Goldcorp & Rubicon - It looks like the perfect marriage, doesn't it?

Check original post on my website at http://valuations.webs.com

As I indicated in this post, Goldcorp will be spending $330 million of the $840 raised to pay a revolving facility and the remaining $510 for CAPEX and general corporate purposes. Personally, the $510 million looked like a big number for CAPEX so most of it may be going towards 'general corporate purposes'.

But what is 'general corporate purposes'?

The only plausable explanation I have is that general corporate purposes = merger or acquisition

So I started looking for potential acquisitions. In finding this small fish, three factors guided my search:

1. The enterprise value of the company target company should be no more than $600. My reasoning is that GG has $510 million extra from the debt issue and has some cash on hand.
2. A junior gold company with significant reserves and exploration.
3. A junior gold company that is close to GG's current gold operations. This will drive costs down for GG

After countless searching, I believe I found GG's next acquision to be Rubicon Minerals (AMEX: RBY). Rubicon Minerals Corporation is a Canada-based mineral exploration-stage company that explores for commercially viable gold and base metal deposits. The reasoning behind my conclusion:

1. Its enterprise value is around $460 million ($516 million market cap - $56 million cash, no debt, no prefered equity and no minorty interest). So if GG bids for $510, it would be offering a 10.9% acquisition premium.
2. RBY has just discovered excellent grade ores close to Red Lake.
3. RBY operates very close to GG's operations in Red Lake, Ontario. If GG would acquire RBY, there would not be any significant incremental costs from the larger operation, in fact, there would be potential savings due to synergies.

Since 10.9% is not an enough premium, I believe that GG needs to offer around $600 million (30% premium) to RBY for a successfull acquisiotn. Therefore, I am including RBY in my buy list with a target of $4.

Keep reading my blog for updates.

Iyad Atuan

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Gold

Download this report here.

Gold

While gold is widely used as jewellery for its appearance and rarity, its metallurgical properties makes gold an excellent commodity used in electronics and dentistry. Furthermore, gold is used as an investment vehicle by central banks and investors. Gold tends to appreciate in value in higher inflation environments as investors believe gold to be an excellent inflation hedge.

Properties

Gold is one of the rarest metals on the globe with more than 2,500 tonnes of gold mined annually. It is virtually indestructible making it one of the strongest metals. Recycled gold maintains the same properties as newly mined gold. Gold is very recyclable. In fact, a significant portion of the gold supply is provided by recycled gold. It is very ductile making it easily shaped for wire and sheet products. Since gold does not react with oxygen, it is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and resistant to corrosion. Even though, it is not feasible to use in common wiring, gold is extensively used in electronics. Gold is a soft material in its pure form; therefore it is usually mixed with a harder metal to improve its durability.

Uses

Three main uses of gold are in (1) jewellery, (2) investment vehicle and (3) electronics. Almost two thirds of the global usage of gold is in jewellery, arts and sculptures. A quarter of gold is used as investment vehicle, especially against inflation. Gold ETFs are becoming very popular since they are easier to buy than physical gold bullions. Currently, approximately a third of investment vehicles are in the form of ETFs while the rest are bars and coins kept by investors such as hedge funds and central banks. Thanks to gold?s conductivity and noncorrosive property, gold is largely used in electronics. On a smaller scale gold is used in dentistry, however, lately it is being substituted with ceramic fillings for their properties and aesthetics.

Production process

Depending on the depth of the gold reserves and the geology of the deposits, the reserves are mined by open pit mining or underground mining. While the former costs less, the grades for the latter are higher. Then, the ore is crushed and sorted for different processes depending on composition to maximize gold recovery. The next step is called leaching, in which the crushed ore is submerged in a cyanide solution until the gold ore is dissolved. Gold is extracted from this solution, chemically stripped and melted into bars called dore bars. Dore bars are 90% composed of gold and are sent to further refining. The refining process is divided into two steps. Firstly, the bars are melted and are further purified by adding chloride. Finally, an electrolytic cell is composed of the gold which results in 99.99% pure gold.

