TRIP REPORT
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2010 - OLIVE'S SQUASH RAVIOLI/BELLAGIO FOUNTAIN SHOW/CHECKING INTO THE HILTON
Left from Manchester, NH via Southwest non-stop to Las Vegas. Arrived about 1:15 PM and shuttled to the Rental Center. Dollar has changed its procedure for Express members. Now they have a pre-assigned and pre-inspected vehicle in your specified size category next to the Express booth in an assigned numbered parking spot . All the paperwork is in that car and is assigned to that vehicle. So from what I can tell, you no longer have your choice of vehicles. Previously one could take any car in your size category from a row of cars and before making your choice you could check the mileage, accessories, condition, etc of each car. We were assigned a silver Ford Focus. I had no complaints other than there was no Satellite radio subscription although the car was equipped with Satellite radio (unlike previous automobiles I've rented that came with the subscription in effect at no charge). Perhaps some cars at Dollar still have it, but unfortunately this one did not.
Since my wife enjoys butternut squash ravioli and few restaurants have this on their menu, I found out online before leaving that Olive's had it on their lunch menu. So I had made a reservation for lunch there. Our lunch bill, however, without any alcoholic beverages consisting of two lunch entrees, two soft drinks, two coffees and two desserts came to $108 before tip. Despite it being only a lunch, that was our most expensive meal of the trip even though it was ordered from their lower priced lunch menu. The saving grace (beside that the food and service were good) was by dessert time it was 3 PM therefore, time for the first Bellagio fountain show of the day. Since it was 70° we were sitting outside directly in front of the fountain. So watching the fountain show while having dessert, took some of the sting off of the high cost of lunch. While we were there we also checked out the Bellagio conservatory. The conservatory still had the fall show and it was well done.
From there we drove to Las Vegas Hilton where I had a four day reservation based on a USPS mailer offer for $139 total including a Friday and Saturday night. After being in our room awhile we noticed that there was an ashtray and matches on the desk and surmised that it was a smoking room. Although I couldn't smell any smoke, my wife detected a faint smell in the room. I called the front desk, and they indicated that yes we had been placed in a smoking room, even though I had requested a non-smoking room. I had no issue with it except for the fact we weren't told about it before accepting the room. Needless to say I was upset that no one told us when we checked in. I called the front desk from the room and the woman on the phone indicated that they had no non-smoking rooms available that day, but they would be able to move us to a non-smoking room for the remaining three days of the trip.
My also wife feels it's also important to point out that she was also disappointed that there was only one bar of soap and only one wastebasket in the room (none in the bathroom) . I could care less, but apparently having two of each was important to her. I rectified the one bar of soap issue when I walked by the maid's cart in the hallway.
After getting settled in the room, I went down to the casino and played full pay Loose Deuces Wild VP. After about an hour I lost $100. Since we had a late lunch, we decided not to have anything further for dinner or supper and a after long day of travel, we decided to go to sleep early.
THURSDAY - FPDW VP AT THE RAINBOW CLUB CASINO/STRIPBURGER/FREE PLAY AT TI/THE FAB/BAHAMA BREEZE
The next day, Thursday, I got up at 5:00 AM and headed to Henderson to the Rainbow Club Casino. The attraction here is the full pay deuces wild at the $0.50 level. After about 3 hours of FPDW video poker, with the help of four deuces, I left up $400. From there I drove over to the Palms and continued playing FPDW at the $0.25 level. After two hours there, I ended up breaking even there. One benefit, there, however, I did receive a $5.00 food credit from the promotional booth. None of the other promotions such as VP Bingo or Gift Cards apply to play at the FPDW machines.
For lunch we decided to go to the Stripburger at the front of the Fashion Show Mall. The fries were especially good. I had the regular fries and my wife had the sweet potato fries. The burgers were also very good. The check was reasonable considering the prime Strip location (maybe because it doesn't have many walls, and just canopies for a roof, therefore the rent is more reasonable than if it were entirely enclosed).
After lunch, since we were right there, we (actually she) decided to go shopping in the Fashion Show Mall. My wife bought a few things that she "needed". I mostly hung out at the Apple store and then did a quick walk across the elevated walkway to TI to see if I could finagle some freeplay there.
Despite having an MGM/Mirage player's club card in the past, (as a result of the new TI ownership) I was allowed to resign up for their slot club and I got $5 of FP for sign up and another $5.00 for providing my email address. I converted the $10 of FP into $10 cash at a crappy paytable BP VP machine.
After my wife was finished shopping (meaning she did not want to carry any more stuff), I convinced her also to go to TI where she also got $10 of FP and converted hers to $10 in cash as well (thanks Phil Ruffin).
