I headed to Vegas for a conference May 21 – 25, with plans to play poker each night. My goal was to play in 10 different rooms, including 2 Downtown, in order to try as many rooms as possible and to add to my chip collection. I didn’t reach my goal, but did play in 7 rooms, visited 4 other rooms, and watched the WPT Mirage final table. My final result after about 18 hours of play was -$60 – I was up over $200 midway through Night Two, then started my slow decent.

All of my play was at either 2/4 or 3/6 Limit.

Monday Night
I first played at Excalibur, sitting down at a 2/4 table. The table was tighter than I expected, except for an elderly handicapped man (EHM) sitting next to me who played nearly every hand to the river and only bet if he had something. I was seated to his right. He could barely push his chips into the pot, and had to awkwardly hold up his cards to see them – of course I never looked at them but I’m sure some people take advantage. And still, I couldn’t beat this guy.

I only played for about an hour since the table started breaking, losing $27. On my final hand (only 5 players remained) I was dealt K8 and I limp in (I only played it because it was my final hand). Flop was K93, I bet, EHM calls. Turn is a 7 – check (I don’t remember if I checked or bet), check. Ace on the river – I check, he bet, I called and knew what was coming as he flips A2 for the win.

Next I went next door to the Luxor to try their cheap No-Limit. There were only a couple tables going – room was dead. Floor was very unfriendly, but I got seated quickly at a table with only 4 other players. I had no interest in playing short-handed, and the other table was breaking (with no one coming to our table), so I left without playing a hand.

My final room for the night was MGM. Fantastic room – good size, very friendly and competent staff, excellent dealers, friendly players, lots of tables at various limits (both Limit and No-limit). I was seated quickly at a fairly loose 3/6 table. I was card-dead and only won 3 hands in 3+ hours, but still finished +$64.

Hand 1 – dealt 66, I call the $3, two raises after me and about 8 callers so I call. Flop is A63, one bet and I call. Turn junk, one bet, I raise, 2 callers. River junk, and I win a decent pot.
Hand 2 – TJd – flop 89Q rainbox, bet and raise in front of me and I call. Turn junk, check, I bet, raise, I reraise. 3 players see the river – more junk (I have the nuts), I bet, 2 players call
Hand 3 – I’m just waiting for my BB so I can leave when I’m dealt my least-favorite hand – Kjoff. I play it anyways with plans to fold quickly if things get ugly. Flop KQ3 with 2 hearts – I bet and get 4 callers. Turn junk, I bet, 3 callers. River brings the 3rd heart, it’s checked around, and my Kings hold up.

Tuesday Night
I first went to Paris (around 8:00) and it was dead – only 1 table of short-handed 1/2 NL so I left and went next door to Ballys.

I liked Ballys. The room itself is okay – small and not separated from the rest of the casino so noisy and smoky. However, the players were very friendly, good dealers, and excellent staff. Drink service was decent, although I think the waitress has been there Bally’s opened (and was old then) They had 2 tables of NL and 1 of 3/6. Shortly after I got on the list they started a second 3/6 table.

The game went well. I actually got some cards, the cards often hit or held up, and I won some money. Mostly friendly table too, and pretty lousy players. I had to adjust to the play -- players staying to the river with complete junk. I loosened up my requirements considerably, playing a lot more hands (but not going crazy) and staying to the turn or river with more marginal hands. A couple memorable hands: got pocket Aces for the first time this trip; raise preflop, 5 callers (uh-oh); flop T and 2 low cards, I bet and 3 players call; turn T, and a guy in early position suddenly starts betting -- bigger uh-oh but I’m too stubborn to fold pocket Aces at this point, so I call; river another junk card and it turns out the other guy was bluffing, so my Aces win unimproved.

Other memorable hand I had something like A7, with about 8 players in the pot. An Ace came either on the flop or turn, but a second Ten came on the river. It was just me and the lady next to me (really nice, older Eastern European woman who lost a few hundred while I was there). She bets, I say "This is a gift" and call. She looks at me and says "What you mean gift, I have nothing" and my Aces win.

