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My Trip Report - Gold Coast 5/27/07 – 6/1/07
Posted On 12/08/2007 10:47:23 by isles1
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Warning: There will be no tales about $500 hands or $300 meals. I am a low roller and I use coupons 
Sunday 5/27/07
I left the house at about 12 noon for my 4:35 p.m. Southwest direct flight out of ISP, which is about 50 miles from me. The flight left on time and arrived a few minutes early and was uneventful. I enjoyed a few Jack and Cokes using my Rapid Rewards drink coupons and sat back and enjoyed the ride. I grabbed my checked bag and headed out the side doors at LAS to grab the shuttle to the car rental center.
The ride to the rental center took all of 15 minutes including the wait to get on the bus. I headed for the Alamo counter and tried to use the kiosk to check in, but their system had dropped my coupons off the reservation. After 20 minutes at the Quicksilver desk, the problem was resolved and I was off. No more compacts left so the garage attendant signed off on my reservation sheet and gave me a Pontiac G6 GTP. Not too shabby for a weekly rate of $95 including taxes for 250 horses.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0281.jpgI made it to the Gold Coast around 8:00 p.m. and checked into Room 733. Now, I had three overlapping reservations so I slipped the guy behind the desk a $20 and asked him to please arrange my stay so I do not have to check in and out for each reservation. No upgrade to a suite, but I got a room with a decent view of the south Strip and the Palms, a free fridge for the room and a few extra funbooks. Other than that, the room was very clean but admittedly no frills except for the 32” LCD television. My room key and reservations worked as the clerk promised, so $20 well spent.
View from Room 733:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0267.jpghttp://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0268.jpgMy first reservation included a $25 food credit that had to be used that evening, so I grabbed a free Jack and Coke from the bar and headed to the Cortez Room for a 10oz Prime Rib and Garlic mashed and some sort of chocolate cake and coffee. Excellent eats for $24 and change, which was fully comped. I tipped the server 20% and headed out to the floor to play some VP.
I cashed out up $40, then I gave Sailor53 a call. We met up at the Orleans Crawfish Bar where I found him sucking down drinks and feeding the bartop machines. We hit up Brendan’s Irish Pub where I enjoyed a Jack and Diet and promptly lost $15. I think we firmed up our plans for breakfast the next morning and I headed back to the Gold Coast. I grabbed a Midnight Special at the Monterey Room to burn through the balance of my food comps and called it a night at around 2 a.m. Nasty wet eggs and under-cooked hashbrowns.
Monday 5/28/07
I started the day out early and went downstairs to the Roulette table to use up the three $5 table MPs I was given as part of my first reservation at the Gold Coast. I won all three MPs and made a few extra bets. When I was up $45 I cashed out and tipped the dealer a $5 chip. From there I headed over to the Orleans to meet Sailor53 and Homersimpson969 for breakfast.
We encountered great service at the Courtyard Café and Sailor53 treated Homersimpson969 and myself to our French Toast and we both split the tip. Then we headed out on one of our off-strip jaunts.
We loaded into the G6 and hit up the Tuscany over on Flamingo. Very nice place with a real quiet “resort” feel to it. I lost my $5 free slot play and broke even playing some BJ with the matchplay we got for signing up for their Player’s Club. If I recall, the other guys did not fare much better there either. Next stop was Terrible’s which yielded a free shirt for signing up...I gave my funbook to Homer so he could have a beer and play some BJ with the matchplay. Overall, the place was pretty terrible and I can not see making another visit there without a specific purpose. The last stop before we went our separate ways was the Westin. Now this is a real classy place. We all took advantage of the $25/$40 “free play” offer. I walked away up $42; Sailor also score a few bucks, but Homer lost his $40 if I recall.
After I dropped the others back at the Orleans, I headed to Target on Rainbow to grab some bottled water for the remainder of the week. I swung around to Charleston back to the Strip so I could pop into Circus Circus to redeem my $30 free slot play coupon. I parked in one of their horrific garages and tripped over a few kids on my way to the Player’s Club booth. I played max credits on one of those wacky cartoon slots and cashed out with $36 of their money.
I went back to home base and had lunch at Port O’ Call buffet. The cashier took my POV 2/1 coupon and applied a 50% off discount since I was dining alone: A whopping $4.50 with tip for lunch. The buffet is nothing spectacular with standard fare and decent selections, but at that price it is a bargain. I played some VP (up $10) and threw $10 down (paid $16.50) on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals before grabbing the Coast Casino shuttle over to Bill’s so I could walk across the street to the Bellagio for the Fontana Bar meet.
