12/30-1/2 LOOOOONG trip report

This was my 2nd trip to Vegas. I went once with 2 guys and did the drinking/gambling/titty bar trip, and this trip was with my fiancé. This report will probably be long as hell because we did a lot. Pictures will come soon; I’ll post them in a reply to this post when we get them off the camera (tonight or tomorrow probably). I will apologize in advance for my typos/grammar/spelling, etc. I am a science type guy, not the English type.

OK, so I couldn’t sleep the night before I left for obvious reasons. Somehow, I woke up at 2am Texas time and was wide awake. That’s midnight Vegas time, go figure. The day had come. Our flight was leaving at 7am, but we wanted to get there plenty early, etc. We were going to be parking in the employee parking lot because my fiancés dad is a pilot for American and he let us use his 2005 parking pass because he had gotten his 06 one already. Great, free parking.

So this trip was my fiancé and I, no, not to get married, but to have fun and see the sites. We started a piggy bank about 6 months ago and we added change, 20 bucks per month each, and a dollar per hour of overtime we worked. It was up to about 705 by the time to leave, so we cashed it in and got 7 100 dollar bills for the trip. That was for food, hotel (2nd night at IP, 1st was already paid for), souvenirs, rental car, etc. Anything but gambling really. The gambling money was on us.

DAY 1 (30th):

We got to the airport parking like about 4:45am, hopped a bus to the terminal, in the terminal by 5, and through security by 5:15. We grabbed some McDonalds breakfast on the way to the flight gate. Plane ride was rather quick. I sat on the aisle with a man next to me who slept mostly. I was supposed to have a window seat (F), but some little kids had c, d, e and I switched with one of the kids so he could be with his 2 little sisters.

Got off the plane, went to the Avis counter, got the car stuff taken car of (quickly) and went to the bus. They drop you off at the car and you drive on. It was nice. Great service and very speedy.

Welcome to Las Vegas! First things first. Joslin (fiancé) and I said we wanted a picture at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. So, away we went. We found it, parks at the visitor’s bureau, and ran across the street. We took a pic with a cell phone so we could send to friends/co-workers/parents right away, and some with our camera. OK, so that was that. We moved out from there and attempted to find beer in plastic bottles, cokes and water. Mission complete. We got to the Imperial Palace about 10am. Joslin had a manicure at noon (treat from the piggy bank). So we played some single deck BJ, 5 dollar min, at the IP and had a winning session for both. Awesome start to the weekend. We then went to eat at the Burger Palace in the IP. We got there about 5 til 11, and had to wait til the lady’s computer said 11 to order a burger. Weird, but ok, fine, 5 minutes. We ordered and ate in about 35 mins. I hit some more single deck BJ for 20 mins and was 25 up when it was time to go, so I threw the 25 on that last hand and of course lost it. Who cares right? Up from the 1st session and even on that one. So up for the trip overall.

We went to find the nail place in the IP, it’s nothing special, but it’s there. I gambled some more single deck during her manicure, then went to the check in line (+20 this session). It was very very long, but went surprisingly fast. They probably had 15 people checking guests in. I read nightmares, but this was a breeze. Maybe took 20 mins in line, max. We could not get a key yet though, but they had a line for guests who had checked in, but didn’t get keys yet, so we did that later.

Manicure over, Check-in over, now time to run to Bellagio to pick up our ‘O’ tickets. We did that and I saw my favorite ‘Silver Strike’ slot right there at the line. Last trip, I was 7 10 dollar tokens out of there on about 10 spins while my buddies were in the bathrooms over there. So this time, I took out 2 quarters (it actually takes coins) and a dollar so I can have 2 max-coin spins. 1st one, boom, I got a 10 dollar coin. 2nd one, nothing. Sweet. Ok, so we got our ‘O’ tix.

Then to my favorite casino on the strip, the Barbary Coast. I love their drink service. We got a 10 dollar double deck BJ game and won some money (100 I think), then I hit up the 5 dollar Pai Gow table. Joslin didn’t know how to play so she sat and watched. I played for about 45 mins and was down like 8.50 something (cause of the commission) and tipped the deal that odd buck 50 so I was down 10 for Pai Gow and up 90 there. Being up 90 was just as good at being up 80, but being up 100 would be a lot better (if that makes sense), so I asked Joslin, “Black or Red?†She said “redâ€. OK, 10 on red. Boom, hit-n-run on roulette. I was now up 100 in BC.

