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2/27-3/2 Caesars Palace Gambling, Golf, and No Sleep

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by DirtyFrank, Mar 5, 2014.

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  1. DirtyFrank

    DirtyFrank Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2010
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Chicago
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    14

    My Trip Report

    This trip started to develop around late January when my dad and myself were sitting at his dining room table talking about golf. We live in Chicago. An area having the worst winter that I can remember. So bad that the (stupid) nickname of Chiberia has surfaced and is even used by news outlets. We both had the itch to golf. So my dad blurts out that he has a free trip from CET as he had just achieved 7-Stars status being a degenerate slot player at the local Harrah’s in Joliet. So from there the wheels were in motion.

    My birthday is approaching so he says let’s head out there the weekend before your birthday. We book 2 flights on United to head out on Thursday 2/27 arriving in Vegas around 8PM. He talks to his host and they cover $750 of the flight cost because I guess the 7-Stars doesn’t kick in until April 1st. So we end up having to pay $70 out of pocket to get the flights. No problem. Once we land in Vegas there will be a limo waiting to take us to Caesars where we would stay for 3 nights in a Forum Tower 2 Bedroom Suite. They said we could stay in the Augustus Tower if we wanted to but we wouldn’t get a suite so we opted to stay in Forum. 2 rounds of golf at Rio Secco were also included. Really nice little birthday gift for me if I do say so.

    So now I am pumped and I only have to wait about a month until the trip. So I start saturating my brain with Vegas everything. I DVR anything I can find about Vegas. I watch the Hangover multiple times. Vegas Vacation, Ocean’s Eleven, and even the Incredible Burt Wonderstone get views. Vegas Strip marathons are watched on Tuesday nights. And of course I make a return to the Vegas Message Board to read every bit of Vegas info I can.

    My wife and I had our first child about 2.5 years ago and I haven’t been to Vegas since. I couldn’t wait for the day.

    I was able to scratch together right around $3000 to take on the trip which is right around the most I have ever brought. I bounce around to a bunch of games and this trip I played VP, slots, BJ, 3CP, Roulette, and poker. And so we begin.

    Day 1 2/27:

    Up at my usual 4:30am to get bundled up like Randy from A Christmas Story so I can walk the dog. Had to work all day with a flight at 5:55PM out of O’Hare. Tried to take a nap at the office to keep the battery charged but I was too amped. Have a co-worker drop me off at the airport around 3:15 and head over to Berghoff for a couple of Bell’s Two Hearted Ales. Always a great beer. Dad arrived and we go on the plane. Slightly delayed but we ended up landing only about 10-15 minutes late. Dad had about 4 Dewars on the plane and was feeling good. I had 4 Jack and Cokes but I am a much more experienced drinker and am fine. We had some good conversation and as we’re getting off the plane dad declares this the best trip ever, already.

    Exit the plane at McCarran and our limo driver is waiting. Grab the clubs from the carousel and we’re off to CP.
    Check in at the Diamond area and we’re the only one’s in there. After a few clicks we are given keys to room 6411-13. Get to the room and the suite part is nice. The 2nd bedroom is actually just an adjoining double queen room, but it is nice and I get that room to myself while the old man takes the suite. We waited for about 10 minutes until the bags arrived, tipped the bell hope a $20 and we’re off to the casino.

    We walk around a little trying to figure out what to play first and there is a relatively empty roulette table so I stop and buy in for $200 in nickels. First spin I hit 21 with $5 on it and hit a couple of others and am up $350 in short order. Decide to cash out and head to the bar to play VP and get some drinks.

    Throw a $100 into the VP machine and get some Sierra Nevada’s. Then I bet dad $5 that I will get a 4oak before he does and two hands later I win the bet with 4 jacks. Ended up hitting 3 more 4oaks and cashed out +$200 and am now up $550 for the trip and we’ve only been there for about an hour.

    After that we decided to walk across the blvd and head to Harrah’s through the Quad so I could check it out. While walking through the Quad we spot an empty $25 BJ table and sit down. I buy in for $300 and dad buys in for $200. About 5 hands later we are both felted. A kick to the nuts would have been less painful. That was quick. But I’m still up so we’re good. Get up and head over to Harrah’s.
    At Harrah’s I Bought in for $200 at Roulette. Got some decent hits, but ended up getting aggressive with my betting and lost the buy-in. I’m now only up $50 and I’m letting it bother me. The old man suggests we head back to Caesars since we were winning there and I agree. It’s starting to get a little late (2-3am) and we have golf scheduled for 10:40 in the morning so Dad calls it quits for the night and I tell him I’ll be up in an hour or so.

