Mother-Daughter Invasion 1/13-1/17

Hi all,
This is my first TR for my 10th trip to LV. This was the first trip for my 26 yr old daughter, O.

We arrived Sunday about 3 PM and cabbed it to Bill's Gambling Hall and Casino. We had a female cab driver who was a hoot and very talkative.

Tried the $20 sandwich at Bill's - no luck. I even mentioned the fact that my daughter was an Army soldier who had served in the Sandbox and this was her first trip - still nothing. The clerk was nice but he didn't have a smoking room anywhere but on third floor, facing the Flamingo. We could see the Strip and it was probably quieter than a Flamingo Road-facing view.

We got to the room and it was pretty decent. I asked for a coffee pot and extra pillows - housekeeping was prompt. Throughout our stay, the entire staff of Bill's was great - they bent over backwards to help with everything.

After getting settled, we went downstairs and played slots at Bill's for a bit. About dark, we headed over to the Flamingo. O and I were playing pennies at max and did pretty good. Walked away with enough to head to Margaritaville and pay for great dinner, including a margarita apiece.

After a huge dinner and drink, I was all-in. O played downstairs at Bill's until 9, but I crashed and burned at 8 PM!

Of course, I was wide awake Monday morning at 1:30 AM. Drank a full pot of coffee, checked email (high speed access good, $12.99 for 24 hour access - wireless was bad) Headed to the $5 BJ table by 3 AM - no one there so played my $50 into $100 and got bored with new dealer - she wouldn't talk! Went over to Triple Diamond quarter slots with 5 line criss-cross. Won $200 on that and went upstairs to see if O was up and about.

When she was ready, we walked over to Paris for breakfast buffet. We must have hit at a bad day or time, because that was the worst breakfast buffet I've ever had! Food was cold, hostess put us in back room with a rickety table. I checked - all the tables rocked. Our wonderful waitress, Anita, said it was the floor and helped us wedge napkins under the rocking legs. $40 for two buffets - ick. If the food had been good, I wouldn't have minded.

After breakfast, we wandered around playing slots at Paris. O and I both like the video pennies with different bonus rounds, extra spins and "games". We probably lost around $20 each, but had fun. Headed back to Bill's and called about tickets to Chippendales. Booked those for Monday night, then decide to splurge and get tickets for Thunder from Down Under for Tuesday night. With reservations in hand, we decided to walk over to Cesaer's Palace and go through the Shoppes. Walked through there, then headed back to nap and get ready for our 8 PM show.

We rode the free shuttle to Gold Coast around 5 PM, then walked over to Rio. Went wrong way, but eventually wandered into the entrance to Rio. (After walking almost completely around the gated lot!)

We grabbed a sandwich at a coffee shop, then gambled at Rio (slots) and watched the parade. Went to the Chippendales showroom at 7:30, paid $10-13 for a drink, then got seated at a table very close to stage. (Note - Red Bull and Vodka only makes for a very energetic drunk!)

Chippendales was an excellent show - especially from a production standpoint. The singing and dancing was professional and the performers were pretty hot looking. O had never seen a show like this, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. I have to admit I did a bit of screaming myself - "booty" was one of the words I can repeat here. Only the glamorous girls in party dress were picked to come on stage. Found out later that most of the ones picked were also Rio employees. After the show, we were invited to buy an expensive calendar and have it autographed by the cast.

HA! Don't waste your time/money on this part. The cast were all too busy with their boyfriends to be bothered with paying customers. O was disappointed as one of the really hot guys (to her) was occupied. I explained to her that many of the Chippendales, as well as other all-male revues, had that orientation. Like everything else in Vegas, the fantasy is more fun than reality! And the show was worth seeing!

Sorry this is running so long. I need to break it off for now - will post a part 2 later!

 

Great trip report so far! Can't wait to read part two.

