APAT HITS VEGAS
A great week in Vegas with the APAT bunch has just ended. I think that I have recovered from it as well.
It all started on Wednesday night with a nice sensible evening in the Premier Inn in Manchester, the anticipation was palpable and everybody was well up for it. After a later night than planned we slept and awoke the next morning. We headed off to the airport where we met up with the crowd, it was like a whose who of APAT everybody was there. We get on the flight and fly to Vegas. It was a long but enjoyable flight and nobody was sleeping.
We landed in Vegas and I get in a limo with JB, Jaxie, Darren, The Stockton Massive, Sharon, Delboy and probably some others. We arrive at Harrah, check in and head down to Carnival Court. The beer flows and the whole of APAT is there, most go off to play a tournament, I just get drunk. His royal Tightness arrives and says hello and so does Joobie (who is a little excited over her upcoming wedding it seems). Eventually we head back to the poker room where The Duke, The Stockton Rock, Ger Jnr and Matt McKinlay are playing for the tournament win. Good start for APAT that. Matt eventually win"s with Ger Jnr in second so well played all. I get in a cash game and lose money as I appear to be to drunk to think properly. So I go for more drinks instead and talk to Scouse who correctly observes I appear to be totally broken (at this point I have been awake for 30 hours and am living on nothing but aeroplane food and Budwiser). I give it up at 2am and go to bed.
Friday gets underway with another tournament I do not bother playing. APAT success continues with Stu and Glen chopping it up. We then go over to Casino Royale where we meet Delboy, Jack Prime, Phil_TC and The Stockton Rock drinking $1 beers. I buy a shirt and join in. I then go back to my room to change and fall to sleep for about an hour after having a shower. I wake up and quickly get dressed and run down to the casino. I meet Jaxie and Julie on my way who tell me everybody is still at Casino Royale. I arrive and we continue to drink. We for some reason decide to walk to the Monte Carlo from here. This is perfectly walkable but for some reason it takes us an hour (it is a 20 minute maybe 30 minute walk)? Apparently this is my fault as I was the only one who actually knew the way.
We arrive and drink some more beers before some of us go to the ice lounge which was really good. It is a lounge which is kept at -5 and everything is made out of ice. Even the glasses for the drinks. It was really good. When we come out we head for the Tikki Bar eventually find it and are not sure we are going in, however we have a look and find the rest of the crowd is already there. Julie has invented a cocktail called umbongo and we all have one of those. Paulie_D the skilled travel guru quickly replans the night as we have all manged to mess it up by all being in the wrong places, no worries though we are soon good again. We stay in the bar for a while and everybody seems to be there. The whole night flows very well with Curlarge giving a performance of Wonderwall on the guitar in an Irish bar which was really good (there really are no end to the man talents). I end up lost and somehow back at Harrahs. I remember getting a cab with two people but cannot honestly remember who. I don"t feel at all tired so go to find some more people and I soon find Del, we decide we are obviously in perfect condition for a cash game. I gg about $300 I think and come off. I meet Asa shortly after this and it is now 7am, I have no gone two days without eating so go to bed. I set my alarm for 12pm so I can go and play the apat.
I play the APAT and make day two, they keep bring us free beers which is nice. I get quite lucky as I beat Carl with AQ vs 10-10 for my tournament life and also beat Delboy with 4-4 vs AK. I also put a pretty sick one on Matt McKinlay beatting his 99 with A-9 to knock him out. The tournament is OK as it has a lot of APATers in it which made for an OK table. After the tournament I can"t remember what I do but have a pretty early night as I want to try and do well tomorrow. I know I went to Casino Royale with Jaxie, Micky, Stu and others and was then back at Harrahs.
Sunday takes me back to day two and I try to stick to water, this does not work so I go back to drink Budwiser. I come third but make one bad play against Micky which probably costs me the tournament. Micky takes it down which is cool. At the end of day one somebody asked if Micky was still in and since then I have repeatedly asked Micky if he was still in and he keeps telling me he was going to take my chips (and he did - along with everybody elses). AndrewT comes in second which was also good. Great result for APAT.
We go to the Imperial Palace and play Pai-Gow and drink. Another good night was had by all.
Monday we go to the Wedding which was very good and both Julie and Adam looked very happy all day which is nice to see of course. The JAPAT tournament was a good event which Jack won. After the tournament there was a 3-6 PLO8 games going on which I did not feel like playing in so I got a taxi back with Jaxie and Delboy and it seems everybody plans Fremont street tomorrow. I am planning to play at The Venitan tomorrow so say I may not make it. They go for food, I did actually eat something already today so go for an early night - which was a mistake.
I go to sleep until about 7am and head to the Venitian to play poker. I basically spend the next 36 hours or so playing, sleeping, going back to playing and sleeping again. I run into various people at various times during this time but go into some weird cycle of feeling like I have to keep playing even though I am honestly no enjoying it i the least. It eventually gets to about 4pm on Wednesday and I am about $400 up over the last couple of days but was $80 down in my last session. I decide to go to sleep against and have one final session. I see Paulie_D playing and mention this to him and say I will see them all later. To be honest at this point I have not been eating whilst in Vegas, have drunk too much, I have not really been sleeping properly and have run out of adrenalin a few days ago. I am not able to find the rest of the group and decide to have a quick nap. In the back of my mind I know that this is it and I am not getting up for the meal. I go to sleep and wake up at 12am. I go back to sleep and wake up again at 6am. I go and have breakfast and meet up with some of the APATers who wonder where I have been. I play one more poker session and get back to being $480 up before we all head back to the airport.
The flight back is not too bad but the train journey from Manchester is hard work not to fall to sleep.
I get back and finally get home from the best APAT trip yet. The whole of the crowd are awesome, Both Ger"s, Jaxie, Stu, Phil, Matt, Carl, Michelle, Micky, Delboy, Colin, The other Stockton boys whose names I have forgotten, Sharon, Dan, Scouse, Matt, of course Adam and Julie, Jon MW etc etc etc........ This could go on forever I got bored of typing name *lol*
Great trip, great people. They are what has kept me going back to APAT events for the last year. They are what makes it worthwhile spending weekends away from home.
APAT is like a weekend away from reality (does anybody else think that). These people who you see so rarely and yet when we all come together everybody gets on so well and it just seems like everybody is the best of friends. Hope APAT lives on for a long time to come.
