Left Greensboro Friday afternoon, caught connection in Atlanta, got into Vegas 8pm their time. Jesus Christ, what a line at the taxi stand. All the buses and shuttles were either packed or having problems so I stood in line for 30 minutes for a cab. Wasn't too bad really but the guy monitoring the line was getting really hacked off at people who tried to cut in front of others....lots of cussin' there!
-Got to Hooters and checked in easily. Asked for if any upgrades were available with the $20 offer. Young lady smiled, said "let me see what I can do" and upgraded me to a Oceanview tower room with king bed. Bed was very nice, room was clean, I was happy. Went back down to try the $3 blackjack; lost $10, then won $30 and left. Went to MGM; man that's a big place. Tried a few slots, nuthin', tried a $15 blackjack and broke even. Went back to Hooters and crashed.
-Got up Saturday and decided the try the Mad Onion for breakfast. Most everything on their menu is $8-$12 range. Ordered a fruit plate cause I wasn't that hungry; ummmmmmmmm man thats a lot of fruit for one person! Portions are huge. Ate about a third of it, doggie-bagged the rest and gave it to a homeless guy on the curb who was polite and thankful. I'd bought a monorail ticket online and wanted to see Slots-o-fun. The monorail stops just across the street from the closed Sahara. From there it's about a 10 minute walk to Stratosphere. Stopped at McDonalds enroute for a coke and walked leisurely to the Strat. Slots at the Stratosphere were not too bad; up $5, down $20, up $60, down $12, ended up $30 to the good. Decided to walk down to Slots-o-fun. This is about a 20 minute walk from Stratosphere; be aware you have to cross several streets and pay attention to traffic. Wear good walking shoes. Several trinket shops along the way and a couple of resturaunts that looked halfway decent. Got to Slots-o-fun, sat down to play Kitty Glitter and immediately got a free beer. Slots weren't in a good mood so walked over to $3 blackjack and thats when the fun started. The dealer was an asian woman that was funny, smart, no nonsense, rapid fire talking and hilarious. The only other player was a young man she kept telling me was "number one son" until he tried to split 2 queens and she slapped him on the head. She fussed at him for the next 30 minutes for every hand. He was laughing so hard I think he peed his pants. I grabbed another beer, left up $10 and tipped her $5 for her great personality. I always tip the dealer unless I lose everything. Walked over to Circus Circus and had good run on Cash Spin, Wild Wolf and The Ruby Slippers for about 2 hours. Also was amazed at the trapeze act above the floor. Left Circus Circus and caught city bus 108 to get to Palms. Took a while but I was in no hurry. Slots at the Palms were not bad, but not great. Left up about $15. If I break even I count my blessings. Took bus back from Palms (across the street) to Casino Royal to check out Dennys for my birthday meal. Yeah I know, Dennys, I was skeptical; especially when the cashier said, "its back behind that corner wall." But I turned the corner and was shocked to see a big Dennys that was clean and BUSY! I mean they were packed but I counted 15 servers on the floor at one time; wow. I asked for my birtday meal and got a Grand Slam of my choice. Eggs, bacon, toast, grits, tea. It was excellent diner food. Not greasy, fresh, again, huge portions. Only paid for the tea, tipped on the whole meal and walked down to O'Shea's for an hour of fun blackjack. Broke even; oh well, wandered down to Flamingo, no luck there. Crossed the street to Ballys, won $60 on a slot in the back, went to Bills Gambling Hall, no luck there. Went back to MGM just in time to see the lions; BIG KITTY. And the guy is lying on the cat, rubbing his chin and reading a book. Not my career choice but I wish him the best. Decided to try video poker and lost badly. At this point I am whipped. Got back to Hooters at 7pm, slept for 2 hours, woke up, couldn't go back to sleep, went back downstairs and decided to try Tropicana next door. By now it's about 10pm and there aren't a lot of people there; server said I just missed the crowd. I wandered over to the craps table and asked the dealer if I could learn the game without a lot of headache. I immediately had 2 dealers, a pit boss and a local teaching me about pass line, come out, and how NOT to throw the dice off the table! By this time the table was getting busy and other players were doing pretty good. I didn't roll very often but did ok a couple of times. I had a lot of fun and won $70 in about 2 hours. Even played $5 hardways for the boys once and it hit on 8 for them. Now, I am really tired. Back to Hooters and off to sleep.
