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VEGAS VIRGIN, Good Food, Opinions, oh... and a HAND PAY!

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by vm00515, Aug 19, 2013.

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  1. vm00515

    vm00515 Tourist

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Royal Oak, MI
    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    My Trip Report

    This is my first time writing a trip report as this was my first trip to Vegas. I had booked three nights at MGM, which included two tickets to KA. I picked MGM based on price, restaurants, monorail, and the show tickets deal. I would not be disappointed.

    Trip was Aug 14-17 with myself and my lovely girlfriend (first timer also). Flying out of Detroit, our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:10am, with arrival in Vegas at 12:20pm. I check the flight status before driving to the airport and all was good. We checked out bags, went through security, then find out that our flight is delayed about two hours. What a great start. We headed down to Champs to grab a drink and some bacon. Won $20 on keno, which was a great start to the gambling that lie ahead. Closer to boarding time, they pushed our flight back another hour. It was really irritating as we just wanted to get to Vegas!

    While we were waiting I decided to book a limo from the airport to the hotel to surprise my girlfriend. I also didn’t want to deal with anything else once we got to the airport as we were already 3 hours behind. The 4 hour flight was smooth and painless. We arrive in Vegas around 3:30pm, met our driver right away then had to wait about 30 mins for our bags! Is this trip ever going to start, I kept thinking. Our driver took us to a nearby Walgreens to grab some drinks and stuff for the room. The ride was short to MGM, but really relaxing.
    The check-in line for the hotel seemed rather long to me for a Wednesday, but it went pretty quickly. We stood in line for about 30 minutes. I tried the $20 trick but was given back the twenty like I had given it to the clerk by mistake. Oh well. We had a nice Grand King room on the 18th floor. The view was from the back of the hotel, but we didn’t mind. We quickly changed and headed out.

    It was almost 6pm now and I had reservations for Sage at Aria at 10pm. We decided to head towards NYNY and see where the night took us. We went through NYNY, Monte Carlo and eventually were at Aria. Along the way, we were introduced to Vegas pretty quickly. We got to see a gorgeous girl puked in a trash can at NYNY and got to see two guys carrying one of their buddies through Monte Carlo who could barely walk. We get to Aria and look around for a while and head towards Sage a little early, but were seated without any problem. We both had the $89 tasting menu and were very impressed. Highlights of the meal were the 2nd course Scallops (one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten), the beef belly, and the corn cake dessert. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable meal for the first night.
    After we ate, we headed to Mandarin Oriental to sit at the Mandarin Bar and enjoy the view. This property is just stunning. After a few drinks (pricey, but really good) we headed back to MGM. My original goal was not to gamble on the first night. I didn’t want to find myself “chasing” any losings the rest of the trip. Well, that plan failed when I started to see some slot machines that really caught my eye. I stick to only Triple or Double Diamond machines. I threw a $100 into a $5 machine and hit for $400 right away ($485 including what I had in). I took that down to $400 and cashed out and went to bed. A full belly, a $400 voucher in my safe, and sound asleep… what a great way to start the trip.

    The next morning we woke up and decided we were going to hang by the pool for a while. We hit up the buffet at MGM first before heading to the pool. The buffet was ok, nothing special and not much to choose from. A lady at the table next to us mentioned to her friend that there is usually more of a selection. Oh well. Headed down to the pool and relaxed by the adult only pool (not topless). The pool was saltwater and was very relaxing. There were quite a few people around but not too many at this pool. After a while I was getting the itch and had to head out and do some things. We showered up and hit the strip. Things planned for this day were our KA show at 7pm and dinner at Craftsteak at 10pm. We went to pick up our tickets and upgraded them to better seats. We also picked up a 3 day monorail bogo pass that I had cashed in on MyVegas. The monorail was great, in our opinion.

