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6 full days in Vegas! May 9-16

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by JenTen1585, May 18, 2014.

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  1. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

    Joined:
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    My Trip Report

    So as background, on this trip were myself and my husband, Derek. We were celebrating our 10 year anniversary. This is our 12th trip to Vegas.
    Our 11th trip to Vegas was not a great one. Well... some of it was great. We stayed at Caesars and enjoyed our room and the property and we did some great shows and restaurants ... but we lost at every single table, every single slot machine, every single game we played .... and we let it permeate us with negativity that left us with a bad taste in our mouths and we decided to take a year off Vegas. In our prior 10 trips, only once had we come home with more money than we left with (our 10th trip), but we had always managed to have some winning sessions amongst the losses that allowed us to still have fun while slowly losing our money. We truly believe that gambling is entertainment and know it has a monetary value, win or lose ... but for the first time, on our 11th trip, we lost so much that we weren't enjoying it anymore. So ... last year we skipped our annual trip, but by January this year I was jones-ing for Vegas again so we decided to plan a trip around our anniversary. My parents have a timeshare in Vegas at the Marriott Grand Chateau. They had banked a year a few years back, so we bought it off of them for the year. It's really a great deal for a fabulous room!

    We arrived at around 10:30 Vegas time (1:30am our EST, we're from Marco Island, FL). As we drove in the cab to our hotel I was buzzing with excitement. But there is no casino in the Grand Chateau so I was forced to get a good night's sleep the first night. We checked out the room ... a beautiful suite with a huge bathroom and a 2 person tub inbetween the bedroom and bathroom, a tv room and full kitchen, and unpacked and then fell into bed exhausted.

