October 2013

October 2013

Sunday, November 3, 2019

October 27 - November 2, 2019: Halloween In Las Vegas

Sunday, October 27, Day 1:


I guess "Mother Nature" was being nice to me, since the major storms that passed through our area on Saturday moved out by early Sunday morning.  So other than some cloudy skies, there were no weather related delays at MDW and my SWA flight to Vegas took off on schedule.

I booked my ride to the airport with Echo Limousine service which I've used many times in the past.  The cost is a little more than taking a taxi or Uber/Lyft, but it's way more convenient when I want to get to the airport on time and they've been very reliable.

Returning home, I don't mind using taxis or Uber/Lyft, since I'm not on any schedule. LOL  Although, I've noticed that the cost of Uber/Lyft at Chicago's airports are not a big cost savings vs. taking taxis, since with the airport surcharges (as well as surge pricing during busy times) the rates for the ride share services are pretty high.

Arriving at LAS


My SWA flight was completely full and uneventful (which is always good!).  We touched down just before noon and after retrieving my checkin bag, I headed to shuttle bus for the rent-a-car center.  I originally reserved a Mustang or equivalent from Hertz, but all of their sports cars were sold out.  Oh well, I didn't want to splurge and go for a luxury car/SUV, so I settled for a Mazda CX3 which is a compact SUV.  I could have gotten a free upgrade to a gas guzzling full size SUV for the same price, but I didn't want something that huge.  I also used my Hertz rewards points for this rental, so I received 3 free days off of the weekly rental rate.

I should note that the weather in Vegas was bright and sunny all week, BUT the temperatures were below normal for this time of year.  Daytime temps were in the 50F-60F and in the 40s at night.



The Orleans Hotel/Casino


It was still too early to checkin at the Orleans, so I stopped to pick up some supplies at the Albertson's which is located on Tropicana, just west of the Orleans.  I checked in at the Orleans around 2pm without any problems.  I was staying for 2 nights in a Premium King room on a comp offer that included $150 in freeplay and $100 in food credit.  The offer was for up to 3 nights, but I only needed 2 nights, since I couldn't fly out on Saturday like I originally planned.  The Orleans still gives you a coupon booklet for discounts too, but I usually only make use of a couple of them at most.




Premium King Room On The 20th Floor


The 3 photos below are 360 degree interactive photos of the Premium King room at the Orleans.  You can use your mouse/trackpad to click/drag the photos around in different directions to see different views.  I took these photos on an Insta360 OneX camera which can take 360 photos and 360 videos.


I was planning on shooting more 360 photos and 360 videos during my trip, but I ended up shooting most of my pics (other than the room photos) using my iPhone X mainly for convenience.


Dinner At The Medley Buffet


I've had dinner at the Medley Buffet during my last trip and it was pretty good, so I decided to head there for dinner.  Since I had $100 in food credit, this was a freebie.  There were a couple of more plates of food, but I forgot to shoot photos of those, so I only have these two.  


The Prime Rib was really good this time around and I went back for seconds, as well as for more shrimps, boiled crayfish, and a second round of desserts (more ice cream).





A Winning Night


After dinner, I ended up spending several hours in the casino playing slots to my surprise. LOL  I normally play VP, but with the changes they've made to their players club program, Boyd properties are no longer VP friendly.  

Anyways, I found a Buffalo Grand machine which kept producing.  I didn't get any huge jackpots, but the smaller wins kept adding up and I netted around $1600 before I turned in for the night!  Since the bonus rounds weren't huge, I didn't bother to take any photos of the screens.  I also racked up close to 2000 tier points in just one night, so I'll remain Sapphire through 2020.


Monday, October 28, Day2:


Breakfast At The Copper Whisk Cafe


I've dined at the Copper Whisk on several occasions in the past, as well as it's predecessor which was the Courtyard Cafe.  Everything I've tried has been pretty good and it's one of the few places that is opened late at night when I lose track of time and the other restaurant are closed. LOL



Wandering Around Mid-Strip


I often decide what I'm going to do during the day while having breakfast.  So today, I planned on hitting the LV strip starting at Paris to shoot some photos and to give CET some play.











Bellagio And The Conservatory















I played some Slots/VP at Paris and Caesars, but didn't have much luck.  Caesars is such a huge property that I got tired out from just wandering around the place. LOL  So, I decided to head back to the Orleans to relax for awhile and then figure out where to have dinner.


