Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast - #646: Seeing the World

Episode Date: June 14, 2019

Working on Magic has taken me to many countries around the world. In this podcast, I reminisce about all the places I've visited on Magic's dime.

I'm pulling my driveway. We all know what that means. It's time for another drive to work. Okay, so today is a day of stories of travels around the world. So one of the great things about my job, one of the many great things, is I've got to do a lot of traveling. In fact, on Magic's Dime, I've been to every continent on the planet, save Antarctica. Now, we don't do a lot of tournaments and stuff in Antarctica, so I'll probably never get into Antarctica, at least with Wizards. But I have managed to get everywhere else, so today I'm going to talk through all the different places I've visited

and share some stories about, I don't know, just the cool part of traveling around the world. So we're going to start in Europe. Start with England. Interestingly, as I'm recording this, next week I'm going to be going to England for the second time for Wizards. I actually was there once, not for Wizards. And I'm excited. So I was in England for a Pro Tour, Pro Tour London.

The one that I think Kyle Rose won. I always remember that as it was the last... I had recommended to Bill Rose that we hire Randy Buehler. And Randy went through a long interview process. Eventually we hired him. And this was the last Pro Tour he played in before he came to work for Wizards. I hired him, and this was the last pro store he played in before he came to work for Wizards. And I remember that Randy and I went out to dinner in London, and we were talking all about, I was trying to share him all the information about all the stuff he needed to know about

Wizards. And I was very loud, and people kept looking at me, and I realized I was talking too loud. Not a shocker for me, but anyway. The interesting thing in the London restaurant was nobody actually told me to be quiet. Like, nobody said to me, oh, you're being too loud, be quieter. I just, people were just giving me dirty looks. And I eventually figured out that I was being too loud. But it was interesting that nobody actually told me I was being too loud.

Anyway, I guess they're very polite. But anyway, London was fun. London was just really cool. And, um, uh, it was, uh, the, the thing I remember about London was, um, they have really good fish and chips, uh, uh, which, uh, like breaded, breaded fish for those who don't know what that is. Um, and I, uh, I remember eating a lot of fish and chips in England. A lot of this will be me remembering foods I ate at places I went. Okay, next is... So England, I was in London.

So next is France. So I've been in a couple. I've been to France a bunch of different times. I've been to Paris. So I was in Paris for Pro Tour Paris, the one that Mike Long won. And I was in Paris for the World Championship. I'm blanking on who won that one. It's the one where

Gabriel Nassif didn't win. I'm blanking on who won that one. It was a Japanese player. Anyway, I was in Paris those two times. I was in Nice for Pro Tour Nice and for

the World Magic Cup. I was in Nice one year and I was there for that. the World Magic Cup. I was in Nice one year and I was there for that. I feel like I was in France one other time. But I've been in France a bunch of times. I've enjoyed France. There's a reputation that the French people are not very friendly, but I found that not to be the case.

They actually were quite friendly. And the, yeah, the pro tour in Paris where Mike Long beat Mark Justice in the finals was one of the more exciting pro tour finals. I mean, there's been a lot of exciting pro tour finals, but something that's, and this doesn't happen all that much surprisingly, where just two of the biggest names at the time end up against each other in the finals. It does happen, and there's a bunch of times it happening, but this was one of them. It was really, really exciting, and I, my big memory of Pro Tour Paris was, it was the first time we had a Pro Tour in Europe, and we, the European staff was running it and we were just there as advisors. Uh, we were brought in and I remember, um, a lot of that event was we had done

a bunch of stuff. And so the idea was we weren't supposed to be doing it, but we were supposed to be helping. And, uh, I think it was in Paris where they were setting up all the video footage, but they hadn't had a spotter for the floor. And I pointed out to them that if they don't have a spotter, they won't know anything. Part of the problems of running the video stuff is the people in the booth doing your broadcasting, there's a lot of information they need that, back in the day, we were just one single camera overhead. You couldn't always see things, and so

you needed a spotter. So I pointed out that this was important for them to do, and they just forgot. When I pointed out, they're like, oh, yeah, that makes total sense. So, anyway, I've enjoyed my time in France, like I said, all the various times. The last time I went, actually, to Nice, not only was I there, um, but my mother and

my sister and my nephew were all there. So, I had a little family, little family reunion at, at the, uh, Magic World Cup. So, that was cool. Okay, next, I've been to Germany. So, I've been to Meitz, which is the Pro Tour, Pro Tour Meitz that, um, Mike plays, uh, Matt plays, sorry, Matt plays one, a good friend of mine. And, uh, I also was there for the world championship in Berlin, um, that, uh, Daniel, what was

his last name? It's testing my memory of remembering who won what. Uh, but there was a world championship in Berlin, um, and I was there for that. Um, those are the two times that, oh, and I was there for that. Those are the two times I... Oh, and I was at Essen. There was a... One of the invitationals was at Essen, which was in Germany, and I was at Essen. So I think those are my three trips to Germany, I believe. Italy, I was at Pro Tour Rome. I missed... There was a World Championship at Rome that I missed because I was on a

cruise, one of the few early Pro Tours that I missed, there was a world championship at Rome that I missed because I was on a cruise. One of the few early Pro Tours that I missed. I was at Pro Tour Venice. Was there another? I think those are the two times I've been to Italy. I really enjoyed Italy. Pro Tour Venice is the trip where every single meal, every single meal I ate pizza. And people seem appalled by that, but I'm like, oh, that was a beautiful thing. I really enjoyed that. And I remember when I went to Pro Tour Rome, I stayed some extra time to see Rome, and I remember going to see the Sistine Chapel, and I'm looking up, and I'm in the Sistine Chapel, and then I just hear

magic voices. There were other magic players that were there, and just this idea of I'm looking, and the first thing I hear was like Evan Irwin or somebody talking, and it's like, oh, look, there's magic celebrities here at the Sistine Chapel. Spain. So I think the only country I've been to in Spain is Barcelona, but I've been there three times. I was there for two different, two different Pro Tour Barcelonas,

and the third Invitational was in Barcelona. That was actually the first time I was in Barcelona. My memory of Barcelona is that they shut the... They're open for dinner at like 7 or 8 and lunch is like 2 to 3, but there's a gap when they're just closed.

