A summary...

before it all becomes a distant memory...

This was my first visit to the USA... not somewhere I had ever felt the urge to visit, until I caught the 'poker bug'... but I'm sure it won't be my last!

I left blighty with $3000 in cash... and even after a bit of last minute present/souvenir buying, on the last morning, I returned home with a few cents under $2900. I considered this to be a resounding success, since if I had returned with nothing I would not have been suprised!

Having done the 'World Series of Poker' thing... I don't feel the need to make this event an annual pilgrimage - that's not to say that I won't be trying even harder to win a Main Event seat next year, just that I won't be paying my own buy-in for any of the smaller events. I'm afraid 1 chip per buy-in dollar doesn't give enough time to play until you get to at least $3000 buy-ins.

There's also the heat in July and August - did I mention how hot it was??? Damned hot!!!

Future visits will be either March/April or October/November - or both!! (Who said that?)

Definitely the highlight of the visit was the Venetian... Quite stunning in every respect! The indoor Grand Canal Shoppes, on the first floor, complete with canal and gondola rides and St Marks Square - wow!! The Venetian poker room exuded class, lovely decor, quality tables (all with shuffle masters), helpful and friendly staff and dealers - and the cocktail waitresses weren't too shabby either! :-)

Of the other poker rooms visited...

Bellagio - Very nice, but the tables are a bit close together. No $1/$2 NL, $2/$5 NL minimum.
Ceasars Palace - Nice, but quite a large brightly lit room, seemed a bit lacking in atmosphere and character. $1/$2 NL available.
Aladdin - Not really a 'room', just a roped off area of the main casino floor next to very noisy slot machines, it was OK but not a patch on those above. $1/$2 NL available.
Mirage - Again, in a corner of the casino floor... this time with a 3' high wall around it. Tables very tightly packed and very noisy - slots again. $1/$2 NL available.
Gold Coast - Although this one is at the bottom list it could easily have gone above the Aladdin!! If I hadn't of been staying here then I wouldn't have traveled to play here. Another fenced off area of the casino floor and although adjacent to slots, it is in the far back corner and not overly noisy. The tables are showing signs of age and have the strangest material covering the playing surface. However (The good bits)... It is next to a bar and the cocktail waitresses are round every few minutes and drinks appear within a couple of minutes... The card room manager, Magic (that was his name), was a real nice guy... the dealers were efficient and very friendly... and best of all - I consistently won money in the $1/$2 NL game. :-)