-The fisherman's ring, and the lead seal, will be broken.
The Pope arrives in Castel Gandolfo on Feb. 28, at 1715 (5:15 PM). At 2000 (8PM, Rome local time), the Swiss Guard will leave Castel Gandolfo, since its services of protection are limited to the person of the Pontiff; the security of the "Pope Emeritus" will be assured by the Vatican Gendarmerie.
It has long been my understanding that the Sacred College gathers to elect a Bishop of Rome, who by virtue of that position becomes the Pope. This, as opposed to the other way around. If only for that reason alone, I would have preferred "Bishop-Emeritus of Rome." But there wasn't much precedent to go on, so I can live with this.
Recall the the vision of the 3rd secret of fatima. A part of it is now clear. A part which was not clear till now.
various lay people of different ranks and positions.
"And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'..."
It sounds a little funny. I would have gone with bishop emeritus also.
Wow, a lot of people's brains are wired (fixated?) in the same way.
This is a mistake. After 28 February there will no longer be a "His Holiness Benedict XVI" - that title belongs to the office of Supreme Pontiff, not to the person of Mgr Joseph Ratzinger.
Recently Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced that she was stepping down, and after 30 April she will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix, because you can only have on monarch at a time. When the King of England, Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936, so that he could marry a divorcee, he was first known as HRH Prince Edward, and then HRH the Duke of Windsor.
We are going into uncharted territory after the resignation of a Pope, and it is important that there is no false steps. The correct title for Pope Benedict after 28 February is, in my humble opinion, Most Reverend Mgr Joseph Ratzinger, Bishop Emeritus of Rome.
The Vatileaks Report is to remain a secret until After the new Pope is elected. It will then be shewn to him. WHAT IF they elect someone who's been UP TO NO GOOD?
It cannot be possible that a Pope who abdicates retains the title of Pope or Pontiff, even with the postfix "Emeritus." Nor can he maintain the style "His Holiness" for the obvious reason that he is no longer the Vicar of Christ.
It is surely to the Papal office that these titles belong and not to individuals who have held that office and abdicated it.
Bishop Emeritus of Rome seemed the logical choice of title for the Pope following his abdication. Pope, Pontiff and His Holiness Emeritus can only lead to confusion with the impression that, for the first time in her sacred history, the Church will have two valid Popes, one active, the other passive. Hmmm!
Gregory XII reverted to being Angelo Correr, and was later created a Cardinal. On the other hand, Celestine V after his resignation was still widely known as Celestine, and was canonized under his regnal name, as St. Celestine V.
I too would have preferred to see Benedict XVI assuming the title of a simple Bishop, with the appropriate violet attire and the title Bishop Emeritus of Rome, but not "Pope Emeritus" or "Supreme Pontiff Emeritus", while waiting the decision of the next Pope regarding a re-creation as Cardinal or not.
However, Benedict XVI, still Pope at this time, and therefore still yealding supreme ecclesiastical authority, decided otherwise.
He, the supreme ecclesiastical legislator, decided that his title will be Pope Emeritus, that the will wear a white cassock without mozzetta, that he will keep the name Benedict XVI etc., etc. Roma locuta, causa finita.
The treatment of "His Holiness" and the continued use or not of the regnal name is a matter of ecclesiastical discipline, and so can be decided - and was decided - by the reigning Pope.
The only remaining question is wether or not the Pope will automatically revert to being a Cardinal. Also, whatwould his Roman title in the Sacred College be? The former Gregory XII was made Cardinal Bishop of Porto and was given precedence above the Dean, but there are currently no vacant suburbicarian sees.
Canonist Dr. Ed Peters has opined that the reintegration of Benedict XVI to the College of Cardinals will be automatic, and that, therefore, from the start of the Vacant see, the Pope Emeritus will also be a Cardinal. He pointed to the practical advantages of that understanding, such as the fact that, under Canon Law, cardinals can hear confessions everywhere, can be judged only by the Pope himself, etc. There are no similar canonical laws for a Pope emeritus at this time.
Nevertheless, my opinion is that Benedict XVI, even with his title of Pope Emeritus, does not automatically become a Cardinal again on February 28. He left that College when he was elected Pope, and his title to his suburbicarian sees were assigned to other prelates. By his resignation, he does not revert to being a Cardinal. He can be re-created a Cardinal by the future Pope, but that is not automatic.
It is even possible that the newly created position of "Pope Emeritus", an absolute novelty, will be considered something superior to the Cardinalate, and thus it won't even be considered appropriate to create the Pope a Cardinal. His continued use of the regnal name and of white vestments seems to point in that direction.
All that would be left to do, then, would be the promulgation by the future Pope of changes to Canon Law, to give a Pope Emeritus the same privileges as are enjoyed by Cardinals of the H.R.C.
Many Eastern Patriarchs use the style "His Holiness," among them Moscow, Constantinople, Romania, and Antioch.
First, the Bishop in White was attributed to Pope Blessed John Paul II and now it is being attributed to Our Holy Father.
Our first 32 Popes were assassinated simply because they were Catholics and Popes Linus up to and including Pope Miltiades had better reasons to abdicate (a rational expectation of being assassinated) then does Pope Benedict XVI - at least it seems that way to me.
Why would Mary ask the Pope to step-down when she heard Christ-deniers asking her son to step down from the Cross?
We Catholics confess that Our Holy Father is succored by the Holy Ghost to the extent that he can bear all - even that which seems to our human nature to be unbearable.
This revolutionary act bodes ill for all concerned.
Yes, they saw a Pope. Cardinals Ratzinger and Sodano told us it was John Paul II.
b) if it was John Paul, why did Our Lady say that to avoid those scenes, Russia must be consecrated to the Immaculate heart no later than 1960?
I don't believe it's Benedict either: it may well be the Pope who is about to be elected.
If he is a strong man, courageous and unafraid of the heretics in the Church, the sodo-mafia and the Masons, then expect things to start happening.
As for Benedict's new title, I would have been happier if he had removed himself to a remote Alpine peak with the Carthusians and called himself Cardinal Ratzinger.
There is a mysterious link between Pope John Paul II and Our Lady of Fatima, says journalist Renzo Allegri.
And there is also a tie between the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the fall of Communist regimes, he contends.
Allegri, the author of "Il Papa di Fatima" (The Fatima Pope), published by Mondadori, shared some of his insights with ZENIT. Part 1 of this interview appeared Sunday.
On Saturday, the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt on John Paul II, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was processed through St. Peter's Square, where the Polish Pope shed his blood.
Q: When did John Paul II understand that he was the Pope of Fatima, and what did he do after he became aware of it?
Allegri: As I already mentioned, it is thought that Pope Karol Wojtyla became aware of his own role in relation to the message of Fatima, after the attack, reflecting on what happened, the coincidence between the attack and the date of the apparitions of Fatima, and reading the text of the secret.
Since his youth, his Marian devotion was always very great. In his devotional practices, he gave priority to Polish Marian shrines, because they were part of his religious tradition, and also because he could not leave Poland.
But he knew the history of Fatima well and the part of the secret already revealed by Lucia, which speaks about Russia, Communism and the persecution of believers.
The attack made him "center" his attention on his own role in regard to Fatima. He was very impressed by the coincidence of the date of the attack, May 13 at 5:17 p.m., with that of the start of the apparitions on May 13, 1917.
Interesting. Well, since this hasn't happened in 600 years, I suppose they can make up whatever they want. Odd though, the Holy Father wants to keep the trappings of Papacy even though he will no longer have anything to do with it. I think the question can be rightly asked, does he in principle have the right to this?
i agree with Rom Kiul this is a mistake. The title "His Holiness" belongs to the reigning Pope, not an after-pope.
This is curious also. The Church's press releases keep saying the Holy Father will be going to Castel Gandolfo but doesn't say when he will be leaving and heading to his new digs.
Many Eastern Patriarchs use the style "His Holiness," among them Moscow, Constantinople, Romania, and Antioch."
Yes, WRONG!! That's all that Eastern stuff. There is no precedence for it in the ROMAN Church and no correlative thereof.
It is the "Benedict XVI" that belongs to the office of the papacy. While he is Pope, that title belongs to him, when he is not Pope then it does not belong to him. The future history of the papacy will contain the line "Benedict XVI (2005-2013)". After 8pm on Friday "Benedict XVI" will not exist any more. We cannot have two Popes at the same time.
While he is still Pope, Benedict can decide on the name he will be called when he retires. When a new Pope is elected he will be able to change that name if, as I hope, he decides that retaining the name Benedict XVI (and the white cassock) would be inappropriate.
You wrote: "Many Eastern Patriarchs use the style "His Holiness," among them Moscow, Constantinople, Romania, and Antioch."
You incorporate some Orthodox (i.e.,non-Catholic) Patriarchs in you comments, which are obviously useless for the purpose of comparison. At any rate, our discussion here is centred on the Tradition of the Western Church, not the Eastern. There is no precedent in the Western Church for a Pope who has abdicated to continue to be known by the title "His Holiness." It's a worrying first!
This post is something of a lark, but Benedict XVI could be seen in the Prophecy of the Popes by Saint Malachy, as Gloria olivæ and Petrus Romanus. If Benedict XVI is a Pontiff Emeritus, and lives in Rome, then Peter the citizen of Rome (Roman means "citizen of Rome") could apply to Benedict XVI. Whether or not it means anything is another matter. It's simply interesting to me.
A Pope in name could be a Pope who steps back in when needed. We could have him against an anti-Pope. I know the Malachy stuff is all tosh, but there does seem to be serious cause for concern about the future of the RCC as it is. A papal conflict between the two factions could rend the fabric even more. But a Pope in place would be a rallying point.
Admittedly, Benedict may only have a few more years, but those years may be the most crucial if the conclave goes in a different direction than he hopes.
Feel free to tell me I've been reading too much Dan Brown.
Why not "Most Cardinal Ratzinger"? "Pope Emeritus" makes it seem like he's just another retired bishop.
