March 2015 Trip Report
March 22nd, 2015 at 9:14:42 AM
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We just got back from our annual March break trip to Las Vegas. This year's trip was later than usual -- March 15th to the 19th. Normally our March break is the 2nd week of March, but this year our local school board had it in the 3rd week. Our flight out of Toronto was 11:30AM on the Sunday morning which was nice as we didn't have to get up really early. The traffic to the airport was light and we made really good time despite it being later in the morning. We also got through US Customs pre-clearance and security at Pearson International Airport quickly and for the first time in a while neither of us had to go through body scanners. The flight was surprisingly quick too. The flight was supposed to land at 1:20PM Las Vegas time, but we were off the plane at 12:40PM.
We popped over to the car rental centre and getting the car arranged took longer than usual. They tried to get me to upgrade from the mid-sized I'd booked, but I refused and they ended up giving me a new Hyundai Elantra with 500 miles on it and no plates, but a temporary sticker. From there, we headed over to the Encore. Normally we stay at the Wynn, but because of a big booking they could only offer us a discount room at Encore. I found out later that the software company Blizzard Entertainment had a corporate function at Wynn/Encore and had even booked the XS nightclub one night for a function which explains why they couldn't offer us a room at the Wynn.
The lineup to check-in at the Encore was long and took 20 minutes to get through. They had the registration area temporarily setup Wendy's-style with a line that filled the space. After navigating the registration, we headed up to the room. The Encore King room has the same general shape as the Wynn King room, but there is an open diving wall that separates the bedroom from the living room area. The Encore King is slightly bigger at 745 sq. feet vs. 640 sq. feet at the Wynn. The bathroom is basically the same, but with different sink and tap fixtures. Overall I thought the rooms were equivalent, but my wife preferred the Encore room's layout as well as the Chaise lounge-style couch and desk arrangement in the living room.
After unpacking, we decided to wander up the strip to gamble, grab supper, and then get some pictures from the Eiffel tower replica at Paris with my wife's full-frame DSLR that she got last Fall. This is where another difference between the Wynn and Encore showed up. It takes about 5 minutes extra time to get anywhere on the strip when starting from the Encore. It wasn't a huge deal for us, but wife found out later from the people at the hair salon in the Wynn that some people will refuse to walk the extra distance if their salon is busy. I imagine that for people where steps are more laborious it would make a big difference.
First stop was at Treasure Island to play the $0.50 full-pay Jacks or better machines. Here we hit a bit of luck. The way my wife likes to play video poker is we each put $100 in and when we get up $15 or more above where we started then we print a ticket and put in another $100. I didn't get any big hits, but I got a couple full houses to keep me from sinking and my wife got a four-of-a-kind. We managed to print off 8 tickets with small wins before we knocked off.
Next stop was the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace. The food at the buffet was very good, and very expensive, but that was partly a function of it being the Sunday supper buffet. There was all sorts of seafood, street tacos, dim sum, roasts, pasta, desserts, and much more. All the items we tried were very tasty. The space where you eat left something to be desired however. It was very open and felt jammed with tables and messy. They need something to break up sightlines in the eating area beyond what they have now. Given my experiences, I think value-for-money the Bellagio buffet is better overall. The food -- both in taste and selection -- is better at Caesar's buffet. The Wynn buffet, for me, falls below these two options.
After supper, we crossed over to the Bellagio for some $10 blackjack at the CSM pit by the cashier's cage. My first hand was a pair of 4's against a dealer 5 and the split gets me another 4 for three hands total. The first hand turns into 14 with a 10. The second hand gets a 3 and then a 10 for 17, and the final hand gets a 7 for 11 which I double, but the double card is a 3 for 14. At this point, I'm thinking I'm doomed as splits and doubles have not been kind to me over my last couple trips to Las Vegas. My fears rise as the dealer reveals a 5 back for 10 so I think I'm sunk, but he pulls a 2, 3, and an 8 for a bust. I'm happy and relieved all at the same time. However the rest of the session didn't go nearly as well as I lost 2 of 3 hands until I quit. Overall I was down only $60 which would have been $100 if that first hand didn't go in my favour.
At this point, my wife's feet are getting sore and developing blisters. She'd bought a new pair of sandals two weeks prior to our trip, but given its winter she hadn't worn them prior to break them in. I asked before our trip and also before we went out that night if wearing these new sandals was a good idea, but she thought she would be fine. I offer to head back to the hotel room, but she said we'd finish our plans to get pictures from the Eiffel Tower replica.
We bought our tickets and got up the elevator just after the sun had set and got some great shots facing North and South along Las Vegas Boulevard, but our timing was such that we couldn't get a good spot for the Bellagio fountain display at 7:30PM and we didn't want to wait for the next show because of my wife's feet. Here are a couple of the pictures below:
After leaving the observation deck, my wife told me to walk ahead and get in some craps at Casino Royale and she would slow down her pace and take a small peek at the retail kiosks they've put in in front of Bally's. When I got there both craps tables were open and busy and had $5 minimums and x100 odds. One person coloured up on the right side of the stickman so I squeezed in and bought in for $200. Feeling the energy of Las Vegas, I decided to bet pass line and place 6 and 8 even though the majority of my betting over the last couple years is on don't pass. Going against my normal pattern cost me to the tune of $60 as the game repeated a point made followed by 2 points lost for 30 minutes. However given our good fortune at video poker we were still up $40 overall by night's end.
Monday morning I woke up at 5:30AM Las Vegas time, showered up, and headed out to Casino Royale to get in another session of craps. This turned out to be my next big problem after my wife's feet. Casino Royale closes all table games between the hours of 5AM and 9AM each morning. I was so disappointed. I went back later in the week to ask about this and the stickman said they instituted this new policy in February.
For the last several years each morning of my trip, I've wandered down to Casino Royale for the $3 minimums and the empty table at 6AM so I could play the way I wanted at price point that I was very comfortable with. I guess it's another lesson in how things always change in Las Vegas. When I first started coming to Las Vegas in 2005, most strip casinos still had full pay Deuces Wild and Jacks or better for $0.25. You could find $5 minimum craps, and blackjack at several strip casinos if you poked around enough. It doesn't feel that long ago when I was the Las Vegas virgin listening to old-timers wax wistful about all blackjack games standing on 17. I guess I'm becoming a Las Vegas veteran who's noticing the cost-cutting changes on the strip, and the early morning table game shutdown at Casino Royale just brought that home for me.
After getting over my shock and disappointment, I decided to run another $100 through the Jacks or better at Treasure Island on my way back to the Encore. The leftover negative energy must have sunk into the machine as it quickly ate my $100. I hadn't yet scratched my itch to play craps so I splurged and played $10 minimum craps at the Wynn. I again tried pass line, but with some success this time as a couple points were made before a 7-out. I managed a small net win of $40.
