I wasn't looking forward to heading back to LA but Vegas was booked solid and I wasn't in the mood to pay $300 for a short over-nite stay. I decided to head down 15S to check out the room availability in Jean and Primm, barring getting a room, I'd drive back. Thankfully I scored a cheap room in Jean, about 30 minutes south of the strip and after a decent sleep, I was headed to Caesars for the noon tourney, then the long drive back.

$130 total and I got settled in for a hopeful session of good cards, but that was quickly quashed as we found ourselves seated with a OBNOXIOUS drunk know-it-all. I was laughing it up, having a good time and making table friends as usual which this guy HATED. I got called a mother farker and was told my chip protector was farking gay. That got him his one and only warning...no more friends after that...LMFAO! This guy went on a table tear, ripping into hands and players alike. Management kept a close eye but he never pushed the line enough to get booted and the drinks kept coming his way. Once again, I found myself on the bad-end of cards, playing the push-bot short-stack. When the table folded to me in late position, I pushed with JTs on "his" blind and he called (I had him covered) without a second thought. He tabled J7 and with a flopped 2-pair, I busted the ARSE and became the table hero! 2 table changes later, I open push when I spy a lone ace but get looked up by AQ and AA, AQ turned a straight and that was all she wrote. I hit the road, wishing I'd left the nite before and the drive took over 6 hours with traffic and delays.

After my Hawaiin Gardens experience, I ditched the weekend plan, mapped out the route to Vegas and early Saturday morning, I was on my way to the Venetian! I "landed" at TI right around 10:30am, making the drive in about 3 1/2 hours. I got registered then wandered off for some wake-up juice and eats. I've said it before and I'll say it again, man do I LOVE this room and I LOVE this tourney!

Cards in the air at noon and when all was said and done, there were 81 total entrants. It was a true rollercoaster ride as I went into the 1st break at around the starting stack of T10k, not great by any stretch of the imagination but not bad either considering the structure. I was able to chip up twice catching QQ and AA in the bb against an agressive lp player, but both times I was short and all it did was get back in the chip hunt. Bad for me but good for Binion's, I busted early enough to head downtown for the 8pm tourney. I'd pushed from the sb with 34 and got looked up by the bb who put more than 1/2 his stack in the middle with pockets 5s....WTF? I flopped a str8 draw but I needed him to hit a set which didn't happen, and off I set for Freemont Street.

I had business in Orange County the week of 4/17 and as any good poker player would do, I flew out the Friday before the week of work! I had tournaments all planned out for the LA and surrounding area but that all changed when I got a taste of Hawaiian Gardens and an itch to play at the Venetian!

I played in the $155 at HG on Friday, with starting chips of T2k and 25 minute levels, it wasn't much better than what I experience in FL. I was totally let down by the facilities. I wasn't expecting a Vegas style card room but I wasn't prepared for the "warehouse" type setting and exposed ceiling. A VERY odd feeling for sure! I ended up busting with a hand I'll vow never to play again, the dreaded AQ! I raised from early position and got heads-up to the flop with position. Villain led out for 200 and I raised to 600 which was flat-called on a Qx7 board. Turn provided me with a 3rd queen but all was for naught as it filled him up and I was prompty heading for the door. 257 entrants on a Friday afternoon, Cali sure does love it's poker!

Onward to Friday nite to play in the 7pm Sarhara tourney for $62. Parked at Caesars, my base of operations for the week but before I'm off I just HAVE to do a little shooping. For the sheer novelty of it all, I have to get a Pete Rose signed baseball with the inscription, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." Phoned a colleague of mine earlier that day and he's a HUGE fan, so it was two balls! Also picked up a couple of Opus X sticks, a little strong for my taste but a nice cigar. Round it all off with a nifty Michael Goddard ornament and I was off to pack my swag away!

Now it was time for the bullet (monrail) right to the Sahara! Definitely an "old school" room compared to what I've seen so far. Tournament had just over 150 runners and I'm glad there wasn't any hay available, otherwise I don't know where they wouldn've stuck all the additional donkeys! My table had 2 players that had even the slightest clue but even one of them doubled me up when my "tight as a frog's arse" re-raised a couple of lipmpers and he decided to push from my left, his wired tens didn't hold up! Blinds go up every 20 minute but you get T5000 for your $62 bones, not a bad low-stakes deal. The tables were in bad shape and it was NOISY! Drink service was good and the dealers I encountered were friendly. I ended up busting when my "M" dictated pushing, hand didn't hold and I was on the "bullet back home."

I finished class a little past 12:30 and stuck around the corporate office till 2 pm wrapping things up and saying goodbye to my Vegas crew. I'd decided that I wanted to check out the Goddard Gallery at the Aladdin so off I went. For some strange reason, I missed the turn at Trop and Eastern and flew right past Flamingo, which landed me in strange territory. But no worries, you can see the strip from everywhere right.... I ended up on Twain, then Industrial and by the time I made it back to the strip, I realized how much time I'd lost.

Not wanting to play cards in "work garb" I made the obscene decision to head back to Sunset Station for a jeans/ballcap change, then head back out. Well, by the time I actually got back to the strip and parked, it was already 5pm...

I found the parking garage with little trouble and the walk to the poker room was a much better than the MGM marathon trek! But I still suggest planning your drive and parking WELL in advance

Made my way to the room and got signed up for a players card but had to wait around for them to open the tourney up for registration. The lady at the cashiers desk was VERY curt, not friendly at all. The young lady helping with the players card and getting the tourney opened was nice however, balanced out I guess.

I was meeting my poker buddy Cindy and her friend John at 6pm so I figured I had just enough time to walk over to the Aladdin and check out the Goddard gallery, and damn glad I did! It's not a long walk at all but I feel I've logged the miles this week between conducting classes and walking the poker room-parking treks!

