1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Billy and Brandy's February Trip

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Billy from TX., Feb 12, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Billy from TX.

    Billy from TX. Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2002
    Messages:
    1,363
    Location:
    Wylie, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    6

    My Trip Report

    Trip Report
    February 7 – 10, 2010

    This was our 6th trip or so and our first since 2005. We have been looking forward to getting back to Vegas for the last couple years and finally decided to go ahead and go. We booked everything and started planning on Christmas Eve. We booked this trip as an air and hotel package on US Airways Vacations web site for less than $500 total for two after taxes. We stayed at the Riviera. This is our 4th time staying here and we never regret it.


    Day 1 February 7, 2010

    We awoke about 4 hours after going to bed. I’m always afraid we are going to oversleep and miss our flight. Yea right! We did the online check-in on Us Airways web check-in, printed our boarding passes, packed the car and are out the door by 5:30 AM. Smooth drive to DFW Remote North Parking. There was already a couple shuttle buses waiting to carry us to our terminal, so there was no wait. Check in was smooth since we only had carryons this trip and was checking no luggage. We were sitting at our gate one hour before departure time (7:30 AM) and 30 minutes before loading.

    Our flight was uneventful and we landed in Vegas 15 minutes early. Again, we had no checked backs so we didn’t have to wait for luggage before grabbing the shuttle bus to the car rental center. There was no one in line at Alamo Rental pickup and the transaction went very smooth. We were worried that we would have to put a large cash deposit or a large hold would be placed on our debit, but that was not the case. Our total after we chose the option where we can bring the car back on empty was less than $90. That is all they placed a hold on our debit card for. We were in our economy 2008 Chevy Aveo within minutes and heading to the Riviera. Since this was our first time renting a car it was nice to drive the strip from the South end all the way to the Riviera. The valet lot was full, so we decided to self-park in the garage in the rear of the casino near the Riviera Convention Center. (Free to anyone) After we parked we checked our bags because they had no check-in lines opened up. It was only 9:30 Am and we were pretty hungry so we headed to Riviera’s coffee shop, Katy’s. Brandy had an egg ham and cheese croissant with fruit and I had the country fried steak and eggs. Both were good and feeling. We both drank coffee. The total was less than $25 after tip. Not a bad deal at all and we have always loved eating here a couple times a trip.

    After breakfast we walked over to Encore. This was completed since our last trip. The place is nice to say the least. Even though it was still early, I was really surprised to see how dead the place was. We walked around a bit and looked at a few tables and watched a few guys playing craps at a $25 table. They were pretty somber and really didn’t look like they were having a good time at all. I put a $20 in a .25 cent VP machine and played job for about 30 minutes while Brandy sat next to me and played some bj and deuces wild. She was quickly up a few bucks while I cashed out with the same $20 I originally put in. We only played fl the or about an hour or so and moved from VP to some nickel slots. One thing we quickly noticed is all the slot machines we once like playing are all gone. The denominations may be the same but the max bets that used to be .45 cent are not 3-5 bucks average. That SUCKS!

    After messing around with a couple more VP machines at the Encore we walked through to the Wynn. Okay, here is where everybody is at. There was a lot more action going on over at the Wynn and everybody seemed to be having a good time. We headed over to one of their many Red Card desks and signed up for their player’s card. We then walked around a bit and decided to place our tickets from Encore into a few penny machines here. Brandy quickly lost over $70 bucks on a survivor slot. This was while I was in the bathroom. When I came back she didn’t look very happy. She moved to a blazing 7’s machine while I put a $20 in a Gold Fish machine that I have heard so much about. Within minutes I was a little over $100 bucks. After a few spins in a row without nothing I cashed out at exactly $100 bucks. That was my twenty and the $80 Brandy lost about 10 minutes ago. I walked over to tell her that I got her $80 bucks back and she smiled and said that’s okay, I got it back myself. I looked at Brandy’s credits on her Blazing 7’s and she was at about $127. I watched her get it up over $200. She played down to exactly $200 and cashed out. We decided to keep the $300 tickets in my wallet instead of cashing in to see how long we can hold onto them. We started out with $40 a piece and now we have the $300 vouchers and $20 a piece. We walked around the Wynn a while just taking the place in. We really like the feel of the casino and it is enormous. We almost decided to stay here and we think maybe next time we will. After walking around there for about an hour and checking all the shops between the Wynn and Encore we headed back to reality at the Riviera.

