Rageotones takes Vegas by storm...(1/4-1/7 TR)

[rageotones]

i plan on making this pretty long, but i'll separate it out for you guys. if you don't like the first part, stop reading....or keep reading and bitch about it.

part 1 cliff's notes below
so it all starts with a letter from harrah's telling me i've been invited to their 75k freeroll that starts on friday 1/5. i guess they sent these to 1 gazillion people, b/c i'm not a high roller by any means. i don't have a lot of cash to spare right now, but i'm not giving up a free shot at 30k(first prize) and a free room in vegas for the weekend, so i immediately book a spot at bally's and get a plane ticket. i ask my parents for a ticket for Christmas, and they say ok, so i'm in for a totally free trip to vegas. ship it.

i only have a few friends who like to gamble, but none of them seem interested in going this particular weekend. oh well, i have no problem spending a weekend in vegas solo. also, i have one buddy who is going to be there that weekend for work, so i'll have someone to go out with at night. that works for me.

fasforward to thursday 1/4. i'm not really getting a lot of work done since i'm leaving work at noon. i have about $500 in my pocket, and my plane leaves at 4 from DFW, so i'm pretty much just thinking about how i'm going to lose my money in vegas this time.

i head home at noon, go to get a haircut, then come back home and start packing(i don't like to do anything before it absolutely has to be done). against my better judgement, i figure i'll save a few $$ on parking, so i have someone coming to take me to the airport around 1:30 or so. i'll spend no money on parking this trip...great decision for me.

i get to the airport with plenty of time to spare. i check in at the little computer for american, and it asks if i want to spend $135 to upgrade to firt class one way. hmmm, my trip was totally free....yep, i think i'll do it. this will be my one time to feel like a balla on the trip before i get to vegas where the real ballas roll.

we start to board, and i take my seat in first class(FC). i make sure to get an isle seat, since i have to piss a lot when i drink, and definitely plan on taking advantage of the drinks on the way to vegas(it's about 2:45 to vegas from dallas fyi). after everyone is on board, i get a crown and coke from the flight attendent(FA) and decide i'm really going to like this FC thing.

i learned one very important thing about flying on this trip. the whole "make sure your seats are in the upright position" thing is total b.s. my seat was leaned back the entire trip from boarding to deboarding, and they didn't say anything about it. i guess just one more way that they screw the non-FC passengers(which is usually me, since this is the first time i've flown FC). i finish drink 1 while we taxi to the runway, and we're off to vegas.

we get in the air, and i decide that scotch will be the way to go from here on out. i order a glenlivit, and start chatting it up with the guy next to me for a minute or two before he goes to his cd-player, and i go to my dvd player for some Thank You for Smoking action. a great way to start the trip.

not too long goes by before they bring by the food for us FC folk. i go with the veggie pizza, salad, and this little thing of brie and crackers. as the FA is pouring my chardonay, i ask for another scotch. she obliges, and i dig into my food. it was actually really good, but much better considering that i had already felt a little bit warmer than usual from the first two drinks.

i finish up everything, get one more scotch, and finish up my movie. i start listening to my mp3 player for a short while before i can feel my ears starting to tell me that we're beginning our decent into fabulous LV. i start talking to the guy next to me some more about poker and what not (he told me earlier that he played poker in puerto rico...where he's from). he's just a casual player, but enjoys the game. we then start talking a little about work, and i come to find out that he's some sort of badass(BA) originally from Trinidad and Tobago. we exchange cards, and decide to share a cab to the strip. i hear the FA tell a guy in front of me to be sure to finish quickly as she's handing him one last drink. hmmmm... i immediately get her attention, ask for one more crown and coke, and suck it down before we get ready for landing.

after getting our luggage, we take a cab that stops first at his hotel. he hands me a 20, and i try to give him change, but he refuses. really nice guy, and i tell him i'll e-mail him sometime and let him know how the poker trip went. ship it...almost free cab to the hotel.

