Grandpa passed away overnight. Amazing how fast he went. Monday I was on the phone with him, ready to book a flight the following week to visit, and when I told him flights were $950 he said "I'm not THAT sick - check later dates." Tuesday afternoon he was put in the hospital, in a lot of pain and difficulty breathing. He was heavily sedated, and comfortable. Wednesday afternoon my mom arrived and reported he was still heavily sedated, and was going to ask the doctor today to keep him less sedated so he could at least talk and visit. 4am local time, he passed away.
Cancer's a bitch. 48 hours after telling me he's not that sick, he's dead. I'm still in shock I think. Heading to Florida tomorrow for the funeral and to be with family.
*sigh*
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Vegas mini-report + life stuff
No extended Vegas trip report yet - had a lot going on, a lot on my mind since Vegas.
Finishing up school for the quarter, and been doing some soul-searching, trying to decide whether chemical dependency counseling really is the road I want to walk down. Haven't decided, but have decided to continue with classes through at least summer quarter.
Grandpa's been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year now. Did radiation, then a brief round of chemo which he stopped due to unbearable side effects. Things have been a roller coaster: 2 awesome weeks, followed by 3 horrible ones, 3 good days then 2 bad then 5 good then 6 bad....etc.... had what we thought was a routine procedure scheduled for this week (fluid build-up in the abdomen, which is very typical in pancreatic cancer, which was going to be removed either via drugs or otherwise), but once he hit the hospital he had great difficulty breathing, and since he's been kept overnight he's been heavily sedated and unaware of his surroundings. Talk about a bad beat...
I had been planning a trip next week to visit; unfortunately I may be going there earlier to say goodbye.
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Had a great time in Vegas. Venetian is a wonderful place to stay - awesome rooms, nice pools, great food - we didn't leave the Venetian/Palazzo complex for the first 36 hours of the trip.
KA was one of the most awe-inspiring, breathtaking shows I've ever experienced. Simply amazing. Even setting aside the story and the performances, just the technical feat that is the Ka stage and theatre is just -- well, stunning. I'd recommend it to anyone at anytime. I'd go see it again; hell if the tickets were cheaper I'd have stayed for the 2nd show. Unreal, and marvelous.
As far as poker -- had fun playing. I ended the trip down due to a guy making a great call and my draw not making it. It was my last day, my last short session, and check-raised all in on the turn with an OESD + flush draw, the guy tanked for what seemed like 5 minutes before calling with bottom-two pair. I honestly didn't think he was as strong as that even, but he made the call and won the pot, kudos to him.
Rest of the play was totally uneventful -- the place was swarming with poker players, the Venetian poker room was even packed at 3am Saturday night/Sunday morning when I went down. Unreal. The late night action was super-loose and quite passive. I chipped up a bit each night, never any huge hands or big scores.
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Been playing online micro-stakes the past week or so ($0.02/$0.05), playing super-loose and making a ton of VERY loose calls with middle and sometimes only bottom-pair. I was the Calling Station at the table, though these were often against players who had been showing a penchant for over-bluffing. I also got some big pots (for the stakes) that allowed me to gambool a bit more than was likely prudent. My FT account took about a $6 hit over the past 7 days, much of which happened 2 nights ago.
Had some really, really sick beats too. Big-time coolers, too - like the blind-vs-blind hand where I flop top 2 and opponent flops a set, I flop a set with AA and get run down by a flush draw with Qs7s... oh, well. If I'm not in Florida I'll be headed to Tulalip for a live-session this Friday; I sometimes feel like I'm easily bluffed, and so don't mind taking a small hit online by getting the "calling-station syndrome" out of my system.
Finishing up school for the quarter, and been doing some soul-searching, trying to decide whether chemical dependency counseling really is the road I want to walk down. Haven't decided, but have decided to continue with classes through at least summer quarter.
Grandpa's been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year now. Did radiation, then a brief round of chemo which he stopped due to unbearable side effects. Things have been a roller coaster: 2 awesome weeks, followed by 3 horrible ones, 3 good days then 2 bad then 5 good then 6 bad....etc.... had what we thought was a routine procedure scheduled for this week (fluid build-up in the abdomen, which is very typical in pancreatic cancer, which was going to be removed either via drugs or otherwise), but once he hit the hospital he had great difficulty breathing, and since he's been kept overnight he's been heavily sedated and unaware of his surroundings. Talk about a bad beat...
