M's Vegas Celebration for Becoming a Pediatric Nurse!

What's the deal on the VP machines that say Min bet $.50? How is that enforced?

 

The machine will physically won't let you bet $0.25. If you hit the bet one button on quarters, it will immediately jump to bet level 2.

The technology has been available for almost 5 years on Game Kings, possibly more. I first saw it at the All American Grille at Rio in Sept. 2014. They forced a 75c bet there back then.

 

How do you like M Resorts video poker overall? Due to the merger with Pinnacle we’ve got a really nice offer to stay there.

 

Great start for your report. Thanks for getting the pictures to work

 

I'm really enjoying your report, @tringlomane!
I can't wait for the next episodes.
Great pics, too!

Congrats to M on landing the dream part of her nursing career!
So many places to make a difference...
My bride originally wanted to work in labor and delivery, but has found her calling in working with senior citizen behavioral health.

Thank you!

RICHARD

 

Tring, just wanted to say I absolutely LOVE your reporting style! Very much enjoyed the read Glad you're winning so far, and congrats to M on landing the job.

Just a few questions I came up with in the course of reading...

- Out of curiosity, why not have a connecting door in a hotel room? I've never heard of someone not wanting that

- Were the Fiji waters comped (as in, given to you as a courtesy along with a beer, with the beer itself being a gaming comp if that makes any sense) at the M Resort? I've recently gotten to be quite into Fiji water, and that could play a role in persuading me to go to the M Resort

- How was the MGM pool complex overall? I've never really gotten a good look at it from above like the view you had in your photos. Would love to know if it was good/great/just okay from you and M's experiences there

- As someone who appreciates craft beers, how big of a difference do you find the plastic cups make compared to actual glasses, as far as taste?

 

Great report going. Congrats to M on her pediatric advancement. I stick to adults mostly.

 

Years ago, hearing someone fuck once at 2am in Tunica with security doing an inadequate job of shutting them up changed our tune. Connecting doors are almost always the weakest spot for sound proofing in a hotel room.

The Fiji wasn't mine, iirc, but the lady that had it didn't pay for it either. So I assume they will comp it as a drink. Dunno if they would want to comp both a beer and a Fiji water at once, but have a feeling they won't care. This is the same place that will comp a beer that costs $25 for a 750 ml bottle. Lol

One time Aria comped me a Fiji while playing a bartop. Also Cosmo you can use one drink ticket for a Fiji.

I think the MGM pool is one of the nicer pool complexed around, but I also enjoy lazy rivers. And theirs is better than Mandalay's. It's also very large, so most days, it's not ridiculously crowded.

There is not too much difference to me between glass and plastic. The most noticeable difference is if they chill the glass for you. Flavor will vary a bit depending on drinking temperature and a cold glass can be useful for some beer, especially for beers like your standard lagers or pilensers.

I know this trip, i preferred my go-to beer at MGM (Peace Love and Hoppiness) in a chilled glass.

 

Overall I think it's good, but I honestly never leave the 32 Degree Bar because I always want the beer. Lol The only drawback is it literally put in the middle of nowhere.

But even at the bar, they have either 9/5 DDB or 7/5 Bonus with a slow progressive for quarters, or 9/5 DDB STP for quarters, or 9/6 DDB and 8/5 Bonus for dollars. Hard to go wrong there.

They also have a couple full pay banks on the floor as cheap as quarters.

Ive never experimented if I can get a beer from the 32 Degree Bar from the floor before...lol I'm too impatient to try.

 

I tried asking for a beer from 32 Degree Bar from the floor; it didn't work. The cocktail server said, "We have Miller Lite." LoL.

 

Enjoying the report as always. Quite the beer selection at M Resort, too bad it's so far off The Strip. I usually just stick to cocktails as it's hard to find a good beer selection to be comped in the casinos, but you seem to always find the gems!

 

Great report and you nailed it regarding an adjoining door.

No problem if the neighbors are not loud but if they are you are screwed.

 

Part 2 of 2


Day 4: Thurs. 4/4/19 Swimming with Sharks and M's Body Revolts Against the Bellagio

Maybe for the first time ever, our plans are to go to Downtown for a second day! Make a quick $5 bet on the Golden Knights to beat the Coyotes first (lost) before going to check out the Golden Nugget's Tank Pool. So that required another bus pass. Well, unless we wanted to take this bus maybe.



