Five Years Later, Just Another Friday

Five years ago today I was in Lima, Peru helping cover the Latin American Poker Tour event there for the PokerStars blog. There we are to the left behind our laptops (the day before, I believe). It was my second trip to Lima, and the first and only time I’d partner up with my friend Dr. Pauly for such an adventure.

That fact alone might have helped make the trip stand out from the many others tourney journeys I’ve taken over the years. But something else happened that caused me to remember those days many times over the years since.

Was just another Friday. We all rolled into the Atlantic City casino late that morning, and had set up shop and were already reporting on Day 2 when the news reached us around 1 p.m. Lima time (if I remember correctly).

I don’t quite remember, actually, when the phrase “Black Friday” began to be used, although looking back through my travel reports here on the blog I can see the phrase already starting to appear in posts by Sunday. That means by the time Pauly, F-Train, Reinaldo, Carlos, and the rest of us left Peru it had already become the shorthand signifier for the end of online poker in U.S. as we knew it. And (so we thought then) the probable end of a lot of other things, too, including such trips to South America.

It turned out not to be quite as catastrophic as it seemed then, thankfully. Those reports from Lima share a kind of rapidly-told story arc reflecting the before, during, and after of the news hitting us and our efforts to absorb and understand it:

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Arrival

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Pregame

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Day 1

Thunderstruck: The Day It All Changed for Online Poker

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Day 2

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Day 3

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Day 4

Travel Report: 2011 LAPT Lima, Departure

Another one written about three weeks after getting home is actually my favorite “Black Friday” post, the one describing the game of Big Deuce our group played our final night in Lima, a.k.a. the Last Game:

2011 LAPT Lima Postscript: Plotting in Peru

And for more looking back, earlier this week I wrote up a more clinical, less personal rundown of what poker life was like before April 15, 2011, the events of that day, and the long, frustrating aftermath in an article for PokerNews. If you haven’t seen it you might take a look as it likely will trigger some “oh-yeah-I-forgot-about-that”-type memories:

Black Friday: Reliving Poker’s Darkest Day Five Years Later

Now it all seems oddly unremarkable, as though (in hindsight) there was something inevitable or even predictable about what happened on April 15, 2011 and everything that followed. Of course the DOJ was going to unseal the indictments and civil complaint that day -- it was just a matter of time before they did. And certainly the targeted sites would then depart the U.S. in short order. And surely we could’ve (should’ve?) seen the funds-related troubles following, too. Right?

Even the long, dreary, battle-with-inertia marking individal states’ efforts to reintroduce online poker -- successful so far in only three, and with desperately modest results -- seems from today’s perspective to have been an inexorable consequence of it all. As do the still dim prospects for online poker in this country going forward (if we’re going to be realistic).

You’d think all of that might make it less easy to remember the shock of the day itself, with the dot-coms going offline, Twitter exploding and “#pokerpanic” becoming a favorite hashtag, Two Plus Two crippling and flatlining under the weight of traffic, and so on. But the surprise was so pure and fresh -- even if it shouldn’t have been -- the impression remains lasting, even today.

Five years plus a couple of leap days makes April 15th a Friday once again. The symmetry has an effect, and the time removed now enough to suggest some kind of finality. It’s a period of time once considered adequate to accommodate Soviet planning, or to help illustrate a David Bowie-imagined apocalypse. Like we’re now even more fully sealed off from what it was all like before.

As though finally, we’re all of the way back, and it’s just another Friday.

Photo: courtesy Carlos MontiPokerStars blog.

LAPT8 Peru, Day 4: Into the Night

In one sense, the last day of the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event was surprisingly long.

After starting at noon, the final table wasn’t over until around 10-10:30 p.m., which is about 4-5 hours longer than the LAPT final tables usually tend to go. Heads-up alone went over four hours, which had us all wondering about whether or not we might be watching one of the longest finales ever in the tour’s history.

That said, the super-quick penultimate day that saw 32 play down to eight in the space of just four one-hour levels kind of set things up for a longer last day, given the deep stacks most of the players had coming back.

The protracted finish ended up messing up our dinner plans -- often the last night becomes a good chance to go out for a good, final meal -- but it was fun, nonetheless, to order pizzas and have them delivered to the casino. They arrived just as Chile’s Claudio Moya won the last hand versus Lebanon’s Chadi Moustapha to take the trophy and title, allowing us to gain some needed nourishment while finishing up our last reporting duties.

As it happened, I ended up having still other business to take care of after that, which ultimately meant I couldn’t finally get to sleep until after 2. That wasn’t necessarily ideal, as my shuttle to the airport was scheduled for 4:30 a.m. (ouch), but I was able to force myself up early enough to get showered, packed, and head back out into the night to begin the process of leaving Peru even before sunrise.

