My goal on this trip was to play in as many tournaments as possible, while leaving time for cash games and other Vegas diversions.

Some of the best tourneys are downtown at Binions and off the strip at the Orleans; most of the tournaments at the casinos on the strip tend to be rather small, with rapidly increasing blinds; I prefer tournaments that can accomodate larger fields and allow some room to play before the blinds get too big.

I opted for a rental car to increase my mobility even though I was staying mid-strip at the Flamingo. Rental car rates are usually quite low in Vegas, so I highly recommend getting one.

Arrived on Wednesday morning, immediately headed downtown to enter the 2:00 p.m. tourney at Binions ($110 including 1 rebuy). Never really got anything going, hung around for a while, finished 20th out of 58. That night I took the monorail to MGM, won $268 at 1/2 NL. I like the set up at MGM, if you can stand the noise. Also had winning sessions at blackjack and craps, so the first day was a big success.

Played more 1/2 NL at the Imperial Palace during the day on Thursday, won over $300! The IP is a good place to start if you are new to NL cash games - the max buy-in is only $100, the quality of play is usually not very good, and they offer a generous $3/hour in comps. Don't get upset when a bad player sucks out against you, be patient and you will win your money back and then some. Use the comp dollars at the buffet if you dare.

Tournament #2 was Omaha H/L at the Orleans on Thursday evening - I did ok, but finished well out of the money, about 27th out of 82. Came back on Friday at noon for another Omaha H/L event, did even worse: 55th out of 60. So much for living up to my nickname. The Orleans does a good job running their tournaments, and it is the only place I know that offers tourneys for games other that NL Hold'em (although they also have NL tourneys, check their website for the schedule).

Went back to blackjack, won about $800 at three different locations.

Friday night was my first visit to the Sahara, to try the 11:00 p.m. tourney. Be warned, tourneys here are much more chaotic and crowded than at the other places I have played - they crammed 12 people to each table at the start, and not surprisingly there are more than a few drunks on a Friday evening. Still, the entry fee is low, the casino is easy to get to on the monorail, and I don't know of any other good evening tourney options (although Binions has a 2:00 A.M. event for the true night owls). The 11:00 p.m. Sahara event had 110 players. I did ok for a while, but I hit a bad patch of cards, and eventually had to gamble - I finished in about 27th place.

Went back downtown to Binions on Saturday, they had more entries at 2:00 p.m. this time (117). Took a bad beat with QQ and finished in around 60th place.

Another cash game session at the IP, not as profitable this time, but still +$30.

Sixth and final tournament was at the Sahara on Sunday night - I finally got some cards early this time, and built up a nice stack. Got bounced out in 30th place when I called a big stack's all-in raise with KK and his AK hit the Ace he needed.

Had to leave Vegas on Monday, I'll be back as soon as I can.

Overall tally: dropped over $500 in 6 tournaments, but more than made up for that with nice wins at blackjack, craps, and cash games.

Despite the results from this trip, I still prefer tournaments to cash games, I just find them to be more fun. One first place finish will make up for a lot of losses. Maybe next trip.