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1st Post Baby Trip- Mirage, great food, and horrible gambling 8/23-8/26

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by nikerbokers, Sep 1, 2013.

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  1. nikerbokers

    nikerbokers Tourist

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2012
    Messages:
    60
    Location:
    East Bay Area, CA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5

    My Trip Report

    Just a couple notes here first: I am late 20's, went with my husband but met up with some friends who were also in town, and this was my 1st trip back to Vegas since March 2011. That was our "last trip before trying to have a kid".

    Friday 8/23, I had the day off of work but I was frazzled as all hell. Had to get everything ready for my daughter to be with her grandma for the weekend, make a Target run, and attend school (I work full time in Marketing and also just started school as well) before having a 3:45pm flight. So this trip was much needed. I won't lie though, half of me dreaded it because I didn't want to leave my 12 1/2 month old daughter for the first time.

    Flew out of Stockton on Allegiant. Was pleasantly surprised that they gave me a window seat after we were both assigned middle seats 24 hours prior with just me joking around about it. I hate Stockton (we live 45 mins away) but I have to say it's very convenient in terms that there is one gate/terminal so no lines at all! We boarded on time and landed in Vegas at 4:50pm. Grabbed my checked back and friends of ours picked us up to take us to our hotel. It was sprinkling and overcast when we arrived but warm so I didn't mind.

    Even though I haven't been in Vegas in almost 2 1/2 years, I received a great offer from The Mirage so this was our first visit to the property. We got to the hotel at 5:30pm. Check in line wasn't too bad- only took 25 minutes to get to the desk. As it was almost 6pm on a Friday night, I knew odds of the $20 trick working were low but tried anyhow. Check in attendant said she had an "awesome room" for me. Room 18065. I think her "awesome room" was a load of bull but I was pretty happy with the accommodations. They were actually just finishing cleaning the room when we got there. They did a great job- place was spotless. View was just of the freeway but not a huge deal. The bed was amazing. Room noise was minimal (we were a bit away from the elevator)- only thing I could hear was the door of the next door neighbors when coming and going. Water temp and pressure were decent.

    We freshened up a bit and were starving for dinner. One of my husband's Army buddies that he served in Iraq with was also in town so we asked them to meet us for dinner at BLT Burger inside the Mirage. 7:30pm on a Friday and not a line! Sweet! Service was good, which is always a good first impression. Husband ordered a Captain and Coke, while I decided on the Kiwi Rum Runner. Best drink I had the whole trip. Real kiwi puree and it was delicious! :thumbsup: Burgers were not amazing but they were good. Liked the waffle fries too. All in all, I left there satisfied.

    Met up with another couple/friends of ours at Carnival Court after dinner. For some reason a guy celebrating his 50th birthday wanted a picture with me so I obliged. In return he bought me a drink so score on a free drink on the first night. After that, we took a cab downtown and decided to blow some money at Binions. I played some slots and then finished off playing the Let It Ride tables. Lost at both. I was exhausted from only 5 hours of sleep the night before so around 1am, we took a cab ride back and I went to the room, while my husband played at the Mirage for another couple hours.

    Saturday 8/24. My mom-clock woke me up at 8am so I called my daughter at home and tried to go back to sleep but at 9:30, I got up and got myself ready for the day. At 10:30, I went downstairs to gamble a bit while my husband got ready. We went to Cravings buffet for brunch. It was so-so. The highlight was the Prime Rib and they didn't charge me for the mimosa (I tipped the server well) but the rest of the food was middle of the road. Probably won't go back but it was only $23 a person so not a huge deal. My husband decided he wasn't feeling well so he went back to the room but I wasn't going to let his crappy mood keep me from having fun so I went out and decided to walk around the strip.

    Walked around to Venetian/Palazzo to just enjoy the 85ish degree sunny early afternoon. Ended up walking around Wynn/Encore. I just love the decorations leading to the casino. Decided to go around and play a bit- had some free play to use up. While playing, received a call from my mother in law and had a freak out about my daughter getting red spots all over her body. Long story short, I ran back to the Mirage, went to the room, called my daughter's doc office, told my mother in law to take my daughter to urgent care, I cried in the room, and then an hour later was told all was okay so I could go back to having a good time. I went down to do some gambling with my husband. Decided to be spontaneous and treat my husband to a really nice dinner so walked to Stack and made reservations.

    7:30 was our dinner reservations. Stack was busy but we were seated right away. It is very dark with loud music but it didn't seem to bother us too much. We had two really amazing servers. They had a great drink selection, which we ordered via iPad. I had a glass of Pinot Noir and my husband had some sort of mixed cocktail. Both were very very very nice. I had a coupon via Yelp for the free glass of wine but small print said bar seating only. They were gracious enough to let me use it anyway though. We both ordered a Petite Filet (mine medium rare, husband medium well) and decided to split potatoes au gratin. Amazing... simply amazing. One of the best meals I have ever had. The steak melted in my mouth. I ate every single crumb on that plate. I just wish I had room for dessert. Bill was pricey but I would say it was worth every penny. Will be back again without a doubt.

    After dinner, we met up with our friends from home who were staying at the Flamingo. We decided to gamble at Margarittaville/Flamingo casino since they had $5 blackjack. Lost at slots and played blackjack with my husband for about 2 hours. Left the table even, which is a win in my book but alas... on the way to the cashier, we sat down to Let it Ride and my money rode all the way to the dealers. Sucked. Walked back to the Mirage and was in bed by 3:30am.

    Sunday 8/25. Woke up around 9:45am. Husband decided he wanted to sleep longer. Normally I would follow suit but I really wanted to hit up my favorite breakfast... Hash House. I called up our friends and they wanted to eat there too so I met up with them at the Quad. HH had about a 25 min wait but took 40 minutes for the food to get to our table. To their defense, they did say it was going to take 30-45 mins. Their mimosas were amazing though so it kept me at bay. Had the Corned Beef and it was A+ yet again. I could literally drink that strawberry jam by the way.

    My husband met up with us after and I announced I had to to hit up Lion Share so they decided to join me. We walked to MGM (it was an overcast 78 degree day) and was kind of annoyed that someone was at the machine with no plans on getting up. So I set up shop about 20 feet away and played some slots while waiting for the machine to free up. Apparently the man hit something decent so when it was my turn, $100 was gone in about 4 minutes. My husband lost 22 straight hands of BJ there at MGM too. That's with moving tables too. Awful... between the two of us, we lost close to $400 in about 30 minutes. Looks like that place has bad mojo for us so doubt we will ever stay at MGM ha! We ventured across to NYNY after. Was going to ride the roller coaster (military ID got us 50% off) but rain started right as we were about to get on so they refunded us the money and closed the ride. So what else were we to do except gamble? What is it with NYNY dealers? Why are they the most miserable and rude dealers in Vegas? It's actually quite irritating and while I like the property (have stayed there as well), it's almost enough for me not to play there anymore.

    After NYNY, we started walking back north. Hit up Cosmo and gambled a bit there. The Hangover slots kept us going for a couple hours. Watched the Bellagio fountains and then the couple split and we went back to the room for a bit. After changing and all that, we went out to Treasure Island and ate the most horrible chili dog I have ever had at that Chicago Style place or whatever the hell it was called. Gambled a tiny bit. Hubby had to go up to the room to expel the chili dog (sorry TMI) so I set up shop at Rhumbar. Had a drink called the Zombie and it was pretty tasty. After my husband met up with me later, we went back to the Margaritaville casino and did $5 blackjack again. Husband went out really quick but I sat and played with the same $100 for 3 hours. Since we had to get up relatively early, I went back to the Mirage and to the room by 1am. After all the gambling in 3 nights, hubby and I lost close to $3k. Ouch!

    Check out was fine- did it from the room. Can't comment on housekeeping except they were prompt on towels when I called and asked for more. Oh and someone kept stealing our "Do Not Disturb" sign. Went straight from the room to the taxi line to the airport.

    All in all, had a pretty good trip and I already miss Vegas a week later. I did miss my daughter like crazy though so it will just be annual trips instead of 2-3 times a year. Besides, if gambling goes this way again, I won't be able to afford to go more than the once a year. I will say though, I loved staying at the Mirage and will definitely like to come back if I get another good offer. Location, service, and amenities were top notch. Great quality for the dollar.

    Cheers to you if you actually read this novel. Hope I didn't bore you too much.
     
  2. techie223

    techie223 High-Roller

    Joined:
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    Ottawa Canada
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    Thanks for the trip report. Too bad about the gambling, but the rest of the trip sounded like fun (except for the hot dogs, yikes!).
     
  3. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Great report. I feel the same way about MGM. Never seem to win but the wife loves it.
    Mark
     
  4. Watts

    Watts Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Trips to Las Vegas:
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    Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a lot of fun even with the unfortunate gaming.
     
  5. Blonde_4_ever

    Blonde_4_ever LasVegas4ever.com

    Joined:
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    I ate at Stack once and loved it too...
    Thanks for the report.
     
  6. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

    Joined:
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    We fly out of stockton too...but lately the prices of the fri-sun flights are ridiculous...
     
  7. nikerbokers

    nikerbokers Tourist

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2012
    Messages:
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    Location:
    East Bay Area, CA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    5
    We only flew out of Stockton on Friday. We flew into Oakland on the way back (we live the same distance between Stockton and Oakland) via Southwest on a Monday. Saved us about $100 between my husband and I.
     
  8. tls030583

    tls030583 Tourist

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2012
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    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Your first trip post-baby trip sounds a lot like mine and my husband's! We went last October 2012 after a brief hiatus from October 2010 which was also our "last trip before baby." We're headed back next month for our second trip post-baby trip and I can't wait. I think I'll be much more relaxed this time . . . I was a worried mess leaving our 15 month old behind. We're also meeting friends out there, so excited!!
     
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