    Of course we woke up at 6am Vegas time since it felt more like 9am to us! We got ready and headed out ... the Grand Chateau is just a crosswalk over to the Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood, so we always walk through the mall and then out the Planet Hollywood Casino to get to the strip if we are heading North. If we are heading south, we are about a block and alleyway next to the Polo Towers to get to the strip near MGM. Or we can walk straight out to City Center. A pretty good location .... not as good as Caesars, but not bad at all! So we headed through Planet Hollywood, on our way to my favorite breakfast buffet at Paris, and stopped at a slot machine on the way to break the ice. I must confess, I hate slot machines. I really do. My husband enjoys them. With every spin he pictures himself getting a big payoff. When the symbols almost line up, he gets excited and thinks about what could be. He loves it. For me, with every spin I think about the money I am wasting. I truly believe I will lose on a slot machine and am mad at myself for even playing it. If the symbols almost line up, I don't care .... what's the phrase? Close is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades? Anyways, the only excitement is if I happen to win ... but I don't enjoy the process of getting there. Unlike cards and craps .... which I adore. But my husband likes me to play once in a while next to him for companionship, so I throw in a 20 and start of the trip -20. Oh well, onto Paris breakfast buffet! YUM!!!! It was almost as good as I remembered it ... the only think missing was the breakfast croissants I remembered. So I made one myself since they had all the components and was as happy as can be!
    After the buffet, we started playing. I believe I started out on my beloved Pai Gow Poker. Pai Gow is by far my favorite game. It is slow ... I love the comraderie at the table, I love that we are all teamed against the dealer and a good dealer is rooting against himself/herself as well. I love that you have to think a little bit ... but not too much. I love the bonus with the small chance to win big. And I don't mind playing even $15 or $25 tables because it is slow paced enough that $100 lasts a long while 9/10 times.
    So anyways, sat down at my beloved Pai Gow and ended up +$50.00 I believe. We moved onto Ballys where I think I played a little blackjack and some more Pai Gow ... I believe I won a little at both. Meanwhile, my husband was busy losing on slots.... finally he joined me at Pai Gow and won a little of his money back. Smart boy.
    So after Bally's we went onto the new Cromwell, which I was very excited to see. I was really impressed! It was warm and elegant without being stuffy! I enjoyed the layout and the dealers! I played a little Pai Gow and then decided to break the ice on craps. I was on a table with 4 ladies who were playing with a similar style to me. I play pass line, odds, come bet, odds (2 numbers) so that I have 3 numbers riding at any one time ... if I feel like it, I will continue the come bets and odds until I have the table loaded. The ladies were playing identical, except they were playing max odds .... which I know is correct .... but I just can't afford it. I bought in for 100, they bought in for 400 each. So the table started off slow. We got to our end of the table and the ladies were trying there hand and when we got to the third one, she got hot! I recovered all the money I had lost and made another 100, all the while cheering and high fiving and jumping up and down ... let's face it, squealing a little bit ... it was craps at it's best! When her roll was finished and it would have been my roll I cut and run. I am not good at rolling. I hit dealers, stacks of chips, other players ... it's not pretty and I seven-out very quickly.
    So after the craps at Cromwell, we checked out the linq. We were not impressed with the new Quad ... eh. But the linq was cool. I made my husband check out kitson just because it looked trendy and cool. We each got a slice of pizza for a small, cheap lunch and ate it by the fountain. We looked at the High Roller but decided not to go on it ... we aren't much for views. After the pizza, we walked back to our hotel for a rest and to change for dinner and a show.
    We changed and then walked South to Excalibur, where we caught the tram to Mandalay Bay. We had dinner reservations at Fleur.
    Fleur was awesome! I do wish that I had requested to be seated inside the restaurant. It looked elegant and cozy! But they seated us on the patio of sorts. Same food and great service ...but a little less atmosphere. Oh well! Anyways, we decided to splurge and go for the tour of the world for 2. Fleur has a series of small plates of interesting dishes from around the world. The tour of the world sets up 4 course of 2 dishes each so you get a sampling of all of the chef's favorite dishes, then dessert for the 5th course. The dishes looked exotic and fun so we gave it a go!
    First course were two things we were thinking of anyways, the ahi tuna tacos and beef carpaccio ... both excellent. The carpaccio was a little spicy (we don't like any spice .. I know, we're weird ... I doubt it would be considered spicy for anyone else). The next course was my favorite ... two things I would never have tried: white truffle onion soup and roasted bone marrow. The soup was to die for! So creamy and delicious and the bone marrow was very sweet and tasty! It was unexpected and complex and I loved it!
    The third course was octopus and shrimp and grits. The octopus was supposedly the chef's favorite, but it was the one dish my husband and I didn't like ... we like calamari, but we just didn't like the taste so much. The shrimp and grits was very good!!! A little too spicy for my husband but I really enjoyed it. Finally, we got our main courses of beef and scallops. The beef was sooooo good!!!!!! We were getting so full at this point but we shoved it down because it was so good! Finally, the dessert was beignets, my favorite! The whole process took about an hour and a half and was perfectly timed. The waitress knew we had a show and timed it perfectly. They then brought out a chocolate cake with yummy cream cheese icing with a beautiful happy anniversary message scrawled on the plate! So sweet! Such a great start to our Vegas trip!!!!!
    So we rolled out of there and onto our show "Michael Jackson One" by Cirque de Solei! What a fun show!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE Michael Jackson music and I loved all the choreography and theming ... costumes and I was entranced with watching all the clips of Michael. Honestly, sometimes I had to remind myself to look at the live performers because I was so entranced with watching Michael Jackson dance on the screen. I did NOT like the whole story line of 4 stupid kids walking around and acting like idiots and then getting consumed with MJ's spirit, I guess. I decided to ignore the kids, and that worked out well. I enjoyed everything else about the show. My favorite parts were Thriller and when they somehow projected Michael Jackson's image on the stage so that it appeared that he was dancing with the live performers. All in all, a great show!!!!!!!!
    I think my husband played a slot and then we took the tram back to Excalibur and walked tiredly back to our hotel and collapsed into bed. The end of a great first day (and I was up! My husband .... not so much, but overall ... we were up!).
    To be continued ...
     
  2. Keyma623

    Keyma623 Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Great Report so far. Sounds like fun! I hope you had a great anniversary trip!
     
