Life has been very busy the past few weeks. I played in a huge cash game in Vegas, partied at Carnival in Brazil, golfed in Rome, and finally had Phil Ivey try his best to hustle me on the golf course. Needless to say, it has been a fun few weeks.
I had been planning on going to Brazil for quite some time. Martins Poker is going to be the official sponsor of the WSOP Brazil and I was going to go there to do some promotional work. A few days before the flight, I became very ill and it looked like I was going to have to cancel the trip. I missed my first flight because I was too sick to fly. I got a phone call from a friend that he was coming to Vegas and he wanted to play some $1000-2000 PLO / NL game that with no cap. I told him I was supposed to be in Brazil, but since I was sick, I was still in Vegas. He told me that after the game, I could join him on his private jet, since he was headed to Brazil himself the day after the game.
One of the most amazing things I have ever seen in the Bellagio happened that night as well. One of the players in the $40-80 mix game right outside Bobbys Room just walked right into Bobby's Room and sat down at our table, pulled out a bunch of $5000 and $25,000 chips and played with us for about seven hours. He was straddling every hand and moving chips as fast as he could. He ended up winning over $200,000. I am not sure how many players have played a six hour session of $40-80 and a seven hour session of $1000-2000 NL and PLO in the same day.
I brought along my good friend Mikko down to Brazil. It was his first time in a private jet and we had a blast. This was my first visit to Brazil and Carnival was absolutely amazing. The acts were very impressive. Of course we found a golf course close by and got some holes in.
I flew into Nice, France a few days ago and was suppose to fly to Copenhagen for the EPT event. I have not played any poker since leaving Australia and ready to get back into action. But at the last minute I decided to skip the tournament and finish decorating my loft in Monaco. Maya and Mila are joining me in a few weeks and I want the place to be looking good for their arrival.
They are both doing well, Mila is a few days away from walking all on her own; it is really cute watching her trying so hard to balance and then fall down.
I went golfing with Martin de Knijff, Phil Ivey, Winky Wright, and my assistant Nick at Shadow Creek awhile back. Nick who is a 12-14 handicap, performed one of the worst golf hustling moves in the history of Shadow Creek. Now considering how many gamblers play there, that is no small feat. Nick had grand plans of winning his retirement in one day of golf with Ivey and when Nick asked Phil how much he wanted to play for, and Phil did not want to bet, Nick was heartbroken. Nick was on super tilt and decided to show Phil what he was missing. He almost drove the first green with a 345 yard drive and was 2 under par after five holes. He ended up shooting a 36 from the tips on the front nine. Needless to say, Phil Ivey will not be betting Nick on the golf course anytime soon. Phil still doesn't believe Nick is my assistant, he thinks I brought out a ringer to hustle him. Phil was trying as hard as he could to not score well himself. He played some of the worst golf he has ever played and I am sure next time we play, he will not want to give me any shots. I will not fall for his hustling, so don't worry about me.
Brandon Adams and I have been negotiating an interesting prop bet. It is a hybrid prop bet, $200,000 Tennis and Golf Match. If one of us can win an 18 hole golf match and 2 out of 3 set tennis match, he wins. If it is split, it is a push. At the moment, I am a big favorite in tennis and he is the big favorite in golf. I have heard that Brandon has been hitting tennis balls every day the past two weeks, but that's ok, because my golf game is getting better as well.
I have been enjoying the past few days in Rome, one of my favorite cities. I have just been going to the gym, golfing, and enjoying the amazing food of Italy.
Good luck at the tables.
-Patrik-
