20th Trip: Moments of Perfection in the Midst of Chaos

Note: This report will be in two parts, with the second part coming in roughly 24 hours.

Day 1: Wed. 9/5/18 Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go!

Well, it's my girlfriend M's birthday again, so we all know what that means. VEGAS!!! This time thanks to some kind help, we were able to receive an offer from Ballys that we couldn't refuse. For the first time in forever, we didn't even change hotels! Just like our first trip together when we were also at Ballys! So this give me even more time to try to cross some things of my VP bucket list, which included these before going on this journey...

1. Handpay
2. Deuces while playing quarter+ Deuces Wild
3. Dealt Aces (hopefully on a good game for it!)
4. A spade Royal
5. A kicker quad while playing TDB or TTB.
6. Two royals in one trip.
7. Really unlikely - Make a mathematically correct Royal holding AT suited.

I hoped to get one of these crossed off, or maybe even more! Hope you follow along to find out!

Starting the day off with a tradition as of late. M getting her nails/toes done right before going to Vegas.



while I go to Ameristar for a bit to warm up. Well, that worked out wonderful this time as I can now cross off #5 off the list even before making it to Vegas! And the best one of those to boot!





Now my wallet was over $800, and I'm a weirdo and decide that's too much to carry at once, so I went to the ATM to deposit money BEFORE going to Vegas?!?!

Flight was pretty uneventful on Frontier. We were a bit delayed. Allowed us to arrive in Vegas right at sunset. Pretty cool time to arrive.





Got a rental car at the last minute. Most of the time they wanted $200+, we were able to do a Priceline express deal for $133 the day of the trip. No we didn't drive all the way from Missouri, thank God!



Driving toward our home for the next six nights.



Check-in as usual hits a bit of a bump. To ensure a king, we actually booked an accessible room as it was the only thing available at the time of booking that was a king. Unbeknownst to us though, apparently EVERY accessible king there has an adjoining door, which we can't stand also faced noisy Flamingo Rd. So we inquire if we can find a king without an adjoining door. Well because they “overbook” kings over weekends, the lady didn't want to give us one. M is getting furious because we could have had two queens at the Linq instead and she was tempted to take it, but I talked her into booking the king here. Eventually the manager gets involved and gets us a king that doesn't face Flamingo, but it also had an adjoining door! So we go down again one more time, and finally room 1442. A quiet, no-view, no adjoining door room! Also a ten dollar food credit that was a pain in the butt to spend for declining housekeeping.





Due to all the switching, it was pushing ten, and we decide it's probably better to do something light and quicker. So we picked Earl of Sandwich.



While we were eating, we watch a lady play Buffalo Grand in the casino. Could hear the “ding ding da ding ding” from ten yards away. She was doing pretty well on it. I kept noting the game throughout the trip. Thought about trying it during the trip. Did I remember to??? Hell no.

View from Ballys 14th Floor hallway



Walk from Planet Hollywood to Cosmo











Checked out the new Alice in Wonderland theme area. M being a Disney freak really enjoyed it.







We don't stick around for long, and make our traditional stroll to the Conservatory.





We were pretty disappointed in this one though. Seemed like a snooze fest. But still busy at 1140p.







Dogs playing pool at the Hermes store



Watches and a random poker hand. Wouldn't you think you would set up like a Spade Royal Flush here to display?



Now it's really pushing midnight. And finally I get to gamble and drink a bit.

First beer in Vegas Hop Nuts “The Golden Knight” (7.5%; 3.75 sips)



And very first hand in Vegas, dealt 5X full house?!?! Yes, please!



Still waiting on that Spade Royal...



I like how Bellagio is still old school. What lights and tickets?

And when M came over, bartender asked her if she wanted something, and she declined as she wasn't gonna play much.

But eventually as she kept playing 1 quarter at a time, he actually gave her a Fiji water! And made a joke that the "Bellagio would like to offer you this to keep you hydrated and gambling all night." Haha

Well, that move worked a bit as I got another beer and began to relinquish my winnings. Dogfish Head 90 min IPA (9%; 3.75 sips).



Had a bad multiplier drought and bricked a 10X too, ouch! Slide away a $5 winner which went into the bartender's tip cup.

Slide over to Cromwell for full pay VP. End up getting Fat Tire (5.3%; 3.75 sips) as waitress said they only had St. Archer IPA and almost puked that up the first time I had it...

