Hi, Remember Me? BORING!!! 7/2010

Well……off & running on hopefully a budget trip coming in around $2,000 all inclusive. I’m not holding my breath……….

My flight was free thanks to a bump & voucher from AA last fall when co-worker & I were on a business trip. So that was at least a plus (and probably the only plus of the trip, LOL). However, 2 or 3 days after booking the flight they manage to drop my flight & put me on one 3 hours earlier. This entailed then leaving in the middle of the night (airport is a bit over 2 hours) & a 3 hour layover at O’Hare. (Oh happy day………). They didn’t change the return flight, however, that entailed a 3 hour layover also.

This trip included a ‘Veejay’ hotel triple-booking move. In order to get the flight free I needed to book 6 nights total. So I had Flamingo for 5 nights with a birthday offer of $100 in food. Bellagio for 3 nights with $75 Freeplay. Orleans for the simple reason to play in a slot tourney with an $8000 first prize. I intended to sleep 4 nights at Flamingo & 2 at Bellagio.

Regardless, my mom drove me to the airport & we left around 2:30 in the morning. We used up all of my trip luck on the way down, as a dual-trailer semi drifted nearly half way into our lane. Mom was driving & managed to avoid him & he finally snapped awake & got back into his lane - luckily not fishtailing the back trailer & swiping us when he did. Whew! Then, just past the Dells it narrowed down to one lane & we unavoidably hit a piece of exhaust pipe which took out the front of mom’s muffler. But us & the rest of the car, gas tank etc., were in one piece. After a couple of rest stops I did make it in plenty of time & only after going through security did I manage to remember that I forgot my lightweight jacket in mom’s car. Figured it was not worth going thru security with carry-on & backpack a second time & just hoped I wouldn’t have to buy something to keep me warm in a casino.

I hadn’t left quite enough time for a sit-down breakfast at the Great Dane, so I was subjected to a latte’ & a blueberry pastry from the coffee shop. UGH. Edible but not exciting. No problem with the flight to Chicago & a long boring wait there. Ate lunch at Manchu Wok at the airport but nothing memorable. Two hours of sleep will do that to you.

No bumps available on the outbound flight (and yes, I would have subjected myself to an additional wait in order to get a voucher! I basically passed out into oblivion on the way out trying to get some sleep. I didn’t even regain consciousness for beverage service, although I do remember hearing the cart. Not a bad landing & hopped shuttle bus to the rental car center. I had decided on a Dollar Lock Low & Go with a total price of $176 for 6 days. Not a ton to choose from but I went with a white Ford Fusion with 3600 miles on it. You examine your car in the dark parking garage so it’s very hard to notice marks on it, such as the small dent near the driver’s door handle – that actually only showed up in the sun. So hopefully they won’t try to pawn that one off on me. I would assume the person checking it would have just as hard of a time in the garage seeing it as I did - only showed when sunlight hit the side. Rental car is one of the things I was paying out of pocket for.

Pretty tired so headed to Flamingo & checked in in Diamond/Plat room. I didn’t even ask if I had a GO room. Had a request put on for GO if available prior to arriving, but was just glad to be there & was willing to take a standard room if that's what I ended up with. Took the main elevators-mistake. LONG hallway walk. It’s just about ‘right there’ when taking the side elevators next to the Pearl Store & Spa. Regardless, got room 28014 which is a Double Queen with a south view including the fountains – GO room.

I was severely tired so I don’t remember much of the rest of that day – but I did proceed to lose my first days budget at penny slots, and headed to Margaritaville for supper. They didn't feel at check-in that Margaritaville would be included in my $100 food comp, but I knew I was going to eat there at some point so they agreed that the 'give it the old college try' might be the best way to find out. First meal was Brocolli & Chicken Alfredo with a rum drink. Absolutely delicious. Sat on the upper patio & it was almost comfortable with the fans & misters, but about 10 degrees cooler would have been great. The long day was catching up with me so I was up & in bed I believe by 11pm Vegas time.

Lesson Day 1: How many trips does it take to get a Norwegian to realize that getting up in the middle of the night to leave is NOT smart? Obviously 3 or 4 is not quite enough. We'll have to work on that next trip - thanks AA for cancelling that 11am flight!!! Next time when they cancel the flight, call them & get them to rebook the entire outbound leg.

