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11/15-11/23 Semi-live Bally's

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by cvkelz, Nov 15, 2019.

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  1. STS05

    STS05 Onward

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    We saw them on tour last year and it was really enjoyable and I’m not a Potterhead even though I’ve seen the movies. Brilliant idea they had presenting it the way they did.
     
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  2. cvkelz

    cvkelz Extremely Low Roller- like, I barely roll at all.

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    Just got back up to the room after playing the Twilight Zone mini golf here at Bally's. The hubs got a groupon for it a while back when we knew we were going to be staying here. We almost forgot about it but as it is raining again, it was the perfect thing for us to do tonight. It was a lot of fun and the staff was super chill and had great senses of humor.
    Took less than an hour to complete and that was stopping and taking lots of pics. Speaking of that, I once again made a separate album for all the pics I took and will post the link after the few pics I will post here.
    After the golf, we stopped for the cheap Asian food from the food court and then I stopped off at the chair massage place so I could get a shoulder massage.
    I am a fan of spas and massages but since there is no longer a spa here at Bally's and I am not trying to spend a bunch of money and walk longer than needed just to get my shoulders to calm down since we have a large spa tub in the room, I thought I would give this a shot. It was perfect. I paid 50 bucks for about 35 minutes with tip and I walked away feeling like a million bucks. Like my husband said, it was utilitarian but effective. I didn't have the ambience of the spa but I got the desired result.
    We are back up in the room for the rest of the night and will head out for the VMB meet tomorrow at 11:00 AM before heading downtown to see our local friends and hit up the Mob Museum and possibly the Speakeasy.
    Is my trip starting to come to a close???? NOOOOOO!!! Say it ain't soooooo!!!!!

    Opps forgot the pics from tonight:


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    And here is the link to more pics:
    https://myalbum.com/album/hFtdPKfot8YP
     
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  3. JasonK

    JasonK Low-Roller

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    Awesome pics! Awesome trip!
     
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  4. cvkelz

    cvkelz Extremely Low Roller- like, I barely roll at all.

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    Woke up far to early for my tastes this morning and headed over to Flights at the Miracle Mile for the VMB meetup. I made the initial reservation for 14 based on the people stating they would be there on the meet up thread, but it turned out to only be six of us. No worries on my end...it's Vegas. Plans change, people lose track of time and shit happens.
    It turned out to be a lovely meet with some great peeps and I really enjoyed myself a lot. Flights is a pretty cool place if you get the chance to go. It's an airplane theme but "Flights" also refers to how they serve their drinks and food. I had a flight of mojitos and split a flight of breakfast hash with Rob and @Aussieonthemove and then Rob, @martinr and I split some sort of ice cream lava cake deliciousness. I didn't think to take any pics of the food because I was starving, but we did get a pic of the group which I will post as soon as I get permission from everyone involved that they are okay with me doing so.
    Thanks to @martinr @Aussieonthemove and @bull0120 for coming out and having fun with us.
    Once we all dispersed, I hit up LUSH at the mall to get a refill of my cuticle cream and we headed back up to the room. We laid around for a couple of hours before getting ready to head downtown for the night.
    The hubs had recently reconnected with a friend of his from elementary school on Facebook and she had just moved to Vegas about two years ago. We met up with her for ice cream last year and had a great time so we put out an invitation to her and her husband to meet up at any point this trip. They said they wanted to join us for when we hit Downtown to do the Mob Museum.
    We caught The Deuce downtown and it took forever. It's not the first time we've used the bus, but we had forgotten how long it takes when it's busy. We noted to ourselves to Uber next time while grinning and bearing it.
    We got there before our friends so we slotted around for a bit with no real wins but no great losses either and then met them at the Mob Museum around six.
    We had never been, but it had been on our list for a couple of years. We really enjoyed it and while we stayed for two hours, we all felt that we really could have had another go 'round and see a lot of things we may have missed. It's a LOT of information.
    At the end we went down to the Speakeasy in the basement, but due to the lack of food (it was all appetizers), our friends didn't want to stay as they were starving. I was really kind of bummed because I wanted to have a drink or two and absorb the ambiance of it, but I understood that they had come straight from work and it was a weeknight for them...plus they were down to walk the block or two to Nacho Daddy and that was another place that we had never been but was on our list to try.
    Once again I took a buncha pics at the Mob Museum so I will post a few here and leave a link to a photo album with the rest.
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    Rob enjoying a rare Dunkin' coffee

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    I took this pic to read later and it's pretty funny...especially if you have ever been downtown at all.


