We booked this trip away back in February of this year before our son, Scott, aged 25 was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer. Tragically he passed away on 22 May just 19 days after being diagnosed. Our other son, Ross, wasn't due to make this trip with us but under the circumstances we told him he was coming with us and we booked him on the same flights as us and he shared our room. It was a very difficult trip to make as we felt we shouldn't be enjoying ourselves but wanted to make the most of it for Ross's sake. Scott and Ross had planned to pay for us to go to see the Blue Man Group in May for Jim's 60th birthday but that trip had to be cancelled. Nevertheless we wanted to see the show because Scott would have wanted us to. Here is an account of our trip - sorry if it's a bit boring with all the details of our travels on the local buses.
LAS VEGAS – 15 SEPTEMBER – 29 SEPTEMBER 2010
Wed 15 Sep
Spent a relaxing hour in the BA lounge with wine, juice,
scones and nibbles. Our flight took off on time and landed on schedule for us
to transfer to our next flight. Bit of a bumpy journey but we landed safely on
time. After claiming our luggage we walked out and straight onto a 108 bus
which dropped us off right outside the Vegas Club Hotel. There was no queue to
check in so we made it up to our room in the North Tower in record time.
Unpacked and headed down to the slots. Played in the Vegas Club first and then
moved to the Plaza where we had some luck on the Wizard of Oz slot and finished
the night off $20 up. Got to bed at 1.30am (9.30am GMT) so that means we were
on the go for nearly 26 hours!
View from our bedroom window
$2 for a lobster if you can catch one!
Thurs 16 Sep
Awoke very early (5.45am) but didn’t get up until 6.45am.
Went for breakfast at the McDonald’s in the Plaza then had a wander before
going back to the room for showers. Sat at the pool for a while then went to
the DTC where Jim got his photo taken for his reduced bus pass. We then took
the 107 bus down to Arizona Charlie’s for a late lunch (ACG buy 1 get 1 free).
Played a bit in the casino and then walked up to Boulder Station and played a
bit there. We then caught the 107 up to Sahara and transferred to the 204 and
went into the Sahara Hotel. I won $5 free play and we all entered the 5pm free
slot tournament but didn’t get high scores. Then it was on to the Stratosphere
where we played until after 8pm. We caught the 108 bus back to Downtown at
8.30pm and had a short rest in our room. We then played in the Vegas Club and
the Plaza and were going to go to bed just after midnight but the DJ on Fremont
Street started up after the final light show so we knew we wouldn’t get to
sleep to we went down to the Fremont Hotel and played a bit there till 1am.
Fri 17 Sep
Woke up at 9.30am and had breakfast in McDonald’s. Met up
with Carole and Gerry from Wales in the Plaza lobby at 11am and sat and chatted
to them until about 1.30pm. We then went to the Plaza pool for a little while
before catching the Sam’s Town shuttle. Got off and walked to the Eastside
Cannery for their buffet. We played for a while there and then walked back to
Sam’s Town to see the water show. Used our ACG coupons for 2 free drinks each
and played the slots until it was time for the 7pm shuttle bus back to
downtown. Had a nap in our room and then went to play slots at 10pm in Binions
and the California. Didn’t get to bed until 2.40am.
Sat 18 Sep
Got up at 10.30am and Jim and I went to McDonald’s to
collect breakfast. We ate it in our room. We then went to the pool for a little
while before having showers. Went round to the DTC and Ross and I bought an all
access 5 day bus ticket for $20 and Jim got a general market 24 hour bus ticket
for $2. Took the 108 to Terribles for an early dinner at just after 4pm. We
then walked to Swenson and caught the 108 back to downtown and Ross and I got
off at the Sahara. I gave Jim my 5 day ticket and he went back to the hotel
bedroom to deposit the one and three quarter bottle of vodka that we had bought
in Terribles gift shop for $13 minus $3 in comps. We had a free slot pull in
the Sahara then walked to the Stratosphere to meet up with Jim. Spent a couple
of hours there before returning to downtown where there was a message waiting
on the phone to go to the front desk. It was the 30 day bus ticket for Jim from
Carole and Gerry plus some ACG coupons and a t-shirt for Ross – very kind of
them. We then played in Binions and the Four Queens before getting to bed at
1am.
Sun 19 Sep
Had breakfast in McDonald’s and then waited on Fremont
Street for Carole and Gerry so we could give them Jim’s bus ticket to get to
them to the airport and help them with their cases. We saw them off on the 108
to the airport and then went to sit by the pool for a while. Visited El Cortez
and we all used a $10 free play ACG coupon and came away with nearly $15 cash.
Bought some Pepsi and cranberry juice on the way back up Fremont Street and
took it up to the room. Decided to use a 2 for 1 buffet coupon at Main Street
Station for our dinner. After that we took the ACE down to the Sahara for our
free pull on the slot and then walked to the Stratosphere where we played until
8pm. Caught the 108 back to our hotel and changed and had a couple of drinks in
our room before visiting the Golden Gate. We managed to accumulate 100 points
on Jim’s card so we qualified for $25 free play with an ACG coupon. Left there
well up thanks to a generous John Wayne slot ($26 bonus on it) and accumulated
$12 on our $25 free play on an Airplane slot. We then went down to Binions to
accumulate our 5 points for a free spin and got the usual free drink coupon.
