We got to the airport in great time. Checked in and all was well. Flight took off approx. 40 min. late and we slept almost the entire way there. We had a wheelchair waiting for my daughter to take us to baggage. The Rio limo driver was waiting but it took over an hour to get our bags!! Not the way to start our trip. My daughter was starving, thirsty etc. The others in our party ( who came in on another flight) were supposed to land after us, they arrived before us, got their limo and were at the Rio over an hour prior to us..... We checked in and received the coveted Masquerade suite. Room 28001 and 28002. We could not however check in until after 4:00 pm. My daughters scooter was there waiting for her at the Diamond check in. After a little schooling she managed to handle it quite well. We all went to San Paolo (sp?) for some eats. The place was freaking crammed with people ( the WSOP had generated quite a lot of foot traffic) Our waitress was about 900 years old and not very attentive ( who could be???) Even with our 7 Stars card on the table it took over an hour to get our food and they still forgot my husbands order......hmmmm. The waitress tells us we should complain to the manager and she points him out to me. I very nicely tell him that if it is going to take this long to be served that they should hold the door. Well he comped the whole meal and we were off to get our room keys. I hit for $ 300.00 on the way ( my ONLY hit of the entire trip). The room: What can I say about the Masquerade suite?? It is awesome. Living room with very comfy couch, 2 sitting chairs and lounge chair and ottoman. A DR with round table and 6 chairs, wet bar and credenza. The master suite is large with a sofa, writing desk/chair etc and the Bathroom is HUGE. We loved the jacuzzi tub with a view to die for. The floor to ceiling windows were nice ( although very dirty) but we could not keep the curtains open during the day as it would increase the temp in the room 15 degree's in a matter of minutes. At night tho the view was breathtaking. We went downstairs and watched the parade/show, a good show and different from the last time we were there. We checked out the hotel/casino with everyone and then the kids and some of the party went up to the room to sleep. Hubby and I went to gamble some. As I said earlier I will not hit anything of significance the entire trip. Hubby has some luck and we get back to the room about 2 am. More to come later. Hopefully I won't do 5 entries !!
A note to say my TR would be way to long so here is a condensed version: Sunday we all ( 12) went to the Carnival world buffet. We all enjoyed breakfast as the selection was good. My grandson (8yr old) went to the buffet by himself and returned with a plate of sausage links ( approx 12) we all got a good laugh at that and proceeded to split them up for the table as no 8 year old should EVER eat 12 sausage links in one sitting. All moms will know what I mean here LOL My daughter had a scooter waiting for her when we arrived Saturday and she took to it quite well. The only hardship she had was the people who did not look where they were going and cut in front of her or stopped short. She finally figured out the horn was her friend. The entire group went to Harrah's via the shuttle which we had to wait for ( approx 15 min) When a scooter or wheelchair is is line at the Rio ( or Harrahs) this person gets first boarding. They have a rule that once boarding starts they cannot board the wheelchair/scooter. So every time we got to the line we had priority service as long as there were no other scooters/wheelchairs there first. We went to the Venetian roamed around and enjoyed the sights. I cannot stand the smell in there though. I would never be able to stay at the Venetian. Our group splits up and my daughter, step daughter,grandson and I went to the Secret Gardens and dolphin habitat at the Mirage. A $ 15.00 entrance fee per person but well worth it. A very nice walk and the Kitties were sooooo cute. The day was cut short for us as my daughter was not feeling well and we had to get back to the hotel. We rested up and she and I went to the We Will Rock You at the Paris. We took the tram and the show was terrific, got some souvenirs and back to the hotel for sleep. Making a long story shorter we ended up doing the following the rest of the week: Gold Coast: bowling, buffet (breakfast 1 time) American Bar and Grill for