2 weekend report w/ slot tournament
I had trips planned for back-to-back weekends. The first was over the 4th of July weekend for the slot tournament. The following weekend was for a bachelor’s party. Remind me never to do that again.
Day T-1:
I packed for this trip over a month ago to get ready for the slot tournament. I just packed a few of changes of clothes, a toothbrush and few other toiletries and considered this to be sufficient because I wouldn’t be doing anything other than eating and gambling.
The trip started out as bad as a trip can start and it was a sign of things to come. I was trying to leave early on Thursday (July 3rd), around 2PM. The boss said I could work at home on Thursday to finish the project I was working on. Great, I would stay up late the night before to finish the project and leave early the next day. The plan is set. Not quite. I was up until 3AM trying to finish the project, but I was only ½ way through.
Day One:
I finished the project at about 2PM Thursday and went into the office to deliver it. I got stuck in the office with clients calling (don’t they know it’s a 3-day weekend and I’m trying to get to Las Vegas?) and ended up leaving at around 6PM. Suzy couldn’t go (I guess somebody should work), so it will be a solo trip. Traffic was real bad with everyone getting a jump on the 3-day weekend. On my way out of town, I stopped by the bank to get some cash. Went back to my car and it wouldn’t start. Dead battery. I had a charger in the car but it wouldn’t start the car. I tried charging the charger, but no luck because it would take too long to sufficiently charge. Tried it anyway a couple of times, but no luck. Called AAA, car starts. By now, it’s after 9PM so nothing is open (that I know of) that sells car batteries. So, I just head out to Las Vegas. I need gas, so I stopped at the gas station in Barstow to fill up, but I don’t turn the engine off. Don’t ever do this because it is very dangerous, but I wasn’t willing to take the chance that the car wouldn’t start again. The gas station didn’t sell car batteries (go figure). Driving through Baker, the thermometer reads 99 degrees and it’s a little after midnight. This is going to be one hot weekend. I arrived at Fitzgerald’s and turn the engine off. It wouldn’t re-start. I guess my decision not to turn the engine off at the gas station was the right decision, but it’s still dangerous, so don’t do it. The battery is really dead. I took my charger with me to my room to recharge it overnight.
One good sign: I’m in Las Vegas!!
It’s about 2AM after checking in at Fitzgerald’s and dumping everything off in my room. I got a standard old room. It was a little worn around the edges. But, everything was clean. The bed was a uncomfortable. I later discovered that the air conditioner works most of the time but every once in awhile it blows warm air. I’m not that picky so it’s not worth changing rooms. All of the employees were nice. As for this hotel, I decide that I probably won’t come back unless they have a very attractive price, like free. I’ve stayed at the Golden Nugget, Fremont and Main Street, and I’ll stay at the California the following weekend. All of these places are better than the Fitz, so I think I’ll be staying at one of these other hotels whenever I next stay downtown.
I was warned by prior posts not to eat at the Fitz’s buffet. I took a look at the buffet and it looks like they really don’t have a buffet. It looked more like they only have a salad bar and you order food from the grill. I didn’t bother to ask any further because I wasn’t going to partake anyway. I’ll let someone with more experience advise what actually is going on.
They also have a poker tournament twice a day, at noon and 9PM. They even have some of the old coin slot machines in case some of you get that nostalgic feeling of wanting to get your fingers dirty handling those coins. I like the TITO machines, so I stayed away from the coin machines.
First thing is to get some saimin (Hawaiian noodles) to eat at the California Hotel’s café. I walked by Mermaids first, but it was closed, so no deep fried Twinkies or Oreos tonight for dessert. The line for the café is long, so I figured that I’d sit at the counter. No such luck because the counter is closed. So, I wait about ½ hour to be seated. Noodles were soggy and the broth was pretty bland. Further bad sign for the trip. Later on I think that the bland taste of my initial meals were due to me being in the heat for so long. I decide that I’ll take another stab at this again either later in the weekend or next weekend.
Decide to try my luck at the slot machines. Lose lots of money. Tried my luck playing craps. Lose lots of money. Really bad sign. Go to bed at about 5AM.
