15 September
Flew from Edinburgh (Scotland) to Chicago where we eventually cleared customs and somehow managed to find where to hand our luggage back in. Transferred to Terminal 1 where we boarded our Las Vegas flight. Arrived on time and collected our luggage before catching the 108 local bus to the Stratosphere. Checked in, unpacked and showered before going down to play slots. Went to bed at midnight which is 8am UK time - it's been a long long day.
16 September
Woke up at 7am which wasn't bad and had our favourite breakfast from McDonalds whilst playing myvegas as there is a double loyalty point bonus on when you level up today! Spent some time at the pool before buying our 30 day reduced fare bus ticket ($32.50 each) and catching the Sahara Express to McLeod and changing to the 111 down to Green Valley Ranch. Exchanged our myvegas voucher for a pass for 2 free lunch buffets and stood in the long queue waiting to be seated. We were worried that we wouldn't make it in for 2.15pm as that is the last time they let people in for lunch but today must have been an exception as they were having new carpets laid in part of the buffet which was cordoned off so there was less seating than usual and lots of people were using 2 for 1 coupons. We were seated about 2.15pm and they were still letting people in for lunch at 3pm until they cleared the long line. Took a walk out to the pool area where we filmed and took photos then had a quick spin on the slots before catching the buses back to the Stratosphere. Fell asleep for a couple of hours and then went down to gamble.
17 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool before catching the Sahara Express to Red Rock casino for our free lunch buffet courtesy of myvegas. The queue to get in to the buffet wasn't as long today thankfully and we really enjoyed our lunch. Played for a while on the slots and had a look at the pool area before catching the bus back to the Strat. Rested in our room then went down to gamble.
18 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool before catching the SDX to Planet Hollywood to pick up our prepaid tickets to the Comedy Pet Theater show (paid for with rewards from our credit card). Decided that we were hungry enough to eat before the 4pm show so we walked down to the Hard Rock Cafe for our prepaid meal (paid for with rewards from our credit card).
Took this photo because of the name of the bar!
Walked back to the theater and stood in line then took our seats. Well, how do I describe the show. It was quite possibly the weirdest show we've ever seen. It was so bad it was hilarious! There were lots of dogs, birds and cats doing various tricks and then the pet trainer would do some juggling. Then a quick costume change lady came on - it was bazaar! We caught the SDX back to the Strat and rested (fell asleep again) before going down to gamble.
19 September
Slept a little bit later today so we were later going down to the pool. Caught the Sahara Express over to the Palace Station for our free lunch buffet from myvegas then claimed our free t-shirts from myvegas and caught the bus back to the Strip and had a look round the SLS. Very nice indeed - you wouldn't think that it had once been the Sahara. There were nice touches in the carpets near registration - pictures of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, the Beatles, Sean Connery and the old Sahara sign. We walked out via the monorail station to get to the bus stop and caught the SDX to the Strat. Rested then went down to gamble.
20 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Took the SDX down to NYNY to pick up our free tickets to Zumanity, Ka and LOVE courtesy of myvegas. Took the SDX back up to Bonneville and transferred onto the BHX to Boulder Station for our 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Rewards coupon book - $10.80 total). Whilst we were there we swiped our Station cards to enter their promotion and played on the slots. Popped a $5 note in - played a few spins and got a spin for $26 on a slot called Super Hoot Loot! Cashed out and caught the bus to the Strat. Fell asleep again then headed down to gamble.
21 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. We are getting later and later each morning - soon we will be setting an alarm in case we miss breakfast at McDs! Took the Sahara Express over to the Palace Station for the 4.15pm drawing - no luck - then we had a 2 for 1 buffet there (ACG $8.64 total). Played on the slots for a while then back to the Strat for a rest and then down to gamble.
22 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Took the Sahara Express and then the 104 to the LVA office to pick up a Members Rewards coupon book then caught the 203 and the SDX back to the Strat and carried out a meal from the nearby Burger King to eat in our room. Had a sleep and caught the SDX down to NYNY to see Zumanity. Well that was that Cirque show crossed off our list. So glad we had free tickets as we wouldn't have paid to see it. The other Cirque shows are far superior to that one and we wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Checked out the new Hersey's shop in NYNY and took a few photos.
before walking all the way to the monorail station at the rear of the MGM to use our free one way ticket from myvegas only to find that the ticket booth was closed so we walked all the way back to the Strip and took the Deuce back to the Strat. Gambled for a couple of hours.
