Ongoing VP TR, PART 2!

6/12-6/15 TR

Been a while. Let's get this going! I think my last trip was the TR that never happened, lost, never had fun, and no new pics so I said meh. I believe I gave a recap though. As you'll see below, I have to make my apologies to the various 2+2ers where a possible meet up was discussed in the past. This was a planned family trip and I didn't want to take away from planned activities, and as we'll see I wouldn't have had time for it anyways.

Background- pretty simple. We haven't been as a family in about a year. My oldest son is bringing a friend so that'll be special for his friend, he's never seen Vegas like we do it. Nanny is also coming. I've decided to stay at FB to change it up for family and give them a second chance. We've got a two bedroom crown suite which should fit all of us, and while we don't have much food/free credit up front, my host is pretty sure she'll be able to comp everything on the back end. I get it, last time I came in I basically hit them for 6k free credit and really didn't play, and they gave my non-gambling brother 3 nights free when he came in. So I've got to at least show them a decent amount of play.

Gambling-wise I have been running horribly for basically a year and a half. As can be seen from my TRs, I'm going to Vegas and the local less, and also playing smaller than years' past. I've got a bunch of money still in the market but I don't want to touch that if I can help it and it represents my net win from all my prior sun run periods. My liquid bankroll is on life support and I actually have to tap into some of my market money to fund this trip. Need to start running well again!

On top of all this, I got an offer for 6k free credit from the Wynn. I set up a small reservation with them, my intention is to check in Friday at the Wynn, use my free credit and HOPEFULLY hit big so I can play more there. I don't want to low play them if I can help it but if I do so be it. It might affect a future offer but with the way backend comps are going these days I'm sure I'll be ok there on a future trip.

Agenda-
Thurs- get in, dinner at Komodo
Fri- Mob museum, kids likely hit Circus Circus. I'll head to the Wynn and play in the afternoon, all meet up at the new restaurant Pisces for dinner.
Sat- cabana, dinner at Mother Wolf
Sun- head home

Bankroll- 40k

Comp- 1.5k free credit and 1k food FB, 6k free credit and 1k food Wynn.

Day 1

I'm really excited to go. It's probably the combo of staying at a new(ish) place and my eldest's friend coming- I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction and excitement and not the usual jaded reaction from the rest of us Vegas regulars lol. Which makes

Being stuck on the tarmac in SD

all that much worse. Eventually, we leave, about 1hr delay.

Never gets old.

Our ride is an Escalade.

The two bedroom suite is HUGE. The pics don't do it justice. With a rollaway bed it's enough room for 6 people.

VIP lounge. A few snacks are out, but no drinks and overall it's stocked way less than Wynn (no servers either to help).

Hallway, 86th floor. This place is ridiculously huge and I didn't know it went that high. One nice part of the Fleur de Lis suites is we have our own private elevators and all the rides up and down are definitely less tilt-inducing than the Wynn.

Everything is digital in the room. My car doesn't have this many options LOL. Actually it's TOO digital for my tastes, fumbling around at 2am sometimes you just want a good old-fashioned light switch to turn on the lights to the bathroom haha.

Random photo dump of the room from various points in the day. I gotta say, I definitely like this better than a Parlor suite at the Wynn. Again, maybe it's just the newness of it all.

Kids are hungry and I'm pretty sure they won't be able to charge anything to the room on their own, so we head to the food court first. I don't get any food but I'm delayed from gambling waiting for them to get their orders in! Eventually, nanny shows up and I head to hi limit.

Place is dead on a Thursday.

I shove 1k into the multiline machine. Plan is to play no bigger than 75$ a push until I hit big. That 1k goes really fast, and I decide to open with my free credit.

Start.

"Dealt" 4 aces?!

End. Pretty solid conversion, about 133%.

"Dealt" premium quads?! This better not be a theme of this trip, only catching quads on a sht redeal.

I hit absolutely nothing and am stuck about 5k. God this is frustrating. Running bad, you feel like you just can't catch a break and this is true here. Haven't even see trip aces once. I told myself I would stay away from DSTP this trip, but the Wynn doesn't have TDB DSTP and I'm getting bored of the multiline machine.

