Look Out BCPCs, Here I Come

What an amazing month it's been! I'm so excited to be writing this blog and bringing good news to all my friends that have supported me though this difficult year.

Life is good ... really good. Not to mention very busy! "The Real Deal!" is well on its way, and it's been so exciting being the hostess of the show.

I'm on the November cover of Bluff Magazine, and hosted a party recently with my covermate Christina Lindley at The Bank to kick off the WSOP final table.

Icing on the cake though is, I was able to do all the live coverage and bust-out interviews again for the final table this year!

Since there has been such a big gap from where I left off blogging here, I have no idea where to start. How about from finish to start and then back again to make it nice and confusing? Looks like we can do this in a few blogs to catch everyone up to speed.

After a few hectic weeks I am proud to say that I will be taking some much-needed time off ... this time to play some poker and see all my favorite people in Vancouver, British Columbia!

Starting next week the River Rock Casino is hosting the British Columbia Poker Championships, otherwise known as the BCPCs. I have been going since the beginning and wouldn't miss this tournament for the world!

At the Coast to Coast Poker Championship in May '08.

Why, you may ask, is this tournament so important to me? Not only is it in beautiful Vancouver, B.C.; it's being held at one of my top 5 favorite casinos, the River Rock Casino Resort.

I love going to Canada. Being part Canadian myself I have this undying urge to live in Vancouver ... at least in the warm months (approx. May-Sept. in Vancouver), with maybe a few visits to Whistler in the wintertime.

Canadians that play poker there are amazing, funny and always nice, which is quite refreshing after being in Las Vegas. The River Rock is a five-star casino resort and it has a 24-hour gym (my fave) in which you can look out over the marina in the back.

The tournament itself has so many action-junkie players, and $1 million for first place is expected. Why wouldn't I want to play here? Well, if you need more reasons for its appeal, here goes ...

The beautiful River Rock, one of my favorite casinos.

My favorite Canadian poker players/friends Brad Booth, Gavin Smith and Daniel Negreanu will all be there, along with many other friends that I have grown to love. There will be a fun PokerStars party the night of the 19th to kickoff the main event on the 20th. It will be a super fun and challenging four-day tournament.

I'm also excited to tell everyone that they've asked me to be the TV hostess for the tournament and I will be shooting for the show as well as playing in the event! Woo-hoo!

I'm so happy and grateful that they chose me to do the hosting as I really enjoy being on both sides of a poker tournament. When you're a poker player you only see everything from one side, but when you work for the media covering the tournament, you get a whole new perspective as to what exactly is going on.

Look forward to my blog coming up on being a TV hostess for all the tournaments I have been lucky enough to work on. I have this feeling that there are a lot of things poker players do not see outside of the tables.

I will be leaving on Wednesday next week and can't stop thinking about the most important thing about playing in the BCPCs ... seeing my best friend Alex Lee Behan. (Check out her Web site here.) Last time I saw her beautiful face was back in May when I played in the Coast to Coast Poker Championship at the River Rock.

Me and Alex go way back.

That was the trip that began my life getting back on track and out of the deep end, as I would call it. Six months has felt like a lifetime!

What shocks me more is that I can't believe how much things have changed since then. For the first time in my life I am happy, healthy and loving every second of my existence.

Too bad I wasn't back to my old self in time for the WSOP this summer, but c'est la vie. One can't expect to be at rock bottom and shoot straight to the top of the world overnight, eh?

Alex has been my rock and personal cheerleader that never once let me give up, and believe me when I say this, I tried many times. There were many long and expensive phone calls filled with tears and heartbreak, with Alex telling me how wonderful I am and how my life is just beginning. At the time I couldn't see anything but sadness and nothing to hope for.

I don't know where I would be right now if I didn't have her in my life. She is the true definition of a friend. You were right all along Alex. Things are better than I could ever imagine and life is beautiful.

I'm going to close as I can't quite see to type at the moment, but I will be back to fill in the gaps of these amazing six months and this crazy wonderful life I've been living.

I would like to end with one last thing. Thank you Alex for opening my eyes and saving my life. I will always love you with all my heart.

Forever grateful,

-- Lacey

P.S. Follow me on my personal blog for my day-to-day rants and things to make you laugh.

More blogs by Lacey Jones:

• Oo-la-la
• RRRowrrr
• The Best Is Yet to Come
• Moving On and Starting a New Chapter