It's amazing that you actually found that many 4/8 limit games at Stations at those late hours. Being it is more locals than tourists, most are gone by 11pm. Congratulations on your road trip, your mom must be proud of you

That was a fun night. Keep in mind, it was Monday, 28th, so we were quite lucky to find the games that we did.

I was quite surprised that GVR's 4/8 game broke, but Sunset stil had two games.

Sunset used to spread 3/6/9 but when the room moved to the sportsbook area, they changed to 4/8 half kill with 1/2 blinds (even the kill is half blinds).

This was a common way the 4/8s used to be at Stations. Santa Fe and Texas both had half blinds until the past year or two, and Sam's Town still has 1/2 blinds in their 4/8 game.

When we stopped by Sam's Town for late night dinner, I was a little sad to see the old poker room boarded up and shut down. It was the first room I ever played a hand of poker in, thus it has a warm place in my heart.

The new room is quite large and spread out.

We didn't get a chance to play there, but we did stop by and talk to the staff. They still spread a 1-5 stud game with quarter antes which intrigues me.

Boulder wasn't as exhilerating as I was hoping for. It's on;ly redeeming quality was the fact that it was a smoking room, a true rarity by Vegas standards.

Ending the night at Texas was good. It was quite a good game, and Perry left out that he busted me from that game when my TPGK was busted by his flush caught on the turn.

Our next adventure will be of the independents: Stratophere, Riviera, Arizona Charlies, Tropicana, etc, or of the Coast/Boyd Properties: Suncoast, Gold Coast, Sam's Town, Joker's Wild, etc.

Well, I am thoroughly jealous now and wish I could join you on these excursions. I did do a similar thing in regards to blackjack and played at least 10 hands in about 15 different casinos on the strip last year. 4/8 just sounds SOOO much better!

Did anyone else see the comparasion between this report and a Harold & Kumor movie???? Just where is white castle?????

Good report guys....

Sounds like a great night, looking forward to the second episode with the independents. Now which of you played the role of Kumar?

Mark

@Clem2754

Is there even a White Castle in Vegas? I don't recall seeing one during my visits, but it would be great to know if their was one. Nothing beter than greasy sliders at 3:00 a.m. in a drunken stupor at the poker table.

@Bucabear

Is there even a White Castle in Vegas? I don't recall seeing one during my visits, but it would be great to know if their was one. Nothing beter than greasy sliders at 3:00 a.m. in a drunken stupor at the poker table.[/quote]

Screw White Castle, they have In N Out!!! Who needs sliders when you can get a 3x3?

For SPP & LVM's Excellent Adventure Part 1, see this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=5054

+++++++++

After our wildly succesful tour of most of the Station Casinos, Mike and I decided to see a little of Old Vegas and go play in all the rooms downtown. This trip starts on Tuesday night, cinco to mayo.

Our trip starts at the West End of Fremont at the Plaza. At around 10pm we got to the poker room. They had a 2-4 limit hold'em game going so we sat there for about 15 minutes. The action was a little slow. But at the next table they were playing pan. I don't know how to play but it looked liked fun. Nice staff. I lost $15.

At 11pm we got to the El Cortez. They were spreading a 1-3, 1-6 limit hold'em game. They had two tables. Its a great game to learn hold'em at. Its got: one $1 blind, a $2.50 max rake, jackpot hands with no rake, and during the day you might get to play with Jackie, the casino owner. It only costs $20 to buy in. I won $3. Good action for 11:30 pm on a Wednesday night.

At 11:45 pm we got to Fitzgeralds. They had a 1-2 no limit game. The action was great and the dealers were very good. One dealer, Tina, learned everyone's name and called each player by their name. Mike, the card room manager made us feel welcomed and got us player's cards. I was impressed with their customer service emphasis. Nice room. I won $65

The two big rooms downtown are the Nugget and Binion's. We stopped at the Nugget first. There I got pancakes. They had eluded me on last week's trip. We ate in the Golden Nugget coffee shop.

The golden Nugget was the only room that I was not that happy with. Although truth be told, I lost $120. The staff was OK. But they had more than their fair share of "experts" at the table. (By experts, I mean jackasses) If they dropped one more name, I would of thrown up. There were 3 games going at 3am. So enough action if your downtown.

At 4am we ended up at "the place that made poker famous", binion's. They had two no-limits and one limit hold'em game going. There was a lot of money on the table and lots of action. Average dealers and staff. A good place to play. I won $270.

I was pleasantly surprised with Fitzgerald's and the El Cortez. I had never played in them, and both had their high points. Mike and I are going to go back to the El Cortez when Jackie is playing. I think everybody should be able to say I sat in a poker game with a casino owner.

Downtown Vegas has a certain personality and charm that the strip can never take away. Some of the Casinos were around when the mob was running the city, and the rat pack was together. At around 10pm at night there is a festival atmosphere; live bands, street performers, food venders & the light show. I love it.

In 2 weeks we will have Excellent Adventure III.

Good Luck,

SouthPoint Perry

glad to see downtown getting some love.

I like the feel of downtown, the lower limits, and the better pays.

The Fitz poker room is quite good for a small room, and I had fun at Binion's as well. I think some of the dealers have been there since Benny opened the place.

why get pancakes when you can get some deep fried goodness at mermaids.

I'm liking the series...keep them coming!!!

I'm spending one night downtown on my next trip due to the fact that the Las Vegas Club (ooo, sounds so chic! LOL) had the cheapest room I could find for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend without being a place I've never heard of or didn't know where it was. I haven't been downtown in a few years and have never played poker there, so I'm actually looking forward to it.

No knock to our TI friends (and alums); I agree with you, Perry, the manager and dealers at Fitzgerald's do a swingin' job of making the room enjoyable and friendly. Golden Nugget seemed more like some of the MGM properties (I'm looking at you, B) in terms of staff and players being in love with themselves.

I'd recommend the Fitz to anyone who wants to play live for the first time, as the dealers do an excellent job of running the table. It costs me a fair amount to play there, though, I've got a habit of toking a dealer for keeping the table fair and fun, preventing the need for table captains and perfessers of poker (yep, even when I'm not in a pot, I'll tip for great service, go figure). The other room that does great in this regard is Monte Carlo.

We're going to be in Vegas in about 7 weeks, and may try to swing by South Coast, but I'm an old man and don't do graveyard hours. Isn't Moe Greenberg buried under the casino? It's far enough south someone's repose is getting disturbed.

Don't you mean the Mirage and not B???

Great report Harold or are you Kumar- anyway keep them coming, you are giving a great view of some places which don't get as much exposure on this site.

@Clem2754

Wait til our next adventure. You think downtown doesn't get a lot of exposure, how about ARIZONA CHARLIES?

Though we are still working out the agenda, we were thinking of doing either an "independents" trip (like Arizona Charlies, Stratosphere, Planet Hollywood, Riviera, etc) or I was thinking of just doing "oddball randoms" like Arizona, Joker's Wild, Rampart, etc.

This was a pretty tame adventure downtown. It was nice to walk to all the properties and take in the glorious downtown scene/history.

I ended up profiting a whole $7 on the entire adventure.

I concur with Perry that the Nugget was my least favorite room.

Fitz was my overall favorite, due to the staff and good action in the NL game.

The El Cortez was strictly fun poker. I do hope to return when Jackie is in the game.

Looking forward to Part 3!

I have a friend who I play poker with here in Orlando, and he sepnt a lot of time in Vegas and he really enjoyed the Fitz as well.

@LasVegasMichael

Be sure to eat their $3 (more or less) ham and eggs breakfast special! We get it every time we're in LV with a rental car.

Great reports guys. I spent some time downtown this past trip and agree that the Fitz and Binions were great rooms. I was very surprised at the GN.

I walked up on a Wednesday night and found the room packed, but what surprised me was the amount of cash on the 1/2 tables. I think the smallest stack was $600. Play seemed average with a few aggressive players, but mostly big preflop raises with 3-4 callers then a checkfest to river. Still amazed at the number of people but then again it is the nicest place downtown.

As for your future trips can't wait to see your reports..I was pleasantly surprised that Planet Holloywood is now seeing more poker room traffic from my visit last year. Really enjoy this room. I was also surprised when we stopped by the Riviera in the afternoon. Completely dead with 1 player waiting for more to show up..We were there for about an hour and as we left there was still no one else wanting to play. Not sure how it is at nights, but afternoons are dead..

What an awesome report about downtown poker! We may have work it in during our June trip. Thanks!

With Binions officially being bought by the Four Queen's, I am curious on what the future holds for them. I have heard they are finally remodeling the hotel rooms....we'll see if they will help out the poker room with updated tables, cards, a modern paging system, etc....

I have been playing at the Nugget and Fitz as of late, just to mix it up and get away from the strip for awhile. It's fun to go down there especially on weekends, bands playing on the 3rd street stage are alot of fun.

I do well at both places, the thing about Fitz is you need to call ahead and make sure a cash game is running. Being upstairs cuts down on their traffic alot. Plus the night tournament WILL break up any cash game going. Frankly I'm surprised you found a game late on a tuesday evening of all times. Having said all that, the comps are good and the staff is great, never had a bad dealer and the Floor are awesome about starting games up, I enjoy playing at Fitzgeralds.

Golden Nugget: I enjoy playing here also. You are guaranteed to find a game at any hour. You'll see the same ole regulars here mixed in with some tourists. I see alot of the regulars there also playing at the Venetian. I agree there are a lot of "experts" which I why I just listen to music most of the time there. Still the atmosphere is upscale and there's a lot of money on the tables due to the uncappedness. Comps are decent, play four hours get a $10 meal ticket, and the coffee shop is awesome. Topless section now at the pool I've heard.

well it doesn't look like you can play poker with the owner any more Long Gaughan: El Cortez owner sells stake in downtown casino

Looks like Jackie no longer has any shares of El Cortez, but will still be lving in the casino and will serve as a "good will ambassador"

@Clem2754

Clem,

I don't mind being compared to Harold & Kumar. We were going for Bill & Ted, thus the excellent adventure. However, I would prefer not to be compaired to

A. Thelma & Louise
B. Martin & Lewis
C. Laverne & Shirley
D. Batman & Robin
E. Beavis & Perry
F. Mork & Mindy
G. Will & Grace

I think you get the point.

I'm glad you guys liked the trip reports. I had fun playing them. And a lot of fun writing them. In two weeks we will have the third installment. I am open to suggestions. If you have any, please make them at least 4 casinos. And try to make sure they have games that run through the night.

Good Luck,

Perry

Interesting review of the downtown poker scene. The only one of those I've played at is the Golden Nugget, which is nice, but does tend to get some talky, jerky players. I like the 1/2 game there. I've been meaning to try the 1/2 game at Binion's, if there is one. I'll post a report on that if I do.

There is almost ALWAYS a 1/2 NL at Binions. We played it that night.

Usually it is on a couple tables at least.

As of now, it is uncapped, but I have heard that they will be adding a cap to it soon, so to encourage a 2/5 uncapped to spread.

Guess if you were that good you could've read those donkeys or were they better. Give no details just gripes.

Actually think doyle and Slim banged a couple of cock tails that still work there. LOL

C o c k t ai ls

After 10 days of me being out of town, we had our 3rd excellant adventure.

At around 10 pm our HEROS met at Arizona Charlies on Decatur to play poker. (Yes heros! Its my trip report, deal with it) Between 10 pm and 5 am we experienced 3 rooms I had not played in and 1 large room that got me even. Oh and we added an activity.

We had originally tried to open up this trip to other players, but no takers. EVIL said she wanted to come with, but couldn't get out of the Mirage on time. (I'll discuss EVIL in a future report.)

So we started at Arizona Charlies at 10. They had a 4-8 limit Hold'em game going with overs. Out of 10 players, 6 had overs buttons. It was the only game going. They have 2 tables. The action was great. We played until 1 am. The dealers were good. Mike, one of the dealers has been dealing in Vegas for almost 30 years. Real nice guy.

LVMike will rat me out if I don't mention that there is a Carioki bar 50 yards from the poker room. I sang two songs: "That's Amore" and "Its Not Unusual" as a solo act, which I dedicated to my former boss TI-Poker who would have me turn up the music whenever Tom Jones came on.

Fun experience even though I lost 200.

At 1:30 am we went to the Stratusphere. There were some good things about the Stratisphere, Dan the shift manager was very gratious, the action was great, and they had a couple good dealers. There were 2 negatives. The first is that regardless of the action, the room closes at 4 am. Second, and this is something that drives me up the wall. A player asked for the pot to be counted. This is against the rules, but it was done anyway. I won $110. Then we got pancakes.

Sabrina then left us to sleep or work or something.I never listen. Leaving Mike and I to continue our adventure.

The next stop was the Riviera at 4 am. It had 5 tables going. There was a pool tournament at the hotel so the action was heavy. I played 3-6 and lost $35. Not sure what the action is like on a regular day. I was a little disappointed with the dealers. We left early.

At around 4:45 I wanted to leave and get one more casino in. So Mike and I went to the Wynn. Best parking of any poker room! Not originally on the schedule. At this point I am down $125 for the night. I play 2-5 no-limit and pick up $210 by 6am. That makes me up $85 for the night. Mike doesn't play because he had to go home.

What can I say about the Wynn? When it first opened, Steve Wynn said "This is not a break-in house." He's right, of all the rooms we have played in so far, they have the best dealers. The action was great, 8 games going at 5 am on a Tuesday. Very professional floor people and great cocktail service.

I originally wanted to review just smaller independents but time ran out due to pancakes and Karioke. So it was nice of the Wynn to stay open so that I could get even.

It was a nice night of poker. I think Arizona Charlie's is a hidden gem of a little poker room. Along with the El Cortez, Fitzgeralds and Sunset station from previous trips, I have found some new smaller rooms to play at.

I would like suggestions for our next trip.

Good Luck,

Perry

Cool report. I think I agree that the Wynn is first class. If you're looking for decent smaller rooms, both Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch have very posh rooms and good dealers but there's only action Thursday night through Sunday afternoon. M T W stay away.

Also the new Planet Hollywood room is smaller than most big strip rooms but very nice and usually has action.

You had very creative spelling throughout this report, Mr Carioki, lol.

It took me a minute to figure out what Carioki was.....and I am a Carioki Queen!

Great trip report!

what is an over button in 6 yrs of poker i have yet to hear that term

Puckman,

Overs are usually used in limit games. Anyone that has them that matches up against another player with an over player can play the game as no limit instead of limit. So for example, if 3 players are in a pot, 2 of them have overs, they still have to play limit. If the player without the over button folds on the flop, then the other 2 players cant start playing no limit on the turn and river.

@gargamello

I'm glad you said it, that's the only thing I could focus on the entire TR...lol, the fact that sometimes it was Carioki and other times Karioki (or however it was spelled), contrary to the proper, Karaoke. You know what might help you Mr. Shenkmeister? Download Mozilla Firefox to use as your browser, rather than Explorer...since AVP doesn't have spell check, Mozilla comes in very handy for this!! It's an automatic feature, no matter where you are typing. On the other hand, your unique way of spelling really does define your character...so just disregard the suggestion (like you were planning to do anyway).

Sounds like you guys had a blast, I wish I could've heard your rendition of 'It's Not Unusual'...I'll bet you have a great singing voice!!

@SouthPointPerry

Or how about Stratosphere was spelled wrong twice also!

What about incorporating some sort of challenge into the adventure?

For example, can you make it to more than 4 rooms in one night if you leave each room when: (1) some amount of time is up, or (2) one of you wins or loses a set amount of money. This might be a fun way to keep score against each other and the "house" -- i.e. the house wins if you guys leave for time reasons, not cash reasons.

Another idea is to try to find out which room has players/staff from more places -- on the particular night that you visit. To mix it up, it could be where they were born, not where they say they are from now. Maybe for each new place it's 1 point for a U.S. state, 2 points for a foreign country, and 5 points if someone is from the same place you are!

Just some ideas to make the adventure even more fun, no matter where you end up going.

sounds like a great time, I noticed pancakes are becoming part of the adventures!!!

Buy the weigh eye found notathing rong wif da weigh he spelled wurds!!!!

@minton

Ok, my brain hurts.

Excellent report; hope you enjoy the following secretly captured video from Arizona Charlie’s surveillance room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrwO8b9iq34

Dam Perry you look good

Mark

@bgeorgeee

Mark,

I was hoping that video wouldn't surface. I've got enough problems trying to get through "Speling for Dumies".

See you guys tonight at 1am!

Perry

Good trip report. Someone get Perry a spell check. Or at the very least AVP a spell check. I may need it as well.

Gotta love the Wynn poker room..... My favorite room for cash game action.

OMFG!!

Did you say "Evil" ??? Is she an Asian Lady? The first time I ever played poker in Vegas, I played a one table satellite to a daily tournament at the Mirage. I got head's up at the end with an asian lady. I pushed w/AA she called with 77 and hit a set on the turn to knock me out, and busted my metaphorical Vegas Cherry.

Everyone semed to know her, and people were calling her, "Evil". This was in 2001/2. I can 't imagine too many ladies named Evil who hang out at the Mirage. Does this sound like the same person??

@Tenesmus

She's not Asian. But you are thinking of the right lady. She's about 5' nothing, long "blonde" hair, deals at the Mirage. She used to go out with a guy nicknamed Blockhead.

@Clem2754

Congradulations to Sameer Mishra, the new national speling be champion! I had him beat but I failed the drug test.

Pery

Are you South Point Perry or Soth Point Pery

Please confirm.....

Well its Excellant Adventure (EA) time again. Constant reader this episode finds our heros on the East side of the strip trying out 4 different poker rooms. I will preface this report by saying, I didn't win in any of the rooms. This may of clouded my judgement.

At around 8 pm Mike, YappyDave and myself met for dinner. It was a lovely meal cooked by Mike's wife. We headed out at 10:30pm.

