JenLeoLIVE!

Poker Dome Producers Are Hot About My Travel Books

Good news for Travelers' Tales, the producers love the travel writing angle. Adam Goldberg will be interviewing me and he's asked for my book covers and photos of me on tour. He was especially interested in the story about me skirting my away around the secret service to get a picture of Sand in My Bra with the First Lady.

So, I'm digging around in the catacombs looking for my author tour pics. It's a bit trickier because of the recent data recovery and swap over to the new laptop.

I've got interviews on Saturday morning. They want me to wear something I'd go out in, like I said. I don't have this outfit nailed, but this will be the one where they get some footage of me that they can go back to during the tournament. Say I win a big pot or something, they might turn to Jen Leo-crazy self promoter! It should be fun, and no doubt I'll give them the best stories they can handle.
New Schedule:

FRIDAY
Friday night: The World Poker Blogger Tournament festivities begin. Drinks at the MGM with the bloggers.

SATURDAY
Sat 830am: Get my hair did.
Sat 10am: Howard Lederer and Phil Gordon are keynote speakers at the opening of the WPBT
Sat 1030am: Phil Gordon hosts a $15 Roshambo charity event
Sometime after that: World Poker Blogger Tourney begins. My bust out gift will be a copy of What Color is Your Jockstrap.
Sat 2pm: Interview for Poker Dome
The WPBT has a fulls chedule and we might have some friends in town

SUNDAY
Sun 9am: Breakfast with the Poker Domers
Sun 10:30am: Get my hair did again
Sun 1pm: Get in a limo that takes me over to the Tropicana
Sun 5pm: Come get your seats!!!!
Sun 6pm: Taping begins....Let me hear you scream!!!!

Thanks for all your support, emails, and well wishes. It'd be great if you could all be here, but I know that you're here in spirit. And, there's always the viewing party on July 23. Get over here!

Current: Las Vegas
Next: Who cares

Poker Dome TV Outfit - Check!

I know there has been much concern about what the heck I was going to wear on TV this Sunday. Well, we can all rest assured that it's sorted. I just got back from the Fashion Show Mall, and nearly $400 took care of it. Almost. There are a few more items I have to get tomorrow.

It was a near miracle that I took care of the whole outfit in one store, and on the first try. I was actually on my way to Bloomingdales for some serious expert advice, when a White House | Black Market store crossed my path. Mary gave me the full treatment and brought me outfit after outfit to try. Here's what I got.

1. Black dress suit pants
2. Glittery silver tank top (not shown)
3. Thin black dress cardigan
4. Thick black buckle belt to dress up and shape outfit, worn very high up just beneath the bra line.
5. Black and silver beaded necklace with earrings.
(not shown)

I also got a black "going out" shirt. That might be worn on Saturday for the TV interview. They want me to dress up as if I were going out that night. It looks great, but has bare arms, so I'll see what I can do.

Overall, I'd say the outfit is smart. They wanted me to either be in a dress, or business attire. And I think this kinda counts as business attire. You might see some cleavage depending on the camera angle and if I'm bending over the table, but it's still conservative. There you go, Fun Conservative. How's that for an oxymoron?

Most of all, it's comfortable, and I like how I look in it. That means I won't be fussed worrying about it, (or fidgeting for that matter), and I can focus on the cards, and chatting up the table. I also bought a "secret weapon" to be used at the table. A jewelry piece. That's all I'm saying....

See you all there on Sunday. Arrive at 5pm to get your seat. It's in the Tropicana convention rooms just past their buffet near the Java Joe coffee cart.

Current: Las Vegas, NV!
Next: San Francisco, CA (August)

More info about the Poker Dome at the Tropicana

My friend Harold has been in town all weekend. That means, I've been less at the Rio, and more on the Strip.

Saturday: We went to the taping of the Poker Dome. It is pretty darn cool. It takes place in the convention area of the Tropicana. The live audience sits in a room in stadium style seating. Nice chairs. They have a comedian in there keeping everyone *entertained* while the other table, behind curtains and a wall gets ready. The audience sees a tv monitor for each player. They see the player, their heart rate and a fluctuation grid of the heart rate, their chip count, bet size, and I think how much time they have left to act. And, of course, they see their cards.

So, you've got three players on each side of a big main screen which shows the full table.

Observations: The table is remarkably quiet. It really weirds me out how the players barely talk to each other. Of course I'm going to try hard to be different, and really make for some good TV...and oh do I have my ideas...but man, everyone is serious. We watched the one with the two aussies Gareth Edwards and "Stocks". It is clear the the players are nervous, and who knows, I probably will be, too.

If you don't have your tickets to the July 9th taping yet, go get them at www.TVTickets.com.

