Trip Report by John M: Jon M wrote a fabulous, and long, trip report from Las Vegas. Read it, and submit your own!

Cash in the Mailbox: We added a section on Harrah’s Las Vegas properties’ Cash in the Mailbox reward.

Harrah’s in the News: There’s quite a bit of news on Harrah’s nationwide and even worldwide:

Caesars Raises Betting Limits to $50,000 Per Hand: Caesars Palace says it is raising its betting limits to accomodate the biggest gamblers in the world. Starting Monday, the casino will allow players to bet up to $50,000 per hand at blackjack, and the same amount on line bets at craps. Editor’s Note: Of course, their house edge on blackjack is still crap, but hey, now the whales can lose even more per hand!

Richardson family gamble on Rank: Last month Rank rebuffed an approach from Caesars Palace owner, Harrah’s Entertainment, to exchange part of the Las Vegas giant’s London Clubs International in return for a stake of around 28pc in Rank. Editor’s Note: Even with the pending (and still happening?) private buy-out of HET, it looks like they’re trying to expand further into the London market.

Experts say area prime for casino: The fact that casino giants like MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment want to build opulent resorts in rural Kansas doesn’t surprise gaming insiders.

Now is the time to get a great deal on a Vegas hotel room: With the holiday season in full swing, now is the best time to lock in a low nightly room rate in Las Vegas. We recently checked every casino in town, looking for the best leads on lodging for December. The rates listed here were available either by calling in, consulting casino Web sites, or using third-party reservations facilities.

Found more news? Have an opinion on current news? Post a comment below!

Annual B-Day LV Report
For the past fourteen years (since my son turned 21), we have been going to Las Vegas for his birthday, though many years it hasn’t been on the exact day, but we managed to get in every year. This year was no exception though it started fifteen days early…with reason.

Flashback to my daily trip reports this past August: I met up with fellow LVA member Terry (dorimac) at the Palms buffet for a meet over lunch. I had told him about my daughter’s wish to run the LV Marathon among many other things.

When I returned home and begin work on Aug 28, I received an IM from Terry suggesting that wouldn’t be a great idea if I ran it with my daughter, and if I would, he would like to start running again to do the half-marathon also. I had dismissed this right away as ludicrous because first of all, I came back from that August trip weighing more than I ever had in my life. Also, I hadn’t run in years and years, and finally, I have had arthritic knees for years. However, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that if I did accept this, I just might be able to lose weight and get myself in some much needed better condition. I accepted the offer and told my daughter. My son agreed that we could double this run with his annual birthday trip. I began VERY SLOWLY running on Sept 1.

Flash forward to November 30th and I pick up my son at 4:30 AM and having dropped 40 pounds and had built up to jogging five miles four days a week, we were off to Las Vegas. My daughter would be coming later with a few friends.

We arrived in Vegas at 9:30 AM and immediately drove to the Gold Coast to join in on their daily poker tournament. Jon Jr. (son) went out about a half hour later and I fifteen minutes after that. Oh well. I wanted to show him a fun machine to play, which is a penny machine called Village Party People. I did manage a bonus round but chose a pooper on the first pick, then got to choose again, and hit a pooper again. I hate game you have to pick something…I always pick the wrong thing. We had fun and ventured over to a new Roulette video game when I realized I had made a major rookie mistake. I had left my $15 ticket in the machine. My son ran back to retrieve but, alas, it was gone.

My son noticed something about the new Roulette Video game that astonished up both. It was a quarter single 0 game. We checked the pay schedule and, yes, it had all the same payouts as a regular roulette wheel at the table games. 36 for 1 for single hits. This led us to realize, this game is a 97.3% game compared to a 00 wheel (which most American casinos use) that is a 94.74% game. And as slot machines go, playing with only a casino edge of 2.7%…this is pretty darn good. We played for awhile and Jon Jr. played his favorite number (black 29) and we walked away with him a winner as it hit.

We drove over to the Silverton to check in. Blue Diamond Rd and the over pass are completely finished (Yea!) and it was clear sailing. I can’t remember the last time I drove to the Silverton without having to dodge construction cones and diverted traffic.

It’s important to note that on this day (Friday, Nov 30), it rained the entire day. Nothing ever very hard, but it came down steady. The Silverton has begun the expansion construction and the entire self parking lot is gone. We drove around to the back where the pool is located and managed a great spot to walk through the back gate. All things considered, even without the expansion, this is the best place to park. You walk around the pool and your right in the hotel next to the registration desk. Note to self: Always park there for now on.

