Just back from my first trip to Las Vegas in more than five-and-a-half years.
I was a regular visitor to Vegas, sometimes making two trips a year for most of the 1990s until about 2009. But due to some job circumstances and other things, I made my last trip in June of 2010 and was eager to get back.
I was curious how much had changed since I was last there. I cover all of that in this report with the final thing I did on my final day being a highlight and something I would urge all to do.
For the first time ever, I stayed downtown, at The Plaza. Having not played in Vegas in years, I didn't have any real good room offers. I am a platinum Harrahs Total Rewards club member, but for six days, I really wasn't getting any great prices on its website (especially with the resort fees added in, something new since my last visit in 2010).
The Las Vegas Advisor had a great offer for The Plaza of buy one night, get the second night free which I took advantage of. The total cost, for all six nights with resort fees and taxes was $288.96. Yes it wasn't the Bellagio or one of the new fancy places at City Center, but it was fine.
Sunday, Nov. 8
I flew out of Newark on an 8:50 p.m. United flight that was set to arrive in Las Vegas at 11:50 p.m. Normally I don't like to leave that late and arrive that late, but I booked the ticket with frequent-flyer miles and it was free, so be it. We did arrive about 20 minutes early.
New luggage area I see. Long walk and of course our luggage bay was toward the far end. Bags did take about 20 minutes to show up. Proceeded to the rent-a-car center shuttle. Bus was right there waiting and was at the car center in just a few minutes.
I rented an SUV through Alamo. Even though I was by myself, I drive a SUV at home and felt comfortable with it here. Got a price of $317 (inclusive of everything) through Costco which was the cheapest I could find. Yes, I could have gotten a regular smaller car cheaper, but I like driving around Vegas, so I did spend the money.
No one in line at the Alamo counter and even though pressured a bit to get the insurance or buy the full-tank of gas, I passed and was done with the paperwork in about three minutes. Went upstairs and found a Dodge Journey which was very nice. I was driving out in the SUV less than 10 minutes after I arrived at the center.
I was tired so I skipped driving the strip and drove the I-15 North to downtown. Easily found The Plaza and pulled into valet parking. Check-in was easy and I was given a room in the south tower on the 14th floor. Room was nice, had a safe, a desk and chair. flat-screen TV. Sink area was big, but shower and toilet area a bit small (as I had read in other reports) but it was fine. I had a view of the strip which was nice and the train tracks. Many freight trains rolled through, they didn't make too much noise and was kindof cool to watch.
I found the TV confusing. It worked fine, but there was no channel guide nor was there anything on the channels telling you what station you were watching. Also when you clicked channel up or down, it took about two seconds to show up, so a bit frustrating but I was still able to find things to watch.
The Plaza gives you a nice coupon book when you check-in. Has some food offers for the restaurants there, things for the slot club and free play.
I was too tired to do much of anything, so called it a night without gambling.
Monday, Nov. 9
`I had both the Las Vegas Advisor coupon book with me and the American Casino Guide coupons. I was up early, about 7 a.m. (still on East Coast time) and got going about 8 a.m. and headed over to Binions to use a coupon that if you play $10 you get $10 in free slot play. I also wanted to get the free photo with the million dollars.
Interesting to walk down a quiet Fremont Street Experience that early in the morning. Hardly anyone around and just thinking about all the history in those few blocks and all the craziness that goes on here at night.
The million dollar photo was open and I went right up and got a picture. They told me to come back in about a half hour and the picture would be at the slot club.
I signed up for a slot club card and was told to come back after getting 10 points. I did that very quickly on a video poker machine and also played a bit more, earning more than 40 points. My $1 million photo was also ready. That is a great free promotion, makes for a great souvenir. They also had a promotion where you could do a spin for other prizes. I got a buy-one-get-one-free at the snack bar and a $10-off coupon for the coffee shop or the barbecue place. Also after I got the 10 points, they did give me the free $10 in slot play as well as another two-for-one coupon at the snack bar and also a coupon for your first card is an ace if I played a $10 hand of blackjack.
Next stop was Main Street Station. I had an American Casino Guide coupon that if I played 200 points, I got a free buffet. I always loved their video poker and glad to see they still have the scratch-card promotion that you get for a four-of-a-kind. I played there for more than two hours, got seven four-of-a-kinds (all the scratch cards were $2 winners but, hey, I'll take an extra $14 cash). Came out up more than $100 which was enjoyable.
Got the free buffet. Glad to see this is still a nice buffet. I had lunch and it wasn't that crowded. There are a lot of Hawaiians here and at the California across the street.
I had read up on where to watch the Monday Night football game. Tonight the Bears was playing the Chargers in San Diego. Sounded like the Westgate (it was the Las Vegas Hilton last time I was here) has a great sports book with huge screens, so I drove over there.
Parking was very easy and I walked in near where the Elvis museum is. So glad to see they respect and honor the history of Elvis. The statue of Elvis (which i believe used to be near the showroom) is now center as you enter the casino.
I wanted to get new slot club card wherever I went this trip. Westgate, for all its nice things, has a weird set up with the slot club. It's at the cashier. So you have one line of people looking to cash chips or do $$$ transactions, and another line just looking to get a slot-club card or information. Both lines filter in to the same area and only one window was open which had about five people waiting in the club line and others waiting to cash their chips in. If I was a player just looking to cash in, I wouldn't be happy while the clerk is taking five minutes to distribute slot club cards.
Anyway, it didn't take all that long and I got the club card and played some video poker in the area of the sports book. Got a lot of play, but didn't win, but they do have a lot of high-return machines. Sports book is great, huge screens and comfortable atmosphere. They sell hot dogs for $2 which were very good. I watched the first half of the game there, then decided to head out as I had been there for a few hours.
