Vegas trip report (very low poker content) (Long)

[Jimbo]

Flew out Saturday morning and arrived right on time, I love Southwest, the modern day bus. On short stays I never check a bag so once I hit the offramp I am ready to go straight to the casino.

My concise timing and plans began to unravel quite soon after landing. The MGM always sends a Limo to meet me and the process is normally seemless. I walk to the baggage area, there is a greeter with a name placard, they take me downstairs to the limo and I'm at the hotel/casino in less than half an hour after I land.

This time no MGM greeter, no placard with my name, no sign that this is changing very soon so I dial casino marketing who transfers me to the airport contact. I describe exactly where I am standing, if I had been a threat to national security Jack Baur could have easily nailed me in under two seconds. However the greeter was no Jack Baur, she was in fact far better suited to be a cast member of LOST!

I spent an hour wandering around the frigging baggage carousel and the giant Rolex clock in the sky doing my own version of CTU recon. I would fit right in with the hobbit who lost his secure CTU passcard, I couldn't have found a pile of uranium with a geiger counter and a map. Finally to spare you any more agony I found a greeter with an MGM placard, the name was like the book author of "Spots on the Wall". You old timers will understand. Turns out she had my name earlier but gave up the search. At any rate we found the Limo driver and I made it to my hotel, only an hour late. Heh, at least it was one less hour on the craps tables, yes I am a -EV gambler, get over it.

After I'm settled into my room I head down to the poker room hoping to find some random 2+2r's. I don't have a lot of time because I'm interested in purchasing a condo in town and have an appointment with a realtor. Man are the new ones frigging expensive!

Back to the MGM poker room, I start walking around looking for Michigan or Illini hats, no dice. I looked at every guy with a hat on in the entire room and it was packed. Next I walk by several tables trying to cooly offer a SupBro without looking too much like a middle aged donk who misplaced his meds. No positive responses although my greetings got a few smiles, one grimace and a host of deer in the headlight looks. Determined to reassess my plan I ask a brush if I can have someone page for "The Brown Trout", again I appear to have two heads as she backs away slowly without uttering a word.

This is becoming too much like work so I head to the craps pit where I know I'll be welcome, at least my cash will be welcomed. I've only got an hour left before my appointment so I ask for my marker and bet it up pretty high, across working on the first comeout roll, gotta keep the rating up there. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] In that hour I start off in a deep hole with three cold shooters in a row, the next shooter is a hot drunk brunette (I love to bet on drunks shooting craps, especially at one in the afternoon). Praise be to the gambling Gods, she rolls for 15 minutes and gets me a dime winner. Thank-you boys, got an important meeting, see you in a few hours. I toss a green chip to the boxman, settle my marler, color-up and head to the hotel entrance.

I'll leave out the boring details of riding around Vegas for three hours looking at overpriced high rise condos, most of which aren't even completely built yet. At any rate all that is going through my head is why didn't I do this twenty years ago instead of at the peak of the real estate boom? Lol

I get back to the hotel in time to cleanup and prepare for an early dinner at Sea Blue. The soup was very good , the Lobster average but the sides of white truffle potatoes and asparagras were great. All in all an Ok dinner since it was free but nothing to write home about, scatch this one off your list if you are a seafood lover.

By now my host is on duty and tells me I can have tickets to the Stones if I still want to attend. Never thought I would turn down this offer but after reading the other thread about how they no longer appear at their best added to the fact that my stomach was a bit upset I passed and went to my room for a dose of Pepto Bismol. After watching some college ball I began to feel better and headed back down to the casino floor. Stoppped by the sportsbook and it was jam packed, still nothing compared to the March Madness fast approaching. I stroll through the poker room and get on a couple of N/L holdem lists. I do like the state of the art seating monitors, very good for business in my opinion.

