countries I’ve been To
C H R O N I C L E DA N I E L N E G R E A N U
With the center of the poker universe shifting away from the U.S., many serious players have gotten out of dodge and headed to either Canada, Mexico, or various spots across Europe. The term «rounder» at least for Americans, is actually applicable now, even if you are just an online grinder. It had me thinking about how many countries I’ve actually been in during my life. I’ve been to loads of cities across North America, but as far as actual countries go, the number isn’t as big as I thought it might be, but I assume it’s more than the average American: 1. Australia- been to both Sydney and Melbourne a few times. Shot a cameo in X-MEN Wolverine in Sydney one trip, and another fun group trip for an APPT as well as catching several concerts with friends. 2. Austria- Been to Vienna for a heads up tourney ages ago, then also came fourth in EPT Vienna last year. 3. Bahamas- As long as PokerStars holds their flagship event there, I’ll be in Bahamas every January for, well, the rest of my life...ish. 4. Canada- Um, was born there. 5. Costa Rica- Played an LAPT there, another event ages ago, and had an ex-girlfriend who lived there. Pura Vida! 6. Fiji- Was there for a few hours but ended up having a blast anyway! Place is gorgeous and I’m definitely planning on making a trip out there again some day. 7. France- First trip was WPT Paris at the Aviation Club. Will never forget that one. Had yet to make a TV final table on WPT, was chip leader for about five hours 7 handed, but they made a weird rule where the blinds would not go up at all. All the short stacks doubled, and I eventually got it all-in versus the eventual winner, David Benyamine on a 742 flop. I had 74 vs TT. Was a crushing blow at the time.
8. Germany- EPT Dartmond one trip where I slept in on Day 2 for the first time in my life no thanks to my friend Lina Olaofsson saying «One more drink» about fifteen times! Needless to say I didn’t fare well on Day 2. Thanks Lina!!! 9. Neatherlands- I think we were in Amsterdam for all of two days? Evelyn and Lex showed me, Stapes and Amanda around the red light district. I was expecting it to be really dirty and full of less than attractive prostitutes. It wasn’t dirty at all, and the prostitutes didn’t look anything like the ones who hang out in Vegas. So I was surprised on both accounts. Oh, and they also have «coffee houses» where you can legally partake in marijuana or whatever else toots your horn. 10. Hungary- In Budapest now for the first time just getting settled in. Will be doing a PokerStars promo event here, while also WCOOPing as much as possible. Hope to take a few days to see the city also. WCOOPs start around 5pm here so I have all day to roam around. 11. Italy- San Remo was my first trip there and I’ll be going back again this year. I honestly think Italian is the easiest language in the world to learn, along with it’s Latin sister, Spanish, since words sound pretty much how you might think they’d sound. 12. Jamaica- Been there a couple times and it feels like home to me in a bizarre way. Most of my friends growing up were Jamaicans and I’m very familiar with Rasta culture. I also speak the language which often trips out the locals and the people at customs. 13. Japan- Not sure if this counts, but whatever, I was at the airport there in transit from Philippines. I remember a cute little Japanese woman greeting me as I landed after a 14+ hour flight letting me know, «Must run ok?» Then we ran through the airport, me carrying a heavy backpack and feeling so out of shape all I could think was, «I used to run long distance races, damn I need to get back in shape.» I could barely keep up with the woman, but we did
70 ISSUE 2 // NovEmbEr-dEcEmbEr 2011 // POKER 52 auropa
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