Thought this could be handy to some people heading out there, especially at this time of year. I'm a BE micro stakes donk who plays online for fun with some casino experience in London, UK, decided to head out to Vegas to see the sights and blow some money on live poker for the experience. Spent some time googling before going because there are so many rooms that it can be tricky choosing one to play at, here's my take on it. I went for 10 days and got back yesterday, only playing 1/2 and a few donkaments.
Some tips before going - most of the rooms are pretty similar in terms of quality, mostly tourists/old men with one or two decent young players. Each room will run different promos of some kind or another, I would recommend downloading the 'Bravo Poker Live' app and spending 15 minutes or so having a flick through the poker rooms - you can star the ones you are interested in plus keep an eye out for other games you might want to play (few rooms ran 1/1 PLO for example). It also shows live wait list and how many tables are running that I found to be pretty accurate. The app also details all of the promotions that the poker rooms run, for example how much you get paid for a royal etc. Also make sure you sign up for the reward cards, it's free to do, takes a few minutes and pretty much everywhere will give you $2 an hour towards food. Also - all drinks are free everywhere, including alcohol! You just need to tip the cocktail waitresses.
Ballys
I really liked it here and turned up one morning before going Grand Canyon and it had the most insane game I've ever seen - they run a (n optional) $20 straddle from any position and some guy and his friend were doing it for like an hour straight. Good cocktail service and friendly dealers, normally was at least two tables going during the day, definitely the softest games around without a notable absence of pros/crushers, I think this is because they don't do promos. They do, however, give you a free buffet when you play for fours hours or more which was awesome and I took advantage of a lot of times before eating and going elsewhere.
MGM
I liked this place because of the promo it ran - if you hit a full house you get a ticket into a raffle (they just put all the tickets into a box) and draw a ticket once an hour, if your ticket gets pulled you win $200 in cash. I was lucky enough to win it once. They also have a good full house promo thing where they put particular full houses up on the wall (for example 555TT and JJJ99) and you win a certain amount if you hit them (it was $1500 the last day I played). Pretty active room with a lot of tourists (especially crazy on Saturday night after some MMA fight or something happened in the hotel) but I did notice a lot of the same guys sipping water playing through the early hours feeding on the fish. Overall though a decent room plus you get $2 an hour in comps for food that you can use at Starbucks as well as other places in the casino. Side note - I've never seen so many insanely hot women in one place. The poker room is just off from a nightclub and you get a steady stream of some of the world's most beautiful women stumbling out wearing next to nothing on weekend evenings. Someone at our table actually paid a guy $20 at the table next to us to move so he had a better view!
Planet Hollywood
The atmosphere in here is unlike anywhere else, tunes are pumping with 10/10 birds dancing next to naked on the Blackjack tables opposite, was like playing in the middle of a nightclub. There isn't really a room as such, it's just a load of tables in the centre of the casino. Was one of the busier places, often 10+ tables running in evenings. This is the kind of place that attracts guys buying in for the maximum wearing jewel encrusted watches on both wrists and showing their buddies sitting behind them their cards before shoving on a bluff. The music brings a very noticeable tempo to the game, people play and bet insanely quickly and nearly everyone was drinking booze in the evenings, not really the place for old man nits. A guy hit a royal when I was there and got $500. Alas, the atmosphere got to me and I ended up getting pissed as a fart and dropping a lot so be careful if you get caught up in atmospheres, great action room though, probably my favourite 'unique' experience.
Excalibur
Cool room that did cheap tourneys ($45) a few times a day that turn into 5BB shove fest after an hour or so. Easy room with a lot of drunk tourists, I actually regret not coming back here and checking it out more. They do a thing where if your aces get cracked you get a free spin on a 'wheel of fortune' type thing - most of the prizes are $25 but you have the chance to win a few hundred. Seemed easy level of play with little or no pros/regs
Mandalay Bay
Only played here for a few hours, nice room next to a huge sportsbook but the tournament structure was horrible - I stupidly registered 30 minutes late and got like 10BB if that. Cash was full of people playing at the hotel and limping every hand but I only played a few hours on like a Wednesday morning so not sure what it's like in the evenings.
Flamingo
Action! Didn't play much but seemingly everyone drinks and the games are fast and loose, definitely worth checking this place out. They run 1/1 PLO too but I couldn't get a game going when I was there
Caesars Palace
I turned up here at like 5am one morning and gave it a go, left after 30 minutes. Table was full of absolute beasts with $1k + stacks, extremely noticeable step up in quality compared to other rooms and not just marginal either, I was well out of my depth. It was a really nice room to play in and the casino was cool, I was going to give it another go but didn't get around to it, I assumed there must be a lot of fish if this many reg pros were playing.
Bellagio
Really nice room and probably the most elegant casino in Vegas, twice tried getting in a game here but the waitlist was like an hour long both times (38 people!) so gave it a miss. Twice I showed up and gawped at Doyle Brunson like a tourist, also saw Negreanu as well. Looked like a lot of big pros really do play here, they have a large selection of games including mixed and high stakes. Kinda regret not sticking around and playing here just in the hopes of getting a table change somewhere near Bobby's room so I could lean over and watch those guys for an hour or so, I suspect I'm not the only one thinking like that. FYI 1/3 is the minimum game here.
