Well, that was a hell of a trip. Just got back from our semi-annual 7 nights, this was a fairly intense trip, much more roller-coasterish than most, a horrible start offset by a dealt royal (my third), first stay at Stations (Palace Station, complements of MyVegas), my first shot at pai gow (tiles, not poker), our first attempt at playing on one card to game the marketing systems (we'll see what happens, I hope everyone is right about how all the cool kids are doing it). Total action was just shy of $48K, total loss about $320, or about 0.67%. Coupon yield between the MRB and the ACG was about $200, in spite of losing two of the $25 MPs. Linda (wife) and I were there Wednesday to Wednesday, met our friend Linda2244 from Minnesota out there, also our friends from here in St. Pete, Glen and Jennifer.
TUESDAY
Stayed at the La Quinta near the airport the night before Vegas, we've been doing this the past few trips, a basic room plus up to two weeks free parking is $129. Relaxed and schemed, got some Latin food from Florida Bakery and Borinquen Meat Market. Nice start.
WEDNESDAY
Easy Southwest nonstop, got in about 40 minutes early, then took the WAX downtown and to the Four Queens. Got a very quiet, back room in the south tower, grabbed a couple of Coneys at The D and started playing and getting beaten up. Only saving grace was quad 4s on the DB machines (progressive was $1007). Quick dinner with Linda2244 at Magnolia's, had a better-than-usual prime rib.
THURSDAY
Another tough day at Four Queens, but I did reasonably well at Binion's. Never really frequented the place, but their VP has improved, and people tell me that the offers are good. Didn't give them enough to get on the radar, maybe next time. Lunch was at Dupar's, surprisingly forgettable chicken pot pie, although Linda2244s comped pancakes were indeed very good. Hit DTG for some of the senior day stuff, did okay (they're trying to stay afloat, making a far more impressive effort than the Plaza). More beatings at Four Queens, but I did get enough points to get my free commemorative jeweled goat figurine for Chinese New Year. Same size as last year's horse, not to scale; guess next year's monkey will be the same size as well. We hit the new BBQ at Binion's for dinner, tasty ribs but nothing too spectacular, I think they use one of those pressure-smokers. Nice dinner if you're not from barbecue country.
FRIDAY
Moved to MSS today after paying off far too many markers to Four Queens. Had lunch at Aloha Specialties, probably my favorite restaurant in Vegas (well, Craftsteak is pretty good, too, but you don't get two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad with your steak), had the local plate.
Things started turning around that afternoon, got a set of quad aces on DB, a few quads on JoB.
Played a lot of NSUD this trip, had fun with that and generally did okay; also took my usual $20 shot at the TDB machines, didn't get the deuces. We hit the Friday night seafood buffet at MSS, basically pretty okay and significantly better than the Fremont's seafood buffet. Good crab legs. Place was packed, glad we had a comp because the hoi polloi line was about an hour. Never saw so many screaming kids in a casino, either. Kind of like Disney World with melted butter.
SATURDAY
Saturday was a good day, quite the Valentine's Day present for Jon. Made $200 over my morning coffee at the bar, that was a nice twist, had a couple of quads, including one run with FH-flush-quad in three hands. Nice. We had a quick brunch buffet, back to playing. It was an afternoon on the high-rent tail of the bell curve, I got quad deuces on DB, the woman next to me was playing NSUD and got (nicer) quad deuces twice in about three minutes; she said that she got a total of three sets and her husband got two sets in about an hour. Lucky. Anyway, I was feeling kind of devil-may-care and decided to take another $20 shot at the TDB machine, seemed like deuces were in the air. Got beaten up (it's a pretty volatile game) got a natural quad (always pisses me off in deuces games, got a lot of them this trip), finally a wild royal, so I decided to keep playing. About ten hands later I got a dealt royal, in spades. An even more pleasant surprise than the quad deuces would have been. Machine locked up and I actually got a $1000 TITO ticket (plus a scratch-and-sniff), not a hand pay. Nice. Of course, a royal on the dollar JoB would have been nicer, but I ain't complaining.
