TR Sept 2 thru 6 "Shame and Regret"

Greetings! Just got back from Ohio and wanted to write a TR while it was all fresh, this may be a bit long.

Background, me late 30's my buddy J-Rod early 40's. Both divorced single guys. I gamble a bit, J-Rod doesnt play any casino games, just drinks, heavily.
This was originally a couples trip, but as luck and fate would have it, ended up just us.

We had 4 nights COMP booked thru my CET rewards acct. at Flamingo. This would be my first stay at the old gal, I have stayed at every other CET prop in LV except IP and Paris though.

Sunday Sept 2 Woke up early and tired, 530 am, made the fateful mistake of meeting a girl out for the proverbial 1 drink, and didnt get home until 1am. Not the start I wanted heading to LV on 3 hours sleep. We arrive at Port Columbus Oh airport and we are quickly on our way. Land in LV about 1115am, LIMO driver from Flamingo is waiting on us. The airport is abuzz w the Holiday vibe. We arrive at the hotel, there is a pretty lengthy line for check in, fortunately they have a seperate check in for Total Reward members, it was only about 4 peeps deep.

We get to check in desk, I immediately tell the clerk that we arent concerned about a view, special room or any of the sort. We just want something that is easy access to the pool and something we can get right now. It was not yet noon so I was worried with the Holiday weekend that there may not be a room or we may get banged for the $30 early check in fee. She quickly responds that she has something for us right now and asks J-Rod for his name to add to the reservation. In minutes we are headed to the elevator. She put us on the 23rd floor in what I guess is the "Habitat Tower", that is what the elevators were called anyways. Here is pic of the room view, and a pic of the LINQ construction.

View attachment 4882

View attachment 4883


We were happy to get a room, esp w/out the bogus early check in fee. In minutes we were down at the pool, it was packed. There were of course no loungers, we asked a group of girls that had a nice spot picked out if we could stash our stuff with theirs, they were very nice and said yes. We bought 18 beers and got and were given the beers in a cooler all packed w fresh ice. This is the way to go, too hot to keep a bucket of beer cold for long. We enjoyed a nice day at the pool, polished off our 18 pack and then headed into the room to get ready for the evening festivities.

For dinner we went to Ellis Island, steak specials and micro brewery beer. No complaints, steak was good and so was the beer. I think I like their beer more than their steaks, not that anything is wrong with their steaks, but the beer is that good.

For the night, I had bought us two "Las Vegas Crawl" tickets, there was a groupon offer and I got two tix for $75. These tix got us admission into 5 bars/clubs and a drink coupon for each club. We met at Blondies in Miracle Mile shops, to get it started. It looked like almost 100 people were there for the crawl, it was actually well ran, all of the hosts were really nice. We had about three drinks at Blondies before heading to the next stop, the PBR Rock bar at the entrance of PH/ MM shops. I should mention the hosts were organizing bar games at Blondies, beer pong and such, we didnt participate, but it looked fun. We got to PBR at about 8:20. The hosts were passing out drink coupons, next think I know I have 4, then a girl in line tells me shes hung over from the pool and gives me hers, so I now have 5. We go into the club side of PBR and get our drinks, it was a good vibe, decent music, nice crowd, kind of dark for this early, but it was okay. I drank my 5 vodka and cranberries and decided to call it a night. The crawl was going to three more clubs, but I had enough and we both decided to bow out.

On the way back to the Flamingo I see Sgt. Jenkins and a few other officers beside PH, Jenkins is the star of the "Las Vegas Strip" reality show. If you havent seen the show, its the same premise as COPS, but all filmed on the LV strip. I see a camera man there so I walked up and said hello. He was a very nice guy and the camera man snapped a pic for us.

View attachment 4884

Got back to the hotel about 11pm and fell asleep immediately, it was a long day.