*I think* that they will seat people at 5pm and tape at 6pm. But go by what the tickets say. You should come as early as you can so all the Jen Leo fans can sit in the same relative area. And there's no coming late. Because they film the audience, they don't let a seat go empty. I'm guessing we have around 20 fans, but I'm not sure. Lets do a poll....

John
Uncle Jon
Joyce
Joyce's mom
BJ
Tim L
Pauly
Steve Hall
Gareth
Cory Ann
Falstaff
Biggestron
Special K
Susan and Jeff (late)

Shoot-- I can't remember anymore. I think there are more than that. Add your name to the list in the comments of this email if you're coming!

What Am I Going to Wear?!

That is what everyone is asking me. Except for Jay Greenspan of course. I ran into him at the parking lot yesterday and though we only had time for a hug and a hey, the first thing after his congrats was "What's your strategy going to be?" He quickly took it back as he knew we didn't have time for a full on discussion, but I just laughed? "Strategy?! Jay, I need to worry about what I'm going to wear first!"

Still, I love that his mind was on winning. I'm reading his book Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America's Worst Poker Players right now and it's awesome. We get to see Jay's raw reactions and emotions as he goes on a cross country poker road trip. He takes us into private clubs, casino cash games, and big tourneys. And, we get to see what poker means to him in terms of his relationship with his girlfriend (soon to be wife), and his family. I love how vulnerable he is with his writing. This is great storytelling, not a collection of bad beat stories.

Anyway, back to what I'm going to wear. I have no idea! They want me to wear a dress or a business suit. I want something on my arms, but not a restrictive blazer. We want to show a little shadow of some cleavage (now that I have some), but we don't want my boobs hanging out trying to reach for my chips. The image I'd like to have before the masses, is that I'm fun and easy going. Because I am. And if I have my serious, thinking about my cards, trying to concentrate face on -- they might not see it! Yes, I am slightly concerned that I won't get to smile enough.

I watched some of the one with Cory Ann where Marissa Chien won and damn if that table wasn't so serious. Holy cow. Hopefully I'll add a little life to the program and show them that it's fun to play poker.

So, if you have any ideas on what I should wear, or which designers I should approach for sponsorship, let me know! Thanks.

Current: Las Vegas
Next: The Pokerdome on July 9th at the Tropicana!

Breakfast Club Poker

So, last Thursday when John left for Vegas, I stayed up till 3am and built a blog for my time at the World Series of Poker.

BreakfastClubPoker.com

Amy Calistri and I have teamed up to deliver morning reports on what has happened the night before. We'll be blogging, and podcasting. Picture us hanging out in the morning over coffee and doughnuts, dishing the dish, talking about who won, discussing the state of the bathrooms at the Rio, with interviews with players woven in to the podcasts. The media restrictions are pretty tight this year, but they can't stop us from gabbing. We're going to talk to players, and follow along with how everyone else is reporting and make sure you get a fun round up.

I also did a deal with Poker.com for exclusive advertising sponsorshop, so big thanks Poker.com! I'm catching a ride to Vegas today, and things will be heating up over at The Club. Check us out!

BTW, I've copied Amy's blogroll of links but if you're a poker blogging fan of either one of us, send me your link and I'll get you up there. I think I'm missing Rooster, and was going to put his up in the next wave of things, but I haven't thought that much about cross checking the whole list with all the blogs out there. Just beep me and we'll get you over there. SO sorry if I missed you, it was unintentional. Send me your link.

And, of course, once we're in full swing, I'd love it if you'd mention us in a post and add us to your blogroll.

See you there!

Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: Las Vegas, NV - TODAY!!!

Order FREE Tickets to the Poker Dome Taping

Hey everybody! Thanks so much for your enthusiastic support. I love it! I don't know what kind of sign you're going to make with the letters FSN that connect with me, but I have no doubt about your creativity. Go easy on the football style war paint. Nobody needs to have an orange and blue Jen on one side of their face, Leo on the other.

That's great to hear that people are getting tickets, and thanks for the tip off that we can share with others. You can still get tix at TVTickets.com Poker Dome.

I took this pic off the TVTickets.com website, and they say the photos are courtesy of BJ Nemeth. Hey BJ, Amy Calistri is already talking like someone should shoot me getting ready and do a whole photo essay for this. Let me know if you're up for it. Otherwise we'll get digital from Amy and John.

Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: Las Vegas, NV (by Thursday!)

It's official!

I got the official congratulations email from Mansion Poker this morning.

WHAT: Me playing speed poker on TV
WHEN: Taping on July 9, airing on July 23
WHERE: Las Vegas, NV
WHY: Because it's going to be fun! (and to try and win $25k)
PAMPERING: Did someone say pampering? Here's what I'll get.

