I put all of what's below in reply to DBueler's trip report about our trip but given that I haven't written a trip report in a while I figured I'd do my own post as well! Hope you enjoy it! You should read DBueler's first and then mine will make more sense.
Happy 2014!
FFlowers
I echo everything DB said about the trip. It was truly a GREAT trip. I lost most of my bankroll for the trip but it was so good that I ALMOST didn't mind. We did a LOT but it never felt rushed.
A few tidbits to add from me.
I flew to (after Christmas dinner with family) and from LV on Southwest as well and the flight was pleasurable both times. I was exhausted coming and going LOL so slept almost the entire way both times. Had a GREAT seat going -- the one in the exit row next to the window with no seat in front -- AND no one sitting in the seat next to me. Nirvana. I felt like I was a "winner" even before we took off. I awakened from a LONG nap a few minutes before we landed in LV and we took an approach I had never taken before. It's as if we started just south of downtown and flew in parallel to LVB all the way to the airport. I have been to Vegas at least 2+ dozen times and I don't know if I've ever flown in such a nice way. It was wonderful and a great omen for the trip.
Another score was that I was able to stay 7 comped nights at Caesars Palace in the Palace Tower. It was so great to be at CP again and though for my longish trips I don't mind moving hotels for comped rooms it was nice to unpack fully and just once. I really settled into my room and enjoyed it. I tipped each for night housekeeping, which I have to say was exceptionally good. I travel with a LOT of makeup, lipsticks, etc. and housekeeping had neatly and nicely placed them all each night. Very nice touch.
I also brought a box of Starbucks Christmas blend Keurig cups and used them in the Keurig machine that was in the room. I normally like milk in my coffee but the refrigerator was full with items for purchase so I first drank my coffee black. It wasn't as bad as I remember from years ago when I first tried drinking black coffee (and didn't like it). So, the second day I did the same thing. Well, over the course of the week I conditioned myself to drinking black coffee and I'm now there. I have to admit for some reason I am excited about that. LOL.
I played more slots this trip than VP and it showed. I never play those gold fish machines but played a few hours one night when I was WAY too tired and it took a chunk of my bankroll. That was a 2,000+ Tier Credit day so that tells you how much I played! And yes, I renewed Diamond as well. I was just 500 TCs short when I arrived in Vegas so I knew with a seven-day trip I would make Diamond for 2014.
My favorite slot machine though is the Willy Wonka machine. I know these puppies just eat money but I just loved that movie as a kid -- still do -- and the game, graphics, sounds, etc. are fabulous. I typically just played the minimum bet of 40 cents, some times 80 cents. I played the WW game at about 6 different casinos. I was really bummed that CP didn't have it even though Mandalay Bay, Aria, Flamingo, Bellagio, El Cortez all did. If CP had it I would have played at my "home casino" even more. I lost overall on the machines but not much given the hours I spent on them. I had a couple of GREAT hits on a minimal bet, including getting a 10x multiplier during the Ooompa Loompa bonus. That hit alone was almost $300. Common sense dictates not playing these machines but this is one case where my enjoyment said "go for it" so I did and I don't regret it. Had I played the WW machines more and those frickin Gold fish machines less I would have been better off!
I did play some VP -- my favorite VP machine is Double STP -- in quarters, dimes and then nickels (when my bankroll was getting low). I got a few four of kinds, including with a decent multiplier, but never got high 4OAKS (e.g., Aces, 2s, 3s, or 4s with kickers) and never got a royal. Before the Jerry Seinfeld show a quarter Double STP ate $300 in less than 15 minutes. NOTHING happened. It's the downside of these machines. But, I have to say I have lucked out on them as well. A few months ago at a casino near my home I got the motherload in double STP; the 10x multiplier on a royal on the top line, and I had been dealt just three to a royal. Shocked the hell of out me. Yeah. I won $10k on a $5.25 bet. Here's hoping I get at least another one of those in 2014.
