Tuesday, July 12th Day 3
Up early at 6:30am, and my wife and I headed back down to the spa and fitness center. After putting in a decent workout despite 4 hours sleep, I again took advantage of the Sauna and Steam Room.
The group was scheduled to meet at the entrance of the Golden Nugget Buffet. Only 10 of the group were able to make it for our 9am meeting time. The VIP line pass came in handy as the line was starting to get long. 5 LVA Golden Nugget 2 for 1 coupons later and we were seated fairly promptly. Food was good and the made to order egg station was a family favorite.
I had arranged to rent two cabanas for the group today at the adult pool called the Hideout on the third level. Last year I had rented the large cabana next the bar in this area. Although it was a larger cabana and easily fit the group, I found that it was not that intimate as you basically shared the area with the servers bartender and any patrons that wandered in. This year I requested Cabana A and B which were near the left side of the pool as you entered and furthest away from the bar. One of the main reasons I requested these two cabanas is that cabana A has a long 6 foot couch like seating area which would serve the group well. I made my way to the rental area at 10am when it opened and was pleased to find that they honored my request although there was no guarantee to do so. The Golden Nugget Cabana is $175 per day Sunday through Thursday. The Extra Large Cabana I had last year was $275 but holds up to 16 people. I was asked how many people I had planned and there would be 14 of us, although not all here at the same time. I was given 14 wrist bands for my party and I headed to Cabana A. Each cabana is nicely appointed. Ceiling Fan, Flat Screen TV with full cable channels. It also had a refrigerator filled with 6 bottled waters and a fruit and cheese tray, there was a safe to lock up valuables and comfortable seating inside for 4 or 5 people. Soon after I arrived, I was greeted by our server Doreen. I explained that this was a family reunion, and that she should take great care of this group and I tipped her nicely up front. I had made arrangements to split the cost with one of the other members of the group. We were not left wanting all day as Doreen made sure every person was properly lubricated. A great time was had by all.
After being in the sun all day, we started to wrap things up around 5:30pm, I paid the tab and we made plans to meet for dinner at Café Cortez at the El Cortez at 8pm.
As it turn out there would be 14 of us for dinner again tonight. My wife, my dad and I each had received the June/July flyer from the El Cortez with 3 2 for 1 meals at Café Cortez. We went to the players club to redeem them and was pleased to find that we could use as many as we wanted during one meal. We ended up using 7 of them for dinner. Again a plethora of items ordered including their signature Mr. Porterhouse steak dinner. Some had burgers, others had grilled pork chops, but the menu definitely had something for everyone. The food was excellent and the we saved $150 using the coupons…final bill was around $160…we tipped above the tacked on gratuity for a large party, and the wait staff seemed genuinely appreciative. We would have more meals here later in the week.
Once we completed dinner, we went on a mini downtown coupon run using the ACG/LVA coupons. Some family members did quite well. We used the blackjack bonus coupons at the Golden Gate that paid 2 for 1 on your first blackjack at up to $25 a hand. Three of us played the $25 for some time and were doing very well even though none of us hit our blackjack bonus for some time. We were tipping well and a casino host came over and spoke to us. She was originally from Chicago as well. After playing for some time, she asked how many of us were still there and we told her five. She wrote us a $150 food comp at Dupar’s that we decided to use the next morning.
We eventually made our way back to the Golden Nugget and everyone went their separate ways for the remainder of the evening.
Up next….Day 4…Spa Treatments and the M Buffet
Up early at 6:30am, and my wife and I headed back down to the spa and fitness center. After putting in a decent workout despite 4 hours sleep, I again took advantage of the Sauna and Steam Room.
The group was scheduled to meet at the entrance of the Golden Nugget Buffet. Only 10 of the group were able to make it for our 9am meeting time. The VIP line pass came in handy as the line was starting to get long. 5 LVA Golden Nugget 2 for 1 coupons later and we were seated fairly promptly. Food was good and the made to order egg station was a family favorite.
I had arranged to rent two cabanas for the group today at the adult pool called the Hideout on the third level. Last year I had rented the large cabana next the bar in this area. Although it was a larger cabana and easily fit the group, I found that it was not that intimate as you basically shared the area with the servers bartender and any patrons that wandered in. This year I requested Cabana A and B which were near the left side of the pool as you entered and furthest away from the bar. One of the main reasons I requested these two cabanas is that cabana A has a long 6 foot couch like seating area which would serve the group well. I made my way to the rental area at 10am when it opened and was pleased to find that they honored my request although there was no guarantee to do so. The Golden Nugget Cabana is $175 per day Sunday through Thursday. The Extra Large Cabana I had last year was $275 but holds up to 16 people. I was asked how many people I had planned and there would be 14 of us, although not all here at the same time. I was given 14 wrist bands for my party and I headed to Cabana A. Each cabana is nicely appointed. Ceiling Fan, Flat Screen TV with full cable channels. It also had a refrigerator filled with 6 bottled waters and a fruit and cheese tray, there was a safe to lock up valuables and comfortable seating inside for 4 or 5 people. Soon after I arrived, I was greeted by our server Doreen. I explained that this was a family reunion, and that she should take great care of this group and I tipped her nicely up front. I had made arrangements to split the cost with one of the other members of the group. We were not left wanting all day as Doreen made sure every person was properly lubricated. A great time was had by all.
After being in the sun all day, we started to wrap things up around 5:30pm, I paid the tab and we made plans to meet for dinner at Café Cortez at the El Cortez at 8pm.
As it turn out there would be 14 of us for dinner again tonight. My wife, my dad and I each had received the June/July flyer from the El Cortez with 3 2 for 1 meals at Café Cortez. We went to the players club to redeem them and was pleased to find that we could use as many as we wanted during one meal. We ended up using 7 of them for dinner. Again a plethora of items ordered including their signature Mr. Porterhouse steak dinner. Some had burgers, others had grilled pork chops, but the menu definitely had something for everyone. The food was excellent and the we saved $150 using the coupons…final bill was around $160…we tipped above the tacked on gratuity for a large party, and the wait staff seemed genuinely appreciative. We would have more meals here later in the week.
Once we completed dinner, we went on a mini downtown coupon run using the ACG/LVA coupons. Some family members did quite well. We used the blackjack bonus coupons at the Golden Gate that paid 2 for 1 on your first blackjack at up to $25 a hand. Three of us played the $25 for some time and were doing very well even though none of us hit our blackjack bonus for some time. We were tipping well and a casino host came over and spoke to us. She was originally from Chicago as well. After playing for some time, she asked how many of us were still there and we told her five. She wrote us a $150 food comp at Dupar’s that we decided to use the next morning.
We eventually made our way back to the Golden Nugget and everyone went their separate ways for the remainder of the evening.
Up next….Day 4…Spa Treatments and the M Buffet