And so normally you'd want to go out to dinner at like 5 or 6 which is, you know, in the US kind of when you would go out to dinner. And like, you have to wait two more hours before they open so you could do dinner. But the food was very good. The tapas, I remember eating the tapas. It was very good. So I had fun in Spain. Next is Belgium.

So that was Brussels. Brussels was the world championship that John Finkel won. So that was another exciting final. That was John Finkel versus Bob Marr, Bob Marr Jr., in the finals. That was one of the most dynamic finals ever. It was a really good back and forth. They were really exciting games. Yeah, so that was another, I'm talking just exciting ever finals. That's another one that's right up there that was really cool. And

I also remember going to Brussels a little early and we went and saw some museums and the funny thing was the topic when we were walking around the museum, the topic we were discussing was how the Hall of Fame should work. So a lot of the discussions of

how we thought the Hall of Fame should work, a lot of that got figured out at this museum in Brussels. And us just walking around, looking at all the different art and stuff, and then just chatting about how we thought the Hall of Fame should work. Next is the Netherlands.

So I was there, I was in Amsterdam for a different Magic World Cup. And I was not... There was... There's been some pro tours there. I'm not sure if I ever... The one pro tour...

The first pro tour that was going to be there I missed because my daughter... My first daughter, Rachel, was born and I missed it. That was the first pro tour...

Well, I mean... Yeah, that's the first pro tour I ever missed, I think, was Amsterdam because my daughter... I think Sigurd Eskelen won that. I think that was

the Mekadian Masks block... block event, I think. I think Sigurd Eskelen won that. I think that was the Mercadian Masks block event, I think. I was told it was the same two decks and wasn't the most exciting of pro tours. But Amsterdam was awesome. One of the things about Amsterdam is our hotel was far away from the site for whatever reason was.

So I had to travel on a little subway. And so it was like a 20 minute ride. So I had to travel on a little subway. And so it was like a 20-minute ride. So I got to see a lot of Amsterdam. And there's a lot of bicycle riding in Amsterdam. Saw all the bicycle riders. And anyway, it was cool. And there was good food. I liked the food.

And then the final European city that I've been to so far was Finland. I went to Helsinki. This one actually wasn't on Wizard's Dime. I was one of the guests of honor at RopaCon, which is the largest gaming convention in Finland. And I did this many, many years ago. And one of the things I remember was, it was the very first time I ever had anybody playtest Mood Swings.

Like a very, very, very early version of Mood Swings. So this was back in 98, I want to say. Anyway, I really enjoyed my time in Finland. I didn't know much about Finland, actually. And it was very interesting to see. And I learned a lot. And a lot of stuff I did not know. But yeah, it was nice.

And the story there was, so I'm in Finland and I say to my host, and I say, okay, it's time to go eat. I go, okay, well, why don't we go to a good Finnish food? I say, I'm in Finland. Okay, let me go try some Finnish food. And they're like, yeah, we don't want it. How do we take you to a good Russian restaurant? They're like, you would not like Finnish food. And they're like, yeah, we don't want, like, how do we take you to a good Russian restaurant, you know?

They're like, you would not like Finnish food. So they kindly explained that probably I would be more happy if we went to a Russian restaurant, which is actually very good. Okay, now we get to Asia. So in Asia, let's see, I've been to Japan. Japan is the country I've been to

the most times. I think I've been to Japan seven, eight times? Let's see if I can remember all these. I went to a Grand Prix. The first time I was ever in Japan was a Grand Prix. I went to the very first Grand Prix Tokyo,

which was awesome. And my memory of that event was that the players were the most well-mannered magic players I've ever seen, where, like, they would tell them to go do something and sit down and not talk, and they would go, and they'd sit down, and they wouldn't talk, and it was very cool. And if you've ever—I've written stories about this,

but there was a great draft I did in Tokyo where it's like, oh, draft with Mark Roswell. So we get seven people, and they're all excited to draft with me. It's a booster draft. And so I open up something decent. I don't even know what it was in the first pack. But the second pack, I get passed a fireball. And I'm like, oh, what did he open that he passed me a fireball?

Like a singer vampire? Like what exactly? Or some, you know, some real wrath of God. What did he open? He must have opened something really good that he passed me a fireball. And then the next pack, I get a lightning bolt. Wow, he passed me a Fireball. And then the next pack I get a Lightning Bolt. Wow, he passed me a Fireball? Did he pass me a Lightning Bolt? I don't know.

