Trip Report for September 29th-October 3rd.
Flight:
Southwest Airlines. This flight was over 30 minutes early to start my trip off right. It enabled me to place four NFL bets at the Silverton.
Hotel:
Golden Nugget. I took my mother along and she won't stay anywhere except the Golden Nugget. Despite having multiple free room offers, I thought it would be better if I stayed in an adjacent room at the Nugget.
Car Rental:
For the second trip in a row, Thrifty came in substantially lower than anyone else. When I arrived at the counter there was no one in line and I was quickly on my way to a Ford Focus. I don't care for Fords in general, but I wanted a smaller car that was easier to park.
Dining:
When we arrived and checked in at the Golden Nugget, we thought we might get a bite to eat at the Carson Street Cafe, the Nugget's coffee shop. It is now closed and walled off. An employee told me another Landry's restaurant would be taking its place.
Instead we drove to a Grimaldi's Pizza. My brother has eaten at Grimaldi's and said it was the best pizza ever. We arrived before they opened and they let us sit inside until they did. We ordered a pepperoni, ham and extra cheese pizza. This was a big letdown. I didn't think this pizza was very good. I didn't like the sauce and the toppings tasted like the average Pizza Hut. I did enjoy the crust. Grade C-.
Aloha Specialties at the Cal: My favorite place for Loco Moco. Large portions and small prices. Grade A.
In N Out Burger: Try to eat there on every trip. Grade A.
Golden Nugget Buffet: Since the coffee shop is now closed, this mediocre buffet is very crowded. We had the LVA 2-1 which is the only reason we ate there. Grade C-.
Lanai Express Hot Dog: Massive hot dog and Pepsi for around $3.50. Not a great quality hotdog, but it's cheap. Grade C+.
Main Street Station Buffet: Average buffet but has the types of American food I like. Grade C+.
Boulder Station Buffet: This is a good product and a tremendous value. I like the eggs and chorizo at breakfast. Grade B+.
Vic & Anthony's, Golden Nugget: I made reservations at this place and brought some nice clothes. I was very disappointed to see that practically anthing could be worn in a high-end restaurant like this. Jeans, flip-flops, shorts pulled way down, I saw it all. I don't care if you have no dress code, but don't tell me over the phone that those very things are unacceptable. I told the manager I didn't like being told there was a dress code when there obviously isn't any dress code at all. He denied that he told me that. I gave him the exact date and time I called and he said I must have called a Vic & Anthony's in another city. I asked if any of the other managers in the chain had the first name of Chris and worked in a Las Vegas area code. He insisted he didn't talk to me. I told him he was a liar because I recognized his voice.
My cousin is a personal friend of Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Nugget and Vic & Anthony's, so I'll be getting in touch with him. As far as the food, I think this place is over rated. I had a prime ribeye, potato and salad and the drink was tea. Total bill with tip was $91.00. Steak was good but not great. ALL prime steaks should be great. Grade B-.
Cravings Buffet at the Mirage: Best meal of the trip, made ever better with the LVA 2-1. Prepeeled shrimp and medium-rare prime rib are what I always look for in a buffet and the Mirage has both. This is my favorite buffet in Las Vegas. Great desserts too. Grade A.
Fremont Buffet: I haven't eaten at the Fremont in several years and this place was packed. The room is so small you can hardly move when lots of people are there. Average food, but I found some roast beef and fried chicken I liked. Desserts are dry and not very good. Grade C-.
Gambling:
Did I mention in the headline this was the best trip ever? It was by a large margin. If you've read my trip reports in the past, you know I've been on a four year extremely painful losing streak. I haven't hit a Royal in over four years and the deuces wild games have been deuceless for the most part. However this trip changed that.
I started off the trip be making four NFL bets: I bet the Chiefs, Colts, Broncos and Saints to cover and they all did.
I played video poker at Sam's Town, Boulder Station, Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Main Street Station, Four Queens and the D. Didn't hit a Royal at any of them.
I entered my last day only down $250.00 due to the sports bets mostly covering my video poker losses. I decided I would hit the 10/7 Double Bonus slant tops at Main Street Station. My mother won massively on those machines all week winning around two thousand dollars as she seemingly couldn't go more than five minutes without hitting a four of a kind. I mean she was winning BIG every day without hitting a Royal.
I joined her on our last day and I started hitting 4 OAKS too. I got dealt Aces once, then another time I dumped all five cards and four Aces came up again. After hitting twelve four of a kinds in less than two hours, I found myself caught all the way up and about $600.00 ahead for the trip. So finally after four years, with only one minor winning trip, I was going to go home with some substantial money. I continued to play and held a pair of eights and drew the other two. Those of you familiar with Main Street Station know you get a scratch card with each 4 OAK. All my cards up to that point were two and three dollars. I turned on my change light and the MSS employee came up and recorded my slot card number and handed me the card. I scratced it off and he said, "How much this time?" I did a double take and said, "Five thousand." He said "Are you kidding me man?" I said "Nope, I have a five thousand dollar card."