 

I know where you live

I have been there many, many times. Unless there is more than one Great Dane behind the cheese curtain.

Cheese curds(squeaky only please), poppers, Badgers, and Packers.

 

Actually 4 Great Danes behind the Cheese Curtain! Maybe more?

Original one downtown, one on West side, one on South side & one at the airport after security. Plus one in Wausau - so that makes 5!

And I'm just over 2 hours northwest of that hub of great food & beer!!!

 

Thursday morning was the only physical room 'issue' of the trip. Toilet didn't want to flush properly - filled to the top & stayed full then gradually drained. Had noticed a few bits of paper floating in it the day before at check-in & this was probably the same issue. All resolved when I came back & no further occurences. I assume that either previous occupant or housekeeping had just flushed & never noticed it didn't drain or it would have already been fixed.

Breakfast Thursday morning was at Margaritaville – after waking up I had checked my video display and my meal from night one only showed the tip, so it obviously was working, and obviously Margaritaville was included. Breakfast of corned beef hash & eggs. It wasn't as good as the home-made stuff at the Paris buffet, but it was close & rather pleasant early in the morning before the strip heated up. And they offer a 20% discount for breakfast only to Players Club members, which would help extend that food comp, without burning too heavily into points. They automatically sat you on the 3rd floor patio area.

Played the free slot tourney at IP but not enough of a score to win any free play. Headed over to Orleans to check in & register for the slot tourney. Some nasty B**TARD had me in the 9 am grouping both mornings. How dare they!!! This is VACATION. I was very glad in this instance that I had rented the car, as I don't even know how early the shuttle ran - even if it would get me there prior to 8:45, I wouldn't want to have to get on it that early!

The check-in clerk offered me choice of a high room or a low room. Since I wasn't planning on staying, I just took the lower one & had a strip side view. I played a bit at Orleans (probably not enough to warrant the comp I had received) & ate a late lunch/supper at Fuddruckers – awesome cheeseburger, fries & a shake. I had ordered a kids meal as I planned to eat supper later, but ended up with a full-size shake when she forgot to give it to me & had to make it. Nummy!!! My addiction to Fuddruckers is to dunk the fries in the cheese sauce they give you on the condiment bar.

The rooms at Orleans are very nice and I would be fine staying there again – as long as I had a car. (I’m not a shuttle person). Very similar to the set-up at Bill's.

Back to Flamingo & penny slot land for the rest of the day. Nothing of any substance at all for wins - just basically slow bleeds through my daily budget.

Friday cycled through quite similarly to Thursday. I headed to Orleans & grabbed a bagel & played first round of tourney. This could be a tedious event with tourists in full swoop. The discussion of how Starbucks did not charge extra to put whipping cream (liquid unwhipped) vs. the coffee outlet at the Orleans (Seattles Best??) was a tedious thing to listen to - and the unhappy customers were making sure that the employees of SB KNEW they were of way lower quality than Starbucks! OMG just SHUT UP PLEASE.

Average score at the slot tourney. Back to Flamingo – Cobb Salad at Margaritaville for lunch. Slot tourney at IP again – cruddy score. The gentleman who line ducked ahead of me had current highest score for the day. Thanks toad - that should have been my machine!

LOVE ticket for this evening via the $50 Summer of Cirque special. They had assured me I had an aisle seat (I have a bit of a problem being trapped in an aisle so it has to be aisle seats on plane, etc.). She sent me to my section & I didn’t even read the seat numbers – went to the aisle seat. At close to show time she comes & tells me I am in someones seat. I explained they had spent 10 minutes making sure I had an aisle seat (which they had-only it was on the other end of the aisle which butted up against the wall/railing evidently) & was there anywhere I could move too? I was in I believe 305 or something – way up in the cheap nosebleed section - and I was willing to go up higher in that section if I could just get aisle. Of course those were full but she called down & took me to section 203 (?) down one level. Better view & very courteous of her – right on the aisle. So their error worked in my favor. As before, this show was absolutely completely outstanding. I would see it again in a heartbeat. Had I not already purchased Cheap Trick, I would have actually considered going again this trip. The music, the colors, the lights - everything is superb.

