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Rough Start But Having Fun - Live From LV

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jasonargo

jasonargo

High-Roller
Joined
Jan 21, 2006
Messages
608
Location
Austin, TX
Trips to Las Vegas
50
Got into town late last night after a 3 hour flight delay. A bird hit the engine on the incoming plane, but we still loaded & got to the runway before turning around back towards the gate, already almost an hour past schedule. Of course then the interminable wait for an open gate, but luckily we were let off the plane. Eventually we were reassigned a new plane, but we had to wait for it to arrive, of course full to capacity of exiting passengers. Once on, another wait at the gate, and finally on our way. But both bathrooms had serious odor issues, I mean so bad it wafted out into the plane every time the door was opened. Think piss, crap, and Lysol combined. Our cocktails were never charged for, and for the 1st time since the 80's we did the $1 trash bag lottery. Finally we landed almost exactly 3 hours late at 7:00. Got the bags, hit the rental center, 20 minutes in line at Payless, no Economy cars. So we were offered an ADDITIONAL $15/day upgrade to a nicer car, or a free upgrade to....a 4-door pickup truck. Really?

We load the luggage in the back seat and head to Orleans for Young At Heart. Needless to say we missed the 7 PM deadline for the free buffet, so we both lost about $80 on DBDW to get $15 food credit. We used it at Courtyard Cafe, which has moved and is now across from the buffet entrance. I had the T-bone, which was ordered medium, but went from raw near the bone to well done at the tip, with no hint of filet. Lady Friend had the gumbo, which she liked, and we split a dessert to use up the comp. I actually remembered to take pics but today they are MIA.

Checkin at Excal was smooth, room is fine, sux on the parking fees though. One 3:2 $15 min table open, packed with people waiting. Played some 6:5 multiplayer BJ machine but it gives 0 MILF points. Found out today no "table games" machines give points, only some unknown comp dollars. There was another BJ machine with the virtual dealer where blackjacks paid even money. The bartops all have the same crappy paytables, but one of them has a progressive royal on several games. (6/5 Bonus, 7/5 JOB, BDLX, DDB)

Today we hit the Palms for matchplays (split - I lost), Hard Rock for free football pick contest, and Ellis Island. 20 points to do the Senior promos, no longer includes $1 off entree at the restaurant. Free beer, 2-4-1 pizza at Metro (YUM!), LF played some BJ, I got $26 out of $25 freeplay on NSUD.

On to Gold Coast where LF played on my card on DBDW where we only lost a cumulative $5 so I could win a shower curtain. We then got our asses handed to us in DD BJ, me down $225, her down $85, but we will have some tickets in the drawings Sunday night. Despite the loss, it was a fun session. $10 matchplays again split (I won). Dealer mispayed me on a BJ giving me 3:2 on the matchplay also, as well as paying another player on a push on a different hand.

No big VP hands to speak of so far, best was 5 eights on DBDW. Excal does have $5 Let It Ride, might do some of that later on. We have $25 freeplay each at Excal to play tonight from myVegas Tomorrow is the move to Orleans for the last 4 nights.

The Strip really sucks for low rollers like us, and I will be glad to have somewhere to gamble and drink after parking for the night where I have some decent options.

We are doing Zumanity tomorrow, along with NFI & $50 drinks at Times Square, all from myVegas. Saturday is downtown day, Sunday is LF spa day at the Strat, and Monday will be TBA.

Wish us luck!

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Found the pics:

2016-10-22_03-43-35 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

2016-10-22_02-51-06 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

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At least you're doing better than the bird that hit your incoming plane! :D

Happy Vegas to you! Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

RICHARD
 
Ok, so we decided to use our freeplay on slots instead of VP to change it up a little. LF gets on a Ghostbuster machine and damn if she doesn't get a Bonus round on the 1st hand. 4 hands later, ANOTHER damn Bonus. We move to a more modern Ghostbuster machine, and the guy next to us is hitting bonus after bonus. Us, not so much, but LF is nearly orgasmic from the force feedback chair. So I move to a 2 cent Top Dollar playing 9 lines, and 2 spins in I get the 1st offer (of 4) of 525 credits ($10+). This lady next to me playing the same machine looks like she has been there a while. So I ask her if this is a good offer and should I take it? She looks at me like a goat in the headlights on a Sicilian mountain road. I ask again, no response. So I went ahead and took it, eventually cashing out with $23 out of $25 freeplay. LF turned her $25 into $51, good for her!

We did end up on the Let It Ride table, and both of us turned a profit, despite not hitting any premium hands. I made a hundred or so back, and LF ended up a few bucks. We eventually made it to the HL room, to play single-line quarter 9/5 JOB spin poker for a while, where I lost $20, but actually put some points on my MILF card. Not much chance of going NOIR on this trip, LOL.

Still no quads but we both had 4-to-a royal on Spin poker.

