Trip Report for December 16th – 21st
This was my third trip to Las Vegas in seven months and my 5th trip in the last 18 months. Things have just worked out for me so that I was able to go to my favorite vacation destination a lot over the last several months. I don’t anticipate I’ll be able to go this many times in this time span again soon.
My mother went with me again on this trip so I did a lot of things with her instead of my nonstop gambling I do on solo trips. I lost money on this trip, but not as much as I have previously.
Transportation:
Southwest Airlines from Kansas City. Once again my flight was early as it has been on the last several visits. Trip back was delayed by one day because of snow in Kansas City.
Car Rental:
National. I reserved with both National and Advantage. The price was $45.00 lower with Advantage, but since that company doesn’t have check-in kiosks, I reserved with National as well and when I saw the line I was glad I did. At least 50 people in line at Advantage, not a single person at National. Checked in at the counter because I couldn’t get the reservation pulled up on the kiosk. The clerk told me I was Emerald Club and to proceed to the garage. When I got to the garage I was directed to the row of Economy and Compact cars and told to take any of them. I chose a Toyota Yaris. Since National and Alamo are the same company, I actually took a car from the Alamo lot. I didn’t see that National even had a row of small cars.
Hotel:
I had free room offers during this dead week before Christmas, but my mother likes staying at the Golden Nugget so I paid to stay there too. We both had rooms in the Carson Tower. We also spent one night at the Gold Coast that I had comped when our flight was cancelled on the 20th.
Gambling:
I spent the majority of my time playing at Main Street Station, Red Rock and Sam’s Town. I also played a little at South Point, California and Gold Coast. For the fourth time in the last five trips I came home a loser. I play 9/6 Jacks, FPDW and 10/7 DB quarter video poker and am in the midst of the most painful slump I have ever had since I started playing video poker. I have now been without a Royal Flush for three years and am over 150,000 hands without one. I lost $425.00 in five days which has been the least painful trip during my current slump. I did the best at MSS on 10/7 DB. I hit Aces three times and about ten other quads. Between hitting the quads I would rapidly lose it back only to hit another one. At MSS, the player gets a scratch card when hitting a 4 of a kind. Mine were all $2.00. Sometimes I didn’t even bother getting a card because I got tired of waiting for someone to come around and give me one. It was either instantaneous service or none at all which I grew weary of. This has been a constant source of frustration for me at MSS.
Dining:
Main Street Station Champagne Brunch. I got a two for one at the Fremont Street web site. I would give this buffet a C+ or B-. Just slightly above average but the best in downtown Las Vegas.
Sugar Factory at the Paris Hotel: I had a very good ice cream sundae, but like everything there it is vastly overpriced. Grade B-.
Red Rock Breakfast buffet (comped). Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch have increased prices on their buffets, while Palace and Texas have lowered theirs. The other Station Properties are the same. There is very little difference in quality and selection between the breakfast buffets at Station Casinos. Maybe just a slightly higher level of presentation at Red Rock, but if you want breakfast, go to the closest Station. Grade B-.
American Coney Island at The D. It costs $3.75 for a very good hotdog, but that’s a little steep in my book. Grade B-.
Lanai Express Hotdog at the Fremont. $3.50 for a giant hotdog and Pepsi. This one reminds me of the Lady Luck and Westward Ho monster dogs. It’s just huge but is of average quality but is a great value. Grade B-.
Market Street Café, California. I had the Prime Rib special. It comes with 8 oz. prime rib, vegetable and potato. You also get an all you can eat salad bar and cherries jubilee for $9.99. I’ve had this one many times over the years and it’s a pretty good, but not great meal at a decent price. Grade B-.
Boulder Station breakfast buffet (comped). This is every bit as good as Red Rock but costs just $4.99 with a Boarding Pass Card. I am comped at Stations so it’s even better. Great Value there. Grade A-.
