Throw down tournament for the Kidney foundation in Reno

I just got back from Reno, where I was invited to participate in the Jennifer Harman "Throw Down" charity tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation. I actually quite like Reno. Some people say negative things about it, but I like the "Old Vegas" feel it has. Plus, every time I go there I make money! The games are really soft. :-) I stayed at the Peppermill, where the event was held, and the room was really nice and comfortable with a huge Jacuzzi tub which I looked forward to jumping into at night!

The event was a huge success with about 515 players participating in a "team concept" tournament. I was on the Ultimate Bet team, but my points were also counting for the LIPS team. I played pretty well the whole time, but the structure was fast (as in most charity events). I unfortunately lost a few hands in a row and was left a little short stacked. I got moved to new tables quite often which made it hard having to adjust to new players. At my last table, I was placed to the left of David "The Maven" Chicotsky, with whom I have been training with lately. Knowing his aggressive style, I knew his range of hands were large and I ended up calling him all in pre-flop with KQ suited, he had 33. His pocket pair held up and I was out. He ended up making the final table which was pretty cool. This student is not surpassing the teacher yet, but it's only a question of time! *smile*

Team Peppermill ended up winning and Jeff Harrington was the last man standing. The foundation means a lot to him, as his wife is recovering from a 2nd kidney transplant. Great job Jeff!! His win also got him a seat to the WSOP main event worth $10,000! The event rose over $200,000 for the National Kidney Foundation. I am definitely looking forward to going again next year!

I am going to focus on playing online this week. I had some issues with my PokerStars account because someone tried to hack into it during my last trip to the Commerce Casino. The account had been frozen for security reasons since, but finally I can use it again. I just needed to send some proof of who I was to their security team. I hear it's a common problem traveling into different casino/hotels. Apparently the solution is to have your own WIFI card, (never use the public WIFI) and to have an email address that is only for poker such as an ISP account which is better than a free account (msn, gmail, hotmail, etc.).

This week I will be playing a lot of the SCOOP events, MiniFTOPS and good guarantees all around. My pets are happy to have mummy home even though I will be staring at the screen most of the time! I am definitely looking forward to taking some events down!!!

Photo-Shoot, interview for PETA and Palm Springs.

This has been such a great week for me! I left for Los Angeles last Sunday night after my training with David "The Maven" Chicotsky and headed to the Commerce Casino. I had a busy few days ahead of me planned and thought it would be nice to stay there so that I could play poker on my spare time. Little did I know, there was no spare time and I didn't get a chance to hit the tables; but it's ok... poker will always be there. Sometimes we need to take care of other things.

I had a photo-shoot scheduled for Monday with photographer Collin Clark. He was highly recommended by many of my peeps who are in the fashion and entertainment industry. I have wanted to do some promotional pictures for awhile and was very excited to finally get them done. The studio was really cute and Collin was great to work with. We did four different looks and played with props to keep it poker themed in some of them. I am really looking forward to seeing them; there should be some great ones. I used to model in Toronto in my 20's and this took me way back. I always enjoy being in front of a camera and getting my hair and make-up done. Very girlie of me... I know! *smile* Speaking of hair and make-up, my friend Tommy Cyr did all of my looks. He is a great make-up artist who works for Access Hollywood and various celebrities. I especially loved my last look and can't wait to show you all the pics! It will have to wait until next week. I’m sure it will be well worth it!

The following day, I headed to the PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animal) office for a video interview. I have worked with PETA in the past to help promote vegetarianism as most of you know; I am a vegan and animal activist. I had never been to their Los Angeles offices, so I was quite excited about it all. I was very impressed when I walked in. The place is colorful and modern. There's a "loungy" feel to it. Anyone working there is free to bring their pets to work, so there were a few (very lucky) dogs sitting around enjoying the day while their "mum" or "dad" were working. The interview went very well. We talked about how I became vegan, a few issues that I have taken to heart, such as the veal industry, foie gras and how big corporate chains such as McDonald’s and KFC unfortunately do not apply less suffering regulations to their ways of raising and slaughtering the animals. We also discussed the positive aspects of being vegan while playing poker. The video will be up on their website at www.peta.org in a few weeks. Another thing I look forward to seeing!

After the interview I headed to Palm Springs for a few days for a mini vacation. I don't have time to take a few weeks to go away, so I like to squeeze a little time in here and there instead. I've always loved Palm Springs; it's the perfect place to relax. They have cute little hotels with nice pools, a fun downtown area, great factory outlets, good restaurants, the Morongo Casino (with very easy to kill poker games) and great weather. What's not to love?

I’m now back in Las Vegas and getting ready to play poker this week. I definitely will try to satellite into the main event of the WSOP circuit event taking place Tuesday the 27th of April at Caesars Palace. So good luck me :-)

I was invited this week to be a celebrity player in the Throw Down poker charity tournament hosted by Jennifer Harman benefiting the National Kidney foundation at the Peppermill Reno, Saturday, May 8th. I hope to see you all there as it is a fun tournament for a great cause. You can get more info on the Greasie Wheels website. http://www.greasiewheels.com/events/Jennifer_Harman_CPT_NKF.html

Jennifer Harman 4th annual Charity poker tournamant for the SPCA

This week was the 4th Annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament for the Nevada SPCA. Being a vegan animal activist and a poker player, I figured it would be a great way to have fun playing and raising money for a good cause.

The event started with all of the celebrities walking the red carpet with their own pets or ones that were up for adoption from the SPCA. Some of the famous names included Holly Madison, Doyle Brunson along with his daughter Pamela and daughter-in-law Anjela, Carrot Top, Louie Anderson, Tiffany Michelle, Howard Lederer, Tom McEvoy, Tyson Griffin, and "TheMaven" David Chicotski.

I walked down the carpet with my precious little dog Bijou who was a little nervous, but did great. I would have liked to take Lola since she is a rescue but unfortunately, she is a little hyperactive and might have gotten a little out of control with all the people and animals around!

The event had around 149 players and raised about $100,000. The tournament was $330 with re-buys and players started with a 1,000 in chips. There was an add-on after the 3rd level for an extra 2,000 chips. With that small amount of chips to start it made for a very fast structure and little did I know I was in for 2 re-buys and one add-on! Somehow I managed to built my stack to 7k by the 3rd level, but lost it all a few levels later when I unfortunately misplayed a hand that left me short stacked with 1,700. I later woke up with AA and moved all in only to get cracked by K,10. At least it was all for a great cause!

Little Bijou was on my lap the whole time, getting heaps of attention from the media. She did great and stayed calm except for one time where she jumped on the table which gave everyone but the dealer a good laugh!

There was also a silent auction, but I did not bid on anything. Even though the items where great, they where all sport oriented and nothing appealed to me.

High stakes poker pro Chau Giang won the tournament and the 1st prize which was a 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event seat. I would have like to have been the winner, but I am happy that I supported the Nevada SPCA in their efforts to find homes for all those poor homeless animals.

If I didn't already have a full house, 2 dogs of my own and a rabbit plus my roommate's 2 dogs, I probably would have taken one more home! The Nevada SPCA updates their websites daily with pictures of their available animals, so if you are looking for a companion you should check it out! http://nevadaspca.org/

I know that my pets are my babies and they bring a lot of joy to my life!