Saturday, November 13th
I’m
starting to notice a pattern here. For the third year in a row, my original
early morning flight was consolidated, however this time it moved up a few
minutes, meaning a 6:40 departure time…out of Midway. I wanted to return to
Southwest, but the flight options still weren’t up to snuff, which meant the
one hour trek down to Chicago's southern airport. The good news is at the crack
of dawn, traffic was light, only one person was ahead of me in security…and
despite the full flight, 20 + wheelchairs with pre-boarders, and an A37 boarding
slot, I still got a window seat. The flight was quick and soon I found Greg at
the baggage claim. After sweating out if the bag would ever show up, we hopped
on the shuttle and made it to Alamo, where a sexy new Toyota Corolla with Utah
plates was waiting.
The first need of the day was to grab a few grocery items. We headed over to the Target and ran into crisis #1. Katie was in the middle of a pre-ACT at home and needed a specific app to upload her answers…and we couldn’t get it to work for the first few attempts. Now you may ask yourself, why was she taking this test at home…and the answer is because 2020 was not the year of COVID…it was just the first year of COVID! So here I was again in Las Vegas under a set of strict rules. At the time of travel, Illinois was one of only seven states with an indoor mask mandate. Lucky for me, Nevada was one of the six other ones! Hooray! Unlike 2020, I didn’t get to keep track of my temperature throughout the trip, but I did get to take all the smells of Vegas in, filtered through a piece of cloth.
In the end, Target failed to come through for me. We stopped at Total Wine and More to see if there were any exciting local releases (nope), so we then moved over to a local Smiths grocery store. I grabbed a couple of big bottles of water and a six pack of God’s nectar (you may know it as Cherry Vanilla Coke Zero), Greg gave a $1 to the vets outside the store and they gave him a commemorative chip. And wouldn’t you know it…it was lunch time.
For lunch, we decided to return to Scenic Brewing since we were on the correct side of the Valley. Previously, I had fish tacos, and I really wanted to try something different…and was able to land on the club sandwich. They start you off with a plate of homemade chips, and Greg was trying to order extra as his side, but also came off as asking for more chips at the table, so we were swimming in chips by the time the food arrived. Oh, and they also have beer there. I had a flight, trying my best to mix up the styles a bit (two different wheat beers, an Oktoberfest, and a Belgian Strong). Both times we’ve been, the food and beer have been excellent…but it always seems empty. Hope they hang in there.
After lunch, we decided to mosey over to home base for the first few nights…the Suncoast. When looking for a hotel this trip, the weekend prices we’re shockingly high (the most egregious being the Cal at $800 for Saturday night.) We needed to steer clear of the main drags to get a reasonable price, and I’ve always been a bit partial to Boyd properties. It was too early to check in, so we left our stuff in the car and roamed the casino a bit. Started off with some Spin VP, and was able to milk the session for a $2 loss and scored one drink (and could have done a few more, but we were pacing ourselves between the beer visits.)
Still, early, but went to see if we could check in. They had a room, but “it was only on the fifth floor and was a walk to the end of the hall”, but having a place to take a break for a few minutes trumped all that, and soon we were home. But first, the lady at the desk threw us off by asking if it was OK for someone to come in and clean the room…stupid COVID.
The rooms at the Suncoast are very spacious. We had two large, comfortable queen beds, and plenty of desk and table space to drop our junk. The bathroom is good sized and does have a separate room with the shower and toilet, but the door to that was a slider, so the bathroom just got to stay as a single unit. Everything was very clean, and it turns out the end of the hall wasn’t that far of a walk from the elevator. Best of all…we never heard a peep from other rooms or the hall the entire time.
We returned to the casino, and this time I went with video BJ for a while. The session was streaky, but in the end, I broke even. Catholic guilt drove me to find a nearby church, which were back open in Vegas this year…and the one I attended was packed. I may have left a minute or two early to be the rush and head back to Suncoast.
Across from Suncoast is the Tivoli Village (tagline: Shop, Dine, Office). The first place you hit when you cross the street is Hop Nuts Brewing. I had gone last year and found a number of interesting things. This year was a bit of a disappointment. Did a flight of five. The raspberry sour and standard NE IPA were ok. The porter was a bit disappointing. I totally misread the board and ordered a double IPA which was way too hoppy for me (and I couldn't finish it). At least I ended on a high note with their double NE IPA...
Moving to the “Dine”…we moseyed down a few doors and found El Dorado Cantina. The bartender at Hop Nuts was raving about their tacos, and the menu indeed looked really good. No wait if you ate at the bar, and who doesn’t love a bar? I was eyeing their beer on tap, but when I asked for one, our bartender said we were actually at a pop up bar, and they didn’t work. I took a bottled beer (Bohemia Pilsner)…which was simply awful. Meanwhile, the bartender tried the tap and found it actually did work…really slowly. So he gave me a sample (no loss that I didn’t get a full pour), and soon our pulled chicken enchiladas arrived. They were phenomenal. Great meal all around.
