Re: Walt's TR - Part 1 of 8
- From: "Sr." <trout@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 07:17:16 -0600
8?!?!?!?!? MY O MY!!!! OOPPPS..I MEEN GREAT REPORT, CAN'T WEIGHT FOUR
NUMBERS 2 THRU 8...IS SILVERTUN 'DOWN' OR WOOD IT BE 'OUT'???
=SEN0UR TR0UT=
--
Have A Great Day...
"Walt" <none@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:281120050537368148%none@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Walt's Trip Report Part 1 of 8 - 10/15 to 10/19/05
> ----------
> I brought Mom & Dad out to Vegas in November of 2004, then I returned
> for a solo trip in May. Now we're back again -- M&D for two weeks, me
> for four. M&D like to play the slots; I've never gambled much,
> although the last two trips I got into Texas Holdem, and this trip
> would turn out to feature many hours of video poker. I also lined up
> some shows and stuff, and I brought a raft of coupons we could use.
> Don't expect any reviews of fancy restaurants; Dad gets indigestion at
> the thought of spending over $20 for a meal. Look for lots of cheap
> eats, which are still possible in Vegas.
>
> Note: ACG = American Casino Guide; POV = LasVegasAdvisor.com's
> Pocketbook of Values
>
> 10/15 (Saturday) - Flew in to McCarran around 4pm. Rental car
> pickup at Dollar using their Dollar Express program went even faster
> than last time. Reserved a compact, then got a free upgrade to
> mid-size. Base rate was $90 a week; after all the add-on fees it came
> to $142. The mid-sized Stratus I picked out had about 20K miles on it.
> After driving it a while I noticed a very slight front-end alignment
> problem at lower speeds, but otherwise the car ran smoothly and served
> me well for the duration so I can't complain.
>
> We drove down to the Silverton for dinner. I had tried their buffet on
> two previous trips, and found both selection and quality to be inferior
> to other similarly-priced places. The buffet was due for some sort of
> renovation this autumn, but it looked the same when we visited for
> dinner this time and I found the food even worse than before. The hot
> dishes were lackluster; desserts were few in number and unappealing, so
> much so that for the first and only time on this trip, I skipped
> dessert. We used ACG half-off coupons, of which I had more yet never
> returned to use.
>
> After the buffet, we checked out the Bass Pro Shops' Outdoor World, a
> hunting and fishing superstore attached to the casino. They've added a
> few more stuffed-animal dioramas since May, and a rock-climbing wall
> that I don't recall seeing last time. Cost is $3 for 3 climbs. A
> young boy of about 7 or 8 was attempting a climb with a safety harness
> and the coaching of a store employee, but at around 12 feet off the
> floor he got tired and/or chickened out. We also saw the free
> "mermaid" show in the Silverton's large aquarium. Let's just say the
> fish were more entertaining than the mermaids. Now, an underwater show
> in a strip club would have definite possibilities.
>
> Here's a photo of the aquarium from my May visit, minus the mermaids:
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/aquarium.jpg
>
> (NOTE to Internet Explorer users: if you have trouble accessing the
> photo by clicking the link, copy the link from this post and paste it
> into your browser's address bar, then make sure it's identical to the
> link in this post before activating it. For example, "vegas2" should
> not be "ve-gas2". Thanks.)
>
> 10/16 (Sunday) - I drove M&D to Mass (Christ the King Parish, just
> off Tropicana out past the Orleans), then picked them up and took them
> to brunch at Palace Station (2-for-1 POV coupon). The buffet was just
> okay, which still put it light years ahead of the Silverton's and made
> it a decent value with the coupon.
>
> After the meal, we picked up a few things from a Smith's supermarket,
> then stopped at the Westin Casuarina so M&D could sign up for the slot
> club and get the $40-for-$25 slot-play deal. I decided to take this
> opportunity to get M&D to branch out from slots into video poker. I
> sat down with Dad and got him started at a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine
> using the "simple strategy" sheet found at wizardofodds.com. After
> playing thru $40, Dad cashed out with $37, a $12 profit on his $25
> investment. While Dad and I were occupied with VP, Mom had wandered
> off and managed to blow her entire $25 plus the $15 free play on the
> regular slots. Oh well.
