Back at Wynn 2014

A few years ago I stayed at Wynn and Encore a few times. I was making good money, had a decent rent and was getting the poker room rate. Back then I was decent at limit hold 'em and loved to play a good 8 hours or more a day. Wynncore is the place to be for me. But two things happened. I bought an apartment and renovated it, so expenses went up. Also, limit hold 'em is dead and I never switched to no limit. I still went to Vegas but stayed at less expensive places and tried downtown. Once the budget loosened up a bit I stayed at a few other high end properties but not back at Wynn. Downtown is not for me. I like visiting for a day but more than that is not for me. I like other places, like Aria and Bellagio. But I am a Wynncore fan. A few months ago I was planning a trip with a friend and we looked at the various deals. It was able to get a package deal, through the Wynn website, for a room and flight for less than the equivalent at Aria. Sold!

I'm not the best trip reporter, so think of it as a series of reviews. I'll leave the room review for last.

We arrived on Thursday the 6th on Jetblue. I like Jetblue a lot but one thing I have noticed is that the headphone jacks are not as good as they used to be. They are getting worn out. On my flight to Vegas the actual TV stopped working. Luckily I had a bunch of video podcasts to watch to occupy my time. I said something to the flight attendant about it and he gave me a $15 voucher. That was good. On the way back my tv worked but I had problems with the jack. My ear buds are a good brand and use standard size jacks. Finally I got the headset to sit in the jack, it was annoying. Otherwise both flights were fine.

We got in the taxi at McCarran and I told the driver Wynn, take paradise. Of course he said there was construction but I said I'm okay with that and of course the drive was fine. I'll jump to the taxi back to the airport at the end of the trip. We left at 11:30 AM and the taxi exits onto the Strip as expected, but he goes to the far side lane and gets into the lane that turns to the freeway. So I said, "You're not planning on taking the freeway are you?" He said it would be quicker and would avoid all traffic lights plus he was going to turn at Tropicana. BS he was going to turn. He also didn't mention it would jack up the fare. I said we had plenty of time and to take Paradise, he grumbled but complied. I really hate taking taxis.

We went to the Wynn buffet for lunch the first day. It was great but we arrived near the end of lunch so there was not as much variety as I would have liked.

That night we decided to walk to SLS to check it out. I had checked it out on my last trip but I wanted to give it another shot. I am not impressed. We were not in the mood for a drink and not ready to eat, so we just walked around a bit. If we were hungry then we would have tried Umami burger. We left to go get the bus and my friend found a $20 bill. So our bus passes were for free!

We walked around the Linq area and enjoyed the vibe there, in fact we stopped by there a few days later. That night we went to Yard House and had a few beers and food. It was easy and relaxed.

Food in general: We went to Public House in Venetian. I've been wanting to try that place for a while. It was good but too heavy for me, also I felt like the waiter was constantly trying upsell us. Beer was good though, I had a locally produced cask ale and it was in great condition. I would drink there again if I wanted good beer but I wish there food was more pub food. I'd rather go to PUB. We ate at Strip House one night, I've been there before, it was good as expected. We ate breakfast at Terrace Point and Society Cafe, all great as expected. We also went to Lagasse's Stadium to watch the game. My friend is into football, I'm not really but I was being a good friend and I do like the excitement of sports tv. Lagasses is good but honestly the food choices are limited. They should have a brunch, they stop serving breakfast at noon or so, so if you haven;t had breakfast and your game starts at 12:30 you're eating nachos or something. Again, limited. My friend felt the same and also didn't like hat we had to eat a certain amount, forcing ourselves to drink or eat more than we wanted to. We'll try other sports bars next time. I wonder if we could sit at the sports book, drink and get takeout from Zoozacrackers.

Giada: We had reservations for over a month. This is a copy of my review on a Facebook group. The feel of the restaurant is great, very open and inviting. The staff was great and informative, they knew the menu and were friendly. I started with a Negroni, which was great, tasty and not too sweet. My friend had one of the specialty drinks, it had tequila in it, he liked it. I had another Negroni. We shared the medium Giada appetizer selection. Everything was great, the bacon wrapped dates stood out as did the stuffed peppers. There was also a flat, crispy, cheesy bread that was tasty but not overly cheesed up. For an entree I had the lobster ravioli, it was delicious, my friend had the shrimp lemon spaghetti, he loved it and I tried a taste and liked it. We had a side of peas with pancetta, which was great. I asked for a glass of wine and the waiter suggested a Nero d'Avola, which hit the spot. For dessert I had a polenta tart type thing. In summary, everything tasted great, the flavors were balanced and I felt great after the meal. Nether one of us were starved and were not eating steaks that night since we had steak the night before and SW was for the next night. Otherwise I would have had a meat dish. I would go again without a doubt. No Giada sightings though.





