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Harrah's 4/14-4/17/12

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by back to vegas, Apr 25, 2012.

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  1. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    We really enjoyed our trip! This is my first trip report and I want to include all the details as a record for myself, so it will probably be both long and wordy. I am going to post in smaller segments which I think will make it easier to read.

    Background info:

    Before kids DH and I went to Vegas about twice a year. Over the past 6 years we’ve only made it to Vegas 3 times. Hopefully, we are now back on track to making it out once a year, or worst case every 18 months or so. Our best friends decided to join us on this trip as a belated celebration of their 10th anniversary, they had never been to Vegas before.

    Saturday April 14th:

    Our flights out were uneventful. Our bags were practically waiting for us at baggage claim and the taxi line was not too long and moved quickly. We made it to Harrah’s without incident, I think the fare was around $16, the driver got $21. There was only one person ahead of us in line for check in. We were checking in on a 3 night comp for a premium room, I put my wallet on the counter in front of me with a $20 in plain sight on top of my wallet. I asked the clerk if there were any complimentary upgrades available and she put us in a petite suite. I thanked her and passed her the $20. I had mentioned the $20 trick to our friends when we were planning but I forgot to remind them before we checked in and we checked in separately so I think they just got what they booked. We never went to each other's rooms and DH didn't think we should mention our suite to them so I have no idea what their room was like.

    We were in the Carnaval Court elevators headed to our rooms one hour after our flight was scheduled to land (it was the first time I had checked my watch so I have no idea if we landed on time or not). Our friends were on the 17th floor, we were on the 19th so we parted ways with plans to unpack and meet downstairs so we could head to Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar for the first Vegas drinks. The petite suite was very large – 2 windows, one with a view of the Mirage volcano, the other with a view of TI and the Venetian. There was a desk in front of one window, and a small table with 2 chairs in front of the other. There was an armoire behind the small table. There was also a couch with coffee table and the TV armoire – we did not turn the TV on once in 4 days! The bathroom was a little disappointing for such a large room with a shower/tub combo, toilet, single sink, and vanity area all in one room. No complaints though.
     
  2. raraavis

    raraavis VIP Whale

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    looking forward to the rest of the tr! just curious, did you have trouble getting around harrah's with all the linq construction?
     
  3. Dan2305

    Dan2305 Tourist

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    I'd also be interested to know how construction has effected Harrahs. Looking forward to the rest of the report!
     
  4. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    The sidewalk between Harrah's and IP was a little congested at night but other than that it was no problem. From what I remember, pre-construction, that area has always been pretty congested. There were barricades up and it was definitely noticeable that construction was going on but it didn't bother us in the least. I'd imagine that could change as they get further into the project.
     
  5. Dan2305

    Dan2305 Tourist

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    Great thanks! I'll be down that way in 24 days and counting!! :D
     
  6. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    Good call! I have only done one report, but I find myself going back to it every couple of years, and rereading feels like reliving. Excellent substitute while I wait for that darn countdown timer to move.
     
  7. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Saturday April 14th continued

    We met our friends on the first floor after unpacking and then headed up to Toby Keith’s on the 2nd floor. DH and I are big fans of the mason jar drinks so we had been looking forward to this stop for awhile. Being Saturday night, Toby Keith’s was crowded and there was no way the 4 of us would be able to sit at the bar together. We decided to get a table and only had a 15 minute wait. Not only was Toby Keith’s crowded, it was also loud and we were seated just 2 tables off the dance floor. We waited almost too long for our server, I actually checked my watch and gave her 5 minutes before we were walking out but she made it just in the knick of time and was apologetic for the delay. We ordered our drinks, us girls decided to split one to see how we felt after all the travelling. We had asked to split it but the waitress delivered it with 2 straws, we told her we wanted 2 glasses so she brought us a couple of plastic cups and we split it up. We ordered 3 soups and a bbq sandwich, all of the food was fine. The live band came on shortly after we sat down and it got even louder. Us girls decided we could handle a second drink and ordered something different from the menu but our waitress ended up bringing us another of the same drink, although this time it was appropriately split into two cups so we decided to just keep it.

