For those of you who know me from AVP or the poker world in general you have probably heard of the Ironmen Of Poker for those of you who don't, they're a group of guys from Iowa who come once a year and bring Hilarity to the desert. It is not uncommon for them to play any two cards, felt old ladies, and they have a prop bet sheet that is for the ages.
I thought it would be fun to scratch something off the list and see first hand the insanity that is the IMOP. My schedule allowed me to play in the Thursday afternoon tourney at the TI, which was one of their "official" events. The tourney is actually a pretty good little tourney, it plays a little fast, but there is a good value for the $50 buy in.
I was seated with a few of the Ironmen to start, and having played with them I knew what to expect. Since the IMOP made their schedule known, and they were rolling with a crew of around 10, I knew that the field would be a little bigger and the prize pool should be pretty nice. They ended up with 42 runners (including a few eurodonks who rebought). Sadly I was card dead the entire tourney, I did hit a monster with 8-3 in the BB, but didn't get paid off. I ended up getting knocked out in the mid 20's when my pocket 3's got snapped by Eurodonk's A7soooooooooooooted, when he the board runs 4 to broadway. (I can never win flips.
I didn't get a chance to partake in much of the hilarity, but it was nice to see the guys, if you are even in vegas during the IMOP, you need to find them and play, just be warned, you never know what is coming up.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
An Evening With Louie
Last night I attended Louie LOL at the Palace Station. I had seen Louie Anderson's old show at the Excal, but hadn't had a chance to check him out at his new digs.
As you know I like Louie am from Minnesota, and while I'm about 30 years short of his target demographic (we're not talking Laughlin old, but close), I have to admit the show was pretty good.
I will preface my review with the fact that I only paid $6 for the tickets. I got hooked up with "free" tickets from Show Tickets 4 Locals. A great company if you live in vegas (not always the best shows but sometimes a good one gets sent out). The tickets are normally $49.99, and Palace Station is running a Locals special of $15 off, I don't think the show was worth $50, if I had paid the $34.99 I would have said the show was decent, but since I only had to shell out $6, I will say the show was pretty good.
The opening comedian was OK, he had a few good lines, but a lot of his material was pretty bland, and you could tell he is still polishing up his act. He did about 15 minutes and included a few plugs, but who goes to a show for the opening act?
Before Louie hits the stage they show a video montage of his career, you forget how many things he's been in, and then the big guy hits the stage.
If you know of Louie, you know that he's from MN, he grew up pretty poor, his mom was a packrat, and he's fat. That is the premise of most of his set, some of the jokes are older than me, but his timing is pretty solid, and his jokes are well polished.
He also threw in some current event riffs, including a charlie sheen riff that included the line of the night, "his new show is going to be 2 and a Half Kilos".
I will admit his show isn't for everyone, he doesn't work blue, he said Shit once and immediatley apologized for it, and the show is "all ages" but the average age of the crowd was on the far side of 50. However if you get the chance to scoop up some discounted tickets, it's a good time, the show with opener clocked in at a little under 90 mins, which was about the right amount of time.
I do have to say that even thought I didn't drink, the prices in the theater seemed fairly reasonable, and the service was impressively fast, so they have that going for them as well.
I am now heading out to play in the 2pm poker tourney at TI, another of my 30 for 30 items, but also this will allow me to observe some if the IMOP debauchery. (I will go into details in my next post.
As you know I like Louie am from Minnesota, and while I'm about 30 years short of his target demographic (we're not talking Laughlin old, but close), I have to admit the show was pretty good.
I will preface my review with the fact that I only paid $6 for the tickets. I got hooked up with "free" tickets from Show Tickets 4 Locals. A great company if you live in vegas (not always the best shows but sometimes a good one gets sent out). The tickets are normally $49.99, and Palace Station is running a Locals special of $15 off, I don't think the show was worth $50, if I had paid the $34.99 I would have said the show was decent, but since I only had to shell out $6, I will say the show was pretty good.
The opening comedian was OK, he had a few good lines, but a lot of his material was pretty bland, and you could tell he is still polishing up his act. He did about 15 minutes and included a few plugs, but who goes to a show for the opening act?
Before Louie hits the stage they show a video montage of his career, you forget how many things he's been in, and then the big guy hits the stage.
If you know of Louie, you know that he's from MN, he grew up pretty poor, his mom was a packrat, and he's fat. That is the premise of most of his set, some of the jokes are older than me, but his timing is pretty solid, and his jokes are well polished.
He also threw in some current event riffs, including a charlie sheen riff that included the line of the night, "his new show is going to be 2 and a Half Kilos".
