Ongoing VP TR, PART 2!
Hi all, apparently my previous thread may have gotten so long that it's causing issues for the website. So, here is a new thread to keep this going, and it also gives me an opportunity to provide a quick recap of how I've gotten to that point.
Background-
- former poker player; got in pre-2003 boom, printed money online until about 2007 when games got harder/I started making decent money
- took poker roll and transitioned to straight casino degen. Went thru a blackjack and craps phase
- Dad played progressively bigger and more at various Vegas casinos starting around 2005, settled on Wynn and gave them all of his action. Massive comps and Chairman's club status for Dad resulted
- I started playing VP around 2013, 2014? knowing it was one of the best casino games on offer; slagged off of parent's comp for years
- as I played more and bigger, Dad's host became my host
- Circa 2019-2021, went on the most massive sun run, +500k over that time period; basically played bigger, kept winning, played bigger, kept winning, etc
- 2022-now- basically have run cold and am trying to sustain my VP for the long term
Game of choice-
- Triple double bonus, preferring multiline and ultimate X
- will play craps, more often with buddies
- despise blackjack
Typical TR features stays at the Wynn, good food, gambling, +/- other stuff (shows, family coming with, etc)
That's probably a decent synopsis!
Thanks for the updates, leon. I appreciate the vicarious thrills. The recent pre-comeback updates really felt like the end of an era. How long can this last? Can't stop won't stop
Thanks for the updates, leon. I appreciate the vicarious thrills. The recent pre-comeback updates really felt like the end of an era. How long can this last? Can't stop won't stop
The good news here is two-fold-
1. I'm much less "willing to" lose now that I've won so much. Meaning, I actually want to gamble less. As an example, I haven't been to the local in weeks. Much more cognizant of never going busto again so I can keep coming to Vegas for, well, hopefully the rest of my life.
2. I have such a huge % of bankroll locked up in the market, and if I can survive just a little longer/the market stays hot long-term, it'll be self-sustaining. Either way, I'm nowhere near true busto. We're going to have TRs for quite a bit longer at a minimum 😉
We miss you Leon! It’s been a long time. We’re all anxiously waiting!
The king is back
Fountainbleau TR 8/22-8/25
WHAAAA??? Here we go. This is going to be a long, detailed TR bc I'm in a new place. I can promise you lots of details and pics. Can't promise a win... but maybe.
Backstory
This could be a novella in itself, but I'll try and keep it brief. I explained earlier that my host and offers at the Wynn have been cut way back. More recently, there have been instances of having to pay out of pocket for things I'd never had to pay for in the past and basically being outright lied to about the comp (eg, cabana). I had a trip in June where I laid all of this out and luckily was able to escape with a great win at the end.
Bottom line, I'm tired of the Wynn, and I'm tired of being nickeled and dimed by them. My host all but encouraged me to check out FB when I discussed being upset in June. Well then...
So, the times I've been to FB for restaurants have always been good. I'm less impressed with the property and have an N = 1 of gambling there (craps with D while we were waiting for our dinner resv, that was a small win). I'm really looking forward to what FB has to offer and seeing if I really do need to move my play over there.
Obv, I made contact with a host at FB and set everything up. She matched the 6500$ free credit at the Wynn no questions asked. The total of what I've got coming in, with her taking me at my word on my play, is-
- Grand Pano suite w/ butler service. I'm actually most excited about this. The room looks beautiful and has a pool table. If it fits my needs, I'm sure our next family vacation will be here bc of that pool table. This is far above what I would get from the Wynn (Parlor suite)
- 6500 free credit
- 1200 food/bev
- interesting, they don't comp cabanas at FB but will knock it off the bill "based on play" at the end, so basically what the Wynn has become for me.
- I also added on 2 tix to Hootie and the Blowfish which my wife wanted. Tickets ended up being 900$ total and we had great seats, so that's quite a bit more added last minute comp
- limo service. That's standard.
- host seems very upfront and honest right now which is exactly what I need
People- was going to be me and D, and as mentioned my wife is a late addtion
Agenda
I got the day off unexpectedly the day before I was supposed to go, so of course I push everything up by a day. Host set all that up last minute. So, I'm now staying Wed-Sun and D and wife get in Thurs. I really hope I don't screw myself gambling-wise with an extra day...
Wed- get in, don't implode, dinner at Mother Wolf which I've eaten at before
Thurs- D and wife get in, dinner at Kyu
Fri- hit the pool, dinner at Don's Prime, Hootie
Sat- check out the spa, dinner at Komodo (been there before, have to get their duck again)
Sun- head home late
Bankroll- I'm short and scared money. Too much locked up in the market or gone covering taxes, and overall I've run bad in 2024. 50k and I will really be hurting if I lose most or all of it.
