My $1 Chip Collection From Vegas

Screenshot 1
This first frame features $1 poker chips from all the twenty rooms that I played in during my tour. They are from the rooms that you can play in on the main part of the strip. 

Screenshot 2

This batch are the $1 chips that you can get along the whole strip but which are not included in the above panel. The top row are from casinos in the main part of the strip that do not have a poker room. The bottom row, with the exception of Encore (which uses the same $1 chip as Wynn), do have poker rooms but these casinos are located more on the peripheral edge and I chose not to play in them.    

Screenshot 3

These $1 chips were collected from the Fremont Street area of the city. Some had poker rooms, some did not - but I managed to go round these casinos and pick up all these chips within about 30 or 40 minutes.

Screenshot 4

These chips were a right royal pain in the arse to collect and took more time and effort than the above. It required a shuttle to the Rio from Harrah's and then a trek in the roasting heat across wide open car-parks and vast main roads to pick up the ones from the Gold Coast and Palms:

---------------

SEPTEMBER - UPDATE #9

As September draws to a close, and the new month approaches, I have to say that, as far as the game of poker is concerned I'm not particularly unhappy to see the back of this month. Over just a few days earlier in the month, online poker gave me such an almighty kick in the teeth that I really do think I'm done with the online arena until the end of the year. Furthermore, with such a busy schedule regarding non-poker activities, I've only had time for the one single live poker session - and even that was a disappointing affair which had me cursing The Fox Poker Club and costing me £40 into the bargain!  Not exactly a prolific month at all:


MONTH--------LIVE POKER---------ONLINE POKER------TOTAL(MTH)---RUNNING TOTAL

January----------   + £960   ----------------   - £520   -----------   + £440   --------- + £440
February---------  + £740   ----------------   + £60    -----------   + £800   --------- + £1240
March------------   - £230   -----------------   + £810  -----------  + £580   ---------- + £1820
April---------------  + £70   ------------------   - £700   -----------   - £630   ---------- + £1190
May--------------   + £370   -----------------   - £90   ------------   + £280   --------- + £1470
June-------------   + £340   ------------------  + £440   ----------   + £780   ---------- + £2250
July----------------  -£220  --------------------   +£100  -------------   -£120  ------------ + £2130
August-------------  +£285  ------------------  +£240  -------------- +£525  ------------ +£2655
September--------   -£40  -------------------   -£340  --------------  -£380  ------------ +£2275

---------------

I'll certainly not be at the tables over the next few days so this chart is definitely it for September. (It is the first month where I'm down at BOTH the online game and the live game.) With 3 months to go before it's sayonara from the blog, my main attention is now turning to my live poker campaign for October which is going to be very interesting indeed after such a long absence from my old haunts. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get to the tables this weekend as I need to return a car to the south coast - but I MAY play a little 50p/£1 at the Gala in Bournemouth if I can motivate myself to get out there. That just depends on how I feel. Overall, I'm looking at playing the £1/£2 live cash games (mainly at The Empire) with a £2K bankroll until the end of the year. Then, I plan to relaunch my poker career (again) with a new and improved mindset (and blog-free) in the new year.

As far as online poker goes, I still find no reason to return to the virtual tables and to deposit any money online. As I'm still reporting to the blog and have finished up exactly break-even for the year, I'm actually thinking of freezing all my online play until the new year when I won't have to report to anyone but myself  - and when I won't feel so much pressure to end up in the black!

---------------

So there it is. Pretty much a break-even stretch all the way through July, August and September - but also, interestingly, a definite "nit-it-up" attitude after being hit for quite a lot during the spring-time. I really hope I can build a little bit up over October so that I can end the year with a cheer come the end of December...

Let's Go!!!

VEGAS: 28th August (General)

Day 12: Sunday 28th August (General)

Today was departure day and like most holiday departure days, knowing that you have to leave it all behind and that you're going to be back to your usual routine very soon, it was all pretty grim. Loaded down with a full suitcase and a backpack of hand luggage there was no way I was going to wander around Vegas so I decided the best thing to do, after check-out, was to just sit on a comfy chair at Harrah's sportsbook for a few hours and watch the mind-numbingly boring baseball on the big screen.

The Bell Trans bus arrived at the Harrah's pick-up point early and soon enough I was seeing my last bit of Vegas - the wasteland that is the stretch from behind the strip to the airport. The extra two hour delay at McCarran Airport did not exactly lift my spirits but I was pleased that the journey home went almost as smoothly as the outward one to Vegas.

---------------

Looking back, although I had an absolutely smashing time, there are just a few things I would change on my next visit:

1.  Eleven days was probably a tad too long. I booked 11 days to cram two weekends in but by the end of a week, you certainly feel that you've had your fair share of poker. 7 days maximum is about right. 

2.  I would visit less poker rooms and essentially stick with just the big ones. Of these, Wynn, Aria and MGM were my favourite. (This is not a regret as visiting many rooms was my plan.)

3.  I would play for much longer periods at each table and, hopefully, maybe, for higher stakes - but that really depends on whether I'm able to break out of my nitty attitude and become a better player. 

4.  I would eat more healthily and certainly tuck into more of those all-you-can-eat buffets.

5.  I would NOT change £2000 into $3200 in London before jetting off. I would change a little bit first and then bring over the £££s to Vegas and then change them into $$$s as and when I need them while in Vegas. This error cost me around £90 (!!) in commission fees when I came back to London and changed all my unused $$$s back into £££s.

---------------

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading "Wobble's Whistlestop Whirlwind Tour of Vegas" and that you had as much fun reading it as I had in writing it up. (It's actually quite gruelling and a bit of a challenge but very therapeutic and rewarding.) And just as this retrospecive trip report comes to an end, after over a 3 week break from the live game, it's probably time for me to dive back into the fray at the good ol' Empire in Leicester Square to face my old adversaries again. This I shall do when the new month starts in October, in a week's time.

---------------

I will leave you with (in no particular order):

My Top 10 Vegas Moments

1.  Finishing a winning session at the MGM at 6:30 in the morning and being greeted by the magnificent Statue of Liberty and the New York / New York facades, along with the spires of Excalibur, as I made my way out onto the Tropicana bridge on a perfectly cool morning. 

2.  Looking up at the silhoutted Bellagio building, towering above like a giant, as the Bell Trans bus turned out of the Flamingo to take me to Harrah's as I arrived in Vegas.

3.  Touchdown in Vegas as the plane arrived and I looked out at the sphinx and pyramid of Luxor along with the golden panels of Mandalay Bay, knowing that I would finally be right there in an hour or so.