lunch: Good ribs, great oysters rockefeller, Pellegrino bottled water(my favorite) YUM Ron Lucas: Rio - Very good show ( got seated first and had front row center) Seafood Buffet at Rio: pretty good but only with the $ 10.00 off coupon per person. Smallest lobster tails I've ever seen in my life. Fountains at Bellagio ( evening) very good as usual and heard Viva Las Vegas. Was very very hot even at night so we had to go back earlier than hoped. The heat was too much for my daughter so all our activities had to be planned around this. Lunch buffet at Carnival world: again a great deal and large variety. Fremont street: Everyone enjoyed this and they all would have liked to stayed downtown instead of off strip at Rio (even with our great room) Ate at Tony Roma's ( $ 10.95 steak and lobster dinner) had airbrush tatoo's done ( kids) fun fun fun. One note here: Trying to get a handicapped taxi in Vegas is ridiculous. We went to the concierge 3 hours ahead of when we wanted to leave and requested a handicap taxi for 7 pm. At 7:15 no taxi, I had the # so I called them direct. Was told it would be another 15 minuted. At 7:30 pm no taxi and I called again. Now he says it "Might" be another 30 minutes. I was freakin pissed off as HE**. I went back to concierge and told them to NEVER ever use this cab Co. again. Luckily the man who hailed the cabs at Rio got in touch with another cab and we were finally off to Fremont over an hour later than expected. You would think in Las Vegas that a handicap cab would be no big deal but it is!! We got our cab drivers cell # and called him back when we were done, he was there in 15 minutes !! Hubby and I walked over to the Palms. Like this place alot. Signed up for players cards and when we were done ( about 2 hours) we had enough points for the Green Palms camp shirts ( one each) and a bump in the players card status. Yippppeeeeee. Tilted Kilt: at the Rio - Drunken clams are great, fun darts to play and pool, shrimp platter and fish platters plentiful and good. Hubby really really liked their uniforms there. Rented a cabana at the Rio: $ 300.00 all day. Has chaise lounge chairs, table and 4 chairs, TV, phone, fan, fridge with bottled water, bottle service ( 1 bottle of liquor and 3 mixers) pool floats. Hours are 9-7pm and was great. The 300.00 includes a $ 50.00 tip in the price. Mac King: at Harrah's good show but terrible handicap service. Had to request different seating 3 times. Parade in the sky at Rio: Great fun for the kids and terrific photo oppertunities. All in all it was a terrific time. We will never go back in July as it was too hot. We did a lot of different things that we never would have done if the kids weren't with us and we still had a blast. We did not go out partying, did not drink to excess, did not venture to my favorite dining places ( Voodoo and the Range) did not win any big $$ but had the time of our lives with our family. A few other notes: We still have never met our casino host but did talk to her on the phone. She sent us a HUGE gift basket with drinks, chocolates, fruits, biscotti, cheese and crackers. YUM. Very nice!! My daughter loved the oxygen bar at Rio. She thought it was soooooo cool. Saw a bunch of WSOP "stars" but no autographs or pictures. I LOVE the Paris. If I ever get a chance I would like to stay there. Hopefully next year it will be on our list of Harrah's properties we can comp out at. The place is gorgeous and much classier than the Rio. Hmmmmm I think I could gain 20 lbs there. Our tier score was met for the year and have enough to retain our status until the end of 2006. Our limo was on time for departure but our flight was delayed over an hour, bummer. We did however sleep the entire flight home. Sorry it wasn't exciting. But Glad to be home again.
Just wanted to say that I hate I didn't get to meet up with Mikey or the Killer this trip. So much was going on and with all the kids and family it was hard to make plans. We kinda had to wing it alot. I would hope that in the future we could meet and have a cocktail or two. Again, I am sorry.
Glad to hear you had a good time with the kids. Getting the meal comped and the $300 hit was a great start. Too bad it ended there. Your grandson sounds like he will grow up to be a real buffet trooper.
LOL ! Buffet Trooper Once he discovered the desserts it happened all over again. Yes we had a great time but still trying to recoup from our sleep loss.