Monday

Got up about 730am, felt pretty decent, decided to head to Margaritaville for breakfast, this would be a good call. We ate here all four days for breakfast, it is a good view of the morning strip and the food is generous and fairly priced. You also get a 20% discount with your CET players card.

That night we had front row tickets to Carrot Top, I cannot say enough about this show. I got a group on deal and got like 30% off tickets, we ended up with front row tickets, seats 6 and 7. Just as some of the reviews said C.T. passed out shots of Crown Royal to those in the front row and also to a few pretty girls in the audience. He also shook our hands after the show and thanked us for coming and gave us a travel size Crown Royal bottle that was autographed. A genuine good time.

After the show I played a few slots at PH on the way back and called it a night. The pool days were very long and involved lots of drinking, so I didnt have much left in the tank at night.

Tuesday

Another breakfast at Margaritaville, another day of drinking at the pool and another dinner at Ellis Island. We also had another pair of crawl tickets. We met at the Lynryd Skynrd bar at Excalibur. There were about 70 people that showed up for the crawl, they put out some appetizers of wings, they looked huge and very good, but we had already eaten. I drank a couple of the house draft beers, Skynrd amber or something of the other it was called, it was a decent beer for sure.

We went from the Skynrd bar to Coyote Ugly in NYNY. I had been there two years before and hadnt cared much for the experience, this night would be totally different. We arrived during happy hour, basically a beer or well drink was $4, not bad at all for the strip and considering the entertainment. The Coyote girls were def on their game and loving having all the people on the crawl show up at once, we packed the place. A good time was had by all, male and female.

View attachment 4885

From the Coyote Ugly bar we would leave and head to the Cathouse in Luxor. In the line for the Cathouse they offered a $25 all you can drink option. I took them up on that offer and we had a real nice time inside. We shot some pool, listened to some good music and played some more drinking games.

We left the Cathouse and headed to Mandalay Bay for a stop at the Foundation Room. I have heard about the view, so we were looking forward to this stop. The view did not dissapoint, it was incredible, had a nice time out on the balcony talking to a couple of fellas from Norway. I did a lot of chatting with folks from other countries on this trip, that is one of the little gems of LV that you just cannot do just anywhere.



The last stop was Pure at Caesars. We arrived about 130am. It was absolutely packed, not at all our vibe. You absolutely could not move, it was a real pain to navigate around the club, they rope off about half the club for a VIP area and it makes it really tough to get around. We only stayed for one drink and then decided to call it a night.

I decided to take a late night walk on the strip just to take in the sights of sounds of LV. I got down around to PH and saw a young man run out in the street and try to open a cab door. The cabbie of course wouldnt unlock the door, the light changed and traffic began to move, this could was out trying to flag a cab down, and appeared to be so drunk he couldnt stand. Everyone was beginning to watch and yell for him to get off the street, he didnt seem to be comprehending. I walked out in the street and grabbed him and pulled him to the sidewalk. He appeared about 21 or 22 and was from London. He was drunk and crying and kept saying he lost his friends. After he calmed down enough I told him I would walk him over to Cosmopolitan where he had last seen his friends and if we didnt see them put him in a cab. As soon as we got across the street we saw the friends on the corner, they were looking for him and they were all very glad to see each other. They all thanked me over and over and I headed back up the strip to call it a night.

Wednesday

Decided we would spend the day in Old Vegas, we slept in till 10am. It was almost 11am before we got to breakfast at Margaritaville again of course. After that we decided to place our bets for the evening football game. My friend J-Rod had never bet a game, but was very excited to do so. He told me he wanted to take the Giants, I told him I was taking the Cowboys. He said he hated the Cowboys and I said its about liking money and winning and has nothing to do with what team you like. After hearing my side of it he took the Cowboys and took the 3.5 points they were getting. I took the Cowboys straight up on a money line bet. I also kicked in a prop bet that Romo would out pass Manning.

