While this wasn't the first time I had played in vegas, it was the first time I'd played there legally, the one time on my trip I was asked for ID I proudly presented it to the floor manager.

I got in on a Thursday night, drove up from LA with my dad, and after checking in at the Bellagio headed straight for the poker room and the 2-5 NL game. The room was packed with 30+ tables running (apparently the NASCAR crowd upped the action considerably)... I made a few nice hands, had one gentleman graciously donate $1500 dollars to the game in 1 1/2 hours and finished a 4 hour session up $360...

The next day I decided to play some 8-16 at the Bellagio and found the game to be filled with regulars, but due to some patient play and some blind luck I was up about $400 after only 2 hours of play, I managed to get a $15 dollar comp covering half of dinner at the buffet and took my $400 to the 2-5 NL game afterwards, no luck there, lose an all in on the turn with the nut flush when the board pairs top set into a full house on the river in a 900 dollar pot, no profit for day 2.

Day 3 has me playing at the Wynn for the first time, we had tickets to spamalot (which is actually quite amusing) that night, 3 hours of rather uneventful action at 1-3 NL left me -$48 for the session but got to see a star studded final table bubble at the Wynn classic with Chan, Matusow and Mizrachi making the final table.

I went back to the Wynn on Sunday to play some more 1-3 NL and watch the final table of the Wynn classic, it took me about 45 minutes to get a seat but I ran great the whole way, got AA twice and made 3 full boats against trips and finished up $670 on my $500 buyin.

Monday afternoon I checked out the Caesars tournament, a great structure which allows for a lot of play, unfortunately I was out mid-way through the second hour when my flopped top-two( J-10-2) gets counterfeited by AA when a 2 hits the river and I manage to quickly jump into a 1-3 NL game, I get pegged as a rock early on and start taking down several sizable pots on the river to no showdown and end up $195. I head down to the Wynn to watch the destruction of the Stardust and donate $118 to the 8-16 limit game, well worth it to see the fireworks.

Tuesday I head over to the Mirage for a couple of hours of play before my flight, find a $70 sit and go needing 1 player and immediately jump in. Structure fatally fast however and despite getting up to $1600 early with the blinds at $100-$200 in the big blind with $200 of my $1000 in, it is folded to the blinds, pushed in by the big stack in the SB, I hold A-9, he holds JJ, no help. $1-$2 NL very tight-weak, I win my buy-in from the sit n go back and enough to buy dinner at their brazillian samba restaurant ( I highly recommend trying it if you get a chance)... The only thing I would say bad about there is the sng structure sucks and that the $175 is the only decent SNG, but it doesn't run, the $110 ran once in the 4 hours I was there and that might have some play, I'm not sure...

All in all a great trip, and some great experience for my first week of real immersion into live poker.