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The Quad, The Cabbie, The Fire Bets - A tale in Many Parts - April 7th - April 12th

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Wanger1969, Apr 15, 2013.

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  1. Wanger1969

    Wanger1969 Iowa Nice

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    My Trip Report

    There was much anticipation for our Vegas Vacation this time around. First, we were staying at The Quad. Now, I've stayed there before, but was anxious about some of the remodel and change-ups. Unlike most, I had a deep love for this casino, especially the Craps tables, and was worried that the mojo would be gone. Second, we'd been planning this since November. That's a long wait, and you all know how hard that is to deal with. And third, it was our first vacation together. I mean, we like each other, but can we spend five days together? Much was to be learned.

    We headed out to the airport and most everything went without a hitch. We flew Allegiant out of Des Moines, and the flight was on time. (as is my experience with them) I love being able to check in online. Saves SO much time waiting.

    Arrival in Vegas on time and straight to the cab line, as we carried on all our posessions. A short wait in the cab line and off to The Quad we went. Simply asked the cabbie to take us to The Quad, and that is exactly what he did. No tunnel, no long haul, just a friendly trip, along with some griping about what a mess it is to get to The Quad. (and it is) They have the new entrance, but you can still only enter it from the labyrinth that is the back of the casino. Still not ideal, but an improvement for sure.

    As we enter The Quad, my heart sinks. Its about 4:30 pm, and the check in line is 4 deep. Uggh. What is one to do? I haul myself into the line and expect the hour plus long wait to get to our room. But to my surprise, the line moves at BREAK NECK SPEED. (this isn't The Quad I'm used to) We were up to the counter in 15 minutes. Unfortunately, I recognize one of the reservation desk people as my arch nemesis from my last trip. There are 15 behind the desk checking people in, and who do I get? Yep. HIM. I have no idea what his name is, but on our last trip, he was the MOST impersonal jerk I've ever come into contact with. This trip however, he won me back. He got me the exact room I wanted with little or no fuss. It even included a free upgrade to a pool view, which at The Quad, is about the nicest view you can get. Maybe he wasn't a jerk last time, maybe it was me?

    So we proceed to our room, dump our bags, turn the air conditioning down to frigid, and head out into the Mecca that is our Homeland. Its a warm day on our arrival day, and this is truly welcome, coming from the frozen tundra of Iowa. We need some food, so we stop in Planet Hollywood, and decide on something simple at PBR Rock Bar and Grill. The food was just ok, but we really just needed something to fill our bellies. It fit the bill.

    We head to MGM as we were hoping to catch the sights and sounds from the ACM Awards. Boy, did we luck out. Instead, we got to meet and rub noses with the participants and Rock Gods that were in the Rock and Roll Camp. (Lita Ford anyone?) We hung out there for the entire evening and got to watch all five greats jam with each other. This fell into our laps and was an EPIC start to the night.

    We headed back to The Quad around 10pm and proceeded directly to the Craps table. Four hours later, we walked away up about $900 between the two of us, thanks to my 4 number roll fire bet and some other pretty epic rolls. Great way to start our Vegas Vacation!

    We called it a night around 3:30 am, having been up a full 24 hours at this point.

    Unfortunately, Monday morning decided to wake us both up about 8am. WTH? Might it be that the room was probably in the 50 degree range temp wise thanks to my thermostat drop the night before? No sleeping in for us. We showered and proceeded to head to Hash House and grab some breakfast. I'd eaten here twice last trip and loved it both times. This time, it was just ok. Oh well, once again, just needed food in my belly.

    We proceeded to catch the Deuce and head downtown for the day. It was cold and rain was in the forecast. Fremont seemed the perfect solution for this. We did a quick tour of what downtown has to offer. This was my friends 2nd trip to Vegas but first trip downtown. (he too is now in love) We decided to sign up for the Binions 2pm poker tourney. They had around 30 participants, and it was a mostly fun crowd to play with. Some locals who were full of themselves, but some pretty nice folks as well. I busted out first and napped in their comfy chairs just outside the poker room. Troy chopped with 3 others and once again, the Vegas Gods were shining down on him.

    Unfortunately, it had gotten BITTERLY cold outside and was spitting rain. All I wanted was some food and warmth. We decided to hit up Dupars, as their pancakes are legendary, and my pancake eating prowess is also. They were pretty tastey, but better than any I've ever had? Hmm....probably not. Good none-the-less. I like Dupars menu and would probably eat there again. The service was hit and miss.

