Encore(and others(mostly others)) TR 1/12 - 1/17. i appologize for the length :)

My wife and I just got back from our 4th Vegas trip – here’s a report – at least the parts I remember:
Landed at Mccarren at 7:00 PM on Saturday after a VERY bumpy flight in. Wesley from Presidential Limo is waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator holding a sign with my name on it (I love that part!!) We had used Presidential on our last two trips, and actually requested Wesley for this trip after a great experience with him on our last trip. I walk up to him, and he acts like he actually remembers us from our last trip – I don’t think there’s any possible way he could remember us, but it makes you feel good, and I guess that’s part of what you’re paying for. He helps us grab our bags, and we are out of the airport and in the limo (with rose and champagne) by 7:20 PM.
Wesley asks if we need to stop anywhere and we tell him we need beers for the room. He stops at a 24 hour bar that also doubles as a package store. If I remember correctly, it was called the Office. Pretty cool little local place, and the beer’s were cheap. Back in the limo, we proceed to polish off the champagne just as Wesley pulls up to the door at Encore. We leave our bags with the bellman and head inside to check in. We get a room on the 59th floor with a north strip view. Not much to see in the way of buildings, but the mountain views are cool, and no music from the clubs are heard the entire stay,so all is good.
I had called a host that gave me her card on our last Encore stay, and she had booked the room for us at $149/night plus one comped night, so my wife and I head down to start “paying” for the room at the tables. We play for a few hours and head back upstairs after a long flight. We both comment how we aren’t liking the Encore as much as we had on our last trip, but can’t really explain why. The rooms are fantastic, the casino is nice, I just didn’t like the feel of the place this time – it just felt too snooty if that makes any sense.
The next morning we have breakfast at the Terrace Point café on the Wynn side. Breakfast was good, but not $63 good. Our plan for going there was that we didn’t want to spend $40 each for the Sunday buffet, but we decided afterwards that we probably should have either done the buffet or gone somewhere else. I place a $300 wager on my New England Patriots to beat the Texans, as well as another $300 on the Pats to win the Super Bowl. At the last minute, I decide to put another $200 on Seattle. Thinking I know something, I take the money line.  From there, we walk over to the Ventian. One of the games we had played a lot on our last trip was “Blackjack Switch,” and Wynn/Encore has taken the game out a few months back – this is one of our reasons for heading over to Venetian. We sit for a while, and I cash out up about $700. We go grab a couple beers, and then grab a cab to head to the LVH to watch the pats game. I had read about the LVH setup for football games on VMB, and was glad I did. Great place to watch a game, CHEAP beers ($2 MGD’s) and cheap food. Granted, it isn’t top shelf beer or food, but it’s a good time anyway. Go out to the tables at halftime, and my wife ends up getting VIP wristbands for the 2nd half. The bands get us seating in the balcony, and FREE beers and food for the 2nd half. The beer and food still aren’t great, but now they are free! As you all know by now, the Pats win AND cover, and we grab a cab back to the Encore. A little more play there, and then off to dinner at Lawry’s Prime Rib.
We get to Lawry’s a little earlier than our reservation, and sit at the bar for a couple of drinks. A couple of cool bartenders there help us pass the time until our table is ready. For those of you that like Prime Rib, and haven’t been to Lawry’s you HAVE to go. Great food, cool setup, and the prices are reasonable. Another cab back to Encore, leave some of the Patriot game winnings at the tables and head back up to bed.
Monday morning we decide to try Hash House A go go that Ive read so much about on this board. We make the COLD( what’s with the 20 degree temps in LV??) walk down to the Quad and have breakfast. Portions are huge, quality is decent, prices are reasonable. I’d go back, but wouldn’t go out of my way to go back. I had planned on playing in a 9 am poker tourney at Caesar’s so we make our way across the street. My wife plays slots while I play poker, and get knocked out two spots from the money. I got all of my money in pre-flop with QQ, and my opponent shows the other QQ!! Naturally, he hits a flush, and I walk out shaking my head. My wife isn’t making any money here, so we decide to keep going down the strip and stop at every casino on the way.
