Reentry

We begin our descent, and tourists press their noses to the glass for the first glimpses of the Las Vegas Strip. From my aisle seat, I peer over shoulders to catch what images I can. What gaps there are in the scene, I recall from memory.

The golden facade of Mandalay Bay, where I saved a girl from drowning in the wave pool.

The black pyramid of Luxor, where my son and I entered an Overwatch tournament, and I faced a humiliating defeat.

The green expanse of MGM, where for my 40th birthday I enjoyed a wonderfully decadent six course meal.

The faux skyline of New York-New York, where I played blackjack for the first time, losing most of my bankroll in a few hands.

The minimalist Park MGM, then called Monte Carlo, where my wife and I stayed for free during my first WSOP.

The spiraling glass towers of ARIA, where my siblings shared secrets over late night cocktails.

The iconic fountains of Bellagio, where I ditched a bachelor party to play $2/$4 limit hold'em.

The replica Eiffel Tower of Paris, where my wife and I saw a spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks display as we celebrated our wedding anniversary.

The pink accents of Flamingo, where I stayed on my first trip to Las Vegas.

The marble statues of Caesars Palace, where I was coerced to dance on stage.

The winding rivers of The Venetian, where I played craps for the first time, and won big.

The pirate ship of Treasure Island, where I saw my favorite Cirque du Soleil show.

The elegant curves of Wynn, where I had to buy a $75 t-shirt for our 6-month old when his diaper exploded.

And to the West, the red, blue and purple towers of Rio….

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I'm a few hours late for the $800 8-handed Deepstack so I drop my luggage off and immediately head to the Rio. Even my Uber driver has high expectations: “you won any events yet?”

In today’s tournament I wear a face that makes people want to bluff off all their chips.

The third hand I'm dealt, I call an early position open with pocket eights. My opponent continuation bets on a 642 board and I call. An eight comes on the turn, giving me a set, my opponent bets again, and I call. An ace hits the river and he instantly moves all-in. I call again, he flips over pocket queens, and is out of the tournament.

A level later, I open with AJ of clubs and a tight player in the big blind defends. I bet small on the J43 rainbow flop and my opponent check-raises me. I call, and an ace comes on the turn, giving me two pair. Again my opponent bets, and I call. A four comes on the river, pairing the board, and he moves all-in. I think for a long time, and almost fold — he could easily have a four, or maybe a sneaky set or straight, and it’s for a large percentage of my stack. But I finally find a call and he flips over T9o — a complete bluff, and I bust my second player of the day.

Not long afterward, I open from the cutoff with KQo and the small blind 3-bets me. I call, and the flop is KK4 to give me a set. My opponent bets out, and I call. Then I call a second bet on the turn jack. He moves all-in on a river ten. I feel confident I have the best hand, but I’m not sure. He would play AK, AQ, JJ or TT the same way, all hands that beat me and will decimate my stack. But I call, and he turns over A6o — another bluff, and another player busted.

I have a comfortable stack by the dinner break, and build it into a large one by the time we get close to the money bubble. I'm raising most pots, getting my bluffs through, and picking up strong hands at the right time. By the time the bubble bursts at 417 players, I have almost 16x our 40k starting stack.

We play five more 30-minute levels before play ends for the day, and I'm up and down, losing some big pots, then winning some back. I end up bagging almost a million in chips for day 2.

It’s good to be back.

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Number of people that tried to bluff me in the Southwest boarding lane: 1