First Trip Report - Aug. 24-29, 2016 at Gold Coast

Hello everyone! This will be my first trip report so bare with me. I hadn't been to Vegas since August 2015 so I was more than overdue. I usually try to go 2 times per year. I am hoping to go back in December of this year. The main purpose for this trip was to see Mariah Carey. I bought tickets early so I was able to score 5th row seats for Saturday, August 27th. Last year, I had tickets for her show in May but unfortunately she had to cancel that night due to illness. It was the only show that she cancelled last year (just my luck). I was so bummed so I was determined to try again this year.

I've been to Vegas many times over the last 20 years or so. I am definitely a low roller but I enjoy playing 5 cent Multi Hand Video Poker. My days in Vegas usually consist of buffets, cocktails and video poker. I decided to stay off Strip this trip. I have mainly stayed mid-Strip or on Fremont. But I wanted to try something different this time. I am over the Strip because I feel like the prices for everything has gotten ridiculous. It's over crowded with 20-30s mainly walking the Strip and partying.

I usually do stay on the Strip because my roommate gambles quite a bit more than I do and always gets free rooms at CET. But this time since he wasn't going, I decided to try out Gold Coast. I've always enjoyed playing there and I figured it was still close to the Strip. I had a couple of friends staying at Luxor for the first 2 days that I was there. Then on the remaining 3 days my family from California drove up and stayed at Flamingo. So it was necessary for me to still be close to the Strip.

DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24TH

I had a 9:50am Southwest flight from Chicago to Las Vegas. So excited! I did my ritual of having some early morning cocktails to start my Vegas trip right! A couple of friends were going to Cancun for the same dates so we syncronized our trips so we could share a ride and split the parking. We were expecting Thunderstorms in the morning so I was worried that my flight would be delayed. We ended up being delayed about and hour or so because our plane hadn't arrived on time from it's destination. Once it did, they got us boarded quickly and the flight was uneventful. We made up some time and landed about 30 minutes late. Not too bad!

I land, grab my luggage and take a taxi to Gold Coast. I was going to try Uber but I didnt feel like dealing with it so I just took a cab. It was $25 tip included. So worth it to be there very quickly since I was ready to be there!

Check in was very smooth. Nobody in line at all. I asked if I could have a room with a safe because I had heard that many rooms at Gold Coast don't have one. She said no problem. Then I asked how much it would be to rent a fridge for the trip and she said she would take care of that for me. I was thankful and handed her a $10 tip and was off to my room. 9th floor with a view of The Palms and a partial Strip view. I was impressed with the room. Very clean, basic but nice. Quick elevators too. My fridge arrived probably 3 minutes after I got to my room. Quick service! I was happy and also tipped the gentleman who brought up the fridge for me so quickly.

So I unpack, take a shower and then I'm off to explore! I wanted to buy a cheap seat to Mariah for Wednesday also. I think I was paranoid that she would cancel on me so I bought a balcony seat for Wednesday's show. My friends who were there had a dinner and show reservation so we decide to meet up after our shows.

I played some older IGT slots that Gold Coast has. I do sometimes enjoy playing those older slots. Soaring Wings, Elvira, Alien, and a few more they still had. I received a $10 per day F&B credit at Gold Coast so I decide for a quick lunch buffet since I hadn't ate much yet. I am not picky about my buffets. I always find something that I enjoy. But I was disappointed in the Gold Coast lunch buffet. Food was lackluster but cheap. I don't mind cheap buffets as I always enjoy the cheap buffet at Fremont and Main Street Station. Stopped at the Gold Coast gift shop and buy a bottle of vodka and a 12 pk of Coors Light to stock my fridge. Prices were VERY reasonable as I had heard.

After some playing and a couple of beers, I decide to take a walk to the Strip. I wanted to pick up my Mariah ticket at will call for the show. I've done that walk from Gold Coast to the Strip many times. Takes about 25 minutes and like to soak in the view. Once I pick up my ticket at will call, I still have an hour or so to kill. So I head to Casino Royale for some $1 Michellob Lights and do a tiny bit of gambling. After 4 of those, head back to Caesars for the concert. Concert was very good but I was more excited to go back on Saturday night for 5th row.

After the show, I meet up with my friends at Caesars and we decide to head over to CVS by Bally's, grab some tallboys and walk the Strip. At this point it's 11:30pm and I had been up for 22 hours. They were tired also so I take the free shuttle back to Gold Coast, grab a Subway sandwich and go to bed. I still have 4 full days left so I didn't want to overdue it. Broke even for gambling Day 1 so I was happy!

 

DAY 2 - THURSDAY, AUG. 25TH.

Woke up early and decided that I wanted to take the free shuttle to The Orleans and eat and play there. The shuttle was quick. I hadn't been to The Orleans for probably 5 years and wanted to check it out. I originally wanted to stay there but The Orleans was about $200 more total to stay versus Gold Coast. I arrive at The Orleans and I had forgot how big it was. They have a ton of games but seemed to have much less Multi Hand 5 cent video poker machines vs. Gold Coast. In fact, Gold Coast had WAY more than any other casino that I visited. I still manage to find some to play at The Orleans and I end up hitting 4 aces with a kicker for $100. That's a big win for me! LOL. Then I hit a few other small things and I'm actually up about $150 for the day.

