Cosmopolitan
I left for this trip the least excited than I have for any trip to Vegas which is still to say one million times more excited than taking a trip to work. But I was going to Vegas with a mission to use as much comps as possible and to essentially play for comps for the very first time in numerous venues. I initially was excited about the trip because I was going to stay in the new renovoated rooms at Circus Circus but I bailed out on that plan to finally use the 3 any-day comp I was getting at Fremont that I had been getting for the past few months. I ended up piecing several comps and discounts from several hotels and using a free flight with Continental to end up paying only $150 total for flight and accommodations for an entire 8 night, 7 day trip….And people wonder why I choose Vegas everytime.
I flew into Mccarran around 10pm and decided to try the bus out for the first time. I found the buses at the lower level, and instead of taking the WAX like I planned too, I took some random bus that would drive past Tropicana and I could switch to another bus. Turned out bad. I was stranded on Tropicana ave in a seedy part of the neighborhood late at night, a solo woman no less, waiting for a connecting bus that never came. Called a cab and jetted to the strip immediately.
I made sure to pack light with only a backpack and a big purse so I could easily move around considering how many times I would switch hotels. I also took light packing into consideration because the first thing I wanted to do before I even checked into my hotel was play the $100 loss promo at Cosmo. When the cab dropped me at cosmo, I walked out to see swarms of beautiful and rich-looking youth (hey I’m 24 but I have an old soul) . Cosmo is truly a marvel. It kinda makes me feel I’m inside one big diamond.
I headed straight for the $5 Wheel of Fortune. It was now 11:30pm and I had to lose $100 before 12midnight to qualify for the promo. I knew, based on my frequent calls to the Identity Club before coming, that if I won money, I could start over with a fresh $100 to lose after midnight. Meaning, I could win $400 and play the next day and win another $500 and play again the next day and finally lose $100 on that 3rd day and they give back to me $100 in free play. As long as you do not lose $100 in that same gambling day, you can start afresh the next gambling and keep your winnings from the previous day. This was the best part of the Cosmo promo. The only thing is that you can only lose that $100 once (in one gambling day) for the promo. It was a sweet deal and I was determined to win. It all seemed so good to be true. Smooth sailing if I win (I keep it and play the next day); smooth sailing if I lose (get my money back in free play). I preferred the former but I got the latter.
I was hoping for a quick win at the $5 Wheel Fortune to start my trip off right. The strategy was to play higher denom slots that I would not otherwise play with this first $100 and then later play small with the free play. I lost my money…fast. Played through 3 different machines in the bank, looking over at one woman who was hitting the spin icon every minute…She was up at least $1500…if only I had arrived a few minutes earlier. Darn bus. I was only supposed to risk $40 at the $5 WOF and then play other machines but seeing the woman hit over and over egged me on to continue playing until it was all gone. I looked over longingly at the woman’s slot and turned away, silently wishing the woman well. I shuffled my feet over to the Identity club at only 11:45pm ($100 lost in 15 minutes! Unlike a low roller like me). The realness of the promo quickly cheered me up a bit. I checked and rechecked that my card had $100 loaded onto it. I was told that I have 1 year to use it, so I figured I would come back and use it when I’m not in the mood to use my money but to use “play” money. I took this “play” money quite seriously though. It was late anyway and I had not yet checked in or received rest after my flight.
Hooters
I take a cab over to Hooters. I take a strong liking to this place. I can’t say I love it; it’s even too divey to me. But I definitely like it…strongly. I checked in and they gave me my promo offer of $10 freeplay, $10 matchplay, $200 promo slot play, and 2 free steak dinners—the same winter promo (offered to everyone—not for the slot club) I received back in December. The clerk gave me the bungalow rooms which I did not realize were outside, detached from the tower and near the pool. I did not like having to go outside to get my room as a solo woman…but I could not say that having a bungalow room did not feel like an enclosed plush cabana, still looked like any regular room but the pool was right outside your window….you could like…touch it. Kinda. I guess it was there idea of an upgrade which I appreciated yet could not tolerate.
I asked for a new room and they gave me king room in the Bay View Tower, which is not as nice as the Ocean View Tower I got upgraded to in December. I walked into the room and was hit by a poof of funk. The slide-open door to the bathroom was directly in front of the front door when you open it. Because the bathroom was well-appointed (for Hooters) and clean, because I was tired, because of not wanting to hassle anymore, and because of knowing you get what you pay for, I kept the room and rested…and the smell eventually dissipated. Or maybe I took it on. *shrug*
I did not rest long. Maybe a good…I don’t know…20 minutes. And I hit the Hooters casino. The Hooters casino is so tiny and quaint. I first walked out the door to take a quick look at their cute pool area that’s open 24/7. It was basically empty on this March night but just standing in front of it for like 45 seconds provided me that clean, pure, relaxing, refreshing feeling that pools give me that perked me up for play. Back to the casino. I fell in love with a couple of slot machines like Wizard of Oz which I played at 40 cents a spin and hit like $20. Sweet! Wizard of Oz are like the loudest slots and they really make you feel like you are in wonderland….or Oz. I love it when the big bubble princess comes floating by and gives you like 3 WILDS. I also had some fun on the Emerald 7s machines. Even though I was playing for comps on this trip, I did not really care if the casino liked my play. I just played for as long as I could for as long as it was fun. I learned early in this trip that I should stick to my hit-and-run ways because after 2 hours of play, I was very much done and uninterested. Was fun while it lasted. And at 2 hours of play, most casinos will not be knocking down my mailbox. Still, it was truly a feat of endurance. I sat down for a $3 BJ table with $6 buy-in. Yes, that’s right. I roll so low, I play with negative chips. Funny, every time I come to Hooters and walk by this $3 table, everyone is always losing. And that $6 was gone in under 60 seconds. I could live with that.
Now, I was dreadfully tired but I wanted to eat…hunger is no game. I head over to the Mad Onion restaurant in Hooters which is open 24/7 and get my free steak dinner at 2 am. A tender, well steak with beautifully buttered Texas toast, green beans, and baked potato with sour cream and chives, taken down with a Sierra Mist (I’m more of a Sprite girl), it was a nice way to end the night. Oh yeah, did I mention it was free? A tip of $2 covered it all. I’m now down about $70 bucks (from Hooters casino of course—mentally I tell myself I still have $100 at Cosmo) but this $72 meal is hitting the spot.
Friday, March 9
Caesars
Caesars was calling my name. Let’s lay the facts out there. I don’t know what I did to hurt Total Rewards but they wiped all my comps off my offers calendar. Ok, so maybe I played only $40 a day for 5 days, or maybe I played $10 on 5 day comps. I was new to it all; how was I supposed to know how it all worked? I had to thread this comp water alone. I had played at AC a few times at $1000 coin-in in a day and thought maybe I got Vegas comps for my play in all markets but no such thing. My initial comps in Vegas were from play in AC after all. Anyway, I was determined to face Total Rewards from their premier hotel casino. I figured if I could play enough for Caesars,every Vegas hotel in TR would love me. Ha. Still, yet again I was no where near going to compromise my BR or play beyond my comfort level.
When I touched down at 9am, strangely the high limit slot lounge called me by name SCO! SCO! SCO! And I replied, YES! I wanted a piece of that $5 Wheel of Fortune action but I was only willing to risk $60. Guess it was a seeking of redemption from the failure of yesterday from the culprit of dejection. Spinnnnnnnnnnn! Nothing. Spinnnnnnn! Nothing. Spin? Nope. Spin. WOF ALARM GOES OFF! I have reached the promised land. Thank heavens! WHeeeeelll of Forrrtttunnne boo boop boo boop *spinnnnnnnnnnnnnn*. And what do you know? $300 hit! I was out of there. Some people have guts to stay on a machine when it hits because it just may be hot but I have played several times after a hit when the machine becomes so cold, I could freeze. Finally, I’m up. I played some video BJ at $1 which probably killed my ADT because CET has no love for table games. At a $10 buy-in, I was able to play for 30 minutes and still walk away with my $10. I then was in search of penny machines but a long the way I ran into all these neat $1 machines….that didn’t pay. I played one machine at $9 for only one spin. I really do like instant gratification but no luck.
I found this double double diamond (or something) 4 screen penny machine that hit every second—tiny hits but hits nevertheless. I took a picture of the slot ID number. Shhhh!! It would be a helpful machine for me to build TIME on my card. I played at 30 cents for a while but the machine kept encouraging me to play at $0.72 for better wins but I noticed (and would soon notice more and more on certain slot machines) that the more I bet, I still won the same amount that I would win if I was playing the minimum bet. After a few spins of $0.75 I hit the mini jackpot of $50. I was so excited because I had already put in 2 hours at this machine. The machine was helping me to build time…and now, even cash. But then I lowered my bet back to $0.30 and soon after I hit the same mini jackpot for $50. Ugh. Why was I betting almost 3 times the minimum bet only to get paid the same as before? I continued to play at the 30 cent level. It was my first time in memory to receive bonus credits (maybe I had received such in the past unbeknownst to me).
I then went and played some other cool games like Wiz of Oz again, the fun Hot Roll machines that truly combines the lovely craps game with slot machines (heavier on the slot end than the crap end) in which the bonus round is the roll of a dice, and Cleopatra. I have fond memories of Cleo yet have not won on Cleo machines since those memories were created. WOZ and Hot Roll were good to me for minor hits, helping me build time for comps. Last I went to some quarter machines and kept losing, so I called it quits. I was up now $400 from the usually cold casino of Caesars and had played about 3.5 hours with $700 coin-in! It was all worth it in the end. Whether TR comped me or not, I came out ahead in the end. I could not be bitter.
Wynn
Next, I wanted comps at Wynn. I knew the 3.5 hours only at Caesars was pathetic in the way of comps (at least 4 hours is best I hear) so I aimed to beat that length of time at Wynn. However, between being tired from such an abnormally long playing session for me at Caesars and losing left and right at a casino that usually puts me in business, I left Wynn after 40 minutes and a $100 loss. Wynn was my winning casino so there was irony inCaesars switching hands with Wynn that day. I initially hit the $5 WOF slot machines again (oh that Cosmo!) and after $50 loss I moved on to quarters. $25 down the drain, pennies. A couple $5 hits here and there but nothing to show for it in the end. I was definitely not getting comps in Wynn. And that’s alright because their check-in card deposit is $100 per night (what a hold to put on my funds!) and the restaurants are probably too rich for my comfort. Eh, time to move on.
Stratosphere
Next stop, the Strat. It confuses me really knowing that Strat was my very first impression of Vegas, being my first hotel there. Yet I never got an ace play card. After my August trip last year of running around joining everybody’s club to get free play, I learned that casinos comp new players the easiest. This means that I wasted valuable players card openings. I usually only played as much as the free play promo for new members. There are very few casinos now on and around the Strip for which I do not have a players card. But since I liked the Strat, I was happy I never got the card. Maybe at the time I was the naïve player who thought you needed to be a big baller to actually be considered.
I took a cab straight to the Strat from the Wynn. I noticed I was taking cabs a lot more than usual this trip with all my valuable time needing to be clocked at these casinos. I waited in their sign up line for at least 30 minutes. It was that long. And yet, they had no free play promos. The lack of free play promos for new slot sign-ups made me wary of the likelihood of even seeing Strat on the strip in the next couple of years. Talk about cutting corners. So sad.
After I got my card, I headed straight for penny slots. I wanted to take it slow after that beating at the Wynn. But I was feeling boredom at this bank of no-paying penny slots. I started to hit the $1 slots. It was funny that I wanted to build comps and I knew that penny slots were the best for building comps for me with my BR because the money would not go so quickly and would in fact replenish itself more often than not…and yet I continued to play $1 slots just as I did in my hit-and-run days when comps might as well refer to the sound of someone being clocked and knocked out. Back to back dollar slots and no results. What was this?
So, I took a break from the slots and headed over to my favorite game—craps. While I very much enjoy slots, I play them so heavily because they get rewarded so much better. Craps is my true love. I remember my first dice roll…I was on the table by myself at Main Street. Placed my $5 on field and just kept doing that over and over. Came up about $30 before it being grinded back down. What a rush! The only thing that provides quite the rush as craps is hitting your number on roulette…but that happens so infrequently, it makes roulette just a tad boring.
I bought in on the Strat craps table for $80 and put my $5 on field. I like the field. The field is my strategy. Call me the sucker. *shrug* At the end of the day, people place numbers like crazy and the 7 comes along quite often. It takes heaters to hit so many numbers. The field can be hot and can be dreadfully cold. I place when the field is cold but only on a couple numbers. When I placed that $5 down on the felt, the pit boss looked at me like “Why again did you hand me your card for rating?” But it was slight and the face was not directed toward me, just seemingly about me. So…in honor of playing for comps, I got a little wild. $20 on 8 and $20 on 5. Boss’ face perked up quite a bit. The number 7 also perked up. I lowered my place bets to only $10 and did field bets intermittently. Some hits, no luck. Money gone in less than 30 minutes. But when I was all out of chips, the boss gave me a personal goodbye “Goodbye SCO, thanks for playing". Maybe my 30 minutes counted for something or maybe he noticed that I changed the game for a little bit of brownie points. What ever it may be, it made me smile, wave, say “thank you sir”, and walk away like I was on top of the world. Really. Weird. But that’s how it happened.
My luck has clearly changed now. And I am not liking it. I pull out some snacks I kept in my bag and think about my life…I mean, the current events. I play a couple penny machines, nothing. I play $5 in a dollar machine, zero. I play a little VP on a $5 machine with $10. I get up to $25 and play it down like a sucker. Oh well, it’s now been only 1 hour and I am down $200 at the Strat (I put my win at Caesars away so it’s not included here in this count). I thought hey, 1 hour is pretty lousy for comps but as west of nowhere as Strat is, they may appreciate it. Sure enough, 7 days after my trip, I have 1 comped night (any day) and $15 slot play in the mail…
Las Vegas Little Theatre
It’s now approaching time for me to check out a play I paid half-off for on goldstar.com in a theatre I never heard of. I paid $12 for the play called “Play Dates” (about the comedy of adult relationships) which turned out to be the highlight of my entire trip. It was simply thought-provoking and hilarious.
Why this place isn’t more popular irks me a bit. But then again it’s a theatre toting that it’s made by the community, for the community. Perhaps the locals were irked that I as a tourist stepped into their territory…or maybe, just maybe they did not notice or care . The LVL theatre is quaint and cozy with 2 different play rooms and cheap snacks. It’s located in the little Chinatown area nearest spring mountain rd. I love plays; in fact, I love plays far more than musicals. All they have are plays and Vegas is terribly lacking in plays (not musicals). I originally started coming to Vegas especially for the shows, ambiance, entertainment and pools. Vegas has lost some of my fav shows like Lion King and American Super stars and will even lose my fav casino IP soon. Places like LVL theatre continues to keep Vegas fresh for me.
It’s so nice, I pay $15 bucks to see on another day their other running show Yankee Tavern, a thriller about 911 conspiracies.
Rio
Rio, Palms, and GC are up the block from LVL theatre and I had been longing to try out Rio’s World buffet. A cab driver once talked about Rio’s buffet. However, I had been disappointed by so many “good” claims about Vegas buffets only to learn the food was cold, unfresh, and bland. Harrahs Flavors buffet for example. To say the least, I was shocked by Rio’s buffet. To put it simply, the World buffet was the best buffet I ever had. Now, you never know what the experience may be the second time around but I can say that the first time blew me away.
