A few notes from our August 3-11 trip to Las Vegas:
Transportation
Air: Delta flights on time and packed. I have noted in recent years that there are an increasing number of Europeans on these flights departing from Atlanta and Detroit.
Ground: Alamo, most I have ever paid for a rental car in LV, $250 all in. Checked daily for months up to day of departure and used Costco codes. Typically, pay $180-220 for these 8-day trips. Alamo always a few dollars more than the others but their cars are clean and they have quickly resolved any issues with the rental, perhaps because I rent from them frequently. Checked in online before leaving home so no wait to get car.
Gambling
Video Poker: My wife and I hit three royal flushes – two on 50-play penny machines and one on a 5-play nickel machine. No luck on the quarter VP, best there was quad aces w. kicker on DDB. Biggest hit was on one of the new bar-top machines at MSS, 10-play Ultimate X for nickels, deuces wild, got 4 deuces and various other paying hands with a 12-times multiplier for $750. We had not been in town one hour when my wife hit that one, great way to start the trip.
Drawings: Won $100 at the Young-at-Heart drawing at the Orleans. New format spreads the money around to 25 players instead of 5 so small-time players have a better chance of winning. Worth a shot if you are of a “certain age”.
Trip Totals: Losing trip for both of us, my wife not so much as for me. Good days at blackjack helped her out while craps sucked my money away. My total loss approached $700. I have accurate win/loss records going back to 2003, 25 trips, and this is my 20th losing trip and my 15th largest loss. Considering all 25 trips, I am a long-term loser with an average per day loss of about $45.
Lodging
Main Street Station: Split visit, three nights and two nights, rooms on top floor facing Plaza. About the only thing I noticed different from our spring visit was new air conditioners in the rooms. Cooled the room much better than the old clunkers that we had on previous stays. We noticed that the Casino sign on the north side of the Plaza was gone, sure hope they replace it.
New vp machines at either end of the Boar Bar. (Someone posted about new machines at the bar in their trip report, so consider my information an update to their report.) They were installing new ones at the north end of the bar the night we arrived. Middle of the bar still has the old machines and they, I was told, are not going to be replaced with new machines. New machines have a “service” button to summon an attendant for Score-w-Four card when you get 4OAK. No need to flag down the bar tender. And yes the new machines have 9/6 JOB.
Gold Coast: Two nights. Carpeting in room was getting sort of worn, otherwise clean and serviceable room. My two complaints about the GC are the lack of in-room safes and the absence of a non-chain coffee shop.
Orleans: One night. Stayed on a newly remodeled floor. Hardly recognized the old place, hallways were entirely refurbished – carpeting, wall covering, ceiling, and lights. Looks great. Room had new carpet and new/reupholstered setee and chair. They had notices posted to expect noise from remodeling, they were in the process of working on two floors.
California: Didn’t stay here but learned from the bar tenders that the place will be entirely redone over the next two years, casino and rooms (cafe also I presume). Supposed to start in earnest in late August. New color scheme will be gray w. white trim, bright white ceiling. One of the columns in the main casino, opposite the Noodle House, has been redone to show how it will look after the remodel. Changed from dark wood with mirrors to gray paneling with white trim and no mirrors.
Food
California: Had the breakfast buffet in the café here a couple mornings. Nothing exotic but had all the basics and a great value. Think the price was around $6.25 per person which we paid with points.
Noodle House – second trip we have eaten here, both times the food was great. Inexpensive. For one appetizer, two entrees, and one coffee, the total was only $42. Place can get busy, make a reservation if you are planning to eat at peak dinner time. Will definitely eat here again on our December trip.
Binion’s Steakhouse: Read good things about the place and hoped it would be our replacement for Robertas/Flame. Not so. We found it overpriced, with poor service, and for the most part, mediocre food. It came across as a touristy one-and-done eatery where repeat visitors are rare and so they have no reason to provide good service or food because they know you will never be back (a correct assumption in our case). The appetizer, lobster bisque, was good but the meal went downhill from there. Iceberg wedge was mediocre (God I miss the Flame) as was my steak (have had better at the Orleans coffee shop), and my wife’s porterhouse was terrible. Sides were salty and unappetizing. Waiter disappeared after delivering the food, thought I would have to hunt down my own water to refill our glasses. This when we were the only diners in that side of the restaurant. Used AC’s POV coupon to get 25% off but still, it was a rip-off. Perhaps, we hit it on a bad night but we will not chance eating there again. The view, however, was great.
