I started a new job a month before the World Series in 2022, so being the new guy I wasn’t able to make the annual pilgrimage to Vegas like I did in 2021 and 2019. Since that point, I’ve been saving my money, NOT taking a vacation, and banking all my PTO to make it a LEGENDARY trip for 2023. I’ll be in town for SEVENTEEN DAYS, June 2 - 19, going solo, with the goal of playing some WSOP events, and as much poker as possible!

When I’m in Vegas, I don’t go to shows. I burn too easily, so I don’t lay by the pool. I’ve never set foot in a spa in my life. I’m celebrating two years sober this month (!), so I don’t do clubs, edibles, or getting wasted on free cocktails (...well, “any more.”) If I’m in town with friends, or teaching casino newbies, I’ll dabble in craps, blackjack, and pai gow… but if I’m playing on money I worked for, with the goal of bringing home more than I brought, I stick to games I can beat. This live-blog/trip report will be heavy on poker content, so as always, I invite strategy discussion.

Vegas is truly a world-class food city if you know where to look. I have several favorite Vegas restaurants I’ll be hitting, and some new places I’m going to try, all inspired by years of lurking in the casual dining thread. It’s much easier to cross places off the list while traveling solo, but it’s also fun to share meals with friends. Like many of you that are still here, I’ve posted on this site for a long time. I could be down to meet up for a meal if you’re in town, shoot me a PM.

I’m staying at a 1 bedroom studio condo in the Arts district, from AirBnB. When you’re staying as long as I am, it doesn’t make economic sense to stay at even the budget options on the strip, let alone resorts. I got my place after all fees for about $81/night. No resort fee, full-sized fridge, kitchen, and a washer/dryer! I don’t plan on doing much in the room besides showering and sleeping, and there’s food options within walking distance. I won’t have a car, which means I won’t have to pay for parking anywhere, and will get around taking Uber everywhere.

The poker bankroll will start at $7k. I’ll be playing 1-3 and 2-5, as well as a handful of low-buyin WSOP events, and possibly some of the daily events around town. If I go busto, I have access to more in the bank, but the plan is not to go busto. I won’t be playing higher than 2-5, so I don’t need to travel with more. My budget for food and Uber for the 17 days is $2.5k, and that’s separate from the bankroll.

Next, poker!

When I took my first long trip to Vegas, my goal was to hit as many different card rooms in town. What I learned, to the chagrin of LVL thread-starters everywhere, is that there IS no reliable “best game in town.” If you’re just playing 1-2 or 1-3, it doesn’t really matter where you play. Profitability completely depends on the lineup of players… there’s occasionally crazy games with very bad, drunk players, and there’s also very bad games with nitty opponents where you’ll never make lots of money quickly. If you’re in a bad game, it’s important to swallow your pride, rack up, and find a better game.

These are all the rooms I’ve played in, sorted by how much I like them, as power rankings:

-1a) The Wynn/Encore (Best dealers/floor, best ambiance, deepest games, toughest regs. Also most likely room to spot a loaded Euro dusting off thousands and thousands of dollars like it’s nothing.)
-1b) Venetian (Big, well-run room, best food options, I’ve run the hottest there)
-Resorts World (Checks every box for what you’re looking for in a room. Best chairs.)
-Aria (Best PLO in town… it’s fine, I’m willing to try again, but I just run sooooo bad there)
-Bellagio (100 bb cap, which can be a good or bad thing)
-Golden Nugget (Uncapped games sometimes get crazy… they also have free Guinness for cocktail service, one of my favorite beers when I drank)
-Caesar’s Palace (Also 100 bb cap… not the best room, but a big enough resort that I’ve seen tables with several total beginners)
-Sahara (Smaller room, really only good when they run special events)
-MGM (Older, expansive property, but nothing notable about their poker room)
-Rio (Thankfully, no reason to go there ever again now that they don’t have the WSOP. Certainly not for the food.)
-Planet Hollywood (R.I.P… The Pleasure Pit was fun to look at, but loud music was not conducive to long, grind sessions)

Here are some rooms I’ve never played at. It’d be nice to pick up a chip for the collection, but I don’t feel a pressing need to go out of my way to play 1-3 at these properties:

-Bally’s/Horseshoe (Obviously, that will be rectified this trip)
-Mandalay Bay
-Southpoint
-The Orleans (I can haz mixed games?)
-Red Rock

I picked the dates I chose to arrive in time to play the Mystery Millions, but after thinking about it, I have to decide that a $1k event is too much for my roll, at least up front. The tournament I’m most looking forward to playing is the $300 “Gladiators of Poker.” It’s gonna be HUGE, maybe 25k-30k entries, or more. There’s four Day 1 flights, and $3 million guaranteed in the prize pool. Even if they don’t hit the guarantee, (which they’ll probably smash), that means first place will be at least $500k-700k. I’m willing to fire multiple bullets at that one, to bag a Day 2 stack!

