Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream
At the age of 62 (AARP members unite!), I have decided that I will write a trip report for my 2024 trek to the World Series of Poker. Not exactly “Stop the Presses” news, although maybe an old-man poker TR from a former sportswriter turned entrepreneur/investor is somewhat unique.
This trip report proclamation and five nickels will get me a quarter. I get it. Lots of people promise/start trip reports and then never follow through (blasted). You don’t know me, so there is no reason for you to believe I will actually deliver.
So, I will put some skin in the game to show I can be trusted to deliver on my promise. Before I start my 2024 trip report in this thread, I will do a trip report on my first ever 2019 12-day trip to the WSOP (when I was 57 years old and a bit less gray than I am today) based upon old notes I have kept and memories I recall (memory loss is not an issue for me so far, wait, did I already say that?).
I did not write a trip report at the time, so this is new content. Call my 2019 long-after-the-fact walk down memory lane on 2+2 a down payment from me in return for your anticipation of and attention to my 2024 trip report.
Introducing rpphotographer
Hi everyone. Rpphotographer here. As you know, rppoker has gone into his poker tournament bubble and won’t be posting his tournament results for the 12 days he is battling on the felt. He has asked me to be your LVL tour guide during those 12 days.
I’m not the wordsmith he is, but the good news is they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that will be how I try to keep producing content at a decent enough volume to keep this thread interesting.
So, without further adieu, here are some initial pictures from the Las Vegas strip to feed LVL’s insatiable appetite.
We'll start with the basics at the airport:
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Paris/Horseshoe exterior
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Interior WSOP shots
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Event #1 Daniel Negreanu
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Event #1 Erik Seidel
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Event #1 Dan Shak (I think)
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Street performers
Looks GREAT! I know it’s a great time to take all that in
Big fan of rpPhotoGuy
I’m 8 days away from flying out. Keep those pics coming!
Best of luck!
Dr Pepper toast, my friend
Love the pics - the classic airport shot of the LV sign literally never gets old. It's right up there for me with the Bellagio fountains and some others
The references to RPPoker and RPPhotographer remind me of Me, Myself and Irene!
"Bellagio Fountains" is my reset rock. A cup of Starkbucks coffee next door and the Fountains always resets me back to reality!!!
Breadcrumb: rppoker earns his first WSOP cash (he's not in the picture)
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Dealers behind the scenes: 9am dealers meeting, dealers in position before the players descend
Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. The guy next to Seidel looks familiar, but I can't place him.
Awesome post sheep. Hadn’t seen that gif in a long time. Takes me back to simpler times lol.
Breadcrumb: One day after delivering a bad beat, I suffer a massive bad beat for heaps of chips.
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Finally went to the Horseshoe and found ... The Daniel Negreanu Show, Event 3 final four tables
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer:
Finally went to the Horseshoe and found ... the big stage
From the cell phone camera of rpphotographer
Finally went to the Horseshoe and found ... the champion's banners
Hm. I wouldn't know Seattle. Not sure why he looked familiar.
Re: the banner pics. A few years back (WSOP still at Rio), was playing in the Senior's event. A while after we'd started, a guy comes in, gives the dealer his registration slip and player's card.
The dealer asks for a photo id. He points at a banner on the wall. It was Berry Johnston (1986 ME champ). We all got a good laugh out of that.
LOL ultimate flex right there
Find us Russ Hamilton's banner. Last time I was there, it was in a closet or alley off the main drag.
