This is my first attempt at a Las Vegas trip report, after 30 or so trips in the last 13 years. I enjoy reading other people's reports, they always get me through tough days at work and keep me dreaming of my happy place .. Hope this report will do the same for you!
My Southwest flight from Denver on Wednesday morning arrived a few minutes early, it was a great morning flight. I love Southwest's low fares and fee free baggage checks.
I think we arrived in the B gate, which I very much appreciated because I could walk to the baggage claim and didn't have to cram into the always crowded tram.
My bag arrived shortly after I found the carousel and I headed outside to get a shuttle. When time is an issue or when I'm with others I put up with taxi cabs, but when it's just me and I have plenty of time, I go for a shuttle. The few long hauling tunneling SOB cab drivers I've put up with have ruined it for all the rest of the good ones.
I took a Bell Trans shuttle to the Flamingo. The shuttle was loaded and ready to go shortly after I got my ticket. We dropped off a couple at Vdara, I got to see a nice overview of the City Center complex. I think it looks kind of neat, but I know lots of people who hate it. We dropped off another couple at Ballys, and I was next across the street at Flamingo.
I arrived at about 11:00am and was able to check in and get my room. The Flamingo seemed pretty busy for a Wednesday morning. I was staying there for two nights on a mailer room comp. I dislike most of Harrah's crappy gaming, but they certainly are doing the right thing by offering free rooms to basically anyone who signs up for a slot card, and by not having rip off (resort) fees. The Harrah's joints were packed, the other places I visited this trip seemed fairly dead. I've played a few hours of poker at Harrah's properties, and that's all it took for me to get endless room offers from them.
I had an old standard room with a very nice view of the awesome pool complex. I found the room to be just fine, I slept great both nights and was very comfortable.
After I freshened up I walked up to the Casino Royale to get my coupons and free play. Sadly everything I'd read about the coupon downgrade is still true. There is nothing good now, just penny slot promos. No video poker, not even a table games match play. I took my $20 in freeplay and got a comp slip to Subway. I'd have been pissed if the Subway wasn't comped, a footlong and a bottle of water was almost $15. Yikes!
I bellied up to the bar and downloaded my free play onto a quarter bonus poker machine. Full pay baby! The bartenders at CR are awesome, super friendly and appreciative of tokes. Too bad the beer selection is pretty sorry . I choked down a Michelob and hit quad 10s for a small profit.
I'd read on VPFree that Planet Hollywood had full pay bonus poker at a couple of the bars at the 50c level. I'm a quarter low roller, but I decided to take a shot at this and enjoy the comforts of the very nice Planet Hollywood. I walked on down and went to the deserted Heart bar. Sure enough, at 50c they had 8/5 bonus poker. Color me surprised! For quarters it was 6/5 (ugh). Sadly they had Harrahized the beer selection. No Fat Tire, no Guinness, no Sierra Nevada. Best they had was Newcastle and Sam Adams. I had a couple Sam Adams and slowly lost $100. No quads this time. Oh well, it was definitely fun taking a shot. The one thing I'd wish I'd done is check out the sport book bar. They have a wonderful draft beer selection and I wish I'd seen what their 50c BP pay schedule was.
I walked back to the Flamingo and took a quick nap. An hour or so later my younger brother, his wife, and their 3 year old son arrived and checked in.
My brother and his family drove in from California, it was so nice to have a car for the trip. We drove up to Circus Circus and dropped his son and wife off at the amusement park, while my bro and I got together for the first of many gambling sessions. We started off using some coupons that gave us $45 in non-negotiable chips for $30. We used them at a $10 shoe dealt BJ game that paid 3/2 on naturals. We both made a few bucks and had a lot of laughs.
Next we walked across the street to the Riviera. I hadn't been in there in years. It was a ghost town. I actually quite enjoyed it compared to the madness that Circus Circus was. The Riv actually felt kind of old school classy, I really dug it believe it or not. We both signed up for slot cards. There was a promo going on where new sign ups could choose either 2 comedy show tickets, or free play somewhere between $1 and $1000. We both chose the freeplay and both ended up getting . $1 in free play a piece. Ha
Next we signed up for the ACG coupon that gave $25 in free play after cycling $50 through. That had to be activated at the slot club first. We bellied up to the main casino bar and found 7/5 BP for quarters with a progressive royal that was over $1300. Not bad! I don't mind playing 7/5 BP if the beer is good and especially if there is a progressive. We enjoyed a couple Guinnesses and had some decent luck. My brother got quad aces and I picked up quad fours. With the free play coupon we both made a nice little score. Great service and plenty of laughs, I'll be back if the joint doesn't close up shop ..
