Please ADD your own Las Vegas Trip Report. Date of Trip: March 09, 2008 to March 12, 2008 Hotel Stayed At: Imperial Palace and Planet Hollywood Report by: Mike <> From: Youngstown, OH

Prelude

Decided to change my TR style up a bit and break it down into sections instead of the play by play method I usually use.


My cousin P flew with me from Cleveland and our cousin N was meeting us there from Denver. I normally always fly out of Pittsburgh since it is closer to my house, but I got a better deal out of Cleveland for this trip and decided to go with it. What a mistake that turned out to be. Most of Ohio was hit with our biggest snowstorm of the year on the day we were supposed to leave (3/08). Being the amateur meteorologist that I am I decided to rebook our flight for Sunday on Friday night since I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere on Saturday. So I also had to push back our departure from vegas to Wednesday instead of Tuesday. The search then began for finding a hotel room for Tuesday night. As many of you know the ConExpo (criminals convention) was in town as well as a bunch of other conventions and rooms were down right scarce. I already had Sunday night and Monday night booked at the IP for $39 and $59 a night. After much searching I decided to book Palms Place (new condo tower at the Palms) through TripRes for $203. I was really looking forward to staying here. Well another let down occurred on Monday when I received a call from TripRes saying that there were no rooms available at Palms Place. Great. Just Great. They said they would transfer my reservation over to Planet Hollywood at no additional cost. I knew that PH was probably more expensive for that night than Palms Place, but I knew it wouldn’t be anywhere near as nice or as new.

My cousin from Denver arrived on Saturday (since he would have to pay to change his flight to Sunday) and was able to spend the night at a buddies place. It was only my cousin P and I that stayed at PH since N had to leave on Tuesday.


Flights:

Southwest CLE>LAS 3/09/08
Had to leave the house pretty early because the roads still weren’t in the best of shape. Get to Cleveland and the place I wanted to park at was snowed in and had no space available so I had to park somewhere more expensive. Grabbed some lunch at the airport in Cleveland and left around 4:30. We had a layover in Chicago for about a hour and a half. Flight from Chicago departed on time and we finally made it to Las Vegas at around 8:20 P.M.

Southwest LAS>CLE 3/12/08
Taxi to the airport costed around $11+tip from Planet Hollywood. We had a direct flight back and departed vegas around noon. We made it back safe and sound.


Hotels:

Imperial Palace 3/9-3/11
I requested a pool view smoking room and that’s exactly what they gave me at check in. I wanted the pool view so we could check out the “talent” by the pool. Our room was on the 12th floor and was surprisingly clean. I’ve stayed at the IP before, but have never checked in to a nice, clean room. I’ve always arrived after others got there and messed the place up. This room really changed my mind about the place. It was a smoking room, but didn’t smell like smoke at all and the carpet didn’t have a stain on it. The TV was actually bigger than the ones I’ve seen in other rooms there.

All three of us got locked out on the balcony on Monday. My two cousins were outside and I let the door close behind me and it locked. Luckily my one cousin had his phone on him. Maintenance came to unlock the door, but they had to call security to come and unlock our deadbolt on the main door. We were only stuck out there for about 10 minutes.

Planet Hollywood 3/11-3/12
Checked in around 11:30 here and I was surprised they let me check in this early. The guy next to me was told they didn’t have rooms available yet. It’s possible he had a different type of room booked.

Our room was on the 8th floor and had not been updated since Planet Hollywood took over. Nevertheless it was a good size and I think an upgrade from the average room at PH. French doors opened to the bathroom on the left as you walked in. The bathroom contained two sinks, a soaking tub, stand alone shower and a separate little room where the toilet was located. The bedroom area was a pretty decent size and set up like your average hotel room. The only things PH really changed about this room was adding a couple pictures from movies on the walls and changing up the comforters and towels in the bathroom.

Checked out the pool area and they haven’t made any changes to that either. This place is gonna be pretty nice once they complete all the updating to the rooms.

