Poker Guys trip to Las Vegas - Day Six

Here it is, getaway day.

Although my room did have a coffee maker, I walked over to Vue Bar to get a coffee (and take one last VP shot).

A new to me bartender, Rachel, told me the coffee machine there wasn't working, but she promised me a coffee, either from downstairs or as soon as the machine was fixed.  I had a little time, so I wasn't worried, until it was about 30 minutes later.  In the mean time, in about five minutes, I hit a quad.

I played hours without hitting a quad, and I get one on my last day in five minutes!

Rachel said she had been there for about two months, I told her I'll probably see her on my next trip (in February).

Hi Rachel!

 

I leave Vue Bar with a $25 win and head back to Four Queens.  I was going to take a cab, but there weren't any there.  I asked the bell desk to call one, but several minutes passed and still no cab.  The guy suggested taking an Uber, which I ended up doing.  Funny, a few minutes after the Uber arrived, a cab pulled up.  Oh well.

Since it wasn't rush hour, the price was reasonable, it was just under $30, including tip.  I got to the airport in plenty of time.  I have TSA Pre, so going through security was easy too.  As I was making my way to my gate, I realized that I didn't have my CPAP machine.  I went to the closest Southwest gate and asked them to check the ticketing desk to see if I left it there.  I was fairly certain that I didn't leave it in the Uber.  While the agent was checking, I went to the TSA desk and asked the guy if he could check just outside the gate, where I stopped to put the items in my pocket into my backpack.  He was nice enough to go out and look for me and unfortunately, he didn't find it.  I went back to the Southwest gate, and the agent told me that it was found at the ticketing area and I needed to go there to pick it up.  Fortunately I still had plenty of time to exit the gate and go back to ticketing, which fortunately isn't far away from security.  And also fortunate that I actually tagged my CPAP case so it could be identified.  I thanked Crystal at the ticketing desk, Aaron, the TSA agent, but Michelle at the first gate wasn't there.  As I was waiting to board my flight, I heard my name called and I went to the podium,  She told me they found a bag of mine, and I told her that I already picked it up.  She said they were paging me for some time, so I'm thinking the people at the ticketing desk found my name and sent message to my gate to page me.  In any event, I had my CPAP!  It would be very difficult times without it!

I took another parting shot at the airport, and again I hit quads.  Maybe I should stay since I'm just heating up!

I did have enough time to pick up lunch for the flight home.

Turkey and cheddar sandwich, chips, and a Cherry Coke

I had a connection in DAL, that plane was NOT full, so there was plenty of space!

Plenty of empty rows!

I was arriving at DCA (Washington Reagan National Airport) around 8:20 PM, which meant I was taking the Metro back to Vienna and my wife was going to have to pick me up there.  It was a bit chilly waiting for the Metro, but it was a fine ride back.  Eventually, I arrived safely at home.

It wasn't the best gambling trip, not by a long shot.  But, there were many fun activities such as the rodeo, playing pickleball, and hiking at Valley of Fire.  We enjoyed playing poker together (although some of us played more than others).  I used a lot of my comps on the guys:

11/11:  Dinner at Magnolia's

11/12:  Dinner at Andiamo

11/13:  Breakfast at Binion's Cafe

11/14:  Lunch at Whiskey Liquor Up

11/14:  Drinks at Chicago Brewing Company

We room charged a breakfast at Hash House a Go Go and a dinner at Oscar's on John's room and ended up getting most of it comped, so that was good.

With the slot club changes at Four Queens, I'm not exactly sure what my offers will be in the next few months, but hopefully they will be decent.

Here's hoping my Feb/Mar trip goes better (but I already know it will be a lot of fine dining and birthday comp blowouts!).

Poker Guys trip to Las Vegas - Day Five

 

View of the ceiling at Main Street Station

So it's my last full day in Las Vegas, hopefully it will be a good one.

Good days start with good breakfasts, so I have one at Magnolia's.

A little hash and eggs!

I started play and was doing okay, then I wasn't.  I did hit this though:

I had some coupons to use, so I headed to Downtown Grand.  I got my $50 and $10 match plays and hit the blackjack table.  It was a $15 table, so that meant I would be betting more than my matchplay (although this time because I have to, not by accident).  Unfortunately this time, I lost, and I lost both match plays, which really sucked.  I stuck it out, though, and managed to eek out a $17 win.  I got $20 free play which I turned into $10 actual cash, so it was a small win.  I noticed they had a $5 craps table, but as much as I wanted to play, I had other casinos I needed to hit today.