We accepted room 1010, which is on the bottom floor. The room is clean, nice, and though a little small, it more than compensated with great mattresses and excellent décor.

After unpacking, we headed over to the Hilton. I had booked it on a package deal for my daughter and her friends, so I registered. As I was doing so, we heard a screech and a bang. We looked behind us and some old man had fallen off a stool while playing a slot machine onto the marble floor. He was moaning loudly, but I noticed he was going through what appeared to be an epileptic seizure. A couple of customers began assisting him and security was soon there. Unfortunately, he had hit his head on the floor and it was bleeding. By the time we checked in, the paramedics were on the scene and it appeared he was now out of his seizure and talking with them as they treated his head wound. Everything appeared to be okay.

My daughter wouldn’t be arriving for an hour, so my son and I had lunch at the Hilton Café. The food was good (though expectedly a little over-priced) and we met up with Tracy and her friends. We got them to their room and we go on our way. It was time to take my son on the Diamond Lounge (DL) tour. Since I acquired my Harrah’s Diamond card last August, I’ve been taking this little tour to show my friends and family.

We parked at Bill’s Gambling Hall (formerly Barbary Coast) on the third level, which is my favorite place to park when at the Four Corners. We walked over to the DL in the Flamingo but on Fridays, it doesn’t open to four and we were there about a half hour early. We walked down to Harrahs and wanting to check on tickets for the Marshall Sylver Hypnotist show, which I wanted to take Jon to see that night. We went to the Diamond line and asked about the show and if there were any “Diamond” deals. He picked up a small packet of tickets and handed us two free tickets…just like that.

Needless to say, this impressed my son: there might be something to this whole diamond thing my dad’s been boasting about after all. We headed up to Harrah’s DL. It had just opened and we sat at the bar. I ordered a Dissarono on the rocks and he had a coke (he doesn’t drink). We had some snacks, he went on the Internet for a bit, and off we went.

He headed over to Caesar’s. It was still raining, so we dashed to the Forum Shops entrance. We enjoyed the Sony store (a favorite), and I told him the purse story that was played on my as we walked past that store. Pete Rose was once again selling autographs at the Sports store and we eventually made our way to Caesar’s DL. Again, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and toured the lounge. Everything in the lounges—food, drinks, Internet, all free was certainly making an impression.

We then walked over to the Bellagio after noting that the vagrant guy on the walkway bridge between the two hotels who is usually selling cold water was not selling umbrellas (for a guy “down on his luck,” this one was pretty savvy). We ventured over to the World Poker Tour satellites, which are in full swing. The only poker celebrities we noticed playing was the “ape” guy for the Poker World Series and who appeared to be Amarillo Slim (he had a crowd around him watching and a TV crew was there).

We walked over the Bellagio Atrium but it was closed as they were putting up their Christmas theme this year. I have to admit, it looks like close to the same one they put up the last couple of years: the automated penguins, the large tree and water spouts everywhere.

We crossed over to Ballys. The Marshall Sylver show didn’t start until 10:00 PM and it was only 6:00. We wondered what to do as we didn’t want to drive away and come right back, so we decided to see the Vinnie Favarino show at O’Sheas. It was at 7:30 and would let out in plenty of time to make it the hypnotist show. I went to the Diamond booth was given two free tickets to the show (two LV strip shows: cost 0). Jon Jr. began asking detailed questions about how to get a Diamond card as we headed for the DL at the Paris. I don’t drink wine and Jon Jr. doesn’t drink at all; so go figure, we ordered a white zinfandel for each of us. After some snacks, we left a tip and half our drinks, but we had great time.

We went over to 0’Sheas and up to the “theater,” which seemed to be management’s last minute decision converting an old storage room into a dark, small make-shift theater. Theater setting aside, we LOVED this show. We both didn’t stop laughing the entire hour. As has been reported on this board in the past, Vinnie’s show isn’t for everyone. His completely vulgar and most his show is about picking on the audience ala Don Rickles. He spend a good ten minutes on my son and what he does for a living. But we left there exhausted from laughing so much. If you’re easily shocked by language and sexual references or have a thin skin and can’t laugh at yourself, this isn’t a show for you. But I really recommend it, and I plan on seeing him every time I go to Vegas in the future.

