DSB and GF go to Vegas, an ongoing TR
06-07-2016
, 06:37 PM
[QUOTE=jcorb;50118643]
I don't doubt it 
. The question is will you be able to manage the large bald man getting showered in champagne with tattoos on his scalp? Not worth the risk IMO...
. The question is will you be able to manage the large bald man getting showered in champagne with tattoos on his scalp? Not worth the risk IMO...
06-08-2016
, 05:20 PM
Man! I forgot how long it takes to write up longer posts. I meant to crank out a recap of everything that's happened thus far, but it would take me all day so I'm going with the installment route instead. Here's something to get us going.
MDW Weekend Recap - Part 1
In whats become a tradition at this point, we met up with MLB for our 3rd MDW in Vegas.
Just like last year, MLB chose to stay in the Mirage Villas. He used to stay primarily at Rio in their Presidential or Palazzo suites, but I think he found them to be overkill in terms of size for his group. The Mirage also allows for more central access and of course, the Villas are super plush.
The room layout was nearly identical to last year with 3 bedrooms, dining and living room. The only real difference was in the outdoor space. The pool was more central instead of in the right side of the back yard which was better IMO since it wasn’t directly under trees and therefore had fewer leaves falling into it. The right side of the yard had a small putting green and on the far left side of the yard was the hot tub.
MLB and Co. arrived throughout Thursday night and we met up with them for a mellow evening in the Villas. There was a lot on the agenda for the weekend so it was nice to just chill and enjoy the space before the craziness ensued. We said goodnight around 1am and headed home.
Friday
Friday morning we met back up for room service breakfast at 11am before Wet Republic. We were in too much of a rush to eat and leave so I missed pics of the food. TO had eggs Benedict and I got a sausage, bacon and sunny side up eggs plate. Mirage room service puts on a solid showing but nothing amazing. From the pics of Wynn room service I’ve seen in Leon’s recent TR’s, I would say their food looks better.
After breakfast we hop in the limos and head over to MGM. They’ve rearranged the parking and drop off situation. In previous years, there was a lot right next to the pool entrance where you could drop off for Wet. Now it puts you into a convention hall entrance and you end up at the back of the lines. Not sure if this was for traffic, or crowd control at the main gate of the pool. Either way, no biggie.
We arrive at our cabana around 12:30/1pm and the afternoon starts to crescendo from there. Lot’s of champagne, Goose and Jack.
3rd year in a row having the same server for at least part of the day:
We had a friend coming in from LA to join us so TO and I were careful not to get too tipsy, just in case we’d have to usher her in. If you’re not with the main group at arrival, getting in can sometimes be a hassle but it went smoothly for her and she joined the party around 3:30/4pm with plenty of time to enjoy.
Aoki comes on for his set and champagne showers started raining from the cabana next to us. I look over and am pretty surprised to see an older Japanese lady getting hosed down. It looks like her son might of put her up to it.
This is a little out of the norm so I wanted to find out the backstory. I grab a glass of champagne from our cabana and walk over to theirs. I see her toweling off next to what looks like her son and another guy who seems to be their host/coordinator. I walk over, offer my glass to cheers and say “Congratulations! What are you celebrating?”
Before either of them answers, I get shut down by the host who boxes me out and responds “We’re not celebrating anything. Can you just give us two minutes?” So much for that.
I take the hint and leave their party and return to ours where I ask our server if they know what the deal is. Apparently, the son is some successful App developer from Silicon Valley and wanted to ball it up with his mom. @Natamus - that’s who’s blowing the startup money.
Aoki was good and I’m always a fan of his cheeky antics. He mixed in the presentation of Simba to the Kingdom from Lion King, as well as a good spoof of him as both Jack and Rose on the Titanic. I can’t remember if the raft or cake made an appearance. Overall though, I think I enjoyed some of his past performances better.
