misterKeno
12-19-2003, 05:10 PM
..kay folks---Here we go ! (a detailed report)
Tues, 8:35am..my very good friend Steve picks me up & we're off to the airport. Drops me off curbside. He was going to go upstairs to the concourse & gates (get a cup of coffee and what not....but, you arent even allowed upstairs unless you are ticketed). I feel sorry for the gift shops/vendors/newstands/food court owners/etc. Got in line (inside). There were 'bout 40 folks in line. Line moved fast. Checked in & was given 1st boarding 'group' (swa stuff). Then, at our airport, you carry your suitcase over to the guys at the jumbo jumbo x-ray machine & stand by while they send it thru. Guy @ the other end says 'you're okay'.
My flight was at 10:45am, so plenty of time to spare. Took the escalator up & there was a backup of folks takin off their shoes. I had to also, lol, on account of metal in mine. Finally, i'm up to my gate with about eighty minutes to spare.
Flight left right on time. Oh, i will be attempting to post my picts at freepichosting or whatever its called, shortly. Fair warning--the amount of picts is small--mostly of my room & its view. There was a very small amount of cloud-cover. I had a window seat. Flight arrived right on time. The plane passed over a bit of the north strip and DIRECTLY over the strat. I took a few quick picts...a couple came out 'okay'.
Got off the plane & went downstairs to the baggage claim. Waited at my carousel for about twenty minutes--then they announced the carousel # was changed for my flight--so walked over to that one & waited another 10 or 12 min. Then baggage arrived. I walked over to where i thought the taxis were...but it was shuttles. Guy quickly spoke up 'where you headed?' I told him--he says 'be 4.75 & we'll be rollin soon'. So i went to the 'ODS' booth & payed my dough. ODS is the name of the shuttle company--never heard of it. Jumped aboard--only two other folks on it. So i was worried we would be sitting a while. Nope, 90 sec later we were rolling. It was funny, cause that shuttle woulda held about 22 persons.
A little after 1pm I was at the Mirage. There was NO line at all. Walked up & checked in. 'Well, i dont have a non-smoking King right now, i only have two doubles smoking'. Pause-Pause-Pause. Then she says 'would you be interested in upgrading to a strip-view room for another $20 per nite'. (((( @ this point i was all worried 'bout my $20 attempt, lol )))). So, i said 'eh, view isnt too important to me'. Pause-Pause-she keeps typing on her puter. Then, i get some bravery & lay out my cc w/ a 20 just under it on the counter 'would there be an upgrade avail perhaps?'. She does some more typing...in twenty seconds she has me in a Tower-Deluxe.
Three minutes later--i'm in my room, unpacked, and ready for LV!!
I fill the ice bucket and go to get a soda or two & ice them down from the vending machine. Oh broooother--$3 for a 20 oz coke or sprite. Umm, no thanks. Soo, i decided to ice down some ice water in the room. Yup!
Flipped thru the channels on the t.v.--wanted to be sure the Keno channel was avail!
About 2:30 or so now...go downstairs & try some (oh, sorry you had to wait for the gaming)...
& try some dice. Bought in for $60--that lasted about eight minutes. Did some walking around. I'll tell ya what...the Mirage had about three or four sections that were roped off, etc, blah! One side of the bacarrat bar was completely shut down on account of the carpet being replaced...as well as two other sections of carpet repairs being done. By the time i left town--these were not yet completed ! ?
I went over to the poker room..it was about 3:00pm or so...the place was quite busy. The host @ the little counter you walk up to---gosh, what a really stuck-up guy. It's like he looked at every person up & down to see if they would 'fit' into the room. Me and another guy had to practically stand there for sixty seconds before he even acknowledged us. Man, sorry i'm not in mirage-wear today! LOL. I got put on a list for 1-5 stud. Walked around to the sports book. Picked the Knicks (against the visiting warriors). Sat down & watched some horse-racing & some college basketball. Walked back over to the cardroom. My name still wasnt 'up' -- plus the two folks ahead of me--still hadnt been called. I figured forget this--------i didnt even bother to tell the guy to take me off. HE REALLY WASNT worth it.
