If there’s ever been the perfect way to start off a new year on the right foot, I finally think I’ve found it. Not that anything out-of-this-world spectacular happened, mind you, but for regular folks like us it was the optimal way to charge our batteries for all -- both known & unknown -- that lie ahead for 2010.

Being that I’m no longer involved in playing video poker professionally for the first year since 1996 (and I only played part time from 1996-1999) and a portion of our beginning-of-the-year vacation took us through Nevada twice, I took a bankroll of $5000. The heat was now off and the fun was on – at least that’s how I liked to think of it as. But Nevada casinos were hardly the center point of this trip.

I started off this new year with a relaxed feeling unknown to me from any year in my past. I of course was not working and thus there was no boss to answer to, no customers to suck up to, no airplanes or airports to be a slave to, and thankfully, no foreign countries to get to in time for those pesty 2 hour meetings along with the obligatory all-out dinner at the end of the day. Similarly, relating to my years as a professional gambler, there would be no more driving back and forth to Nevada with tens of thousands of dollars in cash with the pressure of trying to win $2500 or whatever goal, before returning home. Having had a very successful career at that by winning over $984,000 while never having had a losing year, it was now time to reap the benefits.

My wife and I began this trip by renting a car and driving to Treasure Island in Las Vegas. I’ve not stayed there since long before it left MGM, but a free room at a resort along with $75 in free-play (which I turned into $120) is a sweet deal when just passing through town. Of course, after checking in we went to Sam’s Town and checked in for the obligatory $100 cash and free meal at Billy Bob’s Steakhouse. Afterwards, I dropped Cindy off at TI and headed out to South Point for $50 in free-play (which I turned into $10) before stopping by the Silverton to see my friend BAGIANT (from all the forums) where I lost a quick $200 while chatting at the bar.

In the morning we zipped up to Reno for a comp stay at Harrah’s and $150 cash, and we had dinner across the street at the Eldorado Brews Brothers brewpub. I had quite a bit of extra time so I decided to play some $2vp. I dropped $800 hitting absolutely nothing. The next four days we spent driving up the coast to Cape Kiwanda in Oregon, back down through Eureka (where we left maybe 10 hours before the earthquake hit) and enjoyed our usual day on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

What would a winter in Northern California be without attempting to drive to Reno through Donner Pass in Truckee? Well, it once again was a major challenge and I’m glad I brought along a set of chains. But once back at Harrah’s it was warm and comfortable, and I wanted to take another shot at the $2 vp machines. Bad decision, as it sucked another $1300 with no quads and apparently no mercy….again.

Our last driving day took us back to Las Vegas and the Monte Carlo for almost the identical offer we had from Treasure Island. Here I played some $1 triple-play DDB. I finally got a quad, only this time I was dealt fours with a kicker for $2400. I quit immediately afterwards and finished the gaming part of our vacation down just $120. In the morning we went to the airport and left for 6 nights in Hawaii, and we just got back today. My gambling results meant nothing - even if I never hit a quad. We had a great drive up through the northwest, we had a bunch of fabulous gourmet meals, and we relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed Hawaii just like we do every single year. My years of winning at video poker just keep on giving.

Now that I’m home I see a bundle of e-mails from people telling me about their initial trips and casino visits of the new year also, and it’s good to see better results coming in compared to the disaster most of them plodded through in 2009. Along with this came what turned out to be a good belly laugh after I finished reading about it a few minutes ago. I’m going to Casino Arizona to train a local Phoenician on my RTT strategy this Thursday, and he apparently got the jealous crowd at videopoker.com riled up again in the process.

There’s quite a long thread entitled “Merry Christmas To Everyone Except oej719!” and it looks like the typical record-setter that ANY thread which includes my name is over there. It was started by the fellow I’m meeting up with this week after he incidentally mentioned my name by reading another thread. His name’s John and he owns and runs a specialty Mustang GT shop here in town. I met him when I needed help with the intercooler on my truck and a mutual friend introduced us. I had John and his wife over for a BBQ late in 2009 and found he was interested in video poker.

Briefly, the thread’s the same old tune of a question is asked about me, oej starts name-calling both John and I and tells lie after lie about me because of his envy of my lifestyle and lifelong successes, John asks him to back up his lies which of course he cannot do, several of oej’s “posse” (as johnnylong calls it) appear and try to help him out of his pickle, and when John keeps asking what he calls the “tough questions” everyone disappears until shadowman rides in accusing John of, what else, BEING ME! The funny part? It is what he and that posse do on that site every single time they start to get taken out to the woodshed and always end up being owned whenever they turn on the Singer hatred. I was actually laughing out loud here and wondered if any of those guys have an interesting enough life so as to keep them off the forums making continuous fools of themselves! Well, I see at least New2vp learned his lesson….

Regarding the new video poker machine I'm running tests on in my garage: I just fired it up once again along with its test equipment suite. I had to shut it all down since I was gone for a couple weeks, but I took a quick look at where the results stood just before we left on our vacation, and it is not looking good for the optimal-play math geeks out there. I know they’ll all come out crying foul, but this time I’ll have the paperwork to support what the machines are really up to. Stay tuned….They are not as smart as they portray themselves out to be. (as if you didn’t know that!).