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Flamingo Christmas Trip - It's a long one!

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by dbueler, Jan 2, 2017.

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  1. dbueler

    dbueler High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2007
    Messages:
    636
    Location:
    Hannibal Mo
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    50

    My Trip Report

    Sunday December 25th – Christmas Day

    And so begins the annual journey to Mecca for Christmas, and to enjoy another Vegas Vacation with Fflowers. I’ve committed to typing (but not posting) my TR each day to provide a more observational and accurate accounting. I’m not a fan of live TR’s, I like to enjoy the trips beginning to end without a hundred comments in between.

    Fflowers enjoys Christmas Eve and morning with her family in NY, and I do the same in MO. But come mid-afternoon Christmas Day, we fly the friendly skies and leave it all behind! I’m a Strategic Sourcing Manager for a corporation, so all the contacts for next year must be done by the end of December. And also the entire material plan for the following year. Add to that Christmas shopping, wrapping, baking multitudes of breads for my family and friends and I’m one tired girl. Merry Christmas to me Indeed!

    And so 5 days before lift-off I got sick. Head and chest thing like a sledge hammer. I have a stash of antibiotics in my travel bag (you would too if you were in hotel rooms 100 nights/year) and chose Levaquin as the perfect fit. These head/chest things always heads straight to my ears and that’s a no-go for flying. I had a couple of rough days, blessedly while at home and not in Vegas.

    After watching the weather, sometimes hourly, for the past week I was thrilled the temps were to remain well above freezing during my 1.5 hour drive to St Louis. In the winter, weather matters! The drive to STL was a bit tenuous due to heavy fog and I worried my flight might be delayed. Fortunately Lambert handles fog and rain well, and the flight schedule is much lighter on Christmas day than usual.

    The Parking Spot shuttle bus is full of families with young children and I ask if Santa came this morning. Those kids erupted with excitement telling me all about their gifts. My three are college aged with one a HS senior and I’ll admit I miss the Christmas excitement from when they were young. One lady was passing out candy on the bus too.

    Christmas day is simply one of the best days to fly. Everyone is in a good mood (which always puzzles me since they are working!), even TSA wished me a Merry Christmas. Speaking of TSA, Frontier is now on my will-fly list since they’ve added TSA pre-check to their bag of tricks. Couple that with a $79 flight, plus bag and seat cost, and my all-in price was hundreds below the $350 SW wanted for the exact same flight at the exact same minute.

    Speaking of TSA, even though I was TSA pre-check, I was “randomly” selected for a little pat-down. Randomly Shamdomly, it was entirely on purpose. The TSA agent was handsome and I’m taking it as a compliment that I still got it going on. Don’t burst my bubble.

    I was pleased to see my plane at the gate a full hour before departure, this trip is getting luckier and luckier.

    One thing I will say about Frontier, when boarding is complete, they GO. I mean, they shut the door and GO. I can count on one hand how many times that’s happened on other airlines. Doesn’t matter if it’s early, they just GO. We backed away a smidge early.

    And then it happened. After a full week of clouds and mist and shit, we flew above the 3 mile thick layer of fog and sunshine EXPLODED into the cabin windows. I’m at the front of the plane (3D), and yes I paid for the big legroom fancy seats (because Christmas), and the glorious sunshine filled the fake first class section! I felt like a bear coming out of hibernation….. This trip is just getting luckier and luckier!

    I spend the first hour of the flight reminding myself I promised myself to do Vegas more like Westie (foodie and relaxing) and Royal Flusher (savvy). I always end up over-planning, rushing around to do more, rushing to create more gambling time to be brutally honest. I must have the relaxing trip and to be a much more savvy gambler. I’m on the strip so I’m already starting quite un-savvy, so I must drill holes, lock up small wins, and not go fucking degenerate. Doubt creeps in I scold myself for the self-inflicted pressure. Because Christmas.

    Our flight steward is clearly a body builder. It makes me feel safer. If my flight gets hijacked, it’s important it’s not the flight TO Vegas.