Normally we eat at the Denny's at Casino Royale on Monday morning, but given the state of my wife's feet I decided we would just eat breakfast at Terrace Point Cafe in the hotel. I had the Three Egg Breakfast with coffee and juice while my wife had a muffin, seasonal berries, and a Peanut Butter smoothie. It cost us double what we'd spend at Denny's, but we didn't have to walk far and all the items were delicious.
After breakfast, both of us played the $0.50 Jacks or better at TI. My wife washed out quickly, but I managed three small wins before knocking off. Together we were down $60 before heading off to the Fashion Show mall to pick up a few items -- including a pair of comfortable sneakers for her blistered feet. Then after the mall my wife dragged me to a wool shop in Henderson.
Monday night supper was at Raku. I'd known about it from this board, but a couple from work went last year and raved about their tasting menu. We also went with the tasting menu. They started us off with the handmade tofu which my wife loved. I'm not crazy about tofu generally, but I enjoyed theirs. The next to come was sashimi. I'm not a big fish fan so I thought it was OK, but my wife enjoyed it as well. Next came a seaweed salad topped with baby squid. Both my wife and I, didn't like this dish as the textures were odd. Next to come were pork belly and beef with garlic skewers. I enjoyed both of these items, but my wife thought they were OK. Then came asparagus that was crisped with rice crackers which was fantastic. The next hot dish was a soup dish with the curved remains of a fried fish displayed in the bowl. The fish head with the teeth barred disturbed my wife, but the soup and meat was quite tasty. We didn't eat any of the fish carcass although we were told it was edible. The next item was the steamed foie gras egg custard which we understood was quite popular. We both found it fine, but nothing special. The second last dish was rice topped with chopped fish that neither of us liked at all. For dessert, we got the house sorbet which was very good. Overall half the dishes we loved and the other half we wouldn't order again. We would go back, but order a la carte rather than do the tasting menu. One final note about Raku is make a reservation well in advance. There isn't a lot of seating available and they don't have a lot of space for large bookings. While we were there, any number of groups walked in only to be turned away.
After dinner, my wife relaxed in the hotel room and I wandered the Encore and Wynn and looked for a blackjack table with a $15 minimum. The Encore tables were either $15 with 6:5 blackjack or $25 minimum. Eventually I found an empty table at the Wynn for $15 that paid 3:2 on blackjack, but hit a soft 17 with a 6 deck shoe. I played all of three hands before another couple people joined and as soon as that happened they hiked the table back up to $25 minimum. The play was largely back and forth. I was losing more than winning on straight up hands, but I seemed to win every split or double I made and even got a couple blackjacks in the 30 minutes I was there. Overall I made $120 on that session which meant I was up $20 for the day.
Tuesday morning I again wandered by Casino Royale to confirm that they were not open and I thought Harrah's might have a $5 game for me, but no luck there as it was fairly busy and $10 minimum. I circled around to TI and they too were $10, but the table was empty. If I'm going to play for $10 then I might as well play at Wynn/Encore and let them track me. Frustrated in finding a cheap craps game I again sank $100 into the Jacks or better at TI and even tried their double deck blackjack for two shuffles worth of cards. It wasn't meant to be as I lost two hands for every hand I won. I lost $120 so I was down overall $200 and Tuesday was just getting started.
I grabbed a few Danish from the Bouchon Bakery and some juice and fruit from the Walgreens next door for breakfast. Those Danish were very good, but you're paying about $4 a piece for them.
After breakfast while my wife was getting cleaned up, I snuck off to get in a little craps and blackjack downstairs at the Encore. The craps table was busy with a $10 minimum and I foolishly played pass line even though all my instincts said to play don't pass. The table made a few points of 6 and 8, but every other point lost. I was down another $180 cursing myself for sticking with the pass line. I then switched over to one of the hit soft 17 blackjack tables that was $15. It was back and forth again and I ended $10 up after giving the dealer a $5 tip, but I only played for about 20 minutes before my wife found me. At this point, I'm down $360 overall and thinking that my luck will turn really ugly the rest of the trip.
I thought that things might be busier in Las Vegas given that it was St. Patrick's Day so we decided to head out of town and visit Hoover Dam. We haven't been to the dam since the bridge was under construction so we wanted to get pictures from the bridge walkway as well as a few around the dam. We had a beautiful day to visit and got some nice pictures. Here are a couple:
Our timing was great as we got there ahead of the crowds and left just as the lineup at the security checkpoint for Hoover Dam was growing large.
For the afternoon, we rested by the pool for a couple hours as we had tickets for the late show of Cirque du Soleil's 'O'. It was nice to swim, unwind in the hot tub, and soak up a little of the Las Vegas sun.
After showering up to get the pool chlorine off us, my wife headed off to have her hair cut and coloured, and I walked up to play craps at Casino Royale. Again both tables were open for $5 and x100 odds. One woman at the end of the table would, after receiving the dice from the stickman, repeatedly pick up the dice and drop them. The stickman warned her several times, "No practice rolls ma'am" and the woman just replied, "I'm allowed to do this." Eventually the stickman got the floor person over and the floor person told her flat out, "You cannot do that ma'am. Place them however you'd like, but then pick them up and throw them." I tried to play pass line again with no luck and gave up after going down $90. I then headed back to Encore and played a little $15 blackjack on the soft 17 tables. Here things were working for me. I held my own on straight up hands and again the splits and doubles were paying off. I managed to win back $100 and at this point I was down $350 overall.
I still had about an hour before my wife was due back from the salon so I stopped by the craps table at Encore. The table was $10 and there was a group of three Italian American friends who poured a ton of money into hardways, feature bets, and the pass line. I played one point on the pass line which I lost and then stuck to the dark side thereafter. It was a blood bath for the pass line players with one point made for every 3 to 4 points that 7'd out. The one thing that wasn't working for me was don't come. Normally I roll out a don't come bet if the point is 4 or 10 just for a little extra juice. Those don't come losses cut into my winnings from don't pass, but I still managed a net win of $120 and I felt like my luck was turning from earlier in the day after two net wins.
We had show tickets Tuesday evening for 'O' at 10PM so we decided to have something small at the Bellagio's Cafe Gelato by the Art Gallery. I had a nice Italian Breakfast Panini that had prosciutto, egg, spinach and provolone with pesto mayo. My wife had a very nice tuna melt on a small baguette that she really enjoyed. I was pretty full from my sandwich so my wife took pity on me and got a half-scoop of my favourite pistachio gelato in her cup along with her selection for us to share.
We had a couple hours to kill before the show and I managed to find a $25 stand on 17 blackjack table at the Bellagio beside the MLife desk. The $10 CSM blackjack pit was in the process of opening and not yet an option. I've hardly ever played stand on 17 blackjack as the minimums are normally $50 or more for this game on the strip. There was a young Asian gentleman alone on first base when I got there who was playing with all of 4 green chips and making constant basic strategy errors -- like standing on 12 or 14 vs a dealer 10. He lasted one shuffle before washing out. An older gentleman joined us shortly after I joined and they quickly cranked the table back up to a $50 minimum. I must say there is a different feel to a stand on 17 game. I like that the strategy calls for standing on 17 vs. a dealer Ace instead of surrendering. Also you don't get the funny looks because you're not doubling a soft 19 vs. a 6 in that game. I bought in for $200 knowing that it could be a very short session. Things didn't start out well as the first 45 minutes had me going all the way down to $50, but things turned around in the second hour and I manage to crawl back to even when it was time to head off to the show.