23 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX then the BHX down to Sam's Town and did some shopping in Walmart then used a 2 for 1 for the Sam's Town buffet ($10.80 LVA Members Rewards coupon book) we then played $10 got $10 freeplay on the slots with a LVA Members Reward coupon (profit $11.03). Chatted to our friend Ann in the Bogarts Leather shop before catching the buses back to the Strat. Fell asleep then went down and gambled.
Vintage car parked in the Walmart car park.
24 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to the Fashion Show Mall to enquire about some Clinique items in Macy*s for a friend back home then crossed over to the Wynn to see the new Popeye statue and the conservatory.
Caught the Deuce down to the Flamingo and booked seats for the Legends show for Monday 6 October. Caught the 202 down to the Silver Sevens for a 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Rewards $10.80 total) then walked up to Ellis Island to use 2 coupons for play $10 get $10 free (ACG and LVA Members Reward) total profit $12.92. Called into the gift shop next door for gifts for back home and then walked up Flamingo through Ballys and Paris and caught the SDX back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
25 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Went Downtown to the Plaza for a game of bingo - no luck as usual. The Golden Nugget have cordoned off much of Fremont Street for an annual tournament of a game called Balut.
It is some kind of game using dice and each player had a small bag with the name of the city that they came from. We noticed Oslo, Copenhagen, Shanghai and Los Angeles. We've never heard of the game so will have to google it! (found out it's a game similar to Yahtzee). Used a $10 free play in El Cortez (LVA Members Rewards) and made a $4.19 profit. Caught the Deuce back to the Strat and got changed to go for our free meal at Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops (courtesy of rewards from our credit card).
We then made our way to the Mirage to see the Beatles LOVE Cirque Du Soleil show (courtesy of myvegas) This was our 3rd time seeing it and we enjoyed it immensely.
Caught the Deuce back to the Strat and gambled for a few hours.
26 September
Had breakfast and did some laundry then relaxed at the pool. Caught the Sahara Express to Palace Station for a 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Reward book $8.64 total) we then earned the 5 points needed to swipe and win in the latest promotion. We each earned 25 extra tickets in the draw for Sunday afternoon. Caught the Sahara Express back to the Strip and bought tonic and water on the way back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
27 September
Had breakfast and watched the highlights from the Ryder Cup. Relaxed at the pool then caught the Sahara Express to the Palace Station to enter the swipe and win again and earned extra entries into the draw for tomorrow afternoon. Caught the SX bus back to the Strip and just had a McDs meal in our room as we both felt we had had enough buffets! We were also quite tired and fell asleep for a while. Jim made his first (and maybe only trip) down to the fitness center before we went down to gamble.
28 September
Had breakfast and watched the final day of the Ryder Cup on the TV before relaxing at the pool. Caught the SX over to the Palace Station for the draw for the Lincoln car but didn't win. Had a Subway meal over there and bought some chocolate bacon – yes, you read that right - chocolate bacon from the Grand Cafe, to take back to Sommer, the cocktail waitress in the Strat, who had said she would love to try some. We took it down to her at night and she was over the moon with it! Gambled for a few hours.
29 September
Got up early and enjoyed breakfast with Carol from registration in the McDs in the Stratosphere. We chatted for over 3 hours with her and then caught the bus Downtown to play bingo in the Plaza - no luck again! Had a 2 for 1 lunch buffet in the Fremont Hotel (LVA Members Reward coupon book). Did free play in the Plaza ($6.27 profit), LVC ($5.06 profit), Binions ($3.80 profit) and the 4 Queens ($2.26 profit) before catching the SDX back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
30 September
Up early again today and met up with Sandy (Kodidog) and her husband Tom from Canada in the McDs in the Plaza Downtown. Sandy tried out the oatmeal that I have every morning in McDs and I think she liked it. We chatted for over 3 hours (where does the time go!) and then they took us along to Main Street Station to show us their room.
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Phoned home then got ready for our afternoon and evening on the Strip starting with a dinner buffet at the Monte Carlo courtesy of myvegas.
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to the SSTT and transferred onto the 117 to South Point. Walked through to the Equestrian Center and sat and watched the novice championship horse show. The Equestrian Center is huge and there were lots of stalls selling saddles, embroidered jackets and jewellery etc.
