Gold Coast -Golden Nugget 6/4 through 6/10/14 - Part II
Saturday, June 7th - We're leaving Gold Coast and heading to Downtown for the next three days. So... after our final "Ritual" Bloodies and Baileys at GC, we cabbed to the Golden Nugget, pre-registered, dropped our bags at the bell station, and headed to Main Street for their buffet and some play at the Boars Head Bar. I love that bar. They have a good VP pay schedule along with great bartenders and wonderful, relaxed and, dare I say, elegant, surroundings with its marble and brass bar top and antique crystal lamps. The buffet was mobbed, and for the first time in quite awhile, we had to wait to be seated. Both of us enjoyed our meal there, as always, there is a wide variety of well-prepared items to choose from. We walked back through the Cal, then the Vegas Club, and landed at Four Queens for the afternoon Rat Pack show in the Canyon Club. We paid around $12 for both tickets which included two drinks. The show room was only about one-quarter full. The show was entertaining and "Sammy's" renditions of "BoJangles" (sp?) and "What Kind of Fool Am I" were standouts. He stole the show with his excellent voice. "Frank" had some vocal issues, but had the mannerisms down, and had some funny lines. Then "Dean" was a no-show! Apparently this also surprised the other two Pack members who seemed to be waiting for him to show. They had to improvise his part so lost quite a lot of the usual banter. Still this was a good afternoon break. After the show we loaded in our free play, which lasted all of five minutes, and since my favorite "Star Wars" machine is no longer there, we didn't stay long at the 4Q.
Back at the GN, we checked in and asked for the Coupon Book only to be told it is not given to us lowly Carson Towers dwellers. There is some kind of coupon sheet now for others, but not us. No worries, between the LVA and ACG we have show and buffet coupons aplenty. We did get nice rooms facing the strip as requested. I had serious issues with the AC though; very loud screeching sounds, and the cooling never kicked in enough for my comfort. Maintenance tried, but their attempts to fix did not work very well. Anyway, back downstairs at Claude's Bar, I had a great run at bar-top VP. Put in my $20, had two beverages, and ended up with $50.
Saturday night we oped for the Gordie Brown Show and the GN buffet package. We had great seats in the 4th row. We've seen his show several times, and each time he adds something new. His impressions are hillarious and he has a full band (the drummer and guest guitarist were major players in other named bands - sorry I can't remember which bands they came from). The band is able to keep up with him as he morphs from one character to the next, changes things up and tries out new bits. There's a lot of ad libbing and good natured ribbing between Gordie and the band. He reminds me of a musical Robin Williams. I recommend the show.
In MHO Saturday night on Fremont Street is a freak show! Besides the usual drunks, panhandlers, and crowds, there were several guys who had painted their faces to resemble the band "Kiss" who wore nothing but a sock around their male parts - and some pirate wenches who wore pasties and little else. Sheesh, over the top, especially with little kids and familys expecting to enjoy the light show - not a freak show. So, we opted to stay inside the Plaza (very quiet) for awhile and stocked up at the ABC store before making our way through the crowds back to the GN for a peaceful nightcap in the H2o bar by the Pool. The Fire Pits ad ambience, but are not necessary when it's still 95 degrees out at 12:30 am!
Sunday - June 8th -
I can't sleep in so head over to Fremont for Dunkin' Donuts ice coffee and some time at the VP bar in the back of the casino to bolster my Boyd points. A young guy sits on the stool beside me and asks for a glass of water. The bartender brings it and then walks down to the service area. The guy leans into my space and whispers "got a smoke?" I make no eye contact and say "Sorry", He then leans in again, and asks "got a dollar?" Again, I just say "sorry". Meanwhile he has discarded his shoes and is scratching his dreadlocks while quietly mumbling to himself. When he lifts his shirt and scratches his chest, I signal the clueless bartended that this guy is a "Problem". He phones security and three guys arrive within 45 seconds, drag him off the stool, pick up his shoes and walk him out. You can't make this stuff up! The bartender apologizes profusely -- and makes me a special Madras with Greygoose Orange. Okay, all is forgiven.
