Ongoing VP TR, PART 2!

That's awesome. I would definitely rate you as high as I could possibly get away with. Dealer bets get rated 3x at least in my tablet

Thanks! Take it you're a pit boss. I've never checked, but I try to be a pleasant customer and never take my frustrations out on the crew. Plus, the Wynn is almost without exception staffed by professionals. I'm pretty sure they're rating me as highly as they can without pushing the boundaries- they're not going to lose their jobs just to help me out and ultimately I'm kind of a low roller compared to some of the Wynn's clientele. I'm just going to assume it works itself out the majority of the time.

Day 2

For some reason, my images are violating the file size limit so I'll have to do a lot of brief posts.

I wake up too early as usual, and head down for VP.

As can be seen, it was a very up and down session. I ended up losing 1k which as I sit here at home, I'm quite disappointed in myself. Every time I was given a lifeline/had the opportunity to lock in a small win, I instead played bigger or kept going and just gave it all back. If I'm really in survival mode (which I still am), I can't discount the power of a small win.

D and I head to Tableau for breakfast.

I wanted eggs scrambled soft, with cheddar. I ended up getting cheddar with a little bit of egg. Actually tasted better than it looked (and I recognize it looks like sht). Just poor for the Wynn and if I was paying out of pocket I'd send it back for sure. As it was, D had a business call he needed to jump on and I didn't want to waste the time.

After breakfast, I head up with D to the room to get myself ready. I go down for more video poker during his call- the plan is we're going to meet at 11am for the security dog meet and greet session. We grab a combined chip stack pic, recognizing it may never get better than this-

SO SEXY.

that is so hot

More Day 2

I head down for VP and find a way to lose 5k in the hr or so I'm waiting for D. VP has been so cold for I don't know how long... so annoying.

The dog event is at Intrigue, the night club! Interesting to see the space during the day, esp bc you couldn't pay me enough to set foot in here when it's actually functioning as a nightclub.

Sorry for the back lit pics.

This was awesome. The speaker basically talked for 1.5 hrs and it was never boring. He explained how he got into the service dog industry (ex-military, and on one deployment it was basically him, the medic and the K9 specialist who were the outcasts from the SEALS they were with. The three of them spent all their time together and that's where he got interested in dogs). When he was discharged, he started raising puppies as non-profit to give to vets to help with PTSD, and from there at some point decided to go all in and learn how to raise/train service dogs.

The bulk of his talk was on the training. He reiterated over and over again that although the dogs LOOK like pets we're all used to, they are anything but. The Wynn only has explosive sniffing dogs (no need for narcotics etc) and the dogs are professionals. They're more independent than regular dogs bc they have to be- they can't have dogs looking for cues from the handler, but rather need a dog that knows what it's doing. The handler is basically there to interpret the dog's cues, NOT to tell the dog what to do.

The dogs come from 4 breeders and cost 50-150K to start. Even then, they've got years of training ahead of them and ultimately only 5% of all would be service dogs make it to the finish line. The presenter explained how the get the dogs to learn to focus on only one scent, disregard all the sights/sounds/people in a casino, etc. He also gave a demo where as he put it, showed "dogs smell in stereo". After hiding some items, the dog was able to zero in on where they were, no problem. He said that if something was emitting one molecule somewhere in the casino, given enough time the dog will find it. It was super cool to watch the dog go from "just here" mode to "ready and working". Its whole body posture changed, and when it found the item it was not subtle.

As explosive dogs, the dogs have to be able to find a bomb BUT THEN back off and somehow alert the handler, and of course they have to be trained to do that. That's a whole different problem- find the thing, but then leave it? Part of the way they do that is when the dog has the ability to find a scent, they then withhold the reward until the dog finds it, AND comes back to the handler. Eventually the dog learns to automatically find then leave. 99% of their training protocol is based on random, intermittent reinforcement to always keep the dogs guessing and seeking MORE reward. "Maybe THIS time I'll get the ball. OK, maybe NEXT time I'll get the ball!". Etc.

Other interesting tidbits- the Wynn has 8 dogs total. Kennel/everything is on site, the dogs do not get to leave the building until they retire. Even their off days are strictly controlled and structured. They have one dog we didn't get to meet that is tasked with finding bedbugs- she was an explosive dog until a guest brought a "service" dog in, and the guest's dog mauled the Wynn's dog. The host explained normally they'd have to put the dog down (she was afraid of people after that and couldn't be on the floor), but they managed to retrain her to find bedbugs. Apparently that dog has won many a lawsuit for the Wynn from people claiming they dealt with bedbugs.

