Vegas Baby! and the WSOP trip

Ok, so as promised here is the rundown for the trip to the WSOP...

Ou flight took off late Thursday night, getting into Vegas around say 9pm (pst). After checking in, we head over to the RIO to get Dennis registered for the Main Event. It is now probably around 11pm and the line is 4hours long to register (as I was told by the attentdant)

We decide to register the next day instead of waiting around and head over to Caesars to play. Caesars is absolutely jammed up b/c of some celebrity poke thing going on, so we sit down at a 3/6 table.. I take the Kill pot table for more action, Griff is with me, Dennis is at a non-kill table, and V somehow gets to a N/L table? The list was like 12 deep for N/L... God I wish I had tits!

Everyone does extremely well at their table... except me. I was doubled up and just took three sick beats in a row to take me back to square.. I cashed out when we left for $199. -$1 of my buy-in

The next couple of days were filled with Poker Lifestyle show. This is the consumer trade show at the WSOP where poker related companies show their wears... Now, unlike previous years, On-line poker sites were not allowed. So much for Bodogs three story display with a bedroom and half naked chics to have a pillow fight with! (last year! True story!)

This year were some new companies, and categories added to the show. For one, Taylor Made, Calloway, and Nike golf all had large displays. Very cool seeing them there.

I went around the room seeing all the people I had to see with Griff in tow, while Veronica and Dennis went and took in the sights. Allin Energy drink had a booth and they gave us passes to their VIP party for Sunday night. We did our business and then off we went for some drinks and poker. Griff didn't make poker because of the drinks and he and V went clubbing with Zim. A friend from back east who moved to Vegas earlier in the year... Very cool individual I might add

Dennis and I headed back to Caesars and played for a while before calling it a night. The next morning, Dennis and I played the 11 am $60 tourny at the Trop (where we were staying). I ended up winning it (woot!) and meeting the rest of them at the pool afterwards.

Back to the show for another meeting and then over to a taco place on Flamingo that was reco'd by Brendan and his wife from Allin Magazine... Then a short walk to the palms where we all played 1/2 N/L for the rest of the night. I wasn't a big fan of the tables at the Palms. It is a beautiful place, with pretty tables, but between the bumper and the felt is a marble well where you keep your chips... its pretty but not conducive for playing with your chips. They fly all over, but I got used to it quickly.

I did very well in the first hour. I tripled up, partly from this hand... I am in seat one, and UTG. The dealer starts to deal the chips when a guy approached the table with his chips in a rack. The dealer asks him if he wants to be dealt in and he nods his head. I look down and see AA. It was a very slow table with lots of limpers, so utg, I let out $7. Fold to the guy, still standing up and stacking his chips on the table out of his rack. He calls, as does another 2 players.

The flop comes 2 4 5r... I let out $20, and Mr. still standing says $40. folds to me, and I rejack to $100. He looks at me, and mutters, "welcome to the table". He calls. Now he has about $50 left, and I say, before the turn is dealt, "what do you have? A 3? Well, I'm not folding now"... and let out his remaining chips... He calls the all in, and turns up A 5 (TPTK). I almost chuckle as the river comes another A, and he says "Aces up", and I show the AA.

He turns around and walks away... :)

Then Griff comes over and says, I have an NBA player sitting at my table... I go over to see and there is an empty seat, so I take it. The player is Ron Artest, who says that he watches poker like 24 hours a day, and wanted to try it, and that this was his first attempt at live play.

i must say that despite his past aggressions, he was absolutely the nicest guy I ever met. He called everysingle hand, regardless of the bet, and folded every single hand to a bet on any turn or river. I don't think I ever saw him show a hand. He stuck around for about another hour or so, and then took off shaking the hand of everyone at the table... Very cool dude! I ended up about $1200 on the night

I will post the rest of the story tomorrow as this post has gotten a little long in the tooth. Overall it was a very cool trip with the best part of the story to come...