First Day: First went to Excalibur for some 2/6. It seemed like the table was full of regulars, and it was pretty tight play and got tighter as it went along, which is to be expected during the day. The only thing I really remember was that a dealer told me to stop "exercising" when I was stretching. And he was serious! I was up somewhat at the session.

Next - I saw there was a big line at the Luxor check-in desk, so I killed an hour or two playing 2/4 there. Pretty uneventful hour or two - I lost a little money.

After I checked in and ate dinner, I played at Mandalay Bay 4/8 with 1/2 kill game. I kept hitting cards left and right and had probably my best overall session of the week. I really like the 4/8 with 1/2 kill game rules - it fits my style of play (tight - but aggressive when I need to be and limp when the opportunity is there). I wish the poker room was bigger - it is a nice room with very attractive servers though.

Day 2: First played at the Alladin for some 3/6. I like the room - it really is a nice place to play during the day. The room is nice, bright and clean. The 10 am tourney brings players in, and then the early knock-outs then play the 3/6. There are a couple of regulars there, but plenty of tourists, too. I ended down a few bucks.

I tried to then play at the Bellagio, but at 2:30 in the afternoon the 4/8 game had NINETEEN PEOPLE on the waiting list. No thanks. So, I decided to go to the Imperial Palace instead. One - the cookies are good, just like this site said. Two - the competition is terrible, just like this site said. Three - the comps are $3 an hour, just like this site said. The most memorable player was a 50 to 60 something man with an Irish accent who raised nearly every hand pre-flop. The room is actually pretty clean, so if you are a 2/4 player and you don't need a fancy place to sit in, and you like cookies and comps, this is the place to go. I finished down a couple of bucks.

Then, I went to the MGM Grand. I'm just going to say now that this was my favorite place to play. The room is just breath-taking, with plasma TVs all over the place. And, if you are a cola drinker like me (diet cola for me) - you get FULL glasses, not to those mini-glasses you get at other places. This was my worst session money-wise - I had terrible luck playing 4/8. But, it was exciting - I think one of the players at my table is a young guy who owns 1 or 2 percent of the Wynn Resort.

Day 3: I went back to the Alladin to try the 10am tourney. I'm not much of a tourney player and I didn't last too long. I was all-in short-stacked with an A-3 offsuit, and in against two players, one with a 7-3 offsuit, the other with a 10-3 offsuit (lots of short-stacks at this point, the blinds go up quickly). A 7 came on the turn and I was out. This turned out to the be luckiest break for me all week.

I then went to the 3/6 table. 2nd hand - I got QQ. Two queens on the flop. Yep, I got quad queens, and I got a $110 jackpot! My luck continued for the next two hours and I had my biggest total upward session of the week. Yep - I like this place. :)

After lunch, I went to Bally's to try some 2/4. The players were probably the worst I've seen all week. Lots of 8 and 9 way pots pre-flop. I was sitting next to a nice man who is a Colonel in the Army, and I also sat next to an Air Force cadet who is going to be a fighter pilot. The place is a decent place for 2/4, and was better than my low expectations of the place. I was up a little on this session.

I went back to the MGM Grand that night for 3/6. I got a lot of lousy cards, but I was up a little at the end. The table was a maniac raise-fest for the first 15 minutes, then it settle down a lot after that when the maniacs left. I did splurge on a 10 minute massge for 20 bucks at the table. She was a hottie - so I figured what the heck, right? My back felt better after that - but she didn't bring me any more luck on my cards.

My mistake was then going to the Excalibur again. I had the worst hand of the week here. I got the nut flush on the turn, and I slowplayed it a bit. Unfortunately, my opponent got a two-outer straight flush on the river. I didn't win a hand after that, and I got a little frustrated. Worse, when I was ready to cash out, I got in a argument with the manager when I realized they gave me 95 bucks of $5 chips instead of 100 bucks worth at the start of my session. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until two hours after I receive them, so I was stuck. However, the manager could have handled it much better than he did IMO. Yes, I was upset, but there are many poker places I can play at, and I was not shy in pointing that out to him. It wasn't the 5 bucks that upset me, it was the fact that a) they miscounted the chips and b) the manager didn't make one bit of effort to be accomodating. I understand he can't take my word for it, but I think he could have handled it better, even if I was showing a bit of frustration/anger. Lesson: ALWAYS count your chips before you start.

Day 4: I was lazy and I decided to play at the Luxor. I played both the 2/4 and the 4/8 with 1/2 kill games. The Luxor is a decent but small card room, and the service was good.

Then, I wanted to play at Mandalay Bay, but there was a long wait. This is why I said that the room is too small - there are more people that want to play there than they have room for.

So - I went to the MGM Grand for the 3rd time for some 3/6. I enjoyed this session. It was first a wild-raise fest - then it calmed down, then it heated up again. I enjoyed the people at this table the most throughout the week. The funniest moment to me was when a guy wearing a Fult Tilt Poker hat had KK and he eventually got cracked by a 75 suited. He then told the other guy that he shouldn't be playing this stuff. Then, he went to another table and we all knew he was telling his friend that he had KK and he lost to 75 suited. I just found that funny because we all knew that is what he was saying and I think many of us have said that before either online or at a casino.

That's my trip - 7 places in 4 days - lots of ups and downs, but I definitely enjoyed up. I finished up, too, including 80 bucks that I won playing $5 blackjack at the Tropicana.