Poker Trips 2024 / 2025
This trip report follows on from my WSOP trip report here
I'm currently actively interested in poker and would like to play some Texas Hold'em tournaments with a $100 buy-in.
Question (and my answer) belongs in a different thread, but you can find all the upcoming tournaments here:
https://www.pokeratlas.com/poker-tournam...
Either everyone in the US is super rich or inflation has taken over the country, because almost all daily tournaments in Vegas are super expensive these days. You still find some with $100 buy-in, but more and more casinos seems to have increased their buy-in significantly the last year.
Wynn Millions 2025
Day Two - Part One - Thursday 27th February
Took a lot of photos today so will split it into two parts.
We wake early as we have day-job work to do. Unfortunately this trip coincides with a 3-cushion billiards World Cup. As I think I’ve mentioned previously this is very popular in Colombia and as far as I know I’m the only bookie in the world to offer odds on it.
With the time difference I can get most of the work in before the tournament starts.
Steak and eggs for breakfast while working. Hold the eggs.
That’s the resort credit used up.
I get the room switch at around 11am and they kindly waive last nights resort fee for the inconvenience.
Now this is the Vdara that I know and love:
Today’s tournament is 2-7 and starts at 1pm. We step out of our room at Vdara at 12:10. Our route:
Internal walkway to Bellagio.
Through Bellagio with the Chinese new year display still in the conservatory
and out across the walkway to Caesars.
Across the walkway to Flamingo.
The Mirage is no more. Work started on the Guitar.
Past the Venetian
We spot our destination.
And enter Wynn by the lake through the esplanade shops at exactly 12:35.
25 minutes door to door. Where can I cash the under on google maps walking time?
Mixed game tournament area is down in the Encore sportsbook space.
And we waste no time ordering our first watermelon juice.
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Wynn Millions
Day Two - Part Two - Thursday February 27th
Our first bullet turns out to be a dud halfway through level 5, but it’s a swingy game and we’re always going to have another one in the chamber for 2-7.
Interesting spot from early on the 2nd bullet:
We raise with 2-4-7-x-x and get 1 caller
1st draw: 2-2
We get 2-4 to make two pair.
We were going to snow but villain bets so we call and take two again.
2nd draw: 1-2
We get 8-9 to make a 9-8-7
Villain bets. We decide to raise. Villain calls.
3rd draw: 1-pat
Check - check and we’re good.
We finish late reg with 57k (starting was 30k)
No headway in the 3rd session. 56k at end of level 12. No dinner breaks in these tournaments.
We knock Chainsaw out on a dealer error:
3 way action.
Last draw is 1-1-and Chainsaw Pat.
Dealer goes to give me 1 but flips it over by mistake. It was a 3 which would have paired me.
I get a new card and make an 8-6 which beats his 9-7.
He can’t wait to tell the world on twitter about it.
Can’t resist a little troll. [emoji23]
11 make the money. We make it with 200k, slightly below average.
No electronics allowed at all now. Phones have to be out of sight and can’t use them at the table even if not in a hand. I like the rule but it stops us from making any more HH notes and my memory ‘s not worth a sausage.
Final table is 7 handed. We make it with 440k. Slightly above average playing 20k-40k limits
Poker Atlas tournament clock on their phone app is the nuts.
We like the chocolate colored 25k chips and we’re a few kamikaze’s in.
Started drinking with a guy called Craig 3 tables out. He played the $5k HORSE in the PokerGO studio yesterday, as did quite a few others playing today so it made for a tougher than normal field for a $400.
We tangle quite a lot and have some good natured table talk back and forth.
He gets busted in 4th by an Asian lady called Ruth who is playing really good.
We get down to 3-handed and we all have around 900k. Ruth doesn’t want to chop as she wants the trophy so we play.
I lose a big pot to her with 8-7-6 to her 8-7-5
Then we’re eliminated, again with an 8-7 when villain makes a 7-6
It’s almost 3am. Long ass day.
We walk back to Vdara thoroughly dejected.
