Sandybeachbar does Vegas in 15 Days in 5 Hotels making DIAD and 6 hand pays

Will not do a complete TR here, did a very long one on another board and accidentally erased it after it went up. . So will only hit some of the highlights.

I am a female min y late 50s. I went to spend 1 week with a very long time good friend who I have brought 3-4 times in as many years. J loves the nicer hotels, hanging out at the pools, going to shows that I get comped and she doesn’t like gambling. She is a good balance for me, as I spend tome doing these things with her and also get a fair share of gambling as she wanders the hotels and shops. After J left, I had 2 days by myself then, K ,a friend I had made when I went to live in another province for a year,12 years ago. Was going to meet me. We re-met each other on a plane coming home from Vegas last August and we decided then,that we would meet up next visit. This was the time!

Hotels:

Stayed 3 nights at the Wynn, 3 nights at the Palazzo, 4 nights at the Paris ,2 nights at Red Rock and 3 at the Tropicana

Have stayed at Wynn and Palazzo every trip for the last 4 or 5 years. Love them both. Also stay at CET hotels every trip. Have stayed many times at Paris and CP. This time chose Paris.

New this trip was staying at Red Rock. Loved it! Very different atmosphere then on the strip. (especially on the Friday and Saturday we stayed) There was a big promo going on while we were there but it still didn’t feel that crowded. We rented a car but they do have a shuttle from the airport to the hotel as one to the Fashion Show Mall. Rooms are lovely and they have loads of my favourite game (video keno)

The Tropicana was a hotel I stayed at in the 70s, when I was in my teens. I remember thinking what a grand and opulent place it was. Nothing triggered my memory other than the pool. I quite liked the large rooms and the ease of getting around the casino.

Shows:

Saw two shows this trip. Both of them came courteous of myvegas. The first one was kA. Was not keen on this one at all. It is based on martial arts. Neither my friend nor myself were impressed. The second was Zarkana .We both loved that one. It was a fun show!


Meals;

Ate at the pool at Wynn and Palazzo. Always good! Had room service at all hotels except Red Rock. Great as usual at Wynn and Palazzo . Not so good at Paris, and cold bacon and eggs at Tropicana. Yuck!

2 Wynn buffets came with my offer . I had line passes and still had a 20 minute wait ,due to a mass give-away to the LV locals .I do not normally like buffets too much but with the add on 16.99 mimosa, champagne, wine and beer it worked well

Firefly- took a taxi over to this restaurant after kA. It is just over on Paradise . We had some really good drinks and wonderful appys

Postrio (Venetian) Have eaten here several times before and quite enjoyed it. This time it was not as good. Will probably not return as there are so many other wonderful places to enjoy here.

Grand Lux- (Palazzo) Always a great choice

SW- My friend J treated me to a lovely dinner here. It was wonderful! We sat on the edge of the lake and watched all the shows. The meal and the service were top notch!


Julian Serrano Had reservations after Zarkana at the Aria. Another appetiser meal with good drinks and good wine.

Binions Steakhouse Taxied down to Fremont on a Sunday night. Loved the ambience,the staff and the meal. Not so much Fremont St. Crowded and noisy. Ate and taxied on back to the strip.

Mon Ami Gabi- Sat on the patio very late on evening .Loved watching the fountains while enjoying a nice dinner and good bottle of wine.


Giadas- I had a gift cert from CET as part of my offer. We were very excited to try this restaurant. I had reservations for Monday night. Ordered drinks and started to feel ill. Spoke with a manager who was kind enough to change reservations ‘til Wed. Returned Wednesday and ha a fantastic meal…of appetisers drinks and wine. They have a huge selection on the first page and we never got to the seconds, mains or dessert. It was all simply amazing. Did not have one dish we didn’t love.. We were in a food coma by the time we left. Two of us managed to spend 264.00 +tip. I will definitely be back.

Battista's Hole in the Wall- The evening I was not well, J really had her heart set on Italian Food. We literally fell in to this place on our way back from the Cromwell on the cancelled Giada's night. It was as expected. Free wine and spaghetti and meatballs. Will not return.



T-Bones Chophouse- We had another wonderful meal here at Red Rock. K, my travel partner thought it was the best meal she had this trip.

Yardhouse (Red Rock) We ate on the patio, here one evening. It was nothing special IMO.

Market Grill (on Lake Mead Blvd) My friend loves Greek food and had found this place and wanted to give it a try. Neither of us thought much of it at all. She had wanted to try it in the evening. We were very glad we just dropped in for lunch.

The Beach House (Tropicana) we ate here twice as we did not feel like leaving the hotel and our first choice , Biscayne’s was closed for renovations during our visit. It was good old- fashioned Las Vegas Coffee Shop food. Loved the chicken fried steak so much the first time, had it the second.

Tender (Luxor) I had a myvegas comp for this place. I had dined here last year on a comp , and really liked it. This time the steak was just not as good. Service however was excellent.

Getting around

I was having an issue getting around easily this trip, so I relied on cabs to get around. Had no problems or long hauls with any of them, even when I was just going next door (Wynn to Palazzo ) Probably took 18-20 of them over the 15 days. Some very interesting conversations!

