Kicking off 2025 in the 702: TR 1/26 - 1/30
I've usually taken 1-2 trips to Vegas per year since 2018. this will be my 5th trip within the last 12 months. holy smokes, what a year!
almost always make a January or February getaway for something to look to during the most depressing time of the year when the North Dakota weather is dreadful.
booked my flight and hotel rooms way back in August, and like I have for the past several years, booked almost exclusively MGM. however, pair of recent developments ticked me off. first, MGM raised resort fees. paying extra more for nothing is kind of a turnoff. maybe rates from booking time would have grandfathered in but whatever. second thing is while I got a decent rate for Sunday, myvegas free room comp was not available for Monday night. so I said f-it and booked 2 nights at South Point. wow, feels amazing. haven't stayed there for several years but SP has been my favorite resort since I stayed there my first trip.
will probably pay about $60 more total for two nights than at Park MGM but I am still relieved. for this former penny-pinching bargain-hunting low-roller, not booking the lowest room deal available is some kind of personal achievement. feels like I've been a prisoner of MGM with no good offers to show for it. a third thing is Park MGM room wifi is unusable and I plan to work Monday and Tuesday mornings. that was probably the deciding factor.
that being said, it's just two nights and the other two nights will be my initiation at the dirty castle. so I'm not completely divorcing MGM and will be staying some time on Strip but you can tell I'm thrilled to finally be back at SP.
as it's only like 25 hours a week a few times a year and I'm playing recreationally, I will totally be results oriented. pot odds mean nothing when you're beat. if my bluff doesn't work it was a mistake. if my pocket queens get beat heads up by pocket 8s, well that's just a bad beat. here's hoping the end results are favorable and I win more than I lose, no matter how well or "correctly" I play.
only plan is to play poker and pai gow, and save a little PTO by working some mornings. have played almost exclusively 1/2-3 but I'm now in a position where I can look for 2/5, although the goal is to play and have fun and not risk financial ruin. no specific events, no shows, no tourist attractions. if I'm running bad maybe I'll sneak into "O" or catch a movie at SP on cheap Tuesday. Golden Knights have a game in town, so I might try getting a ticket day-of. but in general, there isn't anything Vegas I'm dying to do or try other than pai gow and poker.
loved Wynn buffet in November and want to go back, so that will be my big meal and I'll play a session in that nice room. have some food comps available at Mandalay Bay so I'll play there during first couple days and eat where I can use it. staying at South Point means I should play a daily tourney (have 2-3 nice finishes there previously) along with cash, and I like their dining options. will have a car and therefore will be mobile if there's something else to try (Cheesecake Factory needs to continue as a trip tradition and still have McMullan's and cronuts on my to-do list). don't think I'll get around to Venetian or Aria but may visit Bellagio for a game.
flight is a few weeks away but at least we are in the right month. haven't been many Vegas TRs on here for a while. had a pre-trip warm up recently that was interesting to share in a follow up post.
I've been doing this a while, you know what to expect, what do you guys want to see in a Langdon TR?
Speaking of Wynn. I meant to put this in my own TR. But when I was in the taxi last Sunday on my way the Venetian we were directly behind a black Rolls Royce and the license plate was WYNN. I have to assume that's Steve's car? Not that he's driving 😀
Go read Leon's epic vp thread. He's a Wynn whale and gets driven around in their Rollers often.
p2, Poker Reflections
I love the poker dealers at Bellagio, they are clearly the best in Vegas. Wynn and Resorts World are up there too but IMO Bellagio's are a cut above. (the floor staff, location, environment, and overall administration are definitely not.)
I like the new room at Venetian. other than Internet/network service limitations, there was nothing I don't like about the room. chairs are super comfortable. I found at least one drink server was aggressively nice to the point it was awkwardly confusing. the location is fine, although if they just said "between Palazzo and Venetian upstairs" that would have made it crystal clear. would definitely play there again.
