SCG Open Series Las Vegas!!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

SCG Las Vegas Staff!

This week I visit Sin City, but I come not for the gambling, women, booze, shows, or the food. I come for MAGIC THE GATHERING!!!
The StarCityGames Open Series visited Las Vegas this past weekend, and I had the pleasure of being on staff for it, and WOW! was I happy! This city is amazing, with so many things that I would never get to see, I almost want to move here after this weekend!

KISS

MORE KISS!

I arrived in Vegas, and my hotel roommate for the weekend, Louis Fernandes, had not arrived (turns out his flight got delayed), so I met up with Amber Golden, an alterist and token generator I have had the pleasure to be at events for in the past. We decide to check out the MONSTER MINI-GOLF presented by KISS! This place was right down the road from where we were staying, and we decided to be kids again and play the video games they had. This was a blast! We won some tickets and got some cheap toys, you know, what everyone did as a child! There was a wedding chapel there as well.....luckily Amber is taken, and I escaped Vegas un-hitched lol!

THE FIELD!

Saturday starts off, and I am on deck checks...again....with a new team that I had not worked with. My team lead was Arturo Picazo, Adam White, and Will Bumgardner.  I did however recognize Adam White as "Taz" from a couple GP's I had attended in the past. Head Judge Eric Shukan gave us our instructions, and we started!

Judges getting ready to collect decklists

This was my team lead, Arturo Picazo's first team lead detail, but with Taz, Will, and myself on the team, everything went pretty smooth. We didn't really have that many problems....Those would present themselves on Sunday.

Sunday Legacy rolls around, and my new head judge, Jeremy Behunin, splits us off into our teams. I am AGAIN on deck checks, so I request to work side events. He allows it, and I head off to run the 8 man drafts, tourneys for a box, the 2 headed giant, and the called draft. Those that know me know that I loves me some side events, but became disappointed when I got pulled off of them to go back on the main event, because another judge was having some problems on it. I returned to check on side events, and he was having problems too, so I took this as an opportunity to help another judge. It didnt appear that he wanted the help, or thought he needed the help, but after he had a chat with Nicholas Sabin, he approached me and wanted to chat.
I discussed with him how he can improve his interaction with other judges, and to ask for help when he needs it. The family of judges is just that...A FAMILY. We all want each other to succeed and grow, and are more than willing to help another out when they need it. As it turns out, there is not a Las Vegas-based L2, so I may want to consider this as my relocation desination....who knows. I want to end up in a location that I can grow as a judge, and can grow the Magic and Judge community, so a location that seems to be in need will be the correct fit for me when I am done with this journey.

Limo down the Las Vegas Strip!

Dinner at the Luxor

panna cotta, tiramisu, and oreo cheesecake 

pork adobo, chicken piccata, and dover
sole w/ chili sauce

Tournament done, now it's time to see the scene!!! Taz, Bumgardner, Nick Rutkowski, TJ Morrison, Peter Golightly, and myself jump into a limo and tour the strip, on our way to the Luxor for the EPIC buffet, as suggested by Nick. The food was so amazing, everything was some of the best that I had eaten of its type in a while! I would absolutely recommend the buffet at the Luxor if you want good food and a great casino to visit!


flank steak w/ portobello sauce, prime rib with
creamy horseradish sauce, potatoes and gravy,
and bean blend



chilled snow crab and shrimp

TAZ channeling his inner baldy!



I departed Las Vegas on Monday, feeling pretty good about myself. I got to learn from senior judges, got to mentor an up and coming judge, got to see some amazing sights, and may have found another choice to final destinations. All in all, the trip was worth the long travel from the east coast....to the west coast...back to the east coast, as I am in Buffalo, NY this weekend.
Until next time!
Mikey

STARCITYGAMES OPEN SERIES: ST. LOUIS!

Hi St. Louis, we meet again!

I PITY THA FOOL!!!

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?

This time I had the pleasure to visit St. Louis for the 4th time during my epic journey, but instead of coming to visit friends or play in a WMCQ, it was for the StarCityGames Open Series: St. Louis! This trip was even more special though, as Legacy Head Judge Jason Long has given me the opportunity to TEAM LEAD for the first time!!!!

