10th Trip to Vegas: G/f's 30th Birthday!

[Lucky Larry]

Vman96,
Enjoyed the trip report and pic's. I missed whether you went to Red Rock Casino when you went to RR Canyon. Great place to see and play.

LL

[Vman96]

Vman, nice travelogue. Next time you are in Vegas and have transportation, you may want to check out the Ethel M chocolate factory in Henderson. M&M is nicer but Ethel M has better chocolate. Not sure if you are a pinball person, but the Pinball Hall of Fame is a nice place to go. All machines are playable for whatever the original coinage. There is no entrance fee.

Glad you had a good trip.

Haha...we actually have been to both places. Ethyl M was part of the Hoover Dam tour we took in 2012. Interesting place, and good chocolate of course...but pricey for our cheap selves. G/f mainly went to Hershey's World because it was "new" to see.   

The pinball hall of fame we hit last year. I played a few games. Nice diversion, but I suck at pinball...

Vman96,
Enjoyed the trip report and pic's. I missed whether you went to Red Rock Casino when you went to RR Canyon. Great place to see and play.

LL

Yep, it was a small blurb as I didn't have a single hit there. Lost $50 in less than an hour playing FPDW and 8/5 Bonus w/Dream Card. There was a pic of the g/f getting a 80X win on a "Pompeii" slot. Even though I havent done well there, Red Rock casino is definitely very nice, one of the nicest "local" casinos in Vegas!



Thank you, birthday girl/gf-I LOVED THEM  Your b/f is a lucky guy.  You took some awesome photos!

She says thanks!

And in the final part she has her biggest hits too!

[Vman96]

Sun. Sept. 7th: G/f's Luxor B-Day Surprise! Move to Mandalay, Sam's Town, and TAG Lounge w/grosx2

Check out of MC, make a $5 bet on Caroline Wozniacki vs. Serena Williams in the US Open Final at -375. I meant to bet her in 2011, when she would have won, but I didn't. Thought it was a sign... FYI, she's prettier than this usually I think...but look at the gestures plus caption:



Go back to Orleans for their Champagne Brunch buffet.

G/f's favorite wall, on the way to the MC garage.


Wait in line at Orleans for about 20 minutes because they only have one cashier at 11:45am...bah Eat it, was pretty good (better than Gold Coast) but nothing to blow me away, but still leave pretty full. Go back to the Bourbon St. bar for another Blue Hawaiian, and now the progressive was over $1700 so 7/5 Bonus was over 99.6%.   Was able to hit this to double my $20 buy-in.



Check-in to Mandalay Bay, ask for a room near the elevator for her mom and no adjoining door. We got the adjoining door, but at the dead end of the hall. We thought about going back down immediately for another room, but her mom insisted it would be fine. Considering we were locked out the next day because she didn't tie the reservations together correctly and our a/c didn't do a ton even set at 60F, yeah we should have immediately switched.

G/f eagerly wanted to hit the pool since she loves the pool and that is definitely MB's highlight. But skies were questionable. I flip on CBS (in HD!!!) and see that Caroline is losing...dammit. So we decide to go to Luxor for the moment instead to get her birthday freeplay. Unfortunately the Milfe desk at Luxor is quite busy for 3pm on a Sunday, and only 4 of 6 desks are open. So that meant another 20-minute line. While she waited, I decide to check how low the poker progressive was that I played on Friday night.

Did I say low? I meant HIGH!!!


Apparently the royal didn't hit yet. I couldn't get on it though. All ten units were full...Big Shock!!!

So go back to wait in line with the g/f and her dad. At this point he is getting pissed we had to wait so long. He pretty much rips into the lady at the desk about how it's ridiculous that not all the spots at the desk are open. She pretty much listens to him with a deaf ear (don't blame her), and after he leaves, I apologize to her. She said it was no big deal (she probably gets it a lot). So she sets up the wheel on the $100 spot (1 wedge of roughly 80, maybe 76?). There are 3 $50 wedges, and 4 branches with 3 each of $25, 12 of 3 of $10, and 8 of 3 of $5. If that's the case from my fuzzy memory, the “average spin” is about $13.50. She spins the wheel real, real hard. It makes about 8 revolutions. As it slows down it's approaching a $50 wedge...so it's either $50 or $5. Tick, tick, tick...Bam!!! Lands on $50!!! So at least it was worth the wait!

