First time VP / Craps Aria 24th-1st

1st Day

Shuttle / Check In

My GF and I arrived in town around 4pm. We waited for our shuttle for 30 minutes in the cold until it finally we arrived. We were tired, cold and wanted into our comped suite. The lines at the Aria were pretty long so I jumped into the invited guest line. It took less than 5 minutes to get to the front. Our check in clerk was nice but there was a problem. I was told our room wasn't ready. Wasn't ready?!? Alright.... So I waited.. And waited... 30 minutes passed and my GF was . She asked for a manager. We explained the reason we got this comped suite was because of a previous "hell" trip at the Aria. The manager made a few calls and we were assured the room was ready.

Food / Aria Buffet

We were super hungry after unpacking and the ungodly amount of waiting time. I had gotten 2 comped buffets for the "new" aria buffet so we decided to check it out. We were seated promptly but the buffet was packed. I made a couple rounds and I picked up some beef brisket, beef ribs, garlic naan and pizza. I have to say, hearing all the bad reviews of the Aria buffet I had low expectations. But the naan and beef ribs were freaking incredible. It could also be that I got it for free but still, pretty good! Another side note: leave room for dessert, the gelato was also really good, the rest of the desserts were MEH.

Gambling

After dinner we were ITCHING to gamble. I loaded up my $200 in FP and headed off to the area near "SPIN". I started playing $5 WOF and quickly depleted my funds. :confused2: Of course, I decided to try Video Poker this trip but the slots were calling and I lost another $400 on the Top Dollar slots facing the players club. I was pretty sick with myself. Only an hour had passed and I lost $600, the amount I allocated for that night. My gf on the other hand stuck with the un-manned roulette machine near the front of the gambling area. I stupidly decided to keep playing near her I tried the Zeus III machine. It took an ungodly amount of money per spin. I hit absolutely NOTHING. I wasn't even drunk because the cocktail waitresses were nonexistent or I lost too quickly and kept moving.

Slots = -$800

 

2nd Day

Morning

Although I had a horrible gambling session the night before, I did sleep early and had a wonderful sleep. My GF was still sleeping so I decided to grab coffee at "Roasted Bean". I have to say, their coffee is 10x better than Jean Philipe and better yet, NO LINE. So if you are staying at the Aria, walk a little further and get better coffee, quicker.

Wynn

After having my morning coffee, the GF and I caught a cab to the Wynn. We rolled up around 10am and thankfully there was NO line, yay. We promptly paid and entered. The omelet and pancake stations were AWESOME. Wynn also has freshly made sausages which were also pretty tasty. The bacon was super greasy and I felt queazy the first time I came here so I avoided it at all costs. The GF and I ate pretty quickly. We wanted to head to the Palazzo to see their Chinese New Year Display.

Palazzo / Venetian

Upon entering the Palazzo we walked to the areas their Chinese New Year display was supposed to be setup but I did not see the snake I have seen in other people's trip report. I walked around for 15 minutes and decided that they probably got rid of it . Instead we decided to gamble at the Venetian. The GF wanted to try their Three Card Poker, although their limits were pretty high. Me? SLOTS! Yeah, I am a damn idiot. I just lost $800 the night before but I am addicted. I walked in circles till I found a Wicked Winnings machine people keep talking about. I slipped in $200 and 10 minutes later, gone... I mean seriously, how the hell is my luck? I did not hit a single thing. Not even one of those putty 50 cent hits.

Bouchon Bakery

Feeling down on myself I wanted some sweets so I headed to the Bouchon Bakery while my GF bought makeup at Sephora. According to the property map layer out by Venetian I thought the Bakery was downstairs near the Gondola Ride Stations but it was actually on the level above it >_< . Well, eventually I found it and put some Macroons. The Macroons were good but not spectacular like some people say. Maybe it was just a bad batch.