I'm not sure what's going on. And then the next card was another Fireball. And I'm like, oh, oh. They've never Booster Drafted before. And I drafted the craziest Bono Red Burn deck I've ever drafted. And mostly it was Booster Drafting hadn't really been a big thing in Tokyo I drafted the craziest red, mono red burn deck I've ever drafted. Um,

and mostly it was, uh, booster drafting hadn't really been a big thing in Tokyo yet because it was early in Japan. And so,

these people were really excited to, to participate in this with me. They just had never done it before. So, they just really didn't

know how to, how to rank things. And anyway, I got a very good deck. I surprisingly won that, uh, won that draft. Also in Japan, I've been in Tokyo slash Yokohama

numerous times. 99 Worlds was there, the one that Kaibuda won. There was a second one that was there where, I don't remember the Japanese player that won, but that was the one where the Japanese players won the team event and won the single event, and the only event they did not win was there was this Aaron Forsyth,

Richard Darfield, and I participated. There was a high school championship in Tokyo, and the winning team got to play against us in like a demo thing, and Aaron managed to win his match. Richard lost his match. And I had won one and lost one. So it was in the final game.

And everything hinged on me winning my final game. And the reason that I think I won is he played Amaro at a time when it wasn't the best play to play Amaro, but I think he thought it'd be really good. Like, he thought, like, the style points of beating me with Amaro was kind of worth it. And just the way the draws played out, I think had he not played Amaro, the guy came back and won. But I think had he played more aggressively and didn't play for the style win, I don't know if I would have won. But I think had he played more aggressively and didn't play for the style win,

I don't know if I would have won. So I joked that I was the only person to win in that scenario. Because the only way... The reason he played Mauro was because he was playing against me. But anyway, we were the only... Aaron Richard and I were the only non-Japanese of all the events run that weekend. It was all...

The Japanese did very, very well. I also was at numerous pro tours in Japan. There was a period back when I used to go to the pro tour all the Japanese did very very well um I also was at numerous pro tours in Japan there's a period back when I used to go to pro tour all the time there was a pro tour once a year in Japan at the time so I went to pro tour Kobe I went to pro tour Osaka I went to pro tour um I feel like there's one other city I'm missing but anyway anyway, I've been to Japan numerous times, and I love Japan. Japan is awesome. One of my favorite things about Japan, which is nothing but magic, but they have very, very colorful flannels in Japan.

It's the style of Japan. They like really colorful flannels, and there's stuff that I can't find here in the States. Now, when I buy in Japan, I have to buy an extra large. I normally wear a large flannel for those who care. But anyway, and there have just been a lot of really great memories in Japan.

I have a lot of fun memories and there's a lot of exciting things. Like, for example, the 99 Worlds where Kaibuda won. The story there is, so we're filming this for ESPN and ideally what we want is

the best ESPN shows are ones in which you have one match. Normally we didn't show more than one match because it's more exciting to start going deep and watch the one match. And so it's the World Championship like we want to watch the finals. So the finals between

Kai Buda and Mark Lepine from the United States. And they're both playing really fast minor red decks. Kai, I think, wins three games straight. Every game is fast. So it was so quick that we had to show the semifinals in the SBN show because us showing every minute of the gameplay, every minute of three games, not cutting anything

out. I mean, you know, just showing the, the, the, what's going on in the games. Uh, we couldn't fill up the full half hour. So, anyway. But when Kai won, the interesting thing was, Kai Buda was somewhat unknown on the Pro Tour at the time. He had done really well on the European Grand Prixs. And I was aware of this, because as part of doing the feature match, I did a lot to sort of keep up with who were the rising stars, not just on the Pro Tour, but in the Grand Prix and stuff.

And so when Kai won, you know, they're like, oh, who is world champion? You know, they really like when high-profile players win. It's like, oh, my God, this is a major player. And I said, no, no, no, guys, I know that he has not done much yet on the Pro Tour, but I'm telling you, he's a really

good Magic player. He's going to be somebody that's going to make a name for himself. And that, I think we're going to look back and this is just the start. And I was quite right. So Kai Buda went on to win seven Pro Tours. The record, I think Finkel's won three. Now, John Finkel has more top eights than Kai, but Kai has more wins by, I'm saying, Kai has won seven. and he won his seven Pro Tours within the window

of three years. So not only did he win that many, but he won them in a very short time period. So very impressive. Okay, next, I was in Malaysia. So Kuala Lumpur. That was for the fourth Invitational. I think that was the first year it was called to the Magic

Invitational. It's the one that Chris Pakula beat John Finkel in the finals. That was a really, really exciting show. The real quick version, I talked about this in my podcast on the Invitational, but the short

version is that Chris had never really won a major Magic event. John obviously had. Chris and John were good friends. And Chris really, really wanted to win this. And in his way was the best Magic player on the Earth who was a friend of his. And one of the formats,

in this version, in this one, they played all five formats, I believe. And you had to win three out of the five formats in the way they, in this version, in this one, they played all five formats, I believe, and you had to win three out of the five formats in the finals. So you played all the formats in the finals. One of the formats was, um, what's it called when you divide the packs and draft?

What's that called? So it's the format where you take turns, you draw, um, I think it's five cards off the top, and then you divide them into two piles. Or no, sorry, eight cards. You take eight cards, you draw eight cards, and then divide them into two piles. And the other player takes one of the piles, and you take the other pile.

It's called Solomon Draft, is what it's called. And Chris had never won a Solomon Draft ever. And John had like never lost one. Like they, like, so one of the formats, like, like they started and the way Chris always describes it is like he just started down a format. Like Chris was not that good at Solomon Draft and John was excellent at Solomon Draft.

And like there was no, I mean, it's just an incredibly skill-based format. There just was no way in the world that Chris was going to beat John. And he didn't. But I think we put it first. We knew that it was just going to be a blowout for John. So, anyway, basically he has to win three out of five formats

and one format is punted at the start of the tournament, basically. And he did it. So Chris ended up making Meddling Mage was the card he made for winning this event. Don't feel too bad for John. The next event would be in Australia, and John would win that one. So John did win an Invitational, just not that Invitational. Malaysia was a lot of fun.

