Skadoo and Mom's Bally's low-roller adventure, May 13-16

For mother's day, mom begged me to take her to Vegas. As the sweet, loving daughter I am, I said "Anything for you mom!" And we were off! We live about 10 hours apart, so spending time together is very special.

I've posted on VMB about my mom before. She's cheap. She loves a good bargain. Because of her love of bargains, getting a free room at Bally's thrilled her beyond belief. Even more exciting for her was the fact that we had about 60 dollars in CET Reward Credits from the "Escape to Rewards" game. Mom's cheap heart was singing. She had set a goal that we would not spend over 20 dollars for the two of us at any meal. We actually did good on that, too!

I arrived in Vegas about 10 hours before my mom on Mother's Day proper. I did the 20 dollar trick and played up my southern charms, and got us upgraded from a classic south tower room to a junior suite in the north tower on the diamond floor. (Mom said she thought the in-room coffee was worth the 20 bucks alone.) I was relieved that the room was pretty decent. The beds weren't much to write home about, but it was certainly worth the price.

Every restaurant was jam-packed because people were treating their mothers to lunch. I settled for the taco place in Bally's. I ordered a real margarita (not the 2 dollar ones) and a taco salad. I have to say, it was really delicious. I may have just been super hungry, but I chowed down on it, then hit the pool.

The Blu pool leaves much to be desired. I know they are trying really hard at Bally's to make it cool, but the DJ playing didn't add much to the atmosphere. I think money could be better spent on new pool furniture where your bottom doesn't sink through to the concrete. I managed to stay out a few hours. I had a margarita by the pool for 14 dollars. The bartender made the drink extra potent by adding a shot because I "wasn't wearing a ring". While my mother doesn't approve or allow drinking in her presence, I'm sure her cheap nature would appreciate the freebie.

It was hot and I had gotten burnt, so I went into my room and decided to get some provisions for the week from the Stage Door. I really anticipated it being grungier. It was nice, clean and well-lit. Not at all what I expected! The prices for water and soda were about on par with Walgreens, but much closer to Bally's. After that I decided to take a nap and sober up before mom arrives. This was my only buzz the entire trip...and I spent 24/7 with my mother!

 

Haha, that's funny that your Mom doesn't allow you to drink in front of her. I have a good friend who shared a room with his very conservative Mom and Dad (creepy in itself), and he bought a case of beer to enjoy. He came back later to find his Mom had thrown a towel over it just so she didn't have to look at it. He paid for them to get a room of their own after a day with them.

 

So Mom arrives around 8:30 after taking a terrible shuttle ride. She said other people on the shuttle were cussing up a storm because the woman moved so slowly. She had called me before she departed and asked how the room was, did I try the 20 dollar trick, all that stuff. I told a little story and said "well...it's OK, the view isn't much". The view really wasn't all that great, we had a front row seat to watch Linq construction. Needless to say, she was surprised when we got off at the diamond floor and she saw the junior suite.

After we settled in, she was hungry. We had a brief discussion of where to eat, mom decided she wanted to do the buffet of buffets. We knew they would close soon, so we rushed to Paris to eat there. It was OK, but being that close to closing (it was about 9:15 or so when we were finally seated) things felt rushed. We got enough food in our bellies to hold us over, and then decided to hit the casino! We walked back to Bally's where we played some slots. We stuck to quarters. I played on the Haywire deluxe machine where I had been successful in the past. I won enough to keep going, but no major hits. Mom was not even having enough successes to keep her alive, but she was terribly impatient. She would play about 75 cents, and then say "Why isn't this thing winning?" and then cash out and change machines. She did this the entire trip. We wrapped up the night pretty early, both down around 20 bucks each for the night.

 

Your mom, reminds me of my mom! you don't dare walk in her house with a beer, she will politely ask for it and dump it down the sink...lol! If I have a mixed drink, she will say "you know that will lead to another and before you know it, you'll be an alcoholic" this may be the reason why I rarely drink alcoholic beverages. I hope you both had a good time in Vegas, I'll continue reading your report, I love to hear about mom and daughter trips to Vegas, it brings back memories for me with my mom and myself.

 

On Monday we woke up early because who can sleep in when you're in Las Vegas? We decided to revisit the Paris buffet because we had a fantastic breakfast there in October. It wasn't nearly as delicious as I had previously remembered. I must've been really hungry in October. We eat and decide to do a little digestive gambling in Paris. Mom and I play some dollar slots, but don't have much luck.

Mom has made a song out of going back to Circus Circus for six months, so I promise her we will go. She makes me keep that promise, and after losing more cash at Paris, we hop on the bus. We do a quick stop at the Riviera to take advantage of the money back promo, but find very little to entice us. The machine selection was dismal, and we found nothing to intrigue us long enough to even play 50 dollars to qualify for the promo. The good machines all seem to say that they don't qualify. Forget that, on to the Circus!

