went to the Wide Shoe Store at Harmon and Paradise (the road is a mess). Nice store if you have very wife feet. saw two pairs of shoes in sale that were too wide 5E’s so didn’t.

went to Costco on Martin Luther and overspent our days spending money, cigarettes and books. After reading Void Moon (great book about Vegas), I may add Michael Connelly to my reading list so bought the latest plus a paperback.

Next stop the Palms for the $50 POV coupon. No food, Maureen not up to it, so hit the Palms shop, after Silver Strike number 10, different machine, three playlines but need two bars plus a Silver Strike to win. but you can win up to three.

Needless to say the Palms Shop is a disappointment. Do you get the feeling that if a coupon seems to good to to be true.

Buy two hats and a T-shirt and save $40, but struggle to do that.

Off to the Wynn for lunch. haven’t tried the other great buffet’s (we are comped at the Wynn cause Moe loves the casino), but cannot imagine them being much better than this one. The pasta selection is amazing and the Kobe Meatballs are to die for. Even the Kansas Ribs are better than anywhere else.

and the desserts. Wow.

Anyway, needed to go to the rest (wash) room and am attacked by the automatic toilets. I am a standing finisher so when I get up to finish the toilet flushes, BUT I AM NOT FINISHED. So what do you do. No evidence of a manual flusher so you sit down with your pants up and stand up to finish the job. Unfortunatley the toilet chose that time to overflush giving my pants a good wash.

I guess the casinos – and don’t get me wrong I have visited most of the toilets this week and have yet to hit a bad one – need the auto flush to keep them clean, but only a few have a rehit button.

After the Wynn we go back to the Strat to finish our comp. Love affair over. The special comp for newbies does not apply to the triple bonus points and we have been misformed. No comps to be had and the jacket sucks anyway.

As Jean Scott says, If you have a question just ask. If you aren’t satisfied with the answer ask someone else. not everyone in fully informed and some just guess.

The $100 loss deal is only available at the Arizona Charlie casinos but if you sign up and paly at the Strat the deal is not available.

Still play and give too much money back. Have a good run at Starwars 1, but have concluded that I prefer the bonus round in Star Wars 2. Some how free spins are always more fun than just cash.

maureen is still under the weather so we decide to go to the Hard Rock and then make it an early night.

HR is a zoo SEMA is putting on an outdoor show in the self parking lot and the place is full of truckers on expense reports. Luckily they do not play slots, just drink and fall down at lot, so the machines are realtively quiet.

give the Mutlstrike another shot. Takes back some of the money it gave me.

Anyway, its 10 pm and we are hungry sowe what Lucky’s. Service and good and the food is great. What a surprise. Maureen has an outstanding steak sandwich with Watermelon as a side. Neat idea.

time for home but see a penny Alien that needs to be played. hot two bonuses (one of which i open the hatch) and an egg which I finish wthout crashing so end up $40 ahead.

Pretty nice day, one full one left.

Dan

Some highlights for you (and for myself) so I remember to come back to these things. Showed my brother in law and his friends the pampered side of Vegas, Dinner at Fleur de Lys, Love at Mirage, Michigan game, $400,000 gone in 60 seconds, strange sighting in the elevator, $10K win, and the craziest airport check-in line ever.

Flew out of Burbank Friday night since I was coming from that area. Just made my flight. My wife flew out of LAX an hour after me. I land, call up my brother-in-law and his buddies to come pick me up. The point of this trip was to show my BIL and his friends a good time in Vegas. They were supposed to be there the whole weekend but realized that they had forgotten about my BIL’s ex’s 21st BDay party. As much as everyone kept telling him that he should skip the party, he insisted that he (and all his buddies) needed to be there. Bummer for them. I had booked them a premiere palace tower room at Caesars. Since they needed to leave on Saturday afternoon, they went to Vegas a day early. I insisted on paying for a room at a nice hotel for Thursday night but they refused (very nice considerate guys for 22 year olds). They booked themselves a room at the Sahara for $40. $10/person. They were very proud of themselves at finding such a bargain. While I waited for them to pick me up, I checked in at the airport. I normally don’t like playing or staying at any of the Harrah’s resorts but I find them very useful for their free rooms since I can put up friends and family without the pressure of playing there.

I get picked up and we head towards Caesars to get them settled in when my wife calls saying they she landed already. So we head towards THE Hotel so they can drop me off, allowing me to check in while my BIL goes to pick up my wife. I check in through the VIP lounge and we’re off to the HOB for dinner. I’m usually RFL at the start of every MB trip with my host picking everything up by the end, but this time I was actually RFB+ coming in with everything automatically being taken off with nothing but tips showing up on my active charges. Anyway, back to HOB – we are ready to pig out. The guys are loving it asking if it’s really okay to order anything they wanted. I say yes and tell them to go crazy. They take me up on it and I see them eat like I haven’t seen since I was in college. HOB has some nice live blues music after 9pm. Very cool, had a good time. They don’t usually take reservations for groups of less than 10 but my host had made reservations for us. After dinner, BIL and friends head to Caesars to check out their room. Apparently they were blown away. 2 bathrooms, huge shower, jacuzzi tub, flat panel TV. Sounded like they enjoyed it a lot. You know, the typical 21 to 22 year old stuff – mooning nobody in particular out the window, realizing that this is what a bidet looks like and taking turns using it.

Meanwhile, I had the gambling bug. Now last time I got destroyed playing baccarat so I decide to start off with a little craps. I would be on fire all weekend at the craps table. I convince my wife to play with me. I roll and we’re up about 500 right away. I tried a different strategy this time around. I usually play $120 on 6 and 8 and if things get going, I pick up some other place bets along with some hardways. This time, I play a max of three $25 come bets with full odds with some additional bets here and there when the shooter rolls for a while. It’s just me and my wife on one end of the table and this other young guy and his girl come up on the other end. He buys in for 300. I had bought in for 3000. He and I are shooting the dice back and forth and we’re both pretty hot and shooting for 5-10 minutes each time. My wife did very poorly whenever she would shoot which made her very sad and this other guys girl did okay. By the end of the hour, I was up 3000 and he was up 1000. We were very happy and had a great time with the dealers. We were tipping and betting for the dealers very freely. It was pretty cool that it was just the 4 of us at the table for most of the time. Good start. I’m exhausted from a very long work week and we head upstairs to crash. On the way, I want to bet on the Michigan game. I’m a huge Michigan fan but they’re favored by 30 over Northwestern. Now I know Mich and once thing I know for sure is that they don’t beat anybody by 30. I’m so confident I’m about to place 1100 on Northwestern to cover the spread. My wife is skepticle. She knows I have a horrible track record on my sports bets and is able to plant that seed of doubt in my mind. I compromise and place a bet for 550. Off to bed.

The next morning, head down to the pastry shop, buy a croissant, bagel, juice, and coffee and bring it up to the room. Start watching the game. Very happy that the weather is poor in Ann Arbor meaning likely a lower scoring game. Proves I’m right. Head down during halftime and it’s time for some more craps. Quick 30 minute session. Head down pretty fast and it’s my turn to shoot. Get a nice little run and I’ve made up my losses for that session and end up another 500. Up 3500 for the trip so far. No good seating in the sports book so I head to the THE Bar to catch the rest of the game. Just me and the 2 bartenders. We’re watching the game and I’m enjoying a couple of the best bloody mary’s I’ve ever had. Mich was only up at 11 late in the game and life was good. BIL and friends come to MB barely awake but still giddy about the good time they had at Caesars on their last night in Vegas. Eat at the THE Cafe. Pretty good food overall. Would have been a really good meal had it not been for our extra surly waiter, Victor. I think he just saw 6 young looking kids and thought we should be treated like crap. We remained polite and somehow, by the end of our meal, he was the nicest guy in the world. My wife likes to believe that since he was such a jerk and we were being so polite, that he realized he was being foolish and came to his senses. I personally think that after I gave him my signature card, he saw that I was RFB+ and realized that he should be a little nicer. We made fun of his miraculous transformation throughout the rest of our day.

