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A Big Win before we started! 08/20 - 08/23

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Michguy, Nov 18, 2009.

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  1. Michguy

    Michguy Tourist

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Messages:
    65
    Location:
    Texas

    My Trip Report

    Sorry this is so late getting posted:


    “2009 - A BIG WIN BEFORE WE LEFT, DOWNTOWN POKER AND BUFFETSâ€

    My wife and I flew Allegiant Air out of Appleton, WI and unknown to us the day we flew (08/20/09) was their 1-year anniversary in the Airport. They had Cake and Punch set up near the gate area, but when we went to board the plane they had a table set up with a “Spin the Wheel†for prizes. Most of the prizes were sunglasses, Frisbees, Airport Parking Passes, etc, but when I spun the wheel I landed on a slot that said “Tickets†I assumed it was some Vegas Show tickets.

    The Girls at the counter started clapping and taking my picture and announced that “This Gentleman has just won The Grand Prize!!†I won TWO ROUND TRIP AIR TICKETS to Either Las Vegas or Orlando!!! What a great freaking start to our trip, I am still in shock, probably the highest dollar value ($400-600) of anything I have ever won.

    This was to be a “Downtown Only†trip, since it was basically 2-1/2 days long, arrive Thursday Evening and depart Early Sunday Morning. We booked the Golden Nugget about 3-4 months ago when they had a “book 2 nights get 3rd for Free†special that ended up costing about $60.00 per night.

    I tried the “20 Dollar Trick†at check-in and to my surprise we were given one of the North Tower Rooms on the 15th Floor overlooking the pool area. That was a well spent $20.00 in my opinion, I cannot believe how close to the casino floor the North Tower Elevators are compared to the South Towers.

    The North Tower rooms are not “huge†but I thought it was a very nice room: 42†Plasma TV, Electronic Wall Safe that you get to decide the combination, a VERY comfortable Bed, IPod Docking Station in the Alarm Clock, and decent water pressure. As I said earlier, the main benefit was how short the walk was from the casino.

    GAMBLING:
    My wife and I play mostly Low-Limit Poker ($2/4 or $3/6), and of the downtown choices we preferred The Golden Nugget. It seemed overall that the players were much friendlier, the drink service was quicker and just enjoyed the time there more.

    We tried to play at Binions a few times but some of the players there just kind of turned us off quickly. My wife had an older, scruffy looking fellow say to her “So you are here to take my money, eh?†in kind of rude way. I had a young fellow next to me that thought he was at the WSOP or something, he was yelling things like “How do you like those apples?†and “I wasn’t talking to you!!â€

    I would have liked to stick around for awhile and trap him on a few hands just to see him really lose his cool. He was way overly aggressive with his play and would have been fun to tick him off, but we decided to head back to the Nugget.

    My wife won one of the High-Hand Jackpots at the GN (any 4 of a kind or better using 2 from your hole cards) when she flopped four 9’s that was good for a $132.00 bonus. Besides that hand we didn’t have any overly memorable bad-beats or thrilling poker stories, lots of 4-5 hour sessions with $50-90 wins or losses.
    My wife had Pocket Aces dealt to her 5 times during our stay on only won 1 out of 5 the times, so much for being dealt “the best hand†possible.

    We mixed in some $3 Blackjack and $3 Craps at the Fremont, Binions (6/5 BJ…no thanks), El Cortez and Golden Gate. I love staying downtown for that reason; the Strip can kiss my butt with their higher table limits, and even downtown Casino’s need to start noticing that the $3 tables are full while the $5 table dealers are standing around waiting for players. I also played a little video poker and my wife played some of the “silly†slots to kill time but no big wins or losses.

    We probably each played about 20 hours of poker in the 2-1/2 days and combined we ended up bringing home 80% of the gambling budget we took with us. To me that’s almost a winning trip because where else can you have 3 days of vacation and still bring home most of the money you left town with.

    DINING:
    We ate mostly buffets because we both prefer the ability to have a variety of foods, including dessert and beverage for a “reasonable amount†and we used a “buy one get one free†coupon for every breakfast or dinner buffet we had.
    Just printing out the “Free Coupons†for the Fremont Street Experience saved us almost $50.00 in dining at MSS and Fremont Casino’s.

    Golden Nugget (Breakfast) Buffet – BOGO Coupon from GN Guest Coupon Book… so we paid around $10.50 total for the two of us. How can you go wrong with “made to order†omelets, bacon, sausage gravy and biscuits, and much more. When you factor in that your morning coffee and orange juice is included the breakfast buffets are a no brainer.

