Mid-Life Crisis Escape to the 702, TR 5/11 - 5/15

got over 7 hours of sleep.
played a little pai gow. started bad with dealer A, got it all back with dealer B, A returned and it was another disaster.
might be done pit games and slots for this trip.

the new Fontainebleau app has told me for like three days "Check in at 9am"! it had to "verify my identity" first which involved taking a bunch of pictures of my license and my face; which causes AI issues because my card has a beard and I'm in summer shave time. eventually I got it accepted, and then another error "sorry you can't check in until 3pm." well what the hell

really wanted to play at Resorts World but man that room is dead. such a shame. 0 tables open, 1 on waiting list.

headed over to Venetian

Venetian 1/3
got immimmediate seating at a table with like four OMCs. one old crank was always slow looking at his cards before folding and the dealer heckled every time "come on and fold, you don't play anything, give me your cards and quit wasting our time."

- bomb pot first hand, 8533
boards were 842r, and QJ4
turn put A and Q, giving me straight. I called him down, he had quad queens with 3 jacks so it was a pretty deep chop.

- raise to $10, I called with 77
Q62, he had AQ

- A9, A82 9 Q... he had AQ

- next hand I have KQ, queen high flop, goes to the river, am I gonna lose to AQ three hands in a row?
no, he has QJ so I pip him for a decent pot.

up about $50 watching the wait list and when they opened a new 2/3 game I graciously slid over.

Venetian 2/3
a young reg I've seen here every time I've played at Venetian was in the game, he had about $2000 chips on deck, I sat to his left. Nathan P, very polite friendly guy. I was a bit nervous as he was an obvious crusher but couldn't have played with a nicer guy

- I open AQ, raise, call
flop AQ2r, hello. he bets $200. I shove for like $450 and he snaps.
he's got AA.
I had blockers. that one hurt. rebuy, now in for $700

- straddle, I raise AA, several calls
flop AQT... J on the turn
I bet and they fold. did I miss a chance for high hand? I dunno, still nice to take it

- few hands later I get QQ, Q high flop, I bet, they fold. that was an oops.

- J9 off, I open, get calls. here we go.
flop T83ssd. I bet $25, check raise to $55.
wwyd?
I call.
he throws out $80 before I can even see the turn, which was 2h. came this far. I call.
bingo. River is offsuit 7 for the nuts. he checks, I shove $220 and he snap calls before my chips are pushed.

- bomb pot. comes down KT6r, A92. I look at AKK4r. pretty good. guy that doubled me up leads, I contemplate raising but just call, several calls
I bet turn, several calls
at showdown my trip kings and pair of aces are good for the scoop!

- I open AQo, get raised to $40, I call
check dark, flop Q65. he bets I call
turn 8, checks
river brick. I bet $100. he tanks, plays with his chips, and calls. TPTK is good

what a run. we are now up $400 for the session. all that within about 45 minutes
not much the next couple hours

- Nathan opens, I call with Q9cc
Ac9d4d. I bet $25, he calls
turn checks
river Q gives me two pair. unfortunately he has pocket queens. blockers aren't real

- lady who has rebought like four times opens, I call with AK.
flop KQJ
she had T9 and got three big streets off me. I'm an idiot. even if it's not T9 its likely two pair.

- Nathan opens, with KK I raise.
flop KJ7. I check this time
turn is 7, bingo. unfortunately it checks through
river 2r. I bet $70, Nathan calls and I'm on the board for the high hand!
it holds... I get to pull from the barrel!
$150. better than losing.
interestingly, in the time I was there my table won high hand like four times. don't think anyone pulled better than $150

Nathan left for dinner up like $1300. didn't take much from from me though. at like 5:30 I was super hungry too and cashed out for +$156. it was a really fun session and honestly I'm proud I stuck with it.
really like the 2/3 Venetian game

Grand Lux for dinner. in time for happy hour. what a great deal.
crispy Thai shrimp & chicken spring rolls 10/10
chicken tenders 10/10
huge portions

full and happy Langdon

Congrats on the bounce back!

forgot about $150 in my pocket. that put me 300 up

holy cow Fontainebleau is the nicest and most beautiful hotel ever. I laughed when I walked in the guest room

this is the view from my bed

cold today. don't think it hit 80 degrees. windy again
it was over 90 in Bismarck

walked over to Resorts World as a new game was ready. shorthanded start

how many sets did you hit at V?

Nice bounce back. That Fontainebleau room does look sweet.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s what we like to see!

