Trip Report: Luxor 4/25-4/28 (Episode 11: Brainy Smurf and the Hand Pay)

This was my eleventh visit to Las Vegas, a solo trip staying at the Luxor. My most recent trips were with my wife at the Mirage in December and with my brother at the Luxor in September. This report is much more timely than the others.

I mostly play quarter video poker (VP) and $5 blackjack (BJ), and this trip would be no different.

No special occasion for this trip, but Sun Country caught my attention with a sale where flights cost half the usual points. The timing worked out that I could see Don Rickles and visit the Riviera just before it closed.

Saturday night at the Luxor was free courtesy of MyVegas. It was even a "bonus" weekend night, so the point cost was minimal. I used an Mlife offer for Sunday and Monday which was buy one night (for $32), get one night free and included an upgrade to a tower room and $10 Free Play (FP).

I also used MyVegas points for another $50 in FP and a breakfast buffet at Bellagio.

The final rental car reservation was from Dollar. I probably made about ten reservations between Dollar and Alamo as I monitored the rates going down.

I had plenty of Total Rewards (TR) points from the Social Rewards program. Thanks to an upcoming birthday, I had a free sandwich coupon for Earl of Sandwich, a free pizza coupon for Grimaldi's, and $25 on my Landry's Select card. Finally, I bought a copy of this year's American Casino Guide.

I bought a ticket to see Don Rickles on Sunday night, but otherwise had no fixed plans.

Brainy Smurf, a Fun Dungeon prize from the October trip, would be accompanying me.

 

April 25:

The plane was kind of grimy but the flight was otherwise uneventful. I love Sun Country, but couldn't they get some new planes? More on that later.



This was my first time flying out in the morning. I've always arrived in the afternoon or evening before. I'm not sure it's a great idea to start out the trip feeling tired, but it let me maximize my "Vegas time." We arrived at the D gates, rather than the usual E gates. It appears that Sun Country has moved its gate.

The pickup at Dollar worked exactly like it was supposed to. My name was on the Dollar Express sign, and my car was waiting for me in stall 22. A new Volkswagen Passat with less than 3,000 miles on it. I took the usual series of pre-rental photos. I had thought arriving in the daylight would mean better lighting in the parking garage, but it was as dimly lit as always.

I was hungry and it was too early (10 AM) to check in, so it was time to eat. I wavered between breakfast and lunch, before finally making a u-turn and driving to Town Square to have breakfast at Claim Jumper. I ordered the breakfast burrito. I love a good breakfast burrito, but have had some bad experiences with them in the past. At the Egg and I in December, the burrito was good but I didn't like the salsa. At the start of my April 2012 trip, my burrito was cold in the center, was served with rotten fruit, and resulted in some digestive discomfort. There was a local place I liked in Minneapolis until my salsa was served with a gnat in it. You get the idea.

Well, as seen below, the fruit was great. The scrambled eggs were fluffy, and the bacon was crisp. The salsa was a little watery, but it had a good flavor. I was about 3/4 of the way through the burrito when - crunch! What the heck was that? I pull something hard out of my mouth, and it turns out to be crumpled up plastic wrap. Gross!

It didn't take long before the waiter got the manager who apologized and comped the meal. What else could he do at that point? He told me the plastic was what the use to wrap up the meats at night. I don't know if that made me feel better or worse. I saved the $25 on my Landry's Select card for future use.

Back in my car, I was still picking plastic out of my teeth.



My next stop was at Hooters. I had an ACG coupon and two $10 FP coupons they sent via email. The Rewards Club desk wouldn't honor either of the emailed coupons, claiming I had to be a hotel guest to use them. I didn't see anything in the email or on the coupon suggesting that requirement, but they wouldn't budge. They did accept the ACG coupon, but not without verifying that I had the "membership" card. I blew through the FP playing Super Times Pay (STP) Bonus Poker (BP). I left down $1.45 and still miffed about the email offers.

Ellis Island was the next ACG coupon stop. I first played $10, and then got $15 in FP. That's the first time I got more than the minimum of $10. I played through that, too, on 9/6 Jacks or Better (JOB) and left down another $2.50.