We had just enough time to make the Marshal Sylver show. We were sat at the very back of the theater, but free is free and it was just fine. However, we were very disappointed to find out that Marshal wasn’t there that night and had a substitute hypnotist. He was okay, but on this night, he had some really bad subjects. Of the twelve on stage, only two were seriously under and quite frankly, we both were disappointed with the show.

After a quick stop at the Flamingo DL, we headed back to the Silverton and it was off to bed.

Saturday, December 1:

We enjoyed breakfast at the Sundance Café, which is an excellent coffee shop. We called Tracy and told her we’d meet her at Mandalay Bay. The two of us needed to sign in for the marathon and get our numbers. She took the monorail from the Hilton to the MGM and walked over to Mandalay Bay. After getting lost a couple of times, she managed to find us in front of the House of Blues.

We walked over to the Marathon Expo, which was in the convention center. We noted that there was a line 30 deep of people waiting to get Starbucks and pretty much concluded that there must be opiate in their coffees. The Expo reminded me of a convention meet, booths of booths of people handing out freebies, samples, and selling anything and everything that a runner could possibly use. We picked up our number and a backpack full of swag—all kinds of little goodies. We also were given the little computer chip ribbon to tie around your shoe so that the computer can monitor your time throughout the race (right—and we still can’t make an affordable electric car). We then walked over to the Border Grill where Tracy once worked five or so years ago to see if her old manager was still there—she wasn’t. We sat down for awhile in the food court going through all the swag in the bags and catching up on everything. I really had a wonderful time. Since my six grand kids were popping out, the three of us have had very little (if any) time for just us. It was wonderful.

Tracy had yet to see the Wynn Hotel, so we headed over there. I showed them the Pharaohs machine I had my big win on a couple of years ago, and played a twenty through. Then we headed across the street to the Fashion Mall to get a security tag removed from one of Tracy’s blouse’s that she noticed was never taken off. We walked through a couple of stores to find my son some new pants but didn’t find anything he liked and headed back to the car.

I wanted to take Tracy to see the Red Rock Casino. When we got there, though the rain had stopped yesterday, it was now very cold. We walked around the casino playing a couple of machines and decided to stop at Tides for a little clam chowder and fish and chips. The food was excellent (I really recommend the chowder here), but the service, on this day, was very slow.

After taking a wrong turn or two, we managed to find the Costco on Martin Luther King Dr. where we filled up the tank and found some pants for Jon Jr. It was here that we told Tracy about the monstrosity of the World Market Center. This huge building has no windows to speak and dwarfs every building and casino around. However, none of us have a clue what it is (I heard a rumor it has something to do with wholesale furniture), and we finally decided it was a CIA operative building supporting Area 51.

It was time to head over to the Rio where we were going to meet up with Dave and Julie (timberwolf) along with some friends of theirs, Terry (dorimac), his wife and some relatives of his, and all of Tracy’s friends for their buffet. We were going to meet at the Diamond VIP entrance and I checked to see if there was a limit to the guests a diamond member could bring through that entrance (there was none).

It was still about a half hour before the meet, so I took Tracy up to the Rio DL. She was not only impressed at the whole Diamond Lounge experience, but she was amazed that the alcohol was free and premium brands included. We had a nice father/daughter chat and headed back down to meet everyone. Her friends came, and then Dave and Julie, who regretted that their friends wouldn’t be joining us, then Terry called and unfortunately his wife wasn’t feeling well, so he couldn’t come either. We were still a party of eight and we had four LVA 2 for 1 coupons. It turned out to be a good thing (this is my opinion). The buffet here is $25.95 each. It’s good and the selections are huge, but this is the same price as the Wynn or the Bellagio, and the food quality here isn’t close to them. Also, Dave had scored a couple of free steak coupons. He gave me one and the coupon allowed you to get a steak at the buffet for free; otherwise, if you wanted to a steak at this buffet, you had to pay and extra $10.00. That is outrageous. We got our steaks, and quite honestly, they weren’t that good. One of our guests had to take his back as it was barely cooked at all. So, the bottom line for me is that this buffet is a good deal with the half-off coupon; otherwise, no dice.

After dinner, we all said our goodbyes, and I headed back to the Silverton while Jon Jr., along with some others went to other places. Tracy and I were running the next day and had to get to bed early. At the Silverton, I called Terry, who was also staying there, and he came down to meet me. He was going to be a few minutes before he could come down, so I played some 50-play for nickels. Holding only an Ace/King of clubs, I managed to hit a Royal on hand 37. This is my first royal in I-don’t-remember-how-long. It was nice to break the drought. Terry and I had a very nice chat along with his sister-in-law and they gave me some key hints about running including wearing a sweatshirt at the beginning, which I wasn’t planning on doing. I wished his wife well and good luck with race and he did the same. I tried to set the clock in my room to wake me at 4:00 AM, but the alarm set didn’t work. I called down to the front desk for a wake up call.

