some comments and thoughts about the trip.
Palazzo: Boy I really didn't see this coming. What a disappointment. Its obvious how they are handling the poor economy. Cut as many employees as possible. Minimal amount of tables open which jacked up the limits and hardly any drink girls. Great business model but terrible for us.
Ira: Interesting guy. Wiz's friend brought an aggressive style of play to the craps table that I enjoyed. He also brought a weird friend, Peter Paul, who will go down as being one of the creepiest guys I've ever gambled with. The guy was like a horned up 13 year old in a 50 year old man's body. The guy had no clue how to gamble and couldn't retain any info about gambling so you had to explain the same thing over and over. Classic.
Ultimate Texas Holdem: I was thinking that I would play this game for a little bit but Jesus Christ. I played this more than any other game. Wiz and I put in an 8 hour session on Saturday with some major highlights.
- While smoking my first of three cigars, I accidentally burnt an elderly man walking by the table. Wiz thought that I stuck out my cigar and burnt him, while I know that my hand was on the chair and this guy walked into it. Any which way you look at it Grandpa Mosses has a nice little burn mark on his forearm
- After the first hour of playing, I was down nearly $600. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make the long session, but then I magically hit a straight flush that put me back to even.
- Going into hour number 5, I was getting really hungry and ready to leave. Wiz's friend Ira was playing with us then and had a Pastrami sandwich in a brown bag underneath his chair, which he offered to me to eat. I took a bite and it was amazing. Then everyone else decided to eat off of this massive sandwich in a bag. After all of use finished eating it, the dealer looked at us and just shook her head and sent us off to the bathroom to wash our hands. It was like our mom telling us that before we could have a snack we had to take a bath, and all of us just ran off to the bathroom to do it as quickly as possible.
- The dealers for UTH are one of a kind. It ranged from an arrogant asshole in Glen, to the wonderful afghan princess in Sina.
- Speaking of Sina, the pickup line from scary Peter Paul was classic. He found out that she was from Afghanistan and said, "What part of Afghanistan are you from? I'm only familiar with Kabul." Familiar with Kabul? What the hell do you mean?
- Had to lie to the pit boss that Laura and I were married so that she could play on my card. Then Jay came by and played with us which confused the dealer, when I think someone might of said that Laura and I have a very open relationship.
Craps: Didn't play that much, mainly due to the high limits at the Palazzo. Did have two classics runs though:
- Jay and I on Friday morning found a table at the Venetian that was just opening up. I was already smoking a cigar as we walked up to the table. The guys at the one end of the table asked if I was really going to smoke the cigar while playing craps. I then asked them which college they were from and they told me they were from Purdue. I responded "That's cool, I'll put it out. If you were from Duke, I would of kept on smoking." So Jay and I got our chips and the opening roll was just on its way. The shooter was on the other side of the table, but it was clear that they were friends with the Purdue guys on our side. The shooter goes and rolls for about 30 minutes and I make about $600. Then we all decide to leave the table. The Purdue guys bring down the shooter to us and states "Hey we didn't want to tell you this, but this guy works at Duke." We all had a good laugh, and I felt a little dirty winning money due to Duke.
- Mirage Sunday- Easily the biggest rollacoaster at a table I've ever experienced. Eric, Lee, Wiz, and I opened up a $5 table. The table started out so cold. No one hit a point for about 30 minutes. It got so bad that I was down $500 and I picked up and left. I went to the bathroom and came back and Wiz, Lee, and Eric were still there, and they just hit a point. So I decided to jump back in and that is when the table went crazy hot. Ira joined the table along with some older chicks. One of the older chicks rolled for a while and hit some great hardways, one in which I had $20 on. Ended up $100 after everything being said and done which was amazing.
Carney Games: Played Triple Exposure BJ and Black Jack Switch. Both games I could do without as it was fun to play for a short period of time, but in the long run I don't like it.
Additional Thoughts:
1. Don and Mike: Didn't really get to gamble with them. Wanted to, but whenever we asked where they were it was always "Oh Don is working out or taking a nap." Now I know that the group got separated a lot due to the UTH and the high table limits at the Palazzo, but I love playing craps with the both of them, and I didn't get to have a single roll. I am very curious on their thoughts on the trip.
2. Twitter: Eric needs to get on this asap. It fits him perfectly.
3. Morells: Terrible. Maybe it was due to the fact that we ate too late. Not worth the money.
4. Cabana: Terrible, but mainly due to the weather being bad.
5. Sharah: What a disaster. Financially and Mentally. Apparently I had a mental breakdown at the craps table that resulted in Eric and I having some issues to sort out the next day.
6. Women's Basketball: Shame on you Vegas for not having lines available. Shame on you and what you have become.
7. Laura and I's blow up at the BJ tables: Laura and I had separate blow ups at the tables where I was being pretty rude to the pit boss because she was being extremely lazy and providing zero customer service, and Laura got crazy over the dealer thinking she wanted to stay when she wanted to hit. I will expand on this a little more in a different post because it requires a more in depth look into the lack of customer service and the accepting behavior by the public of such actions.
Summary: Overall, another solid trip, but had some major holes in it. I think its time to eat dinner earlier even if we will miss games, and its obvious that we will probably stay at the Mirage next year due to the table limits and the games that they offer. Its just too bad that the trip that I lost the least amount of money required me to miss out on two days because of me being very sick. Ugh.
3 comments:
Ira was there? You mean not only did I miss the trip, but I missed the chance to spend a weekend kissing up to someone for a job?! Damn it!!!
I love the recaps. Keep them coming.
