Thursday March 12th
We had to cancel a trip we had planned for March 6th-13th and instead had booked Ceasars Windsor for the weekend but decided at the last minute to go to Vegas for a few days. We were leaving Thursday night and were scheduled to return Tuesday morning. After a lot of searching I finally booked a compact through Dollar and secured our flight and we were off. We fly stand by and found out when we got to Pearson (Toronto) that there were only two seats left for the 8:35pm non stop. We ended up in the last row (aisle 24) with the galley right behind us and the washroom across the aisle. These seats are usually used by the flight crew when the plane isn’t booked solid. They also do not recline and it seems there is even less legroom than usual if that is possible. It was a 4 and three quarter hour flight because of some heavy headwinds and the most uncomfortable flight we have been on. Most people are considerate of you when they are entering the washroom but some people would back into me every time they went in and out instead of going past the door and then opening it. Anyway, we finally arrived about 10:30pm and thankful we even got on the plane in the first place.
Grabbed the shuttle to the rental center and the line up at dollar was loooong. Close to an hour later I got our papers and took a Chrysler Sebring. We both liked this car and at least it had remote door and trunk locks.
Headed to Von’s at Tropicana and Maryland to pick up a cooler, water, cokes, milk and snacks and headed straight to IP. Terry went to visit the Wizard of Oz while I checked us in.
They gave me 1493 and said 1831 would be available tomorrow and we can move there after 2:00pm. That was fine. When I got to where Terry was playing the cocktail waitress showed up so Terry asked for a diet coke while I asked for a Strawberry Daquiri. She says they do not serve Daquiri’s anymore and besides she could not serve me unless I was playing a machine. This is our third time at IP since November and that is the first time this has happened. It did at Binions but we had just walked in and neither one of us had sat at a machine yet. I told her that it is a shame that I lose by not getting a drink and she loses a tip just so Harrahs saves the cost of a diet coke to someone that isn’t playing at that moment.
Terry cancels her drink order and cashes out and we go to the car to get our luggage etc.
The room is standard and we do not fully unpack as we will be moving tomorrow.

Friday March 13th
I was up and out of the room by 8:00 and played some poker. I do not care for the IP poker room but its close and they have a promotion till 11am that pays you $100 if you have pocket aces and lose and $50 for kings that lose. It happened 3 times while I was at the table but not to me. The table broke up at 11:00 and I walked over to Harrahs to see about some tickets for Mac King. I went to the Total Rewards booth and asked about half price tickets and the lady gave me a coupon for two free admissions. I went back to IP and played some roulette. Bought in for $100 and ending up $30 down after about an hour. Terry came down and played her favourite slots and then we left to catch the 3:00pm show. When I went to the booth to get our tickets I find out the free tickets will cost me $26.00. I didn’t read the fine print and it seems there is a one drink minimum and each drink is $13.00 after taxes. I have never paid $13 for a drink in my life. The lady asks if I want V.I.P. seating for another $10. I politely refuse and wait in the general seating line. The VIP line was seated first and then they got us and where do they seat us? In the VIP section of course. We both enjoyed the show and recommend it for some afternoon enjoyment. We went back to IP after the show and moved to 1831 then left to pick up some things at Albertsons and went to Ellis Island for the steak special. Good value. After dinner we went to Mirage to keep our cards activated and stayed there till about 10:00 and went back to IP for the rest of the evening.

Saturday March 14th
We slept in till 10 then went out to Red Rock and gambled a bit. Left there and went through some open houses in Summerlin then went for the driving tour through red rock. We have done this before but it was a beautiful day and a good way to relax. When we were done we took the route around to Blue Diamond and headed down toward Boulder Highway. I stopped at the Harley dealership in Henderson and checked out their bikes and bought a sweatshirt. We eventually got to Sams town and played around for awhile. On the way back to IP we stopped at In-N-Out and got the usual. I went to Bellagio and played poker till midnight and went back to join Terry then hit the sack .

