Monday, April 14th
We are up at 6:00 am because my friend calls me, forgetting we are in Vegas. I am excited to get up. Today is moving day and my husband’s birthday. We start the day at the bar again, where I again get three four of a kinds. We work our way back down to the El Co. I try my double deuces and again no luck. My husband hit these last year, so I am frustrated. The loose deuces machine opens up and I give that a try. After about 5 mins. I keep 2 and draw 2 deuces! Yeah, that is $625 and a box of chocolates. On the way back my husband hits the progressive deuces in the Golden Nugget. That always frustrates me because he does so almost every time. We eventually make it back up to MSS, because we have to check out by noon. I try the Pay the Aces, and still no aces. Although I dream of having the 4 dealt to me with no face cards, I will settle for having 3 dealt, because that pays 250 quarters. I have done this several times, but not this trip. I do get another treasure chest. My husband, who has had a huge royal, is frustrated, because he can’t seem to get quads. But he gets a treasure chest (180, instead of the usual 140) and his only scratcher ($3!), so he is happy. I can’t remember all my quads, but I did end up with 14 scratch cards (all for $2) so I know I got 12. One was the royal and one was nines on a deuces machine, so I did get 12 “real” 4 of a kinds. That was the most ever. I really don’t want to leave downtown, but we must.
We cab to the Orleans and settle in our room. However, we have made 4:00 reservations on the High Roller (the new giant ferris wheel). We really need to leave the Orleans by 3:00, since we are taking the bus. Monday is free gift day, and you have to earn 300 points. I am playing one of my most favorite games, Deuces Bonus. I have been playing deuces since Saturday and have not been able to get a wild Royal. I have seen 2 real royals, but no wild royal. My husband is getting them left and right, which is really frustrating. We earn our free gifts and get ready to go. After the High Roller we are going to have dinner at the Pampas Brazilian Steakhouse in the Miracle Mile Shops.
Both buses that we needed to get to the Strip come super fast, so we are there by about 3:20. That turned out to be a good thing, because we spent a lot of time in the stores in the The Linq. One store, called Kitson, had a bunch of neat things, and we shopped a lot. Then off to the wheel. It is quite the process getting in, as you have your bag checked, then take the souvenir photo, walk past the bar, etc. I got another one of my drinks with the app and again the bartenders found this to be hilarious. So we are finally ready to board the wheel, after one final scan of our tickets. The wheel moves continuously, so they gather up a small group and have them get on while they gather up another group. No one else came along, so we got to ride by ourselves. What a cool birthday gift! The girl who sends us on our way tells us that if we wanted to reserve a private ride, they charge $1,800! The pods you ride in are pretty large. They probably can hold about 20-30 people. There are two sets of seats, and a big open area. The whole trip lasts a half hour, though the wheel did stop completely for about 5 minutes, so our trip lasted 35 minutes. The views were amazing, and having it to ourselves was fun also. You then exit through a gift shop, of course. They had some really neat shirts made from real roulette table felt, so my husband got a shirt (he HAD to have the one that said “ODD” on it) and we got one for our son.
We then walked down to the Miracle Mile shops and had dinner. I had a coupon from Restaurant.com for the steakhouse, so again we didn’t pay full price for dinner. Dinner was pretty good, and it was fun. After that we went to the Palms. My husband loves to play at the Palms. I think it is a great place, I love the music and the casino. However, I lose like crazy in the Palms. So I always just watch my husband. Which is fine. He won, as usual. We went to the Gold Coast and then shuttled it back to the Orleans. We finished up playing there. All in all, a great birthday. And we were still winning!
Tuesday, April 15th
Our last full day. We always cram a ton into our trips, but time still flies. Our original plan for today was to take the bus to Boulder Highway and hit the casinos out there. We were going to have dim sum at Ping Pang Pong. But I was needing a fix of downtown. So we compromised. We would skip dim sum and take the bus out to Boulder Highway, then go Downtown one last time. It took an hour to go down Flamingo to Boulder Highway, so we got there around 9:30. We started at the Eastside Cannery. We went there once before and really liked it. My husband found a lot of good things to play and got four 4 of a kinds. We found this crazy game at the bar that was called Aces/Deuces (I think). It was not a wild card game, but 4 aces or 4 deuces was a big bonus quad. Also, if you got a 4 of a kind with an ace or deuce it was a bonus. Sounds like a game for me! My husband got 4 jacks with a deuce, so that was good. I did get a straight flush, which was nice. I again used my drink app to the amusement of the bartender. I didn’t realize this was such a big deal. I played a few other things but kept going back to the bar machine. It teased me mercilessly with 3 deuces, 3 aces, and 4 to the royal, but no luck. Still, I couldn’t complain. We stayed there a few hours but needed to get going if we were going to get Downtown. I kept asking my husband if he was hungry, because there were all kinds of food promos. He said no. Our next stop was Boulder Station. We had never been there, and we wanted to play the Triple Deuces. As soon as we got there he was hungry! We ate at the coffee shop and used our Station points. I was glad we didn’t pay full price because it wasn’t the best. I did have an excellent shrimp cocktail, though.
