Saturday is the busiest day of the week in LV, which means strategizing one’s plans either well in advance, or punting. Flynn and Ollie opted to punt. They didn’t emerge from their lair until after the noon hour (see, adapting nicely to LV time) and they needed sustenance. There was no way they were going to fight lines anywhere at a casino with a poker room, so they headed off strip to Roma Deli because they knew they would get good food and it would not be sheer bedlam.
Having noshed on a couple of sammiches it was time to decide where to go. Originally they thought of the Golden Nugget, but the logistics on a Saturday are not really feasible. Normally the poker room will validate self-parking, however on weekends, even the self-parking is limited to guests of the hotel only. <- advanced F&O navigating poker room tip. Ergo, they opted for the Wynn (Encore) poker room, as Steve’s place is easy in-easy out and always has parking available. They called in, got on list, and were seated immediately when they arrived.
Opinion: The poker room there is beautiful. It has it’s own bathrooms. The staff and service are fabulous. For some reason, however, in Flynn’s humble opinion, it has a cold vibe. Dunno if it is the décor or what, but just is. Odd.
Anyway, Flynn managed to not lose his entire buy-in, but still ended the session at a loss. Three unfortunate run-outs near the beginning of the session (re-buy), card-dead for 2 hours after that until moving seats (a rarity), and he finally got to play ‘normal’ hands resulting in making up some of his loss. Whew. Ollie had a brutal time at PLO , losing his roll by getting sucked out with turned best full house to a rivered straight flush 1 outer. Really hate when that happens! Of course, F&O try not to dwell on bad-beat stories or make excuses, but really… grrrrr. While we were there, Flynn imposed on this guy for a pix:
No real stories to tell from the Wynn ~ there were some familiar faces F&O see around town often. One new face to us was apparently a prolific player, who we shall dub Miranda (not here real name), very friendly and outgoing, who was an action player for sure. Flynn lost most of his first buy-in to her (remember the unfortunate run-outs?), but enjoyed watching her interact with the boys (she knew her audience). Most remarkable about her is that she is banned from all MGM properties for assaulting another player. We won’t go into the details since there are two sides to every story, but let us just say that this does not surprise Flynn. The other player probably deserved it. Standing pat.
F&O grabbed a nosh nearby at another locals’ joint they knew would serve great food at reasonable prices, and not be busy on a Saturday night: (If you don’t try their pork belly bao, you have missed out on sheer goodness)
Opting to stay on the north end of the strip, and not wait through 50+ people on lists, F&O hit the Sahara poker room for some 1/2. For those that don’t know, this room only takes a $4 drop (less than the norm), has some interesting games running regularly such as 4/8 mix and a deep stack low stakes 2/3 nlhe game. The Sahara poker room is on Poker Atlas, so it might be overlooked by players relying only on Bravo. The room is great, lots of TV to watch all sports, bathrooms nearby, and beverage service is fast. $2/hour comps, and good for most places on the property if you are looking for decent chow. No, the Chronicle is not hawking for them. It’s just a great undiscovered jewel if you wanna chill off the main ~ and, yes, it is often filled with the same players each day.
Ollie had a winning session at his table, Flynn (again) did not. Flynn is trying very hard not to be discouraged. It would be easier had two people at his table not been ignorant and abrasive, but again – the behavior of others should not affect one’s play if one is a good player. There was only one bad lay-down that Flynn made which resulted in his loss, so we shall not attribute rudeness of others for the financial loss, just the loss of a pleasant way to spend time. Should have switched tables… Lightning36 would agree. Shoulda woulda coulda.
On the bright side, F&O got to catch up with this slacker:
Called it a night, headed back south for the last night at this abode. Moving to center-strip for the remainder of the stay here in scorching LV. Which, btw, doesn’t really seem to bother us much. Odd.
Since this is being posted on Sunday am, the editor would like to thank Geezer Guy dad for being the best dad on Earth. Happy Fathers’ Day, Daddy-o. Love you!
Fin
Flynn
It’s interesting how we have different takes on poker rooms. I generally haven’t liked playing at Aria because of d-bags. I should probably go back as I usually do well there. The Wynn/Encore poker room does seem a bit sterile and has a few lunatics. Great otherwise. Sahara has a great manager, but I can’t seem to win there. I might as well blame Luke, although he has never dealt to me there.