Club 36™

Bluegreen Club 36™ is your chance to take on Vegas and win. One of the things I love about Vegas is the draw of the strip and the Casinos. But when you stay at the Casinos, you are falling into their well-designed trap. Staying offsite may be the thing you need to put the odds in your favor. Especially when you book your stay through TZort.

Video by Island Hopper TV

Day One Arrival at Bluegreen Club 36™

The flight in was a bit bouncy, which is not the norm for me. But instead of being scary, it was invigorating. I ended up taking a flight on American Airlines because the layover was the shortest and the flight connected through Charlotte. Other airlines had connections that were so far off the path that they almost doubled the total flight time.

When you come in on a commercial flight, you land at Mccarran National Airport. You will realize how large the airport is when you arrive. Even if you did not look out the windows, the tram system is a dead giveaway. You ride a tram to baggage and to the paths out of the airport.

My flight brought me in on the Blue Line trams. The distance from the airport is only two miles, so Vegas is a place you can do without a rental car if you like. There are many transportation options. Now since I was going to be staying at the resort and I also wanted to do more than just gamble while I was in town, I chose to get a rental car for my trip. But anyone that wanted to could go without.

This resort is a part of The Amusement Collection by Blue Green, and you can view a virtual tour here. You will see that you are off the strip, but it is easily within view of the resort. The resort itself is so close to the airport that you could walk, but who wants to do that?

I was a little early for check-in so I left my bag and took a tour of the resort. This resort has an interesting feel to it. At first, it feels a little like a hotel. But when you see the facilities, and then the rooms, you know you are in a much better position. There are also many of the standard options that you have come to love and trust from one of these resorts.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

Let me tell you, the pool here is more than you expect by far. It is like its own floor of the hotel. Check it out in the virtual tour on the site. Your brain has to process it for a few seconds when you first see it because you are up a few floors and boom here is a pool it is indoor which is nice, then there is also the outdoor deck area for those that want to soak up some rays.

The rooms are great and have a modern feeling that is nice. I also appreciate that they are not overdone. It seems a great switch from the lights and sounds of the strip when you come back from gambling, gaming, or whatever you were up to. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

After my tour, I still had about 3 hours before checking in since I took the red-eye in. I decided I would head to the strip and get something to eat.

Vegas is the raining champion in two things: Gambling and Buffets. No other place on the planet has as many buffets and choices. I wanted something different to start my buffet journey, so I went to the Everest Buffet, which is an Indian food buffet. I love Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, so I was in the right location. The buffet also had many kinds of Naan which I had never had the chance to try before. If you have not had it before, make sure sometimes you try the Kheer desert. It is rice pudding but much more sweat than the traditional American version.

The meal was great. Now it was time to head to a casino.

For your trip to Vegas, you likely will want to think about the Casinos you want to see and experience in advance. Since the only thing to compete with the number of buffets is the number of casinos. Doing some research online will help you prevent overwhelm.

Another website to check out is the Review-Journal. As the name suggests, they review everything from the best Bachelor Parties to the best of you name it. So, it is a good place to read more before your trip and especially on your flight in. Just remember to download a few articles or pages for the flight.

Their best of Vegas reviews are actually located on another linked site.

On this site, you can see their best for each year in just about any category you can imagine.

After eating and playing for about another hour, I head back to check in to my room and check it out.

The Club 33 rooms are spacious and comfortable. I had a chance to peak into all three rooms’ layouts. If you choose the 1-2, or 3 bedrooms you should be happy. One thing I noticed with the layout was that the kitchens seemed to be all on one wall. Which was fine but seemed to make the move of an afterthought. They were fine, however, with enough space to cook for yourself, or for a family.

I am just not sure I would be cooking too many meals for 4 here. But I think that is intended since Vegas is more adult fun than family fun. Sure, there are great things for the kids to do as well, but really Vegas is a nightclub, casino, show kind of town. The smaller kitchens make sense here.

My room was nice, and the layout was simple. I was staying in a 1-bedroom suite or what they call the deluxe. These are 710 square feet so they are large as far as 1-bedroom go. The standard is also a nice size at 480 square feet. The big difference between the two seems to be the large bathroom in the deluxe.

Day Two at Bluegreen Club 36™

I had decided to turn in early last night after the buffet, flights, and a few cocktails. This was a great call because it meant my longest day of the mini-vacation could start early.

If you had not guessed yet, I am headed to a breakfast buffet. This time in nearby Henderson at the Studio B Buffet. A little bird told me locals love this place for the food and the more modest pricing.

This location is in the M which is off the strip and a bit down the road, but it is a quick drive. If you have a rental head on over. What you save on the cost, and how good the food is, it is worth a try. The buffet had everything you can imagine in a breakfast buffet. I cannot believe what they put out and made available for a buffet that lasts only two hours. From 9 AM–11 AM though, you can do some damage. I had a little of everything that I like and that made for an amazing start to the day.

After fueling up, I decided to stay at the M for a while a gamble some. I had a chat with host Brandon Stroik from the Casino host staff, and he hooked me up with a good poker game. I love poker but I am not a high roller so I usually do not play when I come to Vegas. Today I felt lucky and in the mood so I found a table with a reasonable boy with the host’s assistance and sat down to play for a few hours.

This was the first time I had played Pai Gow poker,, and it was an interesting idea. The website explains that Pai Gow poker has this special feature (s). Win the top jackpot by being dealt a seven-card Straight Flush. If five aces are dealt, winners receive 10 percent of the jackpot.

