S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G for dummies (and the jetlagged)

Waking up at 5am, local time, is no fun. But my body still thinks it should be 1pm and questions what this lazy arse is still doing in bed. After a couple of hours of futile dozing I remember that it is FA Cup final day back home and wonder if I can be bothered going downstairs on my own to find the game on TV in the sportsbook area. It's not until a few hours later - after we've both got up, found coffee and pastries, eaten them in the sunshine by the pool, come back upstairs, showered and changed - that I realise that our room TV has all the ESPN channels one could ever want and it was probably on live all along - durrrr...

ESPN2 however, is showing some national spelling bee competition - so very strange, yet weirdly compelling and fascinating:

Host: Spell strepitoso

Gawky high-school kid in braces: can you repeat that please?

Host: Spell strepitoso

Kid: strepitoso? Is there an alternative pronunciation?

Host Only one, strepitoso

Kid: strepitoso? Am I pronouncing that right?

Host: Yes, sounds correct to me?

Kid: strepitoso? strepitoso? Can I have the meaning of the word?

Host: It's a word used in sheet music to denote a particular style of playing

Kid: strepitoso? Am I pronouncing that right?

Host: Yes, already!

Kid: strepitoso? strepitoso? strepitoso? Can you use the word in a sentence, please?

Host: sure, "I asked this f***ing stupid kid if he could f***ing spell strepitoso!"

Ok, I probably made that last part up, but you get the idea.

A.

Sounds like a compelling first day... but given this only takes us up to leaving the hotel at 11am there is more to catch up on.... maybe A has only taken us up to this point due to a reluctance to post that the missus made it further through the Binion's poker classic than he did... Oops! A respectable 65th place for me (still 45 places away from prize money though) whilst A busted out in 245th!!! Will fill you in on the details later!!

Have a nice day, y'all.

K.

Viva Las Vegas

After every long haul flight we always swear never to fly economy ever again... yet here we were once more, onboard flight VS043 from Gatwick to Las Vegas. 10 hours in the same, cramped, seat and we finally landed at McCarran airport in the middle of the Nevada desert.

Catching a glimpse of the Stratosphere tower and assorted ridiculous-looking hotels as we descended, we knew we'd arrived in the magical oasis that is Sin City. We also knew that swearing never to fly economy ever again was basically an empty threat.

Within an hour of landing we were all checked in to the swish Encore hotel. The suite is pretty sweet, although the view from the 31st floor of Circus Circus and assorted car parks isn't the best. Being on the the 31st floor does mean that the lifts serving the upper half of the hotel have only one stop to the lobby though - so can't complain too much.

Within another half hour we're down by the pool and decide to order some cocktails - Pineapple Mojito for the Mrs, Long Island Ice Tea for me, and boy are they strong. The initially irritating dance music, blaring out from the speaker behind our loungers, becomes strangely enchanting after a second round.

Half-knackered, half-pissed, we head to the room to get ready for dinner. It's an easy decision to hit the Wynn buffet for our first night.

The buffet is immense - petty much every possible type of food is available from umpteen different serving stations. It's all you can eat, but a pitiful (by most of the other patron's standards, anyway) two plates later and we've both been beaten.

A quick go on the slot machines and I turn $20 into $50 in no time at all - wahoo! We struggle on to 10pm (6am BST) and decide to call it a night after a quite ridiculous 22 hour day.

A.

Vegas tomorrow

The Vegas dream begins again tomorrow as we head back for eight nights in Sin City.

K has kindly agreed to come back with me - I think the promise of a 5* hotel and a load of pampering spa sessions may have had something to do with it though! I'm again hitting up some poker tournaments:

30-May - Binions Poker Classic - $210
31-May - WSOP Event #4 (3 day event) - $1,000
01-Jun - Venetian DSIII - $550
02-Jun - WSOP Event #7 (3 day event) - $1,500
02-Jun - Venetian DSIII - $330
03-Jun - WSOP Event #9 (3 day event) - $1,500
03-Jun - Venetian DSIII - $330
04-Jun - Venetian DSIII - $550

2009 World Series of Poker
Binions Poker Classic
Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza

Not quite the $10k Main Event of last year, but hey, more raffle tickets = more chances to win big!

Viva Las Vegas!

A.

PS. oh, yeah, and I'll also be a twittering fool @hazey88