Setting off tomorrow from London for a much awaited return to Vegas. As it’s the last week of the WSOP I’ll be entering one of the smaller tournaments just to say that I’ve been in it.

The rest of the time I hope to be playing 2–5 at some of the major properties.

Looking at Bravo there appears to be lots of action and lots of players in town so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m staying at Park MGM so will probably be playing in the properties to the north of there.

Compulsory bankroll photo to follow along with the fit to fly certificate so I can get into the USA.

Bankroll and Fit to Fly certificate!

GL - what's the CV19 process to enter the US from England?
Are there any direct flights available yet or do you have to change?

It is like almost saying "DAM I am fit!"

it’s pretty straight forward since Nov 8th. I must show that I’m double jabbed and then get an officially sanctioned antigen test within 3 days of travel, hence the “fit to fly” form. Plenty of direct flights from London to Vegas.

it wouldn’t be an accurate advert for me!

Cheers good to know

There are probably a fair number of players still at the WSOP, but greatly reduced from a couple weeks ago. Trooper said one of the Daily Deepstacks had 85 runners, where they had several hundred a few weeks ago.

Oh the irony...

That said, GL, hope you run well! And Park MGM is a great hotel to stay at!

Great first evening in Vegas!

Arrived after an 11 hour flight from London and a body clock difference of eight hours to cope with.

Massive queues everywhere. At the Aria a list of more than 20 waiting for the 1-3 and the 2-5; Similar position at the Bellagio. So I wandered up to Caesars and got on their lists and was called for the 1-3 after about 30 minutes.

The table was extremely passive with players limping all over. I took an early hit to my stack when someone called my three bet with K3s then called a decent flop bet to hit his gutshot 5 on the turn for a straight.

But I continue to play my game being one of only two players on the table to be raising and often taking down decent pots. I got back to even and then a profit of around $50 when I could feel the jetlag kicking in and I had to stop just before midnight. By then I had been awake for 25 hours!



Let me talk you through a typical hand which I wasn’t involved in. Playing seven handed folded to HJ with Ac4c who limped. CO Limped with AA! SB completed and BB with J2 checked.

So $12 in the pot and flop comes JJT (two clubs). BB checks; HJ with draw to best straight bets 15; CO calls; BB check-raises all in for 150. HJ calls and CO still in love with his AA calls!

Turn brings another club but the 2c on the river gives the BB the full-house.

I’ll be back!

I am actually surprised you were functioning normally after a 11 hour flight and a 25 hour day. Most probably it might have been the adrenaline rush of visiting Vegas! (Also, the "there is no tomorrow syndrome" when one visits Vegas).

Some of the rooms are offering call in's, make use of that and the texting feature when your seat is ready.

Also, rooms like Resorts World, Wynn might be a little less crowded or less wait time.

Wednesday, first full day in Vegas.

I played in four properties today and here’s the top line.

Orleans still has the best structure for tournaments. I entered the $100, 11 am tournament with a guarantee of $7.5k. Starting stack 25,000 with 20 minute blind levels. There were over 100 runners and plenty of good play. Sadly I went out when I hit trips and the villain had full house 5s over 7s.

Bellagio is a great place to play poker. I had a good 2–5 session which was very profitable. I used to be a bit intimidated by this game but really the 1-2 game I play in London is at least as tough as this and I felt very comfortable at the table.



Caesar’s 1-3 was again a limp-fest but the 2-5 was a much better game.

I also went back to MGM Grand for old times sake but jetlag was catching up with me then and I didn’t stay very long.

Tomorrow is WSOP debut!

ship it

So, my WSOP debut has been and gone. Busted after six hours when my AJ lost to KJ.



I’m pleased to have played in the WSOP and it was amazing to be in a tournament with over 1500 runners with a prize pool of over $1 million. However the 30 minute structure did not work because of a combination of poor dealers and inexperienced players. I swear that we get more hands per level in the 20 minute Orleans tournaments than I saw today.

We even had a 10 minute break to get a ruling on a very basic poker rule regarding not being able to re-shove after someone has made an under-raise.

My favourite comment of the day came after the dealer continually told one player to stop texting during hands. Another player suggested to him that if he didn’t play absolutely every hand he might have time to text his friends!

So after that disappointment I found myself in Caesars. The waiting lists are incredible and I was able to get a seat at the 1-3 so I took that.

The highlight of the day was getting quads twice within 20 minutes, getting paid both times. Needless to say another wining session at Caesars.

Chris,

Enjoying the TR, thank you for writing it up.

It's too bad your WSOP experience was crappy. Congratulations on the Caesars session though!