I have never been to a buffet in which 75% of the items I want to put on my plate. The highest percent I have ever put on my plate is 40% at any buffet particularly in recent history….and that’s at a previously exceptional buffet. Rio has set a standard I would dare others to beat. Some may say, “Oh then you haven’t tasted ________”. All I can say is that if it’s anything like Rio, count me in. There was so much variety of things on my plate. I had to take a tiny bit of everything. I normally feel no urge to do this. I usually focus on a few foods of interest. The dessert was also a decent selection. It was a heavenly buffet.
After the buffet, walking around Rio awakened an affinity for the place that I didn’t quite have back in my August trip in which I stayed at Rio. My, how things change. Rio has nice rooms, nice pool, newly discovered NICE FOOD, a nice frozen yogurt stand at a $6 flat rate, and various entertainment options. Only thing Rio did not have was a nice casino, which was fine by me since this trip was making me want to take a break from playing more and more. In just a few days, by the sheer amount of time, I had played more than I probably have in all my days in Vegas.
Saturday, March 10
Hooters
I woke up to smell the pool again and let it arouse my medulla to get geared for playing. It was check out day for Hooters. I was moving on to “greener pastures”. But first! I needed to use my 10 free wings and comp drink voucher at Hooters restaurant and also use my second free steak dinner voucher at the Mad Onion restaurant. The steak dinner for breakfast was a consistent winner. The Hooters wings on the other hand are an extreme failure around the nation giving me stomach pains across coast lines. I do not know what made me taste it again even though I had tasted it on my last trip in Vegas with ensuing stomach problems as well as at Hooters in AC which gave me the same result. Oh yeah. It was free. Free gets me every time. For the first time, I could actually enjoy the wings but soon later I would be feeling the pangs, reminding me to stay away. Far away.
I used my $10 matchplay on the field in craps and lost. I played their $200 promo slot play which involved losing promotional machines. I played a little bit of regular slot machines with no hits. I went back to my room to take a rest before check out and I overheard the next door neighbors having loud sex. It was time to get out of Hooters. Fast.
Mandalay Bay
Mlife shocked me with a comped night at MB. On prior trips I had dropped maybe $100-200 in like an hour or so. The reward truly excited! I dressed up, attempted to look cute, put on some make up, some expensive-looking jewelry just because it fit the ambiance. For Hooters, I wore a bag.
Checked in at noon with no additional fees. Always a beautiful standard room with a large bathroom, super cozy, at MB. My first stop was to the Mandalay Bay pool. Unlike previous times when I just went into the pool for like an hour and left, I decided to stay awhile and lounge under the sun. I went to the Jacuzzi, lazy river, and wave pool. The wave pool was the only warm pool to my dismay. The lazy river left a lot to be desired. Toooo many children. You would think this was Circus Circus. MB, step it up! And where are your water slides? An entire mini-water park…and no slides? Sheesh. I tired of the pool very quickly but sun lounging was very important on my list. It was funny watching people watch me sun bathe considering the deep darkness of my complexion. Hey! I like sun. Sun is good. It was a very relaxing time reading my Frugal Gambling book by Jean Scott. I spent an unprecedented 3 hours at the pool. I did not get to check out the adult pool or the casino on the beach but I think I saw enough. I came to the conclusion that MB’s pool, while nice and well-equipped, was far to crowded for my liking. And am I the only one who has a major problem with white, plastic lounge chairs? Even top-notch places like Wynn and Bellagio have them at their pool. The best lounge chairs I have ever found are at Caesars, plush rich royal blue beds (not even chairs) open to all. The next, strangely, is Hooters--comfy loungers that are not plastic. What is so hard about this? But I am not sure what bothered me more—the lack of comfy lounge chairs or the limited and early-ending pool hours.
I next decided to play $1 gameking BJ because someone on VMB told me that they build crazy comps with MLife by playing $1 gameking BJ at their properties. I only made it through 30 minutes before getting bored. I played a little bit of quarter VP which quickly got boring. Then, I took it to the slots. And slot after slot after slot, I lost. However, there was one Haywire quarter machine that at least kept me even for 30 minutes. It’s ironic that my first experience of the MB casino was my first winning Vegas trip ever in which I went home up $700 from an original BR of $900 last May. However, ever since then. MB has been pretty bad for me. At least the $1 gameking BJ kept me even for a long time. It seems that BJ was keeping me even a lot this trip. I finished playing with only $700 coin-in after 4 hours of play. I had lost the entire $300 I budgeted for play at MB. I went to ask the Mlife clerk about my point play and she made this disgusting face, saying “you only played $700 so far and you do not have enough point play to convert to free play.” Crestfallen. Can you imagine? Time to stop playing. If people only knew how their attitude affected a company….
Excalibur
It was now 11pm. I checked out the eyecandy before the dance floor started, only to think that it looked like a bar and so I did not know if I would feel comfortable partying there. Took the glorious tram to grab food at theExcalibur food court which has a lot of fast food goodies that I sampled: cold stone (‘like it’ cup), pizza hut (personal pan), and mcds (French fries). Their Chinese food there looked dried and gross. It was a good evening. Food-wise.
Sunday, March 11
Mandalay Bay
Woke up to crusted pizza and melted ice cream because I just could not finish them. I headed over to the Shark Reef the first thing in the morning because I had ordered 3 for $54 tickets for Mlife attractions back in June of 2011 that I had never used and that I had a year to redeem. I had already used my Excalibur tickets back in August but I had my Adventuredome tickets also to pick up at the Shark Reef booth. The Shark Reef was absolutely beautiful but entirely too small for the price. Also it’s too far from the main lobby; you have to walk what felt like a mile beyond the convention center after the circle of restaurants off to the side of the lobby. But they had a FEDEX over there! For the mere convenience charge of something like $30 bucks. That’s a lot of dough. I rather lose it on a slot machine. After the Shark Reef, it is officially time to hit the road.
Orleans
The Orleans did not exactly offer me comped rooms but they did charge $29 for the night with a $15 free play and $15 dining credit included which essentially made it free for the night. All the hotel changes I made were all in the name of value although I question the value of hopping from place to place. Fortunately and unfortunately, free always prevails.
After a smooth and easy check-in around noon, I headed over to the Orleans buffet for brunch. With my $15 dining credit, I paid nothing. The total came to about $13.94. The Orleans buffet is certainly nothing to write home about. Their French toast is not bad and neither is their ice cream. And that’s all I really ate off the menu.
Las Vegas Little Theatre
Soon after eating, I jetsetted by taxi to the LVL theatre again to watch the play Yankee Tavern at 2pm. I never saw a play that was a thriller before. It did not scare me but it could have frightened others with it’s talks about the spookiness of 911 putting together clues that most people would not dare. It was in a more intimate room in the theater than the Play Dates show I had watched earlier so the action felt so much closer to you. Good show. It definitely makes me want to make LVL theatre a permanent staple of my trips.
Clarion Hotel and Casino
Another taxi to the Clarion hotel, which on first sight reminded me of an abandoned building with lots of trash in the front of the lobby door. On the inside, it’s super divey but comfortable. Clarion’s casino makes Hooters casino look big. And Clarion has no player’s club—most people do not even know where the place is. I was there for a show I pre-purchased online for $14 called “In the Spirit: A Gospel Experience”. I had been running late and arrived 2 minutes before the show started hoping to get good seats. The person taking tickets looked so bored and when I entered the small but lovely showroom I knew why. I was the only person there. But then 2 more people showed up a few seconds later. And you know what they say---the show must go on! What a sad, sad show. Women came out one by one and sang a gospel song. They tried for audience participation but there was an extreme lack of energy in this effort. I really hope they get their act together. Sweet ladies nevertheless that personally greet you after the show. Suffice it to say, I did not feel particularly moved from the Experience. Played some quick video BJ at $1 with a $5 buy-in. Came out with $10. Headed out the door and wished Clarion well, hoping for Clarion to get the word out on their lovely showroom (for such an exceedingly divey place).
Riviera
From the Clarion, I walked over to the Peppermill Fireside Lounge Restaurant. I headed straight for the lounge area and my, was it beautiful. I took several pics. An wonderful and cozy space. I then headed over to Riviera’s comedy club which was my first comedy club show ever and I was blown. Laughed up my kidney. I was sure that the Riviera Comedy Club had rightfully won best comedy club for 6 years in a row. Since the comedians changed ever week, I looked forward to using my ACG coupons to see this comedy club for absolutely free. Went back to the Orleans and fell out onto the bed.
Hooters
I woke up to smell the pool again and let it arouse my medulla to get geared for playing. It was check out day for Hooters. I was moving on to “greener pastures”. But first! I needed to use my 10 free wings and comp drink voucher at Hooters restaurant and also use my second free steak dinner voucher at the Mad Onion restaurant. The steak dinner for breakfast was a consistent winner. The Hooters wings on the other hand are an extreme failure around the nation giving me stomach pains across coast lines. I do not know what made me taste it again even though I had tasted it on my last trip in Vegas with ensuing stomach problems as well as at Hooters in AC which gave me the same result. Oh yeah. It was free. Free gets me every time. For the first time, I could actually enjoy the wings but soon later I would be feeling the pangs, reminding me to stay away. Far away.
I used my $10 matchplay on the field in craps and lost. I played their $200 promo slot play which involved losing promotional machines. I played a little bit of regular slot machines with no hits. I went back to my room to take a rest before check out and I overheard the next door neighbors having loud sex. It was time to get out of Hooters. Fast.
Mandalay Bay
Mlife shocked me with a comped night at MB. On prior trips I had dropped maybe $100-200 in like an hour or so. The reward truly excited! I dressed up, attempted to look cute, put on some make up, some expensive-looking jewelry just because it fit the ambiance. For Hooters, I wore a bag.
Checked in at noon with no additional fees. Always a beautiful standard room with a large bathroom, super cozy, at MB. My first stop was to the Mandalay Bay pool. Unlike previous times when I just went into the pool for like an hour and left, I decided to stay awhile and lounge under the sun. I went to the Jacuzzi, lazy river, and wave pool. The wave pool was the only warm pool to my dismay. The lazy river left a lot to be desired. Toooo many children. You would think this was Circus Circus. MB, step it up! And where are your water slides? An entire mini-water park…and no slides? Sheesh. I tired of the pool very quickly but sun lounging was very important on my list. It was funny watching people watch me sun bathe considering the deep darkness of my complexion. Hey! I like sun. Sun is good. It was a very relaxing time reading my Frugal Gambling book by Jean Scott. I spent an unprecedented 3 hours at the pool. I did not get to check out the adult pool or the casino on the beach but I think I saw enough. I came to the conclusion that MB’s pool, while nice and well-equipped, was far to crowded for my liking. And am I the only one who has a major problem with white, plastic lounge chairs? Even top-notch places like Wynn and Bellagio have them at their pool. The best lounge chairs I have ever found are at Caesars, plush rich royal blue beds (not even chairs) open to all. The next, strangely, is Hooters--comfy loungers that are not plastic. What is so hard about this? But I am not sure what bothered me more—the lack of comfy lounge chairs or the limited and early-ending pool hours.
I next decided to play $1 gameking BJ because someone on VMB told me that they build crazy comps with MLife by playing $1 gameking BJ at their properties. I only made it through 30 minutes before getting bored. I played a little bit of quarter VP which quickly got boring. Then, I took it to the slots. And slot after slot after slot, I lost. However, there was one Haywire quarter machine that at least kept me even for 30 minutes. It’s ironic that my first experience of the MB casino was my first winning Vegas trip ever in which I went home up $700 from an original BR of $900 last May. However, ever since then. MB has been pretty bad for me. At least the $1 gameking BJ kept me even for a long time. It seems that BJ was keeping me even a lot this trip. I finished playing with only $700 coin-in after 4 hours of play. I had lost the entire $300 I budgeted for play at MB. I went to ask the Mlife clerk about my point play and she made this disgusting face, saying “you only played $700 so far and you do not have enough point play to convert to free play.” Crestfallen. Can you imagine? Time to stop playing. If people only knew how their attitude affected a company….
Excalibur
It was now 11pm. I checked out the eyecandy before the dance floor started, only to think that it looked like a bar and so I did not know if I would feel comfortable partying there. Took the glorious tram to grab food at theExcalibur food court which has a lot of fast food goodies that I sampled: cold stone (‘like it’ cup), pizza hut (personal pan), and mcds (French fries). Their Chinese food there looked dried and gross. It was a good evening. Food-wise.
Sunday, March 11
Mandalay Bay
Woke up to crusted pizza and melted ice cream because I just could not finish them. I headed over to the Shark Reef the first thing in the morning because I had ordered 3 for $54 tickets for Mlife attractions back in June of 2011 that I had never used and that I had a year to redeem. I had already used my Excalibur tickets back in August but I had my Adventuredome tickets also to pick up at the Shark Reef booth. The Shark Reef was absolutely beautiful but entirely too small for the price. Also it’s too far from the main lobby; you have to walk what felt like a mile beyond the convention center after the circle of restaurants off to the side of the lobby. But they had a FEDEX over there! For the mere convenience charge of something like $30 bucks. That’s a lot of dough. I rather lose it on a slot machine. After the Shark Reef, it is officially time to hit the road.
Orleans
The Orleans did not exactly offer me comped rooms but they did charge $29 for the night with a $15 free play and $15 dining credit included which essentially made it free for the night. All the hotel changes I made were all in the name of value although I question the value of hopping from place to place. Fortunately and unfortunately, free always prevails.
After a smooth and easy check-in around noon, I headed over to the Orleans buffet for brunch. With my $15 dining credit, I paid nothing. The total came to about $13.94. The Orleans buffet is certainly nothing to write home about. Their French toast is not bad and neither is their ice cream. And that’s all I really ate off the menu.
Las Vegas Little Theatre
Soon after eating, I jetsetted by taxi to the LVL theatre again to watch the play Yankee Tavern at 2pm. I never saw a play that was a thriller before. It did not scare me but it could have frightened others with it’s talks about the spookiness of 911 putting together clues that most people would not dare. It was in a more intimate room in the theater than the Play Dates show I had watched earlier so the action felt so much closer to you. Good show. It definitely makes me want to make LVL theatre a permanent staple of my trips.
Clarion Hotel and Casino
Another taxi to the Clarion hotel, which on first sight reminded me of an abandoned building with lots of trash in the front of the lobby door. On the inside, it’s super divey but comfortable. Clarion’s casino makes Hooters casino look big. And Clarion has no player’s club—most people do not even know where the place is. I was there for a show I pre-purchased online for $14 called “In the Spirit: A Gospel Experience”. I had been running late and arrived 2 minutes before the show started hoping to get good seats. The person taking tickets looked so bored and when I entered the small but lovely showroom I knew why. I was the only person there. But then 2 more people showed up a few seconds later. And you know what they say---the show must go on! What a sad, sad show. Women came out one by one and sang a gospel song. They tried for audience participation but there was an extreme lack of energy in this effort. I really hope they get their act together. Sweet ladies nevertheless that personally greet you after the show. Suffice it to say, I did not feel particularly moved from the Experience. Played some quick video BJ at $1 with a $5 buy-in. Came out with $10. Headed out the door and wished Clarion well, hoping for Clarion to get the word out on their lovely showroom (for such an exceedingly divey place).