Global gold supply

Approximately, two thirds of the global gold supply is provided by mining activities. Two thirds of the remaining supply is provided by recycled gold and the rest is provided by the reserves of central bank. Gold is virtually indestructible; therefore no gold is lost in recycling. Most of the known gold reserves are located in South Africa and to smaller degree in Australia and Peru. As a percent of global production, the biggest three gold producers are Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining and Anglogold. As gold prices increases, the rate of recycled gold increases as more individuals like to profit from the scenario. The same situation is encountered in times of economic distress where individuals sell their gold for liquidity.

Inflation

It has been well documented that gold is the investment of choice in high inflation environments. Therefore, understanding where inflation is trending is valuable. Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. In April 2009, the U.S. economy experienced deflation (-0.74%) as the U.S. dollar devalues. The current U.S. policies will further devalue the dollar as new money is printed constantly to cover President Obama?s bailout program and the war in Iraq. Therefore, I predict deflation to reach somewhere between -1.50% to -2.00% before starting recovery towards 2.00% inflation by the first quarter of 2010.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The current economic slowdown is causing a decline in consumer spending which is hurting the bottom line for large corporations and as a result their stock price. Therefore, investors are moving their money away from the depressed stock market and into the gold market boosting the demand for gold. As investors return to the stock market, gold demand will return to its natural level.

Oil price

Oil price works as a double edged sword, while an increase in oil price boosts the price of gold, it also increases costs. It should be mentioned that the correlation between gold and oil prices is not perfect as there are several factors affecting the price of gold as previously demonstrated. Oil producers such as Saudi Arabia encounter a boost in revenues whenever oil prices increases. Since gold plays a big role in the region?s traditions and cultures, an increase in money supply automatically translates to an increase in the demand of gold in the region.

While gold companies enjoy the larger revenues from higher gold prices, they encounter larger costs due to higher fuel costs. As described earlier in this report, gold production is an energy intensive operation in all the stages.

Production & demand

The demand for gold is steadily increasing for three reasons. Firstly, as the globe?s population is growing, the metal will be demanded by more individuals. Secondly, studies have shown that there is more money available per person now compared to decades ago. The more money a person has, the more the demand for gold. In fact, the ounces of gold available per person now are much higher than those available in the past. Finally, Chinese people tend to be cautious about their finances and save for the future by investing in physical assets such as gold. Thus, as China?s population becomes more productive and starts earning higher salaries, the demand for gold will increase.

In contrast, gold producers have not been able to match production to demand, in fact production has been declining and more of the demand has been met with recycled gold or gold provided by central banks; both supplies have declined substantially and cannot support this demand for much longer. Turning a gold reserve into a productive gold mine is time intensive and can take up to ten years. Since producers did not invest significantly in exploration in the 1990s due to the low gold prices, gold producers may be facing a production shortage for the short-term. However, this obstacle should be overcome in the long term as gold companies are heavily investing in exploration at the moment.

Reserves

As the amount of gold in the world is finite, global gold reserves plays a big factor on the price of gold. Currently, there is an 18-year reserve of gold, that is, after 18 years all the proven and probable reserves of gold would be exhausted. Therefore, finding the next gold reserve in the ever shrinking world of today will be the key success factor for gold companies. Unfortunately, most of the feasible gold mines have been exploited. However, as reserves for this metal declines, gold prices will increase making reserves that cannot be mined at today?s prices feasible leading to an increase in global gold reserves.

Conclusion

Several factors go in the pricing of gold. Inflation, GDP and oil prices play a factor on the short term pricing of gold while gold production and global gold reserves play a role on the long term pricing of gold. Gold prices will further increase during this year due to deflation and reach a price between $975-$1025; however, gold prices will pull back as inflation returns to its natural level of 2% and gold privet will hover around $900-$925. In the long term, gold prices will increase due to higher demand and a limited supply.

iyad Atuan

Money raised going to pay debt, capex and general corporate purposes

As promised in this post, I found out where the money raised by GG is going. According to this report, $330 million is going towards paying its outstanding indebtedness under its revolving credit facility. The remaining $530 million is going towards CAPEX and general corporate purposes.