I had been planning a trip next week to visit; unfortunately I may be going there earlier to say goodbye.
------------
Had a great time in Vegas. Venetian is a wonderful place to stay - awesome rooms, nice pools, great food - we didn't leave the Venetian/Palazzo complex for the first 36 hours of the trip.
KA was one of the most awe-inspiring, breathtaking shows I've ever experienced. Simply amazing. Even setting aside the story and the performances, just the technical feat that is the Ka stage and theatre is just -- well, stunning. I'd recommend it to anyone at anytime. I'd go see it again; hell if the tickets were cheaper I'd have stayed for the 2nd show. Unreal, and marvelous.
As far as poker -- had fun playing. I ended the trip down due to a guy making a great call and my draw not making it. It was my last day, my last short session, and check-raised all in on the turn with an OESD + flush draw, the guy tanked for what seemed like 5 minutes before calling with bottom-two pair. I honestly didn't think he was as strong as that even, but he made the call and won the pot, kudos to him.
Rest of the play was totally uneventful -- the place was swarming with poker players, the Venetian poker room was even packed at 3am Saturday night/Sunday morning when I went down. Unreal. The late night action was super-loose and quite passive. I chipped up a bit each night, never any huge hands or big scores.
------------
Been playing online micro-stakes the past week or so ($0.02/$0.05), playing super-loose and making a ton of VERY loose calls with middle and sometimes only bottom-pair. I was the Calling Station at the table, though these were often against players who had been showing a penchant for over-bluffing. I also got some big pots (for the stakes) that allowed me to gambool a bit more than was likely prudent. My FT account took about a $6 hit over the past 7 days, much of which happened 2 nights ago.
Had some really, really sick beats too. Big-time coolers, too - like the blind-vs-blind hand where I flop top 2 and opponent flops a set, I flop a set with AA and get run down by a flush draw with Qs7s... oh, well. If I'm not in Florida I'll be headed to Tulalip for a live-session this Friday; I sometimes feel like I'm easily bluffed, and so don't mind taking a small hit online by getting the "calling-station syndrome" out of my system.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
VEGAS THURSDAY!!
That's right, it's time to get back to Vegas! Just checked the weather report, and it's gonna be gorgeous Thurs-Sat, with temps in the mid-80's. Talk about perfect vacation weather!
I'm excited -- I've been going through major life-stress, with a crap-ton of schoolwork to do, a close relative in the declining stages of a fight with cancer, deciding what I really want to do with my future, and having my workload nearly doubled with no increase in hours or pay. I can't get awa soon enough! Thank god I don't drink anymore, because if I did I'm certain I would have looked forward to a 3-day blackout, and who knows where I would come to. I do think, though, I'll be looking to gambool it up a bit more than last time, though this could be partly from watching too much durrrr on HSP and PAD cash game...
I'm hoping to play some longer sessions this time around -- since we'll be staying at Venetian, I think I'll be playing a bit more, as we'll be spending less time traveling from the south-end of the strip to the central part, plus between the Venetian and Palazo it's likely we won't be wandering out of that complex for too much of the time.
At this point I wish we had booked through Sunday. But, I do have to get back and study for my finals. And we don't leave until 8:30pm Saturday, so we almost have 3 full days there.
Vegas!! Woo-hoo-hoo!!!
I'm excited -- I've been going through major life-stress, with a crap-ton of schoolwork to do, a close relative in the declining stages of a fight with cancer, deciding what I really want to do with my future, and having my workload nearly doubled with no increase in hours or pay. I can't get awa soon enough! Thank god I don't drink anymore, because if I did I'm certain I would have looked forward to a 3-day blackout, and who knows where I would come to. I do think, though, I'll be looking to gambool it up a bit more than last time, though this could be partly from watching too much durrrr on HSP and PAD cash game...
I'm hoping to play some longer sessions this time around -- since we'll be staying at Venetian, I think I'll be playing a bit more, as we'll be spending less time traveling from the south-end of the strip to the central part, plus between the Venetian and Palazo it's likely we won't be wandering out of that complex for too much of the time.
At this point I wish we had booked through Sunday. But, I do have to get back and study for my finals. And we don't leave until 8:30pm Saturday, so we almost have 3 full days there.
Vegas!! Woo-hoo-hoo!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Vegas in 2 weeks, Tulalip 2 weeks ago...
