I've always enjoyed scavenging LVL for light distractions in way of trip reports and ongoing adventures. It's a nice way to fill the void between trips, or to use as a pre-trip hype. I figured I would toss my hat into the ring and have a go. It appears that it's a coin flip whether or not these threads get updated to completion; It seems like it would be easy, but I suppose Vegas claims it's victims on the regular.

My flight out of Columbus is scheduled for tonight at 8:45 pm, with an estimated arrival of 10:30 pm Nevada time. I have 3 nights free at PH, Tuesday through Friday. Might go on a mini nit-rant here, but these resort fees are starting to get a bit ridiculous. These have to be borderline illegal, I don't think I have ever used a workout room or pool in all of my stays. Maybe the Vegas allure leaves it's guests unperturbed toward resort fees, but I wouldn't be surprised to see these fees be cut in the future. I know it's rare to see something like fees take a 180', but they seem to be getting out of hand. /rant

A little about me. I'm 29, I play poker part time, and I have a fun full time job that is flexible. I have a cool wife, I think she gets more excited about having the house to herself than I do about the trip. When I tell my friends/co-workers about a solo Vegas trip, they sort of act like I'm a dick. I don't think I'm a dick though. I go to Vegas about 2-3 times a year, typically solo, and she gets to watch Teen Mom or Gray's Anatomy without the constant groans from her husband sitting on the computer. Seems fair. Maybe I get these reactions because Vegas has that stigma (maybe not a stigma) of endless trouble that would never happen at home. However, these people have the wrong idea about what my 1/2 - 2/5 poker trips entail. Remember those memes from a couple years ago that said "this is what other people think I do, this is what I think I do, this is what I actually do"? I could probably make a funny one about my Vegas trips.

I don't think people want walls of text (like this one), so I'll try to keep updates frequent, but short. Pictures. Poker updates, food, and anything else of note. I'll try and get a bankroll/shoes photo uploaded, and I'll update the thread with "my plan" from the airport. Hope you enjoy the read!

If somebody could explain how to easily post pictures via the Tapatalk app, it would be much appreciated. I hear it's supposed to be easy this way.

Good Luck!

Let us know if you run into this fellow Ohioan of yours..he's been MIA for some time..

Bankroll and shoes pic...plus testing my photo posting abilities.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haven't even left yet and there's some run...bad(?) Not exactly sure what just happened. I rarely buy new clothes, but there's something about making a large withdrawal from the bank, and having that cash burn a hole in your pocket...thought I might need a couple new shirts and a pair a shoes for my trip. I'm hanging at Macy's in the shoe department, and there's just one guy working. He's with somebody else, so I wait with a shoe in my hand, hoping to ask for my size. He stops talking and makes eye contact with me, so I start, "Hi, I was hoping..." and he interrupts me very sternly, "sir, I will be with you when I am done with this customer".

Okay sure, that's fine. But then I realized the guy had already checked out, and he's lacing up his old shoes...and the salesman is trying to hit on him. They are talking about Rome, the beach, I don't know, flirty things. Can't knock the hustle. Finally there's a long awkward pause, and the salesman makes eye contact with me again, I say, "Hi, do you..." and the guy gets furious, "SIR! I already told you, I WILL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY"

So I left, laughing to myself. It's my fault for not being better looking. Point of the story: I have no new shoes to add to my picture.

lol, you clearly missed out on making a new friend.

I think they sell shoes in Las Vegas.

Made it to the airport. Raining, some lighting, hope we are on schedule. So here's the Vegas plan.

The Vegas experience is always a little weird for me. I have so many potential ideas on what I want to do, then after I check in, I have that "what now?" dilemma. It's not so much about not having any ideas...I think I get a bit overwhelmed, maybe to the point of being a little stressed. It doesn't surprise me though; I have the same problem with poker in general. For example, in my local casino, I feel like 6-8 tables running is my sweet spot. I know the player pool well, and I can see all the games and keep an eye on them. Once the weekend hits and there's 12 to 20 games running, I always feel like I'm missing out. There's always a better game. Vegas is like this, but on steroids. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the guy who constantly walks around the room and changes tables 4 times. But I do always feel like I'm missing out. If any of you have a nice way of dealing with this, let me know.

For poker, I plan to have most of my play at Bellagio, Planet Hollywood, Flamingo, and I've never played Wynn, so maybe there. I tend to have a good chuckle when somebody asks where all the action is, takes somebody's advice, then ends up reporting back saying "that game was reg filled". It's Vegas, if your game was crazy last night, that doesn't mean anything. If you have two drunk guys, the game is great. If you have two pros, the game will probably suck. I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to it.

It's going to be a lot of 1/3 and 2/5 to start most sessions. If I'm able to run up a stack, I'll happily move over to 5/10 for all the glory. You'll definitely be witness to some shot taking in this thread. I'm not going out here to grind 1/3. My goal is to play a ton of poker, and freeroll a minimum of 5/10 at the B. I'll post the big hand histories for sure.

