July 18-22 Report

Just some details and observations of my trip. My cousin Arthur Ritis, unknowingly showed up, therefore walking the strip and visiting various casinos was out of the question.
Arrived in Vegas 15 minutes early via Cattle Call Airlines(SWA) @ 9:30am. Grabbed my bag, yes Baggage Claim was jammed packed this particular Sunday morning. Jumped on the shuttle and off to the Orleans! Got early check-in: one king non-smoking room. I had to meet a co-worker at the Boardwalk- he plays Strohs Baseball- don't ask. A bunch of math whizzes and computer geeks. I was his stand-in for a while, because he and his wife had to attend some meeting. I lost his last three games and grabbed the shuttle at the Barbary Coast back to the Orleans. My knees and hands were killing me. Thanks Arthur!
Observations:

Room: Nice room and very clean. 19" TV, desk, couch,loveseat, coffee table, sliding door restroom/closet, vanity, standard bottles of stuff,and plenty of towels. $5 tip and got plenty of extra pillows. Bed was quite comfy. View of Mandalay Bay to Mirage with Rio and Palms in foreground.

Orleans Casino: Machines kind of spread out all over, but pretty accessible. Table games all in one area. The table games seemed to be packed at all hours the whole time I was there. Definitely a locals place. 2- $3 BJ tables full 24-7. I played at one Monday night. Dealer named Tamara was very helpful with anyone who had questions. Bought in for a hundred and played a while. Colored up with my buy in plus a hundred. Did not see the dreaded 6-5 BJ. I was too intimidated to try craps for the first time--too many people at the tables. Seems as if everyone was having a good time.

Race/Sports Book: I spent most of my time here since I could not do a lot of walking. I enjoyed sitting with the local retired community betting the ponies. Actually learned a lot and won some money. Not a lot, but more than I lost. Del Mar opened its'season Wed. and the place was jumpin'. We tend to write off older people in our society, but those guys were a riot and I had a great time- all meals during the day were comped cuz these old dudes are regulars and get whatever they want comped. Lucky me.

Food:
Don Miguels (Orleans)- Good chips and salsa, good nachos, huge portions, slow service, good prices.

Sea Food Buffet (Orleans)- Shrimp and crawfish too small and not the best texture. Monglian/Chinese station offered the best in my opinion. Select your veggies and they stir-fry them with beef, chicken, or pork. I chose beef of course and it was Good! Did not try dessert, not crazy about that stuff.

Fried cheese and marinara at Brendans Irish pub were great as well as the burger and fries @ Terrible Mikes.

GraveYard Specials/Breakfast @ the Cafe:
Two eggs scrambled, 4 sausages, hash browns and toast .99 cents= very good. Short stack pancakes and 2 sausages $1.49= very good.
Chinese selectios--you pick whatever--it's all good.

Boardwalk Popcorn Shrimp: Only because Hoya said it was "Yum"! It was gross! They did not have the shrimp stored at the correct temp. and they were slimy! The fries were good though. I won't hold it against you Hoya! I think the popcorn and cocktail shrimp were the same shrimp. The breading would not stick to the pocorn shrimp and it was mealy.

Alladin Buffet: I went there on Tues. because I had to pick up tickets for George Wallace.
I do not know what the big deal is. The food was not all that great to me. I ate from the Seafood, American and Mexican stations. Shrimp was ok, too small. Mashed pot. were very good, roast was dry, quesedillas were ok, oven roasted salsa tasted burned,chips were bland, lets not even talk about the enchiladas. The choc.chip and p-nut butter cookies were excellent, soft and chewy. I may be spoiled living on the gulf coast and having grat Seafood & the Mexican influence, but I just was not impressed. I believe there ratings are based more on the middle eastern food and desserts, which I did not partake.

Entertainment:
Tix2Nite vs. Tix4ToNite(?)
The place by the MGM (Coke Bottle) has cheaper prices but longer lines and the line is in the sun. I was not going to wait in THAT LINE!
The one next to the Harley Daidson Cafe had a shorter line and they give you an umbrella and water while you wait in line. My ticket for George Wallace reg. price was $35 and I got it for 21.95. The show room at the Flamingo is small and good sightlines. I sat on the rail in the balcony, very good seat. George was hilarious, his show was not scripted. He just asked the audience to yell out topics and he would talk and talk and talk...He was great. It was his birthday and they surprised him. Read about it in LVRJ "Norm" section(July 22).