There’s a 2-day WSOP deepstack event every Sunday I’m in town… $600 the first weekend, $800 the second weekend. I like a deeper structure because it’s more like a cash game, which I think suits my strengths as a player. The last weekend I’m in town is the $1,500 Monster Stack. I’ll decide whether to play that based on how the trip is going, obviously. I believe in setting empirical, falsifiable goals, so I’ll say I can afford to play the Monster Stack if I’m +$3k or more by the last weekend.

So how will it go? Will I spin up a comfortable roll, make a deep run, and ship a bracelet for ALL the glory? Will I blast off and go completely broke, become depressed, get trick-rolled, and wake up in a bathtub full of ice, missing a kidney? Something in between? Either way, this thread will be here for all of it, so stay tuned to find out!

Next, food!

Like I said, Vegas is a world-class food city if you know where to look, and some of the best places are off the strip. I have some favorite places I like to go, and some new places I’d like to try. If you have some food recs, I’m always listening! In no particular order, here are my favorite spots, some of which may see a repeat visit this trip:

-Delmonico (Nice steakhouse at Venetian… ELITE creamed spinach)
-Bouchon (French bistro, best brunch spot in town)
-Yardbird (Best fried chicken)
-Lotus of Siam (Best Thai)
-Hobak (Best Korean Barbecue)
-Esther’s Kitchen (Great Italian joint, also walkable from my place)
-Ping Pang Pong (Best dim sum Chinese in town)
-El Dorado Cantina (Best Mexican)
-Honey Salt (American comfort food, #1 restaurant on the LV Eater food blog, but it’s way tf out in Summerlin)
-Tacos El Gordo (Best Mexican street food)
-Giordano’s (Chicago deep dish pizza chain)
-Peppermill’s (Kitschy, iconic Vegas diner, with HUGE portions. Sadly not 24 hours anymore.)

Here are some places I haven’t been that I’d like to try this trip:

-Golden Steer (Downtown steakhouse)
-Shang Artisan Noodles
-Yukon Pizza
-Soul Belly
-Shalom Y’all
-Road Kill Grill

One thing nobody tells you about adulthood is how challenging it is to figure out what you want to eat every single night before you die. My goal with a list like this is that I can quickly reference and try something no matter what kind of mood I’m in. By necessity, being around casinos all the time, I’ll sometimes grab something that’s convenient, even if it’s a tad overpriced. I’m looking forward to checking out the food court at Aria, as I haven’t been since they closed the buffet.

Of course, many thanks to the regulars of the Casual Dining Thread over the years, who have done great work coming up with the inspiration for both of these lists!

We’ve been very short-staffed at my job the last two months, so with my trip coming up, I’ve taken the opportunity to clock a ton of overtime to help pick up the slack. I don’t know how they’re gonna manage withOUT me clocking 60 hour weeks while I’m gone, but the vacay is already approved, so that’s THEIR problem. I’m posting this thread now as motivation to get me through the last four straight 12’s I have this week, before I’m wheels up Friday night!

Bankroll and shoes pics to follow

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Let's do this.

golden steer is great. it's not downtown though. it's like a ten min walk from Sahara.
imo el dorado cantina got a lot worse since covid but is still ok.

Remember everyone has rooms they like for whatever reason.
I agree with you on the Wynn being the nicest room. It's by far the nicest room i've ever played it. Great dealers and floor, great drink choices (you said no more alcohol try their strawberry julius) top tier waitresses.
They also get plo although it tends to die earlier in the night than Aria plo.


Caesars also used to have Guiness on tap (since you mentioned it about GN) but I haven't been there since covid so not sure about now.

gl and enjoy the trip.

My expectations are high!