Walked around the mirage for a little while longer...the tiger 'thing' between the CPK & the moving sidewalk to ceasar's didnt have any tigers in it (matter of fact the whole time---didnt have any tigers in it)..but they played video of S & Roy..and folks still snapped up picts of the empty habitat. Maybe its just my bad memory---i cant recall if the tigers were taken away from the Mirage? Did some video poker 8/5...lost $7 in a few minutes.
I then chose to go back up to the room for a short while. Noticed the minimums on BJ..they were ALL $10 & up w/ the exception of one $5 table. Tons of continuous shufflers or shoes. BJ payed 3/2. Didnt play. Craps tables---three were open
one table $10 min
one table $5 min
one table $5 min
Relaxed in the room for a short while--freshened up & decided to give T.I. a try. I was a bit hungry, but decided to hold off. I had an early lunch back in my hometown @ 10:20. Took the tram over to T.I. -- each time i rode the tram this trip, it never had more than 10 or 11 folks on it.
Found a CS table w/ a $5 ante open. Sat down & turned $40 into $90. Then decided to play one last hand---& won $90 more. So, i decided to play MORE than that 'one last hand'. Worked that dough up slightly more into about $280. Woohoo. Went over to roulette & bought in for dollar chips.
OF NOTE: every roulette table i played at on the strip was $1 chips minimum (and a requirement to have $5 played each spin).
My seventy-five chips lasted for about 20 min...i did okay, had a few 'hits'...oh, Grant--the #6 didnt hit this session. Pretty soon i was out of the game. Went over to this long long bar that had seats & vp. I dont know the layout of TI that well---so maybe this bar will ring a bell to you---who knows---lol, doenst matter. It's 'mirrored' (if you will) about forty seats one side, forty seats other side. Put in my $20 & said 'strawberry daquiri please'. African-american bartender there, real NICE guy, talked it up with him. Played 25-cent (you could choose 25cent, 50cent, $1) deuces wild vp. Daquiri was EXCELLENT. Tipped him a $1 for the first one, and $2 for the 2nd one (lol). I woulda had a third, but he made em quite strong & i didnt wanna forget my room # back at the mirage, lol. The vp was real good, hit a royal w/ a deuce for a good amount of credits. Some quads too..... That $20 into the vp was cashed out after forty minutes for i think $77.
Before leaving the T.I. -- tried some craps, no luck. Took the tram back to Mirage. I was gettin hungry, real hungry. Back up to the room & some relaxing & checked out my game on ESPN2 to see how it was coming along.
Told myself i'd go back downstairs & chow-down & maybe play a short while. It was 7:00 or so. Went down & forgot to eat (big mistake, drinking w/ no food in ya). Played dice & lost $120. Played roulette & lost $80. Played a slot & lost $30. Walked around to the sports book & found out that NY let me down, lol. I want food! Went to the Caribe coffee shop. No wait to get in. Place was about 1/4 full. Service in there was GREAT. Got a philly cheesesteak. Also, noticed a drink called the green-dolphin on the menu---it said it had midori in it---so i said 'sold'. Drink was 'okay'. I noticed that no matter what you order--they bring you a little loaf of sourdough bread. Yum. Really yum. Food came in about 7 minutes, it was good. They re-filled your water just fine. But, is it me--or does LV water taste kinda bad? I noticed that for most of the trip.
Got out of the coffee shop for $17 (incl tip & that drink). My stomach & forehead felt better. Okay...i was off to ceasar's. I was a little tired, but not too bad. Thru the forum shops i went---ugh, i'll say it again, i hate walking on that cobblestone-like stuff. PUT SOME soft carpet in there. LOL. Walked by the expensive shops----saw that animated marble statue show---ton of people watchin that--couldnt move an inch, lol. I was still pretty full, but saw the cheesecake factory & opted for a slice of key-lime-cheesecake. Mmmm. Double Mmmmmmm. This stuff was RICH & creamy smoothe. Really dense flavor, but very enjoyable. For $6.05 i thought it was worth it for the hefty slice in the CLEVER rectangular hinged-clear dome box w/ fork. (((( Forgive me, but they packaged the slice real cool )))). I ate most of it, but gave up---so RICH.
