I left Newquay just after 20.25 last night. About an hour after I found myself waiting in the cold in Par, about an hour later in the company of a self confessed 'BNP Nut' in a smoky waiting room in Plymouth.

Just over an hour ago, I awoke to find that my legs did not work. No ordinary pins and needles, my friend, we're talking full on paralysis. Not the best way to start your day. After minutes of hitting and shaking, I summoned enough blood to my bones to manage going to the toilet.

Rolling into Paddington just before 06.00, I found an open coffee stand and manage to bag a grilled croissant and coffee for less than three quid. On its own the croissant would've been 2.84, so I guess I can't bitch about the state of the brown water, having paid a mere .15 English pounds for it. Still, shit coffee is shit coffee. I'm looking forward to better caffeine experiences overseas.

Having wolfed down the French breakfast, I turned the laptop on to see if the WSOPE Main Event was still going on. Kicking myself (I tried to get hold of my friend Chris to wager a prop bet on whether I'd make it in time for the conclusion of play), it appeared that the game was going healthily, heads up between Stanislav Alekhin and Full Tilt's John Juanda.

And that's where I find myself now, just shy of 07.00, watching the action over the balcony in the hub of Leicester Square's Empire Casino. It's a bit smaller than I expected, but hey, I come from the rich background of playing in college cafeterias. For before 07.00 on a Friday morning there's quite a few people milling about (as you'd expect at a major final. Come on, this is my first one), but the number of people watching outside of the cordoned off area numbers all but a dozen.

I'm assuming the lucky folk who avoid sitting with me in the nosebleeds are friends and family of Alekhin and Juanda. But going by the smell coming from my pocket, it's probably best that I sit here out of the action. I don't recognise any other folk down in the middle, not a single person from Dennis and (even more concerning) no pros to spot and/or bother. I guess (if I'm looking at the right people with laptops) I can see gsqwared and change100 from PokerNews.com. They're famous, I know their work.