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1st March Madness Trip // 3/15(?) - 3/21

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by StingerHook, Mar 11, 2017.

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  1. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    Anxiously counting down the days/hours until I'm back in Vegas - this will be my 5th trip and my first for March Madness. I've been a couple of times for opening weekend of the college football season but going for the first weekend of the tournament has always been on my "to-do" list and now it's coming to fruition. I'll be solo until Friday, then joined by a buddy from college.

    I've been planning this thing for months and was very pleased with how I had my travel all laid out - that is, of course, until Winter Storm Stella jumped on the scene and now everything at the front-end of the trip is (potentially) a mess.

    Initial plans are to fly out of DCA (Reagan) on Tuesday afternoon and spend the night/most of Wednesday at Lake Tahoe, but the current forecasts have me not holding my breath on that actually happening. If I make it to Tahoe I'll fly into Vegas Wednesday night - if those plans fall through, I have a Wednesday morning flight out of BWI (Baltimore) headed straight to Vegas instead (this one could also be doubtful to leave on time depending on how this storm shakes out but I'm hoping for the best).

    Accommodations:

    3/14: Harrah's Lake Tahoe
    (again, we'll see if this actually happens at all). Booked a comped room for one night and it'll be interesting to see how they handle the cancellation (any charges?) if my flight gets axed because of the weather on Tuesday. Doubt that I'll do any gambling here since this is more of a sight-seeing excursion but I am open to being flexible.

    3/15 - 3/17: Luxor I have a Tower room booked for two nights on an Mlife offer (one night comped, one night paid, $20 Freeplay). I have stayed at Mandalay Bay several times but this will be my first Luxor experience. Only concrete goal I've set for myself here is to eat at Tender one night using the myVegas $75 credit reward.

    3/17 - 3/20: The D // I've never stepped foot downtown so I'm very excited to see how this pans out. I definitely appreciate the sites/eye-candy of the strip but the rates for this weekend were such that I needed a different option (plus I have the feeling that the table minimums will be much more in my wheelhouse, even on a weekend like this). Thought about going completely off-strip but worried about sacrificing too much 'atmosphere' so when I found a good deal for a room at The D I snatched it up.

    3/20 - 3/21: Rio // I've never stayed here, either, but I booked a Tuesday flight home & needed a good deal on a room for Monday night. My Cosmo offers have disappeared so when I saw this night on my TR calendar for $0 I went for it.

    Gambling Plans:

    Going to do my best to stick with small hit-and-run sessions at the tables (blackjack and the live-wheel roulette machines), though I'm not opposed to sitting down at the Pai Gow table for a while to push a bunch of hands and enjoy some drinks. I'll mostly be focused on betting the hoops action and enjoying that aspect of the weekend. At this point it looks like the bankroll will be around $2k for the duration of the trip - no visits to the ATM.

    As far as watching the games, I'm planning on floating around the various casinos and seeing what's available in terms of space near the sports book or at a bar somewhere. I've been reading the March Madness Facebook Group's posts and just can't justify the price tag of a ticket to one of the watch parties that I've seen advertised. We'll see how that goes.

    Misc.

    This will be my first trip in a while that I'm not renting a car - I'll go the Lyft/Uber route instead. Rates for this week combined with the addition of self-parking charges all over town make it a no-brainer for me to approach it this way for this trip.

    Will likely take advantage of some of the mobile sports-wagering apps that are available - anyone have any feedback to offer?

    Will attempt once again to make it to The Henry at the Cosmo and try the SREB, but I can't make any promises.
     
  2. lp670lambo

    lp670lambo Low-Roller

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    Do you go to the clubs at all?
     
  3. sybgal

    sybgal VIP Whale

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    Your 1st MM trip? You are in for such a treat....the atmosphere can't be beat....you will see folks in EVERY team shirt & all of them ready to talk basketball.....Great Fun!! Enjoy!!
     
  4. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    I'm 26 so in theory I'm their target demographic, but I've never been much of a club guy. I've never found it to be that enjoyable (maybe I'm just not doing it correctly haha)

    Thanks! That's what I hear - feel like I got a small taste of it for college football but excited to experience it on a different scale.
     
  5. lp670lambo

    lp670lambo Low-Roller

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    It's all good. Vegas is so vast, there is a Vegas to fit everybodies taste. I hope you have a really great time!!
     
