Did you ever daydream about just dropping it all and heading off to Vegas? I do - a lot - and I finally followed through on my daydream. An opportunity presented itself for me to return to Las Vegas for a few days after Christmas. Since I had a rather miserable time at Thanksgiving, I was anxious to return so I took advantage of air miles and a free room at NYNY and I arrived on Sunday the 28th. I did not get a car. This trip was more about relaxing, gambling, catching up on some movies, and laying low.

I arrived around 1PM and spent a portion of my first afternoon exploring the new casino at NYNY, now that the construction is all done. I have to say – I REALLY DON’T LIKE what they did with it. The casino has no distinctive features at all and although it’s now much easier to navigate, thanks to wider aisles and a more logical traffic flow pattern, it’s all just rather dull. Most of my favorite machines are gone and I had a hard time keeping myself interested.

I’ve grown to love playing Triple Play video poker and there are exactly SEVEN Triple Play machines in the entire casino – and they are all at $1 or more denominations. Bye-bye quarter Triple Play progressives! All the 10 Times Pay progressive machines are gone and even the Wizard of Oz machines are gone. In their recent mailer, NYNY advertised the new Star Trek machines but I didn’t see those either. No Wheel of Fortune machines. For the most part, blackjack table minimums were $15+. I found myself gambling less on this trip at NYNY than I ever have. Not because I was losing – I actually made some money - I just wasn’t into it.

Since the trip was last-minute, I hadn’t made any specific plans. I was curious to see the new Cirque du Soleil show “Believe” at Luxor so I went online and found a 4th row aisle seat in the center section. Prior to the show, I treated myself to dinner at CraftSteak at MGM Grand and had a great filet mignon. I had hardly eaten that day so I was very hungry and the meal was just what the doctor ordered – excellent as usual.

If you want to know what I thought of “Believe”, you’ll have to read my review in the “Entertainment and Attractions” section of this board. In short, it’s pretty bad and I definitely “took one for the team” here.

After the show, I settled in on a $1 Triple Play machine back at NYNY where I was having a pretty good run of luck. Numerous quads kept me going and shortly before I was going to call it a night, I was dealt 3 to the Royal in Clubs and lo and behold, the other 2 Clubs popped up on the top line. I have to credit this one to all of my practice on Bob Dancer’s Win Poker. The hand was an interesting one: 8, 10, Jack, Ace, all in Clubs, and an 8 of Hearts. So I had 3 to the Royal in Clubs, 4 to a Flush in Clubs, and a pair of 8’s. Prior to my practice on Win Poker I would have held the 4 to the Flush but I learned that in most cases, save for a high pair, you always hold 3 to the Royal. I was extremely pleased that this worked out since my luck had been pretty bad in 2008. This certainly helped me make up for the losses that I had on my last 2 trips and gave me some playing money for the rest of this trip!

On Monday, I slept later than I normally do in Vegas (until 8AM!), went and got some coffee, and played some VP until it was time to see a movie (Marley & Me – pretty good).

After the show, I went back for a little gambling and a nap and then decided to go exploring. I took the monorail all the way up to the Sahara and then walked south.

My first stop was the Viva McDonald’s that JMT had written about. It’s an interesting place but unfortunately, they need to do something about their customer service. The place wasn’t all that busy and it took nearly 10 minutes for my Quarter Pounder meal to show up. The employees moved slower than snails and didn’t seem to care that people were lining up waiting for their orders. I saw several people return cold French fries (luckily, mine were warm!). I’m not sure what was going on but the place seemed to be horribly mis-managed.

My second stop was Slots O Fun. I’d never stepped into this place before but did so out of curiosity. I was surprised to find the old coin-dispensing video poker machines that I learned to play VP on! You know, the ones with the payout schedule posted on the glass instead of on the TV screen. And the “poing-poing” noises they make that I just love. I sat down at one and on the very first hand, it dealt me 4 Jacks – what a great way to start! I had deposited a twenty and after about 30 minutes, I had over 500 coins. What a trip down memory lane putting 500 quarters in a bucket and cashing them in!

Later I discovered these REALLY OLD video poker machines that must have been the original machines when video poker first came out (I think on the glass it said “Win up to 10,000 coins”). You had to feed them quarters since they didn’t have bill collectors. While they were very slow and somewhat hard to read, I had fun playing them.

I ended up spending over an hour in Slots O Fun and actually had some fun – unexpectedly!

