BACKSTORY
I bought the ticket for this flight last June for $143 during one of Delta's dizzy sales. I kept changing the hotels for this trip, but finally settled on the Las Vegas Club for Saturday and Sunday and the El Cortez for Sunday-Wednesday. Yes, I had two hotel rooms for Sunday, but as you'll find out later, it didn't really cost me anything.
SATURDAY, 4/16
This was a very long day. I prepped for the flight to come, which was a night flight, and basically hung around doing very little. Finally it was time to go. There was light rain most of the way to DTW, but traffic moved well and there was no construction. I parked at Airlines Parking and shuttled to the McNamara Terminal. Metro had lowered some of their parking rates, but not the one attached to this terminal, which is still an extortionate $20/day. There was a short line at security and I used the new, "improved" scanner. It went faster than my experience with the same at LAS. I guess they've figured out what to do. Nothing especially special happened until the flight took off.
The flight on a Boeing 757 left about 15 minutes late due to some passengers that needed to make this connection. We arrived on time. There was no movie on this flight (fine with me), but we got the de-luxe cattle car meal plan for some reason - peanuts AND pretzels AND cookies, in addition to the soft drink. The peanuts were decent (I still think Southwest's are better), as were the pretzels. I'm used to Biscoff's greatness by now.
On the ground, I decided to take the shuttle to the Las Vegas Club. I didn't want to fool around with the WAX or the transfer from the 108/109. The shuttle was $8, and as usual I was the last one to get off. We stopped by Desert Rose, Luxor, Wynn, and the Riviera. It was about an hour to the LVC, which I didn't think was too bad. There was no line at check-in and the paperwork was handled well enough.
My first though when I saw my room on the 15th floor of the South Tower was that it wasn't all bad. The room itself was spacious with new carpet and a decent view (to the east near Ogden - I could see Binion's, the Four Queens, the Spike, and Lady Luck). Then the skeletons started to reveal themselves. First, there was a bandstand that seemed to be right outside my window that was louder than the Experience would have been from the same place. Second, there was no temperature control at all - no AC, no fan, no temperature gauge. The only way I could see to cool things off was to flip open a couple of small windows. It got up to 92 by Sunday afternoon, so it could have used a little cool down. And third, the elevator situation was horrible. There was only one serving the whole tower (about 200 rooms), which meant it moved extremely slowly and was overstuffed. Many of the indicator lights (floor, up, down) didn't work. And the down button on 15 didn't work at all, so to call the elevator I had to press up, suffer the rise to 16 (which was, thankfully, the top floor) and then come back down. Maybe once Tamares gets done with the Plaza they can spend a few bucks here. Probably not; it'll either amble along as is, or shut down entirely. I wasn't degenerating and I wasn't very hungry, so I unpacked and crashed around 11:30.
SUNDAY, 4/17
I woke up pretty late for a vacation day - around 6. I scrubbed myself off, prettified myself so I wouldn't scare random people, and went out to face the majesty of Fremont Street. I love the smell of degeneracy in the morning.
My first stop was Binion's, where I wanted to make a quick withdrawal from the ATM. I played it at $5/spin. There was nothing quick about this as I lost, lost, lost. Finally, with the 15th spin, I got a single bonus. I had fair to good luck in the first round and my first offer was for $34.90. But that wasn't good enough for my greedy little mind. NO DEAL. Then disaster struck as I knocked out the big money amount in the second round. The second offer was $19.37. That still wasn't good enough. In the third round I knocked out the top two remaining cases. I knew I was in trouble, so when the offer came out at $12.60, I felt I had to take it. I thought about doubling for a minute... yeah, what the hey. Claudia told me with her eyes to pick her case, so I did, and it came up double. Nice. But I still left $49.80 behind. Not a good start.
Then it was off to the Four Queens. The craps table was going nicely - not a sure bet here this early in the morning. The start was a little rough for me, but then we got a lady who liked to roll lots of 6s. I also won on a couple of other numbers too, but it was the 6s that powered me to a $120 win. I gave the dealers $2 because I had been undertipping all over town on my past trips, in my opinion. I checked the specials at Magnolia's, but they only had one going this early; the ribs and prime rib were lunchtime and later. That would be too late for me to take advantage of, so I went to the Fremont.
STP yielded a buck for me in limited play. Then I went to their Cafe to try the $6.99 NY steak & eggs special. Their buffet was a champagne brunch, which I do not do. Anyway, the Cafe was surprisingly busy for a Sunday morning and the staff struggled to keep up. The food was good, though not legendary. The total damage was about $13. After that I waddled back to my room.
A bit later I came back down to claim my $20 in freeplay. The offer I was staying under had a coupon for $20 in freeplay, for a minimum 2 night stay. It's one coupon per stay, which was a mild disappointment. The gimmick with this offer was that most days Sunday through Thursday were priced at $20/night, including taxes. So the room for those days was kinda sort of free - at least one of the nights would be. Fridays and Saturdays were priced at $49 - not free, but relatively cheap.
