Just got back from our semi-annual week in Vegas, three nights at MSS, two at Four Queens and two at Palace Station. The trip was a non-winner, as they say, our worst loss in the ten years that we've been serious about Vegas. After CB, we were down $2100 on about $55.8K of action, for a 3.8% loss. Not good. Fun trip, but winning is more fun. Linda (wife) and I were joined by her mother, sister and brother-in-law, who stay and only play at the Golden Nugget. Her mom and sister are heavy slots players, so they're well comped and shared the wealth with us generously.
WEDNESDAY
We took a later than usual Southwest flight out of Tampa, took the WAX downtown and arrived at MSS around 5pm. Played a little, didn't do anything all that special; played some Illinois deuces STP, got two good multipliers, 10x and 8x. Know what 10 x 0 equals? Same as 8 x 0. We walked over to DTG, I had the prime rib special (very good cheapo prime rib, better than most), Linda had spaghetti and meatballs.
Back to MSS, played some more, got a late ice cream cone at Lappert's (Kaua'i Pie: Kona coffee ice cream with chocolate fudge, coconut and macadamia nuts), then bedtime.
THURSDAY
Almost had a $200 cup of coffee at the bar, but got a quad on my last $5 and wound up being paid to drink coffee. Yay! Walked around on Fremont ST a bit, found out this trip that you really can't snipe leftover multipliers on Ultimate X anymore, as soon as you hit the deal button the multipliers disappear, must time out or something now. Anyway, played some small FP and MPs here and there, got back to MSS and played some more. Got pretty beaten up on multi-line BP this trip, had very few good sessions, but did get quad aces once this morning. We went over to GN for lunch with Linda's family and her cousins from Henderson, wound up at Claim Jumper (the coffee shop) as always. Typical Landry's food, competent but forgettable, had a good chicken pot pie, nice visit. We went over to the Fremont after lunch, played for their free buffet promo. I played some Pick-em, they're the only place downtown that his full-pay. Odd game, sometimes a nice change, though. Did well, got a flush and a bunch of trips, wound up ahead and got a lunch buffet comp for Friday. Back to MSS, up and down (another set of quad aces on triple-play BP helped). Dinner was at Top of Binions, with the family. Great service and a nice dinner as always, I had some okay French onion soup and the chicken-fried lobster. The lobster was great as always, a real treat (been thinking about this for weeks).
Most of the others had prime rib, also very good. We all stopped for the photo op with the million dollars (I remember when it was 100 $10K bills), the photographer came running after us afterward to remind us that she accepts tips, that was a first. Back to MSS, got beaten up but then recovered with quad aces on BP.
FRIDAY
Had a fairly good start, played for a while and then we all went over to the Fremont for the lunch buffet. Mediocre at best, but the price was right. Back to MSS, played and lost some more, generally a tough day, nothing special. Linda's mom and sister got comped tickets for The Buckinghams at GN and invited us (thanks!!!), so we all had a quick chili dog at American Coney (Does everyone know that the secret ingredient in the chili is beef hearts? They don't advertise that). I also grabbed a very good taco al pastor at El Buen Pastor, across the street. I'd like to eat here more, they have a great menu and I'm a sucker for seeing the carne al pastor on the vertical spit. Anyway, The Buckinghams were absolutely great, it was a fantastic show, a lot better than I'd expected. These guys must be in their mid-70s by now and they're as good as they were in the 1960s. They did a great show, lots of their hits, also some other '60s and '70s tunes (The Turtles, The Grass Roots, Chicago, etc.).
Back to MSS, played some more, then bed.
SATURDAY
Good start this morning, with two quads to go with my coffee. We moved over to the Four Queens this morning, had a non-remodeled room in the north tower (I'm told that the remodel isn't anything spectacular, we haven't had a remodeled room yet). Linda had a late breakfast with the family at Claim Jumper; my plan was to try Bocho, over at 6th and Carson, but they're apparently closed for lunch on Saturdays now, and closed all day on Sundays, so I'll save that for the next trip. Went over to Container Park instead, had some tacos and elotes at Pinch's. Not bad, nothing too special, though. Back to Four Queens, did poorly but finally got quad aces on the DB progressives (for some reason, nobody was playing them this trip, the meter only rose from $1018 to $1038 from Wednesday to Monday and I'm pretty sure that nobody hit). Linda's family had a redeye back to Pittsburgh so they treated us to dinner again before heading to the airport. We ate at The Grotto, the casual Italian restaurant at GN. Not that I'm ungrateful, but this was not your typical competent Landry's food, it was shit. Comparable to high school cafeteria Italian food. Damned shame. Anyway, we said good-bye and went back to play some more at Four Queens.
