Palazzo & Bellagio January 2012 trip report

I left San Jose on January 16th, and had a uneventful flight and arrival at McCarran until I got down to baggage and at the foot of the escalator was the limo driver with my name on his sign. Great, I don't have to track my driver down this trip, terrific start to my trip. As I greet my driver the first thing he says to me is what hotel are you staying at?  Thinking that was a strange question I replied Palazzo while glancing at his sign again to make sure it's my name on there when I notice in fine print it also says Cosmopolitan.  As I'm reading this a second driver comes running up with a sign with my name on it and this one is from Palazzo. Oops! I had 2 limo drivers thanks to my host at Cosmopolitan forgetting to cancel out my limo ride when I canceled my stay there four weeks earlier due to a better offer from Palazzo.  Knowing that my Cosmo host isn't the most organized person, I had double checked the week before leaving to make sure that reservation with Cosmo had been canceled and it had been, but never thought about the limo pickup and I guess the host didn't either!

I felt sorry for the Cosmo driver and offered him my apologies. The Palazzo driver said not to worry about it as Cosmo would just end up telling him to pick someone else up, but I still felt bad about it. Obviously the two drivers had also run into each other before I arrived and knew something was wrong hence the question from the Cosmo driver about which hotel I was staying at.

Once I arrived at Palazzo, it was a quick check in with the VIP lounge and I was settling in to my room with the usual Treasure Island View in about 5 minutes. My host had a nice basket with snacks and drinks waiting for me. The offer for this trip was $700 free play, $150 upfront food & bev, limo, vip check in and Fortuna or Rialto suite which is why I canceled out the Cosmopolitan offer since it was much less free play.

After unpacking I was eager to start gambling but disappointed to discover that half the Palazzo casino floor in the area of the player's card desk was curtained off due to renovations and some of my favorite slots were MIA. Fortunately on the other side of the casino my favorite Hangover slot was there and greeted me with a bunch of bonuses but unfortunately my record as worse bonus picker in the world remains intact so my wins were low.

After playing Hangover and a few other penny slots, I decided to try my luck at Venetian's high limit room and while walking over from Palazzo enjoyed their lovely "Year of the Dragon" Chinese New Year Display which would officially open the following week.

Once at Venetian's HL room, my favorite $1 DaVinci Diamond slot didn't want to give me any wins so a few hundred were quickly lost in that slot. I tried the $10 Butterfly slot but the best I could do was the win above. Finally hit a spin on $5 WOF but it only paid $200.

I decided to play the $5 WOF next to the one I won on and got a spin, but this one only paid $125.00. My low wins were not keeping up with what I had to feed those slots so it was time to start playing pennies again. Found the new Monopoly Party Train slot and was betting $2 a push when I hit the bonus which paid a whopping $6.50, <sigh>.

Decided to try penny DaVinci Diamonds, and just lost on that, then some Wolf Run, most losses, ouch time to walk back to Palazzo to meet up with Leigh Anne and her friend Robin.

One of the highlights of this trip was meeting Leigh Ann and Robin.  Leigh Ann is one of my friends on Twitter and Facebook and like me loves to play the slots. I had a blast having drinks and chatting with them in the Palazzo's Platinum Lounge. Afterwards Leigh Ann and I did some gambling together for a hour or so, but neither one of us could get any luck going with the Palazzo slots. I really want to meet up with Leigh Ann on a future trip and play slots with her again but this time having a lucky streak together!

After Leigh Anne and Robin left to return to their hotel I went back to Venetian and lost some more on the penny slots until I finally hit a bonus on Seagull Sam for $129.75. Since this slot is outside the Venetian HL room, I couldn't resist making my way there again and trying DaVinci Diamonds which I finally got the bonus on, but unfortunately it only paid $130.00 which felt more like a loss then a win when betting $20 a push.

The last couple trips Randy and I have had some luck on the $5 Deluxe Diamond cheese slot which is $15 a push so I decided to give it a try and got my best win for the day with a bonus that paid $500.00. I then decided to try the $5 Top Dollar and $5 Pinball but couldn't get any wins so it was time to leave the high limit room and seek out my favorite penny slots.

I tried my favorite Venetian Hangover slot but my best win on it was only $40.40. Behind it was the original WOZ slots and the last several trips Glinda and company have ignored me but I couldn't resist,  it was time to revisit Oz.

My reward was a couple visits from Glinda and the brief feeling my luck was changing!

My lucky streak didn't last long though and shortly after losing at some other slots it was time to join my friend Terri for dinner at Tao.

Terri mainly made a dinner of appetizers at TAO.

As usual I couldn't resist the miso glazed Chilean Sea Bass.

We also shared some spring rolls and garlic tempura green beans.