Sunday March 15th
I walked over to Ballys in the morning and bought a couple of tickets for Jubilee. I could be wrong but we figure this show won’t be around much longer and thought we would catch it in case we are right. I played a few slot machines and had a ball with Denver Duck. I think this game has the best bonus rounds but I don’t see it very often so I play it when I do. I went back to IP and found Terry playing Woz and we left to go to Southpoint. I like this casino. It is nice and bright.
We stayed for awhile and then went to the Atomic Testing Museum. This is interesting to us as we grew up in this era. I can remember having drills in school and climbing under the desk in case of a nuclear explosion and people were building shelters etc. I was born and grew up near the Niagara Falls US/Canada border and it was felt that the power plant would be a target.
The museum is well laid out and it is worth the $12.50 admission but a lot of the displays are pretty technical and above my limited comprehension.
We left there and again went to Ellis Island for dinner but this time I had the pasta and meatballs and Terry had the shrimp scampi. The food was so-so but the three good size meatballs were tasty. We go to Bally’s and Terry plays some slots while I try some three card. We have good seats for the show but this is a show that the further back you are the better to see everything. The show was nothing spectacular but I was surprised to see the number of people walking out after a short while. Four couples in our area alone went awol within a half hour. You don’t suppose they were offended by the bare bosoms do ya? We gambled a bit more after the show and headed back to IP. Where we stayed and gambled till midnight.

We were scheduled for a 11:30pm flight on Monday which would land us in Toronto at approx 7:00am Tuesday morning. We decided to change flights and I called and changed to the 12:30pm getting us in at 7:30pm Monday.
We got up and were sitting at the tea house in IP for breakfast by 7:30. We had the standard two eggs, potatoes, toast and bacon. Coffee for me and OJ for her. The bill came to $28 which I feel is outrageous. I mean $3.50 for a cup of coffee? Please tell me if I am out of touch.

There were lots of seats available for our flight so we got a row to ourselves and had a good flight home.
The weather was beautiful during our stay and there were other things we did but basically these were the highlights. One day we may go to the other side and book a fancy hotel and have some gourmet meals but for now this will have to do.

If you noticed, there has not been much about gambling in this report mainly because there was nothing to report. I would have been up maybe $100 playing poker except for a hand that I flopped trip sixes and had a guy all in with KK but he caught a K on the river and I ended up -$200 for poker. Slot machines did what they are designed to do so all in all we were losers. This is not unfamiliar territory for us.

We had a good time traveling around and taking in the sites and are planning on going to Edmonton in May to visit Terry’s sister and going to Vegas from there.
I also have my annual motorcycle trip in June and we are heading to New Orleans and the gulf area.

Wow, that's a busy short trip. I feel your pain on the back seat crammed in at the galley and lav. At least you get to see the flight attendants in the back at work and have a better understanding of why their smiles are so fake.

I really like the Mac King show. I see it once or twice per year. I've seen those coupons for free shows with an overpriced drink in the past. I have not seen them lately and thought the public caught on and they stopped using them. I think that they gig you for sales tax and Live Entertainment Tax (LET) in addition to that drink. It's still sticker shock if you are expecting a freebie.

I like the Atomic Testing Museum too. I have a hard time recommending it because it generally appeals to those of us that grew up in the day and those who don't mind learning and hearing a little technical info. It is weak on entertainment and strong on information.

$3.50 for a cup of coffee? That sounds a little steep. I'm on your bandwagon. For the last few years, I've been drinking water or nothing when I go out to eat. Sometimes I'll drink iced tea if I need the caffine or a soda if I want some bubbles and acid to wash down the meal. More often that not, it's water only. Restaurants and fast food joints make a killing off of that stuff.

How were the crowds? I went out Monday night and was shocked at how crowded the Venetian and Palazzo were. Tuesday was very busy everywhere I went. Tuesday was St Patricks day which meant more party goers. I can't explain the Monday crowds, unless it's the basketball tournaments. Lines were long, machines were pretty full, and table games were mostly full, everywhere I went.

rukiding,
Nice report. You might have lost, but it doesn't sound like you got killed, except at that coffee shop!
Now tell the truth, wasn't that trip better then going to Windsor for the weekend?
I haven't been able to even drag myself to AC this year, because I'd rather be in Las Vegas or nothing!
All these reports are really starting to get to me, it's been awhile for us.
Denver Duck, I don't think I know that one, but I'll look for it on my next trip.
Thanks for the great report, you don't let too much grass grow under your feet in Las Vegas! LOL
Lee-PA

Can you give us a description of the difference between room 1493 and 1831?

i think 1831 is the penthouse floor at IP?


