Vegas to Lake Tahoe and Back Again...A Sept Birthday Trip Report

PROLOGUE:
Well, I started to plan this trip right after returning from my Vegas outing in May with Madman Mike.

Flight: I bagged a RT fare from Sun Country Airline for $200 again. These guys run a nice little airline, all the personnel are helpful and courteous and the flights are usually on time. They have a nice feature in that you can opt for a first class upgrade on your Vegas flight for an additional $145. They then waive the fee for your checked bags. You can do the upgrade on-line now, when you do the on-line check in 24 hours before your flight. There's nothing like flying to Vegas 1st class to start out your vacation. Sun Country flies out of the smaller Humphrey terminal at MSP so the security lines are non-existent or very small. I am very happy with these guys.

Car rental: This was probably the best bargain of the trip. I watched the rates with Enterprise almost every day for a solid month and then one night they posted a fare where I could get a Premium sized car (Chrysler 300) for the entire 10 day trip for only $264 which included all taxes and fees. I jumped all over that sucker. I've used Enterprise exclusively for the past several years when I rent in Vegas. I've had some minor issues with them a couple of times (like the time my son found a small bag of "weed" in the console), but overall I've been quite satisfied with the cars and their service. I probably could find a slightly lower rate sometimes, but every once in a while I can get one hell of a deal (like the Lincoln town car I had for 5 days which cost me a whole $85). When I arrived at the rental facility there was no line at the Enterprise counter. Showed the counter person my ID and credit card and was on my way in 30 seconds. I ended up with a new Buick LaCrosse with just 3,600 miles on it. The ride was very comfortable and it had a lot of acceleration..I had it up to 120 MPH on my way to Tahoe...just because.

Hotels: The CET people were kind enough to give me four comped nights at the Rio and one comped night at Harvey's in Lake Tahoe. I had no problem getting three comped nights at the Golden Gate downtown. Since I am Platinum, I can check in at the Diamond check-in area a the Rio. These people are really nice and treat me like a high roller. The lady at the counter set me up with a newly remodeled strip view Samba Suite in the Masquerade Tower. The room was very nice, but I liked the suite that I got upgraded to in the Ipanema tower in May a lot better. One really nice touch...when I returned to my room the next afternoon there was a hand written letter from the lady that waited on me at check-in. She expressed her gratitude that I had chosen the Rio and gave me her personal number to call if I needed/wanted anything during my stay.

Shows: Saw Absinthe, Love and Rita Rudner

My youngest son wanted to join me for part of the trip as he has a lot of unused vacation days. That little weasel was able to get a suite at the Venetian thru Price Line for $90 (not including the dreaded resort fee) for one night. He flew in on Sunday morning and they gave him a fantastic strip view suite without him even asking to get upgraded. He spent his solo day by enjoying their pool area and spent a profitable afternoon in their sports book (Thanks Tony Romo) as the Cowgirls got their asses handed to them. I gave him a coupon for $6 off to see the DaVinci exhibit which he thoroughly enjoyed.

I worked a 16 day stretch before the trip; which included three 14 hour and one 18 hour workdays. When Monday arrived I was about ready to have a meltdown. Keeping tabs on this forum everyday helped keep my sanity. Suck in up boy, Vegas awaits!

Monday Sept 8th:
I finished my 10 hour night shift and arrived home at 0730 to finish packing and tidy up the house a little. My oldest son and daughter-in-law were assigned the task of dropping by everyday to feed and check up on my cat, Nick. I took a two hour power nap and then headed for "The Cities" a little after noon. Mn DOT has been doing a lot of road construction along my route, so I left early to allow for any unexpected delays. They had the road down to one lane in several places, but traffic was very light and I arrived at the park and fly lot with plenty of time to spare. Check-in at Sun Country was a breeze(as usual) and there wasn't any line at the security check-in either. I soon found an empty barstool in the terminal and ordered up a double Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic, took a big gulp and let out a satisfied sigh....ahhhhhh...now I am officially on vacation, what a nice feeling. The flight attendant provided me with another tasty libation before takeoff and another one during our in-flight meal. After polishing off my warm chocolate chip cookie for dessert, sleep came easily dreaming of hitting the hardways at the craps table. The approach to McCarren was a bumpy one as there were storm clouds in the area; the landing was smooth however.