Other Observations:
1. Parents, please monitor what your daughters wear. It is amazing what teenagers wear today even in front of their parents. Young ladies, if you want respect, you need to respect yourself first. I know I am out on a limb, but I teach 9th-12th graders. Young men,grown men sometimes, and people in general will form opinions on what they see. You look like a tramp, it is more likely, you will be treated as one. Boys who look like thugs will be treated like thugs. Just my 10 cents. I know, you did not ask.

2. Too many kids in Vegas w/o supervision.

3. If you choose to smoke while sitting at a BJ table, please make an effort to blow the smoke away from the dealer and others sitting at the table. It is not only offensive to blow smoke all over the people at the table, it is RUDE!

4. Please do not gamble with the rent/bill/food/kids college money. People who sit at a $3 BJ table and get really upset about losing and express there displeasure by cussing and blaming the dealer GET ON MY NERVES.

5. It is really fun to sit at a BJ table and everyone knows what they are doing.

6. The cocktail servers at the Orleans show a LOT of T/A. It is hilarious how women look at them. Some admiringly, and others not so. I love watching people watch other people.

7. Drinks come quickly at the Orleans. No matter where I was in the casino, drinks were very easily accessible.I'm not much of a drinker, but a Genuine Draft or Michelobe is welcome on the rare occasion.

8. Drunken Buffoonery is fine by me, but Stupid will always be Stupid.

9. Rode the monrail on Tuesday. Bumpy ride, but it sure beats walking. I did not have much choice, my cousin was really being a punk!

10. Too many kids in places they should not be!

I had a good time, even with limited mobility. This was only my third trip in twelve years and I am going to make an effort to get out there more often. I can see why so many people love the place. Vegas offers experieces for people from all walks of life with many different tastes. What a city!

Hope this was ok. More trips will help me write better trip reports..I hope.

Moe

 

Good report. Try the Middle Eastern stuff if you get to the Aladdin Buffet before they turn it into something elso once Planet Hollywood takes over. That food was very good.

I think your lack of mobility was a blessing in disguise. You were forced to spend most of your time in one place. This is something we plan on doing more of on our next trip. (Staying in one place and not running around so much) If you read our trip report, you will see we were all over the place and it put a bit of a strain on the trip.

Your observation about teens and clothes is on the mark. My husband teaches high school in Scranton, PA and they instituted a strict dress code to combat the problem. He thinks that the problem really comes from the parents for many of the kids that dress this way. Too many parents want to be their children's friends and not parents in his opinion.

We also can't wait to go again and more often if possible.

 

Nice report, Mr Moe. The Orleans continues to move up my list. I haven't seen the Orleans book, but I could have a much worse vacation than "darn, honey, I think hanging around the sports book is about all I'm up for today." Too bad you didn't get on the dice table; next time! That's a good place to start on craps, IMO.

 

I agree that craps is intimidating the first time. But once you've tried it, it's addictive!! But a word of warning - if your cousin is acting up, it can be difficult to stand at the table for hours. Some places might let you bring a vacant chair from another game, but at peak times, there might not be a vacant chair to be had.

Loved the report!

 

So sorry the shrimp at Boardwalk were bad!!! Things do change over time (recent reports have said the Golden Gate shrimp cocktail isn't as good anymore either) Wonder if the decent lower-end shrimp supply in Vegas is drying up?? Too bad about your cousin Arthur going on vacation with you--sounds like you had a blast in spite of his accompaniment!!! (and count me as one of the women that loves the cocktail waitresses at Orleans--they're attractive and PROMPT with those drink orders!!!)

 

Hey Mistermoe...we were at the Orleans at the same time...also ate at the Seafood Buffet Monday night...agree that it was just fair...not much meat on them crawdads. Place has a pretty nice little race/sports book I thought and I liked the way they showed the races on the in room TV. Good place...nice people...don't even get me started on the cocktail waitresses again.

 

mistermoe - thanks for a great report. Especially liked you comments about the boys at the Orleans race/sportsbook. I'll try to pay them a visit next time we're in sin city. My wife and I had a great shrimp coctail at the Golden Gate's deli on Saturday July 24. We didn't have the .99 job, we sprung for the $2.99 "big shrimp cocktail" and it was very good. Give it a try on your next trip. We thought the monorail was ok. We'll ride it again. Hope you make more visits to Vegas this year and report your experiences back to us. Again, thanks for your report.

later, GVJ