Terri's dessert was some donuts with caramel, chocolate and vanilla dipping sauces.

Of course my dessert choice was the giant fortune cookie with white and chocolate mousse and fruit. Tao never disappoints, service was good and the food was great!

After dinner my luck seemed to be improving when I hit the Volcano bubbling over and got the minor progressive for around $90.

Zeus made a brief appearance for $170.00.

Miss Kitty finally gave me a bonus but I believe the bonus paid out less then the money I put it to get it!

Made my way back to Palazzo but before going back to the suite to sleep decided to play my lucky Palazzo Hangover slot and finally a lucky streak of a few bonuses.

Oops,  picked the wrong head in deal in the dessert.

Hangover started going cold on me after the above bonus so I switched to Wolf Run.

Wolf Run started out with a decent bonus.

The wolves were active but I couldn't get any high paying symbols to come up with them.

After Wolf Run I decided I had lost enough for the day and went back to my suite where turndown service had left me a few chocolates.

The next morning I slept in late and woke up in time to shower, dress and grab a taxi to Caesar's Palace where I was meeting Lisa (Bigvegaslover on TA) and her husband Troy for lunch.  They had selected Michel Richard's new restaurant Central.

The restaurant had floor to ceiling wine racks and giant white plates that copied the serving dishes among the decor. 

It was great to see Lisa and Troy again as the last time we have met up in Vegas was a couple years ago during Thanksgiving weekend. They are a lovely couple, fun and easy to chat with!

Troy ordered the corned beef salad. It comes with either fries or a salad. He also ordered a side of brussels spouts with bacon which I thought were good.

Lisa ordered a shrimp cocktail which was tasty. 

I had the goat cheese caesar salad with shrimp and so did Lisa. 

The salad was good, it had the goat cheese rolled up in it sort of like a roulade. Our server was very nice and service was fine but you could tell they were brand new and still getting the hang of things. I liked it well enough that if I was staying at Caesars I would eat there again but I didn't think it was that unique that I would make a special trip just to eat there.

It was great catching up with Lisa and Troy and I hope we see each other again this year. 

After saying goodbye, I decided to walk to Mirage and get some tickets to the Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. The tickets are free for M-Life Platinum and Noir level players. Terri was going to be entertaining her nieces soon and while she is platinum level she needed some extra tickets and I was getting a ticket in advance for my February trip as the tickets are good for 6 months.

After getting the tickets I walked into Mirage and played a few slots and mainly lost. It was time now to go to Grand Lux at Venetian and meet Liz (TA's, Cassely) and her Mom for a drink while they were having lunch. Liz and I had just missed getting together on a trip a couple months ago so it was wonderful to finally meet in person. 

Liz and her Mother are sweethearts and I had a great time with them. Lately the best times in Vegas for me are meeting old and new friends!

I had some time to gamble before meeting Terri for dinner that night and while I did have some brief luck on a few slots I was mainly losing. During this time I went to the Venetian Gold Room for a drink and as I leaving a nice looking woman sitting on one of the couches calls out to me and says are you Evoni? Her name was Cindy (I hope I got that right) and she reads this blog,  it was terrific to once again run into someone who reads here.

After my lack of luck it was a relief to break for dinner. Terri picked me up and we went to eat at Luxor's Tender Steak and Seafood restaurant.  I've eaten at Luxor's Tender Steak and Seafood restaurant several times with my husband and always enjoyed a good meal there, but tonight the food was only average and I doubt I will be returning.

I started out with a Fire Away cocktail which is muddled cucumber, citron Vodka, sweet and sour mix and habanero Tabasco sauce. This at least was still good!

Terri's Hearts of Romaine and Baby Romaine Caesar salad was average.

My salad which was Garden Mesclun greens with cucumber, sound dried tomatoes, fennel and radish with black current balsamic vinaigrette sounded better then it tasted.

Terri's Yankee Beef Pot Roast had hot meat in it when it arrived but cold vegetables so while she said her meat was fine she didn't really care for the overall taste of her entree. When the server came by she didn't mention that to him and his reply was he had recently brought his daughter to the restaurant to eat for a special occasion and had the same problem. Hmmmmm.

My filet mignon was the oddest shaped filet I've ever had and was a bit overcooked and hard to cut. It tasted alright since I poured green peppercorn sauce over it.

Last, we shared the Smore Dessert which was fine, but made me miss Cut's Chocolate Souffle!

After dinner Terri drove us to Wynn where she had a lucky streak and I continued to lose. Since I was losing I said goodnight to Terri and walked back to Palazzo where I went to the Platinum lounge, ordered a drink and then exited to the HL room where I sat down at $1 Texas Tea. This is a 9 line slot and when I play it I bet one credit for a bet of $9.

