2Tone Vegas Trip Report #10: Flying solo/brand new poker room reviews

[2Tone]

Useful poker content mixed in with lecherous Vegas adventures.

So Mrs. 2Tone was invited to visit her sister for the weekend, and brought little 2Tone to see his cousins. That left me solo with a whole weekend in which to clean out the garage, catch up on paper work, and get the oil changed. Or … a last-minute Vegas trip, made possible by cheap room rates at the Excalibur. Responsibilities deferred.

On my last trip I was down for the WSOP with a crew of 12 friends. With no time to put anything like that together, I’d be a party of one. I wasn’t sure how I’d like this. Would I feel like even more of a degenerate without friends down there with me? Or would it be great to be able to go wherever I wanted, at my own pace? Turns out some of both.

I’d been solo before for work events, and figured I’d be just fine. Also, while I have plenty of Vegas favorites, I wanted to check-out some venues I’d yet to hit.

FRIDAY: Wet Republic, Excalibur electronic live game, Jet

Flew down Friday during the day. First stop was Wet Republic, the MGM pool party. Wet Republic is located beyond MGM’s regular pool, and passing by the crowd of crying kids and overweight elderly tourists helps re-enforce why paying a cover for a separate pool is worth it. $20 to get in, no significant line.

The space is very inviting – it’s dominated by a large, salt-water pool that felt great in the 100+ degree heat. Surrounding the pool are cabanas and day beds (both expensive), but even without, there was adequate place to sit. Gorgeous cocktail waitresses were happy to take orders for overpriced drinks. The music was not as good as some of the other places – hip-hop set was predictable and far too much droning techno.

It took a while to fill up, but by 2 p.m. a good-sized mellow if happy crowd was mingling. As I close in on 40-years old, I was at the upper end of the age spectrum, but no so much that I felt terribly out of place. Overall, it was bit more sedate than Ditch Friday’s at the Palms (my usual spot), but has a much more convenient location if you are staying on the strip.

I left in time to be ready for the grand opening of the new Excalibur poker room Friday night.

The Excalibur is the first poker room in Nevada to feature electronic tables, powered by PokerTek. At the opening, there was a line of about 30 of us, curious to try them out. It took a long time to get going. Each player had to be issued a card, which included getting your ID scanned (in case you lose your card), and selecting a PIN. After about 40 minutes, they managed to get three games spread, including the 4/8 limit game in which I played.

TP had a good post about the tables in a thread a while back. They are all touch-screen, and pretty easy/self explanatory. Still, I found they took some getting used to. The stupidest thing I did at first was give off blatantly obvious tells of my upcoming action. Just because a computer is dealing the cards doesn’t mean the other players can’t see you!

Not everything ran smoothly. Most importantly, the machine raked every pot, even if there was no flop. It even raked chops. Only 25 cents, but still. The PokerTek guys said it was a mistake, and they’ll get it fixed. In the meantime, they are collecting extra money. The machine also took a surprisingly long time between hands, which, coupled with players forgetting it was there turn, negated the speed factor.

It didn’t help that I was over-matched. To my right, and bullying me mercilessly while being a pleasant conversationalist, was TT, the moderator the 2+2 B&M forums. And two seats over to the left was Jim Brier, who literally wrote .

Speaking of authors, also present was David Sklansky. I talked to him for a few minutes. But upon shaking his hand, I wasn’t thinking “This is the hand that wrote the bible on advanced hold ‘em.” It was more like “Did this hand molest the late Brandi H.?”

The game broke after about 45 minutes, and I was stuck for $46.

From there I went over to the Bellagio dinner buffet. $35 bought me all the sea bass, sushi and carrot cake I cared for. Buffets will never reach the level of a true fine restaurant, but the Bellagio and Wynn come damn close.

Next door at Caesars, I found immediate seating at a 3/6 game (4/8 interest list, but no game running). I was glad to be back amongst chips, cards and casual recreational players, even if it meant a higher rake and dealer tokes. Still I couldn’t get anything going, and lost another $40 in about 90 minutes. Not a promising start.

Time to keep moving. I got to Jet, the nightclub at the Mirage, a little after 11, and the line was pretty massive. I’d never been before and wanted to check it out, so I waited, and was inside before midnight. A free pass took care of what would have been a $30 cover charge.