I also did a fair amount of coupon running and was proud of myself for doing so. I am not a big table games player but played black jack with MPs at Ellis Island, Palms, Gold Coast and the Orleans AND Bally's as there was a MP in the coupon book at CP upon check in! From memory I lost about half and won half but wound up coming out a bit ahead. MPs really are really like close to free money. I regret not taking full advantage of this advantage play years ago when MPs were much more prevalent.
As DB said, the shows were fabulous. With great food, fabulous spa treatments, and most especially, great company, I have to say that this was one of my best trips ever. (Last summer I was in Vegas for close to three weeks and at various times my mother, DB, my best friend from college and my best friend from law school were with me so, from a fun and pure emotional standpoint, that trip was great as well. Another great trip, some years ago, was when my brother and I played FP JB nickel Multi Strike at the Stardust for at least 8 hours straight on I think 40 bucks. It was amazing. My most winning trip was 2 years ago. I brought back more than 7x times my bankroll. )
I stayed in LV through NYE, departing midday on New Year's Day, so I was in Vegas the last day alone. The highlight of that day was my seeing Maroon 5 in concert at Mandalay Bay. Tickets weren't cheap but the show was well worth it and the opening act was a young woman with a SPECTACULAR voice. I will look up her name and share it. She is coming out with her first album later this month. She is so talented I felt like I was listening to someone who will have a very long and successful career, and I got to hear her before she was really "known", in Vegas, on New Years Eve 2013.
I watched the fire works in front of Caesars for the first time in years. I am not even a big fireworks fan and I don't like booming sounds LOL but the show was truly spectacular and it was not wall to wall people standing right out in front of the casino, basically on the other side of the fountain/circle where you would drop off your car for the valet. If I am in LV again for NYE that's where I will watch the fire works. CP was strict about NOT letting people back in the casino right after the fireworks show unless you had on a green band indicating you were staying there, a room key or your TR card. I flashed my Diamond card. No problems.
Earlier in the week I also checked out the Bellagio conservatory for the winter display. It was magical.
This trip contained other firsts in addition to the ones DB noted. I of course COULD have taken a cab or shuttle to CP but I always wanted to see what it was like taking the bus from the airport. I did and it was GREAT. I had purchased 2 3-day RTC passes and a monorail pass, at a discount, a month before the trip. (I never do stuff like that so that was pretty funny.) I took the WAX one stop to the back of the MGM, walked about 10 minutes to the MGM monorail, took the monorail two stops to the Flamingo and then walked across the street to CP. The trip, door to door, didn't take a half hour and something about it was really cool. I remember getting off the monorail at Flamingo and feeling this cool but comfortable breeze hit me and a smile went across my face. I am in Vegas. As I had purchased the passes for travel generally throughout the trip I viewed taking public transit from the airport to CP as basically a "free" trip. Another score. I will do this again.
My first great meal of the trip was dinner at Payard Patisserie. I arrived in LV a few hours before DB. After completely unpacking I treated myself to dinner at PP. It was AMAZING. I think PP for my LV arrival dinner (if I get in town early enough), Mon Ami Gabi for the first breakfast after arrival, and Sugar Factory for the last evening meal before departure will be the way to go for me in the future.
I also had three spa treatments, one was the treat by DB (thanks again!), a Rum Butter Sugar Scrub at Qua my first morning in LV and a classic massage at Bally's. Facial was decent (and needed), but the sugar scrub and the massage were great. The Bally's spa is not fancy by any means. Indeed, it is quite dated, but there is something very "old school" about it that I like. A classic massage or facial is just $99 (rather than I believe 125 or 135) if your appointment is at 8 or 9 am. I booked a massage under this promo and got my Diamond discount applied on top of it so this GREAT massage was only $75 plus a very healthy and well-deserved tip. I had "Kit" as my masseuse and she was great. I believe I had "GREG" (can't remember) at Qua and he was wonderful as well.
