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Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!

Los Angeles, CA
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Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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A little background and then I will post the trip report all at once, it is very long and detailed so if that is your thing, enjoy. If not, don't bother, you will probably be bored to death! The hubby and I are your typical Vegas junkies, we mostly go to gamble, drink and let loose a bit. Vegas is our Happy Place, we always have a blast and this trip was no different.

We had gone back and forth on whether we would do a December trip. At first we planned a trip to Ballys with our son for December 26 to 30 to celebrate the boys birthdays, they were going to set us up in a two bedroom suite in the new Jubilee Tower. Then the son had to cancel and we took a trip in October to Harrahs Rincon where we made Diamond so we cancelled and decided we were done for the year. I tried to stick to that but in mid November I unexpectedly get an e-mail offer from Cosmo for four comp nights and $165 Freeplay, within 30 minutes we are booked into a one bedroom fountain view suite Dec. 26 to 30. I hung tough for all of 29 minutes, lol!

Once we are already going I start thinking we should just stay through New Years because the hubby will be turning the big 60 on NYE and we will already be there.....we get offers from CET and then one from Mandalay Bay, no way I can resist that and we are now booked for seven days, four at Cosmo, followed by three at THEhotel at MB. So we go from no more trips to seven days booked, yikes!

We welcomed our long awaited first grandchild this year so Christmas was especially wonderful and then we were on our way. Our gambling budget was much less than usual but I figured it didn't matter as we probably wouldn't get more offers from Cosmo or MB anyway. So the plan was to not spend all day and night in the casino, enjoy our beautiful accommodations and eat a proper dinner every night, do a little shopping and enjoy some of the things we used to do before we became dengerate slot machine addicts.

I am going to have to do two separate reports. The first four days at Cosmo are done but so long I can't put all seven days in one report, no one would get through it all, so I will do a separate TR for New Years at MB. I will post each day separately in this report and then write and post a wrap up. I had fun writing this, loved reliving the trip, if anyone reads the whole thing, thanks!

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1. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Day 1, Thursday

It was the day after Christmas and all through the house there was excitement spreading from me to my spouse. The new grandson had been properly spoiled, the leftovers were in the freezer and the bags were packed. Yes, Santa had been very good to us this year, Grammy and Papa are heading to Vegas Baby!!!

The hubby was determined to put away our yard display before we left so we didn't get on the road until after 10. We drove straight through, the traffic was pretty bad but moving most of the way and we pulled into Cosmo around three. Hubby handled getting our luggage and crap unloaded while I headed to the front desk to check us in. It was a short wait before I was greeted by the FDA, they are always so friendly and helpful here. I had decided to give him a $20 tip upfront, hoping to at least get a high floor this time. I inquired about upgrades to Terrace or Wraparound suites but none were available which I expected as I had checked the website on the way up. He did find me the one bedroom fountain view we booked on the 51st floor of the East Tower and it was ready so I was happy, yea! I asked to have our mini-bar emptied for personal use and told him I was aware of the $25 restocking fee. He was happy to inform me they no longer charge the fee, nice!!

We headed through the casino to the ET elevators and were happy to find our room right next to the elevator. When the hubby was getting ice he found the mini-bar guy in the hall and asked him to come in right away and empty it. We were all surprised when he opened it and it was already empty, great!! It didn't take long for the luggage to arrive and soon we had mixed drinks and were busy unpacking. There are no dresser drawers in the Cosmo rooms but we manage. Hubby uses the large trunk and I use the shelves in the closet and the large drawer in the kitchenette, easy peasy. There is plenty of closet space and lots of other counter space and nooks and crannies if you bring a lot of crap like us.

The one bedroom suites at Cosmo are just awesome and this one is my favorite so far. We were right next to the wraparound on the prime Northeast corner, the view was absolutely stunning. This was the first time we were high enough to see over the casinos to the city beyond, loved it! Next time we would like to go even higher, I think there were another 15 or so floors above us. There is a huge soaking tub right in front of the window overlooking the fountains and Strip and I knew I would be spending a lot of time in there again! The view from the tub was much better than last time but the view from the bed was non-existent due to the positioning if that makes sense. Last time we were next to the Northwest corner of the East Tower and the tub and bed were on opposite walls from this room. No matter, I liked being closer to the Strip, no complaints!!

After unpacking we head over the bridge to Walgreens to buy some more crap, lol! We picked up a six pack of water, some juices and other mixers, cheese sticks and coffee creamer. Only 30 bucks, it really saves $$ when you drive and bring along your own handles of Crown and KetelOne you bought at Costco. We put away the stuff and make fresh drinks, let the vacay begin, yippee!!

I had a MyVegas reward for two free Aria buffets so we head out the door which is a very short walk from our elevators, love the East Tower! Over to Crystals, walk straight through with a slight veer to the right and we are out the door and a few steps from the entrance to Aria, it takes less than five minutes. We head to the MLife desk to redeem the voucher and it only takes a few minutes. They load the buffets on to my MLife card, which is now lowly Sapphire. I show her my expired Platinum card and mention we are thinking of returning to MLife and could I please have a line pass for the buffet. She gets out a business card, writes a note on it and says it is good for four days, great customer service!

