I have just returned from a four day trip to LV . First 2 nights were at Caesar's comped
with a $75.00 food credit and the second 2 nights were at the SouthCoast on a full RFB. I
rented a mid-sized car from Dollar at $14.75 per day.
Saturday
I drove up to the Flamingo Road entrance of Caesars only to discover that it is used
exclusively for Limos and shuttles. There are no valets there to park the car. Stupid. I had
to drive all around to get back to the Las Vegas Blvd entrance. Checking in at the Diamond
Desk (opposite Diamond Lounge) was extremely efficient and pleasant and was happy to
discover that my room would be in the new Augustus tower where I'd not stayed before.
Room on 28th floor was very nice overlooking Flamingo and Bellagio. Had lunch at
Hyakumi that also have a Chinese lunch menu that has the best and hugest won ton
noodle soup. Once consumed, it doesn't leave room for much of anything else.
Went to an MG machine that had .50c 9/5 DDB near the restaurant area and put my card
in. After about 45 minutes of play on $60.00, I cashed out a TITO for $700.00 thanks to
several ordinary quads and two with a kicker for $400.00. As I looked at my point balance
I realised something was wrong as I knew I had over 135 000 points before I started and
now I showed 2700! I marched over to Total Rewards and after twenty minutes of poring
over their computer screens,the boothlings realized that my points had not "merged" from
Showboat,my "main casino" where I had been in April. I pointed out to them that Caesars
had been my "main casino" for the last 15 years to no avail. I was told to check in with
them the day before I checked out and they would have the points transferred over to my
account in Vegas should I need them to pay my room charges. Played this and that all
afternoon returning about $200.00 to the house.
I went to the Diamond Lounge for a drink and curious to see what what food was being
offered having read Ms Craps assesment of it. The Lounge is very nice particularly as it has
four Internet terminals for use. The bartenders are very welcoming and friendly (especially
David) and the food is measly and not worth the effort. Ms Craps was very right about the
wraps. They looked icky. I picked up a few triangles of different cheeses to have with my
pre-dinner martini and couldn't help remarking that they all tasted the same. I decided
that I would stick close to home for dinner and went to the Cafe Lago to try the buffet. The
buffet was "okay" and nothing more. Went back to playing MG machines near restaurants
and went to bed at 10pm with a net gain of $500.00 on the day.
Sunday
Slept well, however could hear the Flamingo Rd traffic. Augustus Tower not as quiet as
Palace Tower. Went down to breakfast to Cafe Augustus. Service was atrocious. Waited
forever to get order and when it arrived it was wrong. Took forever again to get it right.
Scratch that one off the list.
Went and played .25c Multi Strike by the Shadow Bar and hit quad aces and a deuce kicker
on second line on third go. Cashed out. As I'm waiting for my ticket to print out a young
woman with a lot of decolletage who reminded me of a very made-up Patti Labelle
sashays over towards me and says "Hey, how you doi'n?". I look around to see who else
she could be talking to, but I'm there alone. I manage to stammer out "Fine thanks" grab
my ticket and split as I hear her say "heyyy!" behind me.
I started out the morning with no service and could of ended it with more service than I
cared to think about.
Got the car our from valet parking and went to the new Red Rock Casino. Wow is it ever
beautiful. The outside is gorgeous as is the interior. I walked around in wonderment at the
design. It is a wonderful combination of retro and the now. Even the pool area is well
planned and beautiful. Plonked myself down at a .50c DDB MG slant-top and at the end of
a ninety-minute session cashed out $1300.00 having drawn the four aces twice-once with
a kicker. I LOVE the Red Rock. I had lunch at the Tides Seafood bar where I ordered the
lobster roll for $10.00. It was huge and very good. Went back to explore more of the
casino floor and just for fun put $20.00 in a penny machine that had an Arabian Nights
theme with genies and Viziers..etc. I pushed max play and as the combination whirled
onto the screen,suddenly the machine began playing very loudly a tune as it locked down
announcing to call an attendant for a handpay of $2000.00! I really LOVE the Red Rock. I
was paid $1400.00 and given the 1042S form I so love to receive showing the 30%
deduction. Went back to playing DDB for a couple of hours with no further pays of note
other than ending the session with four threes without the kicker that broke me even for
that session.