i finally get to bally's, and go to check in. a cute girl(7) helps me get checked in. i ask if i can switch to one king bed instead of two queens since no one ended up coming with me for the trip. she says that she can do 1 queen in the north tower which is nicer, and i say ok. i drop her a 5 after it's all done, say thank you, and head to my room.

the room is really nice. has the little vanity mirror place with a chair by the bathroom. has 1 queen bed, and the rest of the room has a sofa, a little coffee table. then it has a full dining room table with chairs. one more nice chair, and 2 more dining room style chair. it's probably 40% bigger than a regular room, plus only has 1 bed making it feel 100% bigger than a normal room. this is going to be nice.

i just drop my stuff off because i have to get over to harrah's to register for their freeroll.

cliff's notes
take first class to vegas, get drunk on the plane, meet an important guy from puerto rico, and get upgraded to a nicer room at bally's

going to get some food...more to come on my first drunken night later on.

after preview...it looks like this might end up being the longest trip report ever. i guess it'll make up for me not writing one last time.

[rageotones]

these take a little while. is anyone interested in me continuing?

[steamboatin]

keep it coming

[teamjcfl]

if you are gonna be a balla, understand that f/c doesn't need to put their seats in the upright position cuz the guy behind you can get out if he needs to without the seat upright...

[rageotones]

part 2

i head over to harrah's, which is only a mildly annoying walk from ballys. it's kind of cold outside, but i'm doing pretty good from my 5 or 6 drinks on the plane.

i do all that i can to avoid stopping along the way to gamble(i think i might have been asian in my former life. as of this life, i'm 24 y/o, 1/4 mexican and the rest some mixture of whities, and on my 5th trip to vegas).

...and then i see it....that siren that is o'sheas. o'sheas is my first love since i've been coming to vegas. my first trip, the day i turned 21, i enjoyed this place b/c you could gamble for relatively cheap. i think it's the only place that i've ever had a good run at craps in vegas. i stroll in, but come to find out that most of the tables are 10 and up. i finally see a $5 bj table, but i'm too impatient to wait on a seat, or to squish in between 2 rather large people. i only have about 15 mins to make it to harrah's to register, so i just head over there.

i get up to registration and see a huge gathering of people. there are free drink places set up, a buffet, and a huge line of people waiting to register. i'm surprised at how nice harrah's has made this thing. i register and find out that i'm not playing until the 4 o'clock round the next day; this makes me pretty happy. i decide that it'd be kind of smart to just get water this go 'round(maybe the last good decision i make this night), grab a couple of egg rolls, and finally feel the itch hit me. i decide i need to find the fastest way to get into a poker game.

i head downstairs to harrah's poker room, and the place is packed. virtually every table in the room is going (maybe 15 or so), and there is a decent wait. screw that. there are 100's of games running all over this town, and i'm not about to wait so that i can play at harrah's.

moving along, the next place i see is imperial palace(IP). i played there once a few trips back and swore i'd never play there again(this was back when it was upstairs). it was just kind of this depressing place, and i decided that i just didn't get a good vibe from this room. oh well, i really want to play, and any room will do at this point.

i see that they have their new room in a lot better spot, but only have 2 or 3 tables running. i ask if i can get into a 1/2 game, and the guy tells me that they'll put me on a list and see if they can't get another game rolling. i tell him i'm going to go over to the craps table for a few minutes while i wait.

i get to the craps table and drop a quick 40. i want to say that i had 200 in cash on me along with 2 $50 gift traveler check things to start the night. nothing interested happens at craps. pass line with double odds, placing the 6 and 8 for $6, yadda yadda.

i go back to the IP "poker room" (i.e. roped off section of casino floor), and see that my name has not moved up the list. i again decide that i'm not waiting to play somewhere that isn't even that nice or special, and move on to the next stop.

...coming up in part 3...caesar's palace and late night bally's action.

[rageotones]

[ QUOTE ]
if you are gonna be a balla, understand that f/c doesn't need to put their seats in the upright position cuz the guy behind you can get out if he needs to without the seat upright...

