It is always fun working a tournament in a place where you have never been, but with that tingling excitement of being somewhere new comes plenty of obstacles to stand in your way.

Walking into the Costao do Santinho, and the subsequent ballroom where the tournament was being housed, the first concern Donnie and I had was where to sit. With two long desks next to each other, we decided to take the one closer to the action to allow easy access to the floor, however this prime location would be ruined . . . but more on that later.

After some internet issues were resolved and the opening posts were written, I went for a stroll around the hotel. I found a lobby-esque store and purchased some gum and mints to satisfy our fondness for fresh breath. On return to the desk I found two Brazilian media guys seated within a few centimetres of my laptop. Why would I be annoyed at this? Well instead of basically sitting in my lap there were five other seats vacant on the opposite side of the desk, but instead had chosen to cramp up the right hand corner.

Obviously annoyed, I shot a look at Donnie which blatantly read if these guys don’t move I’m probably going to punch them in the face! Regardless of the amount of times I tripped on their bags, or slide their computer over when they weren’t there or even plonked the camera in between us, they never budged.

Oh well, we had a tournament to cover with the inaugural PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Florianopolis Main Event kicking off!

One of the major issues that became apparent once the cards hit the air was the language barrier. We spoke English while the majority of the field spoke Spanish or Portuguese and about half a dozen English words. But like the professionals we are, we battled through as the 364-starting field was reduced to just 183.

A handful of PokerStars.net Team Pros bite the dust including Andre Akkari, Alexandre Gomes, Christian de Leon, Gualter Salles, Humberto Brenes, reigning World Champion Joe Cada and two-time back-to-back LAPT Champion Jose Ignacio Barbero. However, it would be Austrian Matthias Habernig that would lead the field that still included Felipe Ramos, Angel Guillen, Brandon Demes and Veronica Dabul.

As for Donnie and I . . . the end of the night would see us grab some dinner and tackle a bout of online tournaments and cash games!


Starting table, Matthias Habernig, Maridu Mayrinck, Angel Guillen, Leo Fernandez, Joe Cada, Dan Frank, Felipe Ramos, Jose Barbero, Andre Akkari, Chips