Great to see you get back on the winning side! Loving the food pics too!

Resorts World 1/3

RW has a promo now, high hand every 45 minutes, flush or better. haven't seen flush qualify for hh before, but only two tables running so it's not crazy.
dealer Barbara is one of the very best dealers in town.
RW is annoying with parking etc, but the poker room tries to take care of you. seems like if you play any session they will boost your player card level.

this game was intense, especially early. moving very fast, several very agro players making the game difficult.

- open, I call with AQcc, raise to $60, I call
A high flop. he has AK

open, big raise, big c-bet, that was every hand. nothing easy or friendly

- open, I call with AQ, raise to $30, all six players call for a family pot. AQ has been a heart attack hand for the week
flop A44. I bet, super agro guy (every hand) raises, I call
turn Q (third heart, I don't remember what my ace was), I shove for like $130, he calls and I'm good.

- open, calls, I raise JJ on bb to $55, calls
8 high flop. I c-bet $70 and take it down

the first 20 minutes were insane. short handed the game moved very fast. had good starting hands but faced aggression every time. it was very stressful

new guy came to the table, well dressed, slow, shortacked, total fish. buy in for $100, play like every hand, his hand would drop all the way down to like $14, bust, rebuy, so slow... haven't seen a total fish like that in a while.

- another big multiway hand, I had AT
flop QJ8, I stay in it
9 turn gives me the straight, although not the nuts... a bet of $150 and several calls.
river another 9... but me and buddy both have AT and we chop like a $550 pot for a nice pickup

- open, I call bb with pocket deuces
flop a set, triple barrel and take it without showdown

saw one of the most vicious bluffs. two big stacks going at it, turn put third spade on Q high board, he bets like $150, tank call... river was some brick, he tanks, bets $300, tank, fold... and he shows J9cd for second pair. whole table stayed silent.

new guy pretty awkward comes in. he says let's do bomb pots! the room bomb pots are double board hold em.
I'm first to act. I have pocket queens.
big pot, goes to river, boards are
K5335r
T827A
I bet like $65, he shoves to cover my $600ish
wwyd?
I am pretty sure I have one board. but I lose to AK (unlikely), KK (unlikely), A5, A3.
I'm not used to double board holdem. and I don't feel comfortable calling off my stack without top pair on either board. I fold.
he shows A7.

- another DBBP. I had 99 and he bets river for $200. again I likely have one board but not sure. players to act after me. I fold, he shows A9 so again I folded away a chop again. probably the right move but it feels dirty

- I flop set of 3s, lose to a rivered wheel
- JJ < QQ
- another bomb pot and I have QQ again. I don't fold this time and we chop

biggest cliche incoming: I was playing pretty aggressive but then hit a wall. card dead for literally hours. waiting for something but nothing but 3-2, 7-2, 65o, J2, 8-4... no hand histories for three hours. if I got T9 I played it as long as I could. if I tried bluffing I got raised.
a couple "whales" came to the table. I couldn't take advantage before they busted and left

- AQo, agro opens I call.
flop 994, bet I call
turn J, he bets, I jam like $80 and he calls.
river is a 4, apparently he can't beat ace high and is shocked by my action. dude I haven't seen a river card in three hours.

- final hand of the night: there's only like five or six of us left. I have A7hh
flop comes Q92hhs which is close to as good as I could ask for, we are going 3-way all in. one time please, give me a heart
5c ... Qc.
Q9 and Q2, boat over boat
oh what could have been

played a lot of poker today, like 14 hours. two of the most entertaining games.

Talked to the brush at RW, and they were incredibly nice and helpful. Almost went for a NLHE game, but PLO at Wynncore was just too good. Maybe I'll sit in a game next time.

heading to lunch at CF, not sure where to play after that... Bellagio, Planet Hollywood or Venetian
CP for show tonight

change of plans: Resorts World for food, then V.
street tacos plate, quite underwhelming for $19. but it was okay.

made it to Venetian in time for a new 1/3 game to start.

Resorts World, got tacos, but didn't go to Tacos El Gordo? Seems like a strat problem.