We head upstairs to the buffet and are very thankful we got the line pass. The line is huge and there is no way we would have waited in it, as it was we waited at least 15 minutes in the VIP line. The buffet was absolutely packed, interestingly with at least 95% Oriental people, not a negative in any way of course, just an observation. I am not sure if it was because of the holiday or the venue but it was a bit surprising. They were not well equipped for the crowd either, guess they were surprised too, lol! When we inquired about drinks the waitress practically begged us not to order one, she said it would take at least 20 minutes at the bar. I still had some of the drink we brought from the room so I told the hubby to go ahead and I would relax with my drink for a bit.

He returns with the obligatory plate of crab legs and shrimp, the crab legs look pretty shrimpy to me but he is happy. I take a cruise to check out the offerings and find absolutely nothing I can get excited about. I think I end up with a slice of turkey leg, they had an extensive carving station with prime rib, pork loin, chicken, turkey and at least a couple of other offerings. The server tried to give me an entire turkey leg, oh my, do people really eat all that? I get a small slice with a scoop of mashed potatoes, some rice and green beans and I am set! The hubby heads out again and comes back with a plate piled high with God knows what but he has a big smile on his face, lol!

My food is just not good so I pick at it for a bit, wishing it was the weekend with the free wine so I could drink my dinner. They don't give away weekend buffets on MyVegas, oh well. I check out the hubby and he looks quite satisfied which is the reason we are here so the buffet is a success. I remember the Aria desserts are the best part of their buffet so I plan to load up since I hadn't eaten much so far. What a disappointment, no creme brûlée, how can that be? I get a few other things and they all suck, seriously. Overall I would best describe the Aria buffet as God awful but the hubby would say it was great. I don't like buffets and he loves them so there you go. The ticket said it would have been $95, no way in hell it was worth that but for free, well worth it, lol!

Time to move on! We retrace our steps and within 10 minutes we are back in our room making fresh drinks. I make mine in my large Dodger sippy cup because we are going on a mission and the cup is easier to carry around. I am drinking one of my Red Cup Specials, KetelOne, diet pomegranate cranberry juice and Trop50 red orange juice, very tasty, if I do say so myself! The hubby wants to find a Sbarros that serves breakfast so he can pick up his favorite breakfast sandwiches in the morning. I had heard there is a Sbarros in the food court at Ballys so we headed over the bridge, North on the Strip just a bit and into Paris. We walked through the Paris casino and the walkway to Ballys to find the food court downstairs in the back of Ballys. Yes, they do have Sbarros and I am assured they will be serving the desired breakfast strombolies in the morning, mission accomplished!!

Now onto my mission! We had made Diamond with CET for the first time during our October trip to Harrahs Rincon and I was determined to experience my first Vegas Diamond lounge. I say we made Diamond because the hubby and I both play on my players card at all the casinos. We inquire and there is a Diamond lounge in Paris for both Ballys and Paris. It is off the casino, near the lobby and quite nice. My card is swiped by the hostess and we are in, yea!! We head straight for the bar and I ask the bartender, Chris if I remember correctly, for a nice fruity, but not too sweet KetelOne martini, he says no problem. Oh my gosh, that was the best martini of the trip by far, totally yummy and strong! The hubby gets the usual Crown Royal and we relax at the bar and enjoy our drinks. The room is large with lots of tables and there is a waitress for drink service. We like to sit at the bar and chat with the bartender and Chris is great!

We finish our drinks and ask Chris for another round for the road, we had things to do, like gambling, lol!!! He noticed my big sippy cup sitting on the bar and asks me if I want him to make my drink in my giant cup, hell yes!! The drink was just as good as the first but three times as big and even stronger, I sipped on that thing almost all night! I leave a $10 tip, should it have been $20? Hubby said $10 was enough but I would have rather tipped more. I LOVED the Diamond Lounge and can't wait to take advantage of this perk when we stay at Caesars in March.

Ok, we have been in Vegas for several hours now and haven't gambled yet? WTH? This must be a record! We walk back to the Cosmo feeling buzzed and happy from our Diamond Lounge drinks. We have $165 Freeplay with our offer so we start with that. We choose two different Lil Red machines, she is our favorite and usually pays pretty steady so should be a good bet for converting Freeplay. We load $100 FP on the first LR and the $65 plus $20 cash on the second. We cash out $88 from the first one and $69 from the second. We split up with me taking the $88 and hubby taking the $69 and I think we each had another hundo or two for the evening.

We slotted around for a while, I think I played more LR and maybe Spartacus, whatever it was, must not have been memorable, lol! The hubby loses or just gets tired and heads to the room wishing me good luck. I am having fun and polishing off my drink. I remember putting my $88 TITO in a $1 two coin Wheel Of Fortune and not only did I not get a bonus, I only got one mixed bar before the ticket was gone, five minutes or less! I have another $60 or so which I lose quickly in some random quarter three reel slot and now I am pi$$ed, this is definitely my weak spot. I am cruising along having fun, if not winning, when the bottom falls out super quickly, I have a really hard time giving up. I think for a minute about heading to the room but then hit the ATM for $200 and order a fresh drink for my sippy cup, when in Rome, right?

I decide to look for my go to machine when I hit the rocks, Quick Hits. They have three banks of them in the front part of the Cosmo casino, between the Cashier and Bond Bar. Wow, it is happening up here with music from Bond and I think this might be just what the gambling doctor ordered for my ailment! I put in the first hundo and it isn't too long before I hit a bonus, and another, and another, thank you Quick Hits!! Nothing super big but I get it over $200 and play it for a long time before cashing out at $200. I deposit the TITO in my purse and play another Quick Hits with my other hundo. I play for quite a while, order another drink but eventually lose and I am now ready to head to my beautiful room, I am totally satisfied and relieved I still have my ATM $200, no harm, no foul, lol!

