Holiday Trip Report 12/25 - 1/1

This was my longest Vegas trip ever. It is still a blur. I will try to keep it to a minimum.
DEC. 25th
Flew out of Flint, Mi Christmas Day on Air Tran. Flight went as scheduled (for once). Arrived in Vegas about 8p.m. Got a cab to Flamingo. This was our first time staying there. Tried the $20 trick and was told that they no longer give out complimentary upgrades, but for $10 a night extra I could get a Go room with a strip view. We decided to take it since we booked so cheap ($65 a night) to begin with. The room was nice for the price. Flat screen, great view, but it was pink and brown. Not my favorite, (SORRY, it conjures up bad memories of Pepto Bismol). We were on the 20th floor and the noise at night was unbelievable. I think it was because of the window wall. Went down to the Italian Restaurant (Ventuno ?) and had pasta. With the time change we decided to go to bed early.

DEC. 26th
Ate breakfast at Paris buffet. My hunny has discovered crepes. Needless to say we had to eat there every morning. We had coupons and never had to wait for more than 10 minutes in line. Highly recommend. Wandered most of the day. Took pics of conservatory at Bellagio. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!! Had dinner at Nero's before we saw Jerry Seinfeld. Nero's had good food but wasn't crazy about the layout of the restaurant. Really enjoyed Seinfeld. Had Orch 2 seats. Went back to Flamingo and gambled til about 2a.m. Lost our A$$&$.

DEC. 27th
Wandered the other end of the strip after breakfast (needed the walk ugh). Had lunch at Kahunaville (Restaurant.com). Food was o.k, but drinks were better. Probably won't eat there again. Went to see Louis Anderson at Excalibur. Good show. Took the Tram down to Imperial Palace and walked to Mirage. Had Roasted Garlic Chicken Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. YUM YUM. Thank God we both ate it. Gambled some at Mirage. Broke even at Blackjack, lost at Video Poker. Went back to Flamingo and lost some more. You should be seeing a pattern by now. Too bad we didn't.

DEC. 28th
We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon after breakfast. Ended up booking through Las Vegas Helicopter. The limo picked us up at 9a.m. Also picked up 2 other couples at their hotels. Headed out to an airstrip in Boulder City. Decided on a landing tour. Everyone at LVH was very nice and accomodating. The winds were high today (40-50 mph) but the pilot assured us it would be o.k. He was right. What a wonderful tour. I took about 100 pictures and as beautiful as they are, none of them do it justice. After we returned the limo took us back to our hotels. In all we were gone about 4 hours. I would highly recommend this company. Did some gambling when we got back. Same $&!^ different day. We dicided to go to the Rio for dinner at the Seafood buffet. I like the way they seat you now. You get a number, and you watch a number board for your ticket. When your number is called you precede to the entry. This allows you go wander and gamble and have fun while you are waiting instead of having to take turns holding your place in line. The crab legs and shrimp and oysters were good, but the lobster tail was disappoint. Very tough and rubbery. Still a good deal for seafood lovers. Hung around Rio and played Let It Ride and Roulette for a while. Met a great dealer named Betty. What a wonderful person. Very personable. She made loosing a LITTLE less painful. I made about $300 at the Roulette table and considered that a huge accomplishment. Took the shuttle back to Bally's and walked to the Flamingo.

DEC 29th
Went to the Outlet Mall after breakfast and bought myself some Christmas/Birthday presents. Got a cute bag at the Dolce & Gabbana store, a new pair of Oakleys for motorcycle riding and a new suit at Ann Taylor. When we got done shopping we went over to Wynn to check out the grandeur mentioned by other T2Vers. Upon our arrival we found a picket line formed by IUGE (Internation Union of Gaming Employees is what I was told). Growing up and working in the UAW I was intrigued. I had a very nice talk with the foreman. It seems that at Wynn, the dealers tips are taken and given to management. This is not right. If you are a patron at Wynn please tell them that this practice should stop. If you must gamble there, please don't tip the dealers until this is resolved. They understand. I also had a talk with the President of our UAW local this morning when I got to work. He is going to check into giving them some help. We never did get in to see Wynn, but I felt it was no loss after my experience outside. We went to Venetian and went to Madame Taussauds (sp) wax museum (2/1 coupon) it was great fun. They are so lifelike it was kind of creepy. We went back to Flamingo and changed for dinner at Delmonicos. Finally, after all the reports, I got to experience it. The food was incredible. We both had the Ribeye and split some veggies and twice baked potatoes. I had died and gone to heaven. It was definately worth the wait. Went back to Flamingo and continued to donate to their development plan.

