Just got back from our semi-annual trip, seven nights: two at Four Queens, three at MSS, two at Sam’s Town. Fun trip, spent time with friends and family, down about $200 (after cashback; love that 7x points senior day at Sam’s, good VP is included) on about $41K coin-in.
WEDNESDAY
Easy flight out on United, but we missed the WAX by about 10 minutes. Took a cab downtown, total with tip was about $48, which sucked. No problems with the driver, just high meter rates these days. Anyway, got room 149 at the Four Queens, okay room, crappy view of the roof, pipes, garbage that people had thrown out of their windows, etc.
Played lots of JoB, also plenty of 10/7 DB this time, the progressive was between $1200 and 1400 while we were there, someone finally hit it on Saturday (not me). They had a promo, $25 FP for quad queens, and Linda (wife) hit that. I did wander over to the Plaza and the LV Club, got my new players club card, they gave me King level to match my Sapphire at Boyd. Some nice perks, like a 50% FP bonus on RF’s, but the VP is badly downgraded, best now are a few 9/5 JoB machines. Place was kind of dead when I went over, more in disrepair than back in March (most of the cash machines weren’t working, men’s room was nasty, blood on one toilet seat, another toilet was smashed but not taken out of operation). The LV Club is a lot worse (renovation, my ass), most of the JoB is 7/5 now, 1/3 of the main casino is a discount gift shop, the back is just a long corridor that runs out to the old port cochere, no restaurants, no more virtual BJ, no nothing. Back to the Queens, quick prime rib at Magnolia’s and bedtime.
THURSDAY
Did some more wandering around this morning. The Gold Spike is interesting, no more casino, now it’s like a big living room with lots of games (board games, Twister, bean bag toss, a nice bed to lounge in, perhaps more). Strange. Construction on the old Lady Luck (Downtown Grand) continues, doesn’t look that much further along than back in March, though; doubt that they’ll open this fall as planned. Fallout shelter is still at 4th and Ogden, just in case:
More VP this morning, hit a straight flush on DB.
Badly underquaded on JoB, though, and I’m starting to feel that. Also ran over to the El Cortez and cashed our tax refund check for the 5% FP, had some fun with that, also played some BJ. There was some old bastard sitting on first base, giving Linda a lot of shit about how she played her hands (she plays perfectly, and he was standing on stiffs against dealer tens), pretty much muttering constantly, mostly at her, sometimes to himself. Linda told him that if he didn’t like it, he should leave, and I finally told him to mind his own fucking business, so he left. I’m only sorry that I didn’t threaten to break his legs, that would have been the chivalrous thing to do. Anyway, we were up and down, did lunch at Careful Kitty’s (now renamed Café Cortez), good hamburger. No more Binion’s burger for me, this is a lot better. Back to Four Queens, took the Deuce to Dona Maria’s for dinner (always good), and that was that.
FRIDAY
Moved to MSS today, got a nice room with a south view (the train noise never really bothers me), mostly played JoB at the bar, with some NSUD mixed in (also took my usual shot at the TDB machine, but no donut). Went over to Market Street at the Cal for lunch (had some okay chicken adobo), played all afternoon. Linda finally got Sapphire status today, too. Did the seafood buffet at the Fremont, kind of forgettable, not sure we’ll bother with this again. Major storm tonight, it was on the news for days.
Downtown got pounded pretty hard, lights were out at the Fremont for about 15 seconds before the generator kicked in, then no a/c, only about ½ of the lights and 1/3 of the machines working. Same at Binion’s; MSS seemed to have power (rainy walk back, but the worst was over) but the a/c was very slow to recover. Played some more, then bedtime.
SATURDAY
Started with one of those dreaded $100 cups of coffee, still badly underquaded. Our friends, Glen and Jennifer, got in around 9am (very early flight out of Tampa), so we played together some. I ran over to the Cal Club, had chicken katsu for lunch, Linda went over to the Plaza for a slice of pizza at Pop-Up Pizza (not bad at all). Ran down to the El Cortez for the noon drawing, didn’t win, though. Dinner was at the Golden Steer, I really like that place. Very good food and very old-school. Had some very good French onion soup, ribeye, twice-baked potato. Sure hit the spot.
Waiter said that OJ had had his last pre-prison meal at our table, also that Jennifer Lopez (not sure, but I think she’s famous) had had a birthday party at that table. No rain after dinner, but some major wind, kind of a sand-and-garbagestorm on the walk back to the Deuce. Played some more after dinner, caught up a bit, bedtime.
