2Tone Vegas Trip Report #18 - Small stakes at the Series

[2Tone]

Thurs
After two trips in rapid succession in Dec/Jan, I let my bankroll and liver recover for a few months before heading back to Vegas this past weekend. Flew down on Thursday night, landing at around 9 p.m., at which point it was still over 90 degrees, a much-needed 30 degree swing from a cool Seattle early summer.

Checked in at my usual luxurious accommodations at the Imperial Palace. There’s so much hate for this place, and while of course it can’t compare to Wynn/Venetian (and is a steep step below mid-tier places like T.I or NY/NY) I just don’t care. I’m there to shower and to sleep a couple of hours a night, and pay $40 a night for a great location. The rest of the time I’m elsewhere.
From there I was off to the Cosmopolitan, which is a beautiful all-around property. Cool visual elements everywhere you look, upscale clientele, courteous staff. Sadly, no poker room. I ate at the “hidden” pizza place, which is indeed unmarked, located down a long hallway with no signs. New York style thin-crust, cold beer, and pinball machines – most excellent.
Down on the casino floor, their Book and Stage bar features up and coming indie-band instead of lounge acts, a vast improvement. I watched about a half hour of Young the Giant, who tore through their semi-hit “My Body.”

Around midnight, the line at Marquee, the club at the Cosmopolitan, was insane, so I headed back up the strip to the Mirage, and easily got into Jet, no cover. It was very standard – usual house/hip-hop mix, not all that crazy on a Thursday night.

Leaving at around 2, I was ready to play some low NL against the drunks. O’sheas, with its tables literally just a few feet off the strip sidewalk, seemed to fit the bill. Bought in fairly short for $120 into a game where 10x BB raises were common, and being called in two or three spots. I’m quiet for a couple of orbits, then pick on AK diamonds in late position. It’s raised to $15, then re-raised to $50 before it gets to me. I know then I’m going to be getting it all in here, but flat the $50 with the intention of shoving virtually any flop. Initial raiser folds, and we take the flop heads up. Three, four five, with one diamond. Checked to me, I insta-shove, he calls with Jacks, no help, and I’m down 120. I rebuy for table minimum (donkey am I!), top pair and OESD is no good, and I leave having donated $180.

Fri
Next morning I had breakfast at the Cosmopolitan Wicked Spoon buffet . I went specifically for the red velvet pancakes, which it turns out they did not have, but there were plenty of other delicious options, including eggs Benedict, thick cuts of bacon, and great, custardy cinnamon french toast. Nom nom nom.

From there it was over to the Rio for Ditch Friday, their Friday afternoon pool party. No cover, and it was great to be outside, soaking up the 90 degree sunshine, eyeing the girls in the bikinis, and listening to DJ Jazzy Jeff (of Fresh Prince fame) spin old-school hip-hop. A very fun time.

Later in the afternoon, I crossed the street to the Rio and railed the action at the WSOP. It was quite a change from previous years – fewer sponsors, no Tilt/Stars suites, and in general a more subdued atmosphere. Still, there was plenty of big-time action, with a 10/20 NL game that was playing deep, plus PLO tables where the players were sitting with thick stacks of hundreds.

The ESPN main set/stage, as widely reported, looks incredible. It is huge, with a weird, science-fiction quality to it. Empty at the time, it will probably look terrific on TV, but I can’t imagine playing poker under a thing that looks like it would be more appropriate for a U2 concert set.

I’m enough of a fanboy that I got a kick out of seeing the bracelets, WSOP banners, etc. I don’t know if I’ll ever play another bracelet event, but it fun being at the center of the poker universe.

After grabbing a bite at Earl of Sandwich (Damn, why can’t Quiznos be that good?), I was ready to try and make some money. If I couldn’t beat the 1/2 game at O’Sheas, the next step down is the 50 cent/$1 game at Bills. In a short session, I ran very well, with a few high poker pair, Aces with good kickers, etc. in rapid succession. Villains paid me off, and I made back most of the previous day’s losses in a half hour. At the point, they were starting an absurd donkament, giving me an excuse to hit and run. $30 gets 3000 chips, and levels are a whopping 15 minutes. Best of all, they are taking $10 of the $30 prize pool for rake/dealers. 33% rake? Sign me up!

