July 31 to August 8 driving from Phoenix to LAS and Laughlin. (wife did not make the trip)
Three nights comped at Fiesta Henderson with $25 in free play for each of the first two nights
Two nights comped at Flamingo for a slot tournament
Two nights comped at Orleans
Three nights comped at M Resort for a slot tounament
Two nights comped at Harrahs Laughlin with $25 free play
(Note...I know there are two many nights but, some deals did not allow for fewer nights booked so I overbooked)
I'll post some thoughts and experiences following...if you would like me to clarify or elaborate, just let me know. All slot play is 25 cent VP, double double or triple double...usually triple play.
1. Upon arrival, stopped at the M as I try to book the trip to cut across two award periods there. July 31 was the last day to get the bonus dollars for that month so I used those slot dollars for both my wife and myself. Did not win anything...not even one four of a kind.
2. Fiesta's rooms are OK. The casino is much nicer than the rooms. They have a Fatburger (very good hamburgers) and a movie theather. Buffet no longer offers breakfast.
3. Got the $25 for the first day but, the second day bonus did not show up. I checked in at the desk about noon and they said there is a problem and I was 7th on the list to get fixed. Since I was heading to the Flamingo, I didn't wait around.
4. Fiesta is the self-proclaimed royal capital of the world but, I have never hit one. My third spin on a triple play gave me 4/5 cards on the bottom line but, couldn't get the last card. I did end up winning here thanks to four aces with a kicker.
5. Stopped at the Tropicana to take advantage of the $200 deal. They told me I once had a card but, since it was last used in 2004, they gave me the deal. I didn't need it as I played 50 cent VP single play and hit four aces again and walked out with $300 in profit.
6. Read in the paper that Hooters Casino filed for bankruptcy...no immediate effect on operations. I could have walked there from the Trop but, based on what I had read on this forum, I didn't see any value there.
7. Checked in at the Flamingo with the usual long, long lines. Glad to see they have a food court now with 4-5 choices. For the tournament (I didn't win anything) they had two 5-gallon bottles of water but, they didn't matter as by the third session, they were empty and they were out of cups. Neither was ever replenished.
8. The Flamingo room was very poor. No directory of services/safety (which is a violation of law) so I called to get one as I wanted to hit the spa. They said they would deliver, never did. One waste basket in the room...no radio, not even a clock. No do not disturb sign so on day two I got to the room at 4pm and it still wasn't cleaned.
9. Day Two I went out early to get coffee and (what luck) hit four aces again on a single machine...a great trend is developing. That was lucky as the night before I could not even win a hand at either BJ or three card poker. I also walked up to Bally's and played BJ switch briefly as I lost there too.
10. Checked in at the Orleans...rooms are nice with a flat screen TV...you have to be sure to get an upgraded room. Mexican restaurant happy hour deal 4-6, is a great value plus the food is very good.
11. One unusual thing about the Orleans is for both of my days/nights there, everyone seemed to be winning. The craps tables were always loud with cheering (one of the worse sounds in the world when you are not on that table), someone at my three-card poker table hit the straight flush and everyone was a winner at my BJ tables. That included me as I finally had some good rounds at BJ, won a bit at craps and turned a nice provide on triple play VP thanks to being dealt four of a kind twice.
12. The Orleans can definitely be recommended. They have a great variety of resturants both formal and casual, they usually have special promotions, it's easy to get in and out of and usually you can have a very good time. I don't like the sportsbook much but, overall you should consider a stay here (they do have a free shuttle to the strip).
13. Stopped at Southpoint the next day. Lost $100 in VP triple play...really my first losing session. Won back about $25 on BJ. Ate at the sports deli which is the best in town. The Southpoint is moving up the list as my favorite casino in town.
14. Now to the M. Registered for the tournament...they do an excellent job on tournaments providing a free gift and a free drink the night before. The tournament is well run by friendly people and they always have additional give-a-ways. I won $50 in free play although did not place in the top 25. I am still honning my VP tournament skills as I have a hard time switching strategy.
15. When I talked to my wife I mentioned that the machines seemed very tight as I was a consistent loser. When I got home I read the Advisor indicating they HAD tightened the machines and changed some of the other rules. The M is moving down my list of casino visits as it is too far away to deal with any negatives and the negatives seem to be piling up. I don't expect anything good to come out of the new ownership group.
