Hella Hold'em

WPBT Aladdin Classic, Vegas 2005: Afterthoughts

A week+ after arriving home, I'm still enjoying reading all of the Vegas trip reports. I think the coolest part about the trip reports is reading what happened in the lives of all of the people I didn't get a chance to hang out with during our blogger weekend. Of course, it's also hella cool to check out the stories from bloggers that I did hang out with, to read their takes on various events that we shared. It was one phenomenal weekend. I hope to do it again soon.

With so much going on all over the place, it's definitely impossible to spend time with everybody. I mean - there were probably close to a hundred of us there in Vegas altogether! I got to meet, hang out with, and/or play cards with some awesome people. There were people on my list of must-hang's that I rarely crossed paths with (next time, Head's!), and people I got to hang out with that I hadn't had in my blogroll (I do now!) Somehow I managed to miss Maudie the entire weekend! I think I saw her at the Storming of the Castle at Excalibur Friday night, but wasn't sure if it was her, and in my [oober-dumb] shyness, couldn't bring myself to ask. A definite missed opportunity there.

If I could have changed anything, I'd have arrived on Thursday. I met Felicia in passing but would have loved more time to chat with her. I missed out on checking out the WSOP at the Rio, having arrived late on Friday evening. Those are two big things I'd have been able to do, if I arrived Thursday instead of late Friday. Next time….

For some reason, I also wish I'd played poker at the Golden Nugget. I'm very glad, though, that April (Texas) talked me into playing for a bit at MGM. Nicest poker room I've ever seen (though I am admittedly green to poker rooms, having only played now at MGM, Excalibur, the Plaza, Aladdin, and the Palms).

One note I've made to myself for next time is to buy a stash of Diet Dr Pepper for the hotel room. It's my favorite and I had a hard time finding it in Vegas - though CVS did have it.

I can only imagine that the wonderful group known as us bloggers will continue to grow and grow. As future WPBT events pass, the experience will grow larger than life. I only hope that our great "not an asshole amongst us" tradition can continue, and I can continue to get to know the rest of you on my blogroll. I've thoroughly enjoyed the company of everybody I've met so far.

Speaking of - if you've got AOL or Yahoo Instant Messenger, let me know - I have both and would be glad to swap screen names. Just drop a comment or an email (I'd rather not post them here).

Here's to the WPBT Aladdin Classic, June 2005 - and many more great events to come!