My final gambling stop before check-in was at Treasure Island. Despite minimal play over the years from redeeming an occasional offer for $5 FP, I had been receiving offers for getting $25 FP after earning 250 points. I think this translates to $1,125 coin-in on non-full pay VP. I hit the nickel STP 7/5 BP machines, playing 10 lines at six nickels per line, for a total of $3 a draw. By the time I earned 250 points, I was $51.75 ahead. When I got the FP loaded on the card, I was given $50 FP, not $25. I think the $50 was supposed to be for hotel guests, so this was almost the reverse of the Hooters problem. I played it through on the 50-cent 9/6 JOB machines and walked away with another $42.50. Already ahead about $90 for the day, it seemed like a good time to head to Luxor to check in. On my way out, I noticed the "Double" Super Times Pay machines on the other side of the Super Times Pay ones. Hmmm.



One reason I was looking forward to staying at Luxor is that their Mlife check-in line is for Pearl and above. My card status doesn't go as far at the other Mlife properties. The front desk clerk informed me that I wasn't allowed to use that line because I had a MyVegas night. I tried to explain that I was also using an Mlife offer, but no, apparently the MyVegas award means I have to wait in the longer line. After scolding me several times, she relented and let me check in. The MyVegas reward is for a room in the pyramid, but the other two nights were in the tower. She planned to put me in the pyramid for all three nights, but I wanted the tower. After much sighing from her, I ended up with exactly what I wanted: three nights in the same room with a king bed in the west tower, without needing to check in again the next day.

All other interactions with Luxor employees were pleasant, but that was a weird experience. So was she right? Is that line reserved for people without any MyVegas nights, regardless of card color? Or was she mistaken and/or having a bad day?

After inspecting the room, I discovered the sink had a slow drain. I made a quick call to the front desk, and the drain was cleared while I was out for the evening. No mess, and it was never a problem after that. Otherwise the room was fine. This time I had a pool view. I looked out the window and thought "Cool. I have a pool view." I closed the drapes and never thought about it again. Unlike my 12th floor room in September, I had WiFi in this room, and it was fast.



With Brainy in tow, I headed across the street for the 4:00 mass. The Luxor may not be as convenient to some of the other casinos, but I certainly appreciate having a Catholic church right across the street.

After mass I experienced more indecision about where to eat. The free pizza at Grimaldi's sounded good, but eating dinner the first night at Earl of Sandwich has become something of a tradition when traveling solo. So Earl of Sandwich it was, after self parking in the Miracle Mile garage. I ordered my usual Holiday Turkey sandwich, BBQ chips, and a drink. The cashier wandered off to get the necessary approval to apply my free sandwich coupon. When she returned, I attempted to pay for the chips and drink with TR points, but she said she couldn't combine the points with the coupon. I suggested ringing them up separately, to which she replied that I should have ordered them separately. Whatever. Consider yourselves forewarned. The sandwich was good, however!



Then I had the crazy idea to return to Treasure Island so I could play the Double Super Times Play machines and earn enough points for another $5 in free play. That almost never goes well, and it didn't this time, either. In the process of earning my "free" play, I gave back my winnings from earlier in the day. Still, I discovered that I don't really like the "Double" aspect to the game. I much prefer to see the multiplier on the initial draw rather than the re-draw, so it's simply not worth the extra coin (and variance) to me, even if the expected return is higher.

Next I drove downtown, valet parking at the Downtown Grand (DTG). Having learned my lesson with my FP coupons from earlier in the day and stung by my TI losses, I was determined to play my $5 in ACG FP at Las Vegas Club and the Plaza through exactly once and use the winnings to, however slightly, rebuild my bankroll. Currently at these casinos you can no longer use FP on VP, only slots, so I ran my FP through some forgettable slot machines, walking away with $3.50 at LVC and $0 at the Plaza. Ouch.

Blackjack at the Golden Gate was no more successful. I played at a $5 table for an hour or two and walked away down $66.50.