FINALLY on the board!

Give that back, move to the multiline machine again. I hit a bunch of small stuff, no jackpots but I'm only stuck a few k now.

This was a good one. It's tough to make jackpots playing 25c credits.

I head up to get ready for dinner down about 5k. We're eating at Komodo, mostly bc of the Peking duck.

This guy is lacquering the ducks.

We get a bunch of stuff, and everything is 7/10 except the duck which is a solid 9/10 again. I like this place but it's my third time now and it's not as good as before. It's a bit too loud and most of the food is just so-so. I'll probably pass next time and try a new place.

After dinner, my family is planning on walking the strip. They'll head to Caesar's and walk back to FB. I have no interest in that, so it looks like more gambling for me! I head to the room to get changed, grab money and head back down.

View from the room.

Not much too say about this session. Not much good, anyways. I hit the machines and lose a few k. Decide to take a break and play craps. I've said it before, I DESPISE FB's cheap plastic chips. So much so that I'd really rather not play table games, but the machines aren't letting me choose. I belly up to the table and immediately get crushed. I'm super pissed and I realize it's kind of ridiculous to be mad about being down 1k ish at craps vs almost 10k at the machines, but there's something about the all or nothing nature of losing at craps that contributes to that. Oh, that and the horrible chips obv. So somehow I claw my way back to even and hit the machines again. Change my chips in, get a ticket and immediately dump it. FFFFF

Back to the tables. Immediately get crushed again FFFFRAGETILT. Somehow claw my way back to even, head to the machines again. Change chips in for a ticket and DUMP IT AGAIN. FFFFFF

Sitting here typing this now, I was in the throes of one long, tilt-inducing session. Objectively, craps was so much better. I just opened like crap both times, so when I got back to even it felt like a win. Then what do I do but go dump it in lightning time at the machines. SO SO TILTING.

I head up to the room around 11:30pm stuck 12k, slightly more than my max allowable loss for the day but it felt like way more. I somehow manage to open like crap on day 1, AGAIN, and blow past my stopping point, AGAIN. F.

Day 1 result- -12k

More coming soon...

Sorry about the bad start, but excited at the prospect of you crushing it tomorrow.

Sorry about the run-bad and I'm wishing you all the run-good possible from here out!

Beautiful room!

Hope it turned around. Looking forward to your review of the Mob Museum. Something I've been meaning to get to when out, but never have.

It’s really cool and well done, enjoyed the speakeasy there also.

Second the speakeasy. Its located in basement, and its awesome. Live music friday/saturday nights

that and pinball museum are on my list every year and I've never been to either after probably 10 trips to Vegas

I just want to degen way too much

Sick looking suite. Casino floor looks a little cold though? Not as warm or inviting as Encore.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also want to hear review of mob museum, keep meaning to go do it

GL out there

Totally agree, and that was my first impression of FB and has been every since. It's nice, but something feels vaguely sterile/uninviting to me. The color scheme definitely contributes to it. You wouldn't think it would matter that much, but it really does. Certainly for table games; VP I just want to sit by myself and chill and that's pretty much fine anywhere as long as people leave me alone.

Now that I'm back I'm officially giving you all my remaining run good for your tournaments man. Bink one, will ya?

Day 2

The bed/pillows at FB are slightly more comfortable than the Wynn, and I sleep in until 6am.

Good morning LV. Let's run better today.

Only hits from the AM. I think I lost a few k but certainly not the worst session.

I head back upstairs. We've got an early-ish room service breakfast before heading off to the mob museum.

Standard breakfast food. Upsides- not actually that expensive, showed up on time. Downsides- small portions on the protein, lukewarm. I'd say 4/10 overall.

On our way downtown! Haven't played at the ghettosphere in years, or stayed in decades, but this was one of my original Vegas destinations and I'll always have fond memories.

Mob Museum

So I'll apologize in advance for lack of pics; hopefully the write up will help fill in. Let's start by saying the museum is totally worth it. Tons of exhibits and info, actually more than enough. I'm sure all of us have had that experience with a good museum where there's almost too much and you end up moving really quickly through certain parts just to try to get it all in. The Mob museum definitely meets that category. I don't know if I'd go back any time soon bc I did get about 70% of it, but it's certainly worth at least one visit.

