June 2026 Oriolelion plus Graypack TR
Hi LVL-hope everyone has been having a great 2026 so far. I’m more of a frequent lurker/reader vs poster, but I will attempt (but rarely finish) TRs!
I’m planning on coming to Vegas from June 24-28 this year to enjoy Vegas, crush cash games, and donate to the WSOP.
In a bit of a twist to my normal Vegas trips, this year I’m taking my father in law and two of his brothers to celebrate his 82nd birthday, watch a bunch of World Cup games, and show them why I love Vegas so much.
I want to try and make it as memorable a trip for them as possible. Given their advanced ages, I’m working on reserving 4 rooms center strip (likely Aria or Vdara) so they don’t have to walk too much. Am going to try and make dinner reservations at Gymkhana and Carbone. Will also look to book tickets for them to the Michael Jackson One show and the High Roller. They enjoy drinking at a bar more than at a gaming table, so will also have them try some speakeasys and also relax with drinks at the sportsbook watching the World Cup.
My wife is worried this will end up like the Hangover since this will be a rare boys trip for them, but I promised her it will be more graypack than wolfpack!
Would love to hear any suggestions for other nice restaurants, activities, etc. that could be of interest to them.
Looks like I’ll just miss y’all, my trip ends on the 23rd.
Have a great time! I’ll be counting on this TR to get me through my rude awakening that awaits me back at work once I come home.
Those are great suggestions. Will definitely do the Bellagio conservatory and entrance. I really like the Mob Museum idea as I think there is a connected speakeasy too.
I’ll see if they like pinball and if so, we could check that out and the Welcome to Las Vegas sign since they’re so close.
What happens in Vegas...
In for the TR!
If they're into speakeasy-type places, maybe Battista's for a dinner?
Fountain show is nice, but maybe not their thing.
If they were Vegas people early in their life, maybe El Cortez/GN/California for "old Vegas" reminiscence.
I'm still bummed that our schedules don't overlap like it did last year, but I'm looking forward to reading about your trip.
My bad, Java. You beat me to it. Great minds think alike? 😀
Looks like I’ll just miss y’all, my trip ends on the 23rd.
Have a great time! I’ll be counting on this TR to get me through my rude awakening that awaits me back at work once I come home.
Sorry to be missing you as well. Would have been awesome to pick your brain on cash games in hopes of winning mountains of chips like you!
Am looking forward to following your trip! Hope you’re able to meet up with other LVLers while you’re out there.
In for the TR!
If they're into speakeasy-type places, maybe Battista's for a dinner?
Fountain show is nice, but maybe not their thing.
If they were Vegas people early in their life, maybe El Cortez/GN/California for "old Vegas" reminiscence.
Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely will have them check out the Bellagio fountain show.
Will look into Battista’s and talk to them about the Downtown Vegas experience (which I love).
Keep me posted if you think of other ideas for them. Thanks again.
I'm still bummed that our schedules don't overlap like it did last year, but I'm looking forward to reading about your trip.
Same bro-was looking forward to catching up in person during the WSOP.
Am certain you will crush it this year and have multiple deep runs and hopefully you bunk a bracelet! Looking forward to reading about your trip!
After a much too hectic departure day that included a broken garage door, delayed flight, and some forgotten items, we finally touched down in Vegas last night! I love the excitement and anticipation at the beginning of a Vegas trip!
We’re staying at Aria and have made dinner reservations at Gymkhana tonight and Tamba on Friday night. I also booked tickets for my father in law and his brothers to the Michael Jackson One Cirque du Soleil show on Saturday night.
Pics of Aria room below.
Knowing how much you like to hit as many different casinos as possible on a trip, I'm hoping to see you hit double digits. Have an awesome time.
Played 1-3 at Aria last night and into morning.
Unfortunately I was chasing losses all night and just couldn’t get anything going. Ultimately I lost $615, which included losing $230 with KK all in pre-flop vs AA vs QQ, with QQ winning with a runner runner straight. The rest of my loss can mostly be attributed to not great play on my part-calling too light and bluffing at the wrong times. Run/play bad extended off the felt as Moneyline Pizza only had garden pizza slices left before they closed.
Finally went to bed around 5:30 this morning. While not a great start to the trip, losing money in Vegas is still more fun than losing anywhere else!
Slept pretty good and then worked for a couple hours. Aria WiFi was good, but still not worth the crazy resort fees. Will try to go to the pool and gym, so I can feel like I utilized what I paid for!
Played a couple hour 1-3 session at Bellagio earlier today.
Was hoping to be in the main room, but unfortunately the table was in the Sportsbook.Interesting note about a player at the table. For those of us who watched poker on TV during the 2000s heyday, you may recognize the name Chau Giang. Not sure why he was slumming with us plebes at low stakes, but he didn’t interact much before leaving after an hour or so.
Ended up winning $137, so chipping away at last night’s bad decisions. I did lose $150 in a double board PLO bomb pot when I was quartered on the end. May have to sit out these bomb pots as I’m terrible at PLO and feel like I’m just donating.
Just finished up dinner at Gymkhana. Will send those pics and give my impressions in a bit.