    Main Street Station (Thursday = Steak/Shrimp Scampi Night) I read on the Message Boards that the MSS Buffet was the highest regarded one, and this first dinner buffet showed us why. The Shrimp Scampi was terrific and I was very impressed by the variety of foods to choose from.

    Their coating on their fried chicken is perfect, the homemade pizza was great, the BBQ Ribs had a great flavor and the green beans with bacon are always a hit. There were several other things (Chinese, Mexican, etc) that I was just too full to get to. Of course, I did have room for some dessert and their Key Lime Pie did not disappoint.

    Fremont Seafood Buffet (Friday Night) - The main thing we were after was crab legs and they had plenty of Snow Crab Legs, and it was the first time I had seen those ran thru a saw so you didn’t have to spend as much time trying to get your forkful of meat out of them.

    Other than those there wasn’t much memorable on this buffet, the fried Calamari was good and I had a small piece of the Roast Turkey the chef was carving. The dessert area was full but it just looked like too many pre-made cakes and pies, but the Carrot Cake was pretty good.

    Maybe I wasn’t as hungry as last time I ate here, but it just didn’t have the “Wow†factor I remembered, The buffet was “good but not great†is how I would classify it.

    The Grill (at Golden Nugget) – We split a Rueben Sandwich and Potato Chips and it was TERRIFFIC!!
    We used one of our $9.99 Meal Comps for playing 4 hours of poker at the GN and after not feeling like breakfast on Saturday Morning this made a great mid-day snack to last until dinner time.

    Main Street Station – (Saturday Night = Prime Rib) we already knew we liked the quality of this place, but I did not have high expectations for “buffet Prime Ribâ€. I was VERY happily surprised….the quality of the Prime Rib was equal to or better than most “Sit-Down†restaurants I have been to. It had tremendous flavor and they had small cups to put your Au Jus or horseradish sauce in to compliment the meat.
    Once again there were dozens of other good choices to fill your plate, and the dessert bar was terrific too.

    ENTERTAINMENT:
    We only went to one show this time; in order to stay downtown we selected Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget. We used the ACG BOGO Coupon (which saved $60.00 instantly) and we really enjoyed the show.

    The GN’s theatre is great, and Gordie did not disappoint. He is a very talented and funny impersonator, and has created some very funny parodies of popular tunes that he sings in the voice of the original artist. He is really amazing how he can switch voices instantly and sound so “spot onâ€.

    He must pound some Red-Bull or an energy drink before the show because the man never slows down!! He is extremely energetic and works hard to deliver a memorable experience. He seems to interact well with the audience and presented a few gifts to some of the members that he “picked onâ€.

    I am not sure I would have paid full ticket price for both of us to see him, but using the ACG or other coupons it is a fun show to go see and I would recommend it.

    FINAL THOUGHTS:
    We really like the Golden Nugget and being downtown again. Much less walking, cheaper table limits and food prices, and quick drink service. I wish I would have used the GN’s Pool area more, but it is hard for us to want to take the time to “relax†when there is money to be made, HAHA.

    The only “con†to staying downtown was that you would have to wait until 9:00-10:00 a.m. for a Limit Poker Game to get going at The Golden Nugget or Binions. That is the only real advantage that the Strip Casino’s carry in my mind, a Poker Game is always available 24/7.

    We really like the atmosphere of Fremont Street, and watching some of the street vendors and artists down there. It is a very casual environment, and always fun to do some people watching and watch the light show and enjoy the music.

    Any questions just ask away-
    Guy
     
  2. wrxrob

    wrxrob High-Roller

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2009
    Messages:
    790
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    15
    Thanks for the report. and congrats on winning that trip!! I once won a week trip to the carribbean from a travel show including airfare and lodging (no timeshare bs). $2500 value, and only had to pay about $200 in taxes. In our case, everyone chose a key from a bathtub, to try and open treasure chests. I managed to grab a lucky key!

    Did you have to ask for the meal comp at GN poker room? or did they automatically hand it out to those playing 4 hours?
     
  3. LadyRose

    LadyRose High-Roller

    Joined:
    May 18, 2007
    Messages:
    653
    Location:
    Michigan
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Congrats on the win!!! What an exciting way to start your trip. Awesome :)
     
  4. gotavegasjones

    gotavegasjones VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2004
    Messages:
    3,104
    Location:
    South Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    31
    Thanks for the well written and informative report. Sounds like a great weekend trip.

    later, GVJ
     
  5. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2009
    Messages:
    3,104
    Location:
    Calgary , Alberta , Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    16
    Nice TR
    great way to start the trip by winning a trip!
    nice poker wins too :) I have yet to play poker in Vegas or any other table games , am too chicken I guess :evillaugh
     
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