We rented a car from Friday ‘til Sunday. To take us out to Red Rock Hotel and Casino we did no price checking before hand nor pre-booked . We were very happy with the Enterprise staff who was very friendly and helpful. With no added insurance, two days came to 80.00 .

Gambling:




My game of choice is video keno . I prefer the 20 card game but it is getting harder to find on the strip, so I played 4 card almost exclusively . I understand it is not a game for most, but I have been playing it for about 6 years and have been very lucky at it, so far!. This trip I had 5 hand pays on the game .Two were over 4000.00 .

I did try out a lot of new games . I had a hand pay for 2725.00 on a 5cent Willy Wonka slot where all the wilds came down . Also tried the Raging Rhino which Daventop had suggested.. Got over 400.00 twice on that. Also played the Lucky 8s slot, got over 900.00 twice.

I made DIAD at Paris ,playing from around 11 am ‘til 2:15. Had a lot of play on everything from pennies to 10.00 machines I the high limit room. Exciting to me and I grabbed my Diamond card and first stop was the Diamond lounge. (great strong drinks)

The only trouble w1th the wins were they came in the first 8 days of my 15-day trip. I overstayed my welcome! I have heard over and over the house always wins if you play too long,, and I certainly did that. If I had have gone home on the Sunday like I had planned ,I would have gone home with a lot of my wins intact. . But ,hindsight is 20/20 and I did not do that. What I did do, was come home with over 1200.00 and 6 pieces of paper that will allow me to get back the value of them all. 30% of all wins over 1199.00 .I actually can not collect that until I file USA taxes in January.

I really want to head back to Vegas tomorrow but will try and be good and put the money to good use in having it go to a very cause: a new roof for my rental house.


I had a great time, and as always tried a few new things. It hopefully will not be too long before I get back to a place I love and call my My Happy Place.

 

Thanks for sharin' the trip... really impressed with your varied food establishments! We have a lady in our office who stated staying at Red Rock a few visits ago and she too LOVED it.

 

Thanks for your great trip report, I really enjoyed reading it! It's funny, I thought the exact opposite of your Cirque shows - I loved KA (that stage was amazing) and really didn't like Zarkana!! To each, their own

I was really happy to see you liked T-Bones @ Red Rock - they recently joined in on the MyVegas rewards and we were interested in trying them out.
Thank you for taking the time to post!

- Linda in TX

 

Wow...that was a long trip!
Thanks for sharing....

 

Smartone - 15 days = lots of eating

LindaP - That is funny that you liked the complete opposite of the two shows. Definitely lots of different opinions.
Red Rock Hotel and Casino really is a lovely property. Wish now being on myvegas it will really increase its attention.

Blonde 4 ever- Thank you

 

Good report!

 

Interesting trip report. Loved it.

What is your strategy for keno??

 

Thanks Tringlomane and Chonglosaxon My very well thought out strategy; pick a set of numbers, anywhere from 6-8 of them and play until you 1. Win 2.Lose all your money 3. Have to be somewhere else.4.Fall asleep. That's it !:evillaugh

 

I hated Ka; hubby and I went with another couple and none of us liked it. Too bad Biscayne was closed; I've always had excellent meals there. I really like the turke dinner at The Beach Cafe. Congrats on all the hand pays! Do you already have an ITIN number to apply for refund on the withheld tax? I'm hoping to do a long stay in 2015; til now 8 days has been my longest stay. Love your keno strategy lol

 

Great TR....my choice is also video keno...I love 4 card and triple trouble keno...glad to hear about Giada' s. I have reservations in November.....

 

Thanks Breanna- Glad I am not alone in my feeling on KA.
Don't you stay at Tropicana often? I see you are staying at Palm next time.
Yes.I have an ITIN number. Have had it for about 6 or7 years now I think. So easy to file the US taxes.
My friend had the turkey dinner at the Beach Café. She said it was very tasty.
How long are you planning next year. I loved my 15 night trip.Maybe even longer next year.

 

Where on the strip were you able to find 20 card Keno? And what are the betting levels like?

 

Stingerhook: I only found it at the Wynn on the strip. That said, I did not check any mlife resorts ,TI or Cosmopolitan.

 

What an amazing trip, good for you!!!!
I have put my fair share of coin through in Vegas and have only managed one hand pay.....you know how to pick them!!! Awesome!!!!

 

Thanks Vegaschic It is just plain and simple luck!

 

I stay at Tropicana a couple of nights once or twice a year, though we did stay 5 nights in July for my husband's 50th in a new poolside suite. I have a great host there that treats us very well. Typically I split most stays between Palms and Cosmopolitan. I'm double booked with 2 nights at Cosmo in October. The friends I'm travelling with are booked for 4 nights at Palms so I may cancel the Cosmo comp. i'm hoping to do 10-14 night trip in 2015.

 

Nice report, thanks for taking the time to share it.

We didn't care for Ka either.

 

Thank Ty

Looking over papers , I have had my ITIN for closer to 20 years. I said 6 or 7. Where did that time go?

 

Have never stayed at Palms. Close as I have gotten to their door was reservations last month at N9ne which I cancelled to go to Giada's. One day! Those poolside suites at the Trop look great. Perfect place for summer visits.

 

Enjoyed reading your trip report, we like a lot of the same restaurants. Congrats on making diamond!