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6/23-6/30/12 Rio, Flamingo: WSOP, casino hopping and gamb00ling

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Wezvidz, Jun 30, 2012.

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  1. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8

    My Trip Report

    So it had finally come. My friend B and I planned a Vegas trip back in February right after I had returned from a short trip with my family. The trip with them was mainly fine dining and seeing shows (out of my 8 or so trips to Vegas, all were poker trips, so this was a nice little change of pace). The trip with my parents was also my first attempt at accruing comps since I had rarely participated in casino gaming outside of poker. My little craps and video poker play proved successful in achieving my goal, as comped nights were all over my CET calendar.

    This was to be a poker trip for B primarily. I was there to gamble and drink excessively on what would be my longest trip ever (7 nights).

    Saturday
    Had to work until 6pm with a 8pm departure out of Ft Lauderdale. With a 40 minute drive there and checking a bag I was a little worried but I had my first luck in the trip, making the drive quicker than normal, getting through valet, bag drop and security in record time and having 20 minutes to kill before my flight started boarding.

    Got in via Spirit at 10:30pm. I wholeheartedly endorse paying for the front 'first class' type seats. Most comfortable Spirit flight I've been on. Hit the EZ desk at the car rental place and asked if any 'complimentary upgrades' were available for $150/week rental. Instead of some economy vehicle, this is what the dude gave me for $1 more per day:

    [​IMG]

    I was planning on doing a lot of driving this trip to visit off strip casinos and expand my chip collection. This car was a pleasure to drive all week and was pretty balla looking to boot. Picked up B when he landed 20 minutes later and we were off to the Rio.

    First 3 nights were comped at the Rio. I requested Ipanema tower, high floor (thanks for the tip GREGRIO) and the room was great. It was a huge and relatively quick to get to from the convention area. Only complaint was the lowest A/C setting had the room far too warm for my liking.

    We dropped our bags, ran down to the cage near the Amazon room and both dropped $1k down for the Worlds Series of Poker event #44 starting Sunday. For an event of this size, it's basically a lottery ticket (albeit an expensive one!).

    [​IMG]

    Stopped by the craps table on the way back to the room, $15 min and the guy beside me had at least 30-40k in his rack. Thought that was a good sign, right? Obviously not. Pass line with max odds, come bet max odds, 7 out. Repeat next 2 shooters and I'm quickly 500 in the hole. This also wasn't the best way to convert my friend to the game of craps, which I intended to teach him on this trip.

    Up to the room to the room shortly after, as I had been up 23 hours at that point and had a long day (hopefully) of grinding at the poker tables ahead. To be continued..
     
  2. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Sunday

    B and I hit the convention center of the Rio by 12 sharp to take our seats. Event #44 of the WSOP ended up getting 2,949 players for a first prize of $464k.

    Started out pretty great, actually. Ran my 3k starting chips up to 5.8k by the first break 2 hours in.

    Played AK from the small blind passively vs a late position raiser, calling him down on 3 streets Axx/x/x board and he had AQ.

    Raised 98 suited another hand an on a board of K98/6/5 with 3 to a flush I got 3 value bets out of a guy, had to assume he had KQ or KJ.

    After break things took a turn for the worse. At blinds 50/100, a guy with only 1k left was in the big blind and I raised ATo from late position. He only called, checked a 337 flop and I shoved all in. Of course he had the 34 suited to double up through me, -1k.

    Little later I raised JJ, bet all 3 streets on a K77/8/5 board to a guy who just checked called each time. He showed down K3. At this point I was less than my starting chips, 2.5k.

    My table broke and I got moved from the Pavillion to the Brasilia room. New table didn't have many weak spots, pretty solid aggressive younger guys. One key hand to get me optimistic again saw me calling an early position raiser on the button with AJ spades. Flop J/x/x with 2 small spades. He bet I called. Turn spade he goes all in and I snap call, he was bluffing off his entire stack with A9 no pair. Back to 4.5k.

    Very aggressive guy to my right who had 12k raised late position and I flat called on the button with QQ. Flop KTx I called a bet, same on turn, same on river and he mucked when I showed the queens. Back to 5.8k!

    Now I went card dead for nearly 2 hours and couldn't find any good spots. My one regret is when at 100/200 blinds I made it 600 under the gun with 99 and a very agressive guy made it 1700 in late position. I only had about 3k behind at this point and think I should have shoved it vs a probable AK or AQ. I tanked and decided to fold.

