Disclaimer: This was 2-4L only. Not that I need to defend or justify it but here's why: bankroll protection, maximize beer drinking vs getting stacked, shooting the shit with dealers/players, and comfortability. I fully recognize I will not make money at this game. In full view of things I'd rather play 12 hours and enjoy (most of) it while drinking and goofing off vs the prospect of stacking off in 15 minutes and being done for the day.

This will be long. As with all of my trip reports there is no glamor, no expensive meals, no shows, no gambling winnings but it is chock-full of perverse amounts of time at 2-4 limit poker tables, beer consumption, and a few anecdotes.

The trip was centered around the Western Veterinary Conference at Mandalay Bay and was solo as my former classmates were boycotting Vegas this year. I was able to book a ridiculously low flight $170 out of Charlotte, NC, back in July. Poking around harrahs.com I eventually found that I could stay comped (a first for me!!) at P-Ho Sun-Fri and ended up at IP for $50 on Saturday. A bit of a walk to the conference but free is free and I play at IP/Flamingo so it all worked out. I'm still shocked I can get 5 free comped nights playing nothing more than 2-4L and exceptionally minimal penny slots.

2/19
Watched Vegas Vacation and The Hangover waiting for departure time....didn't go to bed. Come 3:30 I drive to my parents house where Dad nicely offered to drive me to CLT (1.5 hrs away). We cruise with zero traffic and I get there ridiculously early for my flight. Security is a breeze and I nod off for a total of 15 minutes or so. Quick flight to Cincy (no sleep) and a close connection after a brief delay. Cincy to LAS......about 45 minutes of sleep. D'oh!

You always catch that second wind when you see the strip and hit Vegas. I was feeling no pain after maybe 1.5 hours of sleep in the last 30. Bag collected, cab to IP (no tunnel!), and check in. Quick check in for the Imperial Palace and I get a deluxe room with a stunning view of the parking structure. The room is as usual- clean but bare bones. Dump my bag and head to Hash House a Go Go. There are people everywhere and I hear the hostess tell someone it's a 2hr wait. I check out the bar but no open stools. Damn. Off to Burger Palace where I get a standard cheeseburger and quell any hunger pains and free with TR card.

It's down to the poker room where I smile as I see my dealers. It's so fantastic to have folks smile and some remember your name......when I'm only there twice a year playing low stakes poker. I sit down and it goes cold. I don't win a single hand in two hours. Blinds, cracked pocket pairs (aces and kings) and a little bit of chasing leaves me down about $80 which is a horrible bleeding rate at this game. I'm up about 4 beers, though, so life is OK.

I decide I probably need to nap......and six hours later I wake up. It's a bad feeling to think you've "lost time" in Vegas but my body needed that respite to function. So what do I do? Back to the poker room of course!

This session went a bit better. I was up and down until my pocket jacks came through in a big way. Pocket jacks can get you in a lot of trouble but when you flop quads you're generally good. Quad jacks takes down a medium size pot for me and a $50 bonus. Thanks Cheryl!!! Jacks hold two more times while pocket aces go down in flames again. Cash out +$2 when the table breaks at 2am. Beer consumption was plentiful.....Blue Moon on tap is lovely yet dangerous all at the same time.

I stumble down to the Flamingo which has multiple tables going. Play here was a bit hazy but I end up leaving bleary/beery eyed at 6am +$69. I have to check out at 11am...oy. Back to IP where I sleep for 3.5 hours. No memorable hands but again....memory was fleeting at that point.

2/20
Up, shower, and breakfast at HHAGG. Again the wait is lonnnnnnnng but I score a seat at the bar. Chorizo hash and eggs was fantastic. Pay with TR points. Cab down to IP. My booked room (the standard room) was not available but the upgrade rooms ($50/night) amazingly were. Nuts to that- I check bags at the desk and walk down to Mandalay Bay. I register for the conference, attend four hours of lecture, and catch the end of the NC State - Maryland basketball game. Surprise, we lose.

Walk back to P-Ho and the check in wait time is an hour. Ugh. Get to the desk and my requested room type (N/S King) is not available. Again they try and sell the upgrade. Mmmm, no. I'll take the N/S 2 Queens. For the record I was in 2544 The "Empire Records" room. I've never even heard of that movie. Room is nice- beds were very comfortable, bathroom was large with separate tub/shower but things were laid out a bit odd. Light switches were in stupid places and a 2nd door in the bathroom in front of the toilet was awkwardly placed.

