Well the morning began and Annabelle flew back home and Nicole flew in. They both arrived at their destinations safely. Nicole the day before had gone by my house and picked up three sip and puff tubes from old chairs that I had saved in hopes that maybe one of them could be used to replace the broken one. Went and washed hair and had an appointment at 2:30 at the wheelchair place. When I got there, a man named Jose was waiting for me to see if he could help with my chair. The first two attempts didn't work out but Jose told me I wasn't leaving until he got it fixed. A little over an hour had gone by and the third attempt worked out great! Jose reminds me alot of Steve back at Wheelchairs Plus in Jacksonville. They can fix anything. Everyone in the shop was extremely nice. I am so thankful for TJ at Wheelchairs Plus for finding this place here to fix my chair and especially Jose. It is so great to have my chair back in working order. Once again, another blessing. After that we headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out for the evening. Marie and her aunt met us and Marie's aunt started the tour guide. She took us to the top of Twin Peaks to a scenic lookout point...WOW, what a view to see the whole city, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. It was very windy and cold but well worth being able to see this. After that she took us to Chinatown, where we had dinner and shopped.

Now I am back at the hotel trying to thaw out! For some reason this hotel doesn't let each room individually control the temperature of the room...don't know why, can't explain it but they gave me some lame reason why the hotel only has one setting for the temperature. So I have a portable, electric heater they gave me to warm up my room. That old saying sure rings true: The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. How in the world do people function here?? It is a beautiful city and there is still so much I hope to see. The plan tomorrow is to see the Golden Gate Bridge up close and the Redwood forest and possibly dinner at Fisherman's Wharf.

Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Coast Highway I just can't say enough. Incredible scenery, beautiful water, huge waves and some of the narrowest windy roads I've ever been on. You could look over the edge of the road and it is several hundred feet down to the ocean. Kinda eerie!We drove on roads like this for 30 miles at 25-35 mph. Trust me you didn't even think about speeding.I'm so glad I chose to take the PCH to San Francisco. Everyone should do this. Made it into San Francisco. The hotel is great. Spacious. It seems to be close to everything. Marie's aunt lives here in San Francisco. She has things set up for me to see and do.I'm so thankful that she is here to help me so I can see as much as possible. Ate at Italian restaurant tonight. It is also a bakery. It is really cool inside and the food was excellent. Tomorrow Annabelle leaves and Nicole flies in. She is bringing three of the tubes that I steer my chair with. They were spares that I saved from old chairs. Hopefully, I will be able to get the chair fixed. Wheelchairs Plus in Jacksonville has gotten in touch with someone outside of San Francisco. It sounds like they will be able to help me. Wish me luck.

Finally got back on the road. Patch job on my steering tube. Could be worse. It could not be working at all. I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life today. The waves are so much bigger here. The water is not gray like in Jax. Noticed a definitely temperature change. Lots of pretty mountains though and fields and fields of strawberries and other crops. As we got closer to San Luis Obispo, our stop for the night, we started seeing vineyards. When we got to the hotel, I was skeptical. It reminded me a lot of Shreveport hotel. Kind of difficult to get to the room. The elevator is made for midgets and only two can ride at a time. I managed to squeeze myself in and get into the room. The room is decent with plenty of room for me to get around. They have hot water too. I don't know how people live here though. The high is 60 degrees if you're lucky. I would freeze to death year round. The locals say you can drive 30 minutes from here and its 100 degrees. They should figure out some way to pipe some of that over here. We'll be in San Francisco tomorrow.