I think this was a great move by GG. First of all, they are taking advantage of the current market conditions to get competitive rates on its debt; these convertible notes only bear a 2% interest. Secondly, GG is ensuring that they have enough cash on hand for capital expenditures required by promising mines in their early development stage.

Iyad Atuan

Goldcorp Announces $750 Million Offering of Convertible Senior Notes

Today GG annouced $750 in convertible bonds. I was surprised at this announcement as I thought GG's strategy was to be delevered for the duration of this slowdown. I have not read as to specifics where GG wants to use the money but I am assuming that they are facing some budget overruns in Eleonore and Cerro Blanco. Regardless, GG continues to be the less delevered senior gold company at 4.6%. The market did not like this move as GG's price retracted 7.10%.

What I would like to find out is where the money is going to be invested. The interest on the bonds is only 2% which is very low. I cannot see any projects that would have a return on equity (ROE) less than 2%; making this move most likely a value adding proposition.

As soon as I get more details about this issue, I will post it on here.

---

Iyad Atuan

valuations.webs.com

Buy Goldcorp, target 44.40

Posted by Iyad Atuan at 03:53 PM on May 31, 2009

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Current price (May 29): $39.73

Target 12-month price: $44.40

For downloadable vrsion click here.

Summary

GG is a rapidly growing senior mining company. Having the lowest cash cost of $305/oz among its main competitors, GG has more profitable ventures providing more free cash flow to invest in new promising projects such as Penasquito and Pueblo Viejo. Additionally, GG is quickly reacting to the current economic times. As one of its main measures, it has very minimal debt making its balance sheet one of the strongest in the industry. Also, GG has decided to consolidate geographically in order to minimize its country-related risk. Currently, Alumbrera is the only mine outside of NAFTA region. By developing new mines, GG is expecting to increase its gold production by 50% in the next five years making it one of the most aggressive large-cap gold companies.

Industry attractiveness

Current appreciation of gold price makes it attractive to new junior companies to enter the market. However, there are several barriers such as lack of economies of scale, high capital intensity, difficulty of finding new untapped reserves. Even if reserves are found, those are in remote locations that are not close to an electric grid. The threat of substitutes depends on the market segmentation. While the threat of substitute in the jewellery market can be considered high, this threat is considered very low in other industries such as in the computer hardware production.

Why is GG a good investment?

Aggressive growth strategy: GG is planning to increase production by 50% in the following 5years. This growth will be driven by Penasquito and Pueblo Viejo.Penasquito is one of the largest new mines in the world. It is 100% owned by GG. The mine consists of two open pits that are expected to produce 500,00 oz annually for the life of the mine. Pueblo Viejo is 40% owned by GG and 60% owned by Barrick. GG?s gold production is expected to be 400,000 oz for the first five years. Currently, drilling is being performed in Eleonore to define and understand its deposits. Definition drilling is scheduled for 2009 at Cerro Blanco ? another promising project.

Lowest total cash cost among senior gold companies: One of the biggest drives of GG?s success is its low cash cost compared to other competitors. GG?s total cash cost was $353/oz for 09Q1 compared to $379/oz, $404/oz, $419/oz and $435/oz for AUY, ABX, KCG and NEM respectively.

Geographical consolidation: While GG is consolidating its mines to lower-risk NAFTA regions, none of the major competitors are following the same strategy. Barrick Gold (ABX) is still highly dependable on gold production in higher-risk locations. Currently more than 50% of ABX?s gold production and 65% of its gold reserves are located outside of North America. Furthermore, ABX?s development of the Pascua-Lama mine implies that ABX has no intention of geographical consolidation. Kinross Gold (KCG) and Newmont Mining (NEM) depend on a considerable portion of its gold production in higher-risk regions but Yamana Gold (AUY) has all its operations the Americas.

Low financial risk: In the current economic times, cash flow volatility increases. GG has responded to this situation by deleveraging substantially increasing its safety cushion. The other three major competitors have kept their leverage unchanged as shown below.