Stop by the the sundries store, helped the kids load up on some drinks and snacks and they’re reluctantly driving back to LA. I tell them it’s not too last since I have Caesars booked until Sunday. They all give my BIL the evil eye as they decline and thank us for the free food and room.

I collect my sports winnings, while asking my wife why she didn’t let me bet the $50,000 I meant to bet. Wink Now I’m up 4000 for the trip. I want to stop but I’ve only placed about 90 minutes since I’ve been there.

Okay, it’s been pretty boring up to this point, but the rest of the way is much more interesting. I promise. I’ll have to continue tomorrow night though. I’m still recovering and need to get to bed.

Drove to Toronto on October 18, 2006 and stayed over night at the Knight’s Inn in Richmond Hill. Won’t ever stay there again. Way too difficult to find.

Had the day in Toronto and visited some of my old haunts, bought a full length, black leather coat for $19.99 at the Salvation Army. Toured a huge mall called Vaughn Mills and then headed to Pearson International Airport. Got there early, sat for a bit and checked in. Staff was very nice. Check in was painless. The only problem is that Pearson is now entirely smoke-free; bars, restaurants, everywhere and you can’t go outside once you are in. Hubby is a smoker and while I’m emphatically not, I still believe that if smoking is legal then smokers have rights.

No meal on the flight so we grabbed chicken sandwiches at the lunch counter. Talk about costly! $35.00 for two sandwiches and two milks!

Flight was fine. Our first time flying with a US carrier (US Airways). One of the attendants was a big “C U next Tuesday” so we avoided her. In-flight movie was “The Lake House”, yawn! Landed fine. Now the fun begins. Canadian carriers apparently go to a different terminal. A much smaller terminal. Since we went with a US carrier this time, we went to a different terminal, about 8 times the size! OMG! Talk about a cluster$%&#*!! We arrived early and had to wait on the tarmac, then we stood there for about 20 minutes to get assigned a baggage carousel, then another 20 waiting for the baggage to be released, which they did 1 piece every 2-3 minutes. Finally got our baggage, now where is the shuttle bus? No signs in the vicinity indicating shuttle buses, the staff at the US Airways counter wouldn’t help us. Finally the information staff directed us to the shuttle bus area where we had to wade through about 50 people all standing in the middle of the sidewalk (why do people do that?) to check in even though we were pre-paid. Got our shuttle. The driver took the long way around and took his sweet time. We had landed at 10:36PM and didn’t check in at the Luxor ‘til past midnight.

Luxor staff was nice. We’d book the pyramid but a room wasn’t available at the top until the next day so we spent our first night on the ground floor. Nice room, clean and sweet smelling. Grabbed our Sobr K (chasers) and hit the casino. Two long island iced teas later, I’m not feeling well, neither is hubby. I’m no lightweight, 2 drinks no matter how strong is not enough to finish me. Back to the room to call it a night. Spent the better part of the next hour in the bathroom with both ends going. Finished just in time to relinquish the bathroom to Scott for the same reason. Welcome to food poisoning!

Spent all night and most of the next day in the same condition. I’m panicking. I have a tattoo appointment at 6PM and we’re supposed to meet Eponymous Coward and a friend at Krave at midnight.

Went downstairs to get some Pepto Bismol and almost ran INTO Criss Angel on my way to the loo to puke. Back to the room & took some Pepto. Starting to feel better so I went to my tattoo appointment. Luc Zietek at Poker’s Tattoo on Valleyview behind Mandalay Bay. Not the friendliest place but WOW!! what an artist. Would not hesitate to go back to him or recommend him to others.

Headed back to the Luxor. Endorphins and Pepto are now wearing off and the sickness is returning. Tried my stomach on some dry toast, big mistake. Spent the rest of the night trying to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2 between trips to the bathroom. Didn’t make it to Krave. Very sorry Eponymous Coward but we couldn’t even leave the room never mind the hotel.

Felt better the next day, toast stayed down so we slowly got into the swing of things. The days past in a blur so I’ll just hit the highlights.

Shows: CarrotTop – had front row, center seats – great show. He must live on Red Bull and candy to get that kind of energy, like a hyperactive child. Couldn’t stop laughing. Unlike other comedians who draw their material out, he’s go, go, GO! From the moment he hits the stage til the moment he leaves it. Barely time to breathe.

Museums: Bodies – the never-ending exhibit. Give yourself at least an hour to go through this. Not gross at all, very tasteful and educational. Loved the section on blood vessels. Be warned, there are some fetal specimens. The section that deals with organs shows the cancerous lungs of a smoker. Next to it is a plastic bin where former smokers have tossed their cigarettes! Didn’t motivate hubby though.
Guggenheim: showcasing the work of Robert Mapplethorpe. I didn’t find it shocking or risqué at all. Interesting stuff but NOT worth the admission price.
Goddard: he does the Vegas painting with olives as characters. Great stuff! Very surreal but he has excellent technique as well. There’s a fantastic painting of Ozzy Osbourne in the gallery that had just been sold.

New Casinos/Hotels: Wynn – nice but it didn’t blow my hair back.
Palms – what a disappointment! It’s no bigger than our charity casinos and had little or nothing to really look at. Past by Hart and Huntington, another disappointment. Tiny shop with most of the shop curtained off. One artist, Joey working in front, a receptionist, Rose and a few people sitting around waiting for their turn. Looked at the overpriced T-shirts and left. Found out later at one of the art galleries that H & H is basically a joke. It’s where silly tourists go for overpriced tattoos in hopes of getting their 15 minutes of fame on camera. Met someone who got a quote there. $380 for 3 Chinese characters, each 1” high! I only paid $250 for my newest piece (will post a pic if requested) and it’s quite large. Actually the price was $200 but I tipped the artist $50.
Meals: ate at the Luxor Steakhouse (lobster and Kobe beef) worth every penny! Kahunaville, love the scallop and shrimp kabobs, Buzio’s, had Chilean Sea Bass (to die for!)

Lots of shopping! Bought lots of pearls at the Pearl Factory, even got two “blue” ones. Bought T-shirts and lots of Egyptian statues and figurines.

Gambled a lot. Hubby did fairly well at craps, blackjack and Big 6. I did pretty well at Sic Bo and a slot machine called Hexbreaker. Drank tones, rarely ordered the same drink twice. Seems Sobr K (chasers) really does work! We were both 3 sheets to the wind several times and didn’t get a single hangover!

Hubby met Criss Angel. Seems he’s moved his show from the Alladdin to the Luxor, is starting his 3rd season of Mindfreak and the Luxor is giving him a stage show in or around 2008. Scott says he’s a really nice guy, easy to talk and pleasant, but not as tall as he looks on TV. Invited us to come down to the office once he was set up to go but we were leaving the next night.

So much we didn’t get to do! We’ll have to go back soon.

First, Rick from BC, I am so sorry I missed the meet on the 18th. I actually overslept Embarassed Not from a wild night of partying, but from gorging myself at the breakfast/brunch buffet. I thought I would just take a short snooze to digest, but….Anyway I am sorry I missed the opportunity to meet some of you.

This was my third visit in October. The weather was gorgeous as usual. This trip though seemed to be extra crowded. I know that there were several conventions, but I felt like the majority of my time was spent waiting in lines!
From airport check-in, to the taxi line, to get something to eat etc…My patience was truly tried. Maybe because this was my seventh trip, but the “tourists” were really on my nerves. Stopping in their tracks to gawk, take photos etc. (I hope I wasn’t that annoying on my first visit).

We basically lost our a$$’s gambling wise. Maybe that explains my less-than-enthusiastic feeling from this trip. The best luck I had was at Casino Royale (slots). I seem to have had longer play for the buck there.
Other casino’s we “donated” to were Flamingo of course, Caesars,Harrah’s, O’Sheas (see a pattern here for tightness?). But to not show favoritism, we also donated to BC and Main Street Station.