  3. hillwood24

    hillwood24 High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Great report so far! I'm glad the timeshare is working out well for you. In my opinion, the best way to enjoy a timeshare is to buy a year off of someone else like you did.
     
  4. basicearth

    basicearth Tourist

    Joined:
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    Great report! 8 or so years ago I lost everything I came with and never saw a winning hand! I was so bitter, it took me over 4 years to go back to Vegas! These days I have my budget in mind and if I'm not winning at all, it's time for some pool time and people watching anyway!
     
  5. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

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    Oh! I forgot to add that on Day 1, Saturday, I made my first sports bet! I am a huge Nascar fan and I love Kevin Harvick! So I bet on him for the win that night. That's the only Nascar bet you can make apparently. They were racing in Kansas City. Harvick got the pole so it was looking good! As I was walking away from the counter I said "Derek, I think I should bet on Jeff Gordon too ... he's due a win" Derek shrugged at me and I decided that one bet is enough and I didn't want to jinx my Harvick (yes, I am bizarrely superstitious). Harvick came in 2nd .... a very, very close 2nd ... if he had another 1/2 a lap he would have caught .... Gordon, who won the race. Yes, I should have listed to my instincts! Gordon was 15:1 too! I would have won $150.00! Boo on Jen not listening to her instincts!

    Day 2:
    We woke up at 6:15am again and headed to City Center. It was cold and windy!!! At least to us SW Floridians! We went to Aria first and had some yummy pastries on the casino floor. Derek played a couple of slots with no luck. I couldn't find any table games I wanted to play yet so I played some electronic craps. I am much better at rolling electronic craps than regular craps ... much less hand eye coordination, lol! I ended up ahead by $40.00 and cashed out. We went over to cosmopolitan and I was hoping they still would have the deal where you would get free play for your first 100$ losses, but the promotion was over. =(. We pretty quickly got bored with City Center and moved on to Bellagio. In Bellagio I played some Pai Gow poker for a while and got a straight flush! I was playing $1.00 on the Bonus, so that is only a $50.00 win, but it was still so much fun! Later in the trip, I started playing $5.00 on the bonus. I wish I did it the first few days when I got two straight flushes and a Royal Flush! But that's how it goes, right?
    So Derek actually did well at slots at Bellagio and was up about a $100.00. Yay!!! We walked through the atrium and took some pictures. When we walked out, it was too windy for the fountain show =(. So we went onto Caesars and had a couple of burgers in the food court. We also went to the mall and bought Derek a sweater from Banana Republic because that night, we were going ghost hunting and knew it would be cold out!!!! Yes ... ghost hunting ... I'll get to that ...
    So after Caesars, we went to Mirage. I played a little pai gow, and a little black jack. Again, I walked away from both tables a little up ... maybe only $25.00 or $20.00 ... but I was up!!!
    So after Mirage we started to make our way to the Royal Resort on Convention Center Rd where we were meeting our ghost hunting group. Derek and I watch ghost hunters all the time and we always enjoy ghost tours. I read good reviews about a ghost hunt in Goodsprings, NV, about 1/2 from Vegas, that leaves from the strip, so I wanted to try it! Bucket list, you know? So we got to the Royal Resort (which I found out used to have a casino, but when the owner got in trouble for organized crime, he could no longer operate a casino and had to turn it into a timeshare.) They had a really good restaurant there where I had a Caesar salad to hold me over. YUMMY!
    There were only 4 of us on the ghost hunt including my husband and me and two ladies from Canada. We got in a van and all the way out the guide told us fun ghost stories about ghosts who supposedly haunt the strip and also some gory suicide stories as we passed the Stratosphere (not sure I needed to hear those! Just made me sad!). We also learned about the town of Goodsprings. Apparently, Goodsprings, a booming mining town in the early 1900s was where people from Las Vegas went to shop. It had a modern hotel for the time and a thriving prostitution business. Around the 1940s ... I forget the year ... Carol Lombard passes away in a plane crash on a mountain right outside of Goodsprings. Her husband, Clark Gable, waited 48 hours in the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings for her body to be found. The hotel in Goodsprings burned down in the mid 1900s, taking a lot of buildings with it. All that appears to be left in the town is the Pioneer Saloon and the General Store, the school house, and a few old mining shacks. We had dinner in the Pioneer Saloon and learned about the card game gone wrong there, where a young man was caught cheating and was shot by another man playing with him. You can still see the bullet holes in the wall and they still have he table there. The Saloon still operates and has an interesting nightly group of clients. They gave us EMF monitors which went off frequently, and temperature gauges. We were told that when the EMF monitors went off there was a spirit with us and we were supposed to ask yes and no questions and if it lit up again, the answer was yes. I really didn't buy this .... but it was fun to pretend! We had a good time going around the town and I learned a lot about history .... so it was a good adventure!!!
    They dropped us back off at the Royal Resort around 10:30pm and we cabbed it back. Fun Day!!!