    I decided to read a few of my older trip reports, to perhaps hone in on when I degen the most (because denial). I remember that Fflowers and I are in a CET slot tourney, the same one I won $450 fsp in last Christmas. The offer includes a comped room and $40 fsp. I have done very well in my last two CET tourney’s so I fear it’s my time to flame out. But I’m committed to giving it my all, I even got a fresh cortisone shot in my right arthritic shoulder to support maximum speed.

    The tourney is at the Rio and that totally sucks. It’s a pain to shuttle back and forth 3 days for a 10 minute session. I’m hoping those who do poorly on day one will bail on day 2, improving my chances.

    I’m also nervous about staying at the Flamingo again. I divorced them two years ago over crappy elevators that didn’t work, sometimes NONE of them worked. And the crappy wi-fi that you pay a resort fee for but isn’t strong enough to connect (in some towers). And because they started jacking me around on my comped GO rooms and I hate the Fab rooms. And the noise from Drai’s was ridiculous.

    But now it’s winter. Drai’s won’t be loud. I’m not working (I swear I won’t) so the wi-fi isn’t as big of a deal. And I was offered a strip view Go room and I’m a sucker for those floor to ceiling windows with the auto drapes. I’ll deal with the elevators and come summer time, I’ll go back to Harrah’s and Bally’s.

    But I’m still a little nervous.

    Then I remind myself the WHOLE trip is in front of me……. I’m SO excited!

    The flight landed 10 minutes early and I remembered (this time) to take the red line to T3 to the Frontier baggage claim. I hate picking up bags there, always very slow. But no matter, as long as my bag arrives shortly, vacation is just around the corner!

    My bag arrived unscathed and I rolled it up the escalator, across the walkway, down the elevator to the shared ride pickup area. This area wasn’t as crowded as the T1 shared ride area, so I actually have a chance of recognizing my driver. I took a cab from T3 to Harrah’s on my last trip and the fare with tip was nearly $30. And he drove the correct route. Valarie from Lyft picked me up promptly, she was about my age and we had a great chat.

    My ride was $11.50. And much nicer than a cab. I love Lyft.

    I entered the Flamingo and was immediately intoxicated by the coconut smell that my senses equate with vacation. Straight to Platinum/Diamond check in and was helped by a surprisingly competent young man. I waited for the disappointing blah blah blah, No Go Room for YOU speech.

    What’s this? A strip view Go room with a king bed available. No adjoining door? Within minutes I had my keys to the kingdom and marveled at the successful transaction. The Flamingo has jacked me around on rooms so many times, but not this time! My room was even in the Lobby Tour which is my favorite because that bank of elevators is right beside “My Machines” (because Lazy). I was SHOCKED to see the elevators were in much better shape than my last stay. Clearly renovated and, even more importantly, many in service. My room was 100 yards from the elevator and 4 doors from the ice machine. This room was clearly intended for me.

    As an FYI….. I never once waited more than 30 seconds for an elevator the entire trip. Kuddos to the Flamingo for real improvement. I can’t vouch for the other towers, but the Lobby tower elevators are now excellent.

    Initial plan was to dump the bags and GAMBLE, but for whatever reason, I unpacked and got entirely settled why charging my phone. Downstairs to gamble with 1.5 hours before I needed to dress for dinner. My vacation officially begins when I arrive in the room and the travel shit is over.

    My preferred games are multi-line nickel VP and I ran strolled to an empty end machine. Even though I hit aces on DDB 10 play, I couldn’t hold onto the win and broke even. The machines that followed were worse and I was down $100 before time for dinner at Giada’s.

    Much hugging and chatter ensued upon meeting Fflowers, we haven’t seen each other since August. We were quickly seated at a window table with a perfect view of the B fountains and ordered our small plate buffet.

    Their bacon wrapped dates bring me to tears. The rosemary bread is exceptional. The small pizza had the finest crust we’ve enjoyed at this venue. We ordered numerous other small plates and gorged. After traveling all day, we threw down and caught up for nearly 2 hours.

    Any Christmas dinner that I don’t have to cook is awesome, but this one was exceptional.

