Las Vegas trip report

[yyz]

Well, we got back home at 3:30 this morning, and I am still quite groggy. (20 hour days for a week straight will do that to me!)

This report will not be as detailed as I had hoped, due to the fact that it is just too hard for me to stop having a good time to right things down!

We got from Fond du Lac to O'Hare in decent time on Saturday the 12th. Two hours of mild traffic and 145 miles later, we parked the MIL's van at the Avistar center. $60 for a week was a great rate.

Check in at O'Hare was a snap. They have kiosks that you use to print your tickets, and then it's through the security point, and up to your gate. Curb to gate took less than twenty minutes. We could have taken a ?bump? but that would require an overnight stay, and we were eager. (We have since agreed that we would take the bump in the future, and just plan on an overnight stay.) Uneventful flight, and we were in LV in three hours.

This was my girlfriend's first trip to LV, and as most of you might know form earlier posts, her mom came, too. (She was supposed to come with another gal, but she backed out.)

At the airport, I popped a lone quarter into a machine, and hit ?any bars? for $1.25. (Starting out a winner!)

When we got to LV, my girlfriend?s aunt and uncle picked us up. (He is a recent job transfer to LV, and his wife still lives in Alaska, but she was in town for a few days.) It was nice to get a ride, and we got to take the "Strip route" to the Plaza, where we spent our first two nights. This was a nice relaxing ride, but it took over about an hour, with the Saturday night cruisers out for drives. (What would that have been in a taxi!!!???

The ladies were both awe struck by the sights. I liked her aunt and uncle, but I was not thrilled with his ideas on arriving at the hotel. I kind of had visions of him dropping us and our bags off at the hotel entrance. I guess he thought it would be better to park, and have us schlep our bags the 3/4 of a mile that we did! I was not happy with this, but what was I going to do?

Got to the front desk of the Plaza to check in, and got our first problem. I asked over the phone if we would be able to get rooms close together. The lady said that there was no guarantee, but it should not be a problem. Well, we got rooms 10 floors apart! I asked for a better setup, but she said there was no way, because we had a suite, and mom had a regular room.

We took mom to her room, and it was okay. One night comped, and the other at $25 was a good price, so we didn't bitch about the fact that the bathroom was about the size of a small broom closet. Our "suite" consisted of a regular room, with a larger bathroom, (That means you could shut the door without picking up your feet), and a side room, with a wet bar, couch, walk-out balcony, and separate shower/toilet area. The rooms were quite dated, and nothing to write home about.

The bad news about our suite:

The wall switches didn't do a thing. The lights all had to be switched on by hand. That is not a major problem, but it is an inconvenience. One of the lamps didn't have a light bulb, but I didn't bother calling for one. The one bathroom had wallpaper hanging halfway down the wall, and the showerhead is way too low. I am six feet tall, and the water hit me square in the chest if I stood straight up.

The fact that the remote for the television was bolted to the table was a real plus, too. (Along with the lamps!) I mean, really......The room is in my name, right? If the remote comes up missing I would have to pay, no? Give me the liberty of not having to go over to the table every time I want to change the channel! Christ.....what is the purpose of a remote, if it is not REMOTE!? (I can only assume that they are very difficult to replace, as the t.v's are about 20 years old!)

After getting settled in, (about 9pm) we hit the casinos on Fremont Street, and watched the "Experience" a couple of times. I didn't do anything much as far as gambling goes, but at night's end, I was up $140. I wanted to take the aunt/uncle to eat, but they said that they ate just before they picked us up. I said I needed to get something, and the girls agreed, so we had, (I hate to say it) McDonald's! The shame! My first Vegas nosh in two years, and I have a Big Mac! We tucked in, and got ready to face our first full day assault on LV in the morning.............

