Trip Report - 08/20 to 08/25

Hello everyone! It has been a while (2.5 years) after my last visit to Vegas. I'm a second timer! My first experience was reported HERE if anyone is interested.

DAY 1 - 08/20/15
It was a boys' get away. Me, my 22yo brother, my dad and an uncle. I am 26 years old, and will be getting married on October 8th. So this was sort of a bachelor's party as well. After our first stay back in 2013 (and awesome impression) at the Paris we decided to go for it again. We arrived from GRU (Guarulhos, Brazil) at 2:30pm after a stop in Mexico City, for a total trip of 22 hours. Needless to say we were tired. Got really cheap tickets from Aeromexico, which I highly recommend. Arrival at the hotel was Tuesday at 3:10pm, and after a small line, we were checked in. Tried the U$20 trick, desk took it, but got me no upgrades, except granted me a late checkout Monday at 1pm. Had a standard room at the 14th floor, with a parking lot view. No big deal though.
My brother and uncle went upstairs to rest. Dad and I headed to the casino. Our first stop was at the Promotions desk to renew our players card. After that we took our chances at the 6D blackjack table. I bought in for U$200 and my dad U$500. My bets were between the U$15-U$50 range, while his were between U$50-U$125. The casino was not crowded and the dealers were very kind. The dealers at Paris have been outstanding in my opinion, and that is something I value, and that will keep us coming back. After 9 (about 2 hours) shoes and consistent cocktail service (I had about 6 Blue Moons and dad 8 Coronas) we decided to stop ahead. I had exactly 4 black chips and dad had 7. By the way, I estimate our tipping to be around 50 bucks for those 2 hours.
Took a shower and a nap of an hour or so. My brother woke me up and asked to go next door to Planet Hollywood. He wanted to go see a tattoo place and shop his girl a gift at the Miracle Mile Shops. After wandering a little, we decided to go to the casino and tried our luck at the double deck game that was close to the party pit (nice views) but still had good rules. Played for about an hour and lost U$100 each.
On our way out to the Casino a really pretty blond girl called my brother's attention. She was playing one of those 25c fortune wheel machines by herself. We sat at a machine next to her, and I dropped a U$20 in the machine while he was attempting to chat with her. My brother of course got no success with the cuttie but after 15 minutes I was in a lucky strike with the wheel and getting some more complimentary blue moons until this happened:





We actually laughed really hard and barely believed it. Cashed out the voucher and took him for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was a Steak Diane and some fancy burger, plus two slices of cheesecake, which came to U$70 after tips. Went back to Paris, talked to my uncle and Dad who were playing a shoe game blackjack and it was 11pm when we decided to call it a day and went to bed, in order to recover from the trip and start a fresh friday.

1st day:
Aluisio +$655
Brother -$100
Dad +$300
Uncle -$50

Sound like you and dad had a great day 1! Brother and uncle? Well, it could have been worse.

Looking forward to the remaining day's reports!

I would like to read the rest of the story as well, I'm hooked.

