Globetrotting Poker Founder and women’s poker advocate Maureen Bloechlinger told this author she wanted to attend the second edition of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Tallinn and was looking for other events in the region.
This author, PokerPro Head of Media Jason Glatzer, immediately had the idea to team up with Globetrotting Poker and our friends at Main Event Travel, along with support from OlyBet Poker to travel around the Baltics playing poker at Olympic Casino poker rooms each evening.
Although there were many places to choose from, we kept it to the most prominent spots along the route with two nights in Vilnius (July 13-14), two nights in Klaipeda (July 15-16), and two nights in Riga (July 17-18) before heading to Tallinn for the WSOP Circuit on July 19-28 where Maureen will be playing, Jason will be leading the live reporting team, and Matthew will spend a day enjoying the Estonian capital before heading back home to Plymouth, England. Everyone was immediately excited about the adventure, and special thanks to OlyBet Poker for their support and also for creating the PokerPro Baltic Road Trip to WSOP Circuit Tallinn branded tournaments in Vilnius and Riga while allowing us to join forces with the Klaipeda Summer Rock Poker Festival.
While we had some fun in the early days, there hasn’t been much success on the felts yet.
Maureen, Matthew, and Christer Arrive in Vilnius
For those who don’t know, this author has called the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius his home since 2009. With my wife and son at the lake, I had some responsibilities at home to combine with greeting guests and spending quality time with both Bloechlinger and the Olympic Entertainment Group Head of Poker Christer Larsson, who was in town for a podcast and to catch up.
Maureen arrived straight from Vegas in the middle of the night on July 12. Larsson also popped in around the same time, and we met in the majestic Old Town of Vilnius for a meal, a long walk in the forest behind my home, and some interesting chats. At this point, I needed to run home to walk my dog and spend some quality time with her, as I was planning a late evening at the casino.
We arrive at the casino for the PokerPro Baltic Road Trip to WSOP Circuit Tallinn €170 Progressive Knockout. The casino combines a cozy atmosphere and the ability to have at least 16 tables during the festivals. Maureen and I were seated at different tables, and I immediately won the first hand.
It went downhill quickly from there and I was sitting with about 10,000 in chips from the original starting stack of 15,000 when I woke up with aces in late position after my friend Vytautas Kacerauskas opened and got two callers. I jammed and Kacerauskas called off an even smaller stack with ace-jack to collect the first bounty of the tournament.
I still wasn’t at a starting stack, and a series of unfortunate events led to the first bullet in the drain. Maureen was still in, but the jet lag was kicking in. We had a good laugh as I flipped a coin to decide whether I would re-enter or rest up for a long week on the road.
Maureen hit the rail soon after I re-entered and had the honor of sitting next to another friend in Alex. Alex, along with two others, were the first Lithuanian poker players I met and welcomed me with open arms. While we aren’t besties, he is a guy that will always make you smile and fun to play poker with despite his amazing skills usually on display.
I was eventually down to 15 big blinds after a few postflop folds and left Alex (pictured above with Jason) shaking his head in disgust about what I did next. The action folded around to the small blind, who jammed. I was tired and instantly regretted making a call with king-nine suited from the big blind as with a 25-minute clock, I still had plenty of chips to get something going near the final table bubble. My cards were live against an ace, but no love came. I hung around to finish my drinks and chats before going home to play online, which proved more successful.
Podcast and More in Vilnius
Matthew was arriving on the second day, but his flight wasn’t coming in until 1 p.m., and there were plenty of things in Vilnius to see. Maureen and Christer spent the morning walking around the majestic Old Town of Tallinn.
In the afternoon, I took Maureen and Christer to Belmontas, the first place I was in Vilnius nearly twenty years ago. While still in the city, the venue is massive and overlooks the buildings with mansions, horse stables, and more. We sat down for a traditional Lithuanian meal while discussing the plans for the trip and how our summers have been.
We then met Matthew in front of the casino and after some quick greetings and hugs, Maureen, Christer, and I needed to get prepared for a podcast. We were joined by former Sunday Millions anniversary champion Andrius “Benislovas” Bielskis. While I hosted the podcast, which was about the upcoming WSOP Circuit Tallinn, both Maureen and Bielskis have had podcasts of their own, which created a fun and informative environment.
In the evening, we played a €100 buy-in event and I was seated next to none other than Maureen! Our mutual friend Vitalijus was on the other side of Maureen, creating yet another social table.
Maureen and I both cruised past late registration with below-average stacks but nothing major to speak of. However, eventually, I was among the short stacks when I jammed with king-queen suited. Vitalijus, whom I have played many hands with over the years, including both of us finishing on the podium three times in a row in the monthly €200 Deepstack, called with deuces. Vitalijus improved to a set on the flop but I wasn’t ready to go to the showers yet as I flopped a flush draw.
Shortly after, I found myself shaking hands with Vitalijus after bricking my draw while wishing Maureen good luck after another exit near the final table. Maureen was unable to get anything going and hit the rail shortly after, landing in 10th place. Both of us headed to get some rest, with a busy day to follow.
The following day, we headed to Klaipeda. Stay tuned for the adventures as we will be playing another action-packed event in the Klaipeda Summer Rock Poker Festival €170 Win the Button before heading to Riga on Wednesday.