After taking a few days off to recover, I reviewed my little blue notebook today to assess the damage. Amazingly, this was the first trip that I finished up in both BJ and Pai Gow. Ultimate TH is another story entirely. Please keep me away from that game next time (who am I kidding-I love it). Ended up about even for craps. Things got a little out of control in the sportsbook. I managed to bet on 32 games over 3 days. I bet 11 games on the points and went 8-3, and 21 games on the O/U and went 11-10. Would have liked a better showing on the O/U, but I can’t complain overall.
Other things:
-I will defend myself in the upcoming fight post, but just to clarify I did not get “crazy”. That’s total hearsay.
-Catch phrase of the trip: “Be aggressive, be, be aggressive!”
-The Rules of BJ from the back of Derek’s card were priceless.
-Cabana – I knew I would look back and find this to be a total waste of a day. Why oh why did I stick around? Oh yeah-I was exhausted. Wish I had scheduled that massage instead of watching UMD get trounced via ticker. Next time around it might be better to just reserve a table in the sportsbook so we can at least watch all the games.
-Palazzo – No fun. The rooms were great, but I felt that the place was too old for us. Boring music, weird sportsbook, no excitement. I have a bad tendency to fall into a rut if things around me are slow. Never had that feeling at the Mirage-there was always something to keep me awake there. And, as previously mentioned, the Palazzo dealers were crap. The Mirage should be an easy choice for future trips.
-I did like the TVs at the tables, though. Anything that helps me maximize my gambling is a plus.
-Don, Mike and Kermit-Great meeting you guys!
-North strip was much better than expected. I didn’t realize how close the casinos were up there-quick walk to Venetian, Mirage, and Wynn (although the Sahara is still at least 10 miles away). I don’t see myself returning south again.
-Food – The food at Morels was alright (good fondue), but I hate eating at a stuffy restaurant when it’s empty. For how few people were in there, the service was pretty lacking. I find myself thinking more about the meal at BLT Burger on Sat. Yumm! Maybe it’s because I had gone 10 hours on only liquor and a bite of pastrami sandwich, but that burger-n-shake combo was excellent. Another plus for the Mirage.
-Never played any Poker. Not sure if I’m upset about this or not.
-No women’s lines? WTF? Will this push the trip to the sweet 16 weekend?
First, I’ll start with myself…
I still hurt. Every year I forget how long it takes to recover. I need to plan on at least 2-3 days to get back to normal.
I’ve never felt really old until I got on the plane in CVG. It was full of old guys heading out to Vegas to …what… relive the glory days, act that a foolish child, escape all responsibility for a few days, drink when you want, gamble when you want, and most importantly nap when you want. I was depressed the rest of Wednesday, and the kicker was hearing the plane ran out of bourbon. Yes, I am officially old.
Spent 24 hours at the tables. Upon hearing this, my wife said “that’s it?” I love this woman.
I finally treated this trip as a vacation, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not losing my entire bank roll certainly had something to do with that.
The Group
Layup – LOVE the little book. This will be by my side whenever I visit Vegas.
Mike – He had that deer in the head lights look on Sunday and I really felt for him. We’ve all been there. Shell shocked and near the end, afraid to even venture out.
Laura and Jay – It was like they’ve always been there. They need to come back more often.
Wiz – My favorite line from the trip …I’ve never felt truly alive until we made that bet.
Leland – This guy is a machine, and he always surprises me at dinner with his selections, which are outstanding. My regret is I didn’t spend more time at the tables with him.
Eric – watching his 9 step process to complete the Louisville cover, was, well, priceless.
Best Phrase EVER – Be aggressive, be be aggressive. My apologies go out to Mike, Eric and Craig (yes, I know you are reading this) for wearing this phrase out this summer. When your approach lands on the center of the 18th green at Blue Ash, and the pin is front left, please keep this phrase in mind.
Casino(s)
I like the Palazzo casino. There, I said it. I like the layout, I like the atmosphere, I like how it is relatively easy find someone. And I love the couch, its almost as good as my bed back home.
HOWEVER, it was freaking cold, and cut back on the perfume system, and hire some dealers that want to be there. (the lone exception here is the Tile dealers, all of whom were friendly and helpful)
Speaking of Tiles, I love Pai Gow Tiles. The original old school game. It is the perfect way to start the day.
Cabana – I enjoyed this, but only because my game was on in the afternoon. Had it not been on local airways, this would have been a waste.
Morrells – Service was terrible. And it was just a steak. For me the high point was the cheese plate Leland ordered. Great idea and beautiful selections.
Finally made it to the Wynn and it was everything I thought it would be (although I did get destroyed at UTH). A nice place to stay if I’m there with my wife, but it is not the place for this group (not a single TV screen in the casino to watch games).
Mirage – I don’t like how dark it is, or how busy and crowded it is, and Mike and I had the WORST UTH dealer ever. He mis-read at least 4 hands in favor of the house. We had to tell him to put the money back on the table and pay up. I even called a mis-read before he looked at my cards. Completely unacceptable. What is he doing pulling the Saturday evening shift?
Having said that, I know we are staying there next year. I hope it is warm, because I like their pool.
UTH – this game has swings just shy of Craps. Wow.
Roulette – had my first taste, and am now very afraid. I should just decide right here and now to avoid avoid avoid.
Golf – did not miss the 2nd round. Which begs the question, why are we hauling out bags out there in the first place. I’ll tell you why, its to get us out of the casino for a short period of time so there is still something left of our bank roll by the time Sunday rolls around.
Played a whopping 2 hours of poker. Its not a very social game IF you want to spend time your friends.
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