Another part of @Snickers99Poker trip report. Ever make the long walk down to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign? Sunburn and sweat is a small price to pay for a picture. Be sure to read past installments:
Tuesday, June 28th:
I actually woke up at 8:15, which probably would have been enough time to get up to beat the heat and walk to the Las Vegas sign, then shower and head downtown. But instead I roll over and sleep until 12:55. So the sign/downtown trip has been postponed…maybe tomorrow.
It occurs to me that I only have two more full days in Las Vegas, not counting today. How the hell does it fly by so quickly?
I decide today will be my ‘free’ day. I have $50 in slot play from MyVegas that I need to cash in, and a free Aria buffet. Sounds like a plan to play some free slots and then hit the buffet. The dinner portion starts at 3, and it’s about 3 when I finally leave the room.
I go to the MLife counter and tell the chick that I want to load some MyVegas rewards onto my card. I hand her my player’s card and my license and when she hands them back, I have a brand new Pearl card (the next level up from what everybody gets at first). It’s not totally a surprise and it certainly isn’t for gambling a lot. I got it because I spend a crapload on the room. I suppose that’s a perk but to be honest I don’t see me gambling at MLife properties very much. So it will probably just sit there and expire next year when I don’t earn enough points to maintain Pearl. And really, Pearl doesn’t get you much more anyway.
Since it’s after 3 and the buffet is now serving dinner, I head up there first. I have a pass to get me to the head of the buffet line…another perk from the room. But I can tuck it away as I don’t need it since there’s nobody in line. Right up to the cashier who has no issues handling my MyVegas reward, and I’m on my way to a free buffet. Haven’t had anything to eat yet today so I’m pretty hungry.
I won’t bore you with the food details but I thought the buffet was pretty good. Outstanding if you factor in me getting it for free. I thought it was interesting that they had you peel ’em shrimp that you actually had to peel. I’m being serious. The girlfriend and I went to Borgata in Atlantic City and there the buffet has you peel ’em shrimp already peeled. I thought a ritzy place like Aria would be the same. For the cost of my room, it should come with someone who would peel my shrimp for me.
I screwed myself on the desserts though. Seems a lot of buffets have desserts that look good but aren’t very good. Aria’s dessert area is around an “L” shaped counter. I was on one side of the “L” and grabbed some things. I was going to check out the other side but was kinda happy with what I had so I walked back to my table.
Desserts done, I really wanted to go get more. But I am trying to be good and it always seems I’m full but not overly full until I pack in all the desserts. So I tell myself to just get up and walk out. But then myself ends up walking over to the dessert area anyway…just to see what they had on the other side. CRAP! Er, not that they had crap. Crap as in ‘what did I do?’ The other side of the dessert counter looked waaaay better than the side I was on. But I already tipped my waitress and promised myself no more desserts so I walked out. If the MyVegas free buffet offer is there on my next trip, I’m going to get it again. And won’t screw up the dessert!
Down to the casino floor to use my free slot play. I’m not sure how to load the money onto the machine. Like, at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh (my ‘home’ casino), you punch in a few numbers and your slot play appears as normal credits with a countdown on the player’s club window showing you how much more you have to play. You can’t cash out free slot play there so they let you know when you’ve gone through it all.
I stick my brand new Pearl card into a penny machine. It has a touch screen and I finally figure out how to tell it I want to play my free money. But it doesn’t load it into the credits. I try again…nope. Another thing at Rivers, you have to spin once before you can use free slot play. So I put some money in and spin once. Nope.
I get up and try another machine. Same thing. I’m getting annoyed and there’s no instructions. One more time and then I’ll break down and ask for help. I tell it again I want my free cash, spin, and don’t win anything. But then I notice my balance went back up to where it was before the spin. Ohhhhhh. So I’m supposed to sit here and every time I don’t win, I get the cost of the spin back in free money…or something like that? I spin again, don’t win, get my money back. OK, I get it now. But I don’t like this machine so I cash out and sit at one I like.
It’s another penny machine. I’m betting 80 cents a spin, hit some good spins, and end up cashing out $25 in free money. Sweet! Does that go into the gambling win/loss total for the trip? Or is it more a promo thing? Hmm. I’ll count it as winnings. What the hell.
