Alright, sorry for the delay.
We arrived around 7 P.M. and the Rio was cranking. Check in was a breeze at the automated kiosk. Why doesn't everyone use that? I stood in line for 5 minutes before I saw the kiosk and the same guy who was in front of me was still in line after we checked into our room and headed back downstairs. It's the same at the local AMC. **** waiting in line and embrace automation to a degree. Idiots.
First thing we did was get an Uber and head for a pot shop (I'm not at work, right?) Got a couple of "Vegas sticks" and off we went back to the Rio. Made the long walk down to the convention rooms and the energy was through the roof. The Main Event was down to 3 tables and they were all "featured," meaning they were under the lights and cameras of ESPN. Very easy to get to "the rail." as security was essentially non-existent. Didn't do that because we wanted to jump into a daily deepstack but the only one going was on dinner break and was the cheapest buy-in of the day. Saw numerous pros in all the different rooms.
Headed to the cash games section and there was only 2 tables going. I was shocked so I asked about the lack of action. Dealers and players said now that the Main Event was essentially over most people were leaving town. My buddies and I thought the action and participation would increase as it got down to the final table but it was the opposite. Some rooms were already having tables and chairs broken down. We made a note to make sure we arrived a week earlier next year (the peak).
Sat down at a 2-5 cash NLHE. There were no other options! I was looking forward to playing some Omaha, 7-Stud, etc. But, nope, denied! 3rd hand in the BB and I get Ace/five off. Guy in first position raises to $30 and gets two callers and I. Flop is Q/9/5. I check to him and he bets $80. Other two fold and something about the way the guy flicked the chips in the pot sent my alarms off. I raised all in by pushing about $300. He insta calls and he has A/K. AKA NOTHING. Of course he catches the K on the river. I'm down $400 within 10 minutes of sitting down. I'm hungry. Let's go.
Bought a bottle of Duckhorn merlot at the All American restaurant at the Rio which serves shitty American food. Staff was befuddled I ordered it but I saw it behind the bar and needed something good to wash down that bullshit from earlier. My two buddies flirted with a pair of sisters next to us and we bantered, told stories, and caught up in a drunken/stoned party until the wee hours of the morning. Good times.
Day two was serious. Quick breakfast at Hash House a Go Go where I got to play Keno like I was a kid again. I used to visit my Father every summer for two weeks in Vegas and he always took me out to breakfast and playing Keno and having hot chocolate was a past time. Palace station, Gold Coast, and then finally the shitty El Cortez. Good memories.
Had to get in and register for the WSOP Doublestack event. Line was easy and there ended up being over 1,200 entries. Walking into the massive room that was designed and set up just for us was pretty special. They had a featured table and all the dealers were ready. I'm not going to lie, it gave me goosebumps walking into that room knowing the history of the WSOP. I know it wasn't the main event but it was pretty cool for a kid from Vegas to finally be playing in an event. Phil Laak was at my table and he was super quiet. Two tables down was Allen Cunningham who was player of the year in 2006 and was literally sitting below his banner. Kind of surreal.
I played great. Made it to level 12 before busting out. Although I didn't make the money I was proud of the way I played and I loved the competition. It was so quiet in these massive halls that it was almost creepy. It could make your head spin. The concentration and focus from all the players and dealers was really outstanding. No drunken idiots, no nonsense. I thought the Rio did a great job. One of my friends did cash in that event. Not for a lot, but a cash is a cash. The same Doublestack event ran three weeks earlier and had 5K+ entrants so that tells me how many people actually left.
One of the things I was most looking forward to was the ability to bounce from one tourney to another and that's what I did. Immediately bought into a daily deepstack and played for the next 10 hours. Ended up cashing that one but spent nearly 16 hours playing that day. I was fried, but I was saved twice by ordering food directly to my seat through this food truck on site. It was awesome.
My friends won some, lost some, smoke some, drank a lot and we all headed to bed around 4 A.M.
Now that the WSOP event was over for me I played it low key the next day. 16 hours of straight poker can mess with your mind. So, I basically railed my friends for a while and popped on the main event. The amount of time players waited to act on that table and nearly every other table so far as I could tell, was dizzying. I understand the gamesmanship of waiting to fold, but waiting 2+ minutes everytime is annoying and bad for the game. We walked to a room and on two tables next to one another Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negranau were playing the 3K horse event. My friend stood in between the tables much to my chagrin (he shouldn't have been that close) and within 2 minutes both Daniel and Phil busted out. Phil of course had no idea who he was but looked at my friend and said "Can you believe that fucking bullshit?" before storming off. LOL. Phil was kind enough to indulge a couple with a photo a few min later.
Spent the next day playing cash and deepstacks but lost everything. Played ok, just wasn't my time. Had some amazing sushi at the Wynn place but we never made it to Lotus of Siam. Met a ton of people from all over the world and got to watch World Cup soccer with people who care a **** ton more about it than me so it made the experience especially exhilarating. The room was decent and clean and I will be back next year. Hope to make this a new yearly tradition but we will be there during the 3-4 days before the Main Event starts.
