Reaching for the Stars – Chapter 16
Thursday, October 23
If it seems like it’s been forever since the last chapter, which would be because it has been. This past summer I posted my usual daily reports, so there was no need to add the same information to this string. Since summer ended, I only played at Rincon (not Harrah’s Resort Southern California) twice, both times to run a 1000 tier points through the system so I’d be eligible for the bonus 1000. As of this moment, I have 148,950 tier points, so I will need to run 1000 tier points once more before December 31 to renew my 7 Star Status. Fortunately, I did catch a fifty-cent royal on my first trip but gave a lot of that back on a very unsuccessful second trip.
Interestingly enough, my free play and food comps have continued to go down each month I go. When I first made 7 Stars (about a year ago), I was being given $150 per week in free play and $60 in food comps. Then that started going down with each month. This month finally reached zero. You can only imagine my surprise when I played last week and received 0 free play and 0 food comps. Now to be fair, I still have the running 2 buffets per day, but these comps were good at the other restaurants. Each day I play, the next day I get an online critique to fill out about my stay. I mention all of this along with that fact that I have not heard one word from my host at Rincon in over six months. I don’t even know if he still works there.
I’m writing this report this morning in my room at the Rio Hotel and Casino. I’m here for the 7 Star Experience (a yearly bonus for 7 Stars where they give four or five options, and I chose this one because the others would require ME to pick up the air fare—no thanks). I came with my friend and companion, Cindy. We arrived at 2PM and our room was ready. It’s a regular room (they call them suites—they’re not) because though I’m 7 Stars, this event is for ALL 7 Stars and I’m a bottom feeder, so all the real suites (and all the rooms on the 7 Star 20th floor) were taken by the real players. I also learned that included the type of offers as you’ll read.
After checking in, we were to proceed to the promotions booth to pick up all our passes for the events being offered. I received two tickets to Rita Rudner on Saturday night, two passes for the observations wheel, $100 in free play, a brunch for two to Giada’s restaurant (a disappointing family style brunch versus an actual sit down dinner—boo!) and finally, a tour of the Linq district which includes samples from all the stores, which I’ll report later. As I was standing in line, the Asian couple before me was receiving $1500 in free play, all of my offers, plus a Sterling Brunch at Ballys and a new camera—no doubt a baccarat player.
I will say that when we checked into the room, there was a very nice card addressed to me welcoming me to the 7 Star Experience signed by all the hosts along with a nice box of candies. After spending most the early evening watching the Broncos destroy my Chargers in the Diamond Lounge, we returned to the room to find a large plate of chocolate covered cherries and a bottle of champagne on ice—nice, though I don’t like champagne—I’ll take it home for another occasion (along with the nice glasses—so there!).
Friday, October 24
We started off with breakfast at Hash Hash A-Go-Go, which has taken over the café area on the way to the convention center. When it opened, the Rio buffet quit making breakfast. Typically their servings are gigantic, so we ordered a couple of their scrambled dishes. Both were excellent. Caesar’s gives all their guests a little coupon book at registration, which includes some 2-for 1s, a couple of match plays, and other discounts. We stopped at the Total Rewards booth to check out the shows that were available (Diamond and 7 Stars received two free tickets per month for their B-rated shows). We selected Vinnie Favoritto as the show was available at the end of the Linq tour. I also used the $10 match play from the coupon book. I put it on black at the roulette table and the number came up red. I’m not gambling this trip, but I made an exception here.
We got the car out of valet and the first stop was the Bellagio to see their fall display at the conservatory. As always, it was beautiful. I’ve added some pics of it that I lifted from Martin’s reports as he was just here as well.
The entry way was a couple of flower arches as water streams danced over your head
The pumpkin tree creature overlooking the pumpkin patch
The water shed. A harpist plays in the evening.
