No, I didn't make it this year, but that's okay

No, I didn’t end up making it into Main Event of this year’s World Series of Poker. In fact, I actually spent the opening days of the Main Event in Northern New York visiting my family.

The annual Todd Reunion takes place in the Northern Adirondacks in July every year, and this year’s event was my son Charlie’s first opportunity to meet his 89-year old great grandfather (his middle namesake), most of his great aunts and uncles and literally dozens of first cousins once removed, second cousins, etc.

Of course I would have loved to have played in the Main Event, but as you can see, Charlie enjoyed meeting all these folks, and I’m glad we were able to be there. Sure, I’m disappointed that I didn’t make it to poker’s biggest stage, but I’m not giving up yet. Hey, as Cubs fans are well aware, “There’s always next year!”

My quest to trade my way from a sixty-cent check from an Internet poker room to a seat in the WSOP won’t be over until one of two things happen: Either I manage to actually trade my way in, or the U.S. decides to regulate the Internet poker industry.

I’m doing everything I can do make sure that both things happen. I’ve been writing letters to my Congressman and I even met with one of his staffers to talk about Barney Frank’s proposed legislation to regulate the industry.

And while I was really busy covering the WSOP as a journalist (particularly the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event), I’m also still trying to trade the Adam Vinatieri-signed football for something that will get me closer to my goal of a seat in the WSOP. I even took the ball out to Vegas in the hopes that a craigslister out there would jump at the opportunity to collect some valuable memorabilia.

More important than my personal quest for a seat in the WSOP, I’ve been able to raise awareness of how silly the UIGEA really is. I’ve done a few radio interviews to talk about my trading quest, and I’ve been featured in a few newspaper articles, from The San Antonio Express-News to The Boston Globe. Every time I get the opportunity, I talk about how misguided the idea of prohibition is and make a case for regulation.

And there’s no doubt people have noticed – especially after the story in the Globe. One friend informed me that he was at a party and a random discussion ensued about “that guy who is trading his way to the World Series of Poker.” Another, whose wedding was just a few weeks earlier, let me know that her mother-in-law sent an e-mail to most of the guests at the wedding with a link to a story about “Charlie’s father.”

In reality, maybe it’s a good thing that I didn’t make it. Not only did Charlie get to have blast and meet his extended family, but now I’ll get to continue to raise awareness through the Sixty Cent Main Event project until next year’s WSOP.

Why don’t you help? The lifeblood of this project is in the trades and the stories that I hear as a result. Got something you’d like to trade for a limited edition Super Bowl XXXVI football signed by Adam Vinatieri? and make me an offer.