winning in poker, stick with it and ride the wave!

My trip report from San Manuel is a bit dated, as I was there almost a month ago, but this is the first free day I've had! I went to play blackjack with a friend/mentor, but I was also hoping to win a chance in the "money machine" from a promotion called Grab the Green. (Much to the chagrin of my friend who thinks this stuff is a waste of time and I'm silly.) Unfortunately, I didn't win the drawing, but I did leave San Manuel a winner.....barely.

One of the hardest things about gambling is putting in serious floor time and getting little to no value for your time. For example, driving two hours to a casino only to play for eight + hours and win a measly c-note. Sure, it's better than losing, but when you factor in gas, time spent, quality of life (i.e. smoke filled casino with a rather unpleasant clientele), it makes for a miserable drive home at 5 a.m.

Here's what happened in a nutshell.

Well, the past two weeks have been crazier than Tom Cruise, but I'm back! I have a lot to recap from my San Manuel experience to my two trips to Vegas. Rather than go in chronological order, I'll begin with something a little more recent. (OK, I really just need vent about something!) 

I generally try not to blame my poker losses on bad beats. Unfortunately, they happen all the time - it's just a part of the game. (In fact, after my most recent "bad beat" I was waxing poetic with Michael "Grinder" Mizrachi, who told me just to move on. That's all you can do. But I'm getting ahead of myself!)

So here's the scenario. I'm playing a WSOP tournament. While it's just a little thousand dollar buy in, it's still a bracelet event with some huge competition (i.e., my friend and mentor Marcel Luske was just a table away). After about a half an hour without much action from me (I was playing pretty tight) I did have a relatively good read on the rest of the table. There was one other woman at the table who was fairly aggressive and was getting some good cards. She quickly became the chip leader and was stealing a lot of pots with her big stack. The blinds were going up and I was getting low in chips. (Earlier I lost about 1/2 my stack with pocket queens against this chick, who I'm fairly certain had aces.) Anyhoo, I'm on the button with queens again. The guy to my left had only 250 or so left in chips and moves all in. I put him on ace-rag. Three guys after him fold then the action is on the aggressive chick who's been somewhat bullying everyone with the big stack (as to be expected). She raises to 800. I, at this point, believe she has a middle pair, maybe ace-jack, and she's just trying to keep everyone behind her from calling. This works, as everyone folds, but I, of course call with my queens. (This basically puts me all in.) The cards are flipped over and the guy to my LEFT actually has ace-jack and she has jacks. OK, I'm ahead pre-flop. Flop comes down ace-blank-blank, with two clubs on the board. The guy to my left is now beating me, but I'm still ahead of the chick which is more important since it's the bigger side pot. The turn is a club. The flippin' river is a club. She catches runner-runner club for the flush knocking both me and the other guy out! WAAAAAAAAA!

I still feel I made the right call, so..... Whatever! Unfortunately, bad beats are part of the game. As "Grinder" said, "move on"! OK, I guess I've moved on from this one, but the next bad beat is surely around the corner at the Hustler's Grand Slam! Stay tuned!

Ask somebody to name the top five gambling cities in the U.S., and you're likely to hear Las Vegas, New Orleans, Atlantic City, Niagara Falls, and maybe Detroit. Cleveland is nowhere on that list. Indeed, the Lake Erie town, known for stodgy industries like banking and bio-tech, is probably not what you'd call Poker Central.

Perhaps that's why so many in the town are skeptical about placing a giant, 20,000-square-foot public poker tent in middle of a struggling Cleveland entertainment district. The Flats, a low-lying plain surrounding the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, was once the pride of the town, encrusted with thriving night clubs and famous micro-breweries. Today, it's home to a few struggling restaurants with lengthy leases, and naturally, a strip joint.

The skeptics are asking, "What is a poker tent going to do for the Flats?"

The answer, from Jacobs Investments, who owns the property where the tent resides, is to bring legalized gambling institutions to the city. Right now, the football-field-sized tent would be illegal if it weren't for its non-profit, all-charity nature. The state of Ohio permits gambling only for charitable purposes, and Jacobs Investments is taking the legal loop-hole to the extreme, doing the gambling, and the charity, on a grand scale. This ain't your mother's Catholic Vegas tent.

Finally, a Place to Play Poker

The tent opened Thursday evening, June 16. A few hundred anxious poker players waited in line for the opening, ready to fork over fifteen bucks an hour to participate in Texas Hold 'Em tournaments. Proceeds benefit charities like the Cleveland Police Athletic League, which provides athletic activities for children in the city. Charities like PAL must operate the games in order to pocket the gains, and not everybody is convinced those gains will be all that great. But for the Police Athletic League, the tent couldn't have been set up at a better time. PAL recently lost their primary funding source, and they're hoping the poker operation will help them cash in.

The tent is staffed entirely by volunteer dealers and concession vendors, so don't count on any Vegas-calibre dealing. But, to many players, live poker beats their only other choice--online poker--hands down. Of course, competitive, face-to-face poker and good-natured charity, the two chief arguments in support of the new Hold 'Em operation, aren't enough to satisfy the naysayers.

Not Everybody is a Poker Fan

Some people think spending money to play poker is a rip-off. Apparently, they've never played real poker, where a pre-requisite of each round is putting money in the pot, and the penalty for poor play is--you guessed it--losing money. Then, there's civic opposition to gambling. Some folks introducing gambling to the Flats just takes it from one form of slum to another, contending, "A bad economy is an open door to compromise."

Still, if you drive three hours from Cleveland to Detroit and play table games at one of Detroit's several casinos, you're giving your money to Donald Trump and the like. If you play poker in Cleveland, you're giving it to the Police Athletic League, so I suppose things could be worse. Deal those cards and have fun! This could end up being the coolest poker venue in the world, if Cleveland plays its cards right.