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Ok, so this is my first shot at a trip report. I always wonder how people are able to remember what they did on any particular day because for myself Vegas trips have no real days in the sense of 24h periods. I go to bed when I can't keep my eyes open anymore and 4-5h later I'm off to a poker game again. But in the end, who cares if I mess up with the order of what happened when, it doesn't hurt the report anyway. So here we go:

The 12h flight is super annoying as always, immigration takes pretty long as my stuff and myself get searched but finally I get my rentaI car and drive along the Strip and although it is not my first visit to Vegas I am absolutely awestruck again. What a place! There’s just nothing like it. I still can’t believe I didn’t rear-end anyone as I gaze at Luxor’s sphinx, New York New York’s rollercoaster and statue of liberty, Paris’ Eiffel Tower, etc., etc.. I think it the Strip is a place you can’t explain, at least I fail to, you have to experience the vibe it creates. I sit in my car and can already feel the buzz that will enable me to just sleep a total of like 20h in a whole week. Can’t wait to hit the Strip by foot. I take a right turn to E. Flamingo and drive into the garage of my home for the trip: Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon.

There are 3 good reasons to choose Bill’s:

1) ok rooms for free! Well, not for free, but hell, close to it, can’t beat the value.

2) perfect location in the middle of everything

3)It’s tiny! They have about 200 rooms, I believe, so there’s virtually no line at check-in. Gotta love it after the IP experience the year before (yes, I am very budged minded when it comes to hotel rooms).

Sure, nothing fancy, nothing to brag about, but for me the place is just fine. The rooms have a good size, don’t smell (hello IP) and are clean and the beds are comfortable. I got a nice room with a stunning view of the Bellagio Fountains and Paris for a little tip at check-in. There is a downside to the Strip view rooms though, the Strip is LOUD! And it’s loud 24/7 especially if you are “lucky” enough to have that weirdo with his drum kit performing for hours nonstop (he has great skills by the way). Just want to mention it, personally I was ok with the craziness right outside my room, as I usually barely make it to my room before collapsing due to sleep deficit.

I take a shower, get dressed and head downstairs (without waiting for the elevator forever, fuck you IP) to get into the next best poker game.

So, the next best poker game it is? That would be the game at Bill’s 2 table poker area. I talk to the floorman and he tells me it’s a $.5/1 NLH game. I sure am a low stakes player, but that’s ridiculous. I decline and feel like a baller. I believe to have read about a Thursday night razz game at Tropicana and decide to give it a try. I step on the Strip and a drunken guy yells at me “Let me take a picture of you and this motherfucker! He’s getting married tomorrow!” Well, if that’s not a good reason to pose for a picture with a guy in a superman costume close to coma, sipping a cocktail out of cup shaped like the Eiffel Tower, what else could be? It’s not even 9pm and we’re in public. Only in Vegas. After that, I just start walking and let the Vegas vibe take over.So where am I gonna go? Tropicana, sure!

