Super Fast Report

I’m in Vegas now. So this isn’t complete, but wanted to give some highlights. Very fast because I don’t want to bore people.

Caesars Palace check in was slow. But I tipped $50 and got a great suite upgrade. Augustus Tower with a great view. Tipping is the best “deal” in Vegas.

Bobby’s Burgers for dinner. Best veggie burger I’ve had.

Bellagio Buffet for brunch. The people I am traveling with really enjoyed the endless Mimosas. The buffet was great as usual.

Lost a bunch at Paris at tiles. Switched to Pai Gow Poker and won it all and then some back. Straight Flush, 4 Aces, and me and the dealer both getting an ace high Pai Gow at the same time means I’m actually up a little bit overall right now.

Won a little bit at Harrahs playing more tiles and PGP. Played a jeopardy slot machine and won $90 on first spin in a bonus and cashed out.

Betting big on Raiders today and will enjoy in my cabana. Gonna be a little chilly, but that’s fine.

Oh yeah, Nobu yesterday for dinner. Vegetarian tasting menu for $100. Amazing. It was great to have a meal like that dedicated to vegetarians. My wife loved her meal as well. We had two diamond dinners, which I didn’t know we had, so the meal was completely free (besides tip of course)

That’s it for now.

How does one go about tipping for a room upgrade?

I’m not sure if you had to do that. My experience as diamond is they will almost always upgrade you to the best available non-suite room, a lot of times I don’t even need to ask.

I just hand them a $20 or $50, depending on the property when I give them my ID and credit card, and ask if there are any upgrades available. And then I mentioned that it’s my wife’s birthday.

It’s a pretty busy weekend here, so I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten as nice of a room without tipping. But yes, probably would have gotten something.

We have a few people here with us, so it’s nice to have a suite that everyone can hang out in for a bit.

Glad to hear the Bellagio buffet was good. I'd heard from at least one vlogger that it had gone downhill.

Quote: smoothgrh

Glad to hear the Bellagio buffet was good. I'd heard from at least one vlogger that it had gone downhill.
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My wife said yesterday that the last time she was there in 2019 it was bad. She said it was a lot better this time.

Quote: FinsRule

I just hand them a $20 or $50, depending on the property when I give them my ID and credit card, and ask if there are any upgrades available. And then I mentioned that it’s my wife’s birthday.

It’s a pretty busy weekend here, so I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gotten as nice of a room without tipping. But yes, probably would have gotten something.

We have a few people here with us, so it’s nice to have a suite that everyone can hang out in for a bit.
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Did you ask for an upgrade before tipping $50 and they said no?

I did not ask first. When I have done that, they usually have just given me “strip view” rooms.

Yesterday was nice. Lost almost all my sports bets. But won a few hundred at Blackjack.

Went to the new Italian place Superfrico at Cosmo. They had some entertainment, I think from the show Opium next door, so that part was cool. Food was really good too.

Wasn’t in the mood to play a lot of Pai Gow. Have to do a little searching to find $25 tables, so instead my wife and I just decided to do one $100 hand each at Caesars and call it a trip. We both won with a flush, so that was a good way to end up.

I’d say I ended up about $500-$600 in gambling this trip. I’ll take that.

Overall, it was a great time. Room and food were great and I won money. Cabana/pool was nice and relaxing.

I’ll be back next in November 2022 unless there’s a nice surprise before then.

Probably when employees who do not normally receive tips are tipped, they get to pocket it. Employees who are typically tipped, such as valets and bellmen, probably pool their tips.

Speaking of tips. The cab dropped us off at the airport. I gave him $32 for our $28 fare. He would not accept it and said the mandatory minimum tip made the fare $35. I then gave him $40 and asked for the change.

Is this possibly right?

Quote: FinsRule

Speaking of tips. The cab dropped us off at the airport. I gave him $32 for our $28 fare. He would not accept it and said the mandatory minimum tip made the fare $35. I then gave him $40 and asked for the change.

Is this possibly right?
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No, he ripped you off and lied to you.

I had a taxi driver recently tell me after I handed him $30, "The fare was $27 is that all I get?". I pulled out my wallet and counted out $7 gave it to him while I grabbed my $10 back out of his hand. I said, "Okay, here is $27".

Who can I report him to? After he told me that and I asked him again for confirmation. I took a picture of his license plate.

Quote: FinsRule

Who can I report him to? After he told me that and I asked him again for confirmation. I took a picture of his license plate.
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The license plate won't help, they share the cars. Next time take a picture of his credential, it is usually attached by the glove box and has his picture on it. You then call the Taxi Cab Authority which number is also in the cab.

Yeah, I was looking for it while in the car. Couldn’t see it anywhere. I’ll still call the cab authority anyway.

That's good to know, because when hotel limo takes us downtown from the Strip or to the Strip from downtown, I tip $20. For shorter jaunts such as one end of Strip to the other, I tip $10. I have been assuming that these tips are commensurate to what it would cost to taxi or Uber the same distance, but looks like prices have increased since the years and years ago when I used to taxi everywhere and wasn't on the level of free limo rides yet.

Back then $20. would get you taxied from downtown to the Hard Rock Vegas, as long as you directed the taxi up Paradise and not via Freeway or Strip.

$40. just to get from airport to Strip sounds like a lot.

These days, sometimes I just hoof it from one end of the Strip to the other. I don't always want to wait for a limo and deal with people, and the walk often does me good and clears my mind, ready and fresh for the next session. If I am with my wife going someplace though, we always limo or drive ourselves. Women can't walk very far in heels.

Quote: MDawg

T Women can't walk very far in heels.

Maybe not walk, but they can run pretty far.

French Woman Sets Marathon Record Running In High Heels

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/17/714213033/french-woman-sets-marathon-record-running-in-high-heels#:~:text=French%20Woman%20Sets%20Marathon%20Record%20Running%20In%20High%20Heels%20Christelle,about%20an%20hour%20and%20half.

Quote: FinsRule

Who can I report him to? After he told me that and I asked him again for confirmation. I took a picture of his license plate.
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Well it seems like the license plate, date, and time of day should identify the driver. Whether anyone will do anything over a few dollars is another story. But yeah, absolutely BS that he/she said that, no wonder people are afraid of getting ripped off by dishonest drivers.

You weren't paying by Credit Card, were you ? I think I have seen surcharges for that.

And at the risk of starting the tipping debate up all over again, 100 x ( 32 - 28 ) / 28 comes up to a 14.3 % tip. Seems ok to me, unless you had umpteen heavy suitcases or something like that.

We paid in cash and had two light carryons.

Also, they do flat fees now and we left early in the morning, so there was no traffic. If I had another dollar on me I would have given it to him, but I thought a $7 tip was quite excessive.