I will admit his show isn't for everyone, he doesn't work blue, he said Shit once and immediatley apologized for it, and the show is "all ages" but the average age of the crowd was on the far side of 50. However if you get the chance to scoop up some discounted tickets, it's a good time, the show with opener clocked in at a little under 90 mins, which was about the right amount of time.
I do have to say that even thought I didn't drink, the prices in the theater seemed fairly reasonable, and the service was impressively fast, so they have that going for them as well.
I am now heading out to play in the 2pm poker tourney at TI, another of my 30 for 30 items, but also this will allow me to observe some if the IMOP debauchery. (I will go into details in my next post.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I Fought the Laughlin and the Laughlin Won
Part of the 30 for 30 list included visiting Laughlin. Granted I admit this was a bit of a cop out as my parents were already planning a trip and I was taking a day down there to visit them. But I've never visited before so why not scratch a place off the to visit list.
I have never been down to Laughlin, I have driven past a few times, but never stopped. I will admit, everything I had heard about Laughlin was pretty much dead on. There are a few nice places, the limits are low, the staffs are really friendly, and the average age of the customers is somewhere around 125. I kid you not I'm fairly certain I was the youngest non-employee in the entire hotel.
While the average age may have been pushing triple digits, I did notice a few things I liked in Laughlin that I wish would be in Vegas. The river was beautiful, it was crystal clear, and they had a nice riverwalk, I grew up in a city with a lake and never realized how much I missed the water until I moved to the middle of the desert. Another thing I noticed was the lack of children, granted this may be due to the fact that most of the visitors are well past their child bearing years, but it amazed me to be walking between casinos and not having to dodge strollers and kids on leashes, there wasn't the constant whine of crying children, and I like that. Also in Laughlin there are no porn slappers, timeshare hawkers, or night/strip club guys, which was a nice added bonus.
My only major gripes, the casinos are a far bit apart I guess I'm getting spoiled by the close proximity of the vegas casinos, but it seemed like a bit of a trek to get from one end of the Laughlin Strip to the other. We ended up spending most of our time @ Don Laughlin's Riverside which was where we were staying.
The Riverside was a nice little casino, you can tell it's a little old in years, but everything was kept in decent order. The room was nice, but not overbearing, the casino was small and took a few minutes to familiarize yourself with but after a lap or 2 you knew the lay of the land. The one thing that kept sticking out to me was that by the pit and poker room, there were a large bank of windows that overlook the river. I just couldn't get over the fact that you could clearly see outside and the casino had no problem with that. In Vegas, it always appears to be noon when you are inside, however in Laughlin you could see the fact that it was night or day and for some reason that seemed odd to me.
One of the biggest selling points about Laughlin is the fact that everything is HELLA cheap. The room rates are about the same as vegas, but the food was WAY WAY cheaper. The buffet was cheap, the Prime Rib Room was cheap, the snack bar was cheap, everything was about half the price as it was in Vegas, if not cheaper.
I took a few photos, but there really isn't a lot to report back, I got my butt kicked at most of the games, the poker gods still hate me, and well that's about it.
View from the Room, the river and mountains were a nice thing to see in the morning.
Prime Rib from the Prime Rib Room, and no I didn't eat them both the one on the left is my moms. Very good meal have to thank Vinny for the recommendation.
There was one odd thing, Laughlin is right on the NV, AZ border and since AZ doesn't observe daylight savings time, if you crossed the river it was 1 hour ahead of NV time. Now this wouldn't be a big deal, however with cellphones things got a little tricky, if you were catching signal from an AZ tower it was a different time than if you were catching from a NV tower. There were times when I would move from one side of a table to the other and the time would change an hour. Luckily we weren't really on a set schedule, but it was a little confusing at times.
All in all it was a fun trip, I got to spend some time with the parentals, and had some great food. Not back to your regularly programmed randomness
I have never been down to Laughlin, I have driven past a few times, but never stopped. I will admit, everything I had heard about Laughlin was pretty much dead on. There are a few nice places, the limits are low, the staffs are really friendly, and the average age of the customers is somewhere around 125. I kid you not I'm fairly certain I was the youngest non-employee in the entire hotel.
While the average age may have been pushing triple digits, I did notice a few things I liked in Laughlin that I wish would be in Vegas. The river was beautiful, it was crystal clear, and they had a nice riverwalk, I grew up in a city with a lake and never realized how much I missed the water until I moved to the middle of the desert. Another thing I noticed was the lack of children, granted this may be due to the fact that most of the visitors are well past their child bearing years, but it amazed me to be walking between casinos and not having to dodge strollers and kids on leashes, there wasn't the constant whine of crying children, and I like that. Also in Laughlin there are no porn slappers, timeshare hawkers, or night/strip club guys, which was a nice added bonus.
