Las Vegas 2010 Trip Report

SUP Guys. When I launched FTP in November 2009 I began publishing trip reports of my annual Las Vegas misdemeanours beginning in 2005, I intended to do these chronologically but because I went into great detail I only managed to make the first three live up to 2007. Here I’m reporting on my most recent 2010 trip so I’ve missed three trips once in 2008 and twice in 2009, however I am committed to writing them up they just may take several months or even years. Anybody who has read previous trip reports will agree they make enjoyable reading and a must for any first time (or regular for that matter) visitors to the bright lights, so leave it with me guys and I will for sure get on it when I have the time. See links to my previous reports below;

Las Vegas 2005 Trip Report
Las Vegas 2006 Trip Report
Las Vegas 2007 Trip Report

This trip was originally planned to be with my brother and fellow FTP contributor Mark but he had problems getting time away from his employer, it had already been postponed twice from January to July then July to September. So when Mark said of further delays I decided I was going to head out alone and agreed to go with him next year, when he shouldn’t be as busy at the office.


I flew out on Friday 17th September which was a good time for me, as I had several friends in town who I could hook up with upon arrival;

Rob Richardson (Known for approximately five years from being a regular poker player around local Newcastle casinos.)
Paul Ridgway & Co (Met this guy over at Hooters during my 2009 trip, absolute diamond geezer from Crewe and great friends for good measure.)
Henry Lau & Co (Met during my 2006 trip downtown at Golden Nugget, ladies man and man about town whom I always have a brilliant night out with.)

All these are first class guys who I have a mountain of time for, I couldn’t think of a better weekend to be in town with all these friendly faces around.


With this being a late booking I had to endure a nightmare 24 hour journey;

Newcastle > Amsterdam > New York > Las Vegas

I really don’t mind travelling as I keep myself busy downing endless amounts of booze or pop some sleeping tablets, both these I find help with making a speedy recovery from jet lag upon arriving at your destination. So I was at peace with the travelling I had ahead although it was far from ideal, anyway for a worthwhile cause I’m sure you’ll all agree.


I arrived on time approximately 21:00 Friday evening, I grabbed my luggage and jumped straight in a taxi to check in to the Wynn for four nights (I was actually in town eight nights but I‘ll get to that later). Quick synopsis of Wynn where I had a resort room and their really isn’t any room for complaints, I’ve read on website their commonly mistaken for stylish Manhattan, London, and Rome apartments and you can tell why;

- 640sq feet with wall-wall and floor-ceiling windows
- Panoramic Las Vegas Boulevard view
- Separate seating and dining area
- Flat screen LCD high-definition television
- Remote for curtains, lights, and television
- In room massage, manicure, pedicure, and hair styling available
- Impeccable room service menu
- Huge bath and wall mirror in bathroom
- Amongst many others


It was quite possibly the most elegant hotel I’ve ever stayed in, but when travelling alone I really only need a bed and a shower. Basically because it’s a little far North I found having to taxi to centre strip to see Rob (or South strip to see Tosh & Co) inconvenient and for that reasons if alone next time I would try to stay more central, but if with your partner then this is possibly the best option for a romantic stay in Las Vegas.

Anyway I didn’t hang around as I quickly showered and ironed my clothes, before taxing down to the all new Aria, City Centre to meet Rob who had been playing the evening $100 (+$25) tournament. I’m still undecided on how the eight billion dollar mega resort looks on Las Vegas Boulevard, I’ve heard mix reviews from both locals and tourists so I’m going to sit on the fence for the time being before giving my opinion of that place. He had recently bust from the tournament and I told him I had friends in town over at Hooters, so we should hit it up over their and take advantage of their $1.50 bottles of Budweiser’s which we did.


I have limited memory of the night from here onwards due to several vodka red bulls and various shots, however I’ll give brief cliff notes coupled with photo’s;

- $1.50 Budweiser’s at Pete & Shorty’s over at Hooters
- Vodka red bulls at Garden Bar over at Flamingo
- Cocktails at Bills whilst playing 100NL
- Tequila touchdowns (Mixed shot of Tequila & Mandarin Vodka) whilst playing $1 blackjack at Binions
- Cocktails over at Golden Nugget whilst playing 200NL


If I remember correctly Rob turned in around 3:00am after the Garden Bar before Tosh, Moz, and I hit it up downtown at Fremont Street. After all night of drinking, gambling, and partying it was around 11:00am and me in typical Dan Trett degeneracy style decided rather than head to bed I’d grind the $300 (+$30) Venetian deepstack with Rob. After getting some caffeine tablets and being very kindly treat to my lunch over at Panda Express by Rob I was just about ready to face the felt, all though I clearly wasn’t that’s what I was telling myself.


