Who says that a family vacation, Las Vegas and Poker don’t mix. We had to head to Vegas for my sis in Laws Graduation from Touro University in Henderson, and decide to make it a family trip. I have 8 and 5 year old Boys, and know that Vegas is not the best place for kids, but the Sunset Station was perfect. I did not expect to get to log a lot of hours in poker rooms while here this trip, so I would have to be selective. We arrive in Vegas 20 minutes ahead of Schedule via Spirit Air via Detroit. I pick up the car from the rental . Nice family car, the Dodge Charger) and am checked in at the Sunset Station by 11pm. I know I will have to pull more them my share to be able to sneak out to play this week. I help get the kids in bed, and 20 minutes later, I am seated at a 4/8 half kill game in the SS poker room. It is late Friday night and the room is busy. My table is a loose table with lots of action. I have now been up for about 20 hours, and am starting to feel it. I plan on a short session, as we are doing something with the family early Sat morning. Nothing too exciting happens this night. I make a few hands, and 2 hours later, I rack up plus 150.00 Back to the room for much needed sleep.

Sat morning we are up early for breakfast with the family at IHOP. Love this place! Go for a quick swim, and this drive out to Red Rock Canyon for the afternoon…this is such a cool place.

That evening, I again, and doing my husbandly duties, getting the kids ready for bed, reading stories, and planning for the next day. They are asleep by 10ish, and I am out the door on my way to the strip. I head to the Mirage, which is my favourite Poker room. I sit at a 4/8 half kill game there, and get started. This is my type of game…lots of raising loose play, and big pots. I tread water for a while, and then this hand comes (Please note that I don’t keep track of a lot of hands while on vacation, so details are usually sketchy at best, but outcomes are usually right…LOL) It is a kill pot, so it is a 6/12 hand. I am in middle position with 44. It is 3 bet preflop by 6 players. I flop a set on a 9 high board, and after the turn, there is a flush and straight draw, but neither come, and my set holds up for one of those pots that take 2 hands to stack. After about 4 hours play, the games starts to get short, and it is time to go. I grab some racks, and get them filled…but there is still a mountain of chip in the table. It takes 6 racks to clear it up ( I had a nice triangle going on the felt) I rack up 690.00 for a 490.00 profit in 4 hours play. Drive back to Henderson, as tomorrow is graduation day.

The Grad is being held at Ballys. It will consist of 2 parts. The morning, there is a pinning ceremony, and then the grad in the afternoon. There is about a 4 hr wait in between. The inlaws agree after lunch to watch the kids in the conference hall with their Nintendo DS’s, and let the wife and I go for a stroll…How romantic. I stroll right to the poker room, as I have never even set foot in this casino. They have 2 tables going and lists for both. They have a 3/6 and 1 / 2 nl going. I get on both lists and the NL table opens up. I am more of a limit player, but will mix it up a bit with some NL. This seems like a cozy little room. The managers made me feel right at home waiting for a table…chatting with me, and calling over drink service. I only had about 90 minutes tops, and buy in short with 100.00 Only memorable hand, I am dealt 2 black aces UTG+1 and raise to 10.00 4 callers. Flop comes 4s JQd. First position bets 30.00 and I tank for a bit and push my stack. It was 90.00 more, and it is folded around to me. The last hand there I miss a flush draw, and drop 30.00, but rack up 140.00 for a +40.00 session.

Sunday, we have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory…wow…I really love this place. Great food, huge portions, and awesome cheesecake! After the kids are tucked in, I head back to the Sunset Station Poker room. This looks like a much different crowd then the Friday night group. I sit at the 4/8 ½ kill with 200.00 with a fun bunch. Two ladies are stone deaf. (I though their IPODs were turned up too loud, but upon further inspection, they were hearing aids.) There are TWO husband/wife combos that at sitting beside each other, and what appeared to be a couple of locals. FUN. I lose 200.00 pretty quickly with a chronic case of the 2nd bests. Time to head to bed….NOT. I buy in again for 200 more, and 4 ½ hours later, I am down 400.00 for the session. I was so stupid. Chasing loses when really tired, and bored….what a dork. At least I had a few Crown and gingers….on the house.