I find that 4-6pm is the best time at the pool. Everyone has built a solid buzz that is most likely going to accelerate since the time remaining to hit the table minimum and finish any alcohol already ordered is vanishing fast.
Sure enough, 6pm hits us quick and we’re all pretty toasty as we head back to the Villas. One unfortunate member of the group wound up breaking his pinky toe when he clipped it on the edge of one of the day beds. Apparently those things are set firmly in place. For better or worse, he was pretty drunk so it may have hurt less than otherwise.
We get back and sober up for a bit, then TO and I have to head to MGM with our friend to grab her luggage which she checked with the bell desk on arrival. There are show reservations for Love that evening as well, so we’re on a tight schedule to pick up her luggage, go back to ours, change, eat something, then get back to the Mirage. In the end, it proves too much to tackle and we had to skip the show. Instead, we stayed in and called it an early night.
MDW Weekend Recap - Part 1
In whats become a tradition at this point, we met up with MLB for our 3rd MDW in Vegas.
Just like last year, MLB chose to stay in the Mirage Villas. He used to stay primarily at Rio in their Presidential or Palazzo suites, but I think he found them to be overkill in terms of size for his group. The Mirage also allows for more central access and of course, the Villas are super plush.
The room layout was nearly identical to last year with 3 bedrooms, dining and living room. The only real difference was in the outdoor space. The pool was more central instead of in the right side of the back yard which was better IMO since it wasn’t directly under trees and therefore had fewer leaves falling into it. The right side of the yard had a small putting green and on the far left side of the yard was the hot tub.
MLB and Co. arrived throughout Thursday night and we met up with them for a mellow evening in the Villas. There was a lot on the agenda for the weekend so it was nice to just chill and enjoy the space before the craziness ensued. We said goodnight around 1am and headed home.
Friday
Friday morning we met back up for room service breakfast at 11am before Wet Republic. We were in too much of a rush to eat and leave so I missed pics of the food. TO had eggs Benedict and I got a sausage, bacon and sunny side up eggs plate. Mirage room service puts on a solid showing but nothing amazing. From the pics of Wynn room service I’ve seen in Leon’s recent TR’s, I would say their food looks better.
After breakfast we hop in the limos and head over to MGM. They’ve rearranged the parking and drop off situation. In previous years, there was a lot right next to the pool entrance where you could drop off for Wet. Now it puts you into a convention hall entrance and you end up at the back of the lines. Not sure if this was for traffic, or crowd control at the main gate of the pool. Either way, no biggie.
We arrive at our cabana around 12:30/1pm and the afternoon starts to crescendo from there. Lot’s of champagne, Goose and Jack.
3rd year in a row having the same server for at least part of the day:
We had a friend coming in from LA to join us so TO and I were careful not to get too tipsy, just in case we’d have to usher her in. If you’re not with the main group at arrival, getting in can sometimes be a hassle but it went smoothly for her and she joined the party around 3:30/4pm with plenty of time to enjoy.
Aoki comes on for his set and champagne showers started raining from the cabana next to us. I look over and am pretty surprised to see an older Japanese lady getting hosed down. It looks like her son might of put her up to it.
This is a little out of the norm so I wanted to find out the backstory. I grab a glass of champagne from our cabana and walk over to theirs. I see her toweling off next to what looks like her son and another guy who seems to be their host/coordinator. I walk over, offer my glass to cheers and say “Congratulations! What are you celebrating?”
Before either of them answers, I get shut down by the host who boxes me out and responds “We’re not celebrating anything. Can you just give us two minutes?” So much for that.
I take the hint and leave their party and return to ours where I ask our server if they know what the deal is. Apparently, the son is some successful App developer from Silicon Valley and wanted to ball it up with his mom. @Natamus - that’s who’s blowing the startup money.
Aoki was good and I’m always a fan of his cheeky antics. He mixed in the presentation of Simba to the Kingdom from Lion King, as well as a good spoof of him as both Jack and Rose on the Titanic. I can’t remember if the raft or cake made an appearance. Overall though, I think I enjoyed some of his past performances better.
