Summer of Tournaments – Day 23
A solid night of sleep—nice! Woke up around 7AM and was out of the hotel by 9. I wanted to head down to Sam’s Town to play in their $23 tournament. Sundays always have a good turnout and this was no exception as there were almost 70 players. I lasted the longest so far in this tournament, making to the final three tables, but then being card dead and the blinds ever so increasing, I had to make a stand and go all in with suited K-9. Of course, a couple of guys called with Aces, and of course, an Ace came on the flop and I was walking.
I played a little 9/6 Jacks as the progressive was over $1,300 (yea…like I’d get the royal) and played about 500 hands before calling it quits at the breakeven point. I needed to head out to Planet Hollywood for my 1 PM seated time in the tournament. This is a $150,000 invitational and there were 2,000 players. First place is $30K and it goes all the way to #100 who would get $500. So, starting out, I had a 1 in 20 chance of coming in the money.
This is my session, one of the four that was to take place today.
Today was a knockout round, meaning that each player received $1000 in chips with the blinds coming every ten minutes. The two remaining players at the table would qualify for tomorrow’s final session. With the blinds increasing this fast and an ante added to boot, it was going to be a short session. And that’s exactly what it turned out to be at our table. After just two hands, three people were already out going all-in immediately hoping to double up right away. The guy in the 10-seat took them all down, so he now had a commanding chip lead and we hadn’t even gotten comfortable in our seats. I was dealt pocket kings, and coaxed one guy to go all in, so I soon doubled up. I also took a nice pot with pocket queens. Then things went dead. I folded my way to the final three players but was getting severely low in chips. I bluffed two hands and then let the guy in the 10-seat and the one on my right go after each other. After just a few hands, it was all over. I came in 2nd place with 1200 chips, and the leader came in first with 8800 chips. That’s just fine. We start the final session tomorrow with everyone starting over with 4000 chips at 3PM. So, my chances for getting into the money have now gone from 20 to 1 to 3-1 as there will be 300 players at the final tomorrow.
I made a fast run into the Diamond Lounge for a celebratory lemon martini and back to the car to meet up with David (timberwolf) at the Four Queens. I parked at the Fremont valet and I just couldn’t walk past the full pay pick ‘em and slipped in a hundred. I played about 300 hands and cashed out the same hundred—I just wasn’t feeling it. I called Dave who was up in his room at the Four Queens. He likes to get a room right above the craziness of the Experience.
View from David’s room at the Four Queens
The plan was that he was going to treat me to dinner as he had some comps to use up on his offer. However, he was 500 points away from his trip goal (to keep those comps coming) and I agreed to help out. So we sat down at a couple of the 9/6 Jacks uprights and we both used his cards. We played for almost two hours. Here it takes $8 per point and I had racked up 205 points and he had caught the other 300 (he played fifty-cent while I played quarters), so he managed his goal. We kept count of our full houses and quads. I end up with eleven full houses to his eight, and I had three quads to his one. Even with all those wins, I still lost $50. That’s because between those hits, there were long, long periods of nothing and near misses.
Heading to the El Cortez in 106 degrees of heat. All for a Klondike bar.
We ate at Magnolias, I having a patty melt and Dave had the BBQ rib dinner. It was an excellent meal. We then walked down to the El Cortez for a Klondike Bar. David has 25 coupons for these ice creams leftover from a promotion they had a long time ago. (Funny—it’s nighttime as I write this and I hear screams from outside. I’m 18 floors high! I look out the window and I see a streak of light moving between the two towers, then I realize it’s the zip line and there are two girls screaming as it zips down to the other tower).
This brings me to a small rant: This morning as I was walking to my car, I took peak into the zip line office and noticed that the cost for the zip line is $29 in the daytime and $47 for night. What the hell? When they first opened the Observation Wheel, their prices were so high, no one took it. They’ve already lowered the prices twice in hopes of getting more riders. I’m convinced that Caesars has lost all perspective. Yes, tourists spend money, but they’re not going to have many people who want to fork over almost $50 for a three minute ride between towers. Instead of charging fifty bucks and getting five people an hour, how about charging $10 and getting 50 people per hour. You not only get more people in the casino, but you have them feeling like they got a great deal from Caesars and will come back again and again. After paying $50 for the three minute ride, all you have is people who feel they’ve been ripped off. C’mon Caesars! Get a clue.
