Highlights from Barcelona: I am going to become a taxi driver

Barcelona needs more taxis. End of story. I cannot tell you the number of times I sat in the lobby of The Prestige waiting for a taxi nor can I tell you the number of times I stood outside in the pouring rain with 100+ intoxicated people at 5am waiting for a taxi. This situation is ridiculous! Charge 20 Euros a ride and get rich quick, I don't care, but GET MORE TAXIS! Aside from the taxi problem, the unnecessary abundance of jamon, the pick pockets, evil taxi drivers (if you were lucky enough to get a taxi), meat on a plate without side dishes, and far too much cheese at every meal, Barcelona is one heck of a city. I have been to quite a few online gaming conferences in my career, and without a question, EIG/CAP Euro Barcelona was the best online gaming conference I have ever attended. Professionally, socially and personally, I am more pleased than ever. Please feel free to join me in the good memories by reading my highlights and stories below.

Eric, my new Swedish love
I love Eric. I really do. Not to take full credit here, but I insisted that we hire Eric to join the Online Casino City and GPWA team and I was right...he is my new male partner in crime and he is perfect for the job. For those of you who met Eric in Barcelona, you already know that he passed the "conference test" and I am sure you agree that we make a killer team. In fact, Eric told me just last week that I am his friend, his boss, and his mom, all in one. Not sure about the mom part, but the rest I can handle. Oh and one more thing...ladies, look out for this young man- he is a charmer, but unfortunately he only dates models and celebrities. You can still look though.

Bodoglife.com has taken over the world
The online gaming conference world, that is. Throughout my entire week in Barcelona, I spent an extraordinary amount of quality time with all sorts of Bodog people. At the conferences I had some nice chats with Aaron, Jim, Rob and Justin, and during the week, often more than once, I had dinner with Richard, Midds, Amber, Luca, Pete, Fawn and of course, Calvin. Even though Calvin chose to keep his public appearances to a minimum, I did manage to see him quite a bit, including several late nights of drinking on his balcony. Throughout our discussions, I did have a chance to hear all about the patent case, his plans for Bodoglife.com, and his personal adventures and interests, all of which you can read about on Calvin's blog. Best of all, I left Barcelona with a nice little present- a stuffed bear from Calvin to accompany me on all my travels. I don't know about you, but I think this might be love.

Michael Corfman is a secret party animal and I do not smoke!
I need to set a few things straight here. First, Michael Corfman, CEO of Casino City and Executive Director of the GPWA, can party harder than I can. This is not a lie! I was ready to call it a night at 4am and there he was...glass of red wine in hand, wowing the crowd with tales of the GPWA. Unbelievable. Second, I do not smoke! I don't! Why won't you people believe me? I am fairly certain that I was asked for a light or a cigarette during each and every one of my meetings in Barcelona. After responding with, "Sorry, I don't smoke", the reply was, "You are lying. I have seen you smoke at all the parties". Um, no you haven't. Weird.

Gambling 911 will haunt you forever
So here we go again. Gambling 911 was not at CAP Euro and guess what? They still somehow managed to nail me. Thanks Chris. I appreciate it. I am not even remotely Asian, yet I get brought into the Jenny/Tila Tequila rivalry...so typical. Here I am, promising industry friends that they will be "safe" at CAP Euro and that they can "misbehave" without the fear of a Gambling 911 camera, and look what happens! To be honest, I really do not mind, especially considering I owe Gambling 911 for their industry top 10 list idea. Besides, everyone in the industry knows that in reality, I am a pure, innocent and wholesome Catholic girl.

Affiliate Club rocks the boat (chief)
Affiliate Club, one of the newest affiliate programs out there, is certainly made up of one of the best teams in existence. Lets begin with their fearless leader, John Ryott, who has one of the most interesting backgrounds in the business. In his life before online gaming, John was a Boat Chief, he worked for the circus (you can use your imagination here), he is an Asteroids God, he happily runs marathons, and he is easily the best dressed in the industry. Impressive, yes? Also, I must compliment John on his ability to hire the very best under him, namely Chris, my number seven, and Claire, who is up for "Best Affiliate Manager" in the CAP Awards. See? The Boat Chief knows how to pick them!

Gabriel can kick some Nazi butt
For those of you who haven't heard, Gabriel from Rushmore Casino is not only devastatingly handsome and Jewish, but he can kick some serious butt. This young man was attacked outside the CanAffco/Blackjack.com party by an evil German who has something against the Jews. Is this guy serious? I love the Jews and kind of want to marry one. Sicko. Anyway, this German pulled out a knife and actually cut Gabriel's neck a bit, but Gabriel fought him off with his bare hands, and the police took it from there. See what happens when you try to recruit hot German girls for an industry party the next night? The German boyfriends get jealous. Hey, at least Gabriel's intentions were in the industry's best interest.

Cards tricks and life lessons
My last night in Barcelona I pretty much stumbled across a crowd I should have spent more time with. The boys from Poker Heaven and BlackJack Heaven, along with several of their affiliates, invited me for some sushi while sharing tales of Spanish brothels (not that they have been to any) and some general advice for industry women. According to Sven from www.nkpoker.nl, industry women need to act and appear more "getable"- not more "doable", but getable. Thanks Sven, I'll keep that in mind. Also according to Sven, Neil from Blackjack Heaven is an absolute chick magnet and there are several reasons why. First of all, he is Scottish. What woman does not love a Scotsman? Secondly he can perform card tricks that will blow your mind- this man has super magical powers that are not normal.

Catching up with old favorites
Throughout my online gaming industry experience, I have developed some pretty amazing friendships that will last forever. There are so many people that I would like to mention at this time, but I will try to control myself here. During my week in Barcelona I was reunited with my number one, Lyceum Media's Michael Caselli, my good friend and future husband. We already took the wedding pics in Barcelona- roses and all. I would also like to mention how much I enjoyed spending time (and closing deals) with one of my very best girl friends, Shenaz from Cake Poker, also known as "The Industry Princess". I mean this in the best way possible of course. Also, in between my crazy schedule of meetings and industry parties, I was able to squeeze in some quality time with Daniel from Euro Partners, my favorite Swede by far. Even though he dragged me to the train station in my heels and laughed at/with me while I was on the elliptical machine, this is one person that I will keep in my life no matter where I end up. Lastly, my highlights would not be complete without mentioning the fabulous BetUS crew, an amazing group that I did not spend enough time with in Barcelona. Erin, Laura and Mike, I love you!