A Mackem in Vegas - sort of a TR (August '24)

So after a couple of glasses of champagne in the lounge they announce that the flight is ready for boarding. I've still got plenty of time and consider getting on last, rather than first, to be a perk so wait a few minutes before taking a stroll to the gate.

Of course it turns out to be the furthest one away and although they're not calling my name over the tannoy, I'm certainly one of the last to get on board - I soon discover why.

They are plenty of empty seats in Premium Economy and around 200 in total on the flight, meaning I'd arguably have been better off paying the lowest possible fare and grabbing a whole row to myself when the doors closed 🙄

Ah well, it's my birthday treat after all and let's see if we can drink enough to make it worth while....

I'd originally opted for seat 1K when I upgraded over the phone and didn't have a seat map, but later discovered that was next to the only toilet in Upper Class (which does have a window in it by the way) so switched to 3A.

Took this photo from a crappy angle so it doesn't really show the seat very well, but although it wasn't super wide, it was very comfy even without putting it fully into the bed configuration.

A few pics of the food - you can pre-order the main course and I went with the chicken, but the starter and desserts were probably best.

The little propeller shaped salt and pepper shakers you can see are apparently often swiped by passengers, but the stewardness just asked if I wanted to keep them so I did 😀

Welcome to the US, mackem. Safe travels, run well, have fun.

Looking forward to reading more.

Nice pics. Keep em coming.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hope you had, have, or are having a nice trip. good start to the TR!

Food looks great, have a great trip!

Thanks for the replies folks.

Just to make it clear, I'm writing this TR after getting back home on Monday - I planned on doing it live and even took my laptop to Vegas, but forgot my mouse and was running so badly early on that I decided not to!

So, after the food and a couple of films, along with some beer and red wine, we need to use the facilities.

As I get up I notice nearly the whole cabin appears to be asleep, despite it being only around 2 in the afternoon.

I mention this to a stewardess and she says: "Well, you did have a bit of a snooze there yourself!"

Oops - turns out I'd nodded off during the second film and missed about 30 minutes from the middle 😮 (watched the bits I missed on the return flight).

Anyway, after more films and a couple of cryptic crosswords in an attempt to look clever we land in Vegas - certainly the most pleasurable long-haul flight I've had in a long time. The hours flew by and I'll certainly try to book Upper Class again.

Obviously we're first off the plane and I head straight for the Global Entry desk at immigration - I actually had the required appointment/interview for GE in Vegas in 2019 and, once you pay the $100 fee and get approved, it makes a massive difference getting into the States. (I travel across 3 times a year for the Masters, US PGA and US Open and going through Atlanta used to be an absolute nightmare).

The immigration officer just asks me how much money I'm bringing in, how long I'm staying and waves me on my way. Get to the baggage belt and my bag arrives almost immediately. As it does I book an Uber and by the time I walk to the collection point, the car is only 1 minute away

Incidentally, for those who wonder how much Uber costs around Vegas, my journeys ranged from $14 to $24, with the cheapest being from Orleans to MGM Grand and the most expensive ones involving the airport.

Get to the hotel around 1pm and try to check in, but am told check-in time is 2pm unless I want to pay $25. Decide against it and pay $8 for a bottle of Blue Moon instead and watch the Man Utd v Fulham game at the sportsbook instead.

Finally get in the room and it's a standard king on the 8th floor with a bit of a pool view

A couple of things about the Orleans before I forget:

It's obviously not flashy but it had everything I needed and a few things I didn't, including a massive bowling alley and a multi-screen cinema (thought about seeing Deadpool v Wolverine but never got around to it).

They've added a couple of more upscale food options since the last time I was there (Alder and Birch steakhouse and Bailiwick, a smart bar/pub) but I didn't get the chance to try them.

The majority of my meals were in TGI Friday's as they had a few specials for $10.99 which included unlimited refills (soft drinks), but I also had a burger from Fuddruckers and a Footlong from Subway on my last (drunken) night - half at 3am, the other half for breakfast 😀

The couple of issues which cropped up were solved nice and quickly - the safe had been left locked and the TV wasn't working properly but the first was easily handled and when the guy initially couldn't sort the TV he asked if I wanted to move rooms; couldn't be bothered with that but the following day a Cox technician had been and resolved it.