I stopped at California.

Lucky Buddha brought us no luck. . .

I did get to Lappert's before they closed, so that was lucky, I guess. . .

Yummy ice cream!

Went into Main Street Station, since they've reopened.  It's been a long time since I've been here.  It used to be a regular stop for me, then they changed their slot club and I stopped getting offers.

Here's where I hit my first royal in Las Vegas, well, where the bank of machines was when I hit my first royal. . .

I used to enjoy playing their coin droppers, like Treasure Chest and Pay the Aces, but those are gone.  I did play some NSUD, and had a winning session.

Took a nice $25. . .

Walked back through California, thought about playing Treasure Chest, but there's a plate over the bill acceptor and I didn't feel like getting a bunch of quarters. . .

Take my bills!

I stopped in Fremont to look around and ended up playing a bit more than I wanted to.  Doubtful they'll send me any offers, but it is one of the places downtown where I haven't stayed.

It was ice cream for lunch, so it was time for dinner.  I headed back to Four Queens and Chicago Brewing Company.  I started out with the beer sampler.

And here's the beer list.

And CBC means Chicago Style Pizza:

I don't eat it often, but it is good!

My friend Michael was coming into town late tongiht and I told him I was going to pick him up from the airport.  I was going to take a short nap, but I decided to play a little more.  I dropped $300 on $1 10/7 DB.  Since I was running so bad in VP, I decided to switch to slots, and put in $100 in a Megabucks machine.  It was during this time that a friend of mine, Martin, found me.  We chatted a bit and I ended up winning $60.  Go figure.

I went to my room for a short nap before heading to the airport.  His flight got in a bit early, and I gave him the "Uber" treatment.

I'm not your Uber driver!!!

He was staying at Flamingo, so we drove over there.  He had Diamond drink coupons he needed to redeem before midnight, but we got there in plenty of time.  Arriving late meant that there was no Diamond check-in, and he had to check-in via kiosk.  It also meant that he wasn't able to get better suite (although he did as one of the attendants).  Still, he had a GO mini-suite, which I had back in March.  It had a nice view of the Bellagio fountains.  After check-in, he went to the Total Rewards kiosk and got his drink coupons.  We then dropped his bags off in the room and figured out which bar to get our drinks (Bugsy's).  It was a bit difficult carrying our drinks and club soda, but we managed.  My daughter wanted a new Flamingo fleece, and we stopped there on our way back to the room, which was convenient, since they were closing.  We went back up to the room and had our drinks, smoked a cigar, and just caught up on life.  It had been a while since I last saw him, so it was a nice catch up.

It must have been around 2:30 AM when I headed back to Four Queens.  Mostly packed and ready to go in about 7 hours. . .

Poker Guys trip to Las Vegas - Day Four

Well, it's the getaway day for everyone but me.  They are all leaving around 11:00 PM tonight, but I'm staying a few extra days.

It was a decent morning, so Bob and I decided to have a quick breakfast at the McDonald's in the hotel and head to the pool.

It's an Egg McMuffin, just like you can get at home!

Around 8:30, we got to the pool area.  We were originally the only ones at the hot tub, but we were joined by a couple pretty much as soon as we got in.

A view of the North Tower from the hot tub.

The first photo is another view from the hot tub.  The jets weren't on, and after we got out, I finally found the control, but it wasn't working.  We did test out the temperature of the pool, and it was warm.  I remember a few years ago one could access the pool area from the North Tower, but the signs in the North Tower elevators indicated you needed to access the pool from the South Tower.  We investigated this, and it seems the closed the North Tower exit to an emergency exit only.

On the way back, I was wondering if one could access the North Tower elevators from the ballroom level, and therefore not have to go through the casino, and this is true.  Plus, they apparently have a few games in the hallway, if you want some private gaming. . .

I imagine the drink service isn't too good. . .

Check out time is 11:00 AM, so Bob and I got packed up and headed down to the lobby.  I checked out via the kiosk, and there were no charges, not even the resort fee, so I was happy with that.

