Back on the Road Again……

After 6 weeks playing cash games at the Commerce and my early exit from the LAPC main event, i’m back on the road again.

First stop on this round of my travels was a quick stop in London where I did an interview with Gambling Online Magazine for a front cover feature to come out next month and also to catch up on the progress of the new site I am involved in www.ipokercal.com.

The very next day I took a flight to Malta where I will be situated for a few weeks working closely with my sponsor Chilipoker as we prepare for the next stage of my tournaments in Europe and start to discuss future plans.

While I was in Malta, which is my second visit to this hotbed of online gaming companies I had chance to spend some quality time with Alex and the Chilipoker team who have just moved into a beautiful large new office which is very impressive. It just shows the quick growth in this amazing company and proves to me that the vision of Alex is coming to reality.

Also Alex was kind enough to take me on a quick tour of the island and it was right on the day of the elections and so there were tons of Maltese people voting for either the red or the blue party. While I’m not fully up to date on Maltese politics, the blues winning was a popular signal for the online gaming industry on the island. The driver that took me to the airport the next day said “more power to Chilipoker”.

So it was an interesting introduction to island life but before I could even unpack my suitcases I was on a plane to Warsaw in Poland for the next stop on the European Poker Tour. However I had to fly via Munich because there are no direct flights from Malta so it was a 7 hour journey just to get here but luckily the hotel laid on a limo pick up for me to bring me to the Mariott Hotel where I am now staying right on the top floor – the views of this beautiful city are just amazing so I couldn’t resist going for a bit of sightseeing and of course checking out the local boutiques!

So let me just say first off that I have a new strategy for this tournament. As you know I normally prefer to play on day 1a if there are two first days. This gives me chance to get straight into my game and if it doesn’t work out to travel home. However since my 2 Final tables in Macau APPT, my tournament life has not been as good as I would have liked dropping out early in Melbourne and the LAPC in Los Angeles. Of course the hectic travelling also does not relax me sufficiently well enough. So this time I decided to travel a day early and book my seat in day 1b. This has allowed me to relax in my hotel, catch up on some much needed sleep, get my business affairs in order so that I am fully prepared for the day that I start to play in this event.

The EPT Poland is one of the latest additions to the European Poker Tour which seems to be ever expanding and I really enjoy these European events. I hope with my new start time and a couple of other strategic decisions I have made (which i’m keeping quiet about !) that I will go deep into this tournament and hopefully the final table.

So if you don’t get chance to follow my progress online then I will certainly let you know how I progress.

After Poland it’s back to Malta for a short while where I will be staying until the next EPT event which is in Saint Remo on the 1st April.

So I will write again when I am back in Malta before I’m back on the road again ! Cheers!

Back Playing High Limit Cash Games…And Still Loving It!

For the last few weeks, I’ve stayed off of planes and spent more time playing cash games than I have in probably a year. Playing high-stakes limit hold-em brought me back to my roots in poker, back to a time where I was constantly working on my game amid marathon sessions at the Commerce. The players were familiar, including Kenny, Cathleen, Max, Lee, Sam, Hansu, Tommy, Shawn, Joe, Jun, Ted Forest, Tony Van, JC Tran, and Jimmy. I booked some nice wins over the first three weeks at the Commerce before we moved to the Bike a few days before the LAPC Main Event started. We were playing $400/800 or $500/1000 LHE most of the time, with players crossbooking each other up to 100%.

Unfortunately, I also got sick a few days before the Main Event. Nothing too severe, but it knocked me into bed for several days. I felt better but still a bit fatigued when the Main Event started. I don’t think it affected my play at all, but the deck must have caught the same flu bug that I had. After my aces got cracked to send me to the rail vs. K-9, I couldn’t do anything much but to laugh about it. These things seem to run in cycles for me, running good in tournaments then running bad. I avoided almost all of the tournaments at the LAPC and did much, much better sticking to cash games.

I didn’t ignore the Main Event, and it ended with one of the best Final Tables the World Poker Tour has had in quite awhile. One of my good friends in poker, Quinn Do, made the Final Table in 5th chip position with 1.45mil in chips. He was sitting with some very tough players, including Nam Le (1.18mil), Phil Hellmuth (2.38mil), and Phil Ivey (4.10mil). Ivey has been pretty quiet in tournaments over the last year, with a runner-up finish in the $5k WSOP 7-card stud event his only significant cash in the last eighteen months outside of Poker After Dark on NBC. I was in the crowd cheering on Quinn, who I’d played and worked with a couple years ago. He may not be a household name, but he didn’t win his WSOP Bracelet by accident.

