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first trip 2005

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by LVHooked, Jun 7, 2012.

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  1. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    I thought I would post a TR on are first 5 trips, so everyone can get to know us a little bit. I have a lot going on for the next few months, so it may take a while to post all. Should I post them to this thread or start a new thread each time?

    Trip #1
    My wife won a $1500 travel voucher at work in 2005, and she really wanted to go to Vegas. We had two kids in college so vacations were not in the plans. Neither of us had ever flown, but rumor was they had booze on the plane so I was willing to try it.

    We knew nothing about Vegas, My wife met with the travel agent and we did what she recommended. She failed completely, late flight out of Erie, pa. on a Friday night with a 2.5 hr. lay over in Cleveland.
    So we get to Cleveland and figure we might as well go out security and have a smoke or two. Some guy bums a light, and we chatted a bit, turns out he was going to Vegas also, same airline. Leaving in 40 minutes. So we run back in, and they switch us to the earlier flight. It was boarding as we got are tickets. Cool we saved 1.5 hrs.

    When we landed in Vegas we used the voucher for the shuttle, that the travel agent got us to get to the Excalibur, after sitting in the shuttle for ½ hr. or so, and sight seeing for another hour or so. We were dropped at the rear of the Excalibur the last shuttle stop. (so much for the saved time) I also learned that even with poor service people still expect a tip. After finding the frt. Desk and checking in, it was almost midnight. We gambled most of the night, had breakfast and went to sleep at about 7 am.

    We pretty much stayed close to Excalibur and the casinos around it, walking around drinking and playing slots and VP, For the three days we were there. We did catch one free impersonators show that wasn’t bad, but I was drinking so who knows. The Tropicana machines treated us the best, and as I only brought $600 cash and planned to hit Atm’s as needed. I was happy to come home with cash (never hitting an ATM)

    I wanted to rent a car on the last day and go sight seeing, maybe go to the dam. But my wife hates big city traffic and after the shuttle ride, she didn’t want to drive around Vegas.
    I kept the room for another night, so we had a place to relax as are flight out wasn’t till 11 pm Excalibur comped the late check out, and a few meals so it worked out ok.

    Decided on a cab back to the airport, screw the shuttle. Can’t remember the price exactly, but I remember the shuttle was $18 x 2 for round trips and a cab both ways would have been about half that + tip.
    Red eye flight home Monday night was delayed, so when we got to Cleveland Tuesday morning. We had to run from one end of the airport to the other, to catch our connection home. And just made it in time.

    I wasn’t overly impressed with the trip,(that came on later trips) but my wife loved it. So I knew we would be going back.
    I did learn a few things, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo are all only about 100 miles from home and they all have non-stop flights. Skip the shuttle, and bring comfortable shoes. And most importantly never trust a travel agent.
     
  2. lucky13

    lucky13 Low-Roller

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    yeah going thru an agent costs more and there are no guarantees
    i book vacations myself .....
     
  3. jhpa

    jhpa VIP Whale

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    It will be interesting to see the progression in what you did, where you stayed, the quality of your experience, etc. If you had kids in college in 2005, by now your lifestyle (and hopefully financies) are looking quite a bit different now.

    I would keep adding to this thread....will make it easier to follow.

    And I totally agree about travel agents. To me it is part of the fun to research the vacations and make the arrangements myself. With the amount of information available on the internet, I can rarely see when an agent is worthwhile. The exception is in booking cruises- agents have access to significant discounts that are not available to the general public. But even there, I will book the airfare and other details myself.
     
  4. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    2nd Trip

    Our youngest graduated in 2009 but with the economy bad, and as I’m self employed it was 2011 before we could go again. My wife’s birthday is in April, and as the previous year had been rough on her (personal health and deaths in her family) I decided to surprise her with a vacation.

    I called her boss and set up the time off, I never told her we were going anywhere. Are daughter made sure she had everything she would need packed the day before. (even bought her a new purse and some clothes for the trip) I woke her up early Sat. morning, and told her to get a shower because I had a surprise for her. I gave her the purse and made her swap out her stuff. (amazing how much stuff ladies fit in these things) She was pretty grumpy at first but the purse calmed her down. When I opened the trunk at Cleveland airport and she saw the luggage she guessed where we were going.

    We flew United non-stop both ways, I had paid about $550 for both tickets. I can’t remember the times exactly, but we arrived in Vegas about 11am and left about 5pm Vegas time. Way better then the late flight in and red eye home on are first trip.

