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Good/Bad/Ugly Cosmo and Tropicana 04/01-04/05

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Drambler, Apr 19, 2014.

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  1. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    I used to write super detailed and long trip reports but I didn't take notes this time so this is more a collection of random thoughts. Not sure if this format is annoying or not. My apologies if you don’t like it. Maybe I’ve seen too many spaghetti westerns lately.

    I give you the great, good, bad and sometimes ugly…

    Day 1

    Great: Getting together with my three buddies for non-stop drambling out in LV. Always a fun time.

    Bad: Getting head....winds on the flight out of Columbus. This turned a 4.5 hour flight into a 5 hour plus flight. Despite cards, booze, movies I was ready to scream. That flight seemed like it would not end.

    Bad: Booking 3 different comps at the same time to make sure everyone could have their own room and not have to pay too much. This meant I had to check into the Aria, the Cosmopolitan and the Paris after the never ending flight. By the time I did that I was hungry, cranky and tired of hauling stuff around. I swear it took over an hour.

    Good: One of the guys booked a limo from Presidential which made visiting the liquor store and three places easierand you can't beat a limo

    Bad: The driver was new and tried too hard plus he took me to the Cosmo when I wanted the Aria first. First world problems I guess. Still the drivers I've had on other trips were way better.

    Great: The comped room at the Cosmo. I asked for a view so they upgraded me to a tower suite with a balcony that overlooked the strip, right across from Planet Hollywood. What a view. I loved that balcony.

    Good: Eating dinner at Ellis Island after the long check-ins. That rib deal they have there is just great.

    Bad: Waiting for nearly 40 minutes before we got to eat. The place looked deserted but they weren't calling people to sit down. I did have a few good beers in the casino though.

    Great: Playing three card poker in the party pit at the Paris after dinner. The dancers were pretty hot and the dealers wearing high heels and stockings were nothing to sneeze at either. Plus they don't mess with rules
    so it was just the same as playing at a boring old table. The dealers were super fun and we had a great time. Drink service was top notch. Did that for many hours.

    Good: Actually got the "you wannna party look" from an woman obviously working one of the bars at Paris. Never had that happen before. Cracked me up.
     
  2. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Day 2:

    Good: Waking up the morning of day two to see that with drinks, food and gambling I'm down $100.

    Great: Headed back to Paris that morning of day two and hit a straight flush for $600 plus at 3 card.

    Bad: Dealer was not wearing a hot outfit. Party pit not open at 11:00 a.m.

    Good: Had a big laugh when another player asks if I noticed there were many cross dressing men roaming the casino the night before. I ask out loud if maybe the working girl I saw was packing a package. For the record
    I did not see any guys in dresses.

    Good: My Aria comp came with $75 free play and an unexpected $75 resort credit.

    Bad: I turned the $75 free play into zero, hitting nothing for 25 spins. Not even a cherry. Then I went out of my way to eat a lunch at Todd English just to burn the resort credit. I Come home and I find they charged me since Todd English is technically part of Crystals. I charged it to my room, they own the mall and it's hooked to Aria, but no it doesn't count. I've been stiffing the Aria for years by taking free rooms and then giving little or no play and they pay me back this way? Jeez.

    Very very Bad: Can't go to the pool since it's around 50 degrees and cloudy. After a horrible winter I was ready for sun and heat and the weather was better back in Ohio. I even brought my pool shirt with the shirtless cowboyriding the las vegas sign. (see my avatar). It would go unworn...

    Good: Play slots for most of the day at Aria and Cosmo, find I'm still up at least $200.

    Bad: Todd English sliders go down poorly, has me feeling poorly so I lay down for a few hours. I would not have done this in my younger days.

    Good: Get it together and we all had downtown for a good dinner and fun times.

    Good: We hit the D and shortly after arrival the dancers start dealing. I play blackjack and break even.

    Good: Walking Dead Slots are great fun. I hit a big bonus round and the graphics are great.