The flights were fine and on time, although we had a weird thing happen in Miami where we almost touched down, then suddenly and without warning the plane rose back up again to circle about the airport and try the landing a second time. The audible was called because of some weather, we were told, and the second try went just fine, but it was an odd enough finish to the flight to remain lingering in the brain for a while afterwards.

Managed to negotiate my way through to my terminal in the always-baffling Miami International Airport, then got home early evening in time to enjoy a late dinner with Vera, my day’s journey of 3,300 miles or so having come to an end.

Was a fun time, but once more I am very glad to be back with Vera and our four-legged friends on the farm. Time to rest.

LAPT8 Peru, Day 3: Well, That Escalated Quickly

We are about a half-hour away from the final table getting started here at the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event. That to the left is a look at the scene at present -- quiet now, though sure to enliven shortly.

Day 3 was kind of a weird one yesterday, as they managed to hustle down from 32 players to eight in just four-and-a-half hours -- in truth just about four hours’ worth of play.

It wasn’t as though the stacks were especially short. The calls of “all in” just kept happening over and over, seemingly every time we’d looked down from the last one. Was kind of interesting as well to see the top four players in the counts with 32 left all fall shy of making the eight-handed final table.

The day’s final hand kind of stood as a ready emblem of the whole day, actually. They’d just redrawn for the nine-handed table, the “unofficial” final table which would play on until one more fell. The stacks were plenty deep, thanks in part to the rapid pace, and we were settling in for what often at the LAPTs becomes a lengthy final table bubble, sometimes lasting a couple of hours or more as they try to get from nine to eight.

But after just a couple of hands one arose in which Carlos Moya defended his big blind with a call after fellow Chilean Patricio Rojas -- winner of this same event two years ago -- had made an early-position raise. The flop came 8-6-4, and suddenly all of the chips were in the middle, with Rojas showing pocket kings and Moya a flopped straight with 7-5.

Two cards later Rojas was out, and as I say the cracking of those kings seemed appropriate on a day when those who had begun the day with the biggest stacks had all been toppled.

Another strange bit of trivia coming out of yesterday -- the final table will feature exactly zero Peruvians, which we believe is the first time ever on the LAPT that a final table doesn’t feature a player from the host country.

The early finish gave Reinaldo, Sergio, and myself a chance for a leisurely dinner, then I managed to get a nice, full night’s sleep. Always seems to go the same way on these trips, sleep-wise, insofar as I start out getting practically none, then by the time I’m about to leave I’m finally getting close to a regular schedule of rest.

Head over to the PokerStars blog today to follow the action as they play down to a winner, where we’ve already gotten profiles of the final eight up there, if you’re curious.

LAPT8 Peru, Day 2: A Parade in Peru

Just a couple of quick highlights from yesterday to share that happened along the way while Day 2 of the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event played down from 129 players to 32.

Early on during the day I caught up with Scott Davies, a poker pro who hails from New Jersey and now lives in Vancouver. Davies won the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific Main Event last October, and following that big score has been able to travel the world playing tournaments all over the place.

He’s continued to be successful, too, cashing a lot and winning a few events, too, including most recently picking up a WSOP Circuit ring in my neck of the woods at Harrah’s Cherokee. He’s a really amiable guy, and it was a lot of fun chatting with him and sharing the story of how he got to Peru this week.

Another highlight was that parade I’ve been referring to the last couple of posts, the one that is part of the Fiestas Patrias or national holidays going on for the last part of the month and centered around July 28, Peru’s independence day.

Along with my friend Carlos Monti, the photographer, I climbed up onto one of the casino’s balconies overlooking the street and we watched the parade for awhile, both of us snapping pics as we did. It was indeed a festive scene, with a huge crowd and lots of kids.

We saw a fight break out between a couple of dudes, with police having to intervene, but otherwise it was all pretty jovial. Click here to see some of Carlos’s better pics of what we saw.

Day 3 awaits. Visit the PokerStars blog for more.

LAPT8 Peru, Day 1b: Peruvian Perambulation

Gearing up here for another day of blogging from the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event, where 129 players are returning, survivors from what ended up a 366-entry field who will be vying for pieces of the $807,396 prize pool.

Was a long one yesterday, but fairly smooth and mostly stress-free. I even managed to enjoy three full meals, which afterwards I realized was kind of a rarity on reporting days.

At one point during the early evening Reinaldo and I took a break to enjoy a long walk around downtown Miraflores where preparations are in full force for the big parade that will start at 3 p.m. today.

The parade is part of the Fiestas Patrias that includes a few different national holidays, including Peru’s independence day (July 28). For the entire month Peruvian flags are flying everywhere, outside every building and in every office window.

They’ve blocked off the park and set up bleachers, as I believe there will be more than 100,000 spectators watching the parade which will last several hours. That sign above points parade-goers to the port-a-pottys and where lost children can be found.

