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Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by Coaster Kikky, Aug 3, 2005.

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  1. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    My Trip Report

    Disclaimer: Anyone wanting to read about females making out together or taking showers together can stop reading right now because they'll just be disappointed. /disclaimer

    I'm going to also apologize in advance for the length of this report but writing it chronologically is the only way I have a fighting chance of remembering stuff. Not that I'm promising to remember it all, cuz that ain't happening! :beer: :drunk: :cheers:

    Thursday 7/28
    7:55am flight means a wakeup call just after 4am. Oh well it's for a good cause. The Southwest flight was slightly delayed (maybe 20 minutes) but otherwise uneventful. I ordered a vodka and cranberry, and used my free drink coupon for it. I guess there was vodka in it. I finished it too quickly and had lots of cranberry juice left over, so I headed to my stash of airline bottles. I wanted to put in more vodka, but all I had was a Gray Goose Citron mini, and it looked like it wouldn’t close back up well, so I poured in a touch of Don Julio silver tequila instead. That bottle closed up nicely. However, I can’t recommend cranberry and tequila. At all. On the plane I read our own Ken Van Vechten’s book. Ken I love your sense of humor! It was a great read, even if you have no plans to get married in Las Vegas.

    Flight arrived in Vegas about quarter after 10am local time. A man who had sat in my row on the plane was on the phone on the monorail at the airport, asking his buddy all kinds of questions. It became clear from the conversation that neither had been to Vegas before. I had a nice new guidebook in my luggage, and brought it out and gave it to him, saying “you need this far more than I doâ€. I hope it helped him out. We found no line to speak of at the taxi stand and promptly were on our way to Wynn for our first look at the place. I know most people immediately compare it to Bellagio, and there are many comparisons, but it actually looks even more to me like Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Just bigger. One note: the front door is quite heavy at Wynn. I broke a fingernail on it.

    We were too early to check in, so we stowed the luggage at bell desk and proceeded to a blackjack table. The dealer was nearing the end of her shift and was so tired she was barely standing. She paid two pushes just before she left. Whoops. We grabbed a bite to eat at Terrace Pointe Café, Wynn’s “coffeeshopâ€. I had an angus burger, and it was good. I couldn’t finish it all. Their coleslaw was a little vinegary for my taste, but I do know that some people like it like that.

    Got checked into room 2116, a non-smoking room with two double beds. Double? Yep, double not queens. Too bad – there is room for two queens. Oh, and they said it was a “strip viewâ€. Yeah, if you craned your neck way to the left you could see the Stratosphere and the Riviera. It was a golf course view, which was nice – the waterfall was very pretty. But don’t be telling me I have a strip view room when that is so not true! The room, as reported, is very very nice. Easily the nicest room in Vegas I’ve seen, and that includes the one-step upgrade Resort room at Aladdin. The beds were plush and comfy. They have turn down service, and robes and slippers are in the closet. I want that robe. I could buy it… for $100.

    After getting settled in, I went in search of a liquor store. I had a request from Vegas Jer, who was coming to town that evening, to stock up. I had done some pre-trip research here, and was going to go to Walgreens near Stardust, but several people I asked thought that Walgreens would have beer and wine but not liquor. I got in the cab and said I wanted to go to the Gold Coast for the discount liquor store there. The cabbie ascertained my mission and suggested the place behind Barbary Coast. That sounded easier, so I agreed and off we went.

    That place had everything I needed, but I’d hardly call it a discount place to buy liquor. I got a bottle of Baileys, a bottle of Butternips, four bottles of water ($1 each) and a bottle of Gatorade ($2.59), and it came to almost $60. I’d also carried a bottle of mango liqueur from home that he said he wanted to try. It’s hard to find this stuff now, so I brought my next to last bottle to share. That’s what friends do.

    In between getting ready for the party to start, hubby & I had reservations at Caesars at the restaurant called 808 (it’s ostensibly Hawaiian fusion food, and 808 is Hawaii’s area code). We got a cab over to Caesars, which had a huge amount of vehicles in front of it and found the restaurant. The head chef, Jean-Marie Josselin, who isn’t onsite of course, is pretty much in direct competition with Roy Yamaguchi for the Hawaiian Fusion cuisine market. Haven eaten at several Roy’s, as well as two restaurants founded by Josselin in Hawaii, I had a good idea of what to expect. And while I was far from disappointed, I would have to say that overall I like the experience at Roy’s better. I had read some iffy reviews of the service, but I found the service to be fine. Not exceptional, but no complaints either. We considered getting a bottle of wine, but didn’t see any choices that looked quite right. I don’t remember if the prices were a bit too high or we just didn’t see anything that appealed to us… but we ended up each ordering a mai tai. And let me tell you, these were evil mai tais. Way more rum in them than anything else. That’s all you could taste. We managed to finish them, and they left a lasting impression on us. But I wouldn’t call them “goodâ€. For dinner I had a miso grilled butterfish, and it was very tasty. He had marlin, which was good, but he thought mine tasted better. Mine was served with a mochi rice and some veggies (baby bok choy, I think, and edamame beans, and other stuff). We had room for dessert, which was unusual. I had a Toasted Hawaiian, which is basically macadamia nut mousse and caramel sauce. Hubby ordered a crème brulee (I think, anyway). We were pleased overall, but if we had to choose between 808 and Roy’s in the future, Roy’s would win handily.

