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Excalibur and Flaming 4-22 - 4-28 Long Report

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by jjstew, May 9, 2010.

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  1. jjstew

    jjstew Tourist

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2010
    Messages:
    20
    Location:
    Ohio
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    15

    My Trip Report

    Let me start by saying, I will attempt to remember as much as the details as possible, but some days will be worse then others.

    This trip had been in planning since November 2009. Trip includes my friend (will call him B), my brother (Bro) and myself. I was flying out United with my Bro, staying at Excalibur 3 nights and the last 3 at Flamingo.

    Thursday April 22nd

    I left Thursday from Cleveland to Denver to Vegas with my Bro. I cashed in my airline miles for the free trip just a short lay over in Denver (too short) on the way there and another on the way back (too long). Flight out to Vegas was a little bumpy, and almost didn’t make the transfer in Denver (15 minutes from gate B84 to gate B26) for a smoker is a tough run. We made it with a few minutes to spare. Landed in Vegas and surprisingly baggage was there waiting.

    I was staying in a Widescreen room for the first 3 nights (comped) at Excalibur. 1st trip to room was a pain as I decided not to check my bags and just carry them around the casino. I got my keys for a room 2nd floor tower 2. Of course the key doesn’t work, so a trip back to the desk, then new keys now, back to the room again. Nope!! Key’s are still not working. Third try and finally went into the VIP check-in as I didn’t want to wait in line again and explain everything. Received 2 new keys, and was told if it doesn’t work to stop at the security podium by the elevator entrance to tell the security guards and they would have someone meet me at the room. So if anyone ever has to go back and forth with your bags, and you are not feeling up to taking everything back up to the desk, you can save yourself some time. 3rd time was a charm though.

    I have never stayed at Excalibur before and always try to stay at 1 new casino a trip. The room is nice, what can say, it’s a hotel room. Nice little perk, the alarm clock they have on the nightstand has a plug for an MP3/IPOD player. It is a short plug, but comes in handy if you want to listen to some tunes on your player.

    It’s boring I know, but with the running in Denver and taking my bags back in forth to the front desk, and a full day of work I’m beat, so called for room service at about 1:30 and decided to catch a few zzzz’s. Room service was the worst I have ever had. I ordered the BBQ Grilled chicken sandwich. I can honestly say it was not even edible. Oh well, call it a wash, after all I was in Vegas!

    Friday April 23rd

    Got up and moving after about 2 hours of sleep. Showered and out the door by 4am. Decided to walk around the casino and take everything in for a bit. Food court upstairs, table games, poker room and what ever else I hadn’t seen before. I will say this, I do like the layout of Excalibur. Had breakfast at McDonalds (dollar menu) and needed to gamble a bit, while waiting to hear from B and Bro.

    Gambling, I tend to play Pai Gow, limited craps, occasionally Blackjack, VP, and penny video slots. In other words, pretty much anything I can lose money on, I play. I decided to play the Goldfish video slot, and no major wins to report. Needed a drink and it was about 7:00am, so wandered up to the bar by the front desk to play some VP, and get a drink. I played some DDBP, no wins, and no drinks. I guess no one man’s that bar that early in the morning. No biggie as B called and said he was on his way down to meet up.

    B arrived and he needed some grub, so I take him upstairs show him around. Then I figured its time for some Pai Gow. This game suits me fine. Drink and push……repeat. My usual buy-in for Pai Gow or any table game is 100$. If my budget allows, then I will occasionally buy in for 200-300$, but that usually only happens when I am up (so it really never happens). B and I sit down for what turns out to be a typical 4 hour plus Pai Gow session. At one point my Bro shows up, stands around for a bit, plays some video slot machines, and then we chat about meeting up at Bill’s around 3 for Big Elvis, dinner at The Buffet at Bellagio, and the Price is Right at Bally’s.

    B and I finish our session at PG and no big wins or losses to speak of. Ran up to the room, grabbed a bit more cash and smokes and catch a cab over to Bill’s.

    Got to Bills and I wanted to try Rapid Craps. I really thought I was going to love this game. I told myself I was going to love it. For anyone that has played Rapid Roulette, it’s very similar. The game itself was slow paced. Never really felt like a craps table. Even with the few winners we did see. There was no yelling and very minimal happiness after a point was hit. I was disappointed, but I guess if you don’t normally play craps, it would be a game to try.