Just a note: Yappy joined us on this trip as a guest appearance. We brought him along as a poker expert, or pro, or Excellant Adventure groupie. Yeh, that's it, groupie. Anyway, it was good to have him along for the ride.

Our first stop was Bill's at Flamingo and LV blvd. Bill's has two tables and is located next to the open doors on the floor of the casino. The game was a 2-6 spread limit hold'em game. The game was good, the view was great. The action was ok. I think its a nice place to play if you want to people watch. I lost $12.

Around 12:30 am we walked north on the strip to O'shea's. Another small casino on the strip. They have 2 rooms. One for tournaments, 3 tables, and one near the open doors, 3 tables. We did not get into the games. All the cash games were 1-2 nl hold'em. They have a 12am tourney, 30+ players on a Tues. Good action. Nice place to people watch.

Unfortunately, this was my best showing. I didn't get in the game. Thus breaking even.

We got in our cars and drove to Hooter's at around 1 am. The poker room is right next to the garage. One game going, 1-2 no-limit hold'em. The action was good in that game. I unfortunately lost $300 with the second best straight. Yappy was the player who won the pot. He's not invited back on the excellent adventure (lol).

With only enough for one buy-in each, Mike and I decided to go to the Tropicana. Yappy had all my money, so he was well funded. We got there at 2:30am. One game, no-limit hold'em. Good action. But the room is like playing in a cave.

Over all I was disappounted with my results, losing over $400. But I found two interesting places to play and people watch, O'shea's and Bill's.

I know there were no pancakes (EA 2&3), Karioke (EA3), or getting pulled over for a ticket (EA1). But it was interesting to see different rooms.

I was not overwhelmed by any of these rooms. They are basically poker rooms that got opened because of the poker boom, except the trop. On a given weekend, if there are enough tourists in any of the games, the games will be good.

I look forward to EA5. Thanks for reading.

Perry

Nice report. I'm sure Yappy will complete the details when he has a moment.

time for you to take your adventure to the MONTE!

@vegasdealer78

We'll get there eventually. You work monday nights?

We are still doing the smaller/obscure places at the moment, but Monte will be on the list probably for EA6 or EA7.

@vegasdealer78

Would anyone be interested in us doing an Excellent Adventure to just Casinos that are voted on. I am willing to bet that people who have enjoyed these reports would like to see their favorite casino in the mix. And to see if I misspell the name of the Casino.

What do you all think?

Perry

I mentioned my good fortune in the 10k challenge. The trip was fun but maybe biased by the winnings

Excellant Adventure 5 happened last night. Originally Mike and I wanted to hit all of the Coast Casino's. We hit 3 and one out of the way independant. This was a fun trip with two guests at the final stop. And I dropped a "big" name in poker and catch crap for it.

Normally we have these adventures on Monday morning. But due to a temperary change in my schedule, I was free Friday night. So we start our adventure at 8 pm at Sam's town.

Mike was already playing in a 1-2-4-8-8 game when I arrived. I got in instantly and started playing. The action was good. A couple of drunks and a lot of locals. They had 3 tournament tables going when I got there. After an hour they started a nl game which Mike played in. The floor people were on the ball and the dealers were good.

For Friday night they had four cash games going. Not huge action, but good games. Overall a nice place to play. I lost $34 dollars.

We left Sam's town at 10pm and proceeded to go to another Coast owned casino, Joker's Wild. This is a very small casino about 5 miles south of Sam's town on the Boulder Strip in Henderson. My perception of this casino is that it reminds me of a native american casino like the ones I played at in New mexico 10 years ago. It has a 4 table poker room just adjacent to the craps pit. They had one game going, 2-4 spread limit hold'em. Good action. One of their dealers, Joe was in the game. Nice guy.

Overall there wasn't much action in the room for 11 pm on a Friday. But the staff was friendly, they had high hand bonuses and an hours played promotion. Get $599 for playing 130 hours in a month. They use stud cards (a little weird). Nice place but like many of the stops on the excellant adventure, I can't see us going back there again due to the distance. I lost $58.

We played for one 1/2 hour and left at 11 pm. Mike told me about a casino about 10 miles further south on the Boulder Strip. I said where Arizona. Close. the casino is Club Fortune. One of the last independent casinos in Nevada (I prefer independant casinos such as South Point, I know cheap plug).

Club Fortune has three poker tables right next to the table games pit. They had one game going, 3-6 hold'em with a 1/2 kill. The dealers were good and took turns working as floorman. They take a $3 max rake. Mike and I both became Club members. Each of us got a T-shirt for joining the club. Its a nice place for locals but too far away. If I lived in Henderson, I would stop by there and play. We left at 12:15am. I lost $40.

At this point we picked up two extras for the Excellant Adventure. Bowling fool, an Avper and my ex, I affectionately call "EVIL". We met them at the Orleans. It was time for breakfast so we went to the cafe. I avoided pancakes this week and had chicken parmagan. The cafe at the Orleans is one of the best in town. Evil had the Mongolian beef. They have a great chinese food menu.

At this meal I opened my mouth during one conversation and stuck my foot in it. And I will be paying for this for a while. Somehow we started talking about "famous" poker players. I typically don't drop names but I was tired. So I bragged about one "infamous" player being an aquantance of mine. I even said, "He knows me." like I was bragging. When most people drop names they use big stars. In this industry that would be Helmouth, Brunson, Chan, Fergusen and people like that. But not me, I told everyone at the table I know Sam Grissle and he knows me. This is the reason for Mike's new tag line.

After the meal we went into the poker room. There were about 15 live games going. Mike, Evil and I jumped into an Omaha Hi/Lo game. The action was good and me and evil played for 4 1/2 hours. Mike played for an hour and jumped into a mixed game. During that time, they harrased me continuosly about my poker contacts. I won 200 in the game.

Most of you who live here have played at the Orleans. Its a fun locals casino with good restaurants, nice shows, a movie theatre and a good poker room.

On the trip I won about $70. It was a lot of fun. I have learned not to stick my foot in my mouth. (Let's be honest, I'll do it again) I went to casinos I would never have visited and had fun hanging with Mike, Bowling Fool and Evil. With the World Series in town there are still 5000 dealers in this city. So all of the action within this city is great.

The next trip, ea6 will happen soon. Any ideas?

Good Luck,

SouthPointPerry

Sounds like good times yet again on the EA.

I'm extremely jealous of all you locals that can go to 4-6 casinos for poker all in one night, must be nice!

@SouthPointPerry

Having been fortunate enough to actually be at the table the moment SPPerry spoke this most memorable line, "Sam Grizzle KNOWS me!", I can say that LVM will ride SPP pretty hard for it for the next few months.

SPP, it was great to finally meet ya after reading your EA trip reports for the past several months. Had a great time listening to your stories at the dinner table. Hopefully will be able to join you guys again in the near future.

That was a fun time. The EA5 is also chronicled in my Weekend of Poker Degeneracy Trip Report.

EA6 will be this upcoming Monday. Stay tuned!

I am proud to present the sixth installment of the Excellent Adventure series. Our adventure actually started two days earlier with Mike and I having breakfast at the SouthPoint. We decide on the line up of EA6 (and EA7). At this point we are still going to poker rooms we have not visited on the adventures yet. In future EA's we will revisit some rooms.

Our night starts with your heros arriving at Circus Circus at around 8:15pm. Even though it was an early start for us, it was almost not early enough. They only had one game going, 3-6 with overs. Just one blind. OK action, about half locals and half tourists. The dealers were OK. Cocktails were about average in speed. They recently cancelled their high hand bonuses. I didn't enjoy the experience that much. I lost $70.

I mentioned that we went to a casino that reminded me of a mall. This was it. There are literally 100 little shops. Selling things like t-shirts, junk food, purses, souvineers, tour packages, coffee, etc. There were about 6 or 7 little restaurants similar to a food court. It is a zoo. Kids are running around all over the place. One even walked into the poker room. At least at Chucky Cheese you don't have to worry about some goof slow rolling you.

We left Circus Circus and took Industrial to the Monte Carlo. I had to follow Mike to our next location. Industrial has construction all over the place. But that doesn't stop Mike from driving like he's delivering a pizza. I challenge any of you to try to keep up with him. Oh by the way I am a former professional driver.

We jump into a 2-5 no-limit game. I lose with pocket aces. I am not thrilled. I lose another hand to a two outer. I'm a little heated. I was on tilt for the rest of the session. The monte carlo has 9 tables. One of them has a chair that is right up against the wall. I was stupid enough to pick that chair. Poker fans do not pick this chair if you are planning to play for an hour and a 1/2.

After an hour and a 1/2 Mike and I decided to leave. I lost $270. The dealers are good and the action was good. It has a higher amount of locals than other strip casinos. Mike called it the Stations casino of the strip due to the number of locals. Its a good room. We leave at 1 am.

Next stop the Mandalay Bay valet. We park and walk to the Excaliber. We get in the game at 1:30am. Its a 1-2 nl with a 100 to 300 dollar buy in. This is a good game. A couple of locals, a couple of drunk tourists and a guy with $800 who can't speak english but will call you down with 10 high. Not bet at the pot, he will call you down with nothing.

The dealers are OK. The floor didn't have to make a decision so I didn't get to evaluate them. Cocktails were OK. But the action was the best. Everytime I have been there its been insane games. I'll be back. Now in the interest of FULL disclosure, I did make $714. (In honor of the baseball allstart game at Yankee statium, my win, 714, was the number of HR's the Babe hit!) The win probably was why I am jazzed about the Excaliber.

We then went to the Luxor cafe for breakfast. No pancakes for me. I had the roast Salmon, very good. We arrive at the poker room at 3:20 am. Now this room actually doesn't count. The reason being, it is a temporary location while they are getting their new room ready. Short stay. Good action, good dealers, pretty good competition. But until the new room is done, I can't give you a real review. In the old room about 4 years ago, EVIL worked there. So I have some fond memories. When they open the new room we'll make time to go back. I lost $20.

At 4:45 we leave and go to the Mandalay Bay. I have played there a number of times. Its always been great action. The action at 5am was three no limit games and one 2-4 limit hold'em game. Four games on a Tuesday morning, pretty good. The dealers are very good, and the room is very comfortable. The deli is great if you play there during the day. I like the Mandalay Bay and have enjoyed my time there. I won $35

Again for full disclosure, a number of their dealers play at the Point. They are good customers. But that doesn't change the fact that I really enjoy the Mandalay when ever I play there or just go for dinner or a show. Great casino.

Overall I had a great excellant adventure. While I have played at almost all of these casinos, it was fun to hit them again. I will be back to the Mandalay, Excaliber, the Luxor and even though I lost, I probably will go back to the Monte Carlo. This adventure should be remembered for something I wrote on this sight a number of months ago. THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YOU WILL MAKE IN POKER IS: G A M E S E L E C T I O N !!!!
Make sure you choose a loose game where people don't know how to play. Thats the best way to build your bankroll.

See you later.

Perry

For the sake of semantics, I will say that though we planned to go to the Luxor coffee shop immediately after Excalibur, we ended up playing at the temporary Luxor poker room first, since it was literally right by the walkway to the Excal, upon the entrance to the property.

I will be posting my take on EA6 in my blog tomorrow. It will include pictures.

As always, good times had by all. Looking forward to EA7.

Excalibur is a license to print low stakes money. I especially like going there right after the beginner holdem lessons in the afternoon

Nice write up once again Perry. Just curious if anyone knows when the Luxor's new room will open up. It's on my to-do list when im out there, but it might be replaced with another if it's a "temp room." As always, your input is appreciated.

[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

Great report, thank you.

Great report...keep up the good work.

You need to create a master list of EA rooms with some sort of ranking systems (1-5 pancakes perhaps)!!!

@brose21

I asked two different Luxor employees, and one said two weeks, and the other said three weeks. My guess is that it is closer to 4 weeks.

It will be in the same location as the last temp location (in the sportsbook area). The current location is very thrown together, with the autoshufflers not having any power, as there are no outlets there.

We will definately revisit them after they reopen.

I have posted the final chapter in the WPD II (Weekend of Poker Degeneracy Part II), which includes all of EA6, with pointless and blurry pics.

For the lazy groupies, here is the link (it will take you directly to Day 4 of the WPD, and EA6): Click Me!

You can't keep up with a 10 yr old Cadillac??

@SouthPointPerry

Hello. Thought I'd hijack the thread. I saw you guys at Monte playing 2/5 when my 1/2 game started to dry up, but went to Excalibur instead. Luckily, I got to drag one pot off the non-English speaking call station. I didn't meet you, Perry, but nice pot with the QQQ. I met Michael and that's how I found out about this place.

Good luck to both of you on EA7.

Thanks for the blog Photoc.

SPPerry

It was nice to meet you and play alongside you for a bit. Thanks for posting and saying hello.

That QQQ was a hell of a hand.

The guy in the middle was a relic. Remember when he called the river with 10 high? I can only assume that he thought he had a flush. Wow.

See ya at the tables!

@bonuspokergod [/quote]

First of all, it's 6 years old. Give credit where credit is due.

Second of all, it has 133K miles, no shocks, and to describe the transmission as "sluggish" would be like describing Vegas as being a "little warm" in the summer.

Yet, he can barely keep up. Then again, his maneuverability/faculties are a little weak since he is still depressed over the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis break up.

@LasVegasMichael

Micheal,

Martin and Lewis breaking up did not bother me. I can't stand Jerry Lewis.

OK before you break your arm patting your self on the back. Remember, your car beat me not you speedy. Now I have to go put my dentures in to get the blue plate special.

Peace out,

Blockhead

In honor of the big movie premier this past weekend, Mike and I ventured into Gotham's seedy underground to face the psychotic creatures of the night. Two dark knights facing the crazy and the insane. In the background, erie, ominous bone chilling music was playing:

"Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you
Mamma mis, does it show again
My my, just how much I missed you. "

I shreik in terror whenever I hear that.

ANYWAY, our latest adventure starts at the Paris hotel and casino at 8:30pm on Monday night. They have one live game and 2 tournament tables going. We get in on the start of a second live game, 1 - 2 no-limit hold'em. The Paris has a very unique quirk, they stay dark until 5pm. Then open the room. Meaning there are no games until the evening. They have one shift, swing.

Mike and I were the only locals in the game. I mentioned this and he said, "What local would come here?" I agree. Its gotta be hit or miss as to whether you find a game here. On top of strange hours, a dealer actually showed a winning hand to the losing player and said, "He checked this?!" I was speechless. I made $12 dollars and got out as soon as possible.

The next location we went to was the sister property, Bally's. These two are conected. Paris and Bally's show each others waiting lists, the dealers work in both rooms, when one has a game go down the players are sent to the other room. Its a strange arrangement. But it does lead to a lot of action in Bally's poker room. It was 9:15 on Monday night and they had 6 games going. Mike and I sat down in a 1-2 nl game. The action was good. It was mostly tourists. I made $150 dollars. We left at around 10:40 and headed north on the strip.

The next Harrah's property we went to was, Flamingo. This is a me too room with 11 tables. We sat in a 2-4 game and played for almost 20 minutes. It was an OK game in a nondescript room.
I won $2 dollars.

The Flamingo brings out the underlying theme of the evening. Mike and I felt that we had to cover these properties, all Harrah's, to complete seeing all poker rooms in Vegas. To give you an idea of our attitude, it was like that science class you had to take in college to graduate. "I'm a business major, what do I need chemistry (spelling) for?"

So we went on to see a new Harrah's poker room. This one, Harrahs.This room at least had a horse game going, 4-8 limit. We played the game for an hour, I won $8. The room is enclosed with 12 tables. Its across from the sports book and near the deli. The dealers were OK, the action in this game was bad, it was all locals. I'm sure the no-limits were better.

I try to come up with something nice about each of the rooms we see but these four rooms were very homogeneous and kind of boring. It seems that if you go to one or another you won't be able to tell the difference except for the name on the chips.

At 12:30 am Mike and I went to the Teahouse, the coffee shop at the IP, to have dinner. I had chicken parmagian, pretty good. It was a nice meal paid by Mike's comps. The IP gives you $2 per hour. Pretty great!

This brings us to the IP poker room. I have to admit I really like it. Its a small room right next to the blackjack pit. They bring out a plate of cookies for the players on each shift. They have a wheel to spin for high hands. They run our mixed game on Sunday nights. You all know how gratious they were for the last AVP meet. When you go into that room you feel they want your business. For example, we were 2nd and 3rd on the list so Mike talked them into letting us play heads up Badusi and double flop Omaha. Between us we lost $122 in one hour.

The IP was the highlight of the trip. It was a fun trip even with 4 mediocre rooms. We are finding it harder to go to "new" rooms that are exciting so we're hitting the rooms that are left. I think you would like the IP and the action at Bally's.

Good Luck,

SouthPoint Perry

Great report, glad to see you knocked the harrah's rooms of the list, so I'm guessing other than the IP there weren't many pancakes give out.

Hey I was more or less a chemistry major there is nothing wrong with those classes, not that Language class I had to take, really what good is German going to do me?

The best part of the night was making money (I personally ended up $60 on this EA, despite winning $150 at Ballys), and the graciousness of Kevin and Mike at Imperial Palace.

IP is such a "home" room now. It is a comfortable casino that knows where it stands and doesn't pretend to be something its not.

The place has real character. There is WOOD PANELING in the ceiling (straight out of the Brady Bunch house), and the glass chandeliers/plastic flowers are all like a time machine back to Vegas as depicted in a Martin Scorcese film.

The adventure was good times. We walked the Strip like a couple of tourists, saw a good handful of ladies in the customer service industry, and crossed many rooms off the list. We were going to include Planet Hollywood, but we ran out of energy and the valet was full.

I will come back soon and post some pictures from the evening.

@LasVegasMichael

fixed your post - I have a feeling you & Perry have left out a few MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS from the trip report!!

I recently did that trip myself and I think we came up with about the same feeling! lol I do want to go to the mixed game on Sunday at IP... when does it start???

