QFR/GGWU trip 2/25-2/28 - my itinerary (look if you dare)

[DaiLun]

OK, 48 hours before I embark on my first multi-day LV trip of the year. On my itinerary are:

Saturday
1)Meet VMB member "Outsider"
2)Reba, Brooks and Dunn concert Saturday night
3)Pick up chocolates at Jinju Chocolates in Container Park

Sunday
4)Drive Round trip to Phoenix to pick up a QFR badge
5)Eat a free buffet at Harrahs Ak-Chin (Phoenix)
6)Stop in Laughlin to pick up a QFR badge

Monday
7)Meet up with a buddy for lunch and drop off 30 clear cap Silver Strikes for St. Patrick's Day
8)Make my "free play" run Downtown
9)Meet with VMB member phantomfj

unscheduled
Play for "Year of the Rooster" blue caps at Venetian/Palazzo
Meet up with another buddy to pick up the Marilyn Monroe $300 Silver Strike
pick up QFR badges at 9 Las Vegas Casinos
Validate that a $25 purchase will meet the requirement for QFR

Now, since this is Q1 and there are no TC bonuses (other than QFR), I only "plan" to put in 500-1000TC per day. Gambling is NOT a priority for this trip, although Sunday I may try to get my TC across all the casinos I hit.

Also, there is a method to my madness in driving to Phoenix on Sunday.

This was originally scheduled for my march trip to Harrahs SoCal, but I figured

1)I already have an unlimited miles rental car
2)I will have more time this trip to "recharge" after an 11 hour driving day
3)I am not doing this (QFR badge retrieval) solely for myself (wink wink if you know what I mean)

My plan for $25 purchase validation will be to purchase with cash $25 worth of goods at the Paris gift shop and NOT play there the weekend. If by Monday the badge for Paris doesn't show, I will go play at Paris.

Action packed and full of fun. Let's see how much I accomplish . . . .

 

[casinokid68]

Have a wonderful time and drive safe!! Will be waiting to read all about it.

 

[Richard Alpert]

Have a great trip, DaiLun!

Enjoy the concert!
My brother was visiting Dallas when Brooks & Dunn were filming scenes for their "Cowboy Town" video.
He's in the video a few quick seconds!

Safe and happy travels!

RICHARD

 

[Flowers]

Looks great. What do you like about Jinju Chocolates? I have never tried them.

 

[LVchix]

Good luck ! I see that you are going to CET's 1st GGWU booster event- yay! How many points are they giving you for showing up? I so wanted to be too this event too, but the dates just didn't work out. Looks like you will have a great time... Will be following along on you adventure.

 

[tringlomane]

Good luck!

 

[DaiLun]

Good luck ! I see that you are going to CET's 1st GGWU booster event- yay! How many points are they giving you for showing up? I so wanted to be too this event too, but the dates just didn't work out. Looks like you will have a great time... Will be following along on you adventure.

This trip I'm getting 84,000, but for the April event, only 42,000. Oh well, it's the bonuses that really make the difference, and I hope that they give the same bonuses this year. I could "break" 1M points . . . .

 

[DaiLun]

Looks great. What do you like about Jinju Chocolates? I have never tried them.

I like the Chocolatier, Jin Caldwell . . . .

but seriously, I'm not really a chocolate person, but everyone that I give them to has enjoyed them. I bring my host a box each time I'm in town, and I have to think that they helped "pay" for 2 tickets to Celine Dion.

Her chocolates are elegant, the flavor combinations are fascinating.

Most of her business is wholesale to many of the strip casinos, but the retail store prices are lower

She also has excellent "bar" chocolates.

http://www.jinjuchocolates.com/

 

[makikiboy]

how far and how long does it take to get to phoenix? Other than travelling between soCal and vegas (and Pahrump and VOF) I never really travelled very far from Vegas. If I have an extra day I may consider driving elsewhere.

 

[DaiLun]

how far and how long does it take to get to phoenix? Other than travelling between soCal and vegas (and Pahrump and VOF) I never really travelled very far from Vegas. If I have an extra day I may consider driving elsewhere.

It's 5 hours each way . . . it's Q1 so my gambling will be limited, and it's a great way to stay out of the casino. I'll provide a detailed TR and maybe some pictures. I have two speeding tickets this year so I will definitely be watching my speed . . .

 

[bshowell]

Looking forward to a TR. Sounds fun!

 

[Flowers]

9

I like the Chocolatier, Jin Caldwell . . . .

but seriously, I'm not really a chocolate person, but everyone that I give them to has enjoyed them. I bring my host a box each time I'm in town, and I have to think that they helped "pay" for 2 tickets to Celine Dion.