    After a quick loss at craps, Bro and I decided to play some video slot machine at Bill’s while listening to Big Elvis sing his tunes behind us. He always sounds great, and for a free show, it’s definitely worth a stop. I am pretty sure from here we ended up going over to Harrah’s (Toby Keith’s) for a mason jar of liquor. I love the feeling of this place. The people that are there are always friendly, drinks are always good, the prices can be a little high for their specialty drinks, but I still feel its worth a short visit each trip.

    Getting close to 5pm by now and we need to head over to Bally’s to check in for The Price Is Right (TPIR). Instead of maneuvering around Carnival Court we take the back exit through Harrah’s into the IP. As we were walking through the shops in the back of the IP came across a cigarette lady that to put it lightly will have a sore back in 10 years. Asked her for a quick photo : ) and off we go. Later my wife would give the waitress the nickname of Boobzilla. This was one of my only in Vegas moments.

    Get over to Bally’s to check in for TPIR and its quick and painless. Our groups’ picture is taken and we are off to The Buffet at the Bellagio for dinner.

    This is by far my favorite dinner buffet in all of Vegas. The carved meat section, as well as their side dishes is some of the best buffet items I have ever had. The deserts were lacking this time around, but the dinner didn’t disappoint. Carved meats included ostrich, sirloin, prime rib, beef wellington, as well as plenty of others. The dinner itself I believe was 40.00 per person.

    By now, it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:30 -7:00 and we needed to be over to Bally’s by 7:30 for the start of the show. Took a quick walk over to Bally’s in no time, and was sitting at the show in front row seats. The seats were purchased online before our trip, saved us about 15$ per seat. We did find out it would have been the same price if we would have used Tix2Nite at any of the locations on the strip.

    The show was great. Unfortunately none of us got called to “Come on Down†but overall a good “show†to see for the price.

    After the show, I wanted to get some gambling in at the Excalibur, so a quick walk down to my room and got in a few sessions of Pai Gow and also tried a new game for me called “Texas Hold’em Bonus†Nice game, helped me preserve my bankroll, and allowed me to get some quality gambling time in. Hit the bed around 3 or 4

    Saturday April 24th

    Woke up early (6am) and got showered and ready. Bro and B were going to meet up at Bellagio this morning, then head over to Mirage for some 1$-2$ Ultimate Texas holdem. The Mirage has a simulated dealer machine that is a minimum of a 1$ bet and you acquire points quickly. Also after a session of UTH, we thought we would get some lunch at BLT and then have a nice cigar and a few tastes of rum at Rhumbar.

    Walking down to Bellagio, I was still thinking, how in the world did they make that small area that use to be the Boardwalk casino and turn it into the monstrosity that is City Center. I didn’t feel like roaming around CC, so kept walking to meet my bro and B.

    Got down to Bellagio, and Bro and B were ready to move onto Mirage. Fine by me, and the walk continued.

    We walked straight into the Mirage and back to the UTH machine. It was of course full. Bro and I decided to try our luck at some .25 Wheel of Fortune slots. No luck and no drinks so we went back over to check on the UTH game. 2 seats were available, told B and Bro to take them, I saw a triple play .25 Video Poker machine when I had come in that was calling for my money.

    Took a quick walk back of the triple play vp machine and yep, all it wanted was my money. Played the VP for maybe 30 minutes and walked back over to the Bro and B. They were still pretty occupied and no seats had opened, so I thought I might try my luck at some Pai Gow.

    Now I have never played any table games at Mirage. I like the casino; it just usually doesn’t fall into my spots to visit on each trip. Played some 10$ Pai Gow for about an hour. At some point Bro and B had joined me. Lost the 100, bro made a big 10$ win and we decided we needed some lunch.

    Walked right in and were given a seat at BLT. I have tried Burger Bar (Mandalay Bay) Le Burger (Paris) and now BLT. I didn’t order anything special (Burger combo with a beer for 22$) For the price, the burger was decent, nothing spectacular, but if I was in the area again, I would re-visit and try something a little better.

    After lunch it was time to drink and have a nice cigar I had brought from home over at Rhumbar. This was my first time in this place. Wow!! The Rum selection was great! I am usually a big Vodka drinker, but love a fine scotch or rum to sip on as well. The bartender was more then helpful as well as my brother in picking out some great selections to taste. The bartender even poured some small tastes of her favorites as the time went on (Big tip for her!). Unfortunately my bad luck wasn’t just the gambling, my wife called me while drinking and partying it up to let me know our daughter had come down with a stomach bug and hadn’t been able to keep anything down. The last time this happened (a little over a year) she had spent 4 days in the hospital for dehydration. So my initial reaction was to prepare to cut my trip short to get on a plane home. So outside of the news, the drinks and atmosphere at Rhumbar was great and definitely a stop on future trips.

