With everything that was going on in life over the end of 2022 and into 2023, I needed a break and the opportunity presented itself in late January. Justine was in France for week, I had a flight credit I needed to use and hotel were cheap midweek. With the ability to work from anywhere, I jumped on a plane and headed to Sin City…

To take advantage of the cheap hotels (less that $100/night!) I flew down on Sunday and back Wednesday. It was a short trip, but what I needed to take a break from everything. The plan was to work as normal during the day and play poker in the evenings.

My flight down connected through San Fran, so it was mid afternoon by the time I got into Vegas. The airport was very quite and it took no time (no line!) to grab a cab over to the Park MGM where I was staying.

IN the cab on the way to the hotel we passed one of the areas being developed for the new F1 race in Vagas later in the year. We’d love to go, but it was going to cost about $6K for the weekend - a little steep.

I was staying at the Park MGM (formerly the Monte Carlo) as it’s quickly become our favorite hotel on the strip. After the reno and rebrand they made it a smoke-free hotel, which is amazing. It also has one of the best “food courts” and some great bars. No poker room sadly, but there are plenty of those around.

It’s a nice big room with a view of the strip.

Pretty nice bathroom - not sure about the red color palette on this room, but it worked well.

I had arrived early enough to catch the last half of the first NFL playoff game, which I watched from across the street at Beerhaus Las Vegas. The service was awful and the beer options had gone downhill, so after the first game I headed down the Stirp to try and find a better location.

That ended up being a mistake. I made a first stop at the new Brewdog (very exciting and more on that later) but there were no seats available. So much for Vegas being slow… I tried a couple of more places along the way north on the Strip, before finding a sports bar on the little street near the Linq/High Roller. Not ideal but I got a seat at the bar and was able to watch the game. Not the atmosphere I would have liked, but it was fine.

After the game I wandered up to the Venetian and got into a game in the poker room. This is probably my favorite poker room in Vegas, and I got into a good table. The guys around me were Vegas regulars (not a good sign), but I played well and although it was a slow night booked a small win before I needed to call it a night. I did make a straight flush for a high hand jackpot on one hand, so maybe it was more luck than good play that booked the win.

I walked home, past the Bellagio and it’s fountains back to my home for the next few days.

My primary poker “home” for the trip.

No matter how many times you’ve seen it, the Venetian’s fountains are always impressive.

Monday I needed to get some work done. I had a pretty decent set-up, using the TV in the room as a second monitor and the table as a desk. It wasn’t my home set-up but it was perfectly serviceable. I worked the morning, walked across the street to Shake Shack for lunch then powered through the afternoon.

That evening I played in a couple of different rooms, but generally had a downswing and took a loss for the day. I was feeling a bit frustrated so quite early. On the way back to the hotel I swung through the Bellagio to have a look at their lobby display, which as usual, was amazing. This one was themed for the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit.

The amazing thing about the displays is that they are all made with flowers.

That pattern continued for the next couple of days - work mixed with poker. It was a lot of fun, and I mixed in some visits to some of my favorite spots for lunch and dinner. As I mentioned earlier, Brewdog (a Scottish “microbrewery”) had opened an amazing new venue on the Strip, right across the road from my hotel. It was this great two-story bar with an amazing roof-top. I spent a couple of meals there, enjoying the sunshine when it was available, and some of the heaters when it got cold at night!

The trip wrapped up way too soon. I had enjoyed my time in Vegas (as I always do) and even booked a small win for all my poker playing - up about $650 for the trip. So I covered my costs, which is fine. I actually felt like I was just getting my game back and things were turning in a good direction when I had to leave. Ah well, there will be other trips.