I realize I hadn't played poker in over 12 hours so it was time! It's back to the Imperial Palace where I play a measly seven hour session. Dinner was a club sandwich delivered to the poker room. The session saw me cash out -$79 with kings cracked but up about as many Blue Moons. Bedtime at 1:30am. I start seeing my poker-mates for the week: The German Assassin, The Iron Fist, Royal Flush Guy, another veterinarian who was the nicest fellow, loud baseball coach, Mr. Ohio, and a few others.

2/21
Up at 6:30am for the conference. Shower and walk to Mandalay Bay. Four hours of lecture was followed by lunch at Hussong's Cantina in Mandalay Place. Two coronas and a very good carnitas burrito ended up being $30 or so. A few more hours of afternoon lecture and it's off to play.......poker.

I take the monorail from MGM to IP. The Imperial Palace is dark for 2-4 so I resort to my 2nd choice of the Flamingo. The Flamingo is packed at it takes a 30 minute wait to get a seat. Three hours later I cash out -$54 but with a positive beer meter. Looking for a change of pace I return to IP for my wildest session of the trip. I'm up $64 in the first two hands. The first hand was a set of fives and the second hand was AK that flopped a king and turned an ace for top two. At one point I was up $107. My general rule of thumb is if you double up at 2-4 (I've only done it four times) is you rack up and go....quickly. Beer told me otherwise and I went on a massive losing streak with second best hands and big draws that didn't come in. I'm ashamed to admit that I cashed out down for the session -$56 in four hours.

Looking for another change of scenery I monorail down to the Sahara which for my experience in Vegas had the absolute worst 2-4 players. I know every room has bad players but in my (only) two visits the level of play I have seen has been shocking. Our table features a guy who only answers to Cowboy that calls down with 3rd pair, a drunk Mexican who re-bought three times, a solid gentleman I played with last year, a Cuban lady the Mexican was flirting with, and a local who was waiting on his drunk friend in the tournament. Said drunk friend would occasionally come by our table and scream something partially intelligble and send everyone into hysterics. Dealers were quite tolerant of his drunk shenanigans and F-bombs. I cash out +$40 to stop the bleeding in ~2.5 hrs.

Monorail back to Ballys and walk to P-Ho. Late night dinner at Earl of Sandwich (TR points) and bed at 1:30am.

2/22
Up at 7am and four hours of conference lectures. I bag the afternoon sessions and head back up strip. I stop at Yolo's at Planet Hollywood for lunch. Dos Equis on draft and carnitas tacos which were good. I was suprised that chips and salsa were complimentary- both were quite good. For some reason you can't pay with TR points here so it was charged to the room.

So what did I do with my afternoon? I played more drunken limit poker, of course. My notes on sketchy on times, but I played three sessions. The first session was down $61 at Imperial Palace, then a dead even stretch at the Flamingo, followed by a graveyard shift at the Imperial Palace. AlaskaGal was dealing and she did me right. She dealt me pocket tens that progressed to quads on the turn here for another $50 bonus. I cashed out $40 to the good and returned to Planet Hollywood for another late night Earl's dinner. In case you read this AlaskaGal, thank again. I don't think I ever introduced myself but I was the drunk guy with your AVP card-capper playing grave all week.

2/23
My notes stopped at this point so the rest of the trip is from memory.

I decided today to play in the morning for Imperial Palaces Aces Cracked promo as I hadn't gotten to spend any time with the day staff. I unfortunately found myself stuck on the list with two full games of people that weren't going anywhere when I rolled in shortly after 9. Eventually we started a third table but the cards weren't kind and the promo ended without our table even sniffing aces much less getting them cracked. Down $30 I head towards the conference.

I dithered around with some slots at Excalibur after getting a new Mlife players card. Up slightly I head to the Luxor food court and get an overly priced chicken philly at Nathan's. Afternoon lectures left me with an itch to return to the tables. It's back to the Flamingo where I cash out +$67 for a few hours work.
Time to catch the NC State- North Carolina game. Problem is I can't find it at three different sports books. IP eventually kindly sets me up with the game on one of their bigger screens. We keep it close only to lose at the end. I told several dealers to bet the house on UNC -6 but no one did....easy money unfortunately.

Then back to my usual haunting grounds. My best session of the trip would come on graveyard at the IP tonight. I also met my future wife there (an incredible cocktail waitress) although she's already married, doesn't know me from a hole in the ground, and I live 3K miles away. Well it's nice to dream about. Early on I flopped two pair and was betting into a guy that flopped the straight (and didn't raise). Queen of spades on the river and I check. He bets, I fold, and he tables a royal flush. That's the first time I've seen one live. I don't think he knew he had it (except for the flush). He puts the red in his pockets but ends up giving some of it back over the course of the evening. I was up and down until I went on a massive heater. We were playing five handed but the action was there. Quad tens for the second night in a row got me there. The pot just barely made it over the minimum but that's another $50 bonus. In the next ~12 hands I had pocket aces (folded to my blind!!!), kings (cracked), queens (cracked), jacks flopped a set, tens again that held up, and AK that never got there. We were five handed but had drunk people that would wander off randomly. At one point there were only two of us seated and the dealer asked about waiting. Nope the guy at the other end of the table wanted to play 2-4 limit heads up. I've sunk to a new low in my degeneracy when I agreed. Going 3 for 3, though, made me smile a bit. The table eventually broke about 3-4 am and I cashed out +$117.

