This chapter of Escapades runs from May 1st to 9th – and meanders through Laughlin, Searchlight and Las Vegas, with the aid of a lot of Mt. Dew and darn little sleep.

Laughlin was fun since I joined the Gamblin’ Tater and Toby Tater for the Bill Cosby show on Saturday night – a show that had us in stitches pretty much from the beginning. He probably did a half hour on cooking a deep-fried turkey, and he finished with a skit on “the dentist” that was hilarious.

I’ll mainly be grouping things by category in this report, but I at least remember where we ate in Laughlin (things got fuzzy after that<g>) –starting with dinner Friday at the typical Harrah’s buffet, slightly over-priced and slightly better than average. Breakfast Saturday was at the coffee shop where Gamblin’ Tater & I both liked the small portion option, i.e., I had EGG Benedict, instead of Eggs Benedict. Nice choice to be able to enjoy one of my favorites without feeling I should eat the whole thing – or just continuing to talk & nibble until it was all gone.

We left Harrah’s briefly for a trip to the Riverside bowling alley where Toby Tater gave me a bowling lesson before we all sat down for some video poker. My guess is that we played for an hour or two, but I’m sure I made $11 there – just enough to pay for my bowling and the water taxi back to Harrah’s. It wasn’t spectacular like Friday nights Deuces (YEE HAW!), but I’ll settle for breaking even anytime, and I enjoyed my first cruise on the river, with thanks to Toby for transporting my bowling gear back to the Suby.

Thank Gawd Tater made our dinner reservations for 5:30 pm! My Caesar salad and veal scaloppine (served piccata style over angel hair pasta) were excellent, and it doesn’t get much better than good food with good friends, but the Range at Harrah’s was really busy, and we just barely made it out in time to get over to the outdoor theatre for Bill Cosby at 8 pm. LOL, I had no problem passing on the recommended Australian Chardonnay listed for almost as much as the entrée – the view of the Colorado River was really nice, and the water tasted just fine.

That was the high end meal of the trip, and I’m going to switch over to a topic style here and try to figure out the worst meal of the trip. That’s not easy since a lot of those meals included friends, which can definitely influence my perception of the food quality. I guess I’d have to give that “honor” to Sunday brunch at Sam’s, but even that opinion may be tainted – I passed on brunch in Laughlin, intending to try Eastside Cannery, but their buffet is being remodeled – so there might have been some disappointment mixed in this opinion. LOL, with so many great brunches in town, it was hard to settle for just “ok” at Sam’s – but I was tired of driving and drowned my sorrows with a couple of glasses of good (Wycliffe) champagne.

Another “ok” meal was the Fremont Seafood Buffet with the Senator Friday night. Would you believe this is the third time in a row that one of us has scheduled a trip and sent an EM, to find out we had an overlap in our trips. Fremont & Binions used to be “the” places for seafood buffets about 15-20 years ago, and we were both curious how it would compare in the modern buffet era, but we weren’t exactly surprised that the answer was - - not that well. It wasn’t that bad, but no one thing was that good either. The price was certainly right at $15, but I’d rather spend the extra $6-7 and go to Mandalay Bay’s buffet for good seafood any night of the week. Jeff & I had our usual fun, which means one of us was usually ROTFL, but I scored the final point, game & set when he dropped me off at the Flamingo valet just before 9 pm – I thought the poor boy was going to choke on that stinkin’ cigar. It’s too bad Patti wasn’t there to laugh with me; we haven’t shared a laugh like that since our rafting trip down the Colorado River.

Back to food – this is the first trip where I’ve missed Sweet Tomatoes this year, but I did have an excellent pecan-crusted chicken salad at TGIFridays @ Sam’s Town. I enjoyed breakfast buffets at Sunset (slight slippage there IMO), Orleans and Gold Coast - I started some days with just a mocha from the coffee hutch in Sam’s Atrium; I enjoyed a slice of stuffed crust pizza from Sbarros @ Bally’s one night, and orange chicken from Panda Express was dinner one night at Sam’s Town. There were good meals and good company throughout the trip, but I sure wasn’t planning my trip around food<g>. Often it was more like “I’m hungry, where am I?” No meal was so bad that I thought “I’m never doing THAT again!” Champagne (or a diet cola) & a pretzel in Harrah’s Diamond lounges sometimes tided me over to dinner.