I live on the East Coast, so one of the most exciting things about a trip out West is stopping at an In-N-Out Burger which I don't believe exist east of Texas. I drove to the one on Sahara which wasn't busy and had a quick dinner there. Best burgers in the world. Yum!
Headed back to The Plaza to take advantage of its play $500 on us promotion. I signed up for a slot-club card and the way this works is that you can lose $500 in a 24-hour period, then get half of that back the next day and the other half the day after. You can play any machines, including video poker, to loss up to $500 but the free play you get back is only good on slot machines.
I hit a 10/7 video poker machine playing .50 and $1 and played a couple hours. I lost $348 which I wasn't too upset by, as I knew I would be getting that back to play again. Called it a night and regrouped for tomorrow.
Tuesday, Nov. 10
I headed out in the morning to Binions to use my $10 coupon at the coffee shop. I also had $3 in comps from my play the day before. I got one of the breakfast specials and with the coupon and my comps, it was free. So far the only meals I paid for in Vegas was a $2 hot dog at the Westgate and $9 at In-N-Out Burger the night before.
I have a 5:30 p.m. tour at the Neon Museum so before that I decided to head to Caesars Palace. This is still classic Las Vegas to me. Sure a lot of it has changed, but there's still some of it which was such a special place when I first visited this town in 1983. It's such a great place. When I look out into the main casino I think of Robert Redford riding his horse through here in the 1979 movie "The Electric Horseman;" Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman playing blackjack in "Rainman" and a scene from a "The Sopranos" episode when James Gandolfini was playing blackjack. Also when I walk in the lobby, I think of "The Hangover" being filmed here and good to see Cleopatra's Barge still there.
I stopped at the Total Rewards booth as I had qualified for a Vegas VIP Access card through my Total Rewards Visa Card. It's basically a line pass for all of the Harrahs properties in Vegas. There's no playable video poker at Caesars so I played a Goldfish slot machine. I'm mostly a video poker player, but I did have success and a lot of fun on some slot machines this trip (more on that later). I played a bit on the Goldfish machines, lost a little bit then headed over to Bellagio.
After all these years, Bellagio to me is still the top place in Las Vegas. The casino still looks and smells brand new. The machines are comfortable and just an elegant and classy place all through. I again got a new slot club card and played some video poker there. I was lucky as a hit four aces for $400 on a .50 cent machines. I cashed out with my winnings.
Next stop was The Cosmopolitan. I had read up a lot on this place and wanted to see it. I signed up for its slot club called "Identity." They give you a brochure telling you exactly how you earn points and other information. Why can't all other casinos make it this easy? Three people working at the booth, all very professional. I was told that if I earned 1,000 points I would get a free buffet at the Wicked Spoon, which according to everything I had read, is in the top tier of Las Vegas buffets.
I started off on some video poker, yes, the pay schedules are not good, but I did want to get some play in there. I proceeded to lose about $250 in about 25 minutes on a $1 machine. Just no hits at all. Thanks to VP Forum2, I saw that they did have $5 9/6 jacks-or-better video poker in the high-roller room. Every trip I do like to take a shot at some higher stakes so I figured now was the time.
I played for about a half hour, getting some steady hits and holding my own (and also gaining points toward that free buffet, yeah I know, lose $1,000 to get that $35 buffet). I then held one Queen and up popped three more for a $625 hit. I cashed out up $700 and, for this trip anyway, my high-stake gamble paid off. I ended up with 800 points on my slot card. I'll come back to get 200 more points for the free buffet.
Before traffic got bad, I wanted to start heading toward the Neon Museum which is north of downtown, near Cashman Field. I drove by the Pawn shop where "Pawn Stars" is filmed and decided to pull in the parking lot as it wasn't that crowded. I had been here on my last trip, but decided to take another look. There's a new shopping plaza next door with Rick's Barbecue and other eateries. A lot of tourists looking around in the shop, none of the stars were there, but it is cool to see the place where I've seen so many episodes of the show. They have a section just for souvenirs from the show, T-shirts, bobbleheads and other things.
I then headed up the Neon Museum. I had read up on this and looked like a fun thing to do. It's fairly new and they have a lot of the old Las Vegas signs. They have one-hour guided tours that you should make reservations for in advance as there's only about 20 people on each tour. I decided to do a night tour, as I figured it would be cool to see the signs at night and it was.
They have a parking lot right next door to the museum. The ticket office and lobby is housed inside the former La Concha Motel (which used to be next door to the Riviera), The nearly two-acre campus includes an outdoor exhibition space, known as the Boneyard, which features more than 150 signs, seven of which are restored.
Our tour guide was a student at UNLV who was very knowledgeable about everything. I would highly recommend this. Although it did get a bit chilly during the tour.
I bought a combination ticket for this and the Mob Museum which I am going to tour tomorrow.
I headed back to Caesars Palace to have dinner with a friend who was in town for a convention. We went to the Bacchanal buffet which I had read is now the top buffet in town. I used my new line pass to go to the front of the line and was able to use Total Rewards points to cover the two buffets. There wasn't that long of a line though.
This buffet really is spectacular. So many choices, so much good food and so much top quality. Desserts are incredible. It should be a must stop on anyone's trip. A bit expensive, but worth it.
After dinner I headed back to The Plaza to play my $174 (the first half of my rebate). I could only use the free play on slot machines. I played the Goldfish slots and got some decent action. I cashed out for $164 so I was only down $10 for all that play. Plus it was 10X points on the slot card, so that was nice.
Long, busy and profitable day.
