Well I have to say that it’s been awhile. The first half of the year has been brutal economically for just about everyone.  I have been personally working like a mad man to make sure that my little company weathers the storm, and we have.  I am sure that I must look like I needed a vacation because that’s exactly what Lori surprised me with last Friday; a trip to our home away from home, Las Vegas.

Now I have been really too busy to think about it since it was a surprise and all.  However I am ready for some fun and relaxation.

The WSOP will be going on so I am sure that we will be checking that out as well as doing our normal thing; Blackjack, Poker, and of course Johnnie Walker.

More updates to come, but I can’t help feeling especially grateful to be getting away to our happy place.  Joy has indeed returned to Mudville as the mighty Casey plans on hitting it out of the park!

I had a few friends that went to the Microsoft conference called MIX09 last month.  It’s held at the Venetian and this year it was during March Madness as well.  Basically it’s a conference that puts a lot of Web designers and programmers together to talk about great design and the future of the Web.

It’s a pretty interesting conference that is in it’s 4th year.  The production level is amazing, and normally you don’t get to see what goes into the whole thing. 

Well here is a pretty neat timelaspe video that shows just want it takes to make something like this happen. Just click the player below:

This past trip was a bit of a role reversal.  Lori normally does most of the winning and I just try to keep my head above water.  However, this go around it was I who seemed to be charmed and Lori was forced to ride an incredible roller coaster ride.

Now it’s up to me to make it happen for team, and I am certainly up for it.  It’s late and we find ourselves at the Venetian for some Black Jack.  One thing that is nice about the Venetian is that there are a ton of quarter tables.  So it is not hard to find a good spot to sidle up to.  I find one with two guys at it and I sit down at 3rd base.

The Guy at first is a nice guy from San Diego.  He has a good personality and keeps the table light as we all fight the good fight.  The guy in the middle is an older gentleman who looks like Jacques Cousteau, no lie.  He is smoking Marlboro Reds and doesn’t say much, although ironically he is actually French.

So nothing is too terribly crazy on the first shoe, but as we play into the second I notice some erratic play from Jacques.  He is betting checks ($100) and can’t seem to help himself when he is dealt 77’s.  It seems that he has to split 77’s no matter what the dealer shows.  OMG.  He does this twice against a dealer 10 and somehow he has $400 bets up each time.   Of course he busts out each time, and each time he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a strap bundle of $100’s.  He has gone through about $3k since I sat down and I am just beside myself because I hate to see anyone take a big hit, especially someone as nice as this guy is.

Miraculously I am actually winning amidst all of this sporadic play.  Normally play like that would be a death sentence.  Now the principles of  hedge economics are predicated on everyone playing it straight.  But I guess I have been living right because I am surviving and even thriving in this 77 tsunami.   I am up about $1k and Lori is watching this madness and can only shake her head.  Things are going so well that the dealer even over pays me.  He has been paying us quickly and hasn’t really been keeping his tray neat.  On one double down I have three quarters up and the dealer busts.  He pays me out with a check on the bottom of each stack.  That’s a nice $150 extra little bump.  Call it a bank error in your favor, or in this case my favor!

Well Jacques actually gets another 77 dealt to him and we all look at each other.  Of course he splits and I just put my hand on my head.  Somehow some way the dealer busts this time and we all win.  There is a general feeling of relief and a small amount of merriment.  With that, Jacques takes his leave and we play for only a little bit longer and call it a night ourselves.  Lori and I walk to the cage still up about a grand and we just can’t stop talking about Jacques and those crazy 77’s!

One of the better Poker Rooms in Vegas is most certainly the one at the Venetian.  We try and play at least one tournament on most trips out.  This go around was no different, so we get up on Sunday and head over to the Venetian for the tournament @ noon that essentially costs $150 ($135+$15 and then a $5 staff bonus).

This is a well run tournament that had 136 people playing, which made for a nice payout structure of the top 18 paying out.   Throw in the fact that it was Championship Sunday and the sports book is right next to the Poker Room, there was a lot of activity for a Sunday afternoon.

