Day 15
Wednesday December 23, 2015
When we got up we finished packing up our things and got ready for today's move. I stopped at the host office to see if any of the room charges could be comped. They actually covered 2 nights and the resort fee. I thought this was more than fair on our action.

Today's move is taking us to the Rio where we would be spending the next 4 nights as part of my annual 7* trip with Caesars Entertainment. This trip comes with the airfare that got us to town, the room and a $500 folio credit for charging things to the room during the stay.

When we arrived we checked in at the 7* check in area. One of the perks you're supposed to get is a room upgrade when you're 7* but I to this day still haven't had one with the exception of Laughlin. I don't consider going from a mountain view to a strip view or a low floor to a high floor being a true upgrade. My reservation was made by a host in Atlantic City and is for the lowest level of room possible. I was hoping I'd be getting some type of an upgrade to a nicer suite with this being not only my 7* trip but also my birthday. I know for the most part these upgrades are based on play and my play for the most part sucks here in Las Vegas due to piss poor games. I know there's no way this place is full either based on the room rates currently being offered on their website and the room types available.

We were given a Samba room which is their basic room but more recently renovated. I protested at check in and the supervisor who was actually checking me in made nothing but excuses. I told her that this would be my last trip to the Rio as I was sick of never getting upgrades and nothing but excuses and once I even booked the upgraded room and didn't get it. However she didn't seem to give a flying fuck which is another problem in itself. She also said she was going to e-mail my Atlantic City host and see why he only booked me into a basic room. Since we were already here I didn't understand WTF good that was going to do.

We were assigned room 33018 and I was not happy about this. After much discussion and much thought I went back to VIP services and asked for the manager of the area. They were in a meeting but the guy I spoke to assured me I'd get a call from them as soon as they were out.

In the meantime we went to lunch over at the Sports book deli. Dee got chicken noodle soup and I got a calzone. The calzone was ok but not typical of what I'm used to in the NY area. While we were waiting for the food I did get the call from the head of VIP services. We spoke and she continued to make excuses about not having any inventory which was bullshit because I checked reservations and those room were all available. I got off the phone and went and met with her in person at her office. We discussed more about how the program says best available room at check in. Eventually as a courtesy since my play does suck, she suddenly found an upgraded room available.

We were now in Carioca Suite 1951 in the Ipanema Tower. This room is huge around 1000 square feet. When you enter you're in a small foyer. To the left is a small ½ bath with a toilet and a vanity. As you enter the living room there is a couch, chair, coffee table, end tables, dresser and flat screen TV. To the left of that is a dining room table that seats 6 but is falling apart and is wobbly. There is also a wet bar area with a sink, coffee make and phone with a fridge underneath.

The to the right of the living/dining room is the bed room. It has 2 queens, a night stand, work desk and flat screen TV. The only issue with the desk is the dummies mounted the TV at desk level so you can't work at the desk and watch TV. It's one or the other.

Both the living room and bed room have views of the Masquerade Tower and the strip from Treasure Island all of the way to City Center.

The bathroom is huge with another dresser in it, closet, dual sinks, make up area, whirlpool tub, shower stall and toilet.

I got our stuff up to the room and got settled in. We hit the casino to give them my nominal amount of play. Things here were not good and we cashed out after I hit one quad and Dee hit none. We only got $4600 in action and dropped another $500.

For dinner we went to the Carnival World buffet. They are running a promo where you earn 50 points and get a free buffet so it's tough to pass up a deal like that. Only to find that they blacked it out for Christmas and the 2 days prior to it. Why the fuck they'd black out a promo on the slowest day of the year is beyond me.

We waited for Yahtzee Mike and Camela to arrive and we would still go to the buffet. In the mean time we played some penny games, the electronic Big 6 Wheel (I know but it was only for a few spins and it was a slow bleed at $1 each) and the electronic craps game with the pop-o-matic dice. After all of that we'd only lost $4!

Mike and Camela got here and I used the LVA coupon for buy one get one and charge the other 3 to the room as part of the $500 folio credit. Mike had some great news and had gotten a dealt royal on 50 play pennies at the Four Queens for $2000. He was pretty excited about this and who could blame him.

After dinner we just took Mike and Camela to the room so they could check it out and we hung out here for a while. They left and I went to the casino for a little while. First was to get the few more points we needed to get the small tier bonus, even though I don't need it, there is a bonus for earning points this quarter that will count towards next year so every point will help especially since I plan on eliminating this company after my 7* trip next year but plan on burning them as often as possible in the mean time.

I played some penny games with no luck at all but got my few points. Next I tried blackjack at 2 different tables and had no luck there either. It wasn't as bad as at TI last night but it wasn't good. Next I tried some craps. I haven't played much craps in the last few years. I was shocked to find a $5 game. It was a fun table but there were too many rookies that were clueless and slowed the game down terribly. This was ok though because we got good play time. The table was hit and miss with a few good shooters and a few bad ones (I was both!). By the time it was over I had won $100 at this table.

All in total for the evening I lose about $300 more on top of the losses from earlier. I was ok with the $300 though because I got like 3 hours of play out of it. If all of our losses got that much play we'd be in a better place right now.

I came back to the room and it wasn't hat late but Dee was already asleep so I just packed it in myself.

Total win/loss for the day - $800
Total Comps for the day $199
Total Coin - In for the day $4630
Room(s) $29
Cash/Free Play $0
Food $155
Shows $0
Gift Shop $0
Other $15