We stayed at this resort, and we went to the night market and we had a tour and saw what I think was the tallest building in the world at the time. Anyway, I had a lot of fun in Malaysia. Korea. So I went to the very first, oh no, I went to the very, I think it was the very first Korean nationals, first or second Korean Nationals. This was back in my early days where I traveled everywhere. And I'd never been to Korea. I thought it would be cool to go to Korea. So it was, I mean, South Korea.

It was, I think, Seoul. I think it was Seoul. But anyway, it was a lot of fun. And the Korean players were so sweet and anyway we had great hosts my greatest memory of Korea though was

we were met at the airport I went with Mike Elliott and we were met by whoever the distributor was in Korea, and he drove us to our hotel, and he had one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake, because the drive, it's hard to describe that experience of driving in the traffic, but it just was like, the reason he said he had to have one foot on both is, he didn't have

time to move his foot from one to the other and it was kind of crazy but I really had fun in Korea and the tournaments was awesome next Hong Kong so when I went to Hong Kong this is the very very first

duelist invitational it's the one that the very first event Ula Rade won it. He beat Mike Long in the finals. And Hong Kong was amazing. So at the time, I think it was its own country, I think. Now it was, I think, part of China?

I'm not 100% sure. But anyway, I, oh, Hong Kong was one of the most amazing cities. It's just from a pure visual. The oh, Hong Kong was, Hong Kong was one of the most amazing cities. It's just from a pure visual. The thing about Hong Kong is it's this really old ancient city with all this new technology woven into it. So like you'll see these buildings that are like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years old with like these shiny neon lights. And it was really interesting. It was, it was definitely, it was quite an experience.

And I, other than, oh, I got food poisoning there, but I don't blame Hong Kong, that one was on me. And anyway, that was, oh, and we had the event in a mall. It turns out that having events in malls is a big thing in Asia. I think there's a space issues and that malls proved to be good places. And there was this curved escalator,

the first curved escalator I'd ever seen. And anyway, it was... It's funny because originally we were going to do the Invitational in, I think, San Diego because that was our budget. And then they... The very first Grand Prix ever was going to be in Hong Kong and it fell through because of the timing. It couldn't very first Grand Prix ever was going to be in Hong Kong.

And it fell through because of the timing. It couldn't be a Grand Prix. So they decided to do a special event, but not technically a Grand Prix. And so they asked if we would go. And I'm like, yes. So anyway, that was very exciting. So in Australia, jumping to the next continent, I went to Sydney. I went there twice.

Once was for, the first time was for the Invitational in Sydney, the one that Fickel won. And the second time was there was a World Championship. Carlos Cuomo won that one. Anyway, both times we were in Sydney. I went early. My wife and baby daughter Rachel, I think she was six months old, went with me for the Invitational. And we went like a week early. So we went around and the zoo, and saw the opera house, and saw all the sights, so, uh, I really, I, I enjoyed Sydney a lot, I, I think that was, um, it was a city I'd always wanted to visit, and I was really excited, I really enjoyed my

time there, and we bought some art there, and, um, I bought a hat, which I, I loved until it got lost in my luggage, um, but, uh, a hat that I used to wear all the time. Um, anyway, uh, and that was, um, that was really cool. That was, um, uh, my story here, this is, once again, some of my stories aren't completely magic related, but, uh, I remember, uh, Laura and I and Rachel walking, we had a little stroller, and Laura sees signs for pies, and Laura's like, oh, that sounds really good.

I would love a pie. And we go there, and it was meat pies. It wasn't, I mean, meat pies are awesome, but it wasn't like fruit pies, because in the U.S., if you see a sign for pies, usually it means it's going to be fruit pies or, you know, chocolate pies or whatever. I mean, dessert pies.

And it was all meat pies. So we did get a meat pie. It was very good. But, no, anyway, Australia was fun. Next, Africa. So my one trip to Africa was to South Africa, to Cape Town, South Africa. That was the Invitational that Kaibuda won. And I had a great time in Cape Town. was the Invitational that Kaibuta won. And

I had a great time in Cape Town. Normally what was the case for Invitationals was we would have a tour day where the locals would take us around and show stuff. And that's the day I got to pet a baby cheetah. And we went out looking for sharks, although I think

we didn't see any sharks. We went to a bunch of wineries. Anyway, it was a very, it was very cool. I mean, and, oh, the other thing was the first day I got there, not the tour day, but the first day I got there, I had some time. So some of the locals took me to a beach that was filled with penguins. Now, when you think of penguins, you think of penguins being where it's cold. But it wasn't cold.

And it was just this beach filled, I mean filled, like more penguins than I've ever seen in my life in one place. And it was, it was really fascinating. The funny thing is, I didn't have a camera

because it was pre-cell phone days. And somebody else took a, I keep saying this every time I tell the story. Somebody took a picture of me with all the penguins. And if that person ever hears this and would like to send me the picture of me with all the penguins, there's a picture of me with all these penguins. Like, I mean... And when I say all these penguins, just so you don't miss it,

I'm not talking like a couple penguins or ten penguins or a hundred penguins. We're talking a beach with probably thousands of penguins. I have a picture of me with thousands of penguins or 10 penguins or 100 penguins. We're talking a beach with probably thousands of penguins. I have a picture of me with thousands of penguins and, I don't know, lost of time. But anyway, if whoever took that picture ever hears this, I would love that picture. Okay. Next, South America. So, South America, I've been to one country in South America, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro was the site of the second ever Invitational. Still the Magic Invitational.

