Natedog TR 6/19-22 Mostly Gambling Encore/Wynn

Had a few things to do in Vegas, so decided to make a short vacation out of it by myself. No posse this time so will be a test of my discipline.

Staying at the Encore this time, for no other reason than just feeling like it.

Day One

Trip didn't start out so hot, get an email from my host at the MGM regarding my upcoming trip on the 28th, says the jet and passenger manifest are confirmed, but corporate had a meeting about my play and decided I wasn't playing to the level of my line.

Exact email is

"The corporate managment has reviewed guests with credit line of one million and above, and would like to lower the maximum bet for those who have not been played up to the requested credit line. As a result, your maximum bet will be set at $70k with credit limit of $1 million. You are welcome to place front money deposit to receive cash incentives, but the maximum limit will remain at $70k regardless of the amount of front money.

Sorry for any inconvienence this newly enforced policy may have caused you."

Although I admit I haven't played up to the 2.5m line recently, but I didn't want that much of a line in the first place! The hosts keep pumping it up! Anyways, left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but I figure we'll see how the 28th trip goes, and if it goes badly I might write off the MGM for being so schizophrenic with their policies. This is on top of the policy of only being able to choose one tournament at one MGM property if it occurs in the same week as another tournament at another MGM property. If there's a special event like a "shopping spree", you cannot even enter the tournaments. It feels a bit like fast food ordering now at the MGM properties, and it shouldn't feel like that for a person that regularly gambles 1m+.

Anyways, thanks for listening to the pre-gambling vent, but at least the first day went relatively well. I'm going to start posting the actual screen results daily.

Play time 1:32
Theo 9251
win 71000
avg bet 8508

I always wonder how they come up with 8508, but they must have some kind of formula. I only played 2 sessions of craps today, didn't hit any feature bets, but had a few good runs.

1st session
Didn't want to blow my bankroll immediately, so started out small. Betting 500 pass with full odds, taking 2 come bets 1k with full odds. Remaining numbers 500 or 600 each. Press pretty heavily, if I hit the come bet numbers, then put 1/3 of the hit on the number as a place bet, increase by 50% each time. If it is a non-come number, press 50% or 100% if it is 4 or 10.

2 tables at Encore, not one player....guess I have to start it....1st table very cold, only made 1 pass out of 3, not many numbers. Jump to 2nd table because I see one guy start to roll there, by the time I actually walk over with my chips, he already 7ed out. Not a good sign.

However, craps players are always optimists! I start rolling, and rolling, and rolling, and after hitting my come bet once and passing once, another player joins. I hold the dice until he buys in, slowly picks his bets, then continue, continue, continue, until two English guys walk up, they buy in combination of chips and cash, I hold the dice, pit boss checks their id's, I hold the dice, they chuck a bunch of chips in the middle on the 12, 11, and *7*, I hold the dice, ask them politely are you guys done? They say yes in some incomprehensible 3 syllable response, and I keep rolling, rolling, rolling, careful to not roll before late bettors.

Suffice it to say, it was a very good roll. Kept hitting come bets, and passes. Made 4 passes and at least 5 come bets, didn't press my basic pass and come units, so kicked myself afterwards, but racked up a nice little win 63k.

Felt especially smart reducing all my place bets by 50% because one of the English boys bet the 7 again in the middle of the roll, girlfriends got carded and asked to leave (under 21), and the pit boss starts yelling at them (he was being protective of my roll which was nice of him, but the yelling doesn't help) Tipped the boys 1k since they missed basically all the yo, hard ways, and feature bets.

All this happened in less than 45m...where else in the world can you get entertainment like this and make money (sometimes).....?

Session 2

Had some biz at the Wynn hotel side, took out all my gold plates (read previous reports) from the safety deposit box, had some time to kill before the biz meeting, so decided to play some more craps (surprised?)

Table was very very choppy. I went down to 500 pass, full odds, 1500 across. Was down about 20k until this one shooter got the dice...hit every single number numerous times except for the 12 and 3....alas, it was a no feature day. But the numbers got me back up and even some extra...up 10k.

