May 25-31 First time for everything!

We got married in Vegas at Paris in 2000. This is our 15 year anniversary, and our who knows how many times to Vegas. We go at least twice a year and not high rollers but get decent offers and comps. We like to try different things every time we go to Vegas to mix it up a bit and we didn't fail on this trip!

We stayed the first 4 nights at Mirage in a Tower Suite on a great offer we got the last couple years. We had a volcano/strip view, though we rarely are in our room to see the volcano "show". We love having separate elevators with rarely waiting any time. The casino is ok, seems dark to me and not the greatest slot selection.

We got there Monday afternoon, and went over to Yard House at the Linq. We wanted to check out their Happy Hour. We had a few beverages and a few appetizers. Had some queso dip (okay) and some taco (okay). We were still a little hungry and we got a bbq pizza. By the time we got it, we didn't have much more of an appetite. The pizza was good but it was big (and only $7!) It would have been a great deal if that is what we started with!! Went back to the room, got freshened up and changed and headed to Harrah's for our favorite game, Let It Ride. Not a single decent win, maybe some little ones to keep us in the game.

Tuesday got up, walked to Bellagio buffet for breakfast, pretty good considering it was a MyVEGAS reward. I am not a huge buffet fan and don't know what would make a breakfast buffet outstanding anyway!! After that, walked to Mandalay Bay, then caught a cab to the car rental facility. My husband rents with National throughout the year and we had 4 free days that we used. Drove to the liquor store and picked up some beverages for the week, including bottled water, that we can't seem to get enough of!! Brought the stuff to the room, and headed to the pool. We rented chairs at the Oasis pool and it was so worth it to us! I think they were $50 apiece with an umbrella. The pool is warm and not crowded at all. Of course, the chairs are limited at that pool. The umbrella was nice to have when the sun got too hot to bear. Had lunch that day at Mirage buffet (MyVEGAS) and it was good enough.

Tuesday evening we used 2 $50 MC food credits at Brand. We love going to their lounge and their happy hour. We just missed the happy hour but enjoyed it regardless. Had their Hot Rocks, as usual, was delicious. Also had their lollipop wings, yummy, and tried a few oysters (just okay they had no crackers ). We had a few drinks and ended with coffee and bread pudding for dessert. It was delicious!!! And wish I had enough room to eat more than a few bites! After dinner, we went to the Laugh Factory at Tropicana for the 8:30 comedy show. This is our second time and this time we barely laughed. I know, there is no guarantee with comedians, and we have not written off comedy shows. Went to the Linq to see if there were any open spots at Let It Ride, but no luck. Headed over to Harrah's and had enough small wins to keep us up til 3am. And boy will we regret that!!

Wednesday morning, woke up late, around 8am (go figure!) I had a granola bar and my husband got me some coffee. We had a comp night at Mandalay Bay and we went there for the day to use their pool. We checked into our room and rented some up front nice chairs. I think those were $55 and another $25 for the umbrella. We have rented chairs there before and it is a great way to take an afternoon nap, listening to the waves crashing in!! Had MB buffet (MV) and it was not good at all. Ate maybe around 11:30, half was breakfast. Not much of a selection for lunch. After the pool, headed back to Mirage to get ready for the evening.

Wednesday night, went to see Absinthe. It is our 4th time, 3rd time sitting front row. We LOVE this show and wondered about having a different Gaziollionaire and without Penny Pibbets, how it would be. It was great as always! The new gazillionaire was as perverted and raunchy as ever and Penny's replacement, Joy, was almost as good. I had the joy of having the Gazillionaire thrust his package in my face and I gave it back to him and smacked his a$$!! The funnier part was him climbing on my husband and doing the same to him!! There were some new acts in the show which gave it the variety that we love about the show and what will get us back next year. Played LIR at Flamingo, no big wins.

Thursday morning, we got up and headed to Hoover Dam. We stopped at the Cracked Egg in Henderson. I went to the restroom and heard a voice and it sounded just like my husband's niece. Walk back to the table, looked at her from the side, and was pretty sure it was her. I went to the table and told my husband. As we were leaving, walked by there and IT WAS!! Her family has lived there for several years and we don't always get the chance to see them when we are there. As it turns out, they just bought a house down the street from there. It was crazy, what are the odds?? Speaking of odds, though, we have seen friends by chance there several times. It is always great to run into people we haven't seen in a while!! After that, headed to Hoover Dam for the dam tour. We have been there just to look around, but never did the tour. It was pretty cool, but I am a little afraid of heights so I cautiously looked! I am not claustrophobic but can get motion sickness easily (I know, I am a mess!) So being in the tunnels and a group of people, at times I had to make an effort to see ahead of us. The "fun" part is when we get to go down a tunnel to look out of the dam (think Vegas Vacation). There is a grate we had to walk over which freaked me out. So the tour guide helped me across but when we were all across this grate, he turned a light on "so we can see what we are walking over". Needless to say, I moved pretty quickly back across it!!