Riviera
From the Clarion, I walked over to the Peppermill Fireside Lounge Restaurant. I headed straight for the lounge area and my, was it beautiful. I took several pics. An wonderful and cozy space. I then headed over to Riviera’s comedy club which was my first comedy club show ever and I was blown. Laughed up my kidney. I was sure that the Riviera Comedy Club had rightfully won best comedy club for 6 years in a row. Since the comedians changed ever week, I looked forward to using my ACG coupons to see this comedy club for absolutely free. Went back to the Orleans and fell out onto the bed.
Monday, March 12
Orleans
I did not sleep so comfortably at Orleans but I slept deep because I was so tired the night before. As much as I love shows and I know that you sit for long periods of time when you watch them, I always leave them physically spent. You know, I love the Orleans—their food options, their grandioseness, their beautiful casino (that is tighter than tight), beautiful pool, good entertainment options, grand hallways and cute rooms. Though I have never been to New Orleans, I perceive that it truly evokes the mood and vibe of that city. Hey, what do I know?
However, I am rarely one to complain that a hotel needs to be modernized, but Orleans has 70s-style curtains in their room. And all day and all night, that bothered me. I liked that the room was old-fashioned like the couches were from the 80s and the bed stand was gold-plated columns like I-have-no-idea-what-decade-it-comes-from. All the furniture was outdated. Yet I simultaneously rejoiced and lamented this fact. Perhaps it was not the outdatedness of the room that I truly lamented but the fact that those things that were outdated were not the higher-end, lux versions of yesteryear. Beds were hard, tables were wooden, curtain was hideous but the color scheme of the bed was beautiful and the old-style gold-plated mirror was majestic. The actual hallways in the Orleans truly makes me happy because they are grand, old-fashioned, and feels luxurious. Wish the room was as lux…but those hideous curtains. No, Orleans, no. What Orleans did have that all other hotels should have were windows in the bathtub that gave you views of the city. Smashin’!
Before I began my day at the Orleans, I checked my email on the internet kiosks only to find that Caesars and no other CET property had offered me anything (and still not yet even today even though AC has) and my calendar was still void of comps. CET offers usually come fairly immediately after playing. That was fine. I did not expect anything from them, although I would have liked for them to cough something up. At least, I left CET up instead of down. However, what horrified me in my email was that Gold Coast was offering me $24 rooms after offering two complimentary nights for the past 6 months. Wow! I thought maybe my play in December in which I bought in with $100 and played for 2 hours with $25 pieces initially down to $10 on the board over time. I knew I shouldn’t have played that time but I thought it had been enough. I never even got to use those comp nights with GC. Now, I was infuriated with Boyd. Boyd was the only loyalty program I could trust. I could shrug Mlife off EASILY, shrug CET off a little more difficultly (yeah I like making words), shrug independents off naturally. But Boyd!? Boyd? I depended on him to provide, some program to rest on. Some program to always be loyal to because of how good they treated me. When one of their lowest properties (though I love GC) begins to charge me, I realize there is no hope for comps for me in Vegas. Boyd took the light out of me with regards to comps. I could always trust him before. But now? Now, I knew I should just stick to discounts in this great city.
And my frustration quickly turned into calm and comfort…which quickly turned into happiness. This was an extremely pivotal point in my trip. I did not like feeling obligated to play for comps or to maintain comps anyway! I like the freedom of hit-and-run. Being able to buy-in at a $3 table with $6 and handing them my card just to giggle at the faces they make. Luckily, I had already used my Boyd comps this trip for 3 upcoming nights at Fremont and my deal with Orleans, so at least I benefitted from them somehow already. I would enjoy every second I spent at Boyd properties this time around because I do not know how likely it would be for me to stay at his properties without comps. I took solace in the fact that discounts are pretty much guaranteed to all club members in any player’s club no matter how much you play. There are some excellent deals that come with great treats like free buffets or free shows or free rides for the general public. I also have a credit line called Bill Me Later that I find I can only use exclusively for travel (as no other retailers for that credit line interest me) so paying for rooms almost feels comped because I pay the line off later in bulk or in bits and pieces. This discovery was working out to my benefit! I was finally going to be OK with just discounts. Apparently, I had disappointed every slot program in Vegas. Boyd had been my last hope. And the biggest benefit of this information is that I was going to go back to purely playing to win! Which, for me, meant playing for only short periods of time with very little money. Nevertheless, I was still going to play the comp game at Fremont this time around one last time.
This particular morning I headed to the Orleans casino for the first time since I got there to play. I already knew the machines were tight from previous trips so I did not intend to play long or to play much. Plus, with this newfound info, I could not give a flying funk of their impressions of my play. Let the chips fall as they may. I had to use my $15 free play that I loaded on my card once I got there. I was attracted to the $1 blue top dollar machine. I LOVE when that little guy comes out and says, “It’s time to play tooppppp dolllaaarrrr! Uhhh….uh let’s play!” It simply excites me and I think he’s so cute in an animated way. I got up to about $30 on my free play but was slightly annoyed about the fact that $1 machines sometimes pay so little as if they are penny machines. If I am going to play dollar machines, I want to win BIG money, not $15 coin-in with a $30 win. I could play pennies for that. I played that sucker down to nothing, and I still had fun!
Next, I hit the $5 craps table with $20. I handed the pit boss lady my card with my $20 buy-in and she looked at me like “are you serious? OK!” The dice rolled with my $5 on field. Win. Lovely. Dice Roll. Win. Cool. Dice Roll. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Ha. Another $20 buy-in. All lost. I shook my head, smiled and was off. There is something about craps tables that makes me happy win or lose. Fortunately when I lose, I usually do not risk that much…or else maybe I would be devastated. I think I am more devastated by losing a big win than losing flat out.
I headed straight for the $1 Wheel of Fortune but no luck. Ever since I realized how much $5 WOF paid off on a bonus spin, I questioned why play quarter and $1 WOF because their spins pay off wayyyyyyy less than you actually play. For example, we play 2 credits at $1 WOF just for it to hit $25 or $30 most of the time on the spin. Other dollar machines will pay way more on a bonus round. We play 3 credits for quarter WOF just for it to hit 25 or 30 credits most of the time which is like $4.50 which you can easily make on a penny machine. I mean, EASILY. Even at 20 cents a spin. By the time, we hit 25, 30, 40, or 50 credits on a dollar or quarter WOF spin most times, we have lost like 50-100 credits and so we continue to play to lose on these machines because those bonus wins often mean nothing. Playing quarter and dollar WOF felt so useless sometimes. I also do not encourage $5 WOF unless you are ok with losing $100 in 10 minutes. Yet WOF will always remain my favorite game….and despite this rant, I will continue to play at all denominations….just never for long. All my biggest slot wins were on WOF: $5 machine-$300, $225; $1 machine-$200, $500; $0.25 machine-$400. I was so shocked by the $400 win at the quarter WOF machine in Mandalay Bay (which is super tight) back last May because I did not think it could do that. But it was the very rarity of the icons of a wheel of fortune, a double diamond, and a 7 I believe (was it a 7? I do not remember). I had only placed $5 into the machine. That was when I remembered that most of my hits happen as soon as I sit down. They often happen within 10 minutes of playing. I know that for some those slot wins are not that big, but as a fairly new player that made all the difference. I always have to give WOF a shot. You do not bite the hand that feeds you.
I had fun playing at the Orleans that morning but by the end of my play, I had only played (and lost) $80 in less than an hour. I grabbed a Subway sandwich at their little 24 hour food court in the back (including Baskin Robbins, Fudruckers, and Sbarro) and was on my way.
Fremont
I took a taxi again…so unlike me. I’m used to taking bus routes. I used them fairly infrequently this trip. I think the taxi to Fremont cost me upwards of $30 bucks. Truly ridiculous. The taxis always charge a $3 surcharge to use a credit card. Sucks. Anyway, I walked into the Fremont and was instantly discouraged. I’m a grandiose kind of gal. I like wide open spaces. It was not cozy and comfy like your grandma’s couch as the ambiance would have you believe. It was a rather cold vibe to me near the entrance with a hint of green and browns to slightly warm the mood which were not exactly warming the mood effectively. The casino itself was lively though. I checked in easily around 12noon. The hallways were nicely done as were the rooms. Very modern in a retro way (ha). Tiny, cramped room with equal bathrooms. Yet the greens and browns continued which happened not to be favorite colors of mine so I found myself not entirely comfortable here. Cozy but not comfortable. The color scheme affects the mood for me so I always tend to choose a room that looks happy (bright colors preferable). In fact the room setting put a damper on my mood. It was not a well-lit room either but the bed and chair were comfy nevertheless. I dropped my bags off and hit the casino. Did not intend to spend any worthwhile time in this comped room.
The Fremont casino was giving me BUSINESS. Left and right I was hitting on the $1 WOF machine. They were small hits but they were frequent hits. $25, $30, $40, $50. I had an enjoyable time. I was playing to maintain comps one last time. To see how worthwhile it could be. I played at Fremont the most I ever played in Vegas in ever. I usually play more in AC because it just does not offer as much as Vegas but psychologically AC gives me a vacation. Vegas goes beyond psychological and gives me a real vacation. That’s why I am often more concerned with everything else in Vegas than I am actually concerned with gaming. I got on penny machines, nickel machines , quarter machines and they were all hitting at least small amounts frequently. One one penny machine I saw a woman hit back to back to back bonus rounds. She was betting $3 max bet on a slot that looked like Zues mixed with Power Strike (I forgot the name sorry, but it was next to the $1 WOF slots in the middle of Fremont) and she hit bonus rounds of $80, $300, $170, etc. I came over next to her and played the slot next to her which was paying but was not paying like hers. I told her, “Nice hit!” She said “yeah my husband has been winning all day and I have been losing all day. I’m glad to finally have a win.” I told her, “Great! I know this is unsolicited advice but make sure you pocket some of that!” She said, “I’m the type to play it till it’s gone.” We laughed. I said, “Always looking for the BIG one!” She said “Right!” I walked away for 20 minutes and came back and she was still going. I was proud and worried simultaneously but she kept winning. Eventually I went away and came back and she was gone. Wellll….I hopped right on to that slot machine and picked up where she left off. At $3 max bet, the bonus round came like 3 or 4 times for wins as big as $225 at this penny machine. And the machine made a lot of noise which I loved because it made the win so much more fun. The lady came back around and said “it’s still going?!” I cried “Yes!” in happiness. She smiled. I was happy for her too because unless she later squandered all the money that she won, there was no way in that short period of time that I walked away the second time that she could have played all her winnings down. I was just proud now.
I came to Fremont with $300 and despite all the wins along the way, I only had $320 when it was all said and done. I did not feel like I played through my wins. In fact whenever I get a win bigger than my initial wager, I pocket it even if it’s a $5 insertion and $10 result. I’m trying to come up. That’s my sole purpose in a casino. Yeah it’s fun regardless but the joy in it is the win! For me, that’s as small and as big as doubling $5 wagers over and over and over; it adds up. So basically breaking even was a shock to me. But at the end of the day, I had played 3 straight hours (rarity for me seriously) and had $1095 coin-in. I think it was worth it.
Mermaids
I walked out of Fremont hotel onto the Fremont experience at 4pm. The flightlinez kinda kill the ambiance of Fremont street for me. I love that retro feel especially in the day time. It’s such a light-hearted feeling and strangely, there are no other words I can find currently to describe it but cozy. Except now with the flightlinez, the vibe has intensified to a wild, crazy, anything-goes, loud feeling which is not cozy at all. Long lines for flightlinez, 2 large set-ups throughout, and people flying by like airplanes—you can’t help but look up. It gives me a feeling of constantly being around people who are bungee-jumping. Not a fan. I love the revitalization of DT but now, all day and all night, Fremont street would have this rock-and-roll, death-defying feel. Rock is not my cup of tea really and I like my life. *shrug* Looks like this staying-DT-for-the-first-time experience was making me realize that I rather stay on the strip. Wish I had stayed earlier when the vibe was still cozy…at least in the day time.
I walked over to Mermaids and had my required hot dog, fried oreos and fried twinkie. Good brain food.
Las Vegas Club
Then, off to Las Vegas Club. I walked in to encounter a 25 cent WOF machine that was hitting spin every second. In fact, the entire bank of these machines were hitting every second. Luck! Or LVC’s great loosest slots campaign. The machine was still only paying those $4.50 “bonus” hits but at least the excitement of getting a spin was providing the entertainment value. I then walked over to a single (no bank) $5 WOF with $20 bucks at 2 credits and no hits. Afterwards, I went to the player’s card booth to load $5 free play from my ACG coupons. I found the same 7s penny machine I won $40 bucks on last trip in December from the same $5 free play coupon. I won only $7 this time but it was still $7 given to me directly from LVC. A win. Definitely. I was also hitting like crazy on this Crazy Coaster slot machine with only the minimum bet (every time I played the max bet, I won the same amount that I would win if I were playing the minimum bet so I stopped). Almost every other spin provided a crazy amount of wilds or a bonus round. I would put $5 several times into the machine and turn it into $30-90. I went to LVC’s $1 WOF and inserted $5 three times and hit the spin button every time. I won $25, $40 and $30 I believe.
It was then that I discovered the Cash Spin machine. This same machine had been good to me at MB (though I did not write about it previously) and I fell in love with it because even if you play the minimum bet of 40 cent, when the USpin icon comes up and you spin the wheel, you can win $13 or $20 or free games or a whole host of other things. I liked it because it was the type of game I could $5 into and come out with $20 several times. And of course I would pocket it every time. Getting the three bags bonus was also fun. (But I never play that Cash Spin game where you choose the icon that will get you to the bonus wheel instead of the Uspin icon because it’s so rare to get the highest icon of 3 wilds but if you play 3 bars the amounts on the wheel will be so tiny. Plus you have to the depend on the probability of getting 3 things in a row verses getting 1 Uspin icon which will give you bonus amounts far higher than those other Cash spin versions apart from the getting 3 wilds option which has like $40 as the lowest amount on the bonus wheel and yet it’s so hard to ever achieve that). The Cash Spin machine at LVC gave me business. I turned several $5 into $11. The LVC casino was nothing but good to me. And while LVC is divey, it has a warm vibe to me and I like it. I would love to stay there too because their spacious rooms and décor look better than most in DT. However, people do complain about non-working elevators. I have seen LVC sell for $5 per night in December; maybe I will take advantage of it then (if they do not remodel before that). I knew my 2 hour play at only $500 coin-in would probably not be much to them but we will see.
Despite all the wins, yet again, I left only basically even. I had spent no more than $200 here and yet I left with $220, similar scenario as Fremont. I guess when I pocketed my big and small wins and churned down the rest of my BR, I might have lost more churning it down than I thought. But I won so much, that breaking even still seemed strange.
Golden Gate
I headed over to Golden Gate. GG was probably one of the only clubs I had not joined in Vegas. This was my first time playing here and yet I had no urge to get that card. Besides you had to play like $20 before you could get free play here for signing up. Yet I must have put $500 coin-in through at the end of the day. I spent like 2 hours on their Crazy Coaster slot and their Cash Spin slot. GG’s Crazy coaster was not doing me better than the one in LVC but it was still holding up great. Cash Spin, the one most right facing the table games, was hitting the bonus wheel every minute and I kept pocketing everything. I spent so much time winning there, that the security guard began to pace back and forth around me. I mean, the machine was facing the table games so everyone could see me putting money away continuously like it was an ATM. And yet again, I broke even. This was eerie.
