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Highlights from CAC Montreal, 2007: I am a groupie

11 September 2007
By Rebecca Liggero

I am a CAC groupie. According to Marc Lesnik, that is. I have been to many online gaming conferences in my time and so far I have managed to hit all of Lesnik's shows, big or small. Unfortunately CAC Montreal was rather poorly attended, although we all knew this was going to happen due to location and timing. I must admit, there is a piece of me that greatly enjoys the smaller shows as they are much less hectic and formal. For example, I attended the beer panel in my running clothes, straight after a jog. You know what? I didn't even care. All these people have seen me look nice at night, so what's the problem? For those of you who did not make it, you know, roughly 99% of the online gaming industry, I have included highlights from Montreal below. Now you can feel better about skipping the event, because after reading these highlights, you will feel like you attended the show yourself. I guarantee it.

Swedes, Swedes, and MORE SWEDES.

To be honest with you, the Swedish population at CAC Montreal was highly necessary. Why? Because these boys are the life of the party. Always! Why is this? Lets begin with Jon from GamingVC.com and Erik from Affiliate Lounge. Have you ever seen these two together? They always look sharp regardless of the time, where they are, how many hours they have been drinking that day, or how late they were up the night before. We are talking sport jacket, leather pointy shoes, slicked hair, stylish shirt, nice tan, and that overall sharp Swedish look. Next we have Måns from Cardoza Games, one of the more amusing individuals I have ever met in my life. I must say that Måns was one of the nicest surprises I have had in a while- I had no idea he was so much prior to meeting in person. I think he treated me to several tequila shots too...while wearing sunglasses and speaking Japanese. Love this guy. Last but not least, my new favorite Swede is Casino City's latest, and my new partner in crime, Eric! Yes! Finally, I get to spend very single work day with a Swede. Heaven on earth has finally arrived.

Late Night Pizza in Shenaz's Bed.

Considering the only organized party at CAC Montreal was the GPWA and GA Partners cocktail event, we had to get creative and pull together something for post dinner activities. Destination: The Wunderbar. Activity: Taking shots. Lucky for us, we were blessed with the presence of Alif who apparently enjoys purchasing multiple rounds of shots for lots of people. After tearing apart and closing down The Wunderbar, Måns, Wolfie and I thought it would be a nice idea to head back to Shenaz and Krista's room for some late night pizza. Apparently there was pizza ordered the night before because I decided to eat everything remaining in the pizza box while camping out in Shenaz's bed. This is before the fresh pizza arrived. It's ok though, because most of the fresh pizza ended up on her bed anyway. Thank god we weren't in my room.

Lunch with Runway Models.

Ok, so maybe these girls were not actual runway models, but looking like a runway model must be a prerequisite for waitressing at Rosalie, a fabulous restaurant in downtown Montreal. Jeff from Casino Blasters was kind enough to bring a group of us to lunch at Rosalie, and your guess is as good as mine as to why he chose this place. I am not joking when I say each and every waitress, in addition to the manager, was a perfect 10. Absolutely gorgeous. The outfits were pretty revealing too- even I was staring- ask Jeff, he caught me. Ridiculously good looking women aside, we had an excellent meal and I must thank Jodie and JT from GenieKnows.com for picking up the tab and treating the group of us to a delicious meal. Ok, and beautiful women.

Cruising Around Montreal in a Murciélago.

Yes, you read that correctly. I was treated to a short ride around downtown Montreal in an affiliate's beautiful, new, shiny, and gray Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. I cannot even begin to tell you how it feels to ride in this thing. We're talking zero to 100 miles per hour in 8.1 seconds, and I don't even like cars. See, this is the problem with mixing real life with the online gaming industry...it's called setting unrealistic expectations.

Post CAC Experiences.

The night before we left, CakePoker.com treated Eric and I to dinner, we had several drinks at the hotel bar, and we all went to bed on the early side. To be honest, I did not mind as Eric and I had a nice five hour drive back to Boston the following day as the infamous Corfman van had already taken off. Also, I was expected to attend a wedding just outside of Washington DC several days later, so I needed as much reserved energy as possible. The wedding itself took place in Culpeper, Virginia, a lovely little town that was hosting a "Blue Knights" event the same weekend. For those of you who are unaware, the Blue Knights is a "non-profit fraternal organization consisting of active and retired law enforcement men and women who enjoy riding motorcycles". You should have seen my hotel's swimming pool. Anyway, the wedding itself was a very fine drunken mess, to the point where a groomsman and a bridesmaid were caught making out on the ground in the bushes. I am telling you, there were grass stains involved. We have pictures!!