Thanks~
Lupe

It's every Sunday at 7PM. Call by 5PM to get on the list: 702-794-3225. Get there by 6:55 at the latest.

See ya soon!

I think bowlingfool has hit the highlights.....

Michael invited three young impressionable EA groupies to join us on the Excellant Adventure. The three of them were SilentBod, Yappy Dave and Other Dave. When young people meet their heros, they can get very nervous. Hey I get it, I remember meeting Sam Grissel. So don't worry OD, just because you spilled your cool aid all over your shirt doesn't mean we think any less of you.

Our first stop is the Suncoast. I jumped into a 4-8 game. I don't think I have ever seen bigger pots in that game, $200, consistently. I lose $100 in about 45 minutes. After busting out, Other Dave is kind enough to point out that my head is shaped like a block. (Michael, lets refine our ride along screening process.)

On a different table, Mike and Yappy were playing 1-2 no limit. Yappy made a great play on a guy and it led to one of the dumbest things a player has ever said at a table. Yappy has 6-7. The preflop raiser makes it $15 to go. Three handed to the flop, J99. Yappy checks, the Villian bets $25, Yappy check raises to $75. The villian folds and Yappy shows the bluff. The Villian then says,"I can't beat luck!" To which Mike responds, "Yeah, flopping 7 high is pretty lucky." This was a well timed and well executed bluff that pushed a player off of a better hand. What the F**k was that guy thinking to call it luck?

The next stop was the Gold Coast. We got their at midnight. All five of us jumped into a new 4-8 limit game. To rate the action would be silly. It was five AVPers drinking, laughing and talking smack. We had a good time. so did the other five players. ALL FIVE OF US HAD TO REBUY IN LESS THAN A 1/2 HOUR. I lost $116 but had a lot of fun. Its a small room with not much action on a Tuesday morn at 1 am. The staff was OK.

Then we went to the Palace Station at 2am. Mike and I went to breakfast. All you can eat pancakes. I could only eat three, I am sooo out of practice. The other AVPers went to go bowling. We finished pancakes at 3am and went to the poker room. They had two full limit holdem games with a list. So we bailed. I have played there before. Mostly locals, so not great action. They are part of the stations group so the big Jackpot is in play there. But there biggest attraction is you can smoke after 12:30 am.

The final stop was Red Rock at 4am. I jumped into a 2-5 nl game. It was wild. A lot of $1000 pots. I turned $600 into $1420 in 2.5 hours. Mike won also. Yappy, OD and Bod joined us after the bowling special olympics. They got into the 1-2 nl game.

Red Rock is a stations casino. It has 20 tables. On a Friday or Saturday night, all the tables will be in use. You can find great nl action and good low limit action. The dealers are good and the floor people are experienced. The waitresses were fast. Its a well run room with good action even if its dominated by locals.

Having five AVPers made for a really fun night. We found a couple of wild games, Suncoast and Red Rock. Made some money. And helped some wide eyed young groupies fulfill their lifelong dream of hang out with Mike and I on the Excellant Adventure.

Now that I've published that we allow other poker players tojoin us on the Excellant Adventures, I'm sure our phones will be ringing off the wall with requests from the Make-A-Wish foundation.

See you on the river.

SouthPoint Perry

I am wanting an evening of comradery and great poker. I am in town in October

Have you guys been to the North side of town yet. I know some parts are scary (Poker Palace, Speedway), but just curious to rooms in northtown. Cannery? Texas Station? I just moved to the NW side from Henderson and wanted the low down on where to play besides Santa Fe.

While we haven't hit the north side of town yet, we do plan to make it its own EA. We have hit Texas Station. It was in EA 1. Lots of 4-8 and 2-4 limit. Not a lot of no limit, but they do play the 4-8 with overs.

As far as the north part of town being scary, here at EA headquarters we spit in the face of danger. Ha! (Michael we're taking your car.)

SPPerry

"If it's barely a poker room, we'll visit it!"

At 3:15pm on Monday I pick up Talon for the trip to Laughlin. Mike is taking his wife and the Sledgehammer. I stop by the SouthPoint to let them know I was seeking fortune down south and might get swept away by the excitement and glitz of Laughlin. They said, "its your day off, go away."

So we take the 1 1/2 hour drive to Laughlin. The five of us meet at Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino. What a strange coincidence that his name and the city are the same. Talon and I get there early so we eat at one of the gourmet restaurants. I had a "pan" pizza. I've been talking about the experience ever since.

About 6:30 we get to the poker room and started playing 4-8 hold'em. The dealers are nice and they only take $3 rake. the locals are really good. I lose $40 to one of the local sharks. On the way out we see our cocktail waitress playing slots in her uniform with her tray sitting next to her. Wow Vegas is nice but you want class go to Laughlin. The nicest thing about this room is that you actually can watch the river as you play. Kind of romantic.

We go next door to the Aquarius. It has two tables that are adjacent to the pit. They rotate pit dealers in and out. I am not proud about this. I am all in in my final hand. Mike's wife is in for the side pot. After getting the side pot, I say "throw your hand away!". Mike stops her and she wins the main pot. Then Mike accuses me of Angle shooting his wife. Why am I embarrased, I got caught, why else? I lose $100. The pit manager was nice, he opened a game for the five of us. Nice casino.

At 9:30 we go to Edgewater. They have a $9000 club royal. Mike and I figured out that it is valid for Stud as well as Hold'em. the five of us play Stud for an hour. An interesting point that we observed was neither dealer we had had ever dealt Stud in their 2 year dealing career. We had to help them with each hand. Poker has really changed in the last five years! I lost $60. Nice staff, small room.

The next room was the Colorado Belle. This is probably the busiest room in Laughlin. 10 tables. At 10:45pm they had three full games. They had a 2-6 spread limit hold'em game. I have never seen this before. It had a kill and the game went to 4-12 on the kill. I didn't think any spread limit games had kills. Nice room. Good staff. We bumped into another AVPer at the room, LocalRock. I lost $18

After dinner at the Tropicana Express we went to the poker room. This is where the trip starts to get interesting. We ask if they will start a game for us. The floor guy grumbles and says I just closed a table. The dealer talks up and says she will deal it. The floor guy says loud enough for us to hear,"you won't make a thing on this, friends at private games never tip." Talon tells me he hears this, so I go to Mike and say no, I'm not playing here. We get up to leave, but Mike goes back and gives him an earfull. For obvious reasons, we didn't play, so I broke even. My best showing in Laughlin.

The last stop was the River Palms. We play 2-6 hold'em, apprently the game of choice in the big city. We play for an hour. At this point I am exhausted as are the rest of the crew. We all get up and it unfortunately breaks the game. I lose $50.

At this point one player starts yelling at us and using his rather exstensive vocabulary of four letter words. I have kind of a funny quirk. If someone gets really mad at me, I stand there and smirk at them. So they will get more mad. At this point the guy changes his challenge from:I will take all your money,to I will beat you up.
Don't think I don't know that most of you were rooting for him. There are four of us (and Mike's wife) so I'm not scared. Security comes over and our group laughs at this and leaves. Our experience at the River Palms was still better then our experience at the Tropicana Express.

Road trips are fun. You play against new players, you see new things and have new experiences. My suggestion if you would like to go to Laughlin is stay overnight. The drive is a hassle but its a fun place.

OK a few comments:

I never knew that Laughlin is on par with Chicago (Ginos, Connies, Giodanos) for great pan pizza. Truely amazing....

Perry, you should consider moving there and bet on sports WHILE YOU ARE WORKING. It will save numerous hours in your day and add to the bottom line of the casino.

I'm shocked the LV Michael was not able to change the floor managers mind. I figure he would grab an I-phone and be like do you see how many post I have on allvegaspoker.com The manager would have started the game no problem.

Word on the street was that the guy was not going to challenge you to a fight Perry, but you made fun of his typing ability and that set him off.....

All kidding aside, nice report. It shows the other side of poker and shows that holdem is the game of choice ever since the Moneymaker effect in 2003.

great report, a little of a bummer that the near fights weren't that great.

Keep up the good work!!!

@SouthPointPerry

Kinda surprised that the dealers there haven't dealt any stud, even with all those old skool dinosaurs that live & play out there. If anything, I would've expected Laughlin to at least have a $1-4 or $1-5 stud game go daily.

Here is my version, mostly similar story, I forgot about the pan pizzas at Pizza Hut express....

A Romantic Night in Laughlin, or how we actually started to miss Las Vegas

It was a pleasure to tag along for EA9, following my idols LVM and SP Perry. The final entourage consisted of the original 2, LVM’s wife (known throughout the night as the whiff or the Wi-Fi), Sledgehammer, and myself. Perry and I arrived before LVM and his carload at Riverside Casino. After wandering around, taking a picture of Perry in front of the bar named “Loser’s Lounge”, we found the poker room. It was in a beautiful spot, with a view of the Colorado river on one end of the room. I believe it had 8 or 9 tables, 3 of them in use by their nightly tournament. We discovered that the tournaments in Laughlin are on the generally less expensive side….Ok, they were dirt cheap. This one was a $12 entry fee with a $3 add-on. After players busted out, they immediately jumped into cash games, since they had 2 or 3 cash bonus’ given out after playing in a tournament. The dealers were friendly, the management was a bit on the strange side, but nothing to make me not want to come back (we’ll save those feelings for another casino in Laughlin). They commonly spread 2-6 spread Limit, 3-6 Omaha 8/B, and 1-2 NL. They said the no limit doesn’t startup till later in the evening. Perry and I got in a 2-6 spread game, and was joined by LVM and Sledgehammer minutes later. After a hour of playing, I was up $74, and everyone was ready to move onto another room. The real highlight of that room came then. The cocktail waitresses were better looking than most of the ones at the other rooms, and we had 2 different ones during our hour there. As we are nearing the front entrance, we spot our first waitress, sitting with her tray on top of a machine next to her, playing video poker. I have never seen someone on the clock playing a machine in full view of everyone, and I believe it might have been time to give her a brochure entitled, “When the Fun Stops”.

Next stop was next door, a casino called the Aquarius. Nice casino, small poker room, actually just a poker area roped off in the pit. There were 3 tables, looks like most of the time they use 2 at the most. They had one full game of 4-8 Limit going on, and were happy to open up another game for us, which brought in 2 or 3 others to play as well and take money from the newbie poker playing tourists that we are. The one thing that we found there that we didn’t like is that the dealers are all pit dealers, the tables seem to be just part of the rotation for them to deal at, which also meant that your tips at the table just go to the tip pool and not the actual person dealing to you. That was too bad, as we had 2 excellent dealers and I would of loved to have them keep the money we were throwing at them. On one hand, Perry was getting short stacked and kept continuation bet throughout the hand. The better half of LVM, the Wi-Fi, kept calling, catching her set on the turn, which also gave her a full house since the board had paired on the flop. Perry said I need an ace before the river card came up, as he was all-in. The dealer put out a non-ace insignificant river card. Then she took the rest of the deck in her hand and kept turning over cards, looking for the ace for Perry, and finding it near the bottom of the deck. Like I said, I wish the tips were going right to them instead of the pool. After a hour, we moved on, I did well and was up $113 there, for a total of $187.

We got into our cars and moved on south, parking at the Edgewater casino, which is a sister property of the casino next to it, the Colorado Belle. The poker room at the Edgewater is a tiny area, only 4 tables, one was full with a 2-6 spread limit game. Michael noticed on their information that they offered Stud as well and asked if they could start up a game for us. The manager was open to that idea, and got the table opened for us. Stud is not spread too often there, in fact it was the first time for all of their dealers to have dealt it…EVER. Both dealers were good with us, we guided them along in how to deal it, not too many mistakes. After a hour, we all cashed out, I lost $27. In fact I think we all lost money since we were the only 5 playing, paying full rake and overtipping the dealers.

A short walk alongside the river to the Colorado Belle, where we learned that some people think those things flying way high up in the lights above the casino think that they are just moths, not bats like we told her….

The Colorado Belle was a nice room, a bit more up-to-date than it’s sister property next door. They had two games of 2-6 spread limit along with a 2-4 limit game. We also had the pleasure of running into fellow AVP’er Local Rock. Not too much to say about this room, the dealers were good, the management staff professional. Definitely a nice room to play in. I played 2-6, and lost $23.

Back into the cars to drive across the street to the Tropicana. We were all craving something edible to eat, so we sat down at one of the few places open at midnight to serve us, a coffee shop with a railroad theme. Food was good, enough said…onto one of the 2 next highlights of the evening.

We walk over to the poker room at the Tropicana, a nice area, maybe 6 or 7 tables. One full game is being run, a 2-6 spread limit. LVM asks if they can spread a Stud hi game for us, and he gets an instant no from the manager, whose name is Mike as well. LVM then asks if they can start anything for us, that we just want to play for a hour or so. The dealer standing by him immediately chimes in and says sure. Manager Mike within ½ second of her saying that says “no”, the dealer looks at him and say the 2 dealers can be locked in for a hour, no big deal. He relents, and the game looks to be starting up at a nearby table. But in earshot of everyone, manager mike tells her, “look, you have 5 friends wanting to pay against each other, they aren’t going to tip that well, you’ll be lucky to make any money at all while dealing that table.” I look at sledgehammer, and we both decide to walk over and relate this little information to LVM and Perry, who had missed that little bit of “advice” from the manager. We decide at that point to cancel playing in that room, and start to make our way out of the casino. We get about 100 feet away and LVM is too mad to make a quiet exit, and returns to let manager Mike know what he thinks of his attitude. Needless to say, after this manager found that we we’re all from the poker community, and that we always take care of the dealers, we are sure he was very sorry to see us go. I’m sure the dealer was probably pissed at him too, as she could have had her best down of the night if it wasn’t for her manager pre-judging people walking in to a poker room.

Looking forward to the next room and getting back into playing some poker, we go to the River Palms casino. Nice looking place, we found the room to be a 7 or 8 table area downstairs. They had one game going (yes, you guessed it, 2-6 spread limit), and perfect timing, they had 5 seats open for all of us to join in. Wide range of players, friendly dealers and staff. After getting settled in, we discovered that the player in seat 5 was quite an interesting guy. Her liked to be table captain, sometimes raising with very questionable hands (3 betting preflop with Q-5 offsuit was the best one). The hand of the night personally came 30 minutes later. I was in middle position with pocket 8’s. A woman in early position raised it $6 to $8 total. Perry, sitting 2 from her, re-raised it $6 more to $14. I decide to call. She re-raises and Perry does the same. I’m debating on calling and decide to do it and see the flop, as there was no more betting allowed. The flop comes 6-7-9 rainbow. I’m sitting there with an open-ended straight draw and over $75 in the pot, I’m not going anywhere. The woman bets, Perry raises, I call, and she is all-in for less. The turn is a Jack, Perry bets $6, I call, and the river is a beautiful 5. Perry bets, I raise, and he calls. Perry turns over the best starting hand, pocket Queens. The woman turns over a set of Jacks, and I show my straight. SHIP IT!!!!! We play for another 30 minutes or so, with everyone started to get a bit tired and not looking forward to the 90 minute drive back home. Our favorite table captain (we’ll call him TC), was still playing a bit crazy, and looked like he was having a few too many drinks. I didn’t mind, especially since he was tipping well and I was hoping to catch him on a big hand. Perry and Sledgehammer started to rack up their chips so I started to do the same (you got to ago when you’re ride is ready to leave). All of a sudden, TC started going off on how we’re a bunch of M-Fer’s leaving now, followed with a bunch of other choice slang words not found in the dictionary. The dealer seemed to not really be taking control of the situation, so as I stood up with my chips, I told him of “my admiration for his use of words and that I felt equally if not more so of him”. I then walked over to the cashier, asking the group if the money I was cashing in was enough to make bail (BTW, I was up $76 there). Perry, upon hearing of my conversation with TC, walked back over to him. I’ll leave his conversation for his trip report, as I was not close enough to hear it. During this time, the staff felt it was a good time to call the wonderful staff of the River Palms security. They were actually really cool about things, I think they must have had previous incidents with TC. I know one of us should of asked them if we could take TC out of the casino to get to know each other better…they might have been welcome to it. After a few minutes of laughing at TC and talking to security and the poker staff, we headed out for our long drive back to the land of civilization.

All in all, it was a great time. Most people were friendly, some need some work on their personality and hygiene. Not sure if I will ever venture back down there, the 2-6 games were juicy, but I also know I just had a great run of cards. I ended the night up $193. Thanks LVM and Perry for allowing me to play along, I had a great time.

My family and went to Laughlin a few years back to meet up with some other relatives and had a bad experience playing poker there.

We made it down to the poker room in the Riverside one day and bought into a cheap tournament. The dealer began commenting on the different players, the size of their bets and their actions. Everyone seemed to know everyone so, it didn't bother anyone but me. As we got down to about half the tables, I picked ip pocket fours and limp in. The flop comes and I hit a set and check. The dealer says "What could he playing?
A guy raises and everyone folds to me and I look over at the other guy's chip stack and announce raise and put my chips out. The dealer says " He limps in, looks at Joe's chip stack and then raises!. What could he be playing? Joe ends up folding and I feel like I lost a chance at a lot of chips. I ask the dealer about it and he basically tells me too bad.

I get up to talk to the floor and run into my nephew. He tells me he was at three differnt tables and at each one found aces with marks on the back side. He told the management about it but they told him too bad, they were not changing anything.

I busted out soon thereafter and made a vow to stick to playing in Vegas!

We might go back sometime....maybe when poker gets banned from Las Vegas casinos.

@talon1964

Actually Talon, we WILL go back if every jack ass Las Vegas casino president goes with the PokerTek system.

Blockhead

Settle Perry, let it flop at Excal and then everything will go back to normal.