After the fun at the Riv we headed back to Circus Circus where I took my nephew on a fast spinning ride. He had a blast . I could have done without all that Guinness!
Next we drove down to Ellis Island for dinner. The wait wasn't too bad. While we waited I used my $10 ACG match play on the pass line. I noticed that Ellis now has a full sized craps table with a full crew, no more mini tub, nice! Yo eleven on the come out roll and dinner is paid for. Sweet! Also before dinner I used my ACG 4 free drink coupon at the bar. I got a root beer, the wheat beer, and my bro had the light beer. Sad to say that I think Ellis Island beer is pretty gross. It all tastes like it has a stick of butter or a bicycle tire in it. The root beer was fantastic though. Dinner was the steak special and it was as great as it's ever been. My steak was perfectly medium well and all the trimmings were tasty.
After dinner we parted ways again with his wife and kid, and me and my bro took the monorail down to the MGM to get into some low limit holdem and Fat Tires. While we waited for a seat in the 2/4 game and for a 3/6 game to open, we still got served by a very friendly cocktail waitress. Sweet! Last time I played at the MGM poker room, they served their Fat Tire draft, but this time it was in bottles. I'd prefer draft, but still getting an ice cold Fatty on the house is a thing of beauty.
It was a long wait for their single 2/4 table, and the 3/6 hadn't opened yet. My bro took off to play some slots. Back in Colorado I've been training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for a couple of years. The assistant adult instructor enjoys Las Vegas and poker too, and it just so happened that he and his family were also in town while I was there. I had made plans to meet up with my coach that night and play some cards at the MGM. I was sitting alone at an unused poker table, chatting to my coach on the phone about how to get to the MGM. While I was on the phone, a fairly put together looking guy in a clean Michigan jersey and leather hat sat down at the table and starting chatting with me. When I hung up the phone he moved to the seat next to me and introduced himself, shook my hand, etc. I thought it must be just another buzzed tourist like me having a good time in Las Vegas, as he didn't look like a bum, but suddenly he starts in asking for a few bucks to get a meal. Oh hells no. I told him to get lost and went looking for the floor to call security. He saw what I was doing and left.
Eventually my bro and I got seated in a 2/4 game. Shortly after we were seated, my coach arrived and the room started up their 3/6 game, which the three of us moved to. We started 5 handed and they took $1 rake. The Fat Tires and smack talk flowed freely, and not too long after we were 10 handed. I played for a few hours and drank Fat Tires until my eyes couldn't focus on the flop cards. Somehow I managed to cash out with exactly my buy-in of $100, so I must have made some money in there somewhere as the drinks tips were flying out of my stack. The drink service was great, and the dealers did a good job of putting up with us. I stumbled to the monorail and took it back to the Flamingo to call it a night, hiccupping and staggering the entire way. Viva Las Vegas!
A note about the poker I played this trip I read the book Small Stakes Holdem: Winning Big with Expert Play before every trip I plan to play poker on. The book details winning strategy for tables full of typical low limit players that are too loose pre-flop and too passive post-flop. For some reason I thought that since the book was over 6 years old, that maybe things may have changed a bit now that Holdem is so popular. I thought perhaps more people may have learned more about hand selection and post-flop strategy I sure was wrong! In the 3 low limit holdem sessions I played this trip, the majority of my opponents were just as awful as described in the book. If you want to learn to crush these games, get this book!
I woke up on Thursday like I usually do after the first night in Las Vegas, with a hangover. Luckily this one was fairly moderate since I'd slept so well. I went downstairs with the idea of going to the coffee shop for breakfast the line was huge! So I went to the buffet which was basically right next door. I used the $5 off buffet ACG coupon and had a decent breakfast for a reasonable price.
After breakfast, I met up with my bro, his wife, and his kid at the Flamingo pool area. I've never stayed at the Flamingo before, so I'd only heard about the pool, and then only good things. The good words were true, the pool area was incredible. Lots of little pools to play in, connected by slides, a fairly large and fun water slide, a huge main pool with a grotto area, a fine secluded hot tub area, etc. I played in the pool with my nephew for an hour or so and had a ball.
After the pool and a shower, we all headed out to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame. I grew up going to arcades and Chuck-E-Cheese, so I'm a huge classic arcade gaming and pinball fan. This place was incredible! The kept the lights nice and low so you could enjoy the games and pins without glare, and the sound was nice and loud on every machine. I knew the place would have tons of pinball, but I didn't realize how many awesome classic arcade games they had. I had a spectacular time for $5 in quarters. I'll definitely be back!