Glen and Jennifer arrived that afternoon, we played for a while and used our comps at Market Street over at the Cal (I wanted to try the new California Noodle House but was outvoted; honestly, the reviews have been pretty lukewarm). I got the butterfish misoyaki, very tasty; a few people got (again, better-than-usua) prime rib. Hell of a day.
SUNDAY
Oooh, Sterling brunch day. Slow start, then we all took the SDX up to Bally's. This is our first time back to the Sterling since it reopened at the BLT Steakhouse. Still a really great experience. Still a nice room, still great service, still Perrier-Jouet champagne. The selection is a bit smaller than before (no more charcuterie, for example), but still all top-notch. Nice caviar, great lobster tails, better-than-before king crab, great-as-always rack of lamb. Desserts more limited than before as well but, again, all top-notch quality and preparations. A great post-royal brunch.
Anyway, back downtown to MSS, played a little less and digested a little more than usual. Linda2244, Linda (wife) and I walked down to the El Cortez in the evening (Glen and Jen were kicking a few slot machines' electronic asses and stayed back), played some BP (Linda [wife] got a straight flush), then we went to Careful Kitty's (yeah, I know, they changed the sign to "Cafe Cortez"; what's the fun in that?) and visited with Linda (waitress), had some dinner (I had some better-than-expected fried chicken, Linda2244 had yet another better-than-usual prime rib [guess the steers are running this time of year] and Linda [wife] had a grilled cheese sandwich), then back to MSS.
MONDAY
Today was moving day again, and a hectic one it was. Linda2244 moved to Cosmo (amazing what kind of comps she gets) and the four of us moved to Palace Station. We had played at Boulder and Texas Stations before and liked the games, but never stayed, so we decided to get some room comps from MyVegas. I really liked it there, hope we get on the radar (Linda and I put about $5K on my card on Tuesday, so we'll see). It's an older but fairly nice property, lots of good games and food, nice folks in the casino, but a number of snafus on the hotel end (took forever to get our room, safe was locked and took a while to get it unlocked, our keys stopped working about 20 minutes before we checked out, and the place is absolutely unwilling to give a later checkout than 1pm, even asking a host). But I did like the place a lot. Played a lot of dollar JoB and quarter NSUD, also found a triple-play BP machine with four progressives (one for each line and one for all four lines, essentially for a dealt royal). Boy, what fun, thanks for the advice, Lolly! Anyway, had a good start, then hit the very good Chinese restaurant (with a crappy name, Food Express, sounds like a place for vending-machine quality food), had a tofu, diced chicken and dried fish casserole. Excellent; looking forward to working my way through their menu on our next trip.
Anyway, finally got into our room, then it was time to head over to MGM, we had buffet comps and KA tickets, again via MyVegas. Glen and Jen didn't make it to the buffet, but we got to spend time with Linda2244's friend, Beth, and her daughter Rebecca; they had just moved to Vegas, and was really nice getting to know them. The buffet wasn't nearly as nice as the company, though. I had heard that it was mediocre, but that's far too generous. This was a truly awful buffet, pretty much comparable to the old Axis of Evil (Circus Circus-Imperial Palace-Sahara). Very ordinary selection, all very low-quality food, poorly prepared, mostly dried out on the steam tables. Go figure, this is at the same casino as Joel Robuchon and Craftsteak. I think the price that night (maybe it was a holiday price) was like $43. Honestly, I'd be screaming if I paid more than like $7 for this one. Anyway, we really did enjoy the company. Really enjoyed KA as well, this was our second time to see it, really a spectacular show, pure Cirque. Great seats in section 202 (thanks to Gregrio for that advice, may you rest in peace). Back to PS afterward, played a little more (got a natural straight flush on NSUD, that's more of a slap in the face than natural quads!), and bedtime.
