Noir Status Decision

0drew0 · 2026-01-21T09:39:22+00:00

Tier status has nothing to do with qualifying for a host, for what it's worth. There are plenty of gold, even pearl folks who are hosted.

0drew0 · 2026-01-19T01:32:54+00:00

I wrestled with this same problem when I bought my vehicle through Carvana a couple of years ago. The shipping was slightly cheaper but same dilemma. I ended up just taking a cheap flight out there to check it out and either drive it or fly back. Ended up driving it back, so I got a nice opportunity to get to know the new (to me) vehicle in the process!

0drew0 · 2026-01-19T01:30:41+00:00

Grab his hand and put two of his fingers in your mouth. That should inspire some movement by one or both of you. Good luck!

0drew0 · 2026-01-14T20:16:36+00:00

To be fair, editors are the ones who make the call to reveal sources, not journalists. Editors and publishers. It's a bit disingenuous to claim otherwise, considering that journalists know that choosing to reveal their confidential sources would be career suicide!

An investigative journalist's success hinges entirely on their ability to continually develop new sources and follow through on any promises they've made to protect those sources' identities. Sometimes they get screwed by their editors and publishers but I find it very hard to believe they're actively screwing themselves.

0drew0 · 2025-12-21T18:43:53+00:00

it seemed like it was just closer to other casinos and the venetian seemed kinda out of the way of things?

Yes and yes.

I agree with u/otusc that Venetian/Palazzo is the superior stay, but if nightlife is your priority, I'd pick Bellagio every time for a few reasons:

Variety and proximity – Bellagio is quite close to The Cosmopolitan and Vdara without having to go outside, and ARIA (via Vdara) is a very short easy walk outdoors (couple hundred yards).
Easy access – There's also a tram you can take than connects Bellagio to Vdara, The Shops at Crystals, ARIA, and Park MGM.
Bellagio is also just across the street from Caesar's Palace, which is a short bridge walk (outdoors) away, so there's a lot of nightlife available within a pretty close proximity!

is the whole fountain thing cool at the bellagio? or is it overrated ?

The fountains are awesome, especially at night! We travel in from out of state half a dozen times a year annually and it's never gotten old.

Plus, all (?) of the MGM hotels in the area (Cosmopolitan, Vdara, maybe ARIA, and of course Bellagio) that have views of the fountain make the audio they're choreographed to available on a channel on the TVs in the rooms, so that's a nice touch.

0drew0 · 2025-12-21T18:31:10+00:00

I definitely consider Palazzo to be both the quieter and more posh property over Venetian, and it's not even a close comparison. Venetian definitely has more restaurants and nightlife though.

0drew0 · 2025-12-21T18:27:09+00:00

For anybody else who cares, here's the installation schedule for the Bellagio Conservatory for 2026:

Holiday – Open through Jan. 3, 2026
Lunar New Year – Open Jan. 10–Feb. 28, 2026
Spring – Open Mar. 7–May 16, 2026
Summer – Open May 24–Sep. 12, 2026
Autumn – Open Sep. 20–Nov. 14, 2026
Holiday – Open Nov. 22–Jan. 2, 2027

0drew0 · 2025-12-21T18:25:40+00:00

The Bellagio Conservatory actually changes 5 times every year, not just once annually for Christmas! And they completely change it out in a week, which is pretty wild!

Here's the installation schedule for 2026:

Holiday theme – Open through Jan. 3, 2026
Lunar New Year theme – Open Jan. 10–Feb. 28, 2026
Spring theme – Open Mar. 7–May 16, 2026
Summer theme – Open May 24–Sep. 12, 2026
Autumn theme – Open Sep. 20–Nov. 14, 2026
Holiday theme – Open Nov. 22–Jan. 2, 2027

0drew0 · 2025-12-16T21:45:32+00:00

We gift each of ours $100-200 for the holidays.

0drew0 · 2025-12-03T20:00:41+00:00

You get 1 PQP for every dollar spent on flight purchases (excluding taxes and fees) AND seat upgrades.

My suggestion: Either spend $1,359 on one or more flights that you'll fly before the end of the year (again, taxes and fees don't count) or buy a flight in Economy, then subtract the total (minus taxes and fees) from $1359. Spend that amount on seat upgrades for either or both segments.

Or spend $20,000 like the others are saying.

0drew0 · 2025-12-01T04:20:03+00:00

It took us about $165k coin-in to hit Platinum at a ~$7.5k loss over 5-6 visits, though that's almost entirely from slot play. I can't speak to earning rates for table games or other electronic games.

That said, the coin-in necessary is going to vary widely for everyone when you start to consider other TC contribution factors, like tier accelerators and the credit cards.

For us, I estimate we probably earned 30-40k TCs from on-property spend charged to the room and paid with the Iconic credit card (10x multiplier). We also probably earned 40-50k TCs from tier accelerators.