    This lead to a slow bleed of chips until at 100/200 with a 25 ante I had 2k and blind shoved all in from the small blind when it got folded to me. Unfortunately the big blind woke up with A4 and the board ran out empty for me and I was left packing.

    B had busted at nearly the same time. He decided to late register for 6pm tournament while I hit my western circuit of casinos to get my mind off the $1000 I just burned.

    I visited AZ Charlie's Decatur -> Rampart -> Suncoast -> Red Rock then Palace Station before heading back to the Rio. Decided not to gamble with my frame of mind and hit the sack early.

    To be continued..
     
  3. bluerider

    bluerider Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
    The Great Lakes
    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Great report so far. I'm particularly enjoying the WSOP portion as my buddies and I have always wanted to play in one of the 1k tournies, but none of us have had the stones to drop the $$. I did play on a $500 buy-in at Caesars last year, but was nervous and made too many errors. I was out 5 hours into play.

    Looking forward to reading how the rest of the week treated you.

    Thanks for sharing!
     
  4. queentata

    queentata VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Sorry to hear that. We were out June 13-19 and my husband played in the seniors tourney. Last year, in a different one, he made the money, more than doubling his buy-in, but this year was out early the first day. Boo hiss!

    Hope you get the money back with craps and more poker.
     
  5. queentata

    queentata VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Btw, hope you will let us know how the rest of the trip went!
     
  6. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Monday

    On his previous trip to Vegas, B had stayed at the Bellagio and never left the place the entire time, rotating between his suite and the poker room, so I was intent on showing him a little more of what was out here.

    He had a 2pm $235 daily deepstack tournament at the Rio, so we decided to a short trip south. Started at the Silverton, where with my ACG I had a $10 free play coupon. While waiting for my player's card B runs over with a TITO for $200 and change saying 'I put $20 in that video poker you like to play and hit quads twice!'. He didn't even have any idea of basic strategy for JOB but was now hooked. My freeplay resulted in a $12 cashout, grabbed my $1 chip souvenir from the cage, and we headed to the South Point. Only stayed a second to grab my chip and left.

    Next we went to the M for the buffet. It wasn't expensive for a lunch ($16/each) and soooo good. The included beer on tap was nice, they had a raspberry hard cider that was fantastic.

    After lunch I dropped B back off at the Rio and visited a long circuit of north/northwest casinos, using ACG matchplay/freeplay along the way.

    [​IMG] [​IMG][​IMG]

    I went Texas Station > Fiesta Rancho > Santa Fe Station > Aliante Station > Cannery > Lucky Club > Big Horn > Silver Nugget > Jerry's Nugget.

    Of note, the only gambling I did other than running some freeplay through and leaving was at Texas Station. $3 craps, 10x odds, yes please!

    I come up to the table with 2 players on one end so I take my position on the other side, dealer right. From this point on, this will be my favorite spot on the tables, as I began betting the Don'ts. I have only been playing craps 6 months or so but have rarely had a winning session always playing the Pass line. So I put $3 on the DP, $30 lay odds. Next I place a $3 DC and lay $30 more. Wouldn't you know, these guys down there BOTH went point-point-point-7 out? I quickly colored up $100-150 in profit and decided I found my new strategy.

    Other notes from this trip, the Lucky Club and Bighorn sure are dives, and I'm glad I wasn't there at night. I had my hand on my wallet while inside both. On the other hand, somewhere like Jerry's Nugget was way nicer than I expected. It was a fun little trip.

    While B was still in the 2pm tournament when I got back to the Rio at 7 or so, I decided to FINALLY get some playing time on my CET card. I play Ultimate Texas Holdem in south FL (fun table game, low house edge), so I decided to play some at the Rio at the $25 level. $25 on the blind and ante each, $100 on the play bet if I play 4x preflop... could be painful if I lose a few hands, but luckily the table was hot.

    It was one of those games where the comradery was great, everyone seeemed to be winning, the drinks were flowing. I had a great time and finished +700 for my first nice win of the trip.

    B had busted at this time so I went down to the convention center and we were railbirds for a while at the $50,000 buyin Poker Player's Championship event. For those of you who know poker at all, this is a prestigious event and every table was loaded with big name players, including this table right by the rail.
    [​IMG]
    (Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu seated side by side)

    We watched for an hour and when they went on dinner break, we went back to the Rio VP bar and I helped B with basic strategy when he questioned things like holding 4 to a flush vs small pair, etc, and we drank way too many beers playing the 25c level. Great end to the night and we stumbled back upstairs pretty late.
     