Day Two (4th of July):
Wake up around noon. I told the maid not to make up my room and handed her $2 for a tip. She wouldn’t take the tip because she said she didn’t make up my room. First time I’ve every had someone decline a tip. I leave the money on her cart anyway because I might need something from her, later. Decided to try the buffet at Main Street Station. Though the food wasn’t as good as I had before, it was well worth the $8.00. Note that the heat/taste issue is still in play so I think any lack of taste is my fault. I decided that I’d try to eat at as many buffets downtown that I could on this trip. I’ll post my reviews of all the buffets I ate at a little later in Restaurant Reviews.
Took a quick look at the pool at the Fitz. It’s on the ground floor. You have to leave the hotel/casino and kinda go around the corner. Not much of a pool. Your average backyard pool is about the same size. Plus, it was just too hot to be in direct sunlight. I could barely breath, it was so hot. I heard it was around 110 degrees. Gambled a little. Do I have to tell you what happened? Yup, lost lots of money. Suzy isn’t here, so can’t do our “ritual” (wink, wink) to change my luck. Back to the room and watched some baseball then took a nap, and hoped that my luck would change. Got up around 8PM and decided to try the seafood buffet at the Fremont Hotel. Great selection, but I thought the food was tasteless. It’s that heat/taste thing. I will give the seafood buffet another try when I get the chance.
Go the Mermaids, but the line for food is way too long. I guess everyone wants those deep fried Twinkies/Oreos. And you all thought I was crazy. Decide to come back later.
The Fremont Experience is Don McLean’s American Pie. This was worth the price of admission. Free you say? Then, definitely worth it and definitely the best I’ve seen for the Fremont Experience. One thing I liked was that the girls wear 60’s and 70’s clothing. I remember those days. There’s also a rock band playing at one of the stages, Wonderboogie. I’ve seen them play at the Fremont Experience before. If you are my age (for those that know me, I’m 50-something, and for the young girls that don’t know me, I’m 30-something, tall, dark, handsome and loaded) you will enjoy this band because they play 70’s and 80’s music and dress for the time period (again, very nostalgic). The downside is that they also play with a soundtrack, but I’ll ignore that because they have good stage presence. There was also a group singing mainly ballads (the Kingmen or something like that), and they were also very good, especially if you are with your partner to do a little slow dancing. Suzy wasn’t with me so I dance by myself and I’m not the only one doing this. Both were worth the price of admission. Free again? This is the best thing going. And Fremont Street is packed.
There were many food stations along Fremont Street, serving hot dogs and hamburgers. I recall the same type of thing on another 3-day weekend (but don’t remember which one). These places are pretty busy. I did not partake because I wanted to eat at the buffets. If they were serving some unique food, I might have changed my mind. But it was just your basic backyard food.
It’s still hot, which is good news and bad news. The following is a little sexist, so if you don’t like such info, skip to the next paragraph. The good news is that the pretty women are wearing less clothes. And short skirts are back!!! YES!! The bad news is that some of the people (men and women alike) should be wearing a little more clothes, if you know what I mean. Bare midriffs and/or stomachs should be left for the young and slender. My shirt isn’t tucked in for a reason.
Back to the Fitz for more gambling. Lose money at the slots and craps tables. Really bad sign, but do I pay any attention to it? Nope. Decide to take a break and watched a little TV. Figured my luck would change, so it was back to the casino. Should have stayed away. Lost more money at the slots and craps tables.
Go to Mermaids for deep fried Oreos. The line is much shorter, but when I order, they say they ran out. Bad luck again. But there’s a demand for these things, so I’m not so crazy after all in my desire for such a treat. It’s midnight and many parents are pushing strollers with babies in them. One mother is yelling at her 5-6 year old girl because the girl is so tired that she can’t keep up. What are these parents thinking? They probably aren’t thinking.
If I didn’t learn my lesson before, I lost more money at the slots and craps tables. I only have loose change in my pocket, so figure it’s time to go to bed. I’m glad my room is paid for, otherwise I’d be sleeping on the streets.