Risks faced by GG

Gold price fluctuation: The main risk is fluctuation in the price of gold. However, this risk is not specific to GG as none of the senior gold companies hedges its gold production. The table below demonstrates the sensitivity of the NAV-derived price to gold price fluctuations.

Unexpected project expenses: One of GG?s main advantages is its low cash cost. Therefore, unexpected project expenditure especially regarding Eleonore and Cerro Blanco will increase the average total cash cost.

Failure to find new gold reserves: With the recent increase in the gold price, more junior gold companies and new entrants have an incentive to explore for new reserves. However, this risk is somehow limited since most of the remaining gold reserves are in remote locations that require large capital investments.

Fuel cost and fluctuation in exchange rates: Since energy is the main input and the gold business is truly global, the cost of fuel and exchange rates have a significant impact on the profitability of GG. GG hedges most of its exposure to fluctuations in fuel cost and exchange rates through several derivative instruments dampening this risk substantially.

As more of these risks occur, the NAV multiple will decrease to industry average or even lower. The above table illustrates the effects of fluctuations in the gold price and in the P/NAV utilized on the NAV derived stock price.

Valuation

GG was valued using a NAV approach and comp analysis. The final target price is the weighted average of the two prices (75% NAV and 25% comps).

For the NAV approach, earnings from each mine were forecasted for the lifetime of the mine, then discounted at a discount rate that reflects the risks incurred due to geographical location, currency and success probability of the project. Then, several items were added to the Value of Operational Assets to reflect items that are not accounted for such as reclamation costs, long-term debt and working capital.

Using Tier I gold suppliers as the universe, the average NAV was calculated to be 1.65x. Three premiums were added to reflect the advantage GG has over its competitors due to having the lowest cash cost, lowest debt ratio and lowest risk due to geographical consolidation in NAFTA region. Using this P/NAV multiple of 2.40x, the target price is $48.90.

The weighted average of three comps was utilized. Those comps were EV/ 2009 production estimate, EV/reserves (P&P) and EV/ forecasted 2009 EBITDA. The universe used was only Tier I gold companies while premiums were added for GG?s low financial risk, aggressive growth approach and low geographical risk. The comps fair price was calculated as $31.10 leading to a 75%NAV-25%comps target value of $44.40.

The risk related to the comps approach is embedded in the fact that comp averages where obtained using market information for competitors. Therefore, if the whole sector is being undervalued or overvalued, the price attained could be misleading.

Innovation and Canada

Do you know that Canada is one of the lowest-ranked developed countries in the innovation field. The irony is that, at the same time, Canada is ranked one of the highest in giving tax-money back for R&D.

Where is ad creativity?

Have you noticed that some commercials are stealing ideas from other commercials?

For example, have you seen that McDonal's commercial where a guy sees someone having a BigMac so later he gets one and someone watches him eating and gets one himself and so on?

Well that commercial is the same idea as a commercial i saw long time ago where one guy smiles to someone in the street, the next guy smiles to someone else and so on till the last guy smiles to the first guy that started the commercial.

Right now in Ontario, the OLG (responsible for the lottery), has a BINGO commercial where a lady sees a lady playing bingo so she goes to play one herself and someone that saw her playing went to play one as well and so on.

What happened to creativity? and isn't that intelectual theft or whatever they call it?

A letter to my friend

Hey Steve,

That night that we met at Niagara I left with $200 profit. Then, I went there on Saturday with some friends because they wanted to gamble on such a lucky day (july 7, 2007 – 7/7/07 – 7+7+7=21) but that night I felt like trying the $2/$5 after your advice.

I was quite for awhile studying the dynamics, then I went up to $500 then down to $100 ( I filled it to $200 twice, so I had invested $400) then I went up to $900 and then i played a hand very bad, here are the details:

I had QJs, I raised to $20 and 3 guys called,

At the flop one asian guy opened his eyes wide open when he saw the flop so I knew he got a monster hand.

so then I checked the flop, it was TQ5

so everyone checked to me, I bet $35, the asian guy raises to $70, the next one reraises to $140 and the third guy calls it, so it is back to me, I analyse so I put the asian on QT, the second guy on AQ and the third on Q and some low card. So obviously after the tell and the reraises I should have fold but for some unknow reason I called.