    Now it being so cold, I had no intention of waiting for the bus and freezing my butt off. So I offered to pay for a cab ride back to the hotel. BEST. DECISION. EVER. We caught a cab with Dimitri, a Russian with a very thick accent and very lead foot. Oh, and one of the foulest mouths I've ever heard. I INSTANTLY liked him. He got us from Fremont to our hotel in 5.3 seconds. Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but it was lightning fast. And scary. And Exihlerating. Best line of the entire weekend was Dimitri hanging his head out of the window and screaming at another cab, "I f**king RAM YOU, you f**k". Needless to say, Dimitri got ONE heck of a tip, and we got our tag line that would take us through the remainder of the vacation. If I had a dime for every time that line was repeated.......

    We headed to the Craps table, and proceeded to return a good portion of the funds we had won the evening before. Of course, I thought I had beat the odds and had figured out HOW to win at Craps. Nope, it wasn't to be. We ended the day around 4:30 am on a loss, frustrated, but still loving every minute of our vacation so far.
     
  2. jhpa

    jhpa VIP Whale

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    I'll be posting my own trip report, but mabe you were around when I had my best hit of the trip- At the Quad just after midnight on Thursday night April11 - technically friday morning. Bought in for $100, bled it down to $30 when the dice came to me at 12:15 am. I rolled until 1 AM and cashed in $1480. I'll be posting my details...
     
  3. Patripman

    Patripman High-Roller

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    Was the cab driver Dimitri driving a Dodge Charger? Last year we got a Russian driver from Fremont to PH and I swear to God I was never so scared in all my life. My son and his friend were in the back seat laughing so hard it wasnt even funny. When the driver exited Flamingo road I still dont know how he stopped the cab at the red light, from that point to PH was just a blur.

    p
     
  4. atcmurph

    atcmurph Watcher Of The Skies

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    This is great so far! Thanks ever so much for the good laugh at Dimitri. :kill:
     
  5. RAWDAWG33

    RAWDAWG33 Low-Roller

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    Moar please. This is off to a great start.

    I f*$king RAM you...you f«ck. Such a classic.
     
  6. split10's?

    split10's? Low-Roller

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    "I f**king RAM YOU, you f**k".

    priceless. This is now my slogan in ten days...:)
     
  7. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

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    Indeed. A room thermostat is sadly not an option in many of The Quad's room options. I became sick as well staying there in the winter, as I was limited to two temperture choices - 90 (heat on) and 40 (heat off).

    The cab driver sounds like Silent Bob's cousin was never successful with his Heavy Metal career. :thumbsup:

    [YOUTUBE]5D-9X3ooFvo[/YOUTUBE]
     
  8. TimLion

    TimLion High-Roller

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    Yes, I'm pretty sure that in two weeks I'll be rocking the "I f**king ram you, you f**k!"

    Ah, Vegas. How I love you.

    Santé,
    TL
     
  9. Wanger1969

    Wanger1969 Iowa Nice

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    Continuing On......

    Tuesday started out like most any Tuesday starts in my life. Well, not really.

    Once again, we woke up crazy early, even though the room temp was a comfortable seventy degrees. Unfortunately today, 9am was not gonna happen for me. The prior activities of the day and evening before were catching up on me. I indulged in quite a few Captain and Diets, and with it being cold, found a new drink I love. Baileys and Coffee. I tried this in several different venues over the week, and it was great everywhere I went. It warmed the tummy and the spirits.

    Because of my lovely hangover and lack of sleep, I did my best job of convincing my travel buddy to room service and some lounging this morning. Room service in The Quad is quite good, since the majority of the menu comes from Hash House. We proceeded to shower, gulp down some food, and decided we should drag our tails out of the room. By this time, it was 1pm, and we had missed the planned activity. (the 1pm Aria tournament) So instead, we headed over to Harrahs and go into the 3pm tournament there. It started out as one table, which was disappointing, but expanded into 3 before the first break. My buddy crapped out early, but I made it to the final 5. Of course you know the story. It paid four, an I went out 5th. This is how my luck in poker tends to work. I did meet Chatanooga and Illinois, both of who were fun guys to chat with while we played. Win or lose at poker, meeting good people makes it worth the time.