By the time the dust settled, he sat across from Ivey heads-up to battle for an extra $687k, the difference between the top prize of $1.596mil and the runner-up money of $909k. Quinn was outchipped 10.8mil to 2.5mil, and the first hand quickly got rough. Ivey bet 700k on a spade flop of A-8-6, leaving him with only 1mil behind. The other black ace, A(c), hit the turn, and Ivey moved all-in. Quinn held 9(h)-8(h), and he took about five minutes to decide what to do, and he ultimately put Ivey on a spade draw and made the call. Had he been right, he would have doubled up and been within striking distance of Ivey. It was a bold play with second pair, and it was sick to see Ivey flip over A(h)-8(d) for the full house and the title. We all waited for Quinn to cash out after the tournament was over, and it took him over an hour. Figuring out how to cash out $909k is a good problem to have, believe me! A dozen of us joined him to celebrate at a Chinese restaurant. We were all starving! None of us fought for the check as we stuck Quinn with it.

So after a month in LA, I’m headed to Malta next week. I’ll be working with the ChiliPoker team for about a month as we work on everything from the site to a new DVD series, as well as marketing ideas. I will also be playing three EPT events while I’m in Europe – Polish Open, San Remo, and Grand Final Monte Carlo. I’ve recently also launched a new project with a business partner of mine, iPokerCal. This new site is a one-stop shop for any and every poker event going. Whether it’s an online tourney, big tournaments in poker rooms all over the world, even televised poker, you can have one place to quickly find what’s going on in poker any day of the year.

It’s all a bit strange in some ways. I was happy to head back to LA, glad to stay away from planes for awhile, thankful to be with friends, and really excited to be spending a lot of time at the poker table.

And now, I’m ready to leave LA and get to Malta. It will be my second time in Malta, and the team at Chilipoker is just terrific. I’m sure I’ll be playing on Chilipoker while I’m on the road, so jump onto the site and sign up to play. Lots of different sign-up bonuses depending on how much you play, up to $600 and even an iPod on top of that. Remember, the only thing better than dead money is free money! Have a great weekend, and I’ll talk to you next from Malta.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! For those of you confused, today is Chinese New Year, one of my favorite times of the year. It’s been great to be in LA as the New Year approached, spending time with my girlfriends and playing cash games all night long.

I’ve only played one $1k tournament at the LA Poker Classic. Commerce has flattened the payout structure, bumping up the money for those who just cash while lowering the winner’s prize. I’ve just avoided the tournaments and have been playing the regular $400/800 game. It is playing so wild, I love it!

The games have really been full of action and big swings for some of the players. Being up or down $75k is fairly standard in this game, and I’ve come close to some really big nights. Maybe I’m a little greedy, I don’t know. I’d get up to nine stacks of $5k each and try to get that tenth before quitting, then I’d leak it down, then build it back up to nine stacks again! These games are so juicy, it’s hard to leave.

It really has renewed my enthusiasm for poker and cash games, and I’m glad I’ve spent time in LA. I also got to spend some great time with one of my best friends, Cathleen Tran. It was her birthday this week as well as her son’s, and her party has become an annual tradition for us, a truly genuine time just to be together and do the things we love. Fashion, new trends, clubs–all girl things!

And if you see me around, you’ll probably notice something different about me-my hair color. I went six weeks with purple and now have gone back to brunette. Changing my hair keeps me feeling fresh and alive again, just like a butterfly! Hehe

Until next time everyone! Cheers!

In LA for the LAPC

Home. It’s something I struggle with frequently as I hop from one continent to another. I now live in London, still have my condo in Las Vegas, hope to get back to Vietnam soon, and am back in LA. Sometimes, I’m not sure where home is for me anymore.

In terms of my poker, LA and Commerce are always special. I feel rejuvenated just being back here. Commerce is where I learned the most about poker, where I spent my time playing LHE then tournaments. Many people say that Commerce has the toughest players in the world. It is an aggressive game for sure, and the players there forced you to constantly focus and play your best.

