Flint Bones' Vegas Trip Night 1 and Day 2
I leave for Vegas on Thursday on a direct Air Canada flight at 8:45pm. With me are Shtebs (Steve), Aaron (placed at a Bristol, played at Beanie’s once and my brother-in-law and Shtebs step-brother) and Ray (Shteb’s Dad). The flight sucked. I hate air travel on the best of days (I used to travel a lot) and the seats are getting smaller and smaller. I am seated beside Aaron and we are both over 6 feet so we were cramped. They played Aeon Flux which just made no sense. Anyway, we arrive in Vegas at 11:30 or so PCT. Our bags are first off (good news!) and we grab a shuttle to the hotel. Lesson #1 AVOID SHUTTLES. It is cheaper, faster and safer to take a cab. We stop at a ton of other hotels and I was in the back and any bump crashed my head into the top of the van. But the girl next to me had nice cleavage. We arrive at the Aladdin. The Aladdin is under construction to change to a Planet Hollywood. So access was kind of crappy and it had a mixture of Arabian Nights and Action Movies. Weird stuff. After Ray uses a super secret technique to get us two upgraded rooms, we drop our crap off. It is about 12:00am. We tour the casino. I never knew that there was a Star Wars slot machine (DrTyore, Johnnie, I thought of you), an Andre Agassi machine and a Laverne and Shirley machine. And lots of other crazy ones. More later. We find the poker room. It was pretty bad. It was right beside a ton of slot machines and the smoking area. Basically one table was so close to smoking that it was closer than the ashtrays than anything else. They were offering 1-2 and 2-5 NL and 3-6 and 6-12 limit. Aaron went to bed (this trip was also about sleeping to him. He has a 3 month old and a 18month old at home and he suffered a stroke last year, so no big crazy nights for him). I buy in for $100 at the 1-2, as does Steve (different tables), Ray buys into the 3-6 limit. I play for about an hour with no real hands of significant hands. I am down about $15. I was up $45 down a bit more. I crash about 2am. Steve is sitting up about $200 or so when I leave. I walk by the Star Wars (only episode 4) machines and quickly drop another $20. Damn Chewie.
I wake up at 5:30am and I am completely wired. I can’t sleep. I shower (I am sharing with Aaron) and the bathroom was as big as my first apartment. There was a separate room for pooping!
I go down and walk through the closed shops first. Gucci, Armani and a ton of high end stuff. I go back to the casino and Kenny Rogers beckons me with his fancy slot machine. I lose another $20. Damn Kenny and his catchy country. No chicken references though.
I sit down and play some Caribbean Stud Poker. LESSON #2. You CANNOT win money at this game. In twenty minutes I am down $100. I told myself to avoid these games and I didn’t. I am a stupid sucker sucked in by my own suckiness. I go back to the poker room and sit down at one of the 4 tables going. 1-2 NL. After and hour or so I am up $15 and bail to meet the guys at 8:30am. The table was really soft but I couldn’t get my hands to pay off. I knew it was just time.
We eat breakfast at the hotel. Just eggs and bacon. We head back to the Aladdin poker room for a $50 buyin tournament. The blinds at the Aladdin suck. 2000 chips, 15 minute blinds, 25/50, 50/100/, 100/200, 200/400 in the first hour. There were just over 40 players. I get crippled when my two pair get beat by a straight. I push a few times and split twice(once I went in blind). I push with KJ for 890 with the blinds are 200/400. The BB calls whom I have covered and the UTG limper calls. BB has AQ, UTG has J10. Flop 10 10 K 4 J. I am out in 29. Shetbs and Ray bust out at the same time minutes later. Aaron pushes with A7h and gets called by AA. He sucks out for a flush on the turn and eventually takes that hit and finishes 3rd for $265. While he is playing, I am at the 1-2 NL and finish up $80 or so. My big move was with QQ. I raise to $15 and get two callers. Flop is J 4 9. UTG+2 bets $10, mid folds and I push for in for $85. I push now expecting him to call. He hated being push at and always called. He called with AJ and MHIG. When Aaron finished it was around 12:00 (tournament started at 10:00). The final two ended up chopping. Top six paid out.