    Bad: My walking dead slot's touchscreen dies in mid bonus. Slot techs, slot managers and various suits get involved and 45 minutes later it's determined I had $25 in the machine and they hand pay me. The bonus would have paid me way more if I'd completed it. They say these machines are buggy and it's driving them crazy. I lost 45 minutes of fun so I concur.

    Great: Dinner at Andiamo's at the D. Great food, great service and decent prices. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be going back. The steak I had was top notch.

    Good: The Golden Gate. This is always a good time. The dealers are always fun. I lost but then win three times on a $25 promo chip they gave me so it wasn't all losing.

    Good: Playing Boner Deluxe for the first time at the bar. Pay table seemed okay and the game is now my favorite video poker game. (Thanks VMB!) I love that four of a kind payout.

    Good/Sorta Ugly: Some woman at the bar and her friend keep staring at me. They aren't exactly the hottest nor dressed like working girls. It makes me wonder if I got something on my shirt at dinner. I even checked my fly.
    Then my buddy comes over and they ask him if he wants to have fun. Mystery solved. Shirt clean, fly up, girls working.

    Good: We head to the Downtown Grand and I win $52 in free play when I sign up for a card. I turn this into $51 real money.

    Good: The double deck game they have for $25. Double after split and everything. I tell the dealer about seeing working girls and he tells me the economy is bad, their standards are lower. That's why they are looking at me. Funny guy. He took my money too.

    Bad. The Downtown Grand. It was beyond empty. Maybe ten people in the whole place. I ask the lone waitress for a Heineken (I know their beer selection is bad) and she tells me they are out. Bud and Bud Light seemed to be what you could drink. I have a better beer selection in my fridge at home. I really wanted to like this place too. Maybe they need time to ramp up? It shows promise but sure was lame.

    Great: Okay this one is pretty raunchy. So stop reading if you are easily offended by crude cabbies. It's like 3 a.m. and we're all loaded and we get a cab back to the strip. The driver has a really thick Russian accent. Of course he brings up going to a strip club. To make conversation my buddy says he thinks strip clubs in Toronto are way better since you can touch the girls. This guy insists you can do that in LV. He then says (use Russian accent) "You put it finger in their pussy..then rub it on upper lip to see if it smells like fish." This cracks us up so bad since it's such a foul thing to say. Yes,we were all pretty drunk.

    Bad: Man oh man is the Cosmo filled horrible ******bags late at night. They had a DJ blaring music at 400 decibels ******s were everywhere. Just walking past the bar was enough to ask for a beer so you could hit a few of them just for sport.

    Day 3 coming up...
     
  3. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    Day 3

    Bad: Moving from the Cosmopolitan to the Tropicana. Sure will miss that balcony.

    Good: My free Tropicana room is nice enough and looks over the strip. The real bonus is I can walk from my room to the tables in less than a minute. That's a great bonus if I want to take a dump in my own bathroom and don't want a big hike to get there. Sure beats the four mile treks I've had at other resorts.

    Good: My buddy booked the MGM for two free nights through the Facebook game. They ask him if he wants to upgrade for $30. He takes is and is given a corner suite that overlooks the strip and is the size of a medium sized apartment. It has wall to wall views and is one of the nicest rooms I've ever seen.

    Very Bad: Weather continues to suck. We tried sitting by the pool but it was cold and there was no talent to be seen. No sun, no talent, no fun.

    Good: I bought two buffets for the MGM off the Facebook game. It clearly stated I could only buy one at 26k in points. It let me buy a second. A two person buffet pass was on there for 91k plus in points. I figured worst case they tell me I can't get two when I get there. The mlife desk has no problem giving me my two buffets. So that worked out

    Bad: The MGM buffet. It was okay, but nothing special. My buddy proceeds to eat $4500 in crab legs so he was happy.

    Great: The $25 double deck blackjack game at the Tropicana. Great rules, other than hit soft 17.

    Bad/Ugly: Splitting aces four times against a dealer six at the same game. I got 12, 14, 14 and 17. Dealer ended up with 17. Lost $150 on that hand.

    Great: Cookie the cocktail waitress. She's tiny, doesn't say much but brings you beers without you even asking. You think, “I could use another...” and before you finish that thought, and there it is.

    Good: Playing ridiculous amount of three card poker and not really losing or winning either. Then after losing quite a few hands in a row, I come up with the phrase "Three Card Bullshit." "You wanna play some more three
    card bullshit?" Nah, I'm going to play slots. A new catchphrase is always fun.

    Great: Nine rounds of slot golf. Whoever posted idea this a while back I have to really thank you. The four of us put in $10 a slot and played strict slot golf rules. The pot after nine holes was around $445 and I came in first
    so got half of it. It was great fun and a nice hit for me.

    Good: At 3 card: A woman next to my buddy says she could use a cigar. He tells her I have a bunch of really nice Cuban cigars in my room. I thought maybe she was just a big talker so I was hesitant to give her one. I figured she would take one puff and then waste it. She seemed serious so I went and got her one. She fired it up like a pro and smoked the whole thing and was really appreciative. She said it was the best cigar she'd ever had. I tell her the name of it about 100 times. She leaves and a half hour late she comes back. What was that cigar called again she asked. I told her. I know she forgot about 3 seconds later.

    Great: It was very late and I sat down at the double deck blackjack game. I bought in for $500 and played for a really long time. I was down to my last two chips. I put those out, won and then started treading water at $25-75
    hand and I was eventually up only $100. I said to myself I ether go back to $500 and quit or hang in there until I walk away with a profit of $1000. I had a hand where I split aces three time. I get 21 21 21. Dealer busts. Yes. After an hour I was looking at $1400 in my stack. $100 to go. Then I hit crap hand after crap hand and that quickly goes back down to me looking at $700. Fortified by Cookie the cocktail waitress I battle back and finally hit the $1500 mark.

    I cash out and find it's 4:30 a.m.

    Good: When I was playing blackjack at 3:30 my buddy, who was playing 3 card said he was calling it a night. As I get up to go cash in I look up and there he is, sitting back at that table. That guy must have played 3 card for 8 hours a day. He really didn't lose that much. Amazing.

    Bad: I ask the pit what they have me rated for. They are obviously in the middle of something so he says it will take a while to find out, I say forget it. I'm pretty sure I got rated way too low since the host who booked
    my room didn't respond to an email I sent him when I got back. I know I averaged around $50 a hand for at least five hours.

    Good: Left table at 4:35. Back in room at 4:37.
     
  4. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    Day 4

    Bad: Woke up late. Everyone was at the MGM sports book so I went there. I was hungry so ended up that the new place Tap to eat.
    Food was mediocre at best and was priced pretty high. I had a turkey sandwich and it was $18.

    Extra Bad: The weather continues to be cold and suck. No pool time. Gimme some sun!

    Good: Playing boner deluxe at the Tropicana (crappy pay table) and hitting quads several times.

    Good: Played some slot I think was called Triple Cheeseburger Deluxe. In the bonus round you built your cheeseburger
    by picking revealing items on a grid. You get the bun, meat, bacon, etc. It was a really fun game and was cracking me
    up. It'd announce each item. "Cheesy!" "Spicy!" etc.

    Good: For dinner we wanted a quick meal so we went to Nine Fine Irishmen at the NYNY. I got the shepherd’s pie.
    That was pretty tasty.

    Good: I check my bankroll and find I am down only around $150. I decide to take it easy and just play some 3 card bullshit
    and some slots. Mostly I just wanted to have a few drinks and not blow a ton of money and come with only a small loss. It was nice
    to soak in the atmosphere of LV for one last time

    Bad: Flight is early and shepherd’s pie is gurgling in my gut so I hit the hay relatively early by LV standards. It's airport time
    before I know it.

    Great: I check the wallet. With food, cabs, booze, etc I am going home around $200 less than what I came with. That to me is a big win.

    Overall I had a pretty good time. The weather was the big downer on the trip and my stomach didn't quite handle the drinking and
    gluttony. I have to say even though it's only been two weeks, it's like that trip never happened. It sure flew by.

    Thanks for reading!
     
  5. Sam in Ut

    Sam in Ut High-Roller

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    A wonderful read! Love those swings and you described them to a tee. Thanks for sharing...
     
  6. billydice

    billydice Low-Roller

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    Can u explain slot golf?
     
  7. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Looks like I was stalking you; I was in Vegas Apr 2 to 6....first two nights Cosmo (fountainview 47th floor), last two at Trop (Paradise Tower top floor 22). You didn't by chance see me with my two "new best friends" a transvestite (really nice guy/gal) and a 67 year old hooker (who did look to be early 50s). I spent hours playing VP and talking to them in the Tropicana Lounge on the 4th sitting facing out toward the tables.

    I love Cosmo but really enjoyed The Trop too....agree about the convenience of the room elevators being steps from the strip. Drink service was fast and furious!

    Sounds like you had a great trip. How does slot golf work??

    I can't wait to get back!
     
  8. haswhit

    haswhit Low-Roller

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    Great report!! Thanks so much for sharing ;-)
     
  9. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

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    Good stuff, a $200 loss is a win to me.
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  10. vokalml

    vokalml Low-Roller

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    These are the kind of trip reports I love. Short and to the point. I don't read many trip reports because, they are too short or wayyyyy too long but I read this in its entirety.
     
  11. fenway68

    fenway68 VIP Whale

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    Awesome report. Sounds like a blast. Will have to look up slot golf rules myself. So jonesin' for my trip!!!
     
  12. LV2GAMBLE

    LV2GAMBLE Certified LOW Roller

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    Really liked your format. Sounds like a great trip and losing only $200 is awesome. My March trip I also came home $200 down,$$$ to make this upcoming trip. Cheers :beer:

    Thanks for sharing
     
  13. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Good stuff!

    And the curiosity got the best of me, so i looked it up...

     
  14. IowaRyan

    IowaRyan Low-Roller

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    Nice trip report.
     
  15. jhpa

    jhpa VIP Whale

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    I have played slot golf several times and posted the rules. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did
     
  16. jhpa

    jhpa VIP Whale

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    Slot Golf

    Slot Golf is a game played on slot machines. Like golf, a game consists of “holes” and the winner is the person with the fewest strokes over the course of the game. In slot golf, each “hole” is a turn at a slot machine. A “stroke” is a pull on a slot machine.
    Play goes as follows - for each “hole” the player puts a $10 bill in a slot machine. The payer bets an pre-determined number of credits and pulls the lever. Each pull is considered a stroke.
    • If the player wins one or more credit on the first pull, the player’s score is 1 stroke. The player cashes out, which includes any remaining original credits and whatever was won on the pull. The player registers his score of 1 on the scorecard for the first hole and the amount cashed out is put into the money pot.
    • If the player wins nothing on the first pull, the player repeats the bet and the pull. This continues until the player wins at least one credit. For example, if nothing is won on the first three pulls, and then there is a winner on the fourth pull, the player records a 4 for that hole. Whenever the player wins his first credit on a hole, the player cashes out and adds the money to the pot.
    • This is repeated for 18 holes.
    • All players play the same or identical machines.

    In an ideal game, you play a hole at one casino, do some drinking, maybe gamble (craps, blackjack, video poker, whatever) and then move on to another casino and repeat. After 18 holes, the players are ranked according to their total score, with the winner being the player with the lowest score. The pool of winnings is distributed. Winnings will be divided based on a payout schedule determined by the number of players
     
  17. Tubbs

    Tubbs High-Roller

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    Nice report. Very entertaining read thanks.
     
  18. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    I was in the lounge a few times but did not see anything that interesting. Funny we had basically the same trip. We need VMB ID badges so we can notice one another and say HI
     
  19. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    nice report, we were just there the 10-18th and had amazing weather. You went a week too early lol
     
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