Rebecca and I booked another Vegas trip a few weeks back; we'll be there June 4-6. Gonna be hot as balls, but if we didn't go then we were looking at 7 weeks later, when it will be hotter than balls. I'll chose "hot as" over "hotter than" any day.
Staying at Venetian - pricier than I would opt for, but the chick is all about feeling like a queen on our little mini-vacation. I'm totally fine with it, and we did end up getting an OK deal. I also found other ways to save money over our last trip (mostly on transport to/from the airports), so we'll be spending less overall on this trip than last one. It'll also be nice staying in the same hotel where I'll likely want to play most of my poker (save for a little bit at MGM before or after we se Ka).
SO looking forward to getting away from work again. I'll still have one more day of school the next week, and a final exam to study for, but the little Thurs-Sat jaunt will be a nice mind-break before the final.
-----------------------------
Couple Saturday's back I played some $1/$3 in the afternoon while Rebecca shopped. Glad there's an outlet mall right by Tulalip :)
I was playing loose and gambly, knowing I only had a few hours to play and hoping to make a nice score, willing to put a couple buy-ins on the line against weak-passive players. Much more passive than night time games IMO.
Only hand I remember vividly was one where I called on the button with A7o vs a player I was sure I could play and represent and push them off a hand. After hitting a 7 on the flop I called a flop bet, checked behind on the turn, and folded to a $100 river bet. The board was innoccuous, but I could likely only beat a bluff (or 88+). I said to him "I think I'm supposed to call you here," and then asked him whether he wanted a call or if he was happy with the pot as it is, etc. There was something - the speed of his river bet, his tone of voice, the way he moved, etc - that screamed "BLUFF" to me.
I turned over my 7 and said "I want to call you with just this, but I have to fold," and mucked my hand. He tables AT for no pair, and takes down the $100-ish pot.
If only I could consistently follow my instincts... of course when you play once/month it's hard to have much faith in your instincts. Still, it's something of which I need to be aware.
(for those curious, I ended up one buy-in after about 3 hours...not bad for a Saturday afternoon)
Staying at Venetian - pricier than I would opt for, but the chick is all about feeling like a queen on our little mini-vacation. I'm totally fine with it, and we did end up getting an OK deal. I also found other ways to save money over our last trip (mostly on transport to/from the airports), so we'll be spending less overall on this trip than last one. It'll also be nice staying in the same hotel where I'll likely want to play most of my poker (save for a little bit at MGM before or after we se Ka).
SO looking forward to getting away from work again. I'll still have one more day of school the next week, and a final exam to study for, but the little Thurs-Sat jaunt will be a nice mind-break before the final.
-----------------------------
Couple Saturday's back I played some $1/$3 in the afternoon while Rebecca shopped. Glad there's an outlet mall right by Tulalip :)
I was playing loose and gambly, knowing I only had a few hours to play and hoping to make a nice score, willing to put a couple buy-ins on the line against weak-passive players. Much more passive than night time games IMO.
Only hand I remember vividly was one where I called on the button with A7o vs a player I was sure I could play and represent and push them off a hand. After hitting a 7 on the flop I called a flop bet, checked behind on the turn, and folded to a $100 river bet. The board was innoccuous, but I could likely only beat a bluff (or 88+). I said to him "I think I'm supposed to call you here," and then asked him whether he wanted a call or if he was happy with the pot as it is, etc. There was something - the speed of his river bet, his tone of voice, the way he moved, etc - that screamed "BLUFF" to me.
I turned over my 7 and said "I want to call you with just this, but I have to fold," and mucked my hand. He tables AT for no pair, and takes down the $100-ish pot.
If only I could consistently follow my instincts... of course when you play once/month it's hard to have much faith in your instincts. Still, it's something of which I need to be aware.
(for those curious, I ended up one buy-in after about 3 hours...not bad for a Saturday afternoon)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Vegas day 2-3
Late night Saturday night/Sunday morning: Mandalay Bay $1/$2
Luxor poker room was kind of dingy looking (don't like the black/gray look to the room), so we wandered to Mandalay Bay. Nice place, pretty (and easy to access) poker room. Very short wait (2am and 4 $1/$2 tables and 2 $2/$5 tables going). One guy at my table has $1400 in front of him; a number of $600 stacks; large, $15-20 preflop opening raises seemed standard.
Plusses: pretty room; easy to find; $300 buy-in; loose, seemingly rich crowd.
