TR - 5/22-25 - Cosmo/MC - Best trip EVER!

Solo trip for me. I took advantage of an offer from Kevin at the Cosmo for a terrace suite, $500 in free play and $500 resort credit. Plus an automatic bump to Platinum. Very glad I did as it was a great trip!

I also double booked the cheapest room at MC for 2 nights to get the $500 in free play. For the first time in all my trips to Vegas, I actually came home ahead. Not by much, $300 - but that has NEVER happened before. Now that I am “single”, I pay far more rent then I used to living with my BF, so can really only expect to be able to afford a trip once a year to be able to bring the bankroll I like to bring. Bringing home my entire bankroll on this trip means I can go back in the fall. So let's get started.

Sunday

My 8:00 a.m. Sun Country flight was fine and on time, landing around 9:30 a.m. Limo wasn't there, so grabbed a cab. Very nice driver from Wisconsin - no long haul. Never did find out what happened to the limo driver. I flew into terminal 3, and last time I did that, I made the mistake of going over to the other terminal for the limo – and he was waiting at terminal 3. Maybe the reverse happened. No big deal.

When I got there I checked into the VIP lounge. The girl basically says – well you are a VIP so you are entitled to a higher floor, but I have a suite that is ready now on the 16th floor. Kind of goofy because after I agreed to that, she said I had to wait until it was verified to be ready, so I had to check my luggage anyway.

So I wish I had waited, which was completely my own fault. I should have been more aggressive and just said if I have to check my luggage anyway that I would rather wait for a higher floor. I could still see the fountains from the left side of my terrace, but the right had a building in the way (see pics). Beyond that, I didn't mind being in the West Tower at all (I know most prefer the East Tower).

The suite was really nice. I really enjoyed the terrace. Having stayed in the terrace suite at the MGM Grand, this was so much better. The terrace at the Cosmo is more intimate, and I don't know, I guess more comfortable. My only complaint is that I couldn't get the wifi to work out there. I most likely would have spent more time out there if I could have used either my iPad or Surface out there (yes, I know - I'm a geek ).

I really did enjoy having a fridge and a microwave. I had brought instant coffee (Starbucks via Instant - Columbia). It was really good and it was nice to have a few cups on my terrace in the morning before heading downstairs.

One of the most fun things about staying at the Cosmo is they don't penalize you for playing the specialty slots. I actually did very good on the newest Willy Wonka. I won't go into the gory details (mostly because I don't really remember them...do I have this trip report thing nailed, or what ), but by the end of the day I had 2 hand pays under my belt, both on Siberian Storm. One for $1,572, and one for $2,062. I can't remember how much I ended up actually, but I know I was up.

I was hungry by 11:00 a.m. or so after checking in so went to find the secret pizza place, and found the Wicked Spoon instead. It was pretty early so it was mostly breakfast stuff. I know this buffet gets really good reviews, but I just wasn’t all that impressed. Maybe my tastes are just too much like a 12 year old's. I was much happier with my dinner - which was room service. Grilled shrimp, potatoes, veggies and ice cream for dessert. As I type this, I remembered that I still had ice cream left in the freezer. That's not like me at all.

After dinner, I headed back downstairs until around 9:30. I enjoyed my terrace for a while and then went to bed.

Monday

I actually slept pretty good, only for about 5 hours - but I actually slept. Usually I wake up about a million times, but I didn’t this night (maybe it was the drugs ). You don’t hear much about the beds at the Cosmo, but it was REALLY comfy and the pillows were perfect.

Up at 3:00 – made my instant coffee. I had gotten milk, pop and some chips at the sundries shop the day before. I was probably downstairs by 4:00. I was playing Ultimate X - 5 hands, dimes. I saved 3 to the royal and was given the royal on one of the 5 hands - nicely enough it gave it to me on a hand that I had an 8x on. So another hand pay for $3,200. Unfortunately, my cell phone was charging in the room – so no pic of that one.

The rest of the morning is a bit of a blur. For breakfast I had an apple from the fruit basket my host had left. I did walk over to the Bellagio and played for an hour or so – mostly just to get outside for a little while. I left up around $150. Around 1:00 I walked over to Monte Carlo and was able to check in to my room. I headed up, left my tote - mostly with dirty clothes and a few non-essential toiletries. I messed up the bed (yeah, that'll fool them), and went to get my $535 in free play ($35 from myVegas).

I ended up with $465 playing VP. I only spent a few hours there, but they got all of the free play money, plus $600.

