Very good write up. Bring on the next part. Please include pics and stories of the nightlife/restaurants etc.

Don't really have pics of nightlife/etc. I don't drink or party or w/e, although I did go to some shows and tried a lot of different restaurants, i'll do a section on what I did try and what I thought about them in this TR.

I'm probably one of the only poker players who doesn't smoke or drink. #LifeNit


I used fairly crappy cameras, 2 phone ones and a cheap digital. Only reason I have so many decent shots is because I took tons and tons of pictures and then edited out the ****ty ones, so got fairly lucky and had some turn out nicely.

Also going to yellowstone for photography is totally cheating (as far as getting good nature shots go). Gives me a decent advantage ^.^

You posting in here reminded me of the first time we ran into eachother at the series this year.

First Encounter of the Series With Selbst

The first open event of the series was already at the final table, it was a large field $1500 NLHE, and while I had played it, I didn't even cash. Vanessa Selbst on the other hand had made the final table. I had stopped by to rail for a few minutes, but it was a fairly crazy rail due to how many well known younger players had made the FT, also I was busy with an event my self so didn't really have much time to watch.

After I busted the event I had played for the day, I walked out of the Pavillion room (where my seat had been in an event and where Selbst's FT was) and walked down the hallway to the back of the Rio convention center to access my box and register for the next few events of the series.

After finishing up with my box I was walking back down the hallway twards the pavillion room and to the main "poker doors" so I could leave and I saw that Selbst was walking my way with a group of friends in tow. She must have just busted the $1500 FT (she had apparently, and had taken 3rd I believe), and was likely disappointed to not have won.

While we had spoken a bit in the past, I wouldn't say that we were anything more than the barest of acquaintances, and while I normally say hello to her, I believe that after busting a FT that the last thing someone wants to do is have small chat with some random kid they barely know. So I gave a small nod instead and hadn't planned on saying anything to her.

Vanessa however, saw me walking alone, came up to me and asked me how I was doing, how my summer was, and how my boyfriend Chris was doing. So we had a quick relaxing chat, and she seemed fairly happy, without a care, and seemed more interested in speaking with me for that moment than getting paid and getting out of the Rio (like most surely would have done).



The above, IMO, shows an amount of professionalism, kindness, and awareness befitting not only a legend, but a great ambassador of the game as well. I hope one day I'll be on the same level as Selbst as either a player or a person.

The 'were 25 mins into this live comp, I've been 3betting a lot made me chuckle

nice trs, looking forward to more. Any other good wsop trs floating around 2p2?

vanessa is the one player ive played with that i left the table thinking wow, thats exactly how i would want a player representing the game of poker to handle herself. she put up w this crazy guy's **** all day and stayed friendly and obv crushed table, was impressive.

WE WANT MOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!

Great read! Love the stories

******** Part 6 ********
"My Vegas Experience"

If you are looking for stories of debauchery or degeneracy, you won't find either here.

I'm pretty much an enigma of the poker scene. Not only am I not heterosexual, but I also don't drink alcohol (I really dislike it and have never been drunk) and I don't smoke (never had cig's/pot/cigars). Also while I'm not a complete social pariah, I'm not someone who enjoys heading out to clubs or house parties (some exceptions of course).

My idea of a good time would be a nice night out with friends and my boyfriend, see a show, have a good dinner, relax and chat.

While I didn't go out and party or anything, I did experience a number of Vegas restaurants and shows and had a really good time.

Below are some short reviews of most of the restaurants and shows I have visited in Vegas.

The Shows

So far in vegas I have seen the following shows:

Cirque Du Soliel "Zumanity": Zumanity is a reasonably priced (the cheapest Cirque I believe), lewd, and funny show on human sexuality. It has awesome feats of human acrobatics and was very entertaining. Definitely worth going to, and worth a little extra for the best seats. One of the best value shows we went to.

Blue Man Group: Interesting show of human expression, comprised of unique music and "weird" creative skits. It's a show that you could either greatly enjoy or really dislike. Worth going to.

Jabbawockeez: Really cool music show with awesome dancing. Good music, great dancing, and has some comedy as well. Definitely worth seeing.

David Copperfield: Complete waste of money. DO NOT SEE. If you want a good magic show, go to Penn and Teller.

Penn and Teller: These 2 are amazing. Great comedians and magicians. They are very up front about what they do, and sometimes even show how they do it. It was a very entertaining show, and easily the best one we saw.

Restaurants

Vegas has a plethora of amazing dining. The only thing I found lacking with the food scene, was a lack of a good burger. Although I am fairly spoiled as I'm used to burgers from Wisconsin.

Best Buffets: Aria and The Cosmopolitan had the best buffets in vegas by far. They were both around 35$/person and worth it. (The Bellagio is supposed to be good as well, but it's as expensive as Aria/Cosmo and not as good)

The Rio buffet isn't bad, but it isn't worth what they charge. However if you are on a WSOP dinner break and need something quick to eat, poker players can skip the main line and get in and out quick.

If you desire a cheaper buffet with reasonable (food for the price), I'd suggest the Gold Coast.