Wednesday, Nov. 11
As part of my combo ticket with the Neon Museum, I got a ticket for the Mob Museum. I headed there right when it opened at 10 a.m.
This is a museum very unique to Las Vegas. There's a lot to take in. I read someone else's trip report where they said it was a bit overwhelming with all the displays and information. Yes, it can be, but overall I enjoyed it.
They have the actual wall with the bullet holes from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. Another part I liked is the "Greatest Hits" part. Pictures and descriptions of many mob hits. There's parts about the Mob in Las Vegas, in movies and TV.
Next stop was Ellis Island. I had always wanted to do the $7.99 steak special, having read about it for years. Casino is very easy to pull into and you can get a parking spot right outside.
I had a coupon from the American Casino Guide that if I earned 200 points, I could get a free entree in the Cafe. They have five-play quarter 9/6 jacks or better video poker here, which I enjoy playing and you can't find in Atlantic City casinos. I played a lot, lost a bit but easily earned enough points for the free entree and other things.
The guy at the slot-club booth was great, he told me to give him any coupons I had for free play, as he would take them all. I also had Las Vegas Advisor coupons and all combined I got $30 in free play, plus three candles as a gift (special promotion) and the free entree. Instead of the $7.99 steak special, I was told I could order anything off the menu and I got a huge prime rib. It was very good. I had to take some of it back to the hotel with me. Only thing I had to pay for was my drink and the tip of course.
Next stop was Mandalay Bay where I had a ticket to see Carlos Santana at the House of Blues. What a great concert hall. There's general-admission standing downstairs and some tables. I had a seat upstairs, front row right on the side of the stage. Really incredible to see a legend in such a small venue. When he plays New Jersey, he plays 15,000-seat amphitheaters. Great band, there's two singers who do most of the lead vocals, although Carlos still does a bit of the vocals himself. They have video screen showing classic Santana footage, including Woodstock. Show was more than two hours. Highly recommend this.
After leaving Mandalay Bay, I headed down to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. I have never gotten a photo taken here and have always wanted one.
Being by myself I was hoping to do a selfie or ask someone else there to take the photo of me. There was a woman photographer there who asked me if I needed help. I said how much? and she said "We just take donations." She told me she would take the photo with her camera and would be able to put in right into my IPhone photos. She took six photos of me in different poses and they all came out great. I tipped her $10, well worth it as I got a great photo of me in front of the sign and yes, all the photos she took are right in my pictures on my phone.
Before heading back to The Plaza, I stopped at the In-N-Out Burger on Sahara again to bring back to the hotel.
I decided not play the rest of my $174 rebate tonight, I would wait til tomorrow morning as I was tired. I took a quick walk out on the Fremont Street Experience. Reminds me of Time Square in the 1980s. Lots of people, some strange, mostly tourists, a carnival atmosphere.
Thursday, Nov. 11
I played the rest of my $174 rebate this morning. I put $74 in the Goldfish slot machine and got no play this time. I cashed out for about $40. I then downloaded the remaining $100 on a Wonder Woman machine. This was very enjoyable, gave me a lot of action, some great bonuses, and I turned the $100 free play into $120 cash.
I headed back to the Cosmopolitan to earn the 200 points (to add to the 800 I had) and get the free buffet at The Wicked Spoon. I saw they had Wonder Woman slot machines and this ended up being one of the more enjoyable experiences of the trip. As I said, I'm mostly a video poker player, but as we all know, that can be a frustrating experience at times. I decided to earn the 200 points on slots as you earn a point for $2.50 for slot play compared to one point for $6 on video poker.
I played on this machine for well over an hour. It kept giving me bonuses and a lot of action, and I earned the 200 points and cashed out with close to a $200 profit. It was a lot of fun.
I went to the slot club to get my free buffet voucher. This buffet is excellent. I read so many good things about it and all true. They had unique things like oxtail soup and bone marrow (delicious!). They call it brunch til 3 p.m. and you can get eggs benedict and other things you would get at a Sunday brunch.
Oh one thing I want to mention is about the Cosmopolitan parking garage. They have all these lights above the parking spaces. If it's red, it means a car is parked there, if it's green, it's an open space. The signs tell you have many spaces are open on each level, and as you drive around you just need to look for a green light in the distance. Whoever thought of that deserves a free buffet! What a great idea and so helpful!!!
After lunch, I decided to check out the Forum Shops at Caeasars to do a little window shopping as I always do there. I walked from the Cosmopolitan. While walking through Caesars, stopped to play the Elton John slots machines. I had played them once before at Parx Casino in Pennsylvania and got zero action on them. No difference here as I quickly gave up after losing about $40 in five minutes. No wonder I never see anyone play these machines, they just don't give you any play or action.
After checking out the Forum Shops (I love the place with all the autographed photos and guitars), I walked through the Bellagio on my way back to the Cosmopolitan. I played the Rolling Stones slot machines. A lot of cool music and graphics, but no real action. Lost $90 in about 20 minutes. I then tried the Entourage slots, got a bit of play and cashed out with a small profit.
I drove to the Hark Rock for a little play. I have always like it there and enjoy checking out their musical memorabilia displays. I played some video poker and won $35.
I then met two friends of mine and their son at a restaurant just off the strip on Flamingo called Fogo de Chao. It's a Brazilian steakhouse that has all-you-can-eat meat carved tableside plus an extensive salad bar. Lots of people dressed up to eat there which was nice to see. Excellent meal.
Then headed back to The Plaza for some more video poker and slot play and took another walk down the Fremont Street Experience. The zip liners above were fun to watch. For all the people there, I still felt safe at all times and not intimidated. But it is part freak show.
