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Aug 9-13 First Trip Report? My bad ... Low Roller @ MGM Grand, Hilton Grand & El Cortez

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by semicharmed, Aug 14, 2018.

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  1. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    My Trip Report

    Aug 9-13 Low Roller @ MGM Grand, Hilton Grand Vacations on Karen/Paradise & El Cortez.

    I can't believe this is my first trip report, that's my bad. I've read and learn so much from everyone else, thanks!
    Here's mine, hope you enjoy and if you have any comments or questions, post away.

    This was supposed to be more of a research trip but ended up all over the place and had a blast! I originally wanted to check out the APA Pool Championships @ Westgate and Downtown for possible future stays. Didn’t take that many pictures but on @ffejry report you can see some pictures of what I reported here. I promise next one will have more pictures and less words.

    Thursday, August 9th
    Got into Vegas around 4pm, checked into MGM Grand on MYVegas free night stay. Previously I’ve stay here and enjoyed the pool, comedy club and the casino but I forgot how big this place was. Maybe because I’m getting older, not a fan of it anymore. It’s just too big and impersonal and took forever to walk to the checkin and to my room.

    Anyway, dropped everything in room and went out to grab dinner at Mirage Buffet on MYVegas. The buffet was okay since it was free but I wouldn’t pay for it. There are better places to eat in Vegas.

    Next met up with @ffejry (great guy and fun to hang with) at Mirage after dinner and we went to Casino Royale to meet a couple of other friends that were in town. Had fun at the Bubble Craps and won, I put in about $40 and came away with $282.

    Bubble Craps.JPG

    Usually on Vegas trips I’m down and just think of the losses as me paying to have fun at various places but this trip was a little different as you’ll see below.

    Casino Royale
    Cashed out $282 on Bubble Craps

    Bubble Craps Voucher.JPG

    Planet Hollywood
    Dropped about $100 on Panda Magic with no luck, switch to Video Poker $100 and this happened right away.

    Planet Hollywood first 4OAK of the trip

    4OAK Planet.JPG

    @ffejry suggested Pin Up Pizza, grab a huge slice and then walked over to The Cosmo for the Flower/Verbena drink http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2014/03/this-cocktail-actually-alters-your-tastebuds-and-makes-you-a-supertaster/

    The Cosmo & Casino Royale Again
    The Chandelier Bar and Verbena drink was great, we also hit up Bond bar and there were a few ladies dancing and hooping it up, @ffejry with no fear walks into the group and starts chatting them up. Good for him, more balls then me.

    We walked back to Mirage, I didn’t want to gamble there or any of the Mlife places so we parted ways and I went back to Casino Royale where I hit my second 4OAK.

    I was just at the bar playing and these Denny’s employees that just got off of work came up to the bar asking/needing drinks from the bartender. Ha! I’ve been there many times as a waiter and bartender needing drinks after a shift. So I immediately said these are on me. Well I guess Karma is real because within seconds of me buying their drinks I hit this 4OAK, HA! This never happens to me. Well I'm going to enjoy the ride as long as it last.

    4OAK Casino Royale.JPG

    Also I played Bubble Craps again and won about $100, didn’t take a picture of that one.

    Things got a little fuzzy after that and I think I ended up at El Cortez gambling from 2am to 5am. Played Baccarat, BJ and Craps. I think I broke about even from there since I still had about +$500 when I woke up.

    Frid, Aug 10th
    Hilton Grand Vacations on Karen/Paradise

    Was hungover like crazy today, had to check out and make it over to Hilton Grand Vacations (Very nice room and hotel). Thank god for monorail, easy and was able to check in early. Slept it off for a few more hours, unpacked and order delivery (Le Thai). It was really good and was on my list to try.

    The STRAT
    Met up with some another friends around 8pm at Stratosphere . They were going to eat at the buffet and I told them I’ll play some VP while I wait for them. Good thing I did, that’s when I hit another 4OAK at the bar VP.

