One week in London for ICEi and CAP Euro and...YOU'RE NO LONGER BANNED!

I am sure you are wondering...what on earth did it take to get my CAP Euro ban lifted? Seducing Caselli. Easy! Just kidding. It was largely due to Alex Pratt, one of my very good friends who helped smooth out some of the tension between CAP and GPWA during this London event. Thanks to Alex, some of the love is back, and now I can freely write about my positive experiences in London, including ICEi, CAP Awards and CAP Euro London. Enjoy!

Post ICEi cocktails, dinner, and Fire and ICE with Pentasia
Have you ever spent seven hours straight with the Pentasia crew in its entirety? I doubt it because no one has ever lived to tell the tale...except for me. We planned this night out about three weeks in advance, and even though Bruce and Rob failed to pick a location until thirty minutes before meeting time (Ian, thank you for sorting), I still had the time of my life. The quote of the evening goes something like this: "Whoops, I think I just ordered another pitcher of margaritas by accident. I guess we'll just have to drink it". – Bruce Gamble.

Lunch with Rome Partners, always a pleasure...and an educational experience
It is a well known fact that I have difficulty making time for the people I love at the online gambling conferences, hence my frequent (and expensive) personal travel around the world. Rather than booking a flight to Tel Aviv, I arranged a lunch date with one of my greatest friends, Josh from Rome Partners, a very special GPWA affiliate program sponsor and Casino City supporter. Over sushi, I learned new ways to make money on Casino City, I learned all about designer suits- Alfani? Dolce Gabbana? Prada? Versacci?- I cannot remember, and I learned the best way to break things off with a boyfriend (so I end up walking out on top, of course).

Second annual CAP Awards starring Michael Caselli and the Pokerisivut.com tables
I must admit, I'm a little disappointed that the half naked Golden Girls failed to make an appearance, but this void was more than filled by Caselli's brilliant performance on stage and the fact that I was not ejected from the premises. I must have been protected by my dear Finnish friends, the infamous Pokerisivut.com crew, who invited me to join them at their CAP Awards tables. How in the world these guys did not win "Best Overall Affiliate" is beyond me, they are clearly the best. I demand a recount! Or maybe a tie with Betbrain. That works too.

Steven Corfman gets ejected from the Novotel...and initiated into Gambling 911
Welcome to our little family, Steven! All it takes is a drunken night out with Jenny Woo, an encounter with Calvin Ayre, a striking resemblance to Brad Pitt, ownership of a potentially rogue online gambling related operation, or, ejection from a CAP Euro conference hotel . Who cares if you did nothing to deserve the ejection- it's juicy, it's drama, you're unharmed, it's a bit exaggerated in the forums, and everyone loves your official statement. Congratulations Steven and job well done!

Dinner with Affiliate Lounge and love lessons from Franco
No, no, no, not love lessons in the physical sense. You see, there is nothing like an affiliate manager who takes care of your business related queries and also teaches you some of the most important lessons in life. First it's Henrik H. bringing me authentic Swedish coffee, next it's Franco giving me advice on men and true love. See why I adore the Affiliate Lounge team? All of these nice personal touches, talented affiliate managers, a nice new affiliate site, and I swear this love has nothing to do with the posh dinners they continually invite me to- that's just a coincidence.

Jalouse Night Club with the Fins, Norwegians, and Paris Hilton
Yes, I know I am spoiled, yes, I know I have been exposed to a distorted reality, and no, my life is not even remotely like this in Boston. Let me put it to you this way- thanks to Pokerisivut and Smart Gambler, I entered the very exclusive and "members only" Jalouse at 1am with no problem, I passed around one of our many Dom Perignon bottles with Aleksi and Arli while tearing up the dance floor, and I watched Paris Hilton dance on her table while I sipped vodka from one of our Grey Goose Magnums. You know, the usual.

Two hour Saturday night meeting and semi-truce with CAP
I'm sure many of you are curious to know what happened during the two hour CAP/GPWA meeting on Saturday night. Well, that is for Michael Corfman and the CAP management to reveal in its entirety, but I can tell you that no one raised their voice (ok, maybe just a little), nothing was thrown across the table, no one was ejected, and no one was brought out in a stretcher. A step in the right direction if you ask me, right? If all else fails, Alex and I agreed to get married, just so we can show the love between the two companies. Oh wait, he's engaged. In our next life then.

CWC dinner and a picture with Jonathan...FINALLY!
I love when I travel to foreign lands and end up dining at "American themed" restaurants. This time around CWC Affiliates treated a group of affiliates, including Eric and I, to a Chicago BBQ restaurant which thoroughly confused all the foreigners at the table. Portions are so big! What is coleslaw? Pulled pork? Nice music, I love Michael Jackson. Def Leopard? Great song! Chicago Bears? Who are they? It's confusing, I know. Best of all, after "translating" the menu for our helpless non-American friends, I took my very first picture with Jonathan from CWC- the definite highlight of my trip.

10 hours in the Novotel lobby and Superbowl Sunday with Bodog
How disgusting is that? I spent the hours of 1pm through 11pm in the Novotel lobby bar with Margaret and Neda, the lovely ladies from PKR Affiliates and Smart Gambler. We had lunch, drinks, dinner, and best of all, Norwegian, Australian, Swedish, American, Israeli, Canadian, and English visitors throughout the day. To finish off this incredibly productive experience, we walked across the lobby to watch the Superbowl in private room with our good friends from Bodog. So what if 95% of the people in the room did not understand or care about American football? We passed the time by watching cars spin out of control in the snow and by learning authentic Australian slang straight from the bush.

Snow in London equals you are not flying out of Heathrow
Unless you are flying to Boston, that is. What a Monday! Ten centimeters of snow fell in London over twenty four hours and the entire city shut down. Tube lines delayed and closed, above ground transport halted, three hour wait for taxis, snowmen and flying snow balls all over the city, people and cars sliding on the streets because nothing has been salted or plowed...I mean, it was mayhem! Eric and I made it to Heathrow only to hear tales of cancelled and delayed flights from our friends, so we took a seat in terminal three and braced ourselves for the worst. However, by some act of god, our flight to Boston was completely on time and most seats were empty on our flight! Must be that good GPWA karma...