Cliff notes:

1) Venetian itself - free room + view upgrade + special check in line = all good.
2) Venetian poker room - busy as usual.
3) Food - Bouchon rules. Postrio and B&B are players. Slight downgrade to Ellis Island.
4) Poker - my string is over - 17 wins and 1 loss is now 2 losses.

Venetian:

By joining Grazie and my wife playing slots = free room + upgrade + invited guest check in. That last part saved us one hour because the check in Sunday AM was ugly. Our room was ready early. All good.

We are billing everything to the room to get points and get to GOLD card status. That should keep the free room offers flowing and after you reach GOLD status every $ paid thru the room pays 5 times the points they do now which should make it easier to maintain that status.

Venetian Poker Room:

The $25 comp has moved to the 15/30 LHE level of play. Learned that poker room credits are good at Grand Luxe.

Food:

1) Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich from the food court = so so don't go.
2) Grand Luxe has OK express breakfast, but IMO it is still just a Cheesecake
Factory that I can do at home. No big deal.
3) Ellis Island is usually well worn but spotlessly clean. Not so spotless this time. The hash browns are really these yucky potato puff things now. The pork chops were properly cooked, but not as flavorful as b4. Slight downgrade.
4) Postrio - first time there, pleasant surprise. The Hemingway Daiquiri is grapefruit juice based and was VERY good. My wife liked her sip so much sshe ordered one of her own. My wife had the short rib ravioli. Not as rich as the raviolini @ Fiamma's in MGM, but still very good. I had the 3 sausage appetizer. It could be a stand alone light lunch. Followed with the Steamed Mussels. Had some chiles in there for some light heat. Good. We split the Warm brownie sundae for dessert. Not too sweet and IMO needed a little more ice cream but was still good. We will return.
5) Bouchon = rules. First night there had the garlic tortellini in seafood broth. Yum. Then I had the Skate wing special. I am fussy about my fish and this was GREAT fish. Smelled like the ocean, and nicely prepared. Dessert, we enlarged our table to have 2p2'er Cactus Jack join us (No problem, sir reaction from the restaurant) Split two desserts, the lemon tart, good as expected and then this french floating island thing that I sadly did not have the name written down. The base was creme anglaise, the island was this incredibly light, wet, not dry merigue served with toasted almonds and then warm fresh caramel is drizzled over the top. All of us put this one on a "best ever" list.
6) B&B - first time there did the pasta tasting menu thing. Put my review in the fine dining thread so for details go there. Our best pasta was the lamb's brain "francobolli." I eat/try just about anything. But the fact that my wife eat anything labeled brains is still a kick. And go for the upscale reserve wine pairing as well. $109 for 7 decent pours, but those 7 bottles would cost you a lot more than that so it was a cool sampler for the $.

If you "allowed" me to eat at only one restaurant on the list above, it would be Bouchon's.

I'll take a small typing break and will return with the poker stuff. I kept notes so I have up to 10 hands to talk about.

Poker is evil! Well, not really, but i did get roughed up a bit.

1) Ist session 4/8 LHE. I can't remember the last time I was able to cap the river (5bets) with the nutz. Other players see me as tight and vent their frustrations when I hit runner-runner. They only thing they don't see is I only do this with a backdoor str8 as well and the flush draw has to be to the nuts. +27BB. Win one other hand the same way. Card dead in between. Saw AA turned into AAAA 2X this session.

2) 2nd session after dinner = more 4/8 LHE. Flopped str8 loses to rivered flush. 4 bet PF hand gets a flopped set only to lose to a rivered gutshot. Ouch. Up $30 for the day.

3) Next day playing 1/2 NL with my friend 2p2'er Cactus Jack (Wayne). He is on my left and I limp. He pops it to $10, 2 other callers and I call with QJs. The flop is QJxr. It checks to me and I try to send CJ a "get out" by betting $15 into his PF raise. Now CJ would bust his own mother at the poker table so does he "listen" to me? No, he re-raises the other players out. We are both fairly short stacked and wind up allin against one another. This time my 3:1 lead holds up and I stack my buddy then take him outside so he knows how to LISTEN to me.

Had a couple of tables that were big into limping. You raised PF, it would check around and out to you so pretty soon, everyone was playing the limping song. In that context I got hurt when

4) My AK limped and a faced a small bet on a Q93r board. Turn is a A. I bet that out, down to one caller who then raises me on the river. Yep, AK loses to AQ. Ouch. PF that's a 3:1.

5) I have 88 and get 5 limpers PF. Flop is perfect 873r. Checked around. Turn is a T offering a flush draw. A villian bets out enough for about 1/2 my stack. I shove, get insta-called by J9o! (from an otherwise reasonable player) My 5:1 advantage at the flopped had reversed to 7:2 against me when he got his perfect card. River was a 2nd T to save my bacon.

6) Another AK but raised PF hand. About $40 in the pot with 3 players. Flop is QJx with 2 hearts. Checked to short stacked but wild player who goes allin for about $50. Villian is weak, but I got nothing but draws and maybes. Call or fold? I fold. He shows he had a str8 flush draw. So while is was ahead, I was actually a 3:1 dog. Good fold.

I had a guy go allin with a short stack. I needed a win at that point but he hits runner-runner for a str8 and apologizes.

7) Limped hand with about 5 players. I'm on CO with JKo. Flop is JJA, two spades. Checked around. Turn is a 4 and is the 3rd spade. Checked around to me and I start the betting. Nobody has the flush. SB has J4(!!!!) and I'm screwed.

8) Why you need to raise PF - from the other side. I get to limp in with 74s. Flop is 772r. One player bets $10 in pot. A fairly aggressive woman takes it to $40. I just call and the other player folds. Turn is a T, no flush. Villian puts out $75, I call. River is a 2. For once I have an easy hand. I am fairly short stacked after these calls so I shove and get called by QQ.

9) Shortly after 8) QJs makes its 3rd appearance on this roster of hands. I have QJs in MP. Limped to Button, young decent player who has built a 600 stack or or so. He makes it 10 to go. I call, one other player calls. Flop is my flush, K92s. I make it $25 to go. Button puts $75 on top. I figure he has AA or KK with the spade and most likely AA. I should be 3:1 ahead and to give him the hardest decision and to max my edge I should SHOVE (about $350), right? I even have a str8 flush redraw.

I'm quiet. He tells me he has AA and my spade. He calls and he hits the turn. In four days of poker one hand makes all the difference between losing an close to even. This is one of the reasons that I prefer LHE.

My cards were pretty dead this trip. But Cactus Jack said something that really stuck with me. He said: "If you are patient enough, there really isn't any reason to lose at this game." And I think that is a correct analysis when you sit at good tables in the long run. Another thing that is really clear is just how much better the rake and structure is for smaller NL games in Las Vegas versus California.

I would have liked to have run better this trip. Hell, I would have liked to have run average! But I'll be back and I am still ahead YTD in LV!

very nice TR.

Well done kid! YOur record is still pretty goot though

you made mistakes in some of those hands.

did the wife make money at slots at least?

Live poker is so rigged.

Nice trip report. I miss the Venetian.

An "otherwise reasonable player?".

LOL. He insta-called with the nuts man.

I think was referring to the semi-bluff with two overcards and the gutshot. I'm not a NL player though, so I have no clue if this is a bad play or not.

What semi-bluff? The flop was checked around, he got his free card and hit the nuts.

Not betting with 88 on that flop with 5 players is absolutely criminal.

Yep, you're right. I misread the action. I had the action going check, half pot other dude, all in, call on the flop. Instead, all the money went in on the turn after the enemy got a free look at his two overs and gutshot.

Isn't it called cheating when you try to send signals to your friend at same table with betting patterns?

100% of poker is about sending signals with your betting patterns, to friends or not.

I was playing 1/2nl at the V that weekend. I was cheated. No wonder my profits were so low.

1) To trying to help a friend - mea culpa.
2) To playing less than perfect poker - mea culpa.
3) While I was a LOSER, so was my wife, but not too bad.

2 trips to LV YTD = Net combined trips loss of under $20 for 6 person days of gambool. Take another shot in May.

that VIP check in line at the venetian is the nutts. first thing i do is go for the cookies, macaroons and sandwiches.

Not that I waited in a long line at the V, but where is the VIP line? I like macaroons...

imagine you are facing the regular check in area. there will be a door all the way in the front left. you go through the door and there's like a suite in there with food and drinks and a private check in.

Is it platinum only or is a gold grazie card good enough?

Gold will get you the food. But regular Purple Grazie gets email offers that gets you the Invited Guest line which still avoids the hoi polloi. And if you get a Concierge level room the check in is on the 16th (?) flr. w/ food etc. as well.

Nice TR. Liked the menu too