At some point they brought the stars of the show out. This is probably the only setting in which guests can pet the dogs!

Some of the training items for the dogs. The masks are to protect the dogs during very loud times eg fireworks, F1, etc. The dogs can't see or hear nearly as well, but their noses are still free for their primary duty!

After the event, we were given a tote bag with a stuffed animal and a bandana for any pets we have at home. The stuffed animal is going to be shredded by my dogs for sure. And, D didn't need his bandana so I've got one for each of my dogs. Score! The event was super cool and I recommend it to anyone if they have the opportunity. We honestly could have stayed longer and pet the dogs more, I didn't get the sense we were going to get kicked out any time soon. The dogs definitely enjoyed getting pet- you could tell they don't get much of that on a typical day.

To be continued...

thank you for the awesome k9 interlude leon

Those eggs look terrible yuck

Love all of the details about the K9 dogs. Awesome man thanks for all the details.

Yeah I just hit the high points, the guy added lots of other stuff. For instance, for the stereo demo he first hid speakers around the club and had a member of the audience find them, playing "black dog" by Led Zeppelin at varying levels of volume. The person was easily able to do it, and he said "that's bc you can hear in stereo. Dogs smell in stereo". Then, he said "did you realize the last time was actually Miley Cyrus' cover, and not Led Zepplin?". None of us did. He says, "a dog would have smelled the difference between the two versions. That's how sensitive a dog's nose is". I thought that was pretty cool.

He also told us about the retirement ceremony the dogs get. Last time, apparently two dogs retired on the same day, so they got them a table at SW. All the handlers came out, the dogs had a seat and were each given a big steak. Lots of guests were there, tons of people taking pics etc. It's a pretty cool scene to picture, I can see these dogs that are so disciplined being like "WTF is this temptation being placed in front of me" and then when given the go ahead, they just smash some 100+$ steak lol

Great line

This is an awesome fun fact. Thanks for sharing this event with us, and congrats on the insane craps win!

Very cool stories about the dogs!

One of the most interesting posts within the Mother of all TRs. Thanks Leon.

If I went to that nightclub.....only dogs would come over to me 😀

Rest of Day 2

After the dog event, we've got an hr to kill before heading to FB. I hit VP and SURPRISE lose again. I swear to god I'm running so badly on these F'ing machines. Stuck 11k for the day now.

Such a good start. Obv I'm going to step up.

Yes, convert a regular pair into quads 4 times. MFASDUFNSAD

FB

We're here for the free slot tournament and bc I got 1500 free credit. D managed to get an entry to the slot tourney as well, but no free credit. Earlier this AM my host texted me, asking when I thought I might arrive so she can get the butler crew ready for my arrival. D says, "she never sends me texts like that. She must like you better". To which I respond, "that just means I'm more of a fish than you". Once we arrive, I text her to let her know I've got a gift for her and for her to meet me at hi limit. She responds with a pic of her dog in a yard, then says "I'm actually off today, can you just leave it at the host desk?". So, she texted me on her day off just to make sure things went smoothly. All things considered she really is a great host and I don't want to lose the option of FB if I can help it. SO-

all this means is I'm going to have to give them some action. I don't want to burn them if I can help it, and the craps success at the Wynn means technically I'm up. It's gonna be straight VP here bc my understanding is FB rates table games like crap (plus I hate their cheap plastic chips).

I've got the most basic Fleur de Lis suite, still should be more than enough for one person (plus I'm not staying 😉

The foyer bathroom has a shower! Who would need that?

It's a nice room. I'm considering staying here tonight. It's going to depend how today goes, what time our slot tournament rds are, and how much action I want to give FB. We head down to hi limit. We've got hrs to kill before the tourney registration and the free giveaway for 500 FC (which you must be present for).

Start and end of free credit. FB does this weird thing where they give you the FC first but you have to play it off. So I got 75% payback, not good.

I also played DSTP as part of my plan to play more carnival games and hope for a lightning strike. Obv got nothing and they bled me fast. D and I have to earn 5000 pts to qualify for tomorrow's giveaway of 1k free credit. That should be easily doable, but I'm stuck several k already and haven't earned sht. I sigh move to multiline, a game I can play at the Wynn and at Barona, and a game that's just been raping me for a long time now.