After picking up my car at the rental center I soon arrived at the Rio and checked into my upgraded suite. I unpacked and then called my son to see what he was up to. I met him at the Venetian and we had dinner at the Grand Lux. I still was full from the meal on the plane so I just got the chicken lettuce wraps. We stowed his bag in the car and then took a walk down the strip with getting a $1 Michelob at Casino Royale the first order of business. We casino hopped and I showed Alex the new Linq area and the Cromwell. He couldn't believe the change from Bill's..."Where am I going to get my $9.95 prime rib dinner now?" he asked. It soon was after midnight and the Vegas adrenalin rush was wearing off and I was in desperate need of some sleep. We returned to the Rio and had one last Heineken at the Shutters bar and then called it a night.

The first part of the trip is kind of a blur, so I think I'll do a summary of the front part of my trip.

Dining: We had breakfast at the Peppermill, HHAGG and Bouchon. He thought that the Peppermill was pretty neat. The food was good and the waitress was by several times to check on us. The portions at HHAGG were huge as always. We had our breakfast on the patio at Bouchon..I really enjoyed my sourdough waffles and country sausage. Our waiter was great...great way to start out the day.
Dinner: Big Al's Oyster Bar, Rio buffet and Ruth Chris steakhouse. Alex and I split a dozen oysters at Big Al's and tried to put a dent in the huge bowls of delicious chowder. The buffet had plenty of selections to choose from and the food was good. Their dessert selections are not what they used to be..no carrot cake...the nerve. Ruth Chris was our big meal of the trip. The service was great, but the food was a little disappointing. For price of the meal...I think I can do better next time....food was better when it was the Range.

Entertainment: We saw Absinthe one night and my son loved the show and the off color humor. This was my 3rd time seeing the show and it still is very entertaining and funny as hell. We saw "Love" on Thursday night; great seats right in front of the sound booth. Being a Baby Boomer, I knew all the music; my son was impressed with the show.

We spent one afternoon at Battlefield Vegas on Industrial Blvd shooting automatic weapons...always a fun time. One afternoon was dedicated to some serious pool time at the Rio. Took great care in not getting toasted(as in sunburn, the libations flowed fluently). When we were at the Mirage picking up our Love tickets I was approached by a panhandler and was given his sad story about just getting out of jail and if I could help a "brother" out...sorry bud, no sale. We stopped so my son could get one of those big drinks to go and then this same dude hits on me out on the sidewalk in front of the Mirage. We walked down to Paris so that we could go atop of the Eiffel tower, but first my son wanted to finish his drink. I sat down at a slot machine to kill some time and about 5 minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and there is the same dude from the Mirage hitting on me AGAIN. I looked at him and said, " Look man, are you stalking me? You already hit on me twice over at the Mirage not more than 30 minutes ago." The guy turned and walked away...geesh. There was no line to take the elevator up top; very few people taking in the views from the top of the tower. We watched a couple of the fountain shows and took some pictures of the Strip. A security guard came up to me and asked if I wanted a memorable Vegas moment. "Sure, what do you have in mind?'. He walked over to my son and grabbed him as if he was arresting/handcuffing him. I got a great picture of my son with a smirk on his face like he was drunk and the guard with a scowl on his face like he was really pissed. He looked just like the DEA agent, Hank, on the TV series Breaking Bad. I paid the guy $5 for this classic photo.

After the Eiffel tower we needed a drink so we went over the Cosmo for one of their high end cocktails. Alex had an old fashion and I had a tasty Side Car. I sent the photo of Alex to his older brother with no explanation. A few minutes later I got a text from him...Alex get arrested???. I text back.."Yeah, he was drunk and got caught trying to pee off of the top of the Eiffel tower". This went back and forth for several minutes all the while Alex and I laughing our heads off. Finally I let his brother know what really happened..too funny. We finished off the afternoon by having a lovely Landshark draft at Margaritaville and watched the bikini clad chick slide into the blender,,ahh Vegas.