Where was I? Oh yeah, on the Las Vegas Club's casino floor trying to decide which machine to play. They have had some decent video poker here in the past, and might still, but that's not what I did with this. I played a pretty old video slot called State Fair that I wanted to try for real money. Pretty quickly I hit one of their bonuses (the clown pick, for those who care) and got 540 nickels out of it. Nice. I ended up cashing out at $31.60. Following that, I lost tip money at Catch a Wave, but gained it back at virtual blackjack. This version has the Bet the Set side bet, which I'm sure pays off nicely for the house. It also has many more sound effects than the other VBJ machines I've played - like for making a bet and winning a hand. The limits here are still $2-25, so it's strictly for low-rolling table game players (like me!) and random slot players who are moving up.
Then it was off to the Golden Gate to use the $5 ACG matchplay. This was a farily involved two-step process - go to the booth, get a voucher, go to the cashier, get a chip. The good news is I got a shoe game and not one of their ubiquitous CSMs. The bad news is I lost the match and $30 overall. Can't win 'em all.
Before I knew it I was traveling to the Golden Nugget to pay my respects to TPIR-Cliffhangers. The guy next to me hit a Showcase Showdown bonus, and I was feeling a little jealous. Then, a little later, I hit one of my own. I spun a 90 to get to the Showcase and got 320 from that - one of my bigger scores, if I remember correctly. So it was 410 nickels all told - very nice. I left that game ahead $12.75. Then I did something really silly - I played American Idol. I don't even LIKE American Idol. It's one of those multi-game slots that burn up my money in a hurry every time I touch them. This was no exception, as I burned through $9.75 faster than the guys on "The Gong Show" could gong a hopelessly incompetent act.
After that I crossed Casino Center and went to the Fremont. I spent awhile in their race and sports book. I didn't see any sports bets of interest, but I made a couple of race bets - lost 'em both, for $40 total. I lost some tip money at a random slot, then $37.25 at STP. I found myself back at Binion's, where I fought TAR to a draw, more or less, then lost a bit to Uncle Sam (doesn't everyone?). Then I found JAWS, which had been moved to the back, near the old poker room. I got a cute little bonus that yielded 1360 pennies and allowed me to leave $4.70 ahead.
Then it was back to the Las Vegas Club for some craps. I coldn't get anything started and ended up $45 down. But I did win two nickels at a random loose slot.
More rest, then I packed up and headed out. I had had enough of the room and elevators. I decided to check out later. I sauntered my way to the El Cortez, where there was a short but slow line at check-in. The offer I had here was for $25/night in freeplay and the same in food credit, all for paying $51/night in room charges, including taxes. They, like the Las Vegas Club, don't have any commie resort fees.
My room on the 2nd floor of the Tower wasn't the most up-to-date, but I thought it was very nice anyway. The room itself was roomy, though I'm sure my lady friends would complain that the bathroom was smallish. No view, but the room, of course, had adequate temperature control.
After unpacking I went down to use my freeplay voucher. To my surprise the front desk gave me all $75 at once. So I took it to a nearby 3 play Airport Deuces machine. I got a 5-of-a-kind, which helped give me $91.25 out of it. Yeah!
One of the nice things about this room is that I didn't need the elevator; I could just walk down the red carpet that was laid just for me. I suppose I should explain this - the Tez has an elaborately spiraling staircase that goes up from the casino near the front desk to the 2nd floor with red carpeting. There are some offices up there, along with the beauty shop. It was a short walk to my room from there. I never saw anyone use that staircase but me, which made me feel even more special. If you're walking north towards the front desk, it's partially blocked by a mural of old El Cortez pictures.
I rested for awhile, then went to Cafe Cortez for some comped eating. I had the prime rib - OK, not the best I've ever had. The total damage would have been about $19 if I had to pay. After dinner I wandered over to their craps table. I stayed a little while, but didn't get a good feeling and surrendered down $9. I then found a 8/5 bonus machine near the cashier (hidden under the Game Maker options). After a couple of 2 pair hands I left ahead $5. Then I wandered to a double deck BJ table 0 not their best, but OK since they did allow DAS. I got a BJ my first hand and the good times continued to roll for a little while. When the smoke cleared I was ahead $85. Gambling urges fully satisfied, I went back to the room and eventually got to sleep about 11.
MONDAY, 4/18
I got up around 7. I guess I needed the rest. On the news was the report of a security guard that was shot at the Tuscany. You can read more about it here. I guess it's not such a sleepy place after all. Meanwhile, a long way from the Tuscany, I went to breakfast at the Cafe. I had some panackes - good, though I couldn't quite finish them. If I had to pay, it would've been about $9.