Commerce is also where I’ve had some of my greatest tournament success, especially the last two LA Poker Classics. I took down my first tournament there two years ago then followed it up with another win last year. I took last January off, and I think it really helped me play my best. I’m doing the same this month, taking some time to rest and prepare. I’ve passed on a few very interesting opportunities just to be sure I had time to play and get ready.

I really don’t know what to expect at the LAPC as far as the number of players and size of the prize pools. For the pros, there are more tournaments being played all over the world. There also are less sponsorships available to players. I’ll be very interested to see how the fields look when they get started.

Right now, I’m planning to play in the larger buy-in events. Here is the schedule:
Event #11 (2/4) $1k NLHE
Event #13 (2/6) $545 NLHE Turbo 6-max
Event #14 (2/7) $1.5k NLHE
Event #15 (2/8) $1k LHE
Event #16 (2/9) $1k NLHE Shootout
Event #17 (2/10) $335 NLHE $250k Guaranteed
Event #18 (2/11) $2.5k NLHE
Event #19 (2/12) $1k NLHE
Event #20 (2/13) $2.5k LHE
Event #21 (2/14) $545 NLHE Tag Team
Event #22 (2/15) $2.5k NLHE
Event #23 (2/16) $1.5k LHE
Event #26 (2/19) $545 NLHE
Event #27 (2/20) $1.5k NLHE
Event #28 (2/21) $1k NLHE
Event #29 (2/23) $10k WPT Main Event

Even though I’ll focus on the larger buy-in events, the smaller ones should have some big crowds. First prize for the first $335 NLHE tournament last year was over $110,000. Check here regularly, and I’ll keep you up to date on when I’ll be playing and how I do.

I can’t wait to get started!! Cheers!

Aussie Millions Down Under

Well, my trip to Australia was eventful but for all the wrong reasons. It was a quickie, and after I busted out, I wished I could get out of there even quicker.

Most people I know say they would love to go to Australia, but few people really understand where Australia is. It is a long, long, long way from Las Vegas. It took me 24 hours to get there, and believe me I felt every hour. I slept a good bit on my flight, but even so I was worn out when I arrived in Melbourne. I was supposed to head to the Poker Room when I landed, but I didn’t have the energy to go down. So I just chilled and relaxed my room the first day.

After waking up from a much needed nap, I called my good friend Shannon Elizabeth to see what she was up to. We decided we’d do a bite of sight seeing, and that’s what we did the following morning. We were out of the hotel by 11am and took a long walk down to the morning market to watch one of Shannon’s friends doing a live performance with his band there. After that, we spent another few hours just walking around, having a blast and exploring the city of Melbourne.

There were 780 players at the Aussie Millions, and the field was broken into three groups to start over three days. The hospitality was terrific the entire time I was there, but I think they’ve outgrown the facility for the tournament. The tables were crowded, and I happened to take my seat in the 1s with my back literally up against the railbirds. I played on Day 1A, and I always try to play the first day of big events. I had the strangest feeling before my play though. Call it a woman’s intuition or whatever you want, but I just felt like it wasn’t going to be my day. On PokerListings, I wrote about a message I’d sent to my brother a few hours before play started: “I’ll be playing the main event here in about 4 hrs, but I don’t have a good feeling about this event. It’s just a gut feeling!! I still have to play it anyways though.”

I lost a big pot early with queens on a 10-9-6-9-4 board (he had 10-9). I then picked up aces and had a bizarre situation occur. The blinds were 50/100, and the 8s made it 275. I was on the button in the 1s, and I said “Raise” and tossed out a 500 chip. He called, and the dealer gave me back 50. I questioned the dealer, she told me I’d made the minimum raise, we got the floor over, Matt Savage ruled the 8s needed to put out another 50 to call, three other floor people came over, then they told us that the 8s could either call another 50 or take his bet back and muck. Sorry for the run-on sentence, but it was a bit of a blur just like that! By this time, the guy in the 8s had decided that getting his 175 back and mucking his cards was a pretty good deal, so that’s what he did. I mucked my cards and raked the pot, but I was still frustrated to see my aces wasted like that. Every hand is important in a tournament, and this one could have been a big swing for me.