    We made it back to Wynn and I needed to pack up some stuff to take with me for a weekend of raising heck. Between all the bottles and a couple of pairs of shoes in case I got blisters (again… see March trip reports for details) the bag weighed a million pounds! Jer let me know his flight was delayed, and that he eventually got the last seat on an alternate flight. When he said he was “Out!â€, I left for the airport. There had been lines at Wynn’s taxi stand earlier in the day, and this time I stood in line for almost 40 minutes before getting the cab. By then I was racing the short flight from San Diego to get to the airport in front of Jer.

    The cabbie I had to the airport was great – actually all the cabbies I had were fantastic, but this one called me “gorgeous†which I’ll take any day of the week. Yes, sir, you just increased your tip. LOL I did beat Jer’s plane to the airport, but not by much. He sent me a message saying he’d landed, so I waited by the bottom of the escalator near Starbucks. And I waited. And I started thinking “gee, I’ve only met him once before, in March, but I think I’d recognizehim for sureâ€â€¦ and I turned around to check the arrivals board and saw him walking up to me. Recognition was not an issue. Yay! The party can start now!

    (to be continued)
     
  2. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Part Two

    And here’s where the trip gets more interesting. Jer & I had placed a couple of friendly wagers with each other… I won one, and his payment was to be the ride tickets for Speed at the Sahara, as well as the on-ride picture. The other two bets, one of which had to do with him managing to not lose his cell phone (note to the casual reader: this is an in-joke) and I’ve forgotten what the other one was – he won those bets. But he hadn’t yet told me what the settlement was. So when he arrived, he told me his idea. He wanted to take a limo from the airport instead of a taxi. Ok!!! I saw a fellow standing nearby from the company that we had our limo from during MM2, and got it arranged. For $105 (not including tip), we got an ultra stretch limo and a mini-strip tour. Not a bad way to repay a debt, if I do say so!!

    We stretched out in the back of the limo, catching up with each other, and sipping on the mango liqueur, while watching the lights of the city go slowly by. I will say that once you get past Wynn, there ain’t much to look at. The Riviera and Westward Ho facades just don’t do it for me. But between Tropicana and Wynn, there is just so much to see on both sides of the street. And of course it’s better with a buzz, which we worked on a little bit.

    The end of the line for the limo ride was Rio, where Jer had reservations for two nights. No non-smoking rooms with a view with two beds were available so he took a smoking room with that set up in the Masquerade tower. There was a great view of the north part of the Strip, starting way up in Downtown, to The STRAT and all the way down to the Mirage. But we didn’t stop to admire the view – first off Jer needed to get some dinner and then we needed to hit some tables.

    Dinner happened at the All-American Grill at Rio. Jer had a sandwich – turkey club I wanna say – that was so big I think it got some mutant radiation from Area 51 or something. I ordered a Cajun chicken quesadilla appetizer, which was far more than I needed to eat (so I didn’t finish it) but didn’t have a lot of the Cajun thing happening. Other than that it was fine for what it was – a midnight snack.

    Being fed, we headed out the door (really crazy revolving door they’ve got there at Rio… do not try to navigate this when you are drunk) and to the cab stand. Once at the cab stand, we state our intention to go to the Gold Coast. Yes, it is right across the street. Too bad. The driver groused a little, then realized that a fare is better than no fare.

    I’d never been to the Gold Coast, and the only thing I really knew about it came from Mikey and RamBill’s trip reports from MM2 about the old fogeys with attitude there. We found a mixed crowd there… some older people with walkers, but plenty of people in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s too. We sat at a double deck blackjack game with a nice woman dealer. I think the table was $5 minimum, but I could be wrong. Pretty sure it wasn’t more than a $10 min in any case. I’d brought plenty of money to play with so I started right off with a green.

    I hope Jer can remember more gambling details, because we had some great successes during our time together. Unfortunately, at least twice the success was followed immediately by a crushing defeat. In Gold Coast’s case, defeat came in the person named Rob. Appropriate name, because we can say “we were Robbed!†and be quite accurate about it. Damnit. I lost the $650 I was up, and Jer lost more than that in a fraction of the time it took to win it. No doubt the numerous Ketel and cranberries we drank helped the Coast company’s bottom line. Before leaving the GC we played craps for a little bit, but I don’t remember anything at all that happened there. The only thing I know is, after March, I can’t stand at a craps table without hearing Jer calling out “hornhiyo†with the come-out roll, and after this trip it’s totally ingrained.

    We walked back to Rio at some point after 3am, which means I’d been up for well over 24 hours at this point. Which meant I was pretty much toast for this night. I heard the thumping bass from Voodoo Lounge before falling asleep. Jer let me sleep nearest the window so I could see the view of the Strip before closing my eyes to recharge the batteries.
     
