The Perils of Paulie - An Irregular Blog

[duke3016]

No...nothing new.

I was just reading Ger"s blog and saw reference to APAT losing old posts and, indeed, it seems that the vast majority of old Paulie"s Perils have been consigned to the digital sinkhole and are gone for good.  :"(

I"d been using this as my principal repository of my travel history and now that"s gone. I still have the memories (mostly) but the detail is no more.  

I may have some old stuff on an off-site blog but I think it only covers 2011 and 2012. I"m pretty sure it covers the original APAT trip so I may repost that for posterity if I can still find it.

As long as you don"t edit the blank posts, then I can recover them. Editing them unfortunately makes them unrecoverable. It takes 2-3 minutes per post to recover. I hope to get onto it tomorrow.

Don"t  care still going to repost my shiite.

[Paulie_D]

As long as you don"t edit the blank posts, then I can recover them. Editing them unfortunately makes them unrecoverable. It takes 2-3 minutes per post to recover. I hope to get onto it tomorrow.

I knew there was something I liked about you Matt.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Saturday, 12th November 2011

“It's Better To Travel Well, Than Arrive”

With all due respect to the Buddha, it's obvious he'd never been to Vegas. Getting there is a grind and once you're there it's like coming home...well, at least it is for me. I'd overnighted at the Crowne Plaza at Gatwick and received a nice, complimentary, upgrade to a Club room.

I supped down a few Fosters and a decent sandwich before getting a decent night's sleep.

I shuttled to the airport around 9.30 and barely had time to scarf down a Wetherspoon's breakfast and a pint before the flight was boarding. It seemed that the seat I had switched my booking to hadn't made it through their system but it was fine, I was still in Premium Economy but upstairs rather than down.

The in flight entertainment system was the older model but it didn't really bother me...I'd seen most of their offerings anyway, plus I had my Kindle. I can't say that the hours sped by but I did manage to doze for, maybe, a hour and just contented myself with polishing off two or three books.

The flight was a little bumpy with light turbulence on more than a couple of occasions but otherwise it was uneventful and we landed bang on time.

Passport control and customs was a breeze and I caught a cab with no hassle. The driver seemed keen to take the tunnel to the Orleans even though it's the long way but I insisted on using the surface streets rather than the freeway. The driver was so keen that he offered to knock off $10 from the fare if we went his way so he could get back. This seemed like a deal and I upped his tip and the whole cab ride cost me just under what I would have expected anyway. I'll call that my first win.

Check-in at the Orleans was a breeze and I was into my rather large room in no time. I unpacked, abluted and got the IT rig set up.

I had a minor problem with the US sim I had bought as my phone didn't seem to want to recognise it...until I realised I'd put it in upside-down!

After fixing this schoolboy error I was still having problems but a quick glance showed me that the phone hadn't auto-selected the APN and after referring to the information I'd got from the people who sold me the sim I had this set up and I was off and rocking....almost.

I tried to access the APAT site on my phone only to find that a net-nanny was set and after calling T-Mobile Customer Service found it couldn"t be removed without a US Social Security Number (to validate my age). Apparently the only way I can get this taken off is to visit a physical store. I'm not sure I'll bother as I have access to all my social media sites and apps and I don't really see any overwhelming need to access APAT while on the mover on this trip.

Once I'd gotten all those issues resolved I was feeling somewhat peckish...and in need of a large drink...so I headed out and down to TGI Fridays.

No, it's not like the UK versions...at least not very, more mini-sportsbar feel with restaurant attached. I ensconced myself at the bar and settled on a pint of Stella rather than the somewhat weaker US offerings.

The first disappeared rather quickly and the second was consumed while I tucked into a very decent 10oz steak. One more did the trick and it was time to pay off the $40 bill (including tip) and get stuck into some poker.

I had to wait a while before a seat opened up at the 4-8 Omaha Hi/lo tables but eventually I settled in and bought in for a couple of hundred.

Nothing eventful to report, my stack bounced around a little...getting down to just under $100 after couple of sick river suckouts but overall the play was pretty easy to read.

