Cosmopolitan & Bellagio thru 10/2/22

*My apologies for how choppy this report is I cut and pasted, probably badly.

TRAVEL DAY:
It's 5:30 a.m. I am at the airport. A 2 hr. flight on SW and I am in Vegas. Boarding A2 but 5th passenger on the plane. Had my choice of seats. My flight is only half full so no one takes the middle seat. Very nice! I am in the front, window seat.

Last night I spent the night at my local hotel/casino to be closer to the airport for my early flight. I live 1.5 hrs. away from the airport. Since I get rooms comped from my local, I stay there when flying out early. The resort is only 10 minutes from the airport.
Last night I should have skipped staying there though. The resort has a 5000 seat outdoor venue for shows. Last night was a Lynryd Skynyrd concert. It wasn't that I could hear the concert. I couldn't. But it wasn't the quiet, relaxed, a little dinner & some slots, retired crowd that is usually here. Instead the place was overrun with burned out rockers ready to relive their youth. The men's uniform of choice was acid-washed or faded jeans or shorts with their original +30-year-old concert T- shirts from the 60s, 70s and 80s. All black with Skynyrd on them. Who still has 40 & 50 year-old T-shirts?? Skynyrd fans.

The women's clothing requirements apparently include a combination of fringe (at least somewhere on their person or bag); denim mini-skirts (again acid washed or faded), fishnet, tall boots and the occasional fedora hat. All wore heavy black eyeliner. Not a good look on the over 50 crowd but hey, to each their own.

The anthropologist in me did want to study the Skynyrd concert goers in their natural habitat before they are gone forever. I told my husband I should make documentary about their lives and put it on YouTube. He said he wouldn't watch it. Everyone I sat next to or rode the elevator with asked if I was there for the show. Their disappointment was palpable when I said, "No, I am just here to catch an early flight out." They are all just SO DOWN TO PARTY & tell me about when they saw Skynyrd back in their heyday. God, get me out of here! I am in bed by 9:30 and already down on my bankroll. Should not have stayed here.

Arrival:
Touchdown in Vegas. Cosmo driver texted me before I left the plane that he was waiting at baggage claim. When I got there, he wasn't there. Just as the bags start coming out on the carousel, he shows up. Flustered because when he parked, he had an airport employee trying to ticket him for parking in the limo area. He is not technically driving a limo. It's an Escalade...but he said she was new and didn't realize he was a chauffeur. He got it sorted just in time for my bag pick up. Thank goodness because it's 38 lbs. Ooof! I overpacked!

Went to VIP check-in & wasn't surprised when my room wasn't ready. It is early. I requested high as floor as possible and Boulevard tower. Said it was no problem waiting as long as it takes because I have a mani/pedi booked at Sahra Spa. I tipped the desk person to grease the wheels. Went to the Henry and had the Short rib Benedict and smoothie to go. Very good.

Got a text from Rose that my room is ready. Mid high (42 floor) up in the Chelsea Tower. Oh well. It's free so no bitching. 5 nights wraparound terrace suite - FV, definitely not complaining.
Back to VIP to grab my room keys. Same desk clerk. Asks if I got a high floor or not. Not really I say, so he immediately changes it to 68th floor Boulevard Tower. I tipped him again!

Next I hit the salon.
First things first ladies! I went and got my nails done. Toes too. Same color. Classic red for me this time. It was a relaxing day at the salon as I was the only one in there. They said Tuesday's are their slow day.

Played slots this afternoon. No luck winning...or is it no skill? Who knows? But whatever it was, it was bad. No pics for that.

Cosmo does have a few new games on the casino floor. I was happy to see this. I thought they stopped buying new games all together once MGM came into the picture.

Got a bite at Momofuku because...pork belly buns. Yum! Had a delicious yuzu lemonade to drink and a Orange Creamsicle slushie cocktail for dessert.

My host came by on the floor and said hi. That was nice he checked in with me. He usually goes straight to my husband and starts bullshitting. Doesn't really visit with me much because I don't talk about cars, and jeeps, and snowmobiles, etc. like they do.

My husband isn't in Vegas yet. He is flying in on Thursday night. I am doing a slot tournament at Bellagio Fri. & Sat. so he will be here for that; to cheer me on and keep tabs on the money if I happen to win I am sure.
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Now I am back in my room and it's midnight. I am not tired but things went better on the gambling front this session so I decided to quit & not push my luck further.

Tonight was fun! I won 2 majors. I am still down for this trip but that helped a lot. Also, Cosmo is having a "spin the wheel" promotion for freeplay. You get 1 wheel spin after every 6000 Identity points earned. Max of 5 spins per day. I earned 5 spins.

These are the order of my spins: $15, $20, $1000!!!, $15, & $15 in that order. The $1k is the top prize. How lucky is that? So surprised! The Identity counter ladies and I all yelled when the wheel stopped on the $1000. People watching behind me cheered too. Very exciting!
Now hopefully tomorrow I can turn it into something.