TUESDAY
Heavy play day at PS, really got a feel for the place. There was a hell of a big progressive on the quarter BP bartops, like $1480, did okay with my morning coffee but didn't get the progressive (someone hit it while we were at lunch). Decided to take my first shot at playing pai gow today, I knew that PS had a cheap ($10) table, so I've been trying to learn for the past few months. Really interesting game. Anyway, I played for a little over an hour, everyone at the table was very helpful. Finished up about $15, had a lot of good hands (I feel bad, I had been getting a lot of pairs and wongs, the woman next to me bet $65 on my next hand, which was absolute dog shit, I think the hands totaled to 2 and 2). Loads of fun. Afterward we hit the buffet (MyVegas again), breakfast and lunch (turn-around time). Typical Stations buffet, nothing too creative but all very good and well-prepared. Played VP after lunch, did okay, then Linda (wife) and I spent a bunch of time playing BJ. Good game, double-deck, usually $5 minimum, H17 but DAS, RSA, about 70-75% pen via a notch in the discard rack. We both ended up about even. Dinner was at the Charcoal Room, which was a bit of a disappointment. It was a reasonably good dinner for a mid-range steakhouse, but we thought Austin's (at Texas Station) was much better. Very good onion soup, overbaconed chopped steakhouse salad, okay but not great seared ribeye, okay but not great lamb chops, poorly executed creamed spinach. After dinner, it was the triple-play BP progressives, got a few quads and ended up about even.
WEDNESDAY
Last day in Vegas. Pretty fried by now, starting to dream about playing cards, that usually happens after about five or six days. Played some FPDW just for the hell of it, just as well it was a nickel machine because it sucked. Back to the triple-play BP progs (I swear, this multi-line stuff is my new addiction), got beaten up but then got quad aces, ended up about $60 ahead.
Linda (wife) ate at the coffee shop, had a good turkey melt with some flies hovering over it, I went across the street to some little Hawaiian place called Maui Rose, had a combo with chicken katsu, bulgalbi, a fried shrimp and surimi sushi roll, two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad. Good choice.
Played a little more, dealt with getting locked out of the room, took the free PS shuttle back to the airport, and an easy Southwest flight home, lubricated with a double Wild Turkey on the rocks (I don't drink much, but the coupons were expiring).
TUESDAY
Stayed at the La Quinta near the airport the night before Vegas, we've been doing this the past few trips, a basic room plus up to two weeks free parking is $129. Relaxed and schemed, got some Latin food from Florida Bakery and Borinquen Meat Market. Nice start.
WEDNESDAY
Easy Southwest nonstop, got in about 40 minutes early, then took the WAX downtown and to the Four Queens. Got a very quiet, back room in the south tower, grabbed a couple of Coneys at The D and started playing and getting beaten up. Only saving grace was quad 4s on the DB machines (progressive was $1007). Quick dinner with Linda2244 at Magnolia's, had a better-than-usual prime rib.
THURSDAY
Another tough day at Four Queens, but I did reasonably well at Binion's. Never really frequented the place, but their VP has improved, and people tell me that the offers are good. Didn't give them enough to get on the radar, maybe next time. Lunch was at Dupar's, surprisingly forgettable chicken pot pie, although Linda2244s comped pancakes were indeed very good. Hit DTG for some of the senior day stuff, did okay (they're trying to stay afloat, making a far more impressive effort than the Plaza). More beatings at Four Queens, but I did get enough points to get my free commemorative jeweled goat figurine for Chinese New Year. Same size as last year's horse, not to scale; guess next year's monkey will be the same size as well. We hit the new BBQ at Binion's for dinner, tasty ribs but nothing too spectacular, I think they use one of those pressure-smokers. Nice dinner if you're not from barbecue country.