Regardless, I wasn't making huge inroads but just grinding away. Around 11.30 pm, I gotten back the cash I was down and, in fact was a mere $50 up. I'd been up for going on 24 hours and was starting to feel it.

That would do...I'd covered 'lunch', the rake, tips and such...time to call it a night.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Sunday, 13th November 2011

Paulie Hits Vegas, Vegas Hits Back!

Not the greatest night's sleep I've ever had, perhaps it was the jet-lag or that 'not my own bed' thing, but sleep came in fits and starts so I didn't feel rested at all. Nevertheless, I left the room at the crack of 11am and headed down for breakfast.

As it was Sunday there was a queue at the place I was planning on going to so rather than waiting I hit the buffet where the was no waiting time. Standard buffet fare, nothing worth going into detail about and I wandered into the poker room about noon. I got myself on the list but still had to wait over an hour before getting seated.

As it turns out I wish I hadn't bothered. I've seen some crap play before and combine that with a severe case of card deadness and I just wasn't getting it done.

I'd play a hand, flop the world and miss, or get suck-out on at the end or, and here's a real ball buster, I flop a full house on a 655 board with a nut low draw, that's A265 for the uninitiated, there is a bet in front of me, cool he has a 5, I raise and some lady calls and so does the first guy.

Turn is a K and I lead, and she raises, EP gets out of the way, I just raise and we end up capping it.

River is a J and I check call the river and she rolls over KK79. WTF? You call a bet and re-raise with a gutshot and no low and hit a fricking 2 outer?

That was the hand that put me on tilt....but I wasn't going to play like that so I just took my lumps and cashed out down $160.

Sigh.

I had to do something to relieve the stress, so I thought drinking might help...it always has in the past. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a little scouting for Friday and sauntered over to McMullan"s, getting there around 5.30...just in time to take advantage of the end of happy hour.

I ordered a Stella and took a look at their menu. I was pointed at the happy hour menu by the barman where items were half off. I'd been itching to try their Irish Nachos since I heard about them...basically it's a plate of home made crisps (not tortilla chips like normal) covered in melted cheese and other yummy goodness.

For $4 (half of $8) for a small portion it seemed like a marriage made in heaven. Then it arrived....

Oh Feck...it was a mountain...and this was a small portion....I'd hate to see the large one. Nevertheless I gave it my best effort but it defied all attempts and I think I managed about half of it before admitting defeat.

In the meantime the live music was starting up. Their regular guy is John Windsor and he's a born showman with a great line in patter and music. It seems that Sunday night is when he brings a few friends in to play as well and there was a nice mix of music on offer.

By 8.30 however, I was feeling tired again but I didn't want to call it a night just yet so I resorted to a simple solution...Irish Coffee. All the alcohol plus caffeine goodness.

A couple or three of those seemed to do the trick but in the end it was always a losing proposition and eventually the spirit was willing but the flesh was not.

I walked the couple of hundred yards back to the Orleans and called it a night. I hope tomorrow goes better.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Monday, 14th November 2011

Running Good On Empty

Perhaps the Irish Nachos and Irish Coffee wasn't such a good idea! I don't usually eat of lot of dairy products and the lactose may have had an unfortunate effect on my digestive system. That meant another disturbed night.

Either that or my system is trying to fight something off...I was sneezing a little this morning and I had the feeling that a cold might be coming so I dosed myself up with some left over drugs I got the last time I was here.

So, feeling rather...erm...empty, I wallowed for a while and I didn't make it out of the hotel room until after 2pm. I couldn't face eating so I just went straight to the poker room.

I got seated almost straight away for a change and bought in for my usual $200. On looking back, I realise that I was playing a little tighter than I was yesterday. A defensive mechanism perhaps but it worked.

I stayed out of silly hands (as you should) and save some money by easy folds when I might have called 'for value' yesterday. I didn't get involved in a couple of hands where I made the ultimate nuts on the turn and several other players had a piece or were going for lows that didn't get there.

