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Aladdin 8/24-8/27 The Conclusion (Phew!)

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by dkbk, Aug 31, 2004.

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  1. dkbk

    dkbk High-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    Thursday, Last Full Day [​IMG] :

    Woke up early to hit the Paris Buffet before it really got crowded, and to avoid the turn, since they seem to take out the best breakfast items and put our least favorite lunch stuff first. Waited about 10 min., but if we were there 10 min. later it would have been an hour. Buffet was great as usual, and they added Nutella Crepes [​IMG] .

    We planned to check Tickets2nite and maybe see a show and gamble at night on Thursday, so we were going to mellow out in the afternoon. Checked both 1/2 price places, but nothing decent open. Thought about getting "We Will Rock You" tickets since we were told there were some available for Thurs. Night, but we figured it will be in NY soon enough (or we'll see it when we get back). By the way, the feedback we got on WWRY was excellent from three different couples we talked to who saw it.

    We decided to walk off breakfast and headed to the Tropicana to sign up for the Player's Club after learning that the AC and LV clubs don't overlap so we could get the offers. Turns out it was a waste, since there was a lot of fine print on the coupons and all we got were two decks of cards. Neither of us really liked the Trop casino. I actually like the Trop in AC better, high ceilings, etc. The LV Trop is kind of claustrophobic.

    After the Trop we went to the MGM to see the Lions. The lion enclosure was packed, and the tables that were open were busy, but for some reason the slots were dead. I was disappointed that the males were not there, they were in on Friday, and we never got there. Watched the trainers play with the females with a ball for a little while(and learned from the gift shop lady that they don't do that with the males unless the males REALLY want to play).

    Went back to the Aladdin and hung out by the pool. The pool area is kind of plain, but it grows on you. The bar is inside the domes and that's cool. The water in the Aladdin pool had to be the cleanest pool water I've ever seen. Waitress service was great, and the prices were reasonable for a pool. I wanted to buy a Paradise Punch in the genie bottle for $9.00 (I think it is $6.00 for a refill) but I had a few drinks already earlier and Beth reminded me I was driving tonight. As was par for the trip we were sitting next to someone from Jersey who knew someone who we know at the pool.

    After going back to the room for a while we were planning to eat and then go downtown for some grain and gambling. We were going to do Mon Ami Gabi, but Beth wasn't up for it and wanted to enjoy it if we ate there. Went across to Cafe Bellagio, but I couldn't find anything they wanted.

    We hit the rental car and headed downtown. Went to park in MSS valet lot as suggested, but the lot was dark and the valet was a sleep, so we went to the self park lot and validated. Thought about hitting the MSS buffet for dinner, but we were buffeted out. Looked at the brewpub, but not what Beth wanted. Eventually (and oddly) we wound up at the Carson Street Cafe in the GN. It was actually ok. I had a smothered chicken dish and Beth had a salad. Very reasonably priced and decent portions. The service wasn't bad.

    Walked up and down Fremont for a while, got a Twinkie at Mermaids (didn't care for it that much, but it may have been overcooked). Then we looked for someplace to gamble. Beth was not enamored with downtown. Binion's was a morgue. The 4 Queens was pretty smokey and Mikey was right about the LVC not being great for BJ anymore. Checked out the Plaza, but it does have some kind of funky smell that we couldn't place.
    Went back to MSS, there wasn't much going on, so we decided to go on a quest. Drove out to Sam's Town at the recommendation of a woman we met at Carson Street Cafe, and since we read it was a good place to gamble...well, every BJ table was 6:5, so we took the ride for nothing.

    Drove back to the strip, parked at the Aladdin and went to find good BJ somewhere. First hit the Boardwalk, figuring we'd check out Purple Reign as well (wasn't impressed, and we both like Prince). They had a lot of low limit tables, but all 6:5. Went to NYNY next.

    NYNY had a few $10.00 tables, and we waited and waited, but no one was getting up. Casino is really cool at NYNY, and I will definitely drop some $$ there next time back. I was also served by a cocktail waitress while waiting (cool).

    Went back to Aladdin to check out what was going on there. They had a couple of $10.00 tables that weren't 6:5, but they were also dealer stands on all 17s. Since I hadn't played that before I wasn't going to try at 2 AM.

