Day 13
After Bellagio we hit Monte Carlo for a quick stroll through followed by New York – New York and Excalibur. From Excalibur we walked through the indoor walkway to Luxor where we spent some time taking pictures of the new décor. Dee’s nephew is fascinated by the place so we took extra pictures for him to see it.
Next stop was through the shops at Mandalay Place then Mandalay Bay. After touring through Mandalay Bay Dee wanted to get some things at Lush (a bath/soap store) but the store wasn’t open until 10am so we just took a break on a bench and hung out for a while.
After Dee got her items we walked back through Luxor to take some outdoor pictures and then it was off to the Trop. I hadn’t been through the Tropicana in quite some time. This place gets a bad rap but I don’t really know why.
After the Trop we went over to Hooters. Although this place has been here for a few years now, I had never been to the place. I actually liked the décor of the place but it’s pretty small and doesn’t really offer much.
When we were done with Hooters we stopped off at MGM Grand to see the Lions and to take a short break. We played a few penny slots to cool off and get some water. I hit a few bonus rounds but nothing noteworthy and we were on our way back out to the strip.
While we were walking along we noticed we were outside of the M & M World and both looked at each other and at the same time said I’ve never been here before so, in we went. This place is huge, 3 stories of nothing but M & M memorabilia, candy, junk and trinkets. There is also a walking tour through a simulated production line about how they are made and then at the end there is a 3D movie. Folks, the best part here is it’s FREE! I was amazed that they were offering something for free in here but it’s true. I guess they get enough people to buy stuff after the movie that they don’t have to charge. It was entertaining and a good opportunity to soak up some air conditioning.
Our next stop on the tour was a gift shop in the Hawaiian Marketplace for Dee to get a few more items for people back home and then it was back to Caesars Palace for lunch (we had been walking around for nearly 5 hours). For a change of pace we ordered room service. Normally I don’t do this but I have plenty of comps in my account and I like to get out of the room but today it was a good idea of Dee to do this. We got a chicken BLT and an order of BBQ roasted pork and shared. The sandwich came with homemade potato chips. The pork came with white rice and 2 almond cookies. I was actually amazed at the prices. The pork dish which was the equivalent of a whole pork tenderloin was cheaper than a chicken sandwich. One thing that has always annoyed me though was this fee they charge called a room service fee or service charge. You’d think the over inflated prices would be enough.
We took lots of pictures today and I’m looking forward to going through all of them to see what we got. Many of those will end up on my website too.
After lunch we took a break and napped a bit and then started getting ready for dinner. Earlier in the day we decided and made reservations for Fuego, the steakhouse at Fiesta Henderson.
Before we went to Fiesta we stopped off at Wal-Mart for a few more survival items and then it was off to Fiesta. The plan here was to play a few penny slots for fun before going to eat. I had a decent run here with no major wins or losses and we both had a good time playing. I had also activated a 3X points coupon that I had in the kiosk. Apparently I had gotten a mailer that I probably crossed paths with on the way here. The only thing that bothers me is I’m probably missing out on the other coupons that come with the mailer.
It was now time for our reservation and we were one of 3 tables in the place. I ordered my regular small filet mignon. In the past the meal was all inclusive and I was expecting it to be tonight as well. However I noticed they had a new revised menu that was revised July 2008. The meal came with soup or salad and I didn’t think much of it until the meal came and there were no veggies on the plate as there had been in the past. Sure enough when the bill came we were charged $4 each for our baked potatoes. While I still enjoy the food here at Fuego and will be back, the place loses points by going to an a la carte menu. Even with a la carte prices the total bill is still half of what it is at the Hilton.
After dinner we played a few more penny slots. I did pretty good on an All that Glitters machine and Dee did pretty good on the game she played too. After we cashed out we headed down to Terrible’s to check out of the room. Normally I don’t bother checking out of rooms in Vegas but here they took a $50 deposit on my credit car when I booked and I wanted to make sure I got this credit back. Once I checked out we played some penny slots for a few minutes. It was triple points tonight but playing pennies you don’t rack up very many! I played Gold Fish and in typical fashion hit a bonus round and got nothing on it. Unfortunately I had left our coupons back at Caesars Palace and didn’t get to use any tonight. We did sit down at a roulette table though. Other than match plays Dee had never played. She bought in and was betting ‘even” on the outside while I was betting numbers on the inside. Dee was having no luck at all betting even as odd kept coming up. In a very strange even odd or 0/00 came up 14 of 16 spins and she had one hit the whole time. I really felt terrible (no pun intended) that she had such bad luck her first time ever at the roulette wheel. She shrugged it off but deep down I know she thought it sucked! I hit a few numbers during the session but then things cooled off for me. I was able to cash out even and we headed back to Caesars Palace to end a busy day.
Total win/loss for the day $0
Thursday July 10, 2008
Today we started our day by getting up bright and early to take a morning walk down the strip before the heat set in and the crowds set out. We headed down towards the south end of the strip. Our first stop was the Bellagio Conservatory. It was unusual to be here when there were like 3 people around. Usually it’s packed when I go in there. The place was still done up in a 4th of July theme but for the most parts was not anything special. One thing I did like was a scale model of the Bellagio complete with working sign and fountains.
Total comps for the day $375