Hit ‘em All Nevada – Day 2
I had a good night’s sleep though I woke up at 5:30 AM due to the sunlight coming in from the curtains that wouldn’t close all the way. I’ll need to stop at a 99 cent store and pick up a couple of food clips to close them up. The room doesn’t have a coffee maker, but I bring my own anyway and put on a pot as I caught up on the news and took care of the rest of the morning activities. I’m in the north tower of the Hilton, which allows me to park just outside the hotel, and there’s a glass elevator that most people don’t know about that takes me right down to the parking lot.
Today will be one of the most physically demanding days as I will be “doing the Strip” hotels today. First stop, however, was to go to a Starbucks to send in yesterday’s report. The one I used to go to on Flamingo and Maryland closed, but I did find a new one about ten blocks east of that—that’s the thing about the ubiquitous Starbucks, there will always be another one close by in Las Vegas. The plan is simple, park in the Mandalay Bay self-parking lot and begin walking north all the way to Treasure Island, then walk across the street to Encore and then walk south eventually getting to the Tropicana and finally back to the car.
I needed to decide about the pictures. Even though I’m sure most of you have seen pictures of all these places, I still thought I needed to keep the journals up-to-date with the way the hotels look like on the same day I’m there, so the plan was to take the picture of the front of the hotel across the street and then when I was over there, take the picture of the hotels where I was currently at. You can get an idea what time it was when I took the picture simply by the sun’s location at the time. My little point-and-shoot Nikon Coolpix camera’s zoom did a good job. There’s one hotel that I missed: as I got to the end of the trip and at the Tropicana, I still had yet to take a picture of New York, New York. And wouldn’t you it? The last picture I needed for the day, and I ran out of memory on my camera.
I started at Mandalay Bay at 9:30 AM and I got back to my room at the Hilton at 10:10 PM. Yes, I could have done this faster, but I told myself at the beginning of this trip that I would not hurry, which is what I regret from my National Casino Tour last year. This time, if I wanted to stop for a drink and watch a ballgame on TV or walk around a particular hotel for a bit or if I just felt like sitting down and playing some video poker or penny games, as you’ll notice, I did just that.
Away we go:
Because I drove by it and thought it would smart to get it out of the way, my first stop was Hooters. When this hotel changed hands a few years ago, I would receive some free nights from them, and I anxiously took them. I liked the rooms, which had a Jimmy Buffet song theme and the overall place just had a nice vibe. However, since then, they’ve really gone downhill ever since. The rooms became tattered due to lack of upkeep and maintenance, they downgraded all their video poker schedules, and the coveted younger generation long since moved on to newer “hip” hotels and ultra clubs. However, my $10 bet on blackjack was positive as I won.
Mandalay Bay remains as a beautiful hotel (The Hotel next to it doesn’t have its own casino) and casino. This place keeps everything looking fresh and new. I used to come here quite often after it had just opened because my daughter, Tracy, used to work here at the Border Grill restaurant. The problem I faced here was that there were NO $10 blackjack tables open. Every one of them was a minimum of $15, which also included the craps table. Fortunately, I found a roulette table with a $10 minimum. I bet on black and won.
I walked, taking the Mandalay Bay Shops overpass to the Luxor. Many of you might remember that long before these shops were built, you could walk between the two properties and stay inside, but the journey was a long trek through empty hallways and long narrow paths. The idea that this was wasted space and could be profitable was a good one. Most the shops were closed this early but I did check out menus of the restaurants as I passed them—all tourist prices. Personally, I have a hard time swallowing $15.99 for a hamburger—but that’s just me. The Luxor, which used to cater to families, has gone over a complete remodel, and I have to say I really approve. Though the casino floor remains a labyrinth where you can easily get lost, the place has a very nice feel to it. The blackjack was even better as I was dealt a blackjack for a $15 win.
Next stop was a short tram trip away to the Excalibur, a hotel that I have never liked. I don’t like the zillions of kids running everywhere, I don’t like the four wings of casino floor that because of its poor signage, I manage to continually get turned around in, and I don’t really care for the theme of the place, which is spotty at best (explain how a raunchy Dick at the Beach joint fits in with King Arthur and the Round table?). I will say that regardless of my dislike of the place, I did win again at blackjack.
