Have you ever been tested for possible allergy to oysters?

Day 3 part III

So, actual verdict on the oyster... it was ok. I've never been a fan of raw shellfish and after my experience in 2005, well... Definitely not something I need risk future food poisoning over.



The grilled plate. Otoro on the bottom left, this was definitely good, 8/10. Crab salad on the upper left, a little flavorless so maybe 6/10. The scallop in the middle was decent but I can't recall anything else. Fish on the top right had a topping that was too sweet, and the fish at the bottom right was nicely cooked but the sauce didn't go with the fish.



This nigiri course was good. From left- salmon roe (a little salty, but the rice on the bottom went nicely with it, 8/10), sea urchin (7/10 which for me is a lot. Generally don't like Uni), squid (2/10, too chewy), lean tuna (7/10, decent but not spectacular) and some fish I can't remember but was seasoned with lemon juice and salt, you were supposed to eat this one first. I'd give it a 7/10.



Second nigiri course. From left- egg (a little sweet, I know it's supposed to be but not my thing, 6/10), sea eel (9/10, very good), Otoro (9/10), albacore? (6/10, not bad but I usually don't like when they leave the skin on some of these cuts), and another fish that escapes my memory.



"Your choice" selection of two pieces. I went with, from left, the prime Otoro (9/10, great but honestly can't tell the difference between this and "regular" otoro), and barracuda bc, why not? Never had it before, I'd give it a 5. A little chewy and there's definitely better cuts.

Next came a hand roll which was really good- 9/10. I forgot to take a pic but you can see a bit in the next pic.



Shrimp head miso soup. So full at this point I couldn't really enjoy it, I'd say 7/10. The broth could have been thicker, with more umami.



Dessert, the Japanese Cheesecake. Maybe the highlight of the meal, 10/10. Nice and light, not heavy like traditional cheesecake which is just what was needed at the end of this meal.

Overall, it was a great experience and great value. When I come back I think I'm getting one of the smaller omakase courses- I was having trouble finishing by the end and got uncomfortably full. Was it the best Japanese ever? Tough to say. I think the sushi I've gotten in Japan is definitely better. This won't satisfy you when you're in the mood for udon, pork katsu or other types of Japanese food. But, it was unique, better overall than Mizumi at the Wynn and like I said great value.

Afterwards, I take Mom back to the condo and get in a session before bed. Finally learned my lesson and stuck to 5 play.



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Ugh. I put back 1.5k before I called it quits. Went upstairs and finished Kingsman 2. Took another benadryl and went to bed.

Day 3 result- +10.5k
Overall- +4.5k

Day 4- featuring Carnevino, The Orleans, and more giant swings...

No but I'm sure I'm not allergic. Had oysters, both raw and cooked many times. Only got the food poisoning once. Just your classic, raw shellfish stroke of bad luck which will happen to all of us who eat raw stuff eventually.

Hey Leon,

Glad to hear you didn't actually get oyster poisoned again. Also awesome to see you exploring off strip this time for some meals. For me, going with just the Nigiri ($48 menu) is the way to go at Kabuto and then I just add a bunch of great fish. The Omakase has always had too many hit or miss courses, so I agree with you 100% on that. That said they do have some great individual pieces of nigiri. Also, it is def not equivalent to what you get at a good restaurant in Japan, but for land locked Vegas, it is fantastic and great value.

Sick dealt Royal, of course it was on 3 play, but still a sweet hit. Let's see some draws come in on day 4. Also curious as to how you'll like Carnevino and Chada.

TF

Yeah I forgot about the nigiri option. I'm definitely doing that and adding only the pieces I really like next time. Even 48$ for what they have is a great deal.

Day 4 part I

Woke up around my usual time, headed down for my usual caffeine and gambling.



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Jeez. Finally.

