Super Quick LV TR
A confluence of offers made it hard to resist a visit to Las Vegas
recently. Nancy and I slated this one for 9/27-9/30. Roughly 72
hours in Vegas. I once burned the candle at both ends and made full
use of those 72 hours, but I am now older and slower. Maybe I am
wiser. Maybe not. I actually sleep in Vegas these days and 72
hours doesn't seem enough. I will relish the day when I have more
time for my frivolous curiosities. With a little luck I'll live
that long. Time is a true luxury.
My custom lately has been to break these TRs into topics thus
sparing the reader much of my whimsy and myself the labor of
creating a narrative that holds together.
Travel
We booked SWA non stop out of Midway at about $187 per person. My
mini tubes of bathroom goop and prescriptions stored in ziploc bags
and displayed per TSA instructions. On the return flight in
addition to the usual X ray, searches and bag openings, a machine
blew air up my shorts. I can't wait for the day when air travel
requires an anal probe. Security aside, both flights were
uneventful.
Full size rental reserved through Dollar for a total of $67. We
didn't have a lot of driving planned, but rentals this cheap still
save us money over cab fare, and give us the added benefit of
convenience and flexibility. We grabbed a red jeep. It was a
decent set of wheels.
Our Digs
Caesars again this trip. I just can't get a better room for free
than the Augustus Tower at Caesars. I think it is one of the best
on the Strip. This time we are taken down a notch. We get the
regular Augustus Tower room rather than the corner petite "suite" we
had in June (
http://community.webshots.com/album/551680582UXZXAj ) --Same thing,
just a little smaller and with no west view. Southern view was of
the B's fountains, but we have become jaded and don't run to the
window every time they erupt.
Airport check in line was pretty obscene due to a convention and
hotel registration looked a bit better, but Diamond registration was
just right. I notice the old VIP registration near the front desk
is now for Platinum holders. Not a bad perk for platinum when the
lines are long.
Eats
Time was of the essence this visit. We did a lot of room service,
café meals and our share of foraging in the Diamond lounges.
Augustus café: Food was OK, but service is still a little spotty
(though it has improved) and menu is overpriced.
Diamond lounges: Service is really exceptional at Caesars DL. The
bartenders and wait staff go the extra mile. 4 terminals for
complimentary internet and access to a printer make getting my SWA
boarding pass simple. I prefer the grub at Paris, though. I just
can't stand those wraps that are prevalent at Caesars and other DLs.
BC hotdog cart: The price of a dog is up to $1.25. It ain't a
Chicago dog, but it is a decent quality dog. At one time I could
play some NSUD or FP Jacks at the bartop while enjoying a dog and a
brew. Best BC bartop vp I see these days is in the area of 98%. I
grudgingly pay the extra 1.5% vig to enjoy my meal while watching
Big E.
Les Artistes: It is the only meal this trip that could be
considered fine dining. We are meeting a group of E friends for
dinner at this Paris steak joint. The company is great as usual,
though I'm sure my conversation is not up to par. I've been up and
playing since about 4 AM and I'm definitely running on fumes. My
apologies to B, Steve, Glenn and his entourage if my nose
occasionally dipped into my soup.
The room was nice. Service was just a tad confused. My ribeye was
medium well rather than medium rare and the baked potato had been in
the oven about an hour too long. The lobster bisque was excellent.
In retrospect I would have preferred Mon Ami.
Note: Nancy talked with a "beverage ambassador" at Caesars during
our visit. "Beverage ambassador," ambassador I asked
quizzically? "Yes," she said simply, as if every gambler had a
beverage ambassador. Yesterday when I checked the mail she had a
hand written card from the Caesars Palace beverage Department. "It
was our pleasure to meet you! We hope to see you again soon!" I
don't even want to think about how many cocktails she had to drink
to be assigned a beverage ambassador and rate a thank you note from
the whole department.
Gambling
Woe, woe is me. Lady luck not only did not smile upon me, she
repeatedly whupped on me with her nasty stiletto heeled
Ferragamo's. What a bitch.