I would have preferred that the pope received the title of cardinal, rather than the innovative title of "Pope Emeritus", because it is more in keeping with the precedent following resignation of Gregory XII who was recreated a cardinal after his resignation. There is only room for one "pope" in the church, and the use of this title may some unforeseen complications down the road.
God bless our pope. Watch over thy Church O Lord! Have mercy on us sinners and grant us a wise, strong, and holy shepherd to tend thy flock.
Is being shot and injured and recovering and reigning for over 20 more years, the same as being killed?
Throckmorton, that is true, but in those cases - - take the president for example - - the former president does not continue to reside in the White House or even Washington. Moreover, he is term limited so everyone knows it's a ceremonial title.
Given 600 years of popes for life this may get very confusing and not in a good way.
Confusion - why ??? There are many diocese which have Bishops Emeritus (including my own, which has had one for about 10 years) and they have not melted down into a morass of confusion over who is in charge. My Bishop Emeritus is quite active in the Diocese, helping with confirmations, etc., and no one seems to have any problem understanding who he is or is not. Why should the Papacy be any different - especially since BVII will be essentially out of public view?
And besides, there is absolutely nothing wrong with simply allowing the man to choose the procedures, attire, rights, and title that should be used in this situation. He is the supreme legislator of the Church until the 8PM on the 28th, and that by definition gives him that right - so just chill.
No pope has the right to bind his successor to anything, therefore I see difficulties in an outgoing pope decreeing styles, titles, costumes, and even Vatican residences for himself. This is highly irregular and it all becomes meaningless the moment a new pope is elected insofar as none of it will have any stability in law.
The next pope would be perfectly within his rights to nullify Benedict's presumed styles and titles, force him to relinquish the color white for his habit, and ask him to find lodging elsewhere.
When a king or a queen abdicates, they do not get to simply decide what styles, titles, residences, and other perquisites their successors will grant them. They simply vacate their thrones and hope that their successors will be generous to them.
Sister Lucia could not tell if the Bishop in white was the Pope, she was confused by the image. Things have all of a sudden become really scary.
Thank you for the most important insight of the day!
"Archbishop Gänswein will move with Pope Benedict XVI when he retires on Feb. 28, but he also intends to retain his role as head of the Pontifical Household. “The Pope will be accompanied to Castel Gandolfo and also to the monastery by Archbishop Gänswein and the Memores Domini, because this is the fundamental nuclear group of the pontifical family.” “He will also remain the head of the Papal Household”. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the press on Feb. 14"
I too, have no problem with his title "Pope Emeritus" and his styled "His Holiness Benedict XVI"; Pope Benedict XVI is still the Pope, and he has decided what his title will be, and that's all there is to it.
As Prof. Basto said ROMA LOCUTA EST, CAUSA FINITA EST.
In St. Don Bosco's "Prophecy of the two columns" (http://www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/fatima/donbosco.html) is the following passage.
I wondered how it was possible for the news of a Pope's death to coincide with the news of his successors elections. Normally it would be about 2-3 weeks between the death of a Pope and the election of his successor. The obvious assumption would be that we were is some kind of war type situation where are news is cut off.
However, in the current situation it seems to me that this precise scenario could occur since the Pope has not died but resigned so it could happen that the next Pope could be elected and the same time as the current Pope dies.
"No pope has the right to bind his successor to anything...."
Absolutely true. And FWIW, from what we have seen of our Holy Father and his humility, I have no doubt that, were his successor to come to him and tell him that he was needed to be an assistant to the Pastor at some tiny out of the way parish, he would pack up, put on his (black) cassock, and head off to the rectory of that place.
However, unless and until that (unlikely) event happens, the current Pontiffs decisions will stand.
Among my reasons for having discounted conspiracy theory reports as to the "real" reason why Pope Benedict XVI abdicated — he announced his reason(s), the Holy See has denounced the news media reports in question...that is good enough for me — is the inability of the news media to report accurately upon Holy Mother Church — even when a Catholic is, in effect, the reporter.
Today on CNN.com, is the following from "Sister Mary Ann Walsh is director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Northeast Regional Community. She is a former foreign correspondent at Catholic News Service.
"A similar controversy erupted when he tried to bring the schismatic Society of St. Pius X back into the Roman Catholic fold."
CNN, who I would think verifies the information that they transmit under the name, could have verified, via the Holy See, Sister Mary Ann Walsh's claim that the Society of Saint Pius X is schismatic. Had CNN done so, they would have been informed that the Society has never been declared "schismatic" by the Holy Catholic Church.
It is unbelievable...no, it really isn't...that the news media, after decades of having reported upon the Society, remain clueless as to the Society's standing within Holy Mother Church. The Society of Saint Pius X exists in an irregular, not schismatic, relationship with the Holy Mother Church.
Even more mind-boggling...no, it really isn't...is that the "director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops" is unable to report accurately upon Church-related issues.
I am supposed to believe Papal abdication conspiracy theories — rejected by the Pope's own and a Holy See declaration — when I consider the above? No, thank you.
"He was barely into his papacy, for example, when he visited Regensburg, Germany, where he once taught theology. Like many a professor, he offered a provocative statement to get the conversation going.
"To introduce the theme of his lecture, the pope quoted from an account of a dialogue between the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an unnamed Muslim scholar, sometime near the end of the 14th century -- a quote that was misinterpreted by some as a condemnation of Mohammed and Islam.
"Unfortunately, the statement about Islam was taken as insult, not a discussion opener, and sparked rage throughout the Muslim world.
"The startled pope had to explain himself. He apologized and traveled two months later to Istanbul's Blue Mosque, where he stood shoeless in prayer beside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul.
"Later he hosted Muslim leaders at the Vatican at the start of a Catholic-Muslim forum for dialogue. It was a human moment — a mistake, an apology and atonement — all round."
The image of a "shoeless" Roman Pontiff inside a mosque standing in prayer alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, if effect, bowed before and in "attonement and apologetic to Islam is chilling.
Is Sister Walsh's spin on that correct? Is that how Pope Benedict XVI portrayed his visit to and actions inside the mosque in question. Did Sister mary Walsh and/or CNN bother to consult the Pope's General Audience remarks from December 6, 2006 A.D., in which His Holiness mentioned his visit to the mosque?
Did Jesus resign? Should His Vicar resign? IMO the concept of having two popes at one time is an idea that only the modernists would come up with. Are we living in the end-times? One would certainly think so. Really, Your Holiness, I ask that you reconsider.
Holy Saints of God help us! There are certainly holy men of God that could help the current Pope fulfill the duties of his office, if deemed truly necessary. Call them papal aides or whatever - it's a better option in these times. And I'm sure the contributors to this blog could think of numerous holy men of God that could fulfill that role (hint, hint).
Absolutely true. Nevertheless, the Pope needed to issue some sort of rule about this, because the problem of his style, title and residence would present itself from the first moment of the Sede Vacante.
So, I don't see this as "highly irregular". Some rule had to be put in place about what would happen, and a rule was made.
The rule that was created today will remain in force unless revoked by a future Pope. So, the election of the new Pope does not nullify the rule.
But you are right that the new Pope can alter this arrangement, can lay down different rules, and Pope Emeritus Benedict will have to obey the new Head visible of the Church.
"As Prof. Basto said ROMA LOCUTA EST, CAUSA FINITA EST."
This phrase refers to infallible dogmatic definitions. It absolutely DOES NOT apply to the present debate.
I think traditionalists, like Christopher Ferrara, raise ask some good questions regarding whether the Third Secret of Fatima has been entirely released and its official interpretation. If I recall from memory correctly, Sr. Lucia, for example, wrote JP II after the assassination attempt on his life explaining that the secret had not yet been fulfilled. Further the official explanation does not line up with prior public testimony from Vatican officials alluding to the contents of the secret.
1. How could Benedict's personal secretary go into retirement with the Pope, yet still remain head of the Pontifical household?
2. Why will Benedict still be called "His Holiness, Benedict XVI" and not simply Joseph Ratzinger?
3. Did Benedict XVI resign or not?
I am returning briefly to complain about a justice done to me here. About two months ago, someone used my name here to mock me for having predicted an abdication. Now we have an abdication. And it is an abdication, as, in standard English usage, 'resignation' implies an authority which can accept or refuse the renunciation of office. This is an issue of usage, of course, not one of etymology. The Holy See used the term 'renunciation' in its official statement. Abdication is the preferred term for a sovereign who renounces office without seeking anyone's leave.
The Pope should not wear white or use the title 'His Holiness' after abdication. There should not be even the appearance of two popes at the same time.
To answer one contributor here, Edward VIII became The Prince Edward after his abdication. This did not change to the Duke of Windsor; rather, the latter title was merely added to the former. In parallel, this Pope would become Bishop of Rome Emeritus and might later be elevated to the Sacred College. I'm not sure if he remains a cardinal in any event. I don't know everything on these matters but this new style being chosen is certainly contrary to good practice. In law, of course, he can choose his own style and it will be valid at least until the next Pope decides otherwise.
Let's hope that the next Pope puts the triregnum on his personal shield and once again uses the title of Patriarch of the West, which remains a papal title, as it has not yet lapsed by desuetude.
After death, an abdicated Pope or King reverts to his regnal name. The Duke of Windsor is properly called Edward VIII since his death in 1972.
Murphy-O'connor "on point" for a coup d'etat against the Papacy?
While I agree with you that there SHOULDN'T BE even the appearence of two Popes at once, yet, in the Spirit of the Modern Age, not only this abdication was executed, but also the Pope now decided to create in the Church the position of Pope emeritus.
Just like decades ago Paul VI invented the position of Bishops emeriti, and the situation of Cardinals non-electors.
In this novel and modern world, there will be the appearence of two Popes, because one of them will be the retired Pope emeritus, still having the word "Pope" as part of his title, and the other will be the reigning Pope, the actual Roman Pontiff.
A novelty we all must swallow, in the Spirit of Vatican II, as we swallowed the creation of Bishops emeriti and so many other novelties.
The creation of this novel title makes this resignation definitely.
