Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. has added “Holt” just this week, as Maynard Holt of Goldman Sachs has signed onto the TP team. The firm’s party at the Heritage Plaza penthouse downtown Houston this week was an opportunity to see the den of Dan Pickering and team, authors of an irreverant daily e-newsletter that discusses everything from hedge-fund odds of pressuring National Fuel Gas into MLP-ing most of its E&P and other assets to football-game results, downgrading Pluto and how the Canadian hothouse scene affects natural gas futures. Swinging from the chandeliers at the TPH gala? Not. Suits were everywhere; no biker wear and road-warrior paint in sight. Wine was flowing, not Schlitz. But not a disappointment. Seen included Dan Pickering himself, TPH execs Bobby Tudor and Alie Pruner, Brad Holmes (IR consultant to Sterling Energy et al. and former publisher of Oil and Gas Investor), Mike McCabe (Alta Mesa, which has Denham private equity and is a player in Navasota, i.e. Robertson County, Texas), Alan Smith (Quantum Energy Partners), Harrison Williams (Albrecht & Associates and donning a smart, textured shirt), David Bole (Quantum Energy Partners), Doug Brooks (former BD for Marathon Oil and now drilling in the Mowry shale for his own book: start-up Compass Resources), Deanne Foss (CHC Energy and a CBM player in Louisiana), Craig Childers (who’s back at it with Mike Harvey at their new Stonegate Production, which has Pine Brook Road Partners funding) and hundreds of others. The TPH e-note the morning after didn’t mention any “after-party events,” but Pickering et al. have launched an ElfYourself contest. They write: “Friday Humor Contest: If we can do it, so can you! Get in the holiday spirit by participating in TPH’s Goofy Holiday Electronic Elf Contest. Enter the contest! Prizes awarded in the following categories: Most Original Elf, Most Goofy Elf and Bigwig Public Company Elf (biggest title/market cap exec to participate wins). Chocolate bars or Itunes cards as prizes. Email your entry by close of business Monday, Dec. 10th.” We look forward to seeing the winning entry. P.S. Don’t forget! Nominations for Oil and Gas Investor Excellence Awards are due by end of day Dec. 14. It’s easy: the form is online at www.oilandgasinvestor.com. More details are there, and are also shown below in “Are You Excellent?”