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Live TR. Pics o'plenty!!! GN & TI 7/12-7/20

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by MikeOPensacola, Jul 10, 2017.

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  1. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
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  2. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
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  3. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Rained most of morning. Feels great outside. Nice cool breeze going.
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
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  4. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
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  5. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    The last pic is dueling pianos. Great show. They did a few Stevie Nicks songs and were quite good.
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
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  6. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    IMG_2313.JPG Just took another pic of Resorts World project. Have not seen any activity there all week.
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
  7. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    It was a great trip!!! One of the best that I can remember. I met some GREAT VMBers and did/saw pretty much all I hoped to. Couldn't ask for a better week.

    The gambling gods were with me this trip which made my time here even better.

    Special shout out to @mrjvegas for reaching out to me to come to Vegas for some good times.

    Once I get settled in back home I'll do a write up of my thoughts, impressions and observations from downtown and the strip.

    Thanks for following along, I had a blast!!!

    :peace: :beer:
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
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  8. bu$hman

    bu$hman Guppie trying to become a whale

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    Thanks for taking us along on the ride!
     
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  9. jr53075

    jr53075 Tourist

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    Thanks for a fantastic TR! It was a great read! And I was amazed and enjoyed all your pics. It made it like we were there with you! Of course now you got me wanting to schedule another trip out there!

    Thanks again!
     
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  10. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    So, I’ve had a couple of days to unwind since returning from an eight day trip to Vegas. I stayed at Golden Nugget for four days and Treasure Island for four days. Thought I’d pass along my thoughts, impressions and observations of the strip & downtown as well as the hotels I stayed at.


    Downtown


    Fremont St. really hasn’t changed much in the past several years. One exception comes to mind, however, and that is the construction going on next to Golden Gate and across Fremont St. where the LVC, Glitter Gulch and Mermaids used to be. Its all boarded up (see pics earlier in TR).


    The ‘performance artists’ are pretty much the same. Nothing really to get excited about one way or the other. I just ignore them.


    As far as casinos go these are the ones that I went to:


    · The D. Loud music. Loud music. Loud music. I like the long bar and their diner is really good. Beyond that I really don’t like it that much there. Just too damn loud.

    · Golden Gate. Its just not the same to me as it was a few years ago The dealers and dancers don’t seem near as appealing as they did a few trips ago either. No Du-Par’s anymore. The music is loud, but not near as bad as the D. Sadly the GG is not a ‘must do’ for me anymore after years of being near the top of the list.

    · The Plaza. Pop Up Pizza is still amazing. The dealers there are great, drink service is very good and it remains a casino I love to gamble in when I’m downtown. Fun party pit with $5 BJ and Roulette, with great drink service.

    · El Cortez. This is probably my favorite casino to gamble at downtown. Excellent blackjack games. Good drink service, tubs of iced down beer in the pits. I really like spending time there, definitely worth the short walk from the center of the action on Fremont St.

    · Downtown Grand. It was nice to go in there on a Saturday night and see the place very busy. The dealers and pit staff are top notch. They just might make it……

    · Golden Nugget. I stayed there in a Rush Tower room and it was as good as ever. No complaints about the GN at all. Great food options, friendly and helpful staff. I only played slots there so I can’t say much about the gaming. The slots were tight though.

    · Food was good at Chicago Brewing Company, Pop Up Pizza, The D Diner and Oscars. I wont be going back to Triple George, which is a shame because I really like that place. I’ve had two mediocre meals there in a row.



    The Strip


    It didn’t take me long to notice that this was the first time I’ve been on the strip in a long time when there wasn’t any construction on LVB, the sidewalks or casino projects (including Resorts World, see pics from TR)


    I hit every casino between TI & MB and on the other side between Wynncore and pHo. I was really impressed, as always, with V/P and their customer service. Drink service during the VMB slot pull was impeccable. Cosmo, Aria, V/P and Mirage remain my faves.


    I had a Petite Suite at TI. The room was great, even with the crappy view. Housekeeping was very good, although some of the furniture was beat up a little. I’d definitely get a Petite Suite again. My only beef with the TI is that their breakfast buffet is not good (I am a fairly consistent breakfast buffet person). I had it once and ended up going to the Pantry next door at the Mirage for breakfast every other day. Excellent BJ games at TI. On Monday morning I saw a $5 3/2 game. Could not believe it.


