Left last Friday March 21 for four nights. Three couples going. Two from Michigan, one from Hawaii (originally from Michigan). All of us in our 40's.
Background: I used to go twice a year for years, and now am down to once a year for March Madness. Used to stay at Flamingo at the casino rate, but when Bellagio and Venetian were built I no longer "rated" at Flamingo and now stay downtown in comped rooms. Used to be Binions Horseshoe, then Fitzgeralds, and now is either Main Street Station or The D.
So my wife and I left Friday night out of Flint airport on Southwest, direct flight. I have only flown out of Detroit Metro. What a difference. It was so easy to park, get thru security (we were the only ones going thru), and get to our gate (like 6 gates). Everyone was polite, the place was very clean, and a big Jack and Coke at the bar was $5.99. Winning already. I will do everything I can to fly out of Flint going forward. Literally 5% of the hassle of Detroit Metro.
Arrive and take taxi from airport to Main Street Station. Said to take Paradise (from advice here) and before tip was around $26. Note: Going back to airport the cab took expressway (he asked, I said go any way you want...it was rush hour) and it was $32 before tip. Both ways reasonable.
Check in to Main Street and told were overbooked and we would be at California. Um, no. We are meeting people from Hawaii here, and I "did" book the room in August (7 months ago). They quickly found us a room. I left a tip. (note: I am a very generous tipper when it comes to waiters, taxi's, room cleaning staff. I figure these people are usually not making very much money and they are making my vacation stress free. A couple of bucks extra to them means a lot more than a couple of bucks more in a VP machine).
Played some video poker at MSS bar, won a little, saw familiar bartender faces. The bartenders at MSS are very friendly, and have always taken great care of us over the years....this year no exception. Then time for the MSS seafood buffet (comped). We all love crab legs. The buffet was packed, and they had a hard time keeping up. Also the quality of the crab legs was down a little. Smaller snow crab. Was ok, used to be better. Gave everyone at the table a golden shower (hey, butter was flying everywhere). Too full to drink anymore, played a little more VP then off to bed. Day 1: up a little.
Saturday, bet on games. Bet $10 TO $20 on every one whether I have "a feeling" or not. Turns out doesn't matter. Win some, lose some. Over the weekend made a little money on games, although not much. Still, it always adds to the excitement, and I am always amazed by how accurate the spreads are.
Got to The Fremont and use the MRB 2 for 1 buffet for brunch. Haven't heard much about this buffet so didn't expect much. Was very, very good for $12 each ($12 for two after coupon). Lots of food, cold stone crab, omelette station, etc. Lots for the money. Waiter fantastic. Champagne at end makes wife giggly (she is a lightweight, but happy).
Go to The D for their free shirt promotion. Buyin for $100 and get a free shirt during March Madness. Play a little ($25/hand, wife $10/hand). I'm up $27.50. Wife down $100. She now proclaims The D shirt as her fancy shirt, as it cost $100. Ouch.
Took the wife to see Mac King at Harrahs at 1pm. Good show for cheap ($15 includes drink after taxes), lots of kids there (good family show). I really don't get why people bring their kids to Vegas. Walking down the street I see things most kids probably shouldn't be seeing. Adult playground. But anyway, it's a cute show. Wife liked it. I love magic, and this show is more comedy than magic. But he did a couple of tricks that were very impressive.
Back to MSS (taxi's about $20 each way before tip) for more VP (and many drinks). Then all of us off to El Cortez The Flame (based on recommendations here) for dinner. Very impressed. Steak was very good, although I have had better (not complaining, just saying). The sides were excellent and large portions. The French Onion soup was probably the best I have ever had. No drinks, so bill came to $85. $30 LVR coupon nets $55 plus tip. Great waiter, great dining experience. This will be a must do every trip now.
Too full to drink any more. Back to MSS for some VP and then to bed. Day 2: up a little.
