I won’t lie. I love Las Vegas.

I also have to admit that I have had some insanely amazing experiences in Sin City. Since 2005 I have stayed at some of the most luxurious accommodations  the Strip offers. What some people do not know is that Vegas hotels are built to cater gamblers. It’s the nature of the business. There are exclusive hotel suites that exist for the sole purpose of hosting a casino player. Most of these suites are not for sale to the general pubic and if you do not gamble you probably will never see the inside of these suites.

Recently I was fortunate enough to stay at the MGM Skylofts:

I am in Reno Nevada at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino to join my BFF Lacey Jones for the Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament. We flew in from Vegas yesterday courtesy of Greasie Wheels Productions. Lisa and Rob have been working overtime to bring in as many pros in support of this worthy cause. Jennifer Harman is best known for her skills on the poker felts but maybe you didn’t know that she has had two kidney transplants making this tournament something very close to her heart. In fact, her last donor Anne is here playing in the tournament as well. She’s Jennifer’s niece and did not hesitate to offer her kidney to Jennifer when the time came when Jennifer needed a new kidney. It was a heartfelt open to the tournament today and everyone was moved by the video Jennifer produced about her mission to raise money for The Kidney Foundation.

As of Monday, more than 320 people had registered for the $230 event, according to Lisa Wheeler, President of Greasie Wheels.  Many pros came out to show their support like my favourite girls Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho. Also joining them were Roy Winston, Howard Lederer, Jeff Madsen, Todd Brunson, and Harman’s husband Marco Traniello.

Besides the $230 entry fee, there were $50 rebuys during the first three 20-minute levels and a one-time add-on. The winner of the event receives a $5,000 World Poker Challenge championship entry, while second and third place will receive $3,000 WPC entries.

Proceeds from the tournament will go toward the National Kidney Foundation — specifically toward “free-of-charge” patient programs, camps for children on dialysis, patient and family assistance, and research, as requested by Harman.

On a more personal note, I have come to the realization of  a couple of things during my stay here so far and from observing the tournament all day. One, poker pros are a bunch of softies. Many of them are very generous and the comradeship amongst some of the players is very admirable. Certainly the personal support for Jennifer from her friends when she needed them most was very apparent and I commend them for that. The public came out to meet the pros and to see some tournament action at the Grand Sierra in Reno and everybody had a great day for a great cause.

My second observation is that women in poker have it tough. Look at Jennifer for example. That woman has accomplished a lot in her poker career. More than most women will see in their lifetime. I’m sure she’s been enjoying the millions she’s been winning over the years. But Jennifer is a combination of many things. She has respect from her fans and her peers. It took brains and skills and it didn’t hurt that she’s not so bad to look at. That’s my point I guess. Men have it so easy. They just need to prove they can play. Never is there an expectation for them to look a certain way. I have to commend Lacey as well as Tiffany and Maria. They too have the respect from their fans and peers AND they always look their best when they’re playing. I know the men are not complaining if they draw a seat next to these beauties. Anyone who knows what a tournament floor smells like after a long day can agree that it’s not pretty. My hat goes off to these female pros who breathes an element of class into a male dominated sport. It’s not easy. I’ve seen that first hand.

I also had a chance to meet and spend time with Jeff Madsen this trip. Had heard so much about him from Tiffany, Lacey and Maria and enjoyed his company immensely. He’s a smart kid. I say kid because he’s ridiculously good at poker and he’s still in his early 20s. As of this year his total winnings are over $2 million. What were you making at 24? I know alot of young players look up to him and he’s a good guy all around.

I also had the pleasure of meeting David Farahi, Director of Slots at the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa in Reno. His family has owned Atlantis for the last three decades and he was genuinely interested in what I had to say about casino operations. I’ve been know to have an opinion about a few things in that department. The meeting was actually just by chance as he was sitting next to me at the 1/2 table where we spent a few hours playing with the girls. After some fun banter amongst the table it’s pretty clear that Tiffany, Lacey and Maria can command the attention of any room. The energy was good and people were having fun playing. And isn’t that was casinos are all about. It was an easy sell to David to see the potential in bringing these girls in to beef up customer relations at his own hotel. Maybe he’ll continue to remain keen as they stay in touch. Reno connections by chance.. I love it.

One more night in Reno before I head back to reality at home. It’s been a great trip and the hospitality has been outstanding. I just got the update that the tournament raised over $115, 000 for the Kidney Foundation. I’m sure Jennifer is pleased with that.

Above all I had the best time with Lacey and this trip is just one of many so stay tuned!

Until my next poker adventure……

Here are some of my photos from our trip. Visit my flickr page for all of them.

Lacey, Maria and Tiffany and Me at Charlie Palmer Steak House

Lacey with Pro Hoyt Corkins

The girls with Madsen hamming it up on the red carpet

On a side note here’s a cute video from the throw down party the night before the tournament on Card Player

]]> http://alexleebehan.com/2009/03/11/jennifer-harman-wins-big-with-her-charity-tournament/feed/ 2 Lexy B lacey maria tiffany room shot lacey jeff madsen girls lacey and hoyt goofy http://alexleebehan.com/2007/12/28/2007-what-a-year/ http://alexleebehan.com/2007/12/28/2007-what-a-year/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:32:19 +0000 Alex Lee Behan http://yobomedia.com/2007/12/28/2007-what-a-year/ ]]> It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post or cut a new video so I thought I’d take this year end as a good excuse to wrap things up. There’s a couple of people in my extended family who send out letters in lieu of Christmas cards so they can let their loved ones know what happened in their year. I’ll take that idea and create my submission on line and save a few trees and stamps in the process.

