Semi solo trip to Vegas 8/20-8/22

Introduction
This past weekend, I went to Vegas for the 20th time since May 2008. This was also my 2nd consecutive solo trip, well semi solo this time since I met up with buddies in Vegas.

Flights
Flight out of O'hare left on time at 5.40pm, had a great seatmate in first class and we started having a few drinks along with dinner. Turned out he was a very nice person who lives in Vegas and we are now communicating via email so I will look him up the next time I hit vegas.

Arrival was 20 mins late at 7.56pm due to strong headwinds, we also landed from the West which I never had experienced before coming from ORD but I guess the wind conditions that day were bad enough to switch landing patterns.

Friday night (part 1)
I had 2 comped rooms this time and MGM's airport check in was open, they open till 9pm on Fridays even though their website says 6pm. Got my room keys and jetted off to rental car center and then gas station to get some water and a beer. Dashed to the MGM. Self parking took some time since it was crowded and on a Friday night. I went straight to pick up my promo chips and went to the Mansion for 1/2 shoe of mini-bacc. Quickly made $350 and cashed out. Went to my room and by this time had finished my can of beer so I went back to my car and drove to the Palazzo. Checked in was fine and went to my room for a quick shower. It was about 10.30pm at this time and my buddy called me telling me he was at KGB at Harrah's so I quickly walked over. Traffic along those walking escalators were slow as hell.

Friday night (part 2) into Saturday morning
Had a decent dinner at KGB's and went over to play mini-bacc in Harrah's: up down left and right, and walked away down $200 at this point (lost $550 at this table). My buddy does not gamble so he was just following me. Beer count as of midnight: 2 Guinnesses at KGB, 3 at mini-bacc table. Walked past the high limit room and found it to be dead empty so I settled in for some $100 hands of midi bacc. Dealer was nice, pit boss was very nice, most pit bosses are surly and have this long face but this guy was cool. My guinnesses kept coming and before I knew it, I had bought in for $2000, went all the way down to $300, flew back up to $3500, and settled at $2500, so at 6am Saturday morning, here are my totals (my buddy went to his room around 1am I think):

Beer count: No clue at this point (the CW kept bringing me 2 Guinnesses)
Jaegerbomb count: 4
Fiji water: 6
Bathroom breaks: No clue at this point
Gambling wins (losses): $300
Smokes: 1 pack

Saturday morning around 6am:

I was stumbling to the cashier's cage to get my cash and there was this craps table. I believe I was blatantly drunk at this point so I just bought in for $200 at the craps table. I think this is what I did since I had no clue what i was doing. I put $10 on the pass line, and sometimes $10 behind that original $10 bet on the pass line. Then I almost always want to cover those numbers, 4-5-6 something, and the dealer always asks me to give him $54. Whatever, all I know is that I bought in for $200 and cashed out at $400.

I turned to my left and noticed it was bright outside so I asked if it was a very bright light or was that the sun. It was now 7am. I stumbled to the cashier and she was very nice, she told me sternly to put the money in my pocket and make sure it is well kept. I gave her a fiver I think. I asked for directions to the Palazzo and stumbled to my room. At this time, I also started drunk dialing my buddies in Chicago since it was around 9am their time.

Saturday morning around 11.45am:

I woke up and checked the clock to see it was 11.45am. I was about to roll over and hit the sack again until I realized I had to meet up with someone at noon at Mozen at the MO. SHIT! I texted him telling him I would be late so I rushed through my shower and drove over. I got to the MO at 12.30pm and was pleasantly surprised at the driveway. It is a serene, peaceful oasis in the middle of Las Vegas. I thought Mozen was overpriced, and that Noodles at Bellagio was still better.

Saturday afternoon around 3pm. I told my buddy I was going to my room and rest and that I would pick him up at 6pm for the Blue Man Group show at 7pm. I went back to Palazzo and picked up $400 in slot credits. I used it and hit one of those $1/$2 max bet machines for $360. My total was $528 for those $400. So right now I am up $1028. I always keep my gambling money in a separate envelope so I can keep track.

Blue Man Group was ok, I already watched it in Chicago and I certainly would not pay Vegas prices but these were complimentary of the Venetian/Palazzo and my buddy has not seen it yet so it was ok. After the show, we drove over to the MGM to have dinner at Grand Wok. I find that the food is significantly better during dinner time as compared to lunch. Not sure why.