  3. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Part Three

    Friday:

    I am awakened by the sound of the toilet flushing (loudly) and see that it’s nearly noon. I realize that I am starving and ask Jer how he is. He’s hungry too, so I suggest Ellis Island, a place he’s never been before but based on the numerous great reviews here, he readily accepts the invitation. I wish I’d paid more attention to the taxi fares so I could pass along good information when someone needs it, but I didn’t. Not at all. We found no lines, no waiting at EI’s restaurant. Jer decided on the chicken parmesan meal, and I wanted beef. Not steak and eggs, not steak and shrimp… just a nice steak please. In my foggy brain I thought I remembered they had a special, and when I asked, the guy smiled at me like I was privy to an inside joke. Yep… 10 oz sirloin, with soup or salad, veggies and potato for $4.95. You can’t buy that much food in the grocery store for that price!!! Sold! We each ordered a root beer too. It’s very good. Our Caesar salads were ok, nothing to write home about, but the entrees were super, especially when you took into consideration the price!! I actually preferred Ellis Island’s cole slaw to Wynn’s! And the steak was done perfectly! The entire bill came to $16 and change so a $20 covered everything plus a sweet tip. Service was efficient too.

    After leaving Ellis Island, we walked over to Westin to hail a cab. However, we noticed that the doorman was out blowing his whistle right and left with no success, so we settled for walking through the Westin to check it out (decent looking hotel lobby, the casino is totally an afterthought, and the light fixtures look like various size hanging boobs). We walked on to Flaming-O to try our luck with the cab again, and it was much better there. We headed to Wynn as Jer had never been there before. I showed him around, then we sat at a blackjack table and played for a bit. Jer quickly went through $60 and just watched me for a little bit until he quickly borrowed $50 and rejoined the game. The count had gone very good. I don’t count, but I’m observant, so I was aware that the game was good right then. We won our bets, he gave me back the $50 and kept climbing. The floor person hadn’t even looked at Jer when he was betting $15 a hand. When he looked back, he had a minimum of $75 out in the circle, and the pit critter says “May I see your card again sir?†Jer sings under his breath “I’m being watchedâ€. Not for the first time and not for the last time that weekend that I heard that phrase. I think we both cashed out with some sort of profit… Jer help me out here… and decided it was time to go to the Sahara and ride Speed.

    Another taxi ride (I think I had over 20 taxi rides this trip) to Sahara, and we’re in the front door scouting the blackjack tables there. We settle in at a $5 minimum game, but playing more than that. It’s up and down, the usual, until the cocktail waitress asks for our drink order. “What kind of vodka do you have?†I ask. “Oh, we just have generic vodka, no name brands†she answers. No, thanks…. Now I’m wondering what do I want to drink when Jer asks about what kind of beer is available. She rattles off the usual skunk-piss brews before finishing off with “Sam Adams†at which point we both say “sold!!â€. As reported, this was the first of many beers consumed at Sahara. After two or three each, we head to the roller coaster entrance. Jer fulfills his debt by buying the all-day ride pass plus a coupon for the on-ride picture. We also got some arcade tickets as a bonus. We get a locker for the cell phones, his hat, my purse, and go to get in line.

    There is already someone waiting for front row, which is the row I like best on this ride, but 2nd is available so we wait for that. We’re told there is going to be about a five minute wait until the next ride. I understand they want to get as many people on board at a time as they can. I appreciate that they told us how long it would be before our ride. I’ll spare you all the details of the ride, which I could go into since I am a coaster geek – and just leave it that it was great fun! If a fellow coaster geek wants to talk to me about what part of the ride disappointed me, but how it got made up for, etc.., please feel free to PM me.

    We thought our on-ride picture looked stupid, and Jer didn’t feel like riding twice in a row, so we decided to take a break. Little did we know our break would last the rest of the day! On our way out, we passed a craps table that had some room at one end. We ordered more beer and settled in. The dice were at the other end, and they took a long long time to get to us. One blonde girl was rolling in a zone. She just had this look of concentration on her face. But she wasn’t the brightest lightbulb in the universe. She’d been setting with the fours up. The stick gave the dice to her once with a four and a three up (I thought that was rude) and she was trying and trying to re-organize them then stopped dead in her tracks and counts “1-2-3-4-5-6-7†spots on the dice. Even I wasn’t so wasted that I couldn’t tell the difference between a 3 and a four on the face of the die. Jer busts up beside me saying it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. But this chick earned us some money! How much exactly, I have no idea. But it worked. Right after her, another guy rolled and he did just as well if not better. He was hitting the horn and hardways like there was no tomorrow. Both Jer & I made money off his roll.

