Las Vegas: What's open and closed amid coronavirus - Los ...
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Las Vegas Trip Report, Late Stage COVID Edition
I avoided Vegas for all of 2020, not because I have any fears whatsoever regarding COVID, but simply because I felt that it was just going to be depressing and annoying combatting the virus hysteria. (Following the Vegas sub didn't help, as those folks pounce on anyone considering visiting as being selfish, despite tourism being the town's only export.) I was pleasantly surprised that the Strip wasn't as post-apocalyptic as I was expecting. There still appear to be plenty of people visiting... the crowds weren't as thick as they normally would be, which some would say is a plus, but there also wasn't a dearth of people, either. I was comped at both Caesars and MLife, so I booked at both. I stayed at the Paris and stuck my friend at the Grand. FWIW, the $20 trick worked at Paris (I figured it was an especially good play when the staff's income has taken a hit), and I was upgraded to a corner suite overlooking the Bellagio Fountains. Onto the craps play... Sunday through MLK at noon, we failed to find anything below $15. I submitted my edits to the minimums spreadsheet that is stickied here. Oddly, Linq and Park MGM just did not open any tables at all... I'm not sure what the rationale is for that. We decided to stick mostly with Caesars properties, as they don't have Plexiglas dividers at the tables. All MGM properties have these, and it makes the casino look like a house of mirrors. I had brought a $1k bankroll, but bought in for $300 each time...I tend to be very frugal, even while gambling. My strategy was to play the pass line, place the 6/8 for $12 each, and take 1x odds for 4/6/8/10. (I hate taking odds on 5/9.) After a place number hit 3 times, I would press on the 4th hit. That was usually a great way for the next roll to be an SO. MLK afternoon at Paris I did "OK," but the recently lowered $10 minimum was raised back to $15 again. This depleted my bankroll faster than I expected, but I guess it makes sense, as my strategy went from costing me $44 to $66 per swing. There were a lot of PSOs, too. For reasons I can't understand, my friend and I could never get a good roll going, but there were two shooters at our table that we knew we could count on for recovery. I don't know how that is - the dice are the dice - but these two guys could always go on heaters for a long time. The dice would be passed to us, and after a few 2s and 3s, we'd PSO. After some ups and downs, I finally walked away with $250. MLK evening, after some Beef Wellington at Gordon Ramsay Steak, the table was back to $10 again, and had no players, so my friend and I opened it. As with the above, our rolls were miserable. PSO after PSO. Other players would come and go, seeing how bad the game was going. I tried to switch to the DP when my friend rolled ("nothing personal"), and then he'd magically start making points. It was awful. I finally got down to my last $10, and bet the line with him, and he caught his second wind. Gradually brought me back to $292, and we colored up at 1am. Although Paris doesn't have table dividers, they insisted on sanitizing the dice between shooters. Even when it was just my buddy and I, and I said we were in the same party, it wasn't necessary, they responded "well, it's for our safety." I bought that for a few minutes until I realized they hardly touch the dice, yet they don't mind grabbing everybody's chips that are getting intermixed with different people's germs.... whatever, it's all stupid theatre. Tuesday afternoon, my friend headed back to Phoenix and I was waiting for a late flight. I stumbled upon a $10 table at Aria, and since it was just me, I decided to deal with the Plexiglas (which turned out to be wildly ineffective when I could still fist bump and talk to the player immediately left-of-stick from my catty-corner of the table, 3 feet away). My bad luck shooting dissipated. I hit several good rolls, and since it was my last day, I decided to loosen the wallet a bit, and would go up to 3x odds, particularly on 4s and 10s since they pay 2:1. I would also press 6s and 8s, which I had a real affinity for hitting, earlier than customary for me. (This probably still sounds like low rolling to many of you, but it's a big step for me!) I ended up more than doubling my buy-in, negating my losses from the other two sessions and putting me up slightly on the trip. MGM has two sets of dice they can rotate between, and one goes in a golf ball washer while the other is in play. This seemed a lot smarter and didn't affect the game's momentum as much as Paris did, scrubbing them down with a ratty cheesecloth and diluted Clorox. I still had 4 hours until my flight, which was bittersweet, but I'm glad I colored up when I got off of a good high shooting. It felt good, actually, that other players were disappointed that I was leaving, because I was making them some good money, but it was time for me to step back and enjoy my winnings. I bought my kiddo a T-shirt at the ABC store, waited an hour for the Centennial Express (told you I was frugal), and sat in The Club LAS until my flight boarded. Both MGM and Caesars sent me e-mails asking me to book another complimentary trip before either room's folio arrived. I'm considering it.
Las Vegas Vacations - The Best Las Vegas Hotels It's a fact that Las Vegas gets a lot of people coming to enjoy the magic of this place. They all have different intentions: some have money in mind; There's some fame, and the rest just want a good vacation. Las Vegas offers many possibilities that it is difficult not to enjoy yourself until the end! Judging by the varieties even Las Vegas residents offer, not every inch of this amazing place may be experienced. Therefore, when you plan your trip to Las Vegas, do your homework and know which place offers the best accommodation. Las Vegas hotels have many tourist attractions and spectacular shows tempting to come to millions of guests and visit this charming place every year. Here is a preview of what to expect from the best hotels in Las Vegas. Mandalay Bass Las Vegas Hotel Mandalay Bay Hotel is located in some of Las Vegas' best-known hotels. In addition to the luxurious rooms offered by the hotel, this hotel features a casino for guests. Even the food is popular to be the best in the city and the hotel consists of five restaurants in 10. Facilitated by a swimming pool, this hotel also offers a twenty-four-hour buffet. Another plus point for this hotel is that the service is so incredible! Hotel in Las Vegas, Paris Located in a dull area, the Paris hotel is a bright, bright rainbow that shows Paris in style. With so many awards for the open service it offers, it's hard to understand the downside to this hotel. This finger offers game facilities with delicious food and in return wants some money inside the hotel. Night shows at this hotel brighten up your nights and in addition; Twenty-fouseven hotel room service is available. MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel MGM Grand Hotel has been set up in some way to leave you looking, opened on the sites it offers your mouth! Offering lions live, this hotel has more than 100,000 square feet of casino playgrounds. The rooms shown by this hotel know what MGM Grand Hotel customers want and how to give. The shows offer delicious food, let alone to ask for more and the hotel even does not plan to leave in the first place. Bellagio Las Vegas Hotel Bellagio hotel is not a cheap hotel to live in and nor is it cheap gambling to play. Often remembered for the fountains located directly inside the hotel, the beauty it offers keeps every view. Everything about this hotel speaks of luxury and luxury. Even the food is expensive but everything they offer is worth every penny you pay, including the whale show at the hotel. If you can afford to stay at this hotel or play, they can't promise anything less than the best. Hotel in Venice Las Vegas Italian hotel themed rooms also offer an Italian interior decorated with Italian art. The Sistine Chapel being painted on the ceilings, when put together in front of you, is a treat for the eyes. Bringing her a full Italian touch, they have the Gondola available inside the mall, which allows them to ride, all the time they sing the gondola. Monte Carlo Las Vegas Hotel Monte Carlo Hotel is popular as the best family hotel in Las Vegas. Accommodation is very good and comes at a cheap price, gambling is also affordable at this hotel. There's even a place to gamble in the same room when your family has their own privacy. Las Vegas offers these top six Hotels in the service of tourists. While they are expensive, they provide every opportunity to make as much money as possible. If you want to have the best of what Las Vegas has to offer, residency is recommended at any of the hotels.
Vegas Fed (The kidnapping of Steve Wynn’s daughter)
I believe I’ve done this right for self-promotion/flair. My father is a retired Assistant US Attorney who prosecuted some of the biggest cases in Las Vegas history including a rash of strip casino robberies by LA gangs, industry-affiliated pimps, high-profile murder cases, and the kidnapping of casino mogul Steve Wynn’s daughter. (For those that don’t know Steve Wynn - he made the modern day Vegas what it is. Opened the Golden Nugget, Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn (of course), and many more). Awhile back he wrote a book about some of his biggest cases, mostly focusing on on gang robberies on the Las Vegas strip. A return to work for the federal government put that on hold and when he was discussing the idea again a year or so ago, my brothers and I told him podcasts were the new/perfect media right now. He decided to take on the project himself and his first “season” focuses on the kidnapping. With the help of a couple students at UNLV’s broadcasting department, he put together a seriously impressive podcast, Vegas Fed. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vegas-fed-inside-look-at-federal-criminal-prosecutions/id1527325890 I’m a huge fan of Serial and other crime podcasts and can tell you, with no bias, this is seriously good - he has a way with words and gives an incredible insight into the world of a criminal investigation and prosecution. Here is a quick local news feature released yesterday to give you an idea. https://news3lv.com/news/local/video-vault-new-podcast-revisits-infamous-wynn-kidnapping At the very least, I would give episode 1 a listen. I think it really is captivating. He’s in talks with some pretty legit people about jumping aboard and helping him with a more proper season 2. I figured not only might the people here enjoy it, but maybe they could offer feedback for how to approach season 2 as you guys are probably the true crime podcast experts.
https://preview.redd.it/0wb3j9p9sa561.jpg?width=990&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d06ce3035344c1fc7af37672915fcda78ff27b3 A casino is generally a place of gaming for particular sorts of gambling games. Casinos can be found close to indoors, or adjacent to popular resorts, tourist hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, retail shops, and a number of other tourist attractions. Cases in Italy include the Casino di Imperia in Triompany, Italy; the Casino delle Acqui e Coin in Acqui; the Casino Perloga at Piacenza, Italy; the Casino Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Anfi; along with the Casino degli Studi in Modena, Italy. The Venetian Casino stands at Pula, Italy. In United States, Las Vegas is frequently included within this category คาสิโน. In the USA, there are roughly 700 licensed casinos, and almost as many unlicensed ones. In total, there are about two hundred accredited casinos, compared to one hundred or so unlicensed ones. Licensed casinos are subject to all applicable laws and regulations regarding gaming and bonded and insured providers and employees. Unlicensed casinos, on the other hand, are generally not subject to applicable laws regarding gambling and might operate almost everywhere. The very best way to get into a casino from the United States or any other nation is to go through a few of the many foreign casinos which are based here. Back in Macau alone, there are just three casinos which are completely or partially open to everybody, including visitors from the mainland United States. The Bellagio Hotel and Casino, the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, and the Monte Carlo Casino are located near the main section of Macau City. The Beach Resort Casino in Negril, Jamaica, is another casino that is open to people traveling in the USA. These casinos are fully-enclosed and equipped with all of the Most Recent gaming gear, such as Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack, Sic Bo, Video Poker, Live Betting, Slot Machines, Roulette Tote, Wheel of Fortune, and more. Las Vegas is home to a number of the most lavish gaming establishments on the planet. It has arguably the best set of gambling and entertainment facilities anywhere on earth. Obviously, like anywhere else, there are a number of low excellent gambling establishments too. A lot of people travel to Las Vegas in the United States do not recognize the legitimate casinos till they arrive at their hotel and begin to gamble. The ideal way to avoid being scammed is to make sure that you research any casino that you intend to visit before you leave on your trip. There are a number of good informational sites available to help you to get the info that you want. Atlantic City is another fantastic destination for visitors looking to gamble their way to riches. The highly regarded Venetian Resort Casino is a landmark in Atlantic City. The hotel overlooks one of the most historic and beautiful squares in all of New Jersey. Another casino in Atlantic City is your Venetian Playhouse. This casino includes interactive displays, video games, roulette, slot machines, food courts, billiard tables, and much more. If you're interested in gaming, this is probably the best place in Atlantic City to see. Several other casinos are located across the Atlantic city. In addition to the aforementioned casinos, Las Vegas Sands Corp. owns a number of places in Atlantic City. The company also owns the currently closed Harrah's Lake Bingo Casino. Along with these two possessions, the Atlantic city also has the Bellagio Hotel and the Monte Carlo Resort.
6/17 Edit: Great info guys. Keep it coming! If something changes, please let me know. I reached out to the mods asking about putting together a post to collect minimums for craps tables in Vegas and other places. If this post gains traction, it may get a sticky. It may also help cut down on the amount of posts asking for this info. I'll try to keep the body of the post updated. If information is correct, let me know. Update 6/18 - Nevada Gaming Board announced masks required at table games in Nevada. I haven't heard that this is being enforced yet. 6/30: Keep reporting, especially any of you heading to Vegas. We would love to hear what the mins are on the strip Let me know what casino, day or night and the minimums:
Vegas Strip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Aria
15
25
Unknown
Bellagio
10
25
Yes, all tables
Poker tables open
Caesars
15
25
No
Poker tables open
Casino Royale
N/A
N/A
N/A
Table Games not open
Cosmo
100
50-100
Encore
50
100
Yes, on some tables
Updated 6/16
Excalibur
10-15
Unknown
10 crapless, 15 regular
Flamingo
Rare (5) - 15
25
Harrah's
15
25
No
Confirmed no dividers per 6/16 Youtube video
Linq
15
25
No
Luxor
10
15
Mandalay Bay
N/A
N/A
MGM Grand
10
25
Yes, all tables
NY/NY
10
15
Yes, all tables
Osheas
Unknown
15
Paris
N/A
N/A
No
Opened 6/18 - Masks required at tables.