I headed back to the room to get to sleep. Okay, I know this is my first half-marathon, but I knew there was simply NO pressure on me to run the whole thing or finish. I honestly didn’t feel nervous or anxious about it; however, something in me must have because I could NOT get to sleep. I tried and tried. At 1:30 AM, my son tip-toed into the room. I told him not to bother, I was still awake. I tossed and turned and I finally fell asleep. Something clicked in my head or dream, but something didn’t feel right. I opened my eyes and looked over at the clock. It was almost 5:00 AM. My wake up call never came and I damn-near overslept. The race started in an hour. I got my son up, got dressed, and we headed out to the starting line at Mandalay Bay.

Fortunately, I made it with time to spare. Terry’s suggestion of a sweatshirt, which I borrowed from my son, was a Godsend. It was pretty cold. The race would start in about twenty minutes. It was still dark outside and there were close to 20,000 people waiting. I joined them as a huge fireworks display went off (I thought about the poor people at the MGM and Luxor who didn’t know what in the world was going on). About ten minutes before the starting gun, somehow, Tracy managed to find me in that sea of people. The race began with the Elite runners going first, the wheelchairs second and the “sea of humanity” third. It took about five minutes as we all walked towards the starting line and finally turned into a slow jog. My fears of SO many people all running at the same time were assuaged as everyone took it nice and easy and somehow managed to keep out of everyone else’s way. There were no bullies, no rude runners; just thousands and thousands of nice people beginning their jog.

This was the very first running event I have ever been in, and everything was new to me. We ran right the center of the south bound strip, which had been evacuated and managed by hundreds of policeman and volunteers. We jogged past the Luxor, the Excalibur, New York, New York, Monte Carlo, the new Center City complex, and the Bellagio. We ran past Caesars, what used to be the Frontier and the mountain of dirt that once supported the Stardust. We scooted past Circus, Circus, and all the timeshares towering along the strip. We had to dodge thrown clothes the runners simply removed and threw to the ground as they ran. Sweatshirts, cloves, and outer shirts littered the Strip. After the second mile marker, there was a water station with volunteers holding out cups of water and Gatorade. Tracy and I chose not to drink anything just yet.

We both laughed as there were port-a-potties every five hundred yards or so along the route and already there were lines of runners who had stopped to use them. We passed the Stratosphere and made a right turn along Las Vegas Boulevard past the Olympic Garden. I wisely chose not to share and anecdotes about that place. We passed the little wedding chapels and were not heading downtown when we saw a sign that read “Wedding on the Run.” Along with the large continent of Elvis (Elvi) runners, we noticed quite of few “grooms and brides” in the race. Believe it or not, these folks were actually getting married at this spot. As Tracy and I ran past, the minister was in a prayer and then we heard a huge cheer as she pronounced them “man and wife.” Later down the course, many of these newly married couples past me in the race.

Along the route there was a lot of entertainment. Many of the Elvi were running in groups with one of them running with a baby stroller with a boom box belting out Elvis songs, and another running with a 24-pack of Bud lite. There was also the Blue Man Group on a stage playing with their band. Later there was a KISS copy band rocking and rolling as well as others. But these were nothing compared to the throngs of people along the route on the sidelines simply clapping and yelling and ringing hand held cowbells cheering all of us on. Along the route were two different high school cheer leading teams going through their routines and encouraging all the runners. It was truly as unique an experience as I have ever had.

Getting lost in all the spectacle of this run was the fact that I was running THIRTEEN miles. The most I had run training for this thing was five. Fortunately, I had my daughter running along with me. This made ALL the difference in the world. We talked the whole way while we were together. This not only distracted me from the actually running, but it encouraged me to go further than I would have ever done without her. I told her after the fourth mile marker that I’d probably walk for awhile at the fifth marker—that didn’t happen. Then I told her the sixth mile marker—no again. Finally, at the eighth mile marker, my hips now burning and a strange nerve acting up in my left foot, I had to stop jogging and just walk for awhile. I’m almost 57 years old, and I hadn’t come close to training as much as I should for this, so common sense and my body was telling me to slow down. I hated leaving my daughter, but I knew it was the right thing to do. She continued. I did; however, continue the race. I walked very briskly. I knew if I actually stopped or walked leisurely, I’d be in trouble starting to jog again.