At this time there was $500+ in the pot, the turn comes something useless, the asian bets $100 everyone calls so there is like $800 in the pot and even though I know I am beat I call, the river is an ace, asian checks , second guy goes $200, third calls, I say what the f@#$ and I call and asian calls.

Results, asian had pocket 10s, second guy had AQ(I got it 100% right, it made me so happy, third guy mucked)

So from there I was on a tilt, I went up to $410 and then my friends wanted to leave…so I made $10….hurray

I had mixed feelings because I knew exactly what was going on but till now I don’t know why I wasted close to $500 on that hand. The good news is that I could have made $500 easily J

Ok see ya at the tables before Aug (I am going to Chile for Aug before I start school, and will try the casinos in there and let you know)

~EV

Lucky day comes only once every century

Today is a special day for gamblers; it is July 7, 2007 or 7/7/07 = 7+7+7=21.
I am not a gambler and i don't believe in superstition but a lot of people do, specially asians. i frequent Casino Fallsview where there is a majority of asian players, so today is a great day for me to make some big winnings because they will be relying more on the luck factor and more-than-usual amount of money will pass hands.

This post reminds me of a little trick i use on hardcore supersticious people. When I want them to call my raise; i raise $21, most times i get calls. However, when i am bluffing, i only raise to $13 and they will fold. Since the table has some pros this trick doesn't work on them that is why i only use it if the pros already folded or if i got a tell that they most likely will fold.

On another topic,I came to the plant for a couple of hours to make sure everything was fine, when i am done i will meet some friends and head down to Niagara and have some fun.

Yesterday i gave my notice to my employer. I was relieved that i finally made it and i already feel 10 pounds lighter. I am so excited about school, the opportunities and my future. I know i have a lot of hard work ahead of me but i am up to the challenge....and wasn't that one of my main reasons i wanted to go back to school?...the challenge.

Work is out, school is in!

So as most of you know i will be quiting my job at the end of July to start full time MBA in September. I will use August mainly for 3 reasons:
1. A long-deserved vacation. Since i entered university in 2000 till now, i haven't really taken a vacation, i have always been doing something. So i am planning to use this vacation mainly to discover Ontario.
2. Focus on my FOREX system, it is a great system, it has a lot of potential and one month will give me an opportunity to exploit all of its potential.
3. Get back in top shape. Despite looking and feeling thinner for the last couple of months due to my daily bike commute to work, i can't help it but feel weak. I have lost 3" in my chest, 2" on each bicep and lost a lot of definition. So my focus will be this month to work out and get ready to go full-blast starting September.

Investment Firm Idea

A couple of months ago I opened a real FOREX account with Gain Capital. At first I had some loses due to mistaken trades and bad/mixed signals, but for the last month I have been trying a new simple system that I have developed and it has shown me good return. In the last 7 days I made 47%! The most I have lost is 5% and the biggest day return has been 23%.

I have an idea of opening a small FOREX firm where I invest people’s money for a 4% monthly return with an 80% guarantee on their deposit. The return sounds tempting to most investors (that is a 48% annual ROI) and if 80% of their investment is guaranteed it will make it an investment hard to refuse.

I admit that my last week return is not sustainable, so my goal is more realistic, my goal is to make 1% per day (that is 34% a month or 30% after I pay my investors).

It is too early to say but I will keep you guys posted on my progress.

Lost Resolved!!!!

Ok, I haven't posted for a long time. I am the contributer to this blog, but I think i have come up with an explanation to this weird series, Lost.

It is an island of lost souls, and therefore comes the name Lost. Ok, let's analyse this.