On our visit to MSS, we took the Deuce downtown. We caught it in front of the Flamingo. I think I would rather have a root canal than ride that again. It was pretty excruciating. I honestly think we could have made better time walking. The stops did dwindle the farther north we went. Yes it was cheap transportation, but never again. We cabbed it back.

So I guess this wasn’t one of our better visits. Could it be because we lost? Or could my “Love Affair” with Vegas be waning? I really have trouble with crowds the older I get.

And a sad note, two days after I got home, my beloved dog died. Maybe I have some guilt going on too. I could have saved a lot of $$ and had some extra time with my “baby”.

I know Vegas is supposed to be a happy place. I hope this wasn’t too much of a “downer” of a report.

To all of you that have upcoming trips, I wish you good luck. I think we will probably wait a while before returning.

“The Suite trip turns Sour”

This was my first Vegas trip with a gal pal (GP) since the divorce in April, so I was sort of looking forward to it. Little did I know what lied ahead. Anyhow, my baseball season just ended, but I had to miss a football and a softball game. I don’t mind missing softball, but it kills me to miss football. Not a big deal however. I injured my right MCL and upper thigh, so it was a good time to skip a few weeks (due to a bye this weekend).

In a nutshell, we stayed at Paris on Friday and Saturday nights, and at Fiesta Henderson on Sunday night. We saw Forever Plaid and went to the first Pride Fighting Championships held in the U.S.. The trip ended up a little on the down side, but all-in-all I gambled enough to take care of my jones for at least a couple of months.

——————
jones (jOnz) n, vt. A habit of an activity, a craving or urge to perform an act often to the point of excess. An addiction, esp. to drugs, sports, gambling, and other enjoyable actions. Borrowed from the cartoon “Fat-Albert” and the drug-ladened 60’s and early 70’s.
——————

FRIDAY October 20, 2006 (Day 1)

GP comes over and we head out of town by 9am. After a little traffic, we arrive in Vegas a little after 1pm. First stop was the Gold Coast to pick up some free tickets for Forever Plaid. I received a mailer for 2 free tickets when you show them a room key. I traded for a room key on the coupon board. Coast Casino’s have an ongoing promotion of giving you 2500 points ($7.50) when you accumulate one single point on your birthday month. Cashed out exactly even and headed over to Paris to check in (0).

I’ll tell you the truth. I feel pretty cool every time I use a Diamond line. The longer the standard line, the cooler I feel. Check in was smooth and we headed up to a Calais Suite, 2901P. Here, check it out.

http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/paris-las-vegas/casino-misc/suite-calais-detail.html

My offer was only for a premium suite (strip view), but during my last trip to Paris, I tracked down a host to find out if she could upgrade me on my next trip. She said no problem, so I asked and received.

Let me tell you, I’ve stayed in suites before, but this one was pretty freakin’ nice. Of course it had 2 TV’s, but the one in the bedroom was in a motorized console. The view was center stage for the Bellagio fountains. There were two whole bathrooms and one of those douche things in the master bath. I know, it’s called a bidet. PhucNA, I felt like I was on “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.

First thing on the agenda was to catch the Paris buffet before the dinner changeover at 3:30. The $24 price for this dinner buffet just isn’t worth it, so its better do this one at 3:15 for $17.99 and do a small first round. Round two would be ready with all of the fresh dinner items. I used two $10 off coupons and paid the balance with points. Yes, the dinner buffet is easily worth $7.99, and if you do an early dinner with a Diamond card, you’ll pretty much have that nice back room to yourselves with 2 servers at your feet… this is definitely not your standard buffet environment.

PARIS – LE VILLAGE BUFFET (Standard Weekday Dinner):
Standard prices are $13 for breakfast, $18 for lunch, and a whopping $25 for standard dinners.

(10/10 is perfecto, 7.0 = good, 5.0 = edible, 3.0 = not fit for human consumption)

Atmosphere/layout/clientele = 9.5
Service = 9.5
Quality = 8.0
Selection = 7.5
Value = 5.0 (at full price), 9.0 (getting dinner at the lunch price with a -$10 coupon)
Overall experience = 8.5

1. Smoked Salmon (8.5)
2. Prime Rib (8.5) (Top side tender part)
3. Filet Medallions (7.0) (For some reason, they use sirloin instead of tenderloin)
4. Creamed Spinach (6.5) (Too watery)
5. Alaskan King Crab Legs (9.0) (Now we’re talkin’)
6. Pealed shrimp (8.5) (Nice big ones)
7. Sushi, variety (3.0) (They came out of a plastic bag, pre-made. Rice was mushy. Weak wasabi)
8. Corn Chowder (8.0)
9. Grilled Asparagus (8.0)
10. Grilled Zucchini (8.0) (Simple, yet bursting with flavor)
11. Grilled Eggplant (7.5)
12. Grilled top sirloin (7.0) (if they’re going to do a grill show, they might as well use a better cut)

Previous ratings for this buffet can be found on day 7 of the following report:

http://www.lasvegastripreport.com/display_tr.php3?tr_id=3251

After that very pleasant buffet, we headed over to the last remaining 8/5 bonus games within Paris/Bally’s. From the get go, I wasn’t able to connect on anything special. During this one session, I ended up with 4-to-a-royal 9 frickin’ times. Incredible. It was becoming comical after a while. (-300).

We got ready and headed over to GC for the Forever Plaid show. I’ve seen this twice before and enjoyed it both times, so I figured it would be a good free diversion from gambling. Once again, it was a very good show. Since my knee was killing me (in the bent position), I had to watch most of it while standing (in the back). I was taking Alleve all weekend to dull some of the pain, but medication could only help so much.

Back to the 8/5 bonus. Again, I was getting killed on bonus, so I switched over to 9/5 DDB to see if I could catch some lightening. Sure enough, I was dealt quad 3’s with a kicker. Nice. That brought me back to the positive side for the time being. GP went up to crash. I kept playing because I was on vacation. (-300)

Time for some craps. I wasn’t too thrilled about playing on a $10 table, but what the heck. I’m on vacation. The session was mostly down, but a few vatos from LA got me back up. These dudes were drunker than hell, but were pretty cool. They had no idea how to play. They just kept playing the line, hard ways, and a few high-lows. They were easily the loudest guys in the whole casino. What a good time. (+40)

Regarding GP, I decided earlier that this wasn’t working at all. Nice gal, but just not my type at all. I’m a bonafide type A, and she is as exciting as a 70 year old with Alzheimers. I was getting tired of starting every conversation. In addition, she’ll never fully understand VP. It’s not for everyone. She brought maybe a couple hundred bucks with her for the entire weekend. I even loaded Winpoker on her computer a few months ago so that she could practice. We even had a previous gambling outing last month for practice, complete with strategy cards. I understand that Vegas and gambling is not for everyone; she is one of them. Enough of that. I’ll just make sure that I’m a good host, do the tour guide thing, get my play in, and ride out the weekend.

DAILY TOTALS
VP: -600
CRAPS: +40
MISC (Food, accommodations, gas, transportation, tips, etc): -4

SATURDAY October 21 (Day 2)

The day started out with a Jacuzzi for the knee. Ah, the good life. Plans for the day included 2 free buffets at GC (coupon), a stop over at the Orleans for my free 2500 points, a stop over at Silverton to take a look around, a stop over at South Point for my free 2500 points, and a cruise down the strip.

I’ve rated the GC buffet many times before, so I didn’t do it again. I actually had a nice leisurely meal. Let me just say that buffets in general don’t understand Mexican food at all. (-2)

Over to The Orleans for the free points. I was dealt 2 pairs on my second hand, so I just cashed out even. That was quick and easy.

Over to Silverton. We walked through the Bass Pro Shops and walked around the buffet. This is the first time I’ve seen the new buffet. Real nice. It looks comparable to any Coast buffet.