DAY TWO - 8/21/15

It's Vegas, so we wake up early (about 7am), showered and met downstairs before 7:30am. The casino was deserted, graveyard shift dealers in the middle of their shifts were happily available and we decided to hit the tables before breakfast! We chose blackjack shoes that were U$10min, which is an amount my brother likes very much to play. We played for about an hour and decided to end our winning session after 3 orange juices each one. Kudos for JUDE, funny mid-age asian dealer who chatted a lot and gave us some blackjacks. Every one of us finished the session ahead, except my dad who broke even because of some unfortunate hands, like when he got dealt 7,7 against a dealer 6 and decided to split, getting another 7 - splitting again, and making 15, 16 and 11 (with a later double down to 18). Of course the dealer turned a five from under and drew a 10 to wipe his $280 off.
Breakfast was at the Village Buffet at the Paris and was very calm. No hassle or line, just got in, and it took us about 35 minutes to finish our meals (lots of eggs, bacon and pastries).
Despite Brazilian's currency recent meltdown we took our chances and grabbed a taxi to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets North in order to do some shopping. There was a lot of business in the stores for a Friday morning. Mostly at Ralph Lauren, Armani Exchange and Fossil. Mainly what we bought was clothes. It's been since 2010 that I get all my clothes exclusively in America, never going to a mall or any mens store in Brazil. You guys couldn't believe how pricey a polo shirt gets around here... Didn't shop too much: got two pairs of jeans at calvin klein, 3 shirts at ralph lauren, some underwear at tommy and a pair of running shoes from Asics. One thing I have the feeling that I overspent was my wedding suit, which I got at Hugo Boss from $709 to $459 after taxes. Well, in my defense I don't plan to get married more than once, and hell "it was the Casino's money!" LOL.
Back to the hotel by 3pm we decided to give Paris' pool a shot since it was shinny 112F. It was our first deception. There was not anything actually wrong with the pool, but it wasn't our vibe. Many families, kids and couples, so that we were in our room after 40 minutes or so.
Decided to play some double deck blackjack at $25 with my father. It was bloody evil. Bought in for $200 that quickly vanished. Couldn't hit nice hands and the dealer got many 20 in the first 3 shoes. Whenever I was down $400, had a decent run and got back to -$200. My dad on the other hand had lost $500 betting $50 and $75, and it was 7pm.
We had complimentary access to Belagio The Bank nightclub, that had some hip hop going on that night. So my brother and I went upstairs for a rest and a shower. My dad and uncle went to play some dollar slots. At 9pm everybody headed to Le Burger Brasserie in the Ballys hallway for dinner. I got the Kobe Burger, with caramelized onions and bacon which was to die for. Dinner came to about $90 and after that we went to the Bellagio to go to the night club.
The Bank is not a huge nightclub, but has a good atmosphere and nice clientele around 30s. We fit fine, despite being of less age. Very classy and well dressed girls. At 1:30am we were back at the Paris and couldn't find my dad and uncle. Later we discovered they had lost their shirts in the shoe game they were playing.
My brother and I partnered up at dice and lost $100 each, betting $10 and 3x odds on the DP. At 2:15am we were going to bed.

Results as of day 2 (including day 1)
Aluisio +$300
Brother +$50
Dad -$400
Uncle -$200

DAY THREE - 8/22/15 (pt. 1)

My brother and I woke up before 7am on Saturday. Showered and went downstairs. That's when we met dad and uncle playing the same $10 min shoe game of the day before. They told us how they got their asses kicked the night before at the same shoe game but for the look in their faces, they weren't scared. All of us had breakfast together at the Buffet. My brother and I had to pick a rental car up at Treasure Island, and wanted to go do some site seeing. It was a nice morning walk, since early in the morning the desert sun didn't trouble us. On our way to T.I. I suggested we got in the Venetian to play some blackjack. Both of us bought in for $100. It did not last 10 minutes. We didn't even have a chance to see a cocktail waitress.



That's why we decided to go straight to the car rental. We payed $87 dollars for a convertible red camaro. The car was somewhat disappointing (from the engine perspective) but we drove some miles to the Red Rock Canyon and also to see the Rover Dam, since I am a civil engineer. The ride itself, alongside with the landscape was very pleasant, despite not liking the car. It is true, indeed, that the car has some presence and appeal to the female public.
It was 11am when my phone rang and my dad asked me to pick him and uncle up and drive them to Main Street Station. We made it there by noon. It was my first time downtown, so I decided to take my chances. What happened next was the worst gambling experience of my life. Not only I didn't like or enjoy the casino, but also Lady Luck completely walked out on me.
Tried to play some hand held double deck but the atmosphere, nor the static dealer helped. Thumbs down for the decor, music and casino staff. We played for about one hour and a half, and both our three dealers were senior citizens with lack of emotion.
In those 6 or 7 shoes I managed to loose approximately $300, spreading $10-$50. My dad lost more or less the same, and my brother lost $150. It was a wipe off, for sure, but the beer was good. Especially the "high roller" one. Highly recommend trying it out!
Hooked up by their beer, we decided to go inside of the 777 brewpub and drink some beers while playing 9/6 jacks. Everyone fed the machines a $100, and my dad was the luckiest, lasting long: 'til 3:30pm because he got enough 4 of a kinds and scratch lottery to help. My brother, uncle and I lost our $100 initial before 2pm, with the highest hand being dealt to me a full house. Not satisfied with such developments , I found a single line 9/6 JoB that was so old that still dropped coins. The result was the same. Reached the $120 point and went all the way down, to cash at -$50.

(To be continued...)

