I suppose this might belong in the Travel Game forum, but that forum appears to be deceased for over a year now. And just so you know up, my total gambling at MGM and Caesars properties this year probably amounts to less than $300, so I'm not entitled to any comps or status that way.
The wife and I decided to have a one-day staycation at the Bellagio the day before Thanksgiving, and I was surprised, as a local, just how much I enjoyed being a tourist. So many locals I know go around bragging that "I never go to the Strip," which I think is kind of sad. I call it, "locals disease."
Anyway, I had an 11:00 AM check-in with an automatic room upgrade, but I screwed that up. I did it online because they promised I could immediately go straight to my room which sounded cool. But what I confirmed later with someone at the desk was that if I had checked in early in person, I could have offered to wait a bit and got a far better room. But what I got was very nice, with a partial view of the fountain, and was only slightly smaller than my condo. (But I have a very small condo.)
You can use either a key card or the MGM app which is then required to get into your room AND to operate the elevator AND to get access to the elevator - which I think is a bit of overkill. I chose the app which was probably a mistake because it involved fumbling with my phone a few times.
I was gifted with a $160 food comp at check-in, and it was nice getting in the infinitely shorter Gold and above line for the buffet, so we only had to wait about 20 minutes. But I wasn't impressed with the buffet at all. I mean it was all well-prepared and high quality, but considering the price, it just didn't seem special. If they were still open I would prefer the Mirage or Paris buffets, and for me, it was well below Caesars and the Wynn. Hell, back in the day when Sam's Town had fresh stir-fry shrimp and chocolate mousse for dessert, I would have preferred that. And I'm usually a fairly generous tipper, which I did in advance, but that was a mistake too. The beverages were self-serve so there was virtually no table service except for clearing plates. And paying bussers with tips is just a way of subsidizing the restaurant in my opinion.
Sadelle's for breakfast the next morning was a winner. The service was prompt and friendly and the food was very good. And they have offbeat dishes for breakfast, like salmon benedict and hard salami and eggs. I mean if you're not going to try weird stuff, you might as well stay home. And it borders on the botanical garden, so it's a great view and fun for people watching. So if you're there to pig out for breakfast, maybe the buffet, but if you're there for the food and service, Sadelle's.
Dinner was at Gordon Ramsay Pub, where I've enjoyed eating many times before. We're not much on eating beef, so the total bill is always pretty moderate. When my wife ordered the fish and chips, the waiter started to warn her about something, but I interrupted with what I already knew. Which is, that the accompanying peas are mashed, mint-flavored, and taste terrible. He agreed.
My policy for betting the very negative EV games on the Strip is simply not to bet at all, but my wife found the next best thing at the Bellagio. She was perfectly happy playing five nickles at a time on a Spin Poker machine, and I was happy not playing and just supervising. When she asked my advice on how to play a hand, my response was, "who cares, it's just a quarter bet." But she liked it a lot, and in the process of losing less than $20 over two days, we got cocktail service several times, which surprised me. I count that as a win.
The day before Thanksgiving was cold, but Thanksgiving day was warmer and sunny. They only had the main pool open, none of the neat ones with Roman fountains. It would have been a little chilly getting in the regular pool, but it would have been great weather for the hot tub. So new rule: from now on I'm bringing my swim trunks regardless of the weather prediction.
We took a walk through Caesars and then to the Mirage, playing a little, and on the spur of the moment went into the Siegfried and Roy dolphin and big cat exhibit. I was last there maybe 20 years ago, and I recalled it as being very boring. Maybe I was expecting Sea World back then, or maybe it's a matter of getting older, but this time I really liked it. The low-key dolphin training sessions were fun and very up close, and the big cats were out and active. The white lion was absolutely stunning, and they had the most muscular tiger I think I've ever seen. Well worth the $25 each.
Now here's why this possibly should have been posted in the Travel Game forum. My stay at the Bellagio including the resort fee and my meals at the Pub, Sadelle's, and the buffet, including tips, totaled.......$90. And did I mention that I hardly gamble? And that I get to stand on the short lines at MGM and Caesars because I am Gold/Platinum? Not to mention the 11 AM check-in and 4 PM checkout perk and free parking. And I hardly gamble there.
Here's how I did it, and I don't know why (almost) everyone doesn't do it like this. My Amex Platinum gave me $200 toward the $176 room before upgrade and also the $160 toward food, plus the room upgrade, 11 AM check-in, and 4 PM check-out. My Barclays Earner business card gave me automatic Diamond status with Caesars, resulting in a $100 food comp at Ramsay's Pub. But when I showed my Diamond card to MGM they status-matched me to Gold. (I also matched with the Wynn, getting Platinum, but that's another story.) (And Caesars Diamond means I get four nights this month at the Atlantis in the Bahamas plus $50 gambling money for just the cost of the resort fee, but that's another story.)
If you pay your bills on time and make a decent income you can probably qualify for the Amex Platinum. I've been in the lending business, and I am not anybody's idea of solid gold credit. I have a tiny mortgage on my tiny condo, and I've had a couple of tiny car loans on my tiny cars, all of which I've paid on time. And while the Barclay's card is a business card, ask yourself, have you ever sold anything on eBay? Congratulations, you're a business. And incidentally, the idea is NOT to spend money to get points, it's to spend enough to get the sign-up bonus points, and then put that card away and start earning points on the next sign-up bonus. In spite of flying cross-country multiple times and flying to Spain this year, I'll have over 1.5 million points and miles very soon, and I've only been doing this three years. Traveling by air is no longer a cost consideration for me.
Amex just jacked up their fee tremendously, so it's no longer worth it for us to have two cards. So I'm paying a $175 fee so I can make my wife and another relative authorized users. But as soon as each of them spends $2,000, I get another 20,000 points each. And 40,000 Amex points is worth conservatively $700 in air travel. So it seems there's always a way to make it work. If you are interested, I suggest starting at thepointsguy.com. That site had changed my life.