I go back to the room to regroup. I guess I’ll try my Redd’s Apple Ale that I bought at the ABC store. A little primer before heading out. Not sure if it’s a twist off but I use the bottle opener that’s on the wet bar to open the bottle. Hey…I paid for the room, I’m going to get the most out of it!
To be all fancy and stuff, I pour the Redd’s into a glass. Look at me! Now I’m too good to drink stuff out of the bottle. I take a sip and…it’s OK. I wouldn’t say I liked it. I might drink one if someone offered me one but I’m not going to pay for one. I drink a lot of it though but not all of it and pour the rest down the drain.
Looking out the window, I can see it’s raining in the mountains. Not sure if it’s coming this way but I better walk over to PH/Paris/Bally’s now.
I make it to Paris…it was drizzling a little by the time I got there…and place two baseball bets for $15 each…Pirates over Mariners and A’s over Giants. Pirates lost. A’s won and made it exciting. I had set my phone to send me the score after each half inning. A’s were losing 4-1 in the 6th, score four runs (yes!) in the 6th only to give up four runs (no!) in the bottom of the sixth. But they score eight runs over the last two innings while giving up three and they take the game 13-11. Whew! My total? I clear a sweet $4.50! Sports betting is easy!
No free seats UTH at Paris so I end up at Bally’s. I take a seat at a table that has just one other player. Now I’m betting $10 all the time. A couple hands later, the guy gets up and leaves. As I mentioned, don’t like playing with just the dealer but I’ll hang out a bit and hopefully some people will sit down. Plus I was losing so I had to chase those losses! Nobody joins the dealer and me, and now I’m up $20 so I leave.
I do a lap around Bally’s and now there’s two people seated at the table I just left. But I decide not to sit back down. I’m having trouble cooling down again. That dealing with the heat thing. I’ve been inside for a little while but still feel hot and gross. And now I remember I forgot to take my daily meds. That’s probably not helping the heat issue or the fact that every little thing is starting to annoy me.
Back over to Planet Hollywood and there’s an open seat at a $10 UTH table. It’s not on one of the ends but I’ll take it anyway. And I think I had the pleasure of being dealt by the world’s worst dealer…at least at UTH. She was missing a lot of winning bets and we were constantly correcting her. Eventually she just kinda relied on the young Asian guy in seat one to tell her who won and how much. She would pay somebody and look at him for acknowledgement. Was this racist because he was Asian? I hope not. I think it was because he was the quickest one to point out errors and how much it should be. I think he knew the game well.
I understand it’s probably tricky to deal all these carnival games, especially going from one game right to a different game. Certainly there will be mistakes. But not on almost every hand. I don’t mind making sure I get paid and get paid the right amount but I don’t want to double check her work every hand. I was down a little, got back to even, and left.
I did have one beer while I was there and am ready to marry the waitress. She was nice and he had the whole ‘want something else, dear? No? You sure hun?’ down pat. I know it’s an act to get more/better tips (I tipped her $100…just kidding), but she had a way to make it seem sincere. I will be mailing out my ‘save the date’ postcards soon.
Due to everything still getting on my nerves, I decide to pack it in for the night. Tomorrow HAS to be Las Vegas sign/downtown day! So I have to get up early. I start walking back to my room.
I mentioned earlier how I don’t think I’ve seen more broken escalators than on this trip. And sure enough, the up escalator to the pedestrian bridge is not working. Neither was the down one. A sign said that the escalators were closed for repair (although I saw no actual workers) and to please use the elevator around the corner. I go around the corner and there’s the elevator…with an out of order sign on it.
Back in the room…I must have had dinner somewhere but didn’t write it down. I might have stopped at the Starbucks in Aria on the way to my room and gotten something there to bring back to the room. I take my meds and with the room nice and cold, I finally start to cool down. Looking out the window down at the Strip with all the lights, it makes me want to go back out there. But I shouldn’t so I can get up early tomorrow.
Just rest, relax, into bed.
Wednesday, June 29th:
Alarm goes off at 7am, I hit the snooze until 7:15. I don’t want to get up but I want to see the Las Vegas sign and I have to get up before it gets really hot since I’m walking. I use the remote to open up the window shades. Ugh. It’s super bright since the sun comes in that side in the morning. Too bright. I close the shades.
