First time writing trip report so please bear with me as I figure out my "style/format". Little bit of personal history - we are low rollers and usually play penny machines (not max bet) and live keno so if you are expecting a trip report on us winning huge sums of money or a Westie food experience then best you stop reading now. Part of the enjoyment/challenge I get from our trips to Las Vegas is how inexpensively I can do this trip - Jean Scott is a woman after my own heart !
We flew out of Bellingham,WA via Allegiant on the 7 am flight. We were up in the wee hours to leave the house by 3:30 am as we live in British Columbia and had to cross the border into the USA and be at the airport by 5 am. Flight left on time and was uneventful - flying time is only about 2 1/2 hours so it is not a long flight. For the first time ever we had to wait and wait for our luggage - took about half an hour for the checked luggage to start popping up on the carousel. We have flown this airline numerous times and the longest we ever had to wait before was possibly 5 minutes.
As per the norm we took the shuttle from the airport downtown - the shuttle stopped at a couple of places - MGM, Imperial Palace,etc but we don't mind - get a little bit of a free tour of the strip and talk to some of our fellow passengers on the ride. One older man was taking his grandson on his first trip to Las Vegas - evidently a tradition in his family and it was interesting to watch the grandson gawking out the window as grandpa pointed out various casinos. Our shuttle driver said he had been driving the shuttle for about 3 years - his main occupation was construction but construction jobs had dried up and he was doing what he had to do to have an income coming in.
Check in at the D went smoothly - we had received an offer of 2 free nights with 2 night minimum stay ( $27 per night),$15 free slot play, $5 food credit and $20 match play. Not big by some standards but we appreciate the offers given what low rollers we are. We were given room 1523 - king bed still in half decent shape . This was a non renovated room that looked out towards the canopy for the Fremont Street Experience - could see the El Cortez and rooftop where the people who are going on the zipline enter. The only thing new in the room was the toilet but hey, we are not fussy people. Check in desk clerk says all renovations will be complete in November sometime and all rooms will have either new king or queen size beds.
By this time it is about 11:30 am and we are starving so we went to the Courtyard Grill and each of us had a turkey burger - used 2 for 1 coupon from American Casino Guide - price $18.72 but only $9.46 with the coupon.
OUr routine is we normally play keno for 8 games each while we are having our meal - play way tickets at .50 way for cost of $1.50 each game ( for each of us) - total cost for 8 games is $24. Last trip in January my husband hit his 5 spot the 2nd game in for a win of over $400. but this time around we only both his a 3 spot for a total win of $46. What the heck - it paid for the 8 games and gave us a little extra for Keno later.
We then played a few penny slots upstairs on the 2nd floor - I enjoy the game Creatures from the Planet Moolah - a cascading game that if you match 3 symbols you get some points , they "disappear" and the symbols on the line above drop down and new symbols appear on the top line. Cow symbols are wild and if they help in a match they make a moo sound. There is potential for 1 spin to rack up some hefty points and as each match is made on the initial spin they are tracked - after 5 consequtive spins you can win free games , etc. If things are going your way you can play/entertain yourself on a $5 initial input for a long time. Played for quite some time and cashed out $10 + ahead. I was busy playing on my initial $5 while my husband was busy running through $25 on assorted machines to no avail.
Note on the 2nd floor of the D - so far no renovations have hit here - the Sigma Derby is not in place yet , they have several coin dropper machines but also have a couple of the newer penny machines - 2 versions of Monopoly and a Yahtzee plus some Hot Hot Penny Slots with respin feature. The music upstairs is not the same as downstairs - one of the supervisors at the keno area said it is a completely different sound sytem. The volume was not nearly as loud and as my husband said played a lot of "golden oldies and old time rock and roll". I guess they are trying to appeal to both the younger generation on the main floor and the generation that has given the former Fitgeralds past business on the second floor.