My mom really does have an obsession with this place. She says this was her Bellagio back in the day. (I'm not really sure what that says about my mom?) She makes me go look for the monorail and the RV park, until she can resist those coin droppers in the front no longer. She plays about 20 bucks in coins, and keeps re-feeding the winnings in, hitting every so often. People are seriously brutal about these machines. I have never felt like so many senior citizens would shank me for looking at "their" machine! After a while, mom has fed all her winnings back into the machine and the token machine was empty, I pry her off the machine. She decides she has to play all sorts of machines. We spend a good solid two hours in that place. It's not my favorite, but man, it makes her happy.

After that, we return to the strip and do lunch at the Flamingo buffet. I had read reviews that this buffet was pretty mediocre, and since we only wanted a snack, this was fine. I thought they had outstanding mountain dew and the nacho bar was my favorite. If I had been really hungry, I'm pretty sure I would have been disappointed. Mom was most let down by the desserts, and I agree, they sucked. Pretty to look at, but it stopped there. After eating, we gambled at the Flamingo. The Margaritaville casino part was really, really hot. They had the large doors open to the street, and while we were in Vegas, the daily weather was around 99 degrees every day. That alone kept our gambling there to a minimum.

We did our dinner that night at Planet Hollywood's buffet. It too was better years ago. It was our last stop on our buffet of buffets pass, and I was kind of glad the buffet madness was over. One thing I wish I would've known the night before was that now the Spice Market Buffet is open until 11pm, instead of the usual 10pm like all the others. We didn't play in PHo, mom was turned off with the loud music. After dinner, mom was itching to go downtown. We had an unusually long wait at the bus stop, but eventually a bus did come. I found it odd that the bus took so long when we were so far south on the strip.

Downtown we played at several casinos, with our final stop being Fitzgeralds/The Fitz/The D. Mom had to play the nickel "Flip Flop" machines. I had played these machines in March and told her all about it. They also used to be my grandma's (her mom) absolute favorite machines. So we definitely had to play it. Mom says she doesn't remember playing them, but I know I do. I think she did after she had the lily pad bonus. Mom's a terrible lily pad picker, but we weren't playing these machines for more than sentiment, honestly.

After we played a little downtown, and realized that we were losing just as much downtown, and we were fading fast, we decide to head home before the SDX stops running. We get back to Paris, and the Sugar Factory is calling my name. Mom allows a special exception to our food budgeting rule and I treat myself to an awesome Make-a-Wish birthday cake milkshake. It was vanilla ice cream, white cake, icing and sprinkles mixed together. It was 9 bucks, but it was awesome. Mom had some too and agreed, it was worth the splurge! I don't want to think about the calories though, as I'm sure I'll be having another one in the near future.

 

what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - INCLUDING CALORIES!!

I don't think the PH buffet was open until 11 in March - interesting. Wonder if that change will remain permanent - at least on weekends.

 

Great report. My mom is the same way but dislikes gambling too. She liked Vegas though, shows, food and shopping are right up her alley.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

She says this was her Bellagio back in the day. (I'm not really sure what that says about my mom?)

That made me giggle!!!

 

hahaha My mom is the same way, calls alcohol "devil's juice". I can drink in front of her, she just gives me the evil eye.

 

On Tuesday, we took a little time to sleep in. We didn't have the excitement coursing through our veins of the first day, and no pressure of it being the last day. We drug around the room until almost 11. We had the hardest time trying to find a list of places that would allow us to use our reward credits instantly vs having to get a voucher. We decided we would like to go to Mesa Grill. They had an amazing hamburger (mom) and some OK chicken street tacos. If I were to go back, I'd get the hamburger, even though its a tex-mex place.

We gambled a little at Caesars but had zero luck. We shopped a little and I took my mom to her very first H&M. "This is cute stuff if you're 15. You're not 15, Skadoo". We bumbled around the strip a little more, gambling here, there and everywhere without any luck at all. Outstanding drink (soda) service at the Mirage.

Eventually we had dinner at Kahunaville using a groupon for two salads and two entrees. Mom ordered chicken parm and I had a reasonable portion of mushroom chicken. Mom was a big fan, mostly because it was cheap, and she got a mound of food for the price. I don't think I'd go back, with or without a groupon. It reminded me of food I could get back home. I'm sure the real reason you go there are the fancy drinks...but Momma don't play that. Mom made this huge deal about getting her food to take with her to give to a homeless person. The waiter tried to tell her they aren't interested in anything but money, but she insisted. She saw another person give a homeless guy some leftovers, and how uninterested he was, and she promptly threw hers away. The waiter was outstanding. He was talking to another table, and told them if they wanted real Hawaiian food they should be at The Cal, not Kahunaville!

We spent the evening at Aria, because I have a favorite machine that used to be good to me. It wasn't. I did discover a new way to get in and out of Aria, which was pretty cool. We checked out the Bellagio conservatory which was in the process of being transformed from Spring to Summer. After that, we played more at Bally's where they had these 1 dollar "party" machines. They were pretty old, and had brass handles. They supposedly had a 98% return? I'm not sure about that, but I wish I would've played them more. They seemed to be more lucky than that haywire machine I kept playing. After another losing day, we hit the hay, dreading that tomorrow would be our last day in Vegas.