Unfortunately, I slept only four hours and am up by 7:30 am. The other two couples and Tony and I had decided the night before we’d be meeting at the Palms for breakfast at 10 am. I laid there awhile trying to get back to sleep. There are cracks of bright, Vegas sunlight creeping through the curtains and I just can’t do it. I call Amy and Ed (who are staying at Planet Hollywood) about 9:15. They are up and ready to go, so we keep w/the plan to meet at Palms @ 10. Deb and B are a little slower getting up and getting ready. We tell them to just meet us over there. I have a slamming headache, and am not quite sure if it’s because of the drinks the night before. I think it’s more to do w/how dry the desert is (or so I tell myself). I’m used to very high humidity in WI and my sinuses and head are just pounding. I take three generic ibuprofen which do nothing for my misery. We get showered and dressed and head down to the Rio gift shop. I buy some Aleve, but don’t want to take it on an empty stomach. I save it, and plan to take it w/breakfast and some water. It’s about 9:40 and already hot as heck in Vegas. The sun is beating down on me, even though I’m wearing sunglasses and a hat. Now the worst part comes: I start dry heaving as we walk down the sidewalk. My husband is laughing and at this point verifies my condition is not due to a low dew point, but rather my mixture of beer and tequila on the strip hours earlier.
We arrive in the buffet line at 9:55. Amy and Ed are there. We don’t want to use our 50% comp, they still have theirs and buy all four of our buffets with it. Total for four was about $17…good deal! At this point though, the cashier tells us they are closed and we have 30 mins to eat before they kick us out. We panic a little as Deb and B have not yet arrived. I call them on their cell and they are only 5 mins away. So I pay for them - and the cashier says he will allow them in once they arrive. Palms buffet is adequate, especially for the price, but it’s small and limited compared to some of the grander buffets around town. Deb and B finally arrive about 10:15. Our server rushes over and says everything is being pulled at 10:30. I gobble up my biscuits and gravy, pop my Aleve and it’s off to the casino floor we go.
Thanks to a previous poster’s tip, we purchased the $40 for $25 slot play coupon a few days earlier. Deb and B were new to Palms so they purchased the $50 for $25 ahead of time. I lost mine almost immediately on degenerate penny and dollar slots. Tony managed to make $15 bucks off his though on 100 play VP. Around 11am the drink girl comes around and we start ordering cocktails. This is probably the first time in history I’ve been dry heaving at 9:45 am and then drinking a beer by 11am. Hey, in Vegas, it’s all good.
It’s Amy and Ed’s last day in Vegas. They have an 8pm flight to catch later. I could tell they were gambled out, and here we’re just beginning. They tell us they’re headed back over to PH and to meet them at the Carnival Court bar by Harrah’s at 2pm. We agree and part ways. Over to the Gold Coast we go, trying to cash in on our $10 slot play coupon. The B-Connected Players club line is the longest we waited in all trip. They have two senior citizens behind the counter trying to help everyone. It’s annoying. So I get my card and immediately lose $10 on Wheel of Fortune. I have to go back in line now to activate my ‘free’ $10 coupon. The line is even longer. I say forget it, we’ll come back. We shuttle over to the Orleans. Coupons are much easier to redeem and the staff there is very efficient. I lost my slot play money quickly, then B and I both use our matchplay coupons to bet on red at roulette. Boom. We both lose. I’m now down to about $10 in chips. I make two outside bets on columns and rows ($5 each) and win them both when both hit for a total win of $20. This means I recouped my $10 slot play loss and $10 mp loss, and leave satisfied to have broken even.
We shuttle from the Orleans to Bills. Me, Tony, Deb, and B decide before we hit the Carnival Court we want to try our luck on the Planet Hollywood Whammy. It’s already 2:00, so I call Amy and Ed and tell them we’ll probably see them closer to 2:30 or 3 now. We visited the whammy line everyday, and everyday it was a long, hot wait. So be prepared if you want to try it. On this day, I won $10 free play. Tony got a free drink. Deb and B. both got the whammy. The consolation prizes were really good though (Hangover character bobble heads). On our second day we got two of the bobble heads, and on our third day they were out of the bobble heads so Tony won a free Hangover t-shirt. I saw the same t-shirt for sale at the Vegas airport for $24. I also won $50 in slot play on the third day, which I turned into $75 cash. If you don’t mind the wait, the whammy game can certainly pay off!
By the time we made it through the whammy line, the Total Rewards line, then the cashier line, then played our free money, Amy and Ed were already back from the Carnival Court. We played and lost on the Hangover slots together then said our goodbyes so they could go up and pack and head for the airport.
Me, Tony, Deb and B headed over to Ellis Island for some drinks. We were disappointed in how Ellis Island awards their $10 slot play (you have to come back after 24 hours to redeem). So we did not use these coupons. We did sit and each got three free drinks. I got on the waiting list for the BBQ, but Deb and B said they’d rather go use our $20 off coupon at the Planet Hollywood Spice Buffet. We agreed, took our name off the list, and headed back over to PH. The total for two (with coupon) was $38 for their dinner buffet. I thought it was excellent and worth every penny (FIVE FORKS). I stayed down at the end where all the seafood selections were. Delicious crab legs that you don’t have to crack open yourself among other delectable seafood choices.
