So, As I've been a member of this site now for a few months, like the rest of you, I can't leave the site. Finally, my Vegas trip came April 1 - April 4. It was my both my wife and my first trips to Vegas.

I'll split the review into two parts, the POKER section and the VEGAS REVIEW section.

POKER

As I'll detail in the next section, the wife and I were crazy busy, so I didn't see a cardroom until my 2nd full day in Vegas. Since it's the most convenient (right across the street from my hotel, the Westin), I walk over to Bally's poker room. I get seated at a 1-2 NL table at about 12:40, knowing that I have until about 4:00 before I have to leave to get ready for dinner/show with the wife.

A quick background on me: I've played micro stakes NL home games with family and friends for 7-10 years, and more seriously, obviously, as the poker boom has struck. I've read several books, but I've still never played at higher stakes than .10 - .20, and also never played online. My wife and I aren't gamblers, and she is nearly identical to Matt Damon's girlfriend in Rounders, doesn't understand poker, thinks it's just gambling, etc. So, while she doesn't hate that I play, she doesn't particularly like it either. We're also expecting our first child, so we're pounding money into savings, combine that with my wife not liking poker much, and you see why my bankroll is limited. I've been stashing away a 20 here and 30 bucks there over the last 4-5 months, but my total roll was only about 350 coming to Vegas. So, this money wouldn't have been a big loss to me (because my wife didn't know it existed), I just wanted to get some experience under my belt for my next trip in the fall (business related).

So, I sit down at Bally's 1-2 table with 350 bones in my poket. I buy for 300, and off we go.

First off, the competition was MUCH tougher than I expected. I had 2-3 dealers (I think one of them was a blackjack dealer or something) at the table at all times, 2-3 regulars, and 2 TAG 2+2 tourists. There were really only 2-3 guys in the several hours I was there that I would say were definitely fish in a big shark tank.

Nothing materializes for a good 45 minutes or so. My best hand in this time was pocket 10's, which I had to bail on when a nasty board hit the flop. After the first 45 minutes or so, I'm down from 300 to about 225, and had only won 1 or 2 very small pots.

Here comes a bad hand. I'm in middle position with K9s, I limp, about 5 or so to the flop. Flop comes K, Q, 10 rainbow. Checked to me, I lead out with a pot sized bet of 20 sensing a lot of weakness. The vil, a young, TAG 2+2 asian kid calls, folded around. I put the villian on something like AT for a pair with a gutshot. I decided I needed to make him pay to draw for the gutshot when the turn brought a blank. I bet out approximately 50, vil calls. River = blank, I feel like I have him and am betting for value. He's been pretty tight, so I went out with something like 80ish, he calls. Flips over J9, a flopped straight. He said I was throwing so many bullets out there he thought I might have had the ace high straight or he would have reraised me allin. I lose approximately 150 out of my 225-250 stack.

I'm now sitting on about 75 bucks, and I know I only have 50 more to burn. I buy in for that additional 50, and I'm glad I did. A few hands later I see pocket rockets. I raise, 2 callers, flop brings a flush draw. Checked to me and I bet, 2 callers. I put these guys on a pair for one of them, and a flush draw for another one. Turn, blank, checked to me and I bet again, one caller. River: Completes the flush draw, I was pissed. He leads out putting me all in for my last 55 dollars. I am totally pot committed here with about 300 in the pot.

This moment sucked. I was 100% positive that he hit his flush, I was going to call with my last 55 with an overpair, and be done playing only about 1-1.5 hours into my session. Nonethless, I must push, and he shows MIDDLE PAIR. What a joker. I pull down a huge pot and get right back to even ($350 after throwing the dealer a redbird).