Sunday: Dun, dun, dun (music of doom)....wake up at 4:30 am (again) as it's 7:30 "our" time. Wife and I go down again to empty casino. Play some VP. Lose $60 in minutes (quarter JoB players). Table games empty, so we play blackjack. Lose $100 each in about 15 minutes. Money goes fast when losing and only two at the table. I'm down $160 and the buffet isn't even open yet. We have $25 in free food offer from The D. We go there to eat. It used to be The Courtyard when is was Fitzgeralds. The Courtyard was one of the worse places I have ever eaten. Nothing like that now. The D Grill is now all remodeled. Very nice looking, waiter in nice uniform. Waiter very friendly, knowledgable about menu, and the food was excellent. Maybe a little pricy compared to most coffee shops, but a very good experience.
The D sidenote: We all know the music is loud there. It seems to be turned down a little. Still loud, but I can at least have a conversation with half of the blackjack table. One of our couples stayed there when The D would comp most of their rooms and MSS would not..... and the elevators, hallways, and rooms still look very good. The casino bathroom was kept clean and is nicer than most downtown for sure. American Coney Island was always full. Overall this is night and day compared to Fitzgeralds. You may not like the music, but this place is hopping.
Anyway, back to Sunday afternoon. After much VP and many, many drinks, the three boys belly up to MSS blackjack table. The past two years I have had great luck on Sunday afternoon at the MSS blackjack table. Today would be no different. I had plenty of luck. Bad. I bought in my $400, and began my run of $25 bets. My $400 grew to $700 at a ridiculous pace. Could not lose. Then they switched to the Asian dealer. You know the one. No talking, no emotion....the cooler. Started to lose. So I did what every red-blooded gambler with a blood alcohol limit of .10+ does....chases. Can't lose 5 in row, so up my bet. Faster than it came, the $700 was gone. Poof. Angry at myself, went outside, sat on a bench and smoked a cigar. Collected my thoughts, went to gift shop, bought a pint, and went to the room to watch NCAA basketball. Stupid gambling. I know better....just sometimes forget what I know. Later went to Triple 777 for late dinner. Ate myself sick on comped meal. Very good wings. Korean taco's (never had heard of them) were excellent. Nacho's good too. End of day 3: Down. Atm withdrawal coming in am. Dang.
Monday: Up at 4:30 am. Belly up to VP bar with wife. Casino empty. Why does head hurt so badly? Order Bloody Mary, then virgin strawberry Dacquiri. Ahhhh. Play about 20 minutes and hold A-K suited for the millionth time this trip.....music. Royal Flush. It's been about 7 years since I hit one. Long cold, dry spell. Give a couple hundred to the wife for looking pretty, and give $100 each to my guy friends (our standing agreement if any of us hit a royal flush so we can all share in the happiness).
On to eat at MSS buffet using MRB 2 for 1. Use points for "1" part so free. Omelette very good, overall very good. Not hungry, but keep on eating. Been like this for four days. We decide to do a MRB coupon run. Use free play and matchplays at Plaza, LVC, Binions, Four Queens, El Cortez. Started off using it on slot machines as I rarely play them. First, I can't figure out a penny machine to save my life. There is no "max bet" button, and I have no idea how many penny's it takes to get to max play. Plus if I do win I have no idea why. Crazy lines everywhere. I'm 47 and I feel like a grumpy old man trying to figure out these new fangled machines. So we play video poker and are getting $5 to $10 back on $10 free play. All good. We stop at The D where I have $50 in free play from a mailing offer. I go to The Vue bar, but free play not allowed on those machines. I play anyway and hit the progressive 4 kings on BP. Up a little. Nice. (sidenote: evidently the escalator from Fremont Street only goes UP to the 2nd floor of the casino, so you have walk thru the casino to get out. But turns out after several dares one can make it down the "up" escalator if one is still feeling fleet of foot at age 47. Arriving safely at bottom with no broken bones or bloody elbows? Winning). Anyway, still have $50 free play to play at The D. Find a normal machine with cherries and 7's. Played 3 different machines and with $10 left hit for $200. Hmm. This day is going much better. Go to El Cortez for final MRB coupon and net squat. Back to The D for some blackjack. I need to give this place some play so they keep mailing me offers to stay as it seems MSS is tightening up on my comps and room offers.