Back to IP to get keys. We got an East Tower room because of the price (140 after taxes per night). I had read horror stories about them, but I also read that they’re clean, functional, and not too shabby. Ours was great. Ugly headboard and bed spread, but super clean. No funny smells or anything.

We then changed in to a nicer shirt for ‘O’. We went back to the Barbary Coast for more double deck BJ. I won 25 this session and Joslin won 35. Awesome, 60 more profit for us at BC.

We got to Bellagio about 6. Show was at 7:30. Seating at 6:30. I hit up the craps table. I did a 500 buy-in, knowing I wouldn’t use more than 100, but to get the guy to take my card pretty much. I played craps for about 40 mins, Joslin watched and cheered for me, and left 20 up from there. As you can see so far, I usually do my gambling in short sessions. If I get on a big run right at the beginning, I’ll run like hell with my profit before the law of averages catches me. I am a hit-n-run kind of guy.

We then saw ‘O’. Great show. I was very impressed. The clowns on the floating house were hysterical. They were my favorite part of the show. We were on the balcony, in the middle, 2nd row. Great seats. I would like to see more Cirque shows.

After the show, we casino-hopped on the south end. I will make this short/sweet cause the puppy is getting super long already.
-Boardwalk: We played a 5 dollar table with a CSM. It was pretty cruel to Joslin but I won 20 bucks, so it helped her losses some. I actually dig the Boardwalk, I will miss it.
-Monte Carlo: I tried giving my players card at buy-in, but he looked at me and told me not to worry about it because I had to bet 25 to get rated. Screw him, he could have taken it and acted like he cared, but oh well. We left Monte Carlo up 50. 10 dollar, double deck.
-NYNY: We walked around here a lot because it’s kind of a cool place, but it was far too crowded to gamble, so we went on.
-Excalibur: We gambled here for a few hours. I had my worst losing session of the trip and only triple digit losing session. I lost 140, but Joslin was kicking some tail, so I kept playing. It was single deck/10 min/double deck.
-Tropicana: We only went in here to pee, we were exhausted and ready for sleep, it was about 1am or later (can’t remember).

We stopped at the food court by MGM and had some Wendy’s on the way to the hotel.

Bed time was about 2-2:30 or so I think.

DAY 2 (31st):

One of my friends (not one of the smarted ones) decided it’d be a good idea to call me at 8:30am. I screamed at him for waking me up, he asked me to make him a football bet, I told him I wasn’t doing $#%^ for him, and that was that. Today, we said we’d go north since we hit most of the south side the night before.

We went in to the Venetian and decided to have breakfast there. We ate at a little café that had a 8-9 dollar breakfast thing with 4 items and coffee. We got the 4 items and a coke. It was about 23 dollars total if I remember right.

After that, we went in Treasure Island. We got on a single deck/10 dollar min/BJ game. The dealer was a super nice guy in his mid 20s or so. He was talkative and energetic and all. The kind that makes you feel alright, even if you lose. And boy did I lose. I flew through a 100 quick, but Joslin was winning, so I bought in for another 100. That one went slower, but it went. I had 5 bucks left, and stole 5 from Joslin to bet what I thought was my last hand. I won several in a row. Somehow, after about another hour and a few drinks, I made it back up to my 200 total buy-in. I don’t know how, but I did. I told Joslin to keep playing, but I was done, but she insisted she was done too. We left. Me even, Joslin up a bit. I dropped him a 5 dollar bill on the way off to the cashier cause I didn’t have a spare chip, and off we went.

Next was to the Wynn. That place is beautiful. We obviously couldn’t gamble there with the 25 mins and higher all over, but we got their players card because I read about those mysterious offers people have gotten, and we figured we’d put 20 each in the slots. I don’t like slots, but I figured what the heck. We got 2 cards with my name so we’d accumulate points together.

Casino Royal was next. This place seems dingy and humid to me for some reason, but I still enjoy the place. We got on a single deck BJ table, played for a while, drank a crapload a beer, left a few hours later dead even.