Her chocolates are elegant, the flavor combinations are fascinating.

Most of her business is wholesale to many of the strip casinos, but the retail store prices are lower

She also has excellent "bar" chocolates.

http://www.jinjuchocolates.com/

Thanks for the info!

 

[slntbob707]

Cripes man, round trip drive from Vegas to Phoenix? Just once in one direction is enough for me! Plus the Harrahs isn't in Phoenix proper, it's in Maricopa which is another 45min to an hour beyond Phoenix. I wish you the best of luck on your trip!

 

[ncpokeresq]

Dai, you say that there are no TC bonuses, but arent the bonuses below in place all year. You obviously are experienced, but was planning to shoot for some bonuses on an April trip, so if they are not actually available, that will effect the extent of my play.

Thanks and GL

TIER CREDIT BONUSES

You can earn Tier Credit bonuses every day at any Total Rewards resort or casino. With this benefit, you are able to earn extra Tier Credits just for reaching a daily† milestone, making it easier to achieve Tier Status and enjoy the great benefits associated with it.

There are four levels of Tier Credit bonuses, outlined in the chart below. Tier Credit bonuses are based on the total number of Tier Credits you earn in a day†, putting you in control of the bonuses you achieve.

Earn this many Tier Credits in one day† AND GET AN ADDITIONAL...
500 Tier Credits + 125 Tier Credit Bonus!
1,000 Tier Credits + 1,000 Tier Credit Bonus!
2,500 Tier Credits + 5,000 Tier Credit Bonus!
Earns Platinum Status in one day!
5,000 Tier Credits + 10,000 Tier Credit Bonus!
Earns Diamond Status in one day!

 

[Kobra2848]

Dai, you say that there are no TC bonuses, but arent the bonuses below in place all year. You obviously are experienced, but was planning to shoot for some bonuses on an April trip, so if they are not actually available, that will effect the extent of my play.

Thanks and GL

TIER CREDIT BONUSES

You can earn Tier Credit bonuses every day at any Total Rewards resort or casino. With this benefit, you are able to earn extra Tier Credits just for reaching a daily† milestone, making it easier to achieve Tier Status and enjoy the great benefits associated with it.

There are four levels of Tier Credit bonuses, outlined in the chart below. Tier Credit bonuses are based on the total number of Tier Credits you earn in a day†, putting you in control of the bonuses you achieve.

Earn this many Tier Credits in one day† AND GET AN ADDITIONAL...
500 Tier Credits + 125 Tier Credit Bonus!
1,000 Tier Credits + 1,000 Tier Credit Bonus!
2,500 Tier Credits + 5,000 Tier Credit Bonus!
Earns Platinum Status in one day!
5,000 Tier Credits + 10,000 Tier Credit Bonus!
Earns Diamond Status in one day!

You still get Tier Credit bonuses for your play but I don't think you get bonuses for the tier credits earned for the badges. I had three 500 point days last week and got the 125 point bonus each day.

Mark

 

[DaiLun]

A quick update:

Hit a hand pay yesterday, and the concert was GREAT!!!!!!! It's 5AM and I'm off to Phoenix.

 

[RynoBU]

Congrats. Enjoying the TR.

 

[tringlomane]

Hope everything went well in Phoenix!

 

[DaiLun]

Complete Day 1 with pictures:

This year I will have to play within a downwardly adjusted budget, and have a coherent strategy.

I have a lot of flexibility, and this year, I selected GGWU (Great Gift Wrap Up) as my focused activity, and the plan is to maximize the (hopefully they'll have another) Q2 TC (Tier Credit) bonus and Q3 GGWU bonus.

For those of you who asked. Q2 2016 was a TC bonus period where 50% of the TC earned in Q2 (up to a maximum of 25,000TC) were awarded as a bonus.

So, this is my first multi-day trip to LV this year. I am still "up" for this year, thanks to the TC conversion I did in Reno/Tahoe earlier in the year.

Hwy 50 is down to one lane at Bridal Veil, so any Reno/Tahoe activity will have to be through Reno vai Hwy 80. I am offered about $800 per month in promo chips in Reno/Tahoe, $240 x 2 and $150 x 2, respectively, and should be able to ammass a good amount of chips to convert in November, in preparation for the HGS/GGWU trip in December.

My target for GGWU bonus points is 740,000, predicated on 84,000 this trip, and 42,000 for the remaining 4 trips, with a x2 bonus in October. That plus regular GGWU points should put me close to 1M (Equivalent cash value of $2900). If the myVegas/mLife HGS bonus is renewed, I will have another 500,000 HGS bonus points.