Friday, Nov. 15
My final full day. I headed out for lunch at Hot N Juicy Crawfish on Spring Mountain Road. I ate here my last trip after seeing it on the Travel Channel TV show "Man Vs. Food." I love this place. I had crawfish and King Crab.
Next stop was the Palms where I originally was going to stay this trip but changed it when I got the better rate at The Plaza. I have always liked it here. I've never won much, but they do have good video poker and overall a comfortable place to play and easy to park and walk right in.
I didn't have much luck on the quarter five-play 9/6 jacks or better so I played some Goldfish slot machines and got a a lot of action and a little bit of a profit. They had a promotion going for gift cards from McDonald's and Best Buy. I earned $35 in Best Buy gift cards and a $5 one from McDonald's. While playing here I was getting texts from a friend telling me what was going on in Paris.
I was a bit hungry and was undecided on dinner. I was going to grab something at the food court, but changed my mind and decided to head to Makino, a sushi buffet on Decatur Blvd., not far from The Palms. I had been here a few times on previous trips and have always enjoyed it which I did again tonight. So many sushi choices and other things including crab legs.
Headed back to The Plaza to play on my final evening. It was again a 10X points day, which you earn on slots only, no video poker. So I visited my pal Wonder Woman again. Put in $300, played for more than two hours, got several great bonuses, put 1,000 points on my slot card (10,000 points) and ended up only down $40. I'll take it. I had a lot of fun, and even though I wasn't a winner, it was an entertaining two hours.
That would end my gambling for this trip except for cashing in my free play the next day from my Plaza slot points. Overall just down a little bit (the losing sessions on the five-plays at Ellis Island and Palms hurt) but I can't complain. I loss less in six days than I do sometimes in one trip to Atlantic City and I got a lot more action.
Saturday, Nov. 16
My flight wasn't until 4:10 p.m. so I was trying to figure out what to do to kill time before heading to the airport.
First thing was to see what I could get for my 20,000 slot club points at The Plaza. I was told I had $80 in free play and $12 in comps.
I had breakfast at the Hash House A Go Go at The Plaza, as I was told I could use the $12 comps there. Had a tasty corned beef hash and after applying my comps in only cost me $4.
I put the $80 free play in the Wonder Woman slot again and was only going to run though it once, as I decided to keep whatever I won. I cashed out for $55 which was fine. Money to add to my take-home stash.
I still had several hours to kill, what to do? Ahh, I know, I kept seeing the High Roller Observation wheel at The Linq and wanted to ride it. There was a $10 off coupon from the Las Vegas Advisor so I headed over there. Have to say, the Linq is sure different inside from when it was the Imperial Palace which always felt old and dirty. Now it's very modern.
I parked in the garage and walked through the casino trying to find where to go to find the High Roller. (I see afterward I could have just parked in the back right by it). After finally finding a sign, I walked out into the area where they have all the stores and before reaching the High Roller box office there was a sign at a Concierge saying you could buy tickets there. The guy took my $10-off LVA coupon and it was 11:30 a.m., the ride had just opened. It cost me $16.95. He said I should be able to get right on.
I walked down just a bit more and there was no wait at all. But it does look like this can get very busy and take as long time like it does at some of the top Disney rides.
What a great experience this was to close out my trip. A must do!!! Really gives you a fantastic view of Vegas from mid stip. It takes a half hour to complete the ride around. There were only seven of us on our cabin. There's video screens with a commentator telling you all about the ride and a countdown when you reach the highest point: 550 feet. I will do this at night the next time I visit Vegas.
Headed back to the airport, easy drop off of the rental car and security at the airport was very easy to go through. I didn't have to take off my belt or watch and it was all very smooth.
Some other observations:
The north strip is so desolate. Except for Circus Circus and SLS, once you go north of the Encore, it's a sad no-man's land for the most part.
Seems there's more people begging for money than I've seen on other trips to Vegas. Even off the strip there was beggars at the traffic lights. Lots of beggars at the Fremont Street Experience, day and night, and they were at the walking bridges between the casinos. I'm from the New York City area, and even in New York now, you don't see so many beggars. Most have signs telling you what their problems are.
The Plaza has a beef jerky store on the second floor. Lots of different selections and all the prices are clearly marked. As a jerky fan, I found several different varieties here.
Staying at The Plaza was fine. Yes it's not a strip hotel and looks a bit worn out in places. The cocktail waitresses at the strip hotels are much better looking and younger than those downtown, that's for sure. Parking was easy and free at The Plaza. Self-parking garage right next to the tower my hotel room was in. Plaza is a good bet for players as the slot club gives a lot back and lots of playable video poker. Also different places to eat including Oscar Goodman's place, a pizza place and a food court with a McDonald's and a Subway, the latter two open 24 hours.
I usually like to bring back Ethel M chocolates, I went to the Ethels store at the California but $28.95 for 16 pieces of chocolate just seems too much.
The south strip is just getting bigger and bigger. one monster on top of another. Plenty of Walgreens and CVS there. It's sad to see how the Polo Towers were practically swallowed up by The Cosmopolitan.
If you do go to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign and want a great photo, if one of the professional photographers are there, have them take it. They know what they're doing and you're free to tip whatever you want. As I said, I was glad to give them $10 for a great photo that I'm sure came out better than if I had someone take it of me on my phone.
This was my third solo trip to Vegas. I enjoy going with others too, but sometimes solo, especially when you want to play a bit, is fine. I stay on my schedule, do what I want to do, play as long as I want, and have fun. So anyone thinking of going on your own, do it. There's so much to do and see, you won't get bored or ever feel alone.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I've enjoyed all the other trip reports I've read and I'm happy to add this one.
