4 Queens - Suncoast in April

We had a 4 night trip staying at 4 Queens and Suncoast. Nothing too exciting happened gambling wise but I’ve got some photos to share. We stayed pretty even for the first 3 days but suffered on the last day playing VP. We just didn’t get any big wins on VP this time so I don’t have any great photos to share of wins. My husband did have some luck on BJ and craps but overall, it cost us a bit.

I’ll post this in 4 sections to keep the photos in the right spot.

We flew down on Westjet and were able to read Ken2v’s golf write up in the Westjet magazine. I’m not a golfer but enjoyed the read and photos. What a tough job you have Ken!

We left a half hour late but arrived on time, grabbed a cab and asked to go downtown via Paradise, telling the driver we had $35 for the trip. He said he wanted a tip and would do right by us. We got to 4 Queens for $28 so cabby got a $7 tip and we were all happy. (We’ve paid as much as $42 before while being long hauled.)

We were given a comped room on the 19th floor so we had a pretty good view. We were able to open the window wide which is unusual but it was nice to have the fresh air blowing in. From our room, we could see the lot behind 4Q where they have taken down the old courthouse. Derek Stevens of The D owns this property now (he payed the minimum offer of 10 million as the only bidder at auction for the lot) and I’ve read they have plans to have outdoor events on this lot for the time being. I imagine they will be planting grass or something. Knowing The D is involved, I’m sure it will turn out nice.

This is a little odd but something I found interesting. I’ve looked at the 4 Queens plenty of times while in Vegas but have never really looked closely. I’ve included a shot from our window of the north tower. Anyhow, looking out our window, I was surprised by the type of siding they’ve put on this hotel. Pity the poor guys who had to put all those rocks on the wall. They must have been doing that tedious job for weeks! I can’t imagine how many pounds of rocks they must have hauled up to finish both towers this way. Sure hope the putty retains its holding power or we're liable to see a rock slide at 3rd and Fremont!

Our first night, we played VP at 4Q and hubby used his $80 free play. We spent a couple hours at The D where I used some match plays on BJ and hubby used his $50 FP at the Longbar. By the end, we were both about even.

 

We had breakfast the next morning at The D with our $20 meal credit. It was good food as usual. We wandered around Fremont Street a bit and ended up back at 4 Queens. I had read in Royal Flusher’s trip report that 4Q is coming out with a new machine swipe system for their club cards. Since hubby was convinced he had lost points since our last trip and still had about $150 in cash back coming to him, we decided to cash it out this trip. There is really no value in leaving it there although hubby was hoping to leave it till next year as seed money for when our son turns 21. They print a cheque at the club booth and we just had to cash it at the cashier’s cage. That was a nice bonus for the wallet.

We took the WAX bus out to Suncoast around 3 to check into our room. We had an offer of 3 nights and $20 per day food. Our host had booked our room and we got the same room as last time so the pictures may look familiar. I love the rooms at SC as they have lots of space. All rooms come with a fridge as well. The resort fee includes basic internet access and the resort fee isn’t charged on comped rooms. The weather was cloudy so there were only a few people at the pool but the water was really warm. While in the pool area, food can be ordered from the TGIF restaurant at reasonable prices.

We wanted to have dinner at Salvatore’s Italian restaurant but it was closed on Mondays so we ended up at Cafe Siena. They had a special of Ribeye and lobster so we ordered that. It was the most disgusting steak we have ever had. It looked and tasted like it had been soaked in tenderizer for a week. When I picked it up with my fork, the steak stretched to about twice it’s size. It was the mushiest piece of meat I’ve ever had. This is our second bad meal there so I doubt we’ll be eating there again.

 

The next day we got a late start so we played VP just long enough to get our free lunch buffets. SC is currently running an offer of free breakfast or lunch buffet after earning 300 points or 600 points to get a free dinner buffet. The food was regular buffet food and pretty good. We tried some VP after lunch but couldn’t get anything going so we took the WAX back downtown. There were about 20 people working on the zipline so hopefully they are getting closer to opening. We spent time at MSS, the Plaza and Golden Gate. We had a look at the Plaza’s bier garten and weren’t too impressed. It wasn’t open and didn’t look too inviting anyhow. I was surprised to see such old tables in there since it just opened. There were quite a few people inside gambling but we weren’t able to win anything ourselves. Coming out of the Plaza, I noticed just how much the Zipline/stage blocks the view of Fremont Street. I even wondered why on earth they didn’t center it between the Vegas Club and the Golden Gate since it’s about as close as it can possibly be to the Las Vegas Club. I’ve since found out that it’s off center to allow room for a fire truck to pass between the stage and Golden Gate. After a few hours downtown, we headed back to Suncoast.

 

I checked in with the slot club at SC and was told I had about $570 worth of comps on my card (this is after 3 trips and we hit a bonus multiplier last visit and had scored with 40 times points for a few hours) so we decided to have dinner at the steakhouse. It was closed on Tues. (we really need to pay more attention to what nights their restaurants are open) so we went to Salvatore’s instead. I didn’t realize this but Salvatore’s is not a SC restaurant. This means that if you are using points for dinner, you do not get the 40% discount. We had plenty of points so it didn’t really matter. We’ve eaten there 3 times now and never had a bad meal. They have a lounge singer and piano player for entertainment and it’s a really nice atmosphere. The restaurant was full so we were just lucky we were able to get seated right away without reservations. Dinner came to around $70 without drinks. Since we hadn’t used our $20 food credit today as we had the free buffet for lunch, I guess I could have used part points and signed $20 to my room but it just didn’t seem worth the effort considering we had so many points.

The next morning we had room service for breakfast. I was tempted to order the Eggs Benedict because I saw that it came with Canadian Ham. Since we had such a lively discussion about this on the poutine thread (https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105169&highlight=poutine), I wondered what they served for Canadian ham. In the end, we went with bacon and eggs and sausage and eggs with homefries and coffee. I think each order was around $7.50 so their room service prices are really reasonable.

The order came within 10 minutes and the waiter dropped it off and left. When we opened the lids, we realized we got someone elses order of steak and scrambled eggs. We called back and within 10 minutes our proper order arrived – almost. The waiter was genuinely sorry for the mix up and must have apologized at least 6 times. When the waiter set the food down, I saw we had shredded hash browns instead of homefries but it seemed so minor, I didn’t say anything. Unfortunately, after he left, we realized he also forgot the butter and jam for the toast so he obviously wasn’t having a great day. Dry toast didn’t kill us though and we still enjoyed the breakfast.

After playing for a few hours and getting nowhere, I decided to get my hair cut. I’ve always wondered why the heck someone would go to Vegas and stop for a haircut but now I know why. It fills the time and saves on losses. I got a shampoo and style at the salon on the 2nd floor for $55 plus a $10 tip. More than I’d pay at home but I figure that saved me at least $100 in gambling losses.

Since we were doing so poorly, we decided to clean our player’s account out here as well. During the day we used $300 in free play just by withdrawing it at the VP machine we were playing on. SC has a current offer Friday through Sunday where if you earn 3000 points, they will give you free dinner at the steakhouse or $50 in free slot play. Since we planned on having dinner at the steakhouse that night (a Wednesday) and I knew we had run about $10,000 points through between the 2 of us, I asked at the club booth if we could charge it to our room and have them review our play at the end of the trip to see if we could have it comped. Both of the girls there insisted that they don’t work that way at SC. They said there is no removing of charges at the end. I thought that was really odd because when I talked to our host after our first trip (back when she was courting me), she told me to do just that.

Thinking they were mistaken, later that night I asked the bartender where the hosts office was. He told me they didn’t have a hosts office and that there were no hosts on duty at night anyhow but that he would call over a slot manager. When she came to the bar where I was sitting, I explained that I had a host assigned to me (although I’ve never met her and only dealt with her for our last reservation) but was curious how things worked at SC and if it was true that they would not review our bill at the end and offer comps based on play. She believed that to be true but said she would phone someone and check. After her call, she said that is was true – no comps at the end – and she also mentioned that my host no longer worked there. Then she added that all the hosts were gone except for one.