DAY 2:
I woke up at 6 a.m. wondering why the fountains are going off this early? I could hear the booms.
It wasn't the fountains. It is thunder and lightning from a storm.
But the fountains are going off too; just slightly though. Only little strips of it at a time are lit up. A malfunction for sure, maybe because the storm?

Breakfast @ The Henry was a California Club omelet. I had an appointment to get my hair colored at 10 a.m. but my hairdresser was running late and pushed it back to 10:30. I was already headed to catch a taxi when I got her text so I turned around and decided to play slots for a bit rather than go back to the room. I won $1950.00! I cashed out and took a taxi to the Town Square shopping center. Went to a Look Style Society and got my hair colored and cut by Desiree. No more gray roots!
I grabbed an Uber back to Cosmo and ate a small lunch at Overlook Grill. Sat outside. It was nice.
Back to the room and changed. And then more gambling. Got a single lonely handpay.

Dinner was at China Poblano. Carnitas Taco and Golden Pigs. It was alright. Just meh. Did not eat it all. Too filling for 1 person. Then more gambling.

DAY 3:
Slept in til 9:40 a.m. Then I went to breakfast at Sadelle's for French Toast. Apparently they thought I would like an entire loaf of bread to eat today! Way too much! The elderly couple next to me were laughing and asked me if that was the french toast?
It was very custardy in the middle, (if custardy is a word?)
I couldn't finish my breakfast but it was delicious. I charged breakfast to my Cosmo room since I didn't have a room # yet at Bellagio.

Guys, the conservatory smells so good! It is not my favorite display but it smells the best of any that I have been to. It made me crave a pumpkin spice latte though.

My room at Bellagio wasn't ready when i checked in at the counter after breakfast. So I gambled for a bit and lost. Within an hour, a text said my room was ready. It is a fountain view king. The desk clerk asked if I would like to upgrade to their special suite reserved for casino guests for an upgrade charge? I asked "How much?" just out of curiosity. She said $1,140.00 for my 3 night stay. I passed. I plan on staying at my Cosmo room anyway as I am double booked. I love those suites they are quieter than Bellagio rooms. The doors are thin there. You can here everone in the hallway.

Okay, I have never had such a low floor for a FV at Bellagio. I am on the 11th floor. I can look right down on the private pools from the villas.

Now I am off. I have to gamble enough to earn a bonus drawing entry for the slot tournament. Wish me luck.

Got my points in for the bonus round at the slot tournament! It was a much better gambling run than anything I've had at Cosmo this week.

This afternoon I went to Sahra Salon and had Lo style my hair to perfection! Afterwards, I did a makeup appt. with the eyelash application. I have never wore fake eyelashes before. They are long! I will see if my husband notices or not! LOL.

He arrives at Cosmo this evening. After he lands, he is headed to the Barbershop at Cosmo for a haircut and shave. Then we meet for dessert. I am thinking Creme Brulee!

I picked up my credentials for the Bellagio slot tournament. There are a lot more participants than is typical for the Cosmo tournaments. Not good odds. It is my first time doing an MGM slot tournament.


So my husband arrived. He did notice my long lashes & right away! Might have to do this more often! I actually got lots of compliments today.

We ate at Blue Ribbon. I forgot to take a picture of the Creme Brulee because I devoured it as soon as I got it.

My husband was super hungry so we also got dinner, not just dessert as planned. Filet mignon and yummy fried chicken with mashed potatoes and mushrooms as our sides. We planned to split everything, but somehow the filet mignon disappeared before I got a bite. Oh well! He said he was hungry. It was very tasty he said. The chicken was excellent.

It is 2:30 a.m. I have worked myself back to even for the trip I think. Thank goodness! It was a long and tiring job for sure. Time for bed.

DAY 4:
Today is pool day. Mmmmmm....Dole whips with rum!

We are back at our cabana at the Cosmo after the slot tournament at Bellagio. The tournament is 4 rounds, 3 today, 1 tomorrow, & you can drop your lowest score. My scores were very mediocre, so no prize for me unless I have a miracle tomorrow. It was fun. They did a wild west theme and had great food. I was impressed. It was a nice spread and well done. I just needed to score higher. I still like Cosmo's format better. There you get to play 10 minutes each round. This was only 3 minute rounds.

We ate dinner at Michael Mina which was excellent. Crispy prawns or something (can't remember the name after cocktails), the best salmon I have ever eaten in my life (from New Zealand) and the famous Lobster Pot Pie. The salmon was my favorite.
Re: "The Lemon" dessert. I won't describe it to you other than to say it was glorious if you love lemon flavor. Not heavy. Very light & delicious. I am in my happy place!

