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Trip Number 3 of 2013----July 1-5

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Rush, Jul 8, 2013.

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  1. Rush

    Rush MIA

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    My Trip Report

    This was my, "You don't have enough money to go, so why are you going" trip. It became a bit of an epiphany after the fact.

    First things first, though. Some of you might recall my trepidation with booking Allegiant as my carrier for this flight. I booked them based on proximity and price, and THEN heard all of these horror stories from people. A lot of you told me not to worry.....you've never had any issues at all. I felt a little better about this, and held my breath. Well, no one could hold their breath as long as you needed to hold it to make it through this fiasco. Read on.....


    Allegiant can go to hell in spades!

    We had an hour and a half delay on the way out due to weather in Vegas. (Too hot?) Ok, whatever.....but on the way home today, we were 45 minutes late pushing away from the gate for no reason, but we all sat and sweated our buns off on the plane for and well over an hour while this went on. Then, we finally start flying down the runway only to slam on the breaks.

    We turned around and waited about 15 minutes before the captain came on and said a light came on and it needed to be checked out. Back to the gate, and sweat for another 20 minutes. We get told an "air truck" is coming. Another 10 minutes passes, and we are informed no truck can be found. I understand.....McCarren is a small, seldom used airport.

    They at least let us off of the plane, and tell us to stay put at the gate, it should only be "5/10 minutes". Well, you know how that went. We heard that exact same "5/10 minutes" speech at least three times over the next hour before the final word came that we were switching planes and gates.

    We all hauled our butts over to the new gate, and the announcement was made to the fine folks waiting to go to Sioux Falls would be losing their plane. (What?) Good for us, but bad for them. So, the plane comes in, the people get off, and ......we wait. How long would this wait be???? "Just another 5/10 minutes folks....we have the mechanic and the pilot going over some paperwork. I don't think too many people were buying this, since every other Allegiant flight was get off/get on, and go. (That is, the flights that weren't being directed to new gates...and there were several!!)

    So, we sat...again. Like Forest Gump. Now a table gets set up, and cases of soda and water get set out. Ok, everyone sees the writing on the wall here. It's going to be a "few minutes longer", so we have complimentary drinks for you while you wait. At this point, I went and grabbed a hot meal at Ruby's Diner. The mere fact that they didn't have the common decency to admit we were stuck for some time simply pissed me off. Constantly telling people 5 to 10 minutes when you have no damned idea how long it will be is......well, bull shit.

    I came back, and another hour had lapsed from our original departure time when they finally admitted this plane was not going anywhere, either. Please pick up your belongings, and head back to gate such and such. We do......and we sit, because of course, the plane needed to be checked. Well, 20 minutes later, the plane is A-O-K! We are all happy for once! Until........"Folks, the flight attendants went home. They were past their allotted time for the day. We have a new crew coming in and they should be here in about......."

    You can fill in the blank by now on how long they SAID it would be. Well, one gal shows up to a round of applause about 30 minutes later, and the other 3 show up another 20 minutes later. So, they get on and we wait a little more. Now the boarding process is a joke, because half the people don't have their passes anymore. They have to show their IDs, and that slowed it down to a crawl. You would think the people could have shown their IDs over the last 4 1/5 hours and had new passes made out? Guess it doesn't work like that.

    Well, we finally get back on and........sit. And......sweat. Again! I have the advantage of sitting in the very first row, so I can hear the chatter over the radios. Apparently, we can't get a "push back" to leave the gate! Are you shitting me??? It couldn't be a surprise to anyone that this plane was still hanging around! Yet, we waited another half hour before a tow could come get us out.

    Finally on the runway we get one more announcement from the flight deck: "It appears a plane that just landed had a mishap and some fluid needs to be cleaned up from the runway......should just be a few more minutes." Everyone actually started to laugh at the point. What else could we do? I mean after all of this, a plane pissed itself? Wow!

    Anyway, I am writing this at 2am instead of a trip report at 8pm, thanks to the wonderful company that some of you sing the praises of, Allegiant.

    Good for you if you love them. I would love them to kiss my ass.

    --------------------------------

    I wrote that on Friday when I got home........Now, I can give you a brief recap of the trip.

    I arrived at about midnight on Monday the 1st, and picked up my rental car. It was a newish Altima with 35,000 miles on it. (How come you guys always get a car with 4,000 miles, and I get the heaps that are ready for auction?) Well, I hop in, and there is no key! It took only a few seconds for me to figure out this was one of those cars that was a push button start, but it still took me twenty minutes to locate the key!!! LOL!

    Once I was moving, I noticed that the "Tire pressure warning" light was on. Since no one was around, I could not swap out cars without going inside. I decided to look at the light all trip. The only reall issue I had with this car was the break pedal. It seemed very small compaired to the boat I drive, and my foot would slip off of the break several times before I got used to it. I have to admit.....I almost caused a couple wrecks out there, and it bothered me very much.

    On to the casino....Orleans. I cut right to the chase, and told the gal the check in I had a fifty for her if she could put me in a suite at no extra cost. She worked her fingers off, but I could not get the night of the 4th. The other three night were no problem....the 4th was a no go. I opted to just take the best she could do, rather than switch rooms for one night, and tossed her a $20. I got a nice high floor strip view.

    Now, I took notes, but I am writing this from work, so you will get the Reader's Digest version.

    I did almost NO video poker this trip. My bank just would not allow for the potential downward swings. I played a ton of craps, and some blackjack, too. The first night I was up a quick $250, but decided that wasn't good enough, and went to bed $400 in the hole. Smart man!

    The next day I took a spin out to the M for some free play and free food. Mind, you, I lost my rump at Orleans before I headed out, and was not happy about a short bankroll being hammered on the first day. I had a bad start with craps at the M, and decided to break out the $100 free play coupon. I had about $50 spread out on the layout, and decided to make a "don't come" wager with $100. Hey! The only thing that could hurt me is a 7 on the very next roll!.........Yeah.

    So, I decided maybe it was time for that free food coupon. I have heard so much about the buffet here, that I wasted a $50 coupon on a $25 buffet. And I do mean waisted. This is just another sorry buffet, IMO. It only has a lot more blah items to choose from. My own fault for eating at a buffet. Again! LOL.

    I actually turned the dice around after lunch, and had a $1500 roll. I was now not so deep in debt, and thought I might be onto something! I was wrong. I trimmed the bank back down once I got back to Orleans. Oh, well.

    Wednesday I ventured out to Red Rock casino, and Fiesta. Red Rock took about $500 from me at both craps and cards, and another $200 in VP. They must have loved me, as when I got home I had an email from a host. I have stayed 20+ times at Orleans over the last 10 years, and never had a sniff from a host. Guess who has a shot at getting my business next trip?

    Back to the Orleans, and some more butt kicking. I went to bed a broken man. At 3:30am, the hotel alarm went off. Anyone who has stayed at the Orleans knows this alarm, as it goes off in the casino at least once fer trip: WHOOOOT WHOOOOT WHOOOOO!!!!! May I have your attention please......the source of the alarm you are hearing is being identified. Blah blah blah" This repeats over and over, until it stops. Oh, and it's REALLY LOUD! This went on for twenty minutes. Well, now I'm awake, you know? Might as well hit the casino!

    I took a little tinkle break, and.......no flush. What? Go to wash hands.....no water. What? No shower. WHAT? Come on!!!!! now, I'm pissed! Thankfully, I had a bottle of water so I could brush my yap. I was heading downstairs, and a met a guy in the hall. I asked him if he had water and he told me, "No....this whole wing is out."

    Ok, what can you do? I played cards for about an hour and a half, and asked the pit critter if he could call for me and see how things were going on the water issue? It was back on. Good. I went and got cleaned up for real, and came back down to eat. After another harsh morning of beat downs, I was left with about $500 in gambling money.

    Now, here is where it got interesting. I walked up to a craps table with my $500, and was forced to play for the bare minimum. This is well beneath my standard of living, but I had no choice. I made no prop wagers, and stuck to place bets only on the 6/8 for the most part for $6 each. I played for the next 11 hours, and wound up leaving the table with $460. I also had the best time in my gambling life! Don't get me wrong. Winning $8,000 jackpots is a better outcome, but as far as just having a good time, and "hanging out", I had a blast! It reminded me of the time a few years back when I was down to almost nothing and was playing $3 craps at Casino Royale. I had a helluva time then, too!

    So, it gave me the realization that I don't need to play for "green chips" to have a good time. In fact, playing for green probably makes me miserable in the long run, as I lose! I bet more wildly, and the losses pile up that way. This way, I was forced to keep it balanced and slow, and it worked better for me.

    At any rate, I know it sounds like a "bad trip", but it really wasn't. I drove around quite a bit and saw a lot. The end craps session hopefully woke me up to a new way of approaching gambling. I will test that theory in Green Bay a few times to see if it holds water.

    I'm thinking February will be the next trip, but we will see!


    Thanks for reading! Good luck to all of you!!
     
  2. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Wow... what a tale... so glad you had that good 11 hour streak, not just for the wins, but for your sanity too!!! I've gotten to the point with rentals, that I've "standardized" on National (they treat me SUPER) and I only accept a Yukon, Tahoe or Suburban. I do this because I drive a Yukon at home and the dashboard and controls are all the same, with very minor exceptions. I can get in and be comfortable with everything in seconds. One less thing to stress about..
     
  3. fadetheseven

    fadetheseven High-Roller

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    I think I've come to the same conclusion regarding the enjoyment of the action whether it's $25 vs $100. I've never gambled more than I could afford to lose, but after recounting so many losing trips it's starting to add up. I could have gone to Hawaii several times for all the money I've lost over the past couple years!

    I'm resolved to bring down my wagers and limit my losses. I just want to stand at the tables for as long as possible. I do wish I could cover all the numbers, since there is nothing worse than seeing a number hit over and over with no money on it.
     
  4. dfalk

    dfalk VIP Whale

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    Wow that sucks about Allegiant, I'm 2 for 5 with them. First 3 times were delayed anywhere from 30min to 4 hours. Was really considering paying more and going with Delta but gave them another try. Last 2 flights have been perfect and on time.
     
  5. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

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    That sucks with Allegaint. If my math is right, you were delayed 6 hours? We've been lucky, the longest we ever had to wait was 30 minutes or so, but do remember one trip where they let a 10 yr old girl get on, decided she was sick, kicked her off, got her luggage, then decided that she wasn't that sick. It was hot in that plane. I do know people who have had your experience, guess we were just lucky. With that said, a happy wife leads to a happy life, and my wife is happy when we don't fly allegiant.

    Cool that you had a great time playing the minimums for 11 hours.
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  6. Smo

    Smo Mr. Las Vegas

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    I feel your pain with Allegiant. From Mesa, AZ they run a 53% not on-time percentage. I'm always there for about 80% of them myself. Allegiant is awesome with their 'shell game' of moving people from one jet to the next to the next etc etc. They have to do this to avoid making a report to the FAA and/or paying a hefty fine for you sitting in one plane too long.

    I know that same alarm sound as well. Heard it at Harrah's twice on my last 2 trips. Would be very pissed if I heard it in my room at that time of night! :grrr:

    Hope we get the real trip report instead of the abridged version.
     
  7. Dancemom

    Dancemom Low-Roller

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    I hear ya on Allegiant. Unfortunately for me, it's pay Allegiant's rates and suck it up or at least double on any other airline. The irony? My husband works for Air Canada. While I flew once from the West coast here to Toronto, Ontario for a whopping $25, those days of airline employees and families getting a good deal are gone. For me to use one of his passes to go to Vegas, I'd have to fly standby (and run the real risk of getting bumped) from Vancouver to LA and then again from LA to Vegas. AND, I'd have to pay the taxes on each leg which amount to more than what I usually get Allegiant for. So...next month's trip is on Allegiant. And, my husband is joining me for the 2nd half of the trip and yep...he booked Allegiant too. We'll just cross our fingers....

    I had 2 great return flights on Allegiant to Vegas. Then last summer, my afternoon flight to Vegas was delayed 6 hours. Like you, we were told a variety of stories and they did ultimately put out drinks and pizza for us. And finally we got a smaller plane than the one that apparently died, and they randomly chose the first passengers to take the first flight. Thank goodness I was on that one. We were also told we would get an emailed voucher for $25 to use on a future flight but we never got it. I was pissed about that first night because I had booked my first and only night downtown and by the time I got to my room it was almost 11 pm. I felt like I had lost a day.
     
  8. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    I have family in the Caribbean and used to fly into and out of small airports down there, and similar things would happen with some frequency, both with flight attendants and pilots. The FAA has pretty strict hours-related rules, and that time generally ticks by whether you're actually in flight or just parked on the tarmac waiting, so unfortunately you can hit your limit if a flight gets delayed like yours did. What's more surprising is that they didn't have backup crews available right there, considering Allegiant is based out of Las Vegas and this had been going on for a while; I can understand it when it happens at a tiny Caribbean airport, but it's odd that Allegiant wouldn't have gotten the replacement crew there as soon as it looked like it was going to be a long delay.
     
  9. bshowell

    bshowell VIP Whale

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    My God what a flight experience from hell. I've never flown Allegiant and never will because it's not over here in the DMV area.

    But other than that sounds like a pretty good trip. Any trip to Vegas is a good trip. Sometimes just "hanging out" is the best.
     
  10. YoungGun

    YoungGun VIP Whale

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    Apparently Allegiant saves money by not turning on the AC.
     
  11. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Wow, my airline nightmare in writing!

    Rush, were you flying out of MKE?
     
  12. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    actually most of the rental cars I've gotten have had under a few hundred miles. one actually had something like 4 miles on it, it had never been driven.
     
  13. Rush

    Rush MIA

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    Appleton.
     
  14. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    What fun sitting in a hot plane, not! Definitely a hellish flight experience but at least it was on the way back (the proverbial silver lining).
     
  15. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    Wow, talk about a wild ride.

    Not sure I could pull off an 11 hour craps session, but that must have been awesome. :beer:
     
  16. mjames1229

    mjames1229 # of visits includes only trips w/ hotel stays

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    I believe that is correct. Flew from Reno to Las Vegas on Allegiant and they were very insistent that we all close the shades on the windows upon arrival "to make the aircraft more comfortable for our next guests".
     
    USBC Nationals are back in Vegas
  17. Rush

    Rush MIA

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    All airlines do this.
     
  18. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    As always, I love the way you write and it was a good read. I agree with you about dropping down your bets. Its boring and feels like you're wasting your time in the beginning but after a while you forget about the money and just want to collect "chips" and play the game. That's been my experience at least.

    Sucks about the flight. Sounds horrible. I learned my lesson years ago about taking chances with an airline with a shitty reputation. I flew Northwest (i.e. Northworst) when it was still around, not once but twice and both times it absolutely sucked. But people warned me....they were cheap for good reason. After the second flight, which was postponed for a full day when no other flight was showing even a slight delay and it was horribly handled by their front-office staff, I wrote the airline's president (or CEO) a letter outlining how horrendous their service was, etc. They sent me a big stack of flight vouchers in I think $100 and $250 denominations and I didn't even use them. I just wanted him to know his airline sucked.
     
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