Thanks again leon, glad you ended up a winner.

I really like the bourbon in Fiji bottles trick. Do you bring ziplocs or anything to contain them in case of breakage?

Totally forgot about this. The gist is I'm going to look into a Rolex. Not totally my style, but from an investment standpoint you can't go wrong. I don't think my mom was prepared to break the bank getting me a watch, so I'll either have to find something on the cheaper side, or fund some of it myself. When I decide on something I'll update the thread.

For sure. I think honestly the slot tourney situation is even worse, bc if I lost at poker tourneys over and over I would probably reason that at least some of it was me not being that good. But in a slot tourney we know it's dumb luck. Enough trials and iterations yada yada yada. And yet, boned again...

No, just seal the bottles real tightly and hope for the best. I do wrap them in clothing to pad them a bit. I don't have anything in my luggage that's critical anyways.

oh the perks of a luggage checker

It's fairly difficult to find the more popular Rolex sport models nowadays. When you go into an authorized dealer, you're likely to find cases that will have watches on display for people to try on but not purchase. The process is fairly discouraging since i've been waiting for a GMT for a while.

I think Rolex is great primarily because of value retention/liquidity compared to alot of other brands.

This is so true. Go to the Rolex store in the Wynn and they have 0 new watches. None. Used to have a couple women’s watches but none the last few times I’ve stopped in. Walk in and say “show me your submariners” and see everyone laugh. Pretty wild. Plus, if you’re looking for a pre-owned, the prices are pretty out there. Although I’ve seen them slowly coming down. Good luck Leon.

This is my thinking in deciding on a Rolex, and yes, the guy at the store at the Wynn literally said "I only have 3 models for sale, the rest are display" when I first expressed serious interest.

Totally forgot about this in the TR- on Sat, in the midst of the my worst day, I saw not one but TWO dealt royals in the hi limit room. First was 10 play, 1$ credits, 40k. Guy seemed happy but not overly so. Second was from a regular couple I've seen many times- they must be legit hi rollers bc they always have one of their little yappy dogs literally sitting on a seat next to them. 10 play, 10$ credits, 400,000$!!! So sick. They weren't really reacting at all.

Throw me some of that will ya...

Big “watch” guy

Currently only have a Hamilton and a Omega.
Goal is one nice watch for each son.

Guy I played with at Oceans a lot speaks very highly of Leo Hamel for finding watches.
He has some beauts.


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I heard someone say that his wife ask him for a new watch and he said "you don't need a watch, there's a clock on the stove".

Carry on...

And tomorrow he gets to reset it!

(Well, if in most of USA#n and it's not an automatic switcher).

400k and barely a reaction. They must be absolutely buried with the Wynn.

400k is life changing money to 99.9% of people.

Leo should be out of house arrest by now.

Wow

No idea how I missed that story


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TR 3/23-3/26

As you can see from the title, it's time for another post-facto TR! This is literally the first chance I've had to type this up; when I got back I went straight into the kids' Spring Break/Disney cruise, and had a minor medical procedure yesterday (screening colonoscopy ugh... getting old sucks).

Backstory- this was the second weekend of March Madness. A buddy from SD always puts together a 10+ person trip for March Madness. They are all basketball fans but very few of them gamble. I actually went on this trip back in 2019, but then bc of COVID/my general lack of interest, this is the first time "all of us" will be back in Vegas. The trip back in 2019 was actually where I got to hang out with one guy D, who has featured in several TRs since then. Bottom line, I'd rather hit Vegas with just D bc he's a gambler (the craps guy I've partnered with), he gets me and we keep similar hrs, vs all of the gang. It's their trip, I just crashed it one year and the guys are cool people to hang with but not my scene when it comes to Vegas.

As an example, their typical MO is drink all day, watch games, stay up all night, sleep until noon. Zero gambling. That's obv basically the opposite of my typical Vegas stay. SO, when I received the invite for this trip I initially said no. I had already booked an April trip (spoiler: another TR inbound soon!). Went on my Jan trip, thought I'd be away from Vegas until Apr, decided to join on this trip, THEN booked the Mar slot tournament trip... that's a lot of Vegas. So I'm committed to this trip at this point, but honestly I'm a little wary.