After that we got on the bus and went to MSS. I went back to the bar, got another drink, and several more quads. We went down to the Golden Nugget and tried the deuces progressive again. I kept looking for the Pawn Stars slots. They used to have them in the D, but not this trip. We finally found one in the Plaza. I played and got to spin. That is usually the only slot I play. One last trip through the MSS and I finally got 3 aces dealt on my Pay the Aces, so that was 250 quarters. It was hard to say goodbye to downtown!
We cabbed back to the Gold Coast to save time. It was also prize day at the Gold Coast. So we played for those. I was playing my favorite deuces bonus machine and finally got 5 aces! Yeah, $100. Just a few hands later I got them again! And a few hands after that I finally got my first wild royal! As I kept saying all trip, I got a real royal before my wild royal. We then went to the Palms and I watched my husband play again. I actually played the progressive Wheel of Fortune machine and got to spin twice. I felt that was a major victory. We then went back to the Gold Coast and shuttled to the Orleans.
I was starved, and we ate at the Koji restaurant. We ate there last year and liked it. We were stuffed! We played until about midnight, when we couldn’t stay awake anymore. I did get 4 aces on the Double Double machine, so that was fun. Nice to see the aces when they mean something!
Wednesday, April 16th
Time to go home. Our flight wasn’t until noon, so for once we didn’t get up at 6 am and rush for the airport. Another part of the backwards trip. We played some more and earned our free breakfast buffet. For free it was just right. I managed to hit another wild royal and a bonus five of a kind. We had to leave for the airport. At the airport I got 2 more wild royals! We always play at the airport because several years ago I actually hit a royal. Nice, uneventful flight home.
All in all, our backwards trip was a huge success! We came back with everything we took out, and another $3,000 (I guess that was backwards, too, come to think of it). This was after we paid cash for every meal, cab, and shopping! What a trip. Maybe we will try that backwards thing again sometime. I just hope we played enough at MSS to get them to give us free rooms again! I like the Orleans, but Downtown is still my favorite. Oh, and after several years of losing every matchplay we had, we actually won most of them. So that was another backwards thing! Thanks for reading!
We are up at 6:00 am because my friend calls me, forgetting we are in Vegas. I am excited to get up. Today is moving day and my husband’s birthday. We start the day at the bar again, where I again get three four of a kinds. We work our way back down to the El Co. I try my double deuces and again no luck. My husband hit these last year, so I am frustrated. The loose deuces machine opens up and I give that a try. After about 5 mins. I keep 2 and draw 2 deuces! Yeah, that is $625 and a box of chocolates. On the way back my husband hits the progressive deuces in the Golden Nugget. That always frustrates me because he does so almost every time. We eventually make it back up to MSS, because we have to check out by noon. I try the Pay the Aces, and still no aces. Although I dream of having the 4 dealt to me with no face cards, I will settle for having 3 dealt, because that pays 250 quarters. I have done this several times, but not this trip. I do get another treasure chest. My husband, who has had a huge royal, is frustrated, because he can’t seem to get quads. But he gets a treasure chest (180, instead of the usual 140) and his only scratcher ($3!), so he is happy. I can’t remember all my quads, but I did end up with 14 scratch cards (all for $2) so I know I got 12. One was the royal and one was nines on a deuces machine, so I did get 12 “real” 4 of a kinds. That was the most ever. I really don’t want to leave downtown, but we must.
We cab to the Orleans and settle in our room. However, we have made 4:00 reservations on the High Roller (the new giant ferris wheel). We really need to leave the Orleans by 3:00, since we are taking the bus. Monday is free gift day, and you have to earn 300 points. I am playing one of my most favorite games, Deuces Bonus. I have been playing deuces since Saturday and have not been able to get a wild Royal. I have seen 2 real royals, but no wild royal. My husband is getting them left and right, which is really frustrating. We earn our free gifts and get ready to go. After the High Roller we are going to have dinner at the Pampas Brazilian Steakhouse in the Miracle Mile Shops.