Friday, June 25th I went to the Walk of Fame by the famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood. It just so happened to be the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. In front of the Chinese Theater were a group of dancers doing a tribute. His star on the walk of fame is right out in front of the Chinese Theater. It was covered in all kinds of flowers, candles and notes. There were people everywhere taking pictures, including me. But I was sitting. While we were there a camera crew approached me and asked if they could interview me for a documentary they were making about the fans of Michael. Of course I said yes. They told me that they will email me with the details of how I can find it. Everyone was hungry so we went and had sushi. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to get ready to go to dinner. The manager of the hotel made us reservations at a famous restaurant called Mr. Chow's in Beverly Hills. On our way to the restaurant we drove down Rodeo Drive. When we arrived at Mr. Chow's we were impressed with the ambiance. There must have been a thousand lilies. The whole place smelled like fresh cut flowers. The service was amazing. Each table had a head waiter, a maitre d' and a water boy. We all decided to get the "Mr. Chow" which is a two-course meal which actually seemed like a four-course meal. The maitre d' asked us to allow him to pick what we would eat based on what we told him we liked. I figured he would know best. He brought a variety of first course from lettuce wraps, steamed vegetable dumplings, shrimp rolls and mysterious spaghetti. Everything was delicious! In between that course and the next, they brought out water bowls to wash your fingers in. I even got one! The main course was steak tenderloin, blackened cod, barbecue chicken with walnuts and prawns. Afterwards they brought by a desert tray with four to choose from. I told the waiter that we would have one of each, please. There was a lemon tart, a creamy chocolate cake, a berry something and a custard. I liked the lemon and chocolate ones the best. Of course, everyone at the table finished them all. Everything was so good! Afterwards we drove back down Rodeo Drive again and around Beverly Hills a little. We stopped to get gas and I took a picture to prove that I paid $3.53 a gallon for gas. They also have different pricing depending on if you use cash or credit. It was 6 cents more per gallon to use your credit card. We went back to the hotel for the night.

The next day, Saturday June 26th I found a salon in Macy's near the hotel where I could have my hair washed. The lady washing my hair, her name was Joy, was very nice. She wanted to know all about me. Come to find out she loves to watch poker on TV so I was telling her about me playing in the WSOP and she wanted to know everything about it. The one thing that stood out most about her was her long hair that tickled my nose and mouth the whole time she was washing my hair. I held my breath most of the hair wash. She did do a decent job though. But she is no May. Afterwards we started heading to Dodgers Stadium. What a beautiful sight as we pulled into the Stadium. It is really something that I never thought I would be able to do. We were able to park close to the entrance. Our seats were in between first base and right field. I didn't wait long and got a Dodger Dog that I've always wanted to try. Delicious!!! It was unbelievable to watch the Dodgers play the Yankees. It was definitely worth having to buy 35 tickets just to go to one game. It was a great high scoring game which ended with a Dodger win. After the game we decided to try to find the Hollywood sign. What an adventure that became! I now have come to realize the GPS in the van sucks. Soon as I get back to Jax I will be trying to find out why the lady on the GPS has no idea what she's talking about. Ever. After two hours and a half a tank of gas, we decided to give up. Once back at the hotel I ordered room service, ate dinner and went to bed.

Today we tried to leave the hotel only to find out the valet had once again lost my keys. No one knew where they were. I fortunately have a spare set so I could load the trailer and van. I wasn't leaving without my original set. While they were farting around trying to find my keys, they ask me, "Who parked it last night? What was his name?" Apparently they don't understand the valet system of giving your keys, receiving a ticket, giving the ticket back and getting your keys back. My wonderful best friend, Marie, finally got tired of the finger pointing and asked if she could look in the valet room herself to see if she could find the keys. In a room full of keys on hooks, mine were the first pair at the bottom. Exactly where you would start to look if you were looking for keys. They still had the valet tag on them and everything. She told the valet guy she found them and he said, "Oh, I thought there were two pairs." Whatever that means. After the key incident I should have known that was a bad sign of what was to come. I wanted to make one more attempt to see the Hollywood sign. I've come this fair, I felt I should try one more time in the daylight. We got directions to go to an observatory on top of a hill that is supposed to have the best views of the city and the sign. Finally I got to set my eyes on the sign. It was a little smoggy but you could still see it. While taking pictures in front of the sign, I moved my snout, the tube I use to move my chair, and it broke. Not completely, it still is hooked up to the computer but it was broken enough where I couldn't keep it where I need it. I decided to go to Home Depot to see it they could rig it up to last me until I get to San Francisco and can find a wheelchair store. With a 6 inch PVC pipe, two six inch screws and five hose clamps they were able to Macgyver it. Now we are on our way out of LA to find the Pacific Coast Highway. We have a long drive ahead of us. I will be sending a letter to the Mayor of LA, perhaps Schwarzenegger too, about the conditions of the roads. They have enough money to stop every car on its way in to check for bugs in the fruit but they haven't replaced the asphalt since they originally laid it. Roughest roads I've ever been on. Since I've left Vegas I haven't seen a Wal-Mart, or a celebrity for that matter.