I was super nervous going into St. Louis, especially when I found out that I had 2 senior judges on my team that I had either worked with, or had heard of, L2 Maximilian Schroeder and L3 David Lyford-Smith....wait! That is the Head Judge for SCG Open Buffalo! I can't screw this up, especially with DLS on my team. I got my nerves under control, and met up with my team.

I had done deck checks many times over the last couple months, and knew from the judges that I had worked with what needed to be done, when to do things, and what to watch for. But when you are in the driver's seat, and not just along for the ride, the experience feels completely different.

THE TEAM THAT MADE ME SHINE!

EVENT REGISTRATION

THE FIELD!

My team consisted of the following judges: David Lyford-Smith (L3), Max Schroeder(L2), James Hedges(L1), and Amber Kintner(L0), Amber would be testing this weekend. We introduced ourselves, and went over the routine of deck checks. I then informed my team about my incentive for the weekend. I was to give a artist print of surgical extraction to the team member that did the most amazing job...and made me look good!

DLS, DAN STEPHENS, AND JAMES HEDGES 

Our event went smoothly, with very little problems. I would expect nothing less from an event with Jason Long as the head judge. Very few problems arose, and when they did, they were corrected swiftly.

We had one interesting situation that arose at Top 8 deck checks.
One of the players handed in his Charbelcher deck, and then handed me his sideboard. On his deck registration paper, he didn't register a sideboard. THAT'S A PROBLEM!

MR. STEPHENS DOING SOME MENTORING

I tell Jason Long about the issue, and he investigates, and determines that the player had not used a sideboard all tournament and finds out that the player's brother had told him he needed a sideboard, so he had 15 islands sleeved up. We instructed him to remove them and good luck in Top 8.
Other than that there were not many problems at this tournament, which is a sign of a well-ran tournament. Everyone on staff did an amazing job, and I can only hope that events that I get to do run as smoothly as this one did.


AMBER WITH HER PRIZE...GREAT JOB!

Amber Kintner ended up passing her L1 (congrats!) and with her stellar performance on my team, I gave the print to her, she had earned it. I chatted with the members of my team after the event, and asked for feedback, and will continue to put all feedback I receive to use to continue growing as a judge.




I next depart for Las Vegas, such a long trip across the country, but this should be exciting!
Until next time!
Mikey

Pre-release at Pastimes in Chicago

Greetings again peeps!
So there has been some changes to my epic adventure this last week. Peter will not be joining me for the duration of my trip, it turned out to be that he had things in his life that made it impossible for him to continue. I wish him the best in everything he does, and look forward to working with him at an event in the future.
That being said, I made the choice to pursue working a pre-release in the midwest, instead of shipping out to San Jose as planned. I sent out an email to a couple contacts, and Nick Short from PASTIMES in Chicago replied and said he would be happy to staff me for the weekend. Awesome! I have been to Pastimes, and love working with Jason Long, and this would be my first opportunity to work with Nick Short. I saw this as a chance to gain more experience from these two judges, who have been judging for a while and have so much experience between them both, being that they work for Pastimes, and run GenCon every year, and I have worked with Jason numerous times, I can't wait!
Dr. Elliott extended the the offer for me to stay with him for a couple days, and of course I took him up on it, I really love being around the Doc, and every time I visit him or work with him, I leave feeling that I am a better judge because of it. We had some discussions about my upcoming presentation on "PROPER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN JUDGES AND PLAYERS- BREAKING DOWN THE WALL" at the Judge Conference at GP-Boston-Worcester. Doc Elliott is a perfect example of how I see myself in the future as a judge, so taking his opinion into account seems like the proper thing to do. He gave me some very good tips, topics to consider, and we had some pretty good discussions. I like seeing things from his perspective, he really sees things from all angles, which I bet is why he is such a well-respected judge.
I then head out to Chicago, and meet up with Jason Long, and get ready to play in FNM, then the midnight release of M13. I bombed FNM, just couldn't get my deck to operate properly. It was a decent draft pool, but just wasn't my tournament. My sealed pool for midnight release however, was pretty solid! I had Garruk, 2 of the new fireball, a magmaquake, a couple visionaries, and some mana dorks. I get mana-flooded game three of round 1, but then didn't drop another game all night! The prizes were based on record, so I was happy with the 5 packs. There were less players at the three events than expected, but I hear that that was the case across the board, so it makes me wonder if this core set may not keep value....who knows.
This was the most difficult week so far for my journey, and there is no way I could have continue my travels without the help of Dr. Elliott and Jason Long, both are amazing people and judges, and am so very happy to have people like that in my life now. They opened their doors to me and gave me a place to stay when I needed it the most. They both seem to want to see me succeed as a judge, and for this I am very thankful, and am able to continue my growth because of these two gentlemen.
I am next in St. Louis for the SCG Open series....my first TEAM LEAD detail!!!! I cant wait, and am insanely nervous, but am sure that I will knock it out of the park, I will not allow myself to fail.
Until next time!
Mike