My only major gripes, the casinos are a far bit apart I guess I'm getting spoiled by the close proximity of the vegas casinos, but it seemed like a bit of a trek to get from one end of the Laughlin Strip to the other. We ended up spending most of our time @ Don Laughlin's Riverside which was where we were staying.
The Riverside was a nice little casino, you can tell it's a little old in years, but everything was kept in decent order. The room was nice, but not overbearing, the casino was small and took a few minutes to familiarize yourself with but after a lap or 2 you knew the lay of the land. The one thing that kept sticking out to me was that by the pit and poker room, there were a large bank of windows that overlook the river. I just couldn't get over the fact that you could clearly see outside and the casino had no problem with that. In Vegas, it always appears to be noon when you are inside, however in Laughlin you could see the fact that it was night or day and for some reason that seemed odd to me.
One of the biggest selling points about Laughlin is the fact that everything is HELLA cheap. The room rates are about the same as vegas, but the food was WAY WAY cheaper. The buffet was cheap, the Prime Rib Room was cheap, the snack bar was cheap, everything was about half the price as it was in Vegas, if not cheaper.
I took a few photos, but there really isn't a lot to report back, I got my butt kicked at most of the games, the poker gods still hate me, and well that's about it.
View from the Room, the river and mountains were a nice thing to see in the morning.
Prime Rib from the Prime Rib Room, and no I didn't eat them both the one on the left is my moms. Very good meal have to thank Vinny for the recommendation.
There was one odd thing, Laughlin is right on the NV, AZ border and since AZ doesn't observe daylight savings time, if you crossed the river it was 1 hour ahead of NV time. Now this wouldn't be a big deal, however with cellphones things got a little tricky, if you were catching signal from an AZ tower it was a different time than if you were catching from a NV tower. There were times when I would move from one side of a table to the other and the time would change an hour. Luckily we weren't really on a set schedule, but it was a little confusing at times.
All in all it was a fun trip, I got to spend some time with the parentals, and had some great food. Not back to your regularly programmed randomness
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
In Da Club
So I have never really been a big club guy. I don't really understand how people will get all dressed up, wait in line for an hour +, pay a 1000% markup on booze, to listen to some really loud music and hopefully grind against someone.
That being said, in the last 2 weeks I have been to Tao and Jet, and I can honestly say I have had a fun time at both. Granted a large percentage of the fun I've had is directly related to the people I was out with, but the whole club scene wasn't as bad as I thought.
Don't get me wrong, I still cringe when I have to pay $10+ for a well vodka/club and $15+ if I make it a redbull/vodka. And there is no chance in hell I'll ever pay for bottle service, (wait you want me to pay $400 for a $30 retail bottle of vodka, just so some scantily clad chick can pour me weak drinks for the rest of the night and clear off any drinks that are half empty), no thank you.
However the music was great at both places (TAO had a guy playing the sax...still not really sure why). The DJs knew what they were doing, their mashups were great, their transitions were smooth, and some of the clubs are set up pretty kick ass. The decor and environments are pretty top notch.
I would have to give the nod to Tao as it was a much nicer place, and Jet seemed a little too packed, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at both clubs. Don't get me wrong, I doubt you'll find me clubbing regularly in my free time, but it was surprisingly fun.
That being said, in the last 2 weeks I have been to Tao and Jet, and I can honestly say I have had a fun time at both. Granted a large percentage of the fun I've had is directly related to the people I was out with, but the whole club scene wasn't as bad as I thought.
Don't get me wrong, I still cringe when I have to pay $10+ for a well vodka/club and $15+ if I make it a redbull/vodka. And there is no chance in hell I'll ever pay for bottle service, (wait you want me to pay $400 for a $30 retail bottle of vodka, just so some scantily clad chick can pour me weak drinks for the rest of the night and clear off any drinks that are half empty), no thank you.
However the music was great at both places (TAO had a guy playing the sax...still not really sure why). The DJs knew what they were doing, their mashups were great, their transitions were smooth, and some of the clubs are set up pretty kick ass. The decor and environments are pretty top notch.
I would have to give the nod to Tao as it was a much nicer place, and Jet seemed a little too packed, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at both clubs. Don't get me wrong, I doubt you'll find me clubbing regularly in my free time, but it was surprisingly fun.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Ahead of the Curve
So back in August I posted a Blog about a song I couldn't get out of my head (warning NSFW).