Get downtown and briefly meet up with @vetsen who was kind enough to give us a room key for access. They want to charge non-guests $25 to get in! It's not THAT great. Sorry we couldn't coordinate better to hang out a bit more. You were right, it was a bit cold with that wind.

We wanted to go eat first though because it was after 1pm and we hadn't ate yet. We debated on something special to downtown like Heart Attack Grill for a bit. But in the end, we decide on trying the Garden Court Buffet at MSS since we had a Buy One Get One from the ACG. And with our Ruby-haired stepchild points, it ended up being fully covered. The buffet wasn't awesome by any means, but it wasn't too bad for a retail of $10.99 for Ruby. Tacos were pretty good.

After the buffet, we figured to do a couple of Boyd match plays with the book with M being the player. Those were two more $10 failures, and included one lady giving her shit for just playing her match play and leaving. She was giving up on match plays for the rest of the trip! Also collected another Binion's pic. Hey, it's free! So finally make it to the pool a bit after 3. It's an impressive complex.






















And last, but not least, a video of M going through the water slide at about the 15 second mark.



It's a very nice pool overall, and definitely would be using it if staying there, but the main level with the shark tank is very shaded. The pool is only about 80 degrees, very cold for my standards. There are jets in the bottom of the pool that pump out warmer water. I was often standing on those. And of course, the hot tub was too hot for me. M really enjoyed the pool though. And I did too, but I just wish it was more in the warm range.

Now it's after 430pm, so we were looking to get moving. But I had the itch to play the ACG match play we still had for the D. Nope. $25 down for me.





Get on the SDX. At Bonneville Transit Center, two very sketchy guys get on the back of the bus where we sat. They both stood, one guy couldn't stand up well enough, since he didn't bother to hold onto anything, and bumped into M a bit a few times. Ugh. According to M, one of them said to the other that he just got out of jail. Great. And when we got to the Arts Center stop, one of the guys said they could walk the rest of the way. But they didn't hit the stop request button, so the driver assumed that no one wanted to get off. So they start yelling loudly at the driver. Thank God the driver came to his senses and let them off.



While on the bus, I was texting @hughesj about possibly meeting since he was at Luxor with his family. Just so happens that he and his family wanted to see the Golden Knight parade that starts at New York New York. Well, I have wanted to catch that too, so we figured we would just bump into each other there.

The rest of the ride was without incident, but took forever. A good 45 minutes to get to the Excalibur.



Sat down at the Center Bar and got a Lagunitas IPA (6.2%; 3.75 sips) before the parade started.

It wasn't huge, but it was a nice little procession. M got pics and video.







After the parade went by, we all had a nice chat. M did note his Michigan St. shirt right away. She has been a Duke fan for years (long story). I was impressed that @hughesj had the whole family, a set of parents in tow, and the kids actually said they wanted to come to Vegas! They were definitely sprinkling in even more non-gambling/non-drinking activities than we were!

Eventually we all decided to go outside to see if there was any more of the parade. But unfortunately, I think we missed the bulk of it outside. We also bump into the rest of his family and have a nice chat with them. @hughesj is also into craft beer like me, so hopefully next time I can bump into you long enough to have some good beer!

Now we wanted to run back to the room to wash off more chlorine and eventually get another bite to eat. But a few pics on the walk back.











For dinner, we struggle a bit to decide what to eat. We eventually decide to buy a Groupon for the Original Chicken Tender. Unfortunately this time, it wasn't as good. The fries were overdone, and our chicken tenders where pretty tiny. We actually decided to complain about some of the tenders. The ones we got on Monday were much meatier. They did a few, which made it more ~fair, imo. If this is the way it usually was, we wouldn't come back. But next time, maybe we will go to Luxor food court instead. Wish the Monte Carlo location still existed as they were the best of the 3 locations, imo.

Now we get a hold of @Figment76, who had been going pretty hard at it with drinking and gambling all day, and he says he doesn't think he can make it much past ten. He apparently got up at 3:30am initially too! Also got a hold of @momnkid who said she also would be around. So finally at long last, we're heading to Cosmo!!! Yay! On the way @Figment76 sent me a pic of a Royal drawing three, but why couldn't it have been on the 4X or 12X he had on board?!?! The 12X would have been a major trip changer!







