My first blog of 2010 is coming a little later than intended but still a Happy New Year to everyone! I spent my first week of the New Year in the Bahamas for the Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure and I hate to complain about being in the Bahamas, but anyone who was there will tell you that the weather was pretty terrible during that time so I left earlier than I had planned and without the tan that I had so hoped to get out there!

Shortly after I got back the L.A. Poker Classic series kicked off here at home so I rolled up my sleeves and went to work with a couple of preliminaries. So far, nothing of note but I am sure that I will have good news to report by my next blog! I really got to give it up to Matt Savage who is an amazing tournament director that really listens to the players’ input, as well as having a very keen insight into what it takes to make and run a successful tournament series.

Last weekend I made the short trip out to Vegas for a little reunion of sorts with some of my closest friends and fellow competitors from “The Amazing Race”. It just so happened that the Miss America pageant was being held and televised live from Vegas last Saturday and for all of you who caught an episode or two of “The Amazing Race” one of the competitors was Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap. We thought this would be a good opportunity to get together, and check out Ericka’s world, so Cheyne and Meghan, the winners of our season of “The Amazing Race”, Sam and Dan, Ericka and her husband and I all met out there to mix a little business with pleasure. I was not exactly excited at the thought of watching the pageant live but of course I was open to the idea and really wanted to experience a really big part of Ericka’s life first-hand. But I can honestly say that it turned out to be really fun and interesting to watch! Ericka and her husband hooked us up with seats in the second row and after a couple of bets that involved consuming alcohol on who would win the whole shebang, I decided that this was not so bad after all! We also caught the Blue Man Group show over the weekend where we got to meet the blue men and talk to them afterward. I think the best one word description of the show is -confusing. If that description piques your interest than you should check it out and let me know how you would describe the show. Aside from all the fun and debauchery the Amazing Race fam took some time out to help build homes in Las Vegas for Habitat for Humanity. A huge group from the Miss America Organization piled into a bus and really put in some good work for a great cause. I really had such a great time with everyone and I am so glad that so many of us from the show have stayed close since because they are really amazing people and I am so fortunate to have them in my life.

I really need to wrap this up because after being home for only a few days, it is back to Vegas for me for a week this time around for some more of mixing business with pleasure! First on the agenda is my good friend and fellow poker player Vanessa Rousso’s birthday bash so I can only imagine that it will be a very long night. Then on Saturday I will be playing in a celebrity charity tournament at The Hard Rock Casino that is benefiting the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer program. And of course, Sunday is the Super Bowl and although I have no real rooting interests in either team, I have to pick one because it is obviously more fun to watch that way. So I will have to give it to the Saints, because after spending time in New Orleans for the first time a few months ago, I really fell in love with that city and the spirit of the people there. So WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAT SAY DEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS? Haha.

Wait, I saved the best for last. I can’t leave out the fact that this Wednesday, February 10th, live from Las Vegas and the Orleans Arena will be the Harlem Globetrotters, with special guests Maria and Tiffany! Yep, that’s right, Tiff and I will be suiting up and joining the Globetrotters in some basketball shenanigans! For those of you who don’t know, two members of the Harlem Globetrotters were on the Amazing Race with Tiffany and I this past season and we have been invited to join in their show! I am really excited and looking forward to this really cool opportunity and if nothing else, I am going to have fun with it. Get your front-row seats now cuz I am sure you guys won’t want to miss this! But really, cross your fingers that I won’t be completely embarrassed out there on the court!

Hey peeps! Sorry for the long hiatus, but with The Amazing Race officially off the air now, things have been settling down somewhat and I am back on the blog!

So…Wow!!! First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone for the incredible support they have shown throughout this experience. I am truly touched and overwhelmed by every single message I have received and it has made this experience that much more wonderful, knowing that I shared a little piece of it with all of you.

My journey on The Amazing Race, was, well, nothing short of AMAZING! It was everything that I had expected and so much more! What I took away from this once-in-a-lifetime experience will be something I will take with me for the rest of my life. Rarely in life do you ever get the opportunity to find out what you are made of, to find situation after situation where you are forced to push yourself to the limits, and test your sheer will and determination. The Amazing Race did exactly that for me, and now I can honestly say that I have found myself to be a stronger person in so many ways than I had ever known.