I don't know if that's still the Dual Invitational, technically. Uh, it is the one that Darwin Castle won. Um, who did he play in the final? So that's against... Uh, oh, against Jakob Schlemmer. It was against Jakob Schlemmer. Um, that's the one where Darwin Castle gets violently ill

yet still wins the event. And he would go on to make Avalanche Riders. Oh, by the way, I was talking about John. John would make Shadow Mage Infiltrator

and Kai would go on to make what's the name of his card? It's a blue wizard. It'll come back to me. Anyway, Rio was gorgeous. Also, Rio will hold a near and dear place in my heart, which was that my wife... I brought my girlfriend, Laura, down with me to Rio, and we stayed for some extra days to see Rio.

And while we were there, I proposed to her. So Rio is where I proposed to my wife. So that will always have meaning. Yeah, the memory I always have, I think whenever I talk about this, I always tell this, is we were in this old building for the Invitational, and it was hot.

Like, it was like in the 100, 105, 110. And it was really, really hot all the time we were there. And we were in the one air-conditioned room in the whole building. It was a glass-encased room. And all the players had their faces pressed up against the glass. At the time, I thought they were watching the match. They were watching the match, but I thought they were so excited to watch the match. And I think also it was cold.

But I remember going up. There was a Grand Prix at that event. I think John Finkel, by the way, won that Grand Prix. He was not in the Invitational. He was playing in the Grand Prix. And I remember going up, and it was this room filled to the gill with Magic players, and it was already hot,

and it was a building that was stuffy and didn't have any air conditioning, and I remember walking in, and it literally felt like it was a sauna. It was the hottest thing I ever felt. And I remember Charlie, who was the head judge, Charlie Coutinho, was the head judge for that event, and he would come down to our booth to cool down, and it looked like he had been swimming. He had sweated through his clothes. It was so hot. And he would come and collapse on our floor for like 10 minutes and just try to cool down a little bit. And he would, every maybe hour, hour and a half, he'd come down.

But I remember Charlie just coming to cool down because he was so hot. Anyway, those are all the countries that I visited. Well, sorry, sorry, sorry. North America. So I visited two countries in North America. Canada. So I've been in Canada a bunch of times. I was in Toronto for the Mirage pre-release. I was in Toronto for the 2001 Worlds in Toronto that Tom Vandelep won, I think.

I was in... I've been in Vancouver. I went to Vancouver to judge a PTQ. I think I had judged a PTQ in Vancouver. Um, and then I've been to Canada a bunch of times on family vacations. It had nothing to do with... I think those are the three magic-related things, I think. Are those three?

It might be one I'm missing. But anyway, so I was in Toronto, I was in Vancouver. Both very nice, very clean. I grew up in Cleveland, so I'd been to Toronto before. And then I, obviously, I'd been to Vancouver. Living here, I'd been to Vancouver for vacation. But anyway, they were both really fun cities. And the Mirage pre-release

was fascinating first time I remember meeting Gary Wise a big pro player in the Hall of Fame and just it was a really interesting event and the Mirage pre-release was the first pre-release I think where we had a whole bunch of pre-releases all around the

country and they sent a Wizards employee to each one so I got sent to Toronto. The funny thing is they sent me to Toronto because there were some concerns about the tournament, but it ended up being run excellently, so I just had fun. I didn't have to do any work, really. I think I sat and played people. I felt like all day long. So obviously, I've also been to the U.S.

So for the U.S., I thought I'd talk about the actual cities I've been to, because I've been all over the U.S. So for the U.S., I thought I'd talk about the actual cities I've been to because I've been all over the U.S. So first, I'll say Seattle. I'm not sure it's unfair to say I was in Seattle. I did once travel to Seattle because the 1995 World Championship was in Seattle and I, at the time,

lived in Los Angeles, not Seattle, so I was flown there. So I can once say I traveled to Seattle. As far as being in Seattle for events, so now is the 95 World Championship in Seattle, the 96, the 97, and the 98 World Championships were in Seattle.

There have been numerous Pro Tours in Seattle. There have been numerous Grand Prixs in Seattle. And we've had a number of the Imitationals in Seattle. I mean, we... Wizards is here, so Seattle, I mean, if we're trying to plan an event, I mean, A, we like Seattle, but also it's

just a lot more people get to go to the event in Seattle. I mean, a lot more Wizards people get to go because it's here. But anyway, I've had many good times. In fact, it's funny. Two of the World Championships, I actually stayed in the hotel nearby because it was so busy that just commuting every day down there didn't make a lot of sense, so I just stayed there. I think Wizards picked my hotel. But anyway, so I've been to

Seattle. So these aren't in any particular order other than the order I remember them, so this doesn't mean anything other than just, I don't even know what order I got. So next is San Francisco. Uh, I've been to two different worlds in San Francisco. Um, the very last sort of, um, old school worlds in San Francisco. And then there was an early one in San Francisco. Um, I can't remember. I'm blinking. Or maybe I think they were two different worlds.