I had planned on BB Kings for supper but I still wasn’t hungry. That Restaurant.com certificate will have to wait. Watched one volcano while waiting for my car & back to Flamingo. I knew the car would show up just as I was watching the volcano – and it definitely did!!! Why when there are 250 people standing there for valet does my car come in about 6 minutes???

Decided not to fight traffic all the way down to the corner & hung a left into the alley between Margaritaville & OShea's where they hold the street party when Buffet is in town. It took be right back to the back street behind Flamingo & headed right back up the other alley to valet. Avoided trying to fight the jam up at the corner of Strip & Flamingo.

Did a late supper at Margaritaville after a while (are we noticing a trend here???) for a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger & a kick-a** drink. Order of blue cheese crumbles on the side. Sooooooo good. Bled out the rest of my days budget but still overtired. The heat was draining on the energy level, but still so preferable to Wisconsins humid months.

Earlier at IP on Friday I will note that I met & fell in love with the Lord of the Rings machines. Using the company website, I had created my log-in prior to my trip on playerslife.com & had already reached mile 10 online so I had extra bonuses to choose from. However, the fireworks bonus remained my favorite, although not highly profitable. You will note no extreme winning descriptions here as I didn’t have any over any of the days. Slowly bled thru my money with one $250 win on LOTR at Flamingo and a $100 win on King of the Nile. But that is expected of my trip. I plan for my cash that I take to go for gambling, tips & a couple of meals. My food & room are covered by my comps so I have no unplanned for surprises on my vacation. This helps keep my budget where I want it to be, unless I have an unplanned purchase at the Coach outlet.

My hope is that LOTR will end up nationwide at some point & I can continue my play at our tribal casino, but I am not holding my breath.

Mantra for the day for both Thursday & Friday is to remember a business meeting general session last year: 'How to Stay Positive in Both Good Times & Bad' - Do NOT let the idiots at the coffee shop ruin your morning & do not worry about a toilet that doesn't flush - maintenance will fix it!!!!

Orleans Room:



Ceilings near LOVE:

 

Enjoying the report and the pics. Laughed at the leaving in the middle of the night travel plan. Did that in June and I'm still tired! Looking forward to the rest.

 

There is nothing worse than that 'toilet bowl tension' watching the water rise and rise and rise, closer to the rim... closer... closer...

will the puppies fall out of the basket???


Well, okay, maybe there are a few things that are worse, but not many!


Enjoying the read.

 

Loving your report! We also love the Lord of the Rings games. Almost as much as the Star Trek games they replaced at the HET properties. We're staying at the Flamingo for the first time this coming November in a GO Luxury with view room. I hope our view is half as nice as yours!! And thanks again for the heads up on playerslife.com. We had already created our user names at Harrah's this month, but I logged on and was able to rack up a few extra miles. We're exclusively penny slot people and loyal to HET (sorry HET haters out there) so their set up with this slot company is great for us. Can't wait to read the rest of your TR. Thanks!

 

Great read so far

Enjoying the reports on the food and entertainment

 

Don't mean to hijack here, just tossing in my appreciation for the Great Dane as well. Great beer, good food. Went to the Great Dane Duck Blind for the first time this year as well.

OK see you all in Vegas for BADGERS 2010 woo woo, thanks for the TR.

 

great TR!!!

can't wait to hear the rewst!
Very enjoyable and pictures too!!!

 

enjoying the report so far. Looking forward to the rest.

 

Nothing fell 'out of the basket' lol !!!!

And as always GO BADGERS!!! (PS - son's rehersal dinner that I am paying for is at GD also!! And I so wanted to take him out for the Badger game (Orleans offer) in September, but no funds left, and doubt that fiance' would appreciate him doing that 2 weeks before the wedding!)

More below.......

 

Saturday breakfast it was back to the Orleans so I just grabbed eggs & toast at Fuddruckers for breakfast. There was no way I was going to suffer through a potential customer meltdown at the coffee stand again!

I did my last tournament session. I was in around 40th or 50th place prior to playing & had high hopes for moving up slightly. Was so excited I actually had done better than I thought. Instead I scored worse than either of the other two sessions & ended up dropping all the way down to 150th place with no payout. I knew that my score had trashed me so I didn’t even go to the champagne & cake awards ceremony later in the day. I highly wished I had tried what I overheard one player saying the day before - that you could keep your same machine from a previous session. I really don't know how they would do that when you drew random numbered balls from a bag to determine your machine, but sure wish I would have asked.

