I followed the tutorial as written except for a few changes.  Instead of contracting the selection for the sucker by 20, I contracted by 25 to create a wider/thicker sucker.  I applied a different bevel to the sucker (bevel=2, width=10, smoothness=25, depth=7, ambience=-20, shininess=35, color=white, angle=135, intensity=35, elevation=60).  I applied a different drop shadow (3,3,20,4).

For my text, I used CAC Lasko Even Weight, size 72, stroke=1.  After typing my text, I resized by 50% smart size.  Although using size 36 looks similar, I thought the text looked more defined when starting with a large size text and then resizing.