just missed the hookup 7/21-7/24

My trip cannot hope to compete with the T2V meet, so I’ll keep it brief…..this was more of a vacation than a Vegas trip….by that I mean it was relaxing, and bereft of the buffoonery that always accompanies a Vegas trip with my buddies. It was quality time with the wife, away from all responsibilities, which is always good.

Stayed at the Mirage….when checking in, I decided to forgo the $20 trick, and just mentioned nicely that if they had any upgrade rooms that weren’t being used, we’d certainly be happy to fill one. The girl checked, and sure enough, she put us in a…. I can’t remember what she called it…it was on the top non-suites floor, with a fantastic view over the volcano…we could see from the Wynn on our left, all the way down to the MGM on the right….really spectacular at night. There was also a special bank of elevators that only went to the 24th and 25th floors, and you had to put your key in to make it work….no jostling with the riff-raff for us.

Gambling:

Let me start by saying that my wife is the freaking Queen of black jack, and the Mirage is her very favorite place to play. She is happy there, and is content to stay right there and not gamble in other casinos….and that is exactly what we did. She played $10 and $15 black jack the entire time (which of course, gets you zero comps at the Mirage), and ended the trip up about $250. Nice work.

I played $3 / $6 hold’em the entire trip, and ended the trip up about $200. Much better than anticipated, as this was my first attempt at hold’em in a casino.

Poker highlights:

Being down to my last row of chips in my rack, getting a jacks over full house, with a straight and a flush draw on the board, going all in, and winning a $100 pot….rack goes from empty to full on one hand… nice.

Sitting down at my last session Wednesday night, next to the dealer….he asks if I want to buy in and get cards now, or wait for the blind to get to me…..buy in, of course! Pocket kings, which turns into kings full of aces….I crush the guy across from me who has an ace/king flush. Fold hand # 2 right away. Hand #3 is pocket queens, which turns into queens full of tens….same opponent, this time he has a high straight….ouch. I felt kind of bad for the guy. Had to get a second chip rack, and filled it after playing two hands. Nice.

Every night at the Mirage there is a poker tournament. It alternates between limit, and no limit. Wednesday’s was limit. The buy in was $120, with a $100 re-buy….this is several tables full of very good players…obviously out of my league. That being said, there are “satellite†tournaments during the day….one table, and a $25 buy in gets you $300 worth of chips. The winner gets $80 and free entry into that night’s tournament (but not the re-buy). This was the highlight of my trip. There were at least three Very good players at the table. The blinds went up every ten minutes (just like on tv!)….. 15/30, 30/60, 60/125, 100/200. It was awesome…. I went all in three times, and won each time. At the end, there were four of us, and the blinds were 100/200….I got jacks in the hole, and one turned on the flop….I raised, and two guys went all in….my full house fills and they are out! I am down to the final two! I had been told that a lot times, the final two make some sort of split. My opponent offered to split with me, and since I had tickets to a show that evening, I took the cash, and let him have the free tournament entry. I was stoked! I highly recommend these satellite tourney’s to any card players….very low entry, and a lot of fun…..how often are you going to get to sit in the Mirage poker room and say, “I’ll see your two hundred, and raise you two hundredâ€!!? Next time I want to play in a no limit tournament so I can go all in and stand behind my chair! :-D

Dining:

Paris buffet: do I even need to say it?

Carib Café: excellent, as always

Cheesecake factory: also always excellent

The Palm: I had been thinking about going here for a long time, but the price always put me off…decided to try it (since we couldn’t get reservations at Delmonico’s)….I have to say I was disappointed…..I guess when I pay $125 for two people, I have high expectations. The filet was good, but it was just meat on a plate…it didn’t shock and awe me. If you’re going to charge me $40 for a steak, do you really need to make me pay another $9 for some mashed potatoes? What’s the margin on that?! Bottom line, the food was fine, but I would not pay to eat there again.

Entertainment:

We saw Rita Rudner at NYNY. It was a good show to see with your wife. Lots of Man/Woman and relationship stuff….quite funny, and the tickets are reasonable. The only odd thing is that the show is not in a theatre…there is a stage, and there are chairs lined up to sit in…anyone who has sat in an arrangement like that knows that it’s pretty close quarters. I would recommend the show though.

Stuff:

Saw a kid getting his sneaks cleaned at a shoe shine stand….. whatever!

Chillin’ at the Mirage pool in the late afternoon with a giant pina colada Rules!

Do not split kings when sitting at my wife’s table

I love pocket Kings

Best quote:

Overheard from the black jack table next to my wife’s:

Player: What should I do?
Dealer: It’s Vegas! Do what you want to do!
Player: I’ll take a card
Dealer (deals card): OH! You want to Lose!

[ July 30, 2003, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: LV Terry ]

 

Post Script:

This was my week last week:

Monday: Vegas

Tuesday: Vegas

Wednesday: Vegas

Thursday: home from Vegas

Friday: play golf, crush buddy

Saturday: ten year old daughter has swim meet, takes two firsts and a second

Sunday: ocean kayaking with buddy from work.. two sea lions swim along with us for a while, see a pelican dive into ocean 25 yards away and come out with a fish


That was one fine week.

 

Thanks for providing the trip report. It does sound like you had a great week!

 

Great trip report, thanks for posting it.

T-57

 

What a week. How many weeks like that does one get in his life ?!?! Oh MAN !!

Thanks for the info on the day time tournaments, I have been looking for something like that for the our trip in Sept.
You just made a bunch of guys on low budgets real happy. Cheers.

If you can give some more detail on the rules of the game. I guess you played Texas Hold'em. Whats the blind and 15/30........
Thanks for the help.

 

Its always great to see someone enjoy the summer! Bet you are still on the GO from the week!

Thanks for the report!

 

Its always great to see someone enjoy the summer! Bet you are still on the GO from the week!

Thanks for the report!

 

great week lv terry...makes me wanna get to the tables real bad....guess ill just have to stick to the online stuff until i get out to vegas next year

kamil....the blinds (15/30, 30/60, .......) are forced bets that are made by the players to the left of the dealer button (hockey puck type thing that is passed around to represent who dealer would be).....the player to the immediate left of the button posts the small blind (15) and the player to the left of them(2 spots left of button) posts the big blind (30)....the blinds are used to make sure there is always action in the pot......hope that helps

man do i need a poker fix!!!!

 

Great report Terry. I was wondering about poker in Las Vegas and you seem like you had a great run. Were you able to spot the sucker at the table? I usually stay at the TI but I am thinking of trying the Mirage on my next trip in November (going November 7th through the 14th if anyone is around).

 

Every once in a while, I could actually spot the sucker at the table...how cool is That?!

Going back next week for a seminar, and I'm hoping to get back to the Mirage and play some more. I made sure to book a room at a hotel that has a card room (Monte Carlo) in case I get lazy and don't want to make the drive.

Kamil,

One of the guys at the table said he had played at several satelite tournaments that day, at different places....he said pokerrooms.com, or something like that, lists all the info.....I haven't had a chance to go there, so I don't know if I have it exactly correct above. It is definitely a great way to play casino poker for minimal cash....the no-limit hold'em tourney's were only $15!! I hope to have more info after next week!

T.