Over to South Point for the free points. It cost me 3 bucks, but the net was +4.50. (-3)

GP wanted to “cruise” the strip back to Paris. I knew it was a bad idea, but what the heck. We had time to kill. It took us nearly 40 minutes of hell to get from South Point to Paris.

While picking up the tickets for the Pride Fighting Championship, we ran into the Boston’s. It was good to see them again. We all got our Winfinders and Macy’s gift cards for the previous day’s play. After showing them the suite, they bailed to get ready for the Jimmy Buffett concert. GP and I settled on 8/5 bonus again. During the session, both of my Winfinders went off. I received $10 off for Skymall… TWICE! What a dumbass gift. The shipping alone for Skymall is probably more than $10. (-140)

Time to get ready for the Pride Fighting Championships, “The Real Deal”. The main event was Mark Coleman and Fedor Emelianenko. The tickets were comped (marketing package) and had a face value of $300 each. Since I’ve seen dozens of UFC and Pride Fighting events on TV, I wasn’t too excited about going. I wanted to go to the event just to scalp the tickets. GP goes along with the plan. After getting an offer for $100 for both tickets, I asked her one more time, “Are you sure this is ok with you?”. Now she changes her tune and says “I’d rather go see the fight. I’ve never been to one”. I’m thinking, this isn’t going to be pretty. We’re going to be stuck in an event that I don’t want to be at, she has no idea of how boring this thing is going to be, and I’m out $100. Son of a bitch! We could have taken that $100 to Ticket2night and seen something worthwhile.

We go in, find out seats, and don’t say a word to each other for the entire event. Like I said, I was tired of starting every conversation. The event itself was a total waste of time. I’ll never ever go to a fight event again. The light show, fireworks, loud music, and endless self-promotion were enough to drive me insane. It was like WWF! My knee was absolutely KILLING me. The entire event lasted for about 3 ½ hours and the total fight time was probably 20 minutes. Although our seats weren’t all that bad, I was watching the big screen more than the live fight itself. Once again, it was a total waste of time.

After the fight, I thought I would be a good host and take GP downtown to take in the sights. We walked through most of the casinos and ended up at McDonalds at the Plaza. That is the messiest and dirtiest McDonalds that I’ve ever been to.

We headed back to Paris and GP went up to crash. I headed for 8/5 bonus. My Benjamin lasted me quite a long time, but I wasn’t’ hitting any quads. Then I bumped it up to $1 and sure enough, I started hitting bonus quads. I quit on a real good note to insure that I cut my losses for the trip (+400). This session saved my ass for the trip.

After a real short session at craps, I headed up for the night. (-35)

DAILY TOTALS
VP: +257
CRAPS: -30
MISC (Food, accommodations, gas, transportation, tips, etc): -2

SUNDAY, October 29 (Day 3)

Plans for the day included check out at Paris, check in at Fiesta Henderson, stroll through a few strip properties and my birthday dinner at Fuego’s.

After loading our bags, we headed over to the Diamond Lounge for their Sunday breakfast. It was small, but at least they had bacon and eggs. This would tide us over until dinner.

We walked over to see visit James Stungazed at Caesars Palace. While strolling through the casino, we ran into the Neil Leifer gallery. His most famous photo was the one where Ali is standing over Liston.

http://www.neilleifer.com/

After a half mile walk through CP, we sat with James while he was pounding the 9/6 JOB 5 plays. While sitting there chatting, this guy a few machines down asks me, “Are you Yahtzee?”. I can’t remember his name, but he was from the VP free board. He also new James from his trip reports. It’s always weird running into internet folks in Vegas. At any given time, I would say there are at least a few dozen people in Vegas who might know me from the boards. But the odds of them recognizing me are slim.

After CP, we headed over to Bellagio to check out the Conservatory and a water show. The bartenders guild (Nevada Chapter) was having some sort of conference in the Fontana Bar, which is the best place to see the fountains. So we just blended in and made it to the balcony to see the show.

A quick stop at the Bellagio craps tables revealed decent games, mostly with $10 mins.

Went to pick up 2 more Macy’s gift cards at Paris and then headed over to Venetian to conclude the strip tour. We were planning on visiting Wynn but ran out of time. I’m not too impressed with Wynn anyhow.

Headed over to Fiesta Henderson to check in. When I walked in, I didn’t even recognize the place. The new section is now open. Although the old section still has the same cozy feel as the old Reserve, the new section feels like an upgraded Station Casino.

After dropping off the bags, we went down to look for the Boston’s and Stungazed. Found James at the 8/5 3 play progressives. I joined in. These are good machines. GP just sits there and watches, so, I set GP up with some single line nickel 10/6 DD bonus. That should keep her busy for at least an hour on her own machine. There’s nothing worse than having someone looking over your shoulder while playing VP, and of course not saying a word. Anyhow, the session ended up with a dealt quad (quad ducks on 8/5 bonus) and was able to eke out a slight profit (+30).

Back to the GP situation, I guess I could have played next to her, but I don’t like playing 2 screens at one time. When we did, she would just stare at the screen with obvious holds for long periods of time. That drove me crazy. When I asked what she was contemplating, not a word was spoken.

Mike: “What are you contemplating?”
GP: (dead silence for at least 10 seconds)
Mike: “You have nothing except for 3 to a royal”
GP: (dead silence for 10 seconds more)
Mike: “Here, let me help you” (as he reaches over and presses the hold buttons)
GP: (dead silence for 10 seconds again)
Mike: “Well, go ahead and hit the deal button!”

Holy crap! That just isn’t any fun and a person can only take so much.

Dinner time (courtesy our host). The 5 of us had our various cuts of meat. I had the bone-in Rib-eye. Tasty! I don’t think GP said one word throughout dinner. Oh, she did say “I’ll have the filet” and “Can I get a glass of Merlot?” I guess I’m being a little unfair here. The Boston’s, Stungazed, and I are decent conversationalists with a little history, but it was like GP wasn’t even on the same planet. All throughout this trip, I was thinking that I made a big mistake by inviting her. Now I’m thinking it was a huge mistake.

After dinner, I the Boston’s and James take off, so I went back to the 3 play slant-top progressives. I talked GP into putting in a whopping $40. She was dealt a few good hands and even got a quad within 5 minutes to double her $40. Then, to my surprise, she hit the “cash out” button.

Mike: “So now what are you going to do?”
GP: “I’ll just sit here and watch you”
Mike: “Please don’t. That sort of bothers me.” (in other words, go away)
(dead silence for 5 hands)
Mike: “It also bothers me that you’re not doing anything” (in other words, go away)
(dead silence for another 5 hands)
Mike: (looks over)
GP: “Go ahead and just play”
Mike: “I really don’t like playing while being watched over my shoulder” (in other words, go away)
GP: “It’s ok, don’t worry”
Mike: “Look, you’re not going to just sit there for a whole hour and not say a single word while watching me play”
GP: “It’s ok… really”
Mike: “Alright, let’s go play next to each other on single line”
GP: “I’m going upstairs”
Mike: “OK, I’ll see you in a little bit” (while sighing a big relief)

Back to the relative tranquility of my own world of 3 play VP. After getting up a bill, I switched over to NSUD and hit quad deuces within 30 minutes. Now I was up a few bills. Played for another hour and cashed out to go play some low level craps. (+200).

Over to the craps table. As some of you know, they changed the mins to $3 with 3x4x5x. There’s nothing dumber than getting a dollar change when you throw in $10 odds for the 4 or 10 on a $3 come bet. Anyhow, The session was mostly up, but I stayed too long and went down a tad (-75). When I asked Joe (box man) about my rating, he bumped me up to $60 ($20-40 actual). That was nice of him.

And that was it.

DAILY TOTALS
VP: +230
CRAPS: -75
MISC (Food, accommodations, gas, transportation, tips, etc): 0

MONDAY October 20, 2006 (Day 4)

We got up around 8am and were on the road by 9am. GP probably said 5 words during the entire drive home. At least I got to listen to most of the Jim Rome show. It’s safe to say that I’ll be doing the Thanksgiving trip solo. Thank God!