16. Spent all day Saturday in the sportsbook playing horses...from 9am to 5pm, saw a waitress three times. It doesn't matter as they don't give out drink tickets anyway. The book is run by Cantor who is now taking over the Venetian...not good news.
17. The rooms at the M are still very, very nice. You should absolutely make sure you get the strip view as the other side of the building doesn't offer any view at all. As an aside, the jackals charged me $5 handling because I had a letter delivered there to me.
18. For those of you still under the impression that the M buffet is among the best in town, all I can say is that most people get free buffets there and that is what it is worth...do not pay for this buffet. I used a free ticket for the Sunday seafood brunch. It was the same selection as the Friday night seafood brunch with the addition of an omelet station and 4-5 pans of breakfast food replacing some other dishes. Unfortunately I got there early on Sunday so I think most of the food was from Saturday night anyway...I think they have just given up or, since so many are comped, they have let the quality slide. Personally, the Orleans buffet is probably on a par with this one and certainly the Rio is much better now.
ADD. The M sign says $5 premium drinks at all bars but, that is not true so check before you order too many rounds especially if a bar attached to a restaurant. Also, the sign says you can earn comps in the sportsbook which is also untrue. You can only earn comps with your M card in the Racebook for horse bets...you get nothing for sports betting.
19. Drove to Laughlin (about 1.5hrs, an easy drive) to check in at Harrahs and record my cards for the cross country promotion.
20. I stopped at Golden Nugget as I had a $25 free play from them. Used it in a single play machine and hit four deuces and took out a profit of $90. Played BJ for about 40mns and again took out $90. As I was walking out I passed by the empty craps table and thought I might as well use the luck I had and hit three points pulling out a profit of $135 there...a very good stop.
21. Harrahs check in line was long so I checked the bags and played BJ. Won a bit before checking in. Played some VP but, ended up losing about $100 so I ate at the Mexican restaurant there which was very good.
22. Harrahs' rooms are nice, most with a great view but, you should be sure to ask for the adult tower. I know there are some nitwits who take their little kids to Vegas but, Laughlin is a summer vacation destination so expect alot of kids hanging around the river and pool. It should be expected.
Three nights comped at Fiesta Henderson with $25 in free play for each of the first two nights
Two nights comped at Flamingo for a slot tournament
Two nights comped at Orleans
Three nights comped at M Resort for a slot tounament
Two nights comped at Harrahs Laughlin with $25 free play
(Note...I know there are two many nights but, some deals did not allow for fewer nights booked so I overbooked)
I'll post some thoughts and experiences following...if you would like me to clarify or elaborate, just let me know. All slot play is 25 cent VP, double double or triple double...usually triple play.
1. Upon arrival, stopped at the M as I try to book the trip to cut across two award periods there. July 31 was the last day to get the bonus dollars for that month so I used those slot dollars for both my wife and myself. Did not win anything...not even one four of a kind.
2. Fiesta's rooms are OK. The casino is much nicer than the rooms. They have a Fatburger (very good hamburgers) and a movie theather. Buffet no longer offers breakfast.
3. Got the $25 for the first day but, the second day bonus did not show up. I checked in at the desk about noon and they said there is a problem and I was 7th on the list to get fixed. Since I was heading to the Flamingo, I didn't wait around.
4. Fiesta is the self-proclaimed royal capital of the world but, I have never hit one. My third spin on a triple play gave me 4/5 cards on the bottom line but, couldn't get the last card. I did end up winning here thanks to four aces with a kicker.
5. Stopped at the Tropicana to take advantage of the $200 deal. They told me I once had a card but, since it was last used in 2004, they gave me the deal. I didn't need it as I played 50 cent VP single play and hit four aces again and walked out with $300 in profit.
6. Read in the paper that Hooters Casino filed for bankruptcy...no immediate effect on operations. I could have walked there from the Trop but, based on what I had read on this forum, I didn't see any value there.
7. Checked in at the Flamingo with the usual long, long lines. Glad to see they have a food court now with 4-5 choices. For the tournament (I didn't win anything) they had two 5-gallon bottles of water but, they didn't matter as by the third session, they were empty and they were out of cups. Neither was ever replenished.
