The Wolfpac is here... LIVE! from Las Vegas. 6.10-6.14

Great trip report! Really enjoyed reading about all of your antics, and the ups and downs. Glad trip ended on a good note.

 

Oh man, what a trip. Got back to Chicago around 7am. Was a 30 minute drive, but somehow I picked the wrong route on Google Maps and ended up adding another 25 minutes to my route - drove by downtown Chicago. It was nice to see the buildings and you know what? I never really compared the Strip to Chicago, but it definitely is different. I got home around 9 and immediately went to bed until 1:45 or so in the afternoon. Went to meet up with my family for Father's Day.

I'm exhausted, but what a trip!!!!

My mom, after hearing my stories, commented that I do Vegas differently every trip. New hotels, new things to do, whereas she will stay at Paris and go to the familiar spots. I make Vegas a different experience every time I go, and this was definitely a different experience than intended. For that, I am cool with it. Going with the flow is the best policy.

Here are some final trip thoughts...

Mandalay Bay:
Loved hanging out at Moorea Beach. Didn't really want to pay $20 to get in since my whole reason for staying at MB was the huge pool. After spending a few hours at Moorea, I left Newbie alone so I could check out the main pool. There were soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many kids running around, I kept bumping into one every 10 steps. It might be a different vibe at 5 in the evening instead of 9 in the morning, but wow! But yes, I will stay at MB again in the future. I came into MB with 199 points and left with 428 points - basically doubled what I had. I have no idea what this means in terms of future comps, but I am cool with whatever.

Wynn:
Loved staying at the Wynn. Definitely liked the pool better than MB. It was low key and relaxed. Nothing too crazy. Had tons of fun at the poolside blackjack tables. It was overall a very positive property. MB is more darker in terms of lightning and Wynn was much more brighter. Also, getting a handpay may be influencing me here, lol. I don't like paying over $60 for buffets, but this buffet was AMAZING. They had smoked meats which is a favorite of mine. In fact, I want an electric smoker since charcoal ones can be too troubling for me to maintain. But I told my mom that if after Day 2 or 3, I am still even or up, then sure - I'll splurge for the Wynn buffet. But before my flight again? Fuck no. That handpay, it was definitely the best thing ever - waking mom up at whatever time it was in Chicago to involve her from spin #1 to 126. That was awesome.

Some other things I may have missed:
There are some pictures I can't post on here. You ever seen the movie The Hangover and during the credits, you see all these pictures? That's us, by far. For example, after Sapphire, Newbie was doing some reaaaaaaaaally interesting things in the bathroom, which included yodeling (which he doesn't remember) and having a pillow in the toilet area and taking a nap. Hilarious stuff. Poor guy needed to be carried up with support from Sleepy. I told Sleepy to let Newbie sleep it off, but I won't lie - I was getting worried. We had 5-6 hours until we had to get to the airport, but luckily, Newbie was a champ and was actually in pretty good shape - just a hangover. Me? I was feeling like crap. No more buffets before a flight - EVER. I didn't plan on a buffet, really, but I had earned enough during my stay at the Wynn as a new member to get two free passes. So not only did I get a handy, I also got two free buffet passes. They're what, $60? So that's another $120 in value I obtained.

Sleepy needs to be better prepared for Vegas in the future. Guy's in a funk with his life (looking for a job) and was not really thinking long-term when he booked this trip to join us. Dude definitely didn't have enough money to keep himself entertained *without* any stress. Sleepy became Debbie Downer at times. When Sleepy is actually PREPARED, he is much more fun. He will sit, drink, and hang out - without caring that he lost $200 at the tables. All because he still had plenty left over to win it back. This time, when Sleepy loses $200 at the table, he doesn't really want to drink and hang out - he wants to leave to get his $200 back with his last $100 or whatever. Sleepy's gotta get his shit together and in fact, I had a long talk with Sleepy - get yourself together. A haircut during Vegas? Ubering just before the trip just to have money for the trip? Get your shit together, dude, and come prepared. He told me the next day that the talk was what he needed to hear and he will start Ubering more (until he gets a job) to create a security blanket - $1,000, $2,000 in savings for emergencies or for the future. Sleepy didn't even book until a couple weeks ago! But it happens - right? Here's hoping that Sleepy will be much more aggressive about finding a job with his degree. I know it can be hard at times, but he says he will send an e-mail and get no response. I told him be a bit more assertive - call them, talk to somebody, etc. Don't just apply and wait. Make things happen, Sleepy!