4.  The game at Flamingo where I had the biggest LOL moment that I've ever had at a live game in my entire life with complete strangers - and with a person who I thought was a bit of an a-hole when I first sat down.

5.  Tucking into the biggest burger I have ever seen in my life at Hash House a Go Go - after savouring a complimentary biscuit with maple syrup and butter (but which was actually a deliciously made sponge cake).

6.  Sitting down at O'Shea's on a glorious morning and looking up at Caesars Palace and Bellagio while people watching and sipping beers - all while playing my favourite card game - and winning! Then listening to the little fella doing his patter!!

7.  Strolling down the strip with a beer in hand, people watching and just being in Vegas baby!

8.  The moment I sat outside on a low wall outside Bally's while listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" blast out the speakers. It was a Saturday night, with beer in hand and I was looking up once again at Caesars Palace - knowing that I was going to play me some poker at Bellagio. 

9.  The creepy moment when everybody exited the monorail leaving just me in the whole car and dropped me off at the last stop in a totally deserted place. Creepy but memorable.

10.  Sitting down to a table at Bill's and discovering that I was speaking to the father of a kid who I had once taught at the present school I am teaching at!

--------------     

 Of course, there were so many more memorable moments, and I could go on, but we'll leave it at that. 

--------------- 

So now I'm back to normal. Vegas has been and gone, the trip report has been written up, the daughters are comfortably ensconsed at university and I've been back at work for 3 weeks now and am getting back to all the normal routines. (Well, minus the daughters being around.) My plan for the blog now is to mainly cover my live game exploits which I hope will kick-off big-time in the month of October. With all the above stuff going on this month, September has just been dead, for me, poker-wise. My brief online run was God awful and I have absolutely NO impulse to deposit on PKR anytime soon. So here's looking forward to the last 3 months of the year!!

---------------

FORWARDS AND ONWARDS TO VICTORY!!

VEGAS: 27th August (General)

Day/Night 10: Saturday 27th August (General)

Today was my last full day in Vegas so let's be truthful; days 1-4 were totally amazing, days 5-8 were great but dampened just a tad when results took a slight hit and by day 9 I'd pretty much had my fill and had drastically reduced my playing time at the tables. Regardless of this, I was determined to make sure my last day was special so I grabbed me a can of Fosters and wandered down the strip in a southerly direction.    

After wandering around Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur one last time and noting the extortionate prices on all the souvenirs for sale in the shops inside those casinos, I realised that Walmart (between MGM and Planet Hollywood) sold many of the exact same items for much cheaper and so headed in that direction. Another idea I had by the way, was that on my next trip, instead of collecting $1 chips from each casino I might just buy one T-shirt with the casino name on it from each place. Yep, that'll be around 25 T-Shirts but for around $300-$400 I reckon it'll make a nice collection.

Anyway, I get to Walmart and start splashing out on luxury items for the family. First up, it's a couple of mugs for a couple of mugs (my two daughters). They look a bit like this:

 

The mugs that is, not my daughters. They're not exactly like this as they have palm trees silhouetted in the background and one is the sign at daytime and one is the sign at night time. The daytime one was for the younger daughter cos she's bright and innocent while the night time one was for the older one cos she's dark and evil.

I get to thinking that my generosity knows know bounds and next up, I splash out substantial dollars on this tasteful oven glove for the missus:

And if she's not grateful for that I'll give her a sound thrashing.

For myself, I bought a twin pack of Royals plastic playing cards for my collection. At $5 for the two decks, these cards, made in Taiwan, are by far the cheapest plastic playing cards on the market. They are wafer thin and nowhere near the quality of yer Kems or yer Copags but as they are plastic rather than plastic coated I would take these any day over any plastic coated deck. As an impulse buy, I threw in a $1.99 blackjack strategy card as well. I held back on picking up a nice Las Vegas 100 chip set for $15 as the missus is sick and tired of my chip set collection clogging up the house. (She wears the trousers really.) They woulda been nice though.

 

---------------

With the magnificent gifts purchased, I decide that it's probably about time to play a little blackjack. I may have come here for poker but you can't come all this way to Vegas and not have a flutter in the true sense. I decide to sit down with $100 at one of the few tables that offer $5 a hand - and that's at good ol' Bills' Gamblin Hall. It turns out to be a good craic as I start chatting away to a young German lass who's here with her boyfriend. It really does make the whole Vegas thing more enjoyable when you have a good ol' chat at the tables. I even end up $20 to the good, so there it is.

With the blackjack buzz taking hold, and $60 to the good at the game, it's time to get myself off to the Rio for the Penn & Teller show. Before this though, I remember seeing the $14.99 sign for the Gold Coast's all-you-can-eat buffet from my visit there the other day so I promptly trek across the huge car-parks and main roads to get a slice of their culinary action. Ok, I'm no Cordon Bleu expert or connoisseur of fine dining but in my experience, albeit vastly limited, this buffet is the top when it comes to value-for-money. Tops I say.

Anyway, after I wander back over to the Rio - and proceed to blow all the $60 I had won earlier (at blackjack and electronic roulette), it's time for a bit of Penn & Teller. Now I hate to say this, as I had heard good things about it and was looking forward to it but it turned out to be...well, just a bit lame. Penn Jillett's vocal delivery sounded pedestrian, dull and automatic like he'd been doing the show for ten years (which he had) and, likewise, Raymond Teller just seemed a bit stiff and to be going through the motions. Also, at about $100 a head with a capacity audience of about 1000 people I guess I expected to see them splash out a bit more on the production and props. 

The tricks were good but, by today's standards, fairly bog-standard. With the exception of the nail gun stunt and the magic bullet, the tricks were kind of what you'd might see at an ordinary theatre in a small town being performed by an ordinary magician. And I'm sure they've been done in the same form or other by many magicians of yesteryear. I was also disappointed that at the end of the magic bullet trick, only the "gun experts", that were on stage, checked their mark on the bullets while no member of the audience were asked to verify it. A small point, maybe, but a big screen in the background to film those marks being made and to check them at the end would have made the trick much more believable.

---------------

Anyway, despite all of that, it was a nice touch that when they exited the theatre they stopped outside for autographs and a chat - and I am still glad that I went to see them.

Straight after this, it was the free shuttle ride back over to Harrah's. It was a shame that my stop-loss limit had run out but, there again, I don't think I would have been in the mood for poker anyway. As it was, it was an early night so as to be bright and fresh for the long trip back to London the next day.

