Just got back late last night from 6 nights in my favorite city, Las Vegas. The weather was sunny, but a bit cool, and the nights were cold. I had expected this. This was a solo trip for me.

Flew TED non-stop from Dulles.

First 2 nights were at Harrah’s. My room was nice, but nothing special. Did have a coffee maker, however.

Harrah’s has lots of coupons available for 1/2 price shows, plus $5 off their newly remodeled buffet, Flavors. I ate a lunch at Flavors, and my food was good. Sushi and pizza have been added.

Enjoyed another lunch at Toby Keiths, I Love This Bar and Grill which is upstairs by the monorail entrance. Lots of football fans there during the playoffs. Had a 1/2 lb burger with all the trimmings.

Room and meals at Harrah’s were comped.

Met a friend and her family from Florida for dinner on two occasions at The Grand Lux in the Venetian. Everyone raved about their choice and the service was excellent.

Moved to Bally’s for day 3 and 4. I used to stay at Paris, but the last two times I have stayed at Bally’s. The decor of my Bally’s rooms resembles Paris quite a bit. My room had a light blue velvet sofa and granite desk. Very comfortable bed and pillows.

I was there for a Waterford crystal promotion. Was given a choice of Waterford, and I chose a good-size bowl. I wrapped it carefully and put it in my suitcase and it survived the trip. I believe a bowl of this size is usually $200+, so it was a nice perk.

Had a Paris buffet dinner, which I always enjoy, and a nice meal at the Sidewalk Cafe. Since the changeover to the Total Rewards card, employees bent over backward for me as a Platinum cardholder.
Showing my card at the buffet (as a line pass) I was immediately ushered to the cashier. Then I was passed off to a man who greeted me by name and shook my hand and introduced me to the woman who walked me to my table. At the cafe, at least 4 different employees checked on my well being while I was eating. Even the manager stopped by to say hello. I think because the concept of tiered cards is new I got this treatment, but it did make me feel special.

Room and meals at Bally’s were comped.

Day 5 and 6 were spent at the Stardust. This is apparently the last year for this hotel and I will miss it. But, I always like new hotels, too, so I expect I will give Echelon (or whatever it is called) a visit or two.

Ate all my meals at the cafe, seated at the counter. The counter is a perfect spot for solo diners and there is no wait ever. One night, feeling under the weather with a cold, I had the Japanese soup (sorry, can’t remember the name) which was filled with shrimp, chicken, pork, noodles and veggies in a broth. It did help me feel better. Another night, had their steak and lobster dinner (about $10) with coupon, and, although not outstanding, it was just fine.

Room and meals at Stardust were comped, plus received $100 cash at check-in.

Gambling is why I go to Las Vegas. This trip I didn’t even see a show.
I spent much time in front of penny slot machines and some nickels.
Overall, I had lots of small wins which added up and came home with me.
I did win $200 on a Hot Hot Penny machine, and $150 when 4 dueces were dealt to me on a nickel triple play. Lots of other wins were in the $50 - $100 range. My budget was $200 a day, but I didn’t spend that much.

I usually don’t schedule my trips so close together, but I will return for a 7 night stay from February 22-March 1. 2 nights at Rio to pick up a $100 Visa gift card, 2 nights at Stardust and another $100 cash, and 3 nights at LVHilton to play in a slot tournament. The real reason for going is to play in the first ever World Bunco Championship Tournament held at Paris. 1000 women from around the world will compete and the top prize is $50,000. Although I really don’t expect to win, it should be a great experience.

We went for nine nights this year (most comped)….. husband, myself, and the couple we always travel with. Stayed at Palace Station, Fremont, and Stardust. This trip was a little different than our usual shorter ones. We slept 8 or 9 hours every night, used the pools, and just generally relaxed MUCH more than we ever have. Still did PLENTY of gambling, but didn’t rush around trying to see and do everything. It was GREAT!

Instead of a “report”, I’ve just written down random things that made the trip interesting for me. Here goes:

Wynn…I LOVED it. When you walk in, it smells FRESH…not perfume or cleaning products, just FRESH. It’s well laid out, everyone I dealt with was extremely nice, and I won more there than anywhere else. Next year, my husband has a “landmark” birthday, and we will be staying there a couple of nights on our annual trip.