Day Three:
Wake up around noon and figure I’d better go to Costco to buy a new battery for the car. For those of you who need to go to Costco, it’s on Martin Luther King, across the 15 freeway from the Premier Outlets (pretty close to both downtown and the Strip). My charger is fully re-charged and starts my car in the Fitz’s parking lot. I buy my battery at Costco and decide to have a slice of pizza there. Though the pizza was good, it was a bad decision because I lost an “eating opportunity” at a buffet. On the way back to the Fitz, I hit the ATM (such a loser), then downtown for more gambling, and lose more money. Dinner was at the El Cortez Chinese food buffet. The heat/taste thing is still in play.
Next weekend I’ll be back in Las Vegas for a bachelor’s party. So, it was requested that I scope out the “adult clubs” to decide which one or two to take the bachelor to. I begrudgingly accepted the duty and suffered sitting through a bunch of young, pretty women dancing in front of me, sans clothing. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. I guess this duty should have only taken a few minutes, but decided to do a diligent job and stayed much longer. Hey, it was cheaper than losing all my money while gambling. A couple of dollars per dancer lasts a long time. And the view is pretty good, too.
Back to the Fitz for more gambling. Finally, a little luck comes my way. A left-handed woman held the dice for 40 minutes. When things ain’t going your way, look to a woman to change your luck. That is also sexist, but Sinatra said “luck be a lady tonight,” and this one was sent from heaven. A few other guys also did well throwing the dice and I was back to even, then lost more money while the dice were coming around the table again, then decided to quit while I was still close enough to even.
Day Four:
Next afternoon, went to Ellis Island for the sirloin steak special. Good as always. My taste buds are back. I thought they “slightly” overcooked my steak but I’ve had worse at much better (and much more expensive) restaurants. I’ll go back to this place as long as it is still standing.
Took a quick trip to Chanel at Wynn. If they had something that wasn’t too expensive, I’d buy it for Suzy. No such luck. Everything cost too much and I was still a little behind in the gambling arena. Sorry Suzy, maybe next weekend.
Went back downtown and thought I’d look at the El Cortez to see what was cooking that night at the Chinese buffet. It was BBQ night, but nothing sounded good, so I decided to try another buffet. Landed at the Plaza. This isn’t a bad buffet, but it isn’t good, either. But, for $8.00, what should I expect. I decide I won’t go back, but later events made this impossible.
Decided to check out another “club” for next week’s bachelor party. Hey, I couldn’t go back home and say that I only went to one place. I needed to be thorough. Suffered through another night of pretty, dancing girls, birthday suits all around.
Back to the Fitz to donate more money.
Day Five:
Next afternoon was the Slot Tournament. Checked out of the Fitz and headed for the Hilton for their lunch buffet before the Slot Tournament. Nancy (Nancy in Indiana) was nice enough to offer to let me sit with them as I was a single. Thanks Nancy. But I knew Doris (AppleGreenJade) would be coming soon, so I decided to wait for her. I usually stay at the Hilton, so I’m rather familiar with their buffet. I thought this buffet was always consistently good. However, after all of my visits to the downtown buffets, I have a new appreciation for the Hilton’s buffet. I’ll now give it 7 points out of 10, with the Bellagio’s buffet getting a 10 and the downtown buffets getting around a 3-4. Lower numbers are reserved for Circus Circus and the Stratosphere.
One small hint for the next meet: Everyone put their screen names on your nametags. Doris was asking everyone for their screen name.
A little information for those of you who haven’t stayed at the Hilton, I think this is an excellent, reasonably priced hotel. Many of you have talked about the increase in hotel prices, so I think this is a great solution to that problem. Their employees are exceptional. I have a (free) HiltonHonors gold card (I don’t recall how I got it and this isn't their slot card) so they’ll give me a free upgrade on the room if available (so I don’t have to try any $20 trick or begging), special check-in line, free breakfast buffet each morning, free bottled water in the rooms and free access to the spa. I think they give me more free stuff, but I don’t recall. I also get extra points on my HiltonHonors card for staying here. My credit card along with stays at the Hilton gives me points toward my HiltonHonors card, which I use for a free hotel room in Hawaii every year.