Day three, Friday.

Today I reached a new milestone in my Poker career, by sitting down with $1000 at a cash game.

As I’ve previously mentioned I am a 1-2 player at home but I did want to have a shot at the 2-5 while in Vegas. So far I’ve only played where they buy-in limit is $500 however the games at home are always 200 big blinds so I thought I should take a shot at a $1,000 game.

I was already in Orleans (see below) so I put my name on the list for the one table going. I knew one of the players from the WSOP yesterday and he was kind enough to say that I was a really good player which gave me some confidence before I sat down.

The game went well, and I didn’t feel out of my depth. I had an early clash with my friend from yesterday when he re-raised me pre- to $200 but it ended in anticlimax when we both tabled AK.

I am pleased to report that I won over $500, largely due to a hand where I had AA on a Q99xx board, where presumably my opponent had a queen.



Earlier in the day I entered the wonderful world of Omaha Hi-Lo. I love this game and always head to the Orleans to play when I’m in Vegas. It’s such a change to NLH and at the age of 60 I always feel a young man playing this game at Orleans!

There was one amazing pot which was capped at every street after a 345 flop. We ended with a pot of $960 which was then split four ways when two of us had the wheel and two others had 67. Actually, both of us on the wheel had options to win 3/4 of the pot - I was calling for a heart for the nut flush while the other was hoping to pair the board for a full house. So actually a bit of an anticlimax but amazing that we could get so much into the pot in a 8-16 limit game.

In the evening I went to Resorts World the wonderful new property further up the Strip. I decided on a more relaxed evening and played 1-3 having a good laugh with the others at the table.



My photos won’t do the property justice but hopefully you like this picture of Liberace’s glittering Rolls Royce.

I haven’t posted anything about food yet mainly because as a vegetarian my reports would have little appeal.

However best meal so far was at resorts world last night.





Which reminds me that I must get back for a curry at Tamba, the wonderful Indian Restaurant at the back of the open shopping area on the opposite side of the Strip to Park MGM.

How about your summary perspective on the relative merits of live poker in London and Las Vegas ?

Your now having tried a significant sample of Las Vegas, what is your take, as a comparison ?

(On several business trips to ICE in winters past, I have tried playing in London, in those sh*thole facilities that pass for live poker venues. Aside from the smoking and crammed together seating, at least the staff, players, and hosts were okay in my view.)

(Thanks for the shoutout above for Tamba, the Indian restaurant on the Strip. Coming from a Londoner, that carries weight. I'll try it when I get back to Nevada. If you want excellent late-night Mexican casual food in Las Vegas, try Tacos el Gordo, which has a location on the Strip near Resorts World.)

Thanks for the tip. Resorts world far less crowded than the 30+ waiting list elsewhere

Great idea - will do. When we’re you last in England as we’ve had a complete ban on smoking in public places since 2007?

Thanks for taking the time to write up your report! I think I saw early on that you are using tapatalk? If so, you might want to try using that to directly post your pics rather than imageshack. I think it will be easier on you, plus all the pics so far are tiny for me. That may just be a me thing though as I'm only looking on my desktop as opposed to a phone.

Perfecto! Glad it's easier for you.

True, but it was not THAT long ago, more like 2020, around the end of January, just before covid really hitting .......... and I also realize that the Stars venue in Leicester Sq. had a separate smoking outdoor balcony area., so it might have been an impression from something else, like peoples' clothes in a poorly ventilated venue.

(There was also a poker room in the same Square which was down a basement stairs, although I did not get the same impression in that venue.)

I love a good breakfast when I’m away and I haven’t been disappointed this trip.

Today I had what they called a housemade breakfast Panini from Eataly (say it out loud for full effect) the food market area at the front of the Park MGM. Highly recommended.



A couple of mornings I’ve gone next door to New York New York and their America restaurant. They do a lovely Eggs Benedict which after a bit of negotiation about me being a veggie they suggested taking out the bacon and putting in something else like tomato or spinach. I opted for the spinach and commented that elsewhere this is known as an Eggs Florentine but this seemed to be news to the server!

There is heavy advertising for a new breakfast restaurant in Park MGM called Primrose. However, every morning I’ve tried to go there the waiting time has been ridiculous so I’ve not actually managed to test their offerings.

Last night’s curry at Tampa was good. I had a decent paneer tikka masala. Disappointingly though they no longer serve the starter Samosa Chaat which I think is one of my favourite Indian starters in the world.

Ah yes, that smoking area at Hippodrome/Poker Stars is technically in the open air but far too close for us non-smokers passing that part of the casino.


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