Minusses: high-hand jackpot = additional $0.50-$1 rake; the first two tables are close enough to the entrance that anyone standing just at the edge smoking will fill the area with cigarette smoke; no chopping blinds (?!!?!)
I flopped a set and turned a boat at one point and somehow couldn't get the guy who couldn't ever let go of top pair to call me. Still not sure what he called my large flop raise and turn bets with that he couldn't pay off the value-bet on the river (it was 3am, I had been up for 21 hours and don't recall the board).
I had a fairly standard session here. The table was SO so loose - most every hand, raised or limped, was multi-way. I was involved in a couple 5-way hands after raising in EP to $12. No hands stand out, no players seemed exceptionally good/bad. Liked it, but didn't like the rake or the no-chop deal.
Ended this session down $30.
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Sunday afternoon: $1/$2 MGM
Nice room, though also the slowest dealers so far - they seemed more interested in recounting stories with the 2 regulars at the table than dealing the game. Mix of experienced and new players; very loose action. $200 buy-in, which is fine, but I appreciate the $300 deeper games.
2 hands of note:
1. I call a $12 preflop raise OTB with 7d 8d. 3-way action. FLOP: 8s 5d 6d. 2 checks to me, I bet $35, 1 call. Original raiser check-raises all-in for another $115. I'm obviously behind now, but I like the fact that I have 20 outs to a flush, straight, trips, or two pair, so I call. Somehow I miss half the deck on the turn and river, and QQ wins the hand unimproved.
2. Tight, tight player open raises to $20 from CO-1; I raise to $40 OTB with AA; sb insta-calls. Original raiser raises an additional $100 (leaving only $100 behind). I figured he's committed, and don't know what insta-caller would smooth with from SB, so I push. SB folds. After SB folds, I have a brain-fart and think the original raiser was already all-in, and I table my hand. He shows me KK and tosses them into the muck. I drag a $180 pot w/o seeing a
flop, but probably lost out on another $100 due to lack-of-sleep killing my attention span and me brain-farting. SB had QQ, btw (he folded but dealer let him keep his cards near him to show after the hand).
End the session +$45
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Monday afternoon: $1/$2 Mandalay bay
We checked out at 10:30, gave our bags to the Luxor folks, and went about our day. Becca wanted to do some shopping in the area between Luxor and Mandalay, so I was going to play at Luxor but they only had 1 table and 2 names on the list, floor guy said they wouldn't get a new game going in all likelihood for another hour or 2 = Mandalay Bay again.
About 15 minute wait for a seat at one of the tables. Number of $5-600 stacks, lots of action. LOTs of loose action. Both tables going look juicy. They actually start to sit me at a new table they were opening, but then move me to one already going (which makes me wonder if this was the same day Pauly wrote this; I didn't look at anyone over there though).
2 hands of note:
1. I join 3 limpers and limp OTB with 8d9d. SB raises to $10, only 1 other call, I call.
FLOP: 7J7 rainbow.
SB bets $20, folds to me. I sensed weakness, and thought I could take it away, as he likely won't have a 7 here - I raised to $65. He takes a lot of time, and just calls.
TURN: (7J7) Q
SB checks. I still have the straight draw, so I used position and took a free card.
RIVER: (7J7Q) 2
SB checks. I think I can take it away with a big bet - say $125. But I wimp out, all the sudden afraid he may have flopped a boat with JJ, and give up. I say nice hand, I check, and he shows KK. I know a big bet would have taken it down.
2. UTG raises to $10, 1 call; I reraise to $45 OTB with AA. UTG calls, other folds.
FLOP: 5J5.
UTG checks, I lead out $75, UTG check-raises all-in to $200ish. I instacall and table KK. He shows J4 clubs. Turn and river blank out.
I wish I were more awake, because that guy bought in twice already, and is rebuying again. Calling $45 preflop with only $250 holding J4 soooted? JUICY! As it stands, I was near the 2 hour mark, and struggling to keep my focus. I decided to play two more rounds or so, and get outta there before my decision making totally deteriorated.
End the session: +$350
Luxor poker room was kind of dingy looking (don't like the black/gray look to the room), so we wandered to Mandalay Bay. Nice place, pretty (and easy to access) poker room. Very short wait (2am and 4 $1/$2 tables and 2 $2/$5 tables going). One guy at my table has $1400 in front of him; a number of $600 stacks; large, $15-20 preflop opening raises seemed standard.
Plusses: pretty room; easy to find; $300 buy-in; loose, seemingly rich crowd.