The Star Trek Experience is there for their many fans. You’d be amazed how many fans they have. Of all places to eat, I’ll go to Benehana’s. I think they serve pretty good food (even if it really isn’t Japanese food). What I like the best is that they serve the food hot, literally right off the grill. Their cafe is pretty standard, but they don't have the "off the menu" specials we've all come to love. I’ve seen a few good shows here, like the Smothers Brothers, Sheena Easton and the Fab Four. Barry Manilow has been here for years and is my aunt’s favorite. If she were much younger, she’d be throwing underwear onto the stage in Elvis-like fashion. Kenny Loggins, my favorite songwriter, was playing on July 11, and I would have gotten tickets for that except that I didn’t know whether I’d get into town early enough. Darn! I think they have some of the best bands in all of Las Vegas playing in their lounge. Their pool is ordinary, but they’ve always had good poolside drink service. One thing about their pool is that they have a large area that is very shallow, I assume for the kids. The great thing about this area is that if the water is too cold, just sit in this shallow area which gets heated by the sun. Their Jacuzzi is kind of covered and not in the direct sun, so it’s a little cooler to lay out there than by the pool. This is one area where they do not like the kids making much noise at and will throw the kids out if they are making too much noise. When I stay here, we’ll use the spa in the morning. Actually, we use their workout area. You gotta do something to burn off all that food that is consumed. On both men’s and women’s sides, they also have 3 whirlpools, all at different temperatures. Their shower area has all of the toiletries you need, even a toothbrush. Juices, bottled water and fruit are available. I use all of the different aftershave they have available on different parts of my body, then have Suzy smell all of my body parts to see which one is the best (never mind why we do this). They also have tennis courts, but I’ve never used them (usually too hot to play and I have a bad shoulder).
They used to have some rooms with mirrors on the ceiling (I don't know if they still have them). It's just weird and if you don't have vertigo, you'll get it if you get one of these rooms.
While waiting for the Slot Tournament, I decided to try my luck at the slot machines and just broke even. Like I said before, I usually stay at the Hilton, so I’ve pretty much worn out my slot card. A few years ago, they changed their slot card to the Resorts Destination Casino Club, which includes their casinos in Tunica and Atlantic City. My usual routine at the Hilton is that I play craps and lose money, play the slots to win money back, then go back to the craps table and lose money, repeat. I chalk up breaking even today on the bad weekend, not the Hilton.
Next, the Slot Tournament. If this wasn’t the most fun I’ve had in Las Vegas with my clothes on, I don’t know what was. I got past the first 2 rounds and all the way to the final round, but if I wasn’t dead last in that final round, I was close to it. Larry Jones was a riot. I thought his funniest joke was about the Monica Lewenski slot machine. I’ll let those of you who weren’t there try to figure out the punch line. Steve was a great host! I don’t know how to emphasize how great Steve was. Words can’t describe it. So, I’ll just say that if you were there, you know what I mean, and maybe you can describe this better than I can.
The Hilton had a whole bunch of prizes to give away. I won the 2 night stay at the Hilton. Yippie!! This is my favorite place to say in all of Las Vegas, so that will be a great trip. I already have my reservation for this weekend’s bachelor party, so it will have to be another time when I use my winnings.
And Charlotte, mum’s the word regarding your comment on that hat!
Gassed up at Costco. $4.14 per gallon. Cheap considering what I’m paying in Los Angeles, $4.50 per gallon.
New Day One:
Tried to get some rest while I’ve been back in Los Angeles, but not much luck. It’s
Friday and I’m back on the road to Las Vegas for the bachelor’s party. This time I left the office at around 3PM. Traffic wasn’t as bad as the prior weekend. The thermometer at Baker said 101 degrees at around 7:30PM. I didn’t know what to make of that. Got to the California Hotel at around 9PM and the heat wasn’t that bad. I quickly walked to the Freemont Hotel for the seafood buffet, for a second try. Much better. Basically the same selection, but the taste is much better. My heat/taste theory appears correct. Back to the Cal to check in. Got a real nice room on the 22nd floor (only 23 floors at the hotel). The bachelor and his friends were staying at the Plaza and had already gone to bed. What a bunch of wimps. Went to Mermaids for the deep fried Oreos/Twinkies, but was told to come back in 30 minutes. Went back to the Cal for some gambling, and like last week, started losing money right off the bat. Went back to Mermaids a little after midnight, and was told the kitchen closes at midnight. Darn!
