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Some Strip Observations, a Mini TR

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by UKFanatic, Mar 8, 2019.

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  1. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    My Trip Report

    So a few months ago I learned one of my clients would need me in Palm Springs earlier this week to assist on a transaction. That work gave me a good excuse to see Joshua Tree National Park. When I planned my trip to the park, I realized that Vegas was an easier drive from the north park entrance (29 Palms) than LAX. So that mde it an easy decision to add a couple nights in Vegas to my agennda!

    Now, I am on the flight home. I don't think there is much interest in a full report, but I thought I would provide this mini TR with some observations from my trip. So here goes:

    *Stayed in the NOBU tower at CP. Its been almost two years since I llast stayed at Nobu and I was a little disappointed. Since my last stay there, they hhave cut back on the room amenities (no more slippers, toothbrush kit), no more checkin lounge on the second floor (now you just checkin at the small desk at the Nobu tower elevators; its not an area conducive to checking in), and at checkout this morning we Nobu tower employee seemed baffled by my request to apply RC tward my bill. There are still aspects of this tower I enjoy, but all these little changes/problems make me think I won't stay there again soon.

    *CP is having some seriious staffing issues in the casino. They have cut back too far on supervisors. I saw only one boxman working all of the craps tables. And in the high limit during the daytime shift, there was one supervisor for all the BJ and roulette games and one supervisor for all the bac tables. That is a real problem, especially at the bac tables where there was a lot of action with markers, called bets, and getting new cards for each shoe. The problem may have been that the casino had two different reserved games set up in the back salons for high rollers (who I never saw play). That may have left them short staffed, but it still seemed they have cut back too far.

    *I met someone who was banned from CET casinos! Wednesday afternoon I sat down at a BJ table in the high limit to play. There was another guy sitting at the table, not playing, talking a mile a minute. He didn't look that old, but he had a collection of CET ayers cards going back to at least the eighties and he was trying to make some joke about the casino not giving him the marker he had requested. I thought he was drunk and probably harmless, but it got stranger. The dude never stopped talking and asking me questions. I stopped after half a shoe because I was well up and the guy then started asking for my number and saying we should go do something. Then, he loooked up, stared out too the main casino, and walked swiftly toward the front door. I cleaned up in the HL bathroom and walked back over to the table to ask the dealer if the guy had left. She told me security had just been there and told them that the guy was previously banned from the property! Then I knew why he left in such a hurry, lol.

    *Played at Bellagio yesterday morning and moale is low. Multipe dealers lamented the stories about automated bartenders, made reference to a recent series of layoffs in the valet and host departments, and griped about the execs getting large bonuses in recent years. The CP craps dealers seemed to have the same low morale about understaffing the tables.

    *Got a new host at Bellagio. My old host that I had used for years left last year. I introduced myself to a hot on call a few months ago, but didn't get a good vibe from her and, since then, I had made no plans to stay at Bellagio any longer. But I still stop in to play from time to time and I was betting big yesterday morning so that the supervisor insisted he ntroduce me to a new host. I reluctantly agreed and glad I did. He introduced me to CL and I already got a better vibe from ehr than any other potential host since my old host left. If anyone has any experiences with CL, good or bad, please let me know. My plan now is to touch base with her this summer to see what she can do for me. if she gives me as much as my old host, that's good. If not, there's plenty of other places I like to stay.

    *Aria was surprisngly busy yesterday. One of the dealers told me it has been that way all week.

    *Pool season kicks off today! While at the Aria Spa patio yesterday, I watched the Liquid staff being trained. It was actually pretty interesting to see what they teach the servers. Unfortunately, the kick off of pool season also means no more Aria Spa for me until after Labor Day. Love the spa, but hate the noise from Liquid

    *Ate dinner both nights at Nobu. The food was outsstanding as always.

    *Made some baseball season win totals bets. I have done so well on those the past two years that I increased my budget to make those bets this year. So that probably means I will lose them all, lol. I will try and post the actual wagers in the MLB win totals thread later today

    *There is a new LED tree outside Absinthe that lights up different colors at night. It was pretty cool. As was the new Eiffel Tower light show

    That's it. I will be back in a couple weeks for March Madness. Thhese past couple days were a good warmup for that trip! Hope these observations were helpful or interesting
     
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  2. Kisby

    Kisby High-Roller

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    Thanks for the report! Very interesting.
     
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  3. drac999

    drac999 Loving Life

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    I really enjoyed your brief report. Very interesting review of CP. Thank you.
     
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  4. Jer

    Jer “The Walrus has spoken”

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    Thanks for the update. Seems like a lot of bitter employees and situations. And I can’t wait to see the win total bets! I had a friend bet the Reds over. Not sure what it was but he said it was “guaranteed!”:thumbsup:
     
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  5. rooster42000

    rooster42000 Goat of all Goats , My Hero

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    Nice report like always and very informative. Good Luck with the baseball , Go Red Sox :popcorn::wave: Repeat ? good chance
     
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  6. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Thanks. I need to dig them out of my bag, but will try and post later today
     
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  7. WichitaMuskie

    WichitaMuskie VIP Whale

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    Dammit, I like the Reds over a lot, too, and I feel like this ensures it's going to be a loser. :)
     
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  8. Vegasworm

    Vegasworm Finger Clicker Extraordinaire

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    Good recap, thanks!