Golden Nugget
This is downtown so about a 30 minutes bus ride from the strip depending on traffic. Quite a lot of tables in a tight room and it's the only poker room on Downtown (I think? Binions only had tourneys running IIRC) so you get a lot of drunk tourists wandering in off of the Freemont street show. I actually had my best session here after shoving the turn with a J on a 9TQK board and getting called by two people without a straight, this should tell you everything you need to know about the calibre of play.
Well hopefully this gives people an idea of what they're heading into, happy to answer other Vegas specific questions if anyone has any, I hardly slept and smashed the shit out of the city for a week so feel I picked up quite a bit about how it works now. Overall the games are very easy compared to your average 1/2 in London for example. Best week of my life, fuck coming home :(
submitted by Posting from an alt account for obvious reasons.
My friend of 15 years or so has asked me to be his Best Man I was very honoured.
For context: He is a reasonably quiet guy, keeps a smaller group of close friends rather than a larger group of acquaintances. He doesnt drink heavily. However he is still a guy that likes to mess around and have fun.
His fianceé is lovely, but I think she is a bit insecure. It also seems like she may be a little controlling.
I had originally planned for the stag do/batchelor party to be a series of fun events around London. There will be 5 of us. Drinks involved but not heavy drinking as he wouldn't want that.
Just a group of guys together: fun activities throughout the day, a nice, decent and relaxed meal in the evening, then something like casino or comedy club in the evening. All stay over, and a nice breakfast as a final send off somewhere posh-ish and nice (I wanted to get the Duck and Waffle in London, or similar).
I discussed this with him in general terms and he seemed very excited about the whole plan.
But then a few weeks ago he messaged me to tell me that his fianceé is having her Hen party/Bachelorette party at the same time.
She now wanted the stag and hen to meet up for dinner in the evening. So I asked him to make sure it was no earlier than 8pm to fit in with all the plans I was booking. As there would now be 11 for dinner i said get someone from hers to contact me so we can pick a place and book it.
Then a few days later a second message from him. His fianceé now wanted us to all stay together for the rest of the evening. So I explained it was likely to be a casino or comedy club we were doing. So could he pass that on.
Then she decided we are all staying in the same hotel. So we are doing that. And the hotel chosen is 45 mins away from the area I'd originally planned all the events for. But her family and friends needed the cheaper option. So I moved a bunch of the events we were doing to new venues.
Then he messaged to say she wanted us all to have breakfast together ...but at the hotel to save cost. So that has gone from a nice, fancy close breakfast in a nice place to a really cheap and bad hotel buffet for the 2 groups together.
Last night I got the message that has really pushed me over the edge.
Again, its received from him, but saying that *she wants to now go to a piano bar in the evening. So we can get to the bar in time, the fiancee wants us to all just go for a cheap quick dinner at Nandos (for US think Pollo Loco or Chipotle).
...and can we end our other stuff earlier that I've planned to make sure we get to dinner earlier and then the bar on time.
To be clear, not once has he said "I Would like..." or "can we..." It has always been: "Hey, [fiancee] has said she would like to..."
I really feel like she has taken over and made his stag/batchelor into something about her.
I feel like what she has turned it in to will also be very disappointing and honestly a bit crap for my friend compared to the original plans.
However I'm really worried (especially as all messages have come thru him) that if I say anything then I will just cause a problem and in particular an issue between me and his fianceé.
Should I say something?
Should I just acquiesce to what he is asking for on her behalf and hope he is ok with it?
Any advice very gratefully received
TLDR: I am best man, the bride-to-be is taking over the stag/batchelor plans and making it about her. Advice about whether to say something is requested.
submitted by Hey
/yugioh, it's time for another
long in-depth tournament report. This time for YCS Seattle where I failed to do anything significant but here we go anyways. Turn up the tunes and enjoy the story.
Background If you aren't interested in a story, skip down to the bolded actual tournament report.
A little background on the months leading up to this event. Originally, I wasn't planning on playing YCS Seattle. I was testing and playing Magic the Gathering's Modern format in preparation for GP Vancouver. However, several months before GP Vancouver (MTG YCS), YCS Seattle was announced on the same weekend as GP Vancouver (fuck me, right). I still wasn't going to go play YCS Seattle anyways because I already committed so much of my time, and money to that format. Not to mention it was Zoodiac format and I didn't want to join the mad rush for cards.
With my decision made, a close friend of mine who knows the owner of Yuigioh Dank Deals tried really hard to change my mind. Yugioh Dank Deals, a facebook buying / selling group, was putting together a team. Being part of that team meant that your cards would be provided to you for a large event. Seems kind of convenient for Zoodiac format. My friend talked to me about it and I suggested a well known player (who top 32'd YCS Seattle), Chancy aka Squiddy. However, the owner wanted more than just Chancy from the pacific west coast. For reasons unbeknownst to me, he also wanted me on the team because a Nationals top means something. With that, I was now part of Team Dank Deals, which makes naming these kinds of reports kind of difficult because I'm also part of MST.TV.
