Las Vegas Life with Kristy Arnett: Goodbye 2010
This year has been absolutely amazing. It's been full of change, loved ones, unforgettable experiences, and lots of poker, but when I look back at 2010, what I will undoubtedly remember most is my move to work for PokerNews.
Back in February, I jumped into my first assignment for PokerNews which was to cover the PartyPoker Premiere League IV. I wasn't so much nervous as I was excited, but I did get a bit frazzled interviewing the big boss, Tony G, while he was on a bike.
Shortly after that, I headed to the NAPT Venetian Main Event to cover my first live tournament for PokerNews. It was a bit nerve racking to head into a sea of player looking for interviews for a different company, even though I had done it so many times before. I quickly found that it was just like riding a bike (Tony G would understand). I had an incredible experience and after the tournament, I really felt like a party of the PokerNews family. Here was my favorite video from NAPT Venetian.
Throughout my time at PokerNews this year, I've gained lifelong friends. Matt Parvis, Elaine Chaivarlis, and Donnie Peters all live in Vegas, making for the most hilarious, random, and exciting work/fun get togethers. Gloria Balding and Lynn Gilmartin have done an amazing job welcoming me to the team so it's inevitable that we've all become supporters in each others' corner. Lynn and I have pretty similar senses of humor, so on the first trip we went on together which was NAPT Mohegan Sun, we instantly bonded. We decided to come up with a couple videos showcasing poker pet peeves, and the result was rock hard abs from laughing the whole time, and the following videos.
This summer during the WSOP, Lynn, Gloria, and I worked so hard to bring viewers everything they'd want to see from the Rio, and while we're not always perfect as seen from the following blooper reel, most of the time we do a pretty good job, right?
After the summer, I helped start a couple of new video series. One of them is called Sin City Series, and since I live in Vegas, it's fairly easy for me to gain access to some behind the scenes action here in the city. As far as viewing numbers go, the video from the set of Poker After Dark seems to be the favorite.
The other video series we launched this fall is called The Sunday Grind. This gives viewers a chance to get insight into online poker players' minds and also have a look at their own grind stations. I'd have to say that interviewing Lauren Kling for this was one of the more entertaining ones to film. Who knew that doing Pilates on a five-minute break was possible?
With 2010 coming to a close, I can't but be excited for my expectations for 2011. If there's anything I've learned this year, it's to embrace change and to take your opportunities and run with them. I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I'll leave you with the final podcast of the year in which we recap 2010's biggest poker stories. See you next year!
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