This is our first Las vegas Trip Report Blog although we have been to Las Vegas many times now.
Saturday 5th May 2012
Taxi up to from Devon to London Gatwick Airport. Approx.3.5 hours (thank you Simon great ride as usual). On arrival we head straight for the Virgin Atlantic check-in, no queue as the flight will not be leaving until tomorrow. Luckily we were one
of the first to check in so were able to change seats, so went window to aisle
seats, Lesley in the middle, VegasNix in front in aisle seat, good window for Ollie.
Off
to the Gatwick Hilton for family room - booked here because it is practically integrated within the airport buildings so a short walk under cover to the Hotel. This time we had a different room to the last couple of times, but
still great size and a slightly better view, a very comfy room for 4 (double with two single beds), had a
chill for a bit, then off to Weatherspoon's in Terminal 2 (before security) for a few beers
and food. Nice new pub, food good.
Erdinger on draft was excellent !
Back to room to rest before flight, put on Die
Hard movie (1), not a bad sleep.
Vegas Day 1 - Sunday 6th May 2012
Checked out of the Hilton at 9:30 am, walked to airport through parking
etc, through security, no probs here, quick look around duty free, before our
gate opened for boarding. Lesley and I got a second search at the gate, bag and
body, boys did not get this.
Ollie's seat back Video screen did not work (we are looking forward to all this being sorted when Virgin have refurbed their fleet by our next trip in November), he was offered a DVD portable player, but this was no good as he could not hear anything on it. So Ollie and Lesley read their books, Spud tried to rest and Vegasnix watched as many films as possible during the flight.
Arrived at Las Vegas on time, all good considering a 10 hour flight.
Limo was waiting for us, what a great surprise the
ebay offer worked (this was our 1st try at a Limo via eBay and we were wondering if it would come together), lovely stretch limo, driver and Vegasnix took some photo’s, we
were all a bit blown, but the trip was nice, especially the bit on the strip.
We decided to take the champagne to our room rather than drink it fast in the Limo as it was only a short trip to our Hotel. From the photo above it would also have been a shame to spoil the nice layout. Anyway we arrived like rock stars (in our minds I know, but it was a feel good experience).
We decided to take the champagne to our room rather than drink it fast in the Limo as it was only a short trip to our Hotel. From the photo above it would also have been a shame to spoil the nice layout. Anyway we arrived like rock stars (in our minds I know, but it was a feel good experience).
Check in at Venetian, boys stayed with bags, Lesley and I went to check in desk, did the $20 trick, it really did the trick, we were
upgraded from our rooms at the Venetian to 2 adjoining high level suites in the newer sister Hotel Palazzo over looking TI.
What a great view of the strip from these very lush suites. I can't see us being this lucky again i.e. triple Upgrade to Palazzo suite + strip view + high up floor. The $20 dollar tip was well worth it here!
What a great view of the strip from these very lush suites. I can't see us being this lucky again i.e. triple Upgrade to Palazzo suite + strip view + high up floor. The $20 dollar tip was well worth it here!
Firstly we opened the champagne and had a toast to our holiday, so a good start, with a great view - just what we needed after our long haul trek to get here.
We all unpacked (for us that was everything we had packed into drawers and cupboards; for the boys that meant undo the zip and rummage in the bag for something fresh to wear down to the casino, while everything else stayed in the bags), showered, then off to the
casino.
After a nice start on the Hangover we moved onto the "Jackpot Vegas Hits" machine and quickly bit into the Bonus...
After a bit more of a wander around we spotted an interesting version of another popular slot the Wheel of Fortune - WOF for short - so decided to go for a spin or two upping the ante a bit, playing max bet and quickly hit.
After the obligatory spin out on the above machine we went onto one of the adjacent machines on the bank of 5. This one proceded to reward us with a couple of x 2 double diamonds and wof wild's thrown in for good measure - unfortunately somehow I managed to mute the sound on the camera?
The Palazzo has an excellent cocktail service - they really know how to look after you there - so over did the cocktails, now there’s a surprise.
