http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/ en Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:00:10 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/ http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57541&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:28:36 GMT Up and out the door around 5:15am bright eyed and bushy tailed (NOT)! I had only about 2 hours of sleep because I never can sleep prior to a trip to Vegas I am too geared up for it! Anyways I didn't mind much . . . arrived at the airport no issues and security a breeze. Landed in Cleveland at our 1st stop to switch planes and we were hoping to get a bump for the free airline vouchers. Low and behold they did offer some bumps but the offer was only for $250 and the schedule kinda sucked so as excited as hubby was to go for it I told him we'd take nothing under $300 (it had to be worth our time and our delay from arriving in Vegas). He agreed so we turned it down. Once on the plane they offered another bump which was a great schedule and we tried like hell to get our flight attendant's attention to take advantage and let them know we were interested (these voucher's were for 2 $300 tickets). But somebody beat us to it! That was kinda disappointing but oh well. Landed in Vegas on time and quick trip to a shuttle and off to the Golden Nugget.

I have a Landry's Select Card so I was very excited to get the upgrade to the Rush Tower rooms but when on arrival they had no rooms available nothing even in the north tower because they were sold out. A Black Jack Tourn was taking place. The desk clerk told us to check back in the am and they would see what they could do.

Saturday evening we mostly hit the casinos (no big wins). Hung out with my best friend and her husband whom live out there now. We stayed on Fremont the entire night and drank lots and lots which always = a good time. Went to Hogs and Heifers which was a blast and I've never laughed so hard in my life and some of the most amusing and very drunk people. I think that's the most sober I've been when in that place but I was glad I was because boy was it entertaining. That place never seems to disappoint when we are out there. Friends headed back home around 2am and hubby and stayed up until about 4:30 am mostly watching hookers and random people watching.

Sunday morning up and ate breakfast at the Paradise Buffet at Fremont Hotel and Casino (signed up for there B connected players club and got a buy 1 get 1 free certificate for a buffet). Food was good as always! Checked back in with our hotel about getting our upgraded room and they said they could put a rush tower room on hold. I requested a rush tower corner suite but the clerk didn't really say much so I was like whatever. Available after 1pm we were told so we hung out at the pool for a a good few hours drinking and just relaxing. MANY MANY KIDS! Kids jumping and splashing and NOISY. We didn't venture up top to the new pool because it was crowded too (I'm guessing still a lot of people from the tournament). However the new pool is nice but small but very cool as well. All in all though it was a good time.

Finally got our Rush Tower room at about 2pm. We got a Junior Corner Suite and it was awesome! So So nice! Loved it and loved the bathroom (I've decided that is how I want my bathroom when we redo our house). 2 floor to ceiling windows, 2 - 42 inch flatscreen tv's, beautiful and comfy bed and the pillows if I could have snuck 'em out of there and onto the plane I would have. I didn't want to leave the bed to be honest. A leather wrap around sofa. Design and colors were nice. I will say even the room we had in the carson tower the 1st night was nicer than any others we had stayed in and was so clean. It even smelled fresh and those are older rooms.

Later on we headed down to Hennessey's on Fremont by the Fitzgera'd's to eat a late lunch with again my friend and her husband. Used our gift certificate from resturant.com and 4 of us ate and drank for $30 which was great! Always great food and atmosphere there!

At about 5pm hubby and I headed to Mandalay Bay for our Lion King Show. Now we just realized you no longer can purchase tickets for the Deuce on the bus itself you must purchase them at the Kiosk machines (which is new to us since December). Rode the Deuce to Mandalay Bay (OMG what a looooong ride)!!! On the way home however we took the ACE system which is great!! Lion King was a great show! It was 100% of everything I thought and I wouldn't pay to see it again but I did enjoy it! Having been up for over 24 hours and barely no sleep I was so tired I think a 4pm show would have been better for us. But still was great! Not a bad seat in the house in that theatre!

Well I will more to the trip report tomorrow tonight is my 1st night home and it was getting late and I'm excited to sleep in my own bed tonight. ]]> Trip Reports hkings01 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57541 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57536&goto=newpost Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:57:47 GMT Hello All,

I have been a long time lurker of this site and enjoy everyone's reports quite a bit. I am sitting on a four hour flight from Atlanta to Sin City so I figure I would start my report and give you a run down of whats planned. I am flying out a day earlier than the rest of the group for a business meeting in the morning. Around noon the shit show will commence. Tonight I am using some Total Rewards points to crash in a Premium Fountain View room at Planet Hollywood. I plan on getting checked in and hit the tables for a couple hours. My games of choice are blackjack and craps.

The plan tomorrow after business is taken care of is to hit up the liquor store and stock up. The bachelor party consists of 10 guys and we booked 5 rooms at Treasure Island. We are all in our mid to late 20's. So far the only dinner planned is Saturday night at Smith & Wollensky. The only extracurricular activity planned at this point is a trip to the Rhino. Otherwise the weekend is a blank slate hopefully filled with great success at the tables and having the time of our life chasing after the females. I plan to try and update this every day or so depending upon my alcohol intake and severity of hangovers. Any of you know if the hotel is pager friendly? :beer: ]]> Trip Reports dawgs142004 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57536 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57525&goto=newpost Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:25:35 GMT First: A Warning During this trip, my luck at the tables was so good that I really didn’t do a whole lot of anything else. If you get incredibly bored reading about gambling, then this TR probably isn’t for you. For those of you that continue reading, I apologize in advance… Intro This... First: A Warning

During this trip, my luck at the tables was so good that I really didn’t do a whole lot of anything else. If you get incredibly bored reading about gambling, then this TR probably isn’t for you. For those of you that continue reading, I apologize in advance…

Intro

This trip was a father-son (I’m the son) outing for three nights, July 24 – July 27. There was no particular reason for the trip, other than the fact that the “degenerate gambler gene” is apparently quite dominant in our family. I received an email from my host at Wynn a few months ago, offering me free nights and a little food money, and that was about all it took. I made the reservations and told my dad about it and he was in. He couldn’t get comp’d at Wynn, but could at Palazzo, so he booked there.

We left out of Charlotte on the direct 11:25 am US Air flight, Saturday the 24th. There was about a 45 minute delay at the airport while we waited for our flight crew to arrive. But, I’ve got to hand it to them, they really did a great job getting everyone on the plane, and we took off about 25 minutes late. Weather was great the entire flight, so we arrived only about 5-10 minutes late.

The Digs

This was my first stay at Wynn. I received a standard-issue resort room on the 10th floor overlooking the golf course. Actually, being only 10 stories up, it was really only a view of the tree tops of the course, and more of a view of, well, the Wynn – pretty lame. The room itself was nice. It had pretty much the same bathroom that all of the newer or reno’d places have: two sinks, separate shower and tub, separate room for the W.C., small TV, two robes, iron and ironing board, hair dryer, etc. etc. The sink/cabinets/vanity did have that sort of “furniture” look to them, with the chunky wooden legs. Other than that though, there was nothing to tell you were in the Wynn, and not the Venetian, Palazzo, Caesars’ etc. The living area was larger than average, with a king bed, small sofa with ottoman, writing desk and chair and a small circular table with two chairs. There were also nightstands on either side of the bed and a small dresser – one side of which was dedicated to the mini bar. There was a very large flat screen TV that swiveled a full 90 degrees so it could be easily watched from the sofa or the bed. What distinguishes the Wynn from the other “nicer” places that I’ve stayed is the very bold use of color. Wynn eschews the typical light walls with dark wood accents and brown/tan/khaki furniture and instead goes with a very bright coral for the walls, along with very colorful pieces of art on the walls. And while I commend them for doing something that is truly original, I can’t say that all that color did much for me. I actually thought it made the room look much “cheaper” than it really was. I’m sure many of you like it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The rest of the property, of course, was beautiful. Everything was incredibly clean and well kept, and the service was exceptional throughout my stay. Everyone from the front desk, to the dealers, to room service was friendly and went out of their way to make you happy and comfortable. I truly cannot think of a single thing about which to complain. While I still don’t think it’s my favorite place on the strip, I would most definitely stay there again.

The Weather

The weather was incredibly hot on Saturday. Someone said it was 112, and I have no reason not to believe that. It made walking the strip a less than enjoyable experience, and so we didn’t wander too far from the Wynn/Palazzo area. Sunday was a little better, but not much. By Monday, it was only in the low-100’s which was far more bearable.

Celebrity Spotting

There was some sort of USA basketball deal going on at UNLV (I assume), so the Wynn was chock full of cagers, both past and present. Frankly, with the exception of April-June, I find the NBA to be nearly unwatchable, so I wasn’t able to put a name to many of the faces. There were a few that stuck out, though. The first were (from the where-are-they-now archives) Dominique and Gerald Wilkins. I rode the elevator with them on my way up to my room right after check-in. They were both friendly. I told them how much I enjoyed watching them as a kid (:othat might not have been the best thing to say), and they were very appreciative and nice about it.
The two others that stood out to me were Lamar Odom and Kevin Love. I was playing BJ at the Wynn on Sunday night near the B bar and Odom was hanging out just outside the B bar. I watched as countless people came up to ask for autographs and pictures. He was incredibly patient and friendly with everyone and didn’t appear to turn down any request - a real class act. That’s nice to see in this age of one hour ESPN infomercials telling your old team to go f*** themselves.
Love was playing BJ directly across from my table at the Wynn. I couldn’t see how much he was playing or if he knew what he was doing. But, when the dealers rotated, the one from his table came over to deal at mine. She said he was betting $75 a hand and was literally shaking any time he had to double down. Obviously, he’s no $20M a year guy, but I’m sure he’s doing just fine, and I found it pretty funny that he got so nervous over what would equate to $5-10 for most us.