GRAND TOTALS

VP: -113
CRAPS: -65
MISC (food, accommodations, gas, transportation, non-gambling tips, etc): -12
FREE GIFTS: $20 in Macy’s gift certificates, $20 in Sky Mall certificates

NET REVENUE: ($190) NET LOSS

SUMMARY and FINAL THOUGHTS

- I’m still pissed off that I went to that frickin Pride Fighting Championships. What a waste of Vegas time. I’ll never do another fighting even, whether it’s boxing UFC, PF, or whatever. It’s just not worth it while in Vegas. It’s cheaper and more convenient to watch PPV.

- It’s better to do Vegas alone than with a marginal GP.

- At my low level of gaming, the Calais suite at Paris is probably the nicest suite I’ll ever stay in (probably the last time). It was real nice, but how much value did I actually get out of it? … not much.

- Even with the nice accommodations at Paris, I would still prefer to stay at a lesser joint with better gaming conditions. After all, isn’t that why we go to Vegas?

Thanks for reading.
God Bless America.

Mike

July 24th
We left for Miami International airport at 5:30AM for a 7:50AM departure. I was able to select premium seats for everyone so our flights would be very comfortable. Anyway, our flight to Vegas through Dallas went very smooth and we arrived in Vegas at around 11AM. After we got our luggage we took a Hertz shuttle to get our car. Once at Hertz it seemed they did not have our car at all: an Audi A6. They offered me an Audi A4 but declined it since it was too small. They then offered an Infinity G35, a Cadillac DTS, and a Hummer. I declined again and asked if they knew when they would get the Audi. They had no answer. As a temporary solution they would give me the Hummer for the time being and call me when they would get the A6. I then heard someone yell “we have an Audi.” Excellent! What pulled up however was a white Audi A8L. I was in shock. It was stunning and loaded with gizmos. Anyway, I drove off the lot and had no idea how to get to the Wynn or how to figure out the navigation system. After some fidgeting with the navigation system we set our destination as the Venetian since the Wynn was not in the database. We drove up the west/main entrance and used valet. I went to the lobby and waited around 15-20 minutes before I was helped and to be told there were no rooms available yet. It was no problem since we were early. We decided to have lunch at Sugar & Ice in the Wynn. After lunch I used a house phone to check room availability and I was given the OK to check in. My parents decided to go the casino since they didn’t want to wait again in the lobby. This time however I was helped immediately. I was offered an upgrade from a Resort Room to a Tower Suite room for $50. Being a sucker for upgrades I took the upgrade. Honestly, I didn’t know they had 2 beds in Tower Suite rooms (according to people on this board). I was surprised. I was actually even more surprised they had strip view rooms with 2 beds (From this board I was told that the rooms with 2 beds were golf view rooms). Anyway, the room was amazing and the view was stunning. By now I think everyone knows what the rooms at the Wynn look like so I’ll skip describing it. Anyway, I was tired so I went to bed. My brother went to the gym and my parents went shopping since my mom forgot to bring along some things for the wedding. At 8PM we had dinner at SW Steakhouse in the Wynn. Honestly, I don’t think it was worth the $$$ spent. Of course the food was good and the service excellent (although confusing and weird because of the multiple waiters), but I think you can get a better tasting and prepared steak at Ruth’s Chris for less. After dinner we drove down the strip. BTW, Tower Suite entrance has its own valet parking area which is very quiet. They also have a nice sitting area which doesn’t cool well during the day. Additionally, the walking distance to the room was also shorter. We were really glad we took the upgrade.

Sugar & Ice terrace

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L1.jpg

July 25th
We had breakfast at around 9 AM in Tableau since it was close to our room. I had mini pastries and French Toast. The mini pasties were amazing. We didn’t really like Tableau since there are barely any people in there (or maybe we ate too late). Anyway, it seemed that the USA basketball team was staying at the Wynn. Players were walking up and down the lobby and up and down the elevators. I don’t think people knew who (or how famous) they were since people were only talking to them in elevators (about shoes, height, etc). They were all nice btw. Around 11 AM my brother and I met my sister, her fiancée, and 6 other friends at the Alamo location by the airport. My parents were in the Fashion Show Mall again to finish their shopping (or maybe they were in the casino since they were now “shopping” too often). I later met my parents in the Mall since I also needed to buy some clothes. Around 7 PM we (and the new guests) went to the parents of my sister’s fiancée. They had a mini BBQ at their time share apartment. After the BBQ my mom and I went to pick up some relatives from the airport and dropped them of at Harrah’s. BTW, watch out for the speed bumps as you leave the entrance at Harrah’s. They’re really nasty.

July 26th
My sister called us around 8AM to have breakfast in Le Bouchon in the Venezia, but we were still sleeping. Anyway, she called each and every day thereafter to reschedule. We never ate at Le Bouchon. Breakfast today was Dim Sum at Cathay House in Chinatown. It was excellent and really tasty. I definitely recommend them if you want to have Dim Sum. At 2:20PM we (my brother, dad, sister, sister’s fiancée, sister’s friend, and me) were picked at the Wynn for our Papillon Grand Celebration tour on the EC130 helicopter (the newer helicopters). My mom was going to “shop” again at the Fashion Show Mall. The flight to the Grand Canyon took about 30-40 minutes. We flew low over the Hoover Dam to see it up close. The pilot made some s-turns so both sides of the helicopter had a view of the Dam. The view was so good that we decided to skip driving to the Dam. Anyway, once we landed in the canyon we had 30 minutes to look around. There was a tent where we had “lunch” which consisted of a sandwich, some cookies, a bag of chips, soda and water, and a “glass” of champagne. On the ride back we also flew over the strip from north to south. At around 8PM we, some relatives, and friends had the dinner buffet at the Aladdin. I was kind of disappointed. It was a lot better a few years ago. Anyway, after dinner, my mom, some relatives, and I went to the Bellagio (and the fountains of course) and Luxor.

The Hoover Dam

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The Grand Canyon

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The Grand Canyon

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Paris

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The Bellagio Fountains

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The Bellagio Conservatory

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The Bellagio lobby

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July 27th
We had a late breakfast at Terrace Pointe Café in the Wynn. It has a nice view of the main pool area and the food was good (the French Toast is better at Terrace Pointe Café than at Tableau). Additionally, there are a lot more people at Terrace Pointe than at Tableau. We also went to pick up 3 tuxes at Men’s Wearhouse. Today was the rehearsal in the Venezia. This would be my first time seeing the Venezia. The complaints I read about the long walking distance from the Venetian lobby to the Venezia rooms are completely false. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the walking distance is actually shorter than walking from the Venetian lobby to the Venetian rooms. I also saw the rooms at the Venezia. I was glad I didn’t stay there. Even though the room in the Venezia was larger, it seemed more cramped because of all the huge and excess furniture. Additionally, the style the room (and hotel) was decorated in was not my taste at all: very old, classic, dark, and cold. After the rehearsal we went to Sam Woo in Chinatown. I didn’t like it. I’ve had way better Chinese food in South Florida. After dinner I picked up some more relatives from the airport and dropped them off at Aladdin.

View from room 3405

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L9.jpg

The chapel in the Venezia

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Sam Woo

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July 28th
The day of the wedding! We had a late breakfast at Terrace Pointe Café again today. I made some errands today (Men’s Wearhouse, Target, Party Shop, etc) which took quite some time. Additionally, I called the Concierge to arrange a video camera rental since I forgot to bring mine. They did an excellent job of finding a company with only a few hours notice. Additionally, the camera would be delivered to the Concierge. The cost of the rental was $165 and the camera was a Canon GL2 (one of the best I’ve heard). Anyway, I dropped my parents and younger brother off at the Venetian an hours before the wedding and picked up some relatives (at the Aladdin and Harrah’s). I barely made it back to the Venetian in time because of the horrific traffic. BTW, I only used Koval and other back roads. I wasn’t expecting the traffic to be that bad since the other days I had no problem getting around. Anyway, the wedding ceremony was very nice (only 31 people) and took about 15 minutes. More than half of the guests cried. I’ve never seen that before. After the wedding ceremony, everyone walked to the lobby of banquet hall at Postrio for some snacks until the bride and groom arrived (they were taking pictures). After they arrived, a dinner buffet was served in the banquet hall. The buffet consisted steak, salmon, lobster, and some other stuff. Honestly, the food was just OK although a lot better (tastier) than at the mega Vegas buffets.