They have a few "extra" things like a firearm simulator, a forensics crime lab, entrance to the speakeasy, etc for just a few dollars more. Knowing my boys, it was never a question- firearm sim LDO. So we've got an appt for that, then we get to see the rest of the museum.

First floor exhibit entrance.

My wife and I start with the firearm sim. It's well done, basically they show you how to handle a simulated sidearm (lasers, but looks and feels like a real pistol). You wear a holster and get to fire a few rds, then it's on to simulated scenarios that a cop might have to deal with. Mostly video, but they did have one real life actor scenario.

The instructor lays down their expectations beforehand so the participant knows what they're dealing with, eg "you have to use your best judgment, but you also have to come home alive at the end of the day". I think it's all conflicting things cops deal with but it's still useful to go through the scenario. Each scene you're basically deciding "do I fire at this suspicious looking dude or not"?

I tried to take it seriously and I'll say, my HR rose a little bit even though I knew it was just a sim. I definitely went into the sims with a firm "I'd rather take a bullet than kill an innocent". Without getting too political, I definitely feel like if on some level a cop isn't willing to potentially be wrong and take a bullet from a perp vs fire first, ask questions later and potentially kill an innocent then they shouldn't be a cop. So being in these scenarios with that attitude was a great test of myself.

Case in point, my son. While my wife and I started the sim together, they had my youngest switch with my wife since technically he needed an adult with him. So my wife got to fire during the range portion (she's a decent but not great shot), then my 13 yr old switched in. This kid has fired AK47s and some pretty heavy duty guns before and definitely has more experience than my wife, and that showed. His groupings were ridiculously tight, at speed no less. Downside? The instructor told him to draw, then asked "do you know how to use your sights?" and my son responded by rapid-firing 5 rds without answering the question! The instructor was impressed, meanwhile I'm yelling at my son bc he didn't say fire, he asked you a question!! So yeah, upside and downside of being a 13 yr with firearm experience.

So back to the scenarios. I am proud to say I didn't shoot one innocent person. And, I probably would have gotten killed in one of them. My son stayed alive. But he also put rds into people that ultiimately wouldn't have been justified. The best part was the live actor at the end- we were instructed to try and talk him down, which on some level I have to do at my hospital on a not-infrequent basis. So that went well, we didn't shoot the guy, even at the end when he lunged for what turned out to be radio from his belt. HAD THAT BEEN A GUN, we're dead, no question. And his lunge? Yeah, that got my HR up. My other son/friend/wife killed the dude lol.

So that was a really fun experience and it's realistic enough. After that, we toured the rest of the museum. It has three floors and goes into the history of the mob in general, LV in particular, and has sections on famous mobsters, weapons, killings etc. I'd give the entire experience a 9/10, probably bc our timing was good and we got to see

Mr. Frank Calabrese Jr, noted son of a mobster who ended up turning on his own dad. He's giving a talk on his life in the Mob, and what ultimately lead him to give it up. We stayed for the whole talk and it was fascinating to hear the whole tale from the guy's own mouth. His soul is tortured and you can't help but feel sorry for the dude. His book is on sale at the gift shop, obv.

I think we stayed about 2hrs which was plenty of time. After that, we got our ride to drop us off at Tacos El Gordo for lunch. Plan was to eat there, then walk back to FB. Kids will go to Circus Circus, I'm off to Wynn to redeem my free play and gamble until dinner time.

Maybe I'm spoiled bc of San Diego, but this place is nothing special. I mean, it's ok, but nothing worth waiting 30 min for when the lines get long.

The view walking back to FB.

I get a ride to the Wynn, check in is smooth. I have a regular room bc I won't need it; haven't posted pics of this in forever.

OK, I have multiple goals here. The first, obv, is to win. Second is to generate a ton of play to increase the chance that I bink this giveaway later in the month and to not low-play the Wynn so obviously. Third is to not lose more than 5k (honestly, any loss with 6k freeplay will piss me off, I'm just intellectually aware I'm probably going to lose). Obv these goals are not completely compatible with each other. Let's start with the freeplay and see what happens.