That song was F*ck You by Cee Lo Green, granted it's the original, and the Edited Version didn't come out for a while, but it amazes me that people are now just finally catching on the the song.
He had an great performance at the Grammy's with Gweneth Paltrow and the Muppets, however I can't find a link since CBS makes it easier to find Jimmy Hoffa than a video on their website. It was a good show, although I still find the edited version of the song odd, I have always liked the uncut version.
It's not very often that I'm ahead of the curve on something, but this time I can honestly say I was...yay me!!!
That song was F*ck You by Cee Lo Green, granted it's the original, and the Edited Version didn't come out for a while, but it amazes me that people are now just finally catching on the the song.
He had an great performance at the Grammy's with Gweneth Paltrow and the Muppets, however I can't find a link since CBS makes it easier to find Jimmy Hoffa than a video on their website. It was a good show, although I still find the edited version of the song odd, I have always liked the uncut version.
It's not very often that I'm ahead of the curve on something, but this time I can honestly say I was...yay me!!!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Prop Results
In a previous BLOG, I posted what I thought were the best Prop Bets for the Superbowl, and had you my readers vote on the coin toss...well sadly we lost the coin toss, I went almost even on the props I actually bet, and even with the losing coin toss I only lost 4.40 on the props.
Here are the results of my Theoretical Props, and the amount of Minton Bucks I Earned
Here are the results of my Theoretical Props, and the amount of Minton Bucks I Earned
- Will Either Team Score 3 Straight Time? NO Win 25.50
- Team To Use First Coaches Challenge: Pitt Lose 11
- Shortest TD Of The Game: Over 1.5 Win 21.5
- Will There Be A Safety? Yes Lose 10
- Total Interceptions By Both Teams: Over Lose 10
- Will There Be A Defensive or Special Teams TD? Yes Win 24.5
- Total Rushing Yards By Ben Roethlisberger: Over 11.5 Win 21
- Total TD Passes By Ben Roethlisberger: Over 1.5 Win 21.5
- Total Receiving Yards By Heath Miller: Over 38.5 Lose 11
- Total Receptions By Heath Miller: Over 3.5 Lose 11.5
- Will Heath Miller Score a TD? Yes Lose 10
- Will The Steelers Score In All 4 Quarters? Yes Lose 10
- Will The Steelers Convert A 4th Down Attempt? Yes Lose 10
- Total Rushing Yards By Aaron Rodgers:Over 20.5 Lose 10
- Total TD Passes By Aaron Rodgers: Over 1.5 Win 29
- Distance Of The First Aaron Rodgers TD Pass: 12.5 Win 21
- Total Rushing Yards By James Starks: Under 50.5 Lose 11
- Total Receiving Yards By Donald Driver: Over 49.5 Lose 11
- Total Receptions By Donald Driver: Over 4.5 Lose 10
- Will The Packers Score In All 4 Quarters? Yes Lose 10
- Total Solo + Assisted Tackles By A.J. Hawk: Over 4.5 Win 22
- Total Punts: Under 9.5 Win 24
- Most Rushing Yards Moore or Kuhn? Moore Win 21
- Player to Score a TD First Ward or Driver? Ward Win 20
- Jersey Number of First Player To Score: Under 59.5 Lose 10
- Who Will Have More Points Blake Griffin (Clippers) Or Packers? Griffin Lose 11
- Who Will Have More Kevin Garnett (Celtics) Free Throws Made -1 or Rodgers Passing TD Passes +1? KG Win 21
- Margin Of Victory: Steelers 1-4pts Lose 10
- Margin Of Victory: My Bet Steelers 5-8pts Lose 10
- Double Result of The Game: My Bet Packers First Half Steelers Full Game Winner Lose 10
Friday, February 4, 2011
And The Winner Is......
TAILS-
After a long and hard fought battle, which included a straight up tie at the end of polling. The winner of the Heads or Tail Coin Toss Bet has been decided.
I have already placed the wager, and the ticket is in hand
Let's hope the Commemorative Coin lands on whatever side they say is tails.
This also marks the first thing done on my 30 For 30 List...only 29 more to go
After a long and hard fought battle, which included a straight up tie at the end of polling. The winner of the Heads or Tail Coin Toss Bet has been decided.
I have already placed the wager, and the ticket is in hand
Let's hope the Commemorative Coin lands on whatever side they say is tails.
This also marks the first thing done on my 30 For 30 List...only 29 more to go
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