Back At The Orleans And Dinner At Ondori's Asian Kitchen


Ondori's specializes in both Japanese and Chinese cuisines.  It's one of my favorite restaurants at the Orleans.  This time, I ordered the Won Ton Soup and Honey Walnut Shrimp which comes with either steamed or fried rice.  Both the soup and shrimp were very good.  In fact, I like the Honey Walnut Shrimp at Ondori's better than the version that they serve at Ping Pang Pong over at the Gold Coast.  As you probably noticed, I always seem to remember to take a photo, AFTER I've start eating. LOL





Since I already accumulated enough tier points to remain Sapphire, I decided to play some VP.  Deuce Wild is my go to game, but it wasn't hitting so I found a bank of 9/6 DDB and BP and gave them a try.  These were the best hits of the evening.






Tuesday, October 29, Day 3:


After having a breakfast sandwich at Fuddruckers in the Food Court, it was still too early to check out for my move to the Luxor, so I went back to those 9/6 DDB machines and played for awhile.  My luck was still holding out and I cashed out, after this hit.



My total bill for those 2 nights at he Orleans when I checked out was $0.  They also comped the resort fees and I still had about $25 in food credit leftover.  Gambling wise, the Orleans was very good to me this trip.  I netted around $1900 give or take a few dollars, over those 2 days.  For the remainder of my trip, I was playing with my winnings and I didn't have to dip into my regular bankroll which doesn't happen very often. LOL


The "New" Sahara


It was around 11:30am when I left the Orleans and it was too early to check into the Luxor, so I headed over to the "New" Sahara to check things out.  I parked in their self-parking garage which is free and they were still doing some construction work on parts of building where you enter the casino from their garage, so it was a bit of a maze to get through.



Overall, the casino looks nice inside and modern, but I thought it felt sorta bland.  The casino wasn't very busy, but it was still early in the day.  It may have the Sahara name (the same with the new Casbar Lounge), but it doesn't have the old Sahara theme like the old days.  

I stopped at the players club desk to sign up for a new card, but I found out that the players club hasn't changed after the takeover. It's the same players club that carried over from the SLS, so my account was still active and they just printed out a new card that now has the Sahara name on it.  For new members, they were offering some freeplay, but I didn't qualify for any, since I wasn't considered a new member.  I did give their slots some play, but I didn't come out a winner.  It'll be interesting to see, if I start received room offers from them, since I never received anything from the SLS.


The Luxor


I think it was around 2pm when I drove over to the Luxor to see if I could check in early.  At the Orleans, I never have a problem trying to checkin 2-3 hrs before checkin time.  Although at the Luxor, I was able to checkin, but they wouldn't assign a room until 3:30pm at the earliest.  I was told that I would receive a call when my room is ready, but in the event that I didn't get a call back by 3:30pm to stopped at either the mobile checkin desk or the VIP desk.  I was staying on an MLife offer which included up to 4 comped nights (Sunday-Thursday), but since one of my nights fell on a Friday, it wasn't comped.  My Pearl rate for the one night was $61 + $35 resort fee + taxes, although the resort fee was included as part of the comp offer for those first 3 nights.

Anyways, I didn't receive a call back so I stopped at the mobile checkin desk and the lady assigned a room right away.  I was on the 21st floor in a Premium King Pyramid room.  It's one of the remodeled rooms which is nice, but they could have done a better job with the remodeling.  They neglected to put outlets near the bed stand or even have table lamps with outlets like most other properties have done.  In the bathroom, there wasn't a separate switch for the exhaust fan, so whenever you turned on the bathroom lights, the fan would turn on too which was annoying, since the fan was rather loud. LOL

The 3 photos below are 360 degree interactive photos of the Premium King Pyramid Room at the Luxor.  You can use your mouse/trackpad to click/drag the photos around in different directions to see different views.


View From My Room


I was way up on the 21st Floor in the Pyramid and had a mountain view.  In the photos, you can see the Delano over to the far left, as well as the new stadium construc
tion.  Way out in the distance to the right, you can also see the Orleans.








View Of The Atrium From The 21st Floor


These photos were taken early in the morning, so the Atrium was pretty much void of people.




For dinner, I didn't feel like anything fancy so I went to the Food Court and had a burger and fries at Johnny Rockets (of course, I forgot to take a photo ...LOL).  This was the first time I ate at Johnny Rockets and their burgers are pretty good.

Afterwards, I spend a few hours playing Slots/VP.  I found a bank of 9/6 BP tucked away in a secluded area of the casino which was surprising and I cashed out with $125.  Although, Buffalo Stampede ended up taking back that $125 and a bit more before the night was over.

Overall, the VP areas were deserted and most of the folks were playing slots.  Actually, I had better luck on slots this trip, then on VP.  Although, I didn't have even one hand-pay this trip on slot or VP.


Wednesday, October 30, Day 4:


I was going to try the Pyramid Cafe for breakfast, but the place was packed by the time I arrived.  I didn't feel like walking all the way over to Mandalay Bay for breakfast, so I opted for Nathan's in the food court.  I had one of their breakfast specials that included eggs, hash browns, bacon (or sausage), and 2 pancakes which was pretty good for a fast food place.




The Aliante Hotel/Casino


I've been trying to visit at least one property that I've never been too before during each of my trips, so it was time to check out the Aliante which is a local Boyd property in North Las Vegas.  It's about 24 miles north of the Luxor, so it's not close to the LV strip.  They have a nice casino and the property is pretty similar to most of Boyd's larger properties.  The Aliante seem to be smaller than the Orleans, but I like the atmosphere inside.  I played some slots/VP while I was there and ended up donating about $300 to those machines.  For someone who likes to stay at off-strip properties and doesn't mind being far from the strip, the Aliante would be a nice place to stay.





Fremont St. and the LasVegas4Ever Board Meet


After leaving the Aliante, I spent the rest of the day downtown, since Bonnie's LasVegas4Ever board meet was scheduled for 4pm at Oscar's Simpatico Room over at the Plaza.  Instead of valet parking at Main Street Station like I've done in the past, I decided to use the self-parking garage at the California which is free for Sapphire and above.  All you need to do is take your ticket to the BConnected desk and have it validated as soon as you are ready to leave.

I was getting hungry, so I stopped at Pop Up Pizza at the Plaza for a slice of pepperoni, then I roamed around Fremont St. for awhile.  I needed to get a replacement players card at The D, so I spent some time playing slots while I was there.  I discovered the new Buffalo Gold Revolution machines which has become my new favorite Buffalo version.  The machine I was playing kept hitting and I recouped the $300 loss I had at the Aliante and came out a little ahead by $50 when I cashed out.


I've attended a few LasVegas4Ever board meets in the past and it's always nice to see some familiar faces from past meets, as well as meeting some new folks who attended this year.  There were 19 of us at the meet including Me (SMG), Bonnie, Nicky, Otto, Ian, DM Jewel, Linda, Booker, Gary, Trawnajack, BBKing, Pebbles, Tony, Kelly (a fellow who used to write for Vegas Bright), WelshBlonde and her husband (from VMB), BubbaKitty and his wife (from VMB), and William (from the LV4E Facebook group).



I didn't take any photos at the meet, so I "borrowed" the group photo that Nicky took of most of us (some of the late attendees aren't in the group photo).  Bonnie posted a lot of photos of the meet in her live trip report on the LasVegas4Ever board, so for those interested in seeing more of the meet photos, click on the link and check out her report.








Thursday, October 31, 2019, Day 5:


I had a quick breakfast at Johnny Rockets in the Food Court.  Egg, cheese, and sausage on an English muffin with a side of hash browns.  I decided to spend some additional time mid-strip and to give CET some additional play.  I self-parked at the Mirage.  Their garage is a lot nicer than the one at Harrah's/Linq and they are just across the street, so it's convenient too.


I played some VP at Harrah's, Linq, and Flamingo, but lost more than I won.  I played a little at all of the CET properties this trip, since I was planning to migrate over to CET next year, due to the changes that Boyd made to their players club.












Dinner At The Aria Buffet



With all of the restrictions they've added to MyVegas, I was only able to get the Aria Dinner Buffet this trip.  Most of the other MyVegas rewards that I liked were sold out, so only one freebie this time.

This was the first time that I'm trying the Aria dinner buffet.  The regular price for the buffet is $40.99.  I got there at 4:00pm and it was just starting to get busy.  Being Pearl, I was able to get into the VIP line where there were only 2 people ahead of me.  The buffet was pretty good and they had a nice selection to choose from including Seafood, Asian, Italian, Indian, the Carvery (brisket, ham, chicken, turkey, but no prime rib), etc... and of course desserts. LOL  I was rather surprised that they didn't have Prime Rib.  I also noticed on the receipt that they suggest a dining time of 2 hrs, but I doubt that they enforce the rule.