[/ QUOTE ]

a. i'll probably never be a huge balla
b. i never thought of that...it makes sense
c. nice 1st post

[pig4bill]

That get-your-drink-at-the-gate thing is one of the best things about FC. The schmoes in coach have to wait 20 minutes until they get up to altitude.

Man, stopping at IP when Venetian is only a couple hundred feet away had to be a bad call.

[surfinillini]

lets get to the meat and potatoes already

[rageotones]

[ QUOTE ]
Man, stopping at IP when Venetian is only a couple hundred feet away had to be a bad call.

[/ QUOTE ]

true, but i wanted to go back towards bally's knowing i could just play where i was staying. i dunno, i was approaching drunkenness at this poing...starting part 3 now...

[rageotones]

part 3

so i leave IP and head across the street to caesar's(CP). i get into the poker room and the room is crazy busy. last time i was in vegas was early during the series '06, and it wasn't nearly as busy. i just want to mess around a little since i'm not really rolled for anything bigger than really small games, so i ask to play 3/6 or 1/2 nl. i buy in for my remaining cash which was about 160 i believe, and get into a game.

i order a drink, and everything starts to get fuzzy. after a few hands, a knew kid sits in the 2 seat(i'm in the 1). he gives the chip runner 100, and gets in the game. after about 5 minutes, he still hasn't gotten his chips which is kind of odd. it starts to be kind of a big deal, and he asks the chip runner(CR) what's going on. this is all annoying me b/c i just want to play, and it is really really slowing down the game. he keeps talking to people while his hand is just sitting there, and although i understand he wants to get his money, let us play while you work that [censored] out with them. anyway, they say they're going to have to review the tape (i've never seen an issue like this), to see who she gave the money to. the kid is taking it quite well, but just wants to get his money obviously, and the girl/CR is getting all freaked out b/c it is "the first time anything like this has happened to her." she's about a 68 in my book fyi.

minor note. my girl rating system consits of ## which gives a rating for face/body. therefore this girl was a 6 in the face and an 8 for the body.

anyway, while they're trying to figure out what's going on from the tape, the kid kind of yells something to his friend about how he'd better not have the money or he'll kick his ass...jokingly obviously. about 10 minutes go by, and all of a sudden the CR is like OH YEAH, i gave the chips to that guy, and he never gave me his money. turns out it WAS his friend, and she accidentally gave the chips to the friend without getting the cash b/c she was doing too many things at once.

wow, i thought this is a pretty douche move. you obviously know if a CR hands you a stack of red, and you didn't give them anything, that it's going to be a problem eventuatlly. oh well. everything gets going, and now i can easily donk off my money as quickly as possible.

the kid registers for the 11pm tourney, and it's about 9 at this point. i say i'll play if i have money by then. i don't really remember any hands until i'm down to about 70.

i open to 8 in ep with A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (i've moved to the 4 seat). there's 1 caller, and it folds to the kid in the BB. he decides to raise to 20. i'm pretty confident that he's doing this with a marginal hand like AJ or 9's, and decide i should try and get my money in so i can get a decent stack to play with. i reraise all in to 68, and the first caller starts thinking. he thinks long enough that i'm not at all worried about a hand like AA, KK, or AK, and he eventually calls. the kid folds and says he had AT. the caller shows....

AKo....hold on one sec. let me reach into my pocket and make sure my luckbox is turned on...check

flop comes KJT, and i hit broadway. turn is obviously another K so i have to sweat it out, but the river blanks, and i have my first suckout of the trip. i feel kind of bad, and now this guy is like the only guy at the table that's not having fun w/me and laughing and drinking and what not.

another hand i remember is a little after the guy in the 5 seat had showed me his cards after a flop of 75o and says, "i guess i should start playing a little looser" before folding.

after a flop of T73 (i'm not in the hand) the 5 seat guy min-check raises with 3 in the hand. one guy calls, and one folds. the turn is a blank, and the 5 seat bets out. after one guy folds and says something like, "i guess you hit your set" the 5 seat is about to muck his cards. then i chime in with "yeah right, he had T7" and the 5 seat starts laughing. he then turns over the T7 and rakes the pot.