Here for the trolls and the lols. GL!
I’m flying in early on the 18th, might have to stalk you and say hey at a table.

bouchon is my all time fave brunch spot.

looking foreword to your tr sir

Just win it, and then it won't be.

Go man go!

Tj as a lover of food that is a very professional list of places you listed. Easy one to eliminate is road kill grill. Soulbelly is the no brainer. Downtown a dinner at Main Street provisions or Carson kitchen is a must if you take a few hours off the grind. Yukon pizza apparently pizza and burger are top notch please report back.

Cipriani also has a great lunch deal at the Wynn worth checking out

That’s a damn good restaurant list

In. GL. I'll be landing 6/15, so this will help tide me over until then. Appreciate the cheap eats food tips. I have a few go-to spots in LV already, but my list needs expansion.

Mostly agree with your poker room rankings, though I always seem to run pure at Aria. I stayed at Horseshoe in March and their poker room looks significantly improved these days, with better ambiance and crowded tables. It's still not top tier, but it's now a room worthy of the WSOP hosts.

As a structure junkie, I'll caution that the $600 and $800 deep stacks in the first half of June at WSOP are 30 minute levels and will play very fast. If that's what you like in a MTT then have at it, but if you want more of a "cash game" type of feel then I would see if Wynn and/or Venetian have any 40 minute level stuff running concurrently with your trip. They are my preferred venues for MTTs. With WSOP, you have to pick and choose carefully because some of their budget events have great structure and some are glorified flippaments. For example, the $600 Deepstack Championship (event #64) is genuinely a pretty deep/slow tournament, whereas the $600 "Deepstack" (event #11) is not. Not all multi-day events are created equal, even within the same price bracket.

There are still some great arguments for playing the fast stuff at the WSOP (field softness, lowish rake, atmosphere, the chance at a bracelet), but sometimes there are better options at other venues if you just want to maximize the amount of play you are getting within a given price range. Something to consider.

Great stuff, DogFace!

Yeah, all things being equal, I would prefer a good structure instead of a fast structure. When evaluating tourneys I want to play, the first thing I look at is projected field size vs buy-in level. When the schedule dropped, I started with the Gladiators of Poker event, and built out around there. I did see event #64 the Deepstack Championship, and while it looks great, I won't be in town for it.

No matter what the structure is, to ship it ALL, I'll have to defeat a large field and win flips at every stage. I know it should be a trivial consideration compared to the money, but I want the glory of a bracelet, too.

In!

Couple of things regarding food places.

Got recommended Soul Belly and went there last summer,it did deliver. Fantastic joint,very tasty food. My mouth almost starts watering thinking about their food.

Two of my 24/7 fav in Vegas is Grand Lux at Venetian and Henry at Cosmopolitan. You cant go wrong with these two at any time,although i have to admit Grand Lux isnt as good now as they were pre pandemic.

TJ - 4 fried chicken check out m&m soul food on charleston.

hey TJ, I get in on Fri 16th. Would be great to catch up over the days we intersect

Actually, Peppermill is back to being open 24hrs on weekends only.

great opening posts! I'm in, looking forward to following along. I love poker-centric TRs. you sound a lot like me with Vegas.

like several others I will also be in town mid-June. I'll likely be staying around Red Rock June 16-17 but will be playing the pokers on Strip June 18. maybe we'll be able to meet up

You're not supposed to speak the unspoken truth in 2p2.

I looked hard at the Gladiators, but the structure isn't very good, with a low S score. The Colossal towards the end of the Series is better. It's a little disappointing, the first big low-priced event of the Series is usually fairly good.

WRT Peppermill, there use to be one in Santa Clara, CA. I don't know if it was a chain or what, but the one in CA looked a lot like the Vegas one. Sadly, it closed.

Posting to Subscribe in Epic Bread!


GO TJ! GL TJ! Checkmate your opponents!

I’m in, please post food pics and thoughts. I thinned we shared notes on food spots. Yukon, Esther’s, Soulbelly, Shang’s are on my short list.

Excited for your trip would be an understatement. Don't forget to play at least one game of pool during your trip.

They used to have a game room at Wynn in the past. I remember playing a "3 strikes you are out" 8 Ball Pool Game for $20. Last man standing wins the pot.

Also no love for Thai Food? Last time we tried Weera Thai and it was awesome.