Spring Break with Family and Friends - Monte Carlo - 4/5-8

A few days removed from my latest trip to Las Vegas, it's time to put the memories into words....

Background: When my daughter and her friends decided rather late in the game that they wanted to go on Spring Break together, we checked Florida and cruises and other options, but nothing worked out. Talking with another parent, Las Vegas was suggested and viola!, the planning began. Main goal - Pool, shopping and a few shows for the kids; fun and drinks for the parents. Travelers were 3 sets of parents and 5 17 and/or 18 year olds. We all arrived Sunday AM and left on Wednesday. Here are the highlights with a few observations:

First off, the Monte Carlo - it is what we thought it would be - dated, old and no WiFi . However, the beds were comfortable and the rates were great - two free nights plus 1 night MyVegas meant a free room for me. The food court was great for a quick bite for kids and adults. We watched the Men's NCAA championship at the Pub and that was fabulous! Service was a bit slow, but the food was good. Finally, the pool - other than the fact that it was "only" 75* and very windy, the pool was perfect for the kids and adults - the lazy river and the sand volleyball pit were huge hits. Also, we rented a "luxury cabana" for Monday - $450, but that total went toward food/drink purchases. We blew through the $450 by 1pm! Very much worth it (although a bit hard to stomach the inflated food/drink prices) and the service was great...Tiffany was awesome!

Shows - All 11 of us went to see LOVE Sunday night - my 3rd time, everyone else was a virgin to the show. All really like the show...one adult, not so enthused, was like "the Beatles meets Alice in Wonderland meets Mad Max - you need to be high to truly understand it!" I don't necessarily agree, but I also appreciate the Beatles' music. Note that sitting upfront is not necessarily the best seats for this show - we were in the back row of 202 and the seats were great. The house was full for the show as well (7pm Sunday night). Tuesday night, the kids went to Blue Man Group and loved it. One of the boys got called up on stage!

Food - After LOVE, most of us went to Hash House a Go-Go for a late dinner. Had only been there for Breakfast, but dinner is great as well - huge portions, great taste. Had the meatloaf and loved it. BTW, they also serve breakfast for dinner if that's your preference. Tuesday evening, the adults went to dinner at Giada's. Two highlights - the picture booth before dinner was a lot of fun and the Meat and Cheese antipasto for an appetizer. The three couples split food - a pasta dish and entree. Here's where dinner went south - despite us telling our waiter that we were in no rush, our risotto and boned in ribeye were delivered at the same time! Not good - our food got cold before we finished it. Also, the food was rather bland. I just expected better - Disappointing. Final food observation - we went to the MGM buffet for brunch before flying out Wednesday afternoon - it was not good. I've eaten brunch at both Cravings at the Mirage and the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmo - both far exceeded this buffet. My wife, who eats Gluten Free, spoke with the chef about some of the food that was labeled GF, and his response was that gluten gets cooked out when fried.....not true! One final note, the adults, after the NCAA championship, headed to the Chocolate Bar at NYNY - wow - chocaholics cannot miss this - we had their signature Chocolate martini, as well as the peanut butter cup and "Rollo" ones. All were great, as well as Fermin, our bartender - highly recommend this place!

Gambling - it was a good trip for me - came home with 75% of the bankroll! BJ sucked - lost $200 at Free Bet at Aria in 15 min...brutal. Also, against my better judgement, I tried BJ at Monte Carlo (yes, at 6:5), but I wanted to try the Kings Ransom sucker bet - bye-bye another $200. Never even had a pair of kings. Also, tried out a new game at NYNY, "DJ Wild Stud" - essentially, you play against the dealer with a 5 card stud poker hand where all 2s and joker is wild (1 joker in the deck). Bonus bet for Trips, and you have to double your ante to play. Seems like a fun game that I would play more.

As for the gambling highlights - Craps - Hit a few hot runs at $10 Monte Carlo tables. Made a few $$$. Never saw a $5 table the whole time there. I was a bit surprised by that. Also, the Monte Carlo poker room. Played Monday and Tuesday 2pm $60 tourneys. Made final table on Monday and chopped victory on Tuesday! $300 was very nice! I've played at Aria and Mirage before, but like Monte Carlo the best....really good dealers.

That's it - this was a trip like no other, with the kids in tow....we managed to enjoy the finer "adult" fun of Vegas - Gambling, dining, drinking - but still spend some really fun times with the kids - I was hesitant at first to even think about taking an under-21 child with me to Las Vegas, but we ended up really having fun - walking the strip and seeing the "sights", shopping, hanging at the pool, enjoying a good dinner, all experiences that can't be taken away! I did tell my daughter that next trip will be after she turns 21!

Thanks for reading - hoped I gave back a little for all you VMB posters have given to me - BTW, didn't see one green wristband, other than mine....

 

Sounds like it was a great trip! Glad you enjoyed Vegas with the kids in tow, although they are old enough to take care of themselves clearly. It's always odd seeing strollers being pushed down the strip at 2am.

 

Nice report! Definitely sounds like things worked well!