I find that 4-6pm is the best time at the pool. Everyone has built a solid buzz that is most likely going to accelerate since the time remaining to hit the table minimum and finish any alcohol already ordered is vanishing fast.
Sure enough, 6pm hits us quick and we’re all pretty toasty as we head back to the Villas. One unfortunate member of the group wound up breaking his pinky toe when he clipped it on the edge of one of the day beds. Apparently those things are set firmly in place. For better or worse, he was pretty drunk so it may have hurt less than otherwise.
We get back and sober up for a bit, then TO and I have to head to MGM with our friend to grab her luggage which she checked with the bell desk on arrival. There are show reservations for Love that evening as well, so we’re on a tight schedule to pick up her luggage, go back to ours, change, eat something, then get back to the Mirage. In the end, it proves too much to tackle and we had to skip the show. Instead, we stayed in and called it an early night.
06-10-2016
, 09:23 PM
MDW Day 2
Saturday
Saturday plays out much the same as Friday. We head back to the Villas for breakfast at 11:30 and leave a little later for the pool around 1pm. It's way busier than Friday and you can feel the surge of people for MDW.
Champagne
I think I’ve said it before but Wet’s pool food is actually very good. Panko chicken tenders and shrimp tacos are where it’s at.
More drinking and partying ensue. The crowd was pretty international for MDW, and we saw flags flying from UK, France, Mexico and US (obviously) as people transformed cash into fizzy wine that gets sprayed on bystanders.
Afrojack came on at 3:30 and I don’t remember him being that great. Maybe I wasn’t as drunk as the day before, but I didn’t think his performance was memorable in any way.
Around 4:30 most of the girls in the group have to leave with MLB to head back to the Villas and get ready for a meet and greet with Celine Dion at 6:40. Since I’m not loving the pool and don’t want to get plastered, I decide to head with them.
Full disclosure - the Celine concert is meant just for the ladies in the group… I’m very jealous and hoping that one of them decides not to go. Think what you will, I loved her as a kid and while I haven’t listened to her music in years, I think she’s an iconic performer that I’d love to meet.
Unfortunately for me, all the ladies rally and there are no extra tickets. So while we all headed over to Caesars, I was sadly bound for the poker tables.
I sit in a fairly regged up 2/5 game. There are one or two spots throughout my 4 hours of play, but nothing major. I chip down early and spend most of my session working my way back up, with no real eventful hands to speak of. Meanwhile, there’s a Japanese dude in seat 8 who is just crushing the table. I think I see him lose maybe 1 hand all night. He’s playing super nitty, but somehow keeps getting action and having the goods. This was his stack when he cashed out. Pretty legit for a days work.
There was a Finnish guy who joined the table straight off his 20 hour flight. We had a pretty good time chatting it up. I’m definitely a fan of more social tables so it was nice to have someone to bounce off of. I’m pretty sure he was out for the series so Sam, if you’re reading this, nice playing with you and hope the WSOP is treating you well.
TO and the girls watch MLB play some blackjack in the high stakes area post concert where he’s spreading $500 - $4k/hand. I believe they said he did well, which is always nice to hear. TO and our friend, along with one other girl come over to meet up at the poker room around midnight where they proceed to gush about how good the Celine concert was. They have photo binders with their pictures with her, along with a few other keepsakes.
TO said that Celine did an incredible job at making the concert feel personal and intimate. There were less theatrics but much more stories and glimpses into her life and family. What I didn’t know was that Celine’s husband passed away recently. This loss showed in her performance and everything was more emotional and real. Apparently the entire group cried. I’m still bummed that I missed the concert and what made it worse was the fact that one of the girls felt sick after the meet and greet and didn’t go! Oh well, maybe next time.