As for myself... I had a great time. This trip was different. I love that just about all of my trips have been a different experience. From staying downtown my first time a year ago to Sapphire Day Club (and paying for a chair at the pool - something I always thought I'd refuse to do in general for pools), etc. I came home a few hundred ahead and maybe after all the Lyft rides, drinks, food, maybe closer to breaking even? But definitely ahead. I really enjoyed my time with my buddies, especially experiencing Vegas for the first time with Newbie and it was such a great, fun blast. We also added each other on Google Maps for location sharing, so that's a tip I'll have to recommend to you guys if you go with friends.

I had my Fitbit on for every night I went to bed - except Monday for some odd reason. I love to see how much sleep I got in Vegas. I have Tuesday-Thursday accounted for, but for Monday, I am going by my own TR. 4+6.5+5.3+3=18.8/4 nights = 4.7 hours of sleep a night. Crazy!!!


2020 plans:
No idea when, but I am hoping for Aria or Bellagio (MyVegas), downtown (Fremont Hotel?), and the Cosmo with NFC for one night at least. I have no idea if I am going to do two trips next year or just one. I am taking the rest of the year off from Vegas (the only time I'd consider going back is August, which is too soon for me) or Winter Break (which can still happen, but I prefer warm weather months...).


Right now, I am relaxed, have $$$ in the bank, had an amazing time with my friends, and even better is the fact I still have the rest of the summer!!! Maybe a trip to a MLife/CET city if I can get cheap flights and a comped hotel... just to experience a new city. Just not Vegas...

Also, I am not sure why I keep doing this to myself, but no. more. red. eye. flights. EVER. I simply just can not sleep on them anymore, and it is such a day killer the next day. Especially when Vegas has been kicking your ass physically with the heat, booze, and too much food for free buffet. I am officially retired from red eye flights.

But retired from Vegas? Not a chance in hell.

Thank you all for following along and I wish I could show you some more pictures.......

Oh wait, I might have more pictures. I'll double check

 

New Circa Hotel and Casino coming to downtown in 2020. Will be something I hear, with a three-story sports book.

 

Not sure if I posted these. Check out the bathroom picture. Lol there's more of that but I'm not going to post those

 

I think I posted most of these but here they are again just in case. Someone (@notfromconcentrate) asked about golf cart and I'll explain that one in next post

 

So the golf cart thing...

So Sleepy had left us at Stage Door, hell bent on turning his last $100 (with Thursday and Friday remaining) into something. So he went to Treasure Island for $5 blackjack.

A couple hours later, Newbie and I were leaving Stage Door and I was about to call us a Lyft when Newbie said let's just walk. I started walking the other way (towards Cromwell) and Newbie insisted his way was better because he came from there. I thought about it and I didn't think he was correct because he did mention he was walking around in circles trying to get to us. After all, his name is Newbie for a reason...

So we went to Newbie's route. There was a lot of construction going on. What kind, I honestly can't remember, but I think it was mostly road improvements. So every single time we saw a worker, we asked for help getting back to the Wynn.

It led us to meeting this guy who gave us a ride on the golf cart down one block, dropped us off, then told us to go down this way, which led us to this delivery area for some warehouse (????) and meeting THEIR employees and they told us to go this way, which led us through some employee-only area of something and meeting this one employee who told us to keep going this one way until we finally saw the Wynn.

