Well, it’s been a bit over a week now since I arrived home from the 2007 CAP Spring Break in the Bahamas. I suppose should say “convention”, but in all honesty it really is a nice break, and a well deserved vacation amongst friends.

With that said however, although I didn’t have several structured meetings or even sit at my PAW booth for 8 hours each day, this was by far one of the best and most productive events I have attended lately.

I say this because the relaxed environment at CAP Spring Break contributes to some great networking opportunities. I think many affiliates and affiliate managers feel more comfortable doing business in this laid back environment versus the standard “Meet at my booth at 10:00 AM”.

Although I could go into many personal, funny, or drunken stories from CAP Spring Break, I will try to keep this as professional as possible. (Believe me though, there are many of these stories…...some are just too damn good to even share. Anyways, let’s get right into the event itself.

 

 
Really there is too much to list here. From the registration table all the way through check-out, the organizers did a first class job.  For starters the attendees included some of the biggest affiliates in the industry, as well as many of my friends. It was a great time hanging out with both Nick from CardsChat and Dan from MacPokerOnline. ß--------- backlink love of course. It was also great seeing PAW veteran and good friend Brandon gain more success in the industry with his new position at ChanPoker.net. Other notable affiliate managers that attended the $1000+ sushi dinner were Greg and Shenaz. If I missed you, apologies.

 
Also if you look at Shenaz’s link, you will see she is now at CakePoker.com. Actually she is running the entire affiliate department there. More to come in our forums I’m sure……….

The organization of CAP Spring Break far trumps any other conference I have been too lately. They did have some great speaking sessions and did a good job not trying to pack an entire day full of fluff and worthless sessions. The few sessions I attended were very informative.

The ASOP was awesome. Obviously it is not as professional as a WPT or WSOP event, but that’s alright, it is better in a relaxed setting amongst affiliate friends anyways. In my opinion this event is something to look forward too, and one of the reasons the CAP events will continue to grow. I imagine CAP Euro should be sick.

Now, let’s discuss the parties. There is not much more I can say except for WOW. The sponsoring rooms went all out and threw some amazing events at the Atlantis (I would hate to see the bills). The smaller venues, combined with the fact that the Atlantis is so expensive ensured that almost every affiliate attended the evening parties. I made more business deals over (free $14 beers) than I ever have before.

All in all, this was a great event and one that should continue being the most relaxed and laid back event of the year. Having tons of affiliate programs with booths and 3 days filled with speaking sessions is standard at every CAC, GIGSE, and other event including probably CAP Euro. This is a nice break in the year and I hope the format stays the same.

Kudos to the team at CAP on a great event.

 
Negatives of CAP Spring Break

I am struggling to come up with any real negatives here. The only complaints I heard were about the prices of everything at Atlantis. Being a donkey that plays $100 slots, I can’t justify myself complaining. But I can see where the ridiculously expensive prices at the Atlantis could turn-off some small or mid-sized affiliates. Example: Bottle of Corona and shot of Petrone - $24. Bottle of Moet Champagne - $250.

Anyone going to the Atlantis should expect to get raped, which is fine. But I think for future CAP Spring Break events, it might be a good idea to scale down the venue to a less expensive resort. This will help attract the small to mid-size affiliates as well.  Don’t get me wrong, it was fun hanging out with all the casino and affiliate ballers though.

That’s it seriously, nothing else negative.

In closing, once again it was a great event and I’m glad I attended.  I feel the CAP events have the greatest opportunity for growth out of all the events in this industry. First and foremost the event is FREE for affiliates. Second, the ASOP is a great edition to these conferences and will give more affiliates a reason to attend. And thirdly, the organizers are Super Affiliates themselves and know what fellow affiliates are looking for in a conference.