Wynn is such a nice place to play poker. the floor staff and management is incomparable. drink service is the best. the room is comfortable and the dealers are great. I love the smell of Wynn better than Aria.
the Wynn room was surprisingly slow, even in the evening. would it better to have fewer games and let people wait longer? I dunno, but it was frustrating how shorthanded the games got. the wait lists had like 10 call-ins but no bodies.
was also surprising how low the turnout was for the Venetian tournaments. 100 entries was not what I was expecting. is $400 too high a price point for a weekday?
only looked one day but I am not impressed with South Point poker for cash games. they offer so many great promos that the entire room is packed with OMCs and nits. maybe the 2/5 is better? I assume their daily tournaments are still among the best in the valley though.
played at Aria and it's good and busy, and it's in a great location. but the room is dark and again I found drink service slow as always. not one of my preferred rooms.
during my time I found Bellagio to be the softest, despite me having my worst session. Aria and Wynn were both hard. had to be careful, and fortunately I was.
in general I feel like I have moved up from 1/2 -1/3. would put my name on both 1/3 and 2/5 lists to get going. think the session at Aria knocked the nerves off. in previous trips I have been fine with a lighter table and just relaxing for a few hours playing small pots and socializing. I don't have a big poker bankroll and I'm not buying in for $1000 and I am unlikely to bet or call off $600 without the nuts, but I'm okay being a little shortstacked and nitting it up for a deeper game. it is still game dependent, and if I don't feel comfortable I will move tables. and some 1/3 games play deep as 2/5 or deeper. but I'm definitely not afraid of 2/5 anymore.
found that it was rare to go to a flop heads up. even 5x opens would go multi-way.
Feb 2024 I binked a $6600 tournament score and at home last year I worked enough to earn about $6000 as a tournament dealer, but I really don't enjoy playing tournies. played a $400 Venetian this time and a $600 Wynn last summer and I won't play that high in Vegas again. maybe one $200 per trip. rather play cash games.
following are goals to check off a few strategic moves and play some long sessions.
- donk lead a flop. this is something I have never done. if I'm first to act in a raised pot I have always checked in the dark. I've been thinking of when this donk could be applied and maybe even effective. will try and report back
- check raise bluff to win and check raise to get called and win
- make a $200 bet or raise. other than a shove don't think this nit ever has
- add-on when shortstacked and get back to pr
-I did donk bet and won the hand at showdown. actually found another opportunity my first session, when a flop came AA4 (I had like Q6 or something).
- don't think I check raise bluffed + win, but I did several check raise to win.
- did not make a $200 bet or raise, other than a couple all-in shoves
- did add-on and then back to profit
- never got super shortstacked to the point of leaving early
- no tourney deep run
- technically only one 6-hour session, but I did play close to 30 hours cash + a tourney in 4 days
- several reasonable 2/5 sessions
- did finish +$ cash Mon & Wed
- work-worked enough
- didn't get sick
the actual results from the trip were alarming. here's a summary, including partial sessions
- South Point 1/2 (+54, 6 h)
- Venetian 2/3 (+283, 3 h)
- Aria 2/5 (+203, 4 h)
- Bellagio 2/5 (+57, .5 h)
- Bellagio 1/3 (-447, 3 h)
- Wynn 1/3 (+428, 5h)
- Wynn 1/3 (-60, 1 h)
- Wynn 2/5 (+479, 2h)
- South Point LHE (-113, 2.5 h)
- Venetian tournament (-400)
- Pai Gow +$135
- slots -$xx
1/2 or 1/3 = -$25 in 15 h
2/5 or 2/3 = +$1,022 in 9.5 h
came home with about $600 more cash than I brought
obviously, great trip. things I would have done differently: skip attending VGK, see O or Awakening, play a lower buy-in tourney instead.
though January was slow it was still fun and poker in Vegas is better and easier than in Dakota.
no plan to return yet but can't wait til I do
thanks for following along.
was also surprising how low the turnout was for the Venetian tournaments. 100 entries was not what I was expecting. is $400 too high a price point for a weekday?
I'd say 100 for a single day $400 at Venetian is about average turnout, maybe even a little above average. Tournaments don't do crazy numbers unless there's a big magnet series running in town like WSOP, WPT, NAPT. Without a big event to pull out-of-towners, it's just going to be local regs and a small assortment of random visitors.
MTT ecosystem in Vegas is actually pretty small. It feels huge in the summer because people are traveling from all over the world to play stuff.
Great TR! Always nice to come back with more than you came with.
Thanks for the summary. Glad you were a winner!
Aria drink service must be the worst in Vegas ;( I wish the other rooms had more PLO.
