First trip report

Background
This was the 6th trip in the past 3-4 years for my new wife and I (most recently Nov. 2007). We were married on May 25th and wanted to get away for the next week and not spend a whole lot doing so. About a month before the wedding, we were sent some airline deals and Vegas seemed to be the only place the flights worked out so we decided to go and relax.

We are not high rollers by any stretch of the imagination. We usually take a modest bankroll and come back with 30-50% of it untouched. We try to use Restaurant.com coupons when available. We will play slots but we enjoy low-limit Pai Gow Poker and BJ tables (low limit being $5 and under).

Getting there
The flight (Southwest out of Pittsburgh) was uneventful. We had drink vouchers but the flight attendant gave us our drinks on the house. Our plane landed at 8:20pm, we were off the plane fast, our luggage was the first to come off the belt, no taxi line, quick taxi ride, no check-in line, and presto -- we were in our hotel room by 9pm. None of that ever happens to us, let all of of that at once.

Monday, May 26th
We were still on eastern standard time so getting there at 9pm (PST) was weighing on us. We played a few quick slots before going to the Cafe de St. Louis at Paris. We each had the chicken salad croissant with fries and it was very good. We walked around a bit in Paris before heading back to Ballys, playing some slots and then going back to the room after a long day.

Tuesday, May 27th
I got up at 5:55am and could not sleep due to the time change so I went down to play a few slots and grab a coffee and light breakfast for my wife and me. I did the usual morning walk down the strip to Bills, Flamingo, IP, and Casino Royale before heading back as my wife called to let me know she woke up. I played a few slots on the walk down but didnt hit anything.

After getting my wife, we walked down to Bill's. She had been wanting to play the Wizard of Oz slot which they had. She hit the bonus fairly quickly but sputtered out and lost her $5 she put in. I sat down at a $5 single deck BJ table which I have never down before. The nuasances of single deck BJ wasnt something I was aware of so it took some learning. I did alright, broke even or down a little bit.

After walking down the strip a little bit, we decided to go swimming at the pool. We liked the Bally's pool, especially the smaller round one where we could just sit and enjoy each other's company. For lunch we went to Tacone Flavor Grill & Daquiri Bar because we had a restaurant.com coupon. The food was pretty good. I'd recommend it for a quick cheap lunch (esp. with one of those coupons). This was the first we had been into Planet Hollywood after the changeover from the Aladdin (didnt get a chance in Nov 2007 to go in). I liked it the changes. The shops were about the same and the casino was nice.

In the afternoon, we decided to work our way down the strip. We got slots cards at the Venetian/Palazzo where I got $25 in slot play ($10 for ACG coupon + $15 for giving my email and cell #) and my wife got $15 in slot play. We used that to make some cash. Then we went to the Wynn to also get a player's card and work the system for the free buffets we heard so much about on the Vegas message boards. They replaced the "everyone gets $10 slot play" promotion with spinning a wheel promotion. Most people, including myself got the $10 slot play on there anyway. My wife won free show tickets (Spamalot) which we didnt end up going to the next day. We used the free slot play at the video roulette machine and turned it into the 50+ points we needed.

After the Wynn, we decided to take a Taxi to downtown to check it out. We played some slots and some pai gow at the ElCo before heading back to the hotel via the Deuce. We relaxed at the room for a bit before heading out onto the strip to walk and gamble. We ate late dinner at the Ocean One Bar and Grille. We each had the filet mignon, which was great and of course, we used a restaurant.com coupon for that.

We headed back to the home base of Ballys to gamble a little before heading back to the room.

Wednesday, May 28th
Still not used to the time change, we woke up early but this time changed it up a bit and took the morning Deuce to Slots-a-fun for some early $1 BJ. You certainly meet some characters at 8am at a $1 BJ table. Some nice and some drunkenly annoying. Our dealers did complain a few times that Circus Circus has really put their stamp onto Slots-a-fun and not for the better. Gone is the free donuts and coffee cart that went around the place. They went onto mention other things such as deliveries going to C-C and not directly to Slots, etc.

We bought an all day pass and took the Deuce back down to Ballys to relax a bit and then took the shuttle at Bill's to the Gold Coast. On our first few trips there, I enjoyed it for being quieter and laid back and of course, $5 Pai Gow Poker. Well, things have changed in the last few trips this year. No $5 Pai Gow can be found. There were some $5 BJ tables. My wife played some slots while I played a $10 Pai Gow table and a $5 BJ table. I got down fairly quickly between the 2 tables before working my way back up in the last 20 mins at the BJ table to about even. I just was not happy with the place and we walked over to the Rio. Our intent was to eat lunch at the Lucky Lanes (another restaurant.com coupon) but they didnt open til 2pm and we were getting hungry.

We decided to go with the Rio Carnival Buffett, which we have had several times and have enjoyed. My wife especially likes it due to the choices of food. After lunch, we took the Rio shuttle back to Paris/Ballys. We relaxed a bit, went to the pool, and then decided to give downtown another chance. We thought we'd take the deuce. We just missed one bus and waited what seemed like forever for another one to even come. We gave up and walked down to the IP to catch a taxi to Fremont. Of course, the taxi driver took the slow way but at least we got there.

We played some Pai Gow at Fitzgerald's, both of us losing pretty fast and often, before giving up there and heading to our favorite place--Binions. A few seats were open there and we each bought in for $60 at a $5 Pai Gow table. 5 hours later, we each lost our $60 but it was fun while it happened (and took awhile too!). We met an older couple from North Carolina who were very funny there. They were there before we got there and were there after we left. Losing $120 between the both of us isnt something that usually happens to us in one day but at least it took a combined 10 hours to happen.

