Spent a week at the Fairfield Grand Desert (about a block off the strip). My wife was with me from Sat-Wed and my best friend flew in for Wed-Sat.

Sat - arrived in the evening headed up to the Sahara for the 11 pm tournament. As posted here it is probably the best value tournament in LV even if the room is a bit of a hole in the wall. A lot of the players were regulars - seemed to be about half of the field. Got down to final four tables and pushed with 99 with 8 bb's left - called by a4s and turned the ace.

Sun - spent a fair bit of time walking the strip. Played the Caesars noon tournament. Got down to the final two tables. Format of tournament is good but after 5 or 6 levels the blinds get stupid (keep doubling). Pushed with qjs with 77 bb's left and ran into kk. Saw Gordie Brown at the Venetian in the evening - excellent show.

Mon - Took the wife down to O'Sheas early am and played $5 blackjack - her first time playing - had a table to ourselves and it was a blast. Had a mid-day tee time at Red Rock Country Club (Arroyo course) - first time out this year and shot an 85 (good for me I'm normally 90-95)Headed up to MGM and bought in for $100 at 2-4 limit. Will be the last time that I play limit (or at that low stakes anyway). Good game to play if you are already drunk and unfortunately I wasn't. I was playing tight but not getting cards - after a while of seeing people bust high pocket pairs with j2o and the like I started calling with the same type of crap. Played 4 hours and lost $90 but had fun in a nice social game. Had dinner at Craftsteak at MGM - one of our favourite places for steak and a place we go each time we go to Vegas.

Tues - chilled by the pool in the morning. Had lunch at Mon Ami Gabi (outdoor patio restaurant at Paris). Excellent steak sandwich and a good chance to people watch. Saw Danny Gans at Mirage - excellent show - show was comparable to Gordie Brown's. Headed to the Venetian for 1-2 NL - bought in for just over $200. Was pretty card dead. Ended up down about $75 after about 2.5 hours. Was holding my own until I picked up kk raised to $10 two callers, flop 862 rainbow. Bet $20 got one caller. Turn 3, bet $60 got called. River j checked in down - got beat by a guy with 83o. Was a little pissed off to say the least - I know I know you want those kinds of players at the table over time that's how we make money but at the time I was quietly steaming and called it a night after another 15-20 hands.

Wed - spent the morning with my wife playing the slots and then took her to the airport and picked up my friend at the same time. Walked the strip for a bit - checked out the Wynn poker room but didn't play. Visually comparable to the Venetian. Headed up to Sahara for the 7 pm tournament. Same comments above apply - lots of regulars - got down to the final four tables again and forced to push with 6-7 bb with 66 - called by ajo hitting a j turn. I've got to learn how to open up my calling range more quickly - I kind of get lulled into a false sense of security early on because the stacks are decent and blinds low. The effect of doubling blinds once you get around the 2 hour mark in tournaments like this means you can get shortstacked pretty quickly and I don't seem to adjust quickly enough.

Thurs - Watched a little March madness at Caesars sports book and made a couple of wagers. Mid-afternoon round of golf at Painted Desert - shot a 93 and beat my friend so it's all good. Dinner at Craftsteak (again) since my friend wanted to try it. Played 1-2NL at MGM for about 3.5 hours - bought in for $200 cashed out for just over $400. Played solid aggressive poker. No huge hand wins just grinded it up winning $30-40 hands. Set mining seems to be quite profitable in these games - people just can't lay down overpairs (or even top pair top kicker).

Fri - early morning golf at Badlands. Beautiful course but nasty - lost a few balls in the desert. Shot a 102 (almost broke a club or two) and even my friend beat me (which only happens once or twice a year). Dinner at Delmonicos in the Venetian - best meal in Vegas I've ever had. Entered the Venetian $8 pm tournament around $200. Favourite tournament in Vegas by far - blind structure much better than Caesars. In addition, automatic card shufflers at all tables ensures more hands get dealt. Ended up 15th of 90 (top 9 paid). Thought I had a chance to final table. Pushed in late position with 55 with 7bb, called by aqo - both ace and queen hit the flop. Picked up three bounties. Will definitely play it again.

Sat - Spent about 2 hours playing 1-2 NL at MGM mid-day. Bought in for $200 and cashed out for about $385. Couple of rocks at the table - was given a headsup when I got to the table that if these guys were in a pot get the hell out unless I had the nuts. Biggest hand I had was when I picked up AA. Raised to $10 - got re-raised to $30, I re-popped to $75 and got a call. Flop was j83 rainbow. I pushed (about another $60)and got called by kk. Lost a couple of tough hands - on one limped and flopped a set of 6's but the board was 3 clubs. Bet pot on flop and got called, same on turn and was called. Checked the river (still only 3 clubs on the board) - called the guy's $25 value bet on the river and ended up losing around $80 to his flopped nut flush. Bought tickets to Barrera-Marquez fight at Mandalay Bay. Judges called the main event right but the two previous fights they must have been on the take given the decisions that were awarded. The winners ended up being boo'd out.

Overall - Will likely just do the Venetian tournament next time and stick with cash probably at MGM and Venetian (I'm kind of partial to nicer rooms - I know I could likely make more at others but I'm on vacation so how the room looks matters to me also). I did swing by TI one night earlier in the week - I think it was the Tuesday (around 7 or so) but it was pretty dead (only a couple of tables going) so didn't end up going back. One other note - best looking cocktail waitresses - Venetian by far (and they came by every 15 mins or so the two nights I played there).