Flew from CVG to Las on the 18th leaving at about 1PM. Scheduled to departure was 8:30 AM. Allegiant. What are you going to do?
Rented a car via TURO. Cabbed to owner’s home. An apartment with secure gates. Just plain weird. Got the car and went to Gold Coast.
Played hard for an hour or two then ran over to Mandalay Bay for a USA basketball scrimmage with Spain. Good time. Ricky Rubio was the highlight and the Gasol bros played great for Spain too! KD started slow and the USA pulled it out. Really glad I went.
Back to GC and played hard for a few hours. Down $35 for the day.
19-Jul Mon
Breakfast at TGI Fridays. Quiet, quick easy. Listened to some grifter try and convince the waitress to give him a free breakfast. Hilarious.
Scooted over to South Point. Wanted to see if I could establish myself there. Played Bonus at the $ level. Hit 3's twice in 20 minutes. Cashed out up $400.
Went to a little area in in Henderson where the Rainbow, Emerald Isle and Pass casinos are all located.
The rainbow was charming. Small, dark, low ceiling, neighborhood joint with a lady on the mic -- every day at the Rainbow is a great day. Loved the music and the gentle scene. Hit 4's and Aces. Got a free lunch for playing. There's no such thing. My sandwich had stadium cheese. Left up $500 more.
Emerald Isle was more gambling hall like. Penny level play in every game you can imagine and lots-o-old folks. Nice enough but not my speed. Spun the wheel of shame! $15
Finally walked into and immediately out of the Pass. The stench of desperation was everywhere. This place should be renamed, "Hard Pass".
Ran by Joker's wild. Nothing to see here. Every machine was 6/5 bonus poker. All except one by the door. 8/5. Ace Rothstein would have been proud. Dropped $20 and hit the road.
Stopped by Klondike. Neighborhood bar really. Gentle, quiet, squirrely bar tender. Aces!
Left with $300 came back with $1200.
Gambled at the Gold Coast.
Had dinner at Cornerstone Steak House in the GC. Always reliable. 2 barrel aged Old Fashions and soup and salad. Sweet!
Drank hard and played late.
Met a dude while I’m playing. He told me his tale of woe. He’s was litterally gambling for the rent.
Off to bed way to drunk.
20-Jul Tue
Very Slooooooooooow start. Hung over bad. Fridays.
Wanted to do the Allegiant Stadium tour but you really need to sign up online weeks in advance.
Went to Resorts international. Brightly lit, airy, open lots of white. Lots of Instagram able spots for images. Exclusive looking lounges. The fast- food options all start at about $20 and seem to skew Asian. I assume that's the target audience. Very strip like, high prices, bad pay tables but the smell of new construction permeates the place. Automation seems to be a theme. From getting your own slot card to ordering food. I’m sure it was pitched to lower costs, not make the visitor experience worse although both seem true.
I needed a palate cleanser to I ran to the Place Station. The opposite of Resorts I lost $100 and moved on.
Need to give GC some action since the room is free. Lots of play, not so much pay.
Orleans for dinner at Baliwick. Guy next to me stiffs waitress. She wasn't even surprised. "Those guys never tip." Food was good as always. Over tipped to make up for tight wad. Watched Giannis put on a show for the ages at the Alligator bar while I was losing. So much great energy in the Orleans that night!
21-Jul Wed
Over to the Cal this Morning. Couldn't check-in at 11 AM. Wandered downtown hitting most of the places.
Downtown Grand was empty, no table games open just quiet.
Ellis Island. "Ooo ooo that smell!" There is no reason to go here anymore or ever again.
The D. Vue bar, 3's. Chasing the SF at $160. No luck. Sat at Canada bar and thought I'd found a great bonus pay table. Then I noticed 2 pair was shorted. Likely this has been reported before and I just didn't listen. The music is way too loud.
Walked in and out of Fremont, Binions and Plaza.
Checked into Cal at 3. Gambled hard at Cal. Mostly lost.
Went to Tuscany for a lounge show this evening. Band and room were fun.
Back late and straight to bed.
22-Jul Thur.
Started out to do another run of small places. Went to Eureka. Noticed a tire pressure message and was next to a tire place. Asked them to check it. Nail. Messaged owner and got no response. While I played, they replaced it. The Eureka is a neighborhood joint that seemed gentle enough while I was there but there are several sighs it's a dangerous place.
Back downtown to avoid any more issues. Lost at the Cal some more.
Had dinner at the Carson Kitchen. Good food, odd service but on balance would recommend.
Played at Circa. Saw Derik Stevens and suited entourage wandering around the sport’s book.
Had a good final session where I won $400 at the Cal. Called it a night.
23-Jul Fri
Dropped off Turo car the next AM at 6 AM and got a ride to the airport. Of course, flight was delayed. Allegiant, what are you going to do?
Final thoughts.
It rained every day I was in LV.
I would not rent from TURO again on a bet. Cheaper sure, but the cars are older and there’s zero support when there’s an issue. Car owner was a grifter and I’m trying to get the cost of the tire back. Also, if you are a woman traveling by yourself, I would avoid this service at all costs unless you carefully arrange pickup/drop off in a public place. YMMV ( in this case I think this is ironic since the literal and figurative meanings are the same :) ).
I’m over downtown. The Fremont street experience was filled with trash, human and otherwise. I literally watched people throw trash on the ground without blinking or shame. I saw groups of shirtless dudes standing in the middle of the "experience" openly smoking joints together while children walked by. I get it's legal, it's just bad taste. The recent downtown habitues seem to have no concern for others. Of course, there were he usual grifters, hustlers and beggars. But now I see more predators with leering smiles. This place is like a very bad neighborhood in your hometown. You just wouldn’t go there.
The masks are back. Most staff and many visitors where them now. I had the odd feeling I was in Steven King’s novel ‘The Stand’. We just came to Vegas to create a super spreader event. I’m vaccinated so am not too concerned but wonder about many who aren’t. I’m going to pause trips here for a bit while this all plays out.
Lost about $500 total gambling. Tipped high since most places were clearly understaffed, I was treated uniformly well and people were working very hard. I'm glad to see people working again in large numbers. Wish Uncle Sugar would help the hard to employ get into the workforce right now. It's not going to be any easier to get a job than it is today.
Going forward I’ll try staying at South Point.