I can't recall much from this session, but if memory serves that last hit put me slightly ahead. I remember it being generally cold, I only picked up those two draws as show- luckily the second one came in. I head back upstairs for breakfast and put on Thor- Ragnarok. Much like with Kingsman 2, I watched the majority of the movie before putting it on hold for later. I'm proud of myself for spreading around the play and taking more breaks as planned; I could definitely do better but any reduction in gambling is theoretically good for the roll.

After the movie, I think I played a bit more then went and grabbed my mom at the condo. The plan was to run to the bank (more on this in a bit), lunch at Charlie's at the Wynn, then play until movie time at The Orleans! I had bought my mom and myself tickets to see Black Panther. After the movie, it's back to the Wynn, walk to Palazzo for dinner at Carnevino.

So... the bank. Not much to tell other than a small story which anyone who has had issues accessing their own money might find interesting. Essentially, my mom's Taiwan ATM card no longer works in any gambling establishment. We've confirmed this at multiple casinos in LV and SD- she can withdraw money just fine anywhere else, but for some reason it won't work in a casino. As near as I can tell, it's bc the Taiwan bank is affiliated with the government, so there's probably some backend issue in which the Taiwan government won't allow money to be drawn at a gambling establishment. She's called them multiple times and they have no idea what she's talking about (of course), but the facts remain. So periodically she's had to-

- go to the bank, get 20s from ATM
- repeatedly use ATM since each individual max draw is lower than daily max
- line up and change 20s to 100s
- rinse, repeat

I help her with this, of course. It's amazing how one can be at a bank in the middle of the day, simply getting your own money and yet somehow feel like a criminal. There's just something about making multiple ATM withdrawals, then standing there with a wad of money, which you then immediately exchange for bigger bills...

I ran into something like this recently when I tried to withdraw 10k for my dad at my bank- I was given the run around, told they needed 3 days to get that many 100s on hand, etc! WTF- this was at a Bank of America. I don't believe that they don't have 10k in hundreds readily available 24/7/365. Whatever their motivation, it's just ridiculous how much of a hassle they can make it to get YOUR OWN money.

Anyways, after this annoyance we head to the Wynn. Neither of us are particularly enthused about eating at Charlie's, but we feel compelled to use up some comp, and I'm planning on getting something relatively light since we're going to Carnevino later. We arrive with about an hr to play before lunch, and I start plugging away again.



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Clearly at some point I got bored with 5 play and switched back to 10, with the same crappy results. Goal for next time- stick to 3 and 5 play better.

I need to take a break from this machine. I head to hi limit to play on the UX machines, but wisely choose to just play a regular game (ie, not bet the full 10 credits per hand but rather 5, still a full pay game). I can't remember if I would have ended up with a multiplier on the following hand, but I don't remember being super pissed so memory says no



I think I went into lunch down about 1k on the day. Food at Charlie's was standard/almost bad. I got a Caesar salad (standard) and the garlic-parm wings, which sounded better to me than traditional buffalo wings. Generally I'm not a fan of too much sauce and prefer drier wings, and I was picturing this here- relatively dry wings, dusted with garlic and parm. Big mistake- it was SLATHERED with sauce, far more than the regular wings. The taste was fine but basically it was the exact opposite of what I was looking for. Pretty gross.

I head back for more play after lunch. I remember it was icy.



Took this pic just bc of the ridiculous. Pair into quads in two spots. 8s, of course. Never happens with premiums.





Oh thank god.









At some point I clearly got bored and switched to 10 play, again...



Arrgh so close from a singleton ace.

And, I must have gotten so bored with TDB that I switched to deuces wild bonus.



Wow, ok this is a good result.

That clearly wasn't getting it done either, bc I switched to spin poker. Very early on, I pick up the 1/47 shot at a lightning bolt!



Result-


UGH. That comes in on spin it's almost certainly for multiple lines.

Getting frustrated. Back it back down to triple play.



Result-


Jesus.



Another bolt of lightning! Just enough motivation to go BACK to 10 play. Yep, I'm an idiot.