    A family with 2 small kids sat down briefly next to us, but it finally dawned on them that this probably wasn’t the best place to be feeding your kids after 9pm, so they left. I’ve never thought that Vegas was a good place for kids but now that I’m a mom, I have a lot less tolerance for it. If you want to bring your kids to Vegas for a family vacation that is your choice, but if you have them on the casino floor, out on the Strip, or in loud, smoky, inappropriate venues at all hours, I am probably going to notice and give you a funny look. For us – Disney World is a family vacation, Vegas is an adult vacation.

    Over all we were a little disappointed in Toby Keith’s, apparently prior to this trip DH and I had only visited during the day and that was definitely more our speed. A nighttime visit was just too loud and crowded for us and the slow service didn’t help. We decided we wanted to find a quieter place to share a drink so we headed down to the Piano Bar. It was just as loud but even more crowded so we walked in and quickly walked back out. We decided to head out onto the Strip in search of a quieter place to grab a drink. We ended up at Bugsy’s Bar in the Flamingo, not exactly what I had in mind, but it was quieter and they had liquor so we were happy. After that one drink, we decided to head back to Harrah’s. Our friends decided to call it a night, DH couldn’t go another minute without gambling, so he found a slot machine to relieve him of $10 while I ran up to the room to change into flip flops for the evening. We found a $5 Let It Ride table and each bought in for $100. I played down to my last $10 and decided to move onto some slot action. DH had doubled his money and cashed out too. We moved onto slots with mixed results – I did manage to turn $5 into about $30 on a Ghostbusters machine. I played it down to $15 before cashing out. Overall, I think I lost about $25 playing slots and DH did about the same before we called it a night – sometime between midnight and 1am, I believe.
     
  8. raraavis

    raraavis VIP Whale

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    amen to that! :nworthy:
     
  9. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Sunday April 15th

    We were up early on day 2, about 6 am Vegas time. I was going to try to go back to sleep but I had the slightest headache and I wanted to be sure I didn’t let it turn into a hangover so I sent DH down to Starbucks for a diet Coke and a croissant, I was very afraid to take Tylenol on an empty stomach. DH delivered the diet Coke and a bagel which wasn’t what I wanted but worked fine to keep the Tylenol off the empty stomach. On second thought, I’m thinking it was probably a diet Pepsi, since Vegas seems to be anti Coke products. :rolleyes2: DH and I got ready quickly so we could head down to the casino. Prior to the trip, we were a little concerned about how we would get our gambling in traveling with friends who weren’t interested in gambling but we ended up making it work. We played some $5 Let it Ride until it was time to cash out and meet our friends.

    The meeting time was 10 am so we could make our 10:30 am brunch reservations at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesar’s. I am a huge fan of Bobby Flay and on our last trip to Vegas, DH surprised me with brunch at Mesa Grill as a birthday treat. We both loved the food, so this is now a must do for us. Since we just had to walk across the street, we were there in plenty of time so we showed our friends around Caesar’s and then went in for our reservation. The food was just as good as we remembered – definitely the best hamburger I have ever had in my life, twice. The original plan was that DH and I would split the Crispy Bacon and Hashbrown Quesadilla and the hamburger but DH decided to try the Spicy Chicken and Sweet Potato Hash. I couldn’t imagine not getting the quesadilla so we ordered one for the table, it was good but not as good as I had remembered. Everyone was very happy with their food and drinks, our friends ordered the Ranch Style Eggs Tostada and Eggs and Aged Striploin Tortilla. The boys had the Spicy Bloody Mary and the Bitter Frenchie (some kind of grapefruit drink) and the girls went with White Peach Margaritas. For DH and I the bill with tip came to $121 including 2 drinks a piece. Very well worth the money in my opinion. And, if you haven’t been there, the bread basket is also fabulous! Even taking my Bobby Flay crush out of the equation, this is my favorite food in Las Vegas.
     
