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Quick Weekend Downtown Las Vegas 9/21-9/26

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Blatz, Jan 22, 2015.

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  1. Blatz

    Blatz Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    My Trip Report

    What started as a quick trip down to Las Vegas to meet up with some friends turned into a flight on Wednesday afternoon, flying back on Monday morning. Changed the flight prior to checking hotel rates, and conference attendees for the design show have driven up the room rates. Staying Wednesday night at the Four Queens, then moving over to the Plaza for the remainder of the stay. Planning on some light gambling, light drinking and light lounging. We were gifted passes for the AVN Expo and Awards show. We plan on checking out the expo for shits and giggles at least one day, and possibly the awards show if we’re bored. Consider this the Muzak of trip reports. I plan on doing a lot of extreme laziness this trip, as a break from work was required. I’m going to try and post daily updates to keep the work of doing a trip report to a minimum.

    Wednesday 9/21

    Flew out WN from AUS, easy flight, on time. Walked out ground zero and caught the WAX downtown during rush hour. Bus kept schedule on the nose, and the walk to the Four Queens from the stop on 4th and Carson was an easy 3 block walk. At 5:30PM Check in was dead, which I thought was weird considering rack rate on all Fremont properties were 100+/night on a Wednesday. Quick and easy check in, and received non-smoking room as requested. Ended up on 5th floor in the north tower. Room was clean, and faced FSE. Noise was apparent, but not as bad as I would have thought. The people watching from the room was solid, and the room sad just off the receiving platform for the zip line. For me the Four Queens was fine for a night, although I probably wouldn’t stay again unless I received offers. Over the course of the evening/morning I found the staff to be a little cold(Cage, cocktail waitresses, players club), the drink service a little slow or non-existent(with the exception of bar tops, bartenders were great). The cigarette smoke game was proper, and the place reeked of old lady perfume and stale cigarette smoke. Doesn’t really bother me, It reminds me of the old Gold Spike.

    IMAG0356.jpg

    Mostly played quarter BP, on the floor and bartops. No big hands to report. Hit one non-premium 4oak, and got about 4 hours of play on $500.00, but donated everything to the property. I also screwed around on bubble craps a bit, and played a few hands of $5 blackjack to kill time. Bars have Deschutes IPA on tap, which I consider a decent selection.

    Did a little walking after the session, but it’s cold out there. Not my favorite time to visit with the temperature swings. even the highs in the 60’s is a bit chilly for me. I’m more of a short and t-shirt fella.

    Ended the evening with a Gyro from Coney at the D. Good as usual.


    Thursday 9/22

    Got up at 4:30 to the sounds of Vegas Nature. Nice domestic yelling match on FSE. This would have pissed me off at home, but it’s a great alarm clock in Vegas. Went downstairs and had two 50 dollar cups of coffee, and headed over to D grill for the Crab Cake Benedict which was awesome as usual. Played a little VP upstairs at The D, and took a morning walk down FSE, which brings us to now. I plan on getting my shit together to move over to The Plaza. I haven’t stayed there in over 10 years, so I’m looking forward to checking it out. I feel a little weird this trip as I’m not staying at The D, but I’m looking to expand my horizons. I'll post updates during the downtimes, as I'm solo until tomorrow.
     
  2. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

    Joined:
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    LOL
    Love this! I use the line often with beer... "Just waitin' on my $100 beer" (said to a dealer after I color-up).
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  3. TomTWI

    TomTWI Custom Title

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    +1 What Topcard said!

    Usually lose at BJ when I'm getting my morning coffee. Most of the time the coffee sucks to boot. I'll never learn.

    TomTW
     
  4. kingpasty

    kingpasty High-Roller

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    The dates are really confusing me. Do you mean 1/21 to 1/26?
     
  5. FullBoat

    FullBoat VIP Whale

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    I usually wait for my $50 OJ. Good luck.
     
  6. Blatz

    Blatz Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    I obviously don’t know January from September, per the post title, but I am fully aware of what month it is now.

