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TR May 3rd-7th The Wedding Trip Days 1 & 2

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by tara, May 18, 2006.

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  1. tara

    tara Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Messages:
    281
    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12

    My Trip Report

    TR May 3rd-7th The Wedding Trip All Days

    Preface:
    My step dad (J) and I flew out of Columbus on Wednesday, May 3rd. I was on Southwest, he was on American. Flight was uneventful for both of us. I arrived first, so I used airport check-in for Harrah’s, then got us some shuttle tokens. He arrived about 20 minutes later and we were on our way. Shuttle ride was uneventful (thank god, last time it was horrible). We got to Harrah’s and went up to our room….Key didn’t work. Hike back down to the front desk and they make me new keys. I go all the way back upstairs and these keys don’t work either…. This time I used the house phone on our floor to call downstairs. The airport check-in had given me keys to the wrong tower. We were supposed to be in the Mardi gras tower, but I had keys to the Carnival tower. Got that all straightened out and finally got into our room. Nothing spectacular about the room, but hey, it was free so I’m not complaining. It faced the volcano at the Mirage, so that was kinda cool. Unpacked and changed clothes and headed to the Rio for dinner.

    This was the first time either of us had ever been out to the Rio. It seems like a fun place and we’ll probably go back. Our main reason for going out there was for the free buffets I had accumulated on my Harrah’s card. This buffet kicked a**! First of all, apparently I’m special because I’m a Platinum member and was told I needed to go to the “special†entrance where there was no waiting. Then when we got up to the food, there were so many choices that I probably could have sat there all night eating except for the people beside us were totally gross. I can see getting excited about crab legs, but MY GOD, these people between the six of them probably ate 200 crab legs. They were slurping and just being totally gross. Then the waiter tried to take their plates out of the way and they got mad and made him bring them another empty plate for their shells. It was sick. Another interesting tidbit about our dinner was that we had a stripper….I mean “dancer†right outside of the buffet area (not 3 feet away) “entertaining†the gentlemen hanging around. “J†enjoyed it, but HELLO???? I was trying to eat!!! I don’t need ass in my face while I’m eating…..To each his own I guess. I was just waiting for the old fat guys to start stuffing dollar bills in her lack of pants….. Anyways, after we were done eating we got my “J†signed up for a player’s club card. The guy at the counter was cool and knew right where my parents lived. He had just moved from Columbus to Vegas last August. Kind of neat. Played at the Rio for awhile just to get warmed up, watched the parade in the sky (totally cheesy) and then caught the shuttle back to Harrah’s. Shuttle ride sucked. People are so freaking rude pushing and butting in line….. Back at Harrah’s, we played a little and then crashed around 2. The tub was dripping and the air conditioner would not cool down the room…oh well, like I said before, it was free.
    Daily total -$200