After a few more slots of varying but not worth video'ing spins we headed off to the magnificent (Palazzo) Grand Lux for a bite, before bed.
Remember we have been awake for over 25 hours now, Lesley and I shared a Lux Burger Melt, Spud had his own Lux Melt and Ollie had the Enchiladas as he liked these so much last trip, unfortunately must have been a different chef today as these were way too hot for him this time - so we noted that when we go next time to ask them to hold the extra hot (chilli's) stuff to one side.
Bed late...
Here we are just making our way out of the Palazzo.
Here we are just walking through the promenade shops from the main entrance
Decided to have a go on the the WOF slot and hit the Triple Spin Bonus win. Poor pay out for a $2.70 push (3 games at 90c each) so will avoid this one in future.... the feature was a bit of fun though. Broke even overall including the intermediate spin wins before hitting the bonus round, so still up on the session.
Managed to amble to the "Peppermill" (as seen in one of the James Bond films - Fireside Lounge) for "breakfast" early afternoon, Veganix, Les and Spud had Steak and Eggs, Ollie had Eggs Benedict/hash browns with extra chips. Boys can hardly string two words together, as a result of the highly efficient Cocktail service in both the Wynn and the Encore (Steve Wynn's sister Casino), so desperately needed food. Food was excellent as usual - always worth going out of your way for, we especially like the 70's retro look and atmosphere - needless to say the service is always exceptional and friendly.
Lesley will never drink "Blue Moon" again.
In the Palazzo casino we quickly spot one of our most favourite slots "Hangover" and swiftly get into the "Villa Bonus"on Alan's game after a few spins...
After a nice start on the Hangover we moved onto the "Jackpot Vegas Hits" machine and quickly bit into the Bonus...
After a bit more of a wander around we spotted an interesting version of another popular slot the Wheel of Fortune - WOF for short - so decided to go for a spin or two upping the ante a bit, playing max bet and quickly hit.
After the obligatory spin out on the above machine we went onto one of the adjacent machines on the bank of 5. This one proceded to reward us with a couple of x 2 double diamonds and wof wild's thrown in for good measure - unfortunately somehow I managed to mute the sound on the camera?
The Palazzo has an excellent cocktail service - they really know how to look after you there - so over did the cocktails, now there’s a surprise.
After a few more slots of varying but not worth video'ing spins we headed off to the magnificent (Palazzo) Grand Lux for a bite, before bed.
Remember we have been awake for over 25 hours now, Lesley and I shared a Lux Burger Melt, Spud had his own Lux Melt and Ollie had the Enchiladas as he liked these so much last trip, unfortunately must have been a different chef today as these were way too hot for him this time - so we noted that when we go next time to ask them to hold the extra hot (chilli's) stuff to one side.
Bed late...
Vegas Day 2 - Monday 7th May 2012
Up quite early for Vegas, set off to the Wynn
and Encore, on our planned annual pilgrimage to the "Pepermill" restaurant further down the strip - for our steak and eggs ritual breakfast .
Here we are just making our way out of the Palazzo.
Here we are just walking through the promenade shops from the main entrance
to the Wynn Casino - Destination Wynn Megabucks Slots!
The Steve Wynn's Megabucks is our (Les and I) usual 1st port of call - it really is fun and we nearly always strike a bonus very quickly - max bet is a must on this machine. Excellent cocktail service and top quality, so over did the cocktails, now there’s a
surprise.
Wynn Megabucks - Bonus wheel spins
Ollie and Spud always check out the video
poker in the casino’s to see which are the best payers, Ollie tends to go
between the video poker and the 9c machines. Had several other small wins on the slots on our way through to the Encore Casino.
This was our 1st machine stop after passing through the Wynn. This slot machine is the Megabucks Emerald Sevens and we hit Bonus spins with respin trigger. You would expect more from 20 free spins worth $3 a push but it was still good fun! we hit this within the 1st couple of spins. You can hear the waitress bringing our cocktails in the background at the 59 second mark, while we enjoy the bonus...