I met a couple of fellow pharmacists (LeeAnn & Michael) for brunch out at the Greens in Henderson - for LeeAnn’s introduction to a Monte Cristo sandwich. LOL, I warned them about the portions, and we only ordered two Monte Cristos for the three of us, but we still ended up with half a sandwich going home in a doggy bag for dad! I couldn’t believe my sandwich was dripping (but still good), and the fries have gone down a bit, but the Greens probably kept my personal “Best of Monte Cristo” ranking – I’ll have to revisit a couple of coffee shops to compare<g>. Good food, good friends – and a lot of shop talk that reminded me how much I’m enjoying retirement<vbg>.

To be continued – gotta go fix some chicken parmigiana!

Late one afternoon, I met the Taters and a mutual Fantasy Football friend over at the San Gennaro Fest where I finally had my traditional chicken parmesan for the trip – good food choices there, but it was very different from the Italian festivals in my neck of the woods. Where were the Italians and the vino? San Gennaro seemed geared more toward food & craft booths, and entertainment was theoretically scheduled from 4-10 pm, but all I heard was a couple of strolling accordians, and the stage was empty most of the time. We may have just been too early, and part of me wanted to stay to hear Lena Prima and watch the fireworks, but the rest of me was back at Bally’s about 7:30 pm. LOL, I’m glad I went to satisfy my curiosity, and it would have been impossible to not have fun in that company, but I don’t see myself rushing back soon.

I think several walking tours – doing my version of the $20 trick, i.e., stick $20 into a VP machine and try to turn it into $50 or $100. For example, one morning, I went 2-for-3 right there at Bally’s – hit $50, a $260 home run and struck out on the third one. Next stop was Bellagio, but I was there for brunch and to stroll the conservatory – not for lousy video poker paytables<g>. I guess the economy really has gone south because Bellagio now has Keno runners in the buffet! I put in tickets for myself and Mama Deuces and filled up on blintzes and various forms of cholesterol that are almost never found in my fridge at home, but I struck out when I went looking for the fresh berry assortment I remembered on the dessert table last year – had to settle for pecan pie again<g>. I got more exercise trying to find the Keno station afterward<g>; I walked the entire casino floor and strolled through the Conservatory before I finally gave it up and asked for directions. FYI, you can collect on your Keno winnings in a teeny booth located inside Café Bellagio, way in the back! Is the Bellagio brunch ($16) worth more than twice the tariff over at Gold Coast or Orleans? On a consistent, every day basis – no. For an upscale morning – it was well worth it.

I was laughing as I left Bellagio, after all, the point of the morning was to have a nice brunch and get some exercise. I continued into Caesars and hit another home run, $200 for Aces on Bonus Poker. LOL, I ended up only 3-for-7 on this stroll since I struck out at Harrah’s (surprise!), IP and Flamingo, but those $200+ home runs made it a very nice exercise day. I wish I could say I did as well on all my walks, but I did manage to get enough exercise to lose a couple more pounds while eating anything I wanted. I knew there were fitness facilities at Harrah’s and Bally’s, and I even checked to find out that a Sam’s Town guest can show a room key to use the facilities at either Orleans or Gold Coast ... BUT ... I never went near any of those places<g>.

Aside from various walks, I also got in plenty of exercise with lots of bowling practice, and I have the written proof for Dave – I’m finally taking some bowling lessons, and we have a great teaching pro at my home lanes. He’s got the patience of a saint, but I don’t think he or anyone else there believed me when I said I was going bowling in Las Vegas just for fun and exercise. LOL, they would have understood a tournament, but I didn’t explain it was something I like to do just to break up gaming sessions. I bowled at Sam’s Town, Orleans and Gold Coast (new high score!), and I thought about SouthPoint but just lacked energy that morning and went for another walk/shuffle instead.

