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24 Hours in Vegas: PHo, CSI, Chapel & Craps

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Calcki, Mar 11, 2011.

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  1. Calcki

    Calcki Tourist

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    My Trip Report

    :wave: Wanted to get this started so it will be easier to update from my phone.

    Deets:

    Who: Hubby and I
    When: Fri 3/11 to Sat 3/12
    Where: Comped night at Planet Hollywood
    Why: Why not?

    Getting to the Ontario Airport tonight will probably take longer than the actual flight. Hubby doesn't like to fly (he really has a fear of flying), so this should be interesting. If he were a drinker, it'd be easy to fuel him up beforehand, but alas he is my permanent designated driver. We're on Southwest, A17 and A18.

    Booked A-1 limo for airport pickup (I'm not spending 2 hours in a taxi line--time is money you know). Reading reviews, it could either be a decent experience or hell on wheels.

    We are renewing our vows at midnight. Did the $55 chapel from A Little White Wedding Chapel. I woke up this morning to three voicemails from the limo driver. Apparently they went to pick us up at the hotel last night and finally found out from the PHo front desk that we aren't arriving until tonight. Untangling this mess will take a phone call or two (which will help pass the time until tonight).

    The only other event is CSI at the MGM, half priced tix from Goldstar. From the reviews, it sounds like half price is what the exhibit is worth.

    The rest of the time we're there will be filled with craps, slots, and for me, adult beverages (I've got my dollar bills all stacked up). :drunk:
     
  2. Calcki

    Calcki Tourist

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    Absolutely no traffic, no security line---unheard of for a SoCal Friday night. Plane looks like it will be empty-ish. So much for doing earlybird check in. Please let this be just the beginning of good luck...
     
  3. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    Sounds like a fun trip :) Did hubby survive the short plane ride? lol he sounds like mine! doesn't like to fly either!

    How did the vow renewal go? awwwwwwwww how nice for you both

    Looking forward to the update
     
  4. Calcki

    Calcki Tourist

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    This is what $20 bucks will get ya @ PHo (bathtub view)[​IMG]
     
  5. ATXTX

    ATXTX VIP Whale

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    When we Were Young
  6. Calcki

    Calcki Tourist

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    Friday night: Arrive at Ontario airport 60 minutes before flight, couldn’t find the $9 per day parking so ended up parking in $18 per day. Breezed through security and went to wait at the gate. Love that Ontario has put in a ton of recharging stations and seats. Flight to Vegas had maybe 30 people. We were the 5th ones on and scooted right to row 11 to get the extra leg room. Opted not to sit in the LUV seats since the plane was obviously not close to 25% full.

    No problems during the flight or landing. The terminal in LAS was dead. Dead at 9pm on Friday night. This is not the LAS that I knew. Last time I flew in on a Friday night, the terminal was packed, the slots were all busy and restaurants were hopping. At this point I was kind of thinking that paying for a private sedan was going to be a waste of $$$. Make it to the baggage area and things were picking up—more people, but still not the zoo I remember. Found our sedan driver easily and went straight to the car. The taxi line was long, but not obnoxiously so. No traffic to speak of so we were at PHo within 20 minutes of landing.

    The check-in line wasn’t bad at all, there were about 4 clerks and everyone moved right along. I didn’t see anyone try the $20 trick, so I figured what the heck, might as well try. When it was our turn, I simply handed the sandwich to the clerk who had a quick look of huh? on his face, and then it dawned on him. Not a word was said about it. After a few minutes he shows us the room we were in. We went from a (comped) Hip room to a Resort Vista room on the 19th floor, south wing.

    We were officially welcomed to Vegas as we were waiting for an elevator. A lovely young lady, dressed in a black dress cut up to here the top cut down to there stumbled out of the elevator screaming “I whant a schamwich from the EARRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLL of Schamwich. Can I have a schamwich? I promish to be mannered†Fortunately her companion had the sobriety to guide her back into the elevator where she promptly emptied her stomach. We declined that elevator.

    Up on the 19th floor, we were pleased with our room. Loved the windows and the views. I’d of taken the tub home with me if I could have! Will post pics in a bit.