VP: I played a mix of mostly quarter JB Multistrike and STP and I
couldn't hit anything on a multiplier. I could not manage one
winning session the entire trip. No break even sessions. And some
of the losses were very, very nasty. My biggest win of the trip
occurred while killing some time playing blackjack at Paris A $75
windfall. In short, it was brutal and Nancy didn't fare much better.
It was bad enough that I reconsidered my long abandoned Lucky Hat
gambling strategy. And next time I hit CP I'll definitely hit the
Hindu Gods up for a favor while visiting the shrine out in front. I
popped two royals in 15 minutes after my last visit to that shrine.
Poker: I've been a competent vp player for years, but in February I
dipped my toes into the live poker waters. I made the move to live
poker reluctantly as it just seemed too hip for me. I am not
exactly a hip dude. I am the lemming that had better things to do.
I started with limit HE and in the last few months have moved on to
cash and tournament NLHE.
I've enjoyed it all and made a little money while learning. As a
newb, I couldn't realistically ask for much more, but I am at that
unfortunate stage of my poker education where I realize the mistake
I have made a second after I have made it. It's a little
frustrating.
I fit 2 NLHE tournaments at Caesars into my schedule. I have had
some success with tournaments, but I crapped out this trip. I put
myself in tough short stack positions relatively early in both
tournaments and was knocked out by the end of the third round. My
own fault on both occasions. I made a nice comeback in the first
tournament, but some idiot called my top pair top kick push with an
inside straight draw and an under pair. 6 outs and the guy catches
two of them. There was a lot of poor play at these tournaments, and
I do not entirely exclude myself in that description.
I did like the 40 minute levels for these tournaments. 40 minutes
felt absolutely luxurious compared to the 15 and 20 minute levels I
have played in my other tournaments. Buy in and 1 rebuy (1500/3000)
before the end of the second level. Blinds at 25/50, 50/100,
100/200/25, 200/400/50, 400/800/100, 600/1200/100, 1000/2000/200,
2000/4000/400, 3000/6000/500, 5000/10000/1000, 10000/15000/2000,
15000/30000/5000, 20000/40000/5000.
I also played about 6 hours of NLHE on my final day. I was tired of
getting my ass kicked playing vp and thought I'd try getting my ass
kicked playing poker for a change of pace. I played ½ with a $500
max buy in at Caesars and ½ with a $200 max buy in at MGM. I much
preferred playing with the larger stacks in the $500 game.
I played solid patient poker and built up my stack to about 2.5X my
buy in until I made 1 bad call against a guy I had out played
several times and could have continued outplaying all day. And that
is the difference between limit and NL. Lose focus and
concentration for a little while, make one mistake, and it is
possible to donk off your entire stack in NL. I lost $200, but it
was an interesting and educational way to end my trip.
Free Crap
Nancy and I did well in the free crap department this trip.
$300 Macy's GC courtesy of Caesars
$200 Visa card for birthday, courtesy of Caesars
$100 Visa card courtesy of Harrah's
$125 BB cash courtesy of the ol' Dust
$16 Final CB pulled from the Dust account before implosion
$111 Miscellaneous BB coupons from Harrah's properties
$75 Caesars food comp coupon
2 Caesars 2 person umbrellas shaped like sword to be saved for a
rainy day
3 nights in a damned nice room
Not bad for a 20K CI daily average player playing 99.5+% games. The
cash and cash equivalent gifts cover all of our travel expenses and
then some.
Miscellaneous
We dropped in to say goodbye to the Stardust on Thursday. OK, we
weren't just saying goodbye. The Dust was one of my first casino
experiences and I'll miss the old place, but I was also collecting
some bounce and draining an old cashback account
and collecting
souvenirs before the Dust goes to ashes, like the buzzards that we
are. We collected some silverstrikes, several $1 and $5 chips in
excellent conditions, a set of neat room keys imprinted with vintage
Stardust promotional photos and a logo hat for my collection. Nancy
was a little teary eyed as we walked out the door for the last
time. They close those doors at the end of October.
As we checked in to CP Nancy noticed Jean Scott and Brad walking
down the hallway. After 8 hours of transit I was interested nothing
but getting to my room and separating myself from my luggage. I
didn't run after them down the hall wheely bag in tow to talk vp. A
decision made to the benefit of all, no doubt.
Chandler
I just consider it one of the small prices