Planet Hollywood
N/A
N/A
No open date announced
Rio
N/A
N/A
No open date announced
Strat
Day
10
Unknown
Treasure Island
5
15
Venetian
Unknown
25
No
Wynn
25-50
50-100
Yes, on some tables
Updated 6/16
Downtown Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Binions
10
10
California
10
10
The D
10
15
No glass
El Cortez
10
10
Yes, some tables
2 tables
Four Queens
5
5
No
Confirmed thru 6/14 Youtube video
Fremont
10
10
Golden Gate
5
5
From 6/9 on Vegas Message Board (no carnival games)
Sams Town
15
15
1 table
Offstrip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Aliente
10
10
Boulder Station
10
10
Cannery
5
5
up to 2 tables, a mask was provided but not required
Ellis Island
5
5
1 table
Gold Coast
5
5
Green Valley Ranch
10
10
2 tables open
The Orleans
10
25
up to 4 tables, I was asked to wear a mask
Palace Station
10
10
Unknown
Palms
N/A
N/A
No open date announced
South Point
5
5
2-3x tables w/ only one $5 buy in
Strat
5
10
Sunset Station
5
5
Other NV Casinos
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Edgewater (Laughlin)
10
10
Harrahs (Laughlin)
10
15
no
Atlantis (Reno)
5/10
5/10
2 tables with different mins
Cal Neva (Reno)
5
5
Circus Circus (Reno)
Closed
Closed
Closed table game pit
Eldorado (Reno)
10
10
Grand Sierra (Reno)
15
15-25
Peppermill (Reno)
10
10
3 craps tables
Silver Legacy (Reno)
10
10
Hard Rock (Tahoe)
Closed
Closed
Currently closed
Harrahs (Tahoe)
25
25
Montbleu (Tahoe)
10
15
Non/NV Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Foxwoods (CT)
15
25
Mohegan (CT)
10-50
10-50
2 were 10, 2 $15, 1 $25, 1 $50. Plus a high rollers table
Harrington (DE)
10
15-25
Must wear mask and face shield
Blue Chip (Michigan City, IN)
5
10
5 minimum prop bets, 5 min ATS bet.
L’auberge (Lake Charles,LA)
25/50
25/50
2 $25 min and 2 $50 min tables. 1 bubble craps $5 min
Harrahs (Shreveport, LA)
15
25
Margaritaville (Shreveport, LA)
25
25
Ocean Downs (MD)
10
15
Maryland Live (MD)
25
50
Yes
5 tables, 4 per side. Electronic craps 15 min
MGM @ National Harbor
50-100
Yes
4 craps tables 2 were $50 and 2 were $100 mins. Not bubble craps or low roller options.
Firekeepers (Battle Creek, MI)
10
15+
No dividers, only distancing
1-2 tables depending on demand, did see it at $15 during the day $25 on Fri/Sat night. Masks required, no smoking. $3 Bubble Craps.
River City (St. Louis, MS)
20
20
Unknown
4 players per side. $20 min. You have to have at least a $20 bet for every throw to "hold your spot"
My uninteresting poker story. Is it time to give up on the dream or do I gather myself and make one last run at it?
This is going to be a long post. My life story almost. It all started in 2010 when I was introduced to poker. Yada yada yada, I got hooked. Naturally a tight passive player, I was able to stretch each $20 deposit a long way. I slowly started adding aggression. Betting with flush draws, etc. Ran it up to around 3k. Booked a flight to LA to go visit my cousin but it was really just an excuse to go to commerce casino (my first live experience). Didn't know about their $40 buy in structure. Lost 3k in 1 week. quit playing for a while. black friday happens. Dream is offically dead. Oh wait, what are these off shore sites. Bodog? sportsbookpoker? intertops? cake? wtf. lets check them out. Ran good on intertops. Turned $20 into 4.3k in 1 week by running like Usain. Played against a guy named ivysaurus for my entire roll at 25/50 headsup. Lost. Called it quits again. got a job at a restaurant. worked there for 2 years. saved up 10k. moved to vegas in 2016. played live 1/2. played too loose. Lost about 2k the first month. Switched over to playing 1/3 at bellagio. better results started happening. wpt diamond is starting. Cameras all over the place in bellagio. poker tables all full. The sportsbook is filled with tables now. My roll is at 16k. I try to get into a 1/3 game. Waitlist too deep. 2/5, same story. Theres an open seat at a 5/10 game. eh why not, im running good lately. I sit down. Called down 2 streets 2nd pair. My heart is racing. Villain checks river. I check back. I win. $300 profit in 1 hand. New villain sits down at table. Hes a tv guy that plays 25/50 on poker night in america. I forget his name. Arabic or armenian lookin dude with curly hair. He wild. Hes splashing cuz hes just trying to pass the time until he gets into the bigger games. I win 2k off him in like 30 minutes. He gives me the death look and mutters some curse words. Floor comes over, tells this man his seat is open. He gets up. Floorman picks up his chips for him cuz he a bitch. Game seems to be too tough now. Actually its the same game, but Im sitting on a 4k stack. I get nervous and cash out. my bankroll at like 19k now. Highest point of my life. Fell in love with a hooker. Down 3k. bankroll 16k. Refocus. Go to aria to play some 1/3. Crush it. Lots of noise at a plo table in the corner near the bathroom. I get on the waitlist for that game. Im addicted to plo now. Ran good at first. Won like 5k my first week playing 1/3/5 plo. Then my ev started leveling out. I was never a winner at plo. Lost the 5k right back and then some. dont worry, losing 5-7k in a week isnt that bad. or is it? damnit it was. This was the moment I should have gone back to 1/3 nl. but nope. Plo more fun. kept playing. learning on the fly. didnt do that bad looking back on it, but it was still bad. my bankroll was down to 14k at one point and I remember feeling so defeated. I might as well have had $100 to my name, cuz thats what it felt like. I do not know why. Mental issues. It was all down hill from here. the chase begins... fill in the blanks you know how this story ends.
Report your table minimums here (COVID Edition) part 3
Part 3 in the COVID series. To try and make this list more helpful, I have added Weekend Day and Weekend Night, as those can be vastly different than during the week. I'm trying to monitor Twitter and the Vegas Message Board to get some additional information. Keep sharing all that wonderful goodness. I'd like to update the wiki to talk about what sidebets casinos have, so if you know that info, I can add it to the table comments.
Vegas Strip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Aria
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 7/26
Ballys
10
15
10
Unknown
3 tables Updated 8/8
Bellagio
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Yes, all tables
Caesars
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Cosmo
15-25
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Encore
10
10
10
10
Yes, on some tables
Updated 8/12
Excalibur
10-15
15
10
15
Updated 8/12
Flamingo
15
15-25
Unknown
25
Updated 8/8
Harrah's
15
25
25
25
No
Linq
15
15
Unknown
25
No
Updated 8/8
Luxor
10
10
15
15n
Updated 8/12
Mandalay Bay
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
MGM Grand
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
NY/NY
10
15-25
15
Unknown
Yes
Updated 8/8
Osheas
Unknown
15
Unknown
Unknown
Paris
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 8/8
Sahara
5
10
10
10
Updated 8/15
Strat
Day
10
Unknown
10
25
No
Treasure Island
5
15
Unknown
Unknown
Venetian
10-15
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Wynn
10
10
10
10
Yes, on some tables
Updated 8/12
Downtown Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Binions
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Binions had $5 table several times (opens at noon) Updated 8/17
California
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Tables open at 11AM Updated 8/10
The D
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
No glass
Downtown Grand
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Table opens at noon. Updated 8/10.
El Cortez
10
10
10
10
Yes, some tables
2 tables Updated 8/15
Four Queens
10
10
10
10
No
Updated 8/15
Fremont
10
10
10
Unknown
Updated 8/10.
Golden Gate
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 8/18
Golden Nugget
10-15
10
Unknown
Unknown
$15 with one table open on 8/18
Plaza
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 7/30
Sams Town
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 table
Offstrip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Aliente
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Boulder Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Cannery
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
up to 2 tables - now allowing 4 per side
Ellis Island
5
5
5
5
1 table - Updated 8/17 - I just called the pit at Ellis. Craps table opens up at 10am and its 5 dollars 90% of the time
Gold Coast
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Green Valley Ranch
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables open
The Orleans
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
up to 4 tables, I was asked to wear a mask
Palace Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Palms
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
No open date announced
Red Rock
10
15
15
Unknown
Updated 8/14
South Point
5
5
5
10
No
Updated 8/15
Strat
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Sunset Station
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Other NV Casinos
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Edgewater (Laughlin)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Harrahs (Laughlin)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
no
Atlantis (Reno)
5/10
5/10
Unknown
Unknown
3 tables on weekends
Cal Neva (Reno)
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Circus Circus (Reno)
Closed
Closed
Unknown
Unknown
Closed table game pit
Eldorado (Reno)
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Grand Sierra (Reno)
15
15-25 Unknown
Unknown
Peppermill (Reno)
5
5
10
10
3 craps tables
Silver Legacy (Reno)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Hard Rock (Tahoe)
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Harrahs (Tahoe)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Montbleu (Tahoe)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Nugget (Wendover)
5
5
5
5
Updated 7/31
Peppermill (Wendover)
5
5
10
10
Updated 7/31
Rainbow (Wendover)
5
5
10
10
Updated 7/31
Non/NV Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Wind Creek (Wetumpka, AL)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
4 to a table Updated 7/31
Sycuan (San Diego, CA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Masks required
Barona (So Cal)
10
15
10
10-15
2 tables 2 per side, dealers managing bets for players. Updated 8/21 ($10 at times)
Harrahs (So Cal)
15-25
15-25
15-50
15-50
No
Updated 7/31
Viejas (So Cal)
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
No live tables
Foxwoods (CT)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Mohegan (CT)
15-25
25
Unknown
Unknown
2 were 10, 2
Harrington (DE)
15
15-25
Unknown
Unknown
Must wear mask and face shield
Rivers (Chicago, IL)
15
15
Blue Chip (Michigan City, IN)
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
5 minimum prop bets, 5 min ATS bet.
Caesars Southern IN
10
15
15
25
Updated 8/5
French Lick Resort (French Lick, IN)
15
15
25
25
Tables open at 11am and close at 3AM. Updated 8/5
Harrah's Hooiser Park (Anderson, IN)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Indiana Grand (IN)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Belle (Baton Rogue, LA)
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
one half sized table sometimes they open the big one. $5 small table and $10 big late at night
Hollywood (Baton Rogue, LA)
5
10
Unknown
15
Updated 7/24
L’auberge (Baton Rogue,LA)
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
L’auberge (Lake Charles,LA)
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
1 bubble craps $5 min
El Dorado (Shreveport, LA)
10
10
10
10
Updated 8/17
Horseshoe (Shreveport, LA) 15
15
15
15
Updated 8/17
Margaritaville (Shreveport, LA) 15
15
15
15
Updated 8/17
Ocean Downs (MD)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Maryland Live (MD)
25
50
50
Unknown
Yes
5 tables, 4 per side. Electronic craps 15 min
MGM @ National Harbor
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
4 craps tables 2 were $50 and 2 were $100 mins. Not bubble craps or low roller options.
Firekeepers (Battle Creek, MI)
10
15+
Unknown
Unknown
No dividers, only distancing
1-2 tables depending on demand, did see it at $15 during the day $25 on Fri/Sat night. Masks required, no smoking. $3 Bubble Craps.
Four Winds Casino
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Digital craps table 5$ min Tuesday and Sunday night. Did not check bubble craps
Gun Lake (Wayland, MI)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Temp check, masks, usually the crapless table is open
Turtle Creek (Traverse City, MI)
5
Unknown
Unknown
Unknowned
2 tables, temp check, masks
Soaring Eagle (Mt Pleasant, MI)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
5 players per side with glass. Tough to hear dealer.
Hollywood Casino, Maryland Heights (St Louis) MO
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 regular table & 1 no craps. 4 per side. No outside drinks.
River City (St. Louis, MS)
20
20
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
4 players per side. $20 min. You have to have at least a $20 bet for every throw to "hold your spot"
Beau Rivage (Biloxi, MS)
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
unknown
3 tables
Boomtown (Biloxi, MS)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
1 table
IP (Biloxi, MS)
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Scarlett Pearl (Biloxi, MS)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Masks required, temp check
The Palace Biloxi, MS)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Treasure Bay (Biloxi, MS)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Harrah’s Cherokee & Murphy
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Harrahs River Valley (Murphy, NC)
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Ballys (AC, NJ)
15
15
Unknown
10
Updated 7/29
Caesars (AC, NJ)
15
15
Unknown
15-25
Updated 7/29
Harrahs (AC, NJ)
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Hard Rock (AC, NJ
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables - Updated 7-29
Resorts (AC, NJ)
15
25
Unknown
15
Yes
1 table - Updated 7-29
Ocean (AC, NJ)
10
15
15
25
Yes
4-6 tables
Buffalo Creek (NY)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Seneca Niagra (NY)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 table, can go up to $25
Jack/Harrah's (Cincinnati, OH)
25
25
25
25
3 tables, $25 open to close
Hollywood (Columbus, OH)
10-15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables, masks required
Hollywood (Grantville, PA)
15
25
Unknown Unknown
Unknown
2 tables, masks required
Harrah's Philly (PA)
Unknown
Unknown
15
25
Updated 8/10
Meadows (PA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
2-3 tables.
