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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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

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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!!

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FORWARDS AND ONWARDS TO VICTORY!!