My best bud and I headed out to Vegas on Fri 11/20 for a 3 day trip, just the 2 of us. I left the wife and baby at home, a situation which can catch many men grief, however my wife graciously wished me luck and said "have fun". My buddy is also a poker player, neither of us have any interest in clubs or fine dining, we were focused on one thing....poker.

We left around 9 pm Fri morning from Orange County, Ca and hit stateline (Primm) around noon. Its our tradition to stop at Buffalo Bills and suck down a drink, play video poker, and ride Desperado (the coaster there) to get things started. We did just that, but this time I opted to also play BJ there and won a quick hundy and cashed out. Already up and were not even in Vegas! I must say I love Buffalo Bills, Im sure Im in the minority. I think its not the casino itself I love, but more what it represents. It represents an exciting Vegas weekend ahead!

We got to Vegas shortly after and checked into our "GO" room w/ strip view at the Flamingo. I cannot tell you how pleased I was with our room. While small, it had funky yet beautiful decor, plasma screen, and most notably a 26th floor view of Caesars and the Bellagio. My specific room was #26-064. If your staying at the Flamingo book this room!

My buddy poured us a couple drinks (we brought our own vodka and mixers) and we toasted to the weekend ahead. While he wanted to take a shower and chill in the room for a bit, I was jonesing for poker and headed straight down to the Flamingo poker room. Before I get into the specifics of my thoughts on the room, let me just say I love the laid back comfortable vibe of the Flamingo casino. Obviously the place is not luxury or high end, but I thought it was great exactly how it was.

Onto the poker room at Flamingo. This room is about as no frills as it gets. It looked very plain, which I dont mind, but the dry erase board with poker room info on it looked a little tacky. The dealers were friendly and proficient, the action was good, the players were not. I made a little in my first session playing 1/2 NL, had some drinks, then my bud came down and we headed off to the Planet Hollywood 7 pm tourney. Over multiple sessions at the Flamingo, I had a great time and would reccommend it for fun, low rolling action.

When I last played at PH, it was in April of 08', when the poker room was in a different location. Back then, I really liked the room. I thought it was very attractive, the tables were always full, and the tourney was great. Now that its been moved to its current location, Im very dissapointed and un impressed. Its just an "area" in the middle of the casino now, and the atmosphere I used to love about the room is gone. The tourney barely drew 2 tables on a Fri night, and I busted out w AKs in the second level. My bud busted out shortly after and we headed to Monte Carlo as we had never played there.

The room at Monte Carlo is nice, and the players were weak, but the dealers and cocktail service were terrible. I literally played for 45 min before I could get a long island. I lost w KK twice as a huge favorite which didnt help my enjoyment of the room. We decided to bail and hit up Exclibur for some fishing.

We arrived at Excalibur and bought into a 1/2 NL game. The entire table was drunk and throwing chips around with laughable hands. My bud and I bothe doubled our $200 buy ins within 20 min. My buddy got called all in by a guy with 55 on an A K 8 board. My bud had AA. I check called a flopped set against a drunk aggro until the river when I raised him all in and he showed Q high. No joke, he CALLED AFTER THE RIVER with Q high. The Excalibur is an absolute gold mine. We had long islands, made a bunch of dough and walked it back to Flamingo. A great walk at night.

Sat morning I wake before my bud and head down to Flamingo poker room for round 2 there. I turned my buy in from $200 to $350 and then decided to head across the street for the Caesars Sat 2pm $235 tourney. The buy in was on the high end for my bud so I entered the tourney without him. I know Caesars gets a bad rap but this tourney was absolutely excellent. It was by far the best tourney I have ever played. Awesome structure, proffesional dealers, great cocktail service, and a beautiful tourney room made it a great experience. I busted 3 hrs into the tourney w top set (kings) against AJs on a two spade flop. He bets, I raise, he raises me all in, call, board comes rag then 8s. Dissapointing, but loved the tourney nonetheless. My bud had met up with me an hr. earlier and was playing cash there. He said he enjoyed it.

From there we decided to go to Venetian to play some cash games. The DSE was going on, and the cash tables were all very full with a wait list. Not wanting to wait we headed across the street to the Mirage. We bought into seperate 1/2 NL games and got into the action. The room was very busy, and the action was great. I asked the cocktail waitress if they served Patron and she said yes. I was happy about this, however Im almost certain the tequila I was given was not Patron. It tasted like a much harsher and cheaper tequila, and I know my tequila well. Will casinos pull this move on their customers? If so, I think its pretty lame. The dealer at my table was a middle aged bald headed guy, and he was a real downer. His vibe was very negative, he was rude, and extremely impatient with one young lady who was obviously a beginner. Other than him, I enjoyed the game there. One guy reraised another guy,, they ended up getting it all in, and the hands were AQ and 33. WTF? 33 won $580 pot. Nutty! My session was pretty break even and we called it a night. Lost w KK here again.

Sun I woke up with a little poker at Flamingo and made $100 bucks with AA, then lost it all w KK against A5s all in preflop. Yes, the guy called all in preflop w A5s after 2 raises. Oh well! Walked over to Caesars to meet some other friends there to place a football bet and watch the Bears/Eagles game at the sportsbook. I placed my bet ($100 on Bears + 3.5) but discovered there was no place to sit, as the place was packed. My friends suggested this sports bar in PH, called Blondies, so we headed over there.

Blondies was great, we played Beer Pong and I got a nice buzz on. I started jonesing again for poker and figured I could play poker AND watch football so headed to their poker "room". Still didnt like it but some poker there is better than
no poker. I once again had my KK cracked by an inferior junk draw and decided to take what I had left and play BJ. I ran hot and recovered all my money. Sweet! The Bears lost by 4 of course, so my + 3.5 didnt cut it. Whoever makes those lines are REALLY good! Headed back to Flamingo and proceeded to have a poker session of epic proportions.

I sat down for what would be my final session of the trip, and managed to be blessed with the most over aggressive donkey ever at my table. After watching him a bit, I had his style pegged and waited for my spot. I called a $12 raise by him with A4s. The flop comes out all spades,I have the nuts. He bets, I call. Turn blank, he bets, I raise, he reraises, I just call. River he puts me all in, I snap call and he shows air. Wow. I leave the poker game when he leaves, and play every funny casino game I can find. Let it Ride, Ultimate Hold em, 3 card poker, you name it I played it. I won in every single one of them. Yes! It was near 4 am, and decided to call it a trip. I ended up going home a big winner, and had a blast doing it!

A couple facts and observations. I was 0-8 with KK this trip. I may never play that hand again. The cocktail service most everywhere except for a few exceptions was absolutely terrible. On top of that, I think the long islands are 90% syrup. I may have to change my "Vegas drink" next time around. And last but not least, Whiskey Petes on thw way home in Primm is the most depressing casino known to man. Thanks for reading!