La Bayou
Next stop was La Bayou for the first time. Mermaids was my usual dive casino spot in DT because it had the fried treats but I kinda like the swampy dark feel of La Bayou. I know, strange. Their machines accepted coins mostly and I was winning, winning, winning. 1 quarter turned to four; I cashed out. 1 quarter turned to 13, I cashed out. 1 quarter turned to 20, I cashed out. I might have spent $20 here but I had all the fun in the WORLD!!! Now, I see why people miss the coin machines! Buckets of quarters! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Way to REALLY make you feel like a kid! But my hands were filthy. I ran to their disgusting bathroom to wash my dirt-crusted hands. I only started to lose when I realized I had to play more quarters to get to the bonus rounds which kept hitting but I was only playing 1 quarter at a time. So I put in 3 quarters, nothing. 3 quarters, nothing. 3 quarters, 20 quarter win. Played it down until it was only 2 quarters left and finally the bonus came! But I needed 3 credits and I only put 2. Ugh. $20 gone. What a loss TITOs are. And down with the max credit bonus. Smh.
I only lost $20 bucks but left kinda dejected. I couldn’t shake the feeling in that moment and wondered why; it was only $20 bucks! It’s only now that I’m writing this that I remember that I tend to feel more hurt after winning, winning, winning and then losing it than losing to begin with.
By the time I walked out of La Bayou, the Freemont Street Experience was on! Every one was looking up at the sky TV projector. Beautiful colors and nice illumination onto the crowd…but not my style of music and fun. I quickly scurried into the Fremont hotel.
Fremont
There, I hopped on a big screen $1 machine. I did not put my card in on purpose because I did not want it to count as another play as I did not intend on playing long. I hit 3 sevens on my first spin but it did not pay me because I did not play max credit. Poor failure AGAIN. And you know what happens at night, I think they may pump excruciating amounts of oxygen that make you lose sight of your limitations. I went to those $5 max bet spins. CRAZY, I know. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. By then I was upset because I did it again and thought might as well try and get some of it back. Always a mistake. Went to top dollar and hit top dollar at $6 a spin only to come up with $60 win. I had just lost like $100 so I wanted more. So sad. I played another $60 through on the machine. Went to megabucks at $3 max credit, nothing. Then to $1 and $5 WOF, nothing. I ran away from the casino thinking there MUST be a conspiracy about the night in these casinos. Not saying it’s harder to win then but hey! My mother once told me slots are looser during check-in time (3p-8p) which makes sense. Allow us slot players to have superstitions, thanks. I was more concerned that something different is in the atmosphere during the night time to make you act weird with your money. As you can tell, I do not drink alcohol and yet I felt so discombobulated. The feeling was nice but it was not nice for my money. I guess whatever it is, real or imagined, oxygen pumping or whatever, I had to get away and mind myself.
$200 down for the day despite all the prior winning and excitement. Pure dejection. Went to Mcds at Fitz to grab some chicken nuggets and an ice cream. Ice cream was always a picker upper! Also ran into a bitter worker who reluctantly gave me a new mcflurry after she touched the ice cream with her hand on the first one. Went back to my room at the Fremont and spit out the gross chicken nuggets but savored every “morsel” of my oreo mcflurry…and drifted off to bed.
Orleans
I did not sleep so comfortably at Orleans but I slept deep because I was so tired the night before. As much as I love shows and I know that you sit for long periods of time when you watch them, I always leave them physically spent. You know, I love the Orleans—their food options, their grandioseness, their beautiful casino (that is tighter than tight), beautiful pool, good entertainment options, grand hallways and cute rooms. Though I have never been to New Orleans, I perceive that it truly evokes the mood and vibe of that city. Hey, what do I know?
However, I am rarely one to complain that a hotel needs to be modernized, but Orleans has 70s-style curtains in their room. And all day and all night, that bothered me. I liked that the room was old-fashioned like the couches were from the 80s and the bed stand was gold-plated columns like I-have-no-idea-what-decade-it-comes-from. All the furniture was outdated. Yet I simultaneously rejoiced and lamented this fact. Perhaps it was not the outdatedness of the room that I truly lamented but the fact that those things that were outdated were not the higher-end, lux versions of yesteryear. Beds were hard, tables were wooden, curtain was hideous but the color scheme of the bed was beautiful and the old-style gold-plated mirror was majestic. The actual hallways in the Orleans truly makes me happy because they are grand, old-fashioned, and feels luxurious. Wish the room was as lux…but those hideous curtains. No, Orleans, no. What Orleans did have that all other hotels should have were windows in the bathtub that gave you views of the city. Smashin’!
Before I began my day at the Orleans, I checked my email on the internet kiosks only to find that Caesars and no other CET property had offered me anything (and still not yet even today even though AC has) and my calendar was still void of comps. CET offers usually come fairly immediately after playing. That was fine. I did not expect anything from them, although I would have liked for them to cough something up. At least, I left CET up instead of down. However, what horrified me in my email was that Gold Coast was offering me $24 rooms after offering two complimentary nights for the past 6 months. Wow! I thought maybe my play in December in which I bought in with $100 and played for 2 hours with $25 pieces initially down to $10 on the board over time. I knew I shouldn’t have played that time but I thought it had been enough. I never even got to use those comp nights with GC. Now, I was infuriated with Boyd. Boyd was the only loyalty program I could trust. I could shrug Mlife off EASILY, shrug CET off a little more difficultly (yeah I like making words), shrug independents off naturally. But Boyd!? Boyd? I depended on him to provide, some program to rest on. Some program to always be loyal to because of how good they treated me. When one of their lowest properties (though I love GC) begins to charge me, I realize there is no hope for comps for me in Vegas. Boyd took the light out of me with regards to comps. I could always trust him before. But now? Now, I knew I should just stick to discounts in this great city.
And my frustration quickly turned into calm and comfort…which quickly turned into happiness. This was an extremely pivotal point in my trip. I did not like feeling obligated to play for comps or to maintain comps anyway! I like the freedom of hit-and-run. Being able to buy-in at a $3 table with $6 and handing them my card just to giggle at the faces they make. Luckily, I had already used my Boyd comps this trip for 3 upcoming nights at Fremont and my deal with Orleans, so at least I benefitted from them somehow already. I would enjoy every second I spent at Boyd properties this time around because I do not know how likely it would be for me to stay at his properties without comps. I took solace in the fact that discounts are pretty much guaranteed to all club members in any player’s club no matter how much you play. There are some excellent deals that come with great treats like free buffets or free shows or free rides for the general public. I also have a credit line called Bill Me Later that I find I can only use exclusively for travel (as no other retailers for that credit line interest me) so paying for rooms almost feels comped because I pay the line off later in bulk or in bits and pieces. This discovery was working out to my benefit! I was finally going to be OK with just discounts. Apparently, I had disappointed every slot program in Vegas. Boyd had been my last hope. And the biggest benefit of this information is that I was going to go back to purely playing to win! Which, for me, meant playing for only short periods of time with very little money. Nevertheless, I was still going to play the comp game at Fremont this time around one last time.
This particular morning I headed to the Orleans casino for the first time since I got there to play. I already knew the machines were tight from previous trips so I did not intend to play long or to play much. Plus, with this newfound info, I could not give a flying funk of their impressions of my play. Let the chips fall as they may. I had to use my $15 free play that I loaded on my card once I got there. I was attracted to the $1 blue top dollar machine. I LOVE when that little guy comes out and says, “It’s time to play tooppppp dolllaaarrrr! Uhhh….uh let’s play!” It simply excites me and I think he’s so cute in an animated way. I got up to about $30 on my free play but was slightly annoyed about the fact that $1 machines sometimes pay so little as if they are penny machines. If I am going to play dollar machines, I want to win BIG money, not $15 coin-in with a $30 win. I could play pennies for that. I played that sucker down to nothing, and I still had fun!
Next, I hit the $5 craps table with $20. I handed the pit boss lady my card with my $20 buy-in and she looked at me like “are you serious? OK!” The dice rolled with my $5 on field. Win. Lovely. Dice Roll. Win. Cool. Dice Roll. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Lose. Ha. Another $20 buy-in. All lost. I shook my head, smiled and was off. There is something about craps tables that makes me happy win or lose. Fortunately when I lose, I usually do not risk that much…or else maybe I would be devastated. I think I am more devastated by losing a big win than losing flat out.
I headed straight for the $1 Wheel of Fortune but no luck. Ever since I realized how much $5 WOF paid off on a bonus spin, I questioned why play quarter and $1 WOF because their spins pay off wayyyyyyy less than you actually play. For example, we play 2 credits at $1 WOF just for it to hit $25 or $30 most of the time on the spin. Other dollar machines will pay way more on a bonus round. We play 3 credits for quarter WOF just for it to hit 25 or 30 credits most of the time which is like $4.50 which you can easily make on a penny machine. I mean, EASILY. Even at 20 cents a spin. By the time, we hit 25, 30, 40, or 50 credits on a dollar or quarter WOF spin most times, we have lost like 50-100 credits and so we continue to play to lose on these machines because those bonus wins often mean nothing. Playing quarter and dollar WOF felt so useless sometimes. I also do not encourage $5 WOF unless you are ok with losing $100 in 10 minutes. Yet WOF will always remain my favorite game….and despite this rant, I will continue to play at all denominations….just never for long. All my biggest slot wins were on WOF: $5 machine-$300, $225; $1 machine-$200, $500; $0.25 machine-$400. I was so shocked by the $400 win at the quarter WOF machine in Mandalay Bay (which is super tight) back last May because I did not think it could do that. But it was the very rarity of the icons of a wheel of fortune, a double diamond, and a 7 I believe (was it a 7? I do not remember). I had only placed $5 into the machine. That was when I remembered that most of my hits happen as soon as I sit down. They often happen within 10 minutes of playing. I know that for some those slot wins are not that big, but as a fairly new player that made all the difference. I always have to give WOF a shot. You do not bite the hand that feeds you.
I had fun playing at the Orleans that morning but by the end of my play, I had only played (and lost) $80 in less than an hour. I grabbed a Subway sandwich at their little 24 hour food court in the back (including Baskin Robbins, Fudruckers, and Sbarro) and was on my way.
Fremont
I took a taxi again…so unlike me. I’m used to taking bus routes. I used them fairly infrequently this trip. I think the taxi to Fremont cost me upwards of $30 bucks. Truly ridiculous. The taxis always charge a $3 surcharge to use a credit card. Sucks. Anyway, I walked into the Fremont and was instantly discouraged. I’m a grandiose kind of gal. I like wide open spaces. It was not cozy and comfy like your grandma’s couch as the ambiance would have you believe. It was a rather cold vibe to me near the entrance with a hint of green and browns to slightly warm the mood which were not exactly warming the mood effectively. The casino itself was lively though. I checked in easily around 12noon. The hallways were nicely done as were the rooms. Very modern in a retro way (ha). Tiny, cramped room with equal bathrooms. Yet the greens and browns continued which happened not to be favorite colors of mine so I found myself not entirely comfortable here. Cozy but not comfortable. The color scheme affects the mood for me so I always tend to choose a room that looks happy (bright colors preferable). In fact the room setting put a damper on my mood. It was not a well-lit room either but the bed and chair were comfy nevertheless. I dropped my bags off and hit the casino. Did not intend to spend any worthwhile time in this comped room.
The Fremont casino was giving me BUSINESS. Left and right I was hitting on the $1 WOF machine. They were small hits but they were frequent hits. $25, $30, $40, $50. I had an enjoyable time. I was playing to maintain comps one last time. To see how worthwhile it could be. I played at Fremont the most I ever played in Vegas in ever. I usually play more in AC because it just does not offer as much as Vegas but psychologically AC gives me a vacation. Vegas goes beyond psychological and gives me a real vacation. That’s why I am often more concerned with everything else in Vegas than I am actually concerned with gaming. I got on penny machines, nickel machines , quarter machines and they were all hitting at least small amounts frequently. One one penny machine I saw a woman hit back to back to back bonus rounds. She was betting $3 max bet on a slot that looked like Zues mixed with Power Strike (I forgot the name sorry, but it was next to the $1 WOF slots in the middle of Fremont) and she hit bonus rounds of $80, $300, $170, etc. I came over next to her and played the slot next to her which was paying but was not paying like hers. I told her, “Nice hit!” She said “yeah my husband has been winning all day and I have been losing all day. I’m glad to finally have a win.” I told her, “Great! I know this is unsolicited advice but make sure you pocket some of that!” She said, “I’m the type to play it till it’s gone.” We laughed. I said, “Always looking for the BIG one!” She said “Right!” I walked away for 20 minutes and came back and she was still going. I was proud and worried simultaneously but she kept winning. Eventually I went away and came back and she was gone. Wellll….I hopped right on to that slot machine and picked up where she left off. At $3 max bet, the bonus round came like 3 or 4 times for wins as big as $225 at this penny machine. And the machine made a lot of noise which I loved because it made the win so much more fun. The lady came back around and said “it’s still going?!” I cried “Yes!” in happiness. She smiled. I was happy for her too because unless she later squandered all the money that she won, there was no way in that short period of time that I walked away the second time that she could have played all her winnings down. I was just proud now.
I came to Fremont with $300 and despite all the wins along the way, I only had $320 when it was all said and done. I did not feel like I played through my wins. In fact whenever I get a win bigger than my initial wager, I pocket it even if it’s a $5 insertion and $10 result. I’m trying to come up. That’s my sole purpose in a casino. Yeah it’s fun regardless but the joy in it is the win! For me, that’s as small and as big as doubling $5 wagers over and over and over; it adds up. So basically breaking even was a shock to me. But at the end of the day, I had played 3 straight hours (rarity for me seriously) and had $1095 coin-in. I think it was worth it.
Mermaids
I walked out of Fremont hotel onto the Fremont experience at 4pm. The flightlinez kinda kill the ambiance of Fremont street for me. I love that retro feel especially in the day time. It’s such a light-hearted feeling and strangely, there are no other words I can find currently to describe it but cozy. Except now with the flightlinez, the vibe has intensified to a wild, crazy, anything-goes, loud feeling which is not cozy at all. Long lines for flightlinez, 2 large set-ups throughout, and people flying by like airplanes—you can’t help but look up. It gives me a feeling of constantly being around people who are bungee-jumping. Not a fan. I love the revitalization of DT but now, all day and all night, Fremont street would have this rock-and-roll, death-defying feel. Rock is not my cup of tea really and I like my life. *shrug* Looks like this staying-DT-for-the-first-time experience was making me realize that I rather stay on the strip. Wish I had stayed earlier when the vibe was still cozy…at least in the day time.
I walked over to Mermaids and had my required hot dog, fried oreos and fried twinkie. Good brain food.
