July 4, 2005 I packed up the ’74 Ford Crestwood Wagon, added a quart of oil, filled the tank (I miss the leaded stuff), and rounded up the ankle biters and my live-in girlfriend (who pops kids out quicker than you can say “Trojan Man”). It was 4am and we had an additional 30 minute drive to pick up her mother who rarely ventures out of the 1 bedroom apartment she shares with six cats and 10 years of Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes envelopes. There were a total of seven of us going:
Me, Girlfriend Lulu, Girlfriend’s Mother Verna, Dusty (10), Daisy (Cool, Leroy and Laquicia (4yr old twins).

I had been anticipating this trip for a long time, and have been using the LVT board for ideas and tips while planning. I got a smoking deal on the strip at a Resort called Circus Circus. In addition to a Manor Room for $29 (who’d ever think I could afford to stay in a Manor!!), they gave us four 2f1 buffet coupons!! May not seem like much but when you think about it, this fed us for free for 4 days ‘cause Verna is on a tapioca and jello diet and Lulu is still breastfeeding the twins. Also, they only charged us an additional $10 for the crib and two rollaways. I know, I know, you’re saying to yourself, there’s one bed short…they did make a mistake and gave us a King instead of 2 dbls so Verna slept with me and Lulu. The bed was bigger than I’m used to, so it wasn’t a real big deal except Verna’s a little old fashioned and insisted on sleeping between us ‘cause were not “officially” married. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.

By 6 or 7am I’m in Wickenburg and we decide to grab a quick bite at this truck stop. Wouldn’t be much to note except while I was there this dude a couple tables away is eating a big old Tbone and egg plate, reading a romance novel, and mumbling to everyone (it was just us and the waitress) that he’s “The Real Mr Vegas”. And get this, he’s drinking some high fallutin’ fancy handcrafted ale…at 7am!!! Geez, it takes all kinds huh?! I figured he was headed to Vegas ‘cause he was wearin a “Don Ho Vegas 1980 Tour shirt, and I was gonna make small talk but about then is when Leroy dropped a load in his pull-ups that’d make Nagasaki run for cover.

Ok, on with the trip. The desert in July is a hot place, and when you’re without AC and have to drive with the windows down that hot breeze is no relief. In the morning it’s not so bad, but you know it’s heating up when you start hearing Verna’s legs sticking and rubbing against the vinyl seats. Geez, I had the radio up and the wind was coming in and I could still hear that squeaking and rubbing!! Wouldn’t be so bad if that old fart wouldn’t keep on living in the 60’s and insist on wearin’ those almost 40 yr old lime green hot pants for the drive up.

Check in took a couple hours but that was ‘cause our kids would wander off and get mixed up with the other couple hundred kids in the registration area so I finally sat ‘em down next to this nice couple playing a slot machine (only Dusty and Daisy, I didn’t leave the twins unattended…sheesh!). This kept ‘em occupied until I could get us checked in. Ok, checked in and the room is really nice. They’ve got TV with cable and it’s color, a box of Kleenex brand tissues built right into the bathroom sink, wall to wall carpet (except the bathroom), AC that was included in the room price and an ice machine and a maid’s closet outside our door (the maid’s closet came in REAL handy a couple nights later when Verna woke me and Lulu up at 3am after eating too much of this big hot dog they call a Ho Dog and polishing it off with her damn tapioca pudding. Geez, it was worse than the twin’s best ones.

So, we’re checked in and everyone wants to go and watch the Circus stuff, but I say no. First thing I’m gonna do is unpack my fishing gear and head over to the Bellagio. Someone named azsigo on this board had made mention of fishing tournaments and the fact that any of the hotel restaraunts would cook up your catch for a small price. I got the gang in tow and started the march to Lake Bellagio.

I was hoping they had paddle boats to rent so the kids would have something to do but that was not to be. Ya wanna know something else that’s not to be??!! There aint no fishing in Lake Bellagio!! 45 minutes and not a single bite. I’m thinking I need to cast closer to the hotel side by the rocks (you know, just off of that restaurant patio), so I head into the building and took some escalator down to the lake level and recast my hook. No more than 5 minutes went by and some big dude with foreign accent and bad breath (this coming from a guy that spent 7 hours in a car and shared a bed with Verna). He tells me to hit the road and that the lake does not allow fishing and that it’s not even stocked!! I’m like, “not even carp?!” NOPE! Don’t believe everything on this board…shout out to azsigo…thanks a lot you a$$hol#! So now I’m stuck with 2lbs of chicken liver and my first day seemed to be a bust.