After that I run back to the VP, just in case someone quit. I do see an open seat or two...because of this:




Lucky guy, not me, is the one standing under the sign. Probably the highest quarter progressive I'll ever see in my life!!! If played optimally, 9/5 JoB is 107.8%. The game he played, 9/5 DDB, was 107.3%. I would have tried to snap a pic of the royal, but suits were around, and it wasn't my royal. He just needed one card. Clubs, I think? The Royal was worth over 12% in either variant.

So then check on my g/f and how she's doing with the freeplay. Holding her own.

Go to Aurora bar to get a beer. This one in particular.



I watched a guy play deuces with 4 quarters per hand...ugh. He also was dealt three deuces once and I think he held a royal card too...ugh. I think I lose $5 at the best quarter option, 6/5 Bonus. Then go back to the g/f. No big hits, but converts $50 into $35 on the penny slots. Not terrible.

Now we go back to MB, weather still looking questionable, so we hang around the room for a bit. By about 5:45, it looks to be letting up, so we go down there even though it's dreary. They let us bring in our own cheap innertubes like MC did, so that was a plus. We stay until closing (7pm), and the lifeguards were collecting the innertubes they sell. They ask us if we want them. Um...yes!!! Standard procedure is they trash them if you leave them behind. Well, at least that well help cover the resort fees they charged!

After this we decide on Fridays at Sam's Town for dinner. Definitely wanted to hit Sam's Town on the trip, but it seemed like a timesuck here. Mainly because we had issues at Friday's, slow service, got our order wrong, etc. Took almost 90 min. to eat...yikes!

We stick around Sam's to play for a bit, I grab a beer at the Winchester bar, and scurry to the Full Pay Deuces (100.76%) units. I see aaisack again banging away at the Deuces game, so I plop into the seat next to him and say hello again. He informs me that he's hit another Royal, having a great trip, and was excited about the extra cash he would have for the “old school” video games convention. And I resume to being a cooler for him. He makes 3 natural quads while playing deuces, and misses a 4 to a Royal in front of me I think.

I get a decent amount of Deuces play in because my g/f drags her mom to the laser show.



The best I could do:


Overall $8 loss at Sam's for 2 Buds, it'll do, and then we run back to the Strip to go to the Linq area. At first I suggest parking at TI because she wanted to show them Venetian too, but then we realize that's just too far. Now she wants to park at Harrah's. I worry because of rain chances. But I relent, and it was the much better choice since it didn't rain. She shows them Venetian, Harrah's, Linq, Flamingo, and Quad while I run off to meet grosx2, another VMBer, at TAG lounge.

We've talked about meeting several times in the past year or so when I visited Chicago, but it never worked out. So when I learned he was in Vegas when I was, I definitely wanted to meet up. He was in for a bachelor's party, but he stayed in Vegas longer than his buddies did. So he was pretty much solo Sunday evening. I suggested TAG lounge because I am a craft beer snob slash I hadn't had the chance to drink there yet.

Some of the beers I remember trying...I was only smart enough to take a pic of one of them before grosx2 arrives.



Then I had this, apparently brewed with hemp seed from...Utah! LOL


Then I really think I forgot what was my next choice was...dammit.

Then grosx2 suggests that I try something from Ommegang Brewery. I'm not usually a fan of Witbiers, but it's pretty good.



Some of the pics the g/f snapped while showing her parents around:














grosx2 and I had a good time chatting and trying some new beers, but no quads for either of us playing 7/5 Triple Bonus Plus (97.67%). Ugh! My g/f has a little better luck playing VP with her dad on the Margaritaville floor.





