belated TR March Madness 3/20-3/23

First post for me. I enjoy the posts on gambling best. Here%26#39;s one for the sports bettors. I%26#39;ve been going to Vegas at least 2-3 times per year for the last 9 years or so. I%26#39;ve gone for March Madness (MM) the last 4 years. Had a great time this year and came home with some of Vegas%26#39; money. Love that! Quick flight as usual on Southwest. I usually come in at night and those cab lines can be awful. Arrived around 9 am and thought on Thursday of MM weekend that the lines would be bad. There was no line. First win of the weekend. Told the cabbie ';no tunnel'; and he told me there was construction and he needed to take the tunnel. This was 3/20/08, was this true? Anyway didn%26#39;t fight him and arrived at Luxor in time for the first set of games. Their set-up for the games is not the best but didn%26#39;t want to leave and miss any action, so decided to just watch in their sportsbook. I had already placed my first bet online before I arrived. Took Georgia +8.5. Felt good about how they were playing and thought they would ride good wave of confidence into the tourney after their improbable run through the SEC tourney. The Bulldogs played great in the first half and came out with the ';we%26#39;ve got nothing to lose'; attitude that I thought they would. They were up 9 at halftime. As a serious sports bettor (as all ';serious'; gamblers have experienced from time to time) whenever you are on a roll or feeling overconfident, you start asking yourself ';why didn%26#39;t I put more money on this?'; Well, I%26#39;m saying to myself ';I don%26#39;t even need those points...I should%26#39;ve bet the moneyline...I should%26#39;ve put more on these bad-a** %26#39;Dogs.'; As you know, the gambling gods always will punish those thoughts. Some of the details of these games could be a little sketchy since I%26#39;m writing this a month late but bear with me. The %26#39;Dogs came out pretty well in the 2nd half and if I remember right were up at least 10-11 points or so well into the 2nd half. Then they started to fall apart. Xavier came on real strong and took the lead with about 7 minutes left. OK, we%26#39;re ok, I%26#39;ve still got my 8.5 points. It went back and forth for a few minutes and we%26#39;re sitting on about a 4-5 point deficit. As we got down to the last minute or so, I%26#39;m in damage control mode as it doesn%26#39;t seem that Georgia is going to score again and they keep fouling and Xavier is making free throws. Come on, come on, all I need is like one shot to fall, layup, desperation 3, anything!!! Not to be, they lost by 12 and I%26#39;m thinking this is a horrible start to the weekend! The beauty of MM is there are so many games and nonstop action. On to the next one!

When I bet football, I tend to bet on the whole game and try to do research ahead of time, etc. College basketball is a different beast, I think. For the most part during MM, I like to watch the 1st half and try to feel the game and the emotions of the teams and then place a 2nd half bet on my ';educated'; guess. It worked pretty well this trip. Not couting the GA %26#39;Dogs, I went 5-1-1 on the other 7 bets placed on the 2nd halfs. Details on those to follow. It%26#39;s midmorning and went to check in at Luxor. Stayed in the tower and the room%26#39;s ok. Got a good offer in the mail for 3 weeknights or 2 weekend nights free. Paid for Thursday room (~$60) and Fri, Sat were free. I used to play a lot of table games but got real tired of losing all the time so moved to sports. I%26#39;m not sure why casino marketing still sends me good offers on free and discounted rooms, but I%26#39;ll take %26#39;em. It%26#39;s been about 3 years since I was playing consistently at the tables. I wish they had a points system for sports betting.

My favorite places to stay so far have been Venetian and Mandalay, but I%26#39;m not going to turn down the free room. Would rather conserve money for bets. Went to the Luxor buffet for lunch. I%26#39;m pretty low-maintenance when it comes to food, not to say I don%26#39;t enjoy a good meal here and there. But...this place was awful. Don%26#39;t go out of your way to eat there. I have a good friend that lives in Vegas, so met up with her in the afternoon and went to watch more games at PH. PH has the best setup that I have seen so far for MM. On their mezz level, they have a huge room with 4 projection screens on either end and lots of seats. Good viewing situation. They also have a bar in the middle and a remote betting station. Good system for ';free'; drinks, they were giving one ticket for every $20 or so in bets. Watched Duke/Belmont with hopes that Belmont would win. Hate Duke. 1st half they played pretty well and looked like they could hang with Duke. I forget what the original line was, but Duke was up 7 at the break. Waiting for the 2nd half line to come out I%26#39;m thinking if it%26#39;s 8 or more, I%26#39;ll probably take it. Thinking Belmont could stay within 15 points for the game. It%26#39;s +11! I%26#39;m all over it. Usually when I feel that confident about a line, I%26#39;m often wrong, but not this time. Belmont played spectacular in the 2nd half and very nearly beat Duke. Only lost by 1. I%26#39;m thinking for sure they%26#39;re going down in the next round and I%26#39;ll probably take whoever%26#39;s playing %26#39;em. Good to get back on the horse after Georgia. In a later game, took WVU in the 2nd half vs. Arizona. I%26#39;ve watched AZ a good bit this year and thought they were lucky to be in the tourney. They play soft. Luckily they were able to keep it close enough in the 1st half that I had a good line on the 2nd. WVU was up 1 at half and the line was ';pick%26#39;em';. Took WVU and they won the game by 10. Perfect and not much hand-wringing! After the games, ate at a great sandwich place in PH called Earl of Sandwich. Went there twice more for lunch during the trip between games. It%26#39;s right near the sportsbook, very reasonable prices and awesome sandwiches. Anyone been there? I recommend it for quick bite. Didn%26#39;t do too much hard partying this trip although I usually make it to a club or two during these trips. Had to save energy for all those games! More to follow.

belated TR March Madness 3/20-3/23

looking forward to the rest of your TR.

belated TR March Madness 3/20-3/23

As for taxi driver needing to take the tunnel due to construction. I arrived at 8am Vegas time on 3/20. Like you told driver no tunnel he obeyed and cab ride to the Paris Hotel was $15 including tip. No construction and no traffic. You were long hauled.