Z's 2022 Trip #1: Gaming and a game

We're starting off 2022 with an 8 day visit to Vegas. We'll be staying at Santa Fe Station, Suncoast and The Orleans on comp offers. The planned dining plans include Bellagio buffet, NFI at NYNY and Lupo using MyKonami offers, House of Dutch Pot and Pasta Mia West using Groupons and a birthday month BOGO at Magnolia's as well as dining at the Boyd & Station casinos using food credits and points. Other than lots of gaming the only other planned activity will be attending the Pens-Knights game on Jan. 17.


"No Drama" Transportation
The flight out was via Southwest (from CLT) and round trip fare was $155 (for 1) and Mrs Z came along on a companion pass (courtesy of a SW offer from our Oct. trip) - so airfare cost was minimal. There were no issues on the flight out, that's a relief given the current air travel issues many other travelers have experienced. Neither of the flights was very full, so with our mid "A" boarding positions, that worked out very well. Upon arrival at baggage claim, we only waited ~5 minutes and our bags were some of the first down the chute, they must have had low "A" baggage location positions in the checked bags section of the plane ! Then catching the rental car bus was a breeze as we walked right on the bus (at ~3PM), that's much better than our last 3 trips where we waited well over 30 minutes to catch the bus. We walked right up to the counter at Thrifty (no waiting) and got our paperwork. We then snagged a Chevy Malibu for our chariot for the next 8 days at the relatively low cost of $234.

Day 1 hilights/lowlights
We went straight to House of Dutch Pot for our late lunch/early dinner (rated ~6-7 on a 1-10 scale) and then headed to SFS to check in. After getting the luggage to the room and quick run to Albertson's for room snacks we were down to the casino to begin our 2022 gaming efforts. The craps table was $10 min and I didn't do very well as the table was cold (-$125) so I caught up with Mrs Z and we tried some VP with limited success. We then hit the BJ table ($10 min) and were both smacked down (-$185) and decided to try the Poker room. We ended up on different tables and Mrs Z fiinished about even while I was mostly card dead (-$100 for our effort). We tried one more attempt at VP and did finish the night up with a minor winning result (+$120). So, day 1 was dominated with lowlights, but we had a good trip out and had fun gaming - so there is that !

Day 2 plans are to go to The D and try the Southwest boarding pass match play (and also see if El Cortez will work since this is a new year). We'll probably do lunch at Magnolia (birthday month BOGO - getting really close to the Big 70), followed by maybe a quick stop at Jerry's Nugget before ending up back at SFS.

Here's some pics from Day 1

Mrs Z's special nails and hair tint for the trip (and she's wearing her "Lucky" brand jeans today !)


House of Dutch Pot - Drum pan jerk chicken (this was their small size portion !) - excellent jerk sauce flavor ~6 on 1-10 scale


House of Dutch Pot - Ital Stew - ~8 on 1-10 scale


VP at Santa Fe Station


Doh !



Nickels ?

 

Love the hair and nails. Hope ya'll have a great trip.

 

Great start to the TR. That restaurant looks very good - always happy to discover a new place to add to my "To Try" list. Hope the first day losses mean the rest of the trip will be a winning one. And agree with Vtamanda - the nails and hair tint are fabulous!

 

Day 2: Hilights/Lowlights

Chalk up another day in the books and not many hilights to report (but there were a few). We started the day at the craps tables - but neither of us could make any headway. Mrs Z left to pursue VP play (and had some minor wins) while I remained at the craps table. I did hit the Tall (and only had a 5 and 6 to make the small, but didn't get those), but the overall combined craps session result was down $350. After that we decided to try some BJ, combined we were down $85. We then headed downtown for the boarding pass plays at The D and El Cortez.