SUNDAY
Almost a $200 cup of coffee, but I got a quad and cashed out even (plus the scratch-and-sniff card that covered the tip). Took a break; still had a bus pass, and I ran up to the Gambler’s General Store for some Christmas shopping. Got a cool new shirt, too. We went over to Island Sushi at the Plaza for lunch, I really like that place. Food was still great (I got a bento with mochiko chicken, teriyaki beef and Spam, also some poke), but it’s all counter service now, no waiters, no more specials, no more poke bar. Sucks to have a restaurant at the Plaza.
Turns out that Linda and I both have a bunch of unexpected food comps at the Plaza, though, so lunch was free. El Cortez Day today, played some more BJ (did better today) and some multistrike JoB (hit a top-line quad for $100!) and Downtown Deuces. Dinner at Roberta’s (yeah, it’s The Flame now), Glen and Jennifer joined us, also Jon and Mimi (other friends from St. Pete, they’re starting to get serious about Vegas). Our son and his girlfriend (Aaron and Arielle) also joined us from Denver, they came in for her birthday and decided to surprise Linda, and they really did well in Vegas; they were with us for the rest of the trip. Anyway, great dinner, had walleye pike (Linda had king crab), Linda was our server and was wonderful as always. Back to MSS and bedtime.
MONDAY
Moving Day again, to Sam’s Town, took the shuttle, then Aaron, Arielle and I took the bus on a pilgrimage, to Lotus of Siam. Buses were a real pain in the ass, two no-showed, so it took a while. Great food, we had the Issan-style beef jerky, a roast duck curry and a couple of northern Thai dishes, a chicken and jackfruit curry and a pork stew.
All were really good, but the portions are small. Worth a trip, but I’m hard-pressed to see this as “the best Thai restaurant in North America,” as some critics have said. Glad we went, though. Back to Sam’s, had a real cliffhanger session on a dollar JoB progressive, dropped very quickly from $200 to $15, then hit a quad and a bunch of full houses, cashed out $300. Also played a lot of FPDW, did okay with that. Was next to another really annoying player, guy kept hitting the keys really hard and loud, also cashed out and put his voucher back into the machine maybe every four or five hands. It’s ironic, I could have stuck a fork in the guy’s eye, and I’d be the one to get in trouble, not him. Anyway, did okay with the deuces, then Linda, the kids and I went over to the Longhorn for dinner and some BJ (six-deck shoe with poor pen, but DAS, LSR, RSA, double on any 2 or 3 cards). What a dive. Dinner was crappy, in contrast to better reviews (the $5.99 steak special sucked), but blackjack was great, we played for a couple of hours and all cashed out ahead (lots of dealer errors on our favor); I split my first set of tens, too, won $40 on that. Back to Sam’s, bedtime once again.
TUESDAY
Bad start, but today and Wednesday were Senior Day at Sam’s (50+), so we were getting 7x points (i.e, 0.7% CB), so we played plenty. Other Senior perks included a drawing (we didn’t win) and prizes at 10, 100 and 200 points (all I got was more drawing entries, Linda got 2000 points, though). Today was also our day to cash out our MyVegas rewards, we had the vodka-and-caviar sampler at Petrossian and the Bellagio lunch buffet. Easy bus ride over to Bellagio, easy redemption at the players club. The caviar and vodka sampler was great, although a lot of vodka on an empty stomach (it consisted of three 1 ½ oz flutes of vodka and three very small [maybe 3gm each] tastes of caviar).
Bellagio buffet was great, fairly conventional offerings but all high-quality and well prepared. Bus ride back to Sam’s, more JoB and FPDW, lots of roller coaster rides but overall did well. Saw the redneck Bellagio show (Mystic Falls) twice, always fun. They’ve supposedly updated it, and it does look a little more impressive, especially the laser effects. I think they said that they refurred the bear as well.
The kids ran over to the E-Can, played some more BJ, did really well, won about $100 each (they’re getting really good at blackjack, Aaron hit some big bets). A few more JoB sessions for me, then bed.
WEDNESDAY
Last day. My last session was good, got two quads in quick succession, was up $200. Did the adequate-but-forgettable breakfast buffet (used ACG coupons, all free), checked out (took a while, someone in front of me in line was paying with loose change (true story, seems more like something you’d see at the Western). Taxi back to the airport (no more free airport shuttle at Sam’s, kind of a drag), and home.
Great trip overall; lots of comps and lots of fun for about a $200, or 0.5%, loss, not bad for no royals or other big hits, and long quadless periods. Everyone had a great time, and the kids really tuned up their Vegas skills, I’m very proud of them.