    For this trip I did some internet research, and decided to split the trip between downtown and the strip.
    Two nights at Four Queens and two at Bills (I’m frugal lol)

    We caught a cab from the airport, of course we were long hauled $38 thru my internet search’s. I knew what was up, but I didn’t want to ruin my wife’s trip by arguing with a cabbie. So I paid it and started thinking about a rental car.

    They checked us right in, and gave us a south tower room with a decent view. We went right back down to gamble. First we had to get players cards, while waiting we talked to a guy in line, that gave us his fun book from the Queens and a coupon out of a book. (I think it was the LVA guide) He said he was flying out and couldn’t use them. So all are meals were BOGO at Magnolias, and a lunch at Binions. Not great but good enough, we were there to play not for fine dining.

    Fremont St. was perfect for us, we both had a blast. Pretty much all we did was drink and play slots and VP, I had planned on going to a show, but there just wasn’t time. And my wife felt the same way. At this point in the trip we were up about $500 also. And they comped the room down to casino rate I think $24 a night.

    My original plan was to take a cab to Bill’s, but I called my son and he booked us a rental car for less then 50 bucks. From my internet search’s, I knew about the buses and the rental car shuttle. My wife didn’t like the idea of taking luggage on the bus, but it worked out perfect. I had walked down to the bus stop early Monday morning and talked to a driver and got the times. If I remember right it was about 1.5 hrs. from check out, till we were in the rental car.

    From there we went to Ethyl M’s my wife loved the cactus gardens. Then we went to the welcome sign and got pics, then we drove up the strip to go see the pawn stars. But the line was huge so we went to Bill’s and checked in.

    Fountain view room for about $50 big room very clean, but the view was from an angle and with all the dark wood is was almost dreary. (but it was cheap) After getting players cards and playing slots a bit, Big Elvis started (my wife is an Elvis nut) we grabbed seats at the bar, and we both loved the show.

    After that we went to the Flamingo and ate, we both had the fajita specials. Very good, and neither of us could finish them. We then tried some slots but couldn’t win much. So we started walking, Bally’s, Paris, Bellagio, maybe more. But we couldn’t win at all, So we ended up back at Bill’s then Flamingo again. Still just feeding the machines, So we called it a night, having lost the $500 we were up.

    Over breakfast, my wife said Big Elvis was great and the strip was fun but she liked downtown better. That was exactly what I had been thinking earlier. So we stopped at the frt. Desk, no charge for the second night if we checked out by 11am. So we went to the room and called Four Queens, they gave us the same rate and said the room was ready now.

    So that’s what we did, but first I wanted to take a drive. A rental car was a thought when I was planning the trip, so I had a few places planned out. We were out of Bill’s before 9am and heading to Mt. Washington. Beautiful ride, we didn’t walk around much, but did a few short stops and got lots of great pics.

    On the way back I saw a sign for In-N-Out burger. I had heard about it somewhere and so we stopped for lunch. My wife is a burger and fries lover, so now it’s a must do in Vegas.

    After that, Texas station was right down the road so we stopped there. I got on a 5 wheel bonus machine that kept giving me small maybe $25-50 wins. That I would cash out at 100 and put another 20 in. My wife was cashing them and giving me back some and playing the rest, but when we left I was up $4-500

    That night and the next day we roamed around Fremont St. and lost slowly. The whole trip ended up costing a little over $1100 + gas to Cleveland, to me that’s winning.
    And when the girls my wife works with found out, I had set it all up for a surprise birthday gift, I was a star and their husbands were in the dog house.:Þ So a second win.:beer:
     
  5. dfalk

    dfalk VIP Whale

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    Now that is pretty damn cool of you. I would shit my pants in excitement if someone did that for me.
     
  6. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    After skimming back thru my posts, The nuns from grade school would be smacking my knuckles right now.:nono: LOL And we may have went to Mt. Charleston not Washington. And are might be wrong.

    But the surprise was great, I thought my wife was going to pee herself when she found out. And the ride to Cleveland was almost as much fun as the time in Vegas. Started out with, You better not have woke me up this early for breakfast, then she thought casinos in New York, or Niagara Falls, After we started west on I-90, she was thinking Cedar Point or the Rock-N-Roll hall of fame. So many guesses I can’t remember them all.