By this time, heading towards the ninth mile marker, we were now on Industrial Rd running behind all the casinos we had first run in front of. We were making a large circle—a thirteen mile circle to be exact. The course never went as far as the downtown casinos, which surprised me, but circled through some business streets I wasn’t familiar with before heading in the other direction, south back to Mandalay Bay.

After walking briskly for about a quarter hour, I began to job again. This would be my pattern for the rest of the race. Run for about a half mile, and “speed walk” for half a mile. This I did for the remainder of the race. I had taken Jon Jr’s sweatshirt and tied it around my waist as the sun came out, but it was still surprisingly cold as we ran on Industrial Rd. At the eleventh mile marker, the full marathon runners linked up with us half-marathon runners. I really learned to appreciate these athletes. Here they had run twice as far as I have and their passing me like I was standing still.

After mile marker twelve, I was determined to jog the last mile. My hips hurt, my legs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds, my feet were screaming, but overall I was doing okay. The most surprising part of all of this is that I was never short of breath or ever felt like I needed to stop for lack of oxygen. If it wasn’t for the muscle pains, I feel I could have run another ten miles—easily.

As I approached the finish line, there were many, many people lined up cheering us on, “You’re almost there! You did it, you did it! Great job!” It really boosted my energy. Then I heard Tracy’s voice, “Go Dad!” There she was on the other side of rope smiling as I chugged along. Then I saw Terry and his sister-in-law cheering me on too. I crossed the line having finished the thirteen miles in about three hours—nothing to cheer about, but everything to feel proud about.

Suddenly, all the days of running along the boardwalks on weekends, the days of looking at nothing but the moon and stars along the track at the high school, and the 4:30 AM 5-mile runs along the streets of my neighborhood came to fruition. My daughter gave me hug. Terry came over to congratulate me. I asked him how long it took him. He told me he finished it in about two hours. It struck me that this wonderful man, who I had only met once, stayed there at the finish line for an hour just to support me at the end of this race. I have made many acquaintances through the Las Vegas Advisor forums, but without Terry making this challenge to me fourteen weeks ago, I would never have been here to do this. He emailed me a dozen times checking on my progress and encouraging me to keep working. Terry, if you’re reading this: Thank you.

Okay, for you LVA readers who could give a rat’s you-know-what about the race, I’ll move on. After some water, some snacks, and being given a medal, Tracy and I walked to the MGM (yes, we walked almost two more miles after the race—we figure it was a smart thing to do to let the bodies come back down). We took the monorail to the Hilton where Jon Jr. and Ed were watching the Chargers football game. I had put my Charger’s jersey and some clothes in the back of the car and changed. While they continued to watch, I couldn’t join them as all the seats were occupied, so I sat over at a Spin Poker machine and put in a $100 bill to play a bit and watch the game from there.

After a while, Jon came over and said he heard that they were also showing the games in the Barry Manilow Theater. We walked (Tracy and I hobbled) over there and sure enough, there were all the games on huge screens, sort of a second sports book. We sat in some comfy seats. The bars were open and they were selling food. As you could imagine, I was a bit hungry. After scarfing down two hotdogs and some chicken strips along with a beer, I was beginning to feel much better, and ever more so after the Chargers beat Kansas City. Oh, Spin Poker Deuces were not kind to me. I lost the hundy.

Jon and Ed had some football parlays going and they wanted to see the second groups of games. I, however, needed a shower and some sleep. I drove the car back to the Silverton. I really wanted to sit in the Jacuzzi, but Tracy told me that would be the worst thing to do. So, I took a shower and tried to sleep. Though I couldn’t actually fall asleep, it was nice to just lie in bed for a couple hours and rest.

At 3:30 PM I got up and dressed and went to tackle the 100-play machine in the high limit area. They have full pay Bonus Poker there. The boothling at the slot club told me I was only 9000 points away from moving up to Gold. Now, as a Silver member, I have been receiving free rooms every month from them but only on the off-nights, not the weekends. I figure that if I make Gold, I might get weekends too. Terry, who is a Gold card holder confirmed this. So, I played this game. I was playing ALL 100 hands ($25.00 a draw), which is usually SO out of my league, but I’ve gotten used to the rush and now know that playing this high has little bearing on my overall win/loss when it’s all said and done. I was holding steady, when after holding a K/Q of hearts, I hit my second royal ($200. This is a nickel machine). I pocket that sweet profit and head back to the Hilton to pick up my son.

