From: "Steven Eisenstein" Subject: Ice Melted in the Heat WARNING: incredibly long rambling trip report with virtually no real poker. Proceed no further if you want a poker report. I've never attended a Barge. I'm an ARG veteran, with lots of trips under my belt but the big one always got away. Probably because my family and I usually make it out to Vegas in July or August and I could never justify two separate trips that close together. This year, however, after a week in SoCal and a week and a half in Vegas starting July 4, including some great Orleans Open action, I made a last minute decision to join in. The poker was so good on that California trip I just hadn't gotten it out of my system yet so I started to make last minute plans. Too late to sign up for the TOC event I put my name down for NLHE and HOP. I took up the generous offer of fellow Jerseyan and Trop denizen Action Bob Hwang to room with him at Binion's and I got a not terrible round trip quote of $318 from America West. =20 With everything arranged I decided to get in the spirit right away and organize a non smoking dinner after telling ADB Bruce "Big Boy" Kramer that I couldn't take the cigar smoke at the smoker. I then made arrangements for dinner at Mon Ami Gabi and participation in the NLHE Strat tourney that night. Wednesday With high hopes I headed to Newark Airport for my 11:04 flight which would get me to Vegas at 1:37, plenty of time for check in, some action and then a nice dinner. I didn't bargain for America West. Upon my arrival at the airport I put my credit card in the e-ticket machine and the screen said "See ticket desk for special arrangements". With a feeling of dread I approached the counter, waited through the 10 minute personal phone call of the clerk, and was told that the flight was slightly delayed. It would leave a mere 6 hours late and get to Vegas around 8:00 that night due because the crew was resting. Keeping calm as always, I made my needs clearly known to the clerk in somewhat decisive language. For once my lawyer's training pays off and I get switched to a flight to Phoenix, transfer to Vegas, getting in at 4:45 and still time to make dinner. All goes well until arrival in Phoenix. Flight to Vegas is stacked 14th in line to take off. Thunderstorms on the way so bad they won't let the flight attendants out of their jump seats. Arrival in Vegas at 5:45. Get to gate at 5:50. Run like madman, jump in Shuttle, get to rental car, drive like mad through secret short cut (no, I'm not telling), get to Paris at 6:10. Dinner saved. After a pleasant dinner, a few of us head over to the Strat for the tourney. Nothing exciting happens, I bust out fairly early and head to Binion's getting there at 10:30. I check in look at the room and make a quick decision, think I'll sleep somewhere else most of the time. Greet Bob who arrives a few minutes later and go down to the poker room. There is a 15-30 game going and I get in it for a few hours but I'm tired, I lose a couple of hundred, a go to bed. Thursday Next morning, straight to the buffet (another vow to go elsewhere from now on) and on the HOP. I have to confess I had high hopes. I play in a regular Thursday night high stakes game where 5 card stud and 5 card draw are 2 of the 3 games played. I've also played lowball in Cal and liked it. I win a few hands in 5 stud but it doesn't last long enough. I get nothing exciting in 5 draw, win a couple of pots with trips and one with Aces up, don't make any of my straights or flush draws, and finally go out with about 1/3 of the tables left when I draw one card to a 6 in lowball, get a 7 and end up third at the table to two other drawing hands. Oh well. I go to the strip and check in at the Stardust. Top floor suite, comped, fantastic view of the Desert Inn Course, mountains in the distance and the entire strip down to the MGM. Go downstairs to play some blackjack and earn my comp. $2,000 later I realize I should have just paid for the suite. Time to go the Mirage for buffet. Sit with the Stines, have a good time though Mirage is not one of my favorite buffets in town. Then Ross Poppel and I decide to go over to the Orleans for the Omaha tourney. Re-buy four times before the add on, keep getting quartered on my lows and fade away with nothing worthy to talk about. Head over to Bellagio for 40-80 game. Players way too tight. Win a couple of pots, get bored with pace of game and leave up about $400. See some local friends in the 15-30, railbird for a while and then go back to Stardust to sleep. Friday Next morning is a free day while everyone is at TOC. Breakfast at Bellagio buffet (yum) and blackjack at 4 or 5 places including Slots of Fun (best game in Vegas). Play in the noon Omaha tourney at Orleans. Empty seat at table, getting blinded away, finally, seat is filled by Oklahoma Johnny Hale. It's lots of fun to play with him. He tells some great stories but don't know what the hell he is doing with some of the hands he plays. Well, who am I to question. I do better than yesterday, never have to rebuy at all and finish just out of the money. Back to Stardust for more blackjack, up slightly. Get to Binion's for Chorse. Because I have Crazy Pineapple experience at the late lamented Diamond Club I get assigned to it by Captain Poppel. First round, disaster. Mike Paulie makes bottom end of straight and cracks my pocket rockets and I feel team guilt. Later orbits make me feel much better, winning 2, 3 and 2 pots in each and I help the team end up getting our money back and a little profit. High point of the evening, Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher come in, hugs and kisses all around. Great to see them. Don't know how I feel about reading Card Player