Ought to be quite a spectacle, and I plan to get out there to get a look once it kicks off. Otherwise I’ll be inside the Atlantic City casino reporting from Day 2 -- check over at the PokerStars blog to follow along.

LAPT8 Peru, Day 1a: Safe Blogging

While the field wasn’t huge -- 134 entries (including those who re-entered) -- the first Day 1 flight of the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event was still a busy one, with a lot to cover and keep us all occupied as they played down to just 52 players, one for every card in the deck.

Had some fun during the day with the picture at left, which I tweeted along with a report that we’d had 0.5 days of blogging without an accident. You can never be too safe, especially when posting.

Speaking of cards, I enjoyed chatting with the gregarious Canadian player Shakeeb Kazemipur early in the day. He won in Panama at the last LAPT stop (which I had missed), so I chatted with him about the experience. It was his first LAPT event, and he was understandably full of enthusiasm about the tour after such a successful first try.

Speaking of LAPT debuts, a little later I talked briefly with the Scottish player David Vamplew who was making his (not counting LAPT Bahamas). He’d won a satellite online and viewed Peru as a potentially interesting-seeming postscript to his Vegas summer. Had a good start yesterday, too, finishing with a top five stack and not too far behind Day 1a chip leader Raul Alvarez of Peru.

We skipped out during the dinner break to have a not-too-remarkable chicken meal a short walk away from the casino. Good to get out, though, which I think we’ll do again tonight to get a look at the Saturday night scene downtown. Preparations are being made for a big parade tomorrow marking the Peruvian independence day, called the Wong Parade in light of Fiestas Patrias.

They’ve already started blocking off some of the streets and have set up bleachers downtown for it, and I think it’ll be quite a spectacle. Might have to sneak out during the afternoon to see some of it.

Heading back over to the Atlantic City casino here in Miraflores. Check the PokerStars blog throughout the day for more from Lima.

LAPT8 Peru, Arrival: Eat Some Good Food, Then Brood

I arrived in Lima in one piece during the early evening, and after long wait for luggage and a quick shuttle navigated by an especially deft driver I made it to my hotel room not too far away from the Atlantic City casino where I’ll be spending most of the next five days.

Despite landing about an hour late, my buddies Sergio and Reinaldo still hadn’t left for dinner, and so I was able to join them and a trio of Brazilian players -- Ale, Renata, and Felipe -- for a delicious dinner at Restaurant Punto Azul, a place where after we arrived I realized was the site of my last meal in Lima back in October.

I had octopus in olive sauce for an appetizer and a much too big fish dish in pepper sauce, which along with the fun conversation was a nice way to end a long travel day.

I only got in just a few minutes before we left for dinner, and so had only just caught brief glimpses of tweets mentioning the especially sad news about BLUFF shutting down. Read a little more afterwards and now today am seeing more references and tweets.

Have been brooding this morning over it all, feeling especially bummed for the guys who are currently with BLUFF and who besides being cool cats have played big roles in making the magazine/site an important, valuable contributor to the poker community. The suddenness of the news adds to the shock, actually, making it harder to believe it is actually true.

Will probably have to reflect on it all next week after I return home, but there’s work to do. Start checking over at the PokerStars blog today for reports from Lima on the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event.

A Look Back Before Lima

Am sketching out a quick post here mid-transit on my way back down to Lima, Peru where I’ll be covering the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event for the PokerStars blog from Friday through Tuesday.

Like most of the poker world, I still have those last few hours of the World Series of Poker Main Event circling around in my noggin’. As is probably true for most, as the other stories of that finale fade a bit the one that will stick with us for the next short while -- and probably for longer than that -- was Daniel Negreanu coming oh-so-close to making it to the November Nine and thus to be front-and-center amid all of the hubbub he’d surely help build between now and then.

I’m seeing a few folks trying to go against the grain a bit with sorta-kinda provocative posts about how it didn’t matter so much “for poker” (as they say) for Negreanu to come up short. Or even that it is better somehow that he didn’t.

While I’m in agreement that poker won’t be overly negatively affected by his not being able to do the mainstream media rounds as one still in the hunt for the long-paused ME, I’m not really convinced by those who want to suggest it wouldn’t have been a net positive overall for that to have happened.

The NFL does fine regardless who makes it to the Super Bowl. So, too, does the NBA seem to make out all right regardless which teams get to the later rounds of its playoffs, although the MLB and NHL are perhaps affected somewhat when smaller-market teams compete for their respective championships. And I suppose golf and tennis tends to “need” (speaking in relative terms) recognizable names on the leaderboard to sustain interest and keep television ratings high.

Poker is different, though, functioning like a sport (especially when it comes to the WSOP Main Event) but also existing in many other ways that have different meanings for different people -- as a pastime, a hobby, a semi-serious recreation, a potential career, an actual career, or even just as something fun to watch like a drama series or (more similarly) a reality show.