I decide to eat at the lunch buffet as The Orleans. It was excellent! MUCH better than Gold Coast IMO with a bigger selection including some breakfast items. It was also cheap! After a few hours at The Orleans, I had back to Gold Coast. The rest of the day I play at Gold Coast and have many beers. My gambling at Gold Coast didn't go as well but I played for hours and only lost about $75 there or so. So I was still up for the day!

I decide to grab a pizza from the Bowling Snack bar to use with my $10 daily food credit and have some beers in my room. I typically only gamble about 5-6 hrs per day as I get bored with anything more than that. The pizza was actually very tasty! At check-in, I was given coupons for the different restaurants on the property. After a $2 off pizza coupon and my $10 dining credit, I think I only had to pay about $3 or $4. I was happy with that!

After some drinks and pizza, I decide to head to bed fairly early.

 

DAY 3 - FRIDAY, AUGUST 26TH

I wake up early again since I had gone to bed pretty early. I debated whether or not I wanted to try the breakfast buffet at Gold Coast or wait a couple hours and give the lunch buffet another shot. I decide on the latter. So while I'm waiting for 11am to hit, I decide to (what else) play some more VP! I played for a couple of hours up and down. Head to the lunch buffet and eat my lunch. Still very lacklaster (sad face). But whatever, it was included in my daily food credit. I actually enjoyed the burgers that you could make yourself, but other than those...nothing to great. But I was still full.

My family from California had to wait until 1pm to leave for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Vegas because one f them worked until 12:30. So I figured that I would just gamble at Gold Coast and have some more beers while I waited for them. Well, their 3 1/2 hour drive turned into a 6 hr. drive since it was Friday and there was a major accident on the way.

So I had a low-key day of hours of gambling at Gold Coast and sipping down Coors Lights. I was pretty toasted by the time they arrived and they were agrivated and hungry. So we all decide to just wait and meet up in the morning. I play a little longer, grab a Subway sandwich and go to bed early again. My body is used to going to bed and waking up early and I couldn't adjust the whole time I was there. No worried though, Had an awesome 2nd Solo day and I wasn't down too much at all from gambling today since I was dealt 4 Queens right before I went in for the night. I ended up the day maybe down $40 but still a little up for the trip!

At this point I decide, to bite the bullet and book a December trip to come back since flights are insanely cheap in December ($133 r/t from Chicago). I still had most of my money left so i decided why not treat myself to a 4 night return trip at the end of the year. Hotel rooms are also extremely cheap the 2nd week of December.

 

DAY 4 - SATURDAY, AUGUST 27

Originally my family wanted to meet up early, pick me up and head to Fremont. I was super excited! But last minute they decide that they want to come gamble with me at Gold Coast. No biggie at all since I'm very easy going but I was a little disappointed because I had gambled there the whole day before. They had already ate breakfast so I decide to quickly try the Gold Coast breakfast buffet before they arrived. MUCH, MUCH better! It was actually delicious and it renewed my faith in the Gold Coast buffet. Maybe I just had went on 2 "off" days??

My family arrives and we gamble at Gold Coast for a couple of hours. Then we decide to walk over to Rio because they wanted to play there and we would eventually want a late lunch buffet at Rio. We played just a tiny bit at Rio before heading to the buffet. No line whatsoever. First time I had ever seen that at Rio since going there for years. Perhaps that's why rooms are so cheap? Nobody is staying there? The casino seemed busy so I'm not sure if that's true. Maybe we just went at a good time?

Anyways, the buffet was delicious as usual but not quite as good as it was last year. But still good IMO. Maybe not $31 good but then again, still enjoyable. We head back to Gold Coast and then me and my Aunt decide to walk to the Strip to walk off some of that food. The others decided to take the shuttle.

I still had an hour or so before the Mariah concert so we all meet up at Margaritaville casino and play for a little bit there. Nobody does well and then I head off to the show. 5th row and it was much closer than I ever imagined! Martin Lawrence was sitting right behind and seemed like a nice enough guy. Tonight's show was UNBELIEVABLE. Being a Mariah fanatic for 26 years, it truly was adream come true to see her so close. 20 ft away the whole time it was like she was performing in my living room. She sounds amazing, her voice has gotten much better again in the last year or so. Great show!

After the concert, I text my family and they are at Harrah's food court. I meet them there and they were pooped from gambling and drinking all day. No worries, I take the shuttle back to Gold Coast and have some drinks in my room before heading to bed. Grabbed another Subway sandwich since it was convenient.

 

DAY 5 - SUNDAY, AUGUST 28TH

Last full day in Vegas (sad face). My family picks me up and we head to Fremont Street! I'm super excited but also a little bummed cause I had wanted to have a crazy drunken day on Fremont but I don't like to be hungover for my flight so I chose not to drink. Just play. We started at Main Street Station...none of us hit anything. Then played at Four Queens and Fremont. Four Queens was not good to me but Fremont was good.