The 10PM show was not well attended even though the 7:30PM show was sold out. The big feature of the show is the unique incorporation of the pool and stage. All the circus elements of a Cirque show centre around the water feature -- synchronized swimming, diving off of trapeze or other props, water and flame effects, and floating sets. To me, the star of the show is the stage itself. The clever raising and lowering of underwater platforms to have characters sinking into or rising out of the water is used wonderfully throughout the show. The stage can be completely dry, have shallow water, or deep diving areas even within a single scene. My wife's favourite part of the show was the music. The woman with the lead vocals was very good and my wife wants to track down the soundtrack to buy. Overall I would recommend 'O' and in comparison I like it as well as Cirque du Soleil's Beatles: Love and better than Mystère. It ties David Copperfield for our favourite show we've seen in Las Vegas so far.
Wednesday morning I didn't bother looking for a $5 craps table and just played at the Encore for $10. I decided to play exclusively pass line this time and don't come bets were also paying off for me as well. Shortly after I joined the same Italian Americans joined in and again poured money into the pass line and feature bets to no avail. It's strange that I didn't get any dirty looks from them or comments as I must have looked like the angel of death to them. I coloured up $120 above my buy-in and was happy that I managed to continue my recovery from Tuesday's beating.
Wednesday morning we wandered around the Grand Canal shops looking for art -- but more specifically paintings. We'd been to a nice shop in the section attached to the Palazzo last year and found a very nice painting that we ended up not buying. We were disappointed to find that the shop had closed and been replaced. My wife took a lot of art in high school and prefers paintings in the style of the Impressionists like Renoir, Monet, etc. We tried the Knuttel Gallery first and there was very little to our taste beyond a small section of a half-dozen or so acrylic paintings from a Russian artist which my wife liked, but I didn't find compelling. We then walked past the Regis Gallerie and my wife didn't want to go in as the front room had no paintings and was crammed with bronze knickknacks and sculptures. I spied a bunch of paintings that I knew would interest my wife on a second level of the shop and convinced her to come in. The shop owner struck up a conversation with my wife and he took us upstairs to the second floor. Here was a rabbit warren of furniture, sculptures, and paintings all for sale. The owner took us into the back halls where even more paintings were hung. All their paintings are original oils from European artists. My wife was over the moon with the selection after viewing the second floor. We ended up getting a fantastic deal on two oil paintings from two different artists. One is a scene looking out from a villa onto the sea in Italy and the other is a painting of daisies and other flowers in a round vase. My wife is very excited to get the paintings so she can try out various spots in the house to hang them.
Around lunchtime, we headed over to Red Rock Resort and Casino to play their full pay Deuces Wild for $0.25. I'd printed off the Wizard's simple strategy and we had to make reference to it often as we play almost exclusively Jacks or better video poker. I actually had a great streak on Deuces Wild hitting 3 wild royals, but my wife struggled early and got way down before recovering at the end to break even after hitting a couple five-of-a-kinds and one of her own wild royals.
After we got back, my wife headed up to the room to rest and I went in search of a $15 blackjack table in the Wynn or Encore. All the $15 tables I found were 6:5 so I ended up playing a $0.25 3-play Super Times Pay 8/5 Jacks or better game at the Wynn. I knew I shouldn't have played it, but I find the Super Times Pay feature fun. I actually got lucky and I got multipliers on a couple two pair and three of a kind hands. I also hit a couple four-of-a-kinds. I managed a small net win of $30.
On the way back to Encore, I found a mostly empty $10 craps table at the Wynn and quickly found out why. There was a very loud and boisterous don't player who'd just arrived in Las Vegas at one end of the table. He was telling the dealers about the prostitutes he'd booked and the table games he was going to hit. He wasn't a complete jerk per se, but the floor people came over a few times to ask him to tone it down. He was betting $300 backed with $500-800 lay odds on the don't pass with a $10 don't with $30 lay odds for the dealers. I joined him on the don'ts and his over-exuberance plus a steady stream of 7-outs meant that all but myself, the loud gentleman, and another player were left playing the don'ts. I'd never seen a craps table at the Wynn go all dark side. We managed to go around twice where no points were made and he was hugging the dealers and the stranger beside him. Then the table turned and I left after three points in a row were made. This nice run got me back even overall for the trip.
Next I played some $25 blackjack at Encore on the soft 17 games. The table was empty when I got there and a nice deaf dealer started me off with a blackjack. I was soon joined by two others. One gentleman was from LA and a long time Las Vegas visitor. He came to our table because he wasn't paying attention and ended up on a 6:5 table and didn't realize it until he got a blackjack and was angry that he was being short paid. He and the dealer struck up a conversation about the old Barbary Coast Casino in the early 80's and an old shift supervisor that used to physically and verbally abuse the dealers. My play was back and forth and I ended up even after tipping the dealer.
Thursday morning was our last morning and I got up a little later than usual and headed down for a final session of craps at Encore. This time I varied my strategy a little. When others were shooting I'd put out a place 8 and then if the shooter kept shooting points I'd also roll out a place 6 as well. I lost a few place bets without a single payout, but generally they were hitting once before a 7 came. Once the dice passed to me, I'd bet don't pass on myself. I failed to make a single point while others were at the table and even the don't come started to work for me. Don't pass would have been the best bet all around given how people were shooting, but eventually I was left alone at the table given all those sevens. I then went on a small streak of failing to make 3 points in a row and the dealers tried to join in by taking my tips and putting them on the don't pass with me. I refused telling them to take the sure thing and put the tip in the box. Things then went choppy and I started to make points of 5 and 9 and even lost on a 4. Overall I came out up $120 for the session and up $120 for the trip.
I then went on to have a last session of blackjack at Encore at a $15 table. I ended up betting $20 to keep surrender and blackjacks even and eventually ended up even after tipping the dealer $5.
My wife and I then headed over to TI to have one last shot at the $0.50 Jacks or better video poker. This session didn't go well at all. I quickly lost $100 and I was working on my second $100 as my wife washed all the way down to $5 on her machine. She then got dealt four to a straight flush -- 7, 9, 10, and Jack of clubs. She had me double check the strategy before drawing ending up with the 8 of clubs for a $125 dollar win. She was so excited to hit that straight flush and that was the first one we've hit ever. I managed to recover slightly to the point where we were down only $60 on the session, but up $60 overall.