I stopped by the Krispy Kreme at Excalibur for a late night snack. They were out of the original glazed and wouldn't have more until 6:30 AM. I hadn't seen that before; I just assumed they made them throughout the day. Brainy and I "settled" for some chocolate donuts and called it a night.



I had heard good things about the Top Dollar machines, and I quickly lost $5 playing a quarter at a time. At my wife's request, I tried the Willy Wonka slots, and lost another $15 with maybe two small wins (each less than the minimum bet) along the way. Having had enough of that, I donated $50 to the quarter progressive 9/5 JOB machines and headed to bed.

I had a chance to meet up with VMB's Tringlomane, but after being awake for nearly 24 hours, I was beat. Hopefully our paths will cross on another trip.

 

April 26:

I used OpenTable on my iPod to make reservations for breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi I was a little hesitant, due to the extra step of needing to stop by the TR desk for a voucher, but it turned out to be the best meal of the trip. Getting to the parking garage was easy, and there was no line at the TR desk. I ended up arriving early for my reservation, but they were able to seat me right away (and I still received the OpenTable points!). I ordered the basic breakfast of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast with coffee and juice. The coffee and hash browns were every bit as good as last time. The eggs were perfectly done. The bacon was slightly sticky; I think it had some sort of delicious maple glaze. I was much happier with this choice than the quiche last time. Maybe it will be my new go-to place, at least until I run out of TR points.



Next up was a quick trip via monorail to take advantage of a recent promotion at Casino Royale. On my way to the Bally's monorail station, I was asked if I would be willing to review a television pilot episode. It would require about an hour, and I would be paid $25 in cash. That sounded great to me. We watched the show on individual computer screens, and were given two handheld "clickers." We were to press and hold the green button when we saw something we enjoyed and press and hold the red button to indicate something we didn't like. After the show, there was a questionnaire on the computer. I was told the television show was called "Angels Reviewed," but a Google search afterwards didn't turn up anything. The headphones were a bit uncomfortable, but otherwise it was an interesting experience.

Twenty-five dollars richer, I completed the trek to the monorail station. The Coke machine at the monorail station was sold out and it refused to refund my money. I wonder what the Nevada Gaming Commission has to say about that.

I rode the monorail to Harrah's and walked to Casino Royale. If you haven't heard yet, they have a promotion where your first $20 in slot losses are reimbursed with $20 FP. Assuming you know your PIN, everything is automatic and you don't even need to stop by the players card desk. Of course, I stopped by just to make sure I understood the promotion.

I played the new Clue game, hitting several bonuses along the way. I ran my $20 up to $35.70 before taking it down to zero. I used my FP playing 7/5 BP for quarters, and hit four 3's. Nice! I left Casino Royale up $58.75.



The remainder of the afternoon was spent at Luxor playing the quarter progressive VP. I quickly lost $100, before taking a break to redeem $60 ($10 from room offer, $50 from MyVegas) in FP, which I turned into $58.75. Recognizing a familiar wrist band, I had the pleasure of meeting VMB's Slotchick and her husband. I greatly enjoyed their company while hammering away at the machines. I was even dealt four to a royal, but couldn't convert. Luckily I hit a few fours of a kind along the way.

The progressive was up to $1,912 and I was reluctant to leave. I instant messaged my wife: do I grab a sandwich and stay and play, or go out to eat. She replied with a one word response: eat. So I headed up Koval, thinking I'd go to Grimaldi's. I changed my mind, drove to Caesars instead, and took a seat at the bar at Old Homestead. I started with a Caesar salad and had a crab cake as an entree with a side of cheddar potato gratin. The crab cake was great but maybe not quite as good as I remembered, and I barely made a dent in the potatoes. I paid with TR points and asked the bartender to change a $20 for the tip. He gave me back two fives and a ten. It seemed to me like he was trying for a 25% tip, which I wasn't about to do. Luckily I still had a few singles in my wallet. Am I reading too much into this, or was he pulling a move typically reserved for cab drivers who pretend not to have any change?



