Zombies 2017 Las Vegas Ratings - Trip Report (2 Viewers)

[Poker Zombie]

How many brains?

I am so bad at following my own format. Good thing I got you guys to keep me on my toes! Review has been updated with Brain rating!

 

[Mr. Cheese]

Earl of Sandwich was a favorite quick food place when I was in Vegas. I wish there was one of those locally because I'd go every week.

 

[Poker Zombie]

It would beat the hell out of Subway, but if I'm going to wish for a Vegas sandwich shop in my hometown, it'll be Capriotti's. If you're not familiar with Capriotti's, stay tuned for day 6...

 

[Poker Zombie]

Meanwhile, back on day 5...

After lunch we head over to the South Point and check in. The guy at the desk seems interested but helpless in my efforts to get a folding table sent up to my room for the Meet in the Suite. I guess this is where it would be good to be a whale, but then if I had that kind of money I'd just buy a house in Vegas and hold an annual meet-up there. So we settle into the room and head down to the

South Point Poker Room

Right off the top, I like this room. It's spacious, and it's far enough off the casino floor that it was less smoky than most card rooms, and a bit quieter too. Their tournament chips looked like World Poker Tour chips with a relabel, so there's that, and the bounty chips are Paulson Fun Nites. It's like the Poker Room Manager had $400 to buy chips, and did the best he could.

Since this was the home of the CCGTCC, Mrs Zombie and I quickly recognized the @links_slayer ship in front of one of our opponents who turned out to be @JFCJ . It wasn't long before my Zombie card capper ran into the powerful luck of the Linkslayer card capper, and his JJ defeated my QQ.

No hard feelings of course, as this gave me a chance to head back up to the room and prepare for the Meet in the Suite.

 

[Gear]

Wow... those are some shitacularly bad chips.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Wow... those are some shitacularly bad chips.

...and sadly, some of the best casino tournament chips I played with this trip. I guess that's why nobody has ever typed on a forum "Could you try to harvest a rack of South Point chips for me?" or "I wish the NGC didn't require casinos to destroy their tournament chips".

 

[Steverino]

South Point actually has some nice tournament chips but only bring them out occasionally. I played in the CCGTC poker tourny the first year the convention was held at SP and they brought out the nice chips for us. If I can find where I have the pics, I'll post them.

 

[Steverino]

It would beat the hell out of Subway, but if I'm going to wish for a Vegas sandwich shop in my hometown, it'll be Capriotti's. If you're not familiar with Capriotti's, stay tuned for day 6...

Capriotti's is the best. We were staying at the Riviera one time and one of the security guys was from Philly. He told me about the only place he's found in Vegas that could make a good cheesesteak. Of course I had to try it. The place was Capriotti's and now we have to make a stop there every trip.

 

[badpokerplayer]

Capriotti's is the best. We were staying at the Riviera one time and one of the security guys was from Philly. He told me about the only place he's found in Vegas that could make a good cheesesteak. Of course I had to try it. The place was Capriotti's and now we have to make a stop there every trip.

He did you a great disservice!

Pops, at Alta and Decatur, will knock your socks off!
Those Guys Pies, in the Lakes, is also acceptable.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Day 5 - the main event...

Out of the tournament, I head back to the suite and start setting up for...

The Meet in the Suite

The plan was to play it out as a team tournament, so I only set up 6 stacks of chips. Quickly set up the poker timer and built a blind structure and laid out the padded fabric for the table. I think everyone was happy with the fabric, which really made dealing easy, and added just enough padding to give it a poker-table feel. We could have used a rug-gripper, as the cloth had the tendency to slide - just minutely - with every raking of the pot. Still, a poker table surface that fits into luggage - that's 4 brains worth of useful.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, and this is a no-Zombie passing zone...

After getting set up, Mrs Zombie made it back to the room and we tried to contact possible Meet attendees about food. This was a challenge because our primary means of communication was via PM. In the end we decided on a Pizza from Lefty's. A good pie to be sure and the wings were right on average (which is good for a pizza place), and they have no qualms with delivering in the hotel. I've had issues before having a pizza delivered to a hotel, because it effectively competes with room service. Lefty's and/or the South Point don't care.

@Gear was the only one that we were able to touch base with, so he arrived early and we had a little time to catch back up over 'zza.

Soon enough, others began to arrive, including

@David O , @nitzilla , @Mrs Poker Zombie (in the mirror), @Poker Zombie , Gear, @JFCJ , @Psypher1000 , and @David Spragg . As you can see, David S had everyone's full attention as he discussed the manufacture of poker chips.