    My buddy and I reunited in Carnaval Court and did some people watching. This is BY FAR the best place to do this in Vegas, especially on a sunny day. We got to over hear a gentleman discussing his conquests of the night before. (pretty sure the three women he claimed to take on were either imaginary or paid for) At that point, we decided it was time to check out a few places we haven't seen in a while. We headed over to Bellago, checked out the conservatory and JP's chocolate fountain. We walked over to Caesars Palace and checked out their poker room. It seemed stuffy to me, and we did never end up playing there.

    Starvation was setting in, and it was late. Since literally nothing in the Quad is open, we opt for Johnny Rockets from the Flamingo food court. Now, I hate paying 20 for a burger and fries, but this was one damn good burger. Amazing, in fact. It might have been how hungry I was, but it was lovely.

    At this point, the craps table was once again calling us. We were up and down all night, but in the end, both of us ended leaving the craps table up over a hundy. Not spectacular, but any time you can pull out a win, its a good thing. Walking out winnng, we decided to catch the late poker tournament at the Quad. It was a cheap buy in and something to kill the time......or so we thought.

    This might have been the most lame, frustrating, and ridiculous tournament I have ever participated in. I believe I might have been the only sober person at my table. I did find a way to benefit from this, pretty much cleaning up and knocking everyone out. Making it to the final table was easy, but putting up with everyone was NOT WORTH IT. I got beer spilled on me, with everyone, including the staff in the poker room, finding it funny. At that point, I was in the money and didn't care to stay any longer. I went all in every hand until I was all out. Never happier to be out in my life.

    I found my buddy, who was reeling from some craps losses. I wanted to hit a table, but he wanted no part of it. I convinced him to join me at the Flamingo for some Bubble Craps. I'm not sure of the technical name of this game, but its the game with the bubble in the middle with dice, electronic monitors on the outside for individual betting. It seems completely random and a bit generic, but I must say, I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS GAME. I don't think I had one losing session playing. Its not as social as a typical craps game. Well, unless you are playing it WITH ME. I physically get into the game, just as if I was at the live craps table. And I forced my fellow players to do the same. (those that weren't stick up their butt jerks at least) We proceeded to win some money back and make some new friends with a pretty epic role by bubble craps standards. (I think it was 30 minutes) By this time, it was 3am and time to head to bed. More conquests were in our plans for the next day.

    We awoke early once again on Wednesday, but that was ok. We needed to get ready, eat, and make the 1pm Aria tournament. We were slow going once again, and all of the sudden, it was 11am and we were no where near ready. We hurried it up and were ready by 11:20, which might be an official Vegas record. We still needed to eat, so we decided a cab to Aria was the best bet. We got our bearings in Aria, found the poker room, then decided on Cafe Vettro for lunch. This place was suprisingly good. The room is quite pretty and the prices aren't too bad. We filled our bellies and headed out for the tourney.

    We both signed up and found our tables. We had agreed that if we both went out early, we were going to get tickets to Carrot Top tonight. By the first break an hour and a half in, I was doing great. I was chip leader at my table and my buddy had a healthy stack. But it wasn't meant to be. After the break, I ran into a freight train. I slowly bled my chips away but was still healthy. And then the lights of heaven shone down on me. I held in my hand, the nuts, a FULL HOUSE. All in I go, ready to double up and be back in business. HOLD YOUR HORSES THERE SLICK. On comes the river, and my opponent gets.......a STRAIGHT FLUSH. NO. F**KING. WAY. I felt like the Russian cabbie and nearly spoke the magic words. But I congratulated the winner and walked away with no shame. It wasn't my day.

    At this point, I was out first and in Aria, an unfamiliar casino that was probably out of my budget. I needed to make myself feel better, and nothing can do the trick better than some dessert from JP. Following my sweet surrender, I decided I would explore Crystals to see how the other half lives. (gambling in Aria seemed out of the picture for me) BUT WAIT.....is that a bubble craps machine I see??? YES YES YES. I proceeded to win back my Aria poker buy in PLUS some more. Have I mentioned how mch I love this game? The crowd I played with in Aria was not "quite' as much fun as some other casinos. (ahem, stuffy stick up your butts) But I had a blast. My buddy got knocked out and we decided the plans to see Carrot Top were on. And what an evening it would become......
     
