Vegas 7/09

This was a very fun and HOT trip to Vegas. It was Shauna's first time going there so it added a little bit of excitement. I always love being in Vegas when its somebody's first time! I still feel like its my first time every time I see the sights, and get excited checking into my hotel. The VIP check in no longer works for gold cards, so it took a while to check in. We took a very short nap (since I had no sleep) and headed right down towards the pool. It was the usual, crazy, 4th of July seen...hot as hell, crazy people everywhere, and the drinks were jacked up in price by a couple of dollars. After a few hours of roasting and being completely submerged in water, we headed back to the room, got ready, and met Tain and Zoop for dinner at Toby Keith's. Can I just say how good that place is? The service could honestly be better, but whatever. Speaking of Zoop he is no longer at Rumjungle, he is at a new place called Tacos and Tequila at the Luxor. With a name like that, how can it be bad!? We met up with Shawn and Angie (the bride and groom to be) at Bill's for a craps lesson which ended up being a $200+ profit craps lesson for me, Shawn, and Shawna, and more drinks than we could keep up with. Going to sleep up on your first night is definitely a good thing.

The next day was Fourth of July and wedding day, so we got dressed up and met everyone in the lobby and took a taxi over to the chapel. The chapel was uninspiring, but the wedding was quick, maybe too quick, and to the point. Me and Shawna walked over to Fremont street from there and let me just say 110 degrees was a conservative estimate. We had a couple of beers, some light gaming, and headed back to the strip. We went to the Forum Shops, the Fashion show, and headed back to the pool which was way more crowded and the day was half gone so we ended up back in the room to get ready for the night. We had a not so good dinner at the coffee shop at the Flamingo, had a heck of a time figuring out where we were going to see fireworks, and ended up seeing a pretty decent show at Ceasars. I had a 72 oz Miller Lite that I could not finish. We had some drinks at Shawn's go room, which was really nice, and I ended up drinking quite a big of jaeger. We did the Harrahs/Circle Bar/O'sheas loop, had some pizza, and headed back to the room.

Today I decided to take a cab to the Rio for Day 1C of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker and what is now called Pokerpalooza. It was not as good as the Gaming Life expo that I went to a couple years ago, but it was ok, got some free magazines, and rather than a plethora of celebreties, I saw Victor Ramdin. The tournament, however, was another story. I saw the entire Phillips Army and Dennis Phillips, and a table down was Dan Harrington. Now that is a legend!! I saw Howard Lederer but I couldn't get a good picture of him. I worked my way up to the feature table and saw of all people, Daniel Negreanu! He was his usual chatty self and I watched him take down a hand from the button. I headed back to the hotel and had a little bit of pool time, and this time we were at the Euro (read topless) pool and let me just say, the chairs are nicer, the DJ is better, and there are no screaming kids! I know you are not buying a word of what I am saying but its true! Later that night we met up with Tain at the Hard Rock and had dinner at Pink Taco. He had passes to Pure so we went to Ceasars and I decided that I was not nearly buzzed and alcohol was not going down easy so we decided to have a pint of jaeger, and we finished it about 7 minutes. Going from sober to hammered in a pretty short amount of time. While we are sitting there, I get the bonus on Jungle Wild, and the screen fills up with wilds, and on a 50 cent spin I win over $300. Can you say VIP table at Pure! We met up with some of Tain's friends, and we got a VIP booth and a very expensive bottle of Absolut. I was in no shape to drink, but after they fixed everything up for us so nicely, how could I say no! I had about 4 vodka/cran/sodas and pretty much left the place off my ass. I had a piece of pizza at O'sheas and it was pass out time!!!

Today was most everyones last day, so I took some of my hard earned winnings and we pitched in on a Cabana at the Euro pool. Can I say what a great idea this is? You get about $100 worth of booze, guaranteed chairs, a flat screen tv, and you look like a rock star! I actually couldnt drink at first, but the ice cold corona lights convinced me otherwise. You also get these melon balls soaked in vodka, and they come in this melon shell. A lady turned the melon shells into a bra, and came over to me and asked if I liked her melons! I really hit a wall with the drinking, and with the last remaining gas I had in the tank, we went over to Excalibur and went to dinner at Dick's. The brisket sandwich was awesome, but I think our server last time was more fun and more creative. No hats for us! I then took Shawna on a tour of the other side of the strip. NY NY, MGM, Luxor (where we saw Cris Angel), and Planet Hollywood. Now you are probably wondering if I played much poker, and the answer is no. I played a little, won some money, but I realized I was playing at a table with people that were playing in the main event, and I was maybe out of my league. Well, maybe not, but I dont have ten grand, so at least out of my bank roll. I can never seem to win on my last night, but thats ok.

Getting up to leave in the morning and head to the airport is always a rude awakening, but its a must, a few dreams left behind in the Vegas sand, and a glimmer of hope for next time. If I am going to get rich can it please be sooner than later! I don't want to be that 80 year old man that wins powerball =) See you back in Vegas in sept...