We walked from the Bellagio to the tram that took us to the Aria to check out their water sculptures at the valet entrance and then over to Crystals for a cup of Starbucks. As usual, there were very few customers in this gigantic premium shopping mall and as I peered in some of the stores, there were just one or two employees standing behind the counter with dazed looks on their faces no doubt wondering if anyone will walk into the store today.
We took the tram back to the Bellagio and the car in a garage. Summer is long gone and getting a parking spot was a breeze and traffic was uncongested. With the weather and the crowds, October and November are two of the best months to visit Las Vegas.
Cindy had never seen Lake Las Vegas, so we make the half hour drive past Henderson. We stopped at the Westin, which used to by the Hyatt. I pretty much looked the same as when it opened back in 2001 thought the casino has long closed. We had a wonderful time just walking around enjoying the scenic views and quiet.
We got back in the car and were heading out when a young well-dressed couple flagged us down. They asked if we knew if there was a bus route and where it might be as they wanted to get back to the Strip. I told them there wasn’t any out here, but I’d be happy to give them a lift back to their apartment over by the Stratosphere. They had taken a cab all the way here not realizing how far it was, which cost over $80. They were there for a meeting with some Internet entrepreneurs to promote their business ideas. We had a nice chat as we drove back and it reminded me what it was like to be that young with the world in front of them.
After dropping them off, we drove over to the SLS, which is the name of the new hotel and casino that replaced the Sahara. It had opened just a couple of weeks ago and I was anxious to see what they had done to the old place. The registration desk is in the same location, but it’s much more contemporary and hip (do we still use hip?). The place was beautiful and well designed. Some had suggested that the casino was small, but I thought it was a good size. All of the different restaurants were along the perimeter of the casino. I was a bit surprised at how busy it was. Even the pool was full of sunbathers and swimmers. I think they’ve done a very nice job with this.
Our next stop was the Silverton where they were having some Halloween games and booths in the Bass Pro Shop that I wanted to check out. I also had $15 in free play, so I played it on a penny game and cashed out $10 (makes me even for the trip). The giant aquarium had a mermaid swimming around and flirting with the small children who were transfixed watching as she swam with the fish and playing air kisses to them. We walked into the Bass Pro shops and unfortunately the booths didn’t open until 5PM. However, Cindy was able to find a couple of gifts for her kids.
I was back to the Rio to rest a bit before our Linq tour at 6PM. When we got back to the room at 3:30 the housekeeping girl was just getting started cleaning our room, so we went to the Diamond lounge for a drink until she was finished. We left at 5 and drove over to the Linq (formerly the Quad) valet. We picked up the tickets from the Flamingo Box Office for Vinnie and then made our way over to the meeting spot for our Linq Tour. After signing in, we were assigned to Group 7 with Jolanda as our guide. This was really just a small tour of a few of the shops where some of the managers gave us a sales pitch and then handed out some freebies. We finished the tour in an hour and picked up some nice swag: some coupons for free drinks, some miniature cupcakes, a lot of chocolate from the candy store, and a nice windbreaker from O’Shea’s.
We had an hour before Vinnie’s show, so we went to the Flamingo Diamond Lounge. It was 7PM and had just missed the hot food; however, the waitress brought out a nice dish for Cindy, which was a couple small lamb chops, some string beans, and mash potatoes (surprisingly good meal for a diamond lounge here in Vegas). The Flamingo redesigned their Diamond Lounge. Gone are the recliners and the booths. Now the entire room is nothing but tables. There are new flat screens on the walls, but otherwise, not too much.
We went to the Vinnie show and tonight it was only about half full (it’s usually jammed) and this wasn’t past Vinnie’s wrath. I’ve seen him about four times but Cindy hasn’t and I did warn her about his show. We sat too close to the center up front for my liking, but fortunately, Vinnie left us alone though he did rib on everyone around us. It was a really funny show and the hour just flew by. It was a long day with lots of walking, so it was nice to finally get back to the room and call it a night.