Then I headed to Encore to check it out. JMT pretty much described it well in his Encore trip report so I won’t go into many specifics. I liked what I saw. Yes, it’s very RED, very elegant, and nicely appointed. They had a decent selection of machines to play and I had some fun doing so (although I left a few bucks behind). My one complaint was that it was pretty noisy – the music was on a bit loud – and there were a few spots where I sat down to play but didn’t stay very long since it was so loud. There was also another bank of machines that were unplayable since the overhead lights were shining directly on the screens and the glare made them impossible to see, unless you twisted and turned your body to get rid of the glare. But that was no fun at all so I bailed out.

My next stop was to see the volcano at the Mirage. Thank you KESTRAL for recommending to stand on the south end of the volcano. I think my vantage point was just about perfect to see everything, including all those “fire pots” which were kind of neat to see going along with the music. But I was disappointed with how short the entire show was. I don’t think it was more than 3 or 4 minutes. I had contemplated seeing the volcano a few times but I didn’t think it was worth waiting around another 55 minutes to see it again.

I next headed to Bellagio to see the conservatory all decorated for Christmas and it was truly beautiful – probably the best I’ve ever seen it at this time of year.

I then headed back to NYNY for a bit of VP before heading off to bed.

The next day I was up around 6AM, got some coffee, played some VP, had breakfast at America, then took a taxi over to the Orleans to see some movies. Saw both “Doubt” and “Frost/Nixon”, liked them both, and did some gambling in between.

My final night was relatively low-key. I walked up to Mandalay Bay to play some Super Times Pay machines that I like and had a pretty good run on one of them. On one hand I had a 10X chance on three to the royal but unfortunately, while I got 4 to the Royal on one of the lines, I didn’t get the real thing. But I still walked away with a couple hundred bucks.

My last stop of the night was Excalibur for a bit of blackjack (lost), craps (won a few bucks) and best of all, Krispy Kremes, which were essentially my dinner since I hadn’t eaten anything after breakfast!

Up early the next day to catch an early morning flight back home. I had a good time but I’m not sure what I’m going to do about my hotel on my next trip. I like to play where I stay and the current state of the NYNY casino isn’t going to work for me. We’ll have to see what happens in the next few months.

Mike, Hopefully either Encore or Mandalay Bay will send a sweet offer. Business isn't exactly beating down the door at any hotel lately, so you never know! Then there is always CC next door to slots of fun! LOL
Enjoyed the report, nice to see someone win and hit one of those dollar royals!
I don't understand why all the De-themeing is going on in Vegas. I always liked it, but I guess the high end properties don't have a theme, except maybe money spent on public areas?
Thanks again, for the great report.....is it cold in Chicago? I'm looking forward less and less to my upcoming trip. What was I thinking??? LOL

That is a dream trip - spur of the moment, lots of gambling and movies, and a royal to boot!

Reading about the bad service at the McDonalds made me think of McDonalds in Japan. Have you been to one on your trips over to Japan? The most amazing service. The deepest most respectful bow i ever received in Tokyo was at a McD's.

Guess we won't see that in this country, but "fast " food and warm fries doesn't seem too much to ask.

Thanks for posting a TR!

i didn't get as hungry as i normaly do reading your reports<G> but hard to beat craftsteak and micky ds.mike why don't you grab one of those rvs,franklin park has got to be real close to you and head back out to vegas!i have yet to read a report on believe that wasn't,to put it bluntly, crap!i mean did people boo,clap,or nothing? good luck on the gambling or was that just pure skill.hope the skill continues for you

Lee - the weather in Chicago has been variable. We have a few days in the 30's, then it goes into the teens and snows, and then it's zero. We had 3 inches of snow last night and more on the way today. Then it's going down to ZERO on Saturday. When are you coming?

Kestral - Never did hit a McDonald's in Japan. I usually eat what the locals do when I travel internationally. I'm not sure what was going on with the Viva McDonald's kitchen. I read that it's one of the biggest McDonnald's kitchens anywhere. Maybe it's too big?

DAG - I'm not sure I'm an RV type of person. I drive a small SUV and anything bigger makes me nervous!

With "Believe," a few people clapped and cheered but mostly it was stone-cold silence. Like I said, I was honestly embarrassed for him. He's up there yelling and trying to get people revved-up but it wasn't working.

With my VP, I'm sure some of it's skill but some of it is luck too. I practice regularly with my Win Poker program and play at about 98% accuracy (the 2% mistakes usually have to do with Straight Flush draws). In this particular case, I had a choice of 3 to the royal, 4 to a flush, or a low pair. I followed what I learned and held the 3 to the royal (which is the skill part) and the other two cards popped up for the royal, which is the luck part!!