The main room at Jet was wall-to-wall people, as packed as I’d ever been inside a club. Getting to the dance floor or bar meant pushing through a throng of club-goers. A smaller, secondary room had a little more space to move, and another DJ spinning mostly hip-hop, which I liked. He did a clever blend of “The Humpty Dance,” and right on the “My name is …” line, cut to Jay-Z’s “My Name is HOV.”

Out on the main floor, during a Lil’ Wayne verse about “making it rain,” hundreds of dollar bills were dropped from above on to the dance floor. I grabbed a few, making it first time I ever left a Vegas club with more money than when I arrived.

I left after a couple of hours, crashing back at the Excalibur at 4:30 a.m.

Saturday: Excalibur tournament, Bare, Caesars tournament.

Five hours later, I’m back in the Excalibur poker room, feeling a little iffy, Starbucks in hand to provide a much-needed boost. They were having a 10 a.m “check out the new machines” $500 freeroll. Thirty players, top four get paid.

The machines are better suited for tournaments than cash games. When two players are all-in, the screen displays the odds, which was pretty cool. And sidepots are instant and accurate, a big plus.

With small starting stacks and blinds doubling every 15 minutes, there wasn’t a lot of room for play. I made it through the first hour thanks to some poor decisions by the rest of the field.

Not longer after the first break, I had a little more than 3k, with blinds at 200/400 and a 25 ante. In another 10 minutes, they double again. In early position, I shove pre-flop with Ace8suited, hoping to pick up the blinds and antes. Right play? Called by pocket jacks, and I was out in 14th place.

On to Bare, the “European” (topless) pool at the Mirage. $40 cover, no line to speak of. While Rehab at the Hard Rock covers their entire enormous pool area (An acre? More?), Bare is tiny. The pool itself is not that much bigger than average in-ground pool in somebody’s back yard, and doesn’t get deeper than three feet. It’s surrounded by day-beds, and cabanas. The VIP section has another pool with glass walls, making it look like a human fish tank.

The place is run by the Light Group, which also runs many of the Vegas’ best restaurants and clubs. All of their places share an upscale, hip atmosphere.

Inside were maybe a couple of hundred people, with a surprisingly even gender ratio. By mid-afternoon, there are at least a couple dozen topless women sunbathing, swimming, and drinking champagne. It’s a regular boob-athon, with big ones, small ones, tan ones, and pales one (or twos, I guess) all on proud display.

The only real problem at Bare is that, unlike at the larger pools, there is almost no shade available. I assume that was a factor in my early exit, brought on when -- in the middle of chatting with a cute girl from Ohio wearing only a white bikini bottom -- my face starts bleeding. A nose bleed. How sexy and smooth of me.

I realize I badly need to rehydrate, eat something, and get my head right before playing cards that night. I should know this by now, but 110 degree heat is no joke, and pacing is key. Christ, if I lived in this city, I’d have to slow down or I’d be dead in six months.

Showered, fed and dressed, I’m feeling much better by 7:30, and back in the Caesars poker room. I run well in my limit game, and make $90, erasing yesterday’s losses, before the 9 p.m bounty tourney.

I was really excited for this one. $130 gets you 4k in chips, and levels are a full half hour. Every player you knock out earns you a $50 bounty. Forty players, top six get paid.

With plenty of time, I was patient for the first couple of levels, then earned a bounty busting a short stack. A little into the second hour, they break a table, and a huge chip leader arrived at our table – his full house had beat two flushes in a massive hand, and he never looked back. His stack alone had the rest of the table covered combined. This changed the dynamic of the table entirely – unafraid on doubling any of us up, he’d gladly get anyone all-in for the chance to earn another $50 bounty.

Fortunately, I had position on him, which helped me stay out of trouble, plus earn another bounty as he chipped away at the players in front on him.

Midway through the third hour, blinds finally meant something, and we were down to the final table. Chip leader still had no real rivals, and was bullying very effectively. I collected a third bounty, and had now made $150 ($20 profit), and was in good shape to cash, but needed one more big hand. I thought AceQueen suited would be it, and I followed up my 3X pre-flop raise with a pot-size continuation bet on a ragged flop. The button, who had me barely covered, called. Turn was another brick, and it went check/check. By the river, we had a butt-ugly board, and I insta-shoved.