Love this place even though I'm total trash for it. lol



@Figment76 meets us in the Chandelier sitting area, and we chat about our trips so far. His day so far had mostly involved drinking and naps with VP while he was awake. Lol He was also with a local buddy, but iirc, he was already out for the night. Haha One of Figment's drinking escapades included about 8 Bellagio cocktails in about 2 hours at the Sportsbook. Well, that were we were eventually headed to try some. He also provided us with a room key since we still hadn't hit the Cosmo Pool yet! Ugh! I tried to talk him into a little more gambling and drinking, but he had his fill for the day. I probably would have had enough too. Sorry we didn't get to hang out more, man. Let me know when you want to plan a Blue Chip weekend!!!

During our chat, @momnkid wasn't feeling very well either and texted that she needed to take a break in the room. No big deal to me, I was 100% sure I was coming back to Cosmo tomorrow afternoon.

Chandelier was busy as always, and it didn't look like there were two back to back open seats. So hit up the sports bar. Bastards didn't have Space Dust though, so I settled for Sculpin IPA (7%; 3.75 sips). M had a vodka sprite, but since she didn't ask for flavored vodka, she wasn't that impressed.

3s have been very good for me this trip!



Even M got into the act! Drinks are on Cosmo!



Now wander over to Bellagio.



Eiffel Tower Video









Bellagio Fountain Video (Game of Thrones)



M takes this pic every time. lol





Obligatory Conservatory Shots



















M likes the new Bellagio carpet more than the old one. She still hates the lamps though.



The old area to compare.



I head to the sportsbook bar, but she takes a quick detour to the Art Gallery first.











So I get to the sports bar and get one of these. The Bellagio cocktail. Quite peachy. The bartender made sure I knew it was a “girly drink”...haha



I get off to a HOT start at Bellagio.

Hit Jacks again.



Then 90 seconds later, I hit 9s!



If only I was playing “Shockwave Poker” now! That would have been another $1000!

M had a sip of my cocktail and thought it was good enough to have one of her own. Unfortunately that was a BIG mistake. Something in that cocktail made her react very badly to it. She started to get stuffed up and red very quickly. Ugh. She had taken Zyrtec D recently too. I suggested she pop a double dose as she was struggling. The bartender was nice enough to grab the mixers for the drink at let us take a pic, so we know not to bother with these two things for any drink of hers. But I got another 2/3rds of a cocktail out of it I guess!



M also made a cardinal mistake when playing a game without meters, she was betting 1 quarter when the bartender was looking. He was good about it though, and just kindly reminded her to bet max at VP. To cut her variance down, she moved to blackjack. The dealer stand on 6 card rule bailed her out here.



After the cocktails, I stepped it up a notch with 3 of these in about an hour (9%; 3.75 sips).



Feeling pretty good when we left around 1am. And I nearly kept all the profit from the quads!

Now we begin to head back toward MGM. Stop at Planet Hollywood because M was getting a bit hungry as the Chicken Tenders was a bit less than expected. So she got a Hawaiian BBQ from Earl's, but I kept with my liquid diet. Another Lagnuitas IPA please!



No notable hits for me, but the lady two units down from me got KQJT of clubs and pulled the Ace of clubs for the Royal! We all erupted!

I had a fun walk back to MGM after all the drinks. And when we walked by Whiskey Down, I was still tempted to have more! But M talked me into going to bed with her for once. It likely was a good idea since I was pretty drunk by 230a.

Day 4:

MGM Grand -$5
The D -$25
New York New York -$8.75
Cosmo +$15.30
Bellagio +$60.75
Planet Hollywood -$20

Day 4 Total: +$17.30

Trip Total: +$909.35

 

Day 5: Fri. 4/5/19 If I Had a Brain, I Would Go Out and Play with It

Get up. I feel decent, but I think not drinking more at MGM was a good decision. Get ready for the day and check out. We couldn't check out on the TV because M noticed one extra hold on her CC. So she wanted to make sure that should fall off. The employee was surprised to see it, but she said it should fall off and she was right.

