We had a stressful holiday season this past year. My BIL’s parents live in L.A. County and he visits as often as he can (Usually each month.). I wanted to go with them for Christmas so I could see family and friends, but we hit a couple of snags.
Our friends who baby-sit my sister’s dog had just moved to a new house that wasn’t fenced yet. And the neighbor who usually feeds the cats and tends the chickens was worried about the river in our neighborhood. We had so much rain in December, it could have easily turned ugly. After our last year’s trip to Vegas, we just couldn’t put him through such a hassle.
The only solution was for me to stay and care for the animals. My BIL made a deal with me. If I stayed home for Christmas they would pay all of my lodging and food expenses on our next Las Vegas trip. How could I pass that one up?
Of course the subject came up soon after New Years and we started planning. The mailers I had were the best offers of the bunch. So, we decided on LV Hilton for two free nights (with 3 free buffets), Red Rock for two free nights (with some free buffets) and Imperial Palace for one free night to round it out. This was our first time staying at IP, because we just wanted to try it.
I was on the phone for about 45 minutes and got all the stays booked. When I told my sister we got everything we wanted, she was pleased to hear it was only costing $11.20 for a processing fee to get five nights lodging.
Now we needed to watch the weather for any bad storms that might ruin our plans and my sister and her husband helped our friends fence in part of their yard for Sheba’s stay. The weather got better and all was a “go”.
Thursday January 20, 2011:
We pulled out of the driveway at 11:00 am and the traffic was light to Salinas where we had our In ‘n Out lunch which is our tradition any time we’re in the area. It was smooth sailing all the way to Santa Barbara. There’s always some slow down there. This one was not too bad so we made it to our destination by 8:00 pm.
It was so nice to see my extended family. I hadn’t been there for about a year. We even got to talk “Casinos” with a visiting nurse at my BIL’s parents’ house. She told us about buses that are routed from her area to Tribal Casinos. She made it sound kind of fun to go that way.
Friday January 21, 2011:
After breakfast at Coco’s, we said goodbye to the family and hit the road. I really enjoy the sights between L.A. and Vegas. The rock formations and dessert scenery are always a treat.
When traveling from L.A. to Vegas, we usually stop at the “Mad Greek” for lunch. I am so stuck on their gyros it doesn’t matter what else they have. The gyro is all I want. Besides we were so close to Vegas and a free dinner buffet, I didn’t want to fill up too much for lunch. I even just ate the meat and veggies off the pita like a salad. And of course, the Ztatziki is a teat too.
We made good time getting to Las Vegas and stopped first at Huntington Press for my MRB. We checked out their merchandise for good deals and my sister bought some gifts. I left home without my ball caps, so I bought a black “Kill Phil” cap for $2.00.
Next we checked in at Hilton and got an East Tower room. It was just as I remembered from staying in the Central Towers. After a nap we went down for the three free buffets that came with the room offer.
But first, a little play since my sister needs time between her meds and a meal. We sat down at some VP machines next to the sports bar and did not do well. That’s okay, the trip was just starting and we were just killing time anyway.
After we had dinner which was just okay, we went our separate ways. Hilton had moved a lot of the machines I played on last year. So, it was a while before I settled at a nine-line penny machine and spent about $10.00 to play for two and a half hours. That was fun. But, that’s about as far as the luck went. I went up to the room about 1:30 am.
Saturday January 22, 2011:
Our daytime plan was to see Hoover Dam and try out a little diner in Boulder City. We saw “The Coffee Cup” years ago on the Food Channel and were curious about it. The show really talked up their chili verde. At the time the show also featured a man who put on a balancing act with coffee cups. So after all the trips where we missed it, we finally put the visit in our “Must do” list.
We ate breakfast at the Coffee Cup and looked at some of the memorabilia on the walls. They had signed dollar bills tacked up all over the place and lots of pictures of people who seemed important to them. I did not recognize anyone but Guy Fieri. I opted for their breakfast burrito while my sister and her husband had omelets. It was okay. It’s just that I’m spoiled by the really good food we have around here. I was at least satisfied, but mostly I was looking forward to seeing the dam.
Most other times I get to a place like that and regret not having my camera. I’m just not usually one to take lots of pictures and never really was a good photographer. But this time, I took about 20 pictures.
Speaking of taking photos, my BIL had some trouble with a contact lense and ended up going without one all day. It was the far vision one that he removed so he asked my sister to drive and he took pictures with his other eye. He’s such a good photographer that it didn’t slow him down at all. But I think he’ll make sure to carry his glasses all day next time.
The dam was quite a sight to see. We did not want to take a tour since they already took it years ago and I didn’t like the thought of going that far down beneath the surface. So, we walked around and admired the place and all the Art Deco statues and plaques.
There’s a plaque that shows the precise spot where you enter Arizona and they have two clocks showing the different time zones. If I would have thought about it, I would have watched the clock on my cell phone to see if it changed. That would be cool.
My BIL wanted to take pictures from the new bridge, thinking it would give a great view. So, my sister drove to the road that takes you across. It turns out that you can’t see over the edge unless you stop and park. We decided not to do that and headed back to Hilton.
I’ll skip to our evening plans. We wanted to see Kathleen Madigan at South Point. I also told my sister she should check the slot club for the birthday month bonus points I saw on this site’s “Slot Club Bonus” page. It was not listed on South Point’s website, but it was worth a shot.
We went there hoping to get tickets and eat before the show. But, we were told at the box office that Kathleen Madigan’s show had sold out. We thought, “Good for her. It must mean she has a good following. She’ll probably get more bookings that way.”
Now we could eat without rushing to make it to the show. We decided to try their Café Coronado. It has a nice atmosphere even though it is completely open to the casino. There is a lot of gold and brown with a little orange and maroon here and there.
The menu was pretty extensive and I was surprised to see how reasonable the prices are on their entrees. My sister and her husband had their house specials. She had Prime Rib and he had a Porterhouse steak. Each was only $12.95. I had the Calf’s liver with bacon and onions at only $8.95. Everything was good and the service was excellent.
Then we went to the slot club and found out my sister could indeed get 2500 points by earning just one because it was her birthday month. So we played for about an hour. I didn’t do so well on the slots so I found a VP machine with 9/6 DDB and had a good time until time to go. I think it cost me about $20.00. I’m not complaining.
When we met up again, it turned out nobody really was winning so we left South Point. When we got back to Hilton I decided to play a “Hex Breaker” machine in the old Space themed area. I had not seen it the night before and I really like this one. Once again it let me play for a long time on only $10.00.
From there I wandered around and found a “Dragon Crystal” machine. I discovered that game last July in Reno. One of them at Silver Legacy kept me going for over an hour on $5.00.
When I approached the one at LV Hilton I noticed someone’s cigarettes and lighter perched on the buttons. I asked the young woman at the next machine if it was taken. She told me her dad was going to be right back. Those two stayed for a long time, ‘cause I kept checking. I saw some other machines that had games I like to play. But, they let me down. I went back to the nine-line penny machine from the night before and did pretty well. Just not as well this time. I decided that I needed get some sleep and headed for the elevators.
That’s when I saw that the dad and daughter had left. The “Dragon Crystal” machine kept me going for a while and didn’t cost much. But, I was really too tired to enjoy it at that point. So, off to bed I went.
Sunday January 23, 2011:
It was moving day, so we decided to pack early and take our time at breakfast. As we were packing, I told my sister about getting tired at the “Dragon Crystal” machine. She said, “You mean that guy and his daughter finally left?” It turns out she was waiting for them to leave too. We just didn’t see each other lurking.
The Paradise Café was good the last time we ate there so we tried it again. It was a disappointment. The staff seemed down in the mouth and the server was distracted. The waffle I had was dry and tough. It just seemed like everybody working there was having a bad day.