I'd limited myself to soft drinks and water after the nights intestinal difficulties and it did seem to have done the trick. I still wasn't hungry though.

By 5.30pm, I was up around $200 (which is a nice feeling) when Andy Duncan tapped me on the shoulder and told me that he and Debjani were thinking of driving over to the Stratosphere for their 7pm tournament.

I decided that locking up the win would be a sensible thing so I elected to join them.

We drove over (spotting one of my back-up venues for Friday on the way) in time for the start and the action was simply crazy...at least  on my table. It's the usual madness that happens when there is an add-on and re-buy phase. I didn't fare two well and busted out around half-way but not until I'd taken out Andy blind-on-blind when he ran into my KK.

I was crippled by the same KK against my AJs even though the guy did the whole 'Oh, I'll have to make stand' Hollywood bit. I'd already committed enough so that I was going to see it through and despite having 12 outs on the flop I managed to miss them all.

I went all-in blind on the next hand and, as it turned out, with the best hand 22 vs. AQs vs. QJs...but the board ran out hearts to give the same villain as before a flush.

Debjani lasted until 15th or so and we decided to come back to the Orleans for some food. We had a nice meal in TGIs and I downed a couple of Stellas but by the end I was feeling rather tired and decided to call it a night rather than play a little more cash.

I bid the Duncans goodnight and made my happy way back to my room for a nice rest.

All was well and the drinking bear hasn't put in an appearance yet...but there is a rumour that he'll be getting to town on Thursday. I'm alerting the TSA and ICE.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Tuesday, 15th November 2011

So Far, So....'Meh'!

Tuesday was always going to be a quiet day. I don't plan a lot for myself on these trips normally preferring to just go with the flow. Obviously, once the rest of the contingent arrive on Thursday we're planned like the Germans invading Poland but that's a whole other thing.

I pottered around the room for a few hours after I woke up. I can't say it was a perfect night but it was slightly better than the previous ones I've had here.

Anyway, by the time I left the room at noon I was ready for a day of grinding. A grind it would prove to be. I opted not to eat breakfast, or should it be lunch, or brunch, at that time of day? Whatever, I didn't and just made my way to the card room and got seated immediately as it was a little quieter than the previous few days...midweek I guess.

I was trying to find a happy medium between the boredom of folding a lot of hands and the fun of playing the pretty looking hands that I probably should fold but like to surprise people with.

This led to my stack doing a yo-yo for a while getting as low as $20 from my initial buy-in of $200. That pulled me up sharpish and I really had to get back to proper grinding.

Since the Orleans is primarily a locals casino you see a lot of the same faces every day and they tend to soft play each other and will check it down when they get heads up. Oh, they're not raising any anyone out and then doing it but all the same it's happening all the same.

I saw this on more than one occasion, especially between the little old ladies who are friends, and when I queried of one why she had checked her quads she replied, quite openly, “Oh, we always do that”.

Sigh.

The dealer just ignored my question as to whether you could check the nuts and I can't be bothered to take it further. Nothing is going to change and I guess it's just another thing I'll have get used to.

After about 7 hours I'd finally gotten my stack back up to my original buy-in but had consumed a number (OK, a lot) of beers. In fact, I was sitting on a small profit of around $40 and was considering taking a break and even perhaps just locking in that small profit.

Stupidly, I ignored that impulse and got involved in a nut high vs. my nut low hand where I got counterfeited by a 3 outer on the river which lost me a few dollars.

I played a little while longer getting down to $150 from the original $200 when people started leaving and the table dynamic changed.

I was getting hungry by then and decided just to take the small loss and grab some food at TGIs.

In thinking it over I had to be fairly close to break even after tips after 8 hours. I mean figure 3 beers an hour plus, say, 3 pots an hour over 8 hours...hang on let me take my socks off...

6 x 8 = 48...so yeah....I can call it break even if I want. A little self-justification is good for the soul.

Hey, what do you mean delusional? Yes, yes, I should have listed to my instincts and taken the profit when I had the chance but there you go.