Kami and Annabelle arrived safely. Got everything packed the night before except for stuff I used today. Got on the road a little past noon. The drive seemed to go by pretty fast to me. Got into LA around 7pm. The hotel is nice. Phyllis, my travel agent, is so amazing. I recommend her highly. Her email is travelex1@yahoo.com if you want excellent help with your travel needs! She had the hotel set up to where I am able to park my van and trailer in a prime spot at the hotel. The rooms are nice. That's about all I have for now. We're taking it easy tonight in preparation for our sight seeing tomorrow.

This morning, sweet Amanda left to go back to Jacksonville. Had a great time during her visit. She is such a joy to be around. I'm so glad that she was able to come out here. I hated to see her go. My Mom came in this morning. It was really good to see her. I'm excited about going to California with her tomorrow. Carissa left this afternoon. Around that time we found out that Kami's flight was cancelled. The quickest she can get here is tomorrow morning around 10 am. So we will get a late start tomorrow going to L.A. Brenda flies home in the morning and Annabelle flies in. Hopefully we can get on the road by noon or 1 pm.

Started the second day of the PL Omaha High/Low tournament today. There were 171 people still in it. Up and down in chips most of the day. But got on a roll closer to the bubble (where you get paid). Top 81 people get paid. There were 84 people left. I put my whole tournament on the line and I was all in with a little over 30k. I can't tell you how nervous I was. I thought I had the best hand. I just hoped that he would fold. I really didn't want to have leave the tournament on the bubble with nothing after playing for two days. He thought about it forever, to the point that the dealer called over the floor official and had him count down the time until he had to make a decision. My guts were turned inside out. Like I said, to come this far for nothing. After the floor official counted down the last ten seconds, he finally folded. No one saw it but I jumped up and down. Not long after that, I made it to the money. The day continued to get better and better. I was able to accumulate more and more chips. The time finally came where I got knocked out. I had the best hand but he got lucky on the river. Out of 847 starters, I was knocked out at number 33. I was very pleased with how I played. No regrets. Off to L.A. tomorrow!

The first picture is of me and Carlos Mortensen. The second one is of me and Ted Forrest. The third one is of me and Barry Greenstein. They were all very nice and more than happy to give me their autograph and a picture. I played sitting next to Barry Greenstein up until I got knocked out of the tournament.

The first picture is me and the 2010 Senior WSOP winner. His name is Harold Angle and he's from Jacksonville. The second picture is me, Brenda and Amanda having dinner at "Top of the World" on the 107th floor of the Stratosphere. The third picture is from the observation deck of the Stratosphere. The fourth picture is me with three of my nurses and my friends, Amanda and Marie at the Stratosphere.

The wall above is the Poker Hall of Fame. The wall on the left is past WSOP winners. These are at Binion's.

The picture of the van was taken at

This is me on Fremont Street in downtown Vegas.

These pictures are from the pawn shop where Pawn Stars is filmed. This first one is with the big security guard. The second is with the old man, Richard. The third one is of me and Chumlee.

Tournament started at noon today. PL Omaha high/low. There were 827 people in it. Cards were not very good start with but gradually picked up. I eventually started to accumulate chips. I was one of the chip leaders at my table when the guy sitting to my right got knocked out. You'll never believe who sat down in his place! Phil Helmuth!!! I couldn't believe that he was actually sitting next me. Right before one of my breaks, him and I went heads up. He went all in and I called. I had him covered in chips with still plenty to play with. I thought it would be a great opportunity. Unfortunately his hand held up. There were several people standing around watching the hand between him and I. It was really thrilling. I just wish I could have taken him out. I then was moved to another table where I played at pot that really hurt my chip stack. I didn't give up and I went all in with Andrew Black. I took him out of the tournament. That replenished my chip stack nicely. At the end of the day we were down to 171 players. We start back tomorrow at 2:30pm. Hope tomorrow goes as well as today. Time for bed! Wish me luck tomorrow. Oh, almost forgot. I finally got to meet one my favorite players, Chris Ferguson. He autographed my hat and I took a picture with him. We talked for a little while. He's in the same tournament as me. He was very nice to me.