Start.

End. Not a bad return.

The button is sticking on the multiline machine in hi limit, so I immediately move out to the floor. And, I run bad. I just... can't... win these days. No draws, no aces, miss the few opportunities I have... this is really demoralizing. Eventually I use up all that free credit and am stuck several K more. I turn the lines down and finally get dealt 3 aces.

Finally on the board here at the Wynn. I honestly was expecting to miss this.

Play on and get up from the machine stuck 4k? I head up to the room really annoyed, and try to get a nap in. I lay down for about 30 min but ultimately am unsuccessful.

I blame you, sphere. No run good from you in forever.

Head downstairs and decide to coast with craps. My brother is in town and will join us for dinner tonight, and cabana and dinner tomorrow. He meets me at the start of my craps session at Wynn- doesn't want to play and good thing, it's point- 7 out 4 rolls in a roll. I'm betting small but am basically on rage tilt right now. WTF do I run so badly for? I just donked off > 1k in 2 min. Rage pick up my chips and we walk to Encore.

Encore session starts very similar, but then somehow we catch a decent roll. The only problem was the table was packed and these two truly idiotic girls forced their way in right next to me. They were basically wearing swim suits, were obnoxiously loud, and committed every faux pas possible in craps. AND, the table turned when they showed up. So, once again, superstitions mean something, until they don't. The pit boss and I exchanged eye rolls with each other several times, but hey, I'm picking up chips so I gotta ride this out.

Ultimately, it wasn't even that good of a roll, it just seemed that way after all the sht I've been dealing with. I color up slightly up for the session and only down 5k for the Wynn total. It'll have to do, no more play at the Wynn this trip. I head to dinner at Pisces.

This place is where Lakeside used to be. It basically got a face lift.

Presentation of most items has improved. Most food 7-8/10 and honestly not any different than Lakeside's used to be. My halibut was overcooked and that one was 4/10. Like all new places, I'll give them another try, but right now I don't see much of a difference between here and Lakeside.

After dinner, we say goodnight to my bro and head back to FB.

Day 2 so far- -9k
Overall- -21k.

snap shove wedge salad

oof, hope it turns

Shoot. I had my post all typed up but it didn't upload for some reason. This one will be a little short, I don't feel like writing everything out all over again.

Rest of Day 2

We catch a ride back to FB. It feels a little bit like cheating whenever I use one properties' limo to head to another. I'm sure they're used to it but it still feels weird to me. If this is cheating, then the Wynn is still the "wife" and FB is the "mistress".

FB lobby is certainly impressive.

I head to hi limit and soon after pick up my first dealt quads of the trip!

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Wish it were more.

Overall, it's a bad session and this is typical of VP. Of course I convert a pair to quads 3x here. Can't make 4AWAK to save my life.

See above caption.

I end the session down another 4k. I've kind of resigned myself to booking a big loss this trip. I just need to survive tomorrow and Sunday. Bleh.

Day 2 result- -13k
Overall- -25k
Dealt quads- 1

Day 3

I sleep in better again, which once again I attribute to the better pillows/bed at FB. Doesn't take me too long to get on the board.

Soon after, second dealt quads of the trip!

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AGH not enough!

Good draw here.

They're like dealt quads, right?!

Another good draw.


Then, dealt quads number 3 and twice in an hr!

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NINES AGAIN! Where the F are the premiums?!

Switched to a different denom and finally started hitting some aces. Good switch, this time at least.

I finish that session +4k, first winner of the trip. I'm up 4k for the day so far.

Coming soon- cabana etc...

Happy to see a positive session at least

We’re trying to [emoji3]

losing long posts/presentations/documents/emails drives me absolutely ****ing crazy. enrages me. You're some kind of Zen Master to even re-post at all!

hope this bounce is a permanent one

Rest of Day 3

We head to the cabana.

