We really did hit it off! I was surprised we had so much in common. Was a pleasure having a great meal with you. Also that was the best coconut cream pie I've ever had.

The steak was "sanuki" wagyu which is olive fed for the last few months of its life.

Couldn't have said it better myself; gogogo!

The pie looks amazing. Was your steak well done?

OMG do either of you still actually play Magic? (Sober since 2000)

It was a fantastic ribeye. Great meal, just absurdly expensive.

I recently fell back into it hard. Amazing game. I travel to tournaments and stuff.

I won't turn this into a big derail, but I've been watching more or less all of the Old School 93/94 youtube videos. I don't foresee getting back into it because I don't miss the arms race, but yes, great game. Never expected it to have this much staying power

As I told Gobbo, I played from 94ish to 1998? As with most things I get into, I went "all in"- lived and breathed MTG. I'd trade up 5$ cards for 6$ cards, etc, and ultimately had the power 9 all in Beta, near mint to excellent condition, 4 Juzam Djinn, 4 of basically every power card imaginable.

Once I graduated college I had stopped playing, and got into poker soon afterwards. I knew how much value I had tied up in those cards and got a very good price selling them. I think I sold the lotus for 400$, for example (was valued ~350 at the time).

Gobbo and I briefly talked about what all those cards are worth now. Ugh. I don't even want to do the math and figure out how much money I'd have had I held on to them to this point. Yes, I'm amazed at the staying power of the game, and I can't let myself get back into it bc I know 1) I have no idea what's out there now, but 2) if I get back into it it's going to be a massive time suck which is the last thing I need.

It was fun to go down MTG memory lane, though.

MTG is actually poised to follow the poker recipe for renewed popularity, as they're going all in on an esports type of competition plus have two online ways to play. The hope, I'm sure, is paper players will give online a try and the online whizzes will delve into paper to win money offered at those tourneys.

And yes - boy have those old cards spiked. It's a perfect storm in that many of those who grew up playing are now in their 30s and 40s and have money to spare, plus so many of the cards were played with so much that true mint copies are like white whales. Heck - look at Chaos Orb, a card you literally had to flip in the air to play. Try finding one of those in mint, not to mention all the cards that needed tapping and which got shuffled in decks before anyone thought to protect them in sleeves.

It's not even just the old stuff. New stuff is more expensive than the old stuff ever was back in the day. A card like Tarmogoyf which has been reprinted 5-6 times is still $60+ a pop and every deck that plays it usually plays 4.

Plus I thought mint literally meant perfect in every way and basically hermetically sealed the instant it was opened, never played with. If ever used it theoretically becomes "near mint", no?

Lucky for me as soon as I got into the game someone introduced me to the sleeves. I never trashed any valuable cards.

LOL chaos orb. I remember playing many times against a player who got in on the ground floor- he'd never shut up about how he won his first tournament with a chaos orb. Yeah, no sheet. Such a lol easy skill to develop. There's a reason it got banned.

See, stuff like this is why I can't start up again. I have no idea what you're talking about but I can see the cost and the time needed to learn all the new cards and strategies.

You can get started for peanuts if you play online via MTGO (all formats) or Arena (standard only, for now). You should check it out.

Less MTG, Moar VP

Day 3 part 1

Today's make or break. Need to do well in this slot tournament and/or hit some big hands or I'm gonna book a huge loser.

So... the 750$ gift card. Yeah. Like the last time I had a gift card, technically the Wynn doesn't allow two offers at the same time (entry into tournament + gift card). My host planned on making an exception for me- as part of the arrangement, he can't credit me with my free credit until the gift card clears. Same thing happened last time and all worked out.

This time, supposedly his boss wouldn't allow the card. Instead, my host offers to give me 750$ free credit instead, on top of the 1k I usually get. Fine with me- I think I'd rather have the free credit anyways. So now he's free to upload the 1k free credit, and I've got 750$ pending. As I'm bleeding like a stuck pig, I use the free credit first thing when I wake up.