Treasure Island

After Venetian, we walked over to TI. My GF loves this place. I am not sure why. I think its the low table limits and the Pirates Cove shop. She plopped herself on a table while I went to play some slots. I sat on one of the quick spin machines. By some miracle I wasn't losing my shirt playing this game. I hit a quick bonus round and actually won $200. I quickly cashed out not testing my luck and went to find my GF who had wondered into the Pirates Cove shop.

Holstein's

We decided to walk back to the Aria. I insisted on catching a cab but my GF wanted to walk, in heels. I told her, its a pretty long walk. At the end she was grumpy, hungry and testy. We went back up to change and headed to Holsteins for dinner. We try to eat dinner early to avoid the lines. We were instantly seated in a booth towards the back. I loved the cow paintings. One weird quirk I noticed was that the waitresses were dressed differently in two different areas of the restaurant. Our waitresses was wearing a nice collared shirt and slacks. The waitresses in the front were wearing low cut shirts and daisy dukes. Weird contrast indeed. I ordered the "Gold Standard", a dry aged sirloin burger while my GF ordered the "Big Fat Greek", lamb with feta. My burger was a little dry but still tasty. My GF's burger was super moist and very flavorful. I picked the wrong burger but I had a couple beers to keep my happy. Although the Ommegang Abbey Ale I wanted to try was no longer being served.

Evening

After dinner I wanted to get a couple drinks at the Chandelier Bar but my GF wanted to gamble. We headed back the Aria and MAN it was freezing. Most people say it was a little breezy but I live in tropical climate. My GF plopped herself down on the un-manned roulette machine while I went back to playing slots. The story was the same, I lost the money I won at TI plus a little more. No need to get into specifics.

Slots = -$1k


Coming soon, my first time playing video poker and oh what a time it was!

 

so far a pretty good TR...

I wish you lucky my friend....

 

3rd Day

Mon Ami Gabi

We left early to eat breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi per many suggestions. We had a 930am reservation but it was not really needed. The restaurant was pretty empty and we were able to sit outside. The waiter we had was not that good. Did not understand what we wanted regarding our coffee orders but we let it go. I ordered an omelet with hash browns and a side of bacon. My GF ate the same thing. The food was ok. I was expecting a lot from this restaurant but maybe I just ordered the wrong food.

Caesar's

The GF likes playing Three Card, especially at Caesar's so we crossed the street and headed in. I seem to ALWAYS lose on Three Card so I passed. Instead, I played slots -_- . Yes, yes, I know, I should stop but I figure I can throw a couple bills Caesars way and get on CET's radar again. Of course I lost, AGAIN. Not surprising but my GF bombed out as well so we split. She had a 530 spa appointment so we headed back to the hotel.

Dinner

We ate at the Buffet again per the comp. And I must say, I understand now why this place got such bad reviews. The food was a complete miss this time out. Most of the food was not hot. The only piping hot food they brought out was the thin crust pizza. The prime rib was verging cold and tasted horrible in comparison to the brisket and ribs previous.

Gambling

I'll skip over the gambling this time over. It was more of the same.... I really should quit and start trying out other games but I couldn't stop. I kept thinking, I'll hit something now! NOPE

Slots = -$1500

 

4th Day

Wicked Spoon

I was waiting to go to wicked spoon. I heard they have one of the best buffets on the strip. We arrived for brunch around 10am and the place was super empty. We basically strolled right in. My GF let me have first dibs as she watched our stuff. I grabbed the hand crafted italian sausage, some thin crust pizza, bacon and their eggs benedict. I have to say their thin crust pizza and their eggs benedict were really good. The overall quality of Wicked Spoon seemed top notch and leaps ahead of the Aria Buffet.