We then packed up and checked out of the Encore by 10:30AM. We headed over to the Bellagio to kill some time as our flight out wasn't until 2:15PM and I thought we'd head to the airport at noon. My wife went over to the Miracle Mile looking for a Troll Beads store. Knowing we were up slightly I threw caution to the winds and put $100 into a $1 9/5 Super Times Pay Jacks or better machine playing a single line for $6 hoping to hit something big and came up empty. I then played some $15 hit soft 17 blackjack and managed to lose $20 on that session.
As we headed off to the airport, I chided myself for taking a risk on that Super Times Pay machine as I could have had a trip where I came back up overall even though it wasn't a huge win. In another thread, I posted my hopes for this trip and I must say that except for not hitting our first single-line royal flush and Alex Stratta's new restaurant not being open all my other hopes were met. My wife was telling me she already missed Las Vegas as we had a very grey Saturday here at home. We will be back next year to enjoy a break from our Canadian winter, see some shows, eat at interesting restaurants, and try our luck at the casinos.
We popped over to the car rental centre and getting the car arranged took longer than usual. They tried to get me to upgrade from the mid-sized I'd booked, but I refused and they ended up giving me a new Hyundai Elantra with 500 miles on it and no plates, but a temporary sticker. From there, we headed over to the Encore. Normally we stay at the Wynn, but because of a big booking they could only offer us a discount room at Encore. I found out later that the software company Blizzard Entertainment had a corporate function at Wynn/Encore and had even booked the XS nightclub one night for a function which explains why they couldn't offer us a room at the Wynn.
The lineup to check-in at the Encore was long and took 20 minutes to get through. They had the registration area temporarily setup Wendy's-style with a line that filled the space. After navigating the registration, we headed up to the room. The Encore King room has the same general shape as the Wynn King room, but there is an open diving wall that separates the bedroom from the living room area. The Encore King is slightly bigger at 745 sq. feet vs. 640 sq. feet at the Wynn. The bathroom is basically the same, but with different sink and tap fixtures. Overall I thought the rooms were equivalent, but my wife preferred the Encore room's layout as well as the Chaise lounge-style couch and desk arrangement in the living room.
After unpacking, we decided to wander up the strip to gamble, grab supper, and then get some pictures from the Eiffel tower replica at Paris with my wife's full-frame DSLR that she got last Fall. This is where another difference between the Wynn and Encore showed up. It takes about 5 minutes extra time to get anywhere on the strip when starting from the Encore. It wasn't a huge deal for us, but wife found out later from the people at the hair salon in the Wynn that some people will refuse to walk the extra distance if their salon is busy. I imagine that for people where steps are more laborious it would make a big difference.
First stop was at Treasure Island to play the $0.50 full-pay Jacks or better machines. Here we hit a bit of luck. The way my wife likes to play video poker is we each put $100 in and when we get up $15 or more above where we started then we print a ticket and put in another $100. I didn't get any big hits, but I got a couple full houses to keep me from sinking and my wife got a four-of-a-kind. We managed to print off 8 tickets with small wins before we knocked off.
Next stop was the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace. The food at the buffet was very good, and very expensive, but that was partly a function of it being the Sunday supper buffet. There was all sorts of seafood, street tacos, dim sum, roasts, pasta, desserts, and much more. All the items we tried were very tasty. The space where you eat left something to be desired however. It was very open and felt jammed with tables and messy. They need something to break up sightlines in the eating area beyond what they have now. Given my experiences, I think value-for-money the Bellagio buffet is better overall. The food -- both in taste and selection -- is better at Caesar's buffet. The Wynn buffet, for me, falls below these two options.
After supper, we crossed over to the Bellagio for some $10 blackjack at the CSM pit by the cashier's cage. My first hand was a pair of 4's against a dealer 5 and the split gets me another 4 for three hands total. The first hand turns into 14 with a 10. The second hand gets a 3 and then a 10 for 17, and the final hand gets a 7 for 11 which I double, but the double card is a 3 for 14. At this point, I'm thinking I'm doomed as splits and doubles have not been kind to me over my last couple trips to Las Vegas. My fears rise as the dealer reveals a 5 back for 10 so I think I'm sunk, but he pulls a 2, 3, and an 8 for a bust. I'm happy and relieved all at the same time. However the rest of the session didn't go nearly as well as I lost 2 of 3 hands until I quit. Overall I was down only $60 which would have been $100 if that first hand didn't go in my favour.
At this point, my wife's feet are getting sore and developing blisters. She'd bought a new pair of sandals two weeks prior to our trip, but given its winter she hadn't worn them prior to break them in. I asked before our trip and also before we went out that night if wearing these new sandals was a good idea, but she thought she would be fine. I offer to head back to the hotel room, but she said we'd finish our plans to get pictures from the Eiffel Tower replica.
We bought our tickets and got up the elevator just after the sun had set and got some great shots facing North and South along Las Vegas Boulevard, but our timing was such that we couldn't get a good spot for the Bellagio fountain display at 7:30PM and we didn't want to wait for the next show because of my wife's feet. Here are a couple of the pictures below:
After leaving the observation deck, my wife told me to walk ahead and get in some craps at Casino Royale and she would slow down her pace and take a small peek at the retail kiosks they've put in in front of Bally's. When I got there both craps tables were open and busy and had $5 minimums and x100 odds. One person coloured up on the right side of the stickman so I squeezed in and bought in for $200. Feeling the energy of Las Vegas, I decided to bet pass line and place 6 and 8 even though the majority of my betting over the last couple years is on don't pass. Going against my normal pattern cost me to the tune of $60 as the game repeated a point made followed by 2 points lost for 30 minutes. However given our good fortune at video poker we were still up $40 overall by night's end.
Monday morning I woke up at 5:30AM Las Vegas time, showered up, and headed out to Casino Royale to get in another session of craps. This turned out to be my next big problem after my wife's feet. Casino Royale closes all table games between the hours of 5AM and 9AM each morning. I was so disappointed. I went back later in the week to ask about this and the stickman said they instituted this new policy in February.
For the last several years each morning of my trip, I've wandered down to Casino Royale for the $3 minimums and the empty table at 6AM so I could play the way I wanted at price point that I was very comfortable with. I guess it's another lesson in how things always change in Las Vegas. When I first started coming to Las Vegas in 2005, most strip casinos still had full pay Deuces Wild and Jacks or better for $0.25. You could find $5 minimum craps, and blackjack at several strip casinos if you poked around enough. It doesn't feel that long ago when I was the Las Vegas virgin listening to old-timers wax wistful about all blackjack games standing on 17. I guess I'm becoming a Las Vegas veteran who's noticing the cost-cutting changes on the strip, and the early morning table game shutdown at Casino Royale just brought that home for me.
After getting over my shock and disappointment, I decided to run another $100 through the Jacks or better at Treasure Island on my way back to the Encore. The leftover negative energy must have sunk into the machine as it quickly ate my $100. I hadn't yet scratched my itch to play craps so I splurged and played $10 minimum craps at the Wynn. I again tried pass line, but with some success this time as a couple points were made before a 7-out. I managed a small net win of $40.
