January 4, 2024: A Day Trip To The Grand Victoria Casino-Elgin, IL

I haven't been to the Grand Victoria Riverboat Casino in Elgin, IL, since it became part of Caesars/Eldorado so I decided to drive out there for a day trip to see how much it has changed.  It's only about 35-ish miles from home so it's not that bad of a drive.  They have a big parking garage, as well as an outdoor lot right across the street and parking is free. LOL  I got there at around 11am.

https://www.caesars.com/grand-victoria-casino

My players card expired at the end of the year so I printed out a new one from one of their kiosks instead of waiting in line at the desk.  It only took a couple of minutes to print.  For a weekday, the place was pretty busy which was good to see.  They added a lot new slots, but not a lot of VP.  Their table games were pretty busy, but I'm not into them. LOL  They also have a Laurel Lounge at the GVC for Diamond and above.  Unfortunately, I'm still a lowly Platinum.  Their casino is also well kept and clean including the restrooms.  One nice thing is that all Illinois casinos are smoke-free.  Being a riverboat, the casino isn't huge, but they have a good variety of slots/VP and table games with everything located on one level so it's easy to get around.  The Horseshoe-Hammond is probably the biggest riverboat (or barge) close to Chicago, but their property has gone downhill for the past several years so I stopped going there.

I found some 9/6 JOB and 9/6 DDB so I was playing those machines for a couple of hours, but I was mainly breaking even so I switched over and played some slots.   They have my favorite Top Dollar machines, but they weren't hitting very well and not producing a lot of bonus hits.  I was down by about $200 so I decided to give some of the new Buffalo machines a try.

They have a good variety of the latest Buffalo machines and they were actually being nice to me today.  I never played Buffalo Chief so I decided to give that a try and on the second spin, I hit a nice bonus round and ended up with 38 bonus spins in total.  I was betting $2.50/spin and did good, even though I didn't hit any hand-pays.   I was hitting a lot Buffalos which generated some nice wins.  I was up by $1700 at one point, but I donated about another $200 before I decided to cash out at $1502.75 while I was ahead. I was also surprised that the cash machines dispenses coins, so I didn't have to go to the cashier to get that $0.75 in change.  

I didn't take very many pics inside the casino, since I was told by one of the security people that no photos/videos are allowed, although I did sneak in this one hit on Buffalo Chief.   It was still adding up the coins when I took this so the total was way more that what's shown in the pic.

Dining options are still rather sparse at the GVC.   Both of their main restaurants have limited hours and aren't open for breakfast/lunch.  The only place open was the pizza/pasta restaurant, but I didn't feel like eating pizza so I stop by Mitsuwa's (one of my favorite Japanese markets) on my way home and picked up some sushi for dinner.  I didn't think of taking photos until I was done eating so no sushi pics.

Las Vegas: May 8 - 13, 2023 at the Aria Resort & Casino

I originally planned on a 7 night stay at the Aria Resort & Casino to celebrate my birthday month this year, but things didn't go as planned.  Unfortunately, I started coming down with a cold/flu bug on day 5 of my trip, so I decided to fly back home on Saturday 5/13.  I probably could have muddled through for a couple of more days, but  I can't enjoy any trip when I'm sick.  Anywho, I did enjoy the 5 days I spent in Vegas, but I didn't do all of the things that I had originally planned.  

Airline Reservations

I booked my roundtrip/nonstop flights with SWA.  I also opted to pay a little more for Business Selects which guarantees A1-A15 boarding.  It also includes several other  perks like additional frequent flyer miles, drink tickets, etc.  It's not really business class like on other airlines.  For more details, you can check the SWA website.

Ground Transportation

Getting to the airport (MDW), I've been using Echo Limousine, since they're very reliable, but I often just take a taxi when returning home.  Every time I check Uber/Lyft rates, they aren't significantly cheaper than taxis at the airport and the taxi lines are often "no wait" compared to the wait times for the ride-shares.