    I’ll try and do a quick summary of the last couple days. I don’t want y’all to get too bored.

    I got to The Plaza around 12:00, and I was informed that if I wanted to check in an hour early I’d be subject to a $30.00 early check in fee...for 60 minutes. Really? I could see if I was trying to check in at 8am, but we’re talking an hour here. Not a big deal, but the front desk clerk was a total dick about it. I checked my bag, and went to play some video poker, proceeded to tie one on. Great drink service on the floor, and obviously at the bar. Before heading up to the room, had a beer and a dog at the biergarten. The Sausage was a great drunk eat, and the outside area is decent for where it is, but the bar inside feels like you’re drinking in a food court at the mall. No ambiance. I’m not sure if that place is going to make it, over the weekend I haven’t seen much action over there. As for the smell everyone talks about, I guess I’m not sensitive to the scent they use. I will tell you that after being in the Four Queens, the Plaza smells like fresh linens blowing in the warm spring breeze on top of a mountain. Well, maybe not that good, but a lot less like a broken toilet filled with cigarette butts and rotten grapefruit.

    This is a dog from the Biergarten.
    IMAG0370.jpg

    Got a room in the south tower, 11th floor. Comfortable King bed, sitting couch, chair, desk. Looks fine, but I hate the bathroom. I’m not picky, but having to step in the tub to close the bathroom door is just ridiculous. Crashed out around 5pm, got up at 9pm. Not too much more to report from the evening, played a little more downstairs and shoved a big mac in my pie hole. Went back to the room and watched TV until I passed out.
    Room View
    IMAG0371.jpg

    Friday the guys got into town, I took the SDX bus up to the strip. Like an idiot, I sat at the Deuce stop for 30 minutes waiting for the SDX before realizing that the stop was actually on the side of Binion’s. Bus took about 30 minutes to get to Bellagio, and then I backtracked over to the flamingo to meet up with my first buddy getting into town. Ducked into The Cromwell to check it out, they did a nice job with the space, but it’s just not my vibe. Lots of street performers and characters on the streets, and pedestrian traffic was bottlenecking like crazy. I must be getting old, In my head I was shaking my fist and telling people to get off my lawn. I just don’t have the patience for the strip, but since my buddy was staying at the Flamingo, I promised to spend some time on that side of town.

    Once we met up at the Flamingo, we decided to head out and find something quick to eat. Walked over to the Quad area, and stopped at a place, I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called...it was just outside the Flamingo exit to the Quad, on the north side of the walkway. Anyway, it was forgettable, and we were the only people in there around 2pm on a Friday. Had a mediocre 20 dollar burger that wasn’t cooked to the requested tempature, and was dry and underseasoned.

    After lunch, we walked over to The Stage Door for a few rounds. It’s been a while since I’ve been in there, and it feels like the drink prices have dropped down further than what they’ve been in the past. 3 bucks for a woodchuck and a shot of fireball. 2 bucks for a PBR and a shot of rail whisky. They had a few others as well, and it was rowdy as hell in there. Always a great place to stop for a drink.

    Stumbled out of Stage Door, and walked over to good ole’ Ellis Island for a few pints while waiting for our buddy to get into town. He was flying in internationally so it took a bit longer to get his shit together, but he eventually made it in, went to pick up his car. Since he doesn’t drink, this gives us a DD for the rest of the evening. Pints at Ellis were okay as usual, nothing earth shattering but at two bucks for a big ass beer, I don’t complain. Plus The Ellis Island is downright entertaining. I don’t care who ya are.

    Beers are big at the Ellis Island
    IMAG0372.jpg

    Headed over to the Hard Rock for a quick dinner at The Pink Taco. The food at the Pink Taco is okay. It’s not something that I make a special trip for, but I do love their dining room. It’s always a fun environment.

    After dinner, we head over to the AVN Expo. I won’t get too much into it. The people watching was fantastic.

