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?
Wynn is a tricky room.
There absolutely are very good regs, even at 1/3.
It’s also the room where you’re most likely to see a LOADED European dude dust off thousands of dollars like it’s nothing.
For your next drink, order the Strawberry Julius! That drink runs VERY well for me at the Wynn, and you can only get it there.
Wynn is a tricky room.
There absolutely are very good regs, even at 1/3.
It’s also the room where you’re most likely to see a LOADED European dude dust off thousands of dollars like it’s nothing.
For your next drink, order the Strawberry Julius! That drink runs VERY well for me at the Wynn, and you can only get it there.
The couple of times I played at the Wynn I found it kinda scary. The players always seemed very good and ultra aggressive. Far different from most of the games I have seen at other places. That said my sample size is very small and I may just go over there before I leave friday.
p2
up to about $700
young reg came to the table, I open JJsh, he raises button to $55, call for heads up
T93ss, he bets, I call
turn 8s. I lead for $60. he calls.
river is 9d. I check, he bets $150.
he looks pretty comfortable, looking around. I can think of no bluffs. ten high paired board with three spades. he must have AA or KK, likely with a spade. have to fold. bummer.
didn't faze me though and I worked to get it back
got paid with aces over the player above, stack still growing
I might have called river with the JJ.
With the way it played out, I think he could conceivably be valuebetting worse, like AT, or really any T with a straight draw gutshot, with or without a spade.
I make bad payoffs sometimes though.
p3
I got very aggressive with pocket 7s on a board that stayed low and flushy. worked out as a 7 came on the river.
we are over $1K
later, almost got myself in big trouble. to the river, I bet $50, he tank raises to $250.
I'm going through the hand and comment out loud, "he went limp call call call... alright" as I am ready to muck. a player a few spots down said "did you say call call call?" oh s*. "no I folded."
luckily the guy next to me who raised had his headphones in and didn't hear. dealer knew I was talking to myself and nobody pushed the issue.
same guy above, made a big shove earlier on a flushy board AK high, he couldn't beat a single ace and mucked. he clearly went on tilt and was splashing big.
- he straddles, I open $20 with 66. he shoves $165 and it folds to me. he is playing wild, his action wants me to give him a fold. I call. he has pocket 4's. double paired board and my 6 plays for the scoop.
once my 5 hours hit I racked up = this much profit
+$428
time for dinner. I didn't make a reservation and unfortunately at 4:45 there is a long line
only a five minute wait
the buffet is really good. glad I came back this trip. here's just a few pictures
did I say this last time? the wagyu beef = best tasting meat I ever had.
don't really like crab and never done the legs and claws but got some this time. legs are too much work but I love the lobster claws. they didn't have any extra napkins, which was kind of a problem. we survived.
pizza was amazing.
maple tapioca and s'more was amazing.
ate too much again, last plate with more beef and sausage was a mistake and shouldn't have had the ice cream. but unlike last time at least I wasn't in pain afterward.
came back right into a 1/3 game. last one of the trip. go me
The couple of times I played at the Wynn I found it kinda scary. The players always seemed very good and ultra aggressive. Far different from most of the games I have seen at other places. That said my sample size is very small and I may just go over there before I leave friday.
It's been like that every time I've played there, which isn't often because of it. 2/5 regs like to feast on the 1/3 chumps.
Wagyu at a buffet, eh? Must be spendy.
Wow!
3-way all-in maybe?
Thanks for bringing us along on your trip, Langdon. Great job out there, and much appreciated by the rest of us who won’t get to Vegas until this summer.
Nice trip report, thanks.
Just curious how you found the difference between 1/3 and 2/5?
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some reflection of me as a poker player:
I am most definitely a tourist rec player and don't claim to be great. don't look like much: short guy with a scruffy beard and glasses and normal clothes and don't buy in deep and rarely top off so I look like scared money. I do not play GTO; I don't give a f about pot odds and couldn't care less about "what the correct play is" and stuff but recognize others that do. I pay attention to position, and I really try to learn my opponents. I like the Poker With a Purpose zen vlogger and try to connect with my opponents and predict what they will do first. I watch their actions and reaction to the board before I look at it, and I pay attention to the hands they show. especially early on I try to get a feel of the table so may do more raising and folding. I am tight and aggressive; I almost never limp but I may open with a wider range. when I do choose to call or open, I am usually willing to call a raise and stay in the hand for a bit. I almost always cbet, regardless of my hand or the flop, and will check dark nearly every time while expecting a cbet. I try not to get involved vs "better" players but stay aware who is in the hand with me. also may seem a bit reckless, and because of all that I think I'm tough for GTO players because you don't know if I'm cbetting with KK, Q9o or 87 or calling your cbet with middle pair. I'll fold to big aggression until I don't.
my first leak is speculative stabbing and trying to steal the pot. I bluff a fair amount. I believe the goal of poker, since premium hands are rare, is to win extra hands when you don't get premiums. but I am much more likely to call a huge bet than make one myself.
my second leak is I do not try to extract every last chip. I'm not a big gambler and may play on the safe side. I don't assume the other guy always has the nuts but will make a medium bet usually instead of a polarizing huge bet.
my other biggest "leak" is simply bankroll. I'm a family man with a modest career without much of a gambling budget and a wife that (tolerates but) doesn't want any gambling budget. I have counteracted that by saving and limiting my play money for these kind of Vegas trips, and by any observation I am a very responsible gambler and have never gotten myself in trouble.
I am comfortable with all that and regret nothing.
You shouldn't regret! It's important to know why you're playing poker (or doing most things in life), and do what you can to get value out of it.
Value doesn't mean money for everyone.
