With CAP Euro just a few short weeks away, I have actually started thinking about what I need to do in preparation. Some of my best memories in this industry as well as some of my best friends have been made at events like this.

I am especially excited about CAP Euro for several reasons. Number one, it is a new place that I have never been too. And number two, it looks like this is shaping up to be just as big, if not bigger than CAC Amsterdam. I won’t get into the debate about CAC versus CAP events because they both bring value to the industry in their own way. But the one thing I will say is that the CAP events are definitely starting to stand out. Kudos to Warren, Lou, Greg, Alex, and the rest of the team for putting on such great events.

The one thing that does become difficult for me at all of these is trying to find enough time in the trip to meet with everyone. My inbox is overflowing with emails already from AM’s or affiliates wanting to sit down and meet. Quite frankly, I love meeting all the affiliate managers as well as re-connecting with people in person that I do business with each month. BUT……… it is difficult to promote every new site or add every program to the network. Actually a lot of these deals can be negotiated over the phone or email. The value I get through these events is meeting new people and being able to close the deals once I get back.

Although having a beer or lunch with someone for an hour and closing a deal that involves hundreds of new players and thousands of dollars sounds great………it is highly unlikely. Although I would love to commit to 20 new deals while I’m in Spain, it would be a nightmare when I get home.

Aside from scheduling meetings, PAW is also a media sponsor at CAP Euro and will have a booth there. This reminds me, I have to send the display to Spain…. I suppose I better get on that this week.

Even more important than meeting with affiliate managers or negotiating deals for our network, I really can’t wait to hang out with fellow affiliates from the PAW affiliate forums. There’s always a nice group of PAW members at these events, and it’s great to finally meet people in person. If you are going to be in Barcelona, we will make some posts in the forums as it gets closer.  I’m sure all the PAW members will get together some night though. If you have never partied with the PAW guys, get ready for an experience!  Last trip, Greg Powell brought us all to a live sex show.  (Also, nice blog Greg.)

I am actually rooming with Brandon from ChanPoker while in Barcelona because somebody forgot to book my travel arrangements months ago. And to be honest I don’t feel like staying 2 miles away from the main convention. I have been there, done that, and it sucks. Hopefully Brandon won’t try to take advantage of me or steal my wallet and cash while I am sleeping.

I didn’t have time to qualify for the ASOP either. I am pretty disappointed about that but who knows, maybe I will get Alex drunk the first night and talk him into giving me a seat.

Also if you are there and with me on Sunday night, please remind me that my flight leaves at 6:00 AM on Monday morning. Not being a morning person, this really sucks. On top of that I have never flown out of Spain before. I think the safest bet is to head to the airport Sunday night after being out and just sleep on the flight home.   If not, I will probably oversleep and get stuck there.

In even more exciting news, my custom SweatSedo came today. I am going to order a few more for the winter. Easily the most comfortable thing I have ever worn.

And finally a random Tuesday afternoon picture. This is especially for all the cat lovers and PETA members. (Disclaimer - I own 2 cats)  I don’t know why I thought this was funny but it seemed worthy of posting at the time of this writing.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 2:27 pm and is filed under Affiliate Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.