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Getting too old for the strip TR 4/28-5/4 LONG- CAMP VEGAS

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Tammy58, May 7, 2010.

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  1. Tammy58

    Tammy58 Frugal Slot Jockey

    Joined:
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    My Trip Report

    Flight- Weds April 28th 4:25pm out of Hartford CT. Left on time, there were about 12 open seats and we scored one in-between us...First Class the Southwest way! We couldn't sleep so it was a long 5 hour and 55 min flight. Landed in torrential winds...thought the plane would shake apart...found out later that many flights had been diverted. Winds were 60 mph. Hubby being a flying veteran watched out the window and told me the play by play afterward...circling, going sideways into the wind and turning the plane at the last minute onto the runway...the bobbing of the wings...no wonder every time we shook for a second on the way home my heart jumped LOL. Flight home on Tues May 4th...McCarren was EMPTY at 7 am on a Tuesday! Took off on time, scored one of the 3 empty seats...so first class going back home too! I do not act rude to those boarding or put anything on the seat...I just don't look at the line of people at all...eye contact is an invitation...if there are going to be empties I would just like one of them to be next to me is all. Got a great price booked these tickets last Christmas on sale for $109 pp each way, paid the extra $10 pp each way for Early Bird...going out A23,24 coming back A34,35.

    Car rental- Alamo for a good price $140 for the week with all taxes. Reserved a compact..think they gave us an economy, as usual there was 1 car to chose from...same exact car in the economy and compact lines...Hyundai Accent. Hubby as usual was ticked off due to no choice and the same car being in both categories. There was literally 1 car in each section both identical. He likes Hertz but the price was almost twice as high. Car ran fine, had 16,000 miles and many scratches.

    Hotel #1 - MGM Grand- Celebrity Spa Suite- booked it for a great price $93 night for 2 nights. Room was exactly as in the website pictures, yes next to the last room in the hall so long walk, has fridge which I believe the Bungalow rooms do not so worth the walk. We would book this room again in a heartbeat. Already planning on it for next trip. Gambling was good. They had the machines we like. We were only there for 36 hours, didn't have time to gamble as much as we wanted to there. Booked the room with 2 for 1 buffet and 2 free gym passes. At checkout they comped the buffet we were supposed to pay for and gave us a $24 food comp at Starbucks. Not bad for only earning about 2400 points. Room 24140 faced Excalibur, NYNY and could see forever down Tropicana (yup, could see the In and Out sign).

    Hotel #2- Flamingo- Deluxe room comped 5 nights paid to upgrade to a 2 rooms Go Suite- Strange story here...had booked 5 nights comped checking in on Thurs with no intention of moving in until Friday. Checked in at 4:30 on thurs in the VIP area...thank god for the regular check in line was hours long the entire time we were there! No upgrades available thurs but the girl told me to check between 9 and 9:30 Friday morning she said that is when the girls who do the room assignments do it. We checked out of MGM on Friday morning at 8:30 by the time we got to Flamingo it was after 9 so went straight to check in. The guy on duty told me I could upgrade to the GO mini suite(the Neapolitan on the website) for $75 a night or the 2 room GO Suite for $150...took the 2 room. The original room assignment for the 5 night comp was a deluxe in the North Tower...I think the pictures look better than the room itself. The Deluxe room was beaten to death and the only things on the bathroom vanity were 1 shampoo and 1 conditioner. There was no do not disturb sign (more on that later). King bed with 3 small pillows. Room smelled. Oh well, we are not sleeping there thurs and hoping to change friday. It was free. The GO suite was not ready until after 1 pm so we dumped our bags in the original room 24139. After 1 I got the keys to the GO suite, it has 1 and a half baths, (beaten up) mini fridge (seriously someone had dropped this thing pretty good in the past, had a big dent in the side of it), chaise, chair, couch, coffee maker with coffee, huge flat screen, desk internet, huge nice retro pic of the Flamingo from its 2 story days. Other room with a closing door is the bedroom with 2 chairs table, large screen tv, bathroom. I have had a GO room before and the closet in the suite is half the size of the closet in the room. I swear they use to have pink lights in the bath before but now its regular bulbs. No tv in the mirror in the half bath. Not complaining just describing. Nightstands had been beaten to death with a chain (okay looked like it) paint all scraped off. Room 26039 South tower facing the pool area. Again, no Do Not Disturb sign...think they are trying to save money Ha Ha. King bed now had 3 large pillows on it with another 2 in the closet. Yes, I can hear you thinking "who spends time in their room"...well, we do....over 50 ,out of shape, been there 8 times, when your back, legs, feet and wallet are broke ...we like to have a comfortable place to crash. We were in our room 3 nights by 8 pm. Hint as to how the gambling was going. Nicest part of the 2 room suite is that there is no hall door in the bedroom...heard NO noise at all.