VP was sorta pukey too. And I'm an idiot letting M play TDB on one coin. Both the Royal and AWAK are reduced there. But she was quadless.

I tried Deuces with little avail. Still no Spade Royal!



Changed it up with a game @Gaggles played in Laughlin, Deuces and Joker. Got a quint at least!



But still down $23.25 after $100 total coin-in (2 Tier Credits) *jerk-off motion*.

I still wanted to drink and play a bit, but M guilted me into bedtime. She said, "You can do what you want." But I knew her tone meant otherwise.

On the way back to Ballys, this group of people wanted to photo bomb M. And I said “No, no, no.” Most of the group moved on, but one guy remained. So I relented to him. Lol FYI, the VP machines in the background is the “full pay” bank.





This trip I also decided I would try to take better records to see where my money went gambling.


Day 1:

St. Louis:
Ameristar St. Charles +445


Vegas:
Bellagio +5
Cromwell -23.25

Day 1 Vegas Total: -18.25
Vegas Trip Total: -18.25

They should also rename Ballys, Hard Rock, because that's what the new resort room's bed is.

 

Day 2: Thurs. 9/6/18 Nice and Easy Now...

Wake up at the annoying time of 730am as I'm on a hard as a rock bed, the top of the curtain lets sunlight flood in, and I'm not still drunk. Eventually, M gets up and we decide we would bother to check out the Ballys pool one more time. Since we didn't plan to stay long, we tried some aerosol sunscreen. Damn that shit's cold! We went to the “blu pool” on our very first trip together and weren't impressed. Yeah. Still not impressed.

View from parking garage







Well, I told people on the forum to look for the “Nordiques Hat”, and @casinokid68 spotted me that morning. We talked about meeting up anyway, so this was nice and convenient for us. Great guy with a lot of stories. Had a good time chatting with him. Unfortunately, we talked a bit too long for that aerosol sunscreen. Whoops!

Decide to do Green Valley Buffet for lunch because my lack of beer last night actually made me hungry for a lunch buffet for once. This time they had more dishes that I liked and nearly everything I had was very good. Then we play a bit in the casino and don't do terribly well, but I spot this on the way out, and get a good return from it.



Go to M's favorite store in the world, Kohl's, before heading back to Ballys.



Thought maybe we would go to Cosmo's pool that afternoon, but we sorta were beat from whatever, so we just relaxed in the room for a few hours. Eventually we got moving for dinner at Ellis Island BBQ.

Traditional BBQ Chicken and Ribs with Root Beer



Then gamble there for a little while. We find a nickel bank with some full pay games, so we had a good time playing VP together for cheap.

Because math told me to, 8/5 ACE$ Bonus (99.40%) for me and 9/6 DDB (98.98%) for M because she likes DDB...lol

Best I could muster, meh.



But M got Aces!!!



After EI, we decide to hit up SLS for the first time in years.

Resorts World Progress





This is what the mascot thinks of us...



View of The STRAT (LOL) from SLS garage



SLS Pool from the garage



Just got there before Unami Bar closed. It was worth it... Joseph James Citra Rye on tap. Outstanding. One of the beer highlights of the trip (5.4%; 4.5 sips)



Bartop ate my twenty though.

M did better with a rare 5 of a kind at “Texas Tea”.



Before going to the main bar for another beer, I found another Ultimate X game to play. And I hit a kicker quad on DDB et. al.!



On Deuces Wild!



With my blood boiling a bit, go back to the bar and play the best bartop game available. Can't you tell what it is??? LOL



Get a maltier than expected Union Jack IPA (7%; 3.75 sips) from a bottle.

SLS hit me for a bit. Now move on to here.



Had a few beers here while M played bingo.



Finally a “Citrus Mistress” that wasn't overly malty. I still don't see it @jpw711 (6.5%; 3.75 sips)



Then a Stone Delicious IPA that's misnamed (7.7%; 3.75 sips)



While at Palace Station, I, Mr. Non-Observant, witnessed my first successful hooker/john transaction at a VP bar. Yes, I've never noticed a success before then. Lol

Eventually get back to the Strip, looking forward to checking out “The Book”, the make over of TAG and the Sports Book area. Oh wait, it's closed already! Doh!



