VERY LONG. Hope you enjoy.

I got the OK a while ago from the significant other to go but based on her passive aggressive behavior while I was out there, Im guessing she wasn’t thrilled with it. Oh well. If she was somehow testing me, I gladly failed. Women…

I asked around to see if any of my buddies wanted to go but I figured no one would say yes. Most of them are married with kids, busy with work or just don’t motivate. I wanted to go last year but didn’t cause I had no one to go with. Well, I wasn’t going to be deterred this year so I went solo. It was the first time I had gone on vacation alone and it was a better experience than I anticipated. Aside from leaving my daughter behind for a few days, Id easily do it again.

Lucked out and found cheap airfare for $365. Everything else I came across was easily $100 more. Booked the first 2 nights at The Venetian at their poker rate of $89 and the next 3 at Paris for $150 total using my Total Rewards.

Wednesday

Direct flight with no problems and I arrived in Vegas around 10am local time. Cab to The Venetian and was promptly checked in by 11am. SWEET! I have stayed at The V before and I was really excited to stay here again.

With all due respect to Bellagio, Wynn and now Aria, why would anyone stay elsewhere but The V? My whole time there, everyone was very friendly and more than accommodating. The hotel itself is absolutely gorgeous and I love the Italian theme of the place. The ceilings with paintings on them, the dome with the skylight in the lobby, the beautiful marble throughout, the color schemes, the large rooms. I love it.

Got a Luxury View room on the 32nd floor. It was on the side of the building over the pool with a nice view of the strip. I didn’t try the $20 trick cause this was the only room allowed under the poker rate and didn’t want to risk screwing myself somehow. Regardless, I was very happy with the room.

Went down to the pool and relaxed pool side. There are like 3 different pools and this one was very nice. It was very hot that day also. I sat next to 5 hot Canadian girls who I quickly became friendly with. Myself and another guy I was sitting next to at the pool started hanging out and drinking with them. The one girl used to do gymnastics so you can imagine the body on her. They were all tight and very pretty, but they were also very married. First beat of my trip. No worries, they were very friendly and a lot of fun. Before they left, I left them my number to meet up for the evening but I missed my draw. No worries. My trip is off to a great start. Too bad the tables wouldnt be as kind.

Took a shower and walked over to the poker room, the most beautiful around. I just love playing in this room. Its nice and roomy, very comfortable, great drink service, very friendly staff. Just the décor and lighting of the room is perfect. Not to mention all the eye candy walking around from the cocktail waitresses to the massage girls.

The 1/2nl table I sat at was friendly and laid back but it was pretty nitty. I managed to run bad at this table as my QQ got all in preflop against AK and he flops two pair. I changed tables but the action wasn’t much better at the other table. I found overall that the action wasn’t crazy at all and it was pretty tight. People not making many moves, some people calling down too much but overall it was pretty tight. There was a good amount of people who you can tell were new to poker and didn’t know how much to raise or bet. Plus, it was mid week so there was quite a few regulars, mostly nits. I play in AC so Im not used to people making a big deal about chopping. I heard several times people talking about chopping and that you either always do or always don’t. An older woman who was obviously a regular asked me if I chopped and I said jokingly, “it depends.” She said, “No, either you do or you don’t.” Whatever. So watch Oprah, lady. Stayed as late as I could but I was really jet lagged and went back to my room to crash around 3am down about $70.


Thursday

Next morning showered and head down to Grand Lux for breakfast. Had a REALLY good omelet stuffed with peppers, onions and cheese. I barely finished it. The waiter was very friendly and we talked about soccer and the World Cup.

Walk over to the poker room and it was more of the same from the day before. Tight table, not much action. At least most of the people I sat with were friendly and good to talk to. I found that a lot on this trip. People wanted to know where you were from and stuff. One kid I met was from Holland and we were talking about the girls in the room. There was one dealer who s name starts with D and wears glasses. She looked Asian and was VERY pretty. There was a cocktail waitress who was also smoking, Italian girl. Great body, nice and tanned.

I was very card dead and I wanted to leave but I had to log my 6 hours for the poker rate. This was one drawback about traveling alone. I wanted to go out and do other things but I was stuck. Also, you cant leave the table. If you miss your blinds, they stop your time and you don’t accumulate hours. Damn that Bravo system.