This is our last night, and I like to take him to any dinner of his choosing each birthday trip. Every since he came to LV with his wife and they had a meal at the Bellagio café, this has been his favorite place to eat, and this is where he wanted to go. We once again parked at Bill’s Gambling Casino. It was still a tad early for dinner, and I told him I’d like to go over to the Venetian to grab a Gold Card (their version of Harrah’s Diamond card). I explained to him that the Venetian is trying to steal away Harrahs high rollers and are offering them their Gold card for a year simply by showing them your Diamond card. Now, there’s nothing that the Venetian offers their Gold members that is of much help to me. Their Gold Lounge is far inferior to Harrah’s Diamond Lounges as they don’t give free drinks (only juices and soft drinks), and their food consists of a few fruits and breads. The only thing that is slightly better is you are allowed to take drinks out (even though there are only the sodas, coffees, and juices) into the casino. Harrahs doesn’t allow anything out of the lounges except water. When Jon and I went to this lounge after getting my Gold card, three was only one other person in the place besides the help, and she left when we arrived.

I went to the trouble of getting the Gold card simply because I want to see if they’ll give me a room offer. With the Palazzo hotel opening next door this month, the Venetian is going to have to now fill over 3000 suites. When the Wynn first opened, I was offered two free nights twice. I’m hoping they’ll want the “Gold” members to try out the new digs and sometime next year get an offer—we’ll see as I had nothing to lose. I did, however, want to put a couple of points on the card. Jon and I looked around and found one of these new Roulette machines. We knew this was probably the best play in the house; however, upon looking the pay schedule, we were shocked that they had lowered the single number hit from 36-1 all the way down to 32-1. Yikes! As they did with all the video poker schedules, they have SCREWED the player at the roulette machine too! If this isn’t an indication of their policy (squeak out every dime you can), than I don’t know what is. We ran from those machines. We finally sat down at a penny 50-play and I played Super Double Bonus, which like all the poker games here, had a terrible schedule. But I put in a twenty and played it with only ten hands at a time. I was down to my last hand (really, I only had twenty cents after this hand), I held a king and a queen and boom, my third royal of the trip. All three royals have now come with only holding two cards. Plus, this was a ten coin machines, so, this was an $80 win. Yes, I know, that’s not much money for a royal, but hey, $80 for a ten cent bet is okay and a royal is a royal.

We cashed out and headed back for the Bellagio for his dinner. On the way we had to go through Caesars and watched the “changing of the guard” at the Pussycat Blackjack tables—pretty funny. When we got to the Bellagio, we found another of the Roulette machines. Their schedule was lowered to 34-1. (By the way, Harrahs apparently doesn’t carry these machines at all as we couldn’t find any in any of their properties). So, full pay single 0 roulette, so far, can be found at the Gold Coast and the Silverton.

We had a very nice dinner at the café and were heading back to the car when we stopped at a $100 minimum blackjack table. There, sitting was Sammy Farha and Ming, two very big poker celebrities from High Stakes Poker. It was a thrill seeing them in person.

We finally got back to our home hotel, the Silverton. I was only 3000 points away from my Gold card. Jon and I sat down at the 100 play for nickels and I tried to win some money. As video poker can do to you, it did to me tonight. I couldn’t get dealt anything! I didn’t catch even one pat hand and only was dealt three-to-a-kind once. Anyway, when the dust had settled, I had lost $200.00. This really wasn’t as bad as it sounds, as you might remember, I won $200 on this machine the day before. So, it was a wash, but I did manage my 3000 points. Having made the 9000 points since the trip had started, we went to the booth to get me upgrading to Gold. The boothling told me she wasn’t authorized to upgrade, and only her supervisor was able to and she had just gone home. If we’d come back tomorrow morning around 9:00 AM, the supervisor would be there and she’d do it for me.

Now here’s one for the ages for you: I told the boothling that I could come back at 9:00 AM, but I was wondering, what exactly to I get for making Gold over what I already had in Silver. She said, “Really, not much of anything at all.” Jon and I looked at each other. Then she said, “You might want to consider getting to the next level, Platinum.” I asked her how much that would take. She said, “$100,000 coin in.” Jon and I looked at each other. I asked her what we would get if we were Platinum. She looked at us and said, “Well, I’m really not sure, but I know you get to go to the head of the line at the buffet.” Jon and I looked at each other—and burst out laughing.