Gambling

This was truly a “one for the ages” trip for me, gambling-wise. Shortly after arriving, I sat down at my first game of blackjack at the Wynn. I bought in for $1000, and about two hours later, cashed out with $3500. The rest of the trip, I would be playing with “the house’s money”.

After that win at the Wynn, we headed down the strip. We’re both NASCAR fans, so we went looking to see if anyone had lines on the Nationwide race. No luck at the Wynn or Venetian, so we walked to Harrah’s – no luck there either. We had no desire to go right back out into the heat, so we decided to grab a quick bite at the Oyster Bar. After dinner, we sat down at a BJ table at Harrah’s and my luck would continue. By this time, I was getting pretty drunk, so I’m not 100% sure of the totals, but I know I took about $2000-3000 of Harrah’s money with me.

The next stop was the Venetian. I put down about $500 bucks for the race the next day (I would lose it all), and then we hit the BJ tables there. Well, funny thing happened at the Venetian…I won! Again, I can’t remember the totals, but I believe another $2000-3000! So, it’s now about midnight of the first night of the trip, and I’m up over $8000! I couldn’t believe it. And my father, whose luck did not start out as good as mine – he dropped $2K in the first couple of hours – was now up almost as much. It was ridiculous, how much longer could this last?

Unfortunately, while my father’s luck would continue to get better, mine went south at this point. After winning at Venetian, we decided to grab a drink at the bar and figure out our next move. While it was still fairly early, about 12:30, we had been up since about 3 am Vegas time and were feeling the effects of a day’s worth of travelling, 112 degree temps and many, many beers. We contemplated calling it a night and started making our way north. We got to the Palazzo, and were about to go our separate ways, but that empty double deck game was just calling out to us. Well, dad proceeded to continue his winning ways, but I dropped $2000 in very quick order and decided that I needed to get myself to bed before I gave back any more of my winnings. It hurt losing so much so quickly, but when I got up to my room and counted my money, my wad was about 60 Benjamins thicker, so it was hard to complain about too much.

Day two started with room service of pancakes (incredibly disappointing) and bacon (very good). I watched the NASCAR race from my room, and for about 90% of the race, one of the drivers on whom I had bet (Juan Pablo Montoya) dominated. Unfortunately, his crew chief made a critical strategy error on the last pit stop and he was out of contention. That decision cost me $1800, damnit!

After the race, dad and I decided to check out Encore. He’d never been there before, and I had only just strolled around it to check it out once. While the casino is certainly very pretty, I’m not too fond of its lay out. It’s very “broken up” and segmented. I can see where some might favor this type of set up, but it really didn’t inspire me to want to sit down and play cards. So, we walked around the place, just checking it out. Then, I saw a Top Dollar machine. I seldom play slots – maybe $100 once every two or three trips – but when I do, I enjoy the Top Dollars. So, I took out $100 and put it into the ($5) machine. My first spin was good for a $25 win – good start. Then four spins that didn’t yield a thing. On my sixth spin, I hit two of some symbol, and the machine started going nuts. I assumed that I had won something, but no credits were being shown…what the hell is going on, is this thing defective or something? Then I read “720 credits – call attendant”. Sweet! I just won 720 dollars! Wait a minute…this is a $5 machine…that’s…carry the one…$3600!! Hell yeah! Ten minutes later, I received my first ever hand-pay, and was $3400 richer ($200 for the attendant) and dumbfounded by my luck.

After the big win at Encore, we decided to go to Aria. Everyone seems to either love or hate Aria, and I am firmly in the “love” camp. I am absolutely smitten with the place. We stayed there playing most of the afternoon and into the evening. Unfortunately, my luck could not penetrate the City Center perimeter, and I lost badly. I can’t remember the exact count, but probably in the $3000 range. It wasn’t pretty. Our time there was not a total loss, however, as late in the afternoon a host came by to introduce himself, and we got a very nice dinner at Union out of it. It wasn’t 3K nice, but it was certainly good to get something out of my losses.

After dinner, we headed back to the Palazzo where my losses would continue to mount. After another $2000-3000 there, I took my leave of dad and headed back to Wynn, tail between my legs. I sat down at the first open table I found, and within 15 minutes had lost another $1000. It was now well after 3, I was drunk, and had squandered about ¾ of my once huge winnings. It was time for bed…or maybe just one more try. I pulled out my now much smaller wad and found only $1400 left from the $4000 I started the day with plus the $3400 I won on the slot. Not wanting to go to bed with nothing, I put one bill back in my pocket, and tossed the other 13 down at a $100 double deck BJ table. I played for about a half hour, mostly just treading water. I started to notice that I was extremely tired and pretty damn drunk, so I told the dealer that I would play one more deck, and then it was time for bed. Well, that deck turned out to be a good one. And so did the one after that…and the one after that…and, well, you get the picture. By about 5 am, I was handing the cashier a flag and two yellows! My day had been saved. I was too tired to count that night, but the next morning, I found $9000 more in the safe than I had arrived in Vegas with. Not a bad two day total!

By the third, and final, day of the trip, I was really starting to feel the effects of two days of hard drinking and little sleep. I just couldn’t get myself going. Dad and I walked around Wynn, Encore, Palazzo and Venetian, but I just wasn’t feeling like gambling. So, we took a cab to Bellagio and strolled through the place, checking out the botanical gardens and putting a few bucks into VP machines here and there. Eventually, we found a good double deck game and decided to play. It was a pretty boring couple of hours, where I just slowly but surely lost. I dropped about $1500, while dad probably won about that much. By mid to late afternoon, we were both just beat and headed back to our respective hotel rooms for a quick nap.

I wasn’t able to sleep much, but an hour and a half of lounging around, watching TV and drifting in and out of sleep did me some good and by about six, I was ready to get going again. I headed over to Palazzo to check out dad’s room. He had a great view of the Wynn golf course from the 46th floor and the room was very nice. We hung out in the room for a while, trying to decide on what to have for dinner. We wanted something fairly quick, so we eventually decided on Dos Caminos.

While the guacamole and salsas there were quite good, the rest of the meal was pretty “blah”. So, after the unexceptional dinner, we decided to find a game. The tables that we had played at the two prior nights were $100 tables, and not having had a thing to drink yet, we weren’t brave enough for those stakes. We walked around and eventually found a good $50 double deck game and sat down. I treaded water for an hour or two, while dad very slowly lost his $1000 buy in. He decided to go find a craps game, and I figured I’d play till my last few hundred dollars worth of the buy in was gone and then go find him. But, that’s when things started to get interesting again. Our dealer left for her 20 minute break, and the replacement must have brought my luck from Wynncore with her. I couldn’t lose. I started pressing my bets aggressively, and went through two double-deck’s worth of hands only losing once. By the time dad got back from playing craps, my purple stack was bigger than my black or green ones. During the original dealer’s 20 minute break, I had won over $8000. Freaking ridiculous! Once our regular dealer returned, my luck had run out. I tried to get my stack to $10,000, but couldn’t get over the $9500 mark. After a few decks of slowly losing, I decided it was time to get while the gettin’ was good. I colored up for $8000 – a chocolate and three yellows!:thumbsup:

After the big win at Palazzo, I sat at a bar for a while, having a few victory drinks. It was then about 12:30, I was tired and figured that if I didn’t want to be miserable for the trip home, I should probably call it a night and get my first decent night’s sleep of the trip. I got back to the room, grabbed a beer from the mini fridge and slowly counted my money. The grand total would represent my biggest winnings ever - $13,900! Wow! (I would make it an even $14K the next day at a Wheel of Fortune machine at the airport.) Dad’s total was around $9000 to the good. Both pretty damn impressive considering we each started with an $8000 bankroll.

Food

Due to the fact that we spent so much time either gambling or hung over, we ate only four meals over the course of the three day trip. The Oyster Bar at Harrah’s was decent, and I feel it represents a pretty good value for a strip restaurant. My allergies were acting up, though, so I was congested and really couldn’t taste much. Dad, however, said that his seafood risotto (w/shrimp, lobster and clams) was very good.

The room service breakfast at Wynn was a huge disappointment. My pancakes were tough and chewy and without much flavor. The bacon saved the meal though, and the coffee was very good. However, at $65 after tip, I would have to rate it as the most overpriced meal I have eaten in my entire life.

Dinner at Union, inside of Aria, was excellent. I had a mixed greens salad and a Porterhouse that was probably more meat than most folks on the planet have eaten in the past year. The stars of the show, though, were the deep fried asparagus with horseradish aioli and the bottle of Zinfandel that the waiter recommended (of course, I can’t for the life of me remember what it was). I liked the atmosphere there as well. It was essentially right there off the casino floor, but elevated a bit and removed somewhat from the noise and hustle and bustle of the casino. It certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for a romantic evening with your sweetheart, but it was a good time with my dad. Also, it was terribly overpriced. I didn’t really care, because we were being comp’d. But, at $350 for the two of us, including tip and a $100 bottle of wine, it would be very difficult for me to recommend this place to anyone spending their own money. While the food was excellent and the service was even better, there are plenty of places where you can get as good a meal for significantly less money.

Dos Caminos, inside Palazzo, was about as unmemorable as any meal I’ve had in a while. As I mentioned earlier, the salsas, guacamole and chips were good. But, the rest of the meal was pretty bland and tasteless. It had a decent atmosphere, and it served its purpose as a fairly quick meal. But that’s about the best praise I can give it. It was also overpriced.

The Trip Home

When we got to the check in at McCarran, we were asked if we wanted to upgrade to first class for $200. Is the Pope Catholic? I’ve got more cash in my bag than I’ve ever even seen in my life and you’re asking me if I want to hand over two measly little bills for a first class seat? I’ll save you the suspense – we accepted. :rolleyes2: It was well worth the money, especially since there were thunderstorms around Charlotte and we had to circle for about 45 minutes before they’d let us land. Then, when we finally did land, we had to sit there for another 30 minutes and wait till the lightning had left the area so the workers could pull the jet way up to the door.