2/24
I was beginning to feel my excesses. This morning I didn't have to attend lecture but had to check out of the conference. I didn't make it up until 10:30 or so. Walk down to Mbay and then stop at the pizza place at NY-NY for lunch. Good but expensive pizza. I return to IP for an uneventful session +$24 to the good.

I move to Flamingo as the IP tables had little to no action and all short stacks. AVP member ninjasn texted me that he was there. The Flamingo was a different story. Big stacks and good pots. High hands were hitting all over the place. The Flamingo runs an aces cracked for $100 promo from 8am-7pm so there's a bunch of tables going. During my session there we had two straight flushes, quads, and 3-4 aces cracked at my table alone. My first hand of note was pocket aces that got cracked by quad queens. Luckily the lady that had the nut flush didn't re-raise the queen on the river because I'd have to call that raising war. Second hand of note involved my button straddle (DUMB but, hey, I'd been drinking). My button straddle gets raised to 6 and gets called in 7 spots. My J-3 off suit is OK on a jack high board but I know I've got kicker trouble. Called around. Turn bring a pretty little 3 and I feel I'm probably good. Bet, I raise, and we go three handed to the river. The river pairs the board and I make the crying call as it's the biggest 2-4 pot I've seen in ages. Yep Kings got there with the paired board. I realize I've probably had enough to drink and cash out to the good but my beer addled brain couldn't tell you an amount ($70 something?).

Dinner break at the Burger Palace at IP and find they don't have a 2-4 game running. Shame because
I wanted to say bye to the graveyard shift. So down to the Flamingo where I book about a $60 profit in 2-3 hours. Played next to ninjasn for that session. The man just couldn't catch a break which was his story of the day. Very pleasant guy who I hope had a better trip than that day!

Place a phone call and get a seat reserved at IP. Head back for my worst session of the trip....great way to close it out, huh?

The game broke at 3am and saw me down a rack. Two pair did me in. I flopped top two 5 times....to lose to a draw on the river each and every time. This time our table featured a young, drunk Canadian who regaled us of his first day exploits in Vegas. it seems he punched a wall in the Playboy Club and was billed $750 in damages. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he obviously had two broken fingers. I indulged in an extended table side massage that really hit the spot before departing Vegas.

2/25
I needed to leave for the airport by 5-ish so I decided to just stay up all night and sleep on the plane. Sound familiar? Head back to P-Ho. At the Flamingo I find a man sleeping or passed out across the length of the sidewalk. Inform the pit boss and he says "I'll get it fixed for you." I have to tell him you don't have to fix a thing for me- I think the guy either needs medical attention or you might not want someone sleeping across the sidewalk outside your casino. Pack the bags and head down for some slot play. Up about $20 and go to get the bags. Get stopped by the elevators by two aggressive hookers. No means no! Off to the airport and feeling every bit of my excessive intakes (poker and alcohol) from the week. Cumulative sleep time on both flights was about 2 hours. Drive back home after uneventful flights, dinner with a friend, and crash for close to 12 hours. Whew.

Final thoughts:

- I wish I kept better records both financially and time wise. By my fuzzy memory I think that I played 52-56 hours over 6 nights in Vegas. I know for most of you that's like a stick in the eye but there's something just utterly relaxing about kicking back at the poker table, drinking a beer, and making new temporary friends.

- I think the douchebag factor in Vegas has been upped significantly. Either that or there was a convention in town.

- My degeneracy at the poker tables reached new limits such that I never made it downtown, never used a coupon, no buffets, and no new casino visits. My name is Packbacker and I have a poker addiction.

- I saw much, much, much less drunken debauchery at the tables. Usually the 2-4 tables (especially on grave) are booze fests. Many players were stone cold sober (nothing wrong with that) just a bit odd.

- Vegas seemed quite busy even after President's day weekend.

- Nice to be home but I'm ready to go back.

A large thank you to all the staff at the Imperial Palace poker room. IP Jake you run a fun place. All the dealers here seem to be great people but a special shout out to Cheryl, Michael, Jenny, Kristi, Greg, Alan, Rick, Grigor, and Uncle Rick.