so as Nate mentioned, I had another crazy roller coaster of a trip this time.

the level of my degen this trip puts this previous "crazy week" to shame (

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).

the main purpose of this trip was for the Aria Bacc tourney. my only goal of the trip (besides winning) was to do at least 25k theo so I could get AQ to the QF or possibly do 50k theo so I could get AQ to the SF. the 25k goal was realistic as that's just an average trip for me, but I knew 50k would be tough since my biggest trip ever was only just over 50k.

we arrived and went down for a drink before dinner at 7pm the first night.

I sat down for a quick session at the table since the shoe looked good.

..... at 4am I stumbled back up to the room.

at one point I was in for 180k, then I was up 140k and then I was back in for 250k before I ended the night back even and with a little tip and shopping money to spare. and 6 hours of play at 19k avg and 70k theo.

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of course that should have been the end of my trip at the tables since I had hit all my goals for the trip - had my cash expenses covered, more theo than I could spend and was AQ'd to the SF of the Aria Bacc tourney - but of course it was only the beginning.

Fri night I actually make it for drinks and then we are on our way to Aria for dinner and have a few minutes to kill before the limo at 6pm.

I sat down for a quick session at the table since the shoe looked good and actually managed to hit quick for about 15k.

but then my buddy was running late, so I keep playing and then it turns and I get stuck heavy again.

at midnight I walk back up to the room even for the session. another few hours at 20k avg and another 35k in theo.

of course that should again be the end of my trip since I have even more theo I don't need, but no.

Sat I take the wife for some shopping and I do manage to stay off the tables all day and we make it to Le Cirque for dinner. finally did put some of that theo to good use and had the most amazing bottle of wine of my life - 2010 Romanee-Conti.

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the mouth feel is serene and the finish lasts for 10 minutes at least. you only need one sip and it will coat your mouth with the most amazing softness. I love me some La Tache and didn't think I could ever find anything better, but this is like La Tache on steroids.

I didn't feel like drinking the entire bottle myself, so I left about a glass at the end for the staff, which they greatly appreciated.

Sun is the semis of the Bacc tourney so I head over to Aria and decide to gamble a little. I hit a good shoe and hit and run for 10k before the tourney starts.

I played solid in the tourney, but it wasn't meant to be. just didn't hit the hands I needed to at the end.

after the tourney I decide to sit down and see what I can do with that 10k from earlier. it started rough, but the shoe ended really great with 10/12 banker and I took them for another 45k.

after I go for a drink, I try to get the 55k wired back home for me at the cage, but after waiting 15 minutes for them to figure out what to do, they tell me they have no rating in the system for me and don't know where I got the chips. lol. how can they be so inept?

so rather than wait for them to find their dick, I just take them back to MGM and let my host figure it out.

decide to go down for another drink and then we decide to mess around with a little red-chip roulette to pass the time.

it was going ok and I did manage to hit a 17 on a $200 complete bet, but that didn't pay near as much as I expected.

then it turned south and I started betting green and pressing my complete bets up to 1k.

next thing you know I'm in for 20k and I'm pissed, so I head over to Bacc again to try to win it back.

well, of course it heads bad there and next thing you know I'm stuck big and chasing again.

I managed to hit a couple of good shoes I won it all back and was up 200k for the trip ... should have gone to bed, but I was in pure degen mode and wasn't ready to stop playing.

of course, then it turned and I managed to lose all that back and start digging deep yet again.

finally at 3am I hit another good shoe and win it all back so I can pay off everything and end up right back where I finished the first night - some tip and shopping money in hand.

but that 200k I was up before is in the back of my mind, so instead I decided to see if I could hit one more good shoe and make some profit for the trip.

we start a new shoe and I proceed to lose 13 hands in a row and it's all gone. everything. couldn't believe it. all that hard work and hours of grinding gone in 5 minutes.

so I switch tables and dig into my last bit of cash and try to see if I can do something to salvage the trip.

it doesn't start good, but the shift change comes in at 4am and I start to hit a stride with the new dealer.

finally, I hit the shoe I needed to hit at the exact moment I needed to hit it.

found a 14/15 player run and pressed it hard and won everything back.

this time it was almost 6am and I didn't mess around and paid everything off and called it a trip.

ended up with 16 hours of play at 19k avg and 230k theo.

since I only drank 1 bottle of wine the entire trip, I took 5 nice bottles home and will enjoy those down the road. La Tache, Romanee St Vivant, D'Yquem, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Harlan.

still feels like I kind of got screwed since I only did about 35k in comps, which is hardly 15% of theo. and the rest is just gone, poof. I wish I still got ECs because that would have been 10k in ECs that I could have saved to enjoy another trip.

but the truth is I asked my host about taking more wine and he said it wouldn't be good for me next time I asked one of his bosses for a favor like AQ in a tournament or promo chips, etc. I'm like the theo is there to cover it, why? he said because you won. theo isn't real money.

so I keep reiterating this, but as much as people say theo is everything and the casino doesn't care if you win, it's not true at all.

actual loss is everything. the casino wasn't built on theo, it was built on actual losses. and when you win, they severely tighten the strings.

and after all that drama, I'm back there in 10 days for 3 tourneys in one weekend - Cosmo BJ, Wynn poker and Mirage poker.......

 

still thinking about that bottle of 2010 RC!

 

Epic Trip Report - I may have to pick up playing more Bacc!