ATLANTA...MY FIRST GRAND PRIX!!!

Hey guys!
It has been such a busy trip, trying to keep up on this blog is becoming difficult, so bear with me.

I write today about my trip to Atlanta, GA for my first GP on Judge Staff!

We arrive at the event site around 8:30 am, I am slotted for staff, but not until 2pm. The hotel where the GP is being held is the HYATT REGENCY, an amazing hotel, one of the nicest I have had the pleasure to visit. I take the time before I am scheduled to judge to look around the hotel. Everything here is so beautiful, the restaurants on-site and the ease of access to the food courts of the mall via the sky walkways make it super convenient, and everyone was more than friendly!


Now it is time to judge!

My team lead for the side events on Friday was Ben McDole, who as it turns out was my team lead on Saturday as well. Mr. McDole is a L3 Florida Judge, and knowing this, I fully expected the daggers to be flying. (Daggers are difficult judge questions) He would not disappoint. I really like this about him, and the entire Florida Judge community, throwing daggers is a way to educate judges, and moreover, encourage communication between judges on staff.









There really wasn't much going on in side events on Friday, which is good, but I got to pick the brains of many senior judges that were staffed for GP Atlanta, which is always a great thing for me, as I try to become as stellar a judge as everyone at this event. Side events end, and we depart to our rooms to rest for the upcoming Grand Prix Day One!

Call time for the judges was 7:30 am, and we meet up with all of the Saturday judge staff, our T.O., Jeff Williams, and our Head Judge, Scott Marshall. I have met Mr. Marshall from a player perspective, and a dealer perspective, but never have I had the opportunity to be on his staff. Mr. Marshall gives his pre-tournament announcements, and we divide up into our teams and get ready for Grand Prix!

I get a couple random judge calls in the first two rounds, nothing special, but then, Round 3, I get a call about bridge from below and the zombies that it makes. AP sacs a creature to a spell, cabal therapy I think, with 2 bridge from below in his graveyard. NAP in response sacs his creature to a different ability, now AP wants to know if he gets his zombies.  I rule that he does, due to Bridge from Below's ability going off of last known information, and puts the zombies into play. NAP chooses to appeal, so I fetch Scott Marshall.  I realize on the way to Get Mr. Marshall that I have made a colossal bad ruling, Dan Stephens educated me about "Intervening If Clause" the previous week, and I had just spaced on that information at a Grand Prix...my first Grand Prix. Upon arrival, I say to Mr. Marshall, " I have an appeal, and my ruling will be overturned." There goes my judge career.

I explain what happened, he says OK, and goes to the table, corrects the bad ruling, and the players continue play. Then he surprised me. He turns to me and says, "I wish that I could say that I have never been appealed, or that I have never made an incorrect call, but I can't. It happens." I was sure that that moment was to be the end of me as a judge. I mean, a L5 just saw me make a HUGE mistake at a Grand Prix! But with the reassuring statement by Mr. Marshall, I gained insight that mistakes will be made, and to keep chuggin along, otherwise, how did Mr. Marshall get to where he is in the program?

Later that day I get moved to Side Events, (the entire team I was on was to do this, as the side events become busier later in day 1) and get my opportunity to Head Judge an event! SOFA KING EXCITED!!!! I get slotted to HG the 2-HEADED GIANT event, and everything went pretty smooth. I got to work with 2 great judges, Ryan Dowdy, and Katie Temple, and the event ran perfect with the work of these 2 judges. Thanks guys!