    I sit down at a $25 BJ table and buy in for $300. I’m sitting there with a guy from Cleveland and a Canadian guy that has a great accent, ya know? Both great guys and the table has a great vibe. The Canadian is playing 3 spots and Cleveland is at first base and I’m at 3rd. We go on a great run and I turn my $300 into $1800 but ended up giving about $600 back on a bad run after the Canuck left. Still a nice $900 win. I color up and decide to head to the room. However, on my way up I bumped into the Blazing 7’s $1 machines that I have had decent luck on in the past.

    I sit down at a machine and put in $100, play for a while, hit for $300 but cycle it back in and lose my buy in. It’s about 5am and I need to get up to golf in a couple of hours so good judgment says quit and go to bed. Well, I don’t have good judgment ( or do I?) So I put in another $100. Cycle it down to $10 when it hits. Blazing 7, Blazing 7, Blazing 7 for the $1001 progressive. My first hand pay ever and no W2G needed.

    I decide to go up to the room but I am too jacked up after that win so I just jump in the shower, get dressed for golf, and head right back down. I am up somewhere around $1800 at this point. So of course I go right back to the Blazing 7’s and quickly pump $500 in without winning anything. Move over to the $5 slots and lose another $200 playing 1 coin at a time. Profit is down to $1100, but it is a profit so I am feeling good.

    Day 2 2/28:

    Dad meets me downstairs so we could go eat breakfast at the buffet before golf. He’s skeptical that I will make it through the round without a wink of sleep but I assure him I feel fine (I felt like shit). After breakfast we go to the Hertz counter located in Caesars to pick up our car. I think he paid somewhere around $150 for 2 days in a brand new Toyota Camry. I take a 15 minute nap on the drive over to Rio Secco and I actually feel refreshed.

    So leading up to our trip we were both checking the weather on a regular basis. For the last 84 days there has not been measurable rainfall in Las Vegas. Well, guess what was in the forecast for both days we are golfing. F-ing rain. We decide even 60 and rain is better than 1 degree and snow so we are golfing no matter what. Get to Rio Secco early and they let us go out right away and don’t pair us with anyone. The rain stayed away for the most part, but we did get rained on a for a couple of holes. That is until we were teeing off on 18 and it really started coming down. So we decided to skip the 18th (my drive was in someone’s back yard anyway) and head in.

    I played terribly and was feeling the effects of being up since 4:30am central time on Thursday and it’s now 6pm central time on Friday. We get back to Caesars and valet the car and leave the clubs in the trunk for tomorrow’s round. Finally get to the room and take a nap.
    I was only able to sleep for about 1.5 hours, but after a shower and listening to some music my battery was recharged and I was ready for another fun night of degenerate gambling.

    First thing on the agenda for the evening is dinner at the Old Homestead Steakhouse. We are seated and I order a 90-Minute IPA which is always delicious and dad gets a $22 glass of Cabernet. We don’t order appetizers, but the Asiago bacon bread they put on the table was awesome. Dad orders the 12oz Angus Filet Mignon rare and I ordered the $100 American Wagyu 10oz filet (mid rare) with a side of truffle butter (hey, it’s on the house so why not). We also got a side of sautéed asparagus and the duck fat fries. Both our meals were good and dad ordered a piece of cheesecake for desert and I opted to skip dessert. I think the bill was around $330 with tip.
    After dinner we head over to the poker room to sign up for the 10pm tournament and then we head into the casino. We get mesmerized by the lovely dealers in the Pussycat Dolls pit so we decide to buy in at one of the BJ tables with probably some of the worst rules for the player I have ever seen. Oh well, the view is nice. I buy in for $500 and dad buys in for $200. I am treading water, but there were opportunities where I could have made money but the rules prevented it so I colored up with a $50 loss. Dad actually won $250 which is a minor miracle considering. I decided to buy in at the roulette table there since the rules are already bad so how could they make them worse. Bought in for $300 in nickels and lost them in a flash. Threw out another $100 for a spin and lost that so now I am only around $600-700 for the trip. Still good.

    Head to the poker room for the tournament. I’ll just summarize here. Played for 5 hours. 40 entrants. I ran hot early and was chip leader for much of the tourney. Ended up going card dead but was able to hang on for a 5th place finish that paid $250. Buy in was $85. It was fun, but I hate that poker takes so long and I was so dehydrated that both my hamstrings were cramping up.
    After poker I decided to go for a walk around the strip to smoke a cigar and do some people watching. I walked across the street and over to the Flamingo. Sat down at a VP machine and lost a quick $100 trying to chase down my first Royal. Put a couple hundred into a Blazing 7’s machine with nothing returned. Now I’m up around $500 for the trip. Re-light the cigar and start walking back towards CP. On my way I have a young lady grab my hand and ask me if I want to dance. I told her I have no rhythm and by that I meant I am not interested in being “hooked” by you, but thanks.