Took 2k to the roulette and bet 17 and 20....came up 33....oh well, call it a day for gambling since I'm still jet lagged.

Up 70k day one. Forgot to take pictures at the table, but here's the room. Thinking of using the massage table, but the Encore spa is so nice what's the point....

 

Nice room pix, and good image on your laptop, don't you think so Sonya?

 

Hmm, sounds like they've maybe been doing some risk management re-assessments over at MGM - perhaps they got cleaned out by a few big players last quarter?

Your reports never cease to amaze me in how the really big players get treated anymore pretty much the same as us mere mortals - it really disincentivizes me to ever ramp my level of play much higher than where I'm at now - seems like over $100K LOC, it really is a game of diminishing returns, at least when it comes to comps & treatment.

Anyway, best of luck to you this trip, look forward to reading your reports as they come in opcorn

 

Natedog is in Vegas - I am so getting a hard on and it is not bothering me at all that it's coming due to the actions of another dude

 

glad you got back some of what you left there the last 2 trips! but a Salone suite? i could get one of those when i used to play $500/avg Bac. they should have you in a Villa.

as far as MGM, they're just doing that because you've been winning lately. it has nothing to do with lack of play. if you had dropped $500k each trip the last few, they wouldn't say anything. in fact, i think it has something to do with that one $175k bet you placed on the first hand of the shoe that got you even. i'm sure the pit boss made a note of that combined with the level you normally were playing at and they don't want you to be able to hit them that hard anymore.

and as far as the $1M limit, if you drop it all the first day, they'll raise it back up to $2.5M in a hurry. they're just dropping it so they have an excuse to drop your max bet.

 

I have to say that email really grinds my gears and its not even addressed to me! Its a real shame to see how poorly they you the service in this industry is really going down.

 

Natedog is back...time to save this thread as a favorite and keep refreshing it on my phone all day at work. I'll send my boss your way Nate for my lack of productivity until you leave Vegas
Looking forward to the rest of your trip report...best of luck and enjoy your stay.

 

I was actually thinking the same thing - I used to be able to get 1-bedroom [upper] Fairway Villas at Wynn & 2-bedroom apartments at Encore back when I had a $60K LOC over there!

 

Natedog, I just want to say how much I enjoy your trip reports. I don't play at anything that approaches your level. I love playing the HL rooms for the stories from the dealers and supervisors but I'm just a black chip player so to hear it first hand is fascinating.

Have a good trip.

 

You gentlemen that are quick to point out the salon suite, really seem like jealous 15 year old girls or 65 year old men reliving your past glory at every opportunity. Ease off the Johnny miller attitude, let the man tell his story. Natedogg was probably offered Steve wynns personal villa, but turned it down, because why would one man traveling alone really need a two bedroom apartment. I'll assume his ego doesn't need that boost.

That is all, I enjoy all the reports on here and insight from everyone, I think I've just had my fill of Johnny miller for the week. Hope the Travelers is on CBS.

 

nate: hittem where it counts......

Not to shabby on the first day.....

Love the TR's

 

i'm sure it does sound like that. we just like to compare between each other the treatment we receive at each property. otherwise there's no way to know if you're being treated fairly or being shorted. maybe they did offer Natedog a villa and he turned it down because he's solo, which is fine. but on the other hand if they said the villas were full and put him in that, he definitely got shorted.

 

Natedog - If I were you, then I'd tell MGM to go ahead and cancel the plane for your next trip. I would not let them do this to you. When they ask you why, tell them that "I've decided to explore other parts of the strip on my next trip". When they continue (and they will) to want to know why you're doing this, tell them that you've decided to see what things are like at the P (and also spend some time playing @ Wynncore). I would not set foot in an MGM casino and go stay, play and enjoy the life high above Vegas at the P. MGM needs to learn to appreciate you at your level of play and not just send an email changing the terms on you. The way they did this to you would be the way that is fitting for maybe a $100 better ... not someone at your level of play.

 

Like Shifter said, they are just taking a shot at you cause they are pissed about the hit and run bet, they are trying to reduce variance. Heck there was a time when every strip casino had a $500 limit, and they Benny Binion said "Your limit is your first bet" and booked all the action he could.

