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Short Report---Hard Rock & Mandalay Bay (Delano)

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by JR Swift, Jan 25, 2016.

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  1. JR Swift

    JR Swift VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Lawrence, KS
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    My Trip Report

    Just returned from a 4 night stay (solo) in everyone's favorite city and thought I would share a few thoughts on the trip:

    Arrived fairly late on Wednesday night (1/21) and caught a quick cab to the Hard Rock. Yes...part of my visit was in order to check out this year's Adult Entertainment Expo. Definitely a whole different experience if you can do it while staying at the hotel. Was also there last year and it quite a people watching zoo. Surprisingly, I have found good room rates through the AVN website when every other site is showing no availability or ridiculous prices. Stayed in the Casino tower again and had kind of a crappy room and an even crappier view but everything was clean and comfortable enough so not so bad. And where else can you bump into porn stars in the elevator or your hallway?

    Did all of my eating/drinking/gambling at the Hard Rock for the first 2 days. No big wins but the losing was relatively slow. Tried the new Pizza place (Forte) and it was pretty good but overpriced. Drink service was slow on the floor which is true most places these days. Had no problems getting served at the bars but it was difficult to find a seat at times. The renovated Center Bar area is nice I guess. Other than early on Thursday, it was always packed with people. Now takes up even more of the gaming floor but there was always a lot of wasted space there before. Expo itself was good for a few hours of strange entertainment. Even if you are a fan, you will be hard pressed to know who a third of these people are. Lots of cam girls and specialty booths. With the exception of few well-promoted (and crowded) areas, most of the girls charged $5-$20 for an autographed picture which is a bit high for no-names.

    Moved over the the MB/Delano on Friday afternoon. Had never stayed there before and, in fact, had never stayed on the South end of the Strip before, despite over 30 trips. Was able to book a pretty good price through MLife and decided (with the help of several people on this board) to give it a go. I liked it a lot. The rooms at the Delano are top notch. Small suites with separate sitting area and 1 1/2 baths. I wanted to move in permanently. Walk from there to the casino is not long at all but you feel like you are a world away from the noise and the smoke and the mayhem when you go back. Had good luck in the casino, not winning but playing for a long time on a fairly small amount of cash. Must have plugged away for 5 or 6 hours straight on Friday. Surprisingly, the drink service was very good! To those who've mentioned that casino is kind of quiet and lacks excitement, I suppose they are right. But it is a pleasant place to gamble, not crowded and had good service. Reminded me of staying off the Strip but much closer to the action. A short walk (or Tram ride) will drop you in the middle of the Luxor/Excalibur madness and, from there, you can access the rest of the madness on that corner.

    Saturday (last day) I got up late, had brunch at Citizens (which is OK) and spent the afternoon wandering up the Strip, playing briefly at each and finally landing at the Mirage. Suddenly felt like checking out the Palms so I took a cab over there. Played for an hour or two before getting a nice hit on Video Keno ($550) which made a nice impact my final win/loss ratio for a trip. Ended up back at MB for a few more hours of play before I grabbed a couple of slices of pizza and headed back to the room. With a morning flight and a long day ahead, I crashed pretty early.

    Delano was mostly great. Room was quiet and comfortable. Ended up with a Strip View but on a fairly low floor so the Luxor dominated what you could see. In room Keurig at a competitive ($4) price. Very good TV selection and wifi worked well. Was a good thing too as my cell phone had limited or no service (Sprint) throughout most of the complex. Not a big selection of bar/restaurants on site but Mandalay Bay covers that problem. I racked up a ton of MLife points (not even sure how it was so many) so I advanced to Pearl and got about halfway to Gold which isn't bad for a relatively low roller. Would definitely repeat. Has to be one of the biggest and best standard rooms in town.

    Hope I didn't bore you all too much. This was my 32nd trip to Las Vegas and my last night was my 157th night in Las Vegas. And, yes, I have a problem. :)
     
  2. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

    Joined:
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    I doubt this forum thinks you'd have a problem...haha

    Nice write up! And nice hit on keno!
     
  3. PayTriple

    PayTriple VIP Whale

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    I know your problem: you haven't learned how to post pictures and videos yet! Thanks for the write up.
     
  4. Raptor

    Raptor High-Roller

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    Great report and I like your problem!
     
  5. HurricaneBuckeye

    HurricaneBuckeye Tourist

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    I love the Hard Rock. Next time try the Ainsworth @ the Hard Rock. Great Video Poker/people watching and awesome martinis:beer:
     
  6. BigWW

    BigWW High Roller

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    San Antonio
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    Great report!
     
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