    Thursday 5/4
    Got up early enough to realize I needed to go back to bed for a couple of hours. Got up for a second time around 8:30 and got ready to go to breakfast. Went to Paris, my favorite breakfast spot and used my “special†privileges to get into the Platinum/Diamond line. Entry again, with no waiting. Used a $10 off coupon for the breakfast. I don’t know how much it cost, cause I didn’t pay for it, “J†did. Paris is my favorite breakfast buffet in Vegas. People have said how good it is a million times, so I won’t go into detail. “J†was getting a kick out of our “special†treatment though. After breakfast, we walked over to Bally’s where I needed to pickup our rental car and get the parents checked in. Got the car without hassle. Stupid PT cruiser. As we were walking through the garage, we couldn’t find the car, and low and behold parked in it’s spot was a convertible PT cruiser. That would have been ok. This POS was sitting two spots down as I found out when the key didn’t work in the convertible. Checked into Bally’s via the “special†line for the parents. $240 for 3 nights, not bad… Went back to Harrah’s, got our luggage and checked out. Back to Bally’s to see the room. I helped him get his stuff upstairs and we get to the room. No problems with the key this time and we walk into a huge room. Must have been a suite, though the front desk didn’t say anything about an upgrade or anything. King bed, separate living room area with executive desk, the works. The only thing it didn’t have was a coffee maker. I called downstairs to get one and they said I needed to be Platinum or above. I said “just so happens I am†and they sent one right up.
    Today I was supposed to do some work for a remote salesperson we have in the area. He flaked out on me and ended up just bringing his computer to me instead of having me come to his house and fix it. We spent two hours looking for a US bank (which is two blocks away from Bally’s) to kill some time…. Then I had to wait at Bally’s for him to drop the computer off, so I stayed for awhile and donated some more money to the Harrah’s family. After I get the laptop, I go to check in at NYNY which will be my home for the next 3 days.
    Check in is smooth, they try to sell me an upgrade to a strip view room. I decline because I’m “trying to save some money cause I’m getting married this weekend†and he upgrades me to the strip view room anyway as a wedding gift. I have a casino host who knew we were getting married, he obviously did nothing special for us…. Anyways, I get up to the room and though it’s nice, it’s the smallest room I’ve ever stayed in. Not worth the “casino rate†of at least $200 per night that we were paying. And that strip view he wanted to charge $15 a night for, wasn’t that great. The windows were tiny, letting me see the MGM and not much else. Glad I didn’t pay for that! Side note: I would have never paid this much money for a room, but this is where we do virtually all our gambling and “hubby†really wanted to stay there. I booked it as his birthday present. I’m usually just looking for a place to lay my head, but since this was a special occasion, I paid for it.
    Anyways, back to the story. I start working, trying to get the computer setup before I have to go and pickup my mom at the airport and discover the internet connection in the room doesn’t work. No good for the work I need to do. I call and they say a repair person will be up, but I don’t have time to wait around. I have to get back to Bally’s to pickup “J†so we can go to the airport and get the mom “Mâ€. Somehow I ended up driving down the strip and got caught in the mess in front of Caesars where they had the road partially blocked with news trucks covering the Mike Metzger jump. There were people all over the place, climbing in the bushes and trying to get on top of the news trailers. It was stupid crazy.
    We go and pickup my mom at the airport. What a pain in the ass. We had to go to Terminal 2 for international arrivals (she was coming from a convention in Mexico), and it wasn’t really well marked. There was NO sign at all for passenger pickup, just baggage drop off. It sucked, but we finally found her. She brought me cheap cigarettes from Mexico, so I was happy. We went and dropped her stuff off at her room and decided we were hungry. Went over to Margaritaville, but there was an hour and a half wait for a table. I don’t wait that long for anything, let alone food. We kept walking and ended up at the Harrah’s buffet. I couldn’t find the “special people†entrance, so we got in line with the common folk . It wasn’t very long at this point in the evening, and the guy behind us gave us a bunch of 2 for 1 coupons, which made it a good deal. I was told where the “special†line was for future reference. Again, I didn’t pay, so I don’t know how much it cost. Not a bad buffet, but the Rio and Paris were definitely better. I would eat there again, especially with a 2 for 1. After dinner, we settled into some slots for a little while. At 10pm I walked back down to NYNY, deciding to leave the car at Ballys since it was such a hassle. New hubby “A†was to get in around 11, so I decided to go and finish the work I had to do before he got there. Internet was fixed when I got back so I was able to finish.
    “A†didn’t get to the hotel until around midnight. I had text messaged him to let him know to come to NYNY and he was surprised. He was also very ill and missing baggage when he got to the hotel. Luckily it wasn’t his wedding attire. He doped himself up on cold medicine and we headed down to do a little gambling. I searched for my favorite slot machine. I think it’s called Jackpot stampede, only to find it hidden in a far corner, not right next to the pit like it used to be. After a while I get bored because I’m down and not hitting any bonus rounds, so I wander over to the blackjack pit. We played blackjack for about 40 hours in two days of last trip without any loss, so I was hoping for more of the same after the beating I took at the slt machine. I accidentally sat down at a single deck game for $15 a hand. I was holding my own and getting pretty trashed when “A†wandered over and ruined my luck. Last time he was my good luck charm… This time not so much….. We lost our $300 buy-in in less than an hour and called it quits for the day.