I'll echo what someone has already predicted - that the room will be an abject failure and after the "test market" phase is done, they'll go back to live dealers & shuffle machines. One just has to look at my comparison of Fantasy Springs (e-table) vs. Agua Caliente (live dealers) to see that e-tables are NOT the wave of the future, but rather a complimentary part to the poker game that might be able to fill a niche market. I've already bored ya'll with my recent report of the 2 rooms in another thread, but suffice to say that even in a smaller market like the Palm Springs area, which has fewer choices for locals to play, e-tables are failing miserably. I can't imagine that in a town with so many more choices, people will say, "well, it's the only poker here, so I'll play...." Rather, they'll just head down the LONG hallway to the Luxor or Mandalay Bay or elsewhere and play in a "real game".

Any reasonable minded casino executive should be able to see that the rake from a live game at 25-30 hands per hour is better than the rake from an e-table that gets zero hands per hour since no one is playing there.

I have to agree with bowlingfool.. It is just a test deal and people like to have the live social interaction of a dealer.. Besides what is a novice like my self suppossed to do when I don't realize that it is my turn to bet.

+1 on that, if the players stay away in droves hopefully it will die a quiet death

I would like it if a few poker rooms had a couple of the electronic headsup tables. Heads up play is a lot of fun and it would be nice to play it live, instead of online. I definitely don't support the all electronic poker rooms though

Our trip starts out on Monday night at around 9pm. I arrive at the Arizona Charlie's on Decatur at 9 and instantly sit in the 4-8 game. Every player has an over button but one. In about 20 minutes we talk the last guy into no-limit. Mike arrives and takes a smoking seat (of course). The dealers are friendly and the players are cool. Its a nice 2 table room. I lose $100.

We then go to the Mandalay Bay. Lots of action. 6 games going at midnight on a Tuesday morn. The dealers are great. The rules stink. But its a fun place to play. I lose $100.

At this point, I feel like Charlie Brown on Halloween. Everybody else gets candy and I get a rock (or lose $100).

We then proceed to the Excalibur. Maybe you have heard, they made some changes. At 1am in the morning they have 3 games going. This is only a week into this Photodrek experiment. Mike and I ask Bruce the floor guy to set up pot limit Omaha. We sit down and play PLO high heads up, $.50/$1.00. A third player sits down, Justin, a dealer at Harrah's.

We play for three hands. I make a full house and the machine SPLITS the pot. At this point we stop the game and call over Bruce. This is where the early birthday gift comes in. It takes Bruce 45 minutes to get in touch with a PokerTek. He lets us know that the game was mislabeled on the computer. I ask if he can transfer the money. He says no. In a capped game, this is significant as I would almost have the same amount as Justin.

so the machine F*#&ed up. Well, I don't like to curse, lets say it PokerTeked up. Justin, was very patient and a totally gentleman through the whole thing. He's an Excellant dealer too. Visit him at Harrah's. Bruce tried everything he could to make the situation right. I bring up these two guys because if this stupid calculator/PDA/Adding Machine/Nintendo thing is going to work, it will be because of patient Compitent employees. Not because of the black box.

One last thing, Pokertek put in the systems without properly training the Excal. staff. Real bright guys! Your most publisized installation and you don't assure that everything goes smoothly. Thanks for the birthday gift!!! I break even on my last trip to the Excalibur.

The last room we visit is the Boulder station. This is for the legendary Omaha Hi game. Also, LVM gets to smoke. Its an action game. I vowel before I die to beat this game. I think these are the dumbest players in the world. God bless them. I lose $200.

Well, there you have it. The best of the EA series so far. Who knows what the future holds? I hear there is a joint called the Bellagio. I will look it up on map quest and report on whether they still have poker there. Until then, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!

SPPerry

what the Pokertek are you talking about you mother pokerteker, go pokertek yourself.

I have heard there are some issues with Omaha being dealt as a split game, and the lack of training, I'm a little bummed they weren't rumors, you think PT would have prepared a little better for this launch

Bruce openly admitted that he was supposed to receive three days of training, but instead received two hours.

He was the one solely running the room on monday night. Ptek did not have anyone onsite that he could get there in short order.

The machine was labeled (on the screens) as PLO, not PLO 8. His computer said that it was PLO High Only, yet the program was PLO 8.

Come to find out, Excal only had the program at the .50/1 level for PLO8. Ot play PLO high only, you would need to play 1/2.

It was odd to say the least. Also, the machine was dropping a rake (in .25 increments) preflop even without seeing a flop. This was corrected in the regular games on opening night I was told, but apparantly it has ot be programmed per game.

There are more details to describe that evening, but Perry summed it up nicely.

I will not be returning to Excalibur dot net.

Incidentally, props to HLV Poker Guy for this one:

@SouthPointPerry

I loved the report. With regards to the machine messing up, maybe players can now say they were "Teked" when that happens again..

@SouthPointPerry

Perry,

Is that game limit or pot limit? Some more details please.

Pete

PS with LVM's new picture, is he like running for office or something?

djpeteski,

Its Omaha LIMIT high. 4-8 with a half kill.

SPPerry

Mr. SPP, when the machine "pokerteked" , and it was determined physically impossible to right the wrong, why didn't both of you guys just cash out and Justin give you the money that was legitimately yours?

Are you and LVM doing an EA11 Monday Sep 8th? If so, and you are taking passengers, I might want to get on the train wreck.

@SouthPointPerry

Limit Omaha High. Quite possibly the worst poker game ever spread.

I play that Omaha game almost every night since I realized just how bad those players are. If you're patient it can be very profitable. They will chase any draw and call flops with ANY pair. Its so bad

@loose cannon

Loose Cannon,

There are two questions here. The easy one, EA11, has yet to be determined.

The other one, "Why not just hand me the money?" While that is ultimately what we did. It doesn't solve the problem. He would still have me covered 3 to 1 in chips. In a pot limit game this is a huge advantage.

At the time, none of us cared about playing, we wanted to see if PokerTek could solve the problem. So we waited. Mike didn't care, he was smoking in the Excalibur card room.

Ultimately, they just put a bandage on the problem.

Perry

What are the odds that Perry sit downs at Excal only to have a machine mislabeled. If anyone has the video footage I think it might be priceless.... Of all the people that this could happen to.

Whelp,after weeks of not going to a new casino, Mike and I risk our lives and go to North Las Vegas. Thank God the New Town Tavern has closed down. I think with my smart alleck mouth I would of been knifed in the first 10 minutes.

So we start out at the Poker Palace around 6:30. Its an 8 table room that only runs $17 tournaments during the week. Mike and I jump in right before the break. I win the last longer bet we have for the entry fee. After Mike gets knocked out I try to dump my chips so we can get the heck out of there. A funny thing happens. I run up my stack until I have the chip lead. One guy I beat asks if this is the first time I've played poker. It was fun knocking him out. I end up chopping the tournament three ways. After tipping, I win $167.

The staff was pleasant but the room has no action except on the weekends, when they get 2-4 limit. I don't think its worth risking your life in North Las Vegas to go here.

We leave the Palace. Get on the 95 and go to the Cannery East on the Boulder Strip. Its a new room in a pretty new building. The inside is decorated like the Cannery North. They have three games going: two 2-4's and one 4-8. We arrived around 8:45pm. In the background the Eagles and Cowboys were still playing that basketball game from Monday night. I think they scored about 100 points. I took the under.

The games at Cannery East were filled with nits. Most of them were concerned about the football drawing not the game. One had his wife reading the paper at the table. She hit me in the head with it each time she turned a page. I lost $5. If I go back to the Boulder strip it will be to go to the Omaha Hi game at the Boulder Station.

We leave at around 10:30pm and go to the Cannery North. I used to play there a few years ago when the poker room was in the pit. They have moved it to next to the sports book. They have 10 tables and were spreading 2-4 when we got there. The floorman, Elaine, recognized Mike and me from AVP. I don't think she was a crazy fan, just an avid AVPer.

Its nice room but kind of an out of the way location. They only had one game going. And a bitter mom blamed me and Mike for her losing. Since I was worried she would hit me, we left. I won $80.

Our last stop was the Santa Fe station. We sit in a 1-2 no-limit game. I win, Mike loses. LVM has never won at the Santa Fe station. I don't know how many times he has played there. But he told me he would rather drive 20 miles to another locals casino then go to the Santa Fe. The room was filled with rabid football fans. I am a big football fan. But even I think drunk 45 year old guys in football jerseys, screaming about their teams are idiots. Its a pretty room, reminds me a little of Red Rock. Has good action. I won $100.

I ended up winning $342 dollars on this weeks Excellant Adventure.

My sidekick has pointed out that I give more favorable reviews to rooms where I win or where I like the staff. In an effort to live up to my journalistic integrity, I have to admit that this might be the case. I have not gone back and reviewed the previous EA's so I can't say with 100% certainty if this is true.

I do know that a good staff can overcome many deficiencies. I will go out of my way to play at the IP or the Red Rock because of the staff. They go out of their way to make me feel welcomed. I have felt lost in the crowd at strip casinos. I think many of us have our favorite rooms and a big part of it is a good staff.

As far as winning influencing me. Hey, I like to win more than I like to lose. And it probably has influenced my perceptions.

SouthPointPerry

another excellent piece of journalism Perry, I think your Pulitzer is in the mail!!!

A little bummed the New Town Tavern is closed, I was hoping to hear the review...oh well, maybe I'll buy it and reopen it as Minton's Poker Mecca...I'm sure the regulars and I would get along swimmingly

@SouthPointPerry

Yeah, that's were you have an edge.

@minton

I can't think of a better place to hang out.

@LasVegasMichael

Yeah, that's were you have an edge.[/quote]

Michael,

Like I have already told you. Before I die, I am going to beat that Omaha Hi game. Just like maybe someday you might get a misdeal and win at Santa Fe station.

SPPerry

Nice report Perry.....You are right about the staff making a difference. I just spent a week in Vegas and the IP impressed me with their attentiveness. Its always nice to walk into a room and be greeted and called by your first name and immediatly offered a seat. The TI poker room was the same way. What friendly, attentive and knowledgeable staff.

@SouthPointPerry

Yeah, that's were you have an edge.[/quote]

Michael,

Like I have already told you. Before I die, I am going to beat that Omaha Hi game. Just like maybe someday you might get a misdeal and win at Santa Fe station.

SPPerry[/quote]

Guess it sounds like he doesn't have much of an edge if any

Perry, if it's a missdeal, no one wins

Thank you for this informative report.

Glad you enjoyed it ellenwheels! See ya around!

Your heros start their adventure at the Rio at 10 pm. We get into a 1-3 no-limit game. All through the poker room there is WSOP peraphenalia.

We get it. You guys took this tradition away from the Binion's, and made it explode. Good job. I still don't understand why America needs to know who Phil Helmuth or Mike Matisoi is. (I know, crappy spelling.)

I won $95. The dealers are good but a little too chatty. On a side note, they will spread any game, I asked about Badugi.

We leave the Rio and get to the Palms. We get into a 1-3 nl game at 11:45pm. The palms is the new location of the Playboy Club. I don't go to the Club, instead I sit with a guy to pick football games and discuss should we tease 6 or 6 1/2 points. (Side note: I have made 11 pro football bets this season so far. I have won ZERO.) I end up losing $10 dollars.

I like playing at the Palms. Not for the action or the dealers. But for the eyecandy walking by the poker room.

We get to Planet Hollywood at around 1:30am. We play 1-2 no-limit hold-em. They have 3 games going. Photoc, noted AVPer, is dealing that night. I enjoy PH even though I lost $400. The games are good. The chairs suck. We go to the cafe and have a delicious lunch. We run into Megan, TI relief poker shift manager.(I recently became aware that the TI has a poker room. I look forward to going there!)

We leave the PH and go to the newest poker room in town, Hard Rock. They have 1 no-limit game going. Mike and I sit down at 4:30am and leave at 10:30 am. I lose $425. The dealers are good, the action was great. But most of all, the chairs are fantastic. At $13 million, I think we all knew this room would look fantastic. It does.

I enjoyed the EA. There were some good games. It lasted almost 13 hours. I lost over $700. I will go back to the Hard Rock and probably PH.

imagine that a losing trip for Perry and we get barely a paragraph per place....come on LVM you need to dump chips to Perry so he wins and we get good reports!!!

I have hear rumors that there are a few poker rooms on the strip in some of those really big buildings, you might want to check them out sometime

@minton

Ha! Ha! Iam sorry that this report was not long enough for you. In the future I will make sure that the time it takes to read my reports is roughly equal to the time you spend in the bathroom.

SPPerry

@SouthPointPerry

uhhhhhhh so where are the cell phone cam pics???? c'mon guys, I know Mike is married, but doesn't he take that digital camera everywhere?

@SouthPointPerry
By my math you lost over $800, you know the first sign of a gambling problem is lying about your losses.

@SouthPointPerry

Gotta Love that Broadband Access Card!!!

I think Perry's age is the problem, he just forgot how much he lost. It is rough when you get that old.

Good report.

I talked to Mike on Monday and told him that I did not want to do an EA. We had done one the week before and I felt that putting it off a week would be best for both the report and my bankroll. As you will see, that didn't work out.

Mike and I meet at Mandalay Bay at around 9pm. We get into a 1-2 nl game. For those of you who have not played at the Bay, it has great action. A lot of businessmen playing all night while drinking. I did not get drunk businessmen, I got annoying girl.

Let me describe annoying girl. Likes to hang out with the guys and be one of the guys. Says "dude" a lot. High fives when she wins. She dresses sexy but isn't sexy after opening her mouth. Says, "sorry" when she beats you. Mike even noticed that she walked like one of the guys. The reason I bring her up is to emphasize that if someone is annoying you or the game "feels" wrong, you should change tables. I didn't, but I did brake even.

After about 2 hours, Mike and I had had enough and decided to go to the Hard Rock. We were met by "Sexy" Lexy, former Ceasar's phone girl. We got into separate 1-2 games and start playing. I had a roller coaster ride that landed me up $70 dollars. Mike did not do that well.

Like its been each time I've been to the Hard Rock, the action was great. There was an annoying player or two. But they were good action so I ignored them. About 2 hours into the game, Mike gets a text. Apparantly there was a Razz game going on at the East Side Cannery.

Mike is a Razz nut. Just like I am for Baduci. We drive as fast as possible down to the Boulder Strip. The game has four players, Photoc, Psand, another dealer and a woman who wanted to play stud but got roped into Razz. Mike and I sit down, the limit is 2-7 spread. I lose $100 in one hour. I hate Razz.

The signature of any EA is a trip to four different casinos. Well, we were down on the Strip, the Boulder strip. And like a moth to a flame, the Omaha game at the Boulder station called to me. "Come SouthPointPerry, you can't lose at this game 10 TIMES IN A ROW!" I have vowed that I will beat this stupid game before I die.

Needless to say, I did not beat this stupid game. I lost $160 dollars. The high light being my last hand where I flop Q's full of fives and got beat by 4-fives. At this point I called it a night and drove home.

I had not planned to do an EA. Its always fun to hang out with LVM, but after losing $760 on EA12, I wanted to make some money. I lost $190. Which brings us to the next EA, EA14, poker on a budget. It will happen 10/6.

Where will EA14 take you? I know it's a tough question to answer ... it's like "where will the wind blow?" but I'll be in Vegas 10/05 - 10/08 and it would cool to witness part of these fabled tales.

My condolences about EA13. I was in Vegas over the weekend and took South Point Perry and others up on the advice about the Omaha High game at Boulder Station. The advice was excellent. Half the table played every single hand. One of the dealers joined the game almost immediately after her shift at the table. She gets involved in a hand that is heads up on the river. The board reads J-J-J-K-9. Head up, it is four bet on the river. The person who put in the last raise, quite predictably, shows the fourth Jack for quads. The dealer-turned-player shows Q-10 for a straight and says "I shouldn't know that you have the fourth jack" (in explaining why she raised twice). WHAT!!?? Lady, you were beat by pocket dueces. You straight was virtually worthless. The player you were playing against was playing solid hands and only betting the nuts. This was, as a collection, a terrible group of players playing bingo. I thought that, by folding 60% of my hands (perhaps not enough, but much higher than the average player at my table) and picking my spots, I would surely come out ahead. Alas, I was dealt one winning hand in about three hours and I lost over $200. Add me to the list of frustrated, angry people who vow to beat this game.....

EA14 will be on Monday, Oct 6th.

The theme for EA14 is EA on a Budget.

El Cortez
Mirage
Bills
Treasure Island
Tuscany

We will be playing the lowest limit offered and buying in for the min in all properties. At Mirage, we will be playing 1-4 Stud Hi.

Excellent ... perhaps I'll see you at one of the strip locations.
@mimiok
or seeing how Perry has been running lately maybe I should have said "failed tables".

Mike and I figured that after two EA's where I got my head handed to me, we need to be on a budget. So we set up our Excellant Adventure to go to poker games with lower buy-ins. Along the way we hit downtown once, the strip 3 times and one independent off the strip casino. Two of the casinos were not on a previous EA.

The lowest buy-in for any poker game in Las Vegas is $20. Three of our buy-in were $20. One was $30, and one was $40.

The first casino we hit was the El Cortez. Small 1-3-6 game with a $20 buy-in. It has one $1 blind. Just like I said when I first reviewed this room, its a great game to learn limit hold-em in. Just one dollar per rotation. The action was OK. About 80% locals at 10:30pm on Monday night.

I played tight. The rules of this adventure were, we play until one of us goes broke or we get sick of the people we are playing with. I lost $10 and Mike lost the full $20. No rebuys on this EA. So I won the El Cortez.

We left there around 11:30pm. We made it to the Tuscany at midnight. The Tuscany was a new room for us. They have 7 tables, a nice staff, but only one game going, 3-6 limit hold-em game with a $40 minimum buy-in. The action was good, one guy was there on his birthday, dumping money as fast as he could get it out of his wallet. I won $10, Mike won $42. That ties us at 1 casino a piece. We left because the game got short.

