I played in extravagant PokerStars tournament in Las Vegas with Barca legend and four-time Super Bowl winner
LAS VEGAS - the Holy Grail of betting and gaming and an opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars.
Fortunately, I managed to do both when lucky enough to experience the city and play poker alongside some very famous VIPs last week.
Our good friends at PokerStars kindly invited me out while they had taken over the sublime Conrad Resorts World for their NAPT - North American Poker Tour - though admittedly I was no poker guru.
But the glamour that surrounded it and invitation to take part in a real, live poker tournament in the punting capital of the world was an opportunity I had to grab with both hands.
Among the stars I would rub shoulders with were Barcelona hero Gerard Pique, four-time Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski and poker legend Phil Hellmuth, who all took part in the latest 'The Big Game on Tour'.
PokerStars are as renowned for their off felt activities as they are for their poker prowess - and that was certainly the case this time around.
Simply by working your way through Power Path events, recreational poker players can win their way to some of the most epic events in the PokerStars calendar, all for very low buy-ins and stakes.
The best part is that every PokerStars player will get a free shot at the Power Path every time they play a real-money game.
What happened in Vegas...
Before looking ahead to my tournament, a chance to look at the week as a whole.
As mentioned, the experience off the felt means just as much to PokerStars as the action on it.
Arriving late on Sunday night, I grabbed food and checked into my Strip View (Las Vegas Strip, that is...) room on floor 53 of the Conrad Resorts World Hotel.
It's not as well-known as the usual Vegas hotspots but it's the most expensively built complex in the city and you can see why, with over 50 restaurants and bars, serving food and drink from across the world.
It has everything you could possibly need from a resort here with pools, casino floors, poker rooms, bars and, most importantly, TWO Starbucks.
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.