Sunday, October 28, 2007

Vegas, Baby!

I'm 3/4 of the way there. Here's the checklist so far:
  1. Get convinced. Check. Thanks to the warm welcome of the fine blogger community (IT, Waffles, Astin, TripJax, and the rest of you who all chimed in).
  2. Convince myself. Check. Never taken a trip by myself before, but if I don't do this now, I'm without a break from work and the kids for another 6 months or more.
  3. Get the Dr.'s OK. Check. I knew this one was pretty much a no brainer. He goes to Vegas by himself at least once a year. And he never says "No" to me. Well, except when I considered getting a male au pair. That was a BIG GIANT "NO" in his book. But it is family money funding the trip, so its important that we agree.
  4. Get a babysitter. Check. This was probably the biggest hurdle.
  5. Decide on a bankroll. Check. Small bonus at work (unexpected, the best kind) will pay for the poker.
  6. Practice no limit tourney. Must do more. Been doing the time limited ones, but that's not slogging it out for hours. Must stop playing Omaha, Stud, and all the other variations I've been practicing.
  7. Get tourney details. NEED HELP ON THIS ONE. Where and when would be good. Last time we were there it was at the Imperial Palace . . . same stint? Time on Saturday?
  8. Pick hotel. Again, suggestions would be helpful. Don't want to blow it all on the Wynn (no fun staying in a swanky hotel when you're sleeping alone), but don't want to stay in the No-Tell Motel either . . . thinking Luxor? Paris? Bally's? Something on the strip.
  9. Book the trip. Pending the hotel decision, its nearly done. Getting in sometime around 11 pm. on Friday . . . leaving Sunday afternoon.
  10. Arrange to have someone to meet up with Friday night. Offer yourself up - I can trade some juicy DrChako dirt in exchange companionship. Willing to play low limits, go dancing, or just hang out and watch everyone else donk off their money.
  11. Convince Instant Tragedy to GO. After being the one who helped motivate the groundswell to help convince me, he's waffling.
  12. Pack. To Do. I know you guys are comfortable in the same jeans and underwear for 48 hours - but I'm not. Ladies, do I need to plan for anything other than sitting in the poker room for 2 days? I spend most of my days dressing for either a corporate boardroom or mom errands . . . neither of which is Vegas worthy.

I expect the advice to come POURING in.

Oh, and visit Tragedy's blog and convince him to go!

Respectfully submitted,

The Wife

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Stolen From Falstaffs blog...

So there's this little get-together coming up in December...
And there's usually a little poker tournament associated with it...
And some of you are wondering where and when that will take place...

And some of you are wondering about structure...
So here's the deal -
Saturday, December 8th
The Bloggers go Italian as the WPBT Winter Gathering Tournament hits the Venetian!
Format - Freezeout
Buy-In - $125 ($100 to prize pool, $25 juice)
Chips - $4,500 in chips
Starting Blinds - $25/50
Adder - $1,500 in chips for a $10 staff toke (optional)
Levels - 30 minutes long
I'll put up the final structure as soon as I have it confirmed, but it will most likely be the one I posted a couple weeks ago with more play early, shooting for having a 75/150 level and one other, and cutting out a couple of later levels.

If you haven't let me know that you're in for the Winter, please do so now! I will start pulling together a list of attendees, in a spreadsheet that will be distributed to all peeps coming.

And please indicate if you're playing in the tourney or not.
You can get in touch with me at johnhartness AT gmail DOT com.

And I'm betting that even with a 2PM start time, at least one blogger is still gonna be too drunk to play, and that Al will still be drunk from the night before when the event starts!

As for the other questions... If I come to LV, we have a set date of comparing kid photos and sitting back along with some good friends.

BTW has the Doc got his package yet?

Next... I am 70% 30% go / no go. Alot has to do with work issues of which I can not post about.

I'll know more in the next week

SMILE!

Otis said...

Friday: Nearly everyone will be at the MGM Friday night and into the morning. It's become a bit of a tradition to play low-limit cards and senak around to the sports book bar behind the room for silliness. THat's where you should go upon your arrival.

Hotel: It really doesn't matter where you stay, as long as you are on the strip. Find a good deal at nearly any strip hotel and book it. Lots of folks are staying at the IP. Others will be at MGM abd scattered other hotels.

You got the details from IT. Now, as for the rest, don't worry about it. The good thing about going with this crew is that they will take care of you.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on making partner. I spent a cup of coffee with a Big 6 firm right out of school and I know what it means to make partner in any firm. I choose the private world and count my blessings that I work for a private company and never had to deal with SOX act.

Just have fun in LV. Don't worry about what you are wearing just worry about what you are holding.

Anonymous said...

Dear The Wife,

Advice for your first unacompanied trip to Vegas:

- Stay out of the hotels advertising vibrating beds.
- Don't sign up as an "Escort," even if you're offered a free weekend at a Time-Share.
- Always refuse the offered cigarette from the guy with the long sideburns.
- And most important, if you decide to wear a mini-skirt along with those "cheeky" panties that you once described, be cautious about picking up that "errant" $100 chip lying next to the high roller's table.

Hunter Silvastorm
www.huntersilvastorm.com

Heather said...

Hey, if you'd like, I'm going to Vegas (Thurs - Sun, but maybe as early as wed and as late as monday, it depends). I'm staying at the IP, and my usual roommate isn't going this year; if you want to split a room at the luxurious Imperial Palace, let me know. That way you'll also have a somewhat built in "get me to MGM and introduce me around" system, although honestly, most of the time in Vegas I only saw my roommate otherwise as she was leaving or I was coming in, which kind of worked out - we saw each other but had our own space.

Heather said...

oh yeah, and pretty much pack everything =)

SirFWALGMan said...

Like Otis said Friday night is the night to meet everyone. MGM. Bar. Drink. Play. Whatever. A lot of fun.

The Bracelet said...

I'd stay at either Monte Carlo or Planet Hollywood. You'll only be paying about $50-$70 more a night than places like the Imperial Palace or Flamingo, but the quality is a good deal better.

Most people going are staying at places like the IP because we're all degenerates who want to keep the cost of the hotel down since all we'll be doing is occasionally sleeping and showering. If you're the type who likes to pamper yourself when you're on vacation, I'd definitely pay more money and seek out the above mentioned places. Or maybe New York, New York, Luxor, or even Mandalay Bay or Paris if you want to step it up a little farther.

It is nice to be somewhere close to where the tourney is, where the MGM is (for friday night) and where others are at, which is also why so many people book places like the IP. But it's not that big of a deal so long as you don't go booking way off the strip or downtown in the Fremont street area.

Like others have said, you'll have no shortage of people to hang out with. Just don't try to hang with Al! (so far as the soco is concerned, at least.)