  10. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Sunday April 15th continued

    After brunch we walked through the Forum Shops and stopped for our first Fat Tuesday drinks of the trip. We all ended up quite jealous of the one person who was smart enough to pay for a drink in a cup with a lid and a handle, the handles are great to keep your hands from freezing! We walked through the Mirage and then took the tram over to TI and walked through there as well, stopping to take all the required pictures for our first timers. Then we headed over to the Wynn. This was only the second time DH and I had made it to the Wynn so I think we were just as impressed as our friends were. We decided to hang out there a bit and had drinks at Parasol Up. It was very nice to relax at a quiet bar and enjoy each others company. It was pricey but it was definitely our speed. I don't remember what anyone else had to drink, but I had a pear martini that I enjoyed. It was such a pretty place to enjoy a drink.

    Once we finished our drinks, we headed over to the Venetian. We had a Groupon for Public House – when I saw the Groupon and checked out the restaurant description, I was pretty sure the guys needed to go somewhere with over 250 beers and they agreed. We decided to walk around the Venetian for a bit before heading to Public House as the guys had had just enough to drink to start being not nearly as funny as they thought they were. In retrospect, I think the problem was actually that us girls hadn’t had quite enough to drink to think the guys were funny. :nono: I think we made a restroom stop and when we came back out the guys were gone, they had found a cigar shop on the casino floor and were making some purchases. When we were planning the trip, our friends had decided they wanted to give the gondola ride a try but once we walked over there, they decided it wasn’t really worth the money so we decided to skip it. No problem for DH and I, we had done it on one of our first Vegas trips and didn’t care if we repeated it or not. Funny thing, when the guys bought their cigars on the casino floor, the saleswoman lit them for them. They walked all around smoking their cigars until we got to the gondola ride - the gondola photographer said there was no smoking there. It was odd that the rest of the casino staff, hotel staff, and security didn't say anything.

    We headed back to Public House and sat down in the lounge area at a table for four and ordered our drinks. The girls in our group are definitely fans of girly drinks – cosmopolitans, apple martinis, other fruity martinis, and flavored vodkas. Public House doesn’t have any specialty drinks that fit these tastes. Based on our waitress’ recommendations, I went with a MC-11 and my friend had a Sistine Spritz – she likes pretty much anything with a little fizz to it so she was fine, had we seen our waitress I would have sent my drink back and got something else but service was severely lacking. I made it through my MC-11 but I would never order another one and didn't enjoy it at all. DH ordered some kind of spicy bloody Mary and then tried the Banana Nut Bread Beer – not sure what his friend had. We also ordered some fries to go with the alcohol and DH ordered a Scotch egg. I’m not sure if we had bad service because of the Groupon or if it was our waitress. I’m pretty sure had the guys been there themselves their service would have been better. :rolleyes2: We headed outside and called the kids to check in, it was cool to stand upstairs and talk to the little ones while enjoying the fabulous weather and watching the outdoor gondola rides. One of those things that is a vivid vacation memory two weeks later for some unknown reason. We decided we were done at the Venetian and headed back to Harrah’s – I’m not sure if we bothered to walk through Casino Royale or if we just walked in front of it, not that it matters much either way.
     
  11. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Even if it's just for me and just so I can say I did it, I am going to finish this trip report :thumbsup:

    Sunday April 15th - continued part 2

    We parted ways at Harrah’s, our friends headed up to their room to get ready for dinner and we headed back to the tables with plans to meet around 7. We gambled until the last possible second before running up to the room to change for dinner. We sat down together at a $5 Let it Ride table and bought in for $100 each. Once I had played through my $100, I decided to move on, I don’t believe in adding to my initial buy in, if the first $100 wasn’t lucky, I don’t expect the second to be. DH is from the opposite school of thought, he figures he’s due so he was happy to buy back in. I moved to a $5 3 Card Poker table. I didn’t have much luck but it was only the second or third time I had played so I enjoyed the refresher. I had an awesome dealer and while I was losing, he convinced me that playing $10 blackjack was actually putting less money at risk than $5 LIR and $5 3 Card Poker, so when that $100 was gone, I moved on to a $10 Blackjack table. I sat down by myself, I don’t play a lot of blackjack, I hate playing with people who take it super seriously and get annoyed if I don’t follow strategy perfectly. I played for awhile and then someone else joined the table, he didn’t play long, not sure if my amateur play ran him off or if he just wasn’t happy with his luck. DH came to find me and I cashed out from the table with my original $100 intact.

