Back in the USSA

OK, it's back in the USSR, not USSA, but I'm back in the U.S., not the USSR, so what do you want from me? It's not that I didn't have a great time in Europe, but as Dorothy said, "There's no place like home." I'm ecstatic to be home. I've missed my dogs, American food, and my wife terribly; not necessarily in that order, but not not necessarily in that order, either.

I had plenty on my plate before the World Series of Poker started. Since I knew I wouldn't have time to do things like pay bills or take care of small things, I tried to get as much of it as possible out of the way before the first tournament began. After all, I could be away from home for weeks at a time. I live in Vegas, but I get a room at the Rio during the WSOP. If I get knocked out early, I go home. If I play until 3 a.m., I stay in my room.

My agent, Lara Miller, also had about a dozen interviews lined up with potential sponsors. Some of them work out OK, but most of them are like, "OK, Todd, be our spokesman and we're gonna give you 20 percent of the profits of the company!"

And I say, "OK, that sounds great! Twenty percent of the total profits?"

There's usually a slight pause at this point, followed by a complicated explanation that breaks down to something like this: "Umm, er ... well, no. You see, you'll get 20 percent of all profits that exceed the $20 million mark for the year."

By this point in my career, I know what that means as well as what to ask next. "What were your average profits for the past five years?" The pause is a lot longer and includes some fidgeting and nervous stares. "Just ballpark it," I encourage them.

"Well, probably somewhere in the $500,000 range. But with you on board, we expect a significant increase in overall business." Now, depending on my mood, I either get up and leave or make polite conversation for about 30 seconds before making my exit and threatening to fire my agent if she wastes my time like that again.

My last three interviews were my biggest. The first was with a company that leases boats and exotic cars. They wanted to do some kind of a trade instead of paying me money. It's not that I wouldn't mind driving a Bentley or a Jaguar a few times a month, but that's not gonna pay my mortgage.

The last two were both watch companies. The first company is a fairly big one you've probably heard of. It's well-established and, not surprisingly, offered me more money than the smaller company. Both meetings went well, but when I went to the websites to check out the products, everything changed for me.

The smaller company had watches like I've never seen. I quickly told my agent that if she could get them to up their offer to even close to the first company's, I'd sign with them. They couldn't quite match it, but if I'm putting my name behind something, I want it to be something I like and believe in, so I accepted less money and am now the newest spokesman for Hard Core Watches.

You can check out their products at HardCoreWatches.com, or if you see me, just look at my wrist. They just won the 2008 Jewelers Choice Award for the best timepiece priced less than $1,000; I believe that was the category. Their newest store just opened in the Rio. Steve Soffa, the owner and head artist, has even talked to me about doing a Todd Brunson line -- possibly of shirts, but maybe of some type of jewelry, including watches, rings, or necklaces. We haven't had too much time to get into details, with me in the World Series and him opening a new store, but I'm very excited to see what the future holds for our new business relationship!

With all of this business out of the way, I really wanted to have a night out before the WSOP began, so I called my friend Mike Bertolini. Along with my cousin Ken Hale, I headed to our favorite restaurant, Nine Steakhouse in the Palms. They have the best head chef in Vegas by the name of Barry Dekeke, and I'm actively attempting to headhunt him over to Todd's Tavern, if and when I ever get it open (damn banking scandal!).

Another friend of ours named Pete decided to join us for dinner, which was great, as Pete is a hilarious, fun-loving guy with a million great stories about baseball. You see, Pete is a retired baseball player; you may have heard of him. His last name is Rose! That's right, the all-time great and soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer Pete Rose was dining with us.

Barry the head chef came out and joined us, so now the pressure was really on the wait staff to do their best. Barry then explained to me that they all are poker enthusiasts and play a $500 freezeout once a week, and this was the night and they would be honored if I'd sit in. At first I protested, as I didn't want any hard feelings if I won, but they came one by one and begged me to play, so I obliged them. I didn't want to be rude, as they're all so nice, so I played and won the $5,000. Still, they insisted it was an honor to get to play with me, so I didn't feel too bad about it.

On the way home, I reflected. I'd just gotten home from a successful trip to Europe. I'd just gotten a new endorsement deal. And, I was about to embark on a great adventure, the biggest poker tournament in the world. But first, I had dinner and drinks with a few of my best friends in the nicest restaurant in Las Vegas with my childhood idol. And, to top it off, I was going home after making several new friends with $5,000 in extra cash.

I wonder, does anyone on Earth have a better life than I do?