Most of my Vegas trips have been 2 or 3 nights, so when the opportunity arose to stay there for FIVE nights after my family vacation and before a visit to my parents, I jumped at it. Better yet, I would be able to book another two nights on the way home. Usually I fly, but this was a driving trip, as I would be bracketing the Vegas visits around two weeks in California. The family trip was three nights at a resort in Tucson, which has become a tradition. This year it was the Hotel Conquistador.



We visited the “International Wildlife Museum” which is a collection of taxidermy specimens of a wide variety of mammals killed by people on safaris in Africa.



On Wednesday morning we drove to the rental car place, and on this 20 minute drive we (1) were pulled over by the cops for making an illegal lane change (got off with a warning because they don’t want to upset the tourists and their contributions to the local economy) and (2) were nearly crashed into by a garbage truck whose driver decided to go into reverse from in front of us at a stoplight. YIKES. I honked on the horn continuously and he finally stopped (he was wearing earplugs so who knows). Soon I was on my way for the 6ish hour drive to Las Vegas. My first two nights would be solo at Planet Hollywood. On Friday, my dad and brother would arrive and we would bet on/watch some of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds while staying for three nights at the Bellagio. The interlude between the two trips would be spent working in the Bay Area and visiting friends/family.

I have done live TRs in the past, but I decided against it. The need to post during the trip, especially a short trip, takes me out of the moment. I would rather experience Vegas and not be worrying about how long its been since my last update. Everyone who goes Blasted knows the feeling: "F it, I’m just gonna rage!" Well, I’m not sure how much raging there was, but this is my reconstruction of the events based on my memory, the photos on my phone, and my credit card bills. I’ll be posting each segment separately as there are a lot of pix.

Day 1
I haven’t driven to Vegas since 2012. While it is about 10 hours from my house, it was only 6.5 hours from Tucson, and I arrived with minimal Vegas traffic around 4 pm.

Notice that Waze caused me to reverse tunnel myself!



I pulled into the Planet Hollywood valet to unload a bunch of luggage that I needed for my California trip, including golf clubs and a guitar. I usually take way more money than I plan on using—this time it was $5K in hundreds and $1000 in 20’s.



Hotel Report: Planet Hollywood might be the perfect mid-grade, mid-strip option for lodging on the Strip. For me it was “free” (+ resort fee) and it’s FAR better than Harrahs, Ballys, Rio, Paris, and Linq, if you are looking at Caesar’s properties. The location is great, it’s modern, it has a poker room that can be fun, and the rooms are decent. Because of this, I would always choose PH over those other spots.

There are downsides: The casino floor is loud. The windows are kind of small, but I was able to get a high-floor strip view mid week just by asking (tipped $10; I have found that “pre-tipping” aka the $20 trick doesn’t work better than asking nicely and tipping when they help you). The view WAS of the strip, but I was in one of those rooms that had a window with an exterior coating that advertises the upcoming shows. It's not as bad as the photo makes it seem like, but be aware that not all "view" rooms have a great view, if you are under a wrap.



Pro tip for drinking beer at PH: I ordered a 12 oz Sierra Nevada at the bar near the lounge by the Gordon Ramsey Burger place, and it was $11. Later, I ordered a pint of Sierra Nevada Hazy IPA at the bar inside PF Chang’s, about 30 feet away, and it was $6! And they provide go cups. I would avail myself of this option frequently during these few days.

I met a friend who works in Vegas and he took me to that Japanese restaurant in Mirage for a fantastic dinner. I remember an excellent pre-dinner martini and a fine selection of sushi and cooked meat on skewers. We went for more drinks before parting and I then met another friend from home who was on his last night of a multi-day trip. We played some table games at Paris, where I lost at blackjack, lost at craps, and lost at roulette. Total losses were probably only $500, but it was still discouraging. We decided to go to Planet Hollywood for some late night 1-2 hold em. Fortunately, I won a big pot versus two players who were all-in when I flopped a set of tens and rivered quads. Unfortunately, one of the two players I felted was my friend. He left, I cashed out, and then passed out, happy to be in Vegas again but exhausted from the long drive and long day.