I headed back via Aria. Big mistake. Siberian Storm not friendly. Not friendly at all. Not really surprised. After 2 stays at the Aria, and many visits - still haven't won a plug nickel at the place. Really glad I didn't stay there.

I had dinner at the Wicked Spoon again – mostly because it’s easy and I was hungry and there was never a line. If I ate anything during the day besides the apple a few of the chips I bought, I really can’t remember. As I said, I wasn't really a fan of the buffet, but did like the fact that they had French Onion soup - and the desserts were very good.

I played a bit more at the Cosmo, but I was in bed by 7:00, as even though I had slept good the night before, I had still only gotten around 5 hours of sleep and was tired after a full day of slotting.

Tuesday

Going to bed that early meant I was up at 2:00 a.m. and downstairs by 3:00 a.m. I stuck great big gobs of money into a Siberian Storm machine (can you see a pattern here ) and finally hit my 4th hand pay for $1,281. I had another $300 in the machine, so cashed out $1,500. By now it was 9:00 a.m. and I had given Cosmo 6 hard hours of play, so didn't feel too guilty about heading out that early. Went over to the Bellagio, where I promptly lost the $1,500 - then hit my 5th and last hand pay for - you guessed it - $1,500. I do really enjoy the atmosphere at the Bellagio. It's so nice, and I just love the music they play. I mostly didn't recognize any of the music at the Cosmo.

I decided to take the tram to Monte Carlo. I played there for 3 hours or so and actually did really well. I had budgeted 1K for that time, but I couldn't seem to lose. According to the M Life site, I was up $700 for MC, and I know I lost $600 the day before so I must have walked out with about $1,300 on Tuesday. They have some Buffalo Grand machines with a wheel bonus. I did pretty good on two machines.

For the record though, I would never stay at the Monte Carlo again. I'm a gambler. They have most of their machines set so you can only bet like $2-$3 a spin. I am a $4-$10 a spin kind of a gal. I just don’t understand why they would do that. Like on the Siberian Storm machines, which were one of the few machines that let me bet $4 a spin, when you switched your denomination to 2 cents, the fifth button which is normally 250 coins for pennies, changes to just 200. Most all of the other Siberian Storm machines also let you play nickels - but not the machines at the MC. $4 was the max spin.

I did eat at the Monte Carlo buffet. It just goes to show that I am not a foodie. I far more enjoyed that buffet then I did the Wicked Spoon buffet.

I went up to the room, and it had been cleaned, so I messed up the bed again, left a tip, grabbed my tote and headed back to the Cosmo around 1:00. I gambled there until around 6:30 and then ate the buffet again. I do know at one point that afternoon, I was thinking I must have a Horseshoe up my butt, because it seemed like whatever I touched, I won on. Stick $100 in a machine, cash out $600. I had a lot of fun. After eating, I planned on just heading up to my suite, but figured it was my last night, so I headed to the Aria, as apparently I'm a sucker for punishment. I didn't do too bad, I spent only $200. My total losses at Aria for this trip were around $1,700.

Wednesday Morning - going home:

Again, up at 2:00 and headed downstairs to have my last gamble before I had to leave for the airport at 8:00 a.m.

Again, I did very well. I went downstairs with the $800 I had in my purse from the night before, and when I went back up, I had $1,000.

Checked out, and the only charge on the bill was the gratuity for the room service, which you don’t have a choice on paying. Normally I tip with cash so I have no bill at the end. No big deal.

Random observations:

I loved the Cosmo and would definitely stay there again. The casino, while not terribly large, is far bigger than I thought it was. I was never bored gambling there. They had a good selection of machines. I played a LOT of Ultimate X. I really liked that they had the option to play nickels, dimes or quarters (Bellagio machines start at quarters) – even though I was winning enough that I mostly did play quarters. Like I said, it was fun to try some of the specialty machines. I played Ruby Slippers, the new Willy Wonka machines, Walking Dead machines, and every new variety of Buffalo machine that they had. As is evident by my hand-pays, I played a lot of Siberian Storm.

Drink service was very good, and the staff were all very nice. While drink service was good, I had a few drinks I didn't care for. A bellini - Yuk. And I thought I would never meet a margarita that I didn’t like – but I did at the Cosmo. Just way too tart. They did have really good Bloody Mary's though. I never did make it into Bond to have one of the fancy drinks. Oh well, next trip.

I don't know what my coin-in was. I have e-mailed my host asking if she could let me know. I figure I must have done OK, as I did end up cashing out $500 in point play, and had another 13,000 points - which I believe is another $130.

Beautiful weather for the whole trip. 80's and sunny. Probably the nicest weather I've ever had in Vegas.

