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Almost Live Trip Report 2/3-8

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by diplomatic, Feb 5, 2018.

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  1. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    My Trip Report

    I've been lurking here for awhile and posting since last year, but haven't really introduced myself. I thought a trip report might be a nice way to do it. I work for the State Department (hence the name) and live in Central America currently, so leaving the third world and arriving in Las Vegas for some much-needed rest and recuperation. I'm about to finish my tour and I won't be able to use any leave for the coming year, plus I had some comps that I needed to use, so I thought I'd head to the best place on earth--Las Vegas. I'm on day three of six, and will try to do live reporting the rest of the way. Plan is four nights comped at NYNY, then one night at Cromwell (free from Hotels.com credit). A friend who lives in L.A. met me on Saturday and stayed for the Super Bowl, but I'm mostly flying solo. The pictures were spotty at the start of the trip, but I've been picking up my game as I go along...promise.

    The flight here involved three planes and 6 hours worth of layovers, but everything went relatively smoothly (other than a particularly rude United ticket agent in Houston, but who's surprised by that?).

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    My chariot out of the third world.

    With no checked bags, I breezed out of McCarran and Uber got me to NYNY in record time. At check in, I was attended to immediately due to my MGM gold status. I tried the amended $20 trick of asking for a room with a view with a twenty clearly visible in my hand. The guy said, and I quote, "I think that shouldn't be a problem," and gave me my keys to room 3137. I thanked him and handed him the twenty. Well, upon arriving in my room, the view was the back of a facade...I guess he THOUGHT it shouldn't be a problem but couldn't guarantee anything? Or else he just didn't give a shit. Either way, he got twenty bucks and I got this:

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    Otherwise, the room was fine for a free room, clean and comfortable. The safe wasn't working, but when I got around to telling them they got it fixed very quickly.

    Table limits were, unsurprisingly, pretty high on a busy Saturday night, so we took an Uber downtown. We played at Main Street Station and the dealers couldn't have been better. Both craps and blackjack, they were friendly, on the ball, and lots of fun. Also good drink service and great rules. The rest of downtown was...strange. I used to be a bartender in the East Village in Manhattan, and I've seen all kinds of drunken morons. It's to be expected in Vegas anytime, but especially on Super Bowl weekend, but the energy all over Fremont seemed dark and angry. Fights, insults, it was weird. it also didn't help that it was impossible to get close to a $5 craps table or blackjack table anywhere on Freemont, including El Cortez. So we went back to MSS to close out the night, and I finished up about $100. Uber back to Aria, some drunken wandering around, and we were beat and called it a night.

    More to come soon, with more pics, I promise...
     

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  2. RedChip

    RedChip VIP Guppy

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    Oh that's a messed up view! I think I'd go ask for my $20 back. Good luck the rest of the way!
     
    One night at the Gambling Hall...
    ...followed by two nights downtown
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  3. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    Next day, I was up early. Pleased to find that there were plenty of $10 craps and blackjack at NYNY. I played for a few hours, mostly breaking even but finishing a little bit up. We placed our Super Bowl bets, and we're very pleased to find that the lines were not too crazy...it took about 5 minutes from start to finish, even three hours before kickoff.

    We went over to Excalibur and my friend played blackjack while I played craps. The dealers were very personable and the dice were even friendlier. After a great run, I was up about $300 and ready for kickoff. We went back to NYNY where I had tickets to the viewing "party" at the Zumanity theater. They were selling $8 popcorn and hotdogs, as well as the normal Zumanity concessions. There was also a fairly annoying hype-woman who came out to rev-up the crown from time to time. But the seats were comfortable, the sound was clear, and there was a large screen, so we were happy. If you want a crazy, party atmosphere, one of the paid parties or VIP parties are clearly the way to go. But if you just want a place to watch the game, this party works fine. As a Jets/Yankees/Knicks/Rangers fan, I was thrilled to see the Patriots lose, but as soneone who bet the under, it was more or less a financial wash.

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  4. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    After the game, my friend drove back to LA and I went looking for some craps. Table limits at NYNY were $25 and higher, so I went back to Excal, much to my own surprise. They had four $10 tables, all of which were packed. I muscled my way onto one, but quickly wished I hadn't. The stick person was completely overwhelmed. Granted, there were a lot of people placing a lot of bets in the middle of the table, but it was taking more than 5 minutes between EVERY roll. Everyone on my side of the table was getting annoyed and started being very loudly critical of the crew. Yes, they were being slow, but there's never an excuse to insult the people working a table. I cashed out, ahead another $50, and headed back to NYNY. So far, despite some strange energy, I was having a great time and feeling like I couldn't lose. I found a $10 blackjack free bet table, and played for a few hours, ultimately breaking exactly even. The quality of play around me was shockingly bad. (Hitting 17 against a five? Staying on a soft 16 against a ten? Really?!) But I broke even for the session, so I was cool. I felt pretty exhausted, and was heading up to sleep, but I thought "hey, I'll just head over to Monte Carlo real quick." It was REAL quick. Went thru $100 in about 5 minutes I bought in for another $100 and blew that too. I felt fine, because I was still way up overall, but this was a sign of things to come...
     
  5. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    This morning, I woke up and went to Aria to cash in a MyVegas breakfast buffet. On the way, I went through Monte Carlo and got a daytime view if the construction. I think it's going to be a pretty cool looking place. The casino looks very temporary still, but its clean and very functional. The center bar looks great, though I agree with those that think the lobby tree ceiling is weird.