    Friday (Last Day)- Up early. Checked out of the room (cheaper than we thought), and brought the bags to the car. We were going to hit The STRAT and take advantage of the free early AM tower (8-11), but we hadn't played any BJ yet, and I was itching to. Went over to the Orleans, where we should have gone in the first place. I love the Orleans (Beth liked the gambling and the place, wasn't thrilled with the day crowd).

    Signed up for the slot club and the table club. I got a funbook for joining the slot club and used one drink coupon and the free gift coupon. Got a bonus 1000 points and traded that in for $3.00. Beth and I sat down at a $5.00 table and I got my clock cleaned. Had a good run for a while, but people kept popping in and putting one bet down for the table max killing the cards. One young kid kept bouncing between the $3.00 and $5.00 table with no clue about basic strategy. I never saw more 12s and 16s in my life. Dealer Blackjacks killed me too. The worst part was the first dealer couldn't count and wasn't very coordinated. I cut my losses down $50.00 since it wasn't getting any better. Beth was up, so we wound up down $23.00 on BJ after she switched to the $3.00 table. Drink service was great, Waitress brought me a 2nd Bloody Mary without me asking, and was quick with my JD and Coke when I switched. On the way to the bathroom a guy started falling out of his wheelchair. These things only happen to me, since at Mac King a drunk passed out, and of course I had to help out both times having the training to do so, so there were my little excitements for the trip.

    I wanted to try the Orleans Buffet, but Beth wanted Spice Market again. Gassed up the car at Phillips 66 and went to the Spice Market and it was great again. Walked the strip one last time and debated getting the full yard Margarita at La Salsa Cantina with the Dessert Passage Coupon, but we thought we were in a rush to catch our flight.

    Dropped the car at Alamo (a breeze) and headed to the airport. Checked my credit card statement when we got back and there was a $9.00 credit from Alamo so the car is only $42.00 including fees for 4 days [​IMG] ! Turns out the flight was delayed (USAirways of course) an hour so we could have stayed a while longer.

    After flying over some nasty midwestern thunderstorms we arrived back in Philly at Midnight, home by 1:30 AM, and picked up our daughter at 10 AM in Suffern, NY only to go back to Philly to take our daughter to "The Wiggles" concert at the Spectrum. Ah, the life of parents of a 3 year old. We were exhausted and slept in on Sunday. Beth had to go back to work Monday, luckilly I don't start again until tomorrow.

    [ August 31, 2004, 08:46 AM: Message edited by: dkbk ]
     
  2. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Great trip report!

    Nutella crepes, huh? That sounds really decadent!! [​IMG]
    And what a great excuse to use the drooling emoticon...
     
  3. dkbk

    dkbk High-Roller

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    They are as good as they sound, and definitely worth the [​IMG] .
     
  4. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

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    David,
    Since we were there at the same time, it would have been nice to say hi. Wasn't the weather just about perfect?
    I was hoping to get to the Alladin buffet, but went to Paris instead on Wednesday.
     
  5. dkbk

    dkbk High-Roller

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    The get together thread kind of fell flat for these days, would've been nice to meet some T2Vers.

    Perfect is the only way to describe the weather. Made stepping off the plane at midnight in high humidity that much harder.
     
  6. fadedfilms

    fadedfilms Tourist

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    Great report, but I have to disagree with you on the Purple Reign deal. That guy sounded and looked so much like the 1985 version of Prince that it's scary. Plus it was live vocals and music with real musicians with no taped stuff at all. Alot of shows now in Vegas have everything choreographed and have all the vocals taped along with the music ala Britney Spears.
     
  7. dkbk

    dkbk High-Roller

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    We may have caught him on an off night, because we heard great things about him. I really wanted to see them, but on that night he was being really weird ala early 90's Prince. The sound wasn't great, but it was cool that they played live.
     
  8. pinball

    pinball Newbie

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    D&B,

    Are the 6:5 BJ tables marked? Also the free am tower at the Strat, is that everyday?

    Thanks for the report, heading out in two weeks.

    Thanks,
    Ron Z
     
  9. dkbk

    dkbk High-Roller

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    Ron,

    6:5 was marked at almost every table. Pretty much all the single deck games on the strip are 6:5. I sat at one $10.00 table multi-deck that wasn't marked 6:5 but was (I think that may have been Sam's Town though (or Boardwalk)).

    The Strat listed 8:00-11:00 AM everyday when we were there. Check the free mags.

    Have a great trip! [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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