Rebecca's Recommendations - January 5, 2007

5 Jan 2007
By Rebecca Liggero

God bless the chiropractor that cured my mysterious foot injury prior to a 2.5 week New Zealand vacation. Like, I want to marry him. Thanks to this miracle worker I was able to maneuver like a normal human being while I spent 2.5 weeks in the most outdoorsy country in the world. You know who else I want to marry? The entire Kiwi Casino, Poker, Bingo, and Skill team. I mean, this trip to New Zealand was completely over the top- I have won a lot of affiliate contests in my time, but never a prize of this caliber. Who gives away trips to New Zealand? WHO? We are talking true love here. To give you an idea of what I experienced over the past few weeks, I will summarize below.

South Island, December 14th-24th.
We began our adventures in the airport. LAX, to be exact. Eleven hours in the most boring terminal in existence while waiting to board a 14 hour flight. Ya. Really fun. We finally got to Christchurch, 30 hours after leaving Boston, and met up with my main contact from Kiwi Casino for a trip to his friend's BBQ. How's that for the authentic Kiwi experience? We're talking rugby balls flying around the backyard, parents, cousins, grilled prawns, mince fruit pies, lamb, Crowded House, and Tui beer. The next day we were treated to drinks and food at the local beer garden by the entire Kiwi Casino team, one of the highlights of the entire trip. And now for the adventurous part. We picked up our rental car, compliments of Kiwi Casino of course, and headed south for Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. Honestly, Queenstown is one of the most unbelievable and gorgeous places I have visited in my entire life. My only complaint is that 75% of the tourist population includes 18-21 year olds that invade the hostels and bars- I have never seen so many intoxicated people making out in public in my entire life. Ew. Anyway, on to the bungy jumping. So Queenstown is the proud home of the Nevis bungy jump, a mere 230 meter free fall over a shallow river. Ya, I skipped out on that one. No thanks. I did, however, decide to hurl myself over the side of a canyon, a 160 meter fall. Much better. I actually jumped twice. See, now I'm addicted to jumping off of things- tie me up and I'll do anything.

North Island, December 24th-31st.
A few years back I became very close with a group of Kiwis that lived in Washington DC and played for a local rugby team. Many of these rugby guys have since moved back to New Zealand so I made arrangements with them for the North Island portion of our trip. It all began with spending Christmas just outside of Wellington with a day of golf, BBQing, and drinking. We did venture into the city on "boxing day", and let me tell you, Wellington is a very special place. A few points of interest: a)"party pills" are openly and legally sold in various shops that line the very public and very central streets. These "party pills" are available in many varieties and their effects are compared to those of illegal drugs such as ecstasy and speed. b)We passed a strip bar called "Mermaids". Apparently this unique establishment includes huge "fish tanks" that contain topless "mermaids" for the patrons' viewing pleasure. c)While walking down a respectable street full of cafes, music shops, and clothing stores I came across a huge neon green sign that read "20% off vibrators" (see below). d)There is a drunk homeless man that lives on a street corner and only wears a blanket- he is referred to as "blanket man" and everyone in Wellington knows what that means. Like I said, Wellington is a very special place. Right. So after spending a night in Rotarua, a town full of hot springs and horrid smells, the next stop was Bayley's Beach to visit my crazy pig hunting Maori friend. I have never seen so much pig hunting paraphernalia in my life- magazines, pictures, hunting dogs, knives, tusks, you name it. What a sicko. My friend also treated us to a night of drinking homemade rum (do not do it- worst hangover EVER) and a day of beer drinking at a local bar. When I say "local bar", I mean local as in we were the first Americans to enter the place. Not to mention they proudly sell 600 ml beers (the New Zealand version of the "40") and if you're a true alcoholic, you can purchase a wooden crate full of these ghetto beers to go. Anyone seen "Once were Warriors"? No? Rent it! Speaking of, our final destination was Auckland (not South Auckland thank god), an amazing city, but I did not see one Kiwi in the entire place. I could have sworn I was somewhere in Asia.

We left Auckland on the evening of the 31st and arrived back in Boston on the evening of the 31st. Ya. Think about that one for a minute. I am so jet lagged right now. For those of you who want to hear more about my New Zealand adventure, please let me know as this newsletter barely scratches the surface. Lastly, Happy New Year to all, and is anyone interested in purchasing an authentic Wellington vibrator? 20% off, don't forget. sign

Rebecca's Recommendations - January 5, 2007 is republished from CasinoCityTimes.com.