After the PHOF we headed over to the Silverton. I'd never been here before, and I quite liked it. The aquarium was quite a site, and I enjoyed the low key vibe. My bro and I found 8/5 BP bartops near the sportbook, and had a great time playing some slow and low VP and enjoying a couple ice cold draft Fat Tires. We both lost about $40 a piece from no quads, but it was well worth it.
After our VP session, we wandered around the complex looking for my bro's wife and kid. After searching for 10 minutes or so, we passed a very inviting looking empty craps table. On a lark I asked my bro if he wanted to shoot some dice, he said yes and we sauntered up to the table to enjoy what would turn out to be my favorite gambling session of the entire trip. We bought in very, very short, him for $20 and me for $40, and we each dropped a nickel on the pass line. My bro shoots a 5-2 on the come out and things are off to a good start! He held the dice for about 10 minutes and made two points. I was playing 2 or 3 times odds and had a decent rail of red when he sevened out and the dice were pushed my way. I ended up holding the dice for almost 20 minutes. I rolled number after number and made at least 3 points before the 4-3 showed up. I had a come bet established with 3X odds and my pass bet had 3X odds when I sevened out, but I still walked away with over $60 in profit. Soooo nice to make up those VP losses and more, and to have a hooting and hollering good time with my brother!
After a quick fast food dinner, we headed back to the Flamingo to regroup. My bro's wife kindly let him loose with me for the rest of the night, so we took the monorail up to the Sahara to use their juicy $25 match play ACG coupons. I also wanted to use my MRB coupon for $50 in chips for $40. The match play first had to be redeemed at the slot club. We surrendered the ACG coupons for a printed voucher to be used at the tables. I went to the casino cage to use my MRB coupon, and got my non-negotiable $50 chips without incident.
Our plan was to hit and run with the match plays at a craps table, him on the do's and me on the don'ts. Our planned turned out to be foiled by a real prick of a pit boss, but this was the only bummer of the whole trip, and it really wasn't a big deal.
We walked up to an empty craps table and plopped down our cash and match plays. The break-in crew was very friendly. They called out to the pit boss to let him know match plays were in action, the boss glanced over and nodded. I thought we were all set .. The dice went out to my bro, he rolls a 1-2 and I holler since I'm a winner on the don'ts . I was just about to get paid when the pit boss literally comes running over from across the pit shouting "NO BET NO BET NO ACTION NO ACTION" My bro protests very calmly and briefly, pit prick thunders "THE COUPON SAYS MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS" We each picked up our $25 chip and match play and left the dice pit.
Now I would have had no problem at all if the pit boss would have looked at our bets initially and said something like "sorry boys, we can't allow cancelling bets" or if he would have asked us politely not to bet like that or something before the roll. But to allow the dice to go out, a winner get rolled, and then run to the table screaming and hollering, refusing to pay, and mouthing off to my bro, wow. F U Sahara!
My opinion on match plays and the like is that I don't lose a wink of sleep over people using them to take advantage of casinos. Casinos use every trick in the book to take advantage of us, I feel no shame whatsoever using coupons and smart play to take a tiny piece for myself.
So anyways, this little saga has a happy ending . My bro took his $25 match play to a 21 table and gets dealt a blackjack. HA. I used my non-negotiable chips on blackjack and I used the match play (though I wimped out and only matched a $5 bet) to end up with $25 in profit. Thanks pit prick, you made us both much more money than $12.50 a piece! It felt very, very good to walk out of Sahara with a little extra jingle jangle in the pocket.
From their we took the monorail down to the Las Vegas Hilton to enjoy some full pay Jacks or Better nickel video poker in the sports book. We had a grand old time, sipping on Beck's Darks and Coronas while high rolling at .25c a hand. I took advantage of the repeal of the law banning cell phones in sports books and called my lovely wife while sitting at the machine. We decided we'd play until we both nailed a quad . Mine took almost two hours but finally I nailed 4 threes.
After our fun at the Hilton, we monorailed back to Flamingo to retrieve the car. From there we drove to Tuscany to use the $50 in chips for $40 at the poker room. The way it worked was they took the coupon, and then after an hour of play they gave you your $10 extra. We played at a newly opened 3/6 table. The game was good and the service was great. Beer selection wasn't fantastic, but they did have Newcastle on draft which was acceptable. We did find out that sadly the room was scheduled to close on Saturday, and all the poker room staff were to be laid off. Definitely took a little wind out of the sails to hear that, but the staff was still professional and pleasant even in their final days.