So, on to Terrible’s we went for our loss rebate adventure. We had never been in there so it was all new to us. First stop was the slot club. We joined and turned in our coupons for them to track our losses. We found the 9/6 JOB for my BIL since he was not doing the coupon deal (Thank you, FFlowers for the directions you posted.).
My sister sat next to him to play Deuces Wild. That’s her game. I walked around, not knowing what I felt like playing. I tried an old style Quarter “Reel” type slot machine with my first $10.00. It didn’t last long. So, I wandered around some more. As I walked past the machines where my family was playing, my sister called me over saying, “Come see this, Cyndee.” The hand was still showing on the machine. There were four deuces in the window so she just won $250.00. She said, “So much for the loss rebate. I’m not about to try and lose all that.” BIL snapped a photo on his camera with her posing by the machine.
I was really happy for her. Four deuces don’t show up every day. Our visit was turning out to be profitable with or without the loss rebate, at least for her. So I continued to look for a machine to enjoy playing, win or lose.
I settled at a “Davinci Diamonds” and was surprised that my second $10.00 bill lasted about ten minutes with mostly full coin spins. I was going to cut my losses at $40.00 for the rebate. So, I put in another twenty. And the machine started giving me lots of bonuses.
We were going to meet up again at 1:30, so I cashed out at $.33.00 and told my sister that I only spent $7.00 on the visit. But, I figured it was worth getting the rebate since we can only do this once.
I was thinking it was as simple as this: Put in forty dollars and play until the credits run out; forty dollars will be waiting for me in free play. So, I figured that they would give me $7.00 in free play, because that’s what I lost. It didn’t work quite that way.
The guy at the slot club said he was loading $78.00 in free play onto my card. But I thought I didn’t hear him right and continued to assume that he said $7.00. When he said it again, I confirmed that he said,”$78.00”. That was a pleasant surprise.
So, I told my family about the amount and encouraged my sister to check with the slot club in case she could still get something. She was told that she had won $90.00 and would not get a rebate.
So, I was the only one of our bunch to get free slot play. I ended up sitting at a “Triple Double Wild Cherry” dollar slot. While I was reading the instructions and pressing the card reader buttons, I noticed a lady was watching me. She said, “That is a dollar machine.” I said, “Good” and smiled as I continued to press the code in.
Then I stuck in a dollar bill to start the machine. She called out again, “That is a dollar machine.” I replied, “That’s fine.” When she said it again, she sounded concerned. So, I said, “It’s really okay. That’s what I want.”
The machine took my free play and all I had left was $10.00. So I left. As I got out of the chair the lady lean toward me and said, “I hope you weren’t put off by what I said to you, Dear. I just saw you looking so hard at the machine and didn’t want you to be confused. A lot of these machines are Multi-denominations and the one you chose is only for dollars.” I thanked her for being concerned and walked away.
We left Terribles at about 3:00 and dropped by Luvit for a snack since it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. My sister wanted to shop at La Isla for some work clothes. It’s a uniform shop on Sahara. They have some really good prices on apparel and shoes. It didn’t take long to find her stuff and check out.
By the time we got to Red Rock we were ready to rest a while. This time we just had the bare essentials for check in with us. It went smoothly and quickly, but the best part was getting room 14103. It’s the second room from the elevator on the left. We had all our stuff moved in within about 20 minutes.
The room was the same as the one we got last year on a $49.00 room offer I got by mail. But this had a strip view. It was kind of neat looking at the Strip and Downtown from across the miles. You could make out all the buildings on a clear day. It was nice.
We planned to eat at the Feast Buffet for dinner. But when I looked at the coupons, I discovered that each one was good for two free buffets. We were thinking that I would get a free buffet and she and he would use a twofer. This was another pleasant surprise. So I treated my sister and My BIL used his points. We ate for free and just tipped the server.
We always enjoy the food at Red Rock’s buffet. And they didn’t let us down. I never seem to get enough of their cucumber salad. Their melon was just right and they had lychee fruit too. After that I chose a light entrée so I would have room for desert. I had some steamed salmon and green beans almondine, followed by a macaroon and some spumoni ice cream. Yes, indeed.
After a meal like that, I need to move, so we split up again. I started toward the slot club to check out the promotions and remembered that the check in clerk told me my free play was already loaded on my card. So, I tried to transfer it on a VP machine. The reader noted that my PIN was not valid. So, I went over to the slot club booth to get it fixed.
Armed with $35.00 in free play, I hit the video poker by the Bowling Center. It took my money really fast, so I switched to penny slots again. All the machines I like were occupied, so I wandered around looking for something new to try. I played a “Gold Fish” machine and got a bonus after just a few spins. I was choosing cans of fish food for what seemed like forever. It was fun but the money didn’t last long after that.
Again, the “Dragon Crystal” was occupied for a long time. It must pay a lot of people in order for them to stay like they do. The “Sun and Moon” game seems to be the same way. I decided to try a little Black Jack and that kept me going for a while. When I joined the table, there was a slightly grumpy man at third base. He told me that the table was cold and he was getting ready to leave.
There was a bubbly lady on first base who squealed when she won a good amount. I was second to last on the deal and kept my mouth shut. I was happy for the lady when she won, but her outbursts went through my head like a nail.
I decide I was not in the mood to play and wasn’t winning enough anyway. By that time the machines I wanted to play were opening up. The best one was “Sun and Moon”. I got lots of free spin bonuses and a few of the “Jumbo Reel” bonuses. One was pretty good too. I was down to about $7.00 when the machine made that funny ticking and squeaking sound. I pushed the #1 button like the instruction read, and suddenly I had $62.00 in credits.
I played until I was too tired to enjoy it. So I headed for our room at 2:00 am. Again it was nice to have a room so close to the elevators. I was in bed by 2:30.
Monday January 24, 2011:
This was our day to visit Aliante Station for the first time then go downtown. I was really looking forward to this. Red Rock was the only Stations casino I had been to so far. I was really curious about the others. Besides Sue Casey works at Aliante and I asked her when I could stop by to say “Hello” in person.
Aliante is a beautiful property. I was impressed by the landscaping around the building. I don’t see Agave type plants everyday. They blend with the Palm trees very nicely in the arrangements around Aliante station.
We had not eaten yet so the Feast Buffet was our first order of business. And since it was 11:30 already they had mostly lunch selections. I had my usual breakfast fruit along with their cucumber salad before moving on to some Mexican entrees. The tamales and enchiladas were quite tasty. My sister gave a huge “thumbs up” to the cabbage rolls and kielbasa. My BIL went for the lamb shanks and said they were really good too. We had some mighty nice desserts to round it out. I only wanted spumoni ice cream though. It was outstanding.
After breakfast, we wandered around to get the feel of the place and really liked the layout and the selection of games. When we saw the DDB by Johnny Rockets, I knew where I would be playing. They have 10/6 DDB VP in that area. I thought that had disappeared from the universe long ago.
My family wanted to try some games near the Rewards Center but I didn’t think Sue would be there at 12:45. So I said, “I’ll explore some more”. Again I really liked the place. I could really tell which way was which there. I still get turned around a little at Red Rock, especially if I’m really tired.
Shortly after 1:00 I went to the Rewards Center. There was a lady at the counter who was looking down as she did some work, but I didn’t think it was Sue. I always thought that Sue would have very dark hair. So I looked around and saw another lady in her uniform. She was tutoring a man at one of the Non-smoking VP machines. I knew it had to be Sue. She had black hair just like her grandsons whose pictures are in her signature line.
