Dear Readers,

Man, what a week! If you were unaware, my wife and I spent the weekend in Monte Carlo with the folks from Microgaming, Captain Cooks Casino, and Jackpot Madness to help celebrate with Tony P.; the jackpot winner who had won $1.6 million from Major Millions at Captain Cooks Casino. I was there along with Ted Loh, Julie Sidwell, Brian Cullingworth, Michael Shackleford, and most of our spouses (Ted's wife stayed home). For the full story, read on!

Happily yours,

Bryan

Want to know what's up with that? Check it out here.

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My Escapades on the French Riviera

Where do I start? Well, most of you know that a player at Captain Cooks Casino won $1.6 million dollars at the progressive "Major Millions", and most of you may know that he was invited to Monte Carlo to celebrate his winnings and be treated to a taste of what it's like to be a millionaire. What you didn't know was that I, and a handful of lucky others were invited as well.

But again, where do I start? I could start with my experience on the Autobahn diddling away to the airport. My wife and I (yes, our spouses were invited as well!) were on our way to the Nürnberg Flughafen (the airport) with plenty of time to spare. But when we hit one of those infamous German traffic jams, we began to panic. We were twenty minutes from the airport and the traffic was at a standstill. Not good.

We made a detour through several villages and got on another Autobahn thinking that we'd bypass the "Stau", but typical...it led into the same mess. The clock was ticking and we finally got through. My wife (she was driving) was running red lights and passing up taxicabs to get to the airport on time. We got there with fifteen minutes to spare, but the doors to the luggage compartment had been closed for five minutes, and they wouldn't open them back up. We had missed our flight, yet we could see it at the boarding gate. Mental note: only fly with hand carry-ons in the future.

This was a first for me, us; missing a flight. And the ticket agent didn't make it any easier emotionally. She looked up the next flights on her computer, grimacing with the occasional "Ooh, that's not good" (in German of course). She re-booked us on the next flight from Nürberg to Frankfurt, and then Frankfurt to Nice, France. We had a four hour stop-over in Frankfurt, but we would still arrive in Nice on time; we were to meet everyone for a dinner party at eight. Our new arrival time was 6:15, four hours later than planned. So much for an afternoon of shopping in Monte Carlo.

When we finally arrived in Nice, we grabbed our bags and met the nicely dressed driver outside. He was holding a M. Bailey sign, and directed us to his Mercedes limo. He even opened the door for me, which I found a little unsettling. It was the first time a man opened a car door for me, but it was kind of cool.

We drove our 45 minute drive through some of the most exclusive looking resort areas that I have ever seen. I've lived in the Southern California coastal region for a number of years, and there are some really nice homes and nice views there, but it is a far comparison to this region in France. This region in France has been a resort area since the Romans occupied it 2000 years ago.

He let us out at the Hermitage Hotel in Monte Carlo; one of the most exclusive hotels in Monaco, and believe me, it is exclusive. Everyone wore a uniform and looked the part: the doormen had tails, the bellhops were short, the maids wore French maid dresses. We were escorted to our room and it was what you would expect for what they charge. A separate walk-in closet, a separate walk-in toilet, the bathroom sported bathrobes and slippers, the TV had cable programs in French, German, English, Turkish, and Arabic. Maid service was twice a day.

Dinner was at eight, we made it there by 8:20. It was fantastic. The online casino movers and shakers were at the table: Roger Raatgaver from Microgaming and his wife were there, the folks from Captain Cooks had settled in from Australia, Brian Cullingworth (Jetset) and his wife had traveled from South Africa, Michael Shackleford (the Wizard of Odds) and his wife were there, Ted Loh (Spearmaster) was there without his wife (don't worry Mrs. Loh, he was kept under tight wraps), Julie Sidwell and her husband, and the representatives from Jackpot Madness who had organized the trip were there as well. But we were all present thanks to the jackpot winners Tony and his wife. What a lucky couple, and what a great group of people.

Dinner lasted four hours, honest. The French serve their meals one course at a time. First an appetizer: ladies served first, then the men, eat and drink some wine. When everyone finishes, the waiters (yes, more than one)remove the plates, serve more wine, then the next serving is brought out to the ladies first. Compared to the way most of us normally eat, the French probably consider us uncouth ruffians.

It's funny being in the business that I'm in. I make so many contacts with so many people from so many places. With some people, I am in daily or near daily contact in message boards, via email, or on the phone. Ted Loh and I hook up at each convention and have always stay in the same hotel for some reason (no it's not what you're thinking). I've had the pleasure of meeting Julie Sidwell and her husband several times, and this was just another example of this pleasure. This was my first meeting with Brian Cullingworth who I've known via the Internet for the past couple of years. What a wonderful experience. And it was interesting to observe how comfortable we all were with our familiarity. It was like old friends getting together, and in a way it was.

Next week: Getting to know everyone better, hearing the winners' story, the casinos of Monte Carlo.