The Groom, Bride, and a friend

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Postrio

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The lobby of the banquet hall at Postrio

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July 29th
Today we ate Terrace Point Café again. I also returned the tuxes and the video camera. At around 5 PM a group of us went to have dinner at the Wynn Buffet. 8 buffets were comped. I definitely liked the Wynn Buffet a lot more than the one at Aladdin. The quality of the food was just better. At around 7 PM we (the same group from the buffet) met at the Mystere theater. The show was amazing however I wanted to see more acrobatic stunts and less of the dancing and clowns. The seats I had were perfect. I could see the sweat dripping from the balancing duo (who were incredible btw). After the show the whole group had dinner again at Sam Woo.

Wynn South entrance

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Wynn South entrance

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Esplanade Shoppes at the Wynn

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Parasol escalators at the Wynn

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Parasol escalators at the Wynn

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July 30th
Today we had a late breakfast at Tableau. I of course had some mini pastries (and an omelet). There still weren’t many people in Tableau. My brother went to a pool tournament in the Venetian. My sister called him when we he still asleep and he was out the door within 15 minutes. It seems my sister and her husband met this top rated pool player and he invited them and their friends to the tournament (they are all pool fanatics). I called a casino host to see what we could do with the points my parents had (I had less than 50 points). It seemed we could get 2 days of our rooms comped, however the host told me to check with her again on the day of departure. I decided to go to the Stratosphere with a cousin and a friend for the rides at the top. I of course had a great time. The only problem was the sun and a very long line at one ride. After I returned from the Stratosphere there was a farewell dinner at Red 8 at the Wynn. The food was good but not really authentic Chinese. Additionally, it was pricey.

The beds

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L20.jpg

The desk area

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L21.jpg

The bathroom

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L22.jpg

The view from the room

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L23.jpg

The Wynn

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The waterfalls/Esplanade entrance at the Wynn

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The waterfalls/Esplanade entrance at the Wynn

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The waterfalls/Esplanade entrance at the Wynn

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The waterfalls/Esplanade entrance at the Wynn

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Treasure Island/the strip

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The strip

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The strip

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The Venetian/Palazzo

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L31.jpg

The Venetian/Palazzo

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The Wynn

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The Lake of Dreams at the Wynn

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July 31th
Nothing much happened today. We checked out around 8:45 AM for an 11 AM departure. After checkout we went to see a casino host regarding the room comps. It now seemed that 3 nights would be comped and we would receive the casino rate for 1 night. We returned our car to Hertz but forgot to fill up the gas tank. Check-in and security was done all under 30 minutes.

Audi A8L

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L36.jpg

The flight back to Miami

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/gxshiem/Vegas%20July%2024-31%202006/L35.jpg

I had a great time in Vegas, but I missed out on a lot and I did not spend a lot of time in the major casinos. Additionally, I did not have the buffets at the Bellagio and Paris which were on my list (luckily I had them 3 years ago). The only thing I basically did was wake up late, drive around, eat, eat some more, and relax. 1 week was a little too short. The highlights of the trip were the wedding of course, the Wynn (the service was excellent), and the Audi (very exclusive car, only saw 3 other ones in Vegas).

We leave Phoenix on Friday afternoon. This time we take Donna’s (DJ) Mustang instead of the truck. It was faster but it still sucks driving over the Hoover Dam!!! We make the haul through the mall and up to VIP check in. I am getting used to this VIP stuff, check in is a breeze and we need to register for the VP tournament. So up to the room, it was not a strip view…I was almost pissed but it was close to the elevators and thats what really matters i guess. Back down to register and I get machine 33 and 6 first day 18 and 20 the next. When you walk in they have very pretty girls holding lots of drinks. I am a beer drinker so I thought the drinks were way to strong. Nice touch though!!

Down we go to start what we are really here for, after a stop at Spice Market for crab legs and shrimp of course. So it’s gambling now. DJ carried us…I was getting my head handed to me. It went that way all night…thank god for DJ.

Saturday we get up and I try to practice for the VP thing (practice, what was I thinking)…..so I thought this was like a slot thing. Play fast, play very, very fast. It;sa not like that at all. You have to play quickly but not stupid fast. The first round I played stupid fast. It’s hard to judge those cards and then just drop it. Did i mention the pretty girls with drinks were there again? I did what you would expect in the second round so I didn’t finish in the money. After that it was just gambling all day long. DJ was still carrying me when out of no where ….bang…..I get a ROYAL..never saw it coming, just pow. Now Iamb not playing .25, it”sa dollars for me all the way. You can lose a lot of dollars fast. This is when something that has never happened to me did. DJ says your drunk and your going to bed. I say it’s Vegas and its only 9 what are you thinking?? DJ says your going to bed….so I did….at effing 9.

Sunday, it’s up for round two of the VP thing. DJ was right, you should see my eyes, these are some serious beer goggles. Can some one actually see out of those things? Don’t know the result of day 2 of the VP thing but my scores were lower than day 1 so I don’t think we are going to get anything.

At check out I asked about comps (like you guys always demand..thanks). We got $90 taken off the bill on first ask. Then I asked why DJ was not getting any offers since she plays just like me? The gal takes her card and bang the rest of the bill is comped, I think she got lost in the system some where. I think DJ will start getting offers very soon. Well that’s it, like always it was a blast. TA- what? Not soon enough.

Just got back from a very relaxing and easy going weekend trip to Vegas. So
i will keep it short and simple. We had to go the weekend of the 28-30th
because it would probably be a while before we could get some time off from
work. Even though the rates were sky high we found a few deals. Thanks to
the LVTALK deals forum!

Hotel: Orleans Hotel and Casino: Room 1754 with a view of the mountains and
the pool area. Great view but the carpet had stains and the some of the
furniture was a little worn. But I liked the color scheme of this room than
the new tower, less prissy. Check in was fast and easy and room service was
quick too! I got a mini fridge delivered to my room, free of charge.

One thing I noticed about the Orleans was that their were way too many
children/teens hanging out! ANNOYING! Strollers in the casino, gift shop,
the buffet lines, elevators and going to and from the arcade/movie theater
area.

Gambling: We are not big gamblers, but when we did gamble we got quite
lucky. I joined Club Coast, new members get 1000 points with the coupon in
the Funbook and free beads! We searched for my favorite slots, but Orleans
doesn’t have Jackpot Party. I found a Wheel of Fortune slot, didn’t do to
good. I found another slot machine near registration/ Kate’s Korner and I
won a nice little jackpot. I hit a 7 and 2 double 10x’s for 5000 points. I
won $263, so it was like I got the room rate for free! What a friendly
casino, people kept coming up to congratulate me. We won $60 at the
Blackjack table and lost $20 each at the Jackpot Party at the Rio. I told
you we aren’t big gamblers.

Nightlife/Dining Out: The Orleans gives out this funbook ($250 value) full
of free drinks at any casino bar to 25% off at the gift shop. We got two
funbooks and a leftover funbook from a previous trip from 2004! We used all
the free drink coupons (3 books, 15 free drinks) on Friday and Saturday
nights at the Mardi Gras Bar, Alligator Bar and Irish Pub.
We had oyster shooters and a few beers at Big Al’s Oyster Bar on Friday
night. We went for a few drinks at the Mardi Gras Bar, then we decided to
take the party upstairs. Orleans has a liquor store with very good prices.
We got a bottle of White Star champagne and a 6 pack Red Stripe Lager to
celebrate my slot machine win at the Orleans. We got some flutes and
appetizers brought up to our room and we got smashed. After the champagne
and beer we went downstairs to the Irish Pub. We didn’t like the Irish Pub
too much, just not our crowd. But we got free beers and put up with the
lousy music from the band Section 8! Yeah you read it right, Section 8! LOL!
We called it a night.