The third casino we went to was Bill's, formally the Barbary Coast. They have an interesting no-limit game. $20 buy-in, one $1 blind. They had two games going. A couple of IP dealers were there playing. Mike and I get on the table with 2 of the most annoying people I have ever played with. First there was cheering guy. When he won, he pumped his fist and cheered. The other was drunk woman. She kept scooting closer to me and talking about her hands, her life, how much she drank, etc., etc. So I'm fired up to be at that table!

Fortunately, the players stunk and we both won. I won $37 and Mike won $12. I won casino 3. I think that there is a real market for this type of low buy-in no-limit game. I enjoyed it (mostly because I won), and I will probably play it again. We left Bill's at 2am.

The next stop on EA14 was one of the most legendary poker room's we have covered, the Mirage. This was our first trip to the Mirage on an EA. We were hoping to play 1-4 stud. That game was not going so we settled for 3-6 limit hold-em, with a $30 buy-in. We got in the game at 2:15am.

A couple of things about the Mirage. It was the premier room in Vegas until the Bellagio opened in the late nineties. They have 25 tables. Run evening tournaments 5 nights a week. They spread holdem, Omaha Hi-low, and low limit stud. Also, my ex works there, her name is EVIL.

The 3-6 game has a lot of action. It takes all of 30 minutes for me to lose $30 and Mike to lose $8. Mike wins the Mirage. Its all tied up 2 to 2. On a side note, I almost got into a fight at the table with an annoying drunk. Instead of fighting, Mike and I took EVIL and her friend, Big Head (her nickname, I don't make this stuff up.), to go eat at the IP coffee shop.

Since we were at the IP anyway, we thought we would break the tie with a heads up game in their poker room. The IP is the location of the weekly mixed game on Sunday night. Richard, the shift manager agreed to run the game, we both buy in for $20 bucks. To decide which game, EVIL picks one card from the mixed game cards. She picks Badugi. That was a lucky pick for me. I am better at the draw games and Mike is better at stud games. I win $13 and Mike loses $20, giving me the win at the fifth casino.

So I won the Excellant Adventure competition. I won 3 casino's and $20. Mike won 2 casinos and $4. I will admit that had EVIL drawn Razz or some other fake stud game, I probably would of lost.

It was a fun EA. We went to some nice rooms and played 7 hours of poker with only $130 at risk. I hope we do this kind of competition again. All of you are welcomed to join us.

Good Luck!

SouthPointPerry

I thoroughly enjoyed EA14. It was a nice break from the usual to add a competition to the EA, and being a budget minded EA, it added to the overall fun. We should definately consider a budget EA again in the future.

EA15 will occur on October 27th. This will be EA Black Lung, as it will be the last EA to feature a smoking LVM (I will be quitting smoking at 11:59:59PM on October 30th).

Should be good times!

The schedule includes:

Arizona Charlies
Boulder Station
Palace Station (after 12:30AM)
Palms (after 2:30AM)

Though Club Fortune is a smoking room, due to its non-proximity to any of the other properties, it will be excluded from the Black Lung EA.

@LasVegasMichael

Best thing I've ever read on this website.

man this is right up my alley being the low roller that I am, an I will be there oct 19-22 at the luxor..... wanna bump up the date?

Can I sign up for EA 15? I will be in town on 19th thorugh the 22nd

19th through the 22nd are my dates too! seriously, guys can we make an EA 14 and a half for the outta towners...

it can be "Places to go only if you are a local" adventure. Just an idea.

The only locals EA is basically the same as our next one: EA15, but unfortunately, it falls the following week, as we were planning on taking the week of the 20th off.

EA15 is scheduled for October 27th, and is EA Black Lung. All smoking rooms. Starting with Arizona Charlies, to Boulder Station, to Palace Station, to Palms.

If we decide to do an impromptu EA On the 20th, we will post here in advance.

@LasVegasMichael

We have sent a request to our executive commitee. While I feel it would be beneficial to look into an Oct. 20th EA, at this time our talent, Mike and I, have other commitments.

To give you the best damn reports we can, we pain stakingly plan out all of the Excellant Adventures. We run them by our focus groups. Plan our routs. Contact the appropriate casino executives. And of course, give you, our devoted fans ample time to move your less important family commitments aside to be with us. Previous EA's have seen groupies miss: work, anniversaries, a bris, and the birth of a child (3rd child, so he knew his wife would be OK).

We appreciate all the support you, the little people, have given us. We are aware of how important the EA's are in your, um, lives. I can only imagine the feeling of being left out if all your co-workers found out that you had missed out on reading the next important installment of the excellant adventures. Your feelings aside, our next planned EA is October 27th.

Please try to keep yourselves busy until EA15. Don't be depressed. We promise that it will be worth the wait.

Best wishes,

Perry (SouthPointPerry)

dammmmm oh well...
nutzontop look for a white guy 170lbs at excal, lux, osheas, mgm or the sahara tourney ($45, nice and cheap) wearing a black white sox hat, possibly backwards. I'll be chatting up the table with a good chance of having an ipod on...

I will be at the Venitian playing nothing but 1-2 no limit, I might try the Luxor, since my cousin will be staying there.

I will be the guy with my "NutzOnTop" of my cards

you should stop by the mixed game on sunday nite

nutz, email me.... i pm'd you me addy

Michael and I had the intention of going to four smoking rooms for the excellant adventure. He was going to smoke until he ran out of cigarettes. But we ran into a couple of snags.

At 10pm we met at Arizona Charlies. I sit down with $100 in a 1-2 no-limit hold'em game. In three hands I'm broke and ready to fight with another guy at the table. The first hand I flop a set and a guy hits a gut shot. OK, bad luck. Two hands later I get top pair with a good kicker. The same guy as before hits a gut shot to beat me again.

OK, bad luck again. But with a twist. A moron at the table starts laughing at me. This irritates me to the point where I have to leave before he's wearing my drink. I am not a fan of bad manners at the table. I try not to rub it in when people lose. I try not to slow roll. I don't question stupid play. And it bothers me when anyone else does these things. TV brought a wave of new players to poker. But it has glorified bad behavior. I lose $100

So I storm off and meet Mike at boulder a half hour later. Boulder is an 11 table room that specializes in Omaha Hi and smoking. we sit in a 4-8 game for about 2 hours. I win $265, Mike wins over a hundred.

The next stop is Palace Station. Up until a few weeks ago, they allowed smoking after 12:30am. No more. No smoking allowed. We played for about 30 minutes. I lost $25. No smoking is a bad move in my opinion. Smokers are a demographic that is not being catered to enough.

The last planned stop is the last smoking room. The low limit side of the Palms. However, they have no games so we go to my old stomping ground, the Treasure Island. This room has been reviewed to death. Its an 8 table room that gave us the original mixed game, the bounty tournament, and a handsome young floor man named TIPerry. So they have a history of greatness.

We arrive and Troy Horning is running the room. Troy will be running his own room some day, he is the best of the shift managers there. The only game going is No-River hold'em. We jump in and play for about an hour and a half. I lose $60. It was fun to go back to my old room. If you want to try out the TI, their best offering is the Bounty tournament. You get $50 a head for knocking people out of the tournament.

We leave at about 5am and go to Red Rock. We jump into a 1-2 nl game. I drop $80. Fun game.

Overall I break even for the whole trip. It was good to get to these rooms. The only "new" room is the TI. It is a nice smaller room. But if you want to smoke, Boulder is the best place to go. (I'm thinking of starting, I've heard good things.)

The most important thing on this trip is michael was able to bid farewell to smoking and the smoking rooms of Las Vegas. Good luck on quitting sir!

SPPerry

EA15 was both dissapointing and entertaining at the same time. It was a rather fitting end to the smoking era, and it was nice that neither of us lost (I came out of the EA with a profit of just over $100, and Perry broke about even).

It was sad to learn that Palace went non, and it was interesting to see how insanely busy Boulder was, having 8 full cash games on a monday night).

Overall, It was a thoroughly enjoyable EA. Finally covered TI, and going there was an impetus for me to finally write a formal editor review for the venerable Treasure Island Saloon and Bingo Hall.

Boulder has been doing really well for a while and will continue to do very well since they are really the only room that is FOR THE SMOKER. A couple others allow smoking at certain times, but they practically encourage it (exemplified by have just 3 tables for non-smokers). If a poker room wanted to pick up business, they should consider offering smoking even if its only during graveyard hours. Its a niche that only Boulder seems to be capitalizing on

Best of luck on quitting...you can do it!!!

Our adventure starts in the nitville of Harrahs poker room at 8pm. Mike has been playing for about 2 hours. I jump into the game. I break even. This is where we planned our trip. Mike is in his element. All the nits getting there hours, stealing water bottles, complaining about rake, etc.

We leave for Binion's. We are met by Sam and Brian. Sam's a dealer at the SouthPoint. Brian is his roommate. And binion's is the place that made poker famous. Mike has brought his Harrah's water bottle with him. What a nit.

The new room is cool. Old poker pictures on the wall. Lots of TV's. We sit down in a 1-2 game. I make $165. Its a nice room. Same old crowd. A lot of guys wearing casino "wear". You know Sam's Town jackets, Station's hats, Orlean's underwear, ect., ect.

So we leave the fashion capital of downtown and go to the Golden Nugget. Didn't get to play. Every table and every seat was taken.

We decide to leave downtown. Go to a hip younger place, the Hard Rock. We play for about 3 hours. I lose $55. I happened to notice that the crowd at the Hard Rock in no way resembles the crowd at Binion's (no Shit). We see young hip people drunk and on vacation. Young hot dealers. Beautiful cocktail waitresses. It would be hard to confuse this place with downtown.

During our session I suggest that LVM watch a documentary that is available on YouTube. Its "Kermits reaction to 2..". After pestering him 3 or 4 times he watches it and admits its funny but sick. I highly recommend it to all of you out there.

We leave the Hard Rock and head over to the TI. They have a new wheel. (See the professional picture of me and the wheel.) We sit in a 1-3 game. I proceed to lose $300. The crowd is mixed at the TI. Mostly tourists, with a few local regulars. The one customer that stands out is a woman from Arkansas who kept talking like that girl in "American Pie". I was ready for her to say: "And this one time at band camp..."

We leave the TI and walk to the Mirage. Mike and I sit in a 1-4 stud game. I break even. The reason I break even is that THEY WERE PRINTIN MONEY AT THE CRAPS TABLE!!!! I would turn pro in Craps except for my old football injury. The crowd at the table is me and Mike, two dealers & two people that only spoke Japanese.

I go to the Mirage not for poker but to see my ex: EVIL. She is just getting off work. So she hangs out with us. Mike plays the documentary for her. She laughs and is grossed out.

Around 4am we decide to end the Excellant Adventure and walk back to our cars at the TI. Mike and I both agree that it was a fun EA and we will start doing them again. I'm sorry it took 4 months for us to hit the grinding trail again. I promise you, the adoring fans that we will do a number of these in the upcoming months.

Good Luck,

SPPerry

BTW this is not an April fools joke.

@SouthPointPerry

THIS is gold!! had all the guys in the office laughing their azzes off...

OMG, I don't know what to say about that video.

who need's kermits reaction....you have 2 guys one adventure...a much more entertaining site!!!

LVM and I met at Harrahs at 10pm to start our trip. Our first stop was Ceasar's Palace. We got seated around 10:30pm. Mike and I played 1-2 NL. I was seated at a friendly game and I had a good time, winning $458. I even got to see my old friend (acquaintance) Sam Grissel.

A couple of things bug me about Ceasars. The 5+1 rake I can live with. However, one dealer insisted that it's "the industry standard", that's a load of crap. You can charge whatever you want, but don't lie about it. I think it's petty of them not to serve top shelf alcohol to poker players. Also, I have always felt that music should be played in a poker room. It's like taking your SAT's there, just shuffling chips and silence.

We left Ceasars at about 11:30pm and walked to the Bellagio; gambling hall, trailer park & motel. For those of you not familiar with this local's hide-away, it's the little building with the faulty sprinklers across from the Paris.

After arriving, we had a nice meal at Noodles. I highly recommend it. It seats until 1:30am. After breakfast we went to the poker room and sat in a 1-2 NL hold'em game. It broke in 30 minutes, I lost $20.

I have mixed emotions about the Bellagio. My record in tournaments there is great and I enjoy playing 15-30 limit. I also have friends that work there. But I have this criticism, the tables on the low limit side are extremely cramped, I kept getting bumped by the guy behind me. The action was good. If you can find this gambling hall, you might want to try it out. On the way out LVM tried to take a picture and one of the Bellagio goons tried to stop him.

We then hopped in our cars and went to the MGM grand. We got into a 1-2 NL game at 1:30am. I did well, picked up $355. The action at the MGM was great, 9 1-2 NL games. I don't feel comfortable in this room due to the way it's laid out. It's like a big horseshoe, and when the bar is open the music is too loud. But the dealers are competent and the action is always loose.

After the MGM, I was on such a win streak that I felt I could beat the Omaha Hi game at Boulder. Clearly, I am an idiot. That game is my Kryptonite, Achilles Heel, and Weakest link all wrapped into one. My record in Omaha Hi is 1 - 9. The one win being $40. I lose one hundred at the Omaha game in 17 minutes. Then I went to NL and won $90 back. We played for another 2 hours at the NL game and then had lunch at the cafe to end the EA.

My total win for EA17 was $783. I enjoyed the trip. Obviously, you win almost $800 it's hard to be mad. We went to three "new" casinos we had never visited. I will be back to Boulder and probably the MGM, but I don't see myself going to Ceasars again. If I can find the Bellagio again, I might go back and play 15-30 limit.

Stay tuned kids EA18 is just around the corner!

We played at Caesars, Bellagio, MGM Grand and Boulder Station. Which was the only one I won any money at?

@SPP

Before outrunning the goons, I managed to get this one:

Caesars management is pretty funny. Their dealers drop 3-4 chips to take the $5 rake instead of just dropping a redbird, in order to hide what they are dropping.

This on top of the fact that a dealer claimed that $5 is the standard in Vegas now. I am a daily Harrah's player, and willingly pay the higher rake, as I know the benefits of playing in the room, but don't lie to us about it. It was purely comical.

54 rooms in Vegas, 9 charge $5 rake. That's 16%. Standard? The rake does not bother me. The ignorance of the staff is inexcusable.

@SouthPointPerry

AVPers appreciate your willingness to check out these kind of dives so we don't have to.

Way to outrun the Bellagio security staff. I believe they are creating a lawsuit to have the picture removed from the site....

Good report, I'm shocked that Perry is winning at NL. He has been very critical of the game in the past and that omaha is the game that he is having a difficult time with. So strange..

Good report of these um small watering holes

That was such a shameful transparent attention seeking stunt. Just pathetic. Bellagio is obviously jealous of the publicity Cannery got from backrooming Poker Grump, and now they've resorted to this desperate ploy to outdo them by getting noticed, however briefly, on AVP.

@LasVegasMichael

Laughing at the thought of LVM and SPP running down the hall from Bellagio security...put some kind of Benny Hill music in the background and it is perfect

The Benny Hill comment is a classic. Well done Talon.

@Clem2754

Thanks Clem, I'm glad someone else got that comment. I spent many nights as a teen watching Benny Hill....might explain a lot of things I guess

Our adventure starts at 10pm with your heroes arriving at the Silverton. This casino is south of Las Vegas, off of Blue Diamond. They have 6 tables. When we arrived we got into a 3-6 limit game. We played 7 hands and left. I lost $10. They have a beautiful room with a nice staff. With only 300 hotel rooms, I feel they will have less tourist's money going into the games.

Our next stop was the SOUTHPOINT hotel, casino & resort. For those of you who don't know, I work at the SOUTHPOINT. I am the graveyard shift manager in the poker room. So as you probably guessed, this will be an honest, totally unbiased report. Like our friends at Fox say, "Fair and Balanced!"

As you walk into the SOUTHPOINT, you right away notice how helpful, competent, fun & attractive our staff is. On Monday night at 10:30pm Steve W. was running the shift (a fellow AVPer). He was on break when we arrived so we were taken care of by the stunning Jeanette and the equally stunning Frank.

Mike was immediately seated in a lively 1-2 no limit game. He won $60. Our 1-2 game is well known for great action and big stacks. I am not allowed to play in the room, it's a house rule. So after about an hour of great hospitality by the staff, we begrudgingly decided to leave the greatest hotel and poker room in the world to continue our adventure.

Our next stop was the M at 11:45pm. Mike arrived first. He ran into three AVPers cruising for chicks, Photoc, Minton & Psand. Watch out ladies. As I arrived, this Mensa meeting was trying to figure out what percentage of all AVP posts this group accounts for. Here is the stat. As of 11:45pm on 4/29 the sight had a total of 92,848 posts. The four of them and I had a total of 16,284 posts or 17.5%.

After pondering that important world issue, we entered the poker room. They had three games going, all full. The M has 12 tables and is a very pretty room. Since they only have 400 hotel rooms, they will have a lack of tourist's dollars just like the Silverton. This could hurt their action. Mike and I BS for about 10 more minutes, then leave without playing.

To continue our tour of the South we go to Green Valley Ranch. Fans of the EA series will remember that this room was on EA1. We get there at 12:45am and get into a 1-2 nl game. I did well and made $240. The staff is very nice and the room and casino are beautiful. At 2:30am we are both hungry so we leave the GVR.

To end the night we go to the Orleans, where we know a game will be going. We arrive at the coffee shop at 3am. Have a great meal, play Keno, then off to the poker room. We get into a 1-2 nl game. Mike wins and I lose $45. We finish up at 5am.

So that was our evening. We went to five local's casinos. I played in three. We had incredible hospitality from the greatest poker room in the world, SOUTHPOINT. And I won $185 for the night. I had a nice evening and I'm looking forward to EA19. Any suggestions?

