LAS VEGAS DAZE: May 2014

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Slot Fanatics Annual Spring Meet Trip!

Seems my motivation these days to finish my last trip report is another trip, so I guess I need more trips to Vegas as this one is pretty late.

The plans for my April Las Vegas Trip started last year in the fall when Slot Fanatics announced their annual Spring Meet and Greet. This year the main schedule was the following:

Thursday, April 3^rd

11:00am Tour of Bally Technologies

2:00PM: Tour of Aristocrat Slots
Organized by Rob (NYphinix)

8:30 – 9:00PM: Check-In for Slot Fanatics’ Vegas Week - Kick Off
Check-in table located at Luxor, in front of their High Limit Room
Conducted by Joey & Deb

9:00PM: High Limit Pull
Located at Luxor’s High Limit Room ($25 per Share)
Conducted by Slotspert

10:00PM: “Toast to Slot Fanatics”
Located at Luxor’s Centra Bar (2 Drink Minimum)
Conducted by LAURIEK1 – Toast given by (Deb & Joey)

Friday, April 4^th

11:00AM: Downtown Stumble Buffet
Located @ Main Street Station Casino’s
Garden Court Buffet ($15)
Conducted by Joey

12:00PM: High Limit Pull Stumble Kick Off
Immediately following breakfast.
Conducted by CennPennTraveler

CPT’s Las Vegas Downtown Stumble
Full stumble schedule TBD
Conducted by CennPennTraveler

8:00PM: Plaza Hotel & Casino
Shuttle Service to Las Vegas Sign (Free)

Las Vegas Sign
Mini Bus will transport us from The Plaza Hotel at 8PM
and head to the Las Vegas sign for a group photo.

Mini Bus Drop-Off @ Main hotel locations
Saturday, April 5^th

1:00PM: Slot Fanatics Afternoon Tea
Located at Bellagio’s Petrossian Bar
Conducted by Mauretania

Sunday, April 6^th

12:00PM: Jazz Brunch
Located at Wynn’s Country Club (Aprox. $65)
Conducted by clemi

There were also a couple unofficial events as Shamus from Player's Life and also a member of Slot Fanatics had organized our yearly spring tour of WMS slots for Wednesday night April 2nd at 7pm and we had a ECC (Exotic Cocktail Club) meet at Wynn's Parasol Bar on Sunday the 6th at 3pm.

After months of chatting with friends online about the April Meet I was eager to fly out to Las Vegas for the fun to start, so I flew out early on Tuesday, April 1st from San Jose on Southwest and had a uneventful flight, which to me is always the best kind to have.

Ken (CPT or CennPennTraveler) was staying at the Paris Hotel that night so since I had a comp for it and had never stayed there before my first night was at Paris. It didn't take long for me to get my luggage and the taxi driver took me straight to Paris with no tunnel or other detours. Thanks to my text to Ken while I was in the taxi he was waiting for me and ready to point me in the correct direction for registration, room elevators, and was also kind enough to help me with my luggage.

Thanks to the Total Rewards Credit Card I was Platinum with TR so was able to use that line at registration and also was given a complimentary upgrade to a Red Room Luxury with a great view of the Bellagio Fountains.

The Red Room was very nice, though I had a issue with the safe that besides taking a number combination you also use your room key with it. Not sure if it was me or if the safe was broken but I couldn't get it to work.

My other issue was the old fashion lighting in the room was not always shining where I wanted it to but still a nice room and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Red Room to others or stay in it again myself.

After dropping my luggage off we walked from Paris to Caesar's Palace for the Bacchanal Buffet as Ken was on east coast time and I was getting hungry too. Thanks to the TR credit card I had a coupon to turn in at the CP Total Reward desk for two 24 hour buffet passes so Ken and I were set up for meals for the next 24 hours.

Wynn Buffet re-visited April 7th, 2014

During my April trip I ate at Aria's, Cosmopolitan's Wicked Spoon, Paris, Bacchanal and Wynn Buffets! Never in all the years of visiting Vegas have I eaten at so many buffets during one trip.

All the buffets mentioned ended up being comped so I wasn't taking in consideration cost when I ate at them. For those of you who will be paying for whatever buffet you decide to go to most of the above are in the same general price range when you eat at them during the weekday with the exception of Caesar's Bacchanal buffet which is pricier then the others. While paying more doesn't guarantee better food or a wider variety of choices, in the case of the current Bacchanal buffet it is larger and in my opinion has better quality food then the other buffets, so it's my number one choice if price isn't a consideration and you don't mind the possibility of waiting in a long line. If you are a Total Reward's Card Member and Platinum level or above there are VIP lines for you at Bacchanal.

