Happy Holidays!

It's time to say happy holidays to all of my friends, and you. Is it that easy to do? Well, sure it is. I mean, I guess it is. After all, I try to beat my friends out of money every day. But, everyone has been very friendly - well, everyone except the guy who slow-rolled me! I have such a list of great memories for the year gone by that this is going to be a piece of cake!

Let's start in January, when I went to beautiful Reno, Nevada, the Reno Hilton, and the World Poker Challenge. Happy holidays to Mike Gainey and the great staff there, and, of course, to hometown host Jack Fox.

My next stop was Tunica, Mississippi, for the Jack Binion World Poker Open. Jimmy Sommerfield, Jack McClelland, and, of course, my old working buddy from the Mirage, Kenny Lambert, made me feel warm, comfy, and welcome. I made great friends in Tunica, and there was great action and some very interesting nightlife. Happy holidays to all of you grease-eating folks who took me to Beale Street every night.

Then, it was back to sunny California and the L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce Casino, where there were unbelievable player counts and prize pools. There were million dollar events and a beautiful new tournament venue in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Happy holidays to Cheri Dokken and her great staff. I got to play in my first championship event in the L.A. Poker Classic after winning a single-table satellite only moments before it started, but got knocked out on the last hand of the first day.

I spent March at the Winnin' o' the Green at the Bicycle Casino, an event that always draws great crowds and awards great final-table shirts. I swear that if it wasn't for the Bike, I'd have no wardrobe at all. Hey, Denny (Williams), how about awarding final-table pants this year? Happy holidays to all the leprechauns I met there.

In April, I was off to the World Series of Poker, where I'd have a chance to see and meet players from all around the world of poker. Matt Savage and Steve Morrow were our new hosts of record at Binion's Horseshoe, and what a job they did. Happy holidays to you guys, you added class and stature to an already heralded event. Happy holidays to Benny Behnen, who greeted us at the door - or was he playing $100-$200 heads up? Either way, it was a great time until the end of May, as I made my first WSOP final table. Happy holidays to Paul Phillips, Brian Nadell, and John Juanda, who helped me ease into fourth place in the ace-to-five triple-draw event.

At the conclusion of the WSOP, we went down the Strip to Bellagio and the first-ever World Poker Tour event. Happy holidays to Doug Dalton, a consummate professional in the poker world, and to Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman of the WPT. I wish you guys all the luck in the world.

June brought me back to Commerce Casino. Cheri Dokken and her staff of wonderful girls at the desk handling registration made the California State Poker Championship go off without a hitch. By this time, the top section at Commerce Casino had become a mecca for poker players, and a class operation. Happy holidays to all the top section players.

July, hot July, what better place to go than to the desert. That's right, the month was reserved for the Orleans Open in Vegas. The air conditioning was humming as the first event attracted 940 players. Happy holidays to winner Van Pham, who prevailed after 15 grueling hours of play. Happy holidays to Mike Vento and his truly professional staff.

What else did I do in July? Oh, yes, I helped run the inaugural Grand Slam of Poker at Hustler Casino with my partner Jim Miller, and it was a great success. What a great guy Jimmy is. He is knowledgeable, won't stop until the job is done, and - oh, yeah - he can play pretty well. Happy holidays to you, my friend, and to Larry and Liz Flynt, and the entire Hustler crew.

In August I was back at the Bike for its premier event, the Legends of Poker, and a chance not only to get more clothing, but to win a car and a WPT event. Denny Williams and Rick Cloward added money to the supersatellites, which was a first in the industry and probably the wave of the future. I am very mild-mannered when I play at the Bike, because it has the largest penalty box. Happy holidays to David Plastik, Phil Hellmuth, and Layne Flack, who all had a brief stay there. And happy holidays to David Pham, Men Nguyen, and Daniel Negreanu, who practically own this event.

September was a fun time for me because I got to work as a shift manager at the Four Queens Classic in Vegas. I was there every evening giving my money to Jacob and Tobi from Australia. In fact, they were asking me to play instead of the other way around; what does that mean? Well, happy holidays to you guys, sitting in the summer sun down under, and happy holidays to everyone I worked with at the Four Queens, especially Bonnie Damiano and David Lamb.

I then made my way down to Costa Rica for the third time this year in October. Casinos Europa was hosting a WPT event, so the crowd was huge. Happy holidays to a great coordinator, Janine Gullo, and her husband, Nick, and to Luis and the great staff there.

I had my greatest dinner of the year in Costa Rica. What an opportunity it presented to talk poker. I sat with Linda Johnson, Mike Sexton, Matt Savage, Chris Ferguson, Andy Glazer, and a wonderful, mild-mannered true gentleman, Lawrence Goldsmith, from a small town in Virginia. There we were, three world champions, the WSOP tournament director, "The Poker Pundit," a true gentleman, and me. Happy holidays to that entire table. We talked only of things that could better the game and bring more people into the game, and what an opportunity something like the WPT presents. If there was ever a round table of people who care about our great game, this was it.

November and December are my months to spend with my family. After traveling about 10 months out of the year, this is my happiest of times. Happy holidays to my wife of 12 years, Lori, and our beautiful 9-year-old daughter, Reanna. Lori, for you to put up with this lifestyle and me, you are truly the saint of this holiday season. My father's 82nd birthday is in December, and I am blessed to have the man who taught me the great game of poker still with me.

Happy holidays to the staff at Card Player, who gave me the opportunity to write this column, and happy holidays to the people I've written about this past year.

Lastly, happy holidays to you. I wish you nothing but good fortune as this year concludes and a new year arrives. I appreciate every one of you who takes the time to say hi whenever you see me.

Until next time, happy holidays.