I'm glad to see you were totally unbiased in your report

As of April 28th we at Excellant Adventure Productions celebrated our 1 year anniversary. I would like to thank all of the people involved with this monumentus occasion. All of the secretaries and accountants. My personal assistant, couldn't spell without her! The fans, even the ones that stalk us. (OD, Yappy, Clem, etc.) I love each and everyone of you. But from a distance & in a well lit public place.

I have a lot of big things planned for year two. Like we have decided NOT to charge for autographs. I will lift some of the restraining orders against crazed fans. We will open up the EA's to select fans (hot ones). Big stuff folks.

Thank you for a wonderful 1st year. As always we appreciate your input. And this year I promise to try and not laugh at your ideas.

All my best,

SouthPointPerry

@SouthPointPerry

I think we now know why those three gentlemen were "cruising for chicks" rather than actually being out on a date with a woman ...

If you are going to theme your EAs, you could look into a "Rock Hunt"...

Hard Rock, Red Rock, Boulder Station, Golden Nugget

You could throw in Planet H. (third rock?), but then I might just be burned out from work today.

@Raising-w-Rags

I like it. What do you think Mike?

SPPerry

You know me. If it involves Boulder Station in any way, Sign me up!

Our adventure begun at 10pm at the Hard Rock. This is one of my favorite rooms to play at. I usually go to play there on Sunday nights. I like the music and the atmosphere. The games are loose, the waitresses are hot and the staff does a great job. Mike does not prefer the type of atmosphere that they have at the Hard Rock. He likes to nit it up.

We played on table 1. On table two, four guys almost got into a fight. They were standing up and asking each other to go outside. The shift manager, Shila, handled it perfectly, calming all of them down and getting the game going again. She is one of the best shift managers in town.

I ended up winning $15. At 12:15 we left the Hard Rock to go to Boulder. Mike likes Boulder, smoking and NITS!

Upon arriving at Boulder. Mike and I went to the coffee shop for lunch. We then proceeded to the poker room. To my delight the Omaha Hi game was full! Even though I know that I was going to beat it that night. I get into a 1-2 nl game and win $95.

Here's where the EA has a bit of a gap. Our next planned room was the Golden Nugget. We blew it off. Neither one of us wanted to go down town. On EA 2 we went there and didn't enjoy it. They have good action and its a pretty room.

So we went to the Red Rock to finish up. We arrived at around 2am. Got into a 1-2 nl game. It was a good game. The most interesting thing about it was the GILF that sat in the game. 50ish with two grandkids, and two fisting drinks. She cursed and liked to play cards. It was fun to watch her flirt with a kid at the table, a 26-year-old kid. Way to go Cougar!

At 4:30am we were done. I won $195 bring my Ea total to $300.

So we played in three rooms that we know very well. Each has had at least three appearances on the EA's. I won #300. Next week I want to mix it up. We are going to have a contest. Me against LVMike, mano-y-mano. Four to six rooms. May the best AVPer win!

If next week is a contest, then I think each of you should pick 3 rooms/games each to try to force your opponent to play rooms/games that are his weakness and make him uncomfortable. SPPerry can choose Excal for LVM. And LVM can choose the Boulder Omaha Hi game for SPPerry, etc.

Dang... aside from the theme, the entire purpose of the "Rock Hunt" was to get Perry into that Omaha game one more time! I just "knew" this was the time he was going to show that game who was boss

I have to say, I like Maui's suggestion though... maybe the forum membership should get a line on that action once the games are named.

Hmmm... Perry's over-under on Omaha...

Our adventure starts with your heroes meeting at one of their old stomping grounds, Imperial Palace. We instantly get into a 1-2 nl game. For those of you who don't play the IP here is what they have. Six or seven tables with pictures of the cocktail waitresses on them. High hand jackpots. And on Sunday's, the IP mixed game made famous by LVM. Its a fun room with great music.

I played near perfect poker and lost $48. Mike played well and won $180. Is it his fault they used his "personal" deck of cards at the table? After the IP I needed a more luxorias (no way I spelled that right) poker room. So off to Bill's.

Bill's is home of the $20 nl hold'em game. The blinds are $.50 & $1. Mike knew many of the dealers and ended up winning $24. I again played perfect and lost $75. Curious!?

After Bill's Mike and I went to the Paris for a quick meal. We sat outside at the cafe and had a romantic dinner over looking the eifle tower. Then it was off to the tables. At that point we remembered that the Paris has no poker room and went to Bally's to play round three.

Bally's is a very busy 12 table room. They even have a new Aces cracked promotion every weekday morning. We instantly got into a 1-2 nl game. I once again played perfectly but Mike's "luck" was too much for even a skilled veteran like myself to overcome. I won $87. He won $219. My frustration started to show as I put a bounty on the annoying player to my right.

At this point in our competition I am behind by $387. But I had to go on. (You know, for you fans) So on to Mandalay Bay. I figured if any place could get me back into the fight this would be the place. It has always been known for great games with loose players. But when I arrived, they only had one game with 5 names on the list.

So we called an audible and went to the Orleans. At this point its 4am and I can't see straight. When you are tired and can barely stay awake what better game to play than Omaha 8 or Better! This was not a bright idea. I lost $107 and Mike lost $62.

So I ended the night down $143. Mike ended up winning $361. He officially wins the diamond tiara and the title of Miss Excellant Adventure. I couldn't be happier for him.

The EA's started out as a way for us to see all the different rooms in town. After 20 Excellant Adventures, we have played in nearly every room in Vegas and most of the rooms in Loflin. We have been to beautiful rooms like Red Rock and Hard Rock. We have been to large rooms like Ceasars, MGM & Mirage. Small rooms like Hooters and Bill's. Local's hidaways like Club Fortune and the Bellagio. And a couple of now closed rooms like the Trop and the Paris.

Through it all I have enjoyed bringing these reports to you. And meeting AVPers who are out playing poker. I would like to open this hobby of mine up to any ideas you guys might have. I encourage all of you to send me or Mike suggestions for future EA's.

sincerely,

SouthPointPerry

Mesquite?

@SouthPointPerry

Play the 215 -

I'll let you guys fill in the poker rooms...

Alliante, I think, would be furthest at one end of 215

@zzjitterzz

Luxor either has their new slogan, or they already have that trademarked.[/quote]

Hillarious!!

That's the Grand Luxe's new salad bar

@LiL'Mortski

Luxor either has their new slogan, or they already have that trademarked.[/quote]

Hillarious!!

That's the Grand Luxe's new salad bar[/quote]

Marketing gurus everywhere are slapping their heads right now. You two need to trademark those usages ASAP!

What is a nit? In my opinion they are someone that wants to get every little thing they can get. Such as extra waters, free T-shirts, free hats, etc. In other works, any promotion they can get their hands on. They also like to run the game. Nits say things like: Am I logged in? Can we get a set-up? Give the deck a good wash.

So I wanted to spend the night as a nit. First I put on my casino T-shirt, the only one I had was treasure Island. Then I got my Orleans jacket, it was 95 degrees but I am a professional so I wore it. In all the years I have played in Vegas I have not gotten a cap. Mike said the Stations freeroll was the hottest nit accesary. I couldn't qualify for it so no hat.

Our adventure starts at Harrah's, or what I like to call LasVegasMike's office. We had a groupie along for the trip, GoingonTilt. He and Mike were already there. I play for 30 minutes and win $22 dollars. But more important, I ordered two waters and put them in my jacket on the way out.

Earlier in the day you folks had voted for the nittiest rooms in town. The top two vote getters were Binions and boulder. so we planned to go there. Binions was our first stop. To prove that it is a nit hang out, the world famous Kenny was in the room when we got there. Mike can provide you with his picture if you need it.

We started up a new 1-2nl game. I instantly jump into nit mode and demand a good washing or "scramble" of the deck. Mike did his part as a nit and bummed a smoke from Kenny. I won $22.

Mike and I walked over to the Golden Nugget and had dinner at about 7:45. I played Keno. We had a funny Keno runner. After I made my bet Mike was deciding whether to play or not. The Keno girl told him to "Keep his money." Later when I asked what 10 numbers pays she said, "I don't know." I like her, what a professional.

After dinner, we headed off to Boulder, the Hooka lounge for nits. I was excited. I mean how often to I get to go to Boulder. As we are waiting for a game, Mike smoked a cigarette. Being a gentleman, he didn't want to flick his ashes on the floor. So he saw a cup of coffee with no one sitting near it and he put his ashes in there. About a minute later the owner of the coffee sat down and took a drink. Important tip kids, don't leave your drink unattended. Especially with smokers around.

I get into a 4-8 game and win $46. Where you cash out at boulder, they have a bowl of candy sitting on the counter. To keep up my nitwit status, I took a whole handful.

After leaving boulder we headed to the Orleans, the Headquarters for all nits. One of the main attractions of the Orleans is there $3 rake. The best thing about the Oleans is that they never go dark. I get into a game of Omaha. At one point I want to change tables to sit with LVM. Two nit hotties, women who refuse to spend any money on make-up, complain when I want to leave the table. I finally get into Mike's game. I lose $99. I ask for a setup because I am a nit.

Overall I lose $10. It was a fun night spending time as a nit. I will not be doing that again. Some of the nit habits annoy me. These include setups, fourth seat change buttons (lol), washing the deck, constantly asking if I'm logged in, etc. I go to play for fun not to stuff as many waters as I can in my jacket.

Stay tooned for our next excellant adventure!

GoinOnTilt was a groupie through and through. He nitted along with us at every stop.

After quitting smoking several months back, I must admit that it was really not enjoyable to partake in the activity, especially Kenny's cigarettes which are like putting your mouth around your car's exhaust pipe. However, I took one for the team. Playing at Boulder and not smoking is like fishing without a pole. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Though it was filled with Nitiots, it was still an enjoyable EA. Made money, had a below average meal at the Nugget, spent time with a groupie, and someone I haven't seen in years, SouthPointPerry. Plus, it gave me a legit excuse to light 'em up for old times sake.

We have discussed that the next EA will be the exact opposite of this one: A night with the BEST ACTION and NIT FREE games in Vegas. Not exactly sure where or when (Perry mentioned wanted to take next week off), but it will be coming soon.

Sounds like a nitastic night.

Mike, glad to hear you haven't gone back to smoking regularly. Sounds like it's mandatory at Boulder.

I had a fabulous time "nittin'" it up with LVM and SPP. I respectfully declined the 4/8 Omaha game at Boulder and Orleans, but I stuck with them. It turned into a profitable night for me, all coming from the last stop, the Orleans. I will have a report coming about my experiences.

Boulder Station can now be referred to as the "Bellagio" of poker rooms. In fact, I think it's an insult to Boulder to call it such. What else can you ask for in a poker room besided Burger King and Dairy Queen right outside the room? You don't get that at Bellagio. You get a generic place called "Snacks" with a real long line and an overpriced picnic table to eat from. Bellagio has TVs, but where else besides Boulder can you practically see the "rabbit ears" stemming from the 42in LCD screen? Snow never looked so clear!!

So this makes me think of a Nit question. If you sit at a bar and put $20 in the video poker machine and play very slowly so you can drink free....are you a Nit? Or only if you do it and don't tip the bartender?

Only if you do it, don't tip the bartender and as his back is turned you dump your drinks into a thermos you brought from hope

LOL...Another great EA report. Must say this is my favorite. Nothing better than poker nits than possibly casino fleas. Gosh I wish I go on one of these EA's. Maybe the timing will be right on one of my trips. Keep posting these as I'm sure everyone enjoys them but not as much as me!

[quote="SouthPointPerry"]I ask for a setup because I am a nit.quote]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a setup? comps?? Enjoying the EAs. Looking forward to the action one.

A setup is a whole new set of (two decks) cards... because the ones currently in use are soooo unlucky.

Is the definition of a nit different for live poker vs online poker? I've always thought a nit was those players that have 5/3 stats online and only play AA or KK. Granted there's no free water to bum online.

Our adventure begins at 10pm at Sam's town. Mike and I jump into the only game going, 3-6 limit hold'em. We had a groupy along for the begining of the trip, SoCalVegasMK. He was unable to get into the game so he sweated us and smoked.

It was a typical Boulder strip crowd, nits who had their ARP cards. One of them was an angry guy who had just won a satellite seat for the WSOP main event. He was locked out of the main event because it was sold out. He was not fond of me after I said, "Everyone had 6 weeks to get into the WSOP. So too bad." I ended up winning $71.

After "charming" the Sam's town crowd, it was off to the Cannery East. The three of us sat and started a Razz/Budueci game. Heather, an exceptional dealer, dealt to us. It's tough to deal those games. I ended up losing $100. After the mix game it was time for lunch at midnight.

So me and SoCal drove straight to the Joker's wild. I have four bad beats at the Wild. The poker room was closed (1st bad beat) so we went to the crap's pit. We each buy $100 of chips. Then the dealer tells us that the table is closing in 5 minutes (2nd bad beat) so we won't get to roll. I say why and he says they don't have a grave staff. So I ask for our money back and he says no we have to go to the cage. (third bad beat).

LVMike makes it to the casino. He has picked up Yappy (groupy #2). After me and Socal cash out, the four of us go to the coffee shop and it is closed (4th bad beat). So after a lovely experience at the Joker's we leave for my Kryptonite, Boulder station.

Upon arriving at Boulder station we find the coffee shop was closed. But the buffet was open. It is a limited buffet and costs $4. We pay with our player's club cards and a 2 for 1 coupon. We are officially NITS. After lunch its off to the poker room.

We help to start a 1-2 nl hold'em game. I lost $90. Which brought my EA total to -$119.

I think that the take home message for this EA is that if your dining on the Strip, make reservations.

CU at the Point!

SPPerry

That is so typical of what is pissing me off about Vegas right now. I've been a few times this year and it seems like half the town is closed. How can they expect you to return to a place where you can't even get a cup of coffee? The corporate suits are ruining what they built. I mean how much does it cost to keep a coffee shop open extended hours? $20/hr for wages/benefits would be my guess, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than what it takes to regain a customer once they lose interest in your business. And you couldn't play poker or craps - is this a casino or a slot parlor?

A true nit woudl never have wasted the 2 for 1 coupon on a night when the buffet cost only $4.

@psand

A true nit woudl never have wasted the 2 for 1 coupon on a night when the buffet cost only $4.[/quote]

Good point, you should wait till you have to spend at least $6.99

@psand

Psand your true words have shamed me. I am not a true nit. However, it was LVM's coupon!

SPPerry

@SouthPointPerry

Psand your true words have shamed me. I am not a true nit. However, it was LVM's coupon!

SPPerry[/quote]

Oooohh! Using someone else's coupon! Brilliant 5th level Nit thinking!

I'm shocked these are still going on unless Mike drives Perry around. Doesn't Nevada have a law which prevents goldie oldies like SP Perry from driving after dark????

Anyway nice way in making this trip report NITastic!!!!

The true bad beat would have been if the cage was closed, and you would have to drive back to cash in the chips. I'm not sure thata NIT would do that or be happy about that...

@Grange95

Psand your true words have shamed me. I am not a true nit. However, it was LVM's coupon!

SPPerry[/quote]

Oooohh! Using someone else's coupon! Brilliant 5th level Nit thinking![/quote]

You might think that . . . but then you wouldn't undersatnd true nit thinking. Its not enough for the nit to get a free meal . . it must be at the expoense of the casino. the true nit is not simply a cheapskate trying to get a free meal..... getting a free meal paid for by your buddy is not satisfying. One must make sure your buddy has minimized his own expense in getting that meal.

The true nit asks for a rake reduction and then after it is granted, racks up his chips and leaves happy knowing that he has cost the casino the chance to make money from other players.

@SouthPointPerry

Of course I sweated you guys. I took an extra nap that night just to get ready to play the 3-6 at Sam's Town. Since I didn't get in that game, the best part of the night was easily East Side Cannery. You lost $100, I lost $80 and Vegas Mike won only $45? Hmmm.... where did the rest go?

At 10pm the Mikes and I met at Boulder Station. We started an Omaha Hi game. I have only beaten this game once. But tonight was different. I played this session perfectly. I folded when I needed to. I raised when I needed to. And I won pot after pot.

I walked out of Boulder Station with a cool $19 win. Don't be jealous!

Next stop was the Mirage. I am undefeated in the Kriss Coffin era. We try to get an Omaha game. None was available so me and the Mike's play a three handed 2-7 game. Mike and I lost but Mike won. So now I am 1-1 at the Mirage in the Kris Cofinn era. I lost $125, I think Mike cheated. We then went to the Carnegie deli for breakfast. Not my favorite restaurant, but good fries.

So to walk off breakfast, we walked to the Venetian. We have never been to the Venetian on an Excellant Adventure. I was lucky to find the place. Its on a poorly lit street.

We jump right into an Omaha game. There were many sharks in the water there. I lost $29 dollars. We did not get to take a romantic gandala ride, maybe next time.

So this EA ended at the Orleans. we jumped into a 4-8 Omaha game. I think the shuffle machine was rigged. I lost two racks. I don't think the Mike's did well either.

So there you have it. I lost $335. But I conquered boulder station.

See you at the Point!

SouthPointPerry

@SouthPointPerry

The Surgeon General recently issued a statement that they recommend that taking a a cab and smoking cigarettes is better for you than walking from the MGM to the V between March and October. Did you at least set an over/under on hookers spotted and gamble along the way?

walk from the MGM to the V?

what about from the Mirage to the V? is that allowed within health standards?

@Mirage Poker

Yes, but only if you cross LV Blvd right in the middle, avoid crosswalks and jump over the little fences. Getting traffic to stop and/or cabs to honk at you may land you in the bonus round.

Hmm, playing perfectly and you only won $19? You shouldhave won a grand!!! btw how was breakfast @ carnegies? can anyone vouch for breakfast @ carnegies in the mirage? I only had their awesome sandwiches for late lunch/dinner I would think it would be as good as their "day" menu. Also, anyone have any favorite breakfast places? - I mean beside the typical buffets and late night steak and eggs specials as those have discussed numerous times on the restaurant thread. Sorry to change the topic - I'll also post this on the restaurant page - but I know you are local and the replies seemed to be regulars or locals as well.
thanks!
easystreet

Someone who is as OLD as you are Perry must have a difficult time walking from the Mirage to the Venetian. I thought Omaha was the game of the old person, Perry you should fit right in.....