    Daily total me: -$700….are you beginning to see my trend yet?
     
  2. tara

    tara Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Messages:
    281
    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12
    TR May 3rd-7th The Wedding Trip Days 3 & 4

    Friday, May 5th
    Today didn’t go much better….. We got up and had breakfast with the parents at Paris. Good as usual. Then we took the car and went out to Hoover Dam. It was a nice trip, but I’ve seen it before, so it was just a diversion from more losing. When we got back mom and I had an appointment at the chapel, so we dropped the boys off at the hotel. “A†went back to the hotel and passed out since he was still feeling pretty sick. “J†sat at his favorite slot machine the whole time we were gone. Meeting at the chapel took about 10 minutes. No big deal. Went back to the hotel and napped for a little bit. “A†went downstairs and played, I have no idea how he did, but when I decided I couldn’t sleep two hours later, he was still sitting at a blackjack table. I sat down at my machine and it finally started to hit for me. We were supposed to pick up the parents around 7, but I was doing well and didn’t want to leave. Finally “A†came up to my machine and told me that we REALLY needed to go. It was almost 9:00. Called the parents to let them know we were on our way and they told us they were at Harrah’s, so we picked them up there.
    We headed downtown to look for the marriage license bureau. Again, what a pain in the ass. It recently moved, so I asked a gas station clerk where it was. He spouted off the address like he knew where he was going. I’m guessing he probably gets asked that question a lot. So we get to where it’s supposed to be and there is a big sign saying it’s moved again. We walk another two blocks and finally locate it. There was nobody out front harassing us like I’ve read, and there was only one other couple getting a license at that time. Some guy and what appeared to be a mail order bride. She spoke enough English to let everyone know that he wasn’t nearly as obnoxious when it was only her around. We did our formalities and headed back to Freemont Street.
    There was a Latino band playing Friday night as part of the Cinco de Mayo celebration. The female singer was doing Selena songs and it gave me goosebumps. She strongly resembled Selena. The only thing wrong with the setup was that the music was waaaayyyyy to loud and you couldn’t hear anything. We walked around a bit in and out of the casinos, nobody played anything, we were just taking in the sights and all the freaks. Went outside for the light show and saw the one with the aliens and area 51. It was pretty cool. That was enough of downtown for us, everyone was ready to get back to the strip, so we took off. That’s the first time I’ve been downtown in about 12 years, and I decided I really don’t have any reason to go back. It’s ok and all, but between the homeless and the young 20 something crowd, not really our scene.
    Back to the hotel to bed. The guys are getting up early to go golfing and the girls have appointments at the spa.
    Daily total-me +100