Rental Car

Hertz had the best rental rates along with my AAA discount, so I booked a small SUV for the week.  On arrival at the rental car center at LAS, I was able to choose any car from their 5 Star lineup.  They had about 8 cars/SUVs available in that section, but the Ford Escape and the Hyundai Santa Fe had the best options.  I chose the Ford which was a nice compact SUV, but it was rather noisy at highway speeds.  I probably should have gone with the Hyundai. LOL

Lodging

After going through all of my comp offers, I decided to book my entire stay at Aria.  Although I've visited Aria many times on past trips, this is the first time that I'm staying at their property.  I have a comp offer that includes 4 nights in a Deluxe Room, $50 resorts credit, and $60 freeplay.  I'm paying for the additional nights, even though I also have comp offers for all of the Boyd and Caesars properties, but I didn't want to split my stay between several properties this trip.

Monday May 8

Surprisingly, there were no delays at MDW, LAS, or the car rental center, but both airports were busy like before the Covid pandemic.  My flight was completely book, so there wasn't an empty seat.  I was assigned A6 boarding and got an aisle seat in row 6.  This trip, I decided to travel with just a carry-on and a mid-size backpack.  Normally, I would travel with a larger check-in bag, along with a backpack, but I decided to travel light and avoid the hassle with baggage claim.

Breakfast Bagel at Einstein Bros at MDW...

At the car rental center, I don't know what was going on at Thrifty Car Rental, but the number of people waiting in line was massive.  Since I booked with Hertz, all I had to do was go directly to their garage and choose my car, so no waiting in any lines.

Since I had some time before checking into Aria, I drove over to the Albertson's on Maryland Blvd and Flamingo to pick up some supplies (water, Diet Coke, etc.).

I arrived at Aria close to 3pm and there was only a couple guests ahead of me so there was no wait.  The fellow checking me in was surprised that I was spending a week at the Aria.  When I mentioned that I was in town celebrating my birthday, he asked if I didn't mind being on a high floor, since he wanted to give me a room with a better view.  I said, sure, the higher the better and he gave me a Deluxe 2 Queen room on the 52nd floor with a much better strip view.  I also had the option of upgrading to a suite for a discounted rate, but I figured it would be a waste, since I don't spend a lot of time in my room.

Housekeeping at Aria serviced my room everyday.  They also have a sign you can hang on your door, if you wish to decline, but then you would have to call in for housekeeping services if you want your room serviced or need additional supplies.  

View from my room...

Here's a video tour of the room.  You can also follow the link below to view the high res version on my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/DdyUuav0i5A

For dinner, I went to Aria’s new food hall (Proper Eats) and tried Laughing Buddha Ramen.  The pork ramen was pretty good.  I was going to charge it to my room to take advantage of my resorts credit, but for some reason the kiosk couldn't locate my room number.  I went over to the from desk later to report the problem and the fellow checked my account and indicated that it should have worked and it might have been a glitch in the system.  He was also nice enough to added $100 resort credit to my account for the inconvenience which surprised me. 

Tuesday May 9

I woke up way too early again, since my body was still on Chicago time so I was debating where to have breakfast.  I have a short list of new restaurants that I wanted to try this trip so I drove over to Vicky's Diner.  It's located at 953 E. Sahara Ave, just east of LV Blvd in the Commercial Center District.  I was there early so there were only a couple of other customers, but a little later they started getting busy.  Before moving to this new location, the diner was located just north of the Strat on LV Blvd.  

I had the French toast, eggs, and sausage special which was very good.  The food, prices, and friendly staff are all reasons to give this place a try.  It's going to be a regular stop on future trips.

After breakfast, I decided to head downtown and parked at Main Street Station where I still get free self-parking, since I'm Sapphire in Boyd's players club.  I would have parked at the California, but you have to be Emerald (a level above Sapphire) or higher to get free parking which sucks.  Why they made that change is mind-boggling,.

I spent a few hours playing VP at both MSS and the Cal, but I didn't feel like walking down Fremont St.  I guess I'm getting old and all the walking that I was doing earlier was wearing me out. LOL   I had planned to go back downtown later in the week, but I had to end my trip earlier than expected when I got sick.  Overall, the machines weren't being nice to me, but here are a few hits worthy of taking some photos.

