Nurse Holiday's Long Overdue VEGAAS TRIP REPORT- Final Thoughts
First I need to say a specail HELLO to Tom and Linda if they are out there. Sorry it took so long to post the report. Me and my buddies met this real neat couple from Ontario when we were in Vegas. Tom hailed from Owen Sound (where I played a little lacrosse when I was a lad - Tom knew a lof of my teammates - small world) and Linda (his girlfriend and playing partner) lived in Oakville. Tom was one of the 2 big stacks at the final table of my very first tourney (in report #1) at the Flamingo. Tom ended up winning the whole thing - $750 I believe. NICE WORK TOM. COuldn't happen to a nicer guy. Hell of a player too. It was funny, on my big move hand with 56 suited where the old geezer in the BB called me, I turned over my cards and said "I didn't want a call". Tom was on my right and looked at my hand and said flatly "I guess you didn't!!" And laughed. Nice guy that Tom! And Linda was something else! Earlier in that same tourney, Linda was at my initial table and she came out swinging. And just something about her said that she knew her way around a hold'em table. Call it instinct or intuition, but I was sure that I didn't want to tangle with her without a real strong holding. There were easier marks to be sure. In fact, I was really hoping someone else would take her out, through a bad beat or otherwise. She would be tough and she just kept on firing. She easily owned our table for the first 20 minutes or so.
Tom and Linda were doing the same thing as we were - playing various tourneys and various rooms around town. We kept running into them and comparing notes. It was good to exchange info. I told Tom about the forum and I hope he decides to check it out. He and Linda would be valuable contributors. Linda actually won a Crazy Pineapple tourney later in the week at Ballys - not sure what exactly Crazy Pineapple is, but congrats. Small world indeed.
Also, I failed to mention my one buddy JERKY monied in the first Aladdin tourney we played. He came 8th for about $85 I think. Not bad for someone who had never played in a casino before and whose only real experience is in a 2-bit home game run by some JAGOFF with a belly-button ring. Good job JERKY.
Heard (from Tom actually) that the Sahara tourneys SUCKED. Now this is 2nd hand, so I can't say too much, but apparently the whole experience was one better forgotten. Not a good place at all. This is contrary to what a previous poster had told me (can't remember who it was - I will go back and check). So take it for what it is worth...I didn't get to the Sahara - had planned to but once I blew up at the Orleans I figured that I should stick to the minor leagues (not that the Sahara was major league, but i had to build the roll back up and that was best done at the I.P. and the EX.)
Got into a wicked fun game that went all nigth at the I.P. The room sucks, but the comps are good and the players bad. But for the most part they are fun. I was at a table for 6 hours and not one person left the table. Not one. At 5:30 am one dude (who had been losing ALL NIGHT) said he had to do a presentation at 8 am at a conference - but that he was having so much fun he wasn't going to go to bed. He would do the presentation as he was. Said he'd never had so much fun losing money in all his life. And, although I was winning, I know what he meant. It is that kind of camaradarie that can develop in a B&M game that the online game cannot match. It was like I was playing with 8 buddies I'd known for years. Not one bad apple in the bunch (okay, so not quite like my buddies afterall). Give them a good time and they will come back. It was like a legendary party - glad I was there cuz the chances of catching lightning in a bottle like that again are slim indeed.
Final funny travel note - playing at Harrah's one night (btw a VERY NICE room - should have played here more! Will the next time I'm in town) and JERKY (buddy #2) is at a different table. We cross paths (as opposed to streams) in the washroom and he asks if I have noticed the cowboy at his table. I indicate having noticed the cowboy hat and inquire as to why - is he a good player? JERKY says "well, no actually he is pretty poor, but that's not the cool thing.....the cool thing is, he is a bounty hunter. He is on his way to New Orleans to help round up some of the less-desireables that they had to let go due to the Hurricane." Later that night I was at the same table as "cowboy" (as he came to be called) and as he pulled out his wallet (this happened often, sadly) I saw this big-ass badge in there. Pretty sure he was teliling the truth. I can only hope he is better at corraling fugitives than he was at hold'em. Hell of a nice guy. Worst poker player I have ever met. Ever. Here's to you cowboy.