I think that what the viewers missed at home are some of the things that make this race a million times harder than what even Tiffany and I were expecting going in. When you watch The Race on TV, you cannot see all the variables that are in play, such as the elements. You cannot feel what competing in 120-degree Dubai weather feels like; you cannot feel what 30 mile-an-hour winds blowing in your face while you are soaking wet in long johns in Holland feels like. You also couldn’t see how heavy things were, like that 30 pound carnival mallet for the high striker, or how far places really were, like the 3 miles Tiffany and I had to travel with our tourist group in Japan, or the 5 mile bike ride in our Dutch clogs.

Regardless, nothing that we had to do on the show or how things were portrayed will take away from just how incredibly life-changing this opportunity was, and I feel a thousand times more fulfilled as a person for going through it. My friendship with Tiffany and the bond we share have also become infinitely stronger because of this shared experience, and I have taken away so much from this that no million dollar first place prize could ever buy, and for that, I am truly grateful.

Since I have returned home from The Amazing Race, things have been rather hectic but also very exciting at the same time. I have a lot of cool new things in the works and I can’t wait until I can share it with you all. I am also very much looking forward to being back at the tables, especially after everything I had to do on the race, sitting down and playing a poker tournament actually sounds more relaxing and stress-free than it ever has been.

For now, I am really looking forward to spending a nice and relaxing holiday season with my family. I have had such an awesome year, and I have so many things to be thankful for and the best part about it all is having wonderful family and close friends to share it with.

Best wishes to you all during this holiday season, and it feels good to be back.

Wow! It has been nothing but utter chaos since I have returned home from my grand adventure, and I would not want it any other way. My hectic schedule as of late has made me realize that somewhere along the way in my four and half years as a professional poker player, I have been completely spoiled by the lifestyle and freedoms that this profession has afforded me. I get to wake up whenever I want, never have to work on someone else’s schedule, take extra long breaks from something I should be doing for lunch or even for no reason at all, and have every day be a weekend.

This past couple of weeks have been a welcomed change from that kind of lackadaisical lifestyle, and I now have a whole new perspective on all the positive ways in which having more structure to your life can actually be good for ya. Sure, who likes to wake up at 8 in the morning, and who wants to say, “How high?” when someone says, “Jump!” But I say nothing can be more boring than always getting to do what you want, when you want. I have always been a procrastinator, always putting stuff off ‘til the absolute last possible second, and then putting it off some more. But now, I have realized that there are so many benefits in making the most out of your day and that by doing so I can actually improve my discipline and reignite my passion when it comes to poker. In our profession how easily we forget how good we really have it, and sometimes I find myself not enjoying poker as much as I used to even though it is because of poker that I have the freedoms I enjoy so liberally.

I have recently discovered that I love, love, love, being busy! Running around, having schedules to defer to, that is the life, I tell ya! Anyhow, before you all think I have gone off the deep end, no worries, I will still be taking liberties from the good ‘ol poker life, but just adding some much-needed balance is all. First on the list of luxuries is heading down to the Aruba Poker Classic with whom else but my partner in crime, TM. We have been in deep need of a vacay since being on The Amazing Race and Aruba will be the perfect opportunity to win some money and get a nice tan at the same time!

But in the meantime, I am just sooooo excited for the premiere of The Amazing Race coming up this Sunday, September 27th at 8PM on CBS. Last night, the show won its 7th consecutive Emmy out of 7 nominations for “Best Reality TV show” and the craziest part is, they are the only show to have won this award as the category was only created 7 years ago! Way to keep the streak alive and what a streak that is! I am so incredibly grateful and honored to be a part of such a well-respected show, and I can honestly say first-hand that the reward for their efforts is well deserved!

Hope you all take the time to check out the show on Sunday, the 27th while you guys are busy playing your Sunday tourneys. I promise that you will be highly entertained, so get the popcorn ready and I hope you guys enjoy it!