I then did a run on the Tez's video slots of interest. First was Kenny. I got the gambler bonus, and it paid 285 pennies for my royal flush. I pushed on Wolf Run and Gem Wild Tiles. Then I moved to Catch a Wave, which I played for nickels just because. I got 205 coins with the Big Kahuna bonus - not great, but enough to give me a $3 win.
Then it was off to Fitzgeralds, where I played dollar bonus poker. I got a couple of quick points and left ahead $10. Then it was off to the Four Queens where I made donations to Elvis an a couple of other slots. On to the Fremont. STP was waiting for me, and I was ready for it. I got a 3x multiplier with a four flush. I made my flush on two lines, which yielded a nice 150 coin payout. I left ahead $28.50. I checked out the odds at the sports book, then I headed to Megabucks. I left tip money, which I'll blame on chasing the dream.
I went to the Las Vegas Club to formally check out, then I checked out Cleopatra Wild Tiles. I got to the bonus and the yield there was a little disappointing (285). But I got a line win in the sequence that yielded 1250. So I left $14.51 ahead. Binion's wasn't as good to me as I lost $5 on a couple of slots there.
I bought a paper and chilled in the room for awhile, but eventually I was drawn back to the casino. I made bets on three baseball games. I'll tell you about the results in a little bit. I then found a conveinent blackjack table - single deck with 3:2 payouts, like God intended. I couldn't get much started and at one point I was nearly $100 down. But then they changed decks and I really got hot. I ended up cashing out $18 ahead - pretty good for being down as far as I was. This took about 2 hours and it was my single longest gambling session of the trip. I then went back to the room.
After some rest and watching the MIL-PHI game on ESPN (one of the games I had money on, the Brew Crew won in 12 - yay!), I went down to the Cafe again. This time I had the Jackie Burger, ribs, and cherry pie slice. Each was good, though I've better other places and times. Again the service seemed strained but friendly. I lumbered back to the room and watched the scores roll in. I bet on SF vs. COL; couldn't resist Lincecum at only -124. He was masterful that night, as I expected him to be. The third game was DET @ SEA. The Tigers rocked the bullpen and made me a loser here. But winning 2 out of 3 for a total of $1, I can't complain about that. I went to bed about 10.
TUESDAY, 4/19
I got up about 7. This was the day I planned my little coupon run - down to the Riviera to use my ACG coupon, then back to the Tez to use my MRB freeplay coupon. I purchased the 24 hour pass ($7) at the Deuce's usual stop on Fremont & LV Blvd. The bus was waiting for me there. Since it was early, there was hardly anyone on it, but it filled up near Sahara.
I got off at Circus Circus, directly across from the Riv. Bad news - I discovered I had left my Club Riviera card back in the room. No biggie; I just got another one. I entered the Riv and found it darker than my previous visits here; maybe somebody's having difficulty paying the light bill?
I found my favorite 8/5/30 bonus machine and played for a bit. I was up $20, but wait - I didn't use the ACG coupon. This will take me out of the Matchplay Club of America, but I decided to save it for next time. I'm willing to risk that there would, indeed, be a next time. So I left and went to the Strip.
The Deuce was slow in coming - 20 minutes by my count. I spent the time "admiring" the clown house, Slots A Fun, and Echelon. Eventually a pretty full Deuce came and moseyed along to the Walgreens stop.
Back at the Tez I cashed my winning tickets and made my play for the day - Atlanta +9 vs. Orlando, for $11. Basketball is not really my game, and I'll tell you later how I did with this. I then went to the club to use my MRB coupon. I found a 8/5 bonus machine that would take it for quarters. I got $6.25 out of it. I bought a newspaper for future entertainment.
After a brief pit stop, I found a space waiting for me at the craps table. The minimum was $3 with 10x odds, like always. I never saw the second table go. There was lots of blue $1 chips on the table, so they weren't going to get hurt too badly no matter what happened. The dealers all seemed to be new, which slowed things down. Not too long went by before I got a nice shooter who hit a couple of points plus lots of 6s and 8s. I left $87 ahead. That was the last gambling I did.
After some rest, I went to Walgreens for some air and snacks. Yes, I know I could have gotten almost whatever I wanted from Cafe Cortez, but I wasn't in the mood. The snacks came to about $3. The air and view of Fremont Street on a weekday afternoon was priceless. Later on I started watching sports. The Atlanta-Orlando NBA game was on their network, which we hotel guests don't get. So I had to make do with watching the other game on TNT, which I had no money on. Anyway, the Hawks looked good enough throughout the game and were able to lose by just 6. The spread was 9, so yay me!