Well.
sigh. I guess I'm playing Yugioh then. Time to shelf the MTG cards I just spent a small fortune on.
I spent the last month preparing for the event, testing the Zoodiac deck with my play-group and with my team, and requested from my close friend and well-known vendor. I started with the popular Zoodiac Kaiju build, straight net-decking from Japan, but ultimately came to the conclusion that Raigeki & Dark Holes were superior to the Kaijus and it made the deck more consistent for the mirror match that I expected to play a ton of. I also drew Terrortop like a motherfucker in testing. The deck was designed to grind games instead of focusing on the Slumber + Rat OTK by just throwing a fuck ton of traps at my opponent while gaining a very nonpunishable advantage with the Zoodiac engine.
Days before the event, I finalized my list and sleeved up, what I was told, a $1,000 yugioh deck. Shout-outs to Hector and Marcus for providing me with my list. You can check out the group
here to pick up some sick deals on cards.
Irrelevant Decklist that sucks because I didn't top:
Monsters 16 3 Zoodiac Rat 3 Zoodiac Snek (Whip Tail) 2 Zoodiac Throughblade 3 Terrortop 1 Taketomborg 2 Maxx "C" 2 Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit
Spells 15 3
ROTA Tenki 3 Zoodiac Barrage of money 1 Raigeki 2 Dark Hole 2 Twin Twister 2 My Body As A Shield 2 Instant Fusion
Traps 9 3 Dick Barrier 3 Solemn Stroke 1 Torrential Tribute 1 Vanity's Emptiness 1 Seasonal Shit of Zoodiac Combo
Extra Deck 15 2 Zoodiac Drident 2 Zoodiac BroadBull 2 Zoodiac TIGER AKA BEST GIRL 1 Zoodiac Boarbow 2 Daigusto Emeral 1 Gagaga Samurai 1 Steelswarm Roach 1 Totem Bird 1 M-X-Saber Invoker 1 PK Break Sword 1 Norden
Sideboard 15 3 Imperial Iron Wall 3 Anti-Spell Fragrance 1 Gameciel 1 Dogoran 1 3300 Kaiju 2 Interrupted Kaiju Slumber 2 Forbidden Chalice 1 Coach King Bearguy 1 Coach King Giatrainer
The sideboard was designed to make the best out of turn control. Flood gates for going first, Imperial for Mill.dek, Coach King engine for going first to +90259230, and the Slumber engine to go 2nd and murder guys. Originally, I was siding the entire 7 card Kaiju engine, but cut it down to the 5 because I was siding out Dark Holes when I was boarding in Kaijus. With the 5 card engine I would be boarding into a total of 5 board wipes, 3 kaijus instead of 4 board wipes, and 4 kaijus. I wanted to draw more board wipes so this made sense. Chalice was sided as an insurance card against shitty Vanity's Fiends & Flying "C," which I knew untested players would play. Our group was already well past those cheese cards in terms of developing the meta, but a lot of people from our area was playing Quaking Mirror Force, which I did not agree with. At one point I considered siding Twin Twisters, but felt that it would be too greedy and I needed it for rogue decks. Overall, I was incredibly happy with the deck list, even after the event.
To the Tournament! Day 0.
I got a sick airBnB for our crew and it could fit like 20+ people. We decide to go down in the morning so that we have time to enjoy our place, cook dinner, and test a bunch! Great idea! We have 2 cars go down in the morning, and 1 car in the afternoon for a total of 15 people. We get to the US Border while making Trump jokes at 12:00. We leave the border at 2:30. We didn't know one of our friends was flagged and we spent an hour and a half in the border. Great start.
We drive down to the venue immediately to pre-register. I submit my registration in hopes of getting the token, but they tell me I need to submit my list. I hand my packs back and go contemplate if it's worth it to write my list now. I think it's not, and then run back to register. The line was dead at this point and the guy hands my packs back. I crack them open and pull Zoodiac Barrage! It was truly destined for me. Later on Nishi picks up the token off a trade and gives it to me. I give my two binders to my vendor friend (Marcus) who supplied me with Zoodiacs to get the most for them, but he spends almost an hour with the vendor selling his own cards and the venue closes. If only we had an extra 2 and a half hours.
We wait outside the venue like rats as Marcus is still dealing with the vendors, somehow even after the venue is closed, and he manages to secure
9 more Terrortops, and
2 more invokers to finalize 3 more Zoodiac decks for our group. At the end of the day, our group had 7 Zoodiac decks and we even had extra Barrages. Crazy.
We go pick up some shit at Target, then go get vanilla white food aka Red Robins. We catch our 3rd group coming in to Red Robins by pure coincidence and we all go back to the house to chill. If you wanna see the house check out our
vlog. The house is absolutely massive, and the master bedroom shower had this magical heater that made the room super warm even after you got out of the shower which was probably the most important thing in this whole trip as I now know exactly what kind of bathroom I want when I buy my house. Yes, this is still a tournament report.
