Just returned from a few nights in Vegas and decided to write my first trip report in years…
EL CORTEZ
Comped a three night stay from host Nords after sending him an email. Tower room and requested the quiet side that faces Ogden. These are the even numbered rooms so keep that in mind. I was on a low floor and didn’t hear any street level noise. Air conditioner in the room never went below 72 though I kept it set at 67 and kept the drapes closed to try to reduce sunlight heat. A comment at checkout was met with a “it’s hot outside” Welllll I get it when it’s 4p, and a buck ten outside, but at 6am my room shouldn’t STILL be 72 degrees.
Daily free kiosk swipe has been raised from 300 to 600 points. I got $10 FSP x 1, $10 Siegel’s x 1 and 1000 points. The 1941 daily swipe is still a choice of $10 FSP, $10 food comp, pack of smokes and something else I didn’t pay attention to. Airline promo is still limited to 3x per year and still nets a $25 MP, $10 FSP and free drink.
Ate one meal at Siegel’s with my arrival promptly at their opening time of 7a. Was seated immediately where I waited…..and waited….and waited…. Watched two other servers come out and assist other tables before my server finally came out at 7:07a and offered service to a table that was seated after me. Cmon lady, not cool. Started to make my way to the hostess stand where I was just going to order takeout when the server FINALLY noticed me. This isn’t the first time initial service at Siegel’s has been slow. Strange because the food ALWAYS comes out within ten minutes max after order and it’s ALWAYS good quality and made to my requests. Looks like the back of the house is in order but the servers? Eh, not so much.
Starbucks is now operational and opens daily at 6am. That said, the coffee served on the casino floor is actually very good quality Superior brand.
Still one decent VP machine here contrary to what everyone says online. Sorry, not divulging publicly but any other sharps that spend time scouting plays, I’m happy to swap info.
D
Southwest Airlines boarding pass promo for $50 matchplay is still live but all the codeword MP deals are dead. Regarding the SWA BP promo, they accept a screenshot. Easy to book, checkin, cancel and have points refunded if you fly another airline and still want in on the deal. Assuming you have a bank of Rapid Reward points to use for the booking.
GOLDEN GATE
No problems using LVA 2/1 blackjack coupon here. It’s nice to play a coupon without sweaty, snarling pit critters who despise the coupon crowd. A lot of breakin dealers so keep an eye on your payoffs. There’s an upside to newb dealers if you’re paying attention.
One big note….NO MORE 8/5 Bonus poker on the floor. They used to have about 20 machines with 8/5 BP and now the total is ZERO. They pulled both banks off the floor within the past month. Only VP left is now the junk paytables at the bar. LVA $5-$100 slot coupon now worthless for the sharp player so I’m glad I used mine back in January.
PLAZA
Still trying to use the LVA $500 royal coupon but Sand Dollar Bar doesn’t open until 4p daily. Monday pizza promo is 100 points at $10/pt so that’s $1k coin on the 9/6 Jacks scattered around the place. For some stupid reason they now only have ONE promotions kiosk by the slot club and it seemed like there was ALWAYS a line to use it. Note that there’s another kiosk on the 3rd floor outside the bingo room – great alternative assuming no bingo in session since that one will have a mile long line of blue hairs getting all their kiosk bingo chits.
Meant to check the new outdoor bar for 9/6 Jacks that were reportedly available on a couple machines. The 100+ degree heat killed the thought of playing here real fast. Perhaps a pleasant spot for spring or fall.
CAL
Market Street Café is open 24/7 EXCEPT Tuesday mornings when they don’t open until 6am. Why do their overnight maintenance on 10x point day when the place is usually fairly crowded for a midweek morning? Service was timely and food was above average coffee shop quality. Have yet to have a disappointing meal here.
No comment about gaming here but there’s a reason I’m playing 10x Tuesday. Lace up your shoes, hit the floor and do the work if you want to find something.
BINIONS
Had a nice meal at Top of Binions once again. Menu prices seems to keep rising but that’s offset with LVA 25% off coupon. Add in the ability to pay the balance with comps and this is the best steakhouse deal downtown. Filet, mashed, tableside salad and a slice of cheesecake. Never disappoints. Their salt service always enhances my meal. Need that sodium to stay hydrated on these sweaty summer days.
One meal at Whiskey Lickers with my mailer comp of $25. It was decent but I believe overall quality here has dropped quite a bit from years past. The paring down of the menu is notable and a disappointment.