Buyin for $400 and start playing $25/hand. Two of us can't lose, my other friend can't win. He finally leaves disgusted and goes to his room. I use the MRB "push on 22" twice (mine and the friend that left). Two days earlier I get a pit boss that said I can only use that at a special table that is closed. Today they let me use it twice as it was intended. Weird, but saves me $50 total. After a while, two drunk 25 year old girls stumble up to our table carrying those huge slushy drink glasses that are like 3 feet high. They are very attractive, very drunk, and wearing very little clothing. They are the type that forget to pick up their winnings, forget to put more money out after losing, and need to be reminded by the dealer to hit or stay everytime it is their turn. It slows the game down, but they get a pass because they grab their boobs and shake them whenever they get blackjack. My friend tries to help them as they had no idea what they were doing (hitting on 15 when the dealer has a 6 showing type stuff), but they didn't care and he gave up. They continued with tequila shots every round and really enjoyed yelling "69" when they got a 6 and a 9. I never get that thrilled with a 15...maybe I'm doing it wrong. I'm not sure that the dancing dealer was upset that she had to work with them so much or maybe she was upset that she was getting no attention, but she wasn't all that cheerful. Probably didn't help when girl one decided to motorboat her friend (face meet boobs). Anyway, lots of laughing all around. The girls started with about $30 each and cashed out around $175 each, then stumbled on their merry way, I am sure to finally find clothes in their size, instead of the clothes they were wearing from 6th grade. My friend is up $125, I am up $430. Leave after several hours, many drinks, and hopefully some decent comp offers coming. Day 4: Up nicely.
Rest of evening win and lose a little at VP. Then up Tuesday and head home. A very relaxing trip. Lots of laughs, lots of food, lots of drinks. Came back with more money than we went with. Another great trip.
Background: I used to go twice a year for years, and now am down to once a year for March Madness. Used to stay at Flamingo at the casino rate, but when Bellagio and Venetian were built I no longer "rated" at Flamingo and now stay downtown in comped rooms. Used to be Binions Horseshoe, then Fitzgeralds, and now is either Main Street Station or The D.
So my wife and I left Friday night out of Flint airport on Southwest, direct flight. I have only flown out of Detroit Metro. What a difference. It was so easy to park, get thru security (we were the only ones going thru), and get to our gate (like 6 gates). Everyone was polite, the place was very clean, and a big Jack and Coke at the bar was $5.99. Winning already. I will do everything I can to fly out of Flint going forward. Literally 5% of the hassle of Detroit Metro.
Arrive and take taxi from airport to Main Street Station. Said to take Paradise (from advice here) and before tip was around $26. Note: Going back to airport the cab took expressway (he asked, I said go any way you want...it was rush hour) and it was $32 before tip. Both ways reasonable.
Check in to Main Street and told were overbooked and we would be at California. Um, no. We are meeting people from Hawaii here, and I "did" book the room in August (7 months ago). They quickly found us a room. I left a tip. (note: I am a very generous tipper when it comes to waiters, taxi's, room cleaning staff. I figure these people are usually not making very much money and they are making my vacation stress free. A couple of bucks extra to them means a lot more than a couple of bucks more in a VP machine).
Played some video poker at MSS bar, won a little, saw familiar bartender faces. The bartenders at MSS are very friendly, and have always taken great care of us over the years....this year no exception. Then time for the MSS seafood buffet (comped). We all love crab legs. The buffet was packed, and they had a hard time keeping up. Also the quality of the crab legs was down a little. Smaller snow crab. Was ok, used to be better. Gave everyone at the table a golden shower (hey, butter was flying everywhere). Too full to drink anymore, played a little more VP then off to bed. Day 1: up a little.