A lot happened today so I hope you read the whole BLOG. At 12 noon we went back to Pawn Stars where the show is filmed. THey told me yesterday that the guys that are on the show would be there. When we arrived the parking lot was packed and there where people standing outside the store. While we were looking for a parking space Rick was coming out to get into his truck. When he pulled out of his parking space I pulled in. We didn't get to meet him because he had already left. We go to the door of the store and we are told that they are getting ready to film a episode. They were not allowing people to go in so I thought that I had missed out again. I was getting ready to leave when a girl from the inside came out and told me to come inside out of the heat. So of course I went in. She told us we could watch them film as long as we sat to the side. Before they started filming the old man came up to me and I got my picture with him. After that he went to the back and within a few minutes he sent a giant postcard out to me with the guys on it. He had signed it for me!! Not long after that Chumlee walked up and I got my pic with him and he also signed the postcard for me. Chumlee is just as comical in person as on TV. They then started filming and the item brought in was a civil war chest with many old documents in it. It looked really cool and the episode is suppose to air in three weeks. We then back to the Rio to get ready to go out. We had reservations to eat at the Stratosphere. Carissa and Amanda rode X-Treme. It was really cool being up so high looking out. We went back down to the 107th floor for dinner. The resturant rotates clockwise while you are eating. You get awesome views of the city. When we were done eating Brenda and I back up to the 109th floor to take pics of the view. It is really beautiful up here especially at night. It is such a gift to have eyesight. Then Brenda and I went back down to the Casino so I could get a chip from the casino so I played Three-Card-Poker for a few minutes. I'm so glad I did...I went on another winning streak and in 15 mins I turned $200 into $1200. Cashed out and we went back to the RIO. When we got back I went ahead and purchased my ticket of the PL Omaha 8 or better tournament. I stopped at the full Tilt room and they told me that Phil Ivey and John Juanda were on the final table so I went around and watched for a few minutes then went to the room to go to bed. Tomorrow at 12 noon is the next tournament for me. Wish me luck

The tournament started at noon. There were 3,102 people. I never really got started all day long but I managed to last through 490ish. I went back to the room and planned out what we were going to do for the evening. We decided to go to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, the pawn shop from the TV show "Pawn Stars." None of the stars were there. They work during the week so I'm going to try again later. After that we went to Fremont Street which was just down the road. Really cool to see what "old Vegas" was like. The lights show above your head that I heard so much about.... sucked. We ate dinner in the Golden Nugget at an Asian cuisine restaurant. It was very tasty. After that we walked up and down seeing all the sights on Fremont Street. There were some really interesting people. All the bright lights were pretty cool. Went into Binions. It is where the WSOP first started. They have a wall full of pictures of each former winners of the WSOP and all the hall of fame players. You can have your picture made standing in front of a million dollars. Unfortunately it was closed and I could not take a picture with the money. There is a lot of history in this casino. I am glad I was able to see. Afterwards we headed back to the Rio. I hope to go to the Sphere tomorrow.

I took the Dam tour. It is amazing that they could construct something of that magnitude that long ago. Its really spectacular thing to see. The new bridge that they are building in order to redirect traffic from the Dam, is scheduled to open this November. They started talking about building a bridge like this many, many years ago. After 9/11 happened they put the plan into motion. The functions of the Hoover Dam makes it one of the top listed terrorist targets in the US. So many people depend on its water and electricity to survive. I'm really glad I was able to see a significant piece of American history.

After we returned to the Rio, we had dinner at the buffet again. Delicious, as usual. After that we had tickets to see George Wallace at the Flamingo. Funny. Extremely funny! After the show, I played three card poker and had another great run. I cashed out and we headed back to the Rio. I am playing another WSOP tomorrow.

Went to New York, New York casino to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant, which was very good. I had a great salad and some of the best Minestrone soup I've ever eaten. After that we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity which I've heard so much about. I obviously didn't talk to people who share my views because ten minutes into it I could see this was going to be a long show for me. In my opinion, it sucked. It was so bad that I tried to drive my chair off a cliff. Ok, no really.... I didn't know there was step in front of my seat and I tried to move closer and dropped off the edge. It wasn't too far down, but my poor nurses had to get a passer-by to help pull me up out of the ditch. That was the most exciting thing about the show. Needless to say, see this show at your own risk. I must confess that everyone else I was with liked and was shocked that I did not enjoy it.

