Las Vegas Trip Report: December 8-12, 2025 - Part II

 Wednesday, December 10

I got myself in the shower early (for me - in Las Vegas) and began the familiar trip to Caesars Palace to meet Twitter/X follower @oldmaninvegas. We had messaged each other several times over the past year or so, but never had a chance to meet. Today would be the day.

I gave myself 45 minutes to get to Caesars: Through Excalibur, through NYNY, into Park MGM to catch the tram, exiting the tram at Bellagio, then heading outdoor to enter the main entrance to Caesars Palace and the Cafe Americano. I made it with a few minutes to spare. My new friend was waiting for me.

As I expected, @oldmaninvegas is a great guy. His wife used to work in the poker industry in several capacities, including dealer. Therefore I knew that there would be at least one person that I know that his wife would know. 😁For me, meeting Twitter/X/poker people for the first time is always a thrill. It is amazing how small the poker world really is. Fortunately, the great majority of people I have met have been quality people.

@oldmaninvegas had invited me to breakfast and said that he would treat me using his comps. Sweet, as free food ALWAYS tastes the best! However, at the end of our breakfast, he found out that Cafe Americano would not accept his Caesars Rewards comps. Although I offered to pay for my breakfast (about $31 for an omelet and coffee!), he grabbed the bill. These kind of friends I like! Anyway, we soon parted company, and I was off to play my first session of poker in the reopened Caesars poker room.

The room was just where it had been previously - next to the sportsbook. The one big difference that I noted was that the chairs were new and very  comfortable. I got seated at a new table. After getting involved in some hands and having little success, I was doubled up by an aggro player who raised most hands. I was in the big blind and he was on the button. He raised to $25, and I jammed my remaining $90. I never found out what he had. Later, his girlfriend showed up and he proclaimed that he always does well when she is with him. True to form, he started building  up his stack. I didn't particularly like my table, so I cashed out a bit later with a small profit. Next stop: Venetian.

This afternoon session at Venetian was once again successful. NormInVegas was again able to join me and got seated at my table. I felted one guy when I had J-J. I'm not sure what he had or what he was thinking. He said that he had made a mistake in the hand, which I think my calling my big post-flop bet. I did okay on a few bomb pot hands and overall played solid poker.

I took a break for dinner, and afterward, decided to go back to Venetian since I had been doing well there and having fun. Unfortunately, the magic wasn't there this session. I cashed out after more than two hours, but fortunately, lost less than $100.

I wasn't ready to call it a night, so I headed to Horseshoe, getting there about 11:30pm. I was quickly seated and only stayed for a half hour, erasing the loss I had just had at Venetian. I was getting tired and decided to return to Excalibur, play some slots, and get to bed. Things seemed to be moving in the right direction -- much different than my first day of the trip. I was looking forward to a big day on Thursday.

Thursday, December 11

After a leisurely morning, I headed for my first session at Bellagio. Earlier in the year, I was dominating play almost every session I played there. During my last trip last August, I won a whole $11 in almost three hours of play in the only Bellagio session that trip.

I didn't like my table. I wasn't getting anything in the way of starting hands, so I looked like an OMC at the table. When I did get cards and bet, everyone folded. It was time to take my small loss and head out. Next stop: where else but Venetian!

There were big tournaments going on at Venetian and Wynn, and the wait lists were very long. At Venetian, there were eight tables of $1/3 and 50+ people on the wait list. I got on the list via PokerAtlas and headed north.

My name got on the wait list just after 3:00pm. I was seated and playing less than two hours later, which didn't seem too bad, considering the crowds everywhere. 

The atmosphere in the Venetian poker room was absolutely electric. Tables full of people playing cash games. Tables full of people playing a deep stack event. People standing all around, carefully watching the electronic wait lists, hoping that their name would, at some point, be visible as they came closer to the top of the list. Chris Abramski was at a different table, having been playing since noon. He had a nice stack of chips in front of him. It was time for me to do the same.

I started chipping up, and then got into a hand that solidified the direction I was moving. A guy who claimed to regularly play $5/10 NL had been making regular to high raises all session. In the crucial hand, he only raised to $7. I looked down to see Qs9s. I was in the big blind and already had $3 in the pot. I decided to call. The flop was rag-Q-rag. I checked. He bet. I called. The turn was a rag. I checked. He made a sizable bet. I called. The river was another rag. I checked. He bet $175. I had a feeling the entire time that he had nothing. And since he only raised to $7 initially, I wasn't willing to give him credit for having anything decent. What would he have only bet $7 on initially that would beat top pair, middle kicker? It felt like a bluff to me, so I called. He tabled pocket 4s. Ding!

I stayed at that table for more than five hours. I started to feel my attention slipping and some new players were getting seated, changing the table dynamics. I was getting hungry and decided to book my nice win and give up my seat to one of the many waiting players. Chalk up another good session at Venetian, which, based on many factors, is my favorite Las Vegas poker room.

