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NFC's (Pre/Re)location Vegas Trip: April 26 to ??? - 4Q/Cromwell/NYNY

Discussion in 'Living in Sin (City that is)' started by notfromconcentrate, Apr 25, 2022.

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  1. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    The casino is very nice. Not extravagant by any means. Pretty standard for a locals casino, it reminds me a bit of Green Valley Ranch actually. It’s sizeable, lots of slots. Small and intimate high-limit room, found one machine with 8/5 BP for $1. Much like Edgewater and Aquarius, the food court is “open” to the casino floor. Overall I really like the vibe. And to be honest, for the last weekend of May I was considering doing a staycation at Wynn on a comp offer, I think I’d choose here instead. Not that Aliante is nicer than Wynn. But for my more “modest” tastes, Aliante clicks for me a whole lot better. Some miscellaneous photos and comments…

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    Only about five tables open right now. Very approachable games and rules though. DD 3:2 blackjack is $10 minimum, craps is $10 and 00 roulette is $5.

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    High limit bar. Bad paytables, but they have this “power quads” feature (I think that’s what it’s called) that’s kind of like a bingo card for hitting quads with all 13 card ranks. That started at $0.50 minimum.

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    Slant top machines facing the sportsbook. BP here was 7/5 at quarters.

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    Wanted a beer, so I sat down at their lounge bar. BP was only 6/5, but if you bet ten credits at quarters you can play towards the $2,000+ progressive. It was only a few dollars over… I guess someone must have just hit it!

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    In for $40 and hit this. It’s always tens for some reason!!! :eek: Ran it up to $60 and cashed out. I’ll take the first win of this side trip! :) now off to the pool…

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    [TENTATIVE Late Jul/Early Aug] Vegas by way of Chicago/Elko/Reno!
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  2. AbFab

    AbFab Low-Roller

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    Hello!

    Did you see what the min for the carny games were?

    Thank you
     
  3. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    $15 face up pai gow

    $10 UTH

    Will report back shortly if I observe any others
     
    [TENTATIVE Late Jul/Early Aug] Vegas by way of Chicago/Elko/Reno!
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  4. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    So, despite having been able to enjoy a good half hour by the pool, I’ve already been hit by two setbacks this afternoon :eek: :)

    1. As I was walking towards the elevators I passed the roulette table, holding my $20 winnings from video poker in my hand. I was tempted to do $10 each on 13/31 (my lucky numbers) but saw 31 already came up. Noticing 13 hadn’t, I was internally debating to myself whether to put the $20 on 13. The croupier smiled at me, giving the nonverbal indication of asking if I’d like to play, and I gave my standard nonverbal “just spectating” response. Over the ensuing 20 or so seconds, I had an internal dialogue about how I was only expecting to cash out of video poker even at $40 so this extra $20 is just found money. As that time went on I began to fix my arm to reach out and attempt a cash wager on 13 if there was still time (and if doing that would even be allowed). Before I knew it, no more bets… and 13. I’m still beating myself up about it mentally :)

    2. Made it down to the pool… and after about 20 minutes it seemed everybody was starting to clear out. Then the lifeguards came around and announced they were closing the pool for the day. Fuck! I hadn’t even gotten into the water yet. It was on the windy side (which I was enjoying to be honest), but it seemed to create a safety hazard (saw some palm tree branches that fell to the pool deck)… so I can understand the abundance of caution, especially with kids around. I didn’t have my phone with me, but I vaguely heard chatter about an “emergency alert”… and once I got back to my room and checked my phone, I saw what they meant. Geeeez! Hope everyone up here stays safe :eek:

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    I will say though that of the 30ish total minutes I managed to spend by the pool, it was just glorious. With no tall buildings around you really get direct and undisturbed sunlight. The Aliante pool is small (smaller than it looks in pictures), but they’ve really configured it very nicely for a very pleasant atmosphere to maximize enjoyment. The lounge chairs are of excellent quality too… the type you’d find at a department store as opposed to a home improvement store, if that makes any sense. I wish I was able to take photos!

