T/R 4/29-5/3 Paris

DAY ONE
My 7th trip to Vegas started earlier than all the others. I booked an early flight (7 AM ) from Hartford nonstop on Southwest. I'm not a big fan of Southwest but they're the only carrier that offers nonstop service from Bradley and they're cheap. ($253 roundtrip) My only partner in crime on this trip was my uncle. He's my dad's youngest sibling but he's always been kind of like a big brother who parties to me.

We got to the airport early, boarded on time and arrived in Vegas 20 minutes early. We got our bags and were in a cab and arrived at Paris a little after 10 AM. After checking our bags I knew we'd have to wait a few hours to get our rooms so I really didn't know what to do other than start drinking. We started at the casino bar and sat there for a couple of hours knocking down beers. Then we moved next door to Trader Vic's for some sun, lunch and more alcohol. We both had Mojitos and Tuna Steak sandwiches with onion rings. The drinks were good, food was decent but expensive. The best thing about Vic's is the outdoor patio and the people watching.

After going back to the bar at Paris and having a few more beers we decided it would be a good time to check on our rooms. I'd booked the 2 rooms with my host and knew I was comped but upon checking in was pleasantly surprised to learn that she'd comped my uncle's room as well. My room was on the 28th floor and my uncle's on the 27th (smoking floor). I had a decent view of the strip. I really liked the new decor of the remodelled room although I wouldn't be spending much time there.

After getting settled in our rooms we met downstairs and headed over to Caesar's for our dinner reservation at Rao's. We got to Rao's and were seated right away. The place was nice but a little too dark for me. When I say dark I mean so dark that it was difficult reading the menu. We both ordered beers and my uncle had a cold antipasto for an appetizer and I had a house salad. (everything was ala carte) For dinner I had a veal dish that had artichoke hearts and procioutto in it and my uncle had a veal chop with hot peppers. Both of us had coffees but no dessert. Price of meal with tip was $200. My take on Rao's: Expensive, good but not great. Being from the East Coast and knowing the history of the place in NYC I was expecting it to be better than it was. Maybe I was expecting too much?

After dinner we headed back to Paris and hit the casino. I headed to the blackjack tables and my uncle to the roulette wheel. I sat down at a $25 double deck table and ended up staying there about 5 hours. The dealers and pit boss were all cool and I had a lot of fun with them. The drink service was excellent and I wasn't losing. I was up good for awhile but I ended up overstaying my welcome and the tide turned. Still, I was up $350 when I finally staggered off to bed.

DAY TWO

I woke up way too early and after trying to get back to sleep for an hour I gave up and got ready and headed downstairs. My uncle was already sitting at the bar drinking Bloody Mary's when I arrived. I knocked one down myself and then we hit the Paris buffet. I'd recently heard some negative reports about their buffet here but everything we had was excellent. We both made 3 trips to fill our plates and then we dragged our overstuffed butts out of there for some much needed walking.

After my guilt walk I headed back to Paris and hit the casino. Feeling lucky I went back to the same table I'd played the night before and sat down. I played about 2 hours and lost $500. I then played some $1 video poker and promptly lost another $200. I decided to get some air and walked down the strip to the Venetian and booked a table for the next night at Delmonico and hit their sportsbook to place a $100 parlay on the Cavs and Celtics. It turns out that one of the owners of Harrah's also has an interest in the Celtics so they're not on the board at any of their properties.

Back at Paris I watched the Cavs blow a 5 point lead with under a minute left in the game and my parlay. I found my uncle at the bar and after a few more beers we decided food was needed and headed back to the Paris buffet for dinner. Everything we had was good and we made sure we got our money's worth. A full stomach (and all the alcohol I'd consumed) made me forget about my seemingly bad luck and I confidently hit the tables later that evening. I should have kept drinking. By the end of the night I'd lost another $750 at the blackjack tables.