I was a regular visitor to Vegas, sometimes making two trips a year for most of the 1990s until about 2009. But due to some job circumstances and other things, I made my last trip in June of 2010 and was eager to get back.
I was curious how much had changed since I was last there. I cover all of that in this report with the final thing I did on my final day being a highlight and something I would urge all to do.
For the first time ever, I stayed downtown, at The Plaza. Having not played in Vegas in years, I didn't have any real good room offers. I am a platinum Harrahs Total Rewards club member, but for six days, I really wasn't getting any great prices on its website (especially with the resort fees added in, something new since my last visit in 2010).
The Las Vegas Advisor had a great offer for The Plaza of buy one night, get the second night free which I took advantage of. The total cost, for all six nights with resort fees and taxes was $288.96. Yes it wasn't the Bellagio or one of the new fancy places at City Center, but it was fine.
Sunday, Nov. 8
I flew out of Newark on an 8:50 p.m. United flight that was set to arrive in Las Vegas at 11:50 p.m. Normally I don't like to leave that late and arrive that late, but I booked the ticket with frequent-flyer miles and it was free, so be it. We did arrive about 20 minutes early.
New luggage area I see. Long walk and of course our luggage bay was toward the far end. Bags did take about 20 minutes to show up. Proceeded to the rent-a-car center shuttle. Bus was right there waiting and was at the car center in just a few minutes.
I rented an SUV through Alamo. Even though I was by myself, I drive a SUV at home and felt comfortable with it here. Got a price of $317 (inclusive of everything) through Costco which was the cheapest I could find. Yes, I could have gotten a regular smaller car cheaper, but I like driving around Vegas, so I did spend the money.
No one in line at the Alamo counter and even though pressured a bit to get the insurance or buy the full-tank of gas, I passed and was done with the paperwork in about three minutes. Went upstairs and found a Dodge Journey which was very nice. I was driving out in the SUV less than 10 minutes after I arrived at the center.
I was tired so I skipped driving the strip and drove the I-15 North to downtown. Easily found The Plaza and pulled into valet parking. Check-in was easy and I was given a room in the south tower on the 14th floor. Room was nice, had a safe, a desk and chair. flat-screen TV. Sink area was big, but shower and toilet area a bit small (as I had read in other reports) but it was fine. I had a view of the strip which was nice and the train tracks. Many freight trains rolled through, they didn't make too much noise and was kindof cool to watch.
I found the TV confusing. It worked fine, but there was no channel guide nor was there anything on the channels telling you what station you were watching. Also when you clicked channel up or down, it took about two seconds to show up, so a bit frustrating but I was still able to find things to watch.
The Plaza gives you a nice coupon book when you check-in. Has some food offers for the restaurants there, things for the slot club and free play.
I was too tired to do much of anything, so called it a night without gambling.
Monday, Nov. 9
`I had both the Las Vegas Advisor coupon book with me and the American Casino Guide coupons. I was up early, about 7 a.m. (still on East Coast time) and got going about 8 a.m. and headed over to Binions to use a coupon that if you play $10 you get $10 in free slot play. I also wanted to get the free photo with the million dollars.
Interesting to walk down a quiet Fremont Street Experience that early in the morning. Hardly anyone around and just thinking about all the history in those few blocks and all the craziness that goes on here at night.
The million dollar photo was open and I went right up and got a picture. They told me to come back in about a half hour and the picture would be at the slot club.
I signed up for a slot club card and was told to come back after getting 10 points. I did that very quickly on a video poker machine and also played a bit more, earning more than 40 points. My $1 million photo was also ready. That is a great free promotion, makes for a great souvenir. They also had a promotion where you could do a spin for other prizes. I got a buy-one-get-one-free at the snack bar and a $10-off coupon for the coffee shop or the barbecue place. Also after I got the 10 points, they did give me the free $10 in slot play as well as another two-for-one coupon at the snack bar and also a coupon for your first card is an ace if I played a $10 hand of blackjack.
Next stop was Main Street Station. I had an American Casino Guide coupon that if I played 200 points, I got a free buffet. I always loved their video poker and glad to see they still have the scratch-card promotion that you get for a four-of-a-kind. I played there for more than two hours, got seven four-of-a-kinds (all the scratch cards were $2 winners but, hey, I'll take an extra $14 cash). Came out up more than $100 which was enjoyable.
Got the free buffet. Glad to see this is still a nice buffet. I had lunch and it wasn't that crowded. There are a lot of Hawaiians here and at the California across the street.
I had read up on where to watch the Monday Night football game. Tonight the Bears was playing the Chargers in San Diego. Sounded like the Westgate (it was the Las Vegas Hilton last time I was here) has a great sports book with huge screens, so I drove over there.
Parking was very easy and I walked in near where the Elvis museum is. So glad to see they respect and honor the history of Elvis. The statue of Elvis (which i believe used to be near the showroom) is now center as you enter the casino.
I wanted to get new slot club card wherever I went this trip. Westgate, for all its nice things, has a weird set up with the slot club. It's at the cashier. So you have one line of people looking to cash chips or do $$$ transactions, and another line just looking to get a slot-club card or information. Both lines filter in to the same area and only one window was open which had about five people waiting in the club line and others waiting to cash their chips in. If I was a player just looking to cash in, I wouldn't be happy while the clerk is taking five minutes to distribute slot club cards.
Anyway, it didn't take all that long and I got the club card and played some video poker in the area of the sports book. Got a lot of play, but didn't win, but they do have a lot of high-return machines. Sports book is great, huge screens and comfortable atmosphere. They sell hot dogs for $2 which were very good. I watched the first half of the game there, then decided to head out as I had been there for a few hours.