20 min later I find myself in the opposite direction at Venetian’s poker room. Don’t ask me how, I don’t know. Happens to me all the time in Vegas, I rarely end up where I plan to go. To my deepest regret I will miss out on the IP mixed game on Sunday that way. Nevermind, the Venetian it is for now. Not my favorite room, it’s just too big. Strange atmosphere. On the upside there are lots and lots of games going, as always. Luckily, the O8 game is full. So I have a chance to start the trip with a win. I get into a $1/2 NLH game and buy in for $200. At 34, I am the oldest player at the table and at least 4 players are pretty drunk, that’s pretty good for a start. For the first orbit, I can fold every hand. That’s also pretty good, I need some time to calm down a little, get into my poker flow and observe the players. The two drunks on my right play almost every pot, the two guys to my left seem nitty, couldn’t ask for more. First Hand I decide to play is 33 from the SB in a limped pot with 6 players. Flop comes TT3. I bet $10 hoping somebody has a ten or a small pair. 2 callers, the nit to my left and a drunk. No raise. I have about $180 left, both players have me covered, guess I can get my stack in by the river and hope nobody fills up. Turn brings 3rd ten. So that’s how I start my trip, what a horrible card. I check, nit checks, drunk bets $35, nit calls. I put him on quads now. Can’t remember what the turn was but the nit checks again, drunk goes all in and nit snap calls. Drunk shows 66 for a full house, nit shows JT for quads. Not too many outs for the guys after the flop against my hand, but that’s what I get for playing small pairs out of position. but there is not a single hand I wouldn’t complete from the small blind in a limped multiway pot with though, not even 72. Don't know if that's smart though. Anyway, I feel tilt coming. Yes, at times I tilt very easily. Thank god there is the table banter which usually just as easily calms me down again. This time some guys start discussing whether people are born gay or turn gay. I neither know nor care but the dealer has a special opinion: “I think it’s like a x-men mutation, some even wear tights!” Cracks the table up. I raise a couple quality hands preflop and collect most of them with a c-bet, 2 times one of the nits raise and I release. The drunks play pretty loose preflop but don’t continue spewing chips when they don’t connect. Too bad. I am back at my starting stack of $200. Then, I don’t know how the topic came up, the guy next to me claims the Asian guy at the other end of the table must be in cancer research. Why? “Because Asians are smart people.” “OK, whatever you say.” “You don’t believe me?! I am damn sure, he is in cancer research!” I offer a $20 bet and he immediately accepts at even money. First, I think what a fool and or joker my betting partner must be, I would have laid him at least 10:1, probably a lot more. But he doesn’t seem like a fool, just a guy wanting to have some fun. Then, I wonder if they know each other and want to hustle me a little. Anyway, I ask the guy what he does for a living. He doesn’t tell but confirms it’s not cancer research. I collect my bet and I’m up for the trip for the first time J. Shortly after that the table breaks and I decide to continue play at another room, still don’t feel really comfortable at this place. It really must be the room itself because I must admit the dealers are really competent, the waitresses keep the drinks coming, they have no stupid jackpot drop and a reasonable $4 max rake and everything was just fine. Sorry Venetian.

I walk down the strip, it’s late at night/early morning, the crowd is even crazier than in the afternoon, of course. I am awake way too long and should go to bed. But I didn’t come to Vegas to sleep, so I choose to play at Mirage. What a difference to the Venetian. I immediately feel “at home”. The whole setting, the lights, the décor, that’s my place to play. There are 4 or 5 games going, I get seated immediately in a 1/2 NL game and buy in for $200. First hand I fold, guy next to me in MP raises to $15 button raises to $45, MP calls. Flop comes TJK rainbow. MP checks, BT bets $60, MP calls. Turn Q. MP checks, BT bets all in for about $150, MP snap calls. Button says “Guess we chop!” and turns over AK. MP says “Indeed, we do, same hand.” and turns over….AQ. In the second he turns his hand over he realizes he misread his hand. “Goddamn, I should have brought my glasses!” River bricks, BT scoops the pot and MP looks miserable of course. The waitress arrives with a drink for him and he says “I promise to spend my money smarter for the rest of the night” tipping her $20 for a Corona and buying back in with a smile. Talk about losing with style, I’m impressed. On the other hand a tilting player would be better for the game but whatever.
Couple hands later I get AA, a hand I tend to lose a lot of money with that shows what a sucker I am. Every Idiot can play 72o, you simply fold it, but AA is the hand that separates the wheat from the chaff. It must be a mental thing, I lose a lot less with an overpair of kings or queens, but those aces can be a spell for me. Anyway, I am in the highjack with about $200, everybody folds to me and I raise to $15 which is the standard open raise size at this table it seems. Cutoff calls, button calls, SB calls, BB calls. Great, aces against 4 players, not what I’m looking for. I have no read on any of the players yet, everybody seems to play pretty loose though. Flop comes Jxx, all hearts. I hold the ace of hearts. SB checks, BB checks, I bet $50 planning to get my stack in if raised. Cutoff folds, button goes all in for $200, SB folds, BB folds, I call it off. He has KJ with the king of hearts for top pair and 2nd nut flush draw. That’s as good as it gets, turn and river brick and I double up with a lonely pair of aces. If the cards fall right, even I can win with aces, but things would turn ugly for me with this hand in the following days. My stack goes up and down a little after that, I am so tired I don’t even notice other players coming and going and next thing I know I am sitting in a super tight game with some old folks for a while. Time for a change of scenery. I cash out up almost $300 and stumble out of the casino.

