WARNING: This is really long....

Since the suitcases were packed and I was all set to go 2 days ahead of time, the evening of Thursday the 30th we tried to go standby to get to Las Vegas ASAP, but standby only worked from here to Chicago. When we got to Chicago, the flight was overbooked, so there was no chance whatsoever. I was sort of glad really--there was a group of intoxicated, loud, cackling women on the earlier flight who were so obnoxious, even all the male passengers thought so too and did their share of rolling their eyes. Two hours later on the flight we were scheduled for, they were asking for volunteers who would receive a $350 voucher each, hotel for the night, and the 8:30 am. flight the next morning. Now that type of delay I can handle, but in the end we were not needed, darn it. Our flight was non-eventful, and so quiet that mostly everyone caught a nap on the way out.

We arrived a little before midnight and the tram from the D Gates to Baggage Claim was jammed more than any NYC subway ride I

Friday afternoon John, Walt, and I drove over to The Resort At Summerlin. It only took about 15 minutes from Caesars and was VERY easy to find, especially when you are armed with written directions <g>. This new resort is beautiful and reminds me of the Desert Inn, but on a larger scale. It

Inside the casino there is a really nice lounge I noticed called the Coral Reef Lounge. There is a raised gazebo-type center section with tables and chairs that would be a good meeting place for Talk Vegas or for any group get-together. As we walked by the Red Square Bar and the headless statue of Lenin, Walt noticed that Lenin

On our way over to see Paris, we were heading out the door when Walt said he liked the music those $1 Pinball slot machines play, so I put a $20 in, played the max 3 coins, and almost immediately got the 5 chances to play pinball. I never have played these machines before so I didn

Tuesday was golf day in Mesquite, NV, for Walt, Jeff, Randy, and Kelly. For me it was Gambling Marathon Day No. 2, but first Patti and I combed the casino looking for Daisy, with no luck. So we headed over to the Oasis coffee shop for their Cobb Salad, which was good, and then spent the afternoon with Daisy cranking the VP machines. They were nice and loose (the machines, I mean), so we all did pretty well, I think. After the golfers returned we hung out a little and then headed back to LV. About 20 miles northeast of the city on I-15 South you come around the bend and there in front of you are the spectacular lights of Las Vegas. I always wanted to see the city this way, and finally got to. We made it to Pasta Pirate at the Hotel California just in time to have Michele as our server, but it was so busy, service was s-l-o-w. That is, it was slow until I took out my little notebook and things fell into place after that, since the staff must have thought the notebook translated into "restaurant reviewer alert". Pasta Pirate has a steak and 2 lobster tails special I usually order which is still available and is still $10.95 and includes salad, potato, and a glass of house wine. I never noticed this on the menu before but you can also order soup instead of salad, which Walt had and said was very good, made with a tomato-base with chunks of lobster, mussels, clams, fish--like a bouillabaise.

On Wednesday I dragged Walt to MGM because I just had to take a look at the Elvis memorabilia that was to be auctioned off on Friday. I

Genius me stayed up until 1:30 a.m. and then couldn

V,

What a great reort. I'm gonna have to take a nap now [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]. Those pin ball slots sound neat, I don't think I saw any on this trip.
"Belle Poitrine"? Sounds like something to do with the belly buton or going to the bathroom. Guess I'll have to try and find a French dictionary.
Did Walt tell you about all the monay he made on the golf course? Kind of sneaky how he flubs a few shots on the first couple holes till he can get a good bet down.
Hopefully we can go for another bike ride some time. Thatw as a lot of fun.

jm

V,
Another grrrrreat report!
I see you didn't let any grass grow under your feet on this longer trip! <s>
I like the longer trips, I have more time to unwind.
Sure wish we could have stayed longer and that we could have met up on Friday night, but that was my fault. I wanted to see a friend and some high quality scotch! [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Thanks so much for typing this out for us all.
Now are you ready to go back to Vegas yet? I am, and I know Sandy is already counting the days till November! LOL

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

V - What a great trip report as usual. it sure was great seeing you and Walt again. I love how you will try all of those daring rides, even Jeff's motorcycle. [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Know I know where I got my cold from.

You know the crowds were down, except downtown. Did you notice how many people were down there? We almost didn't get reservations down there even booking so far in advance.

Thanks again for the great report.

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Doye/KY

Veronica,
Another great trip report, as usual. We had a great time. Next time I have to try those pinball slot machines with you. Maybe they are the machines that will finally turn my bad luck at slots around. <vbg>
Just got back our pictures tonight. The pictures from Madame Tussaud's are GREAT!!!! Wait until you see them. The ones in the gift shop came out great too.