While we were staying at the Stardust, they were hosting the annual BBW Bash (Big Beautiful Woman magazine), and they had a pool party every night. At the same time, MGM was hosting an international Red Hat convention. Needless to say, we saw a LOT of interesting ladies all week long.

Primm and Silverton. We spent a day going to Primm with stops at Silverton and Jean. Didn’t care much for Jean, but we really liked Silverton, and we all decided we might stay in Primm for one night of our trip next year….really like the casinos and the atmosphere there…and Buffalo Bill’s had a GREAT lounge band. And coming back at night we got to see that “coming over the hill” first sight of Vegas….really cool!

We had a postcard offer for courtyard rooms at Palace Station for the first two nights. When we got there (11pm) they assigned us rooms in the tower, as the courtyard rooms are being renovated. Wow! Great rooms and a fun casino. We did walk through the courtyard room section and were pretty glad we hadn’t been put there…kind of dark and creepy looking.

Swenson’s ice cream….chocolate orange chip…fabulous!

Buffet at Palace Station….really good food, and the best, thickest hot fudge sauce I’ve ever had. Our friends went back twice during the trip, but still couldn’t figure out how to smuggle a big old bowl of hot fudge back to their room.

Buffet at Sahara….OK, I concede!!! I’ve always said anyone should be able to find something to fill up on at ANY buffet. Wrong!!! Everything I tasted here was just awful! Even the iced tea had a funny taste to it, and the desserts were even bad!!

LeCafe at Paris. I had some comp dollars I wanted to use, and even though I COULD have just eaten $15 worth of pastries from Boulangerie, I chose LeCafe. Had a Provence omelet (delicious) and a POT of coffee all to myself!

Saw Rita Rudner. She is very funny in just a relaxing, laid back way. Totally opposite of Amazing Johnathan, who we saw a few years ago, but I really enjoyed both of their shows. The Cabaret theatre in NYNY is a small venue, we had great seats, but the seats are very narrow and NO leg room.

Krispy Kremes. Was in Excalibur one day and hadn’t had breakfast (around 2pm). Went to KK and got two hot glazed donuts and a Super Large coffee. Thought I’d died and gone to Heaven!

Wild Wild West. We signed up for a players’ card and were given coupons for free burgers and fries. Huge delicious burgers and hand cut fries. Yum!!

Suncoast and Rampart. Drove over to Summerlin one day to check these places out. We really like Rampart a LOT. I wasn’t crazy about Suncoast, but everyone else liked it. Speaking of Coasts, it looks like the new South Coast is going to be pretty classy.

Downtown. We were at Fremont for five nights and I just couldn’t get anything going (gambling-wise) downtown. Tried pennies, nickels, quarters, even dollars, but couldn’t hit much. The two places I did well were Lady Luck and MSS, and we usually don’t even venture over to those two.

Heritage Festival. This was a multi-cultural festival going on all weekend down Fremont Street while we were there. Two big stages with dancers and singers from all ethnic groups, and food tents with GREAT food. (Had chicken Satay at one, and went back in an hour and had some more!) It was great fun to watch all the entertainment.

Sights. Watched a wedding on one of the balconies at Sams Town. Saw Pete Rose and the Munchkin Mayor from Wizard of Oz, both signing autographs at the Forum Shops. Also saw someone parachute off the Strat tower (there were many motorcycle cops rushing to meet him when he landed!)

Also, my husband got propositioned on the sidewalk near Caesars. He turned her down, then fumbled around to get his camera out and got a picture of her walking away. (He was so excited, that he snapped a pic of his foot as he was getting the camera ready!)

Monorail. Rode from Sahara to Bally’s. Very clean, with an interesting taped narrative from the speakers as you ride. It takes you by the Wynn Golf course….it’s BEAUTIFUL but sure has a LOT of trees. Funny to see this HUGE park-like space right behind the busy Strip.

Husband spent a day at Rio watching the WSOP and got to see all his “heroes”.

Anyway, we had our best time ever (even though none of us won BIG) and are AGAIN counting the days until next summer.

Londa
T-next summer

Posted by KLinMI at LVTalk