cspada
Tourist
Trip Report - Vegas 2004
Sunday, 4/4
Left Newark on Continental flight at 7:35 a.m. Uneventful flight....let’s just get there already!!!!! Arrived around 10:15 Vegas time and caught Bell Trans shuttle to The Mirage. Went to the check-in counter with $50.00 “tip†in hand, ready to try for the upgrade. Got a nice young girl at check-in and the “tip†worked like a charm - comp upgrade to a Tower Deluxe Room with whirlpool bath!
We made out nicely because our Host, Bobby, had already given us a casino rate of $89/night...so we only paid that instead of the $179 normal rate for Tower room. After check-in, we went upstairs and unpacked. Nice large bathroom with double sink, separate shower and whirlpool bath!
Went downstairs and ate early lunch (not early for us, we’re on Eastern time!) At California Pizza Kitchen. Nice meal, as always. Husband went to check out poker room and tournaments, I went to the Blackjack table. Played about $25 avg. bet per hand...came out about $100 up after an hour or so and decided go to play $1 VP. Went to the Baccarat Bar and decided to see if the infamous “Rick†the bartender was there. Jackpot! He was working. I sat down and immediately got a very nice martini, while I started to lose my money at the $1 VP. Rick’s a nice guy, as others have stated in their reports...he’s very knowledgeable and fun! At this point, an hour or two later, the guy next to me hit a Royal and won $6,000! I was pissed, as I almost sat in that seat! Oh well....went to check on husband - he was playing in a Hold’em satellite for the evening’s tournament. Not much more of interest to report for Sunday!
Monday, 4/5
Went downstairs around 6:00 a.m. (9:00 in our timeset) and got breakfast at the Caribe Café. Nice food - I had eggs benedict and the husband had an omelet. Very good food, and as always, “charged to the roomâ€! Then I got in line for the pool around 7:15. It opened at 8:00 and there’s always a mad rush for the “prime real estate†by the pool. Got a good seat. Ran upstairs, changed, and came back down for about 4 hrs. My husband went off to Binion’s to try and qualify for the WSOP by playing in the double shootout tournaments. He got knocked out right away, as he had pocket kings, other guy had pocket aces, and there was a King on the flop so he went all-in. The other guy got the ace on the river...tough break....While this was going on, I had some nice frozen drinks by the pool and got some good sun. Weather was about 75 degrees and sunny! Husband came back and met me at pool. We then had lunch at the outdoor restaurant by pool - nice food - burgers and sandwiches...also got attacked by the birds who wanted my lunch! Haha....
Went upstairs and showered and changed. Next stop was Margaritaville at The Flamingo. Nice place, but a bit overrated and crowded....walked through Harrah’s Carnival Court and had a drink...nothing too exciting. Went to Caesar’s Forum Shops and got some gifts for the family and ate a late lunch/dinner at an Italian outdoor restaurant/café by the fountains - very very good fancy martini’s and food...expensive, though...
Tuesday, 4/6
Nothing too exciting here...same morning breakfast/pool as above. Walked around Venetian and TI after the pool....nice...gambled a bit...no winnings. Ate dinner at Onda (Italian) at Mirage - EXCELLENT food but expensive! Gambled at Mirage that night, caught nice live band in the Ava lounge. We both lost our daily gambling $$$, so went up to bed....
Wednesday, 4/7
Our last night....same pool routine...getting a little “crisp†by now and slathering on the aloe cream! My feet are killing me at this point, so I bought a lot of bandaids...silly me, I forgot to pack the sneakers! We went to the Bellagio Buffet at 4:30 for dinner, before the line got long. Very nice - good food...(back to the diet now, after that! Haha)..My husband went to play in a satellite for the World Poker Tour. We saw all those guys on the WPT (Travel Channel) playing in the same tournaments! We shook hands with Scotty Nguyn (very nice guy), I met Eric Seidel & spoke to him. We also saw: Devilfish (he leered at me!!!), Unibomber (Phil Lakke), Sammy Farhi (2nd place at WSOP last year), Mel Judah, Phil Ivy, Howard Lederer, Johnny Juanda, and many more. Geez, talk about a “who’s who†in poker! You should’ve seen the crowd gathered around the ropes watching these guys play! They were playing in a special area roped off outside poker room! My husband was eventually knocked out....while that was happening I blew $250 at the $25 BJ tables...not my night. We both walked home to Mirage, watched the fountains, etc. We decided to put one last $100 into a $5 slot machine and bingo - we hit for $850! I hit “cash out†right away and we took the $$ and ran! Went upstairs, pack, sleep.
Thursday, 4/8 - Went to breakfast across street at McDonalds, walked around Casino Royale (dumpy!), then headed back to hotel to see my host, Bobby. We got some $$ deducted from our room bill and then checked out & took cab to airport.
Summary:
-Did go to Margaritaville - wasn’t too impressed
-Missed Big Elvis - maybe next time
-Mirage was nice, but we may try Bellagio or Venetian next time for variety
-Good Italian food at Onda
-A lot of hookers by the Baccarat bar - both late and very early in morning!
-No midget sightings - sorry Mikey!
-Bellagio buffet was great - too much food
-Bring more money next time!