The positions of Prefect of the Papal Household and personal secretary are separate. Under the law, everyone save the Camerlengo and Dean of the Sacred College, &c., loses office and then resumes it after the election of the next Pope. So he will presumably keep his new position, although the next Pope might decide otherwise, of course.
The creation of this novel title makes this resignation definitely a Vatican II moment.
Martujo, all right fair enough.
So let's try it this way.
I doubt he will change his mind because many in here want him to.
The only way I can see this happening is if the next pope asks Benedict to reconsider his title. And I doubt that will be the case but hey I could be wrong.
So until that happens, the Pope has spoken case is finished.
For some reason the title business is bringing me back to King Lear. I am surprised that he wants to keep the title Pope in any manner. Maybe there is some good reason for this which I am not getting, but I don't see it.
Hmmm, is the Fatima Third Secret describing this "climb" as happening within the time Pope Benedict resigns and the Papal election? It seems there is only one Pope image or impression, not two.
Or, does it mean that the elected new Pope is not legitimate or abandons the Church, leaving only Benedict?
One thing for sure, I will not muse any further. It seems sacrilegious somehow to ponder beyond my aptitude. My hunch is that the white clothed impression is some future pope, not Benedict.
I think it's important to keep in mind that Joseph Ratzinger and Benedict XVI are not ontologically two different people.
In response to Rom Kiul, "Benedict XVI" ceases to reign on Feb. 28th (hence, as you rightly point out, his regnal years on the papal rosters will reflect 2013 as the conclusion of his reign), but the man survives.
It may be that, by association with the secular order, we are attaching only office-related import to the incumbent pope's name while such name can also be seen as having a spiritual significance that remains even after the conclusion of one's service. Consider the name "Benedict XVI" as a charism-related adoptive name similar to that which we assumed at Confirmation. We never lose our Confirmation name. It would seem equally appropriate for the pope to retain the name he adopted upon becoming pope.
As far as the style of "His Holiness" goes, many have been quick to draw analogies from British conventions. Why not also remark on our American presidents who continue, out of deference, to be referred to as "Mr. President" even after their terms? Further, despite their currently being, what, five men in the country addressed as "Mr. President", this has never been a source of confusion as to who is the actual incumbent.
Finally, a word to Prof. Basto: "Pope Emeritus" is not a position for crying out loud. Do not make a mountain out of a molehill. It is simply a designation for someone who has completed his run, his service--in this case, by abdication.
Will the cardinal electors also nominate the Secretary of State as well as the Pope?
"Just like decades ago Paul VI invented the position of Bishops emeriti . . .
A bishop without a see. SSPX?
"He (Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor) added that many bishops and cardinals believed the entire church should be reformed by Benedict XVI's successor, with the pope taking a much less dominant role in the church, to give a greater say to its bishops. "It is not just the pope who rules the church," he said. "It is the pope with the bishops. "There is no doubt that today there needs to be renewal in the church, reform in the church and especially of government," he told a news conference in London. "How is this next pope going to govern the church?"
i. The deliberate side-lining of the Pope and therefore the overthrow of Vatican I.
ii. The effective creation of national catholic Churches run by committee (Bishops' Conferences) with all their ills, including a professional salary-drawing laity.
iii. The final Modernist victory.
* Relaxation of the Church's prohibition of contraception and it's alright if that means some level of abortion.
No doubt others have spotted some I have missed.
Every Conclave is vital for the Church and the whole world: it seems to me that for this one, the whole of Creation will be holding its breath.
Is Anti-Christ close to us now? Is he in the world?
It is recorded that, when Saint Celestine V signed his Renunciation of the Roman Pontificate, effectively immediately, he rose from his Throne, walked down the steps, disvested himself of all the papal insignia, and took on the habbit of a hermit.
Pope Benedict XVI instead, dressed in papal white, and with the title of His Holiness the Pope Emeritus, will go to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, where he will be the next Pope's guest, until the completion of his Vatican Monastery.
There he will reside with his Household, that will include the nucleus of his present Household, and will continue to be headed by the same man who is the Prefect of the Papal Household.
I wonder. During the Vacant See, it is the duty of the Cardinal Camerlengo to seal the Papal Apartments of all inhabited Papal Palaces.
Will Pope Benedict be residing in the Papal Apartment of Castel Gandolfo (which would mean that the Camerlengo will probably omit the sealing of that Apartment), or will He be residing at another apartment, a guest apartment, at the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo?
Can one of the learned moderators or readers of this venerable blog please tell me why the RED SHOES are essential to the reigning pontiff, while the white cassock is not? What is it with those red shoes?
the difference is that the American presidency is a man made institution; the papacy divine. The Church is also sensitive to the issue of any appearance of "multiple" popes after what happened during the Great Schism.
I can deal with "Holiness" I just don't care for "pope emeritus."
Benedict XVI is now allegedly going to live a life of seclusion, prayer and contemplation which begs the question as to why he simply didn't become a monk,dress accordingly and live within a community rather than have a retirement residence fitted out underneath the nose of his successor. The last thing that should happen is any future appearance or statements from him. He has decided upon this peculiar course so he needs to be out of sight and out of mind for this to work -- a real "Papal Cloister". No worries about titular niceties, cardinal status or the color of his shoes (Pius XII wore white ones as I recall). I understand that keeping him in the Vatican will make security and monitoring easier but in the good old days I suspect the Castel Sant'angelo would have been the place of retreat.
It is obvious that there are so many 'Monday morning quarterbacks' among Catholic Blog followers that there is nothing that the Pope thinks, says, or does that is not fodder for their analysis and criticism.
This is supposed to be a Traditional Catholic blog.
Well traditionally, Catholics did not pick apart every word and deed of the Pontiff. It would be completely unheard of.
I know this is an issue which the average blog follower can comprehend, but can you actually get yourself all worked up about it?
I'm sure there isn't one single person who is of sound mind who will confuse the resigning Pope Benedict XVI with the soon to be elected Pope. We are not living during the "Great Schism," and we are all clear, 100% clear, about who Benedict XVI is and his current status as Pope.
Whatever he decides to call himself, it isn't for me to second guess him. It certainly doesn't effect any of us in our material sadly, this is what we have become.
I HAVE A ODD QUESTION?
Since Benedict XVI is gonna become Pope Emeritus after February 28 then will his name and number count in the official list of popes or will it be labeled pope emeritus. Because he isnt dead yet... He is still alive!
Will he still be counted as Benedict XVI in the list?
While some aspects of your comment tend to misrepresent Catholic attitude towards the Holy Father, I mostly agree with you.
Well Judith if you feel that strongly about the commentary you must not care for the blog post either, which appropriately informs us of the news of this new title. I don't think anyone thought he would retain the title of pope in any fashion; it grates on catholic sensibilities a tad at least. Regardless, this is obviously not one of the Church's major concerns, as this blog has demonstrated for many years.
The Third Fatima Secret speaks of the outrage against the 'bishop in white' happening on a hill or a mountain.
In the Pope's recent sermon on the Transfiguration, as reported on this website, the Pope said, "The Lord is calling me to 'climb the mountain'..."
Is our dear Papa keeping a papal name (Pontifex Emeritus), wearing white, and claiming a move up the mountain, to take it upon himself to fulfill the prophecy, in order to spare his successor the horror that prophecy describes!
The story of Celestine V is quite interesting. The former Celestine, Pietro Angelerio, was not allowed to remain in solitude. Various parties had opposed his resignation and the new Pope Boniface VIII had reason to worry that one of them might install him as an antipope. To prevent this he ordered Pietro brought to Rome. Pietro escaped and hid out in the woods before returning to Sulmona to resume monastic life. This proved impossible and Pietro was captured after an attempt to flee to Dalmatia. Boniface imprisoned him in the castle of Fumone near Ferentino in Campagna, where Pietro died after 10 months. His supporters spread the allegation that Boniface had treated him harshly and ultimately executed Pietro.
The point.. Benedict XVI will have to keep his head down.
In mission countries, and warm climes, Bishops and Monsignori as well as ordinary priests often don a simple white house cassock, much like in Italy, Bishops and Cardinals often just wear the simple black "house cassock" of a priest. I've met Cardinal Ratzinger more than once in Rome, at at the Holy Office too...and he too wore the simple cassock of a priest. Only his ring and Pectoral cross as well as his skullcap gave away the fact he was a Cardinal. So, people, let's chill out on the issue. Wearing a white cassock is not much of a mystery. Since the simar is a garment of jurisdiction (cf. "The Church Visible: ceremonial and protocol of the Roman Catholic Church by James-Charles Noonan, Jr) it is clear why Benedict XVI will not wear it any more, no more than the typical red shoes, proper of the holder of the Petrine Office, and the Fisherman's ring.
As for his being styled, "Your Holiness", even though he has renounced papal office, I don't see why people are bent out of shape for that: A Bishop (retired or not) is always styled, "Your Excellency", a Cardinal whether retired or not is always styled, "Your Eminence". Whilst I am not an American, I know that when addressing a Former President, in direct speech he is always called, "Mr. President". It is a mark of respect to the person who HELD the most powerful position in the secular world. It is also true that in most countries, retired Officers from Armed Forces are stilled called, "General, Colonnel, Captain etc..." I think there are multiple examples that can be used. Of course, one never confuses a retired General from a General in active duty, no more than in my own Archdiocese, no one confuses the incumbant with the two retired Archbishops who live and work in the Archdiocese, the immediate predecessor living a stone's throe from the Chancery. Everyone knows that the BOSS is the reigning Archbishop !
I think one should alwyas distinguish between essential symbols and titles of the Office and the familiar style. Pope is not a canonical title. The Code never uses that title. Pope Emeritus obviously means "the one who WAS the Pope" of Roman Pontiff Emeritus means "The one who WAS the Roman Pontiff". There can be no confusion for anyone who can read or write !