Both buses that we needed to get to the Strip come super fast, so we are there by about 3:20. That turned out to be a good thing, because we spent a lot of time in the stores in the The Linq. One store, called Kitson, had a bunch of neat things, and we shopped a lot. Then off to the wheel. It is quite the process getting in, as you have your bag checked, then take the souvenir photo, walk past the bar, etc. I got another one of my drinks with the app and again the bartenders found this to be hilarious. So we are finally ready to board the wheel, after one final scan of our tickets. The wheel moves continuously, so they gather up a small group and have them get on while they gather up another group. No one else came along, so we got to ride by ourselves. What a cool birthday gift! The girl who sends us on our way tells us that if we wanted to reserve a private ride, they charge $1,800! The pods you ride in are pretty large. They probably can hold about 20-30 people. There are two sets of seats, and a big open area. The whole trip lasts a half hour, though the wheel did stop completely for about 5 minutes, so our trip lasted 35 minutes. The views were amazing, and having it to ourselves was fun also. You then exit through a gift shop, of course. They had some really neat shirts made from real roulette table felt, so my husband got a shirt (he HAD to have the one that said “ODD” on it) and we got one for our son.
We then walked down to the Miracle Mile shops and had dinner. I had a coupon from Restaurant.com for the steakhouse, so again we didn’t pay full price for dinner. Dinner was pretty good, and it was fun. After that we went to the Palms. My husband loves to play at the Palms. I think it is a great place, I love the music and the casino. However, I lose like crazy in the Palms. So I always just watch my husband. Which is fine. He won, as usual. We went to the Gold Coast and then shuttled it back to the Orleans. We finished up playing there. All in all, a great birthday. And we were still winning!
Tuesday, April 15th
Our last full day. We always cram a ton into our trips, but time still flies. Our original plan for today was to take the bus to Boulder Highway and hit the casinos out there. We were going to have dim sum at Ping Pang Pong. But I was needing a fix of downtown. So we compromised. We would skip dim sum and take the bus out to Boulder Highway, then go Downtown one last time. It took an hour to go down Flamingo to Boulder Highway, so we got there around 9:30. We started at the Eastside Cannery. We went there once before and really liked it. My husband found a lot of good things to play and got four 4 of a kinds. We found this crazy game at the bar that was called Aces/Deuces (I think). It was not a wild card game, but 4 aces or 4 deuces was a big bonus quad. Also, if you got a 4 of a kind with an ace or deuce it was a bonus. Sounds like a game for me! My husband got 4 jacks with a deuce, so that was good. I did get a straight flush, which was nice. I again used my drink app to the amusement of the bartender. I didn’t realize this was such a big deal. I played a few other things but kept going back to the bar machine. It teased me mercilessly with 3 deuces, 3 aces, and 4 to the royal, but no luck. Still, I couldn’t complain. We stayed there a few hours but needed to get going if we were going to get Downtown. I kept asking my husband if he was hungry, because there were all kinds of food promos. He said no. Our next stop was Boulder Station. We had never been there, and we wanted to play the Triple Deuces. As soon as we got there he was hungry! We ate at the coffee shop and used our Station points. I was glad we didn’t pay full price because it wasn’t the best. I did have an excellent shrimp cocktail, though.
After that we got on the bus and went to MSS. I went back to the bar, got another drink, and several more quads. We went down to the Golden Nugget and tried the deuces progressive again. I kept looking for the Pawn Stars slots. They used to have them in the D, but not this trip. We finally found one in the Plaza. I played and got to spin. That is usually the only slot I play. One last trip through the MSS and I finally got 3 aces dealt on my Pay the Aces, so that was 250 quarters. It was hard to say goodbye to downtown!
We cabbed back to the Gold Coast to save time. It was also prize day at the Gold Coast. So we played for those. I was playing my favorite deuces bonus machine and finally got 5 aces! Yeah, $100. Just a few hands later I got them again! And a few hands after that I finally got my first wild royal! As I kept saying all trip, I got a real royal before my wild royal. We then went to the Palms and I watched my husband play again. I actually played the progressive Wheel of Fortune machine and got to spin twice. I felt that was a major victory. We then went back to the Gold Coast and shuttled to the Orleans.
I was starved, and we ate at the Koji restaurant. We ate there last year and liked it. We were stuffed! We played until about midnight, when we couldn’t stay awake anymore. I did get 4 aces on the Double Double machine, so that was fun. Nice to see the aces when they mean something!
Wednesday, April 16th
Time to go home. Our flight wasn’t until noon, so for once we didn’t get up at 6 am and rush for the airport. Another part of the backwards trip. We played some more and earned our free breakfast buffet. For free it was just right. I managed to hit another wild royal and a bonus five of a kind. We had to leave for the airport. At the airport I got 2 more wild royals! We always play at the airport because several years ago I actually hit a royal. Nice, uneventful flight home.
All in all, our backwards trip was a huge success! We came back with everything we took out, and another $3,000 (I guess that was backwards, too, come to think of it). This was after we paid cash for every meal, cab, and shopping! What a trip. Maybe we will try that backwards thing again sometime. I just hope we played enough at MSS to get them to give us free rooms again! I like the Orleans, but Downtown is still my favorite. Oh, and after several years of losing every matchplay we had, we actually won most of them. So that was another backwards thing! Thanks for reading!