I would really love some suggestions for food. Not just the restaurant, but a specific dish. I love steak, chicken, and BBQ. I'm a big sweets guy as well. Somebody in LVL recently posted an amazing looking duck curry. I've only had curry once, and I enjoyed it. So that's certainly on the list.

About to take off! I'll leave you with a couple airport photos.



Can't go anywhere in Columbus without seeing OSU gear everywhere.





Possibly the most Ohio thing ever.





A little Streetlight Manifesto for the flight. Would highly recommend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice job on the title, I'm in! If you have a chance and are interested, wander by the Rio just to get the WSOP ME experience.

Finally landed. It was an...interesting flight. I ran hot in the beginning...didn't get charged for a bag, and my boarding pass said "see desk for seating assignment". Ended up getting row 2! But then...





I was sat between two small Asian children, probably 8 years old. And as you can see in the picture, they were passing trinkets and candy back and forth over me. I asked if they wanted to switch, but they declined. They eventually got sick of talking over me, and we switched...and...





They shared their cookies with me! Back to running hot. In the taxi now, didn't get tunneled per request. Didn't feel like waiting for an uber. On to PH!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm typically pretty passive in life. But I've been trying to be a little more upfront lately. I had always chosen against the $20 trick, but I decided to go for it this time at Planet Hollywood. I think it paid off! My original comped room was called something like "ultra hip" maybe? Probably their cheapest room. The desk worker seemed to be receptive to the $20, and now I'm on the 51st floor in a suite. It has a living room, a room to get ready in, a large bathroom with tub, and a separate bedroom. Here are some photos. Lighting a little dim.















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

nice room!

you're not a dick going to Vegas on your own...only if you don't encourage your wife to do a similar solo trip if she wants. Time alone is soul enriching and gets 10x more important when the kids come along and all your free time disappears.

good luck with the trip and great start to the TR. run well at the tables

My first evening here is complete. Our flight had some issues after we landed, so I didn't even get into the hotel until late. Since I gain 3 hours, it's pretty damn late for an Ohioan.

Despite being tired, I didn't want to waste a night, so I walked down to the Flamingo. Bravo showed the room was hoppin', and I hear the 1/1 PLO has been off the chain. I get on the 1/1 list and play some 1/2 nl while waiting. My table was fantastic. This hand happened within the first 10 minutes.

2 folds to me and I make it $12 with 77. The BTN, SB, and BB all call. Flop KQ7hh, checks to me. I've been betting really small in situations like this, trying to induce raises. I think hands with a strong K tend to raise this wet board, and draws can easily raise. Unfortunately, all 3 players call $15. Turn is 5x, and this time the SB leads for $30. She appears to be tight, and has about $110 total. BB folds. I'm not a big fan of the min raise, but this seems like a decent spot for it. She's never bluffing, rarely folding to $30 more, and at that point she almost always has to stick her last $50 in on the river. I think if I jam the turn she could find a few folds. I make it $60, she jams, we hold vs KQ. I play for about another hour, get pretty tired, decide to leave.



In for




Out for



The Flamingo food court is the only thing open near me, so I get a sad looking Stromboli and head back to PH. I decide to try and hop in a PH game. If the game was good, I'd probably play an hour. If it's bad, I would just call it a night. I probably shouldn't have even played. I got irritated about 20 minutes into my 1/2 game. I straddled the button to $10...some guy tanks preflop, puts $10 into his hand, fully extends his arm into the middle of the felt, then pulls it back and raised to $40. I guess that's allowed at Planet Hollywood. I don't understand why, though. Isn't that completely opening themselves up to angling? Oh well. I racked up down $15 and called it a night.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice start so far OP! I just got back from a buddy trip to Vegas and missing Vegas already! Hope you run hot and shot take to 5/10!!!

Okay let's make shoes a goal. I don't ever buy anything in Vegas unless I'm doing well. Then I'm going to kick that guys ass while wearing them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I definitely need to do this. It seems like one of those things that would get pushed to the back of my list...but so many people say it needs to be done. Rio would be an uber, correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You could walk, but in the burning summer sun I don't think it's really worth the trouble. It's a pretty short ride.

And yea, today should be the best day to check out the WSOP. Day 1C starts in an hour. This should be the biggest day by far. Almost every seat in the Rio will probably be dedicated to the main event. If you care about seeing famous players, people like Ivey, Hellmuth, and Negreanu should be in this flight, as it's the last day and they haven't played yet. Should be a pretty good spectacle.

Thanks FW :-) there's something to be said about being on your own schedule in Vegas. No checking in with people, nobody that wants to see Gwen Stefani, being able to completely relax in the room. I'm glad somebody feels the same. Pretty much anybody I talk to would never consider going to Vegas on their own. I don't blame them, I think think place is built for groups and creating those lasting memories with friends. But just not for me, I suppose.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If 5/10 is what the people want, I'll have to make it happen!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good luck OP, enjoying this TR!