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And... back to 5 play.



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Whew. I don't remember this session being this long- it obv wasn't bc we didn't have THAT much time between lunch and when we needed to leave for the movie! Yet, it was obv an action-packed session. So many draws. So many misses. I recall being completely even on this post lunch session, so still stuck 1k for the day.

It's time to head to the movie. I managed to score matinee tickets to Black Panther at the The Orleans with reclining seats, etc for 11$ a piece! LOL so cheap. I'm looking forward to checking out another casino and actually seeing a movie in a theater, something which isn't very easy with kids...

To be continued...

Leon deserves under title! Maybe White Whale Slayer?

See if you can do a cash advance from a teller with your mom's debit card. You can get larger bills and save on the ATM Fee.

Also maybe speak to host about easing cash access, e.g. arranging bank wire to cage...

Thanks for the quick review on Charlie's. Has Wynn opened the Plaza yet? Any pics of what that looks like? And you don't see any discernible difference between the place with Steve no longer in charge?

Do you find the food tasting better after triple royal flush? Seems 12k hit would make McDonald's taste like Nobu.

McDonald's will always taste like salt and regret no matter how much anyone binks.

Regarding accessing your own cash, it seems like they snap to when I've started mumbling something around, "well, maybe I should find a different bank which can handle my accounts."

Youve been dealt quads once, period? You can't have played that much.

7 line spin poker? How come we're shorting two lines?

Hope you played a little bit at The Orleans

Plaza not open as far as I know, and no, no difference after the whole sexual harassment thing.

Agreed. Sample size too small.

Didn't feel like playing all the lines; I'm sure I switched bc the other game was cold. Plus I hit a 3 way royal back in 5/16 playing 7 lines so I know I can still hit something big despite missing two lines

Day 4, continued

My mom and I head to the Orleans. For some reason, I had gotten Tropicana in my head and assumed The Orleans was on strip in the same location as Trop. Of course, I realize this as I was headed to the strip via Tropicana anyways so we just continue past the strip. In retrospect next time I'll take the highway from the Wynn.

Never been in this casino before- it strikes me as your typical "mostly locals" joint. We didn't have time for me to grab a 1$ chip for my collection (old habit from my poker days) but I'm sure I'll be back at some point. The movie theater was great, we literally had the entire theater to ourselves until just before the previews ended when a couple of people walked in. Reclining seats, plenty of room, 11$ tickets, can't beat that. I tried to take a pic but it didn't come out well.

Black Panther was billed as one of those rare movies where both critic and layperson alike gave it good reviews, plus it's Marvel so obv I'm going to see it. It was definitely a good movie. Cool subplot and entertaining. Only a few spots where the realist in me is like "that's really lame" which were quickly overwhelmed with letting myself get engrossed in the movie. My mom also liked it which I wasn't sure was going to be the case. On the way out I saw The Orleans' arcade which looks pretty good- I'll definitely be back here with the kids at some point, check out a movie and play some arcade.

Afterwards, we head back to the Wynn, park the car and walk across the bridge to Carnevino at the Palazzo.

Neither my mom or myself are very hungry, so we go with the Riserva ribeye (thanks for the tip TF), 1.5 inch cut, and a side of asparagus and gnocchi.



Starter- basically a pastry shell with some cheese inside. Meh- 5/10.



The gnocchi- taste wasn't bad, but the texture was actually more like bread. Sort of strange and not what you'd expect from gnocchi, it was a minus in my book. 4/10.



Aspargus, 7/10.



And the highlight, riserva ribeye. I'll give this it's own paragraph.

This was one hell of a steak. They carved it table side, and explained what each piece was and where on the plate it was so you knew exactly what you were eating. The flavor was ridiculously intense as expected. Outside was crispy from their high heating method but obv the inside was still rare. My only complaint was that they could have carved the meat off the bone better- there were some great pieces still attached which I got to eventually, but this isn't the kind of place where you can just pick up the bone and gnaw on it. I'll definitely be back, hopefully with some better sides in the future. 9/10.

