I think I proved last year that I am not afraid to gamble when I bet my hair on the Chicago Bears versus the Green Bay Packers 2007 records. For anyone that has seen me over the past 3 months, then you know the outcome of that bet, and you also see that I always pay up if I lose.

Well, I have a new bet that I am actually very excited about. I have made this prop bet with my good friend and neighbor Jay Sandine. For those of you that may remember, he demoralized me in the 100 yard dash in our street last summer. Now it’s my turn to get even. Clearly after reading this, you will see I am huge favorite to win. But I invite your comments at the end of this post.

The great thing about Chicago is that there is no shortage of professional sports teams to root for. In baseball you can choose between the Chicago Cubs or the Chicago Whitesox. I have been a diehard Cubs fan since I was a small kid. I have been to several games, and yes I have even sat across the street on the rooftops a few times. A few years ago at a pharmaceutical sponsored event, I sat and watched a game with the legendary Ernie Banks. I’ll be honest though, it hasn’t been an easy 31 years to be a fan.

Finally though the Chicago Cubs are getting it turned around, and I feel they have a very easy schedule this year compared to the sox. Let’s be honest folks, I am a major favorite here. Let me explain the wager.

One night my two neighbors and I were all playing an intense game of Yahtzee and having a few drinks. Jay who is a huge Chicago Whitesox fan had a little too much of the sauce and proposed a prop bet to me. The actual bet is very simple, whoever has a better record at the end of the season wins. I obviously take the cubs and he has taken the sox.

The loser has to camp out in the other guys back yard the first Friday and Saturday night after the MLB World Series. But here are the rules and where it gets good. Keep in mind the World Series is in October and in the Midwest it could be extremely cold or even worse, rainy.

1. The loser can only bring a standard size backpack and whatever is on their body.

2. The loser must stay in the others backyard for a minimum of 7 hours.

3. The loser may not hide or store any gear in the others backyard prior to the evening.

4. The loser can use any existing furniture, trees, or any pre existing equipment in the others backyard.

5. Weather or temperature is no excuse for not paying up on the bet.

So there you have it, this is the latest crazy prop bet I have got myself involved in. For the record, Jay is already trying to con me into spotting him 10 games. Ummmm, No.

It’s not often I get to start a blog post with this sentence:

“So I’m sitting in a strip club at 3:00 AM in Amsterdam’s Red Light District”, and next thing I know my crackberry has disappeared. Anyhow I promised I’d give a wrap up on the 2008 CAC Amsterdam trip, so here it is. Overall, aside from my phone getting stolen on the last night, it was a productive trip.

Luckily we got there a day early so we were able sleep off the jet lag and be fresh to go the first day. Greg and I spoke at Canaffco’s Affiliate Bootcamp that first day. The subject we spoke on was “How to build and maintain an active community”. It was actually nice to speak on this topic as a lot of affiliates have the wrong idea about building an active community.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a Vbulletin forum to build an active community. You can actually do it with a simple blog. I can think of a few bloggers who maintain an active dialog with commenter’s and posters in their blog. Neil Patel is a great example off the top of my head. With this new blog, I intend on being much more active in the comments as well.

The next day at the conference we actually had a packed schedule. I had meetings back to back from morning until night. Most of my meetings now days revolve around PAP versus negotiating personal stuff. Who would of thought 3 years ago that PAP would be the powerhouse it is now, surely not me.

That night however we did let loose and go out. After hanging out and playing poker with the Webroute guys, in proper tradition we made sure to hit the Casa Rosa. This year was especially fun though as we partied with the man and legend, Markus Tandler. I think we finally got in around 5:00 AM and crashed. I know we went a few places after the live sex show, but it is all a blur at this point.

The next day was filled with more meetings. After attending meetings at these events for years, there is one thing that is certain; Either your trying to sell something, or you’re being sold something. This was the last day and the famous CAC “Beer Session” took place. To be honest I thought it was very disappointing. Half the session was spent talking about “skill gaming” and stupid shit about online ping pong and other garbage.

The overall sentiment of the conference was that the industry is making a turn for the better. Likewise a lot of the European Sportsbook providers are starting to get into poker. In regards to attendance, and most operators will agree, it seemed like there were not as many affiliates in attendance as years before.