    Food (we don't dine we eat)- MGM food court Weds night good, MGM buffet Thurs average...I use to like this buffet but it has gone downhill...with a 2 for1 and they comped the one we were supposed to pay for it cost us nothing but at $20pp for lunch I would not pay for it. Starbucks at the MGM Friday for breakfast good. Friday Bill's Victorian Room - first time eating there, good service, good prices and good food, huge servings. We both had the open face hot Roast Beef...came with steamed veggies, mashed pot with gravy. We both left half the food on our plates and only cost $14 pp plus drinks and tax.

    Saturday Cheesecake Factory, we have eaten there before , huge portions, Renée's special for me (half chicken salad sandwich, salad and soup), Pulled Pork for the hubby, great cheesecake, again left half the food. Sunday - Silverton buffet (first time) used the ACG 2 for 1 coupon...favorites were the Singapore noodles and fried shrimp being a Sunday it was a brunch buffet $18 pp without coupon. Monday Rio AAB& G we have eaten here before, bacon cheeseburger for me and prime rib French dip for the hubby. Always a good place for us, we know we will be happy with the food here. Supplement the before mentioned with snacks from the small food court at Flamingo -yogurt parfaits for breakfast, O'Sheas and Casino Royale food courts at night for pizza, ice cream.

    Shows- Jersey Boys Friday night...great show, glad we went give it an A....listened to Fat Elvis at Bill's ..didn't see him cause I was too busy playing the slots and having my first and last Kerosenearita. Yes, over 50 and never had a Margarita before. Maybe I shouldn't compare $1 drinks to a higher class liquor LOL. Manilow at Paris on Sunday night. Of course it was great....but we have been Fanilows for over 30 years. Show is a little different than the one at the Hilton, Paris theater is much nicer in my opinion.

    Gambling - we are slot and VP players. Played more VP than in the past due to the fact that HET properties have crap for our favorite slots. Slots were good at MGM, Bellagio, Hooters, Eastside Cannery, South of the strip. Everywhere else they were terrible and we switched to VP. Earned the least amount of Total Rewards points we have ever earned. Good bye Platinum, it was nice while it lasted...quite frankly we have no plans on going to an HET casino again. They simply no longer have the games we like to play, Paris, Rio and Harrah's still have some of our type of slots but they sucked up the 20s faster than the off strip properties and MGM props. Last trip we hit Sams Town so this trip we spent our Boulder day at the Eastside Cannery used a $5 free play from the ACG and it lasted me 30 minutes!...we loved the place and would consider staying there. We hit the South end this trip for the first time. Went to M first, loved the place...then South Point which we are planning on staying at next trip. They have our types of slots and so many other activities. Silverton, dark casino, used the 2 for 1 ACG for the buffet. LOVED the fish tank and walking around the Bass Pro Shop. Tropicana joined their club and did the pay $20 for their special machines and play $50...didn't get anything but they let you pick out a "free" gift for doing it...picked out a sweatshirt for my $20. Did the Hooters $200 freeplay with ACG coupon didn't win anything on it but put a $20 in a quarter machine and cashed it out for $185..made me happy. First night at MGM hubby hit and put away $700...good thing we needed it later in the week. Got a free t-shirt at Bill's for UNO de Mayo ...the site of the Kerosenearita. Hit $140 at the airport before we left (best hit I have ever had at the airport). Finally signed up for a Grazie card, wanted to start getting offers from them...unfortunately they have also gone penny and dollar crazy. Played VP there but didn't stay long enough to rack up many comp points. Used the ACG for the $25 in free slot play at Venetian. The $$$ got spread around so thin that we won't see many good offers, that's okay we were in need of a break and are interested in different properties now. Skipped on Aria, we are not high class people so didn't even bother checking it out, trammed it from Bellagio straight to Monte Carlo.