After dinner I drove to the Orleans to see Don Rickles. My print-at-home ticket included a coupon for a free drink at any Orleans bar. Maybe not "any" bar. At the first bar I was ignored by two or three bartenders. Maybe when I was unwilling to tip 25% a call went out to the other bartenders in the city? Fortunately, I had more luck at a second bar.

The showroom is nice and not a very large theater. My seats were in the second to last row (P) near the middle, and I could see great. I was glad I hadn't paid more to get just a couple of rows closer. The performance included a live band and many video clips of Rickles with Carson, Sinatra, and others. I'm not normally of fan of filling performance time with videos, but it helped establish all of his connections with past performers and gave me some context for his anecdotes. His body seemed frail but his mind and tongue were sharp. He spent most of the evening sitting down. When he made a great effort once to stand up, the audience applauded. I thought that was a little awkward. He must have, too, because he compared it to a Jerry Lewis telethon.

Among recent comedians I've seen, I thought Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano were funnier. But Don Rickles is a legend who hung out with other legends, and I'm very happy that I had the chance to see him perform.

After the show I used my ACG coupon to turn $10 in FP into $7.50. At the B Connected kiosk, I was awarded bonus points because it was my birthday month. I think the bonus was for 1,000 points.

Back at the Luxor the progressive was up to $2,011. I lost another $100 before heading to bed.

 

April 27:

For breakfast I went to the Bellagio buffet. Getting there was easy, taking Tropicana to the freeway to Flamingo, and parking at the north valet. There was no line at the Mlife desk, and my line pass let me skip the minimal line at the buffet. I stuck to my usual breakfast buffet choices of an omelet, fruit, and potatoes and was quite happy with these. I also tried a cheese blintz for the first time; it was just okay. The cheesecake was great. Service was fine, too. Not surprisingly, I'd rank this at the top of the MGM buffets, perhaps tied with Aria.



I took a brief tour through the conservatory, and stopped to take pictures at the Omega watch store. I sent a photo to my wife with a caption suggesting that I was going to buy a watch.



Back at the Luxor, the progressive was up to $2,155.



I quickly lost $50 without hitting a four of a kind. Some of the machines have sound; others are muted. (Aside: is there any way I can change this?) When one of the sound enabled machines opened up, I moved over there, to seat #6. And lost another $50 without a four of a kind.

Then I was dealt four to a royal. Again. This time I thought to take a picture.



I discarded the fifth card, a second ace, knowing I had a 1 in 47 chance of drawing the jack. And I did!



It was my first royal flush in quarters and my first hand pay. (Which means I had to decide for the first time if I would write it as one word or two.) At first I was a little impatient at how long it was taking, but then I decided to just soak it in. The guy who paid me the money explained that I should hold out my hand, and he would count the money onto it. Oh, "hand" pay. I get it now. I remembered a long VMB thread on whether you are supposed to tip or not. I couldn't recall the consensus from the thread, so I tipped him $20.

I headed upstairs and emailed some photos of my win. My brother soon called to congratulate me. I (wisely) decided I was done with video poker for the trip (except for any FP) and was going to stick with blackjack. I left most of the money in the safe and put the do not disturb sign on the door before heading out.



I thought briefly about going back to the Omega store, but then realized that my after tax winnings would probably only cover half a watch. Amusingly, my wife saw the Omega picture followed by the money picture and assumed I had bought one.

On my way downtown, I stopped by the Gold Coast to see if I could get free birthday points there, too. I had no plans to use the points, but hey, free is free. But no, it seems to be a once per customer promotion, not once per Boyd property.

After parking again at the DTG valet, I walked to the Toy Shack. It kind of looked like my basement but better organized. I was willing to pay a Toy Shack premium and part with some of my winnings if they had particular Hawkeye or Vision figures I was looking for, but they didn't have either of them.

I was starting to get hungry, so I went to Pizza Rock. I had considered going to Vic and Anthony's to celebrate my win, but I was wearing shorts in a t-shirt. I ordered meatballs and a personal pizza off the happy hour menu. The meatballs were fantastic, as always, but I would describe the pizza as merely good. It couldn't compare to the award winning margherita pizza from last time, but this one only cost $5.



