Welcome to the 2024 Christmas / Birthday Trip. This trip comes in at 20 days and will be full of the usual fun. Lots of play time, dining and spending time with friends. This trip won't end with Las Vegas as back in October I semi-retired. I will be spending a few weeks after Las Vegas in South Florida and on a bunch of cruises to get out of the cold NY weather for a few extra weeks. Changing things up a little bit this time for the report as it will be in summary form as opposed to a full length report or bullet points. Off we go!
Day 1
Sunday December 15, 2024
Got up at 2:15am for my 6:05 am scheduled flight. Drove a rental to Newark from my local airport. Full size with a discount through work for $44 base and $58 all in. Had a Hyundai Sonata with over 50,000 miles on it. Car was a total piece of shit. Returning it was a mess with the entire return area at Avis jammed up.
Of course the monorail was down yet again in Newark so the 4 minute tram ride took over 30 minutes by bus. This would be the downfall of the day.
Went to premier area to check in suitcase and I was locked out. Missed the cut off by 8 minutes. Thank you very much to the Port Authority for this session of anal sex. Desk agent couldn't override it so I was rebooked on a 10am flight. I am livid at this point. Lost my early flight with lie flat seats for a flight 4 hours later with regular seating. Hopefully this won't be the theme for the entire trip.
Went to the lounge and tried to keep busy for 4 hours.
Time to board. I originally paid $909 for this flight to have to lie flat seat option and because it's my 7* trip with Caesars. This is flight 446 non stop to Las Vegas with a scheduled departure time of 10am and arrive at 12:49pm and 5 hour and 49 minute flight time.
Took my seat 3E on the aisle so I'm sure I'm sitting next some ass clown that drank 4 gallons of coffee and will have to wake me up 12 times so he can go piss.
The meal options were beef and cheese sandwich or pasta. I took the beef sandwich. Very tasty and served with a salad, dinner roll and banana pudding.
Flight was smooth. Arrived in Las Vegas 3 minutes early according to the captain. Baggage was waiting when I got to the carousel.
Off to the rental car facility. Booked with Hertz on a pre paid basis using an AMEX platinum discount code. Booked a standard SUV (need the extra space later in the trip) for $456 base/$726 all in. Arrived and my name not on the board. Gold room full of a dozen people with the same issue. Finally got through and had to wait another 15 minutes for a vehicles. Got a Ford Edge with 33,000 miles on it.
Hotel tonight is out at Sam's Town. No real reason other than I got comped and haven't stayed here in years. Booked 2 nights even though I'm staying for just one so I'm not homeless between hotels. Also get $10 food and $10 free play. Check in took 3 minutes and I was in room 348 three minutes later.
Went to Juan's Flaming fajitas for dinner with Anne and Evelyn. Had queso and a 2 taco combination.
Went to bed fairly early at 8pm because I've been up since 2:15am eastern time (11:15pm Pacific time). No play today. Will play in the morning.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = $0
Total Comps For The Day = $74
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Day 2
Monday December 16, 2024
Moved to Wynn today on an offer of 3 nights, upgraded to a suite for staying on weekdays and $600 resort credit. I also have my platinum birthday $150 dinner and $100 spa credit. Was given room 2706. Identical to the room and location I had last time I was here, just 2 floors down and doesn't smell like weed.
Play today was video poker at Sam's Town. Not a great session. Was getting killed, took a hail Mary on DDB and got dealt quad 6's. Saved the day from being a disaster and got out with a $1.25 win. I ran my free $10 free play through slots and turned it into $1.87
At Wynn I hit the craps tables. Craps was not it's usual good self to me tonight. Making place bets shooters would go point out. Switched to come bets and shooters would hit each number once and then go out. We did have a few decent rolls that kept me alive but took about a $1300 loss here. Not exactly the way to start a trip!
Meals today consisted of chicken wings from the Sportsbook deli at Sam's. At Wynn I went to Red 8. Roasted BBQ pork and Lemon Chicken were the choices tonight. Both were very good and both were over priced at $25 & $28.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1288
Total Comps For The Day = $497
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Day 3
Tuesday December 17, 2024
Played 4 sessions of craps today at Wynn. First session won back most of what I lost last night. Second session lost it again. Third session got slaughtered and the final session won it all back and then some to make a small profit on the day. That's what happens when the minimums are higher than I normally like to play. The swings are much bigger.
