Day 16, The day I build a pyramid
A week ago, I couldn’t find any decent clothes in the Miracle Mile, so this morning I decide to shop at the Fashionshow Mall. Roald is also up for it, so together we drive to Treasure Island to park the car. I don’t know where the others are, but I receive some pictures of Ropski and Ouwkes talking to what looks like a lady of the night in Caesars.
Later I hear they went to Caesars to play some poker. Ouwkes loses one buy-in and decides to try his luck at the Buffalo slotmachines. A few hours (yes, hours) later Ropski is done with poker and Ouwkes is still feeding the machine. In the meantime, this girl approaches them and Ouwkes being Ouwkes starts to have a lengthy talk with her. She even allows them to take some pictures with her (which I will not post for privacy reasons).
I buy several shirts and shorts and a new wallet. Roald buys some shirts at the Under Armour store and is also in need of a new pair of running shoes. In the Shoe Palace they have the shoes that he wants, but not in the right size. Luckily, they also have a store in the Venetian, so after a 15-minute walk and a quick fit he is also sorted.
There is no way we can leave this casino without some gambling, so we sit down at the Crazy4Poker. We get some decent tips about places to eat (Firefly and Nora’s) and after the second Vodka/pineapple I realize we came here by car. Around 4PM we head back to the apartment where Roald lies down for a moment.
2 Hours later I check up on him.
We have found Ouwkes and Fedor, but I have no idea where Ropski is. We are in the mood for some Italian food, so we opt for Maggiano’s. We got seated at a great table at the window, with a view on the Wynn/Encore. Behind each menu-item, the number of calories are mentioned and suddenly it feels like I am dining with 3 girls. Come on guys, I am off my diet, I don’t want to discuss/count/look at calories. Luckily, this is not leading as Ouwkes orders the carbonara, basically the one with the most calories. Fedor and I choose the veal and Roald has the seafood pasta.
It’s time to face my enemy. In my last trip report, I already mentioned that I have never won in the Mirage even though I really like the casino and the poker room.
I sit down and after 3 hands I am dealt JJ. I raise to 12 and got 3 callers. Flop is AKJ. Not the best of flops, but also not the worst. I c-bet and all the others fold. Now hold on a second….. This is not what I am used to at the Mirage. I am hoping this will be a good omen.
The table is pretty good. Several older guys, but not your typical OMC’s. I don’t know what is happening, but I am getting good hands and most of them even hold.
The guy in seat 1 has a huge stack and is drinking a lot of Heinies. I am in seat 9, but when the guy in seat 2 stops and leaves, I immediately ask for a seat change. People ask me why I change seats, because I am getting good cards, so I use the old excuse that the seat next to the dealer is not really ideal.
I clash with him a few times, but every time he shoves a lot and I have to let go.
Ropski has also joined us and is now seated at my table when this happens:
Ropski, seat 1 and I are going to a flop where I have K
T
The flop is T
7
3
. Seat 1 bets around $40, I call and Ropski goes AI for less than $100. Seat 1 checks his cards and to my surprise, I can actually see what he is playing with. Normally I tell people when I can see their cards, but in this case, we are in the middle of a hand and this is the first time he is holding his cards this way. Probably the amount of alcohol also plays a part in this. He has J
5
, so he is on a flush draw. He calls. Now, I figure that Ropski has the better hand, but now I am aiming for the side pot, which surely will develop after the turn. I decide to call. The turn is a 2
and he immediately puts me AI. I have over $400 in front of me and I only have to dodge 9 hearts and 3 jacks. So a 75-25 situation. I call and the river is a complete brick. “I missed”, he says. I want to answer with an “I know”, but I keep my mouth shut. I table my hand and many are surprised I called with that hand on the turn. Ropski had A7, so I win the main and the side pot.
A few hands later he donates the rest of his stack to me where I have a hit and a flush draw on the flop, make trips on the turn and make my flush on the river.
I cannot believe I have built a 5-layer pyramid, here, at the Mirage. Ok, with a little (...) extra information in a crucial pot, but still.
When I leave, Ropski wants to take a picture as proof that I really won here. I have a huge smile on my face and one of the players says: “look how happy he is!” I answer him that I am as happy as a monkey with 7 d**ks, which is a Dutch saying. Apparently, this is not a common saying in the English language but they all know what I mean.
It’s around 4AM and I got a picture from Ouwkes. He is playing limit in the Flamingo. I don’t ever want to play limit anymore, so I don’t decide to join him. I want to savor this moment for a long time.