A Couple Funny Things…

• After checking in and taking the elevator up to the 10th floor, the doors opened and I was greeted by guy in nothing but his tighties pleading with the security guy to let him into his room. The security guy was on the phone with the front desk trying to confirm the kid’s identity. Welcome to Las Vegas!

• The first night, dad and I were in the cashier line. He went and made his transaction, and then it was my turn. As I was waiting for the cashier to count out my money, I looked back and saw dad talking to a short, chubby Asian lady in her 50’s. He looked as if he was being bothered, so I assumed she was pleading with him for a hand out of some kind. I got my money and went back to talk to him, and he said she was asking him if he needed any “girls” for the night. Did we just witness the world’s most unlikely pimp or least attractive hooker?

Some General Observations

• Overall, the strip was about as empty as I’ve seen it in about a year. The same could be said for McCarran. Also, table minimums at some of the higher end places seemed much lower than usual, at least during the daytime. I was absolutely shocked to see about a half a dozen $10 and $15 blackjack tables at Encore that were completely empty. And, while we’re not talking “great” rules, they certainly weren’t 6-5 or anything like that. It could be that the extreme heat kept weekend warriors from SoCal away, but I don’t think the heat can be blamed for the airport looking like a ghost town. I’m really concerned for our favorite city.

• On the plus side, it seems to me that the casinos, or at the very least, the folks on the “front line” are starting to “get it”. I felt more appreciated by dealers, waiters, CW’s, hosts and other service folks this time around than I think I ever have. Maybe the guys in the corner offices haven’t received the memo yet, but the folks who work for a living have figured out where their bread is buttered. Here’s to hoping the guys in the C-suite get on board before it’s too late.

• During my incredible run at Palazzo, I had three “suits” hovering over my table. One was constantly on the phone, while watching me like a hawk. Here’s a little hint guys: card counting is not the money-maker it’s portrayed as in the movies. Any tiny advantage I could have got if I was counting (which I wasn’t – mostly) could not explain a run of $8K in 20 minutes! People get lucky, deal with it! Oh, and my guess is that most card counters aren’t tipping $50 a hand during such runs and putting down Sapphire & Tonics like it’s their job.

• Wynn and Aria take top honors for friendly and attentive service. Nowhere have I ever felt as if my patronage was more appreciated than those two places. Dealers were incredibly professional as well as friendly and personable, and were extremely appreciative of the tips. The folks in the pit also were quite friendly and acted as if they were genuinely happy for me when I was winning and sympathetic when I was losing. While these attributes SHOULD be something that we consumers just take for granted, we certainly know that isn’t the case everywhere.


Conclusion

Well, obviously this was a very fruitful trip for me. I really can’t believe my luck. And the thing is the majority of it probably came over a period of about 1-2 hours, where I got on incredible streaks and was lucky enough (or dumb enough) to press my bets very aggressively. After six consecutive losing trips – four of them being fairly significant losses – it certainly felt good to finally get a win in such convincing fashion.

The downside to the winning (did I really just write that?) was that I spent sooo much time on the tables that I didn’t have time to do much else. Oh well, my next few trips are now paid for, so I’ll make sure to take in a few sights then.

Thanks for reading. I hope the endless blackjack talk wasn’t too terribly difficult to get through.

Kyle:peace: ]]> Trip Reports thecarve http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57525 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57523&goto=newpost Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:33:09 GMT We're in Vegas for our 15th wedding anniversary. So far all is fine but there are taxi lines on Wednesdays mid day. Ugh... Should have limo'd it ]]> Trip Reports keno http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57523 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57437&goto=newpost Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:59:12 GMT If any of you have read my past trip reports, you will know we had a less than stellar stay @ Vdara, and an awesome stay over Mom's Day/ my birthday @ Prestige/ Palazzo most recently. When I received some sweet comps we decided to drive to Vegas and hopefully repeat the last stay....

The "original" plan was to leave Sunday 7/19 and drive home Sat 7/24. I found an amazing ( more on this later) camp that PICKS up your child from the hotel that Bella was going to do all week :beer:

However, said plans were cancelled when 8yr woke up with a 103 fever Friday before and then I caught her "cold" on Sunday.

DH had entire week off and was starting to drive all of us crazy. We decide by Tues, all of us are feeling better to leave Weds 7/21 and Bella can still do camp Thur and Friday. Awesome! I call Palazzo and rebook stay with upgrade to Prestige level.

We leave early Weds am, easy peasy drive over 4 1/2 hrs, no dam traffic. I was still feeling feverish, achy, and well, sick, but put on the :o face for family ( Mom's are NOT allowed to be sick!) and figure once we hit Vegas I will be ok.

Check into Prestige level, not issues, enjoy "free" glass of champagne that I cannot taste or smell anyways and figure my easiest buzz will be off all the cold meds I am on.

We had tickets to Cheap Trick concert that night and decide to eat @ Sushi Samba before. We head to room, change, and head up to Prestige level for Happy Hour. Again, I am still not feeling so great. DD has made a quick recovery, me, not so much. But again, we get all dressed up to head out. There were a fair amount of conventions @ Palazzo, Domino's Pizza and a Deaf/ Sign Language convention. The mood up until Thurs night was, well, pretty tame. Dinner was fine. I could not taste, smell anything, so I stick with soup and salad which dont do much for me, only b/c I cant taste them. DH had sushi that he said was "awesome", DD had her Kobe burger, again "awesome". We pay, and start to walk to catch a cab when that "feeling" came over me, you know that " oh crap, I am going to pass out and see stars feeling". DH looks @ me and says " are you ok?', " you look REAL pale". Decided "no, I am not ok, head back to room, barely." Chills, high fever, and aches set in. Crap, I have a feeling I have the flu......

Being the stubborn person I am, I refuse to give in even to the flu. I figure a good night sleep will help and drugs, lots of drugs ( cold) will not hurt. DD has camp in the morning, so all is good.

THURS 7/22

Wake up and feel a little better. DD has camp, so we have to be in lobby @ 9am. I drug up on every cold med know to man and off we go to Prestige level for b fast. B fast up there is pretty standard; oatmeal, variety of pastries, bagels, hard boiled eggs, fruit, ect. We all eat, and venture downstairs for camp pick up.

Now, if any of you come to Vegas with kids (no haters please, we have no choice, no family to help us and sorry we are not going to not travel) check out www. ourexcursions.com This company is AWESOME! They come in a Bell Trans chartered shuttle, pick up your child, and take them to all the kid places in Vegas parents would rather not go. Bella did go karts, kids museum, trampolines, ect. She had SO much fun in the 2 days she cannot wait to go back. We felt completely secure in her going and everyone with the company was awesome. I like this idea better with a group of kids than alone with a nanny, and it is so much more fun. We are absolutely using them again!

So we had "alone" time for the first time in Vegas since she was born! We went to the gym. I mustered up energy to "workout" which believe it or not, felt good to sweat. We showered, enjoyed the suite:wink2: and decided to gamble. We had incredible luck @ Venetian on my fav machine Deal or no Deal. We won almost $700. That is where we should have stopped, b/c this is where our luck changed...

We gambled some more, and it was already 3:30, time to meet DD in lobby for camp drop off. Bella was beaming from ear to ear, good times for all. Up to the room to DD and DH, me back downstair to gamble @ Palazzo. To keep this short, lets just say, I came back to the room a little poorer, oh well...

This night we went to Entoca San Marco in Venetian with a Restaurant.com coupon. Awesome place. Again, I still cannot taste anything but DD and DH said the food was great. Pizza, and tapas, perfect for a lighter dinner. Huge wine list, great service. It was about this time that my voice started to change...we end the night with a movie in the room and call it a night.

Friday 7/ 24

I wake up still feeling horrible and now I have no voice, completely gone. Cant say DH is too upset on that one ;)
Hit Prestige for bfast and down to lobby for camp pick up. Pretty much same routine as day before, except we notice the dynamic of the crowd is a changin. Out are all the conservative convention types, checking in are all the young ( I mean 21 yr old young) douche bag or "DB" as we call them types. Rowdy, rude out of control types. Dont get me wrong I too was 21 and crazy, this was a whole new level. Anycase, DH reminds me we are in Vegas...off we go to enjoy the day. Same as day before, lost our asses on slots, down waaayy to much, but still had fun. Pick up DD from camp @ 3:30 and head to room to change.

We end up making dinner out of appetizers @ Prestige. As I still have no appetite, DD and DH are happy not having to go to dinner and we decide to walk around instead. By this time it is nearing 7 pm and all the DB's and single young girls are out full force. So apparently what all the "cool" kids are wearing more so the young ladies are skin tight dresses that are so short, you are a hiccup away from seeing all the business. Which you know what? If you are a young 21 yr old hottie with a rockin body, go for it! Flaunt it, let it all hang out. However, these girls were not in that catagory, these girls were lets just say a little larger and trying to squeeze into a size 0 dress. They ended up looking like an over stuffed sausage. Kinda funny and sad. The DB's rockin their Ed Hardy DB wear. The people alone provided hours of entertainment!

We decide to head up to Prestige to grab "dessert" before heading to room. Now, every night before tonight we had done this. There is usually cookies, cheese, ect out. This night however, cookies were half eaten and put BACK on the tray, no cheese, no fruit and the display just looked gross. Now it is only 8pm, and they are open for "dessert" until 9pm. I ask nicely why there is nothing left my answer " we serve until it is gone and we have no control on how guests take cookies off the tray". WTF? Arent we paying an extra $100 a night for this "luxury" floor to have breakfast, snack, Happy Hour and "dessert". I tell them we noticed the dynamic of the group up here changed from middle aged ( like us) to very young ( college), and perhaps while they do not have control over HOW they take food, they DO have control on how it is presented. I show to concierge and ask simply if he would want to eat off the platters....

