2007 - It's Just Like 2006 - But Different

Yeah, I know. My posting is as frequent as George W. having an original thought. It's sad and pathetic, but then again, so is he.

Still, I'm back with another oh-so-infrequent update on life in the land of leprechauns and Guinness. Actually, if I came across a leprechaun drinking a Guinness, there would be something interesting to write about. But, seeing as how that's unlikely to happen, I'll just go with what I know about.

So... thanks for reading and.... OK, OK, I've actually got more to say than that. Really.

Since my last post, life has been the usual mix of work, work, work, work, sleep, work, work, work, drink, work, work, work, etc. And don't get me wrong - I still love my job and the company I work for. Dublin, maybe not so much, but the company is still fun. Unless of course you've been working in online poker for the past month.

If you don't know, the US Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act at the end of last session with the goal of starving the lifeblood of online gaming, including poker. In short, the bill makes it illegal for banks to process transactions to or from online gaming sites, like Full Tilt Poker. Of course, being a bill passed in Washington, it does have some exemptions built in for really skillful games like bingo and state lotteries. But, I digress.

If passing this law wasn't enough, the government launched a secondary attack on online gaming earlier this month when they arrested the two original founders of NETeller on money laundering charges. Now, even though these men no longer work for the company, NETeller did exactly what the government wanted them to: they got scared and pulled out of the US market.

Now, NETeller was the big dog in online payment processing. Sort of like Party Poker before they left the US. And, when the Big Dog leaves, a lot of smaller dogs follow it out the door. For sites like FTP, that means players in the US can no longer easily get money on and off the site, which is, in a word, bad.

For me, and the people I work with, that also means a lot of sleepless nights as our job all of a sudden becomes all about keeping the site up and running, and our players happy. In short, it's been a challenge. And to be honest, not a particularly fun one at that. Still, I think we've done an admirable job and, thanks to some incredibly dedicated individuals, we may have recently turned a corner.

So, that's been a big part of my life here in Dublin for the past month. And the fact is, in some ways, I'm kind of thankful for all of the work because in the off hours, there's just not a lot to this city. Sure, it's got some very pretty areas and very friendly people. It's got more bars and clubs than you can possibly imagine. It's got Guinness and Jameson. But, with all that, it still doesn't have a whole lot going on.

Don't get me wrong. It's a fabulous city to visit but, as a place to live, there's just not enough here here for my tastes. Thankfully, traveling is always an option and, as soon as things quiet down a little, I plan to do some more sightseeing around Europe. I'm also hoping to head back to the states for about 10 days in April... keep an eye on this space for details.

Speaking of traveling, I should be heading to London for a weekend sometime soon to visit my cousin Liz and meet the newest addition to the family, her daughter Alexandra. I'm looking forward to hitting a big city for a few days and catching up with some family. It will be a nice break.

Speaking of family, check out what my cousin Adam is up to. He's doing the aspiring actor/comedian thing back in NYC, and has a collection of pretty funny commercials up on his site. (Sorry they won't make the Superbowl, Adam.)

Ah... the Superbowl. American football. It's something I've truly missed here in Europe, but I'm going get a little fill of it tonight at our CEO's house down in Dalkey. I'm looking forward to the game, not because I'm a fan of either team, but because it's kicking off here at 10PM.

Work tomorrow will be oh so fun.