    Day 3:
    We woke up and had a great and cheap breakfast at the Ocean Grill at the Miracle Mile mall. 5.99 for two eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast! We then walked to Harrahs where we were catching the 9:30am shuttle to Sam's Town! I had never been to a casino that wasn't either on the strip or downtown so I was excited for this adventure! We were also checking it out for Derek's parents, who have a motor home and plan to go there this summer. We arrived after a easy 20 minute shuttle ride. Sam's Town really impressed me! It is very clean and nice! And it has a huge casino, a movie theater, a bowling alley, a bingo hall .... I could spend a week there! I started with craps and quickly went down on a cold table, but I hung in there and finally after about an hour of barely hanging in on my initial $100.00 investment, we got a couple of decent shooters. I only need decent to win with my system so I finally recovered back to $100.00 and got to $110.00 after playing for about an hour and a half. Playing for an hour and a half and ending $10.00 up??? I call that a massive win for craps! So fun!!!!
    So then I spotted my husband at the two-hand $10.00 black jack table actually up!!! Imagine that!!! I sat down with $100.00 and we were gabbing away and having a great time, and all the wile I was winning!!! It was one of those great sessions where all of a sudden I look down and I am at $350.00!!!!! It was awesome! So we cashed out and Derek had gotten 200 points on the slots. I had a ACG coupon for a free buffet if you have 200 points so I exchanged that and we made our way down to the buffet for lunch. $8.99 per person for the buffet!!! So with my coupon, both of us ate for $8.99!!! This was a steal! It was one of the freshest buffets I would be at all week! Great food and selection!
    After lunch we checked out the poker room but they were mid tournament so we decided to head back to Harrahs since we had a show and dinner at Harrahs planned for that night.
    When we got back to Harrahs, we thought about going to Madame Toussauds, but Derek wasn't feeling into it, so he played while I went to Sephora. I came back with a new perfume and smelling like a mish mash of them ... Derek said he pitied the person who would sit next to me in the show! I played a little Ultimate Texas Holdem and had a great time and ended a little up! Then we went to the 5:30pm matinee of Million Dollar Quartet. I loved this show!!!! It is the story of the night when Cal Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash had the most epic jam session of all time. It is a true story and very interesting ... obviously great music!! I LOVED it! The 5:30 crowd looked exactly like the crowd on Marco Island ... so I felt right at home! We then went to the buffet at Harrahs since the combo ticket was only $1.00 more than the regular show ticket. Harrahs buffet was not impressive to me. It was ok ... but not very fresh. Ah well ... nice thing about a buffet is that you can always find something to eat ..... and we really only paid $2.00 for it so who can complain about that? We played a little blackjack after dinner and then headed back on our walk back to the hotel. Got back around 10:00pm and crashed (yes, we are the oldest 35 and 39 year olds you will ever encounter!)!
    To be continued ....
     
  6. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

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    So true!!! I tried to build in lots of non-gambling options to our itinerary. We are not pool people ... but attractions and such ... we used some of them and others we skipped .. all depending on how we were feeling!!
     
  7. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

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    Excellent report and trip! Looking forward to reading the rest.

    Dopamine released for a near win is similar to that of a win, which may explain your husband's slot machine preference.