We also played at El Cortez using $10 free slot play (LVA). I enjoy playing the Quick Hits machines at El Cortez - they have an older version of the Quick Hits that the max bet is only .60 per spin . In a past trip in Oct 2011 I put my normal $5 in to start and 2nd spin in matched 8 quick hit symbols for $637.69 so of course each trip I try that game again. This time I took $65.27 out of the machine on my initial $5 investment. We have found on our last couple of trips that we are enjoying playing at the El Cortez more and more - it seems as if they have updated several of their slots and are getting newer ones in.
Meandered down to the California and played slots for awhile - husband played a penny machine called Gems, Gems, Gems - put $20 in and cashed out $75. so he felt like a winner.
We also enjoy playing at Binions - they have a promotion on called the Mother Lode ( this promotion has been going on for a year now I think) . Earn slot points and after you attain certain level you can swipe your slot card and get a spin for chance to win various prizes. Everyone is a winner - varies from free drink at bar , free slot play, food credit at their deli or sit down area in the middle of casino to a "gift". Gift depends on the level of your spin - could be a deck of cards, keychain, T shirt, etc. Food credit on the higher levels can be $20 off at Binion's Steakhouse. I believe you need minimum of 5 slot points to qualify for your 1st spin level and you can have up to 3 spins each day. This is in addition to earning comps for food credit and accumulating slot points for cash back, etc. Being low rollers I like to feel our business is appreciated.
I keep quite detailed records on what we spend playing Keno, food and coupons we use - used to do the same for slot play but the last couple of trips it just seemed to me like too much work - always had my little book out jotting figures down, especially if we weren't winning ! so gave that up.
Supper that evening was at Binions - won a 2 for 1 meal on Motherlode swipe. Balance was $8.96 - paid with comps.
Recap for end of the day : Keno spent $57 , won $47; Slots - no big winners to brag about; Coupons used - 2 for 1 @ Courtyard Grill, 2 for 1 Motherlode win at Binions.
It had been a long 1st day as we had been up so early so we were in our about 10 pm - Fremont Street Experience music still playing but was not bothersome.
Tuesday, May 8,2012
Won't go into as much detail as day 1.
Meals - Breakfast at Courtyard Grill at the D $13.76 less $5 food credit - paid $8.36, Passed on lunch as we weren't hungry so had early supper at Main Street Buffet. No big wins for us - Keno spent $78 won $52.50; Coupons used - 2 for 1 buffet at Main Street Station ( Fremont Street Experience website) $29.11 paid $15.12; $15 free play from the D ; $10 free slot play El Cortez ( LVA)
Wednesday, May 9,2012
Meals: Breakfast at Courtyard Grill -$13.76 - paid with comps; Lunch - bowl of soup at Courtyard Grill $10.27 - paid with comps; Supper at Binions as my husband won $15. food credit with Motherlode swipe - covered entire bill. Keno spent $84, won $109.50. Coupons used $10. free slot play at Four Queens (LVA). We used to give more slot play and play Keno at the Four Queens and even stayed there a few times in the past but they do not have a loyalty program set up for Keno so our play there has diminished over the years. We used to easily spend $100 to $150 per day on Keno plus our slot play and would never get any kind of offers, started giving Keno play that was tracked at the Fitzgeralds around 2009 and they started sending us offers so that is where our business started to go. I know the same people now own Binions but we just feel our business is more appreciated at either Binions or Fitzgeralds/The D.
Thursday, May 10,2012 - Last full day in Las Vegas
Meals: Breakfast at Courtyard Grill $13.76 - paid with comps; Lunch at Binions $12.32 - paid with comps; Supper at Fremont Paradise Buffet using 2 for 1 coupon (Fremont Street Experience) $29.11 paid $15.12. Keno spent $84., won $98.50
Friday, May 11,2012
Breakfast Courtyard Grill $13.76, Lunch at Burger King at Airport $14.78.
Our flight left Las Vegas about 12:30 pm - was uneventful until approx 30 minutes out of Bellingham when one of the passengers had a medical emergency. She had an allergic reaction to something she ate at the airport - took some Benedryl she had to try to control but she just kept getting worse. Flight attendants found a fireman on board with medical training who changed seats to be near her, they had to get oxygen down and ambulance met the plane as soon as it landed so we all had to stay seated until she was off the plane. She was so swelled up she didn't even look like the same person who boarded ( she was only 3 rows in front of us) and couldn't stand on her own. Hope all ended up OK for her.
