Dear Casino City Readers,
It is amazing what can happen in two years. I attended my first GIGSE in May, 2005 and knew absolutely no one, attended May, 2006 and knew absolutely everyone, attended June, 2007 and no one was there. Imagine that. Lucky for me, this year I was able to nail down a solid group of about 20 people who were up for some nice meals and some big nights out. Honestly, I think that our nights were wilder than ever before just so we could prove a point. No sponsored parties? Fine. We'll have more fun on our own. Thanks to Jodie from LyceumMedia.com, I experienced one of the wildest nights of my life (well, maybe not as wild as my CAP Spring Break experiences) at The Supper Club along with my contacts from Pentasia.com, Casino.com, CryptoLogic, BetUS, Club World Casino, GoldenPalace.com Online Casino, and the list goes on. The night began with a much anticipated sushi meal and bottle of wine with my very good friend from Hot Pepper Casino and finished with dancing on The Supper Club bar. I think. I don't really remember.
There are several highlights from my trip to Montreal that I would also like to mention, starting with my packing and logistical nightmares. I left all my packing for Montreal (and the Bahamas) until the night before, of course. Now being a girl, packing for one week of travel- including two totally different climates and settings- is not exactly an easy task, especially when the power goes out. Ya, you've got to love South Boston. Do I live in a third world country? No. Does the power go out randomly from 8pm to 10pm prior to a scheduled power outage from 1am to 11am for "maintenance work"? Sure does. So guess what. I packed, woke up for a 4:30am departure, showered, gathered my things and left the house, all by flashlight. Thank god I wasn't the driver for that five hour ride.
After going through somewhat of a living hell, I was very much taken care of by some of my absolute favorite online gaming contacts, starting with a fancy dinner thanks to my friends from BetUS. I also had the chance to enjoy lunch with a sarcastic Scotsman from Europa Casino, lunch with the entire Income Access team at their offices, and dinner in Old Montreal with friends from Bodog, iGamingBusiness.com and ATEOnline.co.uk. Last but not least, for a special authentic Montreal treat, my contact from Golden Palace took me for a quick tour of the city including a stop at the oldest bagel factory in all of Montreal. This quaint little shop, situated in a very, very, very Jewish neighborhood, churns out fresh bagels 24 hours a day. We're talking the owner pulled me a bagel straight from the oven's fire. Aside from the fact that I almost burned my mouth off, that little bagel was the best thing I have eaten in my entire life.
Wish me luck on my conference double header recovery,
Rebecca