    Vegasworm
     
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  9. sinnerman

    sinnerman VIP Whale

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    Great update. Unfortunately, I suspect MGM is only going to get worse for both its employees and its players as MGM 2020 (the next version of PGP) and a new set of layoffs are enacted. I suspect it will eventually hurt MGM, but by then, Murren and gang will have gotten their bonuses and quit.
     
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  10. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the report. Yours are always interesting and informative.

    I feel badly for the employees. Change happens in every industry but as someone noted in another thread, the casino "experience", broadly defined, is one that has a lot of people interaction in it and gives Vegas some of its energy.
     
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  11. parallax

    parallax High-Roller

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    I use to be regular at Bellagio. However, switched to MB when our host moved to Aria several years ago. We wanted to give it a try and ended up staying there. Recently, I received notice that a new a host from Bellagio had been assigned to me. I found it funny as I haven't stayed there in 7 or 8 years.
     
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  12. kkinwi

    kkinwi VIP Whale

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    Thanks for all the info! Good luck with the BB bets.....I am just sticking with the Brewers again!
     
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  13. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

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    Thanks for providing your observations on some of the changes you have noticed. Good luck on the future sports bets.

    Mark
     
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  14. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I don't often write about my gambling these days (because I think it comes across as boring), but reading a couple craps threads yesterday reminded me of a couple other gambling tidbits from this trip. First, a craps story.

    I don't play as much craps as I used to, but Wednesday I decided to play a bit before dinner. Three tables were open and I picked the one the least busy. Stood to the right of the stick and started making my usual Don't bets. I noticed the player standing at the hook spot on my side of the table was also betting the don't. We nodded at each other and off we went. The first three shooters each hit a point, followed by a pretty quick seven out. So after about fifteen minutes, the dice have made their way around to me and I am down a little. I place a wager on the pass line (I rarely shoot from the don't on a busy table) and a new player walks up to the far end of the table and puts a lot of bets down before I start my roll.

    I get hot! The other dark side player stuck with the don't. After I hit two points (and killed a couple of his don't come bets) he looks at me. I shrug, he nods and colors up. Glad he did because I stayed hot. And the new player at the far end of the table is making a killing on place bets and the points. So is the player to my immediate right. At the end, I had hit five points, a ton of other place and come bets, and the ATS. The new player had $25 on each of the ATS, so he was ecstatic when I hit it (the last number was 8). I finally seven out. The new player walks around the table, gives me four greens and thanks me for the hot roll. He then slaps me on the back and announces loudly that I had taught that don't bettor a lesson. I stifled a chuckle, since I am one of those don't bettors! I decided rather go back to my usual don't bets and blow that guy's mind, I should color up and go to dinner. So I did just that.

    Other observation isn't so much a story. I had played a little at Horseshoe Tunica and CP so far this year and had thought CET was being a bit stingy with tier credits on those trips compared to how many points I usually generate. I had not cared enough to explore the matter any further (I have still been getting the same offers; I only care about the TC so I don't have to pay resort fees and the maybe one or two times a year I stop in a diamond lounge). I assumed I will be over the threshholds I care about by the end of the year. But I did gamble more this trip than those other visits this year. So I checked my account this morning. I received approximately 18k TC for this trip. That's more like it! And from a comp perspective, this trip worked out well. I took a big loss at CP (which I think will keep my offers in place for another year or so), but made the losses back with short, but big, play at non CET properties (where they are more concerned about how big I play, not that I only played a couple hours). :thumbsup:
     
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  15. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice report! Hope your new host works out for you!
     
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  16. sharper

    sharper Low-Roller

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    Really nice report. Thanks for taking the time to do it. And I loved the craps stories. My last trip was the first time I’ve come across a dont player. My buddies and just sort of nodded at him so we all knew and then went back to our bets.
     
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  17. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Thanks. I used to have a lot of dark side craps stories back when craps was the game I played most of the time. The pissy attitude and rudeness of a lot of pass line players was a big part of driving me away from the game. Of course, I eventually encountered the same issue at BJ. And the bac players are probably cursing me too, but at least they are doing it in a language I do not understand :jester:
     
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  18. hotreds

    hotreds Illegitimi non carborundum!

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    Sounds like both CET and MLife are having their problems!
     
  19. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Yeah, the casino employees at both companies seemed very pessimistic. IMO, the current staffing approach is deleterious to developing the new, young gamblers Vegas seems to covet. The games move slower, which makes them less exciting, and the overburdened employees are a bit more surly, which is not fun. I'm a little too old to be part of the millennial demo that vegas wants to develop so maybe my thoughts are out of touch, but I think automation and less human interaction is the wrong approach. Younger people seem so focused on their technology and (for many) lifestyle that limits real interaction (compared to other generations), I suspect that's not what they want on vacation. People get away for something different, not more of the same. Offer them something they aren't getting at home (which is not skill slots, lol). Making everything take longer to experience isn't helping matters. Just my two cents ....
     
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  20. PartTimeDegen

    PartTimeDegen Low-Roller

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    I'm technically at the upper end of the millennial spectrum (even though I reject that definition lol) and one of the things that hooked me on Vegas was the great service at places like Wynn and Cosmo. I'm a loan officer so I deal with a lot of stressful situations on a daily basis and Vegas has become an escape from that where people take care of MY needs. If that ever changes in our favorite properties we will simply find a new favorite vacation spot. I really hope it doesn't though...

    Thanks for the recap and updates @UKFanatic! Btw, your trip reports never get old.
     
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