A seat opens up about the same time as I am preparing to head back to the craps pit. Nothing eventful in the 1/2 N/L, I end up seeing a cheap flop or two with baby pairs and watching nothing but aces and paint flop, pot bet to me fold my underpairs and watch one pot after another head to everyone but me. After folding for three more orbits I finally have what now looks like a monster hand, KQ suited on the button, One MP limper to me and by this time in the game I'd be happy to just steal this baby pot and break my cherry so I make it thirty to go, vastly overbetting the meager pot., the SB folds as my evil plan now has a 33% chance to succeed. The BB thinks for a long time lays his hand down, two down, one to go. The MP limper bets enough to set me all-in, what little I have left isn't worth folding getting good pot odds so naturally I call. He flips over aces, one of my suit and his hand is GOOT! I offer my sincere NH and race out of the poker room preferring to beat my head against the wall so that at least it will cease hurting when I stop.

I play some more craps till about midnight and happily head to bed with a Jack and Seven in one hand and four grand in chips in my other. WOOHOO! A very good first day in Vegas after all!

I have a habit of rarely counting my chips while in action but afterwards I feel compelled to play with them in my room. I get comfortable, take a tab of Lunesta fallling off to sleep while doing my few one handed chip tricks.

Before I nod off I order my breakfast and a wakeup call for 7:00AM. Being single having a hot fresh breakfast delivered to me is one of lifes little pleasures I treasure highly. Freshly brewed coffee, watermelon juice, eggs so runny they mix well with my hash browns and the remainder soaks up nicely with wheat toast. Ahhhh, what a way to begin my final day in town of a very short trip. A perfect breakfast with no clean up required.

Naturally I can't wait to get back in action so I'm back at the crap table by 9:30. Well on the first roll I lose $295 with a seven, the next roll ( I bet the pass line for a quarter and $320 across working again ) another seven settles after hoping on the wood, crashing on a stack of chips and spinng to a halt. Now I have never seen a no-smoking craps table in my life. I had walked up to the table with a lit cigaratte but after losing $590 in sixty seconds the stickman kindly informs me I am at the only frigging no smoking craps table within 250 miles. Considering the recent results gladly I move to the next closest table first makeing sure smokers are welcome here. Changing up the rest of my color I spend the next three hours staying at about the same chip count give or take a couple of blacks. Coloring up and heading to the main cage I get my bounty in cold hard cash and am ready for lunch.

As has become my tradition I grab a table at Wolfgang Pucks, order the crabcale apetizer to eat and a reuben sandwich to go. Naturally they don't call it a reuben but they can't fool me, a rose by another other name and all that.

Now it's electronic check-out for me, toss the keys in my room and head to the airport. Feeling pretty good leaving a nice winner on such a short trip I don't mind too much the thousnads of people waiting in line to pass through security. In vegas like everything else, they get people thru that line pretty darn quickly. I do get pissed everytine I am tricked by the snaking line four people deep seperated by velvet ropes to make you think you are looking in that side mirror on the jeep while the T-Rex is chasing the heros in Jurassic Park.

My two highlights of the trip home was first standing at the gate preparing to board and finding myself next to a twenty something fellow wearing a Full Tilt poker T-Shirt. First I offer a SupBro, then a Brown trout question. After a lame attemt at explainng my Tom Foolery I just ask him if he is a poker player. Turns out he is Scotty Nguyens brother in law returning to Tulsa after playing in the heads ups challenge at Caesars. His sister married Scotty eight months or so ago (IIRC) and has been tutoring and backing him in N/L tournaments. Scotty hosts a couple of tourneys a year at the Cherokee Indian casino just outside of Tulsa and I always wonderd why, this conversation solved the mystery. After all we aren't exactly the poker capital of the world here in the Bible Belt. I should get a chance to hang out with him for a little while the last week of March when Scotty returns to host another tourney. He is one of the few pros I really like and find entertaing yet not obnxious.

I am getting tired now so the final highlight will have to wait but for those who suffered through this far I offer my thanks and hope it wasn't too lengthy and boring. I'll be back this Friday and hope to have more time to relax and take in a show.

Jimbo