Mohegan Sun (PA)
Unknown
Unknown
25-50
Unknown
Windcreek (PA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Mount airy (PA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Valley Forge (PA)
10
Parx (Bensalem, PA)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
15 but maintaining 25
Southland Casino Racing (West Memphis, TN)
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
4 tables all closed. Other pit games open with plexiglas dividers. Bubble craps $5 minimum.
Mardi Gras (Nitro, WV)
15
Usually open on weekends - Updated 7/28
*Last update 8/21 Part 1. It's getting buried so I figured we would make a new one. Part 2 Pulled additional info from here.
As requested, I will provide DD for NAT, DHT Holdings and MGM based on votes from my previous thread. I'll start with the tankers. (Let me note that I do not expect the general market trend to be positive for the next few weeks) Preface: Positive Virus news is generally bad for Tanker company share prices. NAT Current share price: $6.12 EPS Q1 2019: $0.04 EPS Q1 2020 Estimate: $0.26 Earnings: 5/18 (Per NAT website, Thanks u/Nice_Block) NAT operates Suezmax size tankers, the next step down from VLCC, and daily prices for Suezmax's are considerably less than VLCC. Current spot price is up 141% at $3.92 bpd from March of 2019 to March of 2020. I think that this earnings estimate is roughly accurate, but suezmax vessels have more room for positive price movement as more and more storage is filled to capacity. Suezmax ships allow producers more maneuverability and fluidity to store their oil, as such, turnover rates are higher than VLCC vessels. Revenues at current prices indicate an earnings estimate closer to $0.36. This is the high end of earnings estimates. Additionally, demand for oil consumption is not likely to improve soon. If anything, a slow reopening of states without ports will not affect tanker company bottom lines and will extend the operating duration of oil producers in the permian. Keep in mind, if oil consumption does not increase, wells will either shut down, or more likely, prices will go negative again. This may have some effect on spot price for tanker transports. That said, spot prices are not likely to diminish significantly in the near future. As a bonus, NAT recently (like yesterdayish) approved a buyback program to take advantage of increased revenues. This is the best news for NAT holders at this time. Their true intentions will be reflected in the earnings call. Price Target: $8 in the short term. If quarantine continues through June with no oil production cuts, I would expect at $10+ is possible, but unlikely. Historical action levels: https://imgur.com/a/dzsAZop One week chart showing some consolidation for a potential breakout: https://imgur.com/a/10DZWE7 Note - I suggested this as a bullish play last weekend, and as such my $8 price target was hit on Tuesday. This ship may have already sailed. Pun intended. I would find another trade. Recommendation: If you are dead set on an NAT play, shares at a reduced price through earnings, or options with expiry longer than 45 days out purchased next week. DHT Holdings Current share price: 7.10 EPS Q1 2019: $0.13 EPS Q1 2020 Estimate: $0.57 Earnings: 5/5 DHT operates operates exclusively VLCC tankers, of which the majority are on spot price rental. Current spot price for VLCC tankers up to 180k/day, up from an average of 19k/day this time last year. This is an over 9x increase. NAT is also currently operating more tankers on spot price rental, increasing volume under spot price contract over last year. They currently have 23 of 27 operating on spot pricing. Historical action levels: https://imgur.com/a/X3W3kD4 One week chart showing downward channel (Im not sure this trend is completed yet) before potential breakout: https://imgur.com/a/CYCaYcv Recommendation: I think the resistance levels for DHT are more relevant than those of NAT, and are also more realistic to be beaten. Calls mid week for EOW earnings at least 2 weeks out. General market sentiment is important for this trade. MGM Current share price: 15.01 Summary of MGM's plans to reopen casinos: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2020/04/30/mgm-plans-reopen-las-vegas-bellagio-new-york-new-york/3061417001/ I would expect the mayor of Las Vegas to attempt to reopen the tourism to the city along with President Trump's guidance. If they are able, they will reopen soon. They likely will not have large scale shows or concert events to draw in customers, but gambling will be open to some extent. I do not expect casinos to see a large influx of patrons, and this will end up being a net negative for them in the coming months as their expenses will increase more than revenues. They may even potentially have to re-close if Covid testing reveals an uptick in cases in the Las Vegas area. That said, their saving grace is Macau, where a significantly large portion of their income is generated. China expects tourism to Macau to increase, but I would take that with a grain of salt. Given MGM's recent meteoric rise to nearly $18 per share, I think they fall into the sentiment of the rest of the market and will suffer in the coming month. I expect the share price will visit mid-april prices of $13, or potentially lower following a general trend with SPY. Luckily, If you see these prices, I consider MGM a very long term and stable play. They have enough cash on hand to last an entire year with no revenue; a situation that is uncommon at this time. In general, event or discretionary based spending, hospitality and travel will be the last to recover, but this is a commonly assessed sentiment. Historical action levels: MGM was not surprisingly rejected by the historical support level of $17.50 this week https://imgur.com/a/aoRNvk8 5 day chart does not provide any major price movement indication. Recommendation: Sell shares, do nothing until share prices revisit mid-April levels. As always, feel free to comment and tell me why I'm wrong. EDIT - I accidentally switched which size tanker each company uses, it has been corrected - Shoutout u/kindlyblacksmith
Hi y’all! So, a few questions and a quick summary. It’s my 24th birthday next May, and me and a friend are saving up to go to Vegas and stay at the Bellagio for 10-12 days all the way from London, UK! Given everything with COVID (and I know no one can see into the future, but...)
Will most places be open there? Or, are they now, just to generalise how it will be next year? Is it still lively on the strip, at the moment?
What’s the weather like in mid-late May?
Is it a safe atmosphere?
We’re not really going for the gambling or casino’s, but of course we’re gonna dabble in them a couple of times... when in Rome! Do you think £3k (3900ish dollars) will be enough spending more for 10-12 days? We’re mainly going to be there to party, but of course we want to visit some attractions. We also want to rent a car and drive to the grand canyon one of the days, maybe even head to LA for a couple of days!
My friend is overtly and openly gay, very obviously so. Is he going to be harassed at all? What’s the gäy scene like in Vegas?
Do Vegas peepz hate English people? lmao
Any suggestions of what to do or where to go? Must see’s etc?
Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor Viewing Guide, FAQs, and more
It was always a question of when. Every man has his price and Floyd Mayweather knew that Conor McGregor, the most popular active combat sports athlete in the world, was the only one capable of meeting his demand. What started as a rumor graduated to banter. Banter graduated to legitimate business discussions. And before we knew it we had Conor McGregor spurning whatever options he had in the UFC to enter the world of boxing.
Tale of the Tape
Floyd Mayweather
vs
Conor McGregor
49(26)-0
RECORD
21(18)-3 [MMA]
53%
KO %
75%
40
AGE
29
147 lbs
LAST 5 AVG WEIGHT
156.1 lbs
5'8"
HEIGHT
5'9"
72"
REACH
74"
Las Vegas, Nevada
HOMETOWN
Dublin, Ireland
5(0)-0
LAST 5
4(3)-1 [MMA]
-330
MONEYLINE*
+350
26(10)-0
IN LAS VEGAS
4(3)-1 [MMA]
3(2)-0
VS UNDEFEATED
2(2)-1 [MMA]
9(4)-0
VS SOUTHPAW
387
TOTAL RDS BOXED
0
1394(961)-211-43
TOTAL OPP. RECORD
249(187)-79 [MMA]
84%
TOTAL OPP. WIN %
76%
58%
OPP. KO %
57%
Accolades
Floyd Mayweather’s World Titles Won/Held
WBA super world welterweight title WBC super welterweight title x2 WBC welterweight title x2 IBF welterweight title WBO welterweight title WBC super lightweight title WBC lightweight title WBC super featherweight title
Mayweather’s Lineal Titles Held
Super featherweight champion (over Genaro Hernandez) Lightweight champion (over Jose Luis Castillo) Welterweight champion (over Carlos Baldomir) Super welterweight champion (over Canelo Alvarez) Welterweight champion (over Manny Pacquiao)
Conor McGregor's World Titles Won/Held
Cage Warriors lightweight title Cage Warriors featherweight title UFC featherweight title UFC lightweight title
How To Watch
Live
Mayweather-McGregor takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets are available through all the usual second hand sites.
All devices!!!! This will be produced by Showtime and you will get their commentary team.
Closed Circuit
You can purchase closed circuit tickets at the following hotels. You can purchase through Ticketmatster, at the MGM Resorts International Box Office (in-person), or call 800-745-3000. Note the price is $150 dollars.
Gervonta Davis vs Francisco Fonseca - 12 round fight for Davis's IBF super featherweight title. Davis currently sits as possibly the best fighter in the world under the age of 23. Davis is fierce, aggressive, and packs power in both hands. While Fonseca is undefeated, it's likely he will be blown out quickly given massive jump in opponent skill he's taking. Fight Rating: Can't miss.
Nathan Cleverly vs Badou Jack - 12 rounds fight for Cleverly's WBA light heavyweight title. Badou Jack's career has followed a Hollywood script. Pushed too hard early, knocked out in 1 round, and now he's risen to the top while learning from his mistakes. Jack is a gritty, blue collar fighter. There is nothing pretty about what he does, but he makes for great fights. Cleverly is a solid challenger, but a clear underdog. Fight Rating: Close to can't miss.
Andrew Tabiti vs Steve Cunningham - 10 rounds in the cruiserweight division. Tabiti is a rising cruiserweight contender with explosive power. Cunningham is older and thus we have an age vs youth matchup on our hands. Fight Rating: Don't blink.
Pre-Fight Undercard
FOX will be airing a pre-fight card before the pay-per-view starts.
Yordenis Ugas vs Thomas Dulorme - 10 rounds in the welterweight division. Ugas has 3 losses and with any luck he'd be undefeated. Ugas is tricky, he knows how to be rough, and he can be sublime with his counter-punching when he needs to be. Dulorme is still trying to pick up the pieces of a career that's never panned out and this could be a launching pad for Ugas to get into a title picture. Fight Rating: 3/5
Juan Heraldez vs Jose Miguel Borrego - 10 rounds in the super lightweight division. This one is going to open up the festivities and has potential to steal the show. Heraldez is 27 and desperately needs to win to take the next step in his career while Borrego is just getting off the ground at 19. Fight Rating: 4/5
Pay-Per-View Statistics
One small note. UFC pay-per-views statistics come from Dave Meltzer, whereas boxing numbers are generated by the cable and satellite providers. After the WME-IMG deal, it was discovered that McGregor-Diaz did 1.301 which would be the highest number a UFC fight ever did despite the reports from many journalists. But I'll stick with what was reported out of respect for Dana White and his company for risking their necks on a lawsuit by making this fight. For more information on Meltzer, I recommend listening to Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard. Top Pay-Per-View Purchases All Time
Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao - 4,600,000
De La Hoya vs Mayweather – 2,400,000
Mayweather vs Alvarez – 2,200,000
Holyfield vs Tyson II – 1,990,000
Lewis vs Tyson – 1,970,000
Diaz vs McGregor II - 1,650,000
Lesnar vs Mir 2 – 1,600,000
Tyson vs Holyfield – 1,590,000
Tyson vs McNeeley – 1,550,000
Mayweather vs Cotto – 1,500,000
McGregor vs Diaz - 1,500,000
Top Ten Pay-Per-View Buyrates Beteween Mayweather-McGregor
Mayweather vs Pacquiao - 4,600,000
De La Hoya vs Mayweather – 2,400,000
Mayweather vs Alvarez – 2,200,000
Diaz vs McGregor II - 1,650,000
Mayweather vs Cotto – 1,500,000
McGregor vs Diaz 1,500,000
Aldo vs McGregor 1,400,000
Mayweather vs Mosley – 1,400,000
Alvarez vs McGregor - 1,300,000
Mayweather vs Ortiz – 1,250,000
Number of Mayweather Pay-Per-View Fights: 15 Total Mayweather Buys Generated: 19,595,000 Average Mayweather Buyrate: 1,306,000 Total Revenue Generated at $60 average price: $1,175,700,000 Average Pay-Per-View Revenue Generated: $78,380,000 Number of McGregor Pay-Per-View Fights: 5 Total McGregor Buys Generated: 6,675,000 Average McGregor Buyrate: 1,335,000 Total Revenue Generated at $60 average price: $400,500,000 Average Pay-Per-View Revenue Generated: $80,100,000 Combined Total Combined Pay-Per-Views: 20Total Buys Generated: 26,270,000Average Combined Buyrate: 1,313,500Average Combined Pay-Per-View Revenue Generated: $78,810,000 Total Combined Revenue Generated at an average price of $60 = $1,576,200,000 To have all televised and title fights synced with your calendar, please subscribe to the sunday puncher calendar. There is seriously no better or easier way to stay up-to-date with boxing. You'll never need to ask what time a fight starts or what channel you can catch it on again.
