Got in around 11pm Friday night, played 4-8 limit at MGM as the wife and I wanted to drink for our first night, played til 4 am when the game broke up. Super easy to make money at 4-8 if you catch cards and don't chase. I had very modest cards and won $13.00. Then we wondered around Vegas until our room was ready at 12 noon (MGM)

Day 1: + $13
Running total + $13

Saturday, May 31 didn't play poker - Drank heavily, gambled and won at Blackjack and European Roulette, and went to the Ka show. Ka was around a 7 compared to O, 10 and Love, 10. I would not recommend you shell out $337.50 for KA.

Sun. June 1. Wife leaves for home. Yippee, now I can play more poker!

Played for about two hours 1-2 NL at MGM. Easy table, No memorable hands but picked up $171 against the standard loose players (who call PFR's with K10 K9 A8 etc). Was tired from the drinking the night before so I quit early.

Day 3 + 171, RT = + $184

Mon June 2 - Day off, Shopping off strip, poolside at MGM, swam, worked out and cleared my head for Tuesday.

Tues, June 3. CP Mega Stack 12 noon $12,500 chips for $340 with 50 min blind levels, now 498 of us are playing poker. Seated to the left of Barbara Enright (1995 WSOP main event 5th place for $114K). She is a very charming woman and lots of people stopped to say hello and chat with her. She was clearly playing in the tourney pretty much for amusement's sake, telegraphing every PF fold and chatting between hands with a male friend. She came up with the funniest joke of the tournament, which had our whole table busted up laughing out loud: She bet OTF and then heavier OTT: she was first to act. After her bet OTT, the one player remaining in the hand said "Do you have a big pair?" Looking down at her ample bosom, she opened the neckline of her shirt and said: "Let me check" pause "Yes"

Our table had three players who really didn't care whether they won or lost and I moved my chip stack to 18,200 by the end of Level 2 in time for the first break. Opening level 3, I raised PF in CO with QcQd, two callers after limping, flop is Kc6c7c, checked to me, I bet and am called, turn is 8c, checked to me and I check as I don't want to be trapped by Ac or unlikely straight flush. River is 5c, now I'm really screwed, checked to me and I check behind, villain, turns over 3c,4c. I only steamed for about 5 minutes, determined not to let it bother me, and got my come uppance only about 15 mins later when the same donk ships me more than I had just lost to him holding KQ on a Q high board and me flopping a set of 66's, Finished Level 4 with $22,000 chips Avg around 16,500.

This a fairly long tournament and by level 8 I had been card dead for two levels and my M was down to about 3 with blinds at 1000/2000 and antes of 300. In cutoff, I pushed with 10c9c and was called by QJ, spiked a 10 OTF to survive, one of only two times I got my money in bad. The very next hand I p/u KK and pushed again behind an early position PFR, who flashed A high. The double up and the extra chips put me right back into average stack territory.

We're now down to about 89 players, take a break and I pick up 10d10s in BB, PFR limp from from early position, I raise and am called by EP limper, flop is 7Q2 with two hearts. I continuation bet 1/2 the pot knowing I can't check and show weakness OTF, and if I'm played back at, I have to fold. Flat call. Turn is 10h, I know I have to stop the fourth heart, so push, if he has a made flush I have redraws, He insta calls me with a flopped set of 77's, with the 7 hearts in hand - As Raymer said in the 2006 WSOP "this would be a bad time to get unlucky" And my hand holds. I have him covered and am now easily the chip leader at my table.

We cruise through the bubble at 45, and shortly after the bubble I pick up AA in LP and EP short stack pushes with AJ, easy call and felt., then card wasteland again, with no real action as the stack quickly dwindles (6,000 /12,000 blinds, 1000 antes). I'm quite short stacked as the 2am dealine approaches and the director advises that we are coming back tomorrow. Last hand of the night, I'm in BB with Q10off EP rasies to 36, then gets one caller! OK so I have to shell out 24 K to see a flop when there is 12(BB) + 6(SB) + 36 + 36 + 9 (antes) = 99k 4.125 /1 on my money, I call and flop a broadway straight!, with two spades on board I figure one of these guys will have hit the Ace so I check and it's sickenly checked around. I push OTT with the remaining 77 when the third spade comes OTT. Both players fold, and my stack goes to 200K - Avg stack + 290 K and 26 of us are coming back for day 2.

Wed June 4 - Back at 2pm for the roped off final three tables! HA HA all that sweat to bust out on the second hand! Loose Aggro in UTG who would fold when played back at. He raised UTG with the 31K weaking looking raise, folded around to me in SB with 77, I figure I can knock him off 88 - 1010 and AQ and below, racing with AK, so I push nope he's got the rockets - I'm gone. My M was 7 at that point but in 8 minutes it would drop to 4 or so. Comments on this move are welcome - Negative EV? Anyhow, great tournament (very well run), finished 24/ 498 for $725.00 cash (first prize a little over $43K)

+385 RT = +569

That same night, I entered the Mirage 7pm $125 tourney because the Stag party has arrived and that is one of the stag events. This is a luckbox format, with 4000 chips and 30 min blind levels, if you don't hit a hand in the first two levels, you're starting to gamble by level 3 - I went out in level 4 with no memorable hands to speak of.

Played cash games for the rest of the night and ended up down $141.00 Lost $250 on a bit of a cooler. 8 way limper pot, I'm in BB with A2, flop is AA3 with two hearts, I check EP bets $15, I call, turn is a 7, check call $30, river is a 2, I bet 70.00 to look like a busted flush draw, it works, he raises to 200, I happily call cognizant of A7 or A3 but expecting to see AQ - A8, yup he's got A3 which he limped with UTG. Battled back to ameliorate some of the loss. Lots of poor players and large pots PF, juicy game, played 6 hours and got a full dinner buffet comp (awesome)

- 141, - 125, RT = + $303

Thurs Jun 5, Daytime Poolside at Mirage - lots of beer consumed by our group, none by me, great party scene and Mirage allows you to bring in canned beer in ice bags, unlike MGM Grand.

Played 8 hours at Mirage from 7pm - 3 am, 1-2, the 100 / 300 buy in gets lots of chips in play, same juicy games as the night before, lots of drinkers and lots of large PF pots. Easy easy money, three players at my table that would draw against the heaviest pot odds. No huge pots taken down by me but consistent 60 - 100 pots, picked up +398 in 8 hours and got my dinner buffet comp again.

+398, RT = 701

Fri, June 6, This was a day reserved for drinking and no poker. The mega stag event was bottle service at PURE at CP, dancing on the rooftop overlooking the strip is a fantastic, non poker experience. Crazy fun attitude at this club. Never went to sleep, airport at 10 am still drinking McCallan 18 yr old and wishing I didn't have to leave.

Overall poker winnings, $701. I was shocked at how loose the Mirage 1/2 NL game was on both Wed and Thurs nights.