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Trip Report - Tuscany, Cosmo, 4Q (5/26-6/6)

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Philonous815, Jun 9, 2021.

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  1. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    My Trip Report

    Even though we've been to Vegas over 20 times already, this is my first trip report! Go easy on me please. :)

    Flight

    Pretty full flight from SFO->LAS on Southwest. Last few flights to Vegas have been completely full. Ordered a Lyft after we got out of the plane. Got a ride after waiting about 10 minutes.

    5/26 Tuscany

    We enjoy Tuscany for the frequent casino free play promotions. This was our first stay on a weekday comp offer we earned from drop-in play last fall. Room came with $20 FP and $25 in food and beverage credit.

    Check in was smooth. Even got a coupon book as a hotel guest with some Free Play after a certain number of points along with dining discounts.

    Following up on JulianC's excellent summary of the players club circa 2019, I noticed from swiping on the kiosk that the players club changed. I went to the player's club to pick up a brochure.

    PXL_20210527_011917650.MP.jpg


    Tier benefits clearly changed from when JulianC wrote up his summary two years ago. There are no longer any differences between the first two tiers. You have to get to the third level, Premiere, to get a tier benefit by earning 600 comp dollars in a 6 month period. Why even have a second level at all?

    Dinner was at Tuscany for happy hour. Calamari and Margherita flatbread were the HH menu standouts. We also had a great lobster ravioli. Good way to use up the food credit with rest covered by comps.

    After dinner, we mostly played VP at the Piazza Lounge, where there's daily live entertainment.

    One of the reasons we like live entertainment at Tuscany is the 99+% bartop VP with comped drinks:

    PXL_20210527_035913903.jpg PXL_20210527_041459347.jpg PXL_20210527_052254556.jpg PXL_20210527_053811562.jpg

    Don't be fooled by the 4OAKs - I took a beating on VP. Was down 400 on the night. The 5k of VP coin in earned about $38 in comps. The Wednesday free play promo added another $50 FP on top.

    Room was large with a kitchenette, which can appeal to those who work from Vegas. Caution: floors are thin, so when I walked in my third floor room, both my wife and I said it felt like the floor was shaking. Can't imagine what it's like for the down stair neighbors.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2021
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  2. Not at the table Carlos

    Not at the table Carlos Cheapskate

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    Tuscany have any table games open at all?
     
    Earl's 21st Trip
  3. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    No. Still all electronic table games.
     
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  4. Pe59

    Pe59 Low-Roller

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    Good Luck to you. I’m following along. :popcorn:
     
  5. JulianC

    JulianC Amateur

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    Excellent work. Don't worry so much about tier there unless you are a local; or, you are a destination visitor who books your destination offer once per month for 3-night stays, and happens to have a consistent ADT of at least $350. You earn comp dollars at a generous rate of 20% of theo -- unless that also changed since late last year.
     
  6. mwig

    mwig VIP Whale

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    Is it worth it to seed a comp offer here? I've never spent more than 10 minutes in the place but seems nice enough. No idea how aggresive their marketing promos are though.
     
  7. Don the Dentist

    Don the Dentist LV resident

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    Sorry, but 9/7 DB ain't full pay. It returns 99.11% with perfect play.
    10/7 DB returns 100.17% and is "full pay".
     
  8. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    Sorry, I forgot about 10/7 DB. I'll correct it.
     
  9. BoVegas

    BoVegas Low-Roller

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    Thanks, good info, following your TR.
     
  10. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    5/27 Tuscany, Cosmo, Anniversary Day!

    Today's moving day. In the morning, we lounged by the nice pool at Tuscany, where we both felt more at vacation than other Vegas pools. Maybe it's the palm trees, maybe it's the lack of loud music and DJs. But it was a relaxing morning for sure!

    Checking into Cosmo under a free night my wife won during their anniversary game, we had been upgraded to a 1 bedroom terrace via the e-upgrade offer (the bid offer you get after booking the reservation). This is our first stay at Cosmo, and now I totally get the love Cosmo gets on this board. Wow - the room is amazing! The desk in front of the TV was also a big plus.

