Sept 12-18 (LVH & Paris)

Sun. 9/12 flew our of Louisville on Delta at 7:35 am thru Cincinnati to LV - arrived at 10:10 am. Grabbed shuttle quickly (1 was waiting & ready) when bags were 1st ones off (very good sign)& were at LVH by 10:45!! Very nice lady at desk gave us a "Parlor Suite" when I told her it was our 13th anniversary. Just expected a large room with maybe a couch or something. WRONG - this place was huge! Had double doors with marble entry, 3 picture windows (strip view), 2 full baths & a very very large room divided into living, dining & bedroom. This place was as big as our house. We were alreay getting 2 free nites & for her to do this is amazing. Gave her the $20 before even saw how great it was.
Machines pretty tight in casino so we grabbed a quick lunch at Paradise Cafe & set out to the strip & ended up at Sahara, Circus Circus,& a few others. Sahara only one we did well at.

Mon. Took cab to Freemon St. Ate buffet at Main Street - was great as usual. Really didn't like any of the casinos - don't think we will bother to go back next year. Did see a table of poker players at the Nugget & hubby thought one was Chris Moneymaker he had seen on TV playing in the workd serier of poker (?) Took bus back to strip & went to Flamingo, Caesars, Bally's etc. Thought we would try our $20 food coupon at Aladdin - NO - they were very rude & would not honor it so we left.While we in Flamingo - checked our comps we brought from Caesars Riverboat in IN. Nothing showing. No one could tell us anything - we were concerned since we planned to use them to pay for our room in Paris the next day. Played some slots at all e casinos we went in as we made our way to Venetian & took a cab back to LVH.
For Sunday & Monday both hubby & I were down about $150.

Started Tues off at pool with coffee & paper until checkout about 10:30. The wonderful suite & 2 meals cost us about $7.00 in tips! What a deal!! Cabbed to Paris $13 with tip. Had lunch at JJ Boulangerie which was great ham & cheese crossiants, clam chowder & drinks - $13.97 - charged to room of course. Over to Bellagio & strolled thru Conservatory which was lovely. Went to casinos along south strip. I had a good day on the slots - up about $150.Dinner was at Le Cafe St. Louis in Paris. Hubby had special prime rib, crab legs, etc. I just had a salad & french onion soup. People watched as we ate. Very nice atmosphere. Gambled that nite at Paris & Bally's with only 1 real win. I put $5 in a 2 cent Tabasco machine & on second hit - got 5 of the creatures & won 6000 credits - $120.

Wed. Breakfast at Paris buffet - WOW. It really is everything & more. Food was delicious & service attentive & fast. Walked & gambled mid strip today. Went through Forum stops & the clothing stores were very minimal & bland - mostly black & white. I had printed a coupon for $10 off $20 at Planet Hollywood for lunch. I had the Texas BBQ Chicken Tostados - boy were they wonderful. Went back to Forum shops again at 9pm to use the buy 1 get 1 free at the Cheesecake Factory & pigged out. Had never been there before but will make sure we go back. We had Carrot Cake & Key Lime Cheesecakes. Back to game at our home base until about 2am then gave up & went to bed.

Thurs. Hubby wanted to try the sports book at Paris so I went to the pool alone after breakfast at JJ's again. Continued our usual feeding of the slots with marginal success - just floating along not getting hurt too badly. Thought we would do a early dinner at Ellis Island since we really enjoyed it last year. Was not crowded at all but you would have thought so with the service we received. Waiter basically ignored us. Finally brought our salads & that was the last we saw of him until we ran him down to get our check. We were very unhappy with our steaks this year - very overcooked & tough. Walked over to Flamingo to go thru Margaritaville store. Hubby found a denim jacket & I found a shirt, glass, etc. So we went into the casino to comp ourselves to buy the merchandise we wanted. So very easy. Strolled over to Bellagio to watch 2 fountain shows. Gambled alitte there between them. I really like this casino. You can every get top of the line drinks. Very classy. We were in the 1,2 & 5 cent area & lovely waitress treated us like high rollers. Maybe she knows people appreciate it & tip well - we did.

Fri - last day. Checked out at 11 am - lines were pretty long but only took about 30 minutes since had many clerks working. Finally have our comps & between what we brought with us & earned during the week - our 3 nite & all food was covered & even got money back on my deposit. Can't beat it. I am going to start saving them again for next year. Since our plane does not leave until midnight - we took the free shuttle to Gold Coast & walked over to Palms - not impressed at all & didn't stay long. Took shuttle back to Barbary Coast & saw Big Elvis. I can hardly believe that he is actually the same person as in the pictures on the stage. But he is a great singer. Very impressed. Hopped cab over to Hard Rock. Really enjoyed looking at all the stuff & even though small - liked the casino. Could not stay there though. Walked over to the cafe for lunch. Finally went back to Paris to finish up gambling & got some comps out to take home some of the delicious deserts which they boxed up for us. We went out the the taxi area to get our luggage that they had held for us all day - up pulls the Casears limo with 5 European men getting out & being greeted by a big shot of the Paris & obviously their host. There was alot of cheek kissing & such. Very obvious they were "whales" & coming in for the weekend. Was very interesting to see how the other half lives - haha. Cabbie got us to the airport quickly & we got checked in & fooled around in airport for about 2 hours. Saw a guy hit a quarted 'wof" machine for $500. Everyone was standing around to watch that.

Went home thru Atlanta with 2 hour lay over there. It was so cold in their airport that I got a new Hard Rock sweat shirt out & put it on. Made it home about 12:20 pm very tired but also ready to rest up & go back. Wish we could go more than once each year.

BTW - Loved the new pay yourself machines to put in your tickets & get cash or even to break down bills. It makes it so much easier that waiting in line at the cashier.

Anyway, we had the best trip yet & did most everything on our comps or free. Drank more in 6 days that usually do in 2 years - love it! Came home with more than half of my gambling budget. Hubby did not do quite as well - but still has about 1/3 of his left. Weather was perfect - no crowds until Friday. I want to thank everyone who posts info on this & other sites. It makes the trips so much more special when we know current info & such.

Good luck everyone & enjoy your next trip to "mecca".

 

Sounds like you had a great time. We are going next month and can hardly wait. I agree with your assessment of drink service at Bellagio. We like to play blackjack and can occasionally find a $10 table at Bellagio. My wife loves their lemon drop martinis. I thought their house chardonnay was delightful. The drinks came at a good pace. I have also had great drink service while playing quarter video poker. I agree that good tips will usually equate to good service. It is a really nice casino. I just wish I could afford to stay there

 

Sybal,

Sounds like you had a nice time. I am so looking forward to the Paris breakfast buffet. Everybody raves about it. I get jealous everytime I read somebody spent time at the pool. I'll be going in December. Oh well, can't have it all. At least I'm going!

 

Sounds like you had a great time! I probably saw you in the pool at Paris from my room next door at Aladdin Of course, you were a speck thissmall.....