>
> Dinner was at the Gold Coast buffet for $6.50 each using a pair of ACG
> coupons. It was steak night, which I thought might be good since the
> steaks at the GC'S sister property the Orleans were quite good back in
> May. Alas, my GC steak was tough and interspersed with some fat and
> gristle. Fortunately there were plenty of other items to choose from
> and make the buffet worthwhile at half-price.
>
> From the GC we drove to the Sahara to catch a set in the Casbar lounge.
> In the house was Freddy Eckstine, son of jazz legend Billy Eckstine.
> Freddy is a good, soulful singer of standards and show tunes and is
> accompanied by a keyboard player, saxophonist and drummer. Midway thru
> the set he introduced an unbilled singer named Melanie Moore, who also
> proved entertaining. Sahara lounge shows are entirely free with no
> drink minimum and provide a pleasant diversion from the gaming floor.
>
> 10/17 (Monday) - Late morning breakfast at Coco's restaurant on
> Tropicana and Koval, next door to the world's largest Motel 6 (over 600
> rooms). Last year I had some great blueberry pancakes at a Coco's in
> Hemet, CA, so I was disappointed to find they weren't on the menu at
> this Coco's. Making notes four days later, I couldn't remember what I
> ordered here, but it must have been okay. M&D had standard breakfast
> items like sausage & eggs. No complaints.
>
> In the afternoon we drove downtown. Mom likes Fremont Street because
> she can visit several casinos without a lot of walking. We parked at
> Main Street Station, where M&D played a little slots before we crossed
> over to the California for more of the same. No big wins to report.
> While M&D played the slots, I walked around Fremont Street and went up
> to the Vegas Club's coffee shop to ask about their half-price special
> on entrees from 4 to 6 PM. According to the cashier, that offer was
> discontinued a few months ago.
>
> Around 6 pm we tried the $6.99 prime rib special in the California's
> Market Street Cafe (their coffee shop). You get a decent chunk of meat
> along with green beans, baked or mashed potatoes, soup or salad bar,
> and a modest-sized cherries jubilee. After dinner, M&D enjoyed more
> slot play at the California, Four Queens and Fitzgerald's, and a couple
> of light shows on the overhead canopy. Here's a pic of a couple who
> appear to be either mesmerized or bored into catatonia by one such
> show:
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/fremontexp.jpg
>
> Here's a shot of the east end of the canopy and the Neonopolis
> building, which contains shops, restaurants and cinemas:
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/fremneon.jpg
>
> 10/18 (Tuesday) - Breakfast buffet at Arizona Charlie's on Decatur.
> Not a large selection here, mostly just the ordinary breakfast staples.
> But the place is clean, quieter than the typical buffet and has a
> friendly air about it. Also you can get omelets made to order.
> Regular buffet price is about right at $4.99; a 2-for-1 from ACG
> makes it a deal. If you don't have a coupon, the coffee shop serves a
> ham-and-eggs special at any time for $2.49.
>
> From AZ Charlie's we drove to the Paiute Indian shop on North Main so
> Dad could stock up on cheap smokes. He bought 12 cartons of off-brand
> 100's at $18 and change per carton. Somehow the clerk rang up a bill
> that was about $50 too high. Luckily Mom checked the receipt and
> caught the error before we left.
>
> In the late afternoon we drove out to the Rampart Casino in Summerlin.
> The Rampart is part of the Marriott resort and has an upscale look and
> feel. The casino floor, while not huge, has a good variety of table
> games, VP machines and slots. We were here for the Tuesday night
> dinner buffet, which features "Filet Mignon & Shrimp Scampi." I'll
> describe the food in more detail in a later installment, but the filet
> mignon was good enough that I ate four nearly-fist-sized medallions
> along with several large shrimp and a sampling of other items. The tab
> with ACG coupons (2-for-1 or half-off-one) came to just $8.07 per
> person plus tip, a very good deal.
