Low Roller on the High Roller

A little over a year ago I finally got my Parents to go to Las Vegas. I'm not sure why it took so long, as they are both huge gamblers, but it did. They came to town and within a few days my Mom was a favorite of the Total Rewards folks.

As such, she always gets comps sent to her, and one comp this past year was a free gift card from Harrah's for 2 nights to be given to whomever she chooses.
I've already been to LV earlier in the year with my wife, but jumped at the chance to meet up with my Mom & Dad and spend a couple of days there again for free.

Flew out of Sea-Tac airport in an easy flight. Everything about it was quick & easy, right down to the shuttle taking me to Harrah's. I left Seattle at 6am and was meeting my Parents at their room for by a little after 9 am.

We had breakfast at Fulton Street Food Hall, which I understand just opened. Our server was a wee bit pushy, but not in a rude way, but as my Mom said "She's good for a few laughs." The food was good and not way overpriced. Their breakfasts come with a "Mini-hashbrowns" which were good and also a little bag of mini-muffins (not the Hostess kind, I'm assuming these are baked there at the restaurant)

After breakfast, we went to The Linq where we got tickets to The High Roller. I've done The STRAT & The Eiffel Tower, and I really dig a nice good view of the Strip, but I wasn't overly excited about The High Roller. I didn't really think it would offer anything more than those other observation decks. Man, I was wrong. It was a great experience, the gradual reveal of the Strip views is something that is totally worthwhile. Plus since there were only about 8 people in the pod that we were in, it was extremely comfortable. The only criticism I have, though I don't know what the solution would be, is that they don't ever stop the wheel, even when people are getting on or off. Which means that someone like my Mom, who has some trouble walking sometimes, has to jump on a moving pod. Sure it's moving extremely slowly, but obviously they recognize the potential danger because they have a trapeze net under the ride as a precaution.

Check-in at Harrah's was quick and easy. I was contemplating trying the $20 trick for the first time, but decided not to since I wasn't planning to spend much time in my room anyway. The girl at the desk asked me if I wanted an upgrade, I asked how much and she said "You can do a $10 upgrade, or $15, or $20, however much you want" But, I declined the offer. Still though I was upgraded to a King Size room on the tenth floor facing the strip, which offered a nice view of The Mirage, Caesar's forum shops & The Rio. Not bad at all for a free room, IMO.

That night we went to the Illusions show at Riviera. I enjoyed it a lot. There were some fairly standard tricks that you see at everyone's shows, but he had a different, and interesting delivery.

After that we walked across the street to Slots Of Fun (the only place in town that I know of that has Enchanted Unicorn slots, my wife's favorite) played there for a while and then went back to The Mirage to see the volcano and walk across the street. By this time my parents were still ready to play, but I'd been up for about 24 hours so I went to bed.

Next day my Dad and I went to the Mob Museum. I've been looking forward to going here for a long time, and it did not disappoint. If you have ANY interest in organized crime, law enforcement or even consider yourself an amateur Vegas history buff, like I do, you need to go to the Museum. And you need to plan to spend some time there. Dad and I were there for about 2 1/2 hours and still didn't fully take it all in.
Also, one of the really cool things about this place is that they don't take every opportunity to make a buck off of you, yes you DO have to exit through the gift shop, but that gift shop has a lot of stuff that you'd probably be interested in if you just went through the MOB museum, it goes beyond just shirts and shot glasses.
But also, most attractions in Vegas do the pic trick, where they offer some cool photo ops, and then they don't let you take a picture, but they will sell you one. Here, there is a "police line up" area, and they have a guy who stands there offering to take pictures with YOUR OWN phone, free of charge (of course you should tip him, he does a great job getting you several pictures),

Side note: does anyone know what's replacing Denny's at Casino Royale? We were going to go there for a cheap breakfast before the MM, but it's closed and they are doing some construction.

After that we met up with my Mom and played at The Harrah's and then we went over to Paris to pick up some tickets for them to go see Jersey Boys after I left. (My wife and I saw that show earlier this year and were blown away)

After a quick trip through the Bellagio Botanical garden, we took a cab way off the strip to CAPO'S Steakhouse for dinner.
Ladies and Gentlemen, if you are still reading this you are a winner, if you've never heard of Capo's (or have heard of it and haven't gone yet) TRUST ME it is totally worth it. This restaurant delivered on every single level. Unique Experience? Check. Great atmosphere? Check. Live entertainment? Check. Delicious food? Check. Friendly service? Check times 1000. Half way through dinner I realized that Capo's is on my to-do list every time I come to Vegas from now on. The price wasn't bad either, 3 entrees, an appetizer, 2 alcoholic drinks and one coffee, came to under $100 before tips.

After that we headed to the Flamingo then to The Quad and finally back to Harrah's, playing slots and drinking as much as our tips could afford us. I ended the night up $375, which didn't last BUT I came home with $250 of that, so not too bad,

The next morning check out at Harrah's was quick and easy, breakfast at Flavors was....well, the Prime Rib was really good , and they had a breakfast Stromboli that I was excited to try, and it tasted like it was laced with chloraseptic everything else that I tried was good.

Lost some of that $375 while I waited for the Shuttle to show up.

Flight out of Vegas to SeaTac was pretty brutal. We left really late simply because many of the passengers were just taking a long time, and we hit way more turbulence than I ever have on any flight. Plus, touching down in Seattle it became extremely clear that I wasn't in Vegas (which was high 90's and crystal clear blue skies when I left) anymore. (Seattle was dark, gray and rainy)

One thing I noted was how unbelievably busy it was. I thought Tuesday and Wednesday at the end of September would be fairly slow, but man was I wrong!

Also, I just got a call from my folks, they LOVED the Jersey Boys.

 

Thanks for the trip report. Sounds like you had a good time. I believe the Denny's is just getting an overhaul.

How much was the taxi fare to Capo? Sounds like a good place.

 

Nice TR, thanks for sharing!

I'm glad to hear you liked the Mob Museum, my wife wants to check it out during our next trip.

 

Love the Mob Museum. I want to go again this trip and allow more time to go through. Where is Capo's?

 

Capo's is 5675 West Sahara (just looked it up).

Round trip for the cab was about 44 before tip. To make it all worth it, I'd plan to spend some time there, have a drink or two and soak up the atmosphere.

 

Denny's is being replaced with a..................Denny's.

 

I hope it's more like Denny's Neonopolis. I had very low expectations for that one, but I really enjoyed it!

 

Nice report! And as others have said, Dennys will return. There will be a white castle built in that area too!

 

Denny's is getting an update as stated, but did you know the Denny's in Casino Royale is the most profitable Denny's location?

 

I might actually try White Castle then. That and In N Out Burgers are two fast food joints I've always heard of, but have never tried.

I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me. It's the perfect location for some cheap eats 24 hours a day. My Dad and I chose to go to Denny's after he suggested we do the Fulton Street Food Hall again, which was delicious but was a lot more expensive than Denny's would have been.
Does anyone know where that McDonald's ranks as far as being profitable for McyD's? I've never gone in there when it wasn't just insanely packed.