This new carpet is gonna look like shit quick, imo.



This is going to go by the way of the dodo soon too.



This place isn't going anywhere though. Lol



Even though it was closed, I was highly disappointed with “The Book” already. With the help of M's good vision, I could read what they offered. The 24-beer “beer wall” was mostly filled with sell-out big beer garbage, or big beer outright.

Well, the night was still young and I was still thirsty. I ran into Dan, my favorite bartender at Catalyst, and fortunately he snagged some of the best of TAG before it closed. So I delved into the “secret stash” and started off with one of @wanker751's favorites, “Dragon's Milk” (11%; 4.25 sips).



Followed up with a Burton Baton (10%; 4 sips). Felt like it aged well for an oaked IPA and 11 months time. Tasted better than it did in May.



After that no pics...Linq cost me $36+$10 in tips for 14 lousy tier credits. M was a trooper and stayed up with me til about 4 when we both retreated to that hard bed.


Day 2 Results:
Green Valley Ranch +38
Ellis Island -6.92
SLS -29.50
Palace Station -25
Linq -35.96

Day 2 Total: -59.38
Vegas Trip Total: -77.63

 

Day 3: Fri. 9/7/18 M Gets Drunk for Her Birthday!

I woke up again around 9, stupid curtains and bed. Eventually we get moving so I could attend the VMB Group Slot Pull while M spent time at our favorite pool at Cosmo.







M waited a long time for this to appear on the board. She was tempted to get some until she saw it was like $14 a slice!



I had a great time at the slot pull. Many thanks to @Crawfordesquire for setting it up! Really enjoyed meeting @MacAttack, @notfromconcentrate, @Crawfordesquire, @UnicornTX and hubby M, and @FordDlr and his mother B. A great group of people, which I have learned what this forum is all about!

I didn't participate in the actual slot pull, as $200 was too rich for my blood. But it didn't go too badly for the others as they got $150 back. Those that weren't quite done with gambling continued on with another $100, and that lasted another good hour! Before you know it, we were there for 2 hours! And they made a last minute stab at WoF with $60, which I tossed $10 into as well...and that went like this...



It was late enough that the group that stuck around also got to see M. We were getting hungry though, so we thought we should continue on to our original lunch plan, which was to eat the “Original Chicken Tender” and collect her birthday freeplay at Excalibur ($20) and Luxor ($5-$100 wheel spin...average value $17.40). Yes, we stood in line long enough for me to figure that out.



They couldn't even bother to capitalize that eyesore Park MGM



The snooze of a pool area at Park MGM



The Statues of Liberty. The Twizzlers one looks like her tongue is out. haha







Original Chicken Tender...like the Perry the Platypus shirt I was wearing says...”Nom Nom Nom”



M in a happier state before she waited in line 20 minutes before receiving $5 of freeplay...Doh.





Dragon at Gift Shop at Excal, M actually bought the teal “Team Unicorn” shirts behind the dragon for her and her 8-year old cousin.



Freeplay wasn't too bad to M overall. No major wins pictured, but she converted it all to cash.





Decided to sneak into the Tropicana pool. Nothing really to talk about.



Now this leads us to Hooters for a quick coupon run initially. This is where the night begins to change. To get $10 FP she needs to play $10 through. So we belly up to the sportsbook bar. I try a new beer to me, an Estrella Jalisco made by Modelo (4.5%; 3 sips). Was close to a Corona to me.



Then yes, I saw it available, so I had to have it for “free”. I've been wanting to try it all summer even though @Figment76 warned me not too. Bud Light Orange! It reminded me a bit of Triaminic Orange cold medicine, but I liked that one as a kid! Lol (4.2%; 3 sips)



All the while, M had been fed vodka and sprites for the past 90 minutes. At least 5 of them. So she is finally starting to feel something for once. She started to call the place “The Big Titty” bar after awhile thanks to our well-endowed bartender...lol

Eventually we both had to “break the seal” and M found this in the women's bathroom, wtf?



Eventually we finally bid adieu to Hooters and hit up MGM real quick to add to the drinking at Whiskey Down.

The best beer of the trip...I should have got more and I did get two! Big Dog's “Peace, Love, and Hoppiness” (5.3%; 4.5 sips). Thanks to @jpw711 for pointing it out!



M got another vodka and sprite and we make a few more sports bets before heading back up the strip.







