Bellagio and NYNY 4/23-4/28

When the boss's boss sends and email saying "Hey, Basil! There's a conference in Vegas you and your team should probably go to," then who am I to argue?

Of course I just got back from my trip a month ago. And my dear wife is graduating with her masters degree on the 30th. But he's my two-up, so clearly I can't say no.

So now I'm sitting at the bar at Lago, sipping a fat tire and waiting for some good food. This will be different from my previous trip reports: since I'll be here with my team I'll have less time for posting, and will be sitting at a conference Tuesday to Thursday (not the NAB, it's a customer experience conference from Oracle). But I'll try to get in some updates, and pics. Hopefully some slot porn and a hand pay or 10. And food porn of course.

Flew in this morning, PVD-ORD-LAS. No problem with the flights except the first leg was on an older plane, so all rollers had to be valeted. Not a huge deal, but annoying and the system for collecting the bags at the gate was terrible "okay, have a black bag. Anyone have a black bag?"

Uber'd over to bellagio for my two nights. This is a comp, with credit and free play. I'll be staying here two nights, but checking into NYNY tomorrow with the team where we'll be staying for the week (the only strip hotel this week that was within the corporate lodging cap). Checked in no problem and got a king bed, but 7th floor and no view. Oh well. Room itself is nice. Has a good set up, and to a Mirage loyalist, what seems like a huge bathroom.


Dropped off the bags and went to the baccarat bar for some much needed refreshment


Broke even thanks to this:


After that, headed over to the Cosmo. Been looking forward to trying Momofuku, but apparently I took the scenic route


Finally got there and ordered a beer, pork bun, and the pork ramen. I made good choices. Especially the pork bun. I could eat like 10 of those.




After lunch (breakfast? My 2 o'clock meal.), threw $20 into a bier house slot and hit this


Back to bellagio to use my free play. Decent hit on Cleo 2


Took a nap since I was running on three hours sleep. Played around for a bit (invaders from the planet moolah!!) and now grabbing the aforementioned bite at Lago.

Fussili with a lamb ragu. Very tasty

 

And now the braised duck on polenta. May not be the most visually appealing, but tastes damn good

 

Looks like you are off to a great start @Basil - nice win on Bier House. You are right about the Bellagio bathrooms being bigger than Mirage and it looks like they've redecorated since our last stay. I too am a Mirage loyalist but like Bellagio as well. That food is making me crazy hungry! Wishing you continued good luck.

 

That Bierhaus hit is sooooo pretty! Good luck!

 

Obligatory chocolate fountain pic

 

While we're at it, look! Flowers!!




And security guards by the Rolex store. Hmmm. Wonder why?

 

Way to take one for the team, Basil!
Great start!

RICHARD

 

I'm actually kinda afraid of this; there's a conference in December I want to go to and I'm worried if I actually go, I won't go to the actual conference and just go out and do vegas stuff, lol...

 

Win big and enjoy! I get in around 11am on 4/27 so if you'd like to meet up I have a group meet set up at Fusion Bar at Palazzo at 8pm on 4/27! Free Key Lime Pie martinis!

 

Good morning vegas!

 

I've done three conferences in Vegas. I did not have the problem of skipping conference stuff for Vegas stuff. I did stay up late and had to really push through the conference on the last day or two on my 1st conference. Just plan accordingly. Get in a day or two early and/or stay a day or two after.

 

So, now I have coffee, and some cash thanks to the above hit, so let's do a quick catch up. After Lago last night, I ended up playing around Bellagio for a bit longer, then went back to the room. Was thinking of taking a shower, but was looking at the bathtub thinking "I don't remember the last time I took a bath".

I know remember why it's been so long since I took a bath. Like sitting in a big bowl of Basil soup.

But anyway, after that, headed back out. Since is when I realized that I find the Bellagio very disorienting. Need to learn my way around. I was attempting to get to the Bally's crosswalk when I hit the Observatory and walked by Jean Phillipe. For those who know better than I did, that is an entire resort in the wrong direction. So, turned around and went back through, then over the bridge and hooked a left to the Cromwell. Ended up playing some high card flush at the Cromwell until the wee hours of the morning for a profit of exactly $15 (did hit a 5 card flush while I had $5 up for the dealers, so they made $50. She was very appreciative of that). The dealer and I both had some fun with the extremely superstitious guy sitting in the one seat. When I came to the table, he had just arrived and first went and arranged all of the chairs. Then I swear he turned around twice before sitting down. Did lots of weird things with his cards. To each their own, but it was kind of amusing.

BTW: I really enjoy the dealers at the Cromwell. I know I've discussed this before, and the tight jeans and model looks definitely helps, but I've realized that they are allowed much more leeway in terms of interactions with the customers. No name tags, they introduce themselves when you sit. They will dance and sing along with the music. They'll talk smack with other dealers, and are just in general very personable. Really makes for a great, entertaining gambling experience. Wish other casinos would let the dealers relax a bit and have some fun. And I've seen fewer mistakes from these dealers than many others. No significant ones come to mind. So that concern goes right out the window.

Anyway, got up this morning much earlier than I wanted to. Got some coffee at Snack (free refills on coffee? That will come in handy). Now going to hop in the shower, and probably the buffet for breakfast. The team staggers in today from around the country. Just found out that the two vegas virgins have a delayed flight. Once they show up, it'll be wandering the strip and seeing the sights. Thinking about dinner at Yardbird (mmm... fried chicken).

 

Not going to lie, that's a bit of a concern of mine. And my boss knows me well and basically gave me a "at least show up to enough of the conference to justify the trip". But I actually have a pretty full agenda of seminars, and some meet and greets with analysts and other industry folks, so that should be good. My team is all younger (half are under 30), so I also have the pressure of showing that the old man can hang. We'll see how this goes.

I would love to, but that will be our last night, and I'm supposed to take the team out for a night on the town. Really appreciate the invite. Someday I'll make it to one of these meetups.

 

Don't forget the fried green tomatoes BLT appetizer and the deviled eggs! Peach cobbler for dessert and the skillet sweet and spicy cornbread. I always get the same order at Yardbird every time cuz it's perfect. Lol Good luck and enjoy your day!

 

Agree 100%. My game is UTH. It's not the easiest game to deal. Lots of different payout scenarios. 90%+ of the time you get a fun crowd at the table and having a good dealer makes it even better. It doesn't hurt to have a friendly dealer when their hole cards are better than yours, either. My last two visits I've been spending more and more time there, and the dealers / pit crew are a big part of the reason why. I also like that it's more of a boutique with nice wide aisles so people walking through the casino aren't on top of the players.

 

Buffet time
Eggs Benedict, scrambled eggs, and apple crepe, way too much bacon (wait... too much bacon? No such thing). And a biscuit with gravy

 

Not a bad start to the morning with the four aces!

 

More quads

 

That's how you do a Monday morning! Nice wins and food porn.

 

Enjoying your report. I also never take a bath at home. Kinda gross. I sometimes do in Vegas because of the giant tubs and the fact I don't have to clean it afterward. It's also helpful after a day of walking to soak my old joints.

Are the quads you posted from Bellagio? I'm looking for $1 machines with the 5 line max. Can't say I scoured the place but last time I could only find dollars with a $20+ max bet. For that money I'll hit the high limit room.

You are already ahead with the company picking up some of the travel. Hope you end up with a salary from your employer and a big bonus from the casinos.