The first half of the year consisted of a major job change and a trip to the motherland! I shifting gears and moved over to what my professional peers have called “the dark side”. In Februrary I started my new role with the organization that regulates all 17 casinos of BC, which was a big change from working on behalf of one of the service providers. It has certainly been an interesting shift from media to marketing. Having access to all 17 casinos has been a real eye and career opener for me… there is so much to learn.

I also got to take Jordan on his first trip to Korea. We had an incredible time there! Too many activities and people to write about. We certainly did a good job capturing it all on digital film. Here’s the link to Jordan’s photos and my photos. We were there to witness my brother and his beautiful wife’s Korean wedding ceremony. What a breathtaking day of events!

Me in Seoul, Korea

From there things were really revolved around working. The Johnny Chan Poker Classic being one of my big projects of the year! It was a great tournament and certainly an amazing opportunity to see a world class tournament come together from start to finish. Hosting the Master for a second time (the first was at the 2006 BC Poker Championships) was fantastic and meeting more of the players from around the world was amazing as well.

Johnny Chan Poker Classic

August was jammed pack on a personal level. I celebrated my third wedding anniversary with my loving husband, Jordan. Sometimes it feels like those three years just flew by but in the reality of things.. too much has happened for that to be that true. We also made our way Up the Lake for our annual boat trip. Other than one gloriously sunny day the weather was the pits and we had boat troubles so it was NOT up there as one of the best. It’s a good thing we had great company to pass the week by with.

Up the Lake 2007

August was also the month Jordan and I found out we’re having a baby! In fact I was pregnant the whole lake trip but didn’t know it! (Oops). Of course, this news trumps everything else we have gone through this year!! We couldn’t be more excited!

November was back to being crazy busy with poker. The 2007 BC Poker Championships were a great success and I got to see my poker pals once again. I love these reunions. Congratulations to dear friends Gavin Smith and Lacey Jones for wedding engagements this year!

My Poker Pals and I (with the baby bump)

And finally Jordan and I wrapped up the year with the purcase of our new condo. We’re actually still right in the thick of things with the unpacking and renovations but it’s been a great way to end the year!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a prosperous and happy 2008!

Having said that… I couldn’t imagine spending my birthday in Vegas with anyone else!

Seven gorgeous women and one husband…. you do the math.

*** A BIG FAT SPECIAL thanks to our dear friends, Lennie and Bob for making this a fantastic trip! Also a big thank you to Gabrielle Penazzi for one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. If you know me… and the dinners I’ve been to… you know that that’s a BOLD statement. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Enjoy….

Every Summer the Behan kids get a visit in to paradise.

In 2006 nine (and a half) lucky friends and family ventured ‘Up the Lake’ in Powell River, BC

to spend a week at Kokanee Cedars on Powell Lake.

It truly is a piece of heaven.

Part 2 of Up the Lake:

I’ve been to Vegas before but it wasn’t until this trip did I realize Las Vegas could really kill a girl! The city does not sleep and we were out to test that to the max. I won’t divulge the lengthy details of debauchery because as you know…. “What happens in Vegas….yadda yadda yadda”.

PLUS! There WILL BE a new slide show so that’ll just have to speak for itself.

Thanks to the girls and my husband for making my birthday among the cream of the crop of memories.

Special shout out to Lennie Millette at Harrah’s & Gabriele Penazzi & Mr. Bob Forer- you three spoiled us rotten)

(Sorry to my trip mates who have been anxiously waiting for this next video…. )

This weekend Jordan and I were fortunate enough to be invited to a deluxe cabin there. Kind of surreal for me, having seen this monster of a mountain all my life without so much as a visit. Here’s a slice of the weekend… we are all assuming the relaxed position in good form.

Okay.. so I did some schmoozing with celebs myself in Vegas. Without going into full disclosure (since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas) here’s a look a couple of my travel pics:

The view from my hotel suite!

Part of the fan fair included a ton of succulent feasts at some of Vegas’ finests. One of them was in Open Flame-master Bobby Flay’s newest called Mesa Grill.

We ate in his private room from a set menu that would have had you handcuffing yourself to the table. My mouth is still watering just thinking about it. I ate it like it was my last. I’m not even going to tell you about the warm chocolate cake.

Jackass 2 had its cast party at DJ AM’s hood; Pure Nightclub. You can check out the pro-shots at WireImage or you can just enjoy the shots I took from front row of the most useless fashion show I’ve ever seen. Still, watching Steve-O and Wee man get kicked off the stage for flipping up shirts and talking about sleeping with Nicole Ritchie were classic moments!

(Couldn’t get close enough to Knocksville for a clean shot)

This was it for the fashion show… boo!

Steve-O poses for me. Wee-man has a look at her bum… Doesn’t he look proud?