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.

Lvh & ti -- 12/03 - 12/05

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by bsbaz, Dec 5, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. bsbaz

    bsbaz Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2008
    Messages:
    73
    Location:
    AZ
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40

    My Trip Report

    The wife had a conference up in Vegas, so I decided to take advantage and meet her as it ended on the weekend. Flew up on Friday night on the last flight out of PHX. Before I got on the plane, my wife called to inform me that she was not going to pick me up at the airport as planned due to her going out drinking with co-workers. I was dreading the cab line...but was extremely lucky to run into a guy that I know who was on the same flight and offered to give me a ride to the Las Vegas Hilton. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed due to the pilots' late arrival into town and we got to Vegas one hour late. It was a quick ride to the LVH with J and SH as I not so silently laughed at the people in the ridiculously long cab line. I was going to have my wife come down and met J and SH...except she was non-functioning due to the amount of partying she did...so I just went back down to have some drinks myself and due a little bit of gambling. We ended up playing some $10 roulette for a good while, it was just J and I playing for most of the time and we had a friendly dealer. After a few hours, called it quits for the evening and went up around 2 or so.

    The next morning, headed down to get some coffee and bagel. The LVH has a very weird cafe, I can't remember the name, but they are a coffee and wine bar, thought it was a odd combo, especially at that place. Anyways, line way long but ordering process was super fast and efficient. Also kind of expensive. Delivery of the food was poor, as my plain bagel sat for a few minutes on the counter as they called out for the 'toasted whole wheat bagel', so of course I wouldn't come up for it. Eventually, it was figured out...the meal was good. Moved everything to the car, W headed to her conference and I headed to take the Monorail on my way to meet S at Mandalay for a poker tournament. Made my way to Excalibur monorail station and did the dead sprint into the tram just through the closing door...I was quite pleased with myself and got a couple of positive comments for the nice timing. Met S and we played the 22 player tournament. I'd say I played below average...the only noteworthy thing that happened was the hand I got knocked out there were *four* sidepots and a total of three of us getting knocked out.

    Since we got knocked out earlier than planned, we decided to head over to the Pinball Hall of Fame, which I've always wanted to go to. Definitely a cool place, had a ton of games that I played growing up...I wish I had had more time to spend there, but enjoyed the 60-90 minutes we spent there. I'd love it if they had something similar to that in AZ...unfortunately, I don't see myself going there a lot in Vegas, just because in general there are other, more fun activities that I can be doing in Vegas...

    Got a call from W that she was on her way to meet us, so I redirected her to go to Treasure Island and we'd meet her there for lunch. Went to Canter's and the food was good for the most part, nothing spectacular, nothing horrible. Checked into and went up to our room on the 11th floor. Probably the poorest view you could have, the fashion show mall and the freeway...oh well, with only one night there, I wasn't too concerned with the room view. I did like the accommodations however, I thought the room was very clean and had nice decor, thought it was a little small, but since I wasn't on a trip where we were trying to cram a ton of people into the room like when I was younger, it was not a big deal. I would definitely consider staying there again.

    Since J was tired from her conference and still recovering for the previous night's activities, I went to check the casino out. Found a $10 craps with no one on it and decided to dive right in (note: I'm a low roller, and usually am strictly a $5 table player...I played $10 tables most of the time this trip, so still a low roller, but I'm working my way up!). I did pretty well on the first roll, had worked up bets on 5 numbers with come bets before seven-out. Did choppy after that, but in a 20-30 minute session, I made about $40, so that was good. Headed over to the sports book to make a parlay bet on the B12 championship game (that I lost...but that's ok, since I had one a parlay earlier on the ASU-UA game that I had the wife place before I got in town) and went back to the room to rouse J and head out.
    We trammed it over to the Mirage and then walked over to the Bellagio to check out the conservatory which was all holidayed out. From there, we trammed over to the CityCenter/Aria, as the wife had never been (Note: for those not paying attention, that's *four* trams in one day, I've very pleased of this accomplishment...I think the only one I didn't ride was the one at the airport and that isn't exactly open to the public). My impression from my previous visit was the same...Crystals and Aria are extremely confusing places to navigate, not a fan...maybe if I spend more time there, I'll like it more, but the casino layout is just damn confusing. We eventually made out way over to Monte Carlo and I ended up playing some $10 blackjack with J played some machines. Started off on a bad note as I doubled and got 20 on the first hand and lost. I pushed another 4-5 times and I wasn't even there for a whole shoe. My worst decision was when I bet my remaining $40 on one hand and got crushered.

    After this we headed over back to CityCenter to eat out P.U.B. I definitely liked my sliders (very good fries too) and my beer flight. I think I would go back. After this we just wandered out way back up the strip and ended up at the Venetian. Unbelievably we found some multi-denomination video poker machines that ranged from $.01 to $.25. Crazy...so we played those for a bit before heading back to TI and calling it a night.

    We had talked about getting up early to go watch the marathoners...but sleep was too inviting. Check out around 830a and headed over to Sunset Station to meet S for breakfast. Ended up going to the Feast. It was pretty good, not a long line at the omelette station, so I didn't have to have buffet eggs, and the rest of what I had was pretty good. Said goodbye to S and I went to get my last minute fix over at the craps table. One player was rolling. Okay first roll for him and then myself. On his next roll he was hitting a ton of numbers and a few points. I was up on five of the points and pressing up the odds and had a pretty fair amount out on the table when the stick changed. Immediately seven out, then I had a poor roll so I took off. It's too bad to, as I was on the precipice of a huge win. On the way to the cashier, tried a few spins of roulette to no avail.

    Left town, and I gotta say WOW...from Sunset Station we were in AZ less than 25 minutes later....25 minutes used to be the time you'd have to wait to get over the bridge. The functionality of the bridge is great...the form, not so much since the views are nil...but I'm more interested in fast transport so it was all good. With stop for gas in Wikieup, having a slowdown on the way into Wickenburg due to slow drivers and not driving all that fast, we still made it to our destination in slightly more than four hours...I think someone hustling from North Phoenix can definitely make Vegas in four now.

    Overall, it was a good trip, but a little too short. I lost a little bit overall, but not too much (less than $50) and ended my streak of 3 or 4 straight winning trips. One thing I noticed was that in the past $15 & $25 craps tables were the norm at most places on weekend evenings. At every single place I looked (including Aria, Bellagio, Mirage, Venetian) there was at least one $10 craps & blackjack table going. The only exception was Caesars.

    Thanks for reading, hopefully back in March!
     
  2. Motorhead

    Motorhead Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2010
    Messages:
    258
    Location:
    Colorado
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    24
    Thanks for the TR, sounds like you had a ton of fun. One *small* complaint: I'm kinda confused over who J, SH, and S were. Seems like J was also at TI with you and wife, but not clear. And you mention SH early, then he/she seems to morph into S...or S just appears out of nowhere. A clear roster just makes it easier to imagine what yer doing, lol!
     
  3. FoolsGold

    FoolsGold Tourist

    Joined:
    May 16, 2008
    Messages:
    1,688
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12
    I often play at uncrowded craps tables. For a short session it may not make but difference but if you are the only player at the table that house edge will work against you relentlessly.

    I was shocked to learn Aria had a ten dollar craps table. Tnx for the info.
     
  4. Rolled Up Aces

    Rolled Up Aces Tourist

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2010
    Messages:
    24
    Location:
    Houston TX
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    pinball sounds fun
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.