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April 1-5 at the Fitz downtown

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by boxcars, Apr 6, 2006.

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  1. boxcars

    boxcars High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
    North Dakota

    My Trip Report

    I'll keep it short...

    WARNING: Not too exciting... and certainly nothing like our fellow MM3, etc. TR's.

    I posted in the casino gaming section about no more continuous $3 craps at El Cortez and Golden Gate.

    Stayed at Fitzgerald's four nights and really enjoyed it. View was nice on the 32nd floor facing west.

    Although I had a very hefty bankroll (even though I'm a low-roller...) I managed to win enough to only spend $200 total including food, gambling, etc. Won enough at the craps tables to offset expenses.

    Placed my very first sports book wager on Tony Stewart to win Nascar. $10 got me $60 so that was really exciting for me.

    Also played my very first live hand of poker at the Plaza at a single table tournament. Finished 3rd place. I had no idea what I was doing. Never ever played with blinds before so made big mistakes... such as folding on my big blind twice when I had the option. Before dealer said "option", I threw my cards in. Very stupid mistake, but I learned from it. We only had nine players so we all agreed to buy in for an extra $4. Had an extra $1 floating around, so friend I was with suggested third place finished with a $1 win! I won money on my first-ever poker of $1!!! I will have to frame it.

    In case you're wondering... I had KJ not suited... got beat out by a flush on the river to his Q7 or something like that. I made the right choice, but he just got lucky and hit the flush.

    We spent a great deal of time at our favorite hangout... the El Cortez. Other than the higher limits they are introducing, this place is a Vegas jewel. The walk is completely safe if with somebody. We had no problems anytime day or night. Big condo project going up across the street (same side of Fremont though) so that should make the neighborhood nicer in the future.

    No buffets... at breakfast most days at the Golden Gate cafe and dinner at Careful Kitty's at El Cortez.

    Weather was nice. It sprinkled some Monday evening as we were touring the strip. Got windy Tuesday, but it was 83°. The forecast for Tuesday LAST WEEK was for the day to be rainy and a high of 63°. Good thing the storm was delayed by 24 hours, because yesterday was only 61°.

    Gambling was Pai Gow and craps. My friend turned his $20 at the craps into $80 twice in the same day. I did just about the same.

    That made our trip quite inexpensive and very enjoyable.

    Now for my opinion section:

    I've said this many times before in my postings on this board in the past... I don't like what Las Vegas is becoming. If you're a low-roller like me who doesn't care to win but are only there for the entertainment (regarding gambling), the town is not in your favor. $10 craps on the strip is not something I enjoy to see. Seeing The lowest limits downtown at the Golden Gate and El Cortez go from $3 to $5 at various times was disappointing.

    The worst thing I noticed... Went to IP and sat down at bar to play video poker. We put our money in the machine... bartender came over and we ordered two bud lights. Cost: $8. Total BS since we were playing. What happened to FREE drinks when we were playing. That's Harrah's. Another reason I hate that damn company.

    The best thing I noticed... The awesome bus service now! "The Deuce" is wonderful!!!! Very nice double-decker buses that only took us 19 minutes from downtown to the Wynn stop for $2. No more thugs riding the bus. What a nice improvement.

    Fitzgerald's was nice. Room was clean and bed was decent. The hot water and water pressure is unbelievable. Like a waterfall!!! I'll definitely be back to that hotel if Vegas doesn't run my low-roller butt outta town first.
     
  2. aggie182

    aggie182 Off Key and Out of Tune

    Joined:
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    Nice TR man.
     
  3. doctor_al

    doctor_al VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    I liked the Fitz as well, although I still think the El Co rooms are nicer. But for somebody who wanted to be under the canopy, I'd recommend Fitz ahead of most Fremont places.

    Did the bartender at the IP tell you why your drinks weren't comped? Lately the drinks with bartop VP seem to be getting tighted up, i.e., you've got to be playing buck/hand, one way or another. But usually we've gotten a 'courtesy' one ...

    You got lucky with the Deuce. That's a world record time from DT to Wynn.
     
  4. howzie

    howzie Tourist

    Joined:
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    Vegas, baby
    I play beaucoup VP at the bars in town. Never had to pay for a drink...Mirage, Hilton, MGM, matters not.

    tells me you are going to the wrong places, amigo.
     
  5. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

    Joined:
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    I remember one trip stopping at the VP bar at Aladdin and plopping in a $20 and ordering a margarita. Cost me $12 even though I was playing $1.25 per hand. That ticked me off big time. I haven't played at Aladdin since then.

    On the other hand, at Venetian in March, I got one of the drinks of the drink menu for "free" playing video poker. The damn vp game cost me $30, but that's gambling. Unfortunately the drink wasn't good.

    Bellagio's Fontana Bar will comp your drink as long as you put in $20, but you should know ahead of time that all the machines are $1 so if you play max coin you only get four tries to get your money back.
     
  6. boxcars

    boxcars High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    My intention at Imperial Palace was to get "free" drinks by playing video poker. Little did I know it would cost me in more ways than one. Oh well... we enjoyed our dollar bottles at Casino Royale.

    Yeah Doc al... unbelievable 19 minutes to the Wynn. We were amazed. Getting back took us about 1/2 hour. Not bad... but it was a Monday night too.
     
  7. Sleepless

    Sleepless Sassy Sally's lives on...

    Joined:
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    Seattle
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    I share the pain, as a low budget gambler

    I liked your comment about the table limits. $10 a hand seems pretty steep to me too. I like starting my play with $20 - $40 (craps, roulette, BJ, or Baccarat) and quitting if I lose it. But I like (need) it to last long enough to get 2 or 3 drinks. Otherwise, the fun is lost from the game. As a fellow cheap gambler, I usually gamble downtown primarily but I've found $5 tables at The STRAT , Luxor, Excalibur, and Trop. My favorite place of all, is the Golden Gate. Love that place! They have low limits and the drinks keep coming.

    Funny story about the GG; I sat next to a guy, at the roulette table, who told me he had $3 left to his name. It was his birthday and the date was the 27th. He put one dollar on 27 and lost, put it on 27 again and lost, put his last dollar on 27 and hit it, cool! Then he put it all back on and around 27 and hit it again. He put it ALL back on and around it again and it came up for a third time. I don't recall how much $$$ he ended up with but he was a very happy guy. I've tried to repro that but never caught any run as cool as that. Oh well. Just keep the drinks coming, my money alive for while, and I'm happy.
     
  8. dung bug

    dung bug Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Nice trip report
     
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