Meals today were at Terrace Pointe. Had the hot maple chicken and waffles for breakfast. Dinner was late night and I ordered room service. I got the French Onion soup and a bacon cheeseburger.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = $695
Total Comps For The Day = $493
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Day 4
Wednesday December 18, 2024
It was 6 years ago today that we lost Dee so I always try to keep extra busy.
Had a reservation at the spa today to use my birthday credit and some of the resort credits. Had an 80 minute massage. The therapist beat my ass. I'm still sore but I guess in a good way. After I spent some time in the wet areas.
Played 2 sessions of craps today and won one, lost one. The second session was looking bad like I was going to take a pretty big loss. Then two back to back shooters had pretty good rolls. Won everything back that I was down and some profit on top of it. Typical of many sessions I play where if I wasn't down when the hot roll happened I was have had a really good win.
Dinner tonight I had a reservation at Allegro with Anne and Steve. I had the minestrone, beef carpaccio and veal francaise. The food here is really good but keeping with the Wynn standard, crazy prices.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $821
Total Comps For The Day = $935
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Day 5
Thursday December 19, 2024
Got everything settled up with a casino host and got a late check out. Had to get the birthday spa and dinner credits added. Also cashed in my comp dollars and ordered a new microwave that they'll ship home.
Moved to Paris today. This is my 7* trip with Caesars with $1200 airfare reimbursement, and $500 folio credit. Booked a Bourdeaux Giverny Suite. Room wasn't available when I arrived so took a downgrade to a Lemans suite. Only difference is there's only 1 bathroom instead of 2. Ended up with room 850P. I'm also staying on a play up offer with guaranteed $200 free play and based on tier points additional free play. I won't be hitting those hurdles. They are also running 5x tier this week in Las Vegas.
Play today was mainly short pay video poker and some carnival games mixed in. I actually hit my first royal of the trip on Ultimate X Bonus streak but with no multiplier. That along with the $200 free play saved the day. I also threw in a little slot action and had fun playing some of the games out there. I played to 2500 tier and quit. Thanks to the royal I was only down $140 on the day which I'd consider a gift. Once the bonus tier credit post I will be diamond elite for next year and won't be hitting 7* again. I'm good with that.
Meals today were room service for breakfast at Wynn. Cheese omelet and some fruit to help burn off come of the remaining resort credits I had left. For dinner I went to Cafe Hollywood at Planet Hollywood. I got the prime rib special which was nothing special.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $140
Total Comps For The Day = $2056
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Day 6
Friday December 20, 2024
Went to Palms today. Jimbo and Katy arrived yesterday. The plan was lunch and video poker. I have a mailer for $160 free play, surprise birthday free play (ended up being $25), a Friday free play promo (got $70 for this) and 5x points until 3pm.
I did most of my play on 5 play. I hit aces 4 times and hovered through most of the day. Switched up to 10 play to get the rest of my play in and finished up a 10k session with a $35 win. I ran the $255 free play through dollar single line and cashed at $225 for a $260 win on the day.
Lunch was at the buffet. The special brunch was priced a $42.99. Damn, I remember not that long ago lunch buffets were $7! Dinner was at Earl of Sandwich (they accept comps here).
Total Win/Loss For The Day = +$260
Total Comps For The Day = $656
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Day 7
Saturday December 21, 2024
Went downtown early this morning to get some play in at the Four Queens. I have a mailer with $40 free play (my have times changed) and a promo for earning 600 points for another $40 free play and a $20 food comp. Played penny 50 play bonus deuces to lower the volatility since I was in no hurry to get in the play. I'm glad I was only playing pennies because the swings were awful. I was down over $100 before I got my first dealt quad. Hands with 2 dealt deuces were rare. Then I finally got dealt trip deuces and whiffed on all 50 lines, twice. I even dumped a junk hand and out of 50 hands got paid 5 coins. Things turned a little when I popped some deuces and a few royals. In total I hit 2 royals, deuces 7x, kicker deuces 3x, a dealt quint and 2 dealt straight flushes. I got down to the final 100 points I needed which typically kill me. Today was the exception because the last 100 points actually saved me. I finished the session down only $6.50.
I ran my $80 free play through 50˘ jacks or better and it was a disaster turning it into $30 with nothing better than 2 pair.
