VEGAS!

[WayAbvPar]

Yeah- not sure I would ever stay at MGM; some of those rooms are a serious hike to the casino floor!

30 hours until I touch down at McCarran. Not that I am counting.

[Morat20]

There's a reason I don't play real poker in Vegas. I figure there's sharks, see? The guys that make a steady living eating off the minnows, which are mostly tourists who've seen way too many Texas Hold 'em tournaments on ESPN and shit. And then there's the chum, which is what lures the damn minnows over in the first place.

I think I'm the chum. :)

I'll play with friends where the pot limit is 10 bucks and the big blind is like 50 cents, but I ain't plopping down real money to get raped that fast. I'll go play slots or blackjack or let it ride and lose nice and slow.

I get to the same place (out of that day's gambling cash), but I figure it takes longer if I'm not losing to the sharks.

[WayAbvPar]

In my (albeit limited) experience, the games in Vegas are FAR softer than the normal games in casinos around here (and those can still be pretty soft). Tons of tourists who are there to gamble and decide to try poker out combined with free cocktails makes for a nice game. Variance can still bite you in the ass, but I can't remember not feeling like I was the best player at the table at any point in Vegas. Of course, I was playing at baby limits (3/6, 4/8, and a $40 buy in tourney). I am sure things change as the limits increase.

[Morat20]

In my (albeit limited) experience, the games in Vegas are FAR softer than the normal games in casinos around here (and those can still be pretty soft). Tons of tourists who are there to gamble and decide to try poker out combined with free cocktails makes for a nice game. Variance can still bite you in the ass, but I can't remember not feeling like I was the best player at the table at any point in Vegas. Of course, I was playing at baby limits (3/6, 4/8, and a $40 buy in tourney). I am sure things change as the limits increase.

I'm a pussy of a gambler. I limit myself to a 100 dollars a day in losses. (If I'm by myself, 200. The wife likes the expensive resteraunts, I've mentioned...cuts into my gambling). The upside of that is I don't go chasing my money back. I lose my hundred, I go find something else to do. Then again, frankly, I only gamble a few hours a day at most anyways.

I'm not touching those damn poker tables until I get some more real play with decent players. Winning money off my in-laws doesn't count. :)

[Signe]

You mean once a day while you're on holiday in Vegas, right Morat?  You don't mean a few hours every day of your life, do you?   

[Morat20]

You mean once a day while you're on holiday in Vegas, right Morat?  You don't mean a few hours every day of your life, do you?   

Yeah. I do go to the local dog track a lot, but rarely gamble. It's mostly an excuse to hang out with my dad, who I believe actually owns several dogs there. Or did. I can't really keep track.

[Bunk]

For lower limit stuff, I really like MGM's poker room. Lots of tables and lots of tourists. Add to that the massage girls that walk around  selling massages at the tables, I get tingly just remembering it.

Just make sure not to try to play big pots well being massaged, it fucks with your mind.

On a total tangent, I need to go get some sleep because I'm in a pre-Satellite qualifier for the WSOP tomorrow. Gonna try to win my way in the cheap way.

[WayAbvPar]

Short story- I survived and had a blast. I will cobble together a long and mostly boring trip report sometime this week when I have more energy. Up 3 bills for the trip, so I can't really complain  :-D

[UD_Delt]

Short story- I survived and had a blast. I will cobble together a long and mostly boring trip report sometime this week when I have more energy. Up 3 bills for the trip, so I can't really complain  :-D

Look forward to reading it. I leave in 10 days.

Finally picked a place to stay. Going to spend the first two nights at the Sahara. Not the best place but by far the cheapest. Looking at $70 for friday and $75 for Saturday. Compared to $129 for MGM's poker rate where I'd have to play 10 hours of poker at MGM. Staying at Sahara I can play wherever I want. The selling point was when I realized that the Sahara was a stop on the monorail so should be easy access to anywhere on the strip.

The next 4 nights will be spent at THEHotel at Mandalay Bay.

[Signe]

I had 3 Bills on one trip once.

Oh wait... we might not be talking about the same thing.

[Abagadro]

The next 4 nights will be spent at THEHotel at Mandalay Bay.

I think you will enjoy that place. It's where we stayed the last time we were there. Nice suites, 2 plasma TVs, etc.  We like the Mandalay Bay in general and found THEHotel great. Bigger rooms, newer and quieter than the main place. Was great for me too because the elevators are actually closer to the poker room than the main hotel.

If you are going for a spendy dinner, I would recommend Fluer De Lys which is over in the restaurant area of the Mandalay.  If you call ahead (an early sitting is probably a better shot) you can reserve one of the private booths that are behind curtains and separated a bit from the main dining room. It's a great dining experience. Tremendous food, service and wine. Like I said, uber-spendy but worth it.  We went there and then saw Henry Rollins doing spoken word at the House of Blues.