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Solo TR - 7/7 to 7/9 - Kim Vo Makeover

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Brensan, Jul 12, 2012.

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  1. Brensan

    Brensan Low-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    Writing does not come easy for me, but I am going to attempt my first trip report.

    Every time I go, I intend on playing blackjack, three-card poker, maybe baccarat - anything but slots - especially the high dollar ones! But alas, that never happens. I get there, start drinking and get lured in by those bright flashing lights and tempted by those high jackpots every time!

    The main purpose of this trip was to use $2500 of my express comps on a “Kim Vo makeover”. He is a celebrity stylist and has a salon at the Mirage. It was rescheduled 3 times because he kept getting called away to style some celebrity’s hair.

    My husband could not go with me because of his work (he’s an auto auctioneer, and also just opened up a driving range), so I just decided to go solo. I decided to stay at NYNY again because I know a lot of people there and would feel more comfortable there. The flight from Houston was good, we were on a brand new SW airplane - very nice. Limo pick-up at airport went well as usual. I was given a very nice Marquis suite, room 1254 which was right by the elevator (by my request). We have only been in a penthouse suite for a very special occasion, and are usually assigned a Ziggarat suite which is real big, but strange. I personally don’t like the décor in them and simply cannot stand a big fat TV (no flat screens), so I requested to be put in Marquis suite instead. I’d rather have an updated big room instead of an outdated huge suite.

    The first three trips in 2011, I had incredible luck on the first night - but that has not happened in the last 4 trips - so I’m having a hard time adjusting back down to regular machines. My downfall is $5 Top Dollar, and sometimes I get real squirrely and try to play the $10 and $25 machines. Your money disappears real quick then!

    So anyway, I arrived in Vegas around 4pm, got into my “gambling clothes” and went down to the high limit room. My favorite slot supervisor, Carole was not there :cry: I found out she was on vacation. My favorite bar tender, Charlotte was not there either - she was out sick. So I was really feeling alone now. I got a marker for $2,000 and was ready to start winning!

    Nothing memorable, I mean nothing. Finally gave up on Top Dollar (oh but that progressive was up to $75,000 …..! - NO BRENDA - walk away…WALK AWAY) Still in the high limits, I found a Video Poker machine that was pretty fun. It was called “multi-strike poker”. Basically, you play for $20 and if you have a winning hand (1x pay), then you get dealt another hand that pays 2x’s, if you win that one the multiplier goes up to 4 times, and if you win that one, the multiplier is 8x’s pay! Sometimes, even if you don’t have a winning hand, you get a “free ride” and get dealt another hand. It was pretty fun and I did fairly well on it for a while - but $20 a hand can break you pretty fast.

    I drink Crown & Cokes and usually can drink them at a casino all night because they are so watered down. But since I was virtually alone in the HL area, the bartender Jennifer kept bringing me strong drinks - and I got pretty drunk! :drunk: That’s a real dangerous situation for me - first night in a casino, and drinking past the point of good judgement. Basically, I act like I’m bulletproof at that point. So, I go and get another $2000 marker, and don’t even remember the first $1500 of that…. Luckily, I finally do decide to call it a night (thought I still had a $1000, but only had $500 left)

    Next morning was my makeover - at 9am and was supposed to take 8 hours!! So I was in bed by 1:30 am - earliest ever for me in Vegas!
    More to come.....
     
  2. Tellafriend

    Tellafriend MIA

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    hello my friend who also frequents the Beau who I haven't met yet. Anyway, was there along w. Shifter a week ago and it went poorly to say the least.

    I'm enjoying your report and look forward to hearing how your make-over goes as I have promised it to my significant other and mother!
     
  3. gamblingirl

    gamblingirl Tourist

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    Thanks for posting

    Brenda,

    Thanks for the report so far, I look forward to the rest. I too would love to hear about the make over as I was thinking of doing this at some point. It sounds like it takes a lot of planning (and patience).

    I hope you have a winning trip and love your make over!

    Take care,
    Christy
     
  4. resutoran

    resutoran Tourist

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    Wants to see before and after please. :licklips:
     
  5. ttom

    ttom Low-Roller

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    I think I will no longer walk by the Kim Vo spa and wonder if Kim Vo is some hot Asian piece of a$$.
     
  6. Brensan

    Brensan Low-Roller

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    Tellafriend: Yeah, hopefully someday I'll get to meet you. :wave: We are wanting to play golf at Fallen Oaks this summer.

    GamblinGirl: I did have to reschedule several times, but they were so apologetic and offered other alternatives, but I wanted to meet Kim. I'll have my salon trip posted on Friday.

    Resutoran: I'm will try to post pics tomorrow, but you will probably be disappointed!!!! :eek:

    TTom: Well, I'm pretty sure that some guys think he is a hot piece of Asian A$$!!
     
  7. booker

    booker VIP Whale

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    Nice report. Multi-strike poker is the one game I try to avoid as it's like crack! Money evaporates. Naturally, the first two times I played it, I won. Then I got hooked.
     
