Since the blog seems to post the first photo when I post the link, I thought I'd post this one:
This was the 13th group trip I've participated in since the first one in 2008, to coincide with 08/08/08. We didn't meet in 2018, had two meets in 2019, and missed 2020. Overall, this was my 33rd trip to Las Vegas. I've stayed at Golden Gate for the most days (23), passing Main Street Station (16), Bally's (15), and Rio (14). Some of those nights I actually didn't stay in the room (such as Rio this trip), since I was double (and sometimes triple) booked.
Flight:
I was booked as Bob's companion on Southwest, so we split the cost of the one flight. Flights were a bit cheaper departing from Dulles (IAD) than Philadelphia (PHL), so Bob drove down to my condo and we flew from IAD. He did save on parking as he was able to park in our lot for free. He did end up with an extra expense by booking a hotel the night before our departure.
Depart IAD: 12:05 pm, arrive DEN 1:45 pm
Depart DEN: 3:05 pm, arrive LAS 4:00 pm
Depart LAS: 9:25 am, arrive IAD 6:15 pm (with a stop in DEN, no change of planes.
Rental Car:
We saw high rental car prices a few months before the trip, so we saw a pre-pay rate with Budget for $328.64, with an Amazon code that gave 20% back in an Amazon gift card.
We had no issues picking up and dropping off our car. Bob's name was on the board at the kiosk in the garage, and his rental agreement was in the car. The "touchless" check-out was a bit difficult, but we managed.
Hotels:
I booked three nights at Rio using an offer I received that was supposed to include $75 in resort credit. We arrived after the diamond check-in closed, and since there was a long line at the lobby (and no dedicated diamond line), I checked-in via kiosk. As we were running around (and I wasn't really in the room for the rest of the stay), I wasn't able to follow up on the credit. I called the front desk and they told me it was only $25, but I was supposed to have $100 in freeplay. I stopped back there Thursday night, but the slot club was already closed and no one at the cashier could help me. The person told me go come back the next morning, but I had my big play day at Four Queens, so I wasn't able to go back. I completed their "how was your stay" form, mentioning several times about my difficulties, but I have not received a response (as a side, I completed a questionnaire for Four Queens which I mailed from home a few days after I got home, and I already received a response from the General Manager, thanking me for my responses, and even offered me two tickets for a show in their showroom). Being a diamond card member, my resort fees were waived.
One of the reasons I booked the room was for the dining credit, since we were going to have dinner at Bacchanal. Bob used his diamond celebration dinner and I charged the remainder (Kip and my dinners) to the room, which was $135.44. The final charge to my room was $110.44, so at least they did give me the $25 resort credit. Maybe I'll see something about the other $100 freeplay, or at least the additional $50 resort credit that was in my offer, but I seriously doubt it. I'll just chalk it up to verifying these things when I check in.
Another reason was that I was planning on using the pool. We originally thought we could use the pool in the morning, but then discovered that it didn't open until 10:00 am. I could have carved out time later, but I had my play plans all scheduled out, and there were logistical issues between getting between Rio and downtown.
I booked three nights at Four Queens through a host. I got a nice room in the South Tower and I was pleasantly surprised with the room quality. The large refrigerator and coffee maker were nice, and the shower was very good. I just wish it had a tub, on the odd chance that I'd like to just sit and soak.
I inquired about a suite upgrade, and my host said that Wed/Thu would have been $65 and Fri was $120. Perhaps with my increased play, I can get one comped on my next stay. Four Queens doesn't charge a resort fee.
I booked four nights at Golden Gate in one of their mini-suites. Other than the how the bathroom/shower area is set up, the room is good. It has a mini-fridge, Keurig machine, and they provide two bottles of Smartwater (it used to be Fiji). We did not get housekeeping, so the water and coffee were not replenished (but in prior stays with housekeeping, they were). The suites are on the opposite side of Fremont Street, so there you don't have most of the noise from the stage that is right there. Comped rooms don't have resort fee.
My last stay was at Wynn, where Bob used rewards from the Wynn Slots app. He paid to get to the level where you can book a room, but I'm not exactly sure how much that was. A benefit to the booking, though, was that there was no resort fee.
Meals and drinks:
I don't have a lot of exact totals, so for those of you who like that, I apologize in advance. There were a lot of comped meals though. . .
Tuesday, July 27
Dinner: Ellis Island BBQ - Used 2-1 coupon, my total was $15.92
Drinks: Ellis Island Pop-up Tiki Bar - 1 drink, $17.00
Wednesday, July 28
Lunch: Starboard Tack - $40.00
Drinks: Golden Tiki - 1.5 Dole Whips, paid around $20?
Dinner: Bacchanal, Caesars Palace - $110.44, plus tip
Thursday, July 29
Breakfast: Binion's Cafe, Binion's - comps
Lunch: Whiskey Liquor Up, Binion's - comps ($93.99 for four people)
Dinner: Orchid's Garden - $20.00?
Drinks: Jammyland - $38.40
Friday, July 30
Breakfast: Magnolia's, Four Queens - comps
Dinner: Hugo's Cellar, Four Queens - comps
Saturday, July 31
Lunch: Saginaw's Delicatessen, Circa - comps ($21.68)
Dinner: Andiamo, The D - comps
Sunday, August 1
Breakfast: Magnolia's, Four Queens - comps
Lunch: Victory Burger, Circa - comps
Dinner: Barry's Downtown Prime, Circa - comps, $55.26 was leftover from monthly comps. I charged it to my room, but my host used my earned comps and not discretionary
Monday, August 2
Breakfast: Magnolia's, Four Queens - comps
Early Dinner: Pizza Rock - comps
Tuesday, August 3
Breakfast: Binion's Cafe, Binion's - comps
Lunch: Whiskey Liquor Up, Binion's - comps
Dinner: Starboard Tack - ?
Activities:
Pinball Museum
Bellagio Fountain and Conservatory
Putting at Angel Park
Stadium Swim
Bowling at Gold Coast
Check out Resorts World
Wynn pool
Stop at Eureka
Gaming:
Thanks to Kip's royals, we came out ahead this trip. We only had three losing sessions (-$292, -$7.75, and -$70.82), so that's pretty good. Even without the royals, we would have only taken a relatively small loss, but it's still good that we came out ahead! We maxed out one month of the Four Queens promo and half of the same promo at Binion's. We could have maxed out both for both months, but that would have taken a majority of the trip, and we would have to be as lucky as we were. As it stands, we did put in a fair amount of coin-in at these properties, so hopefully our offers will increase in a few months:
Binion's: Harv - $16,800 coin-in
Binion's: Kip - $16,000 C/I
Four Queens: Harv & Kip - $32,000 C/I each
The D: Harv - $15,000 C/I
The D: Kip - $10,000 C/I
Golden Gate: Harv - $5,000 C/I
Golden Gate: Kip - $5,000 C/I
So an overall good trip, it was good seeing friends I haven't seen in over a year, and other friends who I've seen, but haven't been able to hang out with. The weather was hot, but we were inside most of the time. The mask mandate happened while we were there, so it was tough playing those long video poker sessions with a mask on, but we managed. I look forward to the time when things will be closer to normal, not just in Las Vegas, but everywhere.
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