After ten years I finally booked my second trip to Las Vegas. I'll arrive monday afternoon and stay for two weeks. I hope this will turn into a decent trip report.

Little bit about me

I'm a 34 year old magician living in the Netherlands. I specialise in close-up magic and gambling demonstrations so Vegas will have a lot of good stuff to see. It's my second trip, ten years ago I was in Vegas for no less than 5 weeks. I really wanted to get a certificate from a dealer school for the blackjack game, mainly because I also perform as a cheating blackjack dealer over here and it's just cool to be able to say I got trained in Las Vegas.


Me cheating some players at the blackjack table.

Pokerwise that trip was rather uneventfull. I had just started playing limit poker and didn't have a big bankroll, so I only played 1-2 limit and was a bit scared money. After that I did play a lot online, even managed my way up to 10-20 limit. I did pretty well in 2005 and the start of 2006 which gave me the financial space to quit my dayjob as a math teacher and pursue a career as a magician. Of course right after I quit partypoker stopped catering to US players and every bad limit player seemed to switch to no limit. It took me the last three months of 2006 to realise I was no longer good enough to play at the stakes I was playing so I also switched to no limit. I dropped a bundle in those months, but fortunately I had always been very conservative with my bankroll, so there was little to wory about.

I started winning in no limit pretty quickly, but the big losses of the last months made me hesitant to move up in limits. After two years I got tired of sitting in front of the screen even though I didn't play a ton. So I started playing less and less. This was actually a good thing, because I had almost forgot I quit my job to become a magician, not a poker player. So from that point on, my poker playing got less and my working on my magic career went up. Most of my pokerwinnings went to living expenses and I was fortunate enough that by the time most of it was gone I could live of my income as a magic performer.

The little money that was left has been sitting in my pokeraccount for quite some time now and I figured it would be a nice to use it as my bankroll when I finally get the chance to go to Vegas. Now is the time.



Plans and expectations

Hotels
I have six free nights due to the myVegas facebook game. One night each in Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock and Palace Station scattered over the trip and the last three nights I'm at Mandalay Bay. I will also be staying at two different airbnb rooms, both for two nights each and the first weekend I'm staying at Sam's Town. There's a magic convention there that weekend and even though I'm not sure I will attend, it offers the opportunity to meet some fellow magicians.

Food
I also have a $30 dining credit from myVegas for each of the three station casino's I'm staying at, so I hope for some good food. I will also try and get to the 2+2 food meetup, but I'm not sure if it fits in my schedule.

BNI
The first couple of days will be spend with business meetings. I'm a member of the networking organisation BNI and I figured it would be nice to visit a couple in Las Vegas. Maybe it will even lead to a gig.

Gambling
My gambling bankroll for the trip is $1800 so I will be playing the lowest NL cash games. I will also try and squeeze in one or more tournaments. Probably the Aria daily. There will also be played some videopoker but since I'm a nit when it comes to gambling I have searched for the location of 100%+ payout machines, made a sheet with the strategy for those and will mostly play those.
I also brushed up on blackjack basic strategy and card counting. When I studied math I wrote a paper on it and still knew most of it but not all. Of course during play I may forget halve of it and my bankroll isn't such that I really can take advantage but it adds a nice story to my performances when I can tell I counted cards in Las Vegas.

Magic
I'm not sure if I will be attending the magic convention that's going on, but I will definately go to the weekly magic club. I will also go see David Copperfield and MacKing and probably Penn&Teller. There's also Wonderground, produced by Jeff McBride, with lots of different magicians, so I will probably go see that.
I will be bringing some cool stuff myself (mostly decks of cards though ) so hopefully I get some opportunities where I can show some of my own magic.

Golf
Just got my handicap this year, so I'm not a good player but I'll probably see if I can play a round somewhere.

Meeting 2+2
I would love to meet some 2+2 people. I hope to make it to the food meetup and I also may attend the pokerchurch meeting. Any other 2+2'ers are welcome to pm me if they are interested in meeting and seeing some magic.


So quite a long introduction for a trip report. I hope I will be a little less long winded for the rest of the report and I will make sure I will add plenty of pics.

TL;DR, BUT I have a something for you:

Also:

-make sure to leave the trick cards in the room when in the casino

-stay away from blackjack. Just stay away from blackjack. I'm not being a jerk or overly nitty just STAY AWAY FROM BLACKJACK.

-What I skimmed about your plans for video poker leave me without words… no it doesn't. WTF was all that about? Sheets with perfect video poker strategy? More Arrested development memes:

Hey, I'll be in town at the same time you are. Check out my TR that I've already started; maybe we can get together at some point. Also, I am bringing my golf clubs, but I will warn you that I am absolutely horrible...but at least I don't play slowly.

And, if we don't end up getting together, good luck!

