Las Vegas visit - Golden week Dec 12-17, 2021

Las Vegas visit - Golden week Dec 12-17.  This is a bit long, but I have the time...

Came in on an AM flight from DFW.  Met my friend of 60+ years from NJ for our semi-annual "Pilgrimage" to Las Vegas.  His flight got in about the same time as mine, which worked out great.  I almost half a million miles on American, so the flight cost about $20 in taxes.  Security at DFW TSA pre-check was quick, taking less than 10 minutes.  Flight was completely full!  That said, my flight was previously changed to a smaller plane than was originally scheduled.    I can tell that not only are the airlines doing their best to fill every plane, they are stuffing more seats per plane.  I am not a big guy and still didn't have too much room in front of me.  Everyone was wearing a masks as required, so there was no "drama" on the flight.

Got the car at Budget. I broke my pricing rule and paid $330 for a 5 day car rental  from Budget through Costco.  It hurt to pay that much, in the past, for the same week, (right after the rodeo ends), I had previously paid as little as $120  for this same week.  We had decided to go to Laughlin for a day so a car was a necessity.  While Budget used to have a special line for their club members and Costco rentals, this was gone.  I asked why and was told that there is not enough traffic to have a separate line.  I waited about 3 minutes to get to an agent which seemed to verify that.

We weren't too hungry after getting off the planes, so rather than going to Southpoint to try the buffet as we planned, we went to Jamm's Restaurant on Rainbow for a late breakfast/early lunch.  We have been going there for years, very good food, (Love the County Skillet and their trademarked " Pot O' Bread"), LARGE portions, reasonable prices.  Suggestion: LVA should reviewJamm's Restaurant at some point.

Four Queens -

Checked into our room at the Four Queens about 2:00 PM.  WE have been staying there the last 5 years or so.  Room is nicer than the one we had at Harrah's about 8-9 years ago. Belong to the 55+ club so had a 20% discount on the room, plus a free night.  Also get 20% off meals at their restaurants and the anemic gift shop.  Rooms were clean, and we had specified when I made the reservation that I wanted to be on at least the 8th floor, away from the Freemont Street Experience.  They put us on the 14th floor about as far away from the noisy Freemont Street Experience as we could be...fantastic!  Parking for guests is also free, unlike most strip hotels.  They have 9/6 VP, copious free drinks while playing, nice comp program and just a general "player friendly" attitude.  Best deal in the city as far as I am concerned.

We caught their 100 points, 10 meal credit promotion.  The Fun book they gave us on check in, had BOB coupons for Magnolia, Binion's, and the Binion's Whiskey Liquor Up Saloon. had 4Q rooms were the same, clean, large shower, etc.  This time they weren't doing daily room cleaning, most likely to save money, which is great for us.  We just got new towels a couple of times while we were there.

90%+ of the people on the 4Q casino floor were wearing masks.  I have had both Moderna shots plus the booster.  I am also taking part in a University of Texas research study.  My Covid antibodies were tested by UT about two weeks before this trip and they are off the charts, greater than 2500 (whatever that means).  I guess I have at least a decent level of protection.  That said, I am over 70 and want to be safe so I still wear an N95 surgical mask when I am out in public.  I was glad to see mask compliance at such a high level at 4Q.

Gambling

In addition to my LVA Member's Rewards book, this year I had bought the casino game listing from Vegasadvantage. com. as a reference.  Great purchase, definitely worth the $15 if you are looking for a specific game and/or table limit..  They survey the casinos so instead of going to multiple casinos to try to find the game/table limits that we wanted, they had it all laid out for us.  Saved a lot of time.  We planned our trip to make sure we hit 4Q, Ellis Island, Southpoint because they had the games and limits that I wanted, plus several had LVA coupons.  Also with prior research and info from the LVA forums (thank you Kevin and others!) we decided on Aquarius in Laughlin.  All the casinos we visited turned out to be good choices, and none were on the strip.

4Q gambling - my favorite casino for VP

As usual, they had multiple good paying VP machines including 9/6 JOB.  I literally planted myself on one of these for at least 2-3 hours at a time a day.  Lost some money, maybe $500-$600 over the first 3 days.  On our final day there I got onto a streak.  THREE royal flushes, including one with no deuces,  A couple of straight flushes with deuces, several 5 of a kind, etc.  Essentially this was the kind of VP "roll" that you dream about.  Bottom line, thanks to this comeback I came away from the trip with more money than I started with.