Day 1
Even though I'm going a day early, I can't contain my excitement. I haven't been to Vegas in months, and the prospect of checking out a new place, playing slightly different VP, etc... the flight's only an hour and it feels like 10.
Never gets old.
My driver is ex-Wynn lol. We share lots of stories about the Wynn on the ride over. Many readers probably already knew but FB got a bunch of Wynn employees to move over when they opened.
The VIP entrance, or the "Tom Brady entrance" as my driver calls it, is in the basement. Apparently a lot of the celebrities prefer to come in this way so they're not visible to crowds, etc.
VIP check in is on the main floor, so you come in the basement, immediately hop on an elevator and you're there. My butler is standing to the left.
My butler takes me to the room, and gives me a tour. He also offers to unpack my bags for me which I thought was a little odd, but who's got that kind of time?! I'm here to gamble, damn it! So he leaves and I'll let the pics do the talking.
Thoughts- not all of these were my initial impressions, but it's easier to get the summation of me and wife's thoughts taken care of here. First, it's obv a beautiful room. Hosting a future March Madness event in this type of room is a no-brainer. The decor is more "new money" vs the Wynn. Same can be said of the casino. It's ALMOST as nice. ALMOST as classy. The room needs a bit of bright color like a pink or yellow, all the gray and blue is a little too muted for me.
Bed and pillows are more comfortable than Wynn. I got several nights of good (for Vegas) sleep.
Bathroom is nice but a little small. The closet is TINY- there wasn't enough room for both me and my wife's stuff and she packs light.
Pool table- I hustled pool back in high school so I've played a game or two. The table shoots true and the pockets are very forgiving. It's a small (coin op) sized table. The house cues are decent. The table is too close to the wall and the glass table next to it, so if you've got a rail shot in either of those spots the cue bangs into them. 5/10 for me. We played a bit to kill time over the weekend and hanging out with my kids or buddies it could be fun, but as is it won't be a huge draw. If they replace the table with a full-sized one and pull it out a bit they could get a real experience going here. I'm going to let my host know, for what it's worth. I doubt getting another, bigger table in will be a high priority item for them.
Other stuff- having a coffee maker in the room was a nice plus.
All that done, I head down to gamble! I walk straight to hi limit to get a players' card and get fast pay set up. Game-wise, I'm expecting to play a lot of double super times pay. It's the one game they don't offer TDB on at the Wynn and I've never put any volume in this game. I've really wanted to, in fact I'm sick of the swinginess of UX and the fact that I seem to keep making hands on non-multiplied spots. Just deal me the multiplier and be done with it! All of the other gimmick games are the same as Wynn (spin, UX) or the base credit is TOO big (eg, I want to play super triple play and dream card, but the credits start at 5$! That is ridiculously big).
They also have a multiline machine that starts as low as quarters, but NO TDB. Argh.
I literally hit a hand pay my very first hand at FB! Feed in 1k, hear the multiplier noise pop up, and see what I'm dealt. I thought to myself, boy it'd be nice to test if fast pay is already turned on and hit a hand pay. Got to find out, it was turned on 😆 Dream start.
Super awesome to get a multiplier on the deal and draw here!
Some context here. I go through a ridiculous cold patch and decide to use up my free credit. 6500 in, result above. Over 100% payback.
*** I really needed this one. HUGE multipliers and draw. This miss hurt.
Finally- dealt quads number 1. I've been through some huge swings already. I didn't think this game would be as swingy as UX, but it sure seems worse...
Spoiler
PREMIUM!
OK, we need a multiplier on the draw AND a good draw!!!!
Result-
Spoiler
ARGH. This is objectively not good for what it could have been. Dealt premiums w/ multiplier are why we're playing this game. Didn't get that, and only hit one kicker.
I play really fast, and the huge downswing starts again. Despite the great start, the dealt quads, and using up my free credit, I head upstairs stuck 8k! I'm a little shell-shocked, honestly. I just didn't think I could lose that much that quickly betting 70$ a hand. Not getting multipliers at the right time REALLY hurts in this game. I take a nap to kill some time.
Couple of view pics from the room.
The nap was just what I needed. I'm starving and my dinner resv is coming up. I head down to dinner mostly recharged.
Next part coming soon...
Did you intentionally wait for post number 701? I like that a new chapter ITT starts on a new page. Thanks for documenting the journey.