Apologies for lack of any other pics, the inside of the cabana is not as nice as Wynn but it's plenty fine. We learned a lot of useful info re: FB cabanas and anyone considering them, ESP vs a Wynn cabana should pay attention- I was fully expecting to pay for both the cabana and any food/bev charges. By "pay", I mean there'd be a bill, and then it may or may not be comped (as at the Wynn. I'm pretty sure I'll be good this trip given I'm getting raped). However, we learn from the waitress that at FB a cabana is 1300$, all inclusive of food/bev. In other words, there's a min spend of 1300$, but if you order <1300$ of food/bev you'll only pay 1300. In other words, it's one charge and much cheaper than at the Wynn.

Well, that's pretty cool! Our waitress was awesome and kept us up to date with how much we had left to spend (900$! after we ate/ordered drinks). Wife and I each grab a bottle of alcohol to bring home, and waitress turned a blind eye when we shoved it in our bags. Obv the retail price is ridiculous, but since that money was spent already... sure 400$ for a bottle of Woodford reserve!!! LOL.

We hang out by the pool all day, and at some point wife wants to play poolside craps. Not going to say no to that, and nanny wants to learn too. So the three of us head over. Conditions were near-perfect for a learner; 15$ min, friendly dealers, near empty table. We actually catch a great session and at some point nanny and wife both get to bet black from starting bets of 15$. No roll was ever amazing, but several rolls were downright good and the table was generally warm. We play for hrs and at the end of it I book another 4k win.

In for 3, out for 7.

Wife and I stay at the cabana for a few more hrs while nanny and the boys head to NYNY. We settle up, waitress was true to her word and we tip her extra. Whole thing ended up getting comped too. I highly recommend FB's cabana over the Wynn. In retrospect it's probably 500-1000$ cheaper once you factor in food and alcohol. We head up to the room to get ready for dinner. I hit hi limit and wait for wife.

Frick pair into premiums THREE times, but no kicker.

This was pretty bad ass, hold 3 to royal and convert twice. Of course, I've been dealt 4 to a royal 3 times this trip and have been completely skunked there, so...

Wife comes down and we push buttons for a while. We're actually down despite all those hits.

This helps, a bit.

We finish that session 2k loser. Still up 6k for the day.

SO- my boys had wanted me to bet blackjack for them during the pool session. We didn't get to bc of the hot craps roll, so we might as well do it now. My eldest was very specific in how he wanted me to bet. They're using their own money, of course. So we are supposed to-
- buy in for 100$
- bet 50, if we win double it. If we win that, take the profit

We walk up to an empty blackjack table and I throw down 200$. Dealer gives me a bored eyeroll look and I feel a slight twinge of annoyance- I'm sure he thinks wife and I are some Vegas noobs pulling our whole bankroll out on a 25$ table lol. Whatever man, FB should consider itself lucky I'm giving them any action at blackjack at all. I HATE this game.

So we bet 50 for eldest first. Get dealt an 8-3 and don't even have time to think about doubling bc dealer turns over blackjack. Yep, standard. I hate this game.

Now it's a bet for our youngest. Stiff, hit up to 19 and lose to a dealer 20. Yep, standard.

Now it's eldest's last bet. Bet, blackjack! OK, so we slide 100 out there and have 25$ left for him. 20, dealer 17 NO GOOT. OK, so eldest is up 125$!

Now it's youngest's last bet. Wife and I are rooting for him SO BADLY. Any parent knows what I'm talking about- if one kid wins and the other loses we'll never hear the end of it. We get a stiff, but actually pull a great card for a 20, dealer 19 NO GOOT. Double it up... blackjack! So youngest actually wins 150$, more than his brother.

That was fun. We grab our kids' chips and... destroy the good mood by forcing a craps session. We shouldn't have played- we only had 30 min until dinner and we didn't even have time for a hot run, not that we saw anything but point-out point out. So now I'm irritated again, stuck 2k more and I'm only up 4k for the day. That was dumb. We head to Mother Wolf for dinner, my brother is joining us.

This is my third time here and I think I can say it's nothing special. Most dishes 6-7/10 and either too salty or lacking in subtlety. I got the rib cap which was 8/10. I think the next time I stay at FB I'm going to skip this place. The one upside is the bourbon selection is good and the prices are downright reasonable.

