Vegas Reflections

[Looseman]

Thought I would post up a post Vegas report to help people who have never been/were contemplating going in the future on some matters to consider.

Background

This was my second trip to Vegas, 2009 was with the family and lasted for 5 days. The 2010 trip was without family and was for 10 days. The trip was effectively a 50th Birthday present from my wife who bought me the WSOP Seniors Event buy in as a 50th birthday present. The trip was 14th June-24th June 2010 with the WSOP scheduled for 18th June 2010.

Pre Trip

A couple of things I would recommend to get right before you book the trip are as follows

a. Pick the travel buddies carefully so you know they are the type of people you will get on with (for 10+ days)

b. Book your flights early so that you get a direct flight from London to Vegas. Booking early also secures you the better prices.

c. Book your hotel in relation to where you plan to pay your poker. Taxi's and the time to travel to venues can be costly and take some organising.

We ended up at the Bellagio for 10 days and with direct flights the cost booked early in January 2010 amounted to £901 which subsequently proved to be an excellent deal for a 5 star hotel centrally located on the strip.

Travelled with Mugpunt and Knerrad and Knerrads pal Willy so no problems with the travellers who were good crack throughout the tour. Mugpunt is officially the NPF snoring champion

Currency
Sign up for a Fairfx card (www.fairfx.com) where they send you a card which you load with money and then use to pay bills and withdraw cash at ATM's. This card gives above average exchange rates when you transfer into dollars however there are charges when you withdraw cash from ATM's (Typically $5 when withdrawing $500). Obviously if the exchange rate is poor then whatever way you transfer to dollars will provide a poor rate but this card is secure (PIN protected) and your account can be reviewed regularly on the internet. Take a little cash with you for taxi's etc until you get your bearings when out there.

Clothing

The Americans certainly dress down and if you are frequenting casino's and poker rooms then the order of the day is very casual ( or in Sensh's case minging) and unless you plan to hit the nightclubs then smart is just not needed. Take some pool wear as you need to chill occassionally after some long sessions at the card tables.

Transport
The taxi's are always available and if you are staying downtown but playing your poker on the strip then over a ten day period a car hire would save considerable amount of cash. However, see below, you should never get your self into a situation where staying downtown and playing your pker on the strip happens as if you know your tourneys then select the correct hotel in the first place.

Tournament Selection

This is important that you have a clear idea where and how frequently you want to play. Initially you think that you will want to play everyday, but some of the tourneys are two day deep and also most last at least 12-14 hours so any deep run will leave you feeling tired. However with a mixture of deepstack events and local nightly tourneys there is an excellent mix of poker to be had. Particulary during WSOP time when the casino's are running very professional tournies with good value buyins and excellent structures.

Drinking

Play the tourneys and enjoy the gaming and drinks at $1 are the norm. Over a night of poker then this pays back a significant slice of the tourney buyins and this is what made this trip excellent value for money. 10 coronas over an 8 eight tourney meant that you were saving 40-50 dollars on your drink bill and also you may have a chance to cash.

Food
What can you say other than the hotel buffets are tooooo large and are excellent value for money. Use them wisely as over indulgence will make you sick of the sight of food. But if you are going on a budget then the buffets at the Bellagio and Aria are first class.

NPF Tourers

Whilst everyone will tend to book up their own thing there is no doubt some of the best times out there was when the group got together and did things collectively whether this was crushing a roulette table or enjoying a 42 dish Tapas meal. If in the future a fair number go over there at the same time I would recommend that they make an effort to book into the same hotel as this makes for a much better time whilst out there.


The Looseman

[pads1161]

Nice Loose, I can't really understand why people would play tournies in Vegas especially ones with like 120 runners as just seems a wasted day. WSOP events I can kinda understand. Glad you had a good time.

[teamdobb]

Originally Posted by pads1161

Nice Loose, I can't really understand why people would play tournies in Vegas especially ones with like 120 runners as just seems a wasted day. WSOP events I can kinda understand. Glad you had a good time.

we cant all crush cash like some can


personally I hate cash games and will play tournies all day long, hope this answers your comment.

Decent cash in tournie pays for your trip as some did

[teamdobb]

Originally Posted by Looseman

NPF Tourers

Whilst everyone will tend to book up their own thing there is no doubt some of the best times out there was when the group got together and did things collectively whether this was crushing a roulette table or enjoying a 42 dish Tapas meal. If in the future a fair number go over there at the same time I would recommend that they make an effort to book into the same hotel as this makes for a much better time whilst out there.


The Looseman

depending what you look for in your trip a big big yes to above. Best part of trip is always the days/nights everyone is together and a good laugh guranteed.

[pads1161]

Did you go on many trips? Gran Canyon etc? Price/Quality?

[playa]

very nice review loose ty.

[buzz]

i seriously cant wait to get out there next year.

think id rather gradually try and grind out profits day by day on the cash tables to try and cover the cost of the trip rather than get the tourney score to pay for it all.

but obv its just about what your more comfortable doing!!!

and its vegas so the enjoyment is the main thing!!

hope u had a good time "steady eddie"

[teamdobb]

Originally Posted by buzz

i seriously cant wait to get out there next year.

think id rather gradually try and grind out profits day by day on the cash tables to try and cover the cost of the trip rather than get the tourney score to pay for it all.

but obv its just about what your more comfortable doing!!!

and its vegas so the enjoyment is the main thing!!

hope u had a good time "steady eddie"

yea deffo recommend Aria, Bellagio and Venetian for you Buzz oh and the Rio










best buffets in town

[buzz]

get the fuck in!!!!

[smoggie]

and its vegas so the enjoyment is the main thing!!

thats the comment i can relate to...personally i would save to go to vegas and enjoy the trip, i would have the cash saved prior to travelling and winning would be a massive bonus if it paid for the trip but if i didnt i would like to think i came home saying trip of a lifetime.