Finally hit SpinSlosion daily slot promo for $20 FSP. I’d say I get the required 6mill score maybe one out of ten tries. Still have yet to see ANYONE hit for the $100 FSP. Casino was pretty dead all week. The increase in $/coinin sure killed the 8/5 Bonus action near the Deli. Bartop progressives weren’t of any interest all week either.
FOUR QUEENS
Ate once at Magnolia’s and whew they have really jacked up their menu prices. Got the open face turkey sandwich. Turkey was very good but the actual portion size of the meat was paltry given the $18 price point. One way to offset this price increase is to use a 2/1 coupon then charge the balance to your room. At checkout, get a comp from Players Club and use it to cover the room charge. This is the workaround to their “no comps with coupons” rule at Magnolias.
Still lots of grinders here plugging away at their 9/6 Jacks and 10/7 DB. Table games pit has been reduced which seems to have benefited the air quality of the games near the cage.
CIRCA
“Hey Matthew” still nets a $25 MP chip at Players Club so be sure you get in on this one. Max two redemptions is what the boothlings said. I’d assume this is lifetime but I intend to ask each trip and simply play dumb if I’m shot down. Never hurts to ask.
FONTAINEBLEAU
Arranged for their status match through a host who also offered me a room comp. I’d also heard their bounceback mail is decent if you aren’t a big winner. Given the $1 8/5 Bonus on some bartops, and also in high limit, I figured I’d give them some action so went ahead and arranged the room comp. Moving from ElCo to FB is quite the contrast
FB is a helluva swank facility but, in a nutshell, it feels like you’re in an upscale shopping mall that is running at very low occupancy. Very inviting smell after suffering the dank pigarette smoke pits of Fremont St which was a big positive. The room was very nice and comfortable. Two minor annoyances were the automatic curtain/sheer controls didn’t fully close and whoever designed the bath amenities didn’t test the conditioner – impossible to get it out of the narrow lip dispensers!
I ended up playing 8/5 BP in high limit. The high limit slot area is sizeable though there were never more than three people playing (counting myself) when I was there during late morning/early afternoon hours. Beverage service was timely with drink servers passing at around 15 minute intervals. During the initial offer of service I inquired about the availability of espresso coffee options as well as fresh juice choices. Zero on all of the above. If they’re looking to compete with Wynn/Encore they’ll need to up their beverage game for high limit guests. Didn’t ask about any upscale booze options so maybe they’re stronger in that area.
Went out to the pool for a bit, and it was quite nice, but the 108 degree weather quickly dispelled my desire to lounge outside for very long.
Ate one meal at Mother Wolf with my $100 silver status comp. Pasta with short rib was exceptional with the pasta tasting freshly made in-house and prepared perfectly al dente. Short rib meatball appetizer was also very good though not something I’d order again. Margarita pizza also excellent. Overall a very good, albeit, pricey option. Those three dishes easily ate up the $100 comp.
Got my comp drip coffee in Chez Bon with the silver status though the wait wasn’t worth it. Operational failure to not offer an express coffee queue. Current setup forces all guests to wait behind those ordering various food dishes. If I was paying $7 for a cup of drip coffee I’d not expect to have to wait this long. Went by early the following morning for another cup and they definitely enforce the 6:30a start time for the comp to be valid. What a silly policy to restrict the hours they’ll comp a basic cup of coffee to their higher level players.
Walked across the street to checkout Resorts World which was about as bland as I expected it to be. Also stopped into the Clown and Slots Of Fun as it’s been years since I’ve walked through. Nice to see SOF and CC with table games again though it’s not the same without a fistful of matchplays.
Check in and check out at FB were both timely. No waits in the Invited Guest area which I took advantage of as a host booked the room. It was around 8am when I checked out and the agent tried calling VIP services for my minimal room charge of around $8 (plus the $20 gratuity at Mother Wolf – not usually something that’s comped). No answer so I told the agent don’t worry about it. She assured me she’d follow up when VIP services opened. About a week later I checked my credit card statement and the original ~$28 charge was amended to around $3. Bizarre amount to comp off since most of the $28 was the Mother Wolf tip but I’m not complaining!
Overall impression of FB is it’ll be Chapter 11 within a year. Almost no foot traffic coming in from LVBlvd entrance and the casino was quiet day and night. Don’t think I counted more than a dozen patrons playing tables at 7pm. I don’t see how they’re generating the cashflow to even service their debt payments, let alone cash an actual profit. I’ll return with another offer but if I was a high end cash customer there’s nothing about FB that gives it a competitive advantage over Wynn or even Bellagio.
