A post-COVID trip to Sin City for poker, poker and probably more poker - Nov 8th - 26th (SEMI-LIVE)

Oops. Guess which muppet here just locked themselves out of their room?

Yep. Me.

Thankfully I keep a colour scan of my passport on my phone, and I had that with me. This was enough to get a new key at the front desk, so crisis averted!

 

I really enjoyed reading your reports, particularly the detailed accounts of your poker sessions. Thanks for taking the time to write. Safe travels back home today.

 

I just had to get one last session in...

After all, Bally's opened at 10am today and it would be rude not to, considering I'm staying there!

 

The last session was breakeven, and oh yay as I type this on my way home massive turbulence. BRB.

 

Right. think we're good to go, Rocky Mountains turbulence sucks.

So woke up this morning at a decent time, 8am, and hit both CVS and Walgreens to overpay for some snacks I had planned to get from Wal-Mart yesterday but couldnt, cos, y'know, Thanksgiving and all that. The original plan was to hit the donut place in Cosmo as I had wanted to go there but hadn't yet had the opportunity, but when I got there after sorting the shopping the line was humongous and I was not spending my last day in town waiting in line, so I went back to the room.

Had some potato chips I had left so that became an impromptu breakfast and by the time I had sorted a shower, packed the remainder of my things up and got my bags ready, it was 10am. Check out was at 11, and Bally's poker room re-opened at 10. You know I had to, right? Jumped in the $1/$3 game and won exactly one hand. This table was dead. 6 regulars, 1 tourist who travels for poker from England about 5 times a year normally, and me. Ah well. I chopped the blinds more times than anything else! At least I got to play there once before heading home. Thankfully the pot I won was big enough to give me a break-even session after posting blinds etc, and tipping dealers/cashiers.

Lyft to the airport was $20 including tip at 11am which I didn't think was bad at all. Quickly sorted at United and got everything I needed. Had to have one last gamble at the airport, doesn't everybody? That was one expensive $61 cigarette, let me tell you that. So my route home is simple but yet convoluted. LAS-SFO, United, then SFO-LHR, again United. I am supposed to then be travelling back to Dublin via a partner airline but I managed to only get my bag checked to LHR so the plan is to just collect the bag at London and walk out the door, where the better half will be waiting for me.

The flight between LAS-SFO was nice, quick and easy. Very little turbulence even though we took off to the west of the valley and normally when I've had takeoffs that way in the past it's been pretty bumpy going over Red Rock and Mount Charleston but it was just fine. Was a bit worried when we landed at SFO as we were informed that we all had to wait for paramedics as there was a medical emergency on board but they let us off before the paramedics came on board. As I was deplaning they came past me so I'm not sure what went on, as I had a 50 minute connection over at SFO so I grabbed my assistance wheelchair and headed over to the new gate, which was a lifetime away. Got there just as boarding began so was able to pre-board and chill before takeoff.

Now I'm currently sat at 31,000 feet having just crossed the border into Canada over Saskatchewan, with around 7hrs left. The tailwind has been between 65-130 mph the whole time which has helped the timings and we're scheduled to arrive 45 mins early. I'm fine with that!

 

Thanks for the TR. And I did see you on Troopers vlog.

 

Really enjoyed your report, warts and all.

 

Wow. Amazing trip report. Your hand history's really made me play those hand in my head with you. I cant believe I didn't see this TP before today. Thanks for sharing.

 

What detail, what honesty, what engaging writing. Loved this TR. After reading that wonderfully introspective post about your general state of mind, I have only one thing to add...

They did you a favor not putting that chicken parm on a bed of pasta. I always serve it to the side. It it sits on the sauced pasta for any length of time, it softens the crust on that side of the chicken beast. Putting it on the plate and serving the pasta to the side preserves its crispness better.

 

Really enjoyed your reports and writing style. You've inspired me to endeavor to write my own report, although I fear that I don't have your discipline for daily reports.

I've enjoyed playing at Ballys in the past, but the promos that they are running are so heavily geared to reward local grinders that I will be avoiding them this trip. They could at least have token high hand jackpots rather than being so freeroll/hours centric.

:Looks like you booked another win with the timing of your trip and avoiding the change in testing requirements.

 

Great TR!

 

Finally home, after some time in London, and straight back to the office desk this morning. No days off here!

Will do a full wrap up at some point in the next few hours, solely dependent on how much work I have sitting in my Inbox for me (spoiler alert: not much, I'm changing teams next month so winding down...)

Thank you all for the appreciative comments above

 

Turns out I had more work than I expected over the last couple of days but finally cleared the decks and in reactive mode now so have time to wrap this up. Just to finish off after I posted at 31,000 feet - the flight went well, got into London and straight through Customs and out the door, ignoring the last flight to Dublin. It's a handy trick for UK passengers as it avoids the ridiculously expensive UK tax which is only applied on departure and when you don't have status with the airline and are not collecting miles, then there's nothing to lose. Just have to hope you can persuade the ticketing desk to check your bag short.

