Solo Trip to at Paris 8/15-8/19, Blackjack, craps and Video Poker, Semi-Live

I counted my cash and have $447 more than I came with. I must have tipped $28 so far. I’m hoping I haven’t had 28 drinks this trip. It’s possible.

 

I had a lazy morning and didn’t make it out of my room until 11. I walked over to Bellagio to meet my friend. We were both in Vegas over the 4th and he frequently talked about blackjack switch and how much fun it was. I had never played but decided to give it a try. We found a $10 table and sat down. I watched a few hands and bought in for $500. If you haven’t played switch before you play two hands of $10 each and can switch your cards to make the best hand. A natural blackjack pays 1/1 and dealer pushes on 22. I lost $225 or so before I decided to stop and he did much worse. As we were coloring up the dealer said that this was the worst session she’s seen. I don’t really believe it but it wasn’t good.

We went over to a normal $25 table and had a great time. We played with a guy who said he was down 3k and his wife only allowed him 5k for the trip. He was betting 1-200 a hand and has 4 days left on his trip. I hope his much changed but I’m assuming he won’t be gambling after tomorrow.

I didn’t have any noteworthy hands and the last shoe was terrible so we decided to color up even. I miscounted my chips and actually cashed out a $101 profit!

I forgot to cash out a $40 TITO at Cromwell so I’ll walk over there and play it at the same bar I was at yesterday.

My friend and his wife invited me to join them at Bavette’s for dinner. I feel bad eating off his wife’s comp so hopefully I can at least buy them drinks before or afterwards.

I’m low playing Caesar’s on the trip unfortunately. Hopefully I can focus gambling their the rest of the trip to keep company rooms coming. We’ll be playing at PH tonight.

 

I forgot to post about my breakfast/lunch. I was going to eat at La Creperie but decided the line was longer than I wanted to wait for. I stopped at Burger Brassier and did their $19.99 beer and a burger special with waffle fries. It was a good burger. Had a nice conversation with a guy from Florida out here for the first time. He walked 14 miles yesterday!

 

How many tickets did they want for the Whiskey Business? I paid $ for that on my last trip....

 

The Whiskey business was two tickets. It’s a $17 cocktail and the tickets are good for $16 and under. They won’t let you throw a dollar on top of one ticket for their speciality cocktails.

 

I had a blue moon and a knob creek manhattan at Bound in Cromwell. I lost my first $41 TITO quickly and put in another $60 and hit this a few hands later.



I cashed out 15-30 minutes later only losing $6. I’m pretty tired and just got a text saying we have a 9PM reservation at Bavette’s I should take a nap but don’t feel like showering again today. Surprisingly I haven’t had any caffeine today. I’m usually a 2-3 cup a day person. I want to keep drinking but probably shouldn’t be sloppy drunk for dinner. I have a feeling I’ll be hitting the drinks hard tonight st PH.

 

The first time we encountered their ticket system they were allowing us to get the cocktail menu drinks for a single ticket, which I thought was incredibly generous. I still think their system is very fair and the most transparent. Sounds like the bartender was encouraging you to use your tickets rather than slowing you down. I’ve also never encountered any problems giving my extras to other customers.

 

Oh wow, now I'm hoping my favorite CET bartop game still exists there. 7/5 Triple Bonus Plus (97.67%). I have never looked back there at that bar. TAG at Linq (now the stupid Book) held onto the game about 2.5 years longer than most CET bars.

 

A few years ago the cocktails were $16 or the drink tickets were $17. I can’t remember which it was. For the last few years it’s been two tickets per specialty cocktails.

 

I’ll be back there tomorrow most likely and can take a picture of the pay table for you. Phenomenal bartenders. I’ll be stopping there every trip from now on. It’s nice and quiet in the back of the casino with a nice view of the TVs in the sports bar.

 

I played $10 craps at the Cromwell. What a great crew! I bought in for $200 and cashed out

I should e preserve my bets more since plenty of points were hit. It was a bad table at first and at one point I had my last $55 on the table before the table warmed up.

 

Great TR, I’m late reading it but really enjoying seeing someone win, especially someone also from Portland or there abouts!

 

Dammit, this is why I shouldn’t nap. I didn’t wake up to my phone alarm and our reservation was 7 minutes ago. They said they could order drinks and apps to kill time, but I didn’t want them to wait the 49 minutes it’d take for me to get ready and over there. Now I just feel hungover and hungry. I’m going to get myself together and walk to cosmo for dinner and meet up with them later.