Anyway, back to my home away from home, TGI Fridays for a nice Steak and Salmon meal and a couple of Stellas. At around 10pm, I realised that I was not looking forward to finishing off my pint...it just tasted 'not right'. It wasn't bad or anything it just felt like I was forcing it.

I abandoned it, paid my bill and went for a wander around the casino to let the food digest a while. No particular destination or plan, I'd just see what was what and if anything caught my eye then fair enough.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself wandering back to my room....auto-pilot must be trying to tell me something.

I took the hint, clearly the old PASPS (that's the Paulie Autonomic Self Preservation System), for those who might remember, was kicking in even if I didn't know why. I wasn't drunk by any means despite 8 hours or more of drinking....three Bud Lites an hour over 6-7 hours wouldn't  even dent my alcohol stream. I hung out the 'Do Not Disturb' sign just in case of ursine intervention (I could have been wrong about the bear after all) and crashed.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Wednesday, 16th November 2011

Just Another Day At T'Mill

I just can't figure out why I'm not sleeping right. I think I'm fighting off a cold or it could be the air-conditioning is drying me out and messing up my sinuses and simulating a cold. Anyway, it's nice to have plenty of time in the mornings to get stuff done, catch up on work emails and some TV.

Nothing special to do until around noon when I'm ready for breakfast and some poker.

As I said, breakfast first so I chose the Courtyard Cafe in the Orleans...what the American would call a coffee-shop. That's different from a Starbucks or Costa, you know, what we would think of a coffee shop.

Nope this is full service food and coffee restaurant. Steak, Eggs and Hash Browns. Lovely...and 10% off with a voucher they give you when you check in.

That set me up for a day of grinding. Grinding. It's what I do.

I got seated after just a couple of minutes...It's handy having my Kindle with me as it gives me something to read other than the usual poker magazines they have lying around.

I wish I had much of anything interesting to report but it was nothing I haven't already detailed over the past few days...more of the same today.

After 6 hours I was precisely on my original $200 (but +EV on the beers of course). I suppose that's good enough.

I haven't done an exact count up but I think over the 5 days I'm basically breakeven on the poker...maybe a few bucks ahead in cash terms but definitely a winner in the 'drinking for profit' stakes.

A big thanks to Nellie, Jenna & Caroline for taking care of me in the beer department. As soon as I was even close to polishing off my drink another would materialise. I wish I could have taken pictures for you but it's kind of frowned on.

Take it from me....you missed something.

As I was walking over to TGI's for something to eat (with another 15% off voucher) I met Andy & Debjani (who'd been dabbling in the 2/4 LHE muddy waters) and they offered a lift over the the Stratosphere again where they were going.

I wasn't really in the mood so I gratefully declined and got my beer and steak on instead.

By 8pm I was ready to leave but in two minds as to whether to bother with poker or not. I decided not to but rather to play a few slot machines and a little blackjack.

Once again, nothing of interest....sorry, I wish I could spice this post entry up but I'd rather tell you the truth.

”I may leave stuff out, but I don't make **** up”.

Tomorrow is D-Day for the British Invasion. Some commandos have already reconnoitred the area but the main landing party hits the beaches at 2pm PST.

I have a feeling that my brother is bringing the bear with him.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Thursday, 17th November 2011

Oh Feck, They"re Here!

This not sleeping right is really starting to hack me off big time but perhaps a change of scenery will do me some good...luckily it"s moving day. I pottered around the room packing and policing up the room to make sure I hadn"t left anything behind before making my way down to the front desk to check out around noon.

I took a cab over to Harrah"s and got checked in in pretty short order and trekked up to my room on the 14th floor. I"d deliberately asked for a quiet room, I need to maximise my opportunities for a good nights kip.

I unpacked and set-up the IT kit as per usual but, for some reason, I couldn"t log on to the wi-fi. The screen kept saying I couldn"t apply charges to my room even though I had specifically enabled this on check-in. This was a little annoying as it meant I would have to trek down to the front desk and get it sorted.

These little things are sent to try us I suppose.