Gambling: Since my son had a limited gambling budget, I didn't play any table games the first part of the trip. We played mostly VP at various places..me playing bonus poker and him playing Deuces Wild. Alex hit 4 ducks at the Rio for a nice $250 payout. He did well with his sports bets, so he went home a winner; tapering off his gambling the last day in order to preserve his VP win..atta boy. We did have to make a special trip after the Love show over to the Encore. There is a certain roulette table that my son likes to play over there. He says he has never lost at this table. We made the trek and he put $25 down on black...winner... the streak continues. He cashed in after that one bet..."okay we can go now". Steve Wynn's newest acquistion, the Popeye statue was interesting...had 2 "suits" guarding it.

We also spent a very nice couple of hours at the Rio Wine cellar on Tuesday night. Jose set me up with several nice samples of various red wines: Lust Zinfandel, Mast Costasera and a couple of other wines. My son has always wanted to try a scotch that was older than he was...he balked at the $125 price tag for a sample of McCallans 25 yr old a couple of years ago at the Aria. The Wine Cellar had some 30 year old single malt scotch so I treated my son to that. We also had some Hart Brothers 17 year old single malt...good stuff. I always enjoy my time here at the Rio Wine cellar.

Friday Sept 12th:
I wanted to get an early start for Lake Tahoe, but getting Alex going in the morning is like watching the final two minutes of an NFL game...it goes on forever. I dropped him off at Harrah's and had him check his bag with the bell desk. He could catch a cab to the airport from there for his red-eye flight early on Saturday morning. I then turned him loose on Vegas for his last day in town.

I gassed up the car, bought a couple of liters of water and headed out on Hwy 95 for Tahoe. Traffic was light and I cruised all the way to Tonopah before stopping to refuel and grab some food. I had a Whooper at the Burger King there and I must say that it was the best Whopper I have had in a long, long time. The lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes ripe, the onion had a little bite to it, the meat not greasy and the bun was fresh. I was so impressed with the food and service that I wrote them a letter congratulating the management and crew for a job well done when I got back home.

Driving from Carson City to Lake Tahoe is a driving adventure. The road twists and winds its way up into the mountains and then plunges down into town..all the while having the bright sun blinding you. The checkin lady at Harvey's was very nice and upgraded me to a lakeview room without me asking..score. The room was large with a fantastic view of the lake and mountains beyond. The bathroom had a separate room for the toilet and a large tub and a huge walk in shower stall. It had a large flat screen TV, in-room safe, comfortable bed and two very comfortable easy chairs by the windows. I unpacked, poured myself 3 fingers of Four Roses small batch bourbon over ice with a splash of water and sat in front of the window and contentedly watched the sunset...man, this is living....what a view.

There was a big marathon and bicycle race going on during the weekend, so there was a ton of people in town. Trying to find an empty chair at a BJ table was futile and you couldn't even get close to the craps tables. I sat at the bar in the sportsbar at Harveys and had a very tasty burger and fries, washed down with several glasses of PBR drafts. I then found a non-smoking video poker bar with good paytables and played on my $20 for several hours before cashing out even...the Heinekens were nonstop. I crashed in the room around midnight only to be awoken around 3 AM by some people yelling and screaming, running up and down the hallway. I rolled over and quickly returned into my slumber.

Saturday Sept 13th:
I awoke refreshed around 0730, showered, dressed and then ate at Harvey's buffet on the 19th floor. I was seated by the window so I had a great view while I had breakfast. Their coffee at the buffet was very good. After breakfast I walked down the street to where there was a classic car rally going on. Lots of hot rods and classic cars from the 50's and 60's. I then took the gondola up the mountain to the observation deck to get a view of the lake and the countryside. I continued up the mountain and had an IPA at the ski lodge and chatted with a friendly female bartender. She was my age and had come to visit Tahoe 30 years ago and never left. There was a significant forest fire going on west of the lake, so the air was a little hazy over the lake which kind of diminished the view from atop.