SUNDAY
Not a great start today, got beaten up some. Took a break, got some NHL futures bets for Linda (pays to shop around, I wound up making five bets at three different books), got back to Four Queens and started winning a little, also got the quad aces again on DB. Had a quick lunch at Magnolia's (fair patty melt), played some more, even took a shot at the penny 8/5 JoB fifty-play machine (lots of fun, and won a little, even though I hate playing short-pay). Dinner was at Hugo's, I love everything about this place except the food. Great room, great service, great menu that probably hasn't changed since the 1970s. Food is never as good as it should be, though. We have tons of food comps since they changed the comp system at Four Queens a few years ago, so this was on the house. Started with escargots, very good but the puff pastry could have been crisper. Linda had some very good king crab legs. I went old-school, with roast duck flambéed tableside with anisette and brandy, good choice and very nostalgic--who does that anymore?
Played some more after dinner, got a free commemorative coffee mug for quad queens, bedtime.
MONDAY
We moved to Palace Station today, took Uber for the first time, really convenient and a nice experience. This was our second stay at PS, we really like this place, good food options, good games, friendly staff, nice rooms. Had lunch at the Grand Cafe (coffee shop), I had a surprisingly good chicken fried steak, not the usual frozen, pre-made kind but obviously hand-made the right way. A real treat. Lots of people push the chicken and waffles there, too, maybe next time. Got beaten up for a while after lunch, then got a straight flush and dealt quad within about three minutes and cashed out up $300, that helped.
The plans for tonight were at Wynn, SW Steakhouse and then Le Rêve. Took Uber again, had an early reservation at SW, really nice room with good service. We decided to splurge. Linda had a good wedge salad and a 10oz domestic Wagyu (Snake River Farms) NY strip, which was excellent and perfectly seared. I started with seared foie gras, which was high quality and perfectly done.
Took the plunge and had a 4oz A5 Wagyu NY strip from Kagoshima prefecture. This was an incredible, memorable experience, certainly the best piece of beef I've ever eaten. Rich like the foie gras, seared beautifully, amazing depth of flavor. I'll remember that beef a lot longer than I'll remember the check.
Also had some really nice truffled creamed corn as an accompaniment. Le Rêve after dinner, this was a great show in a fairly intimate venue. I think the director had worked with Cirque for a while, and it shows. I guess you could compare Le Rêve to O, I think Le Rêve is somewhat less acrobatic and more choreographed overall, has a different, more surreal look.
Went back to PS after the show, played some more, then bedtime.
TUESDAY
Bad start today, played for a while and tried to play some pai gow, but three players had locked up all seven spots (with "reserved" signs and playing two spots on occasion) for hours and neither the dealer nor the floorman would help; they were honestly kind of rude, the only experience like this that we had at PS. Played some more VP, then split up for lunch. Linda had some good pizza at Little Tony's (same chef-owner as Pizza Rock downtown, Tony Gemignani). I went across the street to Maui Rose, a little Hawaiian place that seems really popular with the local lunch crowd. Had a combo plate (chicken katsu, bulgalbi, shrimp tempura roll, two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad) and a spam musubi, all very good.
Back to PS, we played some BJ but got beaten up pretty quickly. I finally got on to the pai gow table, was mostly ignored but never lost a hand, cashed out up about $65. That'll teach 'em. There was one 10-minute delay during play, a big argument between a player and the dealer; it was all in Chinese but it was obvious what was going on. The player accused the dealer of picking his nose and then dealing the tiles, he wanted a new set of tiles; the dealer insisted that he had just scratched his nose. The player was furious, screaming at the dealer; the dealer was mostly laughing at him. The floorman and pit boss got involved, eventually told the dealer to use some hand sanitizer and the game continued. Anyway. Played some more VP, didn't do well; threw away a flush on the triple-play BP progressive to hold four to the royal, and didn't get shit. No royals, no flushes, no straights, no high pairs. Sheesh. Dinner was at the buffet, not that we were all that hungry after lunch. Stations buffets have always been pretty good, basic blue-collar food but competent. Not good this time, maybe I was hungrier other times, but the quality seems way off compared with previous years, more in the Circus Circus range. Played some more after dinner, then did some packing (early flight home), then bedtime.
WEDNESDAY
Early flight, got checked out, took the 7am shuttle to the airport, quick kraut dog and fries at Nathan's for breakfast, easy Southwest non-stop home (aside from a two year old that screamed for the first 3 1/2 hours; she had clearly been taught that her parents will give her whatever she wants for screaming). Home at a decent hour, and that was that.