Finally arrived to the palace casino---only portion of the casino i care for at this property. Four crap tables open--two of them said RESERVED w/ no one playing at them. $10 min. Bought in & won & lost & won & lost & then win-win-win. Hit my point of '9' three times in a row. Soon, i was up $140. Put a 'bet for the boys' on the line--guys appreciated that. Hit my point two more times--then crapped out w/ a 'go in for the kill bet' !! Phoooey. Left the dice table w/ a 'net +110'.
It was nearing 10pm & was pretty darn tired....left ceasar's walking out the main entrance to the famous-four-corners. I have noooo idea of any other way to exit ceasar's. Brought my BC players club with me & decided to break-it-in. Noticed a vinyl hanging banner there outside -- said 'all drinks at all bars $1'. Now i can see why--they serve all drinks (except bottles of brew) in these little nine ounce plastic cups. Drinks were 'okay'. If ya needed another--they'd give it to ya no problem. But, pretty skimply little cups. I dont remember this from last time. I was gonna take care of my bartender--you know $1/drink tip. But, heck how could they tell. I mean--i bought in with the VP atop the bar. Well, you know what i mean. They were just REAL busy, pouring hundreds of those little drinks. Played some 8/5 & some 9/6 vp...$20 lasted about 45 minutes. Not too bad. Bought in at another bar...had two more drinks. The latter drink i said 'make it a double' -- it came just like the 1st one--oh well. )o:
Cashed out (ticket in ticket out) for $32. Cashier wouldnt take the ticket. I needed to go to a 'booth'. I was VERY tired--just went back to Mirage & packed it in.
OF NOTE: the poker room (i passed by), all the tables were JAMMED & the waiting list had about five people for ea of the different games.
1:15 am ... zzzz time.
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Tues, 8:35am..my very good friend Steve picks me up & we're off to the airport. Drops me off curbside. He was going to go upstairs to the concourse & gates (get a cup of coffee and what not....but, you arent even allowed upstairs unless you are ticketed). I feel sorry for the gift shops/vendors/newstands/food court owners/etc. Got in line (inside). There were 'bout 40 folks in line. Line moved fast. Checked in & was given 1st boarding 'group' (swa stuff). Then, at our airport, you carry your suitcase over to the guys at the jumbo jumbo x-ray machine & stand by while they send it thru. Guy @ the other end says 'you're okay'.
My flight was at 10:45am, so plenty of time to spare. Took the escalator up & there was a backup of folks takin off their shoes. I had to also, lol, on account of metal in mine. Finally, i'm up to my gate with about eighty minutes to spare.
Flight left right on time. Oh, i will be attempting to post my picts at freepichosting or whatever its called, shortly. Fair warning--the amount of picts is small--mostly of my room & its view. There was a very small amount of cloud-cover. I had a window seat. Flight arrived right on time. The plane passed over a bit of the north strip and DIRECTLY over the strat. I took a few quick picts...a couple came out 'okay'.
Got off the plane & went downstairs to the baggage claim. Waited at my carousel for about twenty minutes--then they announced the carousel # was changed for my flight--so walked over to that one & waited another 10 or 12 min. Then baggage arrived. I walked over to where i thought the taxis were...but it was shuttles. Guy quickly spoke up 'where you headed?' I told him--he says 'be 4.75 & we'll be rollin soon'. So i went to the 'ODS' booth & payed my dough. ODS is the name of the shuttle company--never heard of it. Jumped aboard--only two other folks on it. So i was worried we would be sitting a while. Nope, 90 sec later we were rolling. It was funny, cause that shuttle woulda held about 22 persons.