Of course I am biased here, but with the recent success of all the CAP events, affiliates are now more choosy on which events to go to. I have written several times before on my feelings of charging affiliates. Personally I think it’s greedy of the conference organizers and just a way to squeeze a few thousand dollars more in profit.

I know how much money our events make, and believe me, you make enough off of sponsorships and operators that you shouldn’t have to charge affiliates. I realize that most affiliates get “sponsored” or get the free passes from the operators, but it seems like a big hassle to make us chase these down. Dude, just make it free.

In respect to industry conferences, I have 3 thoughts:

1. There are getting to be too many and the best ones are going to rise to the top

2. In the coming years we need to get at least 1 or 2 conferences closer to the U.S., even if this means Mexico, Canada, or the Carribean.

3. The Poker Conference / Spring Break is the next event, and will be on a sunny beach, and much more relaxed than Amsterdam. Likewise there is an ASOP event and it’s 100% focused on poker affiliates!.

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally got a new blog up. There are still some obvious tweaks that need to be made tonight, but overall I have to say I am extremely happy with the way it turned out. I love the design and layout much better than the old design.

Plus I tend to roll into work in Sweat Sedo’s and fleece’s now days, not suits. So with the new design, and my fresh new PAP Sweat Sedo, I am now declaring myself a certified baller. I have been really slammed with work today so I haven’t had much of a chance to mess with the admin area and organize everything yet. I am planning on doing that tonight though. I can’t wait to do a little customizing.

I know this post is pretty boring, however I just couldn’t help but squeezing in a quick post here at the new spot. Big compliments to Bryan Hauer and his new company Omni Theme. ………Back to work

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a week since I posted on this blog. Unfortunately our internet access was extremely limited while in Amsterdam. The good news however is that I did write a few blog posts while I was there to publish this week.

Being that it’s Monday, I suppose I should post the first motivationional post I have sitting in the queue. Don’t worry though, my next post will be a wrap up and summary of the adventures I experienced in Amsterdam while at CAC.

I Want To Be An Ordinary Person Who Can Produce Extraordinary Results

So I got the idea for this blog post while listening to the first chapter of “Good To Great” on the way to the airport. This sentence was referenced once and made me think, “That is exactly what I want to be!”

So what do I mean by this? Well for starters, I don’t come from money, and until late in my 20’s I really was no better off than the regular Midwest guy making $50K a year supporting his family. Now don’t get me wrong, I love money, and I love the thrill and challenge of making more in my business. Likewise, I love the good life and $1000 bottle service on special occasions. But this is not how I would ever want to live each day of my life.

The one thing I hate is when money changes people. And believe me, I have seen a few people go from nothing to something, and they are completely different individuals with six figure bank accounts than they were without. A discussion came up last week with a few buddies of mine about winning $300 Million in the lottery. I said, “Although I would like to win the lottery (as we all would), $300M would be too overwhelming.” Plus, if I ever have that kind of money, I want to have it on my own accolades, and not in the form of a handout.

I love being financially comfortable in life, there is no doubt about this. But I also enjoy just being a normal person. No matter if I make $20K or $1M per year, I always want to be the same Jeremy Enke. No matter where you are at in life, either personally or financially, you should always be able to have a thoughtful conversation with any other human being, regardless of what their “ financial status” is. Likewise, if you look down on others based upon their income or career, you are probably not a very confident person to begin with.

I remember when I worked as a pharmaceutical representative, at conventions the CEO’s of these Fortune 100 companies would talk to us like we were leaving the convention hall and going back to our medial & shitty hotel rooms, while they were going to have Brandy and cigars in the VIP lounges. Although we were the ones busting our asses to make the company record profits, and line their million dollar pockets, you could always feel the divide.

If I ever became a person like this, or anyone that worked for me did, I would hope that someone would beat me or them senseless. I do want to produce extraordinary results as many of these “corporate” people do. Likewise I want to climb to the top of anything I do. But at the same time, I want to always be a normal dude.

In regards to the book that I am reading right now, a lot pertains to my life. If I cannot run the BEST poker affiliate community in the world, then I’d rather leave the industry. If I cannot have the BEST personal blog amongst poker affiliates in the world, then I will shut it down.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best or wanting to make truck loads of money. However, as business people with incredible financial opportunities like we have, I think it is important to stay grounded and never forget where you came from.

There is nothing better in life than just being an ordinary person who can go into an organization or personal business and produce results unlike anyone else in the world.