[pig4bill]

I'd like to post yet another mini-trip report about how I went to Vegas on NBA All-Star weekend and gambled with barely post-pubescent multi-millionaires. I'd like to, but that's not what happened. I decided I would fly out Friday after work and return Saturday evening. There are a lot of All-Star activities on Saturday, so I figured Friday would be the best night for restless NBA'ers to gambool. Besides, room rates for Saturday were more than outrageous. Upon arriving at the airport, and checking in to Bally's, I was walking through baggage claim and saw a couple hot chick limo drivers holding up signs for Carmello Anthony and LeBron James. That is as close to an NBA player as I got all trip. The first bad choice I made was long before I hit the tables. Trying to save 8 bucks, I decided to do the $5 shuttle thing instead of taking a taxi. It's a false economy because it took an hour and a half before I was in my room. Time is precious in Vegas considering what I spent on airfare and room. I am a moron.

First stop: Bally's

Even though I hate the idea of a jackpot drop, I decide to try Bally's first, because 2+2'ers keep going on about how great is is, but mostly because I'm already there. Friday night, 10 p.m., things should be hopping, right? The 1/2 NL is wheezing. Three tables with five or six players each. When I'm seated, I am the sixth player at my table. There's one guy with about $500 in front of him, and he's the only one that seems to have seen the word "aggression" before. I flop a boat, and play it about as slowly as I can and win a $14 pot. We're making $5 turn and river bets trying to get a call. BTW, unless the NBA is now made up of 5'6" Asian guys and 5'9" 140 pound white dudes, thare's nary an NBA player in sight. As has been mentioned elsewhere, there are a helluva lot of black people in town. 20% are apparently Jerry Springer/Oprah addicts and think it's mandatory for women to yell at the top of their lungs all the time, and 20% are thug gangsta wannabes (or maybe real be's). This is apparently the NBA fan demographic these days.

Anyway, I can't stand this pace of play and have dribbled off almost half my $100 buy-in on unimproved AK and small pairs, and am anxious to get the hell out of there. Finally enough people join the table to fill it up and add a little action. When I am the most aggressive player at the table, that is one weak table. Since I've sat, I'm the only one that has gone all-in. My best hand: I check in the BB with 45s, and the flop comes A45, two clubs. I bet $15, one of the new guys comes over the top for $30 and I push for about $68 total. He goes into the tank for a few minutes and folds. In retrospect I probably should have stayed if they're going to play like that. I did get to witness a jackpot hand in action. A guy made quad 10's and won a jackpot of $116. What a joke - the pot they were playing had over $200 in it. Everything stops for the HHJ Chinese fire drill to start. The dealer counts all the cards, and play is stopped until they can pay him. They won't even push him the pot. The dealer and floor involved agree this is idiotic. It's taking forever for the floor to pay this guy. After five minutes of sitting with our thumbs up our butts, I bail out of there with a $7 net profit after 1 hour of play.

Next up: Bellagio and beyond