I tracked the floor people down, and they told me that the dealer had told the 8s the raise was to 450. They said that this was the error, and that the player had the right to call or take his chips back. I understand the ruling, but it makes it no less frustrating for me. I ended up going out with two pair on a Qc-Jc-9d-As board. My A-Q was up against Kh-10h, and I didn’t catch my boat. I wanted to have a great run, and flying this far for such a quick exit made it all the more difficult to take.

So there I was, out of the Aussie Millions and sitting in Melbourne. When you think of Australia, most people think of the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast, the city life of Sydney, or the huge wasteland of the Outback. Melbourne isn’t really like any of this. It is a smaller city that was bustling with the Australian Open tennis championship in full swing. Many of the players were staying at our hotel, which made the stay unique. It’s a slower paced city than you would find in Europe or the US.

After busting out of the main event, I was able to get a flight Thursday out of Melbourne through New Zealand to LA, and then back to Vegas. Another brutal series of flights, but finally I’m back in the States.

I’ll be heading back to LA in a couple days to spend some time with my Mom and focus on cash games at the Commerce until my next trip to Paris. I would like to thank everyone for all the kind words and best wishes, I really appreciate it! Until next time everyone. Cheers!

Happy Late New Year’s Everyone!

I’m literally rushing out the door on my way to Melbourne and the Aussie Millions, and I wanted to get a quick post up. It’s been a busy holiday season since my last post. I bubbled in the Five Diamonds Main Event at the Bellagio. Frustrating to get close to the money, but I’m always trying to go deep in a tourney rather than squeak into a cash.

One of the big treats for me was being featured in a French documentary on M6 Capital – Poker – http://www.chilipoker.com/english/chilipoker.tv/capital-emission-du-6-janvier.html I think it came out great, even if I don’t really understand French . It has a great scene where I move all-in during a key hand on my way to the Final Table of the APPT Macao event, taking down a massive pot. I hope I can be part of other features like that.

My two final tables in Macao plus the bubble at the Bellagio give me a great deal of encouragement heading into the Aussie Millions. As I’ve gotten busier outside of poker and traveled more, playing poker has changed a bit for me. It takes a different type of focus and concentration to play my best when I haven’t been playing all the time. I actually get very excited now when I sit down at the table; it is sort of a gift to me to be able to grab chips in my hand and splash pots.

All of the rhythms and sounds of poker come back quickly once I get started, but I am trying to make sure I am mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared to be at my best. I’ll be in the air for almost eighteen hours once we take off from LAX, and it is always grueling to fly that far for that long. I’m getting better at it, but I have to land and be ready to perform very quickly. I think I’ll be ready to battle, and there should be many top pros making their way for the Main Event. This is one of FullTilt’s signature events, and most of their pros will be there. I’ll be ready.

I’ll be updating my blog much more frequently than I have in the past, so check here often. I’ll post next from Down Under in Melbourne. Wish me luck!

Back to Sin City For Bellagio’s Five Diamonds Main Event

Here’s the latest update from Las Vegas. Yes, I’m back home in Vegas again, after spending three weeks in Hong Kong, Macau, and Vietnam. Whew!! That was quite a trip. I flew out of Vietnam and after traveling for almost 24 hours, hopping on and off several flights, I finally arrived back in the states on December 8th. Boy, was I glad to be back home and finally sleep in the comfort of my own bed again.

I haven’t done much since I’ve returned to Vegas. I spent the first two days jet lagged and rested as much as I can at home. I think the wear and tear of traveling got me a little sick so I’ve been staying home mostly trying to get healthy for the Main Event. I did however make it out of the house a few times. I arrived in Vegas on a Saturday and the following Monday I spent a few hours in a photo shoot with my teammate Fabrice Soulier. Fabrice was already doing the photo shoot by himself before I arrived and the last two hours of his session were photos of both of us to be used for our website (www.chilipoker.com). Afterwards I headed to the Bellagio to do an interview with a U.K. television crew. The interview was for ITV Series called ‘How to become a Poker Millionaire’. They are conducting interviews with top pros from all around the world and the aim of the show is to show the public glimpses of the lives of the worlds poker elite, and how they’ve succeeded and stayed at the top. So, if you’re in the U.K. keep an eye out for that show sometime in 2008.

