"The Adventure" is a series of articles about my journey this summer that will take me from Rockland, Ontario, Canada to the World Series of Poker Big One for One Drop 1M buy-in tournament in Las Vegas...


Rare is it that a person is granted the opportunity of the lifetime, let alone at age 35.

THE ADVENTURE – ACT 3: VIVA LAS VEGAS

“Bright light city gonna set my soul
Gonna set my soul on fire
Got a whole lot of money that’s ready to burn,
So get those stakes up higher
There’s a thousand pretty women waitin’ out there
And they’re all livin’ devil may care
And I’m just the devil with love to spare
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas”

- Elvis Presley, “Viva Las Vegas”
(Viva Las Vegas (EP), 1964 RCA Records)


MY 36-HOUR WHIRLWIND IN SIN CITY
Ten hours of sleep out of four nights – who do I think I am? A teenager going out to bars every night again? That’s the price you pay for a member of poker’s elite, right? Ok, elite may be stretching it a bit … ok, ok, a lot!

DANIEL NEGREANU 25K WSOP FANTASY DRAFT COVERAGE
I recently was summed to Las Vegas to provide “expert” commentary on Daniel Negreanu’s 25K WSOP Fantasy Draft, not a bad gig at all! I was able to finally meet my friends from the QuadJacks family face-to-face for the first time as well as meet my co-host for the draft, Pokernews’ Remko Rinkema – all turned out to be great people – this includes Remko’s father, who was visiting from the Netherlands – we both enjoyed sushi together!

Covering the draft was a blast! A pre-game interview with newly crowned WSOP Heads-Up Champ Brian Hastings followed by post-game interviews with Sorel Mizzi, Jason Mercier, Eugene Katchalov (my #1 draft pick in the WSOP Media Draft) and Daniel Negreanu certainly added to the highlights in my life.

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL : THE 2012 WORLD SERIES OF POKER
After a night of eating and drinking, I woke up Sunday with the Rio on my mind. This day marked the opening of the 2012 World Series of Poker – the Casino Employees event would be featured on this day.

I went to the Rio to pickup my media pass and spent all day inside the Amazon taking in the experience. The ESPN “mothership” stage looks absolutely amazing this year, can’t wait to be back to cover the One Drop!

It's hard to put into words whenever you enter the convention area at the Rio every year ... as soon as I pass the Penn and Teller Theatre, I always start getting goosebumps, you can feel the buzz that is the World Series of Poker.

POKER EH! SEASON FINALE
A few days prior to my weekend in Vegas marked the final show of the season of Poker EH! on the QuadJacks Radio Network. We had an amazing final show of the season featuring two of Canada’s biggest poker stars – Xuan Liu and Sorel Mizzi – as well as the reference to poker in Canada, Joh Harnish, breaking down Canada’s chances at the WSOP. Jon has become a friend and I was very happy when he accepted to join me during the Mizzi interview.

I would to thank everyone for their support and for listening to Poker EH! on QuadJacks.com every week - special thanks to all of our guests who have taken time to talk shop with us.

MAKING @AGENTMARCO LOOK GOOD!
It’s been a few crazy weeks since my latest trek to Vegas, I have been hired on to write the news scripts (twice-daily) for QuadJacks.TV’s unprecedented Live at the WSOP daily coverage.

THE ADVENTURE ... CONTINUES:
It’s been a crazy summer so far and with the One-Drop now only three weeks away, it sure doesn’t look like things are going slow down anytime soon.


Here it is, “The Adventure” - a 50-day venture that will take me from Rockland to Gatineau to Las Vegas and to other places in between. Join me as I attempt to relive the blow-by-blow accounts of the thrill-ride that awaits me this summer.

Here I am, standing in front of you, as vulnerable as ever, but ready – win or fail – to live the thrill of a lifetime and hoping you will follow along as I live “The Adventure”.



Eric

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THE ADVENTURE: SERIES > THE ADVENTURE: BEGINS > THE ADVENTURE: SITTING, WAITING, WISHING

THE ADVENTURE: SUMMER 2012 May 19-20, 2012 Le Grand Tournoi de Poker Loto-Quebec Casino du Lac-Leamy | Gatineau, QC May 26, 2012 Daniel Negreanu 25K WSOP Fantasy Draft Aria Hotel Casino | Las Vegas May 27, 2012 World Series of Poker Kickoff Event Rio All-Suite Hotel | Las Vegas July 1-3, 2012 WSOP The Big One for One Drop Rio All-Suite Hotel | Las Vegas

PHOTO: LOTO-QUEBEC

"The Adventure" is a series of articles about my journey this summer that will take me from Rockland, Ontario, Canada to the World Series of Poker Big One for One Drop 1M buy-in tournament in Las Vegas...


Rare is it that a person is granted the opportunity of the lifetime, let alone at age 35.