In the meantime check out these links below from The Race!

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/video/?pid=ndO_9nUcerOGh4Vns_FSLnuge23Vzqsh (Meet Maria and Tiffany)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4DwHyw808 (The Amazing Race TV Promo)

http://www.cardplayer.com/cptv/channels/13-other-poker-videos/poker-videos/3828-poker-buzz-maria-ho-on-the-amazing-race (Interview with Kristy Arnett from Card Player)

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/ (The Amazing Race homepage on CBS.com)

XOXO

Guess who’s back!!! Sorry for being so MIA as of late, but as some of you may already know, I had a damn good reason! Instead of playing the Main Event at the World Series of Poker this summer, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime with one of my best friends, Tiffany, and went on The Amazing Race!!!!!! The show will be premiering on September 27th, at 8:00PM on CBS, so make sure to check it out! In the meantime, you can find bios, pics, and videos of us and the rest of this season’s cast on www.cbs.com!

Although things have been pretty hectic, I still managed to make it up to Fresno last weekend for 2007 WSOP Champ Jerry Yang’s restaurant opening in Merced, CA with Stephen Baldwin and Christina Lindley. After much planning and hard work, Jerry opened the doors to his very own sushi restaurant, Pocket 8’s, aptly named after what else but his winning hand in the 2007 Main Event. The following day Jerry held his first inaugural Celebrity Charity Poker event, to benefit various charities of his choosing in the area. This particular one was for the Ronald McDonald House of Fresno and surrounding cities, and was held at Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, CA. Everyone between the tournament staff and the avid poker community were extremely welcoming and we had a great time raising money for a great cause!

In the midst of all the exciting things going on, I am hoping to spend some quality time with my family and friends, catch up on the latest movies, and play some more poker! The Hold ‘em Series is in town over at the Commerce, run by the very capable Matt Savage, so hopefully I can squeeze in an event or two. Yesterday, I managed to hop online and play in the WCOOP 1k event on Stars, and luckily for me I haven’t forgotten how to play poker after all this time. I ended up cashing and somewhere around 300th place I got it all in with QQ against AK and my opponent managed to spike the 6-outer on the river. Although it was a disappointing finish, I still felt that I had played well despite being a lil’ rusty.

I’m fully reverting back to blogging mode, so I’ll check back in real soon. Hope luck is finding its way to you all!

Wow...it has definitely been a while since my last blog, but the good news is I am back! I have genuinely missed writing and having an outlet to express myself so I have every intention of keeping up with my blogs as much as I can from now on. So as many of you all know, I went out of the country after the World Series of Poker and came back in the middle of August. Since then I have just been super busy with a lot of exciting new things that I will be revealing to you all real soon, so stay tuned!

On the poker side of things, I managed to squeeze in a trip last weekend for my good friend and 2007 World Series of Poker Champion Jerry Yang’s restaurant opening in Merced, CA. Jerry and I became good friends after we played together in the 2007 Main Event, where I was the Last Woman Standing, and we have kept in touch and attended events together ever since. Jerry finally opened his very own Japanese restaurant called Pocket 8’s, after his winning hand in the WSOP. The next day after his restaurant opening was the first inaugural Jerry Yang Celebrity Charity Tournament at Tachi Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, CA, benefiting the Ronald McDonald House. I had a wonderful time, ate some delicious sushi, played some poker for a good cause, and as always, Jerry was a terrific host.

On some random notes, I realized lately how bad of a habit it is that I procrastinate as much as I do. It seriously overwhelms and stresses me out to leave things to the last minute so I am not sure why I put myself through that all the time. But in the meantime, what I really need to do is catch up on some movies! There are so many movies I want to see but just haven’t found the time, but on top of that list is 500 Days of Summer. If you guys have any suggestions for me feel free to twitter them to me! www.twitter.com/mariaho

Alright, gotta keep this blog kinda short, because surprise, surprise, I procrastinated on some stuff I need to get done, and now I gotta get to it. Check back often for the latest!