In spite of the losses, it was really a fun trip. Always is. I'm still thinking about that A5 Wagyu, probably always will. Next trip will be in February, planning on staying on the other end of the bell curve this time. Thanks for reading!
WEDNESDAY
We took a later than usual Southwest flight out of Tampa, took the WAX downtown and arrived at MSS around 5pm. Played a little, didn't do anything all that special; played some Illinois deuces STP, got two good multipliers, 10x and 8x. Know what 10 x 0 equals? Same as 8 x 0. We walked over to DTG, I had the prime rib special (very good cheapo prime rib, better than most), Linda had spaghetti and meatballs.
Back to MSS, played some more, got a late ice cream cone at Lappert's (Kaua'i Pie: Kona coffee ice cream with chocolate fudge, coconut and macadamia nuts), then bedtime.
THURSDAY
Almost had a $200 cup of coffee at the bar, but got a quad on my last $5 and wound up being paid to drink coffee. Yay! Walked around on Fremont ST a bit, found out this trip that you really can't snipe leftover multipliers on Ultimate X anymore, as soon as you hit the deal button the multipliers disappear, must time out or something now. Anyway, played some small FP and MPs here and there, got back to MSS and played some more. Got pretty beaten up on multi-line BP this trip, had very few good sessions, but did get quad aces once this morning. We went over to GN for lunch with Linda's family and her cousins from Henderson, wound up at Claim Jumper (the coffee shop) as always. Typical Landry's food, competent but forgettable, had a good chicken pot pie, nice visit. We went over to the Fremont after lunch, played for their free buffet promo. I played some Pick-em, they're the only place downtown that his full-pay. Odd game, sometimes a nice change, though. Did well, got a flush and a bunch of trips, wound up ahead and got a lunch buffet comp for Friday. Back to MSS, up and down (another set of quad aces on triple-play BP helped). Dinner was at Top of Binions, with the family. Great service and a nice dinner as always, I had some okay French onion soup and the chicken-fried lobster. The lobster was great as always, a real treat (been thinking about this for weeks).
Most of the others had prime rib, also very good. We all stopped for the photo op with the million dollars (I remember when it was 100 $10K bills), the photographer came running after us afterward to remind us that she accepts tips, that was a first. Back to MSS, got beaten up but then recovered with quad aces on BP.
FRIDAY
Had a fairly good start, played for a while and then we all went over to the Fremont for the lunch buffet. Mediocre at best, but the price was right. Back to MSS, played and lost some more, generally a tough day, nothing special. Linda's mom and sister got comped tickets for The Buckinghams at GN and invited us (thanks!!!), so we all had a quick chili dog at American Coney (Does everyone know that the secret ingredient in the chili is beef hearts? They don't advertise that). I also grabbed a very good taco al pastor at El Buen Pastor, across the street. I'd like to eat here more, they have a great menu and I'm a sucker for seeing the carne al pastor on the vertical spit. Anyway, The Buckinghams were absolutely great, it was a fantastic show, a lot better than I'd expected. These guys must be in their mid-70s by now and they're as good as they were in the 1960s. They did a great show, lots of their hits, also some other '60s and '70s tunes (The Turtles, The Grass Roots, Chicago, etc.).
Back to MSS, played some more, then bed.
SATURDAY
Good start this morning, with two quads to go with my coffee. We moved over to the Four Queens this morning, had a non-remodeled room in the north tower (I'm told that the remodel isn't anything spectacular, we haven't had a remodeled room yet). Linda had a late breakfast with the family at Claim Jumper; my plan was to try Bocho, over at 6th and Carson, but they're apparently closed for lunch on Saturdays now, and closed all day on Sundays, so I'll save that for the next trip. Went over to Container Park instead, had some tacos and elotes at Pinch's. Not bad, nothing too special, though. Back to Four Queens, did poorly but finally got quad aces on the DB progressives (for some reason, nobody was playing them this trip, the meter only rose from $1018 to $1038 from Wednesday to Monday and I'm pretty sure that nobody hit). Linda's family had a redeye back to Pittsburgh so they treated us to dinner again before heading to the airport. We ate at The Grotto, the casual Italian restaurant at GN. Not that I'm ungrateful, but this was not your typical competent Landry's food, it was shit. Comparable to high school cafeteria Italian food. Damned shame. Anyway, we said good-bye and went back to play some more at Four Queens.
