Luckiest Vegas Trip: Planet Hollywood June 2012

BigAzMarty shares his luckiest Vegas trip…

Hey all, in the theme of the best trips to Las Vegas ever I think this one is my wife’s fantastic dream, but it really happened.  Of course, I was more a spectator but was still the best time in Las Vegas. You know happy wife happy life?

It was our 22nd Anniversary Trip. My wife was bored with Rio, Harrah’s and Paris at this point and she wanted to try out Planet Hollywood. PH had had been recently converted to Total Rewards, and we liked the Miracle Mile shops and all the things to do in the area with Cosmo and City Center being recently completed, so we booked it.

We had booked a base Hollywood Hip room thinking the $20 sandwich might get us a bigger room. It only got us a slightly higher floor with a partial view of the Bellagio Fountains (right in front of that, was the Paris balloon which blocked the view). We rapidly unpacked and then headed down to scope out the VP (video poker) play and grab a snack at the Earl of Sandwich.

My wife usually has an uncanny ability of finding a good machine, and she found a progressive bank that was between the old poker pit and the high limit slot room. The bank still had old tube screens, and they were uprights. I tried several of the machines, but only one was really any decent for me. My wife, however, found one that liked her a lot. I’ve never seen a machine do this before either…4OAKs (4 Of A Kinds) and Full Houses…I don’t think she put more than $40 in there that night. At that point, after a long and hot drive in from hometown, I decided to get back to the room and stretch out. She was going to come up in a bit. I passed out only to be awoken with $100 bills raining over the bed. She had hit the Royal and had some additional still in the machine that she cashed out after the hand pay. We celebrated a little and got some sleep with some new plans:

1. Celine Dion (Caesars Palace)
2. Evil Dead 4D (V Theater)

The next day we got tickets for Celine Dion for the following day and played some more. We pooled for a bit and stayed even if not up a little more. Her favorite machine was still doing 4OAKs and Full Houses. She ended up getting to the Platinum level in less than a day, so they got new cards for her. We went and found what is still our cheap go-to Mexican food place in the Miracle Mile shops: La Salsa Cantina Grill. We also went to Evil Dead 4D that night….she didn’t mind it, knowing I was a big Evil Dead fan. Now it gets interesting….she sat at the same VP machine after Evil Dead 4D and within another hour it hit another Royal Flush! It was about 2 AM this time. She lit up like you couldn’t believe and after another hand-pay, we cashed out for the night. Another great day!!!!

The next day we start with a dip in the pool and then get ready for Celine Dion. We get to Caesars Palace early, so she wants to play at the Seahorse Lounge. Back then they still had 50% quarters and 50% dollar VP there. I got lucky first with a low number 4OAK without the kicker; she beats me about 15 mins before we have to leave for the show with a 4OAK low with the kicker. I think we cashed out of there with about $300 to the positive.

Celine is an awesome show….it was when she started her current run without all the Cirque stuff. It was one of the wife’s Bucket List items that are now crossed off. We get done, and it’s late. We head back to PH, and she doesn’t have as much luck on her lucky machine, and we crash because we have to meet my brother and his family at South Point the next day. Celine always makes a great day for the wife.

The next day, she checks again on her favorite machine and… damn if it doesn’t hit again right before we have to leave for South Point. We get to South Point, meet up, eat, and then proceed to VP the night away. My brother hits a Royal; his wife hits some slot machine for like $400, and my wife is getting decent 4OAKs I walk over the back side of the bank, and I get the biggest 4OAK Aces with the Kicker (half a Royal payout). We part ways after eating together with my nieces and nephews and crash for the night back at PH. Another excellent day.

The next morning, my wife wants to shop. I think she got about $500 worth of clothes and shoes, and for the big tub some of those bath bombs. We get food at Pink’s; her machine has dropped to cool…the whole bank is empty and no one playing anymore. We decide to go check out Cosmo and Aria. My wife gets a 4OAK at Cosmo. We head to Aria through Crystals, and she hits the 4OAK at Aria. Then we discover what would be her favorite slot machine for the next three years (Wizard of Oz Ruby Slippers).

We had no idea what we were doing and still walked away +$60 on. Once we got back, she found it at Planet Hollywood and hit it up for another $120. She warily says I want to try my favorite machine before the trip is over (still have another full day before check out)…but it’s not lucky again, so she shifts to her favorite game: Blackjack. I wander around losing money in oddball slots/VP for a bit before I head upstairs after telling her where I was heading.  She arrived sometime later just a little ahead of where she started but sat for almost 5 hours straight. A Good day with some new things we tried.

The next morning my brother and family had left already, but he texted another Royal photo. My wife decides to try it one more time before we head down to the Factory Outlet shops near South Point. Her favorite machine hits one last time for another Royal within 2 hours. She has a field day at the dress barn at the Factory Outlet shops. Plus, she bought more shoes. That evening she wants to explore, so we head to Paris and Bally’s. At Paris, we both get 4OAKs on a progressive bank and cash out. We head through the shops to Bally’s where she spends about 4 hours on a BJ table. I hit up an assortment of slots and VP just to entertain myself as well as checking out the lower level shops. Neither of us did ourselves good that night, so it was back through Paris and to the room for our last night. A great day but Paris and Bally’s took a chunk.

The next morning we packed, but were out early so we bellhop the bags as we’d used the valet and went down to the desk to see if we got the room comped (3 days comped, not the whole trip). She had to try her machine one last time, but the hood was up, and they were working on putting more paper in. They closed the lid, and she played for a bit, but we left soon after as it had gone cold. All in all, I expected to spend about $2500 with ATM visits and no winnings (realist in me I guess). But, we left probably about $2500 up, no ATM visits, and a super-stuffed trunk full of new stuff for her, and a lot of new experiences to remember and enjoy as a couple (of course not going into romantic details).

It was our best trip ever, and we still remember it to this day.

[Photos/Images: Greg C, Michael James, OnlineSlots, Aaron Wakamato]

BigAzMarty

A computer professional who has worked at several types of positions with several different businesses and still learning and changing.
Introduced properly to Las Vegas and Laughlin by the spouse and have been going ever since 1990.
A frequent visitor from not to far away where it’s almost always 10 degrees warmer than Vegas.