I don't make any changes on my list, and write the deck list after minor testing. I was honestly all test-ed out (is that even a term? it is now), and at this point I just wanted to sit down and play 12 rounds of YGO, preferbably back to back with no breaks and no food.
Actual Tournament Report Time for actual YGO! My mindset is YGO ready, but I'm a terrible morning player. I'm hoping for some easy rounds to start with, and know later on in the tournament is where I will shine.
Round 1 Vs. Rodrigo playing Zoodiacs
Great. Mirror match. It's okay, I'm totally prepared for this match-up as it's fairly skill based and I have a TON of practice with the mirror. I'm feeling pretty confident. Game 1, I open the absolute nuts and I beat him to death with a Totem Bird, Drancia while under Emptiness and he was just throwing Dimensional Barriers at me in the battle phase and I would just instantly pass turn when he did. Solid start. Game 2, I lose out because he went first and I didn't draw any answers for Drident, making it very hard. Game 3, I board into the Coach engine to open nutty turn 1 boards, but brick out with Taketomborg and Zoodiac Combo turn 1, and he manages to establish a solid bard into my shitty opening making me lose.
Not a good tournament start I hoped for.
0-1
Round 2 Vs. K.C. playing Dinomist
Okay. I felt kind of bad. I was literally just throwing money on the board to win the game. At one point his one Dinomister card was staring down 2 Emerals, 1 Drident, 2 D-Barriers, and a Solemn Strike with 6 cards in hand. He was a chill guy though and he lost R1 to Zoodiac which made me feel worse.
1-1
Round 3 Vs. Calen playing Majespecter
I 2-0 him pretty handedly. Game 1 he opens poorly and I proceed to level him. Game 2, he opens strong with Bunbuku 4 backrow. I summon terror top into it and use it to force Bunbuku off the board so he can't tribute Bunbuku to use his traps. To thin out live backrows. Then I combo into him and he just loses because he's playing dead backrow against Zoodiacs and I keep poping his scales.
2-1
Round 4 Vs. Rodrigo playing Metalfoe Zoodiac
I was honestly fearing this match-up because we underestimated this deck as a group during testing. I saw the results it was putting up in the last weeks regionals and was honestly, quite scared of the match-up. But I chalked it up to people not being able to complete full Zoodiacs, and trusted my teammates advice that 3 strikes, 3 dimensional barrier, and 3 anti-spell was very good against Metalfoes. G1, he goes first and establishes a Kirin board. I play patient and set 3 backrow into it. I eat a ton of damage, but he passes another turn to me. I flip Dimensional Barrier, calling Pendulums, and play Dark Hole to clear his board of answers. Then I proceed to play scale control, while being backed up by a Solemn Strike. Game 2, he doesn't open the nutty board and I quickly grind him out of resources.
3-1
Round 5 Vs. Matthew playing Metalfoe Zoodiac
I guess lightning always strikes twice. Game 1 he goes first and drops Kirin and I make a joke about Kiring being banned. I try the Dimensional Barrier + Dark Hole Trick again after cycling into 2 dark holes and a Raigeki but lose out. Game 2 I open traps, and game 3, he bricks going first and I open Rat + Anti-Spell + a whole fuck ton of traps. Pink cards are good when you are playing a 1 card engine.
4-1
Round 6 Vs. Cameron playing 60 Cards Infernoid
He was from California, and BOY did he look BAKED the whole time. I'm pretty sure he was high out of his mind thanks to Washington's marijuana laws. I enjoy a good puff every now and then but this guy was clearly not going to let yugioh from stopping him from enjoying himself. With that said, he choose the best deck for playing while baked. Game 1 goes exactly how it usually goes with testing. He mows the lawn and I have about 14 dead cards in my mainboard against him. Game 2 I open sub-optimal but he doesn't open lawn mowing (which is a 43% chance to open, by the way, according to my smart teammates). I win out with a grind game. Game 3 he opens lawn mowing but is low on utility. I Rat + 2 Imperial Iron Walls + Strike + Spells. I play around his D.D. Crow monster that he dropped onto the board. Then, I set my backrow. Games in the bag. I flip Imperial, He shows me Decatron, I let it through and flip another Iron Wall. He Snows my Emeral and I don't care. He passes to me and I start the combo, he tries to D.D. Crow it with Decatron and I strike it (which is honestly not a good play because I could have striked Decatron to begiin with and saved an Iron Wall, But I wanted to hold Strike encase of any shenanigans. I put lethal on board and he extends the handshake.
5-1
Round 7 Vs. Johnny playing Zoodiac Kaiju
Another California guy who was a very good player and was super chill. At this point, all my friends are tired but I'm hitting the magical YGO runner's high that I get after playing 6 rounds and not eating anything and I'm at peak mental fortitude. I go first and think I have the advantage and he slamsTwin Twisties, Slumber, and Rat on does the YGO equivalent of yelling out "I WIN, YOU LOSEEEEE." Game 2, is very similar with me opening shitty and he takes me to the dumpster. So much for runner's high.