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to the Tix4tonight booth and bought tickets for the Tommy Wind magic show for tonight at 7pm. Had a take-out Burger King meal with another local newspaper coupon in our room and then left for the show. We stupidly jumped on a Deuce as it had just pulled up outside the Strat instead of walking over for the SDX and it took forever to make it's way down the Strip. We ended up getting off at Treasure Island and Jim walked on ahead as we had to exchange the Tix4tonight voucher by 6pm and we were running out of time. He made it and I met up with him outside the theater. To be honest I think they would have exchanged it right up to showtime as with 10 minutes to curtain up there were only 14 of us waiting in the bar to see the show! There were a few more people came in later but the theater was still more than half empty. His magic tricks were all pretty good but he didn't have the charisma or the comedic quality of Mac King. He stretched out his show playing various musical instruments which didn't really fit in with the context of the show which is a family affair with both his Mum, Dad, Grandad and fiancé taking part. We paid $21each which included a $2 off voucher per ticket. Caught the SDX back to the Strat and gambled for a few hours.
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the Deuce to the Fashion Show Mall and walked over to the Palazzo to take film and photos and then the same in the Venetian. On the way we caught sight of the Hangover Heaven bus.
Had breakfast and caught the SDX then the Boulder Highway Express to Walmart for a few items then crossed over to Sam's Town to see our friend Ann but the assistant in Bogarts Leather told us that her daughter had gone into labour this morning and she was at the hospital with her. (We knew that there was a chance that that might happen). We caught the BHX bus up to Boulder Station for our 1.30pm viewing of Ben Affleck's new film Gone Girl which was free courtesy of a Fandango voucher which myvegas offered for a short period of time. Wow - we've never seen a film with so many twists and turns which kept us guessing right up to the end. We thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was one of the best films we've seen for a long time and even though Jim had a little nap during it he managed to keep up with the plot! We walked straight into the buffet afterwards with no queue (LVA Rewards coupon book $10.80 total). Caught the BHX bus then the Deuce back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to Macy*s at the Fashion Show Mall to collect all the Clinique products which we ordered on Monday and then jumped on a Deuce to drop them off in our room. Caught the SDX then the 206 over to Arizona Charlie's at Decatur for a 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Reward coupon book $8.68 total).
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. We are getting later and later each morning - soon we will be setting an alarm in case we miss breakfast at McDs! Took the Sahara Express over to the Palace Station for the 4.15pm drawing - no luck - then we had a 2 for 1 buffet there (ACG $8.64 total). Played on the slots for a while then back to the Strat for a rest and then down to gamble.
22 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Took the Sahara Express and then the 104 to the LVA office to pick up a Members Rewards coupon book then caught the 203 and the SDX back to the Strat and carried out a meal from the nearby Burger King to eat in our room. Had a sleep and caught the SDX down to NYNY to see Zumanity. Well that was that Cirque show crossed off our list. So glad we had free tickets as we wouldn't have paid to see it. The other Cirque shows are far superior to that one and we wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Checked out the new Hersey's shop in NYNY and took a few photos.
before walking all the way to the monorail station at the rear of the MGM to use our free one way ticket from myvegas only to find that the ticket booth was closed so we walked all the way back to the Strip and took the Deuce back to the Strat. Gambled for a couple of hours.
23 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX then the BHX down to Sam's Town and did some shopping in Walmart then used a 2 for 1 for the Sam's Town buffet ($10.80 LVA Members Rewards coupon book) we then played $10 got $10 freeplay on the slots with a LVA Members Reward coupon (profit $11.03). Chatted to our friend Ann in the Bogarts Leather shop before catching the buses back to the Strat. Fell asleep then went down and gambled.
Vintage car parked in the Walmart car park.
24 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to the Fashion Show Mall to enquire about some Clinique items in Macy*s for a friend back home then crossed over to the Wynn to see the new Popeye statue and the conservatory.
Caught the Deuce down to the Flamingo and booked seats for the Legends show for Monday 6 October. Caught the 202 down to the Silver Sevens for a 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Rewards $10.80 total) then walked up to Ellis Island to use 2 coupons for play $10 get $10 free (ACG and LVA Members Reward) total profit $12.92. Called into the gift shop next door for gifts for back home and then walked up Flamingo through Ballys and Paris and caught the SDX back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
25 September
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Went Downtown to the Plaza for a game of bingo - no luck as usual. The Golden Nugget have cordoned off much of Fremont Street for an annual tournament of a game called Balut.
It is some kind of game using dice and each player had a small bag with the name of the city that they came from. We noticed Oslo, Copenhagen, Shanghai and Los Angeles. We've never heard of the game so will have to google it! (found out it's a game similar to Yahtzee). Used a $10 free play in El Cortez (LVA Members Rewards) and made a $4.19 profit. Caught the Deuce back to the Strat and got changed to go for our free meal at Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops (courtesy of rewards from our credit card).