After the photo shoot and interview with the U.K. television crew, I decided to go play some poker since I was already at the Bellagio. My normal game wasn’t going so I jumped into a 100/200 Limit game and luckily I was playing lower because I wasn’t running very well and ended up with a losing session and after 2 hours, I decided to cut my losses and go home. I probably needed to rest up anyways and get better for Wednesday’s Day 1A start for the Main Event at the Five Diamond. I was still feeling a little under the weather at this point. I didn’t do much on Tuesday, except go back to the Bellagio to register for the Main Event and meet up with my good friend Jennifer Newell. We went to dinner at Fix Restaurant and that was pretty much my night.

Wednesday was the first day of Event 13, the Main Event and 15k buy-in. I decided to play in Day 1A which is normal for me. I usually compete on the first day of the tournament if there are multiple starting days. I want to get it out of the way and it gives me an extra days worth of rest between days which is sometimes nice since the tournament is potentially 5 days long and each day is pretty long and grueling. I’d have to say I played well the first day. I ended up in 11th place when the day ended with 80,125 chips which was well above the average stack.

I was able to accumulate some chips early in a pretty big pot. I picked up some information on one of the players at my table. I noticed he made a big raise from the big blind with pocket tens in the first level. Later, I limped under the gun with pocket nines and watched as it came to the BB with three other callers in between. The BB raised to $750 and from the information I gathered earlier on this player, I felt like he had worse than tens this time around so I re-popped him another $3k and everyone folded back to the BB and he called. The flop came J-5-6 and it was checked down on the flop. The turn came 5 and I felt like I had the best hand and again the BB checked so I bet out $3,650 into the pot. The BB decides to re-raise to $13,200 and after taking a bit of time to analyse the hand – the amount he re-raised was too much to make me believe he’s got my 99′s beat so, I called. The river brought a non heart 3 and this time the BB checked and I checked behind. He turns over 77′s just a bit shy of beating my 99′s so I take down a large pot.

Another big hand during the first day was towards the end of the day. I got into a big hand with Brian Powell as the day was closing. Brian limped from the cut-off and I raised it up to $1,700 from the small blind. I had A(d) Q(s) and felt confident I had the best hand at this point so I raised. Brian made the call and the flop fell J(h) 10(h) 6(h). We both checked and the 6(d) fell on the turn. I checked again but this time Brian fired out $2,500 into the pot. I still felt like I had the best hand and immediately check raised him to $6,500, Brian thought for a bit then flat called. I didn’t want to see a call at this point but then the river brought a Q(d) and now I have top pair. I was pretty sure Brian didn’t have a 6 or A-K so I fired $10,000 into the middle and after some thought, Brian made the call. He showed A-10 and turns out my Ace Queen caught up to his Ace Ten and I ended up finishing with the better hand.

That’s pretty much how my first day ended. I did get involved in a couple of pots where I lost some decent amount of chips but I was able to chip up each time and luckily I finished the day pretty strong and I’m right near the top of the leader board. I’m at home now checking up on Day2 and I notice some very strong players are on top of the leader board. Most notably Phil Ivey, who is the only player with more than 200,000 in chips. Both my friends John Phan and Joe Sebok are also near the top of the leader boards and John Hennigan who finished with the chip lead on Day 1A. There are so many big names near the top of the leader board and I have my work cut out for me. I think once the dust settles, we’re going to end up with an extremely tough final table with lots of big name pro’s. Hopefully among one of those names will be Liz “The Poker Diva” Lieu. HeHe Until next time everyone, Take Care!

Back to Back Finals In Macau, China!

After 3 hours of delay at the airport, I finally arrived in Hong Kong. That was my first time there and I was really excited about it. I heard from friends that Hong Kong is a shopping paradise. I knew my schedules are booked solid for the next few days, but I was hoping I could squeeze a little time in between meetings to go and pamper myself. .

It seem like when work starts, it will never stop. I had an interview with Prestige Magazine as early as 10am, followed by a 30 min recording with Bloomberg TV. During the recording, we discussed about poker and the life of the poker diva. I’m not spoiling it by going into too much detail, so do watch out for that episode! Right after that, I had to do 2 interviews with the local newspapers before I can headed back to my room at JW Marriott Hotel. What the day! The next morning, the crew from Capital, the leading documentary programme of France, joined us in Hong Kong. They would be following us throughout the events in Macau as Alex, Fabrice, and myself will be appearing in their 60-minute documentary.

