Vegas Trip Report - NASCAR Weekend 2009

Hello all ,
 
Have not figured out the photo deal on here so this will be a read only trip report .
 
We arrived last Thurs at the Rio off the strip for 5 nights comped  thanks to the points of me and one of my black chip BJ playing buddies .
 
Airfare R/T from Continental was $219 from Newark  per person
 
Rental car full size Chevy Impala from Advantage was $203 or $50 each for the six days
 
Add $20 per person to park at Newark long term lot thanks to my buddy and his trusty mini van .
 
I had press credentials all weekend for the NASCAR races so no cost there for tickets and my three buddies paid $40 each for $81 seats on Sat and Sun .
 
So there we have it at $289 for me . airfare , Lodging , Car and parking for 5 nights and 6 days in Vegas
 
Now lets get to the food .
 
From the airport we headed directly to our  favorite stop Arizona Charlies on Decatur for some $3.99 steak and eggs special and some decent penetration BJ . We landed at 1130 am and were told check in was 4 pm anyway so this worked out for us .
I had a couple of cc's removed form my band due to tightness a  week before the trip and found the food going down just nicely . Will have to get tightened up in a few weeks but fore the six days it was like nirvana once again . By the way did not gain anything on the trip and one year out today down 120 pounds .
 
The steak medium rare and eggs over easy were good , also came with home fries and toast and you could request biscuits and gravy instead of toast . The guys with me jumped on the biscuits and gravy and took my toast as I was not going to eat it .
 
One of my buddies knocked down a few " Yonkers Iced Teas " as he called them Water with lemon ( waitress gave him two) and some sugar packs as he was preparing to keep a sober mind to tackle the table games . A second buddy knocked out the 22 ounce mug of Coors Light that came to $4.00 or more than his lunch special . !!!
 
The BJ scene was good as my one buddy hit for more that $700 in about an hour of green chip BJ .
From there it was off to the Rio and check in .
 
The accomodations were great , a two bed suite with pull out couch and we were able to keep the same room for five nights despite being under two different names , great assistance from the hotel staff !!
 
Since it was a late lunch we decided to hit the tables at Rio and ended up with a pizza pie from the deli $19.99 , a little steep but once again comped. Pie was excellent , I like it doughy and it was filling .
After some VP and BJ it was time to hit the sack and prepare for Friday in Vegas .
 
More on the next few days in the next report part 2
 
Benzee

Benzee, this was way more of a curiosity before I was sure what you meant by the initials.  :)

Glad you're having a good time and getting some good meals in--way to go on the total.

Nancy, like my music teacher once said to me "get your mind outa the gutter!" :~)

Benzee, wish I was there!
Joe

BJ= Blackjack folks , although I do not blame anyone for thinking the other .

Papa Joe I must thank you for turning me on to the finest dog I ever had in Vegas at the Sportsbook in the Gold Coast . " the cart" as it was called .
More on the trip when I get some time .

Benzee

great report. Thanks for sharing with us.

The Blackjack was automatic, it was the VP at the Rio that I still haven't figured out.

Video poker.

Thank you!

Benzee, did you think I would lead you astray? I have made many mentions of that Gold Coast Chicago Dog around here...  but you are the first to have said they tried it. It might well be the best $1 hot dog on the planet. Thank you for the report!

Have you met my buddy Jack yet? He is off on Sunday and Monday. Tell him PapaJoe sent you.

Oh, about the Rio buffet? Tell your friends not to miss the Mongolian BBQ!
Joe

Hello Papa Joe ,

I'm back home already buddy , spent 6 days out  there . I ended up playing a cash game at the Rio Sunday night and Jack was not around .

I tried playing in a few tourneys Sat night but they were only doing two tables at Harrahs  so we ended up playing some VP = video poker .

That hot dog was one of the finest I've had anywhere , right next to the Sportsbook it is set up as an old style hot dog cart and for $1.25 I think was the cost was great . Suppose to close at 7 pm , but closed early one day and was told 630pm another .

The other hot dog place I passed  was Sammys ? on Decatur .  never got there when it was open .

As far as other eats , my comp meals at the track were standard buffet style  that were good eats because the price  was right . Situated in the Media building there was a steady flow all weekeknd long .

Had to get my .99 cent shrimp cocktails at Golden Gate and forund some good 4 for  $10.00 t shirt deals next store ( No DA@@it I don't want a timeshare ) The hawks were out on Fremont street.

The Rio buffets were good  when we tried them . Nothing special to me have had better in AC , but I have heard people rave about these .

That pretty much finishes this thing up .
For photos check on my facebook page , I can post  photos everywhere but here it seems .

Benzee

Hey Benzee,
 
Nice last fling before the BIG day. 
 
