After the conclusion of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament, everyone (the finalists, guests, poker journalists and PokerRoom.com executives) briefly went back to their rooms to freshen up before reconvening at "A Touch of Class" Champagne Bar for a toast to poker's newest professional, Jim Davenport. Not surprisingly, Jim was all smiles and was clearly "fired up" (that was his saying) for the year ahead. For whatever reason, he kept thanking me, as if I played some sort of crucial role in the outcome of tournament when all I really did was offer some sensible advice and encouraging words to a friend. Typical Jim never gave himself enough credit.
During the toast, Glenn Cadematori (the PokerRoom.com spokesperson) said a few words about the BaPP tournament, PokerRoom.com's first-ever sponsored professional and Team PokerRoom.com as a whole before presenting all of the BaPP finalists with a parting gift - a PokerRoom.com chip set. The chips were the same 10 gram ceramic chips (manufactured by CHIPCO) that were used during the BaPP Final Table, and the set altogether retailed for more than $400, making it a truly awesome (and valuable) keepsake. To this day, I use this particular chip set when I host home cash games or smaller SNG tournaments (6-max or less).
As for the rest of the night, well... let's just say that the whole group of BaPP finalists, guests and PokerRoom.com executives were one helluva fun group to party with. Given that the cruise ship was scheduled to dock back in Miami, FL at 8am sharp the next morning, I think everyone made sure that their last night aboard the "Majesty of the Seas" was a memorable one. In mine and Brandon's case, it was well past 4am when we finally stumbled back to our room.
Overall, the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament/cruise was a great success - all thanks to the hard-working folks at PokerRoom.com who made it all possible. I cannot emphasize how much PokerRoom went out of their way to make the BaPP finalists feel like professional poker players. I am truly grateful for the experience and the opportunity and wish PokerRoom still existed today so that poker players all over the world would know what it's like to play on a world class poker site - one that actually cares about its players and doesn't steal from them. In the wake of the Full Tilt Poker "ponzi scheme," - or whatever they're calling it - I can proudly say that PokerRoom.com was my "home" poker site.
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