Orleans: Had dinner at the coffee shop here, food was good and prices reasonable. Have never had a bad meal at this cafe, food has been consistently good over the years. Heard a rumor that the casino will be remodeled and eating venues changed. Hope Boyd’s do not eliminate this coffee shop in favor of a chain eatery as they did at Sam’s Town.
Prime Rib Loft. Second trip we have eaten here, good meals both times. We both had the prime rib this trip, it was excellent. Wine prices are good, you can get a bottle for $20 that at other restaurants will cost $28-30. Food prices are reasonable and can be further reduced with a coupon if staying at Gold Coast where you receive a coupon pack at check-in. Orleans and Gold Coast are doing a little cross marketing.
Gold Coast: Ate at Ping-Pang-Pong as we always do each trip. Excellent food, large portions, and very reasonable prices. Received coupon at check-in for discount on meal. Hot and sour soup was outstanding. Always try and hit this place when staying in a room with a refrigerator, so we have a place to stash the leftovers.
Tuscany: Stopped here on senior day for BOGO to eat at the Cantina. Certainly not the best Mexican in town but it is OK. My wife calls the gift shop here is a hidden treasure, high quality goods at reasonable prices and if you can hit it when the senior discount is on, it is even better. The shop is hidden away down a corridor and I doubt many visitors even know it exists.
Eastside Cannery: Ate breakfast in the coffee shop here using our $5 senior day food coupons obtained by swiping at kiosk. Good meals, huge fruit plate.
Silverton: Polynesian buffet on Saturday night. I have reported in previous trip reports how we thought this was one of the best buffets in LV and were amazed that it was never busy. Well, it is still great although this time it was very busy. Prior to this trip, there was never a wait to get in but this time we waited over an hour. Longest we have ever stood in line for a buffet and were it not one of our favorites, we would not have bothered. Seems like the player’s club was dishing out a lot of BOGOs that day to locals, so the crowd may well have been an aberration. We used the BOGO from ACG.
Hope our observations are of some help and I do apologize for the constant reference to “senior day” but we do like to use our longevity bonus whenever we can.
Thanks for reading.
Transportation
Air: Delta flights on time and packed. I have noted in recent years that there are an increasing number of Europeans on these flights departing from Atlanta and Detroit.
Ground: Alamo, most I have ever paid for a rental car in LV, $250 all in. Checked daily for months up to day of departure and used Costco codes. Typically, pay $180-220 for these 8-day trips. Alamo always a few dollars more than the others but their cars are clean and they have quickly resolved any issues with the rental, perhaps because I rent from them frequently. Checked in online before leaving home so no wait to get car.
Gambling
Video Poker: My wife and I hit three royal flushes – two on 50-play penny machines and one on a 5-play nickel machine. No luck on the quarter VP, best there was quad aces w. kicker on DDB. Biggest hit was on one of the new bar-top machines at MSS, 10-play Ultimate X for nickels, deuces wild, got 4 deuces and various other paying hands with a 12-times multiplier for $750. We had not been in town one hour when my wife hit that one, great way to start the trip.
Drawings: Won $100 at the Young-at-Heart drawing at the Orleans. New format spreads the money around to 25 players instead of 5 so small-time players have a better chance of winning. Worth a shot if you are of a “certain age”.
Trip Totals: Losing trip for both of us, my wife not so much as for me. Good days at blackjack helped her out while craps sucked my money away. My total loss approached $700. I have accurate win/loss records going back to 2003, 25 trips, and this is my 20th losing trip and my 15th largest loss. Considering all 25 trips, I am a long-term loser with an average per day loss of about $45.
Lodging
Main Street Station: Split visit, three nights and two nights, rooms on top floor facing Plaza. About the only thing I noticed different from our spring visit was new air conditioners in the rooms. Cooled the room much better than the old clunkers that we had on previous stays. We noticed that the Casino sign on the north side of the Plaza was gone, sure hope they replace it.
New vp machines at either end of the Boar Bar. (Someone posted about new machines at the bar in their trip report, so consider my information an update to their report.) They were installing new ones at the north end of the bar the night we arrived. Middle of the bar still has the old machines and they, I was told, are not going to be replaced with new machines. New machines have a “service” button to summon an attendant for Score-w-Four card when you get 4OAK. No need to flag down the bar tender. And yes the new machines have 9/6 JOB.
