Travel Report: LAPT7 Panama, Day 3 -- Short Cuts

It was a memorable day yesterday that began with my getting up very early in order to take a tour into Panama City, highlighted by a visit to the Panama Canal.

The trip was arranged through LAPT travel, and they set me up with a terrific guide who took a couple of us throughout the city to visit various sites, learn about the country’s history, and of course check out the Canal where we were able to see a ship passing through.

The Panama Canal is such a marvel to consider. Such a complicated history regarding its conception and initial construction at the start of the 20th century, and of course its operation is also incredibly complex.

That turned out to be my foremost impression from my visit to the Canal -- simple awe at its being such a creative, ingenious solution to a difficult problem. I managed to write a little about the trip in a post for the PokerStars blog yesterday, titled “The world’s most famous short cut.”

I didn’t have time to give the subject the treatment it deserved as there was a lot of poker to report yesterday, too. The 47 players played down to a final table of eight, taking all of the way to midnight to finish up with the Argentinian Fabian Ortiz finishing as chip leader as he seeks his second career LAPT title.

Only Ortiz’s countryman Nacho Barbero has ever pulled off the double, and in fact my first ever LAPT trip was to Lima to cover Barbero’s second LAPT win.

The morning trip and long Day 3 added up to a more than an 18-hour day for me, and thanks to having to take care of other business this morning I also don’t have time here to give the Panama City trip enough time for a proper report. So I’m having to take a short cut here with today’s post. I’ll write more about it next week once I’m home, including sharing more pictures.

Meanwhile, to follow today’s last day at LAPT7 Panama, head over to the PokerStars blog. You can watch a live stream of the final table, too, by clicking here.