I made my way over to the gallery and was able to peruse the numerous pieces displayed along with some bronze pieces from Tim Cotterill, of which I got one for Christmas I really dig Goddard, it's not everyone's cup of tea but I've always been a fan of pop-art, like Warhol and Peter Max, so add in the gambling schtick and I'm HOOKED. I'll be purchasing the artists proof version of "Flaming Full House." It's a 100 dollar bill with burning pieces of a full house busting out of the center of the bill, very cool stuff. There was also a piece there entitled, "Hold 'Em." You have to see it to believe it, but if you're into the slang, the visual representation of the terms is something to see!

Cindy and John actually met me at the gallery and I introduced them to the wonderful world of Goddard After hanging out for a bit, we headed back to Caesars and got back a lot quicker that I would've imagined so we staked out the tables and talked cards before the 7pm kickoff. Sucks, but all 3 of us ended up at the same table, but oh well....only 38 runners. I was really expecting more players, but maybe it's partly due to what's going on in town and partly due to being a Thursday nite, I sure am looking forward to seeing a little larger turnouts. Seems that room wasn't that busy in general.

I was impressed with the size of the room, the Neiman paintings lining the entrance and the numerous boxing pictures around the main room. Nice, large flat-screens appropriately positioned around the room. The "famous players" pictures hanging in the tourney room along with the "WSOP" chairs was kinda cool to see for a 1st time visitor to the room. I liked the fact the that the chair height was adjustable the no marble ring around the table made things a little more comfortable as well. Plenty of room between the tables and the food service seemed to be taken advantage of quite frequently. Drink service ABSOLUTELY SUCKED, especially for the number of people in the room at the time, atrocious! And not that I give 2-chits about how they look, if that is a concern for you, LOOK ELSEWHERE! I was VERY suprised that an announcement had to made at 3 separate occasions to stop smoking, but they were on top of it right away.

So, 38 runners, 4 tables, 9 handed...now that was new! Started off with T4500 as I rebought right away as did most others, but not everyone. Seemed to be more tourists/business people that locals, decent mix. 5 get paid and it's DAMN top heavy, guess I'm used to seeing those on-line payouts, but not here 40%, 25%, 15%, 12% and 8%.

I had a pretty decent first 2 levels, catching AKo 4 times. Twice I got heads up and made a standard cbet on a blank board and had to back off when I got check-called. One I flopped 2-pair in position but with the board 2-flushed and 3 players in, the raise took the pot down. The 4th AK, ended up with me in position 4-way into a T1200 pf pot. Checked to me on a paired rags board and I fire out 800, getting one caller. Queen hits the Turn and he checks again. I'm just not getting the "he has a hand feeling" so I announce, "two-thousand" and he folds before I can stack off the chips, shoving me a decent pot.

The hand that directly followed, found me with pocket 3s facing an EP raise, and since I'd just ran that 2-barrel'd bluff, I just didn't feel like playing for set value. I'm sure you can guess what happed....flopped a boat and it took several Coronas to get the puke taste out of my mouth, especially when I saw the action that followed....fark me

Queens and K6s rounded out the 1st 80 minutes. Had a loose calling station on my left who opened to 300 utg and heads up from the bb, I made the call. Not too scary of a flop, I check-called his weak bet. Check-check on the turn. Blank River and he weak bet again after I checked. I'd paired my 6 on flop and decided it was the best hand, so planned on check-raising and it worked like a champ as we wondered aloud if his 5s were any goot We headed off to break and I had nearly doubled my starting stack.

The next 2 levels were a WHOLE different story. I was moved to balance out tables and after paying the blinds the table was broke and was moved again, right into the bb....fark me again! Had a GOOFY, vicodan popping, asinine specimen of woman on my right playing with the crapiest of crap cards and taking down pots. Unfortunately I learned this after trying wrestle my bb out of her sb hands, and the ponytail on my left figured what the hell, my sb stand wasn't going to get respect either. So after donking off about 1k in chips and paying back-back sets of blinds, I went into lock-down mode and tried to secure my footing.

I'm not able to do much of anything but stay afloat taking down a sb v bb pot when I flop 2 pair and raising in position after 2 limpers with AQs. Locals may recognize Mitchell who was at my table and seemed like a solid player who moved here several months back, seemed to know a lot of people and they - him. He's in the real estate biz.

I keep myself afloat but with only 5 paying that's not what I needed or wanted, but with the table, there wasn't much else I could do

Sometime after 11pm the final 9 are finally formed up and Loud Sideburns (Elvis Chops) is about to pee his pants, near literally CRYING for us to break. There's 12 minutes left in the 600/1200/100 level but Jed (very nice Floor, very accommodating and personable) gives in and we head off for 10 minutes.

We regroup and I'm one of 3 short stacks remaining, can't sit back, but hell, I've been looking to push for several orbits and just haven't been able to. Damn sure wasn't my goal to limp into the final 9 with only 5 getting paid, and 5th being only double the buy-in. I post and lose my bb, leaving me with a paltry T8100 or so. Table folds to me in the sb and I spy QTo and figure this is MORE than plenty to pick up some chips. I push and after some contemplation the bb calls, chit! He tables A7o (WTF?) and I get no help....I liked the 40 minute blinds but going from 200/400/50 to 400/800/100 to 600/1200/100 seemed VERY quick!

There's a "2nd Chance Drawing" for all tourney players that takes place 1 hour after the tourney ends. Essentially they draw a name and if you're in the room playing at a cash table, you get $700...nice! What the hell, I only have a conference call to attend on Friday (today-now) at noon, FLOOR....

Cash game details (not near as long) to follow shortly.....man it takes a while to type this things out!

Cheers!