It’s almost 11 a.m. and I am not only tired but also hungry. Last thing I ate was the crappy food on the plane. I try to convince myself to get something healthy to eat, laugh at me and somehow find Johnny Rockets at the Flamingo after a while. Had a Rocket Single with American fries. To make it short, I didn’t like it, boring fries, tasteless burger. Can’t recommend the place. I get to the poker room, they have a 7-handed 1/2 NL game going and I buy in for the usual $200. Dealer has to wake me up every time it’s my turn and an hour or so later I realize it would be better to stop playing and cash out $100 not even knowing how I lost half my stack. Probably I should finally get some sleep. And that’s exactly what I do. Don’t even hear the drummer until I wake up a couple hours later.

It’s 7 p.m and I need breakfast. I go to Hash House A Go Go and order a stuffed burger with Hardwood smoked bacon, avocado and cheddar. I eat like 2/3 of it and I’m pretty sure I will not have to get any food for the next couple days. These portions are just ridiculous, even by US standards. But the taste was great, I highly recommend this restaurant.

Next up Mirage again. The room is pretty packed but after just a couple minutes of wating I get seated at a 1/2 NL table. I’m sitting between to Asian kids who keep bragging they are the best and loosest and what not players in the whole wide world. I’m thinking about asking for a table change but decide a seat change will be enough. When I ask for the seat change button the dealer already has it in his hand, guess my poker face was off. To my left a gentleman at least 80 years of age enjoying his home made sandwich who doesn’t seem to be interested in the game. After a while he asks how the hell he could be seated in a NL game but doesn’t leave. I decide he’s trying to set everybody up. After a while, nothing spectacular happens, my former seat is filled by a new player. The kids still brag but really do play really loose, at least before the flop. The new guy limps every pot if folded to him and bets every flop if checked to him, usually either taking the pot or folding to a raise or check folding on the turn. I watch that for a couple orbits when the following hand comes up: I am in the SB with Q2 and 5 players limp, I complete and grandpa checks. 7 players see a flop of Q82 with 2 hearts giving me top and bottom pair. I am confident at least the player described earlier will bet no matter what and plan to check raise. Sure enough, it’s checked to him (he just rebought for $200) and he bets $15, everybody folds to me and I raise to $55 leaving me with $135. Showing quite a bit of strength I already mentally prepare to add $30 to my stack assuming the guy will fold but instead he goes all in. Well, that wasn’t the plan. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable. I have played pretty tight so far which he might or might not have realized but given the course of action I must make the impression of holding a pretty strong hand. I don’t think he limped with QQ, so worst case would be 88 or an very unlikely 22. But having position on me why would he push with a set and not just call to let me hang myself on the turn. Is he afraid of a possible flush draw and wants to make me pay the max for drawing? Could be, but in the end there are only very few combinations he can hold for this scenario. What else? A small or middle suited connector he limped with? 9T of hearts something like that? Much more likely, at least a lot more combinations of hands he could hold compared to the flopped set. I don’t think it’s Q8. No idea why, guess just because it would be so cruel. OK, not a good reason, but still. He still doesn’t seem uncomfortable. Anyway, I decide I am ahead of his range and call. Unfortunately, I don’t waste much time thinking about what he puts me on, otherwise I might have come a lot closer to what he really holds, but it wouldn’t have changed my decision, so I was lucky. With my gut and my brain telling me it’s not a set I just hope It’s not QT of hearts or the likes, so he won’t have extra outs, but I think it’s unlikely because he probably would have raised with it from MP. Turns out I was wrong in that regard because he has KQ of hearts. I have to dodge any heart, any king, any 8 and any whatever the turn will bring. That’s a lot of outs. But all those outs don’t keep him from going on tilt before even the turn is dealt. He says he can’t believe I am not drawing to a smaller flush. Turn and river brick and I win a nice pot. The guy is really mad now, everybody seems to be happy about it. “Game’s on now” somebody says, expressing everybody’s hope for the tilter to start spewing more chips. Personally, I don’t follow the game much for the next orbit or so, because the hand really gets me thinking. Although I have won and although it would not have affected my decision, I am kind of pissed I did not narrow down his range closer to his actual holding by thinking about what he put me on. What did he think I was raising with? What range did he put me on to decide a push was the right move? Perhaps a KQ of hearts or Ax of hearts was much more likely than a small suited connector. Not given his limp but given the line he chose. On the other hand, does a guy who plays like I describe above put anybody else on ranges? I don’t know and I didn’t get the chance to give his game a close look, because soon after this hand he gets up and leaves, steaming. I would appreciate some input on this, so if you read this and have an opinion, I would be happy if you would share your thoughts.
Not much else happens in the following hours, the table gets rowdier the later the night and I am able to chip up quite a bit with ABC style. About 3 a.m. I have $750 in front of me but then double up a new player with AA vs. KK all in preflop in a $450 pot. That one would have put me to four figures, but now I’m down to $550 instead, have lost with aces again (but at least not due to bad play). I feel tilt coming and decide to take a walk although the table is super juicy. Almost everybody is drunk.

