Just a few highlights. Forgive me if some details seem off or incomplete when describing hands.

Headed to Monte Carlo to play a planned mixed game with LVM, Sabs and others, but as I was walking off the bus and up the steps, I got a text message saying they couldn't make it. Well, I was already there, so I decided to try No Limit after not having played it for several months. Happily, I doubled my buy in the 1st two hands! First was a nut flush; the second gave me pocket 8s that gave me a set on the flop. I bet it hard and got one caller. The turn put was a Jack. I bet $30 or so and my caller raised to $70. Keep in mind…I had just sat down the hand before! I had no idea how these people played. I had to call, and the river gods smiled on me when another Jack fell. I put out the biggest bet I ever have --$100—and he immediately called. The turn Jack gave him a straight but he lost to my boat and wasn’t happy about it. He asked how much it would’ve taken for him to bet me off my hand, but I didn’t really have an answer. I went up about $100 more, but left after about 4 hours with a $204 profit.

I met AVPer Ian at the Monte Carlo and ilikecheese stopped by to say hi to the nonexistent mixed game players.

I was energized to play more NL after my successful night, but had a terrible run doing so on Sunday. Played against a psycho German (PG) guy at the Venetian raising every hand. At least he was on my right. I limped with A 3, as did PG and a few others. Flop came A J 3. PG bet something like $12, I raised to $40. The other limpers folded except PG immediately raises to $80. I just didn’t know what to do. Did he have trips? AJ? I must admit to wimping out and I did fold. I told him what I had, but he didn’t comment. He probably had A with a decent kicker but no 2 pair.

While at the V, I did hit four 3’s on a $1 video poker machine for a cool $200. That helped offset the poker losses a bit.

After losing just over $100, I moved across the street to TI for another stab at NL. Unfortunately, I lost 2 $200 buy ins and felt like I’d never get good at that form of the game. My poker confidence was seriously shaken and I woke up Monday morning feeling crappy with a massive headache. I took 2 aspirin, went back to bed and woke up 2 hours later and tried to "get my mind right."

My main reason for making this trip was to attempt to play in the ladies WSOP Circuit event on Monday morning. I decided because I was feeling so negative, I would pass on it. I decided instead to just play one of Planet Hollywood’s daily $60 tournaments. The 500 extra chips for having a players card is a nice bonus, thanx for the heads up Photoc!

I played as TAG as I could, as I’m trying hard not to be as passive a players I usually am. A couple noteworthy hands:On one hand I had A 6 of hearts. I limped as did a player after me. The flop came low cards (don't remember specifics) with 2 hearts. I checked and the other guy bet the minimum I think. I called. The turn made four cards to a straight, but no heart. I checked, and the other guy bet 1500. I had a healthy stack and called. The river was a beautiful heart. I bet the 500 minimum and my opponent goes all in. Yahoo! I immediately called and showed the nuts to his turned straight. Don't know why he didn't go all in on the turn and even more, gave me a great price to see the river. He had me covered by just a couple thousand, and he went out soon after. In fact, I think I was the one who took him out.

On another hand, I had JJ when the blinds were 500/1000 and raised from EP to 3000. It was folded to the cut off who went all in for about $16K. I had him covered and really contemplated a call. I could tell he was not a very experienced player. He had doubled up twice earlier with A-rag but now had a decent stack. Why was he pushing here? I was playing pretty tight and hadn't played a hand in quite a while. He could have A-rag again, or he could have a pair bigger than mine and be hoping I call. I decided to be conservative and folded my jacks face up. He tabled A 6 suited, so I was a 2 to 1 favorite. Suited A-rag is fine for a short stack push, but here?

I just kept chugging along and next thing you know, I’m at the final table! The tournament paid 9 places and I had was about 7th in chips, I’d estimate. A woman with a huge pile suggested a deal where we all donate $10, and the 10th place finisher would get $90 and the 9th the remaining $10. We all agreed and I was thrilled to know I made the money, as it had been a long time since I’d cashed. I eventually went out in 6th place when I had AKs in the SB and went all in for my last 14K. The BB called with his pocket 8s, and when an 8 arrived on the flop, I was done, but feeling really good about my decision to play at PH rather than the WSOP.

Monday night was spent playing at the Imperial Palace at 2/4 with a half kill. The table closest to the entrance is FREEZING! After a couple of hours, I had to go around the corner to the Carnaval Court and buy a $20 Las Vegas sweatshirt just to keep from getting pneumonia!

The big news came on Tuesday. As many AVPers know, IP has a daily promotion from 8-11 a.m. where you get $100 for aces cracked and $50 for kings cracked. I got there at 9 a.m. and four 2/4 tables were full of people trying to get their big hands cracked. At 11 a.m., there was a mass exodus of the players once the promotion ended, but I stayed behind and we were down to only one cash table in the room. At 11:40, Harrah's Mega Bad Beat jackpot hit next door at the Flamingo and everyone playing in a participating Harrah's Nevada casino (which Imperial Palace is) got $729! There were only 69 people playing at that time. If those 30 or so earlier players had stayed, our share would have been quite a bit less. I learned later here on AVP that Harrah's in Laughlin had some poker invitational going and therefore had a higher number of players than usual. If it had been a normal Tuesday morning, our share would've been about $1200. With that windfall I made up for Sunday's losses and then some. It was pretty exciting.

I think that’s all the news worth sharing. I will add that my rooms at Circus Circus and Bills’ were surprisingly nice and quite affordable. No hesitation to stay there again if the good deals keep up.