    There were a few people in the one line that they had now opened for guests checking in. It really didn’t take long and we had our keys to our room in the only smoking tower that they have. We got a double bed in the San Remo Tower. That is the 6th floor building that has rooms either facing the pool on the north side or the Peppermill on the south side of the building. We got a room facing the pool. The room is no big deal at all. Two beds, (We could have waited a couple hours and gotten a king, but we didn’t really care) a bathroom, a large flat panel TV. All we needed! Actually, I would have liked a room with a small fridge, but we chose between that or a smoking room. Smoking won! The San Remo tower will be the last of the ones to be renovated and if I owned the place I would tear it down and build a larger taller tower. I have heard several rumors over the last few months that people don’t see the Riviera making it much longer. I think this place has a lot of potential still left in it. The casino was always full of people. (Mostly the older crowd) They had tables from $10 - $25 minimums and they always seemed to have at least a couple people at each.

    It was still sad to see the Stardust gone and the Echelon project that was started is on hold. There are a few building outlines with the steel structures that are rusting away. I was told on this board that construction was halted because of the economy. Too bad they couldn’t have forecasted that and left the Stardust live and still profit a few bucks more until the economy picked up.

    After getting our bags unpacked and room settled we got the car and drove to NYNY and self parked in their garage at the back of their hotel. The walk was very short to the casino and we walked around a little while just taking the place in. We never gamble here much, but we really like the feel and the layout of the place. It always looks like everyone is having a great time. We had originally planned to watch the SB game at Monte Carlo, but never made it. The game started as we walked into NYNY and was on in all the open bars and on TVs that they had throughout the casino. We just watched bits and pieces as we went from NYNY to MGM to the Tropicana and back to NYNY. We gambled $20 - $40 in slots and VP at each of the 3 casinos as we checked on the game from time to time. By the end of the game we ended up down a couple hundred dollars and watched the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game at NYNY after we got a couple slices of pizza and some bottled water at their pizza joint. It was good to see the Saints when, but I will be honest and say I didn’t think they had a chance. I didn’t bet on the game and even though I always bet on the underdog, I would have lost because I would have bet the over and it was set higher than it actually was.

    We got the car and headed back to the Riviera where we used the valet this time. Got to the room and took about a 45 minute power nap. By this time it was around 9 PM and we got the car and headed downtown. Self parked at the Plaza. Parking was $5 but we headed straight to the casino cage and traded our parking receipt for our $5 dollars back. I have to say that the people on the board that mentioned how much better the Plaza smells were correct. The last time I was in this place was in 2005 and it was still pretty bad. Whatever they did seemed to work and the place was really busy. We checked the BJ tables and all the $5 tables were full so we walked straight through and onto my favorite casino in all of Las Vegas. Yes, it is the Las Vegas Club. I love this place. If I can get a good rate in September we may even stay here over the Wynn. Yes, I said it. (Hopefully LVC will be around in September)

    We walked around the LVC for a total of about 1 minute when we found an empty $10 2 deck BJ table. Brandy had never played bj other than home or on the computer and promised that she would give it a try on this trip. I asked her if she wanted to play and she of course said, “No, not nowâ€. I showed her that all the $5 tables were full and the rest were all 6 decks. I told her that this table would be a great place to learn since there were no other players and also the dealer was calling us over to have a seat. We sat down and both put a $100 dollars each. The dealer smiled and gave us $5 dollar chips and asked where we were from. I told her and that this was Brandy’s first time to play and she said no worries she will help her out. We really loved the dealer she was an older Asian lady and of course her Engrish was hard to understand at times but she was helping me help Brandy and gave Brandy her count and advice on every single hand. We played for about 30 minutes and Brandy was down to almost $50 and I wasn’t doing much better. I whispered to Brandy that we would not go below $50 before getting out. Within a hand or two Brandy got out at $50 and I started to win. After I won an astounding 6 hands in a row, Brandy had enough watching and got back in with her small stack. At one point I checked my stack and had almost $150 and Brandy was back to her original hundred. I cannot say enough how we loved this dealer. I tipped her $5 every time I split and won both hands and every time she helped Brandy on a 5 or 6 card deal. (This was a lot) We ended up playing for about another 30 minutes doing really well when our new best dealer in the world was relieved for her break. Brandy tipped her another $10 and told her thanks for making her first experience so well. New dealer Becky got in and didn’t help with the count and seemed really fast. She was friendly enough but we lost the first 2 hands in a row. I looked at Brandy while she shuffled and said we lose the next hand and we are out. Well, Brandy was dealt a bj and I busted out after hitting a 16 versus the dealer’s 9. Brandy looked at me and said, “Were outta her, Babyâ€. We colored up and Brandy had $115 and I had $75. Not too bad for Brandy’s first round of black jack. I was really proud of her. She has always been so terrified to sit down at a table as was I before I finally did, but by the end of the session she was betting and talking like a pro.

