This was supposed to be quick and to the point, but I got wordy. This is a quick and to the point trip report. We went to Vegas the 2nd through the 5th and had a great time. 3 nights isn’t enough time but it was great anyway. Left Sarasota at 5:30 on Saturday with a connection through Atlanta, thankfully the plane was a little early giving us a few extra minutes to grab something to eat and head to the gate, as our layover was only supposed to be 40 minutes. We got to Vegas on time and were at the hotel by 10:30 after picking up the car from Dollar. We did carryon luggage, so there was no waiting this time. If we ever go for 4 days or shorter again, I will definitely be carrying on. We had reservations at Treasure Island which was sold out on Saturday, so no upgrades, but the room was comfortable and the beds were on par with the Wynn beds, if not slightly better. Surprise, surprise Treasure Island is selling them…..The hotel had some decorations up and it was nice to see Vegas decorated for Christmas. After unpacking our little bags we went to the coffee shop for some food. Hubby had eggs, I had soup and a grilled cheese with French fries. The food was good, which I was happy to see since we hadn’t been there in quite a while. Gambled until 2am and went to bed after being up 20 hours. Woke up Sunday morning at 5:45…….yikes!! I have no idea why we were up that early but we were. Not happy with that at all. Hubby called his Dad as he does every Sunday morning and chatted with him for a bit. We then headed to Mirage for a latte and a bagel at the Roasted Bean. We hit the one off the lobby which is never crowded. After breakfast we played a little blackjack and then hubby went to the sportsbook while I played a few hands of VP at the Sports Bar and talked to the bartender (gotta love it, on his name badge it said he was from FENWAY PARK, MA) when I commented he said he was born there LOL Had a couple of Vodka Cranberries and we headed back to TI. Decided to head out and went to Bellagio to get a look at the conservatory. It looks gorgeous!! Played a little VP at the Fontana and won a few bucks while hubby went to watch the KC game he had bet on, he came back about 15 minutes later because he couldn’t find a table. He wanted to watch the game, so I cashed out and we headed to Bootlegger Bistro for lunch and in hopes of seeing the game. The game was not on at Bootleggers but we had lunch anyway. I had the minestrone soup and baked ziti, hubby had minestrone and chicken parm. Both meals were very good. The bill came to about $40 and included two beers each. When we left Bootleggers we decided to call Bellagio to see if they still had rooms available for Monday night, they did!! We got the $149 special, with no upgrade though….. After lunch we headed to Silverton in hopes of catching some of the KC game. We watched a bit of the game while I played some VP and won $30!! After KC lost, we went and played some Blackjack, we won a little and left to go meet some friends at South Pointe. They had come in on Tuesday and were leaving Sunday night. Met our friends at the center bar and had a few drinks. I hadn’t seen them in years and it was nice catching up. We stayed about an hour and half and decided to head back to TI since my husband wasn’t feeling well. When we got back to TI we played a little WPT and some blackjack, after losing a little Hubby decided to go take a nap while I stayed in the casino and played. I played some Lobstermania and then went to the Breeze Bar to play some VP. Played for a little while, not winning and not losing, by this time it was about 7 and I decided to go check on Hubby. I got the room and he was still sleeping, I decided to watch a little TV. Next thing I knew hubby was up and getting dressed to go down to the casino, I looked at the clock and it was 11pm!! I had slept for 4 hours!! I got up, changed out of the clothes I had just slept in and we decided to go to Grand Lux for a bite to eat. Dinner was okay, nothing special, but then at 11:30, I wasn’t looking for great food and was probably not all that hungry. I had a pizza and an apple crisp, while husband had the Pot Pie. I think I probably ate 3 pieces of the small pizza and 5 bites of the Apple Crisp!! Hubby on the other hand ate all of the pot pie, which he said was pretty good (not as good as mine though). We then headed back to TI. Played some Blackjack and did okay, then went and played my free play. Turned nothing into $20 then lost it on another machine of course! We played Wild Taxi til about 3am and then headed to