    We took it to Paris/Bally’s station and checked out Bally’s Paris, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood that day. We ate lunch at Holstein’s at Cosmo, which was delicious. I ate a $28 burger and it was worth every penny! The adult shakes are amazing too. We then made our way back to MGM for KA. This show was amazing. I will make sure to add a show to every trip in the future. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. After the show we headed to Craftsteak for dinner. We were still full from lunch at 2pm. It took a lot for us to down all the food. I think that took away from the experience, because I was not impressed. It was very good, don’t get me wrong, but just not outstanding, which the bill would have suggested. After the meal it was time for some gambling. Slots and Let It Ride. I went to bed with a $600 and $400 voucher.

    Woke up the next morning at 4:45am wide awake. Decided to head down and take a lap and use the $400 voucher. I turn the corner to head towards the hotel and there are like 4 or 5 hookers just waiting. I, of course, get approached by each one. One was eating a piece of pizza and said, “Hey babe, you want a bite of this pizza, or a bite of this p*ssy.” I got a kick out of it. I blew through the $400 pretty quick, but was still feeling great. Went up to the room and woke the gf up and we headed out. We went to Hash House at the Quad for breakfast, then hit up Harrah’s, Casino Royale, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn, TI, Mirage, Caesars, Flamingo.

    For some reason I started to make it a goal to get drunk that day. I was feeling great by the time we got to the Venetian, which resulted in some great pictures at the wax museum (I might post later). This end of the strip was my favorite (the alcohol could have help with that). We ate at PJ Clarke’s for happy hour and were stuffed and drunk for a great price. It was getting late so we headed back to MGM, as we wanted to gamble more and eat some Chinese at Pearl’s. We never made it to Pearl’s though as we were not hungry. We had to be at the airport at 6am the next morning, so around midnight or so I wanted to burn through a $150 voucher I had and call it a night. I went to a $10 slot machine and figured I would have 15 tries (one credit) to hit something good. Well three pulls in, boom! Red 7, Triple Diamond, Triple Diamond. $9,000!! I actually reacted very calmly and signaled an employee over. I was in the high limit room so it was quiet and the whole process went fairly quick. I asked if I could have the taxes taken out and they said they didn’t do that (I had heard previous stories of people doing this). They handed me 90 $100 bills and I went to my room, swam around in it and went to bed. I was very lucky to win this when I did as I didn’t have much time to spend it, with leaving the next morning. We ordered room service and were out in minutes. The next morning, because we had done so well gambling, they comped everything off my bill. $237 total (we had put the buffets, ticket upgrade, and a meal on there, plus the resort fees were comped). What a trip!

    I am now hooked and can’t wait to go back. I know that it’s unrealistic to expect the results that we experienced but I am hooked for the overall trip and environment, not the winnings. We came home with $10,150 total in winnings between the two of us.

    Some observations/opinions (please understand that these are just MY opinions, you may feel differently):

    -As little time that you are in your room, I still think the quality of it matters.
    -We actually liked the size and space of MGM (some of the other places were too cramped with people).
    -The Hakkasan line is a joke (we are not club people anyways, but commenting on it).
    -What is with all the kids everywhere?? At all hours of the day/night. I heard one little girl ask her dad when they were going to eat dinner. Then I looked at my watch… 11:30pm. I got the feeling that some parents go to Vegas for themselves but can’t ditch the kids.
    -The smells that some of the hotels have are amazing. I still don’t want to wash my clothes lol.
    -You should always sign up for the player’s card, you never know.
    -It’s hard to get a free drink while playing slots. Waitresses would come up to me and take an order, but I would never see them again. Playing at the tables were no problem though.
    -There are boobs everywhere!
    -Eating three meals a day is way too much.
    -The envelope budgeting trick works!
    -We like brighter casinos.
    -The Shark Reef and Mirage Dolphins/Tigers thing are not worth it.
    -There are male hookers too.
    -Hotels that I would be fine with never seeing again: Excalibur, the Quad, Harrah’s, Casino Royale.
    -Hotels I didn’t like because of the amounts of people: Planet Hollywood, NYNY, Paris, and Bellagio.
    -Hotels that I liked: MGM (biased), Monte Carlo, Luxor (I was surprised), Mirage, Caesar’s Palace.
    -Hotels that I loved: Aria, Cosmopolitan, Mandarin Oriental, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn.
     