Minusses: high-hand jackpot = additional $0.50-$1 rake; the first two tables are close enough to the entrance that anyone standing just at the edge smoking will fill the area with cigarette smoke; no chopping blinds (?!!?!)
I flopped a set and turned a boat at one point and somehow couldn't get the guy who couldn't ever let go of top pair to call me. Still not sure what he called my large flop raise and turn bets with that he couldn't pay off the value-bet on the river (it was 3am, I had been up for 21 hours and don't recall the board).
I had a fairly standard session here. The table was SO so loose - most every hand, raised or limped, was multi-way. I was involved in a couple 5-way hands after raising in EP to $12. No hands stand out, no players seemed exceptionally good/bad. Liked it, but didn't like the rake or the no-chop deal.
Ended this session down $30.
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Sunday afternoon: $1/$2 MGM
Nice room, though also the slowest dealers so far - they seemed more interested in recounting stories with the 2 regulars at the table than dealing the game. Mix of experienced and new players; very loose action. $200 buy-in, which is fine, but I appreciate the $300 deeper games.
2 hands of note:
1. I call a $12 preflop raise OTB with 7d 8d. 3-way action. FLOP: 8s 5d 6d. 2 checks to me, I bet $35, 1 call. Original raiser check-raises all-in for another $115. I'm obviously behind now, but I like the fact that I have 20 outs to a flush, straight, trips, or two pair, so I call. Somehow I miss half the deck on the turn and river, and QQ wins the hand unimproved.
2. Tight, tight player open raises to $20 from CO-1; I raise to $40 OTB with AA; sb insta-calls. Original raiser raises an additional $100 (leaving only $100 behind). I figured he's committed, and don't know what insta-caller would smooth with from SB, so I push. SB folds. After SB folds, I have a brain-fart and think the original raiser was already all-in, and I table my hand. He shows me KK and tosses them into the muck. I drag a $180 pot w/o seeing a
flop, but probably lost out on another $100 due to lack-of-sleep killing my attention span and me brain-farting. SB had QQ, btw (he folded but dealer let him keep his cards near him to show after the hand).
End the session +$45
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Monday afternoon: $1/$2 Mandalay bay
We checked out at 10:30, gave our bags to the Luxor folks, and went about our day. Becca wanted to do some shopping in the area between Luxor and Mandalay, so I was going to play at Luxor but they only had 1 table and 2 names on the list, floor guy said they wouldn't get a new game going in all likelihood for another hour or 2 = Mandalay Bay again.
About 15 minute wait for a seat at one of the tables. Number of $5-600 stacks, lots of action. LOTs of loose action. Both tables going look juicy. They actually start to sit me at a new table they were opening, but then move me to one already going (which makes me wonder if this was the same day Pauly wrote this; I didn't look at anyone over there though).
2 hands of note:
1. I join 3 limpers and limp OTB with 8d9d. SB raises to $10, only 1 other call, I call.
FLOP: 7J7 rainbow.
SB bets $20, folds to me. I sensed weakness, and thought I could take it away, as he likely won't have a 7 here - I raised to $65. He takes a lot of time, and just calls.
TURN: (7J7) Q
SB checks. I still have the straight draw, so I used position and took a free card.
RIVER: (7J7Q) 2
SB checks. I think I can take it away with a big bet - say $125. But I wimp out, all the sudden afraid he may have flopped a boat with JJ, and give up. I say nice hand, I check, and he shows KK. I know a big bet would have taken it down.
2. UTG raises to $10, 1 call; I reraise to $45 OTB with AA. UTG calls, other folds.
FLOP: 5J5.
UTG checks, I lead out $75, UTG check-raises all-in to $200ish. I instacall and table KK. He shows J4 clubs. Turn and river blank out.
I wish I were more awake, because that guy bought in twice already, and is rebuying again. Calling $45 preflop with only $250 holding J4 soooted? JUICY! As it stands, I was near the 2 hour mark, and struggling to keep my focus. I decided to play two more rounds or so, and get outta there before my decision making totally deteriorated.
End the session: +$350
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Vegas recap - Saturday
My 2nd trip to Vegas, will vastly different than my first trip, was a lot of fun. I love that city. Becca and I have already decided to go back, probably in July after the WS0P.
My first trip was poker dotted with a couple hours of sleep and a couple shows at night; this trip was much more centered on spending time with the SO, dotted by a little poker and a couple shows.