DAY THREE - 8/22/15 (pt. 2)

The sound of the coins dropping was somewhat overwhelming. It was a great thing I got enough quarters to my collection, and cashed out the rest of them before going to the buffet. The buffet at The Main Street Station was very good. All of us agreed that it was more focused towards locals than tourists, but we didn't regret staying for late lunch at 4pm. They had an amazing assortment of food, including seafood (shrimp, paella, sushi), prime rib, chinese food, pizza, pastas, and desert.
While downtown was definitely not for us, the $13.99 payed for the buffet was well worth it, and perhaps the best part of our visit.
After eating, everyone was discussing their results. The four of us combined lost about $1,500 in an afternoon at the Main Street Station. Kudos for my brother who managed to lose $300 playing $5 on the don't pass with 6-10x odds, and my dad who lost $200 playing $10 at the Super Fun 21 table.
This downtown experience kind of let us down about gambling on Saturday, so we left dad and uncle at The Paris and went to the MGM Grand to see if we could get into the guest list at Hakkassan.



After arriving at the club at 5pm we couldn't find any host or staff available to give informations. What we found, instead, were two sister from Romania, one 28yo and the other 22yo. They had the same idea to go check Hakkasan (Dj Tiesto's home) but had no success as well. We chatted a little and they asked us to take a picture of them. Instead, my brother flipped to the frontal camera and took a selfie of us, and asked them to see if the picture was good. They laughed hard and it was a nice ice breaker. We invited them to go for a ride in the convertible and they said that they were staying at the Mandalay Bay, where a nice sunset pool party was going on. Upon invitation we decided to join them. They were very nice girls, short, blond, tanned and fun, not the cutest, but still worth our time. It was an awesome evening! The vibe at the pool was very energetic, and the music going on really got everyone going... We stayed together until 8:30pm, and decided to go back to Paris. Nothing really happened between the four of us, despite some provocation. After all I think that's the Las Vegas spirit. Temptation...

As soon as we arrived to Paris, we were starving and decided to go to JJ Brasserie to have some pizza. I really enjoy their pepperoni, we got 2 slices each + soda for $9.99. Definitely not the best deal in town, but we knew CET would pay for it after all.
Rest a little, quickly showered and got back to action. At 10pm I joined my father and uncle at the double deck blackjack pit, that only had one spot open. I bought in for $300 in greens. We had an awesome run, and had a fantastic section! Played for about 2 hours and I don't know how many blue moons. At first I started betting the table minimum, which was a single green. Whenever I had a 20 chip pile ($500), changed one green for 5 reds and started betting $35, with ocasional $5 tip for the dealer. Positive variance joined the scene and helped everyone out. The whole table was playing together, high living each other, talking and having fun with the dealer, who would make bust sounds and blink to everyone appreciating the winner's tips. At some point I upped my bets to $55, with ocasional $75 bets. Crawled all my way up to $1,200 in chips, including a pocketed purple. Lost a $100 bet doubled down (A,8 vs dealer 6) and cashed out 1,000. Dad stayed a little longer and cashed $1.8k from his $500 buy in, while uncle said he made $300. Tried to look for my brother, but later discovered he was sleeping upstairs. He had lost $200 at craps, I learned the other day.
After cashing out my chips I realized I had $1,600 in my wallet. I kind of like to have cash in increments of $500, so decided to take my chances at a machine inside the champagne room slots. Got four doses of 18yo Chivas comped while playing the 5 line $1 Ca$h wheel slot. In about 45' I tripled my buy in, and cashed $300. That 45 minutes play alone resulted me in almost 1,000 Tier Credits.
I passed out in bed at about 3am.

Results as of day three:
Me: +$1,000
Dad: -$300 (even after the nice blackjack win he was down because of some bloody play at The Paris in the morning and the Main Street Station)
Uncle: +$200
Brother: -$450

Very good post

DAY FOUR - 8/23/15 (pt. 1)