Las Vegas Club
Then, off to Las Vegas Club. I walked in to encounter a 25 cent WOF machine that was hitting spin every second. In fact, the entire bank of these machines were hitting every second. Luck! Or LVC’s great loosest slots campaign. The machine was still only paying those $4.50 “bonus” hits but at least the excitement of getting a spin was providing the entertainment value. I then walked over to a single (no bank) $5 WOF with $20 bucks at 2 credits and no hits. Afterwards, I went to the player’s card booth to load $5 free play from my ACG coupons. I found the same 7s penny machine I won $40 bucks on last trip in December from the same $5 free play coupon. I won only $7 this time but it was still $7 given to me directly from LVC. A win. Definitely. I was also hitting like crazy on this Crazy Coaster slot machine with only the minimum bet (every time I played the max bet, I won the same amount that I would win if I were playing the minimum bet so I stopped). Almost every other spin provided a crazy amount of wilds or a bonus round. I would put $5 several times into the machine and turn it into $30-90. I went to LVC’s $1 WOF and inserted $5 three times and hit the spin button every time. I won $25, $40 and $30 I believe.
It was then that I discovered the Cash Spin machine. This same machine had been good to me at MB (though I did not write about it previously) and I fell in love with it because even if you play the minimum bet of 40 cent, when the USpin icon comes up and you spin the wheel, you can win $13 or $20 or free games or a whole host of other things. I liked it because it was the type of game I could $5 into and come out with $20 several times. And of course I would pocket it every time. Getting the three bags bonus was also fun. (But I never play that Cash Spin game where you choose the icon that will get you to the bonus wheel instead of the Uspin icon because it’s so rare to get the highest icon of 3 wilds but if you play 3 bars the amounts on the wheel will be so tiny. Plus you have to the depend on the probability of getting 3 things in a row verses getting 1 Uspin icon which will give you bonus amounts far higher than those other Cash spin versions apart from the getting 3 wilds option which has like $40 as the lowest amount on the bonus wheel and yet it’s so hard to ever achieve that). The Cash Spin machine at LVC gave me business. I turned several $5 into $11. The LVC casino was nothing but good to me. And while LVC is divey, it has a warm vibe to me and I like it. I would love to stay there too because their spacious rooms and décor look better than most in DT. However, people do complain about non-working elevators. I have seen LVC sell for $5 per night in December; maybe I will take advantage of it then (if they do not remodel before that). I knew my 2 hour play at only $500 coin-in would probably not be much to them but we will see.
Despite all the wins, yet again, I left only basically even. I had spent no more than $200 here and yet I left with $220, similar scenario as Fremont. I guess when I pocketed my big and small wins and churned down the rest of my BR, I might have lost more churning it down than I thought. But I won so much, that breaking even still seemed strange.
Golden Gate
I headed over to Golden Gate. GG was probably one of the only clubs I had not joined in Vegas. This was my first time playing here and yet I had no urge to get that card. Besides you had to play like $20 before you could get free play here for signing up. Yet I must have put $500 coin-in through at the end of the day. I spent like 2 hours on their Crazy Coaster slot and their Cash Spin slot. GG’s Crazy coaster was not doing me better than the one in LVC but it was still holding up great. Cash Spin, the one most right facing the table games, was hitting the bonus wheel every minute and I kept pocketing everything. I spent so much time winning there, that the security guard began to pace back and forth around me. I mean, the machine was facing the table games so everyone could see me putting money away continuously like it was an ATM. And yet again, I broke even. This was eerie.
La Bayou
Next stop was La Bayou for the first time. Mermaids was my usual dive casino spot in DT because it had the fried treats but I kinda like the swampy dark feel of La Bayou. I know, strange. Their machines accepted coins mostly and I was winning, winning, winning. 1 quarter turned to four; I cashed out. 1 quarter turned to 13, I cashed out. 1 quarter turned to 20, I cashed out. I might have spent $20 here but I had all the fun in the WORLD!!! Now, I see why people miss the coin machines! Buckets of quarters! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Way to REALLY make you feel like a kid! But my hands were filthy. I ran to their disgusting bathroom to wash my dirt-crusted hands. I only started to lose when I realized I had to play more quarters to get to the bonus rounds which kept hitting but I was only playing 1 quarter at a time. So I put in 3 quarters, nothing. 3 quarters, nothing. 3 quarters, 20 quarter win. Played it down until it was only 2 quarters left and finally the bonus came! But I needed 3 credits and I only put 2. Ugh. $20 gone. What a loss TITOs are. And down with the max credit bonus. Smh.
I only lost $20 bucks but left kinda dejected. I couldn’t shake the feeling in that moment and wondered why; it was only $20 bucks! It’s only now that I’m writing this that I remember that I tend to feel more hurt after winning, winning, winning and then losing it than losing to begin with.
By the time I walked out of La Bayou, the Freemont Street Experience was on! Every one was looking up at the sky TV projector. Beautiful colors and nice illumination onto the crowd…but not my style of music and fun. I quickly scurried into the Fremont hotel.
Fremont
There, I hopped on a big screen $1 machine. I did not put my card in on purpose because I did not want it to count as another play as I did not intend on playing long. I hit 3 sevens on my first spin but it did not pay me because I did not play max credit. Poor failure AGAIN. And you know what happens at night, I think they may pump excruciating amounts of oxygen that make you lose sight of your limitations. I went to those $5 max bet spins. CRAZY, I know. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. By then I was upset because I did it again and thought might as well try and get some of it back. Always a mistake. Went to top dollar and hit top dollar at $6 a spin only to come up with $60 win. I had just lost like $100 so I wanted more. So sad. I played another $60 through on the machine. Went to megabucks at $3 max credit, nothing. Then to $1 and $5 WOF, nothing. I ran away from the casino thinking there MUST be a conspiracy about the night in these casinos. Not saying it’s harder to win then but hey! My mother once told me slots are looser during check-in time (3p-8p) which makes sense. Allow us slot players to have superstitions, thanks. I was more concerned that something different is in the atmosphere during the night time to make you act weird with your money. As you can tell, I do not drink alcohol and yet I felt so discombobulated. The feeling was nice but it was not nice for my money. I guess whatever it is, real or imagined, oxygen pumping or whatever, I had to get away and mind myself.
$200 down for the day despite all the prior winning and excitement. Pure dejection. Went to Mcds at Fitz to grab some chicken nuggets and an ice cream. Ice cream was always a picker upper! Also ran into a bitter worker who reluctantly gave me a new mcflurry after she touched the ice cream with her hand on the first one. Went back to my room at the Fremont and spit out the gross chicken nuggets but savored every “morsel” of my oreo mcflurry…and drifted off to bed.
Tuesday, March 13
Fremont
Ate at the Paradise buffet this morning. There was nothing worthwhile, not even the price at about $8 bucks. I take that back. The 80s-esque tropical theme was phenomenal and really made me feel like I was in the Saved-by-the-Bell version of a Hawaiian (enclosed?) paradise. Well-named venue. Selection was tiny and quality was low. Somebody raved about this place to me. Absolute failure.
Today was the day to explore the Boulder Highway so I went to the stop near Western casino for the Boulder express bus (where they had a machine for me to purchase tickets at….I fussed with it for while, beat it up a little, only to later find out when I paid on the machine on the bus that I had to insert my credit card and press some numbers first before the machine at the stop would come on…hmm, did not work like that on the strip…those machines always stay on).
It was an absolute splendid day weather-wise, sunny was shining, birds were chirping, sun was warming the skin. And to me there is something quite therapeutic about sitting on the bus and watching the world go by your window on a sunny and cheerful day. So instead of stopping at Sam’s Town as I had planned to, I rode that bus out to wherever it would stop, hoping it would take me as far as the divey casino of Joker’s Wild, where I heard there was $1 or $2 craps tables. But the express bus instead took a turn towards Sunset Station casino. Never got a chance to see Joker’s Wild this trip—hopefully next time.
Sunset Station
I was glad to be around that area for the second time but the last time I had been there, I was seriously about to have a heat stroke last August so I did not really soak up what was actually in my surroundings. I learned there was an Applebees and Red Lobster, 2 of my favorite chain restaurants, as well as a Ross-Dress for Less store, my favorite discount clothing store, nearby within walking distance of Sunset. Miraculously, there was also a big mall across the street from Sunset Station as well. With several popular eateries like Cold Stone and Wendys, as well as stores like Walmart around, I thought I had found a mini-haven in the desert of Vegas. I had not gone into Sunset Station this time though, which was near the ever-divey Gold Rush, both of which have the same player’s card (Wildfire gaming works with Station casinos). But I remembered it having a faux sky like Paris casino with a really chill vibe like Gold Coast and vibrancy like Sam’s town and Rio. Initially, I did not care to come back but this time around, having looked at the surroundings, it was certainly worth a trip, at the least brief.
The funny thing was, the Boulder express bus’ last stop was at Sunset Station and I did not intend getting off the bus there, after having scanned the area for its jewels. I decided I would ride on back down to the Boulder Highway casinos but the bus driver was not having it.
“Miss, you have to get off the bus,” the bus driver said gruffly.
“I missed my stop,” I replied curiously.
“Well, you can’t do that!” He said irately.
I said, “and why not? I want to go back.” I told him, "I have a 24 hour pass!"
“There is no way for me to know for sure if you missed your stop. And if you
stay on the bus heading back, that’s considered loitering.”
Oh, really? I never heard anything like it. I just looked at him like a little girl who can’t understand and who is absolutely bewildered by his comments.
He immediately calmed down and said gruffly, “I will let you go this time but next time you have to know that we can’t have you riding up and down the routes. Another bus driver might not be this nice.”
Really?!! I just said “OK” because I did not want to be stranded out there. A taxi from there would easily cost like $50 back to Fremont, and the last time I tried to get a taxi at Sunset Station, I waited 30 minutes only for no taxi to ever show up. The bus driver went on to insult and barrage an old, disabled gentleman who called him an a-hole. The driver wanted the man in the wheelchair to get off his bus, fearing that he was also “loitering” by not getting off the bus at the last stop. Held up the entire bus to call the police on him. Really??! It really sucks when someone takes their bad day out on everybody else. Oh the adventures called public transportation.
Eventually the verbal dispute ended, with no police in sight, and with the next bus needing space at the sidewalk to actually make a stop, the a-hole continued on his precious route back.
Tropicana Cinemas
Instead of going back to the Boulder casinos that I never ended up seeing this trip, I got off at Tropicana Ave and rode the 201 (or is it 202?) and took the bus to the Tropicana Cinemas where second-run movies cost $1 on Tuesdays and $1.50 every other day.
Looking at the line-up of movies, I was not particularly excited. I decided to walk in 15 mins late to see The Descendants, a purely moody and is-this-really-what-everyone-was-ranting-and-raving-about kind of movie. Hey! Some people loved it. The $3 nachos were still awesome as was the $1 hot dog. I left the movie feeling duped and paid $1 to see Puss-in-Boots. I quickly left the theater after 15 mins of boredom. I hopped on another bus and watched the movie called the streets of Vegas, as I had been doing before Trop Cinemas kindly interrupted with their boring line-up of movies. I hope they do better next time!
Wild Wild West—Days Inn
From Trop Cinemas, I stayed on a bus for 3 whole hours just watching the city pass me by on this beautiful summer-like day. Felt like a kid again; you know, those family trips where you look out the window and just think and imagine. Hey! I have a big imagination
. Truly relaxing. It’s actually something I do in my own home town to relax when I have free time, which is rarely. I dream of having free time like this to just relax and dream. But a bus is not as smooth as hopping on a train and letting it take you where the wind blows. Nope, there are bumps on this ride.
From this bus, I could see how real Vegasans lived. The World beyond the Strip was truly a livable world, if not a bit marred by the vast, empty desert spaces that make it look quite creepy at times. I drove past these beautiful suburban complexes that I adored and would not mind living in. I guess you could call this a “cultural” experience, if people could reconceptualize Vegas as a “cultural” place. Unlike the last bus driver, this bus driver did not even notice whether people got off at the last stop or not.
As the bus made its way back around, I fought with myself on where to stop. I so badly wanted to see the timeshare Tahiti Village but it was evening time now and my highest interest in going was to view the beautiful pool they have which would close in a few minutes. I could go back to the strip and just walk around at places like MGM or Excalibur. On the way, I had learned that this bus stops directly in front of The Orleans, which might come in handy in the future. Instead, I stopped at Wild Wild West, a truckdriver’s Vegas haven, a most divey hotel and casino.
When I planned this trip, I had initially planned to stay here over the weekend since the rates on the strip had grown astronomically for this week. However, MB had given me their weekend comp just in time for me to drop my WWW reservation. Nevertheless WWW maintains great weekend rates on hostelworld.com at a standard $33 for Friday and Saturday, and it’s located right next to In-and-Out burger which is close to Excalibur on Trop Ave.
The first thing I did here was view the casino which was small and nice. Then I asked the front desk to view the room and pool. The pool looked like a hole in the concrete but the Jacuzzi is opened 24/7 so that was nice. The room has all-white sheets and looked clean and livable to me. Actually one of the better rooms I have seen. Seeing a 24/7 Dennys on property, a friendly staff, and some internet kiosks here and there, I decided then that I would happily stay at WWW with no problems. All super basic needs met.
I then played in their casino. I hit the $2 roulette table (the craps table did not open while I was there) with quarter bets, spreading them out between 4 numbers at several points on the table. Started with a $20 buy-in and a very friendly dealer. Left with $25. Tipped the dealer $2 and took my $3 profit and headed to the BJ table.
I was the only one at the $5 BJ table. I bought in for $40 on this table because, as I told the very friendly pit boss, “I want some free nights!” LOL I intended playing as long as I could. I spoke to the dealer John and said “I want you to help me win!” And he promised to do the best he could, with a smile. I always flat bet, call me cheap. But deal after deal, John was on fire…for me! He surely helped me out (though I know it was not really his doing). After every win, he rejoiced with me. And what a wonderful smile he had. I was ordering Cokes left and right and tipping the waitress. In all my gambling sessions this trip, this had to be top 3 for fun. We had a blast for like 30 minutes. I remembered the fun of a table game. He smiled the whole way through—that is, until men started to show up.
Suddenly smiley John turned into stern John. I guess since the men were around he wanted to behave as if he meant business. I even joked with him in between a hand, “you’re going to help me with this one John, right?” And he nodded with a stern face. The other men were telling jokes with each other, the waitresses and even the other dealers (since this is kind of a locals casino, people seemed to know each other). They were even telling jokes to me but Johnny boy was dealing like a mad man now, fast and furious. And the other men at the table appreciated it, even though they were not winning as I had been. Even though they had no idea they changed the mood of the table for me. It was fun still but not as fun as before.
The dealer than changed to a young woman who wanted to flirt with one of the players at the table whom she knew. I tipped John $5 as he walked away. I could tell that he did not mean to change up his style but he did it for business sake. This new dealer only had eyes for this player. The rest of us might as well not have even been there. I did not lose too much as this woman dealt but I did not win much either. I was so happy when John came back. By then, the men had gradually cleared out. I played until I made it up to $55, tipped him another $5 and smiled graciously at his efforts. As everyone had been gone by then, he went back to smiley John and said he really appreciated it. I left happy.
The slots were on fire by this time (around 7pm). I turned $5 into $20 on one slot, then $5 into $7 on another. I won $30 on another slot. I played 40 cents maybe 5 times before winning $90 on their Wizard of Oz slots. I did not know you could win so much on a 40 cent bet. Whoooppee! Everyone around me kept hitting bonuses left and right. It was almost kind of irking me (the back-to-back alarm noises—I had even heard them as I was playing BJ) and at the same time enlivening the vibe of this small and dark casino. I saw people making hundreds of dollars. However, by 8pm all the machines I was playing seemed to grow cold. I played 10 slots with no wins, not even tiny 60 cent wins. And I also heard less people playing and less bonus rounds. I have a heavy suspicion that time does matter (let the naysayers talk) when it comes to slots. Even if it doesn’t, when I feel the vibe grow cold and my machine seems to hit nothing every spin, I back off.