Almost her first Royal ever...but just a “pity flush”



grosx2 suggests that we move over to Ballys as they have 25-play 7/5 Bonus w/STP (98.29%) for pennies (no mininum bet)! I agree...but then I run into the g/f and her family. Since she is driving, I thought it was a better idea to go back to the hotel with them. But I tell them to wait about 15 minutes to wrap things up with grosx2. But he has exhausted his stake for the bartop and ready to move. So we exchange goodbyes, and I order this to slam real fast.



But without grosx2 there to BS with, I play faster than my super snail pace and can't hit ****!!! I might have lost a dozen hands in a row, and I think this beer cost me $25 in play alone! D'Oh!

Final Tally for the day...minus 40ish.

Monday Sept. 8th: Final Full Day...Try to Tie Up Bunches of Loose Ends

We sleep in later than we ever have this trip as at least her Dad has shifted to late nights in Vegas. We finally get moving just in time for lunch. We are indecisive about where to eat, but we decide to eat near the Premium Outlets – South as there are a few food options, but first, we stop by the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

It's gonna pour...


We get to Premium Outlets – South. I typically just have a Coke at this hour. But I note Smashburger's beer selection is particularly “crafty” and "local". One is a Double IPA (9.3% ABV) from Henderson, and I inquire about the price, figuring it's more than I'd want to spend. He says $3.50?!?!?! Sold!!!



Near the end of lunch, it starts coming down...hard. I suggest we go to SLS via I-15 North, avoiding the Linq area completely, apparently that was a smart move.

[youtube]wrqwMNunGuo[/youtube]

We get off on Spring Mountain because the GPS said it was faster, but the intersection definitely had a few inches of water. But we make it through and valet.

The crappy weather and the ass end of the mascot.


The main bar...only has 10 VP units, wtf???



I run off on various VP searches, get a Bud, and eventually find the “good, cheap VP”. I figured it was initally worth a stab at quarters:

When DDB pays 50 credits for a full house “it's a good thing” (40(SF)/10/6 DDB - 99.96%):


Unfortunately that's the best it could do with that game at quarters, so I move to 99.95% Pick 'Em for dimes (the game that kept me afloat this trip):



Got tired of that slash losing more money, move to “Almost Perfect Deuces Wild” (99.96%) for nickels.



I text my g/f where I was about 2:45 as we were supposed to meet at 3. At 3:10 I remembered she left her phone in the hotel room. Oops. So I look thru the casino to find them, took me longer than it should have considering the size. Then I suggest a tradition we've had from Tunica, a $5 “video poker challenge”. Play nickels for 20 minutes or you bust, whichever comes first.   Her Dad joined in too. I always seem to win these things.



Then with a little under 10 minutes to go, I hear a loud beep on my phone announcing a flood warning, so I suggest maybe we should cut this short and head back to the hotel (again avoiding Linq/Quad), just in case. Of course with the VP paytables there, I would have been okay if we were stranded...lol And I would end up doing something to get my way anyway...

So we get back to MB, and we chill out for a little bit. Around 5:30 or so, it is lightening up, and we decide to go to midstrip, and suggest to park at bally's as we have some freeplay there and at Quad. But I misdirect her, and we are forced to park at Cromwell instead.



We go to Flamingo to get everyone Margaritaville cards:



We leave her parents to gamble there a bit more (they liked it there last night), and we run off to the Quad for the freeplay. We try to get a seat at TAG lounge, but there aren't two consecutive seats open because of Monday Night Football. We go over to the Catalyst Bar instead. I get this while she gets a Sierra Nevada.



This beer costs me though. Over retail I think. And it was my only 90-minute IPA of the trip! :(

Then we head to O'Sheas, and both get a Lagunitas IPA.



Poor bartender is swamped though as it's O'Shea's and no one is helping her. Takes like ten minutes, but I win in the process. Lots of trips dealt...no quads though! :( I lose about $5 net between the places.

