Poker-Themed Stage Show at Venetian

I'm not big on seeing shows when i'm in vegas.
I'm there to play poker !
BUT, I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO SEE THIS ! !


The Venetian Announces Poker-Themed Stage Show
by Shari Geller

The Venetian is bringing poker and entertainment
together as never before with the launch of the
first ever live, interactive poker-themed stage show,
"The Real Deal!". Opening this fall, the show will
bring to the Venetian showroom some of the
biggest names in poker and will combine humor,
technology, prizes, and poker in what is described
as a "wildly-fun, fast-paced action that will entertain
poker enthusiasts and non-players alike."

The show will provide audience members with
a unique opportunity to play against and alongside
the biggest names in poker both on-stage and
from their seats through the use of wireless
touch-screen devices. The roster of pros who
will take part includes Doyle Brunson,
Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth Jr.,
Antonio Esfandiari, Gavin Smith,
Eli Elezra, Jennifer Harman, Phil Laak,
Scotty Nguyen, and Todd Brunson.

"Poker fans have been able to view
and enjoy professional poker action for years
on television," said Doyle Brunson.
"This is different. Everyone in the audience
can be in the game and compete with the pros
and other guests. It is a one-of-a-kind-poker
experience."

The audience will have a number of different
ways to play and win prizes. Six members of the
audience will be selected to compete on stage
against two of the poker pros in a Texas Hold'em
tournament format. At the same time, the rest
of the audience will compete for points via
mobile touch-screen devices mounted on their
seats through wagers on the action and various
prop bets, such as the suit of cards dealt on the flop.

Audience members also earn points for their play
of a virtual "ninth hand" which will compete against
the eight players on stage. The points earned by
audience members can be turned into prizes
ranging from "The Real Deal!" logoed merchandise
to home electronics. Audience members will have a
shot at random prizes, logo merchandise to jewelry
and plasma-screen TVs. About 40 to 50 spectators
should walk out with a prize, and sometimes everyone
will get a gift, show representatives say.

During each show, the pro with the most chips,
the last surviving on-stage amateur player, and
the point leader from the audience will compete
in a three-handed finale.

"The Venetian sets the standard for
entertainment in Las Vegas and we are
excited to add 'The Real Deal!' to our existing
line-up of world-class shows," stated
Jason Gastwirth, vice president of
entertainment for Las Vegas Sands Corp.

"When looking for a new concept to add to
our entertainment lineup, we searched
for an entirely new experience that would
promote audience participation while
incorporating well-known personalities
that shine beyond the bright lights of the
Strip -- we found that in 'The Real Deal!'."

The top prize, $1 million, can be won
at each show. Four times during the show,
audience members will select five face-down
cards from a standard 52-card deck on their
hand-held device; the ten with the highest
valued poker hand will advance to a final
round. The 40 qualifiers will then pick one
more five-card hand on their hand-held device.
If anyone hits a royal flush –1 in 649,740 odds-
they will win the million dollar prize.

The announcement of "The Real Deal!"
was made jointly by the Venetian and
veteran Hollywood producer Merv Adelson,
creator of such shows as "Dallas" and
"Falcon Crest." "Never before has poker
been so integrated with entertainment,"
said Adelson (no relation to Sheldon
Adelson, Chairman and CEO of
The Venetian's parent company,
Las Vegas Sands Corp.). "The popularity
of poker is unquestioned, as is the
viability of live game show experiences
in Las Vegas. 'The Real Deal!' will keep
guests laughing and give them the unique
chance to get into the heads of the world's
best pros as they share tips and strategy
throughout the fast-paced game. We know
it will quickly become a hot ticket."

The show's producers are currently
looking for a well-known comedian to host
the show and bring both humor and poker
information to the audience.

(Later announced to be PAUL RODRIGUEZ)

"The Real Deal!" is scheduled to open
Oct. 14. Starting times are 4 p.m. six days
a week (dark on Sunday) and 7 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday.
Prices are expected to be $75
in the afternoon, $85 in the evening.
A limited number of VIP tickets, for $125,
will provide backstage access to poker pros.
Audience members must be 21.
More information, www.therealdeallv.com.

Further proof that Vegas is Hurting.

