Bally's 2/25-2/29

Okay it's been about a week now and I think it's time to put my thoughts to the computer before I completely forget my trip

this trip came up just out the the blue, we knew we wanted to go somewhere but wasn't sure on when where or how

we got an offer for a video poker tourney at Bally's with 4 nights comped
okay - not a video poker player but hey 4 free nights (also got 25 in food comps)

there was also a trade show at the convention center that hubby wanted to attend - so now it becomes a business trip

we combined this with a trip to Chicago to visit my lil sis (6 hour drive)
but she always wants us to visit (maybe not anymore he he )

Monday - Day One
flew southwest out of Chicago for 93 bucks - got in the A group and got a couple of seats and nobody wanted to crawl over us to the window seat so we
got the row to ourselves (yes!!)

so far so good
flight left on time landed 15 minutes early
luggage was spinning soon after we reached baggage
5 minutes for taxi and we were off
not much in the line of traffic and we get to Bally's within an hour of landing

We are BIG harrahs fans and usually stay there - we have ventured to the
Flamingo - loved the rooms and such - didn't care much for the casino and the
Rio - loved everything about this place except the location

now it's time to try Bally's ----------BOO
waited a bit to check in - not too bad
asked about a room with a view of the fountains
click - click - click we do have one availabe for an extra 100 a night uh - no
no view of the fountains but they do have one of the Eiffel Tower
okay we can do that
asked for a King Bed - no king beds - no explanation just a quick reply - NO
Harrahs never did that to me!!

got to the room - ICK
nothing great about this room except for the view - very nice of the Eiffel Tower and a half of a view of the fountains - upon further observation -
do any of the Bally's rooms have views of the entire fountains???
it doesn't seem set up that way
the room was old - old - old
the furniture looked like it was from the 60's
the carpet was worn - the safe had a 3 dollar a day charge
bathroom was okay - roomy at least
After the initial disappointment of the room I did get used to it
it was roomy just worn out and it did have a fantastic view
I guess you take the good with the bad.

we hit the floor running and hung around Ballys and Paris this day
hubby hit 250 on Jackpot Party so this was a nice start
we played these machines for a couple of hours and had our first round(s)
of Miller Lite
We went to Burger Brassiere for dinner
we went here last time and loved it
same this time - food was good and it was a nice break from the machines
then it was off to Paris -
played here awhile and met a couple of interesting people - managed to get us drinks quicker (I was pretty full from dinner but did manage a couple of mixers)
they also had a band playing in one corner bar in the casino
they weren't bad - fun to listen to while playing - a little loud if you were too close

Day one done vacation on it's way and I was down less than a hundred bucks
awesome

Tuesday - Day Two
We are big casino hoppers - so this is what was planned for this day
first off I needed my coffee so I hit the coffee cart in the lobby
now 2 out of the 4 mornings this coffee cart would not let you use your room charge !!!!! had comps to burn and couldn't use them
should have headed to Nosh but I had already ordered!!
then back to the room for an hour of the Today show and relax time with my cup of coffee(this is one of my favorite parts of vacation - just that one hour in the morning)
We usually hit the strip by 10 AM so off we went
first stop Bill's - we played the Wizard of Oz for a couple of hours
now I don't see getting rich on these machines but they are very entertaining

then off the the Flamingo - played here a bit but we have never had a good vibe about this casino

off the Imperial Palace - we like it here and it's easy to get drinks
didn't win much but did come away a little ahead thanks to Pompei

Then to our home away from home Harrahs (we are sorry we strayed and we'll be back next time)
we hung around here for awhile and got our 25 points for a free t shirt
now we find out that the total rewards card that the IP sent us had a different number that our regular account.....ggggggrrrrrrrrr
did get our shirt but the lady couldn't get our account fixed up

stopped at Margaritaville and shared some Nachos and had a Mango Margarita
these are my all time fave and must have one each trip
tried to get our 25 point t shirt from the Flamingo but they were all out

went thru Bally's and got registered for VP tourney then off
to Paris where my hubby has an obsession about a jungle wild machine that has wrap around pay lines he played his fave machine and I finally plunked a 20 in the one next to him
glad I did - I got the bonus and it kept throwing coins at me
I ended up cashing out 150 bucks

went the Planet Ho to check out a few machines
they had Karoake in a bar in the middle of the casino
scary that these people think the can sing
but it was entertaining

I was ready to call it a day so we went back to Bally's where I went back to the room - caught a couple of the fountain shows - then off to dream land

day two done and still have 3/4 of my bankroll left YAY

Days 3 and 4 to follow

 

Almost stayed at Bally's last year but decided to go with Flamingo instead. Gald I made that decision.

 

Great report so far, I am excited to hear how the tourney went! I definitely have to try a Mango Margarita next time I am at Margartitaville.

Kristin

 

good read so far.

 

We've stayed at Bally's when we can't get anything at Paris. We usually ask for one of their remodelled rooms; the furnishings are more updated though the the tv is still old. I tried that coffee cart once and after that I just walked across to Bill's for Seattle's Best the coffee was better and cheaper.

 

mardaho....I was thinking of Harrahs for later this year or next...but everyone up here complains about the noise...when you stay there what rooms do you ask for? I had a grunge room at Bally's 2 years ago too. View was of the then Barbary. I want nothing to do with hearing the music from Carnival Court till the wee hours of the morning.