One of the days Kentucky plays vs. Florida during March Madness, I am too lazy to look up the exact day. I would not have known, if it had not been my very first visit to the Harrah’s poker room. Just when I decide I don’t like the room to much and that both tables of 1/2 NL going are full of old locals passing the time or playing a promotion and that I should leave I find out what promo it is. The floorman announces that if Kentucky wins, there will be a 500$ splash pot on a random table the following hand. I think if Florida would win there would be some smaller jackpot, but that doesn’t matter, Kentucky wins anyway and luckily our table is chosen. A couple of hands earlier I show my poker skills with AA again. I have a stack of $140, 3 limpers in front of me, I raise to $15 and only the small blind calls, he has me covered. Flop comes K82 rainbow. SB checks, I bet $25, he calls. Turn is a 4. SB checks again, I put him on top pair, hope to double up and go all in. He shows K2 offsuit for the flopped 2 pair. I feel helpless. Sure, I should just not lose almost a full stack with a mere overpair, but come on. Anyway, instead of buying back in with the minimum like 3 other guys at the table waiting for the splash pot, I rebuy for $200. So now the splash pot. $500 in the middle preflop, that really looks nice. I am on the button and the guy who just stacked me is under the gun and immediately goes all in for more than $400. 4 other players call,one player with a stack of about $70 somehow finds a fold (correct me if I’m wrong but that is NEVER right, regardless of his holding) I find AJ and call for $200. Given the stack size and the super confident all in from UG I guess this move is more debatable, but I was never give up on the chance to win the largest pot I ever played. SB and BB call as well. Flop comes Axx, I feel good. Turn is a J, I feel even better, River is whatever. I confidently show my 2 pair, everybody mucks except UG who shows KK. Wow, what a beat! I am more than happy to collect an about $1000 pot. I tip the dealer $50 and he seems happier than me, which is a relief, I really don’t know what an appropriate tip is in such a situation. So everything is ok. I play another round and then decide to leave with my winnings. I have no clue about College Basketball but Kentucky obviously has a new fan, I walk over to Nike Town at the Forum Shops and buy a UK shirt.

