I am going to try something different for me. I will post daily while I am in Las Vegas. My internet connection is unreliable so I hope this makes it to the bb.

Kristen (my daughter) and I left Columbus on Thurs at 6pm. Continental had screwed up our reservations again and I doubt that I will e-ticket with them again since they seem to have problems with the e-ticket system.
We arrived in Las Vegas at 9pm and had excellent baggage service. The cab driver did not try to take the tunnel and I gave him an extra tip for doing so. Check in at Caesars was quick and we have 2 petit suites in the Palace Tower.
We went to Paris and met some friends that showed us their room and the pool. Both were very nice. I would stay there based on what I saw. The vp selection is still poor.We returned to Caesars and I played vp until 3 am and then called it a night. There was no cocktail service at the machines all night which I find unexcusable.
On Fri Kristen hit the pool and I toured Caesars. All the full pay jacks machines are gone. They have replaced them with less than full pay machines which tells me that Hilton is going to start squeezing the customers. This may be my last stay at Caesars since it is clear that they have had a change in attitude and policy.
So far my vp luck has been ok, but nothing to get excited about.
I did not find any full pay vp machines at Paris or NY NY today. This may be the beginning of a trend on the strip. I hope not.
I also noticed that Bellagio had lots of people and action in the casino today. Caesars was kind of dead.
I know the Alladin is suppose to open soon, but it appears they are a long way from being ready. I talked to a worker there that said they did not think they would be finished when the opening was scheduled.
That is all so far. I will try to post daily reports. Of course if the vp gods decide to smile on me I may not make it back to my room to do so.
John in Las Vegas


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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Thanks for posting as your trip progress, you'll be sure to remember everything. I noticed the last few times we've been out there that Bellagio is always busy, too busy for my husband -- he didn't want to stay there again, and I was dying to! We've noticed that Caesars is much less busy. Hmms maybe they should be trying to attract the customer and not squeeze them.

I found a sneaky way to inspect rooms of various properties while we're in Vegas. Once we tried to ask and see a room at NYNY and they left us hanging for a 1/2 hour. Now we go to breakfast at various hotels. When we're finished we just ride the elevator up to any floor and pretend we have rooms. We walk down the hall and many rooms are open because of cleaning. We can get a pretty good idea that way. If someone questions you just say you room is on the other side and you wanted to check the view from this side.

rcb26,

Sounds like you've come up with a nice way to check out rooms. Will remember that one.<s> So far, whenever I've asked to see a room where we might like to stay, the casinos have been very obliging. It usually did not take too long before someone would escort me to a room. Waiting 1/2 hour or more everytime would be annoying. When people are in LV, they certainly don't want to WASTE time. Too much to see and do.<g>

Beth

John,

Like I told you, get off the strip. Especially if you want full pay VP.

HIT THAT ROYAL!!!

jm

John,

There will be a Job Fair in LV tomorrow for the new Suncoast Casino. They are planning to hire 1600. Just thought I'd let you know in case you run out of money.<LOL>

Beth

John - hate to hear ALL the full pay JOB machines are gone from Caesars! This must have happened recently since they were there the first week in June. Did they get my 9/6 quarter machine by the buffet also?
Also, do they still have the 8/5 Bonus machines (quarters) in the old casino, not far from the David statue?
You might try NYNY. They had a number of full pay VP machines, even quarter ones.
Good Luck
Dave in OKC

Dave, they got your machine by the buffet. There are NO 9/6 job anywhere. They do have the 8/5 bonus poker machines. Both quarter and $1.

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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Day #2
I got up early for me, 9am. I took a walk on the strip. A lot of people out at that time of the morning. After returning to Caesars I played vp most of the afternoon and did ok.
Dinner was at the food court since we have the dining credits. A combination of chinese and mexican dishes were ok, but nothing great.
Kristen and I took a cab downtown and saw the free Blood Sweat and Tears show on Freemont Street. They were ok, but nothing special. Kristen discovered nickle Monopoly machines at Main Street Station and got her first ever hand pay from one. Now she is hooked on the Monopoly machines. When we returned to Caesars she played the nickle Monopoly machines on the wall by the exit to the Forum shops and won 1500 nickles twice. The machine spit out 1500 nickles-no hand payments-and we carried the buckets to the change booth. After the second trip to the change booth the attendant wanted to know Kristen's secret. The secret is she plays with my money and keeps the winnings<G>
I played the fifty cent vp machines across from Cleopatra's Barge until 3 am, cashing out a nice little profit. All things considered we had a good day gambling. Kristen with her nickles, and my vp and sports book winnings. It was nice to wake up this am with a wad of money in my pocket from last night. There is a lot planned for today so I will continue this report tomorrow. BTW, traffic is terrible. I am glad we did not get a car and are taking cabs. So far all the cab drivers have taken direct routes and have not gone out of their way to increase the cost of the cab fare. I also forgot to mention that we played craps at Binions and did ok. You have to play craps at Binions at least once on every trip. It is a tradition. Life is good right now so it is off to the vp machines.
John in Las Vegas