    We returned to the Flamingo (Our Lucky Place) and Fflowers played crack cocaine Ultimate X for quarters. She hit a handpay and my throat may still be sore from screaming! Inspired, I decided to try Double Super Times Pay (my personal crack cocaine) and went on quite a run:

    • Hit four deuces on deuces wild holding three

    • Was dealt trip four’s with a 4x multiplier on 5 play DDB. Drew the 4th one on the last line for 1600 nickles!

    • Was dealt a straight on 5 play DDB with a 10x multiplier for 1000 nickels
    Meanwhile, she had returned to Encore and was texting me VP porn from there (quarters are superior porn compared to nickels). I fell into bed at 2am, officially up 23 hours on the day.

    Monday December 26th

    Hit the electronic drape button the minute I awoke and stared at the strip. Fun day ahead in Vegas, now this is my idea of a great Monday morning!

    Took my time getting ready then straight to the sportsbook to bet Vandy for my son. We always bet the bowl games (he’s a rabid sports fan and quite talented on picking winners). Ever since he was about 10, I make a $20 bet for him, at no risk to him. We then reinvest winnings, again at no risk to him, and usually end up with $100 or so profit for him by trips end. It’s fun and keeps us connected while I’m away. I think this is our 13th year.

    I had enough time to play before meeting Fflowers at Mon Ami Gabi, well, if I rushed I had 15 minutes…. So I rushed. Put a $20 in, played 10 play DDB nickels and was dealt three aces. Now, I never draw the damn 4th ace on 10 play. Ever. Until today. On the 9th hand, I pulled the Aces of Hearts. Oh…. And the kicker……wooooo! Cashed out $100 while marveling at how much I love this town.

    We were granted a lovely fountain view table at MAG and ordered our usual. MAG on the first morning in Vegas is an important tradition for us. As usual, Fflowers had her blueberry French toast with extra blueberries and whipped cream, sausage, and scrambled eggs. I ordered the best eggs benedict ever (they really do this right). Instead of the hash brown side that’s been standard fare for years, they now consider roasted cherry tomatoes as the side. Seriously? Roasted cherry tomatoes is a viable breakfast side now, as opposed to hash browns? This farm girl thinks not.

    After a long breakfast of catching up, Fflowers went to the Flamingo spa for a multi-hour appointment with our girl Erlinda. I was secretly jealous, then reminded myself of my own appointment on Wednesday!

    I had the worst (well, I hope it’s the worst) session of the whole trip this afternoon. I blew through $200 on single line vp and multi-line nickels with nary a 4oak to show for it. Actually, I blew through $120 at Flamingo, decided a change of venue was in order, and took my remaining $80 to Harrah’s. It took me longer to walk from the Flamingo to Harrah’s than to lose that $80. Lordy Lordy the tides have turned.

    I slunk to my room to lick my wounds, work on my TR and watch some bowl games. By this time my son’s bowl game pick had already lost. Sigh. Upon arriving at my room, the housekeeper was just getting started. What to do, what to do? I grabbed a hundred out of the safe, I need to get of her way right? I lost that hundred in the 20 minutes it took her to clean the room.

    Where the hell is my karma?

    I met Fflowers downstairs to register for the slot tourney, we wanted to be in different sessions so we could cheer each other on, so registering early is crucial. We each received $40 fsp just for entering. I wish I could just “show up” multiple times! I snagged a 10:20am tourney time and she a 10:40am. Mission accomplished.

    She praised her spa experience and I bemoaned my abysmal luck. She returned to Encore to get her gamble on and I returned to my room…..except I didn’t. Because Freeplay!

    I slipped the first twenty fsp into a single line quarter machine, the royal progressive was $1170. Not taxable I thought, as if I have a chance LOL. I was dealt four-to-the-royal and needed only the ace of clubs. I was rewarded with a deuce of spades. Sigh. Turned that fsp into zero. I slunk away to nickels. I’ve done a lot of slunking today.

    Decided to play triple play ddb, even though I never, ever hit anything on triple play. First $5 yielded nothing. I switched to five play ddb. I usually play a lot of bonus poker, but CET has these weird-ass bonus paytables where two pair pays even money. How do you call that bonus poker? Liars.