Things I was going to do and didn't. Never made it to the front of NY NY to see the new area. Never made it to the Flamingo habitat - or even a CET property. Once again, didn't make it downtown .

For anyone cringing because I hit 5 hand pays and only ended up $300 ahead. I gamble hard. In 3 of those hand-pays, I was really just getting my money back. That was certainly true of 2 of the Siberian Storm hand-pays and the Day of the Dead hand pay.

The free play/point play/identity play at Cosmo was weird. I sat down at a $1 JOB poker machine to play my free play, and it doesn’t show you what you have left (It looks like some machines would do that, but apparently not these). So I pulled my card out and put it back in to show the identify info and now it was showing I had none left. I knew I hadn’t spent the entire $535. I tried it a few more times, and finally went to the identity window, and of course she took me to a machine and it worked.

I had this happen a few more times. The first time I had accumulated $200 in identity play, I converted $100 to free play, spent that, and went to convert the other $100, and now it was showing I had no identity play left. A few minutes later on a different machine I tried again, and it was there.

M Life – my trip last October to MGM Grand was NOT a good one, with very little play for my money. I only earned 91,000 tier credits. On this trip I earned another 60,000 – so I only ended up at 151,000. I thought about pushing for Platinum but decided my money would be better spent being able to go back in September instead.

Last thought. What's the deal with this hand, and how should you best play it. I must have had this hand 10 times over the course of the 3 days. DDB, 3 to the royal, with 2 Aces and 4 for a flush. So do you keep the aces, go for the flush, or go for the royal.

I think that's it. Here are some pics:

Bedroom:


Living room:


Kitchen. Loved having the microwave and the fridge (which isn't in the picture).


Bathroom:


Shower. Love having a bench.


Tub - which I never used.


View:


View 2. With the building I mentioned.

Another view:


Night View.


Night View 2


Just a nice hit on Ultimate X. Love this game.


Next 2 pictures are of my hand-pay at the Bellagio on Day of the Dead.
One of the Siberian Storm hand pays.

 

Great report! Thanks for the pictures. Always love
to see the different rooms people stay in. That one you had
looked very nice. I agree though about the higher floor. Would have
been nice not to have that building marring part of the view.

On the food front - I have a friend that always stays at the Monte Carlo and
I have eaten the buffet there with him a couple of times. I always found it
perfectly satisfactory It isn't fancy smancy - but the food was fine that we had.

Enjoyed it - thanks for posting!
Glad you did so well and came home a winner. Great job!

 

Nice trip! As someone who goes to Vegas primarily to gamble, coming home $300 ahead is a win everyday in my book. Even coming back with only half my bankroll is a win to me. Good wins for you.

 

Love your TR, JosieCat! Nice wins!
My goodness, so many of your comments and observations are similar to mine, I feel like I was there!

I know what you mean!! This happens to me playing dollars - hit for $1200 but I've already played $600 in so net $600 which goes fast - rinse - repeat!


I need to try Siberian Storm again! I play mostly dollars and five dollar slots, but do like pennies (no such thing - they cost more than dollars) late at night when I want to settle in at one slot for a long time - I do like Willy Wonka.
Agree with you on Wicked Spoon - it's a good buffet but not outstanding. I like Milos, Holsteins, China Poblano, DOCG.
Also stayed at Aria in April - loved the room but got killed on the slots - except ddid win a bit on VP for my first VP royal flush won $200 I think - but like you I am still learning!
Also ventured over to Monte Carlo - hubby won $300 plus on Buffalo in a short time and I won a couple hundred on Top Dollar so we took that back to Aria and lost it on slots there..
Also like Cosmo a lot and will stay there again - but the majority of my wins come at Mirage so that is my home base.

Looks like you had a great solo trip and can't wait to read your next TR when you hit Vegas again in September!
Best of luck!

 

Great wins and report Josiecat! I took Kevin up on the offer as well and will spend 3 nights of my 6 night trip between Cosmo & Palazzo. When are you going in September as I know for sure I will be there then?

 

Thanks for writing this. I leave in a few days and this is exactly the sort of trip I hope for. Nice to know it can happen. Coming home with ANY amt of my original stake is a win in my book. Congratulations on a real profit. Glad you had a good time. Never enough time to do all you think you can. I got a kick out of you messing up the room at MC. I would like to see a video of that.

I usually come home looking like the bankrupt guy in Monopoly, pulling on my empty pockets. But you can't put a price on fun.

 

Thank you for your very nice trip report

My last few trips to Las Vegas have been at The Cosmopolitan, and like you, I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel and casino more than anticipated. It's now my property of choice!