Stopped by the mansion again to play some $100 midi-bacc. Going to NYC this weekend so need to build up my winnings, or so I thought. Mansion is very subdued, pitbosses are all surly, and generally bigger and quieter than the Salon at Venetian, bacc room at Aria and Bellagio.

After 2 shoes, was down $1000 so at this point, I am only up $28 for the trip. Hit them for some Hennessey so that was good. Was not happy and very sleepy so went back to my room and crashed at 2am.

Sunday morning around 11am:

I checked out of the Palazzo and went to the Gold Coast to have dim sum at Ping Pang Pong. It was good and reasonably priced. Played some bacc and made a quick $325 in 20 mins. I cashed out and hoofed it to the airport for my 2pm flight back. So overall, I made $353 for the trip, not a lot but better than a losing trip.

I hope you enjoyed this report, and I thank Vegas for what a great town it is, and for me to be able to do a lot of crazy things that I normally would not do. I look forward to be back next month.

 

Nice short read. Funny that you thought the pit bosses at the Mansion were surly. I always found them to be really nice and accomodating. Were you playing the midi games in the front or in the main back room?

 

Hmm that's weird, they never seem to smile haha but I was in the main back room, I like to touch cards

 

They have dealt $100 midi games in the front as well, but that was almost 18 months ago since I last played there. I prefer to play in the back as well. Little bit quieter, slower, and you don't have to deal with as many gawkers.

Now when I think about it, one of my more fun times at the Mansion was playing midi up front with some Italian guys that dubbed me Mr. Natural since I was pulling a ridiculous number of naturals everytime they let me drive. Pretty much took control for the entire shoe, regardless of who was leading in bets. Those are the times when baccarat is the best...

 

yeah bacc is a funny game, you can win so much and lose so much quickly, need to know when to get out.

I know that now you can only touch cards in the main back room. Aria's bacc room is pretty cool actually

 

Hmmm...Odd that you landed from the west but had headwinds from Chicago. Must have had a local weather pattern that was flowing opposite of the jetstream. A sure sign that your trip would be up and down, right ???

 

we must have just missed you on Sat at M.O.---total bummer dude. Hope you had a great trip and sorry we weren't able to set any meets as we were really inundated by tourneys and other bs requirements. Glad to read you had an awesome trip and followed it up with an equally awesome trip report.

 

@KTinTX, yeah up and down trip but what is most important is that you know when to leave when you are up, that way you will still be happy having a beer in your room looking at the Vegas skyline

@BeeeJay, no worries bud, if it is meant to be, we will meet. I will miss you on your next Vegas trip since I am going to the MSU-Mich game that weekend but I should be back Sep 17 weekend. Glad to hear you had an awesome trip

Now can someone tell me why the dealer told me to put another $10 behind my $10 bet on the pass line? And why is it $54 to cover all those numbers on the craps table? That is such a weird number

 

The extra 10 behind the pass line is an "odds" bet. If the number comes up, the $10 on the pass line pays even money, but the odds bet pays the true odds of the point coming up (it varies by the number). You could have put more than $10 on the odds, but I think he was trying to ease you into the concept, lol.

As far as covering the other numbers, I'm assuming they were place bets. The amount you put on a place bet is normally dictated by the payoff.
4 and 10 pay 9:5, so the amount you place on them would be a multiple of 5
5 and 9 pay 7:5, so the amount you place on them would be a multiple of 5
6 and 8 pay 7:6, so the amount you place on them would be a multiple of 6

Let's say the point was 4. You have the 4 covered by your pass line and odds bets. To cover the remaining numbers with place bets, a typical layout would be:
5 - $10
6 - $12
8 - $12
9 - $10
10 - $10

That's how you get to $54.

 

Very nice TR. Keeps me in good spirits while I suffer through these last two months before my November trip.

 

We were at the Mansion around the same time Sat morning but I didn't play there until later that night. I was at the bar from about 6:45 until just after 9 am drinking. Had I known you were there I would have played some.

 

Very enjoyable report. The Mansion is a fun place - I've enjoyed some great times there. Thanks for posting.