Start of free credit play.

Wash the 1k through the machine and...



That is just abysmal. Nice 45% payback.

I move to spin poker, and make a hand from nothing-



Must be premium quads with kicker, and once without.



Of course, I give most of that back and finish that pre-breakfast session up a mere 500$ for the day. Head upstairs for a room service breakfast, and then downstairs for a pre-tournament session.



Actually made a hand on these cold-ass machines, 5 play no less. Obv stepped down due to run bad.



Old-fashioned. My drink of choice now is the Kentucky mule, but they don't have ginger beer available on the floor. Close enough. My attempt at unlocking rungood.

That drink was just a dismal, dismal failure. I think I lost another 4.5k that session, so stuck 4k for the day and 20k for the trip. I head upstairs to get my tournament pass.



The tournament

The format is 3 3 minute rounds. They've got sessions running on the 1/2 hr from 10am to 3pm, so in other words a ton of people are playing. I really need that one time to come in.

The game is slightly more interesting than the usual "3x 4x 5x" tournaments. They've got the same game that they had when my dad and I played in June- still basically dumb luck, but periodically candies and stars will pop up on the screen, and you have to tap them to get points. Only the most feebly inaccurate person could miss the items, but at least there's an element beyond just mashing buttons.

My first round is decidedly average. I know I'll need two great rounds to have any hope.

Round 2-


I almost just got up for round 3. You know, make a statement like "*** this place. I don't need this sht". Then I realize this is probably my only opportunity to mash buttons and NOT lose money, so I stay and come in average again. So I know for a fact I'm not hitting anything this tournament. I'm now pinning all my hopes on the ticket drawing on Sunday- 22.5k for first!

I've got some time before lunch at Cipriani. Time to make a comeback!



So now I'm stuck 23k. Zero shot at winning the tourney. Haven't even been here 48hrs and the way this is going I'll be broke before I leave Monday. I head to lunch dejected.





Place is nice enough. I've got the loser's table for one.





I go with the spinach salad, and veal piccattine.



Spinach salad with burrata, bacon, mushrooms and walnuts. Wasn't sure about the walnuts when I ordered, but it was a solid salad. 7/10.



Better than expected. Veal was tender and really tasty. Had a few bites of the rice to drown my sorrows. 7/10.

During lunch, I make what I assume will be the best decision this whole trip- I look into leaving Sunday rather than Monday. I have to face facts- I'm likely booking a huge loser this trip and part of me is just done. I can't stay here and not play, that's a non-starter. So I look for the first flight out after the drawing, and it's not until 8pm. I briefly balk at the 100$ change fee, and then think how much I've donked off and insta-make the change. I immediately feel better afterwards. I've literally NEVER done this before- leave Vegas BEFORE the intended time. First time for everything I guess.

So... I've got this afternoon, tonight and then most of Sunday. Slim chance of hitting in the drawing. 7k left. Yeah, I'd better take a nap. I head upstairs, sleep for about 2 hrs and then decide to hit the spa. Might as well milk this place for everything it's worth.

Day 3 so far- -7k
Overall- -23k

To be continued...

"Leave Vegas before the intended time." This hurts my heart.

I want to cry. This better be when the movie turns.

Hang in there buddy!

Just wanted to mention this to get your spirits up!

I play TDB only while waiting for a seat at Poker.

In for $100, down 2 88. Get dealt 333K2. The decision was easy, think of Leon and redraw the K.

Bam another 3 for 2000 coins, too bad was playing 25c. But, still $500 while waiting for a seat wasn’t bad.

Thanks Leon, sending my good thoughts and luck from the east coast.

Can't wait for the post where he gets a dealt royal 40k score in the airport before boarding his plane.

the alluding to a swingy trip in the "how much are you up" response... i have faith. this isnt the direction he meant

$17 for a salad, obv not cheap, but THAT? looks like 4 bites. the veal sounds good but presentation is none. is some 90s parsley and lemon crown worse than meat and sauce on a plate?

