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Storm Walda and Vegas

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Jimbucc, Apr 14, 2013.

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  1. Jimbucc

    Jimbucc VIP Whale

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    My Trip Report

    I haven't done a Vegas trip report in quite a long time. Frankly, my reports would be boring because I am not a big spender or gambler, and stay sober in Vegas. Every now and then the urge comes along to write a report, so here we are.

    We had a 5 P.M. flight out of Cleveland with Frontier Airlines with a layover in Denver. We were supposed to land in Vegas around 9:50 P.M. Vegas time. Of course spring storm Walda was approaching Denver that night also. We took off on time from Cleveland and had a good flight until we got near Denver. The pilot announced we would be in a holding pattern until winds subsided and other landings were also delayed so all kinds of planes are circling around Denver waiting to land. After about a half hour, the pilot tells us that planes are landing so it shouldn't be too much longer. Now you have to realize that this holding pattern wasn't like flying on a marshmallow cloud. It was quite turbulent up there and people were getting restless. The pilot anounced for all flight attendants to take their seats and people were still pushing their overhead call buttons. The attendants had to make an announcement that they could not leave their seats and if anyone felt sick to open up their overhead air and direct it on their face. I am thinking to myself, screw Denver and just fly on to Vegas. Well that wasn't going to happen so after about an hour of this crap we get the OK to land.

    The sound of the landing gear going down was music to our ears. All we have to do now is land with 30 to 40 mile an hour wind gusts. As we approached the runway, the wings on the plane are teeter tottering from left to right. Please get this bird level so the wheels hit the ground first. Yes, we land safely and are on our way to the gate. We had over a 2 hour layover in Denver so no problem with the late arrival.

    We are worn out and still not in Vegas. Our plane from Denver to Vegas was supposed to leave 9 P.M. Denver time. Just get us out of here before the snow starts to fly. The flight is pushed back 20 minutes. No problem. The flight is now pushed back an hour. Now we are waiting for our plane to get to the gate. Hooray it's here. Now for the announcement. This plane is overbooked and we are asking for volunteers to come forward. We will give you $200 and get you out on the first flight in the morning. I'm thinking no way anybody is flying out in the morning with the weather forecast being what it is. Just get us out of here.

    The plane is finally ready for boarding and the masses are waiting to charge. My wife and I were Zone 4 which is the last group to board. We get to our seats OK and find 2 spots in the overhead bins for our carry on luggage. Miracle. Everybody is on the plane and we start to taxi on out. Then we stop. It's frickin snowing out now and the pilot tells us we are waiting to have the plane deiced. OK just another bump in the road. We have to wait for our turn to deice. Finally they start working on our plane. It's taking forever. The pilot announces sorry for the delay but the plane we were on came from Detroit and there was more ice on the plane than usual. Las Vegas I hear you calling me. This is the only thing keeping me going.

    OK so we are now heading for the runway and the snow is falling and I can hardly see out the window. Flight attendants prepare for takeoff. Those are encouraging words from the pilot. Here we go, up, up, and away. Just get up over these clouds and snow. It is now 11:30 at night. We are on our way to Las Vegas. The rest of the flight was not bad although we had another bumpy landing because it was very windy in Las Vegas.

    We land at an E gate in terminal 3. This is strange territory for me but we followed the signs with no problem to the rental bus. Terminal 3 is actually quite nice. We make it to the car rental facility about ten minutes after midnight Vegas time. I had reserved a car with Payless for 10 P.M. I called them from Denver to tell them I would be late. There was no line at the counter and the guy that took care of me was from Ohio. He talked about Cedar Point amusement park and King's Island. I was so happy just to have made it to Vegas that I knew I was going to get the insurance coverage on the rental. I didn't want anything to go wrong for the rest of the trip. We were staying at The Suncoast which is a bit out there and I knew I would be driving the freeways. I know how crazy Interstate 15 and 93, 95 can be. So I figured I would make this guy's day. He was grateful and thanked me and gave me an upgrade for the same price.

    We get our car and are on our way to The Suncoast. The rooms are very nice. Double sinks in the bathroom, tub with shower head, refrigerator, flat screen TV on the wall, and a nice view. It is now 1 A.M. which is 4 A.M. Cleveland time so we play video poker for about a half hour and hit the sack.

    We get up Tuesday morning and play video poker to get 10 points on our B Connected card. Tuesday is young at heart day at The Suncoast for people over 55 years old. Once you earn 10 points you swipe your card and get a 2 for 1 breakfast or lunch buffet. I have had the dinner buffet at The Suncoast which is fine but have never done breakfast. I was quite surprised. I would put it ahead of all the other Coast Casinos. There are lunch items as well as breakfast fare. The desserts are what put it ahead of the others for me. They offer more than some buffets give you for dinner. I'm talking pies, cakes, donuts, cookies, pastries, danish, ice cream, etc. We stuffed ourselves to easily last until dinner.