Thoughts/Recap
The long bar is really loooooong all right - for those of you who have not seen it yet it runs lengthwise along the wall from the McDonalds back towards the players club/front desk check in area. It does not extend that far , stops before some slots in the area before the players club but they displaced some of the slots that were in that area to accomodate it. I like the look of the long bar and to my mind I think it makes entry into McDonald's much easier. When the area was filled with slot machines it was sometimes difficult to get into McDonald's from the casino floor. My only issue with the main floor of the D is noise/music volume - we used to like playing some of the machines by the cashier's cage but they have the volume cranked up so loud and there are speakers directly above. We used to play some table games ( blackjack, Let It Ride) but find it too loud so gave them no play this trip. The keno supervisor told me that from what she heard when the renovations are complete there may be a couple of tables on the 2nd floor so will see our next trip in the fall.
I felt our business was appreciated at the D but hope they can improve the food at the Courtyard Grill. One breakfast I had ( scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast) was great - food was hot and tasty but the next morning must have had a different cook on as my scramble eggs were the worst I have eaten and hash browns were barely warm. They were not overly busy so don't know why - maybe someone just didn't care ? The soup we had for lunch was tasty and hot. The last couple of trips that we have stayed there I felt that the food has gone downhill while prices have gone up and I don't consider us fussy people - I'm just happy to have someone else prepare the meal !
Enjoyed the Main Street Buffet dinner. Was a little disappointed in the Fremont Paradise Buffet for their supper - they do not have the same amount of space as Main Street so their salad bar and choices of entrees are not as big. In future I think I would do the Fremont Paradise Buffet for the breakfast or lunch buffet and the Main Street Station for dinner.
Hope you didn't find this too boring. I have been a "lurker" on the boards for some time - have enjoyed reading other peoples trip reports but never contributed and felt that was time to change. Our next trip will probably be in the fall sometime. We try to go at least twice a year, sometimes 3 times if we are lucky.
We flew out of Bellingham,WA via Allegiant on the 7 am flight. We were up in the wee hours to leave the house by 3:30 am as we live in British Columbia and had to cross the border into the USA and be at the airport by 5 am. Flight left on time and was uneventful - flying time is only about 2 1/2 hours so it is not a long flight. For the first time ever we had to wait and wait for our luggage - took about half an hour for the checked luggage to start popping up on the carousel. We have flown this airline numerous times and the longest we ever had to wait before was possibly 5 minutes.
As per the norm we took the shuttle from the airport downtown - the shuttle stopped at a couple of places - MGM, Imperial Palace,etc but we don't mind - get a little bit of a free tour of the strip and talk to some of our fellow passengers on the ride. One older man was taking his grandson on his first trip to Las Vegas - evidently a tradition in his family and it was interesting to watch the grandson gawking out the window as grandpa pointed out various casinos. Our shuttle driver said he had been driving the shuttle for about 3 years - his main occupation was construction but construction jobs had dried up and he was doing what he had to do to have an income coming in.
Check in at the D went smoothly - we had received an offer of 2 free nights with 2 night minimum stay ( $27 per night),$15 free slot play, $5 food credit and $20 match play. Not big by some standards but we appreciate the offers given what low rollers we are. We were given room 1523 - king bed still in half decent shape . This was a non renovated room that looked out towards the canopy for the Fremont Street Experience - could see the El Cortez and rooftop where the people who are going on the zipline enter. The only thing new in the room was the toilet but hey, we are not fussy people. Check in desk clerk says all renovations will be complete in November sometime and all rooms will have either new king or queen size beds.
By this time it is about 11:30 am and we are starving so we went to the Courtyard Grill and each of us had a turkey burger - used 2 for 1 coupon from American Casino Guide - price $18.72 but only $9.46 with the coupon.