I think both the San Francisco's were worlds and not just a normal pro tour. In fact, both of them were in the same location. It was on a wharf. And I remember we had a walk to get there. It was a little ways away. There was a big hill we walked up because there were no hotels near where the site was. But anyway, the second it's funny, the second, the San Francisco, the later San Francisco, I remember that one because I was

trying to hire Matt Cavada at the time onto the creative team. And I remember being on the phone with him trying to iron things out and seal the deal. And I remember spending a bunch of time in that world doing that. I did a whole bunch of interviews there. In fact, if you go on, I did a lot of interviews. I did a lot of interviews at that Zemstvo. The first time I met Christine Sprenkel. She came dressed as Elsbeth. It's the first time I think she had ever done magic cosplay. Anyway, a lot of

fun times in San Francisco. Los Angeles. Okay, I've been to Los Angeles lots of times. So Los Angeles, there were a whole bunch of Pro Tours Los Angeles all of them on the Queen Mary and I did a whole podcast on stories from the Queen Mary a lot of fun times in the Queen Mary we went to three different E3's

which stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo three of the invitationals were done at E3 what else an expo. Three of the invitationals were done at E3. What else? I've been here for work. I've definitely come down to LA to shoot some videos. There's been a few meetings

I've had in LA. So, I've been to LA a lot of times. I'm trying to think of the cities in the US that I've been to the most times. a lot of times. I'm trying to think of the cities in the U.S. that I've been to the most times. It's either San Diego or Los Angeles. We'll get to San Diego in a second. It might be San Diego.

But it's either Los Angeles or San Diego. I've been to both of those cities a huge number of times. So San Diego is next. So I go to San Diego Comic Con. This is going to be the, I think, the ninth year of times. So San Diego is next. So I go to San Diego Comic Con. This is going to be the, I think the ninth year I've run. This year will be the ninth or tenth year that I've run a panel at San Diego Comic Con. There were multiple pro tours. There were at least two pro tours in San Diego. I feel like there was one or two other events that I came to in San Diego. Oh, and also in the early days, I did come to some San Diego Comic-Cons.

I used to go to, early on, I used to go to a lot of, Wizards used to go to a lot of conventions, and I used to go to a lot of conventions. Um, and so there's some early, some of the early, my early years at Wizards, I also went to San Diego Comic-Con. So, anyway, I've been to San Diego many times. I love San Diego. It's warm. It's nice.

Um, it is always, uh, I've, I mean, I know that every single time I've've been to San Diego many times. I love San Diego. It's warm. It's nice. It is always... I mean, I know that every single time I've ever been to San Diego, the event has been in the convention center every time. So I know the convention center and the area around the convention center really, really well. In fact, one of my favorite things is... One of the things we do every year at San Diego Comic-Con is I started this tradition where the staff dinner is at the seafood restaurant

I really like and I like getting crab flakes and those that don't know my story is when I was a kid my parents on my birthday let me get whatever I wanted for my birthday and the reason I would get crab flakes for my birthday was I really liked crab flakes but they were expensive so the only time I could ever get them was on my birthday

so now to carry on that tradition on my birthday I always have a party at a seafood restaurant and I have crab legs. It's like my birthday tradition. But anyway, the very first year I was there on Wizards for the panel, I convinced them to have our staff dinner at this one restaurant, the seafood restaurant, that had crab legs. And it just became a tradition. And so every year now I have crab flakes on my birthday and I have crab flakes at the staff dinner at San Diego Comic-Con, which means lots to me. Okay, next, New York City. So New York City might be number

three in the cities I visited the most. The very first Pro Tour ever was in New York City. And there have been numerous Pro Tours in New York City. And there have been numerous pro tours in New York City. Four or five. The Gathering, which was a promotional event for the release of Homelands, was in there. I did a whole podcast on The Gathering.

I used to, we used to edit the ESPN show, and that would happen in New York, so I flew out to New York numerous times to do editing for the ESPN. And I feel like I'm just missing random New York, so I flew out to New York numerous times to do editing for the ESPN. And I feel like I'm just missing random New York trips. I've been to New York many, many times. Like, I just did a podcast of my daughter

and I going to New York for BroadwayCon, and it was funny because just the number of times I've been to New York is sort of like I you know, this was Rachel's first ever trip to New York, and I'm like, yeah, I've been here, and I'm trying to remember all the times I've been to New York. It of like I... This was Rachel's first ever trip to New York. I'm like, yeah, I've been here. And I'm trying to remember all the times I've been to New York.

It was a lot more than I realized as I started counting them up. Next, Boston. So I think I've only been to Boston twice. I mean, I went to school in Boston, actually, but on Wizard's Dime. There was a Grand Prix in Boston that I went to because we were testing out... We were testing out... Well, it wasn't even a Grand Prix. We were, we were testing out, um, one of the mulligans or something.

And we, we did a test. I'm not sure whether it was a Grand Prix or just a big Boston event, but I flew there as a representative of R&D to, to watch it. Um, and then there was a, there was a pro tour in Boston that I went to. Um, and, uh And that was fun. I mean, I obviously went to school there, so I know Boston very well. And so it's fun going around my house. One of these days I got to get back to Boston. I've not been to Boston since I think that pro tour, which was years and years ago. I almost, the world champion was recently there and I almost went there for the world championship,

but I did not. But anyway, obviously, I have quite fondness for Boston, having spent my college years there. Boston's a really awesome town. Philadelphia. So Philadelphia, I think I've only been to it once. The 1995 U.S. Nationals was held in Philadelphia. The funny thing is, I was working all, like, that is one of those times where

I didn't go early, I didn't stay late, I just worked the whole time. And I think I left the building, I mean, other than to go to and from the airport, I think I left at one time, and there was a heat wave going on. I remember I went out to get food or something. Most of the food I just ate there, but I actually left the building to go get some food one time because it was late and I hadn't eaten. And it was like sweltering hot. So there's a number of places I visited

and were very, very hot when I visited. Next, Atlanta. So there was a Pro Tour in Atlanta. That's the one, Frank Adler one. It was the Mirage pre-release Pro Tour. I'm talking about going to London next week, and London is going to be the first time since Atlanta where the players are going to play for the very first time at the Pro Tour.