    The Las Vegas Hilton (now LVH) and a few other casinos typically have additional NASCAR wagers where you can bet one driver versus another driver (say Junior -110 vs. Stewart -110) which makes it much easier to cash a ticket (even when your driver finishes 30th over another who finishes in the garage).

    I'm considering Fleur for the upcoming trip based on your review.
     
  8. miniwhale

    miniwhale High-Roller

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    Great trip report so far! I am superstitious as well. That is why I have certain strategies, so I don't look back thinking "only ifs"; like leaving a slot and someone else wins on it, or VP Deuces Wild, which pair to hold if two are showing, and if I decide to bet bonus bets or not ("the bonus bet has been "unlucky";) for me". Don't look back on the Jeff Gordon bet!!
     
  9. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

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    I think you have to be somewhat superstitious to want to gamble ... you have to at least believe in luck somewhat ... it's a weird thing, right?

    So onto Day 4:
    Today we decided to head downtown. We first had breakfast at the Ocean grill again at the Miracle Mile Mall, then walked to the bus stop for the Deuce. We wanted to see the Pawn Shop from Pawn Stars so we decided to take a detour.
    We took the Deuce to the transportation center. We then walked three blocks to the Pawn Shop. There was no line. Apparently the Old Man and Chumley were filming in the back but we never saw them. I think we could have waited around and probably saw them eventually but it was not that important to us. As they said in all the reviews, the shop is much, much smaller than it appears on tv. There are about 6 cases of silver and maybe 10 of gold. One of coins. One of guns. And really only one of historical stuff. There is some neat historical stuff on the walls, but not as much as you would think from watching the show. I was hoping to be an antique for my dad, but I didn't see anything that captured my interest. Kind of out of place, in the back are some Picassos and other works of art and a couple of motorcycles. It's kind of weird. I liked their selection of silver and bought a reasonably priced necklace and earrings set. Andy waited on us and was very friendly and charming. It was fun!
    So we were going to get back on the bus but then saw it passed and realized that Freemont Street was only about 5 blocks away, so we walked. When we got there, we first went into Four Queens. I played a Deal or No Deal slot with a timed bonus just for fun ... I lost my $10.00, but it took me like 15 minutes so it was worth it. Derek was actually up on the slots when I left him to go check out the tables. I played craps, but lost my $100.00 investment on a very, very cold table. So I went to black jack next and I think ended up $50.00 if I remember right. Derek found me and we cashed in and headed to Binions because I was in the mood to play poker.
    First I traded in an ACG coupon for a 2-for-1 for "Binion's famous burgers." They were ok ... definitely a good price ... I wouldn't exactly make them famous. Then we checked out the poker and a tournament with an $80.00 buy in was starting at 2pm so we signed up. In the meantime, I played a little pai gow and ended up $20.00 before we had to head to the tournament.
    There were 28 players and I was the only woman. After the first round, I was the chip leader at my table. When they changed dealers he gave me a surprised look ... I hate that but I expect that. I actually won one of these tournaments last time I was in town and I am a pretty decent poker player. Not World Series of Poker caliber ... and I'm not a good bluffer ... it takes me too long to decide whether I'm going to bluff or not so I usually blow my chance ... but I know the odds and I'm a decent better when I have something. Unfortunately, right after that two guys went all in on each other, so the victor doubled up his chips and gained the power on the table. He was a good player and began using his power to up the pots. I lost a significant amount of my stack to a bad beat, but was still hanging in there. After the 2nd break, three tables had gone down to two. I was not the short stack on the table, but I was at a point where I needed to do something soon as the blinds were getting higher. I lost focus and when I meant to call a bet with a draw for $1000.00, I by accident put down my $5000.00 chip from the bottom of my stack, so the other guy quickly went all in and now with about $3000.00 left, I had to call. It was bad! I lost. Such a stupid way to go down.
    Derek was still doing really well! So I wished him luck and went back to my beloved pai gow. Pai Gow is even better at Binions because they have the pai gow bonus where you get paid for a pai gow. I don't know the odds on that, but it makes the game a lot more fun! I played with a really nice family and we had a great time for over an hour and a half! I went to check on Derek and he was still playing, was on the final table, but was one of the shorter stacks. So I was off to check out the D. I had a ACG coupon or a $25.00 match bet. I played it on a blackjack hand and lost =(. Oh well. I then got a text from Derek that he was out. =( He went all in on Ace-King and just didn't get the draw to two low pocket pairs who called him. What ya going to do? That's poker.
    So we headed to the Golden Nugget where we had the buffet/Gordie Brown ticket special. What a great deal! For $35.00 you get a show and a buffet! The buffet was pretty good! And the show was fabulous! I really enjoyed Mr. Brown! He was very funny and quick on his feet. He could rival the acts on the strip for sure! We had a great time!
    We then cabbed it back to our hotel ... I'm pretty sure we got long hauled on the way back ... but I don't know enough to be sure. We quietly paid the fare and then went to bed!
     