Lee Ann
Past, Present and Future Forum Moderator
leeann@talkvegas.com

Veronica,
I was really tired until I started reading the trip report topic and now I'm wide-awake!
I love reading trip reports and can really appreciate what goes into them now that I've grown up (VBG) and done one myself.
Thanks so much for the fun report.

Gail, Lancaster, CA.

V-

Your reports are never too long! I really enjoy reading the 'true' versions of the escapades of any of the "j's" and can count on you for the real story!

Reading all these fabulous reports is making me realize how LONG it has been since I've been to LV......too long!

Thanks again...
Trina

V.
Thanks for the trip report. I always learn new things when I read your reports.
Thanks for the updates on the Ceasers slot club points and the room info. We got a really ugly room in the Roman Tower last month.
Gale

jm: Hmmmm, I'll have to ask Walt about the golf hustle. He must have forgotten to mention it <g>.

Lee: It was nice seeing you, Sue, and Sandy at TRs, even if it was for 2 minutes!

Doye: Downtown didn't seem quite as busy as I've ever seen it, at least when we were there, but it was lively.

Lee Ann: YIKES! I forgot about those gift-shop photos.

Gail Fernald: Sorry to have fed you a caffeine-spiked trip report, but I'm glad you liked it.

Trina: he, he...thanks for the validation.

Gale: Hopefully Park Place Entertainment will put the Roman Tower at the top of the priority list for refurbishing. Wouldn't that be nice!

Veronica,

Thanks for the trip report. We too have wondered why some places give you a hard time about casino rates if you stay more than 4 or 5 nights. One possibility that I think works some places is to make two different reservations for the seven nights- 1 for you and continue the next ? nights in Walts name. Glad to hear that Christina is still at NYNY. THe five dollar cover charge still makes it some of the best entertainment in LV.

Veronica--GREAT trip report! But your problems at Caesars with your reservation made me call immediately to confirm my reservations for this Friday! (Of course mine are just for the 3 comped nights through Casino Marketing and all was well). I also had them confirm my (comped) David Copperfield tickets. (I still can't believe what a great offer they sent us!).

One question about your stay--were you in the Palace Tower? Which is the Roman Tower that you mentioned that "anything was better than"? The reason I ask is that we have stayed in the Centurion (last June and it was kind of ugly), the Forum, and the Palace Towers, and we actually PREFER the Forum Towers, and were going to ask to "downgrade" to a Forum Jacuzzi room (from our comped Palace Tower room). We've stayed in them 3 times and always loved them and their location (and that jacuzzi in the bedroom), but I was worried that maybe these were the rooms you were referring to....and perhaps there are some bad ones? Or are is the Roman Tower an entirely separate one? I know there is one tower that has been renamed, but I get confused. (actually pretty easily these days .... :-)
Thanks for your input, for the great trip report, and for directing me back to this great board!

Gail in MI

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Gail in MI

V, I had to get into the proper frame of mind to read your report<G> Surprisingly there were very few inaccuracies in it this time<G>
I used a tape recorder on this trip instead of a notebook to take notes. It didn't work as well as I hoped it would. And it doesn't have the same impact in a restaurant that the notebook does. I've pulled the notebook out and started taking notes on many occassions and the employees do notice you doing so.
We had a lot of fun, but the trip was too short as far as I'm concerned.
You did have more problems on this trip than usual between Caesars and the car rental.
Thanks for posting this. How'd you remember so much?<G>

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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Fred: Good idea to book 2 reservations to get around that limit of days for casino rate. In my case it wouldn't work since Walt doesn't gamble enough to get rated, but it's something for others to consider.

Gail in MI: Yes, I was in the Palace Tower. The Forum Tower is the one you want if you do not want the Palace Tower. I agree that the Forum Tower is a good location, and those jacuzzi rooms are good.

There are 4 towers: Palace Tower which is the newest, as you know; Forum Tower (formerly the Olympic Tower), Centurion Tower, and Roman Tower. Since the Roman Tower has not been redone in a long time, that's the tower with rooms that are not nearly as nice as the Palace or Forum Towers.

Now you've got me curious about those Centurion Tower rooms. Maybe I got bum information from the Caesars employee that all the rooms were redone? If you happen to think of it on your trip, maybe you could ask someone and see what they have to say.

Have a great trip!

