I prefer to be doing the egging on in these situations.

Shots? Shots!

But back to the OP question, if this makes one a loser, then color me a loser. Vegas solo is the nutz.

Looooong time lurker on 2+2, and I love TRs. I don't think this makes you a loser at all. In fact, this thread makes you such not a loser, it inspired me to go on a solo trip this Friday. Every time I go to Vegas with buddies or family it's fun, but I always, ALWAYS, wish I was alone so I could play poker when I want, and eat where and when I want. I always find myself worrying about whether my companions are having fun, are they winning, are they losing, do they think the restaurant is too expensive, do they want to do something else, etc etc. I recently got a raise and my wife was stoked for me to go solo as a gift to myself. I plan on playing cards the whole time, drinking a lot of expensive whiskey and eating at Michael Mina, Picasso, and CUT, which will all cost me half as much as normal since my wife won't be there haha. Sit at a bar in a crowded restaurant and people watch, talk to the bar tender, strike up a conversation with another solo traveler. You'll have a great time.

Good luck and thanks for the reply. I worded the OP horribly (in my head it sounded different) and this thread went a different direction than I wanted it to, but once it got going I figured I'd just steer into the skid and see how it turns out.

I feel more bad/guilty for going without the wife and kids. I get it, I really do, Vegas solo is a great time for a poker player as they can do exactly as you describe above and I hope you enjoy yourself and do well.

I'm feeling guilty for them not being able to go as we were planning on all going together. I've reached that point in my life where the happiness of my family is more important than Vegas or poker. Having said that, the wife is all for me going and super pissed when I talk about cancelling the trip, which is next week. I'm still on the fence about going. I likely will go, but have my moments of doubt.

Spending time away from your family can help you appreciate them more. If you are still worried, set up appointments in advance where you can video chat with your wife, daily if necessary.

Winning and spending some of your earnings on presents is sometimes a good way to assuage guilt.

From my experience, when my wife has encouraged me to go to Vegas, I should always go. I almost cancelled several solo trips, out of feeling guilty, but my wife strongly encouraged me to go because she knew I would have fun. I learned to take her at her word and made the most of it.

As stated, solo trips can be great and you should definitely try it at least one time to see if it suits you. I've had about 6 or 7 of them and enjoyed them. I will say at this point I would prefer to go with at least one poker friend, but I wouldn't turn down a solo trip.

I leave Sunday and will post a trip report, FWIW. I'll forewarn the poker purists/bankroll nits, the money management rules go out the window for me when I'm in Vegas. Much degening on sports/roulette/poker above my limit/slots/etc... will happen.

Coming home break even is a big win for me on a trip like this, and by "even" I mean only losing what I set aside to lose. I'm gonna bink a score or punt the roll, there really won't be any middle ground when all is said and done.

Bankroll nit stories are not nearly exciting as ones that have lots of gambool. Just take lots pics, and by lots I mean like 10 rollz worth. I would also decide what type of TR you are going to do. A live one? Definitely the hardest imo. Daily updates? Or a post trip write up. Definitely
looking forward to your TR.

Good luck have fun. Live trip reports are awesome. I've done some great ones in the past but they are also very hard to do and sometimes a pain in the ass to keep up with

OP, hoping to hear your take on this.

I did a solo-trip for WSOP in June, and just got back from a group trip with wife/brother/his woman.

Upon arrival for solo trip, I felt bad for not bringing wife.

Upon completing the group trip, I feel bad for not having gone by myself. Too much petty crap that normal people like to do, like shopping/eating/slots/drinking/being too lazy to walk anywhere.

I'ma try to go solo most of the time from now on.

I'm a bit older than most here with different points of views on things so take my opinion with a grain of salt. There were certainly positives on going solo. Getting up when I wanted and going straight to what I wanted to do is chief among them. Eating when and where I want was a bigger plus than I thought it would be and, for me at least, not picking a hotel based on amenities I won't use was nice.

Mostly I would say Vegas solo is a great time and I did have a great time, there were moments when it would have been nice to be with family/friends. When you've gambled all you want in a given day and just want to hang out it sucks being by yourself. Rooting in the back half of a nice paraly is better with friends than solo, for sure.

It was cool doing things on my own schedule, but there were times it would have been more fun to share those things with others.

All in I would go back solo if nobody in the family/circle of friends wants to go, but I think I prefer some company, YMMV.

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