We then made our way to the Mirage to see the Beatles LOVE Cirque Du Soleil show (courtesy of myvegas) This was our 3rd time seeing it and we enjoyed it immensely.
Caught the Deuce back to the Strat and gambled for a few hours.
26 September
Had breakfast and did some laundry then relaxed at the pool. Caught the Sahara Express to Palace Station for a 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Reward book $8.64 total) we then earned the 5 points needed to swipe and win in the latest promotion. We each earned 25 extra tickets in the draw for Sunday afternoon. Caught the Sahara Express back to the Strip and bought tonic and water on the way back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
27 September
Had breakfast and watched the highlights from the Ryder Cup. Relaxed at the pool then caught the Sahara Express to the Palace Station to enter the swipe and win again and earned extra entries into the draw for tomorrow afternoon. Caught the SX bus back to the Strip and just had a McDs meal in our room as we both felt we had had enough buffets! We were also quite tired and fell asleep for a while. Jim made his first (and maybe only trip) down to the fitness center before we went down to gamble.
28 September
Had breakfast and watched the final day of the Ryder Cup on the TV before relaxing at the pool. Caught the SX over to the Palace Station for the draw for the Lincoln car but didn't win. Had a Subway meal over there and bought some chocolate bacon – yes, you read that right - chocolate bacon from the Grand Cafe, to take back to Sommer, the cocktail waitress in the Strat, who had said she would love to try some. We took it down to her at night and she was over the moon with it! Gambled for a few hours.
29 September
Got up early and enjoyed breakfast with Carol from registration in the McDs in the Stratosphere. We chatted for over 3 hours with her and then caught the bus Downtown to play bingo in the Plaza - no luck again! Had a 2 for 1 lunch buffet in the Fremont Hotel (LVA Members Reward coupon book). Did free play in the Plaza ($6.27 profit), LVC ($5.06 profit), Binions ($3.80 profit) and the 4 Queens ($2.26 profit) before catching the SDX back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
30 September
Up early again today and met up with Sandy (Kodidog) and her husband Tom from Canada in the McDs in the Plaza Downtown. Sandy tried out the oatmeal that I have every morning in McDs and I think she liked it. We chatted for over 3 hours (where does the time go!) and then they took us along to Main Street Station to show us their room.
Couple of photos taken in MSS.
We then took the bus back to the Strat and spent some time at the pool before catching the SDX and then the 206 to Arizona Charlie's Decatur for a 2 for 1 buffet (ACG $7.65 total). We then walked over to the nearby Walmart for some shopping before catching the buses back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
1 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Phoned home then got ready for our afternoon and evening on the Strip starting with a dinner buffet at the Monte Carlo courtesy of myvegas.
We then took the tram to City Center and visited the Cosmopolitan where we tried to exchange the voucher that we were given on the plane for $25 freeplay but as we had already used it in April and it was a once only offer we were declined. Caught the SDX to the MGM Grand to see Ka Cirque Du Soleil for the 3rd time (courtesy of myvegas).
We enjoyed it as always and then caught the monorail back to the SLS and claimed $5 of freeplay each when we showed our monorail tickets. Jumped on the SDX round to the Strat and gambled for a few hours.
2 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to the SSTT and transferred onto the 117 to South Point. Walked through to the Equestrian Center and sat and watched the novice championship horse show. The Equestrian Center is huge and there were lots of stalls selling saddles, embroidered jackets and jewellery etc.
We then joined the players club with a coupon each from the ACG for $5 each freeplay and cashed out $15.55 altogether. Caught the 4.15pm 117 bus, then the SDX and the 202 down to the Silver Sevens for a 2 for 1 buffet (ACG $10.80 total).
Caught the 202 back to the Strip and watched a fountain show at the Bellagio and took some photos as it was just getting dark before catching the bus back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
Latest progress on the shops at Ballys
3 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX then the 202 over to the Gold Coast to play $10 get $10 in freeplay (LVA Members Reward book) making a profit of $13.85. We then took the 104 along Ardville to the Orleans where we both had a coupon for play $10 get $10 in freeplay - one from the ACG ($4.28 profit) and one from the LVA Members Reward book ($4.87 profit). Caught the 201 then the SDX and carried out a Burger King meal (coupon from local newspaper) to our room. Gambled for a few hours at night.
