Quick Vegas Trip Report , 5/1/07 - 5/4/07

[sticking hands]

I enjoyed a nice work reward trip to Vegas the past week. Arrived early on Tuesday and dropped my bags off at the Monte Carlo Bell Desk. Found the poker room, which was pretty dead around 11am. Grabbed a Card Player and went to eat breakfast at the Cafe in the casino (not bad). Walked over to Planet Hollywood after that to play in the 2pm tournament.

From online info, I had thought that the buy-in was $87, but it turns out it's only $60 (gets you 4000 in starting chips). Sat down and played in the 1-2 game prior to start time and had an odd run. I haven't played live in a while, so my game was off for the first hour or so. Made some dumb plays, but was in on a short buy-in, so I minimized my loss. Rebought once or twice and a short while later picked up two red 6's. At this point, the table, which had a fairly high % of decent players pegged me as being a bit loose and probably not too savvy. The flop was quite obliging with the case 6's and since my stack was pretty short, I was able to get the other player to call my all-in. The PH poker room pays high hand jackpots, so I picked up an additional $87 for my quads, in addition to doubling up. I picked off a couple more hands with dominating pairs and cashed out to go play in the tournament. Funny enough, I broke exactly even. No complaints, since I played badly enough in the first hour. Before I stepped away, another player hits a str8 flush for a ~$200 jackpot. Later I hear that another player hits quad kings for yet another jackpot. For a room that seems to run so few tables, it seems like they are paying out a high proportion of jackpots.

The 4000 chips didn't get me very far in the tournament, when my KJo flops top pair and runs into a pretty well concealed pair of aces. You can buy back in within the first 3 levels (20 min. long), so I did. Once you get past the first 3 levels, the blinds are moving pretty fast. I adjusted my play accordingly and pushed some pretty middling hands, due to being medium to short stacked for the next hour and a half. I catch lucky a few times, but then get stupid right before the 3rd break. With a pretty good stack, I push in on the button with a pair of 6's, thinking I'd just pick the blinds. I get called by AKo in the big blind, after a moment of consideration. Needless to say, the K on the turn drops me back down to a microstack and I'm out two hands after the break. All in all, apart from that play with the 6's, I'm not unhappy with the way I played this one. Finishing 12/38 got me nothing, but not having played live in so long, especially in a tournament, I am satisfied with this ending.

The Planet Hollywood room is brand new, about 4 weeks old, from what I heard at the table. It's situated near the main casino entrance, so it's easy to find. It's quite open, so you get quite a bit of noise from the slots surrounding it. There's not a lot of action in the afternoons that I played there. I never saw more than two 1-2 NL tables going during the week, with the occasional 2-4 limit game going on another. Dealers were okay (some were too chatty and not paying enough attention while dealing the tournie though), waitresses were a little meager, seats and tables looked brand new and were comfortable. Saw more competition and skilled players there than @ either Monte Carlo or MGM Grand, where I also played.

I walk back to the Monte Carlo, where I'm supposed to meet up with my co-workers in a few hours. Since my room is ready, I grab my bags from the Bell Desk (who brought me a wrong bag, but we quickly sorted that out) and drop stuff off at the room. I head down to the poker room and get seated in a 1-2 game right away. Again, I buy in short for about $120 and ask the dealer if I can wait for the button to pass since I would be coming in UTG otherwise. She informs me that I can't, but I can play this hand for free. I'm okay with that and get dealt AKo. I limp, followed by two more limpers and a raise to 10 in middle position. Fold, fold, fold, I bump it pretty hard to 50, thinking I can probably steal. I get one caller to my immediate left. The flop is un-coordinated, but kind with a king. I push my remaining chips in and get called quickly. He shows Kh4h and I double up. The guy seems pretty agitated by his own play and continues to bleed chips to me (I play J8s from late position vs. his pocket 4's, catch my pair on the flop and he calls a pretty sizable value bet on the river). He's playing loosey-goosey, so I'm waiting for more opportunities to pick something up against him. Unfortunately, "Angry Man," as I called him, picks up 97s a few hands later, flops a str8 and busts a set of jacks and pocket queens. Nice for him, but sad for me, as he picks up approximately $400 and walks. More players join the table, and I proceed to run my $120 into $593 before I break for dinner. This probably ranks as one of my more profitable sessions of 1-2 NL, the game was on. I caught when I needed to, was able to rob pots otherwise. I felt like I was easily the most experienced player at the table, that afternoon, and that was a decidely great feeling.

The Monte Carlo poker room is small and a bit cramped, but the colors and ambience are quite comfortable. I found the ratio of experienced players to tourists/fish to be quite small, which I employed to my advantage. The dealers were focused and very business-like. The wait staff seemed a little long in the tooth, but the service was perfectly adequate. The chips in play were absolutely filthy, though. I made it a point to wash my hands thoroughly after playing.

I returned to both PH and Monte Carlo and also played for about 3 hours at MGM Grand on Friday afternoon. The MGM that afternoon was electric. The De La Hoya/Mayweather weigh-ins happened right around the way from me while I sat at one of the tables, which was very cool. I found the game at the MGM to be fun. A lot of gambool, since folks were there for the fights and were ready to rock 'n roll. Again, I felt comfortable, and my game was good as a consequence. The MGM's room has been open for a while now, I think. I liked playing there and really enjoyed the bustle from the fights. The wait staff there were probably the hottest I'd seen that week. 'Nuff said.

All in all, I end the week +500, with no expenses beyond an occasional cup of coffee and meal. Thanks to my employers for fronting my plane ticket and the stay at the Monte Carlo.

Vegas is exhausting as usual. I hadn't been back in over a year. I always suffer a bit from the sensory overload while I'm there and it takes me a little while to recover. I think I'm going to plan another trip out there this summer, maybe during the WSOP or a long holiday weekend.

[adoah]

great tr!

would read again.