List of Las Vegas casinos that never opened Over the years there have been several casinos and resorts planned for the Las Vegas Valley that never opened. The stages of planning may have been just an announcement or groundbreaking.[1][2][3] Asia Resort and Casino Where the Palazzo Casino and Resort currently stands (adjacent to the Venetian Hotel and Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center), an Asian themed casino was proposed but was rejected for the present Palazzo project.[4] Alon Las Vegas A proposed luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip on the former site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, announced in 2015.[5] The project was put in doubt after Crown Resorts announced in late 2016 it was suspending its involvement in the development.[6] Crown announced in December 2016 that it was halting the project and seeking to sell its investment. The remaining partner Andrew Pascal announced he was seeking other partners to proceed with the project. However in May 2017, the land went up for sale.[7] The land was later purchased by Steve Wynn. Beau Rivage Steve Wynn, who had purchased and demolished the Dunes hotel-casino, had originally planned to build a modern hotel in the middle of a man-made lake. He later built the Bellagio with a man-made lake in the front of the hotel.[citation needed] The name was later used by Wynn for a resort built in Biloxi, Mississippi. Caribbean Casino In 1988, a sign for a proposed casino was erected on a fenced vacant lot on Flamingo Road. Standing near the sign was a scale model galleon. For several years, that was all that stood on the property. The empty lot was the source of many jokes by the locals until the ship, which was later damaged by a fire started by a homeless person, was torn down in the 1990s and the lot became the site of the Tuscany Suites and Casino co-owned by Charles Heers, who has owned the property since the 1960s.[8] Carnival In 1990, the Radisson group proposed a 3,376-room hotel next to the Dunes, with a casino shaped like a Hershey's Kiss.[9] Cascada A proposed resort that was to have been built on the site of El Rancho Vegas. The parcel is now partially taken by the Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Las Vegas Festival Grounds.[4] City by the Bay Resort and Casino A San Francisco-themed resort was proposed for the site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. The project was rejected in favor of the Swiss-themed Montreux, which was also eventually cancelled.[4] Countryland USA A country music-themed resort was planned for construction of the site of the former El Rancho Hotel and Casino. For some years, the El Rancho sign stood with the words "Coming Soon - Future Home of Countryland USA."[10][11] Craig Ranch Station Main article: Craig Ranch Station A Mediterranean-themed hotel-casino for North Las Vegas, proposed by Station Casinos in March 2000.[12] The project faced opposition from nearby residents,[13][14][15] which led to the proposed location being changed to a vacant property on the nearby Craig Ranch Golf Course.[16] Residential opposition to the new location led to the project being rejected by the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee in March 2001. Station Casinos still had the option to develop the project on the initial site,[17][18] but the project was cancelled entirely in July 2001, following a weak financial quarter for the company.[19] Crown Las Vegas Main article: Crown Las Vegas Formerly known as Las Vegas Tower, the Crown Las Vegas was to have been a supertall skyscraper built on the former site of a Wet 'n Wild water park. In March 2008, the project was canceled and the property was put up for sale.[20] Desert Kingdom In 1993, ITT Sheraton purchased the Desert Inn casino, and had announced plans to develop the large parking lot into a Balinese themed resort to complement the Desert Inn. The project was never developed and the site is now the location of Wynn Las Vegas.[4] DeVille Casino After building the Landmark Hotel and Casino on Convention Center Drive and selling it to Howard Hughes, developer Frank Carroll built the DeVille Casino across the street from the Landmark at 900 Convention Center Drive in 1969. Chips were made for the casino (and are sought-after collectibles), but the casino never opened.[21] The building was renovated in 1992 as a race book parlor named Sport of Kings which closed after nine months.[22] It became the location of The Beach nightclub, which was demolished in 2007 to make room for a planned 600-unit tower[23] that was never built.[24] The land sits currently empty. Echelon Place Main article: Echelon Place An announced project by Boyd Gaming planned to have a hotel built on the property of the former Stardust Resort & Casino. Construction was suspended on August 1, 2008 due to the Great Recession. In March 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the proposed site for $350 million to the Genting Group, which is redeveloping the project as the Asian-themed Resorts World Las Vegas. Fontainebleau Las Vegas Main article: The Drew Las Vegas Located on the Las Vegas Strip and originally known as Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Construction began in 2007, and the resort was to include a casino, 2,871 hotel rooms, and 1,018 condominium units.[25] Construction on the $2.9 billion project ceased in 2009, the year of its planned opening. Investment firms Witkoff Group and New Valley LLC purchased the unfinished resort in 2017.[26] In 2018, Witkoff and Marriott International announced a partnership to open the renamed project as The Drew Las Vegas in 2020. The resort will include a casino and three hotels totaling nearly 4,000 rooms, with the condominium aspect removed from the project.[27] Harley-Davidson Hotel and Casino A resort themed after the motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson was proposed, complete with hotel towers shaped like gigantic exhaust pipes, but was never built.[4] Jockey Club Casino The Jockey Club is a condominium and timeshare resort at 3700 Las Vegas Boulevard South. It was planned to have a casino, and chips were made for its use, but the casino was never opened.[28] Kactus Kate's By April 1994, Gold Coast Hotel and Casino owner Michael Gaughan was interested in building a hotel-casino in North Las Vegas,[29] at the northeast corner of North Rancho Drive and Carey Avenue. In January 1995, the city planning commission approved the rezoning of the land for use as a hotel-casino. The resort, to be named Kactus Kate's, would be built by Gold Coast Hotel/Casino Limited. The hotel would include 450 rooms, and the casino would be 105,000 sq ft (9,800 m2),[30] later decreased to 102,000 sq ft (9,500 m2).[31] The resort would be located directly north of the nearby Fiesta and Texas Station resorts.[31] In December 1998, Coast Resorts, Inc. received approval from the planning commission for a use-permit relating to the undeveloped property. In November 2000, the planning commission unanimously approved a two-year extension on the permit, giving the company more time to decide whether it would build Kactus Kate's. Because of a 1999 Senate bill that placed restrictions on casinos in neighborhoods, Coast Resorts had a deadline of 2002 to build the casino. The hotel would measure over 100 feet (30 m) high, and Coast Resorts was required to notify the Federal Aviation Administration of its final plans, due to the site being located less than 1,000 feet (300 m) from a runway at the North Las Vegas Airport.[32] In January 2001, Station Casinos purchased the 29-acre (12 ha) site for $9 million. Coast Resorts president Harlan Braaten said, "As we saw the competitive nature of that area intensify, in terms of the size of competing facilities, we just felt we would have to build something much bigger than we had intended to compete with Texas Station and Santa Fe Station. It was just going to be a very expensive project, and we didn't feel the returns would be that good." Station Casinos planned to sell the property as a non-gaming site.[31] Las Vegas Plaza Main article: Las Vegas Plaza Not to be confused with the Plaza Hotel & Casino. This was to have been modeled after the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The project was announced shortly before the demolition of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, where the new hotel would be built. Las Vegas Plaza was cancelled in 2011 due to the Great Recession. London Resort and Casino This announced project was to have been themed around the city of London, and featuring replicas of the city's landmarks. The project was to be built on land across from the Luxor Hotel and Casino. A second London-themed resort was to be built on the former land of the El Rancho Hotel and Casino. Neither project ever began construction.[4] London, Las Vegas This was a proposed three-phase project using London as its design inspiration. When completed, the 38.5-acre (15.5 ha) property would have featured 1,300 hotel rooms, a casino, a 500-foot-tall (152.4 m) observation wheel named Skyvue (partially constructed), and 550,000 square feet (51,097 square meters) of restaurants and shops — all of which would be architectural replicas of various British landmarks and neighborhoods.[33] The project was to be constructed on land across from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, where — as of November 2019 — the partially-constructed Skyvue still stands. The wheel was to be "Phase I of London, Las Vegas". Montreux Resort This Swiss-themed resort was to have been built on the property of the former New Frontier Hotel and Casino, but was ultimately cancelled.[34] Moon Resort and Casino Proposed by Canadian developer Michael Henderson, this is a planned 10,000-room, 250-acre (1.0 km2) lunar-themed casino resort.[35] Gaming experts doubt it will ever be built in Las Vegas, simply because the space planned for it is too large for the Las Vegas Strip.[4] NevStar 2000 Further information: Craig Ranch Station § NevStar 2000 Proposed by NevStar Gaming in 1998, the NevStar 2000 entertainment complex in North Las Vegas would have included a hotel and casino,[36] but the project faced opposition from nearby residents who did not want a casino in the area.[37][38] The project was cancelled when NevStar Gaming filed for bankruptcy in December 1999.[12] North Coast/Boyd Gaming project In May 2003, Coast Casinos had plans for the North Coast hotel-casino, to be built at the southwest corner of Centennial Parkway and Lamb Boulevard in North Las Vegas. The project would be built on approximately 40 acres (16 ha) of vacant land, surrounded by other land that was also undeveloped. At the time, the North Las Vegas Planning Commission was scheduled to review requests for zoning changes and approvals for the project. The project was not scheduled to be built for at least another four years, after completion of a highway interchange at Lamb Boulevard and the nearby Interstate 15, as well as the completion of an overpass over nearby railroad tracks. Bill Curran, an attorney for the land owner, said, "We're going through the zoning changes now so everybody knows what's going to be out there." The North Coast would include a casino, a 10-story hotel with 398 rooms, a bowling alley, movie theaters, and a parking garage.[39] In June 2003, the Planning Commission voted 6 to 1 to approve preliminary applications necessary to begin work on the North Coast.[40][41] Boyd Gaming, the owner of Coast Casinos, announced in February 2006 that it would purchase the 40-acre site for $35 million.[42] Jackie Gaughan and Kenny Epstein were the owners at the time.[43] Boyd Gaming had not decided on whether the new project would be a Coast property or if it would be similar to the company's Sam's Town hotel-casino. At the time, no timetable was set for building the project.[42] In March 2007, the project was put on hold. At the time, Boyd Gaming had been securing construction permits for the project but decided to first review growth in the area. Construction had been scheduled to begin in mid-2007.[44] In August 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the undeveloped property for $5.15 million.[43] Palace of the Sea Resort and Casino This was to have been built on the former Wet 'n Wild waterpark site. Conceptual drawings included yacht-shaped towers that housed suites, a casino resembling the Sydney Opera House and a 600-foot (180 m) tall Ferris wheel-type attraction dubbed a "Sky Wheel". It never left the planning stages.[4] Paramount Las Vegas A casino and hotel and condo resort with more than 1,800 units that was planned by Royal Palms Las Vegas, a subsidiary of Royal Palms Communities.[45][46] The project was to replace the Klondike Hotel and Casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip,[47][45] beside the Las Vegas welcome sign.[48] The resort was approved in October 2006,[45] but an investor pulled out of the project in August 2007, and the land was put up for sale in May 2008.[46] Pharoah's Kingdom Pharoah's Kingdom was planned as a $1.2 billion gaming, hotel and theme park complex to be built on 710 acres (290 ha) at Pebble Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, five miles south of the Las Vegas Strip.[49][1] Construction was approved in October 1988,[49] with Silano Development Group as the developer.[50] The project would have an Egyptian theme, including two 12-story pyramids made of crystal, with each containing 300 suites. The hotel would have a total of 5,000 rooms,[50] making it the largest in the world.[51] The 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m2) casino would include 100 table games and 3,000 slot machines, while an RV park, mini-golf, a bowling alley, and a video game arcade would be located beside the casino area.[52] Three of the project's various pyramid structures would house the 50-acre (20 ha) family theme park. Other features would include sphinxes, man-made beaches, waterways resembling the Nile river, an underwater restaurant, a 24-hour child-care facility, a 100-tenant shopping promenade, and a repertory-style theater that would be overseen by actor Jack Klugman.[52] Additionally, the resort would feature an 18-hole PGA Championship golf course,[52] and a monorail located within the theme park.[50] The project would have one mile of frontage along Las Vegas Boulevard.[52] Frank Gambella, president of the project, stated that financing was in place, with groundbreaking planned for March or April 1989. Gambella said the project would be financed by several entities, with the money coming from a Nevada corporation, suggesting the entities would be grouped together as an umbrella corporation. Gambella stated that the project could be opened by Labor Day 1990. The resort was expected to employ 8,000 people. Following the completion of the resort, Gambella said a complex of 750 condominiums would be built on the land along with 900 retirement-care apartments.[52] The project was cancelled shortly after it was announced, as authorities became suspicious of developer Anthony Silano's fundraising efforts for the project. It was discovered that Silano and his associates hacked into the Switzerland bank accounts of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos following his death in 1989. Silano pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges. Another Egyptian-themed resort, Luxor Las Vegas, would open on the south Las Vegas Strip in 1993.[1] Planet Hollywood Resort (original plans) Not to be confused with the current Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Originally planned to open in the late 1990s on the site of the Desert Inn, it was to be one of the largest hotels in Las Vegas. Because of the bankruptcy of Planet Hollywood Restaurants, the hotel was never built. However, in the 2000s, a group of investors bought the new Aladdin Hotel and Casino and remodeled it with a modern Hollywood theme.[4] Playboy Hotel and Casino A proposed casino resort themed after Playboy magazine was rejected in favor of a nightclub and suites built at the top two floors of the new Palms tower.[4] The planned location for the Playboy Hotel and Casino, on the Las Vegas Strip, was later used for the Cosmopolitan resort.[53] Santa Fe Valley Main article: Santa Fe Valley Santa Fe Gaming, which owned the Santa Fe hotel-casino in northwest Las Vegas, had plans for a second Santa Fe property in 1996.[54] The Santa Fe Valley would be built on a 40-acre (16 ha) lot[55] in Henderson, Nevada, adjacent to the Galleria at Sunset mall. The start of construction was delayed several times because of poor financial quarters for Santa Fe Gaming,[54] and because of the company not yet receiving financing for the project.[56] Site preparation started in July 1998, with an opening date scheduled for December 1999,[57] but construction never began. In 1999, the property was sold to Station Casinos,[58][59] which sold the land a year later for use as a shopping center.[60] Shenandoah Hotel and Casino A project by Wayne Newton. Although the hotel operated for a short time at 120 E. Flamingo Road, the management was unable to get a gaming license. After years of floundering it was sold to a Canadian company and became Bourbon Street Hotel and Casino. Silver City proposals By January 2000, Luke Brugnara was planning to build a San Francisco-themed resort on the site of the closed Silver City Casino.[61] Brugnara intended to give Silver City a multimillion-dollar renovation, with plans to have a fully operational hotel-casino by 2002.[62] In March 2001, Brugnara's request for a gaming license was rejected.[63] In May 2002, it was announced that Brugnara had sold the casino while retaining six acres located behind the building.[64] In 2003, Brugnara was planning to build a 24-story, 304-room hotel and casino resort on a portion of the Silver City property. The resort, to be named "Tycoon", was to be designed by Lee Linton, with an expected cost of approximately $100 million.[65] Starship Orion International Thoroughbred Breeders (ITB) announced plans to demolish the El Rancho and construct Starship Orion, a $1 billion hotel, casino, entertainment and retail complex with an outer space theme, covering 5.4 million square feet (501,676 square meters). The resort was to include seven separately owned casinos, each approximately 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters).[66][67] Each potential casino owner was to contribute up to $100 million to own and operate a casino within the complex.[68] The complex would have included 300,000 square feet (27,871 square meters) of retail space, as well as 2,400 hotel rooms and a 65-story hotel tower. ITB hoped to begin construction later in 1996, with a planned opening date of April 1998.[67] Sunrise This was to have been located at 4575 Boulder Highway. Property developer Michael Mona Jr. built the hotel-casino and stated that he was going to break tradition by starting a "casino without a theme". He failed to get an unrestricted gaming license when suspicions arose concerning his associations with alleged organized crime figures. Chips were made for the casino, but were never used.[69] The building was opened as Arizona Charlie's Boulder. Titanic In 1999, Bob Stupak was planning a 400-foot-high (122 m) resort themed after the RMS Titanic, to be built on a 10-acre (4 hectares) property he owned near downtown Las Vegas. The resort would have included 1,200 rooms, 800 of which were to be used for timeshares to help finance the project. That year, planning commissioners rejected Stupak's request to change the zoning to allow for a hotel.[70] The project was later planned for the former site of the El Rancho Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip, but was rejected by the Las Vegas City Council.[4] W Las Vegas Main article: W Las Vegas W Las Vegas was proposed in August 2005, as a $1.7 billion joint project between Starwood and Edge Resorts, with a scheduled opening in 2008. The project would include a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) casino and approximately 3,000 hotel, condo hotel, and residential units.[71][72] The project was cancelled in May 2007, after Starwood pulled out of the deal.[73] Wally's Wagon Wheel Wally's Wagon Wheel was to be developed by Walter Weiss through his company, Magna Leisure Partnership.[74][75] The project was proposed for 2200 South Boulder Highway in Henderson,[76][77] between Wagon Wheel Drive and Roberts Road,[78] near Henderson's Old Vegas western theme park. Manga Leisure Partnership purchased the 15.5-acre property in late February 1988. Weiss, at that time, had tentative plans for a western-themed, 112-room property known then as the Wagon Wheel Hotel and Casino. The Wagon Wheel was expected to cost $15 million, and financing had yet to be obtained for the project, which Weiss expected to open in early 1990.[74] The project, which would include a 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) casino, was to be built in two phases.[79] By October 1991, Wally's Wagon Wheel remained unbuilt due to difficulty obtaining financing.[80][76] That month, the Henderson Planning Commission voted to give Weiss more time to make progress on the project. At that time, the project was to include 204 hotel rooms and would be built on 13.30 acres (5.38 ha). Weiss noted that the nearby successful Sam's Town hotel-casino opened with 204 rooms, and he believed his project would be successful if he opened with the same amount of rooms for good luck.[76] By the end of 1992, Weiss had still not acquired financing for Wally's Wagon Wheel. At the time, the project was the largest of five casinos being planned for Henderson. The three-story project was to include 200 rooms, two restaurants, a theater lounge for country and western entertainment, and a large bingo room. Weiss stated that groundbreaking was scheduled for May 1993, with an expected opening in June 1994. The hotel-casino would employ approximately 600 people upon opening.[81] Weiss met with nearby residents to discuss the project, and he had the original design changed to include a larger buffer zone between homes and the hotel-casino. In November 1994, the Henderson Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Weiss' requested zone change as part of the redesign. The project, at that time, was to include a one-story casino and a four-story hotel with 400 rooms.[82][83] In December 1994, the Henderson City Council rejected Weiss' plans for a 200-foot (61 m) buffer.[84] In July 1997, the unbuilt project received its sixth extension from the Henderson Planning Commission for a use permit and architectural review.[85] In August 1997, the Henderson City Council approved the sixth extension, but denied Weiss' appeal for a one-year extension, instead giving him six months to make progress on the project.[77] Up to that time, $1.7 million had been invested in the project by Magna Leisure Partnership.[86] As of 1998, the project was expected to cost $80 million and employ at least 1,200 people, and the proposed site had increased to 19 acres (7 ha). At that time, Weiss stated that he was close to obtaining financing for the project from a casino operator.[87] The project was never built. Wild Wild West Not to be confused with Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel. As of 1993, Station Casinos owned a 27-acre (11 ha) site on Boulder Highway with the potential to be developed as a casino. The site was located across the street from Sam's Town hotel-casino.[88] In January 1998, Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. announced plans to purchase Station Casinos, which had intended to sell the land prior to the announcement.[89] By March 1998, Station Casinos was planning to develop a hotel-casino complex on the land, which was occupied by a vacant strip mall. The complex would be known as Wild Wild West, with local residents as the target clientele.[90][89] Crescent's purchase of Station Casinos failed in August 1998, and Station Casinos subsequently slowed its plans to build the project.[91] By the end of the year, the project had received approval from the Clark County Planning Commission for a 273,000 sq ft (25,400 m2) casino and a 504-room hotel.[92] No timetable for construction was announced,[92][93] and Station Casinos had already decided by that point not to start any new projects prior to 2000.[92] Station Casinos sold the undeveloped land for $11.2 million to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in April 2004.[94] World Port In 2000, Howard Bulloch, David Gaffin, and their partner Tom Gonzales transferred ownership of the Glass Pool Inn property to their group, known as New World, with plans for a megaresort.[95] New World purchased several other nearby motels to accumulate a 77-acre (31 ha) parcel located on the Las Vegas Strip and east of the Mandalay Bay.[96] In January 2001, plans were announced for World Port Resorts, a megaresort consisting of hotel-casinos, a convention center and a fine arts facility. The project was to be built on the 77-acre (31 ha property, a portion of which was occupied by the Glass Pool Inn.[96] World Trade Center To have been located at 925 East Desert Inn Road. Leonard Shoen, co-founder of U-Haul truck rental, purchased the property of what had been the Chaparral Hotel & Casino in 1996, renovating it into the World Trade Center Hotel. A gaming license was applied for, but when it was discovered that two of Shoen's closest partners were convicted felons, the application was denied in 1998. He withdrew his application, and died in a car crash in 1999 that was ruled a suicide. Cards and gaming chips were produced for the World Trade Center Casino, but were never used.[97] The property has since been demolished and is now a parking lot, part of the Las Vegas Convention Center Annex. World Wrestling Federation A casino resort themed after the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was proposed for a property near the Interstate 15 freeway across from Mandalay Bay. The project never went past the proposal stage.[4] The land where it would have stood is now Allegiant Stadium. WWF also proposed to open the project on the property once used by the Clarion Hotel and Casino, which was demolished in 2015 to become a parking lot. Xanadu In February 1976, the Clark County Commission approved the 23-story Xanadu resort, to be built on the Las Vegas Strip at the corner of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The resort would include approximately 1,700 hotel rooms and a casino, as well as convention facilities, a showroom, dining, and indoor tennis courts. The resort was to be developed by Tandy McGinnis – of Bowling Green, Kentucky – and his Xanadu Corporation, and would be built on 48.6 acres (19.7 ha) owned by Howard Downes, a resident of Coral Gables, Florida.[98][99][100] The Xanadu would feature a pyramid design, and was expected to cost $150 million.[100] It would have been the first themed mega-resort. Much information and many artifacts of the project are housed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library. The Excalibur Hotel and Casino ultimately opened on the property in 1990.[101] See also Category:Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley List of Atlantic City casinos that never opened
Inside Boston Underground Poker Part 5: Bubbles Goes Busto
Previous Post: https://www.reddit.com/pokecomments/bg7xox/inside_boston_underground_poker_part_4_bubbles_in/ So there I was, walking to the Wynn craps table with about $38k in cash in my pocket. I was up $30k for the day in poker, but as always, I had to push my luck. There's a table off to the side with only one player at it, while the rest of the tables are pretty packed. I prefer a relatively empty table, so I head over there. The guy at the table has weirdly colored chips in front of him, and I realize he's some mega-whale with over a million in chips in his rail. I walk up to the table and he stays sitting, staring into his rail of chips. The table is $100 minimum which is why no one else was there, and I buy in for $10k. The guy is just starting a new roll, so I put $600 each 6 and 8 and $250 on the 5 and 9, and he instantly 7s out. I'm down $1700 already in about 3 minutes, shit. I throw $100 on the line, throw a 6 on the come out and put $600 on the 8, $250 each 5 and 9 again. The other guy started the roll with $12k each 6 and 8, $10k each 5 and 9 and $5k each 4 and 10, plus $1000 each on the hardways. I end up going on an insane roll. I'm throwing hard 6s and 8s like crazy, the guy has pressed up to $5k each on the hard ways and $30k each 6 and 8, and I just keep rolling them. I'm pressing my bets as well, and I'm up like $20k plus I have my bets up to $1000 each 5 and 9 and $3000 each 6 and 8, and I'm still going. At one point I bounce one of the dice off the table, and the other guy turns his bets off, and I roll back to back hard 6s, so he missed out on $160,000 from those rolls, it was pretty sick. I think in total I made something like $35k off of my roll, and the other guy made over a million. The sickest part was that he barely even looked up from his chips, and he never said a word to me or tipped the dealers at all. He went to the bathroom at one point and I made a comment to the dealers, and they said he was still down overall on the day... What a sicko. I played for a bit longer and ended up with $90k in my pocket, a profit of over $52k in a couple of hours of craps. I went into the Wynn with $8k in the morning and was leaving with $90k about 12 hours later. It was absolutely insane. I walked outside to wait for my car at the valet, and I had stuffed all 9 of the $10k "straps" into the pockets of my jeans. My jeans were busting with all of the cash, and these old people who were waiting at the valet noticed it and were staring so hard, it was hilarious. Between my cash, bank accounts and investments, I had about $350k to my name at that moment, less than 3 years after moving to Boston with a roll of around $1500. As you can imagine, I felt absolutely on top of the world. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head. Should I go buy a Porsche in cash? Should I listen to my mom and go to school in Santa Barbara, and use my money on a down payment on a house there? What was certain was the first thing I should have done was taken a bunch of that cash to the bank and gotten it out of my degenerate hands. Instead I drove to the Bellagio, got a room, got some room service, and went to bed. I woke up in the morning and had lost the $90k at the craps table before lunch. Now you might be thinking that this was the start of my spiral down, that I went and cashed out my investments, got it all in cash, and blew it all at the Bellagio craps tables, but that would have been too simple. Instead I went back to grinding $10/20nl like nothing had happened. I had lost 2 buyins, oh well. I took a few more shots at juicy $25/50nl games that summer, and like the lucky asshole I was, I never had a losing session in the 5 I played of that game. The other 4 were all at Bellagio, and usually only ran because a couple of specific businessmen wanted to play. They were bad, the games were great, I was still on top of the world in terms of poker. One session in particular stood out. I sat down with $10k and was on a roll again, running it up to over $20k within a couple of hours. I had maybe $24k in front of me and was the big stack at the table, it was early and there hadn't been too many rebuys yet, and in walks Viffer (David Peat). Viffer was apparently down a few buyins in Bobby's Room and only had enough for our game, so he sat in with $50k. Being the biggest stack at the table besides him, as well as a 21 year old dressed like a complete douche, Viffer instantly focused on me. He was sitting all the way across the table from me (I was in seat 3, he was in seat 8), but as he sat down he called across the table to me, "hey kid, ever lost a $50,000 pot before?". "Not yet, but I look forward to it!", I retorted. Not my greatest comeback ever, but oh well. I continue working up a stack without playing any big pots with him, and I'm at close to $30k and Viffer is still around $50k when a big pot happens. Since it was a $25/50nl game with $100 dead on the button, a typical raise was $300-350. In this hand, UTG raised to $350, Viffer called from the CO or HJ, the button called, the SB called, and I woke up with KK in the BB. There's over $1500 in the pot already, so I make it $1500 total and everyone calls. There's over $7500 in the pot preflop. The flop comes KTx rainbow, and I'm trying to figure out how long I should wait before checking, and if I should ham it up, when instead the SB open jams for around $8000. I have nearly $20k behind, and I wasn't sure what to do. UTG had about $12k, Viffer had me covered, and the button had under $10k, so raising vs flatting only really mattered significantly vs Viffer. I decided he didn't have much that could have hit this flop strongly, I wasn't getting paid unless he had KT or obviously TT or bottom set, and I didn't want to let him have pot odds with QJ, so I just jammed. UTG snap folded and Viffer stared me down for a minute before folding, and the button folded as well. We didn't flip our cards up, and the turn came an A and Viffer cursed to himself. He admitted later to having AT. River came a blank and the SB flipped up QJo to ship the pot with his straight. Bye bye $24k pot. I shake it off, I still have around $20k in front of me, and I run it up a bit once again, sitting with around $25k when I get into a big pot once again. This time I raise to $300 with J9s from the CO and one of the donkey businessmen that the games run because of reraised from the blinds up to $900. I called the $600 more, he had around $13k in his stack to start. The flop comes QJ9 and I'm loving life again. He could have QQ, but JJ is unlikely since I have one, and I had only seen him 3 bet once in around 4 hours. Great chance he had an overpair. He instantly bet out $1500 into the $2000 or so pot, and I reraised to $4000, he went all in pretty quickly, and after a little bit of thought I made the call and he proudly flipped up KK. He had a decent number of outs with his gutshot, another K or a Q giving him the pot, but instead the board ran out 5, 5 to give him higher 2 pair in a different way. Bye bye $26k pot. Those were 2 of the biggest pots I had ever played where it actually went to showdown and I hadn't gone all in with 100% to win. I had around 62% equity with the J9 and 74% with the KK, so it was a less than 10% chance for me to lose both. I ended up leaving the table up $7k, which was awesome after having lost my only 2 all ins for the night, but I was feeling negative, and of course went to the craps table. I lost my $7k profit and went home even for the day. Another of the biggest pots I ever played was actually at $10/20nl at the Wynn vs another pro who liked to try to make huge bluffs sometimes and had a habit of overthinking stuff in my opinion. I was sitting with over $15k from $8k in buyins, and was having a pretty great session overall, and the other pro had around $10k. I don't remember the action nearly as well in this hand as the others, but I had KTss in a 3bet multiway pot to the flop, and it came KT7 with 2 hearts. Someone bet, the other pro raised, I 3bet, the original better flatted, the other pro 4bet for like 40% of his stack, I shoved, the original raiser folded after tanking, and the pro went into the tank hard. Now this was a guy whose game I respected. He was facing a bet of another $5500 to win a pot of about $23000. When he went into the tank, I figured he had a non-nut flush draw and was trying to figure out if I had some pair and higher flush draw combos or nut flush draws in my range where he'd be way behind. He tanked for nearly 5 minutes and eventually called, the board ran out A, 5 and he said "you've probably got me". I turned over my KT and he goes "oh holy shit I figured you had a set!" and turn over A5hh. I'm not sure why he tanked so long getting over 3:1 with a nut flush draw, even if he put me on only sets, he still had the odds to call, and I'm playing QJhh and 98hh the same way, hands he is ahead of. I didn't mind losing 2 pair vs flush draw as much as I minded that he had me convinced I was good with his tank, and then even more when he said "you've probably got me". I had to leave the game because I was close to tilt after that one. The WSOP ended and the games dried up a bit. There were still $10/20nl games going