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    Link to the rest of the photos: https://myalbum.com/album/BLscWBBBHcP3

    At Nacho Daddy, Rob and I split the southern fried chicken nachos and they were really good.

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    Once our bellies were full we parted ways and we headed back to the hotel on the bus.

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    We are now up in our room relaxing. I don't foresee us going back downstairs at all tonight, but you never know.
    We have purposely left tomorrow wide open as it is our last day and we want to fit in anything we might have missed, while still keeping it pretty low key.
    Our original thought was to do brunch at Mon Ami Gabi but we may take the bus down to the Peppermill instead because we've done MAG twice but have never done the Peppermill. We'll see how ambitious we (and my we, I mean me) are tomorrow when we wake up.

    Bonus photo below is one of those photo kiosks at the Mob Museum. We were legit looking like this when we tried to figure out how to take the photo and then thought it was funny enough to stage it like that for the actual photo.

    UPMMOBMUSEUM220191121184657b.png
     
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  5. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Good stuff! Have a great time on your last day!
     
  6. luckylinda

    luckylinda High-Roller

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    Always enjoy your reports. Have a great last day
     
  7. casinokid68

    casinokid68 Caesars Diamond Member

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    A rare Dunkin' coffee? I prefer mine well done!! Sorry cvkelz, I just couldn't resist.:goofy:
     
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  8. casinokid68

    casinokid68 Caesars Diamond Member

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    A great report once again. Sounds like you're having a great time. That place Flights, is that the one right next to the V Theater box office?
     
  9. cvkelz

    cvkelz Extremely Low Roller- like, I barely roll at all.

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    Thanks @tringlomane !! It's been good so far.

    Thanks @luckylinda

    Thanks @casinokid68 and yes, that is exactly where Flights is. I had originally wanted to set up the meet at Ocean One for their cheap 3 for 10 dollar drinks but someone on here mentioned a bit of a fiasco she had when she had a meet there. A little research later, I found that Flights offers a similar happy hour deal and the happy hour was pretty much all day long.
    I was very pleased with the experience there and would plan a meet there again for sure.
     
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  10. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Love that Mob Museum staged photo; it reminds me of people capturing themselves when trying to figure out the webcam.

    Enjoy your final day!
     
  11. Astribling

    Astribling Alice In Casinoland

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    Great trip so far! It's always sad when you get to that last day, so enjoy the heck out of it!
    And Oh My those nachos! Look amazing. I'm sitting here trying not to eat anything else tonight, and now I'm starving. LOL
     
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  12. cvkelz

    cvkelz Extremely Low Roller- like, I barely roll at all.

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    This morning Rob let me sleep in until ten. He probably would have let me sleep in longer but I got a damn spam call on my phone and I had forgotten to turn the ringer off so I was blasted awake at ten by my obnoxious but super catchy Adam Lambert ringtone. Remind me to change that to something more soothing before I go on vacation again...
    Today is our last day in Vegas and we didn't have a whole lot planned. Our thoughts before bed last night were to bus it down to the Peppermill, but this morning I decided I didn't want to go any place that wasn't within walking distance. We had a late night last night and I have super anxiety on a good day, but when I'm sleep deprived it gets worse...public transit is not a friend to my heightened sense of anxiety.
    So I made the executive decision that we would lay around for about and hour and then go over to Cosmo for some final gambles, followed by the Bellagio Conservatory and finally a late lunch at Mon Ami Gabi.
    And that is just what we did.
    So I have to say that this may be the only time that Rob and I ever leave Vegas UP on our gambling budget. We take what we are prepared to lose and we are not big gamblers so inevitably, we usually leave most of it in Vegas.
    Having said that, I LOVE THE COSMOPOLITAN!!! We gambled there for about an hour for the first time at the start of our trip and had the only winning session of the trip until today upon our return. I stuck a 20 into a Buffalo machine and came out 300 bucks richer. I'm sorry that I didn't snap a picture of the machine or the ticket out, but it happened so fast and there was a guy on the next machine betting like 50 bucks a hand and I didn't want to look like the geek that I am. Also, Rob came up as the second bonus in a row was finishing and I cashed out to show him the amount I had just won and he literally grabbed it and said "I'm gonna go cash it out, be right back!" before I could even try to get a picture. I think he was afraid I was going to stick it back in the machine and play it off. :p
    After that I slotted around a bit with no real losses until we decided to head out. I felt like I was on a high from winning that much and I was going to ruin it if i just kept putting the same 20 into different machines.
    We were about to pass through to the corridor to the outside when Rob made a comment that this side of the casino was totally quiet. I looked over and saw an empty Flintstones machine. I told him I wanted to play a 20 through that machine and he was agreeable so ...
    IMG_7447.JPG IMG_7449.JPG