Sunday started dizzy at 6:40am. Perhaps I had too many blue moons combined with chivas regal. After my third day in Vegas and being $1k up I was feeling fancy. Called dad's room and invited him to the Bacchanal Champagne Brunch at Caesars. My brother woke up and decided to join us. Uncle was snoring heavily. Showered up, and played 4 shoes of the 6D DAS H17 $10 blackjack. It was just the three of us. The amazing dealer that took good care of us in the double deck pitch the night before was acting as floor supervisor, and clearly recognized us and mocked for us being up so early. Had plain coffee at the table, and left with a red chip and two blues off my $100 buy-in. My brother had a $75 profit session while dad who pressed some bets at the end of the last shoe and got lucky cashed out $200 ahead.
We arrived at 7:50am at Caesars, and there wasn't any line to the bacchanal buffet yet. It was our first time eating there, and it was amazing! Really liked their red velvet pancakes and wagyu sliders, alongside with morning champagne and crab legs hash browns . It was a nice start for our last full day in Vegas before coming back to Brazil. The three of us were definitely having a good time. We finished breakfast around 9:30am and Dad wanted to go to the Apple Store at the Forum Shops to buy a new iPad cover. My brother wanted to check Abercrombie's denim clearance, so I joined them, only to find out that the stores actually open at 10am. So we decided to play some slots in the near entrance of the forum shops. My dad threw $100 at some lousy 50 play VP machine that barely lasted 30'. My brother and I sat down at a two slot machine bank and managed to cash out even. We were betting three credits of $1, in a four reel machine which the last reel only acted as bonus. It had a 'pay 100' symbol, a 'double pay' and 'triple pay' that would be valid in case of matching a payout in the first 3 reels. The machine was very volatile, as expected. Our credits jumped from 26 to 240 three times in half and hour, until we decided to cash out and go shopping.
Dad had no issues finding the cover he wanted for his iPad. My brother and I got two pairs of jeans each for $39,90 which I found to be a good deal. I like Abercrombie Fitch denim because they are light, and even though skinny they dress comfy. Still at the forum shops, I over spent and bought my fiancee a red leather designer's purse that she loved ($380 ouch!).
A little before noon dad decided he was going back to Paris to wake my uncle up. My brother and I stayed at Caesars to gamble a little. I sat down at a shoe game near the sports book. It was nice to see my Steelers get beaten up by the Packers while actually losing money (Come on, it's Vegas!). I estimate I lost about $250 in two hours of play, with an average bet of $35/hand, and tipped the cocktail waitress about $20 meanwhile. The cocktail waitress was well worth her tips. She was one of the prettiest ladies I've seen in Vegas, with such a sweet face and classy look (matching the Caesars off-white dress perfectly).
After that I walked over to the main casino pit to rescue my brother from his craps. He said that at some point he was down $300, but was able to recover his losses plus a small profit. On our way back to Paris, I decided to stop by Bellagio and redeem my comp cirque du soleil ticket that I got from myVegas. Took some nice photos from there, including a selfie of me and my brother that showed me how much of a hangover face I had.
I will leave you guys with this nice view, that makes me feel so welcome in Vegas. I am definitely not a downtown guy (Sorry Pierce!). I really appreciate the fuss of the Las Vegas Blvd. Strip!

(To be continued...)

That's okay, I guess DT isn't for everyone. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the trip report!!!