One morning I sit in Mirage’s poker room havng a frozen yoghurt for breakfast, waiting for a table to start when a guy enters the room who seems familiar. It is a small stakes pro whose blog I read (refereeing to my post in the welcome form I might add: another dead blog) he is from my wife’s hometown and a lot of my buddies from our homegame know him well. We never met and he never heard of me but I talk to him of course and he turns out to be the super nice guy my buddies said he was. He just arrived back in Vegas and was only there to check out the different promos. All that boring stuff full time small stakes grinders do I guess. Although he doesn’t really want to we take seats in the game that just started and I listen to what he as to say about how to approach a game if you want to make a living. That doesn’t help him when he loses his stack against my set of 9s with AKs on an A high board. Then he shows me how to get unstuck just two hands later. I don’t remember the exact hand but he whispers to me that I should watch and learn. He loudly starts kind of berating me for how lucky I was with my 99 and acts like he is on tilt. He overbet the pot on every street and gets called by some weak top pair kind of hand from an old guy who is very confident to win the hand…..just to get shown the nuts. “The important thing is the overbetting is such a situation.” That’s what I’m told and I listen. Nice show. After like 20min. he starts complaining about the tight table, So we leave and walk around on the strip together for a while, hitting different casinos to get him up to date promo wise. After a while we drive to the MGM and sit iin another 1/2 game. Again he claims the table is no good and not enough money to be made. I only spend a week in Vegas and don't want to waste time searching for the juciest games and also don't have to pay my bills with any winnings, so I choose to stay and we part ways. It was great to meet him, really loves what he's doing. I finish the the session at MGM with a loss of $100 and without memorable hands.

After that I try out In-N-Out Burgers and have to agree many posters in food threads that they probably are the best fast food burger joint around. Highly recommended. Unbelievably overcrowded, too.

I decide to try out the Southpoint poker room for two reasons: 1. never played there before, 2. Steak'n'Shake. Don't want to turn this into a food blog, but the Guacamole Steakburger is fantastic. The skinny fries and the chocolate shake not so much, but still ok. But let's get back to poker. Nice wide spread poker room. Actually so wide spread they are almost wasting space. Seriously, for anyone in a wheelchair this should probably be the #1 room when it comes to accessability, very convenient. Being off strip I expect mostly locals but that is not the case. But I am by far the youngest at the table. Almost like the O8 game at the Orleans on an earlier trip, but that's another story. Right at the beginning an interesting hand comes up in the 1/2 game . Semi-drunk Guy orders 5 shots of patron at once and much to my suprise he gets them. I don't know if this is special service for regulars or the rules from the strip don't apply to the Southpoint. He downs them with seconds, looks at his cards and raises from UTG to $10. UTG+1 calls, I sit in the cutoff whith junk and fold like everyone else before me and the button reraises to $40. UTG calls, UTG+1 calls. Drunk guy in UTG covers both players who had around $200 in front of them preflop. Flop comes AJQ rainbow. UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $60, button shoves for his remaing $160, UTG goes all in too and UTG+1 calls. Must be set vs. set vs. straight, brutal set up, right? But no. Button shows the set of Aces, UTG+1, who I put on the straight, shows a set of Jacks (which I like to think I would have been able to lay down given the board and the action) and drunk guy shows JTo for bottom pair and a gutshot. Jesus Christ. Turn bricks and sure enough the river brings a King to make UTGs straight. Not being in the hand I just think what a wonderful outcome this is, one drunk with extra confidence in his luck and to guys steaming, can't get any better than this. Unfortunately all three of them leave the table immediately after the hand. The following hours are pretty uneventful, I manage to make a $200 profit, take my comps to the aforementioned Steak'n'Shake and leave. Overall an ok experience, but nothing special, the Southpoint will probably not my place to play again before tried out all the other rooms I haven't played at yet. And that's plenty.