FRIDAY
Moved to MSS today after paying off far too many markers to Four Queens. Had lunch at Aloha Specialties, probably my favorite restaurant in Vegas (well, Craftsteak is pretty good, too, but you don't get two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad with your steak), had the local plate.
Things started turning around that afternoon, got a set of quad aces on DB, a few quads on JoB.
Played a lot of NSUD this trip, had fun with that and generally did okay; also took my usual $20 shot at the TDB machines, didn't get the deuces. We hit the Friday night seafood buffet at MSS, basically pretty okay and significantly better than the Fremont's seafood buffet. Good crab legs. Place was packed, glad we had a comp because the hoi polloi line was about an hour. Never saw so many screaming kids in a casino, either. Kind of like Disney World with melted butter.
SATURDAY
Saturday was a good day, quite the Valentine's Day present for Jon. Made $200 over my morning coffee at the bar, that was a nice twist, had a couple of quads, including one run with FH-flush-quad in three hands. Nice. We had a quick brunch buffet, back to playing. It was an afternoon on the high-rent tail of the bell curve, I got quad deuces on DB, the woman next to me was playing NSUD and got (nicer) quad deuces twice in about three minutes; she said that she got a total of three sets and her husband got two sets in about an hour. Lucky. Anyway, I was feeling kind of devil-may-care and decided to take another $20 shot at the TDB machine, seemed like deuces were in the air. Got beaten up (it's a pretty volatile game) got a natural quad (always pisses me off in deuces games, got a lot of them this trip), finally a wild royal, so I decided to keep playing. About ten hands later I got a dealt royal, in spades. An even more pleasant surprise than the quad deuces would have been. Machine locked up and I actually got a $1000 TITO ticket (plus a scratch-and-sniff), not a hand pay. Nice. Of course, a royal on the dollar JoB would have been nicer, but I ain't complaining.
Glen and Jennifer arrived that afternoon, we played for a while and used our comps at Market Street over at the Cal (I wanted to try the new California Noodle House but was outvoted; honestly, the reviews have been pretty lukewarm). I got the butterfish misoyaki, very tasty; a few people got (again, better-than-usua) prime rib. Hell of a day.
SUNDAY
Oooh, Sterling brunch day. Slow start, then we all took the SDX up to Bally's. This is our first time back to the Sterling since it reopened at the BLT Steakhouse. Still a really great experience. Still a nice room, still great service, still Perrier-Jouet champagne. The selection is a bit smaller than before (no more charcuterie, for example), but still all top-notch. Nice caviar, great lobster tails, better-than-before king crab, great-as-always rack of lamb. Desserts more limited than before as well but, again, all top-notch quality and preparations. A great post-royal brunch.
Anyway, back downtown to MSS, played a little less and digested a little more than usual. Linda2244, Linda (wife) and I walked down to the El Cortez in the evening (Glen and Jen were kicking a few slot machines' electronic asses and stayed back), played some BP (Linda [wife] got a straight flush), then we went to Careful Kitty's (yeah, I know, they changed the sign to "Cafe Cortez"; what's the fun in that?) and visited with Linda (waitress), had some dinner (I had some better-than-expected fried chicken, Linda2244 had yet another better-than-usual prime rib [guess the steers are running this time of year] and Linda [wife] had a grilled cheese sandwich), then back to MSS.
MONDAY
Today was moving day again, and a hectic one it was. Linda2244 moved to Cosmo (amazing what kind of comps she gets) and the four of us moved to Palace Station. We had played at Boulder and Texas Stations before and liked the games, but never stayed, so we decided to get some room comps from MyVegas. I really liked it there, hope we get on the radar (Linda and I put about $5K on my card on Tuesday, so we'll see). It's an older but fairly nice property, lots of good games and food, nice folks in the casino, but a number of snafus on the hotel end (took forever to get our room, safe was locked and took a while to get it unlocked, our keys stopped working about 20 minutes before we checked out, and the place is absolutely unwilling to give a later checkout than 1pm, even asking a host). But I did like the place a lot. Played a lot of dollar JoB and quarter NSUD, also found a triple-play BP machine with four progressives (one for each line and one for all four lines, essentially for a dealt royal). Boy, what fun, thanks for the advice, Lolly! Anyway, had a good start, then hit the very good Chinese restaurant (with a crappy name, Food Express, sounds like a place for vending-machine quality food), had a tofu, diced chicken and dried fish casserole. Excellent; looking forward to working my way through their menu on our next trip.