    Then Monday when the girls she works with found out she was on a surprise vacation, The texts started (her boss never asked where we were going) so she spent half the day texting. So I was a bigger star then on Saturday. :kiss:
     
  7. mjames1229

    mjames1229 # of visits includes only trips w/ hotel stays

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    I could never pull it off. My wife knows damn well that a "surprise" trip to Vegas would be MY excuse to go to Vegas.

    Her surprise trip would have to be to NYC or Anchorage (I know, I know).
     
    USBC Nationals are back in Vegas
  8. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    3rd Trip

    Our anniversary is in June, so in early June 2011 we were talking about what to do on our anniversary. My wife had just received a mailer from the Fitz with some free days and free play. She jokingly said lets go back to Vegas. I got thinking about it and figured damn, we only spent $1100 in April not nearly what I planned. So I started looking at flights.

    I found Delta flights out of Pittsburgh, leaving early Monday after our anniversary and returning on a red-eye Friday night. With about one hour lay over’s in Cincinnati both ways. $410 for both tickets, after our first trip, I wanted all non stop and no red-eye flights but at that price what the hell. The Fitz ended up being just about $60 for four nights. And I got a rental car through rentalcars.com for under $100 at Budget.

    The flights went fine, picked up the rental car, and off to In-N-Out burger for lunch.
    A friend had given me a tito from South Point for like 6 bucks, So we headed there next. It went fast in a penny machine, so I moved to a blazing 7s and cashed out $200. I had been watching a guy playing a mega millions that seemed to be paying, so when he got up. I cashed out and went on it.

    I put in $21 figured 7 pulls and hope for the best, when my wife came over I was up over $350
    But no mega for me, I played down to 0 and went to find my wife. She couldn’t believe I didn’t pull anything out, but it was 11 or 12 million I couldn’t stop.

    After that we headed to the Fitz to check in, Not a very nice room the carpet looked like the original from when they built the place. But clean and a nice view. (and it was cheap) The rest of the day was spent on slots, VP and drinking on Fremont St. We also still had coupons left from 4 queens(last trip) and some breakfast coupons from the Fitz so we ate cheap again for most of the week.

    Tuesday we went to the Venetian and Palazzo and walked around the strip for most of the afternoon, we did a little better this time on the slots. The strip didn’t like us last trip. Then back to Fremont St. for the night.

    Wednesday we went out to Red Rock in the morning and ended up there for quite a while. Very beautiful A must see for anyone in Vegas. After that we stopped at the outlet mall for an hour or so then back to Fremont St. for the night.

    Thursday we skipped breakfast, my wife wanted In-n-Out again for an early lunch. We got there just as they opened, perfect no line.
    After that we went across the street to Palace Station, we both had won at Texas Station on the last trip so might as well try it. It was a good choice we both had lots of small wins and played till almost 6pm. We left up $3-400

    At that point we were both hungry, she wanted to eat at the buffet but I never liked buffets. So of course we ate at the buffet. On our first trip we had the buffet at Excalibur and it was terrible. This actually wasn’t bad, and we had cash on our cards so it was cheap. Then back to Fremont St. for the night.

    Friday….last day already….We hadn’t done very well anywhere on Fremont St. Thursday, so we checked out early and headed to Bolder Station, we played a little bit and had the breakfast buffet. Again not bad, my wife was impressed buffets two days in a row. We stayed there till about 2pm and pretty much just lost slowly.

    Then we headed to the strip and parked at the Trop, but walked over to Excalibur and NYNY first, But all we did was lose. At this point we were down to a couple hundred bucks between us, I hated the thought of hitting a ATM this late in the trip, after never having to the first two trips. So we headed to the Trop and saw the players card 50% match deal, luckily we had never bothered getting cards the first trip.

    After playing a few hours I was losing slowly, we stopped and ate club sandwiches at the food court. We had to leave in a few hours, so we went to the players club to get our free play. I think I got about $30
    I walked over to a machine and left my wife at the counter, she came over and said they told her to come back later. O-well we still had a few hours so no big deal. I played half in one machine and lost it pretty fast, but the other half kept giving me small wins every time in a different machine. After about an hour my wife went back to the players club to try again. A different girl explained to her, that you have to lose money to get the match play LOL she was up almost $300

    We then headed to the airport and home, with cash in our pockets. The whole trip’s cost was about $1550 total. And we both had a great time.
     
  9. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    4th Trip

    In September I received a check from a customer that had closed, money I had figured I would never see.
    My 50th birthday was in November 2011 thanksgiving week. My wife wasn’t 100% onboard with being gone for thanksgiving, but a trip to Vegas was all she needed to hear.