Back to IP for a shower and to dress up for our big dinner at Delmonico. But not before a little Pai Gow. This session got Joslin interested. The main reason I like Pai Gow is because you can play with 100 bucks forever on a 5 dollar table. I prefer to lose slowly if I am losing, if that makes sense. So this session of Pai Gow made Joslin a fan. We bought some cards on the way back to the room and I taught her in the room and we played some hands. Then to Venetian. We were going to ride the dumb boat before dinner, but the 1st available reservation wasn’t til 6:15 and we had 6pm dinner reservations. So, we took 20 bucks out of the piggy bank and played a few slots. It killed about 45 minutes and I got a beer too. Off to Delmonico.

We got there about 20 mins before our reservation, and we were seated immediately. I ordered a beer, Joslin had Malibu/Diet Coke. I order one of the New Years specials, it was a steak and stuffed lobster. It was downright incredible. Joslin ordered the filet and we split a side of the smashed potatoes. They brought me cheese to go on mine. The food was wonderful, the service was decent. It left a little to be desired, but nonetheless, it was far from bad.

From there we killed time in the casino walking around. I saw something super amazing. We saw a guy play 4 300 dollar hands, and catch black jacks on all 4. I high 5ed him on the way buy. Incredible.

Gondola ride was ok, we got paired with a nice young couple (we’re 25 and 23, so we’re young too). There was a NYE concert going on there, and unfortunately, the stage was set up OVER the canal, so it got so incredibly loud when we were near there. Our guy sang to us and it was fun, something I probably won’t do again.

Back to room going through Royale and Harrahs. It was really crowded by now. We were going back to the room with the intent to change in to more comfy clothes and go back out. We got there, and decided to stay in for a while and teach her more Pai Gow and relax. We went back out around 11. I had bought some beer previously, so I drank in the room and we just had some quiet time. So out on the strip now. It is PACKED. We made our way across to the middle by the railing so the walkers wouldn’t bump us as much because the people seemed to be walking more in the middle. We talked to an older couple from Pittsburgh and then the fireworks started. It was awesome. We had a killer time watching the fireworks. We went back to the room because there was no room to gamble, walk, stand, anything, so we called it a night about 1am. Call me a loser, I know.

DAY 3 (1st):

Day 3 was a day we were gonna go downtown because this night we had a room at the Vegas Club. I woke up early and went and made a football bet (under in the colts game and TB by 13.5). I sweated that tampa bay game and actually won the bet off a fluke play, but I wasn’t complaining. We had breakfast at the Burger Palace at IP. They should stick to burgers. Breakfast was sub-par, but we ate it. We had a bad BJ session at IP I lost 70, Joslin lost 40. We didn’t make it to Paris or Aladdin the 1st night, so we went after breakfast. At Aladdin, we signed up for their card and got a free pull on their slot, lost, but got a coupon book. It had a 25 match play. They also gave us 5 dollars free slot play on our card. We found a dollar slot that accepted the promo and played there. 4 losing pulls and on the 5th, we his bar bar bar for 10 bucks. We cashed it. We then went to do the 20 dollar matchplay. We lost it unfortunately. We visited Boardwalk one last time and had a small profit on BJ there.

DOWNTOWN:

We got to the Las Vegas Club and parked. We played 5 dollar single deck and lost some, then moved over to “World’s most liberal 21â€. I didn’t really use any of their fun little rules accept for the double down with more than 2 cards. Here, we made back the 70 and 40 we lost at the IP plus the little we lost at the other BJ table at LVC. OK, so then we gambled up and down Freemont St. We were up some from all of that. Lots of 30 minute sessions with little profits or little losses. Craps and BJ.

So then, I saw the ElCo down the street. We had to go. There was a group of 4 or 5 people in front of us who looked decent, so we kind of followed them. We played 3 dollar/double deck BJ here. The pit boss took my drivers license to get me a few cards and they kept it like 45 mins, I was worried as hell. So now, I have my ID back, I’m slightly creeped out by the situation, but the beer is flowing free and fast. So after an hour or so, I was down around 40 and Joslin was up about 50 or 60, I was stupidly drunk, so I can’t remember her money. The pit boss came over and said it was the last shoe but then the dealer said it was the last hand. I was just stupidly drunk enough to think I needed to donate 100 bucks to the ElCo, so I’d lose my last 60 bucks on the last hand. I pushed it out there in the circle, Joslin asked if I was sure, then looked at me funny. I was sure. I get a 10, Joslin does too, dealer does too. Doh, there can’t be any 10’s left for me now. But guess what, there was an ACE! I got a BJ. Yeehaw. Joslin got 20. Dealer ended up with 16 and busted. My bet ended up being $60.50. I walked away 50 bucks up. I don’t remember cashing out, but I know I did.

