Losing Streak Broken!!

Trip Report for May 13th-17th

Transportation:

Southwest Airlines from Kansas City. Third consecutive trip I've paid over $300.00 for a ticket. Only the second time I've been to Las Vegas in May, but it was hot - close to or over 100 degrees each day of my stay. For the second consecutive trip the plane landed early and I love that.

Car Rental:

I always rent from Alamo. I had a Hyundai Accent. The kiosk malfunctioned when I was using it and wouldn't let me proceed past the insurance questions. Since I arrived before 8am, I was the only one there and one of the agents had to come over and straighten it out.

Hotel:

Golden Nugget. I paid for all four nights which I usually don't do. However, I took my mother on the trip for Mother's Day. If you read my reports from last year, my dad died when I was in town last June and I thought it would be nice to take her along. First time in over 50 years she had taken a trip without my dad. There was a huge line at check-in but I paid for VIP so I didn't have to wait.

Dining:

I spent a huge amount on food this trip. Took my mother to places she wanted to go, but went to a couple on my own.

Sterling Brunch at Ballys: I told mom we were eating at the Rio buffet after we picked up the car. On the way I told her I had reservations at the Sterling Brunch. This brunch is extremely expensive, but the food is exquisite. I had lobster, caviar, prime rib, lamb, King Crab and Bananas Foster crepes and lots of other things. The waiters only wait two tables each and will actually accompany you to the buffet line and make recommendations. When I finished I asked him to put a dollar amount on the food I ate. He said between $250.00 and $300.00 so I got my money's worth. I didn't like the caviar at all, and I can't comment on how good the crab and lobster was because I'd never eaten them before. Tasted fine to me. The beef was excellent and the desserts and chocolate covered fruits were fantastic. You can get $5.00 off with a Harrah's group slot card. Total with tip: $237.00. Grade A.

Rio Buffet (Dinner): This buffet gets worse every time I eat it. We used the 2 for 1 LVA coupon. Waited 25 minutes and had to endure multiple screaming, whining kids in line. The roast beef was so tough, I had to eat it with my hands because I just couldn't cut it. Extremely dry chicken. The pizza was pretty good, the desserts just ok. Mom and I agreed this is no longer worth the visit even with a coupon. Grade D-.

Red Rock Buffet (Breakfast): What happend to my favorite, the breakfast brisket burrito? It's no longer there. That sucked because that's the reason we went there. Everything else was very good and well prepared. Grade A.

Fatburger: I love the burgers and fries at Fatburger. Grade A.

Carson Street Cafe (Breakfast): This is the Golden Nugget coffee shop. I had loco moco. This dish is like something I would invent. I loved it. Grade B (because it costs too much).

Carson Street Cafe (Dinner): I had the club sandwich which I've had before and it's good. Fries were lukewarm. Grade B-.

Mirage Buffet (Lunch): Used the LVA coupon. I had this buffet last year and it was fantastic again this time. Well worth stopping at the Mirage. Large pre-peeled shrimp (I always look for shrimp and prime rib first at buffets). When I asked for a rare to medium-rare cut of beef at the carving station, the server went back and brought another one out just for me. Tremendous desserts. Grade A.

Palms Buffet (Breakfast): This one is $2.00 off with the slot card and surprisingly good. It has my favorite, Huevos con Chorizo. Grade B.

Golden Nugget Buffet (Dinner): Improved but still not up to par for a place like the Nugget. The chicken and desserts were dry, but at least we got it half price with the LVA coupon. Grade C.

Heart Attack Grill: Very disappointed in the quality of the burger. Extremely dry and well-done and it can't be like that when they charge around $9.00 for it. I do like the fries there. They're fried in beef lard and taste better that way, but the oil wasn't hot enough and the fries absorbed too much grease. Many barbeque places in Kansas City use beef lard for their fries and they're ten times better than this. If you weigh in at over 350 pounds you can eat free - just get an employee witness and step up to the scale. A man weighed in when I was there at 345 pounds and moaned and bitched about the scale being off. Told the employee he weighed over 350 before he took a crap before coming in. Didn't work. He had to pay. Grade D.

Gambling:

I broke a three year losing streak on this trip. I concentrated my play at Four Queens, Red Rock and Sam's Town. Also played at LVH, Palms, MSS and Las Vegas Club. I got up a couple of hundred the first day, then lost $370.00 the second day playing FPDW at Red Rock and several hundred more the next day at Sam's Town. On my last day my luck changed and I hit 4 deuces twice at the new full pay machines at the Palms. Then I went back downtown to play 10/7 DB, a game where I just can't seem to win.