Stopped at Cosmo, used their $100 freeplay offer, as we hadn’t used on our last trip. We left a few hundred there. Also, as a result of VMB, we found the Hidden Pizza place upstairs. Very good Pizza – much better than the NY Pizza place at NYNY.
We also stopped at Aria – this was our first time in, and I liked the feel of the casino. I will have to check out rooms here for our next trip. Played VP for a little while, came close to the Royal – if $20 instead of $4000 is close!!
At one of our stops at the Mont Carlo, we decide to take a break from losing, and spend about an hour or so at The Pub. Cool place, 300 beers, some decent pub food. We went back to gambling, but the losing streak continued here. One memorable hand of Switch had me split 8’s three times, doubled down on two of them, and ended up with $525 on the table. I ended up losing the whole thing when the dealer pulled 6 cards for a 21!! Undaunted, we continued on to NYNY. We played Blackjack here for a little while, sitting with a woman from California who it turns out, has the same last name as us! Too weird… We loose some at that table, and then make our way over to the switch table, and everything turns around! I start out at $50 a hand, and continue to loose, until I get a hand similar to the one I described at Monte Carlo – splits and doubles and end up with $450 on the table. Only this time, the dealer breaks and the flood gates open! I start hitting everything - continue raising my bet, and continue getting beers brought to me that I don’t remember ordering. I continue drinking them, and keep winning! My wife had wandered away at some point, and when she came back to the table, I couldn’t tell which one of us had a better buzz going! I had started to give some of the money back, so we decided to go, and cashed out up $2400.
We cabed it back to Encore, and got a late night meal at Wazuzu – Drunken noodles and Thai Basil Chicken. That place was great – will have to remember to eat there again. Went to bed with a warmth that only a Vegas winning streak, and 30 beers can give you.
The next morning, we decided that we needed to cab down to MGM, and start there and walk back up the Strip, stopping at every casino on that side. Once we got to MGM, I sat down at a Black Jack table, and played one hand before the dealer was tapped out by another dealer. The new woman sat down(it was one of the lower tables) and didn’t say a word. Not Hello, not a nod of the head, not go F yourself. Now, I’m not looking for a song and dance from the dealer, but SOME show of personality I think is warranted. I played the ENTIRE shoe, and still she hasn’t said a word until the very last hand. I had a 15, and she has a 6 showing, I clearly wave her off, and she starts pulling a card out of the shoe and giving it to me! I see what she’s doing and start saying “no, no, no.” she continues to deal the card, and flips over a 2 to give me a 15. The pit boss is standing right behind her, and I hear him say “burn it.” Right after he says it, he has a change of tune, and then asks me if I want the card. I say “of course I want it now, but I clearly waved her off.” The dealer finally speaks, and says “What are you complaining about? You asked for a card.” I say “Why would I hit a 15 against a 6?” No response. She flips over her down card, revealing a 9, and giving her a 15. She pulls the next card out and breaks with a 10! Again she turns to me and says, “What are you complaining about? You shouldn’t have said anything!” I say, I’m not complaining about anything. You have a terrible attitude.” I pushed my chips in and colored up and left.
After that, I had decided to get a shave at one of those full service barber shops. I had done it last year at the Art of Shaving at Venetian, and wasn’t that impressed. I had read on VMB about Presidential Shave, and decided to try it. I guess for me, it’s the whole concept of the shave that I don’t like. There isn’t anything that stands out as bad, it just wasn’t anything special. I shave my head every day, so I guess I was expecting something better. I also decided to get a massage that day, and booked one at the Encore spa. Again, not impressed. It was OK, but I guess the whole “relaxing” thing just isn’t for me. Expensive lesson learned twice in the same day… Met my wife at stripburger for a spiked Arnold Palmer (Iced Tea, Lemonade and Jack) and then headed back to room to get ready for dinner.