I’ll be watching in November for sure, as usual, although I think a lot who might have if Negreanu was there probably won’t.

Anyhow, turning all that off now as I ready for Peru. It’ll be my fourth time there, I believe, and my mouth is already watering at the thought of the great eats that await. More to come.

Travel Report: LAPT7 Peru, Day 4 -- A Grand Final

The final day of play in the LAPT Peru Grand Final Main Event took a while, starting at noon on Sunday and lasting until just about 9 p.m. before Oscar Alache of Chile came away with the victory following a three-handed deal. Was kind of a neat way to end Season 7 for the tour, with eight players from eight different countries (seven of them in Central or South America) vying for the last title of the year.

Heads-up between Alache and the 65-year-old Uruguyan Daniel Campodonico was kind of curious, actually, with both players almost always just limping in from the button, the other almost always checking, followed by a lot of passive play postflop. The only variation would come with open-raises all in, although the key hand of the match saw a limped pot produce a check-bet-shove-call sequence.

Alache had flopped two pair with 7-3-offsuit, Campodonico a flush draw, and the two pair held to give Alache a big lead before he finished things off. There had been room for some postflop play, if the players had wanted to engage in such -- there were about 70 big blinds in play for a lot of their duel -- but neither chose to do much other than call or check or shove.

Third-place finisher Jerson Backmann actually won the largest share of the prize pool thanks to the three-way deal, though. When the final three went off to discuss a possible deal, I joked with Sergio Prado (blogging for the PokerStars Brazil site) that they should come back and say they wanted to play it out as a Spin & Go. (Rim shot.)

All in all it was a nice finish for the season with such a big turnout and a record prize pool (for Lima) for the LAPT. There’s a lot of anticipation surrounding the Season 8 kickoff in the Bahamas -- coming just before the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure -- as well as a lot else LAPT-related to come.

Fun spending the week with so many people excited about poker, and of course to get the chance to work with such a great group of people as are part of the LAPT.

Long day of travel ahead. Talk to you again from the farm.

Travel Report: LAPT7 Peru, Day 3 -- Muy Rápido

An unexpectedly fast one yesterday at the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Grand Final. Not sure why I always come to these events anticipating days to last longer than they ultimately do, but one of these times I’ll remember that on the LAPT the pace is pretty much always muy rápido.

We had 45 players to start the day and had to play down to eight. Settled in thinking it would take us deep into the night to get there, but they managed to work all of the way down to that goal in just under six one-hour levels.

Was a wacky day, really, with the player who started it in 41st place out of 45 -- Jerson Backmann of Mexico -- ending the day with a big chip lead. Another one, Argentina's Jose Torre, was in 44th position, and he made the final table, too, with a middle-of-the-pack stack. Meanwhile Nacho Barbero's quest for a third LAPT title came up short as he busted in 17th.

The early finish allowed us finally to break free from the casino and head a few blocks away to enjoy a nice meal at a restaurant called Punto Azul where I enjoyed a delicious dish of fettuccine full of seafood with the black squid ink adding some extra flavor and character.

Having to be muy rápido with posting today as the final table is drawing near. Check the PokerStars blog today for updates, and while you’re watching the NFL perhaps look in on the LAPT Live stream as well.

Travel Report: LAPT7 Peru, Day 2 -- Nacho with Chips

It was a long one yesterday -- another noon-until-after-midnight shift -- and it’ll be another long one today, as well. The field of 692 entries in the LAPT Peru Grand Final has now played down to 45 players, which leaves a lot left to take care of before the final table can be determined for Sunday.

Kind of incredibly, Nacho Barbero is leading heading into play today. Barbero has won two previous LAPT Main Event titles, one of only two players to achieve the feat along with Fabian Ortiz. He won them both during Season 3 -- back-to-back in fact -- and as it happens his second victory came here in Peru in 2010, my first trip to help cover an LAPT.

Nacho ended the night with a ton of chips, but came perilously close to busting in 104th on the stone cold bubble when he was all in with A-K versus an opponent who’d five-bet shoved on him with 10-8-suited. The flop brought a flush draw to his opponent, and after the turn both the ten and eight were still live, too. But Barbero faded the river, and after the bubble burst picked up some big pots to cruise out in front of the pack.

Nacho recently ended his tenure as a Team PokerStars Pro -- a mutual decision between Stars and the Argentinian -- which perhaps might add a little extra intrigue to his doing well in this first tournament after that event. He’s got a lot of other interests, I know, including running what I’ve heard is an excellent restaurant in Argentina, but poker is likely going to remain a central focus for him for now.