VEGAS: 26th August (Poker)

Day/Night 10: Friday 26th August (Poker)

SESSION #29

Bill's Gamblin' Hall

$0.50/$1

Brought In For: $122

1:30PM-3:30PM

2 Hours

For any amateur poker player out there, who just wants a gentle start to their poker trip, I would recommend Bill's Gamblin' Hall anyday. It is centrally located slap bang in the middle of the action, it has the lowest no-limit stakes anywhere on the strip and the players are generally friendly and good-natured with very few, if any, pros in sight. 

After a 48 hour break from the game, I felt bright and fresh and ready to go for this session at Bill's. As I mentioned before, being the ultimate nit that I am, I had already decided to lock up $500 profit (of the $622 that I had made on the trip) and use the $122 "surplus" for the rest of the trip and as a stop-loss amount. I was happy to play at this friendly table and, like my very first session here at the start of my trip, found it fairly easy to read the other players.

Playing safe ABC poker and avoiding any difficult decisions for large sums, most of my profits here came from the table donk who I was able extract money from by playing bog-standard value bets. One of these hands was where I held AJ and saw the ace on the board and the other was where I held AA and made him pay a fair price to chase whatever it was he was chasing. Of course, I was happy to get back to winning ways and felt it was the boost that I needed.

---------------

Soon after, I used my reward card for a comped all-you-can-eat buffet and decided to transfer the $20 that I would have paid, over to my poker balance to give it a further boost. As this comped meal was a result of poker playing, I considered it to be a kind of $20 live-poker rakeback payment.

Profit/Loss For Session: +$52 (plus $20 rakeback on the comped meal)

Profit/Loss For Day +$72

Profit/Loss For Trip +$694

________________________________________________________

SESSION #30

Mirage

$1/£2

Bought In For: $194

5:30PM-6:30PM

1 Hour

Now I want to enjoy the Love show that I'm about to see and it's probably not wise to play poker just before it starts because if I lose my buy-in I just know I won't enjoy the show as much. The bad news is that I do end up losing a sum of money; the good news is that it's only $44 which still leaves me $150 to muck around with afterwards. I'm not happy, though, to donk off $50 in this hand:

Key Hand #1

I hold AK in the small blind and see Mr Good/Tight player throw in $12 from late position. I had not seen him play a single hand since sitting down but judging by his body language and the way he holds himself at the table, consider him to be quite competent. I elect to smooth call and see what the flop brings. I'm happy to see K Q x fall on the flop and equally happy to check raise his $15 up to $35 - but completely flummoxed when he goes and announces all-in! As I say, this was the first time I had seen the guy in action and he was now putting the question to me while I held top pair/top kicker. 

Maybe it was because I didn't want to end my poker trip right there with a dodgy call, but the fact that he seemed so tight and then went for out and out aggression against my check-raise had to mean he had QQ, KK or AA. He may have even had AK but I wasn't going to risk so much for the chance of getting my $50 back. 

---------------

Luckily, I found top pair/top kicker later on and managed to recoup the loss from the above hand. But with no real cards or opportunity to weave any sort of magic I was actually quite happy to be just $44 down and to be able to fight another day with $150.

Profit/Loss For Session -$44

Profit/Loss For Day: +$28

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$650

____________________________________________

SESSION #31

Bally's

$1/$2

Bought In For: $150

9:30PM-10:15PM

45 Minutes

I've just seen the "Love" show and I leave the Mirage buzzing from Beatlemania. I have a choice: (1) Either  have a beer or mill around aimlessly on a lovely Friday night in Vegas safe in the knowledge that I've done a fair job at the poker tables in Vegas AND have $150 to spend at the tables tomorrow. Or (2) Go the greedy option and see if I can spin up just that little bit more - but be aware that if I lose my buy-in I'll have to force myself not to play poker tomorrow.

I go for option number 2 and the worst case scenario hits me full in the face.

Key Hand #1

It's not really going very well and the table doesn't seem to be THAT soft either. I've been playing for just over 30 minutes and I just feel stuck - not a good feeling. I look down at A 5 of clubs in early position ( I may have checked in the BB but I can't remember) and find myself sticking around for the floppydop. It comes Q 10 10 with two clubs (I think you can guess the rest). The turn gives me the nut flush and so I throw in $20 which is called by one player as the rest fold. I hope he just has the 10 but I can't really discount the full-house. Now this may sound a bit weird but I bet $20 on the river with the nut flush - more as a probe bet than anything else, and he raises it up to $60! Of course, the hand where I threw away a winning baby flush for the sake of $40 comes to mind  - and I just don't think I can fold here. He shows me the bad news - yep, Q 10 for the flopped full-house. Oh well.

Key Hand #2

I'm down to my last $70. I don't tilt easily, I really don't but I just feel like gambling with this last $70. It's not pissed-off tilt particularly (well, maybe a little) but in the context of my trip as a whole, I just want to double-up or quit. The chance comes when I announce all-in while holding two spades and see two spades arrive on the flop. I've been playing wildly since my nut-flush got beat and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the call. Even though I know I'm behind, I'm at that stage where I don't give a flying fuck whether he calls or not. He makes the call with top pair and I hope (in the true style of a fish on tilt) to hit my flush but fittingly, and deservedly for that matter, I don't get the help that I don't deserve and leave the table in ignominious fashion. And my dreams of playing any more poker in Vegas during this trip disappear in a puff of smoke right there!

------------ 

Looking back at the 8 days of poker that I had, I guess it's disappointing to end the trip on such a low. However, Key Hand #1 (above) was my only real cooler of the tour while the final hand was the only bit of bad play which was tilt-induced. When I consider the bigger picture and the good start that I had; that I was around $780 up after just 6 days - there really is no reason for me to feel downhearted and I consider the trip to be a huge success. The variety of memories that I had at all those different tables with all those different players in all those different poker rooms makes this by far the greatest experience I've had as an amateur poker player - it's the nuts baby!

--------------- 

FINAL SCORE:

Profit/Loss For Session: -$150

Profit/Loss For Day: -$122

Profit For Trip: +$500

---------------

My final two Vegas reports will just consist of how I spent my last full day in Vegas and the last morning on the Sunday. Also, as a self-confessed geekoid, I don't think my trip report would be complete without my "Top 10 Vegas Moments."

VEGAS: 26th August (General)

Day/Night 10: Friday 26th August (General) 

This morning, I felt it was time to get some photos done for the blog. This meant one last walk all the way down to the MGM and NY/NY for a photo of me in front of NY/NY which has the most impressive facade of all the strip hotels. You can see these photos at my post entitled; "Pics and Chips".