The only other downside was the service- very slow, despite the fact the restaurant was empty. None of the other sides looked particularly appetizing, but perhaps that's because I went in not very hungry. I hope the next time I'm back that changes, otherwise I may need to ask SW to get their hands on some riserva steak and just eat it at the Wynn...

After dinner, my mom wants to WALK back to the condo. I insist on driving her several times, but she just wants to walk. Use it or lose it I guess, so I walk with her as far as the main entrance to the Wynn.



In all my time coming here, I have never come in this way. Funny.

I put in another long session before bed.





















You may even be forgiven missing the 4 aces above, given all the missmissmissmissmiss previously pictured. It's just not enough.





At some point I obviously got overwhelmed by the sheer number of draws that missed, so of course I switch to 10 play.



result-


Lose more. Back to 3 play. Very first hand!



Result-


UGH of course I make a flush with the NINE!









Wow. Just wow.





GOD FINALLY! Come on!

I can't recall exactly where I was at this point, but I believe probably stuck 4k for the session. I remember this 4awak hit made me basically LOL EVEN for the session.



And... a bolt of lightning to give me new hope!









Switch back to 10 play for the remainder of the night.







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Those last three draws occurred within 5 min at the most. To have hopes raised, then dashed, raised, then dashed again, etc... that hurt, a lot. Very demoralizing and I went to bed after the third miss just crushed. Tossed and turned a lot after that, such was the nature of the kick in the nuts. It's amazing how fun and how cruel this game can be.

Day 4 result- -4k
Overall- +500

Day 5 coming soon...

Jesus, this is an amazing thread. Feel like I'm right in it with you with the hidden result pics! Keep it comin'!

Cant believe we bricked the 10 royals!


Do you get more excitement out of that draw vs AAAx? Even though im sure the ev is super close, perhaps even lower since you've already got trips with the aces.

You really outdid yourself with this trip report, Leon!

Thanks for taking so many video poker photos and food porn.

When I scroll down to look at the images, I have trained my eye not to look at the top part of the photo, where the club card screen will give say "Congratulations..an attendant has been called" as this takes from the joy of actually seeing the made hands. I have a feeling others are doing this as well.

So sick to think that 10 handed, 4 to a royal was just one card away from $40,000! I guess the same when you hold AAAkicker at TDB, yet something more special about the Royal..lol.

If I ever hit that, I might quit video poker forever..not much more to conquer after you've reached the top of Mt. Everest..

Leon,

Your trip reports are simply the best. If you happen to know offhand, when you were basically even after 4 days, what were your peaks and valleys to that point?

I’m very disappointed in you not gnawing on the riserva bone!

Gnawing on the riserva bone is a must, it's sooooo good! Everytime I'm there, they encourage me to go ahead and I def have a few pics of me chewing on those.

Glad you liked the steak, but agree everything else there is meh, so I go for the pasta/sides elsewhere and just eat steak at Carnevino. It's also a nice walk to digest between meals

Amazing job with all the pics of VP this TR, really committed to it. So many draws and misses, you have a high pain threshold. I too am curious if you prefer the Royal draw or the 4 AWAK draw, considering they're both the same payout.

You were right, in the one caption, I completely missed the 4 Aces because of all the previous bricking!

TF

I've been a diamond with TR from VP alone the last 3 years without doing any of the bigger tier bonuses (1k day tier credit bonus has been my max). So ya I have played a decent amount. Also play a lot in town at the local racino. Been dealt 1 FOAK ever. Dusted off another 2k last night playing 9/6 TDB .25 DSTP. I could pull my tax forms from CET and the local joint to see the exact damage but what is the point. Would estimate easily down 50-60k the last 3 years with one handpay playing mostly .25 5-10 play UX and some DSTP. Good times...

If you've legitimately played more than 100,000 hands that's pretty gross runbad.