Guess what? I’m old…even though it was only 8:30 local time, the recent time change had my body telling me to throw in the towel…so we did. Although by this point, I learned that I had taken my toothbrush out of my overnight bag for some unknown reason and forgot to return it before I left home. So we walked back to the hotel and I dropped $3 at the gift shop to get a new one…then it was time to head up and we crashed.
Day 1 stats: 14,835 steps, 1 free drink, 11 new beers, lost $2
Sunday, November 14th
I decided to get in a run before we started the day…and since I was already waking up at the 5:00 hour, I headed outside. The Suncoast is next to a golf course, and I’ll blame the early morning that somehow I got off a trail and ended up running on a cart path. Before I was chased off the course, I hopped a short fence and got back on track. Returned to the room, washed up, and grabbed a Coke Zero and off we went.
Our first stop of the day was next door at the Rampart. We grabbed refreshed slot cards and sat down at a Multistrike VP machine. Hung out for a good hour, and I still had $6 of my $20 buy-in left. We roamed around the property a little, then decided to head over to Red Rock Casino. Eventually, we found one of the new video BJ banks (or Baccart, Roulette, or Craps…we went with BJ). What’s nice is it’s only a buck, the game moves along, and you can either play the same hand as your neighbors, or choose a different base. You lose the table banter and I realize this is a way for casinos not to pay dealers :( I ended up having two very wild swings, and ended up $3 for the session.
Lunch was to be at Able Baker, which was going to kick off another round of beer visits. The third annual visit to Able Baker brought yet another new selection of great offerings (Cream Ale, BA Farmhouse Ale, Belgian Dubbel and a BA Dark ale). The Dubbel is the first Able Baker beer I've had that was just OK. (hey, but 13 of 14 being really good still says a lot!) The scratch kitchen inside offers some great bar meals…and this year I had the shrimp tacos, which were top notch.
A block north of Able resides two of the newest breweries on the Vegas scene…Nevada Brew Works and HUDL. We decided to give HUDL a try and each took a flight (I got the wit, vanilla cream, chocolate cream, and pecan brown). All really good stuff, and I ended up going back for two more tasters (orange vanilla cream and mango IPA...yes!). I turned the keys over to Greg, and we continued up the street to downtown.
We dropped the car at the MSS parking lot, which, like most parking in Vegas, has gotten very expensive. We popped in to Circa, which is the newest property downtown. Owned by the same folks who own the D…and I have similar complaints. It’s crowded and extremely noisy and seems to cater to a crowd I’m not a part of. Got our chip though, and a picture of Vegas Vickie, and moved on. We wandered down to El Cortez, then started back up the street.
No trip downtown is complete without a visit to Banger Brewing. While I thought 2020 was an off year for them, 2021 was back with a vengeance. Grabbed a great flight (Marzen, NE IPA, BA Barleywine and BA Stout), and by this time I was three sheets to the wind. Perfect opportunity to do some gambling.
We started at Four Queens…I bought in for $25 at the Silver Strike machine and got three very small hits…so was out in about five minutes. Having not fared much better, Greg pulled out a $50 voucher for Chicago Brewing for dinner. The last thing we wanted was more beer, but between the pizza, salad and garlic knots, we hit a final bill of $49.95. Always a good option when down there.
Grabbed a water at the ABC store. Decided to try one more run at the slots in Plaza…did a smidge better and lasted 6 minutes. A sure sign to throw in the towel for the day (plus, it was already 8:00)…so we jumped in the car and headed back to the Suncoast.
Day 2 stats: 15,090 steps, no drinks but 14 new beers and lost $56
Monday, November 15th
It’s always a strange feeling for me to have been in town for a few days, but not have set foot on the strip…
Got up and checked out of the Suncoast. For breakfast, we decided to try Pinkbox…a donut chain that traffics is some tasty and unusual offerings. We found the closest one and perused the selection. I went with Carmelo - a raised donut with frosting and a caramel crème and a milk. Not quite as good as the Donut Bar, but a reasonable selection to avoid a long drive.
Mmmmm...donuts....
Next
up, we headed to Virgin Casino, which is the rebranded Hard Rock. Greg got his
players card, and I was getting mine when the lady at the counter noted her
computer froze. Then so did the next one and next one after that. Then people
started coming up noting that they had card issues. Yes, the system went down
right before I collected my souvenir. We decided to wander the property for a
little while while waiting to see if it recovered…got our new chips It really doesn’t strike me as vastly different
from the Hard Rock. Anyway, we killed enough time to let the computers reset
enough to get my card…then we snuck around the side to not be seen leaving
immediately after that (didn't want to look silly).
