Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:13:41 -0700 (PDT) From: "Mr.Raise" Subject: [BARGE] Mr. Raise's Trip Report - Part 1 First of all, let me say "THANK YOU!" to our esteemed organizers. They have done and continue to do a fantastic job to make our week in Las Vegas a great one! Secondly, thank you to our BOD. They do a great job of oversight, decision-making (when necessary), and contributing level-headed thinking, all for not much in return. This is my 14th consecutive BARGE, having come in during the class of 2000 with Scottro as the Virgin Queen. Many of you were around back then, which makes every year even more special. Some of you weren't here this year for different reasons. Don't worry - we didn't forget about you, and yes, we still talk about you. You'll have to come next year to find out what we said. As well, those of us who are a bit older and were around that year talk occasionally about what it'll be like at BARGE (or for that matter, any ARG event) when we're in our 70's...Answer - it'll be just like it is now, having fun!!! My SO/Peg/Better Half Sharon (Lil Angel, not to be confused with Sharon "Shaza" Goldman) and I decided to fly out the earliest opportunity we had - the Friday night before the week of BARGE, after work. This meant 9 days in LV, having fun! I don't know who was looking forward to it more, as we were both coming off very stressful events at work. Before leaving, we checked the show schedules and to be honest, were a bit disappointed in that there wasn't much that we hadn't already seen or wanted to see. Therefore, we just decided to wing it. This is her 3rd BARGE, but her first non-SO tournament, actual "playing" BARGE. Yes, ladies...you can make that jump!!!! Our first four days were based at the Flamingo. Why, you ask? Well, during this past year I have been teaching Sharon how to play LHE. She didn't want to just watch this year - she wanted to play. We've been playing a lot of 3-6 at the Sands Bethlehem (PA - great room) and the Borgata. She's really taken to the game and sometimes even asks me if I want to go to the Sands! DING!!!! These games are pretty much 6-7 players to the flop, lots of floating (like they know what floating is), and much ridiculous chasing. After a few months of playing live and a lot of discussion, I really felt like she could hold her own in any game at these limits. The Flamingo has a 2-4, and the 3-6 at the Mirage was across the street. These were both games that I knew she would feel comfortable in. This allowed me to go wherever I wanted to for tournaments or live play at a higher limit. Additionally, the room rates at the Flamingo were more reasonable than at the Mirage (and their GO suites aren't bad at all). Saturday was spent hanging out during the day, with Sharon playing 2-4 and me playing 1-2 NL. It was a quiet afternoon, since we planned to go to the Milligan's house party later in the day. We arrived at Patrick and Eileen's home around 5-ish, with a number of people already there (Betty T., Ross P., Bob O., Randy, Ron N.). We were later joined by Russ F., Rick M. and his wife Holly - apologies to anyone I forgot. Needless to say, we played into the evening hours, enjoying much good fun and stories and especially Eileen's chili (beef AND turkey)! Everyone was really patient with Sharon when new games (for her) were introduced. We learned "toss one away", which quickly became renamed "Crazy Bob"...what a blast! I even turned out to be the big winner ($20) of the night! Thanks again to Eileen and Patrick for their hospitality - it was a great first day in Vegas! I have cousins who live in Vegas, who I haven't really had the time to see much of over the years. Scott is the son of my cousins David and Janet, who a few of you have met at our home last year. He played for a living in AC for a while, before going to law school in Florida and getting married to his wife Aline (think pronounced like "all in"), then moving to LV. During Saturday, I texted Janet to get their phone number and reached out to see if they'd be interested in getting together for dinner so we could get to know them better. We connected, and agreed on Monday night, with place to be decided later. Sunday was the unofficial event that Sharon and I invited others to join us. I understand why - a 9:00am starting time was probably tough for those in town. We went to the Neon Museum (sometimes known as the Boneyard). We were trying to beat the heat, but the sun was another thing. The tour was expertly narrated by a very nice young lady, and was a lot of fun if you could find shade. Since I've been visiting LV since 1979, I saw many of the signs that I remembered - the Horseshoe, Silver Slipper and Stardust being among them. They even had the skull which used to be on the Treasure Island signage lying on its back. If you've never taken this tour (1 hour), it's