So now on to Binions. I played let it ride and lost a crapload in a row. The I hit trips and got back to even. Over to 6 deck BJ for a 100 dollar profit with my lady, then with the woman to Pai Gow. Joslin decided she’d play. She played every hand flawlessly. She came over from BJ 80 down, but made it all back, plus some on Pai Gow. I left 100 up from Binions, she left 5 or 10 up.

Now to Freemont for some craps. I forced Joslin to roll, I bet for her and me. Well, by now, I was more than stupidly drunk, having to pee every 10 minutes. Well, this one certain bathroom trip, Joslin stayed at the table. All we had were our passline bets on this bathroom trip. I told the dealer lady if we won to give my $$ to Joslin. So, I left for the bathroom with about 40 bucks, I come back from the with over 150 bucks! What the hell? Well, apparently Joslin had hit several points. 10 on passline (5 for her 5 for me). Well she finally rolls the bad number, and the pit boss comes over and says ‘Congratulations maam, you qualified for a free prize’. She had apparently rolled 34 times, and hit something like 8 winners. I was kind of like, ‘uhhh, she’s that good!’. Me being me, I said, man, all we need is food. So Joslin got her free prize (I’ll get to it in a sec) and I got a free buffet for us.

By now, She was dragging my back to the room. She was sober, I wasn’t close to it, so I feel for her. We go back to LVC for some craps. I lost 60, then took the 40 left over from my hundred and got back up to 100 playing BJ. Joslin was winning at BJ. So now she’s ready to go back to the room. I wasn’t. It was out last night, we had to gamble more more more! Just the frame of mind LVC wanted me in, right? So, we played a bit longer, then I realized I was 290 up for the trip. Well, I convinced her to let me play BJ til I got 10 bucks up, she agreed. Of course I lost the 1st 3 or 4 hands, then hit a few to get me to even. I put out 10 bucks and if I win, I’m done. I won. We walked away 10 up from that. I was 300 up on the trip. Joslin was 340 up on the trip. So we get to bed, and it’s freakin 6am! Oh well, I’d be hung over or drunk the next morning, who cares.

I woke up the next morning feeling the dreaded headache. I was ready to get out of Vegas. I think 3 days is plenty of time there. Joslin then told me I handed her 20 bucks the night before for making my the money at craps and she gave it back to me cause she didn’t want my money, only the Casino’s money. So now I am up 320, she is 340. So 660 for the trip. We went to Fremont for the free prize and it was 10,000 points. We got 2 hats. We went and ate our free buffet, or BARFet. It wasn’t so good, but the price was right. I ate lots of pizza after I attempted the spaghetti and some other stuff. The pizza was good.

Time to go to the airport. We drove to the Avis place. I put gas in on the way back (only about 2 gallons, we didn’t drive much but still thought we got our money’s worth from the car, well, the piggy banks moneys worth). Got on the bus, and they took us to the terminal. The airport was packed, but we got through security and saw our flight was delayed 20 mins. No big deal. Then saw it was delays another hour. DOH! So our flight was delayed. We flew out eventually. My head still hurt a little, but Joslin rubbed on my neck and back a little on the ride back and it made me feel better. We were ready to leave Vegas, but not go home. If that makes sense.

Final thoughts:
Car is worth it if you’re switching hotels or wanting beer/groceries for the room
Barbary Coast has AWESOME drink service
IP is great for single/double deck BJ
Delmonico is AWESOME
Gondola ride is overrated and over priced
IPs hotel is a great value, so is LVC (30 bucks for the night there)
I love the idea of splitting the stay between strip/downtown
Vegas w/ your fiancé is way different than with your 2 buddies, both fun

Next trip I want to:
Get a massage
Win more money (duh)
See another show
Eat another good meal.

 

One thing I forgot. We saw Johnny Chan in the high limit room at Venetian playing Baccarat.

Also, I never put on chap stick or anything, so my lips are KILLIN' me now. They're so chapped from the dry air.

 

Great report

I have heard it is too crowded at New year's that is why I won't go then.

 

Nice TR

 

Vegas with the one you love is always the best!!!

Great trip report!