Aug 2nd-7th -- Craps, BlackJack and a girl in the guys bathroom

I can't seem to add pictures right now... I'll try to add them later.

Sunday
We took a SouthWest flight out of Raleigh, NC through Chicago Midway to Vegas. Thankfully we were able to use miles for the flights, so they were nearly free. We landed in Vegas mid afternoon on Sunday. The check in line at the Bellagio was long (~50) people but the staff was working hard and we probably were not in line more than 15 minutes. Well done Bellagio. We checked into a nice room (no fountain view this trip). This trip we were on a marketing offer – two days free / $75 resort credit. We stayed for five nights total.

We decided to set off and walk around a bit. We left the Bellagio and made our way up towards NY NY. On the flight out, I had watched the Mlife TV thing - all two hours of it (I know – degenerate right?) and they mentioned Shake Shack at NY NY. So, we took the tram from Bellagio to Monte Carlo, then walked the rest of the way. We grabbed dinner at Shake Shack. It was good and very reasonable for Vegas. Likely the least expensive meal we had all trip. After dinner was over we decided to start off gambling slow at NY NY. We walked in and I needed to use the restroom. As I started to walk out a guy and a girl walked in – to the mens room. They proceeded to quickly occupy a stall. I left before the festivities went any further, but DANG – that’s the first time I have ever seen that before.

We laughed a good bit about that then headed over to a $5 Roulette table and proceeded to loose ~$100 between the two of us. After that we started walking back towards Bellagio through Monte Carlo. A Blackjack table caught my eye, so we sat down and I played for a bit. I went ahead and played even through it was a 6-5 table because of the low limits ($10). I really wanted to gamble less aggressively this trip. In previous trips I’ve lost way too much money. Anyway – we played for a while and I won back what we had lost at Roulette. We were sleepy, so we decided to call it a night and head to Bellagio. I forgot to take a room pic, but our room was very nice. Finishing day one even on the gambling was a win as far as I was concerned.

Monday
Monday was set aside as a fun day before my conference stuff started. We woke up and headed over to Mon Ami Gabi (at Paris) for breakfast. We both had one of the breakfast crepes – which were fantastic.

After breakfast we walked our way down first to the Venetian then Palazzo then Wynn then Encore. I played a bit of craps at the Pallazo. That went really well. I started with either $200 or $300 and finished with $900. YAY! We went down and had a small lunch at the Grand Lux café.

We wondered over to Encore where I played some $25 blackjack. I ended the BlackJack session down $500. On the way out of the Wynn, I stopped at a craps table and started to play. I generally play a pass line bet (which I back with full odds) then one come bet which I also back with full odds once it moves up to a number. So, as soon as a number was established I went to back my pass line bet with full 3-4-5 odds. The dealer stopped me and said: “Sorry sir – only 2x odds on everything now.” I acted like I thought he was teasing and left my money and laughed it off. The game essentially stopped (I was the only one playing) and he repeated his directions. I said: “Man are you kidding me?” He said: “No sir, I am sorry but I am not. We are 2x odds everywhere on craps now other than the high limit room with is $100 minimum.” I said “Wow – that is unreal! Is this just something temporary?” He said “No – this is the new permanent rule until we hear differently from above.” We proceeded to talk while the point played out. As soon as it did, I had them color me up. I told them I was not upset with them, but that there was no way I was playing at 2x odds when I could go essentially anywhere else and play 3-4-5 odds. They obviously understood. I was friendly about it understanding there is nothing they can do, but I made it clear I would not play craps again at the Wynn / Encore until they changed this crazy policy. I doubt they will miss my tiny business, but at east my voice was heard. Hopefully if enough of us small players do this they will reconsider.

After that I walked over to get my conference pass and the wife walked over to Fashion Show Mall for some shopping. We then both headed back to the Bellagio to freshen up a bit before dinner. I played a bit of Blackjack while the wife finished getting ready. I can’t remember my exact win / loss, but we did end the gambling on day two dead even. We headed on over to Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House in the MGM for dinner. It was absolutely fantastic. I had the ribeye and the wife had the tasting menu. I’d highly recommend this place. After that we were tired so we headed back to the Bellagio and went to bed.

Tuesday
On Tuesday I had conference stuff to do first thing (8AM). So, we hit the Bellagio café for breakfast early. Overall it was decent – nothing to write home about – but solid. I headed to my conference and the wife headed to the pool. She had booked some sort of package to get her a reserved pool seat along with water etc. I believe the cost was $75 / day ++. In general she felt like this was worth it. I have no complaints – she lets me do what I want in Vegas from a gambling perspective so I let her do what she wants from a pool / spa perspective. However, paying for a chair at the pool did remind me of this great Stratosphere ad I saw in the SouthWest magazine on the way out. Crazy town.

