Finally Vegas Sept 24-Oct 1

We were so grateful for this trip, with all the things that have happened recently we were wondering if we could/should travel, everything clicked so nothing we say negative should detract from a fun trip

Originally scheduled for March Madness & my 80th, then May, then June & finally made in Sept to celebrate our 25 th anniversary, we stayed at Fitzgeralds & were married at The Little Chapel By The Courthouse. We are Bobby BoVegas (BW), Pretty Pretty Martie (MJ), and for some of the trip Bill (BB) a long time friend and my Craps Guru. This our first trip since Sept 2019, and our trip out of town in over a year. You bet we were ready.

TRANSPORTATION 

We used Carter Shutttle from & to Smithville Tx to Bergstrom Airport, Austin, Tx a little pricey but our vacation starts & ends in Smithville so worries end at the door. The Carters & their staff are 5 Star, our driver both ways was Bradford  & did a top notch job. Presidental Limo provided service to & from Mccarren & The D as usual they were right on in each trip, Douglas their driver was 4 Aces.

Our original booking was in Feb 2020 but Southwest changed our flight 3 times before we did our final booking in August, total price including early bird was $350, nice. Depated both ways on time & early arrivals both ways, SW good job.

LODGING

The D Sept 24- Oct 1 comped room 2137 can't beat that. Nice view of mountains.

FOOD

We are not foodies so this will be boring, coffee &  morning snacks at coffee stand by elevator used food comps Club One card, ate several meals at McDonals at D, numerouus meals at Magnolia Cafe at 4 Queens covered on our 4Q comps. Also purchased snacks at Walgreens.

GAMBLING

Overall poor, MJ played 90% slots usually makes a profit, she is expert of finding penny slots that are off the wall but she lost her magic this trip, but they had better brace themselves our next trip.

BW played video poker mostly at the Vue Bar at D & Kings Bar at 4 Q hit 11 4 of a kind, 3 at D 8 at 4Q, 1-$1, 3 .50, 7-.25 & now in 6th year without hitting a Royal, oh well can I say we are due, also not dealt a 4 to a Royal. Overall Vide Poker was below average.

Had 6 sessions of Craps 3 with BB 3 by myself, 2 at Fremont $10 table , 4 at 4 Q $5 table, broke even in total for 6 sessions, really enjoyed the employees , fellow gamblers, & general atmosphere will increase my play in the future , D tables $25 on weekends, $15 weekday too rich for me.

0 for 5 in football parlays, 2 Astro parlays still working

MASKS & TEMP CHECKS good at downtown & Downtown Casinos anything that helps I am for. Saw a few at machines with masks down drinking & or smoking, but overall good, 4 Q very impressive with cleaning.

Derek Sightings 

Saw him once on second floor brief conversation gave me his card. Whoop

RANDOM THOUGHTS

*SW empty middle seat, prices, times continue to impress.

*will continue to use Carter & Presidental

*The D with comped rooms & $ for food & slots will remain our hotel

*Not cleaning rooms understandable but look forward to daily cleaning

*Hard to find a place at The D that is not loud, loud.

* Gambling at The D was poor.

*Bartenders at Long Bar & Vue bar fantastic (Jason, Roy, Rafael,Antuan, Chris, Steve, Marcos) Canada Bar service non existent sat there 2 times each time the young ladies looked right through me & not a word, real strange. 

* Bartenders at Kings Bar 4Q (Allen, Nathan, Mikal, Mike) 5 star.

* Coffee Bar at D still doing good.

*Lady & Meaghan costomer service at Club one great.

*Magnolia Cafe at 4Q still tops.

*Crap table crew at Fremont good, Crew at 4Q friendly efficent, lovem.

*Saw 1 light show need to see more.

*Next trip possible over Christmas

*Wildy crowded on weekends , try Mon-Fri.

*TSA needs work at both airports.

*Overall great to get out of town to visit our favorite city.

Thanks for reading   Bobby & Martie Smithville, Texas

Thanks for the report, Bobby. I'm a fellow downtowner and Vue Bar aficionado myself. Headed there myself next week, plan on hitting the coffee kiosk every morning - love their espresso and their smiles. We're almost neighbors, btw. Most SWA flights to Vegas pass close to my home near Buda after banking to the west...

Been waitin' for a report from you, Bobby.  So glad you guys finally made it.

Southwest changed our 'non-stop' flights (basically eliminating non-stop) so many times, we still haven't made it to Vegas since last March, right before the virus raised its ugly head.  Tired of keeping up which flights are on, which are off after chasing the non-stops, changing a million times only to have the changes changed! 

Now we have Thanksgiving and Christmas trips booked.  They've already changed the (initally non-stop) Christmas flight, now one stop each way at Love Field.  I told BFF just deal with it, I'm tired of travel agent duty, plus we almost made money doing changes when flights were/are super discounted.  The arrival times are OK, at least.  I'm fully expecting them to change the Thanksgiving flight.  Why are we doing the holidays?  Because husband will come along, his workplace will be shut down enough days he won't feel so guilty.   

But enough about me and our flights...grrrr.

It sounds like the bars were your happy places this trip.  That's the way it is, one thing or another will make or save a trip.  So fun to have staff who know and appreciate you and have fun with you, not to mention excellent beverage making.  

I'd be happy if I never got four to the Royal if it isn't going to fill in.  Always a disappointment.  I think of the Royals I've had, few have filled in from being dealt four.

What was going on with TSA?  Any hints or issues I need to dodge or strategize for?  Were your planes fairly full?