    We unloaded our bags and meandered down to the casino to wait for a call from our limo driver who was picking us up at 11:30 to go to the Little White Wedding Chapel. He picked us up promptly and took us up to the chapel. I was prepared for the tipping—and quite honestly wasn’t put out by it. No biggie. Quick ceremony and pics and we were on our way back to the hotel. Driving down the north strip was sad. Not the Vegas of my memories. It reminded me of a sci-fi movie where little remains of the earth, and what’s left is melancholic.

    We make it back to PHo, play slots for a bit and hubby decides to call it a night. After he goes up to the room, I make my way over to the craps table. Nothing too exciting, steady wins/loses. Quit the table at 3am about $100 richer. Find a penny slot and play the $100 up to $600 before heading up to the room quite a bit later.

    We get up the next morning, decided to check out the EARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLL of Schamwich. Eh. Nothing looked good. I had about $100 in comps so we decided to do Spice Market Buffet. No lines, but the tables were busy. I ended up with a mix of food, Hubby did his usual breakfast. Not great, not bad. I don’t think I would’ve paid full price—especially for the small amount that we ate.

    After the buffet we head over to luggage storage to stash our overnight bag before we went down to MGM. Schlepped down to MGM….it was a bit warmer than we expected.

    Hubby wanted to play some penny slots at MGM so we played for a few hours before heading to CSI Experience.

    I had gotten the CSI Experience tix from GoldStar for ½ price. We took about an hour going through the exhibit. It was interesting and could have been more than what it was. I know they couldn’t make it too difficult, but it would have been nice to have an easy, medium, difficult or expert option.
    After CSI, we headed back to PHo. This time we took the walkway to the west side of the strip. While there was a bit more walking involved, it was not as congested and the walk back was faster. Note that while it’s faster, it does involve more stair climbing. We walked around City Centre for a bit before crossing back to PHo. We did some more slots and then took a break at Planet Dailies before grabbing a cab back to McCarren.

    Cab ride to McCarren was uneventful and $15 with tip. Plane was packed, fortunately I decided to get the earlybird check in. We ended up nabbing the LUV seat. Easy 35 minute flight.

    So, in recap, 24 hours in Vegas was quite uneventful. I did find out that PHo “casino date†changes at 6am. Looking forward to a more eventful and longer trip next month!
     
  7. AB2Vegas

    AB2Vegas Low-Roller

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    Wow - I cannot imagine only going for such a short time. It would kill me to have to leave.

    Thanks for the report - sounds like you had good time.
     
  8. CRAPS

    CRAPS Tourist

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    Congrats on your marriage renewal! My wife and I have thought about doing that in Vegas but have not got around to it yet. Is it fun?
     
  9. jpw711

    jpw711 Is that your cat?

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    Enjoyed it, if SW has cheap flights and I lived in SO CA, 35 minutes per flight would make be there all the time.
     
    No reason to go home yet.
  10. Calcki

    Calcki Tourist

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    Let me add deets on A-1 Limo (also Worldwide Limo). I booked based on price, then did more research. I was a bit leery once I read all the negative reviews out there on them.

    Flight arrived early, driver was waiting in baggage claim. He was well dressed, respectful and polite. The car (black sedan) was very, very clean. The driver was a good driver and had us to PHo in no time.

    Total was $62.10 (including pre-paid gratuity, taxes and airport fees).

    A1 does offer round trip for $101 base price.

    I'd use them again, keeping in mind that others have had a not so good experience and I *might* end up with a so-so experience.

    For my April trip, will shuttle to and cab back.
     
  11. Calcki

    Calcki Tourist

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    Thanks! It was fun...more intense than either of us thought. We did the $55 a la carte from the chapel. Limo driver was great (the communication between TLWC and us was awesome). The $55 included the limo ride but not gratuities. If you know going in that grats are expected, it's no big deal. We did get the 20 pics (ended up with about 30 though) but didn't feel like going back up there Saturday to pick up the DVD. Will call them later to find out how to get them mailed.

    I'd definitely say go for it!
     
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