Boyd Gaming Stops Construction at Echelon

by Amy Calistri

Last week, Boyd Gaming announced it would suspend construction on its 140,000 square foot casino project, Echelon, which had begun on the former site of the Stardust Resort and Casino. While Boyd had secured inexpensive financing for its part of the $4.8 billion project, Boyd's partners were having trouble securing financing for the 300,000 square feet of retail space and two boutique hotels associated with the project.

Boyd said they planned to resume construction within nine to twelve months, once credit markets and consumer spending improved. Boyd has spent approximately $500 million of their $3.3 billion budget on the site so far and approximately 800 workers got their walking papers on Friday.

The Echelon is just one of many gambling related projects and deals that have been affected by tight credit amid a sector hurt by tough economic conditions. Early last month, two private equity companies terminated their $6.1 billion deal to buy out Penn National Gaming.

In June, Australian-based Crown Ltd. backed out of its $5 billion joint venture which involved the construction of a 1,064-foot tower on Las Vegas Boulevard. And although Deutsche Bank is still paying the construction bills for the completion of the $3.5 billion Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino, they started foreclosure proceedings on the property in March after its New York developer 3700 Associates defaulted on a $760 million loan.

Boyd made the announcement as part of their second-quarter earnings report where they disclosed that net revenues had declined by 9.9% compared to the same period a year ago. As part of the announcement Boyd also suspended its dividend payment and released plans to repurchase $100 million of common stock. Shares of the beleaguered stock rebounded by more than 20% on the news, as the suspension of the Echelon project was perceived as risk reducing for Boyd's performance in the near future.

...And More Proof....

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the bond ratings of three casino operators – Wynn Resorts Ltd., Fountainbleau, and Riviera Holdings – from "stable" to "negative". A fourth gaming operator – Boyd Gaming Corp. – was placed on review for a possible downgrade of its bond ratings as well. This followed the announcement on Thursday that Moody's had downgraded bond ratings for Harrah's Entertainment and Station Casinos in Las Vegas and put MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands Corp. on notice that the bonds covering their debt were on review for a possible downgrade. Moody's cited declining gambling revenue as the driving force behind the downward revisions.

Gambling revenues on the Las Vegas Strip are down 5.4 percent for the first five months of the year and Moody's believes the slump could continue.

End of Vegas trip report

Went over to the MGM to play $1/2 game
to finish out the trip. (Not a) Nice way to close
out the trip, with a super cold, ultra sick deck.

ME ---VILLAIN---FLOP------ACTION

AA ------KK ------ K87---Villain nearly shit himself, I Fold.
93--------?? ------ 995---Villain bets $50 into $15 pot, I Fold.
AK-------??------- KK9---Villain bets $200 into $55 pot, I Fold.
44--------77------- 479----Villain made massive reraise, I Fold.
88--------99------- 89J----Normally chatty villain froze, I Fold.
56--------TJ--------789----Villain reraises big, argggg, I Fold.

These werent the only one's, just a few
representitive examples that I wrote in
my notebook. If there was time before
we had to catch our plane, I would have
grabbed my chips and went to another
casino, but time was short, so i just
yelled "Cocktails!" and ordered
another beer every time the cards
slapped me in the face. Was feeling
pretty buzzed by the time we had to leave,
8 or 9 Corona's later. Amazingly, left only
- $140 down. Considering the cold deck,
I call that a win.

Several europeans at the table. There
were actually a lot of french, german,
dutch, and scandinavian players this trip.
Taking advantage of the strong Euro$
I suspect. Sat beside a young man from
France, probably the best frenchman
I've played against. Considering how much
I loathe French and German players Online
(because they are, in general brutally bad players),
that doesnt say alot. He did give me a
chance to put those 7 years of french class
to good use. I was able to put together
gems like "Cest vingt-deux chips" and
my favorite, "Bonne chance" when he left
the table to play the 7pm tournament.

We left the MGM just after 8pm, returned the
rental car and took the shuttle to the airport.
Always a little depressing having to leave Vegas.

Misc. Notes:
- All the casino's were less crowded
than they were on my last trip a
few months ago (April 08).
Fewer people around was ok though,
it meant casino's were far less smokey.

