Not enough poker but great bonding time with my daughter Hannah. I walked through the large tournament area. They spread a mix of the day's tournaments, mega satellites, and cash games. I paused to watch Greg Raymer take down a couple of large pots in a mega. We chatted in between hands. I was struck by a couple of things while I watched. First of all, he picked off two blufs by seemingly reading the cards of his opponents. This is a skill that I marvel at -- getting a read and trusting it enough to risk large calls. The set ups were similar in each hand. The opponent had bet strong on the turn. In the first instance a third club had turned; in the second instance a possible straight had turned. Greg examined his opponent carefully and made the call. Then, on the river, his first opponent made a pot sized bet -- with a very large stack remaining. Greg though, riffled his chips, looked at his opponent with quick glances, paused some more, and then called. His opponent had garbage; Greg had two pair. How did he know? In the second instance his opponent shoved on the River -- not an insignificant sum -- about a quarter of Greg's large stack. Greg went through the same routine -- though not for as long -- and called. Greg didn't have the straight or even trips. He called with two pair -- and his opponent had garbage. Amazing!
The second skill was his ability to move from serious, focused, expert player to chatting pal. He did it effortlessly and with no transition. One minute he was making what seemed like an amazingly tough call; the next he was chatting with me. When I make tough calls it drains me -- whether I win or lose. I can't bounce into and out of seriousness as easily.
I paused to watch a $5/10 NLHE game for a short while. Can we players lighten up -- just a little? Folks are so serious and remote. Ear buds, head sets, sunglasses, baseball caps. If I were a new player I sure would be reluctant to sit down for some poker with folks who looked like that. THe number of friendly, happy faces seems to be diminished every time I come into a poker game. There are exceptions. My friend Andrei keeps his opponents laughing and smiling. But too few others have any consideration for attracting "live ones".
Hannah and I paid a visit to one of my favorite people in this town -- the great gambling writer Ed Silberstang. He has gotten more frail since we saw him last, but he was hugely entertaining and engaging, with stories of his writing adventures. Hannah, I think, was especially impressed by this vital and warm man. I'm glad they got to meet.
The rest of the day was fun -- though not as much as I had hoped. We drove to Hoover Dam. I like going there and soaking up some American history and engineering. My daughter seemed less impressed. Matters weren't helped by elevator trouble that prevented us from getting a tour of the innards of the place -- something I have found fascinating in the past. Nevertheless, the day was beautifully temperate -- not intense Las Vegas 100 degree melting.
We ate at an Ethiopian restaurant on Convention Center drive in what was a nearly empty small strip mall. The food was copious if not delicious. But he atmosphere was very stark and unappealing. I wouldn't go back -- even though the prices were very modest.
We capped off the day with Penn and Teller. I'd seen a couple of their tricks before -- though never the whole show. They are extremely skilled magicians, and their act is well polished. Though I was blown away by the technique, I was a little disappointed by the pacing of the show. I felt rushed. Not enough time for sufficient ooos and aaaaahs I guess. And the next time I see the show, if there is a next time, I'll pay the extra price to sit up closer. We weren't very far away -- it's not a huge arena. But I felt that I missed some of the smaller bits because we were too far back to see the details that made the trick work (a cigarette and pencil trick didn't work from where we were because we couldn't make out the difference between the two devices in the act).
We had had such a large and late lunch that neither of us were hungry for even a late dinner after the show. I was exhausted from my early rising and long day. So we retired for the evening at 11PM or so. Some wild Vegas guide I am!
Today we'll have a meal somewhere near the airport and depart. I came to Las Vegas during the WSOP and won a tournament. I got to introduce my daughter Hannah to my poker world -- while introducing her to some interesting and warm friends from this town. I didn't get to play any live poker -- and I feel like I'm leaving a couple of days too soon -- with many spots still left unseen by my daughter. But all in all a great trip to Las Vegas. I can't wait until I come back.
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