Seen at the Venetian

#1.

They have installed new felt on the tables since the last time I was there. Since the "Deep Stack Extravaganza" events have been expanded so that they're running nearly year 'round now (at least it seems that way), I guess they decided to do a little internal self-promotion.




2.

Just out of camera range in the shot above (sorry) is a card reader. The Venetian now swipes your membership card at the table, instead of having it done at the front desk. This is a significant improvement, particularly when checking out. I have often been annoyed at how long I had to wait to get somebody to clock me out at the end of a session. (Imagine that--me being annoyed at something!)


3.

The poker was rather dull. The most entertaining thing I saw while there was this young woman giving a massage to a big guy at the next table over. I have witnessed any number of poker table massages in progress, but I have never before seen anybody get her whole body into it the way this particular therapist did. She was positively athletic, even gymnastic about it. I didn't get my cell phone camera out fast enough to capture the moment when she was very nearly parallel to the floor, completely stretched out to apply maximum pressure to the guy's lumbar spine. It was an impressive performance.

Next time I feel inclined to indulge in a poker massage (and it's been over a year now, so maybe I will soon), I'm going to ask for her. I imagine it feels pretty incredible, and it provides quite a show for everybody around. She even had railbirds watching her work.