  8. Kimsa70

    Kimsa70 High-Roller

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    Great report! I've also been eying that Kim Vo package. Please post before and after pics. I hear he's the best on blonde coloring. Was it worth the $2500?
     
  9. Brensan

    Brensan Low-Roller

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    I arrived at the Kim Vo Salon a little before 9am. They had told me before that I was their first Express Comps makeover, so the program was new to them also. The salon is absolutely beautiful! I wish I would have taken pictures, but there are a lot of videos on YouTube showing off the salon. My first stop was for a manicure/pedicure. Mary Lee was an absolute doll, I loved talking to her! She had something that I’ve never seen before - it was a strange shaped leather box that had plastic gloves with paraffin wax in them. Once she activated the gloves, she closed the little box and steam started shooting up from the box! (It was portable, and was not plugged into anything) Magic I guess!!! Anyway, the paraffin on my hands and feet felt wonderful. She really likes to gossip and told me all kinds of things about some of the stars and VIPs that come in there - it was fun! Her portion cost $230
    Next stop was with Kim. He is famous for his coloring techniques. I remember first seeing him on “Sheer Genius” - the same season that Tabatha was a contestant. (I know that doesn’t mean a damn thing to most of you, but some will know and appreciate it!). He immediately says that with my coloring, my hair needs to be “toasted almond”, so I said OK, not really understanding what color that was! He even wrote down the mixture so my regular hairstylist can duplicate it. Then he put highlights in. He has a very unique way of doing it that makes it look very natural. It really didn’t look too different from the color I had, but it was real interesting watching him work. By the way, he is the nicest guy - I really enjoyed talking to him. All his employees really like him and enjoy working there. His portion cost $750!
    Tony then proceeded to “cut” my hair, although he never had a pair of scissors in his hands. The receptionist said he was “Edward Scissorhands”, and she was right! I told him “go for it, do whatever you want with my hair”, and he did! I had purposely let it grow out so he would have something to work with. Basically he had a straight razor in one hand and a brush in the other and worked so fast! He was also very nice, but I didn’t talk to him as much because he had such a thick French accent, I had trouble understanding him. His cost was only $150, which was surprising because he was the most talented and entertaining.
    My final stop was makeup with Brianna. This took a long time because I had a lot of questions and she was very patient! I don’t wear much makeup, so it was all new to me. Brow shaping, makeup application, lashes, and makeup lesson all cost $375 (wow). They also gave me every kind of hair product that they sell and a lot of makeup (about $300 worth). Total cost (before tip) was $1850 - I was already charged $2500 in express comps, so hopefully they will give me some comps back. I enjoyed everyone and the experience so much that I tipped them all 25% each.
    Anyway, sorry that was so long, but I highly recommend it to anyone of you that are interested. Here's the before and after - not good quality - self-portraits taken in the bathroom!!!:rolleyes2:
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Gambling that night was pretty good, at least I won back about $500 on Video Poker. The next day was even better, but that will have to wait for another post..
     
  10. natedog666

    natedog666 17 and 20 Expert

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    Congrats! You are looking good! My wife wants to do it now too!
     
  11. Kimsa70

    Kimsa70 High-Roller

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    I agree! It looks gorgeous! Love the makeup and tone of your hair!
     
  12. serenasea

    serenasea Low-Roller

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    What a perfect way to use the Express Comps! He was so right about the Toasted Almond, that is a warm and beautiful color for you (and I am now going to look up that color on the color charts). I would feel so good walking out of there after a day spent like that. So nice, too, that all the stylists were welcoming and friendly throughout the day. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
     
  13. gamblingirl

    gamblingirl Tourist

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    Great Job!

    You look fantastic!

    Your post will generate many of us that have extra comps to use them at the Kim Vo salon.

    I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I hope they credit you back the extra express comps that weren't used.

    Get some good jackpots to go with your new look!
     
  14. ATXTX

    ATXTX VIP Whale

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    Lovely! The toasted almond is very complementary - what a fun way to use the comps!
    I have to say you are very brave, I am not sure I could let someone cut my hair without knowing the style beforehand!

    Looking forward to the rest of your trip
     
    When we Were Young
  15. AliGee

    AliGee Low-Roller

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    Like Booker said, Multi Strike is like crack. They have a five hand version of it that might as well be a vacuum attached to your wallet. You can play all the iterations of it here: http://www.ledgaming.com Very much enjoying your TR!
     
  16. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    Loved your Trip Report and congrats on the great makeover at Kim Vo salon.
     
