9/28 - 10/1 - Paris

This is my first trip report -- I really enjoy reading everyone else's, so I hope this can be halfway decent!!

We (my husband, G, and I) started out on a Friday morning - dropped the kids off and headed to the Milwaukee airport. We were flying AirTran, so we checked in right away and paid the extra $75 each for an upgrade to business class, just for the extra legroom and drinks & snacks! I know, it's a lot, but we thought it was worth it. We got breakfast at the airport and then our flight took off on time and was uneventful, except that our laptop battery died in the middle of the movie "Invincible". Oh well. When we landed, we went to get our bags, which probably took another 30 minutes, and then 30 minutes in the cab line. We got a straight shot to Paris and got there about 1 pm.

I debated doing the $20 trick the whole time in line. I decided against it, since I'm chicken! It was a comped room, I didn't want to press my luck. Side story: I was in Vegas in March with a friend from college. We stayed at Monte Carlo, but spent a whole day (from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.) at Paris. And probably about 8 of those hours at the same Blackjack table. My friend is pretty outgoing, so we got to know all our dealers and all our pit bosses. We were playing at $25 tables, so all our play was rated. After I got home, I got offers EVERY day from Harrah's properties. My husband, to this day, thinks that I'm lying about how much money I spent!! Anyway, we got a comped room at Paris for 3 nights from that February trip, so we were taking advantage! Our room wasn't ready, but it was a "P" room, so I was pretty excited about that. So, we checked our bags, and went over to the Miracle Mile shops at the new Planet Hollywood casino. We found a restaurant to have lunch at. It was pretty unremarkable, as I can't remember the name of it! We gambled at PH for a little bit -- I really liked the new casino, but I'm sure we didn't win anything there! THen we headed back to Paris. Our room still wasn't ready, so we found some Goldfish slots, which turned out to be our favorite of the trip, and played there for about 30 minutes, until our room was ready. We finally got up to our room. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was -- we didn't have much of a view, but we did have about 20 feet of the Bellagio fountains, though. Being a P room, it was a little bigger than the regular rooms, which was nice.

We had dinner reservations at Mon Ami Gabi at 8, so we headed over to Monte Carlo for a little bit - no luck, and then headed back for dinner. We weren't able to sit outside, but that was alright. I had the crock of French Onion Soup, which was awesome and a salad. G had some bacon wrapped pork tenderloin dish, which he said was great. Overall, I really liked Mon Ami Gabi and would go back. AFter that, we headed north on the strip, stopping at Bally's, Bill's, Harrah's, Flamingo. I don't think we lost much, but we didn't really win, either. We were playing mostly slots this night....and drinking beer!! Then we headed back to Paris for the night.

to be continued....

 

great read, looking forward to the rest.

 

Great work so far! Can't wait for the rest!

 

When you are comped it is easier for them to upgrade you. What you could do is, give the the twenty or even ten and say, this is for you and if they can do something for you they will.

 

Sounds great so far!

Would you mind giving me an idea of the total you spent for your meal at Mon Ami Gabi? And did it include drinks? I'm trying to figure out where to dine and I'd like to say price is not an issue but unfortunately, we can't eat top end every day. I've read it's pretty reasonable, but of course reasonable is all relative so just trying to get a true picture.

 

Mon Ami Gabi

We spent about $40 before tip, and that was without any drinks.....we were taking an alcohol break! you can definitely spend more than that there, if you have steaks, but I thought it was reasonable and worth it.

 

9/28 - 10/1 Paris - The Rest of the Trip

Saturday morning we got up around 9, I think. I had been telling G since before we left that I wanted to go to the Paris buffet for breakfast at least one day. Well when we got down there, the line was outrageous, so we stopped at the French bakery and got this "to die for" croissant/twist/chocolate thing, which I probably had 2 or 3 of the whole trip. I also had a Tiramisu from this bakery the night before, up in the room before bed.....it was in a chocolate cup. Can you tell I love sweets? Anyway, we ate our breakfast and then headed over to New York New York. I've always liked this casino. We weren't going to stay long, since we had tickets to the Price is Right at 2:30. So, we played some slots, I made G get a new MGM card, and I think I played some blackjack. I came out ahead at bj there -- I was sitting next to a guy from California and he knew right away that I was from WI from my accent. Come on....I'm sure you can tell the midwest, but guessing WI right away??!!

So, after playing for awhile there, we headed over to Bally's and got our tickets to the Price is Right. We found out we had plenty of time before we had to be to the show, so we went to the Burger Brasserie in the mall between Bally's & Paris. We sat at the bar and had beer & burgers. My burger was great -- I had a chicken burger that had brie & carmelized onions on it....so good! I'm sure G had a regular bacon cheeseburger or something! The bartender was very entertaining, too. Our total bill was about $55, with tip and that was about 2-3 beers apiece.