  6. Miller12pack

    Miller12pack High-Roller

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    I am glad you are staying different places. The D is perfect for your first stay downtown. Lots of people your age, and great location. Enjoy your first March Madness. I am sure it will be the first of many. Let us know how you like downtown.
     
  7. 93 Octane

    93 Octane Chief Bottle Washer

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    Get your bets in the night before the games or you will be waiting in line for 60-90 minutes. At least this was the case at Westgate five years ago... TONS of fun but seemed like a 97% male crowd so the eye candy wasn't as good as other events...
     
  8. RockyBalboa

    RockyBalboa Front Line Winner

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    MM in Vegas is an intoxicating experience- you'll be hooked. I did my first MM trip last year and I'm going back this year and every year thereafter.

    Best of luck on the travel and beating the storm.

    Me and my group floated around last year and I liked the freedom of doing that. There are TVs everywhere and you'll be able to find somewhere to settle in for a bit. I like watch parties for the Super Bowl but for MM I just find a bar or table and watch. Such a great time.

    Have fun!
     
  9. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    WELP

    Got a text tonight from Southwest that my Tuesday flight out of Reagan has already been cancelled. So now we pray that I can get out of Baltimore at some point on Wednesday.
     
  10. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    Wednesday AM flight out of Baltimore now also cancelled. I've now rebooked to fly out of Richmond Wednesday morning - they're only supposed to get rain from this storm.
     
  11. Autoxer

    Autoxer Tourist

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    I have a buddy that was gonna join me for MM but his flight for Wednesday was cancelled out of philly. You guys are gonna get same storm that just hit us and we only got 3 inches. In Chicago thats nothing.
     
  12. Hoofy7

    Hoofy7 VIP Whale

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    All flights at airports within 4 hour drive of me are already cancelled. I'm laughing my ass off that they think this is a snowstorm! We call feet of snow a dusting here in North Country, NY!
     
  13. tex55

    tex55 High-Roller

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    Enjoy it! You will be hooked. My first trip to Vegas during March Madness was in 1998. While I was working, I returned every year. The gambling excitement at the tables and in the books can't be beat. I REALLY miss it.
     
  14. casinokid68

    casinokid68 Caesars Diamond Member

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    Here in NYC, even 4 inches of snow is a call for panic. We usually don't get killed with snow around the city here. I think that the meteorologists just exaggerate everything, and put people in a panic mode. They were predicting over a foot of snow, and the city only got 4 inches. What a joke!!
     
  15. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    Flight out of Richmond went well - got checked in at the Luxor around 11am local time. Was SURE that my reservation was for a Tower room but they put me in a Pyramid room instead. I didn't have the energy/patience to try and call down to the front desk & sort that out, so I'll stick with what I've been given. Hoping to get a quick nap in, then deposit some $ on the MGM mobile sports betting app to get my bets in for tomorrow's games.
     
  16. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    Got set-up with the MGM sports betting app - process took a while but the app seems really slick/well-designed (which is especially surprising given how poor MGM's website is).

    Got $25 of Freeplay loaded on my card from myvegas and took it to a penny machine (don't remember the name exactly - Cash Spin maybe?). Played through the $25 at $1.50 a spin and finished with a little more than $16 'real money'.

    Decided to spin one more time and triggered the 3 wheel spins for this:

    [​IMG]

    Cashed out the ticket for over $140 pure profit!

    In the process of hunting down some food now
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2017
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  17. Hoofy7

    Hoofy7 VIP Whale

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    Good conversion on your free play! Keep it up!
     
  18. lp670lambo

    lp670lambo Low-Roller

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    Nice hit!!!
     
  19. StingerHook

    StingerHook High-Roller

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    Grabbed some pizza and a beer last night at Slice in the Mandalay Shoppes - it hit the spot and the lack of sleep finally caught up to me. I was tempted to head down to the casino & play some more after placing my bets on the Thursday games but decided to just sleep instead and bank the win for the day.

    Woke up around an hour ago - here's the magnificent view from my room:

    [​IMG]

    Showered/got dressed, grabbed some cash from the safe and headed to Excalibur for some Cinnabon:

    [​IMG]

    Will likely watch the first games at Luxor, then maybe work my way up this side of the strip over the course of the day. Good luck to everyone except the teams I bet against!
     
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  20. casinokid68

    casinokid68 Caesars Diamond Member

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    Good luck!!
     
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