That evening for entertainment we went to the Brendan Pub at the Orleans and saw the musical group, The Fab, a Beatle's cover band (free I might add). They did an excellent job both vocally and instrumentally and a good time was had by all.
Later, we went to the Bahamas Breeze restaurant at the corner of Paradise and Flamingo. The food and service were both very good as usual the prices reasonable. Before heading up to the room at the Hilton I played some more FP Loose Deuces VP but lost another $100.
FRIDAY - PEPPERMILL BANANA BREAD/TERRIBLE'S LOSS REIMBURSEMENT/CLARK COUNTY MUSEUM/CARVE/RAY ROMANO
The next morning, Friday, I went to the Peppermill and got two coffees along with a loaf of warm banana bread to go. I brought it back to our room for breakfast for my wife and me.
Afterwards, my wife hung out in the room and I went to Terribles' to take advantage of the Las Vegas Advisors' member's online freeplay reimbursement offer. The offer was such that you will be reimbursed up to $100 of your machine losses in the form of free play. My intent was to play $5 x 5 coin bonus poker and make a couple hundred and quit or lose $100 and claim my $100 in freeplay reimbursement. I signed up at the Player's Club Desk and after 4 hands I lost $100 and I immediately went back to the players club to claim my FP. They couldn't believe that I had lost $100 so quickly. It was the case, however, and they then allegedly set up my account with $100 in free play. I then attempted to use the free play at their $1.00 9/6 jacks or better machine. Unfortunately, these machines were excluded from the free play/promotional offer. I then went to try to use it on a number of other VP machines with no luck. In addition to many machines being excluded, there seemed to be a recurring problem getting my PIN to work. Messages at various machines kept saying incorrect PIN or PIN on hold, etc.
After four trips back and forth to the players club desk, they F-I-N-A-L-L-Y were able to get the free play to work with my PIN at a machine with a lousy paytable. I ended up spending almost two hours there (the vast majority waiting in line at the Player's Club Desk numerous times and failed attempts to get my PIN working at multiple machines) when this should have taken about 15 to 20 minutes at most. I recouped $80 of my $100 loss so ended up losing $20 on the promotion. I assume others experiences will be better than mine.
Before leaving I figured maybe I can get my $20 back using a $10 MP there, but on my roulette bet, black came up when red was supposed to.
After that long and frustrating experience, I went to Ellis Island where I had $10 of free play coming to me from a previous promotion I had done on my last trip. I quickly turned the free play into $10 of cash, and a $10 matchplay into another $20 of profit. From there I went to the Palms where I played 25 cent FP deuces wild VP for about three hours and essentially broke even there.
Later, in the afternoon, my wife and I drove out to the Clark County Museum in Henderson. The curator is occasionally seen on the Pawn Stars TV show in which he is called upon to authenticate items. We were hoping to see him at the museum, however, he was not in that afternoon. Nevertheless, we had a good time walking around the museum and the grounds. We got to see many items and displays relative to the evolution of Las Vegas. They also have a number of buildings and actual houses on the site from the early days of Vegas inclusive of original appliances and furnishings etc., which were quite entertaining. After a couple of hours there (for the very reasonable admission fee of only $1.50 per person or $1.00 PP if over 55), we then drove to the Green Valley District to buy some snacks at the Whole Foods Market to tide us over until dinner. Before going up to the room at the Hilton I played more FP Loose Deuces video poker and lost another $20.
Prior to leaving on the trip, at restaurants.com, I purchased a $25 gift certificate for $3.00 for the CARVE restaurant at Eastside Cannery. I had read a number of very good reviews for the restaurant and prices were more reasonable here than at similar Strip-located steakhouses. When we arrived we found out they were even more reasonable than I had thought: my wife was planning to get the 6 oz. filet mignon, which is on the regular menu at $20 ala carte, but unbeknownst to us they were having a special which included the 6 oz. Filet along with a few fried shrimp (as well as a potato and vegetable) for the grand sum of $16.
She had the special. She indicated they shrimp were okay, but the Filet was one of the best she's had in a very long time. I had the New York steak, which was also very good. The bill was ridiculously cheap and even more so after the deduction of the $25 certificate which only cost me $3.00.
After dinner we then went to the Mirage where we had tickets to see Ray Romano and Kevin James. There was a brief warm-up comedian (who was very good) and Ray Romano did a solo routine which was funny followed by Kevin James doing a solo routine which was also surprisingly very good. I had seen Kevin James a couple of years ago and he was at that time, just not very funny and gave a somewhat unenthusiastic performance. This time he was energetic and funny and he's lost a lot of weight. After James finished his solo act, they then teamed up and did a combined act for about 20 to 30 minutes. Overall I thought the show was excellent particularly when they got together and became more improvisational
SATURDAY - RAIBOW CLUB CASINO/GVR/CAPRIOTTI'S/HARD ROCK MP/ PAWN STAR SHOPPING/GORDIE BROWN/PEPPERMILL DRUNKEN PATRONS
The next morning, Saturday, I again drove to the Rainbow Club Casino in Henderson and after a couple of hours of 50 cent full pay deuces, lost $100.