The gym was more than good enough for my needs, opened at 6am and had a ~view of the pool, which didn't open until 9am but that made sense because it was in shade until later in the morning.

Main pool is just 4ft deep at best but the kids loved it and most people just stand around the sides with a drink in hand. I did manage a few "lengths" when the time was right though.

After a quick unpack I head downstairs to play some poker and basically try to stay awake for as long as reasonably possible - it's only 2pm in Vegas but that's 10pm back home and I've been travelling/drinking all day.

Decide I can't do much damage at 4/8 omaha hi lo and am initially in profit for a while, but then start running badly and chasing speculative hands when I shouldn't. Before you know it I'm down $196 and pissed off with myself for being a muppet.

Head upstairs to bed and actually get way more sleep than I expected, although I'm still awake before 4am. No problem though, the early Premier League game is Ipswich v Liverpool and kicks off at 0430 (1230 UK)

I head down to watch it in the sportsbook and try to place a few interest bets on the terminals; I go for Ipswich players to score at any time as the odds are good but when I try to bet $20 it takes ages to be referred to a trader and is eventually restricted to just $4. WHAT. THE. ****?

UK bookies are notorious for restricting or closing accounts that have any sort of success but this is supposed to be Vegas FFS.

Fortunately that makes me switch to a few correct score bets and I take Liverpool to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, but the match isn't on any screens and the bartender can't find it either when I ask him to scroll through the channels. Head back to the room and at least the 2-0 bet lands for a $90 win.

Killed some time before the 11am $150 NLHE tourney and was slightly above starting stack when the key hand took place.

Table maniac - who may be Italian and is wearing sunglasses indoors - has been playing every hand and was last seen raising 97o UTG.

He raises again from EP to 1k and I make it 4k with TT in LP. The button flats and the maniac now shoves for approx 19k. I reshove and the button goes into the tank for a good couple of minutes before finally calling with AKo.

Obviously he flops an ace, we don't improve and are left with a short stack which we eventually shove on the button with A7. Big blind wakes up with AA and that's the end of that.

years ago when I was poor staying at South Point I would watch a movie there on Tuesdays (cheap tix day) which would keep me occupied for hours only costing like $6. good way to spend afternoon hours when poker wasn't great

Orleans has good structured tournaments but the last couple times there the atmosphere was just so depressing. felt surrounded by miserable people

I was probably one of those people when it wasn't going well :p

As for the movies, it did feel slightly odd to think about it but the jet-lag meant the days felt really long at times and it's not a bad way to take a break from poker if you're running badly.

Next instalment coming soon....

Sunday morning brings another early morning wake-up but again I don't mind as my team, Sunderland, are playing Sheffield Wednesday in the 1230 kick-off at home, so 0430 Vegas.

Again it's not on any of the TV's in the sportsbook but by the time I get the VPN sorted on my laptop I'm in for a pleasant surprise - we're 3-0 up after about 25 minutes and go on to win 4-0.

With a spring in my step I decide it's early enough to be cool enough to explore for a while and take a stroll down to the strip. The construction/repair of a bridge and widened freeway (?) near Excalibur (I believe to do with improving access to Raiders Stadium) forces me into quite a lengthy detour but I don't mind getting my steps in and, this early in the morning, the MGM side of the strip is nicely in the shade.

I head down the shops between the Linq and Flamingo and all the way down to the High Roller to catch a glimpse of the Sphere, more on which later.

Walk back through the Flamingo and have to take the obligatory pic, plus one of a bird I'd never heard of before, just because we live on an estate where all the roads are named after birds. Next to our street is Teal Drive.

By this stage the feet are starting to feel the effects of the detour so I decide to watch the Chelsea v Man City game in the nearest place I can find, which turns out to be Harrah's. The Sportsbook is pretty nice and has the game on a couple of screens but I make the mistake of ordering a beer - $14 for a small bottle of Blue Moon 😮 Christ. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.

I nurse this for most of the game until it's clear City are going to comfortably win 2-0 and decide my feet can take a bit more pounding so head down the street to check out the new Venetian Poker Room.