 

[yyz]

Sunday April 13

As per usual, sleep was quick in Las Vegas. In at 2am, and up at 7am. The three of us did a little gambling at the slots, and I played some 21 for a couple of hours, hitting a nice streak that put me up over $500 for the trip. My MIL called her sister and BIL, and we met in the casino at 10:30. Being that it was Sunday, I decided that the brunch at the Golden Nugget would be our best bet. The line was minimal, and we were seated within 10 minutes. The food was good, but not noteworthy. Typical buffet fare, with champagne for those who wished to imbibe. We finished up our breakfast, and took a walk down Fremont Street.

The gambling gods decided to sour on me a little bit. This was the typical ?loser?s lament? of a day trip. I kid you not, when I say that every table I sat at, I walked away a loser. Golden Nugget: Played back and forth, but lost the big hands, while winning the small. Las Vegas Club: Lost three out of every four hands. Binnion?s: Same story. I hate to be one of those whiners whom you see out there, but this was defying the laws of average in a big way. I get a 12, and have to hit??Face card! Double down on an 11, and get a 4. I had a $100 bet out, and got two Aces. Split them. Draw another Ace, and re-split. What do I get? A-2, A-3, A-4, in that order! Of course, the dealer swept all three bets. In about three hours time, I went from up $500, to down $1,100. The rest of the day and evening was back and forth, and I finished the night down $1,200 for the trip. One high note: I hit a RWB 7 on a nickel machine for 2000 nickels. (Sure?..my first slot hit, and it?s for nickels!)

The Plaza has a promotion where they will give you a 5% credit towards their Center Stage restaurant when you cash your tax refund. My MIL got a nice $40 coupon, and the five of us ate a nice meal. I had a Porterhouse that I ordered medium rare, and it came more on the medium side. A little too peppered for me, as well, but a good eat, none the less. My girlfriend had a salad, and it was ample, with plenty of meat, etc. The rest of the crew also went the beef rout, and all of them said their meal was great. This place was the only good part of the Plaza. A little more late night gambling, and it was bedtime. The girls were only down a few bucks, while I was licking a major butt kicking. I was happy that we would be leaving this dump in the morning???..

 

[yyz]

Monday April 14

We got up and packed, and hit the casino for some early last minute play. My MIL called her sister, and they would meet us for breakfast at 10am. Nothing spectacular to report gambling wise, as we all held our own. When the whole crew was there, we decided on the buffet at the Plaza. I cannot stress enough, that this was a big mistake! There was absolutely nothing good on this table. It was slim pickings to begin with, and got worse. They had the usual fare, that included scrambled eggs, (runny) American potatoes, (cold) and tins of slop that included grits, oatmeal, and creamed wheat. Everything luke warm, at best, and I don?t hesitate to say that Oliver Twist would have turned down firsts here. Let alone seconds! At $6 a plate, it was highway robbery.

I was never so happy to be checking out of a place.

End result for the Plaza:

Two rooms (One regular one suite) comped for the first night, and a total of $100 for the second. Rooms shabby, and the overall feel for the place was mid level low roller. The employees were all friendly, and if you are on a limited budget, and have no standards, this place will be fine for you. Center Stage was a good eat, but might be too pricey for people on a strict budget.

Hopped in Brian?s pick up, and rambled down the Strip again. I am not sure if he knows that you can access these casinos from the back roads, but he seems to like the hour long 5 mile drives! We got to the Aladdin, and it was certainly a breath of fresh air from the Downtown excursion. The check in line was about 15 deep, but I had the Strictly Slots deal, and sauntered up to the Gold check in. The gal asked if I was a gold card holder, and I told her about the deal I was on. She said I would need to check in using the other line, but I insisted that we were told to check in here. She huffed a little, and asked for my ID. When she punched me up, she said, ?Oh?? as if everything started coming together. (SO DON?T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER YOU $29 A NIGHTERS!!!!!)

We asked to get our two rooms as close together as we could, and again, the best we could get was room 1710 and room 3710! I stated that I couldn?t believe that there was nothing closer, and she said I could wait until the 3pm check in time, and try again. She told me there were no rooms with views at this time, but there would be at 3pm. I looked at my girlfriend, and she said, ?Get a room now, so we are done with it.? We took the two aforementioned rooms.

