I have to admit, I often think Gzesh is a bit much-but on this one he is dead on

Oh-and the Stage Door(if you like dive bar experiences)

Yeah, you wonder how they got so popular.

I heard that they were more popular than God*




* that's back before the internet could be used to verify such tweets!

I'd do anything your wife told me to

Careful, you don't want to get smote like the last guy did.

Here is a pretty good breakdown of dailies in Vegas.

https://upswingpoker.com/best-poker-...-in-las-vegas/


This is also a good spot if you all are into this kind of thing
https://www.redrooster.vegas/

Getting excited, just booked Encore for August 10-13th. I’ve never stayed there but the reviews seem great.

If you're driving/Ubering/cabbing Encore is very nice. If you're walking most of the time - say over to the Mirage for LOVE, or doing a bar crawl along the strip southward, the extra 15 minutes to get out of the Encore gets to be annoying. My wife and I are hikers, so we don't mind a walk - but it gets old. I think the pool at the original property is nicer, too - if that's a consideration.

The Encore rooms are pseudo-suites with a half wall/open area between the bedroom and a sitting area which we found pretty useless as if you want to read or watch TV there's no way to block the light from the person who is sleeping. The room isn't really much bigger than the Wynn rooms - it's just divided into a couple of areas, if that makes sense. And the couple of times we've checked in at the Encore it seems to take forever compared to the Wynn.

But Encore is still very nice, and YMMV.

MM MD

Nice!

Warning! This might be boring, tl;dr.

Over 10 years ago I wrote a Trip Report that I couldn’t wait to share with 2+2. During that visit I played NL cash games and tournaments during the day, with a reasonable amount of success. In the evenings, my wife and I proceeded to spend every dollar I won on dinners, clubs, cocktails and shows. It was so much fun.

Fast forward to this Vegas vacation. It was still just my wife and me but the focus of our stay changed. This time it was in celebration of my wife’s 40th birthday. There wouldn’t be any poker and only a little gambling. Partly because I don’t play poker anymore but mostly because we were there to celebrate her milestone day.

I took a lot of advice from this forum. The suggestion to stay at Encore was probably the best of the bunch. We’ve always stayed at middle of the road hotels (i.e. Mirage, Flamingo, Rio, etc) so this was our first experience at an opulent resort. It was a home run!



Truth be told, the Encore is outside of our budget. However, it will be very difficult to go back to anything less than high end resorts now. Staying there was memorable and helped to make our stay special.

Night One

We checked in seamlessly and made it to our room by 8:00 pm local time. We had tickets for the 9:30 pm performance of Love so we had the perfect amount of time to freshen up and get to the Mirage.

We grabbed an Uber and got to the show with 10 minutes to spare. I ordered a large Strawberry Fields concoction and Bobbi had a large wine both served in plastic tumblers. $65. (Drinks = D)



We are from upstate NY so we expected the time change to be a challenge with such a late show but it wasn’t. We enjoyed every minute of the production. Incredibly gifted dancers and performers bouncing around to Beatles songs had us captivated from the beginning. (Love = A)

Night Two

We woke up bright and early and summoned Alexa to open up the curtains. A beautiful view of the strip through a wall made up of floor to ceiling windows... incredible.



We changed into bathing suits and headed to the pool. We were greeted with two sets of towels and bottled waters. Our vacation was now in full swing as we relaxed poolside for several hours.

We snuck in workouts and then took a walk to the Fashion Show Mall.

Lunch was a free 16” inch pizza from Grimaldi’s. I had a Botanist and tonic and Bobbi a white wine. $30 incl tip. (B)

The walk back to Encore was entertaining. The Sunday Beach Club at Encore was jumping. Scantily clad girls getting sloppy and dudes walking crooked in and around our hotel made for great people watching.

I had an hour or two to kill before Bobbi had an appointment at a dry bar (hair) so I planned to gamble a little.

All the tables at Encore appeared to be $25 so I head over to the closest place that would have lower table minimums, Treasure Island. Walking through TI reaffirms why I love Encore. Everything is different, from the vibe and the clientele to the smell and the decor.

I found a $10 roulette wheel and
Play a bunch of numbers for about $3-$5 each hoping to get a little lucky. 5-6 spins later and I was out $100.