    After Rhumbar I decided to head back to my room for a bit to wait to hear from the wife. A few hours and she eventually calls. Long story short, 2 bags of IV and a quick trip to the emergency room and she was doing better. A load off of my mind, I decided to take a little nap before the night festivities began.

    Met Bro and B downstairs at 6 and decided to play the Strip Poker Holdem tourney at Excalibur at 9. Since we had some time to kill, we headed over to Luxor to walk around and play a little. I Played some regular roulette, video slots, and rapid roulette with no big wins. I will say this, some of the people working at the Luxor were rude. I won’t say all, but in the 2/ 2 ½ hours we were there, it didn’t leave a great impression.

    At about 8:30 or so we headed back over to Excalibur for the Poker tourney. This was my first time playing live poker in Vegas. I play at home all the time with my buddies, but in the 12+ trips to Vegas since 2000 I had never sat down at a table.

    The theme was a girl sitting on a chair on a little platform, removing an article of clothing every time someone busted out. Corny! Buy in was for 40, for 2000 in chips. An extra 10$ got you the ability to re-buy as well as another 1000 in chips. So 50$ and were off. I was actually getting some pretty good hands and going in when I was supposed to. There were about 3 full tables of people playing, and I made it through till about 1 ½ tables were left. Went in against my friend B and he had the ace high flush and I had the jack. Oh well. Bro had already busted and we decided to listen to the band and play some VP at the bar.

    Band was good. VP DDBP was better. Hit 4OAK for a nice 200$ win. Had a few drinks then need to get something to eat at the food court upstairs. Decided to let B know, and when I walked over he was standing up. Either breaking or the dreaded “All In†He lost out in 5th place if I remember right. So we all headed upstairs for some quick food.

    At this point its close to 11-12. B and Bro decided to head back closer to their rooms, so I got some more playing in at the tables. I played Pai Gow and Texas Holdem Bonus (THB) for quite a few hours (6 hours). With the bonus game for THB I was dealt Ace/Ace twice for a quick 250 win total. Up, down, up, down, this repeated for the whole time. Got up about 400, and when they announced they were closing the table, I decided it was time to call it a night (morning).

    Sunday April 25th

    Got up to the bed at 6, started to come down from the drinking and the gambling high at at about 7:30 and called down for a wakeup call @ 9. Funny the person taking the wakeup call request said “You want a wakeup call at 9? That’s in like an hour!†I was like yes, I know and thanks for telling me. Was a mute point as I had waked up before the phone rang anyways. I was moving to one of my favorites the Flamingo today.

    10am I grab a cab over to the Flamingo and check in with no problems. The room is not ready, but I checked my bags and was told to check back between 3 and 6 to get my keys.


    Walked around the casino for a bit, see what they had moved and where, and placed a quick Nascar bet for the Nextel race. Met up with B and Bro (at this point we were all staying here) and decided to head down to Venetian for some play and then make our way over to Lagasse stadium for the Cavs game.

    The 3 of us being from Cleveland, we were looking for a great spot to watch the Cavs beat up on the Bulls. Bro had mentioned Lagasse stadium and it seemed like the perfect place to catch a game. We made a quick stop into the Venetian to get my club Gracie card and play a few slots, and off to Lagasse’s.

    We got there at about 11:30. We were offered our choice of seats (Patio, Couches, or table). We chose to sit on the couches. Now for those that haven’t been there. I am torn. I want to tell you it was horrible, because I don’t want you to go there and take the good seats, but I want to also tell you it was great, to make sure the place stays open. In all honesty, we all thought the place was great. The food, drinks, sports betting, seating, and the overall atmosphere was a great experience. Between the 3 of us we each ordered one appetizer and one pitcher of mixed drink. So 3 pitchers and 3 appetizers, we were feeling full and happy. Now I am not sure if they have the hand held units in the Venetian’s regular sports book, but there they had tablet PC’s that you added money so that you are able to bet on prop bets during the game. So during the Cavs game, you could bet free throws each time someone was fouled. You were also able to bet the over/under or the spread at different points of the game with a different payout. The guys working the betting windows says there are even more bets during football season. Overall it was a great experience. Even with the booze and food, came out about +100$ for the game.

