Day 1
Tuesday December 14, 2021
I was up early today and left the house around 4:30am for the trip to Newark in the rental car I picked up yesterday from the local airport. I booked this car through Avis using a discount code through my job and got an intermediate for a base rate of $41 all in for $55. They gave me Mitsubishi Cross with 34,000 miles on it. When I got to the car and started to inspect it, I noticed the front bumper was damaged. Back into the airport I go to report the damages. Everything was noted and I was on my way.

The ride to Newark was pretty smooth considering the hour of the morning it was until I got down to the Turnpike when the morning rush had already started. Slow going but moving and I finally made it to Newark.

I topped off the tank at the expensive station next to the airport and was on my way.

Returning the car went well with no surprises.

From Avis it was onto the monorail to the C terminals. Today's flight is with United. Because it's my Seven Stars trip I'm flying first class. This leg of the flight came in at $717 and the flight home comes in at $532 for a total of $1249. Thanks to the $1200 airfare reimbursement I'll be getting my total cost will be $49 round trip (plus and losses running the free play through) to fly to and from Las Vegas in first class.

I checked in on the app and dropped my bag at the premier area which went well.

Next up was the hell known as security. This went fairly well but it was very busy for a Tuesday at 6:30am. Only one ass clown today that was totally clueless and didn't listen to a thing she was told. She was in total sensory overload. That was fine until she started twirling around in circles and slammed into me about as hard as any could hit you. My response? Ouch, WTF? Hers? Blank stare. No apology, no eff you, just a blank stare. Do everyone a favor and stay home next time.

After I cleared security I went to see where my gate was. Originally I was C81 but that changed to C 136. Total opposite end of the terminal, as usual.

I had lots of time before the flight so I went to the United Club. I still have two one time passes from being a United Credit card holder. I was a bit disappointed that all they had for food was pre packaged convenience store types of foods and nothing fresh.

It was time to head back to the gate. When boarding began first class boarded and I took my seat, 1A. I originally booked this flight back in August and it's been changed ½ dozen times since then. This is flight 2181, non stop to Las Vegas. We are scheduled to depart at 8:40am and arrive at 11:31am with a flight time of 5 hours and 51 minutes. The usual announcement was made and we were told it was only going to take 5:15.

Shortly after we took off, breakfast was served. Today there was a choice of a waffle with berries or egg whites, kale and chicken sausage. I chose the waffle. It also came with a peach yogurt parfait, a bowl of fruit and a cookie.

Of course I'd usually expect that being in first class would eliminate some of the riff raff. Unfortunately I was sitting next it today. Not only riff raff but just a total douche bag. Every 5 minutes his phone would go off with a mail notification that was a mash up of South Park and the “AOL Guy”. Oh my god, you've got mail, you bastards. You would think this asshole would silence that for the flight but you'd be wrong. This went on the whole flight. So if that's not bad enough, his “partner” we'll call him, had the same fucking alert. Oh but it doesn't stop there. This douche bag had to be told multiple times to put his mask on. Really douche? Then, he felt it would be a good idea to put his feet up on the wall in front of him, scuffing it all up. But wait, it gets better. Then he decided to take his shoes off too. Seriously, WTF is wrong with people.

I spent the rest of the flight sleeping, and watching TV in between listening to Kyle and the AOL Guy telling him he got mail.

I was woken up by the announcement that we were on our final approach. We landed at 11:10.

After the usual long taxi ride to the gate we were finally there. Being in the front row I was one of the first off the plane on on my way to baggage claim. I got an alert the my bag was put on an earlier flight and it would be at the United office waiting for me.

I stopped along the way and hit a few slots with some pretty good luck. Take the money and run. This is the airport and no reason to play more than that. Three nice hits on one machine had me up over 2 bills before I even had my luggage.

The alert was right, my suitcase was waiting for me. I grabbed it and was on my way to the rental car shuttle.

I booked today's car with Avis once again using a discount code through my job. I booked an intermediate and used a coupon for a possible upgrade. The base rate for the 17 day rental is $403 and all in for $651.

As has been the case most times when I rent with Avis in Las Vegas, my name isn't on the board even though I'm preferred. A quick stop at the booth got me a Honda Accord. It had 11,000 miles on it and was in good condition except for a big scratch on the passenger side. A few seconds there and I was on my way.

My first order of business was to 99¢ Only for a few items to get through the next few days. From there it was Jack in the Box for lunch. A couple of tacos and a bacon cheeseburger did the trick. Thanks Mike!

The next stop was to the Strip and Palazzo, the first hotel of the trip. I booked this on an offer for 3 nights and a free Princess cruise. I continue to get decent offers from Venetian/Palazzo despite very little play. They aren't as good as they once were but still too strong for my play.

Checking in went well. There was a short line but it moved well. One thing that sucks is not having status at some hotels where I can skip the line. I was assigned room 42727. This is a king room with nightstands on each side of the bed, a dresser, and flat screen TV. Down a few steps is the living room area with a sectional sofa, chair, work desk and dining room table as well an another TV. There is a view of Wynn, Encore and the MSG Sphere.

The bathroom has a dual sink vanity, tub and shower stall. The toilet is in a separate room. Because I would only be staying here for one night I didn't bother to unpack anything.

I hit the casino and saw something at Palazzo I've never seen before. People! Seriously, this place was packed. I walked around and played some penny games here and over at Venetian. Nothing major in the form of wins or losses. I squeaked out around twenty bucks in wins.

Next up was craps. They had a $15 game running at Venetian and I almost bought in until I realized it was Crapless Craps. No thanks. I walked back over to Palazzo and they had a regular game at $15. I bought in and other than the first shooter that went out on his first roll, this table was good. The next shooter hit 6 points. The only problem was he'd hit the right away so wasn't hitting any other numbers. That works though. After he went out the next shooter had a good roll and then I had a good roll. I hit the tall and was one away from hitting them all but whiffed needing the three (I don't make that bet). It got a little choppy after my roll and when I got the dice back I had another decent roll, again missing the ALL by one number (2) again. The next shooter was good and then 3 bad shooters (I was the third) and tapped out. No way was I giving everything back. I colored up with a $1,275 win.

It was about 8pm and with only 4 hours of sleep last night and 2 hours on the plane, combined with the time change, I was exhausted.

I came up to the room to wrap up day 1.

Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $1,532
Total Comps For The Day = $111