We arrived in Vegas on Friday at noon to start the weekend celebration of my roommates 30th birthday. There were three of us, and by the time we checked into the Luxor, we were dying to get started. This was all three of ours first trip to Vegas, so we didn't exactly know what to expect.

We hoofed it downstairs to the Luxor poker room, but it was dead. We decided to walk over to Excalubur. The room was pretty busy for 2:00 in the afternoon. Two 1/3 NL tables, two 2/4 LH, 1 2/6 Spread, and one 3/6 LH table running. We got on the list for the 1/2 game. The other guys got a seat first, and I walked out to grab a smoke before my name was called. I didn't hear my name called, and about 5 minutes later the manager came searching the slots area for me. He then refused my tip for going the extra mile, as he could have just sat the next person on the list. He stated he was just doing his job, and was pleased to know I was happy.

So I sat down, not knowing what to expect for my first live session. There were 5 tourists and 5 local rocks, at least two of whom were off duty dealers and knew everyone in the room. The table was dull and extremely tight, and one local kept slowing down the game by chatting with the dealer. I went card dead. I decided to loosen up a little, and started raising some pots in position. Unfortunately, the blinds seemed to always have a hand, and I got busted when my pocket fives lost to a set of 4's. Lost $200, but had a good time.

We went back to the Luxor, and I played some more poker while my buddies caught a nap. The buy in was terrible, the blind structure, 1-1-2, was lousy. The players were loose and drunk, the dealers either didn't care about the game, or thought they were Vince Van Patton, and commented on every street. I missed getting paid when I turned the nut flush because the dealer made a comment when I bet. "Someone's got a flush" The other players in the hand immediately folded, and I took down a small pot. I complained to both the dealer and management, neither of which seemed to concerned about it. I vowed not to play there again.

We then went up to TI to play in the 10:00 PM $60 tourney. Very inexperienced players, and most were drunk. Very soft play. I played extremely loose and aggressive, and by the first break had nearly tripled my starting stack. After the break, my luck changed, and I sucked out on by everyone at the table. My set of 10's got busted by running spades to give the other guy a 9 high flush. My aces got cracked 9-6 offsuit, when he went all in pre flop and caught a straight on the river. I ended up busting out 9th, top 6 got paid, out of 43. We headed back to the Luxor and went to bed, as we had been up for 30 straight hours.

Woke up early on Saturday, and decided to play blackjack while the rest of the guys slept. We then went to check out the room at MGM. Management screwed up my tables, and sent me to two tables that were full. They then put me on the end of the list, and I had to wait an extra 20 minutes to get a seat. Once I was sat, my cold streak continued. I couldn't catch a hand, and when I did, it never held up. I lost another $200 over about an hour and a half, and decided it wasn't my day for poker. I then dropped another $300 at balckjack because I was drunk and the dealer was hot. Went back to the room as my bankroll was almost depleted and we still had two more days left.

Went to the buffet at Excalibur for dinner. Pretty mediocre, but at 14.99, it was cheaper than most. We decided to play at the Excalicur again, and this time my luck changed. I bought in for $100, as I only had $250 left. I won a few hands and got up to about $175, when I finally made a big score. I had As-6s in the big blind, and called the raise to $8. Flop comes 10s, 6h, 8s. I lead out with my middle pair and nut flush draw. The 3 seat calls my bet of $30. Turn brings a Qd, and I decided to try and get a free card, so I check. The guy in the 3 seat thinks forever about what to do. I figured he had an 8, but then he proved me right by showing me! The way he played with his cards, he would pick them up off the table and shuffle one from top to bottom. But he didn't realize that he had them tilted slighty toward me, and my end of the table could see exactly what he had. He was holding K-8 off. He then checked behind me. The river was a gift from the poker gods, the King of Spades. I checked my nut flush, knowing he would bet his two pair. He bet $30, I raised to $60, he instantly went all in, and I called before he could finish saying the words. A nice $325 pot. He continued to show his cards unknowingly, and my half of the table took advantage of it everyway we could. Ended up playing for 3 hours and cashing out for $600.

We slept away most of Sunday, and headed back to Excalibur to play again. All three of us were showing profit from the room. I lost $100 to the tightest table I have ever seen in my life. I wasn't having any fun, so I left to pay blackjack while my buddies grinded it out. They joined me later at a blackjack table, and we ended up playing for almost 3 hours, each making a nice profit. We grabbed dinner and decided to check out the room at Mandalay Bay.

Got to Mandalay Bay at about 1:00 AM. The table I sat at was all drunk tourists. The drink service was fast, and the waitresses were hot, so it's no wonder everyone kept drinking to keep them coming to the table. I played tight aggressive, and after 2 hours, I had turned my $200 into $450. All three of us cashed for positive money, so it was a good session. The room is very nice, with great, friendly management, and very easy competition. Will definately play here again.

Slept in Monday, and didn't get to play again because we had to leave for the airport at noon. Overall I was up $250 playing poker, but down for the trip because I couldn't stay away from the blackjack tables. We're already planning our next trip, and can't wait to return!