WSOP / Editor / 01 July 2010 /

Almost exactly 8,616 hours ago I waved farewell to my beloved Vegas. With a deep breath, I took my last look from the sky at the amazing city in the Nevada desert that had shown me such a good time! Las Vegas meant a lot to me as it was the start of my new role with Betfair, having been placed in charge of looking after our Pros and offline events.

A lot has changed since then, with Sorel Mizzi and Annette Obrestad leaving us but it was quite a journey and I enjoyed it a lot. During the previous WSOP, we had watched our then Canadian prodigy come close to winning a bracelet by finishing runner up in an Omaha event. It was also the first time I met up with Peter Jepsen and actually found out how much of a laugh it is to hang out with John Tabatabai.

My colleague Richard was then leading the Betfair staff (including myself) in Vegas and the two of us were hosting a group of journalists in Vegas to show them what qualifying with Betfair Poker actually means - lots of fun, poker and best of all, a strong bond with our poker community. My two weeks in Vegas were truly memorable and I still clearly remember taking a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon, having dinner next to parked supercars at the Lamborghini restaurant, winning a tournament at the Mirage and most of all, getting to know our players!

For those who have never been to Vegas, I seriously recommend considering even a short, five-day trip as nothing is quite like it. From staring in sheer amazement at the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, the superb concept of Caesar's Palace and the Paris hotels, the luxury of the Encore, walking around The Strip at night, etc. In terms of poker, there is nothing quite like the sound of hundreds of thousands of chips making noise during the Main Event of the WSOP - it's literally deafening!

After Vegas, I was off to the WSOPE and Aussie Millions and the success our players enjoyed Down Under was a crowning achievement. Annette Obrestad, Mark Segal and Kyle McMurphy, known as Chelsea M and SkyLopez on Betfair Poker, all won Championship Rings and John Tabatabai had also cashed in another tournament. The icing on the cake was having Sorel and Annette both making Final Table of the Main Event as well as my good friend Barry Woods finishing runner up to Kyle in the $5,000 Heads Up Championship!

On to this year's WSOP and no less than 65 players are forming part of Team Betfair - saying that I am "excited" is an understatement! About half are already in Vegas, staying at the amazing Wynn hotel as part of their package and playing in Events 45, 49, 54, 56 and of course, the $10,000 Main Event. Thankfully, we will have a good number of staff there too and I already have been receiving reports from both players and my colleagues that everything is going to plan - sun, fun and live poker action!

I arrive in Vegas on the 4th of July and will be covering the Main Event as well as helping to host the players' party on the same night! Look out for regular updates via Twitter by following BFPokerLive, my blogs on the website and much, much more!

Also, we are pleased to let you know that Betfair sponsored pro John Tabatabai will be posting regular Video Blogs on the main Betfair website under the Poker sections. Below are his first four entries:

Blog 1

Blogs 2, 3 and 4

Before I go, special mention goes to Betfair qualifier rakeracenow, for finishing 40th in Event 49 and taking home over $11,600 for his efforts. Well done Roy!

Till then,

This is The Vegas Virgin saying bye for now....

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