Be Careful Who You Kiss

I’m back in Vegas this weekend. Every trip has its own identity. The identity varies with the purpose of the trip (business, pleasure), the lead time in planning the trip (emergency trip, vacation), and the other people involved (friends going with, staying with locals, going solo and making friends there). It feels to me like I have been picking from the above lists and coming up with a different trip every few weeks now.

The current trip is part business and part pleasure. It was planned quickly, but not an emergency by any means. I’m traveling solo on this trip and staying with some friends that live in Henderson. The accommodations are spartan, but when you are with a group that you genuinely enjoy, that really has no impact on the trip.

There is good news to report on the poker front. Several of our group decided to play the $200 buy-in tournament at Binion’s last night. That price is too steep for my bankroll when I have not played yet on this trip. The last trip, I did pay $260 for a tourney, but that was when I was up $200 for the trip. I decided to move up a level from my usual $2-4 donkey poker.

I played $4-8 limit. The table was neutral except for one asian fellow who raised preflop about 8 hands of every 10. The other 2 hands were split evenly between calling and folding. That made for a very expensive game and I though about moving, but decided to do what I could. I though about moving again after I came up 2nd best on the first hand with AQs and again with JJ on the second hand.

But I buckled-down my game and waited until more good cards came along. As it turned out, last night was a good night for sets. I must have seen half of my pocket pairs turn into sets. Not that they all won, but many of them did.

At one point I got up $200, but a few more 2nd best hands and one painful lay-down of the best hand in a 3 way pot saw my final winnings shrink to $106.

After poker our “party of 7” went to one of my favorite eateries in Vegas: The Upper Deck Café in the Las Vegas Club. The event of the night happened when a chemically impaired patron of the restaurant got in the face of the one we call Monster. He got so much in Monster’s face that their lips actually touched. I think that was as gross for me to see as it was for Monster to experience. Did I mention that Monster used to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championships?

Well, as their lips touch, Monster’s hands impact on this guy’s chest and he slams his back into the rail at the cashier’s station. In a few minutes the casino security shows up. There is talking and pointing and we were eventually seated. Needless to say, the kiss was a favorite topic of conversation for the rest of the night and morning.

Today will see more poker followed by a flight back to Charlotte. Be careful who you kiss.