Bally's and Rod Stewart Oct 3-5

It's been a while since I posted a TR, so I thought I ought to do one this time since I enjoy everyone else's so much!

We flew in from Cedar Rapids on Thursday night late, so I don't really count that as a day. We were up and out early Friday morning and went non-stop for the most part until we left Sunday afternoon.

I think I'll just cover a few things with a list rather than do a chronological narrative. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly (oh, and the GREAT!):

1. Weather: Perfect. We left a crappy weekend in Iowa with rain, a little snow, and cold for 90 and sunny. No complaints. Thanks, Mother Nature! We spent some time at Bally's pool (not our thing -- too old, I guess) and Paris pool (much better). Service was marginal at both. Bally's was especially slow.

2. Gaming: Same story, different verse: Husband won, I lost. He shared. All was good. Went home with about $100 more than we collectively came with, and that was no small feat considering my losses. :/ He hit double purple sevens (two out of the three were doubles) on his beloved Double Gold machines not once but twice. That was nice.

3. MyVegas rewards: Bar at Times Square $50 drink credit was well used. We Iowa Hawkeye fans spent part of the afternoon watching the Wisconsin game with about 50 Badgers. Only one guy told me to get the hell out of the bar when he saw my Hawkeye shirt. I just laughed at him. Fast and friendly service here. Never made it over to Nine Fine Irishmen to collect there. Cravings Buffet, Dinner for 2: Would have been disappointed if I would have paid $70 for the two of us here, but free was fine. The breakfast/lunch buffet we had in May was much better. Sugar Factory: Yep, two pounds of Jelly Bellies made the trip home with me again. Sad the MyVegas rules have changed and that I have to stay at one of their properties to redeem now; we always drop a couple hundred bucks wherever we get something for free. Not sure we'll be able to take advantage of this again since I won't give up our free rooms.

4. Bally's: We loved it here in May. However, we stayed during the week rather than on the weekend. After first being assigned a handicap-accessible room by the elevator (we were told it was far away from the elevator), we were re-assigned to a room on the top floor with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and the Bellagio fountain. Loved it! Well, loved it until the night club music started thumping and didn't quit until 4:00 a.m. Thursday night was fine, but Friday and Saturday, it was close to impossible to sleep. They gave us ear plugs at check-in, but they didn't help at all. Doubt we'll stay there again on a weekend. Too bad -- we love the Jubilee rooms there. Our room also did not get serviced on Friday at all, so when we returned at 10:00 p.m., we had to call down to get towels. They were very apologetic about the omission.

5. Best meal: Breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi. Skinny Pancakes. 'Nuf said.

6. Biggest bummer (other than room noise): No more Fiji water at Cromwell.

7. Best beer: Triple 7 Brewery at Main Street Station. This is a tradition for us. Sampler tray(s) and sushi for him; flatbread pizza for me. We went on Friday night, which happened to be First Friday on Fremont. Were disappointed we spent $40 on cab fare only to have to pay to be on Fremont. We walked Fremont for about 30 minutes and left before we had to buy a bracelet for the event.

8. Trip highlight: ROD STEWART!! I would see his show again for sure. What a showman! We were in the 10th row center and were really pleased with our view. He was so personable and fun; he still has it! Of course, it helped that when I blew him a kiss, he blew me one back. His daughter Ruby came out and sang a song, and that girl has some pipes! The back-and-forth banter between the two was cute. Another thing I loved about his show was that he made sure to showcase every background singer and band member at least once, and as that was happening, the spotlight left him completely, and he enjoyed and respected their musical talent. Very unselfish. About 3/4s of the way through the show, he sang "Hot Legs" and kicked 30-40 personally autographed soccer balls into the crowd. One more unusual thing: He invited the audience to take pictures and even to come right up to the stage to take them -- yet another generous thing he did. The man did not stop moving even when he was sitting down to sing; his legs and feet were constant motion. I admit I booked these tix for my husband for his birthday (I wasn't that excited about it), but I left a bigger fan than even my hubby.

