Trip Report - Running cold in the heat (Very Long)

[2Tone]

Having been following all of the WSOP coverage obsessively, I headed off to Vegas to experience some of it myself. Within 20 minutes of landing at 10 last Thursday morning, I was sitting in my usual Vegas game, the 2-6 spread at the Excalibur. It was exactly the same as prior visits – low-rent and dingy, especially compared to the new rooms, but full of weak players. But the cards let me down, and I was soon stuck for $50. I treaded water for a while, then decided it was time for a change of scenery.

Over to Mandalay Bay, where I found immediate seating for the 4/8 game with a half-kill. At my table was a Poker Stars qualifier who had been bounced from the main event on the second day, who had some cool stories to tell. The table was aggressive, with no obvious fish. I also had trouble with the 1SB/2BB structure, with a raise pre-flop making it $6 to go. $2 seems a very low price to pay to see a flop with suited one-gappers, even from middle position. The flop would come and I’d hit part of it, giving me enough outs to keep calling, even for two bets. After the turn, I muck, realizing I’d spent $10 on 6-8 suited, which seems idiotic in retrospect. Except a few seconds later when I’m dealt KJ off, and the pattern repeats itself. Add to that coming up with the second best hand on the kill pots, and I end up down another $180 or so. Christ.

Last year, Thursday night’s at RA in the Luxor used to be one of the hottest club nights in Vegas, with DJ Warren Peace (great name) spinning. He’s since left, and while still fun, it wasn’t nearly as crazy as it used to be. People are talking about the re-emergence of Ceasars as a hot spot with Pure and OPM, and next trip I’ll check that out in place of RA. My crew and I saw sunrise Friday morning.

After a few hours sleep, I headed down to Binions for my first taste of the WSOP in-person. It was a zoo! Right outside the casino, Ultimate Bet was the big presence, with a race car and an appearance by pro Russ Hamilton, plus tons of hot chicks handing out free gear. Paradise Poker employed a similar strategy, pimping their upcoming $1 mil freeroll. Meanwhile, Golden Palace.com had a whole area squandered off. Tthey were sponsoring a bot tournament, which was terrifying to watch. Played some 4/8, with standard blind structure, I made back some of my losses from Thursday.

I met our esteemed forum founder for a couple of beers at the Golden Nugget. As expected, he’s a very cool guy, and I got the scoop on his amazing final table appearance. Congrats again TP, and it was great meeting you.

Back at Binions, media, friends and family were allowed to watch the final table in person. For all of us spectators, they were broadcasting the final table on closed circuit TV, with sporadic audio commentary. Camera work was shaky and often out of focus. Combine that with so many unknown players, and it was difficult to follow the action.

One observation – it seemed as much a TV event as a final table. At one point they stopped play for 10 minutes at ESPN’s request, which I can imagine happening at the X games, but not at, say, the British Open.

Outside the main room, Greg Raymer, decked out in Poker Stars gear, was greeting fans, signing autographs, etc. As everybody says, nicest guy you can imagine. I watched for a while, milled about, said hello to Eric Seidel. I’ll definitely check it out again next year, but I’ll go for the first weekend, when you can actually get into the room, and hit the poker trade show, which sounded awesome.

Friday night we hit Palms. Played a little 4/8 with 1/2 blinds, got stuck for another $60. I thought of all places that QQ – the Hilton sisters – would be good here, but I had them twice and lost both times. Rain was packed, the dance floor straight out of Sodom and Gomorrah, and a maximum number of hotties per square foot.

Saturday I played a few of the rooms I hadn’t checked out yet. Big thumbs up to the MGM, which was ultra modern, spacious, good game selection, skilled dealers, and a cool location across from the lion habitat. The 4/8 game (standard blinds, thank god, no high hand or bad beat) was pretty tight, and won a small amount in a couple hours play.

Finished up at Wynn, which has a luxurious room, and plenty of bigger limit players. Lots of 15/30 action, and three full tables of 2/5 NL players, many with several grand in front on them. The 4/8 here, again with those goddamn 1 /2 blinds, had two full on maniacs, but I couldn’t catch a hand to take advantage. Worst hand -- Maniac straddles in EP. With A9 clubs, I raise pre-flop from middle position, hoping to isolate. Two other callers behind me, including the BB. Flop is Q-9-4 rainbow. Bet, one caller, and straddler raises. I 3-bet, caller folds, maniac calls. Turn is another low club, putting two on the board. Maniac bets another 8, I raise, maniac calls. River is the four of clubs, and I’ve got my flush. Maniac bets, I raise, he re-raises. I don’t cap, but expect I have the best hand. Until the fucker turns over Q4 for the full house. Lost another $180.

Having had enough of that, we finished at Tangerine, the lounge at the TI, followed by Cheetahs. There I met a Ukrainian entertainer, who redefined +EV for me.

One final thing – man, was it hot. Official temp was 113, but on the strip with the cars and people and all, it was probably 125. That kind of heat makes it difficult to breathe. We tried walking all of three blocks, and had to stop for water and beer twice along the way.