We head for lunch. Eat at a little place in the mall where sharing alcohol was strictly forbidden. They head 3for1 drinks. Ray bought a beer (that was really two). Weird.
We go walking and see the Bellagio (cramped Poker room but a beautiful Casino). The limits varied from 2-5 NL to 100 - 200 NL and so forth. They had daily $500 tournaments and $1000 Saturday. I didn’t see the structure. We decide not to play (wait was a little long) and head to Ceasars. Huge Poker room. Omaha HI-Lo was available at $10-20. I play in the $1-2 NL as does Aaron. Steve buys into the $2-5. Ray plays limit. I don’t remember what though.
Aaron and I are at the same table. We play for about 3 hours. One guy at the table had a big stack of about $700 and would raise to $50 on the flop all the time. He chased me out of a few pots. I couldn’t call such a big bet knowing that he would raise again on the turn with my straight draws or second pairs.
At one point he takes down a monster pot of about $900 when he calls an all in with KK on the flop. The other guy pushed in for $400 with a set of 7s. Big stack rivers his King.
I am getting low stacked and have already lost $100 and re-bought. I get J10 in the BB and limp check with 4 limpers. Flop comes J 10 4 with two hearts. My cards are unsuited black ones. I bet $10 (about pot size) and the SB calls. Turn 10. I bet out $15 (SB must be on a draw) and he calls. River isn’t a heart or anything to make the straight. I bet $25 and the guy folds his flush draw.
The VERY next hand I get 67spades. Again I get to limp. Flop comes 67K with two clubs. I bet out $20 (there were 4 or 5 limpers and the big stack was one of them). I am expecting the big stack to re-raise. He makes it $50 to go. All folded to me. I push in for about $105. He stares me down and I watch the TV. The guy next to him (I find out later) keeps telling him that I am bluffing and to call. He keeps telling me that I am on a draw. He calls and MHIG. He had a King. He was shocked. He really thought I was on a draw.
In the end I finish up $50 or so after losing $100 early on. Aaron (as he says) donked off his morning winnings. Steve was up $400 and Ray was down. I had a Crown and Coke every twenty minutes or so after my big win and I played for another 2 or 3 hours. A big crowd was watching the Final Four in the Sports Book area (about 200 people or so all standing). I find Aaron and Ray and we split.
We eat at some fancy chancy restaurant that night. It was awesome food but I don’t remember since I was hammered from Ceasar’s. We head down to old Vegas and visit Binions. We don’t play but we do take all of the poker magazines they offer for free. There were about 15 different titles but CPP was not one of them. I look at the Winner’s section. It was cool. I buy a single $1 chip and we split.
LESSON #3. Don’t grab stranger’s asses. Some drunk guy did and the offended girl raced after him and cold cocked him something good. It was great. The idiot never saw it coming. She calls him an asshole and walks away. He attempts to look cool to his friends.
We get back to the hotel around 12:30am. Aaron heads off to bed and the three of us play some more poker. I play for twenty minutes (have two drinks). My QQ pays off early and I realize that I am too drunk and too tired to play. I cash out up $6. And got to bed at about 1:30am. Damn Star Wars slots.
I wake up at 5:30am and I am completely wired. I can’t sleep. I shower (I am sharing with Aaron) and the bathroom was as big as my first apartment. There was a separate room for pooping!
I go down and walk through the closed shops first. Gucci, Armani and a ton of high end stuff. I go back to the casino and Kenny Rogers beckons me with his fancy slot machine. I lose another $20. Damn Kenny and his catchy country. No chicken references though.
I sit down and play some Caribbean Stud Poker. LESSON #2. You CANNOT win money at this game. In twenty minutes I am down $100. I told myself to avoid these games and I didn’t. I am a stupid sucker sucked in by my own suckiness. I go back to the poker room and sit down at one of the 4 tables going. 1-2 NL. After and hour or so I am up $15 and bail to meet the guys at 8:30am. The table was really soft but I couldn’t get my hands to pay off. I knew it was just time.