I grabbed my map of the lake and decided to take a drive around the lake in the afternoon....what a mess. There were cars all over the place..couldn't find a place to pull over to enjoy the view anywhere. I had to keep my eye on the road because of the traffic, so I only got to catch glimpses of the lake during the drive. The view looking down into Emerald Bay was absolutely gorgeous. I took my time and spent several hours making the 72 mile trek around the lake..time well spent.

Back at the hotel I then poured myself another belt of Four Roses and settled into my easy chair to enjoy another sunset. Dinner was at the 24 hour cafe at Harrahs; the food was average and the service was slow, even though they did not appear to be very busy. I spent a repeat session at the non-smoking bar at Harveys playing bonus poker and consuming several more Heinekens before calling it quits losing only $20. Bedtime was 0100.

Sunday Sept 14th:
I decided to give the 24 hour cafe another try; the food was good and the service was much better this time. I placed a couple of NFL bets at Harvey's sportsbook and then spent the rest of the morning/afternoon watching the games. They have a separate room with 7 big screen TV's to watch the games on. I watched my Lions go down in flames...again. I was all set for some serious payback on my parlay bets when the stupid Seahawks played like shit and blew up all my parlays. I sat at the bar at the sportsbook restaurant and had a PBR and Jameson whiskey neat while watching the Sunday night game. The female bartender knew everyone seated at the bar...must be a favorite hangout for locals. I had a delicious personal sized pizza which turned out to be a lot more food than I thought. I had several slices leftover which became my breakfast the next morning while I was on the road. Cold pizza....the breakfast of champions...or is that chumps?? I then wrestled the VP machine at the non-smoking bar to a draw after several hours of play...walked away dead even.

Monday Sept 15th:
I was up at 0630 and on the road by 0715. I really enjoyed my stay in Lake Tahoe; would very much like to come back for a longer stint in the near future. I drove down the eastern side of California on my return trip to Vegas...beautiful country. This would be a great trip in the early fall on a motorcycle...good roads and beautiful scenery. I took the cut-off south of Bishop to head towards Hwy 95. I found myself on another twisting and winding road the led me to where the Bristlecone pine trees grow. I stopped at the summit and was going to hike up to see these 2000 year old trees, but there was a big bank of storm clouds headed in my direction so I decided to make the hike on another trip. The last thing I wanted to do was get caught in a thunderstorm on a barren mountain ridge at 10,000 feet with a bunch of gnarly looking trees. When I left Lake Tahoe it was 46 degrees. When I arrived in Las Vegas it was 103.

to be continued....A sweet suite at the Gate..doing shots with the female bartenders at Hogs & Heifers, I meet a Timberwolf..and more to come, stay tuned.

Biglar,

Read my report on Battlefield Vegas. I spent the morning there on the 25th. I loved the place too.

Very nice, Larry! I'm looking forward to more interesting reports on your continuing adventures in LV!

As for some more good Lake Tahoe stuff (Video), the Huell Howser Archive has stuff through the "California's Gold" section. He did great TV shows all around California (and some stuff in LV too) -- I previously posted a link to stuff he did between Southern California and Las Vegas (in the LV General Message Board) so you can check that out if you're interested.

You can get to his stuff by going to: https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives. For Lake Tahoe, type Lake Tahoe into the Search function.

And that's nice that you got to spend some vacation time in LV with your son and that you were able to get that classic shot with your son and the security guard!

And I'm sure that was nice going from 46 Degrees to 103 Degrees!