Next trip February, thanks for reading!
WEDNESDAY
Easy flight out on United, but we missed the WAX by about 10 minutes. Took a cab downtown, total with tip was about $48, which sucked. No problems with the driver, just high meter rates these days. Anyway, got room 149 at the Four Queens, okay room, crappy view of the roof, pipes, garbage that people had thrown out of their windows, etc.
Played lots of JoB, also plenty of 10/7 DB this time, the progressive was between $1200 and 1400 while we were there, someone finally hit it on Saturday (not me). They had a promo, $25 FP for quad queens, and Linda (wife) hit that. I did wander over to the Plaza and the LV Club, got my new players club card, they gave me King level to match my Sapphire at Boyd. Some nice perks, like a 50% FP bonus on RF’s, but the VP is badly downgraded, best now are a few 9/5 JoB machines. Place was kind of dead when I went over, more in disrepair than back in March (most of the cash machines weren’t working, men’s room was nasty, blood on one toilet seat, another toilet was smashed but not taken out of operation). The LV Club is a lot worse (renovation, my ass), most of the JoB is 7/5 now, 1/3 of the main casino is a discount gift shop, the back is just a long corridor that runs out to the old port cochere, no restaurants, no more virtual BJ, no nothing. Back to the Queens, quick prime rib at Magnolia’s and bedtime.
THURSDAY
Did some more wandering around this morning. The Gold Spike is interesting, no more casino, now it’s like a big living room with lots of games (board games, Twister, bean bag toss, a nice bed to lounge in, perhaps more). Strange. Construction on the old Lady Luck (Downtown Grand) continues, doesn’t look that much further along than back in March, though; doubt that they’ll open this fall as planned. Fallout shelter is still at 4th and Ogden, just in case:
More VP this morning, hit a straight flush on DB.
Badly underquaded on JoB, though, and I’m starting to feel that. Also ran over to the El Cortez and cashed our tax refund check for the 5% FP, had some fun with that, also played some BJ. There was some old bastard sitting on first base, giving Linda a lot of shit about how she played her hands (she plays perfectly, and he was standing on stiffs against dealer tens), pretty much muttering constantly, mostly at her, sometimes to himself. Linda told him that if he didn’t like it, he should leave, and I finally told him to mind his own fucking business, so he left. I’m only sorry that I didn’t threaten to break his legs, that would have been the chivalrous thing to do. Anyway, we were up and down, did lunch at Careful Kitty’s (now renamed Café Cortez), good hamburger. No more Binion’s burger for me, this is a lot better. Back to Four Queens, took the Deuce to Dona Maria’s for dinner (always good), and that was that.
FRIDAY
Moved to MSS today, got a nice room with a south view (the train noise never really bothers me), mostly played JoB at the bar, with some NSUD mixed in (also took my usual shot at the TDB machine, but no donut). Went over to Market Street at the Cal for lunch (had some okay chicken adobo), played all afternoon. Linda finally got Sapphire status today, too. Did the seafood buffet at the Fremont, kind of forgettable, not sure we’ll bother with this again. Major storm tonight, it was on the news for days.
Downtown got pounded pretty hard, lights were out at the Fremont for about 15 seconds before the generator kicked in, then no a/c, only about ½ of the lights and 1/3 of the machines working. Same at Binion’s; MSS seemed to have power (rainy walk back, but the worst was over) but the a/c was very slow to recover. Played some more, then bedtime.
SATURDAY
Started with one of those dreaded $100 cups of coffee, still badly underquaded. Our friends, Glen and Jennifer, got in around 9am (very early flight out of Tampa), so we played together some. I ran over to the Cal Club, had chicken katsu for lunch, Linda went over to the Plaza for a slice of pizza at Pop-Up Pizza (not bad at all). Ran down to the El Cortez for the noon drawing, didn’t win, though. Dinner was at the Golden Steer, I really like that place. Very good food and very old-school. Had some very good French onion soup, ribeye, twice-baked potato. Sure hit the spot.
Waiter said that OJ had had his last pre-prison meal at our table, also that Jennifer Lopez (not sure, but I think she’s famous) had had a birthday party at that table. No rain after dinner, but some major wind, kind of a sand-and-garbagestorm on the walk back to the Deuce. Played some more after dinner, caught up a bit, bedtime.