I got dinner and thought that I might head toward Planet Hollywood to see if the poker vlogger/dealer El Diesel/Rice was there. However, I checked on Bravo to find there was only one table (maybe two) going, so I instead decided to play at Horseshoe. It was almost 10:30pm, and I knew this would likely be my last poker session of the night.

I was seated at a table with unique players. The aggro guy to my immediate right started winning, then spewing. The woman at the table who joined shortly after I did was making big raises with crap hands. After winning and losing some hands, I was feeling the need to make a move. A new player joined the table, and he put a terrible beat on the woman, hitting a four outer. He started making $25 blind raises. I looked down at 10-10. Since I know that the guy wanted to bet $25, I beat him to it. He called. The flop was not coordinated and was 9 high. I decided to jam all in. The opponent called. I thought that I was a goner when two overcards came on the turn and river, but my 10s held. He didn't show his cards.

A bit later, my table broke. My new table had a couple of players with big stacks. I had a streak when I was dealt great hole cards or crushed the flop. I felted two players, then got into a huge hand. I called a small raise in the big blind with Jd9d. The flop had a 9 and two diamonds. I checked. the initial raiser made a pot sized bet. I called. The turn was a beautiful diamond -- as long as he didn't have a bigg flush. I checked. He mad a big bet. I called. The river was a blank. I again checked. My opponent bet all in. I called, hoping that he was trying to get me to fold. He turned his cards over, one on top of the other. The top card was the Ace of diamonds. Underneath? The deuce of hearts! He bluffed off his whole stack!

One guy at the table (a reg, I assumed) was drunk or acted like he was drunk. He appeared sober enough to felt one player when he had the nuts. I took a bunch of money off him, including when he tried a big bluff when I had a good hand. I finally decided to call it quits after 3 1/2hours of play. It was an exceptional cash session.

I cashed out and headed to Planet Hollywood in search of El Diesel/Rice as I had something I wanted to tell him. He was still there and was getting ready to leave. We had a brief discussion, and I caught an Uber/Lyft back to the dirty castle. Time for bed.

Friday, December 12

I had thoughts of sneaking in a final poker session at MGM, but instead I hit the slots. A machine I won at the night before hit again. In fact, after a rough beginning at slots, I was winning on them almost everywhere between poker sessions. I grabbed lunch at Buca di Beppo in Excalibur (picture below), then headed to the airport.

My flight home was unremarkable except that it took off and landed late due to a delay in the plane's previous flight.

How did I do overall? It was the most profitable trip to Las Vegas that I have had in a long time -- maybe the most profitable ever. Most things seemed to go right after a disastrous first day. A Las Vegas trip where I got to play poker with friends, won at slots, and had several excellent poker sessions? Pure gold -- and a welcome distraction from playing the same old poker rooms around Phoenix. The poker gods were actually rooting for me this trip. Imagine that!

Thanks for reading. Comments on the blog are encouraged and welcomed.

Las Vegas Trip Report: December 8-12, 2025 - Part I

The beginning of December had, for many years, been a special time for me. I'm talking about Christmas, right? Ummm ... no. The beginning of December used to be the time when, back in the "good ol' days (I'm slightly past my 36th birthday, so I can say that now), a group of poker bloggers used to meet in Las Vegas for the World Poker Bloggers Tournament (WPBT), mixed games, and general gambling, eating and drinking in Las Vegas degenerate style. It was a great time: playing against, and sometimes meeting in person for the first time, a group of dedicated bloggers who played against each other in regular online poker tournaments. The biggie was The Mookie, which I tried to play every Wednesday night.

Along with the WPBT magic, the beginning of December also meant that Las Vegas would be flooded with cowboys. The cowboys that I played against at the low level No Limit games were usually fun, drank a lot, provided much entertainment, and appeared to be pretty fishy. This was long before the opening of many of the Texas card houses that are now all the rage. Memories.

Monday, December 8

I originally planned to drive to Las Vegas from greater Phoenix, but Frontier Airlines had a Black Friday sale. I was able to get a round trip ticket for the same price I used to pay a few years ago: $38. My poker buddy @ZetusLarry regularly takes Spirit and clued me on on getting the perfect size backpack that will fit as a free personal item. I am able to fit four days worth of clothes in it. So ... with my cheap plane ticket and four nights at the Dirty Castle, I was ready to go.

When I arrived in Las Vegas, the airport was really dead. The ride share area was sparse, allowing me to get an Uber in only a few minutes. The online check in at MGM properties has always been good for me, and I was already checked into my room that morning as my Uber delivered me to Excalibur. I thought that it was pretty exceptional to be in my hotel room (no early check in charge) less than two hours after my flight departed from Phoenix. Was this run good a sample of what was to come?

