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4 the Hard Way- Planet Hollywood/Mirage 27 NOV-1 DEC

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by wndrwmn71, Dec 2, 2012.

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  1. wndrwmn71

    wndrwmn71 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    My Trip Report

    Just returned from a very intersting trip. Two LV vets and two newbies.

    At times I had to carry a little notepad around to jot down notes. Most other times I had to rely on the photos to remember where we were & what we were doing. Either way, this trip report will be a good one.

    As soon as I organize my notes & photos, I will post. Needless to say, there was a lot of :beer: :drunk: :wink2: :banana: :cuss:
     
  2. queentata

    queentata VIP Whale

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    What a tease!
     
  3. nsideirish

    nsideirish Low-Roller

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    Sooooooooooooooooo
     
  4. ATXTX

    ATXTX VIP Whale

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    I look forward to learning about drinking, drinking, winking, dancing banana and swearing.
     
    When we Were Young
  5. TheHangover

    TheHangover Low-Roller

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    :poke: Can't wait, want to hear more!!!
     
  6. bigwill

    bigwill Low-Roller

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    Can't wait to read your report it keeps thoses Vegas juices flowing blood booze and all.:beer:
     
  7. wndrwmn71

    wndrwmn71 Low-Roller

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    Who's ready for the long-awaited Trip Report????
     
  8. wndrwmn71

    wndrwmn71 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    27 NOV “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas”

    This was a business trip where 3 of my co-workers and I flew out to LV for a Microsoft training class. “Flo”, Bags”, and I were flying in on the same early bird flight, and “Wally” was coming in about 6 hours later.

    After a getting about 2 hours of sleep the night before (it never fails- last minute packing, to-do list plus sheer excitement), I woke up at 0500 and headed out to the airport for our early flight. Check in and security went smooth (it’s a regional airport) so Flo & I headed to check out the USO lounge. We are active duty military, so I try to stop by and say thanks to the volunteers. Hung out in the lounge for a bit. Bags was waiting on his dad to deliver his camera to the airport, so he hung back from the security checkpoint for a while. I asked Flo to keep an eye on my stuff so I could hit the ladies’ room. I no sooner walked in the restroom when I heard “final boarding call for Delta Airlines flight 1971 to Atlanta. All passengers should be boarding now". I was thinking that the number “1971” seemed vaguely familiar…wait, whoa- we’re gonna miss our flight! Ran back out to the lounge (our regional airport is REALLY small, as in only 2-3 gates small), grabbed Flo & jogged the 50 feet to the jetway. Still didn’t see Bags as we made our way to our seats (is he gonna make it?). We had a slight delay pushing back from the gate, so I sent out a text- “is everyone on”? Bags finally said he was on- he almost missed the flight.

    Had a quick layover in Atlanta, then we boarded the flight to LAS, where none of us were sitting together (again). Our flight arrived 45 minutes early at 1040. Flo was in awe at the slot machines everywhere once we deplaned. Flo got the rental car from Budget and I took the wheel, driving up the strip so the guys could take pictures & soak everything in.

    We stopped at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, which happened to be the location where the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion’s car was (Brad Keselowski’s #2 Miller Lite Dodge). I’m not a BK fan, but I AM a NASCAR fanatic, so we got a few pics of us there. Rolled up to Fremont St, looped back around down a few side streets paralleling LVB, then back around east side of strip (the 3 of us still deciding where to eat and no one courageous enough to make a decision).

    I finally said “I know a place” and proceeded to Hofbrauhaus. For some strange reason, the car *magically* (deliberately) pulled into the parking lot of the Double Down Saloon on the way. Bags started laughing, and when Flo said “what’s so funny?” we both replied, “you’ll know in due time”. And little did he know how much he would. Hit up Hofbrauhaus. I had a large Pilsner & the Hofbrauhaus Wurstplatte which was huge, Bagley had sweet potato soup, and Flo had a Schnitzel sandwich. Very good, but I was looking for the Wurst sampler special I‘d had back in April. If you like German food, or would like to try something safe but different, I strongly suggest the Hofbrauhaus. I guess as I hoisted my giant beer from the Hof, it hit me that I was back in Vegas, and that’s when I started to get into my groove, finally. :thumbsup:
     
