Vegas Trip Report - Boring with one sick exception.

[Fishwhenican]

Was in Vegas from late Friday the 18th Friday the 25th.
40 hours of Conference and 50+ hours of Poker

Got to the Imperial Palace late Friday night and played from about 11:00pm to 4:30 am
Saturday played most of the day after getting a few hours of sleep and munching down an IP breakfast buffet. Ya, I am glutton for punishment! Have to be up early Sunday to move to the Excalibur and get to conference by 8:00am. Saturday night in Vegas and I am in my room by 9:00pm, sleeping by 10:00pm. God, what a pussy I have become!

IP Poker room was fine. Typical service and typical games with the exception of Saturday afternoon getting a bit wild with some straddling maniacs for awhile. Ended up about even here.

Played the rest of the week at the Excalibur and as usual had a great time. Horribly card dead but still managed to be just a little bit stuck by the end of the week. The floor people and dealers at the Ex were fantastic. All very nice and all very accommodating. Food comps (4 dollar coupon) were easy to get and I didn't even have to ask one time it was just offered. They adjusted my room rates for some of the days when it was in my favor and I thought that was great as well even if all it did was save my employer money.

Excalibur highlights:

One evening I am card dead, as usual stuck about $80 bucks and getting ready to call it a night. I hit two hands in a row, a flush finally fills out and flop a straight. I go from -80 to +100 in two hands!
Sit next to a guy named Peter one night. Peter is a HUGE donator. Wants to see every flop and stays in the hand if he hits anything at all and some times doesn't even need that. Peter is in a wheelchair and really crippled up. He is from Scotland and having the trip of his life. God I wanted to be the one he gave his money to but just couldn't get any cards!!! Peter was a nice guy and made sure to tip all the dealers $20 since it was his last night there before he was heading back to Scotland.

From Sunday to Thursday I didn't see Aces in the hole at all. Late Thursday night I see it three times and they hold up, sort of. One hand I see Aces and of course raise preflop and get six people to go along even with another guy reraising me and me capping. Flop comes Ace Queen Rag. Re-raiser checks and everyone else checks including me figuring I am golden and want to make some money on this hand. Turn comes another rag and PFR bets out, a couple of calls I raise, could more cold calls, he reraises me callers still call and I reraise and cap. I am wondering if I stumbled into something crazy but can't see anything beating me. I figure he has a set of queens or Ace King and we might have another smaller set that hit one of the rags. I was golden. River comes some other rag and PFR checks. I bet get a couple of calls and PFR check raises me! I wonder if I am tired and missing something. I do not see any flush or straight possibilities out there, no pair on the board, WTF! So, I just call him. He turns over, yep, you guessed it Aces in the hole and he is feeling pretty good about it. It's been a fun table, lot's of drinking and laughing and so I figure I'll be a dick and roll my eyes and say "nice hand, but it would be even nicer if I didn't have the same darn thing" and roll my aces over. Everyone laughs and he wants to spin the wheel but we only both 1/2 lost.

OK, now the sick story. It was on the same night I get aces tied with aces but before that happened. I was really card dead. Folding relentlessly, huge donator at the table(Peter in the wheelchair) and I can't get anything going. I finally decide it's time for a short break and I get up to take a quick walk. Take a lap around the rest of the casino and debate on taking a piss or not and decide I had better go. So, I go and on the way back from the bathroom I see the whole table I am at jump up and start clapping and cheering! WTF! I get back and look to see that one gal had Aces full of Queens beaten by a Royal Flush!! Can you say Bad Beat Jackpot! Great, only thing is I am not at the table when it is dealt so no table share for ME!!! Thank god it was only a $2200 jackpot so I only missed out on a little over $100. Had to wait forever for the hand to be confirmed and the Casino manager to come over and sign off on it. Best part was that after this the whole table loosened up even more since they had an influx of free money!!

Played for a couple of hours Friday morning at the MGM and had exactly one hand worth playing in two hours there. That got me up a whopping $4 so I took it and ran to the airport.

Sorry no good stories about hookers, strippers, blow or anything mildly naughty. I think I saw the outside world about an hour the whole time I was there.