at Bellagio usually, but with more grinders and fewer donks per table. Throughout the post- WSOP summer, many of my friends came out to party, and I spent a lot of time with Ashley, growing closer with her. At the end of the summer I decided not to stay in Vegas full time, moving to Berkeley, California, near my hometown and where several of my friends went to university. I played some of the juicy $5/10nl and $10/20nl games in the Bay Area with a medium amount of success, and partied a bunch with friends in frats at Cal. I made lots of trips out to Vegas, usually just for degenerate gambling and not a ton of poker. I had taken some losses in the market, but was still sitting with around $300k between cash, accounts and investments. When Bank of America dipped in November, I bought some for under $12. I still had Jetblue stock which wasn't doing great, and a handful of other stocks which were all struggling in the bear market, but I was convinced it would turn around. My host at the Bellagio was always inviting me to special events, and 2 stood out. A $1 million freeroll heads up blackjack tournament was the first. It was 128 players, so nearly $10k in value. If you won your first 3 rounds, you were in the money and guaranteed $50k. After dominating my first 2 opponents who knew very little about blackjack tournament strategy, I was feeling confident. Blackjack tournament strategy is very different than normal blackjack strategy since your objective is to beat your opponent, not the dealer, and there are weird rules like blackjack paying 2 to 1. There are a set number of hands you play, and whomever has the most money after those hands wins. My first opponent went broke, so I automatically won that. My 2nd opponent just bet small every time, and didn't compensate when I took a lead, so on the final hand he didn't even give himself a chance to win with his bet. My third opponent was semi competent, he at least knew basic blackjack strategy, but his betting was wrong and he still played as if he was trying to win chips from the dealer, not merely outplay me. I managed to make it so that on the 25th and final hand of our game, if both me and my opponent won the hand, I won, if both me and my opponent lost the hand, I won. Outside of making it impossible for them to win at all, which is very hard with correct strategy, this is about all you can ask of in a blackjack tournament. Me and my opponent both received face cards first, a great sign for me. For my 2nd card I received another face card, great news, until my opponent was dealt an A and got paid 2 to 1. My only chance was to split my face cards and try my luck to still end up on top, but it didn't work out and my opponent was the winner. A few months later I was invited to a free $1 million poker tournament. This was it, my ultimate chance. It was 100 invited players only and based on pit and slot play, not anything to do with poker. It was going to be me vs a bunch of degens without any poker skill! The time for the big tournament came, and there was a twist. There were actually 110 players, 10 of whom were MGM executives and had cash bounties on their heads between $1000-$10k depending on their level at the company. They couldn't cash the tournament, they were just there to have fun and add a wrinkle to the game. I easily navigated the field to start, although someone else at my table got the $2k bounty for knocking out our MGM employee. As the tournament progressed, it became clear the structure wasn't great, especially with so many inexperienced players taking a long time to make decisions. We were down to about 14 players including 2 executives left. Once only 10 real players were left, all of the executives remaining would be removed and their bounties would be put into the regular prize pool. Top 10 got paid, so there were essentially 12 left plus 2 fake players. I don't remember the action too well for this hand either, but I believe I was about 30 bbs deep to start the hand and raised with AJ from the button and got called by both blinds. The big blind was a $5000 bounty and she only had about 5bbs left after the call. The flop came KJ4 and they both checked, and I bet the 5bbs that the bounty had left. They both called. Turn came a T and after the other guy checked, and I thought I had him beat, so I went all in for the remaining 20 or so bbs. The SB tanked and was talking about how he really wanted the bounty. He ended up calling, he had about 1bb behind, and we all showed our hands. The SB had T9 with no flush draw, and the bounty had QJ, so I was 81% to scoop the hand, and only 11% to bust. River T and I'm done. The worst part was that the guy who stacked me with T9, having called with just a gutshot on the flop, managed to lose all of his chips on the bubble and go out in 11th place. He got his $5k cash bounty though... The stock market continued to crash, and I went harder and harder in on the stocks I thought would bounce back, still investing on margin. Eventually I lost it all in February/March of 2009 when Bank of America stock dropped to $3. I had bought in more at $7, then even more at $5, and when the margin call came in I lost nearly $200k just on that one stock. My average buy price was a mere $6 since I had bought in huge at $5. If I had been able to pay the margin call and hang on, by August of 2009 my 50k+ shares would have netted me a profit of over half a million dollars. Instead I was completely broke. My losses in the market for 2008 and 2009 were nearly $400,000, and I later found out my casino pit game losses were nearly $200,000. If I had been patient, diversified, not on margin, and kept out of the pit, I would have been a 22 year old millionaire. Instead I was busto. I continued on in poker for several years after that, but unfortunately my persona of trying to seem like a rich kid wasting daddy's money had left me without many poker friends, and without many people who respected my game enough to stake me. I ended up turning to online SNGs and being moderate successful, but still lazy and not putting in the hours I should have. Ashley and I tried to make it work, but she wanted me to move out to Vegas for good, and I was afraid being in Vegas would end in disaster for me as I'd continue to waste a huge amount of money on gambling, money I no longer had. My high school sweetheart came back into my life at that point as well, and I pushed Ashley aside for nostalgia, ignoring the reasons the high school gf and I had broken up several times in the past. In the end, I wanted to be more serious than she did, and I haven't spoken to the high school ex in 10 years. Ashley moved on quickly as she always did, and already had a serious boyfriend by the time I came around and realized I wanted to be with her. She ended up becoming a stripper in Vegas, and the last time I saw her she was a bit of a mess. She moved out of Las Vegas these days and I think she's doing better, but we don't keep in close touch. By Black Friday I had joined a good staking group and was successful at online SNGs, making a nice hourly, coaching other players, and generally doing well at poker, although in my personal life I was a mess after losing both girls I loved in close succession. After Black Friday I made several stupid mistakes, alienating my backers and many in the poker community. I paid everyone back in the end, but I knew I needed to get out of poker. I went back to college, met my wife and we've been together for nearly 7 years now. I now work as a financial adviser. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my crazy life journey! Some other crazy stuff happened along the way that I might throw together at some point, but those are more Vegas party stories than much to do with poker.
I'm in Las Vegas, leaving tomorrow. I have been staying at Mandalay Bay and attending a conference here. I have been here during the terrible mass murder. In the hope that this would be somewhat cathartic, I've written out what happened below. I'm not doing this to be a karma whore or to get reddit gold. Don't gild me. The text below is just a brain dump of what happened and how I feel - I haven't really tried to make it presentable or anything. Hope this is OK. Times aren't super accurate as I'm going from memory. My manager, his son and I were finishing our meal at "The House of Blues" (a restaurant within the Mandalay Bay complex - just off the casino floor). At around 10:10pm local time, our waitress yelled out that we were to all evacuate immediately, that there was a shooting taking place in the hotel. At about the same time we heard screaming and saw people running past the front of the restaurant. We were evacuated to outside the hotel, to a loading zone or rear entry of some sort. While outside, we heard some gunshots and more screaming. It sounded like someone with a gun was pretty close to us. At this stage, we had no idea what was going on - people thought that there were gunmen shooting people in the casino and on the streets like an execution squad. As everyone thought we were in danger, we were then evacuated back into the hotel through a service entrance to another restaurant (RM Seafood), where we (about 15 of us plus a handful of staff) were sitting at tables in a function room towards the rear of the restaurant. We sat with a pair of ladies who were attending the conference with us, from California. One of these ladies (we will call her "A") was becoming hysterical with panic, so I started talking to her and trying to calm her down; asking her about her family and pets, and trying to get her to think of something other than the situation we were in. I crouched in front of her and positioned my body to offer her some protection if shots were fired. At this point, police/military started storming the casino. We could see men with guns (who turned out to be police/military but it was hard to tell at the time with all the confusion) running past the restaurant shouting for people to get down. This was terrifying, as we expected bullets to start flying at any minute. "A" started going into shock/panic again. We all crouched around her to offer her some security/protection in case something happened and tried to put on a brave face to stop her from becoming more panicked. After twenty seconds or so, we crawled under the tables back to a service area which led to the Michael Jackson Theatre. At this point I got separated from my boss. He (and some other people) had stayed in the restaurant and crawled behind the bar. The ladies we were with had also left their bags in the restaurant during the panic. We burst into the theatre and were told to find a seat. It was apparent that the people in the theatre had no idea what was going on - many of them were clapping and cheering as if us running in all panicked was part of the show. The people in front of us turned around and asked what was going on. We told them there was shooting going on and we'd been evacuated in here, but to keep it quiet so as not to incite panic. Three heavily armed police entered the theatre and instructed the theatre staff to lock the exit doors from the inside. They spoke over the public address system that they were responding to "an incident in the casino", and that we needed to all stay in our seats, keep quiet, and keep the exist clear. They asked that the lights be kept off. Some people got up to see what was going on. The police yelled that they needed line of sight to the exits and for people to return to their seats. At this point, someone tried to open the door from the outside. The police officer yelled "GET DOWN NOW!" and raised his machine gun to the door. Everybody got down onto the floor in front of the seats, there was a lot of screaming. We expected a gunman to burst through the door an open fire. After a minute or so of nothing happening, we got back up. "A" started to panic again, and said she would feel more comfortable sitting near an exit, so we went with her and crouched down by one of the exit doors that led to the outside of the casino, next to the car park. I positioned myself in front of her to try and offer some protection and comfort her, and asked her to show us pictures of her children on her phone to try and help her calm down. At this point I think everyone in the theatre realised that something serious was going on, and started to take the situation very seriously. Shortly after, several more police officers arrived, and broke into teams of 2-3 per exit. They were armed with rifles, shotguns and machine guns. The police didn't seem to know what the threat was, and were acting like people with guns might burst through the doors at any minute. They kept the theatre in lock down for 2-3 hours. During this time we were not allowed to leave the theatre under any circumstances. People that needed to use the restroom had to urinate in plastic cups. We could overhear the radios that the police had on them, saying things like "reports of shots fired at New York New York, the Bellagio, the MGM Grand and several other hotels". We all thought that this was a coordinated terrorist attack. It was truly terrifying. During the initial lockdown, the police made an announcement over the PA system along the lines of "we have heard some people saying they are carrying concealed weapons. If you are carrying a concealed weapon DO NOT DRAW IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU". After 2-3 hours of lockdown, the police now thought that there were two shooters coming from the roof of the hotel, and that the reports of shootings on the streets and at other hotels were false. They secured the lobby of the theatre and assembled a strike team outside the lobby for our protection. They then allowed people to visit the lobby to use the restroom. At this point they moved the remaining people from the restaurant into the theatre. My boss was not allowed to bring the ladies' bags into the theatre, so he stashed them in a cupboard so they were safe. The theatre and lobby was kept under lockdown for another three hours or so while the SWAT team were clearing the casino floor and each floor of the hotel room by room. People from the conference who were still in their rooms were texting us saying that SWAT had burst into their rooms guns up, made sure there was no threat, and then left. This spooked many of the conference attendees who later required counselling (put on by the conference organisers). We were told that the entire hotel had been marked as a crime scene, and that we would be unable to return to our rooms. The police arranged for busses to evacuate the 1500-ish people in the theatre to various places - a site near the airport, a local university, a local sports field. They asked that the elderly, people with young children, and people requiring medical attention please line up for the first lot of busses. During this time, one lady started going into a seizure as she did not have access to her anti-seizure medication. The police made an announcement over the PA system asking if anyone had any of the specific medication she required. That was the last I heard of that so hopefully she was OK. As we were all able bodied and staying in the hotel, we stayed behind and did not evacuate during the initial rounds. The evacuation process took place over the next few hours. Over this time, through twitter, reddit and listening to the police scanner, we learned that there was only a single shooter, he was firing from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay to a country music festival "Route 91" that was over the road from the Mandalay, that he shot himself, that there was over 50 dead, they had found a bomb in the killer's car, and that, thankfully, we were never in any real danger (although I would later find out that the killer's car was filled with ammonium nitrate explosive, and it was parked metres away from the theatre in the hotel's car park). Throughout the lockdown, people were sleeping in aisles, sleeping on the floor, trying to call and message loved ones, eating and drinking food/drink from the concession stand (we were told to help ourselves at no charge), etc. People were sharing phone chargers to try and make sure we could all stay in contact with friends and family. A lady ("D") in front of us was worried about her one year old, who was in a hotel room with her grandmother. She was concerned that when her child awoke in the morning, there would be no substantial food in the hotel room. The manager of the theatre did everything he could - people were cold due to the air conditioning - had nothing to offer but napkins but did everything he could to try and make people comfortable. The theatre staff (who must have been equally terrified) were handing out water. I had a chat to some of the police, who mentioned they were getting tired and hoping that a new shift would come to relieve them soon. They had been on shift for about 14 hours. At around 6:30am, a new shift of police came to relieve the team that had been protecting us all night. We thanked them for keeping us safe and they promptly left, thanking us for being cooperative. At around 7:45am, the evacuations had finished. There was about 12 of us left in the theatre. My boss, his son, the two ladies we ran into, and a few more people. We were told that the SWAT team had cleared the hotel, and that we could go back to our rooms (with the exception of people staying on level 32 - I would later learn they were given new rooms). We were locked in the theatre for a total of around 10 hours. We went to RM Seafood with the ladies to retrieve their bags. We made sure they were OK and then we all went back to our rooms. From this point forward, there were guards posted in the lobby, many more guards patrolling the casino floor. Guards with sniffer dogs walking around the hotel and conference area. Impromptu metal detectors were set up at the entrance to the conference facility. Everyone entering for the remainder of the conference would be subject to airport-style security - metal detector checks and bags searched. We found out through talking to the hotel security staff that:
The killer had ordered room service, and then put the room service tray outside his room, camouflaging a security camera on the tray giving him a view down the corridor leading to his room.