SC just recently changed to this swipe system where you need to swipe your card before starting play in order to get multiplier points and earn free meals. Because of this, I’m guessing they no longer have such a need for hosts. Unfortunately, during the week days, the only meals they seem to give are the buffet and one or two buffets during the trip is more than plenty. Man can not live on buffet alone. But then she asked the magic question – was there something I was looking for? Well yes indeed, we were hoping to have dinner at the Steakhouse. She quickly took my card, checked my account and had it all arranged with staff at the Steakhouse, all we had to do was show up and let them know who we were. She offered to make reservations but since I was finally getting some wins at VP, I explained we weren’t sure when we’d eat. No problem she said, it’s not going to be that busy anyhow. I asked if this is the way it should be done for next time? She said whenever we want something (within reason of course), just have the bartender or other staff member give the slot manager a call and they would come over and see what they could do. (At this point I did think of Joe since I knew he was coming in the morning we were leaving and had been told the same thing regarding comps at the end. I just hoped it all worked out for him since the system was so new that no one seemed too sure of how everything worked.)

So we had dinner at the steakhouse and the food was really good. The service could have been better – the restaurant closes at 9 and we arrived at 8 :40. The place was completely empty and the only person in the restaurant was the hostess. We asked for a table for 2 and the hostess replied that the kitchen was closed. I have to admit I got a bit testy and told her it was not closed since the restaurant is open till 9. She caught my mood pretty quick and scurried off to the kitchen. A minute or two later, a waiter came out of the back and we were seated. I get the fact it was a slow night and the staff probably had their clean up done so they could sneak out early but if the staff want to leave at 9 then they need to close the restaurant at 8. In my mind, if you’re open till 9 you should be seating people till 9. Anyhow, after we were seated, the service was fine. At the end of the meal we mentioned our comp offer and left a $25 tip.

Before going to bed, I got the slot club to issue me a $100 cheque from our account. So during the trip we used $70 worth of points at Salvatore’s and we also used our $40 food offer (leaving $20 unused) in free food for dinner at Cafe Siena and room service breakfast. We also had a free $100 dinner at the steakhouse. We used $300 in free play and took $100 cash back. As I said, that is the rewards we accumulated after 3 trips. But if you don’t touch your points for a few trips, they do add up and then you can eat elsewhere other than the buffet.

Just before we left for this trip, I got my latest SC offer and it had been reduced to $10 per day food. So in the space of 8 months, I’ve gone from $100 per day food plus $100 per day free play to just $10 in food per day (plus all the buffet I can eat) and no free play. They are sure changing things there.

For our final morning we didn’t plan to use my player’s card for risk of lowering our averages. Since we play on my card during our stay, hubby used his own card for about 15 minutes so that he could qualify for the free buffet. I decided to just pay for mine at $7.99. Thinking about future trips, I realize now I should have printed off my qualifying coupon from the day before as it is valid for one day after. I also could have used some of my remaining points to get 40% off but just didn’t think of it at the time. Lesson learned for next time though.

The free airport shuttle times weren’t going to work for us so we grabbed a cab after breakfast to take us to the airport and if I remember correctly it was around $50 including tip (we asked the driver for an estimate first so he wouldn’t have the option of long hauling us – it’s a 20-30 minute ride so he would have had lots of opportunity). The cab driver kept up a running commentary the whole trip and was a wealth of information about what was new and happening in Vegas.

 

One thing I forgot to add was another conversation I had with a bartender downtown regarding the Culinary strike. He said he was prepared for the strike and had put aside enough money for the next 6 months to cover his bills. He told me that if they do go on strike full time, the casinos will not be able to replace and train 5,000 workers on short notice. The hotels would replace front desk attendants so you would still be able to check in but you would not be getting your room made up and restaurants and bars would not have enough people to replace the employees so you wouldn’t be eating and drinking as we do now. He felt that if it came to that point, there would be enough striking workers picketing so that it would be very difficult for anyone to cross the picket line due to the sheer number of people walking the line. He told me they would leave no gaps for anyone to get through. His words – we’ll shut the casinos down. Who knows what will happen but I thought I’d pass along his comments. Although it’s only one employee’s opinion, I was struck by how prepared he was. It’s something to think about if planning a visit anytime soon. Even if you chose to cross the picket line, it’s unlikely you’d be able to enjoy restaurants or bar service. He did express hope that they would settle soon.

Looking back we realize this trip was just to soon for us. We went to Vegas last month as well and booked this trip because of a great seat sale and the fact that we could still get a direct flight from our town (flights are seasonal and end soon). Six weeks between trips is way too soon for us. We just didn’t have the enthusiasm we usually do. Our next trip won’t be till the fall now so by then we’ll really be looking forward to it.

Just in case anyone found my 4Q rock wall photos interesting (simple things amuse me), I’ve got a couple more pics from the "I never knew that" department. I’ve walked over these metal plates in the sidewalk many times and never gave them a second thought as to what they were for. These photos were taken last trip when the foreman’s office rose from the bowels of the building to check in a load of liquor. I think the other two plates open up, they load the liquor on and then it takes it down to the basement. So if your ever walking across those grates and feel a vibration – get off them quick!

And that's it. Not nearly as epic as our other SC trip, in fact just the opposite. I guess you can't win everytime.

 

With this report and Joe's report, it sounds like stay the hell away from Suncoast! That's too bad; I did like the 9/6 "Boner Deluxe" at the bar.

Thanks for all the detail even though it wasn't super results!

 

Yes I'm s Boyd guy but u won't see me doing suncoast either

 

Very interesting report.
I have stayed at the 4 Queens many times and never noticed the wall!
Thanks..I will have to check it out next time.

 

Thanks for the report. It sounds like the Suncoast should change its name to CloudCoast pretty soon.

BTW, I read somewhere that the tables at Plaza's Bier Garten were brought over from an actual German Oktoberfest. So that's probably why they didn't look new.

 

I REALLY enjoyed your report... lots of info and neat stuff. Loved the off-center zip line station so the fire-truck can get thru! I noticed the same thing and wondered?

 

I always assumed they were punishing LVC for not paying their dues to FSE.:evillaugh

 

Gambler, thanks for posting.

I know for a fact there are at least two hosts there. One left her business card and our host was called when we checked in and came out to greet us. That's when he tells me to charge everything to the room and we'll take care of it at the end. Left hand, right hand? As I posted, in the end they only covered $200 of the $370.

I forgot to post this in my report. Upon check-in I asked how to use my $25 food credit and was told I couldn't since my room wasn't booked using the offer, but by the host. In spite of leaving a winner, SC just rubbed me the wrong way.

Thanks for the info about Salvatores, but I seriously doubt I will ever set foot in Suncoast again. I wonder if that no discount for points, also applies to Friday's?

 

TGI Fridays aren't owned by Boyd, otherwise that would be one big restaurant chain in their possession. :evillaugh

You shouldn't be getting any discount with points.

 

I understood Boyd didn't own them, but at the downtown places inside Boyd, that they don't own, you can't use points at all. At Friday's you can and also charge food/drinks to the room.

 

I'm going to have to dig into that. They are just basic orange tables. There sure didn't seem to be anything special about them. They looked like something they found in their storage room.

I was surprised the bier garten wasn't open. I would imagine it would be way too hot to sit outside there in the summer so this would be prime time for them to be open.

I debated whether to post those pictures! Funny how we see it every trip but never notice the details. There must be tons of rocks on their walls. I can't help but wonder how they did it. Bucket after bucket of rocks being hoisted up to guys on scaffolding? It really makes me wonder! BTW, I did give them a jiggle and they still seem pretty solid :evillaugh

That's exactly what I thought too!

 

Now that's just weird. Our host booked our room yet at the front desk they just told us to charge the $20 free food to our room. They really put the screws to you this time Joe.

You can use points for Friday's but no discount. I think they told me Fridays and Salvatores are the only two restaurants where you don't get a discount.

 

The same is true at the other end too. The reason for the height of the hole is to get the ladder trucks through. It's nice to know they were thinking of us!

 

We are done at Suncoast! Back to MSS with a limo, suite and the Gold Card, no questions asked.

I have Oct booked and now since I won, we're looking at June also.

 

I've used points at Tony Roma's in Fremont, but perhaps Boyd owns this outlet.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but on the bridge area between Cal & MSS I was told you can't use points for the chocolate store or the ice cream place and maybe not even Aloha.

I never tried, but that is what I was told. I notice if you go to Cal & dining Lapperts & Aloha come up but not the chocolate store.

Anybody know?