On the way back to the Hilton, I stopped at Green Valley Ranch and played more FP Deuces and some Loose Deuces and after abut 45 minutes lost a hundred.
Since my wife had a sandwich in the refrigerator at our room at the Hilton from the Whole Foods Market from the previous day, she asked me just to bring her back some soup to have with her sandwich in the room. For my lunch, I picked up a turkey sub sandwich at Capriotti's at GVR and brought it back to the room. On the way up to the room I stopped at the Hilton coffee shop and picked up a cup of matzo ball soup for my wife. We then had lunch in the room together. The Capriotti's sub was excellent as usual.
After lunch we went to the Hard Rock where my wife got $10 free slot play using an ACG coupon and I played a $25 matchplay that I had gotten from a mailer. She won $10; I lost $25.
From there, I drove my wife to the church on Las Vegas Blvd next to the Encore. While she prayed, I headed downtown to pick up tickets for the Gordie Brown show that night at the Golden Nugget. I used the 2-for-1 coupon from the Las Vegas Advisor's booklet. I then headed back to pick her up at church.
After church we spent some time at the adjacent gift shop on Las Vegas Blvd. and then on the way back downtown we stopped at the Gold and Silver Pawnshop (the location of the show the Pawn Stars). My wife wanted to get T-shirts for her two brothers from the store. I had been there previously, but my wife had not, so she also wanted to see what the store was like. As reported, it's relatively small in a not-so-great location and in not-so-great condition. Most of the merchandise is overpriced jewelry, watches, coins, and t-shirts. Still there were some of the items that were purchased on the show. None of the stars of the show were there when we were there.
From there, we drove downtown and parked at Binion's garage. You are allowed three hours of free parking. Since we still had time before the show, we went to the Fremont and played FP $0.25 Pick'Em video poker. We both know this game very well as we play it at home at the Mohegan Sun casino. After about a half hour we each lost about $20 and then headed over to the Golden Gate for a shrimp cocktail. As usual they were excellent. I tried to use the Fremont Street experience coupon for a 2-for-1 shrimp cocktail, however, the most recent coupon they had had an expiration date of October 31st when I printed it. So they would not accept it. Still, it was a great deal for $1.99 per bowl/cup and the shrimp were fresh and tasty.
We then headed to the Gordie Brown show. I had seen it before but my wife had not. She enjoyed the show immensely. Gordie and his talented band put a lot of effort into the show. His impersonations are not only accurate but also funny (sometimes brutally so).
After the show we headed to the Peppermill for a late night supper. I had the club sandwich and my wife had a fruit waffle. As usual there were a few loud drunken (but funny) patrons providing a great Vegas atmosphere in addition to the great service and food.
At this point for the trip overall I was down about $55 overall from gambling activities.
SUNDAY BLUEBERRY HILL PANCAKES/RAINBOW CLUB/PALAZZO CHECK IN/ GRAND LUXE & THE PATRIOT'S/ROD STEWART
In the morning, I headed over to the Blueberry Hill restaurant by myself to try some of their well-regarded blueberry pancakes. I went to the one on Flamingo and sat at the counter. The pancakes were a light, fluffy, abundant, fresh and tasty. I particularly liked that the whole blueberries were not only cooked within the pancakes but also were on top. I also got to listen to the many grand conspiracy theories of the waitress at the counter as she explained them to a guy a few seats from me who couldn't get a word in edgewise.
After breakfast I continue east on Flamingo to I-515 South and made my way back to the Rainbow Club Casino again. I spent about four hours again playing 50 cent FP deuces wild video poker and ended up breaking exactly even.
Today was the day that we were checking into the Palazzo for two nights. After check in upon entering the room my wife was so happy with the room she was nearly in tears. In the past, we have stayed at some decent hotels such as the Bellagio, Wynn, Red Rock, GVR, and even the Venetian. This room, however, was nicer than any other at which we have stayed. I got a semi-deal @ $119 per night + resort fees (via a smartervegas.com discount code saved $20 per night off the regular room rate plus got a free upgrade to a strip view room). We were on the 42nd floor which was actually higher than the roof of the Venetian part of the complex. So the strip view was the most spectacular from a hotel room that I've seen since I began going to Vegas regularly 6 to 7 years ago.
