That’s right, rockstars — after months in the Vegas desert, I’m back in the land of milk and honey… Hollywood, baby. Unfortunately this trip is just a quick 4-5 days, after which its back to Sin City for another few weeks. So naturally I’ve been packing in as much LA action as I can handle!
Started off with a long-delayed trip to the beach, Santa Monica pier style. Hung out with my dad for his birthday, my 2 bros, and of course my hottie gf MB (hey, any excuse to get her in a bikini…yum). After spending the day there we had dinner on the pier and then back to Hollywood for late nite drinks at my fave hangout, Birds, with some other friends. Good times.
Then yesterday I had lunch with my manager Glen and caught up on all the bizness in my life, and all the exciting things coming up soon. Top of the list is the fact that as of yesterday, I finally received the 100% completed copy of the pilot I’ve been working on all summer: Grifting w/ Hollywood Dave Stann! I watched it like 3x and man is it awesome, exactly how I pictured it all those years ago when I started to dream up the idea in my head. For those of you tuning in late, ‘Grifting’ is my new tv show, in which every week I set out to a new destination around the globe to track down the heart of a particular game, spend time learning it from the masters, then go out into the field to see if I can beat it. Plenty of gameplay, but what I really love about this show is the cultural component — seeing all the ways in which people who are obsessed about the strangest games around the globe eat, sleep, and party!
At this point our production company has done a real bang-up job creating this amazing pilot, and from here we start walking in to networks both domestic and foreign, in order to find a home for the show. I would LOVE to put a link up to the pilot here for you guys to check out, but until we finish the meeting process with it, I have to keep it under wraps. But believe me when I say this show totally rocks!
Other than that, one of the best things about coming back to LA is being able to take some continuing poker lessons with Annie Duke, which is where I’m headed tonite. Years ago I traded blackjack and poker lessons with her, and she gave me the tools I needed to do so well in no limit holdem events… but over the past year or so I’ve been specializing more and more in the HORSE games, and so always look forward to anything more she can teach me in that regard as well. I keep pretty detailed records of my play, both live and online, and feel that although certain areas of my game are pretty solid, I’ve got a few leaks that need special help to correct! And no I won’t tell you guys where the leaks are — until the’re fixed, that is!! lol
In the meantime, I will be putting up some new vidz on my youtube page very soon so chekkit out: www.youtube.com/HollyDeezy
Oh yeah and ps, I booked an audition for the tv show ‘House’ tomorrow so lookout! Also, just over a month til Aruba and I am set!!! See you guys there!
The thunderous ROAR of a bloodthirsty crowd as gladiators prepare for battle…
We’re excited to announce that Ultimate Bet has just wrapped a new commercial campaign that will turn the heads of our most formidable competitors. Welcome Gladiators! Keep an eye out for our new commercial this coming June!
Production was awesome! Picture this – lights, cameras, Hollywood action centered around a fiery theme of warrior meets poker player – Phil taking the spotlight (of course) cloaked in Roman gear from head to toe; decorated in mink and eleven knockouts dressed in togas – OMG… to be Phil. Cards tossed, chips stacked and dagger glares, as each movement at the table is overlaid with the clashing of swords, lion roars and a barbarous crowd, hungry for a victor. You’ve got to check this out!
What does it mean to be in this fight? Our writers and director carefully thought of distinct parallels between being a warrior and being a poker player – how could we relate it in the overall theme and what is our message? To be the best, you must train among the best; play at Ultimatebet.com … and LET THE GAMES BEGIN! We have the number 1 player, so that was our leverage! Let’s use it as the ultimate battle, and portray the players at the poker table the same as those on the dusty, blood-soaked ground of a roman coliseum; a fight for survival.
Here’s another cool thing about the commercial campaign – with it, we are launching a “Create Your Own Commercial” (using our footage). Shortly, we will have a banner and page for you guys to download some of our high-quality gladiator footage and toss it into your favorite movie maker to cut your own commercial for awesome prizes. DUDE!!!! Even if you don’t know how to cut a commercial, you have to try – this is too cool to pass up. Make sure to come back and visit the site for more details. We will have prizes for the top videos! Aruba seat, UB money and tons more!
We hope you enjoy our new commercial as much as we have had in making it. It means more to us than fancy filming – it’s a way of life here at UB. We are warriors at the table, and as Aristotle would say we are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not act, but habit. Thanks for reading.
Awwww yeah….. as i write this, I’m somewhere near El Paso in the heart of Texas! A few days ago I flew out to Philly to drive cross-country with my girl MB & we are having a blast… originally the plan was to drive straight across to Vegas but then I decided to detour through Shreveport to see an old friend & then my manager called with a meeting this week in LA for the show I’m pitching, so instead we are just driving straight on thru back to Hollywood, baby!!
Y’all gotta check out some of the sweet video blogs i’ve been doing of the trip so far. Here’s the latest one.
(and while you’re at it, add Ultimate Bet on Twitter to get even more up-to-the-moment updates: www.Twitter.com/ultimate_bet ) — I’ve been getting some pretty fun shit out here in this big ol’ country. Drag races in Alabama, a midnite excursion to the Natural Bridge national monument, even some cool HD fans in a Virginia bar during the Villanova Final Four game!
About 8-9 years ago when I moved from Cleveland to Hollywood (after graduating with my theater degree from Kent State), I drove a U-Haul across the country with my then-girlfriend & got to check out the northern route & all its assorted glory. St. Louis, the Grand Staircase, Hoover Dam, etc. This time around its my girl’s BMW (the exact same model as mine lol) and the route is southern, so the sites are totally different… i think pretty soon we’ll be riding right along the border as we cross into New Mexico!
If you haven’t had a chance to take this drive, its truly one to remember, no matter what the route. All the different local customs, accents, cuisine, and scenery really are pretty cool to witness firsthand, especially all smashed into a whirlwind couple days or week of driving. Some people like to obsess about which sites to stop and see, but I’ve found that just pointing your car west and stopping whenever something interesting pops up is the way to go… keep it spontaneous, yo.
As for poker, well, I haven’t had an internet connection long enough to get much action in on UB this week, but I’ll be back soon to spend tons of time on what’s become my favorite little corner of the site — the limit Omaha 8-or-better and Stud 8 games. After so many years –and constant tournaments — of holdem, its a welcome change & now I hardly ever play a cash game that starts with players holding only 2 cards!
Later this month is the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and I am definitely trying to win my seat into that — I’ve been there twice before and I freakin’ love it! The French Riviera totally rocks (one of my favorite places on earth is right outside MC: Nice, France). Other than that, just been getting more and more interest in my show ‘Grifting Across America’ that I talked about in a blog here a few months ago. More details when I can release them publicly, but its looking more and more like HD is gonna have his own TV show again very soon!