More tomorrow
Totals:
Tournaments: 14 Cost: $176 Won: $1100 Balance: $924
A solid night of sleep—nice! Woke up around 7AM and was out of the hotel by 9. I wanted to head down to Sam’s Town to play in their $23 tournament. Sundays always have a good turnout and this was no exception as there were almost 70 players. I lasted the longest so far in this tournament, making to the final three tables, but then being card dead and the blinds ever so increasing, I had to make a stand and go all in with suited K-9. Of course, a couple of guys called with Aces, and of course, an Ace came on the flop and I was walking.
I played a little 9/6 Jacks as the progressive was over $1,300 (yea…like I’d get the royal) and played about 500 hands before calling it quits at the breakeven point. I needed to head out to Planet Hollywood for my 1 PM seated time in the tournament. This is a $150,000 invitational and there were 2,000 players. First place is $30K and it goes all the way to #100 who would get $500. So, starting out, I had a 1 in 20 chance of coming in the money.
This is my session, one of the four that was to take place today.
Today was a knockout round, meaning that each player received $1000 in chips with the blinds coming every ten minutes. The two remaining players at the table would qualify for tomorrow’s final session. With the blinds increasing this fast and an ante added to boot, it was going to be a short session. And that’s exactly what it turned out to be at our table. After just two hands, three people were already out going all-in immediately hoping to double up right away. The guy in the 10-seat took them all down, so he now had a commanding chip lead and we hadn’t even gotten comfortable in our seats. I was dealt pocket kings, and coaxed one guy to go all in, so I soon doubled up. I also took a nice pot with pocket queens. Then things went dead. I folded my way to the final three players but was getting severely low in chips. I bluffed two hands and then let the guy in the 10-seat and the one on my right go after each other. After just a few hands, it was all over. I came in 2nd place with 1200 chips, and the leader came in first with 8800 chips. That’s just fine. We start the final session tomorrow with everyone starting over with 4000 chips at 3PM. So, my chances for getting into the money have now gone from 20 to 1 to 3-1 as there will be 300 players at the final tomorrow.
I made a fast run into the Diamond Lounge for a celebratory lemon martini and back to the car to meet up with David (timberwolf) at the Four Queens. I parked at the Fremont valet and I just couldn’t walk past the full pay pick ‘em and slipped in a hundred. I played about 300 hands and cashed out the same hundred—I just wasn’t feeling it. I called Dave who was up in his room at the Four Queens. He likes to get a room right above the craziness of the Experience.
View from David’s room at the Four Queens
The plan was that he was going to treat me to dinner as he had some comps to use up on his offer. However, he was 500 points away from his trip goal (to keep those comps coming) and I agreed to help out. So we sat down at a couple of the 9/6 Jacks uprights and we both used his cards. We played for almost two hours. Here it takes $8 per point and I had racked up 205 points and he had caught the other 300 (he played fifty-cent while I played quarters), so he managed his goal. We kept count of our full houses and quads. I end up with eleven full houses to his eight, and I had three quads to his one. Even with all those wins, I still lost $50. That’s because between those hits, there were long, long periods of nothing and near misses.
Heading to the El Cortez in 106 degrees of heat. All for a Klondike bar.
We ate at Magnolias, I having a patty melt and Dave had the BBQ rib dinner. It was an excellent meal. We then walked down to the El Cortez for a Klondike Bar. David has 25 coupons for these ice creams leftover from a promotion they had a long time ago. (Funny—it’s nighttime as I write this and I hear screams from outside. I’m 18 floors high! I look out the window and I see a streak of light moving between the two towers, then I realize it’s the zip line and there are two girls screaming as it zips down to the other tower).
This brings me to a small rant: This morning as I was walking to my car, I took peak into the zip line office and noticed that the cost for the zip line is $29 in the daytime and $47 for night. What the hell? When they first opened the Observation Wheel, their prices were so high, no one took it. They’ve already lowered the prices twice in hopes of getting more riders. I’m convinced that Caesars has lost all perspective. Yes, tourists spend money, but they’re not going to have many people who want to fork over almost $50 for a three minute ride between towers. Instead of charging fifty bucks and getting five people an hour, how about charging $10 and getting 50 people per hour. You not only get more people in the casino, but you have them feeling like they got a great deal from Caesars and will come back again and again. After paying $50 for the three minute ride, all you have is people who feel they’ve been ripped off. C’mon Caesars! Get a clue.
More tomorrow
Totals:
Tournaments: 14 Cost: $176 Won: $1100 Balance: $924
