TR - First Trip to Vegas!!!

I%26#39;ll post as a reply.

TR - First Trip to Vegas!!!

It has been a while since my first trip to Vegas, Labor Day weekend 2007, however I personally like reading the trip reports the most on the TA LV Forum. The tips are great, but I feel like I’m there while I read. I’m hooked. I love this place. I’ve gone during Super Bowl Weekend 2008 for my second trip, but I’ll post it at another time.

I met my friend at the luggage claim at LV airport. He flew in from Nashville on a different flight but arrival times only 15 minutes apart. We grabbed our luggage and golf clubs and went to get a taxi for the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. I should mention we flew in at night and it was an AWESOME view. Cab fare to the hotel was roughly $15 with tip. The Rio is off strip, but right behind Caesar’s, which is center strip. It is separated by I-15. You could walk, but there is a free shuttle.

Anyways, it is midnight and we’re checking-in. My friend is a Diamond member, so the room was comped. I am like a deer in the headlights. Everything in Vegas is so grand. The sheer size of everything is overwhelming. As we’re awaiting keys, etc. I look over at the bar in the lobby area and notice the CW wearing a see though type chiffon? Looking white dress and you can clearly see her g-string. I was shocked, then excited, then it dawned on me…I’m in LAS VEGAS!!! We had a room on a high floor in the Masquerade Tower. It over looks the Palms, part of the Bellagio and strip. It has floor to ceiling windows. Big room…probably 650 square feet. I liked the dressing area outside the bathroom door. It had its own sink.

It is midnight, I’m so excited, so we check out the room and I’m begging my friend to hurry up because the tables are calling my name. I play craps, so we went to the tables. $25 minimums. OMG!!! I usually play $5 or $10 at the most. Anyways, we get some drinks, and I’m winning. I never lost. We played til about 4AM and my buddy is dying to go to bed, because we have a tee time in six hours, so I reluctantly give in and I’m up about $700. Woo-hoo!!!

So, there is this phenomenon I’ve read on here about not being able to sleep. I need a good 8-9 hours, but at 6 AM I’m WIDE AWAKE. I shower and my buddy is stilled passed out. I grab my bankroll and head back to the tables. Only two tables were open, one $10 and one $25. I stand left of the stick, as is my preference and start playing. Great crew and there was a good shooter at the table, who is very personable. A lot of fun. I played for about 3 hours and won another $400. BTW, after the table filled they announced they were raising the minimum to $25 after two more shooters. Oh well, but at 7 AM?

I went back upstairs to get my buddy, who is alive. He gets ready and we grab our clubs and head to Bear’s Best Golf Club. It was about a 15-20 minute cab ride straight down West Flamingo. We had a very nice breakfast on the patio overlooking the mountains and driving range. It was a beautiful morning. I went to put on my sunscreen, hat, and stuff before we went out. It was going to be 105 degrees that day…so, I am nervous about getting dehydrated, etc. Being from the south, Atlanta, they always talk about the dry heat part. Yes, it is a good description. I didn’t sweat like I normally do back home. It evaporates immediately. Good tip: Chap Stick, Carmex, Blistex, etc. is a must if your going to spend time in Las Vegas, especially during the summer on a golf course. The course was in great shape and we had a blast. It had great views of the entire strip. Bear’s Best is 18 replica holes from Jack Nicklaus’ designs from around the world. One was from Anaconda, MT called Old Works and it has black greenside bunker sand just like it does in MT. The greens were fast and putted true. I’ll definitely be back.

After golf it is back to the room. I’m too antsy to shower and I don’t feel like I need one, since I didn’t sweat, however my buddy insists we clean up before heading down to the casino.

We play for a while at Rio and I want some different atmosphere, so we catch the shuttle to Caesar’s Palace. I love this place. We did get turned around off the shuttle and ended up walking around for a while until we finally found the casino. (the shuttle drops you off on the side?) We start playing craps and it takes FOREVER, it seemed like an hour, to get a CW. I tip her $5 before she brings me my Miller Lite and she is checking with me every 10 minutes. We played for about 3 hours on a $25 table and I leave about $500 up on that session. SWEET!!!

We go to across the street to Flamingo and I didn’t really like the vibe IMO. We went to Bally’s and I had a great time there. We were hitting our stride at the craps table. I miss a few field bets, but it had been like 7 rolls without a field number. I bet $25 and lost. I bet $50 and lose. I bet $200 and they guy rolls a 12. Woo-HOO!!! As I jump in the air to celebrate my win, the box lady says, “NO ROLL” and I went from a high to a look that must have been hilarious. The dealers start cracking up and pay me my $400. Whew! She had me going. Anyways, my friend wants to go to MGM, since he’s had better luck there. He is betting the Don’ts and has lost his entire bankroll. We catch a cab to MGM to play. I get a players card and they give me a nice keychain, which I gave to the kids. My buddy hits the ATM and we play for about 3 hours at MGM, at one point I’m down $800 on the session, but turned it around and left $200 up on the session. Whew!!!