    So after the Cavs game, B and Bro want to head back to the Flamingo to get some rest before the night starts. Not me! I’m ready to go. So Bro heads back and B hangs with me for a bit. Walk back through Casino Royale and play some 1$ roulette. A few wins and a few drinks and now I am feeling even better. At this point I lose B and he is off to the room for some rest. Walked from Casino Royale to Harrah’s and played some Pai Gow. Met some nice people from Arizona I believe at the tables, played for about an hour then started to slowly make my way back to the Flamingo.

    Finally back in the Flamingo and no work yet from B or Bro, so I decided to gamble some more. Was still up about 200 for the day and decided to play some 3 Card Poker. Yuck!! That was a mistake. Bro and B called and said they were on their way down. Playing Pai Gow again at this point and decided I really needed a break from drinking and gambling. Plans from here were to head up and get my room key and clean up a bit. Meet back downstairs when ready for a trip over to Cabo Wabo.

    Get my room, 26168. Great view, love the full windows at the Flamingo. Bags are brought up, and now its time for Cabo Wabo.

    Now, Cabo Wabo was my Bro’s idea. He mentioned there was a band playing, but that is about all I remember. To be honest, this is one part of the trip I was filled in on the next day. We made it over to Cabo with no problems. I wanted a bite to eat as I hadn’t had anything since the appetizers, so we were fortunate enough to sit inside. I had a few mixed drinks that tasted something like ice tea. At this point the girl on the stage starts talking about people coming up to sing with them. I look over at my brother with big eyes and ask him if he has brought us to Karaoke? He looks at me and just grins. Thanks bro. I really don’t mind the occasional okee bar back home. I just usually am not as drunk and am usually prepared when I go into one. (Not to make a fool of myself) So Bro goes up and sings a song or 2. B and I are sitting there, drinking like fools. At some point 10pm maybe I decide I need a nice shot of Kettle One. Next thing I know, I’m standing on the stage singing “Piano Man by Billy Joelâ€. Of course anyone that sings on the stage gets a free shot of Cabo Wabo. Yuck! Sammy Hagar must have taste buds of a dog if he approves of that tequila.

    So Bro is going to meet some board members at Bally’s and B says he will follow me back to the room at the Flamingo. So instead of getting crazy, I just start being loud. Walking past people dressed up on the strip ( When I say dressed up, I mean the people dressed as the Devil or other characters, not the regular people) I start yelling at them “What the *&^% are you supposed to be?†At this point my brother starts telling me to “Shhhhhhhhh!†Which then means I yell “Don’t Tell me to shhhhhh†So on Sunday night if you heard someone yelling “Don’t tell me to shhhhh†in front of Bally’s that was me!

    Anyways, made it back up to the room and crashed. I thought it was funny though. I placed a bottle of pepsi on the bed before I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning the bottle of pepsi was still sitting upright and had not fallen over. So when I say crashed, I didn’t move the whole night.

    Monday April 26th

    I woke up at about 6am. B and Bro are texting me, wondering if I was still alive. We decided to hit breakfast at Hash House a GO GO. Yeah, I should have stayed in bed. Ordered the Meatloaf hash, had a bite of the potatoes, one bite of meatloaf and ate half of my biscuit. I did down about 4 glasses of water though. Food looked good and from what I tasted it tasted good as well. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat any more.

    After breakfast we roamed around a bit at the Flamingo. Some of us gambled, others went back up to the room to relax a bit. For the rest of the day, there were no big plans to do anything else. Since it was B’s last day, we decided to hang out at the Flamingo, gamble some and take it easy.

    Tuesday April 27th

    This was my last full day in Vegas. I had woken up kind of early, ordered some room service for breakfast and packed up a bit in the room. My Bro and I had decided to have a pretty low key day.

    I met up with my bro around 10ish. We decided to hit up a few casinos and so some side by side playing. First stop was Imperial Palace. We both played the Gold Fish penny machines up towards the front door. For whatever reason, the machine I picked must have hit the bonus game at least 10x on the minimal 20$ I had started with. Nice 60$+ win to start the day.