If this is the worst that happens this trip I’m doing pretty good.

 

Excellent trip report. I always sleep in if i can while I am in VEGAS solo. I never really look at the time unless I have a show booked.

 

I finally made it to China Poblano as a consolation to over sleeping my dinner. I sat at the bar and had their Mexican old fashioned. It was a nice twist in an old fashioned with a hint of slice. My plan was to order the pre fixed menu but the waiter convinced me that it was a ton of food. I need up ordering three dishes.

Har goo I think


Mongolian beef lettuce





Birrea taco, veal and lamb.

I loved the meal at the atmosphere there. The service and food were excellent.

I received an email from cosmo to stop at the identity desk for a chance at $5-500 of free play. I received $10 and ponied up to chandelier bar. ordered my makers marks with one ice cube and am playing some Bonus poker. Currently have two drink tickets and am down $30. I think it’s a drinking night! Black low k and chaos will be later at PH.

 

That food looks so good. I am going to check this place out in 2 weeks during my trip and maybe order the same exact food too. Keep posting! Love the trip report. Gluck

 

I walked over to PH and sat at a $25 blackjack table near the part pit. Had a fun table with good conversation and great dealers. Things went well and was able to press my bets up to $75 a few times but don’t think I won any of those. I played for two hours and was rated at $50 a hand. I cashed out with


Im also that guy that snaps photos of the dancers



I’m up $1,143 on gambling for the trip. I’ve carried a strong buzz this evening, far from my usual fuzzy blurry drunk nights. Tomorrow is my last full day in Vegas. I’m tempted to low roll and lock in a win plus paying for the trip. In realty I’ll gamble the same as today and hope for the best.

I’m back at Paris and may throw the dice before bed. I still have half a Manhattan left...

I have to remind myself to stop and look around. I come here often enough that I don’t make it a point to watch the fountains or do the touristy things any more. Tonight I stopped on the sidewalk and marveled at the sights this city provides.


Slightly blurry but it reminds me of how amazing this city is. I’m still as star stuck at the city as I was during my first trip almost 15 years ago coming out with a fake ID to play poker. My favorite place in the world.

 

It’s 4 AM and I’m laying awake in bed. After PH I walked back to Paris and checked out the dice table and wasn’t feeling it. I sat down at an empty $25 blackjack table. The session went well but the dealer kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She constantly talked about how young and successful I was and how rich I must be after I told her I’m a chiropractor. I do look like I’m 18 but I thought it was inappropriate to be calling customers rich with a jealous tone.

I cashed out with this from a $300 buy in.



Here are my notes on today’s gambling sessions. I didn’t feel like I gambled much today but somehow it’s been 15 hours since I left my room this morning.



I’m hoping to fall asleep quickly and wake up at a decent hour tomorrow morning. I have zero plans for Sunday. My heart is telling me breakfast at Bouchon but my brain tells me I’ll sleep in and not make it. I really should see a show tomorrow night for some entertainment. Fortunately and unfortunately I’ve seen most if the shows in town. Does any one know if Absinthe has changed much since last August? It’s been my favorite show to date.

I had to do a cash count and snap a photo. Hope most of it comes home with me!

 

Good luck today! Enjoying all of your adventures!

 

Good morning all! I slept 5 hours last night and woke up feeling pretty good. Thank you ibuprofen and pedialite! I turned on the tv and started laughing when I saw that there was a cornhole championship tournament on espn. I texted my cornhole partner and we want to look into entering it. We won one tournament together in Minnesota in 2015 and have t had the chance to play another since I moved to Oregon.

I’m a bit concerned that I didn’t hear my alarm go off this morning to check in to my flight. I’ll have to use the hotel alarm clock and a wake up call to not oversleep and miss my flight. I could just stay up all night too since I’m not working tomorrow. I’ve learned to take an extra day off work after a Vegas trip to recover. I’ll cuddle with the dog all day on the couch tomorrow. She always comes back from the kennel smelling terrible and will need a bath. She’s going to hate me. Even peanut butter doesn’t make up for it. How does a dog that lives in Oregon hate water so much?

I’m thinking about walking through Venetian and the Wynn today. It’s been a few years since I’ve been at the Wynn. Such an amazing property. No other plans for the day except to continue riding my good luck until it stops. Really hoping to catch my first royal.