A few weeks ago I get a mailer from the Lodge Casino in Black Hawk, CO. This is the closest casino/poker room to where I live, but it is a 3 hour drive which is just far enough away to not tempt me. The rake is high ($5+$2) and it is a $100 max bet (CO law) so between that and the drive, I've only been 3 times in the past 2 years. Anyways, the mailer has the following coupons in it: free room, 2 free buffets, $50 voucher for the restaurant and $45 in cash. How can you pass this up? I decide to take the wife for a quick romantic getaway last Friday.

We arrive about 7PM and check in. Rooms are very nice. We spend about 20 minutes in the room...and then I go down to check on a table in the only restaurant - The White Buffalo. Hostess tells me 9PM, so we play a little Let It Ride to pass the time and lose a few dollars.

We get seated and order our dinner. Very good bread with flavored butter and nice salad to start. Just as our dinner arrives I see a RAT run across the floor! I'm obviously freaked out a bit, but try to maintain a poker face as to not completely ruin the evening for the wife. She notices I am uncomfortable and asks me whats wrong. I'm deciding what to say when the guy at the table next to us yells out "Did you see that rat!". Well that obviously ruined dinner. We ate a few bites with feet off the ground and asked for the check. It was free anyways, so I just gave him my coupon and a $10 tip and left.

The wife went to bed and I grabbed a seat at the $1/2 game. They have a $200K BBJ, but it takes quad 8s or better so it's completely irrelevant to me. The table is a dream come true as I quickly figure out these morons are basically trying to hit the JP and not play poker. About every 5th hand I would raise to $12, get two callers and bet $20 on the flop and they would fold. I did this for 3 hours and never got any resistance. I do not recall a single hand going to the river/showdown. A hand came up where the dealer screwed up (I posted this in the Strategy forum) around 2AM and I left soon after booking a $411 profit.

We ate at breakfast buffet the next morning without seeing any vermin. It was actually very good for $6. Played a few slots, hit the bonus on Deal or No Deal and let the wife play the suitcase game which she likes and headed for home with a $500 profit.

I haven't played live $1/2 for over a year, but after a recent trip to LV/Bally's and this trip, I have to say that I am giving up the high stakes poker for $1/2 for the time being because it just TOO easy.