She was busy so I waited for her to finish serving her customer. As she started to walk back to the counter, I approached her and, introduced myself by name. I offered my hand to shake and as she took it, she asked, “Do I know you?” In that instant she looked so much like my mother’s sister did about 30 years ago, I had to remind myself that she didn’t know me.
I said,”You know me by Cyndee…ta on LVA”. Then it was clear she recognized me. I was just so pleased to meet her and thank her for all the good information she has shared on LVA. I so much appreciate the way she comes on with answers and suggestions. She is also fun to play trivia games with. She had a few compliments for me as well. But, she had a job to do and I didn’t want to take too much of her time. So, I wished her well and went over to my family nearby.
When I told them I would be over by Johnny Rockets, we planned on another 45 minutes of play before leaving Aliante Station. My BIL said he would play there too and went to the same bank of DDB. His usual games are JOB or Bonus Poker. So he wasn’t happy with his play there and decided to go find Liz (my sister). My twenty was fading fast, so I said that I might be changing games soon too. Then I stuck in another twenty as a leap of faith. I could just cash out if it wasn’t working out.
A few minutes later I got quad 3s with a four. YAHOO! While the credits were added to my total, I did something I have never done before. I had a camera with me for a change. So, I turned it on and snapped a picture of the screen. I was so excited to get a bonus quad, I snapped from two angles. It’s a good thing since one picture shows a flash over one of the threes.
Soon I got anther quad. This time they were fives. So I snapped another picture. I just wanted to have pictures of all the quads I could get. I had so much fun at that machine, I lost track of time. When my family came to get me, we compared notes and decided to give them another half hour of play.
After about 20 minutes, I got another bonus quad, again 3s with a four. I snapped a photo of this one too. When the time was up, my family came around again. So I TITOed out. When my sister looked at the screen, she was pleased to see that I was cashing out $400.00 dollars and change.
It was my turn to leave a casino with a good win. We were satisfied and said we would be interested in staying here sometime. When I told them how nice it was to meet Sue, my sister said,” I’d like to meet her too.” So we walked toward the Rewards Center on our way out.
As we approached, the other lady at the counter waved at us. So, my sister thought it was Sue and started to address her. I said Sue is over here and walk toward her. I hope I didn’t offend the other lady, because soon, I realize that I should have talked to her as well. It’s not like me to ignore anyone. I guess a little sleep deficit makes me kind thoughtless. I never even asked her name.
Anyway, I introduced my family to Sue and told her how much we enjoyed playing at Aliante. I was also sure to mention that they too benefit from all the tips and information that Sue and others on these forums have given me.
She was very gracious about saying we should look at the pool area. You see, I know how much others like to visit nice pools and hang out there. But, my complexion will not tolerate a lot of sun exposure.But I had already decided that I wanted to try staying there in the future. We left a little later than planned, but we left happy.
It was time for some “Downtown” fun. It took us a little longer to find our way than we thought, but finally we got there. We started to park at Plaza, but found out their parking fee was non-refundable now.
So, we parked at GN since they allow 3 hours for free if you validate your ticket at the cage. I had never been in their parking area before, so I got a better idea how big the place is. It took several minutes to walk through while we admired the place. It’s quite nice, but a little bit garish for my taste. They have a lot of golden toned metal that glittered in the sunlight. It was good I had my “Kill Phil” hat on to cut the glare a little. We didn’t want to play at GN, but it was easy to manage parking there for the late afternoon.
Our first order of business was to see what was going on at Plaza. We have stayed there several times and I really enjoyed the games there. There was a photo of one of the new rooms posted in the check in area. It looked much like what you see on their website, but the colors looked more purple than brown. Maybe there are a few different color schemes to the new rooms. It looks pretty nice with the new furniture and we look forward to giving them a try when they are done.
I was prepared to see a dead casino floor and a lot of dust and noise. But, there was also an unpleasant smell near the area where the construction crew was having a conversation. We figured there was a septic leak somewhere.
We headed on over to the Vegas Club to use our free play coupons and try their games. We weren’t familiar with their casino and we were disappointed in the selection of game. So, we only spent about 45 minutes and I lost thirty dollars after my free play ran out. What to do next?
About that time my sister says, “We need to go back to Aliante.” It turns out that Dan (my BIL) still had a $37.00 TITO from there. But, he decided to go alone and let us enjoy some play instead. He thought it would only take about an hour, so he agreed to call when he got back to GN. Then we could continue our downtown visit together.
I said, “I want to go to Golden Gate next”. She agreed with me and off we went. It was a little busy for a Monday afternoon at GG. I wanted to play Black Jack and maybe a few slots. My sister wanted to play VP for a half hour, so I told her to look for me at the tables. I got my match play chip at the slot club booth and found a table to play.
My little $60.00 dollar buy in lasted pretty well, but I lost on the match play bet as usual. When Sis came by, she said that Dan called to say he was stuck in traffic coming back from Aliante. So, we could do what we want without worrying about time. We decided to stay at GG another half hour or so and meet at the door. That’s when I started to win a little at Black Jack.
My stack grew back to the original $60.00, and then to $90.00, so I colored out. It was fun but I wanted to see the rest of the casino and maybe try some new slot machines. But, nothing appealed to me.
When we caught up with each other at the door, we compared notes. I was happy to report that I was had won back the money I spent at Vegas Club. Then, Dan called and we thought we should be getting back to GN, so we started that way.
We stopped in a gift shop along the way to browse a bit. Then we got over to GN to meet up with Dan. What to do now? We debated between El Cortez and Four Queens. Four Queens won out and off we went.
We split up at the door. I went to the slot club booth to redeem a coupon and the line was outrageously long. It moved pretty fast, thankfully. With my $10.00 free play, I chose an old Reel quarter machine called “Triple Double Wild Cherry”. That didn’t last long, so I found a penny “Wheel of fortune” machine and sat down. My first ten wasn’t doing much for me at first, even playing just one coin per line. But a few nice bonus rounds came up. So, I left the machine with a $30.00 TITO. By that time we were all ready to go back to Red Rock. It was almost 8:00 pm and we hadn’t eaten since our late breakfast.
Back at the room, I pulled out another Free Buffet coupon, but by the time we got to the Buffet they were closed for the evening. We tried the Grand Café and it was okay.
It was one of very few meals where we paid full price. The service was good and selections were decent. My sister and her husband had sandwiches that they enjoyed, but I chose the Spaghetti and Meatballs and it was too much food. So I ate the salad, the meatballs and just a few noodles. It came with dessert on the special, so we took some cheesecake up to the room. It was very good the next day when we shared it for a snack.
After dinner I was tired from a long day without a nap so, I only to played for a short time. I enjoyed walking around to get my legs stretched and stopped at a few machines to try them. Nothing was paying me, and I was getting bored. A short visit to a three card poker table was not any fun either.
I was heading for the elevators when I saw a decent machine to play some DDB. The pay table was 9/6. That’s the best I can usually find. Outside of Aliante’s “Optimum” ones, that is. The machine was throwing me a bone once in a while. A couple of full houses, a few straights and several trips. I was getting bored with it and down to my last $1.25 from my twenty. Wouldn’t you know it? Finally a quad, just jacks. I left after snapping a picture.
I walked around some more and put a ten in a “Hex Breaker“machine and that was just okay. Around midnight I just wanted to sleep. I was in bed by 12:30.
Tuesday January 25, 2011:
This was our last full day in Vegas and we were moving to I.P., so we packed early and planned to visit Palace Station for breakfast and some play. From there we wanted to play a little at Silverton before seeing Mac King at Harrah’s.
We got to Palace Station around 10:30 am and enjoyed another 3 breakfasts for the price of one. Right about now, you must be thinking,”Aren’t they tired of buffets by now?” We were not. At least not yet. The Feast Buffets at the Stations properties really are that good, at least as far as we are concerned.