On my last trip, we went to Container Park on a Sunday night, and most of the stores were already closed. I made a second trip there this time so I could go to Kappa Toys and buy presents for my children. It's a cute, well organized store that seemed to be doing a brisk business. From one of the artsy shops, I picked up a ceramic turtle for my wife.

With dinner and shopping complete, I went to the Golden Gate to play blackjack again. Over the course of the next 6 hours, I was up $100, down $100, back to even, and finally I left down $150. Obviously I would prefer to have won, but I had a great time and that was the longest I had ever played. One of the dealers was in training, and it was fascinating watching her learn all the nuances of dealing (how to arrange the chips, for example) that I just take for granted.

I ended the day with another trip to Krispy Kreme. This time they had the original glazed, so Brainy and I were very happy.

When I emptied my pockets back in my room, I found two $25 chips from the Golden Gate. I've read reports before and wondered how people could forget to cash in their chips or tickets; now it had happened to me. Luckily I had plenty of time the next day before my flight.

 

April 28:

Other than a flight home, the only thing on the agenda for today was stopping by the Riviera to play BJ for the first, and last, time. I originally thought to go next door to Peppermill for breakfast, but with an extra trip downtown required, I decided to eat at the Luxor instead and had the corned beef hash at the Pyramid Cafe. Service and the food were fine, but for the same price I preferred the breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi.



I stopped by the Mlife desk to see if anything could be taken off my bill, but they wouldn't give me anything beyond my Express Comps. This was with a bit over $4,000 Mlife coin-in on VP, all at the Luxor. Recall that in addition to the MyVegas night, one of the other two nights was already comped except for the resort fee. Last time at the Luxor, they knocked $33 off my bill with around $5,000 coin-in, but that trip I had discounted, but not free, nights and did not win a royal flush. I'm throwing these data points out there as reference for my fellow micro-rollers.

Despite the fact that my birthday wasn't until the next day, they gave a me a spin on the free play wheel. It landed on $5, but they gave me $25 FP instead. Thanks, Luxor! I turned it into $17.50, playing at "my" seat #6.

After checking out, I made a brief stop at Golden Gate to redeem my chips from the previous night.

Following that was a trip to the Riviera. I played BJ at a $5 table for about an hour. Within about five minutes my hands were sticky from something, but I suppose at the very end they're not too worried about the cleanliness of the tables. One of the players actually recognized my strategy sheet as being from the Wizard of Odds' site. It was a fun group of players, and one of the dealers even saved me when I attempted to double when I shouldn't have. When I left the table I was down $50, but I had four $1 chips to take home for myself and the rest of the family. I also played a few games of pinball and of course took lots of pictures. I never spent much time there, but I think it will be missed.

I still had some time before my flight, so I stopped at the Tuscany Casino. As a new member I received $5 FP and the ACG coupon gave me another $10 FP. Note that they also asked to see the ACG membership card, and required that I put my name on the back of the card. I played I Dream of Jeannie, and, for the first time, Spin Poker. I left after turning the FP into $12.

When I stopped for gas, another car was blocking the way, driving out the center of the driveway, rather than staying on his right side. I waited for him to pull out, and as he did he smiled and extended his middle finger to me. What the heck was that about?

The rental car return went smoothly and my final bill was a few dollars less than the initial estimate. I must have returned the car just in time to qualify for an hourly rate for the last day, rather than a daily rate.

I was so happy to be back at the D gates, and went to California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) for dinner. We've lost all of our locations in Minnesota, so this was a treat.



I spent $5 on the Wheel! Of! Fortune! slots, and another $5 on a Top Dollar machine. I was playing a quarter at a time, but now playing 25 lines at a penny each. I think at Luxor I was playing one line for a quarter. I got more bang for my buck (or five bucks) this time, and even got to pick an offer. I didn't see where to find the "advice," and each offer I received was worse than the one before. The first offer was for $4; the final one that I ended up with was for $1.