About twelve LVTalk members showed up at the Fontana Bar for drinks, VP and small talk. Since I did not take notes about this meet I will steal from Pnut’s TR: the guest list was as follows: Char, B7’s aka Hetz, Sailor, P’Nut and his wife, Marlo1, Pebbles and her husband, MizBlackjack and her friend Debbie, IllinoisVegaslover, TexasLynnie, PattyfromOntario and Splittin7’s.
I lost about $30 at the bartops but I had two great Tennessee Highballs and a Jack Daniels, Single Barrel and Diet. After saying my goodbyes, I made my way back to the Coast shuttle and played some more VP at the Gold Coast. After two more Jack Daniels, Single Barrel and Diets and parting with another $15 I headed back to the room for a rest...in the end, I passed out around 11 p.m. 
Tuesday 5/29
Today I scheduled a solo hike of the White Domes Trail at Valley of Fire State Park which is about 50 miles north of the city. I headed downstairs to Seattle Coffee and ordered up a medium and a croissant for the drive. By 6:30 a.m. I was on I-15 headed to my destination. Once I hit Route 169 to Overton, I do not think I saw another car until I got near the Visitor’s Center 10 miles east of the west entrance. Not the greatest feeling when you have no cell service in the area:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0276.jpgI suppose it was about 7:30 a.m. when I made it to the White Domes trailhead. The hike is a relatively short 1.5 mile loop which probably took me about 45 minutes. I did not see a single person while hiking this trail; the utter silence and isolation is almost haunting at times.
White Domes Trail:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0296.jpghttp://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0294.jpghttp://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0285.jpghttp://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0283.jpgAfter White Domes I drove back down towards the Visitor Center and made a quick stop at Mouse’s Tank, another short hike. I headed out of the park via the east entrance and drove Northshore Drive (what a beautiful drive) to Lake Las Vegas. I took in the luxurious scenery of the posh Lake LV community and poked my head into Casino Montelago, a very pretty yet small joint. Props to LV_Norm for all the hiking and driving tips, as I likely would not have attempted the trip solo without his input.
From there I headed to the Fiesta Henderson, one of my favorite casinos. I won $75 at the Roulette table using one of my $25 POV matchplays. I know I played some VP here as well, but I do not recall how much I parted with. After convincing myself I lost my cell phone, I took my winnings and headed west on the 215 to the Gold Coast to call it in lost...turns out I was sitting on it the while ride back. I guess lack of sleep will do that to you? So I hit the Orleans buffet for lunch using an ACG coupon for half off: $6.50 with tip. This buffet is consistently one of the best values; great quality and better selections than, say, the Gold Coast.
Before heading out for the Orleans meet, I lost a Jackson playing VP at the Gold Coast. I met HomerSimpson, Char, Duck, Sailor and BigJohn and his poker playing wife at the Mardi Gras bar for a few drinks, then all of us, less Char and BigJohn and his wife, headed downtown for some dinner and to expose me to my first Fremont Street light show. We ate at MSS Triple 7 Brewpub: Duck ordered a beer, Sailor enjoyed a nice cut of Prime Rib, and HomerSimpson and I dealt with hockey pucks on buns. One highlight was the German wheat beer I ordered by mistake. $13 out the door with tip. I also made $5 on VP before we left MSS.
Before the lightshow we walked through several downtown casinos. The lightshow was impressive, and the other guys said it was probably the best one they had seen. We ended the Downtown tour at the Plaza, which is probably the one place that exemplified how I pictured a downtown casino. Otherwise, I was very surprised how clean and modern most of the other downtown places were. HomerSimpson dropped me off back at the Orleans and I drove back to the Gold Coast.
After losing another $40 on VP I grew frustrated and wanted a change of scenery. Around 10 p.m. I took a drive to the South Point to cash in my $10 free play coupon. When I arrived, they said I could not have the free play because I was a member of the Coast Club when the place was the South Coast...I protested to no avail. I played some bartop VP near the Lounge and knocked back an Amstel Light. I broke even on VP and had an urge to play a couple of dollars on the slots: -$2. I headed back to the Gold Coast and sat down at the Monterey Room to give the place a second chance. This time I ordered my special well done, so this time I could actually finish the meal: $6.50 with tip. My night wrapped up around 1 a.m.
