Day 4 Monday July 12, 2004

Hotel:
Today I’m moving to the Barbary Coast on the strip. I got an offer in the mail from them good for 2 free nights, breakfast and dinner each day in the Victorian Room or my guest room, $10 cash, and a free gift. I have never stayed here before and this offer came out of the blue because I haven’t even played here in a long time. I figured this would be my chance to add another hotel to the long list of places I’ve stayed in Las Vegas and when you throw in free food and money you just can’t beat it.

When I arrived at the Barbary Coast and went to check in. The clerk told me that the hotel was closed due to a water main break. I had a choice of going to either the Orleans or Gold Coast. I chose the Orleans since I think it’s a better overall property. She went to tell the manager I chose the Orleans and said my reservation would be ready when I got there.

I stopped off at the slot club to get my extras that came with the room. They actually wanted me to come back from the Orleans to go to dinner at the Victorian Room and then again for my free breakfast. I DON’T EFFING THINK SO. I told her that was unacceptable and she swapped out my coupons that were good only for this trip with some meal cards that have no expiration date on them. Still not what I wanted (I wanted the free meals at the Orleans) but at least I can use these on a future date.

Even though the Orleans is a really nice place I am still disappointed I’m not staying at the Barbary Coast. I was looking forward to adding another hotel to my list and actually spending a few nights on the strip. This is actually going to change my plans for the next 2 days.

The free gift was some piece of crap storage bag for a car. I think retail value on this is about 40 cents.

When I arrived at the Orleans there was no line so I got right to the counter. Of course my reservation wasn’t there. After about 20 minutes of the girl calling all over the place they finally got it put in. I was given room 1631. This room is in the original tower with a view of the pool and mountains only, you can’t see the pool because of the decorations in front of the windows.

The rooms here are nice. This room has 2 queen beds, a work desk, dresser, and small sitting area. The bathroom is split into 2 rooms, one with the toilet and tub, the other with the sink. After finally getting set up in the room I went downstairs to grab something to eat.

Dining:
Breakfast this morning was at the buffet before I checked out. I had to grab one last meal on my silver card before it expired. It was typical breakfast fare but since they were getting ready to switch over to lunch most of the items were either out of stock or dried and nasty from sitting there so long. This is one reason I’m not a big fan of buffets even though this buffet is a great deal at only $5.75 for breakfast.

I had dinner at the Courtyard Café. I went with the breaded pork cutlet. It was really good and came with potatoes and vegetables and soup or salad. I went with the cream of tomato soup. It was very good and I’d rank it as one of the best cream of tomato soups I’ve ever had. I paid with points and go the ½ off deal that they are offering through the end of the month.

Gaming:
After leaving Main Street Station I took a ride out to Boulder Station to play some craps before going over to the Barbary Coast to check in. This table was choppy after 3 shooters in a row going out right away, I switched to the dark side. I really hate doing this but it’s the only way to make the bankroll last. I did well on the dark side until a hot shooter took about half of what I gained. After he finally sevened out it was my turn to shoot and I moved back to the pass line. I had a pretty good roll hitting 3 points and a few repeating numbers. 2 more good shooters after me got me back to the plus side for the session so I colored up with a little over a $100 win.

After dinner at the coffee shop I played some video poker here at the Orleans. I found some slant top machines that were multi-game and multi-denomination that had some 8/5 bonus on them. This machine was pretty good to me and I hit another straight flush today on an inside draw. Today was the 3rd day in a row that I hit one of those. I cashed out with a $50 win after about a half-hour and went up stairs to rest for a while. I had planned on going back to the casino after a break but I fell asleep until 4am so just stayed in bed until morning.

Meets:
I was supposed to go to a meet this afternoon back downtown at Main Street Station but after getting the run around from the Barbary Coast and Orleans I missed this one. Sorry to the folks that may have been looking for me.

Total win/loss for the day $150
Total comps for the day $55