About those energy levels and living off Mt. Dew<g> - I really tried to get some rest on this trip, was definitely in my room no later than 10 pm each night in Las Vegas, and all three hotels had comfortable rooms/beds, but for some reason, I just had trouble sleeping on this trip. Tater was curious about the south tower at Harrah’s in Laughlin, so I schmoozed myself in there<g>, but I didn’t show off the room because there was just nothing to brag about. LOL, I probably gave up a better room in the central tower, but I agree with the wag who once said “all rooms look alike when I close my eyes.” The bed was comfortable, and I was tired after almost 9 hours of driving, but I tossed & turned most of my first night down in Laughlin, and that just seemed to set the tone for the rest of the trip. The rooms at Sam’s aren’t fancy (except for those suites that I couldn’t schmooze myself into<g>), but they are comfortable, as is Bally’s – it didn’t make any difference – as soon as my head hit the pillow at night or even trying to take an afternoon nap, my mind went active like a hyper Energizer bunny. Aside from the occasional adult beverage, my preferred casino drink is diet Coke, but I think Mt. Dew outgunned Coke about 5-to-1 this time<g>. Normally, if I can’t get diet Mt. Dew at a casino gift shop, I will settle for diet Pepsi (next step down on the caffeine ladder) – this trip, it was “gimme the caffeine, and I think I need some sugar too!”

I enjoyed some good shows along the way – Bill Cosby down in Laughlin, the Big Elvis show at Bill’s Gambling Hall, V-51 at Bally’s Indigo Lounge (they’re slowly growing on me-small doses only<g>) and a couple of walk-by lounge acts in Bellagio and Caesars, but I missed In-A-Fect this trip. I enjoyed them out at Sam’s last trip, but they were playing Sam’s when I was staying at Bally’s, and I got to Bally’s to find out they had played there while I was out at Sam’s<g>. Harrah’s offered me free tix to Nathan Burton and Vinnie Favorito, but the timing was never right on Burton, and I just don’t enjoy “insult comedians” like Favorito. (Isn’t that term an oxymoron?) My favorite show? A toss-up between Bill Cosby with the Taters and the Big E show with the Senator. Our funniest Big E moment came when one of the audience volunteers introduced himself as a Brit – Jeff looked over at me and said something like “here we go again” – and we were both grinning, reliving that infamous day when we entertained and loosened up some British cousins on a raft on the Colorado River. We both remember the sweet little ole British lady who came up to me asking “did that naasty mon throw you in the river?”

OK, you probably noticed I haven’t said much about gambling on this trip<g> - that’s because there’s not that much to tell. I made $$$ down in Laughlin, gave them back at Sam’s the first day I got to Las Vegas (will someone please tie me up or knock me out that first day!) and then played pretty even the rest of the trip. I played more Deuces Wild than usual, very little DDB and a quite a bit of Bonus Poker. Aside from Saturday in Laughlin and Sunday in Las Vegas, I doubt I played two hours a day – so I just upped the stakes on Bonus Poker, stayed out of trouble very well and built up plenty of Sam’s and Harrah’s brownie points. I was surprised that I hit Sapphire at Boyd, but I had hoped to keep on the Diamond track over at Harrah’s – I can be spoiled very easily by champagne, pretzels, sports television and computer access in those lounges in the afternoons/evenings– not to mention the free shows and priority valet service/restaurant seating. I’m very familiar with the “free” $60 cup of coffee, and I've got more free offers than I can afford on my desk, but I was ROTFLMAO when I got my win-loss statement from Harrah’s last year. I made Diamond for the first time, and my loss for 2008 at ALL the Harrah’s properties was exactly $231.

Stat-wise, I put 1233 miles on the General Lee, averaged 30.4 mpg, enjoyed the desert driving that still had shades of green and yellow almost everywhere and ended with a total trip cost of just a tad over $100 per day when I added up transportation, gambling, eating, entertainment and EVERY little thing – that’s a pretty reasonable vacation in my book!

