Trip Report: Lady Luck 3/18-3/22

This is my first TR so bear with me. I meet up with my friends for our annual Fantasy league baseball draft, three days of golf, and March Madness. It also coincided with Spring Break and the day after St Patricks day as well.

3/18 Flight down on SWA was uneventful. Flew down from Reno ($34 down, $49 return flight). Sat on right side of the plane and got a good view of the Strip lit up at twilight. I did get the online boarding pass (just after midnight on the date of departure). Grabbed the first shuttle that I saw (ODS), got a round trip ticket. The lady at the ODS window reminded me that I have to call 24 hours ahead of pick up time to schedule. I told her I understood. This is important as you will read on 3/22. Checked my golf bag to make sure none of my irons looked like pretzels..they were fine. First time using a soft bag for the clubs. Checked in at the Lady Luck and decided to try the $20 trick that I read so much of. I took out my ID, my Visa card and had a twenty folded underneath them. I politely asked if there were any upgrades available. He said there was an Executive Suite available for $30 a night extra. I indicate that I was looking for a free upgrade since I was there for four nights. He asked me what the twenty was for. I told him that it was for him if he took care of me. He punched in some info on his keyboard and told me he had a Jr. Executive Suite available with jacuzzi. I said "perfect". Deal done. Room was nice, clean, and close to the elevators and ice. The jacuzzi is a larger than average size tub with jets. I will be playing golf the next three days and the jacuzzi was just what I needed. Grabbed a quick bite at the diner at Golden Gate (I always love this place and I always sit at the counter). I looked around at the meals already out and decided to have the ham and lima beans. I know that sounds weird, but when I go on vacation I will usually order something that I won't usually prepare at home. It was great. The service is, what can I say...Golden Gate! I headed down FSE and was saddedned to see the darkened insides of the Shoe. I knew it would open on 4/1 but I would be long gone. Walked down to the El Cortez to play craps and was shocked to find the $1 pass line was gone! The table was now $3 on the pass line. In short, the table was cold and I dont like to force the luck by playing the dont's so it was not a successful evening. Played a non-progressive 8/5 VP before going to bed and caught a four of a kind, so the night was not a total loss.

3/19 to follow....

3/19 Breakfast at MSS. Am always satisfied with the quality and valur at MSS. Although it is difficult to have a bad breakfast buffet, try the Circus-Circus (Reno) for one of the worst (I was just there last weekend 4/11). Played 18 holes at Painted Desert. Our golf guru set up all of our tee times indicated that all LV courses had the highest rates of the year for this weekend. They all stated that the combination of March Madness, Spring break, and St. Patrick's day all had a "triple-witching hour" effect on the local courses so the prices were high. Anyhow, Painted Desert was $100. The course was okay, but I don't really care for courses that wind through condo subdivisions. Lost my match, big surprise, and we had our annual pre-baseball draft dinner where all bets are settled from last year (usually steak dinners, drinks, wine, champagne, all the above to the betting opponent).

This year we went to the Redwood Bar and Grill at the Cal Club. Dinner was excellent. I think I enjoy dinner more when it is the result of a wager that was won after enduring incessant boasting by the opponent. Some of the others around the table got prime rib. They ordered end cuts and they ordered them rare-medium rare. The most unusual aspect of these orders is that (1) they had the three end cuts (rare-medium rare); and (2) they were willing to cut into cooked ribs to get the end cuts. I worked in a prime rib house for several years and we NEVER got any end cuts that were less cooked that medium, because the center of the rib would be so rare, it would be like jelly. Gambled some at MSS cold craps table, -$200 in short order. Point, field, seven out. Craps, craps, seven, point, field, seven out. It pretty much wnet that way for about an hour. I did not want to play the dont's, but that probably was the best way to play at that table that night.

Went through LV Club and checked out the sports memorabilia...pretty cool. Went to Golden Gate and settled in and got a decent craps table. Made back my previous losses. Held the dice for at least six passes (with many hard ways that I was pressing) and then went back to LL.

More later.

[ April 16, 2004, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: smogcop2469 ]