Headed to the outlet mall & was there about 10 minutes before they opened. Wandered thru a half-dozen stores & picked up a small credit card/license holder to match the wallet my daughter gave me for my birthday in white leather. I absolutely love Coach items, but will never pay full store retail prices. I only even dare to walk into the Coach retail stores when I am carrying my own outlet Coach purses as I then feel like I can 'sneak in where the rich people shop' even though I am there under 'false' pretenses, LOL.

I headed back to Flaming & did the bloody mary brunch (don’t drink them LOL – still have the bottle of liquor they gave me) & did the 24 hour buffet purchase. Didn’t eat a ton – I wanted to be able to enjoy my 24 hour buffet, rather than regretting it afterwards. Some of the check-out clerks were promoting the 24 hour pass, while others really missed the boat. One lady (gold) who had cut over in the D/P line was outraged at the price of the brunch, but the cashier missed the opportunity to up-sell her. The difference between the bloody mary brunch cost & the all-day was not all that much. The lady just ended up leaving. Had a view by the window of the gardens & it was quiet enough where I was to just relax & read.

I walked over to Bellagio to check-in for a 3 night stay. I didn’t plan on moving over to there until Sunday, however I needed to get checked in. I looked over the room which had a Ceasar’s view (in other words – none) & was at the far end of the hallway on the 28th floor - very last room. LONG walk. I played out my $75 free play & had about $40 which I promptly blew in another machine.

I headed across the street to Paris & let Mr. Woo rake me over the coals. I don’t know why I spend time at this one, except it has given me the $200 tent bonus at home a few times & it seems to be a good way to rack up credits if the bonuses keep coming. However the tent bonuses were few & VERY far between. I think I only had one on that machine, & it didn’t work as well for raking up the points. The lady at the other end of the bank had the tent bonus at least 4 times in the duration I only hit one time.

Saturday supper was at Paris (part of my all day buffet deal) and I ate with just enough time to get to Cheap Trick thru the $25 Travelzoo offer (about $42 with fees?). The line was medium long but no one waiting at D/P. A few people in the $10 pay & butt ahead line. I thought that the interesting part was that they seemed to take them in through the former exit area - I'm sure the fire marshall is just thrilled to bits over that. I focused on some prime rib, mac & cheese with brie cheese? (awesome), and crème’ brulee. Food was very good. Chocolate covered strawberries for desert – which he made it sound like was a Diamond bennie. Oh well, won’t get those next trip!!

The show was great. I really enjoyed it. The seat I was in was quite far over to the left (Front Orchestra). The very outer seats the attendant moved people to other seats where they could see better when the show started. I was right on the border of that but had a fairly good view. I was actually only about 6 rows back, even with the cheap ticket. I really liked the Beatles music slightly better than the Cheap Trick music, LOL. But I would still enjoy seeing it again. I played at Paris until it was time to drag my tired body back up the street.

Checked my video monitor on Saturday night at Flamingo & noted the same problem as last year with my $100 total (not per day) food comp, which is good for the duration of your stay. The first 24 hours of food is comped & comes off properly but after that I have to go down & ask them to adjust the rest of the bill. I suppose a lot of people burn it up easily in 24 hours with 2 people in the room so it may just be a default setting, as it probably normally disappears before day 2. I stopped in Sunday morning at D/P & the gentleman at first was going to say 'well it's because it's Margaritaville' - it was funny - he got thru about well it's beca.....' and then he went 'Oh never mind your first two meals there worked'. So I was just chuckling. He assured me it was an obvious error & I had $67 left in comps & he would have the supervisor fix it when he came back in 10 minutes. I didn't hang around to check but it was definitely fine later on.

Saturdays Mantra for the Day: Check your TV monitor in the room to verify all room charges & if it’s wrong you know they will fix it. (Remember - How to stay positive in both good times & bad………………..)

Should have posted this one yesterday.....



Look at all those cars on the strip....

 

Great stuff, jgates! I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I love the pic of the volcano with V/P in the background.

 

but, but, but, were the hallways clean in the Bellagio tower?:evillaugh

I'm enjoying your report, and I know you had your reasons, but I believe I would have changed to the B the day I checked in (of course I didn't see the room either)

Eager for more!