Still gloomy but the Linq is dry now:






Now we're getting hungry and I suggest that we have Five50 Pizza at Aria. I partly suggest this because my degenerate poker play on Friday night earned $22.62 in Aria comps. Poker earns $2/hr and $3/hr between 5 and 10 am (which I had covered...lol). So we head over to Aria about 8, and I redeem my poker comps while picking up a copy of “Bluff” magazine. Generally I never read this, but a girl in my private poker forum since 2005 was on the cover this month. Nice girl, and great no-limit player, and met her in 2012 during the WSOP.

Room of my degeneracy to earn a ~free Pizza...


Random Flowers:



My poker comps cover most of the pizza. A sausage pizza was $25, Yikes! Buttttt....it was one of the best pizzas I've had in a long time!!! The only drawback is it wasn't that big for 4 people for dinner. More like 2 to 3. But we figured we'd have another snack later if needed.

Bail on Aria after that (no 8/6 Boner Deluxe w/DSTP (98.99%)!!! :( ), park at Paris. Her dad loves Paris because they have a bunch of old reel slots. We run over to Bally's for free play.

“Bally's: Center of the Action”


Play the freeplay on the 7/5 Bonus w/STP for pennies. Don't get much. A few bucks returned. Go back over to Paris. I get some beers at Gustav's. Also realize the “error” I found in February had been “fixed”. Dammit!!! In February, one bartop unit at Gustav's was misprogrammed to be 10/6 DDB (100.07%) instead of 8/5 DDB (96.79%). Oh well, at least I profited over $100 on it last trip I guess.

I tried to get Lagunitas IPA at Paris, but the keg exhausts. I settle for Sierra Nevada. But the tap was off and it was tough to swallow. It probably hasn't been cleaned in a long while... I gave my g/f a sip and she agreed. She gets a virgin strawberry daiquiri and the machine was set to one quarter. She might have done that, not sure. But the bartender notices it right away and tells her to bet max (and “consistently” to boot). First time we have ever heard that at a CET property (even it if is technically “the rule”). If she ordered alcohol, fine, but she didn't even ask for booze!!! WTF? Bartenders seem to love her like that...*shakes head*

Getting closer to midnight, so we wrap things up at Paris. At that hour, that place is a pain to get out of. Hate to see a weekend. Au revoir!!! À bientôt!!!





We drop her parents off at Mandalay Bay about midnight, but I have more energy and an “Ace in the Hole”. I forgot to cash out a ticket at SLS worth about $2.80. It's just enough to be able convince the g/f to drive us back there. This time we self park.

Pool from parking garage elevator. Looks better than a CET pool I guess...


Hotel Entrance:


Weird Mascot Says: “Yay!!! I win moneys!!!”


After midnight the Sportsbook bar is closed, and the main bar is swamped. I want beer dammit! But we take our chances on the waitresses on the floor, and I was pleasantly surprised with the speed. Even though she forgot one of my orders. We settle once again at the “flea's video poker paradise”, obviously.

The bank in question with the goofy mascot sticking his tongue out as a centerpiece:

Settle in at about 12:30am, G/f settles in to her favorite game, DDB, and I do the same for awhile.

12:42am...Bam!!! G/f's biggest hit of the trip. Yes, she is a super flea...lol



Three minutes later, I catch up!!



G/f decides to quit when she gets down to $35 ($30 profit), and trying to keep the g/f happy, I switch to 99.95% Pick 'em so g/f can still be “involved”. In this game, there are often decisions where either choice is equivalent. And of course, if that's the case, I'd let her pick. Unfortunately, no real big hits to show, but I don't lose anything either. We stay another 30 minutes or so until 1:15. I cash out ~$50 with $12.85 initially.

Now with the upswing, plus last night in Vegas...I have lots of energy. My g/f cuts me loose at Mandalay Bay now. I do a bartop check on the two “open bars” Mizuya Lounge was full when I first looked. Unfortunately, those 2 other bars are dollar minimums. But I settle in the main bar near eyecandy, where Lagunitas IPA was available. I play $1 Blackjack, and here they actually let you double down on 10, 11 and split! Sounds pathetic but this is good for bartops! To slow down my roll, I was checking VMB a bit while playing. They also have the odd rule of the dealer must stand on 6 cards, but it didn't help me here:



The bartender was really friendly though, and I was able to get a few beers in quick order. He closed the bar at 3am and asked if I would want a fourth even though I barely started the 3rd...haha I politely declined since I was planning to still check out the previously crowded Mizuya Lounge (which would still remain open).