I headed down the strip to look for some cheap gambling and heard the Boardwalk was the place. The gang of us marched thru and Lulu wanted to check out the dining options so I followed her upstairs while Verna and the kids ran around the casino and helped people push buttons on their video machines. Remember when I said it seemed my first day was a bust?!? Well, this chef at the Surf Buffet (he was even wearing one of those big chef hats) sees me carting this fishing pole and asks what I’ve got in the bucket. When I tell him, he offers me $5 as long as I don’t say anything to anybody and leave the restaurant right away. No problem!!! I’m up $5 ‘cause I got the livers back home for free from Bubba and Manuel.

So, I’m now walking up the other side by the Aladdin when…huh…snort…smack, smack….Holy crap I must’ve been dreaming!!?? I’m sorry folks, forgive me please. I fell asleep at my desk and…geez I must’ve been in a deep one, look at the size of that drool pool. Anyway, let me redirect….

As I’ve previously stated there were certain things I wanted to do/see/observe on this trip. After reading this board there were so many things/places that I wanted to see…not necessarily to participate but to just look at and be able to then have a mental picture of it when I read a post. For example, there is always a lot of talk about the Grand Lux in the Venetian. I made a point to walk past, look inside and check out the menu. Didn’t eat there, but now I’ve got a nice mental picture to go with any posts I might read. BTW, the menu was awesome, and the prices weren’t bad, but it wasn’t time for lunch yet so….I also wanted to see as much as possible so if someone had a question I could some somewhat intelligent feedback, like table limits on the strip, nice bathrooms, cocktail outfits etc.

Additionally, I had made a decision to hit a couple specific places that I have always bagged on in my posts because of smell, décor, bad vibe, lack of low table limits etc…the reason was to try and give them one last fair chance and see if I could find what others find in some of these places like the Plaza, IP, Frontier to name a few. I even added an additional night to stay DT in an effort to be a more “rounded” LVT Brother. My to-do list was pretty short but in 2 categories (like everybody’s) those that I’ve done before and new things.
Done before: Ho Dog; do the complete strip starting in the North; Carnival Court; craps at Casino Royal; Perfect Margarita at Buffets.

New stuff: Ellis Island steak; see the Orleans (so many of you fanatics, I had to); see Wynn (did NOT get a players card); entire fountain show; gondola ride (wife’s request…honest); meet a couple of people from this board

All righty then, let’s go….
After the quick flight my wife (not named Lulu) and I opted for a shuttle instead of the taxi. Only because we passed the shuttle first, no other reason. I initially had reservations about this ‘cause we were headed downtown and I didn’t want a 90 minute tour of the “back side” of Vegas. Turned out great. We made a stop at LV Hilton, then Circus Circus, then us. Total cost was 6$ each, a $5 tip and 30 minutes using ODS. The driver was very friendly, (this friendliness was a constant theme our entire trip, and included the time share professionals!).
So now it’s the Strip Snob and 20 hours Downtown…
Got a good rate of $29 at the 4 Queens. No particular reason for choosing except I wasn’t gonna do the Nugget because I wanted to do a “regular” DT property and not a “4 star”. The check-in took no time and I didn’t make any requests for upgrades. Lady was very nice and welcomed us for our first time visit to their property. Got a south tower room (elevators were spittin’ distance from the check in desk). Seventh floor (732). Room was a little smaller than some of the higher end places, but clean (I’m kind of anal about that, as the first thing I do is pull off the bed spread). Bathroom was very small, but again clean, and there was just a faint smell of smoke but not enough to bother my wife which is the litmus test, and there was a coffee maker (big plus for me). The view of Fitzgeralds garage wasn’t the greatest, but what the hell, I wasn’t staying DT to sit in a room and get to bed early…right?!?! All right, get the hell out of the room and time for a…Let’s hear it TheRealMrVegas…time for a what??…a beer!

Wandered thru the casino not even itching to gamble yet, just content at the sights and sounds of the 4 Queens, my home for the next 20 hours. Walked past Hugo’s and looked in ‘cause I’ve heard a lot about it. Nice room, and it’s the first time I’ve really ever taken notice to restaurant on my previous short 3 hour DT trips. I was like “they do have classy places DT”…this is nice but where’s the Chicago Brewery?!? Found it! It’s a small place and if you are really bothered it can fill up with smoke quickly (this was later at night). I put a $20 in the VP and ordered an Old Town Brown. It was decent, but if it wasn’t that it was my first beer just starting my Vegas trip it probably wouldn’t have been as good. I also had their Ultimate Weiss and the IPA. I like wheat and if I closed my eyes I could have been back in Germany. The IPA was ok, but I’m not a real IPA fan anyway.

