The "Become a Poker Pro" Cruise (Day 1)

On March 2nd, 2006, I stayed at Brandon's house in Columbus since our flight to Ft. Lauderdale, FL was scheduled to depart the following morning.  Airfare was cheaper out of Columbus than it was Cleveland, and while Brandon finished packing, I played a few tournaments to stay sharp for the "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table.  Sadly, I didn't cash in the "Ace of Aces" tournament or the $300 SNG that I played, but I was too excited for the trip to be deterred by the near $600 loss.

The next morning, Brandon and I took a connecting flight back to Cleveland (oddly enough) before we eventually landed in Ft. Lauderdale, a little after 2pm.  Upon our arrival, a limo driver was standing near baggage claim holding a bright green sign with my name on it, waiting to drive us from Ft. Lauderdale to the Port of Miami.  Brandon and I took the 40 minute limo ride as an opportunity to sight-see and my first impression of Miami was that the city was a dump.  And this was before LeBron took his talents to South Beach!  Perhaps I'd think different if I returned to the city today, but back then it seemed like everything (buildings, roads, etc.) was under construction.  Still, I loved the palm trees and when we arrived to the Port of Miami, the "Majesty of the Seas" cruise ship looked spectacular.

"Majesty of the Seas" cruise ship

Once Brandon and I checked in and boarded the ship, we found the interior to be just as nice, as evidenced by the lobby alone:

"Majesty of the Seas" lobby

After we found our room and dropped off our luggage, the cruise line set sail for the Bahamas, promptly at 5pm.  From the deck of the ship, we got a much better view of Miami.  See the mansions located along the water?

Miami, FL

Once at sea, it was time to get ready for the PokerRoom Welcome Meeting at the Paint Your Wagon Lounge.  All the BaPP finalists, their guests, and the PokerRoom staff were in attendance and several poker journalists (from Casino City Times and High Roller Magazine - to name a few) were on hand to cover the tournament.  At the Welcome Meeting, I met up with fellow finalist Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport and his girlfriend, Kim Lansing, who I became friends with at the WSOP.  Jim and I kept regular contact with each other after the WSOP and even more so after the online portion of the BaPP.  We called each other numerous times in the months leading up to the cruise, and amidst our conversations, we set a goal to meet each other heads-up in the tournament.  It was really great seeing him again in person.
 

Clockwise from left:  Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport, Kyle "KMO28" Morse (light blue shirt and hat), Ryan "rufebert" Rufe (white hat), Kimberly Lansing (Jim's girlfriend and current anchor of the WPT) and Brandon Lowiec (my guest, orange shirt)

I realize the picture above isn't of the best quality, and that's because I literally took a picture of the picture with my Blackberry, as PokerRoom doesn't allow you to save their images to your hard drive.  Fortunately, you can view all three of the "Become a Poker Pro" albums (well over 100+ pictures total) in better quality by following this link. 

Mingling with Jim the rest of the BaPP finalists at the PokerRoom Welcome Meeting was a lot of fun.  I could tell right away that it was going to be a great group to get along and party with.  After dinner, the fun continued when everyone (the BaPP finalists, their guests, PokerRoom staff, and journalists) gathered for a casual tournament.  Brandon fared well in the tournament and even won a rare PokerRoom.com chip set for his efforts.  I, on the other hand, was pretty buzzed and busted rather quickly.

After the tournament, everyone was free to do as they pleased, so Brandon and I hit up the casino and the On Your Toes Nightclub.  To make a long story short, I lost $100 in about 3 minutes playing roulette and then proceeded to play "wingman" while Brandon tried to mack on a 19 year-old Brazilian chick.  Admittedly, she wasn't bad looking, but her tag-along 15 year-old sister was butt-ugly and annoying to boot.  Despite this, Brandon and I made the best of it and had a fucking blast.  

Overall, Day 1 of the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise was a great success.  Stay tuned for hangovers, Coco Cay, a photo shoot, basketball, and a formal dinner in Day 2. 

To be continued...