 

Part 2 - Tuesday and Wednesday

Grabbed a cab from Rio to Bill's after Chippendales. Both of us asleep by midnight-thirty. I managed to sleep until 5:30, showered, coffee-ed and headed to the $5 BJ. Got a BJ first hand, then lost 5 hands in a row, so I cashed out and put $20 in my favorite Triple Diamond quarter machine. Played down to $4, then hit a $250!
Cashed in and back to room - O was ready so I treated her to a Flamingo buffet about 8 AM. I slipped the hostess $2 and asked for a window seat so we could watch ducks, swans and flamingos. It was sooo cold outside - about 30 degrees and wind - reminded me of Oklahoma. The view was great and breakfast was fantastic. We ate until stuffed, then decided to bundle up and walk around the Flamingo garden/pool area so O could see. She wants to come back in August and stay at the Flamingo so she can do pool time. Darn - guess I'll have to come with her.

After our walk, we headed out to PH - walked the mall first and shopped quite a bit. Bought souvenirs for other daughter, SIL and grandson, plus O bought another small suitcase to take her shopping spree home. After a couple of hours of that, we gambled and lost about $20 each in PH casino - then, off to NYNY!

O's first stop was the roller coaster. No line, no wait - on and off in 10 minutes. She loved it! Not being a coaster person, I donated $10 to some penny slots. We stayed in NYNY about an hour, then on to Excaliber.

After losing, err, playing some in EC, took tram to Mandalay Bay. Wandered around gawking and taking pictures there, then joined player's club and got a bit of "free" play on slots. She won on Cleopatra, I hit pretty good on All That Glitters. We decided to play a bunch of different (all penny) slots, max line, minimum per line, just to see what bonuses were. Came out about even, but had a blast. Off to Luxor to check out the pyramid!

Again - we wandered and took pictures as I described to O how cool the Luxor was when it first opened. Showed her where old river ride was, plus told her about no ceiling in casino area so one could look up and see pyramid. She agreed that it sounded like it was better "in olden days"!

We went back to EC to pick up Thunder from Down Under tickets, then decided to go eat in NYNY before show. She ate a burger on Broadway and I got Fulton's fish and chips - yummy! Back to Excaliber and played some before heading to 9 PM show.

The Thunder show was completely different from Chippendales. The production was less slick, more earthy and these guys were hot, hot, hot and very masculine. The emcee, Brian, was a hoot! He told this one group of girls celebrating a 21st BD to "STFU" as they were giving off ear-piercing squeals and shrieks. The ladies selected from the audience for various numbers were from all over, not just front row, and from all ages. We were at front table and I put O on the outside so she could "participate". Touching was allowed and encouraged! That's probably all I better say about that! The guys did meet and autograph after the show. My "gaydar" indicated few readings. (Please understand - I have 2 gay step-sons and two very close friends who are gay men. But it fascinates me that girls go to these shows and think they have a chance to "hook up" with a performer. It's an act!)

We grabbed the Deuce back to Flamingo, played a bit, then up to bed by midnight or so. Ambien, plus rum and coke, helped me sleep until 6 AM!

Wednesday - last full day in Vegas and so much to do! O wanted to see Circus Circus, so we caught Deuce and got off by Riveria. Went through SlotsNSluts, played about 5 minutes on Monopoly and I won $25. Off to Circus from Hell, where (gasp) CLOWNS were performing. (I hate clowns - they creep me out!)

Stayed and played a while on pennies, continuing our quest to see every bonus on every video slot machine. Played max lines and penny a line to maximize our resources. We had fun and giggled like school kids over Lucky Lemmings and the bonus rounds!

Decided to go across to Food Court at Riveria and ate at La Salsa something. Huge soft tacos - really good. Found some new games and O won $50 on some game called Retirement or something like that. I played Money Storm and won about $10. It was fun watching cows and pigs spin in the wind.

It was still bitterly cold, so we caught the bus back south to TI. It was about 3 PM, and we stayed and walked, took pictures and played until the sexy pirate show. We decided to forgo viewing, as the wind was so cold and just not worth freezing over, so off to the Mirage.