JUST. INFURIATING. When you're running bad. Always when you're running bad.

Just a terrible, terrible session. I lose another 5k and am now stuck 16k for the day. I can see my trip win slipping through my fingers. D and I decide to move to craps just to slow it down. It's a bad session, we're losing more than we win and I'm getting pissed. I just CANNOT win in this F'ing casino. I want to like them so badly but the gaming won't let me. Somehow, we see a decent roll and at the end of that roll I'm actually up 200$. It's time to register for the tourney and I should take the win. As bad as that session was, somehow I booked a winner, and I recognize I have not had a losing craps session yet this trip (if we count the Wynn loss but then Encore heroic comeback as one session).

We head back to hi limit and it's an absolute zoo. They've got almost 300 people in this thing and everyone has to line up at one desk to get their credentials, plus they're hanging around for the giveaway which is about to happen. Bad planning on FB's part and this is one of the differences between FB and the Wynn- the Wynn would never arrange something in such a messed up fashion. Quite honestly it was infuriating and there was no room for anyone to play slots in the hi limit room if they wanted to. FB probably literally cost themselves money with the dumb ass arrangement they made.

Obv, D and I don't bink anything. We decided to sign up for the second to last and last rds. We're definitely not staying here tonight, so we'd like to be able to show up at the last possible second tomorrow. We kill a little time then head to Papi steak, home of the 1000$ briefcase steak. My brother is joining us.

This place... let's start with the food. Everything was pretty darn good, 7-8/10. HOWEVER- the place is a nightclub that is trying to serve food. SO LOUD. They literally had dancers jumping on the bar every 1/2 hr or so. The pic of the people holding the sign? That's a birthday. They had probably 3 birthdays in there during the time we were in the restaurant. EVERY SINGLE TIME, they turned the music up to 11. Ditto for every time someone ordered the 1k steak (happened twice). It was the single most unpleasant dining experience I've had in quite some time. Conversation was impossible and even if you knew sign language, you'd STILL be unable to have a conversation bc the place was so frickin' dark- just like a nightclub.

0/10 atmosphere. Couldn't stand it. We'll never be back. It was that bad.

After that torture, we just want to get the hell back to the Wynn. We swing by my room real quick to drop our tournament credentials off which we'll need tomorrow and show my brother the room, then he gives us a ride back to the Wynn.

Back on home territory, D and I hit Encore craps again. It starts off a little rough, we change tables and soon we're up again. It's not an amazing session but it's not a loser either! Both of us are up several k when we decide to call it. Can't believe how good craps has been this trip. Can't believe how bad VP has been.

Day 2 result- -14k
Overall- +19k

Day 3 coming soon...

All results possible on day 3! Can’t wait

I know I'm the farthest thing from a food connoisseur, but what makes a steak worth $1,000?

If someone's willing to pay it.

Unless it feeds 12, nothing makes a steak worth $1k.

I look forward to the (temporary, maybe?) switch from VP to craps in this thread. I think the variance in craps is crazy (and I bet similarly to you but much smaller), but it seems it's less chaotic than your VP play. I look forward to more mix trips at least, and it seems the ratio of VP:Craps all depends on how VP is going.

As others have wondered, I also am curious what your comps look like overall if you were a 100% craps better, with say a $2-3k initial buy in and commiserate action.

gotta love that 31 dollar wedge salad as a starter

As others have said, nothing/only if it's worth it in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure some people would say the experience itself is worth it. You could also probably rationalize that if you split the steak 4-6 ways it's not actually that expensive. Dunno

I'd never order something like this unless I knew it would be comped, and even then part of me would feel it's such a gratuitous waste.

the mark up on the wines is pretty sickening too

Sounds to me like its a place where people who are there to show off their money like they have something to prove to someone.

Papi steak sounds just like STK at the cosmo, been to STK at cosmo twice and would not go back. Food was good and as expected for a vegas steakhouse, nothing distinguishing it much from other nice steakhouses. It is also very loud in there, very hard to hold a conversation and like a night club atmosphere. Especially less likely to go back as cosmo is now part of MGM so comps/room charges etc can be used at other properties that are part of MGM.

The two stupidest food things I have ever seen are the $1,000 briefcase steak dance here and anything Salt Bae does..

Exactly, the bigger the price, the bigger the flex.