Monday was on the strip with the kids to see some sites. We do M&M world, and the Shark Reef at Mandalay. That night, my sis in law takes the kids so the inlaws and my wife and I can go out for dinner. We hit the Bellagio buffet, and afterward, the inlaws said they would prefer to play the slots at Green Valley Ranch. I said fine, and head to the bathroom before going to get the car from Valet. Of course, I come back and they are playing the slots, and are winning. We were there for over an hour. I could have played poker for that time, but instead, lost 80.00 waiting for them playing damn slot machines. Luckily, my wife covered my loses and we were off.

Land at the Green Valley Ranch around 11:00 and head to the poker room. I played here on my last trip here, and had a very good time and enjoyed the room. No this time. I had a horrible experience, and may not return to ever play here. There were 2 tables going. A 1 / 2 NL and a 2/4 limit table. Both had waits, and I was on both lists. A 2/4 spot opens, and I sit beside a guy that appears very very drunk, and so sunburn, he could have been a distant relative of some hybrid lobsterman somewhere. I have no problem playing with drunk guys. Most of the time, it is fun, loose, and just an all around good time. Not tonight. This guy was loud, obnoxious, taken constantly about hands he was not it. Name calling the players who showed hands, and most was derogatory. Then the most obnoxious thing happened I have even seen. I, of course was sitting to the immediate left of this guy. He makes some comment about dropping a chip on the floor, he stands up, turns around, bends over, and puts his ass on the rail, and farts. His drunk buddy to his right is laughing so hard he half fell off his chair. The rest of the table sits there in awe. The dealer says NOTHING. I was quiet only because I really could not believe what I just saw. For the next 10 minutes he sit in his chair, and farts, burps, and berates people for their 2/4 styles. Five minutes later, he pulls out the same maneuver. This time he doesn’t announce it, but stands turns and farts right at the dealer…but this time he takes off his hat and starts waving it around. I had enough. I say “do you really have to be so fucking obnoxious” Well, he finally got his mark, and I was his target. He is now in my face about the seriouness of poker, how 2/4 is a tough living, and the like. I say to the dealer, “do you mind dealing with this” and he meekly calls the floor over. The Floor asks what is going on…like he didn’t have a clue in his overly busy room of 2 tables, and the loudest player I have ever sat with. He says to ALL calm down and play poker. REALLY. The dude beside me offers to shake and move on, and I refuse, telling him I am positive he hasn’t washed his hands since he was in grade 2. One more fart later, and I am racking it up, before I am escorted out. I am down 40.00 and pissed off about it. I don’t mind losing 40.00, but not in this type of game. On my way out I tell the floorman that the guy should have been kicked out long ago, and he said that somebody needed to say something. I ask him if that is the job of the dealers, when a guy goes completely over the top, and he says “Not all the time” Well sir, if your dealers like having a player if seat 5 put his ass on the table and fart right at them, then maybe you need new dealers. One more hour of logged play, and down 40.00, we drop the inlaws back at the sis in laws place, and head back to the Sunset Station.

Because the In Laws have offered to keep the kids for the night, and allow us some adult time, I feel I should do more husbandly duties. 20 minutes later, I am in the poker room at a 4/8 half kill table trying to avenge my crappy hour at the GVR. Early in the session, I flop a set of 7’s and make a good pot, and bleed some of it away over the next 3+ hours. I clock 4 more hours of play, and win exactly 40.00 to cover the GVR loses of the night.