Tried a Jaws slot for a change and got the bonus quite quickly and made $15. We
then headed off to bed at 1am.
Mon 20 Sep
Had breakfast at McDonald’s and spent a little while at the
pool. After showers we caught the ACE to the Las Vegas Outlets at the south of
the Strip and changed onto the 217 to take us to Silverton. Once there we
discovered that over 50s qualified for a $5 buffet. Ross and I joined the
players club and received $10 in free play from an ACG coupon. We then joined
the buffet queue which was already quite long and it took us about 50 minutes
to get seated as it was so busy. The cashier only charged us $5 for Ross as
well instead of half of the full price of $13.99 – what a bargain and a
delicious buffet too. Ross and I then played our $10 free play and turned it
into $13 cash. We then had a look round the Bass Pro shop before catching the
217 to the SSTT and changing onto the ACE. We got off at the Sahara for our
free slot pull and then walked to the Stratosphere and played there for a
while. Caught the ACE back downtown at 9pm and had a wee drink in our room and
then went to the Golden Gate where I joined the players club and received a
free pack of cards with an ACG coupon. We then built up the 100 points on my
card and I went back to the players club and handed in another ACG coupon to
receive $25 free play. I actually got $30 free play for some strange reason so
we played half on the Airplane slot and half on the Jackpot Block Party slot
and converted it into $42 cash. We then went to Binions and played for a while
there until it was time to go to bed at 1am.
Silverton Aquarium
Pro Bass Shop
Tues 21 Sep
Had breakfast in McDonald’s and sat at the pool for a while.
Bought tickets for the Blue Man Group from Tix4tonite and then caught the ACE
to the Sahara for our free slot pull (Ross won $5 free slot play) and we also
took part in the free slot tournament. We then caught the ACE down to the
Venetian and exchanged our vouchers for real tickets for the Blue Man Group. We
then walked down to the Flamingo box office and booked free tickets for Nathan
Burton for Thursday afternoon. We then caught the 202 along to Terribles for
our 2 for 1 all-u-can eat buffet. Then we walked along to the Hard Rock Hotel
to use our $10 free play coupons from the ACG and turned them into $17.50 cash.
We then walked to Swenson and caught the 108 back to the Sahara for another
slot tournament. We came out just in time to jump on an ACE which took us to
the Bellagio. We walked through the conservatory and then took the tram to City
Center. Walked around and took some photos – the place is huge. Exited over the
walkway to Planet Hollywood and caught a Deuce bus up to the Venetian for our
10pm show. The show was OK but I think we were all expecting it to be a bit
better. When we came out we walked to the Wynn and caught the ACE bus back to
downtown. Had a couple of drinks in our room before playing slots in the Plaza.
Didn’t get to bed until 2.40am.
Wed 22 Sep
Slept late and had lunch in McDonald’s. Booked tickets for
Mike Hammer - an afternoon comedy/magic show at the 4 Queens and then spent
some time at the pool before having showers. Relaxed in the room until it was
time for the show. There were only 24 people there but it was still a good
atmosphere. Ross was picked to go up on stage and help with a trick and later
on I had to pick a piece of paper out of a bag with a word on it. The word was
box and the magician then smeared some ash on his arm and the word box mysteriously
appeared on it. All in all it was a good show for about $12 each including a
free drink. Walked up to Main Street Station after the show for their buffet
and used a 2 for 1 coupon from the internet. Had a rest in the room for an hour
before having a game of bingo at the Plaza at 9pm (no luck). We then went to
the Golden Gate where Ross joined the players club. We accumulated 100 points
on his card and then redeemed them for $25 free play (ACG coupon) plus $5 free
play for signing up. We then played the rest of the night at the Plaza. Got to
bed about 1.30am.
Thurs 23 Sep
Had breakfast in McDonald’s and sat at the pool for 20
minutes before catching the ACE to the Premier Outlets. Came back to the hotel
then caught the ACE to the Bellagio and walked back to the Flamingo to see our
completely free show (voucher from the internet) Nathan Burton comedy magician.
We then walked up to O’Sheas where we had a meal in Burger King. Then we walked
up to the Wynn and caught the ACE to the Sahara where we did our free slot pull
and slot tournament. Then we walked to the Stratosphere and played the slots.
Caught the ACE back to downtown and had a couple of drinks in the room before
heading to the California and Main Street Station. The slots weren’t good to us
at all tonight. We came back to the Vegas Club and the slots were unkind to us
there too so we went to bed at 1.45am.
Brain Institute near the North Premier Outlets
Fri 24 Sep
Had a McDonald’s breakfast in our room then spent time at
the pool and had showers. Ross and I bought new 5 day bus tickets at the DTC and
we all caught the ACE down to the Fashion Show Mall and walked down to Harrah’s
for the Mac King show. He was brilliant as usual. We then walked back to the
Wynn and caught the ACE back to the Plaza for their buffet. (Jim and Ross asked
about redeeming their points against the buffet at the player club and she very
kindly gave them free buffets!) We finished our meal and jumped on a 108 to the
Sahara for our free slot pull and tournament. No luck again there. We then
walked to the Stratosphere where we played slots until 9pm. We were lucky
enough to win over $60 on a 25c slot machine which helped a great deal. We
caught the 108 back to downtown, changed, had a drink in the room and then
played slots all night in the Golden Gate coming out $10 up for a change.
Didn’t get to sleep until about 2am.
Our biggest win
Sat 25 Sep
Had breakfast in McDonald’s and sat at the pool for a while.
Caught the ACE to New York New York where we looked at all the 9/11 plaques
round the Statue of Liberty. We then checked out the newly remodelled
Tropicana. It is much brighter inside the casino. We had a walk through and
looked at their pool too. Lots of flowers and comfortable sunbeds. We then
walked to the MGM, had a quick look at the Lion enclosure. The lions were all
asleep and looked as if they had been tranquilised. The trainers are obviously
taking no chances now! Caught the ACE to Paris and walked round to catch the
202 on Flamingo to take us to Terribles. Had their buffet (2 for 1 ACG coupon)
and then caught the 202 over to the Gold Coast for a look round. Finally caught
the 202 to the Strip and then the ACE down to the Sahara for the slot pull and
slot tournament – no luck again. Then we walked up to the Stratosphere and
caught the ACE back downtown. Had a rest in our room before playing slots in
the California and Golden Gate. Got to bed about 2am.
Statue of Liberty made out of candy
Plaque to 9/11
MGM Lion Habitat
Tropicana swimming pool
Sun 26 Sep
Slept late and had lunch at McDonald’s. Spent time at the
pool then had showers and caught the 107 down to Walmart on Boulder Highway.
Did some shopping and then crossed over to the Eastside Cannery for their 2 for
1 buffet (ACG coupon). We then walked up to Sam’s Town just in time to see the
6pm water show. We then caught the 107 back to the DTC and walked to Walgreens
to pick up some tonic water. We rested in our room for a while before playing
slots in the Plaza, Golden Gate and Vegas Club. Got to bed at just after 2am.
Mon 27 Sep
Got up late and had lunch at McDonald’s. Spent time at the
pool and then caught the ACE to the Fashion Show Mall. Popped into Macy’s to
buy something for a friend and then into Treasure Island where we joined the
players club. We got $5 free play each for signing up and an additional $5 for
providing our email addresses. We didn’t pick very good slots to play and only
turned it into $10 cash altogether. We then caught the ACE down to the Las
Vegas Outlets and changed onto a 217 to take us to Silverton. The queue for
their $5 buffet was very long and took us about an hour to get seated. We had a
wander round the Bass Pro shop next door and then saw the fish being fed in the
giant aquarium before catching the 217 and the ACE back to downtown. Played
slots in the Fremont and Golden Gate and we were in profit at the end of the
night for a change. Didn’t get to bed until 3am.
Silverton Buffet
Pro Bass Shop
Feeding time at Silverton Aquarium
Tues 28 Sep
Slept late and had lunch in McDonald’s, then caught the 108
to the Sahara for our free slot pull and slot tournament. We then walked round
to the internet cafe to check in for our flight tomorrow. We then walked down
to the Ross shop via the CVS pharmacy and the new Viva McDonald’s. After a
quick trip round Walgreens we walked back to the Riviera and had a look round
and a rest in their Sports Book. We then walked up to the Sahara for the
evening slot tournament. This time Ross scored over 6,000 and the chap said
there was a good chance that he would be in the top 10. We walked up to the
Stratosphere and had 3 free buffets thanks to the comps on our players cards.
The buffet was very nice and we walked out just in time to catch a bus back
downtown. We did a little bit of souvenir shopping before having showers,
packing and nipping back to the Sahara, where Ross was awarded $50 free slot
play for having the 4th highest score of the evening in the slot tournament. We
turned that into $29 cash on Ross’s favourite Monopoly slot and caught the bus
back downtown. Did a bit more souvenir shopping before a couple of drinks in
the room and exchanging our $5 free slot play each in the Plaza (ACG coupons)
for $17 cash. We then played all night on the Sahara and the Plaza money before
running out at about 1am – far too late for our early start in the morning.
Darth Vader on Fremont Street
Wed 29 Sep
Got up at 7.15am and had breakfast as usual in McDonald’s.
Finished off packing, checked out and caught the 8.56am 108 bus to the airport.
Checked in and cleared security and waited for our first flight. Both of our
flights left on time and we arrived 45 minutes early back in Edinburgh.
Favourite slots:- John Wayne, Survivor, Dean Martin, Da
Vinci Diamonds, Goldfish, Mermaids, Kitty Glitter, The Monkees, Airplane and
Wizard of Oz
Best bargain:- Silverton buffet for $5 (over 50s) shame
about the long queues
Favourite show:- Mac King – 4th time seeing him and still an
excellent show
Biggest disappointment:- Blue Man Group – they were OK but
we were expecting so much more for the money we paid
Best freebie:- Nathan Burton show