We are all hungry, so we decide on Fremont brunch buffet. I've had the Fremont buffet probably 3-4 times and although the selection is fairly small, I always walk away happy. My family who is used to the nicer buffets actually really enjoyed it too! Now THAT is how you do a cheap buffet good IMO. Then we played at the D but unfortunately, the D does not have ANY of my Multi Hand poker machines. Barely any video poker whatsoever there. I actually enjoyed the loud music but won't ever stay or play there due to the lack of good video poker. Played a little bit at Binion's but nothing hit again.

I wanted to do some more exploring but unfortunately we had to drive 2 of my family members to the airport to catch a flight. So sadly, I didn't get to pop into The Plaza or El Cortez this trip. Looking back, I should've gone downtown before they arrived but I didn't realize we would go on Sunday. No biggie...still had fun!

Dropped them off at the airport and then we came back to Gold Coast and played more there. My family really enjoys Multi Strike poker and they have quite a few of them at Gold Coast. Many of the Strip casinos (that I've seen) only have 1 or 2 per casino, if any at all.

At this point it was around 8pm and we were all gambled out. So we said our goodbyes and I decide to try the Gold Coast dinner buffet. It's GOT to be more better at dinner, right? I still had the days food credit so I figured I wanted to check it out, even if I didn't eat much. It was still not too great but better than lunch as they did have a couple of things that were good on there. Like I said, I am not pick whatsoever with buffets and I prefer them cheap, but overall I was disappointed with Gold Coast buffet, except for breakfast.

I go up to my room because I have to pack for the early flight. So depressing! Where did those 5 days go?? I try to remind myself that I will be back in 105 days. Next time I will be staying at The Orleans. I want to try it out as I feel like there are better dining choices there. I know that Gold Coast has 2 chinese restaurants but I didn't get a chance to try them. I hear that they are very good but I am picky when it comes to chinese so I was worried to try them.

Overall, I REALLY enjoyed my stay at Gold Coast. Loved the hotel, the room, the VP selection, great cocktail service, and being away from the Strip. I'm only 40 but I really enjoyed it being quiet and not tripping over the bros and hos that swam the Strip! I would definitely stay at Gold Coast again but I want to try out The Orleans first.

On a side note, when we first got downtown I thought that I would much rather enjoy staying on Fremont since there were many other casino options. But then as the day went on, I missed the quietness and less business of staying off-Strip. Not to say that I wouldn't stay on Fremont again, but I loved being away from the noise and busy crowds. That being said, I have no desire to stay on the Strip again when I go back solo.

Thanks for reading!

 

Great report, thatguy1976! I'll have to get over to try out Gold Coast and The Orleans sometime!
I hope you "Carey" a lot of good memories about both the solo and family aspects of this trip!

RICHARD

 

Thanks Richard! I think you would really enjoy Gold Coast and The Orleans.

 

Loved your report! I hae stayed at The Orleans many times and back in March I stayed there and didnt leave the property once for 4 nights....lol

Saw a movie every single day and ate somewhere different every day. Love that place.

 

Thank you! Honestly, I wouldn't see myself leaving the resort either. The Orleans seems to have everything I need in one spot. Plus the rooms like very nice!

 

Great trip report. Looking forward to a bit of 'off strip' action myself.

Thanks for posting.

 

Nice report. We've stayed at GC a few times and last time we spent a few nights at the Orleans. Loved the stay at Orleans, lots of dining options and a nice pool, but would stay at either again. Like you, we've gotten tired of the hustle and bustle of the strip, in addition to the soaring prices. Our recent stays have been DT, but as you mentioned, we can't forget the relaxing atmosphere of the off-strip hotels. Thanks for sharing. You are now making me think about where the next day may be.

 

Great report! I love how you booked your next trip while you were there! Lol, nice!

 

Great report, I hope to get to some off strip hotels next trip and think I will try the Orleans after reading this, thanks for your insight and glad you had a great trip.

 

Good read!

 

Enjoyed myself vicariously. Thanks,

Don

 

Great report....I like the GC buffet best for breakfast choices, and am sad that you didn't get to Ping,Pang,Pong. Excellent menu and food there.
I have done the walk from GC to strip during the day, and find it good exercise. It is a busy light at the freeway entrance, but so are many other streets that I cross on the strip.
Thanks for taking the time!

 

Nice report. I agree with you about the Gold Coast being quiet and enjoyable.

My strip days are well behind me and while I enjoy downtown I'm over staying there as well.

I'll be at the GC in December and can't wait.

 

Nice report! Thank you!! I'm 4 weeks away from my trip so I'm sustaining on these reports! LOL ... did you happen to go upstairs in the D ... where they supposedly have a bunch of older slots? Just wondering if it's worth going up there...is there anything good? Thanks!

 

nice report
three words....tap the Rockies
hahaha

 

Nice report! Next time definitely try ping pang pong. It was very good when I tried it.

As for multi-line nickel games, also remember that Super Times Pay is often in nickels, and that bet is optional. Also many All Star II machines tend to have multiline nickel games.