We then headed downtown, $19 cab ride from Flamingo to Freemont St. We stopped at the Four Queens and had a couple beers at the Chicago brewing company, also had a slice of pizza. $4.95 for a 16oz. beer and a nice slice of pizza, quite the deal.

After a couple beers we walked Freemont and looked around a bit. We then decided to head to Main Street Station and the 777 Brew Pub to settle in for the game. We sat at the bar and had a really nice bartender, Elinda I think was her name. She recommended the Chili Quesadilla and cheesy bread for a pre-game appetizer. We were there during happy hours and beers were $2 a copy. The beer was very good, we sampled two types. We had a really good time watching the game, we of course both won and that made it extra nice. J-Rod turned $100 into $190 with his bet and I turned $120 into $306.95 with my money line bet and prop bet on Romo out passing Manning. This was icing on the cake for the trip and made it a great day.

We headed back to Flamingo and cashed in our slips and decided to use the drink coupons for a couple before bed Vodka and cranberries. After two drinks a piece we hit the beds.

That is about it, got up the next morning and took the Flamingo shuttle to the airport, cost us $7 a piece and was better than dealing with LV cab drivers.


LIKES I really liked the Flamingo, I have finally found a homebase. The room was clean and comfortable and I liked how easy it is to get around the joint. I like that its an easy walk to Ellis Island for dinner and an easy walk to Margaritaville for breakfast.

I really liked the Flamingo pool. It s a party pool, but there were all ages there. They had a daily booty shaking contest witch provided both comedy and entertainment. The drink prices were reasonable, $48 for a 12 pack of 16-oz beers.

We had a good time on the club crawl, it was worth the $75 we paid for two tickets. Most of the folks on the crawl paid $85 on the street, we got the discount thru Groupon.

Really enjoyed the day downtown, I am def going to spend more time there next time. We may even spend a night or two there.

Dislikes

For the first time, we really ran into some rude bartenders and such in the clubs. We are beyond generous tippers, so this usually doesnt happen. At the Heart bar in PH, J-rod went to have a couple drinks while I was gambling. He sat down ordered a two Scotch's and a $30 cigar. He also tipped the dancing girl $25. I showed up at the bar after running a couple hundred thru the VP machines. I was done drinking for the eve, so I just sat down next to him on one of the couches and started checking my facebook on my phone. It was a Monday night and the place was dead. It was just us and three other guys around us, that was it. The waitress came over and asked what I wanted to drink, I told her I just got done gambling and was meeting up with him and didnt need a drink. She said "Well theres a 2 drink minimum to sit on the couches." I have been there a dozen times, and never heard this. I replied that as soon as he finished his drink we were planning on leaving, she said "I will give you two minutes." and walked away. I just shook my head, J-Rod had dropped a $100 in there in 30 minutes and she basically was kicking me out.

I didnt like PURE, it was too packed and I thought has a poor layout. It is obviously wildly successful, so it could just be me. I am also 38 and maybe just too old for the place.

Well, if anyone is still reading, thanks!

oh, I ended up down $100 for the trip, even though I hit the football game the VP machines were not kind to me this trip. I only gambled on two of the days out of the four, but just had to sort of luck. I figure $100 down is a decent win by Vegas standards!

 

very nice read. sounded like a blast and you gotta score good karma points for helpiing out that london kid!

 

Great report, fellow Ohioan! How was the walk to Ellis Island?

 

The walk to Ellis Island is not bad at all. Its not very far, but it can be a bit of a wait crossing Flamingo Rd., so I may take 15 mins. We went straight from the pool and our swim trunks were dry as a bone by the time we got there.

We really enjoy the place and you save a ton of money and get a great meal for a little bit of a walk. Its def not fancy, but it does the job.

 

I think the Ellis Island steak and eggs might be the single greatest value in all of Las Vegas, and as a bonus it still reeks of old school. I made the walk from Harrah's and fifteen minutes is about right. Ellis is a bit dingy and very local (especially after 4PM), but it has an old Vegas feel that strip visitors should take in if they are not planning a trip downtown. I don't club so I can't comment on the rudeness, but $100 up/down equals a quality vacation for me!