A little after 1pm I was at the Mirage. There was NO line at all. Walked up & checked in. 'Well, i dont have a non-smoking King right now, i only have two doubles smoking'. Pause-Pause-Pause. Then she says 'would you be interested in upgrading to a strip-view room for another $20 per nite'. (((( @ this point i was all worried 'bout my $20 attempt, lol )))). So, i said 'eh, view isnt too important to me'. Pause-Pause-she keeps typing on her puter. Then, i get some bravery & lay out my cc w/ a 20 just under it on the counter 'would there be an upgrade avail perhaps?'. She does some more typing...in twenty seconds she has me in a Tower-Deluxe.
Three minutes later--i'm in my room, unpacked, and ready for LV!!
I fill the ice bucket and go to get a soda or two & ice them down from the vending machine. Oh broooother--$3 for a 20 oz coke or sprite. Umm, no thanks. Soo, i decided to ice down some ice water in the room. Yup!
Flipped thru the channels on the t.v.--wanted to be sure the Keno channel was avail!
About 2:30 or so now...go downstairs & try some (oh, sorry you had to wait for the gaming)...
& try some dice. Bought in for $60--that lasted about eight minutes. Did some walking around. I'll tell ya what...the Mirage had about three or four sections that were roped off, etc, blah! One side of the bacarrat bar was completely shut down on account of the carpet being replaced...as well as two other sections of carpet repairs being done. By the time i left town--these were not yet completed ! ?
I went over to the poker room..it was about 3:00pm or so...the place was quite busy. The host @ the little counter you walk up to---gosh, what a really stuck-up guy. It's like he looked at every person up & down to see if they would 'fit' into the room. Me and another guy had to practically stand there for sixty seconds before he even acknowledged us. Man, sorry i'm not in mirage-wear today! LOL. I got put on a list for 1-5 stud. Walked around to the sports book. Picked the Knicks (against the visiting warriors). Sat down & watched some horse-racing & some college basketball. Walked back over to the cardroom. My name still wasnt 'up' -- plus the two folks ahead of me--still hadnt been called. I figured forget this--------i didnt even bother to tell the guy to take me off. HE REALLY WASNT worth it.
Walked around the mirage for a little while longer...the tiger 'thing' between the CPK & the moving sidewalk to ceasar's didnt have any tigers in it (matter of fact the whole time---didnt have any tigers in it)..but they played video of S & Roy..and folks still snapped up picts of the empty habitat. Maybe its just my bad memory---i cant recall if the tigers were taken away from the Mirage? Did some video poker 8/5...lost $7 in a few minutes.
I then chose to go back up to the room for a short while. Noticed the minimums on BJ..they were ALL $10 & up w/ the exception of one $5 table. Tons of continuous shufflers or shoes. BJ payed 3/2. Didnt play. Craps tables---three were open
one table $10 min
one table $5 min
one table $5 min
Relaxed in the room for a short while--freshened up & decided to give T.I. a try. I was a bit hungry, but decided to hold off. I had an early lunch back in my hometown @ 10:20. Took the tram over to T.I. -- each time i rode the tram this trip, it never had more than 10 or 11 folks on it.
Found a CS table w/ a $5 ante open. Sat down & turned $40 into $90. Then decided to play one last hand---& won $90 more. So, i decided to play MORE than that 'one last hand'. Worked that dough up slightly more into about $280. Woohoo. Went over to roulette & bought in for dollar chips.
OF NOTE: every roulette table i played at on the strip was $1 chips minimum (and a requirement to have $5 played each spin).
My seventy-five chips lasted for about 20 min...i did okay, had a few 'hits'...oh, Grant--the #6 didnt hit this session. Pretty soon i was out of the game. Went over to this long long bar that had seats & vp. I dont know the layout of TI that well---so maybe this bar will ring a bell to you---who knows---lol, doenst matter. It's 'mirrored' (if you will) about forty seats one side, forty seats other side. Put in my $20 & said 'strawberry daquiri please'. African-american bartender there, real NICE guy, talked it up with him. Played 25-cent (you could choose 25cent, 50cent, $1) deuces wild vp. Daquiri was EXCELLENT. Tipped him a $1 for the first one, and $2 for the 2nd one (lol). I woulda had a third, but he made em quite strong & i didnt wanna forget my room # back at the mirage, lol. The vp was real good, hit a royal w/ a deuce for a good amount of credits. Some quads too..... That $20 into the vp was cashed out after forty minutes for i think $77.