I finally get moving, taking a shower. It’s 85 degrees outside so getting up before it gets super hot was a good idea. Not that 85 is cool but it’s better than the 108 high they’re calling for.
I brought a travel mug with me with the plans of filling it with ice and water, and taking it along with me. I reach for the ice bucket and there’s a liner bag inside with a fair amount of water. Oh. Strike against housekeeping. In all that they do, nobody has checked the ice bucket? I haven’t used it yet this trip so I’m not sure how long it’s been there. There’s a new liner bag on the counter so someone at least left a new liner but didn’t check the bucket? I’m not mad or anything like that. Just surprised because housekeeping hasn’t missed a thing.
I dump the water and the liner bag, put the new one in, and go down the hallway to get some ice. Back in my room, fill the travel mug, and out the door around 8am.
Down the elevator to the casino floor. The plan is to stay inside as much as I can. I walk through the casino and through the connector that leads to Monte Carlo. Here’s where I made a mistake. I wasn’t sure exactly where I was in relation to the Strip. I really wanted to come out at the ‘front’ of Monte Carlo, on the Strip. I take the door leading to The Park. I think this was a mistake as I have to walk The Park to the Strip outside when I could have been inside. Oh well.
On the Strip now, past New York-New York (I looked it up to see how they write New York-New York. Apparently it’s New York, dash, New York.) Over the street to Excalibur. Excalibur holds bad memories for me and I can’t stand the sight of it. One year when I was staying at the Rio, I took the shuttle over to Harrah’s, and walked to Excalibur to play poker as I heard it was an easy game. Well, it wasn’t easy for me and everybody was getting on my nerves. So later in the week, I did the same exact thing. And the same exact thing happened to me. The bad memories are my fault but I still hate Excalibur.
There’s a tram that goes between Mandalay Bay and Excalibur (with a stop at Luxor in the middle). I know I’m going to take the tram when I’m walking back because I’m sure I’ll be tired and hot. So a seat and some AC will be helpful. But I might as well shave off some outside time and take the tram from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay.
I think the tram station is inside Excalibur somewhere so I walk up (yes, up as in elevation, and yes, walk because god forbid the people mover is actually working). I get inside the Excalibur and see the sign for the tram. It’s pointing in the direction I just came. Great. It’s not inside Excalibur after all.
Walk back down (yes, walk and down) and follow the signs to the tram. Ah, there it is. I get closer and it’s roped off. Why? Because the service doesn’t start until 9am. (Not sure what time it is right here but it’s not close enough to 9 for me to sit there and wait.) So wonderful. I wasted all that time and energy for nothing. Oh, these will go into the bad memories of Excalibur folder…don’t you worry.
Back on the Strip and I start walking. Past Luxor, past Mandalay Bay. It’s hot and I totally forgot about sunburn. I’m not wearing a hat and am in a t-shirt and shorts. I’m also very white. Well, let’s say I’m pale. I could use some color but I don’t want and hate it when I get sunburn. And my sandals aren’t the greatest for walking down a street. They’re getting uncomfortable. I knew it wouldn’t be a pretty trip, even writing in my Las Vegas notes that it will kill me but I need to walk to the sign.
I pass a few people here and there, but I think I’m the only tourist walking to the sign. I pass a couple bus stops. Gee, there’s an idea. I could have hopped on the Deuce and avoided all this walking. Well, now I know.
There’s not much going on past Mandalay Bay. And finally I can see the sign in the distance. Won’t be long now! I just hope it’s not like that Las Vegas thing where everything looks close together but it’s really far (we can walk from the Rio to MGM…it’s RIGHT there!).
I’m finally here! I made it! Whew! The sign is in the median of the road. There’s a traffic light and a crosswalk at the sign, along with a parking lot. Not sure about bathrooms. I later learn that they built this area up after there were so many accidents from people stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures.
While I’m at the crosswalk waiting for the light, I notice a person sitting down up against a wall behind me, in the shade behind some sparse trees. He’s asleep. I guess that’s a good place…in the shade. Oh. Also he’s a city worker and his garbage can on wheels is on the sidewalk.