I"d already planned to get some lunch at Toby Keith"s so I took the opportunity to make my enquiries at the front desk as I passed. On doing so I was informed that Harrah"s DOESN"T HAVE WI-FI in it"s standard rooms...only in it"s suites.

WTF!? Even the friggin" Imperial Palace has wi-fi in all it"s rooms! I looked at the woman behind the desk as though she"d told me that beer was bad for you.

Apparently, they only have cabled connections in the standard rooms. I"d noticed a cable in the top drawer of the TV cabinet when I was unpacking but I"ve seen this dozens of times in other hotels...it"s an emergency thing, not an actual necessity.

Sorry folks, a "Travel Guru Fail" on that one...who knew? I guess I"m supposed to know but it still boggles my mind that they don"t have this basic functionality. [2016 note: Rectified I understand]

Well, there it was, nothing I could do now, so I went to eat. A few beers and a plate of chicken fingers later I"d fed the body and soul and a text arrived from Richard Baker telling me he was in Carnaval Court. It was only 2pm by this time, a little early but why not?

I walked the short distance outside and found Rich, Andy & Debjani planted at a table. Rich had one of those 4 foot drink things full of alcohol wrapped around his neck and was obviously in a party mood.

Figuring that I had a long night ahead I just contented myself with a few Bud Lights while we watched a great band called “Wonder Boogie” get the smallish crowd fired up with disco music and audience participation bits. They"ve been doing this for a long time and have it down pat. It"s a whole lot of fun to watch.

Rich and I sat there for a fair while (Andy & Deb had gone off to eat I think) just having a whale of a time just watching the crowd belly up to the bar for free shots of alcohol every half hour or so. It"s just cheap booze and fruit drinks mixed up in a pouring bottle but it"s a great way to get people involved.

Finally the rest of the APAT contingent started to arrive and we got stuck in. I can"t say everyone made the choice to turn up but the usual hard-core were in attendance so I think we did it up right.

Buckets of beers for $25 seemed popular once I"d spread the word..."Travel Guru Redeemed".

To be honest I had expected us to just be there until fully liquored up and crashing but it seemed that a lot of people wanted to play the 8pm tournament at Harrah"s. I honestly can"t see the attraction...It"s a crappy room and the tournament has, as is the way with these things, a horrible structure...but I was willing to go along with the majority.

Along the way, I"d been trying to get hold of my brother. He should have landed about 2pm but I hadn"t heard a peep out of him. I"d called, texted and emailed but nothing.

On my way to the poker room, detoured for a pee and as I"m washing my hands and on the way out, in he walks. I meet him in some funny places.

It turns out he"d gone out to an AT&T store to buy a sim immediately after checking in but for some reason his phone still wasn"t getting data. That explained the lack of contact. I took his new number and he went back to his blackjack I headed over to the poker room.

We"ll catch up later...it"s that sort of relationship. We don"t feel the need to be in each other"s pockets all the time. He"s not into poker and I"m pretty much over long spells at the blackjack tables....been there, did that during the nineties.

Naturally, every move I made was the wrong one and I was out in about 2 hours, probably less...in fact almost certainly less.

I sat outside the poker room for a while and found myself nodding off...I mean literally, doing the head jerk thing when you pull yourself back from the edge of sleep. This sleep deficiency thing is kicking my backside.

I played some slots for a while to rack up a few lousy Total Rewards points before heading back to the room to try and get the internet working.

That was a real palaver too. Firstly, I couldn"t find anywhere to plug the cable into. I searched for quite a while before finding the router attached to the back of one of the nightstands. Success I thought. Nope, the cable wouldn"t reach to the table in the room. Ok, move the table...that"ll cause problems with housekeeping, I"ll lay odds...I"ll have to leave a note asking them not to move it back.

Are we there yet? Nope, no signal. It"s surprising that something didn"t drop the 14 floors out of the window. The answer....they hadn"t plugged in the router to a power outlet. Once I"d twigged that it was plain sailing but, sheesh, sorry Harrah"s you don"t get any more stays out of me.[2016 Note: That turned out to be untrue.]

