Poker News

Jan Fisher

Now that I’ve returned to Las Vegas from Card Player Cruises’ annual Alaska poker trip, I will have two weeks in which to compete in some World Series of Poker events, as well as tournaments at the Venetian and Bellagio, before hitting the road again.

My dad is coming for a visit and we will both enter the senior’s event at the Rio. I had always thought that if Dad and I entered a “senior” division competitive event together, it would be tennis-how wrong could I be?

The poker cruise was wonderful, as usual. About 275 poker players joined Linda Johnson, Rita Axel, our great staff, and me for the trip. Our partner Mark Tenner was unable to attend, something about the WSOP!

Our day in Glacier Bay was terrific with mild temperatures and beautiful sun. Having been on this cruise more than ten times, it is sad to note how much smaller the snow fields have gotten year after year. Global warming is for real and up north it truly shows.

When not docked in the lovely ports of Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, B.C., the poker games were as active as the calving glaciers. In port, I was fortunate to go on a sea otter experience in Sitka. We saw an abundance of otters, as well as whales, brown bears, seals, and a mass of jelly fish that had you wondering just how they exist in such harsh conditions.

Our cruisers enjoyed a variety of excursions including deep sea fishing, helicopter trips, sea plane adventures, salmon bakes, dog sledding, Red Dog Saloon sing-a-longs, rafting, kayaking, and hiking in port. At sea it was poker, food, poker, food, and entertainment. Congratulations to the winners of our tournaments: Dick Kanke and London Gallagher in the no-limit events, Harry Holland in limit hold’em, and Ed Galvin in Omaha/8.

We have much more poker cruise action coming up: a list of ports, prices, and itineraries can be found at www.cardplayercruises. com, but please note that space is limited. We nearly are sold out for the Australia/New Zealand cruise in November (where we visit 11 ports in 14 days), and the Mexico trip in December is also booking up quickly. This will be the largest cruise of the year due to such low prices! In 2008 we have eight cruises scheduled, including the much anticipated Hawaii adventure of 15 days! Our office is eager to field your calls and questions at 888-999- 4880.

On another note, on the flight yesterday, Randi Calabro introduced herself (she recognized me from my Card Player Cruises sweatshirt!). She was still beaming from her third place the night before in the Ladies WSOP event, which netted her more than $100,000. Despite only playing since 2005, she has amassed some impressive finishes including wins at a WSOP circuit event in Lake Tahoe, a pre-event at the Ladies California State Championships, and an event at the FallClassic at the Peppermill in Reno. She talked about the “sequester” procedure in effect for the final table since it was broadcast live (tape delay) to a paying audience. It was odd having her phone taken away and being escorted to the ladies room and having to eat dinner with her rivals. When I asked her the difference between playing in open events versus ladies-only events, she said that ladies tend to play tighter and bluff less. It was a pleasure meeting this up and coming new poker star.

Moving right along….

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