The next morning, we headed to Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia. It was a 45-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong to Macau, and Alex just could not resist snapping pictures along the journey. When we arrived at the Venetian, I was totally surprised it looked almost identical to The Venetian in Vegas. Home sweet home! Haha. This is sure going to be fun. There was Opening Night Party held at The Waldo Casino. I managed to catch up with many of the pros in the poker circuit.

Day 1 of the Main Event was a roller-coaster ride for me. My chip stack was moving up and down, but I did manage to go into Day 2 with an average stack. I had a much better run on Day 2 and did not take any big hits. I was below average in chips going into Day 2 but managed to double up my chips the first round with 10 10′s against A K. I kept my chips pretty steady the entire night and finished Day 2 with 232,000 and off I go… TO THE FINAL TABLE!! whoohoo

The chip leader, Dinh Le, played well in the final table. He made very good use of his chips to dominate the table and I was having a cold run of cards. There was one hand where I had A8 suited and raised it to 35k in middle position. Everyone folded and action got to Dinh Le in the small blind. He re-raised up to 90k, and after going into the tank for few minutes, I decided to fold. I later found out he had Aces on that hand. Phew! The cold run continued after that hand and soon I was short stacked. I picked up A6 and pushed all-in from late position. Guillaume Patry called from the big blind, and showed 72 (off)!! The board came 8 3 7 J 7 and I was eliminated in 7th place. Well, I was going to have the 15k High Roller Event the following day, so I wasn’t going to think about that bad beat and just go get a good nights rest in my room. Anyway, I would like to congratulate Dinh Le for winning this event.

The 15k High Rollers Event featured quite some big names. There was even once where Nick Schulman, Jeff Lisandro, Scotty Nguyen, Guillaume Patry, Vanessa Rousso and John Juanda were all at my table. This was not an easy field of players and I had to battle through to about 4:30am to lock myself a back-to-back final table. However, I was the short stack in the final table and was busted in 8th after my A10 did not hold up against my opponent’s AQ. Although I’m quite disappointed for not able to win either event, but I’m satisfied with my overall performance in this APPT Macau. Let’s just hope I will win this next year when APPT is back in Macau!

I’m now in Vietnam, and heading to Danang tomorrow to do more charities. It will be a good break for me as well. After that, I’m flying back to Vegas on the 8th for the Bellagio Five Diamond Event. Till then, take care!

Around The World and Back

Okay, so I am back in Vegas now. Well sort of. I’ll tell you more in a bit. For starters, I attended a charity poker event hosted by Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil on November 8th at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The tournament benefits the Skylar Neil Memorial Fund (http://www.skylarneil.org) and the TJ Martell Foundation (http://www.tjmartellfoundation.org). This years “Off The Strip” Poker Event hosted by Vince Neil raised approx $175,000.

All proceeds are divided between the two designated charities. The Skylar Neil Memorial Fund was formed in 1995 after the death of Neil’s four-year old daughter Skylar. Her battle with stomach cancer inspired Neil to start the foundation that helps fund various organizations for leukemia, cancer and AIDS research. And the T.J. Martell Foundation was founded by T.J. Martell’s father who vowed to uphold the wishes of a teenage boy who wanted to raise a million dollars for leukemia research. Upon the boy’s death from leukemia, Martell started the organization in 1975 and has since raised more than $225 million for research.

I was really honored to be a part of this charity event. An auction kicked off the event. There were lots of great items to purchase and I chipped in by purchasing a poker table signed by all of the poker pro’s in attendance. After the auction the tournament began. The tournament itself was a re-buy event with all of the proceeds going to charity so the action was a little wild and loose to say the least. I played a little looser then my normal myself. Hehe. After all, it’s for charity right?!?

Next on the agenda was a quick trip into L.A. to visit my mom and take care of some errands I was unable to handle while in Europe and Southeast Asia over the past couple of months. Then off to North Carolina to meet up with Dalton Cox who is one of the best photographers around. I flew into North Carolina for a couple of days to participate in a photo shoot which will eventually be posted on my new poker website Chilipoker.com. Dalton and his wife Jill were two of the nicest people and I really enjoyed my photo shoot experience. Dalton was extremely patient and always smiling. The photo shoot took two full days at three different locations. Dalton told me over 2,000 pictures were taken during this photo shoot. Wow!! I also want to say a quick thanks to Dalton’s assistant Jenn and Daryl who assisted with Lighting.

