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7/9-13: Cosmo & The D. The Big Hurt, Part 2. Lots of pics though!

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Wezvidz, Jul 15, 2014.

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  1. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    My Trip Report

    I've done quite a number of trip reports on this site since I joined in 2013.

    This was a spontaneous trip due to 2 great offers. One was the email Cosmo 2 free nights offer a lot of you got, where I've always wanted to stay, and an offer from The D downtown for 3 free nights + $100 freeplay + $150 food credit + $100 matchplay. A host actual emailed me (my first communication with one ever) offering a slot tournament, I countered that I'd love just an upgrade to a suite from my regular room. Boom, immediate email back that I had my suite. So the trip was on.

    This would be my 3rd trip this year, 2nd solo. In January I stayed at PHo, hit a royal for $4k at Caesers among other wins and booked a profit for the 3rd or so trip in a row. In May, I went with a bunch of of old college buddies and stayed at PHo while they stayed at Cosmo. I lost my ass at VP and tried Martingale'ing up, which lead to blowing out my whole $4k bankroll and my biggest loss ever in 15 or so trips.

    I was determined to change things this time! My normal gambling FYI is 80% VP, 10% craps, 5% ultimate texas holdem, 5% sports betting.

    Wednesday 7/9
    -7am flight, which I happened to LOVE. Traffic from WPB to Ft Lauderdale was nonexistent, my TSA Pre status (soooo worth the money) got my through security in a snap and I waited 10 minutes before we boarded. Slept the entire flight since I got little sleep the night before which was great. Arrived at 9am Vegas time.

    -Told the cabby Swenson to Harmon please and next thing I know I'm in the tunnel. F*CK this guy. I have his name and license number but haven't done anything with it. As we're headed through the tunnel I said "The taxi authority says my Cosmo fair should be $17 at most so I have $23 for you when we get there". We get there, the meter reads $30 after that highway crap, I hand him the $23 and he doesn't say anything. Sign of getting screwed to come?

    -Tried checking in super early at 10am but not available yet. I love Cosmo though, super friendly checkin staff, got my keys, said they'll text me my room number when it's available. Go put some MLB bets down (I love 2 team parlays) and a Netherlands bet, then head to Book & Stage to start drinking. Decided to give Royal Flusher's perfect rules of parlay a shot, with my own twist: put in $20 for 80 credits. At 160, raise denomination, at 60 drop back down. Call it the 160/60 rule, easy to remember when drinking. It sure worked wonders on the first try, I couldn't believe it. 3-4 bloody marys in here we go.

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    up a level

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    up a level

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    Cash out at $253 from $20 in. Thanks Royal Flusher!

    Text at 11am and my room is good to go, East Tower. View wasn't great as I assumed getting in so early, but best room I've stayed in after PHo, Ballys and Flamingo being my last few places. Huge room with a outdoor balcony facing the Rio/Palms and Aria tower. Plus the elevators put you in a perfect spot to walk right out the door past Bond bar to Bellagio/Pho.

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    Testing the theory of people asking about the best comped drink you can get at most VP bars, Book & Stage had no issue giving me Kettle One & Red Bull (thanks Beejay). Watched my bets (enough came through to put me slightly ahead sports betting on the day although the Netherlands lost in penalty kicks).

    Kept hitting these premium quads slightly cursing myself I was playing conservative BP instead of DDB.

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    After the games this is when my bad side rears it's head, which may entail future trips sticking to a strict envelope/daily bankroll system (or torn up envelopes if I'm Beejay influenced). I found myself in the HL room at Cosmo seeking the VPFREE2 advertised 8/5 BP 100play machine with a 12.50 min bet, meaning 5 play on 50c. Higher than I should be playing already, but alcohol will do that to you. Put in a measly $300 or so and nothing until 4 aces magically get me back to even on the machine and I cash out promptly thanking the VP gods.

