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Last Minute Elton John Flamingo Oct 5-6

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by LA2VegasTrekkers, Oct 7, 2013.

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  1. LA2VegasTrekkers

    LA2VegasTrekkers High-Roller

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    My Trip Report

    So it was Monday morning and I was checking my Total Rewards account again to see if there were any good offers to use for our trip over American Thanksgiving. While I was there I happened to notice an offer with five nights at any CET property plus 2 tickets to Elton John, and it was for this weekend. Could we? Would we? At the last minute just decide to go to Vegas like this? Did we have the space in our gambling budget? How could we pass up free tickets to Elton John? Well, the answer is we couldn’t, so booked just Saturday night and then went back to finish what was already shaping up to be a crazy work week.

    Woke up around 0730 on Saturday and with just the overnight planned and not much to pack, we hit the road. After the customary stop at Starbucks, it was an easy drive out of LA at that time of the morning. It was super windy once we got out into the IE, but once through the pass and into the high desert the wind died down a bit. It still did a number on the gas mileage, but we made good time and got into Vegas just before noon. We had called ahead and confirmed that the entrance to Flamingo off of Las Vegas Blvd. was indeed still closed so we proceeded down Flamingo and turned left on Audrey to go in through the back way. We didn’t even bother with the parking garage, which has been completely impossible on our last few trips and went straight to valet.

    Diamond check-in was quick and easy, as always. We were upgraded to a GO suite with a garden view for the second trip in a row. Even for just the one night, all the extra space feels very luxurious. We usually get a GO Luxury with View and prefer to stay on the south side of the building overlooking Bally’s and the Bellagio fountains, but with the rooftop pool/club that I believe is planned for the redone Bill’s next door, I’m not sure that’s going to be a great choice going forward. We grabbed two of “The Best Peanut Butter Cookies On The Planet (TBPBCOTP)” for the next morning and headed to the room, dropped the bag and we were off to gamble!

    We were going to wander around to see what of our favorite games still existed and what new games there might be. We didn’t get very far, though, because we came almost immediately upon the new Lord of the Rings Return of the Kings bank of four. Holy hell, we’ve been waiting anxiously to play this! We sat down and were disappointed immediately because the network connection was down, so we couldn’t log in with our accounts from the previous games. We pressed on, however, determined to try the game out. It is really fun! We found it to be relatively volatile, with a few longer stretches of no wins, but relatively generous with the bonuses and features. We also really liked the feature where the longer you play, the more advantageous your odds of getting one of the mini-progressives become. That was cool. We played this for quite some time and enjoyed several Sam Adams, which Flamingo did not previously carry, so that was great as well.

    After a while, we decided to wander up to Harrah’s and do the free million dollar slot pull. Nothing gained (turned down the silly plastic shot glass), put 10 Tier Credits on the card and tried again. Still nothing. Around 1400, it was time to go over and pick up our tickets for Elton John at the Caesars box office. We did that and decided to hit the Diamond Lounge. We spent a bit of time there enjoying a few drinks and some quiet. They had basically a little salad bar out, so we decided that would be dinner. It was very good and once we were done we went to play some more before it was time to get showered and changed for the show. We hit up the Lord of the Rings Two Towers game which they still have at Caesars. It’s the only one remaining, as far as we can tell. It’s so fun and we had a great session. Each putting in $100 and I cashed out after a few hours with $600 and Hubs even. My strategy on that game is to save up all the Power Spins until the end and then use them all at once. This usually works out really well for me, as it did this time.

    Back to the room, showered, dressed, headed over to the Coliseum. The seats were actually pretty good, which was unexpected since they were free as part of an offer, and we are by no means big fish. First mezzanine and over to the left a bit, but on the side closest to where Elton had his piano set up. The show was absolutely amazing! He sounded so great and did lots of great songs. Obviously, he has ten bazillion songs and I wish he could have played for 10 hours. The stage show was also really cool looking and his band sounded great.

    After the show we bounced around a bit at Quad and ended up back at Flamingo playing the Return of the Kings game again. Again, had a pretty decent session. We knew we were hitting the road early on Sunday, so we finished up around 0130 and only $150 down for the whole day. Hit the hay, got up around 0800, took our “TBPBCOTP” (see above), got our lattes for the road and made it home around 1230 in the afternoon. What a whirlwind trip, but so awesome! Can’t wait for Thanksgiving!
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2013
  2. weluvvegas

    weluvvegas Casino Countess

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    Is the free slot pull at Harrahs an ongoing promotion?
     
  3. LA2VegasTrekkers

    LA2VegasTrekkers High-Roller

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    I think so. It's been there the last few times we've been. If you're staying at a CET property, they give you a coupon in the book for a free pull. Also, if you play 10 Tier Credits on your card at Harrah's you earn a pull. The base prize is a silly, purple, plastic shot glass. There are other prizes of small amounts of free play and food credits.
     
  4. justmare

    justmare High-Roller

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    Nice report, enjoyed it! Being in So Cal, we also take quick one-night trips. They are whirlwind, but fun!

    Do they still have all the balloon things in Elton John's show? We saw it years ago and I think they may have changed it since then. Wondering if it's time to go see it again.
     
  5. LA2VegasTrekkers

    LA2VegasTrekkers High-Roller

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    I don't remember balloons. There were sort of abstract shapes on the sides of the stage that moved around and an impressive multi-level, multi-dimensional high definition screen with colors and images. There was a confetti blast near the end...
     
  6. justmare

    justmare High-Roller

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    Thanks. You'd remember the balloon things they used to have -- banana and 2 cherries phallic-like and other stuff. It was cheesy.
     
  7. LA2VegasTrekkers

    LA2VegasTrekkers High-Roller

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    Yah, nothing like that. It was a beautiful, classy show. He has been famous for longer than I've been alive and he still sounds spectacular!!
     
  8. LV2GAMBLE

    LV2GAMBLE Certified LOW Roller

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    Where in Harrah's is the million $$ slot thingy?? Heading to LV for a week on black Friday.
     
  9. justmare

    justmare High-Roller

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    Glad that stuff is gone now. Maybe CET will send another offer sometime so I can see the new version of the show.
     
  10. LA2VegasTrekkers

    LA2VegasTrekkers High-Roller

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    It's right at the entrance next to Carnival Court.
     
  11. higgiel

    higgiel Low-Roller

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    Thanks for the trip report. What a whirlwind time you had! I'd probably be there every weekend if I lived that close. :wave: -- Lorna
     
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