I went downstairs to cash my ticket and dine at the Cafe again. Unlike the last two nights, I found the service was brisk and efficient. I had the fried chicken, and boy oh boy was this a meal. It came with soup/salad (I had a salad), roll, four pieces of chicken, and a mountain of french fries. I couldn't eat it all, so I took some with me back to the room. I snacked on it through the night, and I still had some fries left. If I had known I was going to get that much, I would have brought a bigger appetite. It was all good too. The total damage would have been about $13, if I had to pay. I went to bed about 10 because I knew I had to start early the next day.
WEDNESDAY, 4/20
I got up at 1:30 because I was feeling a little restless and I had a 6 AM flight back to Detroit. I really wanted a better flight back to DTW, but the super bargain fare only offered this one as an option. Like always, you pay your money (or don't) and take your choices. I watched some random television shows while packing and making myself presentable. I also checked the bill (no TV checkout until 5, FYI). There were two days' of room charges and $56 in food charges. I wasn't too worried, since I was heading down to the front desk to check out. I felt confident they would take care of everything one way or another.
So back down the red carpet one last time to check out. The clerk and I discussed the details of my package, she made a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, and the food charges disappeared. Then I walked down the infamous block to LV Blvd. and the Deuce stop. It wasn't there, but it eventually got there. A few people joined me in getting on, but I was the only one that got off at BTC. They moved the 109 since I was there last; it's now closer to the terminal. The BTC still looks to be in good shape, but it's less than a year old. We'll see how nice it looks in another five years. The 109 came on time and a few of us got on. We did pick up some people on the way, but the bus was in no danger of filling. About five others joined me in getting off at the airport. The total time from Deuce stop to McCarran was about an hour - not half bad.
I didn't have a boarding pass, so I had to make a detour to print that out. Security wasn't terribly busy and the traditional checks went smoothly. I got to the gate in plenty of time, so there was nothing to do but wait. The 757 left on time and arrived half an hour early. "Little Fockers" was the movie of choice here. I didn't watch. We only got one snack on our way back. The shuttle back to the lot went well, I presented my prepaid receipt, and headed home. Just a couple of complications - some spotty showers here and there, and some kind of fire near the freeway caused a slowdown. And that ended another Las Vegas adventure.
COMMENTS:
* Fremont St. seemed decently busy. I think the area will survive another few years at least, if not all the casinos there.
* I have mixed feelings on the Las Vegas Club. Their casino seemed busier than it had been. The people I dealt with from there all seemed competent. And my room wasn't too bad. But the lack of temperature control and the elevator adventures got me down. It's probably worth what I paid for it, but little more than that. There are better options downtown.
* There may be something to that loosening of the LVC's slots after all. In a ridiculously small sample size, I did well with their pretty video slots.
* I saw Elvis and Sponge Bob, but no other celebrity types. I must have caught them on their days off.
* I can't say that I'm unhappy about the lack of slappers on Fremont St.
* I didn't spot any slappers in the Riviera area of the Strip, but then again (a) it was early, and (b) they don't usually congregate there anyway, preferring hangouts much farther south.
* Total time spent on the Strip: 40 minutes, half of that waiting for the bus. I can't say I missed it.
* No Magnolia's this trip. No time. It remains my favorite coffee shop.
* The high was in the low 90s on Sunday, cooling to the mid-80s the other days. The lows were 70 on Sunday, in the low 60s otherwise. No rain. About as good as could be expected, I suppose. You don't want to know how messed up things were in Michigan.
* The ATM must have been broken. I didn't play its buddy at the Four Queens.
* I'm still a fan of not gambling the first night in town.
* QUEEN seems to be gone from Binion's. At least I couldn't find it. Also MIA are the mini-DOND-WYD games.
* I really liked my stay at the El Cortez. Winning helps, of course, but I think I would say that if I didn't win. They have a good variety of games, mostly competent personnel, and a pretty nice room in the tower.
* Lots of gray hair out on the floor and in the Cafe at the Tez. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I don't think the crowd is quite as old as the one that frequents either the Gold Coast or Sam's Town, but I could be wrong.
* I walked in with a buck in comps at the Tez, and the last time I checked I had about $8. It could be mnore than that now, since I checked before my last craps session. That's almost enough to buy a meal at the Cafe, should I be tempted to do that. I also had about $7 at Binion's, mostly earned on previous trips.
* Try as I might, I couldn't maximize my food comp. I probably could have if I snuck a fifth meal in there or went to the Flame. But I was in no mood for the latter, and the former would've made me waddle around for an unacceptable amount of time.
* Out of $105 in freeplay, I got $129.10 in real cash out of it. I lost my one matchplay, for $5.
* I ended up winning about $310, which paid for most of my expenses. This is my sixth winning trip to Las Vegas in a row.
* As for my next trip, I have a trip planned to Reno in June. The next window looks to be in August/September. It's slightly better than 50-50 that I will make it then. I'll try to make it out in October/November no matter what. I'm always looking for deals.