I trust much more Pope Benedict's intelligence than mine, and as a holder of a doctorate in Canon Law and having been consulted by Nuncios a few time on various issues, I willingly say that the Holy Father's decision to renounce office is NOT repugnant to canonical law and that his insights into his title and even his vesture show great simplicity and a deep knowledge of symbolism. I am ready to bet that not many readers even asked themselves why he will not wear a cape anymore over his cassock.The answer is simple: he does not have that jurisdiction anymore ! So I trust his judgement and I have know that as a priest and a Prelate of His Holiness, There will be no doubt in my mind that the future Pontiff that will be elected is the one who willhave full, immediate and ordinary power of governance over the whole Church. In a layman's term, we'll all know "who is the boss", anyone affirming the contrary just displays ignorance of things ecclesial...much like the secularpress does. I would have hoped better from persons attached to Tradition, but I find too many comments bordering lack of charity or even trust. Let us love and trust our Pope and follow him unreservedly as the Roman Pontiff until the period of Sede Vacante begins. Then. When the New Pope comes, let us hope that he will have recourse to the wisdom of Benedict XVI just living next door.I know that my Archbishop is a man who is really sure of himself, but he insisted that his predecessor live nearby where he could consult him without difficulty (and discreetly too). I trust the new Pope will do the same as my Archbishop ! Oremus pro pontefice nostro Benedicto !
BONIFACE said "Archbishop Gänswein will move with Pope Benedict XVI when he retires on Feb. 28, but he also intends to retain his role as head of the Pontifical Household."
Curious he intends. The Prefect of The Papal Household serves at the Pope's pleasure as it is an appointed position and technically disappears when the reigning Pope does also. Who's to say the succeeding Pope wants to keep him there? Could it be Gänswein has a clue-in on something. Interesting.
In my sadness of this event of our Pope steppping aside, I'm happy that the present Curia will be out of a job, unless the New Pope elects to keep them. "Come Holy Ghost .....", This Is true isn'[t it New Catholic?
I am very glad to see that P.K.T.P. is still posting. He was missed.
Judith said..."It is obvious that there are so many 'Monday morning quarterbacks' among Catholic Blog followers that there is nothing that the Pope thinks, says, or does that is not fodder for their analysis and criticism.
"This is supposed to be a Traditional Catholic blog.
Well traditionally, Catholics did not pick apart every word and deed of the Pontiff. It would be completely unheard of."
Not during the early centuries of the Church. Catholics critiqued Popes, bishops...the laity rioted over the selections of Popes and bishops. People died during said riots. The laity demanded a major voice in the Church.
Traditionalists today are horrified whenever there is talk of empowering the laity. Well, the Traditional Catholic laity of the Early Church were "modernists" by the standards of today's Traditionalists.
The laity then did not tolerate exclusion from the process to elect Popes and bishops. The notion of limiting their role to prayer-only during the elections of Popes and bishops was unthinkable to Early Church Traditionalists.
You believe that the laity did not "pick apart every word and deed of the Pontiff. It would be completely unheard of." Sorry, but when Pope Saint Gregory The Great made a slight alteration to the Roman Mass, the laity at Rome went berserk.
The Roman laity were so enraged that they threatened to kill Pope Saint Gregory The Great.
noted that it was commonplace for the Early Church laity to resist liturgical reforms enacted by Popes. Sometimes centuries passed before the laity accept this or that liturgical reform.
Frankly, endless discussions and critiques of Popes and bishops among the laity were akin to today's daily electronic and print coverage of Hollywood celebrities. Such was a form of entertainment to the Early Church laity. Popes, patriarchs and bishops were akin to celebrities to the Early Church Faithful.
While I agree that the Prefect of the Papal Household serves at the pleasure of the Pope; that the next Pope will be free to choose his own Prefect; that no-one should attempt to bind the next Pope in that regard; and that Archbishop Gänswein should not assume that the Pope will retain him, I would just like to point out that the Prefect of the Papal Household does not lose office during the Sede Vacante.
The Roman Curia is one thing. The Papal Household is another. While heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia loose their offices upon the start of the Sede Vacante, the Prefect of the Papal Household does not.
The Prefect of the Papal Household is mentioned in articles 19, 28 and 91 of Universi Dominici Gregis, and from those articles it can be seen that he has functions during the Sede Vacante, alongside such officers as the Camerlengo, the members of the Apostolic Chamber, the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, etc.
So, at least during the Sede Vacante, Archbishop Gänswein will indeed retain both roles as personal secretary to the Pope Emeritus and Prefect of the Papal Household, and it is perhaps in this sense that it was announced that he intends to keep both functions.
Without any presumption of attempting to curtail the decision-making powers of the next Pope.
Dear Judith. Traditionally, we Catholics have never before been faced with innumerable instances of doctrinal novelties and obvious radical ruptures in ecclesiastical praxis.
Just to take one example - the very first official act of Pope Benedict's Papacy was the writing of a letter to the Jews of Rome; and, no, it was not a plea for them to convert.
I think the reactions are all legitimate given the radical novelties to which we have been subjected.
I have yet to read one comment disrespectful of him personally but far worse than what you complain of, in my opinion, is the deference and respect given by The Brick By Brick Bund, and other conservative Catholics, to the post 1962 BCE Popes in all of their radical acts which clearly are radical ruptures and departures from what had been the Doctrines, Norms, and Praxis of our Traditional Catholic past.
It is quite unfair to insist the Laity accept with passivity and sanguinity all of the radical ruptures with the past while allowing to escape criticism those holding the offices of power and authority for that is to blame the powerless victims and exonerate those who are responsible for these most radical changes in our Faith.
Frankly, that is a position more craven than it is commendable.
Why not call him the “Extra-ordinary Pope”? Then we can have only one pope in an “Ordinary” and “Extra-ordinary” form!
Is Fr. Lombardi contradicting Cardinal Coccopalmerio?
Allow me to clarify my remarks (which a number of readers seem to take issue with): I do not begrudge Pope Benedict any of these styles, titles, or perquisites. At all. I love Pope Benedict and none of these distinctions annoy me in the least; it's just the way it's all being done that bugs me. I don't have issue with any of the perquisites, themselves; I merely mean to point out the invalidity of an incumbent making his successor's decisions, that's all.
Since all of these decrees are intended to take effect the moment after the Pope is no longer the Pope, they are incapable of taking effect, at all. The power behind these acts that would make them effective dissolves the instant before they become effective. So they cannot become effective, and rightly so. They are for the succeeding authority to make, not the outgoing authority.
An outgoing absolute authority cannot decided for an incoming absolute authority what that incoming absolute authority will permit.
Now, I'm sure the new pope will allow Benedict to stay at the Vatican and permit him all of these titles and perquisites he's determined he ought to have, but the fact is that until the new pope confirms all of these decisions, they're meaningless, since the power that realizes them dissolves before they would become effective.
That's all I mean to say.
"Pope emeritus" is an ontological and theological impossibility. No more than one man is Pope at any given time. When a Pope abdicates, he ceases to be any sort of Pope. Period. He retains the cardinalatial dignity, if he is not stripped of it by his successor or a council, including rights to elect a new Pope, but that is all.
The Pope has created a very dangerous ambiguity, which implies something which is at root contrary to the Faith. The white cassock does not help, either. When a man ceases to be Pope, he loses the right to all papal insignia.
The situation is aggravated by the Pope's last Angelus address, which implies (incorrectly) that the papacy, once accepted, becomes an inalienable, seemingly ontological aspect of the person who is Pope.
If the latter is true (which it cannot be), then Ratzinger remains the true Pope, and the successor would be an antipope.
Once again, we see the grave harms done by Vatican II and the New Theology.
I'm very glad to see the return of PKTP and his insightful comments.
Mr Perkins, you were missed.
To In monte oliveti: I suppose that an Archbishop Emeritus, follwing your logic, is also an ontological and theological impossibility as there can't be two archbishops of the same see ? Yet in my diocese I know full well who is the Archbishp...And I suppose that when I wear my white cassock people would think I am weraing papal insignia in the missionary land where I toil ? Please, with all due respect for your feelings, I think it is important not to turn this very simple issue into a dogmatic fight ! Come now...can you not see the simplicity of the Gospel behind His Holiness' action ? He is the Vicar of Christ and I trust in him much mire than in my own opinions...give the man a break. You most probably will never see him again unti he dies...so, let us keep things in perspective. Meditate on the words he said today...beautiful and full of light !
I must say I agree with In Monte the more I have thought about this. Pope emeritus confuses the office of the papacy. A parting gift from Vatican II I guess. Thanks to you all who were there, the "best and the brightest."
Dear In monte Oliveti. Had I the ability to communicate with him, I'd ask the newly elected Pope to invite the exPope in for a bit of a chin wag and let him know I was available, right now, to receive favorably his request that he be known as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and then, later in the day, he could return for a brief visit and bring with him his white cassock and shoes etc.
But such things never do happen, do they?
No, we are all just supposed to accept these novelties with alacrity if not standing ovations; that is, the Vatican Two Hierarchy always demands that everyone else changes while they never do.


January was mostly a blur, with lots of travel, work, and personal business to take care of. February was a time for me to play some poker but also take some personal time. Everyone needs time away from the internet, time to focus on the important things in life, and I did too. But February was also a time for some private poker games. Vegas doesn’t seem to have the games I’m looking for in the casinos, but with juicy private games, though, I certainly played a good amount of cash poker, which was nice.
I also participated in a great charity event on February 19. It was called Raise Your Hand for Africa, and it was hosted by the Starkey Hearing Foundation at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. I am so glad I attended! It was not only a great event to raise money for a good cause – and I met celebrities like Steve Martin, ‘Mini Me’ Vern, and a handful of NFL Pro Player! – but I connected with the foundation. I found out that they took a trip to Vietnam in 2010 and gave hearing aids to thousands of kids, allowing them to hear sounds for the first time in their lives. And they’re going again this year, so I spoke to Starkey about their plans, and I’m going with them! I’ll be able to combine the trip that I wanted to take to deliver food and other help to the poor in Vietnam, and I can help Starkey donate hearing aids to children, too. I’ll have more details on that as we plan the trip.
After playing that poker tournament, I hopped on a flight back to Los Angeles for the WPT Invitational, which was the same night. I made it in time to play, though I busted out of the event on the first night.