One big hand that cemented my donkey status. I'm in a pot with A-9. Flop comes AAX, with a flush draw. It's heads up, and I'm putting large bets in representing the ace and trying to make him overpay for his draw. Turn, King. River, King completing the flush draw. The whole time I was concerned about him hitting his flush that I DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT I HAD JUST MADE ACES FULL, and I would have crushed his flush draw. I checked the river (still playing my donkeyrific trip aces), and he checked behind and I showed my boat, and became completely embarrased at not betting the river. What a fool I looked like. Although, looking back, he obviously didn't have anything and wouldn't have made the call, so I don't think it cost me any money, but I looked like a fool.

I play for a few more hours, hovering between 300-350 without any big pots won or lost. It's about 10 minutes before I need to leave, and I got one of my best starting hands in an hour, pocket 3's. I pull down a nice sized pot here after flopping a set, and I cashed out +141.

Overall, I enjoyed my time, although I must say the competition was tougher than expected. I am sure I didn't play my best poker, and my have played a little scared at times. My first experience: you live, you learn.

I didn't start with much. I had AA once, TT, 33, AQ, and AJ were my best hands, all ofthose hands only once. I think I had JT suited as well, but not man decent suited connectors either. That'll happen I guess.

Looking forward to playing a BUNCH more poker when I go out in the fall for a business conference. I plan on building my bankroll before then so I can comfortably play 1-2 NL for 3 straight days..

EVERTHING ELSE

Sunday: Wake up at the asscrack of dawn, 3:30 a.m. eastern time, travel goes smoothly. Get to Vegas around 10:30 a.m. pacific. We go straight to our hotel, the Westin Casaurina where I got a solid priceline deal of 60 bucks per night.

REVIEW OF THE WESTIN: This was perfect for our needs. Location is great, it's center strip. right behind Bally's and the Flamingo. They have a small casino downstairs if you want to play late night some of the most popular games. The room was very nice, and the whole hotel was MUCH nicer than hotels with similar (although probably even more expensive) price tags, like Flamingo, Bally's, etc. If you have to be able to say you stayed on the strip, this isnt for you. But it's so close (about a 2 minute walk to LV Blvd.), it was well worth saving the money and getting a classier hotel than the cheaper strip joints.

MONDAY: Head south on the strip. MGM, NYNY, Luxor, Mandalay, etc. Pretty normal touristy day. We saw the Popovich's Comedy Pet Theatre because that is right up my wife's alley. Decently humorous and entertaining afternoon show.

TUESDAY: head north. Much better places here. Impressed by nearly all of the casinos, Ceasars, V, Mirage, TI, Wynn. At night we say Mystere by Cirque De Soleil, and that is an impressive show. Freaking amazing what those people can do. Word of advice, don't pay for the expensive tickets center stage. We were on the side of the stage and our seats were just as good as anywhere else in the theatre.

SOME TIDBITS, NUGGETS, CHUNKS, AND GEMS...

1. Is it just me or is the Paris underrated as a hotel? If you're taking your wife, I can't imagine she wouldn't love it. The ambiance is nice, restaurants are solid, casino has high ceilings so it's not like a smokey dungeon, location is good as well. Can't speak to the poker room, but the hotel is in my top 3-4 in value for the price you would pay.

2. North strip is where it's at. If I were choosing where to stay, I'd never stay south of the Paris, unless you were staying at one location specifically for the poker room (seems like many of you like the MGM room). If you stay north strip you get the V, TI, and Ceasars all right there. Bellagio or Wynn as well if that's your thing.

3. Breakfast buffets make me all warm and fuzzy inside.

4. If you're going on budget, there's a solid little foodcourt inside the Ceasars palace (near Celine Dion and the poker room) called the Cypress Street Market. We ate there probably 3 different times, its better than fast food, but the prices are reasonable, and they have great variety.

5. If you're staying at or near Bally's or Paris, there's a great sportsbar/restaurant inside Paris (near the walkway between Paris and bally's casinos) called Le Burger Brasserie. Solid burgers, in a classy environment, great TV's, etc.

Totals for the trip:
Poker: PLUS $141
Slots: MINUS $9.50 (like I said, we aren't big gamblers)
Sports: MINUS $30 (I had a bad week at the sportsbook)