Anyway, finally got into our room, then it was time to head over to MGM, we had buffet comps and KA tickets, again via MyVegas. Glen and Jen didn't make it to the buffet, but we got to spend time with Linda2244's friend, Beth, and her daughter Rebecca; they had just moved to Vegas, and was really nice getting to know them. The buffet wasn't nearly as nice as the company, though. I had heard that it was mediocre, but that's far too generous. This was a truly awful buffet, pretty much comparable to the old Axis of Evil (Circus Circus-Imperial Palace-Sahara). Very ordinary selection, all very low-quality food, poorly prepared, mostly dried out on the steam tables. Go figure, this is at the same casino as Joel Robuchon and Craftsteak. I think the price that night (maybe it was a holiday price) was like $43. Honestly, I'd be screaming if I paid more than like $7 for this one. Anyway, we really did enjoy the company. Really enjoyed KA as well, this was our second time to see it, really a spectacular show, pure Cirque. Great seats in section 202 (thanks to Gregrio for that advice, may you rest in peace). Back to PS afterward, played a little more (got a natural straight flush on NSUD, that's more of a slap in the face than natural quads!), and bedtime.
TUESDAY
Heavy play day at PS, really got a feel for the place. There was a hell of a big progressive on the quarter BP bartops, like $1480, did okay with my morning coffee but didn't get the progressive (someone hit it while we were at lunch). Decided to take my first shot at playing pai gow today, I knew that PS had a cheap ($10) table, so I've been trying to learn for the past few months. Really interesting game. Anyway, I played for a little over an hour, everyone at the table was very helpful. Finished up about $15, had a lot of good hands (I feel bad, I had been getting a lot of pairs and wongs, the woman next to me bet $65 on my next hand, which was absolute dog shit, I think the hands totaled to 2 and 2). Loads of fun. Afterward we hit the buffet (MyVegas again), breakfast and lunch (turn-around time). Typical Stations buffet, nothing too creative but all very good and well-prepared. Played VP after lunch, did okay, then Linda (wife) and I spent a bunch of time playing BJ. Good game, double-deck, usually $5 minimum, H17 but DAS, RSA, about 70-75% pen via a notch in the discard rack. We both ended up about even. Dinner was at the Charcoal Room, which was a bit of a disappointment. It was a reasonably good dinner for a mid-range steakhouse, but we thought Austin's (at Texas Station) was much better. Very good onion soup, overbaconed chopped steakhouse salad, okay but not great seared ribeye, okay but not great lamb chops, poorly executed creamed spinach. After dinner, it was the triple-play BP progressives, got a few quads and ended up about even.
WEDNESDAY
Last day in Vegas. Pretty fried by now, starting to dream about playing cards, that usually happens after about five or six days. Played some FPDW just for the hell of it, just as well it was a nickel machine because it sucked. Back to the triple-play BP progs (I swear, this multi-line stuff is my new addiction), got beaten up but then got quad aces, ended up about $60 ahead.
Linda (wife) ate at the coffee shop, had a good turkey melt with some flies hovering over it, I went across the street to some little Hawaiian place called Maui Rose, had a combo with chicken katsu, bulgalbi, a fried shrimp and surimi sushi roll, two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad. Good choice.
Played a little more, dealt with getting locked out of the room, took the free PS shuttle back to the airport, and an easy Southwest flight home, lubricated with a double Wild Turkey on the rocks (I don't drink much, but the coupons were expiring).