Before leaving the T.I. -- tried some craps, no luck. Took the tram back to Mirage. I was gettin hungry, real hungry. Back up to the room & some relaxing & checked out my game on ESPN2 to see how it was coming along.
Told myself i'd go back downstairs & chow-down & maybe play a short while. It was 7:00 or so. Went down & forgot to eat (big mistake, drinking w/ no food in ya). Played dice & lost $120. Played roulette & lost $80. Played a slot & lost $30. Walked around to the sports book & found out that NY let me down, lol. I want food! Went to the Caribe coffee shop. No wait to get in. Place was about 1/4 full. Service in there was GREAT. Got a philly cheesesteak. Also, noticed a drink called the green-dolphin on the menu---it said it had midori in it---so i said 'sold'. Drink was 'okay'. I noticed that no matter what you order--they bring you a little loaf of sourdough bread. Yum. Really yum. Food came in about 7 minutes, it was good. They re-filled your water just fine. But, is it me--or does LV water taste kinda bad? I noticed that for most of the trip.
Got out of the coffee shop for $17 (incl tip & that drink). My stomach & forehead felt better. Okay...i was off to ceasar's. I was a little tired, but not too bad. Thru the forum shops i went---ugh, i'll say it again, i hate walking on that cobblestone-like stuff. PUT SOME soft carpet in there. LOL. Walked by the expensive shops----saw that animated marble statue show---ton of people watchin that--couldnt move an inch, lol. I was still pretty full, but saw the cheesecake factory & opted for a slice of key-lime-cheesecake. Mmmm. Double Mmmmmmm. This stuff was RICH & creamy smoothe. Really dense flavor, but very enjoyable. For $6.05 i thought it was worth it for the hefty slice in the CLEVER rectangular hinged-clear dome box w/ fork. (((( Forgive me, but they packaged the slice real cool )))). I ate most of it, but gave up---so RICH.
Finally arrived to the palace casino---only portion of the casino i care for at this property. Four crap tables open--two of them said RESERVED w/ no one playing at them. $10 min. Bought in & won & lost & won & lost & then win-win-win. Hit my point of '9' three times in a row. Soon, i was up $140. Put a 'bet for the boys' on the line--guys appreciated that. Hit my point two more times--then crapped out w/ a 'go in for the kill bet' !! Phoooey. Left the dice table w/ a 'net +110'.
It was nearing 10pm & was pretty darn tired....left ceasar's walking out the main entrance to the famous-four-corners. I have noooo idea of any other way to exit ceasar's. Brought my BC players club with me & decided to break-it-in. Noticed a vinyl hanging banner there outside -- said 'all drinks at all bars $1'. Now i can see why--they serve all drinks (except bottles of brew) in these little nine ounce plastic cups. Drinks were 'okay'. If ya needed another--they'd give it to ya no problem. But, pretty skimply little cups. I dont remember this from last time. I was gonna take care of my bartender--you know $1/drink tip. But, heck how could they tell. I mean--i bought in with the VP atop the bar. Well, you know what i mean. They were just REAL busy, pouring hundreds of those little drinks. Played some 8/5 & some 9/6 vp...$20 lasted about 45 minutes. Not too bad. Bought in at another bar...had two more drinks. The latter drink i said 'make it a double' -- it came just like the 1st one--oh well. )o:
Cashed out (ticket in ticket out) for $32. Cashier wouldnt take the ticket. I needed to go to a 'booth'. I was VERY tired--just went back to Mirage & packed it in.
OF NOTE: the poker room (i passed by), all the tables were JAMMED & the waiting list had about five people for ea of the different games.
1:15 am ... zzzz time.
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