DEC.30th
Checked out of the Flamingo and moved downtown to the 4 Queens. Got a good deal on the room and tickets for the New Years Eve party from a guy we know that couldn't make it. Played at all the casinos and actually won a little money. It was great fun. I have never spent much time downtown and never stayed there. I would probably do it again. The room was worn but clean and the staff was very nice. We went to Mermaids for deep fried twinkies and oreos. It was a true experience. Later in the afternoon we went over to Hard Rock Cafe to burn up some coupons. We were told that they were no longer accepting the ACG or POV coupons since the new owners took over. They have also discontinued their shuttle. They gave us a coupon for the Pink Taco so we ate and did a little gambling then headed back to the strip. After watching a couple fountain shows we headed inside to eat at the Bellagio buffet. It was really good and had a nice variety without tasting mass produced. Took the Deuce back downtown and watched the show on the canopy and collected beads then headed off to bed.

DEC 31st
We had breakfast at the Plaza. It was good and cheap. Went back to the room and layed around for a while and took a nap. Went to the Vegas Club and played BJ. Won a little and then went to Golden Nugget to play video poker at the bar. There were millions of people everywhere. I am not a huge fan of mobs so I was a little uncomfortable. We ended up eating dinner at the buffet in the Fremont Casino and then headed out to listen to the bands. There were 4 or 5 of them. I remember Chicago, Rockstar:Supernova, and Smash Mouth. It was a great time. Lots of drinking, lots of dancing, lots of flashing and lots of arrests. It was a pickpockets dream. We stayed out until about 12:30 and then headed for our room. I am so glad we decided to stay downtown.

JAN 1st
Got up early, had to be at the airport at 8a.m. Fights were once again uneventful. The airport was packed and hard to get around in. Glad to get home and crash. I hate travel days.

The weather was great all week. Mid 50's low 60's during the day and mid 40's to 50 at night. This was a very fun trip, even if I did lose a few thousand. We had very little planned and kind of made it up as we went. It made my hunny a little nervous in the beginning because he likes things ironed out and settled ahead of time. He agreed at the end that it was the most fun he'd had because there was no stress to fulfill certain things at certain times. Yes, there were things that we didn't get to do or see but that just leaves an opening for another trip. I'm glad I was vague. Can you imagine the length of this report if I gave more details. WOW Thanks for hanging in til the end. By the way, I have extra Hamada of Japan and Kahunaville Restaurant.com certificates that will expire before I get back to Vegas. I believe they expire in March, if you can use them let me know through my aol address and I will mail them to you. Happy New Year to all.

 

Vanassa, it sounds like you had a wonderful time. Enjoyed your TR.

David

 

Hmmm.... well... good to know the $20T doesn't work at the Flamingo anymore..... that'll save us $20 the next trip....

 

Somebody from H.E.T. must be reading these posts.

 

Sounds like a great trip. I would love to see the strip on new years (although I hate the large crowds too!) but will leave my wallet at home!

Ta for the TR

(also would love to see the conservatory pics if you can post them!)

 

Great TR. My wife and I would love to be in Vegas for New Year's but we just can't bring ourselves to pay the prices. Don't skimp on the details, I've become a TR junkie and I need all the details.

 

Thanks for the TR. I would love to see the helicopter pics if you could post some.

 

You're right--we were around each other quite a bit. Perhaps next time we can coordinate better. Thanks for the report!