I gave it back to him and he called someone on his two way. You'd have thought I won Powerball. The employees were more excited that I was. The slot shift manager, Mark Sullivan came out followed by Hal Welch the slot manager and a couple of other management employees. They must have taken thirty pictures of the card and the machine. Other total strangers wanted to shake my hand. Damn near the entire staff working the casino came over to see the card. They asked if I would sign a waiver allowing my picture to posted in the casino and I said sure. After filling out some paper work, that took forever, they led me back to the cage to sign more paperwork and collect a W2G and receive my 50, one hundred dollar bills. I had a car and drove straight to Bank of America to make my deposit and came back where I was now every employee's best friend. I did give the slot attendant who gave the the card, fifty bucks and a couple of cocktail waitresses twenty each.
I sat down to play more and continued a monster four a kind run. If I wasnt' hitting 4 Oaks, I was hitting a full house. Absolutely incredible run. I finally called it a day after winning another five hundred dollars. My total win from this trip amounted to well over six thousand dollars. And I thought the trip where I hit three Royals was good several years ago! Finally, I have a massive winning trip and wipe out years of losing and find myself now several thousand ahead lifetime.
What a great trip. If you see my picture holding the winning card at Main Street Station, you'll know it's a fellow LVA member.
Random Thoughts
I love winning trips
I saw Corey Harrison from Pawn Stars making a cell phone call in front of the shop one morning as I was driving by.
Most of the locals in Las Vegas need to have their driving licenses revoked.
Traffic on the Strip at night sucks. I won't do it again.
Weather was beautiful, with highs around 90 and light winds.
The guy who gave me the winning card said they only have about one of those big winners a year.
I wish I could have made the opening of the Downtown Grand. It looks impressive.
It's unbelievable how fat some of these people are eating at the buffets.
There is too much crap on Fremont Street. Between the seemingly dozens of kiosks selling junk and the panhandlers and performers, you can hardly move.
A woman my mom had been sitting next to at MSS was mugged one night IN THE CASINO at about 3am. A man tried to grab her purse, but she would let go and he ran off.
Eff you to the manager at Vic & Anthony's.
Grimaldi's is overrated.
Boulder Station's buffet is a great bargain.
Mirage buffet is a great value with the LVA coupon.
The observation wheel behind Harrah's is HUGE.
So the Golden Nugget will now have no coffee shop? Big mistake IMO.
It's amazing how many casino employees want to be your best friend after winning a large sum of money.
One of the managers at MSS, told me he used to work at the Indian Casino about 20 minutes from where I live.
I told Hal Welch I was an LVA member and wanted him to keep the buffet coupon in the book.
Thanks for reading the report.
Next trip: Sometime in 2014.
Flight:
Southwest Airlines. This flight was over 30 minutes early to start my trip off right. It enabled me to place four NFL bets at the Silverton.
Hotel:
Golden Nugget. I took my mother along and she won't stay anywhere except the Golden Nugget. Despite having multiple free room offers, I thought it would be better if I stayed in an adjacent room at the Nugget.
Car Rental:
For the second trip in a row, Thrifty came in substantially lower than anyone else. When I arrived at the counter there was no one in line and I was quickly on my way to a Ford Focus. I don't care for Fords in general, but I wanted a smaller car that was easier to park.
Dining:
When we arrived and checked in at the Golden Nugget, we thought we might get a bite to eat at the Carson Street Cafe, the Nugget's coffee shop. It is now closed and walled off. An employee told me another Landry's restaurant would be taking its place.
Instead we drove to a Grimaldi's Pizza. My brother has eaten at Grimaldi's and said it was the best pizza ever. We arrived before they opened and they let us sit inside until they did. We ordered a pepperoni, ham and extra cheese pizza. This was a big letdown. I didn't think this pizza was very good. I didn't like the sauce and the toppings tasted like the average Pizza Hut. I did enjoy the crust. Grade C-.
Aloha Specialties at the Cal: My favorite place for Loco Moco. Large portions and small prices. Grade A.
In N Out Burger: Try to eat there on every trip. Grade A.
Golden Nugget Buffet: Since the coffee shop is now closed, this mediocre buffet is very crowded. We had the LVA 2-1 which is the only reason we ate there. Grade C-.
Lanai Express Hot Dog: Massive hot dog and Pepsi for around $3.50. Not a great quality hotdog, but it's cheap. Grade C+.
Main Street Station Buffet: Average buffet but has the types of American food I like. Grade C+.
Boulder Station Buffet: This is a good product and a tremendous value. I like the eggs and chorizo at breakfast. Grade B+.
Vic & Anthony's, Golden Nugget: I made reservations at this place and brought some nice clothes. I was very disappointed to see that practically anthing could be worn in a high-end restaurant like this. Jeans, flip-flops, shorts pulled way down, I saw it all. I don't care if you have no dress code, but don't tell me over the phone that those very things are unacceptable. I told the manager I didn't like being told there was a dress code when there obviously isn't any dress code at all. He denied that he told me that. I gave him the exact date and time I called and he said I must have called a Vic & Anthony's in another city. I asked if any of the other managers in the chain had the first name of Chris and worked in a Las Vegas area code. He insisted he didn't talk to me. I told him he was a liar because I recognized his voice.