I went on an incredible streak at the Four Queens. I hit 17 quads in less than an hour. Took a break and went to MSS and hit Aces, twos and fives in about five minutes. Just like that, I'm ahead for the trip. Played for a couple more hours and lost about $200.00 back before I quit. I made a total profit of $107.00 for the trip. Not much, but considering I'd lost between seven and nine hundred on each of the previous three trips, it seemed like I'd hit Megabucks.

Random Thoughts:

I'd like to come to town sometime and not have road closures/construction.

The Sterling Brunch is worth the money and I got my money's worth.

Downtown Las Vegas was as crowded as I've ever seen it.

I like Red Rock, but can't get offers for free room nights from them or GVR. Only at the other Stations.

Sam's Town and Palms cut back on my offers but are now sending them again.

I love Southwest Airlines.

How do people sleep with all the nightly concerts on Fremont Street?

That's not a problem if you're in the Carson Tower.

Glad to see the Palms bring back over 100% video poker. Hopefully, it will stay.

The LVC doesn't have enough business to keep the doors open.

Glad I paid for VIP checkin at Golden Nugget.

Cravings Buffet at the Mirage is worth the price without a coupon.

About time I won on Double Bonus.

First time I've hit four deuces on FPDW and four Aces on 10/7 DB in over three years.

It was hot in town when I was there.

Heart Attack Grill is not worth the money, much better options out there for burgers.

I rode the Zip Line one day so I can cross it off my must do list.

I wanted to slide down the tube at the shark tank at Golden Nugget, but the pool was closed because some kid vomited in the water so I dropped the idea.

My mother was shocked I forked over that kind of money on food, but she was glad we ate there.

I won't eat at the Rio again unless I hear of improvements there, but then they're owned by Harrah's so I won't hold my breath.

Saw a guy on Fremont Street holding a sign that said "Gambling is a Sin". I hope there's full pay deuces in Hell then.

Hope you enjoyed the report.

Wow. Great TR, and very to the point. We're planning on hitting several of the buffets you mentioned, so I appreciate your reviews. My last two trips, the Rio's breakfast buffet was excellent. I've never gone there for dinner and will definitely stay away now. Agree about Palms (again - can only speak to breakfast) and good price too. We're planning on using our 2-4-1 at the Golden Nugget breakfast buffet on our next trip. Hoping for the best.

Now, as far as the gambling goes, even a $1 net win beats ANY kind of loss. Good job. Thanks for sharing!

Great trip report. Glad you came out ahead. Agree about Rio buffet - it used to be great but every year gets worse and worse. GN breakfast buffet with coupon is worth it and also definitely Mirage. Downtown is getting more crowded !!!!

Thanks for the report and I'm happy that you came out with some profit! It definitely is better than losing.

When I last visited in February, Las Vegas Club I thought had a decent amount of people in there. But I guess that their rooms are still shut because I only got a room offer for Plaza (for 3 nights) at least through July.

RecVPPlayer

Great report and congratulations on winning! Nice to see someone looking after their mom.

Since I know that Loco Moco is a Hawaiian dish, maybe you should try out some or all of the other Hawaiian Places around Downtown -- most especially at the Boyd Connected Casinos, they have stuff (such as at Cal, Fremont and maybe Main Street Station as well) and there's also a Hawaiian place at Plaza that may have it as well.

RecVPPlayer

The California has Aloha Specialties on the second level going to MSS. I wanted to eat it there, but it was insanely crowded when I wanted to go.

The Rio's problem is it tries to serve every food known to man and winds up doing nothing well. They need to cut the number of items at that buffet by a third and replace the food under the heat lamps much more frequently. The goal should be higher quality instead of higher quantity. The Mirage does this very well. The prime rib at the Mirage buffet was very good. I only wish they would serve it rare. When I asked if they had any rare beef, the man at the carving station went back and brough another one out. He said it was medium-rare but I thought it much closer to medium. It is wonderfully seasoned. The desserts at the Mirage are as good as any I've eaten at any other buffet.

I went to the LVC to try the Kings or Better Joker's Wild. These old coin-droppers have fuzzy screens and several have broken buttons. When I was there, they were being patronized by people who hadn't bathed or brushed their teeth in the last three months and chain-smoked. I found a seat at the back part of the casino and made the same mistake I did last October by putting a hundred dollar bill in the machine. After playing for about an hour, I cashed out and the machine ran out of money after about 30 quarters. The "Call Attendant" screen came up and of course no one came so I had to shout to a security guard to go get someone to put in more quarters.

Wow, I didn't have that kind of problem there but then again I don't play any Wild Card games. Only 9/6 Jacks and some Virtual Blackjack.

Though I do miss when they had better games that I liked to play (they previously had 10/7 Double Bonus, Pick 'Em Poker and All-American Poker).

RecVPPlayer