After breakfast, we went our separate ways and planned to meet where we came into the building in about 45 minutes. By that time it was already coming up on noon. I wish there was something interesting to write about our time in Palace Station Casino, but I’m afraid there isn’t.
There was a misunderstanding and some technical difficulties that delayed our departure from Palace Station. It ate up some of our early afternoon time, so, we decided to not go to Silverton until we were on our way out of town on Wednesday.
By the time we drove out of the parking lot we had plenty of time to get to I.P. and try to check in before seeing Mac King’s 3:00 show. It’s a good thing since we had to drive around looking for where we should park at Imperial Palace. We parked in a garage that was better for casino visitors than for Hotel guests. But that lesson was well learned. Remember, if you are staying at their hotel, park in the Main Garage. That way you can get to your room with your luggage much quicker.
It turned out that they had a room ready for us right away and we got one in a good location. It was a”Classic Room” (nothing fancy) #823 far away from Carnival Court. I have heard stories about how confusing the elevator layout is. But, this was simple to remember. We went to the hall behind “Fat Tuesday” and there it was. The room was very close to the elevator too.
After we got set up in the room and we ate the cheesecake and some buttered bread we saved from last night’s dinner, then we grabbed our coupons. That’s when my sister brought up a point. They were aware of how much I contributed by using my comps to book the rooms and get so many free meals. So, this outing was on them, at least as far as out of pocket costs. We used coupons for free admission with the purchase of a $10.00 drink.
I have seen Mac King’s act once before, but wanted to see it again. There is a lot of audience participation and every audience is different. So, I knew I would enjoy it because I knew some of what would happen, or was supposed to happen. That is if the audience cooperated as planned.
It was hilarious when he called up a woman to help him with a rope trick gag. Again we laughed at the woman who signed the back side of a card before putting it back in the deck. Mac King kidded her about making it harder to find the card. And his shadow puppets routine is so funny, especially when a kid is on stage with him.
After the show Sis and BIL bought some stuff for a child’s birthday gift and Mac King signed it for them. He is a very personable guy. Back in 2009, I saw his show and asked him if I remembered correctly that he did some close-up magic on the mezzanine of Silver Legacy in March of 1997. I swear it was he who showed me a coin trick. He said that he was playing Reno about that time, and he wasn’t quite sure about the details, but it was definitely possible.
It was about 5:00 when we went back to the room. We took a nap and tried to figure out where to eat. We settled on trying I.P.’s buffet. I know what you’re thinking. I noticed a lot of badmouthing of every eating establishment on the property on these forums. But, we had to see for ourselves. Most of the food was poorly lit and looked awful. Some items looked dried out and there was a lack of garnishes. It was just plain terrible presentation.
I suppose we were also kind of “buffeted out” by then too. The salads and entrees lacked flavor. But, the desserts were a different story. I had a tiny key lime tart that was worthy of a second helping. My BIL had a really yummy slice of something my sister calls a decadence. It’s a very moist cake-like desert that has a very dark chocolate flavor.
We speculated that all Harrah’s properties might get their desserts from a common source. We know that Rio has good ones on their buffet too. Or at least they used to. It’s been a long time since we’ve been there.
Our last night in Vegas, we stayed inside the building. I was pretty tired by then and didn’t want to be far from the room. I was saving my Christmas Bonus to play Three Card Poker on my last night there.
But first I wanted to try some Quarter VP. I found a machine with a 9/5 pay table for DDB. Sadly there were no 9/6 ones there.
The 9/5 machine was pretty good to me for a little while. I got several full houses that kept me going and built up my credits until I finally hit a quad. It was only Jacks again, but I was happy. After that it went down hill. So, off I went looking for some fun.
Then I went to the Three Card Poker Table with hopes of having a good time and maybe coming out ahead. I saw the guy next to me get a straight flush with a huge (to me) payout. It must have been about $800.00. I didn’t do very well and after my stack got down to $40.00, I left.
The penny slots were fun for a while, but I was growing weary. At about 11:00 pm I walked by my sister and we compared notes. She told me she was done and said good night. I found a “Sun and Moon” game and decided to play it. That is whenever the lady who was playing it left. Until then I looked for something else to play.
I noticed several games that had multi-denominations. But I didn’t notice that they started at five cents. One looked good, so I sat down and put in a five. It was a nine line machine with up to five coins per line. I tried it on full coin, thinking it was a forty-five cent spin. The resulting pay was more than I thought it would be. So I checked and sure enough I had paid $2.25 for it. Nice surprise, but too much risk. I’m sure glad it wasn’t set for quarters. I left with my winnings.
I check on the “Sun and Moon” and the lady was just cashing out. So I took my seat and started to play. My ten dollar bill was lasting okay for a while, but my credits started to run out.
I was down to about $0.80 when I hit a free spin bonus with four wild symbols. One was a golden “Sun”. I don’t remember how many spins it gave me, but I sat and watched the game play out for quite a while. I left the machine with the same amount I put in it.
That was it for me. I was happy to go to bed with part of the days bankroll still in my pocket. I wish it would have been that simple. Only there was a problem with the door lock and it was another 45 minutes before I got into the room.
The desk clerk first tried to blame it on my key getting demagnetized. The second key she gave me stayed in my hand until I returned it as well. The next clerk I talked to said the door must have been locked from the inside. But I knew that that was not the case either. I finally ended up calling my BIL to ask him to let me in. He said that my sister’s key didn’t work either. He tried his and it was unanimous. The lock was the problem all along.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011:
When we left the next morning, I checked out at the front desk and told them that the lock needed to be fixed. I would not listen to anymore ifs ands or buts. The clerk made a note on her scratch pad and said it would be taken care of.
Now don’t get me wrong. I still like I.P.’s casino and wouldn’t mind staying there again. But, I might try Bally’s or Flamingo next time I use one of Harrah’s free room offers.
We headed out to Silverton at about 10:00 am. My BIL wanted to shop at Bass Pro shop and we all wanted to eat breakfast at their Buffet. It’s just too bad that we can’t seem to figure out when their buffet is open. It has been closed every single time we show up. Once again we got breakfast at their Sundance Café. It was good last time, so why not?
The waffle I had was okay but not as good as last time. I’m glad the rest of my family had a very good meal. Otherwise I’d have to chalk it up to me being cranky or something. His Chicken fried steak was excellent. It was huge too, so he shared it with us. We always give a taste of our meals to each other when we like the food. Her ham steak was great as well and so big that she put three quarters of it between toast slices for the road.
After our meal, he went to the store and she and I went to the machines. It was as dead as a good gopher in the casino that morning. There must have been only about ten people on the entire floor.
A machine called “Double Happiness” caught my eye. It had an Asian theme and I liked the look of the dragon painted on the top of it. It was right next to a buffalo machine that a man was playing.
I tried not to let it distract me, but I was amused by the way the man played. He would rub the screen when a wild symbol showed up during a spin. And between spins he was crossing himself and kissing a rosary. I never noticed anyone doing that before.
The “Double Happiness” machine got boring, so I walked around a little. Then I spotted a “Sun and Moon” machine and realized it was the very one that I played the first time I played that game. It was on the isle and two machines down from another one.
I played it for a while and finished exactly even for the day. I was done with slot machines at that point. I just did not want anymore gaming. I found my sister near the exit playing a game I didn’t recognize. She was having fun and I watched and rooted for her.
When Dan got back, we compared notes and left Silverton. The drive back to California was beautiful as always. And the ham sandwich was very tasty when lunch time came.
One thing about this trip that was a plus was the weather. It was beautiful every single day. There were only high clouds and the temps were just right. Of course I enjoyed all the freebies and trying new things. I spent less than I budgeted, which is always good. And of course I got to meet Sue Casey. It was a pleasure all the way around.