So that was that. They"re here.

I"ll let them tell they"re own stories over on the APAT forum. I have little doubt they will be doozies.[2016 Note: Hopefully not lost in the recent server switch.]

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Friday, 18th November 2011

Staggered

Moving hotels seems to have done the trick. The beds at Harrah"s are very comfortable and I can't pinpoint what the difference might be but I got a full six hours solid sleep after Thursday's invasion.

So what's a fellow supposed to do? That's right, I rolled over and went back to sleep...it's still early for crying out loud and tonight is going to be a doozy.

With nothing to do until late lunchtime I did that...nothing...just enjoyed a restful time in the room before grabbing a cab over to the Monte Carlo and planted myself in Diablo's Cantina. I checked in on Foursquare and alerted the Social Media of my arrival in time to see Don Logan wandering in clad in appropriate attire.

He'd only arrived late the night before from Chicago and we ordered food while waiting for others to arrive. Before long we were a decent size party and so we adjourned to The Pub on the other side of the Monte Carlo. This proved to be a popular choice especially as the had a happy hour of 2 for 1 drinks until 6. We indulged.

As we were a large party they insisted on a single bill and slapped on a service charge of 18%. Seems fair...it saves us having to work out the tip at the end.

I arranged for a pitcher to be placed on the table so that we could put the cost of our individual drinks in that rather that have a fight over who ordered what and for how much at the end. I think it worked out.

Ger the Duke seemed insistent on us sticking rigorously to the outlined agenda while I was somewhat more laid back about it. Trying to get 20+ people to agree on whether it's time to leave is like trying to herd cats....it just can't be done...all you can do it tell them where you are going and hope they'll follow.

I gave the name and address of the next location to all and sundry before heading off to the hotel lobby to grab some cabs. The message seems to have permeated because before long we were piling into Frankie's Tiki Room for some large drinks.

The drinks taste very nice...very nice indeed...and I had too many. It didn't feel it at the time but they let me know later.

Joobs was insisting on trying to recreate 'Umbongo', a kids drink from some time ago...but with flavoured rum and various juices. The bartender Mike played along and for $6 each they were nice...very nice indeed. I had three or four...and that's after two previous large rum concoctions had forced their way down my throat.

We were already running behind the alleged schedule and various people (I mention no names Tighty) were more interested in...erm...more mature entertainment.

This hadn't been part of my plan but as I always said...it's just an outline, if people want to do something else then that was fine with me.

So, I made the executive decision to give the Bikini Bar a miss and we'd head off to McMullan"s Irish Pub instead...at least those who wanted to could. So Mike called us a bunch of taxis and we made our collective way there.

I mentioned John Windsor previously in this thing and he was playing again on Friday. He went over a total storm with the Brits and everyone really got into it.

Curlarge got up on stage and played 'Wonderwall' for us during one of John's breaks and those two seemed to have a good old natter.

We coaxed a few more songs out of John after his usual knocking off time of 12.30am but he had to pack up some time. That didn't seem to stop the party that was going on but I was well over four sheets to the wind by that stage...more like and entire Chinese laundry to the wind in fact.

I can't recall the exact time I decided to call it a night but I walked outside and hailed cab and was safely tucked up by 2.30 am or so.

Apparently, I missed some high-jinks by leaving including...I'm led to believe Michelle and Joobs being told off for dancing on the tables, Michelle doing a juggling act with Joobs'...erm....assets and Mr Prime finding another odd location to catch forty winks.

Me....I had company of my own....the drinking bear has arrived!

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Saturday, 19th November 2011

Out Cold

Yes, folks, the bear is most definitely back. Clothes all over the room, cr@ppy taste in my mouth, raging headache and pocket full of singles. Ohhhh, Lord....rum drinks...tasty but so dangerous. Anyway, as you can imagine it took me more than a while before I was even close to being compos mentis enough to make my way to Caesars for the APAT event.

I met Shogun along the way and we made our way over together.

