Moose Vegas Feb 2012 Trip Report
https://picasaweb.google.com/106660656928233938654/20120226Vegas?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLDAiN_qmffftQE&feat=directlink
First mmoose and I stopped in Caesars Windsor for some warm up 1-2nl, where I picked up a YOTD players card and a stack of good condition $1s for str82ace's little project.
The next day we met up with Beanie and JohnnieH in the airport and flew out to Vegas. My camera battery turned up dead so everything was shot on my playbook, which turned out to be pretty handy.
Mon Day 1
After arriving in Vegas we sat in at a 3-6 game at Ballys for a few minutes while we waited to meet up with SeektheGrail and TheGrail for dinner. We got in a few hands and a few beers and then walked over to Ellis Island for chicken and ribs. A few more beers there and K9DR Mark from chiptalk met up with us and then we were ready for our BBQ dinner.
After dinner we played a bit more at Ballys waiting for me to sober up and then we drove to Henderson for some $1 10x odds craps. I started well but finished bad. There was some excitement though when I threw a buck on all the hard ways for the dealers and hit every one for a nice $36 tip for them. Being forced to drive around was a good way to avoid drinking too much the first day.
Tues Day 2
Tues the Grails were using up their comps at the Venetian and then going to Blue Man so we were on our own. We started with a rungood breakfast at Terribles and started at the Flamingo, where 3-6 has been spreading fairly regularly since Caesars cut the comps and tier points on 2-4 to almost nothing. 8am-2pm there is AA cracked for $100 and high hand payouts for quads ($50), straight flushes ($250) and Royals (progressive starting at $500, with 10% splashed into the next pot). The high hands are 24hr.
Next we drove out to Red Rock casino for 4-8 with a half kill and Beanie and I eventually got in a 4-8 O8 HK game. It went badly for us but JohnnieH and mmoose did well, with mmoose making a Royal!
Then we drove back to IP to eat at Hash House a Go Go. JohnnieH scored with the chicken eggs benedict and my crispy pork sandwich was pretty good too.
Afterwards Beanie and I soldiered on at 1-2nl at Ballys and the kids went to bed. After struggling up and down for a bit I got crippled by QJ>KK and a few hands later, after someone straddled for $5, I shoved for $30 into two limpers, with A9. One of the limpers called with 93, the guy to my left commented that he also folded 93. I covered my eyes because I knew this wasn't going to end well. After hearing a soft sigh by the entire table I knew my night was done. 9 on flop, 3 on river and I was at my low point for the trip, my only winning session, being a $5 win the first day at Ballys and the second biggest win - $1.65 slot win from signing up for a players card at Red Rock.
Day 3 Wednesday
The next day we played back at the Flamingo until 1 pm or so and hooked up with the Grails for a spa day. Tues started with a sinus cold and by Wed it had turned into a bad chest cold. So I was feeling pretty crappy in addition to the light wallet. Fortunately things began to turn around and I booked $140 win at 3-6 but no jackpot bonuses yet. We cashed out and drove over to Palms Place where the two couples had booked a spa day. We had planned for dinner at Gaylords in the Rio but it was closed for renovations so after the spa we went back to the Flamingo to eat Japanese at the Hamada. JohnnieH met up with us and after a great dinner we took in the Absinthe show across the street at Caesars. Great show. It's general seating but there really isn't a bad seat because the farthest seat is only about 40 feet from the centre stage. I would describe the show as sexy themed acrobatics.
*VID_00000021.mp4 - YouTube
*VID_00000023.mp4 - YouTube
*VID_00000025.mp4 - YouTube
http://youtu.be/Lo7w9Uve0FI
After the show we headed back to Flamingo, just as Beanie and Johnnie were quitting. We got a 3-6 game running. Seekthegrail finally collected on our first jackpot of the trip. Quad queen's. Wed is a great day for gambling because heavy flyin days are Wed and Sun so there are lots of loaded, jet lagged gamblers, like these two guys on the right.
Day 4 Thursday
We started at IP for a goodbye breakfast at Hash House with the Grails and then took them to the airport for their flight. Mmoose went for the chicken eggs benedict that Johnnie had on Tuesday.