Saturday, October 25
The plan today was to check hang around the hotel until our 4PM reception and drawing. We headed down to the pool but the wind was blowing so hard, even the pool attendant was wrapped up in towels. Lunch was at the Sports Book Deli. Cindy had the turkey wrap and I had the Mesquite triple deck sandwich (brisket, bacon, lettuce and tomato). This deli really serves up great food. I used my reward points to pay for it. Cindy took a nap and I hung out in the Diamond Lounge until it was time to drive over to the Linq.
The event was being held in the Brooklyn Bowl, which is a HUGE three story business with about five bars, two restaurants, a large stage area for concerts on two bowling alleys located on the second and third floors. The 7 Star Event was on the third floor, which was closed down for the event. There was an open bar and servers were constantly coming around with plates of finger foods, which were very good and varied: brisket sliders, beef and chicken teriyaki, bacon wrapped scallops, and many others. Dinner was now out of the question with all this food. We arrived at four and the drawing wasn’t until 5:30, so there wasn’t much more to do than to just chat with those around you.
It’s interesting the conversation that goes on with these events. It always centers on the things that we have in common. How long have you been 7 Stars? What kinds of games do you play? Where have you taken your free trips? One can get a lot of good inside information from each other. Cindy made friends with a couple from Arkansas who gave us the lowdown on what’s going on at Tunica. They began talking about the shows and Lucinda was saying they had tickets to see Shania Twain and were disappointed because the wanted to see Rita Rutner. Cindy said we were disappointed because we were seeing Rita Rutner and wanted to see Shania Twain. So, we simply exchanged tickets. Very nice! I talked with friends from Texas that I had run into at Rincon in San Diego. The elderly Asian couple in front of me was from San Francisco. They were funny as they took food every time a server came around and after getting full began wrapping and stuffing it into her purse.
The drawing was for 1,000,000 gift wrap points with 10 winners taking 100,000 each. As we were walking to where the announcer was drawing names, I was thrilled to run into Mare, my friend and mentor who had herself just made 7 Star Status and couple of weeks ago. We had a nice time catching up as the names were slowly being drawn from the drum. I didn’t pay that close attention as I NEVER win drawings. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when my name wasn’t called; however, Cindy’s new friend, Lucinda from Arkansas, did get called.
We made our way out of the Linq and walked across Las Vegas Blvd to the Forum Shops and finally into Caesars Palace. We still had an hour until the show, so we made our way to the Diamond Lounge. There was a line to get in, but my 7 Stars card got us immediately in. They were just finishing up hot food but I managed to grab some very good meatballs, which we shared over a couple cocktails from a friendly, talkative bartender. I happened to be wearing my Chargers shirt, and it amazes me how something so minor starts up comments and conversations with strangers. Football in this country is crazy.
We were seated in the orchestra to the left of the stage, but the seats were just fine. Shania made her way to us all the time and at one point in the show came right over next to us and sang as she was high-fiving people in the audience and stopping often for selfies all along not missing a note. Even though they announced no photography or video during the performance, this was immediately thrown out the window because the minute the show began, there were hundreds of cameras and phones taking videos and pictures throughout the concert. The show itself was tight and slick from the moment Shania made her entrance hundreds of feet in the air on a sterling silver Harley Davidson until the final note of “I Feel Like a Woman.” The staging and back wall video were terrific and the backup band and singers excellent. The only downside for me (and the reason I don’t go to many of these types of concerts) was that people in front of you stand up and dance so you can’t see the stage anymore, so we spent more than half the concert on our feet just so we could see the performance. Shania has only six shows left, so I’m really glad I was able to catch the show.
Towards the end of the show
We walked back to the Linq, picked up the car at the valet and were back to the Rio. Being still pumped up from the show, we watched a movie in the room before calling it a night.