I walked into their Dennys and ordered nachos, Hershey cake and apple pie. Great dining. I do eat some crappy things on my Vegas trips but what I lack in drinking, I make up for in snacking…I mean, dining.
I immediately hopped into a cab straight to Excalibur and paid like $10. I left WWW up $150. Great stuff.
MGM
Walking across the 2 bridges, I stopped into the coconut-smelling MGM. The
smell always blasts me as I walk in. I told myself I was only walking through to get to the bus stop it was nearest to but those slots kept calling my name. I played their 25 cent WOF and won nothing. I played their Cash-Spin (with the option of changing the icons that would make the bonus—bad move). If I chose 3 bars to get to the bonus spin, I would get to the bonus spin often….but then I would win things like 40 cents. 40 cents; really?! On a bonus spin? Yeah, 3 bar-bonus-activation was not working. When I changed the bonus activation to 3 wilds, one of the lowest numbers on the wheel was $45. But in all my short time of playing Cash Spin, I had never seen 3 wilds all at once. I could lose $300 before I see 3 wilds. Not worth it. Definitely sticking to Cash Spins with the U-Spin icon as the bonus activation. I left MGM down $30. Off to the bus stop I go.
Bills
I accidentally got on the Strip express bus and stopped at Ballys. I walked over to Bills and played their $3 electronic craps game. Down another $20. Definitely not a fun game. Craps-Shoot to Win game is way better but I am not sure quite why. The craps tables that night were going WILD. There were like 3 tables, packed so tight, with people yelling and screaming. It was too bad I walked through several slots and won nothing. Down $40.
Flamingo
I used to hate the tacky neon ceilings of Flamingo but I had grown to at least appreciate its liveliness. I spent $20 here which easily went to the ways of the trash. I had been now burnt by Strip casinos too much in a short period of time. It was then it really and seriously dawned on me what people had been saying all along: keep your play Downtown…or anywhere else. You can’t exactly tell me that I had so far only lost small sums of money on the Strip that day, because even single quarters were given me business at La Bayou downtown. Granted, I have had a day in which one DT casino took all my money in other trips and even one night DT during this trip has sucked all my money but 1 out of 4 DT (or other) sessions suck whereas 1 out of 20 Strip sessions are really good (this is just a metaphor; purely anecdotal, not real stats).
I did not walk but RAN for the bus back to downtown. Now down $110 from the $150 I had originally won at WWW.
Fremont
I was not really in the mood to play at midnight, but on my walk towards Dunkin Donuts to get a cup of cold ice water I saw a woman hitting BIG time on a machine. Once she got up, I took my shot. I should have practiced discipline.
Spin. Nothing. Spin. Nothing. Spin. A little bit. Spin. Nothing. I lost quite a bit on this machine. Sucked it up and RAN for my room.
Wednesday, March 14
Fremont
I thought I had a nightmare that I had accidentally used my card last night on the machine even though I did not intend to play long and I had not played on that day prior. I called down to the Bconnected desk and they said I had play registered from last night. Thought I would be sick. I RAN down to the desk. At the desk, they did not see anything registered from the night before. I had only played maybe 20 minutes the night before. I had wondered why on the phone they saw something different. I felt muchhhhh relief.
Even better, the man at the desk offered me a free buffet because I had not gotten anything for having played $1095 in a session a couple days before. Wow! Nice! A bonus I did not even know I was entitled to, which, he said, I would have lost had I not come to the desk. Great. This was fruitful. Then again, this was a free buffet at Paradise buffet. Whooopee (sarcasm)! But, I always take free.
Lunch at Paradise buffet was definitely as step up from breakfast but that was not saying much. I actually loaded up my plate this time. The dessert was quite lovely, apple pie, pineapple cake, coconut cake and vanilla ice cream were savory. Chocolate cake tasted like cheap chocolate on the other hand, much like a 50cent swiss roll. A cheeseburger, delicious buttery rolls (which I stacked up on), fried shrimp and mashed potatoes is all I can remember on my plate of many things. I knew it would probably be the last time I would come to this buffet. Apart from the desserts, the buffet was subpar.
Afterwards, I hit the $3 craps table again with $20 buy-in. I spread on numbers and mixed it in with field bets. Got up to $30 and lost it all.
Circus Circus
I hopped on the Deuce bus to CC. I stopped first to survey their buffet that everyone says in horrible. Hostesses always let me view the food before making a decision to eat so that’s what I did. And oh boy, had I been hungry, I would have GLADLY eaten here. The desserts looked wonderful and the selection was plentiful. The food looked warm, fresh, and tasty with much to choose from. Now, considering that I have surveyed Imperial Palace buffet on 2 different occasions and always left feeling like I would pay them to make sure I never had to eat that food, I knew very well that Circus Circus was a fairly good situation. Moreover, the ambiance of their buffet felt like a park garden—particularly comfy and jovial-feeling. IP buffet just feels like a dungeon. Ex, IP, and CC are considered the worst buffets and having tasted Ex buffet and looked at CC buffet, I know IP (even though it’s my fav hotel and casino) is by far the very worst, with food looking old, bland, DIRTY with very little selection and disgusting looking desserts. Ex buffet was not bad looking or tasting.
I went straight for the Adventuredome after this. I had a problem using my 3 for 54 tickets. This was my second time to have this problem since December, so I will never use that Mlife deal again. They were trying not to redeem my tickets! I insisted that they redeem my tickets as I had paid for those tickets last June and they said I had a year to redeem them. After much argument and me speaking very politely and calmly to the security they called for me, while waiting for the supervisor to talk to a NYNY agent, they gave me a “comped” ticket, as if I had not paid for the ticket already. This experience made me very much done with Adventuredome. I would have to suck this paid-for “comped” ticket for all it was worth.
I did not have the stomach for the roller coaster or the water flume ride. I was on the boat ride, bumper cars, chaos, tilt-a-whirl, 3D Happy Feet, 3D Dora ride, and the spinny ride in the front. It was great times—a great way to spend an hour and a half. Nevertheless, I think I went on the spinny ride too many times because I left the Adventuredome with such a bad stomachache, I could barely walk. Talk about feeling like a kid again.
I dragged myself to the closest slot where I plopped down on the seat holding my tummy and rubbing my sweating head. I fell asleep for like 5 minutes before I encountered another security guard, this time asking me if I was OK. I was still in terrible pain and I told him I needed a drink. He said, “I do not think this is a good time for you to be having a drink.” I automatically realized he thought I meant an alcoholic drink. I told him, no, just Coke. He gladly brought me a coke and after finishing it and resting and watching people play for like 20 minutes, I slowly got up and continued my trip, stomach pain free.
Planet Hollywood
I had worked up hunger through my pain I guess, because I wanted to try out the raved-about Spice Market buffet once and for all.
It was a bit of a blur. One thing was for certain, it looked no where near as cool and brilliant as its casino or even as much as other buffets. The carpeting was nice though. Food not as moving as Rio’s was—in fact, no where near. I found maybe 30% of the food I was actually interested in. I gained a newfound interest in crab legs here but, as I recall, Rio also had crab legs at their buffet but my plate had been so full with so many favorites that I never even had room to try Rio’s. Planet Hollywood had very fresh and tasty fruit selections though! So that’s the most I remember from PH buffet: fresh food, few of my favs, tasty fruits, tasty crab legs. At least, I could remember what it was good for.
Harrahs
I made a mad dash for Harrahs in order to watch the Legends in Concert show. Meh. Nothing to write home about. I wanted to give it another shot after having seen it for the first time during a Christmas special. It was still meh, irrespective of Christmas. In fact, it was even more meh this time around because Michael Jackson was not in it. I was just happy to have the comfy round table seats this time around. I certainly prefer the long-gone American Superstars show to Legends in Concert, because Michael Jackson was a permanent staple and they had newer and fresher singers with a far more roomy venue and fun atmosphere.
After the show, I go to Harrahs free karaoke party that they hold at the dueling pianos bar! Fun times to be had here…seems especially if you are drunk.
Taking a walk onto the strip, I walk past my beloved Carnaval Court. I thought to go in but it’s too early and the DJs have not started spinning yet. For a nice, down-to-earth party experience for all ages, Carnaval Court is a great option!
Imperial Palace
When I walk past IP, I enter the Rockhouse Club. No one checks my ID because it’s not officially a club yet for the night. Music is playing but no DJ is there yet. I sit in the VIP seats, which are all empty, and just enjoy the music and people-watching. This club, unlike Carnaval Court, are truly for the youngins. Very grungy. Very divey. The kids are playing beer pong. Funny. A worker tells me the Rockhouse will eventually be expanded with the renovations…and relocated. But he would not tell me where to! Exciting. Way to peak my curiousity here. The worker happily tells me it will maintain its grungy appearance. I politely (and probably unconvincingly) smile. Way to dampen my interest.
After a few minutes, I head into the IP casino. The moment I walk in, I am reminded why I will miss this place soooo much. It just feels like home to me. No other Vegas property does the same to me. IP is so alive, energetic, and energizing. This place is LIFE. I tried to entrap these memories in my memory bank, rapidly taking photos that will never truly capture how this place makes me feel.
I have a show to watch by 10:00pm. It’s called Divas, a drag concert emulating several famous female singers. I am not sure what to expect. But I take a seat at a slot machine and just soak up the ambiance, the energy, the vibe, the people. It’s the most amazing feeling I have felt in all my experiences this trip. This feeling, I hope, will last me, will remind me of this piece of Vegas soon to be lost. My favorite Vegas spot. I shook my head. I was getting very emotional…in a happy way.
Then the dealertainers came up—Beyonce, Janet Jackson, and Michael Jackson impersonators. Absolutely electrifying! I clapped, cheered, screamed, sang along! You would have thought these were the real celebrities and I was actually at a concert. Or, maybe you would have thought I was drunk or high or something. Regardless, I was having a great time. I mistook Janet for an Aaliyah impersonator—she had beautiful hair! The Beyonce impersonator looked nothing like her, not even in the style of dress. But her voice, her sound—epic. Truly Beyonce. Everyone else was more taken aback by the lack of resemblance to really enjoy her performance. A pretty girl but absolutely no resemblance. Michael was the same Michael they always have and he was just amazing. Very fun times.
I left towards the theatre on the second floor to get seated. I saw a very long line for the show so I decided to walk over to the Kaorake bar. I really acted drunk. It’s fun to act drunk sometimes. Ordered a FIVE DOLLAR Coke. Yeah, I had to be drunk to do THAT! I screamed, singing along with the current singer, “Whooooooooooaaa We’re half way there, Whooooooooooooooaaaaa Living on a prayer, Take my hand and we’ll make it I swear, Whoooooooooooaaa Living on a prayer!” It was absolutely so much fun. I loved letting my hair down. And I was the only one in the crowd of maybe 10 singing along, but the singer really appreciated it. After she was done, she and her friend had a laugh with me and I wished them a good night.
I finally walked over to the drag show line as long as it was. It actually moved quite fast. But I bet it moved faster because the show was about to start. Lucky for me, I got a booth table again. Yay! Comfy seats.
OMG, the Divas show was EPIC. I really felt as if I was at these individual women’s concerts. These men really looked beautiful and they looked just like the women they were impersonating. Not to mention, Frank Marino is freakishly gorgeous as a woman and fantabulously hilarious to boot! I won’t talk anymore, and it’s rare for me to say this (it really is), but if there is one show to watch while you are in Vegas, it’s Divas! I’m going to watch it again on my next trip. If it maintains its entertainment value, I might just mark it down as my new favorite Vegas show. I found the ticket for $30 online.
Tired, I took the bus back home to DT.
Thursday, March 15
Fremont
It was the last day of my trip but I had a midnight flight. A full day ahead.
I did not want to take any chances with bell hops so I decided to carry my luggage around with me all day (bookbag and big purse).
I had not shopped at my usual haunts this trip (Ross and mini-shops in cheap hotels particularly IP) but I would never get around to it this trip. I would make sure to do so in the future because some of my most affordable clothings and inexpensive jewelry have come from these places. Hoping actually to make a trip to Laughlin next trip.
I checked out of Fremont, leaving a tip for the wonderful, sweet maid. Thank you Fremont for being a bed. Don’t mind if you comp me again or not.
La Bayou
Went to the diveyest of divey casinos and plunked those quarters down. Won a little, lost a little, won a little, lost a little, until I lost a whole $5. Then I knew it was time to go.
Mermaids
I went in for some more fried snacks—a hot dog, fried oreos with no sprinkles. Mmm, mmm good.
Binions
I still have not played at Binions (nor have I seen the Plaza) but they had free ice cream samples out front that I indulged a tad in.
My plan for the future was to come back to downtown in the beginning of my trip so I can get done the little gaming that I do mostly in bulk downtown instead of on the Strip. I still have real plans for Golden Gate, Plaza, Gold Spike, Las Vegas Club, La Bayou, and the Fitz (now the D) particularly the second floor. Fremont’s an arcade where you actually have a flying chance. The atm at the 7-eleven near Gold Spike is my friend.
Cosmopolitan
I really had plans to see and use the Caesars pool before I ended my trip but I guess it was another “next time” plan. Instead of going to Caesars, I brought my trip full circle by going back to Cosmo to use my $100 free play. I’m a praying gal, so I prayed to God to really help me use this $100 wisely. God and gambling—only in Sin City. SMH I was down for the trip a few hundred, and it would have been a blessing to at least get something back. I did not plan to play much outside of my “play” money for the rest of the day.
Before I started playing my free play, I took out $20 of my money to play max credit on the $5 WOF slot that the woman had been winning on the night I arrived. A slot host came right over to greet me. How lovely. “Welcome! This is my section of the slot machines. Let me know if you need anything,” she said smiling. I was impressed. 2 spins and no returns. All in a warm welcoming.
I then hit the penny slots. I would insert $1 to $2 and see how they would respond at the 20-40 cent level. If it gave me $1 or more, I cashed out. I was only feeling around to see where the getting was good. Where I might end up using my free play. I used about 15 different slots in different sections of the casino floor but turned up with not much to speak of in the way of slot performance.
So I asked God to direct me to the slot machine that would be fruitful for me. I pray that once I see this machine, I will know it. I was directed to one 25cent machine with 3 max credits right near the table games. THIS was the machine…even though internally I struggled with the prospects of this machine.
I usually strongly dislike 25cent machines. In fact, I do not play them most of the time because I believe they do not pay much in my experience (possibly because I do not play machines for long…I do not give them half a chance…to suck up all my money). I was directed to play max credits even though most times I could not care less about max credits. After all, what will I do if I win the big jackpot? Pay more bills! LOL Usually 1 credit with a little hit here and there is enough to garner fun points from a gambling session. I also hold superstitions that playing next to table games may not be good because the casino likes their quiet slots closest to the table games (but we have already seen crazy wins directly in front of a table game at Golden Gate in this trip).
So, here I am, doing all the things I would not do, playing all the games I would not play, at a rate I would rarely play it. Just because THIS was the machine.