Saturday we had lunch at the French Market Buffet. The Italian station
wasn’t to good. Mexican station was descent. I didn’t feel like Asian
food,no comment. American station was the best, good fried chicken. Nothing
spectacular, it sure wasn’t the Wynn buffet. Besides we had a big day ahead
of us and just needed food to cure the hangover. By the way this meal was
FREE because of the promo code I used for my reservation. The vouches said
Free E-Promo.

Saturday night I made an 8:15 p.m. reservation at Mon Ami Gabi for dinner.
We were seated right away in the cafe area. We didn’t care about not sitting
in the patio, too hot. We still had a view of the fountain show and the
bachlorette party seated next to us.

Starters: baguette with butter

Cocktails: 2 French Kiss, 3 Mojitos and a Lemon Drop.

Hors d’oeuvres: Onion Soup Au Gratin and Escargots De Bourgogne, with garlic

Entree: Filet Mignon, merlot butter; red wine sauce and Roasted Salmon
Tournedos, leek mashed potato, leek nage, bercy butter

Dessert: We shared a Strawberry Crêpe. Strawberries, Vanilla Ice Cream &
Whipped Cream

Very nice place to dine at and very affordable: bill was only $145.

Hanged out for a bit at the Paris. Napoleons bar/lounge was happening, nice
atmosphere. Went back to the Orleans to pick up something. I stayed in the
car at the parking lot. Good bike security. The S/O kept checking up on me
every 10 minutes. Took about 45 minutes to get from Orleans to the Wynn. The
line to Tryst was too long, next! Lure was better, walked right in. Nice
dark lounge with purplish lighting, very packed. By the way i didn’t see
anybody wearing flip flops at the Wynn. Everybody was dressed in their best,
classy. This place sure beats the Irish Pub at the Orleans. Had a few drinks
then took it back to the Orleans for Blackjack and to use up the rest of the
free drink coupons. Drunk as hell we took it back upstairs and put the DO
NOT DISTURB SIGN on our door!

Sunday morning we had the Carnival Brunch Buffet at the Rio. As always this
buffet was very good. We were seated near the buffet area, $23.99 p/person.

Chester Chicken at the Primm Outlet Mall food court.

Baja Fresh in Barstow

Shopping: Saturday we went shopping at the Las Vegas Premium Outlet: 875
South Grand Central Parkway

Found some awesome deals at:

Factory Brand Shoes
Fossil
Seiko The Company Store
Sunglass Hut
Two Lips Shoes
Nike Factory Store
Naturalizer
Ecko Unltd
Jones New York
St. John Company Store
L’Occitane
Perfumania
Hi Jenny

I bought quite a few things, yes the hubby did get mad and we got in a
verbal fight walking back towards the car. He said i was selfish for leaving
him outside while i tried on some blouses.

The drive to Cali took about 5 hours and it was very hot!

The children at the Orleans were annoying! For example: Saturday night we
are having dinner at the Paris. We are in the Orleans elevator and a family
of 4 steps in, stroller and all. The child tells her Mom “It smells like
perfume in here” with a grossed out tone in her voice! A man takes the heat
and says “It’s me, I’m wearing cologne.” Another example: Kids holding up
the lines insisting that they have an open account to charge everything to
their room/ Daddy’s credit card. Another example: Little kids playing around
in the casino with their eyes shut. Then they get dizzy and crash into you.

Overall it was a good trip and I would stay again at the Orleans, but not
during the summer when the brats are out. Next trip will be on the strip.

Flight and Hotel- We flew Allegiant Air out of Duluth, MN for the first time on a special 2 for the price of 1 deal. With this deal, you had to book a hotel package through Allegiant Air to get the airfare discount. We chose to stay at the cheapest hotel available at the time which was the Gold Coast. (downtown was sold out) It cost us about 250 per person for air and hotel.

I found that I liked not having comped room. I didn’t have to worry about “stiffing” the casino and not playing enough to be asked back. I also didn’t worry about daily averages etc. I just played where I wanted to this trip and had a lot more fun.

We really liked flying out of Duluth instead of Minneapolis. It is about an hour closer and a lot less traffic. Parking at the airport is 7.00 per day. We plan to take this route from now on whenever possible even without the special price.

The flight was approximately 3 hours and uneventful. There was no cab line and I told the driver to take us the fastest way to the Gold Coast which meant the tunnel. I didn’t really care about the 5.00 extra since it was a Saturday and I thought that the area around the strip would be congested.

We checked in right away on Sat. There was no line and we got the 2 bed non-smoking room that we asked for. The room at the Gold Coast was clean and adequate. There is a small tub/shower and toilet in a small room with a sink/closet just outside. The beds were soft (some kind of spongy material with no springs in mattress) and there is a coffee maker in the room. The plasma television was a nice touch. On a downside, a group of about 15-20 high school age girls also checked in on my floor. I think that they were some kind of a team. Judging from their behavior in the hall, I wasn’t happy to have them as neighbors, but they actually weren’t that bad. I just don’t know why groups of underage teens would be booked into a hotel with a casino.

I play .25 video poker almost exclusively. My favorites are Double Double Bonus and Deuces Bonus.

After check in, we walked over to Rio for the dinner buffet. We subscribe to Las Vegas Advisor and used our coupon book (POV) for a 2 for 1. It was a good buffet, especially for half-price. After the buffet, we walked back over to Gold Coast to catch the shuttle to Orleans. I hit 4′s for $100, and A’s for 200 but did a lot of losing also. Went to bed about even.

I agree with other posters about the number of kids at the Orleans. It seemed that I couldn’t walk anywhere without bumping into a stroller or a toddler. I almost brained a couple of teens who were
continuously snapping their gum right behind me while waiting for their parents in line at the cashier.

The shuttle from Orleans back to Gold Coast was an interesting experience. A homeless woman tried to board and the driver told her that she had to have a room key. She argued with him that there were seats available and that he should transport her without a key. The driver ended up telling her that she smelled and he didn’t want her stinking up his bus. She got off. I felt kind of bad for her. Then on the way, a young man (who appeared to think that we all wanted to hear him talk) made a few comments to the driver that he was going to sue for some water dripping on him from a window or something. The driver stopped right on the road and told him if he didn’t like it he could get off. The young man said he was just kidding and finally the driver started driving again, but I thought he was going to kick the guy right off the bus. A little while later, the driver apologized for being “snappy” and said that it had been a long night. The guy who almost got kicked off, started yapping again and telling everyone to give the driver a tip and talking about how he was nice guy for apologizing etc. I was happy when we finally got back to the Gold Coast. Yes, we both tipped.

We used our 10.00 off POV coupons for the Paris buffet on Sunday morning. It is regular breakfast prices early in the morning so we ended up only paying 3.00 each. I thought that the breakfast was very good. We also found the service to be excellent.

We were supposed to stay on the strip all day and see Elton John that evening, but the show was cancelled at the last minute. Donna heard from a bartender that it was Elton who cancelled. After breakfast, I stayed and played at Paris and got dealt 3 Jacks with a Joker on Joker Poker. Up popped the other Jack for 250. Good start to the day. I played at Bally’s and Caesar’s for the rest of the day. We had dinner that evening at the Stage Deli. We both had the corned beef sandwich and new york cheesecake. Both were good. I think that I ended up about 200 down for the day.

I usually get up early and go to bed early while in Vegas. I would lose at least 1 or 2 hundred before breakfast every morning. My morning coffee and Bailey’s was pretty expensive this trip. Other than that, I was pretty much holding my own. Winning a little and losing a little, but always within my daily allotment.