I then walked over the pedestrian bridge (one of the very best ideas city planners have come up with in years) to New York, New York. They did a remodel of the casino here about five years ago, and it remains the same. I strolled through the “New York streets” that are where all the street restaurants are located and it’s nice to see that with the exception of a Starbucks, there are no fast food franchises here. From the deli to the hot dog stand, all the places keep the illusion of Brooklyn neighborhood alive. Blackjack again turned out to be another winner.
The Monte Carlo was next—ah—the poor Monte Carlo. It somehow seems lost among the Strip properties, and now that it’s sandwiched between New York, New York and the Center City metropolis, it’s all but forgotten. The casino floor shows this as there were few customers playing. What people there were all seemed to be at the end of the place where the food court was busy with people chugging down coffees, sodas, and pizza slices. Their great micro-brewery has recently been re-opened, but there was only one couple at the bar. They opened a $10 blackjack table as I approached along with four other college boys enjoying themselves. The dealer methodically checked each one of their IDs, and completely ignored me—hey! However, the first hand dealt was a winner for me. I have now won my first six ten dollar bets! Wow, what an auspicious beginning—it doesn’t last.
I then took the short tram ride over to Aria, the main casino of Center City. Again, I found no $10 minimum tables and had to settle for a roulette bet on black—my first loss of the day. I don’t like the Aria casino. I can’t pinpoint the reason (and I have won modest play here in the past) except to say that it’s a little too dark, and there’s a coldness about the place that bothers me. When I play at Aria, I feel like I’m in a corporate vacuum designed only to get your money. There are no smiles here. It didn’t help that I also got turned around and end up walking back to the Monte Carlo where I came across the most bizarre event of the day. For those of you that know the long hallway path through the Monte Carlo shops past the micro-brewery, I’m walking there and almost at the casino entrance when the couple in front me suddenly stops and the man faces me. “What’s your problem? You don’t think I haven’t noticed you following us for the past five minutes? What do you want?” I was stunned. I told him I was not following him and he just glared at me. There was this moment of silence and his angry stare. The girl with him didn’t say anything. I finally just walked away from them. It’s not often I find myself in a situation where I’m speechless. This was one.
I walked outside and around the front of the Center City complex and finally into the Cosmopolitan Resort. I was here with my son last December and it had just opened, so we really didn’t get the chance to see much. I took my time today and really explored the property. It’s just as beautiful as everyone has been reporting. On the floor where all the restaurants are located where a lot of small alcoves of chairs in the spots where you could just sit and relax, which is exactly what I did. My only question for this place is that if the amazing Bellagio cost $1.5 billion to construct, and this place cost $4.5 billion even allowing for inflation; I still have to ask, where’s the beef? I tried my shot a roulette changing to red—oops—lost.
My next stop was the Bellagio. I’ve been here so many times that aside from taking a picture of the atrium, I wanted to make my bet and move on. I did, I lost at blackjack, and I moved on.
Across another pedestrian bridge and I’m in my first Caesars (I still want to say Harrah’s) property. It’s almost one in the afternoon, and I’m in need of rest and refreshment. I walked over to the Diamond Lounge, which is open and I found a spot at the bar and enjoyed a drink. When I first became a diamond member, there were times you had to wait in line in order to get into diamond lounges; however, since the Caesars suites decided to cut back on everything from brand liquors to their food offerings (stale pretzels, puny desserts, and chips), getting into a Diamond Lounge is never a problem. Today is no different. There are two couples at tables and three (including me) at the bar. I stayed there for a good half hour and watched a ballgame, before heading over to make my bet at roulette (no $10 blackjack tables—again). I did win. I had my card swiped at the Rewards Center as I got an IM from LVA member Gwaupo telling me about a promotion Caesars is having for extra points given if this summer you visit three or more regional destinations. I will be doing just that, so I’ll need to remember to swipe my card also in Laughlin, Reno, Tahoe, and Rincon this trip.
Somehow, I've never noticed this fountain outside the shops at Caesars
I walked over to the Mirage next. Like Mandalay Bay, this place, though one of the oldest in terms of mega-resorts, keeps looking new and fresh. I took another trip into the Beatles store enjoying the tunes along the way and placed my blackjack bet which lost.
Next door to the Mirage is the Treasure Island. Since this has been sold, I haven’t gotten a slot card, so I went to the booth where they gave me $10 free play, which I immediately lost on a new Playboy penny machine. I also lost my blackjack bet. The video poker schedules here are scary bad (7/5 Jacks or Better—what?)