Back at Paris I just played a few slots tonight. Thanks to a bonus round I cleared a little over $40 profits. Nothing great but I guess it's better than losing $40!
Lunch was at Magnolia's Veranda and of course my standard bowl of gumbo and the open faced turkey. Booked a dinner reservation at Guy Fieri's Flavortown at the Bally's Shoe. Anne, Steve, Jason and Evelyn joined me. They had some major price increases on a few menu items here since 1 year ago. It looks like the popular items were spiked and everything else is up by $2. For example the crispy cheese burger is up $10 from $26.99 to $36.99. WTF? $37 for a burger? I skipped it this time around on principle and got ribs and chicken wings.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $65
Total Comps For The Day = $659
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Day 8
Sunday December 22, 2024
Nothing major planned today so this will be quick and boring!
Hung out with Anne and Evelyn. Did some uber eats runs with Anne and used to money earned for food today. Had lunch at Juan's Flaming Fajita's. Repeat of last week with queso and a 2 taco platter. For dinner we all went to Harrah's and went to Bobby's (Flay) Burgers. I got the usual bacon crunch burger.
Got back to Paris and packed up my things for the move to Laughlin tomorrow.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = $0
Total Comps For The Day = $287
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Day 9
Monday December 23, 2024
Did some quick shopping at Horseshoe to use up the rest of the $500 folio. Few shirts and some snacks and poof. $200 gone.
Moved to Aquarius Laughlin today. Drive was smooth sailing and no issues along the way. Have a mail offer with $470 free play. Reserved my regular room and got 18071.
Didn't do much play today because tomorrow is 4x/8x for me so I'll make up the difference tomorrow. Dropped $300 on just 3k in action. Ran my $470 free play through single line dollars and turned it into $550 thanks to some full houses.
Meals were simple with some jack in the box tacos on the drive here for lunch. Dinner was at Cafe Aquarius and I got my usual pot roast.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = +$271
Total Comps For The Day = $798
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Day 10
Tuesday December 24, 2024
Played heavier than normal today because I was getting 4x points on VP and 8x points on slots. I did just under 52k in action on video poker today and took a loss of $770. Not terrible until you find out that I hit two royals. The swings were terrible. After the second royal (that I hit 20 minutes after the first one) the score was 2 royals, 3 quads. Dealt winners were far and few. Normally on 52k in action I'd be pretty good with a $770 loss but not after hitting 2 royals. I guess I'm thankful I did hit them or today would have been a total disaster.
Also played some slots today and thanks to some good hits turned a profit of just under $200 that offset the video poker losses.
Meals were simple today. Breakfast was an egg McMuffin at McDonald's (hard to pass up a $2 breakfast sandwich through the app). For dinner I went to Cafe Aquarius and got the holiday special. 8oz NY Strip, 3 fried shrimp, vegetables, potato and soup or salad for $16. Pretty good deal and more than enough food.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = -$584
Total Comps For The Day = $96
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Day 11
Wednesday December 25, 2024
Merry Christmas
Today is my birthday, number 54.
Slept in and took my time getting ready. Sent the customary texts and made the usual phone calls before getting out for the day.
Video poker was hellish again. Very similar to yesterday. Almost identical except I turned a profit. Just not nearly as much as I should have after hitting two royals but it was better than booking a loss.
Hopped around and played some slots as well. A Buffalo bonus gave me a decent profit so locked it in and stopped.
Meals were Chicken Fried steak and eggs at Cafe Aquarius. Since Golden Entertainment has none of their own restaurants open after 10pm, I had a late night meal at McDonald's. I've been eating way too much of this delicious crap this week.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $591
Total Comps For The Day = $106
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Day 12
Thursday December 26, 2024
Happy Boxing Day To My Canadian Readers
Today is 4x video poker and 8x slots for me so the plan is to get in some extra action. Video poker wasn't friendly yet again. Dealt winners and quads were not happening. Tough to win on 10 play when nothing comes up. Even worse is when you're being dealt a winner and can't improve it. Even tried single line to change things up. This helped a bit getting me more play time. I was hovering for quite a while and then just like that things went to hell. Dropped a grand between 10 play and single line on 35k.
Slots weren't much better. Not many bonus rounds and when I did hit one it was weak. Took a small loss here but nothing terrible.