RecVPPlayer

Monday Sept 15th con't:
There was construction on Main St by the Golden Gate, but I followed the signs and dropped off the car at the Valet. The Valet was not too happy with the construction, said it was really hurting his business (tips). The Gate was giving me 3 comped nights, but I had a dilemma: Take a room facing Main St and deal with the street construction noise (they were working even late at night) or take a room facing the alley in which I would be greeted with a 4 A.M. dumpster wake-up call..hmmm. I parried with the pleasant desk clerk and was able to get one of their new suites at a reduced price..sold. Their suites are very nice. Huge sectional couch, flat screen TV, large shower stall (no tub), in-room safe, comfortable bed and plenty of room. There was a large picture on the wall above the couch which showed Dean Martin performing live on stage, and I swear that the guy sitting in the front row was Jack Benny. I quickly unpacked and headed down to the bar for a thirst quenching Heineken. I played Deuces at the bar and lost $20 and after finishing my 2nd brew and headed out onto the FSE. I played VP at the Vue bar at the D and lost another $40 and then bought a roll of quarters and sat down and played the Sigma Derby for at least an hour and a half on that $10(and a couple more Heinekens). I walked over to the Boars Head bar at MSS and played some bonus poker. I ordered a Black Chip porter, but the bartender said that they were out. I told him when I was last here in May they were also out...I whined for a bit, but finally ordered one of there red ales. I got to talking to the guy playing next to me; seemed like he knew a lot about Minnesota. He saw my LVA coupon booklet sticking out of my vest pocket and asked me what my LVA name was, "BIGLAR73" I said. Turns out he is also a long time LVA'er, Timberwolf. He used to live in Minnesota and now lives in the San Diego area and knows Sionow quite well. Timberwolf is a hell of a nice guy and really knows how to get the most from his Vegas comps. He was triple booked downtown in order to take advantage of his freebies. The bartender came over after I had polished off my ale and he set down a nice glass of the porter in front of me...SWEET. Timberwolf and I chatted while we played, but it soon became apparent that we both were in a serious QUAD drought. Starting to feel desperate, I whipped out my lucky Vegas "Helen" quarter and laid it on the bar for luck.

Background on my "Helen" quarter:
Several years ago I was out to Vegas with a group of 6 other guys(all co-workers). One afternoon 5 of us ended up at the Orleans casino and started to play roulette. We sat there at the same table from 3 PM til 9 PM
betting and drinking heavily. We just could not lose. One of my co-workers took out a quarter, it was one of those state quarters, this one was for Alabama. On the back side of this quarter is a portrait Helen Keller. Okay, stay with me folks this is where it gets a little strange (you had to be there). Brock (my co-worker) flips the quarter in the air and lets it land on the floor. Helen's portrait faces up...Helen Keller was blind, so she was "in the dark"...let's bet on black. This is after Brock as had 7 or 8 Stoli's and 7. For the rest of our play Brock would pull out that quarter every now and then, give it a flip and if Helen showed up we bet on black, if she was down we bet on red.....worked about 85% of the time. As our chip piles grew larger and our cheers grew louder we started to draw a small crowd of spectators behind us. Finally we decided to call it a night and flip "Helen" one last time for the final spin. (Brock is up to 18 Stoli's) He flips the coin, it lands on the carpet and rolls underneath the table, facing up...oh, Helen is really in the dark now. We start shoving our chips onto black; people behind us start throwing money on top of our chips. Two suits walk over for the finale. The ball bounces around and up comes black...winners. A small riot broke out in celebration...it took the dealer about 10 minutes to pay everyone off.

After we cashed in our chips we walked over and sat at the counter at Big Al's Oyster Bar for some much needed food...we were all pretty much wasted at that point. Brock is sitting next to me and starts chatting up two good looking twin sisters who happen to be strippers. Brock points to me and tells them in a matter of fact manner that I am a renowned Urologist from the Mayo Clinic and that I am treating him and the rest of our group to a Vegas outing; something I do for the "guys" every year. Now, I am so drunk that I can barely sit upright on my stool and the girls look a little skeptical. I ask them where they are from, "Seattle" they say. Okay, my daughter went to college in Seattle and I visited her several times while she was in school and I know the Seattle area fairly well. I brightened up and said, "Seattle you say. I was just there a couple of weeks ago giving a seminar at the Swedish Medical Center". (a large hospital located in the Capital Hill district). The girls were dumbstruck....they bought it hook, line and sinker. Only in Vegas.

Anyhow, when I returned home I found a Alabama state quarter and had Brock "bless" it over a couple of beers. Helen has been my constant Vegas companion every since. She works great at the roulette tables, but not so much when I play video poker.

And that's the story about Helen, but I digress....back to the trip.

We played for quite a while and still didn't hit any quads. I hadn't had anything to eat since my on the road breakfast of cold pizza so I said my goodbyes to Timberwolf and when seeking some nourishment. I stumbled over to the Market St cafe and had a bowl of ox tail soup....really hit the spot. It had been a long day, so I headed back to the Gate and crashed in the room.