Somehow I’ve neglected to mention that our friend AF, the HSNL player from earlier trips ITT, is also out here from the series. He walks over from the B after watching the warriors take game 6 and meets up with us. TO is amped up on the evening and decides that she wants to play. AF says he’s down to slum it up at a $1/2 table and stake her. I return to my $2/5 game, but nothing is really happening and I decide to table change over to join them and at least have some fun.
For some reason, I suck at 1/2 and 1/3. I don’t think I respect the money at this level, which is a huge leak. I’m in the BB my first hand and a guy who is racking up and about to leave gets dealt his last hand before hitting the road. He looks intent on leaving, but can’t help but raise it up to $10. He gets up a couple callers and I decide to play the hand dark in hopes that I can get him to stay, and that I flop a miracle to beat whatever monster he’s holding.
Flop comes 8 high, I checked dark, he bets 1/2 pot and it folds to me. I CR him and he tank calls. Turn brings 3 spades and I check to him. He fires big and I tell him I have to look at my cards now. I find myself holding J6o for Jack high and reluctantly muck face up. He tables KK. Great, just lit $60 on fire.
Within another orbit, I run a bad bluff on an Italian guy to drop another $150. How do I manage to play hours of disciplined 2/5 and then donk off so bad within 20 minutes? I suck at this game.
I resolve to reset and start playing real poker. It’s around 3am now and to my, and the tables delight, a black guy comes over with two half drank bottles of Hennessy in hand and sits down in the 6 seat. We ask him if he just came from Omnia and he says “Yo man, I don’t know where I just came from.” Perfect. Floor comes over and starts to tell him he can’t have those bottles here and he’ll have to put them in his room. He responds, “I don’t know where my room is!” I happen to have a bag from the pool and I tell him and the floor that I’ll put the bottles in my bag and give them back when he’s ready to cash out. Both oblige. Game on!
He peels off a couple hundred over the course of an hour and goes broke a few times. We learn that he was on one of the club hopping buses and got to take the rest of the alcohol with him when the tour was over. I make a little money back from him before he runs out of cash and has to head back to his room, which he thinks is in the Octavia tower. I pull the bottles out of my bag and hand them back to him but tell him I’ve got to get a picture before he goes:
With the fun gone from the table, we decide to finally call it a night around 4am.
Saturday
Saturday plays out much the same as Friday. We head back to the Villas for breakfast at 11:30 and leave a little later for the pool around 1pm. It's way busier than Friday and you can feel the surge of people for MDW.
Champagne
I think I’ve said it before but Wet’s pool food is actually very good. Panko chicken tenders and shrimp tacos are where it’s at.
More drinking and partying ensue. The crowd was pretty international for MDW, and we saw flags flying from UK, France, Mexico and US (obviously) as people transformed cash into fizzy wine that gets sprayed on bystanders.
Afrojack came on at 3:30 and I don’t remember him being that great. Maybe I wasn’t as drunk as the day before, but I didn’t think his performance was memorable in any way.
Around 4:30 most of the girls in the group have to leave with MLB to head back to the Villas and get ready for a meet and greet with Celine Dion at 6:40. Since I’m not loving the pool and don’t want to get plastered, I decide to head with them.
Full disclosure - the Celine concert is meant just for the ladies in the group… I’m very jealous and hoping that one of them decides not to go. Think what you will, I loved her as a kid and while I haven’t listened to her music in years, I think she’s an iconic performer that I’d love to meet.
Unfortunately for me, all the ladies rally and there are no extra tickets. So while we all headed over to Caesars, I was sadly bound for the poker tables.
I sit in a fairly regged up 2/5 game. There are one or two spots throughout my 4 hours of play, but nothing major. I chip down early and spend most of my session working my way back up, with no real eventful hands to speak of. Meanwhile, there’s a Japanese dude in seat 8 who is just crushing the table. I think I see him lose maybe 1 hand all night. He’s playing super nitty, but somehow keeps getting action and having the goods. This was his stack when he cashed out. Pretty legit for a days work.