My cousin is a personal friend of Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Nugget and Vic & Anthony's, so I'll be getting in touch with him. As far as the food, I think this place is over rated. I had a prime ribeye, potato and salad and the drink was tea. Total bill with tip was $91.00. Steak was good but not great. ALL prime steaks should be great. Grade B-.
Cravings Buffet at the Mirage: Best meal of the trip, made ever better with the LVA 2-1. Prepeeled shrimp and medium-rare prime rib are what I always look for in a buffet and the Mirage has both. This is my favorite buffet in Las Vegas. Great desserts too. Grade A.
Fremont Buffet: I haven't eaten at the Fremont in several years and this place was packed. The room is so small you can hardly move when lots of people are there. Average food, but I found some roast beef and fried chicken I liked. Desserts are dry and not very good. Grade C-.
Gambling:
Did I mention in the headline this was the best trip ever? It was by a large margin. If you've read my trip reports in the past, you know I've been on a four year extremely painful losing streak. I haven't hit a Royal in over four years and the deuces wild games have been deuceless for the most part. However this trip changed that.
I started off the trip be making four NFL bets: I bet the Chiefs, Colts, Broncos and Saints to cover and they all did.
I played video poker at Sam's Town, Boulder Station, Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Main Street Station, Four Queens and the D. Didn't hit a Royal at any of them.
I entered my last day only down $250.00 due to the sports bets mostly covering my video poker losses. I decided I would hit the 10/7 Double Bonus slant tops at Main Street Station. My mother won massively on those machines all week winning around two thousand dollars as she seemingly couldn't go more than five minutes without hitting a four of a kind. I mean she was winning BIG every day without hitting a Royal.
I joined her on our last day and I started hitting 4 OAKS too. I got dealt Aces once, then another time I dumped all five cards and four Aces came up again. After hitting twelve four of a kinds in less than two hours, I found myself caught all the way up and about $600.00 ahead for the trip. So finally after four years, with only one minor winning trip, I was going to go home with some substantial money. I continued to play and held a pair of eights and drew the other two. Those of you familiar with Main Street Station know you get a scratch card with each 4 OAK. All my cards up to that point were two and three dollars. I turned on my change light and the MSS employee came up and recorded my slot card number and handed me the card. I scratced it off and he said, "How much this time?" I did a double take and said, "Five thousand." He said "Are you kidding me man?" I said "Nope, I have a five thousand dollar card."
I gave it back to him and he called someone on his two way. You'd have thought I won Powerball. The employees were more excited that I was. The slot shift manager, Mark Sullivan came out followed by Hal Welch the slot manager and a couple of other management employees. They must have taken thirty pictures of the card and the machine. Other total strangers wanted to shake my hand. Damn near the entire staff working the casino came over to see the card. They asked if I would sign a waiver allowing my picture to posted in the casino and I said sure. After filling out some paper work, that took forever, they led me back to the cage to sign more paperwork and collect a W2G and receive my 50, one hundred dollar bills. I had a car and drove straight to Bank of America to make my deposit and came back where I was now every employee's best friend. I did give the slot attendant who gave the the card, fifty bucks and a couple of cocktail waitresses twenty each.
I sat down to play more and continued a monster four a kind run. If I wasnt' hitting 4 Oaks, I was hitting a full house. Absolutely incredible run. I finally called it a day after winning another five hundred dollars. My total win from this trip amounted to well over six thousand dollars. And I thought the trip where I hit three Royals was good several years ago! Finally, I have a massive winning trip and wipe out years of losing and find myself now several thousand ahead lifetime.
What a great trip. If you see my picture holding the winning card at Main Street Station, you'll know it's a fellow LVA member.
Random Thoughts
I love winning trips
I saw Corey Harrison from Pawn Stars making a cell phone call in front of the shop one morning as I was driving by.
Most of the locals in Las Vegas need to have their driving licenses revoked.
Traffic on the Strip at night sucks. I won't do it again.
Weather was beautiful, with highs around 90 and light winds.
The guy who gave me the winning card said they only have about one of those big winners a year.
I wish I could have made the opening of the Downtown Grand. It looks impressive.
It's unbelievable how fat some of these people are eating at the buffets.
There is too much crap on Fremont Street. Between the seemingly dozens of kiosks selling junk and the panhandlers and performers, you can hardly move.
A woman my mom had been sitting next to at MSS was mugged one night IN THE CASINO at about 3am. A man tried to grab her purse, but she would let go and he ran off.
Eff you to the manager at Vic & Anthony's.
Grimaldi's is overrated.
Boulder Station's buffet is a great bargain.
Mirage buffet is a great value with the LVA coupon.
The observation wheel behind Harrah's is HUGE.
So the Golden Nugget will now have no coffee shop? Big mistake IMO.
It's amazing how many casino employees want to be your best friend after winning a large sum of money.
One of the managers at MSS, told me he used to work at the Indian Casino about 20 minutes from where I live.
I told Hal Welch I was an LVA member and wanted him to keep the buffet coupon in the book.
Thanks for reading the report.
Next trip: Sometime in 2014.
