Aladdin 8/24-8/27 Part I

Hi all!

Just got back Friday, still working off that 3 hour time differential and lack of sleep, so hopefully this will be a coherent report . It is pretty long, so I'm breaking it up.

Dropped my daughter off with my parents in Rockland County, NY on Monday, so I had that two hours of driving tacked on. Had an 8:05 USAirways Flight 637 out of Philly ($189.00 RT each)to catch on Tuesday, so we set the alarm for 4:30 AM, since traffic can be bad in Philly. Trip to the airport was marked by me being mad at Beth for saying we had plenty of time when in fact we got stuck in traffic. Made it to Avistar parking, just North of the airport by 7:10, and they were great about getting us to the airport quickly. Would highly recommend them.

USAirways didn't start boarding the 8:05 flight (listed as on time) until 7:50, and we didn't push back until 8:25. After pushing back we sat on the runway for about 40 minutes as boarding late caused us to get stuck in the reversal of the airport for take-off and landings.

Finally arrived at McCarren at 11 AM, 1 hour late. USAir took their sweet time with the luggage, so we didn't leave the airport until 11:30, even though our luggage came right out when the carousel started. From McCarren we caught the Alamo/National shuttle to Alamo.

I learned that they use the slogan "Alamo Country" because they have so many people waiting so long for cars they could be there own country. They had switched over to National's system for distributing cars, and only 2 of the 8 employees on knew how to use the system. When we were finally finished signing the dotted line (quickly, hint tell them right away you aren't buying any extras, that'll save the sales pitch)we went to choose a car, and there were no midsize as we requested and paid for. We wound up with an upgrade to a fullsize, and topping that off, the rate we received ($51.00, including fees & tax T-F with the entertainment book) was cheaper than the $62.00 original quote with the same coupon.

On the way to Aladdin we decided to detour to
In & Out on Tropicana, since we were starving. I took Flamingo, and forgot to make the left Hotel Rio Rd., so we got a nice tour of that part of Unincorporated Clark County (being a guy, and knowing where I wanted to go I didn't stop for directions). Anyhow we got to In & Out and have to agree with the hype. Best fast food burgers we've ever had. Good fries too, although Beth likes her fries to be salted.

Finally arrived at the Aladdin at 2:15. Valeted the car for the only time of the trip, they were fine. Check-in had no line, so the clerk waved us up to the desk. Asked about to a Resort room for the fountain view, but since we booked through the casino it would have been $30.00 a night extra, and as a previous poster said, no $20.00 trick if booked through casino. We told them it was our anniversary when we booked ( ), and the clerk found Room 3205 in the "South Tower". She told us the view would be great, and not to upgrade just for the view. She was right, they couldn't say it was a Fountain View room, because you couldn't directly see the Fountains, but we saw the entire South Strip, the balloon at Paris, Caesars and the Fountain Show (I'll put up pics later.

Checked in, looked at the room, then went to walk the strip. Ran into our first timeshare person (Greenwood) on the way out of the Aladdin, hopefully Starwood/PH will get rid of them. Most of them are offering something that the higher ups will not deliver on, so avoid them...is it me, or are there more of them now.

We hit the IP for the free photo, a good deal. Spun the wheel and got $10.00 gift card to the Tea Room that we never used. Got two free drink coupons, so naturally I had to have them. Checked out IP casino, but Beth didn't like it, so we moved on.

Went to Casino Royale b/c Beth read they have a good funbook. It isn't bad, a couple free drinks are worth it, but the gambling coupons are awful. Matching payout on a 6:5 BJ table is not my idea of a good offer. Played the $50.00 free slot play that you can only cash out if you hit a jackpot or some other combos, but that went away quick.

Back to the Aladdin for the Spice Market with the 2/1 we got on check-in. Dinner was excellent as always. Loved the King Crab, even cold, and the pastries for dessert were better than last time.

Since we had a car we decided to get off the strip at night. Drove to the GVR via Sunset and Green Valley Road to drive past McCarren's runway and see some stuff we haven't seen. Parking was easy, right near the Casino door. The place was not too crowded (10:00 Tues. Night), but there was a good mix of people. Lots of single looking women. The GVR was nice, but smaller than it seemed on TV, and the layout seemed different than TV. Saw a couple of the security guards and the High Roller waitress (on a break, we are far from high rollers)from the AC show, but no one else, wasn't really expecting to.

Signed up for the Station Boarding Pass. Received some coupons and $5.00 extra play. Played $0.25 VP (Deuces and Jokers Wild) for about 1.5 hours, and wound up up $7.00 between us, not counting the xtra play. Looked at playing BJ, but the tables we would play ($5-10, not 6:5) were all full and we didn't want to stand around waiting

Went and used the free drink coupons at Drop Bar (could have used at Whiskey Bar also), and just relaxed. After that we went and took in the strip view from GVR's parking deck. What a cool view. Took 215 to LVB to get back to Aladdin...Traffic on the South Strip was fairly light, and the view from a car is too cool. Thought about stopping for one of those Laughing Jackelope Burgers, but my arteries were rebelling.

Went back to Aladdin, parked in self-park, not such a bad walk, but would recommend parking on level 3 A-C if you have luggage. Looked around for BJ tables to play, but all were $10.00 6:5 except for dealer stands on all 17's and that was packed. We decided to call it a night.

All in all a good first day, but we were exhausted .

(To be continued)

[ August 29, 2004, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: dkbk ]

 

Sounds good so far - waiting for the next chapter!!