-Sunday is devoted to Fremont Street. Take the bus down about 10am and go to Binions for breakfast at the cafe. Good coffee, very good waffles and I get a 50% discount with my LVA card. Wheel of Fortune at Binions on the back wall was a little friendly; up $30, but the row of machines next to it was VERY friendly; $120, whoopee! Down to California, nuthin'; over to Vegas Club, nuthin', back up the street to Fitzgeralds, nuthin', crap. By this time I've had more than a few beers and decide to just sit and people watch. Oh, it got funny......that's all I'll say. Two hours later I tried Golden Nugget and the blackjack table was up and down, I came out 2 hours later down $20. Went over to El Cortez and got $50 off blackjack there while watching some, um, very interesting behavior.. Suddenly I got very, very tired. Decided I had overdone it a little bit and took a cab back to Hooters and a long nap. Woke up that night and went back down to the monorail, back to Casino Royal and had a very good footlong hotdog. Walked over to Treasure Island and watched the Sirens show, that was pretty cool. Its not just a skin show, these guys are doing backflips and half-gainers off the top of the ship; I'd say 60 feet up easy. And the fireworks were toasty! Walked over to Belligo and watched the fountains; in fact I stayed there until midnight cause it was cool, fun to watch and I met some great folks to talk to. Back to Hooters and to bed.
-Monday; ok now it's time to chill a little so I actually spend the morning in the room nibbling crackers, watching movies and resting. Bout 2pm I venture out, grab the bus and go back to Fremont Street, this time to MainStreet Station. Played the slots for about 3 hours, came out up $100, asked pit boss for a comp to the buffett and he said "welllllllllll, ok". Wow, very good buffett, great tilapia, fresh veggies, mac and cheese, very good ham. Fortified, I'm back down to the street and checking out Mermaids....lord what a wacky place. I hit $20 on a slot and suddenly nickles are spitting out everywhere! Lots of free beer, but I wasn't comfortable eating anything there. Fried twinkies, naw I don;t think so. Back down to Golden Gate with a coupon for a free shrimp cocktail. Not bad, tasted fresh and it was real cocktail sauce. Back on the bus to the strip. I want to check out MGM again. Played video poker, hit a straight and it jumped up to $200! Wow! Scared to play that machine further, I wander down to the shops area and discover a place called Fat Tuesdays. I'm thinking "hmmmmmmmm, is this a good idea?" The server asks me if I like margaritas, and hands me a sample, yum! I'm thinking, ok, thats not bad so I get one in a koozie. What I didn't know was he threw in a free tequila shot. So, here I am walking down the strip, sipping on what I think is a mild drink and suddenly I have no idea where I am! oops...I walk into Ceasars, bump into a security guard and tell him I think I'm lost and a little scared cause I normally don't drink that much. He spots the Tuesdays koozie, laughs and guide me to a small mexican cafe and tells the cashier to "guard me for a while." A few fish tacos, some hot coffee and a couple of hours later I figure out what happened, found the guard, tipped him $20 (which he argued taking until I pouted)and went back to Hooters and slept until noon the next day. Whew.
-Tuesday(with a hangover) back to Tropicana where the slots are friendly, the food court has good sandwiches and then back to nap until 6pm. then on to the airport where I win $200 on the "Hoot Loot" next to my gate! sweet! Flight leaves at 11:30 pm, layover at Atlanta, back home at 11:30 am. Home to change, go to work for 4 hours, go home, die and sleep until noon the next day. WHAT A GREAT TIME!!
-Points of interest:
SLOTS: a machine called "Cash Spin"; looks like Wheel of Fortune but isn't, paid out on every 5th spin in every casino I played it in. "Wolf Run" did not pay anywhere except the Stratosphere. Kitty Glitter didn't pay anywhere. LOOSE SLOTS: Stratosphere, Palms, Binions, California, Main Street Station, Ballys (a little)Tropicana(a little). TIGHT SLOTS: Venetian, Ceasars, Treasure Island, Fitzgeralds, Planet Hollywood, New York New York.