Top tip: Don't do what I initially did and enter the casino via the entrance which used to bring you immediately into the poker room. There is ONE sign directing you upstairs to the Palazzo/Grand Canal Shoppes, but after that you're pretty much on your own. If memory serves there's only one further sign once you get upstairs but basically you have to just wander through all the shops and eventually stumble across the room by accident.

Pros: the room itself is very nice with self-serve coffee and soft drinks machine, dedicated toilets at the back and the usual comfy chairs etc; but obviously there is very little passing traffic.

I was a bit hacked off at the faff of finding the place and there weren't too many tables going at the time so decided to continue to the other "new" room I wanted to check out at Resorts World.

That is also a nice room but around 1130 on a Sunday had ZERO games going - by this stage I was starving and had a very decent burger at the Dawg House next to the Sportsbook. After pestering some other TR writers for prices (maybe TJ Eckleburg?) I even remembered to take a pic of the receipt....

Ha - calling the normal sized burger a Poodle! I imagine the big dog burgers are huge!

Tbh despite 10+ trips to Vegas, I had to go to a strip map to discover where the Orleans is located! How long is the walk to the Strip?

About 25 minutes if you can do it direct - I just looked on Google maps and it's a total of 2 miles by car straight down Tropicana.

If you change it to walking, it factors in the detour you have to take to avoid the construction I mentioned.

Las Vegas is unique in that pretty much all bowling alleys and most movie theaters are located in "locals" casinos.

there was a theater at or near the MGM Grand years ago but that is the only one I can ever remember on the Strip. I remember I saw THE INSIDER (Russell Crowe) there.

Dawg House is a fine, reasonably priced sports bar type atmosphere to grab a drink and catch a game.

Glad you enjoyed it!!

Monday, August 19th

The Orleans has a $150 HORSE tournament on Monday at 4pm, which I actually managed to chop on both of the previous occasions I played it, so obviously that was my target for the day.

Made a visit to the gym and then relaxed by the pool before getting into the tourney and, judging by the time stamp on a photo of my chip stack at the first break, I lasted at least three hours but never really got anything going.

Lost a big hand in Omaha when I flopped a boat on AA4 flop but the player with the case ace obviously called flop and turn and hit his kicker on the river for a better full house. Eventually went out in classic Razz style with A236 in the first four cards, followed by a 9 K 9 runout.

Tuesday, August 20th

Took an early Uber to MGM Grand and found two 1/2 games running at 9am, presumably still going from the night before given some of the stacks on the table. Put my name on the list and was about to give up when I got called after waiting for about 25 minutes. The guy whose seat I took walked away with several racks and I found out later that he'd been hitting full houses like they were going out of fashion.

The game was very juicy with two guys in particular happy to raise and reraise big with a wide range and I won a couple of decent pots with QQ and AA, but couldn't get in a good spot with the ATM of the table, an older Asian gent who was either misreading his hand a lot of the time or going for SUPER THIN VALUE in some weird spots.

He also attempted to make his own change from the pot while I was there - apparently it was not the first time and the dealer was pissed off, but all the players were desperate to keep him in the game.

After he finally left the game calmed down a lot so I decided to move on and cashed out with a profit of precisely one American dollar :p Lessons are available at a reasonable price....

This is what was left at the time of the Tropicana. One of my Uber drivers said that asbestos meant they couldn't just implode it and were having to take it apart "manually"

Strolled down the Strip to have lunch at Pampas in the Miracle Mile Shops. $37.99 for all the meats you can eat (+ salad bar) which are brought round on skewers on regular intervals.

In a somewhat pointless gimmick you get shown to your table by a mini robot and at first the service was a bit slow - took ages to get the water and bottle of red wine I ordered, while a couple of meat waiters also seemed to be ignoring me.