I get to the room around two, enjoy a glass of Chardonnay on the balcony for a nightcap and hit the hay. Awesome first day in the books!

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2. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Day 2, Friday

I wake up briefly around 7:30, the hubby is up, dressed and about to head out on his Sbarros mission. I roll over and go back to sleep for a bit. When I do get up the hubby is still not back. I grab my robe, fire up the mini Keurig we brought from home and head to the balcony. This is my absolute favorite thing about staying at Cosmo, sipping coffee in my robe on my balcony, even better if I can enjoy it by myself. It is quiet and I love just sitting in solitude, soaking in the view and appreciating my good fortune to be waking up in the best place in Vegas, pure bliss!!

As I go in for my second cup the hubby finally returns. I thought he had decided to take one of his long early morning strolls but he says there was a hassle getting the strombolies. The Sbarros was just opening when he got there and they hadn't made them yet. The manager made four of them special order for the hubby but it took 30 minutes and he said it was a drag getting in and out of Ballys. They have begun construction on the Bazaar they are building out front so the entire area is a construction zone. Plus the hubby does get lost in Vegas without me leading the way, lol!

The strombolies are fresh and especially delicious, thanks hubby! I ask if he is in a hurry to go anywhere and he isn't so I start the water in the tub and pop the champagne. The water pressure is incredible and the tub fills super fast and before you know it I am soaking and sipping my bubbly and taking in a fountain show or two. Double bliss and a perfect cure for my mild hangover, life is good and getting even better!!

I am refreshed from my soak and champagne so we head out on the next mission, Christmas shopping! We were so busy getting ready for Christmas with our first grandchild we never had time to shop for each other so we decided to just wait until we got to Vegas, plus we considered the trip as part of our present to ourselves. We head over to Caesars and the Forum Shops, first stop the Apple Store for the hubby's birthday present a few days early. He got his IPad, he had bought mine for me at the same store during my birthday trip to Caesars in August 2012. We really like this Apple Store and they do a good job of getting him all set up, he is a happy man!

Next we hit the Brighton Store for my Christmas present. I get a necklace and three pairs of earrings, love them all, thanks hubby!!! Man, aren't those Brighton sales ladies hard core? This one pounces on me right away but I back her off for a bit because I know my Brighton, am definitely going to buy but don't need her input or pressure. She backs off but keeps her eye on me and when I am finished picking out my stuff I turn to look for her and this other sales lady asks me if I am ready to check out. Before I could get a word out the original lady about knocks the second one to the floor pushing her out of the way, "I am helping her!" Yikes, ok, no need for a throw down right here in the middle of the store! She whips out her phone with a credit card Square, rings me up, bags my jewelry and I run for the exit before anyone gets hurt!

We putz around for a while in the mall but nothing strikes our eye and we head back to Cosmo. I am not able to walk by my lucky Quick Hits machine without slipping it a hundo so we make a pit stop on the way to the room. Bam! Another $200 TITO, I love you Quick Hits ATM! When we get to the room I help hubby load some slot machine apps on his new IPad, including MyVegas and he is a happy camper. We have a couple of drinks and I get somewhat gussied up for the evening, it's Friday night in Vegas baby!!

I have a Groupon for Pampas Brazilian Grill in the Miracle Mile Shops so I suggest we go there for dinner. I was determined to make sure we ate a proper dinner every night, no realizing at midnight we forgot to eat and hitting the food court this trip! I paid $65 for the Groupon, it included two surf and turf dinners, two specialty drinks and a dessert. I was aware of the Brazilian steakhouse concept which I thought the hubby would enjoy but was also aware this was not a very highly rated one but it is across the street from Cosmo and cheap with the Groupon so I figured it was worth a try.

We get there around 6:30 and it is busy but there is no wait. We ask to be seated near the front and they put us in the bar and we are fine with that. We wanted to be on the patio in front of the bar but those tables were already reserved. The hubby ordered his usual Crown Royal and I would get the specialty drinks. I started with the Caipirinha as I had heard of them but never tasted one. It was good, a bit too sweet for me and not strong enough, big surprise there, lol! We relaxed for a bit with our drinks and then headed to the buffet/salad bar for our salad and sides. The usual for me, saw nothing that interested me so got some mashed potatoes but the hubby loaded up with a few things. When we got back to the table we turned our little sign from red to green, let the meat fest begin!!!

The servers started coming by right away, first dropping off a plate of salmon and some other fish, guess this was the surf! The salmon was nasty so I didn't even try the other, hubby came for the turf and had no interest in the surf. The meat just kept coming and coming, pork, lamb, chicken and lots and lots of beef. The servers walk around with large skewers of meat and if your sign is green for go they stop at your table and slice off a piece for you. I had read in some reviews that they didn't come by often enough but we didn't have that problem, there was more offered than even the hubby could possibly eat.