bed….. Woke up Monday at 7 and headed to the casino for some coffee. They have a station set up at the Breeze Bar, and we then went and played a little blackjack. After about 45 minutes we went back to the room and packed up for our move to Bellagio. Got to Bellagio at 9:30, no rooms available so we went to Breakfast. I had the pancakes while hubby had eggs, I also had the Bella Peach, which was very good. After breakfast we played a little VP (me) and a little BJ (hubby). I hit a few 4OAKS and was able to cash out with a little bit of money. We then decided to go to the mall for an hour as we couldn’t check in until after 12 and it was only 11am. Hit Macy’s and got a scarf and a pair of gloves so walking around in the evening wouldn’t be too bad, also bought an adorable pair of shoes, which were much more comfortable than the shoes I was wearing!! Got back to Bellagio at 12:30 and I was able to check in. No view but it didn’t matter since we were only there one night. I headed back to the casino and back to the Allegra bar to see Dean and play some VP. Well this VP session was good to me. I managed to cash out with $200 and hubby won $150 playing Roulette (he only placed two bets on the table!!). I cashed my ticket and we walked down to Olives to check out the menu since we were eating there that night. Hubby decided it was time for a nap, while I went back to the Allegra bar and played some more VP. Now I know most of you would probably think me a fool, but I like playing at the Bars at Bellagio and have found that I do better on the dollar machines than on the quarter, my bankroll however doesn’t allow for me to play $5 a hand. That being said, I had earlier hit 4 aces and a few 4OAKS which allowed for my $200 cash out. Well, I put $20 in the machine and nothing………another $20 and still nothing. At this point there was a shift change at the bar and Dean was off for the night, I decided to go give the Fontana a shot. Put $20 in and almost immediately hit 4 kings, played it down and with only $12 left, I hit another 4 aces…….sweet $160 win, at which point I notice it is 6:30 and I need to go get ready for dinner. Got ready and left the room at 7:30 for our 8pm reservation, got to Olives and sat at the bar and had cocktails. Hubby had rum and I had a drink the bartender called a Tiffany, it was quite a yummy martini!! We checked out the patio and decided to eat out there. It was a good idea at the start but it turned out to be a bit chilly. We did enjoy our dinner, my only complaint is that the fountain Music was not loud enough on the first couple of songs. The music playing normally was great though. I think they were playing the Soundtrack from Love, which my husband had tried to get tickets to, he wanted to surprise me and didn’t know it was dark. The funny thing is, when I first booked the trip, I was going to surprise him with tickets to the show but found out it was dark. I guess this is one of the reasons we so enjoy each other, we think the same!!! Dinner at Olives was not all I was hoping it would be, though the food was good, it wasn’t great. I was expecting it to be as good a meal as the Foundation Room was, and it just didn’t measure up. I would probably eat at Olive’s again, but think I would go for lunch instead, as the flatbreads were quite good and I like the look of the lunch menu. After Olives we went back to the Casino. I headed for the Fontana and the machine that ended with #69, this proved to be an excellent choice!!!!!!!!! I started playing, but in $20 not hits, then put in another $20 and still nothing, decided to do one more $20 before moving machines, got down to my last coin and hit four kings, kept playing and about 10 minutes later hit a straight flush…..kept playing and hit a few small hands, then four sevens…Had the machine up to a little over $150 when it finally HIT….No it wasn’t a Royal and I didn’t want one. I was playing double, double bonus was dealt a pair of aces and a pair of eights, I threw the 8s and kept the aces, up pops another ace, a 4 and another ace for $400!! I know most of you are probably thinking that I should have been playing full coin, however I would have been long gone if I had to feed a few hundred into the machine to get to this point!! It was about 4 minutes later hubby came up to tell me he was okay with blackjack. He was trying to look at the machine to see how much I had left as he wanted me to go play BJ with him. I had covered up my winnings so he couldn’t see….The look on his face when he saw $564 on the machine…hehehehe. I played it down to $525 (I was going down to $500) but the machine wouldn’t let me. We then went and played some Blackjack and I won about $100 and hubby lost a little. By this time he was ready to go to bed as the cold was still bothering him. He walked me over to the Fontana, and headed up the room. I played for a few hours then lost $100 and went to bed. It was about 1am and I knew I wanted to be up early to play some before we left. Got up at 6:30, showered and packed up the suitcases which we took down and put in the rental car. I decided to play my $35 point play (wouldn’t let me do the full amount) and went to the Fontana for some VP, ordered a water and coke and went about playing. Ended up hitting for a $100 and went to find hubby. We played a little blackjack and then went to eat. Another great breakfast at the Café. I went back to the room after breakfast and called down to check out, played a little star wars and won $15, then went to play some more blackjack. At 10 I headed over to the Fontana to see Dean and tell him about my 4 aces with the kicker, and then went to Diane’s side of the bar to say hello, have my last Bella Peach and play my last few hands of VP. Played and lost about $40 then it was 10:30 and time to head home. The trip was a quick one, but it was a blast!! Not only did we have a great time, but we came home winners. Never have we won enough to pay for the trip, but this time we did. Now mind you all we had to pay for were the rooms and food since the tickets were FF tickets, but still. We won over $700 this trip after all was said and done, and that is huge for us. We are usually thrilled if we can go home with the money we came with, never mind enough to cover the entire trip! I have decided that Bellagio is my favorite hotel to stay in. I have become a huge VP fan and the bartenders at Bellagio are the Best. Between Dean and Tony and the barback Todd who I spent much of my Monday with and the regular two, Diane and Shawn who were off on Sunday and Monday, I can’t think of a better spot. They are wonderful people who watch out for me when I am sitting at the bar by myself and my husband is off playing (or in the case of this trip, trying to sleep off an awful cold), not to mention the great dealers we had this trip at the Bellagio, it was fantastic. Katya, at the front desk was great also, this was the second time she has checked us in and she is just so sweet. We did not leave the hotel for almost 24 hours, which is very strange for us, and we were happy with absolutely everything!! Our next trip won’t be til the summer but hopefully this time I got enough points that I will start seeing offers from Bellagio. They players Club told me they want to see 2000 points or something at the Bellagio in order for them to send offers and I exceeded that………so we shall see. If not, we will pay the summer special rates and be just as happy there!!! Thanks for reading, I know it got a little long.
I let out a little yell when I hit my first 4 aces for $160, and screamed when I hit the aces with the kicker.......I couldn't believe it. I was SOOOOO excited. Now I just need to start selling more houses so I can bump up to full coin dollar VP.
Congrats on the vp wins! If you don't want the Royal though, I'll be happy to take it off your hands!! I agree with you on the bartenders at Fontana. Josie (afternoons) is my favorite.
What Bar does Josie work??? As for the Royal, if I got one with only one coin in, I would be very angry........Ironically I am not at all upset I hit 4 aces with the kicker without full coin in though!! Go figure!
Great report! I would urge you to write a letter to the Bellagio and let them know about the employees who were particularly memorable for their great service. I've been told time and time again that that means more to them than a $20 tip. The letter goes to their supervisors and into their file and only helps at promotion, shift assignment and raise time. Just a quick note to the hotel, restaurant or casino manager that mentions them by name is perfect. So often we call to complain, but it's also good to write and let them know someone is doing a great job.
Sonya, I usually do this. I did it our last two trips and will do it again. Those bartenders are fantastic, truly they are. I don't care for them over at the sportsbook, but the Fontana bar staff is always great!!
Josie works at Fontana Bar. She's a brunette, short sorta spikey hair. Very sweet, and very adept at the bar (and willing to give out free shots of tequila). Next time I see her, I'll ask her if I can get her picture.