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Aug 25-29, Gambling, Fantasy Football, and Late Night Meetings!

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by UKFanatic, Aug 19, 2012.

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  1. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    My Trip Report

    Less than a week until my next vegas trip! Starting to get excited. Seemed to get a lot of positive responses earlier this year when I tried a live TR, so I will attempt another one starting next weekend.

    This trip should be heavy on the gambling. I haven't done a really big gambling trip since May. In addition:

    *the Fantasy football league I play in is having its online draft one night during my trip, so I will cut out from wagering for a few hours to do that.

    *Going to see an out of town client/friend for a night or two, as we are both meeting up at a dinner/pitch meeting on Saturday for a business soliciting private investors (I think I already know my answer to the pitch, but hey, any excuse to go to Vegas, even if I have to work a few hours one night).

    *And if I can escape the pitch soon enough, hoping to meet up with vegasdrea and her bachelorette party crew to celebrate.

    *Want to try a new restaurant and right now I am leaning toward Sage at Aria, but I am open to suggestions.

    *And hopefully I can pull myself away from the tables long enough to enjoy the spa, pool, and some baseball, but all that remains to be seen.
     
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  2. BackInVegas

    BackInVegas VIP Whale

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    An FYI for the posters from Great Britain

    UKfanatic is a fan of the University of Kentucky in the United States.

    Now, let us hear the draft plan!!
     
  3. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    Gamblethon....the SEQUEL!

    Good luck, UK! Looking forward to your updates.

    ps- I didn't care for Sage, but it gets a lot of love here. I've heard that e will blow your mind, but if you'd rather wait until my birthday to go there, I understand. (ha ha, just teasing).
     
  4. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I'm drafting 5th in a 12 team league. I don't think there is any chance I get any of my top three ranked RB, so I am hoping Rodgers somehow slips to five. But I'm certainly not counting on it.

    My strategy the past two years has been to load up on RB and pick second tier receivers. I feel like I can usually upgrade the WR spot through waivers a few weeks into the season and a good RB stockpile helps with inevitable injuries a month into the season. Of course, I have been the first team out of the playoffs the past two seasons, so perhaps I should change strategies!
     
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  5. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    What didn't you like about Sage? I'm staying at Aria so I wanted to pick a new place there and thought Sage seems like the better place for solo dining than Barmasa.

    Mutual b-day meal in October is a must! Let me know when you're ready bto trade suggestions :cheers:
     
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  6. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    Everything I had at Sage was on the salty side, and it was just...okay. My expectations were kind of high going in, after all the glowing reviews I read around the web. A bit of full disclosure: the night we ate there, it was the same night as the Food and Wine festival's cocktail party, so maybe the a-team was out schmoozing. I like the bar at American Fish, but I've only done happy hour.
     
  7. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Yes, I rally like American Fish and Julian Serrano. Will definitely eat at both during the trip. I just figured it was a good trip to try somewhere new. The other place I am considering is Fix at Bellagio, but since I am staying there in October, I may save that for the next trip
     
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  8. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    Is that the sushi place?
     
  9. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    No, I think that is Yellowtail. Fix is right across the walking path from Yellowtail, next to Snacks and Bank nightclub. I think Fix is more contemporary american food, with a fair selection of seafood
     
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  10. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    That sounds pretty yummy! My friend/boss was in town last month and had Yellowtail, said it was decent, but raved about Bartolotta. It's all the way down at the Wynn, but he said it was amazing (after e). I'm looking forward to eating at L'atelier, and it's supposed to be great bar eating for one.
     
  11. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Thanks! I will try and read up on it before I leave in a few days!
     
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  12. Iamrice

    Iamrice High-Roller

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    Looks like we will be there at the same time!

    I'll be on the lookout for a Kentuckian around the Aria.

    I'll be the guy with messy hair, half lidded eyes and a hangover.

    Good luck!
     
  13. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Outstanding! Try not to bump into any giant Elvis busts with those half lidded eyes!
     
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  14. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Well, not going to sleep well tonight. In my head, I am already on the plane. Bags are packed for a morning flight and I have spent the last hour handicapping baseball bets for the next two days (think I will steer clear of BoSox and Dodgers until all the trade news sorts itself out).

    Will try to write up a report tomorrow evening. Probably going to start the day low rolling at Cosmo and Aria, save my bigger gambling for day two. Will keep you posted....
     
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  15. BlueSkadoo

    BlueSkadoo VMB Sweetheart

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    Can't wait! See you there tomorrow, UK!


    (Okay, okay, I'll see you there tomorrow via your trip report. Technicality, really....) :evillaugh
     
  16. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    hey, I'm all about technicalities!
     
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  17. BaylorPaul

    BaylorPaul Newbie

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    Best of luck in your FFL picks. We all actually head to Vegas to hold our draft. This year doing the draft in the private boardroom at Hooter's Casino and then we have a suite all day at LaGasse stadium for college football Saturday. We go first week of NFL so will get to see some new SEC match-ups (Mizzou-Georgia, Florida/A&M).