    The plan was to give the Sugar Factory a try. I checked on Open Table and grabbed a reservation for 8:15 as I wasn’t sure we could make the earlier reservation they had available. We set off for Sugar Factory – us girls in our very nice heels. I am very embarrassed to admit that by the time we got to Paris, I told DH I wanted to take a taxi back to Harrah’s after dinner because I wasn’t sure I would make it walking back. I wear heels to work each and every day, wear heels when I go out at home, and I’m in my 30s so I have a decent idea what I can handle – at least that is what I thought. I felt slightly better that my friend was as miserable in her heels as I was. We got to Sugar Factory ahead of our reservation time but they seated us right away, I asked about patio seating but they only have one 4 top outside and it was reserved so we were fine sitting inside. I had originally read about Sugar Factory here, checked out the menu, and shared the menu with my friend who really wanted to give it a try. I was happy to put it in the plans since it comes so highly recommend and we wanted to try a couple new places. Then I found the drink menu online along with pictures and I was very excited. I was looking forward to sampling lots of the sweet girly drinks. I started with a S’mores Martini and my friend had a Jolly Rancher martini, her husband ordered a Corona, and DH ordered vodka on the rocks. We ordered our food, my friend really wanted to try a Belgian Waffle even though it was dinner time. The restaurant was so loud that is was uncomfortable. It was impossible to carry on a conversation at the table and our waiter was ridiculously slow. There were a couple of large parties but they didn’t seem to be the problem, it seemed to be more of a design issue with tile floors, mirrored ceilings, and all wood tables and chairs – nothing at all to absorb any of the sound. We were able to see a portion of the fountain shows so that was nice. At one point our waiter came out with my friends waffle in hand and asked if she wanted it now or when he brought out the rest of the meals. She said she wanted it with the rest of the meals so he took it back. No one was overly impressed with the food – Belgian waffle, 2 cheese pizzas, and a patty melt. We paid the bills and I noticed an odd charge on ours – 2 charges at $2 each for “Rocks”. We were charged for DH’s 2 vodkas (I’m thinking $7 each) and then also charged for “Rocks” for each drink. I’ve never been charged for ice before.:eek: I just paid it, I was afraid we’d be there for another hour if I tried to wait for the waiter so I could ask him about it. After dinner the plan was for DH and my friend to head up to the top of the Eiffel Tower – my friend’s husband and I are both scared of heights so we were planning on heading to the bar for a drink. The wait for the Eiffel Tower was 40 minutes so they decided they’d wait and do it later in the trip. By this point our feet felt a little better so we decided to walk back to Harrah’s and put some comfortable shoes on for the rest of the evening. It was the longest, most painful walk of my life. I even considered taking off my shoes and walking back barefoot – which added an ongoing joke for the rest of the trip about what kind of diseases you could pick up walking barefoot on the Strip. :vomit: I made it all the way to the 19th floor at Harrah’s before I finally decided to risk it and walked barefoot the rest of the way to the room. I changed shoes and we headed back downstairs but we didn’t have any definite plans and after the shoe ordeal we decided to just call it a night, even though it was before 11! It ended up being a good thing as DH was up most of the night with suspected food poisoning from the patty melt and every time he got up, I woke up.
     