    Just going to relax in the room for a bit, and then down to the casino for a couple hours before heading to Bob Taylor’s. Hopefully this was the universe diverting me to a jackpot! :)
     
    [TENTATIVE Late Jul/Early Aug] Vegas by way of Chicago/Elko/Reno!
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  5. dwild

    dwild Low-Roller

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    I love seeing another NFC trip report. All those 4 to a royal misses would have me going crazy.

    Since you're going to be the area for awhile, any plans to check out Mesquite, Primm, Pahrump, or any of the other outlying areas?

    We are looking at coming to Vegas in June and visiting Mesquite. Maybe we can arrange a day where you can join us.
     
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  6. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Awesome to hear from you my friend! Just to drive you even crazier, my four to a royals are back on it still… :eek:

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    No other plans just yet for side trips besides San Antonio next week, Reno the week after that, and Laughlin in the first weekend of June. Mesquite was actually right up there for next on the list though.

    Let me know when your dates are. I’d love to line up out there!
     
    [TENTATIVE Late Jul/Early Aug] Vegas by way of Chicago/Elko/Reno!
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  7. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Interim update. Down $120 on video poker, then won $150 at blackjack and lost $25 at roulette chasing my 13 at $5 a go. Shoulda bet $20 when I could :) I’m ahead by $5!

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  8. NittyOne

    NittyOne VIP Whale

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    Thumbs up for NFCs phone background .

    :D
     
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  9. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Yessssssssir!!! Ran $120 in up to $210 on bonus poker, on a bank of machines that explicitly advertised double-up. Then took $100 of that to the 8/5 bonus poker in the high limit room. Got Angel’s Envy on the rocks comped… very good, I like it. Then hit four threes for $200! I started with $500, so this has me up by $315 :)

    Gotta leave in about 15 minutes. Going to cash in this ticket, and probably play a slot or something until it’s time to call an Uber.

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  10. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Put $100 into this slot in high limit, five lines at $1 per line. Ran it up to $150 with a $75 bonus round. Alas, that went to $0 in no time. Easy come easy go! At least I’ve got $400ish of slot play “on the books” so that it doesn’t look like I was just playing low HA games like blackjack and video poker.

    In the Uber to Bob Taylor’s now. Am I ever excited for this!

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  11. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Well… Bob Taylor’s Ranch House is a treat! That was a damn good meal.

    I do like the grandeur of the “ranch” entrance, though it feels a little artificial since there’s a highway directly to the left of it :) I can dig it though.

    Besides the excellent food, what I like about this type of old-school place is that they’re not trying to be fancy. They’re clearly focused on making great food with skill and passion, and letting the results speak for themselves.

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    I could smell the mesquite grill the second I walked in. The Italian restaurants I spent many years working at all had wood-burning pizza ovens, and that type of scent just gets me “fired up” (pardon the pun) and energetic. I often get tempted to rage-quit my current line of work and get back into restaurants… and I have to say that instinct was briefly triggered upon catching this aroma! :eek: don’t worry, I’m still employed though :)

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    Started out with the lobster bisque.

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    Followed by the crab stuffed mushrooms. VERY good, far better than the ones at Hugo’s at Four Queens (despite being a smaller portion size).

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    Then did the 20 oz bone-in ribeye medium-rare with veggies. Cooked perfectly, love those woody flavour notes from the grill… and the juice was to die for. Still, this doesn’t rival my all-time favourite steak, the dry-aged bone-in ribeye at Gallagher’s in NYC. Definitely one of the better steaks I’ve had in Vegas though!

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    Finished off with a slice of key lime pie. Not a lot of places serve that anymore, so I figured I should take advantage. That’s my maternal grandpa’s favourite dessert :)

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    Got back to Aliante exactly an hour after I was seated at Bob’s. Very fast service, and Uber back and forth was a breeze, less than 15 minutes each way.
     
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  12. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Opted to embrace my inner old dude and bought in for the 8:00 pm bingo session :) cashball is over $1,500 for this session, highest of all. Let’s get it!

