Day 1
Saturday October 14, 2006

Since I had to work today I was up bright and early at 4:45am. I had an early out this afternoon at 4pm though. This is 2 hours earlier than normal and makes for a real easy day. After getting out of work I hopped into the rental car I picked up at Avis in my local airport. I had originally reserved a full sized car at $54 but at the last minute I found out I had a friend that works for Avis and got a discounted rate of just $42. This was a cool surprise and nice savings of $12. When I got there though my car wasn’t ready (I am preferred select) but in a few minutes they had a car for me and the needed paperwork was taken car of. I was given a Hyundai Sonoma with over 13,000 miles on it. I’m glad I only have to have this car for 1 day because it’s a cheap “tinny” car. It also reeked of cheap perfume. It was so bad my clothes actually stunk from it when I got out.

The ride down was a little rough especially considering it is a Saturday and there shouldn’t be a rush hour. Traffic was pretty slow moving but I had plenty of time. I’d even planned a late lunch/early dinner at a place on the way down that I liked. Unfortunately the place was out of business.

I stopped at my normal place to top off the gas tank just outside the Meadowlands and then it was on to Newark. Dropping the car was smooth and in just minutes I was on my way to the monorail and to the USAir check in area. Of course since last time I flew on America West/USAir they moved once again and to the total opposite side of the terminal. There was no one in line so I was right up to the desk and informed my flight was delayed an hour due to bad weather in Vegas during the day.

For dinner I hit the TGIFridays. I had a Pecan encrusted chicken salad. It was a chicken breast with a pecan breading, salad with mandarin oranges, cranberries, & bleu cheese. It was pretty good but I could have done without the bleu cheese.

After dinner it was on to security. There was no one there and I was right through. It was really nice not having to get stuck behind the typical a-holes that are wearing their Mr. T starter kits or trying to fit a trunk though the x-ray machine.

After a short wait the plane started to board. This is flight 212 on America West/USAir. I didn’t have to pay for this flight because I used Frequent Flyer Miles for it. I don’t normally leave at night if I can help it but the only way I could get out on the free ticket was to leave tonight as opposed to tomorrow morning. This flight was probably ¼ full. I had a whole row of seats to myself. It’s been a long time since I had this luxury and it was nice to stretch out and sleep for most of the flight. There were spots of turbulence but nothing major.

We landed in Las Vegas at 11:38pm, just 33 minutes later than originally scheduled. After my customary pit stop I was off to baggage claim. My bag was one of the first ones out.

Next stop was the Avis shuttle. I have a full sized car booked for $197 for the 9 day and I have a $15 off coupon for the weekly rental. I was given a Pontiac Grand Prix with over 19,000 miles on it. I’m not thrilled with this car but there’s nothing wrong with it other than a shake coming from the back end.

From Avis it was on to Bally’s to check in. I booked this reservation back in July and it’s for 5 comped nights although I won’t be staying the full 5 nights because I got an offer for another casino I couldn’t refuse. The diamond check in was closed but there was no line in the regular check in area. I was quickly on my way to room 2056 in the north tower. This room is identical to the room I had here in July. I thought it was odd that the way my last trip ended, (staying at Bally’s, getting stuck at the airport due to weather) is the exact way this trip started. Even the room number is the same except 2 floors higher.

After dropping off the bags I went to the casino and verified the reports I’ve read on vpFREE about the video poker at Bally’s. I’m afraid it was true and all of the triple/five play machines that had 8/5 bonus have been shorted to 7/5. This is unacceptable and because of this Bally’s will be getting stiffed this trip.

After seeing this I walked over to Paris and took a look at their VP and saw everything they had was 7/5 too. I also stopped by the tables and my dealer pal Ned from New Jersey who is formerly from Fiesta Henderson.

I walked around for a little longer hoping I’d run into some decent video poker but there wasn’t any so I gave up looking and called it a night. It’s really a shame too because I liked playing and staying here at Bally’s. It’s now just about 3am here in Vegas and nearly 6am according to my body and with exception of some broken up sleep on the flight I’ve now been up for nearly 26 hours. Good Night!

Total win/loss for the day $0
Total comps for the day $259