Afterwards we went back to the Flamingo to ensure we had our 8 hours of play in to qualify for the $1500 freeroll on Friday. This time the jackpots started to really pay off. Mmoose got on a crazy table that had 8 AA cracked, including two for her.
Here she makes a set and loses to a wheel.
Then I got into it with quad Jacks for $50. Shortly after mmoose got AA cracked for the 2nd time but didn't get a shot in time but the moose's had back to back jackpots on different tables on the little sheet you sign to acknowlege payment. Then another table hit a Royal. The cardroom was just humming! The fire alarm then went off briefly and I joked that the cardroom manager must have pulled it, in an attempt to save his prize pool fund which got hit heavily that day.
After the AA cracked promo ended at 2 pm we drove over to the Pinball Hall of Fame. I had a great time playing some of my old favourites. Unfortunately a couple of my favourites were broken/not working well but I had a great time on a perfect condition Fun House table, trying to shoot my balls into Rudy's mouth. Yes I said it. Anyways a great way to work off some poker tilt.
Afterwards we drove to the north end of the strip and played a little bit at Circus Circus and then met up with Beanie who was playing at Riviera across the street.
Circus Circus had nice new minty Paulsons.
Then we drove to PH and I squeezed in about 7 hands at 1-2nl waiting for dinner. In that time I managed to get allin in twice and called once for a $105 profit. Free dinner! We walked over to La Pampas brazilian steakhouse using the $3 discount tickets we bought the day before from tix4tonight, bringing the cost of the dinner from $48.95 to $25.95. Well worth it and we also met up with K9DR for dinner where he paid me back for his ticket with a $3 Bellagio drop chip. Thanks!
After dinner we dropped mmoose off back at Ballys and the four boys continued on to Mirage. I boosted my winning streak up to 5 winning sessions in a row, booking a small win at 3-6 and suddenly the Vegas trip wasn't looking so disasterous afterall. A new Vegas record was also set, with JohnnieH staying at the table well past midnight!!!
Day 5 Friday
That morning we checked out of Ballys to move over to IP. Shortly the skyline will be much different with construction/teardown already starting for the new entertainment Linq complex.
Skyline shot from Ballys north tower.
View from Flamingo parking garage.
Construction starting.
First we all played the 9 am $1500 freeroll at Flamingo. Strangely enough, the random seating put us all at the same table, in a 8 table, 84 player tournament!?!? We registered at competely different times too. Actually mmoose and I got the last two seats and 4 players came in as alternates.
Reasonably healthy stack at the break (the other 3 donkeys had long ago busted, shipping me $5 each in a last longer bet – woot!)
Got this one on a previous trip. You can see in the earlier pic that the 500s are now purple instead of hot pink.
Top 15 paid out. I'm the King of the Donkeys!!!!!
First mmoose and I stopped in Caesars Windsor for some warm up 1-2nl, where I picked up a YOTD players card and a stack of good condition $1s for str82ace's little project.
The next day we met up with Beanie and JohnnieH in the airport and flew out to Vegas. My camera battery turned up dead so everything was shot on my playbook, which turned out to be pretty handy.
Mon Day 1
After arriving in Vegas we sat in at a 3-6 game at Ballys for a few minutes while we waited to meet up with SeektheGrail and TheGrail for dinner. We got in a few hands and a few beers and then walked over to Ellis Island for chicken and ribs. A few more beers there and K9DR Mark from chiptalk met up with us and then we were ready for our BBQ dinner.
After dinner we played a bit more at Ballys waiting for me to sober up and then we drove to Henderson for some $1 10x odds craps. I started well but finished bad. There was some excitement though when I threw a buck on all the hard ways for the dealers and hit every one for a nice $36 tip for them. Being forced to drive around was a good way to avoid drinking too much the first day.
Tues Day 2
Tues the Grails were using up their comps at the Venetian and then going to Blue Man so we were on our own. We started with a rungood breakfast at Terribles and started at the Flamingo, where 3-6 has been spreading fairly regularly since Caesars cut the comps and tier points on 2-4 to almost nothing. 8am-2pm there is AA cracked for $100 and high hand payouts for quads ($50), straight flushes ($250) and Royals (progressive starting at $500, with 10% splashed into the next pot). The high hands are 24hr.