    I was getting a few nice dealt winners then was dealt four to an open ended straight, but three of those were to a royal flush. I held the three to a royal and the ROYAL filled in on the 3rd line. Holy shit…. I’m baaaaaack! Texted photos to Fflowers, then I hit a few more nice hands and cashed at $240 even. I pranced to my room with my head held high, I rocked on parlaying that fsp!

    It’s much more fun to prance than to slink.

    Dinner tonight was at Guy Ferri’s at the Rio. We originally thought we had to register at the Rio, so I bought a Groupon for Guy’s so the trip over wouldn’t be for a 5 minute registration. We ordered the cheese appetizer (not as good as Border Grill’s) and a chimichanga. My meal came with beans and cilantro rice, both were served together in a small cast iron pot that was so hot, it would brand you if touched (and of course, I touched). The portions are large, I thought it was expensive for the quality of food, especially compared to Border Grill. It was solid, but it didn’t make my repeat list.

    I used Lyft both to and from the Rio. Every hour I spend walking to Harrah’s and waiting for the shuttle is an hour of my vacation. That is valuable beyond measure. My Lyft rides take literally 5 minutes and cost $8 each including a nice tip. It’s fun to visit with the drivers.

    I found it interesting every driver I spoke with is thrilled Nevada approved legal weed. They are hoping more clubbers will partake in weed instead of alcohol. Stoned riders don’t puke in your car. Stoned riders are happy-go-lucky.

    Upon my return to the Flamingo, I gambled. I hit a few 4oaks but nothing that gets me ahead. I was tired after a couple of hours and retired to my room down $40. I enjoyed several B fountain shows from the warmth of my room.

    Tuesday December 27th

    Once I finally got moving, I played some nickel vp. DDB wasn’t working for me so I played Deuces Bonus 5 play. I played on a twenty for over an hour and cashed out 25 cents ahead then dashed to the Lyft pickup area for my trek to the Rio. The tourney being held at the Rio is a drag. Not the tourney… the Rio.

    So Fflowers and I are going splitters on any fsp we win, making it a team event. I was assigned machine #18 and it started like pure evil. I’ve done so well in past slot tourneys, even won $450 last Christmas. Everyone around me was well over 2000 points after the first 4 minutes and I was still under 750. Aren’t these tourney machines supposed to be loose? Why is mine playing like a normal machine? Fflowers continued to cheer me on and my machine caught fire in the last 3 minutes, hitting multiple jackpots.

    I finished with a score of 6500. Well under my first session slamming score of 10,000 points last year, but still higher than average. I noticed many scores lower than mine.

    Fflowers machine started out like a bat outta hell, hitting multiple sevens. We were both screaming like little girls and I was briefly guilty I had suggested we play as a team and split the spoils. Maybe I’m not so stupid, haha. As often happens, her machine took a nosedive in the last 4 minutes and she scratched out a 7000 point score.

    The prize pool is very generous. Out of 750 entries, they pay fsp to 500. 300 of those prizes are the minimum of $100 fsp, which is vast riches in my book. And look what I did with only $40 fsp!!

    We figure if we can do at least as well as today, we will each get the $100 fsp. Fingers crossed!!

    The Harrah’s shuttle was just pulling up so I used that instead of Lyft. While cheaper (free except for tip) it took a lot longer than Lyft. The shuttle goes clear over to Spring Mountain and circles around to Harrah’s, then I walk from Harrah’s to the Flamingo.

    I was getting hungry and thought the brunch buffet at Flamingo sounded like a fabulous idea. They have such awesome bacon! The line was huge and I learned Flamingo no longer has a priority line for Platinum. Really? At the Flamingo?

    The chance of me waiting in line an hour for any meal, let alone a buffet, is zero.

    Second choice was Johnny Rockets at the Flamingo. I really didn’t need a ton, we have Border Grill reservations at 6pm. The burger was really good and the onion rings were solid. The price was ridiculous, I refuse to even type it.

