This is an older Las Vegas trip report, from 2002.  If you randomly landed on this page and wish to start at the beginning, go HERE.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002 – Day Three of Six

Once upon a time about a decade before I had a Vegas blog, my mother and I woke up at the Barbary Coast relatively late (11:00 am) and ate a late breakfast at the Victorian Room inside the Barbary Coast. My mother and I each had the skillet breakfast and neither of us finished even half of it.

We went next door to the Flamingo to gamble. Ugh. I lost about $100 and then won $150 on a Megabucks slot machine. I decide I am going to only play with the additional $50. I hit 1100 credits on a Bewitched nickel slot machine. This is a hand pay.   I waited about 45 minutes for the attendant. My mother won on some game with a monkey – I can’t remember the name – and she waited 55 minutes for the attendant.

On the way out I win $19.95 on a nickel Munsters slot machine. It is a TITO machine and the ticket doesn’t print. An attendant comes and can’t fix it. She calls her supervisor. He can’t fix it. He tells me he will get me a hand pay. He comes back 35 minutes later with his supervisor, no hand pay. 

Long story, huge freak out yelling fit about the suckage of the Flamingo and 75 minutes later, I receive my big $20.05. I won $19.95 and they gave me $20.05 because the machine had coincidentally paid out $20.05 according to the log. I tried explaining repeatedly that this was NOT my payout. Mine was $19.95 and I did NOT receive my payout, the $20.05 was a different payout. The machine said it paid the $20.05 an HOUR earlier than I won my $19.95. It didn’t pay me at all because of a ticket jam, which you may have forgotten because it’s been SEVENTY FIVE MINUTES since you were called over to fix the machine because of the aforementioned ticket jam.

I hate the Flamingo.

We headed back to the Barbary Coast for an afternoon nap.

We woke up around 6:00 and I am very sick. I am extremely nauseous. But I am in Las Vegas so I act like it’s not happening.

We take a cab to the Stratosphere for dinner at the Top of the World restaurant. Our table is not ready so we wait in the lounge. I try to act like I feel fine even though I am sick and the restaurant is spinning. Literally, the restaurant spins to give you a 360 degree view as you are eating. Our reservation was at 8:00 and we get our table at 9:00.

We both ordered the Filet Mignon and baked potato. My potato comes with a huge hollow dirt spot inside of it. Great. This is a $6 baked potato; you would think it would be perfect. They bring me a new one, but I still feel very ill and just thinking of the potato made me sicker. I am not a fan of the Top of the World and I would never return there. As I mentioned before, we do not frequent nice restaurants and now that I know what I was missing, I honestly don’t care if I continue on missing it.

We gambled a little bit in the Stratosphere. I had a $48 check from their 110% cash back promotion during my trip last November and I lost it all. We were both doing horrible and decided to get out of there.

We took a cab to Paris. My mother could not get over what it looked like inside. I could not get over how I was both sick and losing all of my money. No matter what machine I put my money in; I would go through all of my credits and win NOTHING.

Go back to the room and go to sleep.