Decided to have a go on the the WOF slot and hit the Triple Spin Bonus win. Poor pay out for a $2.70 push (3 games at 90c each) so will avoid this one in future.... the feature was a bit of fun though. Broke even overall including the intermediate spin wins before hitting the bonus round, so still up on the session.
Managed to amble to the "Peppermill" (as seen in one of the James Bond films - Fireside Lounge) for "breakfast" early afternoon, Veganix, Les and Spud had Steak and Eggs, Ollie had Eggs Benedict/hash browns with extra chips. Boys can hardly string two words together, as a result of the highly efficient Cocktail service in both the Wynn and the Encore (Steve Wynn's sister Casino), so desperately needed food. Food was excellent as usual - always worth going out of your way for, we especially like the 70's retro look and atmosphere - needless to say the service is always exceptional and friendly.
We strolled over to the Rivera Casino, it was
obvious Ollie was gradually getting near to the point of maybe one too many, so Lesley and Ollie left Vegasnix and Spud
to the casino, whilst they walked back to the Fashion Show Mall to get water and
yes wait for it beer, we were to meet the other two back at the Palazzo.
Dropped off water/beer, freshened up then went
downstairs to the casino.
Spud really liked the fact that at the Palazzo he could ask for special beers from the casino and get them from the cocktail waitress like Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams etc. (for the uninitiated, the drinks served while gambling are free - you just give the waitress a tip!), so party on...
I was looking out for this New "Elvis" The King slot, which I had read about before coming and was a real hoot, when soon in, hit the "Hound Dog Bonus" for a nice win.
Next up was the new Godzilla Slot and hit again quickly hit the "Monster Island" Bonus for a nice win - This also triggered an additional "Defeat the Miltary" Bonus - good fun slot machine. Drinks flowed well, far too much for some, so apologies for the movement on the video mixed with curiosity to try follow the action which moved from bottom to top and as you can see all over...sorry to those of you who get dizzy easily!
Back again to the WOF to see if anyone has filled it up again for us... and yes another spin bonus is soon hit.
Curious to see what else this bank of 5 machines offers we move over and hit again very soon in...for another Bonus Spin win.
Moving around the carousel we had another nice win on the Super Diamonds multiplier.
And then hit the wheel spin for another Super Diamonds WOF win...
Wheel Of Fortune Bonus spin win (number 4) - same session still hitting the wins on the same bank of slot machines...and the night (morning now) is still young..
Still day 2 of our May 2012 Vegas trip - same session into the night at the Palazzo - the win's keep flowing (as are the cocktails) on the Wheel of Fortune super diamonds slots... and the beat goes on...we are having a ball.
So following quite a longish streak on the WOF we move onto one of our favourite slots of the moment especially as we are increasingly heading for quite a big "Hangover" as this day 2 of our May 2012 trip to Vegas moves into the early hours of day3. The fun continues as well as the winning streak...and of course the drinks. The Pallazzo is our first stopover for the first 4 nights then onwards to the Aria...follow the Videos in sequence to see what happens next on our 15 night tour.
still in the Palazzo - and the night is into the morning - when we venture onto the Fireball Bonus Frenzy slot machine for a quick win. This frenzy bonus turned out to be a a bit of a "fizzle" out rather than a "Frenzy" but there is more as the night moves on...
We thought we would just have another quick go to see if they are still hot and 1st spin gets a hit. This night on day 2 of our May 2012 Vegas trip has merged well into the early hours of day 3 and the night is still young...
Still day 2, but into Day 3 03:50 in the early hours of our May 2012 Vegas special - we decided to give sex in this city a good go, luckily we went straight into the bonus on this game which we saw on Dianevoni's channel and excellent blogs, so gave it a try.
Good fun slot and bonus, and there is more to follow on this marathon session....
Amazingly, went back again for another quick go on the Super Diamonds and it hit yet again....
This was a nice random spin on the Palazzo Megabucks for $60 - looked better than the payout was, as we initially thought it was something bigger but nice nevertheless.
Consolidating our position, while Ollie takes a break at 5:30 a.m. This was our usual routine to pool in on certain slots like the Megabucks - then divvy up after before doing the same on another machine we decide to choose.