This was the classic experience when dealing with slot club attendants. They are rarely trained, they ALWAYS have to have a supervisor do anything, and they have no clue about the slot clubs that they work at. Moral of the story: NEVER trust a boothling. Get your info from a host.

It was time for bed for me, but Jon wanted to stay up and play a bit more. I went to sleep at 11:00 PM, and I woke up at 8:00 AM the next morning—I needed that. I wasn’t as sore as I thought this morning, but it was still a chore to walk straight and whenever I got to some stairs—forget about it!

We enjoyed our last breakfast of the trip in the café. We went over to the slot booth and there was a different lady there. “Hi, I made enough points to be upgraded to Gold.” She looked at me and said, “I’m sorry, I’m not authorized to upgrade you to Gold, only a supervisor can do that and she should be in around 10:00 AM.” Jon and I looked at each other.

Okay, I must admit, I lost my cool for a moment explaining that we went through this scene last night. Then I said I was going to write the General Manager, blah, blah, blah. Another boothling was there and looked over at the screen on the computer and said, “Well, we’re not supposed to, but if you come next month and we’re not here, you’ll know what happened. We’ll go ahead and do it for you.” They gave me my new card and Jon and I were on our way home.

This is normally where I sign off with, “More next time…” However, as my son and I were heading out of Las Vegas, I reached in my pocket, “Son, I don’t have my cell phone.” U-Turn fifteen miles out of town and back to the Silverton where the waitress told us she’d knew we’d be back. She had it. I had forgotten my LVA match play for the Silverton and Jon played it—and lost it. We got in the car and headed home. I made him promise that next year, he’ll run the half-marathon with Tracy and I, and I promised I’d run the entire race. We agreed and headed home.

More next time…

Calculating your own Harrahs prop scores and daily adt/theo

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News:

Harrahs 11/10/2007 News — OJ Simpson, Harrah’s Buyout Problems, Harrah’s Third Quarter Profits, Harrah’s CEO buys a part of a sports team.

Forbes has an article regarding the recent third quarter profits that Harrah’s earned, but the lawsuit against them may cause problems for the private Harrah’s buyout in 2008. From the article:

The analyst believes that while Harrah’s performance in Las Vegas and Atlantic City were strong, that success was not matched this quarter in other regions. Harrah’s is currently in the midst of an ugly dispute that could endanger its buyout deal, which was arranged last December and approved by shareholders in April.

CNN.com’s Money section announces that Harrah’s had to adjust the price of their due-in-2024 senior notes due to the recent, and surprising, profit in the third quarter. From the article:

Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. , announced that the conversion price under its outstanding $375 million Floating Rate Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due 2024 has been adjusted to $65.24 from $65.54, subject to further adjustment as provided for in the governing indenture. The adjustment has been made pursuant to the terms of the indenture as a result of the cash dividend of $0.40 per share of Harrah’s Entertainment common stock that was declared on October 29, 2007, and which will be payable November 21, 2006 to Harrah’s Entertainment stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 8, 2007.

According to paparazzi magazine InsiderEdition, OJ Simpson is banned from many casinos, including Harrahs. He returned to Las Vegas with lawyers in tow over his recent arrest and indictment. From the article:

Simpson is banned from several of the top Las Vegas hotels, including the Palms, the MGM Grand, and Harrahs. George Maloof, owner of the Palms, said that OJ was not welcome because of the drama and disturbance that his presence caused. INSIDE EDITION has heard that OJ is staying at another hotel under an assumed name while in Las Vegas to attend the trial.

Signs on San Diego announces that Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman has bought 2.4% of the Boston Celtics basketball team. From the article:

Harrah’s spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson said the team’s games have been removed from the company’s sports books, which Nevada gambling regulators require for casino licensees with stakes in pro sports teams. Loveman’s personal investment comes at the same time as Harrah’s is in a partnership with AEG to build a $500 million arena a block off the Strip, possibly to house an NBA team.

Do you have more news on Harrah’s? Please let us know by leaving a comment.

“We are elated to once again present our show in a Harrah’s venue,” said Mitchell Maxwell, President and CEO of Sibling Holdings. “We received fantastic audience response when we opened HATS! at Harrah’s New Orleans in January 2007.”