Congratulations on the move, leon. Hope it's a better venue for you.
Always excited to read/see leon VP trip reports. Thanks for taking us along.
Really happy you left the Wynn. They would have continued to cut back if you stayed and you can always return in the future if need be. I also think a different casino with new fresh pics is good for the TR. Good luck!!!!!!!!
Love all the details on the pool table. Sad it was added just as an after-thought....wouldn't it be nice if we had one of those in here, but not really for any serious pool players. Might as well just added a dart board and air hockey.
I'm looking forward to more food pics. And definitely curious what the final verdict will be on returning to FB
Yippee….feels like ages
I think it's great you left the Wynn. Can't wait to hear more of your thoughts on FB!
Amazing start to the TR as always Leon! Makes me look forward to my next trip in October.
Fountainblue suite looks really nice and spacious. I just got an email from MGM/Cosmo about a suite offer, was considering it for my trip but the problem is that I either have to go with comped suite and less free play & resort credit or a lower tier hotel and higher free play & resort credit and going (mostly) alone I just cannot justify staying in a big suite if I will only sleep there.
We are SO back...
The room is definitely impressive as far as what's in it and its spaciousness, but it seems tacky and flashy. Why so much marble, and so many mirrors and shiny things? It feels like it'll be really dated really soon. Maybe your "new money" comment was a way to put that nicely. And it seems so weird not to see the pics of the usual Wynn machines. I hope things go well though, and your good luck migrated with you.
Amazing start to the TR as always Leon! Makes me look forward to my next trip in October.
Fountainblue suite looks really nice and spacious. I just got an email from MGM/Cosmo about a suite offer, was considering it for my trip but the problem is that I either have to go with comped suite and less free play & resort credit or a lower tier hotel and higher free play & resort credit and going (mostly) alone I just cannot justify staying in a big suite if I will only sleep there.
My Freeplay offer is always the same no matter where I stay under MGM properties, the resort credit increases the worse the property is. I've never seen my Freeplay amount change based on property.
My Freeplay offer is always the same no matter where I stay under MGM properties, the resort credit increases the worse the property is. I've never seen my Freeplay amount change based on property.
Weird. As an example I get $100 free play and $100 resort credit for a comped suite at Cosmo. When I booked Park MGM with a suite fully comped I got $300 free play and $350 resort credit, so it was a no brainer.
Weird. As an example I get $100 free play and $100 resort credit for a comped suite at Cosmo. When I booked Park MGM with a suite fully comped I got $300 free play and $350 resort credit, so it was a no brainer.
Oh wow yah that's a no brainer then for sure. I always pay attention to it when I book, and just booked a couple weeks ago and my Bellagio/Aria/Cosmo offers were the same food/Freeplay amounts, and maybe an extra 100-300 food credit at the other properties.
Rest of Day 1
After my nap, I head to Mother Wolf for dinner. I've been here with D before, I decide since I'm here an unscheduled early 1st day I'll eat at a repeat and save all the new stuff for when wife and D get in tomorrow.
I really tried to avoid a carb bomb, but none of the more protein based main courses seemed appealing. My eye kept coming back to the carbonara and meh F it YOLO. The meatballs were a repeat, 8/10. Carbonara only 6/10, the flavor was good but very heavy and unidimensional. It was one of those dishes that the first bite is amazing, the third is ok, and by the 5th you're like, "ok this is getting old now".
After dinner, let's try and have a good first day.
So as can be seen, I made some nice hands, but none on multipliers. I lose another 4k for the day AND have used up all my free play. I'm getting this dawning realization/fear that DSTP may not be my game. I know it's just variance. The question is, does DSTP have more variance than X, and can I survive this downswing? I don't know the answers to these questions. I've read X has more variance than DSTP, which I believe solely from the increased credit requirements, but from where I sit it's the opposite. DSTP is just hoovering my money. I'm sure if I was dealt god or hit a nice multiplier/premium hand I'd be singing a different tune, but as it is I go to bed stuck more than I wanted, and vaguely scared FB won't have a game I really want to play.
Day 1 result- -12k
Dealt quads- 1, premium
Day 2
Because I went to bed so early, I actually wake up before 5am! Thank god there's a coffee maker in the room.
The views from the room are nice, at least.
I head downstairs and inquire about this "free coffee for Royal status" thing. Just so everyone knows, it's only between 6-11am. If you have a Royal card you just need to stick your card in a machine then you can head to Chez Bon Bon and grab a free coffee. It's not much but it's something. The VIP lounge also has free coffee, and also doesn't open until 6am.