Like, seriously, what the hell? I have no idea where or what places we were at, but I do know it was definitely not for tourists or locals. But every single person involved kept telling us to go this or that way and we obliged. I know for a fact that Newbie didn't come from this way because THERE'S JUST NO WAY!!! Once we got to the Wynn and met this Wynn employee who told us to go through the fenced off area through the employee parking lot (or something like that) and make a left... there, we met ANOTHER Wynn employee who finally was the SMART one who said hey, you can't be here and took us back where we had come from to take us to the front. It was an insane and surreal route that just involved delivery trucks, warehouses, fenced off areas, golf carts, and whatnot.

I am sure if I look it up on Google Maps (and I will), I'm sure I'll have a better idea.......

 

So it looks like we went north on Linq Ln, went east on Albert Ave, north on Koval Ln until we got to Sands Ave, and kept going until Emerson Ave, and tried to get into the Wynn from there?? But I don't recall seeing Holiday Inn Club, so who knows??? But that's about it-ish.

Also, piece of advice: Only bring a couple hundred maximum, no credit or debit cards, when doing Bird Bar from 3:45-6:00+. You'll thank me. That one burned me hard.

 

Can't wait but I doubt it'll be open by the time I go in 2020. Maybe winter break 2020 when the prices are low (if, at all). Looking more like 2021 for me for Circa.

 

I think we learned a new way to hold your slot
https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?attachments/20190614_222559-jpg.87031/
Admit it, one of youse was bailing on the socks/sandals thing.

 

Thank you so much for your trip report. It was very cool to follow along and to see you get your first hand pay. Congrats! It is really hard to be in Vegas with broke friends, especially when you are winning. Sounds like you did your best to take care of Sleepy and tried to help him make the right decisions. Last year I needed to supplement my income and thought about Uber, but it didn't really seem like my kind of thing. I ended up teaching English to kids in China and found out that I love it, it is kind of the same model as Uber where you are an independent contractor and work on your own schedule (I actually did it every day I was in Vegas in March). It also has the added benefit of working from home. If Sleepy has a college degree it might be something he wants to consider while he is looking. If it is something that he might be interested in I'm happy to tell him more and help.

Also, I assume your Wynn room was from playing the game on the app? If so, did you have to pay for a room with 2 queens? I thought I read that only a king room would be comped, but would be great if it is possible to get 2 queens comped.

 

Haha!

Actually, I was trying to mess with you guys for a little bit. Like my whole 5 beer limit from my last trip report!

Just before my trip, my nephew gave me a dirty sock for good luck. (I washed it). I was texting him pictures of these sock pictures and he had a laugh.

When my mom showed him VMB response to socks, he lost it since I made a couple of you guys (like @Richard Alpert ) believe I kept finding socks!

So ladies and gentlemen, if you want a hand pay...

Bring a sock for good luck!

 

I'll tell sleepy about the china idea. I actually heard about it. Might be a great idea too.

Yes the rooms were from the game. However I was pretty upset when I cancelled my original 2 night reservation to add on a third night and the cost of each night had increased. I needed to get more gems and so I sent the Wynn an email with screenshots asking for help. There was nothing they could do but I was able to score the third night even with the extra gems needed simply by going on another heater in the game after getting the 30 dollar chop package.

The Wynn replied saying they felt bad about this and gave me a complimentary upgrade to 2 bed panoramic room. That was a win itself.

 

You got me!

I'm now trying to determine which of my socks would be the luckiest...

RICHARD

 

Are there chairs available or do you need to pay for those as well?

 

they require reservations. prior to the trip, we looked into it ($50/chair), which included admission. and there is NO F&B credit involved.

 

The stinkiest one!!!

 

Good to know, thanks!

 

It was a slow day and I saw empty chairs but have no idea if I could sit there.

 

Sounds like an excellent t trip. I need to get myself playing machines instead of tables. I did just book for next April. Your trip report was the motivator.

 

Yeah I used to be all slots and no tables but sleepy converted me for a few years and now I'm back to 80 percent slots and 20 percent tables. Money definitely lasts longer that way if you get a good machine