Mike just coming out to visit the girlfriend who will be out your way for 2 weeks, she arrives the 12th, I will just be in town 16 to 19 for the weekend only. They won't fly her home for the weekend, so I'm flying out. I hope to visit one of the local casinos. I was going to visit Tim the dealer, but that trip now seems kinda a bust now. We're going to stick to the closest casino now.
After your report, I'm thinking maybe I should have just flown to Vegas, and seen Sharon when she gets home!~ LOL Never been to Vegas solo, don't know if I'd like it.

Lee - I think you said you were going to be in Crystal Lake. If you want to hit a casino, the closet one in Illinois is in Elgin and it's called the Grand Victoria. Or perhaps you might want to see if one of the Wisconsin casinos is closer. I think Potawatami Casino is near Milwaukee and might actually be closer than Elgin is. You'd have to check Map Quest or something like that. Good luck and stay warm!

Mike, I dream of dropping it all and heading off to Vegas everyday. Seriously! There's all kinds of to-do lists, itineraries, and theoretical trip reports buzzing in my head.

What game was on the Triple Play machine you hit? Was it JOB, DDB, or what? I've cut my gambling down to almost nothing and don't even know the strategies any more.

I'm glad that you ventured out a little this trip. It is sad to read about people who find those comfort zones and don't explore as much as they could.

That Viva McDonalds didn't really impress me much. I did get good service and good fries. It is mainly open and airy. I don't know how long the flowers in the men's room will last. I think more than anything, it was a win-win for McD, Harrah's, and Boyd, and McDs got a lot of extra cash to experiment.

I thought the pool area of Encore was worth seeing. I thought the butterfly statue at the valet area was nice too. If you remember the Bellagio when it first opened, it was big on butterflies.

I have a tip for you on your next trip. Amore, Taste of Chicago. It is located on Durango, north of Flamingo. Many claim it's the best pizza in town. Others claim it to be authentic Chicago food. I'm not an authority on either. What it does have that I know you'll like is that it is a mom and pop cafe operation. Their tables have huge pictures of Las Vegas landmarks. They have Chicago pictures all over the walls. Often, the cook or owner will come out and check on you. The view of the strip from the parking lot is worth the trip. The view is not breath taking but it is a great view. Go just before sunset and get a day view, eat, then get a night view. They don't have gaming or adult beverages.

Thanks for the trip report. Come back soon!

Joe - I was playing DDB. I play DDB almost exclusively now.

I agree with you about the Encore pool and the butterfly statue. The place was really impressive.

Thanks for the tip on Amore. I'll put that on my list. I'm always looking for a great pizza place. I'm not sure if you remember, but in August I took a tip from Lena Prima and tried the pizza at Bootlegger's. It was excellent!

i'm not sure if they are still open,have you eaten at pizzaria uno or duo in chicago?baked in a cast iron pan but not pan pizza and was "the"place to get pizza in chi when i was a pup.omg that was a few years ago!i think it's called garibaldi's on south eastern near eldorado ranch gets a lot of play on the south side. always on my to do list but never make it.amore also gets a lot of press.

DAG - Although they're popular, Pizzeria's Uno and Due are not my favorites. They don't use tomato sauce on the pizzas. Instead, they use real tomatoes and that doesn't work for me - I gotta have sauce! The best Chicago pizzas are Giordano's and Gino's, at least in my opinion.

Mike, I ate at Amore again last night. I specifically asked about the pizza and was assured that they do use sauce. They make their own sauce daily that they use on their thin crust pizza. They add slightly chunkier pieces of tomatoes to their thicker pizzas. They use the freshest and highest quality ingredients that they can find. She also said you never have to ask for extra cheese because they always use a lot.

I'm not a pizza fan, so what do I know other than they do a lot of dine in and carry out pizzas? And people are paying full price as they don't have coupons all over town. I asked the waitress what she recommends other than pizza. She said, Chicken Vesuvio (which is my favorite and heavy on garlic), Eggplant Parmigiana, Chicken Cacciatore, Broasted Chicken (which is my second favorite), and anything with sausage and peppers.

I had been wanting to tell Lena about your Bootlegger experience but I held back so that you could tell her in person. You were sick last time. I'm sure you two will cross paths again sometime, and maybe it will be sooner rather than later.

Given the current state of the weather here in Chicago (snow and ZERO degrees), I'm ready to catch the next flight to LV. And a pizza at Amore would hit the spot. I like the comment about never having to ask for extra cheese because they always use a lot - sounds like my kind of pizza!

Correction/clarification....as I recall, They add slightly chunkier pieces of tomatoes to their existing sauce for their pan and stuffed pizzas.

mike, i will be in town 2/17-2/20 you can bet amore is on my eat list,can i get prime rib on it?