  10. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

    Joined:
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    Day 5:
    So for the first time of the trip, I ended Day 4 with less cash than I had started with. I figured out and if you took out the poker tournament money, the cab money, the food, and the necklace and earring set I bought at the pawn shop, I was only down about $50.00 in actual gambling money from Day 4, but I was about half of what I had the beginning of Day 4 in reality ... and I think this did something to me mentally, as I had my first true losing day.
    But it was ok, because I spent half of it blissfully in the MGM Grand Spa.
    It was lovely. Last trip I went to the Caesars spa which has the Roman Baths and Snow Rooms; the MGM Grand Spa just has the basics: nice shower area, steam room, sauna, hot tub area, and beautiful lounge area. The lounge had really comfy chairs and their robes were the plushest I have worn on the strip (and I think this is my 10th spa I tried on the strip). Those two things made all the difference. I got a Swedish massage and a eucalyptus scalp treatment added on. After the fabulous massage, I went into the steam room with the eucalyptus still in my hair and breathed in the smell, which cleared my sinuses. And my Florida skin which is used to high humidity, took a deep breath of moisture and thanked me as well. At 12pm I met my husband at the buffet at Excalibur. I had just started 2 weeks before our trip playing MyVegas. So I hadn't accumulated enough points for much, but I did get a couple of two-for-one buffets, one being the Excalibur for breakfast or lunch. The buffet for lunch was decent. They actually had excellent deserts and nice fresh fruit so I was happy!!!
    After the buffet I looked for a pai gow table to start the day. I was about 1pm. I see dealers standing all around at empty carnival games and sucker games, but they say the pai gow is not open yet. I say loudly "No pai gow? I'm outta here. Come on Derek." For some reason it really made me annoyed. I know it's not a game that makes a ton for the casino but people enjoy playing it why have dealers just stand around at the empty sucker games rather than deal a game people will actually play?
    So we went onto NewYork NewYork. I found a Pai Gow and ended up a little bit on it, but then decided to play some craps and lost $100.00. I think I played some blackjack and lost $40.00 more. At around 3:30 we headed back to the hotel to change and then walked to Flamingo where we had 5:30 reservations at Center Cut Steakhouse. I had read the reviews before making the reservations and it was lauded as the most reasonably priced steakhouse on the strip for the quality of steak and atmosphere. We were a little early, so I had about 20 minutes and decided to sit down at Pai Gow while Derek sat at a slot. In about 5 hands, playing the 5$ bonus, I doubled my money from $100.00 to $200.00! It was amazing! Every hand was great! But it was time to cash out and head to dinner!
    I really, really enjoyed the Center Cut Steakhouse. The atmosphere is very comfortable and sophisticated inside. But the best part is that they have continuous running pictures of Vegas at all stages ... old casinos, the rat pack, Caesars under construction, old Downtown ... It's entrancing and fun! My husband and I watched and talked about the pictures the whole meal!
    We started with the bacon appetizer. It was think sliced smoked bacon in three different flavors with a sweet dipping sauce. It was very good and fun!
    Then we both got the filet, medium-rare, and shared a side of mushrooms and a side of steakhouse fries. The filets were perfectly cooked and nice size pieces with very little fat, which is how I like it! YUMMY!!! And the mushrooms were perfect with the steak. The steakhouse fries were also very good! All in all it was exactly what the reviewers said, an excellent quality steak dinner and a nice dining experience! I would recommend it!
    Next we were going to Rod Stewart at the Caesar's Coliseum! When Derek and I told our family our plans, they were most excited about us seeing Rod Stewart. We knew some of his songs but weren't rabid fans. The concert was a lot of fun. He is very sweet and comes off as not as ego driven as other performers. He features his musicians a lot and has women trumpet players and saxophone players and drummers, which is quite untraditional and fun! His daughter was also there and performed one of her original songs and then sang a duet with Rod. His dancing was hilariously awkward ... it was adorable and had me in giggles! Reminded me of the guy from Love Actually. Rod's fan club was there, and they were crazy and rushed the stage at one point!!! And at one point, he kicked about 25 soccer balls into the audience that he had signed, which was pretty cool. I do have to admit, that at 35, I think I was a little too young for this concert. I didn't quite connect with all the songs. And at least for me, it wasn't on the level of Bette Middler, who I had seen last trip in the Coliseum. But I had a lot of fun anyways and really enjoyed the performance!
    After the concert, we decided to play at Caesars a little. I started out at Texas Hold Em, but it wasn't Ultimate Texas Hold Em, it was a different kind, and it sucked! You couldn't check! You had to make a bet after seeing the flop or fold! I did not like this at all! I won the first hand and should have walked, but of course, I didn't and quickly lost $50.00. There weren't very many tables open with limits I was comfortable with. So I decided to try Mississipi Stud with my husband. The dealer was very charming and fun, but again, the game sucked in my opinion! Again, I had to bet before seeing the cards. I did not like it and quickly lost another $100.00. Ah well, there goes trying new games. I should just stick to my tried and true Pai Gow, BlackJack, Craps, Ultimate Texas Holdem' a little, and real poker. But sometimes you have to try to know you don't like a game.
    We then caught a cab back to our hotel for a good night's sleep before our final full day!

