Wife's 50th birthday trip

Just got home a few hours ago from a great weekend in Vegas. My wife's 50th birthday was last Thursday and we flew in for a few days in our favorite city.
Our plan was to see some inexpensive shows, eat some good food and play lots of blackjack. We were very successful in carrying out this plan.
The Imperial Palace comped our room and gave us a prime center booth for their Legends Show. Legends is a celebrity tribute show that is well done and very enjoyable. The singers impersonated Elton John, Aretha Franklin (Wow! She could really sing!), Barry White, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and of course Elvis. My wife even gave Elvis a kiss while he was working the crowd. Great show at no cost but the tip. Our plan was off to a good start.
Friday we went downtown. We saw Stars of the Strip at the Plaza. The cost was $6.95 for the drink with a coupon to get a second drink for $1.00. The second drink decision was easy. The Stars are a three man combo featuring Robby Howard. We thought they were very good. We have seen Danny Gans at Mirage and Gordie Brown when he played Harrahs in Reno. Robby Howard is a comparable talent and a great show in a small room. Total cost including tip (self service at the bar) was $20.
Later Friday, we saw Spirit of the King at Fitzgeralds. Billy from Texas had sent me some coupons so the show and drinks were free. Steve Connelly played a great young Elvis and sang my wife Happy Birthday. Total cost for an enjoyable show and a drink--$3 tip.
Saturday we went to see Mac King at Harrahs. He filled Clint Holmes theatre and had a great show. Free admission when you buy a $6.95 drink (service at the bar only--no waitresses). Including a tip for the bartender, the show and a drink for each of us was $20.
Four shows, five drinks a piece, a really good time and spent less than $50. Danny Gans and O are $100/ticket with no drinks. I enjoyed the big shows at Mirage and Bellagio, but it really was fun to do shows on the cheap. The free shows when you buy a drink are really a good value and a lot of fun.
The second part of the plan was good food. The birthday dinner was at Cafe Andreotti at Harrahs. We eat there almost every trip to Vegas and always enjoy great food and service. My favorite dish is Tortellini Andreotti which has smoked shrimp in a white sauce over tortellini noodles. It was as good as ever with a nice merlot topped off with coffee and tierra misue (not too sure on that spelling). I gave my wife her birthday gift---diamond earrings--- before dinner so she was in a very good mood.
We tried the buffets at Bellagio and Paris. We hit both of them shortly before they started to set up for lunch so we got both breakfast and an expanded lunch menu. Both were great, but both of us preferred Paris. We both love the made to order crepes. I always get blueberry with the raspberry sauce. Gosh, they are good. Next trip will be Paris and a new morning buffet. That gives me a great reason to read everyone's trip reports. We are thinking about trying the reopened buffet at Mirage.
Friday night we ate at the Redwood Grill at California downtown. We were very pleased. The trip reports nailed the quality and value. I had the porterhouse special. A nice salad, a great steak with the trimmings and a very nice dessert for $14.95. Wow! The atmosphere was top notch--piano--great service. We will definitely be back for more of this one.
Our last meal was at the Seahouse at Imperial Palace. I had an upset stomach--too many drinks during a couple of marathon blackjack sessions--to really assess the the food fairly. We had plenty of comp bucks from our player cards so it only cost us the tip. I think next time I want to try the steak room or chinese room at IP.
Finally, we had a great time gambling. We ended up about $250 on our gaming which was mostly blackjack with a little video poker mixed in. My wife did hit four aces on a quarter machine that paid her $100. We never did hit the Royal--maybe next time. We played blackjack mostly at IP to keep our rating for a comped room.
Our first table at IP had four women from St. Louis who were rather loud. If men talked that way, security would ask them to leave. They were all drinking hard and offering the dealer (Rod Stewart impressionist in the IP Dealertainer pit) oral sex in a group fashion if they could get better cards. Anytime Rod drew cards to make a hand, the one woman (she wasn't a lady) complained that she needed KY if he was going to hurt her like that, or that she was tired of getting ****** without even getting kissed. They had little dolls of Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble that they would undress and put into various sexual positions. I never understood the purpose of the dolls. No charge for this show. The pit boss came over a time or two, but just laughed it off. I finally left when I realized it was a 6-5 blackjack table. I won't play that game even if the floor show is funnier than some of the big rooms on the strip.
All in all, it was a great trip. Time to start planning the next one.
Billy, thanks for the coupons, your coins did not win any money in the machine. I will forward the leftover coupons as I have previously promised.

 

Hey Big Bob, thanks for the nice trip report. Sounds like you accomplished everything you set out to do. Great to hear about some good shows in Vegas that don't break the bank. Looks like you both had a great time. Diamond earrings...nice. Wish her a happy birthday from Illinois.

Interresting story about the women from St. Louis. I've been escorted out of a casino before for less than that.

Angy

[ October 24, 2004, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: AngyIL ]

 

Great report, Bob!

 

Great read Bob! Tell you wife happy birthday for me!