Not sure you can really say you're "tight and aggressive" while acknowledging your second leak, but otherwise it's good to know our own flaws, for want of a better word.
Session 7: Wynn
a couple players I didn't want to tangle with so after about half hour I moved over to my previous table/seat.
less than an hour later that table was shorthanded and sleepy. just not worth it. so I racked up again and asked for 2/5, got an immediate seat.
dunno if that was a good idea, jumping into another very deep game where I was not going to be topping off. one guy had about $3000 and was making bets half my stack but I didn't get any playable hands to worry about. he left half hour in and we were again shorthanded. everywhere I go was shorthanded half the time. I've never played so many 5-6 handed tables. "can we get reduced rake" was a regular refrain at Venetian, Bellagio and Wynn this week.
interestingly enough, one of the guys at my table I recognize as a regular tourney player (and a good one) from North Dakota. apparently he has a condo in Vegas and snowbirds for winter.
finally got some players in. a young euro reg sat next to me and bought in for $1500. a quiet one-armed gentleman took the seat across from me with a max stack. a young Asian came for the max, an older Asian came, and the guy to my left was an old regular who voiced his complaints about everything.
became apparent the one-armed man was ready to be boss. the euro also wanted to flex. wasn't working out as he lost like $600 pretty quick and had to add on.
if I ever opened to $10 or $15 it would get raised to like $60, and if I opened to $20+ they would fold and I'd get the blinds. if someone else opened to $15 and I raised to $40, it would get popped to $140. was pretty frustrating. on the occasion my opens got called, a cbet usually took it down. on the button was actually the worst spot for me because old grumpy and one-armed man were in the blinds and didn't give me much respect, raising all my opens or calls.
stayed between $350-490 most of the session. as my time was getting short, I dwindled down to about $240. then I got QQ. can't recall all the action, but I was in it vs young Asian. ten high two-tone board on the turn. I checked, he bet $100, I shove for like $170 and he folds.
a few hands later: I got QQ again in LP, euro opens $25, me and old Asian call.
flop 432shh, which is pretty good for queens. no cbet and I check.
turn is 5d. any ace makes the straight. checks to me again. I'm thinking an ace would have bet the draw on the flop. I bet $100. old man pushes it All-In. well. here am I "scared money from 1/3" in the last five minutes before I have to leave anyway. go big or go home (going home anyway). I go ahead and call, and stand up.
river is a Queen. I shrug and flip over my set. he pauses and does not table, which tells me no ace. he taps again and I know I'm good. he shows 4h, and says he had me to the river (set over set?). euro says he folded a queen, which means I must have rivered a 1-outer. table is generally shocked as they didn't expect me to call off my stack.
after folding a couple hands to finish the orbit I rack up for the hit n' run, although it was legitimately my bedtime.
cashed out for $919, about $660 more than ten minutes earlier, and $419 profit in 3 hours.
that means my two Wynn-Day sessions covered my tourney loss and my Bellagio loss and send me home a winner.
nothing better than a good session to finish the trip
Sounds like you had a nice trip. I always enjoy your reports and it was interesting to follow along while reporting my own adventure.
Glad you had a great trip
This was fun to follow along!
Love all the time effort you put down in this.
For me, who can't go to Vegas that often, this is worth a lot!
Thanks for sharing! Good luck with the job changes -- I hope you get what makes you and your family the happiest.
Congrats on the Wynns! I never get tired of Wynn puns or the Wynn itself.
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 😀
I would think it might be a car they use to whisk VIPs around town.
From what I gather, most of the casinos own a fleet of nice vehicles that they can dispatch when needed. I could be mistaken though.
Concluding Thoughts
General Observations
I had two nights at Treasure Island but literally barely spent any time there. I checked in at 2:30am Wednesday, checked out 3:45am Thursday, and between that spent 11am-10pm at Wynn. the hotel room is nice and comfortable enough. free parking and the location are elite. lowest pit table minimums on the Strip. servers do not offer frozen drinks, which is a disappointment. I love Popeyes and would eat there on another trip. hope TI gives me another good offer to stay again.
South Point is a really nice resort, possibly the best non-luxury casino in Vegas. it has great rooms, great dining options across a wide range, plentiful easy free parking, is easy to get in and out, a huge casino floor with high ceilings so it doesn't feel so cramped, the floor is organized well in lines and grids so you never get lost, good casino games, a great pool, and lots of other nice stuff. they even still offer an airport shuttle. their WiFi worked great too.
the most surprisingly good thing I learned on my trip is despite how expensive everything else on the Strip is, Cheesecake Factory gives ridiculously large portions of good food for a very reasonable price. especially for lunch. can get a huge plate of food plus bread for several dollars less than one burger without fries at Aria. if I'm around there, CF is a must stop next time (although the cake is not if I'm solo).
Buffet at Wynn is still an elite dining experience. tried a bunch of different stuff this time and still didn't have room for everything I wanted.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday ate no breakfast other than Krispy Kremes once. I attribute that to trying to start work-work as soon as I can without taking a long break, Wednesday was dinner buffet, and Thursday flight was 6am. I'm usually a big breakfast guy.
played zero hands of blackjack and several hours of pai gow. wouldn't change it. really is my favorite game. Park MGM is my favorite place to play it (they have just 2 tables though).
I don't like driving in Vegas. maybe it's encouragement to skip the rental and just Uber. I did get a super cheap deal, but let's see, where did I drive... airport to South Point (could arrange free shuttle), SP to Venetian and back, SP to Aria, Aria to Treasure Island (avoidable), TI to airport. 4 main trips. think I still saved money by renting and more convenient. but stressful.
Allegient flights were on time, early arriving, and uneventful. could not ask for more, especially for the low price.
poker-specific comments and results report later