After dinner, we show my brother the suite, head back downstairs so the kids can grab some ice cream, and then wife and I head to hi limit again.

F. Really need this dealt this way.

We play and lose. Down 3k when wife heads to bed. I continue and hit absolutely nothing. Now I'm down 6k post dinner, and 2k for the day. Just cannot find any amazing hands.

Day 3 result- -2k
Overall- -27k
Dealt quads- 3
5 digit hits- ZERO.

Day 4, final day

I wake up with very little desire to play. Sleep in a bit more, then head downstairs. We've got breakfast at 9am and our ride to the airport leaves at 11am, so it's now or never.

Decent start, but ultimately not enough.

I play all morning until breakfast and "only" lose another 2k.

Breakfast is at Vida.

Frickin' empty.

One of the kids' dessert breakfast. So unhealthy.

My skillet, 3/10. Potatoes not crispy, sausage is sweet. Blech.

So now I've eaten at Vida 3 times as well and I can also say- not worth it. If one is to get breakfast food at FB, I think it's La Fontaine or room service. Don't bother with this place, it's just ok (if that).

After breakfast wife and I get a quick craps session in- it starts off terrible, then wife puts together 2 or 3 mini runs. I end up basically even and wife is actually up a bit- might as well call it. Another Vegas trip in the books- it's a big loser, but at least I have SOME money left.

Day 4 result- -2k
Overall- -29k

Thoughts- wife actually won 1k which is cool. Nanny didn't lose too much (I had 60% of his action poolside). Kids had fun and got to experience a new hotel. I'm glad we stayed at FB, if nothing else just to change it up. The suite and cabana are better than at Wynn, and I'm starting to figure out which places at FB are actually worth eating at again.

Gambling-wise... I'm just running cold at VP. No doubt about it. Craps is keeping me alive during these trips, the only problem is I know for a fact table games don't get rated at FB nearly as well as machines do. I basically played no UX or DSTP and now I kind of regret it. While more swingy than multiline, I didn't give myself an opportunity to hit a knockout punch that could have given me a trip win or at least a smaller loss. Playing 9/6 multiline for quarters almost guarantees I'm just going to get ground down by the numbers- of course if I get a premium deal that's not true, but barring that I almost CAN'T win for the trip. I think we're seeing this at the Wynn as well. While I CAN get felted more quickly when UX is cold, the reality is basically all of my winning trips have involved some sort of lightning strike at a carnival game. VERY RARELY, I get dealt something amazing at multiline and it's a winner, but the overall trend is-
- lose at multiline
- win or lose at UX. If I win it's probably going to be a winner. Lose and it's a bad trip either way.

I guess this is a long way of saying my next trip I'm going back to UX and just have to hope for the best. Nothing is going to save me short of discipline and getting lucky anyways. Now I need to come up with some funds for next trip...

Thanks for reading!

As always, thanks for sharing.

From one of your followers, I love seeing the variety of a different place and other places to eat. That last picture of skillet potatoes and sausage is ridiculously bad, that's borderline complainable. There's no color in that thing, what's the point of the skillet?

29k hit is certainly a bad trip. Let's see how FB treats your action and what they offer you your next trip (if not back at wynn)

great read as always, thanks for posting

preface as always leon

thank you for the extra energy exterted sharing trips and tips with the uncompensated rest of us

not sure if the insertion of tricky martian lyrics into the conversation from here on out should be considered crazy

while Vida mighta ultimately profit x from drawing a new five card kitchen staff

seems from my eye level up the dining environment has potential to be quite enjoyable

meanwhile what lives below the nose while seated and within an inch of your food not so much

curious if it was any better than a short stack platter of free birthday ihop served on fresh versions of japanese 2d hand drawn anime concept cafe plates with a request of extra syrup shadow on the left side of the sticky bun please

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Always enjoy reading about your trips. Of course I like seeing the 5 figure hits. Hopefully next time.

thanks so much as ever Leon. sorry about the run cold. Also interested in how Wynn and FB responded to the weekend from a play/p&l perspective?