I considered eating at the Excalibur buffet (MGM buffet, where I sometimes go, was closed for a few days), but when I saw that the price of the buffet had gone up, totaling over $40 with tax and before tip, I decided to save my $50 food comp for another day at the Wicked Spoon. Fortunately, the Excalibur food court has a Jimmy John's, a favorite of mine since the franchise started in central Illinois (I used to live a couple of miles from Jimmy John Liautaud). After a sammich, it was time to head to my traditional first poker session at MGM.

Now, in the past, MGM used to be one of my favorite places to play. I did well, and was a close personal friend of the King of MGM poker, @Robvegaspoker. I still like playing there, but my results there over the past three years have been terrible. In fact, of all the casinos where I've played poker the past three years, MGM Las Vegas is the one at which I've lost the most money. After this trip, it finally surpassed the downtown Golden Nugget, where I just give money away.

MGM stayed true to form. I wasn't getting any cards at all and decided to leave after an 1 1/2 hours. I donked off some money on the MGM Megabucks slots. Yeah - I could use the $10,000,000. Later on, I decided to buy back into the MGM game. I hit the nut flush on a very wet board (board was paired any had straight possibilities), and of course, my turn bet didn't force out my opponent. The river double paired the board, so that ship sank fast. I eventually lost my shortie buy in (MGM is now $1/3 NL with a $1K max buy in), got some dinner, and headed back to Excalibur to degen some slot action and call it a day. The day started out so promising, but I had hopes that things would improve one way or another on Tuesday night since I would be meeting up with some friends to play poker at Venetian.

Tuesday, December 9

As planned from yesterday, I headed to Cosmopolitan in the late morning to have brunch at the Wicked Spoon buffet. Many years ago, I had gone to the Wicked Spoon at least  two times. Years ago, it had a well-deserved great reputation. I had heard that it had gone downhill after COVID-19 and since Cosmopolitan had become part of the MGM empire. I would find out for myself. The $49.99 price seemed a much better deal than the Excalibur buffet.

The buffet was pretty busy, but fortunately, I was seated almost immediately. The picture below was my first plate of food, highlighted by crab legs peach french toast, angry mac 'n' cheese, and my favorite, a bagel with cream cheese, lox, and capers. 

It was a decent start. Later, I had some really good tri-tip. The dessert was really the star, with wonderful gluten free chocolate chip cookies, cheesecakes, gelato, and many other great looking desserts that I did not sample. My verdict: perhaps Wicked Spoon is the best of the lower/middle tier buffets. It is clearly not in the same ball park at Caesars  Bacchanal Buffet or the The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas. For a buffet with a better price point, I would go to the Garden Buffet at South Point.

After brunch, I decided to resume my poker at the Horseshoe. Years ago, when Horseshoe was Bally's and seemed to have a different location for the poker room every few years, I used to rule there. It was my honey hole where I rarely lost. Over the past several years, I have struggled to win there. Funny how things like that happen in poker. Well, true to form, I did not have a good session there. A doofus called a huge bet with a flush draw and hit it. A few hands later. I lost two pair to a bigger two pair. It was time to say goodbye to Horseshoe.

One thing for sure about Las Vegas: it is always interesting. On my way to Venetian for our meet up game, I saw the following:

Once inside Venetian and about a half hour early for the meet up game, I saw one of the players, Chris Abramski, already seated. At table 36! I checked in from my online sign up, and was able to immediately get seated at table 36. Along the way, the others in the game found their way there: NormInVegas, Flynn & Ollie (Erin), and @Onechiquita (Alysia). Let the games begin!

Norm, me, Alysia, Erin, and Chris

For whatever reason, I tend to run white hot at meet up games that I have arranged. Early on, in, I believe, the first hand Alysia played, she had A-A and I had 8-8. I called Alysia's raise to $21, as did another player. And guess what: the flop had an 8! Major props to Alysia for losing the minimum on the hand (about $100). However, the other player, with A-K, hit top top on the flop and called my all in raise. Ding!

As the session went on, I kept building up my chip stack. It was a combination of good play, luck, and pretty good bluffs. I cashed out a pretty tidy sum once it seemed that my momentum had stopped and some of the other players at the table were replaced by seemingly better players. Shortly thereafter Norm cashed out and drove me back to Excalibur to end the night. The sweet win at Venetian more than covered my previous losses at MGM, Horseshoe, and my degen slot activity, so after a rough start to the trip money-wise, I was feeling pretty good. At Excalibur, I won at slots before heading to bed. Perhaps this trip was going to be pretty good now that I seemed to shift my momentum. Little did I know what the poker gods had in store for me the rest of the trip. But the important point was that I was back ahead, and was looking forward to meeting a Twitter/X friend in person for the first time in the morning for breakfast.

Part II coming soon. 

Thanks for reading. Comments on the blog are encouraged and welcomed.