SW: I've been to SW a few times. Always great, consistently good food and service. Nothing to add. I do think I want to try another steakhouse at Wynn though, just to switch it up. But it was a great last meal in Vegas!



The room, Wynn in general, and why I love Wynn! The room was great except for one issue. The bed was way too soft, including the pillows. My neck was killing me. I thought of saying something and asking for a firmer pillow but I didn't. At checkout I mentioned it and they said they could have firmed up the bed and gotten me firmer pillows and to make sure I say something the next time. They were nice about it. I love Wynn but my I wish there was a quick and easy food option. They used to have a place that served omelets in the morning and pizza and gelato in the afternoon. I think it was in the esplanade by the Wynn LV store. It was perfect. The Drugstore Cafe is better for a coffee and pastry. Anyway, when I got home I got an email asking me to do a survey, I'm sure everyone gets one. I filled it out and included my 2 complaints. The next day I get the following email:

That is why I love Wynn.

Gambling, oh that! I decided to play VP at my level, which is quarters. If I lost $100 then I was okay. I played 7-5 BP, 98%. I like it better than JoB because there's some excitement without too much variance, IMO. Boner Poker. Anyway, it was going fine, losing a bit, no big deal. On the last full day, Monday, I was waiting for my friend to come down to get breakfast. So I decided to play VP near the drugstore. There was some loud slot machine nearby that was annoying me, plus I needed coffee and breakfast. I was getting grumpy and thought of moving to the BP machines on the other side of the elevators. I noticed the night before that the progression was up to $1300 and now it was a little over $1000. Anyway, I stayed hoping my friend would arrive and I could eat. Then this happened:



My first royal! At first I was confuse because I saw CALL SLOT ATTENDANT on the screen but no big flashing or sounds. Then I realized I finally got a royal flush. I felt very good to say the least. The guy came to pay me. I gave him a fifty, some would argue that it was too much. But it was my first. When my friend showed up I showed him my picture of the win. He was happy and joked that it was because he was so late. Anyway, SW was on me. Winning felt great and helped with the cost of the trip.

Wynncore is where I want to be. I really do like staying there and feel good being there. I appreciate their customer service. In fact I tweeted about it and several people agreed. I would like to expand the places that I eat there. I made a point to put everything on my room, it may not be much, about $900, but hopefully they will see and give me little offers. If I ever get off my but and learn no limit then I would play there because back when I played limit I really liked the room.

This was my best trip in a long time and not just because I won. I even felt a little under the weather but just felt good there.

 

nice TR Great job on the Royal flush. I'm still waiting on getting my first.

Thanks for the TR. You are right Wynn/Encore is the place to be.

 

Great report. Another Wynn lover here too! Congrats on the RF. Great when you only hold 1 card.

 

Nice trip and trip report and congrats on the Wynn. I'm a CET gal but I do like the elegance of Wynncore. I'm going to give them some play during my upcoming trip.

 

We also love Wynn and really appreciate their exceptional customer service.

You may want to consider Country Club as another place to try a steak. Great service there too.

Thanks for your report.

 

Nice report! And great hit with the royal! You never expect it coming when holding one!

 

Congrats on the royal! (I tipped way too much on my first one as well.)

Good TR. I'm another Wynn-phile, so I always enjoy reading a Wynn TRs and seeing pics of my favorite place. I had a trip to Encore a few years ago where I experienced a few minor annoyances. And just like you, I was impressed with the way they handled it: No form email with generic apologies. But rather, a personalized message from someone who had clearly read my complaints and responded to them specifically. Funny how such little gestures can have big impacts. You'd think other companies would figure that out.

You might want to give Botero a try. Like you, I'm a big SW fan but wanted to try something new last trip so I stopped into Botero on a whim. I was very impressed. I was a bit worried that their club-kid demographic might mean they were more about style than substance. That was not the case at all. I had a great meal and good service.

 

I love Wynncore too but sadly my offers there over the past year haven't been great. Congratulations on your Royal! Your meal at Giada's sounds wonderful!

 

Huge fan of Wynn. What an exciting trip. Congratulations on your first royal! That reply from Wynn reps is awesome.

 

Great TR and congratulations with hitting that RF. You can't really go wrong with staying at Wynn I guess. Too bad the bad and pillows weren't too comfortable though. Thanks for sharing!

 

Why was that a handpay at under $1200.00 ??? Awesome hand holding just one..

 

congrats on the RF....

 

Thanks all.

 

Progressive royals tend to be hand paid regardless of the amount. There is no tax form though.