Tuesday Sept 16th:
I slept in today and didn't crawl out of bed until around 10 o'clock. I had breakfast at the counter at Dupar's and then ran my free play from the Gate and busted out. I walked over to the El Cortez and cashed in my LVA coupon for $10 in free play. I sat at the parlour bar and ordered up a Bulleit martini and turned my free play into a tidy $60 profit. I played at the Vue bar again and lost $20. Time to head for Hogs and Heifers.

Hogs and Heifers is a biker bar located just north of the FSE, right across from the Downtown Grand casino. There were three female bartenders occasionally dancing atop the bar and using a bullhorn to shout insults to the patrons..my kind of place. My bartender had the trick of placing her shot glass on the bar, putting her mouth around the glass and tippling it up to down the drink, without using her hands,,she was pretty good at it...we did several shots just so she could practice. I then departed and walked over to the Grand and played some VP at the bar...cashed out $20 ahead. I decided to play some BJ so I walked over to a shoe game, the dealer motioned for me to put my money on the felt, but I told her that I would wait until the end of the shoe which got me a nod of approval from the 3 people sitting at the table. I stood back to watch the game and then a few minutes later a guy walks up and sits down at the table and buys in. For the rest of the shoe he is making bad plays and when the shoe is over the other 3 players color up and leave. I look and this guy and say to myself,,to hell with this I'm not playing with him at the table....turn and out the door I went.

Back at the Gate I realized that I had forgot to print out my ticket for Rita Rudner's show on Wednesday night. I had bought it through TicketMaster. I asked the lady at the hotel desk to see if she could print out the ticket for me...."Sure, no problem". Unfortunately TicketMaster had asked me to change my password a few days before my trip and for the life of me I couldn't remember my new password. I spent the next hour up in my room with my I-phone and I finally was able to re-set my password. The lady at the desk was very patient with me and I finally was able to get the ticket printed and safely stored away in my in-room safe.

I had been drinking all day so I decided to take the SDX downtown and then take the shuttle over to the Rio. I then spent a couple of hours at the Wine Cellar sampling some wine and chatting with Jose. Had some excellent whites this time. The Oregon Pinot Gris, from Four Graces is very good. I then reversed by trek and landed back downtown. I walked over to the Market St cafe again only to find that it was closed for cleaning. They said that I could eat at the Pasta Pirate...only there was a 30 minute wait...I'm outa here. I had a burger and fries at the counter over at Binions and then finished off the night playing at the Vue bar at the D.

Wednesday Sept 17th:
I slept in again today, getting up around 10 AM. The lady at the desk greeted me with "Happy Birthday, sir" when I got off of the elevator. I wouldn't get that at a Strip hotel. I had the French toast at Dupars for breakfast and the waiter remembered me from yesterday, "Welcome back!". I played some slots at the Gate, VP at the D and then ended up at MSS at the Boars head bar, only to run into Timberwolf again. I sat at the next seat and again we went into a QUAD drought. I was beginning to think that Timberwolf thought that I was bad luck, so I decided to head back to the Gate and get ready for the evening. I made a temporary detour at the craps table at the Gate. Steven the pit boss I know was the box man at the table. I bought in for $200 and the dice were not kind. Thirty minutes later I was down $150 so I bailed out. The dealers really appreciated my bets that I made for them, as I was the only one at the table that was doing so. I lost money, but had a good time talking to Steven (he is from my hometown) and joking with the dealers.

I picked up the car from the Valet and drove over to the Rio and headed...you know where....the Wine Cellar. Mary Ann gave me a big kiss, set me up with a flight of some big Cabs. She also brought out a tray of various cheeses for me to try. Mary Ann brought out a 30 year old port for me to try. Now, I am not a big fan of port wines, but this stuff was great.