5-2
Round 8 Vs. Josef playing Zoodiacs
A guy not from this area. He looks uncomfortable in the mirror match and we go into G1. I go first and the game goes exactly like how it goes. The guy is unable to develop onto my board and I have too much advantage on him and eventually take him out. After game 1, he complements me on how "I know what I'm doing," with the match-up. I don't know what to say as it's round 8 and I think my opponent is trying to psyche me out. I find out after that he was truly genuine as he approaches me later on and starts talking to me about his Zoodiac plays and whether they are correct are not. G2 he wins due to inherent turn advantage. Game 3, I open the absolute nuts and resolve Coach King Combo against him and go +9 million. My ending board is Emeral, Coach King Giatrainer, Drident, Invoker, Tenki, with Torrential, Dimensional Barrier, 3 Solemns in the backrow, and with 6 cards in my hand. He Raigekis my board of 4 monsters but goes -1, and I continue to bury him in advantage.
6-2
I end day 1 with a X-2 record which means I'm a sure-in for day 2, and all I need to do is win tomorrow's first 2 matches to get top 32. Sounds easy enough. We go back after getting cheese cake factory with our huge party and we sing the loudest happy birthday that restaurant has ever heard with a 15 person ensemble to our mate who played YCS on his birthday.
I go back and instantly sleep to prepare myself for day 2. I pass my deck to my friend who pieces out the foreign cards for english cards in preparation for day 2 rule sharks.
Round 9 Vs. Daniel playing CHAIN BURN
Fuck me right off, it is too early for this shit. I'm not losing my YCS run to fucking chain burn, is what I told myself. G1, he lets me go first and I assume he's playing Mermail so I wall up with everything in defense. He goes set, demise, set 6 and passes. I attack into a set Card Car D, and I know what i'm dealing with. This guy has been X-2 playing chain burn purely against Zoodiacs. He's built to fuck me up. Great. I lose game 1 to burn while trying to pop my own cards at the end of chains so that he does less damage to me. Game 2, I push through him and he doesn't draw enough to kill me. Eventually the game ends with a 2800 Tigermortar attacking into a set Maxx "C," for piercing. He picks up the Maxx "C" to move it to the grave and I say "piercing damage?" He tries to backtrack and say that "oh I want to activate Waboku now" but it's too late in the game. A judge is called and the judges says him picking up the Maxx "C" into the grave indicates that he was okay with it being destroyed. Ultimately, it's not my responsibility to know if my opponent understands my cards are not. He did not ask any specifics of my monsters, so I assumed he knew. I mean it is round 9 of a YCS in Zoodiac Format. I take game 2. Game 3, I go first and he draws a lot of big burn cards and murders me. YCS Tournament run ended by chain burn anyways. I go outside and CHAIN smoke a bit.
6-3
Round 10 Vs. No Show
I end the tournament strong, and chill out beside a guy from London for a non-consequential free win. We talk about the YGO scene in London and how I could not find card shops when I was there.
I do not make top 32, as all the X-2-1s didn't even make top 32, as expected. I go enter a regionals side event but lose out round 1 because I'm playing on tilt. I enter academy duels with Team MST.TV and we lose out x-2 due to the rules changing in the middle of the tournament (Round 1 was played in matches, but Round 2+ were played as BO1). Our group does some crazy tokens with like 16+ people and the token guys get mad at us. Finally, we give Nishi a surprise gift (see the Vlog, or our channel) before calling it a day as a group.
BONUS WIN-A-MAT REPORT If you didn't know. I have an infamous "win-a-mat" curse. In my 7 years of playing YGO, I've never won a win-a-mat. It's said that my final round opponent always begins the game with 5 cards of their choosing. I secretly enter a win-a-mat to try and break the curse on the down low. It's the last win-a-mat of YCS Seattle to fire.
Round 1 Vs. Zoodiac
Guy was clearly very good at the game because he drew Maxx "C" every game. In game 2 I had Maxx "C" too, but he had a second one. I still win the match anyways because he didn't know how to play the match-up and over extended into backrow while I kept my board presence and movement to a bare minimum.
Round 2 Vs. Zoodiac
Guy was, again, fairly inexperienced and I 2-0 him. Last memorable play was in game 2 where I bricked and I had 1 face-down. I bluff Dimensional Barrier against a Terror top and my opponent makes Totem Bird instead Invoker which would have killed me. He passes to me and I show him the Rat combo. He tells me "why did you make Samurai you don't have lethal." I tell him I know and attack him bringing him down low, I attack with Drident equip a Viper, and flip my face-down Zoodiac Combo to kill him. My final opponent is playing against Metalfoe Yang Zing beside me and was doing the standard strategy of going +1 million and just throwing cards at his opponent until they gave up. By this time it was already pretty late and my friends were finishing up whatever events they were playing. Everyone was looking for me and by the time I was ready to play round 3 a large crowd of friends have gathered to watch me lose my win-a-mat final
Round 3 Vs. Zoodiac
By this time, basically all my friends are here and even the my opponent and the judge are making win-a-mat jokes about me. Game 1, my opponent opens the absolute nuts (as I was told later on by a friend) including traps, Rat, Maxx "C." Basically everything you could ask for the in the mirror. He sets up and I try to push into his set-up unsucessfully while eating Maxx "C" and a dimensional barrier. I set 3 and pass. He shows his inexperience tries to push into the backrow and I bluff empty backrow. I let him make whatever and on the last possible monster he could have summoned I torrential him. Game 2, he's going first and I board into the Kaiju engine but don't see it. He opens the nuts again and shows me Maxx "C" when I play Instant on turn 2 after getting my monster Drident poped. I elect to play into Maxx "C" as I really had nothing and he goes to like 7 cards in hand. I felt buried and scooped. My friend later tells me that his hand of 7 cards was literally all dead and I probably could hae won that one. Game 3, I open the nuts and the game goes into the standard slippery slope.