A few days later, I played the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, which I play every year. Things started slowly, without much action at my first table. Lee Markholt was at my table, but I didn’t know many others. I had an up-and-down day that ended with 42,250 which was a little above average.
Day 2 started with an exciting table, one that included several good players like Nenad Medic, Joe Hachem, and a few others. I have to say that Joe is completely hilarious! He had our table laughing for so long. The best joke of the day came when he said that he figured out why the young kids wear glasses at the table…because they’re all high. Maybe you had to be there, but it was so funny! For poker, I started off the day with a big double-up. On the second hand, I woke up with pocket kings UTG, so I raised and got one caller. I checked the flop of K-J-8 with two diamonds on the board, but the guy bet 5K, and I just called. The turn was a 5, not a diamond, I checked, he bet 6500, and I raised to 15K, which he called. The J of diamonds on the river came, and I went all-in. He called with A-Q of diamonds, and I had a nice double-up to begin the day. I took a hit at the end of the night, though. With 35 minutes left to play, I looked down at pocket aces UTG. Wanting to make the most out of it with my table, I simply limped in so there was 4 of us in the hand. The flop came 9-9-2 rainbow, the blinds checked, but when I bet 2200, the BB made it 6800, and I called. It was heads-up, and the turn came 8. He bet 10K, and I called. The river was a blank, and he pushed all-in for 32K. I was pot-committed but thought I was beat, but he was new to the table and I didn’t have much of a read on him. As I was thinking about my decision, he called the clock on me after less than a minute! He was very nervous, even shaking, and I finally called. He showed 9-6 suited. Yuck, I lost 55K in that pot. Even so, I ended the day with 50,700.
Day 3 was a tough one. I had no cards in the beginning of the day and aside from stealing a few blinds, I blinded off some of my chips and was down to 31K. Allen Cunningham joined the table and played his first hand. He raised it up to 6K, and when I looked down at K-Q in the BB, I shoved all-in. He called with pocket jacks, and I never improved on the blank board. I was out. It felt good to go so far in the event, but obviously it sucked to bust on Day 3 before the money.
I was informed in January that I won a great award. It was in the 2010 Maven Awards that the public voted for several categories. I was nominated in two and won the Humanitarian Award, which was great because I was up against Annie Duke and Linda Johnson, and both of them do a ton of charity work too. I am grateful for the award and recognition, even though I do all of my charity work each year for the people who benefit from it. But thanks to Woman Poker Player and the tens of thousands of people who voted in the awards!
I also wanted to mention a very cool, creative person I met a year ago who has the most positive energy. Her name is Gabriela Pomplova, and she’s an artist, yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and painter. A few media crew and poker players had approached me and asked about the cute necklace I recently bought from Gabriela that I wore through the LAPC, and I felt that it kept me in a good place no matter what the cards were.
Finally, I want to mention a couple of things that Chilipoker is doing. 2011 is going to be a big year! After a very successful first season of DeepStack Open tournaments around Europe and Morocco, they announced Season 2, which will have 7 stops – Costa Brava, Cannes, Marrakech twice, Paris, Malta, and Vienna. Buy-ins of €550 are the same as last year, but they will have cheaper side events and cash games at every stop. Players can still qualify on Chilipoker for all of the stops, and they can also get cheap flights and good hotel rates through DSO specials. Not only can players win their way into tournaments in some of the best locations in the world, but they have a chance to win a full DSO sponsorship for 2012 as part of the Chili DSO Team! The first stop is Costa Brava, Spain, and I hope to see you at one of the stops on the tour soon!
I’ll be going to Paris to play in the Team Poker Cup at the Cercle Gaillon. I’ll be playing with partner Xavier Niel, CEO of Iliad, and there will be 20 teams. It should be a real fun tournament.
When I last updated, I was still in Marrakech and looking forward to leaving, though there was a bit of business to attend to first. The World Poker Tour Main Event was still in the works, and I stayed in town so I could watch the action at the final table, which was sponsored by Chilipoker. It was an amazing day, as Sebastian Homann, who had been the chipleader since Day 1, took that lead into the final table and went on to win the tournament. To top that, he was a Chilipoker qualifier! It is what players dream of when they win a satellite into a big live tournament, and Sebastian did it and played so well. The young man from Germany did a great job, so Congratulations to him!
By the time it was all over, I was ready to get back to London on my way home to the U.S., but it wasn’t going to be easy. Because of terrible winter weather in London, Gatwick airport was closed, which meant that my flight was cancelled. I was in the airport wondering what to do, waiting for about 4 or 5 hours for some answers, so finally decided to head back to the Palace where I had been staying. Then a few hours later, I received an email from Virgin Atlantic informing their upper class passengers that they’ve cancelled all flights to and from Gatwick Airport for the next two days, but with determination and hours of internet searches, I finally found a flight to Heathrow instead.
Once I arrived in London, I tried to book a hotel room for the night because my flight to Los Angeles wasn’t until the next day, but everything near Heathrow was sold out! After about three hours, I was able to find a hotel online that said it was 5.5 miles away. I jumped in a cab to head over there and get a little sleep, but it turned out to be 13 miles away. I did it anyway, was able to get a few hours of chill time, then headed back to the airport early in the morning and caught my 11-hour flight to L.A. When I got there, I booked a Southwest flight to Las Vegas and finally arrived home. What a journey that was!
I was so happy to be home! Jace was so patient and loved that I was finally home. So when I made the decision a week later to head to Seattle to visit some good friends there, I decided to take him with me. It was his first flight! But he did so well, trusting me the entire way but being the very good boy that he is. I’ve even been going Christmas shopping for actual gifts, instead of just giving people money when I’m too busy to shop in past years! Hee hee. But this year, I’m shopping and loving it. I guess I really found the Christmas spirit this year!
One of my friends told me about this great cat shelter called the Meow Cat Shelter, so of course I had to visit! I saw three cats that were attractive and melted my heart, but two were just not suitable for a home with another cat, especially the sweet one that I met with his ears cropped. He was so traumatized by the process and the “home” he was in before that he was fearful of everything, and I feared that I couldn’t give him the right home. But I did meet a sweet brown female kitty who was just amazing! She was super friendly, loving, energetic, and her energy was very positive. She even a polydactyl (an extra toe) kitty, which is odd but very cute! And she has the same kind of tail marking as Jace. So, I adopted the little girl as a companion for Jace, and they’re loving each other so far. I decided to name her Tesni, which means “warmth from the sun” in Welsh.
As for poker, I’m excited that the latest issue of the French magazine That’s Poker has finally come out! The cover photo turned out really well, so I’m looking forward to getting my copy of the magazine to read it – in French?! – and enjoy the article as well. There’s nothing else going on in poker for the rest of the year for me because due to my travel delays, I couldn’t make it back to Vegas in time for the WPT event at Bellagio and won’t play any other live events until January. I need the break, as all players do sometimes, to simply enjoy friends and family and relax for awhile.
As for me, I’ll be back to posting again when I take a break from the holidays, and I’ll be back on the poker scene in January. I’m planning a trip to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), where I’ll play the Main Event that starts on January 8, though I’ll probably play Day 1B on January 9. It should be an amazing time, and I know that thousands of players go there every year. And on my off days, I’ll just take advantage of the amazing Bahamas beaches. Win-win!
I’m also trying to decide on some dates for a return trip to Vietnam. As the new year gets underway, it will be the perfect time to do some charity work, as there are people in my country struggling, and some food and other help could be very useful in starting their years with some hope and love. It’s been too long since I’ve been there, and I’m anxious to get back, so I’m considering the trip around late January or early February.
For now, I want to wish all of my friends an amazing holiday season! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays! And if we don’t talk before the year ends, Happy New Year! May the holidays and the new year bring all of the health and happiness that you can handle!
Thanksgiving in Marrakech, Home for December!
After being able to spend some time at home in Las Vegas and with friends in Los Angeles and Seattle over the past month, it wasn’t so bad to get out and travel again. Flights to Marrakech are not easy, though! But I made it in one piece, I wasn’t groped by any TSA officials at the airport, and I’ve been set up in a very luxurious hotel here.
When I arrived in Marrakech, I immediately got into the poker spirit with a charity event on my first night. It started at 10:30pm, and the Tournoi des Sultanes was a fun set-up, The nine Sultans were Estelle Denis, Karima Charni, Tatiana Golovin, Laurie Cholewa, Pascale Clark, Caroline Diament, Valerie Benaim, Charlotte Pay, and myself. The winner of the tournament was going to receive 10,000€ Euros to donate to the charity organization of her choice, and when it all came down to it after four hours of play, I got heads-up with Pascale Clark, and the tournament ended with Pascale claiming the victory. But things were light at the end, and we all agreed that the top three players would split the prize money, with first place getting the most of course, to donate to our charities. We were all so passionate about raising money for causes that meant something to us that none of us wanted to give it up! It was funny and fun, all in good spirit, and the money raised for charities was a great outcome.
I should mention something about my lack of Twitter and Facebook updates from Marrakech. I started having internet problems as soon as I arrived, and it’s been sketchy for majority of the time during my stay. It was strange not to be connected at all times! I also recently switched to an iPhone from a Blackberry, and I’m still getting used to it. It’s very different from my BB, and I’m not entirely happy with my decision so far, but I’m trying to love the iPhone!
Anyway, after the Tournoi des Sultanes, I was ready for the Chilipoker Deep Stack Open event, and so was everyone else because it was a complete sellout! It was incredible to see so many players turn out for it, and the casino was pretty happy to have a full house.
I arrived about two hours late, which was normal for me, and I was off to a rocky start at the tables, but I won my first hand with AK and felt okay for a bit. But I couldn’t get much momentum going. It was into the fifth level that I tangled in a huge pot . I had about 45K in chips and looked down at pocket nines. Blinds were 150/300 with a 25 ante. I raised to 750 from middle position, and the guy to my left reraised the minimum, and two other players called and I did too. The flop came 9-T-3, and I checked. The guy to the left of me checked, too, and the last player to act on the button bet 5,500. I raised to 16K, and he moved all-in. I called his all-in with my set of nines, and he showed Q-J offsuit! I had to look at that hand twice! Anyway, the 8 came on the turn to fill his straight, the river blanked, and I was out of the tournament.