Sunday, October 26
We’ve decided to leave a day early as we’re going to meet Cindy’s Uncle in Victorville for a dinner plus all of the 7 Star Signature events are over except for a drawing for a share of $250K in cash, which I’m entered with only one ticket considering I gave 0 play—never even putting my card in a machine. So, I’m not holding my breath. Our last event was the brunch at Giada’s. We sat with four other people and everything was served family style. From the assorted breads to Palenta and Eggs with cranberries and spicy sausage, which was followed by zucchini, smoked bacon, lemon roasted breakfast potatoes and a half dozen other things, the meal was excellent. Though we heard Giada was in town, she never visited us though the General Manager of the hotel stopped by and chatted with us for quite a long time. Bad news for people who are staying at the Cromwell now as they’ve discontinued their free breakfast buffet now that Giada’s is open for breakfast—and it’s not free. We had a very pleasant conversation with our table mates and the entire experience though Cindy accidently dropped a lemonade into her lap and was quickly cleaned up. Service, as expected, was top rate and the restaurant was beautiful.
I’m a little torn about if this was a good 7 Star Signature trip. We did enjoy the many things given such as the free room, two receptions, the show, and the welcome chocolate strawberries on the first night. However, I didn’t like the tier system where I received pretty much the B-package (low free play, no gift, second tier show) while others received high amounts of free play and the top tier shows, and a camera as a gift. It just seems to be that 7 Stars itself should be rewarded evenly for an event such as this and make the higher level players still have their extra goodies that they now get already as they move up the latter. I’m getting towards the end of this year and therefore then end of this string of reports. By December, I will have made 7 Stars for 2015, but I pretty much have decided that this is it. It simply is NOT worth the ten times play of Diamond players when you honestly don’t get ten times the awards. Yes, the free Internet and in room movies is nice, but I have found the I rarely am given a suite (though the literature says you’re automatically upgraded “when available”), the Diamond Lounges offer nothing extra for 7 Stars (other than a few have 7 Star seats—not a big deal), and the welcome packages are not consistent.
I began these chapters to share my experiences through the first year of being a 7 Star Member and add them up over a Diamond member. And quite honestly, it doesn’t add up. So, I will certainly enjoy the perks next year and my play will come to an end with Caesars. It’s simply time to move on.
Thursday, October 23
If it seems like it’s been forever since the last chapter, which would be because it has been. This past summer I posted my usual daily reports, so there was no need to add the same information to this string. Since summer ended, I only played at Rincon (not Harrah’s Resort Southern California) twice, both times to run a 1000 tier points through the system so I’d be eligible for the bonus 1000. As of this moment, I have 148,950 tier points, so I will need to run 1000 tier points once more before December 31 to renew my 7 Star Status. Fortunately, I did catch a fifty-cent royal on my first trip but gave a lot of that back on a very unsuccessful second trip.
Interestingly enough, my free play and food comps have continued to go down each month I go. When I first made 7 Stars (about a year ago), I was being given $150 per week in free play and $60 in food comps. Then that started going down with each month. This month finally reached zero. You can only imagine my surprise when I played last week and received 0 free play and 0 food comps. Now to be fair, I still have the running 2 buffets per day, but these comps were good at the other restaurants. Each day I play, the next day I get an online critique to fill out about my stay. I mention all of this along with that fact that I have not heard one word from my host at Rincon in over six months. I don’t even know if he still works there.
I’m writing this report this morning in my room at the Rio Hotel and Casino. I’m here for the 7 Star Experience (a yearly bonus for 7 Stars where they give four or five options, and I chose this one because the others would require ME to pick up the air fare—no thanks). I came with my friend and companion, Cindy. We arrived at 2PM and our room was ready. It’s a regular room (they call them suites—they’re not) because though I’m 7 Stars, this event is for ALL 7 Stars and I’m a bottom feeder, so all the real suites (and all the rooms on the 7 Star 20th floor) were taken by the real players. I also learned that included the type of offers as you’ll read.
