Vegas and Mesquite Trip Report (longish)

[Soya]

I just finished a year long job in Utah and figured I'd celebrate by donking it up at the card table. I started by hitting the Oasis in Mesquite. What a dump. Granted the rates are only $30/night during the week, but the rooms are really dark and have the dank reek that says thousands of obese people have had sex in this room. It was truly disgusting---I expected to find a bowling ball of toe jam under the bed.
I went to the card room where they had one table of 4/8 going and the waiting list was about 7 people. The paging system was out so I almost went elsewhere since I figured it would be hard to get another table going, but I got some dinner and came back to a seat at a new table.
This was a Tuesday night so the local nits were out in force. There was one big time donator who was just hammered and probably dumped 5 or 6 hundred into the table. Unfortunately, I was having a horrible night too. All my big pairs lost and most everything else got rivered, it sucked, but that's poker. I chalked up my biggest ever loss I've at a 4/8 table---44 BBs ($352). Ouch. I go back to the room of filth and ponder whether I can fall asleep while holding my breath.
Wednesday is a new day. I charge down to Vegas and check in at the Monte Carlo, which has a great room for the price ($70/night midweek). I go to the Bellagio and get into the tightest 8/16 game I've ever seen. About a quarter of the hands are chopped and another quarter the blinds fold to a raise. I lose a couple big hands and am down about $250 and am looking a pretty rough trip so far. I then go on a tear, flopping about four sets and my draws start to get there. Between those hands and stealing the blinds (raising any two from the cutoff usually got the job done) I end up with a small profit for the day. It's enough to pay for dinner at Noodles, which makes some kick ass shrimp dumplings.
I decide to end the night by checking out the new room at the MGM. Although it's not really a room insofar as room means an enclosed space. It's more like a poker walkway. I like that there's lots of space and the waiting list screens are real nice, but the marble tracks on the tables have to go. You can't stack that many chips so people play out of racks, which slows down play. The highest limit they are spreading is 4/8 so I sit down and the dealer proceeds to put the deck in a slingshot and launch it at my head. As a bonus everyone at the table sucks. My big pairs hold and when my draws become the nuts these donkeys are betting into me on the turn. I cash out up about 55 BBs and am into the black.
The next day I hit the Wynn for the first time. Nice place. Really nice place. The poker room doesn't seem to be getting the limits they want yet, but once it got into the evening the place was almost full, so I think they are going to be alright.
I started out in a tightish 8/16 game. I had a couple rough hands at the beginning. I got heads up with a guy I pegged as a local rock. I had raised with AQ and hit 2 pair on a board of all hearts. A fourth heart hits the turn and he raises me. I lay it down and show the table and he shows me his bluff. Ouch, but he never should have shown because I end up taking a bunch of pots from him latter by raising the turn and betting at the river with nothing. I lost another biggish hand when i get AA in EP and get two callers. Flop comes with an A, but they are all hearts again. Me and the kid in the BB go four bets on the flop and I think he hit the flush. I check call the turn and when the board doesn't pair on the river I lay it down. He's nice enough to show me his hearts. When he and his girlfriend leave a little while later I suggest that he buy her something nice with my money since I'm sure he could always appreciate her just a little bit more.
I then proceed to go on a huge rush. I only have to showdown strong hands that win and all my bluffs work. Before I know it I'm up about 4 racks of $2 chips (btw, the $2 chips rock, I wish the rest of Vegas would do this). About this time this guy sits down next to me who is a real piece of work. He is a bit wall eyed and bears a slight resemblence to Ogre of Revenge of the Nerds fame. The first words out of his mouth are "I don't chop." Whatever. He then tells me that he is a professsional "low limit specialist." He's a decent player so I guess it's true, although I didn't know anyone made a living at 8/16. He keeps asking me about what players do when they bluff at this table and I tell him that I'm on vacation and am not really paying that close attention. He says I used to be like that, but once I became a professional I noticing a lot more stuff. I say that I guess that makes sense. He then says it probably also helped that he stopped smoking weed when he plays. Ya think? The other money quote from him was that he says he wants to find David Sklansky and pay him $20 to ask whether it's mathematically correct not to chop in a 6/12 game. My guess is that DS would say you're an a**hole for not chopping. Do you see why?
Anyway, I give back some of my winnings and cash out up about 35BBs. Having had a good trip I buy something nice for the GF and head home. I love Vegas.