I’ve often closed trip reports by saying that Las Vegas is about people - if I just wanted to gamble, Tahoe or Reno are closer, and I’m surrounded by tribal casinos (which I seldom visit<g>) – this trip was no exception– my thanks to everyone involved in making this one of the special trips.

fun report daisy.i had hoped you had walked out to the M and had the buffet.!

Great trip report! How do you "schmooze" yourself into better deals? lol. I wanna know so I can do that when I go to Vegas next weekend. You had some good stuff in there and valuable to me since I tend to plan all my trips around restaurants and food!

daisy-beachboys seattle aug 9th.point the general lee north and be here for a great time!! that last one at mandalay beach was the best ever

Thanks, Miss Daisy for another enjoyable, envy-inducing trip report!

Haven't seen you mention monte cristo sandwiches in a while, have you given them up in favor of those great salads?

i do love your $20 trick.

I've heard of some folks playing a game called "casino golf" where two (or more ) of you go to every casino in a designated course, and play a specified amount ($10, $20, whatever) in a consistent type of machine - slot or vp cycling the money through once, and getting one comped drink. Any winnings go in a separate pot, and paper score kept of each person's winnings. At the end of the course the person with the highest total winnings either gets bragging rights or wins the whole pot (depending on how friendly you are!)

Daisy if you don't keep Diamond, when will it expire? And (related question) have you ever done the Bally's sterling brunch? I understand that Diamonds get to sit in the main room, rather than the adjacent restaurant. Makes a big difference if you are drinking lots of that high end champagne!

thanks again!

DAG, a visit to the M was definitely on my list of planned morning activities, but I was just enjoying my walking tours and bowling practice too much. I really thought about going out there my last morning, but the thought that went through my mind was "it's just another casino." I guess I was too tired to be hungry that morning<g>.

I'll probably combine a visit to the M with a bowling session at SouthPoint on a future trip.

Oops ... I didn't see the note about the Beach Boys .... that was a night! I think we were all still bouncing when we continued down to the Casbah to listen to Lena.

Vickie, there are a couple of ways to "schmooze" - the Senator is probably our all-time champ with his version of the $20 trick - he discreetly has a $20 bill tucked into his paperwork where the clerk can glimpse it, and he innocently asks if any upgrades are available.

My version is to skip the $20 and just ask politely. I worked in retail settings for 40 years and know how much crap gets dumped on hard-working clerks trying to serve a public that is getting uglier - so I'm usually joking with the clerks anyway, trying to give them a laugh and a smile. I've only gotten into suites twice out at Sam's Town, but the polite request goes a lot further at Harrah's Diamond check-in; they do tend to spoil us<g>.

I'm glad you got some info - I tend to write a basic outline, figuring folks can ask if they need specifics. My CRS memory really isn't quite as bad as I sometimes paint it.

Hope you have a great trip - and tell us all about it too!

Kes, I haven't mentioned Monte Cristos because they aren't really on my diet<g>, but I'm perfectly capable of combining a Monte Cristo brunch with a Sweet Tomatoes dinner on any given day. In fact, that sounds like a great project for our next overlapped trip!

No, somehow, the Sterling Brunch has always slipped under my radar - maybe because I'm not in Las Vegas that many Sunday mornings. My current Diamond card expires in March 2010, and yes, it does get us preferred seating. LOL, the Taters & I got bumped up to the Seven Seas area down in Laughlin, but we somehow forgot to get sloshed on free drinks<g>. I could probably get along without the cloth napkins & finger towels usually provided in the Diamond section of the buffets, but I actually do take advantage of the free booze - all my Reno brunches are champagne brunches, and they pour pretty darn good Merlot for dinner too. I'm not sure how far this perk could be pushed since I'm usually mellow with just one glass.

Casino golf sounds like it would be fun - especially the bragging rights part. LOL, you sure won bragging rights the last time you found me at the Flamingo<g>.

Daisy - As always, a great trip report. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Glad you enjoyed Bill Cosby so much - sounds like a great show!