  9. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    Love German food, thanks for the tip....:peace::beer:
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
  10. wndrwmn71

    wndrwmn71 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Left the Hofbrauhaus & checked in to PH around 4. We all checked in separately using the $20 trick. I figured if the 3 of us all walked up to the same attendant, but checked in separately, we had a better shot of getting something nice for everyone, as the clerk could quite possibly make $60 rather quickly. Front desk attendant Wendy (thank you!) immediately started nodding her head and said “Hmm, okay” (goooood sign). She upgraded all four of us from premuim fountain views to either larger rooms with a view of the Bellagio fountains , or a top floor smoking suite for Flo, or (in my case) a resort vista suite! Wally got a sweet fountain view room reserved for him as well (coming in on a later flight). Wendy was extremely patient with me as I weighed the pros and cons of getting a smoking room on the top floor (I don’t smoke), or 2 queens with a view of the fountains, or a gigantic king suite with the “strip view” tub. I got upgraded to a resort vista suite that had entirely too many sinks and took up too much real estate for one person. Even though I’m a woman, I’m not big on bathrooms, so there was no value added in that other than to make conversation and have bragging rights when I return. My room just BARELY had a view of the Bellagio fountains (barely- like crane your neck around the window and strain barely) but had the flat screen in gigantic bathroom by tub, which overlooked the Aria & city center. Not bad for $75 a night!! Flo got a room on top floor w/ huge windows since it was a smoking floor. Again, my room was nice but way too big for one person. I have no need for a sink with a seven foot long counter, much less TWO sinks. Oh well.

    2012-11-27_16-54-19_771.jpg
    Way to much sink for me.

    Tore up the bed sheets & comforter for the bedbug check, and didn’t see any evidence of problems. Not trying to be an alarmist, but do a search for bedbugs in Las Vegas hotels and you’ll get some disturbing results. I will say this- the presence of bedbugs DOES NOT mean a particular hotel is dirty; it’s a consequence of millions of travelers visiting the city every year. In my line of work I have stayed in enough places to know that can happen, so I won’t take a chance- I check for bedbugs before my luggage even goes in the actual room (I put it in the bathtub). One thing I noticed was that my bed came with a plain white comforter, no spiffy throw on the bottom or anything. Other than the size, the view, and the bathroom layout, I was actually a little unimpressed with the room. The front of the suite had a “lobby” (what Flo called it) with a desk and 2 closets that could have been used more efficiently. The GO room I stayed in this spring had a lot more "pop" and pizazz.

    2012-11-27_14-00-40_199.jpg
    Wurstplatte at the Hof.

    One thing I initially didn’t like about P-Ho was the hallways- they’re too dark, with red & dark gray & black colors that look like something out of a vampire movie. I kept thinking Nosferatu himself was going to jump out from around a corner at me. We decided to charge our dead phones (something that will become a reoccurring trend during this trip) and then all meet at the Heart Bar at 5. Flo & I met up, had a few beers at bar. He had put a 20 in the machine, so his beer was complimentary. I played a little VP and after a few hands got an aces 4OAK. Wow. Talk about a nice way to start off the trip!

    2012-11-27_17-46-13_920.jpg
    The Aces 4OAK.

    I had been raving about craps for the last month & teaching him the types of bets & the ins & outs the week before and he seemed ready. The tables were calling us, so we went to one of 2 $5 tables that were in action. Bought in for $100 to show him the ropes. We set a timer for 20 min so we could go pick up Wally from the airport (we both kept calling Bags but his phone went straight to voicemail- bet he’s crashed). Put up a pass line bet on the shooter and played max odds. Needless to say this shooter was making point after point after point. After I went up a little, I started making place bets. This guy was on fire. The CW service was decent. I could feel my timer buzzing, and Wally was calling (it was almost 7 pm) but we just COULDN’T leave a hot ass table like that. We joked around to everyone at the table saying we had to leave & pick up our friend & the shooter exclaimed "well tell his ass to catch a #&%!$ cab"! EPIC. After the shooter sevened out (25 min later) we cashed in & Flo was up $250 & I had $411 on the rail for a $311 profit. NICE. Grabbed Wally at the airport 20 minutes later, and we both gave him a few green chips each (a little cut of our profits just for him being a good sport for waiting), then brought him back to hotel in a very roundabout way due to an inadvertent tour of I-15 and the Strip).

