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PBR fun and things are a lot farther than they appear....

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by pgirl1, Oct 28, 2014.

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  1. pgirl1

    pgirl1 Tourist

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    My Trip Report

    PBR fun and things are a lot farther than they appear….
    Hi all. I am a frequent LV traveler in my mid-forties who travels with hubby in tow and sometimes the in-laws. This trip was my 3rd this year and was supposed to include another couple but thanks to illness, the husband stayed home and the wife accompanied me and my husband. Our reason for going was to attend the Professional Bull Riding World Finals and just let off steam. We left on Thursday afternoon, October 23rd and returned on Sunday, October 26th.

    We typically stay on the strip but this time we stayed at the Wyndam World Mark on Tropicana about a mile west of the Orleans as our friends covered the stay with their points. The resort was very nice but I will recommend that you get a room that does not face Tropicana as it was very noisy.

    THURSDAY, October 23rd
    We drove in and arrived in LV at approximately 9:30 p.m. First stop was Ellis Island to take advantage of my LVA coupon for 6 free drinks. Bartender was very accommodating and gave us 3 drinks at a time. Their Oktoberfest beer was wonderful! Took our drinks and headed over to the lounge to listen to karaoke. The lounge was jumping and the majority of the singers were marvelous. Very decent drink prices. Had our six drinks, listened to great music and finally headed on over to the resort at 11:30. The resort had a shuttle that ran from the resort to the Orleans, to Caesars Palace and back again. Last shuttle was at midnight so we caught it to the Orleans. The Orleans had listened to music both at the Irish Pub and in the lounge. Irish Pub was karaoke I believe but they were obviously trained singers. Rick James and Whitney Houston stopped by to sing. Place was also jumping. After the music ended at 1 a.m. we went over to the lounge where a great rock band was playing. Danced until 2 a.m. then gambled for about an hour. Once drink service got started it was fine. No wins. Taxied back to the resort at 3 a.m. at a cost of $6 or so. Gave the gentlemen a $10 and called it a night.

    FRIDAY, October 24th
    Woke up a little worse for the wear and decided O Face Donuts were in order. O Face is located downtown and this was the weekend that the Life is Beautiful concert was downtown. Made for awful road blocks and parking was difficult. The donuts made up for it. Left to right, key lime pie donut, pear and gorgonzola cheese fritter, and the Cracker Jack donut. WONDERFUL.

    e then parked at the Golden Nugget (very busy) and made our way to the D to play Sigma Derby. Once we found the cocktail waitress, service was good. Played for a while and hit the 200 to 1 long shot on a quarter; payout was $50.
    Headed over to Pizza Rock to use my 2 for 1 coupon from LVA. Used the window to order and sat in their outdoor patio. Good pizza and a nice dining area. Picked up the car and back to the resort for a bit of rest. Took the 5 p.m. shuttle from the resort to Caesar’s Palace where we crossed over to the Quad/Linq and tried to get in to Guy Fierra’s but we couldn’t be seated until 8 p.m. due to a private party. Decided that would not work so headed to KGB at Harrah’s and used the LVA 25% off two burgers coupon. Split the Cobb Burger and onion rings with my friend while my husband had a cheeseburger and fries. Yummy! Bill was $38 before tip. Headed to the Cromwell after dinner where drink service was superb then a little time in Margaritaville. Couldn’t hit anything to save my life.

    Finally at 8:30 p.m. took the Harrah’s shuttle to the Rio. We played at the Rio for a bit while listening to the band in the Masquerade area. Band was good, drink service was also good. The waiters also use the ipads for drink orders. Hit a little bit on the slots but hubby was getting tired. We took a cab to the Orleans ($8 dollars) where instead of waiting for the shuttle he decided to walk back to the resort (just under a mile) since there was no shuttle until 10 p.m. and he would first have to take the drive to Caesars before returning to the resort. My friend and I stayed at the Orleans. I sat at a $1 roulette table with a 5 dollar minimum. Ordered a few drinks from the waitress and she also brought drinks for my friend even though she wasn’t playing. Friend went over to the lounge to listen to the band again and I sat at roulette until 2 a.m. For a total buy in of $40 and betting $5 to $10 per spin it was fun. I was as high as $100 but finally cashed out at $60. At one point had a great dealer, Charles. I put a $1 chip down for Charles on #17 (his number) and followed with another $1 for me. Of course it hit and Charles had a nice little tip and I was thankful I followed.
    Friend finally came for me since the band was done. We played a little bit more (using the LVA $10 free play) and I believe I came out ahead on that too. Took a taxi back to the resort and went to bed a little after 3 a.m.

