Off To Vegas via Reno..."Welcome to Summer" Trip @ Aria 5/28-6/2

It is time for a little vacation in one of our favorite places--Las Vegas. We added a side trip to Reno on the way. We originally planned on going to Vegas today but decided to slide the trip a day...and then decided to leave today anyway. We decided that a stop in Reno might be fun. Going somewhere new!

We have a decent amount planned but it revolves around the pool, food, and gambling. We'll add shows in next time out. As usual, gambling will be (mostly) craps for me and slots for my wife. I ill try to add some pictures along the way.

I will try to keep the report "live" but all bets are off once the fun begins!

Here is our basic plan, with some changes we made already:

Friday, May 28
Southwest Flight HOU to RNO
Check-in at Peppermill Reno
Reservation @ Chi (Peppermill)

Saturday, May 29
Southwest Flight RNO to LAS
Aria Limo--Arrival Transportation
Check-in @ Aria Sky Suites—Sky Suite Penthouse Strip View
Sky Pool Mega Gazebo
Reservation at Carbone (Aria)

Sunday, May 30
Sky Pool Gazebo
Reservation at Catch (Aria)
Foundation Room

Monday, May 31
Sky Pool Cabana
Canceled--Reservation at Din Tai Fung (Aria)
Reservations at Sinatra (Encore)

Tuesday, June 1
Sky Pool Cabana
Canceled--Reservation at Din Tai Fung (Aria)
Reservation at Morimoto (MGM)
Canceled--Reservations at Ri Ra (Luxor/Mandalay Bay)

Wednesday June 2
Aria Limo to Airport
Southwest Flight LAS to HOU

Thanks to all who have done reports lately...as it gets closer to the trip, I always read more and more here!

If you are at the Aria and see a guy with grey hair and a beard that seems to remind some of a certain Colonel in the chicken business, say hello!

 

My wife has a little bit of a Peloton obsession. She hates when it tells here she is "behind" her last month's pace. So...we had to get up a little early so she could get a ride in before we leave.

All packed and almost ready to load up. Airport main parking shows the two lots are 96% and 88% full and the day is young. They have had one floor of the "red" lot closed for some time and I wonder if that is still part of the issue. I am wondering what kind of a zoo we will run into when we arrive. At least we have "Pre-check" and my wife has boarding slot A1. We'll do valet because I am not quite up to walking long distances with my new knee while dragging baggage. Last time even the handicapped spot (I rarely use them though I have tags) was pretty far away from the terminal. The knee gets better each day, so I don't think the walk distance will be a consideration much longer...

 

Sure hope not!!!

 

Safe travels. Have a relaxing and lucky trip!

 

Fixed it...thanks!

 

Airport (Hobby) is not too bad. Curbside check-in was open, so that was easy. TSA Pre was smooth but had to wait a second or two...two ahead of me with metal to be scanned. Upgrade to A5 for me. Now eating at Pappadeaux. Then...off to Reno!

 

Tuscany Tower
Sienna Suite

 

Flight left an hour late
No cabs at airport
Check-in easy
Craps not going good
Wife got a $2,500 handpay on $100 free play after losing the first $100

 

Hope craps turns around for you. What is craps like at the Peppermill? Never been to Reno but might head there for work this year. What are the minimums? How many tables?

Congrats on the hand pay!

 

Craps was $15 in the afternoon and dropped to $10 in the evening. They did not raise it as the open tables filled. They have 4-6 tables; 4 were open. The table games area was a pain in the ass because they had dividers and it was hard to look out across it...and then I drank.

Strip odds. Dealers were solid. They all called me by name within one hour of me arriving. I was betting for them on a regular basis.

I was up a lot but my wife kept winning at slots so I played a lot more than I probably should have. We ended up $1400 up on the evening. Since I paid for room and dinner, I am asking that a host review our play but they will not be in until after we depart.

The craps tables had side, top of head, and middle of the table plastic dividers. I hit the one in then middle a few times. They are scheduled to come down June 1.

Another weird thing was that they had a dealer audition on a Friday evening. He was from a casino that has not brought table games back... He was good but rusty. They took him to deal 21 after craps.

I did play 21. Double deck hand shuffled. $10 min paying 3:2. It was fun, but the house got me for $200 there.

 

Up and about. Getting ready to head to the airport.

Vegas time!

 

My wife’s quote last night after she slotted for 6-7 hours:

“You meet the nicest toothless people here”

She did meet some nice folks...

 

I wish more casinos had this little wet bar thingy in the bedroom!

 

Aria Sky Suites Penthouse Strip View

 

All checked in and off for some pool time!

 

Got a call back from a host at Peppermill. They comped off $200 from our bill and now I have a contact there.

We earned $80 in comp dollars. Seems fairly generous.

Craps note—on some of the horn bets they keep fifty cent pieces and pay some of what is breakage or whatever it is called in many places. The one bad thing is that they collect the vig upfront on “buy” bets. They pay 2x on deuces and 3x on 12.

 

Mega Gazebo is a little big for the two of us...but nice...

 

I’m enjoying your trip report. You’re living the “Suite Life”. Pun was intended. I’m not mad at you. Good Luck on the rest of your trip. I’ll be in the wings watching.

 

After pool time, we took a nap. The time change got to us and we needed to catch up. I couldn't sleep past three in the morning, so I needed some rest.

Then it was time to go downstairs for some gambling. My wife slotted and did really well. She had several tickets totaling around $1500 before dinner on about $300 cash. I took a marker for $500 at craps and ended up winning $750. It was good to buy that marker back...doesn't happen all the time.

Craps tables are all $25 or higher. The atmosphere is better now that the plexiglass is down and you can actually talk to folks at the table.

Dinner was Carbone and it was great, as usual. We enjoyed a nice bottle of wine with our dinner. We shared oysters and a shrimp cocktail for appetizers after a sampling of the bread and salami thy brought out, The next course was the Spicy Rigatoni Vodka with two meatballs. It was great and my wife tapped out on dinner at that point...she was full. The final course was Veal Parmesan which was fantastic. I ate about half of it, so we had some leftovers for the room. My wife finished her meal with a Chocolate Martini she described as the best she had ever had. I had a cup of coffee. The tab was $400 or so and it was worth every penny. The ambiance, the service, and the food were 100% on point.

Gambling the rest of the evening was not as good. Craps at $25 can eat a $500 buy-in quickly and I was on my third buy-in before even half an hour passed. I colored up and changed tables. It was a good move because I never made the big jump to a huge win, but I did make a bit of the money back. Had a nice conversation with some Texas Tech students out for their 21st birthday with their dads. Guns up! They were from San Antonio and had seen our daughter on TV their (she is a meteorologist).

Slotting didn't go as well as my wife hit me up for a lot of $100 bills over the course of the evening and only brought back one ticket for $324.

Overall, we came back with more than we took down when it was all done, but it was not "highly profitable"...I have not counted it all yet.

The casino was crowded but not stuffed. Drink service was slow to non-existent. If they wanted me to drink a lot and play more recklessly, they failed...

 

I like that room - the theming is nice and warm.