Next we drove out to Red Rock casino for 4-8 with a half kill and Beanie and I eventually got in a 4-8 O8 HK game. It went badly for us but JohnnieH and mmoose did well, with mmoose making a Royal!
Then we drove back to IP to eat at Hash House a Go Go. JohnnieH scored with the chicken eggs benedict and my crispy pork sandwich was pretty good too.
Afterwards Beanie and I soldiered on at 1-2nl at Ballys and the kids went to bed. After struggling up and down for a bit I got crippled by QJ>KK and a few hands later, after someone straddled for $5, I shoved for $30 into two limpers, with A9. One of the limpers called with 93, the guy to my left commented that he also folded 93. I covered my eyes because I knew this wasn't going to end well. After hearing a soft sigh by the entire table I knew my night was done. 9 on flop, 3 on river and I was at my low point for the trip, my only winning session, being a $5 win the first day at Ballys and the second biggest win - $1.65 slot win from signing up for a players card at Red Rock.
Day 3 Wednesday
The next day we played back at the Flamingo until 1 pm or so and hooked up with the Grails for a spa day. Tues started with a sinus cold and by Wed it had turned into a bad chest cold. So I was feeling pretty crappy in addition to the light wallet. Fortunately things began to turn around and I booked $140 win at 3-6 but no jackpot bonuses yet. We cashed out and drove over to Palms Place where the two couples had booked a spa day. We had planned for dinner at Gaylords in the Rio but it was closed for renovations so after the spa we went back to the Flamingo to eat Japanese at the Hamada. JohnnieH met up with us and after a great dinner we took in the Absinthe show across the street at Caesars. Great show. It's general seating but there really isn't a bad seat because the farthest seat is only about 40 feet from the centre stage. I would describe the show as sexy themed acrobatics.
*VID_00000021.mp4 - YouTube
*VID_00000023.mp4 - YouTube
*VID_00000025.mp4 - YouTube
http://youtu.be/Lo7w9Uve0FI
After the show we headed back to Flamingo, just as Beanie and Johnnie were quitting. We got a 3-6 game running. Seekthegrail finally collected on our first jackpot of the trip. Quad queen's. Wed is a great day for gambling because heavy flyin days are Wed and Sun so there are lots of loaded, jet lagged gamblers, like these two guys on the right.
Day 4 Thursday
We started at IP for a goodbye breakfast at Hash House with the Grails and then took them to the airport for their flight. Mmoose went for the chicken eggs benedict that Johnnie had on Tuesday.
Afterwards we went back to the Flamingo to ensure we had our 8 hours of play in to qualify for the $1500 freeroll on Friday. This time the jackpots started to really pay off. Mmoose got on a crazy table that had 8 AA cracked, including two for her.
Here she makes a set and loses to a wheel.
Then I got into it with quad Jacks for $50. Shortly after mmoose got AA cracked for the 2nd time but didn't get a shot in time but the moose's had back to back jackpots on different tables on the little sheet you sign to acknowlege payment. Then another table hit a Royal. The cardroom was just humming! The fire alarm then went off briefly and I joked that the cardroom manager must have pulled it, in an attempt to save his prize pool fund which got hit heavily that day.
After the AA cracked promo ended at 2 pm we drove over to the Pinball Hall of Fame. I had a great time playing some of my old favourites. Unfortunately a couple of my favourites were broken/not working well but I had a great time on a perfect condition Fun House table, trying to shoot my balls into Rudy's mouth. Yes I said it. Anyways a great way to work off some poker tilt.
Afterwards we drove to the north end of the strip and played a little bit at Circus Circus and then met up with Beanie who was playing at Riviera across the street.
Circus Circus had nice new minty Paulsons.
Then we drove to PH and I squeezed in about 7 hands at 1-2nl waiting for dinner. In that time I managed to get allin in twice and called once for a $105 profit. Free dinner! We walked over to La Pampas brazilian steakhouse using the $3 discount tickets we bought the day before from tix4tonight, bringing the cost of the dinner from $48.95 to $25.95. Well worth it and we also met up with K9DR for dinner where he paid me back for his ticket with a $3 Bellagio drop chip. Thanks!
After dinner we dropped mmoose off back at Ballys and the four boys continued on to Mirage. I boosted my winning streak up to 5 winning sessions in a row, booking a small win at 3-6 and suddenly the Vegas trip wasn't looking so disasterous afterall. A new Vegas record was also set, with JohnnieH staying at the table well past midnight!!!