    We watched a full table at a craps table and these guys were definitely having a good time. They were all chanting TONY TONY TONY while this guy was throwing the dice. He obviously rolled a lot of times before throwing a craps and everyone was hollering. He apparently made them a few bucks and it was fun to watch. We wanted to play but all the lower level tables there were full. Neither one of us has played before nor did we get a chance the entire trip. We wanted to play $1-$5 tables and when we did find one, they were pretty much ether full or had absolutely no one playing and we knew we were going to need someone to watch. We did check into the free lessons at Bills later in the week, but we just missed them. They start at 10:30 am during the week if anyone is interested. After cashing in our chips from black jack we headed to La Bayou to get a strawberry refreshment drink. I bought one large drink and after the extra shot of grain it was $20. Brandy and I walked around the rest of the night casino hopping and sharing this drink. We drank about ¾ of it and had enough. I let Brandy drink most of it because I was driving and knew that I couldn’t handle even half and be okay to drive. We were walking through El Cortez and yelling out, “Cocktails! Cocktails!†It was fun watching people snap their heads around with their hands up. One lady started laughing and threatened to take Brandy’s drink. It was one of those moments when you had to be there. We have told that story a few times and didn’t get one laugh out of it. After jumping from casino to casino playing mostly slots and VP for a few hours we decided to call it a night. We started out DT that night with a budget of a $100 a piece and when we got to the car we were both down to about $25 each. We headed back to the Riviera and once inside Brandy decided that she was hungry. I walked across the street to McDonalds while she headed to the room. Before long, I was back in the room and we ate our double cheeseburgers and fries and were asleep before my head hit the pillow. The last time I looked at the clock it was 3:15 AM.


    Day 2 February 8, 2010

    We awoke around 9:30 AM and managed to barely walk to the bathroom without screaming in pain. Ohhhh! Our feet are killing us. We both took showers and prepared for another day. We headed for the Wynn buffet and got there in time for breakfast. Absolutely the best buffet we had ever had. We have eaten at the Bellagio buffet and the buffet at Paris and Wynn is far above par. There were so many options we didn’t know where to begin. The price for breakfast is $17 pp and worth every penny. I cannot say enough about this place. If you have not tried it yet, give it a shot on your next trip. You won’t regret it.

    After breakfast we retrieved our car from the valet and headed out of town. I mentioned that this is the first time to rent a car so we didn’t really know where we wanted to go for sure, except that we wanted to get out of town for at least one day. We headed to the interstate 15 and headed south. We have never been to California so, what the heck. Why not? We pointed the car south and just drove. At one point we saw a sign saying Los Angeles. We pulled up LA on our GPS that we brought from home and it said less than 4 hours. We stopped about 35 miles or so out of town at a gas station and bought 4 1 liter bottles of water and batteries for the camera. We should have gotten more because one bottle was gone within just a few minutes. The scenery was nice because it’s not something we see every day. Traffic was oddly very busy. I guess a lot of Californians heading home after a busy SB weekend. The north side of the highway was very slow. We made it almost to Barstow when we heard a screeching noise from underneath the hood. We quickly pulled over but by that time it stopped. I knew as soon as I heard it, it was the belt. I popped the hood and the belt seemed tight and in one piece, so I figured maybe one of the tensioners was the issue. Never the less we were worried to take the chance and ruining our trip on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. We decided to turn around and head back towards Vegas. What a bummer! According to our GPS we were making good time and could have been in LA by 3:57 PM. Even though all we were going to do is turn around and come right back. It would have been another thumb tack for our map hanging on our wall. Oh well, I will place a tack just south of Barstow at least. We stopped on the way back at the Dairy Queen in Baker and I got a blizzard and Brandy got a waffle cone full of ice cream. We slowly made our way back to the Riviera, but drove around through some neighborhoods just to see the home styles and landscaping. I couldn’t even tell you where we were at except we could see the strip off in the distance. We once thought we wanted to move to Vegas, but after talking to a few and the worries of looking for a job and starting over we changed our minds. Maybe when the kids get much older and we finish our degrees.

    After stalking the residents of Southern Las Vegas, we finally made it back to the Riv around 6:30 PM. We chilled out in the room for about an hour or so and then prepared for another night downtown. This time we decided to park at the outside lot across the street from Main Street Station. The sign outside the parking lot stated a $5 charge that was refundable at the MSS Casino cage, but the security arm was up and no one in the security booth. We figured maybe he was taking a break. We headed into MSS anyway and walked around a bit mostly watching another full craps table, but again we didn’t play. By this point we really have gotten hooked on those darn Goldfish penny slots. Every time we walked into a casino that was the first thing we looked for. It ended up paying off by the end of the night.

