Updated on 21 Feb 26 by
Matt Perry
Poker Expert

Black Members ballin it up in Dubai!

Our Black Members travelled to one of the world's most extravagant cities for dining, desert driving, water-planing and more!

Dubai
Event recap by firsttsunami

DubaiI'm still looking for the guy who put the happy pills into my glass on the first day, but I've not found him yet (not that I want to blame him, just thank him) [this is a joke about how much fun the event was; no one was spiking anyone at this Event - Ed].

This was the best event I've ever attended, although I didn't think there would be an event that would top the first Bensberg event. The pool area with several pools and attached bars was amazing; I've never seen such a big pool area where you can actually swim your laps. You could easily get to the ocean which was even warmer than the beach itself.

Some of the Black Members there I already knew, some I was meeting for the first time. We had a city trip with a guide (more of a tourist trip than experiencing culture unfortunately), a jeep tour through the desert, and dinner.

It's hard to pick out a favourite part of the trip - I enjoyed the jeep tour and the last night's dinner on the ship a lot. The entire event was a highlight for me, though. My favourite experience was deciding to play tennis with another Black Member - we were wondering why no one else was using the courts.

10 minutes later it became obvious - the afternoon heat was unbearable, and we had to stop. I have no idea how Federer and Nadal play such intense tennis for hours in the Australian Open under similar conditions.

The staff at the hotel and katriiin did a really good job; katriiin's really dedicated to fulfilling everyone's wishes and solving any issues as fast as possible.

Flickr - Black Member Event: Dubai

Dubai
Dubai's towering skyscrapers.
Dubai Dubai
VROOM! Expendables style!
Dubai
Flying past the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building (829.8m)
Dubai
The PokerStrategy.com crew wandered the desert for 40 days and 40 nights (OK, just a few hours)

Flickr - Black Member Event: Dubai

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