Had very choice table seating.... given because of MGM platinum card I am guessing??? The hostess said "Welcome back!" to me right away, and I have only been there once before this. Apparently they keep records?

I hit a HOT Dancing Drums machine in the Bellagio high limit room after about 10 spins in. ($18 bets, $1 denom.)
Got 3 handpays in less than 40 spins!

Then it went cold. So I walked back to Cosmo flush; but as quickly as possible.

I am now up for my trip!

DAY 5:
My slot tournament score today was my worst score yet.
I will be getting a $250 freeplay consolation prize for losers loaded onto my players card.

So I don't really care if I do another slot tournament at MGM. I was told by a couple people this morning that the same people have won these events multiple times. Sounds suspicious! There are too many people, your odds are not good anyway.

I will do all the Identity/Cosmo ones that are left. They are really fun and your chances are better.

Now we are doing a pool day at Bellagio. I did the reserve seating at the Cypress pool today (+21 & over). Cheers!

Had a great day at the pool!

Gambled a bit at Cosmo after. I was up to $1500 on Triple Diamonds with only a $100 in. Then I went and lost it all on Dragonlink's Autumn Moon like a dumb ass.

Tonight is dinner at Prime, one of my favorites restaurants. It is our last night in Vegas.

Departure:
2 minutes late for my 7 a.m. airport transportation courtesy Cosmo. Not bad considering how hard it was to wake up with just a few hours of sleep. Had a great driver this morning. He was funny.

I will figure out my stats, points, rewards and stuff like that when I get home and don't have brain fog. I did pick up my $600 cash airfare credit for MGM platinum members last night. I have forgotten every other trip.

Got my pumpkin spice cold brew from the airport Starbucks. Had 1 gate change already. Typical Sunday at LAS!

Bye Vegas!

A1& A2 boarding positions on our Southwest flight home but we were the 8th & 9th people to board.
Luckily we were still able to get a front row seat so more leg room for hubby. One side of the plane's front row seats were still available. I took the middle seat and hubby took the aisle. A nice man right behind us took the window. I fell asleep.

Back at home now safe & sound, and exhausted!

So I just looked at the MGM rewards app and good news! I am less of a loser after this Vegas trip than I was before I left
(according to my 2022 MGM win/loss).

My win/loss at MGM properties before this trip was an estimated: -$9,123.03!!!

Now the webpage shows the following:

Total MGM 2022 Estimated Win/Loss
Coin-Out: $111,858.46
Less: Coin-In: $144,762.04
Plus: Jackpots: $31,502.35
Total Estimated Win/Loss: -$1,401.23
(I have zero play at the tables.)

The Dancing Drums handpays made quite a dent!

I will check my Cosmopolitan stats tomorrow. I am sure that I am still up for the year there...even though the gambling was much worse for me at Cosmo than at the Bellagio.

I went to Vegas with $5000. My husband came down with $5000 as well. I had +$14,000.00 when I left. Not sure what my husband had left, if any, but I think he must have been down a lot, if not busted. I can remember that I kept giving him money last night because he kept running low. I did not keep track because it was our last night in Vegas and all.
You know how it goes...Go big or go home! (broke usually) LOL!

Notes:
I don't have Cosmopolitan's folio yet, but
my Bellagio folio came to $874.59. The room was free. It was comped as part of my slot tournament offer.
(No dining credits were included with the slot tournament offer, as food and beverages are provided at the tournament.)

My $874.59 in room charges were for dinner at Michael Mina for two; dinner at Prime for two; and our food & cocktail charges from our Cypress pool day. I charged everything to my room.

My "MGM corporate casino marketing" person that I book with was able to apply some backend comps to my folio. She emailed that my card would be credited back $318.00 in 5-7 days. So my cost at Bellagio was $556.59. Totally worth it!

 

I was unpacking when I realized I brought home the hotel's complimentary shampoo & conditioner bottles once again.
This is a habit that I would like to break. I don't even remember packing them.

I opened the drawer that I throw the travel size shampoo bottles in to put my newest "haul" away. It is completely full. I looks like I am preparing for a shampoo apocalypse!
I promise I am not a hoarder. It's just these small shampoo and conditioner bottles. (Oh, plus the Cosmo's toothbrushes).

Why do I do this???
I bring my own shampoo, conditioner & toothbrush. I don't even use the hotel's products. I don't need more shampoo. I guess I take them because it's "free"????
Anyone else?

 

I put some in my guest bath too.
But I still have so many! I also shampoo my dogs with Five Wits. They always smell great!

 

Just to finish up, all my folio charges at Cosmo were removed from my credit card. My host was able to comp the full amount minus tax & tips.
He may have combined my hubby's comps with mine to do this, but I am not sure. I think he has done that before. (We have separate Identity accounts.)
Plus, I have Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. That gets me a 15% discount at the spa & a $10 dining credit.

 

This is perfect!