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Caesars 10/28 - 11/2 - Trip Report

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by lowsmith, Nov 12, 2012.

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  1. lowsmith

    lowsmith Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    My Trip Report

    This trip was primarily for business as I was given an opportunity to attend a large technical conference being held at Caesar’s Palace.

    10/28 - The trip got off to an early start. I have an 11am flight and around a 2 hour drive to the closest major airport (CLT). I arrived in plenty of time to drop off the car in long term, catch the shuttle and cruise through the Airline check in (checked a bag since work was paying). I then headed for the Security gate. The line was backed up to the end of the rat maze, but seemed to be moving. A TSA officer approached me as I joined the line and asked me to deliver a sheet of paper to the officer at the front of the line. I thought this was odd, but when I looked at it, it had an explanation on one side and a series of time stamps on the other. Basically they give the card to the last person in line with a start time and then the officer at the front (the one who checks your ID and Boarding pass) adds another timestamp. This tells them how quickly the line is moving. This may be old hat to more frequent travelers, but was new to me. I was glad that they were at least keeping an eye on the line. BTW the time from the end of the line to the front was only 15 minutes.
    Through Security and then headed for the gate. I usually fly USAir as they have several direct flights from CLT to LAS and I like to keep my miles with one airline as much as possible. I have always had pretty good service with them. Flight arrived ahead of time and put me in LAS a little before 2pm. I grabbed my bag and headed out to the Shuttle line. While waiting I ran into a coworker and we both grabbed a seat on one of the Executive shuttles. $6 to Caesar’s and the van filled up within minutes so we did not have a long wait. We were the first stop and were at the hotel by 2:30pm. Check in is not until 3pm at Caesars, but I figured I would give it a shot. They let me “check in” but unless I paid for early check-in I could not get my key until after 3. No worries I killed a half hour getting a new TR card and getting a lay of the land in the casino (bag in tow). BTW my coworker, checking in at the same time, mentioned it was her first trip to Vegas and was upgraded to one of the new towers and was able to go ahead and check in. When I was getting my TR card the lady working the desk asked me if I was there working on the filming of Hangover III. Turns out the cast and crew were at Caesar’s that week.
    3pm and I wait another 15 minutes to pick up my key. Once I get to the desk I ask the clerk to add my TR number to my room so that I can collect my points for the cost of the room. He upgrades me to a “deluxe” room (with flat screen and Jacuzzi tub) in the Palace tower. This was great as the Palace tower elevators stop in the convention center where the conference is being held.
    Drop the bags off and get settled in the room. NOTE: do not touch the in room coffee, the mini fridge or the little boxes of snacks on the counter. They have sensors in them and will charge you even if you don’t eat the $12 pack of peanuts (be sure to check your bill carefully for charges). My Room (6th floor) is very nice and has a safe in addition to the other amenities. It has a decent view (if you ignore the casino roof that fills the lower half of the window), looking out toward Mirage and over toward the Flamingo.
    I decide to head over to Bellagio to see the Monet exhibit (since it will be closed before I get back in January). The exhibit is not extensive but is excellent ($16 includes an audio tour).
    Dinner (since I am on a restricted budget) is at the Cypress Street Marketplace (food court) at the hotel. Burger, fries and a drink, $14. Food is pretty good for what it is, and the market place has several different options.
    After dinner I head over to Bellagio for a couple hours while coworker is at “O” (I saw it years ago and I can find a lot of other things to do with $90). Quick run down to the Walgreens to pick up some supplies (beer selection is pretty good and prices are reasonable and it is just a short walk over there), and then head to bed relatively early (before 1am).

    10/29 - Work stuff all day and then back to room to get ready for a vendor dinner. They took us to Roku Sushi in the Forum Shops. The food was absolutely wonderful. The best thing all night was the Salmon Sashimi with truffle oil. After dinner we head down to Bill’s for more drinks and some cheap craps and blackjack ($5 6/5). Eventually we stagger back Caesar’s for the night.

