anomaly16

Long before I started playing poker I'd always wanted to go to Vegas. I'd only been full-time a couple of months when the threads went up advertising spots in a house for summer 2010. As much as I wanted to go, I was still getting myself established as a pro and didn't really have the bankroll to be able to commit and know I would be able to pay for both the trip and bills at home. I knew it was going to be a trip of a lifetime and I wanted to be sure I could afford to go without financial pressure and be able to enjoy myself properly so reluctantly delayed my decision.

By chance in April, with only really one spot left in the house, I was contacted out of the blue and offered a contracting job with a company I had worked with on some projects when I was at the bank. I wasn't thrilled about doing 9-5 again and playing less poker, but the length of contract and day rate was enough for me to feel safe committing to the trip. It felt like fate pushing me to go so I promptly took up the last spot in the house and booked my flights, to leave on June 8th in time for Gary's birthday and the start of the world cup and fly back on July 14th.

I won't go into all the details of the trip but it was awesome! - I made some posts at the time if you want to read more - Vegas #1, Flu in Vegas and I shot a zombie with a Glock 9mm.

I had a list of things I wanted to do while I was there and managed most of them including

• play a wsop event
• play lots of poker
  
• shoot handguns
• roll dice at a craps table
• play slots
  
• see the desert
• see the grand canyon
• play golf
  

We had an epic last night and in the end I was really sad to be leaving the good friends I'd made and Vegas itself. Even if poker doesn't work out as a long-term career for me, it will have been worth it for being able to fulfil one of my dreams.

There were a few things I didn't get round to doing so I guess I'll have to endure the hardship of going back! I haven't booked any flights yet, but I plan to be there for the whole of June and July 2011. There should be a good number of us back from last year - Gary, Dip and Darren and perhaps DJ and Tim. Gary is already lining up a house for us and it should be way better than the one we had last time. The idea of having an outdoor pool is a tough concept from someone from Scotland but I'm sure I'll cope :)