 

Congrats on the COWBOYs bet!!

your friend owes you.

I would have bet the Giants but I stuck to my disciplines because that was not the teams I was there to bet on.

I agree. I found Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were just about dead everywhere I went. I was downtown, the strip, and the Palms/Gold Coast/Rio area. I thought it was all dead, or I was expecting a bigger crowd for the start of the NFL season.

 

Did You Leave Any....

Beer in Vegas for the rest of us?

Sounds like a great trip; nice bet on the game and the prop. Great report.

 

Yeah, we were dissapointed after getting in town on Sun how quickly the crowds dried up on Monday. The pool was less than half the crowd and most of the bars were dead until late at night.

Next year we are going to get in town on Sat to maximize the fun!!

 

Thanks! Yes, we certainly helped clear out an extra beer stock LV had!! Drinking 10 or 12 beers before you go out for the evening to actually start partying def takes it out of you though!! Def feeling it today!!! DRAINED!!!

 

Thanks for tr really enjoyed it

Was happy to read your toughts on the flamingo as im thinking of staying there for my upcoming trip

 

I really cant say enough about the Flamingo. I wont stay anywhere else from now on. Its the easiest property to get around that I have stayed at. There are lots of reasonable eating and drinking options, the pool is a top 5 pool, I could go on and on.

I will be back in April, gonna wait and see what weekend the UFC is fighting and get there so I can bet the fights.

 

great report that was a real gamble on the Cowboys, but they sure came through for you (and for everyone else in Texas that has to live around Cowboys fans haha)

nice job saving the Euro kid.....luckily Euros, Canadiasn, and Australians are friendly drunks...if he had been from here he probably would have wanted to fight

 

Sounds like a blast!

I remember you talking about the Club Crawl in another post on here, sounds like it was alot of fun. Im going in Oct with my brother, would your recommend it for 2 single guys in late 20's? For that price just 2-3 drink tickets would pay for the cost right?

 

Great trip report, sounds like a great time. We love eating breakfast at Margaritaville. Even in the winter, we will eat at the 'bar' upstairs, when the outside seating is closed.

we are staying 2 of our 7 days at Flamingo, it will also be our first time! I'm hoping for the same positve experience you had!

You know as many Ohioans that are on this board, we really need to plan an Ohio M&G out there!


(a little off topic) We will be in your neck of the woods the first weekend of October, any advice on things to do besides, German Village? We are staying downtown and going to a concert on Friday night. But we are looking for some other interesting things to do during the day and Saturday evening. Last time I stayed downtown, the area seemed to close up the sidewalks at Midnight.... I figure it was just in the area we stayed. This time we are trying a hotel closer to Nationwide Arena.

Kelli

 

Thanks for trip report

 

I enjoyed the TR.

I agree with you about the Flamingo. We stay there every year and love it. Theres something about that casino I find very comfortable and relaxing.

 

I would definantly say try the crawl. www.vegascrawl.com check it out. Check Groupon to see if the offer is still going, we paid $75 for two, the other peeps on the crawl that bought on the street paid $85 a person.

It is geared more towards your age group than mine, although there were def people of all ages and everyone seemed to have fun.

 

Def lots of Ohio folks on here, could prob do a large M&G!

If you are staying in the Arena District it is the most lively part of the downtown, the streets stay pretty crowded now in that area including the short north. There will be lots going on in the bars on a concert night.

If you are into Shopping and hitting some neat bars and restaurants the Easton shopping center is good during the day. Lots of good restaurant/bars to stop in.

Oct 8 is the opening of the new Hollywood Casino, you can check it out and give us all a good report!!

 

What Hollywood is opening October 8th?

 

http://www.hollywoodcolumbus.com/