Full Circle-What Happens In Vegas Happened In Macau 澳門威尼斯人
🇲🇴 MACAU
Asia's Monte Carlo: High Stakes on the Pearl River
In Hindsight: The Past 3 February's
Leading Off - The Helium Report From The Hong Kong Express in 2009; Next Shoveling Sunshine in 2011 sailing The South Pacific, Finally in 2010, Riding The Garvey Train in Ciudad de Puerto Rico...
I'm in Vegas now, thinking of Macau. They used to call it Asia's Monte Carlo, or the Las Vegas of the East. But this small territory – barely known to many in the USA, is bigger than Vegas: four times bigger, to be precise.
💰 There's No Limit Like No Limit! in Money Heaven
Aircraft (Metal) and Yachts are not the latest fad in Macau - Texas Hold'em is. China's version of the Forbes list — the country now has 106 billionaires, second only to the U.S. — were out throwing away their money on the house games this weekend, but poker is catching on.
🎰 Slumdog Chinese Millionaires
There are some sick pots being taken down. Tonight, the Slumdog Chinese Millionaires of Hong Kong are playing deep stack poker 3 Mill. HK. Behind them, a credit to conspicuous consumption and a "What the F*ck" attitude of the global financial crisis — with a 7 Million Hong Kong Dollar pot just an hour ago, before I broke for the hotel.
🏨 Grand Lisboa: The Epitome of Bling
I'm staying across the street at the Grand Lisboa - the epitome of bling. In its heyday, it was the greatest hotel Macau had to offer. Inspired by the lotus – Macau's national flower, where I played a real Sunday night loose game and was up $600.
🃏 Back to the Wynn
Today I went to the Wynn, and played a $10 $20 no limit loose game and had a bluff fest. Got caught a few times, but I'm going back there now — It's Midnight!
I got a Wynn Poker Hat from the Floorman, and a great rate on a room: 1,750 HK Dollars. They usually charge 4,000. Might stay there tomorrow.
They say it's the best kept secrets but you know me... I can't keep one.
🏝️ February 2011: Cook Islands
Second is, February 2011: I was in the middle of the South Pacific in: Rarotonga, Cook Islands - Come As A Guest, Leave As A Friend.
🚬 February 2010: Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
Third-Hand Smoker, Second-Hand Smoker — I graduated today to first-hand smoker.
I didn't inhale, variation of the Bill Clinton Mea Culpa
"When I was in San Juan, I experimented with cigars a time or two, and I didn't like it. I didn't inhale and never tried it again." –Ed Reif
I would like to thank Pedro Pablo Peña, from Old San Juan, who took a chance on an unknown Vegan/Endurance athlete with off-the-chain VO2max scores, and sold him his first El Borinqueño cigar
I accept the Phillip Morris Throat Kazoo Newbie Award, in a COPD tobacco category in the name of all those who have given their time, money and lives to the industry!
💎 February 2009: The Wealth Report
In February 2009 around this time, I just left The Kingdom, and headed to Macau: Winning at The Wynn in Macau - The Wealth Report
🌵 Coming Out of My Cage
I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
📅 The February Pattern
Three consecutive Februaries, three completely different adventures:
- 2009: High-stakes poker in Macau's glittering casinos
- 2010: First cigars in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 2011: Paradise found in the Cook Islands
Each February brought its own flavor of escape, its own lesson in living without limits. From the neon-lit tables of the Pearl River Delta to the pristine beaches of Rarotonga, the pattern was clear: February was for breaking free.
🎲 The Macau Magic
But it all started here, in Macau, where the East meets West and money flows like the Pearl River itself. Where Chinese billionaires treat million-dollar pots like pocket change, and where a guy from anywhere can sit down at a table and play for keeps.
The lotus-inspired Grand Lisboa rises like a golden beacon, the Wynn sparkles with Vegas sophistication, and somewhere between the bluff and the river card, you realize you're not just playing poker — you're playing life itself.