Vegas Trip Report - Imperial Palace & Bally's

[KipBond]

4/24 - 4/28

Hotel Stay: Imperial Palace

Used the "Casino Gold" package: Deluxe room, $65/weekday, $85/weekend. Several "freebies" we used (Car show, $5 BlackJack match-play, coupons). Reservations made 3.5 months in advance; the deal was not available 1 week later.

The room was OK -- Motel 6 quality. Not very many amenities: no safe, no fridge, very small TV, no wired internet (wireless available for $10/day). It's at the very center of the strip, and is about the cheapest you can get; so if a no-frills, center-strip, cheap place to sleep/shower is what you want, Imperial Palace is a good choice.

Casino / Poker:

Imperial Palace: Dark, dingy, smokey -- the worst casino I've seen on the strip. I played a $50 tourney & $1/$2 NL. The competition was very weak. The dealers were horrible. There was 1 good dealer in the tourney, and 1 good on in the cash game I played. No auto-shufflers either. I left after the slowest dealer I've ever seen, made his 5th mistake in a 10 minute period, and called the floor over to figure out how to fix the fact that he showed the turn card when there was 2 people still left to act. I was up $150 at the time (3 hours of play), but was tired and getting frustrated by some of the worst dealing I've ever seen.

Paris: No $1/$2 NL game being played - 5 people on waiting list - went to Bally's instead.

Bally's: Played 2 sessions: 3-hour & 9-hour. I lost $150 to a maniac the 3-hour session. Was up $420 in the 9-hour session. Better players than IP, but still mostly soft. Very good dealers, auto-shufflers. I made 3 huge donk mistakes at Bally's that I'll never forget; cost me about $400 in profit.

I would have played more poker, but I was with a group that didn't play, so I split my time between poker & group activities.

Show: "O" - Cirque du Soleil --
Very cool. I had seen "Ka" before, and liked it a bit better than "O", but both are amazing. Don't sit in the front rows, or the center left (as looking toward the stage) unless you want to get a bit wet.

[KipBond]

One thing I noticed is that the players wearing sunglasses were almost always the worst. Small sample size, I know, but I'll try to keep watching to see if this is the norm.

[elitegimp]

[ QUOTE ]


I made 3 huge donk mistakes at Bally's that I'll never forget; cost me about $400 in profit.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't just gloss over that... give us some details!

[Keys Myaths]

If Michael is still at the IP, he's one of the best dealers in Vegas. Tip him well, and you won't regret it.

The IP is the place to go after 1:00 AM. Easiest money in the world.

[JoEyPeNeLoPe]

good read

[otter]

I hope more people think this way. It will help me!

[hime]

Sunglasses make me laugh, but then I play limit.

[raisydaisy]

[ QUOTE ]
One thing I noticed is that the players wearing sunglasses were almost always the worst. Small sample size, I know, but I'll try to keep watching to see if this is the norm.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, I plan on wearing sun glasses and having my headphones on (no music). Want to try to look like the biggest fish in town so that people call me down with crap.

Any tips?

[bav]

Find an empty 3' long frozen drink container (the sort they sell at Carnival court). Fill it about half full with tea or water or whatever. Put on the ball cap pulled low, ipod, hoodie, and shades. Head to nearest poker room and act stupidly drunk and play a few hands to encourage that viewpoint. Profit.

[Javanewt]

What happened at Bally's?

Too bad about IP. I loved it, but I'm a hole-in-the-wall kind of gal. I thought the dealers were friendly and fun, and I didn't notice their being too slow or making any mistakes. Must have been timing. Didn't find a 1/2NL going there often enough, though.