I drove over and self parked at Harrah's and sat down at a slot to kill some time before the show. I shoved a $20 in and about two minutes later I hit three red 7's for a nice payout. I immediately cashed out and headed for the theater. I had great seats for Rita, dead center, six rows from the stage, with no one sitting in the row in front of me. Rita put a a good show, funny without resorting to profanity. She was playing to an older crowd (I almost felt like a kid) and her humor was well received. This was not the best Vegas show that I have been to, but Rita has been around for quite a while and I decided this was my best chance to see her. I had a good time, but once will be enough.

I drove back down Main St toward the Gate only to find that the road was blocked off and I could not get to the Valet area. I circled around and parked in the Golden Nugget self park and walked over to the Gate. I asked the Valet about my car and he said that I could come in from the north and tell the construction workers that I needed to get to the Golden Gate Valet and they would let me pass. Took my parking ticket back to the Nugget and tried to get it validated at the cashiers cage. They had a sign that said to go to the players club for validation. I walk over to the players club and the lady curtly tells me that the players club desk is closed and that I need to go to the cashiers to validate my ticket. I tell them that I was just there and that the sign directed me to here. She shrugged her shoulders and pointed to toward the cage. Nice little reminder why I don't like the Nugget, will never stay at the Nugget and will never give them any play. Finally got the ticket validated, circled around FSE, had a brief conversation with a gruff construction worker and finally made it to the Valet. I played some bonus poker over at the D and then came back and sat down at a BJ table at the Gate. I played one on one with a cute female dealer and was doing well. They changed dealers and my new dealer was a real looker, but she was new and was having difficulty added up the numbers. She made a few mistakes, tried taking my money when I had a 19 and she had 25, but I politely corrected her and we had a good time. I hit a cold streak toward the end of the session and cashed out only $40 to the good...on well, a win is a win.

Thanks for this report and thanks as well for the interesting story about "Helen"!

As for the construction along Main Street, in August I asked one of the workers how long this construction was expected to take and she told me about a year (I don't know whether or not to believe that) but (if I'm remembering correctly), she said that it was to replace all the plumbing and I think electrical stuff) there.

As for that photo that you think may have had Jack Benny in it, that certainly could be since I know that Jack Benny loved LV! As a matter of fact, he had an episode of his earlier radio show as well as his later TV show set in LV and the story dealt with his casino play on a Slot Machine. In addition, I know that in the hallway with all of the photos (which if I'm remembering correctly is also by where the vending machines are) in El Cortez Casino, there is a photo with a Slot Machine with a sign on it saying that it is reserved for Jack Benny (and he is in that photo as well if I'm remembering correctly).

As for the Boars Head Bar at MSS, I actually visited it and played 9/6 JOB VP at it in August and I thought it was nice. I was there very early in the morning (around 6AM I think) with a friend and the bar was otherwise empty. I also went on a Quad drought during that session but did come back in the end to break even although my friend did hit two Quads and ended up getting $2 and $3 Scratch Cards as well.

And yes, a win is a win no matter how little it might be. That's why I was fine cashing out breaking even since I was down a good part of that session.

So please keep your further trip adventures coming!

And just a note to let you know that I have now updated the link that I made of the Huell Howser shows since I found another episode that had to do with another location (the city of Amboy) that has signs for the city on Interstate 15.

RecVPPlayer

Thursday Sept 18th:
My last day in Vegas...I'm feeling depressed; or do I have a hangover? I started to get my things together and then I couldn't find Helen anywhere. Egad!! Helen is missing!! I looked through all my clothes twice, thoroughly searched the room...nope, Helen is MIA...oh, the humanity. I packed up and went down to Dupars for breakfast...French toast again. I checked out and left my luggage at the hotel desk and won $20 playing a Playboy slot at the Gate. I then sat down at a BJ table and played one on one for about 10 minutes before a group of four ladies from Texas descended on my table and bought in; two on each side of me...oh my. These ladies were pretty funny and we had a good time. I cashed out up $100 and wished my tablemates good luck and headed out for the D one last time. I played bonus poker for quite a while at the Vue bar..upstairs was empty..and broke even. I lost $20 at the 4Q's playing one of the Silver Strike slot machines...no silver coin this time. Played a little VP at the Boars Head bar...no quads...again. Then finished off the trip playing craps again at the Gate. Steven was the box man again. It was a choppy session, but the dealers were very happy when I placed a two way hard six bet which the shooter hit on the very next roll. I ended up losing only $50 bucks, but had a fun time.

