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TR for Aria & TI plus MyVegas freebies

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by blizzard96, Jun 8, 2013.

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  1. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Rochester NY
    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    My Trip Report

    This is my first TR so bear with me as I am stuck at work tonight so will fill-in the TR as time allows this evening.

    Trip was May31st to June 6th.

    Took my usual early June vaca to Vegas with partner(MD) and met up with my dad and brother in-law(MH) who attend the Jewelry show every year at this time..Flight out was fine on United with emergency row seats but couldn't believe in their brand new 737-900 plane that it had no tvs or even a movie on the 5 hour flight out of Newark...

    Got into McCarran and took a cab to the Aria...Tried for an upgrade from comped deluxe room but found out the entire hotel was sold out...couldn't believe it so double checked their app and sure enough not a room available..oh well..deluxe room at Aria is fine with us. Used a bellman for the first time in years and must say that was the best 10 bucks in tips one can spend...I will never lug my bags through these huge casinos again...

    Dad and MH who have been in Vegas for a few days now meet up with us and it's onto the slots...Partner played new Sex & the City multi player game and won some to start then it all went downhill fast...Pennies, nickels, quarters, dollars...didn't matter...no good on any machines...Call it a night after going through night 1's bankroll. Not the start I wanted and if I get the entire TR in...unfortunately it gets no better gambling wise. First full day is some of the worst gambling I can remember...

    After some coffee and breakfast it's onto the casino..Nothing hit anywhere in the Aria casino. Ran through my birthday FP in some dollar machines to try and get some wins and nothing..Hundreds going real fast at this point so it's back to the room and regroup.

    Decide to head over to MC to see if this brings any luck. Go and redeem MyVegas 2-1 MC cafe, Whiskey tasting and 2-1 cocktails at Hit bar and 2-1 Big Chill vouchers.

    Use the MC cafe for lunch..Highly recommend this one..Food was very good..waiters a bit weird..I had the steak and partner had shrimp pasta. His was taken off the bill so about a $20 dollar reward...Play some and nothing..just brutal gambling...

    Need to head over to MB to meet up with MH and then walk to T&T in the Luxor for dinner...I had a Restaurant.com reward for there..Food at T&T is really good...MH is a vegetarian and had no problem finding good stuff to eat..The queso dip is highly recommended along with shrimp ceviche..

    Take a car service back to MC and use the drink rewards at Hit lounge. I had never been there and it is a very nice place just off the casino. MH & MD are the drinkers as I do not drink anymore. The very drunk lady at the bar relentlessly hitting on the nice bartender reminds me of why I don't drink anymore..lol. They enjoyed the whiskey, all single malt shots, and cocktails. I had a $27 cigar(punch something..can't remember the name) that was the finest smoke I ever enjoyed. Not sure what the dollar amounts of those two MyVegas rewards were but somewhere north of $50..

    Back to the slots and finally some hits on a hot wheel of furtune 3 wheel spinner thingy...and then a u-spin machine which paid out some to stem the bleeding and then a nice hit on one of those collossus machines but all in all day 2's bankroll disappears during the night.

    Great trip so far minus the bad gambling..Will continue a little later tonight.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2013
  2. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Rochester NY
    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    On day 3 woke up and grabbed 2 coffees and 2 fruit bowls in the aria casino coffee place called the bean..Good stuff.but 30 bucks???.tried some more gambling wihout much luck...

    Had MyVegas reward for free pizza with an entree at Pucks in Crystals mall..This meal was one of the highlights of the trip..Special of the day was a caprese salad with fresh mozzeralla made in house..This was by far the best mozzeralla I have ever had..Delish..Partner had the pizza for lunch and I had the mushroom ravioli with butter sage sauce..delish all around..great place to eat..

    After lunch went over to MGM to play birthday FP..Nothing great..Hit the stores on that side of the strip for gifts and such..Headed back to the Aria to get ready for the night..

    On the way to meet up with bro-in-law(MH) at NYNY we used are 2 for 1 Big Chill MyVegas rewards...Terrible drinks and just threw them out. My partner is convinced there was no alcohol in them so I took a sip and didn't taste any and since i have quit drinking I can smell and taste alcohol anywhere so a heads up if you go there make sure you get what you pay for!!

    At NYNY used MyVegas $75 drinks at Times Square Bar..This is a great offer as the bartender on the casino side let us set up a tab using the reward so they were able to get drinks as needed as we played in the casino..Had a little luck. Partner hit a nice bonus on Haunted House and won 100 and hit for a 100 on hamburger slot bonus..I was still losing but not as bad as at the Aria..

    Dad came and met us and I used my $75 MyVegas for Sporting House for dinner..I think that is a great place for food and was not dissapointed..If you go you need to try the fried cheese curd app and the crab stuffed mushrooms..I had the steak and shrimp combo dinner and it was very good..

    After dinner we all played a bit then MH and dad left for Mandalay as they were working the convention in the morning..Partner and I decided to play some more at NYNY and wound up at the quarter wheel of fortune machines..Did ok on these and met 2 great gals from Kansas and hung out for the night with them..

    Went to play Sex & the City multi player game and all 4 of us won some decent money.It was bonus after bonus after bonus, a very fun game when you get a group going good..I cashed out and played the Alladin game next to them and was losing fast until I finally hit a bonus and won some decent money..I figure between those 2 machines the 2 of us won close to 400 bucks..Enough to make the day almost even but still down big on the trip..

    Day 4

    Check out of the Aria and leave bags at the belldesk and hop the tram to Bellagio to use 2 free buffets from MyVegas...Yes I know...Lots of MyVegas stuff and there is lot more to come..Got lucky and been playing since the start and had top limit of 10 rewards to use and partner could use 8. I got all my stuff before they changed the number of rewards you could use back down. Nicest thing about reward is it cuts the long buffet line. Food was good since it was free and probably worth the cost..I ate plenty of nice shrimp cocktail...had a nice assortment of cheeses and meats near the salads..some pizza slices ok...some good pasta ravioli dish..excellent carved flank steak and of course many desserts..just a few pieces of so so buffet sushi.

    Tram back to Aria and cab it to TI..Check in is smooth to comped petite suite..Very nice room for Vegas with King bed in large room with pull-out couch and 2 bathrooms which are nice...One has a shower and the other a jacuzzi tub..Odd thing is the fridge and safe are in a closet in one of the bathrooms...and the ice bucket has been around awhile as its label says Treasure Island at the Mirage on it..lol!

    Turn on the TV and AMC channel has a Vacation marathon on and over the next 3 days proceed to see most of the European, Christmas & Vegas one scene at a time, sort of like Christmas Story marathon when you turn it on and off over the course of 2 days and kind of see the whole movie.Pig in a poke to Papageorgio

    to be continued.....
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2013
  3. Smo

    Smo Mr. Las Vegas

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    Aria - Played slots there 3 different trips and never ever won a thing! Their slots are evil! :grrr:

    [STRIKE]Not a bad TR so far, but it does look like one long message instead of a story though. But we get your point![/STRIKE]
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2013
  4. Lhammer28

    Lhammer28 High-Roller

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    Good TR, and yes a lot of MyVegas, but that is awesome! How many did you redeem?
     
  5. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

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    I believe we used 12. A couple I never got to..that reminds me I need to call and get my loyalty points back. I forgot to mention the 2 from the Aria at the JP pastry place for a crepe and dessert...That was a nice treat and worthwhile.
     
  6. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

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    Location:
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    Slow night at the office so will wrap the last couple days up here.

    Made the move to TI on Monday from the Aria and finnaly had some good luck playing FP through on dollar wheel games. Turned FP into almost 500 cash but then proceded to lose that in no time on whatever machine looked interesting. Funny how when playing penny slots even when it seems like your winning in the end I always end up with a ticket worth cents.lol

    Tonight is Love at the Mirage with 2 tickets from MyVegas. This is me and my partners first Cirque show and enjoyed it quite a bit but thought it was a wierd show. The music and acrobatics are amazing but the characters made no sense to me. I intend on looking it up to see what it all meant. The trampoline guys and the skaters were the highlights to me. Not sure what seat they give now but when I got the reward it was for 2 very good seats so was an easy $400 comp..not bad

    Met up with my dad at TI after the show and played some and won a bit on Monte Carlo wheel slots. Partner lost on the new Deal or no Deal multi player game but that looked like a fun one. Gambled some more that night but lost another days bankroll. Had some food before bed at the coffee shop at TI. Late nite menu has gotten pretty slim there. Not what it used to be like, even last year. It's just the room service menu now.

    Last full day in Vegas has our two most anticipated things on tap..dinner at Fluer and new MJ cirque show at MB. Hang out at the pool for a bit but temps over 100 are too hot for me so it's back to the casino. A couple more hundreds thru those stupid machines and nada. At this point getting a little fed up with the gambling so decide to walk over to the Venetian and do some shopping for friends back home and family I will see later this summer.

    Dinner res is at 5 so head down to MB and use the MyVegas chef dinner at Fleur award. I must say this was one of the best meals I have ever had. It was a real pleasure to meet the chef before dinner and chat a bit. Basically told him we like everything and have no allergies. App was 2 types of tuna sushi. One was an albacore that was amazing. Next course was a fennel salad, a crabcake and an onion truffle soup that was one of the best things I have ever tasted. Then we got a seared sea bass in a Meditterean style sauce. Bone in NY Strip steak was next with three sauces on the side with asparagus and polenta. Very good food. Dessert was next with a molten chocalte cake, peanut ice cream, chocolate lollipops. Wonderful with a candle for my birthday:) Chef came out a few times to check on the meal and the watresses were perfect. Comp value was $200. Add some wine for the partner and bottled water for me and tip I shelled out about $100. Deal of the trip by far.

    After dinner went right to the 7pm MJ show. There was a real buzz in the audience for this show and what a spectacular show it was. It starts with characters being swarmed by papparazzi and then into the king of pops greatest hits. A nice flashback to the 70s in the middle of the show when he was a kid and of course the much talked about hologram of him towards the end singing on stage with the other characters.

    The showstopper and worth the price of admission scene was Thriller when they all danced into the aisles and were swinging from the roof. I would pay just to see that again and it's not a cheap ticket.

    Stopped by Minus 5 ice bar after show to use another MyVegas reward to go and see the place. Not worth it in my opinion. Kind of cool to see the bar all made from ice but dead in there and as a non drinker bartender could only offer me some mixers. My partner did well with free vodka shots. Rest of the night was more uneventful slot play. Slow bleed from the penny machines. Lots of light and noise but no payouts:(

    Last day went to Stripburger for lunch. Nice place. Nothing special. Would hate to be there when the sun was beating down but was in the shade when we arrived. Would pass on the onion rings and order double fries. Some of the best fries I have ever had. Fried pickle appetizer was good. Chocolate cake dessert was very good. Burgers were so so in my opinion.

    One more quick meal before heading to the airport in the Seafood shack. Tuna appetizer is a must there and the fried fish/shrimp/scallop plate is good also. Second time there and both times a hit.

    Before checking out stopped by players club and had them check the bill for comps. They took 80 off the bill which was nice. TI never offers me upfront F&B like MGM but always takes stuff off at the end. Guess it's all the same in the end.

    All in all an amazing trip. I usually never preplan much but due to meeting with family and having the MyVegas rewards and shows and dinners, this trip was a run as a pretty tight ship. Lowlight was the gambling. Same results as last October. Bankroll pretty much depleted by the end. Almost makes me want to try table games over the slots:)

    Redeye back was nice into Chicago but first flight to Rochester was cancelled so had a nice 9 hours in OHare.

    One more thing. Would it kill everyone if they could find a room somewhere to let people smoke instead of having to go outside and then fight your way back thru security??
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2013
  7. gongoman

    gongoman MIA

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    Thanks for your Trip Report:beer:
     
  8. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    You made good use of the MyVegas rewards; sounds like a fun trip!
     
  9. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the report! I have both the Monte Carlo 2 for 1 and the Sporting House from MyVegas. I was getting worried that I had purchased duds as I hadn't heard a lot of positive talk about those rewards. Glad they are good ones after all!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  10. techie223

    techie223 High-Roller

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    Thanks for taking the time to post your first TR. Sounds like you had a great time!

    What some of the previous posts refer to is that it is easier to read a report that has a line space between the paragraphs so that it doesn't look like one large mass of words. Much easier to read :peace:
     
  11. sabrina

    sabrina Low roller

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    question about whiskey tasting

    Thanks for posting! Did your partner say if the whiskey tasting was worth it?
    I'm considering this one for my friend and myself when we go this summer but she really knows her whiskey and I'm afraid it won't be high end product?!
     
    Seinfield
  12. judy

    judy High-Roller

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    thanks

    i wondered how the Puck restaurant in Crystals was and it's good to know that you enjoyed it- I really liked the quality of the food at Spago.

    Wow, that was an incredible reward off My Vegas to go to Fleur-sounds really good. Seems like i played for months to get two free drinks there-but boy were they good with freshly prepared infusions and herbs in the cocktails.

    Glad you had a nice birthday!
     
    2024’s Second Trip
  13. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

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    You can't get the 30 year McCallan but you can get Glennlivit/fidich something or other...My Brother in law loves scotch and thought it was a very good reward...The bartender knows his stuff and well worth it especially if you can get the 2 for 1 signature drinks there as well
     
  14. phade

    phade Keeping tabs on LV while not there...

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    Sounds like a fun time was had.

    Flying out of ROC on United in less than a month and bummed to hear the plane won't have a movie. I'll be loading up my tablet for sure now. Thanks for the info.
     
  15. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

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    I think it depends on where you are connecting through for united...On the flight(no movie) out I went through Newark but the flight back thru Chicago did have a movie. Hope you get one:)
     
  16. elswam

    elswam Some day I will have a JACKPOT

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    Excellent MyVegas!!!!

    Good trip report blizzard, you enjoy too much you trip, but i have a question how do you do to reedem too much rewards, now only can use 3 rewards for trip.
    regards!!!
     
  17. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    I love those mushroom things at Sporting House.

    Was your dinner at Fleur some sort of pre-show menu? I'm considering that for my next trip.
     
  18. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

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    I had bought some chip packages that had raised my redeemable rewards totals to 10 and I redeemed them before the latest changes so was grandfathered in so got lucky with the timing...Last I checked I can only use a max of 4 now so things have changed.
     
  19. blizzard96

    blizzard96 Low-Roller

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    It was a MyVegas reward and was a 5 course chef tasting menu for 2(not available anymore last I checked). The waitress told me that what I had was the $89/pp menu that must be available to anyone. drinks are extra. The dinner I had was not the pre-show meal. I'd recommend the place to anyone.
     
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