We eventually finished this marathon session at around 6 a.m. when our luck started to dry up and we caved in and pulled out while we were well up on the day and the trip so far.
So all night, had a great night won many bonus' and went to bed eventually with a lot more money than when we started out with that day.
Headed for the Super Diamonds slot, as it was so kind to us last night. This time hit the spin bonus.
Spud really liked the fact that at the Palazzo he could ask for special beers from the casino and get them from the cocktail waitress like Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams etc. (for the uninitiated, the drinks served while gambling are free - you just give the waitress a tip!), so party on...
I was looking out for this New "Elvis" The King slot, which I had read about before coming and was a real hoot, when soon in, hit the "Hound Dog Bonus" for a nice win.
Next up was the new Godzilla Slot and hit again quickly hit the "Monster Island" Bonus for a nice win - This also triggered an additional "Defeat the Miltary" Bonus - good fun slot machine. Drinks flowed well, far too much for some, so apologies for the movement on the video mixed with curiosity to try follow the action which moved from bottom to top and as you can see all over...sorry to those of you who get dizzy easily!
Back again to the WOF to see if anyone has filled it up again for us... and yes another spin bonus is soon hit.
Curious to see what else this bank of 5 machines offers we move over and hit again very soon in...for another Bonus Spin win.
Moving around the carousel we had another nice win on the Super Diamonds multiplier.
And then hit the wheel spin for another Super Diamonds WOF win...
Wheel Of Fortune Bonus spin win (number 4) - same session still hitting the wins on the same bank of slot machines...and the night (morning now) is still young..
Still day 2 of our May 2012 Vegas trip - same session into the night at the Palazzo - the win's keep flowing (as are the cocktails) on the Wheel of Fortune super diamonds slots... and the beat goes on...we are having a ball.
Hangover slot Bonus win on Phil's Progressive.
still in the Palazzo - and the night is into the morning - when we venture onto the Fireball Bonus Frenzy slot machine for a quick win. This frenzy bonus turned out to be a a bit of a "fizzle" out rather than a "Frenzy" but there is more as the night moves on...
Palazzo - WOF Super Diamonds win (number 6).
Ballroom Busters Bonus Slot win
We spotted the new Ghostbusters bank of 4 slot machines and managed to spin into a quick $20 on one side then moved over to the other side and went swiftly into the bonus called Ballroom Busters... great fun!
Palazzo - Sex in the City Slot Bonus Win "Carries Change Of A Dress"
Good fun slot and bonus, and there is more to follow on this marathon session....
Palazzo - WOF Super Diamonds Bonus Spin win (7)
Amazingly, went back again for another quick go on the Super Diamonds and it hit yet again....
This was a nice random spin on the Palazzo Megabucks for $60 - looked better than the payout was, as we initially thought it was something bigger but nice nevertheless.
Consolidating our position, while Ollie takes a break at 5:30 a.m. This was our usual routine to pool in on certain slots like the Megabucks - then divvy up after before doing the same on another machine we decide to choose.
We eventually finished this marathon session at around 6 a.m. when our luck started to dry up and we caved in and pulled out while we were well up on the day and the trip so far.
So all night, had a great night won many bonus' and went to bed eventually with a lot more money than when we started out with that day.
Lesley will never drink "Blue Moon" again.
Vegas Day 3 - Tuesday 8th May 2012
All four of us in bed recovering most of the day, I wonder why? Suffice to say the rest of our day 3 was short lived due to hangovers all round... so a lot fewer videos later for this neverending day of days we will remember at the Palazzo.
All four of us in bed recovering most of the day, I wonder why? Suffice to say the rest of our day 3 was short lived due to hangovers all round... so a lot fewer videos later for this neverending day of days we will remember at the Palazzo.
Did eventually get up, gingerly strolled over to the Venetian, got some tickets
to the Blue Man group for tomorrow (Vegas Day 4), then got some food in the Grand Lux. Lesley had
the chicken sandwich, Spud had all day breakfast sandwich not sure what the
other two had, I think Ollie had a very large pizza, he did ask for extra
fries, but the server said, he would be surprised if he finished the pizza let
alone chips as well, so he declined the fries and what a good job that was.
