Las Vegas Trip Report

I left from the Indianapolis Airport on Thursday, June 18. Since it was Southwest's anniversary celebration, the first drink was free. Not a bad way to start the trip. A good omen perhaps?

I spent six nights at the Imperial Palace. You can't beat the location and the room was cheap. No problem checking in or out (I used the express check out), and had no long waits with the elevators. I was only in the hotel to sleep, and it once again suited me just fine.

WSOP Tournament Report

I played in the WSOP Event # 43 -- the Seniors NL Hold Em World Championship. I was, of course, one of the younger players, which was interesting. I had heard that this tournament was fun, and that it was. Players were serious about their poker, but they took everything in stride. No whiny or butthole youngsters who think they are God's gift to poker.

Unfortunately, the measly 3,000 starting chips hampered a lot of regular poker play. My table was solid and pretty tight with only one maniac. Unfortunately, I was never able to get any action from him when I had a good hand. The levels lasted one hour, which was great, but my table was way tight. We had only lost one player (flopped set of Queens vs a flopped set of Kings) in the first 3 1/2 hours, and then my table was broken. I was moved to one with players with much bigger stacks.

About six hours into the tournament and seeing my M fall to single digits, I woke up to find Q-Q in early position. The player to my right (another shorty) went all in, so of course, I did also. No one else came in the hand, and I was horrified to see that I was up against 8-8! I was knocked out of a WSOP circuit event earlier in the year when my K-K couldn't hold against 8-8. At home, our grandfather clock kept chiming at 8 minutes after the hour for some reason. Just before I left for this trip, my wife and I joked about my need to avoid 8's.

Well, you guessed it -- the flop brought an 8 and I got no help on the turn or river. Out. Just like that.

The deflation I felt was unbelievable. This was my first Las Vegas WSOP tournament. I went out when I was an 80% favorite. Ouch.

My wife was able to console me somewhat over the phone. She did remind me that I would look back on this a little differently after I got home. She was, of course, right. At least I got my money in good. There will be a next time. But it still sucked.

Bloggers, Bloggers, and More Bloggers

One of my goals this trip was to meet as many bloggers as possible. I am happy to report that I met several.

cmitch - We had lunch at the Rio. Mitch was nursing a hangover. I was probably making his head go bong with my excited conversation since I was hyped and ready to go with the WSOP. For some reason I expected him to be much younger (gotcha!). Quality guy.

Bayne - Had a good conversation with him at the Paris sports book bar. Talked a little O-8 and NL Hold Em. Gave me some insights into other bloggers since he has met several. I'll bet he is really fun when he gets a few brews in him!

Shabazz Jenkins - Had a few beers with Jeremy just outside the Bally's poker room. He was a little bummed since he had been making good progress in the deep stack tournaments but had gotten screwed several times. Talked about poker and family life since he now has a very young one at home. Nice guy and tough tournament player.

Memphis MOJO - Played a little 1-2 NL at Bally's with Dave and had dinner with him one night. He was pretty much as he appears in his blog and his blog comments -- a really nice guy. I hope that I'll get to see him again in a few weeks if I take my family on a two-day trip to Memphis.

CK - Met her during a break in WSOP Event # 46. Bubbly and energetic, it is easy to see why so many people like her.

LJ - Recognized her during the first break in my WSOP tournament. Punked her big-time by acting like a total doofus asking about locations of bathrooms and bitching about them. Thanks for the encouragement during my tournament, LJ!

TuscaloosaJohnny - Briefly met him at the Rio. He was just coming for his trip and I was on my last night.

lucko - Met him while on break on my tournament. He was sweating sprstoner, who was down to the final two tables in a tournament.

