Day 1
Wednesday June 15, 2022
Day 1 Wednesday June 15, 2022 I had to work today and have a late night flight from Newark.

I got an early out at work and I picked up a rental car at the local airport from Avis. With a discount code through the job I got a mid sized for $44 base and $59 all in. They gave me a Chevy Equinox with 19,000 miles on it in great condition.

I had a few hours so went home for a while and then headed directly to Newark. I hit the afternoon rush hour but it was expected which is why I left plenty early. It still sucked taking 2 hours to get there though despite it being only 70 miles.

When I arrived in Newark I returned the car at Avis which went well and hopped on the air train.

I checked in for the flight online and dropped my luggage at the premier area because I am silver with United Airlines now as well as flying first class today. I booked this flight back in April. Airfares are sky high right now because of demand and oil prices. Coach tickets were in the mid $300's and first class was just under $600. I decided to cash in some miles and get a first class seat for the price of the coach seat.

I was on my way to security next. Since my last trip I've been approved for TSA pre – check and my known traveler number so now I get to use the pre – check line for all of my trips. What a difference it makes going through this line with frequent travelers vs. going through the regular security lines.

I was through security quickly.

I had plenty of time before the flight so decided to use one of my one time passes from my United credit card to go to the lounge. I got to the lounge and it was closed for renovations. It never stops amazing me that travel was dead for 2 years and they wait until air traffic is breaking records to close a lounge.

Instead they had everyone go to what they call the 123 club. When I got there they had the dreaded signs out that it was busy and weren't accepting one time passes. I stopped by the desk anyway and they allowed me in with the pass because I was silver. Nice room with a buffet of hot foods, sandwiches, fruits, desserts, packaged snacks and drinks.

It was getting close to boarding time so I left the lounge and got to my gate.

I took my seat, 1A and waited for us to depart. This is flight 1153 scheduled to depart at 9:03pm and arrive at 11:34pm with a flight time of 5 hours and 31 minutes. The captain came on the PA and told us it would only take 4:53.

Shortly after we took off we were served our meals. I got an e-mail a few days ago to pre order a meal and they were offering some different stuff. I decided on the BBQ Bacon Burger. Really tasty for airline food and came with a dinner roll (not sure why), fruit, and a cookie.

After I was done eating I slept for most of the flight until we were on our final approach.

We landed at 11:12pm and taxied to the gate.

I got right off the plane and made a customary stop at the can and then off to baggage claim. The bag came out quickly and was already out when I got there. I was off to the rental car shuttle.

This rental is also with Avis and my name was on the board so I went right to the car. I booked this with a discount through work and reserved a full sized car for a base rate of $510 after this discount and a coupon. This is double what I used to pay before COVID.

They had me set up with a Nissan Altima with 12,000 miles on it. I checked it over and was on my way.

Because it was so late I went directly to my first hotel, the Orleans. I got 4 comped nights just plugging my dates into the website. There was no line at check in and I was quickly assigned room 2072. Turns out this is a suite just like last time I was here. It's split into a separate living room and bedroom.

The living room has a couch, chairs, dining room table, wet bar and two TVs.

The bedroom has a king bed, night stands, dresser, work desk, closet and flat screen TV.

The bathroom has a shower stall, toilet, vanity and TV.

I got my stuff set up in the room and then hit the casino for a while. I got whacked a triple play progressive bank playing deuces wild. The progressives were at $1272, $1046, and $1272 with the super jackpot at over $8,000. I dropped 3 bills on less than 2k in action.

I switched to 10 play bonus and had a short but good run. I hit a set of aces a few bonus quads and got dealt 3 full houses. I cashed out with a $302.50 win for a total win of $2.50 for the night on about $3,500 in action.

I came up to room and hit the bed because it has been a really long day.

Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $2
Total Comps For The Day = $77