  17. Brensan

    Brensan Low-Roller

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    Thanks everyone! I love reading trip reports, but have dreaded trying to write one. But I have to say I've enjoyed re-living the experience!:beer:
     
  18. Brensan

    Brensan Low-Roller

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    Sunday night I had finally found a quarter triple play Ultimate X Video Poker machine. I play this a lot on www.videopoker.com and have had a lot of luck on it at L’Auberge Casino in Lake Charles, LA. Even with quarters, it was $7.50 a game. I held my own for a while, but nothing real exciting. Then I found a Wheel Poker Deluxe game (quarters also). It was real fun, and I got a lot of action on it. It cost $5 a “spin”, so that was more my speed after my first night losses. When you get 3 of a kind, full house, or 4 of a kind – the bonus is enabled. The wheel spins and you get anywhere from 3 hands to a hundred hands with certain cards already held. For instance the hundred hand option has “8877” held, and you have 100 chances to get a full house. 1-9 full houses pays 200, 10-14 pays 400, and so on, up to the max of 20,000 coins for 40-50 full Houses. I slowly built up to about a $500 profit for the evening, and decided to call it quits.

    Last day:
    I woke up early, packed, and then walked around a little, even rode the monorail to Harrah’s and back. OK, enough site seeing – had to get back to my machine! I went back to the exact same Wheel Poker machine that had treated me so well the night before. I slowly kept building up my money - $100 at a time. Then it slowly started dwindling down, until I was cussing myself for not stopping. Then I get to a point where I just get stubborn and want to MAKE it pay!! Well this time it worked!
    [​IMG]
    I got a Royal Flush! $1000 richer – Yay!!! By now, it was getting dangerously close to time to go. I had a late checkout at 2pm, the limo was picking me up at 2:30 for my 4:00 flight home. I kept playing, thinking after this next bonus I’d quit…ok, maybe after the next bonus I’ll quit….um ok when I start losing I’ll quit, …OK now, this definitely HAS to be the last spin….BAM four 4’s! Another $400 plus the bonus money ($50 or so).
    [​IMG]
    What a great way to end it! Had to run up to my room, run down to catch the Limo – just in time.

    Then when I get to the airport, (Southwest) the girl announces that they have overbooked and if anyone was flexible enough to reschedule she’d give them a $300 voucher plus the price of this flight PLUS a free ticket home tomorrow. I could do that! My machine wasn’t ready for me to quit it – I just know it! Called NYNY back and they said they could give me my same suite back, so I volunteered. She seemed so relieved and thanked me many times. She said the way it works is I still have to board the plane, and once everyone is on then they call me off the plane and send the extra one on to board. OK, I can do that.
    Meanwhile, I called my husband and my office and told them I wouldn’t be back for another day.

    The plane was there, but they had to change crews. The new crew was delayed, so we were already 30 minutes late (rare for Southwest). I had paid for EarlyBird, so I was one of the first to board, and sat down in the very first seat since I was going to get right off. On these brand new planes the first row is real roomy so I was loving my seat. After everyone boarded, the same girl got on the plane and motioned to me to come with her. So I get my carry-on and purse, say bye to the several people I was talking to and leave! Real excited to get back to my machine, and to make a $550 profit for future plane travel too!
    I followed her back up to the desk, and was waiting for my voucher…She just starts typing on the computer and then gets real quite. Then she says to me “Sorry, I made a mistake” What do you mean you made a mistake?? She says we weren’t overbooked afterall – you have to get back on the plane! Oh, I was so upset, but did not make a scene. Got back on the plane and everyone looked at me and then all the stewardesses were asking what was going on. Meanwhile, the Captain asked me if I wanted to sit up front with him! (I should have taken him up on that). I could just feel the haters all looking at me and thinking I was the reason they were still sitting on the runway! Finally they find the last available seat for me – and wouldn’t you know it – the seat was the very LAST row, in the middle between two guys, one of which weighed at least 500 pounds. So I could barely breathe, it was very uncomfortable – and I had to bear it for 3 hours. By the way, we still aren’t moving – there was some sensor going off on this new plane that the mechanics had to check out. Then a customer service woman came up to me and asked “are you the volunteer?” – and she asked me to get up so she could talk to me in private. She said they felt so bad that they are going to give me a $200 voucher for my inconvenience – I said I appreciate that but sure wish I had a better seat, even though I knew they couldn’t do anything about that.

    Even though I paid for an Early Bird, initially got a great seat, and through no fault of my own, got reassigned to the worst seat in the house – I figured I probably did come out ahead – I most likely would have gone back to the hotel and lost all my winnings of the last 24 hours. So it all worked out in the end!
    THE END, thanks for reading!!
     
  19. pebbles

    pebbles Micro Roller.

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    Loved your report, thanks for posting. Toasted Almond is a lovely colour.

    You look lovely in the after pic, not that there is anything wrong with the before either.
     
  20. craps1

    craps1 Low-Roller

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    Finally they find the last available seat for me – and wouldn’t you know it – the seat was the very LAST row, in the middle between two guys, one of which weighed at least 500 pounds. So I could barely breathe, it was very uncomfortable – and I had to bear it for 3 hours.


    LOL!!!! I had a bunch of these unfortunate events....it sucks big time.

    I love the wheel poker bonus game, glad you had some great luck on it! It always seemed a very tight game when I played it, but it was fun.

    Kim Vo is a chance of a lifetime, nice decision on doing it. you look great!

    Thanks for sharing.
     
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