IMPRESSED ME: Every single person I handed my credit card to for a purchase asked to see my ID.
UPSET ME: Street hawkers who would not back off; one of them got yanked by a police officer when he tried to tap me on the shoulder from behind.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Got to Hooters and checked in easily. Asked for if any upgrades were available with the $20 offer. Young lady smiled, said "let me see what I can do" and upgraded me to a Oceanview tower room with king bed. Bed was very nice, room was clean, I was happy. Went back down to try the $3 blackjack; lost $10, then won $30 and left. Went to MGM; man that's a big place. Tried a few slots, nuthin', tried a $15 blackjack and broke even. Went back to Hooters and crashed.
-Got up Saturday and decided the try the Mad Onion for breakfast. Most everything on their menu is $8-$12 range. Ordered a fruit plate cause I wasn't that hungry; ummmmmmmmm man thats a lot of fruit for one person! Portions are huge. Ate about a third of it, doggie-bagged the rest and gave it to a homeless guy on the curb who was polite and thankful. I'd bought a monorail ticket online and wanted to see Slots-o-fun. The monorail stops just across the street from the closed Sahara. From there it's about a 10 minute walk to Stratosphere. Stopped at McDonalds enroute for a coke and walked leisurely to the Strat. Slots at the Stratosphere were not too bad; up $5, down $20, up $60, down $12, ended up $30 to the good. Decided to walk down to Slots-o-fun. This is about a 20 minute walk from Stratosphere; be aware you have to cross several streets and pay attention to traffic. Wear good walking shoes. Several trinket shops along the way and a couple of resturaunts that looked halfway decent. Got to Slots-o-fun, sat down to play Kitty Glitter and immediately got a free beer. Slots weren't in a good mood so walked over to $3 blackjack and thats when the fun started. The dealer was an asian woman that was funny, smart, no nonsense, rapid fire talking and hilarious. The only other player was a young man she kept telling me was "number one son" until he tried to split 2 queens and she slapped him on the head. She fussed at him for the next 30 minutes for every hand. He was laughing so hard I think he peed his pants. I grabbed another beer, left up $10 and tipped her $5 for her great personality. I always tip the dealer unless I lose everything. Walked over to Circus Circus and had good run on Cash Spin, Wild Wolf and The Ruby Slippers for about 2 hours. Also was amazed at the trapeze act above the floor. Left Circus Circus and caught city bus 108 to get to Palms. Took a while but I was in no hurry. Slots at the Palms were not bad, but not great. Left up about $15. If I break even I count my blessings. Took bus back from Palms (across the street) to Casino Royal to check out Dennys for my birthday meal. Yeah I know, Dennys, I was skeptical; especially when the cashier said, "its back behind that corner wall." But I turned the corner and was shocked to see a big Dennys that was clean and BUSY! I mean they were packed but I counted 15 servers on the floor at one time; wow. I asked for my birtday meal and got a Grand Slam of my choice. Eggs, bacon, toast, grits, tea. It was excellent diner food. Not greasy, fresh, again, huge portions. Only paid for the tea, tipped on the whole meal and walked down to O'Shea's for an hour of fun blackjack. Broke even; oh well, wandered down to Flamingo, no luck there. Crossed the street to Ballys, won $60 on a slot in the back, went to Bills Gambling Hall, no luck there. Went back to MGM just in time to see the lions; BIG KITTY. And the guy is lying on the cat, rubbing his chin and reading a book. Not my career choice but I wish him the best. Decided to try video poker and lost badly. At this point I am whipped. Got back to Hooters at 7pm, slept for 2 hours, woke up, couldn't go back to sleep, went back downstairs and decided to try Tropicana next door. By now it's about 10pm and there aren't a lot of people there; server said I just missed the crowd. I wandered over to the craps table and asked the dealer if I could learn the game without a lot of headache. I immediately had 2 dealers, a pit boss and a local teaching me about pass line, come out, and how NOT to throw the dice off the table! By this time the table was getting busy and other players were doing pretty good. I didn't roll very often but did ok a couple of times. I had a lot of fun and won $70 in about 2 hours. Even played $5 hardways for the boys once and it hit on 8 for them. Now, I am really tired. Back to Hooters and off to sleep.