I live on the East Coast, so one of the most exciting things about a trip out West is stopping at an In-N-Out Burger which I don't believe exist east of Texas. I drove to the one on Sahara which wasn't busy and had a quick dinner there. Best burgers in the world. Yum!
Headed back to The Plaza to take advantage of its play $500 on us promotion. I signed up for a slot-club card and the way this works is that you can lose $500 in a 24-hour period, then get half of that back the next day and the other half the day after. You can play any machines, including video poker, to loss up to $500 but the free play you get back is only good on slot machines.
I hit a 10/7 video poker machine playing .50 and $1 and played a couple hours. I lost $348 which I wasn't too upset by, as I knew I would be getting that back to play again. Called it a night and regrouped for tomorrow.
Tuesday, Nov. 10
I headed out in the morning to Binions to use my $10 coupon at the coffee shop. I also had $3 in comps from my play the day before. I got one of the breakfast specials and with the coupon and my comps, it was free. So far the only meals I paid for in Vegas was a $2 hot dog at the Westgate and $9 at In-N-Out Burger the night before.
I have a 5:30 p.m. tour at the Neon Museum so before that I decided to head to Caesars Palace. This is still classic Las Vegas to me. Sure a lot of it has changed, but there's still some of it which was such a special place when I first visited this town in 1983. It's such a great place. When I look out into the main casino I think of Robert Redford riding his horse through here in the 1979 movie "The Electric Horseman;" Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman playing blackjack in "Rainman" and a scene from a "The Sopranos" episode when James Gandolfini was playing blackjack. Also when I walk in the lobby, I think of "The Hangover" being filmed here and good to see Cleopatra's Barge still there.
I stopped at the Total Rewards booth as I had qualified for a Vegas VIP Access card through my Total Rewards Visa Card. It's basically a line pass for all of the Harrahs properties in Vegas. There's no playable video poker at Caesars so I played a Goldfish slot machine. I'm mostly a video poker player, but I did have success and a lot of fun on some slot machines this trip (more on that later). I played a bit on the Goldfish machines, lost a little bit then headed over to Bellagio.
After all these years, Bellagio to me is still the top place in Las Vegas. The casino still looks and smells brand new. The machines are comfortable and just an elegant and classy place all through. I again got a new slot club card and played some video poker there. I was lucky as a hit four aces for $400 on a .50 cent machines. I cashed out with my winnings.
Next stop was The Cosmopolitan. I had read up a lot on this place and wanted to see it. I signed up for its slot club called "Identity." They give you a brochure telling you exactly how you earn points and other information. Why can't all other casinos make it this easy? Three people working at the booth, all very professional. I was told that if I earned 1,000 points I would get a free buffet at the Wicked Spoon, which according to everything I had read, is in the top tier of Las Vegas buffets.
I started off on some video poker, yes, the pay schedules are not good, but I did want to get some play in there. I proceeded to lose about $250 in about 25 minutes on a $1 machine. Just no hits at all. Thanks to VP Forum2, I saw that they did have $5 9/6 jacks-or-better video poker in the high-roller room. Every trip I do like to take a shot at some higher stakes so I figured now was the time.
I played for about a half hour, getting some steady hits and holding my own (and also gaining points toward that free buffet, yeah I know, lose $1,000 to get that $35 buffet). I then held one Queen and up popped three more for a $625 hit. I cashed out up $700 and, for this trip anyway, my high-stake gamble paid off. I ended up with 800 points on my slot card. I'll come back to get 200 more points for the free buffet.
Before traffic got bad, I wanted to start heading toward the Neon Museum which is north of downtown, near Cashman Field. I drove by the Pawn shop where "Pawn Stars" is filmed and decided to pull in the parking lot as it wasn't that crowded. I had been here on my last trip, but decided to take another look. There's a new shopping plaza next door with Rick's Barbecue and other eateries. A lot of tourists looking around in the shop, none of the stars were there, but it is cool to see the place where I've seen so many episodes of the show. They have a section just for souvenirs from the show, T-shirts, bobbleheads and other things.
I then headed up the Neon Museum. I had read up on this and looked like a fun thing to do. It's fairly new and they have a lot of the old Las Vegas signs. They have one-hour guided tours that you should make reservations for in advance as there's only about 20 people on each tour. I decided to do a night tour, as I figured it would be cool to see the signs at night and it was.
They have a parking lot right next door to the museum. The ticket office and lobby is housed inside the former La Concha Motel (which used to be next door to the Riviera), The nearly two-acre campus includes an outdoor exhibition space, known as the Boneyard, which features more than 150 signs, seven of which are restored.
Our tour guide was a student at UNLV who was very knowledgeable about everything. I would highly recommend this. Although it did get a bit chilly during the tour.
I bought a combination ticket for this and the Mob Museum which I am going to tour tomorrow.
I headed back to Caesars Palace to have dinner with a friend who was in town for a convention. We went to the Bacchanal buffet which I had read is now the top buffet in town. I used my new line pass to go to the front of the line and was able to use Total Rewards points to cover the two buffets. There wasn't that long of a line though.
This buffet really is spectacular. So many choices, so much good food and so much top quality. Desserts are incredible. It should be a must stop on anyone's trip. A bit expensive, but worth it.
After dinner I headed back to The Plaza to play my $174 (the first half of my rebate). I could only use the free play on slot machines. I played the Goldfish slots and got some decent action. I cashed out for $164 so I was only down $10 for all that play. Plus it was 10X points on the slot card, so that was nice.
Long, busy and profitable day.