For lunch today, we were going to use the food credit that Will the bellman gave us at the beginning of our stay.

Other side of the “We're sorry” voucher.



My food. Again, my appetite sucks after drinking...haha



A chicken Caesar salad, large bag of Popchips, and a soda cost $25...sheesh!

The salad and chips were pretty good at least. And we were reviewing over the trip over lunch and my good fortune was bought up. Then I immediately thought. OH SHIT! I left $600 in the safe! Well, that immediately paused my lunch as I had to go back to the front desk with egg on my face saying I left something in the safe. They made me a temp key and I was able to recover the money. At least we were still on Signature property I guess! I looked for Will too, thinking if I saw him I would thank him and give him some more bucks. Unfortunately I didn't. I have a feeling we might be staying there again though, so I'll keep my eyes peeled.

After lunch I text @jpw711's go-to bellman, Vic, that we need to stow our bags for the day and we are on our way from the Signature. As we got near, he started to wheel out the cart toward us and met us about 100 feet closer than the desk. Very helpful. Then we were thinking of heading to go toward Cosmo pool for the day. But as we get near the Strip doors, we think, “Shit, we need to go to Hooters to cash out my voucher.”

Wall near TAP Lounge where we have the Hooters realization.



Maybe next time Trop!



MGM also going to busy with this this weekend.



Hooters' gift shop giving wisdom.



Working on the new David Copperfield wrap.



Vegas Baby, Yeah!!!



On the way toward Cosmo we actually swing by Fat Tuesday in the the shops just south of miracle mile. The prices were way better than I guessed! So we got a frozen blueberry lemonade for the rest of our journey to Cosmo as we planned to chat with @momnkid first before the pool. We really had a fun time chatting with her with a lot of laughs over a wide variety of topics. All the while I told her that I would play that 5 play video poker machine at Cosmo with the dealt royal over $90k because I was up for the trip and should go for it. But of course, since my mind seemed to be absent that day, I did not see the machine while walking on the floor and forgot about it! Oops! Maybe it will still be up for grabs on our next trip!

Now to our happy place, Cosmo Boulevard Pool.





From Britney, to J Lo, to Gwen.



It was fairly busy as it was a Friday afternoon. When we arrived there wasn't really an open pair of floating loungers. But given the weather and the wind, it might have been a little too cold for that anyway. So we spent most of the time in the hot tub. I like their hot tub because it's just hot, not burn you to death hot. And they have a shelf for you to lounge on too.

After the pool, I wanted to squeeze in a drink at the Chandelier Bar. Even at 430p it was pretty busy. At first there weren't two side by side seats available, and we gawked around. I was initially going to play standing up, but then two guys soon left. I beckoned M to take a seat. Our bartender was Sone, who seemed really nice. At Cosmo, I usually seem to get standoffish men to serve me. Haha We ask Sone for raspberry lemon drops and away we go!



For the most part, I was playing Super DDB, but I also decided to give one more shot at those deuces with Double Bonus Deuces Wild since the payback between those two games are nearly identical.

I was able to get this for my trouble.



But soon after, it dealt me AAA in that game and scared the crap out of me, I don't want a natural quad Aces in that game! I'd take 5 Aces for $200 though...lol So I ran back to Super DDB.

I was running low on my drink and Sone came by and asked if I needed anything and I say no. But then she looks at the machine and says, “but you have a drink ticket!” I was taken a bit aback by this as I only had put on about 10 points. Maybe the machine hadn't timed out from the guys before us?

M, who was taking the low variance route of Blackjack again, was playing at a clip close to me, and soon after M's first drink ticket appeared after about 10 points! I should have took a pic of her first drink ticket...oops. Lol We both got another. Unfortunately, my $20 got ate, but two drinks isn't terrible. And M only lost a dollar!

Now we made the executive decision to burn off the identity play that M had. There is a good chance we come back to Vegas and Cosmo within 12 months (she's already considering her birthday again), but just in case, we thought it would be better to just burn it off. So she gives Buffalo a try with it and hits the bonus on her first spin! Not a bad bonus, but I would have hoped for more with 33 spins (just shy of 30X bet).