Normally we eat at the Denny's at Casino Royale on Monday morning, but given the state of my wife's feet I decided we would just eat breakfast at Terrace Point Cafe in the hotel. I had the Three Egg Breakfast with coffee and juice while my wife had a muffin, seasonal berries, and a Peanut Butter smoothie. It cost us double what we'd spend at Denny's, but we didn't have to walk far and all the items were delicious.
After breakfast, both of us played the $0.50 Jacks or better at TI. My wife washed out quickly, but I managed three small wins before knocking off. Together we were down $60 before heading off to the Fashion Show mall to pick up a few items -- including a pair of comfortable sneakers for her blistered feet. Then after the mall my wife dragged me to a wool shop in Henderson.
Monday night supper was at Raku. I'd known about it from this board, but a couple from work went last year and raved about their tasting menu. We also went with the tasting menu. They started us off with the handmade tofu which my wife loved. I'm not crazy about tofu generally, but I enjoyed theirs. The next to come was sashimi. I'm not a big fish fan so I thought it was OK, but my wife enjoyed it as well. Next came a seaweed salad topped with baby squid. Both my wife and I, didn't like this dish as the textures were odd. Next to come were pork belly and beef with garlic skewers. I enjoyed both of these items, but my wife thought they were OK. Then came asparagus that was crisped with rice crackers which was fantastic. The next hot dish was a soup dish with the curved remains of a fried fish displayed in the bowl. The fish head with the teeth barred disturbed my wife, but the soup and meat was quite tasty. We didn't eat any of the fish carcass although we were told it was edible. The next item was the steamed foie gras egg custard which we understood was quite popular. We both found it fine, but nothing special. The second last dish was rice topped with chopped fish that neither of us liked at all. For dessert, we got the house sorbet which was very good. Overall half the dishes we loved and the other half we wouldn't order again. We would go back, but order a la carte rather than do the tasting menu. One final note about Raku is make a reservation well in advance. There isn't a lot of seating available and they don't have a lot of space for large bookings. While we were there, any number of groups walked in only to be turned away.
After dinner, my wife relaxed in the hotel room and I wandered the Encore and Wynn and looked for a blackjack table with a $15 minimum. The Encore tables were either $15 with 6:5 blackjack or $25 minimum. Eventually I found an empty table at the Wynn for $15 that paid 3:2 on blackjack, but hit a soft 17 with a 6 deck shoe. I played all of three hands before another couple people joined and as soon as that happened they hiked the table back up to $25 minimum. The play was largely back and forth. I was losing more than winning on straight up hands, but I seemed to win every split or double I made and even got a couple blackjacks in the 30 minutes I was there. Overall I made $120 on that session which meant I was up $20 for the day.
Tuesday morning I again wandered by Casino Royale to confirm that they were not open and I thought Harrah's might have a $5 game for me, but no luck there as it was fairly busy and $10 minimum. I circled around to TI and they too were $10, but the table was empty. If I'm going to play for $10 then I might as well play at Wynn/Encore and let them track me. Frustrated in finding a cheap craps game I again sank $100 into the Jacks or better at TI and even tried their double deck blackjack for two shuffles worth of cards. It wasn't meant to be as I lost two hands for every hand I won. I lost $120 so I was down overall $200 and Tuesday was just getting started.
I grabbed a few Danish from the Bouchon Bakery and some juice and fruit from the Walgreens next door for breakfast. Those Danish were very good, but you're paying about $4 a piece for them.
After breakfast while my wife was getting cleaned up, I snuck off to get in a little craps and blackjack downstairs at the Encore. The craps table was busy with a $10 minimum and I foolishly played pass line even though all my instincts said to play don't pass. The table made a few points of 6 and 8, but every other point lost. I was down another $180 cursing myself for sticking with the pass line. I then switched over to one of the hit soft 17 blackjack tables that was $15. It was back and forth again and I ended $10 up after giving the dealer a $5 tip, but I only played for about 20 minutes before my wife found me. At this point, I'm down $360 overall and thinking that my luck will turn really ugly the rest of the trip.
I thought that things might be busier in Las Vegas given that it was St. Patrick's Day so we decided to head out of town and visit Hoover Dam. We haven't been to the dam since the bridge was under construction so we wanted to get pictures from the bridge walkway as well as a few around the dam. We had a beautiful day to visit and got some nice pictures. Here are a couple:
Our timing was great as we got there ahead of the crowds and left just as the lineup at the security checkpoint for Hoover Dam was growing large.
For the afternoon, we rested by the pool for a couple hours as we had tickets for the late show of Cirque du Soleil's 'O'. It was nice to swim, unwind in the hot tub, and soak up a little of the Las Vegas sun.
After showering up to get the pool chlorine off us, my wife headed off to have her hair cut and coloured, and I walked up to play craps at Casino Royale. Again both tables were open for $5 and x100 odds. One woman at the end of the table would, after receiving the dice from the stickman, repeatedly pick up the dice and drop them. The stickman warned her several times, "No practice rolls ma'am" and the woman just replied, "I'm allowed to do this." Eventually the stickman got the floor person over and the floor person told her flat out, "You cannot do that ma'am. Place them however you'd like, but then pick them up and throw them." I tried to play pass line again with no luck and gave up after going down $90. I then headed back to Encore and played a little $15 blackjack on the soft 17 tables. Here things were working for me. I held my own on straight up hands and again the splits and doubles were paying off. I managed to win back $100 and at this point I was down $350 overall.
I still had about an hour before my wife was due back from the salon so I stopped by the craps table at Encore. The table was $10 and there was a group of three Italian American friends who poured a ton of money into hardways, feature bets, and the pass line. I played one point on the pass line which I lost and then stuck to the dark side thereafter. It was a blood bath for the pass line players with one point made for every 3 to 4 points that 7'd out. The one thing that wasn't working for me was don't come. Normally I roll out a don't come bet if the point is 4 or 10 just for a little extra juice. Those don't come losses cut into my winnings from don't pass, but I still managed a net win of $120 and I felt like my luck was turning from earlier in the day after two net wins.
We had show tickets Tuesday evening for 'O' at 10PM so we decided to have something small at the Bellagio's Cafe Gelato by the Art Gallery. I had a nice Italian Breakfast Panini that had prosciutto, egg, spinach and provolone with pesto mayo. My wife had a very nice tuna melt on a small baguette that she really enjoyed. I was pretty full from my sandwich so my wife took pity on me and got a half-scoop of my favourite pistachio gelato in her cup along with her selection for us to share.
We had a couple hours to kill before the show and I managed to find a $25 stand on 17 blackjack table at the Bellagio beside the MLife desk. The $10 CSM blackjack pit was in the process of opening and not yet an option. I've hardly ever played stand on 17 blackjack as the minimums are normally $50 or more for this game on the strip. There was a young Asian gentleman alone on first base when I got there who was playing with all of 4 green chips and making constant basic strategy errors -- like standing on 12 or 14 vs a dealer 10. He lasted one shuffle before washing out. An older gentleman joined us shortly after I joined and they quickly cranked the table back up to a $50 minimum. I must say there is a different feel to a stand on 17 game. I like that the strategy calls for standing on 17 vs. a dealer Ace instead of surrendering. Also you don't get the funny looks because you're not doubling a soft 19 vs. a 6 in that game. I bought in for $200 knowing that it could be a very short session. Things didn't start out well as the first 45 minutes had me going all the way down to $50, but things turned around in the second hour and I manage to crawl back to even when it was time to head off to the show.
The 10PM show was not well attended even though the 7:30PM show was sold out. The big feature of the show is the unique incorporation of the pool and stage. All the circus elements of a Cirque show centre around the water feature -- synchronized swimming, diving off of trapeze or other props, water and flame effects, and floating sets. To me, the star of the show is the stage itself. The clever raising and lowering of underwater platforms to have characters sinking into or rising out of the water is used wonderfully throughout the show. The stage can be completely dry, have shallow water, or deep diving areas even within a single scene. My wife's favourite part of the show was the music. The woman with the lead vocals was very good and my wife wants to track down the soundtrack to buy. Overall I would recommend 'O' and in comparison I like it as well as Cirque du Soleil's Beatles: Love and better than Mystère. It ties David Copperfield for our favourite show we've seen in Las Vegas so far.
Wednesday morning I didn't bother looking for a $5 craps table and just played at the Encore for $10. I decided to play exclusively pass line this time and don't come bets were also paying off for me as well. Shortly after I joined the same Italian Americans joined in and again poured money into the pass line and feature bets to no avail. It's strange that I didn't get any dirty looks from them or comments as I must have looked like the angel of death to them. I coloured up $120 above my buy-in and was happy that I managed to continue my recovery from Tuesday's beating.
Wednesday morning we wandered around the Grand Canal shops looking for art -- but more specifically paintings. We'd been to a nice shop in the section attached to the Palazzo last year and found a very nice painting that we ended up not buying. We were disappointed to find that the shop had closed and been replaced. My wife took a lot of art in high school and prefers paintings in the style of the Impressionists like Renoir, Monet, etc. We tried the Knuttel Gallery first and there was very little to our taste beyond a small section of a half-dozen or so acrylic paintings from a Russian artist which my wife liked, but I didn't find compelling. We then walked past the Regis Gallerie and my wife didn't want to go in as the front room had no paintings and was crammed with bronze knickknacks and sculptures. I spied a bunch of paintings that I knew would interest my wife on a second level of the shop and convinced her to come in. The shop owner struck up a conversation with my wife and he took us upstairs to the second floor. Here was a rabbit warren of furniture, sculptures, and paintings all for sale. The owner took us into the back halls where even more paintings were hung. All their paintings are original oils from European artists. My wife was over the moon with the selection after viewing the second floor. We ended up getting a fantastic deal on two oil paintings from two different artists. One is a scene looking out from a villa onto the sea in Italy and the other is a painting of daisies and other flowers in a round vase. My wife is very excited to get the paintings so she can try out various spots in the house to hang them.
Around lunchtime, we headed over to Red Rock Resort and Casino to play their full pay Deuces Wild for $0.25. I'd printed off the Wizard's simple strategy and we had to make reference to it often as we play almost exclusively Jacks or better video poker. I actually had a great streak on Deuces Wild hitting 3 wild royals, but my wife struggled early and got way down before recovering at the end to break even after hitting a couple five-of-a-kinds and one of her own wild royals.
After we got back, my wife headed up to the room to rest and I went in search of a $15 blackjack table in the Wynn or Encore. All the $15 tables I found were 6:5 so I ended up playing a $0.25 3-play Super Times Pay 8/5 Jacks or better game at the Wynn. I knew I shouldn't have played it, but I find the Super Times Pay feature fun. I actually got lucky and I got multipliers on a couple two pair and three of a kind hands. I also hit a couple four-of-a-kinds. I managed a small net win of $30.
On the way back to Encore, I found a mostly empty $10 craps table at the Wynn and quickly found out why. There was a very loud and boisterous don't player who'd just arrived in Las Vegas at one end of the table. He was telling the dealers about the prostitutes he'd booked and the table games he was going to hit. He wasn't a complete jerk per se, but the floor people came over a few times to ask him to tone it down. He was betting $300 backed with $500-800 lay odds on the don't pass with a $10 don't with $30 lay odds for the dealers. I joined him on the don'ts and his over-exuberance plus a steady stream of 7-outs meant that all but myself, the loud gentleman, and another player were left playing the don'ts. I'd never seen a craps table at the Wynn go all dark side. We managed to go around twice where no points were made and he was hugging the dealers and the stranger beside him. Then the table turned and I left after three points in a row were made. This nice run got me back even overall for the trip.
Next I played some $25 blackjack at Encore on the soft 17 games. The table was empty when I got there and a nice deaf dealer started me off with a blackjack. I was soon joined by two others. One gentleman was from LA and a long time Las Vegas visitor. He came to our table because he wasn't paying attention and ended up on a 6:5 table and didn't realize it until he got a blackjack and was angry that he was being short paid. He and the dealer struck up a conversation about the old Barbary Coast Casino in the early 80's and an old shift supervisor that used to physically and verbally abuse the dealers. My play was back and forth and I ended up even after tipping the dealer.
Thursday morning was our last morning and I got up a little later than usual and headed down for a final session of craps at Encore. This time I varied my strategy a little. When others were shooting I'd put out a place 8 and then if the shooter kept shooting points I'd also roll out a place 6 as well. I lost a few place bets without a single payout, but generally they were hitting once before a 7 came. Once the dice passed to me, I'd bet don't pass on myself. I failed to make a single point while others were at the table and even the don't come started to work for me. Don't pass would have been the best bet all around given how people were shooting, but eventually I was left alone at the table given all those sevens. I then went on a small streak of failing to make 3 points in a row and the dealers tried to join in by taking my tips and putting them on the don't pass with me. I refused telling them to take the sure thing and put the tip in the box. Things then went choppy and I started to make points of 5 and 9 and even lost on a 4. Overall I came out up $120 for the session and up $120 for the trip.
I then went on to have a last session of blackjack at Encore at a $15 table. I ended up betting $20 to keep surrender and blackjacks even and eventually ended up even after tipping the dealer $5.
My wife and I then headed over to TI to have one last shot at the $0.50 Jacks or better video poker. This session didn't go well at all. I quickly lost $100 and I was working on my second $100 as my wife washed all the way down to $5 on her machine. She then got dealt four to a straight flush -- 7, 9, 10, and Jack of clubs. She had me double check the strategy before drawing ending up with the 8 of clubs for a $125 dollar win. She was so excited to hit that straight flush and that was the first one we've hit ever. I managed to recover slightly to the point where we were down only $60 on the session, but up $60 overall.