After checking in, we were to proceed to the promotions booth to pick up all our passes for the events being offered. I received two tickets to Rita Rudner on Saturday night, two passes for the observations wheel, $100 in free play, a brunch for two to Giada’s restaurant (a disappointing family style brunch versus an actual sit down dinner—boo!) and finally, a tour of the Linq district which includes samples from all the stores, which I’ll report later. As I was standing in line, the Asian couple before me was receiving $1500 in free play, all of my offers, plus a Sterling Brunch at Ballys and a new camera—no doubt a baccarat player.
I will say that when we checked into the room, there was a very nice card addressed to me welcoming me to the 7 Star Experience signed by all the hosts along with a nice box of candies. After spending most the early evening watching the Broncos destroy my Chargers in the Diamond Lounge, we returned to the room to find a large plate of chocolate covered cherries and a bottle of champagne on ice—nice, though I don’t like champagne—I’ll take it home for another occasion (along with the nice glasses—so there!).
Friday, October 24
We started off with breakfast at Hash Hash A-Go-Go, which has taken over the café area on the way to the convention center. When it opened, the Rio buffet quit making breakfast. Typically their servings are gigantic, so we ordered a couple of their scrambled dishes. Both were excellent. Caesar’s gives all their guests a little coupon book at registration, which includes some 2-for 1s, a couple of match plays, and other discounts. We stopped at the Total Rewards booth to check out the shows that were available (Diamond and 7 Stars received two free tickets per month for their B-rated shows). We selected Vinnie Favoritto as the show was available at the end of the Linq tour. I also used the $10 match play from the coupon book. I put it on black at the roulette table and the number came up red. I’m not gambling this trip, but I made an exception here.
We got the car out of valet and the first stop was the Bellagio to see their fall display at the conservatory. As always, it was beautiful. I’ve added some pics of it that I lifted from Martin’s reports as he was just here as well.
The entry way was a couple of flower arches as water streams danced over your head
The pumpkin tree creature overlooking the pumpkin patch
The water shed. A harpist plays in the evening.
We walked from the Bellagio to the tram that took us to the Aria to check out their water sculptures at the valet entrance and then over to Crystals for a cup of Starbucks. As usual, there were very few customers in this gigantic premium shopping mall and as I peered in some of the stores, there were just one or two employees standing behind the counter with dazed looks on their faces no doubt wondering if anyone will walk into the store today.
We took the tram back to the Bellagio and the car in a garage. Summer is long gone and getting a parking spot was a breeze and traffic was uncongested. With the weather and the crowds, October and November are two of the best months to visit Las Vegas.
Cindy had never seen Lake Las Vegas, so we make the half hour drive past Henderson. We stopped at the Westin, which used to by the Hyatt. I pretty much looked the same as when it opened back in 2001 thought the casino has long closed. We had a wonderful time just walking around enjoying the scenic views and quiet.
We got back in the car and were heading out when a young well-dressed couple flagged us down. They asked if we knew if there was a bus route and where it might be as they wanted to get back to the Strip. I told them there wasn’t any out here, but I’d be happy to give them a lift back to their apartment over by the Stratosphere. They had taken a cab all the way here not realizing how far it was, which cost over $80. They were there for a meeting with some Internet entrepreneurs to promote their business ideas. We had a nice chat as we drove back and it reminded me what it was like to be that young with the world in front of them.
After dropping them off, we drove over to the SLS, which is the name of the new hotel and casino that replaced the Sahara. It had opened just a couple of weeks ago and I was anxious to see what they had done to the old place. The registration desk is in the same location, but it’s much more contemporary and hip (do we still use hip?). The place was beautiful and well designed. Some had suggested that the casino was small, but I thought it was a good size. All of the different restaurants were along the perimeter of the casino. I was a bit surprised at how busy it was. Even the pool was full of sunbathers and swimmers. I think they’ve done a very nice job with this.
Our next stop was the Silverton where they were having some Halloween games and booths in the Bass Pro Shop that I wanted to check out. I also had $15 in free play, so I played it on a penny game and cashed out $10 (makes me even for the trip). The giant aquarium had a mermaid swimming around and flirting with the small children who were transfixed watching as she swam with the fish and playing air kisses to them. We walked into the Bass Pro shops and unfortunately the booths didn’t open until 5PM. However, Cindy was able to find a couple of gifts for her kids.