    IMAG0373.jpg

    After The Hard Rock, we lose one of the party to jet lag, and we walk over to the Doubledown for a couple rounds, no ass juice this visit. They were doing doubledown radio live before a record showcase, and there was way too much interviewing going on, and not enough music, so we cut the night short. Walked back to the HR, and had a delightful cab ride back to downtown with a driver that knew his shit. 15 bucks door to door.

    Saturday started with me heading over to MSS for a quick breakfast at the buffet. I don’t know why I keep going back there, I don’t care for the food. I guess I just feel really indecisive in the morning and I don’t want to commit to anything. Drink service was good. Had a chicken fried steak with a healthy dose of Royal Flushers patented country throw up gravy.

    Today was going to be downtown day and the guys came down and we did some casino hopping. First stop was the Las Vegas Club. They should change the name to Leaving Las Vegas club. We played a little roulette, hit a couple numbers. The Pit Critter comes over and tells us our dealer is ‘The best in all of downtown’. She couldn’t release the ball to save our life, and it ended up on the floor 3 times during our session. She had a little better luck with the larger ball. When I inquired about her title of ‘Best in all of downtown’, she said that was only for blackjack. Eh, she was nice enough to look at for a few minutes.

    Nothing too exciting to report on wins, because there weren’t any. Played at The Grand, The D and The El Cortez. Also enjoyed a Rusty Nail in the cocktail lounge at the El Co. That’s the current 5 buck special.

    Had lunch at Le Thai. Completely serviceable meal, tasty for downtown and I’ll be back for sure. Did a little more casino hopping before ending back up to place some bets on the UFC fights going down in Sweden (Hit 1 of 2 tickets for $100 profit overall). Had a great time bullshitting with the bartenders and losing at video poker at the sportsbook bar, and eventually went over to Pizza Rock for a great thin crust Chicago style and tasty beers. Had a 32oz PBR before getting fancy with an Ace in the Hole Basil Pale Ale. Since we enjoyed our time at the sportsbook bar, we decided to finish watching the fights at The Plaza.

    PBR And Beans at Pizza Rock
    IMG_20150124_161043.jpg

    After the fights, we made a quick stop over to the Hard Rock to see if we wanted to go to the Awards show. We ended up doing a little people watching, and hit the road. Spent some time hanging out at Frankie’s Tiki Room on West Charleston, and then over to the Velveteen Rabbit on Main. Wrapped up the evening around 12, and headed back to crash out. Frankie’s has some great Tiki Drinks, I would like to spend some more time there. Velveteen Rabbit is a cool little dive with great music and cheap drinks.

    Frakie's Tiki take home tumblers.
    IMG_20150124_215950.jpg


    Saturday has been pretty mellow. Went over to Fashion show mall to Have some sushi at RA for lunch. Decent sushi for a chain, slow service, but the weather has warmed up and it was nice to sit outside. Headed back downtown and hit up Las Vegas Jerky and played a little over at Binion’s. Totally suckered by the Family Guy slot.

    Just woke up, and we’re going to do a little dinner and lounging this evening. Bored yet? Don’t worry, we’re almost done!
     
  7. Blatz

    Blatz Low-Roller

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    And I suppose I should wrap this up, even though it is a month late!

    The rest of the trip ended out being pretty mellow. Ended up taking the SDX back up to the strip, and ended up having dinner at Burgr over at PH. After a short (less than 5 minute) wait we were seated in a comfortable dining space. Went with the Hell's Kitchen Burger and we tried the truffle parm and sweet potato fries. The burger was cooked to order, and it was decent, but in all honesty, it wasn't the best hamburger I've ever had. The fries didn't work. It feels like they try to complicate what should be a fairly simple side. The truffle parm fries were extremely dry, like they had been sitting around. The sweet potato fries were over the top sweet with the powdered sugar and the sauce. I think we probably ate 6 fries between the two of us.

