I booked a standard SUV for the one day, one way rental through Avis. The base price was $59 which was only $2 more than all of the smaller cars. They had no standard SUVs so they gave me a premium SUV. It was a GMC Yukon. It had almost 18,000 miles on it and it was in pretty good condition. The only exception was the scrape on the front bumper and the broken fog light. I ran back in and reported this so it was noted on my account. Hopefully there will be no surprises when I get to Newark.

We were on the road around 6am. The ride to Newark was nothing special. I stopped at my usual gas station just northwest of Giants (MetLife) Stadium. Soon after we were on the NJ Turnpike and approaching Newark Airport. It's actually been a few years since we flew out of here. The reason for flying out of here today was simple. I had a bunch of miles in my United account and they were going to expire. The only way to keep them alive was to add more, or use some. Using some was the way to go!

When we arrived at the airport dropping off the car was as smooth as it can be.

From there it was over to the monorail to Terminal C and United Airlines.

Checking in was fast. Since the flights were actually free today all I had to pay was the 9/11 Security fee. The only drawback of flying United today is the baggage fee. Even after all of these years it still burns my ass that they charge for luggage on a flight. We were checked in and dropped the bag in a total of about 10 minutes, if that.

I booked these flights way back in May. Back then they were originally in the $250 one way per person range so the miles were a great savings.

We were all checked in and the next stop was security. Everything here was standard. Typical airport security issues. Not so much with security but with the people that feel the rules don't apply to them. That combined with it being shift change make it a bit more of a cluster fuck than normal too. The strange thing is the TSA pre check line was longer than the regular line.

Once we were through there we found our gate and just waited for the flight to board. With Dee still in her wheelchair she was able to pre-board which was a big help with us being in row 34. We made our way to our seats and then just waited for everyone else to board until we left.

This is flight 1905 with non stop service to Las Vegas. It's scheduled to leave at 10:21am and arrive in Las Vegas at 1:06pm which is a 5 hour and 45 minute flight. The captain came on the PA and said it was going to take 5:30. We left a little late but nothing major.

The flight was very smooth for this time of year. I hate the flight and spent some of it sleeping and some of it playing with my tablet and watching “tv”.

Today's snack was pretzels and a coke.

After what seemed to be forever we were on our final approach into Las Vegas and we could see lots of familiar sites. We landed at 12:49pm. It took a while to taxi to the gate and then we had to wait for Dee's wheelchair to arrive.

We took the hike to the shuttle and then to baggage claim. Our suitcase wasn't already out but soon after it was and we were quickly on our way to the rental car shuttle.

Being in Terminal 3 things are a little different over here than they are in the main terminal. In just a few minutes the shuttle arrived and we were on our way to the rental car facility.

Once we got here we went down to the Dollar area. I had booked a full sized car back in July after we got home from the summer trip. The rate wasn't great but I wanted to lock something in. I had a base rate of $121/week which while not great wasn't terrible. From there the rates did nothing but climb and climb. I rechecked rate almost daily and between all of the companies this was still the best rate.

In October I finally saw some relief though. On 10/6 the rates dropped to $115/week. Then on 10/7 they dropped to $107. On 10/9 they dropped like a rock all of the way down to $83. I was quite happy with this and if they never went any lower, I'd be happy. But yet again on 10/11 they dropped again to only $78/week. This is where they sat for over a week before tripling again. Eventually the other companies lowered rates but no one could touch this one. That was until last night. I checked one last time and saw the rates had dropped to $67 a week for a mid sized SUV under the pre pay option. I booked this deal and canceled the original reservation that I'd had for the last 5 months. I guess technically it's an upgrade and the price is $11/week less than what I had.

When we arrived they didn't have me set up. The pre pay option goes through some 3rd party so nothing was lines up with my Fastlane number. It was quickly addressed at the booth. I went in search of a car and Has my choice of a Nissan Rogue or a Nissan Rogue. I checked the mileage and condition of both and took the one with the least miles which was also the one that didn't smell so bad. I gave it a once over and then we were on our way.

From the rental car facility we made a few regular stops for some basic supplies. We also went to try and get lunch at Crepe Expectations. This was featured on Diner's Drive Ins and Dives. We tried to come here back in June but the place was so packed we couldn't even get in. Today was different. They were about to close. Oh well.

We left and went up the Street to Freed's Bakery. They are part of a show on the Food Network. It's a show similar to Cake Boss, called Vegas cakes but with less drama and less fighting. IN here we grabbed a couple slices of cake. Dee got carrot and I got black forest.

For a late lunch/early dinner we stopped at Jack in the Box. A couple of tacos and Jr. bacon burgers and we were on our way.

Now that we've been fed were were on our way to our first hotel of the trip. It's also the first hotel of the previous trip and that's the Palms. I got mail offer for calendar rates and the next 3 nights are free. I originally booked a 4th night at casino rate but as other offers rolled in I was able to cancel that.

When we arrived this place was a cluster fuck. Literally ˝ the property is shut down for renovations.

Last time we were here checking in took way too long. Today it was very fast.

We were assigned room 31-108 in the Ivory tower. This is a king room with nightstands, chaise lounge, coffee table, work desk, armoir, flat screen TV and a view of south Strip and south side of town and what was the pool. Not only is ˝ the casino torn up. The pool area is gone. Totally gone. The bathroom has a vanity, shower stall and toilet.

We got our things set up for our 3 night stay and took it easy for a while. After the short break we were off to the casino. Tonight we decided to play 9/6 jacks ten play. We dropped a grand on 7k in action. I got dealt a full house and a straight. Trips only twice (no quads as a result) Dee got dealt a straight and two trips as well. Killer for me was getting dealt 2 pair 6 times and getting only 3 full houses. Quads were rare as well. Getting low paired was the norm as was single high cards.

We took a short break after the beating up in the room.

We played a bit more video poker and we were doing a little better at the start with more dealt straights and drawing 4-5 flushes on flush 4 draws. Also a few dealt flushes and full houses too. Quads were sparse though. Not royals or straight flushes. I dropped another 3 bills but Dee squeaked out a $200 win.

We had done more action than originally planned and were close to reaching 25k. To ease the swings I found some triple play machines with 8/5 bonus. Thanks do Dee hitting quad fours we cashed out even.

I cashed in $100 worth of points for free play. I had a decent run. No quads but a bunch of winners. I turned the $100 into $111.

For a light meal we grabbed a holiday turkey sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. It was turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and gravy. It's similar to Cappriotti's Bobbi. It was tasty.

It wasn't really late yet but we were beat from a long day of travel so came up here to the room to relax with some TV and then some much needed sleep.

Total win/loss for the day - $1000
Total Comps for the day $149
Total Coin - In for the day $25,115
Room(s) $49
Cash/Free Play $100