    Have fun this weekend!!!
     
  18. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Thanks Paul. I'm not thrilled about my draft position. The last two years, I'm the last team to miss the playoffs, which leaves me drafting 6th. And every year, I seem to rank four or five sure fire picks. This year, it's Rice, Foster, McCoy, Rodgers and Brady (actually got Brady last year). So I'm hoping one of them falls to sixth
     
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  19. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I am utterly incapable of sleeping more than five hours on my first night in Vegas. So what better time to write up a report of Day 1!

    Overall, Day 1 was a success. After an easy flight in, I got a taxi to Ari and checked in. Time for my latest Aria service complaint, though. I arrived at almost 1 pm. Went to invited guest checkin and get my room comped for four nights with a cityview (which is nice BTW). But after I go through that whole process, I am told that my room is not clean (really? you have thousands of rooms and couldn't find one that was clean by 1pm???) and they will text nme when my room is ready. So I end up waiting until almost 4 to get the text, only to have to go back to checkin and stand in another long line just to get my keys. Seems like a redundant process to me.

    And those few hours waiting for my room did not go well. Decided I wanted to stretch my legs, so I walked down to Mandalay Bay to cash sports tickets and eat lunch at Burger Bar. Good food, cashed my tickets, and placed some more bets on the day's baseball games.

    Then I headed back to Aria to play some bac. My plan was to play small on day one. So I started at $100 per hand. That did not last long :confused2: Lost $1500 pretty quickly and started chasing my bets. A shoe and a half later and I am down almost 12 grand :grrr: I was on tilt and had finally received a text to go wait in line for my key. Decided to do that to clear ym head. Went up to my room, unpacked, grabbed a band of hundreds, and decided to chase my bets with a clearer head.

    And it worked out well! Increased my bets to $1000 per hand and played a shoe where I got back a big chunk of what I had lost. I also ran into a bac dealer that remembered me from this past May. Once we started talking, I remembered her to, but I cannot imagine what I said or did earlier this year that left such an impression. A similar experience would happen later in the night.....

    After recovering some of the losses, I wanted a change of scenery and went to Cosmo to play craps at $25 on the line and full odds. Played for almost three hours and nothing to exicitng to report. Walked away up approximately four hundred bucks.

    My friend/client called. He was checked in at Hard Rock and our dinner meeting/sales pitch was an hour away. So I cleaned up in my room and met up at the meeting. It sucked! An even bigger waste of time than I had imagined. The less said about it, the better. So after that ended, my friend wanted me to come to Hard Rock and gamble with him, but I passed. He plays BJ very large ($500 to $5000 per hand) and I hate playing with him. It churns my stomach terribly. He always gets very drunk and he doesn't know basic strategy to begin with. In fact, we call him Tim Tebow at the BJ table. He consistently makes the wrong play, yet somehow keeps winning!

    So I decided to swing by Bellagio for a little late night bac before bed. Since I was only down a little now, I decided to keep playing small. Mistake! I started a shoe where the first three hands were Player. Now, I mosly play Bank. So I'm not happy having lost three straight, but thankful that at least I am only playing $100 a hand. It gets worse, however, because an army of chain smoking gamblers suddenly descend on the table. I'm thinking I will just play a couple more hands and then find an oxygen chamber, when the shoe goes on monstr Bank run :thumbsup: Twenty one of the next twenty four hands are Bank!!! Now, I am up for the day, but really wish I had started playing with a higher base unit.

    Anywho, after coughing up a lung, I stand up to leave, and bump into my favorite dealer. Her, I know. And she knows me, because I always look for her table when I play at Bellagio. Only, she's not a dealer anymore! She got promoted to floor supervisor a month ago! Very happy for her, although I am disappointed to lose my favorite dealer in Vegas. But she's great, so I am happy for her. We joke about how her job is to keep a close eye on me, just in case I try to break the bank at Bellagio and have folk songs written about me :evillaugh

    At that point, its time for bed. Head back to Aria and collapse. Five hours later, I am typing this. Have a spa appointment in a bit, but mgith go shoot a little craps until then. Otherwise, I plan to play a bit larger this aftenoon and evening, so hopefully the good luck continues. And my friend and someone else he knows fvrom the sales meeting last night both want to go to a strip club tonight. They're both married and the wiaves are not here, so I suppose the allure of young boobies is too much for them to resist. Might go with them, might not. Probably want to see how the gambling is going first.

    I will keep everyone posted.....
     
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  20. Reed

    Reed High-Roller

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    That was a great comeback from a disastrous start. Nice work!

    The last time I had to wait on a room upon check-in, they gave me my keys and said they would call me when the room was ready. That was at NYNY a couple of trips ago and it saved an extra trip back to registration, not sure why Aria could not have offered something similar.
     
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