OUr routine is we normally play keno for 8 games each while we are having our meal - play way tickets at .50 way for cost of $1.50 each game ( for each of us) - total cost for 8 games is $24. Last trip in January my husband hit his 5 spot the 2nd game in for a win of over $400. but this time around we only both his a 3 spot for a total win of $46. What the heck - it paid for the 8 games and gave us a little extra for Keno later.
We then played a few penny slots upstairs on the 2nd floor - I enjoy the game Creatures from the Planet Moolah - a cascading game that if you match 3 symbols you get some points , they "disappear" and the symbols on the line above drop down and new symbols appear on the top line. Cow symbols are wild and if they help in a match they make a moo sound. There is potential for 1 spin to rack up some hefty points and as each match is made on the initial spin they are tracked - after 5 consequtive spins you can win free games , etc. If things are going your way you can play/entertain yourself on a $5 initial input for a long time. Played for quite some time and cashed out $10 + ahead. I was busy playing on my initial $5 while my husband was busy running through $25 on assorted machines to no avail.
Note on the 2nd floor of the D - so far no renovations have hit here - the Sigma Derby is not in place yet , they have several coin dropper machines but also have a couple of the newer penny machines - 2 versions of Monopoly and a Yahtzee plus some Hot Hot Penny Slots with respin feature. The music upstairs is not the same as downstairs - one of the supervisors at the keno area said it is a completely different sound sytem. The volume was not nearly as loud and as my husband said played a lot of "golden oldies and old time rock and roll". I guess they are trying to appeal to both the younger generation on the main floor and the generation that has given the former Fitgeralds past business on the second floor.
We also played at El Cortez using $10 free slot play (LVA). I enjoy playing the Quick Hits machines at El Cortez - they have an older version of the Quick Hits that the max bet is only .60 per spin . In a past trip in Oct 2011 I put my normal $5 in to start and 2nd spin in matched 8 quick hit symbols for $637.69 so of course each trip I try that game again. This time I took $65.27 out of the machine on my initial $5 investment. We have found on our last couple of trips that we are enjoying playing at the El Cortez more and more - it seems as if they have updated several of their slots and are getting newer ones in.
Meandered down to the California and played slots for awhile - husband played a penny machine called Gems, Gems, Gems - put $20 in and cashed out $75. so he felt like a winner.
We also enjoy playing at Binions - they have a promotion on called the Mother Lode ( this promotion has been going on for a year now I think) . Earn slot points and after you attain certain level you can swipe your slot card and get a spin for chance to win various prizes. Everyone is a winner - varies from free drink at bar , free slot play, food credit at their deli or sit down area in the middle of casino to a "gift". Gift depends on the level of your spin - could be a deck of cards, keychain, T shirt, etc. Food credit on the higher levels can be $20 off at Binion's Steakhouse. I believe you need minimum of 5 slot points to qualify for your 1st spin level and you can have up to 3 spins each day. This is in addition to earning comps for food credit and accumulating slot points for cash back, etc. Being low rollers I like to feel our business is appreciated.
I keep quite detailed records on what we spend playing Keno, food and coupons we use - used to do the same for slot play but the last couple of trips it just seemed to me like too much work - always had my little book out jotting figures down, especially if we weren't winning ! so gave that up.
Supper that evening was at Binions - won a 2 for 1 meal on Motherlode swipe. Balance was $8.96 - paid with comps.
Recap for end of the day : Keno spent $57 , won $47; Slots - no big winners to brag about; Coupons used - 2 for 1 @ Courtyard Grill, 2 for 1 Motherlode win at Binions.
It had been a long 1st day as we had been up so early so we were in our about 10 pm - Fremont Street Experience music still playing but was not bothersome.
Tuesday, May 8,2012
Won't go into as much detail as day 1.