My conference ended, and she finished up out by the pool. So, we cleaned up and headed back over to the GrandLux at the Venetian for dinner. Dinner was solid as usual. In my option – the Grand Lux is one of the better values in Vegas. Good food at reasonable prices.

After dinner we went up to the Palazzo casino to play for a bit. I sat down at a $25 black jacktable and cashed in for ~$300. The play was up and down. I would get ahead then get behind. After an hour or two we were tired and ready to head back. I had $200 in chips, so I decided to shove them all in. I get dealt an 11 (hot diggity!) and the dealer had a 4. Well, if you play any Blackjack at all you know that is a hand that must be doubled. So, as a good Blackjack player, I dug in my wallet and pulled out two $100 bills and proudly said "double!" Now this Blackjack player (who generally plays $25 Blackjack) has $400 on one hand. Well, I pull some complete crap card like a two, and the dealer somehow makes an awesome hand and beats me. DANG! OUCH! We head back to the Bellagio with me feeling annoyed the entire way. I played it the right way - but a $400 loss on one hand for a $25 a hand player has some sting. At that point we were down ~$500 for the trip.

Wednesday
I did not need to be at the conference location until 9AM this morning, so we work up early (not hard to do when your body is still on EDT) and headed to Mon Ami Gabi for breakfast again. It was awesome again. After breakfast, the wife headed to the Bellagio pool for round two, and I headed to my conference. We both had nice days. Wednesday night we headed back to Mon Ami Gabi (not kidding – we really like that place) for dinner. It was a beautiful night, and we had a great dinner.

After dinner we headed back to Bellagio. I played some lower limit BlackJack ($15 table I believe – complete with crummy 6-5 rules) for a while. I honestly can not remember where I ended up on Blackjack that night. If I lost, it must not have been bad. If I won it must not have been much. We walked back and got some dessert from Jean Philipe. It was great. The wife got gelato and I got some sort of eclair. After that we headed up and went to bed.

Thursday
We woke up and headed to Mon Ami Gabi for breakfast again. It was excellent. I headed to the conference, and the wife headed to the Bellagio spa. I tipped my cab driver $100 that morning. We had a very cool conversation and I just wanted to encourage him. Anyway - the wife had an 80-minute hot stone massage which she said was great. I had a good day at the conference, but finished a bit early so I headed back to the Bellagio.

My wife is a foodie, so we had dinner reservations setup at Giada’s at the Cromwell. We had looked at the menu online earlier in the day and it looked ok. When we got there we were seated and the waitress mentioned that essentially the portions were small, and you basically needed to order an appetizer, pasta and an entree. Wow – this was going to be an expensive meal. So, we ended up doing the tasting menu here as well. It was delicious, but good grief! What a bill for two people to eat. If you are a foodie, and don’t mind a $300+ meal for two, this place is fantastic and I’d highly recommend it. Everything tasted great and was perfectly seasoned / cooked. However, personally spending $300+ on dinner makes me nauseous so I doubt we will do it again.

We headed back to the Bellagio after dinner. Generally, on the last night of a Vegas trip - I generally stay up very late (sometimes all night) and gamble. However, this trip I was trying to contain the gambling a bit more than we have in the past. We had taken $4,500 total to potentially gamble with along with $500 in small bills for cabs / tips / small stuff etc ($5,000 total cash). I really did not want to lose all $4,500 of the gambling money – however we took that much to avoid getting cash from ATMs etc if we changed our minds (I know – more degenerate behavior – right?). Well before the wife went up to bed, I got $1,000 cash and left the rest with her in the room. By that point in the trip, if I lost all of the $1,000 we would be going home down $2,000 total (including basically all of the $500 small bills money). This would be very manageable but obviously not ideal.

So, I proceeded to sit down at a $25 (3/2) blackjack to get things going. I got the dealer to make it a non-smoking table and we dug in. I got a great dealer who was very nice to chat with. Even the guy who rotated in on her breaks was a lot of fun. We started playing and she was just killing me hand after hand. Eventually, my first $500 buy in was gone. At that point my wife headed back up to the room to head to bed. I dug in my wallet for my last $500 of gambling money and told her if things kept on this track I might be up shortly to head to bed as well. I was determined not to spend more than that $500.