The killer had a camera set up in his room, capturing the entire murder.
They knew the killer was on level 32, as the smoke from the machine gun set off the room's smoke alarm.
They had found around 23 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition in the killer's hotel room. That the guns he used for the mass murder were mounted on tripods and fitted with scopes and "bump stocks", effectively making them into fully automatic assault rifles.
The killer would use one gun and shoot at one side of the crowd. The crowd would run to the other side of the festival field. He would then switch guns/windows and shoot them on the other side of the field. Sickening.
During the shooting, the hotel head of security went up to level 32 to try and evacuate innocent people. When the killer spotted him on the camera, he shot 200 rounds through the door of his room. The security guard was shot in the leg, but still managed to evacuate people.
When the SWAT team breached his room (with explosives on the door), they found him already dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The SWAT team found a large quantity of ammonium nitrate explosive in the killer's car (apparently a black audi), which was parked sickeningly close to the exit of the theatre where we were hunkered down. They believe his plan was to perform the shooting, arm the car bomb and escape, meaning for the car bomb to explode and demolish part of the hotel. I'm very thankful this didn't happen as it would have probably killed me. I feel sick just thinking about it
My hotel room overlooks the concert area. I've kept my windows shut as I did not want to see the bodies of the victims. I was told that they were still there to allow forensic investigators to document the crime scene. The front entrance of the hotel has remained closed, and there are road closures in place still. About half of the conference attendees left, including "A". Many have had counselling that was arranged by the conference organisers. Since this, Trump has come and gone, and today the vice president has come and gone. The death toll is up to 58. The hotel and casino is very quiet. The hotel staff are visibly shaken. That's my story. I'm so thankful that I'm alive and can come home to my wife and children, pet bird and the rest of my family. When I look back at the ordeal, the only thing that really happened to us was fear through misinformation and confusion during the shooting. I am not a real victim. The people at the festival that were shot are the real victims, and the people that were injured trying to help the fallen. Through this tragedy, I have seen both how disgustingly evil humanity can be, but also how amazingly selfless humanity can be. The red cross have more blood donations than they can handle. Seeing everyone look after each other in the theatre was amazing - everyone was looking after everyone else. Seeing the footage on the news of people helping the fallen get to safety, while bullets were raining down on them from above ... Words cannot describe the bravery of these people. The gun control debate is raging here. I have heard people say things like "after this, I will never leave home without my gun again", which to me is complete madness. I read in the news that sales of guns have skyrocketed, and that "bump stocks" have sold out of gun shops everywhere as people fear they will be banned. Again, this is madness to me. I will never return to America after this. I simply do not feel safe here knowing that people have access to these unnecessary weapons. Take care of one another. Love Mike.
It’ll come as no shock to you that Las Vegas is not the most pleasant city in the world. From the insane cabs that won't hesitate to steamroll you right into the ground, to the borderline-toxic stench wafting from the sewer grates, it's easy to see why the place wouldn't top too many travel lists. But as I sit in this cheap hotel room about two hours from the Strip, typing with the one arm I have left, I know for a fact that I will never return to Las Vegas. “Hey, hey!” Reggie said as I walked up to the gate. “There he is! what took you so long?” Mike said, giving me a high five. We had been planning this for months. My friend Danny was getting married, and we had decided to have the bachelor party in Vegas. Behind Danny’s back, we had all chipped in to book a suite at the Bellagio hotel. We were obviously pumped for a weekend of slots, booze, and girls. “Where's Danny?” I asked, dropping my carry-on. “Went to the bathroom”, Reggie said, pulling a handful of chips out of a bag under his chair , “ he’ll be back in a minute”. Mike leaned into me and Reggie, and lowered his voice. “Alright boys, final check. Reggie, you booked the room, right?” He blinked a couple of times and scratched his stubbly chin. “Uhh… yeah”. “Awesome. Mitch, you got our rental car?” I held up my receipt. “ Of course”. “Alright!” Mike said a bit too loudly. “Alright what?” A familiar voice rang out from behind us. I turned around to see Danny walking towards us, shaking water off his hands. His khaki pants and button up shirt putting to shame my sweat pants and faded hoodie. “Jesus. Nicole must really be changing you, man”, I said, laughing and pulling him into a hug. “Trust me man, if I had never met her, I’d be naked half the time.” A few minutes later, they called our flight. With a few whoops from Reggie, we boarded the plane. Two hours later we had touched down in Sin City. Reggie went to check in for the rental car while the rest of us watched the turntables for our luggage. As I absentmindedly watched the perpetual row of bags emerging from the plastic-flap-covered opening, I suddenly felt eyes on me. I raised my eyes from the bags and saw who those eyes belonged to. On the other side of the concourse, leaning against a wall, one guy stood out from the crowd. A black guy in his early twenties, wearing what appeared to be an old timely bellhop uniform. The gold buttons on his crimson jacket gleamed under the fluorescent lights. As I stared at him, with no small amount of confusion, the man whistled at me in two short bursts, equal in pitch, as if he were calling a dog. Dan put his hand on my shoulder, making me jump slightly. We picked up the rental car and made our way to the Strip. As we gawked at the lavish hotels with flashy signs that could’ve been seen from the stratosphere, Danny turned to me. “ Shouldn't we get to the hotel first?” I smiled at him. “Sounds good to me,” I said turning into the Bellagio’s self parking area. “Wait…” Danny’s eyes lit up “ you didn't..” “ 15th floor.” Danny looked like a kid on Christmas morning. I will never forget that face. “You didn't tell me you got a suite!” Danny said as he looked around the gigantic room we had rented. “Anything for the man of the hour”, I said, shoving the pocket sized Fireball I had bought on the plane into the mini fridge. “What’re we sitting around here for?” Reggie yelled, emerging from the bathroom. Mike looked up from his phone “ there’s a sick nightclub at Caesars Palace. Let's check it out.” After shot number four, I was feeling like a king.I made my way from the bar back to my table, through the crowds of people silhouetted against the multicolored lights of the club, and found Danny,Mike,Reggie, and a girl who Reggie introduced as Lolita. After shooting Reggie my world-famous she’s-not-staying-the-night glare, I took my seat and laughed at the tail end of the joke Mike was telling. After a few minutes, I noticed a rather out of place man a few feet from our table. He looked like a real greaseball, with a shiny balding head that housed a combover synonymous with the word creepy. Had I not been so hammered, I would have been more suspicious when he walked up to our table. “Hello Gentlemen” He said with a grin that showed off slightly crooked, yellowish teeth. “You seem like the kind of guys that belong in some place other than a cramped one room night club. Perhaps someplace more… exclusive would better suit you.” Eying Danny’s expensive blazer and tie clip, the man leaned in close, putting his hands on the table. “ I'll cut right to the chase: if you follow me, I'll take you to the most exclusive casino in Vegas.” He raised his eyebrows. I turned to see what the guys thought, only to see Danny standing up from his seat, with Reggie close behind. I turned to look at Mike. He shrugged. “What the hell! It's Vegas after all,” Mike stood up and I followed suit, jogging a few paces to catch up with the group. After passing a row of Rocky Horror Picture Show themed slot machines, the greasy man banged open a door marked “Staff Only” to reveal a dark staircase with lights strung on either side of the stairs like a movie theater. Reggie let Lolita go first with a slurred,“ladies first”, Reggie then took a step down,stumbled, and proceeded to slide down the stairs, taking out Lolita like a lone bowling pin. Danny,Mike and I had to grip the handrails as we descended, due to us laughing so hard. A strange mix of thick perfume and cigarette smoke greeted our nostrils at the bottom of the stairs. Mike could barely hold back a gag as we walked further down the hall. As we rounded a corner, I saw a large golden sign above the main entrance to the casino. “The Thomas Bernard club of Las Vegas” It read, with the image of two dice outlined with fire underneath. “Before everyone gets started, will you follow me please!” The greasy man said, leading us past rows of blackjack tables to a blue metal door that seemed out of place with the rest of the casino. “Here,” said the greasy man, abruptly open the door, “ is where you join the club”. “Choose anywhere you want, sir.” The tattoo artist said, as Reggie sat down in the chair. If I had been in better shape, I would have thought that a tattoo was a pretty weird membership requirement. “ I'll give you $100 if you get it on your ass” Dan said, giggling. Reggie wasted no time dropping his jeans and pointing out the perfect place on his right cheek. Within the hour, Reggie was holding a mirror to admire the Devil’s Tongue flower that had been printed on his butt. Dan came next, who got his on his left shoulder blade. Mike got his on his bicep. He told us he could make it dance, but winced in pain as soon as he flexed. Reggie practically fell over laughing. I got mine on my left shoulder. As I stood from the chair, the greasy man entered. “All set?” He asked in a jovial tone. We nodded. “Excellent!” The man said, clapping his hands together, “Have fun!”. All four of us exited the room, and Reggie immediately jumped on one of the slot machines, dragging Lolita behind him. Strange, I had forgotten Lolita was even with our group. Did she even get a tattoo? Dan grabbed my shoulder. “ we're headed to the craps table. Come on!”. An hour later, I was running the craps table like a champion. Cheers went up every time I rolled the dice, and a particularly good looking girl in a short club dress had been making eyes with me across the table the whole time. I jumped out between games and asked if she wanted to grab a drink. After we ordered,the girl grabbed my arm. “Have you heard the rumors about this place?” she whispered to me, with eyes that sparkled with curiosity. “Like what?” I replied, taking a sip of my beer. “Like about the people who run this place? I heard one of them went insane.” She spoke with the voice of an idle teenager, and I found myself slightly on edge as I responded. “Really? Interesting.”my hand curled tighter around the bottle I was holding. The bartender startled me when he walked over to us. “Miss, that's only a rumor. Trust me, I've worked here for almost 30 years. Mr. Bernard and his brother were killed when the boiler underneath their personal ski lodge exploded one winter. Bodies were never recovered. Horrible ordeal.” The bartender said, looking past us into thin air for a second, before turning to help a big buff dude who had just approached the bar. Something had seemed… weird about that bartender. He had rattled that story off almost as if he had memorized it beforehand. Like he’d had to say it more than once .I glanced in the direction the bartender had looked, where two casino security guards were staring directly back at me. “Hey are you ok?” The girl’s words snapped me back to reality, and I was vaguely aware that my hands were shaking. “Yeah” I said, clearing my throat. “Will you excuse me for a second?” She barely got a chance to respond before I was sprinting away from the bar. Something definitely wasn’t right. I needed to find the guys. Dan wasn’t at the craps table. As I ran down the rows of bright, flashing slot machines, air reeking of cigarette smoke filling my lungs, I began to well and truly panic. I felt like I was drowning on dry land. I needed to find the guys. I must not have been running as straight as I thought; I ran into a group of people, and almost knocked a few down. Turning a corner, I saw Reggie and Lolita, facing a slot machine at the end of the aisle, seated with their backs to me. Relieved, I sprinted over to them. As I got closer, my relief slowly melted into horror. The first thing I noticed was that Lolita was crying, tears streaming down her face, smearing her cheap makeup and turning her tears black with mascara. Then I noticed that she was whispering something I couldn’t hear into Reggie’s right ear. The third thing I noticed was that Reggie was dead. Not just dead. He looked like a burn victim. Though somehow his shoulder length hair and thick glasses remained in tact, his skin was a sickening, ashy black. His eyes were gone, and his mouth was open in a silent scream of agony. The final thing I noticed, and something that has rattled around in my brain for years, was that Reggie’s right hand was clutching his right