Coming along for the ride. Heading to PH in a few days and this just wet the whistle!

so far so good. How was the drive? Which route did you take?

Funny you should ask. One day, about 15 years ago, I took the shortest route which is I-10W, to 60N, to 93N to Vegas. I was passing through Wickenburg AZ at night, and I guess I was speeding because I got pulled over. The weird thing was the cop made me get out of the car and searched it thoroughly. There was nothing in it, and he had no reason to suspect anything. There was NO probable cause. But I complied, and soon I was on my way. But I was so pissed off about the whole situation that the next several times I took the long way which is I-10 to Blythe and then 95 north to Vegas. It probably adds another hour, but it avoids Wickenburg. Anyway, I guess it's been long enough that I decided going through there in the daytime, doing the speed limit, would be acceptable. But I sure as hell didn't stop or spend any money there.

The Tucson cop had it right. He said "We don't like to give tickets to tourists because we want them to come back" and let us go with a warning.

Liking this TR, more pics please hah

Wickenberg slows down to 30 downtown. A lot of people blast through there at 40+ because they're not paying attention. It's congested, and those speeds are dangerous so I don't mind tickets being given out. There aren't really any speed traps on that route any more because it's going to be Interstate 11 in a few years.

I agree that the speeding thing was my fault but I don't appreciate unreasonable searches.

DAY 2
I had a sad breakfast sandwich and bad coffee at Earl of Sandwich, and then decided that I needed to see the famous Las Vegas landmark—the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. I had never seen it. I thought about walking from Mandalay, then realized that I needed to move my car from the valet parking ($24/day!) to the free parking, and ended up driving to the Sign before reparking the car. Even at 8 am on a Thursday, there was a line for taking photos, so I just stood a bit farther back to take a photo and return to PH.



I went to the Cromwell, which is my favorite mid-strip casino for table games. 3:2 odds $10 blackjack, single-0 roulette. They even have a small sports book with TV's at eye level.



I think there was some blackjack, some Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em play, and then I won a small amount playing small denomination multi-line video poker.



I then walked over to Caesar’s where I put in several sports bets for the NCAA Round of 16, most of which I lost. I couldn’t decide on where to have lunch before finally sitting at the Mesa Grill where I had a pork sandwich and an IPA ($32, all quoted prices include tax/tip).



I spent most of the afternoon playing 1-2 NL at Caesar’s. It was a mix of locals and tourists, and I didn’t play particularly well—probably because I was distracted by the college hoops. At 4 pm Searsucker at Caesar’s opened and had a happy hour—I sat in the bar area and had a selection of discounted appetizers and a couple of cocktails while watching the 2nd half of the game. I remember an excellent bone marrow appetizer spread on crusty bread ($48 for three appetizers and two cocktails--and that's at happy hour prices!).

Then I saw this crazy woman having a blast at the blackjack table and just HAD to sit down and enjoy the spectacle. She had just come from the pool, and was clearly enjoying her day. Cigarettes, shots, and all smiles.



I don’t remember gambling much before dinner, but I wanted to try Craftsteak at MGM. It’s overpriced, but I had the Wagyu Ribeye Surf and Turf and a beer, and it was truly excellent, but overpriced ($141--now you know why I didn't order wine). I walked back to PH, and somewhere along the sidewalk I tripped on a curb next to a bus stop, and went down hard. No blood, but I did have a sore shoulder the next morning. Ugh. After this I played a quick $300 at 1-2 NL at Aria, but lost it all on 77 vs AK (the board ran out with two kings). I then remember going up to the room around 10:30 pm, thinking that I would take a quick nap before heading back down for some poker. I set my timer for 1 hour, but when I woke up I was still so exhausted that I just turned it off and went to bed for the night, sleeping until 7 and experiencing that rare feeling of waking up in Vegas relatively refreshed.

Sorry to hear about the fall. Glad there are no missing teeth/broken bones from a hard fall like that.

What was the pre-flop action on the 77 vs AK hand if you dont mind sharing?

Thanks for writing this up; I enjoyed the first few recaps!

Enjoying this TR! Hope to see some more wins the rest of your trip.

Never seen it either. Don't even know where it is.

Heading that same route in June. We usually go I-10 then catch the 1-17 towards Flagstaff, take the 74 west past lake Pleasant into Wickenburg. Lately though there is ALWAYS a wreck on I-17. Ok drive though, especially on a motorcycle.

I've learned to do the speed limit just before, after and while in small towns. The local cops don't like to be too far from backup, coffee/doughnuts and their tramp waitress side chicks.

Lol a buddy and myself were staying at Delano, we were pretty ****ed up wandering around the strip going in and out of casinos and on the walk back to the hotel we somehow missed Delano/Mandalay and found ourselves at the sign, I'd never seen it either

The fall was partly related to me trying to pass a big clump of slow walkers, and I didn't see this curb next to the bus stop.

The pre-flop action was, I was short stacked and decided to re-raise all in to isolate. I think he made it $15 and I shoved for $75ish.

DAY 3
...So refreshed, in fact, that I decided to go for a run down the Strip. I started at PH and ran down past the Wynn on the east side and then back to PH on the west side. It was about 3 miles. You really see the amount of trash on the Strip at that time of the morning, along with other runners and the cleaning staff working to get rid of the detritus.

In order to get a better breakfast experience than the previous day, I walked to the Venetian to Bouchon, where I ate at the bar (waffles and bacon: $32). I love sitting at the bar for breakfast (when solo).




At this point, I had to pack up and check out of PH for the move to Bellagio. My dad was arriving at the airport around 10 am, so I reloaded the car and met him at the airport. Soon we were unloading all of the luggage again at the valet of Bellagio, where we got our rooms: one for my dad, and one for my brother and I. When I entered our room on the 10th floor I saw a terrible view, mostly the side of one of the wings of the hotel. I went downstairs and worked with a nice woman who got us a better room on the 17th floor with a view of the pools and the mountains. Much improved.



My dad and I met for lunch at Spago, where Olive’s used to be. I preferred Olives actually, but the meal (we split a sandwich and a pizza) was followed by a complimentary dessert that was a crazy "spiked lemon" concoction that is hard to explain.

Here's a photo I found online. After it's been cracked open:


We met my brother at the Bellagio Conservatory.



I don’t recall the afternoon, but we went to MGM to place some basketball bets and watch some of the game from a bar there before dinner at L’Atelier.

I had eaten there on a previous trip and was excited to bring my dad and brother to experience this. We did the pre-dinner menu which is only an appetizer and a main course, both of which are fairly small. So, expensive, but high quality. I don’t think I would do this again unless I could do more courses. (No $$ because dad paid!)

Langoustines---perfection:


Some kind of dessert:


Emoji cookies:


My brother crashed early and I stayed up until at least midnight based on some photos of the fountain show....otherwise not exactly sure of the post-dinner activities.

good pictures and updates; does your dad or brother like to play poker?

My dad plays with friends back home, both Omaha and Hold 'Em, but I've never seen him play in a casino. My brother doesn't play.

I'm traveling so might not get the next update in for another day or two. I'm not going to Blasted a post-trip TR though!

DAY 4—Saturday

Sorry no photos for this day.

I woke up early again, but my brother was still asleep. So I showered, got dressed, and bought my dad breakfast at the café (Sadelle’s) near the Conservatory. It’s nice, but overpriced, and although our omelets and coffee were good, it wasn’t worth the $61 I spent. What did we do? Gambling…watched basketball. Hit the pool. I didn’t play nearly as much poker because I was hanging out with two people who didn’t play any poker. I do remember going to watch a key game in the afternoon at Planet Hollywood, that little bar near Gordon Ramsey’s Burger place. It’s a nice lounge, but as mentioned on Day 1, the beers are overpriced. So my brother and I would occasionally go play some blackjack or craps and get drinks, then come back and watch the game for awhile, get up again, and return.