    From here we headed out to pick up our Las Vegas Advisor Member Rewards Book. We had no Anthony Curtis sightings this time around. They are located near The Rio so I knew that was going to be my first stop.

    Having read about Gregrio's illness and death was quite a shock to me. We were about the same age and I had the pleasure of meeting Greg once in Vegas. He knew a lot of the staff at The Rio and loved the place. I remember telling him that my wife and I were going to see the puppet guy Ronn Lucas the next day at The Rio. When we got out of the show, Greg was standing there waiting for us to see how we liked the show. He was that kind of a guy. Ronn Lucas has gone by the wayside but he is appearing at The Suncoast. http://www.suncoastcasino.com/whats-new/events/ronn-lucas
    We walked around The Rio and played some VP with no luck. I guess Greg's spirit can't control the RNG. Goodbye Greg, I'm glad we were able to cross paths.

    The rest of the trip we pretty much used the free plays in the MRB and hit 1 out of 3 of the match plays. We also use the MRB for the 2 for 1 buffets. The buffets we ate at for dinner were The Mirage, Santa Fe Station, and Fiesta Henderson. Breakfast buffets were at Suncoast, Golden Nugget, and South Point. All good buffets in my opinion.

    The new My Poker Machines at The Station Casinos didn't do anything for me. Most of the banks of machines were empty when I checked them out. The locals know the pay schedules suck on them. They have some 99% games and I still found full pay machines at both Fiestas. I didn't make it to Palace Station, GVR, or Redrock.

    Downtown is still a great place to play. We ate breakfast at The Golden Nugget and stayed downtown most of the day. The MRB has lots of free play from The Plaza to El Cortez. Parking at Main Street Station is the best bet when you know you are going to be downtown for more than a few hours. If you have a B Connected card, just show it at the gate and there is no charge. Otherwise you pay and get your money back at the casino cage.
    Lapperts ice cream is becoming a regular stop for us at The California. The brownie sundae for $5.25 is big enough for 2 people and delicious. A brownie is cut up on the bottom. You choose your 2 flavors of ice cream, nuts if you want, whip cream and 2 cherries on top.

    The Las Vegas Club is now completely empty in the back heading towards The Cal. They are doing work in the front part of the casino. Hopefully something good will happen.

    Went past The Sahara which will be called SLS. The sign says opening fall 2014. I went around the back side off Paradise. Work is definitely being done. I wish they would have done the same with Frontier and Stardust.

    We had a successful trip money wise. Came back with $350 less than we left with. The trip home was excellent. Everything went smooth and right on time.
    I have some pics of our room and view. The condo high rise buildings are where I plan on retiring when I hit the big one. http://www.oneqrp.com/
    You can see the empty Vegas Club, Brownie Sundae, and my wife's 6 out of 6 Keno hit.
     

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  2. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Thanks Jimbucc. Seems that in spite of the old Walda, you made it and had a great trip.
    Thanks for the tip on the Suncoast breakfast. I may try that my next trip although I generally play the senior point multiplier at the Orleans to keep them sending me comps and all the coast senior specials are now on the same day.
    What VP do you play there?
    Is that photo of the Suncoast room? Is that a standard room?

    It is hard to attend any show and not think of Gregrio who so many times helped all of us with fine suggestions includes the exact seating sections to pick. So sad.

    Interesting impressions on SLS and other spots. Things change so much.
    Well, don't skip the trip reports. Always there will be some details tossed in that help another traveler.

    And photos always are a treat.
     
  3. Jimbucc

    Jimbucc VIP Whale

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    Hi Dewey, the pics of the room are the standard deluxe room. They are quite roomy at 550 square feet. We played mostly DDB. Not the best pay tables at 9/6 98.98%. Played some Bonus Deluxe at 8/6 but I noticed they have some machines upstairs at 9/6 according to vpfree2.

    We played some Pai Gow Poker at the Rampart Casino next door that has no commision. Pretty good game to play but we got sucked into playing the bonus hand and pretty much threw our dollars away.
     
  4. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Thanks Jimbucc. Good information. Suncoast is tempting with the WAX bus going right there. Seems like a comfortable spot to stay to break up downtown bookings and just get away from everything for a while. With the Gold Spike closing and resort fees pushing me off the strip, I might be looking for a place like that if I find the right price. I know that Turtle likes it there too. The VP is a bit too tight, but I liked the poker room when I visited and you never know when they might bring in some better pay tables. Thanks again.
     
  5. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

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    My type of TR. Enjoyed reading every sentence of it Jim.
    Your description of the plane ride out almost made me feel like I was on it.
     
  6. sin

    sin VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the tr! I enjoyed it very much.
     
  7. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the report.:thumbsup: I know I would be going nuts with that kind of travel. You seemed to take it in stride-good for you!:thumbsup:
     
  8. sam

    sam Low-Roller

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    Nice trip report and some very helpful hints I did not know.

    Thanks for the information. Sounds like you had a very nice trip.
     
  9. DonD

    DonD VIP Whale

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    Thanks Jim!
     
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