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    At Bellagio I play a little dice, table was boring so I bail quickly. Finish watching some late baseball games at the Bellagio sports bar. Super nice bartenders, no 30 min rule here (I've ranted about this on previous trips about Aria but we'll get to that later). And 9/5 JOB at quarters??? I feel like I never heard this much before. Perfect setup of watching 4 TVs at once at the Bellagio sportsbook bar, and I feel like most CET properties are 7/5 JOB at 25c. Kudos on not completely following the trend on ruining paytables for low limit VP MLife!

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    End up really drunk at Flamingo and this is when what exactly shouldn't have happen happened, and why an envelope system will be instituted next trip.

    Found the VPFREE2 advertised 9/5 DSTP $1 JOB in the HL room. Put in $500, gone instantly it seemed. Tried $300 more, one minor hit..

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    And gone. No self control led to a minor win on the day in VP and sports during into a 1/3 bankroll loss in one quick 30 minute session. F*(#&&$.

    To be continued....
     
  2. oldcrabtom

    oldcrabtom High-Roller

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    Yikes ! Seems like me, at least I do pretty well on the ATM's !...:drunk:
     
  3. Royal Flusher

    Royal Flusher Savvy Gambler

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    Thanks for the shout out, enjoying the pictures!
     
  4. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

    Joined:
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    Keep it coming!
    and NICE! 9/5 JoB @ Bellagio for 25c, at a BAR no less!
     
  5. queentata

    queentata VIP Whale

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    Love the way you are writing your report and inserting pics at just the right time. I do the envelope system due to a trip,many years ago, where I started the night with over $1000, planned on buying a pair of earrings and a beautiful shirt at the shops between Bally's and Paris Instead, I just started playing VP..and quarters at that! Many hours later, I had $15.00, no earrings, no shirt. Damn! The next day we left, but not until late evening. I was so mad at myself that I would not take any money from my husband, and just wandered around the strip, mumbling to myself. I bet people thought I was crazy!
     
  6. chonglosaxon

    chonglosaxon MIA

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    Lmao. Classic, love the honesty.
     
  7. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Thursday 7/10

    - Started the day putting down 5 more MLB parlays. Of my 6 parlays the day before, 2 came through. Quickly lost $200 at the 7/5 BP DSTP @ Cosmo. Not a good start, didn't even get offered a drink before my money was gone.

    - Decide to try some Ultimate Texas Holdem which I love and is a very volatile game. $10 min means $10 on ante/blind then $40 if you want to go preflop, which very often is a correct move. I buy in with $400 and have one of the gaming highlights of the trip. Played with a great couple from St Louis and we were all winning... just a perfect session where when my all in preflop with QJ went unimproved, the dealer had 10 high, and if the dealer made two pair I had trips or higher. I pressed to $15 on the ante/blind, kept winning, and after the couple left I played 2 final hands at $25/25/100 all in pre and won both!

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    My mood has done a 180 and now I'm feeling great about this trip again!

    - After a quick bite decide to give Aria's sports book yet another shot. The big white guy with the goatee who had been a super dick about 1 drink per 30 minutes was NOT working thank god, and the bartenders I got (Joel and Rafael) were super cool and didn't sweat the clock. Toward the end of my session a new guy was around and I didn't catch his name, but he was a spanish guy that started clocking me on drinks.. "11 more minutes until I can serve you" he would say after reading my last receipt then Joel would walk by 30 seconds later and say "need another?" and serve me. Apparently (obviously) it's all discretion, and some guys have good sense and some just use a blanket rule to screw people like me who aren't trying to game anybody for free drinks. I was playing full credits and playing quickly consistently, along with tipping well.

    - On my way out I had to donate as usual to the Beejay Memorial Row 804 DSTP 8/6 Boner Deluxe.

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    - As usual with many sessions this trip, I should have left much earlier than I did. I fed in $300, was nearly broke when I hit this beauty... my first quad of the session and I had a multiplier..

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    Hit another quad after and thought about cashing out up $50... 20 minutes later it's all gone. If I learned one thing this trip it's be happy with a modest win, leave when your instincts tell you, and don't keep pressing for that big hit because they are few and far between.