So somewhat irritated we go back to room. DD is exhausted from camp. Bunny and Sera are 2 stuffed animals she has slept with since birth. She is now 8yrs old. Bunny and Sera have been thru 2 surgeries, many, many scary dr visits, and have traveled all over the country. Bunny and Sera are missing...all of this at 11pm. We tear the room apart like we are professional burgulars. No bunny, no Sera. I have a feeling since she left in the bed, housekeeping took them with laundry as day before, I saw them in bed and put on chair.

Frantically I call manager on duty. This puts into motion several more phonecalls. Meanwhile, Bella is hysterical, so hysterical, she breaks out in hives. Awesome. We are told to find "replacements" and we will be compd while the search continues. Off we go to the mall @ Venetian and Kids Carnival. Thank God they are still open and thank God she finds 2 "suitable" stand ins for the night. Our vacation is now officially over...

Sat 7/24

Wake up. Get dressed and head upstairs to Prestige. Concierge calls to check on missing stuffies. Again notice dynamic of crowd is very young. Concierges are now booking the clubs for the kids, whatever. My main objective is to find Bunny and Sera and calm dd down. She is so upset she cannot eat, and starts crying every 15 or so minutes. Everyone is looking and still, they have not shown up. At this point we would promise to buy her a BMW for her 16th birthday if it would help, but we know it wont. Head into elevator to notice there is spit all over the interior doors and hand prints all over the mirrors inside. This unfortunately is how the elevators looked the remainder of the trip. Again, younger crowd. I dont care how old you are, but that is just crude. Who hocks a wad of spit on the interior elevator doors?

The rest of our "vacation" is consumed with tracking down Bunny and Sera and me escaping reality to play slots only to donate more money to Palazzo. Just seemed from that point on, our trip was meh.

The Prestige level also was lacking. Once the younger crowd was there on Friday, there was never dessert, it was a mess at night and even appetizers were scarce. I am sorry but for paying the extra $100 a night, you should expect clean conditions. I am not expecting gourmet food, but atleast not half eaten cookies.

Sun 7/25

I think we are all ready to check out. No Bunny and Sera, dd wants to stay until they are found. Sorry kid, we gotta get home. I still feel like crap and honestly just want to get home. Poor Bella has now been crying for 3 days straight and looks so worn for a 8yr. So I go to pay the bill and check points. Club Grazie offered no further comps, awesome. I racked up over 10,000 slot points on this trip, whatever. So like an honest, idiot I am ( big believer in karma) I point our that the extra $100 upgrade to Prestige was not on bill. Did Grazie comp this? Nope, the girl checking us out FORGOT to put on, so now that I have informed her, she has to charge us the extra $400+ , fantastic. So I just not only made a $400 mistake by being honest, now out more money for a level that honestly this trip, was not worth the extra money. Get the number for linen company so we can check on status of search and rescue of lost stuffies. The kicker was when concierge suggested we check the room "one more time" for stuffies. Are you fu**ing me?

Get car loaded and drive home to AZ. Again, easy drive home. About 40 mins away from home I decide to call Brady Linens to check on operation Bunny and Sera. Amazingly, 5 mins earlier they had FOUND THEM! OMG, it was like xmas morning in the car, the birds were singing, rainbows formed! Bella would have done cartwheels on side of road had we let her. Thank God! So I chalk up my honesty earlier to good karma helping the "girls" be found, hell, whatever works! All parents out there will understand.

So overall this trip was average. Not the original trip we had planned. Lesson learned do not attempt any trip when coming down with anything. I am still sick, and I am sure travel did not help.

Next trip we may just plan on Sun-Thurs to avoid the "younger" crowds and then be assured of better service @ Prestige. I do have to say all the concierges up there did an awesome job in helping us track down Bunny and Sera. Having the stuffies go missing threw a major curveball in the trip. We still love Palazzo and while I did rack up some serious points, we might try Wynn next trip just to see what else is out there.

Sorry if this was a long report,
:wave:Kim ]]> Trip Reports bellamom6 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57437 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57414&goto=newpost Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:43:02 GMT I am in Vegas at the MGM right now, arrived yesterday and will be here until next Friday. I am a little crossed this morning, intending to write the first days trip report, but need some breakfast first. I will followup later. All I know is VEGAS STILL ROCKS!!! More to Follow- I am in Vegas at the MGM right now, arrived yesterday and will be here until next Friday. I am a little crossed this morning, intending to write the first days trip report, but need some breakfast first. I will followup later. All I know is VEGAS STILL ROCKS!!! More to Follow- ]]> Trip Reports johnny.vegas http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57414 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57402&goto=newpost Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:51:22 GMT But since I've never felt really comfortable writing, any TR from me is something.


Wow, twice in a month, who needs Vegas???

I hit a bunch of 4oaks; Terri plays JoB so she survived only hitting one.

We stayed at Eldorado, Silver Legacy and the wowza-wowza Ritz-C at Northstar.

I like spa.

The golf was great. In fact, my group took 3rd in the RTO pro-am, with Kevin Streelman.

The Round Mound's game is even more effed up when seen in person--American Century Celebrity event at Edgewood Tahoe (which btw is a fun play). Hats off to him still showing up!! (May the spirit of Bobby Jones invade you some evening, Sir Charles. You deserve it more than anyone in the game!)

Playing Redhawk Lakes before driving home on Tuesday I started par, par, par, triple. And on six I went driver-3h-putter for an eagle. On seven I put two over the fence right. Welcome to my world.

Circus Circus in Reno is nowhere near as skanky as the one in Vegas ... nowhere. The place is still loaded with pant-pissers (clarification: the non-AARP kind) but they're nicely confined to the "midway" area upstairs, and unlike Vegas' variant, I'd not be embarrassed to be found gambling in Reno's version.

Reno's more than a bit scruffy but it trumps downtown Vegas. Tahoe trumps Reno (wow, that's rather dog-bites-man profound).

The brew pub at Eldo is serving up a mean Imperial IPA right now.

I like the new AAA stadium downtown.

Siena is on life support. I think it's terminal.

The Sierras are stupendous.

So is Schat's.

So that's why there's so much Ferrari-Carano for so cheap at SL/Eldo?!?!

MGM Mirage needs to beat-feet wrapping up the just-started renos at SL; good on ya', MGMM.

Reno's art museum is a pound-for-pound knockout artist, and the current Botero exhibition is awesome.

The pimp-ho junior "suite" at Eldo is righteous -- right up until the magic TV shed serves up ... a 26-inch Zenith CRT.

Driving back down the hill is depressing: inland SoCal is pug-ugly this time of year.

Harrah's is evil incarnate. ]]> Trip Reports ken2v http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57402 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57388&goto=newpost Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:05:31 GMT The Players: Myself and my Lady, J & M, R & D, B (J’s dad) & K, Mel & L, and K2.

The Flight: We booked flights in April, SWA, $265 each total. We have a stop in Sacramento on the way down, but the flight times were better.

The Room: We usually stay Sun-Thur, but this time we are looking for a little more relaxing so now it’s Sun-Fri. We started looking for hotels in April as summer promos were coming out. J & M like the big rooms at the Rio and it is less expensive than the Strip, so we decided on the Rio. Me and Lady usually get better offers than J &M, although they have more points on their cards. Go figure. Our website offers were a couple nights at HET places, discounts at MGMs, and discounts at P/V. So I called the Rio. Bingo! Five free nights. Lady called a couple days later and Bingo! Five free nights. So we are giving her room to J & M. R & D and B & K got $45 a night. They are only staying until Wednesday. Just for kicks, I called Palazzo, my favorite hotel. Bingo! Five free nights. So Lady called her best friend and offered the Palazzo room to Mel and her fiancé L. Mel was diagnosed with cancer in October, it got worse, and we wanted to help her live with it. You know, anything we can do to help to make her world a little better. Then she invited another friend, K2. We may not see Mel, L, and K2 much during the trip but will catch up for dinner once or twice.

The Plan: I jumped on the Summer of Cirque special and grabbed LOVE tickets. At the time, there were only six of us going, but at that price I got the maximum eight. I figured even if no one else went, I could sell them for $110 no problem. Then B & K booked so we’re all good for a show. We’ll probably find another discounted show while we’re down there. I’d like to check out Gordie Brown. We are also considering Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, considering we have a group of us. I also picked up two $25 McFadden’s coupons from restaurant.com for three bucks and one $50 for BB King’s Blues Club for six. I’m excited for BB King’s. I saw it when I was in Nashville a couple months ago but the fellas overruled me for Joe’s Crab Shack (still a win). We are also considering the Bellagio Buffet. The only high priced buffet I have been to is the Seafood Market and am looking forward to trying Bellagio or Wynn. I figure one or two nice dining restaurants, but mostly just some good grub like Gold Coast, Canter’s Deli, and Gran Lux. Top-notch meals can really take dollars out of my gambling stash so I have to be disciplined not to blow it on food so I can blow it at the tables.
The Score: I’m not a high roller. I am continually amazed at the offers I get based on my relatively low play. My win/loss at HET was about -$69 for 2009/10 and -$600 for 2008. For P/V it is -55 for 2010 and +222 for 2008. I usually slow play for the first few days so I can really play on the last night and day. I don’t really go to Vegas to gamble, I can do that at the tribe casinos out here. I like the fact that I can get a resort in the sun for under a hundred a night. So I’ll take the rooms, thank you very much. I usually play nickel blackjack and craps, and penny slots. I’m looking forward to a good fire bet. I’m also planning to play craps at Casino Royale with $2 pass and $15 odds instead of the usual $5+10. I figure just a couple bucks more would pay out much better in a good roll. J and I found we like the fifty-play poker machines for the slow burn and, with a good waitress, the ridiculous head rush when we stand up after an hour or so. Speaking of…

The Spirits: J and I are Crown & Coke guys. The caffeine and sugar help us with the marathon nights down there. My Lady and M are into vodka tonics lately and have made D, who is not a big drinker, promise that she will keep up with them. R is a vodka guy. I don’t know about the others. I am going to ask every casino if the hotel has a signature drink. It could be a lot of fun, it could be disaster mixing alcohols. Speaking of…

The Duke: The back-story is from an episode of Dharma And Greg. Dharma and her friend had a statue of a duck for whoever did it in the most exciting place. The punch line at the end was when Greg asked “Why a duck? Why not a plaque or a trophy?”. The answer was “Because ‘trophy’ doesn’t rhyme!”. So we have a pin of John Wayne for whoever can’t hold their liquor. Hence, The Duke. Two of us have acquired The Duke in Vegas. I got him after a fun run at the Casino Royale craps table. I was That Guy staggering down the Strip at night. You’ve all seen it. You give your friend an elbow, point, and say “Hey look at that guy”. Yeah, that was me. From the Flamingo to Palazzo, I was That Guy. And after Lady and J & M got to the room, I got The Duke. But it was a great night and totally worth it. Lady got it the year before at Caesars right before getting on the shuttle to Rio. The driver was not happy. But it was a great night and totally worth it.