Uneventful flight on Saturday, and we were able to check in right around noon, which was nice. After a little lunch we walked through the Luxor, over through Mandalay bay, gazed at the pool, checked out menus for possible dinners. I couldn't believe how many chicks in wedding dresses we saw. Thankfully they didn't cause Rebecca to start seeing a wedding chapel in our future. Phew.
She wanted to play some slots, so she put $5 into a quarter machine and started spinning. When she was done I put $1 into the quarter machine next to her; played all 4 credits on one spin and won 2 credits. I played all 5 credits on the next spin and won $22.25 and immediately cashed out. I've never won on a slot machine before.
-EV games: +$21.25.
We walked over through MGM, and to the monorail, off at the Flamingo to pick up our tickets to X-Burlesque. From there we walked to Venetian so I could play some poker. Was a really gorgeous afternoon - 65 degrees, sunny, a touch of a breeze... especially compared to the 45-degree rainy gray we've gotten used to in Seattle, it was perfect!
I played at the Venetian briefly my last trip, and remember the game feeling small - but that was probably because I had come from playing the $1/$3 at Caesars.
This trip, it felt much like the Tulalip game I usually play, but with a little better players (probably due to a couple Vegas regulars that were at the table). The game was strange for a while - I won way more hands than I should have the first hour, with no show downs. I was getting more respect than I expected, and definitely more than I deserved. There were weak players who would buckle to pressure (like when I reraised from position with air on a paired raggy board and the original raiser folded queens face-up), a calling station that didn't fold anything preflop (literally - played 100% of hands at least to the flop)...
I lost one fairly decent sized pot to an opponent with Qh3h after I flopped top two; turn put 2 hearts on the board and the 3rd heart came on the river. I didn't mind much losing the pot since he chased a backdoor flush draw. The guy was "helpful" enough to tell me that I didn't bet enough on the turn for him to lay it down, that even if he got an extra $30 on the river it was worth calling. I didn't bother telling him that he only had 7 of the 9 outs he thought he did (as the Ah or Kh would've boated me up), or asking how he called on the flop with undercards and a backdoor draw - I want those calls all the time.
I left after a couple hours, down $115 (which was a bummer as I was up about $100 at one point - the flush hand actually cost me $140). Small losses don't phase me anymore, though my girlfriend seemed surprised I was so casual about losing that amount. No, she's not a poker player, or really much of a gambler.
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Saturday evening - X Burlesque at the Flamingo.
Well.
Their production video is really great - show looks good, dancers look energetic and hot.
Sadly, the 60-second video was much better than the show itself. Tucked into this tiny little theater, the tacky-factor is sky-high. And unfortunately, the dancers are just -- not that good. Shakeera carried the show: her dancing was engaging, energetic, fun to watch - she was committed to every move she made. The others? Not-so-hot. Bec and I after the show referred to one as "the comotose blonde," but really all (save for Shakeera and the one with the biggest and most obvious fake tits) lacked so much energy and sex appeal.
All had awesome bodies - awesome bodies, so that wasn't hard to take. But - watching hot women who appear bored and dead-tired prance around a cheesey-looking stage with crappy set decoration just isn't my idea of fun. Add to that the really bad comedian that did a too-long routine half way through the show (James Bean), and being charged $5.77 for a sprite (no vodka, just sprite), that part of the evening was quite a let down.
The good part? Bec and I were able to sit in the back of the theatre, side-by-side, so we were able to talk to each other throughout the show, making fun of the dancers (except Shakeera, who we both thought was hot), laughing, etc. That part was fun. The show? Not so much.
My first trip was poker dotted with a couple hours of sleep and a couple shows at night; this trip was much more centered on spending time with the SO, dotted by a little poker and a couple shows.
Uneventful flight on Saturday, and we were able to check in right around noon, which was nice. After a little lunch we walked through the Luxor, over through Mandalay bay, gazed at the pool, checked out menus for possible dinners. I couldn't believe how many chicks in wedding dresses we saw. Thankfully they didn't cause Rebecca to start seeing a wedding chapel in our future. Phew.
She wanted to play some slots, so she put $5 into a quarter machine and started spinning. When she was done I put $1 into the quarter machine next to her; played all 4 credits on one spin and won 2 credits. I played all 5 credits on the next spin and won $22.25 and immediately cashed out. I've never won on a slot machine before.
-EV games: +$21.25.