Unfortunately, this also meant that the
Poker games in a lot of the casino's
were much slower.
(MGM poker room was alway busy).

- Came across more rude casino staff
than expected. I would think when times
are obviously tough, staff would try a
little harder. Obviously some people
arent happy with their jobs and it shows.
Rude cashiers at the Fitz, 4Q and dirty
washrooms at Caesars and Binions.
At the Four Queens, I got an attitude from
the dealer, the floor guy and the cage
when I tried to use a "$15 for $10"
that I got from the Players Club.
You'd think it was the first time anyone
had seen one before and acted as if it was
a major inconvenience to their day.

- Favorite slots this trip: Super Dance Party,
Hoot Loot, Turkey Shoot, Phone Tag

Wednesday cont'd

Went to CAESARS around 1pm
for some $1/3NL. It was dead too.
Only 2 games, and both of those
were really slow, no action.
Slow to the point where I was making
$5 prop bets with the girl beside me
on what the highest card on the flop
would be. We even had hands where
everyone put in $10 totally blind, no look,
check it to the river and winner takes all.
Slow and Boring.

Left after an hour. G +$82.
Will -$64 including prop bets.
The sportsbook is right next to the
poker room, so placed 2 bets.
NY METS to win the baseball World Series
and NY JETS to win the Super Bowl.
Even thats probably not enough to make
me watch a baseball game...lol.

WEDNESDAY July 30

Last day, out of the room at 10am.
Collected valuables from the lockbox
and checked out.

Headed over to the WYNN for Lunch Buffet.
Had heard great things about the WYNN and
BELLAGIO buffets, but hadnt been before.
Buffet and poker room are close to parking lot.
Total for me and G was $50 including tip.
Great layout, people moved smoothly.
Lots of variety, high quality foods.
Selection of fine cheeses, fresh fruit and salads.
Meats (lamb & turkey) were perfectly done.
Lots of different fish dishes. Giant shrimps.
Only negative, sushi was bland. Real cream
for my coffee, nice touch. Was getting used to
that "non-dairy" creamer stuff. Save room
for dessert ! Excellent cakes, pies, cookies
and ice cream. Oh ya, CANDIED APPLES !
Definitely recommend this one to anyone
who wants a great top end buffet.

Poker room (noon - 1pm) was dead !
Casino was busy, but only 2 poker
tables going, 1 No Limit and 1 Limit.
Was really hoping to get to play in this
beautiful room, had heard there's usually
good action even at the low stakes tables.

Tuesday cont'd

Cruised over to the ORLEANS for the
French Market Buffet. Pretty long line up
for the 11am Lunch buffet, but it moved
quickly. 241 ACG coupon. $10.65 total
for me and G to eat. Lots of creole food,
crawfish, jumbolaya, asian, and italian.
The seafood fluorentine and the onion rings
stand out as memorable tasty selections.
Similar food to Gold Coast. The buffet was busy,
crowded and a bit of a clusterfuck.
Fast drink service. Clean bathrooms.

Orleans Poker Room was really hoppin'

for mid-week and middle of the day.
More spacious and modern than I expected.
They had 2/4 L, 4/8L, 8/16L, 1/2NL, 2/5NL Holdem
and 4/8 Omaha HiLo games all going on.
Pretty impressive for 1pm. They even started
an $8/16 Omaha game later in the afternoon.
4 ahead of me on the $1/2 ($300max?)

list so I had to wait about 45 minutes

for a seat. Overall, pretty organized with

computerized list, although its hard to hear

your name called unless you are inside

the poker room, and they only have 1 screen

showing the lists and its inside the poker room

at the sign up desk, so you cant go too far

if you get near the top, or you'll lose your seat.

Played well, but ended the session -$70
(about 4 hours). Could have been a huge session,

but lost a $900+ pot to runner-runner suckout.

The poker room and buffet are both located

right beside entrance doors, which is great

after you've been there once, you can

park right there and avoid a long
walk from the other end of the casino.

Drove over to the VENETIAN around 6:30pm.
Very nice hotel. Expansive and beautiful
poker room. Great table side drink and
food service. Short wait. Very hard to hear
your name called even if standing right at
the poker room entrance. They said
"Will for 1-2, Last call Will".