The Updates: I’ve never done a live trip report before. We’ll have the laptop, but frankly I don’t know if I’ll have the desire to stop and pop in the wins and losses of the day. No promises, but I’ll try.

Wish me luck! ]]> Trip Reports Terry Benedict http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57388 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57387&goto=newpost Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:00:38 GMT Havent been around in a while but I took the day off today and this morning was soooooooo damn bored. So I www'ed over to continental.com and got me a last minute trip to LV!

Got here like 20 mins early! Stopped by to get some alcohol before I hit the hotel. Saw two bottles of some 2005 Bordeaux that I had the 2004 vintage of that I liked before so gave it a go. If you are not into wines, 2005 was the vintage of the century (there have been 3 so far this century) - it was under $25 so I did not expect much but was just as nice as the 2004.

Got to Caesars around 330p and up into the Augustus tower. I scarfed down one of the bottles since I was dry on the plane. Called the Mrs to tell her I was sober and well (not for long).

Dont laugh at me but I LOVE the UK version of Big Brother so I downloaded and watched tonight's episode since they air at like 1p west coast time. By the time it was over - i was singing that Journey song from the end of Sopranos since they featured it on the show.

So thoroughly fired up, I headed down to the craps pit, reached into my pocket, and pulled out about $35. CRAP I left the cash in the room. I know a bottle of wine won't kill me but the Alzheimers effects I guess are present.

Go back to the room and get half my stash (1/4 brick). Go back down and this fucking hot Japanese lady was playing Pai Gow by herself. Only found out later she was Japanese. She could have been Thai for all I knew. So I sat down and played along. I usually do Pai Gow to have a slow pace - but they had the stupid bonus to give some action. She was betting $1k a hand. Not for me until I get up a bit. I was just chugging along at $100 but I enjoyed talking to her.

I lived in Japan for a while and she her mother was from the same two bit town I spent a month in so it was nice to talk. After....I dont know how many minutes....but it was two round of drinks ..... 20 mins in Vegas?? I got a straight flush which paid over $1000 on the bonus with my $25 bet on it - pays 40-1 or so? I actually pushed the hand because my low hand was like a 7 hi. Japanese chick (not a chick she was maybe 40) was down a fiar amount because she had to get back in for $10k. Since I am married and was not drunk enough, I headed over to the craps table.

I had like $2k in chips from the pai gow (bought in 500) that disappeared in like half an hour - bastards. I had $100 on hard 8 at one point and the dude next to me rolld a hard 10 - it landed on other side of the table so i could not see it great, i thought it was the 8 and got all excited for nothing.

So licking my wounds having lost the $1500 I won from Pai Gow I headed for some chow at the cafe by the check in. I didnt have time to waste on steak or lobster. I scarfed down my turkey club and hit the roulette table....or should I say the atm machine. I was a man on a mission to break the bank.

I bought in for $500 with $5 chips. I hit the first few numbers in a row then got nothing on the next...i dont know 5 or so? I was geeting pissed so being a fucking chaser I was putting stacks of checks all over. I nailed twenty something or other with what looked like the empire state building on top. i got a crap load of purple chips back cause i had it stacked and smothered on the split bets as well. i was getting frisky and told the girl to swith me to 25 checks. I bet like half of them and didnt hit anything. then the next one i remember i hit with 7 chips on it which gave me a crap load back. i then asked what the table limit was and they said it was 8 of the 25 chips so i bet 10 number and hit 25 hit on the fricking money!!

I went to cash in at the cashier and asked if i had markers....fuck no bayby, it is all mine!!! So i came back to the room and am polishing off the second bottle and i tried counting it once but gave up. I have my 2500 in the safe from before plus the 2500 i went down with and i still have an extra brick and more than a half to play with so I am guessing i hit that mother for more than $15.

at first I said I would stop there for the night and watch the yankees on mlb.com from earlier but as I go through this bottle i dont see that happening. it is like only 10p so I know I will probably head out on the strip. Or I can take like a grand and live like a king downtown lol. I have not been to Aria since it opened maybe I will go there. I haven't hit any video poker so I smell some royal flushes in my future baby. I am getting hungry though. I had a sandwich before downstairs but I think i need some real food - i can check out what Aria has to offer ]]> Trip Reports ttom http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57387 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57382&goto=newpost Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:36:29 GMT Well if Beejay can start a trip report a month ahead surely a week today is not unreasonable for myself right? At this rate Beejay may have to start a thread for the October trip on Labour Day (do they have that holiday in the US?) Anyways, I normally get to Vegas for a solo trip once or twice a... Well if Beejay can start a trip report a month ahead surely a week today is not unreasonable for myself right? At this rate Beejay may have to start a thread for the October trip on Labour Day (do they have that holiday in the US?)

Anyways, I normally get to Vegas for a solo trip once or twice a year between the trips with my numerous friends. However, about a year or so ago (how long has it actually been?) I met a man so nefarious, a man now so notorious, a man who's gambling and chasing depravity dwarfed my own. A chain smoking, booze swizzling, degenerate who's name I shall change to protect the innocent (assuming he was ever such a thing). Call him.....Veejay.....

In lieu of this chance meeting, numerous friendships have now been made and countless Royals (there were two that day alone mine for $1000 his for $4000). In fact I have only hit two Royals in Vegas without him.

Point is, since I met this god*amn chaser, I have played very little poker in Vegas which is my bread and butter. In fact, when in Vegas this year I have not lost at poker when playing sober. I said sober people. I have lost drunk. I have the Poker Tracker App on my Iphone to prove it with honest stats I swear!

Because of this Veejay guy, I have been neglecting my Vegas lover of NL Hold Em. The plan is 80% cards, 15% VP and 5% craps unless I hit the Fire Bet and then all plans are off!

Rooms to be played in include in no particular order....Bally's, Mirage, Venetian, MGM and just maybe a little old school 4/8 at Bellagio when I am too drunk to play properly.

I will hit the Flamingo for some craps. i will hit Sully's bar for a few. I will visit Po a the Bally's Sports Book and I will chase those .25 and .50 progressives at the Bellagio which I have hit large quads every trip this year (I am on trip 7 as of next week) without exception.

I will provide updates from the Diamond Lounge as my Iphone is still *ucked but I am getting it fixed when I get back.

It would appear I may have to make the most of this trip as I am currently out for the upcoming monster in mid August that is the topic of another thread. But.....anything is possible. Could cost me a Coach purse or minimally a wallet to get some consideration. That means I need to hit a Fire Bet so send some positive Mojo if you want Gaggles on that one folks.

That is all for now. ]]> Trip Reports Gaggles http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57382 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57377&goto=newpost Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:39:02 GMT Day 1 Sunday Departed NY JFK at 7:30 on time Sunday morning. Flight was crowded and I originally had the middle seat. The aisle was a couple and they wanted to sit together so they asked if I would switch seat with his wife. Gladly as I now had an aisle seat. Woo-hoo. Landed on time at... Day 1 Sunday
Departed NY JFK at 7:30 on time Sunday morning. Flight was crowded and I originally had the middle seat. The aisle was a couple and they wanted to sit together so they asked if I would switch seat with his wife. Gladly as I now had an aisle seat. Woo-hoo.

Landed on time at 10:30. Flight was a breeze. Flew Delta round trip and although I haven’t used them before, it was a good experience for me all the way through.

Cab driver nice took short cut and went right to MGM that led to a nice tip for the guy. I was at the hotel in 15 minutes.

Check in was quick, I checked my bag with valet thinking my room would not be ready but it turned out it was. Left the bag thinking I will pick it up later.

Had a monster headache. Probably because I was hungry. And it was Hot. Real hot. 110* hot. I wound up just going to the food court and grabbing McDonalds for a quick meal. Disappointing but I wanted to feel better as fast as I could. I went back to the room to relax for a bit.

After quick walk around MGM I was going to go rest at the pool. But it was real hot and I wasn’t primed up for a Wet Republic type afternoon. I decide to go play some blackjack after a quick nap.

I wound up knocking down too many Corona’s during my BJ session. The problem with a solo trip is there is nothing to pull you away from the tables. Also you go in expecting a certain outcome, read: winning. Played up and down and then down some more and then lost my budgeted $500. So being over served, I pull out another $400 and according to the dealer who I saw the next day I got bludgeoned. I went up to my room with the intention of showering and going out for dinner. That turned into room service and passing out to the TV. I must have passed out right away because I woke up to pounding on my door so I was psyched room service was finally here. The waiter proceeds to tell me he has been here twice already and they called the room once which I didn’t answer. Wow I am drunk! I felt so bad I gave him a $20 tip which seemed to make him feel better. I ate and went back to sleep resigned to the fact I am drunk, solo and probably looking for trouble if I start drinking or gambling again.