    We actually won another 70 or so but we played it out so I could finish my cocktail as the machine went cold.
    Left a casino in good spirits for once and headed over to the Bellagio.
    Once again, I took a bunch of pics that I don't want to clutter the board with so I will post a few and put a link to an album with all the pictures.
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    Here is the link to the rest: https://myalbum.com/album/Mhytf84dNrub

    After that we boogied over to Mon Ami Gabi for a late lunch. It was around three in the afternoon so we had no problem getting seated on the patio...although it was quite a bit off to the side, right next to the servers/bus boys station so I could hear them talk about their conquests of the previous night while we waited for the meal.
    We didn't want to be super full so we got the baked goat cheese and the trout almondine to split. It was so super yummy. I also got the French Martini, for those keeping score at home.
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    Fat and happy, we returned to our home at Bally's to start packing. After a week, we have accumulated a lot of crap and it has been no easy task to fit it all into the luggage we brought up here.
    About an hour ago we got a tap on the door and Housekeeping came in to do a welfare check. Apparently if you haven't had your room serviced in 48 hours, they have to come in an make sure you haven't offed yourself or started making some sort of weapon of mass destruction I'm totally cool with this, I'd just never had it happen while we were in the room. We had been getting the room serviced every other day but since we were so near the end of the trip, when they called this morning I told them we were fine today.
    The lady came in, and put up with our jokes about how trashed the room looked because we were packing. She walked to the middle of the room, looked at the ceiling, and then over to the window and looked out. Then picked up our room phone and dialed some sort of number and told us to have a great night before leaving.
    I realize now the reason she probably moved toward the window was because Rob had his RC Car dismantled on one of the stools they offer and it probably looked really suspicious. :kill::haha:
    So now we are going to take the first load of luggage down to the car and try to resist the call of the casino to take our minor profits that we made today. It shouldn't be hard since it's Friday night and the place is probably going to be packed.
    I will probably post a little more tomorrow as I will be a captive audience in the car until we get to our friends house in Tehachapi for a party, but for the most part--unless I win some random jackpot tonight, this is mostly the end of the report. We want to get a jump on the traffic tomorrow and will probably be leaving here by nine at the latest. I want to be in bed early. See the info earlier in this post about lack of sleep and my anxiety. :haha::haha:
     
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  13. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Sounds like you made a good change. Nice wins!
     
  14. STS05

    STS05 Onward

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    Fantastic!! Glad to see Cosmo treated you right!!
     
  15. kkinwi

    kkinwi VIP Whale

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    Thanks for a great report....I had a welfare check last month at the Linq.....the lady was from a WI town that I visit often. She said she has been in Vegas 7 years and "best thing I ever did".
     
  16. cvkelz

    cvkelz Extremely Low Roller- like, I barely roll at all.

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    Hahaha @breanna61 Once we realized that was what we looked like we thought it was hilarious and posed for it that way because it's totally something my mom would do and I look JUST like her in the pic. LOL!

    @Astribling OMG, they were SO GOOD! I'm so glad we split the plate because I literally couldn't stop eating them!

    Thanks @tringlomane it was a much needed bonus at the end of the trip.