    10/30 – another Day at the conference (BTW the convention center at Caesars is HUGE and is laid out in a manner that seems intentionally confusing). Dinner tonight is another vendor meal. This time we head to P.J. Clarks in the Forum Shops. The food was very good. I enjoyed the Calamari topped with Chiles and the Oysters on the half shell for starters and the Fillet Au Poivre for my Entrée. Tonight I stay at Caesars to play Quarter JoB (8/5 just inside the forum casino by the entrance to the shops). Up for the night I grab another Black Russian and a bottle of water and head to bed.

    10/31 – For dinner we have a conference event with passable food and an open bar. Sully Sullenburger (Captain of the “Miracle on the Hudson” flight fame) was the keynote speaker and he was great. Good stage presence and he kept the audience on the edge of their seats the whole time. After that we head out to the strip to see the sights. This was a mistake. It was wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder all the way up to Wynn and then back down past TI, Mirage and back to Caesars. I played some more VP and ended up down just a little.

    11/1 – Last day of the trip. I Took part of the afternoon to grab the shuttle that runs from Bill’s over to Gold Coast and the Orleans. Spent an hour or so at each (as well as a quick trip across to the Rio to see what was going on – nothing as it turns out). I had a little luck playing VP at the Gold Coast and Rio, but gave it back pretty quickly at Orleans. That night another dinner with the conference vendors, this time we have the dinner and a show at Mirage. We had Dinner at Kokomo (good but not stellar, though I would go back) and then headed off to see Love. Love was far better than “O” (the only other cirque show I have seen in Las Vegas). If/when I get back there with my wife we will definitely be going back. Very early flight the next morning so head back after the show to get all backed up.

    11/2 – 7:40am flight from LAS to CLT so catch an early cab (not wanting to risk a shuttle at that hour). Cab is great, only $12 from Caesars to LAS at that time of day. Get checked in, and head to the terminal. Only other event of note is that some jackass decided to remove other peoples stuff from the overhead to make room for his bag and then did not put it back. I think the other passengers would have dealt out some mob justice, but the Flight Attendant stepped in and threatened to have him removed from the flight. This resulted in a 45 minute delay. 4 hours in the air and 2 on the road and I was back home planning my next trip to Vegas in January.

    Cheers.
     
  2. Tree DA

    Tree DA High-Roller

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    Thanks for posting. I'll be there in January too.
     
  3. RAWDAWG33

    RAWDAWG33 Low-Roller

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    A nice trip report. Sounds like a bunch of activity in just a few days. Thanks for sharing with us.
     
  4. g-didi

    g-didi Low-Roller

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    Making you wait 30 minutes for your room key or pay an early check in charge IMO is ridiculous and leaves a poor impression! Somehow $30 makes one of the thousands of rooms they have suddenly ready is bizarre. 3 hours early... meh.... arguable. 30 minutes.... silly.

    Nice report. Thanks for writing.
     
  5. vegasqc

    vegasqc VIP Whale

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    WOW
    Ceasars palace nickel and diming you for checking in 30 minutes early, i can understand it if you check in at 9 am but at 2.30 pm thats just awful
     
  6. lowsmith

    lowsmith Low-Roller

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    Yeah I was a little surprised since my coworker, checking in at the same time did not get the same treatment. When i went back at check in time there was a whole line of folks waiting to get keys. C'est la vie.
     
  7. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    Nice report,thanks! Could you give more details about the idiot on the plane,what happened that took 45 minutes to clear up?
     
  8. lowsmith

    lowsmith Low-Roller

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    This Guy was trying to find a place in the overhead for his bag. He pulled someone's sport coat out and laid it on the seat back right below where he got it (basically on the poor guys head sitting there). Proceeded to put his bag away and sit down (without putting the jacket away). At that point a shouting match ensued between the idiot and about five other guys who were telling him to put the jacket back where he got it. At some point one of the mob called the guy an a-hole. The idiot repeated that to the flight attendant who then told him to grab his stuff and leave the plane (perhaps she thought he was calling her one, who knows). At that point I managed to get by on the way to my seat. I later asked a friend who was closer to the front how it ended. Apparently after a long argument they let the guy back on the plane.
     
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