MSS Oct 14-18

This is our annual Oct trip celebrating our October 17 wedding anniversary. This was number 35. Except for a few trips to Florida, I think this might be our 30th time in Vegas celebrating Oct 17.

First the gambling data. In spite of hitting quad aces with the kicker ($2,000), one w/o the kicker ($800), another with the kicker on 10 play quarters ($500) and two straight flushes, one dealt, ($500) I still lost $800. I had two really, really ugly gambling days and playing $ DDB, that can kill you.

SWA non-stop from Milwaukee, earlybird boarding but B7 & 8. I did buy the EB kind of late because with the new house move, we weren’t sure if we would have time for the trip. But hey, there is always time for Vegas, right? The flight was delayed 45 minutes, but we still got there close to arrival time.

We had a real Ahole for our flight attendant. He came around with the normal snack box and I saw they had Oreos, so I grabbed two of them. He chastised me and said I was only allowed one and made me put it back. Normally on SWA, the FA push you to take more. Not this guy.

Casino provided the limo, luggage came fairly fast and we were at MSS in 35 minutes after touchdown. One unusual thing…when we landed we got the old welcome to lost wages, but then the FA said, if you have time, come visit the bar I own. It’s called Bar Code and is on E Flamingo. I found that odd.

At check-in, we are told we don’t have a suite and we are in room 1109. I’m not sure, but I suspect it is our lazy host again who submitted our info late. I had to email her 5 days before we left and say I still had no confirmation numbers. We always get a suite. This happened two years ago and I asked at the front desk when the reservation was put in by our host and was told two days ago. The same day I also emailed her and said I don’t have confirmation numbers.

Going off on a tangent now, but a little history. At the time in 2014 I got pissed and emailed the GM saying I wanted a new host and she was incompetent. Well that created a minor sh*t storm. I immediately got an email back from him. Then the slot manager called me at home and promised everything would be better in the future. Then a hour later the host calls me, all apologetic and promises everything will be better. And it was for the last two years, but now I think it is slipping again.

Back to current trip. We met Bubbakitty again playing VP at MSS. He went to the host area asking who is host is and was told they are too small an operation to have assigned hosts. That is a head scratcher. We appear to have an assigned host, but he is told they don’t do that.

Room 1109. A standard MSS two queens room. But facing south and OMG it is so much quieter than a suite room. There is only one suite per floor and they all face the railroad tracks and the freeway and at times it can be very noisy. For those of you familiar with MSS, the suites are next to the single elevator exit on every floor. This was a pleasant change. So much so that my wife said for our Thanksgiving trip, we should skip the suite; get a regular room facing the same way, as long as they will provide a coffee maker in the room.

I met two other board members while playing at Boar’s Head bar. One was Jimbucc who looked me up. The other, for the very first time, saw my wristband and asked about it. When I said VMB, he introduced himself. He said he doesn’t post much but reads the board. But, for the life of me I can’t remember his posting name. Damn alcohol.

Jimbucc and his bride were very nice and soon to be celebrating their 40th anniversary.

I don’t take notes and drink too much in Vegas, so the rest is just a brief recap. Saturday we went to Chicago Brewing Company at 4Q and watched the Badgers almost upset Ohio State. I had a $80 freeplay offer from them, going down from my $200 offer, but to be expected. On a normal trip, we play there just one day. Usually for a game of some sort and have lunch. So maybe 4 hours, on one day only.

Sunday we ate somewhere for breakfast, but damn if I remember where. Anyway, my brother and SIL arrived and they stayed at 4Q. We had dinner with them and VMB member Bubbakitty at the newly remodeled Redwood, inside Cal.

Bubba is a really nice guy and each trip he always brings me a large bag of pecans that they harvest from the trees at his local golf course in Texas.

Back to Redwood. I really like the new place looks, but not the menu changes. They have eliminated all the specials and every entrée is now ala carte. We have the Gold Card and it doesn’t matter to us, but I still look at menu prices. Everything went up. I guess they have to pay for the remodeling.

Anyway, the 5 of us had a very nice dinner with Janelle as our server. Four of us had the large prime rib and nobody finished it. I don’t recall what Bubba had. Total bill with pre-drinks,(4) post drinks: Brandy Alexander (2) and 5 entrees came to a little over $300. Not bad for 5 people. The servers there are very good at massaging the bill to our Gold Card. I paid the balance with my points. We left a $70 tip.