Had dinner at Delmonico. I guess I had my hopes too high for this place too, because again, I was not impressed. Drinks at the bar were great, grilled bone-in rib eye was average at best – does not warrant a return trip. We also went to see “Rock of Ages” at the Venetian that night. For a couple of 40 somethings like us, this show was great. Good performance, funny show, and some great 80’s hair band music. I think if the audience had been more into the show it might have been even better, but we absolutely loved it. We left the show and then proceeded to leave some more cash at the Venetian tables, while enjoying around a dozen more beers, and headed back to Encore to sleep.
Wednesday was our last day in town, as we had a 7 am flight out the next day. Given our late night the night before, we didn’t leave the room until around 11 am. We grabbed a coffee and quite possibly the best cinnamon roll Ive ever had at the Wynn coffee shop. We headed down to MGM as I wanted to play in a poker tourney there. When we got there we stopped at an Mlife booth to see about a comped meal. They set us up at Fiamma, and then we went on our way. Got knocked out of the MGM poker tourney two spots from the money again, and killed some time before dinner.
We went to Fiamma’s about 30 minutes before our reservation with plans to eat and go back to the room to pack. Dinner went well, decent food, a decent bottle of wine, and the whole $162 bill was comped. We took the monorail towards Encore, and got off at the Harrah’s/Quad stop. As we’re getting off the monorail, I ask my wife “do you want to stop at Toby Keith’s bar for a quick drink?” she says sure, and we proceed to get two Mason Jar drinks filled 90% with booze. The drinks are great, and not cheap - $20 a pop. We end up having another after those are gone, and I know the plan of an early night is over. We leave there and decide to gamble at Harrah’s, as we haven’t given CET much action on this trip. In my mason jar induced haze, I decide I’m going to play something new – Pai Go Poker. I’ve never played it before, and am sure to tell the dealer and other players that when I sit down. Everyone is very friendly, and they all help me figure it out. Pretty fun game – it seems hard to loose a lot of money. I ended up making a couple hundred, and we head out, talking about going to sleep. We then stopped at Casino Royale, played a little there, saw the cops run in from the strip into the back of the casino and came out with what appeared to be a “working girl” in cuffs. Left there and decided to walk through the Venitian because it was too cold outside to walk the rest of the way. Once we got inside, we HAD to sit down, and whaddayaknow, they have two open seats at a blackjack switch table. Very friendly dealer, very good waitress, and the beers continue to flow. We have a great time with the dealer, a younger guy named Jared – until he goes on his second break, and the relief dealer comes in. He is miserable, no personality. We trade a few barbs, and when, after he yells at me that I picked my winnings up too quick, I let him have it. I’m sure part of it was my fault – I was tired, drunk, and happy to be winning. But to tell me that I don’t understand how difficult he has it there, that the cameras are watching all the time, and now he’ll have to go into the office to explain what happened, etc. I said, “Ya know what David, we’re done, color us up.” He cashed in our winnings – up about a grand for the session, and even after his shitty attitude, I toss him a $25 tip. I get no reply, no Thank You, no have a nice night, nothing. I tell him loudly enough to hear, “YOU’RE WELCOME.”
It’s about 2 AM now, and the limo is coming to pick us up at 5:30. It doesn’t make any sense to sleep. We decide to head up to our room pack quick, and then come back down and play until 5:30. This works out well for us. We sit down at a BJ table on the Wynn side with a dealer named Saudia. She was fantastic. Great personality, kept us awake, and when she ignored the nitwit next to us that wanted to hit his 15 against her six, she earned herself an immediate $25 tip! We continued to play until about 5:15, cashed out up another $1200, and got our bags and jumped in the limo, hoping for a Pats Super Bowl victory so we have to come back and cash in our winning ticket!
SUMMARY
Lawry’s – great food, great bartenders, great prices
Delmonico’s – overrated
Wazzuzu – Great food, good prices, will be back
Fiamma’s – good place, price was right!
Rock of Ages – good show, highly recommend
Gambling – other than the two bad dealer’s, it was a good trip
Encore – Not impressed this time. With a 4-hour, $200 bet average needed to get additional comps, we wont be staying here on our next trip
Massages – not for me
Toby Keith’s Bar – fun place, good drinks
Cosmo Pizza – worth the effort
High priced shaves – See massages comment