We played for a little bit longer after collecting our free chips, I cashed out $8 ahead. We used our $5 ACG match plays at roulette. My bro bet on red and I bet on black. We had placed our bets right after the dealer had spun. The pit boss said we'd have to wait out this spin while they checked our club cards. Good thing we had to wait a spin, because it came up 00! On the next spin with our bets in place, it came up red and my bro took down his winnings.
Next we drove over to the Westin Casuarina to get into their $25 ACG match plays. We had planned to team up again on craps, but they didn't have a craps table or roulette table open. This was close to midnight on Thursday. We both used our match plays at a blackjack table. The dealer out drew both of us. Bummer! My bro stayed for a few more hands though and ended up even.
We drove back to the Flamingo where my bro took a shot on some slots, and I headed off to bed close to one in the morning. The casino floor was packed at this time and everyone looked like they would be staying up partying for much longer. I love the energy in Las Vegas.
I woke up refreshed again after a good night sleep, with a bonus of no hangover. Sweet! Again I headed downstairs and skipped the enormous coffee shop line and went to the buffet where there was no waiting. I had another perfectly fine breakfast followed by a soak in the hot tubs.
After getting ready for the day and packing, we all checked out of the rooms using the TV menu and hit the road. We stopped again at Ellis Island for lunch and were seated right away. I had the steak special again with a root beer, and it again was delightful. After lunch my bro watched his kid and I went with my sister in law to the slot club. She had signed up the day before and retrieved her $10 in free play. I coached her through a few hands of full pay jacks or better VP, she cashed out a couple bucks.
From there we drove to the Palms to get our coupons on. My bro was a new club member so he was able to use the ACG $10 free play sign up coupon. Then we both played our $10 MPs at a very friendly 21 table, unfortunately we both lost, and I had doubled down my hand. We walked around the casino some more and I found the bank of quarter progressive FPDW. The rest of the casino was not at all busy, but this bank was packed with a very serious looking bunch. My bro found the last remaining empty seat and played for a few minutes. Eventually he hit 5 of a kind and walked away with a nice little score.
From here we drove downtown to check-in for our final night at what I consider to be my favorite casino in Las Vegas, the Main Street Station. I love the vibe, the great service, all the full pay VP, and of course the microbrews, especially the Marker Pale Ale. I was able to check-in at about 2:00pm and get a smoking room, the non-smoking rooms were unavailable until 4:00pm. The smoking room initially smelled pretty gross, but I turned the AC on full blast and after a while it cleared up nicely. My sis-in-law and nephew napped in my room while waiting for their non-smoking room to be ready, my bro and I hit the bar tops at the Boar's Head bar. I got my first sip of the Pale Ale . OH YES.
The bar was reasonably busy on a Friday afternoon, but we were able to get two seats together. Note to Main Street, I know times are tough and all, but please spend a little dough and fix up your bar top machines. On my machine the horizontal was off and the screen was dull, on my bro's machine most of the buttons stuck or didn't work. I glanced around and saw lots of other fuzzy, faded, and distorted screens.
That didn't stop us from scoring with 4 though!
After a bit, my bro went upstairs to watch his kid and let his wife come down play. She came down and on her very first hand scored quad 2s. Ha! We both played for a little bit longer and cashed out small winners. My sis-in-law doesn't care too much for gambling so we walked around the casino floor just enjoying the sights, the sounds, and the action.
After a bit my sis-in-law let my bro go with me for the evening, and we started out for the Plaza. Normally I don't care much for the Plaza, but it did appear to be a little bit cleaner than the last time I'd been there. I turned my $5 ACG slot play into $10 at a 7/5 BP bartop and sipped on a Corona. Then we both won our $10 ACG MPs at blackjack.
From there we walked over to the Golden Gate and signed up for slot cards. I used my $5 ACG MP on the pass line on craps . I shot a 6-6 DOH! My bro played slots to get 100 points to qualify for the $25 in free play ACG coupon. I considered playing some bartop VP to get 100 points, but the schedules were ATROCIOUS. I had to pass on that coupon.
Next we walked across to the Vegas Club to use our $10 MPs. The Club was as tired and sad looking as I'd remembered. We both lost our match plays at BJ and split quickly.