 

LOL - seriously had no problems with Flamingo other than the toilet that didn't work that day. And I will say I actually slept better in the Flamingo bed than in the Bellagio bed. And Flamingo room cooled quicker than Bellagio. Both great - but I would rank in order of Vegas sleeping comfort so far........

Flamingo GO bed
Bellagio bed (did keep a tag from that bed last trip so I knew brand)
Paris Red bed
Paris Regular queen/Ballys bed (tie)
Bill's
Sahara
Paris King bed (ROCK HARD for some reason)
MGM

Yes- believe it or not, MGM was about the worst. Add to the discomfort of the bed was the room location above the vents that were cleaned at 2am from one of the kitchens - woke us from a dead sleep with the stench, LOL. Needless to say MGM is not on the top of my stay list.

The hallways of course were horrible, but as a repeat customer, from my own view I would have not really noticed them had I not been thinking about them. As a first time customer they would have been nauseating & disgusting and would have made me very uncomfortable staying there. Room was perfect - I definitely didn't have the shower issues you did!

 

Sunday a.m. arose & I ate breakfast at the Flamingo buffet again. It was nice sitting by the gardens again & food was just fine. I was feeling sick (had been a bit off & on for days) so I ended up becoming friends with the washroom afterwards. NOT the buffets fault – I think an excess of smoke inhalation in the casinos was causing sinus draining problems – I know – too much info, LOL! I grew up in a smoking household but haven’t ever lived in one since I was 18 – it doesn’t take much smoke to make me very ill, as I have undersized sinus cavities (via doctor diagnosis). They offered to do the drill them out surgery but I have elected to suffer periodically instead. (Still TMI!!) I ended up just going back up to the room & hanging out the DND sign for an hour or so before trying to get moving again. Packed my bags up (was just leaving the room open at Flamingo that night).

I drove over to Orleans, checked out of my room & verified I was a total loser in the slot tourney, then headed to valet at Bellagio. After hauling my bags to that room at the far end of the hallway, eating the chocolates they had laid out at turndown & messing the bed up a bit, I called & asked if I could be moved. I really didn’t care where, I just did NOT want to be at the end of that hallway. As I have mentioned in previous trip reports, this is the only uncomfortable part of travelling alone - I do not want to be down at the end of a long hallway where I am walking by a ton of doors alone, nor around a blind corner. She tried a couple of rooms & finally moved me down to the 26th floor & the first room in the hallway. This time view was of Spa Tower & part of City Center. No luck with a fountain view, but DEFINTELY an easier walk. Out the elevator door, around the corner & first room on the left – awesome. Coloring in the room was a bit different (a bit 'orangier'?) & floor layout was mirror image, but overall the same room.

Was finally feeling a bit better after moving around so much, so I headed to Paris for a 12:30 lunch. Was hoping for no similar reactions to eating but couldn’t wait as my ‘time’ expiration was 12:46. Yes, I know I could afford a regular meal somewhere else later, but actually wanted to try Paris for lunch too as I hadn’t ever visited at lunch. Didn’t think about it being Sunday Champagne brunch – yikes – a long line in regular area. D/P had no one again but probably 15 to 20 people in the pay $10 extra line, which surprised me. That line was still in the exit door area. I didn’t really see how they were cashiering those folks –not sure if they were actually having them step over to that outside bar window to pay or what. But again, can't imagine the fire chief liked exits being used to usher people in.

Regardless, lunch went fine, although I kept it light. Smart thing to do with the 24 hour buffet. Had Mary as a server who is truly a great server & I know has been complimented in other trip reports also. I had one small glass of champagne at the end. Again, ate lightly for a buffet for me, but dove into both the crème’ brule & the custard.

Played away the afternoon & all my cash at Paris & back up to IP for another shot at Lord of the Rings. This game is totally addicting. I did try to play it at Paris but was always busy & never found it at Planet Ho. Played it a bit one day at Harrahs, but that set was the unluckiest. Never made it to Ballys or Ceasars this trip.

