The main event is around the corner and I’m excited to start playing the biggest tournament of the year. It starts on November 4th, with multiple starting days. I’ll probably start my day 1 on November 6th. I’m just warming up on the cash games across Las Vegas and finishing up my prep work. Last year the WSOP was online due to COVID, and I lost my stack in the Main Event to Daniel Negreanu on a flip. Let’s get him. back this year.
While I was planning to head down to Vegas to play the Main Event, I found a sponsor who was happy to support me for this tournament. Together with the sponsor, I’m giving away some poker NFTs and action % in my event. More on that later in this blog.
San Fransisco to Vegas Roadtrip
Before I touched down in Las Vegas, I had to take care of some business in San Francisco. Since it’s only a 10-hour drive, I rented a red convertible Mustang to drive down to the capital of gambling. It’s a bit of a stretch to do it in one go, so I made a few pitstops in National parks like Yosemite and Death Valley to enjoy some nature before I go into the loud and sometimes chaotic casinos.
After enjoying some beautiful scenery of Yosemity I headed down the Death Valley, which has the famous Salt Water Basin which is the featured image of this blog.
I was driving down there while the sun was going down. Being a little scared of losing daylight, I was heavy on the gas peddle and got pulled over by a ranger for speeding! He gave me a ticket of $230 for driving 25 miles too fast in the park, which wasn’t too bad. But I sure missed the Mexican police at the time, who you can usually slip a few bills to look the other way.
Cash Gaming Before The Main Event
As most of you know, I enjoy cash games more than tournament poker. Although, the Main Event does have a special allure to it. So before I go into tournament mode, I’m playing some cash games in the Aria and Bellagio.
I’ve spent countless nights in the Bellagio on previous trips. So pulling up a chair there and stacking my chips is bringing back some good memories.
So far, it’s been fun playing live again. I know it can be a bit boring waiting on hands. But the table talk on NFTs, crypto, and random stories has been enticing. I’m wearing some hoodies with PFP NFTs printed on them, like my Lazy Lion or Mutant Ape, so that’s been a decent conversations starter. Usually, they start with “how much did you buy it for”. But when I price it in ETH they get confused.
If you happen to be in Vegas, let me know when you’re in the Aria. That’s where I’m staying and spending most of my time in the poker room.
Sponsor Awardpool & NFT GiveAways
To buy-in for the WSOP main event, you have to buy in for $10,000. Fortunately, I found a sponsor willing to cover my buy-in.
Award Pool is a platform for companies and content creators to design unique gamified campaigns for their community. These campaigns can include games, contests, and challenges to spike some engagement. Award Pool provides all the necessary engagement tools to create NFT rewards for all the participants of the campaign. So it’s a cool way for companies to get engagement, while the users can earn NFTs or other rewards. You can read a deeper dive into the project here.
To show you how it works, I’ll be giving away poker-related NFTs this week by using Award Pool. This way my friends, family, and followers can claim a few free NFTs, while they support my WSOP journey.
Cool right?
If you want to join this giveaway, make sure to follow me on Twitter where I will post more information about this in the upcoming days. Or you can go straight to the giveaway page we just put live, collect 500 points to get a free poker NFT, up to 4 NFTs can be claimed.
Win The Main Event
It’s every poker player’s dream to win the Main Event one day. Not only do you win about $8-$10 million, but it’s also the lifetime fame and validation that comes with it. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to try to take a shot at it this year. Let’s play my best and hope for a good run.
As I got a sponsor for this event now, besides the NFT, I’m also giving away some % in my tournament. I already gave away 2% on my Twitter, and will give away more points in the upcoming days. Sharing is Caring.