Vegas trip report for trip June 18 to June 25, 2011
I wanted to play as many rooms as possible so I played at most rooms for 2 hours or less and played 1,2 NL or 1,3 NL poker. Sense I am generally a very tight player the action I get usual dries up the longer I play at table. My general observation is that there are more locals (generally very tight player waiting for right hand/situation to bust others) at tables at night than during the day. First two days of trip I was on my own and rest I had a poker playing friend along.

Poker/gambling:
Slot-of-Fun: minus $25 playing craps.
Saturday: Stratosphere (plus $32), Rivera (plus $15), Circus Circus (minus $75), TI (Plus $180). At Circus Circus most of money was lost raising out of position with pocket 88 when boards was 10, 6, 4 rainbow and got reraised so chose to fold. On Sunday I used coupons I was given when I checked in to get $45 in chips for $30 that you have to play to get real money chips. Used my up to 3 times increasing unit bet if win strategy and left with $80. At TI I had an unbelievable run of cards getting 5 of 8 pocket pairs to turn into trips and none of them lost. I played trips fast and wonder if I could have made more if I didn’t raises half the size of pot whenever I hit trips.
Sunday: Wynn (plus $53) Seemed many week players at table. Venetian (minus $48) NL session at table with better players than me and card deadness. Harrah’s (minus 16) this was the most boring session of trip in that I didn’t get any cards worth playing and there was no action at table. Typical hand was call, fold, fold, call, call, etc. With first bet after flop taking hand down. Mirage (plus $55) called an all in bet after I got a flush against someone that slow player trips. Excalibur (minus $86). I think I may have been bluffed out of several bigger pots because I play to conservative. Air was very Smokey.

Monday: Flamingo (plus $76) very passive table. Bally’s (minus $68) following is a hand I made a good lay down on, I have pocket JJ in MP1, flop Ah,10c, Ks, turn is Jc, I bet $30 into a $60 pot and get reraised to $60 with one caller and then I folded my trips. River is 9h and both players remaining in hand go all in. First player has KK and second has AQ for straight to win hand. Planet Hollywood (plus $201) won a nice all in hand with pocket QQ on a 10h, 6h, 4c, 7s, Qd board against KK hand. Seems like the dealers were making an unusually high number of mistakes first three days of trip. By far the worst one was at PH when my friend was in a pot that was all-in from three players making an about $700 pot. My friend went all-in with two low pair (4h, 6h) after the flop, at end of hand board read 10h, 4c, 6s, 8h, 2h. As I look to my friend to say good hand I see dealer pushing chips to players that had trip 10’s. I get pretty excited and point out to dealer that my friend had a flush that even he missed reading sense it was runner, runner miracle. Dealer calls over floor, flips cards back over and award pot to my friend. Excalibur (plus $72) this was a nice beatable table with several loose aggressive players splashing chips into pots.

Tuesday: Played at Flamingo (+$5), Aria (-$13), MGM (+$58), Bellagio (+$12), Luxor (+83). The table at Luxor was most interesting. Played for about 2.5 hours. There was a very loose aggressive young woman (LAYW) that was constantly talking about hands to her boy friend that was sitting next to her during and between hands. LAYW loved playing poker which she repeatedly said as the drinks kept coming. Early in poker session LAYW pushed me off a hand with big raises with 2, 7 off suit that she won with a 2 high flush with 4 hearts on board. I was probable playing on tilt and was down over $165 when I got three great hands in a row.
First hand, I have pocket 88, before flop raised to $12, 3 in hand for $38 pot. Flop 3h, 8c, 10h, I have position on LAYW. LAYW raises to $30, I reraised to $60, other person in hand folds, LAYW looks at me for a while and folds.
Second hand, I have 5d, 7d on button, before flop four in hand for $12 each. Flop is 5c, 7h, 10s, LAYW bets $30, I call others fold. Turn is a beautiful 7s, LAYW bets $60, I try to look concerned, look at my cards and call bet. LAYW throws in her remaining about $70 in chips in pot before river card is dealt. River card 8c I insta call bet and take down pot. LAYW doesn’t show hand but says she was ahead after flop and leaves table.
Third hand: I have pocket 10’s, before flop bet $8 with two callers. Flop 8d, 10c, Kh, I bet $12 and only nice “top pair or better only” poker playing lady (NPL) to my right calls. Turn is 2c, I bet $20 into $42 pot and NPL calls. River is 7d and I bet $30, NPL calls and I win pot, NPL had a pair of kings. I almost felt bad taking money from her.

