Dear Oprah,

Guess what?? I have my own Gayle except her name is Pat. Every time I see the two of you on your road trips, it makes me laugh because I've been there, done that and laughed as hard as you do each time. My Gayle, however, doesn't sing in the car so there is some saving grace for me.

Our most recent roadtrip was to Foxwoods in Connecticut to play in a WSOP Ladies' Event. There were no vacancies at Foxwoods so we were forced to stay at a Marriott in Mystic, Connecticut. If that town rings a bell to you, you're correct in remembering the site of Julia Roberts' famous movie, Mystic Pizza. And yes, we did stop there for a slice of pie while Pat asked all of the waitresses if they were there when Julie filmed that movie.......almost twenty years ago. I have to say that this little hole in the wall of a restaurant was quite a find as the food was exceptional.

I did fare better in the Foxwoods' tournament than I did at Caesars finishing somewhere in the 80's.....I think 50 got paid. Whether we get paid or not, we so enjoy going to these events. Foxwoods really did it up big and had a buffet table full of food and drinks during the entire tournament. Now that we've played in three live tournaments, we're starting to recognize some of the other ladies and feel quite at home. When it got down to less than ten tables (I think we started with over fifty tables), they cordoned off the area and spectators could watch behind the ropes. Pat had already gotten knocked out earlier and, needless to say, she was chatting up everyone as she watched me. At one point, I'm sitting there with a pair of Kings in my hand waiting for my turn to make a move. I could hear most of the conversations going on behind me and one just had me cracking up. Pat asked the girl standing next to her who she was watching and the girl pointed to another girl at my table and said, "That's my partner." In return, she asked Pat who she was watching and Pat pointed to me and said, "That's my girlfriend over there" to which the girl replied, "How long have you two been together?" Well, I almost dropped my cards I was laughing so hard. Pat quickly realized her faux pax and explained that we were both married. We have since told this story to all of our friends and we all chalk it up to what we call another "Patism".

So we left Foxwoods with another tournament under our belts and a lot of laughs to be remembered. I might also add that Pat physically removed (or should I say stole) one of the tournament posters which now hangs framed in our office as a reminder of all the laughs we had and the plans we're making to go back in 2008.

Veni, Vidi.....I DID NOT CONQUER

While I had hopes of conquering Caesars WSOP Ladies' event, it just wasnt meant to be. No pun intended but....it just wasn't in the cards. I've heard other people talk about being "card dead" and I finally came to realize how paralyzing this situation can be. I guess I'm not one for making something out of nothing because I definitely wasn't even a participant in this event. But guess what...this happens and I just hope that the next time I play live, my cards will be better. Pat and I both got knocked out before the fourth break. We've also decided that we WILL NOT be bringing our cell phones into any tournament in the future. Our phones were ringing like crazy and we both had them on vibrate......her's vibrating between her legs and mine vibrating from my pant's pocket.

The day wasn't a total bust, however, as Caesars Hotel was surprisingly nice. The lobby was very reminiscent of Rome and made me nostalgic for my last trip there. I think I mentioned that we had gotten a $69 poker room rate so I was unsure of what was waiting for me behind the door to my room. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. While it's no Bellagio or Borgata, the room was spacious and clean. We had adjoining rooms (we're both proponents of getting our own rooms when we travel together) and that's always fun. The best part, however, was dinner at one of the Italian restaurants in the hotel...Primavera. Everything from the ambiance to the service to the food was superb. The icing on the cake was the fried donuts for dessert accompanied by one of the best cappuccino's I've had. Right outside of the restaurant is a bar/lounge area which looks out onto the ocean. What a find!!!! I would definitely eat there again and, next time, will probably stop at the bar for a Kahlua and cream.

We left right after breakfast the next morning hoping to get back into the office to deal with all those vibrating calls from the previous day. While we remembered the level where we had parked the car, we had no idea that Caesars had four parking garages. After walking around all four parking garages for more than an hour with our luggage, we finally had to go to security to help us find the car.....which they did. I felt like I was in a Seinfeld episode. I was never so glad to see a car in my life.

So all in all, it really was a great trip and we're looking forward to our next live event at Foxwoods. Let there be cards!!!!!

Et tu, Brute?

The title seems more than appropriate as I'm going to Caesars in Atlantic City tomorrow to play in a WSOP Ladies' event. I'm going with my girlfriend Pat which gives the title even more credence as she would have no problem knocking me out and would even relish the thought of it....Et tu, Pat?

I've so enjoyed reading other peoples' blogs that I thought I might try my hand at it. My absolute favorite is "shaniac's", for some excellent reading material, followed shortly thereafter by "Daut's", for some hilarious reading. Of course my first ever blog experience was Nat Arem's.....a blog I still check out everyday. If I can learn how to do links, I'll post the links here shortly.

As I'm typing this, I'm playing in the $162 at pokerstars but just got knocked out when my aces came up against kings....what else is new....I'm sure I don't have to finish this bad beat story. Aces seem to be my nemesis. My son absolutely hates when I say this but instead of getting excited when I'm dealt them, I get a sick feeling. With aces in hand, I got knocked out of the WSOP, a Bellagio tournament and at least four Borgata tournaments. Perhaps Caesars will break the streak.

I'm also listening to my Ipod as I'm typing -- a gift I received from my son for Mother's Day. Whoever thought I would love anything as much as my Ipod? In addition to my own music, he's turned me on to some of his....Coldplay, The Fray, Daughtry....a definite far cry from The Four Seasons and The Supremes but I love it all!!!! My brother Kelly bought me one of those adaptors so that I can listen to my Ipod while driving so I'm thinking we should be able to listen to at least 30 to 40 songs on the way down to Atlantic City tomorrow.

I have some trepidation about staying at Caesars as they are giving us a room rate of $69 a night (a poker rate). We usually stay at The Borgata and I don't mind saying that I like the finer hotels. This should be an experience. I'm just thinking that with all the new stores Caesars has added to their portfolio, perhaps they upgraded the rooms at the same time. If not, my next post should be very interesting.