Drove back to Caesars and to the tourist mayhem that perpetually inhabits it. Went to
celebrate my winnings at the DL with a great big martini. I was in no mood to play
anymore at Caesars so I decided to try the Village Buffet at the Paris having read positive
things about on this board. There was a huge line-up and no one at the Diamond stop. I
always feel a little guilty flashing my D card and jumping to the head of the line. I got sat
right away and was pleasantly surprised at how good the quality and variety of the food
was. One of many stand-outs was the Creme Caramel for dessert which in my estimation
was as good as any as I had had in France. After dinner I wandered around the VP
wasteland that is the Paris mourning the removal of the $1.00 PE's I used to play there. As
I walked over to Bally's and saw a sign for the show Jubilee, I suddenly I remembered that I
could get a free show ticket each month. I walked over to the Total Rewards Desk and sure
enough got a voucher for the 10.30pm show that I presented to the box office right next
door for a centre booth seat for free. I killed a couple of hours playing roulette and slots
doing neither too much damage to the house or to myself. The show is as great and
cheesy as it always was and the costumes and the feathers and the girls are as eye
popping as ever. Walked back to Caesars and went straight to bed. Net gain on the day
$2300.00 (+ 1042S Form for $600.00)
Monday
After showering,shaving and packing I went down for breakfast. The Augustus Cafe was
definitely not an option,not only because of the rotten service of the day before but
because workmen were drilling the floor a few feet away and making an unholy noise. I
went to Cafe Lago where surprisingly there was already a small line-up of people at 7am. I
stood by myself next to the Diamond sign discreetly holding my card and immediately the
hostess whisked over to me and called another hostess to seat me. I was taken to a
section by the windows that has table-cloths as opposed to the rest the tables that do not.
Weird. A server appeared and I asked him for toast,with butter on the side and coffee. He
seemed very non-plussed when I said that was all that I wanted. I explained to him that I
just happened not to be that particularly hungry that morning. A minute later the hostess
who sat me accompanied by the server, re-appeared to inform me that she would be
forced to charge me $14.50 for my toast and coffee as they no longer served a la carte
items. She suggested that I go to the Augustus Cafe if I didn't want the buffet. Surprised at
her haughty tone I told her that I would get the buffet as the Cafe was a dreadfully badly
run place and not an option. She seemed relieved and apologised for having to do this
and moved. I re-iterated to my server that I still wanted my coffee and toast with the
butter on the side. I went to the buffet and picked up a few items that I felt I could eat.
When I returned my server poured me coffee and brought me the toast. Buttered. The
experience left me with a bad taste (no pun intended) as I remember more relaxed
mornings at Cafe Lago and its predecessor the wonderful Cafe Roma.
I went to play some .50c DDB and after about an hour and $300.00 to the house decided I
had had enough of Caesars and was ready to move on to the relative quiet and simplicity
of the SouthCoast. I checked out with a zero balance and 140,000 new points to add to my
existing balance. Happily I got my car from the valet and headed out for the drive south.
Checking in was a breeze and I was given a nice room on the 20th floor facing east. Went
and played some .25c DDB in a bank facing the Big Sur Oyster Bar and within twenty
minutes as I held a K of spade, I watched as the rest of the Royal filled in for $1000.00. I
could not believe my luck. I played another $100.00 more which kept me playing another
hour or so and cashed out.That afternoon I decided to go for a spin to the Las Vegas
Outlet Center which used to be the old Belz mall and do some much needed summer
clothes shopping. Spent two great hours picking up neat brand name stuff for bargain
prices. Went back to the SouthCoast to drop it all off and had another VP session but with
no wins. Enjoyed a long leisurely (read slow service) delicious dinner (filet mignon and
lobster tail) at the Silverado with a few choice after dinner drinks. Unfortunately my
resistance to sleep was sharply lowered afterwards as I began to feel like I was nodding off
at the VP machine I had just started to play. I decided I should go with the moment and at
about 10pm went back to the room to sink into the super comfortable bed and slept
without waking until 6am the following morning. Net gain for the day $350.00 (+200.00
shopping spree)
Tuesday
Breakfast at the Coronado cafe was delicious with the freshest orange juice I had tasted in
a very long time. My toast arrived with the butter on the side this time and some very good
coffee. I was as happy as a clam. I decided to have a go at a 25.c 5-play DDB multistrike
which was a mistake as after $400.00 flew by with nothing to show for it. I tried playing a
few other different machines but to no avail. I decided I should return to the Red Rock and
re-visit the scene of my previous success. This time I decided to up the ante and play
$1.00 DDB. After a couple of hours and $700.00, I finally was dealt a full house with three
aces and two tens. I chucked the tens and lo and behold ace number four popped up but
no kicker.