Among the rest of the buffets and with the understanding that everyone's taste is different, it's my opinion that after Bacchanal my second choice would be Cosmopolitan's Wicked Spoon Buffet. I have photos and comments of that buffet at this link:

http://www.lasvegasdaze.com/2014/05/wicked-spoon-buffet-at-cosmopolitan-re.html

After Wicked Spoon my 3rd choice would be Wynn's Buffet. The food is fresh, the selection is good, the desserts are tasty with a nice selection of sugar free desserts among them and our service was good.

The following photos will give you an idea of what types of foods are served for lunch during the weekday.

For more detail click on the photos to enlarge them.

Wicked Spoon Buffet at Cosmopolitan re-visted April 2014!

During my April Trip to Las Vegas for the Slot Fanatic's Message Board's annual Spring Meet, I somehow ended up eating at more buffets in one trip then I usually visit in a year. I'm blaming it on Ken (CennPennTraveler), that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Anyway due to Ken (ahem) we ate breakfast at the Wicked Spoon Buffet on Thursday before leaving for tours of Bally Technologies and Aristocrat Slots.

My last review of Cosmopolitan's Wicked Spoon Buffet was back in 2011 and here's a link to it in case you want to compare.
http://www.lasvegasdaze.com/2011/02/wicked-spoon-buffet-at-cosmopolitan.html

Prices vary for Wicked Spoon according to what day of the week it is and which meal. We went around 9:30am or so for breakfast on a Thursday. Because I'm gold level with Cosmopolitan's Identity Player's Club we had the 2 for 1 price for the buffet plus I was able to pay for it with points from my play by just handing the cashier my Identity card and driver's license. There's a new tier for Identity called Sterling that only takes 5000 points to earn for the year and it also gets the 2 for 1 deal at the buffet.

The previous morning we had breakfast at Le Village Buffet at the Paris hotel and we thought their selection of food choices was very limited and with the exception of the made to order crepes our opinion was the food quality wasn't that great. Wicked Spoon in comparison had about 4 times or more the selection of dishes and the food quality was higher.

The presentation at Wicked Spoon remains as in years past with a lot of the food being plated in individual portions, which I personally prefer.

One of the stand out selections for me was the Watermelon Sriracha pictured below! So simple but very refreshing and just the right amount of spiciness, at least for me. The other dish was a panna cotta with ginger that I also liked.

I'm a fan of beets so I loved their selection of multi-colored sliced beets and salad.

For salad lovers the selection is great and the asparagus salad is excellent. I also enjoyed the artichoke and Greek salads.

There's a wide variety of ethnic foods to select from in addition to the usual buffet type dishes of fried chicken, beef, ham, and pork roasts.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves since everyone's taste is different. Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them if you want close ups.

Aristocrat Tour

Thank you to the staff of Aristocrat for providing lunch for our group from the Slot Fanatics Forum at their studio on April 3rd and for the fun visit. Also thanks to Rob ( on youtube) for arranging this with Aristocrat!

After our tour of Bally technologies Ken drove Alicia (LadyClare), Cecil (Pawpaw) and me to Aristocrat where we met up with the rest of our SF group.

Once we entered Aristocrat we were taken to a large room for lunch. Mrs Slotspert kindly takes a photo of Slotspert and me during lunch.

Slotspert and Shamus of Slots!

I forgot to take photos of the great luncheon spread they had out for us but they had assorted sandwiches from Panera Bakery, chips, pickles, beverages, including wine and beer.

Deb and her husband Dave. Deb is one of the moderator/founders of the Slot Fanatic Forum.

Michelle, Brent and Dan!

Skyler (Terra), Rambler (Al) and his wife Irisheyes (Margie) and their daughter Colleen.

Bally Technologies Studio!

Thank you to the staff of Bally Technologies for hosting our group from the Slot Fanatics Forum at their studio on April 3rd and to Rob ( on youtube) for organizing.

Our group arrives at Bally Technologies and signs in at the desk.

Those of us who didn't get a chance to tour Bally last year were given the opportunity to take a tour of the area where they make the slots and those of us who had already toured that area or just wanted to play the new slots could stay in the main showroom to play.