I got our keys, and looked back to my MIL, and her sister and hubby were not there. I asked where they were, and she said, ?They wanted to go play the machines.? I said, You gotta be kidding me!?? We were in line for all of five minute, and they couldn?t wait? So, now we stood there with our bags, looking like complete dorks, waiting for them. I said I would stay with the bags, and the two of them set off on a treasure hunt for the lost family members. Fifteen minutes later, they came back empty. I could see they were both pissed, as well. I said screw it??.let?s go to our rooms.

The rooms were very nice. Marble johns, and lots of little bottles of goop. Nice sized tv?s, and a good selection of channels. We had a view of the cooling system, and some various buildings off in the distance, from our window. We spent almost no time in our room, so an upgrade would have been a waste. Major room complaints? My girl said the comforter had a ?smell? to it. I was stopped up, so I was spared the smell, I guess. The only real complain either of us had, was the fact that you can her your neighbor?s run the shower and tub, as if it was in your own room! And I mean LOUD! We were grateful that our next doors were not early risers! Up in mom?s room, we were greeted with 12 empty beer bottles. I was amazed that housekeeping could miss this. I immediately called them to have them removed. Ten minutes later I placed a second call, and 15 minutes after that, I called the front desk. The lady at the desk said she would contact someone on our behalf. A few minutes later the problem was fixed. I could have just put the bottles in the hall, but I was irked. I mean, if you didn?t see those bottles, you obviously didn?t vacuum, and I wonder what else you didn?t clean?????

After settling in, we called Brian on his cell phone, and managed to hook up. Brian and Diane wanted to ride the gondolas at the Venetian, so we walked there. It was quite overcast, and looked like rain, but we got most of the way there before it started to sprinkle. We hit the ride, and did some shopping at the mall there. The funniest time of the trip happened here, as well. We all decided to hit the bathroom before heading back to Aladdin. I went in, did my thing, and was leaving, as Brian came by me. He was attempting to put a plastic bag of crap in his mouth, so he could do his business. I could see he was going to have a hell of a time, so I said, ?You want me to hold that for you?? He gave me the bag, and said, ?Thanks?

As I walked to the sinks, a twentyish looking kid says to me, ?I was afraid to look when I hear a guy in front of a urinal asking another guy ?You want me to hold that for you?? I bust out laughing, and told that to Brian, and the rest when we got out of the john!

We never got to see the casino, as Brian and Diane wanted to go to Caesars to do some shopping, and eat lunch. We headed over there and Brian wanted to check into a ?freebie? at the players club booth. While we stood there, I asked my girlfriend if she liked black or red. She said, ?What?? I said, ?Just pick a color?.red or black.? She said red. I went to the roulette wheel, and placed $20 on red. ??.BLACK. I placed another $40 on red??BLACK. Now, a little miffed, I put $100 on red??.Black. I walked back over to the girls, Brian was still dinking around getting his free key chain, or pen. My gal said ?How did you do?? I replied, ?I?d just as soon bought Brian a fu@*ing coffee mug!?

We were going to eat at the buffet, but they no longer have it,. We walked past a nice looking place called Lago?s, and I said let?s go here. The food was spectacular! I had chicken parmesan, and it was huge, and tender, with homemade pasta, and a wonderful sauce. Brain ordered a burger, and it looked splendid, as well. My gal hade the obligatory salad, and raved about the quality. Mom had a nice sized sandwich, and a good bowl of soup, while Diane had a nice fillet. Not overly pricey, and very filling, and tasty.

The running around went well past the time I thought it would, and I missed the meet at the Aladdin. I would have loved to have met you guys, but we will try again in the future.