Hoping that this was the beginning of a run I wore down my credit balance by half and
finally hit quad fives. I was still under by a couple of hundred and decided to call it quits
for lunch. I went back to the Tides for lunch and had a cup of chowder and their seafood
Cobb salad. The salad was good but not great. But the New England clam chowder is
sensational. After lunch I played a variety of DDB machines but at best I broke even and at
worst filled the machines' bellies with a couple hundred dollars in 20's.
At day's end I looked at my point total and was shocked to see it was only 7600! I figured
out that was worth maybe $12.00! Roughly the same amount of play at Caesars would
have given me over a hundred dollars worth of comps. Is this right? It was now about 5pm
and I decided I should drive back to the Suncoast for my last evening as I had an early
flight the next day and I had to return the car and make sure I could pack everything I had
purchased into my small carry-on bag. I decided to drive down Charleston and take
Rainbow accross as it was relatively traffic free. Instead of turning at Tropicana I carried on
South and eventually made a turn east and of course landed on a dead end road
surrounded by miles of new development. I eventually found my way down to Warm Spring
Road in the worst traffic imaginable, however the drive was memorable not just because it
took me over an hour to get back but because of the huge amount of construction I
observed along the way.My mind reeled at the sheer number of new
houses,condos,townhouses...etc being built or developped. I suddenly realised that it
won't be long before all the gaps along the Blvd to the SouthCoast will be filled with one
thing or another. The contrast of what Vegas is now compared to what it was in 1974, the
first time I visited it is mind-boggling.
On my return to the SouthCoast I packed and amazingly got everything squeezed into my
bag. Luckily it is expandable and still legally sized as carry on. Bless Samsonite. I went
back down for some play but didn't do much of anything. Dinner was again at the
Silverado and this time even more delicious (lamb chops) and this time a little more
quickly paced than the night before. A charming server by the name of Roxanne tended to
me and was attentive and perfect in every way. I left her a 30% tip as I really appreciated
the good service. I also avoided loading up on after dinner drinks so that I could have a
last fling at play after dinner. My after dinner session was uneventful but lasted a couple of
hours at the end of which I realized I had broken even and should use the opportunity to
go to bed. I checked my points and saw I had 18,400 which gave me $55.00 in cash-back
that I collected from the Club Coast.
Loss on the day $660.00
Another great night's sleep, another good breakfast and easy drive to the airport. Check-
in was a breeze, I boarded my UA flight to Denver to catch my connection back to Canada.
As we sat on the tarmac my mind drifted back to Caesars and how I realized it was no
longer the place I had loved. I had now developed an indifference to it and didn't really
care if I stayed there ever again. In fact the whole strip to me has become this zoo with
bad plays and too many people wandering aimlessly. I thought of the Red Rock,its
beautiful setting and how comfortable it is to play there and its close proximity to the
SunCoast in Summerlin which is another place I always have enjoyed. I suddenly realized I
hadn't thought of dropping in there and made a mental note to do that on my next trip.
The Southcoast is an oasis of calm and very enjoyable too if a little bland.However the staff
are VERY nice . Suddenly I thought back to my fun times at Sam's Town a few years ago
and how I must re-visit it when I return. I believe it has been re-done since I last went
there. Also I remembered other great visits to Sunset Station and Green Valley and just
then I realized we had been sitting on the tarmac a heck of a long time. At that moment
the pilot came on the air to inform us of a 45 minute delay because of a "cell" in the area.
I had plenty of time to think once we got to Denver. Having missed my connection I had to
wait five hours for the next one. However I was surprisingly calm and accepting as I sat at
the bar of the Wolfgang Puck outlet killing time, sipping my brew and consuming some
tasty barbecued chicken and feeling blessed to have a bag that I made the wise choice not
to check in packed with new clothes and a wallet stuffed with a lot more money than I had
left with. I'm happy!
MO