Tao of Poker

A Day of Thanks

Sometimes the hardest things to say are the most simple. Thank you everyone... for everything.

Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone in the community... bloggers and readers alike. This has been a sensational year for me and a lot of my success has been inspired, spurred on, and fueled by you. Whether you are a friend, a reader, or a blogger... please note that this amazing run could never have been possible without your support.

I am eternally grateful to have crossed paths with so many of you. I have met some amazing people this year. I do not have the time to personally mention and thank everyone, but you guys know who you are. There's also a someone in particular out there who I've spent a lot of time getting to know and I'm super lucky to have developed a friendship with her.

There are 10+ people that I have to take the time out to recognize.

To "my entourage": Special thanks goes out to my brother Derek for all the love and support and to my close friends from college, Senor & Jerry, who have been cheering me on for almost half of my life. I could not have gotten where I'm at without the help of my assistant Jessica who gets the thankless job of editing all of my work. Also thanks to Haley and (her mom) who have been extremely helpful with giving me career advice and reminding me to maintain a healthy balance of hard work, play, and friendship in my life. Extra thanks to Briana who made some serious sacrifices this year and allowed me to put my writing first. This year has been special for us and all of you are an integral part of all of this. In the words of Johnny Drama... "Victorrryyyyy!"

Thanks to Otis and everyone at Poker Stars for all their help and generosity, especially in Barcelona. I also want to thank Wil for all his help and support this year. He saved me during the WSOP when I was losing my shit with some advice that I still use to this day.

Lastly, special thanks to the Poker Prof and Flipchip. The Prof took a chance on me and gave me one of my first jobs in the poker industry with Poker Player Newspaper. Without his friendship and confidence in my writing ability... I would never had gotten to where I'm at today. And thanks to Flipchip and his wife who took me into their family when I lived in Las Vegas. I definitely would not have survived the WSOP and living at the Redneck Riviera without his help, guidance, fatherly advice, and Vietnam war stories.

I am sincerely inspired by everyone who has been a part of my life prior to this year along with everyone new that I got to meet along the way. I've developed plenty of new friendships this year and strengthened old ones. When I look back at what's happened to me this past year, I do not look at the huge leap in my career, or the money, or the accolades. What makes 2005 special has been the people in my life that I am fortunate to call my friends. An excellent testament to a person's character is to examine the circle of people they consider their friends. I look around and I am blessed that I stand in the middle a gigantic circle of greatness. I'm where I'm at today because of my friends. I'm the luckiest person I know.

Before I go, I would like to thank the folks who send me traffic, especially Iggy!

Here are the Top 10 Referrals in November:
1. Wil Wheaton
2. Poker Prof's Las Vegas & Poker Blog
3. Iggy
4. Aaron Gleeman
5. Up for Poker (CJ, Otis & GRob)
6. Jeff Pulver
7. Tao of Pauly
8. Steal the Blinds (Jaxia & Beck)
9. Double As
10. Card Squad

Here are the Top 10 Referrals in 2005:
1. Las Vegas & Poker Blog (Poker Prof & Flipchip)
2. WWdN (Wil Wheaton)
3. Guinness and Poker (Iggy)
4. Up for Poker (CJ, Otis & GRob)
5. Aaron Gleeman
6. Tao of Pauly
7. Chris Halverson
8. 2 Hole Cards (Nick)
9. Double As
10. Al Cant Hang

Thanks again everyone. Have a great holiday.