Thankfully it picked up (the waitress said the meat guys worked in different sections despite the place not being very big at all) and I think it's pretty good value for the price, albeit not to the same quality as I've had here in the UK (Fazenda in Leeds)

Only had about half the bottle of wine but I'd checked before it was okay to take the rest with me so went for a wander through the shops and saw arguably the biggest queue of the week.... outside Chick Fil'A

Decided to check out another room I hadn't played before, the Hall of Fame room in the Horseshoe, but didn't stay long after butchering a couple of hands to lose about $120 in embarrassingly quick fashion (overplayed TPTK when I got check-raised on turn and then a turned set of 2s gave someone a wheel which I paid off)

Thanks TJ.

Was definitely glad I stumbled across it - I had made a long list of good value places to eat, based off recommendations from many of the TR's in here, but Dawg House wasn't on it.

Partly ended up there because all the places in the "street food" area of Resorts World didn't take cash - I didn't have a credit card on me that day and in any case it was a pain in the arse to have to use the terminals to order, put in an email address and phone number etc;

Similar thing happened at Egghead in Aria - they only take cards or charge to your room. The sad decline of a once great nation continues

Thursday, August 22nd

Decided today was the day to see the Sphere but the aforementioned detour took me towards this place at first....

Have followed the Raiders since they started showing NFL games in the UK in the 80s and liked this bit of advertising

Perhaps stupidly, I googled "Best places to view the Sphere" and one of the suggestions was a McDonalds at 3700 S Paradise so made my way there only to find the view was nothing better than I'd already seen on what was quite a pleasant stroll along Howard Hughes Parkway, which was surprisingly quiet (lots of office buildings but also the High Line block of apartments if memory serves).

Anyway, the Sphere itself was obviously not far away so I headed that way and discovered that one of the other suggestions in the article I read was right at least - the Monorail (I shouldn't have stopped for that haircut) does offer a good view

To get the monorail out of the way you kind of have to stand in the central reservation and I took quite a lot of pics, plus a short video clip as they displayed a game of Tetris on the side, but will just post this one

From there it was a pretty quick walk down Sands to the corner entrance of Palazzo, which is by far the quickest way to find the Venetian poker room, where I quickly got a seat in a 1/3 NL game and took full advantage of the self-serve drinks machine to quench my thirst after the long walk.

As I think has been mentioned in the separate Venetian Room thread, the game seemed pretty nitty and reg-infested, with a lot of hands seeing a single raise take down the blinds. (On a later visit I noticed a lot of the same players sitting in the same seats, at the same table (26) FWIW)

The half-hourly high-hand jackpots were a big focus, especially with I think four 10k prizes remaining in the tombola at the time. One guy at our table made quad aces (even with just one Ace in his hand it counted) and it held up, although he only drew $150.

Soon after I made a high hand with KK when the board ended up with 3 Jacks, but it was only a few minutes into the half hour and a I never really thought it would stand up. Sure enough, with about 10 minutes left someone made quad queens (he drew $175 I think) :(

In the actual game I went down early when I made the 2nd NF with Ks Js on the turn and ran into the nut flush, but thankfully I suspected that might be the case and only called the nice old guy's river bet instead of raising.

Fought back into a small profit and then switched to a 1/2 PLO game which had an open seat. This turned out to be a good decision as the table had a few weak spots and it was all played in a fun, friendly manner.

There were a couple of guys who were the most aggressive pre-flop, but it was pretty easy to put them on AAxx, 4-picture card-type hands by their reaction when the flop came 567r and they folded in disgust 😉

There was also a young woman who called with a wide range pre and also called pot bets with hands like KKxx on a 9 9 5 flop hoping to hit a 2-outer. Thankfully she didn't on this occasion and my trip 9s was enough to take down a decent pot, as was the idiot end of a str8 later on when it was checked through on the flop, I led the Q turn and a guy who now had a set of Qs called and didn't improve (I possibly missed a value bet on the river there)

All told I cashed out with a welcome $276 profit across the two games and headed to Grimaldi's for a calzone on the recommendation of MrBaseball and enjoyed it with a glass of red - although I must say I'd have preferred it without the ricotta cheese. Will know for next time.

For me the unique flavor of the cheese in those calzones is what really does it for me. But different strokes for different folks. One time I got the 4 cheese pizza and it didn't work for me at all.

Edit: In the second PLO hand, I actually did bet the river with my non-nut str8 and the guy with QQQ though for a bit before folding.