The BIG Hand

One of the many reasons I love to play cash games at Bally's is the high hand jackpots. I had never won one, however ... until this trip. On Saturday, June 20, I walked into the Bally's poker room early in the afternoon. I sat down and folded three hands before I played my first one. I was dealt A-10clubs. I limped in and saw two clubs on the flop, including the Queen. One player raised and I called. The turn was a King of clubs, giving me the nut flush -- and a Royal Flush draw. My opponent checked, so I of course checked behind. The river was the Jack of clubs, giving me my first brick and mortar Royal Flush! Unfortunately, someone had hit the clubs Royal Flush recently and the high hand jackpot was only $681. I did accept it, however -- he he.

Poker Room Report

Bally's - My favorite room. Great friendly dealers including Tricia and Gianna. Tricia almost dealt me my second Royal -- if only she had given me the Queen of hearts, not clubs, on the river. I also had four clubs to a second Royal Flush after one flop. Man, would a second Royal have been spectacular or what? Friendly play and below average players are the hallmarks of this room. Oh -- and Liliane's raspy voice shouting "Cocktails? Anyone want a drink?"

MGM - Only played for a few hours and made a small profit. I still like this room, but wish they had high hand jackpots there.

Caesar's Palace - Played a short time there but could not get moved to Memphis MOJO's table. I haven't liked the cash games there ever since I ran my K-K into A-A ...

Hard Rock - Only one table going. Great eye candy as gorgeous women in swim suits parade past the poker room. Sat at a table with a couple of drunk cowboys, though, and didn't like the atmosphere.

Misc

** Had a successful trip at the cash tables. The Royal Flush at Bally's didn't hurt.
** What is the issue with Jager Bombs? I ordered one at MGM and was told that they do not serve it without ice. I ordered one at Hard Rock and was told that the drink was not comped and that it would cost $3. I guess the crappy economy and the cost of Red Bull conspired against me.

** The Victorian Room at Bill's Gambling Hall still is my late-night restaurant. Excellent steak and eggs special.

** Met Penn and Teller and got a program signed for my son, a big fan.

** Saw almost all the big names in poker, which is always fun. And ... Clonie Gowan is sizzling hot !!

** The WSOP experience was great. I will plan on playing one or two events next year.

Off to Las Vegas for the week. Cheers!

Getting Ready for Las Vegas

My summer 2009 trip to Las Vegas should be interesting. It will be my first trip to the new Indianapolis Airport. Long term parking is still cheap, thank goodness. I'll be leaving June 18 and returning June 24.

I will be staying at the Imperial Palace. Granted, it is a far cry from some of the most recent places I've stayed (Bellagio, Encore, Wynn), but it is okay when one spends little time in that casino or in the room. Can't beat the location -- right in the middle of poker country on the strip.

Where will I hang out? Ballys has been my "home" poker room for some time. The vibe is great and the players tend to be pretty poor -- and friendly. MGM Grand is usually my second choice if I need a change of pace. Maybe I'll even play at the IP -- who knows?

I plan to play the Seniors WSOP event, maybe one at Binions. I'll be staying for six nights, so there is plenty of time.

I'll be playing in the Seniors tournament with Memphis MOJO, so I imagine that I will get to meet him. I also hope to meet some other short-term visiting bloggers -- maybe bayne, CMitch, Shabazz Jenkins, and/or Tuscaloosa Johnny. I also hope to connect with some of the people anchored in Las Vegas for most of the WSOP.

What do I hope to accomplish? Well, the bar has been set high for bloggers. LJ just took 10th place in a WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event. sprstoner took third in Event # 13, and CK took 39th place in an event. As someone said, perhaps this is the Year of the Blogger.

My goals:

1) Cash in my WSOP event

2) Make a decent profit at the cash tables

3) Meet as many bloggers as possible

4) Get someone with a car to take me to In-N-Out Burger -- I need to try one!

Less than two days until I leave. I can't wait.

btw: No -- I do not really wear a hoodie and sunglasses at the poker table!

Quick Weekend Update

1) Yowsa --- I begin a vacation from work tomorrow. I feel like I have been crawling to the finish line the past few weeks. Man, do I need it!