We eat breakfast at the hotel. Just eggs and bacon. We head back to the Aladdin poker room for a $50 buyin tournament. The blinds at the Aladdin suck. 2000 chips, 15 minute blinds, 25/50, 50/100/, 100/200, 200/400 in the first hour. There were just over 40 players. I get crippled when my two pair get beat by a straight. I push a few times and split twice(once I went in blind). I push with KJ for 890 with the blinds are 200/400. The BB calls whom I have covered and the UTG limper calls. BB has AQ, UTG has J10. Flop 10 10 K 4 J. I am out in 29. Shetbs and Ray bust out at the same time minutes later. Aaron pushes with A7h and gets called by AA. He sucks out for a flush on the turn and eventually takes that hit and finishes 3rd for $265. While he is playing, I am at the 1-2 NL and finish up $80 or so. My big move was with QQ. I raise to $15 and get two callers. Flop is J 4 9. UTG+2 bets $10, mid folds and I push for in for $85. I push now expecting him to call. He hated being push at and always called. He called with AJ and MHIG. When Aaron finished it was around 12:00 (tournament started at 10:00). The final two ended up chopping. Top six paid out.
We head for lunch. Eat at a little place in the mall where sharing alcohol was strictly forbidden. They head 3for1 drinks. Ray bought a beer (that was really two). Weird.
We go walking and see the Bellagio (cramped Poker room but a beautiful Casino). The limits varied from 2-5 NL to 100 - 200 NL and so forth. They had daily $500 tournaments and $1000 Saturday. I didn’t see the structure. We decide not to play (wait was a little long) and head to Ceasars. Huge Poker room. Omaha HI-Lo was available at $10-20. I play in the $1-2 NL as does Aaron. Steve buys into the $2-5. Ray plays limit. I don’t remember what though.
Aaron and I are at the same table. We play for about 3 hours. One guy at the table had a big stack of about $700 and would raise to $50 on the flop all the time. He chased me out of a few pots. I couldn’t call such a big bet knowing that he would raise again on the turn with my straight draws or second pairs.
At one point he takes down a monster pot of about $900 when he calls an all in with KK on the flop. The other guy pushed in for $400 with a set of 7s. Big stack rivers his King.
I am getting low stacked and have already lost $100 and re-bought. I get J10 in the BB and limp check with 4 limpers. Flop comes J 10 4 with two hearts. My cards are unsuited black ones. I bet $10 (about pot size) and the SB calls. Turn 10. I bet out $15 (SB must be on a draw) and he calls. River isn’t a heart or anything to make the straight. I bet $25 and the guy folds his flush draw.
The VERY next hand I get 67spades. Again I get to limp. Flop comes 67K with two clubs. I bet out $20 (there were 4 or 5 limpers and the big stack was one of them). I am expecting the big stack to re-raise. He makes it $50 to go. All folded to me. I push in for about $105. He stares me down and I watch the TV. The guy next to him (I find out later) keeps telling him that I am bluffing and to call. He keeps telling me that I am on a draw. He calls and MHIG. He had a King. He was shocked. He really thought I was on a draw.
In the end I finish up $50 or so after losing $100 early on. Aaron (as he says) donked off his morning winnings. Steve was up $400 and Ray was down. I had a Crown and Coke every twenty minutes or so after my big win and I played for another 2 or 3 hours. A big crowd was watching the Final Four in the Sports Book area (about 200 people or so all standing). I find Aaron and Ray and we split.
We eat at some fancy chancy restaurant that night. It was awesome food but I don’t remember since I was hammered from Ceasar’s. We head down to old Vegas and visit Binions. We don’t play but we do take all of the poker magazines they offer for free. There were about 15 different titles but CPP was not one of them. I look at the Winner’s section. It was cool. I buy a single $1 chip and we split.
LESSON #3. Don’t grab stranger’s asses. Some drunk guy did and the offended girl raced after him and cold cocked him something good. It was great. The idiot never saw it coming. She calls him an asshole and walks away. He attempts to look cool to his friends.
We get back to the hotel around 12:30am. Aaron heads off to bed and the three of us play some more poker. I play for twenty minutes (have two drinks). My QQ pays off early and I realize that I am too drunk and too tired to play. I cash out up $6. And got to bed at about 1:30am. Damn Star Wars slots.