I picked up my bags and went out to the Valet. As soon as he saw me, he grabbed the keys and headed for my car, without even looking at my ticket. I dropped off the car at the rental center without incident, hitched a ride on the shuttle bus and was soon at Terminal 3. Picked up another 1st class upgrade and headed for the nearest pub. Our flight was 30 minutes late...no big deal. We had meat loaf with mashed potatoes for our in-flight meal, washed down with a couple of gin and tonics. I drifted off after dinner and woke up as we made the approach to MSP.

The computer was down at the park and fly lot so it took forever for the boothling to process everyone, but I was on the road home around 12:30 AM. The night was an inky void of darkness and I was watchful for deer crossing the highway. Fortunately the only whitetail I saw was when I arrived in Rochester....standing my the city limits sign. This trip is over.

EPILOGUE:
I enjoyed each and every day of this trip. My son and I had a good time; he talked my ear off..about his job, his new apartment, his big meeting that he was setting up for the company the following week....not used to so much chatter. The drive to Tahoe and back was a long one, but I got to see a good portion of the Great American West. I was only approached by one panhandler downtown, which is a big improvement from previous trips. Unfortunately this was another losing trip...3rd in a row...ouch. Saw three shows, had some great wine, talked to some interesting people...hope to meet up with you, Timberwolf, on some future trip; but still did not get to do everything that I had planned on. I didn't get over to see the new SLS casino and have yet been able to take the time to sit at the bar at the Stage Door....next trip.

Depending on how things go this fall, I might try and squeeze in a solo trip in December. At any rate we are in the planning stages of a guys trip for St Patrick's day in March. Madman Mike is on board, so is Mark and Freddie Five Fingers...should be an interesting trip.

Miracles of Miracles......I did my laundry when I got home and when I opened the dryer, out popped Helen onto the floor. Welcome back, girl....ready to take on the roulette tables on the next Vegas excursion....til then.

This was a rather lengthy trip report....thanks for reading, take care.

VegasVP: This as my 3rd trip to Battlefield Vegas in the past year. I really like this place vs the Gun Store over on Tropicana. The range people seem a lot more personable and don't try and rush you through; plus the place is really convenient to get to from the Strip.

RecVP: Managing 46 degree weather is a piece of cake. The stores here are already advertising their snowblowers on sale. Thanks for the info on Tahoe....will give it a read when I get the chance.


Glasses can affect your vision; especially when they have been emptied several times.....

Spring Break 2000 !!!

BigLar:

Great Trip Report...As my good friend would say "that's living, brother!"

I just got back from a long weekend at harveys myself but my drive was only about 3 hours. The VP is good and the bartenders are friendly. I especially like Paul at the heavenly Bar and Greg at the non smoking Players (Blue Moon) bar. The gal you were speaking of is Nicole and is very nice.

Next time, be sure to go up the Diamond Lounge located on the 12th floor. On Saturday, they had a carving station with Beef Brisquet. Excellent! The elevator gal is Jeanie who manages a joke during the way up. Her offering for this last trip... "Did you hear they are making a movie about Constipation?" Well, it hasn't come out yet!

Driving from Vegas to Tahoe??? That is one Looonnnggg drive. Of course, if you are driving 120mph, it makes it quicker. Me? As soon as I got over 80, sure as anything, a cop would be right there.

It's a beautiful area, the VP is decent and the employees there are very friendly. Life is Good.

Ted in Chico

What I meant by the weather was what a nice big difference in the temperatures. I know that since you're in Minnesota, 46 Degrees is nothing. For me, being a native Southern Californian, I'm about frozen at 50 Degrees.

As for the info on Lake Tahoe, it is all video information. It is Huell Howser television shows (from the Huell Howser Archives). I really liked him (he unfortunately passed away last year). And he did a whole lot of shows on things all over California from one end to the other. And the LV show that he did I thought was also very good! So check it out when you can.

Sorry that you had another losing trip and I'm happy that you relocated Helen! Do you have her in some kind of covering to help protect her?

RecVPPlayer