Vegas solo is great, especially if primarily poker, even more if you are an introvert.

Thanks! Glad people are reading :-)


The combination of adrenaline and eastern time zone living really screwed me this morning. I think I went to bed at about 4:00 am vegas time and was up at 8:00 am. Did my best to fall back asleep, but it wasn't happening. The rules of everything I understand don't apply out here.

Tried for breakfast at Eggslut but the line was not over easy (dumb joke). There's so much to do in Vegas...standing in a wrapped around line for breakfast shouldn't be one of those things. So I hopped over to Cafe Aria. Line was about 5 minutes because I don't have a higher tier for Mlife.




Breakfast sandwich, crispy potatoes, sausage, and banana brûlée.





Fín. Sandwich was probably a decent 6/10. I'm a tough critic, but it was a bit dry. Sausage and potatoes did their job, and the brûlée was a nice 8/10, the black berries were very fresh. $35 for the meal, I'm pretty happy with it.





They keep giving me 4 cards here at Aria, so I'll see how close I can get us to the 2/5 portion of the trip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did pretty well in the Aria PLO. I like bouncing around the casinos so now I'm over at MGM.




They are doing some pre-fight interviews right next to the poker room. Was able to catch Daniel Cormier for a second. Though, I'm originally from Cleveland so I'm definitely on the Stipe side.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lol.....

Ended up having a decent result at MGM. This wasn't really the plan, but it seems like I've been doubling my stack at most casinos, and booking the win. For a 3 day trip, I actually like this way of doing things. I think most would agree that there's one thing that can hurt the Vegas experience, and that's getting buried early on. By booking some nice wins, it will be hard to get buried at this point. Probably screwed now, haha.

Despite the win, I had two annoying hands against the same opponent. 50 year old English guy. He made strong bets, and appeared to be very active, but on second thought, I think he was running pretty well over a tiny sample. He opens UTG to $8, I make it $22 on the BTN with AQo, he calls. Flop AK8. He leads $30, I call. Turn Th brining backdoor hearts. He tank-leads $100, I tank-fold. This kind of sucks because in theory I should be calling. With him opening UTG then flatting the 3b, it's hard to think of hands that beat me aside from AK. AT is a possibility, but my gut told me it was some type of A with two hearts. Couldn't bring myself to call because I held the Qh, and big bets in 1/2 games are so rarely a bluff.

Second hand, and my last hand (chips were in rack), I joked with the English guy i could just bring my racked-up chips over to him on the way out. I open 87hh to $10 from MP, 2 calls, Englishman makes it $30 from the SB, we all call. Flop T85cc, England checks to me. The two guys that called $30 behind me preflop were tighter, so I don't think this flop hits them very hard, and I know the Englishman would continue betting if he were happy, so I bet $65 hoping to just win now. 2 folds and Englishman tank calls and we have a bit of a laugh. The turn is a 9c, and he very quickly ships like $350 (wtf). I obviously can't call, didn't even matter whether it was a 3rd club or not. I don't broadcast it, but I frustratedly fold. He shows me 99 (ugh).



For dinner I started to walk over to Lotus of Siam. After about 2 minutes of walking, I hopped in a cab to Lotus of Siam. :-)
I'm not super into Thai, but I only want to eat at interesting places this trip. I never really inconvenience myself when it comes to food in Vegas, but I wanted this trip to be different.



Nua Dad Deaw (Thai style beef jerky). It was nice for an appetizer. This is probably out of left field, but I've been having a very bad tooth pain the last 2 weeks (back bottom left), and I NEED to get to the dentist as soon as I get back home But anyway, that made it really hard to eat this dish. It was good, but I'm still picking small pieces of jerky out of my teeth this morning.




Duck Curry. Okay so...the server asked 1-10 on spiciness, telling me 4 is recommended for dumbass American tourists (my words). I tell her 4 is okay. Wtf, that was hot as ****, dude (my words). I honestly couldn't take the heat. The dish was really nice, but I can't imagine asking for a 7 or 8.




Dessert was great. Some fried banana roll ups. Had the consistency of baklava. Coconut ice cream, sticky rice, and mango. This certainly cooled my mouth off.

After dinner is where I dropped the ball. I slept so badly the night before, it was about 6:30pm and I was very tired. Told myself I would nap from 7:00-10:00 then get into some charged up poker games. Fell asleep at 7:00. I am now writing this at 5:00 am. Whoops.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Was on a short list for PH, decided to toss $100 at Ultimate. First hand!



+~$760. Played one more hand and bailed. Decided to take a walk over to Flamingo and try and clean up some scraps. The 1/1 PLO has generated a lot of action in the room...even right now (7:00 am), there's a few tables running, and all of them have big overnight money. Starting 1/2.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk