Late last year, I received a phone call from an old University room-mate. Apparently he had some vacation time to use up and wanted to spend it in Las Vegas. There were a couple of other reasons he wanted to go. He wanted to celebrate his birthday in Las Vegas and his divorce would be finalized in February. Ken told me that there could be up to 8 of us going. I’m the only one who really travels to Las Vegas frequently, so he asked me if I could secure some comped rooms for the group.
I was able to book the following offers:
MGM Grand: 4 comped nights, $100 resort credit, $150 free slot play.
Tropicana: 4 comped nights, $50 food credit, tickets to the Laugh Factory, $100 free slot play.
Orleans: 3 comped nights, $50 food credit, $50 free slot play.
LVH: 3 comped nights, 1 round of golf, $100 free slot play.
All was going to plan until it ended up just being me and Ken! Everyone else cancelled! With just 2 weeks to go, which offer was I going to keep?
My wife gave me the green light to go , but also said that I probably shouldn’t go again this summer for the World Series of Poker , so this could really be my one and only trip this year. If that was the case, it didn’t really matter if the offers dried up later this year. In the end, I decided to keep all 4 rooms and the offers that went along with them. We would do some gambling at all of the hotels anyways and it was a good way for Ken to see some of the other properties.
The only other time Ken had been to Las Vegas was in February 2000 almost, 14 years ago. The two of us stayed at Harrah’s at that time. How many different hotels have been built since 2000?
A little bit of background information on Ken. He’s the one who originally got me into blackjack and casino gambling over 20 years ago. The first time I ever gambled I lost $40 and thought it was the end of the world. My how times have changed. Ken is a graduate of computer science and works for a Tech company out of Austin Texas. He also is in fantastic shape. I guess since he’s single again, he’s had to take care of himself. He claims he has gotten down to just 8% body fat using the Insanity Training program. Throughout the entire trip, I never saw him take an escalator if stairs were available and he always chose non-automatic doors.
Ken was able to use points through Air Canada and National Car Rental to get us a direct return flight from Toronto and any size car for the 5 days for $220 each (we paid taxes only).
In addition to the the various casino offers, I was going to use 6 myVegas rewards to get us:
2 MGM Grand Buffet breakfasts/brunches, discount tickets to Carrot Top, tickets to Zumanity, and 2 of the Take 2 Buffet passes for Luxor and Excalibur.
We were splitting costs on an ATV Tour through the Nellis Dunes, 1 round of golf at Los Prados, time at the gun range at Battlefield Vegas and a trip to Sapphire Men’s Club on Ken’s birthday.
I’ve been to Las Vegas so many times now that for the last several years I've only gone during the World Series of Poker or if there was some other big tournament being offered by a casino. Since I had no huge offers, I was glad to use points and keep the trip expenses down as low as possible.
Wednesday 8
Who can sleep before a trip to Las Vegas? I went to bed around 11:00pm on Tuesday, but was up at 2:30am and started driving to Toronto to pick up Ken.
I initially thought I’d get some breakfast at McDonald’s but apparently they don’t start serving breakfast until 4:00am. So I had a Quarter Pounder with cheese for breakfast.
The weather here has been really cold (-35C or -31F) and they had a ground shut down at the Toronto airport earlier this week. When I checked flights, all but 2 flights out of Toronto between 9:00am and 10:00am had been cancelled. Surprisingly the flight to Las Vegas was on time. I’ve always wondered if the casinos use their “juice” to influence airlines.
So, I arrive at Ken’s apartment and we head off to the airport. Ken travels quite a bit for his job, and has Gold status with Air Canada. That means he gets to check 3 bags for free and has access to their lounge. That’s where we ate breakfast. He said they had shower facilities there as well, but I didn’t check it out.
Free magazines available in the Air Canada Lounge.
Picture of the breakfast spread at the Air Canada Lounge.
Frozen tundra of Canada.
It’s always sunny in everyone’s favorite vacation destination!
Surprisingly our flight was on time and we arrived in Las Vegas ahead of schedule. Ken belongs to National’s Emerald Club and he picked out a 2014 Nissan Rogue.
We had a lot of running around to do and it was still too early to check in (11:00am). Our first stop was Huntington Press to get this year’s MRB. Then we went to Chinatown to try eat at Pho Kim Long. Unfortunately it was too busy there so we ended up eating at Lee’s Sandwiches. It was pretty good.
Cheap and tasty.
Walmart on W Charleston was next to pick up supplies, then off to the Palms to play a Slot Play Coupon I bought for $25. I was able to turn the $40 coupon into $35.90 on a “Family Guy” slot machine.
From there, we went to the Luxor to pick up our tickets to Carrot Top and Zumanity. I also stood in line at the Mlife desk to add the Take 2 Buffet Passes onto my card from myVegas. I was able to add both passes onto my card for use starting tomorrow.
Check in at the MGM Grand was quick and easy. I couldn’t believe there was no line. The room was okay, but I thought the bed was a bit soft. I was able to turn the $150 free slot play into $123.40 playing “Cleopatra II”, “Texas Tea” and “Playboy: Muy Caliente”.
We walked over to the Tropicana to check in. Once again I was surprised that no one was in line. The free slot play here is doled out as $25 each day, and I was able to turn the first $25 into $49 on a “Penguin” slot machine.
Our barely used room at the Tropicana.
We ate dinner at the Tropicana’s Italian Restaurant, Bacio. There is a 50% off coupon in the MRB that we applied to the bill. I thought the food here was so-so and lukewarm to cold. The portions were pretty small as well.
I don't think I would eat here again.
After dinner, we made the mistake of going to Hooters Casino. Things started out okay, as we sat at the bar, played a bit of video poker and enjoyed a couple of free drinks. But we stayed too long, and I ended up dropping $200 on the “Tarzan” progressive machine, $60 on “Wheel of Fortune” and $700 on Blackjack. Blah. Why would I lose $1000 in this place?
Back to the Tropicana. I lose another $100 on “Black Knight” before the show started.
The comedy show was alright. They advertised that these comedians have appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but I’ve never heard of them.
Fairly big crowd for a Wednesday night.
Ken wanted to play poker at the Bellagio so off we went. Now this week, the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) was in town, so we were hoping for some soft marks at the tables.
Ken's all in.
We had to wait about 30 minutes before a couple of spots opened up on 2 separate $4-$8 tables. While waiting I saw Chau Giang milling about the Bellagio poker room as well. He ended up playing in a $40-$80 mixed game. I don’t know if he’s fallen upon hard times or not because I always thought he played in the highest cash games available.
I ended up in seat 9 at a table with a belligerent man seated to my immediate left. Everyone at the table absolutely despised this character. When I first arrived, he was swearing and belittling the players and dealers - and almost broke.
He was putting on this great act of playing very loose and aggressive. I think he was also pretending to be drunk. Anyways, this guy was the “touchy feely” sort. He kept patting me on the back and grabbing my arm. Finally, I looked him straight in the eye with my most menacing glare and said,
“Do not touch me again.”
He laughed it off but the dealer caught my eye and gave me a slight nod. I think the dealer was prepared to send one of us to another table or call a floor person over if Mr. A Hole continued.
In the end, Ken and I left the poker room with an extra $100 and $17 respectively.
We couldn’t just leave the Bellagio though. I ended up dropping $150 on a "Goldfish 2" machine and another $900 on blackjack.
We ended up back at the MGM Grand at 3:20am and were probably asleep at 3:45am. What a terrible first day gambling wise! My bankroll for the remaining 4 days was down to $350! I could always get a hold of some more cash if need be, but dropping $2000 on the first day really sucked. Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.
I was able to book the following offers:
MGM Grand: 4 comped nights, $100 resort credit, $150 free slot play.
Tropicana: 4 comped nights, $50 food credit, tickets to the Laugh Factory, $100 free slot play.
Orleans: 3 comped nights, $50 food credit, $50 free slot play.
LVH: 3 comped nights, 1 round of golf, $100 free slot play.
All was going to plan until it ended up just being me and Ken! Everyone else cancelled! With just 2 weeks to go, which offer was I going to keep?
My wife gave me the green light to go , but also said that I probably shouldn’t go again this summer for the World Series of Poker , so this could really be my one and only trip this year. If that was the case, it didn’t really matter if the offers dried up later this year. In the end, I decided to keep all 4 rooms and the offers that went along with them. We would do some gambling at all of the hotels anyways and it was a good way for Ken to see some of the other properties.
The only other time Ken had been to Las Vegas was in February 2000 almost, 14 years ago. The two of us stayed at Harrah’s at that time. How many different hotels have been built since 2000?
A little bit of background information on Ken. He’s the one who originally got me into blackjack and casino gambling over 20 years ago. The first time I ever gambled I lost $40 and thought it was the end of the world. My how times have changed. Ken is a graduate of computer science and works for a Tech company out of Austin Texas. He also is in fantastic shape. I guess since he’s single again, he’s had to take care of himself. He claims he has gotten down to just 8% body fat using the Insanity Training program. Throughout the entire trip, I never saw him take an escalator if stairs were available and he always chose non-automatic doors.
Ken was able to use points through Air Canada and National Car Rental to get us a direct return flight from Toronto and any size car for the 5 days for $220 each (we paid taxes only).
In addition to the the various casino offers, I was going to use 6 myVegas rewards to get us:
2 MGM Grand Buffet breakfasts/brunches, discount tickets to Carrot Top, tickets to Zumanity, and 2 of the Take 2 Buffet passes for Luxor and Excalibur.
We were splitting costs on an ATV Tour through the Nellis Dunes, 1 round of golf at Los Prados, time at the gun range at Battlefield Vegas and a trip to Sapphire Men’s Club on Ken’s birthday.
I’ve been to Las Vegas so many times now that for the last several years I've only gone during the World Series of Poker or if there was some other big tournament being offered by a casino. Since I had no huge offers, I was glad to use points and keep the trip expenses down as low as possible.
