Father and Son Roadtrip to Las Vegas

Sorry so late in getting this posted but the holidays got in the way.

November 21st

We begin our adventure leaving S.A. Tx at 6:30 in the morning and arrive in Albuquerque around 4:00. We wake up the next morning and what a temperature change. My dad wants to wait until the sun comes up before we hit the road. No problems with ice on the road but it was nice seeing all the snow around Flagstaff. We arrive at Sam's Town around 4:00 where we will be staying the first two nights.

November 22nd

After getting checked in we head downtown to MSS to play some VP and enjoy some Marker Pale Ale's. My dad made it real easy for me since his drink of choice is water so I had a designated driver the whole time we were in vegas. No wins worth mentioning and after eating at Triple 7 we walked down to the new Grand. It seemed nice but they really need to improve their beer choices. I did cash out over 100 bucks on a zombie themed machine on a .50 cent bet.

November 23rd

Spent most of the day at Sam's Town since my dad was in a VP tournament. No real big wins but it seemed like I got alot play. That afternoon we went to the MGM were I ran 105 bucks through the Lions Share bouncing between 51 and 165 bucks. After awhile my dad got bored and wanted to go to NYNY so I cashed out at $102 tipping the handpay person the two bucks. Drink service was very good the whole time I played getting several drinks.
For some reason I never have any luck at NYNY and this trip proved no different. From there we crossed back to the Tropicana so my dad could see the changes. Upon leaving we went to Eastside Cannery since my dad had a offer for two free buffets. I really like the casino and the buffet was basic but the prime rib was wonderful. I did not play much here but did put 5 bucks in a Godfather slot and it seemed like I hit the bonus frequently cashing out a little over 50 bucks.
After getting back to Sam's Town my dad was tired and called it a night so I swipped my players card at the kiosk to see what my play had generated. I was surprised to see that I had earned a free buffet and two movie tickets. So I did something I never would have thought I would do in Vegas on a Saturday night. I went to a movie at the theater and saw Captain Philips which was pretty good. It's amazing how Tom Hanks adapts to whatever role he plays.

November 23rd

We moved to Planet Hollywood for the next two nights. I get what I think is a two queen resort with a view of the fountains. One of the goals was I was 1800 tier credits short of making platinum so I was going to take a swing at it. My dad also had the new TR visa so we had the 24 hr buffet pass which covered Sunday night and all day Monday. First time that I can remember that I didn't have a sandwich from Earl's. Most of my play was on the 100 play poker and the Super Times Pay across from Planet Dailies. I ended up with 700 tier credits at the end of the first day.

November 24th

My dad wanted to check out the Cosmopolitan after having breakfast at the buffet. They had a car that belonged to Liberace parked inside the entrance and the casino seemed very busy for a Monday. After having a light lunch at the buffet I settled in for some more video poker. The drink service was awesome and my dad even ramped it up and added a little scotch to his water. The CW did a great job of making sure I always had a Blue Moon without even asking. There is a row of dollar machines behind were the 100 and 50 play VP machines are and there was a western themed one that was kinda of annoying. After hearing it for awhile I decided it must be calling me so I decided I would throw a hundred in and see what happens. Turned out to be a good call since I cashed out at $361 and earned quite a few tier credits. We had our last meal in Vegas at the buffet that night and the prime rib was the best I have ever had at Spice Market. Since we were leaving in the morning for the trip back to Texas I knew I needed to get back to the machines if I was going to get the needed points. I went back to the 100 play DDB and my first hand was dealt Quad Jacks. I also ended up getting dealt a full house and two straights. By 10:30 I had hit the needed tier credits for Platinum and after tipping and thanking my CW for such good service I headed to the room.

November 25th

On the road by 6:00 am we ended up driving non stop back pulling into my driveway at midnight. It was a great trip with my dad that was made more special because of the drive. With work I don't get to see my dad as much as I would like to but with all that time on the road I don't think there was one subject we didn't talk about. We rented a Ford Fusion for the trip which impressed me. It had a ecoboost motor which supplied some good power and I spent 220 bucks for gas total. I took $3000 and after getting home I had $2800. My dad rented the car from Hertz for $150 and the only food I paid out of pocket was at Triple 7 and one stop at McD's on the way out and Subway on the way back.

I want to try and plan on doing this again this year and after my brothers heard my dad raving about it at Thanksgiving we might have some company.

Thanks Mark

 

Good for you guys! My 24 y.o. son finally came with me to Las Vegas last month... may well have been my most fun visit ever.

As a matter of fact, this reminded me to ask him again... we're now in for the first rounds of March Madness (3/20-3/23)

 

Really cool report

 

What a great trip! Thanks for sharing.

My Dad took me to Vegas 20 years ago when I was 21 and I plan on taking him in October to celebrate his 70th birthday.

 

Excellent!

I love that drive from San Antonio to Las Vegas. But I take a different route, following I10 to Phoenix.

I envy your planned return trips with family. My relatives are too "gainfully employed" now to use extra vacation days on the road.

 

Would enjoy taking my son to Vegas but he shows no interest.

 

Nice report Mark! So glad you & your Dad were able to catch up...... spending time with family makes a trip extra special!!

 

I totally agree with you about a trip with a parent.. Especially since we live in separate cities..it's always fun catching up and just bumming around..we normally watch the Super Bowl err big game but are fortunate enough to go on the 18th of January for a long weekend.. He likes to play the ponies..

 

Great report thanks for posting. Glad to see it ended with you essentially going home with your bankroll...that's always a plus

One question - was the zombie slot you played at the Grand the new Walking Dead one?

 

No. I don't remember the exact name but I think it was Ed the Zombie. I had never seen it before and it looked interesting.
Mark

 

That is the route we took coming back. We went through Albuquerque on the way up because my dad wanted check out the Sandia casino there.
Mark

 

Great report! I'm glad you had fun with your dad. I went with my dad for the first time this October and we had a blast! I hope to make it a yearly thing.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Awesome! Nothing like father/son trips. Did mine June 2013 with my boys, it was great!

 

Sounds like a great trip with your dad. Glad you had fun and your bank roll lasted.

 

Picture of my boys!

 

I would bet that "zombie" theme slot was, "Plants vs. Zombies"
Its quite a popular video game.

 

Ahhh ok. Well I just read the Walking Dead one is now supposed to be released sometime in January...originally it was going to be released at the beginning of the season but that apparently never happened. Thanks for the quick response

 

My dad had to give up alcohol because it gave him a sped-up heartbeat which would keep him up all night. It also isn't in his nature to gamble. We still have fun in Vegas. He even played some video poker this time, 100% due to Wynn giving him some free play.

 

My son is only 15 and we have not taken our first trip yet ourselves (myself & husband) but i have been planning this trip for at least 6 months already so he has heard a lot of things. He told me Saturday night while we were playing games that he wants to go to vegas when he was 21, he seemed a tad mortified when i said i would take him lol. We are close but i don't think that is what he meant.

 

Loved your report. What great memories you made with your dad. Priceless!