Our friends who baby-sit my sister’s dog had just moved to a new house that wasn’t fenced yet. And the neighbor who usually feeds the cats and tends the chickens was worried about the river in our neighborhood. We had so much rain in December, it could have easily turned ugly. After our last year’s trip to Vegas, we just couldn’t put him through such a hassle.
The only solution was for me to stay and care for the animals. My BIL made a deal with me. If I stayed home for Christmas they would pay all of my lodging and food expenses on our next Las Vegas trip. How could I pass that one up?
Of course the subject came up soon after New Years and we started planning. The mailers I had were the best offers of the bunch. So, we decided on LV Hilton for two free nights (with 3 free buffets), Red Rock for two free nights (with some free buffets) and Imperial Palace for one free night to round it out. This was our first time staying at IP, because we just wanted to try it.
I was on the phone for about 45 minutes and got all the stays booked. When I told my sister we got everything we wanted, she was pleased to hear it was only costing $11.20 for a processing fee to get five nights lodging.
Now we needed to watch the weather for any bad storms that might ruin our plans and my sister and her husband helped our friends fence in part of their yard for Sheba’s stay. The weather got better and all was a “go”.
Thursday January 20, 2011:
We pulled out of the driveway at 11:00 am and the traffic was light to Salinas where we had our In ‘n Out lunch which is our tradition any time we’re in the area. It was smooth sailing all the way to Santa Barbara. There’s always some slow down there. This one was not too bad so we made it to our destination by 8:00 pm.
It was so nice to see my extended family. I hadn’t been there for about a year. We even got to talk “Casinos” with a visiting nurse at my BIL’s parents’ house. She told us about buses that are routed from her area to Tribal Casinos. She made it sound kind of fun to go that way.
Friday January 21, 2011:
After breakfast at Coco’s, we said goodbye to the family and hit the road. I really enjoy the sights between L.A. and Vegas. The rock formations and dessert scenery are always a treat.
When traveling from L.A. to Vegas, we usually stop at the “Mad Greek” for lunch. I am so stuck on their gyros it doesn’t matter what else they have. The gyro is all I want. Besides we were so close to Vegas and a free dinner buffet, I didn’t want to fill up too much for lunch. I even just ate the meat and veggies off the pita like a salad. And of course, the Ztatziki is a teat too.
We made good time getting to Las Vegas and stopped first at Huntington Press for my MRB. We checked out their merchandise for good deals and my sister bought some gifts. I left home without my ball caps, so I bought a black “Kill Phil” cap for $2.00.
Next we checked in at Hilton and got an East Tower room. It was just as I remembered from staying in the Central Towers. After a nap we went down for the three free buffets that came with the room offer.
But first, a little play since my sister needs time between her meds and a meal. We sat down at some VP machines next to the sports bar and did not do well. That’s okay, the trip was just starting and we were just killing time anyway.
After we had dinner which was just okay, we went our separate ways. Hilton had moved a lot of the machines I played on last year. So, it was a while before I settled at a nine-line penny machine and spent about $10.00 to play for two and a half hours. That was fun. But, that’s about as far as the luck went. I went up to the room about 1:30 am.
Saturday January 22, 2011:
Our daytime plan was to see Hoover Dam and try out a little diner in Boulder City. We saw “The Coffee Cup” years ago on the Food Channel and were curious about it. The show really talked up their chili verde. At the time the show also featured a man who put on a balancing act with coffee cups. So after all the trips where we missed it, we finally put the visit in our “Must do” list.
We ate breakfast at the Coffee Cup and looked at some of the memorabilia on the walls. They had signed dollar bills tacked up all over the place and lots of pictures of people who seemed important to them. I did not recognize anyone but Guy Fieri. I opted for their breakfast burrito while my sister and her husband had omelets. It was okay. It’s just that I’m spoiled by the really good food we have around here. I was at least satisfied, but mostly I was looking forward to seeing the dam.
Most other times I get to a place like that and regret not having my camera. I’m just not usually one to take lots of pictures and never really was a good photographer. But this time, I took about 20 pictures.
Speaking of taking photos, my BIL had some trouble with a contact lense and ended up going without one all day. It was the far vision one that he removed so he asked my sister to drive and he took pictures with his other eye. He’s such a good photographer that it didn’t slow him down at all. But I think he’ll make sure to carry his glasses all day next time.
The dam was quite a sight to see. We did not want to take a tour since they already took it years ago and I didn’t like the thought of going that far down beneath the surface. So, we walked around and admired the place and all the Art Deco statues and plaques.
There’s a plaque that shows the precise spot where you enter Arizona and they have two clocks showing the different time zones. If I would have thought about it, I would have watched the clock on my cell phone to see if it changed. That would be cool.
My BIL wanted to take pictures from the new bridge, thinking it would give a great view. So, my sister drove to the road that takes you across. It turns out that you can’t see over the edge unless you stop and park. We decided not to do that and headed back to Hilton.
I’ll skip to our evening plans. We wanted to see Kathleen Madigan at South Point. I also told my sister she should check the slot club for the birthday month bonus points I saw on this site’s “Slot Club Bonus” page. It was not listed on South Point’s website, but it was worth a shot.
We went there hoping to get tickets and eat before the show. But, we were told at the box office that Kathleen Madigan’s show had sold out. We thought, “Good for her. It must mean she has a good following. She’ll probably get more bookings that way.”
Now we could eat without rushing to make it to the show. We decided to try their Café Coronado. It has a nice atmosphere even though it is completely open to the casino. There is a lot of gold and brown with a little orange and maroon here and there.
The menu was pretty extensive and I was surprised to see how reasonable the prices are on their entrees. My sister and her husband had their house specials. She had Prime Rib and he had a Porterhouse steak. Each was only $12.95. I had the Calf’s liver with bacon and onions at only $8.95. Everything was good and the service was excellent.
Then we went to the slot club and found out my sister could indeed get 2500 points by earning just one because it was her birthday month. So we played for about an hour. I didn’t do so well on the slots so I found a VP machine with 9/6 DDB and had a good time until time to go. I think it cost me about $20.00. I’m not complaining.
When we met up again, it turned out nobody really was winning so we left South Point. When we got back to Hilton I decided to play a “Hex Breaker” machine in the old Space themed area. I had not seen it the night before and I really like this one. Once again it let me play for a long time on only $10.00.
From there I wandered around and found a “Dragon Crystal” machine. I discovered that game last July in Reno. One of them at Silver Legacy kept me going for over an hour on $5.00.
When I approached the one at LV Hilton I noticed someone’s cigarettes and lighter perched on the buttons. I asked the young woman at the next machine if it was taken. She told me her dad was going to be right back. Those two stayed for a long time, ‘cause I kept checking. I saw some other machines that had games I like to play. But, they let me down. I went back to the nine-line penny machine from the night before and did pretty well. Just not as well this time. I decided that I needed get some sleep and headed for the elevators.
That’s when I saw that the dad and daughter had left. The “Dragon Crystal” machine kept me going for a while and didn’t cost much. But, I was really too tired to enjoy it at that point. So, off to bed I went.
Sunday January 23, 2011:
It was moving day, so we decided to pack early and take our time at breakfast. As we were packing, I told my sister about getting tired at the “Dragon Crystal” machine. She said, “You mean that guy and his daughter finally left?” It turns out she was waiting for them to leave too. We just didn’t see each other lurking.
The Paradise Café was good the last time we ate there so we tried it again. It was a disappointment. The staff seemed down in the mouth and the server was distracted. The waffle I had was dry and tough. It just seemed like everybody working there was having a bad day.
