02APR2007 - 06APR2007: Plaza/Main Street Station/Sam's Town

The husband & I flew out on Continental Airlines Houston - Intercontinental (IAH) at 7:30 am, we both had carry-on bags, so we went to the E-ticket booth, pressed the buttons & snatched the tickets, took our shoes off & showed our baggie of dangerous nasal spray & toothpaste, and wham bam, we were on our way, ten minutes tops.

We got to the Plaza and had several hours before check in, so we grabbed snacks and drinks at the Jerky store, shampoo/conditioner at the hair salon, and stored everything with the carry-ons (with the bell-hops on the first floor), and we checked out the casino. We looked over the machines at the Plaza that we hadn't played <haven't been to Vegas in several years>, played a few new games, and husband won/lost on the Hot Hot Penny Gem Hunter and I won on a Fusion machine right beside it. I had 13 free spins and hit a triple 7 to give me over $100 to cash out. I split the winnings with the husband in good humor <knowing I'd be getting an increase in funds at a later time>

The trip was wonderful, especially after I found a Walgreen's to buy some sleeping pills (I kept dreaming that I was seeing those reels turning and hitting the big one as I had done here in Texas). We won, we lost, and we followed a list of things to see that I had written up before we left, so we covered A LOT of territory.

The husband won several pots on the Wheel of Fortune (WOF) machines, the first of which was a $400 pot on a quarter machine at the Main Street Station (MSS) and the last of which was a spin that hit the 1000x coins on another quarter WOF machine for a $250 pot at the airport <heading toward the D - 21 boarding area, the section of slot machines nearest the 'old' smoking slots plexi-glass enclosed room>. I won a triple 7 jackpot for $150 pot on a Red, White, and Blue Sevens $1 machine at the MSS, several $100 pots on these fun and interactive fish machines, I don't remember the name, but there is a wall of them near the MSS restroom and also by the Wheel of Fortune machines. I lost EVERY cent I played on my old favorite Wild Cherry machines and every other 'dated' reel machine except for the Red, White, and Blue Sevens $1 machine.

At Fitzgerald's, we couldn't get a dime from the Wheel of Fortune Super Spin, so the husband was pushing his luck on the Hot Hot Penny Gem Hunter machine & I went upstairs to play Flip Flop nickel machines. The waitress had me go to an unattended machine to cash out some money a patron had left and I gave it to her as a tip - some people play the machines and don't understand the bonus rounds... The attendant told me that someone had left $60 on the Balloon machines nearest the escalator downstairs and it took them about an hour to find someone who would cash out the money. I decided to play those nickel Balloon machines upstairs and at one point in time, after an attendant had to hand-pay me SIX different $60 - $80 pots, I was up $400 and had rolls of cash! I raced downstairs to grab the husband & when I got back with him, the machines were cold.

We spent $30 for the Seafood Buffet at the Fremont that was NASTY and I apologized several times for dragging the husband to it and raving about how good it had been previously. Although the king crab legs had been cut in half for easy access, they were FROZEN solid and the peeled shrimp was tasteless. I hate to say, what they call sushi, I call a sweet rice roll, where is the fish?:Þ

I had been warned that the Plaza Buffet was NASTY as well, but the husband wanted to try it because it had been good previously. He ended up saying it wasn't worth the $10 that they charged for the dinner buffet. The sweet and sour chicken was all breading, the lo mein had bland ramen noodles with a few vegetables, the potato salad was tasteless, I think the only edible thing was the ribs and I wasn't up to fighting the family of 6, that camped out in front of the rib pan, over the remaining rib bones.

Aloha Specialties at the California had the best graveyard specials <steak with vegetable & mashed potatoes> and as we had been sleeping during the day and gambling and eating between midnight and 9 AM, their $2.99 per person price was perfect. The place was packed at 3 AM, but everyone was quiet, happy, and very friendly.

I hate to admit, we lugged our digital camera around and it sat in the room the entire time! We never used the walkie talkies that we brought, but I did see a woman who had one on a rope around her neck. I told her I thought it was a good idea and she just smirked and said, 'So does my husband!'

We took the MSS shuttle to Sam's Town and spent the better part of a day there. The husband played on a 'Lucky Lemmings' game and I could hear him laughing several aisles away. Later, he told me that he played $20 on an 'All that Glitters' machine for hours. I won $90 on a $0.01 'Sea Monkey' machine and turned around to find three attendants watching me. After a few minutes of talking to them I felt a little uncomfortable, as they just stood there watching me play, and I left after a bit. Every time I came back to play on it, the same three attendants showed up and stood behind me and watched. That was the only weird thing about Sam's Town, I don't know why they came to the machine and stood there. All in all, I loved the entire place and am planning to stay there in September or December.

We decided to go check out the El Cortez to see if it's really the 'new Plaza' like I read and you can forget it! It has some new machines, but my husband hustled me out of there in minutes. I had gone to the restroom and a woman started telling me about her winning streak and I listened and smiled and tried to be polite and SHE TRIES TO FOLLOW ME into the stall to continue the conversation. I gently push her back and then I latch the door, while she continues to tell me about her streak. I exit the stall and listen to her as I wash my hands, I exit the restroom and my husband gets a look at her and HE turns around and PULLS ME RIGHT OUT of the casino and starts dragging me back to civilization! I never laughed so hard in my life! The poor thing looked like a combination of a rodeo clown, Barbie doll, and mental institution escapee. I asked my husband why she bothered him so much and he had to explain the she was just in the men's restroom sitting on a urinal chatting with him! Apparently she walked in and sat down just as he was starting and he stared at her in horror the whole time!

We had no problems at the LAS airport, but were asked 'Who owns these items?' only once, with some chocolates. I was told, 'These Chocolates need to go through an E.A. and T. test, Ma'am'. I told them, 'Test away my friend', and they just laughed and said that they couldn't take bribes.


All in all a good trip after three years away. Good information collected from previous trip reports about shuttles, buffets, graveyard specials, and quality of the hotels. Other than the talkative lady at the Cortez, the only other problem we had was with a guy at the Golden Gate on Thursday at about 6 AM. He sat down between my husband and I and asked us both for money and then he started cussing and talking about the sorry people in the world, yada yada yada. I asked him to leave us in peace or I'd call security and since we are sitting right across from the poker tables, I figure he'd leave with a nasty look or a nasty word. The guy starts screaming at me and screaming 'Come and get me, security!' and he stands in the poker area screaming. Weird experience, a guy asks for a dollar, I gave him a folded dollar that I use for a drink tip, then he says, 'That's the best you can do? It'll be hard getting out of Vegas on a dollar.'

 

Wow, that would have TOTALLY freaked me out.

Loved the TR though.

 

Nice report, and gig em.

 

LOVED the washroom lady story! Great report!

 

Nice TR. That bathroom lady...that's just insane.

 

you should reply "Its gonna be harder to get out on your knees" then kick him in the nuts

A great TR!