I get back to Bill's to take a nap, instead I have a shower and go across the street to hit the Bellagio Poker room. Quite a contrast to the Southpoint. Much more luxurious, but also much, much more cramped. Too cramped for my taste. Lots of people say the room management is arrogant or whatever but I can't agree with that. They always treat me very friendly and I never had a negative experience with them in 10+ sessions I played there over various trips. Bellagio also has some of the best dealers in town, they rarely make mistakes and do a great job keeping the game flowing. That night, there is one fool who obviously would have better gone to bed instead of playing another session because he either falls asleep between hands or talks so much to other players that he doesn't know it is his blind to post folding the BB in limped pots. That fool is yours truly, of course. The dealers took it very well, waking me up and reminding of my option to check the BB numerous times in a very friendly way but still pushing me hard enough to act quicker that other players at the table express their surprise the game is running so smoothly despite me and the drunk lady next to me. I promise one dealer to tip him a redbird whenever I fail to post my blind. I might have to add that at least when I was in the SB or BB the cards were dealt without the blinds being posted to keep the game flowing. I am really happy when his down ends, because it costs me $10 per orbit...every orbit. He is kind enough to not tell the dealer pushing him about my commitment. I am so pleased he doesn't I feel obliged to do it myself. So, another down in wich every orbit costs me not $3 but $23 to play. Lack of sleep aside, talk about -EV spots. Can't remember exactly what happened, but truth is, I bought in only once for $100 in a 1/2 and cashed out $450. I go on a major heater and don't even realize it, that's what's on my mind when I decide to now really get a couple hours of sleep. The drummer is drumming. I don't care.

Another interesting place to play poker is Planet Hollywood. If you are sitting in the right spot at the table the eye candy is really distracting, I must admit, but somehow it is worth it. This is also the place where I found out it is really a bad idea to get married in Vegas. No t that I would have ever considered that for my wedding nor that I ever found that to be an especially good idea, but during a total of 3 sessions at the PH, 4 times the following happens: bridal pair passes the hallway next to the poker room and a couple people start yelling "Don't do that buddy!" "This is a mistake, buddy!" or "Mine is bigger, honey, come join me for the night!" Somewhere along those lines, you get the idea. I mean, that can't be a fun experience on your wedding day. Anyway, poker is pretty good in these sessions although I really, really get owned on one occasion. I am sitting with around $230 in a 1/2 game for a while, not much has happened so far, I would guess I have a tight image. I sit in the highjack and two players limp, I make it $15 with AhQh. Everybody folds exept limper 2 to my right who plays pretty much every pot. Flop comes K26 rainbow. He checks, I bet $25, he calls. Turn brings a Jack, completing the rainbow board. He checks, I bet $50, he calls. River is a 8. He checks. Given his previous play that night and the way he played this particular hand, I now put him on something like a middle pair or a very weak King. Should he have hit is set, so be it, but I am probably able to get him off any other hand I put him on with a strong river bet. He played every pot so far, but if someone showed strength on all streets, he did release numerous times. I count on my image and bet $100 of my remaining $140 to make it look like a "I don't go all in to not make it look to scary" kind of bet. But what do I know. He thinks for like 5 seconds, then calls and shows T2s for bottom pair. People start laughing at him, I say "good hand" and muck, people stop laughing at him. Boy, that was depressing. I rebuy to have $200 again although I know I should take a break. And how do they say? It is better to be lucky than good. Very next hand I get dealt two red Kings. I open raise to $15, button calls, BB raises to $50, I snap shove for my remaing $185, button folds and BB gives me a speech about my bad timing and that I should have taken a break and blahblah. I'm sure he must have Aces. AND gives me a speach without calling immediately. I hate the guy. He calls and shows Queens. Board doesn't help him and I win back everything i bluffed away just one hand earlier. I still hate the guy for his speech but I manage to not say anything but just smile and collect the pot. Maybe I should have gone off on him because the tilt just won't go away. So after a couple hands I take my chips and go to Earl of Sandwich. Very, very tasty. Really love it. Tilt disappears, everthing is fine. I am easy to please.