We stayed at Mirage until about 8, with the usual routine - walk around, take pictures, then play. We got some Starbucks coffee and pastry, played some more, then back for a bit of gambling at Flamingo (more wins than losses) and in room by 10 to pack and crash. I was proud of myself - I'm twice her age and 20 pounds heavier, but I kept up with buff and fit O the whole day! (I was so tired, even my hair hurt!)

Got up Thursday morning, ate at Victorian Room, and played my favorite machine. Hit $100 after $5 put in - I love that machine! The guy at bar behind machine commented that I was only one he saw in 3 days that hit anything on that particular machine - funny, huh? O played Lemmings, Jade Monkey and WOF - came out about even after an hour of play.

We headed for airport about 9:30, not sure about secuity times ,etc and O wanted to shop a bit. Boarded at 11:45 AM, home by 4:30 Central time - slept whole flight.

Overall, my gambling wasn't that bad - ended up down $80 for 3 1/2 days of gambling. The entertainment alone was worth it - we now know most of the bonus games on penny slots! We used O's camera for pics, as I was lugging my laptop, so when she gets pictures uploaded, I'll post some. She's going to Germany Tuesday to see her boyfriend, so it'll be a week or so.

Now, if the Army will just let her off in August so we can go again!
Thanks for reading my overly long report - and I even skipped some!

 

Nice report! I just got back myself, and you're not kidding about the cold. Wednesday was brutal!

 

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

Can't wait to see the pictures.

 

First and foremost> Welcome back to your daughter!

Second> Damnit woman! Anyone that can get by on 4 hours of sleep and start gambling again should come to MMV! Just don't expect to sleep in my room since I go to bed at 4 am....well, maybe 6......

Third> You write a great trip report. Follow up with the stuff you missed with trip report 1.5!

 

I can get by on less sleep when I am in LV but I need more than you. I admire your stamina.

Great report. Fun to read.

 

Thanks all for comments about my first attempt!

I am one of those folks who functions best on about 6 hours of sleep a day and my peak operating time is morning. I also drink lots of coffee and smoke too much. That being said - after 4 days of almost non-stop going, I came home and crashed for 7 hours, plus took a couple of catnaps yesterday. I just don't have the stamina at age 52 that I had at 35.
Thank goodness for a 4 day weekend!

 

Great TR. You were like the Energizer Bunny you just kept going. Congrats on your wins and on the safe return from the "sandpit" of your daughter. Hopefully, the Army sees the necessity of her going to Vegas in August. She could tell them it's Advanced Individual Desert Training in an Urban Evironment and is much needed.

 

Great TR Lauri. I'm glad you both got so much out of your trip. With the wind what it's been lately, I wouldn't be surprised if the TI show had been cancelled anyway.

 

Love your report.........also love the mother daughter trips. I am the daughter and my Mom and I have gone to Vegas together 4 or 5 times...............last time to celebrate my 40th....................55 more days until we celebrate her 70th.............we haven't slowed down much either!!

 

Nice TR.

 

You rock Lauri....you would so out party me...sleep alone you kick my ass!

So glad you two had a great time and your losses weren't all that much!

Can't wait for the pictures!

 

First off Lauri welcome O home for me and pass along my thanks.

Second, I really enjoyed reading your tr and I'm glad to hear you two had a great time. Thunder guys are WAY hotter than Chippies and a whole like more fan-friendly in my book too! I hope your August trip works out...I swear the damn military should have special reserved time off for at least 2 Vegas trips each year for every member serving! You know mental health trips.

 

A nice bonus on return

Thanks all for comments!

Here's something really cool to add - when we returned, O went before the board at Ft Sill and got NCO of the Quarter! She told her 1st Shirt she wanted to go to Vegas as a reward

She left for Germany yesterday and dropped off her laptop for me to get pics. Here's one - more to follow after I get them downloaded to my computer and re-sized.

Her hat is the warrior, mine is the parrothead - both fitting!

 

Great trip report. The amount of fun you had during the trip really comes through in your writing!
And I echo the others comments on your daughters contribution to our freedom.