Trip report July 4-8

The hubby and I decided to go to Vegas because we got a heck of a deal from Treasure Island. Only $79 a night. Plus we flew Southwest for the first time and saved a ton of money there. Now I had a bad feeling about Southwest because I watch that show on A&E called "Airline". All they show are pissed off people who either got bumped or are delayed. I am happy to say we had no problems at all what so ever.

We got to Hopkins airport(Cleveland) about 8:15 for a 10:20 am flight. We did the checking in online at midnight so we were able to board with group A. No problems at all. The line was about 3 deep on a Monday morning. Granted it was the 4th of July, but you never know. We got in line under group A. Glad we did that because alot of people just sat around. This ensured us first pickens for our seats. I highly recommend to anyone flying Southwest 1) check in online at midnight the night before your flight 2) Get to the airport 2 hours before and get in the line you should be in. You wont have any problems finding a seat.

We flew to Nashville and then from Nashville to Vegas. No problems at all. I was fortunate that I did not have anyone next to me and I had an aisle seat. This made it very comfortable as I am a tall chick who needs plenty of leg room.

We landed in Vegas about 2:15 PM. grabbed our bags and shared a taxi with a nice couple from Akron(they were staying at Casino Royale). Headed to Treasure Island. Check in was about 15 people deep but went very smoothly. Got to our room about 3:00 PM.

No sooner we freshened up we were down at the Breeze Bar playing video poker and getting our comped drinks. I usually put in $20 and that keeps me busy for awhile. About 5 beers later, we decided to head over to Margaritaville for dinner and drinks. Mind you Southwest does not serve meals so at this point all we had to eat all day was some snacks. Grabbed a table on the upper deck. Boy was it hot. I mean.....thank god they have misters up there. As they say though--"Its a dry heat". Hubby and I grabbed some margaritas and boy were they strong. About 3 of those later and a few beers--I was toast. We did order food. I thought their food was below average. I am a huge Buffett fan but the food was not worth the prices. However, they make good margaritas so hubby was happy about that. Needless to say our plan of staying up for fireworks did not happen. We both were so drunk by 9:00 we passed out. Nice huh??

Day two we decided to head over to OSheas for some Blackjack. Hubby put down $60 to start and I am a low roller so I put down $20. We met a nice couple from Arkansas. No luck at the tables. Single deck sucks. Dealer kept hitting twenty one or twenty. Hubby and I were out of there once we were out of our original money. After that, we walked the strip more. headed to Kahunaville in Treasure Island for lunch. Had some Buy one get one free margaritas. Was there even tequila in these? I dont think so. Presentation was nice though. Food was excellent. We split a sampler appetizer platter and it was more than enough for both of us. In this case, drinks were very weak(although pretty) but food was very good.

Headed back to the room for a much needed nap. The heat out there wears on you. We probably were walking 3-5 miles a day. Slept about 2 hours and then it was about 5:00. Started to get ready for dinner. I made reservations at Kokomos at The Mirage. We love going there. I am a HUGE crab leg fan and I love their King Crab. Service is always outstanding as well. Dinner was excellent. Hubby got a filet with king crab. I jus got the king crab. Just awesome. Served with a lemon butter on the side. If you love crab legs, this is the place to go. Hubby wanted dessert so he got the creme brulee and I got an irish coffee. Both were outstanding. Bill was pricey. Came to about $200 but we both agreed was more than worth it.

After dinner we changed and I think the coffee kicked in. BY now it was about 10 so we decided to just go down to the Breeze Bar in TI and get some drinks and play poker. I put in $20 and was up about $50 at the end of the night. Next thing I knew it was 1:00 AM. $20 went a long way plus I got free drinks. Cant complain there!

Day 3 we decided to check out downtown vegas. Grabbed a cab and was dropped off at the Golden Nugget. Went to the breakfast buffett there and thought it was very good. For $7 a person, you couldnt beat it. Hubby loved the cheese blintzes. After that we played some more video poker, I would be up then down. Finally broke even. Decided to start walking down Fremont street to check everything out.

I will be honest, maybe it was because it was the morning but I dont think i will ever go back downtown. Binions was a crap hole. The bathrooms were just disgusting. It plain just stunk in there. We went through Fitzgeralds--couldnt win a damn thing. After about 3 hours, we had enough and grabbed a cab back to the strip. Holy crazy cab driver. I was reading some Vegas book and my husband was about to freak out at the cab driver. Apparently the cab driver was playing chicken with a buy in a Hummer and they were trying to side swipe each other. I wouldnt even look up to see what was going on. Fortunately we made it to TI alive, but hubby was ready to punch the guy as we got out of the cab.

We passed on lunch. We had a huge breakfast. So rather than lunch why not some Ben & Jerry's?? Went back to the room for another nap. Plan was to go down to the Tequila Bar in Ballys for happy hour about 4. Went last year and food and drinks were excellent. headed down there and grabbed a table. I look over to my left and I see Omarosa from the Apprentice is sitting next to us. Holy CRAP!! We didnt see a server for 20 minutes. Alot of people were getting pissed off. We decided to leave and head to Bellagio for the buffet instead. Buffet as always was fantastic. No creme brulee this time which was a disappointment.

