Vegas June/July 2022 (WSOP)

Days 17-18 Aria one last time

Last Updated: 2022-07-10 11:02:20

Yes you see correctly. Day 18...

As I mentioned at the end of the Day 16 BLOG I took Friday off to change hotels instead of just sticking Joann with the task. I thought Aria was $400 buyin but it turned out to be $600 for that day so I probably wouldn't have played there anyway, if I had played it would have been Orleans.

I was able to check in very early at Park MGM (pays to be Platinum!) so that we could bring everything down, load up the car, drive a couple of blocks, unload the car and move in. Joann did a great job of getting it down to where we could manage everything in one trip on the elevator even with me buying 3 cases of liquor...and the suitcase I stuffed ALL the liquor into might not have even been the heaviest one!!!

Won't be so easy for me when I leave, tho, I will definitely have to make more than one trip to the car.

Joann found an Italian restaurant in Mandalay Bay, "Lupo by Wolfgang Puck." It was not cheap, think Italian version of Smith and Wollensky, but we had a great meal. We will definitely go back! I can see that place becoming out go-to for expensive Italian (with Eataly at Park being our "cheap" Italian meal).

Well, OK, I ate Italian style and had five courses so that might have had something to do with it. Oh and we sat at the bar for a drink before dinner since we got there early and they had an impressive whisky menu. For me that's like catnip to a cat. I tried Elmer T Lee for a second time and liked it better than the first time I tried it ... but I digress ...

When dining in Italy most menus (and I say "most" because I accept the possibility there are exceptions, tho I never saw one) are broken down into "Primi" and "Secondi". First and second course for dinner. And one of those two courses was almost always enough for Joann and Sophie, but compared to typical American restaurants these plates are about half what you'd get here. For me it's like Italian Tapas. As such, most of the time we were in Italy I got both courses, because they're small. And pasta is always part of "Primi" tho not exclusively pasta.

Lupo's menu was broken into Primi and Secondi. My assumption, therefore, is that they serve dishes like in Italy...

The first course was shared, bread with olive oil and garlic paste ... I asked how big the pastas were that were intended as a first plate and the waiter said it was a full meal size. Was quite adamant about it in fact.

For the next course Joann had scallops and I went with meatballs (standard antipasti). Joann got three huge scallops! For dinner Joann got linguini with shrimp and I ordered pasta Bolognese because, well, that's what I do.

After all, I was assured it was a big plate!

Dude brings me half a plate of pasta. I thought I asked that question ... look I'm not the most overweight person on the planet, but I know I have a bit of a gut. This dude thinks that's gonna fill me up? Puhlease. Joann's meal, by contrast, actually was a good sized plate.

I sucked down the half plate of pasta, then ordered a chicken parm as course number 4. Waiter was visibly amused I was ordering more food! And for the record, the one ok size piece of chicken wouldn't have nearly filled me up either on it's own.

And since I was only on the edge of being full and Joann was having Tiramisu, bring on the cheesecake! This was actually my least favorite part of the meal, I would forgo dessert in the future. Maybe a limoncello next time instead ...

Bottom line: we loved the meal (portion size notwithstanding), had incredibly attentive service and would absolutely go back.

Back up to the room and time for bed.

Saturday morning we got up early, I drove Joann to the airport picking up Starbucks along the way, went back to Starbucks for my second tea, then went back up to the room and I watched F1 Sprint Qualifying since Joann saw the results on FB by accident.

On to Aria for a little poker!

I'm wearing one of my System of a Down t-shirts and a dealer who is young but I know has been there at least a few years points at my shirt and says "I have a story for you..."

Apparently he was at a friends house hanging out and playing board games when he asked some middle-aged looking dude what he did for a living.

He's in a band ...

He's a drummer ...

One John Dolmayan of System of a Down.

The dealer isn't even a fan, said he still doesn't know anything about their music. Damn! I filled him in a little...

Meanwhile I barely play a hand for the first hour. Finally pick up pocket 7s under the gun, raise out, 4 callers, flop K-J-6, done with the hand since most of the callers are behind me.

Finally pick up a decent hand, two red aces! I make it 1000 to go and both blinds call. Flop is queen high, all spades. I make a continuation bet of 2100, one caller. Check down turn and river that were both clubs, aces are good!

Finally just before the first break I get a couple of nice hands!

3rd to act makes it 1200 to go, 4th to act calls and I have A-K offsuit. I pop it to 4200.

I used to often like to just call here and hope to hit a flop and crush someone and be able to just get away when I miss. But I've learned that in the long run it really is just better to plow money in right away and nowadays I would guess I'm 3-betting 100% of the time in these spots.

Everyone folds but the two who had put 1200 in, they both call.