  10. Wanger1969

    Wanger1969 Iowa Nice

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    Wednesday evening saw us heading over to Luxor to see Carrot Top. I've wanted to see him for years, but never had the opportunity. We taxi'd it over to Luxor with one of the most dis-interested cab drivers I've ever had. (we miss you Dimitri, and we know you'd want to fu*king ram this jerk) We got there early, picked up our tickets, and needed some food. So $30 later, we were both eating chili dogs and fries. Only in Vegas do you fork out this kind of money for a glamorized hot dog.

    Into Carrot Top we went. He might be one of the FUNNIEST comediens I've ever seen. Genuinely. The show is SUPER fast paced. If you have to go to the bathroom, do it BEFORE, because if you miss anything, you will kick yourself. As other have said, not a bad seat in the house. CTop is definetly something you should hit up in Vegas at least once.

    We headed out of Carrot Top to the taxi line at Luxor. We had gotten many a taxi during our week, and never once did I tip the attendant at the various hotels for opening the door. Tipping in Vegas is out of hand, so thats one place I just won't do it. I've never had anyone say anything, til this guy. He opens the door for us and we hop in. Before shutting the door, he pops his head in and says, "I'm sure you appreciated my help, although you obviously don't know how to show it". He then slammed the door. Hard. Whatever Dude.

    We got back to The Quad and headed straight for the craps table. This was by far the most epic night of craps in my life, not because of wins/losses, but because of the rolls we experienced. I had a strong 15 plus minute roll, and then passed the dice to my buddy. He proceeded to roll for 30 minutes and ended up getting a 4 number fire bet. $25 in my pocket, thank you! He made quite a bit of money for others at the table, and I've heard of big winners throwing money to the shooter, but never seen it. Well, he proceeded to profit over $100 because of other folks wins. Solid move for anyone who does that. The dice went around the table, nothing spectacular, but some good solid shooting. They came back to my buddy, who proceeded to roll for an hour, and FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE. Five numbers, turning our $1 fire bet into $250. This is my favorite bet forever. We felt like our luck had been pressed, so we proceeded to cash out, each up some and happy to be after the horrendous day we had elsewhere. I took my now celebrity room mate back to the room for some much needed sleep.

    Thursday was our final day in Vegas, and its always a sad day to wake up knowing you are leaving. Our flight was at the crack of dawn on Friday, so we had to make the best of it. We had yet to partake in my favorite Vegas experience, a buffet, so I decided today was it. We were going to play the Binions 2pm tournament again, so of course, I wanted to eat at the buffet at MSS. I've been hearing about this place for years, and had never tried it.

    We hopped in a cab, because there's no wasting time on your final day in Vegas. He dropped us off at the buffet right at noon, and we headed in. The line was short, so we were seated in less than 15 minutes. Is this the best buffet I've ever eaten? No. But if you put it on a list for quality and value, I imagine its right near the top. Everything we tried was delicious, and this was just a lunch buffet. My buddy especially liked the desserts, as he is a chocolate fanatic. Great place to eat.

    We got into the 2pm Binions tournament with some of the same people from two days earlier. It started with five tables, and I made it down to the final 15, with my budding crapping out just after me. Unsuccessful once again, but I did enjoy my time. I guess you can't ask for more. While I was waiting for my buddy to get out, I did find a bubble craps machine in Binions. Won back my buy in. I think I have this thing figured out!

    We decided to take the Decue back to The Quad as it was a fairly quiet night in Vegas, so traffic seemed light. We made it back in 30 minutes or so, which was ok. We headed straight for the craps table, and proceeded to bleed back a couple of hundred bucks each. I felt like the table was never going to heat up, so we decided to walk away. As I see from a post on my thread, apparently too soon. We then hit up Harrahs and I had another massive win on bubble craps, winning back all my losses in the live craps table plus. We also hit up Casino Royale, which was dead as a door knob. We did the final walk around until nearly 3am. Knowing that we needed to be in a taxi by 6am, I decided one of us needed some sleep, so I went to bed while my buddy continued to aimlessly wander.

    We awoke at 5:30am, packed, and headed out with little or no fan fare. We went through security at the wrong gate, which made me think we were going to miss our flight. TSA graciously guided us to our correct terminal and we made it with plenty of time. Maybe one of us should have gotten a little more sleep. Home we were headed, another Vegas trip in the books.

