News / Dave Allan / 07 July 2009 / Leave a comment

Well on his way to losing his Vegas virginity, the popular Simon Zammit continues his revealing tales from behind the scenes at Betfair's World Series of Poker 2009.

As the alarm clock rang like there's no tomorrow, I slowly got myself out of bed. I knew that no time could be spared so Richard, Amy and I met outside the pool area around 10:00 and made sure the Cabana that was reserved for our guests was available when needed. The Supervisor greeted us and confirmed that all was fine so after saying our goodbyes to Amy, who went back home early afternoon, Rich and I had a quick breakfast and hopped into the taxi towards the Rio.

The first order of business was having a chat with Bryan Berg, better known as the Cardstacker, who was making the final touches on his creation. I left Richard doing an interview with Bryan whilst I went looking for our two Pro's; John and Peter, before the action started. John was the first to say hi and being the polite guy he is, accepted to meet us next to the Cardstacker display. Peter was sitting on the next table and has just won a hand before I explained our devious plan - to trick John into getting close to the display and have Peter throw him straight into it!

Predictably, he was quite happy to be part of this prank so the plan was set and confirmed. Richard made sure that the professional cameraman filming Bryan was ready and when the first break came up, the mission commenced. Peter and I smiled as all three of us chatted away and John was amazed at the structure Bryan had built. I winked at security (also aware of the prank) to let us through and Richard took over - cunningly luring John close to the card creation and Peter must have pushed him with all his strength as John literally flew into the Big Ben replica and destroyed it!!

Peter pushed so hard that John's momentum took him though the display and straight into the background billboard. The expression of shock on his face, realising that he destroyed such an important thing was priceless and a crowd of over 100 people smiled and cheered as flashes from cameras lit up the Rotunda. Peter then decided to take some of the action and did a "superman" by flying straight into the houses of parliament and completely annihilated what was left of the display.

The footage shown to us by the camera was perfect and will be available on Betting.Betfair in a couple of days so make sure to stay tuned. After being cheered by the crowd and also introducing the Pro's to Bryan, both left to continue the day's action. In the meantime, my phone did not stop ringing but it was all worth it as Sky Sports will now interview John tomorrow and right after, Card Player Magazine will do video interviews with Annette and John.

That was not the end of it as ESPN then requested that Annette take part in a WSOP advert so more good news for all of us. Having sorted everything out, Richard and I then met Elizabeth from Harrah's to discuss certain things for this year's WSOP Europe. Finally, both of us went back to the Wynn around 17:30 and had a very light lunch as the plan was to meet for dinner at 20:00 and go out afterwards. I spent the time in between having a rest as my head was pounding due to a migraine. After getting ready, I headed down, met Paul and Richard and headed towards Paris.

The cool thing about Paris is that the replica Eiffel Tower even has a restaurant at the top and once you are inside the actual Casino, it still feels like outside as the ceiling is painted like a very realistic sky. All three of us were starving and to our relief, we were seated at our table without waiting. The restaurant was directly opposite the Bellagio and I was very happy to see the Fountain Show whilst eating my peppered steak!

After dinner, Paul had to leave whilst Richard decided to give me a tour of the Bellagio. On the way, we came across a huge Slot machine which Richard had a go at and I saw a stand which was selling beer in a huge bottle (12oz) - temptation got the better of me. The beer was actually good and it was funny how so many people stopped and stared at the bottle. When we finally made it in, Richard started his guided tour which I have to say was pretty good.

We walked past shops that sell clothes probably more expensive than my car and just after that, we made it into the Casino. Thousands of slots machines buzzing and beeping made the atmosphere very loud which thankfully got quieter when we made it to the poker room. None of us felt like playing so we sat and watched a few $$$'s changing hands before heading towards the reception area. Once there, you could see a small garden which reminded me a lot of Disney World, "spitting" fountains from one side to the other, flowers grown and cut to look like butterflies, an aviary with parrots, etc.

Of course Richard had to touch one of the fountains, breaking the flow of water and resulting in a poor little girl paying the price as cold water fell all over her. Obviously, this was our sign to make an exit before an angry father comes looking for us. To my despair, the migraine was getting worse to we headed back to the Encore and I went to bed about 23:30.

Until next time...

Tales of a Vegas Virgin Part One - The Intro
Tales of a Vegas Virgin Part Two - Destination London
Tales of a Vegas Virgin Part Three - The Real Adventure Begins
Tales of a Vegas Virgin Part Four - Work and Play
Tales of a Vegas Virgin Part Five - Flying High
Tales of a Vegas Virgin Part Six - Cardstacker Stunt

Watch WSOPE 2008 every Tuesday around Midnight on Channel 4 beginning July 7th