Seventh Day: in Las Vegas

Saturday, July 14, 2007, 5 am:

We got up and got going from John and Kristen’s on the way to Vegas. We took some back roads that John told us about to avoid going backwards for a while and got onto I-15. We made it into Arizona for about 15 minutes on the way to I-15 and we went through the town of Beaver Dam. This was about the most depressed town I’ve ever seen. There were several bad looking trailer parks and a number of deserted buildings and one small resort section. It was like something out of a movie, possibly horror or Stephen King.

The rest of the drive to Las Vegas was pretty easy. You know when you hit Nevada because the town of Mesquite, NV on the border has a number of casinos and resorts. We hit some traffic on the way into town which slowed us a little. It was about noon on a Friday so I’m not too surprised. In addition, the main event of the World Series of Poker is ongoing, so that may create more traffic for the weekend.

Drove straight to Mandalay Bay where Mike and Hillary were checking out. Met up with them and went to a great buffet for lunch at Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin). Then on to the local poker room. I had to wait a long time for a seat to open up at a 1-2 table, but I did, and eventually everyone else moved over. I had beginner’s luck with the cards, and won $100 total, even with some bad plays. At one point I had the best hand possible, but I forgot and accidentally slow played a guy when I had him beat—kind of a jerk move. Fortunately Jason and Mike were sitting near him and told him that I didn’t know better. I also had a full house with Kings over Aces but didn’t know it and didn’t raise when I should have. Oh well. Good learning experience.

Jason and I went and checked in at the Imperial Palace, which is the Motel 6 of the Strip, though it is a good location. Then our friends Konlee Dobbins and Lee Demaree got in from the airport. Lee purchased his ticket this morning at the airport. Very excited to see him. Went out to the Orleans off the strip to meet up with Mike and Hillary. Played some 2 deck blackjack and won some money. Mike and Hillary left. Other four of us ate at TGI Friday’s. Lee and I went off to a club (Tabu?) at MGM Grand. Had fun there and saw several bachelorette parties. Dave Cunningham got in later that evening. He, Jason and Konlee came to MGM and more gambling occurred. At the end of the night someone said I should go take the $100 chip I had and bet it on a hand of blackjack. I was suggestible at that point in the evening apparently, so before anyone else could stop me, I went and bet the chip and won the hand! Then everyone went home, got in around 4:30 am, and Lee got back around 5:30 am.

Ended up about $230 up the first day…pretty good for Friday the 13th.