    Saturday, May 6th
    It’s wedding day. “A†got up at 4:30 for a round of golf with “Jâ€. They went to Silverstone Golf course, which was about a half an hour drive and saved a bunch of money versus playing any of the hotel courses. Apparently they rented clubs and everything for around $400. I got up around 8:00 because “M†was scheduled to arrive at 8:30 for our appointment in the spa. 8:30 rolls around and mom is nowhere to be found. I call her and she’s at Starbucks, what else is new. We head up to the spa for our treatment.
    We both got the Aroma Therapy Hot Stone Massage (cost, I think $140 per person plus tip). Words cannot explain how freaking good it felt!! It was a 50 minute massage and was just what I needed. After we were done with that, we had access to the fitness room (yeah right, not after a massage!!), the saunas and all the other stuff. We went in the sauna and got all sweaty, then went into the dry sauna and burned it all off. I had never been in a dry sauna before, but it was nice. We messed around there for about an hour and decided to leave. Went back to the room and washed all the oil out of my hair and skin, then decided we were starving. Since it was almost 11 and most buffets were switching over to lunch, we decided to duck into the Aladdin to look for food. We found a cheeseburger joint in the Desert Passage shops that was still serving breakfast. I had some awesome French toast and mom had an omelet. Good stuff. The boys called to say that they were done golfing and that they were going to have a beer with their partners at the golf course. We finished breakfast and parted ways, each of us having stuff to do before the wedding. I really didn’t have anything to do so I went back to the room and took a nap.
    Woke up just in time to go back downstairs for my hair and makeup appointment, but mom was nowhere to be found. Had a really nice girl at the Regis Signature Salon in NYNY do both my hair and makeup. Before she heard that I was getting married, she wanted to do my hair in a punk rocker Mohawk. That would have been fun for the wedding. I told her that since mom was paying, it had to be something nice and poofy. She obliged and I got poofy hair and nice makeup. Total cost $110 + tip.
    We went up to the room to get ready and there was still no sign of the boys. It is now 2:00 pm and we are getting married at 4:00. After repeated calls to their cell phones we finally hear that they are at Bally’s where “J†is getting a shower and then they’ll be down to NYNY shortly. They neglected to mention that they had just gotten to Bally’s and had spent far too much time having beers with their golf partners.
    3:00 rolls around and the limo driver calls to say that he will be there by 3:30 to pick us up. Alright, cool, but the boys are still nowhere to be found. We call them and they are sitting in traffic. They neglected to remember that the De la Hoya/Myorga fight was starting at the MGM at 4:00 and everybody needed to get there. Apparently they paid their cab driver $40 to get them there by 3:15. At 3:16, “A†walks in the door, without a shower or anything. I was FREAKING out!!!! I had a drink or two earlier, to settle my nerves (not nervous about getting married, nervous that “A†was MIA on his wedding day), but when he got in the room, it was slightly more than obvious that he had more than a few drinks that day. I find out later that it was more like 10 while he was golfing and at least 4 afterward. He was toasted and I have the pics to prove it. Anyways, he hurries up and gets ready, forgetting how to tie his tie until we are in the elevator. We get downstairs and the limo is there and everyone is waiting on us. Ok, we’re off…… We get almost to the chapel and “J†looks at “A†and says “Hey “A†your zipper’s down, you probably don’t want that on the webcastâ€. I about died…..
    We get to the chapel with no problems and our limo driver, Bill was awesome. We got into the chapel and met with the minister and our wedding coordinator and all that stuff. Then it was the big moment. It took about 7 minutes from start to finish and was really well done. The people at the Little Chapel of the Flowers really know how to run a business. I was expecting some Vegas cheesy, but there was none. They treated us like we were the only people in the world for the 20 minutes total that we were in that chapel and everything for the wedding we booked online, so it was really easy. Our wedding was live on the web with various “wedding†parties all over the country, so immediately following the ceremony, everyone and their brother was calling to tell us congratulations and how nice we looked and how crooked “A’s†tie was, etc…. After we were done, we had a bunch of posed pictures taken, but it was sooooooo hot and sunny that day, most of them looked dumb with us having sweat and squinty eyes in the pics. Anyways, we get done signing all the paperwork and all that and Bill picks us back up to take us to dinner.
    We are dropped off at the Venetian for dinner at Delmonico. Based on several recommendations, we decided this was where we were going to eat. My casino host had called and made the reservation for us. We were promptly seated and the meal was amazing. Three of us had filet which was perfectly cooked for all of our different wants. I had the twice baked cheese potato with mine, “J†had soup and salad and “M†had asparagus with hers. “A†had the steak and scallops, which he said were good, though he was still sick and couldn’t taste much of it. He had never had scallops before, so I was surprised that he tried something new. He is very much a cheeseburger kind of guy. Our bill with some beers and captain and coke was somewhere in the neighborhood of $350, though again, we didn’t pay for it, the parents did.
    After dinner we walked back down to Bally’s and said goodbye to the parents for the evening, then cabbed it back to NYNY. We went upstairs and changed clothes (neither of us are dress-up kind of people), then back down to the casino to recoup some of our losses. Apparently this was not to happen. We blew through $300 in a matter of minutes at the blackjack table, only betting $15 a hand. Out of money again, we go to the atm and get another $200 out. We decide that we’re going to play some quarter slots to put some points on our players club cards and get trashed.
    I go to my Jackpot stampede slot and “A†sits down two machines down from me at another Jackpot machine. His hundred dollar bill was promptly eaten by the machine…. The floor person in the area came over and tried her hardest to get the money out, but it was nowhere to be found in the machine. She called someone else and within a matter of minutes, there were like 7 casino people all over in our area. Of course when there are that many people in suits in one area, cocktail waitresses run and hide, so we were not attaining our goal of getting trashed. I slowed my pace down to a crawl while talking to the floor people with “Aâ€. Finally a drink girl shows up and we get our drink on. The hundred dollar bill is still stuck in the machine though….. Finally half an hour later after they took the whole damn thing apart, there was the hundred dollar bill, totally ripped to shreds…. All floor personnel apologize profusely for the inconvenience and got “A†a new bill. He flew through that bill in less than a half an hour, then watched me play mine down to nothing while sipping captain and cokes. After mine was gone, we headed to the room.
    Daily total for both of us -$500
     