Food:

Wynn Buffet
I’m going to write how I got it for free in the gambling section so check that if you would like to know how. I’ve only eaten at 3 buffets in Vegas, but this one was by far my favorite. Yeah, their desert selection may be a bit limited but that really doesn’t bother me since I don’t carry a big sweet tooth with me. The only problem I had was with their prime rib. It didn’t look bloody when I asked for a piece, but it was pretty bloody sitting on my plate. I really can’t stomach bloody meat. I really like their selection of gourmet salads and the king crab legs were awesome. Everything just seemed so fresh.
Price: Just had to leave a tip

Spice Market Buffet (Planet Hollywood)
I received a $25 dollar certificate and a $5 off coupon when I checked in so my cousin and I ate for about $13 a piece. I’m not really a big eater and especially so when I’m in vegas. I guess I would rather fill up on drinks than food. My cousin P talked me into going though. This place only costs a couple dollars less than the Wynn buffet, but the difference in quality is pretty noticeable IMO. The prime rib wasn’t bloody here so that’s about the only upper hand it had over the Wynn buffet. Nothing really impressed me all that much and I probably won’t be going back. I even overheard someone say “look, they cheapened it”. I forget which station they were pointing to though. So it seems that they raised the price while cutting back on things. If you are into mediterannean cuisine then this place might be for you. They have a nice big station dedicated to just that.
Price: $13+tip a piece

Ellis Island
It wouldn’t be a trip to vegas unless we had the steak special here. It was good as always and again I couldn’t finish it. I was pretty drunk when I was eating it so maybe that’s the reason. I’ll be back for sure.
Price: 6.95+tip a piece

La Salsa Cantina (PH)
My cousin P and I shared the appetizer sampler here. I’ve had it before and knew it was big enough to be a full meal for two people. They also bring you free chips and salsa which is always nice. The sampler was pretty good and we left with our stomachs full.
Price: $25 (including tip and one pop)

Gambling:

Slots a Fun
This is the first place we visited after my cousin N met up with us at the IP. We all sat down at a BJ table and I was up about $50 a one point and then my drunk self pissed it all away. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. We all played craps for a bit and I think I lost a little bit more. Not a good run at Slots a Fun.

Ellis Island
Played BJ here for just a few hands. I used the $10 MP from the ACG and pushed. I think I walked away about ten bucks ahead which was enough to pay for my steak dinner.

Imperial Palace
Played some slots and VP here and lost. All three of us also played Let It Ride Bonus here at around 6 AM on the first night. I think I actually came out even at LIR while my cousins both lost a little bit. The IP has some of the friendliest dealers in Vegas, but some of the worst games.

O’Sheas
My cousin P and I pitched in on some quarter wheel of fortune here and lost of course. All three of us played craps here for about an hour very late Sunday night/Monday morning. I think we all lost a bit. I was drunk/really tired and just couldn’t get anything going. We finally left here at about 7:30 AM on Monday and I had been awake for about 26 hours straight. My cousin N also placed in a poker tourney here on Monday.

Wynn
As mentioned earlier, the main reason we went here was to sign up for players cards and get the free buffets. We all signed up and headed straight for video roulette. You get $10 free play when you sign up and give them your email. I did $75 on red, $75 on black and $5 on the single zero. After three spins I had exactly 50 points and enough for 2 buffets. I actually put $6 on the single zero on the first spin and it hit the single zero so the Wynn paid me about $50 to get two free buffets. The single zero pays 34:1 for anyone that wants to know. If I didn’t hit the single zero it would of costed me $5 for the 2 buffets since you get $10 in free play. We didn’t play anything else here.

Palms
After eating at the Wynn we headed over to the Palms for a good VP session. I quickly lost $40 playing some quarter 10/6 double double bonus. We switched to some 10/7 DB and I was able to hit 2 4 oak’s which were both dealt to me. We then played some Deal or No Deal and I got to play the game. I got down to 3 cases left and took the deal. My case ended up having the top prize in it. Oh well. We also played some video keno and lost a bit.