Lori and I both are playing so it potentially could be a long day, but you never know. The first couple of hours go by without any incident.  Lori cannot get anything going and gets bumped out after the break on a terrible suck out.  Basically she was dominating this guy and he can only be saved by a 3 on the river.  Of course he gets it for his straight, and yes it was an inside draw, and it turns out the case 3 as well.  What a kick in the head.

I am having a little better luck as I have been slowly building my bank roll knocking off players at my table one by one.  I actually was doing really well at the 5 hour mark as I take out this guy with a 10-7 of diamonds.  I am two + the gun and I limp in, mainly because I just had won a big pot and people generally play loose after a big win, and I was hoping that people would assume that of me, because I have been showing monsters all tournament.  Everyone folds to the cutoff, he limps in, and the blinds both call.  The flop is 10-7-5.  It’s checked to me and I check it through and the cut off bets.  Fold, Fold, and I just call.  The next card is 7 of hearts and I just check and he checks right behind me.  The river comes and it’s a 6 clubs.  I make a mild bet at this pot that has some action in it, but not a whole lot and he raises me.  I am thinking for a second that he could have 10-10 in the hole.  I mean am I that unlucky?  Have I made a bad read or something?  I just don’t buy it and I put him all in.  He calls with a quickness and flips over 66 for a smaller boat than mine.  Just a punch in the gut.  I haven’t done someone that dirty in a long while.

The tourney grinds on and in the sixth hour I go card dead.  This is unfortunate because the blinds are outrageous 1500/3000 with a 500 ante.  I get dwindled down to 10k in the Big Blind and I have to go all in to the raise on my left.  I have Q6 off and he flips over QQ.  Awesome.  You just want to have one over in this situation and he has me just dominated in every way.  So the flop comes out with 3 hearts and I look down to see the Q of hearts in my hand.  Man, wouldn’t be something to get that fourth heart and survive this?  Make this 6+ hours of play worth something and hang around for just one more rush.  Well no heart came and I got busted out at 20.  Did I mention that the payouts started at 18?

So the day finally came for Lori and I to get on the big bird and head to Vegas.  Seeing how it’s only a couple of days after the US Airways successful “ditching”, everyone on the flight was very subdued.  The flight was uneventful, which was good, and we got into Vegas about 11 pm. 

As we walk off the plane and go to the baggage claim area I noticed something strange.  Where the Prickly Pear once stood there is now a California Pizza Kitchen.  The PP was basically a crappy airport bar with some food options.  We have had to have many a meal there and well let’s just say that it was never a memorable experience.  I guess people finally got fed up with the crappy food and slow service.  Ahh the memories.

We get our bags and head to what will most certainly be a long snaking cab line.  Typically this is about an hour wait and then you can get to your hotel.  Friday late night is by far the busiest time of the week to fly in.  So imagine our surprise when we get outside and there is no line.  In fact there are only about 10 people waiting in total.  We look at each other in disbelief.  I wonder what this says about the city.  We will see.

We get to Harrah’s and check into one of their newly remodeled rooms in the Mardi Gras Tower.  Here are some pros and cons:

Pros

-The room has a good layout in that there is a new built in wall unit that saves a bunch of space.  This is huge in that the room is small but spacious enough for two.

-There are two flat screen TV’s and a great new bed.  It could be that I was dead ass tired, but I slept like a baby.

-The bathroom is all new, with granite counter tops and a shower with great water pressure.

-The AC sensor has been moved so you basically have comfort throughout the night, unless you sleep like a corpse and never move.

Cons

-There are no HD channels.  Why have flat screens with no HD channels?  Of course the analog channels look weird, but hey it’s cool.

-The toilet flushes forcefully, but doesn’t actually go flush fully.  Good to know.

-The view is of the pool and not the strip.  I really don’t care about that, but some might.

So that’s the skinny for now.  More later as we try and get our act together and get there.