Natamus, thanks for the english lesson, didn't know that. Then again, aren't we all whores for providing services in exchange for money? And don't read to much into the blackjack and videopoker strategy things. I just downloaded something from whizzard of odds and referencing a sheet like that during video poker will slow down my play so I don't lose as fast as I otherwise would.

diet, saw your trip report, would be nice to play a round of golf together. I'll pm you somewhere this week.

ooooo touchè!

Well played, Magician.

Check out some Arrested Development (starring Jason Bateman and Will Arnett) on Netflix or Hulu and I think you'll really like the character GOB (pronounced like the biblical figure, Job)

I will look it up, thanks

Shoe pic



Are golf shoes necessary on the golf courses or are you allowed to play on your regular shoes? Will save me some room.

You are allowed to play with athletic shoes but the ground is pretty firm in NV, so if you have the space, I'd bring the golf shoes. On a previous trip I played a round in my running shoes, and it was annoying enough for me that I went to a golf store that afternoon and bought a pair. But, I'm famously picky about stuff, so this may not be an issue for you.

OP, you should probably rent a car. The places you are staying are so spread out that taxi fares would be just as much as paying for the hotel room.

Also, forget the Aria daily tournament. The Planet Hollywood Circuit event will be running. And the HPT series at the Stratosphere, with the main event final table going on tv. The Venetian event might also be still going. The fields in the series tournaments should be much better than any dailies.

Have you seen the UK tv show Fool Us? Magicians try to pull off tricks that Penn & Teller can't figure out, and the best one gets a free trip to Vegas, I think.

Good luck Peter! Have a nice and safe trip! If you want to meet up with some 2 + 2'ers, why not go to the dinnermeeting? There's a sticky thread about it. Are you planning on roaming the strip and performing some magic for random passerby's?

Thanks for the tips guys. I have rented a car so no problems there. I will look into the tournaments. I have seen Fool Us, thought it was a great show.

I am planning on going to the dinner meeting but I'm not sure it fits in my schedule yet. Not planning an doing magic on the strip for random strangers but I'm happy to show some magic to any 2+2'ers I meet.

At the airport now getting in the mood with rounders. Only about 17 more hours until arrival.

They're going to let you redeem 6 free nights and 3 separate dining credits from myvegas on the same trip? I thought the limit was 3 redemptions every 30 days

Can't say for certain, but I think that the three-per-thirty limit is for rewards specifically at MLife properties. Rewards from other partners ought to skirt around that limit. But you might want to double check if you're uncertain.

They added station casinos which have a separate limit (2 per station casino). So staying one night each at Green Valley, Red Rock and Palace Station and have a dining credit for each. Then three nights at Mandalay Bay for the Mlife limit.

After being en route for way to long I was glad the arrival went smooth. Picked up my ride, had a little trouble with the amount of lanes over here, but arrived at Green Valley Ranch without accident.

Very nice place for the first night. The room is probably not too big for American standards, but for Dutch standards it's massive.





Now using the first coupon from the American casino guide that was send here at the lounge bar for a well deserved meal.

Food was nice. I opted for the soup of the day, don't remember what it was exactly but tasted good. Then a simple burger and finally a banana split which was huge and I couldn't finish it.

Decided to play some video poker and started off well. Up about $40 and figured I should quit and go to bed since I have an early meeting tomorrow. Couldn't do that though and an hour later quit $60 down when I really got to tired. Got some nice hands though.




Beat: found out the power converter I brought doesn't take the cord from my laptop and it seems I can't power my gps from within the car. Hopefully there's a way and I just haven't found it otherwise driving is going to suck.

Also, right awake now at 2.45. Have to get up at 6. Blah.

Performed some magic at BNI meetings this morning and afternoon. It was well received and for me a good way to not have to eat alone. Drove to the B&B where I will be staying for to nights and spend some time in the hot tub. Also performed some magic for the kids in the house.

Redeemed $30 dining credit from myvegas at Hank's in Green Valley Ranch. All good but a bit much.

Lobster Chowder


Prime Rib with big ass baked potato



Fried Oreos


Wanted to play some poker but after two days of hardly any sleep and an early rise tomorrow decided to quickly dump some money at video poker.

This will sound like Im being negative, nothing could be further from the truth.

You are a magician, its all about the presentation for you.

Suggest you Learn how to take better, more appealing pictures, it will help you in the long run.
True story.

^^^^ naaaahhh **** that guy. This isnt a photography thread. Your pics are just fine, keep em comin

Yeah, not setting up lighting and cameras for pictures of food. I'm there to eat, not make pictures. Just make them because LVL readers seem to like pictures of food.

Welcome to America.

Yea, by the end of your trip, you'll be on your 5th place at the buffet wondering why they aren't any more crab leg stations!

Didn't do any gambling or fine dining today, so not much to tell that's interesting for you guys. It was exciting for me though, went to three business meetings. Got to perform a 20 minute show at one and did a short three minute performance at another which actually got me a booking to perform at the Gold Coast Casino. That's pretty cool. Now off to the local magic club.