Cashed out after about 3 hours up $173

After leaving Bally’s I went to Caesar’s and Bellagio but both had long waits. I headed back to Planet Hollywood to get some sleep, but instead ended up sitting at a 2/4 table in their poker room.

I hated this room – pretty room, nice tables and chairs, but not much action, no Shufflemasters, mediocre dealers and rude staff. They just had one 1/2 NL table and 1 short-handed 2/4 table going. I played for 1 ½ hours and did not win a single hand, losing $100. At one point two extremely drunk guys sat down – they played nearly every hand, usually to the river, threw lots of chips around, and basically were just having fun. They quickly contributed over $200 to the table, but of course I got none of it.

I also played with one interesting person – I’ll call him Pat. Pat was very friendly but took the game way too seriously – correcting players action, calling hands, showing off his knowledge of hand names and “famous” players, and talking about how he’s only there long enough to win enough money to go to the No-Limit table. Anyway, after a while Pat changed positions and I noticed he had boobs. So then I tried to figure out if this was a man or woman – deep voice, male and female features, and boobs. Pat was wearing tight pants so I waited for the right opportunity and took a peek – no bulge! To this day, I still have no idea if Pat was male, female, or some combination of both.

Wednesday Night
I began Wednesday night by heading to the Mirage to watch some of the final table of the WPT Mirage tournament. They were down to 3 players when I arrived; I watched for about 90 minutes until they got down to the final two. Also got my picture taken with Mike Sexton.

I then headed to the Mirage poker room, where I played the rest of the night. This was a great room – very good location, big, had 20+ tables going Wednesday night, with a wide variety of games. Comfortable chairs – heavy pad, wheels, rotated, could move up and down. These were my favorite tables also – heavy pad on the rail and nice felt – cards slide great and the felt was flat all the way to the edge of the table so chips stacked well. Excellent dealers, probably the best of the week for me – very friendly and very efficient. Players were also friendly, and played bad but not terrible. My only complaint was terrible drink service – our table saw the waitress twice in 4+ hours even after having the floor call them; waitresses were also rude.

No really notable hands. Got AA for the second time this trip, and for the second time they held up unimproved. Got 92s in the big blind, hit the flush on the turn, and won a decent pot when the other guy raised when he hit his straight on the river (he didn't see the flush). Got 46o in the big blind, flop 443, won a decent pot.

Thursday Night
I first played at Imperial Palace for about an hour. The casino is old and dark, but I liked it. It’s nice seeing some “old” Vegas once-in-a-while and not just the new, fancy, expensive casinos. The poker room is okay but nothing special. Players weren’t as friendly as other rooms and seemed bored to be there. There are no Shufflemasters, and the dealers are okay but got nearly as good as some other rooms.

My big complaint is the tables – they’re HUGE. I felt like I was playing around a ping-pong table. It was nice having a lot of space (I counted and 14 players could sit around the table), but hard to see the cards and other players. I was seated at the end of the table, but moved across from the dealer when a seat opened just so I could see.

I had an awful run of cards -- I think I was dealt 8-2 or 7-3 every hand), and lost about $30 after an hour.

I then headed to the Flamingo, where I played until 4 a.m., most of that time with the same 4 players at the table. The guy next to me had gotten into Vegas that morning and hadn’t left his seat at the table since then. They had 2 tables of 2/4 and several 1/2 NL tables. The floor and dealers were all very good. The room is next to the main casino floor but separated by a half-wall.

The players were very friendly and very bad. I was up and down all night, but finished down about $70 after getting rivered several hands in a row (by the same player).

So to sum everything up – I played at 7 different rooms over 4 nights, lost $60, and had a lot of fun. MGM was definitely the best room, followed by Bally’s, Mirage, and Flamingo. I wouldn’t return to Imperial Palace, Planet Hollywood, or Excalibur. And the most amazing part – I got dealt AA twice and KK twice, and they held up all 4 times! Three of those times unimproved.