I was back to the Rio to rest a bit before our Linq tour at 6PM. When we got back to the room at 3:30 the housekeeping girl was just getting started cleaning our room, so we went to the Diamond lounge for a drink until she was finished. We left at 5 and drove over to the Linq (formerly the Quad) valet. We picked up the tickets from the Flamingo Box Office for Vinnie and then made our way over to the meeting spot for our Linq Tour. After signing in, we were assigned to Group 7 with Jolanda as our guide. This was really just a small tour of a few of the shops where some of the managers gave us a sales pitch and then handed out some freebies. We finished the tour in an hour and picked up some nice swag: some coupons for free drinks, some miniature cupcakes, a lot of chocolate from the candy store, and a nice windbreaker from O’Shea’s.
We had an hour before Vinnie’s show, so we went to the Flamingo Diamond Lounge. It was 7PM and had just missed the hot food; however, the waitress brought out a nice dish for Cindy, which was a couple small lamb chops, some string beans, and mash potatoes (surprisingly good meal for a diamond lounge here in Vegas). The Flamingo redesigned their Diamond Lounge. Gone are the recliners and the booths. Now the entire room is nothing but tables. There are new flat screens on the walls, but otherwise, not too much.
We went to the Vinnie show and tonight it was only about half full (it’s usually jammed) and this wasn’t past Vinnie’s wrath. I’ve seen him about four times but Cindy hasn’t and I did warn her about his show. We sat too close to the center up front for my liking, but fortunately, Vinnie left us alone though he did rib on everyone around us. It was a really funny show and the hour just flew by. It was a long day with lots of walking, so it was nice to finally get back to the room and call it a night.
Saturday, October 25
The plan today was to check hang around the hotel until our 4PM reception and drawing. We headed down to the pool but the wind was blowing so hard, even the pool attendant was wrapped up in towels. Lunch was at the Sports Book Deli. Cindy had the turkey wrap and I had the Mesquite triple deck sandwich (brisket, bacon, lettuce and tomato). This deli really serves up great food. I used my reward points to pay for it. Cindy took a nap and I hung out in the Diamond Lounge until it was time to drive over to the Linq.
The event was being held in the Brooklyn Bowl, which is a HUGE three story business with about five bars, two restaurants, a large stage area for concerts on two bowling alleys located on the second and third floors. The 7 Star Event was on the third floor, which was closed down for the event. There was an open bar and servers were constantly coming around with plates of finger foods, which were very good and varied: brisket sliders, beef and chicken teriyaki, bacon wrapped scallops, and many others. Dinner was now out of the question with all this food. We arrived at four and the drawing wasn’t until 5:30, so there wasn’t much more to do than to just chat with those around you.
It’s interesting the conversation that goes on with these events. It always centers on the things that we have in common. How long have you been 7 Stars? What kinds of games do you play? Where have you taken your free trips? One can get a lot of good inside information from each other. Cindy made friends with a couple from Arkansas who gave us the lowdown on what’s going on at Tunica. They began talking about the shows and Lucinda was saying they had tickets to see Shania Twain and were disappointed because the wanted to see Rita Rutner. Cindy said we were disappointed because we were seeing Rita Rutner and wanted to see Shania Twain. So, we simply exchanged tickets. Very nice! I talked with friends from Texas that I had run into at Rincon in San Diego. The elderly Asian couple in front of me was from San Francisco. They were funny as they took food every time a server came around and after getting full began wrapping and stuffing it into her purse.
The drawing was for 1,000,000 gift wrap points with 10 winners taking 100,000 each. As we were walking to where the announcer was drawing names, I was thrilled to run into Mare, my friend and mentor who had herself just made 7 Star Status and couple of weeks ago. We had a nice time catching up as the names were slowly being drawn from the drum. I didn’t pay that close attention as I NEVER win drawings. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when my name wasn’t called; however, Cindy’s new friend, Lucinda from Arkansas, did get called.
