Married Life

Ok so i havent posted for a little while but I do have a good excuse. Nancy and I got married on Wed 26th March at The Little Chapel of the West. Some might say it was about time we got married but I guess we got there in the end.

I hadnt mentioned anything about us getting married before on the blog as she sometimes reads the blog and the wedding was a suprise. She knew we were getting married im not that brave. We had been engaged for 2 years and with us both moving out to Vegas the sooner we got married the better to help move the visa application along as we both now have the same name. The plan was for us to just go to one of the wedding chapels downtown and do a walkthrough quicky wedding just the 2 of us and then months down the line we could do a 2nd ceromony for family to enjoy.

Now im not one for attention im quite happy for the world to go by without the spotlight being shone too brightly on me. Sometimes though you just need to swallow hard and accept that you will be the centre of attention. So without Nancy knowing i was emailing around both families to get the wedding arranged. Once I knew who was avalible to attend I put the date in concrete and started to confirm the plans. Nancys parents moved home to Ireland from England 2 years ago. I had real trouble getting them flights as it was Easter week and Virgin were fully booked the whole week so in the end they flew on Contenental from Shannon to Newerk then on to Vegas. My parents live in Virginia but my dad was away on business so he flew in from Montreal via Cleveland and my mum and younger sister flew in from Bristol Tennesse. So in the end 7 of us made it to the Chapel on Wed and I have had a house full for over a week now. My younger brother couldnt get leave from the Airforce and my elder sister works for Air NewZealand so she was on flight somewhere. Nancys sister and family couldnt attend either but 7 was a good number for me. The important people were there and not too many in total.

Ok so ive got that sorted next we need a wedding license, well thats no problem as Nancy knows we are getting married. So we go downtown to get our license. The place is a zoo there must of been 20 people outside pushing flyers in your face saying how great there Chapel is and if you get married by us we will do this for you. We just laughed and at least we knew we had the right place. Rings again this wasnt too hard as I knew what size her ring finger was and I knew the style she wanted so I went out and got both rings arranged although I didnt confirm till later when she was with me. The Chapel i had all sorted and booked I even did a god job with the flowers so I have been told.

So everything is sorted apart from her wedding dress. This I dare not touch but she will have a week with her mother and future mother-in-law to get this sorted. Well its now Tuesday and her parents are arriving so how do I get her to the airport to meet them I dont wanna ruin the suprise. I tell her that a poker buddy is flying in and we are going to pick him up from the airport and drive him to his hotel. That works and we get to the airport. Check the screens and see where the baggage reclaim is and we are ready. Im on constant alert waiting for them to come down the escalator. Nancy has no interest in looking at the end of the day she has never met this guy before and therefore there is no point in looking. I spot them walking towards us, so I take Nancy by the hand and we start walking towards them. All of a sudden when we are about 4 steps apart she spots them and the tears arrive. She gives them both hugs in turn and when she is finished she comes back over to me and hits me then gives me a hug.

My family arrive the next day and Nancy is filled in on all the suprises and knows all the timings of what needs doing by when. So with 7 of us in the house and the wedding a few days off we had some entertaining to do. My parents had been to Vegas several times before but Nancys hadnt so we hit the strip and did plenty of walking as we hit all the casinos. Its amazing how much of it all I now take for granted and just walk straight past without giving it a 2nd glance. You need to be with someone seeing it for the first time to really notice it again.

We saw the Blue Man Group at the Venetian loved by all and Ka at the MGM. This is now my fav Cirque Du Soilel. I have seen them all except Zumanity at New York New York. We took them to the Red Rock so they could see where I play at my local casino we had the buffet there and at the Bellagio. We went for a long scenic drive through Red Rock Canyon this place really is amazing if you take the time to get away from the strip and see the real beauty of the place. We went up the Eiffel Tower, Nancy hates heights but she came up for a little while. Its def worth having a look its worth the $7. Plus a million and one other things that you just have to do when your in Vegas.

So wedding day arrive and as my mum will tell you we missed out on a few traditions. Such as I did see my bride to be the night before the wedding but I left the house in the morning before she put on her wedding dress. We also did without the stag and hen doos. So I arrive at the chapel first Nancy is coming down with the 2 fathers. My mum signs as witness and I pay my $50 minister fee/tip which is compulsory. Kim and Christina 2 friends that Nancy has made since being here arrived so the wedding party was now at 9. All the flowers looked great and now we just had the wait for the bride. She arrived bang on 3pm and look beyond stunning in her dress. A few photos later and we were in the chapel with me stood at the front awaiting my bride. The organ music started everybody stood and my bride walked down the aisle with her dad arm in arm. The ceromony passed in a second it felt with the 2 of us smiling and laughing. At one point I was laughing as the minister had said about us giving and loving and sharing and recieving and all i could think about was Joey from Friends we he married Chandler and Monica. I had no trouble with the vows but it was a struggle putting the ring on her finger and she had to help me out a little.