I bought the ticket for this flight last June for $143 during one of Delta's dizzy sales. I kept changing the hotels for this trip, but finally settled on the Las Vegas Club for Saturday and Sunday and the El Cortez for Sunday-Wednesday. Yes, I had two hotel rooms for Sunday, but as you'll find out later, it didn't really cost me anything.
SATURDAY, 4/16
This was a very long day. I prepped for the flight to come, which was a night flight, and basically hung around doing very little. Finally it was time to go. There was light rain most of the way to DTW, but traffic moved well and there was no construction. I parked at Airlines Parking and shuttled to the McNamara Terminal. Metro had lowered some of their parking rates, but not the one attached to this terminal, which is still an extortionate $20/day. There was a short line at security and I used the new, "improved" scanner. It went faster than my experience with the same at LAS. I guess they've figured out what to do. Nothing especially special happened until the flight took off.
The flight on a Boeing 757 left about 15 minutes late due to some passengers that needed to make this connection. We arrived on time. There was no movie on this flight (fine with me), but we got the de-luxe cattle car meal plan for some reason - peanuts AND pretzels AND cookies, in addition to the soft drink. The peanuts were decent (I still think Southwest's are better), as were the pretzels. I'm used to Biscoff's greatness by now.
On the ground, I decided to take the shuttle to the Las Vegas Club. I didn't want to fool around with the WAX or the transfer from the 108/109. The shuttle was $8, and as usual I was the last one to get off. We stopped by Desert Rose, Luxor, Wynn, and the Riviera. It was about an hour to the LVC, which I didn't think was too bad. There was no line at check-in and the paperwork was handled well enough.
My first though when I saw my room on the 15th floor of the South Tower was that it wasn't all bad. The room itself was spacious with new carpet and a decent view (to the east near Ogden - I could see Binion's, the Four Queens, the Spike, and Lady Luck). Then the skeletons started to reveal themselves. First, there was a bandstand that seemed to be right outside my window that was louder than the Experience would have been from the same place. Second, there was no temperature control at all - no AC, no fan, no temperature gauge. The only way I could see to cool things off was to flip open a couple of small windows. It got up to 92 by Sunday afternoon, so it could have used a little cool down. And third, the elevator situation was horrible. There was only one serving the whole tower (about 200 rooms), which meant it moved extremely slowly and was overstuffed. Many of the indicator lights (floor, up, down) didn't work. And the down button on 15 didn't work at all, so to call the elevator I had to press up, suffer the rise to 16 (which was, thankfully, the top floor) and then come back down. Maybe once Tamares gets done with the Plaza they can spend a few bucks here. Probably not; it'll either amble along as is, or shut down entirely. I wasn't degenerating and I wasn't very hungry, so I unpacked and crashed around 11:30.
SUNDAY, 4/17
I woke up pretty late for a vacation day - around 6. I scrubbed myself off, prettified myself so I wouldn't scare random people, and went out to face the majesty of Fremont Street. I love the smell of degeneracy in the morning.
My first stop was Binion's, where I wanted to make a quick withdrawal from the ATM. I played it at $5/spin. There was nothing quick about this as I lost, lost, lost. Finally, with the 15th spin, I got a single bonus. I had fair to good luck in the first round and my first offer was for $34.90. But that wasn't good enough for my greedy little mind. NO DEAL. Then disaster struck as I knocked out the big money amount in the second round. The second offer was $19.37. That still wasn't good enough. In the third round I knocked out the top two remaining cases. I knew I was in trouble, so when the offer came out at $12.60, I felt I had to take it. I thought about doubling for a minute... yeah, what the hey. Claudia told me with her eyes to pick her case, so I did, and it came up double. Nice. But I still left $49.80 behind. Not a good start.
Then it was off to the Four Queens. The craps table was going nicely - not a sure bet here this early in the morning. The start was a little rough for me, but then we got a lady who liked to roll lots of 6s. I also won on a couple of other numbers too, but it was the 6s that powered me to a $120 win. I gave the dealers $2 because I had been undertipping all over town on my past trips, in my opinion. I checked the specials at Magnolia's, but they only had one going this early; the ribs and prime rib were lunchtime and later. That would be too late for me to take advantage of, so I went to the Fremont.
STP yielded a buck for me in limited play. Then I went to their Cafe to try the $6.99 NY steak & eggs special. Their buffet was a champagne brunch, which I do not do. Anyway, the Cafe was surprisingly busy for a Sunday morning and the staff struggled to keep up. The food was good, though not legendary. The total damage was about $13. After that I waddled back to my room.
A bit later I came back down to claim my $20 in freeplay. The offer I was staying under had a coupon for $20 in freeplay, for a minimum 2 night stay. It's one coupon per stay, which was a mild disappointment. The gimmick with this offer was that most days Sunday through Thursday were priced at $20/night, including taxes. So the room for those days was kinda sort of free - at least one of the nights would be. Fridays and Saturdays were priced at $49 - not free, but relatively cheap.