    Eventually the dice found their way to us, and I was just a couple tosses into my roll when I felt a pat on my rump. What the??? Jer says “just for luckâ€. Boy that backfired… immediate seven out. Although really, I can’t blame him. I couldn’t roll to save my life all weekend. Mikey even banned me from rolling at one point. Thankfully he’s seen me have a good roll (at MSS in March) so he knows it isn’t a constant thing. But I stunk up the place this weekend. Jer got the dice next and he had a pretty good roll. Not great, but decent…

    After that we decided to color up and head downtown! We came out of Sahara at the front door and looked for the taxi stand. Didn’t see one. There was a bell or valet person nearby so we asked him. He said he could call for a cab… or… we could ask the limo driver over there if he’d be willing… he normally charged like $75 but he’d been sitting there awhile so maybe he’d be willing to take less. Jer walked over and secured the super-stretch Excursion for the short trip downtown for $45, muttering “damn, should have gone for $35â€. Funny.

    As posted previously, this limo was ridiculously big for the two of us. But we MUST get it for either Angy’s birfday or MM3 (or both!). Holy cow it was cool! There were 8 tv screens, plus the electronic strobe light toy things you can see in the cellphone picture Jer took (I’m on the phone with Angy in the pic). That ride was too short and before we knew it we were pulling up near the Fremont.

    At this point we went through the “what do you want to do†“I don’t know, what do you want to do†routine for a minute before deciding to stumble into the Fremont, which is one of my favorite casinos (I’m a Boyd fan now). Jer immediately recounts a blackjack horror story that befell him here, at which point I tell him that it’s his job to remember the gambling details because I suck at that! We had dinner reservations for 8pm at McCormick & Schmick’s, but at this point we are completely in the wrong part of town for them, so I know we are bailing on them. We check out Second Street Grill, a place best described as a cousin to 808, where I had eaten the night before. Jean-Marie Josselin had his hand in the formation of Second Street before starting up 808. We secure reservations for 7:30pm, then sit at a blackjack table where we play and suck down vodka (I want to say the best they had to offer was Stoli) and cranberries with gusto. No clue if we won here or not. It’s all a haze at this point.

    I do remember dinner however. That’s the important part to me! I had a bamboo steamed snapper along with a Caesar salad. Jer also had a salad, and crab stuffed prawns. These prawns… more Area 51 mutant things. They had to have been three inches wide and six inches long! Talk about non-shrimpy shrimp!! They came with a side of spaghetti and a salad. And the salads were HUGE. We each should have probably just gotten one of those for dinner and been happy. Everything was good, and if given the choice between 808 and Second Street, Iâ™d choose Second Street. The décor was nicer, in my opinion, less “feng shui†sterile. We had no room for dessert, so we waddled out and over to the Golden Nugget for another cab ride – this one to Harrahs, as the time was approaching for the T2V get-together at Carnaval Court.
     
  4. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Where was I? Part Four??

    The cab brought us to the back door at Harrahs, so we wandered through and out to the Carnaval Court. Hard to miss that place with a band going full-tilt. I immediately spot a blackjack table that is in a good central location and has plenty of seats available and we grab it. There is a sign posted that all drinks are $1 (plus the customary tip) and the blackjack is single deck 6/5. So Harrahs has their evil empire hand in this. But… But… I have to say that this spot was SO MUCH FUN!!! If I were intending on supplementing my income on a regular basis by gambling, I wouldn’t go near the place. However, I gamble for occasional monetary rewards and for fun. I LOVED Carnaval Court that night. The band was hot, the dealers were hotter, the go go dancers… let’s just say they weren’t too shabby either! It was very very loud in there. The male bartenders at the flair bar kept blowing whistles. Between that and the band, it was absolutely impossible to talk on the cell phone, and I got a few calls from people we were trying to meet up with.

    Eventually Ken (Keno) and his wife found us, and we heard that Erin (Midwifemama) was on her way, and the party kicked into full throttle. Jer & I were both already completely buzzed from the alcohol of the day, but not only didn’t that stop us, it didn’t even slow us down. We ordered so many Buttery Nipple shots that at one point they came to tell us it would be awhile before our next round as they had to go get more Butterscotch Schnapps to quench our thirst for them. Ken & Emily had never had this drink before, but liked it (she somewhat more than he… I sense a new addict amongst us). Erin had never played blackjack before except on her computer, so we promised to help her. The drinks were coming fast and furious, and I think I had at least five “shotsâ€â€¦ shots is a misnomer. They were half of a plastic cup full! Terry, do you moonlight at Carnaval Court as a bartender?? Jer could down his in one gulp. It took me two. They were really good though.

    At one point, someone ordered a round of Purple Hooters (which I promptly re-named Purple RamBill’s). It wasn’t that good, although I finished mine. There was also a vodka and cranberry in front of me, which I did not order and I did not want. Jer drank that too. In the middle of all this drinking, we’re playing blackjack, and amassing huge piles of chips in front of us. The dealers are regularly getting tokes out, and counting them up with their shift change which seemed to be somewhere between every 45 minutes to an hour. I remember the first person counted their tokes and it was $300 or so. The next dealer, who was hotter than the sun on the Vegas asphalt, took in well more than that. The next dealer turned out to be a girl originally from Vermont, so I took a shine to her. Almost every hand we had at least one bet out for them, and on many hands there was a $5 chip in front of everyone’s bet. Jer was making a fortune and giving a good amount of it back to the dealers. I also saw a green chip make its way to the dancer behind us (I folded up a $20 bill for her garter, and Ken’s wife brought her a $10)… Jer was also passing out chips to Erin and Emily. Erin asked me what she should do, so I reminded her of his trip report from early July in which he said “If you’re sitting at a table with me and I start passing chips your way, just smile and accept themâ€. When she finally got up to leave, I told her that Jer would probably accept a kiss too, which she happily gave him. I do believe there is a new blackjack player amongst the T2V ranks.