Left down after several hours since I wanted to see some night life. I didn’t want to just play poker the whole 5 days. Got changed and took a cab to Planet Hollywood cause there was supposed to be some Latin party but they stopped that several months ago. Another bad beat. Oh well, went past their club but it looked dead so I got on the 1/2 list. Walked around while waiting and checked out all the dealers in lingerie. Its definitely a happening place. After 10 minutes, the 1/2 list hadn’t gotten any shorter so I walked over to Bellagio. Promptly sat at a 1/2 table that was anything but friendly. This was my first time in The B and I didn’t see what was so special about it. I wasn’t impressed. I found the room a bit small and crowded. Only stayed about 2 hours. My QQ (yes, again) paid off some grouchy goof who raised with A10 in the SB and flopped trips. I run good. Took the walk of shame back to my room down almost 300 for the trip. Although on the walk back, some girl who unfortunately wasn’t my type said in my direction, “He look good.” I brought a smile to my face. Ah, Vegas.

Friday

Check out day, damn it. Got up early and made an appointment at the Grand Canyon Spa. Id never been to a spa but when I was done I wished I would have tried it sooner. $160 for the hour was well worth it. Used the sauna, tried to use the whirlpool but it was way too hot. Then I went in for my massage with a Colombian woman who was in her early 40s but still attractive. Very nice lady and we conversed in Spanish. Her hands were like magic. When I left, I felt like I was high on drugs. I highly recommend you try out this spa.

Check out at the V took about 5 seconds. Really hated to be leaving but the prices went up for the weekend. Walked over to Denny’s for breakfast before checking in at Paris. While not as nice as The V, it was a lot nicer than I expected. I didn’t try the $20 trick at check in cause of reports that it s useless there. The check in lady stuck me in a 5th floor room overlooking a road behind the building. Although I could see the Bellagio way off in the distance, lol. Another bad beat. Whatever, I was nt going to spend much time in the room anyway.

Dropped off my stuff and headed to the pool. I was very pleased as the view is REALLY nice. The pool is next to the Eifel Tower , and you have a great view of Aria, Bellagio and Planet Hollywood along with the Paris balloon thing in the front of the hotel. Had a mojito and relaxed and swam for a while. Not as much eye candy here as The V but still pretty good. More families here though, which is fine.

Got showered and head to the Bally’s poker room. Id heard how soft the games are here and it is true. I was still pretty card dead so no money to be made. One kid at my table got hit with the deck and turned his $300 into about $1500 after he hit the high hand jackpot with his straight flush which paid over $800.

I left to check out the party scene at the M at Planet Hollywood after some guy said the Mexican Cantina was happening. Why did I listen to this guy? Not so. Another bad beat. Sat down in the poker room, which Id heard was full of drunks but not this night. Initially there was one guy who calling a lot and seeing a lot of flops but he left soon after I got there. I was still card dead and had to sit and watch. Then, better players started sitting down. One kid who was there to play in some WSOP events, a regular who was running well, a kid from LA who was super aggressive and a woman who played poker full time. None of these people liked to fold so the action got pretty crazy with them. On one hand, WSOP kid straddled, LA kid raised to like $14. WSOP reraised to $35. LA calls. Flop 972. LA had A9 and called an all in from WSOP who had 72! It was about a $450 pot and WSOP kid’s hand got counterfeited on the river.

LA kid later outplayed me when I raised with AK and he 3 bet to $30. I called and the flop came QJx. He led out for 2/3 the pot and I had to fold. He showed AK. Well played. Some would say to shove or 4bet with AK preflop but I knew he wouldn’t fold.

Poker woman was a calling station. Guy with AQ 3 bet her preflop and bet his top pair on the flop, Queen. She came along with 10 10 and spiked a 10 on the turn. Guy goes all in and she felts him. She was pretty but looked beat up. Like she didn’t take care of herself or was a meth addict. She was very friendly though and we talked the whole time. Was trying to work my mojo before she went on smoke break and then my KK ran into some new player’s AA. That was the end of my night. Took the walk of shame back to my room stuck $560. At least the double shots of Hennessy I was sipping on all night helped ease the pain just a little.
I saw a really weird thing before I left. As I walked out of the bathroom at PH, there were 3 guys and 1 girl posing for a picture. One guy had his tongue on the girl’s cleavage and the other guy had his tongue on the last guy’s neck. I was like WTF?? Did I just see that?

Since I was running so bad and was stuck, I decided not to drop any money on tournaments. Plus, I didn’t feel like being stuck at a table for several hours.