    A friend had a bad experience with Southwest airlines, so I hadn’t really priced them much before. But this time they had the best flight times, non stop both ways, and the lowest rates. We had to get up at 3am to drive to Pittsburgh, that may sound early but its my wife normal wake up time when she has OT. We arrived in Vegas at about 9:30am on Saturday, and left the next Saturday at about 4pm. Both flights went just fine, we were about the last people boarding the return flight, that were able to sit together. So from now on, I will pay for the early boarding.

    I got a cheap rate from Advantage rent a car, through rentalcars.com, but there was a line when we arrived and big time up sell on insurance and pre-paid fuel. Then the car stunk, like industrial cleaner and puke. So we brought it right back, they did swap cars but it wasted time. So from now on I will use a different company.

    First stop was In-N-Out burger, then across the street to Palace Station, if I remember right we didn’t win and only stayed a few hours.
    Neither of us mind changing hotels, we both think it feels like your starting a new vacation each time. Last trip was all at the Fitz, so this time we moved around a lot. We stayed seven nights, over thanksgiving week so price was a consideration.

    The best prices for Saturday, Thanksgiving and black Friday were downtown. The Fitz and Four Queens were about the same, and as we liked Four Queens better, we stayed there the first two nights. Monday at the Silverton, Tuesday at the Tropicana, and Wednesday at Texas Station then back to the Queens for the last two nights. It may sound like a lot of moving around, but we both thought this ended up being the best trip we had.

    After checking in at the Queens, we played slots and VP there for awhile then went across to the Fitz where my wife won on a wheel of fortune, almost $500 I think.
    I had started drinking Beam & Cokes at the Queens, So by late afternoon we were both ready to crash. After a nap and shower, We both needed to eat.
    So we went down to Magnolias and I had the prime rib. I had it there twice before and it was great, but not this time. Mostly fat and the meat had a slimy greasy taste. They must have known it wasn’t good, because the waiter grabbed my plate before I could really complain. And brought me out a good one right away.

    The rest of that night and Sunday we stayed on Fremont, If I remember right we did ok and held onto our winnings.

    Monday morning we planned on checking out early, then going to the dam before checking into the Silverton. We were up early and had breakfast at the Queens, then decided to play a bit before checking out. I went on a penny wheel of fortune, and my wife played money storm? (I think it was) We both were getting constant small hits, By about 10:30 the wins had stopped, but we were up maybe $600 between us.

    We cashed our tickets out, and as I was putting the money in my wallet I found a $10 tito from the night before. There were people already using the tito machine, so my wife ran to the restroom while I waited. I decided the hell with it, and walked over to a quarter machine. Figured I would just blast through it and we could leave. Ended up winning $100 the first spin, by the time my wife convinced me to cash out. (she told me repeatedly we have to check out by 11) And I couldn’t talk her into going up and getting our bags, I cashed out almost $500 After checking out we went back to that machine and promptly lost $20 so we left.


    The plan was to go to the dam early, but by the time we got there, A couple hundred people were waiting to take the tour. So we walked across and around the dam, then got the car and drove over it, then went to the viewing area for the bridge. It was HOT so we didn’t last long and headed for the Silverton.

    The room at Silverton was nice, very clean, comfortable bed, and a very nice view of the interstate. It also had very cheap mini bar and in room snack prices. We then went to get players cards, This is where the clerk hooked me up, because his sons birthday was the same day as mine. I got $25 free play, $40 food voucher, and a sticker for $5 buffets on Mondays(over 50) I think my wife got $10 free play, and went back after getting 50 points, and got a free buffet.

    We played till almost 8pm, before the buffet line was small enough that I would stand in it. As I said before, I never liked buffet’s and my wife loves them. But this was really good. After eating we were both wiped out, and only played a bit before calling it a night.

    Tuesday morning we played slots a bit, then walked thru bass pro shops. After that I was watching a BJ table, (I had wanted to play before but didn’t know enough about it) the three guys playing said they would help me learn the basics. I bought in for $30, and played for a few hours. At which point my wife was making me nuts, with the we have to check out BS After every hand. I walked away up about $40

    We put our luggage in the car, checked out, and I went back to the BJ table. I played up and down for an hour or so, before cashing out $50 at the cage. Up $20 after about 4-5 hours of playing.
    First time playing BJ, first time cashing out chips at a cage, it may have only been $20 up, but I was stoked. Is this the first step into degeneracy?