Had pot roast lunch at Cafe Aquarius. For dinner went to River Rock and had the holiday lasagna special. Came with soup or salad. I went with the minestrone. Not the best lasagna I've ever had but not the worst. Typical of lasagna at most places is it's pre-made and not heated all of the way through when they serve it. The service also sucked in here tonight.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1095
Total Comps For The Day = $120
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Day 13
Friday December 27, 2024
Since I had pounded the two 4x days a little hard I had already reached my normal play levels yesterday. This would let me take it easy today with an almost free day. Then I found out they were doing a weekend multiplier also of 4x/8x. Still going to take it easy today though. Video poker was decent but not great. Decided to play some 5 play deuces. I did hit deuces one time and finished the session even. Played some single line dollars for a little while and dropped a few hundred. I cashed in my points from this trip which included some left overs from the summer, the 50k for my birthday and the action this trip including the two 4x days which worked out to be $600. I took a shot on $2 single line with this and turned the $600 into $400.
Had a good little run on some slots as well making over $100 thanks to some pretty big line hits. Oddly no bonus rounds.
Lunch was over at PT Express over at Edgewater. Nothing special just some chicken fingers. One last dinner at Cafe Aquarius and my favorite, pot roast.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $378
Total Comps For The Day = $775
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Day 14
Saturday December 28, 2024
Left the Aquarius and headed back to Las Vegas. The drive was smooth sailing the whole way until the spaghetti bowl. Moved to Rampart today. They renovated for Spa Tower. Ended up in a regular room instead of a suite (I'm ok with this here). Got room 4137. They did a really nice job with the room renovations. You can still smell the fresh paint and new carpeting.
Yahtzee Mike arrived today!
Video poker was pretty good to me today. No real ups and downs and hovered in both sessions I played. The first session saw a dealt quad. Shortly after I got dealt trip aces and pulled a quad on 3 lines. From there I was just hitting “stuff” as Dee used to day. Cashed out with over $700 in profits. Later in the day I had another session where I got to play quite a bit and almost doubled up just on “stuff”. I dropped back down to even and quit.
They were having computer issues today so my free play wasn't there but my host got it fixed. Oddly the whole amount was there instead of it being broken down into thirds. Ran the $525 free play through dollar single line and thanks to quad 6's cashed out at $600.
Had lunch at Earl Grey with Jimbo (Katy had lunch earlier with a friend). Had grilled cheese and tomato soup. For dinner we all went to the buffet.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $1306
Total Comps For The Day = $968
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Day 15
Sunday December 29, 2024
Today was video poker from hell. Little play and lots of money. The best session all day was breaking even on 6k. Just 22k in action. Not a good day at all. Few dealt winners, few dealt quads, lots of nothing.
Won a whopping $28 on slots thanks to a bonus round.
Has lunch with everyone at the deli. I had a turkey club. Really good sandwich here but not made the traditional way. Jimbo & Katy made a dinner reservation at Jade for all of us. Also joining in the fun will be Las Vegas Norm. ordered everything family style and shared spring rolls, pot stickers, roasted pork, Beijing beef, shrimp and broccoli, chicken lo mein and beef chow fun.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = - $1372
Total Comps For The Day = $365
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Day 16
Monday December 30, 2024
Started off with 10 play. Got slaughtered. Beyond slaughtered. Dropped 5 bills on only 6k in action with just nothing but low pairs and single high cards being dealt. Switched machines to another bank and actually broke even
After lunch dropped another quick $200 and was now down $700 on just 6k in action. Made a switch to dollar triple play. Was pretty smooth with small pockets of nothing. Happened to hit aces and made the switch back to quarter 10 play. Things were good this time around. Got dealt 4 to a royal and actually hit one. Shortly after I was dealt quads 8's. Sat at this machine just hovering and then slowly bleeding for a few hours and did over 20k for the session. Cashed out up $1 for the day.
One last session in the evening and a bunch of “stuff” kept me going. It got better when I held a single ace and pulled the other 3. The next hand I got dealt trip aces and for the second time in the last few days landed three quads. As quick as the credits racked up, the credits disappeared. Was able to hover for quite a while longer and cashed out after 13k in action with another $1 win. Kind of sucks hitting a royal and getting a dealt quad and winning $2 for the day but I guess it's better than hitting 2 royals and losing like I did a few days ago in Laughlin. Not that bad either winning $2 on almost 40k in action.