Where was I? Oh yeah, on the Las Vegas Club's casino floor trying to decide which machine to play. They have had some decent video poker here in the past, and might still, but that's not what I did with this. I played a pretty old video slot called State Fair that I wanted to try for real money. Pretty quickly I hit one of their bonuses (the clown pick, for those who care) and got 540 nickels out of it. Nice. I ended up cashing out at $31.60. Following that, I lost tip money at Catch a Wave, but gained it back at virtual blackjack. This version has the Bet the Set side bet, which I'm sure pays off nicely for the house. It also has many more sound effects than the other VBJ machines I've played - like for making a bet and winning a hand. The limits here are still $2-25, so it's strictly for low-rolling table game players (like me!) and random slot players who are moving up.
Then it was off to the Golden Gate to use the $5 ACG matchplay. This was a farily involved two-step process - go to the booth, get a voucher, go to the cashier, get a chip. The good news is I got a shoe game and not one of their ubiquitous CSMs. The bad news is I lost the match and $30 overall. Can't win 'em all.
Before I knew it I was traveling to the Golden Nugget to pay my respects to TPIR-Cliffhangers. The guy next to me hit a Showcase Showdown bonus, and I was feeling a little jealous. Then, a little later, I hit one of my own. I spun a 90 to get to the Showcase and got 320 from that - one of my bigger scores, if I remember correctly. So it was 410 nickels all told - very nice. I left that game ahead $12.75. Then I did something really silly - I played American Idol. I don't even LIKE American Idol. It's one of those multi-game slots that burn up my money in a hurry every time I touch them. This was no exception, as I burned through $9.75 faster than the guys on "The Gong Show" could gong a hopelessly incompetent act.
After that I crossed Casino Center and went to the Fremont. I spent awhile in their race and sports book. I didn't see any sports bets of interest, but I made a couple of race bets - lost 'em both, for $40 total. I lost some tip money at a random slot, then $37.25 at STP. I found myself back at Binion's, where I fought TAR to a draw, more or less, then lost a bit to Uncle Sam (doesn't everyone?). Then I found JAWS, which had been moved to the back, near the old poker room. I got a cute little bonus that yielded 1360 pennies and allowed me to leave $4.70 ahead.
Then it was back to the Las Vegas Club for some craps. I coldn't get anything started and ended up $45 down. But I did win two nickels at a random loose slot.
More rest, then I packed up and headed out. I had had enough of the room and elevators. I decided to check out later. I sauntered my way to the El Cortez, where there was a short but slow line at check-in. The offer I had here was for $25/night in freeplay and the same in food credit, all for paying $51/night in room charges, including taxes. They, like the Las Vegas Club, don't have any commie resort fees.
My room on the 2nd floor of the Tower wasn't the most up-to-date, but I thought it was very nice anyway. The room itself was roomy, though I'm sure my lady friends would complain that the bathroom was smallish. No view, but the room, of course, had adequate temperature control.
After unpacking I went down to use my freeplay voucher. To my surprise the front desk gave me all $75 at once. So I took it to a nearby 3 play Airport Deuces machine. I got a 5-of-a-kind, which helped give me $91.25 out of it. Yeah!
One of the nice things about this room is that I didn't need the elevator; I could just walk down the red carpet that was laid just for me. I suppose I should explain this - the Tez has an elaborately spiraling staircase that goes up from the casino near the front desk to the 2nd floor with red carpeting. There are some offices up there, along with the beauty shop. It was a short walk to my room from there. I never saw anyone use that staircase but me, which made me feel even more special. If you're walking north towards the front desk, it's partially blocked by a mural of old El Cortez pictures.
I rested for awhile, then went to Cafe Cortez for some comped eating. I had the prime rib - OK, not the best I've ever had. The total damage would have been about $19 if I had to pay. After dinner I wandered over to their craps table. I stayed a little while, but didn't get a good feeling and surrendered down $9. I then found a 8/5 bonus machine near the cashier (hidden under the Game Maker options). After a couple of 2 pair hands I left ahead $5. Then I wandered to a double deck BJ table 0 not their best, but OK since they did allow DAS. I got a BJ my first hand and the good times continued to roll for a little while. When the smoke cleared I was ahead $85. Gambling urges fully satisfied, I went back to the room and eventually got to sleep about 11.
MONDAY, 4/18
I got up around 7. I guess I needed the rest. On the news was the report of a security guard that was shot at the Tuscany. You can read more about it here. I guess it's not such a sleepy place after all. Meanwhile, a long way from the Tuscany, I went to breakfast at the Cafe. I had some panackes - good, though I couldn't quite finish them. If I had to pay, it would've been about $9.