Now I'm not much of a camera expert but the main problem here was that I was using my daughter's antique Vivitar digital camera, which I had never used before. It's where you have to press the button half way down, momentarily, and then fully press the button to take the picture. As I had to ask complete strangers to take pictures of me in my full Wobblebottom regalia it was kind of an awkward moment when the guy who took the photo asked if it was ok - and I couldn't figure out how the hell to check if it had actually been taken! Anyway, he was very understanding and patient, took another one in case the first was no good - but through my incompetence with technology was STILL unsure if it had actually been taken and saved properly. I just had to thank him and hope that it was all right after all.

After this, I do a terrible pose in front of the Bellagio and Caesars palace for the next photo and regret not just turning around and have one taken of me in front of Paris. That's ok though, cos the little fella is outside O'Shea's doing his patter and it certainly would have been the biggest regret of all, had I not taken a photo of him and me by the O'Shea's sign. I then get one photo taken of me next to the Harrah's sign and one of me doing a silly razzle-dazzle pose by one of the Harrah's harlequins.

At 1:30PM, it's time to see what I can do with $122. With a total of $622 made on the trip I had an interesting but enviable dilemma: Do I just extract $122 from my winnings and use this as my stop-loss amount, knowing that the worst case scenario will be that I leave Vegas a $500 winner? Or should I just carry on as normal, buying in for full amounts, throwing caution to the wind and go for broke in true Vegas style (or at least break-even)?

For better or for worse, I decide to go for the stop-loss option. This is a typical decision. I know that if I ever want to take my game to the next level I HAVE to stop putting these petty stop-loss limits on my game because stop-loss limits almost always inevitably mean "when" the money runs out rather then "if." Nevertheless, yet again, I go for the conservative option and establish myself as one the games most average nits. 

At 1:30PM, almost 48 hours after my last poker session, I plonk the $122 on the table at Bill's for Session #29 and am pleased to have a comfortable winning session by spinning it up to $174. After this, it's time to try one of these all-you-can-eat buffets. At this late stage of my trip I have accumulated over 20 hours of play at the poker tables of Caesars properties and so use this reward card to pay the $22 or so for the lunch-time meal:

As I was so pleased with Harrah's, I decided to stay loyal to the place and eat right there. The meal was an absolute winner, of course, and I ask myself why I had left it so late to go for one of these buffets in the first place. As I was a first-timer, I was kind of unsure what to do but went for the Mexican option first, leaving space for a second helping which was the seafood option. This was all followed by a sumptuous cheesecake (minus the buttery biscuit base) from the dessert section which was an absolute delight.  As it was a comped meal, I decide to transfer the $20 I would have paid for it over to my poker money - meaning I still had $194 to play around with at the tables.

With my appetite fully satiated by the banquet at Harrah's, I head on over to the Mirage and blow $44 at the poker table before I take my seat for the 7PM Cirque De Soleil: Love show. It's a circular stage and I sit right up high at one of the outer circles but this is fine. I start to wonder if there is going to be any sort of plot but as the spectacle unfolds it's all about tumblers, acrobats and trapeze artists wearing a sparkling array of magnificent costumes all swirling and dancing and rollerblading to The Beatles' tunes.

The choice of Beatles tunes is spot-on, consisting as it does of mainly all their finest sounds from their mid to late era. It's all pretty wild and crazy with plenty of memorable moments but the highlights for me has to be: the roller-bladers swirling around to "Help" (one of the few earlier Beatles numbers included); the bizarre piece where jelly-fish type "beings" just hang from the ceiling, all set to the double-tracked(?) rendition of "Octopus's Garden"; the tap-dancing/rollerblading stomping routine set to Lady Madonna; and the piece where they trampoline and bounce off nets around a red telephone box in the middle of the stage. (I've forgotten the song that was playing to this.) The "Hey Jude" / "Sgt Pepper's" finale was also good, if not a little predictable, but all told it was a worthwhile break from my usual routine. 

After this I really should have stayed on a high and let the invigorated feeling, that the show had injected into me, linger a little longer. I should have kept away from any poker tables and enjoyed the rest of the evening doing non-gambling type things safe in the knowledge that I still had a comfortable $150 to play around with tomorrow on my last full day. What did I do? Took it to Bally's and ran a nut flush right slap bang into someone's flopped full-house that's what. But worse still, ended up tilting my last $70 away on a flopped flush-draw against a villain who was never going to fold. 

Therefore, instead of looking forward to spinning up that $150 at the tables tomorrow, Saturday was going to have to be spent where I would have to force myself NOT to play poker - just to preserve the $500 profit made. Not the best end to the trip, but still; you pays yer money and takes yer chance.

VEGAS: 25th August (General)

Day/Night 9: Thursday 25th August (General)

With 15 hours in bed and not due to a hangover, I reckon I really needed that sleep! Yesterday afternoon signalled a full week in Vegas consisting of 28 poker sessions varying between 30 minutes and 4 hours and an insane amount of walking. Yesterday, was also where I suffered my biggest loss in one day and although it wasn't a huge amount ($157) I figured that I just needed a day away from the felt. Today, then, was all about doing that non-poker stuff that just had to be done while I was in Vegas and while I had the chance:

11:30AM - After emailing home and reading that the missus really wanted me to go visit a show, I decide to zip across the street to The Mirage to book a seat to see the Cirque De Soleil Show: Love.

12:15PM - I jump on a Deuce Bus, outside the Venetian, with the intention of paying $3 to go to Fremont Street but am told that a ticket costs $5 for a one-way trip and $7 for 24 hours! (No prizes for figuring out what is the best value-for-money.) Consequently, I decide to jump off the bus at Riviera in order to finally pick up $1 chips from the 3 casinos in the north part of the strip before heading onto Fremont Street. (As the cost of riding the bus for 24 hours is so cheap, I'm now beginning to understand why the monrail is so quiet.)

12:20PM - After picking up a $1 chip from the fairly nondescript Riviera, I cross the street to Circus Circus and do the same over there.

12:30PM - I start the long hot walk up to Stratosphere and it's a lot tougher than you might think. The heat is incredible and apart from the ghostly view of the abandoned Sahara there is just not much to look at in this part of town at all. I'm surprised to see a homeless person, uncovered by any sort of shade, begging at the side of the road; with not many people out and about on this stretch it has to be one of the worst places in Vegas to beg.

1PM - I pick up the $1 chip from Stratosphere and then cross the street to pick up another Deuce Bus to do the Fremont Experience once and for all. At the bus-stop I get chatting to a strange woman who is visiting Vegas from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in order to work but is finding it very difficult to find anything but it's always a bit unnerving when you get chatting to someone and they suddenly ask you if you have any spare lose change.