After dinner we gambled in Bellagio. Put in $20 in video poker and doubled my money. We left Bellagio and headed to Harrahs Carnival Court. Great people watching and usually great bands. Grabbed a table and got a bucket of beer for $20. Band was playing 80's and dance music. They actually were really good. Stayed there until about 11:00 and headed back to TI. We both were pretty tipsy by this point. Hubby decided to call it a night and I wanted to play some video poker. I put my $20 in and played max credits. Hit 4 of kind twice in a matter of 20 minutes. I was pretty excited yet pretty drunk! Decided to call it a night about 12:00.

Next morning decided to go to Paris for the breakfast buffet. Holy crap was it good. The crepes are worth the price alone(and I thought the price was reasonable $12.99/pp). Just fantastic breakfast and a must for anyone who goes to breakfast buffets. After that we did some shopping and more gambling at the Aladdin. Couldnt win a damn thing. Came back to the room about 2 to take the daily nap. About 4 we headed over to the Monte Carlo. A friend of mine lives in Vegas and we were meeting for dinner at the Monte Carlo Brewery. We got there and had some time to kill so we played some video poker. I mean they robbed me blind at the Monte Carlo. $40 in the machine was gone in 10 minutes. Best hand I got was 2 pair. I will never gamble there again. We met my friend at the brewery. Excellent beer and excellent food. I was glad we went there. Really recommend it if you like different sorts of beers. The Raspberry wheat beer is awesome. We hung out there until about 9 and said our goodbyes. It was our last night in Vegas so I wanted to check out the Bellagio fountains on our way back to TI and then do some last minute gambling.

Saw the fountains and got some great pics. Headed back to TI. Played some video poker. Put $50 in and was up to about $80. Only to get it back down to my original $50. Decided to call it a night at midnight. Had to be up at 6 AM to catch our early morning flight back home.

Nothing exciting to report on the flight home. No delays-no lost luggage-made it home safe. Southwest is alright in my book

So to sum it up

1) Margaritaville has sub par food but great drinks
2) Kahunaville has pretty but weak margaritas but great food
3) Kokomos has outstanding service & food as always
4) Downtown Vegas scared me. I wouldnt go back. I did like the Golden Nugget though. Very classy hotel. I would stay there if it wasnt downtown.
5) Vegas cabdrivers are complete maniacs(we all know that)
6)Monte Carlo has poor pay outs on video poker. Both me and my hubby could get nothing
7) Monte Carlo Brewery was awesome. Would go back again for sure
8) When people say its a "dry heat" in Vegas--they arent kidding. Its like a convection oven.
9) Tequila bar at Bally's has poor service which is a shame because the drinks and food are great
10) I love Vegas. Best city in the world!

 

Amen to no more gambling at Monte Carlo! I hate that place with a passion.

Nice report, sounds like a fun time.

One of these days I'll work my way down to Paris for the breakfast buffett....

 

Nice report, I have to agree with you on kahunaville there drink quality seems to have gone way down. And I have had a lot of drinks there We tried Kokomos last time and thought it was very good also.

 

I also have been flying Southwest out of Hopkins. They have been coming up with some pretty good deals out of Cleveland to Vegas.

Downtown Vegas will grow on you if you give it a chance. I know what you mean about the aroma. If you're a strip person, you probably will never like downtown. The Golden Nugget is the class act downtown.

You gotta love how those quads came twice in 20 minutes.

 

The tables at the MC are the best to me. I always kill at blackjack at MC. If my luck goes south in Vegas, head to the MC for a pick me up playing blackjack. So far, knock on wood, i've never lost money at the MC playing BJ. Hope that trend continues

 

And you know what? My sister hit at the MC for $375 on a slot machine right next to me. I guess it is just all about luck!

 

Wasted away again in Margaritaville! I love that place! Last time we were there we kept ordering different drinks off the menu. Talk about blitzed!

Yeha the food is a little overpriced, but I think it's the atmosphere you pay for. Made a meal on the nacho platter alone.

 

FUnny you should mention the nachos. My husband decided at the end of the night to order them. Mind you the alcohol was talking. They come out and they had to be 5 inches high. I was cracking up. Needless to say he ate about 4 bites of them and had enough. Tequila makes you do some of the dumbest things!

 

Nice report! I love Southwest too. Anywhere that gets me places for cheap is ok. Can I ask how tall you are? I like the aisle seats on long flights because I'm tall (5'11" and most of that height seems to be in my legs).

Gotta agree 100% about the good food and apparently alcohol-free "drinks" at Kahunaville. When I went there, it's a good thing I already had a pretty good buzz going because I wouldn't have found one there anytime soon.

Downtown in the daylight just doesn't look right. I've stayed downtown and ventured out in the mornings and found it ordinary and dull, and somewhat seedy, but it's really at night when the area comes to life. Please check it out sometime when the party's going on and the Fremont Street Experience is playing. It's a street party like no other. Then you can judge it correctly, and if you still don't like it, head on back to the Strip. I know it's not for everyone, but you have to at least see it once in the right atmosphere.

 

One or two rides on the grain train help put downtown into perspective too. It's definitely more fun at night and while Binions may have been lousy, places like the GN and MSS are very nice.