I then did a run on the Tez's video slots of interest. First was Kenny. I got the gambler bonus, and it paid 285 pennies for my royal flush. I pushed on Wolf Run and Gem Wild Tiles. Then I moved to Catch a Wave, which I played for nickels just because. I got 205 coins with the Big Kahuna bonus - not great, but enough to give me a $3 win.
Then it was off to Fitzgeralds, where I played dollar bonus poker. I got a couple of quick points and left ahead $10. Then it was off to the Four Queens where I made donations to Elvis an a couple of other slots. On to the Fremont. STP was waiting for me, and I was ready for it. I got a 3x multiplier with a four flush. I made my flush on two lines, which yielded a nice 150 coin payout. I left ahead $28.50. I checked out the odds at the sports book, then I headed to Megabucks. I left tip money, which I'll blame on chasing the dream.
I went to the Las Vegas Club to formally check out, then I checked out Cleopatra Wild Tiles. I got to the bonus and the yield there was a little disappointing (285). But I got a line win in the sequence that yielded 1250. So I left $14.51 ahead. Binion's wasn't as good to me as I lost $5 on a couple of slots there.
I bought a paper and chilled in the room for awhile, but eventually I was drawn back to the casino. I made bets on three baseball games. I'll tell you about the results in a little bit. I then found a conveinent blackjack table - single deck with 3:2 payouts, like God intended. I couldn't get much started and at one point I was nearly $100 down. But then they changed decks and I really got hot. I ended up cashing out $18 ahead - pretty good for being down as far as I was. This took about 2 hours and it was my single longest gambling session of the trip. I then went back to the room.
After some rest and watching the MIL-PHI game on ESPN (one of the games I had money on, the Brew Crew won in 12 - yay!), I went down to the Cafe again. This time I had the Jackie Burger, ribs, and cherry pie slice. Each was good, though I've better other places and times. Again the service seemed strained but friendly. I lumbered back to the room and watched the scores roll in. I bet on SF vs. COL; couldn't resist Lincecum at only -124. He was masterful that night, as I expected him to be. The third game was DET @ SEA. The Tigers rocked the bullpen and made me a loser here. But winning 2 out of 3 for a total of $1, I can't complain about that. I went to bed about 10.
TUESDAY, 4/19
I got up about 7. This was the day I planned my little coupon run - down to the Riviera to use my ACG coupon, then back to the Tez to use my MRB freeplay coupon. I purchased the 24 hour pass ($7) at the Deuce's usual stop on Fremont & LV Blvd. The bus was waiting for me there. Since it was early, there was hardly anyone on it, but it filled up near Sahara.
I got off at Circus Circus, directly across from the Riv. Bad news - I discovered I had left my Club Riviera card back in the room. No biggie; I just got another one. I entered the Riv and found it darker than my previous visits here; maybe somebody's having difficulty paying the light bill?
I found my favorite 8/5/30 bonus machine and played for a bit. I was up $20, but wait - I didn't use the ACG coupon. This will take me out of the Matchplay Club of America, but I decided to save it for next time. I'm willing to risk that there would, indeed, be a next time. So I left and went to the Strip.
The Deuce was slow in coming - 20 minutes by my count. I spent the time "admiring" the clown house, Slots A Fun, and Echelon. Eventually a pretty full Deuce came and moseyed along to the Walgreens stop.
Back at the Tez I cashed my winning tickets and made my play for the day - Atlanta +9 vs. Orlando, for $11. Basketball is not really my game, and I'll tell you later how I did with this. I then went to the club to use my MRB coupon. I found a 8/5 bonus machine that would take it for quarters. I got $6.25 out of it. I bought a newspaper for future entertainment.
After a brief pit stop, I found a space waiting for me at the craps table. The minimum was $3 with 10x odds, like always. I never saw the second table go. There was lots of blue $1 chips on the table, so they weren't going to get hurt too badly no matter what happened. The dealers all seemed to be new, which slowed things down. Not too long went by before I got a nice shooter who hit a couple of points plus lots of 6s and 8s. I left $87 ahead. That was the last gambling I did.
After some rest, I went to Walgreens for some air and snacks. Yes, I know I could have gotten almost whatever I wanted from Cafe Cortez, but I wasn't in the mood. The snacks came to about $3. The air and view of Fremont Street on a weekday afternoon was priceless. Later on I started watching sports. The Atlanta-Orlando NBA game was on their network, which we hotel guests don't get. So I had to make do with watching the other game on TNT, which I had no money on. Anyway, the Hawks looked good enough throughout the game and were able to lose by just 6. The spread was 9, so yay me!