Overrated and not worth the wait.

well, it was free.
sorta. actually cost me $500

Venetian 1/3
same old crank OMC at the table. his VPIP was literally 0% for the twenty minutes I was there

- crank in bb, many limps to me on button, I blind raise to $17 (achievement unlocked?), everyone folds except a very young petite middle eastern lady. I finally peeked and had AKcs, nice
flop T76 red, not nice. check I cbet she calls.
turn 9, she bets and I fold.

pretty soon my name was called for 2/3. the open seat was again to Nathan's left. there were two other people from yesterday's game and at least three others at the next table over

Venetian 2/3
- bomb pot: I have AA32ccdd
runout has three hearts and three spades. Ace of spades was on the flop but no pair. I bet river, lady snap raises to $200, I am in the tank
she has just hearts and we chopped. I was very happy to chop.

lady from above was two to my left, she stacked a guy and had over $2000 on the table and seem to know how to flex it. we'll call her shark lady. fortunately she left soon after.

old guy that had been on her right complained that he hadn't gotten a single good card. he moved seats across the table and immediately won like 3 hands. when the shark lady got up, he moved again across to her seat. careful now...
right away there was a big bomb pot, three all ins, two full houses and two flushes and he busted. my neighbors were "yup, knew that would happen"

two ladies from yesterday at the other table moved over. one was clearly on rage tilt, next to her was the whale lady, next to her Nathan and I who were licking our chops

shark lady came back after like 45 minutes and sat to my left. they let her buy in for $300. I was not mad that her bully stack was gone. apparently shark lady and whale lady are sisters.

I had lots of time to take notes and tell stories because I didn't get any good hands. out of boredom I did raise J6o on button and c-bet took it down, later opened 7-6 and won with c-bet. tried some other stuff and not so lucky.

hand of the trip
- bomb pot: basically me vs shark lady. I have KhK96. boards go
T74hhh K 3
JJ7 J J
I was concerned with all the jacks and hearts on the flop but when the rest of the jacks came I knew I was good there. and as a backup the king on the other board gave me a hand so I was assured at least a chop.
she did not have any hearts. she may have misread her hand or the board but I scooped it all.

- A2dh I open $16 because I'm crazy. two ladies call
flop K63ddh. check check lady calls
A turn. I bet large and win.

[

- next bomb pot, new hand of the trip
I flopped a set of 9s on one board and turned a set of 9s on the other board. no flushes, no straights
not quite three way all in but it was about $1300 pot and I figured I had at least chop.
he had set of aces (nuts) on top... and she (whale lady) had 6-3 for a hidden straight on bottom. I have second place on each board. wtf
set of aces was same guy got me with set of aces yesterday on the AQ board.
somehow I chopped a side pot so I'm back to where I was before the previous bomb.

- UTG open $15, bunch of calls, bb I see AA and raise to $60. one call. she (shark lady) doesn't have a lot left
low flop, I put out a $50 to put her in, she calls, I show and I am good.

- next bomb pot, I have QJ95
on the turn I hit broadway on top and double gutter straight on bottom.
river is 2h, the third heart, and 8 on bottom that gives me a straight there too.
I bet and two calls
flush on top, and oops, I misread my hand. no straight. KT8 makes a 6-card straight but we need another card in the middle. they chop my chips

- open to $15, I call button with 5-5, whale lady raises to $50. I call
874 flop. she bets $100. I fold.
- next hand, open $15, she raises to $50, I call with 5-5. exact same action.
Ace high flop, checks.
I bet turn, she snap calls
river is not a 5, checks, she has KK.

next hand was a bomb pot, I get out of the way, whale lady check raises turn with like nothing and calls a big river raise with like two pair and loses both boards to sets. she really was whale lady.

- new guy opens, I raise with AQ, he goes all in. I fold. I should have paid a little better attention; when he first sat down the floor said he could only play with $600 because he had a bunch more behind and was clearly a good player.

down about $300, running out of time.
I am playing awful. probably the worst I've ever played poker. getting frustrated due to bad cards leading me to play bad hands and matching up against monsters. don't think I hit a single set in holdem. the bomb pots were where the majority of my action came, for good and bad. then the bad players left and I was in a shorthanded game surrounded by good players. and I was the fish.

- open, I call with KJo
flop is KJ4. he bets $25, I raise to $130, he asks about my stack ($80 left), and calls.
KJ > AK. good.

- I call an open with A4.
the dealer puts four 3s on the board so my ace counterfeits whatever he had.

somehow I managed to cash out for a break even non-loss. that was bit of a relief although bittersweet since a couple hours earlier I was sitting at like +400.

gotta get going to my show soon and I'm hoping to grab pizza at Grimaldi's first. as one more bad beat, my card only has 9.49 on it and they can't print me a voucher until $10. I skip and stay hungry.