We got under way in the event and given that the field was a good 80% British my table was full of familiar faces. I got my Kings cracked fairly early on but doubled up through Paul McGuinness towards the end of level three when he didn't believe me when I shoved with a full house.

Of course, I picked KK again on the button in the very next hand and got coolered to a flopped full house.

That left me at a loose end and, even though I am the travel guru, I hadn't planned on anything for the Saturday afternoon. I wandered back to Harrah"s for lunch where I had a $5 coupon thanks for Foursquare.

From there I just thought I would take a nap to recover from the bad night and made my way to my room.

This proved to be a big mistake....I lay down about 5pm for a couple of hours....unfortunately, those two hours actually proved to be six. I said the beds were comfortable.

To be honest, I suppose I could have made the effort to get up, clean myself up and go wandering but I figured that would just mess up my sleep pattern again.

So, I just wrote off Saturday and just hung out in the room. Sorry to be boring but there you go.

Sunday, I want to play the Mixed Game at the IP but I might give the Venetian a whirl first.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Sunday, 20th November 2011

It's Been A Hard Day's Grind

After all that sleep I was more than refreshed and ready for a day of grinding so after my usual lounge around the room I walked over to the Venetian. Food was the first order of business so I chose the Grand Lux Cafe for a couple of Stellas and a very nice Club sandwich.

After that, I got seated into a 4/8 Omaha8 game after just a couple of minutes. Despite going off with only six players the table filled up quickly.

The play was challenging to say the least and my stack yo-yo'd between $100 and $200 most of the time. The hardest part was an idiot at the opposite end of the table who would stay in with even the most ridiculous no-draw and get there on the river.

Not only that but he slow-rolled me.....twice. Sigh.

I crushed him later when I made the ultimate nuts on the turn and he just wouldn't let go and took him for a decent chunk of change.

Unfortunately, that chunk only got me back to my starting stack and after five hours I was down a whole $4.

That was enough and I wanted to play the IP Mixed Game so I cashed out and strolled over and got my name on the list around 6.30pm.

I was joined after a while by JP Round, James Edwards and Chen Tam and we got under way dead on 7pm with a few other randoms.

Laughs were had, suck-outs were bad and we played for quite a while. I couldn't get much going...it was that kind of day...and, besides, having played this game before I've always treated it as a donation.

So after 6 hours play I was down $100 and I was yawning so I called it a night, especially as I was going to have, at least for this trip, and early morning the next day

I made the short walk back to Harrah"s and crashed.

[Paulie_D]

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APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Monday, 21st November 2011

It's A Nice Day For A White Wedding

Calling it an early night yesterday was a wise decision as I needed to be at The Chapel of The Flowers for Adam and Julie's wedding. A few of us gathered in the lobby around 10.30 and we hopped in a a cab or two to head over to the chapel arriving shortly before 10.45. In fact we arrived shortly before the groom!

Many of the visiting APATers had made the effort to dress up for the happy day especially Stuart Oliver who was in full Scottish regalia. For myself I confess that I had not (I had a full suitcase as it was) so I hid myself at the back out of camera shot.

The chapel was completely full and, indeed, the minister commented that he'd never had such a crowd, especially from overseas. I thought that the minister did a wonderful job of the ceremony and Adam and Julie were clearly enjoying their special day.

Once the ceremony was after the bride and groom were taken off to do a photo-shoot and we all trooped outside to find that the sun had truly come out for the first time during our visit. It was a gloriously sunny day.

We all stooged around for a while as Laxie organised us like a military action. We would need more than a few cabs but I was fortunate enough to blag a spot in one of the chapel's super-stretch limos to Caesars and the Cheesecake factory.

The driver let us out right be a side door just a hundred yards from the restaurant and we lined up outside. Somehow we'd beaten the happy couple to the place but Dawn was on the case.

It seemed that despite a couple of confirmation calls the restaurant didn't take reservations so Laxie had to badger the manager into sorting out some space for us.