another hand comes along later with a 885 flop all hearts. i don't remember the action exactly, but i think it checked around. a K comes on the turn, and someone bets, and there are 2 callers. the river brings the Q hearts, and the 5 seat bets out on the K88Q5 4-heart board. the 6 seat puts on a bad acting job, even almost mucking his hand, then raises 100. the 7 seat thinks for a while and calls, and then the 5 calls.

seat 5 has K8, 6 has QQ, and 7 has the A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. wow, that's a bummer.

a few hands later, i have a big A...don't remember exactly, and i flop top pair after raising pre-flop with 2 hearts on board. i bet out 30 into a 35 pot, and get one caller (the guy who put on the bad act with QQ). turn pairs the low card on the board, and i check OOP. guy checks behind. the river comes the 3rd heart, and i check. guy bets 50, and i make a bad call. he shows Q3 hearts, and i have 11 left in front of me. i leave a $1 to save my seat, and go to cash my $100 in travelers checks.

after i get my money, i drop a 20 in a nickel slop machine. i figure if i'm going to tilt off some money, it should be as cheap as possible. i play for about 5 minutes, and end up hitting 100 credits. i cash out with my $19 win or whatever, and head back to my seat.

at this point, it's about 10:15 or so, and the tourney starts in 45 mins. i make back about 50 before signing up for the tourney, and take my seat.

i'm basically drunk at this point. the 11 o'clock starts with 2500 or 3000 chips, with 30-min levels. i donk off a few chips before the first hand comes up that i remember.

a note...2 locals sit next to me...a guy in the 5 seat, i'm in the 6, and a chick in the 7. the chick is a 78 or so, and she hits my leg or something on accident. i make a comment about her playing footsies with me, and i don't even know her, and get absolutely nothing. strike one.

in the hand, i have KTo in the SB. 4 or 5 people limp, i complete, and the chick checks her BB. flop comes T45 i beleive, and i check planning on raising if the right person raises. it checks to the button who bets t100 (blinds were 25/50), i raise to t400, and the chick raises it to t1000. uh oh. i'm kind of worried about the check raise raise or whatever. it's intimidating b/c i don't even know what that moves called. it folds around to the button who folds. i think for a minute b/c i only have 3 chips left, 1 1000, a 500, and a 25. as i'm fiddling with my chips for a second contemplating if i should just get it all in here, i accidentally drop the 1k chip and it rolls over the line. i grab it really fast, and luckily the dealer isn't a douche b/c i obviously didn't meant to call. i then show my T, say "i guess you have this beat", and fold. the button says, hell, i had that beat, and says he had JJ. thanks for not raising your J's in a pot with 4 limpers on the button so i can waste 425 chips.

it's at this point that i realize that the 5 seat and the 7 seat are a couple. hmmm, nice job using a bad line on this chick when her boyfriend is on my right.

another hand comes up when i have T8 in the SB. i think the blinds were 50/100, and i complete. flop comes 678 rainbow, and i go all in for my last 1300 or so. the chick goes into the tank, and finally calls having me covered by 100. the guy behind folds, only b/c she called, and she shows 75. she doesn't improve, and i double up. turns out that the guy behind folded T8 also, but luckily, i don't have to split the pot.

for the record, i'm drinking newcastles like they're water at this point, and everyone at the table is having a good time. some guys even start drinking newcastle with me even though they said they weren't drinking earlier b/c they can tell that beer makes life more entertaining.

another hand comes up when i have 33. i limp in LP and the flop comes 659 with 2 clubs. it checks around, and the turn is a 2. an old guy in the 9 seat bets out a decent amount, and i call b/c i put the guy on trying to take the pot with air, plus i have a gutshot draw. i'll reevaluate on the river. the river brings my 4, and the guy opens all-in. i insta-call, and he shows A-high with the missed flush draw, and i have hime covered. i finally have a decent amount of chips at about 6k, and we go on break.


speaking of breaks...i'll be back shortly with the conclusion of the tourney.