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  2. vm00515

    vm00515 Tourist

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    More Pics...
     

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  3. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Nice report :thumbsup: Crappy way to start a trip with that long a delay, but the 9k win helps soothe that a bit! :wink2:
     
  4. D in the D

    D in the D Oldest ride, Longest Line

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    Nice report and nice 9k hit. Also, good call on not taking a bite of the pizza or anything else.....
     
  5. Blonde_4_ever

    Blonde_4_ever LasVegas4ever.com

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    Congrats on the winning trip!
     
  6. techie223

    techie223 High-Roller

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    What an amazing win for your first trip! Congratulations :beer:
     
  7. ValerieJo

    ValerieJo High-Roller

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    Great Report. Vegas just has a way of sucking you right in, doesn't it? Sounds like you are one of us now :)

    I haven't checked the rates, but Southwest has a direct flight out of Flint now. Might be worth looking in to.

    :wave: from right down I-96 a few miles.
     
  8. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Wow great hit! It's hard not to love Vegas when your first trip has a hit like that! :beer:

    As for the casino smells, yeah some are definitely interesting in a generally good way. I am pretty sure I could sense I am on the casino floor in Flamingo just by smell. But even with the smells, I'm pretty sure my clothes still smell like smoke in the end. :grrr:
     
  9. higgiel

    higgiel Low-Roller

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    Congrats on your winning trip. You'll be back - they're betting on it. I won $700 within two hours of my flight back home on my first trip to Vegas 17 years ago. They've taken it back more than once. :wave:
     
  10. martinr

    martinr Rock Chalk Jayhawk

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    Wow, 90 one hundred dollar bills, getting comped at MGM after winning big, boobs everywhere, gorgeous girls puking into trash cans, getting propositioned early in the morning by a hooker eating pizza, those delicious looking/sounding scallops and all of this on your virgin Vegas adventure! You might want to think about going back soon just to see if you are indeed the luckiest man on the planet!
     
    First Time Staying on the South End. Will I Hear Southern Accents?
  11. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Absolutely!!! Vegas virgin my ass... after that $9K hit, you go right to the head of the class around here! Bravo!!! :nworthy:
     
  12. goldil

    goldil Tourist

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    Wow, what a great virgin's trip! You got lucky that first day -- now you've learned why we tell people to never schedule anything time-sensitive on the day they land!

    I also recommend considering the new non-stop on Southwest out of Flint!
     
  13. MoneyToBurn

    MoneyToBurn Low-Roller

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    Real nice read, I'm not sure if I'm envying the 9K or scallops more...

    That was some virgin trip, hell half of mine aren't as accomplished. There is only up from here!
     
  14. Sam in Ut

    Sam in Ut High-Roller

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    Way to go! This is the trip report I wanted to write with the 9k win! LOL
     
  15. 4Vegas

    4Vegas Low-Roller

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    Great trip for you, and great report. So when is your next Vegas trip????
     
  16. vm00515

    vm00515 Tourist

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    I am waiting to see what kind of offers I get from MGM before I book the next trip. It will probably be around the same time next year. The next trip will be more relaxed with more great food and less walking around.

    Here are my new "musts" after the first visit:
    -splurge on one good meal
    -put a $100 into my lucky machine
    -see at least one show
    -take a lap around the hotel at 4-5am
    -spend more time at the pool
     
  17. vegasqc

    vegasqc VIP Whale

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    9K win on your first trip you are doomed my friend
     
  18. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

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    lol!!!:evillaugh:beer:
     
  19. VegasDave

    VegasDave Addicted

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    I like that, "more than once."
     
  20. bshowell

    bshowell VIP Whale

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    9k? Niiiice. And now I want scallops. Great report!
     
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