APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Friday, 25th November 2011
After last night’s debacle I was determined to get some poker in on the last full day in Vegas. Considering the Mirage room was purely HE and It’s not my favourite cash game I decided to try the Venetian again despite the battering I’d been getting there.
Not that I got there until around 2pm. The beds at the Mirage are very nice too, perhaps not quite as comfortable as those at Harrah's but nice enough that I lazed until well after 1pm.
I tried to give the Venetian’s food court a go but the temptation of Stella got the better of me so back to the Grand Lux Cafe it was. The bartender recognised me...they’re kind of good at that and it does help that I sometimes have my name on my shirt. You may mock (and you have) but it does break the ice sometimes.
Anyway, a very nice Reuben sandwich and a couple of Stellas and I was ready to get back at it.
I finally got into a game about 3pm and really hunkered down and ground it out. Within and hour I was up $100 and feeling much more comfortable but then the Americans all decided to head off for an early dinner and we sat short handed for quite a while.
This led to me dropping a few chips just in blinds but I was holding my own. When we finally got back to a full table when I got involved in a hand where I flopped a set with a low on the board and got into a raising war against to players both (I knew) playing the nut low.
Unfortunately the board didn’t pair and ran out all low and I had to let it go after pumping a significant proportion of my stack into the pot.
This depressed the living shit out of me but I wasn’t willing to give up on playing just yet. Battening down the hatches I played locked down poker for another few hours and by 11pm and 7 hours of play I was back over my starting stack and called it a night with a grand total of $62 profit.
I can’t say I’ve broken the back of the Venetian demon but it’s not looming over me any more.
So back to the Mirage for something to eat. I just walked past the queue of people at BLT Burger (who wanted tables) and sat myself at the bar.
A VERY nice turkey burger and couple of Bud Lights and that had me finished off. I went back to the room...no Pete but that wasn’t terribly surprising...he wandered in around 5am just as I was waking up.
So that’s about it really....the season finale of Paulie Does Vegas.
A few random thoughts just to round off.
Firstly, I realised in the can to McCarran for the flight back that I’d done this trip in reverse to my previous few trips. I’d normally do a week on the Strip and then relax off-strip for the second week. Consequently, I was somewhat more tired on this trip that I had expected.
Secondly, I took care of myself a little better than I have before, I ate properly...hell, very well, compared to just grabbing things when I wanted. I was only visited by the bear once and that helped too.
Being with a group is just awesome but it is nice to have some time to yourself.
I didn’t hit up half the places I had planned...I’m not worried, the occasion didn’t arise but I think you would have liked some of the choices, perhaps next time.
I’ve seem some discussion (already) about next year. I still maintain that late in the year (October to December) is the best time...it’s not blisteringly hot, the weather, even late at night is still T-Shirt weather for Brits.
I have the first couple of weeks of November 2012 pencilled in but that’s likely to be another road trip from LA to Vegas (perhaps with a side trip to Laughlin). Still, that’s just the basic outline for now and it’s a long way off.
Peace.