    Had lunch at Momofuku with the $50 food credit I won during the anniversary game. Identity desk said all $50 had to be used at one time, so we got the pork belly bao, pork ramen, and hot chicken sando. The bao and sando were amazing. Ramen was good too, but we felt we could get the same quality ramen at many good ramen places in the Bay Area.

    We also played at Chandelier bar and had our first ever drink ticket! I had Old Fashioned, Mr. Miyagi, and Verbena. Verbena was good for the novelty, but I didn't like the actual drink as much as my other drinks. The Old Fashioned was as good as as high end cocktail bar, and Mr. Miyagi was such a refreshing minty drink.

    We went to Bacchanal Buffet for dinner since we heard so much about the reopening. Checking in was a breeze with a 6pm reservation. Paid with a diamond celebration dinner plus reward credits. The actual dinner was a bit of a letdown from our previous experiences. Don't get me wrong - the dinner was still good, but the quality took a step back from our pre-COVID visits. Crab legs were skimpy. Dim sum was gone from the Asian section. The new bulgogi selection was great, so was the American Wagyu.

    After dinner we used our diamond tickets at the High Roller. Our first time and won't be our last as long as the Diamond benefit continues. Waited about 15-20 minutes in line at about 8pm. When we walked out the line was twice as long.

    We gambled more after dinner at Cosmo. I'm normally a VP player but I played some slots since Cosmo's offers are so slot-oriented. Was in for $200 on Madonna before I hit a $50 bonus. The girl playing at the other Madonna machine was so excited that she was shaking my hand and going, "You got the Mighty Cash bonus!! that's so great!" Great to see the smile and excitement on people's faces again. :) Maybe that's the moment that I felt Vegas was back.
     
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  11. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    I channeled my inner JulianC and kept track of comp rate along with my coin in "for science". :) I don't know what the theo is set on those machines, but I earned $38 in comps on about $5k coin in on VP. That's about .76% in comp rate.

    I do about 3-5k coin in on VP per drop-in visit during live entertainment, and I now get 2 nights mid week, $25 FP, and $50 food credit per month. Must book room to get gaming offers.

    With room and food offers, I have more time on property to up my play to see what offers I can get at higher play levels, especially if Tuscany starts offer Rat Pack tickets again on the mailers. Note that since the hosts office closed during COVID, there is no way to ask for a back end comp.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2021
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  12. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    5/28 Aria, Four Queens

    Moving day. Checked out of Cosmo and went to Din Tai Fung at Aria for lunch (took the shortcut via Vdara). Very good XLB and rice cakes, but more expensive than other DTFs. We also redeemed $25 Konami FPs on the STP machines.

    Took a long time for an Uber to Four Queens. First two drivers cancelled just before picking us up, so it took about an hour from first ordering an Uber to arriving at 4Q. This would be a recurring theme during this trip.

    Put in a gaming day at 4Q. Up $150 for the day. Not a bad start to my downtown run!
     
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  13. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    5/29 Four Queens

    Finally a day without work for uninterrupted gaming! Brunch choices are now more complicated since the our to go, the Country Fried Steak at Magnolia, is now the chewy cubed steak version that Binion's used to serve. We decided to expand our horizons with Queen's Breakfast.

    Today was a day of straight flushes at 4Q:
    PXL_20210529_181443175.jpg PXL_20210529_202329337.jpg

    Went to Binion's in the afternoon. Warning to other players: the video poker corner with the 8/5 bonus poker machines is like an igloo in the casino, even in the middle of the summer. I've learned to wear my jacket playing there. Since the area doesn't always have good drink service, I also bring hot water with me.

    My straight flush luck continued:

    PXL_20210529_230729641.MP.jpg

    Also got a couple of premium 4OAKs:

    PXL_20210530_002547352.jpg PXL_20210530_012711052.jpg

    Cashed up about $200 overall for the day. Not bad for a day's work!

    Celebrated with dinner at 8 East with shrimp fried rice, an off menu substitute for brisket fried rice. Portion is big enough for 2.
     
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  14. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    5/30 Binion's with a Royal!

    Long day of play at Binion's. Got two premium quads to begin the day:

    PXL_20210530_185552345.jpg PXL_20210530_191703760.jpg

    That was an auspicious start to the day. Later I held three to a royal and drew the other two. Royal flush!