But on the way to Mizuya Lounge, I got distracted by this (the best VP quarter unit at MB: “Loose Deuces” (99.20%), but unfortunately, this was my best hand in a tiny run at it.



Then I found this slot I like (8?.??%), I won $5 on it:



Then finally get to Mizuya Lounge. Glad I don't ask for another Lagunitas from the other bar, because I think this Oatmeal Stout was the best beer I drank the whole trip!!! FYI, best quarter VP bartop at MB shown, 97.06% Deuces with max bet.



Why couldn't I get the King of Clubs like aaisack did?!?!?!?!



Instead I lose $10 dollars or so I think.

Now I'm drunk. Bad picture of empty pit at 3:45am



I find a Hexbreaker 2 game. My phone is unfortunately so weak it doesn't take pics anymore. But I got a $24 hit on a 50c bet to recover a bit. But I spew about $10 in the original. After it's all said and done at MB...ugh...minus 20 or less?

Total tally for the day... “gambler's even”

Tue. Sept. 9th: We gotta go home!!! :(

Get up a little before ten, even though I went to bed past 4, I'm in decent shape with my week-long drinking/lack of sleep workout. We pack up and check out and drop her parents at McCarran as they have a flight a little after 1. We don't have our flight til 5:45 and have the rental car til three, so we hit two places we wanted to hit, but didn't squeeze it in. M Resort and South Point.

We wanted to hit M Resort so we could use some of the comps we have from Hollywood St. Louis, and for me to drink some of the awesome beer there at the 32 Degree bar. Problem: M Resort doesn't immediately recognize that I have comps from St. Louis. They have supposedly been connected for almost 6 months now. Not “that connected” obviously. It took a visit to the VIP office, a couple of phone calls, and over 20 minutes for them to hand-issue a $25 comp from my reward points. I wasn't too thrilled, but it was “fixed”.

The first beer I had before the comp fiasco playing 7/5 Bonus w/a slow progressive:



Our food is ready to go (and possibly under a heat lamp for a bit) when we return. It's still pretty hot though, and the BBQ chicken sandwich we ordered was one of the best I ever eaten! I wish we ordered two instead! Because we split that and the “Philly Cheesesteak” which was just “okay”.

Now after the “comp fiasco”, two problems. The damn royal was hit on the network progressive for the 2nd trip there in a row...lol And they began to “clean” half of the taps in our absence. But I wasn't too mad over these because the progressive sucked anyway, and I rather they clean the taps in front of me instead of serving me the crap Paris did the night before. So here I just settle for Sculpin IPA as it was on the other set of taps (see Day 5 for a pic).

With the progressive so low, and me losing a bit, I slide over to a Superstar machine that has 7/5 Bonus w/STP. I was able to get 2 pair with a 5X multiplier for $12.50, to make up my losses and scoot out a $3 winner.

We just have enough time to hit up South Point as it's on the way back toward the airport. This place is a “gimmick” VP player's paradise at the quarter level. Full Pay Ultimate X, full pay Double STP for example. Something I didn't realize until that day: Also a bartop player's paradise!!!

I initally find a bartop with a 8/6 Boner Deluxe Progressive w/a $1300+ royal at quarters. Good enough I thought! Get a Fat Tire and play that for a bit. Win a few bucks. But then wander over to the Lobby Bar (which was closed at the time). No progressives, but great paybacks for quarters! So many people complained on the forum about 9/6 Boner Deluxe being taken off at Suncoast bars...but it's there at South Point!!! These are the games they offer for 25c-$2 at their other 3 bars: “Not So Ugly Ducks” (99.73%), 9/6 Boner Deluxe (99.64%), 8/5 Bonus (99.17%), 9/7/5 Double Bonus (99.11%), and surprisingly lastly 9/6 DDB (98.98%).