I really thought I could push him off his hand. If I won the pot, I’d be in very good shape. He tanked, and stared at the pot for a while, deliberating. After a couple of minutes, he sighed, called, and turned over a pair of sixes. He had the right odds, and made a gutsy call, and I was out in eighth place. Disappointing end, but a good tournament overall. I’d definitely play it again.

Afterwards, I made a quick tour of a few of the free B-level bars and clubs on the strip. Shadow Bar at Caesars was fun, with bartenders doing tricks a la Tom Cruise in “Cocktail.” Margaritaville had a cover band who cranked out hits by everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Nirvana, so they get points for versatility if nothing else. Hawaiian Tropic seems to under the misconception they are a nightclub with bottle service and a doorman when in reality they are a competitor to Hooters. And with that I was done.


Sunday: Hard Rock, misc notes.

Sunday was Rehab. I’ve blathered about it in prior reports, and it hasn’t changed. Essentially, it’s like being in the middle of a Girls Gone Wild video, or a cheesy spring break movie. Being a degenerate married man delighted to look but not touch (much), I love it. I really should be ashamed of myself. But it turns out aging with dignity just isn’t as much fun.

There was a surprise performance by Akon. I’m not a fan, but each of the four or five songs he energetically lip-synched had been a big hit on top 40 radio, so he must doing something right. And for a guy who had gotten in trouble for his on-stage antics, he wasn’t afraid to mix-it up with the crowd, stage-diving, hugging the girls, etc.

Post-Rehab, I was excited to see the brand new Hard Rock poker “lounge” that had just opened the past Thursday.

They’ve done a great job. The room is top-of-the-line across the board. Electronic lists, very spacious, with very comfortable chairs. There’s a bar that’s pretty loud up near the front, but once you get inside the room, it isn’t any louder than any of the other rooms. Dealers – all female – were attractive, and, at least from what I saw, seemed competent.

While waiting for a limit game to get started, I talked with room manager Houston Waldie, who used to run the room at the Nugget. He said the games have been big – 10/25 NL – at times, and they’ve had three or four tables of NL games running round the clock since they opened.

Alas, nobody wants to play limit anymore, and I won’t play NL cash games anymore, so I left for the airport without having actually played there. But, at least based on what I saw, I’d recommend to it any live NL players.

Misc Vegas Notes:

Both nights, between three or four a.m., I saw the LVPD making what looked like large busts. Five or six squad cars each, and a lot of young minority males sitting on the sidewalk in handcuffs. Gang crackdown? I’m not used to seeing this right on the strip.

I talked for a while with a guy who worked at Jet, who told me the IRS crackdown on the doorman tips has definitely changed the industry. And sure enough the next day at Rehab, I politely/discretely asked one of guys about bypassing the line (which I usually pay $40 to do), and to my utter shock he said “go ahead, sir” and ushered me to the front without pocketing the tip I offered. Is nightclub doorman no longer the highest paying job in the city?

[PShabi]

Quality. Fun read. Recommend it to everyone.

[Spidey44]

Good stuff as always.

[melioris]

another great report in a long line of great reports.

Boobie induced nosebleed FTW!

[Talking Poker]

Yep.

The nosebleed was easily my favorite part of yet another great report.

[Spidey44]

So any thoughts as to the Pokertek tables as far as -

a) will they bring in people that wouldn't normally sit at a casino poker table?

b) will they replace regular tables in other casinos?

I read a couple reports and one guy really was raving about them. He mentioned a few faults that you mentioned, but it sounded to me like he'll probably be more prone to play on them...

I know you can see a lot more hands and there's no dealer toke, but I just enjoy live poker with cards and chips so much more.

[2Tone]

a) will they bring in people that wouldn't normally sit at a casino poker table?

I don't think so. I figure people who don't play at a casino poker table either play online (in which case why bother to go to a casino to do something similar, but where you have to wear pants) or don't play poker (in which case these machines aren't going to make them start). I guess for some new players, the intimidation factor might be less - no worrying about when to act, shaky hands, etc. But at the same time, they are less enticing, so I figure it is a wash.


b) will they replace regular tables in other casinos?

My guess is a maybe at a few, but not most. The Excalibur might well keep them, and have them be a novelty there. And maybe they'll pop-up in a few of the other lesser rooms that don't want to pay a staff, in Vegas and elsewhere. But I think for most B&M players, myself included, chips and cards are part of the experience. After all, they have electronic blackjack, and that hasn't replaced the tables.