I was in a snit from all the losing and wasn't paying attention and hit the button for the first spin and immediately the 3 oil wells drop down for the bonus. Well, it was a good thing I got that bonus, because I had accidentally hit max bet for a push of $90!

The bonus resulted in a hand pay of $1800, so lucky accident! While I was waiting to get paid my host showed up like magic for the first time this trip, so we had a happy chat.

After my host leaves I call my husband to give him the good news and being a bad influence (grin) tells me to go to the Venetian HL room and hit another one. Being a good obedient wife (good thing he doesn't have time to read this comment), I did as requested and had a brief flirtation with the $1 Cleopatra. I also played our favorite $1 DaVinci Diamond next to Cleo and had the worse bonus ever, $10 on a $20 bet!!!!

In a snit I exit the high limit room and start playing the new $1 pinball that's right outside and had some brief luck on it. It was then time for some of my favorite penny slots like Bacchus Gold but unlike previous trips when I got the bonus and would hit for $500 or more, this time the best I could do was $119.00 which wasn't good as it took me playing almost a $100 through it before hitting that bonus.

Time to visit my favorite wolves to see if they want to pay off big. I had a hit for a little over $100 on them, but the wolves soon ran away, never to be seen again.

Perhaps the new Monopoly Party Train wants to give me a party.Well not a big win but considering my past luck with all WMS Monopoly slots I will be happy with my $96.50.

It's late, I'm thinking of going to bed, but my husband wants me to go back to $1 DaVinci, so I return to Venetian's HL room. I really wasn't having much luck with DaVinci this trip, it no longer wanted to be my personal ATM machine, but it did make a gesture with a hit of $230.00

 I wander over to the $5, three credit Double Diamond Triple Deluxe Cheese slot and I'm thrilled when I get the bonus and end up with a hand pay of $2100.00!

Here's some photos of Venetian's High Limit Room for those of you who haven't been in it. I had asked my host earlier if I could take them and he told me that taking photos of the slots is not illegal in Las Vegas anymore, it's just some of the casinos have their own rules about it,  but I should go ahead.

One of the organizers of the High Limit pull for the Slot Machine Forum's April Meet had requested photos of Venetian's HL room since we are doing the pull there I took these and more to send to her.

Again as I'm waiting for my hand pay my host once again shows up. There seems to be a pattern here, I win and he shows up to chat. I guess he wants to visit with me when I'm in a good mood and not whining about losing. ;)

I decide to call it a night but as I'm walking out past the penny slots I stopped to play Aruze's Emperor game and after putting about a $100 in it hit the bonus for over $300.00

On the way back to the room I stopped again at Palazzo's high limit room to try the $1 Diamond Queen due to EastUpper3's encouragement but the Queen wasn't nice to me.

Next morning I slept in late but made it to Palazzo's Grand Lux around 1pm or so for brunch. I started out with their delicious blood orange Mojito!

After brunch I went to the Palazzo high limit room and played the $1 Quick Hits for the first time at $15 a push. I didn't have a lot of luck on it but will try it again on a future trip.

I left the high limit room and went outside and tried the $5 WOF and got briefly lucky with a $500.00 hit.

After WOF I decided to play all my favorite penny and five cent slots but all I did was lose on them with the exception of this hit on Golden Pah

It's amazing to me how fast the penny slots can drain the bankroll, but I never can seem to resist those slots. I went back to my room to change for dinner and was glad to take a break from my losing streak.

Tonight I was taking Teri to dinner for her birthday at Aria's American Fish restaurant. Terri drove us to Aria and there was just enough time to lose a couple hundred dollars on the new Princess Bride slot before our dinner reservation. The 80 credits down below was my big hit on this slot for the $200.00!

On a happier note I really enjoyed our dinner and the service at American Fish.

I normally don't eat bread but it was too good to resist at American Fish.

Terri's appetizer was the Manhattan clam chowder with crisp pork belly and she said it was excellent.

I ordered the ruby red shrimp and grits, with white cheddar, serrano ham and jalapeño. I love shrimp but hate grits, however our server convinced me I should try this appetizer and she was correct it was great, including their form of grits!

Terri ordered the baked in sea salt sturgeon and I ordered the mustard marinated black cod and the restaurant was kind enough to split them out for us and to also give us the vegetables that came with the cod to both of us which were creamed mushrooms, cauliflower and marbled potatoes. The black cod was fabulous! The sturgeon was good, but didn't have any wow factor like the cod.

Terri's dessert was white chocolate bread pudding with caramelized bananas and white chocolate ice cream. Normally I don't like bread pudding but this was a great dessert!

I had the pear soufflé which was good, but not as great as the bread pudding.

After dinner Teri dropped me off at Palazzo on her way home and I went back to playing those darn penny slots. I lost on almost all of them though I had some brief fun with Hangover.