How did you do?  Were you the guy on the plane without a shirt
 
Joe

Benzee, I am sorry you didn't get to meet Jack. He is only there during the day. His main job is the WSOP. He is the one who had to deal with the HUGE jump in entries back in 2005. Many said it couldn't be done. Asside from not enough mens rest rooms it all went smooth. Jack is kind of a chili nut like me. We have shared many a bowl of Benny Binion's chili back in the day. Jack was once the shift manager at a popular Dallas coffee and eat spot. He was the inspiration for my "honeymoon" chili recipe. NO BEANS it that recipe!!! :~) It is posted around here somewhere.

Rio buffet, it's the Mongolian BBQ that makes it worth the trip. And, from time to time, they have chili in the soup area.  They didn't have it while I was there. Jack says it's good though.

I have another long time friend who works the graveyard shift. We call him "Fast Eddie". He is a great dealer but also plays a mean game of pool.

And yep, I gotta get my shrimp cocktail fix at tha Gate! It was good as always. A dash of Tabasco and it was GREAT!

Shoot, now your making me want to take another trip! :~(

Glad your back home safe and sound!!!
Joe

I was there  but for a wedding. The casinos were empty, sat and sun, cause of the races.  We stayed at the Encore. Sat had the lunch buffett at Circus Circus. Nothing special. Walked the strip. the dancing fountains were excellent at the Bellagio. Dinner at Hashouse AGoGo. Everyone's plate had way more than they could eat. Delicious! Sunday, the breakfast buffett at the Wynn. Anything you could want but $30 per person. Sunday afternoon, the wedding at Viva las vegas.  Sunday night, The nine Irishman for fish and chips at NY.NY. Best I ever had. Monday, the lunch buffett at Harrah's 2 for one price for getting their card. very good. Monday night, we went downtown for the light show and had dinner at Tinettco's at the fremont. Also delicious. Between my wife and I , lost over a grand at the tables tho.

Sounds like a great trip Ynot! Oh, till the last few words. Hey, I bet you won last time! :~)
Joe

Hello all ,

Hey Joe Rogo its a pleasure to be able to talk to you on here again ! Yea buddy Sandys due date is July 6th and I'm scheduled to retire on the 13th of July , so it will be a interesting few months to say the least . One last trip with the buddies and it was a great time . 

Papa Joe you are the man buddy with the Gold Coast dogs , they certainly are on the top of my list anywhere , and who would've known ?
Also the Rio poker room was really quiiet while I was there , they had a special being comped at $3.00 per hour from 3am to 3 pm but no action most mornings I was there .

notyyme thanks for your report bud , seems like you did ok except for the gambling part .
Thanks to some serious play at Binions Blackjack Tables I was ahead for the trip .
Met an old Inwood NYC ite Frank the pit boss and he was a pleasure to talk to on Sat .

Benzee

Shhh Benzee! Be carefull who you tell about that Gold Coast hot dog! Just teasin... I have mentioned it in I think every Vegas thread floating around here. :~)

What a shame the new owners of Binion's took Benny's chili off the coffee shop menu. :~(  It should have been a condition of every sale... for that great bowl of chili to always be served. At least I can make my own now.
Joe

PapaJoe8


What a shame the new owners of Binion's took Benny's chili off the coffee shop menu. :~(  It should have been a condition of every sale... for that great bowl of chili to always be served. At least I can make my own now.
Joe

You got the recipie?

Great one, my journey for tracking down Benny's recipe has it's own thread here somewhere. The recipe, as close as I can get is on there. It passed a taste test of another Benny's chili fan. Sorri I don't know how to do the link.

Just google;
benny binion chili roadfood
and it comes right up.

The new search here might work also. I usually just google cause it's faster.

We are still working on Shanghai Jimmy's Chli Rice recipe though.
Joe

Benzee-
Thanks for the report and glad you had such a good time.  But mostly, congratulations on the losing 120 lbs.!!!

I've stayed at The Rio before and thought it was just a little too far away from everything, but it sounds like it wasn't a problem for your group.

Hey buffetbuster ,

The Rio worked for us because of a few things .
First we got comped for the full five nights under my card and my buddys play . JJust had to pay the tax and the other two paid that which was basically  nothing .
Second we had a rental for the full six days and could hit some of the local casinos to get the great deals . I enjoy visiting all of Vegas and most  non tourist areas in places I visit to get a good feel of the city and area.
Third , which is great without a rental also , is that from the Rio they had a free shuttle to the strip , we used to go to Harrahs and back . Also from the Gold Coast next to the Rio you can take their shuttle to Orleans , and Sams Town .

Now if I was paying I would prefer probably the Golden Nugget on Fremont St. or Harrahs right on the strip , but if  you can get the comps for Rio stay there because the rooms , called suites but not really technically , are great and the atmosphere is too .  And you get around without a rental also .

My last trip I spent three days on the strip and 2 days downtown. The best of both worlds!

I used to stay a month at a time at the Nugget. What a great place to be!
Joe