It all worked out in the end and by the time we were done we filled three large tables. Somehow Ger and the rest of the party had gotten side-tracked into a bar so that was a little disappointing but still we had a nice meal for what I thought was a pretty decent price for the Forum Shops.

By 3pm I was ready for a nap so I trudged the whole length of the Forum Shops back to Harrah"s. I made sure to set my phone alarm so there wouldn't be a repeat of Saturday.  By 5.30 I was cabbing over to the Tropicana for the JAPAT Wedding Tournament.

I really like the way they're refurbished the Trop although they've started pumping in some smell that just, if you'll pardon the expression, gets up my nose.

We got away with 50 runners or thereabouts but once again I got nowhere with any action or move I would make. I managed to run my A4s into Don Robert's AA who was on fire on our table.

A couple of drinks later and we'd managed to get a 3/6 Omaha8 cash game running full of APAT regulars.

Ger seemed to be hitting everything in sight even when he should have gotten out of the hand some time before. This was a little frustrating [2016 Note: In fact was downright annoying] but there is nothing you can do in these situations.

I sat in for a few hours while dwindling chips slowly. By the time the tourney was over I was ready to call it a night...this must have been around 1am and I was down $140.

So be it...I made my way outside and grabbed a cab back to Harrah"s.

I have nothing specific planned for the next few days, my travel guru duties are done and dusted, I'll just play it by ear.

[duke3016]

[Paulie_D]

Repost

APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Tuesday, 22nd November 2011

The Venetian Is My Kryptonite

With nothing planned...at least with any specificity...I could have my usual long lie-in and general pottering around in the room time before doing anything of consequence. I decided to give the Venetian another shot but took my time in strolling over...it would be there when I got there.

My first port of call was the Walgreens (sort of like a giant Boots) for my annual purchase of a big pack Ibuprofen. How daft is it that if you try and buy more than 18 in Tesco they wrestle you to the ground in case you do yourself harm but over here I can buy enough to keep me going for well over a year?

This in the most litigious country in the world...batty I tell you!

Anyway, after making my purchase I took the opportunity to wander through the Canal Shoppes....such a better experience, at least visually, to me...that the Forum Shops.

Same basic idea, shops selling stuff I don't want and couldn't afford anyway but the Venetian seems to do it just a little more class than Caesars.

Having skipped breakfast as I usually do, I made my weary (yes already) way to the Grand Lux Cafe and brunched on a very nice meal of fish and chips...with the perennial couple of Stellas of course.

After that it was the poker room where, I'm sorry to say, the experience of a couple of days ago repeated itself. Either zero playable hands or getting crushed by river rats.

I played until about 6pm or thereabouts before calling it quits down about $140.

I don't know what it is, I used to do quite well at the Venetian...it could just be that I've got worse, the variance could be catching up with me or the opposition has gotten better.

Personally, I'd go with No. 2,  then No. 1 then No. 3 in order of likelihood, but whatever it is I'm probably only going to give it one more shot.

Licking my wounds I strolled back to Harrah"s and into Toby Keith's. A few Bud Lites and a plate of chicken pieces lifted my spirits some but when the band came on my aged ears couldn't take the racket so I called it a night.

Now look, some of you are, no doubt, sitting there thinking, Paulie's in the mecca of all gamblers, Sin City, Las Vegas itself and he's getting in before midnight.

I can understand that thinking but you kind of have to look at it from my point of view.

Firstly, I'm older than most people generally judge and I weigh...there's no getting away from it...a lot...so I get tired.

Then, also, I've been coming here for 20 years or more so I don't have that 'Gee Whiz, Look at that!” excitement that the Vegas virgins have.

Finally, folks...and this is the biggie...this is my main holiday for the year and if I want to relax and vegetate that's what I'm going to do.

Perhaps it makes these reports a tad on the boring side on occasion but them's the breaks for you.

OK. Rant over.

Like I said, I'll give the Venetian one more shot tomorrow and see what the day brings after than. Most if not all of the contingent are heading home so maybe we'll all get together for something but we'll see.

[Paulie_D]

Hotel Bar...Holiday Inn Nottingham Marina.