    I walked to CVS at Bally’s to pick up some reasonably priced soda. The 2 liter cost the same as a small bottle in the hotel. I love having the new CVS this close, I’m a CVS girl!

    Up to my room and, holy cow, housekeeping was in my room. And my ass is staying in the room, I learned that costly lesson yesterday! She was done except for running the vacuum, which I don’t need, so I excused her from that chore and she smiled like a sunbeam.

    Excusing her surely saved me $100.

    Not learning from the two bowl bets we lost, I placed a bet on West Virginia for my son and crossed my fingers. This is the first year he’s lost 2 bets, and sadly it’s his first year of supporting himself. The last 13 years of bowl betting has been for extra pocket change, but could be a real boost to him this year. Hopefully it will teach him to never gamble (unlike his mother).

    Border Grill is on our “every trip” list. I purchased a travelzoo voucher for $59 which includes a guac to share (ironically, the ONLY guac I like is theirs!), an appetizer to share (always the cheese skillet), two entrees, a dessert to share AND an alcoholic drink each (always sangria for us). It is an incredibly massive amount of food and we do our best, but are usually overwhelmed. No matter, for $59 it’s a hell of a deal.

    We’ve been talking about the cheese skillet since Guy’s inferior version Monday night.

    Border Grill was packed, which is very unusual, I was pleased I’d made Open Table reservations. Our meal began with the guac, we were actually using two chips at once to scoop! The red sangria was incredible and I ordered two glasses. THEN came the cheese… enough said. I tried a new entrée this time, the braised short rib enchiladas. Wow, was the meat ever the star of this dish! Since I was pretty full, I scraped the luxurious meat out of the wrappers.

    We were stuffed, so I ordered the dessert to-go and enjoyed it in my room later. Border Grill never disappoints!

    I played at the Flamingo afterwards but lost $40 pretty quick so I retired to my room.

    The Flamingo Go rooms have a comfy chaise lounge in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Since I’d never had a fountain view this perfect, it seemed perfectly reasonable to flop on the lounge and watch fountain shows. I poured myself a drink, turned on some Vegas itunes music, and watched fountain shows. The perspective from above really accentuates how the fountains “dance”.

    I watched fountain shows in my dark room for 2 hours and couldn’t have been more content.



    Wednesday Dec 28th

    Day 2 of the slot tourney, do or die baby! Fflowers would have to completely flame out to not make the money, my path was a bit dicier. I arrived early to check out the previous day’s scores, and sure enough I was in the money with only 1000 points to spare. I figured I could be confident I’d be in the money if I scored 5000 points or above today.

    I had some time to kill so I slipped a $5 bill into a Queen of the Wild penny slot. I got quite a lot of play, then hit a bonus for 22 spins and it retriggered another 15 spins. I didn’t hit anything crazy good, but my credits were at $22 when it was complete. I cashed out a $20, congratulating myself for booking the profit. It helps when you have a slot tourney to attend!

    I had another extremely slow start and at the half way point I only have 1800 points. I was sick, the guy on this machine before me only scored 3300 points, I better not blow this! In the last 2 minutes, it came alive and started hitting the jackpot hands. I ended this session with 5800 points, so I felt good about my chances.

    Fflowers played next, started out like a firecracker again, then crashed and burned. She ended up with 6000 points, so easily in the $100 fsp prize pool. We will check our cards at a TR desk after dinner tonight for the good news!

    The Harrah’s shuttle arrived as I walked out the door, so I jumped on it for my free ride (plus driver tip of course). It always shocks me how many people don’t tip the driver on these shuttle.

    My massage appointment with Erlinda is an event I plan weeks in advance and count the minutes until the time arrives. She is the best and both Fflowers and I make appointments every trip. Once again, she was perfect, I like a very light touch and she LISTENS. Most just use the pressure they want rather than what you prefer. This is the best money I spend in Vegas!

    We had dinner reservations at Wynn Lakeside and then Fflowers had tickets on hold for Showstoppers. We’ve seen this show multiple times, and I’m sorry to see it’s closing this week, so we planned to go after dinner at Lakeside. I had another bad sleep night last night and knew I didn’t want to over-plan so I texted Fflowers and asked if she could cancel my ticket. She could and cancelled hers as well. This also meant we could take as much time as we wanted at Lakeside.

