Viva Las Vegas

Just flew in from Vegas and boy are my arms tired {rimshot}... and my legs and my...


Wifey and I spent three days in Vegas and flew in on the red eye this a.m. It was my first trip and her second. I learned to play Craps and did fairly well. Broke even on Let it Ride (which I also just learned) and maybe made $50 total on Blackjack (which used to be my favorite by looks like it is now being replaced with Craps).

We walked... an awful lot. We took a cab to the old Vegas mainly to see Binion's Horseshoe Casino. Binion's is the place that put poker on the map. It started the World Series of Poker in the 70's and hosted it until this year. The World Series has gotten so big that it no longer can fit inside Binion's so this year it will be played at the Rio, just off the strip. The wife and I love the sport of poker. She even plays in a monthly girls only game of which I am usually a dealer.

Wednesday we walked over to the Bellagio after lunch. The Bellagio was hosting a stop on the World Poker Tour tournament. We watched for a while and kept hoping to see of the poker superstars that we love to watch on the telly. Finally we went to the second room being used in the tournament. We hit the jackpot there. Sittting at various tables were several big names in poker. There was Amir Vahidi chewing on his cigar. A few others were recognized including Scotty Nguyen. Scotty has won more in poker tournaments than almost anybody else. We sat about 6 feet from him and listened as he and another real pro sitting next to him discussed the playing styles of everybody at the table (mostly amatures wasting cash). What other sport can you sit 6 feet from the biggest stars of the sport and listen to them discuss strategy? Or for that matter if you have the balls to put up several thousand you could actually have the opportunity to play against the big names. Scotty is a nicotene junky and since smoking is not allowed in the Poker room he had to get up to go puff on a cigarrette in the main part of the casino. I followed him out and got him to sign the back of one of my business cards. We talked for a while and he seems to be a really nice guy. I told him that one day I hope to have the balls to be sitting at a table with him and what an honor that would be. He said he would look forward to it, asked me my name, and shook my hand. Class act.

One interesting note, Wednesday night we ate at the Mirage. On my way to the bathroom I just happened to see the Poker Room. I looked in and saw the dreaded Phil Hellmuth. I love watching him lose! The good news for me, is obviously he didnt make it too far at the WPT tourney at the Bellagio and was forced to go take money from amatures away from the bright lights of the television cameras.