Next on the agenda…the brand new Resorts World. We dropped the car in the parking garage and headed over to get the players card and a chip. The casino itself is huge and bright, with a number of quirky things to check out around the complex. all the beauty didn’t prevent me from losing just under $30, but that’s the way it goes. We looked for some of the specific artwork, then decided to go from one end of the classiness spectrum to the other.
Yes, my friends, every few years I forget my pledge that “I don’t think I ever need to go to Circus Circus again”, and something draws us back in. This time, it was some fun players cards and the fact that they brought back some $1 coin slots. I prayed that I wouldn’t trip in the parking lot, lest I fall and get stuck to the ground. We got our cards, coins, and even walked over to Slots of Fun…because it’s still there. Each visit is so depressing. The great memories of my very first visit tainted by the realization that the casino just is in very sad shape…I don’t think I ever need to go to Circus Circus again.
For lunch, I suggested we head back to Main Street and give Nevada Brew Works a go. The food sounded good, and hey, beer. Our timing remained impeccable as we just beat the lunch rush. I had the flight of four (hefe, dopplebock, Belgian Tripel and a hazy) and a turkey burger. Service was good…the beers were decent with the Hefe being the best and the bock and hazy worth a mention as well.
After lunch, we headed back to the strip, parking at Mirage since I have free parking at MGM properties. We walked across the street and cut through Casino Royale (who removed their table games…we cut a lot of teeth on those) and headed into the Venetian to look for Trustworthy Brewing. It took a while to find among the meandering canals (pro tip - don't stop at the little bar at the top of the escalator!) We saddled up and ordered a flight (rice lager, NE IPA, Wit, and Double NE IPA. Similar to Hop Nuts…not bad, but just a heavier hop presence than I generally go for. The double IPA was the standout here.
By this time, I had notification that our room was ready. For the back half of the trip, we were staying at the Delano inside the Mandalay Bay complex. I had gotten an offer at one point for $49 rooms, which is a steal. I checked in on the app, and thought I added Greg to the room ( I guess all I did was text him a digital key, more on that later.). Checking in on the app got us past the big line to a short one for key printing, and we were on our way.
The Delano is an all suite hotel. Most importantly that means wo bathrooms! The extra sitting room would also come in handy as a staging area in the morning. Very clean and modern looking with a view of the Raiders stadium. We were on the fifth floor here too, which meant short elevator rides, and the staff was very friendly. Not quite as quiet as Suncoast, but we still had peaceful nights.
We decided to walk north a bit and stop along the way. I had reached quite a bit of freeplay from my credit card. We stopped at Park, where I turned $35 of freeplay into $17 of real money (and got that elusive free drink). Nothing exciting in Aria, but made it to Bellagio, where we saw the end of the creepy autumn atrium display being replaced by the Christmas one. Didn't get to see the final product, but I took the time to turn $20 of freeplay into $13. My last shot was in NYNY ($10 to $4).
Enough was enough and we went to MGM to use a 2-1 dinner offering at Puck's Bar and Grille. Similar to last year, we had the Rigatoni, which was great, and we learned our lesson that the bread plate is too much on top of the food. I was going to get a small draft beer, but the tap lines were down, so I went big with a Founders BBA stout. 2021 vintage, so something new :).
At that point, it was getting late (like 8:45), so we headed back to Delano. Stopped at a convenience store inside Mandalay, which meant the bottle of water was $6…but too tired to worry about it. The final day was on the horizon.
Day 3 stats: 28,101 steps (ah - back to the glory days), 1 free drink, 9 new beers and won $5
Tuesday, November 16th
To show how much my life revolves around beer (sad, I know), there was a release coming in Chicago that needed to be ordered online at 8:00 Chicago time…which was 6:00 am Vegas time. So I got up at 5:00 to get a run in before that happened. Mostly stuck around the Excalibur - Mandalay Bay front and back…and learned of the much faster entrance to the Delano from the parking lot.
Oh by the way, I got the beer.
For the morning, Greg and I both had a bunch of Mandalay freeplay thanks to MGM apps. But here, we learned that I really didn’t add Greg to the room the day before…I just texted him a key. So, we had to trudge back to the front desk and do it right. In the end, he did very well. I turned my $75 into about $50 (still just getting payback in the 50% range.)
