Semi-live trip report MGM Grand 4/13 - 4.16

Its been a while since I posted a trip report but I'll do my best to make daily entries and actually try to take some pictures.

Flew in Providence to Las Vegas with a stop at Midway Airport in Chicago. Flight was uneventful except apparently there was a fight in the Midway terminal about 30 minutes prior to my flight landing..... ohhhh I missed it... boooooo. lol
Started off the morning great. somehow managed to miss all the traffic heading to the airport at 7am. Breezed right through the TSA checkpoint and right to the bar.

3 x Gray Goose Bloody Mary's. I thought it was a great Idea.... until I got the bill and they were $17 each.

Time to get the party started. Landed at McCarren and went straight to the liquor store. $5 Bud light 25oz can. That was definitely a smart move finished it while waiting for a cab.

Cabbed it to MGM Grand $13.50 and no traffic.

Check in was also a breeze. 2:00 pm and there was no line. Opted for a smoking room, but he didn't tell me that the only smoking room was a regular room and not a suite that was supposed to come with my comp. Whatever. Not a big deal... its a solo trip and I don't really need the extra space, but the showers are so much nicer in the suite.

 

Nice start, look forward to more!

 

here are a couple pictures of the room and view

So after checking in I went over to the players club and added my freeplay to my account as well as $50 freeplay from myvegas. Took the $150 in freeplay to Whiskey Down and turned it into around $120 cash in Double bonus poker. No quads, no big hits just a lot of pairs and 3 of a kinds and a couple straights,

Drink service at whiskey down was spotty, There was a bartender who seemed to be new and could not handle the 2 waitresses and the 4 people at the bar. He was a nice guy but come on this is supposed to be the higher end lounge. On the plus side, there was no issue with a time limit on drinks like they do at aria. I had 6 Maccallan 12 year on the rocks in about 45 minutes.

Headed over to Emeril's for their happy hour. I started off with a dozen oysters. They were so good I ended up ordering a second dozen. Also got the crystal fried shrimp. These were also really good.

The drink in the picture of the oysters was a French 75. I thought I would like it since I like gin and champagne. But honestly it was not a great combo. I also tried the house white wine that was on the happy hour menu. Again, not a big fan.

I continued the day gambling at MGM. It was a roller coaster ride. Up and down all day. Drink service at the tables was awesome. I wasn't able to finish a drink and the second one was already there. A couple times the waitress would just leave me both drinks. I had a really good run on the craps table at one point. I went to the $15 table and it was just me and one other guy. My first roll was point and out. Then the other gentleman hit 2 points bringing me back up to even. This is when things got good. I hit threw a six... then within 3 rolls I hit it. Then the next point was an 8. I had a good feeling about the 10 so I bought it for $25. I'm not sure exactly how many times I hit the 10 but I would press between $25 and $50 each time. I also hit a yo with $10 and another one with $25. After my roll I walked away with $1300.... I tipped out the dealers quite a bit too, every bet I put in I would throw between $1-5 for the boys, so they were pretty happy too.
I moved over to a $15 min blackjack table. (all low end tables are 6:5 now. Shame on you MGM). Played 2 hands $25 each and must have played for at least 45 minutes... I had one of those massages at the table. It was so good I almost fell asleep at the table. The dealer knew I was playing basic strategy so he was basically playing my hands without me needing to pay too much attention and enjoy my massage.... I had a couple bucks up for him on each hand so he had a vested interest in playing right.
Now if only I wasn't a drunken idiot at this point and taken myself to bed. Instead I managed to put $1000 back between 2 other craps tables and $5 slots. Speaking of slots, they have been absolutely miserable the last 2 days. I swear I put $100 In the machine and I am lucky to have 1 win for $10. absolutely horrid.

I woke up this morning in rough shape... and that's with taking a vicodin and 4 advil last night. So instead of trying pedialyte, I am trying this electrolyte stuff called Replenish made by Isagenix. My friends swear by this stuff. It actually tastes really good (not that nasty salty taste pedialyte has) but I will get back to you guys with how effective it is.

More to come today. I think I'm gonna grab one of those frozen drinks and walk the strip. And I gotta check but I think at some point in my drunken stupor I booked a ticket to see the comedians at Brad Garrets tonight.

 

Great trip report.

 

Strong start here! Love your style. Keep it up and good luck!

 

Nice start. If there's one lesson I've learned it's not to drink heavily and gamble.

 

Nice report but yikes, Emeril's happy hour really jacked up the price of a dozen oysters. From $18 to $27 in just over a year. Bummer.

 

Yeah $2.25 each. But i think it was worth it.

Dinner now at Wolfgang pucks. Truffled chips to start. Ribeye for the main course. With a glass of the wolfgang cab. I will take a pic if i remember.
Then brad garretts comedy club at 8pm

 

ok quick update evening of the 14th.


so I did not actually make it out of the MGM today... big surprise degenerate gambler.

Another roller coaster today.
Highlights


after an $80 dollar investment I finally hit the minor progressive on the Whale Song game in the tune of $590. good start. (but yes I was chasing this since last night)

I celebrated with a Kuba Deluxe Cigar. It was very good but $18.50 and on the sweet side.