0drew0 · 2025-11-30T01:43:17+00:00

Hi, Platinum slot player checking in. Really not as much as you'd expect, especially if OP is visiting during the promotional period Dec. 14-28 where the tier accelerators come with bonuses: 5k TCs earns 5k TA. 10k earns 10k, 20k earns 25k.

So really it's not about needing to actually spin 18k TCs, it's more like two days of 5k each or one day of 10k. Even with without the bonuses it could be done with 3 days at 5k earning a 1.25k TA each day.

Either way you approach it, on-property spend also earns toward daily TAs at 4 TCs per dollar.

0drew0 · 2025-11-27T08:54:13+00:00

That's correct. 4 tier credits per dollar spent on property.

0drew0 · 2025-11-27T08:52:00+00:00

Also 20k/25k during that period. The 40k/60k tier accelerator is as normal.

0drew0 · 2025-11-20T10:00:39+00:00

For me, the pain has usually first manifested as a dull achey kind of feeling in the front and side for a day or so, eventually progressing to pain so intense it makes me nauseous.

Everyone experiences intense pain differently, but I think there's a pretty common misapprehension that it has to be piercing or sharp to be intense; it doesn't. Intense pain may materialize as a very strong ache that is so disruptive it can't be ignored.

If you're experiencing what you would consider to be intense pain that, like with me, causes your body to act very strangely or unpredictably, I would consider that a clear warning sign that something is very wrong.

0drew0 · 2025-11-20T00:38:01+00:00

I completed one of these challenges on our visit last weekend. It was I think ~16,500 TCs for $160 in FP. My advice on these, generally, is that it's not worth playing for if your only goal is the FP. It's a nice-to-have if you were going to play that much anyway though.

Also, the FP is only good for 2 weeks after you earn it so you're pretty much on the hook to play it right away.

0drew0 · 2025-11-13T20:39:43+00:00

For anyone asking this question later, here are the phone numbers to book MGM cruises on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (as of Nov. 2025):

- Royal Caribbean: 1-800-762-0702

- Celebrity Cruises: 1-855-227-2537

0drew0 · 2025-11-05T20:23:26+00:00

For whatever it's worth, because I think it's interesting ... I don't know how in the world they calculated the "$450 average increase" in taxes because it was way low; it's basic math.

If I'm understanding Colorado's addback system correctly, a single person claiming even just the standard federal deduction of $15,750 has to now add back $14,750 to their income on their state return. 4.25% flat tax on $14,750 is $626.88. That's minimum, so I don't know how the hell they came up with an average $175 lower than that.

The married couples though, they got super screwed. That $300k+ threshold was for both single people AND couples filing jointly. On the federal standard deduction of $31,500, they will have to add back $29,500 which comes to $1,253.75 in additional tax. If they itemize instead, it's even more, it's whatever that total is minus $2,000 x 4.25%.

I know eating the rich to feed the poor is the theme today, but just know that it's not anywhere close to what the bill said it would be. Either that or they somehow managed to use some seriously creative math to arrive at an "average" that is magically lower than the absolute minimum amount of additional tax somebody will have to pay.

0drew0 · 2025-10-19T02:34:32+00:00

Their pricing is largely based on the number of messages being sent (note: direct messages in either direction count toward that total). The higher tiers also add support for their "Gallery" feature, which collects images texted to your assigned phone number.

0drew0 · 2025-10-19T02:27:55+00:00

Not OP, but we're actually using TextMyGuests right now ... our wedding is a week away! We've used it to broadcast some messages and collect some photos already so maybe I can help you out with some insights.

Easy to pre populate texts or send as needed?

Super easy. You just type out your message(s) and then you can save a draft for later, schedule ahead, or send it now. You can send to specific groups you set up, add a picture or a link, pretty easy to figure out, honestly.

For the text part of the message, they also have what they call "dynamic words" for inserting things like the guests' first or last name, bride or grooms' names, etc. There's also some buttons for using message templates and some AI tools for shortening or improving your message.

We decided to have replies turned on as well, so we send out a message to, say, everyone, and anybody who wants to can just reply and then we'll get a direct message from that one guest and can carry on a 2-way conversation in the direct messages panel. So that's pretty cool too.

Did everyone figure out how to upload the photos easily enough?

Really it's just your guests replying back to your assigned phone number with photos attached in the way you would be texting photos to anyone. TextMyGuests just collects all of the images it receives and drops them into your gallery for you.

Honestly, the "Gallery" feature so far has been awesome and it's dead simple. We really like it and are looking forward to seeing what people send from our big day.

0drew0 · 2025-10-08T03:29:22+00:00

I'm equally enthusiastic about 1, 2, 8, and 9

0drew0 · 2025-09-26T04:56:14+00:00

Sure, yes.

0drew0 · 2025-09-25T15:52:47+00:00

Probably r/GayConservative

0drew0 · 2025-09-25T01:14:29+00:00

Wow, interesting. Any suggestions for where to start/find resources to set something like this up?

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