Vegas Trip Report Day I

Momma IG picked me up at the condo right on time and dropped me off at Smallbany International Airport. My departure was scheduled for a 10:20 AM flight on Southwest non-stop to Las Vegas. Arriving approximately at 12:30 PM PDT.

The check-in dude at the counter sees my Pokerstars bag that Snake had given me from his 2006 WSOP haul and asks if I play. I tell him yes and that I'm on my way out to play in the Ladies WSOP event and to meet up with a bunch of fellow poker players/bloggers for our semi-annual jamboree. He looks at me and says I have something for you and runs into the back.

He comes out with a copy of a book called Dead Money written by Capital District local Rudy Stegemoeller. Its a no-limit poker mystery. He gives it to me and asks that I spread the word on this book. Per his bio, Rudy is a former Jeopardy champion and is a lawyer to boot. So here goes the pimpage Rudy and thanks for a copy.

One of our flight attendents is a hoot. Her pre-flight instructions have me laughing. I especially liked it when she said: "If you are travelling with small children, I'm so sorry!!" When the part comes about assisting your child with the gas mask in case we need oxygen she advises "to pick the child with the most potential and do that child first". Another classic was about the $2000 fine for tampering with the smoke detectors in the bathroom... "Let's face it" she says, "If you could afford the $2000 you'd be flying Delta." There were more classic one-liners but those stood out.

I lose my first $1 on the flight to Vegas. I throw a $1 bill with my seat number on it into a bag. Winner take all.. I lose... I doze on the plane and read Harrington on Holdem II and Cosmo. I retrieve my bag once on ground at McCarren and sign up for a shuttle to the Orleans.

Now a cab is quicker but, a round-trip shuttle is only $13 for me which is about half of what round-trip cab fare would be. Sure I have to stop at a bunch of hotels along the way. But Im really in no hurry. Im the last one off. I look at the driver and state.. That means Im going to be last out of my big tourney!!

Check-in is uneventful, I unpack which is unusual for me as I usually live out of a suitcase.. I packed about 7 pairs of shoes (New balances, Reebok Sport sandals, Birkies and about 3 pair of sandals. I hang up the Tilly tops and put the rest of the stuff in the drawer. I actually packed very light for me.

I call Shamanalix and Penn's room but get no answer. I then go down to do a tour of the Orleans and get a bite to eat at Terrible Mikes. I have a big burger, fries and a mambo sized Diet Pepsi... Not the healthiest start to my Vegas meals but I wanted something quick. When I finish my fine dining I head back to the room and decide to hit the pool. I had promised mamma IG that I would not spend all my time in casinos or playing poker. I have a message waiting and its Penn telling me hes busted out of the Orleans 12 noon tourney, but Sham is still in and I can find him in the poker room. I change into my swimsuit pull a skirt and T-shirt over the swimsuit and bring some poker books and the IPOD and SPF 30 down with me.

I stop in the poker room and even though I have never met Sham before, I recognize him by the description of what he's wearing given to me by Penn, plus I had a general idea of what he looked like based on his pokerstars avatar. Sham gives me a hug when he is out of his hand and we chat for a bit. Tentative plans are made to perhaps do the Sahara tourney at 11 PM when RK gets in from KS. I hit the pool and hang out there for a bit. Then I head back up to my room and talk to both Sham (I think) and Randy for a bit when he gets checked into the Sahara. I take a shower and quick catnap and get ready to meet the bloggers in the bowling alley at 9PM.

I put on my newest Tilly top. I'm pulling out the stops for the Blogger boyz. I head up to the bowling alley and dont see anyone. I look for Penn who is the Aces Cracked forum owner and dont see him. After going out and about and up and down the alley I remember Falstaff had said get drunk at the bowling alley so I head into the bar there. I see a dude who might be Penn based on description or it could be a blogger. I wander over and ask.. Are you a blogger? (not one WPBT crossed hammer logo was on display). It is Bayne.. And Bayne is the first blogger I have ever met live. Bayne buys me a soda since Im a sober gal and we shoot the shit.. He's wearing his Aussie Millions stuff and we talk about his experience there.

Finally the blogger crew pours in...Lets see Falstaff who quotes me lovely lines from the Taming of the Shrew if I remember correctly, Mattazuma, Zeem, STB, Penner2 and Penner3 (Allen and John), Brdweb, MHG, and Brandon Schaefer. I look at Brdweb and say.. Oh so your the dude I have a piece of. It is then some of us are told about Jason getting jacked of his bankroll and his WSOP buy-in (details are on his blog). MHG wants to play Chinese Poker which I am really the only one who knows how to play except for Brandon, but Brandon forgot his deck of cards and I didnt bring one either. So we decide to bowl.

Now, I used to bowl in a league in another times forgotten place (like junior high), but probably havent bowled since my 20's and I was probably stoned or drunk or both then, but Im a player and I agree to play. Now Alan Penner brought his bowling ball so you know that this dude is all serious. The teams are set.... Me, John P (who became my buddy for most of the weekend) and Falstaff (kiltless tonite but resplendent in a Full Tilt Jersey) against MeanHappyGuy (aka MHG), Alan P and Brdweb.

I gutterball my first toss and I dont mean in the poker sense.. Im absolutely horrible. I bowl a 63 but do throw a strike. I just couldnt get a feel for the lanes, nor release the ball off my hand the same way each time at the line. . Im all over the place, I pull a muscle in my ass which gets lots of requests to help massage it out. But at least I showed Im a sport and Im sure I gave the guys a good show in the Tilly top. Good Cleavage like good shoes (although the bowling shoes were heinous) is paramount at all times.

We then decide to prop bet for the bowling tab. The other team spots us 150 points. Do you think we can cover the spread??? Of course not.. Falstaff bowls a 1 on the final frame and we need ten to cover. I gutterball both shots on the lane that has been my problem one all evening.. Fortunately I had my coupon book and we got three games free.. My share of the tab is $15. Im know down $16 without playing a hand of Poker, pai gow, or Roshambo. I did bowl a 67 my last game and beat Falstaff's score.

During the course of the bowling the twin towers of poker make their entrance from the deep-stack extravaganza over at the Venetian. It is then I finally meet MiamiDon (he could be a quarterback) and Chad (he could be a lineman). Chad is a big teddy bear. We all know how he as lost his chat on Full Tilt but live he is one mellow laid-back dude. And MiamiDon is equally as cool and funny as all hell. I spent a bit of time talking to them and got some Vegas inside info on the pros. Lets just say that the guys feel one name female pro is a bitch and doesnt change her clothes for days nor wash her hair and she smells, another female pro is a poor loser and another one, well they feel she needs a crotch check or at least her DNA. Chad strokes me when he says the only way the women's bracelet would be considered serious is if IG wins it. There is further venting about Jennifer Tilly checking down a full house on Poker After Dark and how her WPT win was really only a 6 person SNG.

MD and Chad look at me in horror when I tell them that I walked from the Stratosphere to the Sahara last year in daylight by myself. I promised I would not do that again. I then freaked out and decided that as soon as I got up the next day I would hi-tail it over to the RIO to register for the Ladies event and purge myself of the cash I was carrying. John was going to do the same and I gave him my room number so he could call me when he woke up. Then we would go to Caesars for the nooner which he had final tabled and cashed in that day.

I never made it to the Sahara 11 PMer which was really 2 AM EDT.. I did spend lots of time talking to Chad, Don and John Penner and avoided Pai Gow and then made my way up to my room at about 1:30 AM PDT which was like 4:30 my time...

To be continued---