Hello all.

The first time I visited Las Vegas, I was 19 years old. Armed with my college roommate's drivers license and a copy of "Holdem Poker for Advanced Players," I accompanied my future in-laws and future wife on a trip to the desert. I was in college, school was in session, nobody cared. I'd earned a few thousand bucks working at the local golf course over the summer, and was ready to deploy my hard earned ammunition at the poker tables.

This was 2002; there wasn't a no limit game to be found. I distinctly remember sitting down at an 8-16 holdem game at the Bellagio, scared out of my mind that I would be taken away to jail. I played through the night, won a few bucks, and thought I had life figured out.

Over the next few years an amazing thing happened. That thing was called Party Poker. I suppose most people reading this have no idea what I'm talking about, but let me assure you, it was a magical time. In 2003-2004, Party Poker did not offer no limit holdem. In fact, for a long time, they didn't offer any game over 15-30 limit. And if you had any idea how to play limit holdem, these games were a license to print money. My best friend in college made $250,000 playing in these games. In a SEMESTER.

Now, thankfully in hindsight, I had other obligations and did not fully capitalize on this situation. Like school, athletics, the aforementioned future wife, and of course partying (no pun). However, I did make enough money to pay for many, many trips to Vegas. When you're 21, you don't really stop to think that it is the last time you'll ever be able to book a flight that leaves in 3 hours for a long weekend of degeneracy, accountable to nobody. You just do it and think you are a genius.

Junior year, the aforementioned best friend won a satellite to a $25k tournament at Bellagio. He drunkenly entered an online satellite, not realizing it was a satellite. Since he was 20 years old, he figured he couldn't win the seat legally, and tried to tank. Well, there must have been a lot of scared money in this thing because his 80% VPIP strategy was successful and he won the seat, which included a free week at Bellagio with a guest. Guess who?

So we show up at the Bellagio and are directed to a suite on one of the top floors, where my buddy shows his ID to "register" and collect his spending money. They of course realize he is 20 years old and hilarity ensues. It is eventually agreed that Party Poker will give his seat to that guy, James McSomething, who wrote the book about making the final table of the main event as a journalist/dad, and my buddy will get half of any winnings. James of course busts out of the tourney in record time, but we both got a free week at Bellagio out of this obviously illegal arrangement.

Not sure if this is still true today, but back in the early 2000s, the games in whatever casino the WPT tournament was in were truly unbelievable. Today the entire poker world understands that "tourney pro" is a poorly disguised synonym for "enormous ****ing degenerate;" that wasn't the case back in the day. Many of these guys sold off more than 100% of their action, lost on purpose, then had money for the cash games, or worse, the pits. It was a glorious time to be a mere semi-degenerate.

This was, to be frank, the high point of my Vegas and poker career.

In between then and now, I've taken many, many trips to the promised land. As you'll see if you are capable of using the search function, they have not been successful. Well, not entirely successful. I did discover pai gow at some point. That game is ****ing awesome.

Anyway, I'm headed out for President's Day weekend, staying at Cosmo. The number one priority for this trip is eating delicious food. The culinary agenda includes Cut, Kabuto, Carbone and Bouchon. I'll play poker too. Maybe hit the spa. I look forward to being a tourist.

Great read man! Have fun when you come out!

Subbed!

GL!
Love Cut, Kabuto and Bouchon. Haven't tried Carbone yet. Looking forward to reading.

Those were the days. I didn't know how good it was.

subbed

Great post!

Looking forward to the updates.

GL!

Good luck and have fun. Can't wait to hear about the food (and poker).

Subbed on the basis of the great first post. Good luck!

I'm just getting back into poker after a looong break, and wow those paragraphs about partypoker sure bring back memories. Pai gow? Learn to degen on blackjack/sports! :P

Too funny. I read that book awhile ago, and I had no idea that was the circumstances around him getting the seat.

Looking forward to your trip report..

gl

i started on party poker in 2004 with lee jones's limited hold em book in my hands. good times!

Riverman: LVL Legend. He started the Hotel Review Thread:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...83/?highlight=

and also one of my favorites: "Doing Vegas Right":
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...09/?highlight=

OG shoe pic guy!

Great introduction. Subbed.


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different events-if you remember the book he was using his retainer for an article for Esquire


actually responding to sub-

run good have fun

Man, as someone whose work schedule is picking up and is getting married this year, I totally understand the nostalgia of "Man, remember when you could just say **** it and go whenever"... Now I'm sitting here actually considering a $500 Spirit Airlines flight to go out for a day and a half of March Madness because I have no vacation days.

Cherish it man.

Looking forward to this!

Appreciate the positive responses.

I often wonder what happened to so many of the poker boom characters. Men the Master Tournament Cheater used to have a dozen horses in every big tournament, who had to dump chips to him. There was a fire in his room once, I think at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, and tons of tournament chips from that casino were recovered in his suite. Is he in jail? Is he still cheating his ass off? I'm genuinely curious.

The poker boom was a crazy thing. It simultaneously legitimized people who had no business being seen by anyone as legitimate and sucked in otherwise reputable people who eventually regressed to the poker mean.

Even so, I miss how I felt about poker. I was fully engaged, passionate; I cared. Each $500 buy in was meaningful. Now I'm "responsible." I would never gamble even a fraction of an amount that jeopardizes my quality of life or even my retirement. I spend mid five figures annually for my kids' tuition, but would feel terrible if I lost a tenth of that gambling. It's unquestionably the right approach, but the absence of risk and uncertainty is, well, boring.

In the words of Frank the Tank, I'm not sure where I was going with that. But I look forward to hitting the Strip next week.

And the Strip looks forward to getting hit...

GL, hope your shoe game is tight!

Shoe pic or this isn't happening

Nobody should ever play with more than they are willing to (can) lose. That's just common sense. Glad you have it.

I am amazed at the guys I play with on a regular basis. I can't imagine where the money is coming from or how they can possibly afford it with families. Almost makes me feel guilty winning it -- but not really

looks like he might still be up to his shenanigans

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=184

In

I was there in those days... playing party poker, watching Gus Hansen win a wpt on tv and Moneymaker a year later.

Work clock set to half speed on Vegas week, I think.