A late Vegas wrap-up

As July passes into the ether (and since I haven’t posted since my immediate trip report), I thought it time to reflect more on the Vegas trip since I don’t exactly play a lot of poker these days.

In the spirit of Buzzfeed, which these days is all the…err…buzz, here’s five takeaways from my two days in Vegas.

1.       Yes, I mentioned it before, I think, but must emphasize again: where was all this Omaha Hi-Lo action when I spent weeks running around Vegas? Is this backlash against Hold’em or folks wanting to play Omaha without the swings of PLO? I’m not sure what the impetus is, but for some reason my favorite poker game is white hot in Vegas, at least this summer. Now granted, back in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 when I was in Vegas for weeks at a time, I was not the O8 player I am today, so even if the game was big then I might have got my hat handed to me.

2.       Is Murphy’s law at play here in the fact that (speaking of white hot) I’ve been on fire at poker, but now am in a place where I can’t play much of it? Unfortunately, my laptop with my month-to-month results is on the fritz and unaccessible, but I can tell you with fair estimation that I made around $10,000 the first six months, plus first week of July, at the poker tables. My $2K in two days result in Vegas only reiterated how confident I feel at the tables.

3.       Caesars seems to have its act together with the World Series of Poker. They’ve been using the same set-up for three years now, I believe, with the main tournament action in the Amazon ballroom and most everything else in Brasilia. Brasilia has the bright lights while Amazon is much more dark, adding to the intensity. I like that. And to think, for the first couple of years, ALL of the action was in Amazon. (Sort of like thinking in amazement in 2005 that the WSOP was once contained in tiny Binion’s.)

4.       What are they doing to Fremont Street? They’re building this giant zip line to cover the entire four blocks under the canopy. What an eyesore. On the bright side, I saw fewer costumed characters out and about, although I noticed more panhandlers. Also, Fremont East, once the home of closed-up storefronts, seems to be booming.

5.       I only got a taste of the Strip so I hope Amy and I get to return in November for that couples’ trip we’ve been discussing. I ought to have us some sweet comps (free rooms, meals) through MyVegas when we’re ready to go.