So, on to Terrible’s we went for our loss rebate adventure. We had never been in there so it was all new to us. First stop was the slot club. We joined and turned in our coupons for them to track our losses. We found the 9/6 JOB for my BIL since he was not doing the coupon deal (Thank you, FFlowers for the directions you posted.).
My sister sat next to him to play Deuces Wild. That’s her game. I walked around, not knowing what I felt like playing. I tried an old style Quarter “Reel” type slot machine with my first $10.00. It didn’t last long. So, I wandered around some more. As I walked past the machines where my family was playing, my sister called me over saying, “Come see this, Cyndee.” The hand was still showing on the machine. There were four deuces in the window so she just won $250.00. She said, “So much for the loss rebate. I’m not about to try and lose all that.” BIL snapped a photo on his camera with her posing by the machine.
I was really happy for her. Four deuces don’t show up every day. Our visit was turning out to be profitable with or without the loss rebate, at least for her. So I continued to look for a machine to enjoy playing, win or lose.
I settled at a “Davinci Diamonds” and was surprised that my second $10.00 bill lasted about ten minutes with mostly full coin spins. I was going to cut my losses at $40.00 for the rebate. So, I put in another twenty. And the machine started giving me lots of bonuses.
We were going to meet up again at 1:30, so I cashed out at $.33.00 and told my sister that I only spent $7.00 on the visit. But, I figured it was worth getting the rebate since we can only do this once.
I was thinking it was as simple as this: Put in forty dollars and play until the credits run out; forty dollars will be waiting for me in free play. So, I figured that they would give me $7.00 in free play, because that’s what I lost. It didn’t work quite that way.
The guy at the slot club said he was loading $78.00 in free play onto my card. But I thought I didn’t hear him right and continued to assume that he said $7.00. When he said it again, I confirmed that he said,”$78.00”. That was a pleasant surprise.
So, I told my family about the amount and encouraged my sister to check with the slot club in case she could still get something. She was told that she had won $90.00 and would not get a rebate.
So, I was the only one of our bunch to get free slot play. I ended up sitting at a “Triple Double Wild Cherry” dollar slot. While I was reading the instructions and pressing the card reader buttons, I noticed a lady was watching me. She said, “That is a dollar machine.” I said, “Good” and smiled as I continued to press the code in.
Then I stuck in a dollar bill to start the machine. She called out again, “That is a dollar machine.” I replied, “That’s fine.” When she said it again, she sounded concerned. So, I said, “It’s really okay. That’s what I want.”
The machine took my free play and all I had left was $10.00. So I left. As I got out of the chair the lady lean toward me and said, “I hope you weren’t put off by what I said to you, Dear. I just saw you looking so hard at the machine and didn’t want you to be confused. A lot of these machines are Multi-denominations and the one you chose is only for dollars.” I thanked her for being concerned and walked away.
We left Terribles at about 3:00 and dropped by Luvit for a snack since it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. My sister wanted to shop at La Isla for some work clothes. It’s a uniform shop on Sahara. They have some really good prices on apparel and shoes. It didn’t take long to find her stuff and check out.
By the time we got to Red Rock we were ready to rest a while. This time we just had the bare essentials for check in with us. It went smoothly and quickly, but the best part was getting room 14103. It’s the second room from the elevator on the left. We had all our stuff moved in within about 20 minutes.
The room was the same as the one we got last year on a $49.00 room offer I got by mail. But this had a strip view. It was kind of neat looking at the Strip and Downtown from across the miles. You could make out all the buildings on a clear day. It was nice.
We planned to eat at the Feast Buffet for dinner. But when I looked at the coupons, I discovered that each one was good for two free buffets. We were thinking that I would get a free buffet and she and he would use a twofer. This was another pleasant surprise. So I treated my sister and My BIL used his points. We ate for free and just tipped the server.
We always enjoy the food at Red Rock’s buffet. And they didn’t let us down. I never seem to get enough of their cucumber salad. Their melon was just right and they had lychee fruit too. After that I chose a light entrée so I would have room for desert. I had some steamed salmon and green beans almondine, followed by a macaroon and some spumoni ice cream. Yes, indeed.
After a meal like that, I need to move, so we split up again. I started toward the slot club to check out the promotions and remembered that the check in clerk told me my free play was already loaded on my card. So, I tried to transfer it on a VP machine. The reader noted that my PIN was not valid. So, I went over to the slot club booth to get it fixed.
Armed with $35.00 in free play, I hit the video poker by the Bowling Center. It took my money really fast, so I switched to penny slots again. All the machines I like were occupied, so I wandered around looking for something new to try. I played a “Gold Fish” machine and got a bonus after just a few spins. I was choosing cans of fish food for what seemed like forever. It was fun but the money didn’t last long after that.
Again, the “Dragon Crystal” was occupied for a long time. It must pay a lot of people in order for them to stay like they do. The “Sun and Moon” game seems to be the same way. I decided to try a little Black Jack and that kept me going for a while. When I joined the table, there was a slightly grumpy man at third base. He told me that the table was cold and he was getting ready to leave.
There was a bubbly lady on first base who squealed when she won a good amount. I was second to last on the deal and kept my mouth shut. I was happy for the lady when she won, but her outbursts went through my head like a nail.
I decide I was not in the mood to play and wasn’t winning enough anyway. By that time the machines I wanted to play were opening up. The best one was “Sun and Moon”. I got lots of free spin bonuses and a few of the “Jumbo Reel” bonuses. One was pretty good too. I was down to about $7.00 when the machine made that funny ticking and squeaking sound. I pushed the #1 button like the instruction read, and suddenly I had $62.00 in credits.
I played until I was too tired to enjoy it. So I headed for our room at 2:00 am. Again it was nice to have a room so close to the elevators. I was in bed by 2:30.
Monday January 24, 2011:
This was our day to visit Aliante Station for the first time then go downtown. I was really looking forward to this. Red Rock was the only Stations casino I had been to so far. I was really curious about the others. Besides Sue Casey works at Aliante and I asked her when I could stop by to say “Hello” in person.
Aliante is a beautiful property. I was impressed by the landscaping around the building. I don’t see Agave type plants everyday. They blend with the Palm trees very nicely in the arrangements around Aliante station.
We had not eaten yet so the Feast Buffet was our first order of business. And since it was 11:30 already they had mostly lunch selections. I had my usual breakfast fruit along with their cucumber salad before moving on to some Mexican entrees. The tamales and enchiladas were quite tasty. My sister gave a huge “thumbs up” to the cabbage rolls and kielbasa. My BIL went for the lamb shanks and said they were really good too. We had some mighty nice desserts to round it out. I only wanted spumoni ice cream though. It was outstanding.
After breakfast, we wandered around to get the feel of the place and really liked the layout and the selection of games. When we saw the DDB by Johnny Rockets, I knew where I would be playing. They have 10/6 DDB VP in that area. I thought that had disappeared from the universe long ago.
My family wanted to try some games near the Rewards Center but I didn’t think Sue would be there at 12:45. So I said, “I’ll explore some more”. Again I really liked the place. I could really tell which way was which there. I still get turned around a little at Red Rock, especially if I’m really tired.
Shortly after 1:00 I went to the Rewards Center. There was a lady at the counter who was looking down as she did some work, but I didn’t think it was Sue. I always thought that Sue would have very dark hair. So I looked around and saw another lady in her uniform. She was tutoring a man at one of the Non-smoking VP machines. I knew it had to be Sue. She had black hair just like her grandsons whose pictures are in her signature line.
She was busy so I waited for her to finish serving her customer. As she started to walk back to the counter, I approached her and, introduced myself by name. I offered my hand to shake and as she took it, she asked, “Do I know you?” In that instant she looked so much like my mother’s sister did about 30 years ago, I had to remind myself that she didn’t know me.