I then leave for the judge dinner, it is to be held at Ted's Montana Grill. The food was amazing, the conversations even better, I had the pleasure of dining with Kim Warren, Daniel Kitachewsky, Ryan Stapleton, David Hibbs, George Fitzgerald, Bernd Buldt and Michael Puccio, all senior judges, and all very friendly judges, within and outside of judging. I really enjoy the thought of a judge dinner, being able to see judges as themselves, not only as their role in an event. I hope that events in the future have judge dinners, because I feel that the more comfortable people are with each other, the better they can work together. Dinners like these open up the opportunity to socialize with people on a level playing field, and in a casual, non-work environment, people speak freely and socialize better. Just my opinion.

Day Two call time was 8am, and I am slotted for side events all day. My new team lead is Kevin Binswanger...wait...That's my Regional Coordinator!!! I had yet to work with him, and finally, after months of being a judge, get the opportunity! That is, if some sort of tournament would fire....It is a little slow in what I refer to as MikeyLand (side events)

I get slotted to work a standard T2 1K event in the afternoon, and pretty much durdle most of the morning, chatting with other judges, and taking daggers all morning. My HG for the event, George Fitzgerald, tells me that I am going to be DeckChecks Team Lead! Yay!!!! I get to have the pleasure to work with L2 Michael Mills (Milsy) on deck checks for this event! We end up with just a couple bad lists, and corrected them early. I then get pulled away for something they call a "2-on-1" where 2 senior judges talk to you about your advancement in the judge program, and try to help you in any way to achieve whatever you wish to gain from the judge program. There were 3 judges on the 2-on-1 team, David Hibbs (L3), Daniel Kitachewsky (L3), and Kim Warren (L3, RC).  Ms. Warren is the judge that sits down with me, and I ask why there is only one? She says that the other 2 on the team are working with another judge.

Ms. Warren really helped me with concerns I had, and was more than willing to talk to me about anything that I had questions about. I hope others get to learn from her judge wisdom, and use the information given by such a stellar judge to further themselves in the judge program.

The day ends on the last day of my first Grand Prix, and many of the judges head to the Hard Rock for dinner. Hibbs, Fitz, and I arrive, and get seated. Eddie Cheung hands me a menu, I open it, and there is a foil card in that says "BOOM TUBE"...and everyone yells BOOM!!!! This is a little game that I guess Florida judges play, you get the Boom Tube, and must make someone else accept it from you. I ship it to Aaron Stickney, and I think it made its way back to Eddie Cheung. We will come back to that.
I order the rack of ribs, get them, and they are REALLY REALLY SMALL!!! I ask the waitress to come over, state my case, and she says she will fix it. Meanwhile, the other judges are trying to get me to "seal the deal" with the waitress, but I just can't get over the lack of neck on our waitress...I mean she looked like someone had hammered her head into her torso....total no-go for me. She comes back with a proper rack for me (see what I did there) and I enjoy my dinner with all these judges. Everyone is laughing and having a good time. I then see that someone has ordered a drink called a "blowjob" (kahlua, buttershots, and cream, topped with whipped cream) and are deciding who will get the honor of drinking it. If you do not know, the novelty of drinking this drink is that you drink it with no hands....pretty hawt, until the selection of Ben McDole is made. Sorry McDole, but I cant seem to find you attractive.
He takes the drink, drinks it according to the instructions, and low and behold, what is sitting under the shotglass on the plate coated in whipped cream? THE BOOM TUBE!!!!!!

We head back to the hotel, hung out with people, played some EDH, and then some "WEREWOLVES" a game that I really love now, and hope to get a game going of it at my next event.

All in all this was an amazing event for me, and hope to have the opportunity to work many more GP's in the future. I now head off for M13 pre-release, then off to St. Louis..one of my favorite destinations.

Until next time!
Mikey

"Those who can play, do. Those who can't, judge.": SCG Open and Invitational INDIANAPOLIS!!!

"Those who can play, do. Those who can't, judge.": SCG Open and Invitational INDIANAPOLIS!!!: Greetings again!  This blog comes from beautiful Indianapolis, IN, where Peter and I were staffed for the SCG Open Series AND Invitational...

SCG Open and Invitational INDIANAPOLIS!!!

Greetings again!