Everyone else including D are staying at Cosmo. I decide to change it up and stay in an Encore Parlor just to see what that's like. The agenda is-

Thurs- arrive, meet the dudes at Park MGM for dinner at Best Friend
Fri- meet the dudes at some point, dinner at Cosmo at ?Essex something
Sat- I'm treating some of them to dinner at Mizumi
Sun- head home

Overall agenda- play smaller and DO NOT BOOK A BIG LOSER. This is critical bc I'm coming back in Apr. If I lose big this trip, AND in April, I will be tilted/felted beyond all belief. I'm expecting a tax refund where I can get back 40k of my roll I used to pay off 2021's excess tax, but if that doesn't come... Also, enjoy/soak in the different things I'll be doing this trip- staying at Encore vs Wynn, different restaurants, etc.

Bankroll- coming with "less" than normal just to protect the bankroll, 40k

Pre-trip problems- as everyone knows by now, opening weekend of March Madness was crazy. I had planned on hanging out with the boys and watching as many games as possible, but after opening weekend those plans took a major hit as well. I can care and watch teams I have no interest in IF my bracket is still live- let's just say basically all of my picks were rendered utterly meaningless after the first weekend. So now I'm heading to Vegas and I know beforehand I won't even care what's going on with any of the games! Uh oh...

Day 1





The guys are all already in Vegas drinking when I arrive around lunchtime. I'm actually surprised how much I'm looking forward to this trip, despite having just gone 3 weeks prior! I guess it never does get old for me.



I get dropped off at the Encore Tower suites entrance and am met by a host! She escorts me to the private check in area... that's a first and a nice touch. I'm jones-ing to get gambling, but remind myself my goal this trip is survival, and do my best to soak in the sights and differences.

My initial impression of the Encore vs Wynn Parlor suite is- WOW. This is a nice room! This ended up changing over the course of the trip. The bedroom is nicer, the bathroom is not. The gain in space in the bedroom comes from a loss in the main room. Once I had a few days to consider things, I think I like the Wynn room better. The decor is slightly nicer at Encore, the younger/more douche-y crowd a little more annoying. Initially I thought I'd appreciate the long walk from my room to/from my machines at the Wynn and it would keep me from losing too much money- in practice, it's just tilting any way you slice it. If stuck, the long walk sucks obv, esp if you need to hit the safe to grab more money. AND, when I'm not stuck and raring to go, it's just a longer walk. I texted the wife when I first got there and suggested we stay at Encore in the future, but with hindsight I'll be staying at the Wynn in the future. Just more upside/less downside.



Empty casino floor, Thurs ~ noon.



At my usual spot, with my usual quality bourbon. They haven't replenished the fine whiskey case, which means I won't be bringing back much if any bourbon after this trip. Not a bad spot honestly, bc I have to save comp for the sushi meal I'm treating some of the guys on Sat...

Plan is only 2k in this machine then switch to multi line. I also "cannot" lose more than 10k this first day, which means no more than 5k for this first session. This could be REALLY quick if I start cold...



Well that is a GODDAMN good start!

Most unfortunately, things REALLY turn after that. I did not hit one single thing, and somehow manage to donk back a huge amount both to the UX and the multiline machine. Despite learning better control over the years, I clearly STILL need to work on this aspect.



Example- didn't plan on using my 1500 FC. That went out the window once I lost too much "real money". Start and end above, about 90% payback.

The multiline machine is also ice cold, and I somehow convert an early 5 digit hit into an overall 2k loser! It's time to head to cosmo to hang out- one smart pre-decision I made was to move my ride up from just before dinner to several hrs earlier to minimize gambling.




Cosmo is nice, but definitely not my scene. I'm totally spoiled by WynnCore. The view is better, though.

I hit the dice tables with D and book a small loser. Pretty soon it's time to walk to Park MGM for dinner.



Best Friend

I literally know nothing about this restaurant. For those who are like me, it's Korean/Asian fusion. The entrance is very interesting- it's basically like a convenience store/looks nothing like an actual restaurant. Apparently this is a thing now, making restaurants look like speakeasies (Beauty and Essex was like this too).



Apologies for the pics- it's hard to get a bunch of starving guys to wait before serving. We get the tasting menu which was the perfect amount of food and fit nicely with the general shared plate strategy. A good time was had by all, and the food was 7-8/10 in general. I'd come back here for sure if the opportunity presented itself.

