For those who know me, I have been to Las Vegas around 40 times. The first time was1991 when I was a young and handsome guy and I stayed at the Orleans. I read all the books, collected fun books, and really did all the touristy things. I rode the free shuttles, ate the 99-cent footlong hotdogs on the Strip, the 99-cent shrimp cocktails, and covertly looked at all cleavage within 100 yards. It was good to be young and I quickly went through the $100 per day that I allotted for gambling. It was a simpler time and I was a simpler man.
I have stayed all over the Strip, downtown, Summerlin, Boulder highway and all points South. This time I will be at the Golden Gate, arriving the morning of 3-7-2024 and picking up my rental at the airport rental center. I should have stopped monitoring the prices as they fell briefly by $20, but I am still happy with the $112 all in rate for three days.
I have often taken the bus to get around (I miss the WAX) but figured I would make things easy on myself, especially since my airfare on Frontier was through points and only cost $11.56. I forgot I had a Frontier credit card with points accumulated. It is like finding $100 in an old jacket.
I intend to first stop at the Village Pub on Decatur for the $9.99 steak and eggs. I had no idea that the Village Pub was a chain. I thought the one at Ellis Island was a stand-alone restaurant. It will be good to get something in my belly as I will have some time to kill before the check-in at the hotel.
I will also hit Great Buns Bakery on Tropicana to pick up my breakfast for the next few days. I am not a big morning eater, so I find the pastries are perfect for me along with some Powerade I will pick up at Walmart. Since I am on east coast time, I usually wake by 3 am in Las Vegas but I try to stay in bed and sleep.
I am debating whether to pick up the MRB from the Las Vegas Advisor (I have been there before), but I am unsure whether I will bother. I know that there are still some good match-plays for downtown and will probably do it. If I do, any leftovers can be claimed by others here.
I will make my way downtown and wonder if they will try to charge me an early fee to check-in my room. I doubt it, but I have heard some stories and I will be interested. I do not spend a lot of time in the room so it does not bother me that the rooms are crazy small. I would have preferred to stay at the Plaza (love the rooms there), but the price was too steep for my cheap ass.
I will be playing craps and some blackjack downtown. I might go to a few off-Strip casinos, but that is doubtful. I will post a trip report with my highs, lows, snark and charm. I predict that I will be pissed off often and will realize why I can’t have nice things.
I intend to hit the happy hour at Chart House at the Gold Nugget on 3-7. I have heard amazing things, so it is worth a shot. Since I will have eaten the steak at Village Pub, that should hold me until Friday.
If there are any LVM members looking for a gambling partner or to use my Magnolia’s 2-for-1, hit me up. Otherwise, stay tuned.
* * * I was in downtown Cleveland for a meeting this afternoon and parked at the casino (free parking). I decided to play some bubble craps and ended up +$750.00 for the short play. I have added it to my stash for the trip. This might be a good sign, or it might be just the start of a long descent into anger and swearing a blue streak. * * *