It should go without saying that I did not get a straight flush, and certainly not a royal straight flush. But I did take part in a 10 percent moment while paying, and I did win my share of hands. Up a little from the start of my day, I excused myself and went to play some slots.

If you have read my other gambling exploits, you know when it comes to slots, I believe that the high-traffic areas around machines tell you which machines to play. The reason I believe this is that you have slightly better, odds with those machines. So, I put the $600 I was ahead into a slot and away I went. 5 drinks later, and a few hours. I was doing even better on the money.

When you start winning, it is addictive. I felt like I was on a hot streak of some kind, but I also did not want to stay and wear out my luck or welcome. Given that I was 5 drinks in though, I also did not want to drive back to the resort or to the strip. This meant I would call another casino host and see if they would send a car. It is a bit of a jerkish thing to do, I guess, but I figured it was not going to hurt anyone. It was not like they were going to be sending cars out to take people to the hospital or something.

So I used my powers of salesmanship and influence and had a car to me in about 20 minutes. I ended up going to Bally’s I still had my card from my trip to Atlantic City and I had used my card strategy there to make it look like I was a heavier player than I am.

They sent a Limo! That is funny to me because I am not a high roller at all. My guess is that it was available, and they did not have anyone else coming in at the moment, but still, it was funny. Luckily, I think the host at M did not see me slide out the door and get into the limo.

When I arrived, the host greeted me and asked what I was interested in doing (but meant playing). I said that I wanted to check out their poker room, and the host lit up. Maybe that was the magic word of the day or something. Not sure. But it made her happy. Another possibility is that she sent the car on a whim and was happy that at least it looked like it would pay for itself.

Little did I know, but they have daily poker tournaments at Bally’s and one was just about to start. It was not a huge turn out so perhaps that was why she was happy to hear what I wanted to do.

The tournament was about to start in 40 minutes or so and given the light turn out it would be faster than normal. I registered and figured I was having a good day why not.

Until the game, I did a little warm-up at a high-limit table. It was more than I would normally play for but again I was up some today so I was playing with my winnings, mostly.

I kinda broke even at best, but then it was time for the tournament to start. Since the tournament was a cash game, I would be able to stand up and go if I wanted to. This meant if it got too heavy for me, or I got bored, I could bow out. Which was good to know.

I had not planned on this so I had no sunglasses for bluffing or to hide my tells, anything like that. Just the shorts and shirt I went out in the morning with. I did have my watch on and figured if I played a while, I could create some false tells by looking at the watch or something.

I did OK at first, but then I had a few bad hands. This was about 4 hours in, and I had survived enough to not feel like a complete armature. I choose to stand up and go and lick my mental wounds. Later I would find out (after counting) that I was down about $2,500 for the day. Which for me felt like a lot. What I chose next might surprise some, but I chose to double down and go play some blackjack. I played for about 3 hours and Black Jack and had some decent hands. I split a few and even had some Blackjacks. I was ahead of the game when hunger greeted my mind again.

For this, I chose to head to the Bellagio which is an MGM property. I did not already have a player’s card from MGM, but I grabbed one when I stumbled in. I say stumble but I did not really, but I was feeling very little pain given that my way was about 10+ drinks in so far. I chose to slow down and get some food in me.

There must be 20 restaurants in Bellagio it is crazy. Being almost back to where I started the day financially still did not help my eyes with the pricing on the menus. Hey, I am an East Coast guy, so sticker shock is a thing. There are some moderate choices, but MGM is not the value location by any means. Just hours before what I would pay not for an appetizer, I enjoyed an entire buffet.

I would have left and gone to another buffet but I knew I needed food and that I left my car back at the M.

After a steak that must have been hand fed by nuns in a remote mountain range somewhere (given the price), I moved back to slots again. This time finding a high-traffic slot that someone had just run up the jackpot payout on and did not realize it, I guess. 30 minutes later I was thinking about what I would do with my newfound wealth. How the winds of fortune change in Vegas.

Day Three

OK, two good gaming days so I was not going to push my luck today and gamble. If I had stayed on the strip, I likely would have and may well have lost my shirt. That is one of the things the Casinos count on to keep you playing. They know if they can keep you going long enough, they will win. The odds are literally in their favor. Your only chance to step away while you are ahead.

Thinking that I could handle one more buffet, I go for the one most consider to be the best. The Buffet at Wynn this thing is another level. It is a posh, overdone level, but still amazing. With over 90 items to choose from including Prime Rib and Snow Crab Legs, this one has it all.

I had already checked out of the resort because this buffet does not really get going until later in the day. So, this would be my last hurrah before heading back to the airport food-wise. My flight was not until 6:30 PM, so I did have plans after the buffet.

After the buffet, I headed to the Emerald Cave Kayak Tour the trip was about 5 miles in the Kayak so a bit of a workout for a fat guy after a buffet and a day of drinking and gambling. But I know I needed the workout.

The payoff was a great trip and some great views. You know you are a large guy when the Olympian business owner places you in a two-person Kayak by yourself. But hey it is what it is. I am the guy people call when they need to move big heavy things. Or when little people need something off a top shelf. It is just what I am used to, no biggie.

I think kayaking could be a sport I would get into even now however because I love the water, and it is mostly an upper body workout, and that is what I like the most.

If you want to experience an amazing vacation like mine, travel TZort style and save on your trip. It just makes sense and you can have more fun on your vacation with the money you save.