Dinner was at Gordon Ramsey’s steakhouse. It’s not SW or Cut, but I really like this option, particularly for the rib cap. I brought a bottle of wine from home all the way to Vegas for this (Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, 2014 for those who care). Corkage fee was something like $50 which is ridiculous. We should have drank it before dinner. When it was opened we realized it was a bit warm, so they put it on ice for us for awhile.

After dinner we watched the end of that Virginia/Purdue game, the one that went into overtime. I had Virginia at +6 and of course they won by 5. Typical of my sports bets over the course of the trip.

I was playing poker at PH at 10:30, and once again my brother crashed early. I couldn’t get him to rally on this trip. I think he had some bad luck at the craps tables and also some bankroll issues. But he also has a 2 year old daughter so he probably really enjoyed catching up on sleep. (Still—VEGAS!).

At midnight I was playing craps with some bachelorette party girls at Bellagio, and at 1 am I sat down at a 1-2 table at Bellagio. I’m sure that I was the “drunk guy” at the table that the headphone-wearing European kid was looking forward to felting. So, after ordering a hot cocoa and a whiskey on the rocks (separately), I saw that I had KQ and raised to $10. Villain made it $25 and I called. Flop was Queen-high and I bet $50. He shoved. So I thought for awhile. He could have AQ. He could have KK. He could have AA. So this is a clear fold, but then again, I’m in Vegas, I have top pair with a decent kicker, and it’s only another I don’t know, maybe $125. So I call.

He shows AA.

The turn is a blank.

The river is a beautiful KING and I double up with two pair.

About five minutes later I rack up, executing a nice hit-and-run.

Thanks for sharing! Damn those are some pricey meals


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Nice update and nice river!

I agree about the cafe near the conservatory; they have insane prices for breakfast food.

Well unlike Leon I don't get comps. I live in an area with few food options, so when I got to Vegas I don't hold back on the dining options. Fortunately the three most expensive meals (L'Atelier, GR Steak, and Picasso) were covered for me!

Just curious, why so much in $20's? Dont know why I am even asking, just seems like a big wad to have.

Fully agree on PH, stayed there twice now, third coming up in June and again next Dec. Love that place and I am getting a lot more comps there than even Flamingo now. For a poker player on a budget the location is great, 5 minutes to the B and 10 or so to Aria and Caesars.

Great report, I agree on the live report, it is hard and still contemplating on whether I can do it again in June. Thanks for the pic's!

It's just what I had at the house before I left, mostly from the home games and even the local card room--I buy in for $100's and they pay out in $20's.

Day 5—Sunday

My brother had an early flight and was gone by the time I woke up. My dad and I had a quick breakfast at the café near the pool entrance, and then I went to the Bellagio sports book to watch Liverpool vs. Tottenham. I am a huge LFC fan and it was great to watch the game on the big screen with audio, at 8 am.



Liverpool scored early, Tottenham equalized in the 2nd half, and LFC had an incredible late goal to win. And I bet on that game so it was nice to book a win.

At 10:30 my dad and I drove to the TPC Las Vegas course. We played with a young couple from Texas. The Texan drove the ball a mile, but never straight. I didn’t play particularly well, but it was a nice course and it was fun to get outside for awhile and enjoy the day.

I had just enough time to hit the pool before our early dinner reservation at Picasso. My brother and I ate there on a previous trip, and I was eager to share the experience with my dad. We sat inside but still had a nice view of the fountains. They were doing that Game of Thrones fountain show, which I didn’t know about, I just thought, “I don’t remember seeing FLAMES on the lake before…”

Scallop:

Lamb:

Dessert:

After dinner is a blur, but I know I went to Caesar’s to cash in some sports tickets. I remember resting in my room for awhile until meeting a close friend from college who lives back east and was in Vegas with this family. We met at the PF Chang’s bar and had a couple of beers while catching up. He’s the kind of friend who won’t make any effort to contact you between visits, but then when you see him it’s just like old times. After midnight he went home, and I went to the PH casino where I won a couple hundred on Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em and blackjack. Great day!