    4OAK Strat1.JPG

    Next we played a little Texas Hold’em at the poker room, won about $50 and then cashed out. Again I had to wait from my friends since they wanted to go to the room and grab something. Well to kill time, I sat down at a VP machine and hit this one.

    4OAK Strat2.JPG

    I tried changing it to .25 but it was only .05 machine, I would have won $600 instead of $120. Anyway, not complaining. A win is a win.

    It was a running theme this trip that every time I’m waiting on people I hit 4OAK’s or win. I guess being nice and having patience pays off .

    Crazy Horse 3
    I think around 1am we went to Crazy Horse 3, called the club up to send a limo (Free entrance to the club, just tip the driver). Btw, never take a taxi or uber to the strip clubs. They all get a kickbacks and charge you the entrance fee to pay for it. It can range from $20 to $50. With the limo you can either get in free or discounted entrance fee. We had a blast there, really fun and friendly club. There were hot girls coming up to us regularly but wasn’t that Hustly. If we weren’t interested, they just moved on.

    As we were leaving, a group of guys got out of an uber or taxi and the door guy was like $40 each to get in. I felt bad for them but they were like okay.

    In bed by 3am, which was better then the night before. The Hilton room has very comfortable beds and sheets, these all have a either mini kitchen with microwave and fridge in the Studios or full kitchens and laundry for the suites.

    Sat, Aug 11th
    Hilton/Westgate/Aria/Hooters

    Woke up about 1pm and headed next door to the Westgate to check out the Pool Championships. Fun to watch and also got to play a few practice games (I brought my own stick with me). Checked out the Westgate, it’s fine but I probably wouldn’t stay there unless I was there for the Pool Tournament. Put my NFL Superbowl bets in, $10 each on NY Giants (My Team)25 to 1, Texans 16 to 1, Jaguars 16 to 1 and Saints 16 to 1. Westgate Sports book is great, good layout, bar is there if you want to watch games and play VP. Food choices are excellent, from tacos, burgers and sandwiches to pizza.

    Headed back to Hilton to take a nap and rest up for tonight. Around 9pm met up with the group at Aria. Nice elegant hotel/casino but kinda quiet and boring for me. Headed to Hooters next, their idea not mine, but had a blast. The casino kinda surprised me, it was young and a fun atmosphere but not fratty like O’sheas can get sometimes. They had $1, $5 BJ but were 6:5, at least the dealers were nice, personable and fun. I think that’s their niche, fun dealers and fun atmosphere. Next we went to the Underground Lounge, a bar at Hooters where they had Karaoke. That was so much fun! As people were singing up on the stage area people we dancing and just having a blast. A group of Irish tourist were having a blast and pretty much took over the whole place, a blonde Irish girl pulled us up on stage to dance with them. Fun times!

    Sun, Aug 12th
    El Cortez & Downtown

    Checked out of Hilton and took a Lyft (for some reason Lyft is cheaper then Uber, I check several times on both and 5/6 times Lyft was cheaper) over to El Cortez. El Cortez in a Tower room, big but dated and for $50 including resort fees it’s well worth it. And they have free airport shuttle. Plus I’m not in the room that much.

    Gambled at El Cortez, Four Queens, The D and Fremont. Slots, VP and Table games. Walked around Fremont Street Experience. Ate at Siegels 1941 (Big Island Friend Rice and Side of Meatballs), White castle and Coney Dogs. Didn’t go into Plaza, GG or MSS/Cal this time around.

    Sat and Sun wasn’t as profitable as Thurs and Frid were. Either I was just maintaining my bank roll or was down. Overall I liked staying and gambling at El Cortez, Craps and BJ was fun and the VP bar was great too. Although playing BJ downtown I wasn’t hitting those 4OAK’s anymore, was hitting more 3OAK’s and just maintaining. Next trip I want to hit a Royal, haven't hit it yet.

    I’ve been really liking Downtown and now with Container Park and Fremont East, I think I’ll stay there my whole trip next time. Probably in late Dec.

