Vegas Trip Report

I didnt take many notes so this will be
a quick, not so detailed TR.

Arrived in Vegas June 24th.

Stayed at the Imperial Palace.
Comped rooms from my play at
Caesars Windsor. Room was quite
satisfactory for me. Quiet and clean.
No smells and the A/C was cold.
IP maids appreciate good tippers.
Left a huge stash of towels, soaps etc.

Played quite a bit of poker.
Overall, the play was more aggressive
than the typical low stakes tourist filled
games I'm used to. This was probably
due to the influx of players from the wsop.
I think the large number of $1500 wsop events
available this year combined with the large
buy in deepstack events at Caesars and
the Venetian had a lot to do with it.
Talked to a lot of guys at the table who were
in vegas specifically to play two or three
of the $1.5K events.

Some of the games were so aggressive,
it was almost like playing 6max online
rather than a 9 or 10 handed live cash game.

Guys opening pots with Any ace, king or
pair from Any position. 7x the bb, 8x,
even 10x raises. 3bets preflop, 3bets on the flop.

In these capped buyin games, an 8bb preflop
raise denies proper odds to set-mine, and
suited connectors lose a lot of value because
these guys are decent enough to not pay
you off every time you hit. If your cards are dry,
it really limits me with the style i like to play.
To play more effectively, you really need to
loosen up and be a bit of a lagtard against
these LAG and TAG players.

I did run into some softer, less aggressive
games here and there. The games at Binions
and Ballys were pretty soft. Binions pays
$2/hr comps in their poker room. Somehow,
I have $53 in comps there.

Playing at the Imperial Palace and Flamingo,
I discovered that they offer the option of
what they call a "Mississippi Straddle"
(this is not truely a MS by definition).
IP/Flamingo version is a 2xbb straddle
from the button. The action doesnt start
under the gun, it starts with the small blind.
In my opinion, this is absolutely horrible.
Action starts with the two people who
have involuntarily put money in the pot
out of position. Usually the two blinds fold.
A much better protocol would be (like the
Hard Rock does) to start action under the
gun so that the blinds may be enticed into
the pot by other players who limp in,
then give the button straddler last action.

Watched some Beer Pong at O'Sheas.
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=JOYduGqZSRc)
Oh to be 22 again. I probably could have
been good at that game back in the day
when I could stomach shitty draught beer.

Ran into old friends Kim Gies and
Rob Pincombe playing poker at the Flamingo.

At the Venetian, ran into Sonny "The Money"
Rattan, Tom Whattam and Dan Moser from
the Elite Poker Tour (http://elitepoker.ca/).
They were playing a $330 Deep Stack event.

Played a private NLHE tournament
at the Golden Nugget hosted by
http://suitedpockets.net/ . Was seated at
the same table with poker authors
Lou Krieger (http://loukrieger.com/),
Haley Hintze, editor at (http://pokernews.com/)
Lawrence "The Prez" Prezman , Teddy Sevranski, Gianni "VegasRunner" The Scammer (sports betting gurus)
and Ashley Adams (author of Winning 7-card Stud)
who was graceful when i knocked him out of
the tournament. Also there was Frank Wiese (http://eatprofessionalpokerplayersalive.com/)
who wrote a new book on "medium ball" poker.
I went deep, a few spots away from cashing.
Lots of cool free swag from poker site sponsors.

Went to the RIO to check out the WSOP.
Got to railbird the $50,000 HORSE.
Was standing over the shoulder of Chau Giang.
Really cool to see his hole cards and watch
how he played. Even neat to watch the other
players at the table (Andy Bloch, Todd Brunson,
Joe Cassidy, David Bach - the eventual winner, etc)
because you get to see some of the action with
the cards face up in the stud games.

I hit 2 high hand jackpots. Quads at the IP
and a straight flush at Ballys. Lost more
$ drawing to (and missing) numerous other
royal and straight flush draws... than what
these two jackpots paid me.

Had heard many good things so I checked
out IN-N-OUT BURGER for the first time.
Excellent burger and milkshake.
Not a fan of their fries.

Tried Jack In The Box for the first time also.
Not amazing, but superior to McDonalds.

Drove out to Arizona Charlies on Decatur
for some cheap eats. Buffet was $7
minus the half price coupon. Not top notch food,
but cant beat the price. Won a few bucks on
slots on the way out, enough to cover gas
to get there and the cost of the buffet.

Made 2 attempts at getting a Deep Fried
Twinky from Mermaids Casino on Fremont St.
Unsuccessful both times. What kind of a
casino is closed at 1am on a saturday night ?

Had TODAI Sushi (at Planet Hollywood).
Pricey ($30) but absolutely AWESOME !
Huge selection of seafood and sushi.
I wish i had a bigger stomach.