    We went back to LVC and jumped into another $10 table and both of us played our $50 a piece up and down for a couple hours. We both cashed out at about $60 a piece. We both put $20 each into a Gold Fish penny machine at the LVC. After a couple of feed the fish bonuses our $20 became $40 a piece when we both decided to cash out. We headed over to Binions and went straight for another GF penny machine and both put in a $20 and within 15 minutes we cashed out at another $40 a piece. We left Binions and went across the street to 4 Queens and put $20 each into a GF penny machine. You guessed it we both cashed out at $40 a piece. We decided to keep on going until our luck ran out, so we headed to Freemont, Fitzgerald’s, and El Cortez doing the exact same thing. Put a $20 a piece into a GF penny slot and once we got up over $40 we played down to exactly $40 a piece and left. One of those one of cashed out at $62, but this is where the real fun started. It was around 1:00 Am we realized we skipped over Golden Nugget. I have never been lucky here in the past and that may have been a reason why. We decided to head down there and give our luck a shot. I’m not sure if it was because our feet were killing us or because we were just plain tired but we only walked around the Nugget for about 10 minutes or so and couldn’t find a GF machine at all. We turned around and headed for the door when I happened to look down and guess what was on the floor. I seen what I knew was cash, but wasn’t sure how much. I bent over and picked it up and Brandy asked me what I had picked up. I looked at it as secretly as I could and it was 2 $20’s and you can tell by the way they were wadded together someone had them in their pocket and when they went to pull their hand out the bills came out and landed on the floor. I did look around right after I picked them up and there was no one standing around that it could have possibly belonged to. Oh well, finder’s keepers. I think it was ironic that it was $40. I had all of mine and Brandy’s winnings in my wallet so I know it wasn’t ours. I laughed and told Brandy about the found money thread on the board and she got a chuckle about it as well. This is where it really gets good.

    After walking out of the GN with an extra $40 without having to gamble, we were walking along the street, not on Freemont but still in front of the GN when I happened to glance through the window of the Nugget and low and behold there is a darn GF machine. We walked right back into another entrance and there was only one GF slot opened. I put the $40 I picked up off the floor just minutes before into the machine and told Brandy let’s just play it all down to the last penny and if we lose it no big deal, it wasn’t our money. We played on that one machine for almost an hour and were down to the last $5 when I hit another feed the fish bonus and within minutes we were up over $80 from the $40 we put in. We played down to exactly $80 and cashed out. I looked at Brandy, and asked if she wanted to have some real fun. (To some this is not real fun) She looked at me funny and I said c’mon follow me. I found a row of $5 machines and asked her to pick one. She started laughing and took the $80 voucher and put in a slot and played max credits, which was two, I think. We quickly lost $30 without a single win. She cashed out and took the ticket around to the back side and put the $50 voucher in another 2 credit max $5 machine and on the second pull, she hit for $80. Played it down to $100 and cashed out. So the $40 we found on the floor turned into a $100 and it was a blast. We couldn’t stop laughing the rest of the night. We headed to the car and Brandy did a quick count and we started out with $50 a piece when we went DT earlier that night and now we had over $320 after we bought some shirts for the kids and nephews. It’s not big time, but it was a lot of fun. We laughed about it all the way to the Riv. Once we valet parked at the Riv, we walked across the street to Slots of Fun to get a Subway Sandwich. While Brandy ordered and got the food I put a $20 into their GF machine there and played for a few minutes when I seen a bunch of guys all leaving the same bj table. I cashed out a little less than $20 and placed another $20 on a $3 bj table while Brandy was still in line at SW. I played for just a few minutes and Brandy walked up with the food. She watched me lose that $20 and another one before telling me it was time to go. I was playing $5 a hand and it was fun playing for about 15 minutes just me and the dealer. I took that Brandy had her hand clamped around my arm and the tugging as a sign as it was time to go. We walked back over to the room ate and went to sleep. Another night/morning that I was asleep before my head was on the pillow. It was around 3:30 am.


    Day 3 February 9, 2010

    We woke up around 10 Am and our feet and back were absolutely killing us both. This is our last day in Vegas and we want to try and make the best of it. After showering I went down to get a cup of coffee and a Dr. Pepper for Brandy while she showered and got ready. While I was down stairs I thought I would give BJ at the Riv a try. They had only a couple tables which each had one or two people at and they started at $15 minimum. I have noticed the BJ machines that are new since the last time I have been to Vegas, so I decided to sit at one and see what it was all about. I put a $20 in. It is one of those that have seats for several people just like a table but instead of a real live dealer it’s a pretty computer imaged girl in a skimpy outfit dealing. Oh Well! I started out at a $1 per hand and started raising it to $5 and would win and lose. Brandy called wanting to know where the heck I was at and I told her I thought we were meeting downstairs. He He! By the time she came down stairs I was down to $10 so I cashed out. We decided to head over to Wynn and cash out those tickets from the first day. (Remember, I kept the $300 winnings in vouchers in my wallet) We are really happy we did this because even with the money we had won downtown last night we are still down a little for the trip. Not a big deal for us because we treat it like it should be, as entertainment. If we come home with money that we planned on spending than that’s a bonus. By the way that has never happened.