    Walk into Caesars and decide to play a little roulette and drop a quick $200. Golf is scheduled for 10:30 and we’re having breakfast at 9 so I decide this is the point to finally call it a night at 6:30am up $300 for the trip.

    Day 3 3/1:

    Wake up after a solid 1.5 hours of sleep. Take a shower and get dressed for golf. I actually feel pretty good. Meet dad in the casino and we go to the buffet for breakfast but today it’s the champagne breakfast and is much more expensive. Even though we don’t have to pay for it (or should I say dad paid for it at Harrah’s Joliet) we decide that we would rather just hit up a McDonald’s on the way to the course.

    Get to Rio Secco and they let us out right away again. Today the weather is much nicer (62 and mostly sunny) so the golf was enjoyable. Played like crap, but it was fun and just being in the sun after going through this BS Chicago winter made it spectacular. Had a couple of Fat Tires on the course as well.

    Go back to Caesars and returned the car and trekked through the casino with my golf bag on my back and dropped it off in the room. Dad was exhausted from the golf so he decided to take a nap. I refused since this was the last night. I just jumped into the shower and got spruced up for the night and headed to the casino.

    Decided to take only the $300 I was up down to the casino with me. I went to the $5 slot room and got a few Sierra Nevada’s but I lost my $300 after an hour and I had to head back to the room to open the safe. Now I’m even for the first time since we arrived.
    Went back down to the casino and played at the $1 blazing 7’s until dad was ready. We walked over to Harrah’s where we had reservations at Ruth’s Chris for dinner. First we headed up to the Diamond Lounge to watch the Hawks destroy the Pens in the Soldier Field outdoor game. After that we went to dinner. We both ordered the filet, rare (the hot plate cooks it to mid rare) with a side of mushrooms, potatoes au gratin, and a bottle of Pinot Noir. Dinner was good and dad said he thought it was better than Old Homestead. I agreed it was delicious but I don’t know if I can go that far. Dinner was $250 with tip.

    Down to the Casino at Harrah’s and I buy in $200 at a BJ table. Lose my ass in about 4 hands. Dealer agrees with me that I should just go. I’m out. Sit down at Rapid Roulette and hit my signature 4 with $20 on it for a nice $700 hit and cash out. I’m now up about $400 so I am feeling good again. Dad meets up with me and I ask if he has ever played 3 card poker. He’s says no but wants to learn so we sit down. We each buy in for $200 and I get some decent hands and win$200 but want to go do other gambling so I color up and leave dad there. I go back to the $1 Blazing 7’s and I lose my ass. I quickly lose $400 trying to chase down that progressive again. Get up and buy in to roulette with $200 and lose it in 2 spins and like that I am back to even.

    Walk over by dad and he is having fun so I leave him be and go over to another Roulette table and buy in for $300 in nickels. Start hitting numbers like crazy $700 23, $875 4, etc so I am flush with cash and start getting crazy. I am betting $250 per spin like a crazed degenerate. After the dust cleared I was up $1100 after that session. Dad texted me that he was down $1100 at 3CP but I could see him from where I was and he wasn’t getting up. I go back to the $1 B-7’s and lose another $300 (stupid). Still up $800 I go check on dad and he got a 4oak on the carny bonus bet and actually won $1000 on the hand and was back in business. I sit down and put out a bet and the first hand I get deal 6-7-8 of spades for a nifty straight flush that paid off $700. Now I am up $1500 and we’re heading back over to Caesars. Quick stop at the B-7 machine I won on before and I drop another $500 and decide up $1000 I am done gambling for the trip. Our flight is at 6:30 and the limo is picking us up at 4:45 so at 3am I head to the room and sleep until 4:15.

    Day 4 3/2:

    Get up at 4:15 and get a shower in. Pack up my crap (shove everything into the golf club travel bag) and we’re ready to go. At this point dad informs me that we were upgraded to First Class for the flight home. Thank you lord! Plane was on time and I watched Gravity on the way. Nice little breakfast and I can really get use to flying first class. Before you know it we are landing at O’Hare and the trip is officially over.

    Great time getting to hang out with the old man and to win a $1000 was the cherry on top. Great little High Roller trip for this low-mid roller. I did end up going from 0 tier credits on my TR to 9571 and Platinum status. I guess those $1 slots pile the points on. As we were parting ways we both said we need to somehow convince our wives that this needs to be an annual trip. We’ll see about that. Hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading!
     