Besides reporting on Nacho at night’s end (evidence of which can be found in the picture above), I had fun writing up a post about Leandro Csome, a.k.a., “Peluca,” after he happened to be the one knocking out the 104th-place finisher and thus bursting the money bubble. That event reminded me also of the LAPT event here in Lima from back in Season 3, and a funny story involving Csome that happened as the bubble neared in that event.

The dealers are here and the bags full of chips are starting to be distributed to the six tables. Soon the players will come and cards will be in the air again. As always, head over to the PokerStars blog to follow the action, and when you’re done with the EPT Live show from London perhaps dial up LAPT Live -- it’s only in Spanish or Portuguese, but as everyone knows poker has its own language anyone acquainted with the game can follow.

Travel Report: LAPT7 Peru, Day 1b -- Sweet October Miracle

All goes well in Lima. The turnout turned out better than anticipated, with 692 total entries -- way over the 557 from a year ago. The prize pool is also up over $1 million, a first for the LAPT here in Peru.

I continue to eat very well, even if I’ve been confined to the Atlantic City Casino each day thus far. Such will likely remain the case at least until Saturday when we’re hoping possibly to have a shorter day and thus a chance to enjoy a nice dinner elsewhere.

Still, I can’t complain. I can also confidently state I’ve eaten more octopus this week than I have all year. I also ordered a dessert the name of which provided the title above, discussed further here.

Had a chance yesterday to chat with Thomas Lamatsch who is serving as the Tournament Director here this week. Thomas is usually to be found on the EPT, but is filling in for LAPT TD Mike Ward who had to miss this one. It’s a first trip to Peru for Thomas, and we had a fun conversation comparing the tours and talking about the future of poker.

Another highlight yesterday was talking to the newest Team PokerStars Pro Online member, Celeste “LadyMace86” Orona of Argentina. The announcement of her joining the team was made during the day yesterday, and she took some time during the dinner break to chat about her background.

Her story kind of reminded me a little of my own, at least with regard to her leaving a comfortable, “normal” career path (in her case working in the corporate world) and trying something new with poker. Come to think of it, so did Thomas’s tale, particularly when he speaking of how friendly and supportive everyone is here on the tour.

Going to run again, but check in over at the PokerStars blog for more poker talk from Peru.

Travel Report: LAPT7 Peru, Day 1a -- Mata Aces, BodogAri, and More

We were nearing the end of the night yesterday when I told Sergio, my blogging colleague here on the LAPT, how it always seems to happen that Day 1a takes the most out of me. I think it has to be mostly related to the travel which usually immediately proceeds those first Day 1s, with the fact that those days are almost always noon-to-midnight (at least) and thus usually the longest ones to cover.

The field of 274 entries was decent-sized, and with a bigger Day 1b (as anticipated) the overall turnout will exceed that of last year’s LAPT Peru.

Had some fun during the day playing a poker variant called “Mata Aces” with Christian de Leon, a wacky game that sorta kinda combines elements of hold’em, stud, and even draw. It’s getting big in Mexico, and perhaps might begin to spread elsewhere as it provides a lot of action -- read about it here.

Also enjoyed chatting with Ari “BodogAri” Engel near the end of the night, a very friendly guy who’s played (and won) on just about every tour there is in addition to his considerable online success. Here’s a post sharing what we discussed.

If you’re looking for something else interesting to read today, check out Jonathan Grotenstein’s recent article for All In about Daniel Colman, titled “Silent Assassin.” Grotenstein speculates in interesting ways about the wunderkind’s motives, giving a shoutout to Hard-Boiled Poker along the way by referencing a post of mine where I was attempting something similar with Colman.

Gonna cut it short as Day 1b is drawing close. Check the PokerStars blog for reports throughout the day.

Travel Report: LAPT7 Peru, Arrival -- Holding It Together

Have made it safely to Lima, Peru, the 3,200-mile trip (or whatever it is) going about as smoothly as I could have hoped. All flights were on time, my shuttle to the hotel was waiting for me, and the accommodations very comfortable for my six-night stay here in Miraflores.

Reading material for the long flight from Miami to Lima mostly consisted of my working through a four-decade old paperback of David Halberstam’s excellent The Best and the Brightest, a book written during the early 1970s that attempts to explain how the U.S. found itself gradually getting involved in the Vietnam morass despite myriad indicators that such a course was not recommended.

The 800-plus page book is so old the binding is completely shot, forcing me to hold the sucker with both hands when reading and to use a rubberband to hold it together when I’m not. An emblem for Vietnam, that.

Besides being well written and researched, Halberstam is unafraid as well to include his own sharply-drawn judgments along the way, which both helps clarify the mistakes he’s describing while adding an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative. Despite writing so soon after (and during) the events he’s describing, he lends the story useful perspective, allowing those of us reading much later to appreciate the novel-like twists and turns that inexorably led to successive administrations’ poor decisions regarding southeast Asia.