I head back to Claudes at the GN to keep the "Ritual" with City Girl, and we decide to grab lunch at Magnolia's -- the veggie pizza and Muffalatta sandwich were excellent and enough to feed four. I took the free Craps lesson, and picked up some interesting tips on the many other (and quite confusing) bets. On a $5 table, it's quite possible to have at least $20 riding on each roll, so the bankroll has to be large enough to withstand a series of losses - which can be very quick (I know of which I speak...).
We then headed to The D to use free play and spend some time at the upstairs Vue bar watching the bartenders do their flair thing, spend quality time with JoB and then play the horses at the Sigma Derby. Some over-served guys were betting their quarters and yelling and screaming as if their life savings were at risk on each race. It's not the last leg of the Triple Crown, guys, it's just a quarter...Chill! Quite entertaining.
We watched the FSE Lightshow, wandered around checking out the kiosks and called it a night.
Monday, June 9th - Keeping "The Ritual" cost $20 on crapy JoB this morning, so It's onward to the El Cortez! I loaded in my free play on the Puffer Fish/Shark Bonus Game (forgot the name), and within two minutes ended up with a Shark Bonus that resulted in about 30 free spins and a $50 win - then the next Bonus, and the next Bonus - they just kept coming...I cashed out $110 on Free Play. City Girl is having a little luck at Pharaoh's Fortune and wanted to stay put for awile so I headed into the Parlour VP bar. I put in a $20 and was amazed it disappearded so quickly -- oh, wait -- there're all dollar machines now, so four loosing hands and you're busted! I'm feeling flush (no pun) from my recent winning streak so in goes another $20, and snap, that disappears before I've taken two sips of my excellent (non comped) Mojito! Enough of that! It's back to Puffer Shark and sadly a continuing spiral downward.
VP and Puffer Shark treated me very badly, so the large Video Craps game by the front door catches my attention. There are three others playing (actually one person appears to be sleeping) so I sit down and scope out the gist of the game. It's hard not to pay attention -- once bets are set, the female dealer's shrill mechanical voice keeps repeating "Push the Button - Go Ahead AND - Push the Button!!! until the designated shooter obeys. Then these huge dice jump around inside a 2-foot high tube, and it's a crap shoot (pun intended). It's a $5.00 game, so I'm not sure why I was playing this instead of the live $5.00 game 30 feet away, other than it looked like fun. City Girl is now coloring up from a good day at the BJ table, so we head to the main bar by the Cafe to play Jacks, people watch, and decide what's next.
We want to check out The Grand and the Container Park, so we brave the 107 degree temps and wander around. The Container Park is devoid of humanity, and many of the shops and restaurants housed in the little metal boxes are closed -- it's an interesting place to visit, and on a cooler day I can imagine spending more time exploring it. On the other hand, the Pool at The Grand is mobbed, a DJ was playing and the place had a nice party atmosphere going on. We meant to try the highly-rated pizza place there, but that will have to wait until next time. It's amazing how fast time disappears in Vegas.
Heading back "uptown" we stopped into "Don't Tell Mama" to see if the singing bartenders were doing their thing -- nada, the place was a tomb, so we kept walking up to The Fremont and opted in for their dinner buffet. I love the comfy booths and the restful garden atmosphere. The meal was surprisingly good. We had experienced mediocre food the last couple of tries, so will put this one back on the list. Slotzilla, on the other hand in MHO, adds nothing to Downtown except more congestion under the Canopy with people flying overhead in sets of threes, all screaming. Maybe it's me and I'm just getting older and a bit grumpy....
It's the final night for us, and I'm up $250 for the week, so let's play some more. BJ is City Girl's game, so we buy-in for$100 at Binions with City Girl coaching me on strategy, and me relying on good cards and luck. We stay even for awhile, then I tank while CG is on a tear. I need to head back to pack up -- I have an obscenely early 6:30 a.m. flight. Imagine getting from LV to Boston via Miami! It's an Award flight with American Airlines, so there isn't much choice in routing anymore. City Girl and I say our sad goodbyes over a final nightcap at Claude's, and I retreat to set several wake-up alarms. I'm up very early, cab to McCarron and arrive safely home 12 hours later while thinking about when I might next get to go again. Hmmmmmm, I did get an invitation for three free nights at the Plaza which will expire in December...
Thanks for reading!