  7. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Tuesday

    Today was the day to move from the Rio over to Flamingo. Had to call the front desk for a late checkout because of a raging headache from night before. :licklips:

    Another run-good moment for the trip, the $20 trick worked easily at the checkin to go from a Fab room to a Go (still comped). We got room 24004, right off the Spa elevators, with this view of Bally's and Bellagio:
    [​IMG]

    The beds were some of the most comfortable hotel beds I've ever been in. The shower was WAY better than the Rio. Overall, VERY happy with Flamingo. People complained about how 'dirty' the place is on this board but I don't see it. Maybe fab rooms are different obviously, but the Go room was perfect, lobby and casino clean, and even the complaints I heard about hallway carpeting filth and food trays left out for days were nonexistant.
    [​IMG]

    Wanted to show B some of the strip before we headed to Caeser's for a 4pm $130 turbo poker tournament, so we headed north. Stopped in Casino Royale which had the $3 craps going, won quick on my new strategy of DP, 2 DCs and max lay odds. If a shooter knocked one of my DCs down I didn't replace it, but I would reset my strategy on 7 out. If he hit the point, I would just not bet again for that shooter, and leave the DCs there until they all got knocked down or I won on a 7 out. I quickly won $300 on multiple shooters in a row of point-box#-box#-(non-important rolls)-7 out. Even a girl beside me started betting the Don'ts too. Quite a few times when I was winning I had people coming over to my side, too funny. :evillaugh

    Colored up after 30 minutes and went to Harrah's. The craps table right inside the door beside Toby Keith's was $5. I hit and ran again for $200 in 20 minutes on my same strategy. We visited Venetian & Palazzo, I got a Palazzo chip then we made our way back to Caesers.

    Fun little tournament, ~175 entrants, $130 buyin, 30k starting chips and blinds raise every 15 minutes. So the structure is quick, but you have a deep enough stack that you don't have to feel pressured to play more hands than you want to in the first couple hours.

    My table was super soft, as to be expected in this buyin tournament, and I easily chipped up from 30k to 58k without any big hands. With blinds at 300/600, an old asian guy raised under the gun to 1800, 3 people called so I called from the big blind with QJ of diamonds. Flop comes AT3 two diamonds giving me a gutshot and flush draw. I check, old guy shoves all in for 12k, guy inbetween cold calls the 12k, I shove all in over the top for 34k more. The guy who was stuck in between thought forever before folding. Old guy tables AQ. Turn is a J so my outs are any diamond, J or K. River is a brick (black 3).

    So instead of 90k I'm back down to starting stack of 30k or so. Blinds go up and I get short, eventually at 1000/2000 blinds a guy raises late position to 5500, I shove all in for 23k with AK, he calls with TT and holds up.

    B had busted a little while prior, so we walked back to the room to clean up then headed to Cosmo for the $100 promo. Signed up for Identity cards and went to the bar right beside the back Identity desk to play $1 VP and drink. I lost my $100 super quick, reloaded, and didn't hit much on my freeplay.

    Was down to $30 or so after playing all my freeplay through and decided to play it down to boom or bust. Boom!
    [​IMG]

    Cashed out $50 ahead all told. The bartops here were 8/5 vs the standard 7/5 I found at all CET bars. Really like the Cosmo vibe as well, which is why we came back later in the week.

    B was kinda crazy. He lost his $100 at $1 VP and with the reload, and enough drinks in him, he went into the high limit room to play $10 VP for 2 pulls. Second hand = flopped boat, so he cashed out up like $120 on the promo. Good times.

    We then tried to find the secret pizza place, and made the BIG mistake of taking the BACK escalators up the 3rd floor. Promptly, we were lost in empty convention areas.
    [​IMG]

    Eventually we found the pool table and the secret hallway.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    So. Freaking. Good.

    We next headed over to Aria. First time inside, not super impressed, but the poker room was bustling with action.

    Next stop was NYNY for some bartop action and cigars. Played for about an hour and was plenty drunk at this point. Stopped into the 'dirty castle' next door which brought back a flood of memories... my first trip back in 2003 when I turned 21 was with 2 friends of college. That trip and the next one or two we stayed at Excalibur, but I hadn't been back since then. No gaming took place here, just cabbed it back to Flamingo, with a very talkative cabbie giving us the breakdown of which strip clubs were best for which type of action we wanted, lol.