John: The problems were minor annoyances, considering what could really go wrong. Being there for 7 days sure makes up for any small inconveniences.




[This message has been edited by Veronica (edited October 12, 1999).]

Fred,
That will work, our neighbors do it all the time, but, they each have there own card for the casino, and the accounts are not joined.
Most of our cards (Sue & mine) are joint accounts. We take turns being the primary (#1 person) on the account, that way, we each get mail from the casino's.
* We call all mail from casinos, "happy mail" because it's one of the few things that arrive at my door that isn't a bill! <S>

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

I loved this trip report, even if it was too short! Seriously, I personally like a long trip report with lots of details. It makes me feel like I'm right there.

Gregg: Thanks for the nice comments.

I'll try to make the next trip report longer [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

Lee,
"Happy mail" Only you would think of that. LOL I love it.

Lee Ann
Past, Present and Future Forum Moderator
leeann@talkvegas.com

Great report, Veronica......this trip reads like a non-stop party! Your travel woes make me happy I only had an 8-hr drive home<g>.

Thanks for the advice on cashing out my Caesars points; I managed to accumulate about 250 points on this trip, so I'm hoping that will generate some more decent offers. [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] I had an interesting conversation with the bellman on my way out; he seemed to be a little concerned about the Hilton takeover, and he dropped an interesting little tidbit....that Park Place might be trying to see the LV Hilton....I guess time will let us know if that rumor is true.

Hi Veronica,
I thought that I was the only one that didn't look at expiration dates on coupons. When I got to the counter at Alamo on 10-1, with a coupon good for a free day, I then noticed that it had expired on 9-30. So I was about 20 hours too late. I even tried to use the excuse that I had made the reservation online and put in the coupon code, with the dates that I was going to be there, and it didn't give me any error that it wouldn't be good. BUT, it didn't do me a bit of good. Of course, I was dealing with the guy who gave me a car with an expired registation!!
Since you've seen the Jacuzzi rooms at Caearars, how do you get the stereo speakers in the ceiling to work? When I stayed in one back in Sept. that was the only gadget that I couldn't figure out. The motorized curtains were fun, but I got bored pretty easily.
Anyway, it was great to see your smiling faces at the meet. Hope to see y'all soon, on another trip.

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Layne in NC

Lee Ann, those pinball slots were near the entrance and seemed to be paying off pretty well. I don't play slots, but after V's experience with them I might be convinced to give them a try.

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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Jeff, why am I not surprised that Walt is a "sandbagger" on the golf course<G> How many strokes did he get<G>

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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Daisy, I hope that the Hilton does not mess with Caesars and their comp policies. I just got settled in at Caesars after moving from the Rio and I don't want to move again.


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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

V, Great trip report and not a word too long!If I had to type your trip report out it would take me the four or five months between trips just to get the T/R posted [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img], As it is, it takes weeks now just to write it. Hopefully later today I will get my daughter to type it, and wha-la the guilt will be gone!

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John B.
jblersch@optonline.net

John,
Since we (I should say Michael <vbg> ) finally got an offer from Caesars, I'll have to try those pinball machines the next time. I never do well on slot machines, but these sound like fun.

Lee Ann
Past, Present and Future Forum Moderator
leeann@talkvegas.com

Lee Ann, I'm not quite sure how you play the pinball slots. Veronica said it took her a minute to figure out what to do. Therefore it would take me an hour to figure them out<G>
In April we went to Mandalay Bay and Linda put 3 quarters in some kind of pig slot machine (not the piggy bank ones) and whatever she did the screen started to have all these dancing pigs on it and they kept exploding. We didn't know what to do so we just stood there. Eventually all the pigs blew up and Linda won $60. We never did figure that one out. She just took her $60 and went to the Forum Shops<G>

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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

John: The pinball is mindless to play <G>.

Just look for the button that says
"Pinball". You have to line up 1 pinball reel before you get 5 chances to push the pinball button; that is, if you play max coins. Otherwise, 1 or 2 coins played only gives you 1 chance at pinball.

V,
One coin gives you one chance. Two coins gives you two chances. Three coins gives you 5 chances. Big advantage to win lots more with max coins in. I was debating to play these machines or the Top Dollar ones next to them. I played Top Dollar. More on them when I have a chance to do my much delayed trip report.

Michael
Hotel/Casino Moderator
michael@talkvegas.com

Michael: OK, I'll take your word for it! But I thought the schedule said playing 1 or 2 coins only gave you the 1 chance. I'm probably wrong but will be happy to check it out next time <g>.