I eased into this year by not going out for New Years. Staying home playing Xbox seemed like more fun than waking up with a wicked hangover for January 1st. I made the switch from the iPhone to Blackberry, began packing up my house, and becoming open to change instead of resisting it. At the time I was reading Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book The Power of Intention. If you haven’t read his books I strongly recommend you do. I feel like saying, “Look at me now!” Although it wasn’t just his book that helped me through this life changing year, it was my best friend Alex. Changing to Blackberry I could now BBM her every second if I wished with no international charges! This is the ONLY reason I have not yet gone back to the iPhone. We could now speak everyday multiple times a day without breaking the bank. May not seem like a big deal, but you have no idea how much we talk and how much I need her in my life!

This whole month I worked out, ate healthy, and pampered myself as rewards for deeds done well. Hanging out with my sister getting pedicures and chilling in a fort made of blankets with Faviola on her bday were the highlights of my first two weeks. I was also getting ready for a busy mid- to-end of the month and needed to be in shape. 300 situps each day was required and drinking 6-8 bottles of water a must!

January 13^th I was booked on a PT’s photo shoot for Golden Gaming with some of my favorite people. We had to do a road trip around Nevada for a few days to get the shots we needed for the campaign. I was happier than I had been in quite a while. I wish I could post all the pictures from this excursion, but there are way too many! Look for the final edits on my Flickr page. They look amazing!

From that point things got a little busy and in normal fashion I was faced with back to back trips involving lots of fun adventures to be had.

My Tweet: Packing for Tahoe/ Vancouver/ Atlantic City/ New York. Can’t wait to get out of Vegas for a while.

First stop was Tahoe to shoot a music video for Grouch & Eligh’s new song “All In” and I had no idea what to expect. If you  haven’t heard of them you should check this site out: www.legendarymusic.net  Flying into Reno I was greeted by Eligh, Pigeon John, Gift of Gab, and a few others cool cats. We piled into the

car and headed straight to the casino where we would be shooting. It was nice to get to that ice breaker and get to know eachother a bit in the car ride before we started. Once we got to the casino it was all business as we had only 1 day to shoot all the scenes. Our second shoot was at the Fantasy Inn where each room has it’s own theme, mirror on the ceiling and a jacuzzi. The suite I stayed in was Anthony and Cleopatra and  was pretty comical to say the least.  Ended up shooting late into the early morning and Cory “The Grouch” drove me back to the airport to go straight to Vancouver.

Getting to Vancouver was a little bitter sweet as I would only be there a few days to shoot voice overs from the BCPC’s final table in November. If you remember correctly Daniel Negreanu won that event and it was quite fun to see all the hole cards and watch him school the boys.

After my few days in paradise Alex took me to the airport with some words of encouragement. She let me know she would be there for me no matter what and that this is my year to shine. Always great to have a pep talk before you take on a new battle.  Getting to Borgata was a snap and I was ready to take on the world.

My favorite Tweet: Jumping up and down on my bed at The Water Club and waiting for them to bring my luggage. Goodbye Vancouver. Hello Atlantic City.

Stay Tuned for the tail end of January and an interesting February where I finally make some changes in the right direction.

Today I finally take a sick day and have time to finish up some business and hopefully get my video blogs up and working. Actually I’m feeling much better after eating soup and drinking tons of water. It’s not the flu (thank goodness), but most likely a mixture of dehydration, cabin fever and too many Coors lts with Gavin Smith and the boys. LOL. Now that the main event is getting down to their final 6 by tonight most players are heading home or onto London to try their luck at the WSOPE. It’s always the same towards the end of a tournament. Every one’s hopes of “The Big Win” shattered and all you hear is the non stop chatter of how bad someone played a hand or how they busted with a two outer. Only hanging out with Gavin and his buddies is different. Mostly what you hear from him is how hot the waitress is and funny stories that keep you laughing all night. Not to mention how he mocks other players as they tell them their bad beats and needles them to say it was their own fault to get them to let it go.

Last night was the last night most players were staying here at Borgata, if they haven’t already left. I decided not to stay cooped up in my room and go spend some time with good friends. I met Gavin and Matt Brady down at the Old Homestead and afterwards we headed to BBar. This is the main spot you’ll find everyone at some point in the night. And if you remember… the place where the infamous “Hooker – No Hooker” game was born. Ahhhhh, what fun memories! So sad to see everyone leave, but the best thing about poker is that you know you’ll see them at the next tournament. I’m personally getting very excited for Aruba, but I really love being here at Borgata. No one can believe I come here at least twice a year for almost a month each visit and never get tired of this place. Indeed everyone here treats me like a princess, but there is more to it than that. I have so many fond memories of coming here ever since 2007 and know that there will be so many more to come. I’ve written a few blogs in the past on how much I love this place and it deserves to be looked at by people that have never visited.

Part 1
Part 2
Final Thoughts
(photo credit: Darryl Humphrey for Toro Magazine )