Wednesday: Played Rio (-$2), O’Sheas (+$39) table seems to be full of grinders, Imperial Palace (-$14) table seems to be full of grinders, Flamingo (-$18). My Vegas trip this year was planned so I could see the WSOP at Rio. This is the first time I has there and my first impression as I entered conference hall where the tournaments were being played was sound of crickets chirping on a warm summer night in Wisconsin. I really didn’t hear voices just the clattering of chips with was a really neat experience. The WSOP awarded one of the brackets when I was there which a neat and brief ceremony. I saw about a handful of players I recognized from Poker After Dark show including Doyle Brunson.

Thursday: Mandalay Bay (-$106), Caesars Palace (+$10), Monte Carlo (+$74). I would like to thank Mandalay Bay poker room staff if they were doing what it seemed is putting all vacationers at the same table without any grinders. It was a nicer table to play at even though I still couldn’t seem to make any money playing at table.

Friday: Mirage (-$103).

My friend and I did a variation of the poker challenge during trip that another AVP’er had come up with. Rules play 2 hours at each poker room, play 1,2 NL or 1,3 NL, buy in for $200, if chip fall under $100 can have one rebuy for $100, if felted move on to next room. Whoever makes the most or looses the least at each poker room gets a point. We ask to play at the same table at each poker room. I won friendly completion 7 to 6.

Poker/gambling recap: Plus $465 for trip. Rank of poker rooms I played from my impression of hardest competition to easiest: Aria, Venetian, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Rio, Monte Carlo, O’Sheas, Imperial Palace, Wynn, Mirage, Rivera, TI, MGM, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Harrah’s, Stratosphere, Flamingo. I think the time of day seemed to make a big difference to in that morning and afternoons tables seems to have mostly vacationer playing and late night tables seem to have more local grinders.

Food:
Buffet at Stratosphere on Saturday was ok for $16 they charged if you have a player’s card.
Buffet at Bellagio on Tuesday was not as good as usual. I always look forward to feasting on crab legs at buffets but this trip the quality and size of crab legs on buffets at all hotels I ate at were relatively small and of poorer quality than past trips.
Buffet at Mandalay Bay was the best one I ate at this trip. They serve hot whole crab legs that you have to crack open. Both Wynn and Bellagio served cold crab legs that were cut in half.

Other stuff:
Flight was uneventful except for one leg of flight where I think pilot was a roller coaster enthusiast by how rough flight was.
I stayed at Circus Circus the first two days and Flamingo for the rest of the trip. The rooms were ok with the usual stains on floor and furniture in less expensive digs in Vegas. The Circus Circus room temperature control was somewhat obnoxious in there was a occupancy sensor that would turn off cooling of room when I left room so room would be hot every time I returned until HVAC unit could cool the room back down.

On Thursday friend and I went to the Gun Store to shot some guns. This was a great experience and I highly recommend it to others. My friend shot a SAW machine gun, AK47, and Tommy gun gangster used in the 30’s. I chose Gun Stores “World War II” package for $114 with $5 off coupon and shot Thompson machine gun. MP40 machine gun and a hand gun. You get to pick out one target for each gun you will be shooting that range from pictures of terrorists to plain circle targets. You shot in an indoor range and everything is handled very professionally.

I spend a couple of hours hiding in shade in the morning at the Flamingo pool reading a book that was a nice change of pace. Water and water falls were very refreshing.

Went to PURE night club Friday night. They mixed the strongest drinks I have had in a long time. Experience was fun but I think I’ve gotten to old for typical Vegas night club seen. I didn’t know any of chopped up songs that the DJ played.