3 Vegas Trip reports in 1

3 Vegas trips in 3 months. What's even better... each trip has been profitable. I am running good.

The first trip was pretty much just a vacation back in April. Just Mrs. Heeb and myself. I didn't play any poker. The reason? I had just spent 4 days with Stewman playing the WSOP Circuit events at Harrah's Rincon in San Diego. Stewman and I went deep in one event and cashed for $2,000. I also delved into my first 2-5 NL game and profited about $500 from that.

The second trip was the annual Stewman and Heeb World Series of Poker trip. We cut it short this year due to Stewman's international travel schedule. We spent 3 nights at the God awful Rio hotel (which I will never make the mistake of staying at again). I only played one satty and went out in 4th after a donkey called all his chips off with AK vs my 88 preflop. He flopped the nut flush, I turned a set but the board didn't pair on the river and I went home.

I did play A LOT of the juicy 10-20 limit hold 'em game though. Oh. My. God. To be completely honest, I don't know if I have EVER played in a softer game before... and I played in this game FOR THREE DAYS. At one point, Stewman and I walked up to the cashier window together with more than $2300 between us.

I ran so good at poker, in fact, I even had two winning sessions in the 4-8 Omaha game!

I played some baseball parlays and hit a big one Sunday night. I took the Twins and the over against the Rangers and got the win when in the 9th inning with the go ahead run at the plate, the final out came as a result of a horrific collision between Denard Span and Orlando Hudson in the outfield. The stud hung on to the ball despite nearly losing a testicle and I netted about $300 for my troubles.

I had an epic craps session where I made about $500 in 30 minutes.

The ONLY thing I didn't win at all weekend was Pai Gow. And the very first hand I played I was dealt a straight flush. I then proceeded to lose. Every. Hand. After that.

We ate at a couple great restaurants (Gaylords @ Rio and Shibuya @ MGM Grand), met Dr. Pauly of Tao of Poker fame, and overall had a good time.

When I got home, I went out and dropped almost all my winnings on clothes for my new job. Suits and dress shirts and ties that I desperately needed but couldn't afford before my trip.

The last trip came quite unexpectedly. Mrs. Heeb and I were driving back to the office from lunch (where a bunch of drama unfolded suddenly) and she says, "Let's go to Vegas." That innocent comment turned into an actual spur of the moment Vegas run and within 4 hours we were off.

We listened to game 6 of the NBA finals on the radio as we drove out. The Lakers CRUSHED the Celtics and game 7 would be on Thursday night while we were there. I was excited to be in Vegas for the second year in a row during the NBA finals and couldn't wait to lay money on the Lakers in game 7.

On Wednsday I bet 12 baseball games. I won 10. Wow. I run good.

I should have stuck to betting baseball but I decided to try betting on something I had no knowledge of and no business wagering money on... I decided to bet soccer.

I went with the "sure thing" and bet Spain straight up at -600 odds vs Switzerland. And uh, yah. They lost.

So I did the reasonable thing and put another bet on the heavily favored France vs Mexico. And uh, yah. They lost... badly.

Back to the drawing board. On Thursday, I went back to my bread and butter and bet more baseball. I won 3 of my 5 2-team parlays for the day and was back in the black.

I only played poker on Wednesday and Thursday. 1-2 NL at the MGM. The game was playing extra soft and I was just too lazy to get off my ass and leave the resort for the Rio's 10-20 limit game. In two sessions, I won about $1,000.

As Thursday night's NBA Finals game 7 approached, I had a helluva decision to make. The line had come out after the news broke that Kendrick Perkins had 2 torn knee ligaments and wouldn't be available. The line favored the Lakers by 7.

7 points. The Lakers were favored by 7 in a game 7 against a team that was up 3-2 on them at one point.

I couldn't do it. I knew the Lakers would win but I could not convince myself that it would happen by 8+ points. So, I did the unthinkable.

I put money on the Celtics +7.

BUT I also put money on the Lakers straight up at -375 odds.

I could barely stand to look at the ticket. But I knew it was easy money. I was hoping the Lakers would keep it close most the game and in the final 2-3 minutes, Kobe would take over and they would win by maybe 4 or 5.

If the Lakers won by 7, I would break even on my Celtics bet and win a little on my Lakers bet.

If the Lakers won by 8, I would lose my Celtics bet, win my Lakers bet and I would win a little.

If the Lakers lost, I would lose my Lakers bet, but win my Celtics bet and I would lose a little.

BUT... If the Lakers win by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 points, I would win both bets and win A LOT of money.

I nearly had a heart attack over those 2 and a half hours and Mrs. Heeb kept wondering aloud, "Who should I be rooting for?"... but it all worked out. The Lakers won by 4 and we celebrated.

The next morning I awoke early (the U.S. vs Slovenia World Cup match started at 7:00 AM). I wanted to bet the match and get a seat in the sportsbook so I headed down to the casino.

When I got there, the line for the U.S. was at -140 (down from the opening line of -120). By the time I got to the front of the line to place my bet, the line was at -160 for the U.S. I placed my bet and walked back to my seat. About 20 minutes later, just before the match started, a guy took a seat right next to me and I saw his ticket. The U.S. was now -230.

The U.S. played awful in the first half and by the time the whistle blew for half-time they were down 2-0 and my bet was looking very bad. So, of course, I did what any reasonable sports betting degenerate would do and I doubled my bet for the U.S. in the second half at -150 odds.

In short, the U.S. dominated those Slovenian donkeys and should have won if it weren't for that crooked ref that waived off a late U.S. goal. I was pissed, but surprisingly not as pissed as EVERY OTHER BETTOR IN THE BOOK. I instantly remembered how an awful call a couple years ago in a Chargers vs Steelers NFL game actually went my way and I won $500 as a result. I won my second half bet which was at better odds and bigger than my overall bet so I was happy I basically broke even.

I'm not sure when the next time I'm gonna be able to get out to Vegas will be... Hell, I don't even know when the next time I will be able to play poker will be. I start my new position at work in July and I will spend most of my first 3 months traveling. I'm grateful that I got to spend almost 2 weeks out there over the last few months and I'm elated that each trip has been profitable.