SUNDAY
Almost a $200 cup of coffee, but I got a quad and cashed out even (plus the scratch-and-sniff card that covered the tip). Took a break; still had a bus pass, and I ran up to the Gambler’s General Store for some Christmas shopping. Got a cool new shirt, too. We went over to Island Sushi at the Plaza for lunch, I really like that place. Food was still great (I got a bento with mochiko chicken, teriyaki beef and Spam, also some poke), but it’s all counter service now, no waiters, no more specials, no more poke bar. Sucks to have a restaurant at the Plaza.
Turns out that Linda and I both have a bunch of unexpected food comps at the Plaza, though, so lunch was free. El Cortez Day today, played some more BJ (did better today) and some multistrike JoB (hit a top-line quad for $100!) and Downtown Deuces. Dinner at Roberta’s (yeah, it’s The Flame now), Glen and Jennifer joined us, also Jon and Mimi (other friends from St. Pete, they’re starting to get serious about Vegas). Our son and his girlfriend (Aaron and Arielle) also joined us from Denver, they came in for her birthday and decided to surprise Linda, and they really did well in Vegas; they were with us for the rest of the trip. Anyway, great dinner, had walleye pike (Linda had king crab), Linda was our server and was wonderful as always. Back to MSS and bedtime.
MONDAY
Moving Day again, to Sam’s Town, took the shuttle, then Aaron, Arielle and I took the bus on a pilgrimage, to Lotus of Siam. Buses were a real pain in the ass, two no-showed, so it took a while. Great food, we had the Issan-style beef jerky, a roast duck curry and a couple of northern Thai dishes, a chicken and jackfruit curry and a pork stew.
All were really good, but the portions are small. Worth a trip, but I’m hard-pressed to see this as “the best Thai restaurant in North America,” as some critics have said. Glad we went, though. Back to Sam’s, had a real cliffhanger session on a dollar JoB progressive, dropped very quickly from $200 to $15, then hit a quad and a bunch of full houses, cashed out $300. Also played a lot of FPDW, did okay with that. Was next to another really annoying player, guy kept hitting the keys really hard and loud, also cashed out and put his voucher back into the machine maybe every four or five hands. It’s ironic, I could have stuck a fork in the guy’s eye, and I’d be the one to get in trouble, not him. Anyway, did okay with the deuces, then Linda, the kids and I went over to the Longhorn for dinner and some BJ (six-deck shoe with poor pen, but DAS, LSR, RSA, double on any 2 or 3 cards). What a dive. Dinner was crappy, in contrast to better reviews (the $5.99 steak special sucked), but blackjack was great, we played for a couple of hours and all cashed out ahead (lots of dealer errors on our favor); I split my first set of tens, too, won $40 on that. Back to Sam’s, bedtime once again.
TUESDAY
Bad start, but today and Wednesday were Senior Day at Sam’s (50+), so we were getting 7x points (i.e, 0.7% CB), so we played plenty. Other Senior perks included a drawing (we didn’t win) and prizes at 10, 100 and 200 points (all I got was more drawing entries, Linda got 2000 points, though). Today was also our day to cash out our MyVegas rewards, we had the vodka-and-caviar sampler at Petrossian and the Bellagio lunch buffet. Easy bus ride over to Bellagio, easy redemption at the players club. The caviar and vodka sampler was great, although a lot of vodka on an empty stomach (it consisted of three 1 ½ oz flutes of vodka and three very small [maybe 3gm each] tastes of caviar).
Bellagio buffet was great, fairly conventional offerings but all high-quality and well prepared. Bus ride back to Sam’s, more JoB and FPDW, lots of roller coaster rides but overall did well. Saw the redneck Bellagio show (Mystic Falls) twice, always fun. They’ve supposedly updated it, and it does look a little more impressive, especially the laser effects. I think they said that they refurred the bear as well.
The kids ran over to the E-Can, played some more BJ, did really well, won about $100 each (they’re getting really good at blackjack, Aaron hit some big bets). A few more JoB sessions for me, then bed.
WEDNESDAY
Last day. My last session was good, got two quads in quick succession, was up $200. Did the adequate-but-forgettable breakfast buffet (used ACG coupons, all free), checked out (took a while, someone in front of me in line was paying with loose change (true story, seems more like something you’d see at the Western). Taxi back to the airport (no more free airport shuttle at Sam’s, kind of a drag), and home.
Great trip overall; lots of comps and lots of fun for about a $200, or 0.5%, loss, not bad for no royals or other big hits, and long quadless periods. Everyone had a great time, and the kids really tuned up their Vegas skills, I’m very proud of them.
Next trip February, thanks for reading!