I activate my $100 free play in the machine I was directed to. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. I think I lost 10 times in a row before I began praying for a waitress to get me a drink. Then, I start pondering if I can get up and go to a different machine. I figure I am on a losing machine. I keep spinning anyway, hoping. Spin, Lose. Spin.
65 dollars. Nice. Only $15 played through so far, so I am thanking God so much. Yes! Even if I win no more, this machine was GREATLY fruitful and I am so happy. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. $230!!!!!! Yay! I bounce all over the walls of Cosmo…in my mind. Thank God! Now I’m almost breaking even for the trip (OK, I’m still a couple hundred away from that). A few more spins in, I hit $40. Then later, $30. After a couple more small wins that I play through, I leave that machine up $360! Yayyyyyyy! Excitement. The promo was worth it in the end. *doing a little dance*
I skipped right over to the cash dispensers. I promised myself I would not play beyond the $100 free play but I found myself heading for a monopoly penny slot machine. There I risked $2. Got up to $11 on a bonus. Was overzealous. Spent much of the $11 at a 7s penny machine nearby. Lost it. And decided to practice discipline and jet out of Cosmo while I still can.
Palms
Took a taxi over to Palms. Watched the Journey 2 movie. Cool and fun movie but nothing particularly excellent. Dropped some dollars on the slots here. Got up $20 on a Cash Spin. Lost on a WOF. Got up $30 on a WOZ slot. Lost on a WOZ slot. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. So much for discipline. My newfound fortune from Cosmo went untouched.
Rio
I needed something to do to pass time before my flight. What last minute thing could I do? I decided to catch a comedy show at the Rio. And what do you know, once I walked in a guy handed me a free ticket to watch their comedy show (he was actually the host of the show). I was so happy. I walked over to the pool, which was now closed, just to smell the scent and let the sound of the waterfall wash over me. The beauty of Rio pool could not be underestimated. This was heaven. I walked by another girl on the way in who handed me another free ticket to a later comedy show than the one the guy handed me. WoW! Free tickets to 2 different shows! Amaztastic!
While I waited for the show, I chatted with the girl. She was a native Vegasan who was a model. She did this work as a side gig while finishing college. We talked about hair, school, and Vegas. It was then time for the show and we wished each other well.
The first show was basically a show full of locals. Eh. Funny but not bone-crushing hilarious. The second show had a headliner who used to tour with Andrew Dice Clay. His whole act was about fat people. It was funny because he was a big guy. Otherwise it would have been super offensive. *shrug* The second show was better but watching 2 comedy shows at Rio taught me 2 things: 1. I will wait until these are free and being handed out in the casino; and 2. Riviera comedy club is probably very righteously voted the best comedy club in Vegas for 6 years in a row for very good reason. Riviera and Rio comedy were like night and day. Well, I take that back, if Rio was the night to Riviera’s day, it would have been bone-crushing depressing. Riviera comedy was so outstanding. I hope it is just as well when I see it again with different acts.
It was now 2 hours to fly and I had to get out of my fav city. I grabbed a $6 Cake batter frozen yogurt (flat rate) and hopped in a taxi (I really overdosed on taxis…and ice cream this trip). Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Fremont
Ate at the Paradise buffet this morning. There was nothing worthwhile, not even the price at about $8 bucks. I take that back. The 80s-esque tropical theme was phenomenal and really made me feel like I was in the Saved-by-the-Bell version of a Hawaiian (enclosed?) paradise. Well-named venue. Selection was tiny and quality was low. Somebody raved about this place to me. Absolute failure.
Today was the day to explore the Boulder Highway so I went to the stop near Western casino for the Boulder express bus (where they had a machine for me to purchase tickets at….I fussed with it for while, beat it up a little, only to later find out when I paid on the machine on the bus that I had to insert my credit card and press some numbers first before the machine at the stop would come on…hmm, did not work like that on the strip…those machines always stay on).
It was an absolute splendid day weather-wise, sunny was shining, birds were chirping, sun was warming the skin. And to me there is something quite therapeutic about sitting on the bus and watching the world go by your window on a sunny and cheerful day. So instead of stopping at Sam’s Town as I had planned to, I rode that bus out to wherever it would stop, hoping it would take me as far as the divey casino of Joker’s Wild, where I heard there was $1 or $2 craps tables. But the express bus instead took a turn towards Sunset Station casino. Never got a chance to see Joker’s Wild this trip—hopefully next time.
Sunset Station
I was glad to be around that area for the second time but the last time I had been there, I was seriously about to have a heat stroke last August so I did not really soak up what was actually in my surroundings. I learned there was an Applebees and Red Lobster, 2 of my favorite chain restaurants, as well as a Ross-Dress for Less store, my favorite discount clothing store, nearby within walking distance of Sunset. Miraculously, there was also a big mall across the street from Sunset Station as well. With several popular eateries like Cold Stone and Wendys, as well as stores like Walmart around, I thought I had found a mini-haven in the desert of Vegas. I had not gone into Sunset Station this time though, which was near the ever-divey Gold Rush, both of which have the same player’s card (Wildfire gaming works with Station casinos). But I remembered it having a faux sky like Paris casino with a really chill vibe like Gold Coast and vibrancy like Sam’s town and Rio. Initially, I did not care to come back but this time around, having looked at the surroundings, it was certainly worth a trip, at the least brief.
The funny thing was, the Boulder express bus’ last stop was at Sunset Station and I did not intend getting off the bus there, after having scanned the area for its jewels. I decided I would ride on back down to the Boulder Highway casinos but the bus driver was not having it.
“Miss, you have to get off the bus,” the bus driver said gruffly.
“I missed my stop,” I replied curiously.
“Well, you can’t do that!” He said irately.
I said, “and why not? I want to go back.” I told him, "I have a 24 hour pass!"
“There is no way for me to know for sure if you missed your stop. And if you
stay on the bus heading back, that’s considered loitering.”
Oh, really? I never heard anything like it. I just looked at him like a little girl who can’t understand and who is absolutely bewildered by his comments.
He immediately calmed down and said gruffly, “I will let you go this time but next time you have to know that we can’t have you riding up and down the routes. Another bus driver might not be this nice.”
Really?!! I just said “OK” because I did not want to be stranded out there. A taxi from there would easily cost like $50 back to Fremont, and the last time I tried to get a taxi at Sunset Station, I waited 30 minutes only for no taxi to ever show up. The bus driver went on to insult and barrage an old, disabled gentleman who called him an a-hole. The driver wanted the man in the wheelchair to get off his bus, fearing that he was also “loitering” by not getting off the bus at the last stop. Held up the entire bus to call the police on him. Really??! It really sucks when someone takes their bad day out on everybody else. Oh the adventures called public transportation.
Eventually the verbal dispute ended, with no police in sight, and with the next bus needing space at the sidewalk to actually make a stop, the a-hole continued on his precious route back.
Tropicana Cinemas
Instead of going back to the Boulder casinos that I never ended up seeing this trip, I got off at Tropicana Ave and rode the 201 (or is it 202?) and took the bus to the Tropicana Cinemas where second-run movies cost $1 on Tuesdays and $1.50 every other day.
Looking at the line-up of movies, I was not particularly excited. I decided to walk in 15 mins late to see The Descendants, a purely moody and is-this-really-what-everyone-was-ranting-and-raving-about kind of movie. Hey! Some people loved it. The $3 nachos were still awesome as was the $1 hot dog. I left the movie feeling duped and paid $1 to see Puss-in-Boots. I quickly left the theater after 15 mins of boredom. I hopped on another bus and watched the movie called the streets of Vegas, as I had been doing before Trop Cinemas kindly interrupted with their boring line-up of movies. I hope they do better next time!
Wild Wild West—Days Inn
From Trop Cinemas, I stayed on a bus for 3 whole hours just watching the city pass me by on this beautiful summer-like day. Felt like a kid again; you know, those family trips where you look out the window and just think and imagine. Hey! I have a big imagination
. Truly relaxing. It’s actually something I do in my own home town to relax when I have free time, which is rarely. I dream of having free time like this to just relax and dream. But a bus is not as smooth as hopping on a train and letting it take you where the wind blows. Nope, there are bumps on this ride.From this bus, I could see how real Vegasans lived. The World beyond the Strip was truly a livable world, if not a bit marred by the vast, empty desert spaces that make it look quite creepy at times. I drove past these beautiful suburban complexes that I adored and would not mind living in. I guess you could call this a “cultural” experience, if people could reconceptualize Vegas as a “cultural” place. Unlike the last bus driver, this bus driver did not even notice whether people got off at the last stop or not.
As the bus made its way back around, I fought with myself on where to stop. I so badly wanted to see the timeshare Tahiti Village but it was evening time now and my highest interest in going was to view the beautiful pool they have which would close in a few minutes. I could go back to the strip and just walk around at places like MGM or Excalibur. On the way, I had learned that this bus stops directly in front of The Orleans, which might come in handy in the future. Instead, I stopped at Wild Wild West, a truckdriver’s Vegas haven, a most divey hotel and casino.
When I planned this trip, I had initially planned to stay here over the weekend since the rates on the strip had grown astronomically for this week. However, MB had given me their weekend comp just in time for me to drop my WWW reservation. Nevertheless WWW maintains great weekend rates on hostelworld.com at a standard $33 for Friday and Saturday, and it’s located right next to In-and-Out burger which is close to Excalibur on Trop Ave.
The first thing I did here was view the casino which was small and nice. Then I asked the front desk to view the room and pool. The pool looked like a hole in the concrete but the Jacuzzi is opened 24/7 so that was nice. The room has all-white sheets and looked clean and livable to me. Actually one of the better rooms I have seen. Seeing a 24/7 Dennys on property, a friendly staff, and some internet kiosks here and there, I decided then that I would happily stay at WWW with no problems. All super basic needs met.
I then played in their casino. I hit the $2 roulette table (the craps table did not open while I was there) with quarter bets, spreading them out between 4 numbers at several points on the table. Started with a $20 buy-in and a very friendly dealer. Left with $25. Tipped the dealer $2 and took my $3 profit and headed to the BJ table.
I was the only one at the $5 BJ table. I bought in for $40 on this table because, as I told the very friendly pit boss, “I want some free nights!” LOL I intended playing as long as I could. I spoke to the dealer John and said “I want you to help me win!” And he promised to do the best he could, with a smile. I always flat bet, call me cheap. But deal after deal, John was on fire…for me! He surely helped me out (though I know it was not really his doing). After every win, he rejoiced with me. And what a wonderful smile he had. I was ordering Cokes left and right and tipping the waitress. In all my gambling sessions this trip, this had to be top 3 for fun. We had a blast for like 30 minutes. I remembered the fun of a table game. He smiled the whole way through—that is, until men started to show up.
Suddenly smiley John turned into stern John. I guess since the men were around he wanted to behave as if he meant business. I even joked with him in between a hand, “you’re going to help me with this one John, right?” And he nodded with a stern face. The other men were telling jokes with each other, the waitresses and even the other dealers (since this is kind of a locals casino, people seemed to know each other). They were even telling jokes to me but Johnny boy was dealing like a mad man now, fast and furious. And the other men at the table appreciated it, even though they were not winning as I had been. Even though they had no idea they changed the mood of the table for me. It was fun still but not as fun as before.
The dealer than changed to a young woman who wanted to flirt with one of the players at the table whom she knew. I tipped John $5 as he walked away. I could tell that he did not mean to change up his style but he did it for business sake. This new dealer only had eyes for this player. The rest of us might as well not have even been there. I did not lose too much as this woman dealt but I did not win much either. I was so happy when John came back. By then, the men had gradually cleared out. I played until I made it up to $55, tipped him another $5 and smiled graciously at his efforts. As everyone had been gone by then, he went back to smiley John and said he really appreciated it. I left happy.
The slots were on fire by this time (around 7pm). I turned $5 into $20 on one slot, then $5 into $7 on another. I won $30 on another slot. I played 40 cents maybe 5 times before winning $90 on their Wizard of Oz slots. I did not know you could win so much on a 40 cent bet. Whoooppee! Everyone around me kept hitting bonuses left and right. It was almost kind of irking me (the back-to-back alarm noises—I had even heard them as I was playing BJ) and at the same time enlivening the vibe of this small and dark casino. I saw people making hundreds of dollars. However, by 8pm all the machines I was playing seemed to grow cold. I played 10 slots with no wins, not even tiny 60 cent wins. And I also heard less people playing and less bonus rounds. I have a heavy suspicion that time does matter (let the naysayers talk) when it comes to slots. Even if it doesn’t, when I feel the vibe grow cold and my machine seems to hit nothing every spin, I back off.
I walked into their Dennys and ordered nachos, Hershey cake and apple pie. Great dining. I do eat some crappy things on my Vegas trips but what I lack in drinking, I make up for in snacking…I mean, dining.
I immediately hopped into a cab straight to Excalibur and paid like $10. I left WWW up $150. Great stuff.
MGM
Walking across the 2 bridges, I stopped into the coconut-smelling MGM. The
smell always blasts me as I walk in. I told myself I was only walking through to get to the bus stop it was nearest to but those slots kept calling my name. I played their 25 cent WOF and won nothing. I played their Cash-Spin (with the option of changing the icons that would make the bonus—bad move). If I chose 3 bars to get to the bonus spin, I would get to the bonus spin often….but then I would win things like 40 cents. 40 cents; really?! On a bonus spin? Yeah, 3 bar-bonus-activation was not working. When I changed the bonus activation to 3 wilds, one of the lowest numbers on the wheel was $45. But in all my short time of playing Cash Spin, I had never seen 3 wilds all at once. I could lose $300 before I see 3 wilds. Not worth it. Definitely sticking to Cash Spins with the U-Spin icon as the bonus activation. I left MGM down $30. Off to the bus stop I go.
Bills
I accidentally got on the Strip express bus and stopped at Ballys. I walked over to Bills and played their $3 electronic craps game. Down another $20. Definitely not a fun game. Craps-Shoot to Win game is way better but I am not sure quite why. The craps tables that night were going WILD. There were like 3 tables, packed so tight, with people yelling and screaming. It was too bad I walked through several slots and won nothing. Down $40.
Flamingo
I used to hate the tacky neon ceilings of Flamingo but I had grown to at least appreciate its liveliness. I spent $20 here which easily went to the ways of the trash. I had been now burnt by Strip casinos too much in a short period of time. It was then it really and seriously dawned on me what people had been saying all along: keep your play Downtown…or anywhere else. You can’t exactly tell me that I had so far only lost small sums of money on the Strip that day, because even single quarters were given me business at La Bayou downtown. Granted, I have had a day in which one DT casino took all my money in other trips and even one night DT during this trip has sucked all my money but 1 out of 4 DT (or other) sessions suck whereas 1 out of 20 Strip sessions are really good (this is just a metaphor; purely anecdotal, not real stats).
I did not walk but RAN for the bus back to downtown. Now down $110 from the $150 I had originally won at WWW.
Fremont
I was not really in the mood to play at midnight, but on my walk towards Dunkin Donuts to get a cup of cold ice water I saw a woman hitting BIG time on a machine. Once she got up, I took my shot. I should have practiced discipline.
Spin. Nothing. Spin. Nothing. Spin. A little bit. Spin. Nothing. I lost quite a bit on this machine. Sucked it up and RAN for my room.