As expected we had none stop photos at the chapel and for the rest of the day on from there. We had pics taken there then at the Las Vegas sign at the Bellagio fountains, the Venetian canal and the waterfall at the Wynn where we were having dinner. Throughout the day we had people coming over to us to wish is well and to congratulate us. We had some people by us drinks when we were in the Bellagio and in the Wynn. We also heard some great comments through the day such as "I give it 6 months" one guy shook me by the hand and told me "how well i had done for myself and that i was batting above my average" but i think my favourite comment was as we walked out of the Wynn we walked past a couple and the guy turned to the girl and said a few more drinks and that could be us.

So a couple days on a life is good being Mr and Mrs Jim Mcshane. Nothing is really any different apart from the fact i have a ring on my finger. I have never worn a ring before so its a strange feeling and im very conscious that its there. I guess ask me again in a couple month what its like being married and ill be able to tell you more then. We did have a running joke in the wedding photos that we are the exception to the rule as my parents have been married 36 years and Nancys 43 years so my only wish is that we last as long as they have.

More later but thats more than enough for now. My sister left this morning and the rest go over the weekend so I can get back to normal and try to make some money on the tables to pay for it all. Oh and sorry to Kev for not turning on the webcam inside the chapel

The Las Vegas Sunshine

Well today the forecast is to hit the 80s for the first time since we have been here. I have been hearing about all the storms back home and I must say I havent missed it one little bit. Im not a fan of the cold and rain and I must say the weather we have had so far has been near perfect for me. Im not sure how comfortable ill be when the weather hits 120 but for now all is good.

We sleep with the blinds open in the bedroom and its so good waking up every morning to natural sunlight. Im up at 8am every morning at time which I used to go to bed at when back in England. I get up feed the cat open the patio doors and have my breakfast outside on the patio.

The Red Rock is holding a $500,000 freeroll in April all you have to do is play 75 hours in any cash game to qualify during the first 3 months of the year. The winner gets $70,000 and you get $100 just for qualifying so this on top of the $150,000 bad beat jackpot it really is a great value room to play in.

I was playing the Red Rock yesterday trying to up my hours. I have logged nearly 40 hours in there now and need to get to 75 by the end of the month. I have been playing short sessions in there so far and need a couple of long ones before the end of the month.

I had planned to have a long session there yesterday but it was going so well that I decided to bank a good win a leave early. Bankroll management v Hours played kinda battle. So I sat down with $1k and I was up to $2800 I had sent Nancy a text to come pick me up when this hand occurd. Im utg and i find KK. I decide to limp as we had a lively table i was expecting a raise from round the back I could reraise and take it down there and then. Of course the raise doesnt come and we have 7 people seeing the flop. The flop comes down KhQcJc now what do I do. The sb leads out for $30 the bb calls. I make it $100. They pass around to the button who makes it $400 to play with $300 behind. The sb now moves all for $1022 total, bb mucks and action is on me. I have $922 to call and assuming that the button is going to call there is a pot of about $1800. Im about 2-1 against to house up so im getting my odds to make the call. Im a bit worried that not all of my outs are there though. Then Nancy walks in, ok well im leaving just swallow the $100 in the pot if it pairs so be it oh well. Im stood up and the 3 guys to my left all see my cards so they are stood up away from the table discussing what I should do. Then as im about to fold I here the button and the small blind say well we have the same hand then. Ok so my outs are good and i guess i can claim backdoor clubs for an extra 4%. If I call an miss its still an $800 profit if I hit then im at the cashdesk cashing out nearly $5000. Ok I call. Of course I miss but its the right call knowing my outs are good. I ran it on a poker calculator when I got home and it turns out im 41% to win the pot. With hindsight I wish I had mucked forget the fact that I missed. I was $1800 in front and about to leave in an unraised pot I shouldnt of gone broke in this hand but anyway we live and learn. The suprising thing about the hand is I assumed hey both had A10 it turns out they both had 9 10. Its shocking really that the sb moves in for $1022 with 910 considering all the action that went on but thats the standard im up against. So its back to the Red Rock today to book more hours.

Ill be watching the Liverpool - Inter Milan game first and then go to the casino after Lunch. Ill play all afternoon, Nancy will pick me up sometime in the evening I think we are out for dinner tonight and then home watch some tv see whats been happening in the internet world and then bed before midnight. I thought this was supposed to be sin city the city that never sleeps, well why am i in bed before midnight every night.