    Finally found Bags (who had crashed in his room & left his ringer turned off) & hit Pampas Churrascarria in the Miracle Mile in P-Ho. We all had the surf & turf rodizio. I made sure we printed off the coupons before we left, but in my haste to hit the tables I forgot to bring them downstairs. The food was decent. Swordfish not so much. Not at all. It was actually bad enough for me to not finish, the salmon however just melted in my mouth. After that meat-filled bacchanal we hung out in our rooms, taking pictures (Wally got a fountain view room- arrgh) and putting a few back until 8, then hit Walgreens for socks for me (the ones I brought were giving me blisters already), some things Wally forgot, and more beer for all. Walked to Paris after we (the guys actually) were being hounded outside P-Ho by an over exuberant guy hawking a strip lub. He was an absolutely nasty grimy guy that was over selling this club to the guys. Eww. Alas the “joys” of going to LV with 3 guys. :blah: As we walked into Paris, Flo was pretty pumped to see dancers up on the stage in the casino here as well- they were pretty impressed by the Pleasure Pit at P-Ho.

    Hit a craps table that started out at $5, but went up to $10 at about midnight, no grandfather clause. WTF- first time in a year that’s happened where I didn’t get grandfathered. Boo, Paris. I was being very stingy and didn’t get in much on the $10 action & by the time I did, it was too late. Bet a last minute horn hi yo call right before the shooter launched the dice, which was nice for a win. Wally decided to get in on the action and pop his craps cherry. He rolled a few good times and at after a while we realized if we jokingly called out the numbers we wanted him to hit in Spanish (“ocho, ocho, seis, nueve, cinco”), he'll hit them. But if we called the numbers out in English, no so much- he’d roll something nasty (“siete!”). Damned if he didn’t keep hitting the numbers we called out in Spanish. Everyone at the table was getting a kick out of it. From day one we’d always razz him about his English, but he’s always a good sport about it. After a while, the dice turned on me and I rounded up the posse and we proceeded to walk thru Bally’s. I will say that I think Paris takes the whole theme a bit far. I got tired of see “le this” and “le that” and the casino seemed dark to me (maybe just where I was).

    By now it was about 2 a.m. We hit “Le Promenade” and strolled through ally’s. Nothing of note there, except I forgot how to get out of the casino to the people mover to the strip. Damn casinos are GOOD at that. Easy to get into, hard to find your way out. Here I am trying to be all cool (“Follow me, I’m an old pro casino tour guide”- NOT). Strolled thru my old stomping grounds at the Flamingo which was dead but I did reminisce about my last trip as soon as the coconut air hit me. We walked under the scaffolding past the IP/ Quad past IP (yuck) and didn’t so much as look its way. We navigated the construction maze around the Carnival Court thru Harrah’s (again nothing special) to Casino Royale where we grinded out at a $3 table for a while.

    Everyone was getting tired & buzzed, so we walked to Bills for a sweet $6.99 steak & eggs breakfast I had been bragging about. Got there, and guess what, the dining room was closed? WTF??? Super letdown. We debated on going to Ellis Island but no one wanted to walk that far. Decided to hike it back to P-Ho for some grub. Bags & I hit Planet Dailies-about this time I really needed FOOD in my belly or it was gonna be a bad night. I got a turkey club and fries, which was pretty good and did a great job of absorbing the day’s libations. While we were waiting, Bags kept falling asleep sitting there, and I swear he was gonna hit his head on the table. Yeah, it was pretty damn late (early). It struck me as funny that while the majority of the 12 or so people in Planet Dailies were getting their final meal before hitting the rack, a few senior citizens were enjoying their breakfast, presumably to hit their favorite slots early. Maybe not. To each his/her own. Flo & Wally walked the Miracle Mile to retrieve Wally’s luggage & we called it a night (morning) finally at 0530. That’s 0830 on the east coast, so we were obviously done. Walked down the vampire hallway to my room, pulled ALL the drapes shut (so much for that view), and racked out.
     

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