We then packed up and checked out of the Encore by 10:30AM. We headed over to the Bellagio to kill some time as our flight out wasn't until 2:15PM and I thought we'd head to the airport at noon. My wife went over to the Miracle Mile looking for a Troll Beads store. Knowing we were up slightly I threw caution to the winds and put $100 into a $1 9/5 Super Times Pay Jacks or better machine playing a single line for $6 hoping to hit something big and came up empty. I then played some $15 hit soft 17 blackjack and managed to lose $20 on that session.
As we headed off to the airport, I chided myself for taking a risk on that Super Times Pay machine as I could have had a trip where I came back up overall even though it wasn't a huge win. In another thread, I posted my hopes for this trip and I must say that except for not hitting our first single-line royal flush and Alex Stratta's new restaurant not being open all my other hopes were met. My wife was telling me she already missed Las Vegas as we had a very grey Saturday here at home. We will be back next year to enjoy a break from our Canadian winter, see some shows, eat at interesting restaurants, and try our luck at the casinos.
March 22nd, 2015 at 9:39:26 AM
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A very enjoyable TR!
And beautiful pictures from the new camera.
Thank you.
And beautiful pictures from the new camera.
Thank you.
I don't know everything but I know a lot.
March 22nd, 2015 at 11:38:24 AM
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Great report, hms, thanks! Sorry to hear Casino Royale dumped their early morning cheap craps; I would've thought they got enough action to keep it available based on what you and others have said.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
March 22nd, 2015 at 12:14:37 PM
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Wonderful trip report - those photos look like they could be in a magazine - very nice
March 22nd, 2015 at 1:16:36 PM
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We popped over to the car rental centre and getting the car arranged took longer than usual. They tried to get me to upgrade from the mid-sized I'd booked, but I refused and they ended up giving me a new Hyundai Elantra with 500 miles on it and no plates, but a temporary sticker.
I have rented from DOLLAR each of my trips to Vegas....first time I stood in line for 60 or 70 minute.....not fun way to start the trip. So next trip I joined their members club before booking online
http://www.dollar.com/Express/MainNonMember.aspx
When I book my car well in advance I enter my number which allows me to walk outside to the pickup booth present my drivers license and credit card to the attendant and be on my way usually in 5 minutes or so. I always shake my head at those folks standing in line wasting their vacation time away
Flying out of Pearson over Buffalo? guess it depends which side of the 427 you reside on .... buddy from Burlington area says the difference in flight prices is crazzy
Great pics....love seeing those as I do not like heights and will never see Hoover from the bridge or Vegas from any of the high points around the city
Speaking of winter in Canada.... mother nature just couldn't resist sending central Alberta a SPRING wakeup call last night...half a foot of fresh snow
I have rented from DOLLAR each of my trips to Vegas....first time I stood in line for 60 or 70 minute.....not fun way to start the trip. So next trip I joined their members club before booking online
http://www.dollar.com/Express/MainNonMember.aspx
When I book my car well in advance I enter my number which allows me to walk outside to the pickup booth present my drivers license and credit card to the attendant and be on my way usually in 5 minutes or so. I always shake my head at those folks standing in line wasting their vacation time away
Flying out of Pearson over Buffalo? guess it depends which side of the 427 you reside on .... buddy from Burlington area says the difference in flight prices is crazzy
Great pics....love seeing those as I do not like heights and will never see Hoover from the bridge or Vegas from any of the high points around the city
Speaking of winter in Canada.... mother nature just couldn't resist sending central Alberta a SPRING wakeup call last night...half a foot of fresh snow
March 22nd, 2015 at 2:15:28 PM
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Excellent trip report. The pics are post card quality. Thanks.
March 22nd, 2015 at 2:32:51 PM
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Thanks for the compliments on the pictures, but I can't take much credit. The first three are shot by my wife. As I said in the TR, she took a lot of art in high school and has a good eye for these things. I can only claim credit for the guy on the recumbent bike.
The camera is a Canon 6D with the EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM lens.
--helpmespock
The camera is a Canon 6D with the EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM lens.
--helpmespock
March 22nd, 2015 at 2:37:52 PM
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Quote: beachbumbabsGreat report, hms, thanks! Sorry to hear Casino Royale dumped their early morning cheap craps; I would've thought they got enough action to keep it available based on what you and others have said.
I was crushed to go in there early Monday morning and see that small sandwich board sign displayed on one of the craps tables.
It was never super busy in there at 6AM on my March Break trips. It was empty about 1 in 3 times and at most it was a couple players if occupied.
Also I never saw the $3 minimum either. It was always the $5 with 100x odds. I'll put something in the Casino Royale thread about my discoveries.
--helpmespock
March 22nd, 2015 at 2:54:41 PM
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Quote: coilmanSo next trip I joined their members club before booking online
http://www.dollar.com/Express/MainNonMember.aspx
When I book my car well in advance I enter my number which allows me to walk outside to the pickup booth present my drivers license and credit card to the attendant and be on my way usually in 5 minutes or so.
That's a great tip thanks! I'm one of those folks wasting their time in the line. I typically use hotwire.com or carrentals.com to get the cheapest price, but it took 35 minutes from arriving at the line-up to actually getting the car from the booth outside. I'll certainly try your way next year.
Quote: coilmanFlying out of Pearson over Buffalo? guess it depends which side of the 427 you reside on .... buddy from Burlington area says the difference in flight prices is crazzy
Great pics....love seeing those as I do not like heights and will never see Hoover from the bridge or Vegas from any of the high points around the city
Speaking of winter in Canada.... mother nature just couldn't resist sending central Alberta a SPRING wakeup call last night...half a foot of fresh snow
We fly out of Pearson. We can get to Pearson door-to-door in 50 minutes in good traffic.
We had a bad experience on our 15th wedding anniversary flying back from Las Vegas through Denver so my wife insists on direct flights now. I've looked into Detroit and Buffalo for cheaper flights. Detroit has direct flights to Las Vegas for cheap, but that's a 3 hour drive for us one-way. Buffalo's flights always seem to be through New York or other connections so we've avoided them. This last trip I booked the WestJet direct flights out of Pearson for $600 a person. Mind you I booked in June 2014 for the flight in March 2015.
I've got a buddy in Calgary and he's said the winter hasn't been too bad in Alberta. He said there were quite a few chinooks to keep things reasonable. Where we live in Ontario the temperatures stayed below freezing from about the first week in January until the first week in March.
--helpmespock
March 22nd, 2015 at 10:29:07 PM
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Great pics and report!
March 22nd, 2015 at 10:48:43 PM
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Nice report and great pics.
Regarding craps at Casino Royal, do they still have the bounciest tables in Vegas? Last time I played there the dice would fly off the table every third roll or so. It was especially difficult to keep them on th table if you were shooting from the far end. This along with the crowded conditions slowed the game down to a crawl and drove me crazy!
Regarding craps at Casino Royal, do they still have the bounciest tables in Vegas? Last time I played there the dice would fly off the table every third roll or so. It was especially difficult to keep them on th table if you were shooting from the far end. This along with the crowded conditions slowed the game down to a crawl and drove me crazy!