Spent the day in London being a tourist and catching up with the better half despite being from the UK after sorting out currency changes etc and managed to stay awake until around 10pm. Got a decent night's sleep and thought I'd solved my jetlag issues. Woke up the next day and chilled in the hotel room before getting the train back to Birmingham. Got home, unpacked, did some shopping and was generally domestic. Went to bed and...could I sleep? Nope. Jetlag was back with a vengeance. I'm still struggling now, dead to the world by 10pm and walking up at 5am. Hopefully can drag it out longer tonight and tomorrow and fix that sleeping pattern!

 

Remember me posting this and being very vague about the shopping? Well, there was a reason for it. My better half had a link to this thread, and I had a specific reason for going shopping that I did not want her to know about, which was explained to her last night:

 

So, a wrap up.

Overall I considered the trip to be a success despite my wobbles in the last week. On the poker side of things I started the trip in the hole, at one point being -$1100ish. I got my act together though and at my highest point was at +$1200 before finishing at +$525 after the tournament and final session at Bally's.

Stats wise I had the following:

Sessions - 32
Profit - $525
Avg ROI - 9.4%
Total hours played - 93h 47m (this is approximate as I wasn't the best at breaks/clocking out)
Profitable Sessions - 56.25%
Expenses (tips) - $229

I played the most hours at Caesars (31), Venetian (12) and Aria (10). Venetian/Mandalay Bay/Westgate I won the most money at, Orleans/Bellagio/Aria I lost the most money at. I should avoid playing midweek and play Friday - Tuesday according to the profits by day of the week!

All of the hotels I stayed at were good and I could happily recommend all of them, but tbh I'm happy with most hotels as to me it's a place to sleep/shower/shave/s*** rather than somewhere I care about being in that much. Food wise I was generally boring on this trip. I mostly ate in chain restaurants and fast food joints, eating when I felt like it rather than booking places at set times. Everywhere was okay at best. Hexx stood out for me with that deal I mentioned above but I can't recommend it because they have that CNF fee. I couldn't be bothered arguing against it when I saw it but I won't be back until it's gone. Diablo's in Luxor was disappointing but apart from that I was happy eating anywhere. Flights wise I will learn from my mistakes and never change on the East Coast again. Domestic flights are horrendous. From now on it's always LAX/SFO/SEA/PHX if I can't get direct from UK/Ireland to Vegas.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. However, I would do my best to change a few things.

• Book a smoking room. That way then I spend less $$$ on VP.
• Stay in a hotel with an active 24hr poker room. I missed a lot of sessions because I was too tired to walk from Bally's to Caesars/Aria/MGM/Bellagio but had Bally's room been open, I'd have put in a couple of hours.
• Plan meals better. One thing I did get right was buying cereal/milk/single use cutlery & bowls. This saved me a fortune in breakfast and sped up my day.
• Come back when the mask mandate has gone. Whilst I didn't wear a mask (I wore a face shield due to health issues and this was accepted pretty much universally bar one bus driver and one snotty security guard on my 2nd to last day at Bally's, and they soon backed down once I mentioned federal exemption laws, ADA and Doctor's notes, and yes I did have my doctor's note to hand), I struggled to hear people during poker games because of the masks.
• Also come back when players in poker rooms can eat snacks at the table again. God forbid I eat a banana when not in a hand at a poker table, yet I can do it standing on the rail.
• Gamble less non-poker and plan some specific shows to break it up.

I'm glad I did it, can tick that off the ol' bucket list, but I'll do it again. And I'll probably chronicle it here again. Thanks for reading/watching/listening etc, I've enjoyed it and I hope you all have too. Good luck at the tables and in Vegas!

 

Thanks for taking the time to bring us along. A great read! Congrats on the ring!

GG

 

Just made it through this report. Absolutely love the dedicated poker trip!

 

I can guarantee you, it doesn't matter if the chicken is on the pasta or on the side of the pasta, it goes in one end and comes out at the other end, exactly the same way!!!

 

Does this have anything to do with the chicken not being on top of the pasta? Just kidding!! Cheer up man. Life can certainly be worse than spending 18 days in Vegas, or however you were there for, you gambled, ate well, came home a winner, and got a beautiful ring for the wife to boot. So many people would love to be in your shoes right about now. Be thankful for what you have and that you are able to travel and have fun. So many people have been devastated by what has been happening for the past 2 years, and still going through it. And then there are people who worry about their piece of chicken not being properly plated. Sorry brother, but I am a straight shooter, and say what's on my mind, good or bad. It's the Brooklyn way!!

 

Oh yeah, I know that I am thankful for the opportunity and as soon as I got home I just wanted to be back there, as I expected! Loved the trip, even that down period to be honest. It just happens from time to time. Coincidentally it was just after I'd bought the ring, and I think I just wanted to lock in the win, get back home and give the ring to the future wife, and felt a bit lonely at that point because I didn't really have anything to distract me whereas even on the longer trips, I always had something to do. Also, she was going through a rough week at work and me being 5000 miles away was getting to me a bit. Ah well, it happened and it's done now.

Never apologise for being a straight shooter either - I'm pretty damn blunt myself so I get it! (Also, I'm weird, I like the chicken on top of the pasta because I like the breading being soft due to previous dental issues, plus I, probably incorrectly, think it adds flavour to the pasta)