Tried Golden Nugget Buffet for the first time.
Disappointing. Overpriced ($20). Nothing
specifically wrong, just not good value
compared to other buffets. Wouldnt return.

Used several match-play coupons from the
LasVegas Advisor and American Casino Guide.
$5 and $10 roulette, craps & blackjack matchplays
at Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Binions, Hard Rock,
Planet Hollywood, etc. Definitely +EV

Rental car was a Kia Rio. Who knew a 4 cylinder
shitbox could get a mere 18mpg ! ? Gas was
relatively cheap ($0.70/litre), but my 1979 Ford
with a carburated V8 got better mileage than that.

WSOP Gaming Expo

WSOP Ggaming Expo Gets Rebranded

The lifestyle expo that supports the annual World Series of Poker events is to have a remake this year. Out goes the old 'Gaming Lifestyle Expo' to be replaced by a more upbeat branding 'PokerPalooza'.

Commenting on the change, Ty Steward, marketing director for the WSOP, said: "It's going to be part trade show, part carnival, all fun. "Visitors to the poker spectacular in Las Vegas this year will find PokerPalooza in the Rio Pavilion in the Rio Convention Center between July 2-5.

This year the exhibit is split into several interactive zones with something to offer new poker players as well as those that have been in the game for years. The zones are:

Poker Media

Poker Education

Arcade

Poker Retail

Poker Circuit

WSOP History

"Lap of Luxury"

"Bad Beat Bar"

Food/Beverage

There will be a wide selection of poker wares and services on display, and celebrities will be present for autograph signings. In the past there have been novelty chip sellers, poker bobble heads, poker rooms and more.This year there is also expected to be autograph and book signings, together with useful seminars conducted by a number of poker champs. On weekends between May 30 and June 28, Rio will host exclusive strategy seminars with Doyle Brunson and Mike Caro. Meet and greets with Brunson and Caro will also take place July 2 through July 5.

The more adventurous will also find a mechanical bull courtesy of Stoney's, the Richard Petty Driving Experience, sumo-wresting suits and several carnival-style games....and a hot dog eating competition.

Vegas Sunday

SUNDAY NOV 9

The big day is finally here, the WSOP
main event final table that has been
delayed for 4 months. Unfortunately, I
'll have to watch it on tv like common folk.
The line up to get into the Penn & Teller
theatre at the RIO is crazy long and the
set up isnt very good for spectators.

Went for lunch buffet at the ORLEANS
(241 ACG) and hit their poker room after.
Always seems to be a very busy room,
even during the week. 1/2 hour wait.
Their list procedures are a little sketchy.
Names occasionally appear above you
on the list with out explanation. They have
different colored symbols they can put
with peoples names. Green is phone-in,
blue is table change request, etc...
but people got bumped for no obvious
reason (locals friendly with poker room
manager ?). Watched a bit of the $4/8 and
$8/16 Omaha H/L cash games. Very juicy.
People had very little clue to what a
good starting hand is or even knowing
if they were winning.



A new must-move $1/2 table was started
and we got seated. I didnt even get to
play a hand before I was moved to the
main table. After about a half hour,
JERRY YANG - 2007 World Champion
sat next to me at our table. Super nice guy,
very friendly. He showed a big bluff the
first hand, then he played tight ABC poker
after that (He left +$300).

It was a real up & down session for me,
lots of tough decisions (which I usually avoid).
River beat me on several big hands/pots.
Sometimes I just got outflopped....
I had QQ against villains AK.
Flop is QTJ of spades. Luckily I only lost
about $60 on that hand because villain
had no spades.

I folded a flopped gutshot Q high
straight flush draw, face up to the shock
of the dealer and most of the table.
3 all-ins behind me. Had invested $50
on the flop but would have cost me my
stack, $220 more. What most people fail to
consider in this situation is what your
opponents likely holdings are. With 3
other people all in, it is highly likely
one of them is drawing to the Ace high
flush. One of my other opponents may
have already made the straight.
It is quite possible in this situation that
I am drawing to a one outer to hit the
straight flush. I might even be drawing
completely dead if one of my opponents
holds my str8flush card. Atleast I got a
"wow" out of Jerry Yang for my fold.
Left the Orleans + $25.

1am.
Decided to check out CAESARS PALACE.
The entire casino floor was nearly vacant,
very few people at all. The poker room
was the same, almost empty.
2 tables of $1/2. The high hand jackpots
were a joke. $100 for 4 of a kind,
$100 for a str8 flush, $500 for royal flush.
They scoop $1 from every pot and
all they want to pay back is $100 ?
That's weak.

Signed up with the brush and he told us
to have a seat and grab a cocktail,
wont be long. Sounds good.
After 2 failed attempts to get a drink
from a snobby Caesars waitress,
we bailed. No action, no service,
no thanks. Headed back to the RIV
and called it an early night .