At The D, we both got $75 in match play chips by showing our SW boarding pass screen shots and using the "Richard Wilkes" promo. We finished up $80 at BJ, but the comments from Mrs Z after losing two of her three $25 match play chip wagers must be bleeped ! On her first match play she had 9-2 vs a dealer up 6, so she doubled down, received a 9 and the dealer promptly made 21. About 6 hands later, she made her second $25 match play bet and got two A's vs a dealer 5. She split the A's (another $50) and she got a 9 on the first Ace and a 5 on the second Ace, can you guess what the dealer did ? If you guessed that the dealer pulled another 21, you win the prize. Of course Mrs Z also commented that she should have just hit those two A's which would have resulted in her making 21. Not to worry though as I won all my match play bets (which included a double down and a split) and had a good streak going when we decided to cash out at +$80. We headed over to El Cortez for their SW boarding pass promo and each received a $25 match play chip and $10 slot free play. Results at BJ were good as we finished up a combined $165 (no bleeping required) and then we played our free play on VP and won $15. Feeling hungry, it was over to the 4 Q's to get my birthday month BOGO offer at Magnolia's. Our table at Magnolia's overlooked the casino floor and we kept hearing clapping from the craps table. So, after lunch I headed to play craps while Mrs Z played some VP. There was no clapping after my craps session (-$220) but Mrs Z won $100 at VP, so there was that. We walked back to Binions and put $20 in a VP machine and got our parking stub validated and left downtown up $100 overall. We decided to head to Jerry's Nugget because - well $5 craps, that's why ! Also, I had $10 machine play since it was my birthday month. It turned out that Jerry's was a bust, I lost $100 at craps (sound familiar) and we lost $10 overall at VP play. So, time to head back to SFS for more gaming and dinner.

Our late afternoon and evening gaming was all positive (maybe because I avoided the craps table ?) as we were up $80 at VP and up $50 at BJ. Dinner was at Leticia's (50% off points day) and was very good -we both would highly recommend Leticia's if you like Mexican. Overall, Day 2 gaming results were again negative, but not as much as Day 1, so we're making progress to get back on the winning side.

Plans for Day 3 include lunch at Bellagio buffet, getting some pictures at the conservatory (Lunar New Year display now up) and of course, more gaming. Also, we'll need to change our plans for the weekend (again) as the trip to SoCal is back on. That was the original plan (visit with my sister, watch Mrs Z's niece play B'ball - she's a college freshman, first sub in) but them my sister got COVID early this week and they cancelled attendees for the B'ball games. Well, today we heard from our niece, you can now attend the B'ball games provided you have proof of vaccination - so the trip is back on (yea !).

Pictures from Day 2 are below

Apparently the pigeons must now use busker circles downtown in the FSE area - WHO KNEW ?


Chasing the progressive at Four Queens - close but no cigar (where do you get those ?)



Jerry's Nugget



I've been informed that the next time a get a feeling about playing craps, I should just do this ...hmmmm


Chasing a progressive at SFS ...


More chasing at SFS ..



Even more chasing ..



Leticia's chips & dips appetizer


Leticia's: Mexican bouillabaisse - excellent !


Leticia's: Special Chili Relleno with shredded beef - magnificent !


Leticia

 

Vtamanada/eliza

Mrs. Z passes along many thanks for your compliments on her choice of hair and nail styling.

 

Day 3 "whatever" report

Well, I'm changing it up - no longer going to mention the word that ends in "...lights" as my heading (it might be bad luck just like saying "7" at the craps table !). Gaming results continue to be in the negative direction, if we don't do some winning today, we're headed for a 4 figure loss. But this was bound to happen sooner or later after 5 out of the last 7 trips with 4 figure wins and the other two trips being almost 4 figure wins.. Not much to report regarding gaming, we did do myKonami play at Luxor and Mandalay Bay and managed to eke out a $45 profit from $100 in freeplay and continued to chase the royal progressives at SFS. Lunch at Bellagio was good (myKonami BOGO offer) and we did go to see the Lunar New Year display (pictures follow). I did try a craps session again and continue to have the same results (might be siesta time today when that feeling comes around). Today is moving day (to Suncoast) and dining plans include the myKonami MGM buffet BOGO offer and possibly Pasta Mia West (groupon) for dinner.