Oh, the bridge from Excal to the Tropicana is closed and under construction. We decided to walk over to the Trop to check out their BJ, but when we got to the end of the walkway where the elevator should have been, it was blocked off with a plywood wall. Only then could we see the bridge was also completely blocked off. We sure were not going to walk to NYNY, then MGM, then Trop and back again, so the Trop is the big loser. And absolutely no signs indicating anything was amiss. Jeez.

We tried to pick up our myVegas Zumanity tickets at the Excalibur box office, but they said they could not do it, supposedly because the reservation was already made. Huh? So I asked what time the NYNY box office closed, and they aren't even open today. WTF? So now we need to stop by there tomorrow. Another big-ass Strip time waster.

Packing up now for the move to Orleans tomorrow, and looking forward to a last night of Strip fun tomorrow night at NYNY before leaving it behind,

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Hope zumanity is good. I was thinking of hitting that on my December visit as I have comp dollars to spend and I never seen a Cirque show or pretty much any show. Good luck with the gambling!
 
525 credits sounds good, but what's the initial bet on that top dollar? If it's 45 credits, i would think it's borderline. Find that royal at Orleans!
 
Checked out of Excal, easy thanks to an email they sent with a link to check out online. Loaded the luggage into the back seat of the pick-me-up, and off to NYNY to get Zumanity tickets. Man, this place is really hard to find, the signage is confusing, and the closer you get, the less signage there is. Got our tix, and went to get Wincards & LF's myVegas awards.

NYNY has signs advertising $5 BJ 24/7. Asked a pit critter, he directed me to where they have 2 tables all the time (6:5,CSM), and said there's another pit that sometimes has them during the daytime. We ran the Wincards promo chips, LF broke even & I lost $5, not a good outcome. We tried to make a reservation for Times Square, but were told the only reservations are for 8 PM exactly. After that they give away the tables of the no-shows. BTW you make Times Square reservations at the NFI hostess desk (?).

We browsed the Hershey store, but I kept LF from buying anything by pointing out the same candy can be bought at Walgreens for half the price.

Eventually we made it to Orleans to check in, and of course the registration station we get crashes. Repositioned, we finalize the room, combining two 2-night comps, no issues, and no need to check in at the desk in between. Resort fee is supposed to be comped also, we asked.

We did some 8/5 Bonus at the Alligator bar to earn 5 points to swipe to get a prize - LF got 1000 points, I got a "mystery gift". I came close to the big hit:

2016-10-22_02-52-35 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

I signed up for Lyft & Uber because we were planning on doing the $50 drinks at Times Square after Zumanity. The Lyft ride to NYNY was great, no issues. However I don't see the 5 rides promo for signing up in Vegas, just the 1st ride promo.

We did early dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen, still way too expensive ($24) for 2 small pieces of fish and some fries. Made our way back to the Zumanity theater for the show. It was entertaining, and of course bawdy. LF found it lacking in acrobatics, I thought the live band was balls to the wall excellent, as well as the female singers.

So after the show we head to Times Square. Amazingly, looking through the window there are open table seats. We get to the entrance, and are told no seats available, but we can PAY TEN DOLLARS EACH TO STAND AT THE BAR. Say what? What about those empty seats, I ask. They are reserved. Well I was told reservations past 8 PM were automatically revoked (it was going on 9:30 by now). Well, when our Manager says to reserve them we do - probably some VIP. I told LF I will give you 3:2 whoever was supposed to be there never shows up. So we head to the MILF desk to see if we can reschedule the myVegas reward. A terrific supervisor comes out, and we now have it set up for Monday.

Now we went in with the expectation of waiting in line, but I was shocked that there was a cover charge. Especially since you can stand outside and listen for free. F*ck the Strip, I have had it.

So we UBER'd it back, despite being sober. There was some confusion about the pickup area, but we got back to Orleans quick & free.

Went to the Crawfish bar for more 8/5 Bonus. No 2 barstools next to each other, so LF & I sat at the "little kids" seats. LF broke the quad cherry:

2016-10-22_03-44-50 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

Later on after a rough time, I finally broke mine:

2016-10-22_03-47-37 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

Good beer at Crawfish, on draft Coronado Island IPA, very smooth.

So now I'm getting a good buzz on, and am ready to hit the BJ tables. Found a $5 DD in the Mardi Gras pit, and LF & I started playing. A while in, I heard my name called on the loudspeaker, so I grabbed the pit lady, hey what, did I win something? She says hold on, drapes some beads over my head, then adds a paper crown. WTF? She has me spin a wheel, which got me $50 in free bets (2X$25) and.....1 hour of 2:1 payoffs on blackjacks. Holy crap! This is a BIG advantage. I am stoked, as well as not a little buzzed. So now I am a bit stymied - how big should I be betting to maximize the promo?