    Our next stop was the Mirage for some 1$-2$ Ultimate Texas Holdem. The machine/table was empty so we had our choices of spots. Bro sat down first as I had to run to the cash window for some singles for tipping. Funny story as we were both in the mood to drink something different, so we were ordering a Rum Punch. Each place including the Mirage makes this drink a little different. As we were playing 4-6$ per hand we didn’t expect a great drink, but nonetheless we order one each when the waitress comes around. She gives us both a “oh ok stare, you boys go that way huh?!â€. She comes back with these drinks that are layered, with red’s, clear, and a yellow for the sour mix. They were great drinks, but not your typical big guy macho drinks. After a round of 2$ tips from each of us, she did come back regularly so that was a bonus. I will say this, anytime I get one of those drinks in Vegas, I am always reminded of cousin eddy from National Lampoons.

    No big wins at the table, but enjoyed the time with my bro, drinking gambling and reminiscing about the trip. The rest of the day was kind of a blur. Played some .25 DDBP VP winning and hit a few 4oak for total win of 120.

    My last overall session at Pai Gow was the best yet. I have a tendency to squeeze my cards when I am sorting them. Anyone that doesn’t know what squeezing the cards means, I only show one card value at a time when I am looking at my cards. It builds up the anticipation for the big hands. For people that are watching, it annoys the crap out of them as I barely show the card value. So I am playing some 10$ Pai Gow with 10$ main bet and 5$ on the bonus bet. For the whole trip I had not been having any luck with the bonus bet, occasionally cashing in on a full house or 3 of a Kind. So I’m down to my last 35$ dollars and decide to go for broke. I place 20$ on the Pai Gow bet, and 15$ on the bonus. As I am squeezing my cards my first 4 are A, A, A, and A. I show the guy sitting next to me, and of course the anticipation builds up for the final Joker for 5 aces. The player to my right tells me he doesn’t have it, so that’s one person off my list. I of course squeeze the last 3 cards and no joker. On the plus side, I did have the 15$ on the bonus bet for a nice 450$ win. Decided to play down to 400 and color up and head up to the room and end on a good note.

    No other big wins, woke up on Wednesday, checked out at the front desk and had 30$+ taken off of my room charges and caught a cab to the airport.

    All in all a great trip with Bro and B! I am definitely looking forward to my next trip in November for some football parlay bets and whatever may come.

    Hope you enjoyed the report, my apologies about the length, but once I start writing, it’s hard to stop.

    Jason:drunk:
     
  2. Rick1323

    Rick1323 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Gambling, eating and drinking.....what is not to like? great job for your first report!
     
  3. tcocona

    tcocona Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trip Report

    Hey JJStew ; Sounds like you had a great trip with B & Bro.Done something very similiar and had a ball.I don't know how you feel about it but I think moderate drinking with a little buzz is the way to go.Not remembering things and not being able to get some chow down takes away from the enjoyment of the trip.Don't mean to be a party pooper(spelling?) but I think it's worth trying.Have fun on your football trip!!!!
     
  4. familyoutdoors

    familyoutdoors Tourist

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    Sound like you had a good time. Thanks for your TR. Btw, did you have a Go Room or regular room at the Flamingo? How was the room?
    Thanks!
     
  5. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    you spelled pooper right!!!

    glad your trip was great jjstew! :beer::beer::beer:
     
  6. Jinx

    Jinx VIP Whale

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    weird seeing it from your words. Still working on my report to get out. Love how Monday and Tuesday morph into a couple sentences, while it did change pace, I know that a lot of that was just getting to the finish line of writing a report. Good trip bro, and I didn't trick you to get you to Cabo Wabo! Although you were right that the tequila and food stunk.
     
  7. jjstew

    jjstew Tourist

    Joined:
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    tcocona, Your right, usually I pace myself for each day with the drinking. This was actually the first time in Vegas that I had been that bad. Thanks for the suggestion though.

    Jinx,
    I will have to assume you told me. I guess another part I don't quite remember.
     
  8. Blonde_4_ever

    Blonde_4_ever LasVegas4ever.com

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    AH ha!
    Now I know whose brother you are!!!
    [​IMG]
     
  9. jjstew

    jjstew Tourist

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    familyoutdoors,

    It was just a standard room. Nothing too exciting about it. I like staying at the Flamingo for the location and the full windows, so the room could be a disaster and I would probably look past it.
     
  10. gotavegasjones

    gotavegasjones VIP Whale

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    Thanks for posting your TR.

    later, GVJ
     
  11. peanutmnm

    peanutmnm Scotchy

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    Nice too see your perspective after reading your brothers. Welcome to VMB.
     
  12. jjstew

    jjstew Tourist

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    Thanks GVJ and peanutmnm
     
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