changing tables likely made hundreds of dollars difference. ended 1:30am up $190. it's been a good day.
got propositioned by a prostitute on the walk back, that was quite flattering.

Good report, thanks for taking the time.

Good luck!

Didn’t realize you were going to a hockey game. Very cool.

Did you notify your bank that you were leaving town? Some smaller banks still have safe-guards in place for unusual activity.

I was once 'talked to' on a walk back to my hotel also. I'm told if they touch you somehow (like on shoulder) then they can't be a cop. The rules of engagement can change .. who knows, it's still part of the Vegas experience. Lucky 'us' low rollers really aren't targets too much when we cash out for reds at the cage since I like to walk and see what's going on. During WSOP I walked from Resorts World to Flamingo just to get in some exercise .. hard to see everything when you're in a vehicle/bus. GL

As they say, pics or it didn't happen.

Nice report, thanks for keeping us up-to-date.

should have told her you had $190

I didn't know what to do Wednesday morning so I didn't do much. drove around to do some window shopping, didn't buy anything, and visited Texas de Brazil for lunch right when they opened. I love this place. The service is awesome, atmosphere is awesome, and the food is awesome. it was probably the most beef I've ever eaten in one sitting but they just kept piling it on my plate.
My first repeat visit of the trip, back to the Orleans and I'm in sitting down at the $100 Super Stack tournament. late-regging, entry #100.

I'm in a tough spot, getting placed to the right of a player with 4x starting stacks. two of my first PF raises were immediately re-raised significantly forcing me to fold. guy to my right was a bit short and jamming often. I've got a tight image (getting 3-bet or folded nearly every time) so I did show a successful bluff recently.
after 8 levels (four for me) I have a few blacks above starting stack.

I managed to catch Mr Big Stack for a double up when he called with QJ vs my KT on a KQXX board. next turn he was on the rails when he hit a river flush to jump back up again. That meant bullying my raise again the next hand.

With blinds at 1.5K/3K/3K, I get raised into and I'm staring at AA. I jam and a bigger stack rejams, first guy calls. dream spot: AA vs AK v QQ and I triple up into a huge stack

Very soon after I bet 10K with KK. all in, another all in.
I don't feel good about it but what can I do?
my KK vs AK v AQ: another dream spot.
runout has Q on the flop and Q on the river and just like that I drop 50K.

short time later my last hurrah: my 33 gets called by KK

and I'm out in 38th/129

I did some wandering around the Strip this afternoon. walked all the way from Park MGM to Harrah's without my walking shoes and got a ticket to see Tape Face. while waiting for that I strolled over to Forum Shops and wow, Caesars is a massive facility. I was ready to sit and relax after all that.
didn't plan on Tape Face but it was like the cheapest show playing and was early (6pm). the show was in a small cabaret that definitely brought an intimate feel, and the show was virtually all audience participation. not the funniest hour and a half of my life and probably a show you only see once but it was quite entertaining, I laughed a lot and enjoyed it.



After the show I came down to the Venetian (walked back to Park and drove to Venetian)(where I got to meet MuckPls, although he left pretty soon). I am impressed with the energy of the room; it was buzzing. that being said, I quickly got annoyed with my table. the two players immediately to my left were having a very loud discussion for like 20 straight minutes about how sports bets and parlays work and were literally looking at their phones the entire time at the table, which caused delays nearly every turn. guy to my right took forever to play and another player was never paying attention and had to be constantly reminded of his turn to act. but the table was very soft so I didn't want to move.
glad I didn't. more to come later.


in for $250

my first visit to the Venetian and I liked it; the amosphere was very good, the dealers were lively, the cute server called me Sugar and touched my shoulder multiple times.
I was owning the table pretty well, up about $200 for most the night. there were several fish and a whale, and being able to recognize that again was a good feeling. a few nice hands and I got to about $400+ at about 11:45pm. and then it got a lot better when I owned the whole room getting this



I hit the high hand (quad-Aces), last high hand of the night in my last session of the trip. that put me at about $1000+ for the 3-hour session.
hey, I'm a self-proclaimed low-roller that is just happy not to bust.

out for more than $250

Wow you hit some high hand bonus or something? Might need to give the V another shot.

They give out $600 every hour for a high hand, plus a random seat draw for $100 every hour and if you flop quad aces with pocket pair you get an additional $1000.

Sick man, well done Sorry I didn't make it back over there last night.

last meal in Vegas was back to Blueberry Hill



and I'm at the airport heading back to the frozen tundra
recap to follow

Can’t complain about that lively plate.

Nice TR, Langdon, thank you for sharing. Hope it warms up for your return to the tundra.

Thanks for the report, and all the pics.

Thanks again for the trip report. If you have notes it would be cool to see your breakdown on win, losses.

Conclusions

This was a short, primarily poker trip. I had 6 sessions: 3 cash and 3 tournaments. my realistic goal was to lose less than $400 while also cashing in a tourney.
- Tourneys at Orleans (twice) and South Point: I played these because they were medium buy-in, I like the structure, and there was a good guarantee prize pool. participants were mostly tourney grinders/regs (I didn't play with any fish). I went pretty deep in all three, getting past the second break in both Orleans (level 9-11) with a good chip stack, and reaching a final four chop at South Point. I think I'm a pretty good tourney player. I've had chips after the last hand during each of my last 3 trips and a third place cash another time. there are weekly tournaments in North Dakota but the competition seems to be much tougher and the prize structure is so top-heavy it's not worth doing (compared to LV).