    Brandy is in nursing school and has always wanted to go the Bodies exhibit here in Dallas but hasn’t really gotten the chance. I promised her that we would get to it while in Vegas and it’s time to make good on that promise. It’s too late for breakfast so we leave the Wynn after giving back about $60 of the $300 I just cashed in. Darn Goldfish were hungry. We drive over to Luxor and decide to self park right behind the Casino and walk across the small bridge near their pool area. Once we walked in we took the escalator straight up and we were at the Luxor box office and the entrance to the Bodies exhibit. We bought our tickets and told the lady that we had a $5 off coupon for the both of us but left it in the car. She gave us $10 and that brought the total to $52. That’s still $10 more than the price is in Dallas, but oh well, we have the time to see it now and I promised. It took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to get through the exhibit and Brandy thought it was a really good experience. I’ll be honest and say that it was a lot neater than I thought it would be. I really learned a lot from it and Brandy and I shared some really good moments together. As you exit there of course is a gift shop. Everything was as usual, overpriced. The only thing I spent money for was to use that machine that flattens out a penny and stamps an engraving into it. My son collects those and I thought he would like it. We then walked next door to the Bodies Exhibit shop and there is the Titanic Exhibit Gift Shop. We walked through it and again the only thing I left with was another smashed up penny this time with the White Star Line Logo on it.

    We headed through the Luxor Casino to Mandalay Bay in search of the Shark Reef Aquarium gift shop. My son has another fascination and it is Sharks. He has several books on the subject and posters all over his wall. I was hoping to find some sort of shark tooth for him. We walked and walked and walked until we finally reached the Shark Reef. We took the escalators up to the gift shop and spent about 30 minutes and $30 on shark stuff. We would have been better to take our car around to the Convention Center parking and would have saved us a lot of pain and time. We learn so much on every trip.

    After making the long trek back to the car we drove over to Caesars and valet parked the car at the forum Shops Valet. We were pretty hungry by this time it almost 2pm. We walked through all the expensive shops pretending we had enough money to buy anything in there we wanted. We decided to eat at Planet Hollywood since we were starving and it was there. Service was friendly and fast. Brandy had the nachos and I had the turkey club. We ended up sharing both and had over half the nachos left. Next time we will order the nachos only and share. Total after taxes came to around $35 and that was with the one beer I had. Brandy drank water. We would eat here again if we ever found ourselves hungry while at the Forum shops. We wouldn’t make a special trip there just for Planet Hollywood.

    We walked over to the casino and Brandy wanted to make a couple Big Wheel dollar bets for some friends at work. I told Brandy I would meet her at the sports book. I really like the sports book at Caesars. It’s pretty much wide opened. I sat down for a few and rested my feet while Brandy played around a few Gold Fish machine and some 25 cent VP. She lost a total of $20 between the two and met me at the sports book. I was almost asleep when she came up. It was a nice break. We grabbed the car from valet and headed over to Bills. We have always wanted to see Big Elvis and we finally got the chance. We valet parked the car at Bills and found the front bar and pulled a couple empty seats up to some 25 cent VP machines facing Big Elvis. Ordered up a $6 pitcher of beer and about 10 minutes later Big Elvis came out and started one of the best shows I have seen in Vegas. This guy’s voice is amazing. He sang for awhile and about the time he finished we were through with the pitcher of beer. We would have stayed for a while longer and watched the 2nd show, but we still had a lot of things we wanted to see and do.

    We left Bills and headed to a place that we have wanted to see for over a year now. Yep, it was the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop on North Las Vegas Blvd. Home of “The Ole Manâ€, Rick, “Big Hossâ€, and Chumlee, the guys from Pawn Stars, a show that appears on the History Channel a couple times a week. We pulled up and realized ok, this place is a lot smaller than it appears. That usually is the case, isn’t it? We parked in the lot on the south side of the pawn shop and as soon as we began walking up to the door. We saw “Ole Man†walking out and getting in his truck. He was accompanied by a 6’ 300 + pound guy with a nice size 9mm or similar holstered on his right side. Sad that “Ole Man†has to have an armed escort from the front door to his truck. The body guard watched him drive off and casually walked back into the shop and sat down next to the only door in or out the front of this place. The inside is so small. Really weird to us how small it was. There are signs stating that you are not allowed to take pictures. We walked around and seen the infamous super bowl ring in the case and the really nice barber shop chair I would love to see. We didn’t see any of the other guys. It was almost 5pm by this time so I guess they were all gone. I struck up a conversation with one of the dozen or so employees that were working behind the counters. He was a nice enough guy. He told me if I wanted to see anything in the cases just to let him know. Of course there was a sign on the Super Bowl ring that said that it was not allowed out of the case. Okay, I hate confined spaces so, it’s time to go. We snapped a couple pictures outside at the front of the place. I will try and get them added to this later.