When I arrived at the gate they had already started to board, so my timing was perfect. It was a brand new plane, having been placed in service just four months ago. I wish I had thought to take pictures, but my camera was in the overhead bin. Somehow the overhead bins appeared roomier yet with more headroom. The lighting seemed to have a dimmer switch, so when they turned on the lights for landing, it got gradually brighter and we avoided people being blinded and hearing screams of "My eyes! My eyes!" Not that that's ever happened. It was so nice I didn't even bother with my Clorox wipes. Seriously. If only I could fly around on that plane, eating Mon Ami Gabi breakfasts and winning royal flushes, life would be perfect.

 

Final thoughts:

I assumed as a solo traveler I was safe from the timeshare salespeople. I was actually approached once while I was carrying Brainy Smurf.

I did not use a single coupon in the Luxor coupon book. Nor did I end up using the $25 on my Landry's Select card or the free pizza coupon at Grimaldi's. So many deals, so little time.

Between Luxor and Treasure Island, I had about $6,000 coin-in. I can't claim that I plan it this way, but I think this has been about my total during my past four trips.

If not for the photographic (and monetary) evidence, I might think I imagined the royal flush. I'm still amazed. It was the perfect way to end a (birth) year that had started out poorly.

I clearly had a bad run of blackjack at the end, but I'm still happy I stopped playing video poker so I could lock in my win.

I remain grateful that my dear wife supports these solo trips of mine, even if she perhaps doesn't quite understand the appeal.

If there is any interest, I can post some of my Riviera pictures. I have pictures of exciting locations like restrooms and parking garages!

I expect my next trip to be in December 2015 or January 2016. I enjoy visiting when it's colder. Until then I will live vicariously through everyone else's trip reports. Thanks for reading!

 

Crap if I knew you were seeing Don Rickles at the Orleans, I would have told my g/f to valet the car...lol We couldn't find any decent parking there that night! Left without entering and went straight to downtown. Probably the best for you and my g/f though...it would have changed the entire world of randomness...lol

And congrats on doing about four things I'm still waiting to do! LOL (Quarter Royal, Spade Royal, Hand Pay, VP progressive of any amount). I guess I can go to the Golden Nugget sometime and easily knock that last one out...

 

Nice TR. Great job on the royal! Dunno why that @$$hat flicked you off?

 

Not sure either. But in Vegas, not shocked. I threw out my finger a few times last trip too. There were some real a-holes out that weekend from what I saw.

And WWGB, at TI, when you played Double STP, it was still 7/5 Bonus for nickels right (you didn't show any pics)? I got there late Fri. night, but when I looked to play the Double STP, there were two ladies on them and they didn't look like they were budging, so I didn't get on the machines and ran back to TAG lounge.

 

Thanks for the trip report. Good job on the hand pay! It's nice to see someone who's not spending the big bucks come out ahead. There's hope for us little guys! Thanks again.

 

Nice job on the royal! I really need to learn how to play video poker. Blackjack usually holds my attention for my entire trip, but I could use something to offset that instead of throwing money at slots.

 

One hell of a royal! Very cool.

I would love to see your Riv pics!!

 

Yeah, adding pics is a good thing...Poor Riv won't be getting many pics after now.

 

Fantastic report WWGB I really enjoyed reading it, thank you for sharing Great job hitting the Luxor Progressive!!

 

Great Trip Report! Nice hit on the Royal!!

 

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures because I never got any decent hits. I'm pretty sure they were 7/5, just like the single STP.

 

Landry's Select Card.

they now have a Claim Jumpers at the Golden Nugget also beside Vic and Anthony's and The Charthouse and their other restaurants.

 

Nice report and thank you for sharing!

Congrats on your royal too. I'm a more-often-than-not solo traveler so I enjoyed reading this and thinking how much I enjoy it and also how some of my friends and family don't understand the appeal.

MAG is always my first breakfast in town. Nothing better than sitting on the patio with the fantastic view and soaking in the strip.

 

Thanks for the nice read! The only thing I usually use out of the Luxor coupon book is the 20 bucks in free drinks and maybe the 5 dollar souvenir t-shirt.

 

Nice Royal! Congrats!!!!