Flop Jack high. Less than ideal, it checks around. Turn is a king tho and I take it down with a bet.

Next hand the guy to my right limps in and I look down at aces. I make it 2000 to go, both blinds and the limper call.

Another Jack high flop, they all fold to my continuation bet.

38,100 at the break from a 25k starting stack.

A middle position player made it 2000 to go at 400/800/800, an already short stack called for just over 1/2 of his stack. This is a very poor call on his part, with his stack all-in or fold PERIOD.

I look down at pocket queens and make it 9000 to go. Folds around to the short stack who shrugs and puts in his last 1800 and shows King-Ten.

Flop comes J-4-4. Ten on the turn, ten on the river, short stack about triples up with all the dead money.

Hand or two later I make it 2000 to go in middle position with 6-4 of hearts. I get 4 callers. Flop comes 2-6-10, I lead out for probably about 6-7k and everyone folds. Make like 9k with 6-4, lose chips with QQ. That's about right for me on this trip...

On my button folks start folding and the dealer accidentally mucks the big blinds hand! The one guy yet to act who had any aggression in him folds, everyone else behinds me folds and with 7-3 and only the small blind left to act I steal blinds with a 2k bet. Sweet!

A couple hands after that 3rd to act makes it 2000 and I look down at pocket jacks. I've said several times I'm trying to 3-bet more frequently, but sometimes jacks are worth hoping to flop a set instead of 3-betting so I just call to see what happens. The small blind decides to do the 3-betting and makes it 6000. The original raiser folds, I call and one guy behind me also calls. Now here you could argue I should have just jammed it in...

Flop comes 7-high, small blind checks (and based on his play to that point if he had a big hand he's betting 100%) so I make a bet of 9000 and everyone folds.

Quite a nice pot! I'm a hair under 60k!

But ... here we go again. I raise out with pocket 10s, short-ish stack goes all-in, folds around to me and I snap-call. He turns over A-10 of spades ... and flops 3 spades.

Of course he does...

18k gone from my stack.

Lose another 10k raising out with 6s, getting called and then shoved on when I c-bet the K-small-small flop against the nit who I'd tripled up earlier. He did eventually give away all the chips I handed him, some of it back to me...

I'm in the big blind, the cutoff makes it 2200 to go and someone (probably the nit) calls before I look down at A-Q suited. I 3-bet to 11k, everyone folds.

But then give a chunk of that back with 8s, again I raise out, again I get a couple of callers, again the flop comes king high and I try to rep a king, get called and have to give up the hand. Frustrating...

Sitting on 29,100 at this point.

Blinds are 600/1200/1200 and I make it 3000 to go with A-J offsuit. Two callers, flop comes Q-6-small with two spades. It checks around, turn is a 3rd spade and I have the ace of spades and take this one down with a delayed continuation bet.

Three hands later there are two limpers plus the nit and I look down at 88 again. I just check to see what will happen.

Flop comes A-8-3. Yes! Surely one of the limpers has an ace...

Nope. They check, nit goes all in for what's now his last 5300 or 5800 (can't remember if there was a 500 chip in there but I feel like there was). I'm quite unhappy but just call hoping for callers behind and they both quickly fold. Argh!

Nit has two overcards, drawing dead. Well with the ace I guess he could have made runner-runner straight and as I think about it I'm surprised he didn't!

42800 at the second break. It's a 20-minute break so I decide to see if I can make it back up to my room in Park and back so I can grab my phone charging wire and reload the bottle of water I drank from my backpack. For those that don't know there's an enclosed walkway between Aria and Park that is just off the poker room.

Made it there and back with 30 seconds to spare!

And I won the chip race to get rid of the 100s so 43k!

After paying blinds of 1000/1500/1500 I'm just over 25 bigs, go all in over the top of a raise to 3500 with A-Q suited and take it down. Then steal some blinds with A-Q off. Work my way up to 59k, for just below an average stack.

But a long way to go. 431 entries, 171 remain, paying 51 places. I'm just below average stack with 40 big blinds.

As I'm about to pay the big blind our table breaks up and I get moved just behind the button! Sweet! Usually I pay the big blind and get moved into the big blind...

I go a little card dead, blinds go up twice on me and my 40 big blind stack dwindles down to 19 bigs. 47500 at 1500/2500/2500. Pay blinds again, down to 16 BB.

In the cutoff I steal blinds with A-7 off.

Two hands later a guy who was min-raising about 70% of hands min raises yet again, it folds to me and I look down at pocket 2s. Easy all-in ... and he has pocket queens.

No help, done.

Argh! Was looking good for a while, went card dead at the wrong time and again I get a good all-in spot against the loose guy when he actually has a hand. Story of the trip.

Oh well. That's it for me for summer of 2022.