It has been confirmed twice by two different characters that all the guys in the plane should be dead. We know it is not heaven, and can't be hell, that would be stupid and non-creative. So it is a place where all this Lost souls are put together. I know it may be a little ridiculous, but if we remember the Desmond episode where there was this old lady who was selling the ring, and that knew who would die, then we can get a feeling of the direction of the writers: Supernatural phenomena, destiny, etc. Notice how every single character of the crashed plane that has been introduced to us has a dark history, exept for John Lock, the special one, the chosen.
Also notice how everyone has a file, how else would they gather so much information about such intimate things.
This explains a lot of things, like the black weird thing that kills people, it is like the demon that comes to collect souls. The submarine represented the way out of the Lost island, therefore moving to a better place, saving the soul. Think about Charlie, he must die, and Desmond knows that. His sould should no longer be in the island.
The others could be considered as, i don't know, angels or something of that sort. This makes us think about why women can't have children in the island. Why John is walking again (when you go to Heaven, Hell, or wherever, you are supposed to go with your whole body, not part of it, this brings a whole new discussion).
I still haven't figured this out, I would really appreciate if you would give me your inputs about this, why you thing it is stupid or not, or help to solve the puzzle. Like Dharma??What is Dharma. How the russian didn't die?

Investment Banking

Today I was considering the different choices I would have after I finish my MBA. After working as an engineer for 3 years, I’ve realized that engineering was underpaid for the amount of hours that I work and the responsibilities that I have.

Therefore, I decided to focus my MBA in a direction that would help me obtain a career in a profession that aligns with my values, skills and goals. I have narrowed it down to investment banking. In this industry you require the following skills:
spreadsheet (at least when you start as a financial analyst),
math,
interpersonal,
presentation skills, and
multi-tasking.

Surely this position makes a lot of money but you have to work really hard for it and sacrifice some personal time, investment bankers are known to work as much as 120 hours a week! However, IB pays really good specifically here in Toronto due to the lack of good IBs.

My plan is to study really hard and be deeply involved in the finance club at Schulich so it will facilitate me to get an internship in an Investment Bank like Goldman or Merrill.

I will post more details later on,

MBA @ Schulich

So last week I got accepted to Schulich for the MBA program (that was the only school i applied for), too bad i cannot do it full-time then i would have applied other places outside of Canada.

Since it starts in September I am preparing myself to have no social life as i know it now for the next three years. So I will enjoy this summer as much as i can.

So people what do you think about my new blog's look? lovely eh?

New camera

A couple of weeks ago i broke my digital camera (oooops). Despite having an extended warranty (which i misplaced) I decided to get a new camera. After a lot of comparison between the new cameras i decided to go for the Canon Powershot A640. Great camera i am just having trouble connecting it to my computer (damn XP).

I will update more later, i am tired and i need to re-energize.

30% return in 3 days.

So far I got 30% return on my demo account, in 3 days! I have been reading lots about FOREX and technical analysis I believe I am improving by the minute!

I can’t wait till I open an actual; account and become rich…hahahaha

Well I know FOREX is risky business and you have to be smart about it (90% of traders lose in FX).

Forex Trading

This post is a follow up to the last post.
So I was looking for different ways to invest and here are the options and conclusions:

1. Mutual Funds: I am already doing that with a nice return but I feel I could do more.
2. Real Estate: I thought about this idea with a friend of mine that actually works in the industry. We decided to postpone it because my credit is not top notch and the real estate prices in Toronto are too high and we predict the bubble will burst anytime soon.
3. Stocks: This was a tempting option since I follow the markets and business news very closely so I have an idea where to invest. The drawbacks are the trading fees and the minimum capital you need is a little high.
4. Futures: Too complex, I didn’t really look too deep into this and I lost interest.
5. Forex Trading: I wanted to try this for a loooong time but I was under the impression that I needed a lot of capital. However, after doing some investigation I found out that you do not need a lot of capital (just $250) to open a mini account. Also, Forex trading is easy, fun and can be partially automated!

I started a ‘demo’ account yesterday night for 10,000 and I am already at 11,000 from 2 trades I automated before going to bed; when I woke up they were done…awesome.