I guess your first call is also your last call ?.

If you're not there within 10 seconds

of the start of them calling your name,

they wipe you off the list and call the

next name. I recommend you talk to
the brush when you sign up and tell him that
you'll be sitting in the lounge that's inside the
poker room, and make sure they dont take you
off the list because you'll be IN the poker room.
Wasnt much action at my table.
Finished the session up +$65.

TUESDAY July 29

Up at 8am, too much noise,
renovations at the hotel and staff down
the hall yelling "HouseKeeping !" and
"What time you checkin out buddy !"
in a spanish accent.

Unfortunately for Jeff, he had to head
back home, so we dropped him off at
the airport about 10:30am.

He took time to pose at BINIONS with
his cool new tatoo, something to remember
his Vegas experience by.



He had the nickname "Donk" before Vegas.

Monday cont'd

Went back downtown.
I wandered over to BINIONS

and sat down at the unbeatable

$1/2 (100max) game to pass the time

until a $1/3 ($1k max) seat opened up.

-$30.
Wasnt too long before a seat opened up.
Took a bad beat, set over set to lose
a $500+ pot, but still ended the session
up +$130. Played against poker book
author RUSS FOX (Why You Lose at Poker,
Mastering No Limit Holdem). Nice guy,
played super tight. There were a bunch of
$10/20NL Bellagio players at the table.
They all wanted to turn the game into $2/5,
but there was always one guy who didnt
want to. That guy would bust out, and
they'd try to convice the next guy who
took his seat to up the game, but he
didnt want to, so we'd bust him out.
This carried on for about 4-5 new players...lol

MONDAY July 28

Managed to drag Jeff away from the
ThreeCard Poker tables and drove to
the GOLD COAST for the lunch buffet.
3 of us ate for $17.50 Awesome Sushi !
Got our moneys worth just on that.
Gina won +$26 on the ZEUS slots, so it
was a freeroll for lunch.

Decided to go over to the MGM to play poker.
Almost hit by a car and bus who were
involved in an accident as we were
crossing the intersection. Missed certain
injury by 5-10 seconds max. Lucky ?
Checked out the lions, but didnt play.

Plenty hot enough out. 111 F or 44 C.
Still beats the humidity of southern Ont.

Headed over to TERRIBLES.
Signed Jeff up for a card so he could get
his free shirt and $10 cash back.
I played slots for over an hour and managed
to only lose my original -$5 investment.
Definitely a good place for slot players.
No Mojito's though :(
Free drinks, as long as you dont want
anything too fancy I guess.

sunday cont'd

I didnt mind the wait, there were
2 cash game tables going in the usually
dead SAHARA poker room, so I sat down
after I got knocked out of the tournament.
My table had 5 full time players, guys who
normally play 10/20 and 20/40 games at the
WYNN, VENETIAN and BELLAGIO.

I played tight for the first while to get
a feel for the game. I didnt feel like I was
outclassed by these guys, so I figured I'd
stay until G got knocked out of the tourny
(not thinking it would be 3 hours).
It was actually one of the more fun games
I played. Playing against more experienced
players, you have to keep your head in the game.
Since they were used to much bigger stakes,
they got bored, and virtually every hand had
a straddle and even some blind raising.
I ended up leaving the game + $230

Headed back downtown.
2am and it had cooled off to a very
pleasant (but still warm) 98 degrees F.

Hungry so we went over to KITTY'S CAFE
at the El Cortez. No Coupon. $20 for 2 of us.
Really good food, had burger, fries, etc.

Went back to the 4 QUEENs.
Took a few spins of the slots before bed. +$6.

Sunday cont'd

We had decided we were going to
play a poker tournament on this trip,
so Gina and I headed down to the
STRATOSPHERE. Nicer inside than
I expected. Was expecting a run down
dump. Very busy casino. Poker room
was totally dead though, one table at 6pm.
Werent going to wait around and chance it
if there would be a decent turn out for
their tournament.

Headed over to the SAHARA to play

their popular 7pm $45 tourny with

optional $20 Rebuys for the first hour.
4k starting chips. (+2k for $20r/b).
136 Entrants.