I decide to try Casino Royale. That was mostly a bust. Best hit I got. I did get one M symbol on the spin though (1st reel; 4th row). lol The biggest troll on the Wizard of Vegas asked me once if I called my girlfriend M because she looks like the character M in the James Bond movies. I'm not sure why he thinks I would be dating a woman in her 80s. smh In this trip, it's pretty obvious what M stands for. I wasn't going to cut out her first name multiple times on the MGM slot displays, I'm too lazy for that. haha



Now we make a quick pit stop over to Cromwell so I can try the “Not So Ugly Ducks”. M had to go to the bathroom and the waitress came by. Was I supposed to say no? Lol I got a regular St. Archer IPA, not even close to their hazy IPA, the regular IPA is malty and unremarkable (7%; 3.5 sips)

Some NSUD highlights/lowlights





We then swing by Chipotle between Harrah's and Casino Royale for dinner. Bastards aren't the same as the rest of the country in terms of price anymore, but still reasonable. While eating, a deaf-mute gave me this. I gave him $2.





I was trying to hold on sticking around center strip so I could bump into @TriggerMN and @Not at the table Carlos. @TriggerMN planned to hit up 3535 at Linq ASAP.



While waiting, there were a couple of beers from The Book I wanted to try.

Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout (5.3%; 4 sips) The PB and coffee mix is well done.



And another craft sellout (but can't get it back home), Hop Valley Bubble Stash IPA. Nothing noteworthy (6.2%; 3.75 sips).



My buy-in from The Book eventually evaporated, and I headed over to 3535 to wait for @TriggerMN. @Not at the table Carlos (Earl) said he was breaking from the group at Ellis Island. Trigger shows up first, and we quickly began to catch up. He gets on the board first with a @wanker751 quad (6s). Then soon afterward he has a decision to make. He was dealt QT5 of hearts with garbage. I hint for him to hold QT and go for it. He says he usually doesn't do that, but listens. Then on the top line he nails the Royal for $1000!!!

Trigger lets it just sit on the screen while we both soak in the amazement. Then Earl shows up and takes a look at it too and we all celebrate! Earl is a funny guy with a lots of energy, also has a bit of a dorky side like me being a math teacher. I really would like to spend more time with him on one of his adventures if our trips coincided.

The clock keeps ticking away, and we need to creep back toward the MGM. But a few interesting pics from the Linq on the way out.



I like the sign.





Get to MGM Grand with some time to spare. Enough time for one more Peace Love and Hoppiness with Alex behind the bar. Said my goodbye to him, drink my beer, and eventually get the bags. We end up taking the last WAX to McCarran.

What a finished David Copperfield wrap looks like.



Sadly, we were so early and the bus was 15 minutes late, we were at the bus stop almost a half hour. Doh. Oh well. Red eye from McCarran sucked as usual. I felt like this row was even smaller than normal. Also very choppy air for the first 3/4ths of our flight. Although the last day was a bit rough, it was a great trip overall for me. M didn't do shabby either, only lost about $50 for the week! And when she is already thinking about coming back for her birthday, it's always a good sign! Thanks for reading!

Day 5:

Cosmo -$29.80
Cromwell -$5
The Linq -$30
MGM Grand -$7.50

Day 5 Total: -$72.30

Trip Total: +$837.05

 

Thanks for a great read and congratulations on an awesome trip.

 

Before I forget, the Carrot Salad! Is Ham a new addition, I don't remember that in Tunica, but I may have missed it.

Now on to part two!

 

You can get Fiji comped at Caesars properties if you are Diamond and they will also let you add a beer with it. What is weird is that the nicer properties comp the small bottle but the lesser properties comp a large bottle.
I with Tring on the no adjoining rooms. It is definitely a deal breaker.

Mark

 

Yes, @hughesj and I are Vegas degenerates who are willing to bring their kids to vegas just to get there!!! It was nice meeting you and M. Hopefully next time we will be in town without family so we can all drink it up!!!!

 

Great report

Vic's a great guy, if you decide to fill out the MGM survey, PM me and I'll give you his last name so you can get him a gold star!

Now find another cheap Spirit fare and come sleep on my couch in 9 days while I'm there!

 

Great report Tring and love all the pics. Awesome going home a winner. Now I'm going to have to track down a St Archer hazy IPA on my next trip.

Mark