After dinner, the guys are planning on walking around and paying retail for drinks- no thank you. I'm pretty tired and call my ride back to WynnCore. I didn't realize this at the time, but a) apparently Taylor Swift is playing this weekend and b) some of the March Madness games are actually being played here! Terrible time to visit Vegas from a crowd/traffic perspective. This will be a recurring theme this entire weekend. After what seems like an eternity, I find my ride. He asks "Wynn or Encore?". Hmm, I was going to say Encore, but now I feel like gambling again... Wynn it is.



I play for an hour or so, the machines are still frosty, and I have turned a very minor first day loss into an 8k loss total. I can't believe I hit a 12k within 30 min and am still stuck almost that much at the end of Day 1. I'm definitely scared money this trip and I hate that feeling.


They've delivered my goodies.

Hopefully tomorrow turns around- D is joining me for breakfast and craps, so if I lose at least I'll lose less (hopefully)...

Day 1 result- -8k

That last Best Friend picture I'm incredibly jealous of, their kimchee fried rice is amazing. Rooting for a big gambling turnaround, but that already looks like a successful Vegas trip to me!

man, such a great start and then ice. I always think "pretend you started off ice and then hit big", you would feel so much better. But it never works.

I have a feeling this trip turns around though. hopefully. I'm just happy there's more TRs now and coming

That 12k hit and the resulting donk-off is something I'm getting (slightly) better at anticipating. Any serious VP player knows that feeling of "the machine must be warming up", only to lead to disappointment most times. Whether that means we play bigger, faster, etc, it's a recipe to just give more back (usually).

My sun run from 2019-2021 was basically a function of running hot, stepping up and continuing to run hot. I keep reminding myself that that probably isn't going to happen again. So I was really shocked at how fast I gave that money back- I didn't play much bigger or faster but they still got me in record time. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Same here. My team lost quick and I didn't care in the least what happened in the tournament afterward.

Welcome back Laon!

I think you (and everyone else) will enjoy this random clip I found:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ALGhs9wDDU

Every single time I get a dealt full house or flush on UX I take a photo of it as a before picture. Sadly I have never even got a dealt full house back, absolutely nothing. The above is absolutely ridiculous, it would be $480 000 on $1 bet.

Dude. I THINK I know the guy who hit that! He's a regular, I think retiree. Nice guy. Typically plays 15-25$ a push. That's a massive hit for him and obv a unicorn. Next time I run into him I'll ask him.

I'm assuming you saw my dealt quads 7s after full house from my Mar TR. 5 lines. Talk about a near miss. I've also been dealt 4 to a royal and 3 aces w/ kicker after a full, blanked all of it obv.

Day 2

Went to bed a little later than planned, and woke up super groggy (but of course not groggy enough to go back to sleep). I head downstairs, swing by the coffee place (on my way to the machines as opposed to PAST the machines if I'm coming from Wynn side), and start my AM session.

UX is cold, and I move over to hi limit/multiline.



This one was slightly annoying, hit twice but neither with kicker.

I ended up down only 1k for that session which is pretty decent given how cold UX was. I meet up with D for breakfast at Tableau.



Over breakfast, we start planning the day. It'll be craps until lunch or so when D heads back to the Cosmo. I'm pretty amazed he managed to make it over, given he probably went to bed around 4am, but I'm happy he's here.

We give the Wynn a try, and it sucks. I think I was in for 3k and out for 1. Worse, we've barely played, so we walk back to Encore so he can check out the suite. After we do that, we give the Encore craps tables a try- same frickin' result, in for 3k and out for 1. I'm now down 13k for the trip. Certainly not the worst result I've had but not good either. D laments (not for the first time) we just CANNOT seem to win at craps at WynnCore. We know intellectually that the location has nothing to do with it, but the results sure speak for themselves. He mentions several recent sessions he had at other locations where he doubled or tripled his buy in. I as well recall in the past a 2-3x win being semi-routine and completely unremarkable. I literally cannot remember the last time I had a 2x craps Wynn except for Apr 2022 when my buddy got me to TABLE MAX on 6- and even then it was barely a 3x win. WTF.

So he decides to head back to Cosmo and I'll play UX. I'm getting to the point now that with my remaining bullets I feel I need to play a game where I can really make a comeback.




BANG! Hit this within a minute of sitting down. D hadn't even left yet. Second 5 digit hit of the trip, and I'm basically even.