We did some casino hopping, and decided to grab dinner at Harrah?s. I forgot where we ate, but I had a nice T-Bone and the trimmings, and the rest of the crew ordered their typical fare. No complaints from anyone, and we were on our way. Now, we were ready to head back to the Aladdin. It was raining a t a steady pace, and quite cool. I suggested we head to the Inferior Phallus and take a cab. The line was very long, and Brian said, ?We might as well walk.? I did not feel like trudging through the rain, but we did. It was a pain in the ass, and we were all soaked. When we got there, Brian asked, ?What should we do now?? Without missing a beat, my girl said, ?I?m going to take a hot tub!? I agreed, and we told them goodnight. (Which was polite for ?piss off!?) The remainder of my trip would be tainted by the cold and cough I was about to receive.

After a relaxing tub, we decided to hit the casino. Mom and DeAnn played some slots, and I hit the tables. My night was uneventful, and I played the house even. The gals did about the same. We hit the sheets at about 4am.

 

[yyz]

Tuesday April 15

Back at it about 8am. Now, Brian and Diane were out of the picture, and we didn?t need to dance with them. As I said?..nice people, but I?m on my vacation, not yours! We had our first taste of the Zanzibar. It did not disappoint! Their food is good and quite ample. I had steak and three eggs. (You get three eggs when you order eggs), and the gals had omelets. Meals run about $15 per person for lunch and dinner, and the breakfast was about $10. (Mine was $17 due to a nice sized steak.) We ate here several times, and there was never a line, and it was great food. I don?t know why there was no line, as the place was right off the casino floor.

We decided that we would do a mini ?death march? today. We walked up the Strip to the Trop, and back the other way. We went in every casino, and agreed to play $20 each in the same .25 slot. When we played it all, we pocketed whatever was left, and moved on. It took the better half of the day, and we were out about $45 each at days end. Cheap and entertaining, and we all had a good time. On the way back, I talked the gals into playing 21 at the Boardwalk. The place is a dump, but they cashed the chips! We all won, and I made $250 in about twenty minutes. They were starting to get a little less intimidated by playing cards.

That night we played a lot of cards at the Aladdin, and I ran into streak two, of ?cards from hell?. I could not get a winner. I hopped from table to table, and it was the same everywhere. Win one hand??lose four! Another bad night had me down over $2000 for the trip.

Wednesday, April 16

Had a very nice run of early morning cards, and got back about $800 in two hours play. Feeling very congested from the cold that had now settled deep in my head and chest, I was extra sensitive to the smoke in this place. I find it hard to believe that a place this immense could be this full of smoke. Every breath I drew seemed like a razor to my throat. I met up with the girls, and we decided to try the Spice Market Buffet. The line was about six miles long, and I said, ?This will not do.? I headed back to the 21 pit, and asked for a line pass. The gal wrote me one up without a blink, and off we went. The gals asked what I got, and I said, ?Just wait and see.?

The line for the buffet ran well passed the escalator down to the restaurant. I would guess it was two hundred people long, and this was a Wednesday! I walked up to the gal at the escalator, flashed the line pass, and away we went. Passed all the sheep in line, and right to the head of the class! A two hour wait reduced to 30 seconds. The power of losing cash in the casino! J

The breakfast fare was very good. A nice selection of all the favorites and reasonably priced at $12 a head. My only beef here, was the fact that it took forever to get drinks, and refills. A suggestion? Have a self serve Coke machine and milk machine. The deserts were to die for! Bread pudding that would melt in your mouth, cakes by the score, fresh fruits, etc. Scones, ?clairs, pies, mmmmmm!

Later in the trip we had lunch there, as well. It was a feast! The only disappointment to me, was the Asian food. Very slim pickings, and not overly tasty. I didn?t try the Mid eastern food, as it didn?t look to appealing to me. The Italian was good, as was the American. Nice hunks of beef or turkey, and good mashed potatoes. Sausage and pizza was good, but I can?t help but think the pizza was ?less than authentic? Italian. The scampi was good, and the fresh shrimp came peeled and large! $15 a head, and worth every penny. (Especially when the casino is picking up the tab!)