We made our way out of the Linq and walked across Las Vegas Blvd to the Forum Shops and finally into Caesars Palace. We still had an hour until the show, so we made our way to the Diamond Lounge. There was a line to get in, but my 7 Stars card got us immediately in. They were just finishing up hot food but I managed to grab some very good meatballs, which we shared over a couple cocktails from a friendly, talkative bartender. I happened to be wearing my Chargers shirt, and it amazes me how something so minor starts up comments and conversations with strangers. Football in this country is crazy.
We were seated in the orchestra to the left of the stage, but the seats were just fine. Shania made her way to us all the time and at one point in the show came right over next to us and sang as she was high-fiving people in the audience and stopping often for selfies all along not missing a note. Even though they announced no photography or video during the performance, this was immediately thrown out the window because the minute the show began, there were hundreds of cameras and phones taking videos and pictures throughout the concert. The show itself was tight and slick from the moment Shania made her entrance hundreds of feet in the air on a sterling silver Harley Davidson until the final note of “I Feel Like a Woman.” The staging and back wall video were terrific and the backup band and singers excellent. The only downside for me (and the reason I don’t go to many of these types of concerts) was that people in front of you stand up and dance so you can’t see the stage anymore, so we spent more than half the concert on our feet just so we could see the performance. Shania has only six shows left, so I’m really glad I was able to catch the show.
Towards the end of the show
We walked back to the Linq, picked up the car at the valet and were back to the Rio. Being still pumped up from the show, we watched a movie in the room before calling it a night.
Sunday, October 26
We’ve decided to leave a day early as we’re going to meet Cindy’s Uncle in Victorville for a dinner plus all of the 7 Star Signature events are over except for a drawing for a share of $250K in cash, which I’m entered with only one ticket considering I gave 0 play—never even putting my card in a machine. So, I’m not holding my breath. Our last event was the brunch at Giada’s. We sat with four other people and everything was served family style. From the assorted breads to Palenta and Eggs with cranberries and spicy sausage, which was followed by zucchini, smoked bacon, lemon roasted breakfast potatoes and a half dozen other things, the meal was excellent. Though we heard Giada was in town, she never visited us though the General Manager of the hotel stopped by and chatted with us for quite a long time. Bad news for people who are staying at the Cromwell now as they’ve discontinued their free breakfast buffet now that Giada’s is open for breakfast—and it’s not free. We had a very pleasant conversation with our table mates and the entire experience though Cindy accidently dropped a lemonade into her lap and was quickly cleaned up. Service, as expected, was top rate and the restaurant was beautiful.
I’m a little torn about if this was a good 7 Star Signature trip. We did enjoy the many things given such as the free room, two receptions, the show, and the welcome chocolate strawberries on the first night. However, I didn’t like the tier system where I received pretty much the B-package (low free play, no gift, second tier show) while others received high amounts of free play and the top tier shows, and a camera as a gift. It just seems to be that 7 Stars itself should be rewarded evenly for an event such as this and make the higher level players still have their extra goodies that they now get already as they move up the latter. I’m getting towards the end of this year and therefore then end of this string of reports. By December, I will have made 7 Stars for 2015, but I pretty much have decided that this is it. It simply is NOT worth the ten times play of Diamond players when you honestly don’t get ten times the awards. Yes, the free Internet and in room movies is nice, but I have found the I rarely am given a suite (though the literature says you’re automatically upgraded “when available”), the Diamond Lounges offer nothing extra for 7 Stars (other than a few have 7 Star seats—not a big deal), and the welcome packages are not consistent.
I began these chapters to share my experiences through the first year of being a 7 Star Member and add them up over a Diamond member. And quite honestly, it doesn’t add up. So, I will certainly enjoy the perks next year and my play will come to an end with Caesars. It’s simply time to move on.
