First Stop: Bellagio

Karen came through, so I'm off to the Bellagio for the weekend. Plus, my travel schedule has gotten firmed up. Here's how it looks:

• 9-11 Dec: Bellagio
• 12 Dec: Philadelphia (may sneak to Atlantic City/Borgata)
• 13 Dec: Wilmington, DE
• 14 Dec: Kingsport, TN
• 15-19 Dec: London
• 20 Dec: Amsterdam
• 21 Dec: potentially Paris or Italy, not sure yet
• 22 Dec: Leverkusen, Germany
• 23 Dec: London-Newark
• 24 Dec: Back to Atlanta (land at 8:30AM)

Flying on Christmas Eve sucks for sure. Bellagio should really be crazy packed, combining the weekend with the Five Diamonds tourney. I'm hoping for a nice session tonight. I have a little work to do Saturday, then should have a good afternoon/evening and Sunday. Minimum I should play are Bellagio and London, but I may get to sneak in play in Amsterdam and in Atlantic City. We'll see. My brother-in-law tried to play at the Aviation Club in Paris with no luck. Oh, and just in case you feel any sympathy for me, I'll be flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to and from London. Now here is the tragedy: I could have had a free companion ticket in Upper Class if I knew of anyone who wanted a free week in London... My only thing I'm committed to do in London for my family is to get clothes for the boys from NEXT. My wife and I both love their shirts and sweaters, and there aren't many guys in their school with NEXT clothes, which helps them in my quest to become cooler than I am...

The World Cup draw was held today. I got to watch it live at a Buffalo Wild Wings after my meeting. The US has a really tough draw, with Italy, the Czech Republic, and Ghana. Italy was a seeded team, but in the latest FIFA rankings the Czech Republic is 2, USA is 8, and Italy is 12, with Ghana 50. The other brutal group is Argentina 4, Holland 3, Ivory Coast 41, and Serbia and Montenegro 47. The US doesn't really get much respect globally, probably rightfully so, but they'll be a tough team for Italy I would think. OK, I've exhausted my soccer analysis now...

I need to practice my Wilson Turbo cash game simulator. My last Bellagio sessions weren't too good, so I need to be sure I can be solid. I'll start out at $15/30 and go from there. I generally don't like to ply NLHE, but I may do that as well as I would assume there would be alot of tourists this weekend. I'll keep you posted.