Thanks for the report, Bobby.  And congratulations on 25 years together.  So cool that you got married there.

Candy

I've said before that the "D" stands for "deafening." I just don't like to be around music loud enough to liquefy my internal organs. And $15/25 minimums, you say? Feh! The Four Queens is a much better place to gamble.

Definitely, though, it was a good idea for you to milk your comps at the D---and to eat at the 4Q. The Magnolia Cafe is still excellent. I assume they still have the prime rib special?

You can do pretty well playing VP at the 4Q if you stick to the 9/6 JOB (if you want to earn points) or the 10/7 DB (if you don't care). I've found that the mailers I get for even modest play are excellent. Don't know what that will be like now, though. Let us know what you get in the mail from both the D and the 4Q.

How would you evaluate cleanliness, mask compliance by both staff and customers, and other precautions at both properties?

OMG, Southwest just did it again!  Cancelled BFFs Thanksgiving flight reservation but not hubby's and mine. 

What the???

But now I know a little more why, after hours on the phone with a SWA agent (who BTW was superbly patient and helpful, as all of them seem to be).  I'll post my 'findings' in the Transportation forum, should anyone else be interested.  Hint, had to do with traveling as a threesome.  We got rebooked, going out a day earlier.  Fingers crossed.

Thank you black jack, O2bnVegas, & Kevin Lewis for your kind comments. black jack we are neighbors before we moved to Smithville 3 years ago we were even closer neighbors having lived in beautiful  South Austin since 1962 first 78704 up the hill Barton Springs for 30 years and .78745 off William Cannon behind the bowling alley for 20 years. Sure miss the Horseshoe Lounge, Split Rail, Broken Spoke, Giddy Up, El Gallo, Hills,Matts El Rancho & Holliday House. Kevin we like the fully comped rooms at The D not the super loud music & higher limit table games. The D gives both BW & MJ 3 nights comped and $40 each free slot, plus total $60 free food. 4 Queens gives each of us buy a night get a free night, but loads of free food, comps, & money back, so we will stay at The D & gamble at both.

O2bnVegas Southwest has already changed our Christmas trip, oh well still direct flight. We appreciate what TSA is there for & respect their effort, but wow sometimes they go about it in a strange way. I was given the extra wand treatment in Austin, then told to spread my legs & put my hands in the air, here we have a 80 year old man trying to hold his pants up with one hand & the other in the air, MJ has checked thru & is laughing her pretty hinny off, 3 TSA surronds me, a complete pat down front , back, sideways from my tummy to my hinny,   senior TSA says" we have a X 27 or B44 here", alert alert, no I say I am wearing 2 Depends, male diapers comprende. They finally wave me by, Lead TSA "cancel the B UNIT" here I am holding my pants up shuffling over to a chair to recover my dignity & put my belt on. MJ by this time is laughing hysterically, but they get her on they way back where she is surroned by TSA insisting she has some meat in her shoulder & collarbone, did I laugh not one giggle. If you have read my TRs before you know I wont let the TRUTH get in the way of a good story.

Love my Vegas, til December.

Bobby or BoVegas

Bobby that is indeed a good story.  I had one of those TSA feel-ups once.  Afterward I thought well, I can skip my next mammogram, colonoscopy, and GYN exam.  TSA says I'm OK.

When the lady examiner wasn't giving up around my, ahem, private area I asked her what might be drawing such attention, she said "Maybe it is the type of underwear you have on."  True, that day I had on a pair of those almost-Spanks (cheaper brand), determined to look sleek and chic on arrival in Vegas (as if anybody cared). 

Now, I just let it all hang out, no more belly cinching, just regular old 'drawers' as we say in the South.   

That's why the $85 for 5 years of TSA pre-check is well worth it to  bypass that evil scanner that picks up every wart and mole and whatever you ate that morning as something likely to take a plane down.  The metal detector is much more forgiving.  LOL.

Candy

The TSA, however necessary or not you might consider them to be, is a major reason why I almost never fly any more. They add as much as an hour to the time it takes to get on the goddamn plane. I live 45 minutes from an international airport. If I've already bought and paid for my ticket, I still have to allocate a MINIMUM of four hours from when I leave my domicile to when I'm actually getting on the plane, boarding pass clutched in my sweaty fist. Not to mention the folderol I'm going to have to go through just to retrieve my stuff and escape the airport at my destination--two or more additional hours, minimum.

The result is that the plane flight itself is swift and technologically marvelous (unless something goes wrong), but when you average in the time you spend waiting in interminable lines, it's probably faster to walk to Vegas. Cheaper, too!

My TSA bias report is that as a male traveling alone, I'm subject to more scrutiny than most people, though that has lessened as I've gotten older. Of course, there was the time when a TSA employee whispered "Allahu akbar" in my ear just to see how I'd react.

I wonder if the literally billions of hours of travelers' time wasted, plus the horrific expense of maintaining hundreds of nimrod-manned checkpoints throughout the country, is really a preferable alternative to having a few planes explode in midair now and then. There is such a thing as overcaution. (Not to mention race-fueled paranoia.) 

I have had a knee replacement and always go through the full body scanner as I set off the metal detector alarm.  This prevents me from getting the full patt down and speeds the process.  I aways chuckle how, even when I'm wearing shorts, that patt down my left knee even though they are touching bare skin.

I've never been one to worry about this stuff.  After all, what's the point of getting bent out of shape?

Great report Bobby.  I think most everyone is like you.....cannot wait to get back to LV.

I always enjoy your trip reports.

David in La Grange, TX