    Oh, and the dealers said they’d be talking about us for a LONG time to come. We told them where to find us. One even came back and hugged us all before leaving for the night. The bad news was despite making huge winnings, both Jer & I gave it back. I wouldn’t have minded keeping some, but you know what? That night was so much fun, I’d do it all over again.

    After almost 3 hours of having fun with Ken, Emily and Erin, the party started to break up. Jer & I had discussed travelling out to Sunset Station to see Mikey, and we decided we had the energy to do so now, so we hailed a cab from Harrahs and took it all the way out to Sunset (the fare was just under $30, a number which becomes important the next night). We walked in, and it didn't take Jer long to spot Mikey dealing at the craps table. We crowded into his end of the table, somewhat illegally since we were inside the ropes but no one seemed to mind. We played and visited for a few minutes until Mikey got tapped out to go on break. 20 minutes later he re-appeared and took stick. I'd been looking forward to hearing him call stick, but he got tapped out almost immediately (he said something in his "Hat Trick" thread about it being "less than five minutes"... I daresay it was more like 45 seconds) and he was told he was off the rest of the night. I know normally this would not please him, but tonight it was ok since he had us to hang with (well, mostly Jer - but I was happy to hang on for the ride!).

    So Mikey takes us up to the garage where the infamous ghetto sled was parked. Man, he is not kidding when he calls that thing a pile of shit. I may have called out for a number at the craps table that night "come on eight - Mikey needs a new car!!". After some discussion about where to go (LVC and Imperial Palace were amongst our choices, especially when I told them I've never been to IP), it was decided to return to Barbary Coast to see if more money could be taken off their tables. That and Mikey wanted to see the parade of chicks leaving Drai's After Hours go by again.

    Mikey recounted the story better than I can, because the gambling details escape me, but we all made money. I actually took a profit of $405 off the table, tossed the dealers the five buck chip and took my $400 to the cage. And I made the least amount of any of us!

    By the time we got back to Rio, Jer & I were barely able to walk, both from the booze and from lack of sleep, but what a great day this had been! The bad news was that Jer had to leave on Saturday and the wake up call he requested was for an hour neither of us would have chosen to see if we'd had our druthers.
     
  5. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Part Five

    (I told you I was a motormouth...)

    Saturday - way too early

    I had seen the first rays of dawn to the east before I fell asleep Friday night. Make that Saturday morning... so the phone ringing with the wake up call was especially rude. I wasn't too bad off, considering all the alcohol I drank, but Jer was feeling the wrath to the point where breakfast did not sound like a good idea. So we got our stuff ready, and left Rio. He carried my exceedingly heavy bag, full of booze we never opened (it made it safely home with me and will be used eventually, not to worry) and we went back to Wynn to drop it off. We tried to get Jer checked in for his Southwest flight, but he didn't have his confirmation number handy, so it didn't work. He decided to take off for McCarran a little earlier than he had to in order to check in and to try and find if there was any blood in his veins or if it had totally converted to liquor at this point. So I walked him out to the taxi line and we said our farewells. I think he ended up going home with some winnings, in large part because of the success at Barbary Coast (and in larger part because he didn't have any time to gamble after that success!!).

    After that, I grabbed a danish and some mineral water at Wynn's little corner coffee shop/pharmacy/gift shop. Then I took a nice nap! I needed it! When I woke up from the nap, I felt much better, but was seriously hungry, so I called John and asked if he was hungry. He never got that message but he showed up in the room within half an hour - and he was hungry. Based on the numerous good things I'd heard from other board members, we decided to walk to The Venetian and go to the Grand Luxe there. As soon as I got to the front door at Venetian, I realized that my favorite casino, Borgata, uses the same fragrance by their front doors as well. But Borgata does not pump it throughout the casino, just a whiff at the front door. Venetian was very heavily perfumed. I had a hard time with it if I was sober. Not to worry - I wasn't there for too long while I was sober!

    At the Grand Luxe, we both decided to have a pasta and salad dish. I chose Pasta Telephono, which was basically baked ziti with lots of cheese. As Mikey would say later that weekend "Behold the power of cheese!". Yum. It was good hangover food. I took one bite of the salad - it wasn't bad but it wasn't sitting right on my tummy either. Before leaving Venetian, we made dinner reservations at Aquaknox. Then it was back to Wynn where I played some more blackjack before deciding it was time for nap #2. I got a refreshing 20-30 minutes of sleep then took a bath in the nice big soaking tub. Hoya, it's nicer than the one at Aladdin! I'm nearly six feet tall, but I could lean back and fully extend my legs and barely touch the far wall. And it was deep too! I liked it a lot. It felt nice. Here's as good a time as any to note that the bottles of stuff they give you in the bathroom at Wynn are terrific. LOL - I sound like I'm on Cheapo Vegas now :) They include shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer and shower gel, all in the same lemongrass citrus scent. Very nice, for either gender.