March 23rd, 2015 at 5:55:24 AM
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Quote: AB21Nice report and great pics.
Regarding craps at Casino Royal, do they still have the bounciest tables in Vegas? Last time I played there the dice would fly off the table every third roll or so. It was especially difficult to keep them on th table if you were shooting from the far end. This along with the crowded conditions slowed the game down to a crawl and drove me crazy!
I was only there a couple times, but the conditions you describe are exactly what was going on. It was packed and a very slow pace to the game as well as lots of dice off the table when people shot from the ends.
I don't want to give up on Casino Royale as I have such fond memories gambling there, but the shutdown in the morning and the busy/slow pace during the day overcame my desire for the $5 minimum.
--helpmespock
March 23rd, 2015 at 8:05:54 AM
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I was going to guess Canon from the color rendering; I have a 7D, and the photos have the same characteristics.
Nice trip report, I felt like I was walking behind you and watching. Thanks.
Nice trip report, I felt like I was walking behind you and watching. Thanks.
A falling knife has no handle.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:52:42 AM
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I was curious to read about your trip to the Red rock casino. Had you been there before or was it a random visit? I usually drive to Vegas but I've never gone to the valley casinos like Red Rock or the M Resort. Do you have a personal favorite in the valley? I think next trip I'll try to hit one of them up.
I guess I'm wondering if those valley casinos have better table limits and odds than the strip casinos. Things like 3/2 blackjack and $5 craps tables.
I guess I'm wondering if those valley casinos have better table limits and odds than the strip casinos. Things like 3/2 blackjack and $5 craps tables.
March 23rd, 2015 at 11:56:51 AM
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Most of the off strip casinos will have favourable craps minimums and odds. Red Rock offers $5 minimums every time I've been there and 10x odds. I haven't been to M so can't comment on their setup. Blackjack will vary but minimums will be low. Just rules might not be great. Check out the blackjack survey under guides for more info.
March 24th, 2015 at 3:48:18 PM
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Quote: Wulfgar1224I was curious to read about your trip to the Red rock casino. Had you been there before or was it a random visit? I usually drive to Vegas but I've never gone to the valley casinos like Red Rock or the M Resort. Do you have a personal favorite in the valley? I think next trip I'll try to hit one of them up.
I guess I'm wondering if those valley casinos have better table limits and odds than the strip casinos. Things like 3/2 blackjack and $5 craps tables.
We've been there before. Our trips have included going to Marche Bacchus which is on the same side of the city so we've stopped in to gamble before having dinner.
The original plan was to spend a little time hiking in Red Rock Canyon to get some pictures, and then gamble at Red Rock Casino however the blisters on my wife's feet nixed that plan. We just gambled instead. It's a nice casino and they have full-pay Deuces Wild which was our primary reason for going. Craps was $10 minimum when I was there, but that was the middle of the afternoon. They do have a lot of options for blackjack there although I didn't play.
My cousin's wife is a spa connoisseur and told us that the Red Rock Spa is an excellent one.
I would say if you're in the area then stop by. It's a nice casino and if you're a video poker player there are lots of options that are 100%+ payouts.
Sorry I've never been to M Resort.
--helpmespock
March 24th, 2015 at 4:56:45 PM
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Nice report. You sound like you gamble at about my level so I am wondering how you manage a discounted room at Wynn / Encore. I like to stay at Mirage and try to keep my gambling mostly at MGM properties for that reason. I do like to play $5 UTH which MGM never has so I hit one of the CET properties or play downtown for that.
A few years ago I used to get great offers from Mirage but now just pretty small discounts. I have stayed at the Wynn once and love the rooms and the location is just as good as Mirage, but my flea-level play has never gotten me more than a tiny discount offer there.
I agree on the car rental advice. Vegas is a pretty cheap rental car market so I always use Avis Preferred rather than going for the cheapest deal. Walking right to my car with no line is the best way to start Vegas Time.
A few years ago I used to get great offers from Mirage but now just pretty small discounts. I have stayed at the Wynn once and love the rooms and the location is just as good as Mirage, but my flea-level play has never gotten me more than a tiny discount offer there.
I agree on the car rental advice. Vegas is a pretty cheap rental car market so I always use Avis Preferred rather than going for the cheapest deal. Walking right to my car with no line is the best way to start Vegas Time.
March 24th, 2015 at 5:09:30 PM
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Quote: Wulfgar1224I was curious to read about your trip to the Red rock casino. Had you been there before or was it a random visit? I usually drive to Vegas but I've never gone to the valley casinos like Red Rock or the M Resort. Do you have a personal favorite in the valley? I think next trip I'll try to hit one of them up.
I'm surely no expert, having only been 3 times covering two properties, but I love The M. I love that it's in the middle of nowhere. I found it to be very clean both on the floor and in the rooms. It (as of three years ago) had a large sportsbook, poker, 3:2 BJ with not terrible rules, a good-ish selection of Asian games, good food (if a bit pricey for this homebody), fun and engaging dealers, and on and on.
If I had to say something bad, I can really only think of 2 things. One is the fragrance. I think they go too heavy on the fig oil or whatever it is they pump into the joint. You do get used to it, but walking in is always like a punch in the face. And I dunno if it's typical, but it might be god awful expensive. All my rooms have always been paid for, but we once tried to rent a room for an extra night after a conference. I don't recall the exact amount quoted, but I do recall that it was over $400.
If ever I go back, I would hope to stay at The M.
The opinions of this moderator are for entertainment purposes only.
March 24th, 2015 at 8:21:50 PM
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Quote: jml24Nice report. You sound like you gamble at about my level so I am wondering how you manage a discounted room at Wynn / Encore.
How it started was we signed up for the Wynn Player's card back in 2008. Back then you could earn a free buffet on 100 points so we played some $0.25 full-pay Jacks or better to earn the buffets and then the Wynn started e-mailing us offers for discounted rooms. I don't even know how many points you need for a buffet these days, but it's certainly not 100. It costs $25 a hand for Full-pay Jacks or better these days a the Wynn too.
We've stayed at the Wynn/Encore now 7 years in a row. Typically their offers don't run into March so I've had to e-mail/call them to see what they could offer me. I've written about trying to get offers out of them in the past:
A March 2015 Trip Question
Getting a discounted room?
I've never gotten any comps from Wynn beyond the discounted rooms and occasionally the free buffets that come with the offer.
My wife has treated herself by getting her hair done at their salons probably about three times. I suspect they track that.
I'd prefer $5 minimum craps and $10 blackjack, but the Wynn/Encore just don't offer that so I end up playing an hour or two per day of blackjack at a $15 minimum and an hour or two a day of craps at $10 minimum. I played a lot more this trip, but I suspect I'll get nothing out of them beyond the discounted room offer that may or may not extend into March 2016 like I'll need it to.
My advice is sign up for the players card then let them track your gambling there at whatever amount you're comfortable with then see if anything comes of it.
--helpmespock