well worth it. Monies collected go to acquiring and preserving signage, and supporting the non-profit that runs it. It's the same group that runs the Mob Museum. The main building for the attraction is the old La Concha motel, which was broken into pieces, transported, and reassembled at its current location. After the tour, we did the quick stop at Spinetti's and Gambler's General Store, looking at poker tables, among other things. We then decided it was time for lunch, and using Open Table, went to Gordon Ramsay's Pub (the one where the most recent winner of Hell's Kitchen is head chef) at Caesars for lunch. Sharon had heard about a lamb burger there which was supposed to be to die for, and it didn't disappoint. I had the Shepherd's Pie, which was great. Lunch was very enjoyable, and we highly recommend it. We then went back to the Flamingo, and settled in to play. Sharon and I both booked decent wins, which made her very happy and me very proud to watch her play. After a few hours, we left for the Orleans to play for a bit prior to JP's dinner at Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast. Of course, this was all leading up to the Sunday $100 HORSE at the Orleans later in the evening. I found the 4-8 with a 1/2 kill which I was card-dead in, and Sharon found the 2-4 with a 1/2 kill which made her very happy. She had never played a kill game before, so another first for her. Dinner at PPP was a lot of fun, especially when Patti ordered Goose Feet with Fish Maw. The picture has been posted on Facebook, but let me know if you'd like to see it. PPP has been touted by some as one of the top 10 Chinese restaurants in the country. I thought the food was reasonably priced and good, but IMHO not warranting that accolade. Also, the service was extremely poor when dealing with a table of 11. HORSE isn't my favorite tournament, because just like a lot of you, I DON'T PLAY STUD HI. However, it seemed like it would be fun so I joined in. Turned out to be 60 entrants, with approximately 19 being BARGErs. Of course, there was the somewhat obligatory (except for Joe Long, who opted out from what I understand) last-longer. Long story short, I managed to get to 2 short-handed tables totaling 11, officially paying 7. As you would expect, the blinds/antes were way out of whack with chip stacks, as is normal in Orleans tournaments. Therefore, the shove-fest (or should I say pot-committed) fun began after a break during which I tried to organize a chop among the remaining participants for 6th place money. Regrettably, it failed. Bob Lauria, where were you when I needed your persuasive powers for large chops? The rationale for the chop was that no one had more than 6 big blinds...but the larger stacks just didn't see it that way. Schmengie and I ended up at the same table, and I committed to A234 with a suited A in Omaha. I flopped two pair, nut low draw and a gutshot to the wheel, got all my (and Schmengie's) in but bricked twice on the low and the two pair no good. Schmengie missed too, so we finished 10th and 11th. Saddenz. Congrats to Dan G. who from what I understand chopped the tournament and won the last longer. Monday found me heading over to the 12noon Venetian tournament, which has sadly dropped from its 90-120 players to around 60 with reentries. Play was its usual level, with a mix of regulars and tourists. I went out around 3.5 hours in, after making a big comeback from being crippled an hour before. Of course, it was the typical 2-3 outer on the river...seems to be my usual pattern in this tournament in the past few times. During the tournament, I was busy making plans to meet my cousins for dinner. She told me that she works for Caesars Entertainment as a Marketing Analyst, and does get a discount at the restaurants at some Caesars properties. We ended up eating at Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's place at Caesars), which was good food-wise, but IMHO a bit overpriced for entrees and portion sizes of appetizers that were on the smallish size in relation to their price. In any event, we had an extremely enjoyable evening with much laughing as we got to know each other, which ended with about 4 hours of 3-6 at the Mirage after dinner where the boys played at one table and the girls at another. One final story about my cousin Scott: I was playing at the Borgata many years ago when the poker room was still downstairs. While there, I saw his parents and of course, went over to say hi. When they told me that they were down to see Scott, I asked where he was since I probably hadn't seen him since his Bar Mitzvah. They called over to him - he was sitting right across from me at the 6-12 game I was in! We had a good laugh, and he still remembered that day too... Next Part: BARGE Really Begins... Barry "Mr. Raise" Kornspan 2013 World Sigma Derby Champion A+++ G++ PKR+ PEG B++ TB ADB-- M