El Cortez to the Wynn report! 7/7--7/10

El Cortez to the Wynn report!

Friday:

We left from So. Calif. for the four hour drive to the El Cortez to play in their Invitational Blackjack Tournament. When we checked in they gave us a badge with our starting times and it also contained four food vouchers for $25 each for use in their restaurants.
Sin and her husband Carl showed up after about an hour and got their room. The rooms at the EC are pretty nice and they are still working on the casino.

Craps and blackjack were $5 minimums for both days of our trip. I played both for a little while and ended up playing a video game called 3 way poker. It is like VP but a seven card game. I got very lucky and won about $350 on a quarter machine. Had a late lunch at Roberta’s which was just fine.

Walked up to the Plaza to see my buddy Tim at the Keno Bar and he told that Killer had been there a day or two before. My wife, Jennifer went over to the Club booth to get a comp for the gift shop and was told that the Plaza had wiped out all the comp points and any points that you earned from now on had to be used on that trip. That sucks. Any money you had coming on your points was still redeemable though. There seems to have been a lot of changes made at the Plaza and none for the better.

Saturday:

Played in the BJ tournament at 11am and I was the first one out from my table. I started by making small bets and the dealer kept busting and then when I tried to catch up with the other players, the cards changed and I was done. My wife on the other hand lasted until there were only two left at her table but the other guy beat her out by a couple hundred.
Sin and Carl were there to cheer us on. That was nice of them.

I had a chance to talk to one of the pit-bosses that now works for the EC whom I knew when he was a boss at the Plaza. He told me that it was now documented that the El Cortez has the loosest slots in the stat of Nevada. He also told me that starting this weekend the EC would have the first “Deal or No Deal†slots in the country. I don’t play slots very often but I will give these a try.

Sunday:

Had breakfast at Roberta’s with Sin and Carl before leaving for the Wynn. Again, the food was just fine. Score - $600 for the EC.

Check in at Wynn is kind of a mess. You don’t know where to get in line and it is confusing even though I have stayed there before. The girl that checked us in was very, very nice. I asked her for something with a view and she gave us an end room on the 24th floor which had floor to ceiling windows on two walls.
Sin and Carl came down to check out our room and take a tour of the property. We did manage to check out all three pools and the view was great. The cabanas there are excellent.

Checked in at the club booth to activate my $150 free play voucher, which by the way was good enough to keep me in action for our stay. I asked about a comp for the buffet and she looked me up and said, sure. Kind of funny because last trip I had asked for one and they said no because I had not earned my points on my first visit to their casino.

Went to the buffet around four and it was good but I don’t think we are buffet type people because if I had paid for it I would have been slightly disappointed. I’m happy with McDonalds when I’m in Vegas and drinking and gambling.

Now for gambling at the Wynn. Started off playing quarter video poker and before I knew it I had run the $150 voucher up over $350. No big hits, just kept winning. The drinks were coming too slow at the machine so I sat at the bar by the sports and race book, put my voucher in the machine and ordered a beer. Didn’t notice that it was a dollar VP machine but played anyway. The bartender had to call over some guy in a suit to comp my beer even though I was playing $5 per hand. He made me fill out a comp slip for my drink, not just sign the receipt, but fill out a slip.

Now it was time for the tables. Wife and I found a $10 table with a bunch of fun people playing on it and we had a blast. It was one of those continuous shuffle type machines and the whole table just kicked ass. Played there for a couple of hours then went to the $15 craps table. We played the pass line and took odds behind. No come bets because of the bankroll. Anyway, the table was great. They made the table $50 minimum, but let us continue to play $15. One guy at the other end of the table colored up for $20,000 and left. After that the table was cool, not winning, not losing.

Ended the trip up between $400 and $500 after all costs because of the good luck at the Wynn.

Monday:

Got out of bed and drove home with no more bets.

This is a picture of Sin, Carl and my wife, Jennifer

 

I think I tried this game at Wynn. It ate me alive!

That show just seems made for a slot machine doesn't it? I'm willing to bet it's really fun.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this!

Sounds like you had a good time Don! Start revving that engine up for a Not-Soberfest get together my man

 

I think I can tell you what Sin & Jennifer are talking about. Those faces look like this conversation:

What do you want to do now?
I don't know what do you want to do?
I don't know what do you want to do?
I don't know... I asked you first!

 

Nice to see Wynn is giving away money instead of being extra tight to try to meet "The Street's" expectations. I hope they keep it up next month!

I am staying there in 26 days. How does the $150 freeplay work? I had a free play at NYNY once and you had to use it on specific machines and had to run the amount through of your own money before it would release the credits. With a $150 coming, I don't want to pump that much in before the credits are released, which I also have to play through.

Thanks in advance!


T-minus 26 days!!!!!!

 

Don,
What I appreciate about your posts is that you don't try to impress us with where you stayed, what you ate and what shows you saw.
You're a down-to-earth, everyman type of guy that comfortable with Don being Don.
El Co-Wynn? What's the difference. You can have as much fun at either place.

 

After you check in, go to the Players booth to activate your card. They will explain to you on how to use it at the machines. You can use the money on any of their machines. I played on the best VP machines that I could find. Best of luck to you!

Thanks chef, I go to Vegas to gamble and drink with friends. If I want a nice restaurant, I can go anywhere around where I live. BTW, I only drink in Vegas. Maybe that's why I go so much.

 

Hell yeah!

 

Why are you taking a picture of Carl taking a picture of TI?

 

Nice report and pictures! That view south must have been awesome.

 

Damn Dude..

Your message said 'next weekend', which I understood as this weekend....

Sorry I missed ya.

Mikey

 

Way to go Don!! Take Steve's money & run - outstanding. Good to hear about Elco improvements - sad to hear about Plaza.

 

Glad to hear you all had a good time. Like Scott said, you better get your ass to Vegas for Not-Soberfest.

Marty

 

The Smooth Operator

I always like reading a TR where someone goes to Vegas and can live off the land.

Tim said the Plaza was charging $10 for parking, which was running off more customers. I feel sorry for Tim but it seems like he just rolls with the punches.

To bad we couldn't hook up, maybe next time. We can talk about airplanes or something.

 

I just had to throw a comment in about the Deal or No Deal Slots. I have actually played them, at a very very small casino (majestic Pines) in northern Wisconsin. I played the machines before the game show even aired on TV in the US. They have had them for at least 2 years. Weird, but they are tons of fun, by far my favorite. These are pennies, too 21 lines. There are two different bonuses, and the "deal" bonus or whatever it is called is awesome, and can net you as much as $200 betting max. There are two machines like it at this casino, one is 5 lines for max bet, the other is more, maybe 10 I think. Definately play if you get the chance! (Now I am fiending, lol)

 

I believe that was just for a couple of days. They had some big deal going on is what Tim told me. We'll hook up one of these days.

 

Is very surrealist. The more I look at it, it's a cool picture. There's a lot going on, and you get a clear picture of what the 2nd photog sees.

Glad you came out ahead Don.