Here's the pictures.

Bellagio









Raider nation hits Luxor


Still chasing the progressive at SFS ...

 

Day 4 - Get back on the bike and ride !

We all know the old saying when you fall off your bike and scrape your knees - ".. get back on the bike and ride again kid !" Well for me, that holds true for craps. There was no taking a siesta and fortunately I found a hot shooter at SFS before we departed. He started rolling from the dark side, but soon switched after he made a point (and a couple of 4's where he had a $25 place bet). As for me, he rolled at least four hard 8's when I had $5 on the hard 8 (and $42 as a place bet that got pressed up to $60). When he finally 7'd out, I had made over $600 on his roll (good thing because I was down a bit when he started rolling). I found hot roll shooter #2 at Suncoast when I stepped up to the table and the dealer pushed the dice to me. I made a lot of points with one of them being a six when I had $10 on the hard 6. I also hit the all small and only needed a 12 to make the tall and all and had at least 25 rolls to make a 12, but just couldn't do it. So, scabby knees and all, I had two great craps sessions. We also had several BJ sessions, but the memorable BJ session was the last one of the night. I was at the BJ table (Suncoast) and Mrs Z was looking for a VP machine that would pay her. About 5 minutes after I sat down a lady sat down next to me and buys in for $135 ($10 table with the Kings Bounty and pair square side bets). She bets both of the side bets (KB and PS) for ~4 hands and wasn't hitting anything, so she stopped with the side bets. The second hand after she stopped, she gets both K Spades and shows me and says "Dang" - meanwhile the dealer had an Ace showing. She didn't seem to realize how much the KB side bet paid and was just upset she hadn't bet the pair square. I showed her the KB pay table and she just rolled her eyes. Well, you already know how this ends, the dealer had BJ ! After a few more hands she tells me that she had hit a slot machine the previous night for ~$4k, so while she was upset she had missed the KB payout, that had taken a little sting out of the KB miss. She started betting the two side bets again and as fate would have it, she was hitting one or the other side bets every hand and did hit on a pair of matched 10's.

Dining for Day 4 was the MGM buffet (myKonami BOGO) and Briggs Oyster bar (@ Suncoast). In our opinion, at $36 per person the MGM "brunch" buffet is not a good value dining option even if it was $36 total for 2 people (ie. without the BOGO offer). It is basically a breakfast buffet and reminded us of the off strip breakfast buffets from 5+ years ago when they were all less than $8 per person. If you like breakfast options with a few carved meat options, then I guess the current MGM buffet is okay. For dinner we ate at Briggs Oyster bar and we both had a salad and then split the pan roast which was very good.

Today the change in plans has us checking out of Suncoast early and making the drive to Socal to watch the niece play her college Bball game and then back on Sunday for check in at The Orleans.

Here's some pictures from Day 4

Craps chip porn from Santa Fe Station - no thoughts of a siesta after this !


Last VP hit at SFS chasing one of their progressives


A quick VP hit at Gold Coast while enroute to Suncoast


Craps chip porn #2 - Suncoast


Our room at Suncoast


Golf course view from our Suncoast room

 

Day 5,6 - Over and back

Prior to departing the Suncoast on Saturday we managed to get in a short BJ session. We were the only 2 players at the table ($10) and it was one of those sessions where I couldn't lose and Mrs Z couldn't win. We ended up with a $100 profit and got on the road for the trip to Socal to see our niece play in her college Bball game. The trip over was uneventful, a little bit dreary as the skies were overcast. The pictures we took of the snow on the San Gabriel mountains as we approached El Cajon pass don't really do it justice - just a beautiful sight in spite of the overcast skies. Our niece got to play ~10 minutes and scored, got some rebounds and a steal, so she was happy with her game but not the team result as they didn't win (they went cold for the final two minutes of the game after taking a brief lead). After the game we went out for dinner (sushi of course, our nieces favorite) and had a nice visit. Our niece told us she is going to run track in the spring (probably 200m, 400m and maybe long jump), she'll do well as she already has times from high school that are better than the school records - we'll probably try and come back to see one of her track meets. On the drive back to Vegas we took more pictures of the snow on the mountains before going up the El Cajon pass, nice pictures as it was a clear day.