The meat was ok, definitely some were better than others and at the end there were some very tasty cuts of beef but by then we were both quite stuffed. If we were more familiar with the place we would have saved more room for the good stuff. The grilled shrimps were small but quite tasty, I enjoyed those. As a qualifier the hubby is a grill master so we are used to eating quality meat cooked to perfection which is why many of the offerings were disappointing. I ordered some sort of strawberry margarita for my second drink, should have stuck with the Caipirinha, the Margarita was way too sweet and weak, couldn't drink it, my mistake! We ordered cheesecake for dessert, yuck, couldn't eat that either, lol!

Ok, this now sounds like a horrible dinner but it really wasn't, we enjoyed it. It was fun and different and we certainly didn't leave hungry. The service was excellent, our waiter was great and the price was just right at half price! Our bill for two Crown Royals was $15 plus $30 tip so just over $100 with the pre-paid Groupon, it was worth that for sure. We stop by Walgreens on the way back to Cosmo for what crap I can't remember, probably water. When I go to pay I realize I left my VISA Card at the restaurant so I send hubby to the room with the water and I head back to Pampas to retrieve my card. The place is packed now with tons of people waiting for a table, wow, I hope they have a Groupon! It takes a while but they have my card and get the manager to get it out of the safe. He checks my ID and I assure him it was my mistake and not the waiter's, great service all around!

Back in the room we mix some drinks and head to the casino. Might as well try my ATM Quick Hits so we can avoid the real ATM! It is available and I don't want to be a hog so I suggest the hubby give her a whirl and I play the machine next to it. Mine sucks but hubby gets the ATM going right away. I lose my hundo but stick around to cheer on hubby. He gets a good bonus and then hits 7 or 8 Quick Hits and he is over $400, yea! He plays it down to $400 and cashes out. We slotted around for a bit, he was doing ok but I was totally sucking and he decides he is feeling lucky so wants to hit the Blackjack table.

Hubby plays only the $25 tables which is too rich for my blood. I am not feeling the slots so tag along to watch which he likes me to do anyway. We find an empty table so I can sit down even though I am not playing. The dealer is nice and the hubby does ok, pretty much breaking even for a while, then he gets hot. He bought in for $200 and he keeps trying to give me chips to play but I am just not feeling it. He goes on a nice winning streak and after tipping the dealer cashes out $450, good job hubby!! He hands me $100 of his winnings and wishes me good luck, he is happily done and heading to the room. I actually do fairly well and last for quite a while, finally losing on Lil Red and make it back to the room before midnight.

The drink service had been excellent as usual so I was feeling good but not totally hammered, whew! A nightcap of Chardonnay on the balcony and another great day is in books!

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3. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Day 3, Saturday

We woke up refreshed around 8, enjoyed some coffee on the balcony before heating up our leftover Sbarro's breakfast in the microwave. The hubby paid $30 for the four sandwiches, not bad at all for two breakfasts! Today we plan to take a long walk up the Strip and we are off to an early start, great! I grabbed a sweater because it seemed cool on the balcony but when we walked out on the street it was beautiful so I quickly ran back to the room to drop the sweater. I love staying in the East Tower, it's not five miles from the street to your room.

We stayed on the West side of Strip due to all the construction on the a East side. It was absolutely gorgeous, bright sunshine with a temp in the mid 60s, perfect! We walked north and when we got by the Forum Shops there were the regular cast of a Characters but there was a guy with a little white dog I had never seen before. The dog was dressed in a complete Santa suit with scarf, hat and cool sunglasses. The dog was super cool and would stand on two legs next to the guy on the ledge he was sitting on, totally still and perfectly posed. We stopped and watched for a bit, the guy had a large fan he would snap open in front of the dog so you couldn't take it's picture while at the same time shaking his donation bucket.

The fan made a loud snapping sound too and I found the scene totally hysterical and the dog so cool I just had to get a pic with it. We didn't want to get the fan snapped at us so hubby dropped a couple of bucks in the bucket. The man was well dressed and respectable looking and the dog looked very well cared for so I didn't feel bad for it, really no different than the animals in the shows. You just never know what you are going to see, there were two Alan from Hangover characters and one had no pants, just his BVDs, lol!

We walked as far North as the Fashion Show Mall but didn't go in, don't really like that Mall, way too big and we always get lost. We crossed over, walked in front of Wynn then crossed the bridge to Palazzo. We went into Palazzo because I wanted to go to their smoke shop to see if I could find a hookah pen to replace the one I lost in the casino the night before. I am a light smoker at home but I smoke a lot in Vegas while sitting at the slots and it always makes me feel like crap by the third day so I bought a hookah pen a while back and I like it. I brought some cigs with me but was using the pen about half the time so I was bummed I lost it. The gal said they no longer carry the pens but she thought they still had them in their store in the Grand Canal Shops so we head there but they don't have one either, bummer!

We strolled through the mall and into Venetian and I decide we should play for a bit and hopefully get a cocktail or two. We used to stay at Palazzo a lot and loved it but they really pulled back on their offers a couple of years ago. Last year I started getting them again but I didn't use them and they stopped. I think maybe if I let them know I am alive maybe they will invite me back. We sit at a pair of original Goldfish machines near the Sportsbook. Wow, they have redone the Sportsbook and it is totally awesome, really first class, the hubby is very impressed! We play for a long time on $40 each and enjoy a couple of rounds of drinks, overall a nice pitstop!

We check out the Walgreens and it is totally redone also and very nice, by far the best one on the Strip I think. Very bright and clean and they seem to have everything, including lots of food and grocery items. But they don't have a hookah pen so I buy a Blue E cig which I end up not liking at all, oh well.

