Imperial Palace – Thinking Poker

Imperial Palace Elevator Conversation

Andrew — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:09:00 +0000

For some reason, people in Vegas talk to strangers on the elevator, which is a total 180 from common elevator behavior anywhere else in the world. I think it has something to do with the general mood of the place combined with how crowded the elevators often are.

Usually it’s just some lame joke about the crowds or something, but today, while I was waiting for the elevator at the luxurious Imperial Palace when a skinny man who looked to be in his early fifties walked over and pressed the button as well. “Mmm mmm mmm,” he groaned, shaking his head at me in frustration.

There are about a million reasons why someone might be feeling that way in Vegas, so I just pursed my lips and snorted sympathetically.

“This my last trip with that woman,” he told me. “We get home, I’m gettin’ a divorce.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Mmm hmmm. She outta her goddamn mind. I mean she seriously crazy.”

“Vegas can bring out the worst in people.”

“Naw, man, this been goin’ on. 53 years old and she a muthafuckin’ streetwalkin’ whore.”

I sighed along with him as we boarded the elevator, then asked which floor he was going to. He told me, and I pressed the buttons for both of us.

“Up till now, you know, it was workin’ out alright for me, but I can’t take this shit no more. She is muthafuckin’ nuts.”

“A lot of them are.”

He smiled a bit and laughed for the first time. “You got right, man.”

My stop was first. “Best of luck to you,” I told him.

“Alright, alright, I appreciate that. You too now,” he answered as the doors closed behind me.

Imperial Palace, Here I Come!

Andrew — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:38:00 +0000

So apparently Vegas isn’t quite as dead as I thought and waiting until the day before my arrival to make hotel arrangements was not wise. The Rio is booked solid until Tuesday, so I’m spending my first three nights at the good old Imperial Palace. I stayed there last year, and honestly, I expected worse. Hopefully I didn’t just get an abnormally non-crappy room.

Quick little Twitter update/clarification (sorry I am just learning how to use this): you don’t actually have to have a Twitter account to get updates. Just go to http://twitter.com/thinkingpoker and you can you see my most recent Tweets.

I’ll be using that for occasional chip count updates and reports on important hands, but I’ll still try to post more substantive stuff on the blog as time permits. It shouldn’t be a problem through the first few days of the main event, but should I make it to Day 3, I’ll have a lot less free time from then on out.

Wish me luck!

Quite the Upgrade

Andrew — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:33:00 +0000

Even though I eventually won a WSOP seat through Stars, they were out of hotel rooms at the Palms, so my only option was to take $1000 in exchange for their sponsorship. Cheapskate that I am, I spent my first few nights at the Imperial Palace. The room was nothing special, but it was better than I expected. It even had a little balcony with a decent view of Caesar’s and Bellagio:

Having survived Day 1, I decided to treat myself on subsequent days. I booked a suite at the Rio, which was remarkably cheap (I’m paying barely more than I did at AP), and is way bigger and more badass:

It has a slightly better view as well: