TR July 14 -17, NYNY, Hersey Store, MJ One

I’m a long time lurker posting my first trip report.

Background: Mr. Elf70 (DH) will only tolerate 1 or 2 trips to Vegas each year. Luckily I have a good friend who loves to gamble so we are able to travel together to Vegas several times a year. Unfortunately due to poor health my friend was not able to make this trip. This was my second solo Vegas adventure. I go to Vegas to gamble and relax. Casinos love me. I play carnival table games (4 to 6 hours per day) and slots (several hours per day). I lost plenty this trip but not my entire back roll. So I consider that a win!!

Day 1: July 14
Flew out of CLT nonstop to LAS. I had enough points to secure a round trip first class seat. During the flight the person in the seat in front of me had a major seizure and passed out cold. He was out for several minutes. My immediate thought – crap we’re gonna have to land somewhere to get this guy medical attention! I’m never gonna get to Vegas!! (Don’t judge – you probably would've been thinking the same thing.) Luckily the guy came too and seemed to be fine. The plane flew on to Vegas, landed on time, and the guy walked off the plane as if nothing had happened.

I grabbed my carryon, met my limo driver and headed to NYNY. It was about 1:00pm. Checked in at the VIP lounge, room was ready. Unpacked a bit and hit the casino.

Started off with a hug from my favorite day-shift pit boss, bought in at Crazy 4 Poker and proceeded to lose, lose, lose…… played a bit of 3 Card Poker… same result. Before I knew it, it was 5 o’clock so I decided to eat at Nine Fine Irishmen. I declined the hostess’s suggestion of eating at the bar and what a mistake that was! OMG! I was seated at the “lonely single person table” in the far back corner of the restaurant. It was awful!

I also had my back to the service door so I was able to enjoy overhearing all of the personal conversations the waiters were having. Live and learn – sitting at the bar next time. Anyway I ordered the crab cake appetizer and fish and chips. The crab cake was amazing. I highly recommend it. Really fresh and tasty. I had the fish and chips during my February trip and they were excellent. This time the fish was a bit soggy but still pretty good. Next time I might just order 2 crab cakes and skip the entrée.

After dinner I stuck $100 in a Buffalo Stampede slot machine. Never played it before. Hit a bonus round and won $2887.00 on a $3.75 bet! Holy Cow! That’s the highest hand pay I have ever hit in relation to bet size. I slotted around for a while and eventually hit for $1000.00 on a $5 ten times reel machine in the HL slot room. Another try at Crazy 4 Poker and I lost, lost, lost. Cocktail service was lightning fast.

Hit the Hersey store after gambling. Couldn’t resist trying the Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie with Peanut Butter crème filling. Lord it was good! Nice and fresh. It took me a full day to eat the entire thing. Called it a night at about 11pm. I stay on east coast time when in Vegas so I assumed I’d be awake by 4am. I was right. More to come……. I have several pictures to post and will do so as soon as I figure out how!

 

Day 2 –July 15th
As expected I was wide awake at 4am. Forced myself to try to sleep more but there is a casino practically right outside my door! Gave up forced sleep at 5am, showered and headed to gamble. I really enjoy playing table games this early in the morning. The casino is quiet except for the occasional entertaining drunk person. This is the time of day where I “practice” playing table games I want to learn. I am very new to blackjack and often play heads up with the dealer during the early am. This allows me to practice basic strategy at a slow pace without interfering with anyone else’s game. I played BJ for a while but eventually went to my favorites C4P and 3CP. Lost, lost, lost. Played a few slots and lost, lost, lost.

About 8am I gave up and decided to head to Bellagio. Took a cab there. Played my favorite Bellagio slots and continued to lose. Decided to have the Bellagio buffet for breakfast. It was adequate. I seem to remember it as better.

Thought about playing some table games at Bellagio but wasn’t feeling it so I took the tram to Aria. Played a long while on a $100 dollar by in on a $1.00 slot. Played table games for a bit and then headed back to NYNY.

Frustrated by my lack of winning at C4P and 3CP I decided to give Let it Ride a try. This would be my only winning session of the day. I hit 3OK on the 3 card bonus and won several hundred dollars. I enjoyed LIR and ended up playing it several more times during the trip.

Headed back to my room and took a several hour long nap. Woke up refreshed and headed to Mandalay Bay to see MJ One. (I haven’t seen a show in LV for several years, but decided that this trip would be more balanced and not all about gambling!)

MJ One - What a great show! Based on reviews I had read I had very high expectations and they were met! My only gripe was that they let people arriving late find their seats during the show. This was very distracting but only lasted for about the first 10 minutes. The music was great. The dancing was great. The MJ hologram thing was unbelievable. I was very glad I saw this show.
After the show I gambled for a while at MB. MB is my other “goto” casino. I either stay there or at NYNY. Decided to take the tram back to NYNY. Entered the tram and was met by a stroller the size of a small car. Good Lord! This thing had double wheels, multiple handles and a fiberglass type pod thingy for the kid. I watched in awe as the mother maneuvered this contraption around and thru the tram station and out onto LVB.

Back at NYNY I slotted around a bit more and called it a night.

 

Day 3 – July 16
Didn’t wake up until 5:30am! I truly felt like I had overslept. I woke up annoyed that all I had done so far this trip was lose, lose, lose. I know I play games with a very high house advantage but I still usually manage to have a few winning sessions. Anyway I was back in the casino by 6:30 trying again. I played a bit of BJ but still don’t have the confidence to play with other players. Over the next few hours I hit several bonus hands in C4P, 3CP and LIR. This allowed me to at least maintain my morning bankroll. Feeling slightly better I decided to celebrate my lack of morning losses by buying a watch at Swatch. I saw a watch on my February trip that I really liked but never made it back during that trip to purchase it. Unfortunately the watch was gone and I couldn’t find anything else I liked. Oh well, maybe next time.

I decided to head over to MGM to try to win the Lion Share. There were several people at the machine and I decided not to wait to play. Played my favorite MGM slots and resumed my non-winning ways.

Returned to NYNY and ate lunch at Burger Bar. Had the bacon cheese burger and onion rings. Very good. I would highly recommend this place for a quick burger lunch.

Met with host. Chatted briefly. I know I am having a bad trip when the host looks at my play/loss and says “oohhh sorry” and then moves on to another subject…..

Returned to the casino and had a very enjoyable afternoon/evening playing. Met a very nice couple from Ireland, a very nice woman from New England and several other people. I find that during each trip, over the course of the trip, I run into the same people playing carnival games. It’s easy to bond with these “temporary Vegas friends” and adds an extra dimension of fun to the game. Cocktail service was again lighting fast and I found myself drinking far more than usual. (Usual is actually not at all.) By the end of the night I was about even for the day. I played very little slots today which probably helped to not deplete the bankroll further. Another trip to the Hersey store. Another cookie purchased and I called it a night in much better spirits than when I woke up.

 

Thursday July 17 –
Last few hours in Vegas. Leaving for airport at 9:30 am. I woke up at around 5:00 and was down in the casino by 6:00. Normally on my last morning in Vegas I bet aggressively and try to end with a decent winning session. With my luck this trip I knew this strategy would be disaster. I ended up low, low rolling all morning and still lost – though not very much.

Packed up and headed to the airport. TSA line was huge. Luckily I invested in TSA Precheck several months ago (best $85 I ever spent) and I was thru security in about 3 minutes. Flight home was smooth and on time.

Overall on this trip I accomplished what I set out to do. I relaxed for three days, gambled a lot, and came home with some (but not much) of my bank roll. Writing this trip report let me live it all again. MB or NYNY again in October. I haven’t been able to figure out how to post pictures yet but will keep trying.

 

Enjoying the report and you are welcome at any BJ table, jump right in, people will be happy to help.

 

Great TR..love NYNY I stay there every time I go to Vegas...Thanks for sharing..hope to see your pictures...

 

My view from the Lonely Single Person table.

 

Nice report! Sorry about the rough stretch at the tables!

I know how you feel about being reluctant to jump in. I waited and waited and finally jumped into a game at Tropicana with my trusty cheat card in tow. The other players were very helpful as was the dealer.

Now you have to book another trip to go win your money back!

 

Assume crab cake at NFI.



Buffalo hand pay



Burger Bar lunch



Cookie deliciousness from the Hersey Store

 

Nice report and great hit on Buffalo Stampede! Thank you for posting

 

Great write up Elf! Thanks for sharing the trip with us.

 

That cookie is ridiculous!!!

I can't wait to try one!

 

Great TR...wel written and easy to follow !!

 

Nice pictures. How was the service on USAirways to Vegas?

 

I have had great luck with USAirways to and from Vegas. Flights have always been on time. Service on flights is always friendly and very good.

 

Enjoyed your report! Too bad you didn't win, but there is always next time.

I did my first TR last April and you are definitely right, it's fun to relive the trip!

 

Good Gravy that cookie looks amazing - glad you were able to figure post pics ... now I'm must take Hubs to the Hershey store

 

Thanks for the great report and pictures!! Sorry about the bad luck at the table games!! I was in Vegas 2 weeks ago, and also had very bad luck. Going back in 3 weeks on August 14th for 5 nights at Cromwell, and hopefully getting some of that money back. Also got to get myself one was those cookies at the Hershey store. I am checking that place out for sure!!!

 

Thanks so much for the report!

 

great report! I love solo trips to vegas!