 

Great trip report! I am kicking myself for not placing a bet on the Pats for the SB when we were in Vegas back in Dec!

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.

 

Thanks for the report.

We like to hit Toby Keith's when we're at that part of the strip.
The Toadsuck Pond and Mason Dixon are regular drinks for us.
Good stuff.

Glad to hear you did well and brought some money back home.

 

Thank you for the TR. Sorry you had a bad experience with a dealer.

 

No need to apologize for the length of your report. It could of been longer, as it was a great read! Congrats on the wins!!

 

Awesome TR! Loved all your details and the wrap up. Massages are not for me either... - "I guess the whole “relaxing” thing just isn’t for me" Exactly!
Y'all's trip sounds a lot like what my hubby & I do - even the no sleeping part.

So if Encore is out - where do you want to stay next time?

 

plans for next trip

"So if Encore is out - where do you want to stay next time? "

We gave V/P, and MGM a lot of play this trip. I wouldn't mind trying out V/P, and on the MGM side, I'm thinking Aria or Vdara. I liked the feel of Aria's casino the best of the MGM casino's we were in.
I actually just went online to check our Grazie status, and was surprised and angry to see my Grazie balance at ZERO points. Something is most definetly wrong there, i'll be calling them today to find out what the story is.

 

Sounds like a nice trip but sucks about all the crappy dealers you ran into. At least the pit critter at that table where the dealer hit your 15 wasn't a dick about it. If you lost that hand I wonder if you could have had them kill it.

Did you try any of the craft beers at the Monte Carlo Pub? They have a lot I've never seen. Any recommendations?

 

Delaers/Monte Carlo beers

Those dealer encounters did suck, but I probably have to take some responsibility for the one at the Venetian. I was HAMMERED, and may have contributed to the issue. They actually closed the table - I think so I wouldn't come back!!
As far as beers at The Pub at Monte Carlo go, I had heard a lot about Fat Tire - a smaller brewery in Colorado, so I tried one of theirs - it was pretty good.
My wife likes IPA's - she told the bartender that, and he brought her some IPA I had never heard of, and can't remember, but she loved it.
I have to say, pretty much every where we went to drink, we had GREAT bartenders-
The Pub, Delmonico, Lawry's, Stripburger, Toby Keith's - all great experinces.

 

Thanks for your Trip Report

 

Great trip report!

Must have just missed you guys at Stripburger.

Did the bartender tell you guys about their current special? It was any drink, you call it's from 9 - 11 pm for only a buck! Shot's of Patron, Zombies, Jaeger shots, and any beer just a buck. It may have been in the upper 20's at that time, but the patio heaters were awesome!

 

I love that place!

Those patio heaters were awesome! The granite bar was actually hot enough to warm your hands up on! The bartender had told us about 2 dollar drinks from 5-7; I don't think I remember hearing about anything from 9-11 though. Strip burger is one of those " must hit" places for us each trip now.

 

Hey another quick question....

I've been reading some blackjack switch strategy since reading your TR and seems like it may be fun to try. At the MGM casinos do you know how they rated you on it? Were both your bets combined? So if you're playing both the spots for $100 each are you rated at $200 per hand, or two hands at $100, or just $100?

Also you mentioned playing it at Monte Carlo and NYNY, do you remember if they had it at MGM when you were there?

 

Goodread, thanks for sharing! The 25 $ tip was a Waste.
Ungrateful prick

 

that was my first thought too, but they all split tips, so I felt like we owed it to the great dealer we had before this ass. The good dealer actually saw me at a roulette table when he came back from his break, and came over to ask what happened. He apologized for the other guy's nonsense. Too bad they can't keep their own tips- it sure would give them all some incentive to earn their keep!

 

To be honest I'm not sure- I never asked. I guess I assumed that they rate the entire amount that you are risking. I'm pretty sure that they do, becAuse I was "upgraded" to PEARL at MGM with just that one day of play. All MGM propertIes that we went in had it. Now that I think of it, the only place that didn't have it was Wynncore.

 

Thanks for the report!

Seriously, breakfast for $63. Yikes!

 

I hear ya!!

I know Joe - CRAZY!! Should have gone down to MSS for their buffet - dollar for dollar, has to be the best breakfast Ive ever had in Vegas!

 

Great report.Too bad about the crappy dealers. And you're right. relaxing isn't for Vegas.