So my plan is to try the demo for a month, see how I perform then open a mini account. I could open a standard account for 2,000 but I believe using a mini account my confidence will build up and I can play it safe before opening a standard account.

Guys, I will keep you daily updated on my demo account.

Cheers,

Change of Gears

I have been talking about poker for 99% of my posts, so I decided to change it a bit and I will talk about my personal and professional growth goals for these couple of years.

Health – Lose weight and become 225 lbs @ 14% body fat

In September I was 313 lbs and 32% body fat, through proper eating and exercise I have been able to drop my weight to 291 lbs and 27% body fat. I am confident that I can lose the weight like I did 3 years ago BUT this time I will stick to it.

Fitness – Commute both to and from work on my bike during the summer

I partially did this since I just got my bike at the end of the summer.

Financial – Double my savings

I was a great saver when I had no obligations but once the obligations kicked in I saved a lot less so the challenge is to save while you have obligations as well.

Financial – Diversify my portfolio and get ROI of 20% for this year.

Mainly I have been investing in mutual funds and it has been great but I will introduce stocks in the picture see what happens.

Education – Do my MBA

I will apply for admission this September at York University so I can do it part-time while I work.

Career

I have a lot of goals for this but instead of boring you I will tell you that I am planning to finish all my projects and increase the uptime in the plant.

So that’s it, I will let you know what I achieve and what not at the end of this year.

Brought to you by…
EV

What is in the 2007 vault?

Happy New Year!

I know, i know, i apologize i haven't posted for a while. I was really busy with work and i was under the weather.

I bet all of you are excited about 2007, I am!
First of all, even though i know you are not interested but i want to mention that i have lost 25 LBS since december 1st, i feel great and i feel my poker has improved "a healthy mind in a healthy body".

As you remember i said i was off online poker for good. So i started to frequent an underground poker place in downtown Toronto. Mainly i have been playing tournaments. So far i haven't won any but made it in the money most of the times. The thing is that most players are asian, and i don't won't to offend anyone but i noticed from long time ago that asian poker players are the toughest and riskiest; they see poker from a different perspective than everyone else. I am planning to crack their secret :)

On Jan 2nd, I got an email from PartyPoker that I have a $20 bonus. I said to myself why not use it, i am not losing anything. So i have been playing single-table tournaments and I have been making it in the money (top 3) 80%, I decided to see how far i can take the $20.

As for my poker plans for this year, I am planning to go to Vegas in April to play some tournaments and do what I am doing now; play in the underground place and SNG games online with the bonus i got.

Well I will keep the blog updated and good luck.

EV

It's been a year...

I haven't posted in this blog for ages, I just didn't have anything I wanted to say, nor do right now, I just wanted to update on what has been of my life.
It's been a year since I've been in Chile, god, that year seemed as 10!!
So, there are a few things that changed in the past year:

First, I've become this judgmental pessimist negative energy person. I don't know why this happened or how, it just did.

Second, if one year ago I had any idea what I wanted to do after finishing school, then right now, I have absolutely none, zip, zero, nada, keine idee. I know for sure i don't wanna stay in Chile, nor in any country in the region. Somehow, i am interested right now in investment banking, and it would be hard to get a career in IB if i stay in Chile, so i am checking my options after i'm done with Chile; slim chance, i know. I am thinking about a Master in Economics (one year programme) in Munich, or trying to get into a top 14 law school in the states. I know the last one is not the most orthodox methode of getting into IB, but a JD from a top Law school may give you a descent chance to enter as an asociate into an IB.

Fourth, I started going back to the gym which means that I won't be able to drink anything during the summer, which kinda sucks, since there are a lot of parties going on.

Last, I got the Chilean nationality, no big deal, just thought of mentioning it. I can go to any Latin country with just my Id (no passport) and visit Europe without a visa.

p.s I took 27 credits last semester and still managed to get one of the top grades in my class. I think I am easily ranked top 5%. I am not sure if considering my CGPA I would still be top 5%, but damn it, I know that by the time i finish my degree I will be at least top 5%. God I sound so nerdy,

Iysam's out