Parents with a former student. Gig ‘em y’all!

I’ve been apart of this board for a long time. Usually a lurker to prepare for my next annual trip. Reading all the trip reports and posts gets me through the excitement of waiting for my trip. I am going to attempt my first trip report after numerous trips to fabulous Las Vegas. Please no grammar police. Today is my actual birthday!

Who: Myself, my husband and our daughter. Referred to as ME, M and L respectively.
When: Sept. 6, 2018-Sept. 12, 2018 - 6 nights (4 nights comped)
Where: Cosmopolitan
Why: Daughter just graduated Texas A&M (she’s officially a “former student” and my pre-birthday celebration. I no longer celebrate getting older. I celebrate the week before.
Special thanks goes out to my great step son who stayed home to take care of my mother in law, the cats and the house.

We flew on a non stop 2 hour flight from a small airport. Said hi to another VMBer who flew out at the same time from same airport. Arrived right on time in LV thanks to SWA. Caught a Lyft to the Cosmopolitian arriving around 4:00 pm. We had 4 nights comped for a 1 Bedroom terrace but had previously paid for an guaranteed upgrade to the corner angle fountain view. Upon arrival we asked about paying for a wraparound terrace fountain view. They said possibly after 6:00. We dropped our bags in the corner angle to hit the casino to wait around for a phone call about the room. Got the news that we didn’t get an upgrade so we unpacked. Got a small present of chocolates from Jason the guy who checked us in.


Smart enough to know (thanks to tips on VMB) to take an empty suitcase to Walgreens! Not the small suitcase because we’re there for 6 nights. We need lot’s of water.... and booze.

The photos don’t seem to be showing up in the right part of the post but oh well. Personally, I wouldn’t have got paper towels but M seemed it was necessary.

Going to start a new post. Maybe I’ll figure out getting photos in the right place.

TIP: take the empty suitcase to Walgreens for necessary things like Tequila, Wine, Rum. Vodka, Beer, Water and a roll of paper towels.

 

M immediately hit the tables and L and I went to Chandlier bar to have a Cosmo at the Cosmo!

My necessary stop was the dispensary. L and I Lyfted it to Essence. My choice would have been NUWU but I thought Essence might be closer. I did some reasearch on legal weed and the available choices. Decided against edibles even tho it sounds appealing. Something I would try at home but not while on vacation. I pretty much knew what I wanted. The place was perfectly acceptable although I have nothing to compare it to. They checked our id’s at the door and made a big deal that I should come back closer to my birthday to get something for free. Walked out out with 1 rolled flower and a couple of disposable vapes. I’m amazed it’s legal. Caught a Lyft back to the Cosmo. We’re set for our vacation!

 

Thanks and Gig Em.

 

Didn't stay up too late or drink too much due to the High Limit Pull scheduled Friday morning at 11:00 am. thanks to @Crawfordesquire .

M and I were really looking forward to participating in that. Met up with @Crawfordesquire, @MacAttack, @notfromconcentrate and @tringlomane, @FordDlr.
The pull was a lot of fun. Started out with $200 each in the Cosmo HL room. We had the Cosmo guy watched the whole time. MacAttack put the money in and played our spins. I was looking for a big win but it didn't happen. Both M & I said it was the highlight of our trip. Meeting such nice people is priceless! Yes, I'm talking about @Crawfordesquire, @MacAttack , @notfromconcentrate , @tringlomane , @FordDlr. A couple of players left early but overall us die hard slot players looking to win played for about 2-1/2 hours. Enjoyed it even though we didn't hit a hand payout. Win some and you lose some!

 

Friday started the HL slot pull. Took a break on our awesome terrace after all that fun. Got ready for Downtown Vegas. Hit the Downtown Cocktail Room.

 

That's the Downtown Cocktail Room cocktail. No waitress, bartender waited on us. I asked for a recommendation he said, "made to order." I ordered something with lots of rum and fruity. M asked for something to wake up and not sure about L. Great drinks. Slow service but I'm glad we can now say we've been there and done that. It's really not that hard to figure out how to open the door to get into the place even tho none of the doors have handles.

Moved onto the El Cortez so I could get my SILVER STRIKE. Few places (only 2) have them but I'm on it. M played craps for awhile. Dinner was at The Grotto. Being from the Texas Gulf Coast I'm a huge Landry's fan. I would love everything about Landry's if the Golden Nugget had rooms with a terrace.

 

Made the rounds in Downtown. Fremont, 4 Queens, Golden Nugget. I have to say I was very impressed with the Golden Gate renovation. It's nice now. Security at the front door. Wow. That was a change since the last time we visited. I'll always miss the 99 cent shrimp cocktails but the hotel and casino is much nicer now. Made it to the Cosmo late at night.
Here goes Saturday:

Blvd. Pool: Great pool: Not too crowded. Not sure why Cabana's cost so much. A couple of years ago we got one for $500 but this year $2200? Nope wasn't in our budget. Fun time with shaded chairs. Water was cold enough that it took a minute or two to adjust but it was ok after that. Very refreshing. Expensive drinks $18 or so. Day Drink Believer was my choice and was very good.

Needed hair maintenance after the pool. Left the pool at 2:00 and walked up to schedule a Drybar appt. (blowout) at 3:00. That was perfect. Ask for Elena. She does a great job.