    We left the Pawn Shop and decided to pull into the World’s Largest Gift Shop. After parking we were approached by a homeless guy wanting money. Not thinking about it I just reached my hand into my pocket and pulled out all the change I had and handed it to him. Maybe three or four bucks at the most, no big deal. He quickly thanked me and hurried off across the parking lot. I turned around and started to walk into one end of the gift shop when I realized that I just gave away my son’s smashed up pennies that I got at the Luxor. I told my wife to go into the gift shop that I will be right back. I turned to where I had last seen him walking and ran over on the far side of the Souvenir shop I think it was Sahara Drive side and he was with a buddy. I said, “Hey, let me see that change I just gave you. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a hand full of change and handed back to me like I wanted it back. I smiled at him and told him what I was looking for. He went through his change and quickly found what I was looking for and handed them back to me. I thanked him and walked back to where Brandy was still standing. She quickly realized what I ran after. I thought what an Idiot I was for chasing this guy for two smashed pennies, but I couldn’t let them get away. Brandy thought I was a nut. We went into the shop, but didn’t buy anything. We left and went back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner and George Wallace show at the Flamingo.

    We ordered our George Wallace tickets from www.goldstar.com . We got our VIP seats next to the stage and free DVD and a meet and greet with George Wallace after the show. I want to thanks Hoya for telling me about gold star. We will definitely use them again. We first decided to grab dinner at Mad Onion at Hooters. I read someone else’s trip report and she mentioned this place and we thought we would give it a shot. We both had the rib eye and garlic mashed potatoes with corn on the cob for $9.99. It was definitely worth it. The steak was a pretty nice size. Next time I will ask for it to be cooked a little longer. It was too pink for our liking but it was good and well worth the price. Brandy ordered a cosmopolitan after dinner and I had a margarita. The total after tip was around $40. We then headed over to the Flamingo and valet parked the car. We went straight to the Flamingo box office and got our tickets without an issue. This is the first time inside the Flamingo and I got to say it’s really nicer than I thought it would be for some reason. As much as we like the Riviera and the price we are going to look at different options on our next trip and the Flamingo is now on our list of places to check prices. The show starts seating at 9:30 PM and we had about an hour to kill so what the heck, where is the Gold Fish at? I put a $20 in and Brandy plays some more $1 VP. I’m quickly up to over a hundred bucks and Brandy is up to about $30 out of her original $20. Brandy comes and joins me on an empty GF machine that just opened up next to mine and puts her $30 in and quickly loses it all. I cash mine out at $100 and keep the ticket and head over to the Flamingo showroom. We get seated in our assigned seats and we are literally right next to the stage. I told Brandy that we are sitting in prime seats to get made fun of. At promptly 10 PM George comes out and automatically goes right to Brandy thrusting himself right towards her. Brandy’s face is bright red and I’m almost rolling on the floor with laughter. He asked us where we were from and after telling him from Dallas, he came out with all kinds of jokes about Dallas and DFW airport. It was pretty classic and true. He asked us where we were staying and we told him the Riviera, he asked if that was that place way down at the end that makes you bring your own towels. Again I about rolled around on the floor along with everyone else. We laughed until we cried and then laughed some more. He seemed to not really have a standard prewritten routine. He asked people in the audience questions that they could have answered a number of ways and reacted to their responses. It was all hilarious. After about an hour and a half he started closing out his show by thanking us for coming and telling us that he just resigned a new three year contract with the Flamingo. I thought the show was about over and someone would yell out something and he would feed off of them. The show ended up over two full hours. It was great and very clean. He never used any vulgar language and refrained from using the N word or GD at all, which seems difficult for a lot of comedians these days. I would definitely see this show again in maybe a couple years and I would have no problems paying full price for this show. We paid $49.99 each for them and they would have been $89.99 each if we went straight through the Flamingo. Our total was $122 after taxes and all the other fees they throw in there. Another high light of the show was that GW started giving away gifts to random people. He gave away some spa gift certificates and a really nice purse (so says my wife). He gave an older lady a gift bag that was from Tiffany’s. No idea what was in it? After the show was over we went toward the exit where people with VIP tickets were getting in line to meet George Wallace and get our free DVD. He shook my hand and hugged Brandy and thanked us for being good sports. It was a nice experience and we watched the DVD already and it was just as funny. He autographed the DVD to Brandy and I thought that was another classy move on his behalf. I can’t say enough about this show. Go see it for yourself, but check out Gold Star first.