Gold Coast
Walked over here after the Palms. Started off by playing craps and did ok. The three of us each rolled once. All of us had pretty decent roles hitting a couple of points each. I even hit a hard 4. We did much better here then at O’Sheas. There was a real nice guy playing next to us and he was chatting with cousin P. When he learned it was his first time throwing craps in vegas he quickly made $1 bets on all the hard ways for my cousin. Nice guy. The table was pretty lively with drunks since it was pretty late. I only ended up winning like $4, but my cousins walked away up about $50. Next, it was time for some live keno. We played a couple games with no big hits, had a drink and left.

MGM
Walked down here with P from Planet Hollywood on Tuesday night. I ran $20 through the Lion’s Share progressive on my last trip and proceded to do the same this trip. Not even a small hit. Ran a $20 through some VP and we left.

Planet Hollywood
I decided to do some gambling here after P entered the 2 am poker tourney. I started out playing some triple play VP and got my $20 up to $45 and cashed out. Continued to play different 5 play and triple play machines until my $45 had dwindled back down to $20. I then moved over to one of those VP 4oak spin machines when you get to spin the wheel if you hit a 4oak playing max credits. For some reason I read the machine wrong and thought I didn’t have to play max credits to spin the wheel. Dummy. Of course I ended being a dealt a 4oak and I was playing triple play. It was a nice $250 win. I contemplated cashing in and just going to bed, but we all know that gamblers never quit. I decided to mover over to my downfall, $1 wheel of fortune. Earlier in the day I had run $80 through with not a single spin. I put in my $250 voucher and ran that down to $200. I told myself that I wasn’t going to bed with less than $200 in my pocket. So I cashed out the $200. I decided to put in another $100 and a couple of fives and lost that. Some of this occurred while a working lady was trying to pick me up. At least I got to spin the wheel about 4 or 5 times. I didn’t hit anything higher than $40 on the spin. I was down to my last $5 so I decided to play one spin on a $5 machine. Nothing. I was walking over to the cashier to cash in my $200 voucher and I noticed some $1 VP machines. Of course that old mantra “gamblers never quit” came back to haunt me and I put the voucher in the machine. Started off playing $2 a spin and up it max credits after hitting a full house on about the 5th spin. A couple spins later I was dealt 4 aces for a $400 win. Off to bed with $600 in my pocket and about even for the trip. Good thing I didn’t quit.

Everything Else:

Big Elvis
P and myself were able to catch his 3 pm show on Tuesday. We were supposed to go to Mac King, but were a bit late getting to Harrah’s. We stopped walking at the Flamingo and turned around and headed back to Bill’s. We picked up some 99 cent margaritas and took our seats in the lounge. Great voice on this guy. He seems like a pretty genuine person that really enjoys what he does. His contract has been extended through 2009 if anyone wants to know. I recommend this show to anyone. It’s worth stopping by for. Two favorite songs he sang: Viva Las Vegas and Sweet Caroline.

Carnival Court
We walked here because my cousin wanted to check out some t-shirts at one of shops in this area. We didn’t intend on stopping here, but there was a booty shaking contest going on so of course we had to stop and watch. A 60 year old lady actually ended up winning. Here’s why: she flashed and mooned the audience TWICE! Needless to say it was one of the more interesting sites I took in all trip.

Some extra thoughts:
-Planet Dailies, the café at PH, looked really good and the food looked pretty upscale for a café. I wouldn’t mind trying it out on my next trip.
-The PH is really coming along nicely. I found it really hard to get around for some reason.
-We usually try to make it downtown at least once a trip, but we didn’t make it this time around.
-Something inside me tells me it’s very wrong when I play games with lesser pay schedules (8/5 JOB etc.)
-I think we might stay downtown or somewhere off the strip next time. The limits are low, the games are more favorable and comps come much easier. My cousin really liked Sunset Station and they even comped him a couple t-bone steak dinners. The excitement of the strip keeps drawing me back though.


Hope you enjoyed reading it! (if you got this far)








Mike <> - Youngstown, OH    4186

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