During the discussion, I handed David one of the commems that Gear and I had secretly cooked up on CPS chips. If you ever want to feel like a little kid giving Santa Claus a measly home-made gift, hand him a CPS chip. "Santa" then blew everyone's socks off when he then pulled out CPC commens from my original mock-up!

Eventually, we decided this was all that was going to show, so we migrated over to the table for a 6 player tournament. Psypher had sweetened the pot with a stack of chips for the winner and runner-up...

About an hour later, @Godzilla28 knocked on the door, and sweetened the pot a little more...

Unfortunately, at this point stacks were starting to get big or thin, dropping Godzilla into the tournament at this point didn't feel right. Luckily more people started coming in, and they improvised a cash game with the coffee table, a towel, a deck of cards from Paris (that some guy was just handing out at the Flamingo). Chips - no problem for this group.

I was deep into tournament thought at this point (i.e. my 2nd bottle of wine), so I didn't get the names of the 2 non-PCFers that came with Kyle...

Mystery Person 1, @kmccormick100 ,Godzilla28 , Mystery person 2, Nitzilla, and David O.

The tournament ran until about midnight, when something went drastically wrong - other than spilling a little wine. I binked the tournament.

Yep - I couldn't believe it either. First out at @Mr Tree 's Shootout, couldn't pick up a single last longer at @k9dr 's Suicide Queens, and flubbed @Ben 's SSSS, but I binked the Meet in the Suite.

Hmmm.... @BGinGA must be my Achilles's heal.

Eventually @Forty4 arrived, just as everyone was breaking for the night. It was only 12:30ish, but it's Vegas. You might be able to find a game somewhere if you're still looking for some action.

South Point Suite: 4 Brains. The main room was smallish, and the only bathroom was through the bedroom, but it turns out the drinks in the fridge were complementary (the hotel neglected to mention that).

Lefty's Pizza: 3.5 Brains. Delivery = awesome, and while waiting for the pizza I was playing Roulette. Actually that was awesome for the driver because I ran hot at the wheel and passed on the dough for +karma.

The Meet in the Suite: 5 Brains. Sure, as far as meet-ups go, this one was small, but I'm honored that people took time out of their Vegas trip to stop by. I was a little sad we missed many others that were in town, but I certainly get it. South Point isn't very close, and there were a few other juicer games going on. Still, no such thing as a <5 Brain meet-up.

...unless BGinGA is there, because that's when I lose my wallet.

 

[namsupak]

Folowing, this is a great report, thanks.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Folowing, this is a great report, thanks.

We still have two days to go!

 

[k9dr]

Day 5 - the main event...

Out of the tournament, I head back to the suite and start setting up for...

The Meet in the Suite
View attachment 106748

The plan was to play it out as a team tournament, so I only set up 6 stacks of chips. Quickly set up the poker timer and built a blind structure and laid out the padded fabric for the table. I think everyone was happy with the fabric, which really made dealing easy, and added just enough padding to give it a poker-table feel. We could have used a rug-gripper, as the cloth had the tendency to slide - just minutely - with every raking of the pot. Still, a poker table surface that fits into luggage - that's 4 brains worth of useful.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, and this is a no-Zombie passing zone...

After getting set up, Mrs Zombie made it back to the room and we tried to contact possible Meet attendees about food. This was a challenge because our primary means of communication was via PM. In the end we decided on a Pizza from Lefty's. A good pie to be sure and the wings were right on average (which is good for a pizza place), and they have no qualms with delivering in the hotel. I've had issues before having a pizza delivered to a hotel, because it effectively competes with room service. Lefty's and/or the South Point don't care.

@Gear was the only one that we were able to touch base with, so he arrived early and we had a little time to catch back up over 'zza.

Soon enough, others began to arrive, including
View attachment 106759
@David O , @nitzilla , @Mrs Poker Zombie (in the mirror), @Poker Zombie , Gear, @JFCJ , @Psypher1000 , and @David Spragg . As you can see, David S had everyone's full attention as he discussed the manufacture of poker chips.