In hopes that things would turn around, I upped my play to $50 per hand. Thankfully, things took a turn for the better. It took quote a while but after about three hours at that table, I was back to even for that session (which meant I had $1,000 in chips in my stack). Somewhere along the way, a group of guys showed up and started playing as well. They were all in town for a bachelor party of some sort, but they played well and were fun to chat with so we had a good time. I got my stack up as high as $1,500 at one point. Then I played it down to $1,300. Along the way I tipped a good bit. I'll bet I gave those two dealers $200 - $300 that night.

I decided that I needed at least one more craps session for this Vegas trip to be complete. So, I colored up. I took my two purple chips ($500 each) and stuck them in my pocket. I decided I would not touch them the rest of the night. Heading home with $3,000 in cash would be winning enough at that point. So, I took my $300 over to one of the craps table and cashed in. At that point it was about 1:30AM.

What happened next was fantastic. I decided to play heavy (especially for my $300 buy in). Go big or go home... So, I dropped $25 on the pass line and backed it with full odds. I dropped $25 on come and backed it as well with full odds. Winnner winner chicken dinner! I don’t remember the details but we went on a really decent run. By the time it was my turn to roll, I was up to at least $500. Then it got even better. I bet the same way and went on a streak. I can’t remember how many points I hit but between points and hitting 7 / 11 on the come out rolls by the time I 7'd out I had over $1,300 in my stack. I shoved $1,000 to one side of the chip rack and mentally committed not to touch it. I played for a while longer on the $300. At one point my stack was up over $1,500. I played heavy a bit longer, and then finally ran out of chips in the at-risk stack. So, I colored up and headed for the cage where I took a picture of my two purple chips ($500 each) and my one yellow chip ($1,000 each). I got twenty nice $100 bills, and headed up to the room. I believe that it was about 3AM. I went to bed a happy fellow.

Friday
On Friday we woke up early and headed to the airport. We had the cookies we got from Giada’s the night before for breakfast. She sure makes a heck of a cookie! We left a $100 tip for the person who cleaned our room, and headed to the airport for our ~9AM flight and headed home. Our travel home was generally uneventful. So, we got home with $4,000 of the cash we took to Vegas intact. Obviously, we paid for most meals / hotel etc on a credit card.

Thank all of you for your trip reports! I enjoy reading them, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this one.

- CrapsDave

 

Nice report! Glad you had a good time!

 

Sounds like a great time. Congrats!!!!!

 

I consider coming home from Vegas with any cash at all a win. So, by that standard, well done!

 

Great gambling details! Congratulations on the late comebacks and having a good chunk of your bankroll intact. Also, great way to let the Wynn know your opinion about their 2x odds limit. Thanks for sharing!

 

What are the odds for Craps at Bellagio?

Q

 

The 2x odds at Wynn has pissed off a lot of people. I was always annoyed that Zi couldn't get a comped drink playing VP at the bar. Love the property and have enjoyed my stays but there are those annoying factors to consider.

Congrats on the comeback to end the trip. Did the tasting menu at Emeril's come with wine pairings?

 

Stick it to the Wynn craps table!

Great TR! Thanks for sharing.

 

Very nice TR!!!! Its great when u can combine a business conf w/ some vacation in Vegas!!!

And its a great feeling when u come home w/ any of BR!!!

 

The last gambling session wins are the best. Makes for a great flight home, even if you are down overall. Good job setting limits while playing so not to give it all back. That is the worst.
Wow that's a lot of Mon Ami Gabi. You guys really really love that place!

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks man - me too!

 

Thanks PayTriple - Absolutely - hopefully lots of us do that, and they go back to 3-4-5!

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Thankfully Bellagio is still 3-4-5 odds.

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To be honest - we are not big on wine so I don't remember. I bet that it did. They seemed to have a huge selection of wine.

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Yeah - we love Mon Ami Gabi. I think we probably did overdo that a bit this time

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Thanks! I totally agree. However, it makes you want to go back all the more. That leftover bank roll is burning a hole in my pocket!

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Absolutely - I hope we all avoid Wynn craps until they go back to 3-4-5 odds. It's not our fault their stupid business in China imploded.

 

Thanks. Great report and fine wins.

 

Great report - thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks for the TR, I enjoyed reading it.

 

Congratulations on your comeback wins! Good for you in letting your voice be known about the odds at the Wynn craps tables. Really dumb and stupid move by Wynn.

You were very generous when tipping the cab driver and housekeeping. Is this a normal thing you do or did they do something special to warrant it? Either way karma will work it's way back to you and reward you greatly.

Thanks for sharing. Great report!!

 

Thanks for sharing! I love reading about heaters at the craps table.