I wake up at about 3pm and head down to the Caesars Forum Shops to do some shopping for presents for people back home. After purchasing a series of excellent gifts for Troy/Cookman/Paul/Brendan/Larissa (don’t worry anyone not mentioned, i’m doing a second round of gift shopping soon), I head over to the Venetian to meet up with Seb and his housemate Steve for dinner. I also run into Skeptix in the poker room who randomly calls out `Swoop` when I walk past (I had no idea what he looked like) and we agree to meet up sometime during the week. We decide to eat at an Italian restaurant at the Venetian; I forget its name but it was upstairs in the shopping area and was actually very good and reasonably priced. Seb, Steve and I elect to partake in a game of credit card roulette for the $130ish bill; I manage to luckbox the first elimination and then Seb eliminates Steve, leaving Seb with the bill. Lifetime record in credit card roulette: 1 win, 0 losses. Off to a good start.

After some deliberation, we head to the Pleasure Pit at Planet Hollywood for some $25/hand blackjack and by that I mean the card counting experts (Seb and Steve, who have been banned from Blackjack at Palms for counting cards over the past few weeks, which I find hilarious) play while I watch. They run really bad as the dealer keeps making 21 with a five showing and stuff and unfortunately drop several hundred dollars. There’s a reason I stay away from pit games. Luckily, our fortunates are revived when we sign up for Planet Hollywood membership and receive $5 each in free slot play; I immediately make a line, a seven and a seven on fire which is apparently good and run it up to $50 on my second spin, promptly withdrawing about free fiddy (i am so clever) and then Steve makes about $20 too. True to his running bad form, Seb loses his free $5. About this time, I realise i`m supposed to be meeting up with Mike and his girlfriend at XS (i`ve been calling it Excess, but I learn this is not the case thanks to a billboard on a taxi). Unfortunately, we`re way too late as it`s after ten and they would already be inside so we decide to get a taxi back to Palms for some Chinese poker. After teaching me the rules (it turns out I knew them already but just didn`t know how to score) we agree to $5 per point. Seb starts off hot and is up a few points on both of us, then gets scooped repeatedly and ends up losing $50; I make $10 and Steve makes $40. Seb runs bad, well, except for the whole two cashes for two wsop events this summer. Seb insists that I should play a $1500 NLHE event at the WSOP and offers to buy half my action for the one remaining donkament this series since he has more money than Jesus (and or worse bankroll management than Jean Robert Bellande); I tank and then call his offer so I now get two chances at a bracelet this summer. Hopefully I win both of us some monies. I feel due-ish and i`m definitely going to final table something over the next two weeks.

After Chinese poker, Steve heads out clubbing and Seb goes to bed so I wander downstairs to the Palms Poker Room for some 1-3NL. Along the way, I encounter many drunk women in lingerie, apparently there is a lingerie party somewhere. One girl is wearing nothing but a bra and gstring, another is wearing a bra, miniskirt and no panties. Why the fuck am I playing Chinese poker with Seb with all of this talent running around! In addition, there is a Pussycat Dolls concert going on at the Palms auditorium so there are many, many drunk hotties wandering around. Unfortunately, it`s too late as the party, whatever it was, seems top be over so I find my way to the 1-3 table and buy-in for $300 (min 100 max 500). I quickly find kings and aces and manage to get it in preflop with kings against AQ which holds, then get two streets of value with aces to run my stack up to $600. Sadly, I lose a major pot where I hold QhTh on a Qd8c3cTd7d board; I raise a limper preflop and get 3 way action, I lead the flop strong with one call, I lead the turn strong with one call, then checkcall a strong bet on the river, sadly villain has Ad8d and I lose a $400 pot. I leak back down to $300 and consider leaving then decide against it and manage to string together a small series of pots to climb back to $500. I find eights on the button, raise to $10 and SB and BB both call. Flop 866. It checks around. 9 on the turn, BB leads, I call, SB folds. 8 on the river. Well, hello there! BB bets, I raise, he tank-folds, I show my eights and learn that I also won a high hand bonus which turns out to be $50 for quads. Another free fiddy! That`s two in one night.

I end up +$327 and cash out just before 5am, it`s light outside. Vegas has a lot of daytime. I get a taxi back home then decide that I want food so I ask him to take me to the nearest place that is open which turns out to be Tuscany`s. I order a delicious $8 chicken burger and the server lady is really nice so I hand her $20 and ask for $5 back on my $8 bill. She seems really shocked as if this is the biggest tip she`s had in days and asks if i`m sure then thanks me like I just cured cancer. I`m glad I could make someone else`s day. I`d have happily paid $15 for the burger anyway. Food is so ridiculously cheap in America, after all, where else in the Western world can you sit down in a restaurant to an $8 meal…

As i`m walking home, I see three police cars pulled over, a guy with no shirt on who is handcuffed and a hot chick (probably an 8.5) in a skimpy outfit also being arrested in some bushes by the side of the road. I walk close by deliberately out of curiosity. The officer is counting money from the girl`s purse and she is loudly protesting that they `didnt even do anything`. Poor girl just trying to make a living and poor guy just wanted a blowjob. LOL, Law Enforcementaments

I walk home, do some writing and crash out at around 6am.

Today`s stats

Tournaments: $0
Cash Games: +$327 (277 from poker, 50 from high hand bonus)
Random Degenerate Gambling: +60 (50 from free slot play at Planet Hollywood, 10 from Chinese Poker with Seb and Steve)