    Tidbits - why do idiots kick and punch peoples cars when they are trying to enter properties via the strip? The drivers did have the right of way and saw it happen at least 5 times this trip.
    Porn slappers are much less aggressive than they use to be...same thing for the Time Share creeps...they barely bothered us at all this trip.
    We are getting too old for the strip. Loved staying at the MGM, plan on splitting that with an off strip property next time...probably South Point. They have bingo, movie theater, bowling and our kind of machines.
    Got home at 8 pm Tues it is now 5 pm Friday and I still haven't recovered.
    Never got to eat at the Grand Luxe, oh well next trip.
    We only get to go once year, did tons of planning and only did half of the list as usual.
    Going to play more VP and less slots from now on...stupid to play slots that you don't like.
    Monday night after a big weekend is dead on the strip.
    Hubby had fun with the 3 card poker video set up at Casino Royale...he practiced at home on the puter before going but the video setup is only $3 hand, cheaper than tables so a good intro for him.
    We go this time of year every year...colder and windier this year than ever! Was actually hotter back in Taxachusetts than Vegas.
    Harrah's liquor store at Carnival Court isn't as overpriced as I thought it would be...liquor and cig prices here in Mass are high so CC was only a few bucks more.
    Hubby runs every morning early...the one morning he finally made it to the sign...They had changed it to Camp Vegas instead of Las Vegas for a 36 hour period as part of some promotion...we got to ride by the sign both ways so did get to see the "real" sign.


    Yes, we are the boring, old fogey slot players....but we have fun too!
     
  2. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    glad you had fun!!! that's what it's all about!!! :beer::beer::beer:
     
  3. SloppyJoe

    SloppyJoe Tourist

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    Thanks for the report on the Celeb Spa Suite. Have that booked in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions on staying at the MGM? Have never stayed there before. Looking forward to plenty of relaxation. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
     
  4. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

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    Nice report, I appreciate that there are other people out there that eat instead of Dine. That's why I'm not a fan of Mandalay.

    You mentioned that HET doesn't have the machines you like to play, I'm curious, what are the machines you like to play? I have the same problems with HET, their slots never change.
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  5. zerofan

    zerofan VIP Whale

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    Great report. I still want to try the Grand Lux too! :peace:
     
  6. Tammy58

    Tammy58 Frugal Slot Jockey

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    jpw, we like the old slots...reel 2 or 3 coin quarter, fifty, dollar. Very few of these at Flamingo...mostly all penny, nickle and dollar. Couldn't find ANY at Caesars, Bally's has a handful, Rio, Harrahs and Paris still have some...they don't hit for shit though. Not talking about a jackpot or anything, just some 10-20 coin hits occasionally so you can finish a cigarette on a $20 bill once in awhile. We could hit some small stuff to keep playing at MGM, Bellagio, Eastside Cannery and South Point. Checked out Venetian and Palazzo but all penny nickle dollar there too. When we couldn't find our type of slots we just played VP. Wanted to get offers from Venetian...but with not having our type of slots, I won't be getting the hubby to stay there. Seriously leaning towards SouthPoint and MGM next trip for 3 days a piece. This was our second time with a rental car...I can already see this will be a must from now on.
     
  7. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

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    Thanks for the info, it's getting harder and harder to find the old slots. Personally, I really miss the Austin Powers machines.
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  8. Clemi

    Clemi Tourist

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    Wonderful TR, thanks for posting! I can't agree with you more re Harrah's slots. Don't know why they're so cheap with their slots, yet they beckon all the slot players to their properties with their generous offers. If they did it right, they would be on top of things, with good slot play and good customer service... don't you think?
     
  9. gotavegasjones

    gotavegasjones VIP Whale

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    Not boring at all. Y'all did Vegas the way y'all like to do Vegas! Thanks for posting your Trip Report.

    later, GVJ
     
  10. 21wins

    21wins VIP Whale

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    Good TR. Not boring at all. Nice score on the SW " first class" seats.

    That's what Vegas is all about going there and doing what you want to do.

    We only get to Vegas once a year too. Being fom Connecticut I just have to get my gambling/casino fix the rest of the year at Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods and through this message board..
     
  11. Aero

    Aero Low-Roller

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    Great report. I like the way you structured it. Very easy to read. We too enjoy "eating".
    :popcorn:popcorn:popcorn:popcorn:popcorn:woot::woot::woohoo::woohoo::drunk::drunk::popcorn:popcorn:popcorn:popcorn:popcorn:popcorn
     
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