This series of blogs first appeared on the PKR Forum in June
and July 2010. I won a WSOP Experience Package worth $4,000 through a
PKR Road To Vegas Tournament League that ran for several months. Most
players are referred to by their PKR user names.
Part 6
'There was also a certain bent appeal in the notion of running a savage burn on one Vegas Hotel and then... checking into
another Vegas hotel'
Sunday
saw a slight change of pace. Today's activity was at Tao Beach at the
Venetian. I get over to the Venetian for 1:30pm then proceed to wonder
round lost for about 40 minutes. The Venetian amuses me greatly, the
exterior is as though some one had taken the most memorable landmarks of
Venice and jammed them into one small space. Inside everything is fake
renaissance opulence with high painted ceilings as though Michaelangelo
had stopped by, lost his life savings by putting everything on red, and
been forced to pay his way by doing the interior decoration. There is a
long line of shops that resemble the typical ones found in Venice.
Whilst you are inside the ceiling is painted with blue sky and clouds
and there is a 'canal' complete with singing Gondoliers. Curiouser and
curiouser.
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| The Venetian shops |
Tao Beach is well hidden. I eventually locate the
correct lift and whilst many guys are being turned away I am safe in the
knowledge that once again I am a VIP. Up a few floors and I am
outside, though on a part of the Venetian rooftop. The main pool area
is okay but not as nice as the Aria. However this pool is just for mere
mortals, not PKR players. At the far end the sound of thumping House
music is unmistakable. The smaller side pool is clearly where a very
high proportion of the young, rich and beautiful people of Las Vegas
have come to hang out for the 4th of July. Amongst this throng of
bikini clad women and toned men is a small enclave reserved for white,
pasty and flabby internet poker players. Actually that is unfair, most
of our party fit in well but if I were to repeat this experience I
promise that I will spend more time down the gym first, honest. We
have a couple of cabanas complete with their own safe, games console,
drinks fridges and sofas. At the back air conditioning units are
blowing away in a futile, and seriously environmentally unfriendly,
effort to tame the midday Vegas heat.
 |
| A busy bar at Tao Beach at the Venetian |
Our numbers are few to
begin with but gather steam as the afternoon wears on. Waswini surfaces
at about half three. Amazingly he looks perfectly fine and is
suffering no after-effects from the previous night, despite having no
memory of the whole experience. On some level I know this is still the
same planet that I normally inhabit but I'm beginning to doubt it.
Whilst we have a supply of free drinks coming out of the fridges a
glance at the bar menu shows we can order a wide range of extra items.
My favourites include a bottle of tequila for $3,000 and a bottle of
brandy for $6,000. Like a Vietnam veteran I suddenly want to sit in the
corner, start rocking back and forwards and mutter to myself 'This is
not happening man.' The food is frankly a little more reasonable and I
enjoy a 'Kobe Beef Burger' for a bargain $30 with exquisite fries. The
party goes through to sunset but by six o'clock I have had my fill.
Sundays are for cooking a nice roast diner and then settling down to
multi-table like a madman. This glimpse of an alternative paradise of
the rich is almost a step too far. I'll come back after I win the Main
Event next year....
I escape with RiverBoatRay, another strong
performer in the R2V and a veteran of many Vegas trips. The intention
is to be back at the Aria for the 7pm tournament. Unfortunately we
discover it is cancelled as the holiday rush has filled out every table
in the poker room with cash games and the alternative venue spaces are
all occupied by private functions. Cash it is then. I finally clock up
a decent session and finish $400 to the good.
I awake early
Monday morning compared to my last few starts, but then I have to be
checked out by noon. The thought of saying goodbye to my super lush
room is most upsetting. I know that I will come back here again though.
I get a taxi across the strip to my new digs, The Imperial Palace. So
far on this trip I had seen little of the horror that so inspired
Hunter S. Thompson's book. Vegas had seemed cleaner and shinier, the
mob influence displaced by the corporate machine. Suddenly I had
discovered that flip side to the American dream. This was the cheap and
cheerful end of the Vegas experience. Grannies shovelling quarters into
slot machines. Fat, obese, stupid Americans hogging the corridor space
with their self-inflicted mobility scooters. At the heart of this
madness were the 'Dealertainers'.
An area of blackjack tables where each dealer is dressed as a
different iconic singer. On the hour they would take it in turns to get
up and sing a song as their star, or in some cases mime really badly.
The horror. The casino is gaudy and old. It is like Great Yarmouth
gone global. I have only just got here and already I want out.
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| The Imperial Palace. Do not stay here. |
It
takes 40 minutes to get to the hotel desk in the queue to check in,
don't you swines know I have been kicking it VIP all week? Sigh. The
layout of the building is extremely confusing. My key card suggests I
use Tower 4 to reach my room. This involves lugging my suitcase up a
small escalator before I can get to the lift. Of the 3 lifts in this
area only one seems to be working. The corridor carpet on my floor is
extremely worn and dirty from decades of grime silently screaming
'Replace me!' The room is basic and plain. I guess for $33 a night I
can't complain but after the Aria this feels like serious culture shock.
Two nights here, I can cope with that.
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