All of this is based on last year's activity and CET's bonuses.

In Q1 the promotion is QFR, and I plan to hit all of the CET casinos west of the Rockies. I will drive to Phoenix and do Phoenix and Laughlin tomorrow, and Rincon in March. For airfare, I'm still working off of the $800 in bump airfare from the 7* trip last year, so all I'm paying for is car rental and "play money".

So, my plan for today is:

pick up the car
check in at Harrahs
Walk over to V/P and check the silver Strike machines
meet "outsider" at Harrahs Diamond lounge at 3PM
downtown to see Lea at 4:30-5PM
dinner at 6PM
concert tonight at 7PM
bed

Tomorrow, when I get up, I will leave for Phoenix. Depending on when I leave, I will stop in Laughlin on the way down, or the way back. If I leave between 5 and 7, I will hit Laughlin on the way back. If after 7, I will hit Laughlin on the way down. I plan to eat at both Laughlin and Phoenix today, dinner tonight is not yet Planned, depending on whether or not I take a nap after the 11 hour drive to Phoenix and back.

So, this will be a lot of "use saved" comps. I plan to take $200 FP at Venetian for SS, which will leave about $500 for FB at V/P. I will check out the review for "Baz" at V/P. Either that or the Australian singing grouip may be replacements for britney Spears. I plan on giving thoise tickets to Jin so that she and her daughter can use them.

I also plan to use up most of my saved RCs in FP on this trip, and try to get "back end" comps depending on my play, either that or keep $200 in reserve.

I may have take out dinner at Andiamo's Monday and bring food home, or take out from Center Cut at Flamingo. It depends on when Jenny (my favorite waitress is) working.

I also have $700 in mLife gift cards and $300 in MC gift cards that I can use for food. I also have about $300 in food comps at QQQQ.

OK, so I got to the hotel and was given a room in the Valley Tower (remodeled Carnival tower). It's a "cute" little room, just enough space for a solo trip.








It's a "strip view", well as much as you can see from back this far . . .

The Valley tower is nice. The elevator stops a short walk from the monorail and the Diamond lounge, where I'm meeting VMB member "<name withheld until I ask for permission to post his name>" at 3PM.

I checked in for the GGWU event and got my 84,000 GGWU points, and put in some play in the HL slot lounge. I put in about 100TC and lost about $200.

Time for a break. My original plan was to (try) to walk to Venetian for lunch at Asia Noodle, but, rather than go all the way to Venetian for lunch, I sat at Harrahs Oyster bar and had Bouillabaisse. Lindsay (female) was the bartender and Raymundo was the chef in front.

Bread Bowl



The Bouillabaisse was rich and filling, with lots of seafood. I won't have to eat until after the concert tonight.



Raymundo siad that he forgot to add crab, so he did later.



So, after lunch, I sat down to play and FOB game (Heavenly Riches) and dropped another $300. One the way over to V/P, I sat down to play Wonder 4 Tower. I'm playing 2 Buffalo and 2 Wicked Winnings, full bet $9.00.

I got the Wonder 4 Super games on the WW game, so, 15 Super games. Since I got the bonus on WWII (15 games), I was thinking "great! a lot more game to increase the tower size . . " I got a retrigger, so 30 games. After the tower had been completely built, on or about the 15th game, I got:


For those of you keeping score, that's 5 Aces x 3x3x3x2 (54) x2 = $1452. PLUS, a respin of the 6 Wicked Ladies

The respin I caught a raven on the first reel, which added another $486 or so.

3 Ravens x 9 x 2 + three 10s x 9 x 2 + four Jacks x 9 x 2



All totalled, a handpay of $2100, so now I'm up about $1500. I "chan-geed"(lucky moneyed) the two people on my carousel and the slot attendants, and took a break and went over to V/P.

Got over to V/P, and there were NO sSilver Strikes in the machine. Boo Hiss!! I decided not to walk all the way over to Palazzo to find the same thing, so I sat down at a Rapid Hit machine, and just about when my $100 was gone, it hit this:




Got to Caesars at 6PM and got my tickets. My host "effed up" and got me two tickets instead of 1. Well, I will have to see if I'm charged for 2 tomorrow.

The concert was great. I had the wrong camera so no pictures other than from my seat before the concert started.




The concert also started late (as I'm told this show doesn't start until 7:35 and runs 2 hours, 15 minutes), so we didn't get out of there until `10:30PM. I had to be up early, so I came home and "hit the sack".

When I got back, my 7* Amenity had been delivered



End of day one.

 

[Miller12pack]

Nice room and nice wins. All is good in your world. Have a great time.