Vegas Trip Part 1

On Sunday, March 8^th, I flew to Las Vegas.  I was starting a new job on Monday, March 16^th, and wanted to get one last trip to Las Vegas in before going back to work.  I also have no idea when I will have more vacation time, so it seemed like a good time and reason to go.  I got to the airport and surprisingly, Allegiant was on time and there was no delay.  There were no issues and we were off for Vegas!  We landed approximately 10:15pm Vegas time, and I grabbed my bag and hit the cab line.  It wasn’t a long wait, and soon I was off to Bally’s for 4 free nights, only paying the resort fee!  I checked in, and suffered a minimal blow…They had somehow booked me in a smoking room, and I wanted non-smoking.  All they had available for non-smoking was a room with 2 queen beds, which I begrudgingly accepted.  I dropped off my bags, and off for some poker I went!

I had decided to hit some rooms I’d never before played in during this trip, and one of them was Caesar’s Palace.  I walked over, a short trek compared to other locations on the strip, and got my name on the list.  After a bit of a wait, during which time I checked the sports book for futures wagers as well as anything for the next day, I was called for a seat at a new game.  There was a mix of players, some with obvious experience and some who seemed to lack experience.  One player ha d been at a 2/5 game earlier (thanks to the dealer who acknowledged him and mentioned that!), and there were a few Europeans as well.  There were some really interesting hands shown early on, including 10-3 suited, which made a flush.  Other winning hands shown included some weird 2 pairs that never should have been played.  Ok, so this could be an interesting table.  Early on, I pick up Qd10d in the BB, and it limps around to me.  I check, and the flop is 8h-9x-2h.  I check, there is a $5 bet, 2 others call, and I call with the gutshot.  The turn is the Jc.  Bingo!  The SB bets $12, I raise to $30, the 3 seat in the cutoff position raises to $60, SB folds, and I shove for $125 total.  3 seat calls, and the river is 5c.  3 seat shows Js2s…

Later, in a hand in which I was the BB, the SB raises to $12 after 3 limpers.  I look down at AA and reraise to $36.  SB calls.  The flop is 9-7-2, rainbow.  The SB checks, and I bet $55.  He folds JJ face up!  Wow, I have no idea how he was able to make that decision.  He was one of the weaker players.  I guess the 3-bet preflop gave him confidence that I had an overpair.  It was a good read on his part, I’m just shocked he was able to do that.

Another hand of note from the session was KK in the cutoff.  I raise to $16 after a couple of limpers, and get 3 callers, including the player who had been at the 2/5 table earlier.  The flop is Kc-4c-3h.  It checks to me, and I bet $30.  Not sure it was enough considering the draws, but it didn’t change the outcome of the hand.  Mr. 2/5 raises to $90.  Ok, so I flop top set and get raised?  I’m hoping it’s a set over set situation.  I shove for $181.  He calls, and the turn is the 8c, river is the 7h, and he shows Ac7c for the nut flush.  He went all in on the flop with nothing but the nut flush draw, hit it on the turn, and of course I couldn’t fill up on the river.  Sigh.  I am left with $26, and add on $100.

A few hands later, I call a raise with 55 OTB.  There are 4 to the flop, which is 4-8-5.  The preflop raiser bets $25, and I call.  I don’t put him on a straight, most likely an overpair or AK type of hand, and there was no flush draw to be worried about.  The turn was another beautiful 5.  After a bet of $40, I shove for  about $70 more, and he calls with less.  I show, the river is dealt, and he mucks.  Unfortunately, Caesar’s Palace no longer has high hand bonuses.

Later, I call a raise of $12 with 33.  We see a flop of 4-6-7, and it checks around.  I hit my set on the turn.  There’s a bet of $15 from the preflop raiser, I raise to $45, and only he calls.  The river is a 5, no flush possible.  We both check and he shows Q-Jo….what a river card for him!

I win a few more small-medium pots in unceremonious fashion, and work my stack up to around $400, after being in for $400, when the hand of the night occurs.  I pick up kd5d in the SB, and after a late position raise, decide to call for some reason.  I can’t remember why, and I know it was a terrible call.  In my defense, I had been up nearly 24 hours, and maybe wasn’t thinking straight?  There are 3 other callers, and we see the flop 5-handed.  The flop is Kx-9x-2d.  Preflop raiser bets $25, there’s 1 caller, and I call.  Again, I can’t say what I was doing here.  The turn is 3d, giving me the flush draw now.  I figure I’m drawing to 2 pair or the flush, with the K not being good enough to win the hand.  There is a bet of $40, really small for the pot, and then a raise to $80.  I call, and the other player calls.  The river is a sweet 6d.  I have the 2^nd nuts, and am first to act.  I can’t be sure there will be more betting, and intend to bet, but how much?  I have $278 left, and the pot is roughly $375.  I decide to shove.  The next player to act agonizes, but folds.  The preflop raiser, who had been driving the action, thinks for a bit, and finally calls.  It looks like a puke-call, which is confirmed when he shows a flopped set of 9’s.  He has me covered, but only by $9.  I rake the huge pot, with a terrible starting hand, showing that even a donkey like me gets lucky on occasion.  I play a couple of orbits longer, missing a few flops with decent starting hands, and can’t shake the feeling that I never should have been in the hand, regardless of the result.  I rack up with $850, good for a profit of $450 on my first night.

On the way back to my room, as I’m walking up the steps to the pedestrian bridge across the Strip to the Cromwell (which then takes me back to Bally’s), I see a group of 5-6 girls, dressed in high heels and short skirts.  As I get to the top, they form a circle of sorts around one girl, and I hear the unmistakable sound of her urinating right there….I stop and turn around, in shock at what is happening before me.  They tell me to keep moving, nothing to see, etc., and I do eventually, once I get over what had happened.  Only in Vegas!  On the bridge between the Cromwell and Bally’s, I see 2 girls walking toward me, one of whom is messing with the buttons on her shirt.  I jokingly tell her she should be undoing the buttons, not buttoning them up, and she replies “maybe in your room.”  I have no reply until she’s far enough away that I can’t really ask her if she was serious.  They were early 20’s, definitely drunk, and she was quite attractive.  If I wasn’t married, I may have tried to investigate just how serious she was, but I had to continue back to Bally’s with nothing but my stories from the night!

Stay tuned for part 2, with tales of Monday and Tuesday…