buttock. Right where he had gotten his tattoo. His other hand was melted to his phone, where what was left of the screen displayed the frozen image of a phone call marked “Mom”. I don’t know what I intended to say when I opened my mouth, but before I got the chance, I wretched, and vomited my dinner all over the tacky casino carpet. The room began spinning again, my skull throbbed like my brain had been replaced with a hornets nest. What the hell just happened? Why was no one else helping, or even noticing? That’s when I felt a hand on my shoulder. “ You don’t look well, friend.” The voice was the exact opposite of comforting. I looked up and found myself face to face with the greasy guy that brought us here. He was so close I could smell his rancid breath under a thick shroud of cologne. “Here, come with me.” I wanted to protest, to get this disgusting man away from me, but I was so in shock that I could only stand there as he put a hand on my back and guided me away from Reggie’s corpse. It took me a while to realize that he hadn’t noticed him. Or if he did, he sure as hell didn’t say anything. The next thing I remember is sitting in a large, comfortable chair. I looked around and found I was in a lavish office, similar in design to the suite we had bought for the bachelor party. One thing that caught my eye, however, was the Devil’s Tongue flower in a vase on the bar. That was when all of the memories of what had happened flooded back into my head. I went to stand up from the chair, but found I was unable to pull myself from it. Why was I so weak? “Don’t bother” a voice came from behind the chair. I heard the sound of wheels on the carpet, and I started panicking all over again. My mind was awash with fear as saw through the large mirror on the wall,what, or rather, who was being brought in. The greasy man from earlier was wheeling in a wheelchair with an IV bag attached to it, as well as a respirator. But I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. In the chair was what appeared to be the charred corpse of a man, barely more than a blackened skeleton in a pinstriped suit. His eyes were covered by the gauze wrapped around the top half of his head. Even so, the two black stains on the gauze right where his eyes should be made me feel like he could see more of me than I would ever like. Before I had a chance to say anything, ask why I was being shown this horrible sight,the greasy man shot me a wink and left. The door slammed, And as I sat helplessly, the corpse spoke. “Allow me to introduce myself” despite how emaciated he appeared, the “man” spoke with perfect clarity. “ I am Mr. Thomas Bernard. I suppose you’ve already heard about me, though.” Mr. Bernard sharply inhaled through the nasal respirator. “What the hell?” I was able to sputter our in my dazed state. “Yes I know. You’re thinking I should be deep in the Colorado mountains,frozen under layers of ice in the ruins of a long forgotten ski lodge. And above all, I should be dead, right?” My mind warped like heated metal. My mouth could only take in shallow, staccato breathes. What had they done to me? “If you haven’t already guessed, that story is about as true as the cheater at a poker table.” Said what was left of Mr. Bernard, with a chuckle that sounded fit for a crow with a broken neck, “Now I guess, considering you don’t have that much time left, I can tell you about how I came to own this...place”Mr Bernard said, seeming to choose the last word carefully. “In my prime, I was the greatest businessman on the face of the earth, if I do say so myself. With monopolies in real estate, car manufacturing, and specifically… casinos. I owned some of the most popular casinos in the United States, and ended up bringing more tourists to Nevada then anytime in recorded history. I was a king.” “ I believe it was a Wednesday. I remember going to sleep in my house, and waking up in a room that I could only describe as...as beautiful beyond the concept of beauty. It was as large as a stadium, surrounded by pillars connected by large, medieval arches. The floor was an intricate, polygonal mural that seemed to shift wherever I stepped. The pillars were covered with carvings. Looking closer, I found that these carvings were all different languages, From English, to French to Korean. Towards the bottom of the pillars, languages that were so old I hardly recognized them. Looking up, I noticed that the arches sat in the middle of the pillars rather than the top, and the pillars rose high above them into murky darkness.” Under the desk, I gained movement in my left big toe. “A voice emanated from the infinite darkness surrounding me.” Mr. Bernard’s emaciated hands gripped the arms of the wheelchair. “I felt both fear and comfort in that moment. It was a voice unlike any other; Speaking English, yet somehow devoid of any accent or defining speech pattern.” “ I was dead. I had died in my sleep, and was now in what it referred to as Fegefeuer. And whatever dwelled in this place…” Bernard leaned forward, and I swear I could hear his bones creaking and popping beneath his suit. By now I had completely regained feeling below my left ankle, and was swiftly feeling more and more of my entire leg. “ ...offered me a choice. To my right, a simple, red door appeared. ‘Through that door,’ the voice whispered, ‘is your afterlife. And this…’ from behind me came the bright, twinkling glow. Turning, I saw the geometric tapestry of the floor morph into a city street, and the pillars into Vegas strip signs. ‘is the powerful, regal life you ran prior to this very moment.’ Everything below my waist tingled as though it had fallen asleep, and was regaining feeling. “I suppose you’ve been wondering why I look the way I do, Mr. Ross.” Bernard said, leaning back in his chair. “ I am a man of chance. My gambling has lead me to the most extravagant experiences and luxuries on this earth. I have also lost fortunes the working man could only dream of. With the future of my existence hinging on one choice… I played it safe.” Even with barely any flesh still attached to his blackened skull, and his eyes covered by bandages, I could clearly see anger spreading across his face, making small pieces of flesh fall like bits of paper into the ashtray on his desk. “It didn’t like that. One. Bit.” And that’s when Mr Bernard stood up. I don’t know why, of all things, that haunts me the most. The fact that such a spindly, crude mockery of the human form had the ability ( or at least the compulsion) to stand as a man would. “Come one more!” Bernard suddenly roared, pulling me up by the front of my shirt so that we would be eye to eye if his head were not wrapped in gauze, “Maybe now I can sleep!”. I realized very quickly his ramblings were not directed at me, as the vacant stains on the gauze were aimed off in the distance. Beyond the walls of the office. As quickly as he had lifted me, Bernard dropped me. “Not Enough?” He said, his voice suddenly strained, hands clutching his head. I realized in that moment that all of my feeling had returned. I knocked the chair over sprinting out of the office. Strange enough, it was not locked. As I sprinted down the hallway back to the casino, I began hearing something loud. As I rounded the corner back into the casino, it dawned on me exactly what that sound was. Dozens of voices, all screaming. All around me, people were screaming for help, or groaning in pain. It was then that I started…smelling it. Burning flesh tearing through the tomblike shroud of the casino’s stench. I saw people who seemed healthy an hour earlier crumpling to the floor, clutching at various body parts. I thought nothing. I ran, ignoring the dampness at the crotch of my pants. Ignoring the sweat running into my eyes, causing me to slightly stumble. Ignoring the group of three people I pushed through. That is, until I heard Danny’s terrified voice. “Mitch! HELP ME!” his voice cracked in desperation, trying to free himself from the grip of the two security guards holding each of his arms. I turned back, dazed and petrified, as I watched my friend get dragged further into the crowds of writhing bodies. If she had not been there in that moment, I would have never made it to the door ten feet from where I stood. I would have crumpled onto that singed casino carpet and shut down like a robot in a cartoon. But the girl from the bar was there, and I didn’t realize it until she grabbed a hold of my suit jacket. She screamed one word into my face: “Run!”. I lunged to the door, and it came off its hinges as soon as I pulled on the handle. As I fell out into the dark corridor, I turned and watched as the entire casino seemed to...disassemble. Slot machines became bare wires and sparking lights. Roulette wheels telescoped upwards in layers. The ceiling seemed to melt into concrete and steel beams. My eyes were fixed, however, on the girl in the black dress, crawling on her elbows towards the doorway. I hadn’t noticed how radiant her light green eyes were, until the moment before her head was crushed by a large antique fire extinguisher. Her defined cheekbones and long brunette hair were suddenly lost in a mess of blood and jagged teeth. My eyes rose to the person responsible, and I initially could not understand what I was seeing. I knew it was the man who had lead us to the club, but his face was nothing more than a pile of flesh that wouldn’t look out of place on the Elephant Man. Bulbous skull, eyes swollen shut, and a wide mouth with no teeth. A mouth that was laughing. I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to see the man in the bellhop uniform, the one who I had seen in the airport. He walked forward until he stood parallel with me, and turned. He gave me an acknowledging nod, then walked into the casino. As he did, the doorway gave off a blinding white light. There was a sound like lightning hitting a gas truck. Then, nothing. I stood up, and stared at the solid concrete wall where the hellish casino had stood. I knew then that I had witnessed something no one else would believe. People gave me strange looks as I walked down the strip, but I hardly noticed. I made it to the rental car, and the next thing I remember is standing at the front desk of a motel. I sat on the bed,not knowing what to think or feel. My questions outnumbered my answers one thousand to one, and even attempting to comprehend the tiniest things: The guards, her eyes, the roulette wheel breaking,that bellhop… and Danny’s voice, saturated with terror, fading into the dynn of screams. My phone buzzed on the bedside table, and I didn’t have to look to see it was Nicole calling me again. I stood and looked out the window, at the sun rising over the barren desert. Staring into that crimson ball of gas, all of my anger and confusion funneled into one solid pit in my stomach. I felt so… small. It took me a second to notice the burning pain shooting down my arm. I heard myself yelling, and felt the pain pulsing in my left shoulder. I frantically removed my shirt to see that the veins around the Devil’s Tongue tattoo had turned black. One more answer I didn’t need. I spent hours cutting off my arm in the bathtub with the swiss army knife I kept in my back pocket. I used my belt as an improvised tourniquet, and bit down on one of the bath towels. I was scared when the first blood started to drip. After a while, it became nothing more than a morbid chore, intercut by crying and grunting from the pain. When I had finished,I covered my stump with the towel. The ambulance should be on its way right about now. We’ll see if it runs into any stubborn taxi drivers along the way.
Bellagio is currently accepting reservations. ... Following regulatory guidance, casino floors are open with strict protocols in place for your safety, ... Complimentary self-parking is available at all open resorts in Las Vegas. Valet parking is currently not available. Las Vegas continues to reopen resorts and restaurants with social distancing rules in public places. Aria, Delano, Mandalay Bay and Waldorf Astoria welcomed guests Wednesday, which brings the ... What's Open Bellagio. ARIA. There’s the Vegas you’re used to, and then there’s the AAA Five Diamond–awarded ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Unsurpassed amenities from our renowned restaurants to the most technologically-advanced rooms and suites await you. What's Open ARIA. Bellagio Las Vegas is a AAA Five Diamond Resort & Casino with a variety of things to do on The Strip including the iconic Bellagio Fountains, Conservatory & Gardens, and "O" by Cirque du Soleil. Bellagio - Las Vegas is best known for the impressive water shows organized daily. Well, did you know that for $250,000, guests of the hotel can be in control of the Bellagio fountains and choose from the 35 fountain shows offered (as stated by Review Journal)?And perhaps one of the most impressive shows ever was the stunning drone light display in 2018. LAS VEGAS – Caesar is sporting a gold mask at the entrance to his namesake casino.. There's a giant hand-washing station on the casino floor at the luxe Bellagio.. Dancing dealers at the D Las ... Casinos is Las Vegas are reopening Thursday, after being shuttered for more than two months. Workers there are eager to start getting paid again, but they're also worried about their health. Updated list as of September 8, on what las Vegas Resorts are open or dates of those that will open soon. All dates subject to change. See resort main website linked for details and restrictions. Casino at Bellagio, Las Vegas: Address, Phone Number, Casino at Bellagio Reviews: 4.5/5 Find Bellagio Hotel & Casino restaurants in the Las Vegas area and other . Make restaurant reservations and read reviews.
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