Wednesday 8
Who can sleep before a trip to Las Vegas? I went to bed around 11:00pm on Tuesday, but was up at 2:30am and started driving to Toronto to pick up Ken.
I initially thought I’d get some breakfast at McDonald’s but apparently they don’t start serving breakfast until 4:00am. So I had a Quarter Pounder with cheese for breakfast.
The weather here has been really cold (-35C or -31F) and they had a ground shut down at the Toronto airport earlier this week. When I checked flights, all but 2 flights out of Toronto between 9:00am and 10:00am had been cancelled. Surprisingly the flight to Las Vegas was on time. I’ve always wondered if the casinos use their “juice” to influence airlines.
So, I arrive at Ken’s apartment and we head off to the airport. Ken travels quite a bit for his job, and has Gold status with Air Canada. That means he gets to check 3 bags for free and has access to their lounge. That’s where we ate breakfast. He said they had shower facilities there as well, but I didn’t check it out.
Free magazines available in the Air Canada Lounge.
Picture of the breakfast spread at the Air Canada Lounge.
Frozen tundra of Canada.
It’s always sunny in everyone’s favorite vacation destination!
Surprisingly our flight was on time and we arrived in Las Vegas ahead of schedule. Ken belongs to National’s Emerald Club and he picked out a 2014 Nissan Rogue.
We had a lot of running around to do and it was still too early to check in (11:00am). Our first stop was Huntington Press to get this year’s MRB. Then we went to Chinatown to try eat at Pho Kim Long. Unfortunately it was too busy there so we ended up eating at Lee’s Sandwiches. It was pretty good.
Cheap and tasty.
Walmart on W Charleston was next to pick up supplies, then off to the Palms to play a Slot Play Coupon I bought for $25. I was able to turn the $40 coupon into $35.90 on a “Family Guy” slot machine.
From there, we went to the Luxor to pick up our tickets to Carrot Top and Zumanity. I also stood in line at the Mlife desk to add the Take 2 Buffet Passes onto my card from myVegas. I was able to add both passes onto my card for use starting tomorrow.
Check in at the MGM Grand was quick and easy. I couldn’t believe there was no line. The room was okay, but I thought the bed was a bit soft. I was able to turn the $150 free slot play into $123.40 playing “Cleopatra II”, “Texas Tea” and “Playboy: Muy Caliente”.
We walked over to the Tropicana to check in. Once again I was surprised that no one was in line. The free slot play here is doled out as $25 each day, and I was able to turn the first $25 into $49 on a “Penguin” slot machine.
Our barely used room at the Tropicana.
We ate dinner at the Tropicana’s Italian Restaurant, Bacio. There is a 50% off coupon in the MRB that we applied to the bill. I thought the food here was so-so and lukewarm to cold. The portions were pretty small as well.
I don't think I would eat here again.
After dinner, we made the mistake of going to Hooters Casino. Things started out okay, as we sat at the bar, played a bit of video poker and enjoyed a couple of free drinks. But we stayed too long, and I ended up dropping $200 on the “Tarzan” progressive machine, $60 on “Wheel of Fortune” and $700 on Blackjack. Blah. Why would I lose $1000 in this place?
Back to the Tropicana. I lose another $100 on “Black Knight” before the show started.
The comedy show was alright. They advertised that these comedians have appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but I’ve never heard of them.
Fairly big crowd for a Wednesday night.
Ken wanted to play poker at the Bellagio so off we went. Now this week, the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) was in town, so we were hoping for some soft marks at the tables.
Ken's all in.
We had to wait about 30 minutes before a couple of spots opened up on 2 separate $4-$8 tables. While waiting I saw Chau Giang milling about the Bellagio poker room as well. He ended up playing in a $40-$80 mixed game. I don’t know if he’s fallen upon hard times or not because I always thought he played in the highest cash games available.
I ended up in seat 9 at a table with a belligerent man seated to my immediate left. Everyone at the table absolutely despised this character. When I first arrived, he was swearing and belittling the players and dealers - and almost broke.
He was putting on this great act of playing very loose and aggressive. I think he was also pretending to be drunk. Anyways, this guy was the “touchy feely” sort. He kept patting me on the back and grabbing my arm. Finally, I looked him straight in the eye with my most menacing glare and said,
“Do not touch me again.”
He laughed it off but the dealer caught my eye and gave me a slight nod. I think the dealer was prepared to send one of us to another table or call a floor person over if Mr. A Hole continued.
In the end, Ken and I left the poker room with an extra $100 and $17 respectively.
We couldn’t just leave the Bellagio though. I ended up dropping $150 on a "Goldfish 2" machine and another $900 on blackjack.
We ended up back at the MGM Grand at 3:20am and were probably asleep at 3:45am. What a terrible first day gambling wise! My bankroll for the remaining 4 days was down to $350! I could always get a hold of some more cash if need be, but dropping $2000 on the first day really sucked. Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.