I FINALLY break my win-a-mat curse! I'm honestly celebrating more than when I topped nationals and it made this entire trip worth it. The judge makes me sign a invite form for some reason and i'm confused. We get to the prize table and he they hand me the Zoodiac Mat and a regional deck box, which is not the prize for a win-a-mat. I celebrate with my friends and the judges come back to rip my prize out of my hand. Apparently there was a mistake. They hand me a shitty Aster Phoenix mat instead. Whatever, a win-a-mat is a win-a-mat. The Judge apologizes to me and tells me he is willing to sell me the Zoodiac Mat when he gets it for his Judge goody bag. I pick up the Zoodiac mat and the Beatrice Judge mat for like $50. What a bro.
Post Tournament We finish strong and go out for buffet. I got me a metric fuck ton of Prime Rib to celebrate my first ever win-a-mat. My friend drinks a waffle with a straw, and they double or nothing on red at the casino. Good way to end a YCS.
Anyways, I hope you all have enjoyed my very long, YCS tournament report. I would like to thank Team Dank Deals for supplying me with cards that I wouldn't normally have and letting me play YGO instead of MTG. Shout-outs to YGO Fam, and MST.TV for being a solid crew for YCS. Shout-outs to breaking win-a-mat curse, which confirms I win nationals this year.
Until next time... remember to hold onto your backrow because Zoodiac mirrors are an aboslute nightmare...
MST.TV Oscar [TDD] ?? TDD & MST.TV Oscar ?? MSTDD Oscar ?? TDD Oscar from MST.TV ??
Oscar.
So both times, my 5 day weekend will be Starting on Thursday and end on a Monday. Ideally, I want to schedule my departing flight on a Thursday morning and then my arriving flight back home on Monday morning or afternoon.
My interests include some history, I just got interested in hiking so some beginning hiking would great, outdoor adventure (like kayaking, biking and zip lining), unique city secrets and hidden gems, haunted/ paranormal stuff (just not too much), FOOD, ALCOHOL, DINING, meeting and partying with people in their 20s and older, geek/nerd culture, historical buildings, scenic views, things particular to the city/area/culture and etc.
Here is what I have so far and any recommendations and suggestions are more than welcomed!
London I went almost three years ago and realized how beautiful the city was. Las time I was there with my aunt and we did some sight seeing. I want to do some sightseeing but maybe do more! Here is what I had in mind:
- British Museum
- Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour
- Jack The Ripper Tour
- Abbey Road (Yea, do that thing!)
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
- Museum of Natural History
- King's Cross Station and other Harry Potter film locations!
I also remember seeing on Globe Trekker there was this small row boat you can take along a river in London and head to a beautiful place in Oxford and has tremendous views! I was thinking about having a Sunday breakfast with charcuterie and glass of wine (if permitted). I'm also interested in anything that looks like the Shambles of York!
Las Vegas Last summer, I had a blast but to the point where I drank myself stupid. This time, I want to do it right because last time, I wasn't able to do many activities due to a huge ass hangover but I still want to party and drink (just not too hard). Here is what I had in mind:
- Visit the area around Area 51 and its shops
- view the Grand Canyon scenery and do zip lining there
- Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars
- Hotel/ Casino Pool Party
- Night Clubs
- Rides at the Stratosphere
- Cirque De Solei show
- Fremont Street
I have a feeling there are hidden gems in Las Vegas too but I haven't found them. I heard of this really good pizza place at the Cosmopolitan but you have to explore the place to find it. I wasn't able to find it last time.
California I've always wanted to go the the west coast. From my perspective, everyone is chill, welcoming, and good looking too! The Spotify ad makes LA sound soooo good too! I want to do some nature hiking, a bunch of activities in the city, eat, drink, and party too! I also heard Venice Beach is nice. I want to go to a place where I can easily meet people too. Any suggestions and recommendations will be appreciated!
Seattle I remember doing my first Reddit Gifts exchange and the theme was snacks. My Secret Santa blew me away with her care package that was from the People's Market! From then I wanted to visit that Market! I also want to visit the original Starbucks too!
Ocean City, Maryland This will just be a little weekend getaway with me and my friends. We're coming from NJ. We'll leave on our motorcycles on Thursday, spend a night in Cape May then catch the ferry going down to Ocean City, Maryland the next morning. We'll do some beach time on Friday morning and get unlimited crabs at the Crab Bag then head out to Seacrets for the whole time. Then we'll just head to Seacrets the whole day on Saturday. Not sure what's the best thing to do on Sunday though!
Any recommendations and suggestions will be more than appreciated. To anyone who went to these places, what did you do and how much fun was it?
http://www.stanleymatthew.com/life-as-a-food-beverage-manager Hey Matthew,
Just wanted to run you an update of where & what I've been up to so far. Try hit you up each week and keep you up with everything i'm doing.
I've been in the hospitality industry for 10 years now and if there is one thing I have learnt; it would be that the goal posts you are aiming for are like the end of a rainbow. No matter how close you think you are getting they keep finding a way to move further away.
It's easy to think then, What's the point? Why do I keep at it? Why do I put up with the unsociable hours? Why do I continue to deal with delusional customers? Why do I endure the painful conversations with difficult or emotional staff? And the list could go on and on.
I think the answer to these questions is very surprising when I truly think about it. It's not because I love alcohol and food. I mean I do love both of those things.... very much. And it’s not because I love interactions with people. I mean this one time I did an introvert/extrovert test at university and scored the highest in a class of 300 or so on the introvert scale, I was one score away from being as introverted as one person could be. So interactions with people exhaust me, especially those I have trouble relating to.
No, why I do it is because of the challenge. It's just so complete as a problem. Almost all facets of life are encompassed by this industry. Ok almost everyone could say that about their own industry and find ways of proving the statement they have made. But hear me out, let me start with where I have come from and what has bought me to where I am today.
So I moved out of home at 19, the only job I had ever had was working with dad during school holidays helping him flip houses. So when I found myself living in a shoe-box apartment in the middle of Auckland City I was stumped as to what to start doing to pay my rent. Across the road from where I lived was the Sky City Casino and they were looking for staff in a bunch of the outlets and gaming floor. As I was still 19 I was too young to work on the gaming floor, but because I was a guy I was given an interview with one of the restaurants who were looking for more men to balance out the team. This was my first dip in. Now I admit, I was a joke when I first started. I was one of "those" workers, you know the ones. The ones that call in sick all the time, ask to go home early and just have an overall lack of effort. As time went on I slowly learned the trade and got better and better, learned how to make coffees and a few basic cocktails. I also gained confidence in talking to random strangers as I asked them what they would like to drink with their buffet dinner. But at no point in this 12-month experience did I ever think that I was now a hospitality worker. It was a means to an end.
Then in 2008, I moved to the Gold Coast in Australia, quit university, ran away from debts, ex-girlfriends, and just general life struggles. At the time I thought it was a great idea and it would solve all my problems. Instead I was young, dumb and well you know the rest. I was unemployed for 3 months. In that time all I achieved was to learn how to solve a Rubix cube in less than a minute and a half. Don’t get me wrong I still pull out that trick at parties but it didn’t exactly help me eat or pay rent. Instead I bludged heavily on other people and ruined friendships because of my incompetence. I managed to find a job at a factory that lasted a month before getting fired for not showing up enough. Then along came Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise. I remember when I took this job I felt like I was getting desperate and this was my job to keep me afloat not actually start a career in. I mean, it was hospitality. People only work in hospitality while studying for their real job right?
Well 12 months went by and I found myself standing with an eventual very good friend who at the time was my big boss. My F&B Manager. He asked me if I wanted to make something of my career and take this job seriously for once. After a few days I came back and told him I was in. I was going to do whatever it took to become the best F&B Attendant at the hotel. And within 6 months I was promoted to a team leader. I spent the summer as this team leader and by the end of it the timing was perfect and I managed to land an F&B Supervisor job. My career had really started. I was now a salaried worker for the first time in my life, I had responsibility and I guess I still felt I had nothing better going for me so I would stick at it and not screw it up.
Of course I almost screwed it up a number of times. What can I say? I get bored and when I'm bored I do dumb stuff. After a couple of secondments at other properties around the country I landed the Meetings & Events Manager at Holiday Inn Brisbane. It was now 2011 and I had a 12-month contract. I had already decided with my partner at the time that at the end of the contract we would go travelling and head to London to live. So after 12 months of intense personal growth that is just what I did. I had really become an adult at this point and my career was no longer something that I did because nothing else was going to pay the bills. I was doing it because I just overcome the hardest 12 months of work in my life and I loved it. I grew leaps and bounds as a leader and enjoyed the rush. It is hard to explain but I started to feel satisfaction for overcoming all the challenges being thrown at me.
So 2012, I just finished 3 months of travelling Asia and landed in London, the next day I had a job interview for a little restaurant called Charlotte’s Place. The day after I was at a two-day trial and then I was hired as the Assistant Restaurant Manager. I was now running one of the most successful independent restaurants in London. We ended up winning Top Restaurant in London in the Good Food Guide awards while I was there.
7 months after arriving in London I had to head home due to family reasons and I found myself back at the Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise, but it was now called the Outrigger Surfers Paradise and I was the Restaurant & Bar Manager. I lasted here 9 months and although I had the worst General Manager ever, I learned so much here. I learned how to earn a pay cheque. This job was tough! I once served 700 customers for breakfast with 2 chefs and 6 wait staff, and the funny part was that I felt it was an easy day because of all the help that I had. I was used to doing 100-150 covers with one chef and one other staff member. That was my typical day. I never ran so much in a job ever. But what it taught me is efficiency and how to still offer a great customer experience with absolutely no staff. I had to think outside the box so often. I had to find ways of being prepared for everything. And I did. I was so good at it. We hardly ever had complaints at breakfast and we were getting smashed every day.
September 2013 I had had enough and I needed something else. I took on a role of Assistant Bar Manager at Palazzo Versace which lasted 6 weeks before being offered the role of Four Winds Restaurant Manager at the Crowne Plaza in Surfers Paradise, which evolved into the Assistant F&B Manager. And during these 13 or so months I learned more about leadership than ever before. My boss had a way of opening my eyes up to it and it all started to click. I started to realise why I was doing this. Why I was putting up with the unsociable hours, Why I continued to deal with delusional customers, Why I endured painful conversations with difficult or emotional staff. The concept hadn't completely formed in my head but it was starting to take shape and with success after success the picture started to become clearer and clearer.
And then December 2014, I got a transfer to Crowne Plaza Terrigal as the F&B Manager. This was it, I had reached department head level and this was kind of the pinnacle of my F&B career. Yeah I will go on to bigger roles with more revenue and more outlets and bigger teams but essentially it is all the same thing, just the stakes are higher. I am the authority on F&B in this hotel reporting directly to the General Manger and until I make the jump to a General Manager the dynamic of the role is never going to really change much from this. I will always report to the General Manager and I will from now on always be in charge of everything F&B. It’s been 16 months in this role now and I am on the verge of my next step. I have started applying for other roles and this time I am looking to Asia, specifically South East Asia.
So now I am in a position to explain my love for this industry, the challenges I face and the reason I keep asking for more, every time I think I have it all figured out and have taken my department or hotel to new heights I realise that the goal posts have picked up and run away from me. Maybe only last year did I really realise there is no perfect hotel or perfect restaurant. You can always be better, you can always improve. And that goes for everything in life. Don't just accept mediocrity.
I now wake up each morning and ask myself "What can I do today to improve on yesterday?"
Talk to you next week bro.
Stanley
submitted by Western Fair Raceway & Slots: Stay away from Gateway Casino London - See 122 traveler reviews, 22 candid photos, and great deals for London, Canada, at Tripadvisor. Reviews on All You Can Eat Buffet in London, ON - K Grill, 168 Sushi Asian Buffet Bar, Mandarin Restaurant - London, The Roxbury Pub & Grill, Massey's Fine Indian Cuisine, A-One Asian Buffet, Jewel Of India Restaurant, Kings Buffet London, Trissa's Family Restaurant Getaway Restaurant is Temporarily Closed Getaway Restaurant at Gateway Casinos London Relax with a light meal, try a savoury snack, or sip a tasty beverage. An array of dining and drinking options are available for your enjoyment. Menus Main Menu London Casino Reviews, capital gold card dover downs, cs 1.6 slot olma plugini, office door to sierra madre casino key Casino Joy: £1000 welcome London Casino Reviews package + 200 bonus spins Sign up today and take advantage of a £1,000 welcome London Casino Reviews package including 200 bonus spins spread over 3 deposits. Best Buffets in London, ON - K Grill, Kings Buffet London, Massey's Fine Indian Cuisine, A-One Asian Buffet, Mandarin Restaurant - London, 168 Sushi Asian Buffet Bar, Trissa's Family Restaurant, Belmont Town Restaurant & Catering, Mandarin Restaurant Bonus. After your registration London Casino Buffet and before you start playing, Videoslots will ask you to specify your occupation and the amount you can afford to spend on gambling per London Casino Buffet month. Please consider that the above London Casino Buffet amount will be set as your monthly limit of loss and will be used for London Casino Buffet KYC and responsible gambling purposes. Book now at Getaway - Gateway Casino London in London, ON. Explore menu, see photos and read 73 reviews: "Not a lot of great menu options but the food available was good." London Casino Buffet, tiles gambling, coventry casino new years eve, diamantvipclubcasino. 10Bet Casino - Welcome Bonus 40x-Casino Bonus. 21Casino. January 7, 2018. 48. Up to £500 bonus + 50 bonus spins at Diamond7. Previous Article Fair Go Casino 50 Free Spins Next Article Drake Casino and Gossip Slots $5 no deposit bonus. 9. Registration No Deposit Bonus - Golden Lion Casino Available in New York Wagering requirements: 50x Getting this bonus is LITTLE TIME-CONSUMING; When you roll-over the bonus the initial Wynn Casino Buffet Price bonus value is deducted; Maximal cashout: $50 Roulette games need to be wagered 60x Genting Casino Cromwell Mint, London: Hours, Address, Genting Casino Cromwell Mint Reviews: 4.5/5. Europe ; United Kingdom (UK) and harrowing historic tales. A great way to learn more about London without leaving the security of your own home, this tour includes an array of interesting details from your guide. Free buffet ☺️. Read