Day 2 Monday
I woke up early (8:00) being on east coast time. After a hot shower and a shave, I got dressed and walked up to Planet Hollywood for the buffet. At 9:30 it was already 95 degrees. I was sat after waiting on a very short line and had a very good breakfast. Egg white omelet with peppers mushrooms and onions. Corned Beef Hash and hash brown potatoes rounded out my meal. Two very large Cranberry juices and I was feeling much better. Went back and loaded up on some fresh fruit. I was going to back for more but I decided to eat a normal meal.

I walked around some more stopping in various hotels up the strip. I had a weird vibe and didn’t get that feeling to stop and gamble anywhere. I figured I am not going to force it I will just head back and go to the pool for a while. By the time I made it back to MGM it was VERY hot, almost 100 and it was before noon. I stopped at Walgreens along the way for a couple bottles of h20 and Gatorade. I dropped that off in my room and came back down. Watched some baseball and made my way back over to BJ where I doubled my $200. I walked around the casino thinking I will hold onto this money for a while before I lose it back. Ran into the BJ dealer from the night before who clued me in on my condition from Sunday night. Played a little craps where nothing got going. Money in money out no gains no loss. And no drinks. So I realized some hair of the dog may help me loosen up.

Walked around by NYNY and other hotels around MGM. Walked by the pool and sat out there for about 10 minutes when I gave up because it was 115 degrees. Went back showered and went downstairs. I really wanted some sushi but didn’t feel like leaving the southern part of the strip. Went to Grand Wok and Sushi bar and really enjoyed the rolls I had. Red dragon roll, spicy California plus some garlic tuna sashimi. Had great service at the sushi bar. Waitress was very helpful and even talked to me about my trip. Obviously she could see I was solo and made me much more comfortable while I was waiting for my food.

I went back out seeing if I could soften the blow from the night before. I made $200 back so I thought if I can make another $200 I will write off the other losses and take that money and head out for drinks and socializing. Make some friends. Well this was a long BJ session. I never made money and just slowly bled out my money. So I started to press my bets some and that just sped up the decline. Never one big hand just busts and pushes over the course of a few hours. I finally realized that this was going to be a losing session as well so I might as well give up. I look at my watch and see it’s already 1 am!!

Knowing I am getting up for my flight by 7 or 8 I starting thinking how much of a waste this trip turned out to be. Typically I have fun anywhere, make friends, win some money and just blow off some steam. That never happened on this trip. I tried to make too much happen starting with gambling.

Day 3 Airport and flight home with no events. Landed early and was home vefy quickly with little rush hour traffic.

Typically you don’t have a bad time in Vegas but my mistake was I knew I wanted to win some money and party as fast as I made it. Neither happened and without friends there to walk away from the tables and go somewhere else I shouldn’t be surprised by the results. I wound up staying mainly on the MGM property.

All in all it was a very strange trip even for me. I have been to Vegas many times and even solo before but I never got into a party atmosphere this time. I don’t know if it was me, small bankroll, being there Sunday through Tuesday or what but I left Vegas disappointed for the first time. I won’t say I wont be back but I know it will be a while.

Apologies it wasn’t a better trip report. Maybe next time. ]]> Trip Reports superbeck1 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57377 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57215&goto=newpost Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:41:10 GMT Yes this trip happened quite a while ago, but I've been going through what few pictures I have of the trip and thought I'd do a a little reflecting and share my experience with some fellow vegas lovers (my friends are beyond sick of hearing me talk about the place :rolleyes2:)

The trip started off on a positive note, we were A-21 and 22 so we were one of the first on and got to sit back and relax while the rest of the cattle were herded onto our completely full flying tin can and fought over precious overhead bin space.



I was travelling with a vegas virgin and arranged a limo with presidential as a bit of a surprise for my buddy (and because I didn't feel like dealing with taxis)



They tried giving us a room with a single bed. I like my buddy, but not that much. The bathroom situation in the Go rooms was a little too cozy as it was. The hallways are a bit of a maze, and their signage sucks, but we eventually figured it out.



We got a room on the 26th floor with a cool view of the pool area



Random token pedestrian overpass picture that everyone who's ever been to vegas has also taken.



Day 1/Monday was a planned wasted day. We spent half the day on a plane, got settled in the room late, probably 7:30PMish or so then wandered around the southern end of the strip before calling it an early night. We had to be up early the next morning.

I'd arranged for a rental car to do a trip to the Hoover Dam and wherever else we might have ended up (original plans were Pinball HOF and the gun store). Gina from the rental place dropped the car off at valet the night before, and we were supposed to meet her around 8am to sign stuff. I used www.vegasexoticrentals.com and the service was absolutely great, I'll definately use them again.

So half asleep we wander out to valet to pick up our sweet ride for the next 24 hours.



The Elise has always been a "realistic" dream car for myself, but I'm glad I had a chance to rent one before I ever got to the point where I was in a position to actually buy one. Plain and simple there's no way to get in and out of the thing without looking like an idiot. It was worsened by the fact I was nursing a severe quad strain, and using your leg muscles was essential to maneuvering yourself in the thing. It's also a very uncomfortable choice to use for what turned out to be an ~9 hour road trip.

However, once we both finally managed to climb in and fall ungracefully onto the little plastic mat on the floor one might mistake for a seat, the car was tons of fun. I'm 5'9 and my buddy's 5'6, and we both felt like giants in this thing.



So while we were doing the paperwork Gina tells us about the Valley of Fire and gives us directions on how to do a loop to the dam then VOF and back home, as well as giving us an idea of the total miles and how much extra in milage fees it could potentially be (another mark of great customer service, IMO). We decide to do that and forego the gun store and pinball HOF

First we stop at the dam. In lieu of a picture of a dam that everyone has seen many times over, I'll put a picture I took of the access stairwell that came straight out of the camera unedited looking like something from a video game. It's by far my favorite picture I took the entire trip from a photography perspective.



From there we got absolutely lost, because I never actually wrote down the directions we were given. They actually went more or less in one ear and out the other because of the excited anticipation of driving my dream car. We did manage to find a walmart though where we were able to get the stuff we forgot to pack. Our plastic walmart bag fit nicely in the little compartment next to the engine they call a trunk. Originally I had thought about getting the car at the airport instead of doing the limo service, and wow what a mistake that would have been! We'd have had to send our luggage to the hotel via taxi and meet it there, or my poor buddy would have been stuck cruising the strip with a mountain of bags on his lap.

Eventually we managed to find our way. We could have just stopped and asked for directions, but we had a cool car and a lot of open road around us. VOF was fun. I'd never heard of it before, and had absolutely no idea there were petroglyphs there which was freakin awesome. I'm a total nerd for that sort of stuff. We had to skip some of the longer hikes because of my leg, but on the plus side it gives me a good reason to go back.







Amusingly every time we'd pull into a parking lot to go explore, people would start taking pictures of us. We even had our picture taken at a couple stop lights when we were roaming around whatever town we found a Walmart in. It's a cool car, but it's no Ferrari or Lambo or anything and I'd always figured people around Vegas were probably used to seeing stuff like that

We killed off most of the day wandering around VOF then headed back to cruise up the strip where every red light someone would talk to us about the car and/or take our picture, and brought the car back to valet. We joyrode the crap out of it and I believe we went 260some miles over our allotted mileage, but it was absolutely worth it.



That night we wandered around the north end of the strip a bit then headed into Harrahs to play some blackjack, where I proceeded to play for a few hours until my bankroll was gone.

Wednesday was Saint Patricks day. We did put in some pool time where the service was absolutely abysmal. No waitress ever once came in our section, and both times when I went to buy a bucket of beers there was a group of them just hanging out shooting the breeze next to the bar. The rest of the day was non-eventful. More drinking, more wandering around, more drinking, and eventually some FSE action where I drank more. I think I played some slots too with no luck.

Thursday I woke up feeling terrible. Regardless we wandered down to Excalibur to buy tickets for the tournament of kings that night. I decided to head back to the hotel and go back to sleep and my buddy went off to meet a couple of his friends who were also in town.

At some point my phone woke me up, they were down at MGM but were headed back up the strip to eat at some restaurant in Paris and wanted to know if I wanted to meet them there. I agreed and wandered down to the casino to play a little blackjack until they made their way up the strip.

I sat down with $300 or so on a $15 table. I did the typical win some/lose some, but the rest of the table kept losing and leaving, and eventually it was just me and the dealer. And that's when I started winning. And winning. And sometimes losing. But mostly winning. My phone rang, then my text message alert went off a couple times. Not now Chief, I'm in the zone!

I was betting wildly from $15 to $150/hand, playing for the dealer and tipping incessantly. The first dealer I had was making stacks out of the tips behind one of the signs, and when they switched dealers she pointed at them and me and told the new dealer "they're all from him". I'm not sure how much I tipped, and I'm kind of glad I don't know, as I do remember there being a lot of red and some green.

The new dealer was really into it, and it started rubbing off on me. I was having a ball cheering and yelling and throwing chips around like I was some big shot. People passing the table would stop and watch. The pit boss kept engaging me in conversation. The cocktail waitress was bringing me new beers before I'd finish the one I had. I was splitting tens and staying on 14s when the dealer showed a face card. Thirteen and the dealer's showing a 5? Double down! I was doing basic strategy mixed with a little bit of "what not to do when playing blackjack" strategy and it was paying off. Every time I won and was paid with a black chip I put it in my not-to-be-gambled "black chip" pile, which just kept growing. Finally my luck started to run out, my "gambling chip" pile ran dry, and I pushed my stack of blacks to the dealer and asked to color up.