25/50 level: I played lots of speculative
hands trying to hit a monster and
double up, but I basically stayed even
in chips.

50/100: only played one hand, KK.

100/200: only played one hand, AK,
"stole" the pot by continuation
betting every street.

200/400: played one hand, AA.
Still basically at my starting
stack of around 6000 chips.

300/600: didnt get dealt anything.
Table got broken, moved to button
at next table. 2nd hand, got dealt 99.
Folded to me, pushed all in from
cutoff position with 5200 chips.
Donkey Polish guy calls off 95%
of his stack from the Big Blind with
A2 off. A on the flop. Turn gives me
a diamond draw. River is 2 of clubs,
I'm out.

Gina ran into the same guy later
in the tournament, roughly 18 people
left, same situation. She's on the button,
folded to her. She doesn't have a lot of chips
so she pushes with 66. Same Donkey Polish
guy calls from the big blind with A5 off.
This time no luck for the donk. Justice !
She doubles up.

Gina had a couple other memorable hands.

She made a Paul Magriel style bet, putting

out one of each color chip as her raise.

Totally confused everybody and they folded.

At the 100/200 level,she set a trap by

limping in middle position with AA,

knowing that the chip leader & table bully

in the small blind was ripe to take a beating.

True to form, the bully pops it to 1100 !

Gina, without missing a beat, pushed her

whole stack (about 6000) into the middle,

and the donkey called with KQ offsuit ! LOL

Nice double up. (incidentally, she played

with the same guy later on in a cash game

at the VENETIAN and watched him piss away

his big stack twice and go broke).

Gina ended up finishing 6th out of 136

for +$260. (No tax withholding, just signed name).

Way to go GINA ! !

Lots of offers for a chop deal,
but as often happens in low buy-in
tournaments, inexperienced chip leaders
get greedy and ask for $ proportionate
to their chip stack. And as often happens,
the big chip leader who refused the deal
got knocked out in 7th !
HAHAHA, looks good on you asshole.
He originally wanted $1400 !! to chop,

then refused a $650 chop. In the end,
he left the tournament with $170 instead.
Let that be a lesson.

Because a few people refused the
different chop deals, the tournament
that usually only lasts about 4 hours,
didnt get done until 1am (6 hours).

SUNDAY July 27

Slept in til 1pm.
Went over to the MAIN STREET STATION
for their buffet. Used a FSE coupon,
2 of us ate for $11.84. Made +$12 on
the Kenny Rogers 'The Gambler' slots
while waiting for the buffet to open.
Free Lunch !
Tried a few new things like collard greens
and oxtail. Always a great value and
lots of choices at the MSS buffet.

Headed back to the 4Queens.
Gina made +$225 on ThreeCard Poker
with three of a kind 7's.
I'm sure she heard my voice echoing
"Quit While You're Ahead,
Quit While You're Ahead"...lol
I definitely follow that philosophy
playing games with a big house
advantage like most table games & slots.
You cant beat them in the long run,
so take your profit and run.

saturday cont'd

Walked down towards the EL CORTEZ.
Checked out some of the cool neon
down on the Fremont East district.
A lot of people seem concerned
because once you get away from

the Fremont Street Experience canopy,
the neighborhood is a little sketchy.
No need to be concerned.
Felt very safe walking over.
The El-Co still had quite a bit of action,
even after 3am. Even the poker game
was still going on, with a wait list.

saturday cont'd

Headed back to the room at the 4 QUEENS
to freshen up. A little disappointed that we
didnt get any room cleaning service from
the 4Q staff. I threw the old towels on the
floor assuming there'd be fresh ones when
I got back. Had to call down to desk to get
fresh ones. Guess leaving a nice tip for
Rosa & Carmelita the day before isnt enough
to get them to come back the next day.

Went over to the GOLDEN NUGGET for some
poker. Ran cold, always seamed to have the
2nd nut hand, -$200. Left rather than rebuying.

Went over to FITZGERALDS.
Really rude cashiers. -$5 on slots.
Headed upstairs to the Fitz poker room.
Closed and deserted at 2:45am.