  3. tara

    tara Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2002
    Messages:
    281
    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12
    TR May 3rd-7th The Wedding Trip Day 4 & thoughts

    Sunday, May 7th
    For some reason, the newlyweds both woke up in really bad moods….. We checked out of NYNY and cabbed it down to Harrah’s to meet the parents. Since we were leaving early on Monday morning (4am), none of us wanted to pay for a room that night. I had another comp from Harrah’s, so we just got two beds and called it good. Bellhops took all of our bags since we were told the room would not be ready. I went to the Platinum check-in room and was immediately given a room. So much for not having anything available yet…… We went to the champagne brunch at Harrah’s for breakfast since we still had a BOGO to burn. Entered through the VIP line and were seated immediately. Mostly the same food as what was there the other day, with the addition of more seafood and carving stations. It was good. Called and checked on the kids, who didn’t care that we were gone and if we were even coming back. They were having too much fun with their aunt and uncle.
    After breakfast, “A†went to the room to sleep. He didn’t feel well again, but it may have had something to do with all the drinking and getting up early the day before. “J†sat down at his favorite machine determined to win the progressive that day. Mom and I went to the chapel to pickup our pictures. At the chapel, they suckered us into spending $400 to get the cd and copyrights to all the pictures that were taken at the wedding. No big deal as I wasn’t the one paying for it. We walked down to the Stratosphere where we caught a cab to Fashion Show Mall for some non-gambling time. Walked the mall for quite awhile, but didn’t buy much. We then walked over to Wynn, as mom had never seen it. She agreed that it was nice and we were on our way back down the strip. We reached Harrah’s a little while later and she decided that she needs to get souvenirs for the kids. It was far to hot to walk any further, so we put that off till later.
    We get back in to Harrah’s to find “J†still playing the same machine on the same $100 that he originally put in and was doing well. I’m totally out of money by this point, so I watch him and mom play for a little while. After about an hour, “A†shows up feeling much better. So much better in fact, that he and “J†should go down to Hooters for awhile. I go up to the room to change and decide that we should ride in the cab with “A†and “J†so that we can start on that end of the strip in search of our souvenirs. We get a cab and they go off to Hooters and we start the quest for crap at the Grand Canyon Experience. This is one of my favorite crap shops. We manage to find everything we need for everyone between there and the Harley Davidson restaurant. Mom decides that she needs to pee really bad and can’t hold it, so being hungry at that point we went to the Harley restaurant to eat.
    The restaurant was ok. I’ve been around Harleys all my life, so I wasn’t all that impressed with the décor and all. We ordered shrimp, spinach dip and nachos to share. DAMN those were big portions!! We barely made a dent in the nachos, but they were soooo good. Mom said the shrimp was good (not a seafood fan), and the spinach dip was very bland. Prices were outrageous, but we expected this much eating in a tourist trap like that. After we were done, we continued back to Harrah’s. I had to get some Pepto as soon as we got back to the hotel. Those nachos did a number on me! (Side note: most food does a number on me….. I am lactose intolerant, but absolutely cannot live without cheese, so I get sick frequently after eating. On the other hand, if I never saw a glass of milk again, that would be ok with me. I can’t even stand to smell it. I keep a stash of Pepto at all times, work, home, car, purse, etc.) After my little episode, I’m good to go and go back down to the casino to see what mom is doing. I run into “Jâ€, who is back from Hooters and of course on “his†machine, and he’s still holding his own. I ask where “A†is and “J†doesn’t know. I find “A†playing nickel slots in a corner, milking all the free captain and cokes he can on his very last $20. Soon he loses it and goes up to bed. I stay down in the casino a couple of hours and mom gives me $20 to blow. I blow it quickly and everyone decides they’ve had enough gambling for the trip. We all head up to bed.