DAY FOUR - 8/23/15 (Pt. 2)
So it was almost 4pm and I had Cirque's O to go see at 7:30pm. I was going by myself, because of the complimentary tickets. Decided to take my time and watch some TV at my room. Got down to the casino floor by 5:50pm. Found my dad at a $1 slot machine and asked if he wanted to have dinner before my show. Texted my brother and in about 10 minutes we were ready to have early dinner. We decided to give it a shot at Martorano's because my brother is a huge fan of the italian cuisine. Also because the last time we went to Vegas they didn't have the restaurant at the Paris, and it seemed like a nice place to talk.
We shared some entree of carpaccio, assorted breads and mozzarella with Pellegrino water. After that we shared the 16oz Prime NY Steak and the basilico sauce spaghetti. We also went with Terra Valentine, Napa Valley, Cabernet, which was a very nice suggestion from the sommelier at $75/bottle. I'd give Martorano's a solid 4 stars out of 5, mainly because of the ambience (decor and music), attentive service and awesome pasta and wine suggestion. It did not score more because of the meat, that had not been served as requested (medium rare) and the price. Everything came out to $260 after taxes and I felt that we could have gone to Gordon Ramsay instead, though It was a pleasant meal.
At 7:10pm I got my ticket at the Box office at the Bellagio and enjoyed the 90' of the show. Cirque du soleil is always nice and well prepared, but I liked Zarkana the last time better. Perhaps O lacked in circus and acrobatics and was over fancy. Overall I don't regret claiming my free ticket from the myVegas rewards. The whole process was very transparent and easy.
Well, back at the hotel at 9:20pm I discovered that my brother and uncle had set us the free limo ride to Little Darlings. We were discussing about the strip club idea but haven't decided anything until I left. Thanks God we went! Too glad they did it. Little darlings was amazing. The club was not crowded so we got a front seat at the stage, and what a view! I'll skip the details but say that I agree with everything posted in the review at the Wizard of Vegas, plus that the $150 that I spent (mostly with $1 and $5 bills) was totally worth it. Honorable mentions to: Hufflepuff, Kimberly and Natalie for being awesome and not pushy. With our pockets lighter we decided it was time to go back to gambling. Our way back to the hotel was also with the free limo ride and both ways we tipped $10 instead of paying $20 for the cab.
At 1am I sat down with my uncle and dad at the $25 pitch game. All of us bought in for $300. In the beginning I was hitting some good hands, but all of a sudden mine $300 and uncle's were gone. Dad managed to get to $700, but cashed out a purple, for a $200 profit that he later lost on VP. While uncle and brother went to bed before 2:30am I was feeling hungry. At 2:30am at the Paris there are not many food options so I sat at a lonely table in the corner of Yong Kang Street Dumpling and Noodles. My server advised me to get some hot dandan noodles with chicken, which I did. I do like spicy food, but those noodles were inedible. Luckily the dumplings were ok. But again I felt that $30 for a small bowl of fire noodles and two dumplings was a lot over the top. One thing is for sure, I won't be going back to that 'restaurant'.
Decided to play a little bit more because we were leaving the next day at 1pm, so had to use our last hours in Vegas. Went to the high limit room, handled them my card and bought in for $500 at the midi baccarat table, because I wanted to play some bacc while dealing with the cards. The dealer was a nice gentleman, we chatted a lot about world economics and he surprisingly knew a lot about the brazilian finance crisis that is going on. I had two glasses of Veuve Clicquot. I bet mostly the Player, with occasional Banker bets because I don't like dealing with commission. While betting $100 for the player I was winning. Whenever I had a big bet out and chose the Banker, I'd be getting faces cards or ties. Officially down for the trip - but still happy with the gambling, fun, booze and tipping - I went to our room and felt asleep around 4am.

Results as of day 4:

Me: -$150
Dad: (4 digits negative, but not sure how much exactly)
Uncle: -$500
Brother: -$200

Really enjoying this trip report!

I also like Le Burger Brasserie in Paris, and I'll have to try the Kobe Burger next time I'm there.

Very nice trip report! Thanks for sharing.

Really good TR, alusio! Appreciate the reviews on the new Paris restaurants as well; they've changed several places since I stayed there last. Seems also that you're getting very good value for your gambling, given how much you've played over 4 days.

DAY FIVE - 8/24/15 (Last day in Vegas, baby!)