-Always remember, the “hair of the dog†is a GOOD thingthe next morning! Haha
Hope you all enjoyed my “novelâ€!
Sunday, 4/4
Left Newark on Continental flight at 7:35 a.m. Uneventful flight....let’s just get there already!!!!! Arrived around 10:15 Vegas time and caught Bell Trans shuttle to The Mirage. Went to the check-in counter with $50.00 “tip†in hand, ready to try for the upgrade. Got a nice young girl at check-in and the “tip†worked like a charm - comp upgrade to a Tower Deluxe Room with whirlpool bath!
Went downstairs and ate early lunch (not early for us, we’re on Eastern time!) At California Pizza Kitchen. Nice meal, as always. Husband went to check out poker room and tournaments, I went to the Blackjack table. Played about $25 avg. bet per hand...came out about $100 up after an hour or so and decided go to play $1 VP. Went to the Baccarat Bar and decided to see if the infamous “Rick†the bartender was there. Jackpot! He was working. I sat down and immediately got a very nice martini, while I started to lose my money at the $1 VP. Rick’s a nice guy, as others have stated in their reports...he’s very knowledgeable and fun! At this point, an hour or two later, the guy next to me hit a Royal and won $6,000! I was pissed, as I almost sat in that seat! Oh well....went to check on husband - he was playing in a Hold’em satellite for the evening’s tournament. Not much more of interest to report for Sunday!
Monday, 4/5
Went downstairs around 6:00 a.m. (9:00 in our timeset) and got breakfast at the Caribe Café. Nice food - I had eggs benedict and the husband had an omelet. Very good food, and as always, “charged to the roomâ€! Then I got in line for the pool around 7:15. It opened at 8:00 and there’s always a mad rush for the “prime real estate†by the pool. Got a good seat. Ran upstairs, changed, and came back down for about 4 hrs. My husband went off to Binion’s to try and qualify for the WSOP by playing in the double shootout tournaments. He got knocked out right away, as he had pocket kings, other guy had pocket aces, and there was a King on the flop so he went all-in. The other guy got the ace on the river...tough break....While this was going on, I had some nice frozen drinks by the pool and got some good sun. Weather was about 75 degrees and sunny! Husband came back and met me at pool. We then had lunch at the outdoor restaurant by pool - nice food - burgers and sandwiches...also got attacked by the birds who wanted my lunch! Haha....
Went upstairs and showered and changed. Next stop was Margaritaville at The Flamingo. Nice place, but a bit overrated and crowded....walked through Harrah’s Carnival Court and had a drink...nothing too exciting. Went to Caesar’s Forum Shops and got some gifts for the family and ate a late lunch/dinner at an Italian outdoor restaurant/café by the fountains - very very good fancy martini’s and food...expensive, though...
Tuesday, 4/6
Nothing too exciting here...same morning breakfast/pool as above. Walked around Venetian and TI after the pool....nice...gambled a bit...no winnings. Ate dinner at Onda (Italian) at Mirage - EXCELLENT food but expensive! Gambled at Mirage that night, caught nice live band in the Ava lounge. We both lost our daily gambling $$$, so went up to bed....
Wednesday, 4/7
Our last night....same pool routine...getting a little “crisp†by now and slathering on the aloe cream! My feet are killing me at this point, so I bought a lot of bandaids...silly me, I forgot to pack the sneakers! We went to the Bellagio Buffet at 4:30 for dinner, before the line got long. Very nice - good food...(back to the diet now, after that! Haha)..My husband went to play in a satellite for the World Poker Tour. We saw all those guys on the WPT (Travel Channel) playing in the same tournaments! We shook hands with Scotty Nguyn (very nice guy), I met Eric Seidel & spoke to him. We also saw: Devilfish (he leered at me!!!), Unibomber (Phil Lakke), Sammy Farhi (2nd place at WSOP last year), Mel Judah, Phil Ivy, Howard Lederer, Johnny Juanda, and many more. Geez, talk about a “who’s who†in poker! You should’ve seen the crowd gathered around the ropes watching these guys play! They were playing in a special area roped off outside poker room! My husband was eventually knocked out....while that was happening I blew $250 at the $25 BJ tables...not my night. We both walked home to Mirage, watched the fountains, etc. We decided to put one last $100 into a $5 slot machine and bingo - we hit for $850! I hit “cash out†right away and we took the $$ and ran! Went upstairs, pack, sleep.
Thursday, 4/8 - Went to breakfast across street at McDonalds, walked around Casino Royale (dumpy!), then headed back to hotel to see my host, Bobby. We got some $$ deducted from our room bill and then checked out & took cab to airport.
Summary:
-Did go to Margaritaville - wasn’t too impressed
-Missed Big Elvis - maybe next time
-Mirage was nice, but we may try Bellagio or Venetian next time for variety
-Good Italian food at Onda
-A lot of hookers by the Baccarat bar - both late and very early in morning!
-No midget sightings - sorry Mikey!-Bellagio buffet was great - too much food
-Bring more money next time!
-Always remember, the “hair of the dog†is a GOOD thingthe next morning! Haha
Hope you all enjoyed my “novelâ€!