I also had some brief luck with Alice's Mad Tea Party.

Before going to bed, I went around and took photos of the Palazzo Year of the Dragon Display and here's a link to them.
http://www.lasvegasdaze.com/2012/01/palazzos-year-of-dragon-display-2012.html

The next morning I had a snack at Palazzo's Platinum lounge while checking out and waiting for their limo to take me to Bellagio. I was now down for the trip again but I had this great offer from Bellagio for $700 free play, $100 upfront food & beverage and a lakeside room so I was going to stay one night only and see if I could go home a winner.

I was on the 28th floor and the view as always was outstanding.

This was my first time in one of their renovated rooms and while nice I wouldn't say it's anything that special.

The safe is now in bedside table like Aria's instead of the wall and the television has finally been updated to a flat screen!

The room service menu had some changes since my last visit here so I photographed it and it's now updated on this blog under room service menus.

I had a nice lunch while watching a few of the fountain shows in my room. Above is the bay shrimp salad with hearts of palm, mushrooms and tomatoes.

I also had one of their great shrimp cocktails. Love the fresh large shrimp they serve! After lunch I headed down to the casino which being Bellagio was crowded with gawkers to use my free play.

It started out well with a $500 win on $5 Top Dollar and I'm thinking my luck is back with me!

I go over to $5 Pinball but after a few hundred no wins there. I go back to Top Dollar and win $625.00 but it took about $250.00 to get that win. I tried a few other Top Dollar slots and then move on to some quarter slots and before I know it my free play and winnings from it are all gone.

I decide to play penny slots and get lucky on a Bacchus Gold Bonus and win $341.50 on it. Got to love those sticky wilds. I know you see a $2.50 win but there was a small win with the bonus and it bumped off the bonus win and looks like I won only $2.50. :)

After the win on Bacchus Gold, I start losing on every penny and five cent slot at Bellagio. With the exception of the $99.00 win on Hitchcock Theater above and the $105.00 bonus win on Gold Fish below all I did was lose.

Since I'm losing I decide to switch back to the $1 slots and I enter the Bellagio High Limit room where there's a Top Dollar that is $9 a push and you need to get 3 Top Dollar symbols to activate the bonus. I'm holding my own briefly with this slot and manage a win for $250.00 when my host enters and we finally meet in person for the first time, even though she has been my host for about 4 years now. We had a nice chat but after she left my luck went sour again and I decided to go back to my room and take a break.

As I entered the elevator in a very bad mood from losing, there are 2 couples in there with me. As one of the couples gets off at their floor, the gentleman from the remaining couple smiles at me and asks are you Evoni? Turns out it was Tubbs from TA and Vegasmessage board and his wife who were visiting from the UK. Looking back I'm surprised Tubbs bothered to say hi since I know I was looking grumpy, but I'm glad he did, they seemed like a sweet couple for the couple minutes we had to chat.

Once back in my room I ordered the pan seared sea bass with caramelized fennel, tomato cous cous with lobster sauce and enjoyed it while watching a couple fountain shows.

Broccolini with garlic and red pepper was tasty but not very pretty. They need to work with their presentation on this veggie.

What I didn't enjoy was the sugar free raspberry Napoleon that I ordered. The pastry was stale and uneatable, though I did pick the raspberries off and they were fine.

After watching another fountain show I made the mistake of going back downstairs to gamble where I couldn't win on anything no matter how large or small the bet. All I could do was lose for the rest of the evening with this Alice win of $85.56 being the high point of the evening.

After donating most of my bank roll to Bellagio I slunk off to take photos of their Conservatory's Chinese New Year Display. More photos of that display are available here on this blog:
http://www.lasvegasdaze.com/2012/01/bellagio-chinese-year-of-dragon.html

I was done with gambling for this trip, the slots won as they frequently do. I slept in late the next morning and decided instead of breakfast to try room service's Antipasti which was very good. I had a late check out today compliments of my host for 4pm, but that morning and afternoon I was interrupted even with the privacy tag on the door 3 times by housekeeping! When they did it for the 3rd time around 2:30pm, I finally got a bit miffed with them.

Fortunately the fountain shows helped me to restore a better mood before I left for the airport. Check out was easy as my host did it for me. Flight home was uneventful.

Usually at this point in the trip report I would fill you in on my next trip but I was so late writing up this report I've already been and returned from it! My next TR will be about my 3 day trip to Las Vegas staying at Wynn the end of February. The next upcoming trip is for 3 nights staying at Bellagio again (shudder) starting March 24th. Despite the shudder, I'm really looking forward to this next trip which is 3 days full of fun activities (mostly not gambling thanks goodness) celebrating Teresa's 40th Birthday.