any more. After Chorse, Tiger and I head off to Las Vegas Club for a little blackjack action, both end up nicely positive and go over to the great brew pub at Main Street Station. Tiger insists on buying because I talked him into the positive blackjack venture and gives the bartender a $20 after he brings us two foot high glasses of delicious porter. He brings back $18 change and Tiger and I look at each other. DING. We found a new home. Had a great time jawing back and forth (what do you expect when you get two lawyers together). Went back to Binion's where I finally prevailed in the 15-30 game and at 5:00 AM with a 10:00 tournament in the morning, time for bed. Sleep at Binion's because of the time. Saturday Wake up early and go down to the poker room. Not about to eat at the Binion's buffet again so I eat at the lunch counter (the counterman sees my Barge badge and tears up the check, very nice) and I sit down in the pot limit Mississippi Stud game which had been going on all night. Good decision. Game lasts another hour and I leave it up $500. Time for the NLHE tourney. My table, to my utter delight, (insert sarcastic smile) includes Tom Overton, Nolan Dalla, Ming Lee and Mike McKracken who, if nobody knows the extremely (21) young man is going to be a star some day. To add to my joy Patti Beadles is added after Ming is busted. I wish I had something exciting to say about the tournament. I got absolutely no cards. Not one pocket pair higher than deuces. Got AKs once only to lose to a board that was all low, and got 8x off six straight times. Played tight, kept waiting and eventually chips just evaporated. Came half a second away from risking it all with Q9d when I had 900 left and Tom Overton had raised it to 500 with one caller. Decided against it and the flop came Q9x. Would have tripled through and had a chance. As it was at least I can say I outlasted Jesus. After the tourney had plenty of time for some Binion's blackjack (I know I had some chips here somewhere) and some more 15-30 holdem, unfortunately. Don't know where I put my A game but I sure as hell didn't bring it to the table. Played like an idiot for 3 or 4 hours. It was like I was looking at myself from above saying "don't do that, that's incredibly stupid" but my hand kept moving of its own volition, throwing chips into the pot. A little table drama when Ernst, to my right, realized he had been short changed in a 3 way pot split (5 flush on board) and it took about 10 minutes with the floor called over to straighten it all out. That was about the only entertaining hand of the afternoon. The lowpoint came when I limped in on the small blind with A2 and the flop came J22. I check called the flop and check raised the turn. Of course the river was a J and I lost to JT. That seemed to symbolize the day. I left down $1,000. After the banquet, thank you ADV'ers for letting me sit with you, I went back to the poker room for Chowaha. Now you have to know that I consider myself the Mississippi state Chowaha champion from Marge and Sarge. I finally got to show my mastery of a game. Won the first three hands, had quad aces about halfway through the game and cashed out up 5 racks, even after toking 2 racks to the dealers. When they add it to the WSOP I fully expect to be getting the Chowaha bracelet. Time to go back to the Stardust. Go to valet. Um, sir, you have a flat tire. Call Hertz. Between shifts, wait there. Give the attendant a 5 to wait for me and back to the poker room. A seat opens up at the Chowaha main game between Zorak and Jesus. Who could resist? Sit down and have a great time throwing a few chips in the pot and just talking. Valet calls, car ready, go to sleep. Sunday Get a few hours sleep, realize I forgot to empty out my room at Binion's and call Bob. He agrees to bag my stuff and leave it with the bell desk. (Thanks Bob). Have breakfast at Paris and head back to Binion's. Play blackjack, dealer hitting every card in the world, down 600, change dealers, I start hitting every card in the world, up 1500, time to leave. Say good-bye to everyone in the poker room and head over to White Cross Drugs for lunch at the lunch counter. Best hamburger and milk shake in town. Back to the strip. Go into Circus Circus for sake of nostalgia. Used to hang around it a lot when I was a teenager, growing up in Vegas, one of the only things in town for a teenager to do besides cruising Fremont Street looking for chicks. One other black chip player in the whole place, we played together for a couple of hours, down 300 and off to the easy game at Slots of Fun, whoops, down 300, back to Stardust. Get 14, 15 or 16 approximately 17 hands in a row. Restrain urge to get violent. Pick up few remaining chips and leave. Time to go to the airport for 10:15 flight. Get to airport. If I ever fly America West again I'm going to have my head examined. Flight delayed. Seat on plane broken. Will update you at midnight. Everyone yelling and screaming. Attendants disappear. Reappear at 12:15. Don't know how long it will be, gate changed to another terminal. Walk to other terminal. Another set of passengers from another flight already there. Jammed together for half an hour before they are finally told to go to a different gate in another terminal. Lay down on floor and put head on bag. Go to sleep. Wake up to see last person disappearing into plane. Thanks a lot everyone. Run onto plane as door is closing. Pilot says sorry for delay, headphones are on us. Gee thanks. Get to Newark at 8:30 Monday morning, grab quick shower, head straight to office and work till 7 last night. End result of trip, financial disaster. Who cares. Great time, great memories, great people, when is next years? Steve "Ice" Eisenstein