Monday, April 27, 2009 – Day Four of Eleven

[This is part four of an eleven part trip report.  If you want to start at the beginning, go here.]

I wake up at the El Cortez, I am out at 8:10 am.  Breakfast is at Cafe Cortez.  I am exhausted.

I play that penny diamond progressive I found the day before (or two days before, I cannot keep track of days in Las Vegas) and I lose $20.  I play video Keno in one of those really old school coin dropper Keno machines.  I turn $40-$50.  See?  I’m writing stuff down better!

I get up to grab a bucket for my Keno quarters.  I didn’t realize that my bag was open and everything inside of it flies out onto the floor.  That sucked.

I play Invaders From the Planet Moolah and instead of my normal 50-cents a bet, I play $1.25 a hand and I get a $37.50 bonus.  This isn’t THAT good since I’ve gotten bigger on my 50-cent bet.

I then head to penny Supertimes Pay.  I attempt to check the time and my cell phone isn’t in my bag.  Argh.  It must be on the floor back by Keno.  At least I hope it is, it’s been a while since I left.  I go walking up one aisle to get to the aisle I dropped my crap in and find it in that completely different aisle.  It had to be kicked around a LOT to end up where it did.  Thankfully I took that route back to the scene of the idiocy or else I never would found it. I never would have looked that far away.

I write “degenerate but it’s okay,” but that’s all I have.  So I’m NOT keeping such great notes after all.

I check out of the El Cortez and into the Golden Gate.  I get room 414 this time.

As soon as I open the door, I see that this room is even TINIER than my last room!  Look at it!  It’s soooooo tiny.  I can’t breathe.  It’s too small. It’s soooooo small.   HOWEVER.  The window in this room opens so I have that going for me.

I also have a tub, which I didn’t have last time.  The sink wont drain though.  There is a fancy schmancy alarm clock that I could have hooked my MP3 player upto.  Too bad it died and I can’t play it on here.

I go downstairs and lose a bunch of money.  I wrote “degenerate” in my notes.  I also stopped at the Plaza for video poker with a wheel.  I hit fours and put it all back in.

I took a nap at the Golden Gate, got back up, showered and got dressed.  I stopped and played a slot named Viva Las Vegas that seemed okay.  Then I went to catch the Deuce bus to the Strip.

I hate the Deuce bus.  We were stopped by the Sahara and someone was pointing out the construction going on there and says ‘This used to be the Stardust.”  No it wasn’t.  I don’t correct him because it really doesn’t matter.

Construction across from the Sahara.  I don’t know how, but I have no idea what is being built.

[2014 called.  It wants you to know that this was just a tease and that this space is still nothing]

I get off the bus at the Fashion Show Mall and go through  Treasure Island to take the tram to the Mirage so I can  pick up my ticket for the Beatles themed Cirque de Soleil show named “Love.”   I then walk over to the Imperial Palace where I am booked for one night on a comp.  I don’t need this room but (a) when you check in you get some decent coupons and (b) I was able to book a “Luv Tub” room (their spelling, not mine) and I need to see what this looks like dammit!   I also have it in my head that tomorrow is Strip day so I could just stay here tonight if I want to.

Did you know the Mirage took out their people mover?  I did not.  This shocked me.  They also drained the fountains with the dolphin statues.  I don’t know what they are going to do here but I know I won’t like it.

This used to be a people mover:

Las Vegas Strip:

It is absolutely beautiful outside.  I love this weather.

Checking into the Imperial Palace takes forever.   I get room 1837 and the check-in-ling calls it a “suite.”  It isn’t.  It’s a ”Luv Tub” room.

I walk in and the mirrored closet confuses me for a second into thinking that maybe it is a suite and that’s a whole other room over there.  No, it’s just a mirror.

The Luv Tub!  This thing is huge!

I do not at all like that these are NEWLY DECORATED rooms and have mirrors over both the bed and tub like some bordello that is just BEGGING to be covered in red velvet.

If there is a thermostat in this room, I never found it.

I do however, like everything else about this room, even the kitchy bordello theme.  I make a mental note to maybe book a five night stay in one of these on my next trip.  As always, the Imperial Palace balconies are the best thing in Las Vegas.  I love the balcony so much.  It is on this balcony that I FINALLY learn how to use my camera on the night setting.

At the Mirage I see the four-play Wolf Run slot games I had read about.  I wish I had found these before going degenerate earlier so I could go degenerate on them instead.  So much fun, so expensive.

I find a game called “Jungle of Gold” and accidentally hit “MAX BET” and win $10.50.   I keep playing and get a $24.36 bonus.

Time to see Love!  This show was not as great for me as it seems to be for everyone else. I really really really like acrobatty Cirque shows and this was not one of them.  I also felt that when they did “Lucy in the Sky of Diamonds” that they had the absolute perfect soundtrack to do something completely over the top with visual stimulation when the “mosh part” kicks in, and they didn’t.

Then again, I am not a choreographer, I am not a fan of theater.  My opinions on things like this should never be taken all that serious.

I left two minutes before the show ended to avoid people.  Take the Deuce bus back downtown.  I stop in Walgreens for very-much-needed root touchup to cover my grey hair.   God I hate grey hair.

I played around the Golden Gate.  Viva Las Vegas gave me a very long bonus, 34 spins.  I got up to a 12x multiplier and ended up with $25.20.

Monopoly slot, lost.

Hitchcock slot, lost.

At 12:38 am, I had a Prime Rib dinner at the Bay City Diner at the Golden Gate.  My waiter was the nicest man I have ever come across in all of Las Vegas.  I love when that happens.  He asked me if I wanted a refill of my iced tea and when I said no, he brought me one anyway “in case you change your mind.”  He was the best ever.

I played some more.  I played that stupid reel Wizard of Oz machine that I play ONLY because it steals my money and I feel obligated to try and beat its ass.  Well tonight is the night.  I get a bonus for $99.20.   Perfect!

I move to its neighbor, Monopoly Jackpot Station.  After giving that son of a bitch $65, it gives me a $100 bonus.  DONE AND DONE.

I’m in bed at 1:45 am.  My bathroom sink still has not drained from way earlier this afternoon.

Want to read continue? You can find the next chapters here: five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven!