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World Series Of Poker
2005 Editor's Reports |
LAS VEGAS
June 2, 2005 – July 15, 2005  |
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Day 6 - Downtown
14th July
2005
Petula Clark "When you're alone and life is making you
lonely You can always go - downtown"
27 to 9
From
the Rio Casino, a full golf ball drive down a concrete road away from the
strip, its a $20 cab ride along the congested Interstate Freeway I-15 to
Downtown Las Vegas. For the third straight day we are over 110 degrees, which
is hot even for this desert town, and the air-conditioning in the taxis don't
seem to be able to cope. Its a strange feeling drawing up alongside Binion's
Horseshoe casino for two reasons. One, this casino isn't owned by the Binion
family anymore but neither is it owned by Harrahs who bought it from them. Two,
you get to stop on a real road and walk along the sidewalk instead of the
grandiose entrances of the strip casino.
In the song the lyrics
continue, 'Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty How can
you lose? The lights are much brighter there You can forget all your troubles,
forget all your cares So go downtown, things'll be great when you're Downtown -
no finer place, for sure Downtown '. I can only assume Petula Clark was
ahead of her time but one thing is for certain, no one is lingering on the
sidewalk unless they want to die from dehydration.
We didn't know what
to expect from Binions as the plan to play down here way made before the
sell-off of the casino. Infact the place was buzzing like it used to, with a
good fifty poker tables in action at the back of the casino like it always was
in the good old days. The sad thing was that the last three tables of the main
event were upstairs in a darkened room with some seating room for a few
spectators and relatives and half a million media people.
Action from
the playing room was relayed to screens downstairs, in the poker room, in the
bars and in the sports book. Joe Public was interested but knowing the
relevance of the three different tables was impossible. They really hadn't
quite got it right but by the attendence of people coming to play one of the
four tournaments they have there every day of the year, they didn't
care.
 Back in the playing arena, devoid of effective air-conditioning,
play ground on until 3 a.m. when there were 10 left. The players then
re-assembled themselves onto one table so that they could eliminate one more
player and be nine. Why? Don't ask me. But it wasn't riveting stuff and the
romantic stories of Raymer getting to the final or Williams getting there and
being instantly world famous all faded. We finished at 3:30. Still, I got to
see the Freemont Experience, a light
show displayed on the canopy over the main street of Downtown Las
Vegas.
Carrying on from yesterday you can just
make the 7 minute walk across the road from the Aladdin to the Monte Carlo.
Honestly its a bit too much in the heat of July, when I did it we were in the
middle of 8 straight days of 110° F plus and you will best be doing at
about 1 a.m.. On the right of the casino there is a quiet bar called Houdinis
with big armchairs and no slot machines, pretty much like a bar actually. Over
on the left is the Monte Carlo card room, a quaint and cosseted room with
nineteenth century pictures on the wall and about 12 tables. They spread the
regular Holdem games that are rife in town at the moment as well as 7 card
stud. A bit too cosy for me.
However folks if you are in Vegas and from
far distant shores, you will be wishing for a cup of tea (no chance so don't
even think about it), vegetables ('what is wrong with you?' will be the reply)
and more relevantly a decent beer. Well I have some news for you, in the casino
purporting to be somewhat French, there is a pub that brews its own beer behind
a glass partition that you sit around. Its at the back of the casino and is
well sign posted. Some very decent wheat beer that will be to the taste
of many real ale drinkers is on offer and a thing called High Roller
Red. This is a dark beer and its a very tasty brew. Just a few yards from
here you can take the private tramway (as opposed to the monorail) to the
Bellagio which has a large poker room where you can find all the big names in
town. Irecommend the 20-40 Hi-Lo Omaha, but only if you know what you are
doing.
Chips Day 6. Players who made it to the
Prize list.. Move on to the
Final
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