As of this moment, it¡¦s myself and 11 others with potentially a 12th on the way. I¡¦m going to divide the players up into two ¡§crews¡¨ ¡V the first being the NJ crew, whom the trip was originally planned with, and the second being the DC/NOVA group who I talked into meeting us. A little history on DC/NOVA, I lived in Alexandria, VA from August 2005 to November 2006 on a work related assignment and became friends with this group of guys/gals when I lived there.

NJ Group:

Jason (yours truly) ¡V WM, 34 - I started to seriously play poker tournaments the year BEFORE the Moneymaker WSOP; I remember watching the Robert Varkoni highlights on ESPN in 2002 and saying ¡§I can do this¡¨. I was of course humbled right away but over time got better and I like to think I¡¦m better than most (but no pro like our own Yappy Dave). Over the past year / year and a half I started to play more cash games than tournaments as I found my profit ratio is greater in cash games. Being I¡¦ll be out there with at least 10 people, I probably won¡¦t play marathon sessions as if I was in Atlantic City but I do intend on playing at least 3-5 hours a day in as many different poker rooms as I can. When I¡¦m not in the poker room, plan on finding me belly-up at some bar with a Sambuca on the rocks. I just have to remind myself not to get into any cash games AFTER my drinking escapades.

Troy ¡V Troy and I were the original planners of this year¡¦s adventure; we decided we were definitely going to do this one Friday night in late June after we just picked up this year¡¦s batch of the homemade wine (another topic for another time, something I¡¦m sure Grange would be interested in). Troy and I have been friends for a couple of years, but became good friends over the past year, largely enhanced by a Red Strip induced long weekend in Jamaica for his cousin¡¦s wedding (his cousin married my best female platonic friend ¡V unfortunately they can¡¦t go to LV due to a trip to France in September they planned months ago). Troy¡¦s one of the most genuine guys you¡¦ll ever meet, but he is very set in his ways and can act a little odd at times. Picture Seinfeld and Larry David¡¦s personality magnified five times, and that¡¦s Troy¡¦s. Troy¡¦s not much of a poker player, but loves to throw dice and I¡¦m sure he¡¦ll sucker me into a few craps sessions this week.

Rebecca ¡V Troy¡¦s girlfriend ¡V sort of. Troy is a bit of a serial dater and has a difficult time committing in a relationship, but Rebecca is the one he likes and hangs out with the most and therefore Troy is bringing her to Vegas with him. For as long as I¡¦ve known Troy, I¡¦ve never actually seen him in public with one of his dates (example #1 of Troy¡¦s sometimes odd behavior), so this will be a first for me.

Paul ¡V Friend of Troy¡¦s for years and I¡¦ve gotten to know him a lot better since the Jamaica drunkfest. Paul might play in a small buy-in tournament or two, but overall he¡¦s not much of a gambler, but loves Vegas for everything else. He and his girlfriend Cindy decided to join us shortly after Troy and I booked our flights. An avid NY Giants fan with season tickets, the world stops on Sunday¡¦s when Big Blue is on the field. He knows more about the details and construction schedule of the new Meadowlands stadium than I do ¡V and I work for the Construction Management firm that has the contract to build the damn thing!

Cindy ¡V Paul¡¦s long time girlfriend and an absolute sweetheart. One minor problem though - I will have to watch what I do and say around her this week ¡V she is very good friends with my ex-girlfriend who I broke up with back in April, and I know a full report of my actions this week will be forwarded. I really shouldn¡¦t care, but¡K¡K.I do. But that¡¦s not going to stop me for any of my hijinks!

Dusty ¡V Another longtime friend of Troy and Paul¡¦s, I¡¦ve only met him a handful of times but he loves his booze and can drink most under the table. Dusty is also a monster ¡V about 6¡¦-1 and I¡¦ll guess about 310 lbs. Somebody I want on my side of fight in a dark alley.

Matt ¡§The Mush¡¨ ¡V Dusty¡¦s brother who I have never met, but Troy just calls him ¡§The Mush¡¨ and has already stated he won¡¦t gamble if Matt¡¦s within 100 feet of him. Paul confirms Troy¡¦s fears so I will avoid gambling with him around as well. Hopefully he doesn¡¦t play poker.

Todd ¡V Younger brother of a good friend of ours who can¡¦t make the trip (Gary¡¦s his name, and he actually has the pleasure of driving our sorry rear-ends to Newark at 5:00 a.m. Sunday). Todd¡¦s a nice guy, but picture the Italian version of Screech from Saved by the Bell. He¡¦ll mostly be hanging out with Dusty and Matt.

DC/NOVA Group:

Won ¡V My Korean-American friend who I met while playing the Northern Virginia pub poker leagues, which are wildly popular in that neck of the woods. When he first started to play he was a little green, but now he is definitely a force to be dealt with at the tables. He¡¦s probably a little too tight at times, but overall a solid TAG player. I visited NOVA two weeks after Troy and I booked the trip and I talked Won into coming when I was there. Won loves his cigars and while not at the tables, he¡¦ll be chasing down every hottie walking down the strip.

Kiki ¡V Won¡¦s older sister by a year or two and a fairly good poker player herself, although unlike her brother she gets too loose at times. Probably won¡¦t play in any cash games but will play a few tournaments and if she gets chips she¡¦s relentless. I¡¦ve already talked her into playing in the first TI Ladies tournament Monday night, and I give her a better than average shot to win it. Not a huge drinker, so we have to watch her once she has more than 3 drinks.

John ¡V Friend of Won¡¦s and probably has the best poker game out of all of us. I have seen him navigate his way to the final table of the infamous Friday Midnight tournament at the Taj in AC, where they get up to 150 people regularly, more than half of which are bombed and making some really wild plays. I fully expect John to fill up this week.

Courtney ¡V ¡§Hollywood¡¨ as we like to call her is only going to be in Vegas the last night of my trip as she is flying in with her bf Friday night for a long weekend. I already have plans to meet her at the Stratosphere for drinks when they get in and hopefully her stunning good looks can attract another female our way ƒº

So now you know the players. Hopefully, my first update will be sometime Sunday night before we go to dinner at the Peppermill Lounge which will describe the flight out and Sunday afternoon¡¦s adventures. If not, I¡¦ll have a lot to write about Monday morning

Hopefully I¡¦ll see plenty of AVP¡¦ers out there! Good Luck to all.