Wednesday, Nov. 11
As part of my combo ticket with the Neon Museum, I got a ticket for the Mob Museum. I headed there right when it opened at 10 a.m.
This is a museum very unique to Las Vegas. There's a lot to take in. I read someone else's trip report where they said it was a bit overwhelming with all the displays and information. Yes, it can be, but overall I enjoyed it.
They have the actual wall with the bullet holes from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. Another part I liked is the "Greatest Hits" part. Pictures and descriptions of many mob hits. There's parts about the Mob in Las Vegas, in movies and TV.
Next stop was Ellis Island. I had always wanted to do the $7.99 steak special, having read about it for years. Casino is very easy to pull into and you can get a parking spot right outside.
I had a coupon from the American Casino Guide that if I earned 200 points, I could get a free entree in the Cafe. They have five-play quarter 9/6 jacks or better video poker here, which I enjoy playing and you can't find in Atlantic City casinos. I played a lot, lost a bit but easily earned enough points for the free entree and other things.
The guy at the slot-club booth was great, he told me to give him any coupons I had for free play, as he would take them all. I also had Las Vegas Advisor coupons and all combined I got $30 in free play, plus three candles as a gift (special promotion) and the free entree. Instead of the $7.99 steak special, I was told I could order anything off the menu and I got a huge prime rib. It was very good. I had to take some of it back to the hotel with me. Only thing I had to pay for was my drink and the tip of course.
Next stop was Mandalay Bay where I had a ticket to see Carlos Santana at the House of Blues. What a great concert hall. There's general-admission standing downstairs and some tables. I had a seat upstairs, front row right on the side of the stage. Really incredible to see a legend in such a small venue. When he plays New Jersey, he plays 15,000-seat amphitheaters. Great band, there's two singers who do most of the lead vocals, although Carlos still does a bit of the vocals himself. They have video screen showing classic Santana footage, including Woodstock. Show was more than two hours. Highly recommend this.
After leaving Mandalay Bay, I headed down to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. I have never gotten a photo taken here and have always wanted one.
Being by myself I was hoping to do a selfie or ask someone else there to take the photo of me. There was a woman photographer there who asked me if I needed help. I said how much? and she said "We just take donations." She told me she would take the photo with her camera and would be able to put in right into my IPhone photos. She took six photos of me in different poses and they all came out great. I tipped her $10, well worth it as I got a great photo of me in front of the sign and yes, all the photos she took are right in my pictures on my phone.
Before heading back to The Plaza, I stopped at the In-N-Out Burger on Sahara again to bring back to the hotel.
I decided not play the rest of my $174 rebate tonight, I would wait til tomorrow morning as I was tired. I took a quick walk out on the Fremont Street Experience. Reminds me of Time Square in the 1980s. Lots of people, some strange, mostly tourists, a carnival atmosphere.
Thursday, Nov. 11
I played the rest of my $174 rebate this morning. I put $74 in the Goldfish slot machine and got no play this time. I cashed out for about $40. I then downloaded the remaining $100 on a Wonder Woman machine. This was very enjoyable, gave me a lot of action, some great bonuses, and I turned the $100 free play into $120 cash.
I headed back to the Cosmopolitan to earn the 200 points (to add to the 800 I had) and get the free buffet at The Wicked Spoon. I saw they had Wonder Woman slot machines and this ended up being one of the more enjoyable experiences of the trip. As I said, I'm mostly a video poker player, but as we all know, that can be a frustrating experience at times. I decided to earn the 200 points on slots as you earn a point for $2.50 for slot play compared to one point for $6 on video poker.
I played on this machine for well over an hour. It kept giving me bonuses and a lot of action, and I earned the 200 points and cashed out with close to a $200 profit. It was a lot of fun.
I went to the slot club to get my free buffet voucher. This buffet is excellent. I read so many good things about it and all true. They had unique things like oxtail soup and bone marrow (delicious!). They call it brunch til 3 p.m. and you can get eggs benedict and other things you would get at a Sunday brunch.
Oh one thing I want to mention is about the Cosmopolitan parking garage. They have all these lights above the parking spaces. If it's red, it means a car is parked there, if it's green, it's an open space. The signs tell you have many spaces are open on each level, and as you drive around you just need to look for a green light in the distance. Whoever thought of that deserves a free buffet! What a great idea and so helpful!!!
After lunch, I decided to check out the Forum Shops at Caeasars to do a little window shopping as I always do there. I walked from the Cosmopolitan. While walking through Caesars, stopped to play the Elton John slots machines. I had played them once before at Parx Casino in Pennsylvania and got zero action on them. No difference here as I quickly gave up after losing about $40 in five minutes. No wonder I never see anyone play these machines, they just don't give you any play or action.
After checking out the Forum Shops (I love the place with all the autographed photos and guitars), I walked through the Bellagio on my way back to the Cosmopolitan. I played the Rolling Stones slot machines. A lot of cool music and graphics, but no real action. Lost $90 in about 20 minutes. I then tried the Entourage slots, got a bit of play and cashed out with a small profit.
I drove to the Hark Rock for a little play. I have always like it there and enjoy checking out their musical memorabilia displays. I played some video poker and won $35.
I then met two friends of mine and their son at a restaurant just off the strip on Flamingo called Fogo de Chao. It's a Brazilian steakhouse that has all-you-can-eat meat carved tableside plus an extensive salad bar. Lots of people dressed up to eat there which was nice to see. Excellent meal.
Then headed back to The Plaza for some more video poker and slot play and took another walk down the Fremont Street Experience. The zip liners above were fun to watch. For all the people there, I still felt safe at all times and not intimidated. But it is part freak show.