@Clem2754

CLEM you ignorant slut! I was one of the younger Omaha players. And the walk across the strip was no problem. A boyscout helped me. BTW aren't you 40 yet?

SPPerry

40- now that is funny.... Still have a little ways to go. I will let you know Perry so I can join you and the other old timers in the Omaha game.....

@SouthPointPerry

Excellent line!

LVM, SocalMike and I met at Boulder at around 10pm. I instantly jumped into the Omaha hi game. Then I instantly lost $100. Once again I have tried to beat that game. I repeat the same behavior and expect different results. The definition of insanity.

Next stop Green Valley Ranch, I played 4-8 hold'em. I won $115. Why I don't stick to limit hold'em is beyond me. Probably the same reason that I play Omaha hi: I ride the little yellow bus and wear a hockey helmet.

Next stop Planet Hollywood. I played NLH and won $120. I like their new poker area. But like LVM says: I like anywhere that I win. So at this point I am up $135. That would soon change.

LVM meets up with two random dealers from Harrahs. So I agree to play a mixed game, Baduci and 4 card crazy pinapple. I'm sure that this will be a bracelet event in no time! We end up at Harrahs to play this idiotic game and I drop $200.

In the future, no OMAHA HI and no MIXED GAMES. I dropped $65 dollars on this EA. Which after reviewing some of the previous EAs is one of my better showings.

So I will stick to hold'em or Omaha hi/lo only. I appreciate you letting me write this. It has been very therapeutic.

The EA has arrived. I need to rework the Old EAs. Maybe combine them into one big blog, with comments?

@LasVegasMichael

This would make me happy. And not that fake happy. You know like when you say :

1. I'm happy to see you Clem.
2. Nice hand! (When they suck out on you.)
3. Thank You officer! Have a nice day. (After he gives you a ticket.)

And other fake BS!

All 24 Excellent Adventures have been merged into one big thread here. Just debating if it should stay here in the Trip Report forum or be moved to the Blog forum. I actually think it should stay in the TR froum, since all of our Adventures are indeed Trip Reports as opposed to blogging. For now, it will stay in the TR forum.

Don't worry Perry I can think of PLENTY OF PLACES where they say "NICE TO SEE YOU PERRY". Of course strippers might have meant that 60 years ago.... Now they would say "You are not dead?"

Look when are you guys going to do the BIG ROOMS or the ROOMS WHERE THEY DON'T KNOW YOUR NAME, as you are just another face in the crowd.... Maybe you can call it the "ANTI-CHEERS NIGHT"

Venetian, Bellagio, Caesars, MGM, Wynn, and the Mirage... Mix & Match as you please....

The other options I would throw out is...

"YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN " or otherwise known as LVMICHAEL & PERRY DOES TI... Mix in a quick stop at the Mirage to visit Chris and just ensure that Yappy is at TI and you are gold...

Just ideas to help....

Wow! Where does all this bitterness cum from Clem? Please don't get your panties in a wad. Whenever you decide to leave your parents basement and make a trip to Vegas, we are "happy" to see you.

@Clem2754

Perry I guess you didn't get the humor behind the post... You didn't appreciate the CHEERS reference? The TI reference?

Your heroes started the 25th EA at the Planet Hollywood. SoCal and I met at 10pm to grab some dinner first. We ate at PF Chang's, a great restaurant. I wanted a nice meal before playing. I don't like to play hungry. LVM and Minton met us in the poker room at 11pm.

I have always found the games at PH to be easier than the average game in town. The reason for this is the lack of pros in the games. This is a tourist house. Other than our foursome, I only saw 2 other guys that I had played against. And there were 4 full games going.

I have often wondered why the games are softer. I think a big part of it is the rake and the jackpot drop. They drop $5 and $2. It's the highest rake in town. It's an interesting conundrum. The rake drives the nits nuts, and it keeps the pros away, but the games are soft. The only players left are tourists. Here is a question that all of you should consider: Do I care about the lowest rake in town or do I want to make the most money? I won $35. Not a lot, but that makes three times in a row that I have beat that game.

We left PH and went to the TI, my old job. We arrived at around 1:30am and they had 2 games. I sat down at one and the other guys sat at the other game. The third hand I saw was an $800 pot with one guy going all-in with bottom two pairs and a drunk calling him with top pair. I really liked this game.

After five minutes, there was a dealer change. Rich V got in the box. Many of you have seen Rich deal some of the WSOP final tables. Famous dealers like Rich and Nam are the exclusive property of the TI. I won $180 in 20 minutes.

Mike, Mike & I then walked over to the Mirage to look for a game. It was way past Minton's bedtime so he went home (I gave him a lock of my hair so that he could complete his Blockhead doll, what a groupy!). There were two games of 1-2 NL going, both were full.

So we walked over to the IP. They also had two games going, all 3 of us got in. This game was good. Eight handed with at least 4 callers for every flop. I won my money off of a guy visiting from Romania. Nice guy. I asked him if he know the Dracula's. Did his kids to to school with their kids, play on the same soccer team,etc. He said that was an American myth. Wow, who knew? And so close to Halloween. I won $120.

So I ended up winning $335 for this EA. Many of you think we live glamorous, exciting lives of leisure. That our job is an easy job. Well on this night my tag team partner, LVM went above and beyond to provide the poker world with his presence. Mike has strep throat and a 105-degree fever. But knowing what the 25th EA means to you fans, he stepped up and made it all the way to the IP. I also think his ovaries hurt, but I can't substantiate that. What a champion!

CU at EA 26!

just a point of clarification, I made it to the Mirage and IP, but didn't play at the IP, I grabbed a world famous cookie and left.

And how can you forget your serenade at the Mirage that was dedicated to all the groupies???

It was a fun night hopefully I'll be able to make another one soon

@SouthPointPerry
It's 5 + 1, not 2. Only the Luxor takes a $2 jackpot drop.

@SouthPointPerry

Sir, learn the meaning of exclusive, LOL. They can't be exclusive to just the TI if they are dealing for Harrahs at the WSOP

FYI, since all you "girls" left early I wanted to point out that the EA did not officially end until 8:30am when I was the last one remaining at 8:30am when the IP game finally broke. The game was still quite good as the "woman" (and I use that term loosely as one player at the table mistakenly called here dude) in seat 8 was trying her best to donk off the remaining $200 of what was once a $700 stack. Same thing for the Asian in seat 10 as he got stacked multiple times, once by yours truly, and kept rebuying.

@SouthPointPerry

@SouthPointPerry Coincidence?

My "friend" photoc has pointed out a mistake that I made on EA25. The PH has a $5 & $1 rake and the Luxor has the rake of $5 & $2. I still think they are the easiest games in town. So, my badd. It is so "nice" of Photoc to share his "important" insight with me.

Thanks Photoc!

@photoc
It's 5 + 1, not 2. Only the Luxor takes a $2 jackpot drop.[/quote]

I understand the games are good, but 5+1 or 5+2 are both still highway robbery. It makes the low LHE games unbeatable in the long run IMO. I suppose the NL games are still beatable since the win rates should be higher for a good player.

What does EA stand for??

@fatb

Excellent Adventure.

@24fanatics

Excellent Adventure.[/quote]

LOL ..........thanks,it seems so simple now,don't know why i couldn't figure it out........

@24fanatics

That's exactly my point. In NL, your win rate by hour by Casino should dictate which room to play at. The mentality of looking at: rake, comps, promotions, etc. is in my opinion, a mistake. I guess the best way to determine where you play is to ask this question honestly: What do I want out of a session of poker? If your answer is anything other than: THE MOST MONEY I CAN WIN, then those other factors matter. If on the other hand you just want to maximize your bankroll, then you should strive to find the highest hourly rate for your game. I understand that its fun to take down a promotion or have enough comps for a steak dinner. But those aren't my motivation for playing poker.

Someone once came up with the concept that if you were the 10th best player in the world at a table with the other nine best players in the world you would lose in the long run. by the same logic, if I can find a game where all the nits, dealers and pros stay away, I am going to clean up. And the one way to guarantee that this happens is to have a game with a perceived disadvantage, ie. a higher rake.

so all of you rake hounds enjoy the $3 + $1 rooms and the $4+ $1 rooms. I am going to find the highest number of tourists and clean up. Happy in the knowledge that the better players are staying away due to their short sighted overconfidence that they have beat the rake.

My own fault with this concept is the fact that I am sharing it with fans of the EA's. The smart thing to do would be to get online and complain about the rake. But I am confident that at least a dozen of you will do that in one thread or an other somewhere on the sight.

Perry

Why on earth would anyone who likes money ever want dealers to stay away from their game? Please, please, please give me a table full of dealers. Speaking just of dealers in general, and excepting the sort of dealers who post on AVP (or who may know where I live) of course.

Ummm, Perry since you're nailing up a little manifesto of it here, gotta bust your chops a bit on this brilliant insight that you seem to think you've unearthed. You've grossly misunderstood the basic effect of rake. For many of the better players, the net effect on the bad players they want to keep around tends to be the largest part of it. They are ground up faster. [Deleted my cranky insult.] There aren't large numbers of "pros" around making decisions about where to play based primarily on rake. Find one. Even those players (including me) who've been most active discussing rake here also play in some high rake houses when finding the total package to be good overall. Those who consider it as a factor and are sometimes also concerned with it as a broad policy do so in the context of the overall effect on the game and consider the net end result. Duh. And those with an interest in comfort and amenities aren't necessarily playing solely or mostly to enjoy a chair. But I think you knew that, and just wanted to characterise people's interest in it in a ridiculous sounding fashion. Interest in rake is because of it's effect as a factor on the total net rate you say you seek, and much of that is due to the effect on others from more or less money coming off the table, considered as one significant factor among a number of others. But like it or not, disparage it if you choose, this is billed as a poker information site, and if it wants to be that it's kinda sorta pretty clearly central to the basic concept for folks to share information on what various places charge for their games, and it would be pretty damn strange if it didn't, just as it would if a site on video poker didn't discuss pay tables and hold, or sports betting sites didn't discuss the line and the vig, or a site on local ice cream stores omitted information on prices for chocolate sundaes in it's discussions.

Maybe, just maybe, the sort of individuals who tend to want to stay at Planet Hollywood 'cause they think it's the coolest place to go be a really cool dude are simply not very bright to start with, and this matters. Their rake may be as much a result of dumb customers as a cause. That has long been my opinion. Places with clueless customers staying in their hotel rooms tend to nick them more for a lot of stuff, not just poker but everything in the place from blackjack to bagels, because they can; their customers are not price sensitive, or in the academic language of economics their demand curve is relatively inelastic, or in plain words the people who are attracted to stay in that hotel are more often chowderheads who are even more clueless about everything than the average somewhat clueless Strip visitor. (I say this as someone who has stayed in a room there, by the way.) And the absence of people you recognise might just conceivably have a little something to do with the fact that it is widely considered a Hollyweird Collossal Epic Episode VII pain in the ass to go there, along with the above average douchekid factor pervading the casino. I doubt it'd draw big armies of "nits" or legions of people who imagine they are "pros" to their 1/2 tables if the rake was zero.

Maybe I'm wrong, and the place was hammered with skilled expert poker players until some months back when they changed the cap, and they all abandoned the joint en masse because of it. But I doubt it.

Respectfully, cheers, and good wishes to you pink guy.

IF this makes the hall of fame, the video of Bellagio security chasing LVMichael should be put in the blog. We all need a good laugh. The music to Benny Hill needs to be playing in the background.....

Dear AVPers,

It is an honor to be included in the AVP HOF! To be included in this HOF which is as prestigious as the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is the goal of every blogger. While Mike and I were performing on each EA, we only hoped to entertain and inform. Sure we won two pulitzers, 4 grammys, an emmy and the Nobel prize for Economics. But those trinkets pale in conparison to this honor. The fact that it was bestowed on us by LVMike, of SPPerrys & LVMike's Excellant adventures, doesn't diminish it at all.

For those of you who's goal it is to reach the Hall of Fame (Clem, Pete Rose, etc.) just remember to: Keep up with your training, say your prayers and take your vitamins.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks to all the little people for this honor.

Hugs and Kisses,

SouthPointPerry

Has it really been seven months since the last EA? When are you doing another?

Perry, the blog is in the hall of fame, you aren't in the hall of fame. The only hall of fame you would make is the hall of shame of wearing pink shirts....

I too have been wondering why the EA's have stopped.

I guess once you reach the Hall of Fame, there is nothing else left to do.

@Clem2754

Clem, your mommy is calling. Time for sesame street. come up from the basement.

@24fanatics

Fanatics, you may be right. I could just go around charging for autographs like a retired ball player. Or i could make an Ali like return to the felt. Grab LVM out of whatever nit-fest he's attending right now. And hit the EA trail like the champions that we were. Living the dream for each and every one of you little people, except Clem.

Maybe I will do just that. Get into shape, well, poker shape. Build a little bankroll. And prepare for the deluge of tourists that come with the WSOP. And bring you the best darn reports you have ever read.

Or maybe I will just end this post and go to In'n'Out burger.

SPPerry

I vote for In 'n' Out.

Perry and I would very much like to do another EA. We have planned them and tried to get our schedules to align, but it has been a challenge.

Just to bring everyone up to speed, here is a summary of all the rooms listed on AVP, plus Laughlin, along with the EA number whereupon we hit that room.

Big Rooms

Aria (CityCenter): 26
Bellagio: 17
Caesars Palace: 17
MGM Grand: 17
Mirage: 14, 16, 23, 25
Venetian: 23
Wynn: 3

Strip Rooms

Bally's: 7, 20, 26 (did not play)
Bill's: 4, 14, 20
Circus Circus: 6
Excalibur: 6, 10
Flamingo: 7
Harrah's: 7, 16, 21, 24
Hooters: 4
Imperial Palace: 7, 14, 20, 25
Luxor: 6
Mandalay Bay: 6, 10, 13
Monte Carlo: 6
O'Shea's: 4 (never actually played)
Planet Hollywood: 12, 24, 25
Riviera: 3
Sahara: NA
Stratosphere: 3
Treasure Island (TI): 15, 16, 25

Downtown Rooms

Binion's: 2, 16, 21
El Cortez: 2, 14
Fitzgeralds: 2
Golden Nugget: 2
Plaza: 2

Off-Strip Rooms

Aliante Station: 26
Arizona Charlie's Decatur: 3, 10,15, 26 (did not play)
Boulder Station: 1, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24
Cannery: 11
Club Fortune: 5
Eastside Cannery: 11, 13, 22
Fiesta Henderson: NA
Gold Coast: 8
Green Valley Ranch: 1, 18, 24
Hacienda (Boulder City): NA
Hard Rock: 12, 13, 16, 19
Joker's Wild: 5, 22 (didn’t play on 22)
M: 18
Orleans: 5, 18, 20, 21, 23
Palace Station: 8, 15
Palms: 12
Poker Palace: 11
Red Rock: 8, 19
Rio: 12
Sam's Town: 1, 5, 22
Santa Fe Station: 11
Silverton: 18
South Point: 18 (only LVM played)
Suncoast: 8
Sunset Station: 1
Terrible's: NA
Texas Station: 1
Tuscany: 14

Closed Rooms:

Tropicana: 4
Paris: 7

Laughlin

Riverside: 9
Aquarious: 9
Edgewater: 9
Colorado Belle: 9
Tropicana: 9 (did not play)
River Palms: 9

As you all can see from the above data, Boulder Station is the clear favorite of the EA Heroes, having been part of an EA 10 out of 24 times.

I have not included EA 25 in this report yet. I will be including it soon.

Rooms we have not hit include: Aria, Sahara, Terrible's, and Aliante Station.

I found EA 25 and updated the numbers. I will be adding EA 25 to the comprehensive blog soon.

Clearly, LVM has analyzed the EA's more then I have. Mike is the brains behind the operation. I am the game show host of the EA's.

Bet you wish I didn't learn how to change colours!

Perry if you post in pink, so help me god.... I think you should play a Sahara tournament and then play Aria. Seems like a plan. Maybe mix in a short trip to another strip property along the way. This way you can cover all the bases on the strip. Mike, bases are what the batter touch in baseball as the run around the diamond after hitting the baseball. I needed to clear that up for the sports challenged LVMICHAEL....

@The Punctuation Police

@Local Rock [/quote]

wait wait wait wait wait wait wait.......Perry isnt God??

Who are the Punctuation Police? And whats the deal with capitalizing? Oh, by the way, Clem thanks for helping Mike with that sports analagy.

@SouthPointPerry

That ding dong figured out how to use pink. Spelling? Capitalization? Punctuation? We can't get PErry to follow the rules, but to use color in his words- no problem.... UGH....

@Clem2754

Oh Clemintine! I guess it must eat you alive that I am a founding member of the Hall Of Fame. And you get excited when Mom brings home Pudding pops! I guess we may see Clems excellant time typing with one handmake the HOF. But I'm not holding my breathe.

If your allowed to come back to Vegas, you are welcome to come along on an EA. There! You got what you wanted. Now stop the hero worship.

SPPerry

@SouthPointPerry

Oh Clemintine! I guess it must eat you alive that I am a founding member of the Hall Of Fame. And you get excited when Mom brings home Pudding pops! I guess we may see Clems excellant time typing with one handmake the HOF. But I'm not holding my breathe.

If your allowed to come back to Vegas, you are welcome to come along on an EA. There! You got what you wanted. Now stop the hero worship.

SPPerry[/quote]

Wait, they still make Pudding pops?

WOW- we know what Perry's mom buys him..... Never knew he was such a Bill Cosby fan.

To quote Mr. Cosby: "You 2 might have the BRAIN DAMAGE."