    Dueling Pianos was awesome at Harrah’s. So were the frozen drinks there at Numb. Didn’t make it to see Big Elvis.


    I finally made it to Secret Pizza @ Cosmo and it was fantastic. Definitely a new place to stop each trip. Grand Lux at Venetian, Mon Ami Gabi @ Paris, Lago @ Bellagio and the Peppermill were all excellent. I had a lunch buffet at Bellagio and it was rather blah. I am now one of the crowd who has lost almost all my interest in the Bellagio. Still, their fountain show scores big points.


    No real problems on the strip. The crowds were Okay They finally finished construction on the bridge between Excalibur and the Trop. The only time I noticed any smell of 420, since they legalized it on July 1, was one time outside of the Flamingo.


    I went to an NBA summer league game with @tdhoier and @mrjvegas at the Cox Pavilion next to the Thomas and Mack Center. Fun time, decent prices for drinks and free parking. If you like NBA hoops there are a lot worse ways to spend time than checking out a game there. I’ll for sure go again next summer. All day general admission tickets for $30.


    This is the first time in about 30 years that I spent any meaningful time playing slots. Willy Wonka got the bulk of my action up and down the strip. Fun game and the bonus rounds are exciting. Luckily I got to see more than my fair share of bonuses and hit a few good ones. Looking forward to playing it again in December. Sharknado, Flintstones and Walking Dead were also fun. Didn’t like the Breaking Bad slots at all.


    Overall, it was a great trip. Certainly one of the best I’ve had in the last 10 years. The hotels, food, drink and gambling all went smooth.


    BTW, if you’ve never been to a VMB slot pull and you ever get the chance to go would urge you to entertain going. I went to one at V/P hosted by fellow VMBer @Chuck2009x. Great job Chuck, you're one helluva fun person to hang with. Looking forward to doing many, many more VMB slot pulls. Its such a great way to meet fellow VMBers. One of the cool things about slot pulls, and meeting up with peeps from VMB in general, is that you already feel a kinship with them from reading their posts and past LV experiences.

    Writing the TR was a blast. Not sure if I posted the 100 pics that I said I would at the beginning of my thread but I did my best. Hope I provided at least a little helpful information to someone out there in VMB land. I’ll be back with another live TR in December…..

    :peace: :beer:
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
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  11. mrjvegas

    mrjvegas VIP Whale

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    great TR as always Mike!

    Take care
     
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  12. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Thanks for everything Jay. The comped room and limo are much appreciated and won't be forgotten. :clap::clap::clap: Hope we'll meet up again next July.:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
  13. mrjvegas

    mrjvegas VIP Whale

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    :hmmm:
     
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  14. Geogran

    Geogran VIP Whale

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    Geez @MikeOPensacola - your initial TR was a 10; now this! Just love your post trip thoughts and although we don't venture downtown very often, it's great info for when we do. Re the strip, we have similar views on some of the food and casino mentions. Have not made it to Mon Ami Gabi yet but has moved up on my must try list. Nice to hear you gave slots a try at so many places and some luck too! And so great to see so many familiar VMB names at the slot pull and the feeling of kinship it invokes - it makes it real. Thanks again for taking us along.
     
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  15. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Great report - I hated to see you go! I found the D to be crazy loud as well. I didn't mind it as much in the upstairs "vintage" slot area though. Glad you had what looked like a winning trip, although I am now tempted to dump all my money into $6 Flintstones slot pulls in a few weeks LOL! Thanks for sharing!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
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  16. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    Just a terrific report. Loved it. Thanks for taking the time to think of all of us.
     
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  17. Ckspores

    Ckspores Low-Roller

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    Thanks for sharing! Glad you had such a great trip!
     
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  18. ardee

    ardee It's only money.

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    Epic report, MikeO!

    I have to say, I love that you tried the slots after such a long time and that Wonka was good to you.
    Thanks for taking the time to do this. :beer:
     
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  19. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    I could NEVER write a TR like this !
    Thanks Mike
    *
    Any names on the VMB' ers photos ?
     
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  20. Drewm1972

    Drewm1972 VIP Whale

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    Hi Mike!! Great TR.. we had some fun doing HL slot pull ... didn't we? lol I wanted to kick the slot machines lol it didn't pay out atl shit!!! Regardless it was fun:)
     
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