Bob checked his bag at the bell desk and I took my luggage to the car.  Since it was check out time, there was a long line for the parking garage elevators.  I was only on the second floor, so I decided to take the stairs.  For some reason, the door to the stairs is locked on the outside, but fortunately (and apparently) someone jammed some rocks in the door jam and it just pulled open.  There was still a short line when I came back down, so I saved quite a bit of time.

We were hanging out at the sports bar, watching football and figuring out what to do the rest of the day.  I was moving to Four Queens, so I wanted to check in there and put in some play.  I was also planning on seeing Jeff Dunham at Caesars Palace, since he was in town, but the 7:00 PM show would mean that the guys would have to find their way to the airport.  I decided I didn't have to go to the show, and told the guys I'd take them to the airport.

Bob brought a sports coat, and didn't want to pack it, so that led to this interesting fashion statement:

Bob stylin' and profilin'

We headed down to Whiskey Liquor Up at Binion's for lunch, I still had a fair amount of comps to use at the property.  I had just eaten there in July/August and enjoyed my meals there.

They have a good beer selection here!

The Swiss/Mushroom Burger, very tasty!

We ran up quite a bill, which I paid with comps.  We had a coupon for a free appetizer with the purchase of an entree, and John asked if it was good for the Wagon Train sampler.  The waitress said yes, so we got that (a $23 value!).

We went our separate ways, but said we'd get back together for a goodbye smoke, which I suggested Chicago Brewing Company.

I had to go back to Plaza to get the car and drive "all the way" down to Four Queens.  Check in went pretty quickly and I was in my room (1049) around 5:00 PM.  I forgot to ask about the fun book (I got two from two prior trips), but did remember to ask for the Magnolia's line pass (which I ended up not using, but better to have it than not have it, right?).

So, one thing about room 1049 (and every room on that side) is that it faces Fremont Street.  Not only that, the room is on the end of the hall, and therefore closest to the stage:

Not for people who want quiet nights!

Also, the room is right next to the fire escape, so if you wanted the unfiltered sound of the stage, you can always go outside:

No (window) filter. . .

The room was fine (refrigerator, coffee maker), although this shower had a curtain (the last time mine had a glass door).  Also, the sink didn't have a traditional stopper:

I'm not even sure there is a stopper. . .

I got almost two hours of play in when a little before 7, I got a text from John saying he was ready for smokes.  I told him to meet me at Chicago Brewing Company.  I forgot that there was Sunday Night Football, but we were still able to get some seats.  I told our server that we were there celebrating our friend's retirement from the Government, and he said he would comp his first drink.  I also used a 2-1 coupon, so the drink total was only $19.50!  He was nice enough to take a group photo of us:

The poker guys! (well, those that made it). . .

There are about half as many that came on the last trip in 2015 (but we didn't make it here that trip), and the first trip in 2005, but it was still an enjoyable trip.

It was time to get the guys to the airport, and we thought there might be heavier traffic since the Raiders were home playing the Chiefs.  I picked up the guys from Plaza and we got to the airport in no time.  I dropped them off and bid them farewell.

On the way back, I decided to make a stop at Eureka to play some full-pay Multi-Stike video poker.  The group went there in Aug and had good luck, but my bad video poker luck continued here.  If I knew I wasn't going to be able to get food at my next stop, I would have eaten at Fat Choy, but I was heading to Starboard Tack, since it's just down the road, and wanted their fried chicken fried rice.

I got there a little after 10, and the bartender told me the kitchen closed at 10.  Nuts.  I told him I was really looking forward to the friend chicken fried rice and he said he was sorry and that he would comp the Starboard Taquiri that I ordered.  Well, that was a nice consolation.

The comped Starboard Taquiri!

I didn't want to get a free drink and run, so I "had" to order another:

Distributors Old Fashioned!

I tipped on both drinks, which created a fraud alert from my credit card company, asking if I left a 45% tip!  I headed back to Four Queens to finish up my play day.  Things weren't going great, but wouldn't you know:

On another game, this would be very, very good. . .

It did give me a rare winning session though, I think today was my least losing day this trip!

I got back to my room with the band still playing on stage, but I still fell asleep pretty quickly. . .

Poker Guys trip to Las Vegas - Day Three

I finally remembered that Blogger will show the first picture in the blog.  So now there's something other than typically the first meal I had!

