A couple of years ago I spent a quiet night in my den playing some poker and following the rapidly-updated posting on a certain blog. The blog in question was John Vorhaus’s coverage of the 2004 Ultimatebet Aruba Classic. For you WPT fans this was the tournament where Eric Brenes beat Layne Flack for the title, and Mike Matusow gave us his “Vindication baby!” shout-out. For a poker junkie like me it was a delight following along with the see-sawing chip counts and heartbreaking bustouts.

I also couldn’t help but be a little envious of John’s gig. Well, a lot envious. After all, the Aruba Classic is held in, well, Aruba, which is a nice place if you enjoy Caribbean paradises. So you follow the tournament, write till your fingers are worn to the nubs, while surrounded by some of Mother Nature’s best work. As close to Heaven on Earth as one’s likely to get. John’s blog both seemed a justification for my own endless scribblings and as a goal to aspire to. Hey, maybe I could do that someday.

And of course quite a few other bloggers have given we poker fans fantastic coverage of events all over the globe. Pauly and Otis got the ball rolling and now, whenever poker players gather for a big game, there are sure to be a handful of astute bloggers ready to provide the best coverage you’ll find anywhere.

And now, boys and girls, it’s my turn to take up the keyboard.

Yes, come September 23rd I shall be providing coverage of the Ultimatebet Aruba Poker Classic. And yes, it’s in ARUBA. I’ve pinched myself so many times I’m about to draw blood.

So, yes, I’m excited. And if you’re reading this, and you’re gonna be there for the tournament and you’d like to be famous, drop me a line. Or stop by when you see a dashing gentleman hunched over a laptop typing like mad. That’ll be me.

Sadly, this means that I won’t be able to attend the Bash at the Boathouse. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone and drinking a few thousand beers in that legendary Mecca of Booze. For me to miss it would take a seismic event, and, alas, working in Aruba qualifies. I think there’ll be a few Dial-A-Shots on my agenda that day.

Is Aruba nice this time of year? Do I need to bring a jacket? Better go do some research.

UPDATE: Watching the WSOP coverage tonight. I’m quite reassured to see that security in casinos is so good. Because that’s the only explanation for why Eric Molina still has all his teeth. Appalling behavior, especially from a guy who weighs a buck-twenty. Telling Ken Jacobs what a terrible call he made, what a terrible play, and then he sticks his hand out to be shook. Jacobs would’ve been well within his rights to tell Molina to get stuffed. Or just crush him like a beer can. The hissy fit between Molina and Jamie Gold was pretty icky as well. I guess there’s no such thing as bad press, maybe that explains the behavior.

And then the Friedman-Lisandro contretemps was even better. Why was Lisandro out of line for threatening to remove Friedman’s head and/or teeth? Someone accuses you of stealing at a poker table, that’s a pretty serious charge. And if they guy keeps repeating it over and over and over again, eventually the accusee is going to take some form of action against the accuser. Like removing teeth.

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