We cross back over the Strip and head South, we stop at Rhumbar in the Mirage, love this place and the weather is perfect, we find a nice table in the sun. I have a $20 Groupon for two tropical drinks in souvenir insulated cups and we love our over sized sippy cups, lol!! We both get Mai tais, they are delicious and strong and the cups are bright lime green, very cool! We tip the waitress five bucks and we are on our way again, cups in hand, another great deal!!

My phone rings, it is my friend S. She and her husband were supposed to be in town for a couple of days over NYE but now had to cancel. They were thinking of driving up this afternoon to take us out to dinner tonight for hubby's birthday since they were not going going to be here NYE. I tried to insist they didn't need to do that but they wanted to so great, looking forward to it!! She said she would text me when they got to the Rio where they would be staying. We always have a blast with C and S, this was gonna be a fun night!

When we get back to Cosmo we play around for a bit. I try Willy Wonka, if you get the bonus it is so much fun with the surround sound and motion seat. That is a big IF, no bonus for me! We try our trusty ATM Quick Hit, no dice!! Lil Red, what a b****h!! The hubby heads to the room for a nap but I order a drink and think maybe I can get something going. I end up making another stealth $200 attack on the real ATM, damn mai tai, it was your fault I swear!!

I get to the room and think a champagne soak is in order, why stop drinking now? It is perfect, the fountains seem like they are going off every five minutes. Between the balcony, fountain view tub and location I think the Cosmo is my favorite hotel in Vegas. Since we are getting more play on the slots than expected maybe they will invite us back, things are looking up!!! After my soak I shower, do a full hair and make-up job and find a sparkly top and heeled boots in the closet, all the while polishing off the bottle of champagne, things are looking way up!!! I get a call from S and tell her we'll come over to Rio as they had already done a three hour drive to see us. I check myself out in the full length mirror, "You are looking marvelous my dear!" It's the champagne talking of course but I don't think that matters, let the fun begin!!

It is a short cab ride to Rio and soon we find S and C playing a VP machine, it is a $1 multi hand so $12 a push, pretty exciting! We watch for a bit and order some drinks. Their machine craps out so we play around on different machines, they all played VP, including hubby but I stuck to my slots. We hadn't been in Rio for a long time and couldn't help but notice it was getting more than a bit shabby, pretty much the same could be said about the clientele too, lol! Oops! Did I just say that?! When we decided to extend our trip through New Years we first booked an offer for Rio because C and S were supposed to be there and we had no interest in being in the madhouse of center Strip, our other CET NYE offer was for Paris. Then we unexpectedly got an offer from MB and decided to ring in the New a year and hubby's 60th there. Right now we are so grateful we made the switch!

C and S are Diamond players also but much higher than us, they go at least once a month and Rio is their home casino, they have a host there that treats them very well. We play and have a few drinks, I do like the drink service, they use IPads to place the order and it's fast, probably doesn't hurt that we are tipping well also. The hubby and I are having terrible luck though so we are even more happy we cancelled our reservation. We are all getting hungry and C asks us if we would like to eat at the Voodoo Steakhouse. Well yeah, that would be awesome!! We head up to the 60 something floor and C tells the hostess we are both Diamond members and could we get seated right away? No problem, they weren't that busy anyway.

They seated us at a table by the window, the view looked out over the whole city, just beautiful!! I order a KetelOne Lemon Drop, hubby gets the usual Crown and C picks out a nice glass of Chardonnay for S, he doesn't drink with dinner. My LD is excellent and S enjoys her wine. We order the large seafood sampler appetizer to share and when they bring it out it is amazing!! There are large shrimp, crab claws, oysters on the half shell, two small lobster tails and two vodka shots with raw oysters in the bottom of the shot glasses, oh my! C says the boys will eat the half shells and the shots are for the ladies, really? Hmmmm, that oyster looks kinda nasty, on the other hand the vodka will probably go down easy....WTH? Down the hatch! S has no choice now so has to shoot hers down. It was fun and I got a little thrill from the deal, not bad for an old broad like me! The hubby looks at me and I think he realizes it's gonna be one of those nights!

Because S and I did the shots we got the lobster tails, yum! Everything was delicious and so were our entrees. The hubby and C got rib eyes and S got the sea bass. I ordered a coconut shrimp appetizer for my entree and everyone was super happy with their choice. We ordered some sides too but I just can't remember them, things are starting to get fuzzy, I think the shot and martini might have something to do with that, not to mention everything else I had drank that day. Service was top notch also, thanks S and C for an absolutely fantastic birthday dinner, you guys are the best!!!

We head back down to the casino and decide we will go together on some slots. C has a particular slot he wanted to play that he had won $3000 on before. It was called Whale Song I think, had lots of whales tails in it anyway. We each put in a $20 and at first it is not doing much of anything and then we get the bonus. C gets excited and we hit the mini progressive for $250, cool! C immediately cashes out the $320 TITO, what next? I suggest Quick Hits, we find one and insert the TITO. I notice the machine looks old and shabby like rest of the Rio and darn if it doesn't spin in semi slow motion. Ok, so sometimes you don't get the hits but your Quick Hits machine should at least be quick for Gods sake! Should have pulled the ticket right then but we are all settled in and had just placed a fresh drink order. Of course you know the result, down to $200 and no bonus, grrrr.... Isn't it always that way when you want to show someone your favorite machine and tell them how fun the bonuses are?