Most of my casual reading of late has been about political history, with Nixon and Kennedy having become touchstones for me. I suppose all presidents’ stories provide seemingly endless threads of interest thanks to their connectedness with practically all aspects of American culture, but there’s something about these two in particular -- perhaps the most fascinating heads-up political opponents of the century -- that intrigues me to no end.

Will be especially busy this week and so anticipate only firing off short bursts here to share brief anecdotes, likely pointing you to the PokerStars blog as I do where I’ll be filing my LAPT Peru Grand Final reports. There won’t be any politics over there, I can assure, but a lot of interesting conflicts, negotiations, and resolutions over the cards and chips. More to come.

Perusing Peru Posts

A quick one this morning to report I’m back in an airport again, about to make another trip down to Lima for the LAPT Peru Main Event that gets underway tomorrow.

This makes my fourth time going down to Lima, I believe, where I’ve seen and reported on some interesting tournaments over the last few years. Always a fun place to go, with the cuisine a great highlight.

Yesterday I was looking back through some of my Peru posts here and found myself dwelling in particular on one particular visit, the one in April 2011 when Dr. Pauly and I were there during Black Friday. Crazy time, that. Seemed like everything was suddenly coming to an end then, poker-wise, in so many ways.

About a week after getting back I wrote one of my favorite Hard-Boiled Poker posts here about a game of Big Deuce involving myself, the good doctor, F-Train, and Reinaldo -- “2011 LAPT Lima Postscript: Plotting in Peru.”

Probably wouldn’t have predicted then that three-and-a-half years later I’d be going back to Peru yet again. I’m glad I am, though, and expect to see a decent-sized field there along with my many LAPT buds. More to come.

Later This Month: EPT & WSOP Go Heads-Up

So much poker happening around the world this month as pretty much all of the tours crank back up again, including the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific which has already gotten going down in Melbourne.

There’s the UKIPT stop in the Isle of Man (already begun), to be followed immediately by the UKIPT London and then the EPT London series. That then overlaps with WSOP APAC which goes through Oct. 18th. Even before that ends, the LAPT has another stop in Lima, Peru, where I’ll actually be heading again. And of course there’s a lot happening Stateside, too.

Regarding the WSOP APAC, that WSOP Player of the Year race in which Brandon Shack-Harris and George Danzer are nearly tied adds a little bit of interest when it comes to the 10 bracelet events that are being staged there. Both are playing the series, taking their duel up through the very last event.

I’m with those who think the WSOP POY shouldn’t really bother with the Europe and APAC legs, given how so many who might genuinely be competing for it aren’t traveling to those places to play.

In any case, it will be interesting to see where players go once the EPT London Main Event rolls around. The first of two Day 1 flights for that one happens Sunday, October 12, with the final table Sunday, October 18. Meanwhile the WSOP APAC Main Event also begins on Oct. 12 (also with two Day 1s) and runs through Oct. 18, with the two exactly coinciding.

The EPT London Main Event has a £4,250 buy-in (the equivalent of almost $6,800 USD) while the WSOP APAC Main costs A$10,000 to play (a little under $8,700 USD at present). Last year EPT London drew 604 entrants (with a £5,250 buy-in), while the WSOP APAC Main in the spring of 2013 had 405 players enter (with the same buy-in).

Also relevant to a lot of players is the fact that not only is the UKIPT London stop coming just before EPT London, there are 45 different events happening between the two series; meanwhile, the WSOP APAC has just the 10 bracelet events.

Both the WSOP APAC schedule and the EPT Season 11 schedule (including the London stop) were announced at practically the same time in late April this year -- it might have been the same day, if I am remembering correctly -- and while there was a lot of lamenting at the time by some at the conflict, it sounds like it wasn’t necessarily intended by anyone or could be helped, either.

I know a lot of what affects the scheduling of these is outside the control of the tournament series organizers, and would guess neither the EPT nor the WSOP desired this happenstance.

That said, the situation creates an interesting heads-up match between the two that week. Like I say, though, I’ll be in South America, following all that from Peru.

Travel Report: LAPT6 Peru, Day 4 -- The Final Fifth Street, then Pizza Street

The fourth and final day of the Season 6 Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event -- the fifth one, in truth, because of the two Day 1 flights -- was the shortest of them all, clocking in at less than five hours. It wasn’t such a surprise, as the stacks were already starting to get shallow soon after play began, and sure enough the day was punctuated by one all-in after another as the final eight played down to a winner, Patricio Rojas of Chile.

On his bio sheet, Rojas had described himself as more of an online player -- indeed, like many he’d qualified for the event on PokerStars -- and in fact also noted that this was both his first LAPT event and first live tourney final table. He had the chip lead going in, lost it a couple of times along the way though always had a big stack, and by the time they’d gotten down to three-handed he had the majority of chips and eventually was able to withstand the others’ all-ins to win.