Gotta get to the TAMU game at 4:00 Bond Bar. Plenty of seats. Betting on and yes taking the spread on Texas A&M. I'm pretty proud of my team so far. My husband & I've work hard for our daughter to graduate debt free all while funding the TAMU athletic program. Summlin did he best he could with what he had.... I'll stop rambling now but I love Johnny Football. I hope he does well and makes a come back.

Sunday:

TBA

 

Great trip report so far. Good luck on some big slot hits! Have fun.

 

Those are 2 nice little hits! Congrats!

 

We did the same for our two A&M graduates... took a few years, but all of that debt is gone...and both of our boys were/are very grateful for that & are doing well.
One works for TU (gasp!) and the other is a successful electrical engineer.
...now, if we could only convince the NCAA to bring back the annual Thanksgiving Day game... ~sigh~...
Good luck & have fun!

 

Congratulations to your daughter on graduating from A&M. I have a lot of friends who went there and end up watching a lot of their football games. Looks like their team is going to get better... I, too, miss the A&M/UT game. Anyway...

I guess this is a huge weekend out there, driving cabana prices up. I really like the Cosmo cabanas because it is a F&B minimum and not just a cost. We made the $500 pretty easily when we went there.

Hope you come back with some winnings!!

 

To finish off Saturday, met up with CrawfordEsquire and met the beautiful B. They’re both very nice and we enjoyed having a drink with them at the former Mandarin Oriental now known as the Waldorf Astoria Skybar. Wonderful drinks and a amazing view of the sunset. Great time! Highly recommend the Skybar at sunset.

Headed down to the Cromwell where M wanted to play craps. He played on a winning table for about 6 hours. He loves craps at the Cromwell. He said the dealer and stockman were the very best, friendly, fun and helpful. L and I hit some slots but eventually made our way to bed. M was extremely relieved to find his wife and daughter safe and asleep when he arrived to the room at 3:00 am. That’s not usually the scenario in our family.

Sunday:
I woke up fairly early but knew my family wouldn’t. I had a plan to see some must see’s on every trip. Leaving the Cosmo my fIrst stop was next door at the WOW factor of the Bellagio conservatory . It’s beautiful and I love it. Walked into the Bellagio conservatory to see the sign that’s it is being renovated. I missed the previous seasonal display by 1 day. Such a disappointment! Played a few slots and won at the Marilyn Monroe, Diamonds are a Girls best friend machine long enough to get a Bloody Mary. My next stop would be NYNY. Walked outside and realized how hot it was and that my body was still feeling very tired from the past 3 nights. I needed food and a stronger Bloody Mary. Nacho Daddy it is! Sorry I didn’t take more food photos but I forgot due to being hungry and thirsty Great Bloody Mary and an appetizer of chimichangas. I would recommend Nacho Daddy’s. Watched a little bit of a Houston Texan game but they didn’t seem to be playing well. I’m not a fan of the NFL tho. Walked outside.. still very hot and body still tired.

What the heck, PH seemed to be the closest place to go. Ran into @tringlomane and his M on my walk to PH. Said hi and caught up for a moment. I love meeting VMBer’s and just randomly running into them was awesome. M reassured me that I really didn’t miss much at the previous conservatory. Made my way into PH and found my favorite machine a $1 Blazing 7 and played there until family was functional enough to catch up with me.

Hung out in PH awhile longer playing this or that but no hand pay yet. That was my goal! I needed a break by then so off we went back to our room for a break. M stayed in the casino to play Ultimate Texas Hold Em at the Cosmo. He did well and got hooked on that game.

Break time for me was scheduling a spa day.

Dinner plans at Joe’s Stone Crab in a few hours. L and I left early to visit the Venetian for some shopping in Grand Canal while M still continued to play cards. We Lyfted to the Venetian. Lyft is so easy and convenient. I wanted a new handbag but we got caught up on slots. I’m not really a shopper at all.

 

To make a long story short:

Joe’s Stone Crab at Ceasar is absolutely the very best. They even remembered my birthday from a previous visit. Got a brownie/ice cream and a candle. Make a reservation and you will be treated well.

Cosmo Spa: Massage was one of the best. Great treatments but It’s just not a spa that I want to hang out in. I wouldn’t buy a day pass. No mimosa’s... no alcohol.

APTIV: self driving car. Whoa, that’s an experience. Took two people in the front seat to drive a car going 10 mph. Too much traffic to change lanes. I’ll stick with LYFT or Uber. It was a new experience so I enjoyed the ride.

Hookah bar: Luna next to Encore. Ok place. Good hookah. Enjoyed it.

Javier’s at Aria: Very very good! Enchilada, rellano and taco is my kind of Mexican food.

Cosmo Pool: Vitamin Sea. I like the flower more than an umbrella.

Peppermill: Great as usual. Always a staple on your trip.

Aria Cafe: 2 great meals.

 

Cons:
Forgot to check the room for spots where things may have been hidden.
No hand pays but I gave it my best shot.

Pros:
First time to touch a Yellow chip. Thanks to M.
First time to meet other VMBer’s. Such nice people.

Love LV and will return ASAP!

Thanks for reading!

 

P.S. I don’t know the girl in the thong. Just threw that in for no apparent reason.

 

Great report and great to meet you guys too. The group pull really was fantastic fun.

 

Great TR, enjoyed reading and looking!