The Wonderful World of the Gundampilotspaz

There are many different perceptions on what this unique city represents. Be it a romantic vision of victory, a stunning achievement of mankind’s ability to adopt to their surroundings, the destruction of the moral basis of America, or the ruthless nature of capitalism. All these perceptions exist and all of them are valid. This place, this wild and extraordinary place that grew from a lifeless piece of earth, leaves a unique impression on everyone who crosses though.

I have taken the romantic view for a long time. Specifically since the 2004 World Series of Poker began airing on ESPN. Here was a card game, a game most people thought of as a random act of chance, having it’s championship aired on prime time television. When I first watched it I thought it was silly. Why do I care about people playing poker? But the 2004 World Series was presented in a way that allowed the viewer to learn the game, learn the modern day heroes of the game, and learn about the legends.

After the 2004 season of the World Series of Poker ended I continued to play No Limit Hold’em as well as other forms of the game. All the time reading about the legends and myth surrounding the game. From Doyle Brunsons tales of having the keep a shotgun by his side during those first Hold’em games in Texas to Stu Unger winning his third World Series title in 1997 after falling out of the poker world due to cocaine abuse. That whole tournament he wore sunglasses to hide the fact his nostrils had caved in. He died a short time after this final victory.

Four years ago I dreamed of being old enough not  just to play in the World Series of Poker, that mess has turned into a crap shoot anyway, but just to come to Vegas and play poker where these legends had once sat. To stand in the shadows of giants, as it were. As I write this three days away from my 21st birthday sitting in a hotel room thirteen stories above Las Vegas…. I feel like I’m in a dream. This can’t be real, can it? I feels like no time has passed since my friends and I had played our small $5 tournaments and thought about one day sitting in a real Vegas casino and playing a serious game of poker. This isn’t really happening.

I think I kept thinking this as the day of the flight (this morning) came and I bragged to everyone at work. I kept thinking that I’d wake up from some dream as we lifted off from Hartford Connecticut at 7am, and I really thought I was dreaming as I looked down from the heavens upon mother earth of the first time. It didn’t even hit me as we landed at 9am after 5 hours in the air (ugh, jetlag)  and got our luggage. It hit me at the strangest time. As we went back to our hotel I say a highway sign that said, “route 15 to Salt Lake City” that was when it really hit home that I had crossed a continent. That on August 12th I will stand in the shadow of giants.

The first day I used to get a feeling for what Las Vegas was really like. I had to get there first, of course, that was an ordeal that I don’t really want to remember. Not that it was too much of a hassle. But the flight left at 7 am and we left for the airport at 3am. I didn’t sleep that night, in fact I didn’t sleep more than maybe 2 hours on the flight until midnight on saturday. 9am on Friday to 12am on sunday. 39 hours of being awake.

After getting our rental car and checking in we just went for a drive to check out the city. Lunch was a priority and I jumped at the opportunity to eat at In and Out burger for the first time. The restaurant was absolutely packed. Standing room only. The burger was wonderful, the fries were good but nothing spectacular. With fries I use “Five Guys Burger and Fries” as a standard. Five Guys use fresh potatoes, cut them in house, and use peanut oil. So In and Out Burgers frozen fries didn’t

We stopped at the Luxor and just walked around. That casino was amazing. The whole thing is a giant pyramid. In the huge open center is shopping and gaming while the walls are lined with hotel rooms all the way up to the tip. The room doors are facing the inside of the casino. It’s an amazing engineering marval.

The evening was reserved for a trip around town to stare at the pretty lights. I know it’s cliché but they really are overwhelmingly impressive. Old Vegas was an amazing experience, looking at the old buildings blending into the newly constructed lights and dome covering the famous street. Walking though the Horseshoe (now Binion’s) and looking at the spot that all the World Series of Poker Champions were crowned was humbling.

A long day, a humbling day, and day a long time long coming. I look forward to a great week.

Pictures from my first day in Las Vegas
This will probably be one of the longest updates except for MAYBE tomorrow which will be about the final day of the Las Vegas Star Trek convention. Really now, it would be boring to write “Played 18 hours of poker. Can’t wait to do it again” four days in a row.

Tags: travel //