I sit down and dump a few k into DSTP, hitting nothing. Jesus this game is ice cold. I get the usual assortment of "15x multipliers and have to redraw my entire hand" along with the usual dealt flush, full etc but now with zero multipliers. Very frustrating. I decide to give craps a try- I was going to wait for D, but I'm bleeding too fast at VP.
The dice session is ok and I book a small win. Observations- FB chips are the nut low. Cheap plastic, super slippery, almost impossible to reliably do chip tricks etc with. Plus, the 1$ and 25$ are real similar in color, the 100$s don't look DARK BLACK like real hundos should, and the "flag" actually looks closer to a 1$ than the 25$ does! FAIL. Anyways,
In for 3, out for 3.8k.
I head back to VP, dump more at DSTP, and in frustration switch to 5 line UX. F 5 line UX, I can play this at the Wynn on the older cabinets which I prefer.
I give that back super fast, of course, and head to breakfast stuck almost 20k for the trip!
Vida
I'm trying a place called Vida. Breakfast should be hard to F up so the bar is low.
It's 8am. I think I'll be able to walk in, no resv next time.
Food was 7/10. Glad I got the side of asparagus for some greeens.
After breakfast, I head to the floor to see what my options are. I can play 1$ dream card, which I know from experience could be a money suck as well. The super triple pay paytables seem decent, let's give that a whirl.
I get to play for a while at least, mostly from this hit.
When I hit the above JP, I was all ready to unlock and keep going. NOPE. No fast pay on the floor. So I wait a true 15 min for a slot attendant to come, during which time someone tries to bum a cigarette from me, and another lookie-lou hangs out by my machine for an uncomfortable 2 min. This is the unfun side of playing on the regular floor. Finally the slot attendant confirms, no fast pay on the floor, but maybe his manager can get it turned on. I cash out and head with him back to hi limit.
Speak to manager. He can't do fast pay on the floor- apparently it's an IRS thing, the machine must have an avg bet size of 25$ or more. OK, well is there super triple play in hi limit? Turns out there is, I missed it before! AND... it starts at 5$ credits! ARGH. It would take an act of god to lower it...
DAMN DAMN DAMN. The gaming here is really working out to be suboptimal.
I think quickly- realistically, I shouldn't play super triple play on the floor. If things pick up, which of course I want them to, I'll be tipping off 100s every day. From a long term EV perspective it's too expensive. I can't not tip- I'll feel like a dick. Sigh. Hi limit it is.
Only jackpot of the late AM.
By the time D arrives at noon, I'm still stuck 20k for the trip. I give him a tour of the room and we chat for a bit. Then, we head downstairs for a craps session. I believe this one was also a winner, in for 3k and out for 5k. I've got my first flag of the trip! We head to hi limit and I dump 5k in no time flat.FFFFFF Back up to the room to chill and wait for wife.
Wife gets in, we bring her up to speed, she checks out the room, etc. It's now late afternoon and we have time for more craps +/- VP if the craps session sucks. Well, it turns out it does suck. I lose 2k and we head to VP. More punishment- I lose another 3k and can feel tilt creeping in.
It's close enough to dinner. We're eating at Kyu, the Japanese BBQ place.
KYU
I picked this place bc supposedly they had a limited time only tasting menu. Supposedly with the reservation that's all you could get. Once I got to look at the menu and see how empty the place was, I suspect the tasting menu is always going to be on offer.
Overall, the food was 7/10. Highlights were the fried chicken, kale chips, cauliflower (amazing sauce) and the rib (but it came too late in the line up, I was stuffed by then). The veggies and sweet potato were meh, and rice was too sweet. The dessert was ridiculously unnecessary, I actually walked out of this place feeling a little ill. I'd be curious to go back and spot order things from the menu next time.
After dinner, all of us want to walk outside for a bit, if for no other reason than we're FREEZING. I may have already mentioned it, but if not- FB is WAY TOO COLD. I never thought the AC could be too cold in Vegas in Aug, but they pulled it off. I regret not bringing a sweater- if I did I would have worn it the majority of the trip, no joke.
Let's see if this post-dinner gaming session can turn this trip around...
Next part coming soon...
I am currently watching my way through the "Inside the Mind of a Pro" poker video series. I would give anything to see a video of you playing VP at your stakes with you narrating it with what your thoughts are in game in the format they use.
oof - rough start to the new property. Can only imagine the mental games your mind is playing
the by the glass pricing for those wines was obscene btw
