Ladies, please shuffle up and deal

I woke up the last two mornings with the ocean right out my window. If I stare straight ahead at it for long enough, I can almost tune out the coral-pink buildings in my peripheral vision and the sound of Top 40 tunes playing at the pool four stories below. Welcome to Atlantis Paradise Island, or as I've been calling it "Vegas by the sea."

I'm short on time this morning as I pour coffee and Jamba Juice down my throat and attempt to do a decent makeup and hair job. The PCA Ladies Event begins this afternoon and thanks to my lucky satellite win on the day after Christmas, I'll be sitting behind a chip stack in about two hours' time. I met some of my fellow qualifiers last night at the ladies' cocktail reception including the lovely Jennifer Shahade, an author and chess champion who is now making her way in the poker world. I was also introduced to my new favorite cocktail, a pink creation called a Bahama Mama (Pauly had a few as well, to incessant teasing and cries of "do you want a tampon with that?") I'm truly excited to play a big buy-in event again and the jitters that have haunted me in the past are strangely nowhere to be found this morning. I'm freerolling just being here and ready to play my best game.

Unfortunately, the internets at Atlantis make the connections I've dealt with in South American hotels seem downright speedy and the international roaming charges I've already acquired on my cell phone are enough to make you faint, so it'll be a little difficult to send frequent Twitter updates. Hopefully some of my friends in the media will let me hijack one of their laptops on a break so I can let you all know how I'm doing.

Now, to apply a little mascara, hopefully without getting it all over my face.