4 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to the Tix4tonight booth and bought tickets for the Tommy Wind magic show for tonight at 7pm. Had a take-out Burger King meal with another local newspaper coupon in our room and then left for the show. We stupidly jumped on a Deuce as it had just pulled up outside the Strat instead of walking over for the SDX and it took forever to make it's way down the Strip. We ended up getting off at Treasure Island and Jim walked on ahead as we had to exchange the Tix4tonight voucher by 6pm and we were running out of time. He made it and I met up with him outside the theater. To be honest I think they would have exchanged it right up to showtime as with 10 minutes to curtain up there were only 14 of us waiting in the bar to see the show! There were a few more people came in later but the theater was still more than half empty. His magic tricks were all pretty good but he didn't have the charisma or the comedic quality of Mac King. He stretched out his show playing various musical instruments which didn't really fit in with the context of the show which is a family affair with both his Mum, Dad, Grandad and fiancé taking part. We paid $21each which included a $2 off voucher per ticket. Caught the SDX back to the Strat and gambled for a few hours.
5 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the Deuce to the Fashion Show Mall and walked over to the Palazzo to take film and photos and then the same in the Venetian. On the way we caught sight of the Hangover Heaven bus.
We then visited the Forum Shops where Jim bought 2 Las Vegas baseball caps in a shop called Magnet Maximus for $2.99 + tax each. Next stop was the Bellagio to film and take photos of the conservatory.
and then on to Aria's display which was very disappointing.
We then tried to find out the best way to get to Vdara as relations are coming to stay there next year. We exited via the Bellagio and Jim discovered where they grow the flowers and plants for the conservatory.
Finally we caught the SDX to Downtown where we ate in the Main Street Station buffet (LVA Members Reward book $11.88 total). Caught the SDX back to the Strat, rested and then gambled for a few hours.
6 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the Deuce to Macy*s in the Fashion Show Mall to order some Clinique cosmetics for a friend back home for pick up on Wednesday when you get a free gift if you spend over a certain amount. Made our way down to the Mirage for a free dinner buffet at Cravings courtesy of myvegas. We were very impressed with the food and the layout of the buffet and as an added bonus there was unlimited beer and wine!
We walked down to the Flamingo via The Quad (to see if there were any changes in it since the last time - none that we could see) to see the Legends show. Appearing were Bobby Darin, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Barbra Streisand and of course, Elvis. The show was just OK and we've ticked that off our list now but won't be back to see it again. Caught an overcrowded Deuce back to the Strat and gambled for a few hours.
7 October
Had breakfast and caught the SDX then the Boulder Highway Express to Walmart for a few items then crossed over to Sam's Town to see our friend Ann but the assistant in Bogarts Leather told us that her daughter had gone into labour this morning and she was at the hospital with her. (We knew that there was a chance that that might happen). We caught the BHX bus up to Boulder Station for our 1.30pm viewing of Ben Affleck's new film Gone Girl which was free courtesy of a Fandango voucher which myvegas offered for a short period of time. Wow - we've never seen a film with so many twists and turns which kept us guessing right up to the end. We thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was one of the best films we've seen for a long time and even though Jim had a little nap during it he managed to keep up with the plot! We walked straight into the buffet afterwards with no queue (LVA Rewards coupon book $10.80 total). Caught the BHX bus then the Deuce back to the Strat. Gambled for a few hours.
8 October
Had breakfast and relaxed at the pool. Caught the SDX to Macy*s at the Fashion Show Mall to collect all the Clinique products which we ordered on Monday and then jumped on a Deuce to drop them off in our room. Caught the SDX then the 206 over to Arizona Charlie's at Decatur for a 2 for 1 buffet (LVA Members Reward coupon book $8.68 total).
Walked over to Walmart to get last minute things to take home and caught the 206 and the 108 back to the Strat and packed our suitcases for going home. Went down to the casino for a short while.
9 October
Up early, had breakfast and caught the 108 bus to the airport. Checked in for our United flight to Newark and it was on time. Landed safely and transferred to our United flight to Edinburgh and it left on time. Our luggage came through very quickly in Edinburgh so we were home in no time.
Already looking forward to our next trip in April 2015 when we are staying for 23 nights in the Stratosphere again. We enjoy staying there as it’s on a local bus route to and from the airport and we have become friends with many of the cocktail waitresses including Sommer, Melissa, Suzie, Amy, Kadisk, Alicia, Kris, Beverley, Patti and Donna, who look after us well every night.
Already looking forward to our next trip in April 2015 when we are staying for 23 nights in the Stratosphere again. We enjoy staying there as it’s on a local bus route to and from the airport and we have become friends with many of the cocktail waitresses including Sommer, Melissa, Suzie, Amy, Kadisk, Alicia, Kris, Beverley, Patti and Donna, who look after us well every night.