Afterwards we went to the Bellagio to see the fountains but it was difficult to watch the show because it was so crowded. I think I'll try to go back during the week when its not so busy. The inside of the Bellagio is very beautiful. They have a lot of glass blown chandeliers and beautiful plants. I wanted to see the Poker Room because I've heard so much about "Bobby's Room" where all the pros play. So I went to check it out. I didn't go inside but through the window I could see that Patrick Antonius was in there eating. I hope sometime while I'm here that my nurses can meet him. While Marie and Amanda walked around the shops, Nicole and I played three card poker. One of the best runs in three card poker I've ever had. In 15 minutes I turned $200 into $1200. I cashed out and we came back to the Rio.

Played some cards today in the poker room. A few table games and then the girls and I met a friend of mine at the MGM Grand for dinner and a show. We ate at Seablue a seafood rest....tasty, especially the salad. You could create your own salad from 50 different choices...you know me, I am all about the salads! After that we went to Cirque du Soleil Ka. INCREDIBLE!!! The best compliment I could give it was that it reminded me of Avitar but live. It was really, really something everyone should see. I wish my Mom had of been here to see it. I think she would have truly enjoyed it. Don't know what is on the plans for tomorrow, yet.

This shot really does not show the massive size of the poker room for the World Series and there is another one just like it. Table as far as your eye can see and there is plenty of room around each table. I am so blessed to be here!!!

A dream come true.

As I was leaving the tournament I couldn't believe my eyes, there was Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth. For those of you who are not familiar with poker pros, this is two of the greats of all time.

Mike Sexton and I, he is the commentator for the World Poker Tour.

Like I wrote in my blog Joe Hachem, the 2005 Main Event Champion, was at my table sitting right across from me. Sorry Misty I know you would have loved to have been there for that.

Me with Erick Lindgren

Me with TJ Cloutier

This is me with Tom Schneider

This is Lady Pink, she sponsored me in the tournament. She is an extremely wonderful lady.

Misty and me sitting at the table during the tournament.

This is me and Misty before the tournament on Saturday the 12th.

June 16th

Today I went down to the Full Tilt room to do an interview. It was with two different people and after that we went outside to my van and trailer and continued the interview. It was really cool. They haven't posted yet but when they do I will post the link on my blog. I started the second day of the PLOmaha. My very first hand, I had Ah, Ad, Qd, 9d...I was very happy to have this hand because I knew I had to make a move early because my chip stack was small. I was in the small blind, one person pot bet it, another person called, and I went all in. First guy folded and the next guy called me. He had 2 queens, an 8, and a 10. The flop came...10,10,3 and it never got any better for me so he took me out of the tournament. But I will try again in a couple of days. After that, Nicole came in and we all went to Excalibur for dinner and a show. The Excalibur is a very old looking casino inside. I'm surprised it is still open, there was hardly anyone in there...we only went because of the show. Dinner was good though. Then we came back to the hotel.

Didn't realize how long it would take to load pictures onto the blog. This is a picture from the first night we were here. I will load more tomorrow when I have time.

Tuesday June 15, 2010

Started the PL Omaha tournament at noon. Things were going really good for me the first part of the tournament. It didn't continue...but I managed to win a pot here and there, and I am still in! We stopped for the night at 12:30 am. There were 596 players and now there are 105. I don't have a lot of chips, so hopefully the cards will come my way tomorrow. We start again @ 2:30 pm. Every 2 hrs you get a 20 minute break and dinner you get a 90 minute break. I played with a lot of pros today. TJ Cloutier sat right next to me, Greg Raymer was at the same table. We moved tables, Joe Hachem sat right across from me. We were in a pot together and I won. There's many more pros in this tournament but these are the ones I actually sat at the same table with. I got several pictures and autographs today, I will try to put up pictures as soon as I can. The best thing happened to me when we stopped for the night on the way back to my room. I got my picture taken sitting between Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth. That was incredible! Going to bed now, supposed to do an interview tomorrow sometime out at the van and trailer.