Next we walked to the Four Queens where I used my $10 in freeplay MRB coupon. I had a good time playing FP BP for nickels and cashed out a few bucks ahead.
Then we walked down to the El Cortez to use our $10 freeplay coupons. We wanted to use them at the piano bar, but there weren't 2 seats available. We ended up going to the bar near the café. We took the last 2 seats available, my bro took one for the team and sat next to a drunken babbling bum. We enjoyed some full pay BP and incredibly tasty Guinnesses on draft. I nailed a bonus quad and finished up about $50. We each had a couple rounds and some waters, when we got up to leave, the bartender came over and said goodbye and thanks for the tips, of course the babbling bums had been stiffing the bartender all night.
From there we made our way over to the 21 pit, we got into a nickel single deck game. (Blackjacks still pay 3/2!) This game was a blast. It was shoe dealt, but played as a hand held game. I love hand held games, I like nice slow rounds, picking up and feeling the cards, etc. The table was very friendly and almost full, we got two rounds out of each deck before the shuffle. I started things off right with a blackjack on my first hand. Yes! We played for almost an hour laughing it up and making a little money. I think I was up $25 or so when I left the table.
I remember when just a few years ago they replaced all the table games felts at the El Co and the place was looking sharp. Well, time has not been kind to the new felt at the El Cortez, the 21 table felt looked 50 years old, stained and tattered. Oh well, its still a great game and I'll keep playing it.
After we'd had our fill of the El Cortez, we went to Fitzgerald's to get into their quarter FP BP bartops upstairs. This is a great game, its full pay to start, and it has multiple progressives. And they serve Guinness! I enjoyed a bottle of Guinness and got some tasty quads right off the bat.
We played for a short while longer, then left to meet up with sis-in-law and nephew at the Pasta Pirate in the Cal for dinner. I had never eaten there, but I'd heard good things. I definitely did enjoy myself. Service was very friendly, but slow. The place was not fancy at all, but it was nice enough. We all ordered steak and lobster, with them ordering strip, and filet mignon for myself. The filet was outstanding, rivaling filets I'd had from Mon Ami Gabi, the Flame, and the Cortez Room. The lobster wasn't as special, but still tasty enough.
After dinner my bro and I headed to the Golden Nugget for some pokering. On the way to the Freemont canopy we walked passed a guy dressed as Paul Stanley of KISS. He looked GREAT. My favorite band in high school was KISS, I have to admit I swooned a little at the sight of a very fine replica of one of my high school heroes. He was in a hurry so I didn't find out what was going on, I sure hope he was on the way to play a tribute gig or something.
At the Golden Nugget, we both used our ACG $50 in chips for $40 coupons, and were given the extra $10 right away. We started up with a new 2/4 table 5 handed, and they only raked for the jackpots until the table filled, which I thought was nice. Its gets kind of fuzzy from here as the drink service was top notch .. and I sure obliged. The only slight bummer is that the best beer they offer poker players is either Becks or Sam Adams, definitely drinkable, but they sure aren't in the same league as my beloved Fat Tire. I had more Sammies than I care to remember, followed by a couple very tasty rum and cokes for good measure. I called it a night a bit after midnight when again I stopped being able to see the flop cards clearly.
I walked slowly back to the Main Street Station for my final night of sleep in Sin City. I tried very hard to soak up the scene and enjoy the Freemont spectacles during my walk. The neon, the music, the lights, the partying, oh man it made me feel all tingly. My heart wasn't ready for the trip to be over, but my liver and waist line sure was.
I got a great night sleep as I was on the 15th floor and didn't get bothered by the train. The AC going all day had cleared away almost all of the smoke stench in the room. When I awoke I headed downstairs and had the breakfast brunch buffet. Always a reasonable meal. Not gourmet by any means, but tasty and reasonably priced.
After breakfast I cleaned up and hit the bartops one last time. I found a nice clean fully functional machine and starting sipping on Pale Ales. Sadly there was no scoring with 4 this time and I finished my gambling for this trip down $50. Not bad at all in my opinion!
We ate lunch at the 777 and I had a tasty teriyaki burger and a very fine brewmaster's special wheat beer.
I got a ride to the airport from my brother and he and his family headed back to California. I had a fine flight home and was overjoyed to see my wonderful wife and my not so wonderful cat.
Enormous shout out to my sister-in-law who watched my nephew much of the time to allow my bro to spend some quality time with me. I also owe them a huge thanks for chauffeuring me around town, I didn't have to use a single cab ride this trip, that was sooo nice.
Thanks for reading!