1:15PM - I arrive at Fremont Street and, after looking up at the huge curved roof that covers the place with its thousands of light-bulbs, decide that to experience the experience properly it would probably have been wiser to have visited in the evening. Nevertheless, after visiting 29 casinos in a week, visiting 9 new ones just doesn't have the same appeal as when I first touched down and this ends up being a flying visit that just involves picking up $1 chips from each one - and I do this within the hour.

2:15PM - I grab a front seat at the top of the Deuce Bus to head on back to the strip and get to see a bit more of Vegas. There are plenty of dodgy looking establishments including a fair share of strip-clubs and cheap-looking bars. It's fairly characterless and all just a bit seedy and I can't see why anyone would ever come to Vegas on holiday to frequent these dives. The tower of the Stratosphere dominates the view and I look up and see the ride they call Insanity at the top. I tell myself that I really need to take that ride before I leave - but unfortunately, I chicken out and never get round to actually getting up there.

3PM - I get off at the Fashion-Show Mall and head on over to Encore to pick up a $1 chip but am disappointed to discover that it's exactly the same as the ones they use at Wynn. After then picking up a copy of Bluff Magazine from Wynn it's a walk back to Harrah's for a cool beer and relaxation.

4PM - I decide that visiting one show while out in Vegas is not enough. Quite a few people have mentioned Penn & Teller while I've been out here so I grab a shuttle over to the Rio to buy a ticket for the Saturday evening show.

4:30PM - While out at the Rio I figure it's an opportunity to pick up three $1 chips from Rio, Gold Coast and Palms. The casinos seem close together but just the walk from place to place as a round trip is an absolute killer in the heat. The wide open roads, car-parks and the driveway up to the Palms that you have to traverse really does mean the distance travelled between them is more than you think and it definitely beats the stretch covered from Circus Circus to Stratosphere for exhaustion.

5:30PM - I take the shuttle back to Bally's and take another rest at Harrah's.

8:00PM - After all that walking, I've built up an appetite and so set off to a place where I've heard they know how to feed their customers - it's the Hash House A Go Go at Imperial Palace. I am NOT disappointed. Prior to being served the biggest burger I've ever been served in my life, the waiter asks if he could tempt me with one of their special biscuits. This is no "cookie" but a delicious sponge-type cake complete with maple syrup and butter. After eating just half of the biscuit, and not wanting to ruin my appetite completely, the huge burger arrives acompanied by melted cheese and mushrooms. Now I've been known to eat large portions of food and even though I purposely hadn't eaten all day (to build up my appetite for this meal) I was struggling at the half-way stage, managed to eat another quarter but just had to leave the rest. I hate to leave any food after paying for a meal at a restaurant but I totally got my money's worth here. Oh, and the biscuit (delicious sponge-cake) was, indeed, complimentary - I wasn't charged a penny for this!

9PM - Stuffed, bloated and exhausted I'm out for the count as soon as my head hits the pillow.

---------------

Tomorrow, it would be back at the poker tables.

VEGAS: 24th August (Poker)

Day/Night 8: Wednesday 24th August (Poker) 

 

SESSION #25

Bally's

$1/$2

Bought In For: $280

10AM-10:30AM

30 Minutes

It takes about 15 minutes before I realise that I'm paddling in a shark-pool. Raises are flying in left, right and centre and there is zero room for manouevre. I play KK quite badly but sense after this hand that were I to stay, my money will only go one way - and it ain't back in my pocket. I get up after just 30 minutes, $70 poorer and to find calmer waters.

Key Hand #1

We're about 3 or 4 hands in and I decide I like the look of my 10 J on the button. I forget the preflop action but I find myself heads-up with the BB as the flop comes 8 9 J. With a straight draw and top pair I'm happy to see the villain throw in a bet of $6 but decide just to smooth call which may be weak in late position and with that strong draw. The turn brings a fairly unpleasant looking 8 and my villain elects to check. I don't see him as particularly tricky and sense weakness so throw in a $12 bet - which is then met with a raise to $30!

 

As it's just $18 to call and I figure I have 10 outs (the 7s, the Qs or a Jack) I calculate that, with implied odds brought into the equation, I'm priced in and it's definitely worth throwing in the extra $18 to see if I can hit. The river brings a horrible Ace with the added possibility of gifting my villain with a flush as well. As he flings in another $50, I reckon it's curtains and I let the hand (and the $40 I contributed to the pot) go.

Key Hand #2

With some tables you just feel like it's not going to be your day and after the above hand, there really was the possibility that I was just being outplayed. This hand rang alarm bells and confirmed it: I'm in early position and just wondering how on earth I'm going to win money from this tough table. I then look down at KK and so put in an $8 bet. Of course I get six, yes SIX, callers. My heart is already sinking before I even see the flop and I feel like a kid in a man's game.

The flop is 6 6 9 which is not that scarey at all but with $48 already in the pot, six calls from quality players AND being first to act (after the BB checks) I feel out of my depth and elect to just check. The button bets $25 and the BB player calls, making it hard not to put him on A6s, a flush draw, or even 99. It's fold or shove time methinks and I elect to just fold and jump ship. With the BB player putting in $100 on the river, I have no regret in just getting away from the table. 

I hate to bandy the word "collusion" around but the play I saw at that table made it definitely the meanest and strongest $1/$2 game I had sat down to in Vegas during my entire trip.

 

Profit/Loss For Session: -$70

Profit/Loss For Day: -$70

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$709

__________________________________________________________________

SESSION #26

TI

$1/$3

Bought In For: $210

12:30PM-1PM

30 Minutes

This session reminded me of the one I played at Tropicana where the players were so at ease with each other that I felt like I had gate-crashed their home game. It didn't help that they made no effort to engage in friendly conversation, were fairly competent and that it it was only a 6-handed game. 

Key Hand #1

I haven't really got involved in any hands but then look down at 88 on the button. I decide to spice things up a little and throw in a $25 bet which is called by two players! The flop comes a dull looking 3 7 J and it's checked to me so I throw in a $60 cbet and get the two folds. (This perhaps shows that they weren't THAT great after all.)

Key Hand #2

I look down at 6 7s in late position and decide to play the hand. The flop comes 7 7 10. I can't remember the action on the flop but an old fella puts in about $12 on the turn. I sense he's strong because he's acting strangely (making an awkward string bet "mistake") and so I decide just to make the call. The river is a blank and he throws in just $15. I think for a while, as the possibility of an all-in crosses my mind, but I just sense he's up to something and is possibly trying to induce this. 

 

I take the "safe" option and just call. Lo and behold, he shows A 7 for the trips and a top kicker to boot. I show the table my 6 7 (to show the table how good I am) and am secretly relieved that I got away with losing only a small amount. I'm happy to see that my 30 minutes are up and get the hell outta there.