Wednesday 5/30
I started the morning in the sportsbook to bet $10 on Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals (lost this bet) and then headed out with my Seattle Coffee and granola bars around 7 a.m. to meet LV_Norm at Red Rock Casino, our jumping off point for a 6.5 mile hike to “The Overlook” and “The Muffins” across from Red Rock Canyon one Route 159. This was a challenging hike at times for a partially out of shape guy like myself, but Norm was excellent company and a great guide. Needless to say, the resulting views were well worth it:
Las Vegas from “The Overlook”
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0305.jpgA view of Red Rock Canyon from the top of one of “The Muffins”
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...1/IMG_0310.jpgAfter the hike, Norm and I headed back to Red Rock Casino for the Feast buffet. This buffet probably had one of the best selections I have encountered in LV so far. I sampled several items, but had a relatively light lunch nonetheless. The bill was $10.50 for both of us with an ACG 2/1 coupon. I will definitely return to spend some more time at this casino and to give the buffet another whirl. The place is absolutely stunning, but I did not come across any full pay JoB VP during my short search after signing up for my Player’s Club card. It was about 1 p.m. at this point, so I headed back down the 215 to the Gold Coast to get cleaned up for the Palms meet at 3 p.m.
I grabbed a hotdog from the sportsbook cart and lost $10 on VP before heading out to the meet. The attendance at the Palms meet was extremely strong. Based on those who posed for the group photo, I think the count in the Official May 30th Palms Meet thread is 31 people. I enjoyed talking with some of the people I had not met yet at earlier meets, such as Wordlady, Alora67 and Mizblackjack’s friend, Debbie. I also got to meet Norm’s lovely wife, Andrea.
Around 5:00 p.m. Sailor, HomerSimpson and I made plans to hit Don Miguel’s for dinner. I walked back across the street to the Gold Coast to get my car and drove over to the Orleans. We ordered the fajitas since we had three ACG half off coupons. Talk about good eats! Even the nacho and salsa were great. The bill was about $6 each after they spilt the check three ways and applied all three coupons. From here, we went our separate ways.
The only thing I have noted the rest of the evening was losing $20 at VP, so I guess I must have spent a few hours sitting at the bar and turned in early since it was a pretty long day.
Thursday 5/31
I hopped in the G6 about 6:45 a.m. and swung by the Orleans to give Sailor a free cab ride to the Paris for breakfast If you want to do a breakfast buffet in style, the Paris is the place to do it. They have great quality food, vast selections and a crepe station. Sailor introduced me to Eggs Benedict. I was told not only was their “Benedict” good, it was great. Besides the Eggs Benedict I had some bacon, potatoes, French toast and a blueberry crepe. Drink service was a bit slow at the get go. There was no line at 7:30, but the place was sort of busy, so perhaps there was a line around 7 a.m. before they opened. The cashiers accepted my two POV $10 off coupons with no problem. We did have separate checks (since it is $10 off the total, not each person) but I found it funny that they remarked how great it was that I got two coupons in my book (actually both had been reattached with a bit of glue). I think we paid about $5 each for the buffet.
Breakfast was just the start to a pretty busy day. We ventured up to New Frontier to pay our respects since it is set to close in 45 days. Sailor introduced me to Sigma Derby, which I found quite amusing and even enjoyed playing. Combined, we lost about $10 while waiting for a call from DWJewel who was supposed to meet us there for some horse racing fun.
Next, we headed out to Boulder Highway to check out Sam’s Town. The place is huge with two floors. This is another place I would consider staying if given the right offer. We played BJ for a few hands: I left the table up $5 after using a POV matchplay. We headed up to the second floor to play some full pay Bonus VP: I put in $5 and cashed out up $57 after hitting a 4OAK. From there, we jumped on the 93 south down to Fiesta Henderson so I could show Sailor the place. The roulette table was not open so I did not use any more matchplays here. We played a little VP while I enjoyed my water and Sailor had a Bloody Mary. I was down $10 for this trip to the Fiesta.
On the way back to Las Vegas, we took a quick look at Green Valley Ranch. This is another big, beautiful property that is very similar to Red Rock Casino. We each put $5 into a VP progressive machine with high hopes. Down $5 each. We rolled back into LV around lunch time and parted ways for what turned out to be the balance of the trip. I hit the Port O’ Call buffet again for lunch and they took my POV coupon for half off again, so this does appear to be honored regularly here.
After lunch I headed to the Palms for my final Ice Blended fix from the Coffee Bean. I promptly lost $10 using my POV matchplay at the roulette table. Headed back across the street to the Gold Coast and sat down at the bar with my caramel light and proceeded to cash out up $10. After conferring with my fiancé, the wonderful woman who made my first solo trip possible, I agreed to head over to the Bellagio and grab some souvenirs from the Cirque Du Soleil gift shop. On the way out I took a detour to the Fontana Bar and ordered up a Tennessee Highball. I had coined in for $10, but the young lady behind the bar said she would have to charge me $14 for the drink unless I coined in for at least $20. So I coughed up a Jackson and enjoyed my drink. So much for $1 coin-in minimum for drink service. I walked away up $10 nonetheless.