Seafood Chowder with corn and Shrimps, Bake Cod, Lasagna

Potatos Au Gratin, Roll, Steamed BBQ Pork Bun, Smoked Brisket

Caramel Custard, Chocolate Ice Cream

There were a couple of more plates of food, but I forgot to take photos of them.  They include more BBQ Pork Bun (those were really good), some Sushi Rolls, and some additional desserts.


After the buffet, I needed to work off some of those calories, so I walked around the strip for awhile.  I stopped at the new Eataly at the Park MGM, since it was still under construction during my previous trip.  Their prices are just as high as the one we have here in Chicago.   

I also stopped at the Cosmopolitan.  I've only been to the Cosmo once on a past trip, but I didn't sign up for their players card during that visit, so I signed up this time and gave them a little play.  They also included $20 in freeplay for new members which only lasted about 10 mins playing one of the Quick Spin slots.  Of course, I did donate more to their machines before I moved on.  I wouldn't mind staying at the Cosmo at least once to see what it's like, so we'll see if I start receiving some offers.  LOL


A Few Miscellaneous Photos From The South End Of The Strip





Back at the Luxor, I found a new Star Trek slot based on the original series, "Star Trek The Final Frontier".  It has some cool bonus rounds.  I was ahead at one point, but the machine eventually took everything back (and more).  I should have taken some screen shots, but I didn't think of it at the time.  I also found 3 Buffalo Gold Revolution slots that I missed earlier in the week.  I wish I had found them sooner. LOL

Friday, November 1, Day 6:

Du-Par's At The Suncoast


This is my last full day in Vegas before returning home on Saturday afternoon so I drove out to the Suncoast Hotel/Casino, since I wanted to have breakfast at Du-Par's.  Their only location is at the Suncoast in Summerlin, since they closed the one at the Golden Gate downtown.

Pancakes is one of my favorite breakfast foods and Du-Par's has some of the best pancakes in Vegas.  As usual, I always forget to take a photo BEFORE I start eating. LOL  I ordered a short stack with a side order of bacon and I paid with my BConnected points.



I also played some Slots/VP while I was at the Suncoast, but those machines were like vacuum cleaners and kept taking and not giving back.  So after awhile, I decided to drive over to the Strat.  When I arrived, there was a line up of cars trying to get into their self-parking garage.  When I pulled up, the attendant who was directing traffic was telling everyone that a special event was going on and that there is a $20 parking fee for special events.  So, I decided to leave and will try and visit the Strat on my next Vegas trip.


R.U.N, The New Cirque Show At The Luxor


I purchased a ticket to the new Cirque show, R.U.N, when I received an email promo for a free 2 seat upgrade.  I was able to get an aisle seat in the second row just behind the 1st row VIP seats for Friday November 1.





The show opened on October 24th with some technical issues in which I heard that a performer was injured doing one of the motorcycle stunts towards the end of the show.  A few days later, I started seeing mixed reviews of the show and not all of them were very positive.  Being a long time Cirque fan who has seen a good number of there past productions, I was hoping that R.U.N would be better than what was being reported.

The show is 90 minutes long and is very different from any Cirque shows that I've seen before.  It's sorta hard to describe, since they use a combination of videos, live video feeds, and live action scenes to tell the story of the main character who is a member of a rival gang and is on the "run" for his life throughout the show.  There are a number of violent fight scene with lot of acrobatics and special effects (fire, laser lights, etc.) and motorcycle stunts.  In one scene, the main character and one of his fellow gang members are being tortured which would probably not appeal to some.

Also like most Cirque shows, there is action not only going on the main stage, but also on the sides, overhead, and from behind the audience throughout different parts of the show.  For those of us sitting in the front rows, we had to keep turning around to see what else was going on to the sides and behind us.

Overall, I though the show was okay, but they could have done much better.  Not only with the story line, but with how they put the whole show together.  They used a lot of videos, both recorded and live feeds in between the big stunt scenes to tell the storyline which is broken down into several chapter.  I though the use of so much abstract videos was sorta overdone.

Although, I enjoyed the motorcycle stunts which were cool.  The final motorcycle stunt scene was probably the best part of the entire show.  They were even riding down the stairs in the aisles where they had ramps setup so they could jump on and off of the main stage.

So is R.U.N worth seeing?  If you're expecting to see a family oriented Cirque show, you will be disappointed.  If you like live action fight scenes, motorcycle stunts performed on stage, and the gangland storyline, then you may like R.U.N.