I headed over to the cashier than quickly made my way up to the room to make a deposit in the safe. I probably could have won a lot more if I wasn't doing the more ridiculous plays, but damn it I was having fun!



I sent that picture to my buddys phone with a message "sorry I missed lunch, was busy". He understood. Once the adrenaline rush wore off, I realized I was absolutely hammered. Looking back I'm amazed that I still had the willpower to not start throwing down chips from my black chip pile. It was also way later than I thought it was, so I cleaned up a bit and met up with the other guys and we headed off to excalibur to see the show.



The show was lots of fun, but it was probably because I was riding that thin line between fun drunk and blacking out. After that it was back to Flamingo where I finally played some penny slots with the $10 freeplay I got for signing up for TR. I had a couple decent sized hits, I know I was well up over a hundred at one point, but I kept mashing that button until it ran down to $0. I know you're not supposed to play for comps, but hey, I was playing for comps with their own money.

Finally Friday came, which was spent sobering up and relaxing, doing a little wandering, then meeting up with our guy from Presidential to take us back to Mccarren... where I popped open my laptop, got on the free wifi, and started planning my next trip. ]]> Trip Reports mrubs4 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57215 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57201&goto=newpost Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:33:37 GMT Song titles and phrases will used in lieu of providing possible incriminating and/or blackmailing information. This is mostly for the end of the trip. I'll try to do this in installments. It can be a lot to read. Enjoy.

Preface:
22 years old, ready to escape reality for a week.

Ever since my first trip, a 4-day enlightenment to Las Vegas in july of 2009, I have had an insatiable urge to come back for a longer vacation. In December I booked the Rio for 44 dollars a night, sun-thurs. what a deal for 7 months in advance. It was to be my best friend, myself and a possible 3rd person since the room had 2 beds and a couch. I also had planned on booking a downtown property for the weekend. About a month before the trip I booked main st station for 101 $ for Friday and Saturday including taxes. I know its downtown, but that’s still great for a weekend anywhere. Things were set or so I thought.

A week before we were scheduled to make our way to Sin City, my friend informed me he could not make the trip, due to financial obligations with school, car and his band. I was not surprised it happened, but I wished he had been more realistic earlier in the process, not just for himself, but for me as well. I was now out 175 for rooms, but Im not gonna hold him to it. For those that remember my TR from last year, I had a 3rd “friend” who bailed 2 nights before., the one with the free room at wyndham grand desert that we never got to use and ended up at stratosphere, but that turned out to be a great time, so I’m not complaining about the lack of timeshare rooms. I think next time, I’ll try gather 5 or 6 people to commit, that way i think at least 3 will make it.

The main concern was that I wouldn’t consistently have someone behind me at the tables making sure I was being somewhat responsible with my money. The upside was that I wouldn’t have to lug around anyone who doesn’t want to do the same things as I do. I wouldn’t be alone too much either, I planned to meet up with several family/friends which ended up being more than half the time I was out there. My bankroll for the entire trip was just under 3k, not including airfare, but pretty much everything else.


TRIP
Friday July 9th- Virgin America Flight left on time at 930 out of JFK. Had an open seat in between myself and the person with the window seat. Im a large guy (not Kevin smith large though) so this is always one of my favorite little pleasures in life. It is a newer airline, but the plane was not that big. Less than 30 rows including first class, the aisle is less than 2 feet in width. The purple lighting was easy on the eyes, and the flight was pleasant for the most part, not much turbulence. I had a $10 sandwich, which made for my brunch, since my stomach wasn’t acting so well that morning.

Arrived about noon Vegas time. Because of all my painstaking research, and the amount of time I spend on this message board, I took the 108 or 109 bus to downtown form the airport, for a WHOPPING 2 dollars. Sure beats what would be a 30 something dollar cab ride. Of course the bus took 45 minutes and also picked up many locals who looked tired of Vegas. Didn’t matter, I got to MSS around 1pm. Got the odd numbered room I asked for at check-in, which is good for a view of downtown and the stratosphere, but it was only the 3rd floor, so I also had the pleasure of a back alley area and piping view.

The room was not big, but it had one more bed than I needed and the bathroom was decent sized with a separate sink area from the toilet and shower. Anyone who’s ever been to main st station knows that if you’re over 5’6 , the shower head placement looks like it was made for midgets and children. Otherwise, it still got the job done.
I settled in, made a few calls, and went to the 777 brewpub. Got the 5 beer sampler and 24 chicken wings as well. 12 were honey mustard type wings, the other may have been teryaki. The Sauces and dressings for dipping were excellent. After leaving the brewpub, I played a little $5 blackjack at MSS and the California, winning $40 I think.

I went back the room to shower and change clothes. I got a call from fellow VMBer Whodeyleisure. He was at the monte carlo, and I had no plans to meet up with anyone else on Friday anyway, so I took the nearly hour long deuce bus ride (traffic) from downtown to the Monte Carlo. There was an unsavory local who got on around treasure island, smelling bad, and talking crazily about bodies being dug up and then burned, never to be found. When the bus reached Monte Carlo, i got off. The crazy guy said to wait up, i made sure i didn't stick around for that to happen.

Met up with Whodeyleisure and his buddies in his room, we drank some beers and Jaeger shots. I threw in 10 for drinks since it was nice of them to have me. I was feeling pretty good. We went down the casino, I won a quick 70 bucks on blackjack. After that we went back to the room to drink some more, discussing going out to a club and watching titanic, I was really beat.

I had been up for almost 20 straight hours and got little sleep the night before. After winning a fast 20 on casino war without help from cousin eddy, I decided to head back downtown. I crossed the street around pHo, bought some water, and caught the bus. I stopped in the Golden Nugget since it was on my walking path back to MSS. Dropped a quick 60 on blackjack. Impulsively I played some BJ at MSS before going to my room, winning back 30. still up for the day, and more money in my wallet than when I left with, even after food and travel. I grabbed a bbq type of burger from the brewpub, came with fried onions on it, pretty good. It was about 1230am, and I was ready for bed after being up 21 hours straight. I need my sleep. ]]> Trip Reports BigRoss71 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57201 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57175&goto=newpost Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:06:18 GMT Here is my trip report from July 6th to July 11th. The trip was mostly spent in Downtown Las Vegas. Me (36), My brother (41), and mother (72) went on this trip together. For each hotel stay we had two rooms – one for my brother and me and one for my mother. I was hoping that this trip would be... Here is my trip report from July 6th to July 11th. The trip was mostly spent in Downtown Las Vegas. Me (36), My brother (41), and mother (72) went on this trip together. For each hotel stay we had two rooms – one for my brother and me and one for my mother. I was hoping that this trip would be a lot better than the last time that the three of us had traveled together at Christmas. At that time my mother was depressed about being away from home. Ever since my father passed away about eight years ago we travel together quite a bit. Being a Union Negotiator I do a lot of travel on my own but since my divorce I have found that the times I spend with my family to be the best.

Day One – July 6th
Flight was leaving out of Toronto (via Westjet) at 9:30 am. I like Westjet because of the TVs on every seat, which are leather, and the general demeanor of the crew. They honestly seem to care. I typically like to fly out of Buffalo better (Southwest and JetBlue being my favorites) but find the flight times inconvenient or when factoring the exchange rate on the flights coupled with the cost of parking that it does not make sense economically to fly out of there. But I have to admit it - I HATE Pearson airport. I am allowed to say that because I live here (although I am sure everyone does). I find it to be the most disorganized airport, and I fly a lot around North America due to my work. But living about a $30 cab ride (or what I thought was a $30 cab ride – more on that later) it makes economic sense sometimes. Oh well. I will have to grin and bear it. Anyways I was having the cab come at 7 AM (to quell the nerves of my family) and left to pick up my brother at his place. Cab came as expected and we headed to the airport. The driver that picked us up was very good and helpful with luggage and I tipped him accordingly. We entered the airport and there was very little line at check in (considering that we were now two plus hours ahead of schedule was definitely working to our advantage) and got our seats. I had paid the extra for each of us to get the emergency row seating that we could select online ahead of time. I really like emergency row seating not only because of the extra legroom but I also feel like a reward every time I get to sit there. You see, I have lost approximately 100 pounds in the past year. I used to be a charter member of the “seatbelt extension club”. I hated flying and would normally have to purchase two seats to be comfortable. Times when I couldn’t get two seats side by side would usually cause me to have to stand for most of the flight at the washrooms so that I wouldn’t be crushing the person beside me (usually a business acquaintance). I still want to lose another eighty pounds but am now comfortable in most areas of life (like flying) that the cursed thin never have to experience. Trust me, there is nothing worse in this world than having to ask a flight attendant for a seat belt extension and then have others around you snicker.

