Day 2 part 1

After waking up at 5am, I toss and turn for almost an hour. Not restful whatsoever and I'm basically waiting until the coffee bar opens at 6am. I finally head downstairs before 6, but luckily one of the baristas that I've come to know over all the previous TRs is already there, and he's got coffee made already. He opens up a bit early for me and at least I've got caffeine now. Today is going to be rough.

I feed in 2k. This am had better be good or this whole trip could be busto before it begins.


Great, one ace into 4, but still no kicker.



Finally! First jackpot whatsoever, stuck about 8k at this point.

I start an accrual so I don't have to collect W-2Gs and from here on out they can simply unlock the machine/deposit the credits directly onto the machine. Saves time and helps me build a giant ticket if I want (which I do).



Result-


Step up to 10 play for a bit...



Result- annoying enough that I didn't even take a pic.

I hit nothing else and head back upstairs up 2k for that session. Kind of annoyed that I gave 1/2 the royal back, but at least I've got more than I started the day with.

We head to Peppermill for breakfast- I knew I wanted to go here at least once, and Friday morning seems like it has the best chance of not being crowded on Memorial Day weekend vs Sat, Sun or Mon.



My corned beef hash w/ eggs over easy, side of hash browns. I'm sharing this with my wife so I'm not exactly the pig the pic would imply.

Kids got eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast as a treat. Pretty standard fare, I'd say 6/10 overall. I forgot to get my corned beef hash cooked crispy, it's way better that way. Should have gotten chicken fried steak, in retrospect.

Afterwards, we head to the The Orleans. My rationale is, we know we're going there Sunday to watch Infinity War- might as well check out the arcade now; if it's cool, we can plan on coming back and factoring it in on Sunday.



Random shot from The Orleans' floor.

Head to the arcade and... it's closed. Doesn't open until 10am. Is it really only 9am? I guess that's what happens when you wake up at 5am. Let's go bowl!



Headed back down from the arcade.



So. Many. Lanes. Basically all to ourselves.

I gotta say, this is a pretty cool casino. If I didn't have multiple reasons to stay and play at the Wynn I could definitely see myself staying here with the family for a weekend. There's just a lot of other fun, non-gambling things to do and everything is reasonably priced. We elect to start with just one game, knowing how the kids' interest level can change at the drop of a hat. LOL the shoe rental cost more than the games.

I'd categorize my bowling ability as "decent layperson". I've never had my own ball or formally been taught how to throw a proper hook. I've always simply relied on innate athleticism, and one "course" my wife and I took in college (higher education for the win). My average is 140. In any case, we've got the bumpers up for the kids (wife and I won't need them). My game is to be expected working off of little sleep- it takes me basically the entire game to start getting a feel for the lane and ball and I think I end with 130 or so. Still high enough that my oldest son is getting down on himself but low enough I'm annoyed- I keep my annoyance in check and have that "you're only a kid, you'll get better with practice, etc" talk with him. I wish I had been able to set a new lifetime score like I did on our most recent Disneyland trip in April...



I have no idea where this game came from. Previous high was 190's. Oh, and Disneyland employees apparently can't spell...

We head up to the arcade after that game and dump about 60 bucks there. It's not as good as the one at NYNY, and doesn't have nearly the opportunities to win tickets as Circus Circus. Doubt we'll be back. We're back at the Wynn by 11:30. The kids want to head to the pool and my wife does as well; being sleep-deprived and stuck, the only thing I want to do is get more gamble on.

We split up- the plan is I'll play and maybe get a nap in at some point. We're leaving for Bellagio at 6pm to see O and will have to get a late lunch or at minimum a snack in there beforehand if we're going to make it to a late dinner. My wife expects she'll eat poolside. I'm not even hungry and just want to book a winner.



Result-


Come on.

A few min later and, oh, maybe down only 6k for the trip, my FIRST trip aces...





With the totally standard result. What a waste!



Result-


Le sigh.

Need to run, hopefully will continue this later today. The draws are picking up, just need something to come in! To be continued...

Aw, damn, I took the 'which I do' as in you ended up building a giant ticket. What a disappointment!