I get the Walk sign and I’m officially at the sign. It’s pretty cool. You see it everywhere…on mugs, t-shirts, chips, on TV. And now I get to see the real thing. There’s a line of people and at the front of the line is a guy that will take your picture with your camera while you stand next to the sign. I do not believe this is free and he works for tips. Oh, and Elvis is there too. Poor guys…working out in this sun all day.
I don’t need myself in the picture so I stand off to the side and wait until one group is done with their pics and they start to walk away. So I’m able to get plenty of shots before the next group walks up to the sign. Here’s where my old age comes into play. When I later texted my friend that I made it to the sign, she asked if I took a selfie. OMG, this NEVER occurred to me. I wasn’t going to pay someone for a picture but I certainly could have turned the stupid camera around. Maybe next time (there isn’t going to be a next time, BTW, unless you’re driving me).
The line was kinda long. I suppose it would move fairly quickly. How long does it take to walk up to the sign, have your picture taken, walk back? But while I was snapping away, a bus had pulled in. OK, now the line is REALLY long.
I’m done here for now. I thought about taking a picture of the back of the sign where it recommends you “Drive Carefully” and “Come Back Soon”. But decided not to.
OK…we ready for the loooong walk back? I used the anticipation of the sign as fuel to keep me walking. I think the opportunity to take a shower is fuel enough to get me back to Aria. And air conditioning.
As I’m waiting for the light to change so I can cross the street, my sleeping city worker buddy gets up and starts pushing his garbage can down the street. I cross the street and I’m behind him as he’s picking stuff up from the street. I could use a nap now…maybe I’ll ask if I can use his spot.
My water is long gone but at least now the other side of my face can get sunburn. And true enough about places looking close in Las Vegas, MGM doesn’t look that far away. I know better though.
I’m starting to break down as I get to Mandalay Bay. I’m hot, really sweating, and even a little nauseous. I get inside the MB and it’s nice and cool. I hear good things about MB but it’s so far away from the action. But you do have the free tram that will take you to Excalibur so I guess it isn’t that bad. I duck into the bathroom and throw some water on my face. Sorta helps but not a lot.
I follow the signs to the tram. I first went to Las Vegas with my girlfriend in 2001, 2002…somewhere in there. (And I’m still with the same girl!). When I get to the MB tram station, it all comes back to me since we did check it out when we were here. There’s an express tram that bypasses Luxor and goes straight to Excalibur but of course it’s roped off.
I stand waiting for the tram, almost literally dripping sweat. Everybody else was probably hoping I wouldn’t get in their car, let alone sit next to them. It looks like there’s nobody waiting at the very end of the station so I walk down there and sure enough, I’m the only person waiting here.
It seems like a really long time before the tram finally arrives. In that time, a few people join me in waiting so I don’t get the whole car to myself. But I do get a seat and we’re off. I remember we made one stop but our doors did not open. We weren’t sure why we stopped and someone even asked if this was the end. Nobody knew.
Finally we get moving again and I can’t remember if the tram actually stopped at Luxor or not. Or if that one stop was Luxor but our doors didn’t open. We arrive at Excalibur and it’s not too far from home now!
I walk over to New York-New York and go inside to get to the Hershey store. They have a cookie I love and I always get at least one when I’m there. Since I’m passing by, I’ll pick it up now. And soak up some air conditioning.
I still feel nauseous as I walk by Monte Carlo and finally I’m at Aria. I walk up to Aria, into the cool casino, back to my room where it’s nice and cold. Made it! I grab a Dew from the fridge, wash my face, and watch TV while I cool down which didn’t take too long because it’s gloriously cold in my room. Huh. Haven’t had anything to eat yet today. That probably didn’t help the nauseous feeling.
According to a chart I got off the internet, it’s about a mile from Aria to MB, and about half a mile from there to the sign. So all together, I walked close to three miles. Took about 50 minutes to get there. And of course I didn’t make note of the temperature when I got back but I complained to a friend that it was 105 out. But that was probably in the afternoon.
Bummed in the room for a couple hours. Shower. No energy to go downtown today and play in some tournaments. I was really looking forward to doing that and I’m running out of time.
Part 7 goes up tomorrow. Two more sections to go!