Today we were planning on taking a trip up to Valley of Fire.  Since I didn't rent a car from the airport, I rented one from The D.  Not only did I save on much of the taxes and surcharges for renting from the airport, I also got a 10% discount.

The earliest I could pick up the car was at 8:00 AM, so a little before 8, Bob and I headed down to The D from Plaza.  The morning walks down Fremont Street are much better than going at night, and we were there in no time.

There was a problem with the computer, so the check-in took a bit longer than I was anticipating, but we did get a nice Nissan Altima, plenty of room for the four of us.  It even had a sun roof.

We drove back to Plaza and John was already having breakfast at the on-site McDonald's.  I wanted something a bit more, so I suggested going to Binion's and use my comps.  Joe and Bob agreed, and John hit the Plaza casino floor while we were having breakfast.

The "Gambler's Special" is apparently now known as "Gambler's Chip", which was still fine.

The breakfast formerly known as Gambler's Special. . .

Breakfast for three was $50.62, so I guess the days of cheap breakfasts are over.  I  think I had a 2-1 coupon I forgot though.  I still had plenty of comps to pay for the meal.

I think we left around 11:00 AM, and arrived at Valley of Fire around noonish, well we arrived at the line to get into Valley of Fire at that time. . .

A wee bit of wait to get into the park. . .

We planned on doing a little hiking, so we were going up to White Domes loop.  First, we made a photo stop at Beehives.

At Beehives. . .

We stopped at the visitor's center to get more water and souvenirs.  We then drove up to White Domes.

At the parking area. . .

A look back at the pass we went through. . .

The remains of a movie set on White Domes Loop. From the 1966 movie, "The Professionals".

A thin pass we went through. . .

The home stretch. . .

I kinda forgot it was a loop, so when I saw a rood, I was a bit disappointed, since I thought we were "in the middle of nowhere" (but in a sense, we were), but at least we didn't have to hike the same way back!

We then headed to Fire Canyon and Silica Dome.  I didn't know they filmed part of Star Trek:  Generations here, and that this was also the place that Kirk died.  I also heard that part of the bridge is still here on a path, so next time, I'll be sure to look for it.

Fire Canyon, and apparently my finger tip. . .

Silica Dome, and the resting place of James Tiberius Kirk. . .

We then headed to Mouse's Tank trail.  We saw petroglyphs, which were cool. . .

Petroglyphs!

Petroglyphs!

Petroglyphs!

Petroglyphs!

Scenes along the way. . .

Scenes along the way. . .

We headed over to Elephant Rock, where the guys were underwhelmed and were in disagreement as to what was actually Elephant Rock.

We made a stop at one of the petrified logs.

It was petrifying!

We didn't stop at The Cabins, which look like something I'll want to check out on another trip.

We had a 7:15 PM dinner reservation at Oscar's with the potention of playing a 10:15 PM poker tournament at South Point, so we wanted to be rested and ready for these.

We left the park around 3ish, and after making a stop at Target to get distilled water (since Walgreen's was out on Thu, and I hadn't made time to check again since then), and an ATM stop for some people (including myself).

We got back to Plaza and went our separate ways until dinner.  I got showered off and went down to try to "earn" my comped stay and generate future offers.  My gambling so far had been awful, and today was no exception.  Just pretty miserable overall. . .

We still had a little wait for our table at Oscar's.  Even though we weren't by a window, it's still a pretty nice view.

Our view at Oscar's!

We started off with drinks, and I got a Sazerac!

The Sazerac!

Since it seems I always get lobster bisque, I felt this should be no different. . .

The lobster bisque!

The prime rib!

There were also some shared sides which I wasn't fast enough to get photos!

There was a shared dessert, which I did photograph, plus a capuccino.

Chocolate cake!

Cappuccino!

We ran up a decent bill and room charged it in hope of getting it comped, stay tuned on that. . .  We also decided during dinner that we were going to pass on going to the poker tournamnet at South Point and just gamble at Plaza, although I think Joe went to play poker at Golden Nugget.

I did see a photo op on the way out of Oscar's. . .

I wish there would be more photos of nice gambling hits, but there weren't any, for me.  My roomie, Bob, who I was teaching how to play video poker, had a decent session, and got a dealt straight flush.

Me taking a photo of Bob taking a photo of his big win!  (I told him the strategy for this hand was to HOLD EVERYTHING!).

We played until a little before 2 am and then called it a night. . .