Our room's phone rang at 7:30. I nodded at my dad that I would need another hour of sleep. My brother didn't even move or hear the phone. Despite my 26 years of age, I felt tired for the first time in Vegas. At 8:40 I finally woke up, kept the morning shower ritual, woke my brother up and while he was getting ready to go downstairs I packed everything I've bought plus my original stuff. At LAS I learned that my luggage was going back home 18lbs heavier. Probably I had packed light in Brazil.
Breakfast was a simple waffle and croissant at JJs with an orange juice. A little before ten I joined my dad (who was flashing his platinum card he got the night before after being sucked at the dollar machines) at the shoe game he was playing. I bought in for $200 and started betting $15, and spreading to $25, $35 and occasionally $45. My dad was spreading $50-$125 and had about 10 greens and 9 blacks when I sat down. Our first 2 shoes together in the morning were good. I was probably $150 ahead and he was $500 I'd say. Uncle decided to join us, and bought in for $100. The third shoe was a disaster. I lost 9 units, dad was down to 6 blacks and uncle's $100 didn't even cut to half of the shoe. Played two more shoes and colored up $100 from the red chips I had left. Dad had 3 blacks left and uncle had lost another $100, saying that he'd go upstairs and setup everything for our late checkout at 1pm.
I decided to join my brother who was playing $5 craps with full odds. Played $10 DP with 3x odds for about an hour, going all the way up to $280 with my buy in, but loosing everything after pressing my bets. My brother, instead, cashed out $300 ahead, ending his gambling trip +$100.
It was 10 past noon when my dad busted his bankroll and we went to see a host in the Diamond Lounge.
Charles was the host on duty and was very kind and polite to us. We both handed him our cards and it took him 2 minutes or so to go over our play. He showed us the casino's record on us, and it was quite "favorable" from the comps point of view. He had my dad at 31 hours of play, with an average bet of $70/hand plus some substantial slot losses. He had me at 23 hours of play (I estimated more) at an average bet of $41/hand. He told us that those numbers were really meaningful and that the casino takes that many hours of play in such a small period of day as a very good index. Then he smiled and said that he would comp everything we had spent with food and beverage (about $740) but that he could do nothing about our resort fees (aprox. $230) and business center expenses that were $26. Also we had our rooms prepaid because we got an amazing deal at expedia that included airplane tickets + hotels at a lower price than the ticket alone at Aeromexico's website. I asked if he considered only my dad's play to comp our expenses or if it was both ours. He said that he looked into both plays and took both in consideration, and that Paris would be looking forward to have us again.
While everyone went upstairs to get their luggage and etc I decided to burn a last $20 at a KISS penny slot machine near the exit, and drink a farewell blue moon. I heavily dislike this modern penny slot machines, but since I do like KISS I tolerated it. That colossal reel stuff isn't something pleasant to me. I am by no means a slot player, but when I play slots I like to bet the older $1 3 reel machines. Somehow I feel they are more "balanced". When the group announced they were ready to leave it was 1:10pm and the path to LAS airport was fast and quiet. The taxi driver even joked at us saying that if you don't go back to the airport quiet or with an exhausted face so you haven't done Vegas the right way. Check-in was hassle free and so was boarding. I had the impression that this time I'm leaving Vegas to come back sooner than expected...

Results as of day 5

Me: -$370
Dad: -$1600
Uncle: -$700
Brother: +$100

More later...

Quote: blount2000

Really enjoying this trip report!

I also like Le Burger Brasserie in Paris, and I'll have to try the Kobe Burger next time I'm there.

Glad you liked! It's really worth trying it. I think it was $23, but you have to buy the fries separated.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Really good TR, alusio! Appreciate the reviews on the new Paris restaurants as well; they've changed several places since I stayed there last. Seems also that you're getting very good value for your gambling, given how much you've played over 4 days.

Babs and everyone else, thank you for taking your time and reading. Please share your thoughts as well. I think we've got good value for our gambling, but later on I will write a conclusion/reflexions post.

Thanks for the report aluisio! I enjoyed it very much. How did you handle the currency conversion? Was the best exchange rate in Brazil before coming to America?

Oh yes, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! May your joy only increase in the years to come.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Thanks for the report aluisio! I enjoyed it very much. How did you handle the currency conversion? Was the best exchange rate in Brazil before coming to America?

Oh yes, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! May your joy only increase in the years to come.

Whenever I go to the US I always try to take as many dollars as I can buy at a good price in Brazil. I also rely on credit card for emergency purposes. I like to buy my dollars in advance in Brazil because I find more value on it and also I feel like I have all my expenses pre planned. This way if I lose some amount it feels like it's money I have afforded to lose. Does it make sense?
By the way, right now exchange rate is 1U$ = 3,70BRL. When I was in Vegas it was 3,55BRL.
Luckly I had bought U$4.000 for a total of 10.000,00BRL back in October/2014 when the exchange rate was at U$1= 2,70BRL;

Also Thanks for your kind words! I feel very happy about getting married!

Conclusions and reflexions after the trip:

1. It was my second time in Vegas, staying at Paris. CET has been pretty generous to me and my family. Perhaps I undervalued my play. Even though I am not a high roller, I think that the amount of time I had been playing did not go unnoticed. I have logged in to my TR account and have seen great free room offers for Spring Break. Even at Caesar's Palace. I might be going to Vegas sooner than planned but still haven't decided about staying at Paris again or not, especially after this CP room offer;

2. With free room, and getting affordable airplane tickets, 4 nights is the ideal length of my stay. It's enough time to gamble, shop, do some sight seen and have fun.