...But not as disappointed as seeing you choke the 9th and 10th frames of what could have been a monster game!

this seems like a lot of great draws, plus playing 5 or 10 line.... it's very disheartening

id be pretty tilted

hope you turn it around

Keep grinding, "Laon"... some of those trips will start paying off.

Thought of you this past weekend. Was at local casino with buddies. We each put $100 into three VP machines with goal of hitting a big hand and splitting it three ways. Buddy #1 draws from 3/5ths to a Royal on a 2x line (I think it was Ultimate X) and hits for $2000. Everyone went home a winner.

I wish the same luck to you, Laon!

Yeah it was technically a choke, but it didn't develop in stereotypical fashion. I was just doing my thing, trying to play as well as I could. It was only AFTER I left the 9th frame open that I looked and said, "wow, I didn't have an open frame before this". So you could say I screwed it up prior to realizing how well I was doing.

Of course, as soon as I had THAT realization, I also realized I had a legit shot of breaking 200. That made me choke on the 1st ball of the 10th frame. At least I managed to hit enough with the second ball to break 200. If I didn't but came super close I would have been pissed.

Day 2 con't

Still at it...



Result-


Time stamp on this next photo is a full hour from the last, so I played an hour without making a premium hand OR draw.



Result-


Jesus AUSDFASD

I can't handle it. I head up for a nap- should have done this earlier. Obviously 20/20 hindsight. I'm starving, tired and stuck. FUUUUUU

I actually manage to sleep for an hour or so and eat some of the complimentary sandwiches they left in our room. They weren't half bad which was probably due to the fact that I would have eaten garbage at that point. When I wake up from the nap, the kids are asleep and my wife is watching a movie. We've got a couple of hours to kill and I desperately want to get unstuck so I head back downstairs.



Result-


AAAHHH that is not getting it done!

Just a few minutes later...





Come ON!

I'm getting the trip aces finally, but nothing is coming. Frustrated, I step to 10 play and time stamp says I got this hand 5 min after the last trip aces...



Result-


WTFFFFFFFFF

Well that was waste. Back to 5 play.



Result-


!!!!!!!! I've given up on making a 2000 hand. With all the draws I've had, I still haven't made anything other than a royal. Pretty obv it's going to be a 4k hand or nothing.

Three min later... dealt quads.



Aww, how cute. With a kicker even.

So that's worth 1250. Whatever, I'll take anything at that point.



Result-



This is just unreal.



Result-


JESUS FINALLY! So many trip aces. I can only dream if I had run hot during that period. Here, it gave it to me twice- once with kicker and once without.





STILL can't make a 2000 hand!





Nope. Just CANNOT make a 2000.

Since I'm getting so many good draws... 10 play it is again. Within a minute, pick this up (all of these were from a "hot" 30 min stretch)-



Result-


BOOOOOOMMM. FU 2000 hands, I'll just keep making 4000 ones.

I've now hit 14k in jackpot give or take. Still haven't made a single quad 2,3,4 w/kicker, but I am officially EVEN AGAIN! HAHAHAHA

I play for a bit more, then decide to grab the tickets to O and head back upstairs. It's like I just got here. Actually, I've been here less than 24 hrs, got stuck enough that with those hits I'm only even again but it's a fresh start! I'm in a much better mood now...

To be continued...

So sick. Welcome back!

This is getting my juices flowing for next week, although I think I’ll stick with Deuces Wild. I couldn’t stomach swings like that.

Sweet comeback.

And we know you fell asleep at O.

Like I predicted! Great job. Good luck catapulting into positive territory.

this just keeps delivering

Man degening VP seems super frustrating. I know that big hit comes but man not sure it’s worth it.

Laon is actually still running prett crappy it seems. It’s very possible to catch a heater and actually hit some of your draws.

I'll need to see proof.

I fly in to town next week. If laon is unwilling or unable to run hot, I'll just have to do it myself

Geez - I was worried there for a bit, but nice clawback.

I was even going to say the gambling gods were punishing you for not setting things up so you get a handpay each time, as I think you noted earlier that instead you were able to make it so there was a running tally. Remember - the gambling gods don't like it when you mess with the norm.....