Wednesday, March 14
Fremont
I thought I had a nightmare that I had accidentally used my card last night on the machine even though I did not intend to play long and I had not played on that day prior. I called down to the Bconnected desk and they said I had play registered from last night. Thought I would be sick. I RAN down to the desk. At the desk, they did not see anything registered from the night before. I had only played maybe 20 minutes the night before. I had wondered why on the phone they saw something different. I felt muchhhhh relief.
Even better, the man at the desk offered me a free buffet because I had not gotten anything for having played $1095 in a session a couple days before. Wow! Nice! A bonus I did not even know I was entitled to, which, he said, I would have lost had I not come to the desk. Great. This was fruitful. Then again, this was a free buffet at Paradise buffet. Whooopee (sarcasm)! But, I always take free.
Lunch at Paradise buffet was definitely as step up from breakfast but that was not saying much. I actually loaded up my plate this time. The dessert was quite lovely, apple pie, pineapple cake, coconut cake and vanilla ice cream were savory. Chocolate cake tasted like cheap chocolate on the other hand, much like a 50cent swiss roll. A cheeseburger, delicious buttery rolls (which I stacked up on), fried shrimp and mashed potatoes is all I can remember on my plate of many things. I knew it would probably be the last time I would come to this buffet. Apart from the desserts, the buffet was subpar.
Afterwards, I hit the $3 craps table again with $20 buy-in. I spread on numbers and mixed it in with field bets. Got up to $30 and lost it all.
Circus Circus
I hopped on the Deuce bus to CC. I stopped first to survey their buffet that everyone says in horrible. Hostesses always let me view the food before making a decision to eat so that’s what I did. And oh boy, had I been hungry, I would have GLADLY eaten here. The desserts looked wonderful and the selection was plentiful. The food looked warm, fresh, and tasty with much to choose from. Now, considering that I have surveyed Imperial Palace buffet on 2 different occasions and always left feeling like I would pay them to make sure I never had to eat that food, I knew very well that Circus Circus was a fairly good situation. Moreover, the ambiance of their buffet felt like a park garden—particularly comfy and jovial-feeling. IP buffet just feels like a dungeon. Ex, IP, and CC are considered the worst buffets and having tasted Ex buffet and looked at CC buffet, I know IP (even though it’s my fav hotel and casino) is by far the very worst, with food looking old, bland, DIRTY with very little selection and disgusting looking desserts. Ex buffet was not bad looking or tasting.
I went straight for the Adventuredome after this. I had a problem using my 3 for 54 tickets. This was my second time to have this problem since December, so I will never use that Mlife deal again. They were trying not to redeem my tickets! I insisted that they redeem my tickets as I had paid for those tickets last June and they said I had a year to redeem them. After much argument and me speaking very politely and calmly to the security they called for me, while waiting for the supervisor to talk to a NYNY agent, they gave me a “comped” ticket, as if I had not paid for the ticket already. This experience made me very much done with Adventuredome. I would have to suck this paid-for “comped” ticket for all it was worth.
I did not have the stomach for the roller coaster or the water flume ride. I was on the boat ride, bumper cars, chaos, tilt-a-whirl, 3D Happy Feet, 3D Dora ride, and the spinny ride in the front. It was great times—a great way to spend an hour and a half. Nevertheless, I think I went on the spinny ride too many times because I left the Adventuredome with such a bad stomachache, I could barely walk. Talk about feeling like a kid again.
I dragged myself to the closest slot where I plopped down on the seat holding my tummy and rubbing my sweating head. I fell asleep for like 5 minutes before I encountered another security guard, this time asking me if I was OK. I was still in terrible pain and I told him I needed a drink. He said, “I do not think this is a good time for you to be having a drink.” I automatically realized he thought I meant an alcoholic drink. I told him, no, just Coke. He gladly brought me a coke and after finishing it and resting and watching people play for like 20 minutes, I slowly got up and continued my trip, stomach pain free.
Planet Hollywood
I had worked up hunger through my pain I guess, because I wanted to try out the raved-about Spice Market buffet once and for all.
It was a bit of a blur. One thing was for certain, it looked no where near as cool and brilliant as its casino or even as much as other buffets. The carpeting was nice though. Food not as moving as Rio’s was—in fact, no where near. I found maybe 30% of the food I was actually interested in. I gained a newfound interest in crab legs here but, as I recall, Rio also had crab legs at their buffet but my plate had been so full with so many favorites that I never even had room to try Rio’s. Planet Hollywood had very fresh and tasty fruit selections though! So that’s the most I remember from PH buffet: fresh food, few of my favs, tasty fruits, tasty crab legs. At least, I could remember what it was good for.
Harrahs
I made a mad dash for Harrahs in order to watch the Legends in Concert show. Meh. Nothing to write home about. I wanted to give it another shot after having seen it for the first time during a Christmas special. It was still meh, irrespective of Christmas. In fact, it was even more meh this time around because Michael Jackson was not in it. I was just happy to have the comfy round table seats this time around. I certainly prefer the long-gone American Superstars show to Legends in Concert, because Michael Jackson was a permanent staple and they had newer and fresher singers with a far more roomy venue and fun atmosphere.
After the show, I go to Harrahs free karaoke party that they hold at the dueling pianos bar! Fun times to be had here…seems especially if you are drunk.
Taking a walk onto the strip, I walk past my beloved Carnaval Court. I thought to go in but it’s too early and the DJs have not started spinning yet. For a nice, down-to-earth party experience for all ages, Carnaval Court is a great option!
Imperial Palace
When I walk past IP, I enter the Rockhouse Club. No one checks my ID because it’s not officially a club yet for the night. Music is playing but no DJ is there yet. I sit in the VIP seats, which are all empty, and just enjoy the music and people-watching. This club, unlike Carnaval Court, are truly for the youngins. Very grungy. Very divey. The kids are playing beer pong. Funny. A worker tells me the Rockhouse will eventually be expanded with the renovations…and relocated. But he would not tell me where to! Exciting. Way to peak my curiousity here. The worker happily tells me it will maintain its grungy appearance. I politely (and probably unconvincingly) smile. Way to dampen my interest.
After a few minutes, I head into the IP casino. The moment I walk in, I am reminded why I will miss this place soooo much. It just feels like home to me. No other Vegas property does the same to me. IP is so alive, energetic, and energizing. This place is LIFE. I tried to entrap these memories in my memory bank, rapidly taking photos that will never truly capture how this place makes me feel.
I have a show to watch by 10:00pm. It’s called Divas, a drag concert emulating several famous female singers. I am not sure what to expect. But I take a seat at a slot machine and just soak up the ambiance, the energy, the vibe, the people. It’s the most amazing feeling I have felt in all my experiences this trip. This feeling, I hope, will last me, will remind me of this piece of Vegas soon to be lost. My favorite Vegas spot. I shook my head. I was getting very emotional…in a happy way.
Then the dealertainers came up—Beyonce, Janet Jackson, and Michael Jackson impersonators. Absolutely electrifying! I clapped, cheered, screamed, sang along! You would have thought these were the real celebrities and I was actually at a concert. Or, maybe you would have thought I was drunk or high or something. Regardless, I was having a great time. I mistook Janet for an Aaliyah impersonator—she had beautiful hair! The Beyonce impersonator looked nothing like her, not even in the style of dress. But her voice, her sound—epic. Truly Beyonce. Everyone else was more taken aback by the lack of resemblance to really enjoy her performance. A pretty girl but absolutely no resemblance. Michael was the same Michael they always have and he was just amazing. Very fun times.
I left towards the theatre on the second floor to get seated. I saw a very long line for the show so I decided to walk over to the Kaorake bar. I really acted drunk. It’s fun to act drunk sometimes. Ordered a FIVE DOLLAR Coke. Yeah, I had to be drunk to do THAT! I screamed, singing along with the current singer, “Whooooooooooaaa We’re half way there, Whooooooooooooooaaaaa Living on a prayer, Take my hand and we’ll make it I swear, Whoooooooooooaaa Living on a prayer!” It was absolutely so much fun. I loved letting my hair down. And I was the only one in the crowd of maybe 10 singing along, but the singer really appreciated it. After she was done, she and her friend had a laugh with me and I wished them a good night.
I finally walked over to the drag show line as long as it was. It actually moved quite fast. But I bet it moved faster because the show was about to start. Lucky for me, I got a booth table again. Yay! Comfy seats.
OMG, the Divas show was EPIC. I really felt as if I was at these individual women’s concerts. These men really looked beautiful and they looked just like the women they were impersonating. Not to mention, Frank Marino is freakishly gorgeous as a woman and fantabulously hilarious to boot! I won’t talk anymore, and it’s rare for me to say this (it really is), but if there is one show to watch while you are in Vegas, it’s Divas! I’m going to watch it again on my next trip. If it maintains its entertainment value, I might just mark it down as my new favorite Vegas show. I found the ticket for $30 online.
Tired, I took the bus back home to DT.
Thursday, March 15
Fremont
It was the last day of my trip but I had a midnight flight. A full day ahead.
I did not want to take any chances with bell hops so I decided to carry my luggage around with me all day (bookbag and big purse).
I had not shopped at my usual haunts this trip (Ross and mini-shops in cheap hotels particularly IP) but I would never get around to it this trip. I would make sure to do so in the future because some of my most affordable clothings and inexpensive jewelry have come from these places. Hoping actually to make a trip to Laughlin next trip.
I checked out of Fremont, leaving a tip for the wonderful, sweet maid. Thank you Fremont for being a bed. Don’t mind if you comp me again or not.
La Bayou
Went to the diveyest of divey casinos and plunked those quarters down. Won a little, lost a little, won a little, lost a little, until I lost a whole $5. Then I knew it was time to go.
Mermaids
I went in for some more fried snacks—a hot dog, fried oreos with no sprinkles. Mmm, mmm good.
Binions
I still have not played at Binions (nor have I seen the Plaza) but they had free ice cream samples out front that I indulged a tad in.
My plan for the future was to come back to downtown in the beginning of my trip so I can get done the little gaming that I do mostly in bulk downtown instead of on the Strip. I still have real plans for Golden Gate, Plaza, Gold Spike, Las Vegas Club, La Bayou, and the Fitz (now the D) particularly the second floor. Fremont’s an arcade where you actually have a flying chance. The atm at the 7-eleven near Gold Spike is my friend.
Cosmopolitan
I really had plans to see and use the Caesars pool before I ended my trip but I guess it was another “next time” plan. Instead of going to Caesars, I brought my trip full circle by going back to Cosmo to use my $100 free play. I’m a praying gal, so I prayed to God to really help me use this $100 wisely. God and gambling—only in Sin City. SMH I was down for the trip a few hundred, and it would have been a blessing to at least get something back. I did not plan to play much outside of my “play” money for the rest of the day.
Before I started playing my free play, I took out $20 of my money to play max credit on the $5 WOF slot that the woman had been winning on the night I arrived. A slot host came right over to greet me. How lovely. “Welcome! This is my section of the slot machines. Let me know if you need anything,” she said smiling. I was impressed. 2 spins and no returns. All in a warm welcoming.
I then hit the penny slots. I would insert $1 to $2 and see how they would respond at the 20-40 cent level. If it gave me $1 or more, I cashed out. I was only feeling around to see where the getting was good. Where I might end up using my free play. I used about 15 different slots in different sections of the casino floor but turned up with not much to speak of in the way of slot performance.
So I asked God to direct me to the slot machine that would be fruitful for me. I pray that once I see this machine, I will know it. I was directed to one 25cent machine with 3 max credits right near the table games. THIS was the machine…even though internally I struggled with the prospects of this machine.
I usually strongly dislike 25cent machines. In fact, I do not play them most of the time because I believe they do not pay much in my experience (possibly because I do not play machines for long…I do not give them half a chance…to suck up all my money). I was directed to play max credits even though most times I could not care less about max credits. After all, what will I do if I win the big jackpot? Pay more bills! LOL Usually 1 credit with a little hit here and there is enough to garner fun points from a gambling session. I also hold superstitions that playing next to table games may not be good because the casino likes their quiet slots closest to the table games (but we have already seen crazy wins directly in front of a table game at Golden Gate in this trip).
So, here I am, doing all the things I would not do, playing all the games I would not play, at a rate I would rarely play it. Just because THIS was the machine.
I activate my $100 free play in the machine I was directed to. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. I think I lost 10 times in a row before I began praying for a waitress to get me a drink. Then, I start pondering if I can get up and go to a different machine. I figure I am on a losing machine. I keep spinning anyway, hoping. Spin, Lose. Spin.
65 dollars. Nice. Only $15 played through so far, so I am thanking God so much. Yes! Even if I win no more, this machine was GREATLY fruitful and I am so happy. Spin. Lose. Spin. Lose. Spin. $230!!!!!! Yay! I bounce all over the walls of Cosmo…in my mind. Thank God! Now I’m almost breaking even for the trip (OK, I’m still a couple hundred away from that). A few more spins in, I hit $40. Then later, $30. After a couple more small wins that I play through, I leave that machine up $360! Yayyyyyyy! Excitement. The promo was worth it in the end. *doing a little dance*
I skipped right over to the cash dispensers. I promised myself I would not play beyond the $100 free play but I found myself heading for a monopoly penny slot machine. There I risked $2. Got up to $11 on a bonus. Was overzealous. Spent much of the $11 at a 7s penny machine nearby. Lost it. And decided to practice discipline and jet out of Cosmo while I still can.
Palms
Took a taxi over to Palms. Watched the Journey 2 movie. Cool and fun movie but nothing particularly excellent. Dropped some dollars on the slots here. Got up $20 on a Cash Spin. Lost on a WOF. Got up $30 on a WOZ slot. Lost on a WOZ slot. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. So much for discipline. My newfound fortune from Cosmo went untouched.
Rio
I needed something to do to pass time before my flight. What last minute thing could I do? I decided to catch a comedy show at the Rio. And what do you know, once I walked in a guy handed me a free ticket to watch their comedy show (he was actually the host of the show). I was so happy. I walked over to the pool, which was now closed, just to smell the scent and let the sound of the waterfall wash over me. The beauty of Rio pool could not be underestimated. This was heaven. I walked by another girl on the way in who handed me another free ticket to a later comedy show than the one the guy handed me. WoW! Free tickets to 2 different shows! Amaztastic!
While I waited for the show, I chatted with the girl. She was a native Vegasan who was a model. She did this work as a side gig while finishing college. We talked about hair, school, and Vegas. It was then time for the show and we wished each other well.
The first show was basically a show full of locals. Eh. Funny but not bone-crushing hilarious. The second show had a headliner who used to tour with Andrew Dice Clay. His whole act was about fat people. It was funny because he was a big guy. Otherwise it would have been super offensive. *shrug* The second show was better but watching 2 comedy shows at Rio taught me 2 things: 1. I will wait until these are free and being handed out in the casino; and 2. Riviera comedy club is probably very righteously voted the best comedy club in Vegas for 6 years in a row for very good reason. Riviera and Rio comedy were like night and day. Well, I take that back, if Rio was the night to Riviera’s day, it would have been bone-crushing depressing. Riviera comedy was so outstanding. I hope it is just as well when I see it again with different acts.
It was now 2 hours to fly and I had to get out of my fav city. I grabbed a $6 Cake batter frozen yogurt (flat rate) and hopped in a taxi (I really overdosed on taxis…and ice cream this trip). Parting is such sweet sorrow.
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