For supper I headed to HHAGG. I had a $50 voucher from a mailer to use there. I didn’t even really know what to want but figured a steak would not be too hard on my tummy as a heavier richer sauce meal would be. Started with a spinach dinner salad – outstanding. Steak was great & huge of course, with about half a bag of potatoes on the plate. To finish out the $50 I had a strawberry lemonade margarita which was cool & refreshing. I had planned on ordering another one & just paying whatever I ran over, but I think the fellow expected he would get slightly stiffed on the tip so he came back & said he had closed out the ticket as it was fairly close to the $50. So I couldn’t use any of the rest of the comp value anyway & just skipped the 2nd margarita. I did leave him about 20% anyway – so he definitely didn’t get stiffed. I felt his only fault was assuming I didn’t want anything else without asking, and also assuming the big table next to me was all on one ticket. As a server it’s the first thing I ask since it’s a lot easier to do when you have time & they are eating rather than when they are all ready to go. Some left some cash for the others to pay with as they have to leave. Others wanted to pay only their portion with plastic, comps, room charges, etc. And it just seemed like it was too much for him, even though they were telling him how they wanted it split up. I left before I ever found out if he got everyone to pay what they were supposed to. He made his own difficulties there.

Still having a significant amount of steak left, as well as potatoes, I asked for a to-go box & silverware. They brought it in a nice heavyweight paper bag with a handle. I prepped the steak by cutting it into pieces & putting A1 in the box along with the potatoes & the rest of the vegetables. Then took a gamble at the walkway by Bills & asked one of the homeless with a money cup set out if he would be offended if I offered him the rest of my food. He looked leary & asked what I had & I explained what it was & that I had just finished so it hadn’t been sitting out the heat & that there was silverware to use. He just looked at me & said he would appreciate it very much and thank you and gave me best wishes & thanked me for it being all ready to eat with silverware. I figured if he had blown me off I would have just eaten the rest of the steak back in my room later.

I know I have cut my own throat with Bellagio offers as I didn’t even play there when I got back to my room. I was full & tired and just didn’t have a desire to dump any money away (see I am smart sometimes!!). I didn’t even put enough points on my card this trip to warrant a backwards ‘don’t come back again’ glance.

I like the Bellagio, like the fountains, like the Conservatory, etc., but I am just a small-town country gal & I just don’t feel as relaxed there as I do in the noise & neon in the Flamingo and the HET properties. It’s also slightly overwhelmingly big – which turns me off (and part of why I have never tried Ceasars, even when offered free). Paris even feels a bit too fancy for me sometimes, but I have been there so many times that I feel comfortable. I feel badly about this but next trip if I need an extra night I will probably just pay the casino rate rather at Paris or Flamingo rather than heading somewhere else. It’s just hard to stick a Fairfield Inn girl in a Four Seasons style property!!!

Mantra for the day: Hopefully being nice to the homeless person will come back & shine on you at some point in the future, even if it doesn’t on this trip!!!

And the How to Stay Positive in Both Good Times & Bad for the day......
Do something nice for someone & the good feeling in your own heart will make the bad in the day disappear.

2nd Bellagio room:

 

Wonderful TR so far

awwwww so nice of you to offer your doggie bag of steak dinner to that fellow , he probably felt he hit the jack pot Pay it forward, eh!

I think I'd like to try the Bellagio at least just once

 

Is it horrible to not remember where I ate breakfast on Monday? I think maybe I didn’t? I walked back to Flamingo to check out & I believe breakfast was a lonely leftover cinnamon Krispy Kreme & a latte from the morning coffee stand outside the D/P check-in/out. After 5 or 6 days and too many Long Islands, ones brain has a tendency to vegetate. But that’s what vacations are for!!!

I went out back & sat in the gardens to eat the donut & latte – I love to sit near the sign up front that says Flamingo on the rock & offer to take pictures of people. Most are taking pics of each other so someone is always missing in the photos. I took pictures of about 10 couples/groups & everyone appreciated my offer.

Headed to IP to do the daily free play slot tourney – no luck again. The lady ahead of me in line on the machine next to me ended up in about 3rd for the day at that time. (REMEMBER - On Friday the fellow ahead of me in line won – don’t know how I can manage both days to be one person too late in line). After many Long Islands, I headed to a late lunch at Margaritaville. First Volcano Nachos of the trip. Tasted great & I managed to sober up slightly by drinking about three 20 oz glasses of water. However, I did NOT sober up enough to put my bill on my room charges – I have no idea why. Even with the $100 food comp used up, I had plenty of points to pay for it. Instead I hand them my credit card. Dumb drunk.