THE ADVENTURE – ACT 2: SITTING, WAITING, WISHING

“Now I was sitting waiting wishing
That you believed in superstitions
Then maybe you’d see the signs
But Lord knows that this world is cruel
And I ain’t no Lord, no I’m just a fool
Learning loving somebody don’t make them love you”

- Jack Johnson, “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing”
(In Between Dreams, 2005 Jack Johnson)



HISTORY IS MADE AT LAC-LEAMY
I had to honor to cover my first live poker tournament over the weekend – first, let me tell you I have a new-found respect for live tournament poker reporters … the job isn’t easy, forget the long hours, the lack of food, the lack of sleep … the simple pressure of providing fast, accurate information to those that are waiting for updates on your site – add to that the fact that you’re trying to out-scoop the other organizations on site is simply not healthy … but guess what? I loved every minute of the close to 40-hours of coverage that I was able to provide for the peeps, I’m ready to jump right back in there!

I was less than a foot from a briefcase containing one million dollars (oh, and two of the biggest security guards you will ever meet guarding the money) and I felt alive, it was great! You read right, the winner of a poker tournament in Canada winning a guaranteed one-million dollar buy-in into The Big One For One Drop this July at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas – something that had never been seen or done before – Le Grand Tournoi de poker Loto-Québec – the biggest and most prestigious poker tournament ever held in Canada.

Congratulations to the staff at Loto-Québec and to Richard Gunn and the great people at Casino du Lac-Leamy for what was a spectacular event – I don’t think poker players or members of the media have ever been treated like this in any poker tournament – ever!


LA BELLE PROVINCE IS COMING
One thing I know for sure? People better start paying attention to the young generation of poker players coming from the Province of Québec. They are young, smart, and seem in control of their games and from what I saw from about 10 young professionals over the weekend, Jonathan Duhamel was only the tip of the iceberg … we are going to be hearing about the Ladouceurs, Khuns, Fournier-Giguères, Grondins and others for many years to come.


SITTING, WAITING, WISHING
We tend to forget that people – yes, even poker players – are human sometimes. We’re so caught up with them calculating odds, folding in turn, making the standard c-bet, that we forget that, at the core, poker players are regular people with regular emotions. And I’m not talking about a rehearsed Phil Hellmuth rant, I’m talking raw emotion, the real stuff, not the made-for-tv stuff we’ve been used to seeing from several pros.

I bring this up because poker is indeed a game of sitting, waiting, wishing, you can play your best poker –like Laurence Grondin did - sit there, make all the right moves, waiting for the opportunity to pounce, and then wishing that your plan holds up. Unfortunately for Grondin, she played a hand exactly like you should play it yet her opponent sucked out on her and she was ousted of a tournament that she really wanted to win, a tournament where her sponsor – Espace Jeux – was dreaming of her winning and representing Espace Jeux/Loto-Québec in what will be one of the Premier events of the poker season, no pressure, right?

The same can be said of Marc-André Ladouceur. In the pole position at the start of Day 2 and seemingly in control of his own destiny, one single hand (all in pre-flop with Ladouceur’s Kings going up against Martin Fournier-Guiguère’s ace-king) brought Ladouceur down from chip leader to short stack; this game can be cruel, it can rip your heart out, and that’s exactly why we play it.


ME, MYSELF AND I
Back to myself and the reason I am writing this series of articles this summer. The goal of “The Adventure” is to follow my journey from Le Grand Tournoi de Poker Loto-Québec to the Big One for One Drop at the WSOP in Las Vegas, where I will be making my debut as a member of the WSOP media, covering the One Drop event.

But this week, a new opportunity arose. I will be making a short trip to Las Vegas prior to my “official” stay starting June 30th. This Saturday, I’m boarding a plane, off to the amazing Aria Resort and Casino to cover the WSOP 25K Buy-In Fantasy Draft, hosted by Daniel Negreanu for the QuadJacks Network.

Those that know me understand that when it comes to drafts, “real life” or fantasy, I consider myself an expert – I’m a draft nerd … I even confessed on the PKRGSSP Show last night that I recently watched the WNBA Draft … live … online – forgot to mention that weeks before, I watched the MLS Expansion Draft – where the Montreal Impact named its initial roster … live … online.

You can tell I have a sickness, right? Add to that the fact that I follow live poker tournament players religiously and I’m confident (ok, I hope) that I will provide great coverage for those watching live or for those watching later on the rebroadcasts.

The next day, media members are encouraged to pick up their media passes at the Rio. I always get chills entering a poker room, doesn’t matter where it is, but in my recent summer trips to Vegas, nothing compares entering the Amazon Room (with changes starting this season) … a sea of poker tables, chips riffling, cards shuffling – it’s impossible to describe that feeling.