    My observations from this trip:

    1. I love the Quad. I know it doesn't get much love on this board, but I just love how this place feels like home to me. The casino improvements are great, and I know the rooms will be better eventually.
    2. Carrot Top is a must see in Vegas. Hands down, funniest comedian I've ever seen.
    3. Bubble Craps is my new favorite game. Now my local casino needs to get this darn game!
    4. I'm just an average poker player. Damn, I guess my plans to go pro should be held off for a while.
    5. Russian cab drivers are the bomb. Not only did we have our epic ride with Dimitri, but we also had a Russian who took us to MSS on our final day. He was delightful.
    6. Gambling is my favorite thing to do in Vegas. I'm not sure any trips in the future will match up to this nearly 100% gambling trip.

    Thanks for reading my trip and hopefully I didn't bore you too much. Tiime to start planning trip number 8!
     
  11. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    A fun read! We always seem to end up with a catch phrase every Vegas trip; I laughed at the story behind yours!
     
  12. atcmurph

    atcmurph Watcher Of The Skies

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    Great report! I am totally with you on the guy who calls the cab over. I know we are not alone on this. I am completely amazed and annoyed that you got that treatment. Tips are optional, and if someone chooses not to, that's their business. Rude.
     
  13. stackinchips

    stackinchips VIP Whale

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    A few weeks ago we found ourselves wanting to go to MB and were currently at the Flamingo and not wanting to walk. So we head back to grab a cab. Right now there aren't a lot of cabs at Harrah's/Quad/Flamingo, mainly due to the construction. So the line of about ten people took 15 minutes to get a cab because we had to wait for someone to get dropped off before anyone could get a cab. Well anyways, we get to second in line, and two cabs come in at the same time. The doorman (or whatever they're called) goes to help the group in front of us with their cab and we go to get into ours. The doorman starts yelling for us to wait, and the cab driver (who has gotten out) says he can't do anything until the doorman says so (so he won't get blackballed). So basically we had to wait while the doorman loaded the other cab, so he could come over and open our cab door, and of course fish for a tip, which was the only real reason for holding us up.

    I found it tacky, inconvenient and a complete waste of my time so he could try to get an undeserved tip for doing nothing besides opening my door. As others have said, I tip these guys when they assist with my luggage, or if they go out of the way to get me a limo or a bigger cab if I have a few people with me. But this guy was simply holding me up and wasting my time so he could try to squeeze a couple bucks from me. Don't think so...
     
  14. Wanger1969

    Wanger1969 Iowa Nice

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    Yea, cab lines at The Quad our week were always long, especially at night. We were able to do a good samaritan deed one night. We had a couple behind us who were seeing the blue man group at 7. (it was 6:20 and they still had to pick up tickets) Our show wasn't until 8:30, so we gave up our spot in line for them. The doorman at the Quad, who was as nice as could be, was so grateful to us for giving up our spot. They probably would have been fine, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. Never bad to have Karma on your side, and that evening was the night of the fire bets, so I wonder......;)
     
  15. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    Nice trip report.



    I have heard of this too and when I went on a hot roll and hit the Big,Small,All bet winning the 3 guys at the end of the table about $3K each I figured they would have tossed some love my way but nada.
     
  16. mike_m235

    mike_m235 Tourist

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    I have a rule for tipping the shooter. Hit the 5th point, I buy you lunch ($25). Hit the 6th point, I buy you dinner too ($50). I go up another $25 for every point after that. So if you hit 8 points for me it would be worth $250 (25+50+75+100). I figure that's fair since I'd be banking over $5000.
     
  17. theotherone

    theotherone Low-Roller

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    Hot damn I loved this report!

    You covered it superbly and the dice action (live and bubble) was super fun to read.
    I've yet to hit a fire bet myself (closest I've come is 3) but I do hope that changes soon.

    Thanks for posting!
     
  18. addicted

    addicted High-Roller

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    Get report!

    I saw carrot top years ago here at home and he was hilarious! I need to see him in action in vegas...Sounds like plans for my upcoming 8th trip to vegas :beer:
     
  19. ButterflyMtn

    ButterflyMtn High-Roller

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    Great report. I must try this Bubble Craps that you speak of.
     
  20. dunebug81

    dunebug81 VIP Whale

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    I thought I was the only one to call it bubble craps. I too enjoy the bubble craos for trying out different progressions.

    My o ly issue with them are the table maximums. The Rio will only allow a $250 lay on the 4/10 despite it saying there is a $500 max. Also most of those machines are double odds and that just sucks.
     
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