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Less than 24 hours to an action packed "quickie" 9/9-9/11/2019

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by DaiLun, Sep 8, 2019.

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  1. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    My Trip Report

    Well, getting ready for the September GGWU booster event. Staying at the Cromwell. Targeting 1500TC at CET over 2 days. Just enough to make the bonus. The remainder of play time will be at Silverton/M Resort. Got the car rental down to a "bearable" $30 a day (including taxes and fees).

    Scheduled for meals at the following venues:

    Lunch Monday - M Resort buffet
    Dinner Monday - Martorano's (Paris)
    Breakfast Tuesday - Magnolia's (QQQQ)
    Lunch Tuesday - TBD (Silverton)
    Dinner Tuesday night - Mr. Chow's (Caesars Palace)

    Will try to have pictures of all of the food.

    Reservations made where necessary

    So, here's the tentative schedule:

    Drop my son off at school
    Drive the the SCC train station, park the car there for my ex-wife
    Take the free shuttle from SCC to the SJ Airport
    Take a flight to Las Vegas (A-list standby)

    Wish me luck!!
     
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  2. Astribling

    Astribling Alice In Casinoland

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    Good luck! Have a geat trip!
     
  3. DiamondD

    DiamondD High Roller in Training

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    1500 TC’s over 2 days is 750 a day. It may work for the GGWU booster, but it seems like you’re leaving TC bonuses on the table since you’re so close to the 1000. Hit 1000 TC’s each day and you’ll get the daily TC bonus each day. Unless that’s not needed based on where you’re at TC wise today.
     
    Another Excursion
    Why Not?
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  4. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Good luck!

    I am at 259k GGWU points, 240k of which I got from Booster events tied to trips I was taking anyway. I did 5k TC so got 120k GGWU during both trips. Would love to fit in another but the September and October dates don't work for me. I hope though they have a big multiplier period in October like they had last October. I think it was 10x.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2019
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  5. Fet297

    Fet297 113 survivor North Vegas

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    Have a great trip! :peace:
     
  6. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    My plan is 500 one day, and 1000 the next. I am relinquishing my 7* this year and have already made Diamond Elite.
     
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  7. pebbles

    pebbles Micro Roller.

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    Good luck for your trip. Have a great time. Hope to see you soon.
     
  8. JosieCat

    JosieCat VIP Whale

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    Good luck! Have a great trip!!!
     
  9. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    Enjoy! Win!
     
  10. Jejas

    Jejas VIP Whale

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  11. spicole

    spicole No shirt, no shoes... NO DICE!

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    Too much planning!!!! Good luck!
     
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  12. sybgal

    sybgal VIP Whale

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    Best of luck.....looking forward to your updates!
     
  13. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Well, my luck continues to be miserable, further validating my decision to give up 7* this year and focus on Asia travel In 2020.

    I had good luck on the flight down. Got on a SWA flight that was about 90% full using A-list standby privileges. I will make A-list again for 2020.

    However, that's where my luck pretty much "ended" for now. I picked up the rental truck and checked in at The Cromwell. Picked up my buddies and went out to the M Resort. The M resort was uneventful. I didn't take pictures of the buffet, but for $17.99 lunch, it was quite a treat. 3 meat carving stations, one each for Beef, Chicken, and pork. A wide variety of sides, then only thing that I didn't see was a wide variety of seafood, but they had crawfish!!! These must be farm raised, since it's out of season for Louisiana.

    We saw a friend who was hosting a high stakes craps table at the M and he sat down to chat with us. I've known this guy since I was little. His Dad and my Dad were golf buddies before my Dad quit golf to take up tennis and help work on my tennis game.

    I played my $75 FP and made a total of $7.00, I was down $200 at one point, but got saved by a bonus on another variation of Wonder 4.

    That being done, we headed back to the strip. I dropped my buddies off at Bally's, and continued on to Harrahs, when my drought continued on Buffalo Grand. I got sick and tired of no wheel bonuses that I set off looking for greener pastures.

    There were all sorts of new machines, including 4 or 5 new variants on Buffalo. I will make it a point to take pictures today since I didn't have any "big" winnings or other slot porn to show from yesterday.

    On to Dinner at Martorano's. I am reminded WHY I don't eat Italian food in Las Vegas.

    YES - the restaurant atmosphere was nic
    YES - the prices were modest for a "high end" Las Vegas strip restaurant
    YES - the staff were friendly and attentive

    BUT - I guess I don't eat enough Italian food to be able to appreciate the cuisine. Steve Martorano makes it a point to let you know exactly what pasta he imports from Italy, but to tell you the truth, I couldn't distinguish it from Barilla pasta that you'd get in a box from Lucky supermarkets.

