It's pretty safe to say my brain has been on overload for the last three months. Between solving two "Level Six" Hanayama Cast Puzzles given to me by mano drauge, Daiva, winning seats and playing the MEs at Niagara Falls and Foxwoods, playing I don't know how many MTTs on Stars and picking out the finishes on a condo I bought three years ago which is set to be delivered next January, it was time for a break.

At a base altitude of 8,120 ft., Vail, CO has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. There is virtually no pollution and everything revolves around being outdoors which is quite a departure from spending weeks on end inside a casino. I was fortunate to stay at the Sonnen Alp Resort in Vail Village. The hotel itself is modeled after a Bavarian Estate House and has only 115 rooms but feels even quainter than that. The staff there seems to genuinely want to get to know you and always wants to help you in some way. If you have just come off a big MTT win or have been saving up for something special, definitely stay there.


A few scenic pics:

	One of the many local streams inhabited by all different kinds of wild life and trout varieties including Browns, Rainbows and Lake

	Entrance to Vail Villiage

	Tree run at 11,000 ft.

It seemed to be snowing from the time I got there until the time I left (around 40 inches in all) and, from the skiing to night life, I had a great time. I now feel completely rested and it is back to working on achieving my goals for the upcoming year.

One new aspect of my work is this Blog. I have long been a fan of the live tournament coverage, articles and general poker information found on PokerPages.com and I could not be more happy to transition from my articles and ME Blog to a more permanent setting. The bottom line is that some of the people I have gotten to know behind the scenes at PokerPages this past summer, Konan and Aaron in particular, are genuinely good people and they run a great show. I feel very lucky to be here and look forward to cataloging my experiences, poker and otherwise, over the next year.

Until the Holidays are over, I don't plan on playing poker other than online. As a matter of fact, I just opened a Full Tilt account (YES, I am a noob) and will be transferring some money into it shortly. My plans are to run it up over the next few weeks so I can compete and hopefully do well in some of their upcoming tournaments. You can look for me as MJSatellite.

Finally, I want to mention my friend Roy Winston's new poker school, Guppy Poker, which is set to open in January at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Guppy Poker was designed to teach people new to the game the fundamentals on how to become comfortable at a table inside an actual casino, a winning recreational player and, most importantly, how to have fun. These are concepts that are simple enough, but ones I believe are lost in the digital age of poker.

Roy is the 2007 Borgata ME champion and his consistent results throughout that year landed him 16th in the 2007 player of the year race. After getting to know him, however, what impresses me more is the level of thought and consideration he puts into everything he does. Roy has asked me to be one of the instructors and I look forward to being involved and teaching from his curriculum.

See you at the tables,

MJ

* Please feel free to email me at mjsatellite2421@yahoo.com with any questions or comments. I plan on posting some of the more interesting feedback on future entries. If you are interested in participating, write "POST" on the bottom of your email and include your name (or anonymous) and where you live.