Immediately following I head over to a $10 BJ table. The guy to my left was loud and obnoxious. He was one of those “this dealer hates me”, “she only smiles when she wins” type of guy. But he was spot on with some of his rants. The cards were pretty brutal and that clown got his ass handed to him. I battle to only lose $45 as my wife texts that she’s heading to her Dry Bar appt. I gladly go meet her to get away from the degenerates at Ti. This little 1 hour stop reminded me why poker is the much better option of gambling.
(-$145)

Nobu

We have reservations for 7:30. We are both excited for dinner. This is our dining splurge and we’ve heard good things.



Drinks (A)
Spicy Açaí Martini
Cucumber Martini



Food
Black Cod Miso
Creamy Spicy Crab - hot dish
Salmon Belly sashimi
Yellow Tail sashimi
Shrimp Tempura



The Salmom belly pieces were delicious. Although good we were expecting more from the black cod in light of the hype.



($190) (B+)

Cosmopolitan

One of the boxes we wanted to check was the Chandelier Bar for 2 Verbenas. If you’re unaware, the drink is served with a tiny flower that you chew and swallow. We both finish the flower at the same time. We stare at each other kind of freaked out and I admittedly was getting a little panicked for 5 minutes as my mouth was tripping after chewing on that flower. The rest of the margarita type cocktail was nice but I would never order it again. ($50 - B)



We head up a flight of stairs to search for the hidden bar with a donkey on the door. The place was fun but embarrassing I didn’t love my Mezcal Old Fashion. I choke my drink down and we call it a night.
($40 - B)

Night Three

We wake up feeling okay and head to the gym and then straight to the pool. I order a strawberry Citronade and a pina colada ($45)




Lunch at the Strip Burger was a pleasant surprise (Sliders, French Fries, Nachos and 2 Drinks) - $30 (B+)



After Strip Burger we pick up an Uber at Forever 21 and make two plus hours of happy hour at the Golden Tiki. My wife was expecting an outdoor patio with a hut. Instead, we are dropped off at a strip plaza across the street from some massage parlors and XXX stores. We can inside with little to no expectations and of course had a blast. Within 1 minute of being there my wife goes to the bathroom and comes back with a big smile on her face. She had to escort me back to show me the details. The door handle is a cock, the wallpaper is 60s porn and the audio is talking about massaging penises for good luck! We drank every drink on the happy hour menu until 7 pm and then switched to Dole Whips. Fun Vegas live entertainment who told my wife she was getting aroused when they were in the ladies bathroom together!! I think our bill was $60 before tip.... absolute joke! Easiest bang for our buck (A)










At this time I’m feeling no pain so we decide to get closer to home base and grab a Lyft to the Parasol at Wynn. Our nightcap on their patio was idyllic.




Everything seemed so surreal, the weather, the music, the ambiance! We luck box a table for two right next to the waterfall.







We both ordered the Pear-a-Sol, their signature drink, which was amazing. All things considered $40 for all of this.... a steal. (A+)

Loving the TR.

Who is the old dude who keeps jumping into the pictures with your wife?

Overall (A+)

This trip was amazing. We really had the best time. My one and only regret was gambling on the tables at all. Especially when I find out Encore runs a daily $140 NL tournament that starts at noon. On the very last day I went into their poker room at 2 pm to see what games they’re spreading and they were on level 5. Damn, this would’ve fit into our day perfectly. Really bummed me out to have missed the opportunity to play poker.

Either way, Vegas is one of my favorite places on earth. I’m already planning to go back in two years.

Random Photos

Haha, believe me, I’m reminded everyday
and thank you for liking the TR.

Is there a way to change the title of this thread so that it looks like I’m sharing a TR now?

Great TR Kev. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun.

Nice TR! I had a similar trip in July (one poker session and not a ton of gambling). I figured there wouldn't be a ton of interest in a TR like that, which is why I didn't post one, but I enjoyed yours so maybe I will next time.

While the Cosmo isn't as nice as the Wynn, it's very much my style and the room spoiled any future trips. The hotel also lured me back. Except I am not waiting 2 years... I'm going back in October

Was the black cod really not that good at Nobu (it looks good)? I've also heard good things and was considering stopping for a few small bites and a drink.

I thought wife was the sexy one till I saw your shirtless pic. VaVaVaVooooom!!!

Thank goodness you didn't do any gambling with those disgusting $50 bills contaminating your roll. Disaster averted!

Glad you had a great time! Lots of great pics and thanks for sharing!

Thnx Kev, nice TR.

Great TR! You are a very good looking couple! Your lady is smoking!

It’s very good but I think my expectations were too great. Definitely worth trying.