Leaving Las Vegas...

Helen and I are hip-deep in preparing to leave LV on Thursday.

We've been pretty busy lately and I really haven't done a good job of keeping up the blog reports. So here's a brief update on our recent activities.

On Sat. April 16 I played in a huge poker tourney with futile results. The tourney was so big that it required four different sessions with about 800 players per session on Sat. The top 400 advanced to the finals on Sunday. The overall winner got $40K and everyone at the final table was guaranteed $1,000.

We all started with $1,400 in play chips. The first two 12-minutes rounds were Limit Texas Hold 'em, then a round of Omaha (which I had never played before) then five rounds of no-limit. In the first round I had pocket Kings lose to a flush on the river. That sort of set the tone for things to come.

In the Omaha round I made a HUGE blunder. In Omaha you receive four hole cards, instead of two. Otherwise it's like limit holdem. Since I didn't really know the rules, I made up my mind to just fold every hand for the 12-minute session. But after watching a couple of hands, I thought I understood the game. And when I got dealt 3 clubs (with the Ace) I thought I'd play and try to land the flush. Sure enough, the flop contained two clubs and I began betting. One guy called and eventually he hit a straight while I proudly announced "flush" showing my cards. Little did I realize I could only use TWO of my hole cards. I had made a HUGE mistake and I really had nothing! My face was red as other players snickered...

I finally went out in the 1st No Limit session when I had $600 left and I was dealt J-J. I shoved all in and got called by a guy with A-Q. He hit a queen on the flop and my day was done. I collected $75 for qualifying for the tourney, plus a cool hat.

Since then I have not played any poker and done VERY little betting at all. I've been stashing cash to pay for the gas/hotels on the long drive home. As part of that practice, I've been burning up the comps I've earned over the winter. Yesterday Helen and I enjoyed a really nice Easter Dinner at The Suncoast - she had Lamb Chops, while I had a New York Strip Steak with mashed potatoes and two jumbo shrimp filled with crab. I used my players points for the comp!

I still have about $50 in Suncoast comps to use over the next 3 days.

Gambling-wise, the trip started very well and ended on a low note.

December, January and Feb were winning months, March was OK and April was a loser. Highlights were visits by Scott and his family in February when we all went to see "The Lion King."

In March Helen's sister Sharon & husband Larry made their first trip to LV. Larry and I had a great time betting "March Madness" games together and one of the highlights was him hitting a 3-team parlay for $120.

One regret is that we never made a trip to LA to visit Helen's brother Norm and his family. After Sharon & Larry left in March, we tried to arrange a visit, but Norm's work schedule made it impossible. We'll do better next year...

We're packing up our household belongings and getting ready to hit the road. Over the next couple of days, I'll take a few loads to the 10x10 storage unit, which is costing us $84 a month. On Thursday the movers are supposed to be here between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. It'll cost $260 (the minimum for 2 guys at 2 hours) to have them move our furniture and any items I can't take myself. The guy who's always moved us was not available, so we're going with this new company which is about $60 more expensive. That's a tank of gas!!

I hope we can get on the road by noon or 1 on Thursday. If so, we can drive to Gallup NM, about 6 hours away, where we'll stop. Then Friday it's across NM, across the Texas panhandle and into Oklahoma. On Saturday we'll drive through Missouri and into Illinois where we'll spend the night, maybe around Springfield. That's about 7-8 hours from TC and we should get home Sunday afternoon/night...

Hopefully there won't be any weather/travel issues on our trip home...as our LV adventure winds down til next year!!!

Poker Action

Today I'm heading over to Texas Station to play in a big poker tournament. It's a free tourney that I qualified for by playing 30-plus hours of poker at Red Rock. Everyone who qualifies gets $75 and if you survive the first day you receive $200. Top prize is $40,000 and everyone who makes the final table gets at least $1,000. Hundreds of players will be there. I need to focus on good thoughts and good cards, especially in the wake of yesterday's rough treatment at the Ballys poker room. I have not played in almost two weeks, but decided to make one last trip to the Strip before we leave town on April 28. So I went to Ballys, arriving about 10:30 and immediately got into a 1-2 no limit game. Within the first 30 minutes or so, I had run my $100 buy-in up to about $160-70. Life was good and I swore that if I hit $200 I'd take a break for lunch. That never happened. A series of bad cards like Q-7, K-4, A-6 melted down my chip stack. Over the next 2-3 hours I hovered around even, but then a couple of pots got me back up to $170 and again I eyed the $200 goal. Then I got dealt K-J of hearts, always worth seeing a flop in my opinion. I was pretty pleased when the flop came 3h, Js, 8h. Top pair and a nice flush draw! I bet $15 and got only 1 caller. Then turn was a 2 of clubs - no apparent help and I bet $25 and the same guy called. The river was the 5 OF HEARTS - whooo hooo, hit the second highest possible flush. I pretended to think about it for a while, then bet $50, hoping the guy would call. I was still pretty happy when he thought about it for a few seconds, then whispered "All In" shoving his stack of over $200 into the pot. Maybe he has two pair, maybe even a small flush, maybe three of a kind. I flopped my K-J, already thinking that this pot would put me up between $350 and $400... He showed the A-9 both of Hearts - besting my K-High flush!!!!! I stood up from the table and left, feeling a little nauseous after losing that hand. I tried to rationalize the loss. I was walking out with $100 less than I started, but really felt I dumped off $170, a pretty substantial setback for me. It was a sad, sad drive home from the Strip. Aaaaargh. When I got home, I made nachos for Helen and I for dinner. She had kept busy emailing some friends and talking on the phone with Anna. She also did laundry and started getting ready for our trip back to TC. I've rented our storage unit, but our regular moving guy may not be able to help us this year. He's taken another job and may have to work that day. We should know for sure next Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm already looking into gettting another mover in case of Plan B. And so, as it dwindles down, our LV adventure continues...

Catchin' Up

It's been quite a while since I logged on here, so I'm give a quick rundown of our past 10 days or so.

Sharon and Larry were here Mar 22-29 and I've already detailed the early part of their trip. Toward the end of their visit we kept busy visiting the Imperial Palace Car Collection, watching the Bellagio Fountains, hitting the Bellagio Buffet and more.

One day we drove to Boulder City and had breakfast at The Coffee Cup, a local eatery that was featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." Helen and Sharon had a California omelet, Larry polished off a HUGE breakfast burrito and I opted for Pigs in a Blanket. All really tasty.

Boulder City is the only town in Nevada that has specifically banned gambling. It was founded to house the workers who built the Hoover Dam, the next stop on our day trip.

As usual, the dam was impressive and we all learned a lot on our visit. Sharon and Larry really seemed to enjoy the day. The weather was in the 70s and windy, as it usually is at the dam.

Sharon and Larry enjoyed their visit and after they left, Helen and I got back into our routine - me playing poker and her chatting on the phone with family and friends.

My poker luck has turned sour. I've had several losing sessions and I'm thinking of shutting down my action since it's time to get ready to head home. I will be playing in a big poker tournament on April 16-17. Top prize is $40,000. Everyone who makes the final table receives at least $1,000 and everyone who qualified (by playing 30 hours of poker in a Station Casino) will receive $75. If you survive the first day, you receive a minimum of $200. So I'll try my best.

On April 2, I made my last rent payment here and now it's time to line up our moving guy and rent a storage unit. We plan on leaving April 28, three weeks from this Thursday. If all goes well, we'll arrive in TC on Saturday the 30th or Sunday. We're both ready to get back to Michigan and see our friends and family.

It's great getting out of the winter weather, but we're looking forward to being home again. Til then, our adventure continues...