Not meant to be....

So I got out of work at 3:30, raced down to Binions and changed my clothes in the car when I got there. I went down the scary elevator and into the casino with about 10 minutes to go until the tournament started, and there was a huge line of people waiting to sign up. I didn't end up getting signed up till a few minutes after the tournament started but it was no big deal as they put a bunch of the late sign-ups at their own table so we didn't miss any hands. As for the tourny itself I never got anything going. I was kinda card dead at first and then when I finally got a decent hand I misread the board and didn't realize I had a straight to go with my second nut low. Basically the way the hand played out, it was me and one other guy, and he made a medium sized river bet and I just called and ended up scooping. If I wasn't such an idiot and had seen my straight I would have popped it and based on what he showed down he probably would have called. Oh well.... Other than that there was only once critical hand where I lost most of my chips and it was pretty much over from there. I've been thinking about the hand quite a bit and I'm pretty sure I played it the right way based on what my chip stack was at the time and what the blinds were. If i had had more chips it probably would have been an easy fold, but I was pretty short. I won't go into any more details than that because this is not a poker blog (but this is, even though it hasn't been updated in forever), and I don't want to bore or confuse the few readers I have.....

So they had about 310 players in the tourny and I finished somewhere around 160th. Maybe next year.

RETURN TO BINIONS!

Tonight I am getting off work early to go down to Binions and play the $150 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better event, which is part of the ongoing Binions Poker Classic. I played this event last year and finished 20th out of 389 people so hopefully I will do as good or better this time. When I saw my boss this week I asked her if I could get out early on Sunday and told her I had family coming into town and needed to meet up with them. I didn't want to tell her that I was going down to Binions to play a poker tournament...... bwahaha.

That was disgusting

Tonight I heard one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard in a public restroom. I went to Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon (formerly the Barbary Coast) to check out their new poker room, and I stopped in the bathroom to urinate. There was a guy in one of the stalls telling the bathroom attendant to call his friend up in their room to bring him a new pair of shorts because "this is just a mess." The attendant seemed anxious to help him perhaps because he was expecting a nice tip after assisting in the messy situation. Seriously though, I don't even want to know what happened there or how it came to pass that this guy needed a new pair of shorts.

Anyway, Bill's now has two poker tables but neither one was in use. Sunday nights are slow, and Vegas is dead right now, so I guess I wasn't shocked. I ended up walking down to Imperial Palace and played short handed 1-2 NL for about an hour before that game broke. I saw Las Vegas Michael and a couple of other AVP'ers there playing a mixed game. I was tempted to join, but as low as my bankroll is right now, I can't afford to play anything that I don't feel like I have a decent chance of winning at...

Classic Las Vegas Part I: The Plaza

The Plaza (formerly known as the Union Plaza) has anchored Fremont Street since it opened in 1971. At the time of its opening, it was billed as the "Largest Casino in the World." When you walk through today you would have a hard time believing that it was ever considered large given the scope of all the mega-resorts that populate Las Vegas today. Perhaps the Plaza was considered upscale when it first opened but I believe it's been a long time since it was considered anything other than a cheap place to stay and gamble. In recent years as the scars of time have grown more pronounced and the bar has been raised higher and higher by the newer resorts, the Plaza is quickly approaching that inevitable "dive" status.

We went there to play bingo recently and the first thing that struck me was how scary the parking garage was. I felt like if my car was a couple of feet taller it would have been in danger of scraping the roof. When we first entered the garage I couldn't help but notice that a pimp dressed in bright red and holding a pimp stick appeared to be trying to break into a 1970's era Cadillac. It could have been his for all I know, but it wasn't something that I wanted to stick around to find out. Walking through the casino in search of the bingo room you almost felt like you were back in the 70's, or at least that's the last time it seemed like the place had been cleaned. We finally found the bingo hall upstairs, and after playing in many bingo rooms in this city I have to say that the Plaza's does the best job of perpetuating the stereotype of what bingo is all about and who plays it. Here everybody was truly old, smoking, and often wearing polyester. OK not everybody, but a higher percentage than at any other place I've played at so far. That being said, it was a good experience overall and I enjoyed the many different variations they presented, including something called Crazy Kite and Wild Postage Stamp, or something like that, which I'm still not sure what it means.

Needless to say, we did not win.

On the way up to the bingo room (or of course on the way down after your hopes and dreams have once again been crushed and you are stuck $7 or $8), you pass what can only be described at the most depressing wedding chapel in Vegas.

The main thing that I find so saddening is that it appears to be a very large prison call. I really don't get the bars or why they need to be there. I should hope that they open the gate up when there is a ceremony going on, or perhaps you can request that it remain shut after everybody has entered to ensure that person you are about to marry doesn't get cold feet and try to escape. I'm not sure how drunk you have to be to decide it's a good idea to get married at the Plaza, but really, is it any worse than the drive-thru chapel on Las Vegas Blvd?

The Plaza has been featured in some movies over the years. Most memorable for me is the scene with Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone in Casino where they are eating in the dome restaurant and they start arguing and De Niro almost knocks over a glass of water because he's like mad at her for being a lying, cheating whore with drug problems.
We wandered over to the dome and sadly it appears that it is no longer a restaurant and has been converted to a sports bar. Apparently the sports bar is not very popular among visitors to downtown because it was largely deserted on a Saturday afternoon. Of course that could be because the only sporting event going on at the time was golf...

We also observed the buffet while walking through the casino. It is called the 777 Buffet and the gimmick is that the price is $7.77 all day, every day. If I had to choose between eating here and eating at the Circus Circus buffet, I'd probably choose the Circus. Then again, if starvation was a third choice, I'd have to go with that. This buffet looked downright scary...

If it sounds like I am bashing the Plaza, please, don't get me wrong. I tend to favor the dives over the sparkling new generic mega-resorts, and the Plaza does have it's own special kind of.... attitude. It's an attitude that basically says: "If you want class, go to the Wynn. If you want to play the penny slots and get drunk on cheap booze, come on in!" I can see going back there to play bingo, or perhaps play some drunken blackjack, but I won't get married there or eat at the buffet. I have to draw the line somewhere.

WTF is wrong with me sometimes?

Only in Vegas...

I have this number on speed dial...

Poor Las Vegas...

Times are really tough out here for the casinos. For instance, in the month of March, they only won a paltry $1.04 billion from gamblers. This is a 1.5% decline when compared to March of 2007. I don't know how they can continue to operate with a take barely above $1 billion. I think everybody should do their part and wager a little extra on the penny slots next time they come. As a local I'm going to do my part and take all the money I would use to play poker and instead bet it all on the Bix Six wheel. If I win I'll feel bad and go over to the craps table, where I'll lay the whole thing on the hard six (which has something like a 10% house advantage) and if by some bizarre happenstance I win again, I'll keep doing it 'till I lose. I have to do my part...