    At Margaritaville I stumbled to the craps table and won AGAIN playing my DP+2DC strategy. 3/3 winning sessions in one day playing craps had never happened to me, it was too easy!

    Then in Flamingo sat at Ultimate Texas Holdem and was -500 quick playing $25, guess I know which game to stick to.

    Stumbled back toward the room, and having a Johnny Rockets on the way is just what we needed. This is a hangover preventer if I've ever seen one.
    [​IMG]

    To be continued..
     
  8. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Can't wait for the next installment!
     
    Easter again..:
  9. booker

    booker VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    GREAT TR!! I absolutely love the poker wrap-up.
     
  10. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Wednesday

    Get up waaay before B (he can't hold his alcohol) to casino hop some more in the Mustang. Today's trip was a box around the strip.

    Started at Ellis Island for some ACG freeplay, Tuscany, then to Terrible's for a $3 lunch buffet. Then I went Hard Rock > Hooter's > Tropicana, the latter at which I tried their $200 promo similar to Cosmo's. Lost $200 quickly at $5 JOB (boooo!) so got $100 back immediately and broke even at $1 JOB. Had to go back Thursday and Friday to get $50 more back each day.

    I then visited the Wild Wild West and Orleans, which was much bigger and nicer than I had expected.
    [​IMG]

    Headed north next to Circus Circus... wow, a complete bitch to park here, and the place was so full of children it was uncomfortable. I stayed just long enough to get my souvenir chip and get out, lol. Last stop was the LVH before heading back to Flamingo.

    By this time B was up and ready to go so we went back to Cosmo to spin the wheel, which new signups get to do but it had been closed the night before. I got $10 freeplay and B spun ONE CLICK away from the $100 freeplay that is on there. So close!

    This is the point where B becomes a VP addict. We both feed a hundy into the bartops we loved from the night before and he hit quads THREE TIMES at the $1 level within 15 minutes. Next thing I know, he's like dude... I have a straight flush. He finished the session up big and with plenty of free drinks consumed. Obviously, our next stop is the pizza place which we know exactly how to get to this time. A guy inside is wearing a Yankees jersey which must be a good sign about the place. On their price board I think it said "No ranch on the side" which cracked me up.

    After filling up, we catch a cab to the Riv for their $1000-on-us promo, similar to Trop and Cosmo. I feed $200 into a JOB machine (8/5 but there had to be a better one around)... kept hitting hands and decided with this beauty to just cashout $200 ahead and not have to come back.
    [​IMG]

    Next stop is the Stratosphere , another place I had never visited in 8 or whatever trips to Vegas.
    [​IMG]
    I use my B1G1 coupon from the ACG for the ride up top and the view truly is breathtaking. No surprise why The STRAT is the first landmark I always can pick out on the flight in. That thing is high.
    [​IMG]

    At this point we head back toward home base. Gustav's bar at the Paris became our favorite drinking spot for the next few nights. I take a piss and come back to see a cute girl walking away from B... he show me a business card with her cell number on it and says "Bro, I just got propositioned". Our first time having that happen, as we don't dress like the more well-to-do types and both in our mid-20s, but I guess she pounced when she saw the guy alone at the VP bar. While she texted B quite a few lewd pictures later, he never took her up on that offer. :wink2:

    By this point, we're buzzing very heavily. We head to Bill's and I decide it's craps time. $5 tables at night, woohoo! I order a Corona to hear the waitress say they only have Dos Equis... ok then.. to which I receive
    [​IMG]
    I thought she was messing me with by putting the lime in but B said apparently people drink it that way. Whatever, here we go! DP line, lay $30. DC, lay $30. DC, lay $30. SEVEN OUT.

    This happens enough times in a row I'm quickly up $500 and having my most successful craps session yet. After 30 minutes of this the floor decides to shut our table down! No idea to this point why, as both tables were full, other than the fact I'm taking old Bill to the cleaners.

    So we head to Flamingo and I go straight to the tables. Notice my starting chips..
    [​IMG]
    My strategy comes up HUGE this session... here is a pic 15-30 minutes after the first one. Notice the increase in chips..
    [​IMG]

    At this point I'm wasted and telling B "I have too many greens! I've never had this many greens!". My stack grows, as after I hit all 3 bets (DP+DC+DC) twice I increase my base bet (at Flamingo from $10->$15) and keep my odds max. Then two more hits of all 3 and I go to $20 base max odds of $120. At the $20 level some choppiness starts hitting and when one shooter knocked two of my maxed out $20 bets down, I color up and finish +$980. Best night of craps of my life!