We drove up to the Bellagio garage to do some time at that part of the strip. We first stumbled across some amazing garbage (check out the nearby photo..."Tougher Together"). After that chuckle, Greg wanted to check out Cosmo, and we found a bank of Press Your Luck machines. The waitress came by, and to my horror, informed me that they were out of amaretto…sigh. I blew though my $20 buy in, and dropped in another $5 to milk it for the waitress to come back. Moments after bemoaning “Typical Cosmo” to Greg, I hit the bonus game, where a spinner went around and landed on the smallest value possible…then a Whammy jumped out and moved it to the largest…$200 in pennies ! My biggest win ever.
We then returned to Bellagio where I cashed in some freeplay on the VP machines. It took a while to find one that accepted the freeplay, but we picked a good waitress spot as well and got a couple of drinks while at it. Late in the session, I drew three to a Royal and got the remaining two on the draw…so a nice $60 win on that hand. So, weighted down with cash, we went over to the buffet for lunch (2-1 reward!). We haven’t been for a couple of years. Most of the buffets in town are limited to breakfast, lunch or brunch, and Bellagio is no exception. Once again, we beat the rush by a few minutes. A number of their gold standards were there (pizza, Chinese, carvery), and some of the breakfast offerings were good as well. They even added Coke freestyle machines!!! The only complaint is the desserts - while a lot was offered, I couldn’t find much to try, and what I did was off one way or another. And they replaced the soft serve ice cream with a new station complete with someone who didn’t want to be serving ice cream.
Our final foray off strip was to Henderson to see a newly branded casino as well as, well, maybe a brewery or two. We stopped at Lovelady Brewery, which we had missed since we went in their infancy. They had flights, so we tried a handful of their current offerings (Hefe, Cranberry Hazy, Dopplebock and a stout - the Hazy was far and away the best.) After that, we walked up the street to The Pass…formerly the El Dorado. We got our cards, and while waiting for a few bucks of freeplay, I went to the cage to buy our chips. They looked at me a little funny, but came through so we didn’t have to go back when the tables opened an hour later. Didn’t do great with the freeplay, so we escaped through a back door as to not look silly to the players club or cashier ladies.
Next door is the Rainbow casino, and somehow, we had missed joining their club over the years. Very friendly people - totally helpful in getting the players card and coupons and letting us know how to get more from the card. So once again, we found the side door to leave by so we didn’t look silly. See how we never look silly?
The last beer stop of the trip (kind of) was Mojave. We had been here last year after they opened and they have a variety of styles, including several ciders. It was hard to narrow down to the flight, but we did (Oktoberfest, wit, mango cider, and coffee porter). The cider was the winner here.
Having stuck out early on at Total Wine for something for Greg to take back to Texas, we drove back to the strip area, where I had read about a neat sounding bottle shop called Beer Zombies. We walked in and realized they really only have a small cooler of to go items, and seemed more like a taproom. So we waited for the bartender to go grab something from the back and then took the chance to leave…so we didn’t look silly.
Grabbed some gas for the car and set it in the garage for the night. I still had a decent amount of freeplay left, and was hoping to find something to take home. For the twentieth trip in a row, we looked at the M&M store and Coke store and came out empty. Grabbed a big bottle of water at the ABC store and chugged it, and then at least I found some unique candy at the Hershey’s store. When the bill came out at $30, I was sure they rang something up multiple times, but no…it just is grossly overpriced.
For our final dinner, we eventually decided to use a 2-1 reward at Puck's Lupo in Mandalay. I skipped the beer since they had amaretto there…and we landed on the pappardelle with Bolognese. Phenomenal. Just slightly on the full side, we went back to the floor to use up a little more freeplay. I did alright on the VP and less so on the slots, but overall got $70 in winnings and one last drink. Time to head upstairs and pack…boo!
Day 4 stats: 21,967 steps, 4 free drinks, 8 new beers, won $509
Wednesday, November 17th
All good things must end. My flight was pushed back to an 8 am departure, so at least I didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night. Though about stopping at the Vegas sign but didn’t.
The airport is mostly alive again this year…I wasn’t sure about food, but remembered that Starbucks actually does a pretty good turkey bacon breakfast sandwich and one last stroke of luck...I hit it when nobody was in line! Ate, got a few candy bars at Ethel M’s, then had to “fight” with a crop of young girls who didn’t understand the Southwest boarding process and kept trying to get in front of me (A38) because they started at A40, and that’s in the same “section” when you board. Thankfully, the stewardess finally came on and announced we board in numerical order. They probably still think I suck. C'est la vie.Great trip…too short, but I’m definitely pushing it as it is with not pulling my weight at home for the few days as it is!
Day 5 stat: 3,440 steps
Final stats: 83,433 steps (37.1 miles), 6 free drinks (sad, until you consider…), 42 new beers, won $456
Postscript: Check out my brother's side of the nightstand. I think he's watched "Signs" a few too many times...