I wanted to visit the new Planet Hollywood room and thought after the concert would be a good time to. here is my review.

the overall room is very strange. it is very big and spread out, like way too spread out. feels like playing poker in a carpeted gymnasium or something. it's also in a strange location tucked away in a top corner or something, as if they found some spare space and threw some tables in.

the cards and felt are a bad match. the card color matches the felt so it is easy to miss who has cards. also the felt and cards texture are a terrible match in that they don't slide well and it's hard to pull them up to look. the cards are also pretty ugly.

my first two dealers were terrible. like it was their first day ever dealing poker. isn't 10pm kind of a peak time? they were incredibly slow. they don't know how to count chips, they can't keep up with the action. how are they working in a Vegas Strip poker room? and why am I here instead of at Bellagio? their struggles also seemed to cause players to play very slowly.

my players card wouldn't scan at the table. it is one I rarely use and not damaged. think it was more likely operator error. the dealer didn't really know what to do about it either. after a few minutes I walked to the floor manager and he said he would enter it from up there.

I will say though, the chairs are very comfortable.

- first and only hand of note: I lose JJ < QQ on a ten high board.
thought about folding pre and on flop but I was so annoyed in the room I didn't want to stay anyway.

unless there are noticeable changes, I don't plan on playing at PH again.

on the way out I got a Chick-fil-A sandwich, which for $6 was pretty good

here's my FB review

Tuesday after getting full from dinner I walked from V to Fontainebleau. not a bad walk and it was not hot (actually on the cool side), although my stuffed pack was heavy.
getting to registration I found the gumption to inquire about complimentary upgrades. she said no, but put me in a gorgeous room on the 51st floor with a beautiful view. they also provide bottles of water at check-in.
the hotel room was beautiful, the bed was perfect. the automated drapes and shades keep the room dark at night, one button controls all the lights in the room (there are lots which is great). it was very quiet without outside noise. the bathroom is beautiful with a huge shower area. the bath towels are huge and super soft, the nicest towels I've ever used.
my criticism, and one that I heard about earlier: the conditioner bottle does not work well. it is very tough to get any to come out. a pump mechanism would be more effective. after my first use I turned the bottle upside down and it worked a little better next time. the shower water temp was a little goofy too: Wednesday was too cold and Thursday was too hot. probably just bad luck. overall, (if it was a standard) could not imagine a better "standard" hotel room anywhere.

pool area is gorgeous. three huge pools, a few other more private ones. good chill music. no shortage of umbrellas, important for a pale white guy like me. (MGM properties have no free umbrellas.) Wednesday morning was quite chilly but the pool water was warm and swimming was comfortable. Thursday morning was very nice out. from what I can tell there is no hot tub/jacuzzi. food and drink service is out of my budget but seemed like good portions and good quality. they have poolside blackjack, but without the hottie dealers like Red Rock

they have a trained hawk in residency to keep away all the other birds. that is cool and interesting.

haven't stayed at Wynn or Venetian to compare but FB pool is clearly elite tier. probably nicer than Red Rock and with very few kids.

I would have arrived earlier Tuesday and eaten dinner on site but due to the app not working great I opted to play at V and eat there instead. went to Josh Groban at CP Wednesday so wasn't nearby by dinner then either. but I had a prior great experience dining at Kyu (probably my favorite Vegas meal ever), and while I don't care for fine Italian, I hear Mother Wolf is one of the best.

I have nothing but good things to say about Fontainebleau.

roses were Wynn, uploaded wrong one there. don't know what pic I was supposed to share

lunch at Cheesecake Factory today, which is now a standard stop for me.
same server (bartender) Frankie as last time. didn't really talk to me at all. spent first part talking to guy on my left ("a regular", few times a year), then the rest of the time to the guy on my left (young guy here for first time going to EDC). hey I want to be a regular too.
might have been because he recommended the miso salmon and I got the cajun salmon instead. it was good.

at the airport now.
I played bunch more poker but it was all bad. I'll share a few more stories.
had a good time but I'm ready to go home.

Great TR bro-appreciate your diligence in posting win or lose. I’ll be coming to Vegas in a couple weeks and was planning to check the Planet Hollywood room. But after reading your review and seeing a few other comments in another thread, I may pass. I used to really enjoy their old room, but trips in Vegas are too short to waste on bad dealers and rooms.

Sucks that you had some losing sessions to end the trip, but hope you had a fun trip overall.

Great trip report as always! You really have me jonesing for my trip in a couple of weeks!