 This blog comes from beautiful Indianapolis, IN, where Peter and I were staffed for the SCG Open Series AND Invitational. This event was a blast, with 200+ Invitational competitors, almost 500 Standard Open competitors, and 300+ Legacy competitors!
I was slotted for side events on Friday, and while side events were a little slow, I was happy to be in my element. (side events) No real interesting judge calls, most of the players were not new to the game, and played accordingly.

Day 2 is where it got interesting.
Round 2 the Head Judge, Kim Warren, calls me to the stage. I arrive, and she says that she was putting me on side events...YAY!!!  BTW you have an L1 candidate shadowing you. AWESOME!!!!  I was going to request to be shadowed in Detroit, as I would love to have a hand in molding a new judge in my deadly image lol. I happen to think that my personal take on player-judge interaction, charisma, and general attitude are all things a new judge could take away from working with me.
My shadow's name was James Risner. He was a touch older than I, soft-spoken, with much legacy knowledge. The downside was that his presence as a judge was hidden by his timidness and nervousness. He ended up loosening up around our 3rd side event, and was handling side events with ease after that. Later, he took THE TEST.....and passed!!!! I am so happy to see a nice guy like James join the Judge family, and look forward to working with him again.

I was then moved back to the floor, and was instantly shadowed by a L2, Nick Rzeczowski, which I didn't mind at all, there was much I could learn from this seasoned judge. His way of explaining how things work was smooth, and he at no point became frustrated with me, and told me something that very much surprised me: Be confidant in your rules knowledge, it is not as bad as you think. You should test for L2. WHAAAAAA????? This is now the 3rd judge to say that, but I will return to that.

The Judge calls BLEW UP day 3, but one of my favorites that I got to handle was this:
AP controls SIGARDA, HOST OF HERONS, and attempts to MAELSTROM PULSE his opponent's TARMOGOYF. NAP calls for a judge, and asks if he understands this situation correctly. Can he cast MISDIRECTION targeting MAELSTROM PULSE, and pulse the SIGARDA?  I am pretty sure the answer is yes, but I really need to know how to properly explain it when the inevitable judge call comes. (SIGARDA has hexproof).

Luckily, a L3 judge pops out of nowhere to come to my aid. That judge was the Invitational Head Judge(and ninja), Daniel Kitachewsky, who was now working the floor for the Legacy open. He pulls me to the side, broke down the entire interaction to me in a very entertaining, and easy to understand way.
Pointing his hand high in the air, he proclaims "I CAST THIS ON YOU!!!!  then from above (pointing down) SOMEONE SAYS NO!!!, YOU WILL GO OVER THERE!!!(pointing to the left)."

The controller of the pulse doesn't change, just the target of the pulse. EPIC RULES EXPAINATION!!! Therefore, AP pulsed his own SIGARDA, and entered "SAD PANDA PHASE" (hiya Bruce Mills lol)
I wish I could have worked with Daniel more, as I feel I could have learned so much more from this stellar judge. Hopefully I get to work with him again in the near future.

My team lead for Legacy Open was a newer L2, one Nathan Stanley. This judge kept me cracking up all day, what an amazing personality! Nathan was very down to earth, and had no problem chatting with me about past judge calls, interesting situations, and how to further myself in the judge program. I had the most interaction with Nathan, and consider myself a better judge because of it.

The call of the weekend for me was in Round 7, when a player I was checking on because his opponant wasnt in his seat at the beginning of round said to me, "My opponent ran to the bathroom". I said, "He came to the table, and informed you of this?" he said yes and I instructed him to begin play swiftly when his opponent returned. I hear "JUDGE!!!"  about 7 minutes into the round, from the same player that I had just spoken to. I arrive, and ask him whats going on? HIS EXACT WORDS.....    "Judge, I kinda lied to you." WHAAAAA???????? "My opponent is my friend, and I dont know where he is, but I didnt want him to get into trouble for being late."
So he just lied to a tournament official.....DISQUALIFICATION. Those are the rules right?