Back at Aria, it was getting late and I didn't feel like trying to get a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants so I decided to give PizzAioke a try over in the food hall.  It was okay, but the crust was kinda hard.  I like NY style pizza, but this version didn't meet my expectations.  Needless to say, Pizza Rock is still may favorite!

Wednesday May 10

I decided to try Wexler’s Deli in Aria’s food hall for breakfast, since Egghead had a long line.  Egghead is only open for breakfast, but unlike the other venues, they don’t have mobile ordering from those kiosks so the line was way too long.  There were lots of folks from the conventions eating at the food hall during my stay so that place is becoming popular despite the high prices. LOL  I had one of their breakfast bagel sandwiches, but it wasn’t as good as Einstein Bros.  Total cost was $19.51.

After breakfast, I drove over to the Orleans, since I needed a few more tier points to maintain Sapphire through 2024.  The machines weren't being very nice to me there either and this was the best hit that I had on this Quick Spin machine.

Later that day, I walked over to the Park MGM and NYNY.  At NYNY, I wanted to try Fulton's Fish Frye in the Village Street Eateries.  I saw some YouTube videos that rated their fish and chips as being good and a nice place to people watch while you eat.  I decided to give their Fish & Shrimp combo a try and it was pretty good. I would rate it 3rd behind Gordon Ramsey and Ellis Island.  Total cost with a Diet Coke was $23.25.

A few photos at NYNY and Park MGM...

I also played some slots at both casinos, but didn't have any hits worth taking any photos.  I played Buffalo Ascension for the first time.  Hit a few bonus rounds and the accumulated smaller hits added up and offset some of my losses.  Seems like that was the trend for most of this trip, until later in the week when things started getting better.

Thursday May 11

Another "new to me" restaurant I tried was Blueberry Hill which has been highly recommended by a number of folks.  They have several locations and I went to the one on 1505 E. Flamingo Rd., just east of Maryland Blvd.

I ordered the eggs, smoked sausage with hashbrowns and toast.  It was very good including the quick service.  I can see why Blueberry Hill is so popular.  Total cost with a Diet Coke was $20.08.

After breakfast, I went out for a drive to get away from the strip for awhile and ended up at Red Rock Resort.  I thought about going to Red Rock Canyon, but it was too hot to do any hiking.  Temps in Vegas were in the high 80s and approaching the 90s, since I arrived.  Compared to how cool it’s been in Chicago, I wasn't ready for all that heat. LOL  I also wanted to get back on Station Casinos radar by giving them some play.  Their new property, the Durango will also be completed soon.  I played some VP and this was the best hit of my visit.

For dinner, I went to La La Noodles over at Park MGM based on Danny The Medic’s YouTube videos.  They have an open kitchen, so you can watch them prepping all the dishes if you’re sitting at the bar.  I ordered their Walnut Shrimp which is one of their specials, along with a side of steamed Jasmine rice and it was the best that I’ve had at any Asian restaurant so far.  They give a good size portion and I barely finished all of the shrimps.  I had no room for dessert.  It’s not cheap, but their food and service are great.  Total cost including a Diet Pepsi was $50.13.  Unfortunately, I was chatting with the bar tender and completely forgot to take a photo of the food, but here's a photo of the Wanut Shrimp that I found on Yelp. LOL 

Friday May 12

I drove out to the Suncoast and had breakfast at Dupar’s.  My usual pancakes and bacon.  Du-par's never disappoints when it comes to their pancakes.  I got there early so I didn't have to wait to be seated.  Service was also good during my visit.  I also noticed that they have a "Robot" server helping the wait staff.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a photo/video of the robot, but it goes back and forth from the kitchen delivering orders to the tables.  Although, the wait staff unloads the orders from the robot for the customers so it's not completely self-service.  Everyone was fascinated watching the robot maneuver around the dining area without bumping into anything or anyone.  As usual, I almost forgot to take a photo of the food so it's partially eaten. LOL Total cost was $17.97, but I paid with my Boyd points.