    PXL_20210530_225622926.jpg

    Got another premium quad to round out the session:

    PXL_20210530_233650010.jpg

    Celebrated my royal with a wagyu steak on special at 8 East that night ($33) along with my usual shrimp fried rice ($18), green beans ($10):

    PXL_20210531_020250666.jpg

    Day total: up $810.
     
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  15. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    5/31 Red Rock, South Point, Tuscany

    Sorry for the hiatus on the updates. Life got in the way - I hope I'll finish this TR before my next Vegas trip this weekend!

    On Memorial Day, the plan is get a rental car to visit Red Rock so that my wife feels like she's on a real vacation instead of playing VP every day. :) it also made a good time to visit South Point on the way back.

    PXL_20210531_175749633.jpg PXL_20210531_175759390.jpg PXL_20210531_184132127.jpg


    It was a nice break from Vegas!

    Made our way to South Point for half price WalMart gift card. Game of choice was NSUD at the Sportsbook bar. I had no idea how many people bet on horses! Had lunch at the famous hot dog stand.

    PXL_20210531_223601328.jpg PXL_20210531_223629559.jpg PXL_20210531_224129818.jpg PXL_20210531_231017910.jpg PXL_20210531_231034485.jpg PXL_20210531_235624693.jpg

    Hit a number of wild royals, but unfortunately no naturals. Down about 300 on the day on $6.5k coin in. That was enough for a $50 WalMart GC.

    Hearing all the stories about how well SP comp players with losses, I thought I would ask for a food comp from a host. Got a $30 food credit. Asked the host to get the credit to the deli. Got a corned beef sandwich and fish and chips. Highly recommend the sandwich but wouldn't order the fish and chips again.

    After SP, we went back to Tuscany for their live music. Gambling wasn't good with only one four of a kind for the tonight but still really enjoyed myself. Since it was a slow night, I even met some locals who come to Tuscany for the live music.

    PXL_20210601_034342794.jpg
     
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  16. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    6/1-6/3 Binion's

    Came back from Tuscany and caught the return of bands to Fremont Street. There was so much energy! Very exciting.

    I was working during the week, so not much to report gaming wise.

    Was able to hang out with wasilla one night at Whiskey Licker Up. Had a great time catching up with him!
     
  17. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    6/4 Four Queens

    Grinded on the 9/6 JOB machines after work. The casino gets really warm with a lot of people inside. It was hot sitting at the machines next to the fishing machine!

    Had dinner at Magnolia Brewing. Order an IPA and a thick dish pizza while playing off my free play on the bartop machines.

    End the day down 70 after earning about 1000 points.
     
  18. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    6/5 Four Queens

    More grinding on JOB for most of the day. Playing quarters really takes a toll on your shoulders. We had to take a few breaks to rest. Also had to take a cooling break from the casino that was getting warm!

    We met up with wasilla for dinner to use up our Hugo's vouchers. The highlights were the salad and the Alaska King Crab.

    PXL_20210606_042410121.jpg PXL_20210606_045401861.jpg

    Great dinner with good company!
     
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  19. Philonous815

    Philonous815 Well-Known Member

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    6/6 Four Queens - Last Day

    I was so exhausted by the heat the day before that I just went back to the room after Hugo's. Woke up early to finish the 4Q promo.

    Looks like it was my lucky day!

    PXL_20210606_173432403.MP.jpg


    Nothing like a Royal in the morning!

    Rounded out the day with a few more 4OAKs.

    Tried to et on the CX. But wait! The construction blocked off the normal stop. I didn't realized that the Casino Center/Fremont stop moved to the back of Golden Nugget. FYI to those of you hoping to catch a bus to the airport!

    My backup was to order an Uber/Lyft. Waited 30 minutes for an Uber because the first driver was 15 minutes away and cancelled after dropping someone off at the D. Why??? The second driver was also 15 minutes away dropping someone off at FSE from the airport. Thankfully I actually got on this Uber. Got to the airport 30 minutes after when the bus would have arrived. These long waits for rideshare is why I now prefer taking the CX to rideshare. The $2 bus fare doesn't hurt either.
     
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