Your POKER DOME Experience includes-

· Round Trip Air Transportation to Las Vegas
· VIP Pick-up from Airport to Hotel
· VIP Check-in at Caesars Palace (2 nights included Friday and Saturday)
· Welcome VIP package in the room (champagne, mansion welcome wear)
· $500.00 Casino Credit
· Welcome Dinner and Introduction to the Poker Dome (Friday Night)
· VIP Transportation to and from the Poker Dome (Saturday)
· Daily meal credit at hotel
· VIP transportation back to airport
· Each winner at the Poker Dome will also receive a Mansionpoker.net Champion’s Varsity Jacket

Thanks, Mansion Poker!!!

Mansion Poker Dome, Here I Come!

I've been talking about the Poker Dome since before it started. I wrote about it in BLUFF for my "Bird on the Rail" column, and I went to the party at TAO bringing back some sexy photos of go go dancers. Now, the unthinkable.

I WON A SEAT!

I'm waiting for the official email from Mansion, but today I played in the PokerNews freeroll on Mansion Poker and dominated until the bitter end when I found out that the guy I was heads up against and already won a seat earlier and wasn't eligible. I went all in hand over hand so we could end it, and he wound up with the chips. But they had already told me I won, so I hope it's good.

It was shocking really. Me, beating 111 players. I was chipleader for a majority of the tourney. You should've seen how sweaty and shaking my hands were. Well, actually, I guess you will get to see it. On July 9th!

This tourney won me a seat into the TV tourney on FSN -- July 9 in Las Vegas. The prize package comes with complete pampering. You can read about Cory Ann's experience here.

But will it come with as good of cards as I saw today? I must've had AA at least three times. At least. KK won me a big pot when a third came on the flop. I had AK so many times I should've counted, even back to back sometimes. I wish I could remember some of the plays for you. I remember taking two people out at the same time on the final table, but I don't remember how. And I vaguely remember two hands that I actually lost pots with -- AJ and TT. But come on, I don't talk poker. That's for other poker bloggers.

Can you believe it?

I hope you'll be in town on the 10th. I'm sure to create a party somewhere while we watch it Sunday night. Only one question for FSN, how come there's no poker dome representation on the website? Justin....

Current: Pasadena, CA
Next: Las Vegas, NV

Pictures from the Tao Pokerdome Party

Pokerdome party at Tao

MansionPoker.net and FSN sponsored a kick ass party last night. They pulled out all the stops to launch their new pokerdome at Sin City's hottest nightclub — Tao. The main club floor was decked out in Sex-Asian, with go-go dancers, and a thong-clad beauty in a bathtub dripping with rose petals. There was a table with guys making hand-rolled cigars, cocktail waitresses that never let you go thirsty, and plenty of appetizers and food. Shrimp tempura, peking duck, sushi, tuna tartare, etc. We had already had dinner at Canaletto with Amy Calistri (check out her new blog) and her brother, so didn't double dinner it.

David Kinsman, the CEO of Mansion was there to thank the group that's working hard to get the dome going. (The first shows will be taped from the Tropicana, and the official pokerdome will be ready at Neonopolis next month). He also mentioned a 64 million sponsorship of the Tottenham Hotspurs.

In the next room over was a charity poker tourney. The party was a tad bit light on celebs, but still such a good time. Cheryl Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm was the big name, with Chris Rose from the Best Damn Sports Show as the emcee. George Greenberg from FSN was also there. From the poker crowd, Jen Harmon, Chip and Karina Jett, Robert Williamson, Kristy Gazes, Michael Gracz, Joe Sebok, Connie Kim, and Erica Shoenberg were some of the faces I recognized. Gavin Smith and Chris Bell made their cameo a bit later on their way to the airport (headed for New Orleans).

I got to play and was at a table with Kristy Gazes and Jen Harmon. Jen and the Luckbox were the two people pushing people around, and Erica's dad gave me and Kristy some chips after we were out. Uncle Jon and John played at the same table together with Michael Gracz. In the end it was Joe Sebok who won the tourney after going heads up against Chip Jett. Before he won he even mentioned that he'd marry some girl that night if he won. Who knows if they headed to the Little White Chapel after the party.

Steve Hall, who always has the best gossip, was there covering the tourney for High Roller magazine. Jill Ann from Top Pair was also shooting pics.

I head back to Pasadena around lunch time and look forward to downloading pics for you. Man did I have fun. Nothing like that with a morning jacuzzi bath in a killer room to cap things off. big thanks to Justin Simon, FSN publicist, for taking such good care of us. Oh, and I forgot to mention -- our parting gift -- an iPod shuffle!

Current: Las Vegas
Next: Pasadena