Today Candy, Marie and I headed out to get the Sprint wireless card fixed for the computer. We get to the Sprint store, and no lie, I was there at least 2 hours. This really backed up the day. But I got it fixed. After that we went to Wal-greens and printed up some pictures and head to the Venetian. What a beautiful casino and hotel! The ceilings are painted in murals, there is marble everywhere! My friend Josh told me about the poker room there and that I should check it out. The lady he wanted me to talk to wasn't there. I played for a little while anyhow. I really wanted Candy to see how to hold the cards for the tournament that I'm going to play in tomorrow so that she would feel comfortable. Marie and Lisa met me at the poker room and we went to dinner at Table 10, Emeril Lagasse's restaurant that is located at the Venetian. Decent. After dinner we wandered around the shopping area of the hotel. There was a store call "Billionaire" with "italian couture." They had a rabbit fur blanket that sells for $25,000! Jeans for $1200. Belts for $1500 made out of hippo. The guy who runs the store showed us all the different types of stuff and showed us why its so expensive. He was really cool. I only bought 4 pairs of pants, 2 shirts and a smoking jacket. He was nice enough to throw in 2 pair of $200 socks. After that, Candy, Lisa and I came back to the Rio. I felt like a big wig at the Venetian because they parked my van right out front in the valet with the Ferraris. Thank goodness I was the new owner of "Billionaire" outfits. Off to bed now. Tournament is tomorrow at noon. Wish me luck! PS- I was just kidding about the Billionaire wardrobe.

Recap of Sunday June 13th

The internet in the Rio is horrible. They charge you $14 a day! Half the time it doesn't work that well. So I promised myself I would go get my Sprint wireless card to work. For some reason it wasn't working. That's why I didn't post anything yesterday. So here's what happened yesterday the best that I can remember. Remember I'm old. Brenda flew home in the morning and Misty flew home in the afternoon. Lisa and Candy were on the same flight and got into the room around 10:30am. Candy, Marie and I went to Wal-Mart to get stuff for the room because everything is a fortune here. So the little odds and ends I try to buy elsewhere. After that I went to Best Buy to see if they could find out what was wrong with my Sprint card. That's where I bought it and had it installed in my computer a year and a half ago. Of course, they don't do that kind of stuff with the wireless cards. So I had to find a Sprint technician store to get it fixed. By this time all of them were closed. Oh, almost forgot, we stopped at In and Out Burger for lunch. I had 3 bites of the famous hamburger. I was still tasting it 5 hours later. The onion was extremely strong. I won't be eating there again. Then we came back to the hotel. Went to the Carnival buffet here at the hotel again. It was awesome, some of the best vegetable soup I've had. After that, I got tickets to Penn and Teller. In case you don't know who they are, they are a comedy/ magician team. They have been preforming at the Rio for 10 years. They had some funny things, but I was definitely glad when their routine was over. Two hours was way too long. Candy went to bed and Lisa and I went to the poker room. I was going to play in a satellite. For those that don't know, its a one table tournament. Winner take all. As I'm waiting for my table to be called, I look over and can't believe my eyes. A good friend of mine who used to deal at the Poker Room in Jax until she moved away four years ago, was dealing at a table right in front of me. I pulled over and stopped and just watched her. When she finally looked up and saw me, she screamed, "Oh my God! Its Donnie!" She startled all the players at the table, including a cross-dresser. He/she was wearing a white tube top, long blonde hair and make-up to the max. It was a very odd sight. My old friend gave me her number and we're going to meet up on her next day off. It was great seeing it. I got heads up with a guy in the satellite. He had me out chipped 8 to 1. We made a deal, I would take $500 and he would take $1100. The buy-in was $175. It was either come out with $325 guaranteed or a chance at getting nothing at all, so I took it. Afterwards, I went to bed.

Quick update. Here's the link to the interview I did with Bluff Magazine today.

