belated Defcon trip report

[StevieG]

This is a month or so old, but I thought I would share it anyway.

I was out in Las Vegas for Defcon in late July. Defcon itself is a scene, but it is Las Vegas after all, and so I had to make time to get away from the technical crowd and hit the tables and such. I am also a fan of eating well when in Vegas, and expensing meals made it that much easier to try different places.

First off, if you are a geek and have not been to Defcon, you need to go at some point. Yes, there is this poseur hacker feel to the whole thing, but not all of the attendees are script kiddies, and the talks are legit. You can dodge the scene easily if you want.

Secondly, Defcon takes place at the Alexis Park hotel (real close to the Hard Rock). The room was a suite, with a living room, small kitchenette, and a bedroom set off from everything else. The room was not very expensive despite the high demand during Defcon weekend. If you're the type to rent a car anyway wen in Vegas, and want a cheap room, possibly for splitting with others, then Alexis Park might be the way to go. But there are no real amenities there. Pools, yes, but not much else. And no casino at all.

OK, on to traditional Vegas fare.

The first night we ate an early dinner at Simon in the Hard Rock. I was not overly impressed with the meatloaf or curry dishes that my colleagues had, but I enjoyed my sea bass. And the seafood corn soup I had to start was fantastic. After dinner, drinks at the Hard Rock are way too expensive, despite the eye candy. So we left and went to MGM to play and get our buzz on for the cost of tipping cocktail waitresses.

All trip my buddies played blackjack while I played poker. At the MGM that first night I played 3/6. Had a lot of fun. Mostly tourists, a lot of joking, table banter, joking with dealers (like Rose and Rocky with their custom cut cards). Finished up a few BB. I love playing at the MGM. Good location, great equipment, pro dealers, and lots of tourists.

After the first long day of Defcon, we went downtown for a little retro night. We ate at Hugo's Cellar at the Four Queens, and it was like a dining time warp. Waiters making salad and flambe at tableside, staff in tuxes, etc. If you go, do it more for the experience than the food (which was good, but not worth the money when compared to the large number of fine restaurants now in LV. We played $5 craps at the Four Queens and I won $30. Then off to Golden Nugget where I played 4/8 and ran bad. Still fun, though, not a bad room.

Next night we started out at Mandalay Bay to eat at China Grill. Great atmosphere in this place, and the food, served family style, is inventive and tasty. Then off to the poker room. I do not like the mini-blind structure here, where 4/8 is played with $1 and $2 blinds. I think this, and the jackpots, cater too much to tight locals. I know Mandalay Bay has a reputation for action, but that was not the case when I was there. I was unhappy enough to want to go elsewhere, which we did. I'll say this for Mandalay Bay, however, the eye candy was fantastic. Aside from the Hard Rock, no place we were that weekend compared.

From Mandalay Bay we went to Aladdin, where I played 3/6 with a looser crowd and finished up. Small, quiet room. Not a bad place. Awkwardly, I said hello to Al Capone Jr., but I did not introduce myself or take any time to talk. Sorry, Al, I'll do better next time. Anyways, I finished up to salvage the night.

Last day we had brunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Caesars. The food there was very tasty, and the interior is attractive and light. We went back for the Defcon award ceremony (highlight for me was the team of college students from Cincy that won the WiFi Shootout by going to Utah and maintaining a 11Mbs connection across 125 miles for a few hours...without amplification. one of the team members even broke his leg getting their gear up the mountain) and then back out for more Vegas. We grabbed a sandwich at Canter's Deli in TI (delicious, but way too big - you may want to get one and split it with someone), and strolled through the Wynn without playing.

Wynn had higher limits than these guys wanted to play, so we left for Bally's. On the way, the cabbie openly cursed out at pedestrians and tourists (he said in New York he wouldn't slow down), and tried hard to steer us to a strip club. Neither of these things do I appreciate (I am a tourist, and often a pedestrian myself, and if I want a strip club, I'll tell you) and I noticed cab drivers doing it more this trip than in the past.

At Bally's, I was pleased to see they added more auto shufflers and a flatscreen display for the wait list. It looks more like a room, now, but still has great access to the bar and foot traffic for the pits. I had fun at the 4/8 table but went cold and then woundup playing a couple hands I would mormally discard, and it cost me. After those misplays I wound up down $70.

Since I was no longer having fun, though, we walked up to Imperial Palace. This also being our last night, I wanted to join these guys for some blackjack, and we hit the
IP dealertainer pit. Tina Turner hooked us up. Wouldn't you know I finished up $70 to make the night even?

Overall, I have to say MGM is still my favorite place to play. And the next time I am in town I want to try the dinner menu at Mesa Grill.

[AllVegasPoker.com]

[ QUOTE ]
if you are a geek and have not been to Defcon, you need to go at some point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely agree with you there. I go about every other year, beginning back at Defcon 2.

Nice trip report. Glad to hear you had a nice poker/hacker trip to Vegas.

[midas]

FYI -

You may already know this but Vegas cab drivers get like $10 per person when they drop off at strip clubs.

[StevieG]

Yeah, midas. The first time they pitch the idea, I'll politely decline. If they keep it up I ask directly, "So who gives you the biggest kickback?"

I love Vegas strip joints as much as any other cynical libidinous 2+2er. But if I get in a cab and say "Four Queens," that's where I'm going.