The drinks were plentiful while playing VP, they came by every 10 minutes or so.  Came by even more often after I gave her a $10 as a "Merry Christmas, I'm winning" tip.  Got a lot of points/comps and several $10 food vouchers for hitting their "100 point =$10 voucher" promo.   4Q is just a great place for rooms, comps and VP.  If they just brought back Ultimate Texas Hold'em, and straight 3/2 BJ, I might never leave.

The 4Q BJ wasn't worth playing, 3/2 odds but with a mandatory side bet that gave the house WAY to much of an advantage.

Ellis Island Gambling -good, as expected.

Probably my second favorite casino in Las Vegas.  Go there every year.  Reasonable odds, 3/2 BJ, decent comps, Prime Rib, ROOT BEER, very reasonable prices, LVA coupons, etc.  Used our LVA Free Slot Play and Match play coupons.  Tables were full but finally got onto a $5 3/2 BJ table, didn't do well so after about an hour went to VP but not much happened there either.  Did not eat there this year.  Lost about $150.  If Four Queens wasn't such a good deal and friendly, I'd probably stay at Ellis Island.

Southpoint - a very pleasant surprise.

First time there in a 3-4 years.  Went there because Vegasadvantage.com's list said that they had $5 Seven Card Flush, and Ultimate Texas Hold'em.  They were right, I found Vegasadvantage.com's listings to be VERY accurate for all the casinos I went to.  Both games are fun (at a $5 minimum).and the odds aren't too bad.  Had a good time, friendly dealers and enjoyable other players at the tables.  We played both games for a total of about 3 hours, lost about $200, but looked at it as an entertainment expense.  If it wasn't for Vegasadvantage.com's listing of games we like and low table limits we probably wouldn't have gambled there.

Laughlin Gambling

For a five day trip it is good to get out of Las Vegas for a day.  We drove there on Wednesday, the middle of our trip. 

Aquarius - we will be back.

Based on the info I had we went right to Aquarius and wound up staying there all day.  Again $5 Seven Card Flush and Ultimate Texas Hold'em.   Also very friendly dealers and other players at the table.   VERY relaxed atmosphere.  Would up talking to a pit boss who also had several rescue dogs, miniature poodles.  We also have three rescue poodles, but ours are larger, standard poodles.  didn't help our gambling, but again, had fun.  Got a great deal on souvenirs when we went to get players cards.  They had older (as in "dated") high quality T shirts.  They had logos on them for previous Aquarius tournaments, promotions, etc.  Cost 3 for $10, bought six to give as stocking stuffers.  

Las Vegas Food

At the beginning of each trip my friend and I each put in $300 for food.  Bottom line, this year, between all the LVA coupons, 4Q Fun book coupons, 4Q promotional vouchers, etc.  It cost us a TOTAL of around $275 for all our food and drinks for 5 days.  Extremely inexpensive trip!

Binion's Food

Had a 4Q Fun book BOGO coupon for Binion's coffee shop.  My large chicken fried steak was good, but thicker than I usually get it.  Total bill for two with tip as about $25 after the coupon.  we tend to be large tippers, the wait staff has been through a lot with this Covid BS.

Used our LVA BOGO for Whiskey Liquor Up.  GREAT Hamburgers!  Had the Drunken Burger for $$17.  Couldn't finish all of mine, it was maybe 5" tall.  Tasty, "5-napkin" juicy.  HORRIBLE waitress!  She took our order, someone else brought it to the table and she gave us the bill at the end.  NEVER asked how the food was, if we wanted more to drink, (which we did).  I wound up going to the bartender to get salt & pepper, more napkins and sodas.  Her 10% tip reflected this, but I did give the bartender the additional $10 she would have gotten.

Binion's Steakhouse is still closed - Bummer!

Four Queens food

Unfortunately Chicago Brewery was CLOSED!  They took this slow period to redecorate, update, etc.  Looks like they were going to be installing the tile when we tried to go there.  We always look forward to their "Miracle Mile" thin crust meat pizza and craft beer and root beer when we are in Las Vegas

Magnolia coffee shop was inconsistent this trip.  It is usually very good.  I had absolutely the WORST rib eye steak I have ever had.  I didn't realize a rib eye could be bad.  Mine was tough, chewy, with a lot of gristle.  I had to really work to cut it and ate only a little more than half.  That said, my friend had a rib eye at the same time, finished it, and said his was very good.  Luck of the draw I guess.