Went out onto Fremont Street to do some
people watching. Totally dead at 3am (see photo).
Maybe during the week, but not that early
on a Saturday night. That's just not right !
Even most of the shops were closed.
Not just the street vendors kiosks,
but all the gift/variety stores too.
The U.S. economy has tanked and its
hitting vegas hard. A year ago,
the street had people on it
every hour of the day.

saturday cont'd

Walked over to BINIONS and
got seated at a newly started
1/2NL ($100max) table.

There is almost no way to beat
this game, the play was very tight
and with a 10% rake, not easy to profit.
Managed to leave up +$25.

Moved to a newly opened $1/3 NL ($1000 max)
must-move game. Played short handed,
4-6 players for probably 30-40 minutes (+ $20)
before getting a seat in the main game
where most players had $500-1000 stacks.

Bought in for $300. Several prop players
(employed by the casino to fill seats)
at the table, but their play was fairly
straightforward. Played for 2 hours
and left with another +$109 profit.
The Binions poker room is brighter
and cleaner than it was a year ago.
They are moving and upgrading the
poker room, renovations supposed to
be done by October.

Went down to CAESARS and played for a
while. Wasnt my best effort. - $70 .

Saturday cont'd

New Entrance to the El Cortez Hotel Casino

Walked down to the EL CORTEZ
to play some slots. I lost -$20 on slots,
but you certainly get lots of play for
your money at that casino, I guess

thats why a lot of the hardcore slot players

stay there. Had some free cocktails
and put my name on the waiting list
for the $1-3-6 Limit Poker game.

Pretty cool to get a chance to play with
the Owner of the casino, JACKIE GOEGHAN.
He plays at the table for atleast 4-6 hours
most days. There were only two on the list
ahead of me, but the blinds are so small,
and they have a high hand jackpot, so not
many go broke or just get up and leave.

SATURDAY July 26

Up before noon and headed to the
FREMONT buffet. 2for1 FSE coupon,
G-didi and I ate for $5.42 each. Its a
consistantly good buffet, nice smoked
salmon and really good cheesecake.
I wish they would turn the lights up a bit.

Friday cont'd

Headed to the MGM to play some poker.
+ $220 profit in about 2 hour session.

Went over to the VENETIAN, signed up
for their $1/2 list. 10 people in front of us.
Used the washroom, came back and
our names were gone. Asked if our names
were called and guys says "Oh ya, we
called you 10 minutes ago" We werent even
gone for 5 minutes, more like 3 minutes.
Hell, 15 minutes ago we were still in the
garage looking for a parking spot !
Left pissed off that either this guy's
bullshitting me or he has no sense of time.

Went back downtown and finished up
the night with a 6hr session at the NUGGET.
Seemed to be running cold, had to lay down
a full house, trips, and flopped bottom end of
a straight twice. (- $205)



Jeff was over at the 4 QUEENS playing
3 Card Poker and hit a straight flush for a
+$400 cash. I lost -$10 on slots at the
Nugget, but made +$6 at the 4Q,
so -$4 on slots for the night.

5:30am, almost time for bed, but went
over for the graveyard specials at the
CAL, $4 Chicken Strips & Fries and
the $4 striploin steak.

FRIDAY July 25

Started the day off with a coffee from the
Dunkin Donuts across the street at BINIONS.
Not nearly as good Tim Hortons, but better
than going without a coffee in the morning.


All thats left of the Frontier Hotel, next to T.I.


Went to TREASURE ISLAND and had
their buffet. 3 of us ate for $50. Pretty decent.
They had some tastey and fancy looking sushi.
Really good desserts. Overall, recommend it.

Checked out the LUXOR, only because I'd
never been there before. Its the casino shaped
like a pyramid. Unfortunately, the inside isnt
nearly as impressive as the outside. Probably
wont be back unless given a good reason
(like a dirt cheap room rate).

Hit the Worlds Largest Gift Shop/General Store
on the strip. Another disappointment.
A lot of over priced cheaply made crap.

thursday cont'd

Headed back across the street to
CAESARS PALACE to play some poker.
NBA basketball star TONY PARKER and
EVA LONGORIA from Desparate Housewives
were both there playing poker.
We actually saw several NBA players all
around Vegas, they sort of stand out,
but I dont follow basketball enough
to recognize their faces.

