Anything Happening in the Poker World?

Just kidding of course. I have so much to talk about but actually want to not dwell on things too much, and just give a bare-bones update for now.

First and most important, on April 1st, my son Brayden was born. Being a father is magnificent (except for the lack of sleep). He is the light of my life and I can't wait til he's big enough to play ball with :-)

As we all know, on April 15th, more commonly referred to as Black Friday in the poker world, the US Dept. of Justice seized the domain names of the big 3, FullTilt, PokerStars, and AbsolutePoker/UB. Moving forward, FT and PS pulled out of the market and who really knows what AP/UB are doing. I'm not really going to delve into as it's been a month and I'm kinda sick of talking about it. Honestly, my feeling are that it is a terrible thing in the short term as many people are uncertain as to where their future will lead them, but in the grand scheme of things it was something that needed to be done. For the record, I think it could have been done in a better way, with more warning, etc., but I'll just assume the government knows what it's doing (I know, that's a BIG assumption). It may take a while, but eventually regulation and legalization will occur, which will in turn protect the players and their safety as far as fairness/account balances go.

In light of all of this, Myself as well as all the other US Team Pros at FeltStars have relinquished our positions as Team Pros. While I enjoyed representing the company in live tournaments, and promoting the brand through social networking, it is not feasible anymore to have US pros on the site as the company is looking to build on its brand abroad. I wish the management and the company itself the best of luck moving forward.

As far as my plans, I really don't have any other than being a Dad. I do not plan on attending the WSOP this year, which will be the first year that I do not attend since I turned 21. It kind of hurts to think that I won't be there for the first time since I was of legal age, but when I see my son I know that its worth it. I'm sure I will continue to play in some games here on the Gulf Coast, as well as some tournaments when they come around, and hopefully I will be able to hold my own when I do decide to play. I am also considering teaching poker to occupy some of my time, and possibly some business ventures involving poker in the near future. Other than that, I want to enjoy being a Dad and I'll take each day as it comes. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE poker, and plan on still playing as much as possible. It has been very good to me and I have no plans on "retiring," LOL. But realistically, I am hoping that I can play 20 hours a week. As the baby gets older and starts sleeping through the night, my wife might even let me go to Vegas for a few days to play (haha, I know you're reading this Kim and I can see you rolling your eyes ;-P) Just kidding of course.

Guess that's a quick wrap up for you. Now on to more pressing issues like feeding the baby and watching the American Idol and Biggest Loser finales!

Til Next Time....