The next hotel on this side of the Strip is Circus, Circus. I’m not walking THAT far today. I catch that and the Riviera tomorrow along with the Stratosphere. I walked across the street to the Encore. Though, like Aria, this is a beautiful, but small, casino floor, there just seems to be a stiff, coldness about it I don’t like. My slot card is all but faded, so I stopped by the booth to get a new one. For giving her my email address, I got another $10 free play. Though I lost that on a Lords of Rings machine, I did win my blackjack bet.
A walk along the hallway puts me right into the Wynn next door. Here I ran into the problem on NO $10 minimum tables except for a craps table. Not wanting to wait a play a number without the odds, I took a shot at the bet on the field, a bet all the experts say is a bad choice, and with good reason: I lost with a 5 being rolled.
Across another pedestrian bridge put me at the Palazzo. Ah, good memories of free suites here—long gone with a new policy of no more free rooms unless you’re a corporate executive or a Middle Eastern Sheik. I had to make my usual pilgrimage to the Bauman Rare Book Store, which is my favorite browsing destination—the English teacher in me will always be there. Unfortunately, the blackjack bet was a loser.
ahhhhh! Just realized I have NO picture of the Palazzo!!!! Damn it!
This is inside the Palazzo of the Bauman Rare Book store
A walk to the Venetian next door is simple as the two are connected in such a way that you might think it’s one, massive casino. Once again, I’ve been here so often (my son, Jon, was married here on a bridge over the canal (which has since been closed and turned into a jewelry shop). So, the plan was to simply make my bet and move on. Blackjack was nice to me with a win.
Next was a walk to the “common man’s” Casino Royale, complete with cheap drinks and over priced fast foods (even the reliable Subway was selling their footlongs for $11.95). They love their Switch Blackjack here and so it was hard to find a table with only the traditional blackjack and there was only one of them open—too bad for me as I lost.
A fast stroll put me in Harrahs. When I first walked in the door, there was the “party pit” which is really just a set of tables with really loud music and over-the-top smiling dealers. I left there with smiles as I won that blackjack game. I then headed up to the Diamond Lounge, where the story was the same—about fifteen people total in the place. It was the magical “hot food” hour (yes, just one hour) and their one hot food item? Yes, chicken wings. I heaped up a plate and enjoyed a T & T as I watched the ballgame for a good half hour.
Next door is the Imperial Palace, the absolutely sloppiest hotel in the Harrahs cannon. The only thing good to say about this place was that their Dealertainer Elvis was actually pretty good (most of the other dealertainers: Alice Cooper, Tina Turner, Marilyn Monroe are a far stretch for anyone to take seriously). The blackjack was as bad as their small, musty rooms as my dealer made it clean and fast with a Blackjack.
Elvis who is really a dealer at Imperial Palace...sounded pretty good too
O’Sheas, which happens to also be owned by Caesars is not a hotel and is very much like Casino Royale. There wasn’t much to keep me there, so I made my losing blackjack bet and left.
The Flamingo is next door and having passed seemingly hundreds or porn slappers (an embarrassment to Las Vegas that no one seems to figure what to do about), I managed to get inside and make a winning bet at the blackjack table. The peppermint smell (pumped in over the air conditioners) puts a lot of people off, but I actually like it. Many of the hotels here in Vegas have their own special “smell.” Sounds like a game show in the making.
And don't poo-poo the Donnie and Marie show. It's really good!
About 50 feet from the Flamingo is Bill’s Gambling Hall, which is my favorite parking place whenever I’m on this side of the Strip. They are also a Caesars property but for some reason are stubbornly keeping their own slot card and not switching over to the Rewards program. One note to mention for those of you who know this place: they’ve taken out the hot dog stand at the sports book: another Vegas tradition imploded for progress. My bet here was a bit different. The plan was for a craps bet of $5 on the line, and the other $5 for the odds. Well, the come out was a 7 for a win. The next roll was a 5. I put the needed $6 behind for odds and lost, so my net for this place is minus $6.
Walking over another pedestrian bridge put me in Ballys (a place I’ll be staying twice later this month). My $10 blackjack bet was lost.
Connected to Ballys is Paris. The one note I’ll make here along with losing my ten dollar blackjack bet is that the beautiful fountain in the front has been removed and in its place? A candy store—why have a beautiful photo op for tourists when you can make a rent check?