Hey thanks, Daisy. I'm going to try that, the 'talking nice' trick, not the $20 one. Does the Senator actually give the clerk the $20 or does he just tease with it?
I'm thinking of staying at The Cannery East because that's where the group is that I want to see. Don't know a thing about it other than the write-up says they have new rooms and they look ok in the photos. I like to stay at the Flamingo--always seem to have good luck there, but that's too far to drive if I have something to drink (which I know I will!) But if someone tells me The Cannery is a dump, I may go elsewhere. Anybody know anything about it?

Mike, Bill Cosby was an "add-on" since I originally planned to drive straight into Las Vegas Sunday, but the more I thought about it, the more appealing the idea was ... a weekend with the Taters and a chance to see a living legend. He is a class act, and I'm not just talking comedy here.

I've never actually been there for the Senator's $20 trick, but I know he's not that type of tease. (I'd have a rather nasty description of that type tease!)

Go for the Eastside Cannery! I haven't stayed there, but I have stayed at the original Cannery a couple of times - the room won't be as finely finished & decorated as the Flamingo, but I'd bet the room would be about the same size (with a bigger bathroom<g>), and I would be shocked if it weren't clean & comfortable.

I agree with your comments about adult beverages and driving; I may not want one most evenings, but I want the option to enjoy one if I feel like it - without endangering myself or anyone else.

Vickie, I think you'll be fine at the Cannery. I've never stayed in the rooms. I've been to the public areas many times and those areas are not a dump.

Daisy, the buffet at the Eastside Cannery is up and running now. If you remember, it started out with a theory of family style dinners. It was set up where you order certain items, and they bring a lot of it to your table.

I did not go inside the buffet area this time. It "appeared" to be a traditional buffet now where you get in line, grab a plate and scoop your own food. They did have a menu set up outside that said what was supposed to be on the steam tables.

Vicki and others might be interested to know there are several websites out there that are dedicated to the $20 trick - reports where it was tried and what success it yielded, also gives some step by steps on how to do it.

Just google $20 Trick

(Daisy, notice I said Trick not Tricks. Too tired tonight to type straight!)

I guess I'll just hope the Eastside Cannery buffet keeps running for a couple of months - I'm not expecting superlative since the orginal Cannery buffet really isn't anything to write home about<g>.

Kes, I think your typing is a lot like my memory - nowhere near as bad as we sometimes claim.

Thumbs up on Eastside Cannery. The room was big and very nice. Spotless. I had a slight problem in the elevators until I bothered to read the instructions which said, "Use your room card for floors 3-14", instead of 3 & 14, like I thought it was. I was on 10 and thought I was exempt. So after a few rides here and there and people asking me if this was my floor, I caught on.
Dinner in CARVE was very good. I had asked one of the change girls if it was good and she said "Excellent" She also said if they had seared scallops to be sure to try them, but they weren't on the menu. I didn't try the buffet. I had been on a diet before going to LV and I didn't want to undo the good I had done. Besides I wanted to do the buffet at Bellagio and I only allowed myself 1 buffet this trip.
Gambling? I am certainly not the one to ask. I don't do more than slots and usually only penny ones at that. When I first sat down I bet the maximum lines (like a lady taught me to do in the Flamingo, and it's always worked well.) I wasn't winning anything. Then I changed from 40 lines to 20 lines and it started banging out wins all over the place. This was on a Lion Dance machine. It didn't have a lot of the gimmicks I like, just free spins but I sure racked up the white tickets!
The showroom didn't look very impressive at first glance and I wondered how they were going to fit any kind of a crowd in there but those show people are a clever bunch and through their masterful table-placing skills, they managed. And there really wasn't a bad seat in the place. More about this in my trip report.
People here were very friendly. The price was right Sun-Thurs. If not for the commute (which I did 4 times in 2 days) I would certainly stay here again.

Thanks for the update, and your gambling sounds like more fun than mine- I played all "good" video games without a single white ticket to show for my effort<g>. LOL, I might move the Sunday brunch buffet off my schedule and put CARVE on instead - I love seared scallops.

Scallops aren't a regular menu item. If they don't have them on your visit, you'll probably still have a fine meal.