Live TR & Pics 6/30 – 7/9 @ Wynn - 10 Days of Poolside Boat Drinks, Fat Juicy Steaks & VMB Chums

It seems a lot longer than six months since my last visit so I am beyond ready to get back to the 702!! So far, 2019 has been a mixed bag. It started out really well but my spring was less than pleasant and for a long while it looked like I’d have to cancel my annual July trip. Well, as Lee Corso would point out:



I’m on the mend and champing at the bit for a week-and-a-half long orgy of food, booze and gambling. Just what the doctor ordered. Time to Carpe Freakin’ Diem!!


Originally, I had planned on staying at Palazzo but ultimately decided to treat myself to my first stay, and a Tower Suite, at Wynn. A week, and then some, of tranquility and indulgence is precisely what I’m looking for this time around and, when it came time to book, I couldn’t think of a better place to dial up than Wynn. Perfect timing. Besides, the north end of the strip has always been near and dear to me so it will be good to revisit a little bit of my youth and plant my freak flag, and wave it high, on the 3100 block of LVB.




If everything unfolds the way I hope, this trip will be much lower key than previous ones. All I really have on my agenda is relaxing at the pool, having dynamite food and drink, spending lots of time yucking it up with quite a few of my VMB friends and getting in some leisurely gambling each evening. That’s pretty much it. All in all, it’s going to be a fairly laid-back week.

I’ve got a blackjack itch that needs some serious scratching so I imagine on about day two or three I’ll head down to South Point, my favorite somewhat close off-strip casino, for some table gaming & VP. After that I’ll make the uber-long Uber ride down to Fremont Street for dinner and a night of casino hopping and some more BJ. One of the highlights, and traditions, of each trip is hitting all the casinos between the Plaza and El Cortez. This is something I’ve done on almost every trip going all the way back to the 80s. I haven’t been to the Cal for a couple of years so I might start my downtown jaunt there. For eats I’ll most likely begin with an early afternoon slice or two at Pop-Up-Pizza, another tradition, and later on head to Triple George for a nice old-school late evening steak dinner. In between I’ll be taking in all the sights/sounds/odors that Fremont St., and its’ patrons, can serve up. Can’t think of a better way to kick start my week!!

I really don’t have any side trips or other diversions planned. About the only thing I really need to do is make my way to Spinetti’s to try and find one or two of the six rare chips that remain to complete my collection. At this point they’re getting all too hard to find, and way too close to the point of being cost prohibitive, but even if I strike out it’ll still be nice to stop in and chat with the fellas for a bit.

One of my goals for this trip is to NOT break my VMB wristband for like the umpteenth #$@&*!ing trip in a row. Okay, hyperbole aside, it would only be the third consecutive trip, but still.... Last December @ardee saw that I broke one early in my trip and was very thoughtful in bringing me a replacement when they came over for the holidays. When I returned home @Sonya sent me an additional five. Now that I have a war chest full of them I should be in good shape for at least one more trip. Maybe....

On the 3rd @Chuck2009x rolls into town and we’re going to meet up at TI for drinks and slots. If this even approaches our whirlwind afternoon from last summer we’re in for one helluva wild ride!! I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun losing hundreds of dollars in one sitting than last summer with Chuck. Can’t wait to hang with one of my very favorite VMBers, park our butts at a slot, talk sports and whatnot, smoke about 17 packs of cigarettes and see if we can put a serious dent in the booze inventory at TI. Hoping to post some vids with our reactions to crappy bonuses and magnificent wins. Sorry in advance for any drunken & profanity-laced vids; I’ll try to keep them somewhat tame so the mods won’t have to spend their afternoon editing, redacting or deleting them. However, an abundance of liquor trumps good judgement, every single time, so I can’t promise anything at this point.


(Chuck and I after tipping back many drinks and playing at the absolute worst Cleo II machine ever built last summer at Planet Hollywood. Bad pic makes me look like I'm missing a tooth but when I got home I had all of my choppers in place.)

I’m also really fired up for the 4th of July VMB slot pull at Cosmo. It looks like it’s going to be chock full o’ VMBers and it will no doubt be a rockin’ good time. I’ll be meeting up with @luck.ofthe.draw for a drink or two and then some good eats at China Poblano before the slot pull. Can’t wait to finally meet another of my favorite VMBers. Between the pre-meet & greet, the actual meet & greet, the slot pull and then viewing the fireworks show from a Cosmo terrace view this will be another one of those great Vegas days to tuck away in the memory bank. What could be a better 4th than meeting some new VMB buddies and reuniting with old ones!!

