11/1 – 11/5 ~ Cosmopolitan, El Cortez & (2) W2G’s

My last trip to Vegas was in August; however, my husband had 2 work trips in October, so I piggy backed for his 2nd trip, which was for the SEMA Trade Show.

November 1
I flew Sun Country, arrived on time, but waited at the Payless line for a long time to get the rental car. Price was right at $88 for 5 days, but next time I am renting from EZ, which is right next door to Payless. EZ never has a line & one guy from my line switched to EZ & was in & out in little time. Their website is www.ezrac.com.

My husband’s (A), work used the Cosmopolitan as home base. Their suites are nice, but in my opinion, I think the suites at Encore are nicer. No complaints, though, as we are staying for free.

After dropping my luggage off, I am heading to Henderson to pick my cousin, Steve, up. A has work duties tonight. By the time I get to Steve’s house, he is ½ in the bag. We end up going to PT’s in Henderson & play bar top quarter keno. A 5 coin max bet hitting 6 out of 6 spots was paying $2,900. Steve & I both chased, but no 6 spots came up. Lots of 5 out of 6, so it was interesting… We shared chicken nachos & believe it or not, but these nachos were some of the best I have ever had. Steve used his points to pay for all the alcohol & nachos. Thanks! By the time we left, Steve, was well into & fighting inside the bag & he had to work the next day. I’ve never seen him this drunk. Ouch!

I head back to Cosmo & after my quarter keno beating; I am down a ton of cash. I decide to go to high limit at Cosmo & try the $1 keno. I put $30 in & hit 7 out of 9 for $335. Great! I recouped some of my losses. I switch my numbers to a 8 spot & the next push I get 7 out of 8 numbers for a hand pay of $1,670! Now I am up for the night! A calls & comes down to the high limit area, but no more wins for either of us. To bed at 3AM, which is 5AM Minnesota time? Yikes.

November 2
Up before 9, due to a cell phone call. A’s last day for SEMA. I drop him off at the trade show & head downtown to the El Cortez. We will be staying here Saturday & Sunday. I was offered 3 free nights. We both get $25 in free food & $25 in free play. We are mainly staying for the free rooms. The prime rib is really good at their café, but get the larger prime, as the smaller cut is too thin, in my opinion. After I eat, I try quarter keno & hit 5 out of 5 for $200. I then proceed to lose $400 in various keno machines, between $1 & .25¢ level. I tried some quarter slot machine, where max bet was really reasonable. I get into a bonus & hit $400 in my bonus. Exactly what I needed to make up for those keno losses. I then proceed to a penny Sun & Moon that has the Millioniser Random Bonus on it. I am playing max $2 a bet & getting nothing. I drop down to $1 & get the Millioniser Bonus for a whopping $9. A few spins later the Millioniser Bonus comes up again & I pick the “Major Jackpot”. I hadn’t looked up to see the corresponding dollar amount when the guy next to me says, “You just got $1,000”. I said, “No way!” Sure enough, I did hit for $1,053. I played a little more hoping for the Sun & Moon Bonus, but I ended up cashing out at $1,030. I move down a couple machines & get a bonus for $135, but played it down to $80 or so. Not a bad day at the El Cortez.

I have to head back to the Cosmo as tonight I am going out with A & his work group to Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion, which is located on Flamingo, not too far from the strip. We started out walking & grabbed a cab at Bally’s. We had a reservation & got our table immediately. Drinks & appetizers were ordered. For entrees, 2 of us chose the filet mignon, while most ordered the butterfish. This is one of the top restaurants for the quality of food that I have ever had. Such great flavors & A said the butterfish melted in your mouth. A & I split the Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle. I wished I would have ordered my own…it was that GOOD! The service was superb & the food even better. What a great time. I would definitely go back to this place.

After eating, 4 of us tried to find cheap craps or pai gow at Terrible’s, but the pit boss told us 2 dealers called in sick, so there would be no pai gow tonight. The craps table were pretty full, so we cabbed it back to Cosmo.

I blew through a hundo on a Mega Bucks Slot. A & I decided to check out City Center/Aria, as I had never been there yet. Aria’s casino floor is huge. Slots were very tight. I think I blew through $300. Their high limit was paying out, though! Should have tried my measly $300 in there, instead. We head back to Cosmo, but the barely 20 year olds were way too loud for me. We go to bed at 3AM.

November 3
Up at 9 to check out of Cosmo & head downtown. We move our stuff to the El Cortez. Decide to use our free $$ & eat at the café. Not really thrilled with their sandwiches. (We need to stick with the breakfast selections or with their outstanding prime rib.) We played at El Cortez all afternoon. Went back to the café. I had prime rib & A had the fried chicken. Very good.

We head down to the D. Hit $100 on the $1 WOF. Went to Fremont…terrible drink service… Headed back to El Cortez, played a little more & went to bed at 1AM.

November 4
We decide to go to M today. We really like this place & we want to catch the Vikings Game here. We eat at Studio B Buffet. Today is seafood day, $35 per person. Luckily, we have 1 free buffet offer, as I am a land lover. For a land lover, there was plenty for me to choose from. A & I were very pleased with the selections. The food & desserts here never disappoint.
A decides he wants to slow play before the Vikings game. We decide on penny keno. A hits 7 out of 7 for $70. Not bad for penny keno. This is A’s lucky day. He hits numerous 5 spots. Even at the penny level, when you play the hot machines, you can make some pretty good cash. I hit a few things, but nothing like A.

We move to the bar by Hash House for the Vikings game. We both play quarter keno. No problems getting whatever you wanted to drink here. Derek & Nancy were such wonderful bartenders. We had a great time with them. I slow play, only paying 25¢. I am playing 7 numbers on my keno machine & I keep hitting 5 out of 7. I keep playing & low & behold, I hit all 7 numbers for a hand pay of $1,750. I tip the bartenders & the slot attendant. Keno has been good to both of us today. I cannot believe I have another W2G playing keno!

After the Vikings game, we leave & head to the Flamingo. I have a coupon for Carlos & Charlie’s Restaurant. Nachos were horrific, but the fajitas were wonderful. A very fun party atmosphere, but not a cheap place to eat by any means. Probably wouldn’t be back, but it was worth a try.

Grab a couple of Flamingo Coffee Mugs for my mom for Christmas, using points at the gift shop & we head back downtown.

A plays a Monopoly Slot, I am playing Great Wall. He motions for me to come down to his machine. I wait for my bonus to be done & head to his machine. He was all jacked because any wins he gets in his bonus will be multiplied by 20x. He was only betting .40¢ & he ended up with $240 in his bonus. Not bad for a penny machine.

We play a few more machines & we end up going to bed at 11:30PM. Those long nights have caught up with me…

November 5 – Last Day
I am up at 6AM & in the shower.
We decide to play craps at El Cortez. I only rolled the dice 2 times before crapping. A rolls & hits his point a couple times. I am up again to roll…A isn’t hoping for anything. Surprise to A!! I go on a mini -heater. I roll for ½ hour, making points & making $$ for both A & myself. We then get another player joining us & my reign ends shortly after that. It is nice to have that kind of luck.

After craps, we head out to Binions, Golden Gate & end up at Main Street Station. We decide on lunch at 777 Restaurant. We both order burgers & we use points to pay for lunch.

We head back to the El Cortez, grab our luggage & check out. On the way to the airport, we decide to stop at Palace Station. They were actually busy for a Monday afternoon. No wins at all here, so we leave for the airport.
Flight home is on time.

A’s parents are watching our son & our cat. We are glad to be home & we are glad to see both!

This was a great trip in many ways.

LaRae
Source: VegasMessageBoard.com