C and S want to go back to the multi hand VP machine they were playing earlier and our ticket was gone pretty fast at $12 a push, sure would have been nice to hit it big though! I felt better about my Quick Hit choice since their choice was just as bad, whew! It is now almost midnight and C is about ready for bed so we thank them again for the dinner and say our good nights. We also make plans for them to come over to Cosmo the next day and hang for a while before they head home. We are at first distressed to find a huge taxi line before I remember my trusty Diamond card and we are in the next taxi, nice!

We had at least three rounds of drinks in the casino after dinner so the hubby and I are feeling no pain when we walk back into Cosmo. We both want to play right away so I make a beeline for Lil Red and he is off to Lord Of The Rings. I am hanging in there but the hubby reappears pretty quick, guess LOTR was not very magical tonight, lol! We slotted around for a while, enjoying a beverage or two. Boy, it is so much nicer in here than Rio and the cocktails are way better!

It is getting late and I am thinking the hubby is going to abandon me for bed any minute and I am not sure I should be left to my own devices at this point. He surprises me by suggesting we hit the $5 Double Diamond with our lucky hundos my mom had given us. Mom always give each of us $100 whenever we go on a gambling trip and we always play it together in a $5 Double Diamond slot. These are old school three reel slots that we have been playing for decades. They are two coin machines and we like them because when we play $5 ones we can spin one coin as every win pays exactly half for one coin. Ok, so off to the room to get the lucky hundos, probably made a drink too, we're hopeless!

We head to the High Limit room and find the Double Diamond and the hubby is determined and adds another hundo from his stash so we start with $300. We start slow, getting a few cherries and mixed bars but it is going down when we hit a DD with double bars for 50 credits, cool! We are now over $350 and feeling good! It goes on this way for a long time, we get low and then hit something good and get it back to $300, including another DD with double bars. We get at least one round of tasty drinks and eventually we lose it all, darn, really thought we were going to get that hand-pay. Some day it will happen!!! We also never got it over $400 so never thought about cashing out, we would have for sure if we got it to $500. We had a blast though and probably got a lot of points so not a total loss.

Amazingly the hubby wants to keep going so we head to the Quick Hits up front. It is well into the wee hours by now, probably later than the hubby has ever stayed out. We couldn't be in a better place, the hubby is having fun watching all the crazy drunk people in the Bond Bar and walking through the casino. I actually don't remember that much about it but he is still talking about it, lol! I don't remember much at all about our last hour or so but I am almost positive we didn't win. I do remember we got back to the room at 4 and the hubby was so proud of himself. "I kept up with you tonight, babe!" "Good job sweetie!" And we collapse into bed, what a great day, Viva Las Vegas!!!

Los Angeles, CA
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4. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Day 4, Sunday

We woke up around 9 or 10 feeling very rough around the edges, ugh! I fired up the Keurig and we hoped coffee on our balcony would get us going, not so much! After laying around for a while licking our wounds I suggested we try the hidden pizza place for a nice greasy hangover cure. I thought it opened at 11, we got there a few minutes before and the door was locked across the secret hallway. We wandered around for a bit on the third floor and when we checked again the passage way was open, yea, relief in sight!!

We ordered enough to cover a quick breakfast on the balcony tomorrow before packing and moving on to the next adventure. I ordered two slices of the white pizza and the hubby got two combo slices and a plain cheese slice, it was $30 and I added a $5 tip. We took the haul up to the room and enjoyed the greasy gooey cheese fest on our balcony while enjoying a fountain show, perfect! Feeling better but still ragged we decided a walk was was just what the hangover doctor ordered!

We weren't sure what time C and S would show up so we planned a circular route that would not take us too far from home base. We walked up the Bellagio drive and entered by the registration desk. We wanted to see the Christmas display so we headed to the Conservatory, big mistake! It was so packed in there it was miserable, it was so bad we had trouble getting out. For a minute there I thought I might start hyperventilating but we did finally make it out, whew! Here's a tip: don't go to the Bellagio Conservatory the Sunday between Christmas and New Years, especially with a severe hangover, yikes!

We kept walking, past Jean Phillipe, there were a lot of people sitting at the tables and chairs along the corridor enjoying pastries and coffee. Past the monorail station and out the back door to the covered walkway to Vdara, through Vdara and over the bridge to Aria. I still really like Aria, make a note we need to stay here again some day. We walk through Aria to Crystals and then over the bridge to Walgreens for a water run. It felt good to get out and about and this route is especially nice if it is hot or raining as it is mostly inside. It was so gorgeous outside we would have preferred the Strip but didn't want to miss our friends.

When we got back to our room the maid was just getting started, drat! I called every morning before we headed out to request housekeeping and it was always spotless when we returned, we just didn't give them enough time this morning. I would recommend doing this at Cosmo if you like your room serviced early in the day. We hate returning to a dirty room and we often shower twice a day so need fresh towels.