- I didn't expect to play much cash games but I finally experienced game/table selection. I played in three very soft games (much softer than the home/private games in Bismarck) and when I was placed in a tougher/deeper one I changed tables very early. my confidence has improved dramatically. I admit I'm not aggressive in pulling in every last chip possible but I am more comfortable winning $100 than losing $150 and I do check back the river a lot even when I expect I'm good. that suits me fine. I play recreationally.
- 1/3 at Resorts World: very nice room, super comfy. slow on a Sunday evening but went from 1 table to 4 tables by about 11pm. I got down early but managed to play with a stack between $80-$130 for like 4 hours. I didn't play well but it was my first poker of the trip. 6 hours
- 1/2 MGM Grand: Tuesday night had a good variety of action. there was a super deep stack aggressive table and a much milder table that I controlled. 3 hours
- 1/3 Venetian: packed room Wednesday night due in large part to the promotions. very nice room. Large rake/drop likely scares many pros but they do give away $700 every hour (sometimes more) so it gets a lot of promo-chasers and recs and nits. I had my best cash session ever, and then hit the high hand of the hour promo to boot. 3 hours

Blackjack
played very little. $10/bet at El Cortez for -$40, $5/bet at Downtown Grand for -$100, and $5/bet at South Point for even.

VP
only played once using FreePlay at Park and I left +$180. the last time I did FreePlay it ended up at like -$150 (not so free) so I'm learning the system.

Trip Gaming Totals:
tournament buy-in: -$280
tournament winnings: +640
cash game buy-in: -$850
cash game cashout: +1664
blackjack: -$140
VP Freeplay: +$180

trip total: +$1,214

I am not accustomed to carrying around $2K in my pocket. couldn't fit it all in my wallet. but my wife sure was happy when I got home!

- Vegas Golden Knights hockey game was what I planned my trip around. I paid $75 for Row F in Upper Level, which was about half what a Lower Level seat costs. I splurged on a nice seat last trip. T-Mobile Arena is the best hockey experience anywhere.

- I tentatively planned to get to a show and I did, seeing Tape Face. I got tix at the box office an hour before the show for $49, it was a small theater and I got moved to the center (4th row). it was an entertaining 90 minutes.

Bellagio was the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in. I've always wanted to stay there and it did not disappoint. every aspect of the room (and bathroom) was awesome. I didn't find any safe in the room though. I love seeing the Conservatory every trip and the Fountains always make me happy. the fitness center is very nice. I have never played at that poker room yet though, and any dining or gaming or shopping is priced way beyond me. I actually didn't spend much time here at all though as I arrived after a long poker session elsewhere and checked out after one night. The resort is huge so it makes for a lot of walking.

Park MGM: I forgot that this is a rebranded hotel and not completely new. the resort was very comfortable and very impressive. It is so clean and quiet and I love the smoke-free. It was not super crowded. my favorite part of the room was the shower which had perfect pressure and volume and consistent hot water. The room was simple but comfortable. only complaint was the setup of the room: bed faced the window instead of the TV so you couldn't comfortably watch TV from the bed (so dumb). I did not eat or play at Park MGM either (other than freeplay VP)and did not check out the fitness center. Hotel location is great as it is adjacent to T-Mobile Arena, Aria, NYNY, and MGM Grand, and easy outlet to I-15. I will probably stay here again.

Food:
Texas de Brazil (lunch)
Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles
Tony Roma's (at the Fremont)
Blueberry Hill (breakfast, twice)
South Point buffet (breakfast)
Shake Shack (late night)
other than a sundae, that was it

Flight on Allegiant ($193 total including a checked back)
Rented a car through Autoslash. I highly recommend it. a few weeks earlier I checked and best offer was like $280 for four days. Autoslash alerted me with updated prices and I was able to get a car with Advantage for $100. since I had daytime pickup and dropoff, Advantage was smooth and perfect for me. paid like $15 for gas.

My Bellagio room was comped through myvegas on facebook (only paid resort fee). Park MGM was like $80/night including resort fee, and I used that 3 nights to qualify for the FreePlay.

And that's how this Low-Roller successfully did the 702 solo on a budget! I'm not sure it could have been a better trip, and I believe I've earned another one.

Reflections/looking ahead
- I have no interest in downtown and Park MGM is probably the only Strip hotel I would stay at. I am more comfortable with South Point, Palace Station, and Orleans.
- still haven't played poker at Bellagio, Red Rock or Sahara; will try to make it a point next time.
- been saying this for the last 3 years but I think I will take the wife next time and my project will be keeping her entertained and occupied frugally while I poker.
- would like to Bacchanal next time (or Bellagio buffet)
- see another show

Meanwhile, we got freezing rain at home the next morning and work is still a disaster. two more days of my job before I fly the coop for greener pastures.

Thanks for following along and for the kind comments. I'm glad I could meet MuckPls for like 2 seconds in the poker room and sorry I couldn't be more social. looking forward to my next trip, although I don't know if that will be 2022 or 2023.

Nice trip. Thanks for bringing us along.

good recap, sounds like an awesome trip and it’s great you booked some Ws. any time you leave Vegas with more $ than you came with is truly worthwhile

I would recommend Bacchanal over Bellagio for buffets but if you don’t like seafood, Wynn has a slight edge over both imo

Good report, and glad you won!