ERQ

 

We were there on the 16th to 18th of May...we had basically the same angle view as you but on the 47th floor...it was amazing and like you we loved the terrace. I loved staying at the Cosmo and plan on staying again in future trips. Congrats on the winning trip!

 

Very nice trip. Shame about the floor, I never would have thought 16th floor was so low, it looks like only a couple of floors higher than the Bellagio garage, which I think is only 4 levels. Just for your next trip, lowest Terrace Suite I ever stayed on was 25 and it was fine for the fountain view.

 

Thanks for the nice comments.

Heck, coming home with any of my bankroll is a win

Thanks so much. I did have a great trip!

Thanks Hoofy! Not sure of my exact dates yet. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards October instead for the slightly cooler weather. I mean really, what does M Life Platinum get you anyway

Thanks for the nice comments, and I hope your trip is as good as mine was .

Thanks for the nice comments. I have a feeling that the Cosmo is going to be my property of choice now as well.

Thanks. Wow, your view was awesome. Oh well. Next trip.

Thanks Chuck! I know. Who knew the 16th floor would have an obstructed view. Oh well, next time I will know better.

 

Great report. Kevin comped us a terreace studio in July (surprise for DH; Mom & I stayed in a wrap terrace on a black friday deal a few years ago & FELL IN LOVE)...
So Cosmo has nickel Ultimate X? SO EXCITED!

 

Great report thanks for writing it as it was a joy to read. Congrats coming home a winner as it always makes me feel great when that happens. Your room at Cosmo was great. The view wasn't too bad but would have been better higher up. I have never stayed there as I never get any offers but of course I don't play anywhere near the amount of coin in that most people play. I leave in about 3 weeks and will be staying at MC. Glad you liked their buffet as it is ok for just basic food which is what I like. These fancy 45 dollar buffet's are not for me as I just like very basic good stuff. If you ever want a decent meal at a fair price at the MC I would suggest trying the PUB there.
Let's see your VP hand question was 3 to the Royal 2 Aces and 4 to a regular flush on DDB? Hold the Aces always on that. Remember on DDB 4 Aces is a very powerful hand and is easier to get than a Royal. Thanks again for the report and I hope you are able to go out again very soon.

 

Nice report, sounds like you had fun and 5 handpays. Coming home with more than you left with is a big win in my book.
It's like hitting a $4,000 royal, but you are already $3,000 in the hole.
Enjoyed the report, but not the part about getting up at 2 and 3 AM.

 

Well done Josie; awesome to be able to make a second trip with the bankroll intact from this trip and a bonus $300!

I never made it to the Wicked Spoon last week but as buffets go, it is my favourite. Hope the quality hasn't gone downhill and it is just a difference is taste. I realky enjoy the angry mac 'n cheese. The Henry is great for casual solo dining as is Holsteins. I have to have the tater tot nachos at The Henry every trip.

Love the Cosmo; with the exception of last week, I usually spend 2 or 3 nights there every trip. New offer just arrived so time to look at booking for the fall.

Congratulations on coming home a winner!!!

 

Nice report, comgrats on the wins but what the heck is wrong with you that you don't like Bellini's??? Just kidding. I love them, were they frozen and did you have it at Cosmo or the Bellagio?

 

Good job on the TR. Even better job leaving Vegas on the plus side. Thank you for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hi Josie, I started reading your report on Trip Advisor but came over here so I could see the pictures. It sounds like you had a great trip. I love solo trips and hope to have one sometime later this year. Happy to hear that you went home with some money. I've never had a hand pay but maybe the gambling gods will strike soon. Thanks for posting.

 

Thanks for the report and congratulations on a great winning trip. Glad that your stay at Cosmo worked out. Sorry you had an obstructed view but the room looks great. Awesome on the five hand pays. It's great you were able to leave up $300 with all the slotting you did. Again, congratulations.

 

Wonderful trip and report! I thoroughly enjoyed it and kudos for you for bringing back your bankroll. That's a serious win in my book! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

 

Dang I wrote a response to this, but it didnt seem to send.

Great report and hits! I agree with you on Wicked Spoon. I have a 12-year old's tastes on some things. And a lot of things they had a spicy or adult twist. Since I don't mind spicy, I survived. But my gf who can't eat spicy food really struggled finding stuff to eat.

An 8X Royal for $3200 sounds great! That is what makes Ultimate X so addictive!

And I love how your "Day of the Dead" handpay is in Spanish! I always play bilingual games in Spanish because I can. [emoji6]