http://www.bluffmagazine.com/videos/video.asp?vid=135

Played my first tournament today. Started at noon. I'll have pictures of the hoodie I was wearing. Pink with a big patch that says "Lady Pink and her Pink Posse" and a Full Tilt patch. Misty had the same hoodie and we really looked cool. They start you with 3000 chips. I got it up to almost 6000 at one point but then I went card dead. I went all in and was beat by quads. If you're going to go out, I guess quads is the way to go. There was almost 2500 people in the tournament and I finished in the 1400's. It was good to get my feet wet. I can't say enough about Lady Pink. She is truly a wonderful lady. I'm so appreciative for what she's done for me, for her sponsoring me. During the second break of the tournament I went to the Full Tilt VIP room to do my first interview with Bluff Magazine. Surprisingly I wasn't nervous at all. The interviewer made me very comfortable. Rich Bitar, the guy who has been behind the sponsorship for me, was there. He made me feel very welcomed and reassured me that he is here for me. There were a few pros in the lounge and I was able to meet Phil Gordon, Annie Duke and Andy Bloch. Mike Matusow signed a copy of his book for me. I hope I am able to meet many more pros. Its so cool to see in person all the players I've watched on tv. So far, everyone is really nice. Afterwards we came up to the room and everyone got ready for dinner. We decided on the buffet again. Can't beat it. I feel like a big wig. There is a long line to get into the buffet and I get to go into the VIP entrance and never have to wait. While at the buffet tonight, I was able to meet the 2007 WSOP main event champion, Jerry Yang. I can't begin to tell you how nice he was to me. He told me to Facebook him to give him my table number for the main event so that he could come over and wish me luck beforehand. It has been a full day. I can't believe I'm really here. I am so blessed. I have my first nurse change tomorrow. Brenda and Misty go home and Candy and Lisa fly in.

This morning I got ready and went downstairs to wash my hair at 11:30am. Marble bowls, ice cold. Lady did a decent job but she's no May. I'm just thankful that I don't have to leave the hotel to find a place to wash my hair. I went to find Susie because the ladies' tournament started today at noon. I was hoping to see her before it started. Fortunately it worked out and I was able to see her and wish her luck. I hope she did well. After that I met Lady Pink at the poker room. She is a beautiful lady and there is no doubt she loves the color pink. She was extremely nice in helping me out by taking my pink hoodies and ironing her patches on them for me. They turned out awesome. One for me and one for my nurse that match. She went with me to pay for the entry fee for the tournament which was my first time registering for the WSOP. I'm glad she was there with me so now I know how to do it myself. The tournament starts at noon tomorrow. Hope the cards fall my way and I'll try to make the right decisions and bring home the win! Full Tilt has a VIP room for people who affiliated or sponsored by them. Fortunately they put my name on the list. You can come and go in this room when ever you like. Food, drinks, relax, watch t.v. Hopefully I will get to meet some of the pros when they come in. After that I went to another room in the hotel called the "gear room" to get stuff for me and my nurses to wear during the tournaments. They have anything that you could possible need. Full Tilt really takes care of their sponsors. I'm very fortunate to be one of them, even if I'm just a small one. Then we went to eat at the world famous Carnival Buffet in the Rio. It definitely lived up to its name. Gonna rest and get ready for tomorrow.

I know this is a day late but we got into Vegas and so much was happening that I didn't get a chance to update the blog. So here's what happened the day of me arriving to Vegas. We left Flagstaff at about 10:30 am. It was 42 degrees outside! But it didn't feel that cold because it was a dry cold. I know the difference now between dry cold and wet cold. There's a major difference. Lots of pretty scenery as for most of the trip. Then we got to the Hoover dam. So massive and impressive! Amazing that humans can build something like this. I'm going to take the Dam tour before I leave here. Then we started heading toward Vegas. It was neat to catch a glimpse of the city from far away. We caught another glimpse when we got closer and then finally pulled into Vegas. A long journey in my life has been completed. Its as beautiful as I ever imagined! So we made it to the Rio. They were so accommodating for me. They had my room all ready for me. My bed up on the blocks. I didn't need to do anything. The room is extremely spacious. Wall to wall windows across one side with incredible views. We got all unpacked and I got a call from Susie, the lady that has been helping me so much out here. We made plans to meet downstairs because she wanted to be the first to show me where all the WSOP events will be taking place. I can't believe how huge the two poker rooms are! One has 275 tables, approximately and the other one 175, approximately. I never could get anybody to tell me exactly how many. It was so incredible! I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am for Susie Isaacs. She has helped me so much throughout this whole process of getting my trip together and showing me around here at the WSOP. She has a book that you should get called "Bette: I Have a Tail to Tell." You can find it at www.BetteBooks.com. She is really a wonderful lady. I'm very lucky to have her as my friend. After that, we all went to the VooDoo Lounge for dinner. They have an outdoor panoramic view on the 50th floor. What an incredible view! Its a sight that I've always wanted to see. Incredible! I'm having a hard time getting online. So I will write blogs as often as I can. You would think that would have free wifi in this hotel but they don't. My phone won't let me write blogs on it for some reason. Tomorrow, which will be the 12th, I will play in my first tournament and I will be wearing a pink shirt with "Lady Pink and her pink posse" on it. Lady Pink's name is Dora Lee and I was lucky enough to be sponsored by her. I'm so thankful for her doing that for me. I hope I can win the tournament! Oh, I almost forget... my best friend, Marie Allison Schuster, got here from France yesterday. Its the first time I've seen her in person since January 11th. She's as beautiful as she ever was! I've missed her so much!