By the time we finished stuffing ourselves at Planet Hollywood, I was beat. We shuttled back to the Rio. Tony and I were fast asleep by 8:30 pm. We had hoped to take just a little nap, and head back out. Deb and B rested then went over to Caesars at 11:30; however, I just could not wake up. We slept straight through until 5:30 am the next morning. We woke up in our oh so comfortable bed well rested with no regrets!
We arrive in the buffet line at 9:55. Amy and Ed are there. We don’t want to use our 50% comp, they still have theirs and buy all four of our buffets with it. Total for four was about $17…good deal! At this point though, the cashier tells us they are closed and we have 30 mins to eat before they kick us out. We panic a little as Deb and B have not yet arrived. I call them on their cell and they are only 5 mins away. So I pay for them - and the cashier says he will allow them in once they arrive. Palms buffet is adequate, especially for the price, but it’s small and limited compared to some of the grander buffets around town. Deb and B finally arrive about 10:15. Our server rushes over and says everything is being pulled at 10:30. I gobble up my biscuits and gravy, pop my Aleve and it’s off to the casino floor we go.
Thanks to a previous poster’s tip, we purchased the $40 for $25 slot play coupon a few days earlier. Deb and B were new to Palms so they purchased the $50 for $25 ahead of time. I lost mine almost immediately on degenerate penny and dollar slots. Tony managed to make $15 bucks off his though on 100 play VP. Around 11am the drink girl comes around and we start ordering cocktails. This is probably the first time in history I’ve been dry heaving at 9:45 am and then drinking a beer by 11am. Hey, in Vegas, it’s all good.
It’s Amy and Ed’s last day in Vegas. They have an 8pm flight to catch later. I could tell they were gambled out, and here we’re just beginning. They tell us they’re headed back over to PH and to meet them at the Carnival Court bar by Harrah’s at 2pm. We agree and part ways. Over to the Gold Coast we go, trying to cash in on our $10 slot play coupon. The B-Connected Players club line is the longest we waited in all trip. They have two senior citizens behind the counter trying to help everyone. It’s annoying. So I get my card and immediately lose $10 on Wheel of Fortune. I have to go back in line now to activate my ‘free’ $10 coupon. The line is even longer. I say forget it, we’ll come back. We shuttle over to the Orleans. Coupons are much easier to redeem and the staff there is very efficient. I lost my slot play money quickly, then B and I both use our matchplay coupons to bet on red at roulette. Boom. We both lose. I’m now down to about $10 in chips. I make two outside bets on columns and rows ($5 each) and win them both when both hit for a total win of $20. This means I recouped my $10 slot play loss and $10 mp loss, and leave satisfied to have broken even.
We shuttle from the Orleans to Bills. Me, Tony, Deb, and B decide before we hit the Carnival Court we want to try our luck on the Planet Hollywood Whammy. It’s already 2:00, so I call Amy and Ed and tell them we’ll probably see them closer to 2:30 or 3 now. We visited the whammy line everyday, and everyday it was a long, hot wait. So be prepared if you want to try it. On this day, I won $10 free play. Tony got a free drink. Deb and B. both got the whammy. The consolation prizes were really good though (Hangover character bobble heads). On our second day we got two of the bobble heads, and on our third day they were out of the bobble heads so Tony won a free Hangover t-shirt. I saw the same t-shirt for sale at the Vegas airport for $24. I also won $50 in slot play on the third day, which I turned into $75 cash. If you don’t mind the wait, the whammy game can certainly pay off!
By the time we made it through the whammy line, the Total Rewards line, then the cashier line, then played our free money, Amy and Ed were already back from the Carnival Court. We played and lost on the Hangover slots together then said our goodbyes so they could go up and pack and head for the airport.
Me, Tony, Deb and B headed over to Ellis Island for some drinks. We were disappointed in how Ellis Island awards their $10 slot play (you have to come back after 24 hours to redeem). So we did not use these coupons. We did sit and each got three free drinks. I got on the waiting list for the BBQ, but Deb and B said they’d rather go use our $20 off coupon at the Planet Hollywood Spice Buffet. We agreed, took our name off the list, and headed back over to PH. The total for two (with coupon) was $38 for their dinner buffet. I thought it was excellent and worth every penny (FIVE FORKS). I stayed down at the end where all the seafood selections were. Delicious crab legs that you don’t have to crack open yourself among other delectable seafood choices.
By the time we finished stuffing ourselves at Planet Hollywood, I was beat. We shuttled back to the Rio. Tony and I were fast asleep by 8:30 pm. We had hoped to take just a little nap, and head back out. Deb and B rested then went over to Caesars at 11:30; however, I just could not wake up. We slept straight through until 5:30 am the next morning. We woke up in our oh so comfortable bed well rested with no regrets!