    Day 6:
    Today I had originally had pretty open in our itinerary. I had reservations for 5:15pm for Buddy V's at the Venetian. Buddy V is Cake Boss from TLC and I had read good reviews about his Italian food at the Venetian so I was excited about this. So we decided the night before to get Tix4Tonight for Rock of Ages. I had seen the movie and loved it so I figured I would love the show too, and I knew the music was just what my husband loved, unlike Rod Stewart, the music he grew up listening too. So we headed down on the long walk to the Venetian and picked up pastries there in the food court for breakfast. I then needed to get souvenirs for everyone but my daughter (I picked her up some cute items in the children's shop at Excalibur). So we walked around the Grand Canal Shoppes. What a confusing mall! Some of it looks to be under construction, but we just couldn't get a handle on it and kept circling back to where we had been! It was crazy! Finally, I gave up and decided on shirts at Kenneth Cole, Ann Taylor, and Banana Republic as Souvenirs for the parents. While Derek walked to the Tix4Tonight in front of Casino Royale, I stopped at Sephora and got roller stick perfumes for my nana and aunts who were picking us up from the airport. And then on the way to the casino, I stopped in Venetian's gift shop and got used packs of cards for everyone in my office. Done!
    At Venetian and Palazzo, it's a little mixed up in my head, but I'm pretty sure I only played Pai Gow and electronic craps. I really don't like $15.00 blackjack. It goes too fast. It's too high of stakes for me. But I will play $25.00 Pai Gow if I have to. And that was really only the option for me at these high end casinos.
    After about an hour or two of playing at Venetian and Palazzo with mixed luck (up at Venetian, down at Palazzo), we went to Wynn and had a couple of pastries again as a snack/light lunch at their coffee shop.
    I then sat down at the $25 Pai Gow table and spent the next 2 hours having a ton of fun with a funny dealer and great card companions from all over the world! The dealer was from Russia and was very, very funny. She adored one of the regular players at our table, an elderly gentleman from Mexico City, who was a riot. There was also a Canadian that she was teasing mercilessly for being a whiner (it seemed to be a running joke with them) and we were all talking politics and having a great time! I was surprised my husband hadn't found me and found out he had actually been holding his own at the slots for the last two hours and maintaining! He was having a good time as well!
    We then went onto Encore and sat down at another Pai Gow table. This was also a fun group of guys spending big money from New Jersey. They were on a guys trip and were a riot! But the cards were horrible and we all were losing!!! But we had fun doing it!! That's for sure!
    So then we headed over to Buddy V's.
    Buddy V's was fabulous! The atmosphere was very casual. We sat in a booth by the counter. We started with the Italian meat and cheese plate: Prosciutto, Sopresetta, and some other meat I can't remember and three yummy cheeses, pickled peppers and some olives (which I don't eat) ... it was so yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got the rigatoni ala vodka with chicken as my meal and it was excellent as well. Derek got the Chicken Picatta, his favorite, and really enjoyed it. We ended with the tiramisu (which Derek really enjoyed), and the Italian Doughnuts (I forget what they were called). The Doughnuts were very good, but not as good as the Beignets at Fleur. I should have tried the Italian Birthday Cake.
    After dinner, we rolled out of there and had about 1/2 hour before we had to head to Rock of Ages, so we sat down at a $25.00 Pai Gow together. I was losing but Derek was winning bonuses every hand and getting great hands. The dealer and pit boss were charming and fun and we were all laughing and having a great time. In that 1/2 hour, I had lost my $150.00, but Derek had gone up to $350.00 and was smiling big. And that's all that matters. So we cashed out and headed to Rock of Ages.
    This show was SO MUCH FUN!!! Seriously, the music alone is fabulous, but the story line is also fun and the narrator is hilarious!!!!! Derek was singing along so loudly I had to tell him to keep it down! We were bopping in our seats! It was a fabulous way to end our trip!!!!!
    We flew back the next morning.