We dropped the water in the room and got out of her way, what to do? We wandered the casino a bit but nothing jumped in front of us yelling "play me!" I swear this does happen sometimes, lol! I decide we should hang at the Chandelier Bar and get a couple of nice drinks rather than throwing another 40 or 60 bucks down the drain for a so called free cocktail. I asked the bartender to make me a nice fruity KetelOne martini but not too sweet, mix me up one of his specialties, all the Chandelier bartenders do this, right? Well, this one looked a bit lost so I suggested the raspberry lemon drop made with some nice muddled berries. I watched him squish the berries and add a tiny bit of what I presumed was simple syrup, he dumped it in shaker with a very strong pour of Kettle One. When he slid it over he asked me to let him know if it was ok, it tasted like firewater, I almost choked! He looked anxious so I didn't have the heart to tell him it sucked so I said it was good and he looked very pleased.

The hubby ordered a mai tai and watching him make that was even more interesting. He put several different liquers in it, mostly rums, but no juice. When he handed it over it was a creamy white color with a dark rum float and was in a simple small cocktail glass with no garnishes or anything remotely fruity or tropical, WTH? Ok, so here we sit in Cosmo's signature fancy pants bar with expensive horrible tasting cocktails, did we complain? Hell no, the drinks were super strong, we would choke them down somehow, no complaints, cheers!

It actually worked out well as it took us quite a while to get them down, I'm telling you they were nasty! We chatted a bit with the bartender and this guy was just strange, not friendly but not rude either. The word I think best describes him would be awkward, he was at the tail end of his shift so maybe he had just mentally checked out early, $33 plus $5 tip.

We finally finished our drinks and now I am quite buzzed, hangover cured, thanks awkward bartender dude, no wonder they tasted like medicine! By now our room is surely clean and the hubby is ready for a nap, we have given up on C and S, they must have decided to head home early. I am feeling pretty good and ready for action so I decide to hit the slots while hubby naps. As he is leaving I get my ATM card out of my wallet and hand it to him. He looks at it and asks what's this for? I tell him he better hang on to it as I had already gone on two stealth ATM excursions and no longer trusted myself if alcohol and slot machines are involved. Hubby, "WTH?!!" Me, "Oops, sorry, it was only $200 each time!" Oh well, he got over it but I made sure he kept the card!

I decide I need a drink so go with hubby to the room to make one of my Red Cup Specials. I am just about to head back out and the hubby is settling on the couch for his snoozle when my phone starts buzzing, it's S and they are in a cab on the way to Cosmo. So much for your nap sweetie, no rest for the wicked! He makes himself a drink and we are off to meet our friends. We find them at the Identity desk picking up new cards and we decide to play slots together.

We try a Willy Wonka first and each put in a $20. I tell S to sit in the seat so she can experience the fun ride when we hopefully get a bonus. C insists we play max bet in case we hit the 300K progressive, I think the chances of getting struck by lightening in the middle of the casino are better! At $4 a spin the first round of $20s are gone in a couple of minutes so we try another round with equal results. C gets frustrated and throws in a couple more before we have to admit defeat, grrrrr! Sorry S, the bonuses are really cool I swear!

We decide to take over a bank of Lil Red/Spartacus machines so we each have our own. The hubby and I pick Lil Reds, C is on Spartacus and S plays a dragon themed one. They are all the same deal with the two games that transfer full rows of wilds from the first to second game. This works out to be a lot more fun as most of the time at least one of us is doing well and you can bet what you want. I started at max, $2.50 but dropped down to $1.50 when I got off to a slow start. It was really fun, cheering each other on when we hit something and sympathizing when the machine would tease with almost wins and bonuses. Drink service was excellent, I had several Cosmos on the rocks, very tasty and my hangover is now in full remission, cool!

We played for a long time, up and down for the most part, C was next to me and was down $200 before he won it all back and cashed out. I finally lost my $100 but S won $100, hubby was on the other side of S and he was sucking the whole time, evidently he kept feeding the machine and was down two or three hundos and completely dry, oopsie! The hubby and C see The Lord Of the Rings they had wanted to play together was now open so they grabbed the seat. I had to make an ATM excursion for the hubby with his card, see dear, it is easy to get carried away, I understand, he-he! TLOTR is not any kinder than Willy, I think I am done with these exotic machines, they are all money suckers, I'll just stick to my Lil Red and Quick Hits, like that will make a difference, lol!

We are all hungry so I suggest Holsteins and we head there, it is around 3:30 and the wait is only 15 minutes, not bad. C and S had not eaten here before so I was excited to initiate them, we love Holsteins! C got one of the famous Fat Boy shakes and loved it and we ordered the Car Bombs and Lobster Mac N Cheese appetizers. The Mac N Cheese was wonderful as always and they like the Car Bombs, way too spicy for the hubby and me. C actually hurt himself with the jalapeño bomb, guess it must have been super hot so beware of that one! Hubby gets the Nom Nom burger and C and S get Nom Nom and El Machete burgers which they split so they can taste each one. I ordered the Crispy Pork Sliders which are not as good as I remembered, only disappointment of the meal. Everything else was fabulously yummy, including the onion rings and fries. C and S loved everything too and we had so much fun, we were all buzzing and laughing, it was a blast! With two glasses of bubbly and two Crown Royals the check was $158 plus $30 tip. We picked it up of course and I am sure it was way less than dinner the night before. I was so happy we were able to return the favor as they really enjoyed the meal.

They were ready to head back to the Rio for a nap before the drive home so we walked them to the taxi stand. What a fun day we had, along with the great dinner last night, thanks C and S!! We will see you in March in Mesquite for the golf excursion which we will finish up with a couple of nights at Caesars, can't wait!!!