Memorable Restaurants/Food:

Lotus of Siam: One of the highest ranked Thai restaurants in the country with a ridiculously huge menu. Was a nice experience and reasonably priced. Check it out if you love Asian Cuisine.

Hash House A-Go-Go: Very creative take on a mid-western diner. Huge portions, interesting items, and very good. Check it out if you haven't eaten there before.

Fogo De Chao:Delicious Brazilian BBQ with all you can eat meat for only 50$/person. Has some of the best meat you'll ever try.

Sao Paulo Cafe (Rio): Over priced dump. DO NOT EAT HERE.

Martorano's (Rio): Reasonable Italian food that was overpriced. Don't bother going to it IMO.

Otto (Venetian): Amazing Italian food. While it isn't a cheap restaurant, it is definitely worth the price.

Grand Lux Cafe (Palazzo): Owned by the "Cheese Cake Factory" it has a very similar selection of food and quality but a little more expensive than normal.

Sports Deli (Rio): If you want something quick and greasy and are playing the series, the sports deli in the Rio is a good place to go. While a bit overpriced, if you want something quick and delicious, it's definitely worth it.

Serendipity 3 (Cesars): This place was amazing. The food was great and reasonably priced, and the deserts are ridiculous. They have a wide selection of frozen treats, and they are not only unique, but they are good as well. "Deep Fried Oreo Sundae" just the name of this single desert is all you need to know (it was delicious)!


Om nom nom!
]


Other Vegas Experiences:

Staying At Aria: Our first 5 days in Vegas we stayed at Aria as we were able to get an amazing rate for it on Hotwire (around 100/night). The room was large, had floor to ceiling windows, was very modern (everything controlled by a remote), and the bed was amazingly comfortable (feather bed and pillows). It also had a very nice bathroom.

View from Aria:



Kiss Mini-golf: A really cool in-door mini-golf course. It has a dark interior with everything lit up by neon and black lights. A fun golfing experience for any mini-golf fan.

Freemont Experience: Something everyone who visits vegas should checkout at least once. Freemont street is 3 blocks or so of casinos along a street that has a massive LCD screen going the entire length and width of the 3 blocks. They play light and music shows every hour after sundown.

Queen On Freemont


Freddy Murcury on Freemont


Bellagio Fountain:This is a really cool sight to see at night. A massive fountain lit up and set to music, what's not to like?

Bellagio Fountain


Insert Coin: A really cool Retro Arcade bar that is near Freemont. They have a bunch of arcade machines from the 70's-early 2000's, it has a really cool atmosphere and is worth checking out.

Cool Bar!


-------------------------------

Hope you all enjoyed reading this section on the scene in vegas.

Working on Parts 7, 8, and the final 9th parts now. They will entail my backer's WSOP FT, my own WSOP Ft, and the rest of my summer in vegas.

Thank you all for reading so far!

Nice to read, mooooore plz

Slider Truck yo. (http://slidinthru.com/)

Holsteins or whatever in the Cosmo has pretty good burgers(imo) and a really good shake.

i didn't mean the reaction. i understand how the emotions can make u react in a way u know u shouldnt

nice read...was great meetin you guys this summer.

May be true, but always a good idea to insult potential backers. Well played!

-BD

Thanks. Likewise! Grats again on the braclet!

SPOILERS!
Nice read so far, keep it going.

Nice trip report so far. FWIW, I also have never been drunk (~5 drinks lifetime, 3 of which were for my bachelor party) and never tried cigarettes/pot/etc.

The burger bar at mandalay bay has some super tasty burgers, highly recommended

You can't compare a poker table's environment to an office environment...that in itself doesn't excuse outbursts, but the correct way to determine if something is out of line is to compare it to the standard behavior for poker tables. And for better or for worse, most outbursts are well within accepted behavior, provided they don't go too far, and the outburst in question never did.

Now, some casinos have tried to "move" the line of accepted behavior by aggressively punishing outbursts...so the line may be moving to make poker more like an office, but until then...

Put it this way, you can't compare what type of behavior is tolerated amongst the crowd at Wimbledon or the Masters versus what will get you escorted out to the crowd behavior and relative levels of permissibility at Fenway during Yanks/Red Sox, or at a Chelsea/Man U game, or at an Auburn/Alabama game...it's the same here...the question is not what would an office codons, the question is what is standard tolerated behavior at a poker table...if you want to try to move the line, I'm with you, but it will take a lot of work.

Subscribed! Please keep the story rolling.

poker is more of a sport then it is a job - really if you don't get upset over mistakes then you're probably not too good

What a fun read ! Nice time you had there, Ryan , looking forward to reading moaarrrr

Yea great read.

It's an interesting point but not one that I'm sure I agree with. What may be "tolerated" at one particular casino or tournament series might not be at another. I think all players should have a code of conduct they subscribe to and live up to.

I have had players fist pump celebrate, call names and all sorts in tournaments as low as £50 buyin but that doesn't stop me from calling them out on it. Almost without exception I've had them come up to me afterward and apologize and agree that their behaviour was out of line.

If enough people reinforce this message, it will get better. I don't think throwing fits, cursing etc is appropriate and as a backer I don't want o see it in my horses. Tap the table, say "nice hand" and get on with your life.

-BD