Picking up my media pass, to me, will be the culmination of a couple of years of hard work with no pay (I have a “normal” job during the day), it will be proof that the sacrifices I have made on a personal level will have been worth it. I hope to put these two experiences into words in my next article.

Congratulations to Carlos Nahas, who qualified for the 1M Big One for One Drop over the weekend, it was great talking with you sir at all breaks on Sunday, allowing me to dive into your mind for a bit. See you July 1st (Canada Day) at the RIO my friend, about 10% of the One Drop field will be Canadian, here’s hoping you bring it home for us.



Here it is, “The Adventure” - a 50-day venture that will take me from Rockland to Gatineau to Las Vegas and to other places in between. Join me as I attempt to relive the blow-by-blow accounts of the thrill-ride that awaits me this summer.

Here I am, standing in front of you, as vulnerable as ever, but ready – win or fail – to live the thrill of a lifetime and hoping you will follow along as I live “The Adventure”.


Eric


THE ADVENTURE SERIES:
THE ADVENTURE: BEGINS

"The Adventure" is a series of articles about my journey this summer that will take me from Rockland, Ontario, Canada to the World Series of Poker Big One for One Drop 1M buy-in tournament in Las Vegas...

THE ADVENTURE: BEGINS

“I wanna have the same last dream again,
the one where I wake up and I'm alive.
Just as the four walls close me within,
my eyes are opened up with pure sunlight.
I'm the first to know,
my dearest friends,
even if your hope has burned with time,
anything that's dead shall be re-grown,
and your vicious pain, your warning sign,
you will be fine.

Hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.”

- Angels and Airwaves, The Adventure
(We Don’t Need to Whisper, 2006 Geffen Records)


Rare is it that a person is granted the opportunity of the lifetime, let alone at age 35.


HIS-STORY
In French Canada, you’re programmed to do two things right from the day that you’re born and that’s play hockey and play cards … and eat tons of amazing French Canadian food too! But that’s it; it’s as simple as that. In fact, in many French-Canadian family gatherings, it’s not a true PARTY unless cards are in the air at some point.

I can remember vividly playing in wildly competitive cribbage matches with my father, grandfather and cousin, living the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat; or playing the game “500” with my uncles (which we still do to this day every Christmas) – there were no “there, there”, no freebees, no “let’s let the kids win”, it was savage, it was vicious, it was no holds barred, it was exactly how I would have wanted it. There is no doubt that part of the reason I am who I am today is due to those card games, in my grandparents’ basement, where it was winner take all, survival of the fittest.

FAST FORWARD
I’ve always been a fan of cards, sports and statistics. In fact, in high school, I created a statistical system for cribbage, where players could find out about all kind of things, including cribbage pct, peg pct, etc … we’re talking YEARS before the arrival of VPIP kids!

A few years ago, I designed a scoring system to determine who the best live poker player was on the circuit. There are other scoring systems out there, but I believed it mine. What was first a fun way to track the major players on the circuit became a blog that then became an obsession. Earlier this year, my site, www.ptprpoker.com, joined forces with poker media giant QuadJacks (www.quadjacks.com) to introduce the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year, powered by PTPRpoker.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Last September, when Loto-Québec announced it would be hosting a 25K buy-in tournament with the winner qualifying for the Big One for One Drop million-dollar buy-in tournament at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) … and that this tournament would be held at the Casino du Lac-Leamy, minutes away from my hometown … I thought “wouldn’t it be a great opportunity to cover the event for my website”.

Well, a few months ago, Loto-Québec accepted my request for media accreditation and starting Saturday, I will be covering Le Grand Tournoi de poker Loto-Québec – the most prestigious poker event in Canada’s history, marking the beginning of “The Adventure”.

BE BOLD
As mentioned, the winner of this coming weekend’s event will be representing Loto-Québec at the One Drop during the WSOP in Las Vegas starting on July 1st, Canada Day. I decided I was going to go all-in (poker pun intended) and apply for media accreditation at the World Series of Poker.

Having the opportunity to follow the winner of Le Grand Tournoi down to Las Vegas to witness him/her compete at the One Drop was an opportunity too good to pass up.

I have been to the WSOP a number of occasions, I even participated in the Series a few years back but this, this was going to be a whole new ballgame. See, anyone can go to Vegas; anyone can actually buy-into a WSOP event and play, but receiving media accreditation from the WSOP – that’s something that’s hard to get.

A few weeks ago, I received some great news; I was accepted by the WSOP Media team and will be on my way to the World Series on June 30th to cover the event.


Here it is, “The Adventure” - a 50-day trek that will take me from Rockland to Gatineau to Las Vegas and to other places in between. Join me as I attempt to relive the blow-by-blow accounts of the thrill-ride that awaits me this summer.

Here I am, standing in front of you, as vulnerable as ever, but ready – win or fail – to live the thrill of a lifetime and hoping you will follow along as I live “The Adventure”.