Then we headed to the Price is Right. That was a lot of fun. We didn't get called at all, but it was still fun watching everyone. I would recommend it. AFter that, we stuck around Bally's for awhile and watched the end of the WI/MI State game, which WI barely pulled out the win!

Here's where things start getting a little foggy.....I drank a lot on Saturday!! I think we went back to Paris, hung out there for awhile. Then went over to the Bellagio and had the buffet. I've decided that I don't really like buffets. I've read nothing but good things about their buffet, but I didn't really like anything on it, except the creme brulee (remember the sweets?) We also went through the conservatory and I didn't realize that I was drunk until we got home and we were showing my parents the pictures and there was a picture of G and I that I don't remember being taken!!

So, after a good night's sleep, we get up Sunday morning and I had the bakery breakfast again (awesome!!) THen I made three $100 NFL bets for my brother -- he only ended up winning one! Then G & I walked over to Caeser's to watch football -- we are Green Bay Packers fans and it was the day that Brett Favre broke the touchdown record. It was awesome!! It was very strange, though, watching football at 10 a.m. We had pizza in the food court there, where G claims is the best pizza in the world....I'd have to disagree, but whatever!! I had pretty good luck at Caeser's, but G didn't want to stay there all afternoon. We had dinner reservations at Delmonico at 7:30, so we walked back towards Paris. G wanted to buy a new shirt, so we went to the shops at PH and he went to the Gap & I went to Clinique and got a very good saleswoman and ended up spending $110!! We played a few more slots at PH, with no luck, and went back to Paris. I got in a poker tourney -- $65 buy in -- probably about 40 people and I ended up 12th. Right before the second break I got pocket queens and took in a good pot, but that was about the only good hand I got all day. It was fun, though.

Then we went to Delmonico. I posted a review under the restaurants & buffet threads. It was great.

We stuck around the Venetian for a little bit and then walked down to the Wynn. I played blackjack while G played slots. I was at a great table with a really nice couple. I was staying about even until a really annoying couple sat down. Then I lost what I had left and we left. I really like the Wynn, even though I keep giving them money!!

We headed back to Paris and it was probably 1 a.m. and G went to bed and since it was our last night, I wanted to play more blackjack. I sat down at a table. The first hand I get A-A....Of course I split them and I lost both hands. Then the annoying guy next to me tells me that I played them right and you have to split aces and eights and just goes on and on, like I've never played before. Then the guy proceeds to double down on a 12!! UGH!! Horrible! I ended up losing and going to bed.

We got up early and had the Paris buffet. It was ok. The crepes I had were good, but next time I would just buy a crepe at the crepe restaurant stand they have and skip the buffet. Like I said, I guess I'm just not a buffet person. Then we walked over to MGM. I played blackjack for about an hour and came out even. We stopped at the M & M store to get the kids some stuff. Then got my parents some stuff at the Paris store for watching the kids!

The trip home was good, we were actually about a half-hour early to Milwaukee. The only eventful thing was the claustrophobic woman a couple rows up.....why fly when you're going to hyperventilate for 3 hours?? I suppose, Vegas might be worth it....!!

So, overall, I would definitely stay at Paris again -- the room was really nice, the hotel was easy to navigate, and the people were very nice. I will not go to buffets any more, unless they're free!! I would go to Mon Ami Gabi, the French Bakery, Burger Brasserie, and Delmonico again. I would go to the Price is Right again. I lost all the money I budgeted, but that's ok, there's always tax returns...!! I was planning on going again in February with my college friend, but she's pregnant, so now I have to find someone else!!

Thanks for reading!!

 

very nice report - thanks for writing it. Sorry you didn't come home with more money, but sounds like you had a good time anyway!

 

Thanks for the report! sounds like you had a good time. I also do tax returns to pay for my Vegas trips

 

Very nice so far. We enjoy the Paris as well. We like the rooms and the casino isn't big enough for us(me) to get lost in it.

 

Great report! I love staying at Paris. I haven't yet eaten at Mon Ami Gabi but I will on my next trip. Thanks for the report!

 

Thanks! That sounds very reasonable.

 

Thanks for the report. Paris sounds wonderful....

 

Great TR, thanks for sharing....oooh, and I gladly sign myself up as your new Vegas buddy :evillaugh

 

Yes.....please explain that crap about a Wisconsin accent to me. We had people at our conference in Texas last week that knew we were from Wisconsin because of our accents. WHAT ACCENT???????? These are the same people that are saying to us, 'y'all come back now ya'hear'. Give me a break!!!

 

That was a great first trip report! Thanks for sharing all the details and opinions!