Myself and another judge, Aaron Clay, take this issue to the Head Judge, one Michael Zimmerman, trying to keep a straight face the whole way. I cant see this being an actual DQ, I mean, what advantage can the player get from this? Sure he lied, I think that a proper talking to would be fine, and would hopefully make the player understand that lying to a judge is really bad!
Michael Zimmerman tells us to do just that, and doesnt give the player the DQ, based on the situation, the fact that this table was nowhere near contention, even for prizes, etc.
So, all in all, this was an amazing weekend of Magic, I feel that this event was the one that I learned the most from. With such a deep pool of judges to syphon information and knowledge out of, would you expect any different?
Now I head off to Detroit, for the SCG Open there this upcoming weekend. Oh and by the way, I am going to attempt to TEST FOR L2!!!! Hopefully there is no conflict in schedules, because with the judges that I have spoken to saying I should test, and my own personal will to succeed, the only thing that can stop me is not having someone to actually administer the test.
Wish me luck!!!!

Until next time!
Michael

DEEP DISH PIZZA IN CHICAGO!!!

Greetings again!
We decided that after SCG Worcester, we would go to some other city to kill some time before heading to SCG Indianapolis. We chose Chicago....for PIZZA!!!! Sure there will inevitably be other stuff to see and do, but when I think Chicago, being the fatbody I am, I auto-thought PIZZA!!!
We asked around, checked online, and ended up at a little shop called BEGGAR'S PIZZA.

BEGGAR'S PIZZA
310 S. Clinton Ave
Chicago, IL 60661
312-588-0055
www.beggarspizza.com
HOURS:
Mon-Thur 11am-11pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12am
Sun 11am-10pm

"I do hope that this place is as good as people say" goes through my mind as we approach the small pizza shop on Clinton Ave. It would be very disappointing to have my Deep Dish Pizza virginity taken by a sub-par pie. "This experience has to be special", I think to myself, for I can never get my Deep Dish cherry back. "Is this the right one"? "Maybe I am rushing into things". NO MIKEY!! This store has been around for over 35 years, I can smell the delicious smells of dough baking and the sweet aroma of tomato sauce in the air as I approach. "Maybe I am not ready, is this really the one for me"?  The nervousness of the experience to come is growing stronger as I reach for the door and pull..."BEGGAR'S, please be gentle...it's my first time".
We step in the door, and see a friendly face welcoming us to Beggar's. There are 7 or so pizzas on presentation, and the counterperson is throwing another pie up in the display. That is the one I gotta have! Looking at it, this Pizza has to be 2 1/2-3" tall! Red on top? Where is the cheese??? I am so confused!

She tells us of the special, the thin sausage and mushroom, but I have already made my mind up....GOIN WITH THE THICKNESS! Peter and I order the Deep Dish Sausage and Cheese ($3.70 slice) a large fountain drink($1.99), and against my typical self (I am not a huge fan of sweets) the chocolate gelato($2.99).  Beggar's has the typical chili pepper and Parm shakers, but in addition have garlic shakers and oregano shakers....shake to taste!
We sit down, and prepare to devour the monster slice of pie before us. There are people in the bar area watching Game One of the NBA finals, and there is a 20 person party celebrating graduation as well. Too many people to just go primal and destroy this pie, tearing it apart swiftly as a lion would do to his latest victim.
Peter decides to eat this monster slice as he would a typical slice, I opt for the fork and knife method. I cut in, and see a 1/2" layer of crust, 3/4" of cheese (there it is!) 1/4" of italian sausage, and covered with a red sauce. I raise the fork-full up to my mouth.........
SHAZAAM!!!!!
The medley of flavors explode in my mouth: tons of cheese, the sausage is uber flavorful,  sweet, slightly tangy (hint of merlot) red sauce, the oregano and garlic I sprinkled on, all coming together is Fatboy bliss! Why have I waited this long for this? This shoots up the list as one of the best things I have eaten! I finish my slice, and unlike almost everything else I eat....I AM FULL. WTF?!?!? This makes no sense at all. My 280# ass has never only eaten ONE slice of pizza! How did you manage this Beggar's? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME???? I am in love with you CHICAGO STYLE DEEP DISH PIZZA!!

After the orgasmic experience of the slice, the gelato falls by the wayside, it was good, but having to follow the pizza, it simply stood no chance.

I will be in NY soon, and have gotta try the biggest competition, and personally settle the Chicago vs NY pizza battle. But it will be an unhill battle NY, its hard to change the mind of a FATMAN IN LOVE!!!!

Until next time!!!
Mikey