Sat down, first hand, I made QUAD SIXES,
got paid +$124 from the high hand jackpot.
Ended the poker session up +$180.
Jeff made a nice +$530 profit, alot of which
came off of Tony Parker's brother.
Not bad for his first live casino cash game.
Gina was kindof card dead but managed
a +$60 profit. Overall, pretty good for a
150 minute session.


Jeff taking full advantage of
the open alcohol laws.

Went back downtown and played some
$1/2NL at the GOLDEN NUGGET.
Was seated at a table with legendary
Vegas comedian VINNY FAVORITO.
Very solid player. He made some really
good laydowns (layed down his set to a
flush, layed down small straight to a
bigger one). He made a big laydown
against me in a $150 pot. I limped in
with AK (as i've been know to do)
and made broadway on the turn.
He layed down a set of 10's on the
river saying "you played that
like you have Ace Fuckin King".
I collected the pot, mucked my cards
face down and unsuccessfully tried to
convince him that he was wrong....
saying "who would limp with AK ?"

Vinny's been the feature at O'Shea's
on the strip for a few years, but just signed
a big contract to play 6 nights a week
at the FLAMINGO. I will definitely
have to catch his show next trip.

Thursday cont'd

Jeff & Gina enjoying Margaritas /Monster Nacho Plate

Since this was Jeff's first time in Vegas,
we made sure drive up and down the strip
and see the sites. Walked through the
FLAMINGO and went to the BELLAGIO
and watched the fountain show.
Went across the street to Jimmy Buffets
MARGARITAVILLE and Jeff treated us to
some delicious margarita's and nachos.
Was better than the last time I went.
They had Jimmy Buffet music and
videos playing, along with performers
on stilts and a girl who slid down the giant
volcano waterslide, into the 400 litre
margarita blender by the bar.

THURSDAY July 24

Drove down to the south end of the strip
to the SILVERTON Casino. Enjoyed their
lunch buffet, 3 of us ate for $20 including tip.
They had some excellent Catfish, Yum !

Wandered around the Bass Pro Shops
which is attached to the casino.

Really enjoy looking at all the taxidermy,

fish and wildlife throughout the store.

As a recovering fishing addict, I thought I did
pretty good to only spend $40 on fishing lures.

wednesday cont'd

Hit the GAMBLERS BOOK STORE to
pick up another ACG book. Came across
a copy of Professional No-Limit Holdem
by Ed Miller (which always seems to be
back ordered back home), so i picked
that up too. A quick glance through it,
gives me the impression this book is gold!
Advanced concepts for cash games.
Would probably put this in the category of
NL Theory & Practice. Not a beginners book.
Cant wait to get started on it.

Conveniently, there's a DollarStore
next to GBS, so we popped in to get
some refreshments, snacks and toiletries.
$1 styrofoam cooler to put water
and soda's in was a great investment.

Headed back to the airport to pick up
our friend Jeff Smith (molson35 from the
Premier Tour online events) who was
coming in for a vegas vacation.

Made our way to Downtown LasVegas.
Checked in to the FOUR QUEENS after
lunch. Tried the $20 trick, (tipping the front
desk clerk for free room upgrade) but she said
there were no upgrades available.
Took a tour around Freemont Street.
Checked out BINIONS (-$5 on slots) and the
FREEMONT (+$2 on slots).

It was a very long day/night previous...
watched the 08 WSOP on ESPN,
went to work, then off to Detroit,
so I needed a nap around 5pm.
My renovated 4Queens room was clean,
had a flat panel tv, & a very comfortable bed.
Bathroom was small, but adequate.
No hesitation staying here again.

Woke up around 9:30pm and headed over
to the CALIFORNIA Casino for their
$4 Chicken Finger and Fries special.
One of my favourite Vegas food deals.
Lost -$5 on the Reel 'Em In fishing game.

Really surprised how dead Fremont St.
is after midnight, guess it IS only the
middle of the week.



Went over to BINIONS, wasnt much
happening in the poker room so went
across the street to the GOLDEN NUGGET
and played some $1/2 NL (table stakes, no max).
Action was a little slow, but had mucho fun.
+ $85 over 4 hours of play. Headed back
to the 4Queens. Made + $12.25 on the
Village People Party slots before bed.