Day 5 Friday
That morning we checked out of Ballys to move over to IP. Shortly the skyline will be much different with construction/teardown already starting for the new entertainment Linq complex.
Skyline shot from Ballys north tower.
View from Flamingo parking garage.
Construction starting.
First we all played the 9 am $1500 freeroll at Flamingo. Strangely enough, the random seating put us all at the same table, in a 8 table, 84 player tournament!?!? We registered at competely different times too. Actually mmoose and I got the last two seats and 4 players came in as alternates.
Reasonably healthy stack at the break (the other 3 donkeys had long ago busted, shipping me $5 each in a last longer bet – woot!)
Got this one on a previous trip. You can see in the earlier pic that the 500s are now purple instead of hot pink.
Top 15 paid out. I'm the King of the Donkeys!!!!!
Comments
2012
2008. Ugh I just realized the brand new felts in this pic are now 4 years old and worn out in the previous pic.
We moved on to Bellagio but there weren't any seats available at 4-8 so JohnnieH and I went on a chip tour, stopping off at the CNY display first.
The Willy Wonka chocolate fountain
We took the tram to Aria and then worked our way back to Bellagio, stopping off at Cosmo.
I needed a MGM chip too and JohnnieH luckily found one in his Bellagio chips!
Just an FYI, there is a snack bar just outside the poker room that sells the most amazing warm apple donut/dumplings for $3.50. Use your M-life card while you play and score a free snack after!
Next we all met up and drove downtown and played at Binion's for bit but the action was terrible so we cashed out and went chip collecting.
We collected mmoose at Binions, who had stayed behind to play 2-4. She booked a small win but one player at the table collected two progressive straight flush bonuses in under 2 hours. Crazy.
Then we drove back to IP and walked up to Harrahs for dinner at KGB burger which was very good. We all had enough play on our cards for free dinner!
Then we went looking for a place to play some inebriated poker and settled on Bills. Mmoose bailed out and JohnnieH soon after when some rednecks tilted him off the table but Beanie and I found a fun table.
Beanie's Vegas girlfriend, Amber.
Going allin with 84 is much more fun when you win!
Several CC and coke's, a shot of Sambuca and a Foster's oil can later and I was the big stack at the table.
All in all, a good trip.
I love you Vegas!!!!
looked like an amazing time!
I'm going to do my best and not whine, but it's tough when most of the premium hands you hold don't hold. I lost count of how many times I lost with Aces, Kings, and Queens. All in all I'm down about $800 from poker. That easily could have been break even if half of those hands hold up.
Gambling aside, this was a great trip. I loved showing the rookie (Beanie) around town and seeing the sites. He probably got tired of me saying "And this is where ______ happened" but he didn't complain. Just took it all in.
I had an extra bout of runbad on about Tuesday one of my teeth started to ache. By Thursday I was in excruciating pain. Applying alcohol orally greatly helped
Even though most of my post in the other thread were about food, I actually lost 7lbs by only eating one good meal a day. I think this was contributing factor as to why I don't feel like shit after I got home. Except for the toothache.
The flight home was great until the shuttled from the hotel didn't show up. After waiting for 25 minutes with another couple, we bribed another driver in a van to take us over to Days Inn Detroit. The drive home was way, way easier than I thought it was going to be. The border guard asked a few questions then muttered "Goodbye" and I was home just over 2.5 hours later.
Thanks again to Moose, MrsMoose, Beanie42, Seekthegrail, MrsSeekthegrail and K9DR for a great trip.
Takes me back there every time I read them. Thanks again.
Introducing Beanie to Ellis Island
Beanie at Aria on his birthday
Cool spot to watch the Bellagio fountain show
mmm....sushi at Hamda of Japan
Yours truly and the best pinball machine EVER!
Sign on the Funhouse machine. Moose dumped at least $10 trying to put his balls in Rudys mouth
Beanie is all done his meat...
...but Moose wants more!
I miss you already!
Jac
Steve
Thanks in advance!
www.allvegaspoker.com lists all of the promos in their room reviews and ratings.
Poker & Hookers & Food, oh my ..........