2) I'm going to the White Sox - Cubs game on Wednesday. Growing up in the far west Chicago suburbs, I am one of those rare people who roots for both teams. However, the White Sox have always been my main team. This will be the first time that I will wear my White Sox hat in Wrigley Field. I hope to make it home in one piece Wednesday evening.

3) I will be leaving for Las Vegas on Thursday. I plan on playing WSOP Event #43 -- Seniors No-Limit Hold’em World Championship -- on June 22. I figured that I would rather be one of the young guys than the old guys (if I played a regular event).

4) I have exchanged phone numbers with a few bloggers and hope to meet a few of the people I have played against the past few years. I am getting really excited about going. Las Vegas - what a great place!

What is Wrong with this Picture?

Cubs activate Aaron Miles, option Jake Fox

The Chicago Cubs activated infielders Aaron Miles from the disabled list and optioned infielder Jake Fox to the minors on Wednesday.

Miles went on the disabled list on May 26 with a right shoulder strain. He was batting eighth for the Cubs in their game against Houston on Wednesday night.

Miles is hitting .204 with six doubles and four RBIs in 37 games.

Fox was recalled from Triple-A Iowa on May 27 and hit .417 with two doubles and two RBIs in eight games for the Cubs.

Another Cup for the Red Wings?

On Friday night the Detroit Red Wings go for another Stanley Cup championship. The Wings have created quite a dynasty for themselves over the past 22 years. However, I grew up during the period when the Red Wings were not very good. Between 1966 and 1986, the Red Wings only won more games than they lost 3 times. Things change.

BBT4 TOC Results

Congrats to the big winners of the BBT4 TOC:

jjok
actyper

... and snagging the final two WSOP buy-in prizes:

ck31
karmarules

And a big thanks to AlCantHang for setting this up. Here's to you, Al!

Weekend Musings

Objects May Be Closer Than They Appear

The BBT4 TOC is tomorrow, right? Funny thing -- not being in it, I don't know anything about it. Last year, I was fortunate to win the BBT3 freeroll at the end of the season. Too bad there isn't one this year.

I know other bloggers are anxiously awaiting this final event. As for me, BBT4 has been over for a week. I have been looking in the rearview mirror.

I Know I Will Be Watching ... NOT!

Kendra. Denise Richards. Does anyone really care? Will anyone really watch this crap? Blonde hair + a pretty face + two boobs = a reality show? Sheesh -- make a reality show about Tonya Harding and I'll watch.

Do You Need Me To Zip Up Your Pants, Honey?

Why is it that women have to hover over their husbands/boyfriends/sons when shopping for clothes with them? Shit -- they follow them into the dressing room and hang out right outside the room. Maybe I'll head into the dressing room with my wife the next time she tries on clothes. I bet the women would love that, right?

I mean really, guys -- have some balls, huh? Tell them to back off. You look like ninnies.

BBT4

I kept thinking of this song last night. The lyrics don't really fit, but boy, did I fall apart in BBT4. To tell the truth, I have no idea what happened. February and March were great months for me. I was doing well in BBT4 and in private forum games. April saw a great decline in my success, and May was almost a total failure. Nothing I did seemed to work. Some games I just played poorly, in some I was crippled by suckouts, and in some I just had a bad streak of running a lower overpair into a higher overpair or some other disaster.

As a result, no BBT4 Tournament of Champions for me. Additionally, I was in a great position on the overall leader board to score at least a little cashish, but blew that too. Frankly, I am glad that BBT4 is over. A big thanks to AlCantHang for setting this up.

Who will make the big scores in the TOC? I think that Chad made an interesting comment last night on BuddyDank Radio. Many of the bloggers are recreational poker players. How will things change when $10,000 is on the line? Will people still push with A-Jos? How tight will things get when the field narrows to 30 ... or to 20?

In the Immediate Future ...

I feel like I need to tone down the amount of my online poker play. I much prefer playing live in a casino or home game.

I have only two weeks until I finally get some vacation time away from work. I plan on going to a White Sox - Cubs game, playing in a WSOP event in Las Vegas, and maybe taking the family to Memphis for a weekend.

Cheers!