The runner-up, Rafael Pardo of Colombia, had made his fourth LAPT final table. He finished seventh twice (including at the very first LAPT event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2008), and third once earlier this year (again in Brazil, at Sao Paulo). That’s one behind the record of five LAPT final tables of Jose “Nacho” Barbero.

Pardo was way behind Rojas chip-wise to start heads up play and through a couple of dozen hands he couldn’t narrow the gap. Then came one in which both were dealt aces but Rojas had the better kicker, and when the final fifth street of the tourney fell the title was his. Not nearly as mind-boggling a finish as they had at APPT Queenstown this week (as I mentioned yesterday), but exciting nonetheless.

One interesting development yesterday saw the final seven players decide to flatten out the payouts considerably (which were quite steep). Here’s a post explaining what they did, which more or less amounted to taking a big chunk off the top and spreading it out among the other six spots.

Play ended late afternoon and after another couple of hours of tying up loose ends then a little longer to wait out the end of the High Roller event, a group of us were able to go back out into the Lima evening with its ever-present mist and find another good dinner.

We went to the famed Calle de las Pizzas or “Pizza Street” in downtown Miraflores which features a collection of restaurants -- many featuring gourmet pizzas -- with bars, music, and dancing. Was fun just walking up and down the street with Reinaldo, Maria, and Mario to look in on the various scenes while also being petitioned aggressively by those stationed outside each establishment wanting us to choose them. We finally settled on a place called La Glorietta, and Reinaldo and I split a pie with a host of toppings including asparagus and pineapple.

Was kind of funny to think I’d followed up my night of eating a hamburger with pizza while in Peru, but having been a few times now it was interesting to see a different part of Miraflores.

The dinner was lots of fun, and the pizza quite good as we ate while shooing away the men trying to sell us roses or play a song on the guitar. We also laughed a lot Mario told us a kind of incredible story about his trip to Wimbledon a few weeks ago. (Might be sharing more of that one later on... stay tuned.)

We ended up back at the Atlantic City Casino for some ice cream and more relaxing, then I cabbed it back to the hotel to get to sleep by midnight as I had to leave at 6:30 a.m. for the airport.

Am now all of the way back home after another long day of traveling -- hence the late posting -- and am going to sign off here for now and see if I can’t tame all of these still racing thoughts about the tourney and trip and get some sleep. Was another great experience, and I’m so grateful not only to have these opportunities but also to get to work with so many great, interesting people on the LAPT who couldn’t be more helpful.

If you’re curious you can check the PokerStars blog to see all of the posts from the five days of the tourney. Meanwhile, I’ll talk to you all mañana.

Travel Report: LAPT6 Peru, Day 3 -- One Tasty Burger

Blindingly fast day yesterday in terms of the pace of play at Day 3 of the Latin American Poker Tour Peru Main Event. It took less than six one-hour levels for 27 players to play down to eight, the only real slowdown coming near the end when it took a little over a half-hour to get from nine to eight.

Patricio Rojas of Chile leads with eight left, while the Argentinian Julian Menendez is also still in the hunt as the 24-year-old seeks a second LAPT title. Also, the Colombian Rafael Pardo though short-stacked will be playing at his fourth career LAPT final table today where he hopes to improve on his best-ever finish of third at LAPT Brazil a few months ago.

Within a few minutes of the start today the average will be down to about 23 big blinds per stack or so, and so it’ll probably be a fast start at least today for the eight-handed final table, and perhaps a fast finish, too. In which case we may get to enjoy one last meal in Lima, where it is difficult to go wrong food-wise in a city some call the “gastronomical capital of South America.”

Sergio and I were walking in today and talking about various meals we’ve had this trip, and he pointed out how when it comes to picking a place to eat in Lima, you can think about price or the kinds of food being offered, but there’s really no need to worry about quality because it is consistently high just about everywhere.

Our early finish last night enabled us to grab dinner at Papacho’s, a gourmet burger place located not from the Atlantic City Casino. The place was packed and in fact we had more than an hour wait to get a table, but that wasn’t such a bother as we’d had late lunches, anyway, and it was enjoyable just to relax and chat as we waited.

There were Beatles LPs on the walls and lots of Beatles tunes among the pop/rock soundtrack, and the menus were huge square cardboards with every inch covered by a myriad of burger types on offer. More American than Peruvian, really, but the massive Papacha I selected (with blue cheese and assorted toppings) was -- insert Jules Winnfield voice -- one tasty burger.

Had another good meal this morning at the hotel, a much lighter breakfast of a poached egg and salmon, and am now sitting near the main stage where preparations are being made for the final table to begin.

Looking forward to an exciting conclusion, although looking over Heath Chick’s report from the APPT Queenstown final table that played out overnight, I can’t imagine we’ll match the finish they had. Have you heard? The winner Jonathan Bredin won the final hand with , then revealed he had that same hand tattooed on his arm! No shinola!