Didn’t time it but the walking back time was for sure longer than coming.
Feels like I left some money on the table tonight. Wanted the win badly, but think it’s a good sign of how far we’ve come over the past year when we’re not happy with a 3rd place finish.
Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f**k the prom queen.
Great run!
Any top 3 finish is a great one.
nice job! good stories and nice cash
I know nothing about that game but I'll take your word on it
Well done!
Congratulations!
To answer your rugby question, I think it's got a few spots where it's popular. There's enough club matches around Denver that I hear about it.
Top 3 finish with a bonus Chainsaw story seems like a great way to start the trip.
Wynn Millions
Day Three - Friday February 28th
Short one today. Woke up with a cold feeling very sluggish. We did play the TORSE but our play was sluggish as well. Didn’t help that we were extremely card dead either.
Was never above starting stack and busted shortly after late reg closed.
Not feeling well enough to play cash we had an early night.
Todays eats.
Random pics from the walk back to Vdara.
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Short one today. Woke up with a cold feeling very sluggish. We did play the TORSE but our play was sluggish as well. Didn’t help that we were extremely card dead either. Was never above starting stack and busted shortly after late reg closed. Not feeling well enough to play cash we had an early night.
Always sucks to get sick on vacation in Vegas. Hopefully you can find some gangster US medicine to kick you into high gear again in a few days!
Feel better. A good night's sleep should help!
Wynn Millions
Day Four - Saturday March 1st
Still not feeling great, runny nose, sore throat etc. but can’t just stay in bed, so we pop a couple of Tylenol max strength cold and flu and head downstairs.
A working breakfast again. My phone is lighting up with clients wanting to bet the billiards. Thankfully we’re having a good tournament so far.
Then the walk to Wynn for today’s Big O tournament.
We have a decent table. The 1 seat is playing every hand with garbage but somehow keeps coming out a winner.
I flop the nuts with J-9 on a T-8-7 flop and get it in with him against his two pair and he of course rivers the boat.
I’m still in but it hurts to see him take it from me then donk it off to the rest if the table.
I do get a nice 3/4 of this one (we both have A-9 for the boat but the river gives me the low as well. I pot it on the river and villain pays us off. That gives us 76k from 1 bullet at end of late reg.
I meet Leon in person. Very nice guy and I suspect there could be an update coming in his thread soon which is always something to look forward to. He sweats us for a little bit and seems to bring us some run good.
Get it in on the flop here with wrap and flush draw against top two.
The runout is rather favorable.
We have 150k at the end of level 12 getting to the business of end of things.
And then I go completely card dead. I literally don’t see an ace for 2 hours and am getting ante’d away.
I finally pick up AKQ45ds on the button and raise, only to get re-raised by the small blind.
I know he’s got Aces probably 90% of the time here but we don’t have enough left to fold.
Sure enough he does have aces. We do make a flush but unfortunately it’s with the suited king and SB has the suited ace so we bust in 15th, 2 short of the money.
So we begin the long walk back to Vdara which is a lonely one after playing 10 hours for nothing.
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Unlucky. How is your health at the end of the day ? Hopefully fighting fit by tomorrow?
On the off-chance anyone wants to watch some world class 3-cushion billiards, today is the last day. Matches are streamed live here:
https://billiards.sooplive.co.kr
08:00 Semi Final 1
10:30 Semi Final 2
15:00 Final
Times are Vegas times.
Mr. Jasper is good.
This is an eye opener for people who think positioning in 8, 9 or 10 ball is difficult.
Two Legends! (Leon and Tony, not those pool guys. There's no POCKETS!)
Mark we should appreciate other sports as well 😀
Tony try Sudafed 12 or 24 hour. I prefer 12 as you can take two in a day.
For the starters you will see an immediate relief with your nose. Nice to keep the nose happy!
I've got it on. I am enjoying it.
Hypnotic stuff
Awesome to meet and get to sweat you for a bit man. May you run like the sun. I saw you after I finished dinner last night, you were walking out of Encore so I figured you busted. Probably not the best time to bother you :(