After breakfast, I drove out to the Emerald Island Casino.  It’s not big, but it’s a nice locals casino.  I signed up for their players card and played some VP for about an hour.  It was still early so the place wasn’t crowded, but everyone I met was friendly.  They have a lot of daily promos, but they ran out of brochures listing all of them so if anyone decides to visit be sure to get one at the players club desk.  The Rainbow Casino is right across the street so I stopped by just to see.  Seems like a nice place too.  For us out-of-towners, unless you visit Vegas often, it might be hard to take advantage of a lot of their comps.  They also evaluate your tier level every 3 months so their players club is designed for locals who can visit often.

I took Boulder Hwy heading back to Aria and stopped by the Skyline Hotel/Casino, since that’s another local’s casino that I haven’t visited.  I think they’re one of the few places that doesn’t have resort fees, but not much was going on so I didn't stay for very long.

I also stopped at Sam’s Town to see if anything has changed, since I haven’t been there for awhile.  I played some VP while I was there, but no big hits.

Back at Aria, it was still too early for dinner so I took the tram over to Bellagio to see the Spring display in the Conservatory.  Needless to say, they always do a nice job putting up these seasonal displays.

Back at Aria, I was playing some VP while deciding where to eat and finally had the best day yet.  Several big hits, but still no royals.

I was doing good playing VP so I ended up losing track of time and most of the restaurants were close to closing time.  So, I ended up getting some pizza over in the food hall.  

Now the bad news.  I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold on Friday, but I was hoping it was just my allergy acting up, along with the dry desert heat which often happens whenever I'm in Vegas.  Anyways, it turned out to be cold/flu bug, since I took a Covid test and it came out negative.  As I indicated at the beginning of my trip report, I decided to cut my stay short and was able to book a return flight home on Saturday.  

Some closing thoughts...

I stopped at the Patisserie at Aria on several occasions to pick up some of their pastries to snack on in my room.  I didn't take any photos, but they sell some tasty items.  Their croissants are really good.

The only frustrating thing of this trip besides getting sick was all of the road work and construction that being done in and around the Vegas strip.  They've been paving LV Blvd for the F1 races and that massive Dropicana/I-15 project is also in progress which is causing traffic nightmares.  Needless to say, I had to plan alternate routes to getting around the road work and I avoided driving north down LV Blvd when leaving Aria so I didn't bother to visit some the properties that I would normally visit when I go casino hopping.  Heading southbound wasn't too bad, since the road paving ended at Harmon near the Cosmo.  

Although, this also gave me the chance to visit more of the local casinos away from the strip including the Emerald Island, Rainbow, and Skyline casinos.

I did save some of my bankroll, since I returned home a couple of days early and netted about $400 in losses which isn't too bad.  I recovered a good chunk of my losses on my final night playing VP at Aria.  Most of my play at Aria was in the evenings or later, since I was out and about during the mornings and during the day.  I racked up a good amount of tier credits, but I'm still not close to making Gold.  

I was able to use up the resorts credit that came with my comp offer ($50) along with the additional $100 that I received so it offset the high cost of dining to some degree.  If I didn't have any resorts credit, I probably would have dined off-strip more often.

I had a MyVegas reward for $50 freeplay and when I went to the MGM players club desk to redeem the offer, I also received an additional $80 in freeplay, since they had a May birthday special for anyone having a birthday during the month of May.

Overall, all of the staff at Aria provided excellent services from check-in to check-out and everything in-between.  I haven't seen this level of service, since my past stays at the Encore.  I wish all of the resorts provided this level of service for their guests.

A good number of my photos were taken with my Sony A7iv w/24-70mm f/2.8 GM2 zoom lens during this trip, except for a few taken inside the gaming areas with my iPhone.  I planned to shoot more videos which is why I brought my good camera gear, since I was going to do some side trips away from the casinos on Saturday and Sunday including Boulder City and the O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, but that didn't turn out as planned.

Overall, I had fun while it lasted.  I'm thinking my next trip might be around Halloween, but that's still a long ways off and anything can happen between now and then.