In sum, we did a lot during this trip but it never felt rushed. Things were timed just right and it made a big difference that our meals before a show were in the same hotel or very close to the show.
A great trip indeed.
Happy 2014!
FFlowers
I echo everything DB said about the trip. It was truly a GREAT trip. I lost most of my bankroll for the trip but it was so good that I ALMOST didn't mind. We did a LOT but it never felt rushed.
A few tidbits to add from me.
I flew to (after Christmas dinner with family) and from LV on Southwest as well and the flight was pleasurable both times. I was exhausted coming and going LOL so slept almost the entire way both times. Had a GREAT seat going -- the one in the exit row next to the window with no seat in front -- AND no one sitting in the seat next to me. Nirvana. I felt like I was a "winner" even before we took off. I awakened from a LONG nap a few minutes before we landed in LV and we took an approach I had never taken before. It's as if we started just south of downtown and flew in parallel to LVB all the way to the airport. I have been to Vegas at least 2+ dozen times and I don't know if I've ever flown in such a nice way. It was wonderful and a great omen for the trip.
Another score was that I was able to stay 7 comped nights at Caesars Palace in the Palace Tower. It was so great to be at CP again and though for my longish trips I don't mind moving hotels for comped rooms it was nice to unpack fully and just once. I really settled into my room and enjoyed it. I tipped each for night housekeeping, which I have to say was exceptionally good. I travel with a LOT of makeup, lipsticks, etc. and housekeeping had neatly and nicely placed them all each night. Very nice touch.
I also brought a box of Starbucks Christmas blend Keurig cups and used them in the Keurig machine that was in the room. I normally like milk in my coffee but the refrigerator was full with items for purchase so I first drank my coffee black. It wasn't as bad as I remember from years ago when I first tried drinking black coffee (and didn't like it). So, the second day I did the same thing. Well, over the course of the week I conditioned myself to drinking black coffee and I'm now there. I have to admit for some reason I am excited about that. LOL.
I played more slots this trip than VP and it showed. I never play those gold fish machines but played a few hours one night when I was WAY too tired and it took a chunk of my bankroll. That was a 2,000+ Tier Credit day so that tells you how much I played! And yes, I renewed Diamond as well. I was just 500 TCs short when I arrived in Vegas so I knew with a seven-day trip I would make Diamond for 2014.
My favorite slot machine though is the Willy Wonka machine. I know these puppies just eat money but I just loved that movie as a kid -- still do -- and the game, graphics, sounds, etc. are fabulous. I typically just played the minimum bet of 40 cents, some times 80 cents. I played the WW game at about 6 different casinos. I was really bummed that CP didn't have it even though Mandalay Bay, Aria, Flamingo, Bellagio, El Cortez all did. If CP had it I would have played at my "home casino" even more. I lost overall on the machines but not much given the hours I spent on them. I had a couple of GREAT hits on a minimal bet, including getting a 10x multiplier during the Ooompa Loompa bonus. That hit alone was almost $300. Common sense dictates not playing these machines but this is one case where my enjoyment said "go for it" so I did and I don't regret it. Had I played the WW machines more and those frickin Gold fish machines less I would have been better off!
I did play some VP -- my favorite VP machine is Double STP -- in quarters, dimes and then nickels (when my bankroll was getting low). I got a few four of kinds, including with a decent multiplier, but never got high 4OAKS (e.g., Aces, 2s, 3s, or 4s with kickers) and never got a royal. Before the Jerry Seinfeld show a quarter Double STP ate $300 in less than 15 minutes. NOTHING happened. It's the downside of these machines. But, I have to say I have lucked out on them as well. A few months ago at a casino near my home I got the motherload in double STP; the 10x multiplier on a royal on the top line, and I had been dealt just three to a royal. Shocked the hell of out me. Yeah. I won $10k on a $5.25 bet. Here's hoping I get at least another one of those in 2014.