During the discussion, I handed David one of the commems that Gear and I had secretly cooked up on CPS chips. If you ever want to feel like a little kid giving Santa Claus a measly home-made gift, hand him a CPS chip. "Santa" then blew everyone's socks off when he then pulled out CPC commens from my original mock-up!
View attachment 106761

Eventually, we decided this was all that was going to show, so we migrated over to the table for a 6 player tournament. Psypher had sweetened the pot with a stack of chips for the winner and runner-up...
View attachment 106764 View attachment 106765

About an hour later, @Godzilla28 knocked on the door, and sweetened the pot a little more...
View attachment 106771

Unfortunately, at this point stacks were starting to get big or thin, dropping Godzilla into the tournament at this point didn't feel right. Luckily more people started coming in, and they improvised a cash game with the coffee table, a towel, a deck of cards from Paris (that some guy was just handing out at the Flamingo). Chips - no problem for this group.

I was deep into tournament thought at this point (i.e. my 2nd bottle of wine), so I didn't get the names of the 2 non-PCFers that came with Kyle...
View attachment 106773

Mystery Person 1, @kmccormick100 ,Godzilla28 , Mystery person 2, Nitzilla, and David O.

The tournament ran until about midnight, when something went drastically wrong - other than spilling a little wine. I binked the tournament.
View attachment 106776
Yep - I couldn't believe it either. First out at @Mr Tree 's Shootout, couldn't pick up a single last longer at @k9dr 's Suicide Queens. and flubbed @Ben 's SSSS, but I binked the Meet in the Suite.

Hmmm.... @BGinGA must be my Achilles's heal.

Eventually @Forty4 arrived, just as everyone was breaking for the night. It was only 12:30ish, but it's Vegas. You might be able to find a game somewhere if you're still looking for some action.

South Point Suite: 4 Brains. The main room was smallish, and the only bathroom was through the bedroom, but it turns out the drinks in the fridge were complementary (the hotel neglected to mention that).

Lefty's Pizza: 3.5 Brains. Delivery = awesome, and while waiting for the pizza I was playing Roulette. Actually that was awesome for the driver because I ran hot at the wheel and passed on the dough for +karma.

The Meet in the Suite: 5 Brains. Sure, as far as meet-ups go, this one was small, but I'm honored that people took time out of their Vegas trip to stop by. I was a little sad we missed many others that were in town, but I certainly get it. South Point isn't very close, and there were a few other juicer games going on. Still, no such thing as a <5 Brain meet-up.

...unless BGinGA is there, because that's when I lose my wallet.

I think you need a booster seat to look more imposing at the table

 

[detroitdad]

I think you need a booster seat to look more imposing at the table

Outstanding

 

[12thMan]

I think you need a booster seat to look more imposing at the table

 

[Poker Zombie]

Day 6 - Hey it took a week to live it up in Vegas, I guess it makes sence that it takes a week to write it up.

Today we head back to the strip to eat and play at Mandalay Bay. First stop is food at

Border Grill

Now first off, I'm aware this is a chain, but they don't have any locations within 300 miles of my state, so it counts as new to me. Quite frankly, it's not Applebee's either. What it is, is darn good food.

We ordered the Brunch Tapas. One low price, unlimited small plates. I'm game. However, the price isn't low. It's $38.99... and it's not one price. If you want unlimited Mimosas, it's another $15 - and if you've been following this trip report, you know I'm getting 10 am alcohol. So for a pricey brunch of roughly $55 you get to eat until stuffed and drunk.

Eat until you are stuffed and drunk. That should be the slogan for Vegas.

They suggest that they just keep bringing you food, I insist on starting with the Eggs Benedict. I should have listened to them.

The Eggs Benedict were straight up forgettable. I barely ate 1/3 of it. Everything else - straight up stellar flavors. The Chicken and Waffles... GTFO. Best I've ever had. Topped with pomegranate jam and Noble syrup (maple syrup aged in oak barrels with bourbon). The waiter called it the "worlds most expensive syrup". I have not verified this claim, but it does run $30 for a 15 oz (450 ml) bottle - which is way more that Aunt Jemima is pulling down.

While the flavors were outstanding on everything except the eggs benny, the kitchen struck out on nearly every egg. Over easy = Over hard. Sunny side up = fried medium. At these prices, missing an eggs temp is way wrong. Missing every egg? Moronic. However, we were heading on to a poker tournament later, so I wasn't going to waste time sending stuff back. My cholesterol levels indicate that I shouldn't eat 4 eggs in a single sitting anyway.

Border Grill: 4 Brains. Almost 3, but Noble Syrup, a perfect skirt steak with the steak and eggs, Tamales with ground up angels inside, Shrimp and Grits with such a magical sauce Mrs Zombie woofed it down... there was just too much to put this over the top. They just need to learn how to cook an egg.

 

[SuckoutKing]

Top notch trip report. Really fun read!