  12. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Monday April 16th

    After a night of very little sleep, DH made the Starbucks run and then went for ice so I could enjoy what was left of the previous day’s diet Pepsi with my croissant. I don’t drink coffee, so I rarely have Starbucks at home, but after this trip I am in love with Starbucks croissants. I’m not sure if they are particularly good or if I am just easily pleased since I love croissants. After our quick in room breakfast it was time to get ready and squeeze in some more gambling time before we met our friends. We headed down and played a little before meeting our friends around 9:30. This morning the boys were off to Machine Guns Vegas and the girls were off to the spa at MGM Grand. DH was incredibly worried that my friend and I couldn’t walk to MGM in 30 minutes so we decided to take the monorail. Of course this got us to MGM way too early so we walked through the Sugar Factory store and CBS store looking for souvenirs for the kids but we didn’t see anything we had to have. We headed down to the spa and checked in for our Creamsicle Facial appointments. These were a Spring special for MGM that I found online for $115 each. We ended up at the MGM spa because of the deal and because neither Monte Carlo or New York New York could schedule two facials at the same time do to their staffing – only one aesthetician working. We went on the spa tour and enjoyed complimentary orange juice and water. They also had granola bars, nut mix, apples, and bananas available. We got changed and went and sat in the relaxation room and just chatted. The room was unbelievably dark, we sat next to the one lamp in the room so we could have some lighting. It was nice to have some down time and chat about the kids and our life at home. We typically are only able to get together a few times a month and it never seems like we have enough time to talk and hang out so this was great. We both loved our facials with the citrus and vanilla scented products. After the facials, we got dressed and did our hair and make up. We didn’t enjoy the steam room, sauna, or hot tub – we just didn’t have enough time. Once we got ready we made a pit stop at Fat Tuesday for a round of drinks – this time we bought 4 drinks with lids and handles – lesson learned. On our walk through the casino we found the Lion’s Share Progressive machine so we would know where it was when we headed back later with the guys to win that.

    We walked over to New York New York and then directly to the Monte Carlo – the guys had beat us there and when I had last checked in with DH he seemed a little cranky that we decided to go to Fat Tuesday even though they were already at Monte Carlo (I decided he needed an extra shot in his Eye Candy to tame his mood). We met at Dragon Noodle Co. for their lunch special. Our last trip, DH and I were on a strict budget and in my pre-Vegas research I came across this weekday lunch special, $9.95 for a lunch that includes soup, eggroll, rice, and your entrée. The meal was great and the total before tip for the 4 of us was just $43 (we only had water to drink since we had our Fat Tuesday drinks). We had 2 Mongolian Beef and 2 Sweet and Sour Pork and everyone was very happy with their meals. Good food for a good price! :thumbsup:
     
  13. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Monday April 16th - continued

    From here it was time to get to some sight seeing. We headed to Aria and to the Viva Elvis gift shop – DH is a huge Elvis fan so I thought he’d love this. We browsed but didn’t end up making any purchases. From here we headed to the Cosmopolitan. What an impressive place! I really wanted to give the $100 loss promo a try so I signed up for a player’s card and started looking for a good machine. DH decided to sign up for a card too. No one was really that into gambling for some reason so I just decided to play through mine and DH’s $5 free play for signing up and then we moved on. The original plan was to head over to Bellagio and check out the Conservatory before heading to see Big Elvis at Bill’s Gamblin Hall. DH was afraid we didn’t have time so we headed straight over to Bill’s and ended up waiting to watch Big Elvis. Oh well, it was nice to just sit for a bit. We’ve seen Big Elvis several times over the years and this time I was not impressed. It seemed like he only did a few songs solo – there were a few songs by his warm up guy, a few songs by Big Elvis, a couple of duets with the two of them and then it was over. I was a little disappointed and I don’t think our friends were overly impressed but DH got his Elvis fix so he seemed happy. We walked back to Harrah’s and split up to gamble and change for dinner. I was dealt a straight flush at the Let it Ride table so I was very happy with the $200 payout on my $5 3 Card Bonus bet. We met at The Range Steakhouse at Harrah’s for our dinner reservation at 5:30. We had a great table right at the window overlooking the fountain outside of Caesar’s Forum Shops. There was some construction on the sidewalk right below but the pedestrian traffic seemed to be moving just fine. We had a nice view of a Stormtrooper and got to watch him take a cigarette break too. Everyone enjoyed the meal, Filet Mignon for the girls, Boneless New York Steak for the guys and sides of Garlic Wedge Fries and Mushrooms Trio. After dinner ($176 for DH and I after tip including a couple of glasses of wine for him and a cocktail or two for me) the plan was to head to Mix Lounge at The hotel to enjoy the view. The girls had become much smarter overnight and we were prepared wearing flip flops with our nice jeans and shirts. We were all stuffed from dinner and not in much of a hurry so we decided we would walk to Mandalay Bay.

