Black Friday getaway to the 702: TR 11/28- 12/3
2024 was the best and happiest year of my life. had some personal accomplishments and recognitions, family life was good, church life was good, made some goals and plans for the future. went to Vegas four times, including getting my best poker score.
2025 crashed and has sucked in most aspects. lots of professional disappointments and lost opportunities, relocation dreams fell apart, too many funerals, my oldest child is an obnoxious teenager, the economy sucks and the political landscape in America is embarrassing with more bad news everyday. went to Vegas in early May and burned through all my play money roll and PTO, leading me to a very boring summer at home.
my schedule this autumn was crazy packed, and I wasn't planning to come back in 2025. but fortunately in this "Vegas is dead" tourism dip, even I as a primarily-poker-playing low-roller, am wanted right now. got mailer offers for free stays at Treasure Island and Red Rock. checked my calendar comparing with the Allegiant flight schedule, and found a nice time that fits perfectly and booked. as they say, never waste a good crisis.
lost track but this is something like my 15th Vegas trip since 2018 (starting to really add up) and I've written a TR for most of those. feels like I know what I'm doing. nothing really shocks or thrills me but it's still a magical place and feels like part of me is always thinking about my next getaway to the desert oasis.
I'm excited again to stay at Treasure Island (for free) where I'll be across the street from Venetian and Wynn. I'm excited to stay at Red Rock (for free), my favorite resort away from the Strip and home of my own RR Massacre last time I played there (aipf KK < JJ > TT losing my biggest lifetime pot). excited to do some hiking in the Canyon for the first time in a while. this is also my first time visiting in December.
the goal is less pressure on myself (while still being challenged). no plans or intention for a poker tourney but there should be plenty of cash games, along with some pai gow, dabble in slots, and a little doubledeck bj. planning to work-work some but shouldn't need more than one half day of that. I checked and the RR pool should be open and heated for a little December dip too.
don't think there's been more than one (thanks mrb) Vegas post-WSOP TR on here so we are due for some. it's October now which technically means I'm coming next month. enjoy keeping a TR as a little vacation journal whether it gets read and comments by many people or not, but as always I will try to keep it as entertaining as possible and think my writing has gotten a little better over the last couple years.
here's couple stacks pics from my last trip to pump me up.
It sounds like you are moving locations mid vacation.
I would be surprised if the Red Rock Pool is open and heated in December. I wouldn't plan on spending too much time in the pool area myself, the air is chilly in December, and the sun sets very early. The hiking is a good outdoor activity though.
Nice. I wish I could get offers from TI or Red Rock. I used to stay at TI all the time when they still had a poker room, and Red Rock is a nice looking place. Never stayed there but I saw a UFC fight there.
I never miss one of these trips.
Have fun and good luck!
GL, man I miss Vegas. I have moved from Malta to Spain since my last trip together with my family which was a fortune so the most likely scenario is that I will head out for a MuckPls fuelled degen TR in June or July next year during the WSOP. Ah well, something for something I guess right? Keeping myself alive with TRs until then.
GL, man I miss Vegas. I have moved from Malta to Spain since my last trip together with my family which was a fortune so the most likely scenario is that I will head out for a MuckPls fuelled degen TR in June or July next year during the WSOP. Ah well, something for something I guess right? Keeping myself alive with TRs until then.
Meanwhile, learn to trade your WSOP bankroll. You have 9 months to grow it. If you see what the market's been doing the last 3 months, you'll know why I'll have my best WSOP bankroll ever. Assuming the market doesn't nosedive.
Good luck, give a heads up when you head out to Las Vegas.
If you're planning on travel during the National Finals Rodeo in December, 4th - 13th, there is an annual uptick in games during the first few days.
(fwiw, "obnoxious teenager" is redundant.)
Meanwhile, learn to trade your WSOP bankroll. You have 9 months to grow it. If you see what the market's been doing the last 3 months, you'll know why I'll have my best WSOP bankroll ever. Assuming the market doesn't nosedive.
My plan is simple: YOLO everything into BTC and hope for the best hahaha
summer was mostly regular work and spending time at home with family. didn't take any trips or do any projects either. did conduct/preside at a church funeral for the first time (I don't recommend it). autumn though is really busy. volunteered as my kid's third grade girls soccer coach, my first time doing anything like that. loved every minute. hope to do it again in spring.
grew up in Vermont and haven't been back since 2021 and not for autumn colors in about 13 years, so decided on a trip to see the parents in the motherland for a week. foliage was subdued due to drought but it was good enough. gorgeous country. went for a hike on my favorite trail and that did not disappoint. gosh I love hiking in the mountains. also spent a little time by Lake Champlain (my happy place). wish I could have gone boating or kayaking but didn't work out this time. my parents are kinda crazy so I have no interest in returning again for a while but it was a nice trip.
