Yeah, baby Vegas 9/29 - 10/5

Touched down at 10:19 a.m. in Las Vegas. Went to the Riviera to check in. Ok, let me stop here. I could not find my way around in this place and stayed lost most of the trip. Our room was in the Monte Carlo tower, and I swear I would spend 30 minutes everyday just trying to find the room (and I wasn't even drinking.)I don't know how the old folks found their way around here. If I had brought my parents, I would have spent half my time trying to find them. Went to Gold Coast for Sunday Brunch. Food was great, but would not go for brunch again. Gambled a little, won a little. Off to Red Rock Canyon to see the sites. Last time we were here we saw lots of wild burros. This time only three and that was after we had left the actual park area. Went downtown for the night to see "The Fremont Street Experience" saw three different versions. Tried to find the "largest gold nugget in the Gold Nugget", but couldn't. Where in the heck is that thing? Went to Binion's coffeeshop for dinner. We are BIG spenders you know. I had the beef stew. I swear three people could have eaten that bowl of stew. It was huge. My hubby had the ham and eggs special. The ham covered the entire plate. Friend with us had the ham and beans. Huge portions. Played at Gold Nugget and Fitzgerald's. Won at the Nugget; lost at Fitzy's.

9/30/02
Really splurged on breakfast at Nickel Nick's at Westward Ho. Hot chocolate and really big donut for $1.50. Hubby had coffee and donut for .55. Told you we were big spenders. Spent the morning walking to the casino's near the Riv. Circus Circus, Westward Ho, Slots of Fun and Stardust. Only won at the Stardust on nickel Texas Tea. Ate another bargain meal at Westward Ho. This time we splurged for the 14 inch dog with chili, had a 99 cent Margarita. Then off to the Free Ice Cream social.
Talk about Vegas on the cheap. This is it baby.
Waited around for the lounge act- Elvis impersonator, I think his name was Kennedy. He was decent, and looked kind of cute with those lambchop burns. Ate dinner at Sahara buffet. Would not recommend it, but it was cheap $6.99.
On to the Stratosphere , to go to the top. View as usual was amazing. Lost money at the Stratosphere. Should have stayed away from those damn dollar slots. Everybody was winning on that carousel, and I just felt lucky. Should have gone to bed early.

10/1/02
After three days of gambling I am a whopping $5.00 up. Big Whoop!!!! I went downstairs while hubby was in the convention meetings and gambled at the Nickel Zone at the Riv. Won $90 bucks on nickel machines. Not bad, feeling like a winner.
Went to the Rio for dinner. There is not a better buffet in my opinion than this one. Gotta try those little chocolate cups with the fruit in them. Stayed around for the Sky Parade and watched the clowns perform. Could not get those freebie beads from the people in the floats. A clown appreciated the fact that I was the only one clapping for him and threw me some. Left there and went to the Palms just to see what it looked like. Saw them taping a portion of Real World with some long haired chick all cozied up to some dude. Tried to go upstairs but Balooka Joe stopped us at the elevators to ask for room keys. I tried to play all cool and said do we need a key to go upstairs. No dice. I guess I just don't have it anymore. This place had a mafioso atmosphere. After that we went to Mandalay Bay and saw the Shark Reef. Hubby was complaining about the price, but afterwards, he said he enjoyed it. Mandalay Bay was impressive, but I did not win one thin dime here.

10/2/02

Didn't do much today. Hubby was in meetings all day. Went to Mirage for dinner. Thought it was way overrated, or maybe just a let down from the Rio. Did not think the price was worth the quantity of food. Only saving grace was the to die for cheesecake with lemon and strawberry glaze. Apparently I was the butt of some joke here with some Japanese guy and his two friends.
They just kept looking at me and laughing. I wanted to go over and give them a little Hai Karate, but decided against it. Glad I could help them out. Went to the Pirate show at Treasure Island, and walked around the Venetian. Went to Madam Troussauds wax museum.
good point- you get to touch the figures. bad point- Elvis had left the building. We asked and E was in Florida for repairs. Bummer!!!

10/3/02 Walked to the Frontier. Not impressed.
Drove down to Caesar's. Saw a Joan Rivers look alike. Convinced the dumb friend with us that it was really her. Ate at Planet Hollywood.
Walked down to Bellagio for the water show. Impressive. Proud to be an American brought a tear to my eye. No joke!!! Went to Paris and Imperial Palace. Went to the Car Museum. I thought it was really worth seeing if you are into that sort of thing. Did not win at all today. Put your money away honey. Put your money away.

10/4/02
Went to the Tropicana, New York New York and some others. Need to just stop gambling. I am not winning any more. Tried to beat the dumb chicken at the Tropicana playing Tic Tac Toe. Yes, I am a dummy. Got another 99 cent margarita at The Trop. This one actually had some liquor in it. GAve me a buzz. Saw Big Elvis at Barbary Coast or Casino Royale can't remember which one. I forget now. They are all starting to run together by this point. Went to the Orleans for dinner. Highly recommend it.


10/5/02
Heading home on the big bird. Searching for terrorists in every corner. Have seen at least three. Glad to be going home but can't wait until next time already. Actually came home with some cash, but only because we were so frugal on the food budget.
Happy travels.

 

As Chief Frugal for the club I enjoyed your trip report. You don't need to be a millionaire to have a great time in Las Vegas.

You certainly packed a lot into that trip! I would venture to guess you would have a good time wherever you went. I am convinced that enjoying yourself is a state of mind.

I eat very well in Las vegas for very little, and some of the best entertainment is free. I do enjoy the shows though, and then there are those damn slot machines. I seem to fill them up for some lucky people that I will never know!

Jim

 

Funny, I don't remember 99 cent margaritas at the Trop do you Jim? Aren't nickel slots fun? I mean I had not planned to play nickel slots when I was out there in April but I had a good time.

Glad you had a good trip. Thanks for the report.

 

They must have been taping something else Real World rapped up taping a few months ago

 

Kathy:
We got a coupon when we signed up for the slot club for the 99 cent Margarita.

 

lvbabe:
Just assumed it was the Real World because it was at The Palms. All I know is that it was some young long haired chick all cuddled up with some dude. You would have had to of had pliers to get those two unstuck from each other. There was a camera crew and they were keeping everyone back.

 

Jimbo:
We did have a good time even though it was on the cheap. We had already taken two vacations this year, and this was a last minute 1/2 freebie trip because of hubbie's convention. We couldn't pass it up.

 

I love those cheapo trips, too! I'm going in December; I've booked 4 nights at Orleans/Palace Station for $32 total! Airfare was relatively cheap (I actually haven't booked it yet; I could use frequent flyer miles and REALLY make this a cheap trip); now to look for some food bargains!

 

Bigdogmom:
Wow! what a bargain. I was impressed with The Orleans. The only thing that did not impress me was that two groups of people almost had a brawl right on the casino floor. It had something to do with underage people being in the casino bar.
I would consider staying there. The friend with us won most of his losses back here the night before we left. Have fun!
Marie