Monday

I had a pretty scary (and yet funny) incident today as I was leaving Ballys. My car was parked in an area of the car park where there were no other cars parked (wasn’t this way when I arrived, but I figure its broad daylight and shouldn’t matter). I throw my suitcase in the back and spend 5 minutes or so getting pissed off with the shitty GPS system in the BMW 528i. I suddenly get a knock at the window and there’s a muscular, young, black guy in a vest standing there. I immediately think I’m about to get done at gunpoint (racist!) for the car, passport, everything, when I realise he’s asking me if I want gay sex or need to be sucked off. Being English, I decline with a polite “no thank you” and get the hell out of there.

The drive from Vegas took forever as it was raining hard (turns out it does rain in the desert) and I wasn’t too far off missing my flight check-in, but I made it just in time after 3 hours of delays on the road. My company thankfully pay for Premium Economy on the overnight return trip and it’s definitely worth paying a bit extra for in my experience if paying yourself.

Much like the last time I was in Vegas, I’m not too disappointed to be leaving. Vegas is a warped place that could really mess with your head if you spent more than a few nights there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for partying at the weekend, but there’s only so much of that any one person can take. I also found myself getting annoyed with just how much cash rules and how expensive everything is, not to mention the depressing site of degen pensioners throwing money into the slot machines 24/7. I’m sure I’ll come back a few more times in my life though.

I also don’t care much for live poker. I find the table strategy talk inane and the action far too slow (meaning variance can last a year, rather than a month, or a week rather than a couple of hours, etc). I really don’t understand why some locals are clearly playing 1/2 for a living too. 1/2 plays about the same as 5nl online, which is comfortably beatable in my experience for 20-25bb/100 pre-rake, but at 40 hands per hour and 10% rake up to $400, you’d be lucky to be making $15 per hour. Playing this game is just not a good idea financially if you're smart enough to beat it for that rate in the first place.

So that’s it. I’ve been offered gay sex in a car park and lost a buy-in total, but overall, I’ve enjoyed the weekend.