We walked over through MGM, and to the monorail, off at the Flamingo to pick up our tickets to X-Burlesque. From there we walked to Venetian so I could play some poker. Was a really gorgeous afternoon - 65 degrees, sunny, a touch of a breeze... especially compared to the 45-degree rainy gray we've gotten used to in Seattle, it was perfect!
I played at the Venetian briefly my last trip, and remember the game feeling small - but that was probably because I had come from playing the $1/$3 at Caesars.
This trip, it felt much like the Tulalip game I usually play, but with a little better players (probably due to a couple Vegas regulars that were at the table). The game was strange for a while - I won way more hands than I should have the first hour, with no show downs. I was getting more respect than I expected, and definitely more than I deserved. There were weak players who would buckle to pressure (like when I reraised from position with air on a paired raggy board and the original raiser folded queens face-up), a calling station that didn't fold anything preflop (literally - played 100% of hands at least to the flop)...
I lost one fairly decent sized pot to an opponent with Qh3h after I flopped top two; turn put 2 hearts on the board and the 3rd heart came on the river. I didn't mind much losing the pot since he chased a backdoor flush draw. The guy was "helpful" enough to tell me that I didn't bet enough on the turn for him to lay it down, that even if he got an extra $30 on the river it was worth calling. I didn't bother telling him that he only had 7 of the 9 outs he thought he did (as the Ah or Kh would've boated me up), or asking how he called on the flop with undercards and a backdoor draw - I want those calls all the time.
I left after a couple hours, down $115 (which was a bummer as I was up about $100 at one point - the flush hand actually cost me $140). Small losses don't phase me anymore, though my girlfriend seemed surprised I was so casual about losing that amount. No, she's not a poker player, or really much of a gambler.
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Saturday evening - X Burlesque at the Flamingo.
Well.
Their production video is really great - show looks good, dancers look energetic and hot.
Sadly, the 60-second video was much better than the show itself. Tucked into this tiny little theater, the tacky-factor is sky-high. And unfortunately, the dancers are just -- not that good. Shakeera carried the show: her dancing was engaging, energetic, fun to watch - she was committed to every move she made. The others? Not-so-hot. Bec and I after the show referred to one as "the comotose blonde," but really all (save for Shakeera and the one with the biggest and most obvious fake tits) lacked so much energy and sex appeal.
All had awesome bodies - awesome bodies, so that wasn't hard to take. But - watching hot women who appear bored and dead-tired prance around a cheesey-looking stage with crappy set decoration just isn't my idea of fun. Add to that the really bad comedian that did a too-long routine half way through the show (James Bean), and being charged $5.77 for a sprite (no vodka, just sprite), that part of the evening was quite a let down.
The good part? Bec and I were able to sit in the back of the theatre, side-by-side, so we were able to talk to each other throughout the show, making fun of the dancers (except Shakeera, who we both thought was hot), laughing, etc. That part was fun. The show? Not so much.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Vegas recap
...details coming soon...
Brief overview:
- short sessions all-around
- played at Venetian, MGM, and Mandalay Bay
- spa suite at Luxor is awesome, with hot tub overlooking the mountains to the east
- Saw David Benyamine in and around Bobby's room, on the phone, probably trying to get a game together
- wasted money (and time) at X Burlesque (which included paying $5.77 for a frackin' Sprite!)
- enjoyed Zumanity, though the close (and more expensive) seats were tough on the neck, and would've been better in the upper orchestra, or even balcony (i.e. the "cheap seats")
All-in-all, fun fun FUN times. We've already started figuring out when our next Vegas jaunt will be; likely June or July. I ended the weekend up in poker, and up $0.50 on -EV games (slot, roulette, blackjack).
Brief overview:
- short sessions all-around
- played at Venetian, MGM, and Mandalay Bay
- spa suite at Luxor is awesome, with hot tub overlooking the mountains to the east
- Saw David Benyamine in and around Bobby's room, on the phone, probably trying to get a game together
- wasted money (and time) at X Burlesque (which included paying $5.77 for a frackin' Sprite!)
- enjoyed Zumanity, though the close (and more expensive) seats were tough on the neck, and would've been better in the upper orchestra, or even balcony (i.e. the "cheap seats")
All-in-all, fun fun FUN times. We've already started figuring out when our next Vegas jaunt will be; likely June or July. I ended the weekend up in poker, and up $0.50 on -EV games (slot, roulette, blackjack).
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