The next couple days were filled with interviews, the most interesting was done by That’s Poker, a French magazine. I’d arranged to meet up with Hugues Fournaise and Emmanuel Vanglabeke at 3:30pm down by the pool at my hotel to do the interview which lasted 3 ½ hours! I decided to open up and shared a lot more personal details than I normally do for this one, answering a lot of questions about my personal life, charities, my career, visions about the poker industry, and my family. I’ll be on the cover of That’s Poker magazine for the issue that comes out in December, I’m looking forward to seeing it!
I waited until Day 1B of the World Poker Tour event to play; I always like to play the second starting day. Numbers were down for the tournament in general, maybe partly because it was on Thanksgiving weekend and many Americans didn’t make the trip. Even so, it was a good tournament, especially with Matt Savage running it.
My table was full of action players , including two local cash game players, and all of the guys were majorly gambling it up. They were playing some crazy poker, and it was tough to even put them on hands. For example, in one hand, I had two pair on the A-J-9 flop holding A-9. I check-raised my opponent, and he called. The turn was a king, and he makes a slight over bet of 6,800 that time, and I called. The river was a 5, he bet 10K, and I check-called again. He showed pocket kings. It was that kind of tournament. I did slowly build my stack throughout the day but had to keep doing it because I lost every big pot I played. Another example, I had two black kings. The flop was 7-6-2 with two diamonds, I bet out 3,500 and got two callers. The 10 of diamonds came on the turn, player behind me bet 6,500, and I called. The river was the 8 of diamonds, he bet out 12K. After I decided to muck my kings, he turns over J-5 of spades! Gotta love it!
That was how my tournament went. I lasted until about 1:30am on Day 1B. With only 37K left and 8-6 of clubs in the big blind, I called the min-raise from the UTG player. The flop came K-Q-9 with two clubs, he bet 2,500, and I check-called. The turn was the 7, which gave me the open-ended straight draw to go with my flush draw, so when he bet 6,500, I check-raised all-in for about 29K. He insta-called with Q-10 offsuit! The river didn’t give me what I needed, and his queens were good. I was out of the WPT event.
I’m done with poker in Marrakech and just wrapping up some business before heading back to Las Vegas. I’ll be there through Christmas, which means I’ll probably play the WPT Bellagio in the next few days if I make it back in time. I’m considering another trip to Vietnam before the end of the year but that might wait until January. For now, I’m just looking forward to getting home for a little while, relaxing, and trying to refocus back on poker.
I hope my American friends had a great Thanksgiving! We all have so many things to be thankful for!
The month of October was a crazy one! I didn’t have much time to blog about it, but now that I’m home in Vegas, I can relay some of the things that brought me from the food poisoning in London in September to where I am now.
After missing the World Series of Poker Europe because of my sickness, I was excited to get back to the tables and play the EPT London event. I started that on September 30 – Day 1B – and even though I didn’t feel totally healthy at that point, I was ready to play poker. But it was an uneventful tournament for me with a quiet table. I didn’t get involved in any hands until after the third break, when I looked down at Q-8 of hearts next to the button. I raised to 750, the button reraised to 2000, and I called. The flop came 2h-6h-8s, I bet, the button raised, I reraised, and the button called. I bet another 6,200 on the 9s turn and the button moved all-in. I called, and the button had pocket jacks. The river was the 4s, and I was out.
I spent the next two weeks in London, enjoying my days with the cats and spending some evenings with my girlfriend Kele Le Roc who had just gotten back from L.A. We spent a few nights at the local clubs, and the dancing and good times were just what I needed!
Kele just finished recording a music video with Tha Vill in Los Angeles for a song called “More Than Friends,” which was directed by another very close friend of mine, Shannon Elizabeth. I still can’t stop watching the video! Congrats and a big shout-out to my friends for the amazing video!
After those good times, things took a turn for the worse when I traveled to Vienna on October 14 for the Chilipoker Deepstack Open. I was excited to get there, and even though my flight out of London wasn’t until 9:50am, I left home at 6:45am to head to the airport. We hit bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way, and I did not hit the airport until 30 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave. I rushed to the desk to check in, and the customer service woman rudely told me that the flight was closed. I was too late! I headed over to a different customer service desk and was told that I was considered a no-show and my ticket to Vienna was no longer valid…even though I was still there before my flight! On top of that, the guy told me I could buy a new ticket – for £659 one way! – but I couldn’t use my airline points because that had to be done 24 hours in advance. I didn’t believe him, so I walked away with my heavy luggage to used my iPad. Guess what? I was able to book the ticket with my points online and only paid $87!
That flight was more than five hours away, though, and they wouldn’t let me check in for that one, so I had to wait in the arrivals area. For some reason, everyone else there could access the wi-fi and use their computers, but I wasn’t able to purchase the internet access. Frustrating! I also discovered that my Blackberry wasn’t working because the trackball was broken, which meant that I couldn’t access any of my emails or do any work from the airport. I felt like the day was wasted.
My new flight finally boarded, though it was an hour and a half late, and I ended up getting to Vienna at about 8:30pm. As soon as I get to my hotel and walk through the doors to check in, the computer system at the hotel went down. Really? LOL. While I was waiting for them to figure out how to get my room key, I asked the guy if there was a place to fix my phone. He actually worked at a place but told me it would take 14 days to fix. Ummm, no thanks! Anyway, I got to my room, and I started to turn on the TV to get the internet access code to get to my emails, but the TV crashed. The guy who came to help me couldn’t help but laugh at my horrid streak of road blocks, and I had to laugh, too! It seemed that everything I touched that day went wrong, and I just wanted it to be over.
The next day was better. I headed to the Montesino Casino to play the Main Event – €550 for 50K starting chips! – and I discovered that the tournament was very well done! Everything there felt comfortable, the staff was amazing and welcoming, and the players even had a great attitude. We chatted at the table, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I had a bounty on my head in the tournament, though, and anyone who knocked me out won a freeroll into the next DSO event, so people were definitely gunning for me. One of the big hands in the beginning was a good example. I had 7-8 from the big blind and got involved with two other players. When the flop came 7-8-3, I checked, the UTG player bet, and the other guy raised to 3500. I pushed it up to 12,500, UTG mucked, and the other player called. The 3 came on the turn, we both checked, and we checked again on the 5d river. He turned over Q-2 of diamonds for the flush.
The players kept coming after me, though I busted two of them and built up a nice stack through Level 5. However, I lost a lot of chips (50k+) on this hand. It started with 7-9 in the big blind and there were four of us in the hand who all called the original minimum raise from seat one (UTG position) I flopped a straight on the 8-10-J flop! I checked, seat one bet 2,500, another called, and I raised. The action got a little crazy, a few re-raises until i called seat one’s all-in on the flop, it turned out that my opponent had pocket eights, and the turn paired the ten to give him a full house. I doubled him up.
I still had 27K or so in chips, but I didn’t see any playable hands for awhile and got blinded down. I eventually moved tables and decided to push all-in with A-K. Another player called with J-9 for ¾ of his chips, and of course the board came 3-7-7-9-3. I was out!
The next day, I played the €300 side event. That one started rough. The fifth hand I decided to play was pocket nines and hit on a 9-3-3 flop. Got my chips all-in on the flop, but my opponent had pocket aces, and an ace came right on the turn. I was crippled but made a quick turn around the very next level, doubling up twice then continued building my stack and finally ended the night with a healthy stack of 78,600 in chips. Day two started off slow, I couldn’t get much going. After about four levels of play, I finally picked up pocket J’s and went all-in, one player calls my all-in push then turns over pocket K’s. I ended up busting out in 27th place.
I even lost in cash games! Leon Groenewoud the head of events manager for the Montesino Casino and a few others wanted to play a friendly game of $1/$2 no-limit hold’em. At first I said I didn’t want to play because I just knew that I would lose playing such low limits, but changed my mind and played for the fun of it. And just as I thought, I lost €400!
The rest of the trip to Vienna was fun, though. One night, a group of my Chilipoker teammates and some of the tournament staff went out to a nightclub called The Box, and it was quite an impressive club! It wasn’t like Vegas, but it was nice and we had a blast. I also spent met and chatted with the CEO of Montesino, who was such a lovely and polite gentleman. He was so friendly and down-to-earth that it made me even more glad that I got to spend some time at the casino and get to know some of the people there. I will certainly be back!
Leaving Vienna was not so easy, though, because when I got to the airport, I found out that my ticket was cancelled. Since they considered me a no-show on my last flight, they cancelled my whole ticket! Unreal. I had to buy a new ticket, which I did online again, and about five hours later, I was finally on my way back to London.
I chilled in London for a few days with Kele then finally headed back to Las Vegas. The lovely Jace was waiting for me, and I can’t tell you how great it was to see my sweet cat again!
The last week, I’ve been thinking hard about what to be for Halloween, and my costumes are ready to be picked up! I have three to choose from, but it’s going to have to be a surprise. 😀 All I can say is that there will be some skin and at least one naughty outfit! 😉 I’ve already got tables reserved at my favorite clubs in Las Vegas for Halloween weekend, and the entire weekend will be a huge party. I can’t wait!
My next trip isn’t until November 17 when I head to Morocco for Chilipoker Marrakech Poker Festival, but I have another week to enjoy being home before I get on the road again. For now, I’m enjoying home and friends.
The last week in London has not been a great one for me. I’m finally feeling better, but the week of food poisoning not only kept me from playing one of my absolute favorite events of the year (WSOPE) but even forced me into the hospital for a few days.
It all started early Wednesday morning, the day before my starting day for the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. I was registered and ready to go. So, I went to bed on Wednesday night feeling absolutely normal but woke up after a few hours with serious pain in my stomach. I tried to lie there and hope it got better, but it only got worse, to the point that I was doubled over in pain and very afraid that something major was wrong. I called down to the front desk and asked them to call me an ambulance, and while I waited 2 hours for it to arrive, the hospital called me with a million questions to ask me on the phone. I was practically begging them to hurry with the ambulance while they were asking me my date of birth and lots of other information. When they finally arrived, they didn’t bring a gurney and forced me to walk downstairs and out to the ambulance. Then we sat in the ambulance on the cold London early morning – with the engine off! – as they asked me even more questions! That seemed to take another hour, and they finally decided to start up the vehicle and take me to the hospital.
