Up, Down, And Around Vegas.....10/9-10/14

Wow...so much to tell about this trip....it was the most exciting and most profitable trip I have ever taken to Vegas......

A side note before I begin - my bankroll started at a mere $127. I usually buy in to a $2/4 or $3/6 LHE with $80-$100. If I bust, I rarely buy back in for another $30 or $40 - usually, I get up and walk away...I had taken out $120 from the ATM - out of $247 - I returned with $213. $37 plus $72 for the split cost of the hotel and $197 in airfare. If my math is correct - that means the entire cost of the trip was $306!!!!!

Tuesday, Oct 9th

After a long flight from West Palm Beach, Florida, I finally arrived. I headed down to the baggage claim and it was only a matter of minutes, when I got a tap on my shoulder from my good friend Pat. Pat's from New Mexico and I'm from Florida, she loves slots and I love poker - it just seems logical to meet in Vegas...lol!!!

We used the Greyline Shuttle to Binion's - $15 RT. At Binion's, I got the poker room manager to get me the casino rate for the room - $29 for three weeknights and $45 for the weekend night - a wopping $144 for four nights stay - $77 a piece! We go up to the room - it was a nice room on the 21st floor, with a balcony overlooking Fremont Street. As tradition speaks, we head down to the Binion's coffee shop and catch up on some old news...After a few hours of that - I head to the Binion's poker room and Pat heads to the machines. After a 4-5 hour session on the $2/4 LHE table, I end up about $120 ahead - not bad for the first night in Vegas!

Wednesday, October 10th

Only a few hours of sleep, and I go down to the Binion's coffee shop, while Pat sleeps (she's a real night owl). I played a little VP before going to the poker room again. Stayed fairly even in both places....Pat and I met up around 5 pm and went to get our rental car at Four Queens. This is my first time driving in Vegas - I was sooooooo scared and nervous, but, I got used to the crazy traffic rather quickly. Once in the car, we head to Ellis Island for the much talked about $6.95 steak dinner. It was really good, I must say - but, the best part of that meal was the New York style cheesecake.....mmmmmmmm - it was so creamy......We played around on the slots a little, with little to no luck (lost about $30), before we headed to The Stratosphere . Now, you have to understand - this is my 5th trip to Vegas and everytime, I went, I'd say I wanted to see The Stratosphere - but, never did. So, finally - after 5 trips - I made it to the top!!! LOL!!! We really didn't expect the long line by the elevators, but, it moved pretty fast and, there we were - overlooking Vegas from 1000 feet up! It was a great view! After going up the tower, Pat and I played a few slots. Pat, with her luck, won about $200 on one of the older quarter machines. I lost about $30 or so. Then, we headed to the Palace Station - nice casino with good vibes. I thought I'd try my hand at BJ while Pat went to her machines. That was my first time playing BJ live - I think I did alright - thankfully, there was a nice guy to my left that coached me, when needed. Then, we headed back to Binion's, where I played some more poker. After another long session with some local diehards, I was up about $110.

Thursday, October 11th

I head to the strip to meet one of my poker playing buddies from home at Harrah's. Ted and his wife, Josie, had already been in Vegas for about a week and we were going to play the 11 AM tourney there. Ted told me to look for him in the sports book - no Ted anywhere. I played the tourney - $60 buy in with only 2 tables filled. Not much of a tourney and not much in cards...and no Ted! I was out in 12th place.... After that, I head back to Binion's - I played some more poker - losing about $50 or so. Early afternoon, we headed to see the Red Rock. We drove past the casino and got to see some fabulous sites of the Red Rock mountains - it was beautiful! Incredible views! Then, we headed to the Red Rock casino - we played a little here and there on the machines - no luck! Red Rock is a pretty casino, but we got some bad vibes there...we left and headed to Orleans to see about my 7 pm Omaha tourney. At the Orleans, I withdrew $120 - my one and only ATM withdrawl on the whole trip! I liked Orleans - good atmosphere - friendly and warm casino....unfortunately, their poker room is being remodeled and tourneys are temporarily suspended! On that note, we head to the buffet - which was pretty good. After the buffet, we headed for the machines - I won about $100 and Pat won too! After Orleans, we went to the Palms - beautiful hotel, but did we feel OLD!! There are soooooo many young peeps there - it was incredible! Back to downtown for some breakfast at Careful Kitties at the El Cortez. I headed to the Binion's poker room, while Pat found some more winning machines! This is the only poker session where I had to rebuy (after my original $80) buy in....but, I still came out $90 or so ahead. And had a great time playing (played till 6 AM) with these diehard poker players! A ton of laughs.....

Friday, October 12th....

After about 5 hours of sleep, we head to see the famous Las Vegas sign, before going to the Rio. The Mardi Gras theme to this casino really makes it wild! We got to see the show and the sites, as well as eat at the buffet! We had a lot of fun - didn't play much there, cause we needed to get the car back by 5 PM. Back downtown (and no more car), Pat played some machines while I played some more poker. Around 9 PM, we got ready and went to the Binion's Steakhouse. This dinner really capped off the trip - steak that melted in your mouth and a killer view! And, the majority of that dinner was comped - making it all the tastier! After the dinner, we headed down to play some machines at Four Queens. We dabbled at various quarter machines - one of them being The Diablo! I won $200 on that machine, as well winning small amounts on others. It was crazy - I felt like the Midas man - everything I touched turned a few coins!!! After playing at Four Queens and some others, I went back to the Binion's poker room - stayed fairly even and had another great time!

Saturday, October 13th

Our last day....after packing and checking out, we went to Binion's coffee shop and had breakfast, also comped. Pat had to get the shuttle back at 2 PM and I wasn't leaving till 8:30 PM. After another fun filled 4 days - I waved goodbye to Pat. I went back in to the poker room, for my last session of poker. The last two hours, I switched from a $3/6 LHE to a $1/2 NLHE table....I held my own, but played way too tight. I came out $25 ahead, but I know I folded some winning hands. The Greyline Shuttle was to pick me up at 8:40 PM - they were late - and the young driver said he got lost trying to find Binion's - hmmmm :confused2: The driver picked up a young guy at El Cortez and we were on the way to the airport. My plane was taking off at 10:55 PM. We're headed down Paradise Blvd (I beleive), when a car unexpectedly pulls over in our lane! BASH!!!! The shuttle bus hits the car on the passenger side. The guy and girl in the car take a long time coming out - she's in there cussing him out... hmmmmmm - could he have been drinking? How can you not see this huge shuttle bus to your left??? Anyway, Las Vegas' finest come and get all the information. I don't think they caught on to him being slightly tipsy and you could tell the relief felt by both him and his girlfriend! After standing out there awhile, another shuttle bus picks us up - I got to the airport at about 10:50 PM - not enough time to get to the plane! This was my final convincing straw - next trip, I'm renting a car at the airport - I'm not relying on this shuttle anymore! Next flight out is 12:55 AM with a 3 hour layover in Atlanta....oh well.......

A little crazy twist to a great trip - but, overall - I can't complain - it was so much fun - so exciting to drive down the Strip at night, to see the view from the Stratosphere, to win money at poker and on the slots, and to have some great times with Pat!

Next trip to Vegas??? April.....it's so far away!!!!!

 

Great trip. Vegas rules!

 

Except for the shuttle crash at the end you had a really good trip. Did you have to pay any extra for having to catch a later flight?

 

No - I didn't have to pay - Delta waived the $50 change fee because of the accident....I was kind of half hoping they would have told me there's no flights out till the next day, but...no such luck - only two hours later....