    Never in a million years would I have thought walking from Harrah’s to Mandalay Bay was a good idea, but we ended up having a blast. We walked through Bellagio so we could see the conservatory and lobby. From there, we took the tram to Monte Carlo. We walked through Monte Carlo and noticed the strange seating for Brand. I don’t think I’d want to eat a nice steak dinner practically right on the casino floor. It seems a little odd to me. We walked around the outside of New York New York and checked out the September 11th memorial. From there we walked to Excalibur and took the tram to Mandalay Bay – we waited a long time for a tram. Once we got to Mandalay Bay we headed towards Mix, when we got there they were closed for a private event but were opening at 9pm to the general public. It was about 8:45 so we decided to wait. DH ran $10-$20 through a slot while the rest of us watched. Then it was time to head up to Mix. I do not like heights and neither does my friend’s husband. The glass elevator up was an unpleasant experience, as was the rounded glass viewing area when we first got there – for some reason with the curved glass, it just makes you dizzy. Even DH who has no problem at all with heights didn’t enjoy that area. We headed to the bar for drinks and then DH and my friend headed outside. I was surprised just how much our friend did not like heights, he didn’t seem to be doing well with it at all. When the others came back in, they talked us into going out to sit. I was fine with it and enjoyed the view. We practically had the place to ourselves, and even when we left an hour later I doubt there were more than 20 people there. It was a fabulous view and I would definitely do it again, especially if we found another completely uncrowded night.
     
  14. S'AllGoodMan

    S'AllGoodMan High-Roller

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    Very detailed report. I always have a hard time remembering what happened when...

    Enjoying reading it.
     
  15. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    I'm glad someone is enjoying it! :peace: It is probably way too detailed, I just wanted to have a detailed record for my own memory. Maybe in the future I need to write the detailed report just for me and just cover the highlights in the trip report. I'm going to finish this one out the way it was started though. :snore:
     
  16. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

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    Monday April 16th - part 3

    When we were done at Mix we decided to head back towards Harrah’s but we made a ton of stops on the way. We walked through to Luxor and then onto Excalibur. We did a full loop of the New York New York casino, DH and I love that place, although not nearly as much as we did before they toned down the theming. From there we walked over to MGM Grand so we could come home $2.2 million dollars richer. The original plan was to each put $30 in and play until we doubled our money or played through it all. If we doubled, we’d take out our original stake and put $120 back in. Any winnings would be split 4 ways. By the time we got there nobody else was that interested anymore so I decided to put $40 in (because it was what I had handy) and I still told everyone I would split the winnings if I hit the jackpot. Very generous of me, I think. :angel: I ended up getting a hit that put me at $97 and hit the cash out button since I was more than double – before I remembered all cash outs were hand pay. I waited a bit for my $97, put $42 back in and played down to nothing. As a side note – I never play $1 slots – I think it’s just too much money at risk and it can go so fast so this was a rare play for me. Since we had checked off my must do, we moved on down the Strip. We walked through Planet Hollywood – the dealers at the party pit seemed a little bit more like strippers with their outfits and the dancing on the tables, a little too in your face for my taste. We walked past Yolo’s where we had planned on getting the guys Margarona’s – by this time they weren’t interested so we headed through Paris. No one was in the mood for the Eiffel Tower, they were afraid the view wouldn’t compare to Mix, so it was through Paris, through Bally’s and back to Harrah’s. At this point our friends called it a night and we decided to catch up on some gambling.

