Disappointment at Luxor, and a Wild Table at MGM

I walked down the walkway from Mandalay Bay towards Luxor, planning to have something at the Burger Bar, but there was a long wait so I ended up having dinner at the Pyramid Café at Luxor. Had a Burgundy Blue Burger with Onion Rings, very tasty – much better than the Sherwood at Excalibur. However, I have to say I’m not impressed with the redo of the Luxor. Inside it is now just another modernistic casino like you can see in a hundred locations around the world. I know that the old design needed upgrading and some fixes, but I think this is a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Pity, I'm watching all the resorts with character steadily being replaced by soulless, modern examples of corporate, avant garde free-think.

After my meal I then headed back to my room at the Excalibur to relax a bit more, answer some emails and phone messages and pick up a Fedex package I’d been waiting for.
Then it was off for a return engagement at the MGM, which was in its most glorious of Friday night forms. I was sat within minutes, and landed in a table with a great mix of steady locals along with a strong assortment of drunken tourists, two of which had trouble counting their chips out.

Raises and re-raises flew and it soon became apparent that I’d have to simply wait to catch a hand. The next few hours were a grind; as I’d win one moderate size pot, then go several circuits without getting a sniff of a pot, while watching my stack slowly melt. In fact, looking back, I am quite proud of myself for this session. I can often get frustrated during times like these, and start getting too loose and force things, generally to my ruin. This night, though, I did a good job of avoiding dangerous situations and husbanding my chips. Finally, four hours in I caught a nice rush, no great cards but decent flops that saw other players overplaying. Example is twice I looked down to see A3 suited in the blinds when 4-5 players called a $7 raise, so I called to see. Each time the flop was kind and other players’ overplayed under pairs or TPMK to give me some juicy pots. I ended up over $400. By 2am I was done and happy to head to my room.