Imagine sitting in one of the world's largest cities. Twenty million people are packed in the streets around you celebrating the biggest weekend of their year. It's the excitement of Mardi Gras, the World Cup Finals, and New Year's Eve all packed into one and injected with steroids. That's where...more

Five stops on Season 4 of the LAPT in five different countries produced five Main Event champions of five different nationalities. When converted to old-fashioned greenbacks, each man cleared at least five figures in his win. All five were invited to Sao Paulo to take part in the Grand Final,...more

Daniel Negreanu has a secret. That's right. The man with no secrets has a secret. And he may not be the only member of Team PokerStars Pro trying to hide something tonight. Negreanu, the man who famously (or infamously) shares a majority of his life and true feelings about everything,...more

"If I ever became fabulously rich, the first thing I'd do is a get a driver." Brad Willis, Donnie Peters, Kristy Arnett and I were crammed across the back seat of a compact four-door, make, model and year unknown. Brad let his remark hang in the tight confines of our...more

Leandro Csome is playing the Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final with my money. Or at least he could be. What's more, he could be using my money to win the LAPT Player of the Year. The last time I saw Csome, he was sitting on my left in a...more

So there's this little poker tournament going on here in São Paulo. You might have heard about it. It's the Grand Final of LAPT Season 4. Dry statistics don't tell the tale of what's going on in the 10,000-square-foot ballroom at the WTC Sheraton. Sure, close to 400 players took...more

We ate meat last night. Giant hunks of cow, lamb, chicken, and pig. It came to our plates bloody and oozing its juices with each careful cut of the giant blade. There was other food, too--potatoes, plantains, and grilled mozzarella cheese--but we there for the meat. Gluttonous slices of picanha....more

It's almost impossible for me to see Brazil with the fresh eyes of a newcomer and big buy-in poker player. For one thing, I'm no newcomer. I've been here multiple times over the last decade. For another thing, I'm not a big buy-in poker player. And as long as we're...more

She wore red lipstick, a white collared shirt, and a warm smile that is more normal here than in other parts of the world. At her feet was a cooler full of water and soda. In her hand was a list of names: Brad Willis, Mike Ward, Greg Pappas,...more

The first time I set foot in Brazil was on Friday, February 8, 2002. I came for Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first trip I took out of New York since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 reduced a building in which I once worked to a stories-tall...more

"Look! Look!" Our driver's eyes were off the road as he he pointed. Whatever he wanted us to see was far more important than the certain death about to happen on the highway in front of us. The Sao Paulo traffic was like something out of a video game. Motorcycles...more