8. The Flamingo room was very poor. No directory of services/safety (which is a violation of law) so I called to get one as I wanted to hit the spa. They said they would deliver, never did. One waste basket in the room...no radio, not even a clock. No do not disturb sign so on day two I got to the room at 4pm and it still wasn't cleaned.
9. Day Two I went out early to get coffee and (what luck) hit four aces again on a single machine...a great trend is developing. That was lucky as the night before I could not even win a hand at either BJ or three card poker. I also walked up to Bally's and played BJ switch briefly as I lost there too.
10. Checked in at the Orleans...rooms are nice with a flat screen TV...you have to be sure to get an upgraded room. Mexican restaurant happy hour deal 4-6, is a great value plus the food is very good.
11. One unusual thing about the Orleans is for both of my days/nights there, everyone seemed to be winning. The craps tables were always loud with cheering (one of the worse sounds in the world when you are not on that table), someone at my three-card poker table hit the straight flush and everyone was a winner at my BJ tables. That included me as I finally had some good rounds at BJ, won a bit at craps and turned a nice provide on triple play VP thanks to being dealt four of a kind twice.
12. The Orleans can definitely be recommended. They have a great variety of resturants both formal and casual, they usually have special promotions, it's easy to get in and out of and usually you can have a very good time. I don't like the sportsbook much but, overall you should consider a stay here (they do have a free shuttle to the strip).
13. Stopped at Southpoint the next day. Lost $100 in VP triple play...really my first losing session. Won back about $25 on BJ. Ate at the sports deli which is the best in town. The Southpoint is moving up the list as my favorite casino in town.
14. Now to the M. Registered for the tournament...they do an excellent job on tournaments providing a free gift and a free drink the night before. The tournament is well run by friendly people and they always have additional give-a-ways. I won $50 in free play although did not place in the top 25. I am still honning my VP tournament skills as I have a hard time switching strategy.
15. When I talked to my wife I mentioned that the machines seemed very tight as I was a consistent loser. When I got home I read the Advisor indicating they HAD tightened the machines and changed some of the other rules. The M is moving down my list of casino visits as it is too far away to deal with any negatives and the negatives seem to be piling up. I don't expect anything good to come out of the new ownership group.
16. Spent all day Saturday in the sportsbook playing horses...from 9am to 5pm, saw a waitress three times. It doesn't matter as they don't give out drink tickets anyway. The book is run by Cantor who is now taking over the Venetian...not good news.
17. The rooms at the M are still very, very nice. You should absolutely make sure you get the strip view as the other side of the building doesn't offer any view at all. As an aside, the jackals charged me $5 handling because I had a letter delivered there to me.
18. For those of you still under the impression that the M buffet is among the best in town, all I can say is that most people get free buffets there and that is what it is worth...do not pay for this buffet. I used a free ticket for the Sunday seafood brunch. It was the same selection as the Friday night seafood brunch with the addition of an omelet station and 4-5 pans of breakfast food replacing some other dishes. Unfortunately I got there early on Sunday so I think most of the food was from Saturday night anyway...I think they have just given up or, since so many are comped, they have let the quality slide. Personally, the Orleans buffet is probably on a par with this one and certainly the Rio is much better now.
ADD. The M sign says $5 premium drinks at all bars but, that is not true so check before you order too many rounds especially if a bar attached to a restaurant. Also, the sign says you can earn comps in the sportsbook which is also untrue. You can only earn comps with your M card in the Racebook for horse bets...you get nothing for sports betting.
19. Drove to Laughlin (about 1.5hrs, an easy drive) to check in at Harrahs and record my cards for the cross country promotion.
20. I stopped at Golden Nugget as I had a $25 free play from them. Used it in a single play machine and hit four deuces and took out a profit of $90. Played BJ for about 40mns and again took out $90. As I was walking out I passed by the empty craps table and thought I might as well use the luck I had and hit three points pulling out a profit of $135 there...a very good stop.
21. Harrahs check in line was long so I checked the bags and played BJ. Won a bit before checking in. Played some VP but, ended up losing about $100 so I ate at the Mexican restaurant there which was very good.
22. Harrahs' rooms are nice, most with a great view but, you should be sure to ask for the adult tower. I know there are some nitwits who take their little kids to Vegas but, Laughlin is a summer vacation destination so expect alot of kids hanging around the river and pool. It should be expected.