There’s no pedestrian bridge (and there should be) when you walk over to Planet Hollywood, now a Caesars property. After losing my roulette bet here (are you seeing a trend?), I walked up to hang out at the Diamond Lounge, which is located in what used to be the London Casino. This is now my favorite Diamond Lounge for no other reason than so few people come up here the working staff are very happy to have someone to serve a drink to and one of the rooms has a very large screen TV, which I can enjoy watching the Mets/Yankees game and while drinking Mud Slide on the rocks (thanks timberwolf). Almost an hour later and with three slides down my gullet, I’m headed to the MGM Grand.
The lions are asleep, the poker room is jam packed (I would like to note that even though poker TV shows are all but gone, the game is as popular as ever. Wherever I went, the poker rooms were full with waiting lists). For a Fourth of July weekend, I’m a little surprised that this place, though busy, isn’t it’s usually elbow to elbow with customers. I had no problem finding a $10 blackjack table, which was too bad because I lost. It’s getting very late for me, so I didn’t do any sightseeing here and moved on to my last destination of the day.
I finally arrived to my last hotel. It’s the Tropicana. I’ve been following the reports and stories of the big remodel here, and I’ll be honest, I’m skeptical. I really thought it would be smarter to implode the old place and start over. However, I was very surprised at just what a wonderful job they are doing here. Out are all the cheap trinket stands and shabby restaurants. And now everything seems fresh and new. (I say with relief) the only exception being the beautiful stained glass ceiling over the table games. The thing that will amaze anyone (and as noted earlier, my camera ran out of memory by now or I would have included pics) is that everything is WHITE. And I mean white EVERYWHERE: every seat, every wall, all the machine furniture, and the table games. My final $10 blackjack bet was a loser, but I will be back here to take advantage of their slot club promotion when I have more time.
I finally walked back to my car at Mandalay Bay eleven hours after I had left it there. I really didn’t think I’d take this much time doing this, so it certainly is going to a long, arduous trip ahead, at least while I cover the Vegas properties. My goal is to place a bet in every casino in Nevada, and dagnabit, I’m going to do it.
Trip totals: casinos visited 33. Bet total: $-12
More tomorrow
I had a good night’s sleep though I woke up at 5:30 AM due to the sunlight coming in from the curtains that wouldn’t close all the way. I’ll need to stop at a 99 cent store and pick up a couple of food clips to close them up. The room doesn’t have a coffee maker, but I bring my own anyway and put on a pot as I caught up on the news and took care of the rest of the morning activities. I’m in the north tower of the Hilton, which allows me to park just outside the hotel, and there’s a glass elevator that most people don’t know about that takes me right down to the parking lot.
Today will be one of the most physically demanding days as I will be “doing the Strip” hotels today. First stop, however, was to go to a Starbucks to send in yesterday’s report. The one I used to go to on Flamingo and Maryland closed, but I did find a new one about ten blocks east of that—that’s the thing about the ubiquitous Starbucks, there will always be another one close by in Las Vegas. The plan is simple, park in the Mandalay Bay self-parking lot and begin walking north all the way to Treasure Island, then walk across the street to Encore and then walk south eventually getting to the Tropicana and finally back to the car.
I needed to decide about the pictures. Even though I’m sure most of you have seen pictures of all these places, I still thought I needed to keep the journals up-to-date with the way the hotels look like on the same day I’m there, so the plan was to take the picture of the front of the hotel across the street and then when I was over there, take the picture of the hotels where I was currently at. You can get an idea what time it was when I took the picture simply by the sun’s location at the time. My little point-and-shoot Nikon Coolpix camera’s zoom did a good job. There’s one hotel that I missed: as I got to the end of the trip and at the Tropicana, I still had yet to take a picture of New York, New York. And wouldn’t you it? The last picture I needed for the day, and I ran out of memory on my camera.
I started at Mandalay Bay at 9:30 AM and I got back to my room at the Hilton at 10:10 PM. Yes, I could have done this faster, but I told myself at the beginning of this trip that I would not hurry, which is what I regret from my National Casino Tour last year. This time, if I wanted to stop for a drink and watch a ballgame on TV or walk around a particular hotel for a bit or if I just felt like sitting down and playing some video poker or penny games, as you’ll notice, I did just that.