Saturday, bet on games. Bet $10 TO $20 on every one whether I have "a feeling" or not. Turns out doesn't matter. Win some, lose some. Over the weekend made a little money on games, although not much. Still, it always adds to the excitement, and I am always amazed by how accurate the spreads are.
Got to The Fremont and use the MRB 2 for 1 buffet for brunch. Haven't heard much about this buffet so didn't expect much. Was very, very good for $12 each ($12 for two after coupon). Lots of food, cold stone crab, omelette station, etc. Lots for the money. Waiter fantastic. Champagne at end makes wife giggly (she is a lightweight, but happy).
Go to The D for their free shirt promotion. Buyin for $100 and get a free shirt during March Madness. Play a little ($25/hand, wife $10/hand). I'm up $27.50. Wife down $100. She now proclaims The D shirt as her fancy shirt, as it cost $100. Ouch.
Took the wife to see Mac King at Harrahs at 1pm. Good show for cheap ($15 includes drink after taxes), lots of kids there (good family show). I really don't get why people bring their kids to Vegas. Walking down the street I see things most kids probably shouldn't be seeing. Adult playground. But anyway, it's a cute show. Wife liked it. I love magic, and this show is more comedy than magic. But he did a couple of tricks that were very impressive.
Back to MSS (taxi's about $20 each way before tip) for more VP (and many drinks). Then all of us off to El Cortez The Flame (based on recommendations here) for dinner. Very impressed. Steak was very good, although I have had better (not complaining, just saying). The sides were excellent and large portions. The French Onion soup was probably the best I have ever had. No drinks, so bill came to $85. $30 LVR coupon nets $55 plus tip. Great waiter, great dining experience. This will be a must do every trip now.
Too full to drink any more. Back to MSS for some VP and then to bed. Day 2: up a little.
Sunday: Dun, dun, dun (music of doom)....wake up at 4:30 am (again) as it's 7:30 "our" time. Wife and I go down again to empty casino. Play some VP. Lose $60 in minutes (quarter JoB players). Table games empty, so we play blackjack. Lose $100 each in about 15 minutes. Money goes fast when losing and only two at the table. I'm down $160 and the buffet isn't even open yet. We have $25 in free food offer from The D. We go there to eat. It used to be The Courtyard when is was Fitzgeralds. The Courtyard was one of the worse places I have ever eaten. Nothing like that now. The D Grill is now all remodeled. Very nice looking, waiter in nice uniform. Waiter very friendly, knowledgable about menu, and the food was excellent. Maybe a little pricy compared to most coffee shops, but a very good experience.
The D sidenote: We all know the music is loud there. It seems to be turned down a little. Still loud, but I can at least have a conversation with half of the blackjack table. One of our couples stayed there when The D would comp most of their rooms and MSS would not..... and the elevators, hallways, and rooms still look very good. The casino bathroom was kept clean and is nicer than most downtown for sure. American Coney Island was always full. Overall this is night and day compared to Fitzgeralds. You may not like the music, but this place is hopping.
Anyway, back to Sunday afternoon. After much VP and many, many drinks, the three boys belly up to MSS blackjack table. The past two years I have had great luck on Sunday afternoon at the MSS blackjack table. Today would be no different. I had plenty of luck. Bad. I bought in my $400, and began my run of $25 bets. My $400 grew to $700 at a ridiculous pace. Could not lose. Then they switched to the Asian dealer. You know the one. No talking, no emotion....the cooler. Started to lose. So I did what every red-blooded gambler with a blood alcohol limit of .10+ does....chases. Can't lose 5 in row, so up my bet. Faster than it came, the $700 was gone. Poof. Angry at myself, went outside, sat on a bench and smoked a cigar. Collected my thoughts, went to gift shop, bought a pint, and went to the room to watch NCAA basketball. Stupid gambling. I know better....just sometimes forget what I know. Later went to Triple 777 for late dinner. Ate myself sick on comped meal. Very good wings. Korean taco's (never had heard of them) were excellent. Nacho's good too. End of day 3: Down. Atm withdrawal coming in am. Dang.
