DAY 3
No surprise wake up call today! Got to catch up on some sleep. Today DH was invited to a Blackjack
tournament over at the Mirage. His first Session started around 12. So we got up, dressed and headed
across the street. I actually liked the atmosphere of the place. Seemed very lively, not jammed packed or
loud. Kinda cozy. Anyway, I have to say that these machines were rocking. I got back all of my bankroll
and then some. I will skip the specifics and save them for the Photo/Video section. This is where I did
most of my recording, because the action here was worth recording! My big money makers were Viva
Monopoly & Mermaid's Gold. So my DH text me that he was the winner of his Blackjack session and
moves on to round 2 in a couple hours. So we grabed lunch at BLT Burger. I had nachos and wings
again! I really don't know why it kept being my default selections for the trip, but it was good. Across from
BLT was the Sugar Factory, know for their designer lollipops. This is where by Brit Brit stopped by with
her kids for some sugar, earlier in the day before her concert. So I needed to go in and have "a moment".
Time for some more gambling. I backed down a little bit on my bet amounts so that I would leave the
Mirage with a full bankroll. I played with the money I was over. I found Deb's Marilyn $1 machine, so I have
to throw some money into that for her. I knew she would be with me in spirit. DH was off playing the
second round of the Blackjack tournament, but he was knocked out. It was a full afternoon of free play for
him, so it kept him out of trouble. The girls came over and met up with us, so we continued playing slots
for a bit. I was still being protective of my full bankroll.
We all headed back to the Palazzo for a little rest and to freshen up. We called down to In-Room Dinning
and orders some appetizers and drinks to be delivered for 8pm. Our friends came to our room and we
enjoyed a nice snack. Then we headed over to Wynn. We have tickets for the 9:30 performance of Le
Reve. We got the Champagne seats, which included a bottle of champagne, chocolate plates, & lot's of leg
room. My favorite part was the monitors in the section that has live backstage cams set up so you can see
what's going on behind the scenes. I've seen the show before and it is amazing. I did watch the backstage
monitors from time to time. Even seeing the show a second time, it's amazing how much physical
strength these performers have, to do what they do. I definitely recommend this show to anyone.
After the show, Lorraine and I stuck around Wynn for some play. I
have discovered the Pinball machine! Never seen it before and
absolutely fell in love with this machine. Being that I have no photos
or video of my play, I'll tell you a little bit about it. It's an IGT/Barcrest
machine. There's a 2 credit and 3 credit machines. I like the 3 credit
one. When you get the Pinball symbol on the 3rd reel, you play the
pinball machine on top. You get 5 balls and you keep the total amount
of what each ball lands in. I thought it was an "offer" type game, but
no. You get the full amount. I had such a great time with this game. I
did bonus often and was able to walk away with an couple extra
hundred. About an hour later, we headed back over to the Palazzo
where DH was playing table games. I gave their machines another try,
and nothing. They sucked about $600 out of my bankroll. Don't know
why I let that happen, since I know they aren't really paying or
bonusing. Time for bed, before they get it all.
DAY 4 - THE FINAL DAY
Up by 11am. Today our friends head back to Laguna Beach. So we spent the full day with them. We headed
back down to Solaro by the pool. The weather is great, and I just started to think that we head back home
Monday to 60 degree weather. Anyway, today I had a burger and a personal pizza. Everyone else had
breakfast. At this point I'm ready to get back home and get back into my normal eating schedule (plus sleep
schedule). Afterwards we went over to the side pool and got chairs to lay out. I decided to give Deb a call
and see how she's doing. 30min in the sun is enough for me, so I headed on over to The Venetian to play
GF2 and a few other favorites. No hits to report. Overall, I find the machines at both Palazzo and Venetian
aren't being very friendly. At least not to me. The games I normally bonus and hit on, just wouldn't budge
the whole trip.

Around 3 we all met up and took a taxi over to Aria. None of us had been there and I really wanted to check
the place out. The buildings are HUGE. Very overwhelming, when you're standing in all of it. The casino is
very nice looking. But I didn't like the vibe of the place. Didn't like the layout of the games. I don't know how
to put my feeling into words about the place. It wasn't a comfortable place to play. I did get to play Max Win
& Jackpot Block Party. I haven't seen those yet. I hit a small bonus rounds on each for about $40. I cashed
out so I can go and check the rest of the place out. That's pretty much it. We had to get the girls back
because it was time for them to head to the airport. As far as my overall impression of Aria - I think it's all
overkill. Maybe I'll check it out one more time to see if I feel the same, but I will still be staying over at the
Palazzo on future trips. I'll also check to see if I can get a tour of their rooms at Aria to see what they are like.

After saying good-bye to the girls, DH and I went to the Venetian food court for a snack, then we played for
a bit more. I only had a couple hundred left, so I took a break from the machines so I could get started on
my packing. With 4 suit cases, there was a lot to repack. While getting everything together, I found a
voucher I left laying around, so after I had a majority of the packing done, I went back downstairs to play for
a bit more. I thought maybe the voucher was a sign. I stayed on the Palazzo side to play. I did the rounds
on all of my favorite games (that aren't paying). Blah, blah, blah. So I took my last hundred and played Top
Dollar. It happens to be our friend Lorraine's favorite game. So to end the trip I just dumped the hundred
into it. OH YEAH, 3 Double Diamonds = hand pay for $2,400. Just the type of ending I had hoped for.
And OF COURSE, the lady sitting next to me went on about how she had been playing my machine for
awhile, and was just about to put a $20 in it before I sat down. I told her, well, I'm glad you didn't. [PS - if
anyone reading this has done that before to someone that just hit something - don't pull that shit. It's that
person's moment, not yours. Save your story. Okay, done venting.] Oh, plus that lady was playing .25c
denoms, not $1. So it wouldn't have happened anyways.
After I got my hand pay, I took my remaining credits and went to Monopoly Jackpot Station. A few spins
in, I got the Community Chest bonus, in which I picked the BONUS cards for the Free Spin Bonus. I
turned the left over $45 into $400+. THAT'S IT! Although it's only 9pm, I'm done. It was meant to be, for a
perfect trip report. They weren't getting any of it back. I went to get a Vanilla Gelato to celebrate, then
back up to my room with $2,800 in my pocket. After the beating I took from the Palazzo all week, it was
about time. So I can't bad mouth them now :)
Overall, I had a great time. We had perfect weather in the 80's. The casinos weren't that busy at all,
especially when we arrived on Thurs. My big gaming moments were my handpay & the Golden
Tridents on Mermaids Gold. This was the first trip I didn't have a steak! The Chicken dish at Grand Lux
wins best dish. Glad I got to play some new games we don't have back East yet. The Mirage wins
Joey's Big Win Casino Award for this trip. Okay, now for the photos and videos. ENJOY

DAY 5 - Time to head home!