Away we go:
Because I drove by it and thought it would smart to get it out of the way, my first stop was Hooters. When this hotel changed hands a few years ago, I would receive some free nights from them, and I anxiously took them. I liked the rooms, which had a Jimmy Buffet song theme and the overall place just had a nice vibe. However, since then, they’ve really gone downhill ever since. The rooms became tattered due to lack of upkeep and maintenance, they downgraded all their video poker schedules, and the coveted younger generation long since moved on to newer “hip” hotels and ultra clubs. However, my $10 bet on blackjack was positive as I won.
Mandalay Bay remains as a beautiful hotel (The Hotel next to it doesn’t have its own casino) and casino. This place keeps everything looking fresh and new. I used to come here quite often after it had just opened because my daughter, Tracy, used to work here at the Border Grill restaurant. The problem I faced here was that there were NO $10 blackjack tables open. Every one of them was a minimum of $15, which also included the craps table. Fortunately, I found a roulette table with a $10 minimum. I bet on black and won.
I walked, taking the Mandalay Bay Shops overpass to the Luxor. Many of you might remember that long before these shops were built, you could walk between the two properties and stay inside, but the journey was a long trek through empty hallways and long narrow paths. The idea that this was wasted space and could be profitable was a good one. Most the shops were closed this early but I did check out menus of the restaurants as I passed them—all tourist prices. Personally, I have a hard time swallowing $15.99 for a hamburger—but that’s just me. The Luxor, which used to cater to families, has gone over a complete remodel, and I have to say I really approve. Though the casino floor remains a labyrinth where you can easily get lost, the place has a very nice feel to it. The blackjack was even better as I was dealt a blackjack for a $15 win.
Next stop was a short tram trip away to the Excalibur, a hotel that I have never liked. I don’t like the zillions of kids running everywhere, I don’t like the four wings of casino floor that because of its poor signage, I manage to continually get turned around in, and I don’t really care for the theme of the place, which is spotty at best (explain how a raunchy Dick at the Beach joint fits in with King Arthur and the Round table?). I will say that regardless of my dislike of the place, I did win again at blackjack.
I then walked over the pedestrian bridge (one of the very best ideas city planners have come up with in years) to New York, New York. They did a remodel of the casino here about five years ago, and it remains the same. I strolled through the “New York streets” that are where all the street restaurants are located and it’s nice to see that with the exception of a Starbucks, there are no fast food franchises here. From the deli to the hot dog stand, all the places keep the illusion of Brooklyn neighborhood alive. Blackjack again turned out to be another winner.
The Monte Carlo was next—ah—the poor Monte Carlo. It somehow seems lost among the Strip properties, and now that it’s sandwiched between New York, New York and the Center City metropolis, it’s all but forgotten. The casino floor shows this as there were few customers playing. What people there were all seemed to be at the end of the place where the food court was busy with people chugging down coffees, sodas, and pizza slices. Their great micro-brewery has recently been re-opened, but there was only one couple at the bar. They opened a $10 blackjack table as I approached along with four other college boys enjoying themselves. The dealer methodically checked each one of their IDs, and completely ignored me—hey! However, the first hand dealt was a winner for me. I have now won my first six ten dollar bets! Wow, what an auspicious beginning—it doesn’t last.
I then took the short tram ride over to Aria, the main casino of Center City. Again, I found no $10 minimum tables and had to settle for a roulette bet on black—my first loss of the day. I don’t like the Aria casino. I can’t pinpoint the reason (and I have won modest play here in the past) except to say that it’s a little too dark, and there’s a coldness about the place that bothers me. When I play at Aria, I feel like I’m in a corporate vacuum designed only to get your money. There are no smiles here. It didn’t help that I also got turned around and end up walking back to the Monte Carlo where I came across the most bizarre event of the day. For those of you that know the long hallway path through the Monte Carlo shops past the micro-brewery, I’m walking there and almost at the casino entrance when the couple in front me suddenly stops and the man faces me. “What’s your problem? You don’t think I haven’t noticed you following us for the past five minutes? What do you want?” I was stunned. I told him I was not following him and he just glared at me. There was this moment of silence and his angry stare. The girl with him didn’t say anything. I finally just walked away from them. It’s not often I find myself in a situation where I’m speechless. This was one.