Also, a tip on seating.  As I mentioned, I was in an aisle seat in second row.  The VIP seats in the first row seats have very high backs to them, so if you are seated directly behind them, you may have a problem seeing over the tops of them.  I really don't understand why they made the backs of those seats so high.  If I wasn't seated on the aisle, I would have had a problem seeing the stage, if I were seated behind them, since I'm not a tall person.  If I were to see the show again (which I probably won't, unless it's comped), I think sitting further back would be much better.  That way, you can see the entire main stage and not get a twisted neck trying to see stuff going on to the far sides and behind you.

After the show, I ended up in the food court for pizza.  It seems like I spent a lot of time eating in the Luxor food court this trip.


More Photos At The Luxor









Saturday, November 2, Day 7:


Unfortunately, I had to fly back home today which is always a bummer.  It alway seems like my Vegas trips are way too short, no matter how long that I've been in town. LOL  Since my flight was at 1:30pm, I did have a few hours of Vegas time before departure so I had a quick breakfast in the food court and played some Buffalo Gold Revolution in the casino before checking out.



There were no delay at LAS and this was the quickest that I've ever gotten through the TSA PreCheck at LAS.  Only 2 people ahead of me, so there was no wait time at all.  

Although when I arrived at MDW, it took them forever to unload our checkin luggage.  I ended up taking a taxi from the airport to get home, since the Uber/Lyft area was too crowded and there was no line to get a taxi.

Some Random Thoughts...

*This was a winning trip.  I returned home with my gambling bankroll in tack, along with an extra $800 which will be added to my Vegas fund for a future trip.

*Boyd properties (and the Orleans) were good to me, both for gambling and customer services, despite the negative changes in their BConnected program.  I made Sapphire for another year, so as long as they continue to offer comped rooms, I'll be staying at their properties in the future.

*I have mixed feeling about MGM Resorts, after staying at the Luxor.  Their customer services had a number of glitches on checkin and checkout.  They didn't give me a call back when they had my room ready, their express checkout terminal kept giving error messages when I tried to checkout, as well as the MGM app on my iPhone.  So, I ended up waiting in a long line to checkout in person.

*I noticed that the Luxor attracts a lot of younger folks which isn't too surprising.  Would I stay here again?  Only if I receive a good comp offer.

*The Slots/VP machines at the CET properties weren't nice to me and I suffered the most losses at Paris and Harrah's.  

*I still haven't hit a Royal in Vegas, so my record is still in tack. LOL

2 comments:

  1. Great TR & awesome pics as with all your TRs, I'm not sure if you prefer comments here or on the TR page so I'll just copy over there as well🍺😺🍺
    Wow that was very cold, but I guess being from Chicago you don't mind to the cold😺🍺😺
    Congrats on it being a winning trip, that's always awesome, it was great that you accumulated $1900 in profit, without a handpay so no taxes even better🍹😺🍹
    We stayed at the Luxor in July, I had an offer for 3 free night, $$ free play & $$ food comp, & I just had to pay the resort fees, but like you I was less than completely satisfied with the Luxor stay😺🍹😺
    We had about a 45min wait to checkin, got assigned a room on the 4th floor & about a 30min wait to checked out & a huge surprise on the bill, I was charged $21.84 x 6 = $131.04 for long distance calls, when I questioned these chargers, I was asked if I made long distance calls I said no, I explained that we only used the phone to call our mobile when one of us was down in the casino, it turns out that in the States a mobile bought in Reno is considered to be a long distance call evan if your in the same casino & that there was nothing she could do about it, I was not happy but I let the lady charge it to my credit card as I need to leave & I was not in a happy frame of mind. We left to checkin at the Cal & then drop off our rental car, that afternoon after we had finshed doing everything & before going to dinner I called the Luxor & asked to speak to a manager, I explained everything to her & the manager said she would be happy refund the $21.84 x 6 = $131.04 to my credit card🍹😺🍹
    I found the casino floor manager(that's another story) & the checkin manager to be extremely helpful & customer service oriented their front desk staff not so much🍺😺🍺
    Sorry I have rambled on way too much!!

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  2. I spent Halloween 2019 in Vegas, too. My evening included the Lady Gaga concert at Park MGM and a late night downtown, enjoying the flesh parade. I didn't do a trip report of my own following that trip, unfortunately. I was lazy. But I do recall it being too cold to enjoy the Orleans pool during tha trip. Halloween is not a tropical time of the year, the average high is 74F, but I have had days in the low 80s during previous Halloween trips, so I always hope for that when I'm there on Oct. 31. It was still nicer than being in Minneapolis.

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