I said,”You know me by Cyndee…ta on LVA”. Then it was clear she recognized me. I was just so pleased to meet her and thank her for all the good information she has shared on LVA. I so much appreciate the way she comes on with answers and suggestions. She is also fun to play trivia games with. She had a few compliments for me as well. But, she had a job to do and I didn’t want to take too much of her time. So, I wished her well and went over to my family nearby.
When I told them I would be over by Johnny Rockets, we planned on another 45 minutes of play before leaving Aliante Station. My BIL said he would play there too and went to the same bank of DDB. His usual games are JOB or Bonus Poker. So he wasn’t happy with his play there and decided to go find Liz (my sister). My twenty was fading fast, so I said that I might be changing games soon too. Then I stuck in another twenty as a leap of faith. I could just cash out if it wasn’t working out.
A few minutes later I got quad 3s with a four. YAHOO! While the credits were added to my total, I did something I have never done before. I had a camera with me for a change. So, I turned it on and snapped a picture of the screen. I was so excited to get a bonus quad, I snapped from two angles. It’s a good thing since one picture shows a flash over one of the threes.
Soon I got anther quad. This time they were fives. So I snapped another picture. I just wanted to have pictures of all the quads I could get. I had so much fun at that machine, I lost track of time. When my family came to get me, we compared notes and decided to give them another half hour of play.
After about 20 minutes, I got another bonus quad, again 3s with a four. I snapped a photo of this one too. When the time was up, my family came around again. So I TITOed out. When my sister looked at the screen, she was pleased to see that I was cashing out $400.00 dollars and change.
It was my turn to leave a casino with a good win. We were satisfied and said we would be interested in staying here sometime. When I told them how nice it was to meet Sue, my sister said,” I’d like to meet her too.” So we walked toward the Rewards Center on our way out.
As we approached, the other lady at the counter waved at us. So, my sister thought it was Sue and started to address her. I said Sue is over here and walk toward her. I hope I didn’t offend the other lady, because soon, I realize that I should have talked to her as well. It’s not like me to ignore anyone. I guess a little sleep deficit makes me kind thoughtless. I never even asked her name.
Anyway, I introduced my family to Sue and told her how much we enjoyed playing at Aliante. I was also sure to mention that they too benefit from all the tips and information that Sue and others on these forums have given me.
She was very gracious about saying we should look at the pool area. You see, I know how much others like to visit nice pools and hang out there. But, my complexion will not tolerate a lot of sun exposure.But I had already decided that I wanted to try staying there in the future. We left a little later than planned, but we left happy.
It was time for some “Downtown” fun. It took us a little longer to find our way than we thought, but finally we got there. We started to park at Plaza, but found out their parking fee was non-refundable now.
So, we parked at GN since they allow 3 hours for free if you validate your ticket at the cage. I had never been in their parking area before, so I got a better idea how big the place is. It took several minutes to walk through while we admired the place. It’s quite nice, but a little bit garish for my taste. They have a lot of golden toned metal that glittered in the sunlight. It was good I had my “Kill Phil” hat on to cut the glare a little. We didn’t want to play at GN, but it was easy to manage parking there for the late afternoon.
Our first order of business was to see what was going on at Plaza. We have stayed there several times and I really enjoyed the games there. There was a photo of one of the new rooms posted in the check in area. It looked much like what you see on their website, but the colors looked more purple than brown. Maybe there are a few different color schemes to the new rooms. It looks pretty nice with the new furniture and we look forward to giving them a try when they are done.
I was prepared to see a dead casino floor and a lot of dust and noise. But, there was also an unpleasant smell near the area where the construction crew was having a conversation. We figured there was a septic leak somewhere.
We headed on over to the Vegas Club to use our free play coupons and try their games. We weren’t familiar with their casino and we were disappointed in the selection of game. So, we only spent about 45 minutes and I lost thirty dollars after my free play ran out. What to do next?
About that time my sister says, “We need to go back to Aliante.” It turns out that Dan (my BIL) still had a $37.00 TITO from there. But, he decided to go alone and let us enjoy some play instead. He thought it would only take about an hour, so he agreed to call when he got back to GN. Then we could continue our downtown visit together.
I said, “I want to go to Golden Gate next”. She agreed with me and off we went. It was a little busy for a Monday afternoon at GG. I wanted to play Black Jack and maybe a few slots. My sister wanted to play VP for a half hour, so I told her to look for me at the tables. I got my match play chip at the slot club booth and found a table to play.
My little $60.00 dollar buy in lasted pretty well, but I lost on the match play bet as usual. When Sis came by, she said that Dan called to say he was stuck in traffic coming back from Aliante. So, we could do what we want without worrying about time. We decided to stay at GG another half hour or so and meet at the door. That’s when I started to win a little at Black Jack.
My stack grew back to the original $60.00, and then to $90.00, so I colored out. It was fun but I wanted to see the rest of the casino and maybe try some new slot machines. But, nothing appealed to me.
When we caught up with each other at the door, we compared notes. I was happy to report that I was had won back the money I spent at Vegas Club. Then, Dan called and we thought we should be getting back to GN, so we started that way.
We stopped in a gift shop along the way to browse a bit. Then we got over to GN to meet up with Dan. What to do now? We debated between El Cortez and Four Queens. Four Queens won out and off we went.
We split up at the door. I went to the slot club booth to redeem a coupon and the line was outrageously long. It moved pretty fast, thankfully. With my $10.00 free play, I chose an old Reel quarter machine called “Triple Double Wild Cherry”. That didn’t last long, so I found a penny “Wheel of fortune” machine and sat down. My first ten wasn’t doing much for me at first, even playing just one coin per line. But a few nice bonus rounds came up. So, I left the machine with a $30.00 TITO. By that time we were all ready to go back to Red Rock. It was almost 8:00 pm and we hadn’t eaten since our late breakfast.
Back at the room, I pulled out another Free Buffet coupon, but by the time we got to the Buffet they were closed for the evening. We tried the Grand Café and it was okay.
It was one of very few meals where we paid full price. The service was good and selections were decent. My sister and her husband had sandwiches that they enjoyed, but I chose the Spaghetti and Meatballs and it was too much food. So I ate the salad, the meatballs and just a few noodles. It came with dessert on the special, so we took some cheesecake up to the room. It was very good the next day when we shared it for a snack.
After dinner I was tired from a long day without a nap so, I only to played for a short time. I enjoyed walking around to get my legs stretched and stopped at a few machines to try them. Nothing was paying me, and I was getting bored. A short visit to a three card poker table was not any fun either.
I was heading for the elevators when I saw a decent machine to play some DDB. The pay table was 9/6. That’s the best I can usually find. Outside of Aliante’s “Optimum” ones, that is. The machine was throwing me a bone once in a while. A couple of full houses, a few straights and several trips. I was getting bored with it and down to my last $1.25 from my twenty. Wouldn’t you know it? Finally a quad, just jacks. I left after snapping a picture.
I walked around some more and put a ten in a “Hex Breaker“machine and that was just okay. Around midnight I just wanted to sleep. I was in bed by 12:30.
Tuesday January 25, 2011:
This was our last full day in Vegas and we were moving to I.P., so we packed early and planned to visit Palace Station for breakfast and some play. From there we wanted to play a little at Silverton before seeing Mac King at Harrah’s.
We got to Palace Station around 10:30 am and enjoyed another 3 breakfasts for the price of one. Right about now, you must be thinking,”Aren’t they tired of buffets by now?” We were not. At least not yet. The Feast Buffets at the Stations properties really are that good, at least as far as we are concerned.
