Finally made it home and of course could only get 4 hours of sleep. I appreciate everyone who tagged along with me and it was a super fun and informative trip. Had some TR run good and here's how I ended up:
Up 2700 including my $500 promotional win and Pai Gow losses. I'm a decent player who is trying to improve, but I definitely ran good. And by that I mean most of my sessions were so short it could've gone either way. One of my goals was to play in different games and different rooms and I've been doing this long enough that a 1-3 hour session is lol short. The Aria session was the only one where I got stacked for a buy in early on and played well to grind back up.
Thoughts about each spot:
Venetian - Solid overall dealers and environment. Only played 1 orbit of 1/3 so can't comment but the 2/5 was fine. A little on the weak/passive side at my table and didn't really see any big action anywhere. I prefer the $1000 cap. 1/2/5 PLO is laughably nitty/grumpy/bad. Even the dealer at the Wynn confirmed most players go to the Venetian to play a tournament and then immediately come back to the Wynn/Encore to play cash.
Bellagio - Caught this casino early morning. Few older guy regs and no crushers. I don't particularly like the $500 cap buy in, but that's just a personal preference. Floor was really slow here to fill seats and seemed like they were overly flustered by their basic job roles. (i.e. filling seats on a Saturday morning game AND having 2 tables complain that cocktail service was super slow.) 5/10 game was very interesting for me. I think it was the first time I've played it and I sort of wish I sat for longer. I have a young face and was obviously from out of town and have this look that screams 'Just 3bet and 3 barrel and he'll fold.' I think I could've made a lot of money just calling down hands at the middle/top of my range.
Aria - Probably my favorite spot. Good mix of regs and tourists at the 2/5 and was not intimidated in the least by the regs. $1000 cap. Mixed in a few good 5/10 players who were waiting for a table and it created some interesting spots. Wish I could have sat at the PLO here after all of Javanewt's praises about it.
Wynn - Second best spot. Just a beautiful place full of beautiful people. Ambiance feels bright and airy and makes the Aria seem like a dark hole. Feel like the odds are better that rich people will come donk off stacks to you compared to Aria or Bellagio. Obviously a super small sample size.
WSOP Cash - I'm glad I made it out here, but least favorite spot for me. Tons of people around and I literally got lost and couldn't find the lower buy in cash games. But for all the people walking around, at the end of the day it's just you and your table and the minor complaints just all added up. (Dealers are meh; no auto shufflers; cheap/uncomfortable chairs and table; freezing cold; no comps). I can see the benefits of busting in a WSOP tournament and wanting to get right into a cash game. But if you are waiting more than 2 hours to play 1/3-5/10 you should go somewhere else.
Never made it to Planet Hollywood and my buddy played at our Harrah's a few times. Glad I avoided Harrah's.
Random Thoughts:
Haven't tallied up my bills, but dang this place is expensive. I'm a little scared to put it all together, but if you are visiting on a budget and are hoping to grind 1/3 I would suggest picking a room and sticking with it. Build up enough comps that you don't spend $20-50 per meal.
Vegas regs never chop. I didn't really notice until a guy (visitor) at the Bellagio mentioned it. After that it was weird how often I noticed the same thing.
Never use a vegas cab. I think I took 2 cabs and one of them long hauled me over to the Rio. Was talking with an Uber driver and he said they even try to screw the locals who can easily recognize what's going on.
There was another thread about how pros/regs should make the game more comfortable for rec players. I've changed my mind about this. At 1/2-1/3 it doesn't matter in the least. Stay in your lane or watch Netflix or be the drunkest guy in the room. If you are grinding 1/3 more power to you, but you need to beat this game and move up ASAP. Almost everyone here is a fish so you need to be able to beat this game without having some drunk guy triple you up every weekend.
2/5 - Here is the first level where you COULD spend energy to help rec players feel more comfortable and you'd get a return on it. I'd say it's just up to you if you want to make it happen.
5/10 - First time playing this level and granted, it was noon at the Bellagio, but not one word was spoken for hours. I was obviously out of place and a mark for the table and it would have done wonders if anyone opened up at all. I made a post about this above and I tried to joke around a little but it was not happening. I don't know why a rec-fish would ever sit at this game. I personally loved the challenge and was not looking for the softest game I could find, but my advice for 5/10 grinders is play your game well and be as inviting as possible to new marks. I think it really starts to make a difference here.
All of that was just my 2 cents on a super small sample size.
I'm going to get back into my swing of things and maybe make another post about watches just because I alluded to it and enjoy discussing it. But if you were entertained by this TR and think I could make an interesting/entertaining PG&C thread let me know.
Until next time!
Marsh