We stopped in at South Point on our way back and hit the craps table, BJ table and VP - had a fun time but lost at all our gaming endeavors. As usual, SP was packed and they had multiple $10 craps tables and $10 BJ tables (pitch) and even two $5 BJ shoe tables - nice to see that on a Sunday afternoon. Dinner was at Lupo and our meals were delicious. We then headed back to Orleans for some Craps and BJ table and VP play and to my surprise, they had multiple $10 craps tables and multiple $10 BJ tables. All of the tables were busy and the Orleans in general was much busier than our previous visits in Dec. and Oct. and the casino vibe was much better (great to see !). I won a little at both craps (+$125) and BJ (+$85) but we lost at VP (the bar progressive was over $1,900 last night).

Today's plans are gaming at Orleans, lunch TBD and dinner at NFI at NYNY and then the hockey game (go Pens !). Here's just a few pictures.

Snow on the mountains as we approached El Cajon pass on Saturday - overcast skies


Return trip on Sunday morning (mountain view from Rancho Cucamonga) - a beautiful morning in Socal


Dinner at Lupo: Veal Scallopini and Capellini arrabiata with shrimp - very good, best brussel sprouts ever (had a few bites before remembering to take a picture) !

 

I can't believe I made it this far before realizing you are fellow Pens fans. Hope you are enjoying the game!!!!

 

Day 7 - more of the same ..

Well, gaming continues to be just a little bit on the negative side. In the morning, the craps table at Orleans was again $10 (yea) - so I played, but the results were slightly negative (boo, -$50). As I switched over to a $10 BJ table, they opened a second craps table. The BJ result again ended up in negative territory (-$100) and I went to find Mrs Z and pursue some VP action which ended up even. I walked back to the craps area at ~11 AM and two tables were open, but they were both $15 and with only 3 players at one table and the other table empty. So, off to Southpoint we went (via IN N Out !) and found four $10 craps tables (two of which were packed, one half full and one with just 1 player). I jumped on and played for ~45 minutes and ended down $75 (again, this is getting monotonous). I found Mrs Z at a $10 BJ table and she was slightly up and I joined her. After losing ~$150 (how many 14, 15, 16 counts can I get ?), I pushed my remaining $150 to her and said..."get our money back Clark" and headed off to play some VP. Mrs Z was running fairly good and managed to recapture most of my BJ losses and then we played VP together and ended up with a $70 win. We headed back to the Orleans and I played BJ (another -$75 after ~ 1 hour of play, I guess these poor BJ results will end when we leave) and Mrs Z won $95 at VP. It was time for dinner and we ate at Onduri (good meals again) as we couldn't get an early ressie at NFI (that will be tonights dinner).