    We then went to In-N-Out burger for lunch, then over to the Clark County Museum. Only a few bucks to get in and it’s a really cool place, well worth the time if you have a car.

    Then over to the Trop for one night, very nice room Ok south view. But all we did was feed the machines, so we walked around a bit and then had dinner at the Luxor. We ended up in bed pretty early, so we were up and back on the slots pretty early. But again not winning, so we checked out and went to Boulder Station for breakfast, and a little slot play.

    Then we headed out to Valley of Fire, a lot of driving but very nice. Then over to Texas Station.

    Ok room with a view of a brick wall, but again it was cheap. My wife didn’t like the vibe of the locals as it got into the evening, but I think she did ok on the machines. After playing slots and VP a bit we had dinner, then I started playing BJ, and drinking Beam N Cokes. I played about 4-5 hours and learned that maybe I should play sober till I learn the game a little more.(lost a couple hundred) In the morning we had breakfast played a little and headed back to the Queens.

    I can’t remember what time it was, but it was maybe noon and we were checked right in. We hadn’t went to the Plaza earlier in the trip so we headed down there. When we got players cards, my wife won entry into a slot tourney at 8pm so she was happy, we played there a bit and then went over to the Vegas club. Even thou this was our forth trip we had never went in. It stunk like sewage so we left pretty quick.

    After dinner and some slots and VP at the Queens, we headed back to the Plaza. And my wife got 3rd place in the tourney. (I don’t remember what she won) After playing slots a while we went into the Swingers club, they had dueling pianos. Really good free show, but we both got blasted. For some reason the cheap Pabst draft and American Honey on the rocks went down to easy. I think my wife started on Miller lite then had Captain N Coke I don’t remember what time we left, but we went straight to our room.

    The next day was Thanksgiving, we played at Queens and the Fitz. Then headed to the Silverton to use the food voucher for the buffet, but the line was huge all afternoon, so we decided to eat at Sundance Grill (I think that’s the name) It was very good, the NY strip was way better than turkey would have been. I wanted to play some more BJ but the place was packed and the table full every time I looked.

    We then headed back downtown and stayed there thru Saturday, mostly just grinding our money away. It was pretty busy because of the holiday, and they had a 80’s band that my wife liked, but mostly just eating, drinking and gambling. I looked at a few BJ tables, but none appealed to me.

    Saturday after checking out, we headed back to the Silverton. I figured this would be a perfect place to spend the last afternoon, with easy access to the rental car drop off. I got right on the BJ table it was up and down at first. But after an hour or so I started winning, and hitting the side bet (sucker bet?) almost every time. After listening to my wife whine about getting to the airport, for quite awhile, I cashed out $510 at the cage. And found my new favorite pastime in Vegas

    I never figured out the total cost of this trip, but it was the forth time in Vegas. We came home with about half the cash we left with, and never hit an ATM

    I maybe was a little to long winded here LOL
     
  10. LaRae

    LaRae Low-Roller

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    Trip reports are never too long for me. Great job. When is the 5th trip planned for?
     
  11. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    The 5th trip was this May, I just have to write it up. :beer:
     
  12. LVHooked

    LVHooked High-Roller

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    5th Trip - May 2012

    After watching prices go up, every time I looked. I decided to just bite the bullet. The best nonstop price I could find was SWA at about $450 x 2 Leaving Pittsburgh on a Friday about 5pm, and returning at about 9am the next Saturday. (included A boarding)

    We got an Enterprise rental car for about $165, very fast and easy pick up. After a quick stop at In-N-Out so my wife could get her fix. We headed to the D-Fitz, my wife had received a bogo offer, with some free play,match play and food coupons. We stayed four nights, for about $80 total. They put us in a corner Jacuzzi suite. The room was ok for the price, but the carpet was as bad as the one from our last stay here.

    After getting settled in the room, we headed down stairs. after playing a bit my wife realized a Elvis impersonator was playing outside. It turned out there was an Elvis contest that week, so we spent most of Friday and Saturday nights watching that. She’s a big fan and loved it.

    I had found this message board while researching for this trip, on here I found the FSE bogo buffet coupon’s for MSS and Fremont. We had never bothered going to MSS or the Cal on any of the earlier trips, so Saturday morning we headed to MSS for the breakfast buffet. It was good, but better then that was, we both won on slots. Only a few hundred, but we played for 2-3 hours. We then went to the Cal And gave some back, but still liked the place.