The waiting time gets worse as we go through this story. I’m still shocked by it all.
Once in the emergency waiting room, I waited another hour to see a nurse and it took 2 hours from there to get someone to come in with painkillers. Unfortunately, they came in with pain pills and I told the nurse that taking pills would be impossible because I couldn’t keep anything down, so how could I take pills and not throw up? They finally decided to give me a shot of liquid painkiller, however to obtain this, most of my veins were poked and prodded for what seemed like eternity until they eventually found a suitable vein to inject the IV. I was pretty horrified by the difficulty that it took for the nurses to get in the IV line and my bruised arms are a testament!! After laying there for more than three hours, the pain didn’t get any better. The doctor, who looked like he couldn’t have been more than 21-years old, came in after taking x-rays and told me that all of the test results were negative. He thought it could be an ulcer but then again could also very likely be food poisoning, so he suggested I drink water with the instruction that if I became sick again I should return back without the added worry of waiting around for hours on end.
I did leave and went down the hall to buy medicine, but I was still doubled over in pain and decided to head back to the hospital. I demanded that they treat me because I was afraid to go home with such severe pains. That time, I waited about 5 hours to get a room, and even when I did get one, I was ignored until another doctor finally came to see me. They gave me lots of anti-nausea medication, which started to work, but they tried to feed me horrible hospital food which only made me sicker. I stayed a total of 3 days in the hospital, and when the doctor said I should be healed because nothing showed up on the tests, I finally was released to go home.
I have to say that I couldn’t believe the terrible medical system in London. It made me really appreciate the caring doctors and nurses and great facilities in the United States! Being sick away from Vegas where I’m most comfortable was bad enough, but having it happen in a hotel in London was even worse, but the medical care I received was the absolute worst part of it all.
I was also extremely disappointed to miss the WSOP Europe Main Event. After my deep run there last year, I was so excited to do even better this year. My mind was in a great place, and I was feeling good about my game. And I just love the structure of the WSOPE, so to miss it was a huge disappointment as I’ll never know what would’ve happened if I had actually played it.
I’m finally feeling a little better today, and I don’t want to miss another great tournament opportunity, so I’m going to play the EPT London on Thursday (Day 1B). I’m hoping to put all of this sickness behind me, try to eat some solid food today, and get ready for a long first day in the tournament.
Looking at the calendar, I see that it’s almost October. OMG! Where did September go?!? LOL. Anyway, that means that I’ll be heading to Vienna, Austria in less than two weeks to play in the Chilipoker Deepstack Open at the Montesino Casino in Vienna. The buy-in is only €550 for the Main Event, and we get 50,000 starting chips! There are two starting days – October 14 and 15 – and I’m not sure yet which one I’ll play, but I hope to see a lot of Chilipoker players there! Satellites are running on Chilipoker and giving players a chance to qualify for a lot less than the buy-in, so I’m sure there will be a lot of qualifiers there. And anyone else hanging out in Europe should head on over to play, too! 🙂 Hope to see you there!
Well, almost! I’m still handling last minute preparations before spending about three months overseas, and there is quite a bit to take care of. Besides finding a loving soul to look after Jace while I’m gone, as he’s not well enough to travel yet, there are all of the home details to attend to before I head out. And I’m trying to map out my entire trip and all of the tournaments I’m going to play. I’m exhausted before even getting on the first flight – LOL!
One of the most important things I’m handling before I leave home is the arrangement of my father’s three-year praying ceremony. It’s coming up later this week, and since I can’t be in Vietnam for it, I wired the money to cover all expenses and have been on the phone with my cousin almost constantly to make sure the organization and preparation is being done perfectly. The ceremony falls on the week of the Vu Lan Ghost Festival, which is a significant event for the people of Vietnam and throughout Asia, as Buddhist temples all over the region celebrate the deceased wandering spirits. And since the anniversary of my father’s passing happens to fall on that week, it’s an even bigger memorial, which features charity for those in need and a tribute to spirits. It’s the best way I can celebrate the memory of my father, and it’s very important that I make everything perfect.
“Vu Lan Festival” is believed to be the spirit month in Vietnamese culture as a way of honoring the dead. On this day, souls are believed to return to their former homes.
From this assembly, many Buddhist countries developed the custom of offering food, clothing and other items to hungry spirits in the month when the realms of Heaven, Hell and the living are open.
The object of this ceremony is to feed the hungry ghosts and to pray for their salvation. This ceremony is a way for people to meet their compassionate filial duty. During the ceremony, offerings are made to rescue up to seven generations of ancestors from whatever misery they might be suffering. During the month, every family can choose a day to present a feast and burn joss paper and incense in front of the house to invite the spirits to eat.
The most distinguished feature of the ceremony is the “offering snatching.” After the incense burns down, the neighborhood children are allowed to grab the food. No one will stop them as it is believed the spirits may be angered if they do so. The ceremony is also a great chance for people to express their gratitude to their parents.
Once that is ready, I can jump on a plane this week. The first stop on my whirlwind trip will obviously be London, as I need to check on my home there and see my beautiful cats that I miss so much, as well as some friends and colleagues. But the first tournament I’ll be playing will be the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes that starts on Sept 2nd. After taking some much-needed time off to rest, do some charity work, and connect with friends, it will be nice to get back to the tables and play some poker.
It seems like a lot of travel, which it is, but I will have some time to relax in London for a few days in that time period, though I will be handling quite a bit of business when I’m not playing tournaments, as usual. And when I write it all out like that, I realize just how busy I am! I’d also like to include a trip to Vietnam to do some charity work before the end of 2010, but we’ll have to see how everything plays out over the next few months.
So, I hope to keep everyone up to date as I play in some of these European events, and I’m sure I will even see some of you at those tournaments! I encourage everyone to play the Chilipoker DeepStack Open events, like the ones listed above in Vilamoura, Vienna, and Marrakech, as the buy-ins are always €550 and start players with massive 50K chip stacks. And for those without the money to buy-in directly, Chilipoker has numerous satellites running to give away seats. Check out the website for details!
I just returned this weekend from my trip to Nicaragua with Shannon Elizabeth for the Feed the Children organization. I have to say that it was different than what I expected. My usual solo trips to Vietnam involve truckloads of food that feed entire towns, and I’m always able to help out in numerous ways. This charity mission tied my hands a bit, as I was there with a bigger organization and couldn’t personally help as many people as I wanted. But, Feed the Children is very well organized and the volunteers know what they’re doing, so it was a different experience. And the good part was that I got to know some of the people in the villages better and on a more personal level than I usually do. And the two girls who touched us the most were a gift that I couldn’t have imagined being more gratifying or inspiring. Overall, it was an amazing trip!
A few us of in the large group that was going were on the same connecting flight to Managua, including Ace Young, Ryan Young, Drake Bell, Thomas Scriven, Chelsea Staub and her girlfriend Kelly. We got there on the evening of the 10th and were escorted to the VIP lounge and was assisted with immigration and customs, which took about 30 minutes. We each had a separate private vehicle outside for each of us, and our group had about a dozen security guards surrounding us at all times. (We weren’t going to the safest parts of the country after all.) We arrived at the hotel, and I went to meet with Emma and the documentary production crew. Shannon didn’t arrive until an hour and a half later, but I shared with her our information about the girls we were to meet the following day. I was exhausted, though, and I had been feeling sick for two days, so I went to my room to get some sleep.
But there wasn’t much time to sleep, as we had to get up by 7:30am and be ready to leave the hotel by 9:00am. We were again greeted by private cars because each of us had different missions to do that day. It took about 40 minutes to get to the home of the two sisters that Shannon and I were to visit, and once we arrived, we had to park at the bottom of the hill because the dirt road leading to their house was full of huge potholes. We left the car behind and walked up the hill to meet the girls in the town of villa Nueva. Luckily, we had a translator with us because the family didn’t know a word of English, and we didn’t know much Spanish.
We entered their tiny, hot, stuffy, shack that was quite dirty but it was their home. They showed us around and told us about themselves and their lives, though some of the information we got from the Feed the Children organizers before we went to see them.
Luz Marina Sanchez was 11 and Yahoska Sanchez Perez was 13. The adorable girls were both in the fourth grade and went to school in the evenings because their days were filled with keeping house, running errands for the family, and taking risks in the dangerous streets just to take care of the family and village. The girls also spent time collecting aluminum cans from the streets and exchanging them for a little extra money for the family, and sometimes they went door-to-door selling bread to the villagers for money. They lived with their aunt, Dona Maria Luisa, who took them in eight years ago because their father died and their mother was under psychiatric care. The extended family all lived together, and with a cousin expecting a baby, there was going to be ten in the family, all living in a small hut made of sticks, old scraps of wood, and flattened tin cans. The aunt’s son-in-law was the only person working in the family and supporting all of them.
The situation immediately touched my heart because Shannon and I got to know the sisters, who were just the sweetest girls! We asked them about their lives – what they liked and disliked, what they wished for, etc. It was mostly Yahoska who did the talking; she was quite brave and talkative, while Marina was shy at first but eventually warmed up to us. They told us a lot about their lives. And when we asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up, Yahoska told us she wanted to be a lawyer. (Great goal!) Marina said she wanted to be a doctor, and when I asked her what kind, she said a pediatrician! I already had a vision in my mind before she said it of her as a pediatrician, which comes from the fact that I love children so much, but when she said it I almost fell off the bed! I felt an instant connection with little Marina.
At one point, we had a sad moment when Yahoska put her head down and sadly told us that she wished she could get a proper education so she could be what she wants when she gets older. She told us that she wanted to provide a better life for her family, be able to buy medication for her mom that would make her better, and keep her family from suffering. Then she pointed to the roof and said that their home was collapsing. (It was true; the wooden pole that held up the roof was moldy and weak.) They told us how they even sometimes sell their clothes for money just so they can eat.