“Harrah’s Las Vegas is their flagship venue. We’re excited that Harrah’s has partnered with us to present HATS! in Las Vegas. Working together, these two great entertainment companies will ensure that HATS! has a long, healthy run at Harrah’s Las Vegas,” he said.

…

HATS! premiered in Denver in October 2006, opened in January 2007, at Harrah’s New Orleans Casino Hotel and premiered in Chicago at the Royal George Theatre on April 29, 2007, to rave reviews. The Chicago Tribune says HATS! is “a music-and-comedy celebration … .It will make a lot of people feel empowered. It does so with integrity, craft and heart.” The Denver Post says “That’s a real audience emitting real belly laughs and crying real tears. I have never seen an audience so affected in the course of watching theater.” Finally, Variety raves “This is a feel-good show that’s really about feeling good.”

—–

Here’s an interesting article over at The Hawaii Channel about a reader’s experience at Harrah’s Las Vegas over the 600+ room closure incident:

I immediately called my host and asked what the hell was going on. He said I had to move rooms, but he could find me another room in Harrahs (an upgrade!). My host came up to my room to drop off the new keys and explain. My host said that in the last set of room renovations at Harrah’s, the final renovations were never approved by Clark County, and now everyone had to move out of the rooms in question until they could be inspected and approved. My host said that out of the 2,400 rooms at Harrah’s, 600 of them were being closed, and many people were being moved to other hotels.

• Harrah’s Great Gift Wrap-up: Both spouses must be present to combine points. GGWU might trigger a trip.
• Harrah’s News 10/23/2007: News Updates on Harrah’s.
• Harrah’s Offers Database: Added a new set of offers from another player.
• How Bonus Rewards Credits are earned: Added this new page

In Atlantic City, the Press of Atlantic City just reported that chunks of Caesar’s Palace AC’s garage fell from the ceiling. The garage is temporarily closed while the inspect why a 20 foot by 20 foot piece of drywall collapsed. Minor damage was caused to an SUV, but no one was injured. From the article:

The collapse took place at the arched entranceway to the Coliseum garage, at the top of a ramp leading up from the Atlantic Avenue entrance. The entranceway was closed for several hours while the debris was removed, Parker said.

Visitors felt little impact, as cars could still use the second entrance to the garage further along Missouri Avenue - although the closing did inconvenience a few tourists.

Unable to get to their usual handicapped space, Barbara and Frank Pisauro, of Scranton, Pa., drove around and around trying to find another.

According to the PRNewsWire, Harrah’s will be announcing their third quarter profit/loss results on November 7th at 7am. This will be the second-to-last earnings report before the turn-over to the new owners of the Harrahs Entertainment Group. From the article:

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada nearly 70 years ago, Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company’s properties operate primarily under the Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah’s also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah’s Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

According to BizJournals, Harrah’s is considering a casino in Kansas in Sumner County. Harrah’s previously ran the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation casino north of Topeka, which was recently turned over to the tribe. From the article:

An investment group operating as Sumner Gaming and Resorts LC announced Tuesday it would submit a casino plan to the Sumner County Commission. The casino would be located near Wellington at Interstate 35 and Highway 53.

Details of the proposal weren’t released, but the firm promised “a variety of attractions and amenities” that would draw visitors to the area. Charles Atwood, vice chairman of the board for Harrah’s Entertainment, said in a statement the company would propose a “large-scale Las Vegas-style resort.”

You can read another article at CJOnline.

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The typical response is that their software inadvertently penalized the person for the cancellation. It is very important to follow up on any financial transactions that you may easily miss when paying your bill each month.

At all HET casinos, you will earn Base Rewards Credits (towards paying for food or room charges) at a rate of 1 Base Reward Credit per 1 Tier Credit earned.

On some machines, at some HET casinos, you will earn additional Bonus Rewards Credits for each Base Reward Credit you earn.

Bonus Rewards Credits are directly related to your ADT for that given day, not necessarily your machine you’re playing. Your ADT is based on each machine or table game’s pre-programmed hold-theo (the amount that HET believes they’ll earn from the player for each $1 they put through). If you play a lot of slots or tight VP, your ADT for the day may skyrocket. As it goes up, your Bonus RCs go up quickly. Some games (craps, BJ, Baccarat, etc) have very low hold-theos at HET, so they bring your daily ADT down so you don’t get Bonus RC’s. Other games (Keno, most slots, etc) have a high hold-theo, so your Bonus RC’s go up.