Mondat was our 35th anniversary and I made reservations Binion’s Steakhouse. Top floor of the hotel (still closed). I checked sunset times (6:01) and made a reservation for 5 PM. I figured a drink before the meal and we’d see the sun go down and the lights of the city come up. They seated us at what they call the honeymoon table. It was a very nice table for two. It was in the corner of the restaurant with windows on both sides facing east and south. Timing worked perfectly to see the city lights come up.

To use points for a meal at Binion’s, you have to go through a 4Q host and decide how much the comp will be. If you don’t use all of it, you lose it. So Saturday at 4Q I went to see the host around 10AM. The sign on the door says host gone, call the operator. Dial zero on the house phone and ask for a host. It transfers me to the host phone, which transfers me to voicemail. Looking back, I probably should have left my cell number, but I am not a cell phone person and didn’t think of it at the time. Anyway, I went back to Chi Brew for more losing DDB losing. I tried another hour later and found a host in the office. So $200 in what they call a hard comp for Binion’s.

Dinner was really nice and the food was very good, but pricey. We started with escargot ($17) and then I had the porterhouse, perfectly done rare, ($58) and my wife had rack of lamb ($50). We had 5 drinks total, each at $9. The meals did come with veggies and a starch side. Because I let them know it was our anniversary, they brought out a very rich desert that we shared. This was funny, but my wife ordered a hot tea. So they brought a hot water and tea bag. Price…$5.

Total bill was $174. I didn’t like leaving $26 in comp dollars, but the desert was so rich, we didn’t want a desert to go and we didn’t need another drink. All in all, if I build up enough points at 4Q we’d go back, but I don’t think I’d ever go back and pay out of pocket. Just a fyi, the menu prices for their on-line menu are not updated and lower than the current prices.

One afternoon we spent doing what has become one of our favorite non-gambling pastimes. Sitting outside on the Banger Brewer patio and watching people get on the Heart Attack Grill outdoor scale and my wife and I trying to guess their weight before they get on. Sipping a drink the whole time, of course!

I am more a wine drinker than beer, but I still like beer. I went in to order two beers and noticed they now have wine. I asked the bartender about it because the last few visits I was told they only have a license to serve beer. He tells me they always had a license to serve beer and wine, but we wanted to emphasize our beers, so we didn’t serve wine. I guess that emphasize tactic didn’t work.

That’s about it. Spent Monday playing VP at MSS,. Tuesday morning we ate at 777 for their overnight special at 5:30 AM and got the limo at 6:30 AM. For a Tuesday, McCarran was very crowded and check-in took quite a while. Leftovers from the Presidential debate?? We always fly home on Tuesday, so I have plenty of previous experience with Tuesday check-in.

For our Thanksgiving trip I asked our host if we could get a limo to Orleans and tickets to the Steven Wright show. Immediate answer was no on limo and eventually no on comped tickets to the show. Then a week or so ago, I get a new email for her saying there was a mistake and she could get us comped show tickets. Yesterday I emailed her and the slot manager our dates and flights and reminded her about the show tickets. After my complaint two years ago, the slot manager said I should always CC him when I email my host.

The slot manager replies they can’t get us tickets to the show. I forward him the email from our host that says we have tickets and what the hell is going on? Do we have tickets or not?

I get an oops email back that yes we do have tickets. Left hand, right hand, no communication?

Sorry, this was going to be a brief recap and I rambled on.

 

Haha, they usually give away all you can eat snack mix, but oreos are like the top-shelf snacks on SW!

 

Thanks for your usual great summary, Joe. Maybe we'll run into each other on one of the SWA flights to or from MKE.

 

Nice right-up Joe, enjoyed reading it.

Which VP do you play at Chicago Brew?
For your Christmas trip, what day do you depart from Vegas?

 

At 4Q it is always 9/6, $ DDB.

We leave Friday, 12/23 back home on Tuesday. Staying at MSS of course. Arrival at LAS at 4PM, weather permitting.

We take the later flight in winter in case there is a snowstorm. We can better judge when to leave for the 50 mile ride to the airport if it is snowing.

