Quick takeaways from a trip this past Monday - Sunday.

- I haven't seen this many obnoxious people in Las Vegas since back in 2008-2010. The Wynn apparently exists in a bubble, because seemingly everywhere else was full of what appeared to be the lowest common denominator of society.

- In my opinion, Resorts World needed another 6 months before opening. It felt like 60 percent of the property is under developed and I didn't find the interior to have a cohesive theme/vibe. Basically, the place is yet another massive and pointless mall, with three hotels and a casino attached.

- Tried to get an Uber a few different times, but the wait times were 15+ minutes. Conversely, cabs were readily available. I paid $30? post-tip to/from the Airport and Wynn. There was a posted fixed rate, but I can't remember what it was.

- I had no issues with restaurant closures or limited dining hours. Brunch, late-dinner, middle of the night munchies. I always had good options, and I would guess things are getting back to normal operations.

- Shows and concerts were still somewhat limited. Although, the bars and nightclubs are back in full swing.

- 2/5 NL at Aria, Bellagio, and Wynn. Rooms were busy, more games going than I expected and there was a good "buzz". I played mostly weeknights, and in my experience I found the rooms to be run well and the drink service to be good. Seemed about the same compared to my past experiences before the pandemic. I was fortunate while playing, but I thought the games were somewhat tough, or at least much more aggressive, relative to back in the Midwest.

I made a reservation at Bazaar Meat in the Sahara for an upcoming trip. Does anyone know the table minimums there for roulette, blackjack, craps on Saturday afternoon through 7pm? (Never been to that casino.)

Unless you are coming in from outside the United States you can carry as much cash as you want. But if the TSA discovers it then they might ask questions. Just say you are going to buy drugs with it and you'll be fine. Or better yet that you are going to Vegas to gamble.

If you are traveling internationally then you can carry as much as you want but you will have to declare it. Again, you might have to answer questions.

Now do you feel safe carrying large amounts of cash? That depends much more on your personal comfort and where localities you are transiting.

this is kind of funny to me since bazaar meat is one of the nicer restaurants in town, and the sahara is one of the least utilized casinos on the strip. Easy answer: if you're eating at Bazaar Meat, you won't be priced out by the table mins at Sahara, which are probably going to be $10 or so, depending on the game.

Thanks for the info! Yeah, that's kinda what I figured. But I like to have an idea of what I'm walking into. Thanks again.

Damn. I spent so long composing a post for the rake survey thread that the thread got locked before I could hit Post.

I'm sorry. No way to just take it to the other one, eh? Lost to the ether?

I am looking to come to Vegas during the WSOP.

I know that The Meridian is a decent option for short term stays (3-6 months) and the price looks decent. However, there is a $1k refundable deposit and $200 application and lease fees in total as well as a non refundable cleaning fee of $300. These seem quite steep to me especially if it becomes a issue to get back the $1k deposit.

I saw a post from 2017 mentioning Candlewood Suites charging only $50 per night for stays over a month however, when I searched right now the price came up $125 per night. I am assuming that deal is over. I still sent an email to the hotel to ask if they have special rates for longer stays but I am not hopeful.

Any other suggestions?

A lot of airbnbs give monthly rates. Maybe not in Vegas, I've never looked there.

Thanks for the suggestion but I did look into Airbnb and haven't seen any good deals during that time.

If I were to just rent a room, there are some deals but I am not interested in that.

The original Candlewood Suites location on Paradise changed management recently from IHG over to Sonesta and with it the new long stay rate has increased to $79 per night.

The newly-branded Candlewood Suites on E Tropicana does not offer a long stay rate.

Thank you. I appreciate the info.

FYI, the E Tropicana Candlewood did just email me about a long term rate but it is 94 + tax for the first month.

Have a question about the two-day low buy-in events at WSOP.

When it says two days, does that mean two consecutive days or could there end up being an off day?

Each event has its own structure sheet available which lists which day(s) the event takes place on, start time, break times, etc.

I know that, but it doesn't answer my question.

An example is event #8. It says it is a two day event that starts on Monday, October 4th. Is day two on the 5th or could there be a skip day and day two is on the 6th?

Other than events with multiple starting flights and special events (like the Players Championship) I would assume that Day 2 is the day after Day 1. I would also think the structure would specifically say if that wasn't the case.

Seems like there are 3 categories of poker rooms in Vegas:

Premier rooms: Bellagio, Aria, Wynn. These are the only rooms that offer high stakes games (above 2-5) and usually offer a variety of games besides low limit holdem.

Mid-tier rooms: MGM, Venetian, Caesars, Golden Nugget. A lot of these rooms have been closing lately but they usually only offer 1/2 or 1/3 and maybe the occasional 2/5.

Off strip rooms: South Point, Westgate, The Orleans. These cater to locals and seem to have a variety of low limit games: NLHE, LHE, Omaha 8, mixed games.

If I'm going to play 1/2 or 1/3, is there any discernable difference in game quality between these 3 categories of rooms? Like you might find more good players at a place like Aria or Wynn and drunken bad players at Planet Hollywood (before it closed). Or is it all YMMV and with so many games in town it's best to just table select until you find a good game?

I would put Venetian in the premier tier, for the sheer depth and volume they have at 1/3 and 2/5.

Also probably the 2nd best place for PLO, behind Aria.

And their deepstack tournament series, if you're into that sort of thing.

There's no "best 1/2 game in town," every 1/2 game will have its own mix of regs, nits, and total donators. If you're at a 1/2 table anywhere in town and it doesn't have at least 2 or 3 soft spots, just rack up and find a new table, or even a new casino.

I tend to prefer the premier rooms just because they offer the most traffic and game selection in one place. There are definitely some solid regs that populate those games as well, too, though.

Thanks. That will help planning if we play the WSOP next year.

Coming to Vegas next week. Im looking at possibly renting a car since I believe there's free parking at the hotel Im staying at. Does anybody know how the drop off works at the airport? My flight home leaves at 7:05 am... can I drop off the car before then (and will there be a shuttle to the terminal)? It looks like it doesn't open until 8 am... but the airport's website shows its open 24 hours.

Not being an ass, but I would call the car rental company.

If you're renting from the place at McCarran, they are open 24/7

Lol, I guess that would be easier.

Would surprise me if the car rental location at the airport wasn't open 24/7. If it isn’t, there’s usually a drop box where you can put the keys after parking the car in a designated spot.

If you go that route, make sure to take a couple pictures of the car after parking.

I dunno about that. Have you experienced the "customer service" of most national chain businesses lately?