The pokerboyz and I went on our annual July pilgrimage to Vegas. It’s generally hot, cheap and a bit slow that time of year. But the poker scene was a lot slower than it has been in years.

We tried to play as many tournaments as possible. But one day Planet Hollywood cancelled its tourney due to lack of interest. Not a particularly good legacy if the rumors about the WSOP are true. Another day we all withdrew from the Binions 2:00pm when we realized we would make up 80% of the field. The same thing happened at Aria.

But that didn’t stop us from having a great time and playing what tourneys we could find. The M Resort did a good job of attracting good fields. And the locals are still turning out for the Orleans tourneys. I cashed in the Tuscany donkfest, accomplished without a rebuy even.

Idoru (aka Mike) had been looking for revenge after a somewhat lackluster Biloxi performance in January. He got it. I think he cashed four or five times.

Vegas is definitely now catering to the budget gambler. Registration lines were very long on Sunday, when cheap room specials kicked in.

Most of us stayed at the Monte Carlo, where they offered a $1.99 breakfast special between midnight and 5:00 am. As a bonus, each breakfast special could be accompanied by its own cheap beer for an added $1.50. The boyz got me my own Colt 45 – with a straw – at about 2:30 one morning.

This trip we tried to include a couple of cultural outings. I highly recommend stopping by the Chihuly exhibit at Aria. We also enjoyed the exhibition at the Bellagio entitled “Figuratively Speaking: A Survey of the Human Form” featuring works by Renoir, Hockney, Picasso, Degas and more.

I got in one session at the Venetian’s Omaha hi/lo game. But I could have played there all week. I love that game. Every time I play it, I bump into someone I know. Last time I played it, I ran into Barrister who I had played with in Tunica. This time, I met up with Dr. Will Shead, who wrote this review of “Check-Raising the Devil” for the Journal of Gambling Issues. With a twinkle in his eye, he claimed he was in Vegas doing “field research.” Um. Yeah. me too.

There were lots of totally ridiculous moments, of course. I nearly spewed coffee out my nose when Idoru showed up wearing this T-shirt with the infamous 2+2 photo shop work of art.

I also took a fast pass by the Rio to say a quick hello to Otis, Mean Gene, and Flip Chip. It was the last day of the WSOP Championship prior to the November final. The boys looked pretty tired. And I could only see Dr. Pauly and BJ from a distance as they were still hunkered down inside the ropes.

On one hand, I was a little nostalgic for the old days when I covered the WSOP. On the other hand, I was relieved not to put in the backbreaking hours.

It was great to see everyone. But the sluggish poker scene had us rethinking next year’s meeting venue. Vegas either has to go through a lot of consolidation to beef up the field sizes — or we might have to consider a venue running a larger tournament event. Of course, it would be hard to pass up our annual picture at Binion’s. But maybe at our advancing ages, that would be a good thing.