    It was nice out so I walked to Wynn. I got behind a guy walking the strip pushing a double-wide stroller, and TEXTING at the same time. Dude, under normal speed you are backing up traffic, but texting, we were barely moving. What a self-absorbed dickhead.

    Our table was on the glass lakeside and I started with the white sangria, Lakeside has my favorite sangria ever! We started with the market salads, which are excellent with sunflower seeds, raisens, goat cheese and an incredible cider vinaigrette. I chose the filet prepared medium, and it had such a wonderful crust! Fflowers ordered the lobster risotto and shared a bite with me, it was fantastic and rich!! We shared sides of the whipped Yukon gold potatoes (legendary!) and the creamed spinach. And shared 2 baskets of bread. Lakeside has quickly turned into one of our top 3 favorite restaurants.

    We shared a Lyft back to the Flamingo and hurried straight to the TR booth to see if we placed in the tourney. The TR desk at Flamingo was a complete cluster, one of the attendants took a party of four into the Seven Stars line to sign them up for new cards. Four of them! The attendant was a hot mess and the people kept asking a million questions. We stood for 15 minutes until finally another attendant came out to help. We were thrilled to lean we both won $100 fsp!

    We played a little at the Flaming, but we were both really tired so we said our good byes early. I spent the next 2 hours watching B fountain shows in my room.

    Thursday Dec 29th – last day

    I have been looking forward to this day all week! Definitely not because it’s the last day, but because I have absolutely nothing planned until the Wynn buffet at 5pm. I finally had a great night sleep (I had quit taking the antibiotic 2 days prior as I believe that’s causing my wild dreams and poor sleep) and slept in until 8:30. I enjoy watching the Today show in bed, because I never get to do that!

    After cleaning up, I went downstairs to the brunch buffet and the line was only a couple of minutes. I’ve had such great breakfasts at this buffet for many years. Breakfast is my favorite meal and I mainly want the basics – scrambled eggs, super crisp bacon,, biscuits and gravy, and eggs bene.

    What a disappointment. The bacon was the best ever, and excellent bacon is the first hurdle for a buffet. The scrambled eggs were soup, the gravy had a full inch of yellow fat floating on top. When I stirred the gravy, the white gravy was the consistency of broth. It was disgusting. The eggs bene were so overcooked the eggs were tough to eat.

    The French toast was very good, especially for buffet French toast. The bacon was outstanding, but I was really pissed I decided to go here on my one day to enjoy a breakfast buffet. I’ll go back to Harrah’s the next time.

    I started playing nickel video poker and I’ve got to tell you about this session, not because it was a huge winner, but because it was very unique. I started playing on triple play ddb and failed. BTW, I have not hit a single 4OAK on triple play ddb the entire trip.

    Nothing, so I switched to 5 play ddb, was dealt trip 7’s and drew the fourth for the 4oak. Yea me. That game dried up so I switched to 10 play ddb, held two 7’s and drew the 4oak. A few hands later, I was dealt trip 7’s and drew the 4th 7 on one hand.

    Once that game died, I decided to play the quarter single line progressive machines near the poker room. I was playing boner deluxe and was dealt trip 7’s. Then I drew the last 7 for a $100 win!! Yea!

    Every 4oak I hit today so far was 7’s.

    I decided to walk down to Harrah’s and play vp and hopefully the Crystal Forest machine, otherwise known as ‘crack’.

    I played vp then Crystal forest for a long time on $20, but eventually lost it. I played the nickel multi play and did hit a 4oak…… 7’s again! How crazy is that?

    I started packing up my room and preparing for my departure tomorrow. I also relaxed with my laptop and booked my April trip! Nothing makes leaving Las Vegas easier than booking a trip!! My flight out is non-stop on Frontier again and it cost $43. I will eventually add a checked bag for $30, making the all-in price $73 vs Southwest’s $289 one-way. I love SW, but not that much, especially since Frontier has TSA pre-check!