I actually got off to quite a good start and had like close to 40,000 (from my 12,000 starting stack) by end of level three, then I ran into a couple of cold spots;

T8h vs. AKh all in by the turn when the board read three hearts
KK vs. AA I still had an above average stack when I ran cowboys in bullets pre-flop

This sent me not only to the rail but to bed as I wished Rob good luck and taxied down to the Wynn around 15:00 after almost forty hours (including flights) drinking and on the go. Around six or seven hours later and I woke up after a nice rest but far from my best, I was very hung-over but managed to freshen myself up and head down to Venetian to sweat my 20% of Rob in the $300 (+$30) who I briefly spoke with and I understood he was nearing the final table;


I grinded the 200NL for a couple of hours making a modest $130 and Rob cashed in sixth place for just shy of $2,000 which gave me a tidy $380 so I was still in profit from the tournament, thanks for the equity swap mate as I’m sure you were acutely aware I wasn’t good value in the tournament giving my condition but M‘EH Vegas baby. Anyway afterwards it was around midnight and before leaving both Rob and I had discussed possibly eating over at Hash House A Go Go over at Imperial Palace, so after a quick discussion we decided to head over their and hopefully catch them for a late dinner before closing.


Note: This is a particularly nice restaurant but don’t go without a big appetite, the portions aren’t for the faint hearted.

We both opted for a chicken sandwich served with fries and a special homemade sauce, it was absolutely delicious and I would for sure recommend it if in town. I was obviously hung-over and as such didn’t really have a big appetite but still managed to get a fair way through it, see below the sandwich itself;


I picked up the modest bill of around $30 bucks before we decided to go our separate ways and call it a night, I know I had not long been up but I was really ill and felt another couple of hours in bed would do the trick. I slept for maybe another three hours to around 4:00am before heading down MGM Grand to meet up with Tosh & Co who were planning on watching the Man Utd vs. Liverpool game, after a couple of drinks in sports book there I recommended we head to Crown & Anchor (English pub I’m familiar with) for a good vibrant atmosphere during the game. They all agree and we head off in a taxi, it’s on east Tropicana avenue so a little far to walk from the boulevard.


The next few hours were drowned with Budweiser’s so again I’ll go with cliff notes;

- Budweiser’s at Crown & Anchor whilst watching Man Utd vs. Liverpool
- All you can eat breakfast buffet at Mad Onion in Hooters "very disappointing"
- Cocktails at Mandalay Bay whilst playing 200NL

This was before they decided to turn in around 16:00, I wasn't really tired after only being on the go twelve hours but just thought M’EH and decided to take a rest anyway and head to my room. I charged some service to my room which included;

- Philly Cheesesteak Baguette
- Banoffee Pie
- Large Pepsi


Then decided to enjoy my early dinner with some adult entertainment. I dropped off around twenty minutes after eating, it wasn’t till I got a text off Rob (approximately 19:00) who say’s he was going to play over at Caesars Palace that I decided to head back out. So after a quick shower and change I jump in a taxi bound for Caesars Palace and register late for the $100 Summer Poker Classic (abbreviated as SPC in future reference in this report) Double Stack Turbo freezeout, their’s approximately 40 runners giving a generous $1,850 up top. I make the final table with an average stack and ran really well winning QQ vs. AK vs. K8 all in pre-flop for a 150,000 chip stack and then started to apply some relentless aggression to the short stacks, this pay’s dividends as I get heads up with a 2:1 chip lead before agreeing to split first and second place prize money slightly in my favour as I take $1,700 to his $1,500. I was pretty pleased with the result, more so I could repay Rob his 20% equity after my previous epic fail over at Venetian.

AT PEACE WITH THE POKER GODS

Rob is still in grinding the 22:00 $80 tournament and I decided to head off to catch up with Tosh & Co over Hooters, it’s like maybe 3:00am now and I’ve been on the Budweiser’s whilst playing tournament so up for a little bit of partying. After I eventually knock Tosh out of bed (sorry dude but I have a no sleep rule in Las Vegas) we decided to head out, joined by Mark Sowerby;

- Cocktails at Bills whilst playing 100NL
- Sambuca’s and playing $3 blackjack at Las Vegas Club "Fremont Street"
- Breakfast at Wynn buffet
- Cocktails at Wynn whilst playing 500NL


By this time it’s like 15:00 (Monday afternoon) and both Tosh & Mark have headed back to Hooters, I’m still with Wayne but not for much longer as I decided to head up to my room and retire to bed. I sleep the majority of the afternoon before ringing Rob early evening to find out his plans, he explains he’s eating at Grand Lux Café, Venetian before heading over to Caesars for the $150 evening tournament. I’ve eaten at the Grand Lux Café before and it’s really good, I quickly freshen myself up before getting taxi to join him.


Monday evenings shenanigans in cliff notes;

- Dinner at Grand Lux Café “Courtesy of Rob”
- Evening $100 Caesars Palace SPC “Bust on penultimate table”
- Clubbing at Tryst, Wynn “With Henry Lau & Co”

By now it’s like 4:00am Tuesday morning and I had already packed my suitcase and checked out of the Wynn, before heading down to Hooters to spend my last half an hour with Tosh and the boys playing some 200NL before heading to McCarran airport. I realize moments before leaving for the airport that I don’t have my passport, this is obviously an inconvenience as I’m chartered to fly out for 7:00am.