Then, it was off to T Mobile arena for the Pens-Knights game. We were in section 203 row E and had seats next to two Pens fans (both with jerseys on) and it turned out they were from Harrisburg (one of our other nieces went to med school at Hershey). Also as a coincidence, one of the BJ players from my table at Orleans was from Erie - it seems sometimes it's a small world as we're originally from Western PA. One thing about Knights games at T Mobile, be prepared for extra loud volume on their sound system, before and during the game, as well as a thumping base that shakes your internals ! Also, you're not quite sure whether this is an actual professional hockey game or just another Vegas type show with all the pageantry/spectacle that goes on before, during, after the game (it is Vegas after all). We settled into our seats and the group texting with family started which also included live action reporting from the Bball game the niece was in (game had been rescheduled from earlier in the season due to Covid). There were lots of Black and Gold jerseys in the arena and the seats were pretty full by game time. After the 1st period was over, the Pens were down 3-0 and it was looking bad for us. The bright spot was that the niece was getting more playing time and had scored 6 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in her game and they were winning, so we took that as our consolation prize. As everybody already knows, the Pens came storming back with 2 goals in the 2nd period and 3 more in the 3rd period to win (yea Pens !). The fans were mostly well behaved and mostly masked, but we did have opposing fans in the seats directly behind us escalate their fan support into a minor fight in the aisle (yes, alcohol was involved). The fight was quickly broken up by other friends/fans and the aggressor proudly stood in the aisle and chugged the remainder of his beer.

Plans today are to game here at Orleans (craps if $10, BJ if not), play VP and maybe some poker. If the craps isn't $10, we'll probably head to Southpoint with the same game plan as they'll likely have a $5 craps table today. Lunch is again TBD and dinner tonight is at NFI. For those wanting an opinion on In N Out, we love their burgers and fries. If you like fat, soggy fries, you won't like the fries at In N Out, but their fresh, hot, thin and crispy fries suit us just fine (everyone has their preferences). Here's some pictures from the adventure.

IN N Out burger and fries = yum! Fries are thin, crispy, fresh and hot (never stale)


Chasing a royal on a 50 cent progressive at Orleans


at the bar at Southpoint


Onduri (at Orleans): Kung Pao scallops, General Tso's chicken and hot and sour soup - all were good and spicy !


Crowd entering T mobile for Pens-Knights game (Jan. 17)


Pre-game warm-ups


Opening Tip


The fortress at T mobile - you get a show, hockey game and boxing match, it's hockey Vegas style !


THE Vegas Knight roaming the arena - engaging with a Pens fan right in front of us


Vegas Knights ice cleaning crew Vegas style - no surprise with their outfits !


Of course, the requisite boxing match at a hockey game (all is now complete)

 

Good stuff so far!

 

Great report hitting up some off strip places I love and plenty of VP and craps, my games.

Quick question at Santa Fe you said you played poker in there room. Did you notice if they where spreading Omaha 8? They supposedly have $3/$6 O8 game. Thanks

 

We played at Santa Fe Station Wednesday and Thursday last week (Jan. 12,13) and did not see any live Omaha games. They had an interest list, but we didn't see any live games. Note that we were not in the poker room all the time, but did have late afternoon and early evening sessions or walk-bys. Also, when we were there on Dec. 8,9 we didn't see any Omaha. They might have games on the weekends, but we weren't at SFS on Friday or Saturday. We'll be back at SFS Feb. 7,8 and will report back during that visit. Every time we've been at The Orleans, they have definitely had Omaha games in action (week-days and weekends).

 

Wow thanks for the detailed reply. Basically what I was thinking thanks for confirming. Yeah seems like Orleans is the only game in town. Did hear SP spreads it but it’s not on there poker atlas listing.

 

Day 8 ... Last day

Day 8 (Tuesday) summary a little late, but here it comes. The reason for the delay was all day travel back home on Wednesday, then catching up around the house and yard yesterday (we had an ice storm at home last Sunday, tons of pine branches in the yard to clean up).