For lunch I hit the buffet with Jimbo and Katy and for dinner we went to Earl Grey Cafe. I had the 3 course combo dinner with chicken Parmesan, chicken noodle soup and cheesecake for dessert.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $2
Total Comps For The Day = $467
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Day 17
Tuesday December 31, 2024
They were running 5x points on video poker here this morning so I wanted to get as much of my play in as I could. I started off with quarter 10 play and within minutes got dealt a quad.
I decided to take a shot at halves so bumped up. Had enough quads and dealt stuff to stay alive for quite a while. No major hits but lots of action.
Took a chance and had a little fun and played some Ultimate X. The pay table was horrible but the results were pretty good. I hit a royal flush and of course it couldn't be on the 8x line. Exactly 3 minutes later I hit another royal. Then 19 minutes after that I hit my third royal in 22 minutes. I cashed out with a $2600 win and almost 30k in action.
Went over to Suncoast to get in some play and hang out with Jimbo and Katy (they moved here for a few days). Today was 10x points. Played some double super times pay 5 play for a change of pace. Had a very streaky run that included dealt quad 7's. As I hit the deal button I yelled at the machine to give me a multiplier and, it gave me a 4x. I had the meter up and down but eventually cashed out with a $200 win.
Switched to a carnival game for nickels that is pretty fun but dropped $197 with little play. Total win at Suncoast on video poker was $3 on just over 10k.
Played a few slots at Suncoast and won like 10 bucks. Over at Rampart I played some slots as well and hit some big his and a few tremendous bonus rounds. Gave up after I was up over 5 bills.
Lunch was a quick one at McDonald's using a free item for my birthday. Didn't want to eat too much because we had dinner reservations so this was just right. For dinner we had a reservation at 90 Ninety at Suncoast. Norm also joined us. We shared a pretzel appetizer and onion rings. For my entree I got the Stardust Chicken (chicken breasts, cheese, bacon, mushrooms, asparagus and mashed potatoes).
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $3161
Total Comps For The Day = $574
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Day 18
Wednesday January 1, 2025
Happy New Year
Had a good morning session with lots of “stuff” and my 4th royal in less than 24 hours. Things started going south so I took lunch break after 17k in action and a $700 win. After lunch played more. Thought I was going to bleed to death but a few dealt full houses and flushes got me back into it along with a few quad aces. Did 13k and cashed out dead even.
Had the hot ham and Swiss at the deli which is the sandwich of the month. Good sandwich. Went over to Red Rock to meet Norm, Jimbo & Katy at T-Bones. I got the French Onion soup and the filet mignon. Very good meal and Norm covered the tab with his many Stations points.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $700
Total Comps For The Day = $557
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Day 19
Thursday January 2, 2025
Today is the final day in town. Seems like just yesterday I was checking into Sam's Town.
Started off with 10 play and just got killed. Dropped $300 on less than 3k in action. Jimbo & Katy arrived so we went to lunch. In an afternoon session I was down another $200 on a few more thousand in action. Later in the afternoon I had a better session with more quads and dealt winners. Got out even on 6k in action. One final session of the evening I did 5k and broke even again. Could not draw a quad when dealt trips.
Won a whopping $2 playing some penny slots. Don't knock it, it's the only win I had today.
Cashed in my points which have accumulated for the last few trips and got $500 cash back. That offset all of today's VP losses.
Lunch today was at the buffet and dinner was at Earl Grey. Had the turkey platter which I always good.
Got packed up for the move tomorrow and got to bed early.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = + $2
Total Comps For The Day = $867
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Day 20
Friday January 3, 2025
Leaving town to day but not heading home. Going to Galveston, TX to board the Carnival Jubilee with Anne, Steve and Evelyn.
Picked everyone up in the wee hours of the morning and dropped them off at the airport and went to return the rental car. All went well and I was back at the airport quickly.
Today's flight is on Southwest airlines into Hobby Houston. Fares were high being January 3 at $268 one way. This is flight 942 departing at 7:20am and arriving in Houston at 12:15pm with a 2 hour and 55 minute flight time. Absolutely hate Southwest's boarding process but they were almost $200 cheaper into the closer airport than any other airline so had to suck it up. Flight was fine. Landed a little early. Collected bags at baggage claim and then ubered to the hotel.
I'm going to end this report here because the Las Vegas trip is officially over.
Total Win/Loss For The Day = $0
Total Comps For The Day = $0
Final Thoughts
Eff Yous
