Apologies to Jim P. for the title.

From my recent 9 day poker trip to Las Vegas..

1. The town seemed packed, even after the EDC ended. The casinos that seemed the most crazy were Planet Hollywood (a billion 20-somethings) and MGM Grand. (a billion 30-somethings) If you ever want to feel old, go walking around Planet Hollywood casino at night with the music blasting and half-nekkid girls dancing on the tables. I didn't go downtown this trip, but I played all over the Strip, as well as the Rio and the Orleans. As crazy packed as MGM, Planet Hollywood, Flamingo, etc. were, the Mandalay Bay was eerily quiet and not crowded. I would think the new Raiders Stadium being built close by might change that. I went to the Foundation Room one night for dinner, and was shocked how quiet the casino was, with no vibe. Strange. Monday and Tuesday were absolutely brutal..close to 120 degrees. There is definitely a difference between 105-110 and 120 degrees. 105-110 degrees in Las Vegas is hot, but you can still function and walk around ok..those two days it was close to 120 were absolutely brutal.

2. The Orleans is a very under-rated casino. They have one of the best poker rooms in all of Las Vegas for both tournaments and cash games. The tournaments have great structures that you rarely find at Caesars or M Life properties. Also one of the few places that has several stud games. I even saw a poker variation there I hadn't seen anywhere else.."Free Flop Limit". A basic 3/6 Limit game, with no kill, but after the blinds are posted and the cards are dealt, the dealer puts the flop cards out before any action. Obviously a low-limit "gimmick" variation, but I hadn't heard of it before. The Orleans also has a newly-remodeled restaurant I would recommend. Bailiwick has excellent upscale bar-type food, good drinks, and LIVE music. A very nice addition of the Orleans restaurant offerings.

3. The WSOP is always fun. I played a couple of the Deepstack daily tournaments there (none of which were bracelet events) and sweated a couple final tables. Unfortunately, some of the dealers there were just terrible..not their fault, but I think the WSOP plucks any warm body from dealing school they can find for the WSOP since they have so many tables. I had one female dealer I thought was going to break down in tears when she was trying to figure out a multi-way all-in pot. Luckily, the players at the table helped her out with the math and she didn't get too upset.

4. Uber in Las Vegas is great. I had only taken Uber once before to the airport in San Diego, and was a bit skeptical. On this trip, I used Uber 23..yes 23! times, and had just about a perfect experience each time. Normally I walk a lot more than I did this trip, but due to the heat, I didn't want to wait for shuttles, take the monorail, or walk, like i normally would, from casino to casino. Uber was generally half the cost of a cab, and I found the drivers to be safe, clean, and they usually arrived in minutes. I'm not saying taking Uber everywhere is great, but for casino-hopping around the Strip it was definitely the way to go! 23 trips, came to less than $200 on my credit card..about $8 a trip!

5. Poker! The 1/2, 1/3, 2/5 waiting lists were long and slow at the Big 4 poker rooms (Aria, Bellagio, Venetian, Wynn) but the tournaments around town were just fantastic. Not just the tournament series at A,B, V, and W but also props to the Orleans Summer Tournament Series, the Planet Hollywood Goliath series, and the Caesars Palace Daily tournaments. I didn't even have a chance to play in one of my favorite tournament series' The Golden Nugget Grand Series..I ran out of time. Nine days just wasn't enough. Nothing in the world quite like June Poker in Vegas!