Thanks for the report. Sounds like you were ready to come home, or just didn't want to face the uggh factor of that redeye flight.

Joe.. It was crowded for most the time we were there. I remember Terry kept saying "I thought there was a recession going on?"
Even Red Rock was packed. I gotta tell ya when we were heading to Boulder Hwy after visiting Red Rock the east bound traffic on East Windmill was at a standstill from Las Vegas Blvd all the way past 215 to Eastern. We were lucky to be heading the other way.

Lee.. There was not one decent hit the whole time we were there. We took $2000 and came home with just a tad over $400.
Your right, a bad day in Vegas is still better than a good day in Windsor.
Ballys have their Denver Duck machines at the back wall along with Tabasco and Bucks Ahoy. If you come down the elevator from the strip you would keep walking past the check in straight to the back. These were penny machines with a max bet of .75 unlike most WMS machines that are $3.00 max. Heres a quick look at a Denver Duck machine. http://www.casinorama.com/chn/node/77

I have had two heart attacks and 5 bypasses as well as just turning 60 so I can't stay still or I may not get going again.

Hi Kes
The rooms themselves are the same. Just standard rooms not penthouse which is one more floor up but 1831 has a view of the mountains and your not looking into someone elses room unlike 1493 which looks across to another part of the hotel. I will put a picture of a sunrise from 1831 in the photo forum. Also the elevator is empty when you are on the top floors unlike being on a middle floor where the elevator can be full by the time it stops for you. A lot of people get on the up elevator and travel up in order to be able to go down if you know what I mean.

Well, I knew we had appointments on Tuesday and I am past the point of all nighters and all dayers at the same time and they are fixing our balcony's and the noise factor during the day would make it difficult to get any sleep between 9:00am and 4:00pm.

Did you get your notice for Seneca hams in the mail yet?

I never get the ham by mail. I think they figure out how many high rollers like you they have picking up hams, then if there are leftovers the Seneca robot makes a phone call to me.

Plus, I have not made the trip to Niagara Falls in quite some time so even their robot might not love me anymore.

What are the ham dates?

The mailer says to earn 25 points between March 17th and April 8th and present the post card Tuesday April 7th or Wednesday April 8th between 12pm and 10pm to pick up your ham.

LoL about the high rollers. I think they have been sending us the free rooms and stuff for the exact opposite reason. We have not been to Seneca for awhile mainly because of the attitude of some of the employees especially the cocktail waitresses and we let them know it.

We have never really won anything of consequence there but they have started running things no differently than fallsview so its just not worth driving the extra distance, going through customs twice in a night and losing 30c on the dollar if we can get the same bad attitude in our own backyard.

RUkiding,
I've seen that machine a bunch of times, just never really caught my eye, I just walked right past it. I'll give it a whirl on my next trip to LV. BTW, I see it's an IGT product, woohoo! Last week I bought some more IGT stock, keeping the faith baby! LOL

<<I have had two heart attacks and 5 bypasses as well as just turning 60>>>
Instead of a leather vest when you ride your bike, maybe you should just wear one of those AED vests instead? <VBG> Your 60, and I got winded from just reading your report!
Thanks again for typing it all out for us!

Thanks for the TR - even though you lost, at least it sounds like you had some fun. I was hoping to read about some amazing wins on the WOZ machines but I guess it wasn't to be. I liked the Atomic Testing Museum as well. It's definitely worth a stop.

You know Lee maybe I should take your suggestion, modify one of those electric vests they have for keeping you warm during the cold riding season and retire with the profits???? There are a load of baby boomers like myself riding bikes. My sister and brother in law live in Florida for 5 months and in the park they stay at you have to be over 50 and he says there must be half of those people with some kind of motorcycle.

Mike, Terry really likes those WOZ machines but I gotta tell you if winning money was a prerequisite to enjoying a trip to Vegas her and I would be pretty miserable people. So yes we do have fun and there is still so many places I want to visit. Springs Reserve is on my to do list for our next trip and I have not been to Ethel M's yet.