>
> This evening we saw Tom Jones perform at the MGM. At age 65, Jones
> sports a beard which may serve to hide a double chin, and his trademark
> bulge has moved from below his belt to above it. But the guy appears
> otherwise fit, and he has more than enough voice left to wow the
> audience with his hits from the 1960's and his covers of songs by
> everyone from Howlin' Wolf to Randy Newman to Prince. His fans are
> older now, too, yet the ladies still toss their panties onstage, a part
> of the show which these days serves mostly as comic relief. Jones is
> accompanied by a solid 8-piece band (keyboard, bass, guitar, drums,
> trombone, sax and two trumpets) and three backup singers. They all
> give a highly polished performance, as do the crew responsible for
> lighting and sound. The Hollywood Theater is nothing special, with
> alternating rows of loose chairs and upholstered bench seats, all with
> drink tables, plus one row of traditional curved booths down toward the
> stage. Section 1 is the half of the theater closer to the stage, with
> section 2 in the back. All seats are $70 plus tax/service, so try to
> get seats in section 1. Beers go for around $5.50, while bottles of
> champagne start at $30 for "MGM Private Label".
>
> 10/19 (Wednesday) - We arrived at Green Valley Ranch for a late
> breakfast buffet just after 11 AM. They switch over to lunch at 11:30
> so we were able to try that, too. Again, I'll have more details about
> the food later, but I'll say now that GVR has one of the nicer buffets
> in Vegas and it's a great value with a 2-for-1 coupon (ACG or POV).
> The coupons do not claim to give half-off for one person, but the GVR
> cashiers accepted them for that use without hesitation. In addition
> you get $1.00 off with a Station Casinos slot card. After all the
> discounts, we paid just $4.30 each before tip. Lunch cost us about a
> dollar more per person.
>
> When we were seated by the hostess, Mom said she smelled cigarette
> smoke coming in from the casino. I couldn't smell anything myself, but
> we moved to another table which was sort of secluded against a side
> wall. After we ate, Mom played some nickel slots just outside, where
> all the smoke was supposedly coming from, with no complaints. Go
> figure.
>
> While M&D played the slots, I tried some 10-6 JoB on a 25-cent
> Double-Double-Bonus machine billed as having "Over 100% Payback." Not
> to me it didn't; I lost $15 in a half-hour or so. As if to confirm
> this wasn't my day, I put $5 in a nickel Double-Diamond slot machine
> next to Dad, played max credits (15 cents) and lost the entire amount
> without a single payoff. Not even a nibble. 0-for-34. I felt like my
> own personal "cooler."
>
> On our way back to the Strip, we stopped at the Ethel M chocolate
> factory to take their two-minute tour and get a free sample. Here's a
> pic of the cactus garden outside:
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/ethelm.jpg
>
> M&D have never seen Big Elvis, so I took them to the Barbary Coast to
> catch his late afternoon set. Alas, a sign in the lounge said he was
> out sick today. We went next door to the Flamingo, where M&D signed up
> for the slot club and used ACG coupons to get $10 free play with $10
> coin-in. I didn't make note of their results, but as I recall, Dad had
> a small profit on video poker, while Mom kept playing slots as usual
> and lost most of her $20.
>
> Here's a pic of neon flamingos on the facade outside the casino:
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/flamingos.jpg
>
> Also a shot of some cops parked outside the south entrance of the
> Flamingo. Seconds after this photo was taken, they got a call and
> zoomed up the Strip, lights flashing and sirens wailing...
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/cops.jpg
>
> For dinner, we went to the Orleans buffet for Steak Night. The New
> York strip steaks are large and pretty good, making it a great deal at
> 2-for-1 or half-off with an ACG coupon. We paid $7 and change per
> person plus tip. More notes about the food to come. Oh yes, and a TGI
> Friday's is under construction on the other side of the escalator from
> the buffet, as if casinos need more chain eateries.
>
> Bonus pics: here's one of the backside of New York New York, taken
> from the top of the Monte Carlo parking garage. From this side it
> looks less like the skyline of New York and more like a single hotel
> hiding behind multiple facades..
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/nyny.jpg
>
> And here's a prime Vegas intersection, the Strip at Flamingo Rd., where
> Bally's, Caesars, the Bellagio and the Flamingo hotels all loom above
> the tiny Barbary Coast and the ever-more-valuable patch of land it sits
> on. Wouldn't you love to own those Green Acres?
>
> http://walt-avlv.tripod.com/vegas2/lakeview.jpg
>
> That's all for now. See you in part two.
>
> --- Walt
.
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