We asked them about their parents, and they said their dad was out, as if they didn’t even know that he was dead. They referred to their caretaker aunt as their mom, who didn’t seem like a warm, loving person to us. But no matter what, when we asked them if they felt happy, they both smiled these huge smiles and said “Yes!” Knowing what a hard life they lead, their enthusiasm about being happy girls was even more touching.
After more than an hour of chatting with them, we got to surprise them with something from the Make-a-Wish Foundation. They delivered bunk beds for the girls, as well as school uniforms and school supplies. We told the girls we had a surprise and we told the girls to close their eyes and cover them with their hands. We led them to the front of their shack and showed them the bunk beds with new mattresses, and they got big smiles on their faces. They seemed happy but not as happy as we hoped! They both got on the bed and felt it, and Shannon and I went over to check out the mattresses, which looked more like bean-bag comforters than mattresses. We were a little disappointed, but we would try to change that later. But the girls were happy enough, and as we went to leave, Yahoska ran up to give Shannon a big hug and said, “God bless you!” We were almost in tears and left with the most amazing feeling of having gotten to know these two beautiful girls.
On our way back to the hotel, Shannon and I talked about doing something personal and special for the girls, something that would make them happy and help their wishes come true. As we were working out the details, we decided to head out to a local restaurant for a meal with others in the group and then do some sightseeing. We went to a place with active volcanoes and then to a local market. We didn’t buy much, except Ace bought this UGLY devil’s mask. And on our way back to the hotel, about 15 minutes later, we got into a car accident! The security guards driving behind us rammed into our car by accident! We were all okay, but Shannon and I insisted to Ace that his mask had too much negative energy!
The next morning, the entire group went to the Feed the Children food center, and our group was rather large, including the production crew, Dean Cain, Drake Bell, Thomas Scriven, Kyle and Chris Massey, Chelsea Staub, David and Laura McKenzie, Ace and Ryan Young, Shannon, and me. We met a large group of kids who were given meals, and we saw how the center operates on a daily basis while we interacted with the kids. The crew took notice of how connected Shannon and I had become with Yahoska and Marina the day before, so they arranged for them to arrive at school early so we could feed them ourselves. That second day with the girls, they were more open, playful, and happy. Marina was much more talkative and attached to me, which was the greatest feeling! We played with the girls and the other kids for awhile. When we were supposed to leave, Luz Marina, asked me something very strange and unexpected. She asked me if I could give her some money for notebooks. It made me wonder if her aunt hadn’t asked her to say that so she could just get money. I told Marina I didn’t have any money but I was sure she’d be fine and very happy soon. When I went to say goodbye to Yahoska, she hugged me and asked me the same question Marina did! That made me sure that their aunt was just trying to get them to ask me for money. So sad! I told her the same thing, that I didn’t have any money. And the sweet girl that she is, she grabbed my hand and drew a picture on it – a star, a heart, and two rounded lines on each side of the star. I had to take a picture of it!
We left the school to return to the hotel, and Shannon and I immediately went across the street to the hotel to shop for the items the girls wished for and anything they might need or want. We bought it all! And luckily for us, our eight security guards were able to help carry the bags! LOL. We bought new mattresses, bedding sheets and pillows, Barbie dolls, notebooks, backpacks, reading books, kids’ story books, a bible (Yahoska had an old bible in her school bag that morning), pencil sharpeners, crayons, markers, and English language books. Then we had our driver take us straight to the girls’ home to surprise them. They had no idea we were coming, so they just lit up with the biggest smiles when they saw us and ran up to us with huge hugs. They were so happy just to see us, and when we said we had gifts, they were even happier. We showed them their new things, and their eyes were wide and happy! The look on Marina’s face when I showed her the notebooks was just priceless! I’ll never forget those faces that day.
We went with the girls back to their sleeping area and helped them with their mattresses, showed them how to put the sheets on their beds properly, and sat with them as they read their books. They are so smart and read so well, and it was obvious how much they loved reading and learning. We took the price tags off everything, including the dolls, so their aunt couldn’t take them and sell them. It was no guarantee that she wouldn’t do that, but we really could only pray that she allowed the girls to keep their gifts. The Feed the Children social worker who was with us spoke to the girls in Spanish, and she told Marina that I will sponsor her and told Yahoska that Shannon will sponsor her. They jumped up and down, smiled from ear to ear, and gave us the biggest hugs!
Monica, the social worker, then asked the girls some questions. Yahoska was asked if she would ever forget Shannon, and she said, “No, I’ll never forget!” Marina was asked what makes her the happiest in her life, and she said, “The love that they have given me today.” Just to hear that from such a shy little girl was so touching… By that time everyone was in tears, and the girls cried as they hugged us. Yahoska kept asking us to “please don’t go!” but we had to leave. I should also mention that Feed the Children gave the aunt a brand new stove for cooking, which will hopefully keep her happy for awhile.
We asked the girls to write to us and let us know how they’re doing in school and life and how they’re progressing, and we told them we would write letters to them, too. I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to writing the first letter and hearing back from them! There were so many tears during those days – happy and sad – but those personal visits with the girls were the highlights of the trip for sure! I still can’t stop looking at the pictures and thinking of ways to help the girls achieve their dreams and have the lives they deserve.
Anyone who wants to help Feed the Children can go to www.FeedTheChildren.org. And I encourage anyone who can do it to go on a mission, meet these children face to face, and see their lives for yourselves. It will change your life, I promise you!
It’s hard to even realize how tough the WSOP grind can be until it’s over. Suddenly, you don’t have a tournament to race to, you’re not spending thousands of dollars every few days on a tournament, and you’re not fighting every germ you come into contact with. It’s always fun to play a lot of poker and see friends that you don’t see most of the year, but the rest period after it’s all over is very calm and centering.
In the last few weeks, I did take a break from Las Vegas to visit some friends in Los Angeles, and I even got to spend some time shopping, partying, among many other things with my very close girlfriend Shannon Elizabeth. And it was then that I made a decision about where I’m going to spend some time in the next few weeks.
I was considering doing some charity work in Vietnam, but when Shannon talked to me about her upcoming trip to Nicaragua for Feed the Children, I was so excited to make the trip with her. I’ll get back to Vietnam in the next few months, I’m sure, but this new adventure gives me the chance to help other people in need as well. We’re going on an aid mission for this nonprofit organization, and we’ll be helping children by providing food and clean water, helping create shelters, and giving them other supplies that they don’t have. It’s something most of us take for granted, but many children don’t even have food in their lives every day. Shannon is no stranger to doing charity work, and I figure that both of us together can do some great things!
Another exciting thing about this trip is that Associated Television International is working with Feed the children to shoot a documentary about this trip. This 60-minute documentary will give people a first-hand look at our experience, seeing the poverty and helping make their lives a little better. But the major point of the documentary will be to show the rest of the world what kinds of problems exist in these parts of the world and what needs to be done to help.
For more information about Feed the Children and how you can help, visit www.FeedTheChildren.org.
And I leave in a few days! I’ve got my shots to prevent me from getting any of the local diseases… Ouch! I hate getting shots! But I know it’s all for the right reasons. I’m so looking forward to doing this project and getting involved in helping the people of Nicaragua.
Thanks for all of the recent birthday wishes, as it really made my day even more wonderful! The most precious gift I received, in addition to the love from everyone, was this lovely Lakshmi statue and some meditation items from Shannon. So sweet! After she helped me schedule an immediate appointment for Jace to see her vet to handle a problem with his breathing, which turns out to be asthma, we ended up going out to dinner for sushi that night. Shannon was so considerate on my birthday, understanding that I wanted to keep it low-key, even though she surprised me with good friends Tracy Wagner and Matt Mazzant showing up to dinner! It was a wonderful birthday, and big thanks to the three of them for making it extra special!
I think this year is going to be a good one for me, and once I get back from Central America, I’ll be preparing to get back to poker with the first few events in Europe. It should be an interesting few months, and I’ll keep you updated as best I can!
I’m finally winding down from the WSOP. It was certainly a frustrating Series for me, but I have to admit that following the updates for the Main Event was pretty exciting. Sure, it’s always tough when we, as poker players, are not still in the tournament, but when the November Nine gets close, it’s fun to keep up with the live reporting. And now, a final table with Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi? How great is that? I can’t wait to see how it all plays out in November! A Big Congrats to ‘The Grinder’!
Chilipoker has just announced a new addition to the team. I’d liked to welcome Rohin Malhotra (former CEO of WorldPokerTour) who will be joining our Management Team starting Sept 1, 2010. He brings diverse experience across global media and gaming markets and will play a key role in helping develop Chilipoker internationally, establishing media, telecom, and casino partnerships in regulated and new markets. Glad to have him aboard.
I’ve had almost two weeks to rest up after the tournaments, and I’m starting to feel like things are back to normal again. Jace is doing great, and though he still requires medication, he’s feeling so much better and even more loving of a cat than he was before! I appreciate all of the positive thoughts and feelings sent our way this summer.
So, what do I do now? There are quite a few decisions I need to make in the coming days and weeks. I have several options of places to go. First is Vietnam, as I always find peace in the praying ceremony for my dad and doing the charity work that allows me to give back to my country and people who are suffering. (Side note: If I don’t do that now, I will arrange a trip before the end of the year.) Second, is Kenya because I’ve been wanting to go on a wild safari trip for about three years but haven’t found the time. Being adventurous and seeing a different part of the world might be great for me right now. And lastly is India because of my meditation and search for peaceful places. Spending some time in India would help my meditation techniques and give me the time to be more spiritual, where no one knows me and I can simply focus on the tranquility that I need in my life.
Let me know what you think! I have to make those travel plans in the coming days and weeks, so any input would be helpful.
For now, I’m going to hold off on setting my full tournament schedule, though my next tournaments will be the WSOP Europe, EPT London, and Chilipoker’s WPT Marrakech events. Now it’s all about relaxation and getting in a more peaceful frame of mind. I hope everyone else has settled down from the WSOP and enjoying your summers!