Gold Coast: Two nights. Carpeting in room was getting sort of worn, otherwise clean and serviceable room. My two complaints about the GC are the lack of in-room safes and the absence of a non-chain coffee shop.
Orleans: One night. Stayed on a newly remodeled floor. Hardly recognized the old place, hallways were entirely refurbished – carpeting, wall covering, ceiling, and lights. Looks great. Room had new carpet and new/reupholstered setee and chair. They had notices posted to expect noise from remodeling, they were in the process of working on two floors.
California: Didn’t stay here but learned from the bar tenders that the place will be entirely redone over the next two years, casino and rooms (cafe also I presume). Supposed to start in earnest in late August. New color scheme will be gray w. white trim, bright white ceiling. One of the columns in the main casino, opposite the Noodle House, has been redone to show how it will look after the remodel. Changed from dark wood with mirrors to gray paneling with white trim and no mirrors.
Food
California: Had the breakfast buffet in the café here a couple mornings. Nothing exotic but had all the basics and a great value. Think the price was around $6.25 per person which we paid with points.
Noodle House – second trip we have eaten here, both times the food was great. Inexpensive. For one appetizer, two entrees, and one coffee, the total was only $42. Place can get busy, make a reservation if you are planning to eat at peak dinner time. Will definitely eat here again on our December trip.
Binion’s Steakhouse: Read good things about the place and hoped it would be our replacement for Robertas/Flame. Not so. We found it overpriced, with poor service, and for the most part, mediocre food. It came across as a touristy one-and-done eatery where repeat visitors are rare and so they have no reason to provide good service or food because they know you will never be back (a correct assumption in our case). The appetizer, lobster bisque, was good but the meal went downhill from there. Iceberg wedge was mediocre (God I miss the Flame) as was my steak (have had better at the Orleans coffee shop), and my wife’s porterhouse was terrible. Sides were salty and unappetizing. Waiter disappeared after delivering the food, thought I would have to hunt down my own water to refill our glasses. This when we were the only diners in that side of the restaurant. Used AC’s POV coupon to get 25% off but still, it was a rip-off. Perhaps, we hit it on a bad night but we will not chance eating there again. The view, however, was great.
Orleans: Had dinner at the coffee shop here, food was good and prices reasonable. Have never had a bad meal at this cafe, food has been consistently good over the years. Heard a rumor that the casino will be remodeled and eating venues changed. Hope Boyd’s do not eliminate this coffee shop in favor of a chain eatery as they did at Sam’s Town.
Prime Rib Loft. Second trip we have eaten here, good meals both times. We both had the prime rib this trip, it was excellent. Wine prices are good, you can get a bottle for $20 that at other restaurants will cost $28-30. Food prices are reasonable and can be further reduced with a coupon if staying at Gold Coast where you receive a coupon pack at check-in. Orleans and Gold Coast are doing a little cross marketing.
Gold Coast: Ate at Ping-Pang-Pong as we always do each trip. Excellent food, large portions, and very reasonable prices. Received coupon at check-in for discount on meal. Hot and sour soup was outstanding. Always try and hit this place when staying in a room with a refrigerator, so we have a place to stash the leftovers.
Tuscany: Stopped here on senior day for BOGO to eat at the Cantina. Certainly not the best Mexican in town but it is OK. My wife calls the gift shop here is a hidden treasure, high quality goods at reasonable prices and if you can hit it when the senior discount is on, it is even better. The shop is hidden away down a corridor and I doubt many visitors even know it exists.
Eastside Cannery: Ate breakfast in the coffee shop here using our $5 senior day food coupons obtained by swiping at kiosk. Good meals, huge fruit plate.
Silverton: Polynesian buffet on Saturday night. I have reported in previous trip reports how we thought this was one of the best buffets in LV and were amazed that it was never busy. Well, it is still great although this time it was very busy. Prior to this trip, there was never a wait to get in but this time we waited over an hour. Longest we have ever stood in line for a buffet and were it not one of our favorites, we would not have bothered. Seems like the player’s club was dishing out a lot of BOGOs that day to locals, so the crowd may well have been an aberration. We used the BOGO from ACG.
Hope our observations are of some help and I do apologize for the constant reference to “senior day” but we do like to use our longevity bonus whenever we can.
Thanks for reading.