Monday: Up at 4:30 am. Belly up to VP bar with wife. Casino empty. Why does head hurt so badly? Order Bloody Mary, then virgin strawberry Dacquiri. Ahhhh. Play about 20 minutes and hold A-K suited for the millionth time this trip.....music. Royal Flush. It's been about 7 years since I hit one. Long cold, dry spell. Give a couple hundred to the wife for looking pretty, and give $100 each to my guy friends (our standing agreement if any of us hit a royal flush so we can all share in the happiness).
On to eat at MSS buffet using MRB 2 for 1. Use points for "1" part so free. Omelette very good, overall very good. Not hungry, but keep on eating. Been like this for four days. We decide to do a MRB coupon run. Use free play and matchplays at Plaza, LVC, Binions, Four Queens, El Cortez. Started off using it on slot machines as I rarely play them. First, I can't figure out a penny machine to save my life. There is no "max bet" button, and I have no idea how many penny's it takes to get to max play. Plus if I do win I have no idea why. Crazy lines everywhere. I'm 47 and I feel like a grumpy old man trying to figure out these new fangled machines. So we play video poker and are getting $5 to $10 back on $10 free play. All good. We stop at The D where I have $50 in free play from a mailing offer. I go to The Vue bar, but free play not allowed on those machines. I play anyway and hit the progressive 4 kings on BP. Up a little. Nice. (sidenote: evidently the escalator from Fremont Street only goes UP to the 2nd floor of the casino, so you have walk thru the casino to get out. But turns out after several dares one can make it down the "up" escalator if one is still feeling fleet of foot at age 47. Arriving safely at bottom with no broken bones or bloody elbows? Winning). Anyway, still have $50 free play to play at The D. Find a normal machine with cherries and 7's. Played 3 different machines and with $10 left hit for $200. Hmm. This day is going much better. Go to El Cortez for final MRB coupon and net squat. Back to The D for some blackjack. I need to give this place some play so they keep mailing me offers to stay as it seems MSS is tightening up on my comps and room offers.
Buyin for $400 and start playing $25/hand. Two of us can't lose, my other friend can't win. He finally leaves disgusted and goes to his room. I use the MRB "push on 22" twice (mine and the friend that left). Two days earlier I get a pit boss that said I can only use that at a special table that is closed. Today they let me use it twice as it was intended. Weird, but saves me $50 total. After a while, two drunk 25 year old girls stumble up to our table carrying those huge slushy drink glasses that are like 3 feet high. They are very attractive, very drunk, and wearing very little clothing. They are the type that forget to pick up their winnings, forget to put more money out after losing, and need to be reminded by the dealer to hit or stay everytime it is their turn. It slows the game down, but they get a pass because they grab their boobs and shake them whenever they get blackjack. My friend tries to help them as they had no idea what they were doing (hitting on 15 when the dealer has a 6 showing type stuff), but they didn't care and he gave up. They continued with tequila shots every round and really enjoyed yelling "69" when they got a 6 and a 9. I never get that thrilled with a 15...maybe I'm doing it wrong. I'm not sure that the dancing dealer was upset that she had to work with them so much or maybe she was upset that she was getting no attention, but she wasn't all that cheerful. Probably didn't help when girl one decided to motorboat her friend (face meet boobs). Anyway, lots of laughing all around. The girls started with about $30 each and cashed out around $175 each, then stumbled on their merry way, I am sure to finally find clothes in their size, instead of the clothes they were wearing from 6th grade. My friend is up $125, I am up $430. Leave after several hours, many drinks, and hopefully some decent comp offers coming. Day 4: Up nicely.
Rest of evening win and lose a little at VP. Then up Tuesday and head home. A very relaxing trip. Lots of laughs, lots of food, lots of drinks. Came back with more money than we went with. Another great trip.
