A - Z of Poker: Day 22

From London to Vegas in 26 Letters

Day 22: V is for ...

V is for Vegas. What else could it be ? I love Las Vegas. Obviously there is a lot to Vegas that I never take advantage of, but I simply do not tire of the 24hour feast of poker there. This trip will be about my 6th, I think, and I am not close to even thinking of "too much poker".

Barry, I understand, has been something like 20 times and I know there are many players who will go for several weeks every year. I think it's like chips (the potato kind). Something so intrinsically fantastic that there is no such thing as a surfeit of it.

This will be my longest trip so far (11 nights, or two weeks as my wife likes to describe it). Potentially (pretty please ...) it could be longer if I make it to day-3 of the main event. I suppose when I arrive it will seem like a long trip ahead of me but I know with 100% certainty that it will seem too soon to leave 11 days later.

I think it's quite possible that I know more people in Vegas (at this time of year) than in any other City in the world. I can guarantee to bump into dozens of people I know from The Gutshot, The International and of course there are many dozens more people whom I know from the UK poker scene who don't necessarily know me. So, I feel at home there and there is never a lack of a topic to strike up a conversation. "See, I had AQ in the cut-off ...."


V is for Virgin. I understand that British Airways are soon to start up a Las Vegas route (if they don't go bankrupt first, I suppose). This would certainly be a welcome move. I am a fan of Virgin Atlantic (and I have the Gold Card to prove it), but even I get frustrated at the liberties they appear to take on the Las Vegas route. The strong impression conveyed is that they are a monopoly and they know it ! So, expect work out planes and zero chance of booking a reward flight with the billion flying club miles that I have racked up over the years.

Still, I associate Virgin with the trip to Vegas and it's hard to carry too much of a bad feeling about that. Typically, I do not travel "in logo". I can't quite put my finger on why but I notice that to a large extent the others leave the branded apparel in the suitcase as well. Which makes "spot the poker player" one degree harder unless (like last year) they are unmistakable (Gus Hansen) or insist of telling everyone who will listen that they just took down EPT Monte Carlo (Glen Chorny).