Later that day, while we were all playing slots, my gal hit $500 on a nickel machine. I managed to put $100 in a DRW&B 7?s and get down to the last few spins. DeAnn said I should cash out and move, and I said no?.. Two spins later, I hit red 7, Double, Blue 7 for 1,900 quarters. After the hand pay, I got a pair of white sevens and a double for six hundred more quarters. I cashed out happy!

 

[yyz]

Thursday April 17

This day was more of the same. The gals got a little more comfortable playing cards, and actually played on their own! They still asked the same questions when I played, but I didn?t mind answering them. My gal only liked betting $5 per hand, and the Aladdin didn?t have any of those open until Wednesday night. We played the single deck 6:5 which I am ashamed to admit. These games will never go away, as people are playing them day and night. My girl could not understand why I would tell her to bet two chips at certain times, but she did it when I asked her to. She made out okay. Her mom always wanted to split 10?s for some reason, and I always had to tell her ?NO!? This trip was no different than any other, in that there is always some clown splitting 10?s. I saw three guys do this at my table on the trip. I just want to ask, ?What are you hoping for??

This was the night I got in a spat with DeAnn. We were playing around 11pm, and the two gals had been asking me all night what to do with their hands. I mentioned, ?You know??I would think sooner or later, you would start to remember these tips.? At this time, the deck was very rich in face cards and aces. I had a $100 bet out, and my gal had $10 up, on my urging. The dealer a 5 up. My gal got a soft 4, and though she should stay. I said, ?You have to hit that, it?s only 4!? She got a 9 and I said, ?That?s good.? She took another hit, and got a 10 card. I Said, ?What did you do!!!???? She said, ?I thought you said to hit!? I said, ?You don?t hit a busting hand against a bust card!? To make matter worse, I had an 11, and doubled to $200, and got a 4. I had crap, my gal busted, and the dealer made a hand. I shook my head, and she said, ?Why don?t you just leave?? I grabbed the last of my chips, and left the casino. I went to Bally?s and made about $150 over there at the $25 tables, before heading back to the room. I apologized to DeAnn, and called it a night.

Friday April 18

Today was the day Jeanne tabor came back to work, so I talked to her about my comps. Since I had three nights at $29 per, I paid those and took the comps in food write offs. She comped the last night at $79, and about $300 worth of food. (Which was all of it.) Mom got all four nights at $79 per comped, and she had a couple hundred in food taken off, as well. Jeanne was very nice, and I would not hesitate in calling her to book my next trip. The ?$29 deal? was no scam, and the Aladdin was top flight all the way. I came home with $2,400 less than I went with, but that is about average for me. Mom was told to check out, and then go get her last $70 food voucher to be used for lunch. We chose the buffet, but since it only came to $45, DeAnn ordered two Coronas, and Donna got a bottle of wine. The bill tapped out at just under $70. Donna said she didn?t care for the wine, so she didn?t drink that much. The waiter felt bad that she ?bought? the wine and didn?t drink it, so he gave her two smaller bottles to take home. She kept drinking the open bottle, and I said, ?I though you didn?t like it?? Donna said, ?The more I drink, the better it tastes!? DeAnn and I laughed our asses off! Donna took the other two bottles to the card tables with her, and in two hours, they were both gone, too! She said, ?They might have got broken on the plane.? I can?t argue that logic!

I figure that $3-$400 went to dealer tips, another $100 in food tips, and another $100-$150 in drink tips. Thanks to my gal?s uncle driving us a few times, we had only two taxi fares. One from Caesars to the Plaza at $20, and one from Aladdin to the airport for $15. (Tips included) About $50 in souvenirs

Airfare was $221.50 each and the hotel bill at Plaza was $100 for two rooms for two nights. The Aladdin bill came to $225 for two rooms for 4 nights. Most of that bill was for taxes and tips. (The casino won?t comp tips charged to the room, obviously.)