    One of the coupons they gave us was a bogo burger @ the D. We had burgers the night before, and I didn’t really went them again but my wife is a burger nut, so we had them Saturday night. I was surprised how good they were.

    Sunday after some slots, we went to the Mob Museum. Maybe a little pricey, but we both liked it. We played a little more and decided to get an early dinner at MSS buffet, using another bogo coupon. We got there at about 3:30, the buffet was closed till 4 so we played a bit, and I cashed out about $150 on a quarter VP, at this point I was really starting to like MSS. The dinner buffet was even better then the breakfast.

    Down stairs at The D, is just to loud at night for us. So we played slots at a few different casinos, with me just losing slow, but my wife did ok at Fremont and Queens. We ended the night upstairs at the D, me winning $40-50 at the Vue bar, and my wife playing slots.

    Monday morning we went to MGM, to donate to the Lions share. (wonder where I heard about that mach.) My $50 went pretty fast, small hits and one $30 hit. But my wife played for a long time. We then went over to the Trop where I cashed out a wheel of fortune for $400 After that we headed to Ellis Island and we both won on our free play, after a few hours play we left up maybe $150 I wanted to try the chic/ribs special but that didn’t start till 4 or 5 so we headed back downtown.

    Tuesday morning we tried Fremont’s breakfast buffet with the FSE bogo coupon, it was terrible. We had planned to come back downtown to use the other bogo for dinner later in the week, but after that I decided to skip it. We still had the match play coupon from check in, I hadn’t played BJ yet so I got on a $5 table, after playing a hour or so, my wife started the we have to check out BS again. I realized I must play better with her whining, because I cashed out about $180 on a $30 buy in.

    We then headed to Sam’s Town for one night, figured we would check it out and stay longer on another trip if we liked it. Quick check in, very nice room and a nice casino. But neither of us could win.

    Wednesday we checked out with out even playing. Then went over to Boulder Station for breakfast, and played there a bit still losing. So we drove out to Lake Mead for some sight seeing before heading to Sunset Station. Again a very nice place but we still couldn’t win. So we headed to the Silverton for our last three nights.

    The room was nice and very clean, my wife had received a mailer with free or discounted nights, depending on dates. But the shower in this room sounded like a jet engine. I only sleep about four hours, so other guests may not have liked my 5am showers every morning.
    I played BJ till dinner and was up a little, but ended up losing a few hundred later. But I drank a lot and had fun. I don’t think my wife won on slots either.

    On Thursday we realized they had a special where every day you earned 50 pts?, you could win various prizes. I won $10 slot play on Thursday, and a buffet voucher on Friday. On Thursday my wife won a party blender, they wouldn’t let her swap with something else, so I had to carry it home. TSA really checked it out good. I wanted to give it to the maid, but my wife really wanted it, so what could I do. On Friday she won slot play, but I can’t remember how much.

    I put the free play in a 5 reel bonus machine, and played for about 3 hours. My goal was to get it to $100 and cash out, or play till it was gone. Never got the hundred. But did get enough pts to get gold players status.

    After that my wife wanted In-N-Out for lunch, third time for hamburgers this trip. A little much for me, but my wife loves them.

    Then it was time to do something I had never done in Vegas, hit an ATM. I had checked with my bank and there isn’t a charge at 7/11 stores, luckily their everywhere. We were still well within our budget, but after four trips without needing to get more cash, I was slightly bummed.

    We then headed to Harrah’s to catch Big Elvis, maybe not as nice a vibe, as at Bills but still a good show and my wife liked it. We stayed and played a bit, but only lost, so we headed over to the Trop. But couldn’t win there either. So we headed back to Silverton’s and had dinner at their café. Then another night of BJ and bourbon, Not a lucky combination for me, and my wife lost a bunch also.

    Friday we played slots and VP then went to the outlet mall and got presents for the grandkids, then hit the 7/11 ATM again ugh, but did fill the car up, so at least that was done. I figured I would give the BJ a break and played more VP where I did ok, cashing out about $80 on a $20 after a few hours play. My wife did great thou, she played before and after dinner on the first $5 she put in a machine. Ending the night up about $300

    We had the buffet after I got off the VP machine, then I went back to BJ but I stayed sober. Ending the night at about midnight, up just over a hundred. We had a 9am flight out so it was an early wake up, but we both slept almost the whole flight home.

    The whole trip cost just under $2600 but with nine hundred dollar airfare, and staying eight nights, we stayed well under what we budgeted. Were hoping for a fall trip, but our daughter is getting married in august so that may not happen.
     
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