I went downstairs to cash my ticket and dine at the Cafe again. Unlike the last two nights, I found the service was brisk and efficient. I had the fried chicken, and boy oh boy was this a meal. It came with soup/salad (I had a salad), roll, four pieces of chicken, and a mountain of french fries. I couldn't eat it all, so I took some with me back to the room. I snacked on it through the night, and I still had some fries left. If I had known I was going to get that much, I would have brought a bigger appetite. It was all good too. The total damage would have been about $13, if I had to pay. I went to bed about 10 because I knew I had to start early the next day.
WEDNESDAY, 4/20
I got up at 1:30 because I was feeling a little restless and I had a 6 AM flight back to Detroit. I really wanted a better flight back to DTW, but the super bargain fare only offered this one as an option. Like always, you pay your money (or don't) and take your choices. I watched some random television shows while packing and making myself presentable. I also checked the bill (no TV checkout until 5, FYI). There were two days' of room charges and $56 in food charges. I wasn't too worried, since I was heading down to the front desk to check out. I felt confident they would take care of everything one way or another.
So back down the red carpet one last time to check out. The clerk and I discussed the details of my package, she made a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, and the food charges disappeared. Then I walked down the infamous block to LV Blvd. and the Deuce stop. It wasn't there, but it eventually got there. A few people joined me in getting on, but I was the only one that got off at BTC. They moved the 109 since I was there last; it's now closer to the terminal. The BTC still looks to be in good shape, but it's less than a year old. We'll see how nice it looks in another five years. The 109 came on time and a few of us got on. We did pick up some people on the way, but the bus was in no danger of filling. About five others joined me in getting off at the airport. The total time from Deuce stop to McCarran was about an hour - not half bad.
I didn't have a boarding pass, so I had to make a detour to print that out. Security wasn't terribly busy and the traditional checks went smoothly. I got to the gate in plenty of time, so there was nothing to do but wait. The 757 left on time and arrived half an hour early. "Little Fockers" was the movie of choice here. I didn't watch. We only got one snack on our way back. The shuttle back to the lot went well, I presented my prepaid receipt, and headed home. Just a couple of complications - some spotty showers here and there, and some kind of fire near the freeway caused a slowdown. And that ended another Las Vegas adventure.
COMMENTS:
* Fremont St. seemed decently busy. I think the area will survive another few years at least, if not all the casinos there.
* I have mixed feelings on the Las Vegas Club. Their casino seemed busier than it had been. The people I dealt with from there all seemed competent. And my room wasn't too bad. But the lack of temperature control and the elevator adventures got me down. It's probably worth what I paid for it, but little more than that. There are better options downtown.
* There may be something to that loosening of the LVC's slots after all. In a ridiculously small sample size, I did well with their pretty video slots.
* I saw Elvis and Sponge Bob, but no other celebrity types. I must have caught them on their days off.
* I can't say that I'm unhappy about the lack of slappers on Fremont St.
* I didn't spot any slappers in the Riviera area of the Strip, but then again (a) it was early, and (b) they don't usually congregate there anyway, preferring hangouts much farther south.
* Total time spent on the Strip: 40 minutes, half of that waiting for the bus. I can't say I missed it.
* No Magnolia's this trip. No time. It remains my favorite coffee shop.
* The high was in the low 90s on Sunday, cooling to the mid-80s the other days. The lows were 70 on Sunday, in the low 60s otherwise. No rain. About as good as could be expected, I suppose. You don't want to know how messed up things were in Michigan.
* The ATM must have been broken. I didn't play its buddy at the Four Queens.
* I'm still a fan of not gambling the first night in town.
* QUEEN seems to be gone from Binion's. At least I couldn't find it. Also MIA are the mini-DOND-WYD games.
* I really liked my stay at the El Cortez. Winning helps, of course, but I think I would say that if I didn't win. They have a good variety of games, mostly competent personnel, and a pretty nice room in the tower.
* Lots of gray hair out on the floor and in the Cafe at the Tez. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I don't think the crowd is quite as old as the one that frequents either the Gold Coast or Sam's Town, but I could be wrong.
* I walked in with a buck in comps at the Tez, and the last time I checked I had about $8. It could be mnore than that now, since I checked before my last craps session. That's almost enough to buy a meal at the Cafe, should I be tempted to do that. I also had about $7 at Binion's, mostly earned on previous trips.
* Try as I might, I couldn't maximize my food comp. I probably could have if I snuck a fifth meal in there or went to the Flame. But I was in no mood for the latter, and the former would've made me waddle around for an unacceptable amount of time.
* Out of $105 in freeplay, I got $129.10 in real cash out of it. I lost my one matchplay, for $5.
* I ended up winning about $310, which paid for most of my expenses. This is my sixth winning trip to Las Vegas in a row.
* As for my next trip, I have a trip planned to Reno in June. The next window looks to be in August/September. It's slightly better than 50-50 that I will make it then. I'll try to make it out in October/November no matter what. I'm always looking for deals.