There was a Finnish guy who joined the table straight off his 20 hour flight. We had a pretty good time chatting it up. I’m definitely a fan of more social tables so it was nice to have someone to bounce off of. I’m pretty sure he was out for the series so Sam, if you’re reading this, nice playing with you and hope the WSOP is treating you well.
TO and the girls watch MLB play some blackjack in the high stakes area post concert where he’s spreading $500 - $4k/hand. I believe they said he did well, which is always nice to hear. TO and our friend, along with one other girl come over to meet up at the poker room around midnight where they proceed to gush about how good the Celine concert was. They have photo binders with their pictures with her, along with a few other keepsakes.
TO said that Celine did an incredible job at making the concert feel personal and intimate. There were less theatrics but much more stories and glimpses into her life and family. What I didn’t know was that Celine’s husband passed away recently. This loss showed in her performance and everything was more emotional and real. Apparently the entire group cried. I’m still bummed that I missed the concert and what made it worse was the fact that one of the girls felt sick after the meet and greet and didn’t go! Oh well, maybe next time.
Somehow I’ve neglected to mention that our friend AF, the HSNL player from earlier trips ITT, is also out here from the series. He walks over from the B after watching the warriors take game 6 and meets up with us. TO is amped up on the evening and decides that she wants to play. AF says he’s down to slum it up at a $1/2 table and stake her. I return to my $2/5 game, but nothing is really happening and I decide to table change over to join them and at least have some fun.
For some reason, I suck at 1/2 and 1/3. I don’t think I respect the money at this level, which is a huge leak. I’m in the BB my first hand and a guy who is racking up and about to leave gets dealt his last hand before hitting the road. He looks intent on leaving, but can’t help but raise it up to $10. He gets up a couple callers and I decide to play the hand dark in hopes that I can get him to stay, and that I flop a miracle to beat whatever monster he’s holding.
Flop comes 8 high, I checked dark, he bets 1/2 pot and it folds to me. I CR him and he tank calls. Turn brings 3 spades and I check to him. He fires big and I tell him I have to look at my cards now. I find myself holding J6o for Jack high and reluctantly muck face up. He tables KK. Great, just lit $60 on fire.
Within another orbit, I run a bad bluff on an Italian guy to drop another $150. How do I manage to play hours of disciplined 2/5 and then donk off so bad within 20 minutes? I suck at this game.
I resolve to reset and start playing real poker. It’s around 3am now and to my, and the tables delight, a black guy comes over with two half drank bottles of Hennessy in hand and sits down in the 6 seat. We ask him if he just came from Omnia and he says “Yo man, I don’t know where I just came from.” Perfect. Floor comes over and starts to tell him he can’t have those bottles here and he’ll have to put them in his room. He responds, “I don’t know where my room is!” I happen to have a bag from the pool and I tell him and the floor that I’ll put the bottles in my bag and give them back when he’s ready to cash out. Both oblige. Game on!
He peels off a couple hundred over the course of an hour and goes broke a few times. We learn that he was on one of the club hopping buses and got to take the rest of the alcohol with him when the tour was over. I make a little money back from him before he runs out of cash and has to head back to his room, which he thinks is in the Octavia tower. I pull the bottles out of my bag and hand them back to him but tell him I’ve got to get a picture before he goes:
With the fun gone from the table, we decide to finally call it a night around 4am.
06-12-2016
, 07:48 PM
I intended on making this last until the 20th, but I've gotten through it a bit too quickly.
Superb writing by both DSB & TO has made for a great, great read.
Thanks again for taking the time to do it, and congrats to you both!
Guess it's going to be a long week at work, waiting for updates here, and from Paytriple's thread at VB
Superb writing by both DSB & TO has made for a great, great read.
Thanks again for taking the time to do it, and congrats to you both!
Guess it's going to be a long week at work, waiting for updates here, and from Paytriple's thread at VB
10-07-2016
, 03:44 PM
10-09-2016
, 12:37 PM
Chocolate milk is half Jewish? 