Now that I think about it, maybe we should check to see if our final eight players have any tattoos before play begins today in Lima. Check over at the PokerStars blog where I’ll definitely let you know if we find out anything along those lines.

Travel Report: LAPT6 Peru, Day 2 -- The Fisherman

Another day down here in Lima as the Latin American Poker Tour Main Event in Peru winds its way along. From 557 total entries just 27 are left to start today’s Day 3, and when they finish tonight just eight will remain for tomorrow’s final table.

Time-wise yesterday lasted about as long as the first two days of the tourney, with players once again working through 10 one-hour levels. Felt longer, though, perhaps in part because I was working alone. Even Sergio -- who handles the Portuguese blog for PokerStars -- was gone by the final levels as all of the Brazilian players had busted.

Of course, even while scribbling away on my own I’m not really alone at all as I work alongside a host of other media covering the event for a variety of outlets. Indeed, there’s pretty much the same full court press-type coverage happening here as one finds at WSOP events or elsewhere in the world, and it’s kind of interesting to watch live reporting teams such as the group from Codigo Poker doing their updates in much the same fashion I’m used to doing at other events.

And of course the great Carlos Monti was there with me as well to the end yesterday, the regular photographer for PokerStars’ coverage of LAPT events.

That’s Carlos pictured to the left from yesterday helping out the Codigo guys at the end of the night with a quick interview of Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez who survived to today’s Day 3.

Carlos is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and besides being an excellent photographer he is also a serious fisherman. “That is my life,” he explained to me, speaking in English as his English is much, much better than my Spanish.

“When you are a fisherman -- a real fisherman -- it is for life... it is a philosophy,” he continued. The pic up top is of Carlos showing off a catch while at the PCA in the Bahamas.

I told him how my father is also a lifelong fisherman, and how knowing his dedication to it I thought I might understand what he meant. We chatted further and he explained how his background originally is in engineering and that in fact he taught for seven years. “Old people,” he said, referring to his students. “It was very nice.”

I have no doubt but that Carlos was an excellent teacher, as his ability to connect with others, and his care for others’ welfare, too, is obvious regardless of the language he employs -- English, Spanish, or the pictures he takes.

Looking forward to another day working alongside Carlos, casting for my own stories as Day 3 plays out. Check over at the PokerStars blog to see what the two of us manage to catch.

Travel Report: LAPT6 Peru, Day 1b -- The White Veil

Hello again from Lima, where the skies are overcast again today, as is usually the case.

All of my visits here have come during the late spring or summer, which means mild temperatures here south of equator. Had breakfast out on the hotel patio this morning, and while clouds hid the sun there was a slight breeze to make for a pleasant and quiet time to enjoy the meal and rejuvenate for the coming day.

The contrast with Las Vegas -- where I spent a month from mid-June to mid-July this summer for the World Series of Poker -- couldn’t be greater. Instead of 115 degrees it’s around 65 here. The overall pace is decidedly less frantic as well, with the days being long but over just after midnight (as opposed to 2-3 a.m. each evening at the Rio).

Yesterday the second of two Day 1 flights played out, and when play completed 104 players survived from the 334 total entries. They’ll join the 55 who made it through Wednesday’s Day 1a (from 213 entries) to make a field of 159 left to start today.

As the tourney progresses the focus on actual poker increases, reporting-wise. They’ll be making the money today (at 88 players), and probably get down to just three tables or thereabouts before coming back on Saturday to play down to an eight-handed final table. Thus will increase the need to track where the chips are going, how the big hands are playing out, and all of the other crucial moments that help define the event.

Meanwhile, these first couple of Day 1 flights have provided a few opportunities to share some color from the tournament as well as reflect a bit on the scene at large. Along those lines, one of the more fun posts from yesterday to write was one in which I talked about Herman Melville’s reference to Lima in Moby Dick, one that highlights the fog that often covers the coastal city during these middle months.

The allusion comes amid a chapter-length dissertation by Ishmael on “The Whiteness of the Whale,” with “the white veil” of fog that envelopes Lima in an inscrutable cloak one of several dozen examples brought up by the narrator. If you’re curious to see how I managed to fit that discussion into reporting from a poker tournament, click through and read the post, the title of which is borrowed from the book’s famous opening line.

There wasn’t too much fog on the walk over to the Atlantic City Casino this morning, although we have frequently experienced a kind of constant mist that has been present most times we’ve been outdoors. Again kind of reminds me of that covered walkway into the back of the Rio with the manmade mist spraying underneath to help visitors transition from the hot, hot parking lot into the cold, cold casino.

But these are fleeting comparisons, really, as the differences between the sites and what is happening at each seem much greater.

If you’re curious to read how the poker is playing out for today’s Day 2, click on over to the PokerStars blog.