    Anyway for the whole trip I walked away down about -$350. That’s actually great for me considering, food and drinks I bought, free beers and cocktails, taxi’s, lap dances and tips to dealers. (Hotels were on a credit card so I didn't factor that in, just cash/bank roll I brought)

    Next time I’ll take more pictures and if there are any advise on this report, please let me know. Thanks and Happy Gambling folks. Hope to meet up with more VMB'ers.
     
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  2. Miller12pack

    Miller12pack High-Roller

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    Sounds like a great trip. Nice hits on vp.
     
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  3. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    Thanks Miller12pack!

    That’s my beer, although Miller Lite now since my beer gut keeps growing.
     
  4. ffejry

    ffejry #1 Bears Fan

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    Great and excellent first trip report! Hoping to see you again in December for more of those drinks. Looks like first week of January for me but we will see.

    Never had so much fun at Casino Royale before! Your group of friends were fun!

    We both made out well with minimal losses. Good for us!
     
  5. ffejry

    ffejry #1 Bears Fan

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    PS - jealous you got a few 4OAKs. Only got one!
     
  6. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    Yeah I normally don't get those. Hoping my luck has changed and I get them more often. Now I'm gunning for a Royal, never got one of those.
     
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  7. M0rtyC

    M0rtyC TBD

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    Great trip thanks
     
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  8. Crawfordesquire

    Crawfordesquire High-Roller

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    sounds like a fun trip and great job on the first trip report.:beer:
     
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  9. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice report and quads!

    Try to stay away from 8/5/4 Double Bonus (94.18%) though! Pretty shitty that PHo put it on the floor, but it's standard for all CET Strip bars. 7/5 DDB (95.71%) is good bit better than that. And Casino Royale is way more generous with 9/6/5 Double Bonus at the bar (97.81%). I don't recommend playing Double Bonus when a straight pays only 20 with a 5 coin bet.
     
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  10. Gino

    Gino "The King of Inappropriate."

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    Thanks for the TR man. Love the quads.
     
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  11. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    Thanks for the advice. I'm still new to finding the good pay odds on these machines. I like Casino Royale and Downtown, the other places like PHo and Strat was because my friends were there. I think that's why I like playing downtown a lot more but wasn't hitting those quads as easily.
     
  12. rhinoman7

    rhinoman7 A Diamond in the Ruff

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    Nice report! Thanks for sharing! NYG is also my team! Hoping for a MUCH better year!!!!!!!!!
     
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  13. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    Thanks! The Giants can't be worse then last year, can they? Here's hoping to a SuperBowl win, I have money on it! I'm keeping a watch on Flowers and seeing if he can hold down the Right Tackle role. We need to shore up the right side of the line for Saquon to have a great year.
     
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  14. ffejry

    ffejry #1 Bears Fan

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    Funny that I made a bet for my buddy on the Cubs.... but forgot all about making bets on the Bears!!!!!!!!!
     
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  15. rhinoman7

    rhinoman7 A Diamond in the Ruff

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    I sure hope not!!!! I am still mad at them for taking Flowers instead of Gordon. They needed to get rid of Jennings and draft Gordon, but they wouldn't listen to me! Barkley is the kind of running back we have been missing for too long! Hopefully they have abandoned the "running back by committee" crap!!! I can't even remember the last time we had a 1,000-yard rusher!!! With the defense we had a few years ago, and if we had taken Gordon when we had the chance, Coughlin would probably still be coaching, and we would have added one or two SB rings in the process!!!
     
  16. Syringe Monkey

    Syringe Monkey Hero of the Baggage Carousel...

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    Sounds like you had all the fun!
     
  17. rooster42000

    rooster42000 Goat of all Goats , My Hero

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    Nice report
     
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  18. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    We had a blast! I'm already planning my next trip, maybe end of Dec.
     
  19. semicharmed

    semicharmed Tourist

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    Thanks!
     
  20. casinokid68

    casinokid68 Caesars Diamond Member

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    Great report!! Go Big Blue!!!:woohoo: Heading to Vegas for Week 1 of the NFL season along with my #13 OBJ jersey!!
     
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