    “J†is totally obnoxious when we get back to the room and “A†gets pissed cause he was sleeping. I can’t sleep, but with no money left, can’t go back downstairs, so I just lay there. At 3:30 we get our wakeup call. Mom is up, ready and out of the room with a quickness. “J†is not moving. I finally had to tell him to get the hell up and he did. We manage to get all the stuff and get downstairs, using Express Checkout on the way. We cabbed it out to the airport where there was no waiting for Skycap, but a huge line inside, got our boarding passes and everything right there.
    Trip home was uneventful. I slept most of the time, with the exception of this obnoxious woman insisting that she had the aisle seat in the row in front of me. Mom was being a b**ch and wouldn’t let “J†give his aisle seat to the woman. I thought the woman was going to seriously freak out. She tried moving seats and when those people got on, she’d move again. Finally she explained she was claustrophobic and needed to have an aisle seat. Mom traded her seats so she could sit by “J†and everything was all better. The flight got in right on time and dropped mom and “J†off at their house. Back to our house and got the kids. My little one missed me, the other two were bummed out we were home.
    Final Thoughts
    NYNY was nice and we only ended up paying $396 for 3 nights, not the $670 that was originally stated and I got $21 cash back. Harrah’s, well, what is there to complain about when the room is free? Bally’s, for 3 nights at $240 total for a suite. I’ll take them up on that offer any time. They’ve treated me well thus far….
    5 days in Vegas is too long for me, my bankroll cannot support it and I have no self control! I’m really happy that we decided to get married there. It was so much better than having the big wedding with all the annoying family. My sister did that last October and it went poorly… If you’ve hung in this long, thanks for reading. It was really long winded, but there were lots of things going on while we were there.
     
  4. Wildcat Fan

    Wildcat Fan Tourist

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Oxford, North Carolina
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    Congratulations

    Sorry we could not get together on Friday. I kept expecting to hear from you, but what happens in Vegas, HAPPENS!!!!!!

    Again, Congratulations on your wedding. I hope you and "A" are very happy.

    Mel
     
  5. SH0CK

    SH0CK Stylin' and Profilin' Quasi Tech Admin

    Joined:
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    Congrats on the wedding Tara!

    BTW, in case you didn't notice, I put the trip report in one thread to keep the replies together :)
     
  6. vegasbound

    vegasbound VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    In the end, it sounds like you had a lovely ceremony and wedding dinner. Congratulations! I love that LCOF offers the internet broadcasts, it was such a treat to see my friend get married there, years ago... Despite the gambling losses it seems you had a great trip.
     
  7. FL Mary

    FL Mary Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Congratulations on your wedding! Thanks for the detailed report. Maybe your next trip will be a winning one!
     
  8. tara

    tara Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Thanks for putting it all together Shock, I didn't know if it would be too long for one post or not, since it ended up being like 6 pages long.
     
  9. tara

    tara Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Wildcat, sorry we didn't get a chance to hook up, things were more than hectic the whole time we were there. Hope you enjoyed your trip!
     
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