Time to hit Freemont Street…
and make our way to some food. It was weird seeing freemont in the late afternoon/early evening because I usually get there at 8 or 9 pm for a couple hours on previous trips. Wasn’t real crowded but a nice energy. I had planned to eat at one of three places: Roberta’s, Redwood Grill, Manetti’s. We walked thru the LVC and I wandered upstairs ‘cause I wanted to get a glimpse of that 9lb burger…the thing is for real! Went over to the Cal and scoped out the Redwood which was not open for another 10 minutes. What a really nice dining room. I had been hankering for Italian for a while so we decided on Manetti’s at the Plaza. Besides this would give me a chance to walk around the property that I’ve so frequently bashed on this board and we were seeing a show just steps away from the restaurant. We decided to see the show first then do dinner so I had time to scope out the place. I tried hard to find that smell that I’ve always seemed to detect on previous visits…a little smoky with a mixture of fast food, but nothing appalling. No gambling, just sightseeing. Upstairs to see Larry Jones for the price of 2 drinks (I got both ‘cause the wife doesn’t drink…$12). This guy was entertaining and it was a nice 1 hour break, and he was very approachable after the show (his impression of Johnny Mathis had me rolling). Manetti’s is located within the Center Stage, and from my table I actually got a partial view of freemont as the lights were coming on….what a neat sight! I now know why many of you like this place, the view rivals many of strip views. So, dinner was very tasty and inexpensive with 1 salad, 1 soup, 2 entrées , 1 wine, and great bread for $29 excluding tip. My Italian peppers and sausage were delicious.

We wandered up the street (or is it down the street), and played a little roulette at GG, got a big Margarita with an extra shot at the little place (forgot the name), lost $60 at a single deck GN BJ table (the GN only had $10 minimums and the casino was smoky but more friendly than I expected) and headed into the Freemont to meet my brother who lives in Henderson. I haven’t seen him in a year so I new chances were good that I’d be having many cold libations in the coming hours. We wandered around, in and out of places, dropping a couple here and there and ended up back at the Chicago Brew Pub in my DT home at 4 Queens. My wife went upstairs to change so we put a couple $20’s in the VP machines and ordered a Weiss. After about 45 minutes my wife didn’t come back down and I knew she had fallen asleep. So, Bro and I headed out ‘cause the night is young. He suggested Glitter Gulch, but I didn’t want to waste my DT exploration time at a ti##y bar that I’ve been to once before. So we hit all the casinos starting with a little craps and a couple decent beers at MSS. Such a nice casino, and the drink service pretty good.

After hitting the Berlin Wall, we headed back to LVC, and on to Binions. I had never really gambled or spent much time there on previous trips, so I wanted to drop a couple $20’s and grab some beers. I liked it there, it didn’t have a cramped feeling like I remembered, and wasn’t real smoky. Back on Fremont, there was a band playing some smoking classic rock as we headed down to Fitzgeralds. I’ve always liked the Fitz casino. Always seems to have a fun, peppy feel to it. In a previous post I asked you all which places gave you good/bad vibes, and the Fitz gives me a good one. It’s midnight, I’m even for the night money-wise, I’m outside the Fitz looking east into the abyss, I’m wearing sunglasses, I see it!…the one and only…Western! Now, Freemont street always seems to have one of those invisible electrical fields that keeps me from leaving the safe confines of Neonopolis to the Plaza, kinda like those invisible force fields for dogs.

But let’s face it Brothers and Sisters, I’m at double digits on drinks for the day, my brother’s with me, and I did add this DT night to my trip to help me become a more rounded Vegas Freak…right??! I told my brother that I had always wanted to check out the Western and he gave me look like I was smoking a doobie the size of a submarine. So I extended my leg past that fictional force field and was transported to a different galaxy in a nanosecond. For the next couple hours we found ourselves with some beers, and a little roulette play at the Elco, then the Western and on the way back, yep you guessed it…The Gold Spike. Ok, now I know I used the word snob earlier, but that was just tongue in cheek. I’m really not. And I am generally pretty good at withholding my judgements of people and places until I’ve met or scene them. So, here’s my ever-so-humble opinion of the three “properties” that I will lovingly refer to henceforth as the “Trio of Trash”.