One of the things, toward the end of my trip, that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while is having a big artery clogging dinner at the new Smith & Wollensky steakhouse at V/P.



They used to have a stand-alone restaurant down on the south end of the strip that was quite good. I’ve also dined at S&W in both NYC and Boston so I’m really pleased that they’re back in Vegas for a return engagement. There’s a big grin on my mug just thinking about the fat and juicy NY Strip, Filet Oscar or Chateaubriand with my name all over it/them/all.

I don’t drink much at home but I’m anticipating a bonanza of poolside boat drinks during the next week and a half.

Breakfast:



Lunch:



Mid-afternoon snack:



Throw in a few iced down bottles of Corona from the beer tub at the El Cortez BJ pit, a drink or two at my favorite lounge at Caesars and the occasional glass of wine with dinner and I’ll more than get my fix for the next six months. I’ll probably also hit Numb at Harrah’s for one of their great frozen drinks, preferably on the hottest nastiest day that I’m there. Nothing like one of their “Comfortably Numb” concoctions to take the edge off of a 114-degree scorcher. If I make it as far south as NYNY I’ll definitely drop into Nine Fine Irishmen for one of their world-class Black & Tans. I’m also pretty sure I’ll find some other fun places to catch a drink or two during my nightly strip walks.

Most of my gaming will be a mix of BJ, roulette, carny games & slots along with the occasional on-a-pure-whim dabble at baccarat. I’m also going to tee up some TDB VP when I visit South Point. I forgot to do this when I was down that way in December and I’m still beating myself up for it. Craps at Flamingo & Caesars are also firmly in place. Finally, for the last couple of weeks about eight of my buddies have been giving me mondo cabbage, and detailed notes, to make a lot of sports futures bets for them. I suppose I’ll be spending a lot of time at the Wynn sports book and, by extension, Charlie’s - which is perfect because I had already planned on watching at least one of the Women’s World Cup soccer matches. So, basically, I reckon, I’ll be playing everything except bingo and pai gow!!




Hoping to finally join the hand-pay club but certainly not expecting to become a member. However, on the odd chance that I get enough line hits and bonuses maybe…...just maybe all of those $$$ will help me seed a timely Megabucks hit. If so, I’m going to pull a Jed Clampett, pack up the truck and head for California. Half Moon Bay, CA to be precise. I fell in love with that part of the coast decades ago and it has been my dream to live there ever since…...






......So, when Megabucks doesn’t work out I’m hoping to at least pull an Uma Thurman and go on a roaring rampage of big hits and get some bloody satisfaction.








The last three days of my vacation are going to be out of this world fun. I’ve got some really terrific friends coming into town and we’re going to spend most of that time eating, drinking and slotting. We’ll fill in the gaps with lots of laughs and catching up with each other, which will be as fun as anything on this trip. There have been voluminous coast-to-coast phone calls; texts and emails in planning all of this and I suspect the final result will be more than worth all the prep work. Besides, isn’t planning half the fun? This last part of the trip going to be the perfect way to put a cherry on top of a great 10 days and, alas, hit the pause button until December.

My last evening couldn’t be shaping up better. Dinner at Sinatra, followed by some slots with my chums. Unfortunately, it’s going to have to be a relatively early evening as I have to get up at daybreak for my flight home. I know, I know......a real Vegas veteran would stay up all night and forgo sleeping but, hey, I gotta leave something in the tank for my Xmas visit.



So, I’m ready for a relaxing and fun-filled 10 days with the el perfecto balance of hanging out with my amigos and just letting Vegas come to me. I’m paying full freight at Wynn and I really don’t mind. I know I have absolutely zero, nada, zilch chance of any noteworthy back-end comps so it’ll be nice and relaxing to just gamble when, and how much, I feel. Hell, in the end I’ll probably save a good chunk of my gambling budget on that alone.