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    Tearing down the facade.

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    Bar at the entrance looks ready for VP machines.

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    The interior of Primrose looks especially nice.
     
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  6. aggie182

    aggie182 Off Key and Out of Tune

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    Bummer on that view! Looking forward to the rest of your report.
     
  7. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    The MLife booth at Aria doesn't open till 10:00, so I killed some time playing blackjack. Lost another hundred (this will become a theme). But the buffet was as good as ever. I haven't tried all of the buffets on the strip (yet), but this one is my favorite, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.
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    Very big pancakes.

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    I'm not ashamed to admit that I had prime rib and crab legs for breakfast today.

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  8. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    View sucks but happy for you that you are in Vegas! Have a great time!
     
  9. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    One of my priorities for this trip was to get some of the $1 chips for that are missing from my collection. I decided to head over to Hard Rock, but not before running through a quick $50 on a Buffalo slot. (Actually got some decent play on it, but the end result was a loss).

    Since it was a beautiful day, I decided to walk. Walking to the Hard Rock is about 1.6 miles, and it was a fairly easy walk. I certainly never felt unsafe (at 10 in the morning), though I was occasionally reminded of the very poor, developing country where I live in real life.
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    The Hard Rock is really nice. There was one craps table open, and the crew was a blast. I was quickly up, but kept going and betting more than I usually feel comfortable with. Of course, this is never good, and led to a loss. I tried to win it back at blackjack and lost some more. Not smart. Still, I very much enjoyed the Hard Rock. Got my $1 chip, and it only cost a few hundos. No big deal.
     

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  10. RedChip

    RedChip VIP Guppy

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    Bonus!
     
    One night at the Gambling Hall...
    ...followed by two nights downtown
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  11. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    It's very cool that the Hard Rock has these safe hypodermic disposal boxes in the bathrooms for diabetics and/or heroin users. But shouldn't they be more securely closed? And emptied more often?

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  12. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    image.jpeg Next stop on the dollar chip collection tour was Silver Sevens. There was a $5 craps table with no one else on it. The crew were really good and very nice. I threw out a few two-way bets and they treated me like a total whale. I guess there's not a lot of tipping going on at Silver Sevens. Of course, I lost a bundle, but it's a fun place. Similar to Ellis Island, but much bigger and cleaner, and a lot less sad.
     
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  13. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    The last $1 chip on my list was Tuscany Suites, a short walk from Silver Sevens. This place was weird. The outside looks very big and very nice in a Florida retirement home kind of way. But the casino is pretty tired. Linoleum floors? I walked up to a blackjack table and realized that my day had gone so poorly, I had only $35 left in my wallet from what I left the hotel with. I bought in and quickly pocketed my $1 chip. I was able to play for a little while on that pathetically small buy-in. But finally, I was down to my final five chip. Of course, I get an eleven. So I pull out the last five singles from my wallet to fund the double. Both the dealer and the only other player at the table looked at me like they pitied me, which was totally appropriate. I tried to assure them that I'm not a total degenerate (not exactly true) and that this wasn't my rent money, I just didn't have any more on me (actually true), but I don't think they bought it. I hit the double and way able to parlay it into la small come back. For once today, I knew went to say when and got out of there with some money in my wallet.

    Nicely buzzed and deciding to fully embrace the slummy, degen mood, I stopped in the souvenirs and gift store next to Ellis Island for a $2.99 t-shirt.

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    Then, there was really only one choice of place to go...
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    The Stage Door and its $1 PBRs were just what I needed to turn my luck around. I sat and realized that my initial success on this trip got me feeling unbeatable, so I was betting differently than I usually would. Stupid. But luckily, I realized this before it was too late. Full of optimism (and a little drunk) I got a beer for the road and walked my way back to NYNY.
     
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  14. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    On the way home, I ran into this guy running a shell game with bottle caps and successfully swindling some particularly gullible rubes.

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    I walked through Bellaggio, which was as beautiful and pretentious as always.
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    Got a good view of the new Monte Carlo pool complex.
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  15. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    This is what $500 of chips looks like.

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    Got some sports bets working to hopefully turn the luck around, got a MyVegas show ticket tonight, and today's gambling carnage will soon be a funny memory!
     
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  16. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    After placing some basketball bets, I decided to take a little walk. They may not be the fanciest places, but south strip cleans up okay at night. IMG_2938.JPG IMG_2939.JPG IMG_2940.JPG IMG_2945.JPG IMG_2946.JPG
     
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  17. diplomatic

    diplomatic Always seeking drink tickets

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    I felt myself getting a little cranky and realized it may have to do with not having eaten anything in 11 hours or so. I went looking for a decent steak and ended up at Crush at MGM Grand. I sat at the bar and the service was slow and indifferent. The NY sirloin was fine, but that lobster mac and cheese was unbelievably good. It would be worth coming and eating here just for that. IMG_2947.JPG
     
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  18. Rush

    Rush MIA

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    Great stuff!
     
  19. Texas Steph

    Texas Steph A Work in Progress...

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    Enjoying your report and pics!
    Perhaps there is a big win coming soon?
     
  20. spicole

    spicole No shirt, no shoes... NO DICE!

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    You totally got screwed on the view from that room. I would have gone back down to complain.
     
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