Friday, Nov. 15
My final full day. I headed out for lunch at Hot N Juicy Crawfish on Spring Mountain Road. I ate here my last trip after seeing it on the Travel Channel TV show "Man Vs. Food." I love this place. I had crawfish and King Crab.
Next stop was the Palms where I originally was going to stay this trip but changed it when I got the better rate at The Plaza. I have always liked it here. I've never won much, but they do have good video poker and overall a comfortable place to play and easy to park and walk right in.
I didn't have much luck on the quarter five-play 9/6 jacks or better so I played some Goldfish slot machines and got a a lot of action and a little bit of a profit. They had a promotion going for gift cards from McDonald's and Best Buy. I earned $35 in Best Buy gift cards and a $5 one from McDonald's. While playing here I was getting texts from a friend telling me what was going on in Paris.
I was a bit hungry and was undecided on dinner. I was going to grab something at the food court, but changed my mind and decided to head to Makino, a sushi buffet on Decatur Blvd., not far from The Palms. I had been here a few times on previous trips and have always enjoyed it which I did again tonight. So many sushi choices and other things including crab legs.
Headed back to The Plaza to play on my final evening. It was again a 10X points day, which you earn on slots only, no video poker. So I visited my pal Wonder Woman again. Put in $300, played for more than two hours, got several great bonuses, put 1,000 points on my slot card (10,000 points) and ended up only down $40. I'll take it. I had a lot of fun, and even though I wasn't a winner, it was an entertaining two hours.
That would end my gambling for this trip except for cashing in my free play the next day from my Plaza slot points. Overall just down a little bit (the losing sessions on the five-plays at Ellis Island and Palms hurt) but I can't complain. I loss less in six days than I do sometimes in one trip to Atlantic City and I got a lot more action.
Saturday, Nov. 16
My flight wasn't until 4:10 p.m. so I was trying to figure out what to do to kill time before heading to the airport.
First thing was to see what I could get for my 20,000 slot club points at The Plaza. I was told I had $80 in free play and $12 in comps.
I had breakfast at the Hash House A Go Go at The Plaza, as I was told I could use the $12 comps there. Had a tasty corned beef hash and after applying my comps in only cost me $4.
I put the $80 free play in the Wonder Woman slot again and was only going to run though it once, as I decided to keep whatever I won. I cashed out for $55 which was fine. Money to add to my take-home stash.
I still had several hours to kill, what to do? Ahh, I know, I kept seeing the High Roller Observation wheel at The Linq and wanted to ride it. There was a $10 off coupon from the Las Vegas Advisor so I headed over there. Have to say, the Linq is sure different inside from when it was the Imperial Palace which always felt old and dirty. Now it's very modern.
I parked in the garage and walked through the casino trying to find where to go to find the High Roller. (I see afterward I could have just parked in the back right by it). After finally finding a sign, I walked out into the area where they have all the stores and before reaching the High Roller box office there was a sign at a Concierge saying you could buy tickets there. The guy took my $10-off LVA coupon and it was 11:30 a.m., the ride had just opened. It cost me $16.95. He said I should be able to get right on.
I walked down just a bit more and there was no wait at all. But it does look like this can get very busy and take as long time like it does at some of the top Disney rides.
What a great experience this was to close out my trip. A must do!!! Really gives you a fantastic view of Vegas from mid stip. It takes a half hour to complete the ride around. There were only seven of us on our cabin. There's video screens with a commentator telling you all about the ride and a countdown when you reach the highest point: 550 feet. I will do this at night the next time I visit Vegas.
Headed back to the airport, easy drop off of the rental car and security at the airport was very easy to go through. I didn't have to take off my belt or watch and it was all very smooth.
Some other observations:
The north strip is so desolate. Except for Circus Circus and SLS, once you go north of the Encore, it's a sad no-man's land for the most part.
Seems there's more people begging for money than I've seen on other trips to Vegas. Even off the strip there was beggars at the traffic lights. Lots of beggars at the Fremont Street Experience, day and night, and they were at the walking bridges between the casinos. I'm from the New York City area, and even in New York now, you don't see so many beggars. Most have signs telling you what their problems are.
The Plaza has a beef jerky store on the second floor. Lots of different selections and all the prices are clearly marked. As a jerky fan, I found several different varieties here.
Staying at The Plaza was fine. Yes it's not a strip hotel and looks a bit worn out in places. The cocktail waitresses at the strip hotels are much better looking and younger than those downtown, that's for sure. Parking was easy and free at The Plaza. Self-parking garage right next to the tower my hotel room was in. Plaza is a good bet for players as the slot club gives a lot back and lots of playable video poker. Also different places to eat including Oscar Goodman's place, a pizza place and a food court with a McDonald's and a Subway, the latter two open 24 hours.
I usually like to bring back Ethel M chocolates, I went to the Ethels store at the California but $28.95 for 16 pieces of chocolate just seems too much.
The south strip is just getting bigger and bigger. one monster on top of another. Plenty of Walgreens and CVS there. It's sad to see how the Polo Towers were practically swallowed up by The Cosmopolitan.
If you do go to the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign and want a great photo, if one of the professional photographers are there, have them take it. They know what they're doing and you're free to tip whatever you want. As I said, I was glad to give them $10 for a great photo that I'm sure came out better than if I had someone take it of me on my phone.
This was my third solo trip to Vegas. I enjoy going with others too, but sometimes solo, especially when you want to play a bit, is fine. I stay on my schedule, do what I want to do, play as long as I want, and have fun. So anyone thinking of going on your own, do it. There's so much to do and see, you won't get bored or ever feel alone.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I've enjoyed all the other trip reports I've read and I'm happy to add this one.
