Okay, so it went like this: On the morning of day 2 of the Vegas portion of the trip, despite very much enjoying the hotel, the poker, and the weather, Flynn began to wonder. Wonder about all sorts of stuff, but mostly about how prudent was it really to stay in town for a week? Damn it all anyway, not prudent at all. The first day of F&O’s arrival, all was peachy keen. Overnigh, however, the mega corporations were flooding media with closures of buffets and restaurants. The writing was on the wall. More about that later on a different article. An executive decision had to be made, and a vote was taken. 2-0 in favor of bailing out early. Ollie changed the airline reservations to depart the following night. F & O lose 3 full days in our favorite home away from home. Damn it again. The headed off to a new favorite breakfast spot: Griddlecakes.
But back to poker: Day 2: After breakfast, Flynn went back to Aria, Ollie went back to the Orleans. Flynn had the most enjoyable time, ended up spending 10 hours or so in the same chair. The table was good, as in friendly, and the cards were coming just about right. No major swings up or down, just normal. There were a few characters that came and went; hoodie-ballcap-and -sunglass guy, bully, grinder, friendly but deadly cutie-pie, and a tourist or two that had never sat at a poker table in their lives. Food service from Lemongrass on comps rounded out a good session. +$300 for the day. Almost made up for the loss yesterday. Ollie upped his game at the Orleans to 8/16 O8, but was not as successful bringing home the goods. C’est la vie.
It was not until F&O were tucked back into their nest that they realized they still had not gotten to the Sahara Poker Room! Fudgecicles. It really was their intention to get there this trip. Maybe tomorrow.
Day 3, the final day, brought the usual melancholy to Flynn and Ollie. They had to pack up and check out. They had breakfast (again at Griddlecakes). They tried so very hard to get to the Sahara, but.. there were no games going. Likely would not be until after the morning tournament. Rats. Guess where they went? To the Aria, of course. Ollie opted to play 1/3 there rather than go back to the Orleans, and of course Flynn was sure he would have another stellar session.
Bass-awkward. Flynn lost his shirt. Had the table rep of the person who could not win no matter what, and that is exactly what happened. His final bust-out: AK suited vs A3 off, board runs out with xx3x3. Yep, that is the way the entire 5 hours went for him. Coulda shoved an entire $300 buy-in with AA pre, and was guaranteed to get a caller or three. Some days are like that. Is Flynn bitter? Naw? He’s a seasoned professional. Took it like a pink bird. Didn’t even flap a feather.
Ollie, on the other hand, had an otter of a time. He was the mammal that could not lose, much to the detriment of the Dude-man-spreader next to him. Some of this story about Dude has already been referenced in the Twitter feed), but here it goes again, in it’s entirety:
Dude in 3 seat has $800-900 in front of him when Ollie gets seated at 4. Dude’s got his foot up on Ollie’s chair, belongings taking up 2 spaces, headphones and sunglasses on, laying on table with arms crossed. Bad news. Ollie smacks his feet, guy flexes, but moves his legs. 10 minutes later, Ollie takes him for over $200. Dude obviously a little steamed. For the next hour he shoves his chips around, trying to be a bully. Ollie plays solid, as do the other players, essentially ignoring his bad behavior. Okay, Ollie only tolerated his bad behavior for about 20 minutes. Dude would fold by pushing his cards about a tenth of an inch from in front of him, so the dealer could not reach. Ollie got fed up, reached over and folded his cards for him, properly. Ollie also scolded him about it (always looking out for the dealers, that Ollie). Dude takes off his glasses, stares at Ollie, flexes his arm and makes a fist. Oooooh, scary! Ollie just ignores him. Sadly for Dude, Ollie is ‘that guy’ who cannot lose. A few circuits later, Ollie bets out, Dude calls, Ollie wins, and takes him for another $300 or so.
Now, a controversy:
Since he had so many chips when F & O first got to the table, he still had about 200+ in front of him. He gets a massage. 15 minutes into the massage, he asks the masseuse how much it costs. He then asks her for another 30 minutes. Late into this 30 minutes, he is involved in a hand with seat 9. Dude is first to act. No real idea how it went down, except that there was a pot and a flop, and Dude has $145 in front of him. At which time, Dude takes a $100 stack and gives it to the masseuse. Huh? Seat 9 questions this tactic, because the guy just took $100 off the table mid-hand. Seat 9 asks the dealer if this is allowed, very politely. Dealer calls the Floor, everyone at the table has an opinion. Dude does not say a single word, just sits there with his sunglasses on, laying on the table. Floor comes, listens, and explains this is not technically a foul because Dude is paying for casino services (same as food or a tip for cocktails), and they will allow it. The floor clearly did not like it, but had no other option. Dude then checks, Seat 9 bets $5, and Dude shoves over him for his remaining $45. #9 insta-calls, Dude loses, packs up and leaves.
Twitter opinion on this ranges from: A It’s no different than tipping a cocktail server mid-hand B. He should be banned, this is angle-shooting, and C. Food purchases are made from stack for $10-20, so this must be okay too.
The Chronicle’s opinion on this incident is that it reeked, but was house-legal. Barring any explicit house-rule, it’s better the masseuse get paid what she was owed rather than have the guy go busto mid-hand and not be able to pay his debt to her. However, the Chronicle also feels this is the perfect opportunity for the house to set some boundaries here-on-out. First & foremost: no paying for services mid-hand unless it’s $5/under for a tip. Second, consider setting a limit on the amount that can be paid out of chips in play for services like $40 or such. If you cannot pay for a 45 minute massage out of cash in your pocket, then either get up, cash out, and (take your chances) rejoin the table, or don’t get the massage. Wanna buy food? $40 or under, or pay from pocket. Wanna tip the dealer big? $40 limit, wait til you cash out, and/or pay from pocket.
Seems like a relatively easy rule to implement. Just add it to the list of them on the wall.
At any rate, justice was sorta served. Ollie won a lot, the guy left, and Flynn bought dinner on comps again, before both F & O headed back home to the PNW. Vegas will be missed!
Fin
Flynn