Gaming on day 8 was at Orleans and Southpoint. Both craps tables at Orleans were at $15 min on Tuesday morning - go figure (this was after $10 tables Sunday night and Monday morning) ! So, it was off to the BJ table where I played basically even for ~1 hour (+$20). Mrs Z was playing VP and I caught up with her after BJ and we managed a small win (+$125) mostly on her play. We then decided to head off to Southpoint for craps and BJ play. SP had 4 craps tables running and they were all $10 min and mostly full. I had two craps sessions with a BJ session in between - all were losing sessions (-$180 at craps; -$125 at BJ). After the second craps session I joined Mrs Z playing VP and we were up on our combined VP play (+$125, but almost all won by Mrs Z). We headed off to NYNY to have dinner at Nine Fine Irishmen and then back to Orleans for some final play. Arriving at Orleans I found that both craps tables were $10, so I ended up playing two sessions of craps - both were losing efforts (-$265). Meanwhile Mrs Z was again saving the day with her VP play (+$460) and we called it a night and went back to the room to pack for our early Wednesday AM flight home. The flight home was uneventful (something to be thankful for these days) and both Southwest flights were ~65% full, so lots of room for us. Baggage claim at CLT is getting better as we only had to wait ~15 minutes for our bags. We stopped for dinner at a really good German restaurant (Waldhorns, should have taken pictures) and we made it home around 10PM which made for a long day.

We rearranged the timing for our next Vegas trip and will now be in Vegas Feb 6-12 after a visit to Portland, OR (Jan. 29-Feb.5) - can't wait to get back. Here's the pictures from Day 8.

... another Royal teaser at Southpoint .. thought we caught some magic till the last card


Colcannon soup (very good) at NFI with a pink drink (Celtic Breeze) and a draft (Harp)


Dinner: Grilled Salmon (very good), Shepherd's Pie (just OK, a little greasy) and grilled Asparagus .. Harp is almost gone, pink drink going slowly


Chasing the Royal progressive at the old Paddlewheel VP bank at Orleans - another miss..


more chasing...more missing ...


Mrs Z's big VP hit of the day at Orleans ... a nice way to end the trip

 

Nice report!

 

Thanks for the great report!
Have a super February trip!

RICHARD

 

Enjoyed following along @Zeke C - great teamwork between you and wife keeping the winning/losing balancing act throughout! Great food pics, and glad you could make the side trip to see your niece play. And a hockey game without a rumble on and off the ice would merit a full refund. Thanks for sharing.

 

Final Thoughts

Thanks to all who followed along. Although we ended up on the wrong side of the ledger this time, we still had loads of fun. We really enjoy staying/playing at Santa Fe Station and Suncoast. The table limits are reasonable, good VP, nice facilities, some good restaurants (love Leticia's at SFS and Briggs Oyster bar at Suncoast). We spent a lot of time at South Point and will be staying there on our next trip - really looking forward to that part of our next trip, there's just so much to like about SP. Meanwhile, the Orleans is making an attempt at lower table limits as they did have 1 or 2 $10 BJ tables and the Craps tables were at $10 for part of the time during our stay. However, I can't seem to work out what drives their decisions on table limits - especially re: Craps. It is not based on number of players, time of day, day of the week - just seems to be random ? So, we'll continue to minimize table play there and will likely just stick to VP.

We enjoyed the side trip to SoCal to see our niece. We won't be headed over to Socal on our next trip as it is a shorter visit, but we'll catch her next trip as well as my sister. We had a great time going to the Knights-Pens game, it's been some time since we've caught hockey game and that was a good game at a great venue. The best meals were at Leticia's (SFS), Onduri (Orleans), Lupo (Mandalay) and Briggs Oyster Bar (Suncoast).

It has been a really busy last 8-10 days on the home front. We came home to lots of yard clean-up after the ice storm. Then, as we just had finished that, we got 3" of snow - not a lot for most folks but that's very unusual for S Carolina (but it all melted the next day !). We also had a trip to N Myrtle Beach as we were dog sitting for the SIL who was in the process of relocation and moving into their newly built house. Then we finalyzed our plans for a cruise (end of March) with the SIL/BIL and reworked our Portland/Vegas trip that starts this Saturday. To add to this busy time, we've spent a lot of TV time watching the Aussie Open. Neither of us are tennis players, but we spent 3 years living in Melbourne and it always brings back great memories - especially when they show the area around the tennis center and downtown. That's all until Feb. 6 !

 

Awesome report ... might have inspired me to try my first trip report later this week!