Quality of play is just what you’d expect. I witnessed players checking behind with the nut flush, and a river bluff bet of 150 into a pot of over 2000. I busted fourth out of 21, making a $10 profit for my trouble.
With the satisfying feeling of money in my pocket, I got in line at Chateau, the new nightclub at Paris. Wait wasn’t bad, and directly in front of me was an attractive, 2Tone-age-appropriate real estate agent, also from Washington. We had fun, drinking and dancing for a couple of hours.

Chateau was an ideal spot. It has a big but crowded dance floor, with a DJ spinning mostly hip-hop. Outside is a balcony overlooking the strip from a few stories up, with another bar and a second DJ playing house. At around midnight, all of a sudden security clears a path, our “host” for the evening, Ciara, parades by. In person, she looks tiny but hot. Also in attendance was Fat Joe, who, is, as advertised, pretty damn fat.

Sat/Sun
Saturday morning I ate the Bellagio, which was a let down from the Cosmopolitan. Once the best buffet in Vegas, it is now a distant third, maybe lower. From there I ambled around the strip, stopping to dump $20 in the new Hangover-themed slot machines, which are more fun then they ought to be, featuring lots of movie sound effects, video clips, etc. To my utter shock, I hit a small jackpot, and doubled my money, and cashed out immediately.

Over at the Mirage, I found a 3/6 limit game. It was fairly rock-infested, and I was treading water for about an hour when I was dealt two black Aces. Before noon, Aces cracked is worth $150. I don’t raise, and a bunch of us see the flop. Checked around, and then on the turn somebody bets out, folding everyone but me. On the river he bets again, and sure enough, he’s cracked my Aces, and I get the $150 bonus. Running good is fun!

Having really enjoyed my straight-razor shave last trip, I booked an appointment at Art of Shaving in Mandalay Place. This barber wasn’t quite as skilled as the previous one had been, but I still left looking/feeling better than usual. On the way in I saw Pete Rose, peddling autographs outside a memorabilia shop. Sad.

Now solidly in the black for the trip, I used $110 of my winnings to buy into the 7 p.m. nightly tourney at Ceasars. Very good structure for that buy-in, with 10k starting chips. With the WSOP in town, the field was over 100, which the dealers said was way more than usual.

Late in the second level I complete from the small blind, and flop bottom two pair, but the board has two spades. I make a pot size bet, and two players call. Same thing on the turn, for a bet of 2500. River brings a third spade. I check, player 1 bets, and I fold without much hesitation.

From there, my good luck abandons me, and I’m dealt a seemingly endless succession of crap hands. I go two more entire levels without playing a hand. Down to just under 4k with antes having kicked in, I open shove with a pair of sixes, and am dominated when a big stack calls with 10s. In retrospect, I’m not sure if I should have tried a few steals back when I had 6k or so. I just kept folding, figuring sooner or later I would get a hand if I was patient enough.

Ah well. I can’t complain. Especially since I booked another small win back at Bills later that night.

Sunday was Rehab, which I’ve written plenty about before. With that horrible TV show off the air, there are no more camera crews, which was a plus. Musical act was Q-Tip (a surprisingly credible act for the venue), who did an abbreviated set of Tribe Called Quest’s greatest hits, but was more interested in promoting his new movie coming out next month. The heady mix of steroids, sluttiness and sunshine remained unchanged from prior visits.
Back home Sunday night, but I’m looking to return in September, this time with my crew.

[Talking Poker]

Just shove that AK preflop. It doesn't change anything in this particular hand, but why let the JJ off cheaper if an overcard flops? Just get it in pre.

Also, your $30 tourney was really a $20+10, so that's 50% rake. LOL.

Great report, as always.