I want to go to the Bellagio next, but first my buddy wants to check out Hooter’s next door. We walk/maze our way across the street to Hooters. As we’re walking, we pass a Michael Jackson impersonator. I LMAO!!! Anyways, Hooter’s is small. I remember thinking to myself that I like green felt, not orange. I saw only one girl dealer in the typical uniform, but she was dealing BJ.

We left and finally headed to Bellagio. It is about 1 AM now and I missed the fountain show…stops at 12 midnight. We enter the front and the beautiful ceiling and surroundings strike me as very posh and beautiful. We head to the craps tables. All are full except for one, so we saddle up and pass the dice back and forth, since we were the only players. As I’m about to light up a cigarette, the dealer informs me that it is a non-smoking table. No wonder it is empty. It is because it is on the outer portion of the pit. We move to another empty, smoking craps table. We are doing well for about an hour just he and I at the table. Until the kid walked into my life.

This Asian kid (maybe 23 yrs. Old) and his posse (3 other guys) roll up to the table. They’re dressed like I would imagine a high school kid would dress with a hint of gangster. Anyways, the kid tells the box man, “Twenty-Five Please”. And without hesitation, they give him $25,000 in chips. HOLY S***!!! As he rolls, if you want to call it that, he hoists the dice very high in the air and he rolls several times before he craps out. My buddy shoots and quickly craps out and I follow suit. Well the kid’s come out roll is a 5. I like to bet the field and this is my favorite situation, so I bet $25 on the field. He rolls a 6. I double my field bet and he rolls a 6. I bet $100 on the field and he rolls a 6. Now I know he’s not going to roll another off-field number, so I bet $200 on the field. He rolls ANOTHER 6. Ut-oh!! Needless to say I rode that kid right into the toilet. I lost $1K in about 1 hour.

We leave the Bellagio, in a drunken state back to Rio. I’m up about $1700 on the trip. When we arrive at the room, I tell my broke friend I’m going down to play some more. I take only $500. I’m back in the room in 45 minutes…broke. OUCH! I go to sleep at 4AM.

I am up at 6AM again. I am so excited. I go downstairs and start playing craps. I pdiscoversa few hours and win a little, probably $200 and my buddy comes rolling up. He discovered the Diamond Lounge. Membership has its privileges. We had a nice breakfast, coffee, juice and it is all comped. Score. I should mention we ate one morning at the Carnival Buffet and it was very good. He is broke and is trying to decide what to do, so I tell him I’ll lend him some of mine. Long story short, he gets another $1K and was back at it. We played for a while and my friend want to spend some time at the pool. The pool complex is very nice IMO. They have CW’s and my one big takeaway was the COLDNESS of the water. It is 105 degrees outside and the water is frigid. I couldn’t stand to get in it.

We had dinner reservations at the Voodoo Lounge on the 52nd floor of the Masquerade Tower. Great service. The meal wasn’t the best Filet of Beef I’ve had, but the Shrimp were some of the best I’ve had. We went outside afterwards, to take in the view. It is probably one of the best views of the Vegas Strip there is. I took several pics with my camera. They turned out great!

The first three days I was up $2700 and gave it all back in the last 24 hours. All in all it was a great trip. I can’t wait to return. BTW, Total REWARDS seems to be a good deal in that they have sent me numerous offers come out and play.

I hope this was entertaining. I know it is rather long, but I like reading the long ones. I simply can’t top Peter Pack’s.

Take care fellow LV lovers!!!

Yours truly,

TimGeorgia

TR - First Trip to Vegas!!!

Nice TR Tim!! I just watched my neighbors drive away to the airport, heading to vegas, and they are staying at the Rio too!! I love Craps as well, but am far too cheap to play the $25 tables!!!! Thanks for the TR!!

thanks for the TR tim. i love reading them too as i wait for my next trip.

Sounds like you enjoyed things to the max during your trip, good for you!

Tim, this is great. What else besides the field do you play when playing craps?

Undath,

I normally play the pass line with 1x odds behind it. I will place the six and eight sometimes. And I alternate the field...when I%26#39;m feeling it. I usually wait after several non-field rolls come and then start betting. My favorite situation is like I said when the come out roll or point established is either the 5, 6, or 8. I know it isn%26#39;t very scientific, since each roll is an independent thing, but I%26#39;ve won a fair amount doing it this way. I just love the social atmosphere around a craps table. I can drink socialize and get to stack the chips alot. I LOVE TO STACK THE CHIPS!!! after the payout.

Nice report

Nice one, Tim. Loving it :)

Thanks Tim! I%26#39;ll have to try that. I%26#39;ll have to try playing the field like that. I%26#39;ve never really thought of martingale-ing it like that when a shooter is hot one way or the other.

It sounds like you know what you%26#39;re doing re craps...but then you gave it all back...hey, it%26#39;s gambling right?

Thanks for the entertaining TR.

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