Note: I had written this post earlier, but it didn't save and I lost it. I'm re-writing it, but in an abbreviated form.
Finally in Vegas! I got in around 6pm Friday. Rented my Kia, and I'm off to get settled in. I wish I could say I slept on the flight over, but that's a near impossibility for me. It doesn't matter how tired I am, sleeping in moving vehicles just isn't my thing. After I get settled in, a pretty uneventful Friday night happens. I'm not in a rush to gamble, as I have a ton of time here, and I like to be in the right mindframe. Not sleeping for a couple days is certainly not the right mindframe for profitable poker. Tomorrow (Saturday) is my birthday, but I won't be drinking Saturday night because I have a $1K WSOP Tournament on Sunday at noon and want to have my wits about me. I wind up cruising the Strip with a friend and have some drinks, playing a little 3 card poker along the way. I make my way back to the hotel, and try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, one of my odd quirks is rearing its ugly head...I never seem to be able to sleep the first night I'm out of town. It doesn't matter where I am, or how tired I am, it just doesn't happen. Even now, with cocktails flowing, having not really had a good nights sleep since Tuesday, I cannot fall asleep.
My plan for Saturday is pretty simple...I'm going to go to check out Planet Hollywood because I may stay there for a day or two later in the week, then go to the Rio to get the lay of the land and register for Sundays tournament. Much easier said than done. If you've never been to Vegas on the weekend in the summer, let me give you an idea of how it is. The Strip is about 8 lanes wide, and it is absolutely packed. Pedestrians walk everywhere and don't care if cars are coming. Drivers are everywhere and don't care that people are walking in the middle of the road. Everyone drives super slow (not that you could drive fast) to gawk at the weirdos dressed up in ridicul0us costumes, take pictures of the hotels, and try to catch a glimpse of the Bellagio fountain show. All of this is done at a snails pace in bumper to bumper traffic. I check out PH and decide to stay where I am for the entire time. I'm in a central location so there's no reason to move. I get to the Rio and realize that the Pavillion and the event in general is way bigger than I even imagined. Not intimidating really, just gigantic and awesome. I get back to the parking garage to realize someone has stolen the temp tags off my Kia! Jerks!!! I know the Optima is a hot ride and all, but come on. No big deal, I can't imagine I'm going to get pulled over with all the other nonsense going on around me so I'll worry about it later. I get back to my hotel, valet is full, parking garage is full so I have to park at a completely different property. Total time for this round trip = 2.5 hours. PH is about 5 properties away and the Rio is no more than 2 miles from the hotel. My level of crankiness is building at this point.
After hanging around a bit, I decide to check out Aria in Center City. It's very nice and gigantic. I'm dressed up because I don't really know what I'm going to get into. A host asks if I'd like to check out their club, Haze. Being my birthday, I figure what the hell. The line was 1-1.5 hours to get in. D-bags and skanks everywhere. Seriously, the crowd at The Pool at Harrah's in AC looks less douchy than this bunch. Anyone that knows me knows there's no chance I'm waiting in line like that, especially when I wasn't even going to drink. I miraculously find my way out of the maze that is Aria's parking garage a solid 40 minutes later. That crankiness level is creeping up another level.
Exhausted, but not really tired, I decide to see if my friend is working at the Venetian. I want to check out the V anyway, because they have a tournament series I want to play in also, and it's right next to where I'm staying, so it'll be convenient. I make my way to Cut, Wolfgang Puck's Steakhouse in the Palazzo building of the V and find Chip, my longtime friend, but one I haven't seen in about 4 years when I was in Vegas last. I'm definitely happy to see a friendly face. I decide to have a glass of Red to try to put me to sleep. Chip tells about all the celebs that come into the place and it sounds pretty cool. It is an extremely nice restaurant. He tells me to turn around and who's behind me? It's Wayne Brady! He looks like he's about to choke a bitch, but obviously he's super friendly about it. I'm pretty sure a pro baller sat next to me too. He looked really familiar, but the name escapes me. Chip gets off, and we decide to go next door to one of Mario Batalli's spots B&B, where I have one of the top 5 best cocktails I've ever had. Chip has to work a double tomorrow, so we part ways and I head back to the hotel. A nervous excitement/crankiness/I don't know what has come over me at this point and my body refuses to shut down.
I lay in bed for a while and just can't sleep again. I'm happy I got to hang with Chip, and will be doing so more this week, but the insomnia is taking over. This can't be good for my play tomorrow...I guess we'll see.
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