    We head upstairs and I pass out with a smile. To be continued..
     
  11. auburnu008

    auburnu008 Tourist

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    Great report. Keep it coming! :beer:
     
  12. johnnytwofingers

    johnnytwofingers Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2012
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    Location:
    Vancouver
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    Wow, great story so far, just killing it at craps!
     
  13. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2011
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Thursday

    Woke up Thursday with the goal of hitting the last of my casino circuit so I could relax and do nothing but gamble Friday, before flying out Saturday.

    I took the Mustang out for a giant loop visiting southeast up to east Vegas.

    The first leg went Green Valley Ranch > Eldorado > Joker's Wild, which took me what felt like into the middle of nowhere in the desert. Very divey old-feeling type places, with locals sitting at the bartops on a weekday afternoon giving me the stinkeye as I entered. Loved the vibe and just seeing this part of the town I'd never visited.

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Next I went Klondike > Sunset Station > Longhorn > Eastside Cannery > Sam's Town
    [​IMG]
    > Arizona Charlie's East > Boulder Station.

    I met back up with B at the Flamingo by mid afternoon and I needed some gambling. Went up to Harrah's to cash in my chips from my first craps session there a few days prior that I had pocketed. Sat at an UTH table and immediately ran AWFUL... pair vs dealer overpair, two pair when the dealer makes a straight... it was funny in that I originally went up to cash out ~$700 in chips, and toward the middle of the session I nearly had lost all of it to the house. Things turned back my way, though. I made a few full houses with hands I max bet preflop, leading to payouts on all 4 spots. Once I recouped my original buyin I quickly colored up. Just under an hour of betting quarters had my blood flowing even though I was even for the session.

    Headed back to the Flamingo to grab a bite to eat..the food court our entire stay here was a great convenience, compared to the Rio where we struggled to find quick sustenance between gaming sessions. When you're not in town to enjoy fine dining, quick food at your fingertips is crucial.

    Our plan tonight was Fremont Street. It was another aspect of Vegas B had never experienced. We started by directing the cabby toward the El Cortez which I had never visited due to its remote location at the end of the downtown drag. The cab driver got B into the wrong frame of my mind by regaling us with stories of the crack rocks and low rent whores of downtown Vegas. B is more a fan of the glitz and glamor of the strip... throughout our walk through the Cortez he keeps saying "I don't like it down here, it doesn't feel right". He thought he was going to get mugged outside the casino or something, which is understandable I guess seeing this was his first off strip adventure.

    Once we finally hit the turf underneath the Fremont Street Experience dome he felt better. I hit up the Fitz, got a chip, then we decided it was drinking time at the Fremont. Progressive royals on the bartops with the best paytables we'd played at so far... yes! All was good until we were told Redbull vodka was not available, Sobe energy drink and vodka only. "I don't know anybody who comps Redbull" says the bartender, lol ok. Next, when it's time for a refill after the first one or two, he comes at me with "You're only allowed one drink every 15 minutes". We were thirsty! We cashed out and decided it was time to move along.

    Was cool showing B Binion's WSOP hall of fame and the Golden Nugget.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Our next stop would be the Cal, where play moved up to the $2 level, and the bartenders weren't dicks. 9/6 JOB and the drinks flowing freely is just a little slice of heaven. We both hit enough hands to almost break even but no big scores.

    Our night was capped off with a late, drunken meal at the 777 Pub inside the MSS, followed by just enough craps to realize I could barely stand. We caught a cab soon after and it was sleepy time back at the Flamingo. To be continued..
     
  14. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    yay for casino hopping!! love it. I wanted to check out M, Silver and Jerry's nugget, and texas station my last trip but never got around to it. Nice to see it here. AWESOME craps win!!
     
  15. Reed

    Reed High-Roller

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    Very impressive list of casinos hit, I have not got close to that amount in one trip. Congrats on all the craps wins!
     
  16. pass line man

    pass line man VIP Whale

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    My kind of trip, keep it coming
     
  17. ColoradoJohn

    ColoradoJohn Low-Roller

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    Great report...will be there in September...love the idea of a chip collection!

    ski
     
  18. Wezvidz

    Wezvidz High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Friday

    Final day! Longest trip yet and I can't believe how fast it went by.