    So, here's what we had . . . .
    Fried Mozzarella, a special of the day
    One friend had
    Linguine with clam sauce, and said that it was the best he'd had in Las Vegas
    upload_2019-9-10_6-45-31.png
    Another buddy had Bucatini and Meatball. Bucatini is thick spaghetti with a little hole through the center, lengthwise. It helps to sop up the gravy, out waitress explained.
    upload_2019-9-10_6-45-18.png
    I couldn't even remember what I had and had to look it up in the menu this morning
    Oh, that's right. I'm pretty sure that this was Penna ala Vodka
    upload_2019-9-10_6-46-18.png
    Steve Martorano likes to call his tomato sauce "gravy", and it IS very good, but I look at the menu and when I see something like "rigatoni with sunday gravy", I can't keep thinking about rigatoni covered in a brown sauce
    We had a side order of ricotta gnocci
    upload_2019-9-10_6-50-48.png
    and I was the only one who had room left for dessert, I had a custard coveried in Raspberry/blueberry something-or-other.

    upload_2019-9-10_6-52-41.png
    The price was reasonable for "upscale LV Strip dining" $164 with tax and my buddy charged it to his room, I said that I will pick up the Mr. Chow's tab tonight.

    All, in all, since I'm not an Italian food "fan" I won't be going back. However, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't recommend it for someone who likes Italian food. I've eaten at Rao's to taste their Osso Buco, and now I've eaten at Martorano's and found their offerings well done, just not in my cuisine "sweet spot". The price point was modest, the service good and the food quality was good.

    OK, let me get a "little" racial here in further explaining why I won't go back. For the same reason I won't go to the "Mob Museum". I have NO interest in white criminals in America. I am American, so I guess it's part of my heritage, sort of, but I'm more interested in the Chinese triads than I am the Italian gangs or Black Panthers. Why I like "Warrior" instead of the Godfather (don't get me wrong, I like and appreciate Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, but I like Bruce Lee more)

    I take time here to paraphrase from an Asian man in prison in the 1970's

    Why is it that a group of angry black people are referred to as militants, and an angry group of white people are referred to as radicals, but an angry group of Chinese people are called gangsters?

    OK, enuff said about that. Sorry for my digression.

    Went back to the Cromwell. I am now WAAAAYYYY past the 1500 TC point, on my way to the next level at 4000 TC for the trip (80,000 GGWU points). I ended the night making 2800TC, down, but not as bad as last trip. OK, today's another day, right?!?! Let's get our juices flowing. Onward to 4000TC without getting too "beat up".
     
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  14. Golfer

    Golfer Well-Known Member

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    Sorry to hear about Martorano's. FWIW, Steve is in no way connected to his (distant) family's business. He and his wife are nice people, and he lost his son at an extremely young age. He has done a lot of charitable work, some of which I've been involved in.

    For as much grief as red sauce places get in reviews, red sauce is probably the closest to authentic Sicilian one can get in Las Vegas. Martorano's, and most of the other places often mentioned as upscale Italian in LV, are hardly that. You need to venture off strip to find really, really good Italian. And I've also found the quality at his Las Vegas location to be a distant second to his original place, where he monitors the quality carefully. Because he is right there. It's tough delegating things to employees,and expecting the same amount of ownership in the product.

    Italian food is somewhat an oddity as the better reputation places are often not close to the best, and the hole in the wall places are superior. Add personal taste preference into the mix, and it's more complicated.

    You remain a gentleman in my opinion, and I'm hoping you enjoy your vacation. My difference in food taste, and differing opinion regarding the proprietor is a respectful difference.
     
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  15. Emerson

    Emerson High-Roller

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    You are gonna go 7* by mistake the way you are tracking your play.
     
  16. Jejas

    Jejas VIP Whale

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    Because they are exactly the same thing
     
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  17. Gino

    Gino "The King of Inappropriate."

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    This took an unexpected and odd turn but, ok...lol

    Damn. :haha::haha::haha:
     
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  18. stlguy197239

    stlguy197239 VIP Whale

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    Being Italian, and from St Louis with a lot of amazing Italian restaurants, I won't even step foot in to Italian places in LV. I have been called a food snob about it but I know I am not going to find Italian food better than what I can find back home, and with so many other places to try in Vegas, it seems like a wasted meal.
     
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  19. Figment76

    Figment76 Tourist

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    I used to think that, but Carbone is better than anything on the hill, and not much more expensive. Tony's is still the best but I'm not much for a jacket and tie.
     
  20. Golfer

    Golfer Well-Known Member

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    I've been called a gangster. [​IMG]
     
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