I'm in the symphony here and we have our second fall performance next weekend. the following week I'm in a choir program. I also sing with the local barbershop chorus weekly. so yeah, super busy time of the year musically and with three kids in sports.
wife is taking a trip to Asia so I'll be single-dadding for a few weeks. then in November I have two poker tourneys to work. running my first 5K race in 15+ years on Thanksgiving morning. then will volunteer at the free community meal center serving T-Day dinner. and then that Friday will be on a plane for a much-deserved Vegas vacation.
in the time since my last trip in May I haven't done much poker. worked as a tournament dealer five times (three in June). I did play in one tournament in July. Omaha (specifically Big O) is very popular here in the Northern Plains. at one event there was a $320 BigO hi lo tournament. this $320 BigO tourney on a Friday morning at an Indian casino in the middle of nowhere (basically 2+ hours from Bismarck, Fargo, Minot and Grand Forks) had 99 entries. where outside of the WSOP can you get 99 entries in a BigO tourney?
anyway, I've really only played Omaha/BigO in bomb pots and wanted to try something other than a cash game that makes you invest over $200+ in any hand you play. did pretty well, knocked a bunch of people out early and built a nice stack, then hit a bit of a cold patch and dwindled away, finishing about 40th after second/dinner break. had a good time and lasted longer than I expected.
played in a home game about once a month. speaking of Omaha bomb pots, I got in one hi lo where with A4XX I flopped the wheel (nut low), 532r. board ran out 532J6r four ways for a huge pot, thought I would win a nice one... but then three other people also had A4XX, and two people had A74X for a bigger hi. I got 1/8th of the pot. most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. four people all flopped the wheel and two also had 7 for a better high on the river?
kinda burned out with my regular home game. last several times have not been enjoyable from a social aspect as a few players have really become jerks. another guy bloats every pot. I open on button to $10, he raises BB to $128. yeah if I want to just fold for two hours until I get AA or KK I may be able to win a big pot but come on, this is 1/2. anyway, I started saving my play money for Vegas.
flight back from VT was during the shutdown, and even the small Burlington airport was an inefficient miserable experience. I sure hope things are closer to normal by Thanksgiving.
Love to be able to follow along. Sorry about the home game -- that's no fun -- but Vegas is right around the corner!
Air Traffic Control is under the Federal Gov't. Smaller market airports are at more risk of potential impact due to staffing shortages. TSA also, but I think they're working? I went thru security at PHX (major market) last week with no issues. The little Podunk airport I few into/out of however, had one guy for both General travelers and PreCheck/CLEAR/??? TSA is calling it today. Call up from one side, then the other to the same podium.
Only difference I could see is that the 'special' group was not required to go thru the wave scanner, just the metal detector, which were side by side.
Without getting political, what kind of effect have the shutdown had on the airport? Less workers maybe?
fewer TSA workers (more employees calling in "sick" since they aren't guaranteed pay), fewer security lines open that move slower... I was expecting 5 minutes max to get through and it took closer to an hour.
had an interesting experience this weekend
was performing in a concert at an Indian Casino. after the prep stuff we had like 45 minutes so I wandered into the casino. saw a friend and watched him play a dumb 3card poker game for a few minutes. looked in my wallet and only had one $20 so decided to dick around at a blackjack table.
sat down in the middle of a 5-100 table with a very intoxicated young guy and two young ladies. I gave my $20, was handed four chips and put one on the dot. the guy looked over "that's it?" yeah I'm not going to be here too long. "this is for you" and he gave me a black $100 chip. wow, you sure? "yeah I think you're gonna win." I'm no dummy, I took it and changed it for some reds and upped my bet.
this kid had a lot of money. he was betting $100 a hand, although making a lot of blunders like reaching to grab the chips and constantly asking if he forgot to bet the progressive bonus thing (yes you did every time and then I the dealer removed it from play). he gave the ladies and I a bunch of $1s to play the bonus too. he tipped the dealer $100, and gave each of us another $75 to play. the pit boss came over and asked if he was alright and if he needed to stop but he slurred he was fine and having fun so the boss left him alone.
anyway, after like 20 minutes he was down to his last couple hundred and I had to go. I won last two hands (like $10 bets), had $165 in chips, which was a little loss overall but I started with only $20.
what do you do there? how much advantage do you take from a young guy who is super drunk and just leaking money?
I took $50 and slid the rest back to him. he was a little surprised and asked if I was sure but I happily wished him luck and cashed out.
was planning on losing $20 and left +$30 so it was a win for me. some of my bets were a green chip but like I said I was only there like 20 minutes so would have felt like stealing to pocket $150 or just burn it all with like $75 bets. he likely wouldn't have even remembered if I left with all of it, but I think I was safe from any bad juju/karma or potential trouble.
I hate being at tables like that as sooner or later things get uncomfortable. There are no right or wrong ways to handle that, but I probably would have:
Bet my newly acquired black chip with my single red chip on the first hand.
If I lost, I'd thank the guy and change tables.
If I won, I'd give him his black chip back plus $20-50 (probably the lower end of that range), keep the rest of the winnings, thank him, and either change tables or leave (since you were only going to play for a short time anyway).