Not that im complaining, getting a full nights sleep everynight is doing wonders for me, im sleeping the same times every night I eat at the right times of the day and im in the warmth and sunshine of Las Vegas. I def feel more healthy since being out here. Ok im not running marathons but I have shed a couple of pounds and feel better than when back home.

Talking of health I guess I should give an update on my sister. In a way I have forgotten all about her health scare. To see or speak to her you wouldnt know anything had happened. She is back to 100% and she is prob in better shape than she was before. The docs have given her a clean bill of health and touch wood we can put it all behind us.

I got an email from my removals company just over a week ago informing me that my container was to be returned to the UK upon arrival this Friday at customs in the states. The first thing I spoke to my removal company about before taking them on was what paperwork did I require to get all our belongings over to the states. I filled in all the paperwork they told me I needed and the container was on its way. So why the email, whats going on? why will it be returned? I choose to ignore my people in the UK and decide to get in contact with my people in the US. After a lot of phone calls and emails all my paperwork is now in order and my container arrives in the states on Friday. Im told it should go through, but im not counting my chickens. Its 90% plus to go through so fingers crossed. The next problem will be when it all arrives. The container will be unloaded, most of it will stay wrapped and in the garage and we will just move it on again when we buy our new house.

Thanks for all the feedback I have been getting I have a counter at the bottom of the blog and it just hit 1000 hits. I only put the counter on the blog when I got to Vegas so 1000 hits in 3 weeks sounds pretty good to me. If anyone has any tips to help the techno parts of the blog let me know.

Another Week on

So another week down and another hire car returned to Avis at the airport. We will be leasing a car soon but just have to wait another couple weeks as we don't have a credit rating yet. I have been driving more and more but it still seems really strange driving on the wrong side of the road. I have to concentrate really hard when i arrive at a junction not not turn onto oncoming traffic.

The poker this week has been tough and I have suffered a few loses 1/2 due to getting my big pairs cracked and 1/2 due to me calling raises and reraises preflop when I know im behind. The standard is so low on the most part that I try to win every pot I enter. I have to remember that they will be another pot along in a minute and to be more patient. Over the last couple of days I have recouped my loses by tightening up and controlling the pots i'm in. The other thing I have been doing is leaving the table at the right time. Not staying to long in order to lose my winnings back.

I have also mixed up my venues a bit by playing the Venetian, Red Rock, Wynn and Bellagio. Im not a fan of the Bellagio poker room or of the people that work there. The staff all seem arrogant an the atmosphere in the room just isnt the same as other cardrooms on the strip. It seems like the staff are more important rather than the players. So I played my first session in the Bellagio since the move as I was meeting up with Simon Galloway who was over and staying in the Bellagio. While I was playing in the cash game Simon was playing in the $500 daily tournament. He has won a sat into the tourney in the morning and went on to win the comp and picking up nearly $6k from his $130 spent. Well played Simon.

I played the Red Rock this afternoon and collected a nice little win and I was out the door in less than 2 hrs. I have really started to work out how to play in this room. It is quite amazing the difference between each of the different poker rooms in Vegas. Already I had a reputation as an action player and as being loose and that I bluff a lot. Now though I have my timing a lot better and have picked my spots a lot better.

I have been only playing cash so far since I have been here but as im spending more time around the rooms im listening to comments made around the table regarding which of the tournys around town are the best value and the softest.

I took Simon up to the Red Rock one night to show him around. Its about a $30 cab ride from the strip and id advise anyone to visit if they get a chance. Along with Nancy we had a great meal at the expensive but high quality night out in T Bones. Im sure there will be plenty of other visitors from the UK that will enjoy a night out at T Bones, Jeff Buffenbarger and Julian Thew come to mind. It will take Julian an hour just look through the wine list.

So the weekend is now upon is and im watching Chelsea getting beat by Barnsley in the FA cup. So after Liverpool(my team) winning and Man Utd getting beat its already been a great start to the day. As soon as the football is finished ill be off down to the strip to meet all the tourists and to spend a full day playing. Ill prob start in the Venetian but as Simon is going home after the weekend ill prob go meet him in the Bellagio at some point. I havent played the MGM yet or Ceasers on this trip so I might have a look in there too.

Mountain Views

Some pictures for you of the view from the top of our road. The Red Rock Nature Reserve is less than a mile from our house and the scenery is amazing. Its not like driving around Romford in Feb or March.

Wynn Poker Classic

So we all move on to the next casino. For the last 3 weeks the Venetian had been by far the busiest cardroom on the strip, but now the room is quiet and the action is a lot slower. The bandwagon has moved onto the equally beautiful and grand Wynn. The poker room at the Wynn is quite small considering how popular is room is. Im not sure how many tables they have so ill have to count next time im in.