The Elco wasn’t so bad. It actually had a lively casino and crowd. I played a little and walked around. The smoke wasn’t any worse than most places, and the dealers seemed friendly. Next was the Western. Based on other TRs, and the one at CheapoVegas, I wasn’t going to be surprised. I was. It was like stepping into an episode of “Carnivale”. The place did smell of people, cigarettes and beer, all which were stale. The casino was brighter and better lit than I expected, which was the bad thing…we could see them, but they could see us. You’ve heard “stories” of people getting funny looks for playing dollar chips, right?? No shi%, I put $5 on red (I usually do a $10), it hit red, and two of the guys at this table then asked me twice if they could borrow $5. I’ve seen it, didn’t care for it, and won’t go back to the Western. Unlike the Elco, it just seemed everybody in there was lifeless. I mean, their eyes were open, but they were in some sort of “wandering” or “zombie” mode. Bad vibe, bad Brothers and Sisters. Time to head back towards home with a stop at the Gold Spike.

I know a lot of people like the Spike, and its cheap gambling and such, but I didn’t see the attraction anywhere at this place. The crowd was just plain boring and the place had so much smoke that I didn’t have to light one up while I was there…just inhale and exhale. I will admit that it was late (about 2:30), and I had a pretty good buzz so I was probably less lenient. My impressions of the Trio of Trash: Elco I enjoyed; the Western sucked; Gold Spike I will give another shot. My brother said good night, and I headed back towards the 4 Queen. Remember when I said that I liked the Fitz casino? Well I popped into it on the way back. I found a roulette table with a couple other people and what seemed like a friendly dealer and dropped a $20. Hour and a half later, a couple drinks and a lot of laughs (great people at the table and the dealers were all fun), and up $120 I staggered back to the 4 Queens at 4am. I couldn’t have written a better ending to my night.

Freemont in the morning…
Is a completely different look than the evening and night. It’s a nice, peaceful, leisurely crowd with your occasional relic from the night before sleeping it off. We grabbed a breakfast sandwich from the Subway conveniently located in the little food court in the 4 Queens, checked our bags at the desk, and headed out to Freemont. I like the different stands on Freemont that sell sodas, water, sunglasses etc. You don’t have to go into a casino to get anything. So I grabbed a tall coffee from one of them for $1.75 (thinking I was going to pay $3 or $4 for a huge coffee) and we headed to Binions.

I didn’t gamble, I just wanted to check out the room they used for the WSOP. Again, walking thru Binions I really liked it. I know many of you who frequented it before Harrahs took over are lamenting many changes, but my impressions are from a guy who didn’t really know “The Horseshoe”, so I don’t see the changes. The walk around DT in the morning really was relaxing. I didn’t do much of anything except people watch. I did take my wife to see the Lady Luck ‘cause I stayed there years back with my brother. Pretty dead casino, and I’m surprised we gained admittance since neither of us were attached to an oxygen bottle. Oh well, time to say good bye to DT. We grabbed the bags, got a cab with really sweet driver who was a single mother of one, and headed to the Luxor to start our strip tour.

Some of my Impressions of Downtown…

The Plaza: I had a favorable experience in a place that I frequently have bashed. I intend to
have dinner at the Center Stage one of these days.

Larry G. Jones: Good show. It was quality entertainment for a cheap price

Golden Nugget: More smoky than many of the other places; no tables less than $10 (late afternoon), and more friendly than I thought it would be.

Room at 4 Queens: Serviceable, clean, small, friendly.

The Fitz: One word…ROCKS!

MSS: a genuinely nice and attractive casino

Manetti’s: Good food, even better prices

Overall: Adding the DT night was great idea and I recommend it for those who normally just do the strip, or only do DT for a couple hours. The transformation from afternoon to evening to night and then the morning is really cool. The casinos are a lot of fun and the service everywhere was nothing short of friendly. I suggested to my wife that we take a night from the strip and add another at the 4 Queens and she said “Oh no, don’t tell me you’re addicted to Downtown”. Well, no…I don’t think?!? But I do know that a DT night is in the cards for my next trip, and I know where I’m gonna stay…Yep…Fitzgeralds!

Geez , this is just the first day!!! Sorry this TR is so damn long, but my next part will be quicker. I just wanted to relive my DT night one more time and this was great way to do it. Coming up will be The Luxor, the Fab Four, and a night out with a couple great guys from LVT….

have at me Brothers and Sisters

Posted by azsigo on LVTalk