Had fun on slots.... lost on walking dead (but the guy next to me managed to hit $1800... yeah I'm kickin myself for not sitting on that machine, but would it have hit for me?)...... up $450 on one of the WIzard of Oz slots. Broke even on 3 card poker. Down $300 on let it ride (nothing memorable)....... even on BJ ($25 a hand x 2 hands)... messed around for a little while longer ( down $500 for the day).

Hit Wolfgang Pucks for dinner.

started with truffled chips (Amazing... but you gotta like blue cheese)


Ribeye for dinner and 2 glasses of house Wolfgang Cabernet.


Steak was great and cook to a perfect medium... Potatoes were a little under done and Brussel Sprouts were good (but again... u gottta like that stinky fart smell cabbage / brussel sprout taste).

Desert was a double espresso and crème brulet. ( crème brullet was an amazing vanilla taste with fresh berries... nothing to complain about).



since they forgot to charge me for a glass of wine and the espresso I gave them a $40 tip. (yeah 50% of the bill but the bartender Natalie was a smoke show.... so its ok).


Off to Brad Garretts for 8pm show..... I'll update the show details later.

 

Oooh, I want those!

Edited to add: so I looked up Wolfgang Pucks to consider for our next trip and saw there was Spago at Caesars Forum Shops, at which point I remembered we ate appetizers there last month, including this haha! It was good Sadly if I recall, we couldn't charge to the room there and actually had to pay for it

Looking forward to seeing more of your trip!

 

I don't know about Spago, but if you are staying at an MLIFE casino go to the wolfgang pucks at MGM, you can bill to the room and it is amazing.

 

Just got back from the Comedy show....... it was great, Vargus Mason and a guy named Uncle Lar(Larry Reeb) I cannot give these guys enough credit.. if you are in town and they are at Brad Garrett's, go see them. I actually bought CD';s from both of them, I laughed like I haven't laughed in a long time.

I got 5 drinks there too.... it was pricey ($16.50 each) but they were good and they sneak up on you.... it was called the Bill cosmo.

 

Off to walk the strip....... updates in the AM.

 

Enjoying your TR! Keep us posted!! Thanks

 

The Bill Cosmo sneaks up on you! ha love it! Thanks for the report keep it coming!!

 

Great Trip Report! Planning an August run to MGM - this is a fantastic warm-up!

 

Alright, I'm gonna try to finish this up.... Sorry in advance but I did not take any more pictures after this point. There are some interesting stories in the last 30 hours after my last update.

Some teaser highlights.......
- Making new friends.
- Walking the entire length of the strip..... and back. (and getting lost in every casino on the way)
- Craps at the Venetian
- Getting propositioned at 4am.... on the street.
- $1 Majestic Lions progressive hit

 

Ok, so apparently I left off somewhere around after the comedy show at Brad Garretts. As I mentioned that night the show was great. This place never disappoints. These guys aren’t really headliners but they put on an awesome show.
So after a quick stop in the room, I decided I needed to go for a late night stroll. (its Tuesday night midnight-ish)
First stop NYNY…. I gotta admit every time I stop in this place it is always fun, but I don’t know why I don’t spend more time here. I stopped in at the main casino bar. The bartenders were great. Drinking Jack and Diets like they were going out of style. Killed probably around an hour messing around of video poker and watching baseball highlights on ESPN.

So I walk away from the bar and ohhhh bright lights… and out of the corner of my eye I see one of those frozen drink places. I grab a giant Pina Colada with a few extra shots in it and sit down at Batman and Joker machine. After playing for a few minutes, I meet friend #1 of the night. So this guy comes and sits next to me. I can tell he is pretty hard up on life… disheveled but doesn’t stink. He starts talking to me….. well I see where this is going. The homeless guy is gonna ask me for money. So I flat out ask him “so what do you want?”…. if he asked me for a dime I had no problem telling him to F-off!!!! He tells me that he has gone through a rough time. He is an ex-veteran cook who came to town thinking he could find a job working in a kitchen but has had no luck and he was hungry. I figured what the hell, I’m not hungry but let’s grab you something to eat. I asked him what he wanted and he said he was good with just going to the late night pizza shop just off the casino floor. I made sure he got plenty to eat and a couple items for the road. We sat and talked for a while and I found out that he would actually grab the bus and sleep on it as long as he could (which I can’t blame him---- it wasn’t cold for me since I am from New England, but I can see how it could be cold for someone sleeping in the desert in the middle of the night). I grab another frozen drink and offer if him one (but he rejected and said he didn’t drink alcohol) and at this point he walked away to cash in the TITO I took out of the batman machine that was for some change. He left his food bag on the counter so I threw a couple bucks in it for him without him seeing it. The guy was genuinely a nice guy (maybe he was a scam artist, but he didn’t seem to be causing anyone any harm). My new friend kept me company on my walk down the strip. He grabbed the bus somewhere around Cosmo.

