My wife and I have been going on a yearly trip to Las Vegas for 15 years, we always get excited. We go for 5 nights, we like to split our stay with a couple of nights at a MGM property at the south end and at a Caesar’s property at the South end. I start planning as soon as I book our flights, usually with FF miles.
Travel: We had a 6:00 am flight scheduled out of Portland ME, I got a text at 11:00 the night before that it was canceled, the best they could do is get us on a flight 2 days later that would get us to Vegas very late, no good. I called and was able to get us a flight out of Boston at 10:00 am the next day, a pain to get to Boston but worth it. It did have 5 hour layover in Newark, but we had 2 United Club passes which made it bearable. We did not get to our room until 8:00, very long day. Rental car was from Hertz, first with them (always have used Dollar). Hertz service was great, will use them next time all things being equal.
Hotels: The first 2 nights were comped (+ resort fee) at NY NY. The Park Avenue room was very small, casino and hotel were packed. We spent a couple of hours at the pool which we thought was pretty nice. The last 3 nights were comped at the Flamingo. Having the upgrade to Platinum sure came in handy with check in and check out. There was a very long line for both, in and out quickly. We also scored an upgrade to a Go Room with a strip view with the good old $20 trick. Tried to go to the pool but didn’t realize you had to come down as soon as it opened to claim a chair with your towel. We were there at 11:00 every chair had been claimed but 80% showed no signs of anyone around. It will be my last stay here. Many times 15+ minutes wait for an elevator. Of the bank of 12, only 3-4 were working. Other people were saying it was worse at the bank by the Flamingo Habitat. I didn’t hear anything but it made me wonder if they were due for a major upgrade for the property, sure needs it especially compared to the other Caesar’s properties around it. You have Harrah’s. Quad and Cromwell around it, which have all been updated.
Gaming: My wife likes bartop video poker and slots, I mostly play Pai Gow and Video poker but will play Craps for a change of pace. We really liked Monte Carlo, they have changed the awful entrance they had and put a nice VP bar near the entrance, the vibe was a lot better than it was in the past. They also still have Caribbean Stud ($5 table even at night, I always like to try a few hands when find the game). The last 3 days we bounced around all the Ceasar’s properties. Cromwell was fun late at night, Pai Gow tables were at the entrance of Drais nightclub, the sites going by were very entertaining. Similar to Monte Carlo, Harrah’s has gotten a lot better vibe than it used to and was a fun place to play. Harrah’s. Quad and Cromwell have great VP bars. My wife hit 2 four of a kinds with 2’s for $250 each on Duce’s wild and I hit a Straight Flush on the $5 Pai Gow Bonus be for $250.
Random thoughts:
New York New York now has $30-$20 Win Cards, Mandalay Bay still has them as well
United still handed out the promotional pack from the Cosmopolitan with the $25 slot play. I noticed it had an 8/31/14 expiration so it may be ending soon.
The 24 buffet that came with the TR Visa was fun to do. We are not big eaters, we would never buy one.
Downtown Grand no longer has a sign up bonus.
Thanks to someone on the board who suggested parking at Binions, very easy just get validated at the cage or by a slot attendent
The ACG and LVA are big part of our trip. We had a car so we used the places with the free play and matchplay coupons as plan for places to hit. They are great for this and add significant $$$ to our budget as we both used them. It’s not for everyone but we don’t mind chasing around with these, we enjoy it.
Travel: We had a 6:00 am flight scheduled out of Portland ME, I got a text at 11:00 the night before that it was canceled, the best they could do is get us on a flight 2 days later that would get us to Vegas very late, no good. I called and was able to get us a flight out of Boston at 10:00 am the next day, a pain to get to Boston but worth it. It did have 5 hour layover in Newark, but we had 2 United Club passes which made it bearable. We did not get to our room until 8:00, very long day. Rental car was from Hertz, first with them (always have used Dollar). Hertz service was great, will use them next time all things being equal.
Hotels: The first 2 nights were comped (+ resort fee) at NY NY. The Park Avenue room was very small, casino and hotel were packed. We spent a couple of hours at the pool which we thought was pretty nice. The last 3 nights were comped at the Flamingo. Having the upgrade to Platinum sure came in handy with check in and check out. There was a very long line for both, in and out quickly. We also scored an upgrade to a Go Room with a strip view with the good old $20 trick. Tried to go to the pool but didn’t realize you had to come down as soon as it opened to claim a chair with your towel. We were there at 11:00 every chair had been claimed but 80% showed no signs of anyone around. It will be my last stay here. Many times 15+ minutes wait for an elevator. Of the bank of 12, only 3-4 were working. Other people were saying it was worse at the bank by the Flamingo Habitat. I didn’t hear anything but it made me wonder if they were due for a major upgrade for the property, sure needs it especially compared to the other Caesar’s properties around it. You have Harrah’s. Quad and Cromwell around it, which have all been updated.
Gaming: My wife likes bartop video poker and slots, I mostly play Pai Gow and Video poker but will play Craps for a change of pace. We really liked Monte Carlo, they have changed the awful entrance they had and put a nice VP bar near the entrance, the vibe was a lot better than it was in the past. They also still have Caribbean Stud ($5 table even at night, I always like to try a few hands when find the game). The last 3 days we bounced around all the Ceasar’s properties. Cromwell was fun late at night, Pai Gow tables were at the entrance of Drais nightclub, the sites going by were very entertaining. Similar to Monte Carlo, Harrah’s has gotten a lot better vibe than it used to and was a fun place to play. Harrah’s. Quad and Cromwell have great VP bars. My wife hit 2 four of a kinds with 2’s for $250 each on Duce’s wild and I hit a Straight Flush on the $5 Pai Gow Bonus be for $250.
Random thoughts:
New York New York now has $30-$20 Win Cards, Mandalay Bay still has them as well
United still handed out the promotional pack from the Cosmopolitan with the $25 slot play. I noticed it had an 8/31/14 expiration so it may be ending soon.
The 24 buffet that came with the TR Visa was fun to do. We are not big eaters, we would never buy one.
Downtown Grand no longer has a sign up bonus.
Thanks to someone on the board who suggested parking at Binions, very easy just get validated at the cage or by a slot attendent
The ACG and LVA are big part of our trip. We had a car so we used the places with the free play and matchplay coupons as plan for places to hit. They are great for this and add significant $$$ to our budget as we both used them. It’s not for everyone but we don’t mind chasing around with these, we enjoy it.