I decided to cash in my $15 free play at the Venetian while I was somewhat in the area. Most of the Player’s Clubs seem to tell you that the free plays do not work on VP or you have to use specifically marked machines to activate your free play. I just walked up to the first quarter VP machine I found and let it ride...I walked out with $25 of their money. Moral of the story: Just try the free play on a machine you want before searching for some sticker on another machine.
Back to the Gold Coast for some more VP before dinner: Up $35. Sailor gave me a call around 5 p.m. to say that he would not be joining me at Silverton for dinner as he and HomerSimpson had already had dinner, so I decided to let the I-15 traffic subside and have a late dinner at the Silverton buffet.
I rolled up to the Silverton around 7:30 p.m. and proceeded to the Player’s Club to activate my $10 free play and double points (ACG coupons). I also handed over my POV book and ACG buffet coupon since all the coupons need to be validated by the Player’s Club before you can use them. The young lady validated all SEVEN of my POV free beer coupons and TWO matchplay coupons (keep in mind, each book only comes with one of each coupon in it).
I grabbed a Miller Lite from the bar and headed to the buffet. The buffet is very nice inside with a nice layout. However, the selection was poor and the quality was just average. Drink service was just okay. As the server brought over a coffee and I returned to my table with some dessert, a couple with a child had been seated next to me (keep in mind, the place is pretty empty at this point). I am not sure what ruined the relaxed meal for me: the yelling child or the couple discussing which one of them put more “effort” into creating the child...all of this in front of a four or five year old who is obviously absorbing at least some of this conversation. Too trashy even for me...I up and left and headed for the floor. Total bill was $8.50 with tip. You are better off at the Orleans buffet IMHO.
I burned my $10 free play and another $25 on progressive full pay JoB at the bar near the sportsbook. I left the blackjack table up $30 (POV matchplay) and tipped the dealer $5 for his trouble. I lost $5 on roulette (the second POV matchplay). I headed back to home base around 10:30 p.m. I played a little more VP and walked away up $10. I called it a day at this point.
My notes indicate this was my best gambling day of the trip, up about $125.
Friday 6/1
A day like today makes me wish I had opted for the first flight out instead of the mid-afternoon flight.
I started out very early, around 6 a.m., while the tables were still quiet so I could use the four $5 matchplays from my funbooks. I walked away from the BJ table up $5, but lost $25 at VP.
I went to drown my sorrows over breakfast at the Carnival Buffet at the Rio, so I walked across the garage and was second in line after grabbing a Player’s Club card. This buffet will NOT take the 2/1 POV coupon and apply a 50% discount if you are alone, so they play by the book. I was very disappointed with this buffet for the price. The only highlights were the drink service, friendly staff and the fresh omelets station (I got a ham and onion). Now that I know what good Eggs Benedict taste like, I can say with relative confidence that the Eggs Benedict at the Rio buffet were gross; the sauce was simply nasty, the muffin was mushy and the whole thing was cold. The scrambled eggs were undercooked and the waffles were dried out. Even the French Toast was just average. For $15 p/p, I expect more. Unless you have a 2/1 coupon that you can use, head over the Paris for a much better breakfast buffet at the same price level. Total cost was $18 with tips for the server and the omelet cook.
I headed back across the street to the Gold Coast and proceeded to lose another $50 at VP. I had hoped the extra play this morning would convince a slot host to comp a few things for me: No go. Maybe next time.
I left the hotel for the rental center around 11:30 a.m. since I did not know what to expect in terms of time. I passed the Alamo entrance once, but got it the second time I think the entire process from the rental center to the curb was about 20 minutes. Curbside check-in for Southwest was kind of busy. They printed my “A” pass and I tipped the guy $5 since I knew my bag was over 50 pounds (they charge $25 over 50 pounds...well, the sign says they do).
My plane boarded on time, but once on board we were told take off was delayed an hour because of bad weather in the mid-west and heavy traffic in the northeast. In the end, we pushed back from the gate about 45 minutes late and took off 1 hour late, but landed only 30 minutes behind schedule. I got in the door around 1 a.m.
My notes indicate that I was up about $150 for the trip, but I came home with $50 less cash than I left home with. So unless I managed to spend $200 on tips, food and other stuff there could be a mistake in my numbers somewhere, but I’ll go with that for now.
Thanks for reading!
Tags: Trip Report Gold Coast
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