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I finally caught up on this thread.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting the idea of me going down there. I appreciate all of the kind words.

To those who think I would be fooled by a "dog and pony" show are, honestly, completely ignorant of who I am. I might come back and say "everything looks like it's on the up and up" but I would definitely qualify anything like that with problems. I guarantee I would ask for certain things and they would say "oh, that isn't possible" or "that has been deleted" or "no record of that exists" or something like that. There's way more to be learned from what they refuse than what they admit. In addition, if the NDA-type agreements are too restrictive, I'll just say that the NDAs are out of control and the visit was useless -- that will tell people a lot. OBVIOUSLY they are not going to show me incriminating evidence. I don't know if some people think I would expect them to do that, but let me clarify by saying I am pretty sure they won't.

Also, in terms of those thinking that I'm a typical random 25 y/o kid here, I don't think I am. While I won't get into my entire background, I spent a year as an auditor/consultant with Deloitte & Touche in the Philadelphia office. I also took many college classes on these types of subjects and graduated near the top of my class. I know a fair amount of audit methodology. I'm not dumb and easily fooled. I don't know how else to prove it.

Also, as stated above, I am not going on AP's money anymore. To those who think I care about the money, I'm pretty sure you have nothing to say at this point considering that, despite a lot of support, I am not taking any money from AP. I may still end up going down there as a quasi-reporter. I have not discussed all of the details yet with those who may be funding the trip. I will not pay for it out of pocket and nor will I spend that level of time and energy in addition to taking risks without compensation. If I don't go, I could remove myself from this situation pretty easily and get back to a relaxed everyday life where I can just do my regular routine quietly and no one knows about my personal business. If I do go, I'm going to just get deeper into this headache and I'll take months of flak on here and other places no matter what I bring back.

All of that being said, I feel a certain responsibility to continue what I've helped to start here. If I feel like the best thing for poker going forward includes me going down there, I will do so regardless of the inevitable criticism.

-Nat