    We started out with $100 each at a Let it Ride table. My money didn’t last long so I moved on to a Three Card Poker table. I was playing with a couple of nice guys but didn’t much enjoy the dealer. I wasn’t doing very well, I got down to my last $5 a couple times but built it back up playing just the Pair Plus bet until I could get back in the game. DH ran through his money at Let it Ride and decided to move on to slots. About 1:15 DH texted me to say he was going up to the room. I was still playing when I got a text 30 minutes later saying that I should probably call it a night. At this point I was down just a little on my $100 buy in so I decided to play a little longer. I got back up to my initial $100 and decided it was time to move on. I bought in at a different Let it Ride Table and played there for a little while. I had a decent hand or two and walked away when I was down to $55. I decided to play a little slots and tried out a few different games I had been eying the past few days. No big hits until I moved on to a Hangover slot. I put in a TITO for $20 and same change. I hit a few bonuses and cashed out at $55+. I put another TITO of $40 in and cashed that out when I got over $100. I was having fun but I decided I needed to lock in my small win for the night (up about $50 since the initial $100 buy in at Let it Ride hours earlier). I made it up to the room a little after 4am, about 3 hours after my DH.
     
  17. raraavis

    raraavis VIP Whale

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    Messages:
    1,118
    Location:
    NJ
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    9
    "too detailed"??? :eek: nonsense! a trip report is never too detailed! i personally love trip reports with lots of detail. for one, it helps transplant me there, so i can live vicariously through the poster :beer:. and second, i always am looking for tips or ideas for my own trips. i've learned so much just from reading trip reports on here. thanks again for writing this up! :thumbsup:
     
  18. btodd

    btodd High-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2003
    Messages:
    875
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    49
    I agree. Never too many details!!! Loving the report. I am glad that the construction around Harrahs did not put a damper on your trip!
     
  19. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2010
    Messages:
    106
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    15
    Thanks for the encouragement, this will definitely be wrapped up by early next week.

    The construction around Harrah's was a non-issue for us, I'm not sure how it will be as construction progresses, but our timing worked out great.
     
  20. back to vegas

    back to vegas Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2010
    Messages:
    106
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    15
    Tuesday April 17th

    We were up again just a couple hours after I had called it a night. Only in Vegas do I stay up all hours! When we are home 10 is a late night for me. :snore: We got packed, showered, and dressed by 8am. DH made the daily Starbucks run. I called down and asked to talk to a host, I figured even though we didn’t play too much, we had for the first time pretty much played exclusively at one property, so there was no harm in having our play reviewed to see if they would take any charges off. I was told no one would be in the host’s office until 8am so we hung around the room until 8 and I called down again. I was connected to the host's office, but they told me that the front desk could handle everything at check out, which I was pretty sure was not the case, but we went ahead and headed down to the front desk to settle up. Our rewards credits of just over $9 were applied to the bill and we paid cash for the rest. They offered us a late check out but we needed to leave shortly after 11 so we didn’t need it. We decided to go ahead and get our last few hours of gambling in. We went in search of a Let it Ride table but there were none open. I asked the pit boss about it and he was pretty rude when telling me that he wouldn’t be opening one until 9. We decided to go play elsewhere but DH didn’t want to cross over to Mirage since we had focused all of our play thus far at Harrah’s. We walked over to Casino Royale but they don’t have any Let it Ride tables and I doubt I could stomach playing there even if they did.

    We headed back to Harrah’s to wait until 9 so we could play some Let it Ride. We bought in and once my $100 was gone I decided to move on to 3 Card Poker. I was the only one at the table and I had a fabulous dealer, TC. We chatted while I played and a different pit boss came over and chatted with us. It was a really enjoyable experience, very relaxed and talking to some very nice gentlemen. I hit a flush on the 6 card bonus so I put the $75 winnings aside. I was making a pair plus bonus here and there for TC and had one out when he dealt me a straight flush. Nice $200 hit for me with a $200 tip for him. I put that $200 aside as well. I played down what I had in front of me but we were running short on time and I was still having a good time so I went ahead and played the $75 I had previously set aside. I ended up walking away with the $200 – just even for the morning but I really felt like I’d won just from the fun and drinks I’d had for free over the past hour or so.
     
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