I head to the airport as normal and explain my situation to an absolute charming young lady named Monette who was Delta’s special services representative, she was extremely helpful and managed to change my flight to Saturday 25th September for a small surcharge. This would mean I would have a 25 hour layover whilst connecting in Paris, but M’EH I’d cross that bridge when I came to it and most importantly it meant I had some time to either find my passport or contact the British embassy to get some replacement travel documents. I headed back to Hooters to dump my suitcase in Tosh’s room, this was their last night and they were cool for me to stay the night but I’d have to find some new accommodation as of Wednesday 22nd September. I couldn’t be arsed to start searching for my passport immediately so just the made most of the situation and spent the day with Tosh & Co;

- Morning: Sunbathing by Hooters swimming pool
- Afternoon (early): Lunch at Snacks, Bellagio
- Afternoon (late): $100 (+$30) Caesars Palace SPC Mixed Max (5th)
- Early Evening (early): 200NL at Bellagio
- Late Evening (late): 200NL at Hooters

The late evening 200NL session ended up with Tosh and myself doing a 12 hour graveyard shift on the Budweiser’s and vodka red bulls from like 22:00pm through to 10:00am Wednesday morning, moments before Tosh checked out and headed to the airport.


Now giving that I’ve just done back to back graveyard shifts and not slept since waking up 19:00 Monday evening (approximately forty hours), my main concern was checking into a budget motel and getting some sleep. Fortunately the first place I came to was America’s Best Value Inn on Tropicana avenue (next door to Hooters), they gave me a reasonable rate for a three night stay (Wednesday - Friday).


I check in by approximately 11:00am and head straight to my room to catch up on some much needed sleep, around 10 hours later after a good sleep and taking advantage of the complimentary internet access I decided to head out around 21:00 (Wednesday evening). I retraced my steps from Monday evening/Tuesday morning and see if I can find my passport, unlikely as it may seem the first place I checked was Tryst, Wynn where I vaguely remember using it as ID for entry. I felt like I had found the jackpot as it had been handed in behind the bar and after a couple of security questions, showing them my Mr. Trett confirmation of my stay at the Wynn, comparing my likeness to the photo they handed it over. This was a big relief as I could now enjoy my extended stay, rather than spend my time chasing up the British embassy which I’m sure you can imagine would have been a right pain in the arse.


After this I headed back to north boulevard, cliff notes below;

- Dinner at south beach café over at Tropicana “Chicken sandwich, crisps, and pepsi”
- Cocktails at Excalibur whilst playing 200NL
- $1.50 Budweiser’s at Pete & Sharky’s over at Hooters
- Buffalo wings and fries at Hooters


By now it was around 10:00am Thursday morning and I was pretty well served after a graveyard shift from like 2:00am over at Pete & Sharky’s, but still with some energy I decided to head to America’s Best Value Inn and change into my vest and shorts before heading to the swimming pool. I’m only approximately 5 minutes walk from Hooters, so rather than use my swimming pool I head to Hooters which has more of an atmosphere with a bar, music, and pretty girls to admire. Cliff notes of Thursday;

- Morning: Sunbathing by Hooters swimming pool
- Afternoon (early): $100 (+$30) Caesars Palace SPC Six Handed (6th)
- Afternoon (late): Lunch whilst playing at Wynn "BLT Baguette & Crisps"
- Evening (early): 500NL at Wynn

This took me to around 21:00 and been going since 21:00 the day before, so twenty four straight hours was enough for me to hear my bed calling so I took a taxi back to America’s Best Value Inn. I slept like a baby until around 9:00am Friday morning, cliff notes;

- Morning: Sunbathing by Hooters swimming pool
- Morning (late): Round table buffet over at Excalibur
- Afternoon: Sunbathing by Hooters swimming pool
- Evening (early):  $200 (+$40) Caesars Palace SPC (9th)
- Evening (late): 200NL at Aria, City Centre

I pulled another graveyard cash shift over Aria as I knew I had my flight home at 7:00am Saturday morning, I left the table around 4:30am to give me just enough time to pack and head to McCarran airport just in time for my flight. I again went to Delta’s special services kiosk and was dealt with by the same charming young lady Monette, I paid the small surcharge before making my way through to departures. My route home was;

Las Vegas > New York > Paris > Newcastle


With the inconvenience of staying over at Paris for twenty five hours, although I’ve never been to Paris so I would make most of my time there. Cliff notes of my time spent in Paris;

- Morning (early): Checked into ibis Accor hotel and got freshened up
- Morning (late): French breakfast buffet “very disappointing”
- Afternoon: Sightseeing “Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc”
- Evening (early): Dinner at Pomme de Pain
- Evening (late): 200NL at Aviation Club de Paris


Another graveyard shift and I left the tables in just enough time to taxi back to my hotel and grab my suitcase before heading to Charles de Gaulle airport for my short flight to Newcastle. That just about brings my most recent trip report to a conclusion guys, sorry for the majority of it being cliff notes but I’m really lacking motivation at the minute and couldn’t bring myself to go into as much detail as in previous trip reports. I am however still looking to launch my 2008 and both my 2009 trips eventually, but I guess patience’s will have to be a virtue.

Thanks for reading guys