Prior to leaving for the trip my wife bought a $25 gift certificate online for the Grand Luxe restaurant at the Venetian/Palazzo. We were informed by e-mail that there was a problem with the E-Certificate and to make up for it they were going to Fedex us two $25 plastic gift cards. They FedEx'd them to us at the Hilton the previous day. So Sunday we went to the Palazzo Grand Luxe for lunch. Our $50 lunch only cost us $25. We sat at the bar tables to eat so that we could watch the second half of the Patriot's versus Indianapolis football game. I had the chicken breast sandwich with a side of salad and dessert. The food as usual was excellent. What made it better was that the Patriots won the game by three points and perhaps would've lost or tied it had it not been for a last second interception off of P. Manning.
That evening we had tickets for Rod Stewart at Caesars Palace (saved $100 on two center stage orchestra seats using Travelzoo). Rod was energetic and entertaining. He ended up doing only one of his Great American songbook renditions (thank God) and the rest of the evening were his hits. The musicians and backup singers were excellent and he really put on a great show (for an old guy).
After the show we walked back to the Venetian casino food court and had sandwiches and salads, which we both enjoyed.
MONDAY - RONALD'S DONUTS/FOUR DEUCES AT THE PALM'S/MAGGIANO'S/GIFT OF LIGHTS/HUMAN NATURE
On Monday morning I decided to drive to the Chinatown section to try Ronald's Donuts a highly touted donut shop. I had their famous apple fritter. It was large as well as crispy on the outside and soft and loaded with pieces of apple on the inside. It was only $1.25. From there I headed South on Arville to the Palm's to play some deuces wild VP. With the help of four deuces I managed to end up with a $300 profit that morning. I also used the $5.00 food certificate at the Coffee Bean in the food court and purchased a coffee and a bottle of water with it.
For a late lunch we went to Maggiano's at the Fashion Show Mall where I had a $10 off e-mail coupon that was emailed to us from Maggiano's for our anniversary. As usual the food was excellent. I had chicken parm and my wife had gnocchi's. The service was excellent and we had a view of the strip from our seats. The prices were reasonable particularly after deducting the $10 coupon.
From there we drove out to the Las Vegas Raceway where they were having the Christmas light decoration exhibit known as the Gift of Lights. Previously this was in Sunset Park, however, this year they've moved it out to the Raceway. We arrived at 5 PM and we drove through it. It takes about 20 minutes to see all the exhibits. It was entertaining.
After driving back to the strip we headed to the Imperial Palace to see the Australian group, Human Nature. They sing Motown songs and are produced by Smokey Robinson. Most reviews have been exceptional. Despite our awful seating, completely to the right of the stage in an awful room, the show was still highly worthwhile.
TUESDAY WRONG ROOM SIR/PALM'S/BACK HOME
Unlike most previous trips, this trip I used very few matchplays since I had used most of those coupons on a previous trip. Tuesday was our last day and our flight left about 2 PM. So in the morning I made a quick trip over to the Palms to attempt to increase my winnings above $245 playing FP and LD Deuces Wild VP.
Before leaving the Palazzo that morning, however, about 7:00 AM, I went to fill up the ice bucket so that my wife would have ice in the room. She was still sleeping. Upon my return to the room with the filled ice bucket, I put the key in the door and opened the door. I noticed that the TV that I had left on in the lower level of the room was now off. I figured my wife must have gotten up while I was getting ice and shut it off. Next I went to put the filled up ice bucket on the tray where I got it. Weirdly, there was already an ice bucket there. How could this be? Something wasn't right. I looked over to the bed where my wife was sleeping when I left the room about 3 minutes before and some old guy is in the bed and whips his upper body upright from the bed and says: "Who the f*** are you??" It then struck me that I had entered the wrong room. Apparently, his door latch had not completely latched and when I pushed the door open, it opened without me needing the right key. The room was very dark and I just said to him that I was in the wrong room and that apparently his door wasn't locked. I got the hell out of there as fast as I could. Oh boy! I could just see security come running after me and arresting me. I felt bad for the guy, but to some extent it was his own fault for not making sure his door was latched before going to bed.
Anyway I quickly dropped off the filled ice bucket in my own room and got the hell out of the Palazzo as quickly as I could. I drove over to the Palm's. From my perspective nothing further came of it as luckily my wife and I never heard another word about the incident.
Unfortunately, however, at the Palm's that morning, after a few hours, instead of increasing my winnings, I lost $200 and decreased my overall winnings to just $45 for the trip overall. Since I still had not lost any money gambling and actually made $45 overall, I was still not unhappy with the overall outcome. Nothing else to report, other than we made it home without further incident.
That's all folks. Thanks for reading this.
SteveT