I did stick with the plan- that's the whole "starting an accrual" thing. At the Wynn at least, the first jackpot you hit in a 24hr cycle, you have to sign an accrual form. From that point on they keep track for you and can simply unlock the machines, and give you cash/credit or check (never taken this option). You gotta hit the first one, though...

End of Day 2



Random shot of Wynn lobby by the Tower Suites.

We grab the limo from Wynn to the Bellagio- the driver takes a back road and we make great time, and get dropped off at the Bellagio main entrance. I've always loved this casino- so many poker memories, associated things like the movie Oceans 11, etc. When I think Vegas or poker, the Bellagio is not far behind. Perhaps one day we'll stay here just bc- THAT would be a cool comp to set up at the Wynn: "say, can you comp a future stay for me... at the Bellagio? I swear I'll give Wynn all my action LOL".

I also think to myself that my kids are pretty damn lucky. No way I had this opportunity when I was their age. My wife and I need to make sure they stay grounded- how many 9 and 6 yr olds get to roll up to the Bellagio in a Wynn limo?



Tickets to O. Based on price, should be good seats.



Bellagio lobby.

We have time for both the conservatory and the water show, so we hit the conservatory first. As always, it's a beautiful set up- the theme is "Japanese Spring".















From there, we briefly head to the confectionary shop and check out the chocolate fountain. Closest thing to Willy Wonka's chocolate waterfall...





Next, we head out to the water show.







I didn't recognize the accompanying music, but it wasn't great. The actual show was awesome as usual. Time for the show!





As predicted, good seats.





I've seen O twice I believe, but it's been years. My wife has seen it once (also a long time ago) and this is the first time for my kids. I actually really enjoyed it- I pretty much forgot everything and it seemed better than I remembered. Turns out it's my wife's favorite Cirque show (didn't know that LOL) so she's happy we got to see it again, and the kids loved it. Pretty happy we did this.

After the show, we're hungry as expected and we have some time before the limo pick up. We decide to hit that snack place by the poker room and grab food to go. It's pretty standard fare- we get chicken tenders, fries, etc. Didn't bother taking pics of any of it. All of it was decent and overpriced of course. I was impressed with the portion size.

We head back to the Wynn and put the kids to bed. My wife joins me for a Walking Dead session!







... which we can't find! WTF. We check with a slot attendant- confirmed, both Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy (back to back bank of machines) have been removed for good. Sigh. Guess Walking Dead 2 will have to do.

We stuff 300 in this machine, which we've never liked as much and just isn't as much fun. Things stay true to form and we get one whole bonus game (with no result) and zero extra features like wild bonuses or Michonne attack. The 300 evaporates fast and my wife is beyond disappointed. We head back to video poker.

I put my wife in the driver's seat and she's pushing buttons. I think she made a 400 and an 800 in there but it's generally cold.



Out of nowhere! Glad my wife could participate in this.

At this point I think we had pumped in 2k, so we're 2k up for the session. My wife decides to head to bed and wishes me luck.



Gah one ace into 4 but again no kicker!



Result- didn't even bother taking a pic.



Result-





Result-



Come on! STILL can't hit a 2000!

Frustrated, I hit 10 play again.



Result-


JESUSFFFFCHRIST. Why can I not catch sustained rungood?!!!

So I manage to give back all of the 4 awak + 1k more. Stuck 1k for this evening session, 1k overall. I know today is a net positive result but in some respects it doesn't feel like it. The only good part is I'm exhausted and KNOW I'll sleep ok tonight.

Day 2 result- +6k
Overall- -1k

To be continued...

I see you bumped it up to $2 for some of the 5 play.

As always, another great trip report, Laon..

Yeah, glad you caught that. I knew I did it periodically through some of my play (usually when I was running warm and trying to make a score), but I couldn't remember exactly when. Clearly had I hit a jackpot it would have jumped out at me.

great TR again leon. Those pics of the Bellagio flower garden looked beautiful

How's customer service been at Wynn?

Getting worried, you either blew your roll or hit some sick jackpot.

To answer Dozer's question, customer service at the Wynn is typical- 99% spot on, but every once in a while there's something off. Things are normally so good that you notice when small things are missed or messed up. It's kind of strange but it almost feels like it'd feel better if they were 95% on (and you wouldn't notice the 5% of time things are off) vs 99% on (then you really notice the 1%). I don't know if that makes sense.