This is the last vid from the Palazzo as day 3 was short, as explained above.
Just before going to bed tried to get a picture of the full moon but I think the glazing caused this double effect.
Vegas Day 4 - Wednesday 9th May 2012
"$" Wheel of Fortune Bonus spin (1) day 3 of the tour - Palazzo
Day 3 of our Vegas 2012 trip of 15 nights will be brief as last night ended at 6 am this morning - and when we eventually emerged from our slumber the "Blue Moon" induced hangover had not had a chance to really kick in so this slowed the pace in our stacked agenda - this is the 1st of 3 WOF Bonus spin wins on the $ slot machine ($2 max bet - push)."$" WOF Bounus spin win (2) day 3 of the Tour - Palazzo
Guess where the pointer is going to end - did you guess correctly? I bet you did! but as we say a win is a win so that is all good in our book. Onto the next Slot machine in the bank and we are still well up for the trip and the day.$ WOF Bonus spin win (3) day 3 of the tour - Palazzo
As you can tell from the vid we actually had two bonus spins on this machine and this was the second - expecting great things as the initial bonus spin only hit $20 which was still nice.This is the last vid from the Palazzo as day 3 was short, as explained above.
Night photo from our room at the Pallazzo. Somehow I can never find a camera that can get the real feel you actually see as my photo's never seem to do the scene justice. But you at least get a sense of the awsome view.
This is a zoom in to the top left scene from the photo above of the Mirage.
Just before going to bed tried to get a picture of the full moon but I think the glazing caused this double effect.
Vegas Day 4 - Wednesday 9th May 2012
Today we diced with death in a Taxi to Meadows Mall, not
joking. We will think twice before getting in a cab in Vegas again, we have been
taken for a ride before, but thought this time as we had asked a price before entering the cab, that it
couldn’t happen again. However, the driver from the outset took off in the opposite
direction to the Mall. I mentioned this, then put my head in my hands. The long
and short of it all, we went on a mystery tour which given our taxi driver was obviously speaking a foreign language turned a bit scary as nothing made sense. The driver called in to someone twice we
think for directions, (did not speak English, maybe - or so it appeared) eventually after going
down a very scary side road, Simon said, can you keep to the main roads please
mate! Eventually, got to Meadows Mall, meter reading $45! This ride should have been around $20,
driver agreed the $20 as he admitted he got lost, but do taxi drivers in Vegas get lost?
Needless to say we got the bus back, far less
stressful and got talking to some local ladies - moved to London then New York and now living in Vegas - passed the time while waiting for the bus to arrive. The bus dropped us outside the
Palazzo and cost $5 pp. It was not a successful shopping trip as we were a bit
shell shocked after the taxi. However, Lesley did manage to purchase a dress and a flowery hair
grip and the boys got some "trendy" Las Vegas Shirts, good old JC Penny. This was a real experience not to be forgotten or hopefully never repeated!
Back at the Palazzo, got freshened up, Lesley put on
new dress. Food time, guess where, yep you got it Grand Lux, Ollie enchiladas,
with (HOT) sauces separate (learned from previous encounter with red hot chillis from hell), Carbonara & salad for Lesley,
2 burger melts for me and Simon.
We all then set off to see the Blue Man Group at the
Venetian. It was an excellent show, very funny and visual, a great evening,
well worth it, got good seats - free upgrade due to staying there! Note: Lesley and I had seen BMG before but really enjoyed it and more than happy to see this unique show again with the boys this time.
After the show we checked out Ti (Treasure
Island Casino), we all went our separate ways for a bit, but caught up with
everyone around a bank of 9c machines. Boys getting on well with the cocktail
waitress, so yes they were very happy, Lesley and I went back to the Palazzo,
leaving the boys to head back in their own good time.
Continued....
See Part 2 of this trip report for May 2012 - Aria Hotel
See Part 2 of this trip report for May 2012 - Aria Hotel