DAY THREE

I got some much needed sleep (5 hours) and I headed downstairs at 7AM. After a coffee, danish and a couple of Bloody's at the bar I headed off to do some walking on the strip. I stopped at Bill's and broke even at video poker and then crossed over to Caesar's. Outside in front there's a big circular bar and right near that is a lemonade stand that makes this drink with 4 or 5 liquors in it along with some lemonade. Can't remember what it's called but it's 24 ounces and will deliver a nice buzz. While sucking down this thing I played some video poker and walked away $100 ahead. I decided to celebrate my little win and treat myself to Mesa Grill for some Margaritas and lunch at the bar. I ordered fish tacos and a Cactus Margarita. Both were excellent; the margarita was so good I ordered another for dessert. Cost with tip $50.

Met up with my uncle and headed off to Venetian for dinner at Delmonico. We had a Caesar salad and both of us had their Bone-in Ribeye. We split an order of Smashed Potatoes. For dessert I had the Banana Cream Pie and he had some chocolate peanut better thing. We both had 2 beers. Cost of meal with tip $250. Everything we both had was excellent. This was the fifth time I've eaten at Delmonico and it's never disappointed me.

After dinner I hit the Paris casino again. I decided to stay away from the 2 deck game and found a $25 table that was either 6 or 8 deck. I should have won more but got greedy and didn't walk away when I should have. However, after 4 hours I walked away with $500 of their money in my pocket.

DAY FOUR

After breakfast at the Paris coffee shop I hit the tables again. I found another $25 table and played for 3 hours and ended up losing my $500 buy-in. Played some $1 video poker and after about an hour of that I dropped $50 and got bored. Later that afternoon I walked to the Venetian and sat down at a $25 blackjack table. Bad move. In about 15 minutes I was down $300 and I colored up and took my remaining $200 and bolted out of there.

I ended up hanging out at Paris knocking down beers when I realized that the NBA playoff games were going to start soon and I couldn't get a bet in on Boston there. So I walked over to Planet Hollywood to place my bet and I stopped at one of those video blackjack machines and dropped in a $20. I ended up winning a $100 on that machine and when I was done the game had already started so I couldn't place my bet. That machine made me $200 as it kept me from placing a $100 losing bet on the Celtics.

I met up with my uncle for dinner at PF Changs in Planet Hollywood. It was decent as usual; cost about $75 with tip and drinks. After dinner we both hit the casino and I played blackjack for awhile and after dropping another $300 I switched to video poker and broke even after playing for a couple of hours. Since we were leaving the next day I called it a night around 2 AM and packed my stuff and tried to get a few hours sleep.

DAY FIVE

Our flight wasn't leaving until 1:40 PM but I was out of bed and dressed by 5:30 AM. I headed back to the blackjack tables and plunked down $500 more in hopes of going home a winner. After 3 hours and 6 or 7 cups of coffee I'd doubled my buy-in and walked away with $500 of their cash. I hit the bar and after a couple of Bloody's decided to play some video poker and broke even. So ended my gambling experience for this trip. I called my host and she took care of our room charges and we checked out at 11 and headed for home. Until next time...

 

awesome report!! sounds like a great trip.

Go Celtics!

Your Fellow New Englander,
Nicole

 

Great TR, thanks for posting. We love Paris & will spend a lot of time there in Aug. We are countin' down the days....

 

I live southern CT and am a New York fan. But I bet with my mind and not my heart.

 

Great report. I love Paris. Going there for Christmas this year.

I agree with you about Rao's. Okay, but not great. I like Antonio's at Rio just as well, if not better, and it's CHEAPER.

 

Enjoyed your report. Sounds like a great time!

 

Great report. I wasn't aware that one of Harrahs execs had ownership interest in the Celtics. I wonder if that's the same at the Palms and Sacremento isn't on the board.

 

Great report. Wife and I love Paris as well.

Delmonicos is awesome. Sorry you didn't have more luck at the tables.

 

Nice TR!