Tuesday, we plan on celebrating my oldest sons birthday, which falls on June 2nd, but do a family thing here in Vegas. We head to Chuck E Cheese for the afternoon, and it was great. Both kids though mom and dad were gods taking them there. Best 100.00 of the trip (well, not really, but it was cool) Swimming in the evening, tuck the kids into bed, and head to the strip for one last night of poker on the strip. Head to the Mirage, and get there around 11:00. There is NO 4/8 game going, and an interest list with 5 names on it. There are 3 3/6 games going. I put my name on the list and take the tram over to the T.I to see if Chris or Dannette are there to say hi. Neither are (didn’t know Dannette was on the day shift now) They have a a list for 2/4, so I head back to the Mirage. We get a 7 handed game of 4/8 ½ kill going, but it was no fun. All locals that busted from the 1 /2 game or tightys playing squeaky. I lose 100.00 pretty quickly, and decide I am not feeling it here. I decide to head back over to the T.I and try to get my aces crack, and have some fun.

I get to the T.I about 1:00 or so, and am seating at a 2/4 table. Once again this room impressed me in every way. The cream of the crop for this trip. The game is typical, loose, lots of limpers, and lots of drinking. Only nit is that they don’t server Crown Royal, so it had to be CC&G for this evening. I sit with 100.00 and again win a decent pot early, and having a good time. Our table spins the wheel 3 times while I am there, but nothing too huge hit. The table starts to break, and the rake gets dropped for us. We are 4 handed, and I am now down to about 30 chips. Playing way to laggy, but having a great time. Then 2 played decide it was time to leave. The other guy at the table, a cool dude I must say, wanted to play ½ but the seats were full. He asked if I want to play heads up for a bit. I have never played live heads up, and really have only played it at the end of tournies. I say sure. The rake is 1.00 only, and we are off. I start with about 30.00. We play for about 40 minutes. When we agree to quick, I have 69.00 to rake, so a small profit, but still down 31.00 at the T.I. I have to say this about the T.I room. I have played in rooms when the table gets short, and the rake goes down, and the dealer asks every 5 hands if we really want to play short with the rake. The dealers here were awesome. They actually looked like they were enjoying the deal. A few people came by to watch the big money heads up game. It was a blast. It was only 2/4, but it was the most fun I had on the trip, poker wise. I wish I could remember the managers name, so I could tell him again thanks for the fun time. You truly do have a great room there, and I will continue to visit it on future trips!

Leave the T.I room, and find out the tram is closed…NICE. I have top walk back to the Mirage Valet to get the car, and head home. While driving down the strip, I decide to veer off one more time and valet at the MGM to see what is what. Get seated there at a 2/4 game. 6 handed, and pretty loose game. Lots of straddles, and double straddles. I sit with 100.00, and the game has now real highlights. For a loose game…it was pretty vanilla. Another 1.5 hours logged, and down another 40.00. It is now around 5am and I need sleep. My flight leave at 1030 tonight, and I will not get any sleep when I get back to the room, I am sure!

Hear are the stats on my Vegas Family Vacation with limited time to play poker:

6 rooms played: (Sunset Station, Mirage, Ballys, GVR, T.I, MGM)

21 ½ hours logged

UP $109.00 (a sweet little profit!)

EPILOUGE: Room Reviews:

Sunset Station. (New room for me)

Managers are very friendly. Some dealers could use a lesson in personality, especially one oriental lady with the very snappy attitude. Seems good on the weekends, but during the week, a clear cut locals room. Jackpots are a bit ridiculous. One guys had quad J’s, but got nothing because only even numbers quads win a prize…

Mirage:

I really like this room. Lots of games to choose from, and the floor seems nice enough. Dealers keep it moving well, with very few mistakes. Lots of action most of the time. The 4/8 ½ kill can get very juicy here.

Ballys ( first time in room)

Small and cozy. Floor seem very eager to make you feel comfortable. Dealer were good for the short time I was there.

Green Valley Ranch:

I think I have said enough about this room in the report. I may not return to this room again. Dealers need to be much more assertive.

Treasure Island:

Cream of the Crop this trip!!! Floor, dealers, and waitresses were all great (but get some Crown Royal) The dealers that dealt out heads up game were very nice. A fun, well run room. I will return!

MGM:

Not a lot to say about a 2/4 game at 4:00 in the morning. Dealers were quiet. Game kept moving!

Thanks for reading my epic tale!

Parm