Meals - Breakfast at Courtyard Grill at the D $13.76 less $5 food credit - paid $8.36, Passed on lunch as we weren't hungry so had early supper at Main Street Buffet. No big wins for us - Keno spent $78 won $52.50; Coupons used - 2 for 1 buffet at Main Street Station ( Fremont Street Experience website) $29.11 paid $15.12; $15 free play from the D ; $10 free slot play El Cortez ( LVA)
Wednesday, May 9,2012
Meals: Breakfast at Courtyard Grill -$13.76 - paid with comps; Lunch - bowl of soup at Courtyard Grill $10.27 - paid with comps; Supper at Binions as my husband won $15. food credit with Motherlode swipe - covered entire bill. Keno spent $84, won $109.50. Coupons used $10. free slot play at Four Queens (LVA). We used to give more slot play and play Keno at the Four Queens and even stayed there a few times in the past but they do not have a loyalty program set up for Keno so our play there has diminished over the years. We used to easily spend $100 to $150 per day on Keno plus our slot play and would never get any kind of offers, started giving Keno play that was tracked at the Fitzgeralds around 2009 and they started sending us offers so that is where our business started to go. I know the same people now own Binions but we just feel our business is more appreciated at either Binions or Fitzgeralds/The D.
Thursday, May 10,2012 - Last full day in Las Vegas
Meals: Breakfast at Courtyard Grill $13.76 - paid with comps; Lunch at Binions $12.32 - paid with comps; Supper at Fremont Paradise Buffet using 2 for 1 coupon (Fremont Street Experience) $29.11 paid $15.12. Keno spent $84., won $98.50
Friday, May 11,2012
Breakfast Courtyard Grill $13.76, Lunch at Burger King at Airport $14.78.
Our flight left Las Vegas about 12:30 pm - was uneventful until approx 30 minutes out of Bellingham when one of the passengers had a medical emergency. She had an allergic reaction to something she ate at the airport - took some Benedryl she had to try to control but she just kept getting worse. Flight attendants found a fireman on board with medical training who changed seats to be near her, they had to get oxygen down and ambulance met the plane as soon as it landed so we all had to stay seated until she was off the plane. She was so swelled up she didn't even look like the same person who boarded ( she was only 3 rows in front of us) and couldn't stand on her own. Hope all ended up OK for her.
Thoughts/Recap
The long bar is really loooooong all right - for those of you who have not seen it yet it runs lengthwise along the wall from the McDonalds back towards the players club/front desk check in area. It does not extend that far , stops before some slots in the area before the players club but they displaced some of the slots that were in that area to accomodate it. I like the look of the long bar and to my mind I think it makes entry into McDonald's much easier. When the area was filled with slot machines it was sometimes difficult to get into McDonald's from the casino floor. My only issue with the main floor of the D is noise/music volume - we used to like playing some of the machines by the cashier's cage but they have the volume cranked up so loud and there are speakers directly above. We used to play some table games ( blackjack, Let It Ride) but find it too loud so gave them no play this trip. The keno supervisor told me that from what she heard when the renovations are complete there may be a couple of tables on the 2nd floor so will see our next trip in the fall.
I felt our business was appreciated at the D but hope they can improve the food at the Courtyard Grill. One breakfast I had ( scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast) was great - food was hot and tasty but the next morning must have had a different cook on as my scramble eggs were the worst I have eaten and hash browns were barely warm. They were not overly busy so don't know why - maybe someone just didn't care ? The soup we had for lunch was tasty and hot. The last couple of trips that we have stayed there I felt that the food has gone downhill while prices have gone up and I don't consider us fussy people - I'm just happy to have someone else prepare the meal !
Enjoyed the Main Street Buffet dinner. Was a little disappointed in the Fremont Paradise Buffet for their supper - they do not have the same amount of space as Main Street so their salad bar and choices of entrees are not as big. In future I think I would do the Fremont Paradise Buffet for the breakfast or lunch buffet and the Main Street Station for dinner.
Hope you didn't find this too boring. I have been a "lurker" on the boards for some time - have enjoyed reading other peoples trip reports but never contributed and felt that was time to change. Our next trip will probably be in the fall sometime. We try to go at least twice a year, sometimes 3 times if we are lucky.