    I booked 5 comped nights at Harrah’s. I wasn’t able to get a Go room comped at Flamingo as the pool will be open, so Harrah’s it is. I really enjoy staying there, so no disappointment.

    I must commend the Flamingo for fixing the elevator mess. I divorced the Flamingo for this very reason 2 years ago. Not only could I not find a working elevator, but my keys wouldn’t work every single time I went to my room! There was one point on that trip 2 years ago that I couldn’t find a working elevator.

    On this trip of 5 nights, never once did I waste time waiting for an elevator, I never once waited over 30 seconds. These were the elevators located in the lobby for the Lobby Tower.

    I decided I wanted to play one more $20 then my gambling for the trip was done. Of all the games available, I decided I wanted one more try at my Crystal Forest Crack machine. Harrah’s was on my way to Wynn, so I left early to allow time to play.

    I stuck in my $20 and the first $5 or so didn’t go well, not much play. Completely devoid of wilds. I hit a bonus for 7 spins and it paid a whopping $3. I soon hit another bonus, this one for 25 spins!

    The bonus re-triggered 15 more spins, then low and behold, it retriggered the 50 spins! Wow, that’s hard to get! My machine screen was covered with wilds and they just kept cascading! I kept count of the spins on my phone calculator and I ended up with 112 spins! This bonus netted a win of $150! That’s on a 50 cent bet! I cashed out at $160 and ended my gambling on a high note!

    I walked to the Wynn buffet, much warmer today and I got a little hot. We ordered the Unlimited Pour sangria, but were at the mercy of a lazy server who disappeared for a half hour at a time. We kept asking for our first sangria and she made all kinds of excuses. Don’t sell unlimited sangria/drinks if it takes you half way through the meal to actually serve the sangria. ARGH.

    Everything I tried on the buffet was excellent and before we left, we requested go cups for coffee but filled them with sangria instead. Shhhh

    Fflowers surprised me with FRONT ROW seats to Human Nature! Many shows aren’t good viewing from the front row as you often must look up and can’t take in the whole show. Human Nature is perfect from the front row, especially since I think Toby is hot. Shhhhh.

    I haven’t seen them in several years and their new show, Jukebox, is a blast. A truly great show, highly recommended.

    We said our goodbyes after the show, I cannot fathom how fast this trip has flown by! We are both excited for our April trip and it will be here before we know it. But it’s still always hard to leave my BFF.

    I went straight to my room, finished the last bit of packing, then flopped on the lounger and watched Fountain shows for an hour.



    Friday December 30th

    I’m getting the hell out of dodge before NYE and it looks like many share my idea. Took a quick Lyft to the airport and was shocked at how slammed the airport was! There was a huge line waiting to go up the escalator to TSA security, so you couldn’t even GET to the security area. Once I did, I couldn’t believe the overwhelmingly long security line. Thank God for TSA pre-check! I was the only one in the pre-check line!!

    The flight left on-time and arrived on-time, so this trip is in the books.

    Unfortunately I lost this trip, I just couldn’t get enough steady play. I also couldn’t draw the premium hand draws, I was dealt 4-to-a-royal multiple times on 5 play and couldn’t connect. I didn’t lose much and I’m really excited for the next trip…… I am scheduled to receive my bonus at work a couple of weeks before the trip. My bonus percentage increased from 5% to 25% in a re-assessment of my job this year so April will be Happy Trip!

    Thanks for following along on this looooong one! Good luck!

    diane
     
    • Like Like x 5
  2. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2015
    Messages:
    11,271
    Location:
    The Island
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    14
    "Flamingo Christmas Trip - It's a long one!"
    That's what she said! :)

    Lots of great moments for a non-winning trip, diane!
    Thanks for sharing your TR!
    Happy New Year!

    RICHARD
     
  3. Sparky4

    Sparky4 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2016
    Messages:
    2,681
    Location:
    Texas
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    91
    Sounds like a great trip! I'm like you, it amazes me that people don't tip the shuttle driver.
     
