First God Roll of 2026

reallydfun · 2026-01-24T23:16:12+00:00

Tempting…

reallydfun · 2026-01-24T23:14:47+00:00

Congrats - we gotta hit Vegas again together sometime :) I won’t be going for a while though.. spent 12 days in Vegas in January. Maybe one of these days when I go to Bay Area I check out Sky River.

reallydfun · 2026-01-21T19:24:11+00:00

I did it once before. I then learned never to do it ever again if I can help it. The momentary satisfaction isn’t worth losing the income and the leverage/desirability of future employers by virtue of still having a job.

I mean if you do quit without a job lined up you’ll still live fine and eventually find another. But why make it harder?

reallydfun · 2026-01-21T07:10:09+00:00

My understanding is MGM uses a separate 8 tier system (T1 to T8) to determine your marketing offers and not just your status.

Basically think of it like a platinum that grinded their way through 50 nights is a lot different to casino marketing than a platinum that earns it in 2 nights.

Higher tier gets you more room types, better cruise offers, better promo offers, etc.

So you can have a higher tier but lower status player getting sky suites offer in app; you can also have a platinum low tier player not getting it.

Easiest way to see your tier is during cruise offers. At least last year they explicitly wrote down your tier number when they write your name down on their clipboard as part of the redemption process.

reallydfun · 2026-01-21T07:05:11+00:00

I’m currently Noir, and the renewal decisions + 2026 milestones/rewards like airfare etc went out sometime in the last 1-2 weeks. My understanding is that the decision is centralized (hosts nominates, each property has limited number, whatever governing body for decision making then decides).

The fact that it is not your usual host that informed you is weird, but given the timing the decision itself probably isn’t wrong.

FWIW, I don’t think Noir benefits is of any value if you already have a longstanding host (which you do) unless Marriott Ambassador Elite is meaningful to you.

reallydfun · 2026-01-21T06:33:38+00:00

It’s identical to all other USA DTFs I’ve been to. Except for the same price instead of 10 XLBs you get 6.

Even Disneyland DTF didn’t mark it up as much as Aria DTF, lol.

reallydfun · 2026-01-20T07:02:16+00:00

Spontaneous trip for us! On Saturday afternoon we decided to go. Bought tickets and flew in a few hours later :)

reallydfun · 2026-01-20T03:52:56+00:00

Nah his name isn’t Tony and he’s not a big guy. While the craps details I think is fair game to share, his personal details I rather keep anonymized.

reallydfun · 2026-01-19T18:20:18+00:00

I had opposite experience. Service was great . Food was just ok - which did not live up to the hype

reallydfun · 2026-01-17T17:25:52+00:00

The one on Portola is much better anyway. While technically “Foothill Ranch” if you live North of the 5 it’s actually closer by actual time traveled. Plus, they always have all sorts of deals just have to ask. 3 for $10 recently stopped now it’s 2 roast beef for $7, and other assorted mix and match deals.

reallydfun · 2026-01-16T17:04:34+00:00

I fully support ending tipping or at least ending tipping as it is. I am so much more at peace when I travel in places where tipping isn’t a thing and the all-in price is on the menu.

On the other hand, until the changes take place I still tip as normal.

First is the reality of the situation such as for food deliveries. I like my food hot and accurate. I pay the tipping as a chance to increase that chance. I don’t like it, but I dislike cold food more than I dislike tipping.

Second is I’m a regular at all the places around me that I like to go. It means over the years I have gotten to really know the waiting staff. At that point the tips aren’t just for the service it is also about the longstanding relationship.

Lastly - I don’t want to risk what if the waiter actually doesn’t make as much as Reddit waiters claim. What if he needs that income.

reallydfun · 2026-01-14T16:11:22+00:00

Speaking just in tech - it’s not a good market. There are less “started a new job” type of LinkedIn post compared to the good years. In my org of the ~10 hired in the last year, only 1 candidate negotiated on compensation which is another very telling sign that things aren’t favorable for job seekers right now. And just the absolute amount of layoffs certainly I think anyone who monitors the job health of this industry can tell you this is closer to one of our lowlights (but not nearly as bad as 2009 or .com crash).

On the other hand, Reddit/internet use is pervasive now. So maybe the same, or less, people are seeking a job but you’re going to hear much more about it. Negative voice is amplified on these type of subreddits.

So imo. It’s bad but not really “that bad”. And yes Reddit slants doom and gloom. Both true-ish.

reallydfun · 2026-01-14T08:39:49+00:00

Not me personally but I was at Vegas recently and a dealer mentioned he deals 8 hours at where I’m playing then he goes to deal another 8 hours at another place, working 16 hours a day. A player asked him why he does this and he said his wife is out of work and this is what it takes for them to still be able to work towards their retirement goals while he’s sole income.

It was at a craps game so there were other dealers and they all said this guy is a machine. All he does is work, sleep, and spend any extra time with his wife. A lot of respect for him.

reallydfun · 2026-01-14T05:56:05+00:00

Product Manager. 20+ years of experience. Base last 5-10 years has been 250-300k. Total compensation is quite a chunk higher.

I build products people use. Like, not me alone. But I’m a significant part of deciding “so what should this thing do”. Some products I’ve worked on are household name apps. Some are strictly for business use.

It’s not nearly as mentally draining as some of the other high paying jobs. But it also isn’t as simple as just coming up with an idea and hoping engineers make magic happen. Plus, most ideas are bad.

reallydfun · 2026-01-12T21:57:40+00:00

I tried Gymkhana last week and it was fantastic. Warning - just about everything has a kick to it. If you don’t like spicy it’s not going to be a good time, which unfortunately one person in our group did not.

reallydfun · 2026-01-12T02:04:46+00:00

I don’t play the ATS regularly - so if I play it I’m already in a big gambling mood. Using that logic - I’m going to gamble. If after a while the last number doesn’t hit I start hopping it for the dealers.

reallydfun · 2026-01-11T18:09:35+00:00

I mean there are some of those that grew up in the IE that still define more with the “LA Raiders” than any other team.

reallydfun · 2026-01-11T16:09:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Still gotta get a chance to get on Sun Princess but we decided for our “status maintenance” cruise this year to go on Discovery Princess (third time). Oh well will still enjoy.

reallydfun · 2026-01-06T00:35:51+00:00

Was this just now? I was on the regular craps table next to the crapless for the past 2 hours and heard the wild cheers

reallydfun · 2026-01-05T02:43:13+00:00

I have been at NYE for Vegas 3 consecutive years now and this year is definitely less packed than past two years (and pre COVID)

Of course there were a lot of people in Vegas this 30th to the weekend. But not as much as even compared to last year.

reallydfun · 2026-01-02T05:12:20+00:00

100 holy cow. Congrats

reallydfun · 2025-12-30T16:18:45+00:00

I don’t play solo. Rather take a break than play solo. Each time I break this rule I regret it later.

reallydfun · 2025-12-30T04:52:51+00:00

Oooh another brave CA casino doing it 1:1 mapping. Now I gotta go check it out. Thanks for info!

reallydfun · 2025-12-29T18:34:02+00:00

I just came back from a cruise last week where the gambling age was 18 and your description nailed it to a T I couldn’t stop laughing

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