Got ready to start out today in Amarillo. Asa gassed the van up, while he did he noticed one of the tires has a nail in it. We went around to Firestone Tires to let them take a look at it. When the guy pulled the nail out he rubbed soapy water on it to see if it was leaking. Unfortunately it was, so they took it off and patched it. We were back in business. Fortunately, all the other tires were in good shape. That delayed us about an hour. We got back on the road and a lot of the same scenery for hours. Flat treeless land. That all changed when we got into New Mexico. Beautiful rock mountains, that was really cool. Stopped in Albuquerque for gas and snacks, then we headed out to Flagstaff. As we got closer to Flagstaff The altitude changed.Over 5000 ft above sea level, boy you could really tell it.Pressure in the head and in the ears. I'll be glad when I get adjusted to it. Made it to the hotel, slowly getting used to the high altitude. My room is pretty good and yes we have hot water. Get up tomorrow and head to Vegas.

Started out this morning heading to Amarillo.I'm very happy to be leaving this hotel.I'm so thankful I have Phyllis in my corner. She switched to a nicer hotel in Amarillo. We went through Dallas around one o'clock. It was the perfect time, no traffic. A lot of tall buildings. Looked like a nice city. After several miles from Dallas, everything turned flat, dead looking and looked the same for hundreds of miles. Seen some oil wells that were working. I've been through many small towns and now we made it to Amarillo. On our way to the hotel, we passed the famous Big Texan Steakhouse. They are famous for their 72oz. steak. If you eat it in under an hour, along with a salad, baked potato, a roll and 3 fried shrimp, you get it free. If you don't it costs you $72.And yes they want their money upfront. Over 52,000 have tried it in the past 50 years and a little over 8,400 people have done it.No, i did not try that. You know me... I had grilled Salmon. It was good. Our hotel is Ambassador Hotel. Had a little problem with the beds but we got it worked out. they are very nice an helpful. I recommend it highly if you are in Amarillo. I am very happy they have hot hot water.Tomorrow, Flagstaff. Looking forward to that. Heard a lot of nice things about it.

I am in Shreveport, Louisiana. Today felt like a long drive. The roads were very bumpy and we sat in traffic for almost an hour and a half due to road construction. I have travelled back in time and I think I'm in the 1970's. The hotel we are at was probably built then. It's very dark and musty. No hot water,31 stations on the TV. I am so spoiled!The room does have a dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator. I don't know if they work...I will be glad to get in the van in the morning and leave for Amarillo.

Left my house today @ 12 noon. Headed for Biloxi, MS. It rained pretty much off and on the whole trip. Got to the Beau Rivage @ 8 pm.Set the room up. The maintenance guys here are really great. They made extra blocks for me to help support the middle of the bed. Went down and played some three card poker, black jack and paigow and slots. Had no luck with any of them, so I came back up to the room to watch Annabelle eat. She's a bottomless pit.Planned to get up in the morning, wash hair @ 930 am then head off to Sherveport, LA 6 hours away.

Saturday the 5th of June, I went to a high school graduation. It was awesome. Why? Cause it was my Dad graduating. He got to walk with the Senior class which he missed out on doing in 1952 because he joined the Air Force. Fortunately a law was passed making it possible to get your high school diploma and walk with the Senior class if you served in the armed forces during the Korean war and you had DD214. They gave him two standing ovations. It was wonderful and I am very proud of him! It was very hot, hot, hot!! I have a wonderful father and I love him! Tomorrow, the 6th of June, I will be leaving for Vegas. It is a trip that has been planned for a couple of years and now it is here. It is exciting and scary all at the same time. I am going to play in the World Series of Poker, which has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I will be making other stops while I am out there, Grand Canyon, Dodger stadium, San Francisco, Yosimite and my trip ends up in San Diego. I will be blogging along the way and welcome your comments. My first stop is Bilouxi, MS. Pray for me to have a safe trip.