Last night in Vegas...

Part 1 of this story can be found here, and part 2 can be found here.  Saturday morning I placed a few more NCAAB wagers, using money won on my wagers the previous day.  I also placed my NFL wagers for the weekend, and some money on the Cubs to win the World Series.  We ate breakfast at Le Village Buffet in Paris, one of my wife's favorite breakfast spots.  Although it was only 10am, they were already replacing some of the breakfast foods with lunch.  We headed up to Planet Hollywood, deciding to walk around the Miracle Mile Shops.  We couldn't find a whole lot we were interested in, but enjoyed the shops.  We headed to PF Changs for lunch.  They have no locations near us and it's also a favorite of hers.

We then headed down to Mandalay Bay.  We had 2 free passes to the Shark Reef.  We walked through it, and although it was enjoyable, I wouldn't recommend it.  The regular price is $20 and it just wasn't worth it.  We headed over to the MGM.  We played a few slots, my wife winning a little again.  She didn't win anything big, but she did win a little here and there.  We ate dinner, courtesy of 2 free buffet passes.  Their buffet is good, but again I couldn't see paying full price at $37 per person.  We headed back to Bally's, and my wife decided to stay in the room.  She was concerned that she was getting another ear infection, and with our flight early the next morning, she wanted to be rested up.

I texted Grrouchie, who mentioned he'd be free for some poker.  We decided to head to the Flamingo.  Bally's had only 1 1-2 game going, but they also had a 2-5 game going.  There was probably 6k on the table.  One player alone had 2500 in front.  We got to the Flamingo and got our names on the list.  Grrouchie was seated first, and I was seated shortly after.  As I was getting seated, Grrouchie texted that his table was good and I asked to move over there.  I sat in the 3 seat.  I started slow, lost my first $200, and rebought.  Grrouchie moved over to seat 4.  Another friend, Alysia, joined us.  I was dwindling down to near $100, and being my last night in town, I decided to gamble.  I also wasn't planning on rebuying again.

I certainly played up to the expression on my card protector that night....


I slowly won some pots, playing connectors, suited cards, just hitting everything I played it seemed.  Grrouchie, suggested that Alysia, who was only watching at this point, give us back rubs, thinking it might make another certain blogger jealous.  Both he and I were recipients, as well as another random man.

At one point I got my favorite hand, J-9.  I flopped 2 pair on a board with 2 diamonds.  We got it all in and the river was the 9d, giving my opponent the flush but me the full house.  A little later I had 6c7c with straight and flush draws, and the river paired my 7.  I had been betting the whole way, and bet again, and when my opponent called, I figured he could beat my 3rd pair, so I said "Good Call" as I flipped over my hand.  However, my hand had turned into 6c8c and I actually had the 2nd nut straight....ooops!!  I was getting tired, and a few hands later I got J9 again.  I called a raise, and flopped top pair on a 9 high board.  Thinking my opponent had AK or something similar, I called his flop bet.  The turn was harmless, and we ended up all in.  The river was a J, and I announced 2 pair as my opponent was turning over his AA....This was the same opponent to whom I had said "Good Call"....By this time everyone was talking about how good I was running, and how lucky I was getting.  I was dealt AcKc and flopped an A on a board with 2 hearts.  I got it all in on the turn against a shorter stack who rivered the flush.  A few hands later, I was dealt Q9 and called a raise.  I flopped top 2 pair, got it all in for a $500 pot, and held against KK!  I left after that, cashing out $1170 after being in for $400.

This was what I cashed out for...The $70 is in the tray behind the $100 in red chips.

I walked toward the Venetian with Alysia, as I needed to go to the Walgreens to get a few things.  We headed to the monorail, where she kindly gave me a ticket and we headed our separate ways.  I got back to Bally's and decided to play some blackjack again.  I won another $130.  At this point I headed back to the room to gather our stuff and check out, not looking forward to the 7:40am flight with no sleep....

All in all, I finished the trip up $1500....not a bad way to enjoy Las Vegas!!  And since this will be my last trip for quite some time, I'm glad I was able to make the best of it.  I've decided to work on my MSA, which will take most of my free time and money for the next couple of years.  The opportunities it will open will make it worthwhile, and I've already given some thought to searching for a job in the Las Vegas area once I've earned the degree....Great weather, friends, plenty to do....I love it out there!!  If I can find a job and a house, I will make it happen.