 

[WedgeRock]

This trip report

5 brains

 

[Gear]

To anyone reading a Zombies trip report for the first time (i.e. this one) -- do yourself a favor and go find their previous ones. They're all excellent reads.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Day 6, the part where I start losing money... so not unlike any other time I play poker...

After brunch, we head down to the...

Mandalay Bay Poker Room

For some reason, I really like this room. It is spacious, comfortable, and has wide open railbird viewing areas, but it is away from the slot machines. It also has quick access to the sportsbook, so if I get KO'ed in a tournament, I can go watch the ponies or some sporting event. The downside? It's practically empty. We were here for 2 different daytime tournaments, and both went off at just 2 tables while a single cash game was running.

The tournaments play like a home game. Short, cheap, and the competition is on the "very recreational" level. Figure 'dad snuck into the poker room while mom had the kids at the pool' level of play. It's very beatable, but also a minefield of questionable calls. With just 2 tables, the payouts only went top 2 or 3 places, so you had to pick a spot and build your stack. I didn't do that and promptly lost, despite the fact that I was protecting my stack with the Armory chip.

The Armory chip however was a hit at the table. Everyone loved it, and it was passed completely around the table because everyone wanted a closer look. The CPC pink and the rich blue of the Mandalay Bay tables really set it off.

After busting out, we head over to the Shark Reef (next trip report/review). Once done we head back to the poker room and jump in on the cash game. One table, no waiting for two new players. It was around 2pm, so yeah, it's not prime time. Still I can't help but feel that this nice little area will be replaced with more slot machines soon. The Armory proves a little more useful here, and I run $300 up to $338.

Once the 3 pm tourney starts I jump over and give it right back. I love tournaments, but if I wanted to turn a profit, I'd stick with cash. Poker is a game all about making decisions. I choose to make the wrong ones.

Mandalay Bay Poker Room: 4 Brains. It's struggling though. Mandalay Bay is on the southernmost edge of the strip, so it suffers from lack of foot traffic, and that results in slim pickings if you want a table change, or anything other than 1-2 NL or NL tournaments.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Day 6, between poker sessions.

Thanks to the Facebook MyVegas game, we had 2 free passes to the...

Mandalay Bay Shark Reef

It's kind of a cool aquarium. Now I'm going to confess, I don't really like aquariums. I'm a "do'er", not a viewer. Sure there's some educational facts here, like "humans are the biggest threat to most sea life", or "this shark eats a lot of food", but nothing you couldn't find on Wikipedia. So it takes a lot - well a free pass - to get me to do something like this.

And it was pretty cool.

Sharks were fun to watch. They'd be more fun if they dis something other than swimming about. Maybe throw a surfer in the water so I could bet on his survival or something. None of the sharks had friggin laser beams on their heads though, so the surfer would have a really good chance.

I did find a turtle for @David O , complete with legs, but they wouldn't let me take him.

Little guy moved around a lot. Probably would have made a terrible card capper.

My favorite room was with the cylinders of jellyfish. They neither look like fish, nor taste like jelly though. They should call them Living Lava Lamps.

Granted, jellyfish don't have laser beams or heads for that matter, but they glow. I'm guessing they are nuclear powered and would result in a powerful fissionable explosion if taunted. I didn't read the informational plaque very closely. I will add it to the Wikipedia page though, and that will make it true.

There was a room that looked like you were in a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea that was kinda cool, plus it had a spot where I could sit down. I get why people own fish tanks now. You just need it to be 30,000 gallons, and have a team of professionals to keep it clean and the fish healthy.

Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium: 3 Brains. It took about 30 minutes, but if you have children in tow it may take much longer.

 

[David O]

Day 6, between poker sessions.

Thanks to the Facebook MyVegas game, we had 2 free passes to the...

Mandalay Bay Shark Reef

It's kind of a cool aquarium. Now I'm going to confess, I don't really like aquariums. I'm a "do'er", not a viewer. Sure there's some educational facts here, like "humans are the biggest threat to most sea life", or "this shark eats a lot of food", but nothing you couldn't find on Wikipedia. So it takes a lot - well a free pass - to get me to do something like this.

And it was pretty cool.

Sharks were fun to watch. They'd be more fun if they dis something other than swimming about. Maybe throw a surfer in the water so I could bet on his survival or something. None of the sharks had friggin laser beams on their heads though, so the surfer would have a really good chance.