Cosmo

After brunch, I decided to do the $100 on us promo with the cosmo. Like most people I decided to do some high limit slot play and like other previous encounters with slots, it was a major BUST. Lost the $100 in a couple spins, collected my free play and proceeded to the lower limit slots. I jumped on this new slot called "Haywire". I thought nothing of it and threw my free play with $5 to start the free play. A couple minutes in after hitting triple 7's the machine starting blaring, " HAYYYYWIREEE". Apparently it gives a multiplier amount on certain hits. After all was said and done I hit a x10 multiplier on a $100 win for a nice $1000 cash out. FINALLLY. REDEMPTION. Though I realized I was still down and my GF was spent. I gave her a couple hundred to make her happy and pocketed the rest.

Caesar's Palace & Video Poker

My GF wanted to play tables again with the $200 I gave her. So we headed to Caesar's, yet again. This time I said screw the slots and finally tried Video Poker. I figured the 1000 hands I played was good enough to start. I picked Double Double Bonus as a start. I hit my first 4oak a little while in. Then my next, then my next, then another one, then another one. DAMN, I'm doing a lot better playing VP than slots. I played for an hour when my GF called me asking where I was. I told her I was playing by the entrance near the forum shops. A couple minutes after she came, I hit 4oaks with Aces and a kicker. BAM. $250 on a $1.25 spin. Of course I cashed out and we left. :evillaugh

Trader Joes

Being Hawaiians, we needed to head to Trader Joes. It was a 2 mile cab ride and cost us $20. We picked up the usual, butter waffle cookies, cocoa batons and espresso beans. The dumb part was trying to get back to the Aria. We waited over an HOUR, 1 hour! My GF was pissed and escaped back to the room. With my new found love of Video Poker I told her I'm going downstairs to play.

Video Poker

I felt good, I had a good run at Caesar's and decided I wanted to play more. I sat on the progressive 25 cent VP next to Javier's. It was up to almost $2000. I was playing for a couple hours my money hovered near to my $100 buy in for quite a bit. At this point I decided, I should play less slots and more VP. But I wonder how my comps would change? Then it happened..... I hit my first royal flush, on my first day of VP and a progressive... WHAAAA??!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72320023@N07/

^ Here are my links to the 4oaks @ Caesars with my Progressive win @ Aria.


Picasso

High off my win we had Picasso's booked. I was flying high on adrenaline and my GF wanted a fancy dinner. We got the Picasso pretty early and we were seated promptly. We were even able to score a seat next to the window. The amount of Picasso's in the restaurant were pretty amazing. The ambience from the start was the best I have encountered in Vegas. My GF settled on the prix fixe menu that had seafood and I choose their special menu which utilize black truffles per my GF. All in All, the bill came to $600 but as my GF said, "where else can we get this good?". I suppose so but that took a big chunk out of my winnings, granted I had a very happy GF.

Slots = -$500
Video Poker = +$2300

 

So glad your luck swung around!!!

 

Great Report! Thanks for writing it up, it is appreciated greatly. Also really glad your luck changed and hope it continued for you! Nice Royal Flush!

 

Wow!! Good for you, some of the veteran players ( me included can go years with out a Royal Flush and to get it on the progressive!! I would have to say that you are hooked..........

 

Congratulations on your first successful foray into Video Poker.

Now that you are hooked, we jack up the price... :evillaugh

 

Awesome turnaround

 

Great trip report. Congrats on your Royal!

You and your GF tried to walk back after Trader Joe's? Wow, lol!

 

Ooops!! My mistake. I thought you said you walked. My eyes are going bad...

 

Congrats on the royal! Slots are fun, but when they bleed...

 

Thanks for the kind words. I was definitely tempted to try higher stakes vp but I'm afraid it'll be just as worse as slots. I forgot to finish my last day which includes my newbie run at craps and slots taking back $800 . Posting tomorrow

 

Nice turnaround. waiting to hear how the rest of your trip turns out.

 

true..........

Well I'm losing my virginity at VP in 5 days time so hopefully all my hard work (VP trainer of which i'm running at 98.3% error free) will pay off and i'll hit a virgin Royal.

I can only imagine the excitement of hitting one

Loving the TR............