Dirty Dozen Trip!

[Vman96]

Great report!  Your fingers must be bloody from all that IMAGE posting. Felt as though I was there with you during your whole trip.  Wish I was young again..  On second thought, maybe not. 

Yeah, embedding the images sucks a bit...but I got a tip recently that was way better than photobucket. Mostly copy/paste jobs.

[pokerforme]

Like normal great trip report!

[notes1]

sounds like you had a good time.  regarding vegas, in an interview with PBS, steve wynn did not seem to optimistic about vegas or the economy. he says many nevada casinos are losing money and the economy/jobs are not nealy as strong as we are being led to believe. i have read stats that visitors to vegas may be up, but the amount of money being spent has dropped. this may account for the reduction in paytables that we are hearing about. same story, less gambling, those who do have to lose more.

[Vman96]

sounds like you had a good time.  regarding vegas, in an interview with PBS, steve wynn did not seem to optimistic about vegas or the economy. he says many nevada casinos are losing money and the economy/jobs are not nealy as strong as we are being led to believe. i have read stats that visitors to vegas may be up, but the amount of money being spent has dropped. this may account for the reduction in paytables that we are hearing about. same story, less gambling, those who do have to lose more.

Yeah, that really doesn't shock me much. Also I believe the "younger crowd" is more about the "whole experience" and less about gambling. So to maximize gambling revenue, you can creep paytables down because the casual player won't notice.

But it's probably more important to maximize the "non-gaming revenue".

[notes1]

 
Yeah, that really doesn't shock me much. Also I believe the "younger crowd" is more about the "whole experience" and less about gambling. So to maximize gambling revenue, you can creep paytables down because the casual player won't notice.

But it's probably more important to maximize the "non-gaming revenue".
  there is a huge cost to a casino to provide the 'whole experience'. whether it is the volcanos, computerized attractions, etc. these may very well help draw the tourists and younger crowd.  but, i have been pointing out that the money that a casino makes from selling a couple of overpriced drinks or an expensive hamburger will not replace the profit from someone banging on a slot machine for 8 hours. i think his comments simply reflect that folks, especially the younger crowd, are travelling more, but spending less.  Wynn is a pretty smart guy and even though he is extremely wealthy, he talks in a down to earth way. like any successful salesperson, he knows his customer. he was admamant in his description of the economy and the 'average' consumer. while we have seen an increase in jobs, people are still hurting for income. the bottom line for us players is not to expect an incease in paytables or payouts anytime soon.    

[olds442jetaway]

Great stories and pics as usual. Ah yes, Kung Pao chicken very good....especially with favorite beer. Hopefully, g/f got over being p/od off and on at you after hice hit near the end. Wife gets p/od at me at casino off and on too. She is Irish so fires up easily. Hope she's not reading this. Still have to get to Vegas ourselves some day. Closest we came was Tahoe. Sister lives in Sonoma.

[alpax]

I finally got through the stories myself, surprised that you guys went to Vegas again in less than a few months. very interesting and very authentic as always. None of those typical big hits reports that are hidden by many big loss sessions in between. I am interested in trying a few restaurants mentioned in the trip report, personally not a foodie but those meals look delicious. I keep hearing about the Shake Shack burger joint that has lines for at least 2 hours, but the rest seems to be good. Vegas is best enjoyed on the weekdays, since it is less crowded and the rooms are much cheaper. Most people cannot handle Vegas for more than 3 days, their budget/wallet gets sucked up dry.

The big part that I got out of this report and most other people may over look it are the benefits you've reaped from the MGM's myVegas game. I know most of your value also comes from receiving expensive IPA beer. It is probably the most rewarding game out there. Most people do not have the patience when starting off, but creating a fake identity Facebook account "myVegas <Insert common name>" and joining a myVegas chip fan page, you will receive hundreds of friend requests (add little at a time or else Facebook will crack down). Some people might have more than 3 of these accounts since they let you only redeem 3 rewards per 30 day window.

Putting in a few minutes throughout the day on the Facebook games, myVegas slots (iOS/Android), and myVegas blackjack. It takes a month or two to get into the Diamond (and its various colors) levels on the Facebook game, but that is when the real benefits start coming in. I love it when Mandalay Bay and/or MGM Grand gives out 500 LP. The blackjack game started to give out gift baskets of LP lately, so just checking in every 4 hours has become even more beneficial.

[Vman96]

I finally got through the stories myself, surprised that you guys went to Vegas again in less than a few months. very interesting and very authentic as always. None of those typical big hits reports that are hidden by many big loss sessions in between. I am interested in trying a few restaurants mentioned in the trip report, personally not a foodie but those meals look delicious. I keep hearing about the Shake Shack burger joint that has lines for at least 2 hours, but the rest seems to be good. Vegas is best enjoyed on the weekdays, since it is less crowded and the rooms are much cheaper. Most people cannot handle Vegas for more than 3 days, their budget/wallet gets sucked up dry.

The big part that I got out of this report and most other people may over look it are the benefits you've reaped from the MGM's myVegas game. I know most of your value also comes from receiving expensive IPA beer. It is probably the most rewarding game out there. Most people do not have the patience when starting off, but creating a fake identity Facebook account "myVegas <Insert common name>" and joining a myVegas chip fan page, you will receive hundreds of friend requests (add little at a time or else Facebook will crack down). Some people might have more than 3 of these accounts since they let you only redeem 3 rewards per 30 day window.

Putting in a few minutes throughout the day on the Facebook games, myVegas slots (iOS/Android), and myVegas blackjack. It takes a month or two to get into the Diamond (and its various colors) levels on the Facebook game, but that is when the real benefits start coming in. I love it when Mandalay Bay and/or MGM Grand gives out 500 LP. The blackjack game started to give out gift baskets of LP lately, so just checking in every 4 hours has become even more beneficial.



Yeah, it was a bit unexpected to go back so quick. Timing sorta just "worked out". We may not be going back for the rest of the year. :( She is planning a massive Disney vacation for Nov. right now...lol If we do go back this year, it would likely be around her birthday again.

And yeah, myVegas was a big factor in pushing us to go...the way the rooms are set up now though, it's going to be difficult to squeeze out a ton of value from them anymore. I'm still a little peeved about screwing up the Aria buffet. Now my g/f has a lot more LPs left.

And yeah, it was a bit sobering with my results. I wish I kept better records to figure out how "bad" I ran. It probably was at least bottom quarter. It doesn't help I am 0 for lifetime on Triple Bonus Plus for Aces thru 4s either.

Happy the g/f hit 4 Aces though...she's a lot more sensitive about winning and losing (i.e. if she just loses, she will not want to return...I need to learn that...lol)

Oh and another Vegas Message Board member hit the Royal that I briefly chased at Luxor. It got up to $2168.75 before he hit it. So some people get lucky, but that hasn't been me in Vegas this year.

[Galeygoo]

Thanks again Vman and g/f   So much fun....as always

[alpax]

I love seeing that $10,000 check in your name.

Congrats Double L on your fortunate wins!