Day 3 part 1

Slept slightly better today, got up a little past 6. Headed downstairs for a couple hrs of play before breakfast- we're planning on the buffet today.



Result-


Just CANNOT hit a 2000.



Result-


JUST. CANNOT. HIT A 2000!!!!

Timing is a funny thing. I'm not doing great and have dumped 1k in about 10 min. I kind of have to hit the bathroom and decide not to force the play, I mean why not hit the bathroom and then come back. It's not like the machine is going anywhere and I'm just going to get pounded now or 5 min later, what difference does it make. In any case, I leave for a bit, come back, and 4 hands in get dealt-



HELLO! OK, now I just need a good draw...



BANG! 1, 2, 3 kickers- and I've made 3 2000 hands in one go!

Man, what a great feeling. I immediately lock up a 5k strap for my wife- with the new house purchase, we're looking at about 30k worth of expenses etc simply to make it livable- I KNOW I'll hate myself if the Wynn gets this money back before the end of this trip. I'd rather lock it up now and lose it later (knowing how absurd that is) than lose it now.

I'm now well up for the trip, so decide to go to 10 play.





Gah come on where's that kicker.

Just a few hands later... 3rd dealt quads of the trip!



Awww how cute, with a kicker again. Where's the dealt monster??!!



Still pretty to look at.

And a few hands after that...



Whoa maybe this is the AM I really knock this out of the park!

Result-


Not to be.

And a little while after that...



Result-


NOT TO BE!

OK, those last two draws were a bit deflating. Still, I head back up to the room up 1k for the AM, NOT counting the strap I'm giving my wife.

There is zero line for the buffet, which I'm kind of surprised about given it's Sat on a holiday weekend. I head for the omelette station.



Omelette with peppers, onion, ham, mushroom, tomato, 7/10. Breakfast potatoes, 5/10 (needs to be crispier).



Beef rib (4/10, too tough/not cooked enough), prime rib (7/10, only ate the rib cap portion bc why not?) and short rib mac and cheese (8/10, this was good).

I also grabbed a ricotta and lemon blintz which as far as I'm concerned is the best sweet thing they have at the buffet. My wife and I agree- we're over buffets now and mostly go for the kids. The concept seems cool, and back in the day when we ate like gluttons/didn't worry about eating healthily it made more sense, but these days we don't stuff ourselves and try and watch what we eat. Honestly it's a waste of money.

Afterwards, it's early and my wife is not quite ready to head to the pool. I'm joining the family there today so I figure I'll play a bit more until they're ready. I present my wife with the 5k strap and immediately buy myself whatever future good will I'll need.



Result-


And there's another 2000! This is going to be an awesome day!

Let's go to 10 play again!



Agghh put one more 2 up there on the deal!

Result-


Doh.

Back to 5 play.



Result-




Result-


Blah. I start lamenting having stepped down to 5 play again and immediately getting trip aces twice (and missing), but then I remember right before breakfast I also got trip aces twice at 10 play and blanked 20 spots... so maybe I just saved some money.

I decide to change it up a bit and play some DSTP, 5 lines at high limit.



Whoa! OK, no multiplier (yet), but I could still get one on the draw...

Hit draw...



No multiplier, and obv no result. Damn- SO HARD to get a good multiplier and a good hand to line up at DSTP.

It's time for the pool. I believe I finished that post breakfast session up 500, so I'm up 1.5k for the day.



The pool is pretty crowded, as expected. We manage to find two spots and my wife lounges. I swim with the boys for about 45 min. I think I mentioned this in a previous TR but I swam seriously from age 5? all through high school. 10 miles/day at the height of the season. So when I say I'm DONE with pools I'm really done. Very little interest, this is purely for the kids. After the pool we hit the hot tub for a bit, then I lounge around for another 15 min or so before I'm done. My wife decides to stay longer with the kids, they will likely grab lunch poolside again. I'm going to go play, likely nap sometime in the afternoon. Our evening plans are dinner at Mizumi at 5:30, then the Bronx Wanderers at Bally's for which we need to leave at 7p. Likely won't get back from that until 10p.

This is a good stopping point. To be continued...