Arriving in Las Vegas is one of life’s unique pleasures. I’ve been there maybe thirty times but the arrival experience never disappoints.  Tony Holden's description of arriving in Vegas inspired my original curiosity to make the 6,000 mile, 12 hour flight to the Desert Disneyland for grown-ups.  After a minor encounter with the real World at immigration and the cab ride to the hotel, the Vegas experience kicks in as soon as you step into your hotel. The noise doesn't stop until you are back in the plane on the way home.  Ching ching ching.  The continuous melody of chirping slot machines.  Tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of them covering vast football fields of casino floors (and bars, bowling alleys and even the airport!).  They all make the same noise – ching ching ching.

I make my way through the throng towards the elevators and then up to the 34th floor.  I’m pleased to have a golf course view rather then the much vaunted (and more expensive) Strip view.  I throw my bags over by the bed, put my cash in the safe and head downstairs to renew my acquaintance with the Wynn card room.

Over the years, I’ve learnt a few important (and expensive) lessons.  As a result I’ve set myself some rules: 

1.                  Don’t be hasty when you arrive.  Jet lag and tiredness (as well as over-excitement) take a couple of days to get over.  So play lower stake games at the start of the trip

2.                  Don’t play too long. Plan your sessions. Decide how long you’re going to play and then get up whether you’re winning or losing

3.                  Get the gambling out of your system by playing smaller stakes to start

4.                  Sleep as much as possible

5.                  Get the Vegas rituals out of the way.  Mine is the annual shopping trip.  The challenge is to buy a year’s supply of clothes for less than $200.  It’s actually pretty easy.

I’ve been following the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on all the poker websites for the past few weeks and there have been some great results for the Brits. John Duthie (the brains behind the European Poker tour) came 2nd in the $10,000 World Heads up Championship taking $386,636 and John Kabbaj, one of the best European players in both cash and tournament formats, won the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha bracelet for $633,335. This is probably the best result for a Brit in the history of the WSOP.

I first played the WSOP Main Event (referred to as “The Big One”) in 2002. That year, at the end of Day 3, with only a few to go before the money, I was sitting next to well known poker author David Sklansky.  He was talking about how the Internet would completely change the face of Poker.  I didn’t agree with him at the time which just shows how wrong I can be. The WSOP began in 1970 when the world’s (or rather America’s) top players voted for who they considered to be the best.  Johnny Moss was unanimously elected Champ.  In 1971 he underlined this by winning the first actual WSOP Main Event, beating five other players for the title. The Big One hasn’t looked back.  In 1991, Brad Daugherty became the first WSOP millionaire when first prize reached a cool $1 million.  In 2003, Chris Moneymaker changed the landscape again when, after winning a $39 satellite on Pokerstars.com to win his entry, he pocketed $2,500,000 and poker was changed forever. Clearly the internet WAS invented for poker players as Sklansky predicted! In 2005, the year that the WSOP moved from its ancestral home in Binion’s Horseshoe to the Rio to accommodate the higher numbers, Jamie Gold set the high water mark and won a record $12 million first prize when nearly 8,800 entrants paid $10K each to play. Over 50% of them won their seats online. 

On Sunday (Day 1c of the Main Event) I take my place in the Amazon room in the Rio Convention Centre. It’s hard to describe the atmosphere at the start of The Big One.  There are 1,600 players at 160 tables all riffling their chips. A cheer greets the traditional cry of “Shuffle Up and Deal!”, poker’s equivalent of the Ref’s whistle to start the match. Then an almost monastic hush descends for the rest of the day punctuated with cries of anguish as players are knocked out by unhelpful River cards.

Day 1c is good to me.  I’m at a relatively soft table and know three of the other players. Another stroke of luck is being dealt 7-2 offsuit in my first hand. Phew!  Easy fold.  I continue to be dealt garbage for the first two hours, no bad thing as it gives me time to settle down and control my nerves.  The rest of the day is slow and steady.  I play tight, aggressive poker showing down very few hands.  I make a couple of mistakes which cost me a few chips but end the day with 59,525 (from a starting stack of 30,000).  A perfect start!

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