Got back to my room late enough to watch the beginning of the South Korea World Cup game for a few minutes before passing out.

Saturday

Woke up in time to watch USA vs England in the World Cup. Ordered room service and watched how lucky the US team is. Seems like they are always getting gift goals from other teams.

Took a shower and headed down to Bally’s poker room. Despite all the beats and lack of cards I was getting, I knew my luck would eventually turn. Promptly sat down at a new table. There were a few calling stations and guys calling down when it was obvious what the other person had. I knew I would run good here. Within the first 5 hands, I get 10 10 and call a guy’s raise. 4 to the flop and I flop top set. I bet, he shoved for well over $100 and I took it down. So I had already practically doubled up my $200 buy in. Then I get QQ, raise to $15, call, guy shoves for about $40, another call, so I raise $100 on top. Everyone folds and my QQ hold up. Nice start to the day.

I didn’t get anything special after that but watched the donkfest before me and it was good entertainment. One guy at the table loved to see flops and did not like folding. He built his stack up to about $400 when he got heads up with a tight player. The tight guy hadn’t played any hands and raised preflop then bet the flop and turn on an Ace high board. The river was a queen and tight player asks calling station if he will call whatever he bets. Calling station says yes so the tight player shoves for $200 into about a $100 pot. The guy calls and tight guy shows pocket queens for a rivered set. Calling station claims he had two pair.

Got up to get some dinner with my comps at a nice French restaurant at Paris. The people were very friendly and attentive and the food was good. Enjoyed a nice glass of Cabernet and had the salmon. By the time I got back to the table my chips had been picked up so I sat at another table.

After a while I went to get changed and headed to the Venetian. I was in Vegas and wanted to dress the part so at night I would put on a nice button down with jeans and my brown shoes. It amazes me how some people dress at the tables. Guys wearing basketball shorts, flip flops with no socks, just really tacky. For God’s sake you’re in a high end casino in Vegas. All these beautiful women walking around and you dress like you’re back on the block or going to paint your house. Im all for being comfortable but you can look decent while doing it. Also, people wearing the big, Dr. Dre headphones at the poker table is just retarded. One girl was actually wearing headphones that DJs use with the long cord that coils. Im also going to have to agree with what many people have said about sunglasses at the table. People really do look foolish wearing them at the table, especially if you’re playing 1/2NL and have $200 in front of you. I think some people grab any pair and put them on regardless if it doesn’t look good on them. One tight player wore a pair of sunglasses that were way too big for his face and looked ridiculous, but whatever, to each his own.

I ran better tonight at the V. However, since I had been running really bad the last few days, I started playing scared. I missed out on a lot of value when I didn’t bet enough on certain hands either on the turn or river.

Another thing I find odd is guys who sit at the table with their girlfriend sitting behind them. I find this kind of selfish. I know I wouldn’t be able to focus with my woman sitting behind me. Plus, I would feel bad that she’s just sitting there doing nothing. I once saw a girl who was very pregnant watching her man play all day.

I played til about 4am up about 285 on the day. Before I left, I noticed this nice looking Asian woman playing 2/5. I absolutely love Asian women and she saw me looking at her. This prompted a smirk out of her and I would see her again. Took a cab back to Paris cause I didn’t feel like walking and went to bed feeling much better that Im winning again.

Sunday

Got up and headed downstairs for some breakfast. There was a line but I was able to use my Platinum card to get seated right away. Its nice to run good. Breakfast wasn’t bad in a nice little French themed café. Paid for the meal with my comps and headed to the pool. It wasn’t very hot out but still nice. Stayed for about an hour before going up to shower and change.

I headed out to the Rio on the free shuttle from Bally’s with no problem. I walk over to the Pavillion and enter the Mecca of poker. The room is HUGE. So many tables spread throughout the room. I just stood there to take it all in and it just felt so right being there. I was in heaven. I walked around to see if there were any pros playing. I found one table with Maria Ho and Humberto Brenes. Maria is not as pretty as I thought. She’s still cute but she just looked different in person. I also saw Brandon Cantu and Tom Schneider. The $1000 NL event was going on and someone said they had over 3000 players. Geez.