 

Profit/Loss For Session: +$12

Profit/Loss For Day: -$58

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$721

__________________________________________________________

SESSION #27

Wynn

$1/$3

Bought In For: $221

1:30PM-4PM 

2 Hours 30 Minutes

 

 

 

 

This session was all about trying to extract as much as possible from Mr Action Man in Seat 10. This guy (of South-East Asian origin) just splashed the pot with chips like they were confetti and it was just a case of waiting (in Seat 2) to get the right hand against him. The table, as a whole, was pleasant and I ended up chatting mainly with a young internet player, in Seat 1, who was also in town for a pool tournament at the Riviera. This guy was extremely competent, talked a very good game and already had a large degree of success at the online game. It was he who mainly relieved the golden eggs from the goose in Seat 10 (to the tune of about $700 when I left the table). Unfortunately a few other players at the table also reaped a few rewards from Mr Action Man so I can't help feeling that I missed an opportunity really.

 

Nevertheless, it wasn't all bad. Although I was down to just an $80 stack at one point, I brought a $100 bill to the table and managed to fight back to break-even when my A J extracted a fair amount from two villains when I saw J x x hit the flop. In all, playing at the Wynn was an enjoyable experience and it will definitely be a venue I will revisit. 

 

Profit/Loss For Session +$1

Profit/Loss For Day: -$57

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$722

_____________________________________________ 

 

SESSION #27

Bellagio

$1/$2

Bought In For: $200

5PM-5:30PM

30 Minutes

With my failure to reap rewards from Mr Action Man at the Wynn, and possibly feeling just a little tilted, this was the session that told me that after one week of solid live poker, I could probably do with a break. 

Key Hand #1

It's almost my first hand and I look down at QJs. It's an unraised pot so I throw in $12 in late position and this is called by Mr Bushy Moustache in the SB who has just $80 in front of him. This alone should have told me that he was probably tight and had a strong hand. 

The flop comes Q x x. I call his $20 bet on the turn and the $30 bet on the river and probably shouldn't have been surprised when he turns over A Q to see that he had top pair/top kicker and had me dominated all the way. I look down at my stack and am vexed to see that I've thrown away around $70 on my first hand! I'm then moved to another table which is just being ruled by a guy sitting on a $800 stack. I stay for a few orbits and leave due to a combination of playing bad and knowing that the table captain is a shit-hot player.  

Profit/Loss For Session: -$100

Profit/Loss For Day: -$157

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$622

___________________________________________

VEGAS: 24th August (General)

Day/Night 8: Wednesday 24th August (General)

After visiting Hooters the other day and picking up a $1 chip, I thought it would be a good idea this morning to get myself up to the 3 casinos in the far north end of the strip (Riviera, Circus Circus and Stratosphere) just to say that I'd visited all the casinos along the strip. I decided to choose the monorail as my mode of transport but this turned out to be a bit of a mistake. 

The thing is, the lack of other passengers in the car kind of freaked me out! The London Underground this most definitely is NOT! I boarded the monorail car at the Harrah's stop and headed in a northerly direction, but couldn't help noticing there were very few passengers in the car. The car then stopped at a place called Convention Center - and every single passenger got off!

Now I watched this film once, I forget what it was called, where a magician is on the subway in New York (or "tube" as we would call it London) and he's doing all these magic tricks in front of this guy. Suddenly, he tells the bloke, "You wanna see me make all the white people disappear?" And then, sure enough, as the train pulls into its next stop all the white folk exit the carriage. The last stops, of course, were the roughest places in Harlem.

So there I was, in an unfamiliar part of the city that I'd never been before, in an empty monorail with absolutely no other passengers on board and heading towards the last stop on the line. What made all this even worse was as I looked out and approached the last stop, all I saw were vast empty roads and stretches of desolate car-parks in the middle of nowhere with no people or law-enforcement in sight. To top it all off I had over $600 in my wallet.

With all things considered, as I exited the carriage and stepped onto the platform, I thought it best to just catch the first southbound car back to the hustle and bustle and get the hell out of there! It wasn't all a wasted journey though as I got to see the impressive Wynn golf course and a spectacular view of many of the major casinos lined up along the strip.

I disembarked at Bally's and then headed on over to Planet Hollywood to play some poker only to get asked - for the first time on my tour - for ID! I tell the guy that I've been to virtually all casinos along the strip, including Planet Hollywood itself (TWICE) and have never yet been asked to show ID. Still, after it's clear that he just ain't budging I just tell him that I guess he's just got to do what he's got to do. I mean, it's not as if I'm suddenly going to get turned away from every place. Incidentally, although the floor manager started to rattle off something about it being a legal requirement - this was the ONLY place that I EVER got asked to show photo ID before allowing me to play poker. Funny, I only played 32 sessions in 20 different places without once being asked for photo ID.

After the shark-pool that was Session #25 I have a $5 blast at video poker and lose the lot very fast. Video poker - now there's a machine to shovel your money into if you want to lose money quickly, I tell ya!

Soon after a stop-off at Harrah's I visit the last two poker rooms on my list, completing the target of playing in all 20 rooms in exactly one week. Treasure Island is a 6-handed shark-pool where I feel like an unwanted player in someone else's home-game - and I'm outta there in 30 minutes. Wynn is a much friendlier affair and is a golden opportunity to win money from the loosest maniac I've seen at a $1/$2 cash game in Vegas. Needless to say his chips end up being added to other players' stacks with only a tiny few added to mine.

Later, I make the dodgy decision to head on down to Planet Hollywood with the mistaken belief that my Caesars' reward card will suffice as a form of ID. It's not; they want photo ID and that's that! To compensate for this disappointment I give the Bellagio a short 30 minute blast and this ends up costing me $100!

With the time at 6PM I suddenly start to feel totally exhausted and decide the best place for me at that point is my bed. 15 hours later, I'm up at 9AM next morning. I must have really needed that sleep!

VEGAS: 23rd August (Poker) - Part 2

Day/Night 7: Tuesday 23rd August (Poker)- Part 2

SESSION #23

O'Shea's

$1/$2

Bought In For: $200
5:30PM-6:45PM
75 Minutes





With my confidence sky high I pop in, for the third time, for a session at O'Shea's. I'm feeling good and decide it'll be OK to keep knocking back those beers that they pump you with so regularly at this place. There is just one memorable hand:

Key Hand #1

It's folded all round to me in late position and I look down at K 7 of spades. In line with my newly-found LAG approach, I chuck in a $5 bet and get called by both blinds. The flop comes 7 9 J with two spades giving me bottom pair and the flush draw. It's checked to me so I throw in a $15 bet. The small blind folds while the villain in the big-blind, another English fella who's a James Sudworth look-a-like, rams it up to $40 which is about half his stack.