I upped my minimum from 5 to 10, but no BJs were coming my way. Of course LF started hitting them left and right. Long story short I only hit 3 BJs during the hour, but used my free bets to double down on a max bet and won it. +200 on the session, and back in positive numbers for the trip.

So at least for an hour, I was King Of The Pit.

Going downtown Saturday, albeit later than originally planned. Oh, and I got details on the $50 food credit for the B-Connected mobile sports sign-up bonus - it requires a minimum 1st deposit of $500, a bit high for me, but maybe not for some of you.

Woo! No ATM for me! (yet)

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Sounds like a good time so far. I agree re Orleans re Strip properties ... the combo of paid parking, lousy paytables, etc, doesn't make it worth it to stay there. Even with the 'free' MyVegas rooms, the $30 resort fee negates that. At least last year they gave you a coupon book which, with the right bartender, you could recoup the $30 on drinks. Now they don't even give you the coupon book.

Interesting about Courtyard Cafe. We were just there a month ago and no sign of that. Do they say it's temporary? They've used that space across from buffet while remodeling both 'fancy' restaurants.

"King of the Pit" must have been fun. Makes for a good Hallowe'en costume .. ;)

GG
 
Do the Let it Ride tables still have the $5 bet instead of the $1 for the progressives?
 
"King of the Pit" now that's funny! And glad Islander IPA apparently tasted better on tap now than when I tried it. Last few times I've had draft beer at Orleans, their taps seemed overdue for a cleaning. :(
 
Laissez les bons temps rouler, le Pit King!

Yup, when the Excal is no longer a bargain, time to move on. Circus Circus is frequently the subject derision, but as a frugal traveler I would stay there. I just received an offer of three free nights after minimal play last year. The tower rooms are similar to Excal, just try to avoid weekends or summer when the kiddies are full on.
 
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So we slept in on Saturday, getting about 6 hours. Plenty in Vegas! We took our time getting ready fo the day/evening, and eventually made it downstairs, Did the 5-point swipe promo, I got 2000 points, LF got 50% off 1 purchase at the Java shop. We decided to ride downtown to be able to drink, so we did Lyft, and got the same driver from yesterday. I asked him about the 5 rides promo, he said to input the texted code we got on the promo page. Well I did, but it says "only for new users". Damn. So if you want to use it, make sure and enter the text code before you add the VMB free ride code.

Got dropped at the Cal, checked the nickel progressives ($243, not high enough yet) and headed to the Boar bar. New guy Zack served our 1st beers, then said hi to Jose and later Chris, who was just coming on duty. Spent about an hour and a half there watching the Cubbies and walked away ahead $10. No quads or scratchers, just a bunch of full houses to keep it going.

Next up was Market Street for dinner. I had the prime rib special, LF went with the prime rib scramble. I got an end cut, excellent as always, and added bacon & cheese from the salad bar to the potato.

2016-10-23_07-39-25 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

Next up was the D. Won my $10 matchplay. The music as usual, and expected on a Sat night, was loud as hell. All the tables we looked at were 3:2, $10+ minimums, and either 8-deck or CSM. Went up to Vue bar, and decided to earn some points for the ACG promo of $5 freeplay for every 50 points ($500 coin-in). It took us about 1-1/2 hours to get the 1st 50, with me losing $40 and LF losing $60. I did hit one quad, though.

2016-10-23_07-40-12 by jasonargo2, on Flickr

LF ran through her freeplay on a slot, ended up with like $1.65, so she ran it down to 0. I did the same, but having an additional $5 from another promo, netted $10, plus got $6 cashback.

We watched the Heart lightshow on Fremont, then went to El Cortez. Played some DD & SD, got lucky and hit them for $200. LF won some too, but not enough to cover her loss at The D. Forgot to do the football pick promo, but we were pretty toasty by then. GREAT idea at the El Co - a tub of iced beers INSIDE each pit. Bud, Bud Light, Dos Equis, MGD, Heineken, Mich Ultra - a lady walked around from pit to pit offering & serving the beers. I tipped her a $ on the first one, and after that I had a fresh MGD before I even finished the last one. She never stuck around for tips most of the time, but I tried to catch her when I could. What a wonderful feeling as opposed to the sometimes frustrating waiting there is waiting for a waitress. There was a regular waitress coming around also, if you wanted a cocktail.

We decided to grab a convenient cab back, rather than Lyft it. Bad idea cost-wise, the trip down was $18, the ride back was $30. But the cabbie was very personable, and we enjoyed the ride.

After 2 hours sleep I'm now in the Orleans sports book watching the Giants game (6:30 AM start - ack!). Later today LF has a Groupon for a massage at the Strat, and we will play the rest by ear. Up now for the trip a couple hundred, let's keep it going!

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Usually you write seat number on a bill $ or 5 and all entries go in a bag, stewardess pulls out a bill with seat number written on it and the resident gets the bag of money. But that was way back in the day.
Good report so far. Keep gong
 
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