Headed to Vegas

[Lost Wages]

I will be making my 14th trip to Las Vegas this weekend. I am arriving Sunday (7/27) morning and departing Wednesday afternoon. My wife and I are taking our six year old daughter for the first time so this is mainly a family trip. However, we are staying at Mandalay Bay so I am planning to play the 1-4-8-8 game a few hours each evening after my daughter is asleep (probably 11pm or so). Also, I might try to check out the Monte Carlo and Bellagio one night. If any 2+2er's are interested in hooking-up let me know. Or, if you're in the room stop by and say hi. I'll be the guy with the mountain of chips /forums/images/icons/wink.gif .

Lost Wages

[Easy E]

something you might find useful (from Las Vegas Advisor) if you go anywhere else:

by Kaity Starr
The Little Frugal Princess
(Note from Jean: While I’m out of town, my budding-writer granddaughter, Kaitlynn (pen name Kaity Starr), age 8-1/2, has agreed to write Frugal Fridays for me. Her brother Zachary, age 10, helped her out some by adding a few facts and opinions.)

Zachary and I have been visiting our grandparents in casino areas since we were babies. We have always loved going to a childcare center in the casino while they and our parents play adult games. I would like to report on three we visited on our last trip to Las Vegas: the Palms, Texas Station, and the Gold Coast.

The Kids Quests at the Palms and at Texas Station are run by the same company and have a lot of the same activities. They both have the “Quest,” a giant climbing gym, kind of an indoor playground with slides, ladders, and tunnels. They show movies frequently and there are board games and a Lego Mania center. Some of my brother’s favorite things are playing air hockey and video games. I like the Barbie Playhouse Station, the art center, and the karaoke stage, where we can dress up to be a “star.” But the thing we both like the most is the “Disco Stage” dance machine, which is so popular you have to stand in line to wait your turn.

The Kids Quest at Texas Station is much larger than the one at the Palms and includes a ball pit and an air-filled jumping arena in their “Quest.” The Palms, unlike Texas Station, has a reading area, but as much as I love reading, I was having too much fun doing other things to spend much time there. Both have a snack bar and you can get anything from a drink or an ice-cream treat to a whole meal. The food does cost extra, but we don’t have to worry about that, because my grandma is the Queen of Comps and she never has to pay for ANYTHING in a casino. Now that’s frugal.

The Gold Coast childcare center is much different from the Kids Quest ones. They do have crafts, puzzles, board games, movies, and an area to play house. However, it is much smaller and there is no indoor “Quest” playground. The main activity is doing crafts, like painting, origami, and coloring, but there are no video games. In addition, the center provides sleeping pads for napping, but doesn’t provide any food or drinks.

I really enjoyed the Gold Coast when I was younger, especially the crafts. Now that I’m 8-1/2, I was sort of bored there this trip, especially after spending so much time at the much larger Kids Quests. But it is a very good place for little kids who aren’t very secure about leaving their parents, because the workers there are older ladies -- it is kind of like going to Grandma’s house. It still is my grandma’s favorite -- after all, it’s FREE.

Here are some of the details, taken from the brochures you can pick up at each center:

Texas Station: 5-hour max; Sun.-Thurs. 9 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri., Sat., and holidays 9 a.m.-1 a.m.; charge for six weeks to 29 months -- $5.50 (weekday) to $5.75 (weekend) per hour per child; 2-1/2 to 12 years old -- $6.50/$6.75.

Palms: 5 1/2-hour max, same hours as Texas above; 3-12 years old -- $5.75/$6.75.

Gold Coast: 3-1/2 hour max, 9 a.m-12:30 a.m., 2-8 years old (must be potty trained); FREE!