And that is quite exciting. It was really neat in Atlanta, and Atlanta had all sorts of memories. I always talk about the biggest mistake ever made on the Pro Tour, Terry Boers, do you have any fast effects? Basically, the whole short version is he is trying to mess with his opponent and he technically does something wrong.

And because he technically does something wrong, he doesn't win that tournament he should have won. His opponent, which is Darwin Castle, ends up winning instead. And because Terry lost that match and didn't advance, which he would have had he won that game, he would have advanced to the next thing, he lost Pro Player of the Year because of that decision. Like, had he just not goofed around, just won that game and thus won that match, he would have been Pro Player of the Year, and he lost that because of that one.

So I'd dub that the biggest mistake. That might be a good top ten one that they did, the biggest mistakes in the pro tour, but that was one of them. I think I was in Atlanta one other time. Oh, I was in Atlanta for Dragon Con. Dragon Con is a convention. I talked about this in my convention podcast,

but anyway, Dragon Con, so I was in Atlanta for Dragon Con. My gut tells me I was there one other time. I'm blanking on what it was. But I've been to Atlanta a couple times. Atlanta's nice. I also was in Atlanta once for my sister to live there. And I went there to visit my sister when the Olympics were there. And my whole family actually showed up. So anyway, Atlanta is nice. And I remember seeing the Coca-Cola. That's where Coca-Cola was and I remember seeing the Coca-Cola.

That's where Coca-Cola was made. I saw the Coca-Cola plant. Okay, next, Dallas. So, Dallas, there was a Pro Tour in Dallas. It was one of the early ones. I'm trying to remember who went to Dallas. The thing about Dallas was we were in the middle of nowhere sometimes to get a good venue

we were in the middle of nowhere and I remember it was late night I wanted something to eat my options were what I could eat that I could get to getting a cab there was actually complicated because it was in the middle of nowhere

I think they had a, like, a little pizza hut that was, like, built into the hotel, and I think I ate that pizza hut a lot, you know, random things I remember. Uh, Houston. Um, so Houston was Pro Tour Houston. That's the only, uh, I think my wife came with me. Laura and Rachel was, uh, toddler. Um, it's the only time Laura's ever come to, uh, I mean my wife came with me. Laura and Rachel was a toddler. It's the only time Laura's ever come to, I mean, she came with me to some worlds that were in Seattle.

But as far as traveling with me to a city, that was the only time she did that. I think my mom came too because Rachel was real little. They saw the city while I was. That's where Justin Gary won. And not only did Justin Gary win, but Justin Gary, Darwin Castle,

and Rob Doherty were the top three, and they were all on the same team together. So, Yoruba Games, it's the only time that they'd won,

well, at the time, it was the only time they'd won first, second, third. New Orleans, that's one of the ones, it was a pro tour.

Kaibuda won that one. I don't remember tons about it. It was one of the ones that Kai won a pro tour. Kai Buda won that one. I don't remember tons about it. It was one of the ones that Kai won, but I remember the city was really nice, and it was definitely, I think Mardi Gras was going on during that, because I remember people, I remember going out, and it must have been Mardi Gras, because people were dressing up and throwing beads, and it was Mardi Gras. Chicago. So we've been to Chicago

a bunch of times. We actually went to Chicago every year for a while, for like three or four years. I love Chicago deep dish pizza. My daughter obviously is not going to school in Chicago. I have a fondness for Chicago.

I love, I really love Chicago deep dish pizza. I'm a giant fan of it. So, I used to love going there every year and I'd get lots of pizza. My favorite was Gino's pizza. I'm a giant fan of it. So, I used to love going there every year and I'd get lots of pizza. My favorite was Gino's East. I remember always going

and getting Gino's. In fact, my daughter, on campus, anyway, sorry, I'm deviating into things that have nothing to do with magic.

So, Chicago is where Randy Bueller won. That was on the Navy Pier. It's where Bob Maruehler won. That was on the Navy Pier. It's where Bob Marr Jr. won against Brian Davis in an epic finals that I've talked about. Dirk Beberowski won there. I think Kai Wooter won there once, I think.

Anyway, it was definitely a lot of fun memories in Chicago. Las Vegas! So I was in Las Vegas last year for Grand Prix Las Vegas. I believe at the time it was the largest magic event ever held. It was a lot of fun, and it was fun seeing all sorts of people, and I did panels, and I did all sorts of stuff. It was, I mean, it really felt like a convention. It was really cool.

I had a lot of fun time in Las Vegas. Austin, somehow I didn't separate. I was, there was a pro tour of Austin. I went there. My cousin lived there, so I got to see him. And I remember a lot about Austin. I liked the city. I remember having a little tour of it.

It was a really cool sort of neat city. Columbus. So pro tour of Columbus. That's the one that Ularate won. The third ever. The U.S. Nationals was also there. It's the one time where we ran U.S. Nationals and we ran the Pro Tour, and then the final day was the finals of both the U.S. Nationals and the Pro Tour.

That was a crazy day. I grew up in Cleveland, so I'd been to Columbus a bunch, or not a bunch. I'd been there a few times in my youth. in my youth. I've been to Columbus multiple times because a lot of the Origins Gamma holds a convention. Gamma is the game manufacturer of America. They held

a convention called Origins and Origins was in Columbus a bunch and I went to a bunch of those. So I was in Columbus a bunch of times with that and a number of U.S. nationals were run there. So I've been in Columbus a bunch of times running, or not running, I was the head judge but I was judging U.S. nationals were run there. So I was, I've been in Columbus a bunch of times running, or not running, I was the head judge, but I was judging U.S. nationals.