With a pair of 7s and a flush draw in the pipeline but feeling frisky and fresh, I decide it's worth a stab at an all-in and push my stack into the middle. He makes the call and flips over 9 J for the two pair. My move may have been a bit suspect but I have plenty of outs including kings, sevens and all the spades. A beautiful spade hits the turn and I collect a $90 on that hand.

Let's just have a peak at what Poker Stove says about it all:

---------------

Towards the end of the session an interesting moment occurs. A good player approaches the table; I know he's good because he's about to sit in an available seat opposite me but weighs up the situation and, seeing my large stack, elects to sit to my left instead. He then proceeds to take out his Ipad which, I assume, is not something a typical player at O'Shea's would usually do.  He also seems pretty confident and, sure enough, does indeed prove to be a fairly competent player.

Anyway, it's the end of a hand and the board is showing 2 3 4 5 of hearts with another unconnected random card. Mr Ipad flips over the Ace of hearts and an irrelevant black 5 for the straight-flush. He wins the hand and as he's scooping up the pot someone then mentions the bonus and the dealer is, in fact, asked if this qualifies as a bonus hand. The dealer then proceeds to say to Mr Ipad, with a cheer, "Yes it is, you've just won $200!" Mr Ipad then cheers himself but only for the dealer to say, "No it's not, only joking." Mr Ipad is evidently not impressed.

I then ask the dealer whether he would have won anything if both his hole cards had played and he answers in the affirmative. I then turn to Mr Ipad and say something consoling like "Well, don't let it tilt you" and he just sits there clearly annoyed and replies, "That's ok, I just won't be tipping the dealer for the rest of the game." We then get Awkwardville for a while.

To be honest, I did feel sympathy for Mr Ipad as I do think it's out of order to be telling players they've won $200 when it's blatantly untrue. In fact, this kind of chimes in with the idea I've read on forums, that decent players really aren't particularly liked by the O'Shea's dealers as they actually want to attract the weaker, party-type players who prefer to splash the cash and, possibly, tip more readily. 

Profit/Loss For Session: +$75
Profit/Loss For Day: +$52
Profit/Loss For Trip: +$699

_______________________________________________________________

SESSION #24

Mirage

$1/$2

Bought In For: $300

7:45PM-9:30PM

75 Minutes

With my brain telling me I'm playing shit-hot poker I head on over to Mirage for the last session of the day. True to form, the game plays out similar to the Caesars Palace session and I find myself playing many pots but picking up fairly small rewards. Fortunately, I'm getting the cards (AA twice, AK and QQ) but unfortunately the table is a serious swarm of nits and, as I say, I'm just not getting paid.

My best win is when I pick up about $80 after my AK hits a straight on the river. I just think that had I been playing at The Empire I would have got paid off a ton. Here, wins come mainly in drips and drabs. It does seem to be generally the case that US players are more nitty overall than UK players with the US folk being happy to sit and wait for strong draws, the nuts or hands very close to the nuts.

This can make them easy to read and predictable and, in actual fact, it can make you play at the table for longer because you just don't feel threatened by that many tricky players.

Profit/Loss For Session: +$80
Profit/Loss For Day: +$132
Profit/Loss For Trip: +$779

_____________________________________________

 

VEGAS: 23rd August (Poker) - Part 1

Day/Night 7: Tuesday 23rd August (Poker)- Part 1

SESSION #21

Harrah's

$1/$2

Bought In For: $200

12:30PM-3:15PM

2 Hours 45 Minutes

There were no harrahs at Harrah's unfortunately; only in the fact that I finally got to sit down at the one cash game table that was going on. (All other times I attempted to play at Harrah's, there was only one table on the go and it was always full.) There should have been joy and happiness, though, with the cards I was dealt in one particular hand - but I messed up. Going into this session I was actually feeling quite confident about bossing tables around with more preflop raises and continuation bets and as I settled in I did start to feel comfortable as the players seemed to be all about playing their hand strength. As it turned out, I left the table $90 down, but it proved to be one of those losing sessions where you actually learn a great lesson and feel like a much stronger player afterwards.

Key Hand #1

I believe I have the image of a strong, aggressive player and I'm chatting away merrily with the English guy on my left as we then both start competing for a pot. The flop has come two diamonds and I hold a further two small diamonds in my hand. As the UTG player, I check which is probably not the best move as I have an aggressive image and should bet to build the pot. Mr English bets $10 and I make the call with my draw. The turn brings the diamond giving me the flush but I choose to check again for deception. He bets $10 again which, I felt at the time, either indicates that he is slow-paying his better flush or is maybe now on the flush draw himself. As he keeps betting (albeit small amounts) I just have a feeling that he may have made a higher flush on the turn. Anyway, I go ahead with the check/call manoeuvre.

Now comes the bit where I out-level myself. The villain's body language indicates to me that he doesn't seem too well at ease at the poker table and through our conversation I determine that he's most certainly not a seasoned poker player. The river comes a harmless card and a non-diamond so I suddenly turn to him and ask if he has the flush which just seems to throw him off-balance a little bit. Of course I should have gone with my read right there as, from his reaction, I now believed I had him beat. I throw in $10 myself but am surprised to see him almost immediately respond by throwing $50 into the pot himself.

As it happened, I was the one with a wishy-washy plan on the river and it was now me who was thrown off balance as I now suspected him to have the hand I originally put him on. (If my plan was more solid, my $10 river bet should have been made precisely to induce a raise - and that is kind of half-heartedly why I made it in the first place.)  For the sake of $40 I throw my cards into the muck as he shows me a pair of 4s which actually made him a straight. Yes, he a good hand that most beginners would believe is the best hand and, yes, he was just playing his hand strength. BUT, as a weak player, he completely ignored the fact that I just may have made the flush on the turn.

As I perceived he was a weak player, and armed with all this information, naturally I should have gone ahead and punished him by making the call - but it was just one of those hands where the out-level demon was out to get me. After telling him "Nice hand - you had me", outwardly I merrily play on but inwardly I'm seething at my own stupidity.

---------------

As I said at the beginning, I felt myself "level up" as it were after this session. As I reflected on the reasons for my actions and pondered the motives behind my moves, the idea that I lost chips began to fade and the knowledge that I gained about myself from how I played became a much sharper and more important consequence. 