Anyways check in went well. My bag weighed in at 50.4 pounds and I was dreading to have to switch some items out of my bag to my carryon but decided to do a trick I learned online – that is to move the wheels off the scale. Shockingly the weight of my bag dropped to 39.8 pounds. The check in girl (who I think was new and didn’t notice the original weight) let me take the bag (at the no-frills Toronto airport you have to take your checked luggage with you) without a question. My mother (a light packer at the best of times – cant figure out how – weighed in at 29.2 pounds) and my brother’s bag weighed in at 40.2 pounds. Because his bag was over the 40-pound mark he had one of the dreaded “heavy” labels attached to it. My brother started to protest at the counter about why I didn’t have that tag but I politely told him its because I’ve lost weight. He continued to protest at which point I told him to shut up or be willing to pay the overage fee for me. He became very quite after this – but I still referred to him as heavy for the rest of day one. My brother has always been naturally thin and so he took it good-naturedly.
We dropped our bags off and rounded the corner to security only to see a long line. Once again my mother and brother told me about how wise it was that we left so early (I had protested being the experienced traveler and hating Pearson airport- but I think I already told you that). Yes, I admit it, they were right. It was now 7:40 am. We made it through security without a problem by 8:20 am and decided to head off for some overpriced cafeteria food.
We went to a restaurant called the Great American Grill – one that I have eaten in before and found most times their food to be edible albeit not award-winning. I ordered the breakfast scramble fiesta wrap and my DB and DM ordered the regular bacon and eggs. As someone who goes to bed at night dreaming about rolling around in fields of white bread and pasta (due to low-carb dieting) I was looking forward to the start of my vacation. I know that most say that I shouldn’t break away from my diet but I usually do when I vacation (which if I count with Vegas trips is about every four months) and I have always gotten right back on it. In fact I have found most times that it jump-starts the diet as the weight loss slows down over time.
Well, the breakfast that was served was simply AMAZING. The combination of hash browns, cheese, eggs, tortilla, spices, and salsa is a beautiful thing. My family also enjoyed their meals, although probably not to the point of euphoria like me. The nice touch was my DM paid for breakfast – she has been doing this for years and a tradition that she likes to uphold. I really appreciate even though it is not necessary. Anyways we literally left the restaurant and went to our gate when we got there we didn’t even have to time to sit down before they called our seats (emergency row).
Flight was pretty much uneventful (which is always a great flight nowadays). I did enjoy the fact that I had to tighten the seatbelt about an inch. I spent most of the flight watching Alias on my portable DVD player – I do not watch much TV and usually catch up (about five years behind) when traveling and so I am in the middle of season two – great show – LOVE Jennifer Garner for obvious reasons. I also played my brother some NHL hockey on PSP. Yes I know two men aged 36 and 41 playing video games sounds strange but we love it and it gets very competitive. I beat him in four straight much to his anger – and shots to my arm which made me laugh even more.
Plane landed ten minutes ahead of schedule (11:15 AM Vegas time) and we were quickly walking through the airport to baggage claim. Got our bags no problem and headed out the door of the airport to the taxi line. I had contemplated doing the Presidential Limo thing but decided against it as my DM would not appreciate it and I would get told that I spend too much money foolishly. I was worried based on what I had read online that the taxi line would be long (and get further complaints from my DM about the heat even though she loves going to Vegas in the Summer). We got outside – and there was no line! Score! We got a cab and headed off for our first day in my future retirement city. First Stop – Flamingo

More to come… ]]> Trip Reports bigred4770 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57175 http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57111&goto=newpost Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:57:45 GMT No trip report this time out, just some random thoughts from my trip, that I'll add too if I remember more.

I stayed at Luxor for first three nights and then Bellagio for last three, both on players club offers.

1. Luxor is waiving resort fees for comp guests, a nice move and consistent with what they did last summer, except now they are telling you they are, you still get to use all the amentities, which essentially is internet access and fitness area.

2. Last summer Luxor took all their VP bars to $1 min. I mentioned it from my spring trips, but they have gone back to multi denomination starting at .25

3. I played very little VP this trip, too many trips where I was just shoving money into the machines with neither points or profits to show for it. I was fresher though for the sessions where I played, and noticed a number of 4 card royals this trip, those of course were after the draw, but were more then I've seen in a while. I only drew once with four cards to a royal and missed. I hit no premium 40aks and only hit a few non premium.

4. Gambling was not good this trip, I have a couple games I play for the most part to generate points and they worked for that this trip, the other stuff I played was a variety of slots, .25 and dollar level and I hit diddly for the whole trip, I rarely got above my buyin, had three wins of about $100 each, which considering 5 days of play isn't great, and really never had a win higher then $20 outside of those 3 $100 winners. It was rough, to the point where if I hit some wins on a machine, I was fairly ecstatic.

(I should clarify a bit, I do remember some wins bigger then $20 but those only happened on the 2nd last night, late at MC, and the next day at NYNY, which for all intense purposes means they were sort of worthless as I was playing out the day, prior to that wins were few and far between).

5. Considering I think the gambling was bad this trip, I'm pretty psyched I managed my budget so well and came home with the same percentage I did in August, along with some devoted sessions at what I would refer to my low volatility point earner machines, I actually recorded more points then I have in 3 or 4 trips to MGM properties, which was needed as my tier level has been falling a bit, hopefully that will put it back up there for awhile.

6. Bellagio service is the best I've experienced in vegas, while I know it's worn a bit around the edges and not "wynn" there is still a lot of pride I see in the employees for working at the Bellagio and I think it comes down from management. I literally enjoy checking in there, considering I've been going for about 15 years and no resort has ever made me feel that way and there's no actual examples I can point out to reference, it's just the overall experience that seems to be holding up nicely.

7. Cabo Wabo Sunday night was fun, they have a band and if you sing with them you get a free shot of Cabo Wabo. I sang a couple songs and the bartender decided to free pour Cabo Wabo all night for me, by 5 generous shots) (and after a very generous rum pour in my mojito that I ordered a shot for as it was way to sweet) the bartender advised he was impressed I was still on my feet. Especially considering I had been drinking all day, in retropspect I was as well. Well it did eventually hit me, upon getting up I had a severe stumble going on, and the next thing I remember was waking up in the morning after 7 or 8 hours of sleep. It appears I made it back under my own power though, as my contacts were out, and some other things I do like remove things from my pockets and place in certain areas were done as well, but I honestly cannot remember the walk across the street or through the bellagio. I can also honestly say it's never happened to me before in my life, however the very generous shots and short time frame definitely contributed, plus I'm not getting any younger. Some of the shots were so big it actually took three swigs to do. I reference it only for informational purposes, as most know from my trip reports, I imbibe plenty when in Vegas and have had many a good night of buzzes going on, but it's pretty damn rare I get sloppy drunk in Vegas, and not to that level. Pure stupidity on my part in this case, as I was enjoying the free pours, on top of that I rarely drink tequila and never have in that amount, and if there is one thing a person who drinks a lot can tell you different alcohol's will affect you differently and in this case it certainly did.

8. There is never enough water on a Vegas trip. Luckily I hydrate heavily, and when I say heavily I mean huge bottles of water every couple hours in Vegas, thankfully it almost completely prevents hangovers in addition you typically don't get drunk too quickly, between the heat, hangovers, and instances like free pours, it's never a bad reminder, drink the water and do it often.

9. Friday night was fun with Rog, as I already posted, we had a great time downtown. I'm glad he convinced me to go downtown for the night, as I was close to skipping it as I just didn't want to go back and forth.

10. I got to walk the strip from Wynn to Luxor Friday night after Rog got dropped off. It wasn't as bad (thug or hookerwise) as I've seen before, I may start walking it again once in awhile. Although it was still about 2am, which isn't bad for a Friday night.

11. Rhumbar's still one of my favorite spots and I only made it there twice this trip. One reason I'm excited to stay at the Mirage in November as I can hit it up nightly.

12. Luxor is just too far out of the way for doing anything that's not at Excal, Luxor, or MB.

13. I usually start my trips fairly slow and build up to some of the nightlife stuff, this trip was a bit different with going DT on Friday and then Cabo Wabo on Sunday, Saturday night I had a fairly early night, as I just didn't want to make the journey out of the Luxor and MB really had no options that weren't super crowded and the other nights at Bellagio, I just took it easy and gambled. One reason there isn't a trip report for me, is outside of these thoughts, most of the trip was spent chilling out either in the room, pool, or gambling, I just didn't do a lot.

14. I tried to avoid the heat this trip, usually it doesn't bother me, but for some reason, i just wasn't feeling it this trip and didn't feel like heading out only to become soaked in the day time. being at Luxor and Bellagio probably contributed to it, as they both are fairly isolated.

15. Couple thoughts on bad food, although I didn't eat alot this trip. I had the worst Reuben Sandwich I've ever had at Toby Keiths on Friday, the food at Cabo Wabo is not very good either, the tacos I had were crappy along with tacquitos that were way too hard.

16. Good food notes, the rasberry stuffed brioche french toast at Cafe Bellagio was outstanding, the beef tartar was great at Petrossian bar, (along with the atmosphere there). The best pizza on the strip is at Slice at Caesars in my opinion, although I got a piece on the last night there, after getting a piece for lunch (what can I say I was impatient) and I swear they use something different at night, as cheese, crust and everything was different and much lower quality in my opinion.

17. Some casualties of the trip. my money clip, (sans money) that dropped out at a slot machine at Mirage (and had made it through about 10 trips to Vegas). A pair of sunglasses that were Vegas exclusive sunglasses, that I got from Sahara a couple years ago. I did pick up some nice replacements though, to give you an idea of my fanaticism on details, those things are casualties, as they are in the travel bag I replenish after trips for future ones.

18. Bad experience at Luxor, Saturday night, I noticed about 5 before I left, that there was a party going on in the room next door, music was loud, but not offensively loud, I thouhgt nothing of it, until getting back to the room at 2am, by 2:30 am I had enough and called the front desk for security to come up. The levels were jaw dropping and I swear they had a full dj setup in there, the amazing part to me, is there were no other calls during that time. I know it's Vegas and everyone stays up late, but this had to be audible for at least 2-3 floors and we were on the top floor. Security took care of it within 20 minutes after my call. I debated whether calling about the music for about 30 minutes with myself, maybe it's just me getting older, but I honestly think I could have tolerated a moderate level, this was like being in line for LAX, the walls and windows were rattling.

That's all I can think of, as I mentioned a pretty mellow trip for me in truth if I wouldn't have had Bellagio last, I probably would have cut it a day short a week or two before, but after being so disappointed last trip with Bellagio first and Flamingo falling short I did the opposite this time around, I was definitely ready to go fly home Tuesday rather then Wednesday, but it just didn't work out this time. My March 5 night trip seemed about right, so maybe that's what I'll do going forward 5 nights solo and 6 nights if I'm going with someone else or other people.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.
_________________ ]]> Trip Reports Jinx http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57111