Flight - Jetblue direct from Richmond to Las Vegas - 4.5hrs. Tuesday
The cost was inexpensive to start with but after you add on the bag & seat fee the cost was over $450 for the two of us. We also upgraded to the front (more leg room) seats for additional cost. The flight itself was quick and uneventful. A fullish flight but we were lucky as our row only had us two in it so we could relax and spread out. The plane itself was clean and the flight attendants were good.
Thrifty Car Rental
Got to the rental office (around 10:20 am) and saw the Thrifty location was shut but the sign said to go to the Hertz desk. Waited in the Hertz line for about 20 minutes and received my compact SUV. Was told by the counter person I should of gone through their "members line" for quicker service...(since I am a Thrifty member). No problems though as we were in no rush. Car was easy to find in the lot and was very clean as it had just been through the car wash.
Aria Casino & Hotel
Found the self parking garage from Las Vegas Blvd and parked on level 3. Then proceeded to go down the elevator to level 2. Once on level 2 there is a walkway across to the casino and a further major walk to the check in lobby. At 11:30am the check in was busy. (probably with people checking out and asking about their bills). I had downloaded the MGM app so I skipped the line and got my room allocated and key on my phone.
Got on the elevators to go to the 21st floor then walked about 4 minutes (yes really 4 minutes) to our room which was at the far end of the casino. Room was clean but my wife said we need to call down and get a room closer to the elevators. So I called and surpisingly they changed our room to one right by the elevator on the same floor. The new room again was clean and very techy. Curtains open with a touch of a button, lights go on and off as soon as you enter/exit the room. View was also nice as it was of the mountains over the i15.
Upon getting a quick clean and change before going to the casino floor I found that we had no real hot water and one of the sinks was blocked. Not a problem as I was ready to gamble so we put off complaining until later.
Aria Casino
Slots were generally fairly loose and not as tight as I would of imagined. I let the wife wander off and do "her thing" and I sat at the bar and played VP .....and drank a few beers. Playing Deuces Wild got 4 x 2's for $250 then followed that up with a Royal Flush with a Deuce for $500. Wife appeared (from nowhere) so I had to leave and go grab something to eat with the money I just won. Women know when to show up...don't they?
Restaraunts in the Aria were very busy and fairly large lines formed to get in so we went to the car and ventured out to some local places. Ended up going to Brios in the Town Center complex. Awesome meal and inexpensive. (you have to try the lamb chops..mmmm)
Finished the day back at the bar while the wife went to the room. Pretty busy as there were NBA games on the TV but managed to find an open VP to play. Made a few new "acquaintancies" who thought I might like to hear their stories of how they are on their honeymoon or business trips.....Err NO....Do I look if I care???? LOL Didn't gain on my wins but managed to get back to even for the session. Went to bed happy with first day.
Rest of the week (3 days)
On Wednesday went to Parhump Winery for the lunch specials (their Cod & Chips is awesome). No wine tasting or alcohol allowed to be served in Nye County so had to settle for coke. As somewhere just 1.2hrs away from Vegas this is always on our "must-go" trips. (Pity about the drink rules.)
From the winery we went to find this place in Tecopa, CA.... The China Date Ranch.... The trip is approx.1 hour but the drive is scary awesome. Vast regions of nothing in the middle of the Mojave Desert then down some small winding mountain single track dirt roads. You finally see this little building and a big car park. A typical tourist trap for "trinkets" etc. However the dates were very good and tasty. The car handle well but I probably needed a good old fashioned truck for all the rough roads.
Thursday we went to Orleans for breakfast then onto Fremont Street area. Parked in the new Garage Mahal and went into Circa. Nice casino but tight, tight, tight...and noisy. Ventured out to other casinos, Golden Nugget, The D, Four Queens, Binions etc......all noisy and tight machines. Glad we did not stay in this area. Parking cost $12 for a couple of hours. Took a trip to the new Virgin (Mohegan Sun) Casino and got my Royal Flush for $1000 playing Deuces Wild. Hit a A104KQ diamond flush but held the A10KQ ...J filled in for the RF. Happy chappie here.....Nice casino as it was quiet and not busy.
Back at Aria for our reservation at Lemongrass. (9:15pm - earliest appt) Food was delicious and the wait staff were on the ball. Very professional and cheerful. Finished at the bar and won $100 playing DDB.
Final day so we packed up and checked out....got bill and saw $15.95 for a bottle of water from the mini-bar...my wife said she was thirsty during the night. Bill for 3 night stay $175.00 (3 nights comped)
Decided to visit some other casinos...so went to the Tropicana....what has happened to them during this pandemic? Virtually no machines and no staff plus. Went off Green Valley Ranch and stayed there a while to grab some food. Very nice and inexpensive selection in their food court area. Managed to win some money at the bar playing JoB.
Flight back - JetBlue (10:00pm) - 4.5 hours
Flight half full. We upgraded our seats to the front rows. We found to we were the only ones in the front so no problem with sleeping with the extra room. Nice 320 plane.
In Summary
A lot of people wore masks but you could easily tell the ones who refused to wear them when in public areas.
Vegas is looking like a November time visit with the amount of people there. I'm sure it will get back to "normal" soon.
Would we go back to Aria...probably not as there are other opportunities with other casinos.
Fun time but you need to be careful.
Keep safe
Terry