Unfortunately, nothing doing at the Lobby bar, and now I'm even after 9/6 Boner Deluxe:

And then I scamper off to the Double STP machines, one problem. I NEVER cashed out!!! I walk about 100 feet to the next bar, walking by a giant Ultimate X machine for couples (a first for me) and realize it. I hustle back. The credit is still there, thank God. But when I hit the cash out button, it says “Paper Out”...d'oh. So then I have to wait for an attendant at an empty bar.

I patiently wait for about 5 minutes, and then I see some pit bosses just chatting, so I ask them to speed it along, and they do. They get a slot tech over. Unfortunately, she can't fix it. They get another guy over. He can't do it either and the machine just wants to print a blank ticket. Me and her chat awhile to pass the time, she was very nice. Then they have someone remotely check the payout codes, and make sure my $20 credit hasn't been cashed. They verify, and tell her to hand pay my $20.   I insist on tipping her a dollar even though it's “their fault” with the paper issue. She resists a bit, but takes it eventually.

I run to the 8/5 Bonus w/Double STP machine (99.67%) with that $20 bill and turn it into $40:



At this point it's 2:10, and we need to go.

Hit the airport, ask if the flight is possibly oversold because we could stay another day if needed. No dice. No gambling at McCarran on the way out for once. Plus $23 on the day. Flight was okay until KC area as 20+ MPH winds makes it a bit bumpy. Could have been much, much worse though. Severe T-storms stretched across Missouri about 30 miles north of I-70 and we had to drive back on I-70 from KC for 3+ hours. Landed at 10:15PM Central time. Get back to Drury to pick up the car and on the road by 10:45. Cash out at Ameristar, and get a quick bite at McDonald's. Had to wait for fries...sweet!!! Ride home wasn't too bad at first because we were chatting away about we plan to do next trip...lol But near the end, we were wearing out on the drive home. We made it back safely at about 2:30AM Central. Her parents safely returned home in Chicago by 8PM or so.

Final Results: Me: $90 in my wallet from $360 before KC ($320 arriving in Vegas). I calculate $130 losses in Vegas, but considering the wallet, it could be more than that, or I tipped more than I thought (probably both). But I did plan for an ATM hit, so I'm quite good without one! G/f did okay, lost less than $100...maybe close to even. Not sure about her mom(0/-200 probably). Her dad...meh, probably about $450 in the hole. Slots didn't treat him well in the end. But both of her parents loved the trip!!!

Until next time Vegas!!!

[wildman49]

MAN WHAT A TIME Vman! Nice photo's 

[Vman96]

Hey billyjoe!!!

I forgot to mention this (you'd probably would missed it with the massive "wall o' text" anyway).

Next time you go to Bellagio, play SPIN POKER w/Dream Card!!! At quarters thru $2 level, TDB is set at 9/6, the highest this game offers (98.21% w/DC)! I recommend 9/5 Bonus Poker Deluxe of course (99.05% w/DC), but I know how you love TDB...

[BillyJoe]

Hey billyjoe!!!

I forgot to mention this (you'd probably would missed it with the massive "wall o' text" anyway).

Next time you go to Bellagio, play SPIN POKER w/Dream Card!!! At quarters thru $2 level, TDB is set at 9/6, the highest this game offers (98.21% w/DC)! I recommend 9/5 Bonus Poker Deluxe of course (99.05% w/DC), but I know how you love TDB...
Thanks, VMan - I'll check it out on my next Vegas trip.

[olds442jetaway]

And that my friends and Vman is the " rest of the story ". Super job and fun to read and see pics and captions as well. You missed your calling.

[Vman96]

And that my friends and Vman is the " rest of the story ". Super job and fun to read and see pics and captions as well. You missed your calling.

Thanks! But compared to some on Vegas Message Board, I'm pretty tame.


Thanks, VMan - I'll check it out on my next Vegas trip.

No problem. One of them near the Hermes store on the south side of the casino. Next to an ultimate x machine, which is probably why I noticed it in the first place. If you reach the baccarat bar you went too far.