Triple Seven Brew Pub at MSS: I had a hamburger, onion rings and pop. The hamburger is cooked to order which I like. I ordered medium and that’s what I got. Didn’t think the O-rings were very good and thought the entire thing was vastly overpriced. Grade D+.
Golden Nugget breakfast buffet. Not much selection and also extremely overpriced. Grade D.
Golden Nugget lunch buffet. Again not much selection but the quality is better. Grade C+.
Carson Street Café, Golden Nugget. This coffee shop had been shut down just a few days before I ate there due to a roach infestation. It was open but uncrowded every day I walked by. Whether that was because of the roaches or because of the slowest week of the year, I don’t know. I had Loco Moco which is the greatest gift our 50th state has given us. I love this dish. Grade A-.
TGI Fridays, Gold Coast. I ate on a Tuesday night at 9pm and there were five people in the entire restaurant, but it took me 25 minutes to get served. It cost me $14.05 for a hamburger, fries and pop. Ridiculous price and service. Grade – F.
Rio Carnival World Buffet( lunch). My mother wanted to eat at the Carnival World Buffet and offered to pay for it so we walked over there for lunch one day from the Gold Coast. The food was actually a little better there than when I ate there in May. I like that you can swipe a credit card at a place in line without having to wait behind the people with coupons. The Rio has lots of American foods that I enjoy, but it is incredibly overpriced. Grade B- for the food, and F for value.
Gold Coast-Breakfast buffet. I've never been a fan of the Gold Coast's buffet. Average food, but fine if you're staying there as I was. Grade C+.
Del Mar Deli at the South Point Hotel: Very good sandwich but on the expensive side. Grade B.
(As a side note one day I decided I would try the new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s. I’m not exaggerating when I say there must have been 400 people in line. You don’t value your time much if you’re willing to stand in line for two or three hours to eat a buffet. I’d like to eat there sometime, but I’m not standing in a line that long.)
Random Thoughts:
I’d like to hit another Royal Flush again in my lifetime
The temperature controls at the Golden Nugget have either A/C or heat. No way to just let in outside air.
The Gold Coast controls do.
I like drinking comped, ice-cold beer while playing video poker.
I hate having to get up to take a leak every 30 minutes because I've been drinking comped, ice-cold beer while playing video poker.
There were some very aggressive panhandlers downtown.
The service on scratch cards needs improvement at MSS.
Thank goodness for the car rental kiosks at National.
Boulder Station buffet is a fantastic value.
Please Boyd Gaming, get rid of TGI Fridays and put back in your own coffee shops.
I got stranded by the weather an extra day in town which allowed me to donate more money to the LV economy.
I hate upright video poker machines.
Sam’s Town, MSS and Red Rock have the games I like in slant tops.
VERY slow this week in Las Vegas and I like it like that.
The new I-15 heading south out of town is great.
The Spaghetti Bowl still sucks.
Eff you to SW airlines for screwing up my rebooking after cancelling the flight and making me wait in line again.
IMO, there is NO buffet worth a two hour wait no matter how good it is.
I hate winter. The last FIVE trips I have made to Las Vegas in the winter have resulted in my flight being cancelled or significantly delayed. I’m not going out there again during snow season.
I played a huge amount of money through at MSS. My offers should improve there.
Every breakfast buffet I visited has my favorite: Huevos con Chorizo. I liked Boulder Station’s the best.
Red Rock is my favorite casino.
As usual, great fountain show and Conservatory display at Bellagio.
There was a HUGE Asian tourist group staying at Bellagio all wearing green shirts.
Maybe they were Notre Dame fans.
I made a winning bet on my favorite team - the Kansas Jayhawks.
I saw Rick Harrison from “Pawn Stars” at a gas station when I was refueling my rental car.
As on every trip, people make cell phone calls in food lines, and standing at the bottom of escalators while not caring less about anyone behind them.
Next trip: Spring 2013.