    Happy birthday to me!
  4. runthesmash

    runthesmash Tourist

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2014
    Messages:
    21
    Location:
    Tx
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    9
    Glad to hear the elevators have been dealt with. Thanks for the report.
     
  5. dtmk66

    dtmk66 Welcome to Las Vegas

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2006
    Messages:
    846
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    53
    No pics??????
     
  6. bretmc

    bretmc Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2015
    Messages:
    210
    Location:
    FL/WI
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    9
    Sounded like a great time! Good report.
     
  7. emmas

    emmas VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2014
    Messages:
    1,696
    Thanks for sharing your trip. Sounds like you had a god time. Good luck in April.
     
    I need all the luck I can get!
  8. pleasemum

    pleasemum High-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Messages:
    751
    Location:
    Toronto
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    36
    Sounds like you had a great time with your BFF. Thanks for all the details!!
     
  9. Grandmaw

    Grandmaw Low-Roller

    Joined:
    May 30, 2013
    Messages:
    184
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    45
    I really enjoyed reading your report. Nice free play win in the slot tournament for you and BFF. Sorry you didn't get your hand pay. BTW, I've spent many hours watching the fountains from the chaise lounge too. Thanks for posting.
     
  10. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    8,195
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    21
    I really enjoyed your trip report. Thank you for sharing!

    I love reading non-live trip reports and you have a great talent of writing it in an enjoyable flowing manner.

    That's ok that you didn't come out ahead on this trip, the main thing is that you had a fun and relaxing time. I was there a week before you and left on Christmas, the day you arrived. I was sick as a dog, lol!

    Hope you win the big one on your next trip in April!
     
  11. kkinwi

    kkinwi VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2016
    Messages:
    2,175
    Location:
    Northern WI
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    80
    What a great report!! I love having it all posted at once. Sounds like you got some decent gambling in, even without a ton of winning.
    I, too, enjoy spending time in my room watching the morning news, sipping a cocktail while watching an evening show, etc. I am past the run, run, run that many seem to have on their trips.
    And I think ANY meal is great that I don't have to cook.....not just Christmas....lol!
     
  12. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2009
    Messages:
    10,928
    Location:
    Southwest Missouri
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    74
    What airline did you fly home on? Not the frontier redeye I hope!

    Great report as always, glad to hear the flamingo is back on your happy list!
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  13. boxofbirds

    boxofbirds Royally Flushed

    Joined:
    May 23, 2014
    Messages:
    3,252
    Location:
    Seattle
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    37
    Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time!
     
  14. btodd

    btodd High-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Messages:
    875
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    49
    Great report, thanks! So glad to hear the elevator situation has been rectified...........Happy New Year!
     
  15. Geogran

    Geogran VIP Whale

    Joined:
    May 1, 2014
    Messages:
    6,271
    Location:
    TX
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    56
    Thanks for sharing @dbueler.
    Really enjoyed your TR, your writing style is 'visual' without pics, it sounded like a winning trip in so many ways even though you didn't get the VP win you were hoping for - looking forward to your next one!
     
  16. wishman35

    wishman35 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2010
    Messages:
    1,461
    Location:
    Chitown
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Great to hear the elevators are in better shape!
     
  17. tcocona

    tcocona Low-Roller

    Joined:
    May 16, 2007
    Messages:
    147
    Location:
    Virginia
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    What a solid and well written trip report.Almost felt like I was with you or at least following you around.Bravo Zulu (Well Done) !!!!!!!
     
  18. VegasGroove

    VegasGroove VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2009
    Messages:
    3,311
    Location:
    3h 45m Away
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    60
    Diane, thank you for another excellent trip report! Like you, I am not a fan of "live" trip reports, so yours scratched me where I itched. You always post lengthy, detailed and funny reports. Can't wait to read about your April trip!

    Take care!
     
  19. dbueler

    dbueler High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2007
    Messages:
    636
    Location:
    Hannibal Mo
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    50
    Nah, no overnight flights then a 2 hours drive home for me! I flew SW on the 8:15am direct flight back. Much more civilized!
     
  20. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    14,642
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    We indeed had a blast! Looking forward to our April trip and both of us winning big during that one!
     
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