SUNDAY
Not a great start today, got beaten up some. Took a break, got some NHL futures bets for Linda (pays to shop around, I wound up making five bets at three different books), got back to Four Queens and started winning a little, also got the quad aces again on DB. Had a quick lunch at Magnolia's (fair patty melt), played some more, even took a shot at the penny 8/5 JoB fifty-play machine (lots of fun, and won a little, even though I hate playing short-pay). Dinner was at Hugo's, I love everything about this place except the food. Great room, great service, great menu that probably hasn't changed since the 1970s. Food is never as good as it should be, though. We have tons of food comps since they changed the comp system at Four Queens a few years ago, so this was on the house. Started with escargots, very good but the puff pastry could have been crisper. Linda had some very good king crab legs. I went old-school, with roast duck flambéed tableside with anisette and brandy, good choice and very nostalgic--who does that anymore?
Played some more after dinner, got a free commemorative coffee mug for quad queens, bedtime.
MONDAY
We moved to Palace Station today, took Uber for the first time, really convenient and a nice experience. This was our second stay at PS, we really like this place, good food options, good games, friendly staff, nice rooms. Had lunch at the Grand Cafe (coffee shop), I had a surprisingly good chicken fried steak, not the usual frozen, pre-made kind but obviously hand-made the right way. A real treat. Lots of people push the chicken and waffles there, too, maybe next time. Got beaten up for a while after lunch, then got a straight flush and dealt quad within about three minutes and cashed out up $300, that helped.
The plans for tonight were at Wynn, SW Steakhouse and then Le Rêve. Took Uber again, had an early reservation at SW, really nice room with good service. We decided to splurge. Linda had a good wedge salad and a 10oz domestic Wagyu (Snake River Farms) NY strip, which was excellent and perfectly seared. I started with seared foie gras, which was high quality and perfectly done.
Took the plunge and had a 4oz A5 Wagyu NY strip from Kagoshima prefecture. This was an incredible, memorable experience, certainly the best piece of beef I've ever eaten. Rich like the foie gras, seared beautifully, amazing depth of flavor. I'll remember that beef a lot longer than I'll remember the check.
Also had some really nice truffled creamed corn as an accompaniment. Le Rêve after dinner, this was a great show in a fairly intimate venue. I think the director had worked with Cirque for a while, and it shows. I guess you could compare Le Rêve to O, I think Le Rêve is somewhat less acrobatic and more choreographed overall, has a different, more surreal look.
Went back to PS after the show, played some more, then bedtime.
TUESDAY
Bad start today, played for a while and tried to play some pai gow, but three players had locked up all seven spots (with "reserved" signs and playing two spots on occasion) for hours and neither the dealer nor the floorman would help; they were honestly kind of rude, the only experience like this that we had at PS. Played some more VP, then split up for lunch. Linda had some good pizza at Little Tony's (same chef-owner as Pizza Rock downtown, Tony Gemignani). I went across the street to Maui Rose, a little Hawaiian place that seems really popular with the local lunch crowd. Had a combo plate (chicken katsu, bulgalbi, shrimp tempura roll, two scoops of rice and one scoop of macaroni salad) and a spam musubi, all very good.
Back to PS, we played some BJ but got beaten up pretty quickly. I finally got on to the pai gow table, was mostly ignored but never lost a hand, cashed out up about $65. That'll teach 'em. There was one 10-minute delay during play, a big argument between a player and the dealer; it was all in Chinese but it was obvious what was going on. The player accused the dealer of picking his nose and then dealing the tiles, he wanted a new set of tiles; the dealer insisted that he had just scratched his nose. The player was furious, screaming at the dealer; the dealer was mostly laughing at him. The floorman and pit boss got involved, eventually told the dealer to use some hand sanitizer and the game continued. Anyway. Played some more VP, didn't do well; threw away a flush on the triple-play BP progressive to hold four to the royal, and didn't get shit. No royals, no flushes, no straights, no high pairs. Sheesh. Dinner was at the buffet, not that we were all that hungry after lunch. Stations buffets have always been pretty good, basic blue-collar food but competent. Not good this time, maybe I was hungrier other times, but the quality seems way off compared with previous years, more in the Circus Circus range. Played some more after dinner, then did some packing (early flight home), then bedtime.
WEDNESDAY
Early flight, got checked out, took the 7am shuttle to the airport, quick kraut dog and fries at Nathan's for breakfast, easy Southwest non-stop home (aside from a two year old that screamed for the first 3 1/2 hours; she had clearly been taught that her parents will give her whatever she wants for screaming). Home at a decent hour, and that was that.
In spite of the losses, it was really a fun trip. Always is. I'm still thinking about that A5 Wagyu, probably always will. Next trip will be in February, planning on staying on the other end of the bell curve this time. Thanks for reading!
