Las Vegas Trip Report: Part II

Harrahs

I only played one session at Harrahs. I feel kind of claustrophobic in that room so I don't usually play there.

Raised A-Q in early position and got some callers. The flop: A-Q-Q! I decided to slow play the sucker for all that is was worth. I was hoping to take two to the river, but one bailed out just short. Made a nice profit on this hand and a few others.

The table started to break up when a late-night tournament was starting. We played short handed for some time, but then one of the Ballys rounders sat down. I haven't seen this gal play before, but she came to the table with that high-on-speed nervousness that I hate. She bought in short and immediately tried to drive people out with raises. I just wasn't in the mood and decided to leave with a nice stack.

Flamingo

Believe it or not, Flamingo was one really hopping place! The room has come a long way in the past year or so. There were always several tables going, even long into the night.

My first session at Flamingo was a disaster. I was getting all kind of great cards, but missed the flops almost completely. One guy was playing all crap cards and was lucking out in catching almost every flop. Then a new guy came to the table and caught fire, and unfortunately, I went up against him. After splitting a pot when we both flopped a kings over aces full house (we both had A-K), I flopped a baby flush. I decided to go all in against him (it was just the two of us), and he decided to call. He had also flopped a flush, but his was a middle flush. End of session.

I played a second session and once again A-Q was gold. The flop was 10-J-K. Unfortunately, the flop chased almost everyone out and I didn't make nearly as much as I could have. An emergency (which I will cover later) made me exit the table before I could get a solid session established.

Ballys

I spent more time at Ballys than any other room this trip. Ballys had been a favorite of mine last year until I started playing The Venetian and The Wynn. However, Ballys seemed to be the most active room I was in this time. There were several tables going and a healthy waiting list at times.

Ballys used to be almost all tourists, but the Ballys rounders have been taking over the tables at Ballys (and maybe Paris and Harrahs) more than I would like. There was still plenty of easy money to be had, but I just never hit the motherload hand with the crazy players in the hand. Still, Ballys is a fun place to play -- close to the bar, and most people seemed to be having fun.

Hotels

Stayed at New York-New York for two nights and Flamingo for two nights, all nights comped to my brother. I liked the room at New York and the easy access to MGM. With several other poker rooms within walking distance, this was not a bad place to stay. I heard that New York-New York once had a poker room, but it closed right before the boom.

At Flamingo, we got one of the crappy old rooms. The worst part was the carpet, which look liked it needed to be replaced ten years ago. The Flamingo was also the scene of our first really bad event in Las Vegas in a combined 60+ trips. My brother had an ID card, debit card, cell phone, and a few bucks stolen while he was at the pool. He was fortunate that he brought his debit card by mistake instead of his credit card and didn't have more cash on him.

Strangely enough, Flamingo security actually found his stuff (minus the cash) the next day and got in touch with me. Unfortunately, we were already at the airport. They made me pay for shipping the items home, which seemed awfully chinchy to me.

Food

Food is usually an afterthought on our trips to Las Vegas, but we did decide to go to Pampas Churrascaria for lunch for my brother's birthday. Pampas is located at the far south end of the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. If you've never been to a rodizio-style restaurant before, Pampas would not be a bad choice. We certainly ate our fill of the steak, chicken, sausage, pork, and other items delivered to the table. I had a coupon from the restaurant and our lunch cost only $40 - tip included. We would go back.

We also decided to try the Ellis Island Cafe $4.95 steak special. We had never been in Ellis Island before (it is just a few blocks east of Paris), and were not surprised that it appeared to be a locals grinder joint. Although we received poor service from our waiter, the food came ultra-fast. We got a decent sized steak, a mound of mashed potatoes and gravy, tasty green beans, and an excellent salad for $4.95. Who can complain?

The Flamingo breakfast buffet (only $9.99 with a coupon) was actually not bad. The buffet included cooked-to-order omelettes and regular breakfast items. It may not be the fanciest place in the world, but it was good, fresh food at a cheap price.

Final Comments

I got in a tremendous amount of $1/2 NL action on the trip. Unfortunately, I ended up a little in the red. Considering I never came close to getting on a rush, I guess I can live with losing a little. Since I will be returning in six weeks, I wasn't too concerned with getting into tournaments. Next month, however, I will probably get back to entering at least one Caesar's tournament and maybe get to The Venetian, which I was not able to do this trip. Las Vegas has so many poker choices ...

It's funny -- even though I played so many hands of Hold Em, I just don't seem to get the same buzz that I do when I go deep in a tournament. Of course, maybe if I had come out $2000 ahead ...