I woke up feeling good. Finally cashed in a tournament the previous night and running pretty well the last few days. Today's agenda: Venetian $340 deepstack. Got over to the Venetian around 11:30 am and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Got in contact with Rich and come to find out we're sitting at the same table. 500+ and we sit at the same table, seriously! Luckily, we didn't get involved in any pots. I played really well in the first 3 levels. One hand, mp opened the pot with a raise. 2 limpers followed. I reraised in the small blind with J10 and everyone folded. I had been playing pretty snug so I was able to use my image. At first break, I had around 11K in chips from our starting stack of 6K. After the break was where things took a turn for the worst. I was not able to find a decent hand to play. Everytime I tried to make a move and pick up blinds/antes, someone would come back over the top and I'd have to lay down my hand (because I would have ace high or something). I was starting to get blinded and anted away. I took a stand with AJ and pushed AI from middle position (3x/4x bb)and was called by 33 in the sb. I didn't win the race and good game TK. I thought I played fairly well but when the cards run bad, you gotta find a way to pick your spots. I tried my best but it didn't work out. I made it through half of the field fo 500+ but that doesn't really mean anything. I gave Rich a ring and see if he wanted to get a bite to eat. He had been playing over at Treasure Island and really wasn't in "poker mode" after getting knocked out at the Venetian. When I called, he was just finishing playing craps. We met in front of Casino Royale and I told him I was in the mood for sushi. Rich proceeded to take me on an expedition across the strip. We made a quick stop at Caesar's sushi bar but nothing stood out. He told me of a place in Planet Hollywood (Todai's) that Jessica and Aaron swear by so we trekked on over there. DELICIOUS! Great recommendation! While eating we pondered what we were going to do for the night. We settled on going to the Rio. We now had to journey all the way back to the Venetian where Rich was parked. Me, being an out of shape office worker/poker player, probably lost about 15 lbs during this 15 mile walk. Trying to keep up with Rich was work in itself.[:p] When we arrived at the Venetian, there was one seat open in a satellite so Rich quickly jumped in that while I caught my breath. I think he finished 4th or 5th and off to the Rio we went. Upon arriving at the Amazon room, we went our separate ways as I was planning on playing in some satellites and he was going to do cash games. I jumped into a $125 and chopped that heads up for $560. I walked over to where Rich was sitting 2/5 NL and he had accumulated a pretty decent stack from what I could see. Nicely done Rich! Before playing in the next satellite, I went paparazzing and ran into these two:


Daniel Negreanu


 
Humberto Brenes

(OK thats all the pics!)After a little people watching, I entered into a $325 satellite. If I could chop this one, I was going to enter the $1500 event. Rich was just getting done with his session (+400ish) so I told him not to wait and I'd just take a cab home. I started off great, or so I thought. I got it all in early in the 2nd level with AA vs KK vs 99. King came on the flop and I was out. I would have had 1/3 of the chips in play if I had won that hand. By this time, it was getting pretty late so I figured I'd call it a night instead of trying another one. I was really hoping to earn my way into the 1500 event on Thursday. Better luck next time!