On Monday we went to the Commander’s Palace for the martini lunch. I had the asparagus-artichoke soup, barbecued chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries and profiteroles for dessert. The soup was delicious, the sandwich and fries were okay and the dessert was good.
Donna had some kind of tomato salad, some kind of stew with pork and bread pudding for dessert. She liked the salad and bread pudding, but didn’t care for the stew. We both liked the martinis and left quite full and happy. I had the Commander’s Special, Lemon Drop and Cosmo. Donna had the Commander’s Special, Lemon Drop and an Appletini.

After lunch, we shopped a little in the Dessert Passage mall and worked our way back to Barbary to catch the shuttle back to Gold Coast. We were meeting our timeshare friends at Palms that evening. Played at Palms for the afternoon. I got A’s for 200 and played on that for most of the day. I think I ended up losing a little overall. We met our friends, and also met some of their relatives who live in Vegas. We all had dinner at Gardunos using our 50% off POV coupon. I had a shrimp fajita which was very good. The margaritas were excellent. Had a great time with everyone. FYI- They only let us use one POV coupon for all nine of us at the table even though we had 3 coupons.

Lost at the Gold Coast at their bar by the buffet that night. I like that bar because you can sit on low and comfortable chairs rather than barstools but couldn’t stay because it was wiping me out. Sat at a deuces bonus bank and was dealt 4 deuces for 250. Just couldn’t get that ace kicker to make it 500, but was happy anyway.

Tue.
Did my usual morning loss at the Gold Coast while waiting for Donna to come down so that we could go downtown for the day. Took a cab to MSS to use our 2 for 1 POV coupon for the breakfast buffet. Had kind of a bad start with some people from Hawaii. I think that they were there for some kind of basketball tournament judging from some of the shirts that they were wearing. When we walked into the buffet entrance, there were some in line and some standing at the entrance to the buffet and talking in a group. They all seemed to know each other, but were all paying in groups of two to four each. That didn’t stop them from budging in front of Donna and me though. They were loud, obnoxious and walked right in front of us in the buffet line. I guess that they thought that since they knew each other, they could just push ahead of us in line also. I didn’t even get an omelette because I knew that it would be more of the same. Donna braved the omelette line and said that they pushed in front of her and each other in the omelette line also. It wasn’t anything horrible, but just annoying for adults to act like that.

Main Street Station was my luckiest casino this trip. I got a royal dealt to me for 1000 on a slant top Game King playing deuces bonus. I also got A’s with a kicker for 500 at the bar. I really needed those two wins because I lost everywhere else downtown. Four Queens was the worst to me. I couldn’t get a four of a kind there no matter what I played. Met with our timeshare friends at the Freemont and played and drank at the bar for a while. Friends went to the seafood buffet at the Freemont and Donna and I ate at Binions Ranch Steakhouse. Donna had about 100 in comps that she wanted to use up and I gladly helped her. We both had an appetizer and entree skipping the salad. I had the Oysters Rockefeller, filet and garlic mashed potatoes and Donna had some kind of shrimp appetizer, filet and roasted red potatoes. Broccoli also came with the meal. Everything was excellent. The bill, with 2 glasses of wine, came to about 100. I highly recommend this place for an “Old Vegas” steakhouse.

Took a cab back to the Gold Coast for a little more gambling before bed. I sat down at a deuces bonus machine and was dealt two deuces. Up popped two more deuces with an ace kicker for 500. What a suprise. I’ve been playing this game for years and this was the first time that I’d ever gotten the kicker with the deuces. I wanted to stay up all night, but only made it until midnight.

Had to get up at 4:30 to get to the airport for our 7:00 a.m. flight. Smooth flight home. Had a great time. Ended up spending about 200 for the whole trip. Can’t wait for next Summer!!

**edit**
I forgot to add that someone tried to scam one of our friends at Bellagio last Sunday. A woman with a baby gave a sob story about not having any money to get home and all she needed was 40.00. My friend said that her tears were quite convincing, so be careful.

This was my 6th trip to LV since last October, so I know my way around pretty well and know about the Wynn/Bellagio debate on this board. I’ve walked thru the Wynn a bunch of times, but this was the first time ever staying there. My impressions of Wynn. Nice hotel, reminds me of a smaller Bellagio. I like the pool at Wynn better than Bellagio, and the chairs are more comfortable at Wynn. Yes, Wynn does have the softest bed I have ever slept in. The casino seems smaller than Bellagio, and I just don’t like the feel as much as I like the feel of the Bellagio. Less traffic at Wynn than Bellagio, which I think is a good thing. Played mostly VP at Wynn, did horrible. Ate at their cafe one day, and that was nice, nothing fancy. Did see Seal and Heide Klumm (sp?) there one day eating lunch at the cafe out by the pool. I was going to ask him to sing for me, but thought better of it. Overall, I think the Wynn is a fine hotel, and I would stay there again. For me, the location is a drawback however. Everything I want to do or want to go is on the South end of the strip. As the North end of the strip continues to develop, I think Wynn will be in a better position. Oh, and my blackberry reception in the Wynn sucked. Bellagio, no problem. That is my umbilical cord to my job on a constant basis, so that was a big deal to me. High speed internet connection in room was fine with my laptop at Wynn, but very spotty and slow at Bellagio. Several times while at the Roulette table at Bellagio I was asked to put my blackberry down. I understand why, but don’t recall ever having this happen in the past. I think it probably depends on the dealer.

Stayed in Salone Suite in Bellagio in the spa tower. Well, not really…..stayed there one night but the banging from the drills putting up the towers next to the Bellagio got to my so. They starting pounding at 5:30 AM and didn’t stop until 1:00AM. It didn’t bother me. She insisted on moving. I was like, whatever, so we moved to a Salone Suite in the original tower on the 14th floor. Dumpy. Old carpeting, stains on carpeting, furniture beat up. Even housekeeping lady told me that Salone Suites in the original tower look long in the tooth. She’s right. To top it off, you could still here the banging….I told my so I told you so, nah nah nah. Overall, I still like Bellagio, you can’t beat the location, but this room has seen better days. My so asked for a discount on the room, and they did give it to her. I don’t know how much it was, it really wasn’t a big deal to me, it just goes on my charge card anyway.

If I had to pick on or the other, it would be a tough choice, Wynn or Bellagio. I still think I would give Bellagio the edge. The spa tower is very nice, and I really like the location. I think there are more working girls at the Bellgio than Wynn, and that always makes for some nice scenery as well.

We saw Love at the Mirage, and all I can say is that if you like the Beatles and artistic expression, you must see it. Excellent. I have seen all the cirque shows in vegas, including Cheval (for those that remember that traveling horsey one at the Bellagio), and I would rate them as follows:
1. Mystere
2. Love
3. Cheval
4. Zumanity
5. LeReve (yes, I know, it’s Wynn, but threw it in there)
6. O
7. KA

Again, just my opinion

As far as food, ate at Mon Ami Gabi, outside with fountains in the foreground, excellent as always. Peppercorn filet was to die for. Ate at Grand Lux, excellent, way too much food. Ate at Isla, new Mexican restaurant at TI, and would highly recommend. Ate at Maggiano’s (sp?, at Fashion Show Mall), would not go back…..blah for me. Ate at Jean Jaques Boulangerie in Paris, and although prices have gone up signficantly, it’s still a good quick lunch. Ate at Cafe Bellagio one day at the counter and it was quick and good. Long line, but said we wanted to eat at the counter, and jumped ahead of everyone else.

Gambling – sucked at the Wynn, I had a couple of wins at TI, and had a couple of really nice wins playing Roulette on the $25 table at Bellagio. All said and done, still down for the trip however. what’s new.

I think that’s about it….back in Sept for 5 days staying at the Bellagio for a work related event, but will make sure I stay in the Spa tower. I love vegas….. the food, the hotels, the girls, the scenery, the shows, everything!