-Sunday is devoted to Fremont Street. Take the bus down about 10am and go to Binions for breakfast at the cafe. Good coffee, very good waffles and I get a 50% discount with my LVA card. Wheel of Fortune at Binions on the back wall was a little friendly; up $30, but the row of machines next to it was VERY friendly; $120, whoopee! Down to California, nuthin'; over to Vegas Club, nuthin', back up the street to Fitzgeralds, nuthin', crap. By this time I've had more than a few beers and decide to just sit and people watch. Oh, it got funny......that's all I'll say. Two hours later I tried Golden Nugget and the blackjack table was up and down, I came out 2 hours later down $20. Went over to El Cortez and got $50 off blackjack there while watching some, um, very interesting behavior.. Suddenly I got very, very tired. Decided I had overdone it a little bit and took a cab back to Hooters and a long nap. Woke up that night and went back down to the monorail, back to Casino Royal and had a very good footlong hotdog. Walked over to Treasure Island and watched the Sirens show, that was pretty cool. Its not just a skin show, these guys are doing backflips and half-gainers off the top of the ship; I'd say 60 feet up easy. And the fireworks were toasty! Walked over to Belligo and watched the fountains; in fact I stayed there until midnight cause it was cool, fun to watch and I met some great folks to talk to. Back to Hooters and to bed.
-Monday; ok now it's time to chill a little so I actually spend the morning in the room nibbling crackers, watching movies and resting. Bout 2pm I venture out, grab the bus and go back to Fremont Street, this time to MainStreet Station. Played the slots for about 3 hours, came out up $100, asked pit boss for a comp to the buffett and he said "welllllllllll, ok". Wow, very good buffett, great tilapia, fresh veggies, mac and cheese, very good ham. Fortified, I'm back down to the street and checking out Mermaids....lord what a wacky place. I hit $20 on a slot and suddenly nickles are spitting out everywhere! Lots of free beer, but I wasn't comfortable eating anything there. Fried twinkies, naw I don;t think so. Back down to Golden Gate with a coupon for a free shrimp cocktail. Not bad, tasted fresh and it was real cocktail sauce. Back on the bus to the strip. I want to check out MGM again. Played video poker, hit a straight and it jumped up to $200! Wow! Scared to play that machine further, I wander down to the shops area and discover a place called Fat Tuesdays. I'm thinking "hmmmmmmmm, is this a good idea?" The server asks me if I like margaritas, and hands me a sample, yum! I'm thinking, ok, thats not bad so I get one in a koozie. What I didn't know was he threw in a free tequila shot. So, here I am walking down the strip, sipping on what I think is a mild drink and suddenly I have no idea where I am! oops...I walk into Ceasars, bump into a security guard and tell him I think I'm lost and a little scared cause I normally don't drink that much. He spots the Tuesdays koozie, laughs and guide me to a small mexican cafe and tells the cashier to "guard me for a while." A few fish tacos, some hot coffee and a couple of hours later I figure out what happened, found the guard, tipped him $20 (which he argued taking until I pouted)and went back to Hooters and slept until noon the next day. Whew.
-Tuesday(with a hangover) back to Tropicana where the slots are friendly, the food court has good sandwiches and then back to nap until 6pm. then on to the airport where I win $200 on the "Hoot Loot" next to my gate! sweet! Flight leaves at 11:30 pm, layover at Atlanta, back home at 11:30 am. Home to change, go to work for 4 hours, go home, die and sleep until noon the next day. WHAT A GREAT TIME!!
-Points of interest:
SLOTS: a machine called "Cash Spin"; looks like Wheel of Fortune but isn't, paid out on every 5th spin in every casino I played it in. "Wolf Run" did not pay anywhere except the Stratosphere. Kitty Glitter didn't pay anywhere. LOOSE SLOTS: Stratosphere, Palms, Binions, California, Main Street Station, Ballys (a little)Tropicana(a little). TIGHT SLOTS: Venetian, Ceasars, Treasure Island, Fitzgeralds, Planet Hollywood, New York New York.
IMPRESSED ME: Every single person I handed my credit card to for a purchase asked to see my ID.
UPSET ME: Street hawkers who would not back off; one of them got yanked by a police officer when he tried to tap me on the shoulder from behind.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