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  13. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Welp, variance went the other way… haha

    Bingo was a bust, as it often is. I don’t care what anybody says, bingo gets INTENSE sometimes… and this was one of those times. If you’ve never played casino bingo before, you’re probably smirking and thinking “lol how tf could waiting for a number to be called be intense?!”. I don’t know how to put it, but it just is. The machines make a chirping noise when a player is one number away from winning… which is audible across the room. Whether you’re three or two numbers away or also one number away, the suspense that builds up as those numbers come out is very unique. As you can see below, five of my cards were one number away for one round, and I was ONE away for the coverall… and these are occasions when you really feel it. Walked away with $0, two Bud Lights, and no regrets.

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    Then hit blackjack, which got nasty. The $10 DD table was still at that minimum. I’m still up $210 at this point. Blew through $100 in one shuffle. Then another $100 almost all the way down when I had a $40 bet out and rebought for a third $100 to cover a double down on that bet. Lost. Worked my way back up to $100 for a $200 loss at that table, or a $90 loss on the night.

    And honestly? I can live with that. Even though I turned a winning trip into a losing one, on top of the fact that my pool day got ruined by weather AND I have to be ready for the bus at about 7:00 am tomorrow (it turns out I have to be at the office early), I couldn’t be more satisfied with how today went. This is exactly the kind of fun weekend outing I was envisioning when I first considered making this move, and the only other thing I could have asked for was I30 to hit on the coverall round! :) next time…

    For the Boyd experts… I feel like this action is reasonable-ish to cover a Sunday night comp room? Please don’t hold back if I’m dead wrong about that though.

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    Gotta hit the hay. I might have an update or two tomorrow or this coming week. But I expect the next material update will be on Friday when I head to the airport to visit San Antonio!
     
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  14. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    Okay, ONE more post…

    Check out that sunrise! This is the dream morning sight.

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    Aliante has these tinted front doors that make for a very unique visual from the inside looking out

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    No less beautiful outside… where I lived in Toronto was an ocean of concrete and glass, which made my morning walks underwhelming at best. This I could get excited about!

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    Aaand the sad part. My first time “waiting for transit to get to an office in the morning” since 2016 :( hahaha

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  15. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

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    Safe travels to San Antonio. We are having a little bit of a heatwave here so pack for comfort.

    Mark
     
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  16. joespoolhall

    joespoolhall VIP Whale

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    Glad the report keeps going. I've only been to Aliante once. Played golf out there at least five times, but never stopped in. One solo trip I did though. It was probably ten years ago and was still a Station property. First thing that came to mind was "Red Rock junior! It was very nice. Unfortunately, it was early in the day and the place was empty. Played a while and left.

    I've been run out of pools for plain old wind, but dust storms are nothing to play with.
    On a side trip to Laughlin, a buddy and I went to the Trop for a show. The storm started while we were in the show. It was full tilt when we walked out. It was on the 5th floor. we went to a window facing the Colorado. It was bad enough that we couldn't see the Colorado Belle across the street! Definitely not an outdoor activity.

    Look forward to your next entry.
     
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  17. dwild

    dwild Low-Roller

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    From the picture it looks like a nuclear blast outside.
     
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  18. NittyOne

    NittyOne VIP Whale

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    Those pics of Bob Taylor’s actually look appealing. Most of what I’ve seen was mixed but I think you changed my mind.

    Pretty lame that you had to come in to your office/clients place on Monday after your mini trip to Aliante. Should’ve just made some excuse and asked if you could come in Tuesday, went to see friends in LA or Phoenix or some BS.
     
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  19. NotFromConcentrate

    NotFromConcentrate It’s a Cassowary :)

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    The weather that morning was lousy anyhow, so I wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy the pool even if I did pull that off. I can tell you for sure this will not be my last trip to Aliante though… so I’m not too bothered :)
     
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  20. mr.vegas

    mr.vegas Peace sells, but who's buying?

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    Glad you liked Bob Taylor's the steaks we have had there are the best we have had in Vegas and it cost half of what Morton’s or lawry’s did. Is the bingo still no smoking at Aliante and they have machines again by the looks of your report.
     
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