Milwaukee! So Milwaukee, the very first time I ever met any wizard staff, I flew myself to Gen Con, which at the time was in Milwaukee, and that's how I first, I decided that I wanted to do more than just

make the puzzle. And so I went there to convince them to let me write articles. They did. That's where I watched the very first world championship. And if you ever see a picture of the finals, it's me with my little underdog shirt transcribing it. And that's really where I got my feet wet and sort of met all the Wizards people for the first time and really sort of got my foot in the door. I mean, I guess I was doing puzzles.

But in the first place, I really went from just being a random person contributing to getting more involved. I would go back to Gen Con in Milwaukee at least one more time. The unglued pre-release was there. I think I actually went to Gen Con a couple times. I went in 94. I think I went in 95. And I went in 96,

which when Unglued was. So I was there a couple times. Gen Con didn't move to Indianapolis. I don't think I ever went to Gen Con when I was in Indianapolis. Sounds like I've been to Indianapolis. Or if I was in Indianapolis, I don't know.'ve been to Indianapolis. Or if I was in Indianapolis, I don't know. There's some early trips I did that were random Grand Prixs,

so I might be forgetting a few cities. Next is Washington, D.C. There was a Pro Tour in Washington, D.C. It was the first team event, I believe. And that's the one that Your Move Games won. And they won while Rob was very sick. So a bunch of... This time it wasn't Darwin that was sick, they won while Rob was very sick. So a bunch of... This time it wasn't Darwin that was sick,

but it was Rob that was sick. So it was Darwin, Rob, and Dave Humphries were the Your Move Games team that won. I now work day in and day out with Dave Humphries. I mean, I knew Dave before that event, but that's the approach where Dave won. Memphis. So Memphis was one of the last old-school world championships, but that's the approach where the Dave won. Memphis.

So Memphis was one of the last old school world championships was in Memphis. The dinner we had, we always have like a player dinner and I got to tour Graceland, which was really cool. And Memphis is also, have you ever heard the story of Richard Garfield making his own deck with gunk and stuff?

You ever heard that story? That's from Memphis. Portland. So Portland, I went to a Grand Prix there. And that wasn't that long ago. That was like three, four years ago. And then I also went down, I guess I technically went down to Eugene. I had judged a PTQ in Eugene.

So I guess Eugene and Portland aren't the same city. I've been to Portland a bunch of times on my own. I think the Grand Prix might be the only Magic-related time I went. In fact, I might have been to two different Grand Prix of Portland. I for sure was at one recently. I might have

went to one earlier, maybe. I've been to Portland a bunch of times, just because it's nearby. It's a two and a half, three hour drive from here, so it's a really nice city. I like Portland a lot. It's got the world's largest bookstore and pals, and my, I've been down there. Also, my daughter did a bunch of cheerleading competitions, so we went down there a bunch for that. Anyway, I've been to Portland a whole bunch of times.

There's a lot of fun voodoo donuts and a lot of fun stuff down there. So I've enjoyed Portland. Albuquerque. I went to Albuquerque. Why did I go to Albuquerque? I think it was a convention. This is in the early days where I went to 8,000 conventions. And I remember reason going down to Albuquerque because Glenn Goddard,

which is one of the early people who sold magic, I became friends with him and he invited me down. And so I went down and I think I... I'm not sure what... Anyway, he invited me down and I went down there and it was my only ever time in Phoenix. I mean, not Phoenix. In Arizona. But anyway, my only ever time in Phoenix. I mean, not Phoenix, in, uh, Arizona. Um, but anyway, uh, Albuquerque was hot, but I enjoyed Albuquerque. Uh, and then the last city that I remembered was Orlando. Um, and I'm sure, by the way, I'm sure I'm forgetting some cities. I've been to a lot of cities. Uh, so Orlando was, um, for numerous years, we ran the Junior Super Series, which was an event where young people got to play

and the money went to scholarships for college. We ran the Junior Super Series. We were at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, and we ran the Junior Super there a bunch of years. I think U.S. Nationals ran there a couple years. There actually was one year where U.S. Nationals and the Junior Super ran together. It might have been more than one year. That was early enough that Laura was my girlfriend, but not yet my wife.

And we both went down there and worked together down there. That was one of our... And then we stayed after and went to the park. Because you're in Atlanta. We stayed after and went to the park. Because you're in Orlando. And I think all of my Orlando trips was that. Was for either the Junior Super Series or the U.S. Nationals. It was always...

Every single time I think we ran an event, we ran at the ESPN. We were there a bunch of times. It was a nice venue. Anyway, okay, so to the best of my knowledge, that is all the cities and countries that I've visited around the world so far working for Wizards and working on Magic. It has been, I mean, one of the things that I really appreciate, like not everybody gets to say,

oh, yeah, I've been to every continent, or almost every continent. I've been to every continent that people really are living on. One of the things is just all the experiences and all the things I've got to see and all the people I've got to meet and just meeting magic players from around the world. It's always been such a wonderful opportunity.

I'm hoping, I mean, I'm not going anywhere. So I plan to do more. Obviously, I'm going to London next week. Or my next week. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed my travel around the world. And a little insight into... I don't know. One of the cool perks of working on magic.

Anyway. Oh, wow. There was a bunch of traffic. I'm now at work. So I must... I need to get going. So I will was a bunch of traffic. I'm now at work. So I must, I need to get going. So I will talk to you next time.

So instead of, sorry, didn't do my thing right. I am Park, so we know what that means. Instead of talking about magic, it's time for me to be making magic.

See you guys next time. Bye bye.