We go to miracle mile shops because she wants some stuff from the Tervis store.



At this point, she's really feeling it. Very talkative and having numerous balance corrections. It's a funny sight. But I felt a little bad for those Tervis employees...lol

But at this point, she is saying she's hungry and we should eat. And I decide that maybe trying Chipotle again is best in terms of time. I couldn't have been more wrong. It tasted the same as May. Burn your mouth off and not great chips. M had to use a lot of sour cream. And that might have led to how she felt the rest of the night...shitty.

We weren't as drunk as this guy at 11pm though.



But yeah, I think the sour cream, spicy tacos, and alcohol did a number on M. She now didn't feel well and didn't want to go anywhere. I offered to stick around in the room, but she told me to go out and she'd be okay. So I did, hoping to bump into Stan at “The Book” before it closed. Nope Stan not there. Multi unit games both taken even though they would close in 20 minutes...lol Tried to sit at a unit where a guy hit AAAA2 on DDB at first, but wouldn't take my money. So I move a unit over and the VERY FIRST HAND! That's what you get for ruining TAG's beer selection, assholes!!!



Went back to Catalyst and got more of TAG's secret stash.

I gave this Dragon's Milk 4.5 sips this time!



Also, the woman in the background of the beer played next to me for awhile, and was really chatty toward me. At first I sorta thought she was a hooker, and I didn't tend to show tons of interest. But she also was using a player's card and was playing keno at a normal pace, so maybe a tourist looking for fun? If I was single, I may have inquired a bit further about that. haha

A hit to keep me afloat.



Move to Bugsy's for a bit. Chatted with a guy that was there for a cruise voucher that weekend. He hit Aces w/kicker so he did alright for that moment.

Had a Lagunitas IPA (6.3%; 4 sips) as it was the best choice they had.





Played a bit at Cromwell too before going back to Ballys around 4, but nothing big to show for it.


Day 3 Results:
Cosmo -10
Hooters -35
MGM Grand -20
Cromwell +5.50
Linq +24.50
Flamingo +6.25
Ballys -4.50

Day 3 Total: -33.25

Vegas Trip Total: -110.88

Having a blast so far!!! More to come!!!

 

Love your reports man. VP and beers, the best way to Vegas.

 

Always look forward to these...

 

I'm enjoying your trip report!

 

Love the trip report. Great pics. Do you hit off-off Strip casinos?

 

Great report; looking forward to Part II.

 

You mean the independent small off strip casino types? We have occasionally, but not as much as I would like. This time we stuck to bigger off-strip casinos. Well, except Ellis Island. Wanted to check out Tuscany, but just didn't happen. Sorry @The Stig.

 

Great report and sounds like a great trip!! Happy Birthday to M and
hope you get the elusive Royal before you go home!! Thanks for sharing.

 

Great report....awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

 

Was hooters worth the walk? I kinda want to walk in and play some bartop just to kill time. What was the best game?

 

I don't mind it there. Also have decent ACG coupons.

This was the best game at quarters at the sportsbook.



But for dollars they have things like 9/6 DDB, and 9/7/5 DB at bars. Also 9/6 DDB for quarters on the floor. I didn't notice any changes from what I've wrote in the bartop sticky.

 

The ONE TIME you are observant and see a Hooker/John transaction and you don't take a picture? C'mon Man. I know 100% M would have got the pic.

 

M says you're absolutely right. Lol

 

You two were all over the strip. We ate Ellis Island ribs Tuesday night. One of my favorites. Sorry to just miss you Friday morning but taking an earlier than usual flight did work great What was the problem with using your ten dollars no house keeping money?

 

Sorry we couldn't meet up either!

Well, the $10 credit was limited to certain locations and we struggled to figure out what to spend it on. We eventually spent it on apple juice and some cookies that I pretty much forgot about until now. Whoops. Lol

 

Well go find your cookie. Nosh is an easy place to spend ten dollars. Used to be ten dollars a day I did it then. I kept housekeeping this past 5 night trip since it was only 1 refund

 

Regarding goal # 7...how high does the progressive have to be to make holding the 10 the correct move?

Nice report so far, great detail and pics.

 

Great report @tringlomane. Looks like you and M had a great time for her birthday. I’m not a huge beer guy anymore but I always look forward to your sips scale.