Usually I am not superstitious, but I feel like I should not push my luck at PH that night after what just happened and decide to move on to Luxor to play there for the first time. I don't mind the pretty long walk down there, but upon arriving there at around 4 am I have to find out there is no game going. This is a first for me in Vegas. A poker room and no game, I can't believe it. Room manager's advice is to move on to Mandalay Bay, surely there would be a game. Or maybe back to Excalibur. I ask him if he could call the room at Excalibur to ask if a game is going and he does. They do have one table with an open seat going, I tip him $5 bucks for being so helpful and walk back. I never tipped in a poker room I did not even play a single hand in. Again, only in Vegas, I guess.

Arriving at the Excalibur poker room i am disappointed. Not only I don't like the hotel's theme and would never stay there, the poker room is just a small area surrounded by slot machines. Cramped between them is the better description. Lots of distraction, but not the good kind. Nevertheless I sit in the 1/2 game in which they kindly reserved a seat for me. Only one table is going and after 2h it breaks up when 4 drunks finally decide to go to sleep and another guy is picked up by his wife who states to have won $2,000 playing video poker for quarters. Before hubby can get too excited she admits to have lost it all back playing slots. At least she's drunk, she says, so it's all good. Viva Las Vegas.

I leave down $150 and head to the MGM where I lose 3 buy inn within an hour. Makes my decision to take another nap easier. Bluffed off the first one, couldn't believe the other guy flopped a flush when I turned a straight the second one and lost the 3rd one slightly on tilt when I could not release top two pair versus an pretty obvious bottom set of an uber nitty player. Well, I told you I suck.

Overall I finished the trip up $ 1,600. Given my bad tilt control and that I tend to win quite a bit in the first 10-12 hours of my sessions while bleeding a lot back after that because I dramatically lose focus I am pretty satisfied with that. Ok, much of that came from the splash pot at Harrah's, I have to be honest with myself. But what the hell, I did not blow my Vegas bankroll, so that's just fine.

After 7 days and 7 nights I leave my room down one last time and as always I think that if I hear that ringdingding from the slot machines any longer I go crazy. As much as I love going to Vegas, I am always just as happy to go back home. Guess that means I get a maximum fix out of the trips, mission accomplished. Although I again have to say those 12h flights are absolutely grueling.

But don't get me wrong, once I am in real life again for 4 weeks, I can't wait to get back.

I did one trip before the one I described here and one after it, hopefully I get my ass up to at least do a trip report on the latter.
The next trip will be next week, where I will go to Vegas for the first time in summer time.

I am more than happy that there will be an AVP tourney at the Golden Nugget on June 7th, one day after my arrival. I will stay at GN anyway, so there is a fair chance I will make it there.

If you really made it to the end of this report: thank you very much for reading!

Any comments are more than welcome of course.

See you in Vegas!

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Comments

  1. Excellent trip report, but I wish you didn't come off so ambiguous regarding your feelings toward Imperial Palace ... should I stay there, or not? Just tell us!

  2. Great report and as far as that player trying to put you on whatever hand you had he wasnt, just not a very good player.

  3. Didn't both players have straights in the hand that wasn't chopped at Mirage? Great report but that confused me.

  4. Nice trip report, looking forward to the next one.

  5. @zourah

    Oops, completely messed that one up, you are right, the way I describe it they both have straights. Flop was TJQ not TJK and Turn came a 9 not a Q. Mixed up notes of 2 different hands here, sorry.

  6. @ballys10

    Thanks for the input! Might really be that easy :smile:

  7. @ShawnAVP

    Well, probably I give IP too much heat, what am I to expect for $19 a night?!

    The place could even be worth the money you pay, but that said, it is not much. The smell of the whole casino is just awful and you can't avoid it in two sitiuations: 1. when waiting 2h in the line to check in (not enough staff, half the desks empty) and worse is 2. when waiting for the elevators. Those must be the slowest elevators in the whole wide world. I felt like spending half my vacation waiting for them, absolutely ridiculous.
    The rooms are semi-clean, just barely acceptable.

    But again, $19 a night, it was a bargain.

    And they have Hash House A Gogo, great place for breakfast.

    Don't know how it is now, but I guess they even take a resort fee these days, so no way I stay there again.