We usually travel during the week and stay for four nights, but this trip was only three since it was a quick in-and-out weekend jaunt. I found I missed the extra day quite a bit but was ready to go home simply because I needed a night of sleep (insert old age jokes here). All in all, it was a great time, and of course we can't wait to get back. Thanks for reading.

 

Excellent ! Glad you enjoyed........

 

Thanks for sharing your trip, I enjoyed it!

 

I forgot to attach this recent pic of the Bally's shops. This was taken from the front (I just held up the camera over the fence and pushed the button. Turned out well enough to share. )

 

Nice report. Thanks for the pic update of the Bally's bizarre.

 

That's funny...last week at PH, they didn't have any Voss water. They only had Fiji and tiny bottles of Evian.

 

Leeza, totally agree with you on Rod Stewart! Seen him 2 weeks ago and loved every minute of the show. Our show didn't have his daughter, we would have loved to seen her. One segment I'd like to compare is his opening statement.... Our show was a Sunday night show and his first statement was this: "Today is Sunday and the typical ****ing Sunday audiences are not very active, I hope you're not one of them". That opening line ignited everyone and set the tone for the rest of the evening. I wonder if his other shows are opened like that using the F bomb first off?

It was one of the best show I have ever seen in vegas. I even started a thread on his show after I seen it. Thanks for the TR.

 

Sounds like a fun trip...especially since you came home a winner!! Rod Stewart?? He still has it....hoping to see him next trip in December. I've seen him about 5-6 times....from mid 70's to mid 90's and never tire of him..... Thanks for posting!!

 

Thanks for the report. We stay there too.
We did not have the noise issue. We were on the 8th floor.

The shops look like they will be ready soon.

 

Great TR! I am putting Rod Stewart on my list of things to do. Sucks aboyt the MyVegas rewards hotel stay requirement. I never stay at MGM properties and have 400,000 points accumulated. May have to throw a one night stay in sometime to use them.

 

LOL, Sam! He did drop the F Bomb but not in the opening if I remember correctly. He was pretty hilarious all the way through. Sindustry, guess I should have waddled over to PH for the good stuff! Ha.

 

Sorry if this a question that is easily (or already repeatedly) answered elsewhere, but a fee to be on Fremont? Is that like a cover you have to pay to be on Fremont on Friday and Saturday nights? Or was this a special event?

 

Fun report, laughed at all the age comments too! Lol. - thanks

 

Hey! We were down there the excact same time. I agree 3 days is not enough. Weather was perfect.

 

Good report! We've also had noise issues at Bally's too. In the past we asked for a room that faced the pool to alleviate this, which was obviously quiet if the pool isn't in season. Not sure if any of the jubilee rooms face that way though, we always stayed in the "Indigo" tower.

 

There was a fee to get on Fremont Street after 6:00 p.m. because it was the "First Friday" event -- lots of music and vendors. I'm sure it would have been fun, but it would have been packed.

 

Great report, I enjoyed reading it. Will have to try to see Rod Stewart on one of my October or November trips. keep hearing nothing but GREAT things about his show!

 

Thanks for the report.

I've been a fan of Rod Stewart since i was knee high to a grasshopper, and have seen him many times. I think his show at the Coliseum is one of the best. He's a great showman or sure, and his backing band ans singers are awesome.

 

Way2Fast, I believe he's done for October, but he has several November dates. He's worth the ticket!

On a side note, my son told me this weekend he heard someone on the radio being interviewed about Vegas, and he brought up the fact he'd seen Rod Stewart having lunch there with some young, pretty blonde. At first, he figured he was just seeing another aging rock star with a trophy girlfriend, but as they were seated close to them, it was quickly apparent he was with his daughter. He was dispensing advice on the business, telling her she had to work hard every single day and nothing was guaranteed and that he worked hard every day, too. He said there was no taking success for granted in the entertainment business. I paraphrase, of course, but that was the gist of it.

I wonder if it was Ruby, the daughter who sang at the concert we saw. Pretty cool story, IMO.

 

Great TR. It's too bad about the noise issues at Bally's. That would have annoyed me - I need my sleep - even in Vegas. Loved hearing about the Rod Stewart. Sounds like I should have booked a ticket for my trip in 10 days. Thanks again!