Got in town on Monday afternoon but didnt get to play poker till about 11:00pm. Stayed at Monte Carlo which is no better than an average hotel room but who spends much time in the room anyway. I got a discounted price by booking through the World of Concrete of $105 a night and think that the room was worth maybe $65 or $75 a night. Tried the $20 trick at check in for an upgrade but it didnt work.

Anyway played some NL at MC on Monday night from about 11:00pm to 1:00am Tuesday. Min buy in was $100 max was $200 with $1 and $2 blinds. I bought in for $100 and picked up a few nice pots right off the bat and was up about $60 then went dead for about an hour. The table was really friendly and laid back. I ended up losing a few big pots that I probably should not have been in anyway so went to bed down $45 for the night.

Played some 2-4 on Tuesday at MC for about an hour and won $43. Lots of new players but all really nice and had great dealers. Could have sat there all day and won money but didnt feel right taking advantage of people just learning to play. I was not out to make a big profit just have some fun and improve my game some.

Played some 3-6 on Wednesday at Harrahs and did not like the room, it was like playing in a big glass box. Very quiet and up tight players and dealers. Maybe a good place if you dont want to speak to anyone at all and dont want any back ground noise but just seemed to stuffy for me. Lost $45 in about an hour. There was a guy who was staying in on every hand and calling every bet and kept hitting cards on the river and getting lucky. I had AA and bet it all the way through and this guy called me all the way down and paired up his 6 10 off suit! Oh well that happens.

Played some more 2-4 at MC on Thursday and played for about 3hrs and lost $60. I kept getting great cards but would get beat by a slightly better hand. I was getting straights, flushes and full houses like crazy but was still getting beat. One hand I had the Jh 10h and stayed and the flop came Qh Kh and 10c so I'm thinkin I'm in great shape and bet and get a few callers. I was thinking if only the dealer can turn up the Ah for me to give me a royal and the $500 bonus that they give you there if you hit a royal using both your cards. Anyway the turn was a low heart which gave me the flush but right away an older tight guy bet so I figgured he had the Ah with another heart for the flush but I still stayed since I also had a flush and could still hit the 9h for a striaght flush. Well of course the 9h did not come on the river and the old guy had the Ah and beat me and that was the last of my poker for the trip.

I had a great trip and learned a lot and think I improved my game some. It was the first time I have played Hold Em in the casino, played lots of 7 stud out there before. It has been 3 years since I was there and could not believe all the poker rooms now and hardly any have stud games going. Is amazing what ESPN can do by showing so much poker on TV. Lots of new poker rooms that were not there last time I was out so I went by a few of them but did not play.