Profit/Loss For Session: -$90

Profit/Loss For Day: -$90

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$557

____________________________________________________________________

SESSION #22

Caesars Palace

$1/$3

Bought In For: $400

3:30PM-5:10PM

100 Minutes

Ironically, after my badly played hand from the above session but more aware of my weakness and leaks, I wander across the road to Caesars Palace with plenty of confidence. I'm feeling a bit tipsy and play up to the fact that I forgot that I had already paid the floor manager $400 for chips - and make an attempt to pay another $400 a second time!! I then just turn to the table and jokingly announce that I really should lay off the beer. I don't know whether my cheesy drunken act works or not but as I'm involved in plenty of pots I end up being the table captain.  

Key Hand #1

I have a drunk guy image and also the image of a player who doesn't value money that much. I've been playing aggressively with both good hands and bad and have been involved in a lot of hands. I'm in the SB and look down at the AQ of spades. It's limped all around to a chubby chap in late position who has about $120 in front of him. He throws $10 into the pot and then it's on me.

With about 5 or 6 players in the hand, I reckon it'll be called all the way around if I just call the $10 myself which will mean my useful preflop premium hand will likely turn to mush after the flop. Of course a raise is the standard move but, from his facial expression and body language, Mr Chubby looks like he wouldn't mind going all-in and I really don't want to get involved in a coinflip situation against a weaker player. Interestingly only Mr Old Man in mid-position decides to come along for the ride and makes the $10 call while the rest give up their $3.

It's a dream flop; all spades giving me the nut flush! I Hollywood a little bit and check. Disappointingly it's checked all round. The turn is harmless but I feel I need to put something into the pot to get paid off at all so I put in $25 in an arrogant way. Mr Old Man folds but Mr Chubby calls. On the river, I throw in another $40 and am happy to see Mr Chubby make the call as I take a fair pot.

---------------

Pleased with my performance, I leave the table with $467 and a $67 profit. This doesn't seem like a huge reward for my aggression and the amount of pots I scooped but, once again, this'll be due to the large number of hands I played and the resulting 10% rake that would have been withdrawn from the hands I won. 

Profit/Loss For Session: +$67

Profit/Loss For Day: -$23

Profit/Loss For Trip: +$624

________________________________________________________________

VEGAS: 23rd August (General)

Day/Night 7: Tuesday 23rd August (General) 

There are just two casinos along the main part of the strip that I have yet to visit so first on the agenda today is a little wander over to Caesars Palace. As you'd expect, this is all about impressive pillars, arches and statues of horses, soldiers and various roman gods. At 11:30AM there is only one table of about 3 or 4 players up and running in the poker room and with the All Vegas Poker site having Caesars Palace down as one of the "biggest" along the strip - and with a capacity of 25 tables - this has to go down as a bit of a disappointment.

After more shiny marble, along with impressive fountains and statues in the shopping mall, it's down the first 360 degree escalator that I've been on and onto the last casino to visit on the main part of the strip - and that's the fairly nondescript Mirage. To its credit though and unlike Caesars Palace, its poker room is bustling and full of life.

After this, I need to see the last poker room that I've yet to cast my eyes on and that's the one at Treasure Island. Like Caesars Palace, this poker room is set slightly apart from the rest of the casino. It's fairly small in size but like Tropicana looks almost brand new and is an immaculately clean, tidy and well-kept poker room. There are only two tables in operation, with just 4 or 5 players at each (it could have been a tourney but I wasn't sure) so I decide to wander on over to the Venetian to pick up a couple of poker mags. I decide the time is right to sink a beer so I go back to TI and get me a beer at Gilleys Bar and sit at the table while reading the mags. As I am the only one there, I do feel a bit weird sitting on my ownsome downing a beer but there ya go.

After this I get in some solid sessions amounting to about five and a half hours in total: one is at Harrah's (finally), involving my worst played and most cringe-worthy hand of the trip by far; one session was a fairly tipsy but enjoyable little session at Caesars Palace and the third was at O'Shea's, where I put my hapless villain all-in on the flop and proceeded to hit my flush-draw against him on the turn. 

With the time at about 7PM, I thought it was about time to steer clear of the junk food and partake of a dish at the KGB Burger Bar at Harrah's. Although the name stands for "Kerry's Gourmet Burgers" the design of this place recalls the common idea of what "KGB" stands for and is all red and black with the 40s and 50s Soviet Union / Moscow theme. After being served by the most camp waiter I've ever seen in my life (I think his name was Eduardo or something of that nature) I tuck into an adequate burger and then head on over for a satisfying session at Mirage where I don the "Table Captain" cap and boss the table good by weaving my special magic. Unfortunately by 10PM I'm knackered and my bed at Harrah's, from across the road, starts calling to me. It's a short walk across the road for a very long sleep.

Results-wise, this is where I reach the peak of my trip. After a very small blip at Bally's the next day, I steady the ship at Treasure Island and Wynn before the downward descent begins. In retrospect (with exactly a week of the trip completed) it may have been fitting to have stopped after my Wynn session (after having visited all 20 rooms) but I carried on.

--Anyway, next I'll post details of the four poker sessions that I mentioned in the general report (above).

   

Slowing Down Big-Time

Since getting back from Vegas at the end of August, poker has slowed right down for me these last few weeks making this the quietest month for poker by far this year so far. I've had one live session (the £40 loss) and a 2 to 3 day disastrous online stretch that saw me burn through £340 fairly swiftly to leave me, once again, wondering why the hell I continue to plug away at the online game at all.

The consequence is that I've stopped playing online (yet again). I've also put the breaks on the live game as well but this is more to do with the upcoming university life that my daughters have got to look forward to more than anything else. Last weekend was taken up with getting a coach down to Bournemouth from London to get the use of a car which needed to be driven back from Bournemouth to London so that I could then take the elder daughter's stuff over to Bristol. I then had to drive back to London again!

Next week it's a nice round trip up to Leeds and back to ferry the younger daughter and her gear up there. I'll still have to drive back to Bournemouth from London at some point to drop off the car as well after this - not to mention the fact that I'll have to get the coach back to London again! By this time, I really will have had enough of travelling and bloody public transport and all this, of course, (apart from a fortune being spent on petrol and travelling expenses) means very little time for poker. 

With this going on, as well as shopping trips to get more "essential" items for the daughters, along with family meals out (which they insist on having) means the playing of poker has just not been an option and will unlikely be an option over the coming weeks. What I have left, though, are my Vegas trip reports and once I get a trip to IKEA out of the way tonight (more kitchen utensils, cooking tools, appliances and parting with more cash), I'm really going to try to get a few of those reports out this week.

That's it.