    - Ended the night playing UTH back at Cosmo with a very manly transsexual in a tight dress, wig and heels which was interesting to say the least. A great jazz band was playing a few feet away at Book & Stage. Ended the session up $50, and 3/5 of my MLB parlays came through for $250 on a $125 investment. VP was another money suck on the day but that $1k UTH session still had me feeling good. Fun day!
     
  8. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

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    How do you do it yourself? I usually bring enough for $500/day gambling.. but I'm torn on whether to lock up anything left each day or carry over 50% to the next day's budget, or what.

    The worst is when I walk out with $1k+ in my pocket, drink way too much then next thing I know that $1k is gone at high stakes VP when I wouldn't have lost it if it wasn't on me and tucked away in the safe back in the room....
     
  9. sandybeachbar

    sandybeachbar Low-Roller

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    Been there. Done that!
     
  10. bjpcyclone

    bjpcyclone High-Roller

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    I tried the envelope system last trip and all of my friends laughed at me and said it wouldn't work once I started drinking. They were exactly right.

    My trick was to leave my debt card and money locked up in the room safe. It makes it at least a little more difficult to go full-on degen as you have a good 10 minute walk to get more money and think about your next move. Even if it makes you grab only a little more money, its better than blowing it all!

    Enjoying your TR!
     
  11. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

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    Friday 7/11

    - Moving day! Packed up and checked out, saw I was charged resort fee of $26 or so for each night. Heard some comped rooms got it charged, some didn't, but whatever, the free wifi was blazing fast.

    - Cabbed down to The D. Room wasn't ready so checked the bags at bell desk and burned my $100 freeplay in lightening speed at 25c Boner Deluxe at the Long Bar without a quad. Went upstairs to the Vue bar which had the nice progressives on quads and royal, but frankly, I'm a fan of the sleek newer VP machines (Aria sports bar, Cosmo bars, Long Bar). These had the curved old TV feel. It was funny, the quad progressive was at $37 or so and the lady beside me got all excited because she hit it, and LITERALLY the next hand I got this

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    As it would turn out, I got a text then that my room was ready and when I got back to the Vue bar after dropping my bags and eating lunch, the royal had been hit.

    - I loved my room here.. combined with the Cosmo, this trip had my best accommodations of any trip and I feel I was definitely overcomped. Gotta love the slow summer time season. My next 2 planned trips (Halloween and NFL Wild Card weekend in early January) are going to pale in comparison being back in my standard Planet Hollywood room.

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    - I managed to lose $250 at 25c Boner Deluxe, an amazing feat, before hitting my first quad. And you gotta love they max the progressive royal on 25c to $1199 so no tax paperwork.

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    I loooove the Long Bar, so great to watch 3 baseball games at a time, great juggling bartenders. Overall The D is the jewel of downtown for me, with the Golden Gate a close second. Great gambling combined with the dancing hot dealers at night.

    - Had my worst session of craps in ages. I bet 2 DCs per roller, usually flat betting no odds and pressing the flat bet 50% when I win both on roller, or if 1 of 2 wins or both lose I drop back to base bet. I lost 8 straight $25 DCs, most with yo's or seven outs immediately after they established a point. An ideal roll for me is point, number, other number, 7, and I just got killed.

    - Walked Fremont Street a bit. Bands playing on Friday night as usual with your standard Metallica and Guns and Roses covers.

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    - Signed up for a Downtown Grand players card and got the standard $3 FP. Lost $20 playing DDB and left, not much to see here. Pizza Rock is the highlight there.. great slices, and I have a hard time choosing between them, Aria's Five50 and Cosmo's Secret Pizza, although I think I give Cosmo the edge.

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    - Headed to Golden Gate for my $20 FP and the 8/6 Boner Deluxe as the late baseball games were finishing up. Parlayed nicely from 25c to 50c to $1 and ended up turning $100 into a $700 cashout. This was the second major highlight of my trip.

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    - Played some UTH a bit... one of the most gorgeous SE Asian girls I've ever seen was dancing then happened to come over and deal our game. She's the devil in a way because I played longer than I should have and instead of booking a small win and leaving when I thought I should, I stayed longer to play one on one and chat with her and ended up dropping $300.