I walked outside and around the front of the Center City complex and finally into the Cosmopolitan Resort. I was here with my son last December and it had just opened, so we really didn’t get the chance to see much. I took my time today and really explored the property. It’s just as beautiful as everyone has been reporting. On the floor where all the restaurants are located where a lot of small alcoves of chairs in the spots where you could just sit and relax, which is exactly what I did. My only question for this place is that if the amazing Bellagio cost $1.5 billion to construct, and this place cost $4.5 billion even allowing for inflation; I still have to ask, where’s the beef? I tried my shot a roulette changing to red—oops—lost.
My next stop was the Bellagio. I’ve been here so many times that aside from taking a picture of the atrium, I wanted to make my bet and move on. I did, I lost at blackjack, and I moved on.
Across another pedestrian bridge and I’m in my first Caesars (I still want to say Harrah’s) property. It’s almost one in the afternoon, and I’m in need of rest and refreshment. I walked over to the Diamond Lounge, which is open and I found a spot at the bar and enjoyed a drink. When I first became a diamond member, there were times you had to wait in line in order to get into diamond lounges; however, since the Caesars suites decided to cut back on everything from brand liquors to their food offerings (stale pretzels, puny desserts, and chips), getting into a Diamond Lounge is never a problem. Today is no different. There are two couples at tables and three (including me) at the bar. I stayed there for a good half hour and watched a ballgame, before heading over to make my bet at roulette (no $10 blackjack tables—again). I did win. I had my card swiped at the Rewards Center as I got an IM from LVA member Gwaupo telling me about a promotion Caesars is having for extra points given if this summer you visit three or more regional destinations. I will be doing just that, so I’ll need to remember to swipe my card also in Laughlin, Reno, Tahoe, and Rincon this trip.
Somehow, I've never noticed this fountain outside the shops at Caesars
I walked over to the Mirage next. Like Mandalay Bay, this place, though one of the oldest in terms of mega-resorts, keeps looking new and fresh. I took another trip into the Beatles store enjoying the tunes along the way and placed my blackjack bet which lost.
Next door to the Mirage is the Treasure Island. Since this has been sold, I haven’t gotten a slot card, so I went to the booth where they gave me $10 free play, which I immediately lost on a new Playboy penny machine. I also lost my blackjack bet. The video poker schedules here are scary bad (7/5 Jacks or Better—what?)
The next hotel on this side of the Strip is Circus, Circus. I’m not walking THAT far today. I catch that and the Riviera tomorrow along with the Stratosphere. I walked across the street to the Encore. Though, like Aria, this is a beautiful, but small, casino floor, there just seems to be a stiff, coldness about it I don’t like. My slot card is all but faded, so I stopped by the booth to get a new one. For giving her my email address, I got another $10 free play. Though I lost that on a Lords of Rings machine, I did win my blackjack bet.
A walk along the hallway puts me right into the Wynn next door. Here I ran into the problem on NO $10 minimum tables except for a craps table. Not wanting to wait a play a number without the odds, I took a shot at the bet on the field, a bet all the experts say is a bad choice, and with good reason: I lost with a 5 being rolled.
Across another pedestrian bridge put me at the Palazzo. Ah, good memories of free suites here—long gone with a new policy of no more free rooms unless you’re a corporate executive or a Middle Eastern Sheik. I had to make my usual pilgrimage to the Bauman Rare Book Store, which is my favorite browsing destination—the English teacher in me will always be there. Unfortunately, the blackjack bet was a loser.
ahhhhh! Just realized I have NO picture of the Palazzo!!!! Damn it!
This is inside the Palazzo of the Bauman Rare Book store
A walk to the Venetian next door is simple as the two are connected in such a way that you might think it’s one, massive casino. Once again, I’ve been here so often (my son, Jon, was married here on a bridge over the canal (which has since been closed and turned into a jewelry shop). So, the plan was to simply make my bet and move on. Blackjack was nice to me with a win.
Next was a walk to the “common man’s” Casino Royale, complete with cheap drinks and over priced fast foods (even the reliable Subway was selling their footlongs for $11.95). They love their Switch Blackjack here and so it was hard to find a table with only the traditional blackjack and there was only one of them open—too bad for me as I lost.
A fast stroll put me in Harrahs. When I first walked in the door, there was the “party pit” which is really just a set of tables with really loud music and over-the-top smiling dealers. I left there with smiles as I won that blackjack game. I then headed up to the Diamond Lounge, where the story was the same—about fifteen people total in the place. It was the magical “hot food” hour (yes, just one hour) and their one hot food item? Yes, chicken wings. I heaped up a plate and enjoyed a T & T as I watched the ballgame for a good half hour.