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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

John - thanks for the info on the VP machines. Sorry to hear about my 9/6 quarter machine, it had been good to me, both on regular payouts and a Royal last Feb.
I guess I will stick to the 8/5 Bonus ones for now. Perhaps even try the 7/5 Progressive Bonus bank near Neros.
Have you tried the Venetian lately? I know they pulled their 9/6 quarters but I am not sure about the dollars. On my last trip I broke down and played an 8/5 JOB there (to kill some time while the girls were shopping) and hit a Royal!
Good Luck on the rest of your trip, I hope you finally get your overdue Royal.
Dave in OKC

Dave, there is one dollar 9/6 jacks across from Cleopatra's Barge. That is it. There are full pay Bonus poker near the high limit area. They are quarter machines. There are full pay dollar Bonus Poker near the stairways that decend in the center of the Forum casino.
I went to the Venetian today and found a lot of full pay machines. They are scattered throughout the casino so you have to look for them.

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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

John - the full pay VP at Venetian - glad you found some, but are they dollar or quarter. They pulled all the quarter ones when I was there in June.
Dave in OKC

Dave, all i saw was $1 vp at the Venetian. If I get there again I will check.

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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

Saturday was a busy day. I did very well at blackjack and vp and ended the day with a good win. I also had good luck in the sportsbook.
I went to NY NY and looked at a players suite room. It was pretty nice. Not quite as fancy as the petite suites at Caesars, but it was a nice large room.
Dinner was at my favorite Las Vegas hangout, Tommy Rockers. The ribs were fantastic. But, the entertainment was even better. This was the first time I had been there on a weekend when Tommy Rocker was performing. If you like Jimmy Buffet and you like to have a good time, then don't miss Tommy Rockers on a weekend. Tommy starts around 10pm and all the seats were filled by then, so go early, have some great food and get ready to party. I had a blast and I can't wait to go back.
I spent the rest of the evening at the vp machines at Caesars and finally crashed at 4am.
I have a busy day planned today and will post more tomorrow.

John in Las Vegas

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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

John, keep up the winning ways! I'm enjoying reading your daily reports, and I hope you explore life off the strip a bit more<g>. If you get out to the Boulder Highway, try the Skyline casino ....I don't know why I liked it (maybe good BJ and full-pay VP?), but I'm looking forward to checking it out more in the future.

Well Daisy, I made it to Boulder Hwy yesterday but we went to the new Arizona Charlies. It is a pretty nice place and they have full pay vp in the bartops<G>
After that I headed for Main Street Station. The Sampler I had for dinner had Shrimp and a variety of toast and crab and dips and it was outstanding. This is my favorite place in Las Vegas. I could live at MSS and Tommy Rockers. After dinner I played some bj and go creamed but Kristen held her own so we didn't do too badly overall. Then it was off to NY NY where we had a blast at the dueling pianos. We tried some bj at NY NY and got creamed---do you see a pattern here?--- and then returned to Caesars for some vp. I lost a little and then tried a $1 machine---big mistake---as my cash went quickly.
I don't know what is going on in Las Vegas but all the casinos were packed for a Sunday night and there were no rooms available. Friends of mine had reservations at Caesars and ended up at the Flamingo because Caesars was sold out.
I finally decided to cut my losses for the day and headed for bed at 3am.
Today is a new day and I hope the gambling gods are smiling on me<G>
I plan to spend as much time as I can at MSS for the rest of this trip. The bartender is named Michelle and she is from my hometown and we know a lot of the same people. If you ever stop by tell her hello and that you heard about her from me on the talkvegas bb.
Also, the sampler platter I had for dinner was called the Brewmaster Platter I think. Everyone's food was outstanding.

John in Las Vegas

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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com

[This message has been edited by John (edited 17 July 2000).]

I'm enjoying your trip reports. Sounds like the gambling is going okay. Looking forward to your future posts on this trip.

John,
Your doing on heck of a job. Your reports are fresh, and exciting. I sure wish I was there to help you with some of those ribs at Tommy's & Micro Brews at MSS. Guess you'll have to drink for to the next visit! <VBG>

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

John:

Really enjoying your day by day reports. Questions .....what street is Tommy Rockers on? Also, was the sampler meal you had at MSS in the bar, or where?

Susan

John - I'm curious to know if you've made it to the DI yet and what the status is. Mike

Hi to everyone. The sampler meal was at the Brewpub. In fact, I'm heading there again in a little while. The 777 Brewpub is located in the center or MSS.
Tommy Rockers is located on Industrial Rd behind Caesars and the Rio. I had to tell the cab driver how to get there so don't expect them to know where it is.
I was at the DI yesterday and it is really sad. The remaining employees are really down and the place is dead. I played a little vp without any luck.
Today is pretty busy. I may have to finish this report when I get home. The gambling gods are smiling and I am beginning it LOVE double double bonus poker<G>!!!!!

John in Las Vegas


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John
Moderator Dining Forum and Entertainment, Attractions and Sightseeing Forum
john@talkvegas.com