I'd stiff em for a trip, see how they like it.... tell em you didnt feel well.

 

I agree. As big a player as your are Nate, you should have the casinos chomping at the bit for your business. They may own half the strip, but hey...there IS another half! I'd give them the cold shoulder and I bet you'd be surprised at what they'd do to get your business back. Don't sell yourself short my friend!

 

You guys are right, they did offer me the villas next to the wynn south entrance again, but like everybody else I feel pressure when I'm staying there, since it is some ridiculous amount per night (I think 15k?), and the fairway villas are about 2k, so I would have to play theo of at least 50k a day for the former and about 10k for the latter (counting in airfare reimbursement), so I figured since I was alone this room is big enough. When the family comes on the 28th then I would have to do the 2 bedroom at the MGM mansion, which at around 3-4k a day is good value.

Shifter is also spot on in that they wouldn't have lowered anything if I was losing

 

I look forward to reading your reports. They are so detailed. I have to say if I would have gotten that email, I would probably re-think my trip back to MGM.

Love the pics!

Have a great time and win BIG!!!

 

I can be on a plane tomorrow - I am willing to sleep on the sofa. Or even the massage table!!!

 

This is the great start. Hope the winning stream continues flowing. Good luck! Enjoy reading all your reports.

 

Thanks for all the support against the MGM, but I'm not that concerned since all the comps stay the same, they only want to limit my baccarat action. So I will see if there are any attitude changes later in the month to decide whether to go back again.

The Cosmo is getting more aggressive, having a 1m baccarat tournament in mid July. Should be fun.

Day Two

Woke up around 4am, still jet lagged. I get to go out first at the Wynn, so the earliest I can start is 7am. Not good to go out earlier since they still have all the pesticides on the course (don't lick your ball!)

I usually lose before golf, so decided to play small. Again no features hit, up and down, down 10k...which is not terrible since I'm betting about 5k a roll this time.

Had 1 hr to kill, since I read about video poker on this site, decided to try it. Don't know if the machine was good or not (value wise), but it had a weird 6 credit bonus thing that creeps up once in a while. I made 100 bucks last for 45 whole minutes! High point was when it got to 300 bucks! Good entertainment value!

Golf was fun as usual, with my usual caddie, playing a blistering round under 2.5 hrs. Lost about 12 balls because I like to practice on the par 3s with all the water


After a short nap, decided to see if my luck had changed after golf....nope.
Very cold craps table, started out with 200k, and the pic shows what I had left after 30m. Didn't bother to take the picture after 60m, because all the chips were gone

Better move to my *real* game...good old baccarat!

Took out 1m, placed down all my gold plates...now I have 5. Put the chips in strategic locations...and off we go.

As you can see from the first shoe, it was very good because I pretty much only bet heavy on 2nd bankers...

1st hand out of shoe 8k....boom natural 8
2nd hand out of shoe 12k boom natural 9
3rd hand repeat bank 18k boom you guessed it natural 8!
4th hand repeat bank 22k boom natural 9
5th hand repeat bank 28k player 0 versus banker 1
at this point feeling pretty damn smart....hit a bunch of ties and pairs for 500 bucks each too...dealer was happy since every time I hit they had a 25 dollar bet.

Then the slide....three in a row losses (look at the single banks, I bet repeat bank), 36k loss, 22k loss, 18k loss Choppy all around until you guessed it, the make or break moment (guess I can't do this at mgm anymore) 175k on the bank....player gets natural 8.....crap crap crap.....I see a 3 side and a no side....blowing the 3 side ....it's a 6.....dinging the hell out of the no side....and and and it's a 3!

Suffice to say, quite a roller coaster ride. I end up down 50k for the day. So still up 20k overall, but it's looking like a tough trip. I'm going to do my best to notch a win at the wynn because it has been a while...even if I have to start betting reds....!!!!!

Comments and questions appreciated! The PMs cursing the MGM and telling MGM corporate brain freeze moments are especially warming :Þ