3. I will not go back to downtown. I will enjoy the Strip Luxury and try to eat somewhere more upscale at least for one night (Gordon Ramsay probably), as well as taking advantage of the hotel perks offered such as spa, pool, etc. I know for a fact I won't be mixing blue moons and Johnny Walker Black Label again;

3. On both my trips, playing dollar slots was not terrible after all. If you have the discipline to quit whenever you hit it big, or retreat if you don't hit anything nice I can have some nice wins with occasional small losses;

4. Playing midi-baccarat at the high limit room was a terrible idea. Mostly if my bankroll for the entire trip keeps at the size it is now (between $2,000.00 and $3,000.00). I will be sticking with blackjack (shoe game, 3:2, H17, DAS, Sur) spreading U$15-U$45, double deck spreading U$25-U$75, craps (U$5-$15 with full odds) and 25c video poker;

5. Little darlings is a cool nice little place to pay a visit once in a while. And convertible cars and Vegas do match fine.

Any thoughts to share, folks?

Quote: aluisio

Conclusions and reflexions after the trip:



2. With free room, and getting affordable airplane tickets, 4 nights is the ideal length of my stay. It's enough time to gamble, shop, do some sight seen and have fun.


Any thoughts to share, folks?

4 nights ??? how long a flight layovers is it to Vegas>?


I would not travel that far twice in the same week...... 7 or 8 nights with a few days spent just sight seeing

I really enjoyed your trip report! It was a great mix of all of the strip amenities and of course much gambling action (between you and your family). Of course, as always, love the pictures =p. You should post the picture of the cute (enough?) romanian girls.

I'm curious. On almost every day of the trip you have your day total in the positive, yet you said you're down at the end of the trip? Are you counting in tips/expenses/etc?

Quote: coilman

4 nights ??? how long a flight layovers is it to Vegas>?


I would not travel that far twice in the same week...... 7 or 8 nights with a few days spent just sight seeing

I'd love to be able to stay for 7 or 8 nights, but it takes me 20 hours aprox. each way, plus I can only afford to lose 3-4 workdays at once each 6 months, maximum! So counting saturday and sunday, with a possible local holiday, that's what I'm usually up to.
I also don't think I have that much of a bankroll!

Quote: Romes

You should post the picture of the cute (enough?) romanian girls.

I'm curious. On almost every day of the trip you have your day total in the positive, yet you said you're down at the end of the trip? Are you counting in tips/expenses/etc?

Romes, my brother's phone has pictures of the young ladies, which for obvious reasons such as getting married I avoided taking with my phone. I'll try to get a hold on him later and let you guys know about it.

edited


Also, gambling was going very well during days 1, 2 and 3. Day four was a disaster. After dropping $650 at blackjack I had the regretful idea of buying in for $500 at high limit baccarat late night instead of going to sleep. It was the 'you only live once! / it's vegas!' kind of thing. This is something I pointed out at my conclusions as one of the things I wouldn't do again.

For accounting the -$370 I lost the whole trip I only took in consideration my gambling expenses (difference of buy in and cash out) - excluding other expenses such as car rental, shopping, strip clubs and food outside CET properties. Tips accidentally fall in this accounting because I have a policy of never reaching my pocket to tip a casino employer. I always do so (and I tipped generously this trip) with casino chips. I estimate my tipping at $150 for the 4 gambling days, btw.

In the end, being $370 down was not bad at all. I had more than 20 hours of fun. Tipped accordingly. Had countless comped blue moons, some johnnies walkers and orange juices. By checkout all my food expenses were wiped out, and since my bankroll for the trip was $2,500 it actually felt like a victory.

Nice report. Glad you had a good time.

My wife is Brazilian. When you come back, you should try some food that is uncommon in Brazil.

There's a lot of Asian food here that is not widely eaten in Brazil, like Vietnamese and Korean. Brazilians don't seem to like Vietnamese, though. My wife's favorite is Thai. One of the best Thai restaurants in the US, Lotus of Siam, is just off the strip. You'll need reservations. There are also some good places on the strip.

There's also American style barbecue. I love it, but, again, pretty unimpressed reaction from the Brazilians I know.

Nice report! Glad you had a good time!

Great report - glad you had good time.

I would be interested in a little review of Little Darlings if you have the time.

Will be there in a couple of weeks for bachelor party and this one has come up.

Thanks - I saw that one - was curious for a more recent experience.