The Bellagio twisted my arm with an invitation to spend 2 nites there on them,
so I drove over early on November 23rd.
This was a good day for driving the 270 miles
from So. California. Sunny, bright and cool,
and not much traffic across the desert.

On the way in, I stopped at the Gold Strike
Casino in Jean, NV. to make a pit stop, and
spent a profitable two hours there playing
video poker, leaving with a nice profit. This seemed to be good way to begin the trip!

I arrived at Bellagio at 11:30am, and had no
wait at check-in. When I asked for a room
overlooking the fountains in front, the desk
person advised me that even on a comp they
charge $30 per night extra for one of those
rooms. So I declined that option, and then
she assigned me a room overlooking the wonderful pool area. Good choice!

Tuesday afternoon was spent playing at the
host hotel. I like to recognize their invitation by starting my play with them.
Luck continued to sit with me through the
afternoon, and by bed time, I thought enough
had been accumulated to carry me through the
rest of the trip. Lunch was at the Buffet,
(which is over-priced at $12.25) and Dinner was at the Cafe Bellagio, their 24-hour restaurant, located just off the beautiful conservatory, which was loaded with colorful flowers and smelled wonderful!

Wednesday morning, I started the walking tour, heading across to check out Paris,
(1st time visit). I was impressed by the size and decor of the place, but not the gambling. No luck there. Next came Bally's,
Flamingo Hilton, and Caesars, all with very little to offer in the way of winnings.
Moving on to Mirage and Treasure Island, a little better luck emerged, and I began to feel more positive. Crowds were moderate at
this point, but later in the day the numbers of people began to build.

Wednesday evening was spent back at Bellagio,
with the slot club comping the evening buffet, which at $24.61 (incl tax) is still
overpriced, but hey, if they wanted to pick it up, whom am I to quibble! One of the main
items among the meats being served was venison. It was cooked nicely, but you can't
get that gamey taste out of it.

Thursday morning (Thanksgiving), I checked out of the hotel, after locating a nice little bakery just down the corridor from the
room elevators. It overlooks the pool, and
provided an excellent way to start the day.
There's also a Gelato parlor across the
corridor from the bakery.

I needed to redeem some $5 tokens at Treasure Island before heading home, so I went down there and decided to play them out
instead. Won enough to keep me there for
an hour. Decided then to go over to the Venetian for a little while before hitting the road. A fortunate decision. The machine I sat down at might be the only full-pay video poker machine in the place, but it
held my attention for the next 2 1/2 hours,
being generous enough to make the entire trip
a success.

Finally departed Las Vegas at 12:30, headed
home, but decided to have Thanksgiving with
those folks at the Nevada Landing casino in
Jean. Good holiday buffet, for a quite reasonable price ($8.50). Had quite a bit
of entertainment playing video poker at Nevada Landing, but no big wins, so I left
for home. It was now 2:30 pm and the traffic
on the interstate coming into Las Vegas from
Southern California was beginning to thicken.
in another hour, it was heavy, all the way
to Barstow, about 150 miles. Methinks a lot
of people decided to have their turkey dinner
in Las Vegas!

When I got home, in reading over the accumulated mail, there was another invitation from Bellagio to come back right
after New Year's. Let's see, how can I work that out..... [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Dick-So. Calif.

Really enjoyed your trip report. Sounds like you had several good video poker sessions. I was surprised there is a $30 charge (on a comped room) for the view you requested.

Dick, I have always envied people who lived in So. Cal and could got to Las Vegas on short notice. It sounds like you enjoyed your stay at Bellagio. It appears that there were quite a few posters from this bb in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving. Glad to hear that it was an inexpensive trip for you.

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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

John, The nearness of Southern California to Las Vegas can be a curse as well as a blessing. Sometimes the temptation to "just run over there" has to be tempered by reason.
Las Vegas is one of my favorite places to go, simply because it's sort of an "escape"
from the everyday hum-drum. Now, the current residents of Las Vegas who live and work in that town must have someplace that works the same way for them, right?

Dick-So. Calif.

Dick: Bellagio check-in clerks must be trained in thinking up reasons of avoiding upgrading to a room overlooking the fountains. I

Veronica,

Based upon your information concerning the check-in clerks at Bellagio, I now have to wonder what she would have come up with if I had said okay to the $30 additional charge...

Dick-So. Calif.

Dick,

Thanks for teh report. You used one of my favorite words a lot, free!

If you really want a lake view room, why don't you try a $20 bill on the counter the next time you ask the question. I did that at Mandalay Bay when I asked about a room with a jacuzzi and it got me a nice suite for 2 weekend nights!

jm

Jeff: The $20 trick didn't work at Bellagio--for me, anyway.

I have heard reports of this working/not working at a hotel. I assume it works only in direct proportion to the level of greed your check-in clerk possesses that day!

Dick>>Now, the current residents of Las Vegas who live and work in that town must have someplace that works the same way for them, right?<<

Dick, If I ever get my much needed escape vacation, I'll let you know where I go <g>.


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gail@talkvegas.com
Moderator, TalkVegas After Hours
Administrator, TalkVegas BB

Dick,

Went to San Diego a couple of weeks ago and going to Cambria on Thursday.

Randy in LV

Randy: Well, now we know....you Las Vegans go to California and the Californians go to Las Vegas. You just keep on passing each other somewhere out in the desert!

Randy, you have good taste in picking places to go in California. San Diego and Cambria
are two of our favorite destinations also.

The shoreline along Moonstone Beach at Cambria is a good one for walking the beach.

San Diego we like for it's waterfront scenery, the zoo, and other attractions.

Have a good trip later this week.

Dick-So. Calif.

Dick,
Thanks for the great report! I am in agreement with John, I'm a little envious of the Californians! Even on our way home as we passed over AZ, Sandy mentioned if we all lived in Phonix, we'd be home by now! LOL

Glad you caught some luck on your visit. Looks like I am going to have to rely on the trip reports of others for winning stories, till my next trip.
Thanks for posting!

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