    We had a great 6 days in Vegas. It was the perfect amount of time and we were ready to go home at the end of it but we didn't get down in the dumps like last time. We did not come out ahead by any means ... but we didn't lose so much that we didn't enjoy it. We had fun! And that's what Vegas is all about!
     
  11. Suekel

    Suekel VIP Whale

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    Great TR!! I appreciate your taking the time to share it with us. You did a lot of fun things, and packed a lot in your time there!
     
  12. Loluvsvegas

    Loluvsvegas Low-Roller

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    Fantastic report! Thanks so much for sharing about the steakhouse at Flamingo as I was wondering how it was! Your report def sold us and we will be eating there in a few days. =)
     
  13. Sam in Ut

    Sam in Ut High-Roller

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    You are a very good writer and it was easy to read your very interesting trip report. Thank you for sharing .
     
  14. The Furry One

    The Furry One Low-Roller

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    Thanks for the TR, sounds like you had a blast overall and sure didn't want for things to do. Shame about the final session for you at PGP but even with a game that generally sees a lot of pushes if you are card dead there is sadly nothing you can do and we've all been there at least once, glad Derek's win covered your loss though. Love your enthusiasm, spot on with it being all about the smiles.

    Furry
     
  15. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice detailed report! Thanks for sharing!
     
  16. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    I had an awesome meal at Center Cut also. I really enjoyed the atmosphere & the picture stream.
     
    Easter again..:
  17. Julie888

    Julie888 VIP Whale

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    Nice read. Even if you didn't win, you had a great time. Good attitude.
     
  18. pinklime

    pinklime Low-Roller

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    Great report, thanks for sharing. You sure got around and did tonnes of stuff, I'm very impressed. Your report has made me consider checking out Rock of Ages during one of my upcoming trips. Glad you had a great time!
     
  19. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

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    You definitely should! I saw the movie before the show and it's similar ...but different enough that the show was a unique and fun experience!
     
  20. JenTen1585

    JenTen1585 Tourist

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    I agree! The picture stream is such a simple thing, but it really makes the meal fun!
     
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