Updates on last day pleaaaaase!

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been dealing with two back to back colds and a lot of work. I'll always finish these TRs, promise.

Day 3 part 2

As I've now committed to leaving a day early, take a nap and hit the spa after lunch. I've got 7k left on me and await the inevitable.

After the spa, I've got a few hours before dinner at Lakeside. I haven't had dinner here in a while, and have already cancelled tomorrow's reservation at Mizumi (since I should be in the air back home). I hit the machines again, and get pummeled with another 3k loss. I'm stuck 26k and I do the math. Assuming I have money I have, at minimum, an-
- evening session tonight
- pre-breakfast
- post-breakfast
- post lunch/pre flight

That's a lot of sessions, and I have to assume I'm not going to bink anything in this drawing. I know I'm going to play, and I've already cut this trip short. I think I'll need more money. I withdraw 5k, which puts me on the hook for 35k, and I now have 9k on me. That'll have to do.

As soon as I do that, I return to the machines and actually start making hands-







This one was helpful- quads w/kicker x 2, and once without.

I take a dinner break well up for that session.

Lakeside

Despite not having eaten here in a while, I can't really find something I want. Not getting steak as I just had that last night. Still trying to keep things healthy. I'll go with seafood, but none of the sides/accompaniments with the seafood seem great.



Bread basket which I didn't touch.



Amuse bouche- tuna tartar with aioli. Really good, acidity balanced with the fish nicely. 8/10.



I ended up going with the pomfret filet. Came in a miso-broth which actually worked really well. Subtle flavors, I finished everything. 7/10, better than expected.

I also got a side of creamed spinach, but apparently didn't take a pic.



Complimentary dessert that I didn't order- couple of truffles (skipped) and a caramel chocolate with honeycomb embedded. Hmm, that sounds good. I took it with me and tell myself if I crush tonight I'll treat myself to this.

Post dinner session

Shortly after I resume play, things heat up again.





This is a good one- from a pair to premium quads twice! Those three spots I drew at were critical.

Continue on, and pick up dealt quads again, finally.



OH this is going to be a big ONE!!!



BANG. Finally. Of course it's never enough (I immediately think about how much 12 line I've been playing), but of course I will take it. The rescue is on??? Definitely my biggest personal score.

I bask on this one for a long time. I finally got a dealt hand on spin and got to watch all the cards come in one by one. Saw the 2 come in first, and started rooting for 2s, then as soon as I registered a pair of 4s switched to root for 4s. As the third one came in I realized I had a big draw... and then BOOM the final 4 comes in. So much fun.

Finally, I decide enough is enough and keep going. The machine stays decent!





Finally turn a pair of aces into 4AWAK. Too bad it couldn't hit twice like my last couple of premiums.

AND... I cap the night with another dealt quads!



ONLY 10s. ONLY. If only.

I wrap up that session reasonably early, obv on cloud nine. No matter what, I've made quite a comeback and I'm feeling even smarter about my decision to leave early. I look at all the tickets I have and...



Can it be??!! Am I really only stuck 4k when just a few hours ago I was stuck 26k?

This game. This crazy game. Obv I ate that entire chocolate honeycomb thing. It was decent- 6/10. Not as good as a dealt 18k though

Day 3 result- +12k
Overall- -4k

Day 4 coming soon...

Wow what a day leon. Amazing.

It's always a trip seeing a flimsy piece of paper being worth the price of a new car.

Spin poker glorious. Specifically for the reason as you described watching the 4s roll in.


When I see a pair after 2 or 3 cards, I like to close my eyes and listen for the sexy little Jacks or better alert sound.

Leon, I registered as a long time lurker to say thanks for the effort and entertainment of your trip reports. They are gold. Best of luck to you.