    We cashed out our winning tickets from my GF run before the show and headed over to the Wynn. We debated about going DT again since this was our last night, but decided against it since we had to have the car back by 9:30 AM and get to the airport for an 11:40 AM flight. We walked around the Wynn mostly watching people play craps. There was one table that was really a lively table. These people are having fun. Even when they were losing they were having fun. One poor sap, lost his last $50 in chips and turned to the guy who was throwing the dice and told him he was having the best time he had ever had in Vegas. It was pretty funny. We decided to check out some $1 VP machines. I played job and Brandy played deuces wild. Her first $20 lasted a lot longer than mine did. We ended up playing until about 2:30 AM before calling it quits. We were down….way down.

    We headed back to the room stopping off at the Riviera gift shop to get us a Dr. Pepper and some more shirts for the kids. We also got us some late night munchies. We were dog tired and our feet were again throbbing like crazy. We crashed about 3:30 AM.

    Last Day February 10, 2010

    Woke up the first time at 6:25 AM when the cell phone alarm went off and again 5 minutes later when Brandy’s went off. We had planned on getting up by 6:30 AM and eating breakfast at the MSS that we have heard good things about. Well, plans changed. We were too tired and ended up sleeping until 8 AM. We were already pretty much packed. All we had to do is take a quick shower and throw our clothes from yesterday into our bags and take off. We did our part to help in water conversation and took only one shower. We were dressed and out the door by 8:45 AM. Picked up the car from valet and headed our last drive down the strip. Returned the car without a problem and shuttled to the airport. We checked in through the many kiosks and were sitting at our gate by 9:30 AM. What really sucks is that US Airways has a 9:40 AM flight that we could have made. It is like I mentioned earlier. We learn new things every trip. I ended up putting $10 in a penny machine of some sort and played on it for about 45 minutes when I worked that ten bucks up to $85. I cashed out and went and sat at my gate and waited for boarding to start. Left on a winning note…….Even though we lost over $1000 throughout the entire trip.


    Thank you for reading. I hope it was not a bore. Brandy and I had a blast. Even though this was our 6th trip together we have learned so much from this board over the years. Thanks to all of you for being a part of our trip.

    Some things we would like to suggest if you haven’t done them before or if it’s your first trip to Vegas.

    Rent a Car – We saved a ton of money on cab fare. If all you plan on doing is staying up and down the strip and downtown, then just get a 24 hour deuce pass for $7 a day. But, if you want freedom to move around when you want to and go where and when you want then rent a car. Valet is free and we tipped $2 every time they got us our car. Even though Hooters (Mad Onion) is just right behind Tropicana, we would have never gone there if we didn’t have a car. Get off the strip and away and try out other places. We wanted to try a few local dinning places this trip, but just didn’t make it. We will next trip.

    We are not Vegas Rookies, but we still leave Vegas with feet that feel swollen and full of blisters. We walked a lot less this trip since we had a car and it didn’t feel like it. Invest in a really good pair of shoes. I think next time I am bringing my hiking boots.

    We used carryons only on this trip to save a few bucks. We will never to this again. Although we managed to get everything we needed into 2 smaller bags it was a pain to lug those bags around the airport in both Dallas and Las Vegas. Next time we will pay to check one big bag and just carry maybe my laptop bag onboard the plane.

    We have stayed at the Riviera several times and I have no problems with the rooms or the service that we get there. For the most part we don’t gamble whether we are staying there or not. We just use the Riviera for their room price. With that said, I am beginning to agree with what Chef told me a couple months back. There is just a whole better quality out there for just a few bucks more. If you are reading this and have reservations at the Riviera, don’t run out and cancel them. The Riv is just fine. September will be our seventh trip and it’s time we try something new.

    We are looking at the Wynn or Flamingo for the next trip if we decide to stay on the strip.
    If we go with staying dt then it will be between LVC, Plaza, or El Cortez.
     
  2. UMkid

    UMkid Tourist

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2009
    Messages:
    39
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Great TR, thanks a lot, man you guys did so much while you were there! Quick question, just out of curiosity do you remember how much that Super Bowl ring was selling for? I don't want to buy lol but just am curious, never heard of something like that being sold on the market before I saw it on the show, and do you know who's ring it was by any chance? Thanks again!
     