I also did a fair amount of coupon running and was proud of myself for doing so. I am not a big table games player but played black jack with MPs at Ellis Island, Palms, Gold Coast and the Orleans AND Bally's as there was a MP in the coupon book at CP upon check in! From memory I lost about half and won half but wound up coming out a bit ahead. MPs really are really like close to free money. I regret not taking full advantage of this advantage play years ago when MPs were much more prevalent.
As DB said, the shows were fabulous. With great food, fabulous spa treatments, and most especially, great company, I have to say that this was one of my best trips ever. (Last summer I was in Vegas for close to three weeks and at various times my mother, DB, my best friend from college and my best friend from law school were with me so, from a fun and pure emotional standpoint, that trip was great as well. Another great trip, some years ago, was when my brother and I played FP JB nickel Multi Strike at the Stardust for at least 8 hours straight on I think 40 bucks. It was amazing. My most winning trip was 2 years ago. I brought back more than 7x times my bankroll. )
I stayed in LV through NYE, departing midday on New Year's Day, so I was in Vegas the last day alone. The highlight of that day was my seeing Maroon 5 in concert at Mandalay Bay. Tickets weren't cheap but the show was well worth it and the opening act was a young woman with a SPECTACULAR voice. I will look up her name and share it. She is coming out with her first album later this month. She is so talented I felt like I was listening to someone who will have a very long and successful career, and I got to hear her before she was really "known", in Vegas, on New Years Eve 2013.
I watched the fire works in front of Caesars for the first time in years. I am not even a big fireworks fan and I don't like booming sounds LOL but the show was truly spectacular and it was not wall to wall people standing right out in front of the casino, basically on the other side of the fountain/circle where you would drop off your car for the valet. If I am in LV again for NYE that's where I will watch the fire works. CP was strict about NOT letting people back in the casino right after the fireworks show unless you had on a green band indicating you were staying there, a room key or your TR card. I flashed my Diamond card. No problems.
Earlier in the week I also checked out the Bellagio conservatory for the winter display. It was magical.
This trip contained other firsts in addition to the ones DB noted. I of course COULD have taken a cab or shuttle to CP but I always wanted to see what it was like taking the bus from the airport. I did and it was GREAT. I had purchased 2 3-day RTC passes and a monorail pass, at a discount, a month before the trip. (I never do stuff like that so that was pretty funny.) I took the WAX one stop to the back of the MGM, walked about 10 minutes to the MGM monorail, took the monorail two stops to the Flamingo and then walked across the street to CP. The trip, door to door, didn't take a half hour and something about it was really cool. I remember getting off the monorail at Flamingo and feeling this cool but comfortable breeze hit me and a smile went across my face. I am in Vegas. As I had purchased the passes for travel generally throughout the trip I viewed taking public transit from the airport to CP as basically a "free" trip. Another score. I will do this again.
My first great meal of the trip was dinner at Payard Patisserie. I arrived in LV a few hours before DB. After completely unpacking I treated myself to dinner at PP. It was AMAZING. I think PP for my LV arrival dinner (if I get in town early enough), Mon Ami Gabi for the first breakfast after arrival, and Sugar Factory for the last evening meal before departure will be the way to go for me in the future.
I also had three spa treatments, one was the treat by DB (thanks again!), a Rum Butter Sugar Scrub at Qua my first morning in LV and a classic massage at Bally's. Facial was decent (and needed), but the sugar scrub and the massage were great. The Bally's spa is not fancy by any means. Indeed, it is quite dated, but there is something very "old school" about it that I like. A classic massage or facial is just $99 (rather than I believe 125 or 135) if your appointment is at 8 or 9 am. I booked a massage under this promo and got my Diamond discount applied on top of it so this GREAT massage was only $75 plus a very healthy and well-deserved tip. I had "Kit" as my masseuse and she was great. I believe I had "GREG" (can't remember) at Qua and he was wonderful as well.
In sum, we did a lot during this trip but it never felt rushed. Things were timed just right and it made a big difference that our meals before a show were in the same hotel or very close to the show.
A great trip indeed.