Hope you enjoyed the report.
This was my third trip to Las Vegas in seven months and my 5th trip in the last 18 months. Things have just worked out for me so that I was able to go to my favorite vacation destination a lot over the last several months. I don’t anticipate I’ll be able to go this many times in this time span again soon.
My mother went with me again on this trip so I did a lot of things with her instead of my nonstop gambling I do on solo trips. I lost money on this trip, but not as much as I have previously.
Transportation:
Southwest Airlines from Kansas City. Once again my flight was early as it has been on the last several visits. Trip back was delayed by one day because of snow in Kansas City.
Car Rental:
National. I reserved with both National and Advantage. The price was $45.00 lower with Advantage, but since that company doesn’t have check-in kiosks, I reserved with National as well and when I saw the line I was glad I did. At least 50 people in line at Advantage, not a single person at National. Checked in at the counter because I couldn’t get the reservation pulled up on the kiosk. The clerk told me I was Emerald Club and to proceed to the garage. When I got to the garage I was directed to the row of Economy and Compact cars and told to take any of them. I chose a Toyota Yaris. Since National and Alamo are the same company, I actually took a car from the Alamo lot. I didn’t see that National even had a row of small cars.
Hotel:
I had free room offers during this dead week before Christmas, but my mother likes staying at the Golden Nugget so I paid to stay there too. We both had rooms in the Carson Tower. We also spent one night at the Gold Coast that I had comped when our flight was cancelled on the 20th.
Gambling:
I spent the majority of my time playing at Main Street Station, Red Rock and Sam’s Town. I also played a little at South Point, California and Gold Coast. For the fourth time in the last five trips I came home a loser. I play 9/6 Jacks, FPDW and 10/7 DB quarter video poker and am in the midst of the most painful slump I have ever had since I started playing video poker. I have now been without a Royal Flush for three years and am over 150,000 hands without one. I lost $425.00 in five days which has been the least painful trip during my current slump. I did the best at MSS on 10/7 DB. I hit Aces three times and about ten other quads. Between hitting the quads I would rapidly lose it back only to hit another one. At MSS, the player gets a scratch card when hitting a 4 of a kind. Mine were all $2.00. Sometimes I didn’t even bother getting a card because I got tired of waiting for someone to come around and give me one. It was either instantaneous service or none at all which I grew weary of. This has been a constant source of frustration for me at MSS.
Dining:
Main Street Station Champagne Brunch. I got a two for one at the Fremont Street web site. I would give this buffet a C+ or B-. Just slightly above average but the best in downtown Las Vegas.
Sugar Factory at the Paris Hotel: I had a very good ice cream sundae, but like everything there it is vastly overpriced. Grade B-.
Red Rock Breakfast buffet (comped). Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch have increased prices on their buffets, while Palace and Texas have lowered theirs. The other Station Properties are the same. There is very little difference in quality and selection between the breakfast buffets at Station Casinos. Maybe just a slightly higher level of presentation at Red Rock, but if you want breakfast, go to the closest Station. Grade B-.
American Coney Island at The D. It costs $3.75 for a very good hotdog, but that’s a little steep in my book. Grade B-.
Lanai Express Hotdog at the Fremont. $3.50 for a giant hotdog and Pepsi. This one reminds me of the Lady Luck and Westward Ho monster dogs. It’s just huge but is of average quality but is a great value. Grade B-.
Market Street Café, California. I had the Prime Rib special. It comes with 8 oz. prime rib, vegetable and potato. You also get an all you can eat salad bar and cherries jubilee for $9.99. I’ve had this one many times over the years and it’s a pretty good, but not great meal at a decent price. Grade B-.
Boulder Station breakfast buffet (comped). This is every bit as good as Red Rock but costs just $4.99 with a Boarding Pass Card. I am comped at Stations so it’s even better. Great Value there. Grade A-.