Slot cash back: Me; $42 Mom; $54

I am not sure when we will return, but I hope the Aladdin is still running. The comps we received made the trip free, except for gambling costs. The place was nice and I only had a few complaints.

1. The sound from the lounge is far too loud. It is located above the casino, but the music overpowers anything going on in the casino. You really have to speak up when talking at the tables.
2. Smoke! Wayyyyyyy too much smoke for such a huge place.
3. The sports/race book sucks. It is far too small, and the scores are not updated like in every other house in the state. They post final scores, and that is it. If you need an in game score, you need to ask them for it, or catch it on ESPN. They offer racing wagers on very limited tracks. If you want to bet or watch sports, this place is not for you.

 

[MadJack]

thanks for the report. i really enjoyed it. i laughed my ass off at the plaza room story. :lol:

 

[AR182]

yyz,

Funny story, it pisses me off when the shower head comes up to the chest.

It's funny that your girlfriend mostly eats salad. My wife was like that until we got married.Now she eats more than me(lol).

 

[djv]

YYZ you had me rolling a few times. Dam you had to gain 10 pounds. Tough task your girlfriend and her mother. I at my age would not even try that one. Next time you go. You take who ever is going with you. Sit down and do some black jack teaching.
It will help tust me. Glad your home safe and had some fun.

 

[Franky Wright]

Glad to hear you had a great time
I sent you some mojo but apparently it didn't work....might have been the MIL thing:shrug: :nono:
Are you near Green Bay? My favorite team, Go Pack GO!

 

[TORONTO-VIGILANTE]

The fact that the remote for the television was bolted to the table was a real plus, too.

i always wondered about that too.....?:shrug:

 

[noodle]

nice write-up, yyz....glad you had a good time and a safe trip. have not been to vegas in about two and a half years. (way overdue) looking at maybe going the end of Sept. early Oct.?? had me laughing during your story as I can relate to the blackjack woes. trying to play your hand and "advise" your significant other on what to do....:shrug:

 

[Spock]

very funny yyz

never been to vegas but will keep in mind what ya said about dem Plaza

 

[jigs]

yyz

You are a man of your word.


DeAnn sounds like a keeper.


If you ever get up to Pearson, ask Jack for my email.


We'll have a blast.


We might even have to take in a baseball game, I know Geddy is a La-Z-Boy kind of guy.

 

[Inergelbp]

Great story. Can't wait til Im 21 and get some cash to head out there.

That story about the kid in the bathroom was hilarious!!:jump:

 

[Lightning]

Though it will be difficult for me to take vacation during that part of the month due to working in Finance and Accounting, I want to try and make the trip to the Superbowl party this year for the first time.

 

[Felonious Monk]

I read this while on the crapper...good stuff yyz!

Could you give us a report on some of the waitresses though? Much appreciated.

 

[yyz]

Could you give us a report on some of the waitresses though? Much appreciated.

Oddly, this was the worst trip I have ever been on, as far as scouting quim.

I did not see too many hotties, PERIOD! Definitely no waitresses, dealers, or casino staff of any sort. Now, I thought the cooler weather might just be hiding the hard bodies under wraps, but even after really searching.......nada!:shrug:

Even on the weekend nights, no babes dressed to kill, and no beauties of any type. The whole Strip was a bunch of schlubs like me. Sad.........

 

[zoomer]

Enjoyed your trip report. No matter how many times I go there, just cant get enough of that place. Stayed downtown my first trip to Vegas in 84, NEVER again. Rooms reminded me of my grandmothers house. (And that was almost 20 years ago) Sounds like you had a good time, thanks for the read.

 

[wareagle]

Sounds like a good trip. Mabeye i've missed something, but how can you have all these in-laws if your not married yet?

 

[yyz]

I call her mom my MIL, because it is easier than saying "my girlfriend's mother". (And she probably will be some day!)

The others are the "mom's" sister adn BIL, not mine.