 

I have stayed in both towers and I guess I prefer Carnival (think this one comes out in the lobby) over the Mardi Gras -maybe cause it's a quick
trip to Starbucks in the morning (I think I have these right)

last time they asked if it was okay if the room was on the edge of carnival court but it didn't bother me
just request a room away from it

though I think if you request a strip view from the Mardi Gras you run the risk of the Carnival Court
But then again some of my best views of the HVAC and parking garage have come from the Carnival Tower

It's a toss up

good luck

 

Great reading so far. Thanks.

 

When do we get days 3 & 4??? Great TR so far.....

 

Bally's 2/25-2/29 part II

Okay let's see how the memory is

Wednesday - Day 3
Today is the first day of our VP tourney we have a 10:20 seating
this tourney is not much in the line of hoopla or anything
last year in a slot tourney at the Flamingo we were in a big room and they had bins of pop and water and urns of coffee and such
this time we were in a hallway down stairs by the shops of bally's
if you were to pull an inside machine there was no way anyone could watch you
luckily hubby had an end machine so I could peak from one end
he did okay high 700's not many machines in that group higher than him
no big hits (maybe one 4 of a kind A's)
after this we had to head to the Convention Center for our business part of the trip and attend a trade show
we took our first trip on the monorail - we bought 2 - 24 hour passes for 9 bucks a piece
when they got to our stop this thing was full so we had to squeeze in and I couldn't find anything
to hang on to but hubby( he's kinda wiggly and not too sturdy)
so by the time we got tho the Conv Center I had had a workout from trying not to tip over this kinda sucked and I didn't have a good first impression
later we find out this must have been rush hour because our next few rides were nice we had seats and we could watch the scenery go by.
attended the trade show which was very overwhelming and this took up a good part of our
afternoon. Then we walked to the Hilton - we have never been there before and I thought it was
pretty nice - we found a couple of machines in the Star Trek part of it I played a machine called
Road Trip that was a lot of fun and cashed out about 60 bucks up and then found another one
and cashed out 40 bucks up - also had our first Miller Lites of the day - after trotting aroung the trade show
and the mile long walk to the Hilton these tasted yummy
took the monorail back to bally's to get rid of our trade show junk and look around for a standing sheet
for the VP tourney - nothing - no kind of posting at all - that sux
then decided to make our major meal of the day Flavors Buffet at Harrahs so off we went to our favorite casinos
ate way too much then gambled our way back to Bally's
Harrhas, IP, Flamingo (this time I actually had a good time gambling here) no memorable wins but I still had money
in my pocket. Tried to get our free T shirt but they were still out so they gave us a blanket - nice roll up blanket it will be
perfect for beach outings. The very nice lady here (Rita) helped us with our Total Rewards Card Problems
After this we just went back to Bally's and hung out there for awhile before a long nap

Thursday - Day 4 - Last Day
Okay by this time hubby had gone through most of his money and I still had over 1/2 of mine left so he came up
with and idea that we share any winnings (we would put 20 in and quit and double or any increment of 20 over)
well this worked out good for him
Had a 10:20 draw again for the VP tourney
still no standing sheet - they did tell us that there were 3 royals the day before
today was my turn to play - I was actually a little nervous - I did manage to get thru all my hands but no
big wins - at one time I was dealt 4 cards to a royal but couldn't get that darn J of clubs to drop…grrrrrrr….
after about 5 minutes and only 400 points I just started for the Royals
I ended up with just under 600 points - we knew that wouldn't cut it so we didn't even bother checking back for
the prize distribution
had 10 minutes left on our monorail pass so we used it to head down toward MGM and to explore that end of the strip
First stop MGM - never have any luck here - first 2 machines no luck I would get close to that 40 dollar range and then it
would drop - hubby had no luck at all with his
tried 2 more machines before leaving - this time he doubled his 20 so he shared with me
so after the first stop only down 20 bucks
at the Tropicana we played a couple of different machines and I hit 80 bucks so now we were even for the day
Gosh I wish we were morning drinkers cause the drink lady was all over us - did have one but could have had 6
walked to Hooters and ate some wings and had a beer - I doubled up here - so still even
NewYork - next stop - he kept finding these machines that I didn't like but I would win and he wouldn't (he he)
then we went to the Monte Carlo - I have only been in here once - but it was pretty nice - a little empty - you could
have flown an airplane through here and not hit anybody. We played the Wizard of Oz and lost and then he found the
same dumb machines as at NY NY I won he didn't (he he) I kept running outside trying to get a glimpse of the
Nascar Hauller Parade down the strip - I did catch the end of it
Bellagio next stop - hard to find penny machines here but I did manage to double up on one
then we played another and we both lost
Dinner time - we still had 25 in comps to use from the tourney so we went to the sidewalk café at Bally's
this was pretty good and free !!!!!!!
did the old Paris/Bally's thing on this night and went back a little early to pack we had to leave by 5 AM
So after gambling for a good 10 hours we were each down 60 bucks (awesome)
I still had almost 1/2 of my stash left - though it always takes away from it when he loses his butt
My theory is the more you come back with the quicker you can plan your next trip!!!! He lives for the moment
if it's in his pocket - it's burning a hole in it

Pretty uneventful trip back to Chicago we scored the exit row with only 2 seats in it he slept I read a book
and cried all the way back (Sisters by Danielle Steele - couldn't put it down and couldn't stop crying)

time to start planning our next trip
have friends that are thinking of December so maybe we'll join them
sometimes it's fun to go with other people

 

Nice trip report -- thanks for sharing!

 

I've seen the VP tourney set up at Bally's and wasn't really impressed by it.

My wife and I usually do this one day while we're in Vegas. We both have alot of fun and usually come out ahead.