    Started by getting up way before B (as usual) and heading to the Trop to finish my freeplay for the $200-on-us promo. Ended the promo net +25, which is better than losing. Next, made sure to stop on the way back to the Flamingo to fill up the tank in the rental. Amazing that with all the driving I did this week (as you can read above), I used total about 3/4 tank of gas in the Mustang.

    As soon as I got back and parked I was on a mission to find the best VP I could on this little strip of CET properties, drink bloodmarys and get some coin in logged on my card. Today was gambbboool day. For the trip (other than my 1k tournament entry loss) I was pretty much net even in gambling.

    Started at the Flamingo.. even at the $2 level in the HL room, JOB was still 8/5 on the all the machines I checked. Yikes. Same story at Bally's, but it went to 9/5 at the $5 level, which was above what I was comfortable playing at. At the Paris I could only find 7/5, even at the $2 level! Unreal.

    I finally get down to Planet Hollywood and lo and behold, in their HL room, $2 JOB is 9/5. I did NOT expect to find the best VP here but giddy up. So I loaded $500 and played for about an hour. Basically broke even, hitting enough full houses to keep me afloat, biggest hand was this:
    [​IMG]

    Ended up cashing out about $100 ahead and using my ACG coupon for 50% their Spice Market buffet at PHo. Used reward credits to pay the remainder. Really good lunch buffet with a bunch of different stations, I was pleasantly surprised.

    After lunch it was craps time. Hit up the first $10 table with my open spot dealer right. This table was a DREAM. Right away hit my DP+DC+DC with max lay twice. Popped my base bet to 15. DP hit right away after the point was set, the next shooter I hit DP+DC+DC at $15+max lay, next shooter I had a DP+DC out there before they sevened out. Now I pressed to $20 base, $120 odds. Hit all 3! Now I decide it's go time, let's make some money... I throw a quarter on the DP. Point set at 5. Toss $150 odds, $25 on the DC. 9. Repeat. 4 rolled. Toss my last $150 down. Now I'm sweating, as I've got $500 on the table. Chanting in my head "seven, seven, seveeeeen!". Next roll is a 5, pass line hit, my greens are scooped off instantly while the table finally cheers at a point hit. Come out roll is a 4. Ugggggghhhhh that one hurts. Few rolls later the guy knocks down my remaining 9.

    After the roller 7s out I get a few more wins back at the $10 level and color up +$450. But oh, what could have been....

    By this time B is up, I tell him to get the last of my Caeser's chips out of the safe and meet me over there for the 4pm $130 turbo poker tournament. We both buyin and I'm still stinging from that craps session. I play pretty loose aggressive, raising a lot of pots, and I bust before the first break in uneventful fashion.

    B played primarily poker all trip and didn't cash in a single tournament, which although somewhat typical, is a real downer note to end the trip on for him. We decide to clean up at the Flamingo then head back down toward PHo. We stopped at Gustav's Bar at the Paris first for our first few drinks and some VP. Then hit up Heart Bar at PHo to continue drinking and enjoy some cigars.

    Once thoroughly buzzed I decided it was time to go big on our last night. Played quarters at UTH and was intent on pressing up to $50 base bets if I started the session winning. Unfortunately that never happened. It was a bad sign when the very first hand, the board was 22x/x/x and the dealer turned over pocket 2s for quads. My $500 was dust pretty quickly.

    By this time it's like 11pm and I need to be up to pack for my flight at 5, so I decided to gamble one last time here for a big win before heading back up the strip. We go to the HL room and I find my VP machine from the morning. $1000 in and $5 level max credits, here we gooooo... and it's the coldest session of VP I can remember. Nothing better than a straight hits and my credits are gone within 20-30 minutes. Ugh.

    So we make the walk of shame slowly north. Once we get to the Flamingo we grab some pizza to go in the food court and go upstairs to try to get some sleep.

    I got a solid 3 hours before heading to the rental return at McCarran. B's flight took off early afternoon so he got to sleep in until checkout before cabbing it to the airport. I swear, sitting in the airport terminal waiting for your departing flight to board is so depressing.

    The flight back to Lauderdale was uneventful, and I luckily had a full day of recovery Sunday before heading back to work.

    The end of this journey has been reached, but I will be back hopefully in late October! Woohoo!
     
  19. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2011
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Columbus OH
    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Thanks for the great trip report. Too bad about the big loss at the end.
     
  20. zerofan

    zerofan VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2009
    Messages:
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    Location:
    New York
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    22
    Great report bro!

    NIce pics too - October is a great time of year to visit Vegas - do it. Enjoy.
     
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