    Thanks @RRust69 I have always wanted to stay at the Cosmo because it just looks so amazing but I stick with CET because I pay for the room with the reward credits I get from using their credit card. This trip, I said I wanted to give Cosmo a try because even though we are low rollers, it couldn't hurt to give them a little play. I'm so glad we did!!!

    @kkinwi I was kinda weirded out at first because, while she was in a uniform and had a name tag, people can fake that stuff and I'm cynical enough to question it. I kept waiting for someone else to bust down our room door for like fifteen minutes after she left, but thankfully that didn't happen. :kill:
     
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  17. cvkelz

    cvkelz Extremely Low Roller- like, I barely roll at all.

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    Okay, we are home safe and sound after a very long day of driving and awkwardly hanging out at a party where we only knew one person. Thank God there were dogs there!!
    Nothing more eventful happened last night after I left you dear readers.
    This morning Rob let me sleep in a little longer than planned and we headed out on the road around nine thirtyish.
    Here are a couple pics of the progress on the Raider's Stadium. IMG_7522.JPG

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    We made it to Jean without incident and hit up the "World's Largest Cheveron Station" on the side of what used to be Nevada Landing. We discovered it last year and it is a wonderland of gas stations...like, it is HUGE and has so many fun things inside that you could probably spend a good part of a day just exploring it. I believe it is officially called Terrible's Roadhouse.
    I took a crap-ton of pics at usual, so here are a few and I will link to an album.
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    Here is the link to the rest of the pictures: https://myalbum.com/album/HnZXgqpjoi8s

    Once we got back on the road it was a fairly painless drive to Tehachapi, except when some jackhole tried to run us off the road and I had the worlds biggest panic attack. We made it to our friends house around two and found out that the other people that we were going to know there, had last minute issues and wouldn't be showing up.
    Rob and I are socially awkward on a GOOD day, so after a week of sleep deprivation in Vegas and only knowing one person in this close knit group, we felt awkward AF at this gathering. As I said earlier, thank God there were dogs.
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    We made it through the party and resumed the drive home without much fanfare. We got home to a FREEZING house (Okay, not REALLY freezing for you east coasters but we had to shut off our space heaters before we left and they take forever to heat up again...so I'm sitting in my bedroom typing this with fluffy slippers, sweats, a robe and a winter hat on my head. Fight me bro!
    Okay, that brings this trip report to a close.
    I had a really good time this trip but I think next year we might mix it up a bit and stay a few less days. If we do that we will probably fly and it will all work out. I hit my "I'm ready to go home" vibe around day six or so and while I am glad we stayed longer to recoup our money, I was pretty much done.
    The thing is, after all the trips we have taken to Vegas together in the last 20 years, we are running out of things to do and as I age, I am running out of patience with being around so many people. Also, I don't recover like I used to from a long night or several drinks.
    Next year is our 20 year wedding anniversary and it is significant to Vegas because that is where we met and also got married (not on the same trip!) so we will visit Vegas, but we are already talking about breaking it up with a trip to Disney or Universal...of course that may change in 11 months when I am bit by the Vegas bug once again.
    To those of you that stuck with me through the entire report, I thank you and it was very fun sharing my trip with you!
    I can't wait to go crawl into my bed with my own pillows....the Bally's pillows were far too squishy for my taste. :whistle::whistle:
     

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  18. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice report!

    And if you're bugged by big crowds (I am as well to an extent), off-peak weekdays are your friend. And cheaper too! And with a car you can also spend more time off the Strip!
     
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  19. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the fun report and congrats on the wins on the end, always nice!

    I wonder if you guys might click with a night or two at the M. I've only been there two times, but I loved it, and it seemed like the ultimate low key Vegas place outside of Vegas. And the buffet was awesome!

    I get the crowd frustration though. Weekend nights, wow! Way too spazzy for my tastes. Thankfully the week days are cheaper!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
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  20. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Another fabulous trip report! I hate to see it end.

    Maybe a Vegas vow renewal for your 20th? Hubby and I did an Elvis vow renewal at the Graceland Chapel a few years ago and it was a blast.
     
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