We also ate lunch there and the club sandwich is as good as ever.

Jamm's restaurant on Rainbow Blvd.

As I mentioned before, this is one of our Las Vegas "go to" breakfast places.  Unlike almost all of the other meals we had, we did not have a coupon or voucher.  (No coupon for Main Street Station either) It was not expensive and a good value.  The country fried skillet is excellent!  I don't like mushrooms, so they substituted in some extra potatoes and ham, LARGE portions, extremely good and filling.  Definitely worth a 15 minute drive.  If you could get a comparable meal on the strip it would cost $25 or $30, not $12.

Main Street Station - Not much I can add to Anthony's LVA pod cast. 

No LVA BOGO coupon this year.  Good food, not as large a selection as I remember from several years ago.  Nothing really stood out as great, nor anything as poor.  Mask compliance was spotty, but is easy to forget the mask when you are going up for a second plate, I know I forgot once.  I think this is worth going to, particularly if you are staying downtown and want a buffet.

That's about it.  For the trip, thanks to a sweet run at 4Q VP the last day, I came back with more money that I went out there with.  Good to get out and a welcome change of pace.

Will most likely be returning in June.  I still do some marketing consulting in the lighting industry and their biggest trade show is planning to be there.  This, of course, is subject to change with this Covid situation.

Excellent report, TT, and congrats for coming home winners.

My only tsk tsk is that I would have sent back your Magnolia rib eye after two-three attempts to cut/eat, but that's just me.  I do it nicely, say what's wrong with the item, and make sure later they don't charge me for it unless they fix things (not the same steak, just a better one or something else).  My BFF won't do it, said it would embarrass her.  But I believe in the "luck of the draw" too, and likely they would have cooked you another one that would have come out just fine.  Plus, it lets management know.  Oh, well, as I said, just something I've learned to do when an entree or whatever is really bad.  Sorry that happened to you.  Glad your friend's rib eye was good.

Thanks for all the details from all the casinos!

Candy

Thanks for your detailed trip report! Glad to hear you booked a winning trip and your expenses were low. That's the way it's supposed to work :)

I agree with Candy, I would have complained about your not-good steak. In fact, I would have grabbed it and sailed it like a Frisbee off Magnolia's balcony, ideally landing in the middle of the crap table. THAT would have gotten their attention!

In retrospect, both you and Candy are right, I should have sent the steak back.  Thinking about it more, I probably was subconciously rationalizing that the steak was free, not a good thing to do.  For this meal we combined our Fun book BOGO Magnolia coupon with a $10 voucher I got for hitting their "100 points = $10 meal voucher" promotion.   The entire amount we paid for the two meals, including drinks, before tip, was about $20.  I know that if I was eating at Binions Steak House, I would have sent it back.

I lived in NJ for 40 years before moving to Texas.  Maybe the last 30 years living in Texas, (plus age) has mellowed me.  My inner "New Jersey attitude" didn't come out and I didn't send it back.  When/if it happens again, I will let them know.  Again, my friend's rib eye was very good, - "luck of the draw". 

Then again, maybe there is Karma,  I "was nice" (complacent)"  didn't sent it back and went the next day I went on to have the best run I ever had ever at VP.   Again, I could be rationalizing but you never know....

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

That Kevin...what a visual, the plate right sailing onto the craps table, players and staff aghast.   LOL.

And, one draw back of sending back, is everyone else at the table may think they need to hold back, politely waiting for the 'sender's' replacement to appear and all is well in the world again.  I insist everyone to keep eating while I fork on whatever else is on the plate, the bread, drink, etc.

But TT's karma can't be discounted.  The server wasn't troubled, no demerits for the cook, and good luck followed the next day!

Candy

Nice trip report.  I'll have to hit the Jamm's restaurant on Rainbow Blvd.  I'll have to head back down to 4 Queens. have not been there in a while, but will give me a chance to update my players card as well as Passport players club at ellis island.  Big fan of the buffet at main street station.  My wife and usually hit that buffet.  Love the portgeuse sausage.