Comments
The first night I had a juicy 1-2 NL table (a few drunk guys and an idiot who was in love with the bluff) at the Aladdin and finished up $240. As Andrew reported, the Aladdin tourney didn't allow for much play and seeing as I was card dead with not a single pair and only once have face cards (at the same time) I rarely saw a flop. Made one stab at one pot and got reraised when I was holding nothing. Busted out on my big blind sometime around the fifth blind level. My father and I had the unwelcome honour of playing with the most obnoxious player in the tourney for a while. I finally got fed up with his jawing during and after every single hand during the higher blinds (especially since I was desperate too see a few more hands before the level went up again). I would suspect it was a strategy of his but he was, by no means, in a comfortable chip position either. He proved his poker pedigree when during one hand he folded his big blind (600 chips) to an AI raise of 200 more and one caller allready (no one else to act behind him preflop). He explained that he would have been betting every street and his cards wouldn't have won so it was the correct play. BRILLIANT!!!
Once eliminated I played some 1-2 NL and was up another $150 in a couple of hours. We moved on to lunch and then played at Ceaser's where I moved up to the 2-5 NL and had an incredible table. I lost my initial $300 and rebought for $400 as the table had a lot of action and two really lose/really poor players that were simply catching lucky cards and bad beating the rest of the table. I waited for some good flops and beat up on them for a few hours. I left with $954 (up only $254 once you count my buy in and rebuy-in) pleased that the better player won out (no ego here, heheh).
Dinner was incredibly expensive but sooo worth it.
On a side note. The waitresses at Aladdin were beautiful, the waitresses at Belagio were pretty, the waitresses at Wynn's were mind numbingly gorgeous and the waitresses at Ceaser's were clearly highered for there skill (good, nice but not much too look at). My waitress at Ceaser's always remembered my order (vodka water with a squeezed lemon, no straw) and was very prompt to replace as soon as one was done but she also happened to be 60+ years old (no exagerration) and she was middle of the pack as far as looks go. Just and interesting observation on the different highering practices between the poker rooms.
We got home that night and Andrew and Aaron eventually went to bed while my Father and I played at the Aladdin some more. I sat down at 1-2 NL and he sat down at the 3-6 limit. I had and aggressive table with several drunks and only two other competent players( by my judgement) so lots of opportunity there. My first hand I get dealt J9 :h: in big blind (a Pinhead favourite) and called a really loose players raise to $8 with a total of 6 callers before me. Flop came A38 all :h: so I bet $30. I get raised $50 (to $80) by a total donk all fold to CO (decent player) who calls. I reraise AI ($192 total) to get rid of chasers, hoping to isolate one of em with two pair or just take the pot right there. To my surprise both call. Donk shows K:h:9:s: and CO shows :as Q :h:. I'm liking my chances since there should now only be a max of 4 hearts in the deck. Turn is 10 :c: and the river is the dreaded 2 :h:. I rebought another $100 lost it and called it a night. My Father fared much better (I think he made $150 or so profit).
First two nights and one day I was still up roughly $340 so was not too dissapointed.
Star Wars slot machines...is there ANYTHING that George Lucas won't licence?
Glad to see that admist all the glam and glitz you stopped to pay attention to the little details!
NO! Reminds me of that scene in SpaceBalls with the merchandising store. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I used to have bed sheets with Ton Tons on them!
I love STARWARS penny slots.
The last time I was in Vegas (back in Augest) on the First Day I saw them I dropped a dollar in, after a few spins I had $11.00 and cashed out. My friends started calling me 'Penny Slots"
I didn't play them until the last day just before we checked out after breakfast I saw another one and decide to drop $20.00 into it. I bet max and then hit the spin button. I ended up getting a 'DEATH STAR' bonus. I had to pick TIE Fighters to shoot, Stormtroopers to Shoot, and decide who would win between VADER and OBI-WAN. After all that I got a ton of credits. After figuring out the math I had over $80.00 At which point I quickly cashed out. Not bad for one spin.
There I am showing the STARWARS Penny Slots some love