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A buddy and I arrived in Vegas early on 11/3 for three days of poker and football watching/wagering. We got a poker room rate at Excalibur (highly recommended) and were in the poker room by 12:00 p.m. I played 2-4 limit and my friend played no limit. For someone playing low-limit poker, it would be hard for me to recommend a different room. The wheel, which allows a player to spin for amounts ranging from $20-$300 when holding quads or getting pocket aces cracked, is a nice bonus. The room also offers a bad beat jackpot and a $2-$6 spread limit game. When were arrived there were two no-limit tables and two or three limit tables going. Management was very helpful and got us seated immediately. I played for 11.25 hours the first session and made a profit of $85, which I suppose is better than nothing. The play was a little tighter than I expected, but there were still five-seven players to the flop and at least three to the river.
I played $2-$4 again for eight hours on Saturday. Many nice people at the table, including three or four pretty competent players. One hand that I won't soon forget: It involved a player who was extremely tight and passive in a pot with an older gentleman, who played quite a few hands but generally showed only quality hands. I'll spare you some of the details, but the hand ended when tight/passive called the older man's reraise on the river. When the older man showed an ace-high flush, t/p mucked his hand and said to his buddy, "I can't believe I lost with a full house." After he left the table, his buddy asked me if there was a bad beat jackpot when a full house gets cracked by a flush. I didn't have the heart to tell the guy that his buddy mucked the winning hand. After my sessions on Saturday, I was up another $150. On Sunday, I entered the $35 tournament at Excalibur. While not expensive, $300 in chips does not allow much time to nurse a stack. I busted out in approximately 20th place after my A-J was busted by A-Q. I don't think that I'd play this tournament again.
After the tournament, I played all day and made a mere $20 profit. That evennig we visted Bellagio and Caesars. Both rooms are more aesthetically pleasing than Excalibur, but I was too tired to wait to get into a game at either location. I hope to try one or both on my next trip.
Before our flight left on Monday, I played two hours at Excalibur and lost $100. In the big blind I held K-5s and called a small pre-flop raise. The flop came 556 and my bet left only one player remaining. After a 10 came on the turn, my pot-sized bet was called. After a K came on the river, I was reraised and called to find the other player had pocket KK. Ouch.
Overall, I enjoyed the room. The cocktail service was above average, and I only saw one dealer mistake when on a board of 5-7-7-A-J the dealer pushed the pot to a player holding A-5 as opposed to splitting the pot with the other player who held A-3. Although I might look for other venues to play no-limit in the future, I will keep Excalibur in mind for my low-limit action.
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