Trip Report
February 23, 2021 - March 2, 2021
Well, this trip was totally unplanned. The next trip was supposed to be in the summertime. However, a few unexpected days off gave me a week off. With the weather really sucking here in NY there was one thing to do. Head to Las Vegas. This trip is short by my standards at just one week and was booked with really short notice as well. It's also going to be more of a relaxing trip with fewer plays than normal which will leave a lot more time to relax. It will also allow me to get to a few places I haven't been in a while and to do some non gaming things. The bag is packed, the flight awaits and I'm off.
Day 1
Tuesday February 23, 2021
I was up early this morning ready to go. I left the house around 6am and headed to Newark. One thing that was different about this trip is I drove my own car and will be parking in Newark. Because the trip is shorter and kind of last minute, parking is actually cheaper than renting both directions this time. The ride was standard and I arrived at the P4 parking garage.
I took the monorail to the United terminal, terminal C. Because this is a short trip I only needed a carry on suitcase so didn't have to go checking in downstairs to check my luggage. I was able to do this right on my phone and went right to security. This was a world record. I was through security in 4 minutes. Yes, FOUR minutes. There wasn't even time to see if there were any idiots not following simple instruction.
I bought this ticket just 2 weeks ago. Airfares were quite cheap this trip coming at just $97 for that stupid basic economy flight. I decided I'd use my Diamond Elite trip with Caesars Entertainment that comes with $600 in airfare credit and instead booked a first class ticket for $725. So let's see, $97 for basic economy or $125 for first class. Yup, first class it is.
After I cleared security I found my gate and waited for boarding to begin. This is flight 2138 scheduled to depart at 10:05am. It's non stop with a scheduled flight time of 5 hours and 45 minutes arriving at 12:50pm. The usual announcement was made that it was only going to take 5:23. Still just too long.
The service in first class isn't what it was back before COVID and the “meal” was a choice of a chicken sandwich, tomato mozzarella, or a snack box. I opted for the chicken sandwich. I spent most of the flight sleeping, playing games on my phone and watching TV. The flight was pretty smooth with exception of a few ass clowns that feel they are exempt from mask laws. The flight attendants had to repeatedly make announcements to tell people to put their masks on. Come on people, it's been a fucking year, why do you still need to be reminded to wear a fucking mask?
We landed in Las Vegas at 12:37pm and took the usual taxi ride to the gate. When I got off the plane I made the traditional stop. With no checked bag it was straight to the rental car shuttle.
Booking this trip short notice the car rates weren't that good. I was able to catch a decent rate with Hertz using a discount code through my job and got a mid sized for $148 for the week and $240 all in.
Being gold, my name was on the board to go to the five star aisle. I was able to pick any car from the aisle. There were only 2 cars in the whole area. My choices were a White Kia Optima or a White Kia Optima. Tough choice but I chose a White Kia Optima. It has 42,000 miles on it. I gave it a once over and headed to security and was on my way. Amazingly for a car with this many miles it was in really good shape.
My first stop after leaving the rental car facility was to 99¢ Only for a few items. The next stop was of course Jack in the Box. A couple of tacos and a burger did the trick. I used the gift card Yahtzee Mike & Camela gave me for my birthday to cover the cost. Thanks for lunch guys! Lots to go before it's gone!
The next stop and the first of 2 hotels for the trip is The Venetian. Despite very limited play here the last trip and the trip before I continue to get offers. This offer is for 3 nights and $150 in free play.
The line to check in was short and in just a minute I was at the counter. I was quickly checked in and given room 28-324. This is a king suite and is split into 2 levels. The bedroom area has a king bed with nightstands on both sides, a dresser and a flat screen TV. The living room is down two small steps and has a couch, coffee table, chairs, desk and dining table. It has a view of The Mirage, the High Roller and the tops of a few other hotels.
I took my stuff up to the room and then it was time to hit the casino! I just machine hopped playing penny slots for and hour or two. I had a few smaller hits but nothing major. Did get quite a bit of play considering I was playing slots on the strip.
I ran my free play through a lame 6/5 bonus 10 play video poker machine and it was awful. I fully expect to lose playing this game but only got dealt two winners. I turned the $150 free play into just $70 for over a 50% loss rate. Ouch.
I came back to the room and wind down for the evening with some TV only to find out the TV in the bedroom portion of the suite had no signal going to it (neither did the bathroom TV). Luckily the living room TV worked and it's close enough to see it.
Total win/loss for the day - $74
Total Comps for the day $319
