Rock n Roll Marathon Weekend 11/14-18

Sorry it's taken a few days to post, I'm still recovering from a few great days in Vegas with my wife and her running buddies. We had a great time and are looking forward to next year's event (or rather, next year's excuse to go to Vegas) Also, along with her normal running posse friends, my wife's sister and brother in law met us as well and made our trip even more fun.

I'll apologize up front for the lack of pictures. I was upgraded with a new iPhone, and my Vegas pics are in that old phone and not my new one. Another reason to go back! To the particulars:

Flight - Roundtrip via Delta, Detroit to Las Vegas. No problems....lucked out on the way home with just us two in an Exit Row with an empty seat! plenty of plane rest for the drive home in the lake effect snow.

Hotel - we paid 2 nights and got 2 nights free thru mLife (I'm Gold, for all that's worth) at the Mirage. Standard King room. Got a "free" upgrade to the 22nd floor at check in with a Strip view, as well as the Volcano soundtrack all evening. Didn't bother me as I never tried to sleep during the show times, but if I were a light sleeper, probably would try for a pool view vs the Strip.

Food (and Drink) - we kept it pretty low-key, as the run prevented too much indulging. Lunch on Friday at BLT Burger in the Mirage was just OK. The burger was a bit overcooked, Late night dinner on Friday was at the new Pantry...I had awesome pancakes and my wife had their freshly cooked kettle chips...great meal, especially in light of our relative inebriated state...we had just returned from the 3535 Bar at the Linq, my new favorite Vegas bar. If you like fun drinks, go! We lucked out and arrived during an open house event for local media. We got free drinks and were treated fabulously by Ryan, their general manager. He made us his signature Pig Newton drink, as well as we sampled the Wat-a-Pear, the JFK, the Thin Mint, the Pumpkin Pie and the Peanut Butter Cup... all very inventive and great tasting!

I digress, back to food - three other highlights: Hash House a Go Go in the Linq. My wife and some of her running buddies' first time....great as always. Second, for dinner Monday night, we went off strip with the inlaws to Herbs and Rye.... a very good restaurant, but even better bar! Awesome drinks, especially if you like Gin. Not too far off the Strip - actually about 2 miles north of Rio, by my navigation skills. Finally, I have to give a shout out to Chef Remberto at the Cravings Buffet at the Mirage. My wife eats Gluten Free and he went above and beyond to help her "carbo load" on race day morning. I've done both the Aria and Cosmo buffets before, and although the overall food at Cravings didn't top Wicked Spoon, the personal service sure did (plus at 1/2 off for the marathon discount, it was a bargain!).

Gambling - Lady Luck forgot to look my way most of the trip. I dabbled in a lot of things but couldn't get anything going. A few 4OAKS at VP; a nice winning session the first time I tried Free Bet BJ (I should have stopped there); lost a few times playing craps with my brother in law; and got destroyed at High Card Flush, a game I did very well at last trip. I did make the casino rounds and tried a new game at PHo - Criss Cross Poker - I hit a Full House on my hand of 8/5 off suit (full house pays 12-1, and you can triple down on your final "middle bet"). Crazy game that is essentially Mississippi Stud x2 (you get dealt 2 cards and then five cards are displayed as "community cards" by the dealer - you play the two plus middle card across and the two plus middle card vertical...criss and cross). Also, this trip I spent some time in the Mirage Poker Room playing their daily tournaments - for a $55 or $65 buy-in, I had a blast for 2 hours a crack. Finished 3rd once and 4th twice. A lot of fun and the room is very well run. Bottom line though is that I didn't go home with much of the money I brought, but I also didn't have to dip into the ATM at all.

All in all, we had a great time and I need to think of a work excuse to get me back before next year's run - November 2015 seems far away. However, as is a theme on a few recent trip reports - I turn the big 5-0 next year :Þ, so maybe that would work?? My one regret was not being able to catch up with the gang at the Wynn or Cosmo or wherever they could be found. Hopefully next time I'll have my wrist band (if I haven't found a better use for it a la PT) and can meet up with a group!

Finally, as a general statement regarding the Mirage, I think we'll try somewhere different next time - although only my second time staying there, it sort of reminds me of the Marriotts I stay at for work - I'm comfortable and the place is "nice," but when I'm on vacation I want more. Plus, although I really enjoyed the Poker Room, for a relatively low-roller, there's not a lot of options - I mistakenly played a $15 BJ table until I got a blackjack and ended up with $18, and not $22.50!!!! I left shortly thereafter. I want a "livelier" vibe than their casino floor - I really like Planet Hollywood, but I don't have a lot of non-Vegas CET point opportunities. Oh, let the planning begin for next year!

Good luck to you all and thanks for reading! I hope I have in some way repaid all of you that were so generous with your time and information in your trip reports!

 

Mirage has a $15, 6/5 game? Oy vey, what is the world coming too?

Nice report, thanks for sharing.

 

No better place to celebrate your 50th than Vegas....start planning! I enjoyed your TR.

 

Mirage has been that way for over a year now. Sub $25, you need to play "Free Bet BJ" to get a 3 to 2 table.

Good report OP! I do think that Mirage's room blows away Planet Hollywood though, fyi.

 

How was the marathon? We were there at the same time, but flew out of Flint. We were the drunk asses by Mainstreet Station and the California cheering marathoner's on as they ran down Fremont Street into the tunnel! I bet we cheered you on if you ran the full!

 

Jenn, the weekend was great...the Rock n Roll series does a great job! My wife ran the half; I merely did the 5K on Sat PM which ran around the SLS and Riviera...kind of a sketchy route...,the road surface was very cracked and pot hole filled (not like the potholes on I-69 and I-75 in your neck of the woods). Next year, I will do the "Half of the Half" which is essentially a run from Mandalay Bay to Stratosphere . That sounds like a manageable 6 miles to me. I don't have the time to train for any real distance. Thanks for cheering the runners on!

 

Thanks for that point and that's my quandary. I don't mean to diss on the Mirage, because I do like the rooms and the location. I'm ready to move somewhere else. My favorite spot is the Vdara. Stayed there twice and that gets me close to Planet Hollywood, Cosmo, Aria and the Bellagio. If I can get as good of a deal, I might try that.

 

Nice job! We ran the Detroit full this year and were thinking about the R&R 1/2, but decided to indulge instead! It was a really nice night to run!