  3. Billy from TX.

    Billy from TX. Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2002
    Messages:
    1,363
    Location:
    Wylie, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    6
    Not for sale! It had a small note below it saying that it wasn't for sale and that it was not allowed out of the case. My believe is that everything is for sale. I guess to keep someone from saying that they are a potential buyer just to be able to hold it. Oh and it originally belonged to Brock Williams of the 2002 Super Bowl Patriots.
     
  4. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2007
    Messages:
    8,749
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    23
    thank you! Lots of detail. Love it!
     
  5. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2009
    Messages:
    3,104
    Location:
    Calgary , Alberta , Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    16
    Fantastic TR , ty for sharing

    Glad the little Goldfishies kept you entertained :)
     
  6. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2008
    Messages:
    2,084
    Location:
    TEXAS
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    8
    fabulous trip report!!!! stay at the flamingo!!!! you won't regret it! one of my first trips was at the riv and enjoyed it, but the flamingo is fabulous! perfect location...good rooms....great bartenders!!!

    thanks for the tr! :beer::beer::beer:
     
  7. FL Mary

    FL Mary Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2006
    Messages:
    293
    Location:
    FL Panhandle
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    Thanks for the detailed report! I enjoyed it!
     
  8. ronc

    ronc VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2009
    Messages:
    3,030
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Enjoyed It!

    Thanks for the report...you did a ton of stuff!!
     
  9. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2008
    Messages:
    9,151
    Location:
    Chicago & Scottsdale, AZ
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    100
    great report, I did that drive to LA and had dinner and drove back with a girlfirend in college about 20 yrs ago so that part of your report reminded me of it. great detail and the Riviera hotel rooms aren't bad at all. Thank for writing up the report!
     
  10. sarah9nascar

    sarah9nascar VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2008
    Messages:
    2,375
    Location:
    Mesquite, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    31
    Loved it and yes that's why we always rent from Alamo because they only put what you owe on your card.:beer:
     
    Sema Show
  11. Tammy58

    Tammy58 Frugal Slot Jockey

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2004
    Messages:
    2,224
    Location:
    Mass
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    16
    Loved your report! Sounds like our kind of trip, cheap eats and slots! We were thinking of the Pawn Shop also, but have read that they really don't like being bothered while at work so decided to skip it. I can see your interest in Flamingo, the one time I went into the Riviera's casino I felt it reminded me of Flamingo with the old low ceilings.
     
  12. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2009
    Messages:
    10,966
    Location:
    Southwest Missouri
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    74
    Enjoyed your report! Engrish!!!!!:thumbsup:

    you really crammed a lot into 3 days!
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  13. Tuna

    Tuna High-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2009
    Messages:
    918
    Awesome report Billy! You can send my $40 to:

    Mike Baker
    2620 W. 24th st.
    Chicago, IL. 60616

    thank you.
     
  14. Lorraine

    Lorraine Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2007
    Messages:
    227
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    6
    Nice trip report. You guys did alot!
     
  15. Billy from TX.

    Billy from TX. Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2002
    Messages:
    1,363
    Location:
    Wylie, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    6
    Thanks everyone! We had a good time and didn't get to a lot of things we wanted to do. Thats what September is for. I started looking at pricing already, but the prices are crazy this far in advance. Anywhere else it would be a better deal this far in advance, but I have noticed with Vegas its better to check a couple months prior. If anyone sees anything diffrent then please pass on. We are looking at first weekend in September maybe a THursday through Sunday. From DFW. Thanks again!
     
  16. pass line man

    pass line man VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2009
    Messages:
    1,600
    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    70
    Loved the TR, great detail and it sounds like you had a blast!
     
  17. Leeza14

    Leeza14 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2007
    Messages:
    1,242
    Location:
    Iowa
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    54
    Great, detailed TR! Thank you!
     
  18. Billy from TX.

    Billy from TX. Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2002
    Messages:
    1,363
    Location:
    Wylie, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    6
    Oh I forgot to mention. It rained everyday. The last full day we were there it rained pretty good. We never got wet once. Gotta love valet.
     
  19. mardaho

    mardaho Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2007
    Messages:
    349
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12
    "We were walking through El Cortez and yelling out, “Cocktails! Cocktails!†It was fun watching people snap their heads around with their hands up. One lady started laughing and threatened to take Brandy’s drink. It was one of those moments when you had to be there. We have told that story a few times and didn’t get one laugh out of it."

    I got a chuckle out of this ome :beer:

    thanks for the great TR
    you have to try the flamingo
    it is centrally located and you can casino hop pretty easily
     
  20. DeDe

    DeDe Tourist

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2004
    Messages:
    12
    Location:
    Bay City, Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    7
    Enjoyed reading your TR. Thanks for sharing!

    I agree with others- try the Flamingo. We've stayed
    there 4 times(prior to the GO rooms). We're trying
    a GO room in July. It just feels like home to us.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.