Language Support: Your Location: > edit your preferences Home Slots Casinos Poker Bingo Backgammon Mahjong & Rummy Skill Games Lotteries Sportsbooks Betting Exchanges Exclusive Bonuses Weekly Newsletter Online Gaming News Payment Methods Gaming Software Gaming Site Owners Gaming Jurisdictions		Bonuses! New games! Gossip! And all the player news you can handle. Sign up NOW! View the current issue Rebecca Liggero Rebecca Liggero loves meeting new people and traveling – perfect qualities for someone who has won friends and influenced people in the worldwide online gaming community. After graduating from Bates College with a degree in psychology, Rebecca spent four years in Washington, DC, working in relationship management, dreaming all the while about someday making it big in online gaming. After turning down an opportunity to live in New Zealand, she moved back to Boston and signed on as Senior Account Manager for Casino City – the beginning of a dream come true! Rebecca’s work on behalf of Casino City (and later for the GPWA as well) took her to trade shows and conferences everywhere – Amsterdam, Barcelona, Costa Rica, Montreal, London, Las Vegas, Macau and many other ports of call – and along the way she began chronicling her incredible around-the-clock adventures in a wildly entertaining and industry-savvy weekly column that quickly became – and still remains – must reading for everyone who is anyone in online gaming. Following almost three years with the Casino City team, Rebecca spent a few months at Everest Affiliates where she was the Brand Manager of the affiliate program. While working on “the other side,” she realized that she truly missed her weekly column and the affiliate side of the business and decided to return to the Casino City family. One and a half years later, Rebecca resigned from Casino City and joined industry icon Calvin Ayre to serve as the Bodog Global Brand Ambassador and the head on-site reporter for the online gambling industry tablog, CalvinAyre.com. In her new capacity, Rebecca continues to travel the world, and when asked where she is based, her response is usually "on an airplane." Contact Rebecca at rebecca@liggero.net. Be careful, though – she might quote you. More about Rebecca Liggero More articles by Rebecca Liggero
	Rebecca's Recommendations - January 5, 2007 5 Jan 2007 By Rebecca Liggero <a href='http://as1.casinocity.com/adclick.php?n=a21efcd1'><img src='http://as1.casinocity.com/adview.php?what=-site:vendors/width:250/RON&n=a21efcd1' border='0' alt=''></a> God bless the chiropractor that cured my mysterious foot injury prior to a 2.5 week New Zealand vacation. Like, I want to marry him. Thanks to this miracle worker I was able to maneuver like a normal human being while I spent 2.5 weeks in the most outdoorsy country in the world. You know who else I want to marry? The entire Kiwi Casino, Poker, Bingo, and Skill team. I mean, this trip to New Zealand was completely over the top- I have won a lot of affiliate contests in my time, but never a prize of this caliber. Who gives away trips to New Zealand? WHO? We are talking true love here. To give you an idea of what I experienced over the past few weeks, I will summarize below. South Island, December 14th-24th. We began our adventures in the airport. LAX, to be exact. Eleven hours in the most boring terminal in existence while waiting to board a 14 hour flight. Ya. Really fun. We finally got to Christchurch, 30 hours after leaving Boston, and met up with my main contact from Kiwi Casino for a trip to his friend's BBQ. How's that for the authentic Kiwi experience? We're talking rugby balls flying around the backyard, parents, cousins, grilled prawns, mince fruit pies, lamb, Crowded House, and Tui beer. The next day we were treated to drinks and food at the local beer garden by the entire Kiwi Casino team, one of the highlights of the entire trip. And now for the adventurous part. We picked up our rental car, compliments of Kiwi Casino of course, and headed south for Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. Honestly, Queenstown is one of the most unbelievable and gorgeous places I have visited in my entire life. My only complaint is that 75% of the tourist population includes 18-21 year olds that invade the hostels and bars- I have never seen so many intoxicated people making out in public in my entire life. Ew. Anyway, on to the bungy jumping. So Queenstown is the proud home of the Nevis bungy jump, a mere 230 meter free fall over a shallow river. Ya, I skipped out on that one. No thanks. I did, however, decide to hurl myself over the side of a canyon, a 160 meter fall. Much better. I actually jumped twice. See, now I'm addicted to jumping off of things- tie me up and I'll do anything. North Island, December 24th-31st. A few years back I became very close with a group of Kiwis that lived in Washington DC and played for a local rugby team. Many of these rugby guys have since moved back to New Zealand so I made arrangements with them for the North Island portion of our trip. It all began with spending Christmas just outside of Wellington with a day of golf, BBQing, and drinking. We did venture into the city on "boxing day", and let me tell you, Wellington is a very special place. A few points of interest: a)"party pills" are openly and legally sold in various shops that line the very public and very central streets. These "party pills" are available in many varieties and their effects are compared to those of illegal drugs such as ecstasy and speed. b)We passed a strip bar called "Mermaids". Apparently this unique establishment includes huge "fish tanks" that contain topless "mermaids" for the patrons' viewing pleasure. c)While walking down a respectable street full of cafes, music shops, and clothing stores I came across a huge neon green sign that read "20% off vibrators" (see below). d)There is a drunk homeless man that lives on a street corner and only wears a blanket- he is referred to as "blanket man" and everyone in Wellington knows what that means. Like I said, Wellington is a very special place. Right. So after spending a night in Rotarua, a town full of hot springs and horrid smells, the next stop was Bayley's Beach to visit my crazy pig hunting Maori friend. I have never seen so much pig hunting paraphernalia in my life- magazines, pictures, hunting dogs, knives, tusks, you name it. What a sicko. My friend also treated us to a night of drinking homemade rum (do not do it- worst hangover EVER) and a day of beer drinking at a local bar. When I say "local bar", I mean local as in we were the first Americans to enter the place. Not to mention they proudly sell 600 ml beers (the New Zealand version of the "40") and if you're a true alcoholic, you can purchase a wooden crate full of these ghetto beers to go. Anyone seen "Once were Warriors"? No? Rent it! Speaking of, our final destination was Auckland (not South Auckland thank god), an amazing city, but I did not see one Kiwi in the entire place. I could have sworn I was somewhere in Asia. We left Auckland on the evening of the 31st and arrived back in Boston on the evening of the 31st. Ya. Think about that one for a minute. I am so jet lagged right now. For those of you who want to hear more about my New Zealand adventure, please let me know as this newsletter barely scratches the surface. Lastly, Happy New Year to all, and is anyone interested in purchasing an authentic Wellington vibrator? 20% off, don't forget. Rebecca's Recommendations - January 5, 2007 is republished from CasinoCityTimes.com.