After breakfast, we went our separate ways and planned to meet where we came into the building in about 45 minutes. By that time it was already coming up on noon. I wish there was something interesting to write about our time in Palace Station Casino, but I’m afraid there isn’t.
There was a misunderstanding and some technical difficulties that delayed our departure from Palace Station. It ate up some of our early afternoon time, so, we decided to not go to Silverton until we were on our way out of town on Wednesday.
By the time we drove out of the parking lot we had plenty of time to get to I.P. and try to check in before seeing Mac King’s 3:00 show. It’s a good thing since we had to drive around looking for where we should park at Imperial Palace. We parked in a garage that was better for casino visitors than for Hotel guests. But that lesson was well learned. Remember, if you are staying at their hotel, park in the Main Garage. That way you can get to your room with your luggage much quicker.
It turned out that they had a room ready for us right away and we got one in a good location. It was a”Classic Room” (nothing fancy) #823 far away from Carnival Court. I have heard stories about how confusing the elevator layout is. But, this was simple to remember. We went to the hall behind “Fat Tuesday” and there it was. The room was very close to the elevator too.
After we got set up in the room and we ate the cheesecake and some buttered bread we saved from last night’s dinner, then we grabbed our coupons. That’s when my sister brought up a point. They were aware of how much I contributed by using my comps to book the rooms and get so many free meals. So, this outing was on them, at least as far as out of pocket costs. We used coupons for free admission with the purchase of a $10.00 drink.
I have seen Mac King’s act once before, but wanted to see it again. There is a lot of audience participation and every audience is different. So, I knew I would enjoy it because I knew some of what would happen, or was supposed to happen. That is if the audience cooperated as planned.
It was hilarious when he called up a woman to help him with a rope trick gag. Again we laughed at the woman who signed the back side of a card before putting it back in the deck. Mac King kidded her about making it harder to find the card. And his shadow puppets routine is so funny, especially when a kid is on stage with him.
After the show Sis and BIL bought some stuff for a child’s birthday gift and Mac King signed it for them. He is a very personable guy. Back in 2009, I saw his show and asked him if I remembered correctly that he did some close-up magic on the mezzanine of Silver Legacy in March of 1997. I swear it was he who showed me a coin trick. He said that he was playing Reno about that time, and he wasn’t quite sure about the details, but it was definitely possible.
It was about 5:00 when we went back to the room. We took a nap and tried to figure out where to eat. We settled on trying I.P.’s buffet. I know what you’re thinking. I noticed a lot of badmouthing of every eating establishment on the property on these forums. But, we had to see for ourselves. Most of the food was poorly lit and looked awful. Some items looked dried out and there was a lack of garnishes. It was just plain terrible presentation.
I suppose we were also kind of “buffeted out” by then too. The salads and entrees lacked flavor. But, the desserts were a different story. I had a tiny key lime tart that was worthy of a second helping. My BIL had a really yummy slice of something my sister calls a decadence. It’s a very moist cake-like desert that has a very dark chocolate flavor.
We speculated that all Harrah’s properties might get their desserts from a common source. We know that Rio has good ones on their buffet too. Or at least they used to. It’s been a long time since we’ve been there.
Our last night in Vegas, we stayed inside the building. I was pretty tired by then and didn’t want to be far from the room. I was saving my Christmas Bonus to play Three Card Poker on my last night there.
But first I wanted to try some Quarter VP. I found a machine with a 9/5 pay table for DDB. Sadly there were no 9/6 ones there.
The 9/5 machine was pretty good to me for a little while. I got several full houses that kept me going and built up my credits until I finally hit a quad. It was only Jacks again, but I was happy. After that it went down hill. So, off I went looking for some fun.
Then I went to the Three Card Poker Table with hopes of having a good time and maybe coming out ahead. I saw the guy next to me get a straight flush with a huge (to me) payout. It must have been about $800.00. I didn’t do very well and after my stack got down to $40.00, I left.
The penny slots were fun for a while, but I was growing weary. At about 11:00 pm I walked by my sister and we compared notes. She told me she was done and said good night. I found a “Sun and Moon” game and decided to play it. That is whenever the lady who was playing it left. Until then I looked for something else to play.
I noticed several games that had multi-denominations. But I didn’t notice that they started at five cents. One looked good, so I sat down and put in a five. It was a nine line machine with up to five coins per line. I tried it on full coin, thinking it was a forty-five cent spin. The resulting pay was more than I thought it would be. So I checked and sure enough I had paid $2.25 for it. Nice surprise, but too much risk. I’m sure glad it wasn’t set for quarters. I left with my winnings.
I check on the “Sun and Moon” and the lady was just cashing out. So I took my seat and started to play. My ten dollar bill was lasting okay for a while, but my credits started to run out.
I was down to about $0.80 when I hit a free spin bonus with four wild symbols. One was a golden “Sun”. I don’t remember how many spins it gave me, but I sat and watched the game play out for quite a while. I left the machine with the same amount I put in it.
That was it for me. I was happy to go to bed with part of the days bankroll still in my pocket. I wish it would have been that simple. Only there was a problem with the door lock and it was another 45 minutes before I got into the room.
The desk clerk first tried to blame it on my key getting demagnetized. The second key she gave me stayed in my hand until I returned it as well. The next clerk I talked to said the door must have been locked from the inside. But I knew that that was not the case either. I finally ended up calling my BIL to ask him to let me in. He said that my sister’s key didn’t work either. He tried his and it was unanimous. The lock was the problem all along.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011:
When we left the next morning, I checked out at the front desk and told them that the lock needed to be fixed. I would not listen to anymore ifs ands or buts. The clerk made a note on her scratch pad and said it would be taken care of.
Now don’t get me wrong. I still like I.P.’s casino and wouldn’t mind staying there again. But, I might try Bally’s or Flamingo next time I use one of Harrah’s free room offers.
We headed out to Silverton at about 10:00 am. My BIL wanted to shop at Bass Pro shop and we all wanted to eat breakfast at their Buffet. It’s just too bad that we can’t seem to figure out when their buffet is open. It has been closed every single time we show up. Once again we got breakfast at their Sundance Café. It was good last time, so why not?
The waffle I had was okay but not as good as last time. I’m glad the rest of my family had a very good meal. Otherwise I’d have to chalk it up to me being cranky or something. His Chicken fried steak was excellent. It was huge too, so he shared it with us. We always give a taste of our meals to each other when we like the food. Her ham steak was great as well and so big that she put three quarters of it between toast slices for the road.
After our meal, he went to the store and she and I went to the machines. It was as dead as a good gopher in the casino that morning. There must have been only about ten people on the entire floor.
A machine called “Double Happiness” caught my eye. It had an Asian theme and I liked the look of the dragon painted on the top of it. It was right next to a buffalo machine that a man was playing.
I tried not to let it distract me, but I was amused by the way the man played. He would rub the screen when a wild symbol showed up during a spin. And between spins he was crossing himself and kissing a rosary. I never noticed anyone doing that before.
The “Double Happiness” machine got boring, so I walked around a little. Then I spotted a “Sun and Moon” machine and realized it was the very one that I played the first time I played that game. It was on the isle and two machines down from another one.
I played it for a while and finished exactly even for the day. I was done with slot machines at that point. I just did not want anymore gaming. I found my sister near the exit playing a game I didn’t recognize. She was having fun and I watched and rooted for her.
When Dan got back, we compared notes and left Silverton. The drive back to California was beautiful as always. And the ham sandwich was very tasty when lunch time came.
One thing about this trip that was a plus was the weather. It was beautiful every single day. There were only high clouds and the temps were just right. Of course I enjoyed all the freebies and trying new things. I spent less than I budgeted, which is always good. And of course I got to meet Sue Casey. It was a pleasure all the way around.
