the news last week that the Luxor hotel, resort, and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, (you know, the one with the gigantic black pyramid with illuminated top as its signature presence on the vegas strip) had to interrupt its display/show of items from the wreckage of the Titanic due to water damage to some of the display reminded me that i should post a new chapter from the fabulous october las vegas weekend that my friend jp & i shared a couple of weeks ago: my friend and i were in the neon sin city from a saturday late night (we arrived from different cities, different countries actually if one considers alberta an international province of origin which, technically, i suppose it is) from late saturday night until tuesday. our presence in the town of legal sports wagering did coincide with the final games of the 2013 world series (not coincidentally); my only regret was that my wonderful baltimore orioles had finished their 2013 season and so all we were left with was a team from a league that i am generally indifferent about (the cardinals) and a team which i dislike intensely and have so for decades (the red sox). but this chapter isnt about sports book, though ill say that had the cardinals won a few more games and/or the whole shebang, that would have resulted in a few more dollars in my pocket. but meanwhile, back at the Luxor......im not even sure on which of our days in fabulous southern nevada this occurred, but then again time and schedules seem to become unimportant when in vegas, so maybe it is only fitting that i am not sure which night this happened, but happened it did. after a day or two of ineffectual casino gambling (true, the steelers loss did result in me winning some dollars, but thats not the point) jp & i decided that we really should venture to the gigantic black pyramid casino, just to see if my/our luck would improve under the watchful spirit eyes of the pharaohs (who must be mummyspinning in their graves at the co-opting of their culture to support gambling, one might presume). now a word about my friend and co-visitor, he tends to enjoy playing table games that are, shall we say, somewhat convoluted in their rules of play (switch em blackjack, three card poker etc) as well as his chief vice i mean game of choice, craps. now craps is undeniably old school vegas and should be right up my alley, but i will admit that the betting techniques and approaches confuse me and i dislike intensely the social/crowd element that the best craps games exhibit (for those among you who dont have any idea what i am talking about here, lets just say it is possible for a good shooter or dice thrower to win money not only for him/herself but for an entire table of gamblers who loudly and/or drunkenly scream at each roll of the dice). but my patience with table games whose rules are not exactly the easiest part about playing them (note: the easiest part of any table game in las vegas is of course losing your money to the casino, but i digress) was just about used up when i saw a sign at the Luxor for their series of low-level ($40$) buy-in texas hold em tournaments. bingo, now were talking. heres a game i actually enjoy playing and have a thorough knowledge of rules of play! the next scheduled start time was for 11:30PM and so with my forty bucks paid to the event organizer i got my receipt and start time and asked my friend if he wanted to join the insanity in 20 minutes in the Luxor poker room.... how many people will it be? 15 to 30 depending on how many sign up, right? No, i think ill just stay here (he said pointing to the craps section of the casino floor where several tables were in full-on joyous/tragic gambling mode). you go have fun, though and good luck! ok, i thought. ill just go and play and win and then have lots of money (there ended up being 21 participants, all guys incidentally) but the prize pool for 1st 2nd & 3rd place finishers is not even close to 21 x $40$ because of course the casino keeps a large portion of entry fees for administrative whatever (you really cannot beat the house, theres a reason were out here in the f&^%ing desert to paraphrase joe pescis character in scorseses casino) so 11:30PM roles around; showtime. i look around at the twenty other fellas about to sit down to face off against one another, and immediately i see 2 or 3 guys that i know instantly i really have no business sitting down with at a poker table. they know what theyre doing and are (in two cases) looking as if they also could do some physical damage, were this a home game or a game played in a place less classy than the poker room at the Luxor. shuffle up & deal. and here we go. as the opening hands are dealt, i glance over to the craps area 20 yards to my left and see my friend jp having a good old time, so i think to myself, ok, nothing to do but win this thing seven or so minutes in i am dealt a pair of red pocket nines. that means that i am guaranteed to have at least a decent pair when the final communal, river card is dealt (a player is dealt two cards unique to his or her final 5 card poker hand which he or she makes at the end of the hand with any combination of his or he hold cards and the 5 anyonecanplaythem cards dealt face up on the felt in front of all 10 players at each table/the 21st player was dealt his first hand when the first of the 21 participants was bust, thereby opening a seat). by the way, if you think thats in any way complicated, try being the shooter while also placing half a dozen or so wagers on the two dice youre about to toss at the craps table. when the first three communal cards (the flop) are revealed i see the following: 7 of diamonds / Jack of clubs / 9 of spades. ive won the whole tournament, i delusionally think to myself looking down at the 3 nines that now must be the winning hand....i just must be careful how i bet them so i can get as much money as possible out of these 9 suckers sitting around this table from me, dont want anyone to fold when he can be betting more money hes going to lose to my three nines! paying no mind to the fact that the board is showing an over-card (the jack which will figure prominently in just about 10 seconds of reading, if youre still with me!) then, the absolute signal that the victory in this hand is my first step to besting 20 seasoned gamblers in my very first vegas tourney: a 7 of clubs. i now have a full house, 9s full of sevens. i am so very happy as i glance over and see my friend enjoying his craps game, another 10 minutes and ill be over there showing him all the hundred dollar bills i just fleeced off of these rubes. the final card, the river is a 3 of whatever suit it was and the final round of betting commences. by this time, in this hand there are but 3 fellow players in addition to me (6 of the table of 10 have been smart enough to fold and leave the gambling to us professionals). the man to my right checks (meaning no bet) i bet 2500 chips (our forty dollar entry fee enitiltles us to chips), it is a modest bet, but the pot i am about to win is rich enough, i just need a little more. the man to my left calls. then the man to his left raises. uh-oh. the man to my right (who had checked) mutters an expletive infused phrase which ill clean up for you two of ya guys betting into me, this is not a good situation, i feel i must now fold [this gentlemans actual words were far more colorful, but my mother is going to be among this chapters readers, so ill leave what he said to your imagination!) so its my turn. what should i do? i look over and see my craps-playing travel companion, then i look at my modest stack of chips in front of me and do some math in my head; if i call my opponent and win, i will be the tables chip leader and just minutes away (i tell myself) from tournament victory. then i look at the man who has raised me. silly man, i think this guy even though he looks as if he might know what hes doing, what he doesnt know is that hes playing with me, and i have an [expletive deleted] full house!! i call. the man to my left folds (good riddance, that guy never had a chance against the two pros at the table anyway) leaving only my fellow high stakes gambler, across the 15 foot table..... jacks full my new-found nemesis states with zero emotion as he reveals his pocket jacks. my nines full of seven now totally without any luster at all. i am shocked, shocked to find i have lost the lions share of my chips as this gentleman rakes in a massive amount of chips to his already ample stack. i look over to my friend in the other part of the casino and he seems to be having a ball still. me less so. i managed to stick around in this tournament, even short-stacked and i was eventually able to climb back into it a little bit and was eventually to finish (after 2 hours of play) sixth in an initial field of 21. a decent showing, especially if you factor in i was the youngest player by at least 7 to 10 years and participating in my first vegas poker tournament. but coming in 6th in a Luxor Casino poker tourney pays about what coming in 6th at the Preakness pays, and i think we all know what that number of dollars is..... viva las vegas
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 17:45:31 +0000
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