    SATURDAY, October 25th
    A whole lot worse for the wear! Up at 9 a.m. for breakfast at Denny’s just down the street. Came back afterwards for my friend. Today’s plan was to head to Atomic Liquor for bloody marys (with Groupon) and on to the Neon Boneyard. Couldn’t get to Atomic due to the Life is Beautiful concert. All roads leading to the El Cortez and further up were blocked off. Cancel that plan and pulled into a gas station for tacos for my friend from a taco truck then headed to the Neon Boneyard. My advice to all is to purchase the tickets online. We knew a few of the times were sold old but once we got there the 1 p.m. was also sold out. We purchased our 1:30 tickets ($18 for me and $12 for my husband who is a veteran). We then went down the street to Jerry’s Nugget which we had never visited. We had a really good bloody mary and a shot of bourbon for a grand total of $6. Played slots and lost. They did have quarter roulette which I did not notice until walking out. We will be back for that.

    Neon Boneyard tour took an hour and was great! The history, the tour information, the signs were all well worth it. It was about 83 degrees which made the tour manageable but I wish we had brought an umbrella to make our own shade. They do have benches scattered along the tour which is nice. They also have an interactive thingamajig in the gift shop that is pretty neat once I figured out how to use it.

    After the tour headed back to the resort for a quick 10 minute nap and change of clothes for the PBR. Decided to drive to Hooters and take a taxi to the Thomas and Mack Center. GREAT taxi driver, quick route, total was just under $9. PBR was exciting and fun as always. After the event we rushed over to the taxi line but apparently we didn’t rush fast enough. Line took about 30 minutes to get a taxi. They do have things under control though. There were shuttles but they were only going to the fan zone at Mandalay Bay as opposed to the way it is handled during the NFR (National Rodeo Finals) in December. The NFR has shuttles that leave each hotel and head to the Thomas and Mack Center. No charge for that and a quick in and out. Cab ride was a little more than the ride over but still reasonable. Headed in to Hooters for a little play. Hubby and friend went into the Saloon to listen to the female rock band while I played a bit. Hit a bonus on every game I played including the Rolling Stones and the new Tarzan slot. Just enough to keep going. We headed over to the Tropicana for a little bit but nothing was happening with the slots so we went back to Hooters. After a while we drove back to the resort and called it a night.

    SUNDAY, October 26th
    Time to go home. Headed out of the resort and over to Planet Hollywood for our usual goodbye breakfast at La Salsa. Love the $3.99 breakfast and .99 coffee. Bought some popcorn and Nestlé’s cookies and headed out about 11:15. Tip, when parking at Planet Hollywood use the Valet for the Miracle Mile shops. Much easier in and out and it isn’t very busy. You can usually see your vehicle from the waiting area. Drive home wasn’t too bad though there was a bit of stop and go about a mile and a half from the agriculture check in area. I would say the Sunday traffic added an additional 30 minutes to our drive but overall not too bad.

    FINAL THOUGHTS
    I am usually a 4 to 5 night Sunday through Thursday Vegas visitor but our friend could only miss 1 day of work so we went for a shorter amount of time and on the weekend. This trip seemed just right. It was nice to stay off strip and in a resort (escaping the smoke was nice). LV was very busy (which is why I come during the week). I did not like the large crowds that made it difficult to get around downtown and the strip. Gambling was good for me this time. I am a very, very low roller but if I can just win enough to keep playing I am satisfied. I came back with 1/3 of my bankroll so that is good. My husband couldn’t get anything going but he doesn’t gamble much anyway.
    We will be back in December for a 5 night stay during NFR. See you then.
     
  2. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Sounds like a fun trip, thanks for sharing! I love KGB Burger and I can't wait to visit the Neon Boneyard. (Oh, and by the end of the report, this damned Yankee finally figured out that "PBR" stands for Professional Bull Riding and not Pabst Blue Ribbon ;) )
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  3. pgirl1

    pgirl1 Tourist

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  4. pgirl1

    pgirl1 Tourist

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    [​IMG][/IMG]
     
  5. PayTriple

    PayTriple VIP Whale

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    Thanks for sharing!
     
  6. REELmoneySlotFan

    REELmoneySlotFan High-Roller

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    Nice TR. Thanks for sharing. There's just one thing I didn't quite understand. It was this:
    "LV was very busy (which is why I come during the week). I did not like the large crowds"

    If you don't like large crowds and Vegas being real busy, shouldn't you stay away during the weekends? During weekdays Vegas always seems to be less crowded. Or did I misread something?
     
  7. bardolator

    bardolator Lifelong Low Roller

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    She had no choice when to go because of her friend.

    Thanks for the post. Wish we could have been there, although we liked the PBR better back when the early rounds were held at Mandalay Bay. Thomas & Mack puts you pretty far from the action for bull riding.
     
  8. Mayoman

    Mayoman High-Roller

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    Nice TR, love that La Salsa deal, and it's good too.
     
  9. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Glad you had a good time! Thanks for sharing!
     
  10. pgirl1

    pgirl1 Tourist

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    I don't hit Vegas on the weekends. We usually go Sunday through Thursday. If we start out on the weekend we stay at Primm on move to Vegas on Sunday. This time had to do with my friend who is a teacher. She was only able to get one day off which was Friday. If I didn't love her so much I would not have done the weekend.:eek::eek:
     
  11. NMchops

    NMchops Newbie

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    Enjoyed the report--Glad you had a good time!
     
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