Vegas Friday

What a cool vacation we are having. We slept in yesterday, then met our friends for brunch over at the Terrace Cafe at the Wynn, having decided to play in the $125+one $100 rebuy tournament over at the poker room there. Our brunch was highlighted by everyone dropping their forks repeatedly, and Larry's phobia of the little sparrows that were flying all over the patio where we were eating.

After signing up for the tournament, I sat down at a $1-$3 NL table. I limped in with Q5 of diamonds, and totally misread a guy who led out the AQ3 flop with 2 clubs. I flat called the flop, then raised the turn which made a 3-flush but also gave me a wheel draw. The nice thing about that play is that he may lay down an A, he may lay down a better Q, and if he reraises me I can easily get out. But he flat called, and when I made my wheel on the river, he checked again. I bet the pot (about $90), and he called instantly, tabling the Jack-high flush. Not a good start to the day.

The tournament was a lot of fun. The Wynn structure is pretty good for the money -- you get a total of 8K in chips and 30 minute levels that go up very slowly. The only negative point is that they only break every 2 hours. Larry, Dave, and I were all at the same table. (Richard and Ralph were also in the tournament). I busted Larry with pocket 9's after he raised, Dave flat called, and I shoved for 20xBB. Richard was unfortunate when his K-high flush ran into the nut flush.

I'm still trying to figure out how I survived the first 3 hours of the tournament, which featured:
- Losing a big pot in which the money went in on the turn on a 238A board. I had 45, the other guy had A2.
- Losing a big pot with AA vs a K6 all-in PF
- Twice getting all-in PF with AK vs. KQ and having Q come in the window

My luck finally changed, however. I was all-in with 55 against KQ. A king came on the flop and I was getting up to leave when a 5 spiked on the turn. After that, I won 2 more big pots and was tourney leader. Then, on one hand, the button raised my big blind all in for about 3xBB. (We're playing with Antes, BTW) I look down at...6 of diamonds and 3 of diamonds. I burst out laughing, and of course the table thinks I'm insane. The antes make this a better than 2-1 call, and I do so. I'm up against K2 and all of a sudden I have a huge chip lead. The table began talking chop, and I agreed to take $1450 of the ~$8500 pool with 7 players left.

I went straight to the tournament to join Ralph & Larry and their wives for dinner at Country Club at the Wynn, which bills itself as "A New American Steakhouse." This was a really amazing meal, and I highly recommend this restaurant. We started off with a cheese fondue appetizer. I had some raw oysters (April is a -ber month, isn't it?), and for Entree had their special dry-aged New York Strip. Monique had the Sea Bass. The sides were really good, too. My favorite was the Truffle Creamed Spinach.

After dinner, we hit the blackjack tables. We hit a good run early and left the table up $350. Then, a good run at the craps table put us up $600 for our gambling for the night. Instead of going to bed, however, we went to the poker room exhausted, never a good idea, and blew $300 of our winnings.

I've decided to play the Venetian $500 buy-in tournament today, so wish me luck!