After spending a couple of days in N.C., I flew back to Las Vegas. So here I am!! J I’m so happy to be back in the States. However, I will only be in LV for another week then I fly out to Macau on November 18. Macau is the next stop on the Pokerstars.net Asia Pacific Tour and will mark the first time a real money no limit hold em poker tournament will be played in China. The event is scheduled for Nov 22-27 at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino. If you don’t already know, Macau is Asia’s version of Las Vegas. Many consider it the gambling capital of the world with HUGE hotels and casinos. Even larger then the hotel and casinos you see in Las Vegas.

The Macau event is another event I’m really excited to be a part of. I really want to see poker grow in Asia and I think the Macau event is just the beginning of bigger and better things for China and the rest of the region. Hopefully I’ll win this one!! Keep your fingers crossed. Afterwards, I will take a short flight into Vietnam and spend a week there to dedicate my father’s 100th day. This is a Vietnamese tradition when a loved one passes away and he is still often in my memories. He meant the world to me and I’m still trying to deal with the loss. The past couple of months have been a very difficult time for me and this trip to Vietnam will be another opportunity for me to visit my father and pay my respects to him once again. I will be back in Las Vegas on December 8th and will be competing in the Five Diamond Bellagio Classic in mid December. So look for me there. I hope everyone has a Happy Turkey day and safe Holiday!!

Taking Time Out For Others In Vietnam!

Wow!! I’ve finally managed to take time off from work, and spent the past 3 weeks in Vietnam doing charities. Before my charity journey began, I flew into Saigon and spent a few days visiting my dad at the temple.

My first few stops were HaNoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong. I had brought 4 tons of rice along with me this time to distribute to the villagers. The people there were really appreciative and nice, and it’s great to see how optimistic they were despite their poverty. This really sends out a message that ‘money is not everything.’ I had great fun there too! It’s been years since I last took a ride on a bicycle. There is this sweet little girl who offered me a ride on her bicycle, and I gladly accepted the offer. I almost felt I was on a roller-coaster. Woohoo! Chilipoker.com have been really supportive of my charities, and especially with this trip of mine back to Vietnam to do what means a lot to me. I represented on Chilipoker behalf in donating funds to the village to rebuilt this village’s temple. Watch video clip

On day 3, I arrived in DaNang and caught up with my best friend, John. We visited the children’s orphanages, elder’s orphanages, elder’s homeless shelter and mental institution. We visited some of the same shelters that we had been to last year, and it was heart-warming for us to know that some of their health has improved tremendously, but also very sadden to find out that a few of them have left this world. Watch video clip

Our next destination was offshore. We went out to sea and bought 4 tons of rice, and 400 boxes of noodles to distribute to the families living out there. Watch video clip

Lastly, every time I am back in Vietnam I can never miss visiting numerous temple to lend them a helping hand with all the things they need. This year all the temples were in need of posters to hand out to visitors that visit the temple. So we had donated thousands of posters, rice, and also boxes of noodles to help out. I can honestly say, visiting these temples always brings me a lot of peace! Watch video clip

After all the charities, I spent the last few days back in Saigon for my dad’s 49th Day Prayers. It has been nearly 2 months since he left us, and I still miss him everyday. But I know he is in good care and will be watching us from up above. Just want to say, ‘I love you, Dad.’

I’m just back in London today after a short business trip in Malta to meet up with Alex (my sponsor) and also had an opportunity to meet all the Chilipoker staff in Malta. They were all very sincere, lovely people. I have to thank them all for the wonderful hospitality!

I will be flying back to Las Vegas tomorrow to visit my family and can’t wait to sit in a few cash games! I will also be attending Vince Neil (Motley Crew) celebrity charity event held at The Hard Rock Casino on Nov 3rd. Then I’m off to play Foxwoods main event, and shortly afterwards I will be traveling to Macau for a poker tournament from Nov 20th- 28th.

That’s it for now, until next time everyone.. Take Care!