Perry the cat said "Hey Kettle your black". And yes you are a black cat who wears pink.....

@Clem2754

Clem, did this sound correct in your head. If so, please reduce the amount of medical marijuana you are using.

On Monday the 10th, I started out from my home driving to the Alliate station. I started at 5pm. I arrived several days later. this is the farthest casino in the world. I think I passed through a part of Utah to get their.

After arriving at the casino, I got into the only game going in the room, 2-4 limit hold'em. Mike joined in 10 minutes later. Six of the ten players had overs buttons so I got one. For those of you who don't know what OVERS buttons are, they turn a limit game into a no-limit game for the players with the bottons.

Alliante station is a very modern casino. It looks similar to Red Rock. they have a beautiful card room. I think that when the economy comes back and the houses in North Las Vegas are sold, this room will fill up. After about 5 hands, I got into a hand with Mike and he felted me. I lost $40 in that hand. thus ends my career at Alliante.

At about 6pm we left Alliante and went to Arizona Charlies. Although there was no game going on, we did hear the theme to this EA, ABC by the Jackson5. We left there and drove to the Aria.

We arrived at the Aria at 6:45. They had 6 games going. I jumped into a 1-3 nl hold'em game. Mike got into another game. I moved over to his table. we played for about an hour and then a sort of poker celebrity sat down at our table. Sara Hale. Daughter of Oklahoma Johnny Hale.

Sara currently plays poker and occasionally writes a column in one of the poker magazine. Her father was a fixture in vegas poker from the late 70's until about 2003. He played and cashed in a number of big tournaments during that time. He had 12 cashes in WSOP events starting in 1980.

Back to Sara. Sara is a stunning young lady who has been playing in vegas for about 10 years. My ex, EVIL, said she thinks sara is hot. I bring up this point for one reason. don't get distracted by a pretty face. Sara knows how to play. She took some bad beats, but she know what she is doing. And like most women, knows how to flirt at the table. So be careful when you see something you like sitting down at the game. While I like the company of pretty women, I don't get distracted looking at OD, CLem, or NAM at TI.

While i didn't lose to her, I did lose $200 in the game. Mike won $200. Then we left for Bally's at 10pm.

We had dinner at Bally's and then just ended the EA. Had a lot of fun even though I lost $240. I guess the B's will have to wait until next time.

I always look forward to a good Excellant Adventure (TM SouthPointPerry).

Not sure if 5 hands at one casino and 3 hours at another really qualifies, though. Can we call this one a "PrettyGood Adventure"?

Overs is rarely seen on the Strip. The only room that I am aware of that spreads an Overs game on the Strip is Circus Circus.

Off Strip, Overs can be found at Texas Station, Arizona Charlie's, and Aliante Station.

Overs are most commonly used in Vegas to allow some players to play a higher in a room that does not normally offer a bigger game.

At Aliante, 2/4 with Overs was a phenomenal game, as the players are mainly standard 2/4 players who do not know how to play NL, or make the transition to the alternate structure. Most are unwilling to play for stacks, when the $40 they bought in with actually means something to them.

Keep in mind that with Overs in a limit game, there is no max buy in, so you can really play quite deep and bully easily with the buttons.

I was one of the only players in that game that bought in for $100, and I turned that into $260 in 15 minutes. Unheard of in a typical 2/4 game, but when 7/10 players have Overs buttons, it is not that hard of a thing to accomplish. Preflop, it will always be limit structure, as there will always be a non overs player in the hand. Once the flop hits, things change. Once the non overs players drop out, it is a new ballgame on the next street. If all non overs players drop out preflop, the flop onward is NLHE, and really changes the dynamic.

Often, overs games reach a point when every single player at the table has an overs button. When this occurs, the game just changes to NLHE most of the time.

This EA was a good time, and I look forward to continuing the tradition in a couple weeks, if our schedule allows.

One point of correction, at Aria, I cashed out +$350, not $200. Though about $150 of that was from Sarah Hale, most of it was from a different player who rivered the sucker end of the straight when I turned the nut end. Incidentally, a similar situation occurred at Aliante which resulted in most of my profit from that game. In the 2/4 Overs game, I posted my small blind from middle position (I changed seats) and picked up 78. We went to the flop multiway, and only OVERS players remained, so the flop was being played NLHE. The flop came 456 with two spades (I held the 8 of spades only). Perry bet out $10 with KsJs, and I raised to $35. Another player shoved for about $100, Perry shoved for $40, and I reshoved for over $100. The other player held 23 for the sucker end, and the turn and river bricked with no spades, so I won the hand in full.

Dinner at Bally's was enjoyable, but neither of us were really in the mood to play any longer afterwards.

Also, Oklahoma Johnny Hale is still alive and well. He recently celebrated his 82nd birthday.

Sara used to play the 7pm tourney at the Sahara regularly(not so much in the past year), sometimes with her parents. She used dress up in themes often, like for Halloween or when the new Star Wars movies came out, she would have her hair like Princess Leia. It was nice to see. She is pretty good, though I have busted her out of the tourney a time or two!

@LasVegasMichael

I am hoping that your next EA will be when I am there. I plan to make a guest appearance.

Perry, we just like you in the game with the money you donate. You don't have to look at us. Just keep donating....

EA26 has been added to the HOF comprehensive thread.

EA27 is tomorrow!

@LasVegasMichael

Give me a day or 2 to digest all the happenings of the equivilant of the superbowl. Before I put them down on the internet for all the fans and generations to read and learn from.

I don't take this responsibility lightly. I realize that some of you need this valuable information before they can get on with their poker careers. But do you want it done quick or done write?

SPPerry

To end the month of May. Mike and I went to 5 different rooms played for the minimum and kept track of who won. I get about 5 bad beats.

The first room I go to is the MGM. We intend on playing the $.50-$1 NL game, $20 minimum buy-in. I get there first. They have 12 1-2 nl games going, but no $.50-$1 going (1st BAD BEAT). For those of you who have never gone to the MGM, its about a half mile walk from the valet to the poker room. So I walk the green mile back to valet. We meet at the Excalibur.

At the Excaliber we played the 2-4 limit game, $20 minimum. Mike loses $20 and I lose $11. OK I am winning, 1 to zero. No bad beat.

On to room 2, the Luxor. This was funny as we were there for a total of 5 minutes. We played either 3 or 4 hands. I posted my big and small blinds, at which point someone raised. I folded and Mike called. Mike proceeded to lose his whole $50 (minimum but-in). OK, now were rolling. I'm up 2 rooms to zero. I've got him on the ropes.

At this point I suggest that the winner of the most rooms should win the competition. Mike isn't thrilled about this so we decide to keep records both ways. This is the point that my arrogance apparently pissed off the poker gods.

So on to the 3rd room, Mandalay Bay. I have the worst record at the Mandalay. I play the Omaha Hi at Boulder better than anything I have ever played at the Bay. I even was Bubble boy at a preliminary WPT $1000 buy-in event at the Bay. Good Times!

So we get there and the only game they have is 1-2 nl going. It has a $100 minimum buy-in. Now this is suppose to be a low limit competition. This buy-in fell outside the parameters. But here comes my arrogance. I said sure. and jumped right in.

And thus I experienced Bad Beat number 2. About 1/2 an hour into the session, Mike was up $150 and I was up $75. Then this hand came around. I was in the big blind with 10-J of Hearts. It gets raised to $6. I call. The flop is 4-10-J. I bet $15. Its raised to $40. so I push. The raiser calls, he has $150, and A-J. So of course the turn peels off an Ace (BAD BEAT #2) and I lose everything but $25 dollars. to add insult to injury he is one of those guys that won't turn his hand over until he knows he's won.

So I end up losing $100 at the Mandalay. Mike wins $147. I am still up 2 rooms to 1. If I win just one more room I am home free. So on to Bills. And their $.50-$1 game.

As I have always told you guys. We attract groupies. This group has a crush on LVMike. Two prominent AVPers showed up at Bills: AdRock and TonyBigCharles. That's right the man himself, TBC. Of course I am honored. The only legitimate AVP pro is on one of the EAs. I'm humbled.

After about one rotation, Mike and I want to get the hell out of there. So when I am in the big blind and he is the small. Mike says, "if its folded to me, I am pushing blind." I agree. Its folded. We push. I have K-Q. Mike has A-9. (BAD BEAT 3) Mike hits an Ace and wins the competition at bills.

OK 2 to 2. No problem. I just need to win the El Cortez and I'm home free. We sit down in the 1-3 spread limit game. Your hero gets up $40 instantly. Mike is up like $5. I've got him. Victory is mine. Then I hit a hand and get counterfitted. I flop K's full of 8's. It comes 10, 10. so I chop the pot. (BAD BEAT 4).

We still had 20 minutes left. Then the hand that defined the competition was played. I call preflop with A-8 of clubs. Mike and I are heads up. The flop has 2 clubs. on the turn, we get into a raising war. The river puts out an offsuit J and Mike wins the pot with a pair of Jacks. He had the J-10 of clubs. He was drawing to 6 outs. (BAD BEAT 5).

So Mike wins 3 rooms to 2. And he wins $133 to my losing $123. the take home message is this: THE POKER GODS HATE ME! For those of you who agree with the poker gods, I hope you've enjoyed this.

See you next time!

SPPerry

well the poker gods may hate u,but they are trying to kill me...

Thanks for the write up. I think I'll try this but substitute either Hooter's ($50) or IP ($60) for Mandalay Bay.

In the time since our last EA, Perry and I met up and played together once last week, but it was not a formal EA. We played at Golden Nugget, where I got crushed, dinner at Grand Lux, then cards at Mirage, where I got into a beautiful hand with KK all in preflop versus 66. Of course a 6 on the flop, and the night ended shortly afterwards.

We haven't had a formal EA since EA27 at the end of May. Hopefully our schedules will pan out and we will do one again the next couple of weeks.

Not sure what the theme will be. Any ideas? I have wanted to do a tournament one, but the timing is always skewed since we never know who will last longer. We have played a tournament on an EA before (the $17 donkament at Poker Palace that Perry ended up chopping).

We shall see!

You could do an "Old School" vs "New School" EA - which would actually be two EA's

Old School would be those poker rooms that have been open at least 20 (or maybe more) years

vs

New School would be those poker rooms that have been open less than 5 years (TI, Venetian, Aria, Red Rock, - not sure what others fit in this group)

I like that idea.

For Old School, obviously the only rooms that would qualify would be rooms that never closed. Rooms that have been continuously operating. Here are some off the top of my head that have never closed, and the years that the poker room opened.

Mirage poker 1989
Excalibur 1990
Sahara 1956
Flamingo 1972
Binion's 1988 (prior to '88, there was no permanent poker room)

Mirage poker, I am not entirely sure who you are. Maybe your new to AVP. But you obviously are not familiar with the Vegas poker scene or how important the EA's are to the little people. But I will humor you. Do they have to be at least 20 years old? How many rooms fit this criteria? Mike and I need 4 rooms to officially qualify as an EA. Let me know how many you know of.

Thanks,

Perry

@Mirage Poker

Here is the updated EA tally, with the applicable EA number after each venue.

Big Rooms

Aria (CityCenter): 26
Bellagio: 17
Caesars Palace: 17
MGM Grand: 17
Mirage: 14, 16, 23, 25
Venetian: 23
Wynn: 3

Strip Rooms

Bally's: 7, 20, 26 (did not play)
Bill's: 4, 14, 20, 27
Circus Circus: 6
Excalibur: 6, 10, 27
Flamingo: 7
Harrah's: 7, 16, 21, 24
Hooters: 4
Imperial Palace: 7, 14, 20, 25
Luxor: 6, 27
Mandalay Bay: 6, 10, 13, 27
Monte Carlo: 6
O'Shea's: 4 (never actually played)
Planet Hollywood: 12, 24, 25
Riviera: 3
Sahara: NA
Stratosphere: 3
Treasure Island (TI): 15, 16, 25

Downtown Rooms

Binion's: 2, 16, 21
El Cortez: 2, 14, 27
Fitzgeralds: 2
Golden Nugget: 2
Plaza: 2

Off-Strip Rooms

Aliante Station: 26
Arizona Charlie's Decatur: 3, 10,15, 26 (did not play)
Boulder Station: 1, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24
Cannery: 11
Club Fortune: 5
Eastside Cannery: 11, 13, 22
Fiesta Henderson: NA
Gold Coast: 8
Green Valley Ranch: 1, 18, 24
Hacienda (Boulder City): NA
Hard Rock: 12, 13, 16, 19
Joker's Wild: 5, 22 (didn’t play on 22)
M: 18
Orleans: 5, 18, 20, 21, 23
Palace Station: 8, 15
Palms: 12
Poker Palace: 11
Red Rock: 8, 19
Rio: 12
Sam's Town: 1, 5, 22
Santa Fe Station: 11
Silverton: 18
South Point: 18 (only LVM played)
Suncoast: 8
Sunset Station: 1
Terrible's: NA
Texas Station: 1
Tuscany: 14

Closed Rooms:

Tropicana: 4
Paris: 7

Laughlin

Riverside: 9
Aquarious: 9
Edgewater: 9
Colorado Belle: 9
Tropicana: 9 (did not play)
River Palms: 9

My son, my son, your years are few and your Netelligence is waxing so I shall refrain from lambasting and just point out the post just prior to yours, which you did not catch as you hunt and pecked yours.

@SouthPointPerry [/quote]

@Mirage Poker

Sir,

I "hunt and peck" so that my speling will be correct,

SPPery

@SouthPointPerry

Sir,

I "hunt and peck" so that my speling will be correct,

SPPery[/quote]

What was that you were saying about your spelling Perry?

@LasVegasMichael
Is LasVegasMichael sitting down? I'm afraid I have some sad news.

LVM's very most favorite poker room in the whole world, the beautiful Tropicana Express in fabulous Laughlin, will have to be moved to the "closed" category. They shut down somewhat abruptly a few months ago, no doubt unable to overcome the public shame of the mistreatment of Mr. Mike's entourage last year (was it last year?).

Grief counselors are standing by.

That is an intentional "pun" by Perry, though I am not sure why he thinks my spelling was incorrect?

Perhaps me grammar was a bit off, but naught the spelling.

@cokeboy99

Sir,

I "hunt and peck" so that my speling will be correct,

SPPery[/quote]

What was that you were saying about your spelling Perry?[/quote]

Sunday night at around 7pm Mike and I meet at the Orleans with the intention of playing Omaha8. We get bored waiting so we leave. Hey we are busy guys who won't wait around! Have a game ready for your heroes when we come to your casino or we BOUNCE!

For no apparent reason, we head to Red Rock. We sit in a 1-2 game and I win $15. At this point Mike suggests that we are on an impromptu EA. So we need 2 more casinos to make it official. Hey these aren't my rules. (Wait, I made up all of these rules.)

Since we are in the area we go to Texas station. They have one game going, a 2-6 spread limit game. We jump right in and I dominate the game. I win $10. After the hot chick in the game leaves, we BOUNCE!

On to the Santa Fe Station. We sit in the 1-2 game, and once again, I DOMINATE! Up $200. I never knew that Mike was a sports fan. But he revealed to the table that he is in a fantasy league. Not football, baseball or basketball. No Mike is in an exclusive figure skating fantasy league. That bitch Tanya Harding cost him thousands!

At that point we thought the night and the EA were over. But no! Just like a great double album(such as the White Album, Physical Graffiti, or Mad Dogs & Englishmen) we have more casinos to hit.

But we have to reenergize. So we go home. Now I live a jetsetting life style. During the day I am doing things that you little people only dream of; pay rent, do the wash, grocery shop, etc. Then its back to the EA!

We start day two at the planet Hollywood, newest Harrah's property. I kill the game. I win $275. Then its time to move on.

We go to O'Shea's and play the tournament. I finish 7th one ahead of Las Vegas Mike. We were just out of the money. There were 8 players in the tournament. Watch for it on ESPN 8, the OCHO. I lose $40, but win the $10 last longer with LVM.

We then go to the MGM. We sit in the 1-2 nl. I stink it up and lose $200. That was enough poker for me. I won $260 on the EA.

After playing and/or being in 7 casinos in 2 days, I am sick and tired of poker. Well, back to 40 hours a week working in a poker room.

Have a fabulous Labor Day folks!

SouthPointPerry

I lol'd a few times. My favorite part was the "Baseketball" reference.

My actual reactions to this:

@SouthPointPerry
Oh, that's too bad, but looks like they did OK.

@SouthPointPerry
Doh!

hey SPP,
ill at the time share next to south point at the end of the month, im sure ill be seeing plenty of you then. ill have to make sure to say hi

Very fun read, your a freaking poetic genius.

@nittastic
When your right, your right!

SPPerry

@nittastic

You have single handedly spawned Perry's updated AVP title.

Nice job.

Darn I wish I would have known. Always wanted to play at REd Rock, and I was in town on Sunday night playing at the Venetian.

@LasVegasMichael

You have single handedly spawned Perry's updated AVP title.

Nice job.[/quote]

Crap what did I get myself into. Also you can't insert poetic genius without also including the freaking portion of it. This takes my original post slightly out of context.

I find this post very hard to believe.....well, one part of it. A "hot" girl playing Poker at Texas Station? Come on now! No hot girls are EVER at Texas Sation!

@89Suited

By "hot" girl, Perry is referring to a tatooed & bleached 250 pounder in hot pants.

@LasVegasMichael

By "hot" girl, Perry is referring to a tatooed & bleached 250 pounder in hot pants.[/quote]

Hey, that was my natural color and my diet starts tomorrow!

This is my 8,000th post.

I wanted it to be special, so of course I posted it in the EA thread.

Here's to 8,000 more!

We are planning EA # 29 for tomorrow night.

Please vote for the casinos you would like the heroes to visit in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17622

I have moved this post to the Blog Forum from the Best of AVP section now that it is being reincarnated for tomorrow night's adventure.