    I got dressed for dinner, and we walked back over to Venetian. Our table wasn't ready for us, so we had a couple of cocktails at the bar first. Their signature cocktail is the Aquatini. It features a blue raspberry vodka. And here I thought blue raspberry was the domain of 7-11. Gotta love a Slurpee with a kick!! It was so good I had two. Hubby had some other martini, then switched over to the Aquatini as well. Then we got called to our table. Service here was excellent. You have two waiters and are given both names so you can get their attention if you need it. I don't know how you'd need it, because they were all over us, not in a bad way but definitely attentive. We ordered a bottle of chardonnay with dinner, and bottled water. For an entree, I chose the seared day boat scallops, and John had a dish featuring grouper. We'd seen the couple next to us order some side dishes. Their spinach looked appealing so we took some of that, and they also had a brick shaped block of potatoes covered in cheese. I can't remember what the name of it was, but it was the first potato dish on the menu and ended in "oise" as in Francoise (although that isn't its name). Man alive, that was potato lasagna. It was delicious!! It was very thinly sliced potatoes with some herbs, and topped with the melted cheese. Both of our dinners were perfectly prepared. I will say that this was one of the finest meals I have ever experienced. Not only would I not hesitate to return to Aquaknox, I will state that I cannot WAIT to return there! And the decor and vibe of the place is pretty cool too. Very very nice.

    Between the martinis and the bottle of wine, we were feeling pretty mellow so we sat at different blackjack tables to play. I went through a couple hundy, but it didn't go too fast so I enjoyed myself. At Venetian, you can call Gray Goose by brand, so I had them bring me a cosmopolitan with the Goose. After several taste tests, my decision is that the Goose is better than Ketel One. And I *like* Ketel One! Neither John & I were feeling much pain, so we stepped out of Venetian and decided to give a cabbie a fare out to Sunset Station to visit Mikey (remember I said the fare would play an important factor the following night?). The previous night, the cabbie had taken the most direct route (according to Mikey) - down Flamingo from Harrahs and turn onto Sunset. From Venetian, we were taken west to I-15 and all the way around past Green Valley and exited at Stephanie. The fare was more than $10 more than the previous night. I know that probably 4 or 5 bucks would be the difference between Harrahs and Venetian - maybe that much if traffic isn't moving much on the Strip. But I was not happy about the way we were apparently long hauled. There was a very very drunk pair waiting/hoping for a taxi at Sunset, so we made their day by showing up right then.

    We found Mikey dealing Super Fun 21. By the way, when he's not dealing blackjack, his uniform isn't terribly flamboyant. It's a deep teal green shirt. Yes, the sleeves are a little blousy, but it isn't bad, and the color is nice on him. However, we saw the shirts the blackjack dealers wear, and it's basically a wildly tie died t-shirt. Think Grateful Dead.

    We sat down at his table, and he introduced us to Dfense (Jim) and his wife (is it Jen? I hope I got that right - my apologies if I did not). We played for awhile, putting out tokes damn near every hand. Unfortunately Mikey wasn't getting too many of them because we were losing. He IS the closer. We did manage to find out he was off work on Sunday, and we all arranged to meet up the next day at 2pm at Golden Gate. When we left Sunset Station, we asked the doorman to call a cab. He said he could do that... or perhaps for $40 we'd like to take their limo to town. Uh, yeah!! Considering it cost us $40 plus tip to cab it out there, the same price for a limo with leg room. Hell yeah!! The driver had to drop off two people at a nearby gas station first, but for the majority of the ride we had it to ourselves. It was comfy enough that after a couple of minutes I heard John snoring from his side of the limo. We made it back to Wynn and after two nights of staying up very very late, I only made it until about 1:30am this night. The beds at Wynn are very comfortable.....
     
  6. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Part Six and done

    Sunday
    I managed to sleep off and on until about 8:30 or so, then got showered and ready to roll. We tried to get breakfast at the Country Club restaurant at Wynn but missed the final seating time by two minutes. The line at the buffet looked far shorter than at the Terrace Pointe Cafe, so we opted for that. We went to the poker room, where John had been holed up for the past few days. He got a line pass for both of us and a comp for himself. Nice. And a good thing too, as there is a hidden queue at the buffet that you cannot see if you decided to come in on a whim. As "invited guests" we were 2nd in line. It looked like it was more like a half an hour wait to those poor unwashed souls who were not "invited". The buffet is beautiful to look at. It feels like you are eating in Bellagio's conservatory. I had an omelet made with crab, shrimp, peppers and cheese, and some fresh fruit including "California strawberries" which are tossed with sour cream, brown sugar and mint. YUM! The prime rib was good, although it could have been a little warmer. My "find" at the buffet was the small, delicious banana I know from Hawaii called the apple banana. It smells like an apple, and also tastes a little like one, but it's a banana. I love those. I had two of them, even though I really didn't have room for two of them (and they are small). The buffet wasn't as good as the one at Paris, but I liked it better than the breakfast buffet I had at Bellagio last December.

    After brunch, I played a little more at Wynn, until quarter after one, when we met back up to head downtown. When I'm playing blackjack, I will "request" a card - I don't need a 21 every time... I just want one more than the dealer. I had one hand with five or six cards going, several of them spades, so I requested the four of spades. Damned if that wasn't the next card out of the deck. That got the pit boss' attention... When it came time to leave for the get together, I made the doorman laugh when I told him "we're going for some culture shock... Golden Gate please". The cabbie was laughing at it too, and he gave us a really fun ride. I made a rude comment about the young boy standing in front of the Riv and walking up to the Crazy Girls statue. He put down the passenger side window and yelled out "Oh go on and rub that Booty!!!" I knew this was going to be a fun ride. At one point, I was talking about the limo rides I'd had this weekend. He says "excuse me lady - I don't want to hear any talk about those L-I-M-O things in here... it's a long walk from here to the Golden Gate!" Made me laugh. Then I told him about MM2, where we had 8 or 9 people, so riding in a T-A-X-I wasn't feasible. He laughed and agreed with me there. We pulled into the Plaza (across the street from the Golden Gate, since GG has no real place for a vehicle to pull in and let out passengers) still talking about MM2 and I realized that the last time I had gotten out of a vehicle for hire at the Plaza was at that time, and that was when I flashed my thong to Blackjack (inadvertently, but still...) so I laughed and told the cabbie that story. So he said he didn't believe me, so I needed to show him my thong to prove it. I was wearing shorts, but reached my hand down inside the back, brought out the strap and showed him as I got out, snapping it for good measure. Gave myself a hell of a wedgie too... I heard him still laughing as we crossed the street between the Plaza and the Gate.

    We played craps at the Gate for a few minutes before meeting up with Mikey, and not long after that Dfense and his wife showed up. Mikey had been downtown for a couple hours, making money. We went over to LVC where I had a match play to use. Put it on the pass line and won! Unfortunately I still couldn't roll to save my life, and the money started to slip away from us. The five of us ended up playing in several spots downtown - Mikey pretty much stuck to LVC and Binions. I made trips to Fremont and the Plaza. I had another match play at the Plaza where I also won that on a double down. Nice! So whoever it was I traded for the matchplays - thanks! They came in real handy. I did not find Queen Sheeba dealing, which was good because just seeing her face would lead me to lose I think. But I did find a pit boss at Plaza who was hitting on me so hard I think he left bruises! He even gave me a jeweled bobbypin for my hair, saying he'd gotten it in Tibet. Do I believe him? In a word, no, but it was fun to be the center of his attention while I was there. And taking out a profit of $125 wasn't bad either!

    We met back up with Mikey at LVC, and talked about dinner plans. We had invited him to join us, and had an idea where we'd like to go if he wanted, but he mentioned that he'd like to try Great Moments Room at LVC, based in large part from Hoya's reviews. We got a reservation for 8pm, and they were fine with the fact that we were not dressed up. As Mikey noted, they did not have the bottle of wine we requested available, but they gave us our second choice at a greatly reduced price. So we had two bottles of it! My entree was filet mignon, and it came with soup or salad, the veggie of the day and a carbohydrate. I had the cream of chicken soup, but the waitress made sure I tried their special house salad as well. It was good, although I doubt I'd make a special trip there just for that. The soup was good. The bread they brought was quite good - it was a sourdough with a spice. I couldn't put my finger on what it was though, so asked, and found out it was anise. It was very good. My filet was perfectly medium, very nicely cooked. I did laugh at the veggie of the day. I had asked what it was and was told "carrot and asparagus" so I thought "yum, both good choices". I had to laugh when my entree plate came out with one asparagus spear and one slender carrot. That's somewhat less than my recommended daily allowance of veggies there! (and I did have the thought "I coulda hada V-8!!"). Mikey's described his meal in the Restaurants forum, and hubby had a chicken, pasta and artichoke dish that he liked rather well. I liked my meal just fine, although compared to Aquaknox I was underwhelmed. And actually Downtown, I'd go first with Second Street Grill. But I still liked it very well and wouldn't hesitate to return there. None of us had room for dessert, so we passed up the delicious looking goodies they wheeled out to our table.

    John needed to put in a few more hours at Wynn's poker room to qualify for the reduced room rate for the stay, so Mikey & I hung around LVC for a bit longer. He decided I was liquored up enough to shoot the dice. Alas, the booze didn't help and I pretty much set a point and sevened out yet again. There was a fellow at the table who had a very nice roll, and I made $167 off him. It was pushing midnight (I think) when I bid Mikey farewell and taxied back to Wynn where I crawled into bed for my last few hours in Vegas. Hubby staggered up to the room somewhere after 5am and requested a wake up call for 7:30am. Ouch.

    Monday
    There wasn't any time to play, just to shower, pack up and have a meal. Breakfast was at Wynn's Terrace Pointe Cafe, the only place I repeated a meal at during this trip. Considering how much I drank and how little I slept, I actually felt pretty good, except for the fact that I was leaving Las Vegas. At least I know I'll be back soon!!

    :thumbsup:
     
  7. Jack21

    Jack21 Guest

    Sounds like you managed to pack in alot Becky....but gee, sorry you couldn't find any food in Vegas; you must have been famished by Monday.....serouosly, this TR brings out the hidden carnivoire in all of us....Is your fingernail still in the door of the Wynn? Is Angy's whiskey-soaked undergarment still adorning the ghetto sled? Did you vaguely recall making out with Holly and Cari? Sounds like the cabbies made out well, at least.

    Thanks.....E
     
  8. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    Potatoes Lyonnaise??I think that's with onions & cheese.....Sounds like you had a GREAT time! Thanks for the food reviews mixed in with the drinking:thumbsup: I've thought about Roy's a time or two....Second Street Grill, of course, is on the Downtown Gourmet room list, so I'm glad to hear a positive review....Think you'll be sober in time for your next trip???
     
  9. dfense072

    dfense072 Low-Roller

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    Kikky,

    Glad to hear you made a bit of a comeback downtown on Sunday, luckily Jen's wins on slots (partially) offset the beating I took at Binion's & LVC. Very jealous of your dining adventures, the wife is all about the gaming when we're in Vegas...food takes a definite back seat. Also sounds like I missed quite a time at Carnaval Court...but there's always next time!
     
  10. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    It wasn't potatoes Lyonnaise - I've made that at home and would remember the name despite my inebriation. I guess I'll have to look it up. Which I did... it is DAUPHINOISE POTATOES. They were really good.

    Jim, there wasn't anywhere near enough of a comeback. My gambling losses, combined with the limo rides and taxi rides, took a hit that has a comma in the number. Oh well, in the grand scheme of things, it was worth it. There WILL be a sequel to the Carnaval Court madness if I have anything to say about it.

    J/E, part of my fingernail is still at the Wynn I think. Ow. I did not see any of Angy's undergarments anywhere in the ghetto sled, and I do not vaguely recall making out with anyone, much less Holly and Cari. Sorry!

    Seeing as how my next Vegas trip is less than 8 weeks away (unless I get those free room offers from Wynn, in which case it might be sooner).... no chance in hell I'll be sober by then! :thumbsup:
     
  11. duffelbag don

    duffelbag don Low-Roller

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    Looks like you guys were going 24/7. Did you even relax? Great to hear that I'm not the only one who likes to throw back a few cocktails and go ride a roller coaster! Only in Vegas!
     
  12. vegasbound

    vegasbound VIP Whale

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    Nicely done. Glad to see you ate this time...sounds like some great eats, too. I wish my weekend wasn't so hectic so I would've been able to meet up with you guys.

    I can't stand that smell of Venetian you mentioned. I walk in and hold my breath until I get into the casino - It reminds me of cheap old lady perfume. I swear it leaves an aftertaste if you inhale it. Uck!
     
  13. keno

    keno obsessed with countdown timers

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    Great trip report! I wish we could have held on to head out to see Mikey as well! That night was a total blast!
     
  14. doctor_al

    doctor_al VIP Whale

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    You guys set a horrible example. One which the rest of us are expected to live up to. Get some sleep next time!

    What, no blood?
     
  15. Jer

    Jer “The Walrus has spoken”

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    Sleep???? C'mon now???

    Whats beautiful about this is that I don't need to write anything now!

    ....and now you know the story

    Good job Kikky!
     
  16. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    Hey now!! How many times did I request help?? Provide some of the gambling details at the very least! Slacker!
     
  17. RossW

    RossW North of the 49th

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    I was pooped from just reading it....

    Whew!! You guys did pack a lot of stuff in. The eats sounded great. I gotta go a little "higher end" next time I'm there and try some fancy grub.

    What was your first impression of SunSet? I've never been. There are a few local places I'd like to check out. SunSet, GVR, Texas Station, just to name a few. I ventured out to the SunCoast but it was a smoker's haven...I've never seen a smokier casino....:yuck: It looks nice from the outside, but man...for smoke, it was a blue haze in the place.

    Well Done....Free rooms from Wynn?? Only 8 weeks till the next trip? Maybe sooner?? You must own 50% of Southwest Airlines by now don't you??

    Have a look at the "Moving to Vegas" thread. Maybe you are a candidate.....:evillaugh
     
  18. KathyinNY

    KathyinNY Tourist

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    Wow, what a great trip report. I have only one disagreement with you for the moment, lol and that is cranberry and tequila and the best! I guess you have to have a taste for it. That's what I love to drink if I do mixed drinks.
     
  19. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    This was actually my 2nd opinion on Sunset. I was there a few years ago, and liked the place well enough to ask to take a look at the rooms. I still think it's an awesome casino - but the location just isn't convenient to sight-seeing.

    As for being a candidate for moving there, I will confess the thought has crossed my mind more than once!!
     
  20. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    My right knee is black & blue, and I have no idea how it may have gotten bruised. Will that suffice?
     
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