Next stop for me---- Let’s get lost in the Bellagio. I head into the Bellagio. Walk around a little bit…… and I’m fuckin lost. Damn it!!!!! Finally find an exit walk out the door and its some kind of valet area but there is no crosswalks to get anywhere. I walk down towards what I through would lead me to the strip, but nope it was a service entrance. Back through the building and find another exit and I head towards Caesars. Now I’ve been in Caesars before and I knew I would never make it out of the labyrinth if I walked in so I stayed on the strip and Headed to the Mirage.

Stop #3…. Lets get lost in the Mirage…. YAAAAA. So that’s exactly what I did. Wandered around for a bit finally had to ask for directions to get to TI. I walked out the door…. I see the sign for TI and I see the building but it appeared as though the road just ended. This was just too much work for my simple mind to figure out at this time….so I just headed across the street to the Venetian.
Now my goal was to make it to the Wynn to play some craps, but once I got into the Venitian, I started walking……. And walking…. And walking….. and guess what--- stop #4 Lost in the Veneitian/Palazzo. Find my way to the Canal Shops and I couldn’t find my way out. So what does a drunken fool do….. ahhh I found someone driving around in a gondola, so I asked her for directions. She guides me to the casino. I see a couple empty craps tables so I stop in and play. The dealers working the craps tables at the Venetian were a blast and they were only $10 min. Drink service was fast too…. I had 3 Maccallan on the rocks while playing. I went to 2 different tables but it was the same at both…. We would be lucky to hit 1 point before crapping out. That was a quick $500. Well that was fun.

Time to go back to the MGM. Now after reading this so far would you be surprised if I said I got lost leaving the Venetian……yeah I did…..lol. I finally manage to find my way out. I start heading south down the strip and I run into friend #2. The prostitute from New Jersey. I obviously knew what she was, but I’m like screw it I’ll humor myself (it’s a long walk, lets see how long I can string her along). She actually walks all the way down the strip with me from the Venetian to Planet Hollywood when she finally gets fed up with me and asks me if I needed company. This is pure entertainment for me now, so I asked how much. She said $300…. Which I responded with “I lost a lot of money on the craps table, do you have any deals by the minute since that’s all I could afford?” She didn’t find the humor in it so she walked into PH and I continued on my way.

Back to MGM and I crash till Wednesday afternoon.

 

Closing out the trip I wake up Wednesday sore from walking so much and hung over.
I head to Emeril's for lunch and have the happy hour again. Crystal fried shrimp were not as good this time, but I did try the gumbo which was pretty good but not a huge portion. Also tried the North by NorthWest red wine(I think it was a cab). The wine was pretty good, very light.
Lose money on the slots for a while then head back to the room and rest.

I head downstairs for a final go at the tables... which I broke even.
Late dinner at Wolfgang Pucks. Truffled chips again. and the Peperoni Pizza. (I am still pissed they took the Meatball pizza off the menu-- that used to be so good). Either way my favorite bartender Natalie was working again so I didn't care what I ate as long as I could watch her...(yeah I'm a creep... whatever... lol).

I head over to the Majestic Lions slots (if you haven't been to MGM, these are their in house 3-reel progressive slots.... the $1 machine progressive starts at $1000). I walk around and find the highest machine. The progressive was at $1105. Threw in $100 and within 10 spins I hit the progressive. The rest of the night was chasing. Tried the $5 top dollar slots, which I couldn't even hit a thing on, forget about actually getting a bonus. And I was chasing the
$5 Majestic Lion that had a progressive over $6150 which was the highest I've even seen it go without hitting... but no luck.

I had a 5:30 am flight so this was where the fun ends.
I called into VIP services and saw if they could cover any of my charges. I had a $250 food comp that covered almost everything except and $8 bottle of water in the room (which they used express comps for).

Final rating was 6hr 49 minutes at $45 a hand . This was mixed on craps, BJ, 3 card poker and Let it ride. I'm not not sure what exactly how much I did on slots but I accrued a total of 21,211 tier points and around $38 in express comps.in 3 days at MGM.

Total trip cost me around -$3300 after tips, cash spent and all the chasing of losses. I guess I will never learn. Either way I had a blast and it was a much needed vacation which was still worth every penny.

Hope you guys enjoyed the Trip report.

 

So a couple things to note from my trip

The weather was amazing during the day mid 70's - mid 80's but it was surprisingly cold at night low 50s but it felt colder.

Monday and Tuesday night things were really dead. I was surprised at how little people were out on the strip after 1 am and even in the casinos. I'm used to seeing so many more people but maybe its because I'm usually there on the weekends.

The airport was not too bad at 4am. Southwest was open outside with no line but the like inside was ridiculous. TSA checkpoint only had 1 line open but it moved really quick. Just don't expect too much inside before 4:30 -- most places don't open until 4:30.

So I mentioned earlier in the posts that I tried that Isagenix Replenish stuff. It definitely helped to give me a boost, I'm sure if you have it before going to bed it would be even more effective.

Drink service at MGM was absolutely amazing on the tables, but spotty in some of the slot areas.

and FYI, if you haven't been to MGM since last year, they moved the Sigma Derby. Its not by the Buffet anymore. They moved it in front of the bar closer to Beacher's Madhouse.