    After dinner, we met up with another friend, and strolled around the linq area and did a little people watching. Contemplated hitting up the High Roller, but decided to skip it. You can't really get a grip on how big that thing is until you're standing under it. Cool shit. We did a little slot hopping at Bally's and Casino Royale. Checked out the new White castle, and I was REALLY hoping that I would be able to stuff a couple sliders down, but I didn't have it in me. I guess you either love or hate white castle, but I'm the kind of guy who will go out of the way to get a whitecastle. It will be a must for the next trip. I figured there would be a big line, but it really wasn't all that bad.

    Last night in town, and we're calling it an early night! Parted ways with one of my buddies, and caught a ride back downtown from another friend of mine. Said our goodbyes, and I was back at the Plaza. I had a nightcap and a little video poker at the sportsbook bar, and called it a night!

    The next morning, I took my time getting my shit together and heading over to catch the WAX back to the airport. Except one thing, I ended up getting on the CX instead of the WAX! Luckily that one ran to the airport as well, albeit a more scenic route, but made my flight in time. I will say that getting dropped at terminal 3 ended up being a huge pain in the ass. I had to catch a shuttle bus over to the main terminal.

    Final Thoughts:

    Four Queens: Didn't do it for me. I can't really put my finger on it, but I didn't feel welcome there. The staff wasn't all that friendly, and it did kind of smell like ass. That being said, it was kinda cool to have the view over FSE, and the room was clean and comfortable.

    Plaza: Had a great time at the sportsbook bar at various times throughout the weekend. Drink service on the floor was fantastic, but it still feels like there was something missing. I could possibly stay there again, but if you're a stickler on bathrooms, you probably won't like the cramped quarters where the tub is located, but the room overall was spacious and bright. I'd entertain the idea of staying here again.

    It's very rare that I spend any time on the strip, so hanging out at a few of the strip casinos was a bit out of my element. That being said, it was a nice change. I thought that taking the bus was going to be a hassle, but it was actually pretty nice, and a great value. The stage door is as great as it ever was, and I'll be making more of an effort to get over there.

    Hopefully you've found a tidbit of useful information, and I'm always happy to answer questions, although I feel like this was one of my more 'boring' trips. I'm going to attempt an even more boring trip in a couple weeks, as I spend a few days on the strip for work.

    If you're reading this, you've probably got a Vegas trip on the horizon...so have a great one, and good luck!
     
  8. Landshark

    Landshark Way into it...

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    Great report!

    Disclosure, I manage operations for a 1250 room hotel. There is no reason in hell the Guest Services Rep should be a dick to you, and if they were, I'd have called for their Lead or Manager immediately. People like that are a cancer and should be ejected from the business.

    The truth behind your early check-in request is this. Housekeepers are assigned a set number of rooms to clean, and rooms cannot be placed on the market in the Property Management System until the Housekeeping Leads have inspected the rooms, followed by an inspection by the Executive Housekeeping Manager.

    When a guest requests an early check-in, whether or not the request is fulfilled with or without a fee is determined by whether or not the reserved room type has been entered as "clean" in the Property System by the Executive Housekeeping Manager. If they have rooms that have been designated as clean and ready by the EHM in their system, they "can" check you in and waive the fee. And they should. But there are those properties that, of course, choose to try to press you for the fee.

    If no rooms are available at the time, yet you're willing to pay the fee, a call is made to the EHM, who then pulls additional housekeeping staff off of assigned rooms to expedite the turn on your room, taking down the average turn time depending on staffing levels and room type. This throws off the timing of the room cleaning plan. Their assigned rooms may then sit longer unturned until well after the assigned check-in time, resulting in lines of pissed-off guests trying to check in.

    So their compensation for fulfilling your request is a little boost to their revenue stream in return for having to deal with irate guests who simply wanted to check in according to the designated hotel policy.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2015
  9. abraxis

    abraxis Low-Roller

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    Like the looks of that beer. ..but like the looks of what's behind even better [emoji12]
     
  10. FullBoat

    FullBoat VIP Whale

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    Have to agree.. should have asked them to come back to Austin with ya, and introduced me to them. :evillaugh

    Nice report. I'm hoping to finally hit up Plaza this next trip.
     
  11. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Good eye! I totally missed that.

    Nice report!
     
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