    - Played some more dice at The D before calling it a night. It's nice when I'm the only one tipping (I normally have the dealers $1 on the DC with my first of 2 DC bets each shooter), because a few yo's rolled and they "forgot" to take down my $25 on the DC. Actually won about $150 that session before calling it a night.
     
  12. dutchvelvet

    dutchvelvet VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the pics of the room at the D. Just got an offer from there, and nice to see the room.
    Why no odds on your DCs? Do you press with odds?
     
  13. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

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    My system is 2 $25 dcs. Hit both, 2 $40 dcs. Hit both, 60, then 90 then 135, then 200

    What I like is higher ratings from casinos not counting odds. Also, it's much easier math this way when I'm drinking. I seem to last longer too, say I have 2 bets out, 1 knocked down, then 7, break even roll. With odds on both I'm certainly down in the same scenario.

    It's a strat I've been using lately and find I either break even a lot or win modestly. Plus I like my regression with it. I get to say the 60 level (scoop 2 25s and 2 40s) then lose 1 win 1, I break even on that roll but bank winnings by dropping back to 25.

    Maybe this makes no sense but it's my favorite strategy of my do and don't ways I've played.
     
  14. RockyBalboa

    RockyBalboa Front Line Winner

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    Solid report!!
     
  15. Lsucrazyman

    Lsucrazyman Tourist

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    Glad to hear book and stage got music back
     
  16. CaptainJack

    CaptainJack Low-Roller

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    That would be Tyrone...and yes, your character analysis is spot-on. Most of the other guys that work that shift are cool, but he seems to dominate the bar.
     
  17. fire46149

    fire46149 Tourist

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    Great report well written and enjoyed reading!
     
  18. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

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    Saturday 7/12

    - More VP depression. Lost $100 quick at quarters at the Long Bar on Boner Deluxe drinking my bloody marys and baileys coffees. Wanted to keep my Boyd card points still active so played their 8/5 25c STP BP. $300 gone so fast.

    - Ate the Fremont buffet comped. Always solid for breakfast.

    - Played UTH at The D, which continued my losing streak from the Golden Gate the night before. I got super pissed one hand where my ante/blind was pressed to 10, but I accidentally put $20 on the play bet preflop instead of the required 30 or 40. The dealer missed this. The pit boss Monica was a super bitch about it and I ended up winning the hand but she wouldn't pay me off at 40. I explained I've ALWAYS been 4x'ing preflop and the dealer concurred, and that although I placed the wrong amount it was the dealer's mistake to not to catch it. She refused to budge. F$*@ her.

    - Lost more at VP at the Long Bar while sweating some super tight MLB games, 2 that went to extra innings. The Nats came through but unfortunately the Reds lost to the Pirates after blowing a lead late and losing in the 10th inning. A good day of parlay hits (3/7) could have easily been 4/7. Still, a solid win.

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    - Run terrible at UTH again and decide to use my $150 D food comp at Andiamo's. Sat solo at the bar and service was great and the food was WONDERFUL. My bad mood from losing all day was turned around after my first bite of their sausage & peppers appetizer. Also had the escargot. Went for the lobster truffle mac & cheese with my entree...

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    But could barely touch it because I ate every tender delicious bite of this $79 Tomahawk 32oz ribeye. One of the best steaks I've had in my life.

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    The butter sauce that came with it was just divine. Food coma, quit gambling early and hit the hay.
     
  19. chonglosaxon

    chonglosaxon MIA

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    Steak looks great.

    Screw tyrone. What an asshole
     
  20. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    I like The D, but I have been F'd in the rear end so many times playing VP at The Long Bar. In probably 6 trips, I have yet to book a win playing VP at long bar. I think Derek Stevens has done a lot with that place,
    but I am not so sure it usurps the GN when it comes to room quality and service yet. I'm planning a Vegas Downtown trip sometime in fall, just three days. But I think I would still give DTG a shot over the D, the rooms look
    decorated nice, but the furniture seems a bit cheap to me. What was your opinion of room quality? Great trip report BTW!
     
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