Time to explore the confines of Planet Ho. I had given up playing there under their own card as even after what I felt was significant play I never once even received a post-card or e-mail from them. I am one of the few lonely souls who are very happy they are under the HET umbrella. I was happy to see a lot of games that must have been left over from before the change as I haven’t seen them in other HET casinos – at least not in a long time. They had a bank of I believe 6 Outback Jack machines so I decided to sit & relax at those. Did manage to make the money last for awhile. And sometimes things just don’t go your way. A lady sat down next to me who had absolutely NO idea what she was doing. She started betting $3 a spin & gets the bonus within a few spins (while I was trudging away at .30 a spin….). Manages to rake in a few hundred skipping all the way across the rocks to the other side to double her prize. I explained the entire game to her as she went along. A couple of spins later she gets the card game. She had no idea what she was doing. I patiently sat & explained what cards she wanted, what was going to pay, etc., and of course she gets all of him so she wins $1300. HELLO – I’m the one sitting her walking her thru everything. Why are the gambling gods NOT shining on me?????????? I knew I had enough points to even out to Platinum level for the year so I decided to cut my losses & run. I did find an ‘Avalanche’ game though that we used to have in our local casino which had long ago disappeared. I played that for about 45 minutes, racking up about 75 TC’s and staying even. Should have played on this game the entire trip!!! I love it when you at least don’t lose!!!

Headed back to Bellagio & I don’t know if I was feeling the nachos, or the heat but I ended up in bed for a nap at 7pm. This trip I had gone through waves of not feeling well and this was just one more episode – whoopee. I drug myself out of bed at 9:30, went down for a fountain show from the Bellagio side (stood up by where the vehicles come through – not enough energy to go down by the lake). Then headed to the Conservatory to at least look through it. It’s a totally different world at night & I love it.
In the 2nd Bellagio room there was a burnt out light bulb & light in the clock didn’t work. I know – I should have called & reported these but didn’t ever think about it until I was laying in bed sick again – at which time I do NOT want to call maintenance & have them trapsing around my room. So consequently the next guest would encounter the same problems (minor of course). Room also didn’t cool exceptionally well. Evidently had the same ‘motion’ activation – so middle of night it would get very warm – however Flamingo room cooled off a lot faster. It stayed uncomfortable for a longer time in Bellagio room.

Mantra for the day: CHARGE TO YOUR ROOM. Do not be a drunken idiot & put it on your credit card. Hide the CC in the most inner part of your wallet & do not bring it out. Use those comp points.

MANTRA for the day #2 – geez being sick on vacation sucks. (Keep repeating…..How to stay positive in both good times & bad……………)

 

I had one $100 bill left & the goal was to spend it in the high limit area in the morning at Paris, even though it would screw up my ADT. However, I had to wait so long for Bellagio valet in the morning (OMG – awful), that I had to just double park at valet (they just pulled car around to back of line for me) so I could go in & write a check for my line draw. I never had the time to visit the high limit room as car was waiting & so was airport. The Bellagio Buffet also needs more 'cool' seating room - that room was full as so many people were waiting for their cars - so we were stuck out in the oppressive heat waiting for cars.

Filled up at the same station to the south of MB & dropped it at rental center. Terrible’s maybe? No trouble through security other than one entire family from a foreign country who stood in a pack & wouldn’t let people get around them to the other security gates.

My $2000 goal ended up setting at $2300 (plus rental car & 2 show tickets). Food was basically a non-event as my Flamingo $100 comp & my players card credits covered everything there. Spent $45 at outlet mall at Coach & about $25 at Orleans for 2 meals, plus airport meals. Only problem is that I did NOT have the bankroll to go so I had to ‘payback’ this trip after I got home. Hmm…….hoping to get lucky from my weekly free play at our local casino did not help me out in that situation. However, this last Monday night I played Life of Luxury & had the Diamond come up for the first time in about 19 months. (Got it to show up one time on a .30 bet – no win). I was betting .90 so still only a 3 in 8 chance but I selected the same gem I ALWAYS pick (top row – 2nd one from left) and hit the progressive. Taxable win as it was over $1200 but that $1300 plus a bit more I had already repaid has me only due about $700 on this trip. Next time I will have the money banked ahead of time!!! I hate not being able to plan or save for a trip because I still owe for the last one & I am NOT letting that happen again. So if you hear me planning another trip - make sure I have the cash.