 

Nice report as always. 2 more trips for the year.....nice!

 

See... you should always listen to your "old buddy" Squid. I always pass on the suites (never been offered) to take a high-up south facing room... unless all they have is a high-up north facing room? Coffee maker? Uhhh... they can serve you coffee at the Boar's Head Bar and you can play VP there while you drink it?

 

I'm actually jealous....I only get pretzels or peanuts. Once in a blue moon they have a faux chex mix, and I feel like I'm living the good life.

Seriously though, that cracked me up he reprimanded you!!!!! Total Seinfeld move on his part....

 

Thanks for the report Joe, appreciated your observations and comments on the new Redwood and Binions Steakhouse.

I'd like to try the Binions place just to have a nice dinner with a view with my wife but unlike you I'd have to pay out of pocket and those prices are pretty steep. Still might try it , though.

I think being down 800 after two bad days of dollar DDB is a win in my opinion!

 

Love the Steakhouse at Binions. If you get Las Vegas Advisor they have a great coupon book that has 25% off your total bill and several other great coupons. The subscription is $55+ but totally pays for itself. You can also enjoy a nice glass of wine, martini or other cocktail while enjoying the great view

 

Looks like we will miss you by one day.
We fly in on Christmas day. But we're staying the first 3 nights at Sam's Town. We move to MSS on Wednesday, the 28th.

 

Too bad. Because of golf and bowling leagues, our standard trip is usually Fri-Tue, but Thanksgiving gives us a chance to add a day and arrive on Thursday.

 

Thanks for sharing the TR Joe. I think I may take my mom to redwood on this next trip.

 

Joe you were spot on about the drinking and not taking notes. It seems to be the norm for more travelers than you and me. I could have sworn however it was you and your lovely bride of 30+ years that were sitting just to the left of me (like 3 machines down) playing during the Ohio State / Wisconsin game which went into overtime but was a good game nonetheless. I recall the Mrs. played the entire game on some ridiculous amount of investment (like the original 20 or 40 $'s she began when the game came on) and you had your horrendous streak. But again I don't take notes either but did mistakenly try to keep up with your libation intake. Foolhardy I know.

Had the French Onion Soup and bone-in Ribeye with the GINORMOUS baked potato but I get you missed that as you were about 12 feet across the table from me so that is a valid excuse. Not sure if I mentioned it in my report but (without notes) it just came to me they no longer provide the "sop" for the bread that was like olive oil with some thyme or other mild ingredient that one could dip the (still) delicious bread into awaiting the first serving.

And you forgot to mention (i know you can't get it out of your head) the lady coming in during the GB / Dallas game SHRILLING how the bar was going to make money. Even Jose seemed to cringe. How the mirrors and glassware made it through the game without cracking was worthy of note.
And thanks again for the dinner......had pecans and vanilla ice cream last night.....not bad.

 

You are correct. We watched the Bears game at 4Q on Sunday. Badgers and Ohio State at MSS.

 

Thanks for the report, Joe! I enjoyed it.

 

Yeah, I'm not surprised at the attendant enforcing the ration there. I've never had Oreos flying on SWA, so I didn't even know that was a possibility. Last 3 legs, it's been Cheese Nips for us, meh.

Glad the regular room worked out since it looked like your host dropped the ball.

And $800 in the hole isn't too bad without a Royal! Hopefully next time!

 

It has probably been 10 RT flights since the last time we had Oreos available. I asked about it once and they said it is whatever Nabisco sends them.

 

Thanks for the info at MSS. I did not realize that the suites are located on the north side of the building. I remember those doors right by the single elevator and wondered what they were. Yes, I always ask for a south facing room because I hate the noise from the freeway. 1109 sounds like a good room because it is away from the train tracks plus is high up so the Main St. traffic isn't as loud.

Thanks for reminding me, I'll be in vegas for the CES in January and will be staying at MSS. I better call to ask for a south facing room, high floor. The last time I didn't make the request and when I checked in they didn't have any south facing rooms available so I had to endure the noise with the north facing room.

Golf? You golf in December?

 

No, it's golf in Spring, Summer and Fall and 33 weeks of bowling starting in September. Both take place on Wednesday and Thursday, so those days are never free unless a holiday falls on it, like Thanksgiving.