Okay all. I think we may take the plunge and change hotels. We are looking at Caesars. Any and all views of the place would be appreciated (except Dave OKC...I know yours).

Also, any secrets on comps, slot hosts, room upgrades would be appreciated.

Carol, I found out last week that you now need 500 pts per day to get a room comp. At $25 for 1 point I would suggest you forget about any additional comps. It is cheaper to pay for what you want.
Also, your play at Caesars is going towards the next offer you receive, not your present trip. So, look at your offer and use all of it but be prepared to pay for anything additional.
My slot host is Madeline Brown. If you want to email me I will give you some particulars and you can tell her you got her name from me.
Just read your offer carefully. Also, when you check in find out if you can get a room in the Palace Tower. You might try slipping a $20 bill along with your credit card to the person checking you in. The Palace Tower is farther away from the casino, but very convenient to the pool and is the nicest of the towers.
The gourmet restaurants are expensive and other than Neros I don't think they are worth the money. The coffee shop and food court are pretty good. There is only one bar, the sportsbook bar, that has quarter bartop vp. Dave can tell you where the "only" 9/6 jacks machine is located--no kidding, there is only one quarter full pay machine there.
The fifty cent machines across from Cleopatra's Barge are decent sometimes. At least you can listen to the music coming from the Barge while playing there.
On my last trip the cocktail service for machine players after 9pm was terrible. We were going to the bar and buying drinks. We went for hours and never saw a waitress. We were told that Hilton is cutting employees big time and tightening comps and free drinks etc. The bottom line is all that matters now and if they can make you buy a drink instead of giving it to you they save money.
Let me know if you have any other questions.

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

John, thanks for response. Since the only thing we get back from Flamingo is our bill, I don't think I'll be too upset about having to pay for everything at Caesars either.

I think we'll give them a try and see what happens. I also ordered a Caesars Mastercard which gives you an automatic upgrade if available. Dave told me about that. Said he's gotten them every time.

Carol, let us know what happens with the Caesars Mastercard. I hope you get the upgrade. With the new ownership I was not certain if it would still be useable.
Be sure to try to get the Palace Tower if you can for the same price. And if they say they will do that go for a "petite suite". All they can say is no and a lot of times if you ask for it they will give it to you.
I have a good offer from Caesars that doesn't start until July 19th. That is the day I am leaving to come home. I will call them and see if they would allow me to use the offer for the week prior to July 19th. I think I already know the answer<G>

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

Carol, we switched from the Rio to Caesars and have been really happy with the decision. Of course, hitting a RF there didn't hurt either! Never had a problem checking in. One time the desk clerk even showed us room layouts and we got to actually choose the room. I'll be glad when they take off the cinder blocks from the windows in the Forum towers because I do like the location and views from this area.

Anxious to see how the new changes will effect everything.

Carol, there are a few things to know if you plan to become a Caesar.

First you need to learn all the towers and the pros and cons of each. John is right, the Palace Tower is new and nice, but you need to know what to ask for in case that is not an option. Furthermore, there are several basic and advanced floorplans for each tower. The best way to learn is to ALWAYS negotiate (beg for) a nicer room at check in, even if the Palace Tower is not an option. Tell them it is a special trip, such as wedding, anniversary, birthday, expecting guests from out of the country, etc.

It will take a few trips to learn which tower(s) fit your needs best, how to get from from your room to various places, and where and when to park. The layout of the place can be confusing when it comes to shortcuts.

I've had a lot of wonderful stays at Caesars, and I'm sure that you will too.

We stayed in one of the older Caesar rooms years ago and the bed was elevated with a canape over it and a jacuzzi in the bedroom.

I think it was $90 a night but could have been lots less.

Friends of ours had a top floor suite which wasn't too appealing.

Both rooms were in the front building with the lattice work outside the windowns with an obstructed view towards the Imperial.

I assume these rooms have been redone many times since then.

At one time the Riviera had major plans to redo their rooms to include jacuzzi pools in the bedrooms. I remember a major display in the lobby showing how spectacular these rooms were going to be. Did it ever really come about?

My last visit to the Riviera was a major let-down. Had a room with a very slender window overlooking the pool and it was dark brown in every respect. Even had to use a flashlight to turn off the lights.

I never went back after that.

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will800

Carol54 - If you cannot get the Palace tower, ask for the Forum Tower, with a Jaccuzi tub. I understand these rooms have recently benn remodeled. Alos, the Forum tower elevators are in a great location in the center of the action.
Dave in OKC

$25 per point and 500 points/day for a room?
WOW! That's $12,500 through the machines/day. Even with a 98% payback machine that would be a $250 loss per day.

Gives new insight to the words, "never play for comps."

Doug, you are exactly right. I was shocked when I was told this. Now keep in mind this was told to me by a host that I had never seen before and she was not very friendly. She was pretty "matter of fact" and just stated that policies have been changing lately. I was waiting for her to say "like it or lump it" they way she was talking.
I will talk to my regular host this next trip and see what she says. But I agree that $12,000 plus throughput per day is rediculous. I remember seeing a chart at the Rio that you needed 8,000 points for a free room. I don't remember how much throughput got you a point there.

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

Thanks all. I will try some of these tips. Does anyone know the 'worst' rooms to not get?? Talked to someone on our last trip who was staying there and they said they were very disapointed in the rooms.

Granted, Sam's Town isn't Caesars (which can be good or bad<g> ), but $12,500 through the machines would get 5 free nights at Sam's. I used to average 250-300 points at Caesars in a 2 night stay, but I was so disgusted with their current quarter VP choice that I only did about 40 points worth of play on my last stay. I doubt I'll even rate one of the $59 offers based on that play, but my feelings won't exactly be hurt. I may move around and do different things during the day, but at night, I like to play where I stay, and it got downright bo-ring being limited to 10 full-pay quarter VP machines at Caesars.

Daisy, where did you find TEN full pay machines at Caesars. Are you referring to that one bank of bonus poker that we played?

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