Friday:

I forget exactly how Friday started out except that when I got to Caesars Palace poker room, kennyg was at the Bellagio playing in some $1k entry tournament with Sam grizzle. Never heard much about the tourney other than that he busted out of it. While that was happening, Twelver, CJ and I were playing 1/2 NL at separate tables. Kennyg's friend Brian was playing in the 11 a.m. tourney at Caesars and was doing well. Briachek and his friend were playing LO8 at the mirage and MVP was doing some work or some shit like that. Finally I got tired of the table I was at so i went to sweat brian at the final table or the tourney. I kept texting kenny to get his ass over there to see his friend win and he finally made it just as brian went allin and busted to finish 2nd and take home a $1900 prize! This was the 3rd BTP cash in a tourney during this trip which I thought was not only awesome but also a bit impressive about our group of players we had there. This ended about 5 p.m. or so and still nobody had heard from bobby since last we left him at the tables in Ballys the day before. Have to admit I kinda wondered if he had passed out somewhere from all the booze as he was pretty well lit when I left him and he was still going.

7 p.m. comes along and twelver offers to stake me for the addon in the 7 p.m. tourney if I want to play. Since I was up about $120 for the day, and it cost $120 to enter I said ok and entered. I was to split any winnings with Twelver 60/40. I made the $100 addon purchase the moment I sat down. When the tourney started I doubled up within the first 15 minutes when I got AA and got allin preflop against KK. Thankfully he was one of only two players at the table besides myself who had had the foresight to use the rebuy as soon as we sat down so I was now up close to 9k in chips. And I was able to be very selective in the hands I chose to play which was good because I got cold decked for the next hour or so. I ended up at Twelvers table after one of the breaks and managed to steal the blinds a couple times to keep from being so low as to start having to pushbot my way along. When we got to the final 2 tables, all 3 of us were at the same table. I busted out 15th on a JKo hand when my M was nearing 5 when I pushed hoping to steal the blinds and got called by AA. Actually I had 400 chips left after that hand but that was gone after the next hand when I ran into AKs against the guy who eventually won the event. A little while later Twelver busted out 12th (fitting I thought) and i went with CJ and kennyg to go eat dinner with my comp money. When we left MVP was still in it and ITM in 9th place but it didn't look like he would go much farther. At dinner we ate with some Two plus Two'ers he knew and had a nice time. During this time Kenny recounted his big win of the day. My apologies if the following isn't EXACTLY how it happened. He gets AQs and raises, dude in LP reraises him. Stacks are deep at this 5/10 table. Kenny thinks about it for awhile figures the guy for a hand like KK and basically thinks "How DARE you reraise me!" and says "I'm allin!" He had forgotten he had a bunch of $100 bills folded up behind his chips which made his stack about $2k. The other guy has him covered and says "I have to call you." He then flips over KK and kenny figures he's lost and starts to get up. Then he hears the table moan! Sure enough, he had flopped an ACE and took down the gigantic pot! The table started playing nuts after that and kenny left and cashed out with plenty of money for strippers now.
After his recount of his amazing suckout, we get a text from twelver that MVP is still in it and down to 4th! We hurry up and pay and hustle back down there. Unfortunately, we weren't much luck for him and he busted out in 4th for a $700 cash. Still awesome but not the win that I know he craved. Only guy I know of besides Helmuth who can finish that high in a tourney and still manage to look disheartened. Oh well, nothing a $700 stripper lap dance can't fix right?

Saturday: My last day in Las Vegas

I get up at 10 so I can shower, pack and check out by 11. I move my suitcase up to briacheks room so I don't have to haul it around with me the rest of the day or tip the baggage room folks cuz I'm cheap like that. Then we all head over to Caesars Palace. MVP and twelver decide to enter the noon tourney which is the one that brian had taken 2nd in the day before. I sit at a 1/2 NL table with briachek and his friend, I would use his BTP name if I was sure what it was (I think it's pnutbtr or something) but I haven't heard back from briachek on that yet. FINALLY, I feel pretty comfortable, REALLY comfortable, at a live poker table. (I actually started feeling like I wish I was staying one more day.) I win a few pots. Some with good hands, some with decent continuation bluffs as twelver saw once when he came out to watch during a break in the tourney. Then bobby FINALLY showed his face again! He wasn't dead from alcohol poisoning!!! Twelver and MVP both bust from the tourney and decide to go eat with CJ at the Treasure Island buffet, so I hurriedly got everyone together except kenny and brian as they hadn't gotten there yet and got someone to use briacheks camera to get a group photo of all of us which I will post when he finally emails it to me. Later when kennyg and brian finally showed up, I got a picture with him and briachek before I had to cashout (made $102 for that short session) and get to the airport.

I left Las Vegas feeling great but very tired. I ended up about -$300 for the trip but considering that A7h hand, I feel like I had a winning trip because I beat the rake. And at the end I was finally feeling good about playing live. So I guess I'll be going back again next year sometime.

I met a bunch of very cool BTP'ers and had a great time with them. Thanks Guys. You all helped make my first Vegas trip a fun one. Maybe next time, I'll get to play some of that LO8 at the mirage as well.

from left to right: bobby, Twelver, MVPsports, Cactus Jack (in back), SebQtaneus, pnutbtr, briachek



And so as to not leave any one out, here's SebQtaneus, kennyg, and briachek.

Unfortunately, kennyg's friend brian didn't manage to make it into any of the pics.

and as always, there is a picture with a half opened eyelid.

If they are, they never mentioned it.

lol seb i thought you're 18-20