Next door is the Imperial Palace, the absolutely sloppiest hotel in the Harrahs cannon. The only thing good to say about this place was that their Dealertainer Elvis was actually pretty good (most of the other dealertainers: Alice Cooper, Tina Turner, Marilyn Monroe are a far stretch for anyone to take seriously). The blackjack was as bad as their small, musty rooms as my dealer made it clean and fast with a Blackjack.
Elvis who is really a dealer at Imperial Palace...sounded pretty good too
O’Sheas, which happens to also be owned by Caesars is not a hotel and is very much like Casino Royale. There wasn’t much to keep me there, so I made my losing blackjack bet and left.
The Flamingo is next door and having passed seemingly hundreds or porn slappers (an embarrassment to Las Vegas that no one seems to figure what to do about), I managed to get inside and make a winning bet at the blackjack table. The peppermint smell (pumped in over the air conditioners) puts a lot of people off, but I actually like it. Many of the hotels here in Vegas have their own special “smell.” Sounds like a game show in the making.
And don't poo-poo the Donnie and Marie show. It's really good!
About 50 feet from the Flamingo is Bill’s Gambling Hall, which is my favorite parking place whenever I’m on this side of the Strip. They are also a Caesars property but for some reason are stubbornly keeping their own slot card and not switching over to the Rewards program. One note to mention for those of you who know this place: they’ve taken out the hot dog stand at the sports book: another Vegas tradition imploded for progress. My bet here was a bit different. The plan was for a craps bet of $5 on the line, and the other $5 for the odds. Well, the come out was a 7 for a win. The next roll was a 5. I put the needed $6 behind for odds and lost, so my net for this place is minus $6.
Walking over another pedestrian bridge put me in Ballys (a place I’ll be staying twice later this month). My $10 blackjack bet was lost.
Connected to Ballys is Paris. The one note I’ll make here along with losing my ten dollar blackjack bet is that the beautiful fountain in the front has been removed and in its place? A candy store—why have a beautiful photo op for tourists when you can make a rent check?
There’s no pedestrian bridge (and there should be) when you walk over to Planet Hollywood, now a Caesars property. After losing my roulette bet here (are you seeing a trend?), I walked up to hang out at the Diamond Lounge, which is located in what used to be the London Casino. This is now my favorite Diamond Lounge for no other reason than so few people come up here the working staff are very happy to have someone to serve a drink to and one of the rooms has a very large screen TV, which I can enjoy watching the Mets/Yankees game and while drinking Mud Slide on the rocks (thanks timberwolf). Almost an hour later and with three slides down my gullet, I’m headed to the MGM Grand.
The lions are asleep, the poker room is jam packed (I would like to note that even though poker TV shows are all but gone, the game is as popular as ever. Wherever I went, the poker rooms were full with waiting lists). For a Fourth of July weekend, I’m a little surprised that this place, though busy, isn’t it’s usually elbow to elbow with customers. I had no problem finding a $10 blackjack table, which was too bad because I lost. It’s getting very late for me, so I didn’t do any sightseeing here and moved on to my last destination of the day.
I finally arrived to my last hotel. It’s the Tropicana. I’ve been following the reports and stories of the big remodel here, and I’ll be honest, I’m skeptical. I really thought it would be smarter to implode the old place and start over. However, I was very surprised at just what a wonderful job they are doing here. Out are all the cheap trinket stands and shabby restaurants. And now everything seems fresh and new. (I say with relief) the only exception being the beautiful stained glass ceiling over the table games. The thing that will amaze anyone (and as noted earlier, my camera ran out of memory by now or I would have included pics) is that everything is WHITE. And I mean white EVERYWHERE: every seat, every wall, all the machine furniture, and the table games. My final $10 blackjack bet was a loser, but I will be back here to take advantage of their slot club promotion when I have more time.
I finally walked back to my car at Mandalay Bay eleven hours after I had left it there. I really didn’t think I’d take this much time doing this, so it certainly is going to a long, arduous trip ahead, at least while I cover the Vegas properties. My goal is to place a bet in every casino in Nevada, and dagnabit, I’m going to do it.
Trip totals: casinos visited 33. Bet total: $-12
More tomorrow