Some band is playing on Fremont Street, but I didn’t think they were very good. I decide to go back to the Cal to gamble and just lose more money. When will I learn?
New Day Two:
Meet with the bachelor and his friends for the Fremont lunch buffet or was it a brunch. I liked this buffet.
We all decide to play some craps while there and we all win some money and I’m back to even. We all wanted to play some blackjack at the same table and found an empty $10 table. We asked the pit boss if they would change the minimum bet down to $5 if we all play. He said no. So, we go to the Cal. We find an open $5 blackjack table, so we all sit at the table. We couldn’t hit a thing. One of the guys had lost a $100 bet and threw down the cards. The cards hit the chips and bounced off the table. The guy apologized over and over again. The dealer freaked. The pit boss came over and said everything was OK. We never liked that dealer anyway, so her freaking out was just fine with everyone. She was such a pain that I was thinking of doing the same thing with the cards, but decided against it. We all left after that.
We all went to the Rio to check out the World Series of Poker. My opinion is that this is nothing to see in person. You can’t see the undercards (obviously), and more often than not, the winner of the hand is determined by the last person standing, so you don’t know what the winning hand was. We decide to do some gambling at the Rio, and take the long walk from the convention center to the casino. Some girls from the Sapphire Club hand me some coupons. I tell them that I’m part of a bachelor’s party and they give me a couple dozen coupons for free drinks and a few other things. Unfortunately, we don’t go to the Sapphire Club, but I’ll have a bunch of coupons for the next time I’m in Las Vegas (by myself).
Back to downtown for a nap. But first, we finally have the deep fried Oreos. Yummy. Even the bachelor said they were good. I’m converting many to this heart attack inducing dessert.
We decide to go to the Bellagio buffet for dinner. I drove to the Bellagio. What a mess. I get off the 15 freeway at Flamingo and once I hit Las Vegas Blvd., all traffic stops in the far right lane (for cars going to the Bellagio). It took me over 30 minutes to get from Flamingo to the entrance to the Bellagio’s driveway. The problem is that the driveway to the Bellagio is blocked by pedestrians, so the cars can’t make the turn to the parking structure. The way the stop lights are arranged, and the no right turn on red, only allows about 3 cars per light to turn into the Bellagio. Somebody has to fix this. The buffet was great, what else can I say.
Then we went to Déjà vu for a night of debauchery. I won’t go into the details, but the bachelor will have memories of this evening and the future wife is better off not knowing what happened. We have pictures for future blackmail material.
Went back downtown for some gambling at Golden Gate. Lost money. Back on the losing streak. Everyone went to bed except for the bachelor and I, so we went to the Cal for some saimin. Much better this time. The bachelor went back to this hotel and I lost a lot more money at the Cal. Time for bed.
New Day Three:
Got up around 10:30AM. One of the friends had a comp for free breakfast buffet for 4 at the Plaza, so those of us that were left went. Pretty basic breakfast food, but around 11:30, they brought out the Chinese food. Same thing as last weekend, so nothing more to report. Again, it was OK, but I don’t think I’m spending money here.
They were flying out later this evening, so everyone packed and we all went down to the Tropicana. After losing a lot more money there, I decide to leave them for home.
When I got on the freeway to go home, it started raining. Not one of those light sprinkles, but it was like each drop was the size of my fist. I’ve only seen it rain once before like this, and I didn’t like it the last time. You almost can’t see anything because there’s so much water hitting your windshield.
I’m so tired, I’m saying I won’t be back in Las Vegas for a while. But, I do have the free room at the Hilton, so as soon as I recuperate, I’ll be back.
Mike |
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07-15-2008, 10:57 PM
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