When I originally booked this trip back in May, I had incorrectly assumed the Covid crisis would be in the rear view mirror by August - alas, we are still in the thick of things but I decided to hit Vegas regardless just for a change of pace of sitting at home.
As many of you know, the New York area was hit by a mini-tornado yesterday, resulting in a tree being uprooted just a few yards from my front door.
As NY Gov. Cuomo shut down the bridges in NY, my dad was unable to come and stay with me last night and drive me to the airport. I hurriedly booked a car service and, after only getting a few hours sleep, the car service arrived at 7:30 am this morning and I was in my way to the airport. The airport was more crowded than I thought it would be and, after getting through security, I secured myself the breakfast of champions.
Upon entering the plane, the steward exclaimed “Wow I haven’t seen you in ages, how have you been?” I do not know if this was a way to make people feel welcome in the flight or he thought I was someone else but he continued by asking me what I’ve been up to since the last time he saw me. I replied that I’ve just been dealing with the Covid crisis like everyone else has. I still have no idea who he thought I was.
The boarding process was smooth and after getting settled into my seat, I began watching a Golden Girls, or, as I call them, the “Double G’s”, marathon. I promptly fell asleep and woke up to a King of Queens marathon along with an announcement that we were beginning our initial descent. Barely fifteen minutes later the plane had landed and I was on my way to the tram to take me to the baggage claim.
Per Mitch from Tipping the Odds’ recommendation, I had booked a car from Presidential Limo to pick me up at McCarran to take me to Caesars Palace. The driver was waiting at the baggage claim with an electronic sign, my bag was one of the first out of the chute and the car, which was supposed to be a Chrysler 300 had been upgraded to a Cadillac Escalade, was mere steps from the airport exit. Thanks for the recommendation Mitch.
The driver was affable and very interested in how the NY area was handling the virus as well as discussing his favorite bands from the NY area.
Checking in at Caesars Palace was efficient and, although room upgrades were available for purchase, I decided to keep my King room with a view of the Bellagio fountains.
Elevator social distancing
Hermetically sealed room
After settling into the room, I headed to register for my $250 in free slot play. In the alternative, I could have received some sort of designer bean bag chair (no thanks). I had thought that they would automatically load the FSP onto my Caesars Rewards card but, rather, I had to schlep up to a remotely located conference room to obtain actual physical “Reel Rewards” TITO’s. I took 10 $20 and 5 $10 TITO’s as once you insert it into a slot machine, you have to play that amount through and I wanted the option of leaving a “cold machine” without having to play through a higher dollar amount.
On the way back to the room I craved some caffeine so I sought out a Starbucks near the entrance to the Augustus Tower but, unfortunately, it had just closed for the day. I then made my way to the Caesars Essentials shop in the main lobby to buy an energy drink. I was floored when the cashier rang up my one energy drink at the bargain basement price of $7.50 (that is 2 ½¢ per milligram of caffeine).
I had to stock up on some beverages and snacks for the room so trekked over to CVS. Despite the outside temperature being 104°, it was not unbearable and I was soon back in the room. What I noticed was how unpopulated with tourists the Strip was while walking from Caesars to CVS. It was a strange feeling not having to pretend to be Barry Sanders to maneuver through the throngs of people on the Strip. While the crowds normally bring an “electricity” to the Strip, I am enjoying the sparseness.
After showering and getting dressed I headed down to the casino floor to relieve myself of the $250 in FSP burning a hole in my pocket.
I decided to play $1 machines at the max credits of whichever machines I chose. I ended up playing the following two machines:
I put $100 in FSP in the machine and, after 20 spins, had won $109 - not bad at all.
I then ventured over to this machine which had a $1k win showing on it from the previous player:
I put the remaining $150 FSP into the machine and on the first spin hit for $100. I then heard a voice over my left shoulder stating that he had just hit for $1k on the machine. We kibbutzed a bit and I resumed playing. I only picked up another $20 by the time my FSP ran out.
So, I ended up winning $229 on the $250 FSP - not bad - I’ll take it.
I then headed over to an empty pit and took a seat to figure out what I was going to have for dinner. Moments later a beautiful lady asked if she could take a seat - being the gentleman that I am, and knowing exactly how the conversation was about to go, I told her it was still a free country and to grab a chair.
Surprisingly, the 15 minute conversation that ensued was absolutely normal - discussing where we were both from, Covid and Vegas. As I bid her adieu, she asked if I had Instagram. I said yes and if she gave me her profile I would check out her page. She did…and I did. Let’s just say my first instincts were correct and she was definitely “working”. But, a fun story to tell nonetheless.
I then hit up the Caesars sports book to relax and they were showing Judge Judy - does Vegas now take bets on the outcome of Judge Judy cases?
Feeling the need for some caffeine, I sauntered over to the Starbucks in the Caesars food court. I took my place in line and got to chatting with the Asian gentleman in front of me. He informed me that the woman currently at the counter, which was only being serviced by one employee, had been there for the past 5 minutes. I thanked him for the news I could use and kept waiting…and waiting…and waiting. Another 10 minutes went by and Karen in the Rascal scooter and the Starbucks’ employee had still not figured out her order. I had had enough and made my way to the gift shop to get a Starbucks cold brew in a can.
On the walk to the gift shop, who should I see approaching a potential client out of the corner of my eye, if you guessed the Instagram hooker, you guessed correctly. She sat down next to him at a slot machine and, moments later, they got up, he put his arm on her lower back and they walked off into the night together.
I headed back down to the casino floor to survey the blackjack scene. I entered the high limit room but every blackjack table therein was $200 minimum so I decided to play Wheel of Fortune with my $229 FSP winnings.
I kept getting “near wins” if 2 SPIN icons coming up in the first 2 slots without actually getting a Wheel of Fortune spin until I was down to $67. I then hit the WOF spin for $150. I kept playing only to receive few small hits here and there without ever getting another spin on the big wheel. Bye bye $229, it was nice knowing you.
After a long day I finally felt the pangs of hunger, grabbed a couple slices of pizza and headed up to bed.
…and the day ended as it began…