It is around 5:30 and the hubby is done for the day so I walk to the room with him and pour a glass of wine as I am slowing down but definitely not done, lol! The hubby, as always, encourages me to give it one last go, he is such a bad influence, we are not going to have much cash left for MB, oh well. I grab a hundo out of my stash and he gives me one of his, top off my wine and I am off!!!

Where to go? My Quick Hit ATM of course! I put in the first hundo and within a couple of minutes I hit a bonus and it is a good one, at least 15 X 2, maybe even 20 X 2 or 3, can't remember for sure. I do remember a large number of Quick Hits and the bonus is worth over $350, you really are my ATM, yippee!! I have just over $500 so I play it down to $400 which takes quite a while. While I am playing I notice my machine says I am now earning 2X points and I have no idea why so after I cash out I head to the Identity desk to find out what's up. I hand him my card, he looks up my info and says "Congrats, you made Gold!" Cool, I wasn't even trying, lol!

I looked it up later and I think it takes about the same amount of coin in as it does. to make Diamond with CET when you deduct the CET bonuses. Unless I am missing something it is $3 per point and it takes 20,000 points to make Identity Gold which is $60,000 coin in. We somehow managed to do this on two trips for a total of seven days with a fairly limited budget. It took way more time, $$ and effort to make Diamond with CET that's for sure, I am definitely a degenerate gambler!

With the $400 TITO tucked in my purse for safekeeping I put my last hundo in a different Quick Hits. I do ok, get several bonuses but eventually it is gone. I find another Quick Hits to burn off the Freeplay I had earned this trip, around 120 bucks. I wanted to go back to my ATMQH but it was occupied, darn! I didn't win so it is now time to say goodbye to the Cosmo casino, what a great time we have had! I did not cash out my TITO, I know myself too well, if I broke it into hundos, I know I would have headed back down with at least one of them. I had ordered another glass of wine or two in the casino so I am feeling quite relaxed and happy when I walk in the room and proudly show the hubby my $400 ticket, yea!

I think it is around 7:30 so this is just perfect, we spend the evening relaxing in our beautiful room, enjoying our view and balcony. We really lucked out with the weather too, it was fantastic every day, not cold at all, perfect balcony weather for sure. We were able to leave our door open at night for the fresh air which we love to do. The hubby points out a guy on the corner of the Strip in front of the fountains, he is holding a gigantic bible and is preaching with a bullhorn, evidentially there are a lot of people in Vegas who are going to burn in Hell if they don't repent now, really?! The hubby says the preacher has been going at it the whole time I was gone and he went on for hours. At first it was pretty funny but it eventually got annoying and we finally had to shut the door when we went to sleep so no fresh air on our last night, damn preacher man, oops, hope I don't burn in Hell!

We are in bed early so we wake up refreshed and energized for our next adventure. Three days, including NYE at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay where we are also celebrating the hubby's big 60, we are ready!!! We eat our leftover pizza breakfast and pack up all our crap. It is a hassle to move but at least we will be down two bags for the next check in, one for dirty clothes and one for crap we won't need that we will leave in the car, whew! I check out in the VIP room, there were a few erroneous mini-bar charges but they took these off, no problem. Service was slow in the VIP room though, I think it is easier to just use the regular check out.

Back in the room we call for the bellhop, it takes 15 minutes or so but he walks our stuff all the way to valet with us, handles getting our car and loaded the luggage. He was a very friendly chap as is pretty much everyone we encounter at Cosmo. Tip the bellhop $15 and we are off, thanks Cosmo for another great time, you have never disappointed!

Los Angeles, CA
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5. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Ok whew, that all transferred over nicely, I am so much better on my IPad than I ever was my desktop computer. After being home for a couple of weeks I can say unequivocally that the Cosmo is my absolute favorite place to stay in Vegas. It is perfect for us because it is upscale without being pretentious and we feel very comfortable there. The kids are no problem for us, I rarely even notice them. We just like that everything is so casual and comfortable and the balcony, view, kitchenette and location put it completely over the top!

The only problem we had is after we got home there was an extra $140 charge to my credit card the day after we checked out. I e-mailed my host and told her they probably mistakenly charged us for all the items in the empty mini-bar. I was correct so she disputed the charges for us but my card has not been credited as yet so I may have to contact her again. I will get it resolved but wish now they would have just charged me the $25 restocking fee and I'd be done with it.

She also informed me me we have a new offer for four nights comp, $295 Freeplay and $50 dining credit, yippee! We won't be able to use it before it expires the end of April but hopefully it will renew. I am thinking October is perfect balcony weather, can't wait to go back! Thanks to anyone that got through the report, I will start on the next chapter now. NYE and a big birthday in Vegas, what more could you ask for?

philly
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6. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Great TR!

Edited: 10 years ago
ireland
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7. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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I've read it all! Great TR! Looking forward to the next installment!

Dallas
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8. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Wow, I enjoyed your report. Every time I read a Cosmo TR, I want to stay there. Hoping we can swing it for DH's 40th in December! Looking forward to hearing the rest.

Calgary
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9. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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Loved your trip report. I've never stayed at Cosmo but have visited friends who have had that fantastic balcony view and it is really, really nice. Happy to hear you won a little money on the slots - we all need that. Am looking forward to a slice of white when we go in February.

Keep on typing the next installment.

New Jersey
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10. Re: Trip Report, After Christmas Cheer At The Cosmo!
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I love you.

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