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Only a hour flight away from Las Vegas we visit frequently, sometimes once a month. I'll be sharing our trip reports, tips on making the most of your stay in Vegas, reviews of restaurants and shows we have seen, along with my thoughts related to our favorite place to get away from it all.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

WMS Slot Studio Tour Revisited!

On April 10th, 2013 a group of us from the Player's Life Forum were invited to tour WMS Studios in Las Vegas! I was lucky enough to do this last year too and it was just as much fun to repeat it this year!
Terri drove Gwen, myself and Manette to WMS studios where we signed some paperwork and received a visitor badge with our photos on them. My photo was still in their computer system from last year but since I didn't like it I had them retake it.  I'm always after a good photo. :)
After we put our photo badges on we entered the WMS Slot Showroom and I immediately ran to the back of the room trying not to knock over anyone else so I could play the new Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Slot. !
Willie Wonka uses the new Gamefield xD technology which is already being seen on casino floors with the new Haunted Forest and Emerald City Wizard of Oz slots. Of course I was playing with fake money but the truth is I like winning, even if I can't take it with me! ;)
The sounds and graphics of Willie Wonka are fantastic and it was hard to drag myself away from playing. This slot is due out on the slot floors this summer and I can't wait to play it for real money!
As you can see from the photos I had some nice wins but I got my bonuses by using a feature on the showroom slots so I'm not sure how difficult it will be to get one when playing for real.
After being encouraged to give someone else a chance to play Willie Wonka, LOL, I made my way to Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. Great sound and graphics on this game too.
I'm not sure when The Return of the King will be out on a casino floor. I liked the Return of the King but for me personally Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the slot that I'm looking forward the most to playing.
The new Spider Man Slot seems fun too. Since I got to spend some time with it last year at G2E, I didn't play it during this evening.
Brent is playing it above and seemed to be having some fun on it.
I believe there was a group of 30 of us at WMS for the focus study and studio tour. Above is Brent again with Dan looking on.
Some random shots of the WMS Studio Showroom.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Restaurant week in Vegas March 2013

This was a quick two night trip to Las Vegas to see my friends Terri and Claire and go to a couple restaurants during Three Square restaurant week. Flew out on Sunday March 10th at San Jose airport after first having breakfast at the airport at Ruby Tuesday.
Flight was uneventful and while waiting for luggage I ran into Claire waiting for hers. Don't try to spot Claire in the photo above she managed to escape my camera. :)  After jumping up and down in glee at being back in Vegas, oh alright, after a sedate chat, we parted ways after getting our luggage as Claire was checking in at Cosmopolitan and I was using a Myvegas reward for 2 complimentary nights in one of their one bedroom tower suites.
When I arrived at Mirage there was a very long check in line, but I patiently waited my turn to find out they were completely full due to a convention. Since I had arrived around 11am I was going to have to wait for the suite to be made ready, though the nice man at the registration desk promised me he was putting a rush on it. So I checked my luggage and went off to find some luck which so far during 2013 has been doing a great job of eluding me.
One of my friends Brian T was texting me to play Clue while I waited for my suite so being the low maintenance friend (LOL) that I am, I obliged.
Playing Clue at Mirage was a good suggestion, thanks Brian, as it was active with some bonuses and wilds which was a nice surprise.