Tom and Linda were doing the same thing as we were - playing various tourneys and various rooms around town. We kept running into them and comparing notes. It was good to exchange info. I told Tom about the forum and I hope he decides to check it out. He and Linda would be valuable contributors. Linda actually won a Crazy Pineapple tourney later in the week at Ballys - not sure what exactly Crazy Pineapple is, but congrats. Small world indeed.
Also, I failed to mention my one buddy JERKY monied in the first Aladdin tourney we played. He came 8th for about $85 I think. Not bad for someone who had never played in a casino before and whose only real experience is in a 2-bit home game run by some JAGOFF with a belly-button ring. Good job JERKY.
Heard (from Tom actually) that the Sahara tourneys SUCKED. Now this is 2nd hand, so I can't say too much, but apparently the whole experience was one better forgotten. Not a good place at all. This is contrary to what a previous poster had told me (can't remember who it was - I will go back and check). So take it for what it is worth...I didn't get to the Sahara - had planned to but once I blew up at the Orleans I figured that I should stick to the minor leagues (not that the Sahara was major league, but i had to build the roll back up and that was best done at the I.P. and the EX.)
Got into a wicked fun game that went all nigth at the I.P. The room sucks, but the comps are good and the players bad. But for the most part they are fun. I was at a table for 6 hours and not one person left the table. Not one. At 5:30 am one dude (who had been losing ALL NIGHT) said he had to do a presentation at 8 am at a conference - but that he was having so much fun he wasn't going to go to bed. He would do the presentation as he was. Said he'd never had so much fun losing money in all his life. And, although I was winning, I know what he meant. It is that kind of camaradarie that can develop in a B&M game that the online game cannot match. It was like I was playing with 8 buddies I'd known for years. Not one bad apple in the bunch (okay, so not quite like my buddies afterall). Give them a good time and they will come back. It was like a legendary party - glad I was there cuz the chances of catching lightning in a bottle like that again are slim indeed.
Final funny travel note - playing at Harrah's one night (btw a VERY NICE room - should have played here more! Will the next time I'm in town) and JERKY (buddy #2) is at a different table. We cross paths (as opposed to streams) in the washroom and he asks if I have noticed the cowboy at his table. I indicate having noticed the cowboy hat and inquire as to why - is he a good player? JERKY says "well, no actually he is pretty poor, but that's not the cool thing.....the cool thing is, he is a bounty hunter. He is on his way to New Orleans to help round up some of the less-desireables that they had to let go due to the Hurricane." Later that night I was at the same table as "cowboy" (as he came to be called) and as he pulled out his wallet (this happened often, sadly) I saw this big-ass badge in there. Pretty sure he was teliling the truth. I can only hope he is better at corraling fugitives than he was at hold'em. Hell of a nice guy. Worst poker player I have ever met. Ever. Here's to you cowboy.
Comments
Going on the October 13th weekend.
I guess you didn't play at any of the nice rooms... Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Wynn, Mirage.
Instead of the free breakfast spread, you shoulda paid a little and had the breakfast BUFFET at Aladdin, supposed to be one of the best in town.
Hork, if you would be so kind, I'd be interested in hearing how your trip went.
You may want to look up Shopsy on here...rumor had it that he might be heading to Vegas around the same time you are.
Thanks again NH, and GL in Vegas Hork.
D
Anyway on weekend in Vegas not many tounaments so decide to try Tourney at Harrah's in Vegas, with $40 buy in and 1 rebuy allowed. 11 am start but was able to get in despite late 20min due to late buffet breakfast ( yummy at Monte Carlo) .
About 80+ entries
Myself ...basically no real strategies except must buy in 1st hr to build battle stacks for later rounds and play tight 1st hr or so. lol did not even read any poker strategy books like Nurse Hol !
Anyway must be 1st time lucky ... few good hands to a few strategic good bluffs to build up stack ..after about 2 hrs ended up final table with probably 4th highest chip stack ... so told myself I CAN win this !! Thats exactly what i ended up doing when we were down to 2 players and I offered to share 1st n 2nd prize money with him despite me having slightly bigger chip stack.
Our share was $1498 each. Prize pool pay to top 9 position.
Anyway poker room at Harrah is quite nice but less busy that that at Mirage. Alladin's seems busy but congested n no sseperate room . Imperial Palace poker seem pretty run down...
Anyway realise a newbie can win too lol..