So on Thursday i decided to go along to the Wynn and see what the action was like. I have never been a great fan of the Wynn in the past and it was maybe 18 months since I last played there. The reason why I hadnt been there for such a long time is that on my last visit I sat in the $2/$5 game and sat with $5oo and a guy comes to the table and sits down with $50,000. How crazy is that there is no cap in any of the games in the Wynn and sometimes you see some over the top stacks and often more than one. I heard the other day there was over $200k on one $2/$5 table with 3 guys each having over $50k each.

So I walk through the Wynn arrive at the cardroom and ask for a $2/$5 game, there were 5 games in progress and 9 players on the list. I discover an open seat in the $1/$3 game so I join this game while im waiting. Sitting in this game can be so confusing. They play with $3 chips. If someone raises some of the dealers will annonce 6 chips to play instead of saying $18 to play. Also when players are either betting raising or calling they confuse themselves and it can through off a lot of your tells into what they are thinking.

So after a couple of circuits of the table my seat becomes avalible in the game i was looking for. I exchange my $3 chips at the cage for the $5 chips i need for my new game. The avalible seat is seat 5 my fav, i always prefer seats 5 or 6 so im in the middle of the table and in the middle of all the action as it goes on. As im taking my seat and studying the players around me and checking out each of the chip stacks I discover that I seem to have quite a sensible bunch of players with the biggest stack being about $1200.

I manage to murder my $1k stack in less than an hour and get my reputation as loose crazy and willing to bluff into any pot. To be honest I played pretty bad in losing most of my stack by trying to move a guy off a pot that he was never going to laydown to me. Anyway I pull up another thousand and I nearly get out of it on the first hand. I call a raise and flop top pair with a flush draw. I call the flop bet and turn a straight draw. He bets again and again he smooth calls. The river brings me the straight and when he bets the river I put him allin and he calls confidently with his AA and is dismaid to see my straight. I tighten up and play a lot more solid and contine to build my stack until its time to phone Nancy to come and pick me up and take me home for dinner. I have turned a $1k loss into a $400 profit and im ready to get out of the room. As im cashing out the floor man announces that a player in the room has tickets to see " The Reve" the big show currently on at the Wynn. The tickets were worth $140 each and he was offering them at $100 for a pair. I took 2 of them arranged to meet Nancy at The Grand Lux in the Venetian. I get the meal compt from the credit I have on my players card and we settle down for a huge plate of food no matter what it is we order. We have eaten in there a few times together now and never gotten near to finishing.

We leave the Venetian and walk down the strip towards the Wynn. For those people who havent been to Vegas in the last 6 months, this part of the strip has changed so much recently. The Wynn used to be isolated on the strip but now that The Palazzo is open its a much more enjoyable part of the strip to walk along.

We arrive at the Wynn and I show Nancy the poker room and I see that some of the people I had been playing with earlier. We move through to the theatre and purchase a drink each and some popcorn. All of the big shows on the strip are in such amazing arenas and this one was as special as any other id seen. The show itself I didnt especially enjoy compared to the other shows but Nancy really enjoyed it so I guess thats what counts and a night out with dinner and a show got me plenty of brownie points.

Im really starting to get into a good routine over here. Back home I used to saty up all night and sleep all day. Since being here my body clock sends me to bed most nights at around 11pm and im up by 7am. As for the poker the weekends are all about the strip. The cardrooms are full and buzzing over the weekends and without doubt the place to be. Playing through the week at the Red Rock is good for me as its just around the corner and so convieniant to play there. I still make the odd visit through the week to the strip.

A poker buddy of mine Simon Galloway has flown out here this week and is staying at the Bellagio. Ill be going down to the strip after I watch the Champions League games in the morning. Ill meet up with him in the Bellagio and we might stay there for a while and then see what the action is like over at the Wynn with there festival going on. Simon has never played the RedRock before so he is going to come up to the house and try out the RedRock. When in Vegas Simon likes to sample all the great restaurants that Vegas has to offer so we are going to try out T-Bones the steakhouse in the RedRock. I have been asking around and discovered a couple other places he hasnt heard of before so ill suprise him with them through the week.

I was supposed to play the RedRock last night but never made it. In the $2/$4 limit game a straight flush beat 4 queens so they paid out the $160k bad beat jackpot. The 2 players in the pot received $45k and $30k with the remainder of the jackpot paid equally amongst all the players playing at that time in all of the Station casinos. Im not sure how much each player got but it was paid out at 10pm on Sunday night so im sure there werent that many players who got a share of the $85k. Another bad beat for me.