That was really invigorating. I decide I'm only going to give back 2k before I head to hi limit. At least I've got blood again!





This one is pretty sick. "Dealt" premium quads? Jesus just deal it to me.



I gotta say, in general the 4 AWAKs are getting it done this trip. My last trip I was dealt quads so many times, but ran pretty cold with aces. I've already turned a pair of aces into 4AWAK on UX twice, both with multipliers.



HOLY SHTT This really helps! 3x in 16 draws!

That last pic kind of makes up in my mind for all those times I've drawn at 4000 and gotten blanked. I'm officially in the middle of a hot session.



Great result here. As you can see, I've increased the lines.



Jesus this timing is working out for once! Good draws as I increase lines!



Went to thirty lines here. I'm officially shot taking.

I finished up that session around 4pm- I played straight through starting around 11am. I was supposed to catch a ride to Cosmo at 5pm, but somewhere in the middle of that session pushed it back to 6pm. Dinner is not until 8pm so I had plenty of time, and I also knew I needed to catch a nap. There was just no good point at which I could get up- it was one of those dream sessions where every time I got near my stop win, I'd hit another jackpot and get a new stop win. Alas, the machine finally turned cold when I started playing 30 lines. I gave back about 5k and finished the session UP 10k for the trip. That was officially a 23k swing, exactly what I needed.

I trudge back over to Encore (annoying long walk), hit the sack for an hour, then get ready to go to Cosmo. I'm a lot more happy I came now!

Meet up with the boys, and 10 min later D and I are playing another dice session at Cosmo. It's a great session, I short buy for 2k but manage a 2x win playing small. D also wins, and again we mention that we just can't seem to win at WynnCore...

We walk to Beauty and Essex which is in the Cosmo.

Beauty and Essex

Again, never been here before, and again, it's another speakeasy-type set up. This one looks like a pawnshop in front.



The rest of the guys ordered a ton of food before D and I got there, and it's plenty for all of us. Overall, food was 7/10 and it was a ton of fun eating, chatting while being UP for once. The restaurant was too loud in that annoying "trendy" way but the food was decent.

After dinner, I again have to brave the Taylor Swift/March Madness crowd. This was honestly the closest I think I came to tilt the whole trip LOL. My driver actually made it to me in good time, but getting out of the Cosmo... man. The traffic was insane, so many Swifties... I hate you all.

The traffic gave me and the driver a lot of time to talk, and we started talking F1 coming to Vegas. The traffic etc around the strip is only going to get worse. He mentioned Sands was going to start work in April, which of course coincides with my next trip! UGH. So annoying. I get that some people are F1 fans. As a Vegas "semi regular", I wonder how the locals feel with all the construction/multiple projects/road shut downs around the strip? I-15 at Tropicana being another example. To me, it's just too much, for too long, seemingly all around the same time. The strip just cannot handle so many feeder arteries like Koval/Sands/Tropicana etc being shut down or under construction. It's going to be a nightmare and IMO really poor planning by the city.

Anyways, we head back to Wynn. It's already after 11, but I'm up for the trip. I hope this isn't a bad decision...



Overall, this was just a hi quality but sedate session. I won 3k total, but as you can see never hit a truly massive one that I could have gone to bed on. So instead, I stay up way late (past 1am) and didn't really improve my chances of booking a win for the trip. At least I didn't lose!



Nighttime view from the room.

Overall, not a bad day. Definitely surviving- hell, I'm up!

Day 2 result- +23k
Overall- +15k

Day 3 coming soon...

Lost amongst all the other premium hits, it was a real Royal Fest!

As always, thanks for the fun sweat!

The 12x hit for $1200 min handpay is just frustrating. Definitely saw a lot of royals!

Nice turnaround. I think this will be a nice trip afterall

You probably remember as we discussed it briefly, but this was my best and probably worst hit all time on UX. I was with my wife at Mirage, we had just gotten back from a hike at Red Rock and bought a coffee at Starbucks and I was like okay I want to play some but don’t want to go full degen at 25c bet so let’s go down to 5c. Literally the only time I have ever played 5c:

Closest I've come was on Double Super Times pay, 5 hands. Dealt 4 to a royal, then the multiplier started clicking, and landed on 10x. Then the 5th card fell, not the 1 card I wanted.