Got on the list for 2/5NL and got seated at a new table. There were 2 women and 2 guys from France among the players at the table. It was full of action, as no one liked to fold. The female players were more than competent and knew what they were doing. One was from Texas, a very attractive woman and the other was from Biloxi. People had wide ranges and called a lot of raises for many multi way raised pots. I wasn’t getting any hands and had to be patient. You don’t pay for time, just the blinds and rake. A young kid later sat at the table and tried to impose his will or drive the action at the table by straddling or min raising but he quickly got run over by everyone else. People were giving him crap cause he didn’t chop all the time and he quickly learned about the etiquette behind it.

Later, the pretty Asian lady I saw at the V the night before sat next to me. She was quiet and seemed pretty serious so I left her alone. She was very competent at the table and showed she could correctly put people on a hand. After a short while, we engaged in small talk and next thing I know she is telling me her life story. She told me she didn’t know why she was telling me all this but I told her it was cool. Apparently, she had a lot of money and lived in LA but also had a house in Vegas. Must be nice.

I finally got dealt KK on the button and made it $25. Pretty standard for the table. The new kid made it $50 and got 2 callers I believe. I only had about $220 left so I shoved. He calls with K7 diamonds and busts. Thanks, I appreciate it.

One neat thing they have at the WSOP is they have a display of all the bracelets on stage. When a person wins a particular event, they put their photo in the case where the bracelet was. Outside in the lobby they have a display of bracelets from prior winners like Hellmuth and Chan, pretty cool. Played til dinner time before I headed back to Bally’s.

I walked up the strip the V but stopped at Panda Express as I was craving some orange chicken and vegetables. Once I got my serving of MSG, I headed to The V. When I walked into the poker room, I saw my Asian lady friend from the Rio playing 2/5. She was all in for about $250 before the river and some guy called. She showed Aces and scooped it. I said Hi and she touched my arm and gave a big smile. She asked me if I thought about her and I said of course. We talked for a bit but then she left soon after. It only figures with my luck I wouldn’t meet her til my last day in Vegas. I run good.

I got seated at a new 1/2 that was outside the poker room. I asked for a table change and the floor was very helpful. Those guys are awesome. Gave him a tip and I sat down at a friendly table that wasn’t very loose or action packed. I should have sat 2/5. I sat next to some young kid who played a lot on the Internet. He was pretty funny as he told me about his bad beat stories from some satellites at the WSOP. The guy on my left was originally from Latvia and is a tri-athlete. We were both checking out the women in the poker room including a very cute asian girl sitting at the next table over. There was also another girl sitting at the table behind us who was absolutely smokin’ with a beautiful rack to go along with her tight body. Man I love Vegas. Played ok and ran well and won about $200 while there. So I was pretty close to even for the trip.

The table eventually broke and I sat at another table. One of the first few hands I raised AK and got a few callers. Flop came KK3. Checked to me and I made a somewhat small bet of $15. Some kid check raised me to $30. Call. Turn a brick. He bets $45. I make it $100 and he turbo mucks. I guess he had a small pocket pair.

Left soon after as that table broke and took a cab back to Paris.

Monday

Got up early to sit pool side for a bit. It was pretty cool out so I didn’t stay long. Went back to shower and pack my stuff. It didn’t take long as I never unpacked. Checked out via the TV menu. I had arranged with the front desk to pay for my room with my comps so it was free for the 3 days. Sweet. I run good.

Got a sandwich and sat for a few minutes at Bally’s poker room before I had to leave for the airport.

I flew Continental on the way in direct and I didn’t have to pay for checked luggage. Not so on the way back. I flew US Airways and had to pay $25 for one bag. Extortion. Then it was a 5 hour flight to my connection in Charlotte and there was NO MOVIE and if you wanted food or drink, you had to pay. We were lucky to get water. Not even a damn pillow. I had to use the little stuffed toy of Ni Hao Kai Lan that I bought for my daughter as a pillow. Try that for 5 hours and see how you feel. I’ll never fly this airline again if I can help it.

I really had a lot of fun and could have stayed a few days longer. I just wish I ran better at the tables but so it goes. The one thing that stood out about my trip is how well I was treated everywhere I went. It makes you feel important and it’s a nice change from NJ where people can be a bit rude or indifferent to say the least. It really makes you want to keep going back.

I didn’t stop by Aria cause I didn’t feel like walking through that huge complex. That place is a giant monster towering over the strip.

I loved all the beautiful women in Vegas, especially the Asians. (No, Im not Asian.) I cant wait to go back. Ah, Vegas.

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading.