enjoy your Super Bowl today, Las Vegas

This. Or don’t tell her and start hiding money.

From his replies I feel confident he hasn't told her haha

look, I'm very bad at hiding things I'm that excited about.
she said as she always says after a win, "oh good, well now you don't have to play anymore." and I'm like, I don't think you understand how this works

Great trip! Congrats!

Pics of new dog toy and better half’s new shoes would top it off…

well it was hard to get a good photo of her because she is a 5 lb super energetic dog on a normal day. I guess I will go against my anonymity measures and include my mug in a photo for once.
is this excited enough for you?

the dog destroyed like 4 dog toys so she is due for a new one

Awesome. Sorry you’re back in Dakotaland.

Hey, you don't look anything like that Breaking Bad guy.

Recap, Review and Conclusions, part 1

This was my first Vegas trip longer than 4 nights, and my first with my wife. she was pretty worn out after 4 days and spent the last 32 hours chilling basically at home, but I had plenty of life left in me.

the highlight of the trip was clearly at the Wynn. I played in 1 tourney this week (1 bullet, no add-on), and still had a stack after the last hand was played. I think this is my 4th time since 2019 doing that. this time though my prize was 10x any previous cash.
I played well (obviously). I took several bad beats and honestly didn't make many suck-outs. I recall getting called all in and at risk three times; I was ahead twice and the third chopped. early on I dropped to 8k after a crazy hand where I lost on nut flush v straight flush where the two of us and the board had the A-K-Q-J-T-9-8 of diamonds in play, but I didn't panic and bounced back. throughout the day I knocked out at least 10 players. I know how to read and exploit my opponents based on their play and tendencies. I am unpredictable and while I think I still give off too many tells, I am improving in that regard. I play patiently, and wait for the right spots. I'm not a tourney pro and don't particularly like tourneys, but in the right structure I am pretty consistent.

I played cash game nightly between 1-3 hours on each of Sun-Thur. before my last session (Venetian on Friday morning) I was at +$1315 for like 11 hours at MB and MGMG, which is like +60bb/hr. I played a lot more aggressively, not GTO, and it seemed like most times that I went with T9 or 5-5 or 3-3 or K8 or Q9, it worked out. I bailed if I missed but I never got myself in big trouble bluffing. I did not try to extract every bit of EV as I prefer lower variance but the results were still incredibly profitable. I am pleased with how I have progressed in reading people, spotting passivity or over-aggression.

my Friday session at Venetian was a disaster. lost QQ and JJ on ten-high boards, lost A9 < 39 (preflop), did not find an ace when I went against ace magnets, etc. one thing after another in rapid succession. busted my 3rd chip-up in like an hour and half. that was my only loss after five winning sessions (plus five previous sessions at home), but even after that disaster I still finished an even $600 in cash games for the trip.

I only played blackjack for about 5 minutes, and used some freeplay to play a slot machine for the first time. no sports betting; that was my only "gambling", and I gained $72. we stayed pretty busy and didn't have a lot of dead time and I wanted to be a good husband.

so in terms of gaming, without considering dealer and server tips, it was a weeklong net gain of $7,278.

I think I have had 3 straight + winter trips and 3 straight - summer trips.

part 2 will be about other expenses and reviews

The dog maintained her anonymity.

Congratulations on the wins and on keeping your wife happy.

But, at least, a Breaking Bad guy.

Thanks for the TR, Langdon. Congratulations on the score, and I'm glad you got home safely. Give the dog a scratch for me.

Conclusions, part 2

this wasn't my "4 hotels in 4 nights" trip, but I guess it wasn't far off: we stayed 2 nights at Mandalay Bay, 2 at Luxor, 1 at MGM Grand, 1 at Westgate (solo), and one at a relative. neither my wife nor I minded the moving around. (we also paid for a hotel in AZ near the Grand Canyon that we didn't go to and found out even a week ahead it was non-refundable, wtf). this was a tricky week to go due to Super Bowl traffic and prices and I actually made and cancelled a ton of different hotel reservations, including 3 nights at Golden Nugget and 5 nights at Luxor, Planet Hollywood, and Cromwell. got MB comped (via MyVegas), and I have Pearl MGM so my preference is those hotels for the free parking perks. Luxor was disappointing, maybe I had a remodeled room last time. glad we arranged MB because I love that place.

resort fees were $258. room fees were $335 for 6 nights (plus $73 that we ate. but instead of going to AZ I played the Wynn tourney).

we were there a whole week and did a lot of driving so I am glad we rented a car. It was like $270 for a week from Fox that we booked back in early October. Fox was fine, and due to their incompetence we got a Jeep for a compact car price. I didn't pay for parking anywhere.

I participated in zero Super Bowl activities. maybe next time if the Vikings make it.

Attending a Golden Knights game was once again one of the trip highlights. the Oilers are the Knights biggest rival and I was thrilled to see this home game in the schedule during our trip. I got a ticket offer on Cyber Monday and jumped. it was a great experience.

Mystère and Blue Man Group were repeats for me and I loved them both. everybody should see them. Mac King Show is a great way to spend an afternoon. Shark Reef was also a good use of the daytime. Frankly Frank is good if you like Sinatra's music. Beatles Love was boring.

Price paid for 2 tix each (fees incl)
Golden Knights $170
LOVE $138
Blue Man Group $94
Frankly Frank $86
Mystere. $83
Mac King. $66
Shark reef. $35
Total for entertainment: $672

Food
My wife definitely thinks differently than me. she went on a weeklong solo vacation and lost a few pounds. for me, eating out is a priority for vacation.
Texas de Brazil $143
Cheesecake Factory $90
Diablo's $67
Bellagio buffet $65
Excalibur buffet $35
Seabreeze Cafe $27
other food $44
Total for meals $471

Other stuff (haircut, gifts, snacks) $182

Rooms/Flights/Car $761
Entertainment $672
Meals $471
Other stuff $182

Total cost for the week $2,086
gave $500 to my sister, gave $300 to my mom

Came home +$4,392

for a sucky weather, Super Bowl inflated, on my wife's leash, week, I had a great time.

thanks everyone who followed along and made nice comments. I don't know how exciting these TRs are but they are fun to write and look back on.

I think I will be returning for Memorial Day week with friends. maybe for 4th of July too.

one thing I forgot to say: after doing like 8 short solo trips, doing a weeklong trip with my wife in a place she wasn't too interested in successfully was an absolute win. she had a great time, and I had a great time. everything fell in place pretty well to stay within a very reasonable budget (keeping her happy) while not restricting us at all. some of my scheduling things didn't exactly line up but we were never really ever too bored or too busy. I've had enough of the Strip though, that was exhausting.

additionally, her quick trip to California not only gave me some free time to have a little fun, but it probably qualifies most of the trip as a deductible business expense. so win win win.

Glad you both had fun and enjoyed the trip. Thanks so much for taking the time and for the conclusion. Always interesting to see what people really liked and what they didn't and great to see prices included.

Funny, your food total is what some people pay for one meal in Vegas Our big night will be Sparrow + Wolf, which is going to run us at least $200, but that includes $50 corkage fee (which is fantastic) and it's for my birthday, so we are splurging . (The two bottles of wine we will take will be another $100 - $125.) Maybe it's a good thing your wife isn't into food! LOL.

I appreciate the time and dedication, Langdon, that you take to document everything. Well done! Great TR!

Also, thanks for the doggie pic! Priceless!

alright, booked a trip for Memorial Day, let's go!
4 days solo, Sun-Thur. some events at Golden Nugget Tue & Wed but nothing else planned.

Sun - Aria (free + RF)
Mon - ?
Tue & Wed - Golden Nugget

just looking for some crowd feedback for where to stay Monday night. here are some choices (RF included):
- stay at Aria for $168. I'm not poor but that's kind of a lot for me
- stay at Golden Nugget for like $110, I don't really like DT so this is not preferred
- Mandalay Bay for $125
- MGM Grand for $95
- Luxor $65
- South Point for $117

I have parking perks for MGMs and they are in that area of Aria so that's why I prefer them. I also love South Point.

all I really wanna do is poker, swim, and eat

Go for the MGM or even Luxor (I've never stayed there) -- it's one night. Save your money for better things.

.

Luxor no questions, with a free tram to Excalibur and walk across to MGM why pay the extra $30.

If the Aria price isn't too bad for you, then I'd personally choose that so that I don't have to switch hotels twice in 4 days. I think you also like the pool?

Otherwise, MGM or Luxor.

Out of those, I'd pick South Point. Good eats, good poker, good vp, good movie theaters, you won't have to leave until you check out.

I’d go Aria or GN. Moving once, ok. 2 times in 4 days to save a couple of bucks, no thanks.

I went ahead and booked MGM Grand. if something crazy happens and Aria's price drops a little I'll change. I'll do South Point another time when I have several nights to stay.

I'd rather you not switch after Aria, but Cosmo has rooms under $150 and some slightly more if you want a terrace. They also have nice pools. Just something to consider.

Park MGM is nice, pool is nice, and location is perfect for Aria poker room.

Also, thank you for the reference to My Vegas slots in your previous TR. I always thought it was just junk promos, but we have now booked 5 free nights between 2 couples for our next trip!