Triple Seven Brew Pub at MSS: I had a hamburger, onion rings and pop. The hamburger is cooked to order which I like. I ordered medium and that’s what I got. Didn’t think the O-rings were very good and thought the entire thing was vastly overpriced. Grade D+.
Golden Nugget breakfast buffet. Not much selection and also extremely overpriced. Grade D.
Golden Nugget lunch buffet. Again not much selection but the quality is better. Grade C+.
Carson Street Café, Golden Nugget. This coffee shop had been shut down just a few days before I ate there due to a roach infestation. It was open but uncrowded every day I walked by. Whether that was because of the roaches or because of the slowest week of the year, I don’t know. I had Loco Moco which is the greatest gift our 50th state has given us. I love this dish. Grade A-.
TGI Fridays, Gold Coast. I ate on a Tuesday night at 9pm and there were five people in the entire restaurant, but it took me 25 minutes to get served. It cost me $14.05 for a hamburger, fries and pop. Ridiculous price and service. Grade – F.
Rio Carnival World Buffet( lunch). My mother wanted to eat at the Carnival World Buffet and offered to pay for it so we walked over there for lunch one day from the Gold Coast. The food was actually a little better there than when I ate there in May. I like that you can swipe a credit card at a place in line without having to wait behind the people with coupons. The Rio has lots of American foods that I enjoy, but it is incredibly overpriced. Grade B- for the food, and F for value.
Gold Coast-Breakfast buffet. I've never been a fan of the Gold Coast's buffet. Average food, but fine if you're staying there as I was. Grade C+.
Del Mar Deli at the South Point Hotel: Very good sandwich but on the expensive side. Grade B.
(As a side note one day I decided I would try the new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s. I’m not exaggerating when I say there must have been 400 people in line. You don’t value your time much if you’re willing to stand in line for two or three hours to eat a buffet. I’d like to eat there sometime, but I’m not standing in a line that long.)
Random Thoughts:
I’d like to hit another Royal Flush again in my lifetime
The temperature controls at the Golden Nugget have either A/C or heat. No way to just let in outside air.
The Gold Coast controls do.
I like drinking comped, ice-cold beer while playing video poker.
I hate having to get up to take a leak every 30 minutes because I've been drinking comped, ice-cold beer while playing video poker.
There were some very aggressive panhandlers downtown.
The service on scratch cards needs improvement at MSS.
Thank goodness for the car rental kiosks at National.
Boulder Station buffet is a fantastic value.
Please Boyd Gaming, get rid of TGI Fridays and put back in your own coffee shops.
I got stranded by the weather an extra day in town which allowed me to donate more money to the LV economy.
I hate upright video poker machines.
Sam’s Town, MSS and Red Rock have the games I like in slant tops.
VERY slow this week in Las Vegas and I like it like that.
The new I-15 heading south out of town is great.
The Spaghetti Bowl still sucks.
Eff you to SW airlines for screwing up my rebooking after cancelling the flight and making me wait in line again.
IMO, there is NO buffet worth a two hour wait no matter how good it is.
I hate winter. The last FIVE trips I have made to Las Vegas in the winter have resulted in my flight being cancelled or significantly delayed. I’m not going out there again during snow season.
I played a huge amount of money through at MSS. My offers should improve there.
Every breakfast buffet I visited has my favorite: Huevos con Chorizo. I liked Boulder Station’s the best.
Red Rock is my favorite casino.
As usual, great fountain show and Conservatory display at Bellagio.
There was a HUGE Asian tourist group staying at Bellagio all wearing green shirts.
Maybe they were Notre Dame fans.
I made a winning bet on my favorite team - the Kansas Jayhawks.
I saw Rick Harrison from “Pawn Stars” at a gas station when I was refueling my rental car.
As on every trip, people make cell phone calls in food lines, and standing at the bottom of escalators while not caring less about anyone behind them.
Next trip: Spring 2013.
Hope you enjoyed the report.