General Observations:

**Drink Service was overall very good. I may have mentioned it already, but twice I told the drink servers to not bring me another one even if I asked, as I don’t want to get goofed up when I am a diabetic travelling alone. And for being a sleazy little dump IP has awesome drink service. Felt like I had a Long Island Ice Tea IV in me.

**It sure looked like the economy was in full bloom, however, a lot was because of the BB camps/tournaments in town. So many people all of the time, all over the place. It was just as ‘crowded’ as it was a few years ago when it was at peak. I was glad I had received the GO room as the hotel was I believe very close to being sold out (Flamingo). Bellagio indicated they were very highly occupied that weekend also. Although I sure didn’t notice the BB crowds there as I did at Flamingo, Orleans, Harrahs, etc. Valet was listed as full nearly every day & open only to hotel guests or Diamond members.

**IP really seems to be trying to jazz themselves up. Between Human Nature (off while I was there), the daily slot tourney, HHAGG & a new daiquiri bar – they seem to be adding & expanding things to bring in more clientele on a continual basis. I still doubt I will ever want to stay there for a room, however, I actually began to enjoy playing there this trip.

**Cocktail servers were actually courteous & made you feel like you were welcome there. I had one at IP that stopped & chatted & complemented me on my purse – wanting to know where she could find one like it. One at Flamingo came back before she left her shift & said thank you for being so nice to me. Huh? Say what? I don’t think she actually knew how nice that made me feel – to have someone go out of their way & come over & thank me, the customer. How sweet. I sent a compliment on the 2nd one to the executive casino host.

**Hallways at Flamingo are awful – the room was fine & in excellent condition. However, that first impression of a dirty hallway can sour a visitor & make them believe the room is sub-par also, even if it isn’t. I passed along those observations to the exec casino host also, who assured me he had shared them with the VP’s, & that customers thoughts are taken very seriously. First impressions can make or break a place. I have stayed there enough that I wouldn’t for myself even notice the carpets, however, after reading comments on them on here, as well as hearing at least THREE times by people in the elevator how awful they looked, I looked thru new visitor eyes passed along my thoughts.

**Why does IP run a huge promo with signs about being ‘Green’ & then serve their drinks in disposable glasses? Does the use of the water to wash the glasses outweigh the dumping of disposable ones in the landfill? (Also passed that thought along!!)

**Made Platinum – since my ADT doesn’t really vary, my offers don’t really expand with Diamond over Platinum. If I can get there in March I will try to squeeze in one more free Human Nature show, but that’s really all I will miss as a benefit. Vegas will let me line cut for food with Platinum & other than quelling a low blood sugar attack, the Diamond Lounge for me isn’t that much of a perk. I don’t yearn for top-shelf liquor, etc. & I can wait the extra few minutes in the places that don’t have a Diamond cashier window line.

**Regarding Diamond, I did pop into the Diamond Lounge at Flamingo one night (don’t remember which or I would have included in regular part) – my blood sugar was low & I figured I could grab a couple of sweet snacks to tide me over as I wasn’t hungry enough for a full meal yet. I gave her my card & was digging my wallet out & she said ‘Don’t worry, I have helped you before, & I recognize you. You don’t need to dig for it’. I thought that a bit odd as I have never been in the Flamingo DL before but she seriously did look very familiar – wondering if she maybe moved from a different position where she had actually helped me before. Check-in possibly? And I did get a couple nice little bite-size deserts as well as a bottle of water & a Diet Pepsi to keep me hydrated. The food/snack stations were full, and drink service was quick.

**Which follows up again with, stay where you are comfortable. I’m the 2 to 3 star hotel type of girl & where I stay provides me with everything I need. I’m not a V/P type of girl & those types of facilities put me well out of my comfort zone. I’m an average person & I like to treat myself, but I can’t treat myself in a level that I feel out of place, or it just sucks the fun right out of all of it.

Came home to a humid, sticky Wisconsin. At least in LV I can breathe & seriously I am much more comfortable in the 110 degree heat there than the 90 degree, 85% humidity here.

FORGOT to use my $25 free play coupon – of all things!