I did find a turtle for @David O , complete with legs, but they wouldn't let me take him.
View attachment 107149

Little guy moved around a lot. Probably would have made a terrible card capper.

My favorite room was with the cylinders of jellyfish. They neither look like fish, nor taste like jelly though. They should call them Living Lava Lamps.
View attachment 107150
View attachment 107151

Granted, jellyfish don't have laser beams or heads for that matter, but they glow. I'm guessing they are nuclear powered and would result in a powerful fissionable explosion if taunted. I didn't read the informational plaque very closely. I will add it to the Wikipedia page though, and that will make it true.

There was a room that looked like you were in a shipwreck at the bottom of the sea that was kinda cool, plus it had a spot where I could sit down. I get why people own fish tanks now. You just need it to be 30,000 gallons, and have a team of professionals to keep it clean and the fish healthy.

Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium: 3 Brains. It took about 30 minutes, but if you have children in tow it may take much longer.

Yes I am going to have to get me another one. I do not think I have told the story to the Forum yet.
Yes, the Turtle is no more. The bird is very sad so I need to find another as a replacement. It seems the turtle tried to get away while I was packing for Vegas and he ended up on the kitchen floor in many pieces. Man, the bird and I really do miss him at the table!!!

 

[Poker Zombie]

Day 6, night falls.

After wrapping up the 2nd tournament at Mandalay Bay, we headed back to the South Point. On the way we picked up a bottle of wine from Total Wine & More, a chain alcohol vendor. Beautiful store, great prices (compared to Tennessee). We changed into some outdoorsy clothing and swung by Capriotti's for a Bobbie sandwich. This thing is like Thanksgiving in a sandwich. Real turkey, in chunks like you have Friday on afternoon. And Saturday. And Sunday. And Monday (hey, a whole turkey for two people lasts a while). It's dressed with stuffing and cranberry sauce. All it's missing is a green bean casserole and a glass of wine, and we had the wine in the car.

Getting the order to go, we then headed south to the...

Mojave Desert

Yep, record setting high temps in Las Vegas, and the zombies are driving into the desert with a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a bottle of wine.

Potato chips. I'm not taking poker chips out into the desert, do you think I'm stupid?

We found a little space to set up camp, and had a picnic as the sun went down. While I can share a few pics as the sun disappeared over the mountains, the real show was when the stars came out. Billions of them. Nebula and galaxies too. The milky cloud that makes up the central portion of our home galaxy. Just simply spectacular. Unfortunately, my camera does not have an open shutter setting, but viewing the full, unobstructed night sky isn't something you can fully appreciate with a computer monitor or a smartphone screen. You have to leave society behind for a while. Bring a sandwich, a bottle of wine, and a loved one.

Total Wine: 4 Brains. It's like Lowes, but with beer and wine instead of power tools. You'll be lucky to find assistance, but the price is right and the selection is vasy.

Capriotti's: 5 Brains. Service is always lightning fast, the sandwiches are full and flavorful. This has been my 3rd trip to Capriottis, and the 3rd different location. All have been great, and we were both quite full for a combined total of $12.21. Try eating that cheap on the strip.

Mojave Desert: 5 Brains. It's hot, dirty, and on this particular night, windy. But if you are a stargazer, your odds of having a cloudless sky are wonderful.

 

[inca911]

Nice. Would you say there were a plethora of nebulae, or just the right amount?

 

[Venturalvn]

I've been quietly following this TR, but just wanted to say - please keep doing these in the future. Really, really good stuff!

 

[Poker Zombie]

Nice. Would you say there were a plethora of nebulae, or just the right amount?

Since the nebulae block out stars, I'd say the right amount. Would love to meet up with an astronomical society one night though, I'm just a rank amateur with a cellphone telling me what I'm looking at.

Oh, and I mooned the International Space Station as it went by. Just my way to say "hi".

 

[Mr. Cheese]

Since the nebulae block out stars, I'd say the right amount. Would love to meet up with an astronomical society one night though, I'm just a rank amateur with a cellphone telling me what I'm looking at.

Oh, and I mooned the International Space Station as it went by. Just my way to say "hi".

How many brains does Mojave Desert get?

 

[Poker Zombie]

How many brains does Mojave Desert get?

Added the Brain ratings for the wine store, Capriotti's and the desert!

 

[Mr. Cheese]

Just googled Capriotti's and they are opening up a location in MN so I'll get to try this place soon.

 

[slisk250]

Nice review...however, the Mojave Desert is a very boring place when compared to the fabulous Sonoran Desert. You need to trek a bit more south next time.