Thanks for following along and I’ll do my best to make sure this Live TR is worthy of you checking in on from time to time. I’ll post plenty of pics as well as some updates of construction progress at Resorts World and Circa. Just for shits ‘n grins I might even make the hike down to the Fontainebleau/The Drew boondoggle. I can’t imagine why but maybe I’ll need to walk off a lunch at some point. We shall see….

BTW, if anyone would like me to look into something for them, take a specific picture or just report on something in general feel free to let me know and, time permitting, I’ll do my best to lend a hand. Also, a big and sincere thanks to everyone here on VMB who, whether they know it or not, have helped me immensely, through their posts and/or PMs, in planning and mapping out this trip. Your tips, suggestions and comments on VMB have been most useful and are certainly appreciated!!

Can’t wait to get through the hell of cross-country travel, get checked in, unpacked, Walgreened up, freshly showered & comfortably dressed and finally arrive at “the moment” that each one of us has come to know and love in one fashion or another. “The moment” for me is after putting a check mark next to all of the above is finally being able to melt into a plump chair in a lounge, exhale deeply and then devote all of my attention to that first drink of the trip. Seriously, what could be better?


Cheerio VMB Mates, Vegas awaits!!

 

Oh man, your countdown timer finally says one fuckin’ day!

This made me so happy to read! You deserve a good vacation - and it’ll be so good to hang out and just chill!

I am also super super stoked for the slot pull.

Can’t wait to follow along till I get there!

 

Have a great trip...sounds like some epic plans! I'm still waiting for my induction into the handpay club. LOL!

I remember your shenanigans with @Chuck2009x last year! Awesome stuff! Wish we were going to be in Vegas this 4th like last year, such fun times.

Cheers!
Vegasworm

 

You have an absolutely amazing trip planned. Hope you the best during the 10 days. Have a fun relaxing trip with lots of good food, booze, and gambling. Safe travels and good luck.

 

Your TRs are great and always precede mine by a few days to get me even more excited, looking forward to this one!

 

Happy trails to you!

 

I can’t wait to follow along!! Pictures from the group slot pull please; sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun!!

 

Ha! Awesome! I'm supposed to get to Paris around 3pm on the 3rd. If you go for any low roller craps at Flamingo, let me know! I'd love to join with one or more people who know what they're doing (I understand the game pretty well but still learning the table etiquette), but I don't have a huge bankroll this time to play a $200 spread at Caesar's like last trip, so I got to stick to low rolling unless I win something early.

 

Hey Mike, the only reason I'm going to TI is to burn off accumulated freeplay plus $20 they're giving me to walk in. It's only ~$100, it'll only take 15 minutes, I can cash as soon as I do the coin-in.

Why don't I just come over and meet you at Wynn right after that? No point in either of us dropping any actual bankroll at TI unless you want to for some reason.

 

Have a great time and get those Wonka wins! I want to do a downtown day on my next trip but I don’t think I have the energy that you have!

Now that we have our bEast Coast Encore, I’m curious as to what the best/most unique drinks I can get (free plus tip) on the casino floor at Wynn Vegas. Wanna see if I can get them here!

Have fun, don’t get too sloshed, looking forward to the salad pics! [emoji1637]

 

I'm following along! Sounds like you have a lot of fun plans! Have a great trip!

 

Have a great trip! Love your TRs and so it will be really fun to follow along. Safe travels!

 

You, my friend, may possibly have the best approach to a Vegas vacation. You are a Pro and my Vegas hero. Best of luck and have a wonderful time.

 

Cool @MCann. I'm not an expert by any stretch but I always enjoy play craps at Caesars and I have to keep my 35+ year streak of playing craps at least once per trip at Flamingo alive. You're going to be at the slot pull?

 

Sounds good Chuck. Since we're down on that end of the strip there's always the Aztec Inn Casino....

 

So excited for you, Mike. Those pool drinks at Wynn will be a nice refreshment from the Vegas heat.
Safe travels and win BIG with @Chuck2009x , @luck.ofthe.draw, and @Sonya.

Best of luck to everyone at the slot pull too!

 

Yes I will be there - M&G / slot pull was my primary excuse for this trip. It hasn't even been a month since I got back from my last one. That's also why I'm coming solo; it was just a totally irrational, no thought involved "Hey that looks fun I should go to that! Ok I'm going to that!" trip for me.

 

Wish I could've made it for a day or two of overlap... but following along!
Best of luck & have fun!
(Drink one for me!)