  2. NYPoker

    NYPoker Tourist

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    Great trip report! I don't know how you golf in Vegas. I'm an avid golfer but I know with all the partying that golf for me would be impossible.

    This is exactly how I feel when I go with my dad!
     
  3. dbueler

    dbueler High-Roller

    Joined:
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  4. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Wonderful that you and your Dad are able to travel to Vegas together. Memories to last a lifetime!
    What did you think of the Homestead? I think the food is wonderful, but the atmosphere is zero.....they really need to relocate it to a quiet corner somewhere. For the prices, it should have more atmosphere.
     
  5. guapoxxx

    guapoxxx High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Excellent TR and congrats on a winning trip! :beer:

    PS. Was Rio Secco in good shape (fairways, greens, etc.)?

    Charlie
     
    Annual Golf Trip
  6. DirtyFrank

    DirtyFrank Tourist

    Joined:
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    Here are a couple of shots I took on the course. It was in very good shape.
     

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  7. guapoxxx

    guapoxxx High-Roller

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    Very nice and thanks for sharing!

    Charlie
     
    Annual Golf Trip
  8. DirtyFrank

    DirtyFrank Tourist

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    Here are a few other pictures I took. Definitely didn't take as many photos as I would have liked.
     

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  9. captainron62

    captainron62 VIP Whale

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    Same here! I play a ton at home, have never in LV. I just don't think I could fit it in and enjoy a round. My mind would be on too many other things.
     
  10. DirtyFrank

    DirtyFrank Tourist

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    I think if I was out there in the Spring and the weather at home didn't suck so bad it would be a different story, but I was looking forward to having the sun touch my skin again.
     
  11. captainron62

    captainron62 VIP Whale

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    I know the feeling We live in Ohio. We have gone to LV twice this winter and going to Jamaica on the 23rd. This winter has just about done us in. I am trying to convince the kids to move to a warmer climate.
     
  12. suthrnoutlw

    suthrnoutlw Low-Roller

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    very much enjoyed your trip report! sounds like a great time!
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2014
  13. weluvvegas

    weluvvegas Casino Countess

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    Sounds like you had the Midas touch! Congrats!
     
  14. ex507

    ex507 Low-Roller

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    Sounds like a nice trip! Great report. That shows one more time that it is important with who you are with. You and your dad probably come along very well and you seem to be pretty laid back... I like that!
     
  15. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

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    I had two father/son trips to Las Vegas in the last 3 years and have enjoyed them both. After our trip last November we decided we are going to try and make it an annual trip. Sounds like you had a great trip with your dad.
    Mark
     
  16. Spivderman

    Spivderman Macallan 17, please!

    Joined:
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    Roulette hits

    There is no better feeling in a casino than when "your" number hits in roulette. Watching that little white ball fall into the slot is awesome. You must have been spreading some serious reds and greens around during your play.
     
  17. BrandonC

    BrandonC Tourist

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    Nice report, great to come home with some of the house's money. Playing golf when we get out there Wednesday before March Madness games start up. Might try to get a round in later in the week but figured it would be best to get at least one round out of the way early before the real debauchery begins. Not sure about the conditions at Angel Park Mountain this time of year but they had an all-in package with green fees, rental clubs, balls and free replays for $70, so hopefully it's an OK track.

    Appreciate you taking the time to write this up, helps the next few weeks pass by a little quicker.
     
  18. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Great stuff!!! You really crammed in a lot of things in a few days!

    As for your Tier Score, you also certainly earned some "Tier Bonuses" while you were there. If you earn 1000 TC during a day, you get an extra 1000 TC. Earn 2500 TC you get an extra 5000 TC! It's possible you snuck a 2500 TC day in there and didn't know it! Either that or you spread your play out pretty evenly over 3 days and got 1000 TC bonus each day.

    Playing Blazing 7s at 600 Spins an hour earns 360 TC/hour as a measuring stick for slots. Table games is a big mystery formula.

    Regardless, you should be getting some offers yourself now!

    And oh yeah, I noticed you like craft beer stuff too. If you get back to the Quad on a future trip, know that they comp Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA!!! Even O'Shea's has Lagunitas IPA!! :beer: :drunk:
     
  19. greekjim

    greekjim King Gyro

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    I wasn't planning on going to Vegas for march madness but it is so cold here in kenosha, Wisconsin I have to go and booked my plane ticket the other day.
    It is just to cold here, great trip report.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2014
  20. DirtyFrank

    DirtyFrank Tourist

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    Tringlomane,

    I think I did get some bonuses. From what I can tell it looks a like a 1000 point bonus and a 5000 bonus. So not as much of a degenerate as I thought.
     
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