Yeah, I think I have solved this. I typically wear the standard blue/white surgical type mask. But Cosmo gives you this little bag everyday with 2 masks (surgical type) hand sanitizer and a pen. The past couple of days I had been wearing the Cosmo mask and it is a little tighters which was causing the sensitivity. I went back to my normal masks I brought with and sensitivity gone. I still hate wearing the damn things though

So after cleaning up I headed over to the Aria to try my hand at poker once more. Last day so I was due for some run good and I found it I am still very card dead on openers but smashing flops is better than good starting hands and today I smashed some flops! The 2 big hands were from the small blind where money goes to die. I was just bleeding blinds when there were about 4 callers and in the sb I look down at 77 so I toss in my 2 bucks. The flop is what some vloggers might consider favorable. AA7 for a flopped boat. I lead for 10 and everyone calls. Turn is a 9 and I bet 25 get one caller. River is a 4 and I bet 50 and he raises to 100 so I shove. He thinks for a long time and since he is thinking I know he doesn't have A9 or A4. He finally calls and I double up. I then go on to hit a few flushes as the flop hits my suited connector types and I am on a roll. The other big small blind hand was 44, 4 callers to an $11 dollar raise. Flop is A4x. Raiser is betting strong and I call along. He bets 40 on turn I raise to80 and he calls. I lead 75 on river and he thinks a long time before folding. I played for about 4 hours when I wanted a mask break and some food so I cashed out +$538. So great session with basically no premium starting hands.



I was getting hungry so I decided to try something I ve never had but is highly touted. Secret Pizza. I'd tell you where it is but then I'd have to kill you! Actually it's on 3rd level Cosmo right next to Blue Ribbon.



Having a "secret" unadvertised pizza joint is just the kind of douchey thing you should expect from Cosmo. But I will admit the place lives up to the hype as it was very good, especially the crust.



Gonna go back out for one last gasp poker session soon but this afternoon put me in the black for the trip on poker. Hotel, food, incidentals not so much

Let me know prior to your next trip so I can buy stock in The Henry in advance

Glad you finally got some good card karma working

I got these mask extenders early in the pandemic. They take the straps off your ears and transfer it to the extender on your neck

These extenders, coupled with KN95 masks, have allowed me to play several 8+ hour sessions a week for the last 9 months.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D3MTZVD...p_mob_ap_share

I have something similar to these and have no complaints.

Nothing like flopping boats and flushes.

LOL. I feel like The Henry is a bit underrated. The only reason I didn't go last year is because they limited their hours and I almost always like Eggslut for breakfast.

And yes, nice to see some rungood!

On masks, pretty much the same as you. I don’t have to wear a mask often and when I do it is for a brief period. I was in Vegas last September for about a week and I seemed to always have a mask on. It really messed with my breathing after several days of prolonged use. Your TRs are good.

Hanging out at the sports books though is fun, at least for me it is. During baseball season it is especially enjoyable as I found folks betting on baseball to have a lot of interesting commentary.

Another "thumbs up" for "The Henry"!
Great food and enormous portions for most dishes. They could (almost) cut their portions in half and it would be fine!

Headed to Vegas next week and had The Henry on the shortlist, and this TR is definitely ramping up excitement for it!

Just bet the first 5 unders on hot pitchers, easy money.

Mr. Baseball is a secret influencer for The Henry.

Actually there are lots of places closed (or changed). I would have hit Le Cafe at Paris but it's different now. I would have hit Hollywood Cafe at PH but it was closed. Call me crazy but eating breakfast at the breakfast joint where you are staying seems pretty normal to me?

Anyway just got home safe and sound and will give one more update once I get settled in of my thoughts and observations of covid Vegas.

You would have to pay me and then give the food for free to stand in that Eggslut line. And it would still depend on how much you payed me. It's even longer than it used to be with overflow into the main lobby now.

There is a good chance we crossed paths, as I was there from 4/8-4/13. Played PLO at the ARIA and similar to some of your other posts, it was a limpfest yet fun. Stayed at Bellagio and played some 1/3 there which was a great time. This was my first Vegas trip, post-Covid, and I was amazed at how prevalent weed smoking was. Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude, but it was at epidemic level and the amount of sketch ass characters around in between Harrahs and Planet Hollywood was like something I had never seen before in my dozen + trips there.

Had to take one for the team with dinner at STK for my wife's birthday and then drinks at Vanderpump. Overall, gave the Vegas experience an 83 this time around.

The Aftermath
My thoughts and feelings on Vegas and poker in the covid era.

Vegas in general
It's not quite there yet although seems to have plenty of visitors. My plane to LV had 155 passengers and 175 seats. In the past they were always full. Flight home was full. Vegas sidewalk traffic at peak times is as insane as ever. The casinos however do seem a bit emptier. Lots of stuff is closed or on limited hours. The much mentioned Henry is usually 24 hours but now cut out dinner and opens for late nigh at 11pm through lunch. I never saw the 24 hour place at PH open at all? 50% restaurant capacity needs to be managed. Places I used to just walk into now almost always have wait times. If you are going for a quality sit down meal get reservations well in advance. Masks are a pita!

Poker
The big rooms are good and the small rooms are very iffy. All have plexiglass and the Bellagio, Aria and Wynn seem to have the most professional setups. All have side plexiglass but Aria and Bellagio have plexiglass in front of you as well. Depending on what seat you are in you can get some crazy reflections making it hard to follow the action until you get used to it. Sometimes it makes it look like the action is happening on the opposite side of the table. All rooms sanitize the space before a new player comes in.

Bellagio - Normally I dislike this room but in covid it is one of the best. Lots of good games and comfortable (not as cramped as pre-covid).

Aria - Like Bellagio lots of good games and comfortable a bit more cramped than Bellagio but not too bad.

Venetian - Used to be my favorite but don't like the changes over the years. Not a fan of all the promo stuff (high hand every half hour) and the drop down the slot that comes with it. They also go psycho if you don't use hand sanitizer before you sit down. I went to get chips and when I sat down the dealer started shouting SANITIZE! SANITIZE! Except it was noisy and he had a strong Asian accent and through a mask I had no idea what he was saying and I kept saying what? Finally he tossed his little bottle of sanitizer to me which I used. No other room seems to care if you sanitize your hands or not before sitting but apparently it is a rule at Venetian.

Caesars - Only played there first day but seems the next best bet to get a game. Seems like they have decent action

Bally's - Spotty as far as games go. Only played there once but normally was no action when I would pass by.

Flamingo - Never played there but the couple of times I walked past had decent action.

Planet Hollywood - Very little action and as I mentioned earlier very shoddy haphazard plexiglass installation which may have something to do with it. 2 games going on a Friday night and one breaks early? I went in there last night and no games going with one name on the list? I wouldn't plan on PH being part of your poker experience right now.

Wynn - Only played the tourney but the tourney was played in the normal (Encore) poker room. All of the cash games were actually in a section of the Wynn casino. The action looked good and plenty of games going.

I wouldn't count on anything at all from the smaller rooms and stick with Aria, Bellagio. Venetian or Wynn (and maybe Caesars?). The action was good though and lots of fishy players. I was expecting lineups of local rocks but almost every game I played in had lots of splashy players. Even though I won a little playing it was frustrating as I don't believe I have ever had a trip where I was so utterly card dead.

Cosmo
I had a good time there despite the utter douchiness of the place. But as you know for me it is all about the terrace in the sun. I am NOT their demographic but they do have what I want being that terrace in the sun and easy access to Aria and Bellagio poker rooms. I think they try too hard to be edgy and hip but what do I know about edgy and hip? I di have a problem though. I came up to the room at about 5pm Sunday and it wasn't made up yet? So I called and somebody came up within 20 minutes to fix up the room. But then on Monday same thing? It was 6:15 and no room make up yet. I called they said they would send somebody right up. 30 minutes later nothing so I call again and they assure me someone is on the way. Another 30 minutes and now I am pissed! I call again and demand a manager (call me Karen). I talk to the manager and piss and moan and get my resort fees waived and the maid is there with 10 minutes. So I guess it saved me some money

I had a great time! Lots of good food, lots of relaxing sunshine and profitable poker even though the deck was mostly cruel to me. Masks suck though, they really do. I am glad I went and really needed it after 14 months of Netflix in my mancave. Felt good to get back out into society again. One mask trip was fine and necessary for my sanity but I ain't going back until masks are gone. I can live with the plexiglass and it didn't bother me in the least. 8 handed is great and I have never been more physically comfortable at the tables if you don't count the mask part.

Yeah the stench of weed on the strip was very prevalent at any and every hour. Planet Hollywood and south on that side of the strip seems super sketchy right now. The amount of sketchy characters wandering around was higher than I have ever experienced. I think they need pre-covid pricing back Too many good deals right now because they are desperate customers.

Now the CDC admits it's very, very unlikely to catch the rona from surfaces.

LOL, given what I posted above.

I was there the weekend before and it seemed busy enough, although I left when our table broke. Plexiglass seemed okay to me.

I was more than happy to forego maid service. The fewer people in my room the better.

Thanks for the trip report, mrb. Glad to hear you're back home safely.

I hear you. The line was out in front of Holstein's last September, too. I attributed it to the extra spacing in the line, but have to believe that it's more crowded now and the spacing probably isn't as far as it was last fall. Still, I like eating Eggslut on the terrace in the morning.

Thanks again for the report. Having read one of your previous reports, I was looking forward to this one. It didn't disappoint! I only played at the Bellagio last year and agree with your comments, but will try to check out Aria and Caesar's this summer.

First and foremost, thanks for this wonderful trip report when most of us are content in staying home and passing time.

A+ for the 12 plus mile morning walks/hikes.

Thanks for the food , Pool/Terrace pictures and relaxed poker sessions. We usually forget that Vegas is a vacation and not some Army Poker Camp where you need to burn yourself out.

Good luck with your poker sessions, hope they turn around soon.

As Da Nit mentioned try on cloth/fabric based masks, they are more comfortable and will give you an option to wear them longer.

It's probably a good idea aside from CV19. Poker tables + environs are filthy.

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Thanks MR BB

Yeah, if you don't catch covid at the poker tables there is still a high chance to catch something

One thing I forgot to mention and may just be misremembering but CP, Bally's and Venetian were all running 1-3 and my memory had them as all 1-2 rooms? But maybe I am misremembering. Flamingo and PH were the only 1-2 games I saw. Not there is really any difference between 1-2 and 1-3.

Yep, and that's the rub, they need the people but the people don't want to pay.

Perfect assessment on the food situation. Horrific lines and for our next trip in June/July, we'll plan that aspect better. Hopefully some live shows return by then because pickings were slim. We did go see Jabbawockeez (floor seats) and to be honest, it was pretty damn good but if you're not into hip hop or house music, you would not enjoy it.

Looking forward to the next TR.