We had planned on taking the Deuce back to the strip but at 10pm at night on a Wednesday, the line for it was almost a block long. We took a taxi, where the driver forgot to turn on the meter until we were 3/4 of the way there. He called the station to get an estimate ($19.30) which he charged us. We thought it was a bit high and the meter thing was his fault. We didnt tip him very well as a result.

It was getting pretty late and we decided just to order room service, relax, and enjoy the night.

Thursday, May 29th
For our last full day in Vegas, we did much of the same started the morning by taking the Deuce to Slots-a-fun for $1 BJ. It wasn't bad as usual. Cash in with a $20 and coulda played all day. Then, we decided to take the Deuce to downtown to play a little more Pai Gow. Of course the Deuce took forever to get to the stop, 3 minutes after our 24 hour pass run out. Once downtown, we killed sometime until 11am when the Binion Pit Boss said a Pai Gow table would open up. My wife won $60 at one of the slots there. We played at the Pai Gow table for almost 2 hours before deciding to eat lunch at their coffeeshop downstairs. Between Wed and Thur, we had earn enough comp dollars to pay for one of our lunches there. We gave the ElCo another try but still Pai Gow didnt treat us well there. We took the Deuce back (again buying a 24 hr pass) to Ballys. We walked around a bit at the Bellagio and the shops at the Miracle Mile before going back to rest and relax.

We worked our way down to the Wynn to cash in on the 50pts and 2 free buffets. We were lucky we did this promotion when we did because the person ahead of me signed up that day and the promotion had been changed to 150 pts for 2 free buffets. They still honored ours and we ate the dinner buffet there. It was nice. I'm still not sure what the hoopla about it is, other than the crab legs which people seemed to pile a foot high onto their plate. Everything else seemed okay...no better than the Paris or Rio buffet.

After dinner, we worked our way down the strip to each casino, gambling a little bit at a few slots before turning in as we were pretty exhausted that day.

Friday, May 30th
We woke up early (as usual) to get the room ready for our departure. We again took the Deuce down to Slots-a-fun for some final $1 BJ, while waiting for it, I hit a little bit on my favorite slot - Indiana Jones (I never see it anywhere but there). My wife and I played BJ for a while before deciding to head back to the room and check out. We checked out and left our bags with the them so we could kill some time before we had to go to the airport. We did lunch at Blondie's in the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile shops (our last restaurant.com coupon). It was okay, nothing great but not bad.

I played some $10 Pai Gow at PH while my wife played a ladder bonus slot machine. She doubled her money and I ended up a little bit at the table. Paris didnt have any $10 Pai Gow (it being a Friday) so we decided to try some $10 mini-Pai Gow at Ballys. This was our first foray into mini Pai Gow (you get 6 cards instead of 7). We liked it but it does create some odd hands. I still couldnt get past not having to pay a commission (I seemed to try after each win). I was up a little there and she was down a little. Then, we went down to Bill's for some single deck BJ. I lost whatever I had won at Ballys. We had another 45 mins to kill and we decided to give the $10 Pai Gow table a try there. Each of us bought in for $100. I was doing okay (up a little, down a little, back and forth) and then looked at my wife who doubled her money. We walked away from there with about $90 in winnings.

Getting back
The taxi from Ballys was fairly quick and the curb side check-in and security was no problem. Our flight back was okay, although it was fairly bumpy and the woman next to me was gripping the handrest for a good portion of the flight.

All in all a good trip but it went fast!

Things we missed but want to do when we come back -
1. Burger Bar - we have wanted to go the past few trips but havent gotten to MGM to go
2. 'Wich Craft - we are "Top Chef" fans and we do enjoy this sandwich place
3. Hard Rock Casino - I like the $7.77 off the menu special and the casino isnt too bad (during the day)
4. Palace Station - I really wanted to see this casino but we never got the chance
5. Play a little more single deck BJ - I enjoyed playing it for the first time

Not-so-good things -
1. I was really disappointed by the Gold Coast and probably wont go back there again
2. We took the Deuce more than we ever have but it seemed like the opposite side of the road always had more running. There were times we were waiting 30 mins for a single bus to come by...
3. Arriving at 9pm - coming from the East Coast, it basically eliminates that day in Vegas as it was midnight in our minds by the time we go to our room

 

sounds like you guys had a great trip! I will be there soon! Exciting times, indeed.

 

It sounds like you had a pretty good time over all. Did you play the single deck BJ at Bill's or downtown? I agree with you about the Deuce; there always seemed to be more of them going the opposite direction that I was going and the wait for the next bus seemed like forever.

 

Great report...........sounds like you enjoy many of the same things we do..........we tend to try to walk to everything.......wow are our feet sore at the end of every day...............may have to try the Deuce for our October trip.............Thanks again!!

 

Nice TR.

 

single deck BJ

I played some single deck BJ at Bill's (close to the Fat Elvis Stage) and at Binion's (they have a whole section with single deck 3/2 BJ).

 

I had no idea $1 BJ was at Slots o Fun. Maybe I'll try the game there (never played anywhere before). I agree people get confused with Slots o Fun and CC. I thought it was one in the same on my first trip there. I remember walking in there and asking where I go for the CC breakfast special. The lady didn't know what we were talking about and suggested I walk over there. At the time, I thought it was weird an employee couldn't tell us where the restaurants were but now I know it's a different casino!

 

Great TR!!!

 

Enjoyed the report! Thanks!