The absolute BEST time to visit Ethel M's is between Thanksgiving and Christmas when they have their cactus garden all lit up with millions of lights - it's really something to see!

You sure crammed a lot of activity into a short trip - which makes a great "fix" for my bad case of Vegas withdrawal right now.

I guess I need to check out Mac King again; the last time I was there the free tickets only cost $7 for a drink<g> ... I thought it was money well spent even though a couple of the drink were Cokes for my underage nephews.

$3.50 for a cup of coffee IS outrageous, but $28 sounds fairly normal for a breakfast OUTSIDE a casino. On my travel route, $12-15 was normal - I think we've all been spoiled by the normal casino prices, designed to lure us in. Harrah's coffee shops aren't exactly bargain basement, but they usually serves pretty decent fare.

Did IP have a regular "bad beat" jackpot inaddition to the $100/50 version with pocket aces/kings? LOL, I'm getting much more interested in poker since Harrah's keeps inviting me to tournaments - my skill level is improving, but I'm not yet ready to risk MY money at that game.

P.S. I think Lee is onto something with that vest idea!

Hi daisy
They have a bad beat jackpot that stays at $5000. They also have payouts for royal and straight flushes in the different suits. I still do not care much for the room though. The nice thing about tournaments is you aren't risking any more money once you have bought in (excluding rebuys and add ons)and everyone starts with the same amount. A small buy in tourney is a good way to get your feet wet.
I played in a tournament the other night in poker stars and there were 7639 players. It paid to 1080 and I finished 61st. Not bad eh. Know how much I won??? $26.77

rukiding, Remember, a win is a win! I'll take a small win over any kind of loss, any day of the year!

Finishing in the top 100 with that many players sounds darn good to me! I keep making progress but haven't made the finals yet in Reno - came close last time with pretty poor cards. LOL, "big slick" really cost me early in the session.

It's interesting that IP's bad beat jackpot stays at $5000; I'm not sure where the Reno one starts, but I've heard it announced over $30k. They also keep dropping the denomination of the required losing quad as the jackpot builds.

I've seen tournament entries as low as $20, but I still want to do some reading and practice before I sit down - in my spare time of course<g>. IP has sent a couple of invitations, but the timing just hasn't been right, and this guppy isn't quite ready to frolic with the Las Vegas sharks.

Because they have the other bonus of catching straight and royal flushes which can grow the longer they are not claimed the bad beat stays the same. I personaly do not like any of these gimmicks as the rake is to high as it is without taking an additional buck per hand to fund these.

This will tell you how long I have been playing...
AK was known as a Slick and AK suited was a Big Slick but as time has passed any AK is now known as Big Slick.

Next time you sit at the table and want to give an image of a veteran relate this to one of the players and make sure the table can hear you. Maybe they won't think of you as a rookie and give you the respect you deserve.

Scenerio:
Young gun: I had a big slick but didn't catch anything.

Daisy: You know son when I first started playing this game (have an empty plastic cup with you and spit into it) big slick was AK suited and Slick was any old AK (another spit along with a nostril suck back) Yep, but then the floors were still sawdust, besides it's still only a drawing hand.

Daisy, I'm not sure about your neck of the woods, but around here there are lots of charity poker tournaments that are alleged to be excellent learning opportunities to get your feet wet with live poker. "They say" it teaches everything except the social aspect. I guess in the charity events, everyone interacts and has fun. In real poker, the social aspect is opposite.

I'll have to listen closer to those announcements; I've never noticed anything about straight or royal flushes.  I don't mind if the other players know I'm a rookie; it makes it easier to lure them in my web<g>. Besides, I haven't been doing too much spitting lately.  :D  

I hung in too long in one early hand in that last tournament, hoping to draw something to Big Slick since I was fairly sure my opponent had only a small pair.  LOL, I was right, but I couldn't pair up my cards.  That cost me dearly when I came up one small blind short of making it into the finals.  You had to finish in the top 15 to make the finals, and I went out 20th.  :(  The bright side is that I made it that far with pretty crappy cards!

My feet have been wet for some time - I just don't want to soak my wallet<g>.