After the dam tour we headed back to Vegas, and to Bally's to check in to our room for the next few nights and drop a few things off in the room. We needed lunch, and the quickest thing we could find was Nathan's. (never again) It was $33 for 2 chili dogs, 2 fries and 1 drink. We had no idea they were going to be footlongs. We each ate half of our dog and maybe a small portion of our fries. It was pretty disgusting, do not know what I was thinking!! We headed back to Mirage, got our suits on, and hung out at the pool for a couple hours.

Thursday night was the night I was to earn the title "Wife of the Year"; we had reservations for a VIP table at Sapphire's. As I have mentioned before, we like to do different things when we go. Thurs. evening we ordered room service in our room, to enjoy our last night in the room. I started feeling sick. (uh oh) Get our food, and I can barely look at it. Hubby calls and gets our reservation changed to Friday. I laid down and hubby went to gamble. I ended up taking a long nap, and apparently I needed it! I felt great around 9:00 and went over to Harrah's to play with him for a bit. Up to this point, nothing great on the winnings but we were having a great time!!

Friday morning, got up and walked to Aria for the buffet (MV) It was good enough. But as we were finishing, my husband wasn't feeling well. Walked back to Mirage and he laid down a bit. I really think staying up til 3am on Tuesday caught up with us!! (and the chili dogs) Neither one of us actually got "sick" but needed a little extra sleep. I played a little while on slots/vp. Again, nothing big or close to it. Packed up our stuff and headed to the Fashion Show Mall. Didn't find anything I liked, had a light lunch at CPK. Brought all of our stuff to Bally's. Our room was a Jubilee room facing the Eiffel Tower and can see the Bellagio fountains as well. The room is spacious and has a fridge. After unpacking, headed to the pool. We have stayed there before, but never checked out their pool. We quickly found chairs and enjoyed it. They had a dj playing a good variety of music, Late 80's, 90's and current stuff. Hung out there for a couple hours then went to the room to get ready for our dinner at Giada.

Friday evening, had dinner at Giada. We enjoyed it, had a sample appetizer plate Giada's favorites, I think it was called. We enjoyed it and the drinks we had. He had the lobster ravioli and I had the Risoto. Both were delicious, but we were way too full for dessert. After that played at Ballys for a bit. I actually got a full house on LIR!! That gave me a little boost for the rest of our trip. Headed to the room to get ready for Sapphire ("gentleman's club"). I did this for my husband, and also to check off our Vegas must do list. We got a VIP package which included limo, a table and some drinks. Thankfully I had a good buzz going before we went. Boobs don't really phase me, I see them all day at work. (think babies you pervs) It was fun until we were constantly bombarded with girls coming up to us asking where we were from. (I guess that is the pickup line for lap dances) Like every couple minutes. It was around midnight and we left. We were both tired and just headed up to the room.

Saturday morning, had to drop off the car. I was tired, husband took it back and I went over to Paris and had a bagel and coffee. Just what I needed! I went and played slots and vp a bit at Bally's and husband joined me and we played the Flintstones slot. I left up $100 and he left up maybe $70. Went up to shower and came back down and played some LIR. Friends who were in town came over and joined us. Hubby went up to rest a bit. I got a 3 card straight flush for $200. It was a nice hit and gave me some extra playing time. But as volatile as this game is, we were quickly ready to move on. Hubby came back down and we all walked over to Flamingo. No really big wins for any of us at LIR. We headed back to the room and later got ready for the night

Saturday night we walked to Ellis Island. We love their ribs! We went to the kiosk to get the coupon for the ribs and the card wouldn't work. Went to the desk and we got new cards and also got freeplay after we played $10. We both ended up winning enough money to pay for our dinner! After that, wanted to check out the Linq again to see their LIR. Only one player (boo) so we sat at the bar and watched some of the Blackhawks game and played VP. Still 1 player so we headed to Harrah's. Our friends soon met us there and we played LIR for a couple hours. We saw some guy walk by, who looked like a skinny Gene Simmons. The dealer, who is this Italian guy from Chicago who had been in Vegas since the 70's, he said it was Cook E Jar. "People used to pack places to see him. Then he was playing at that lounge over there. Now he just walks through the casino like everyone else." No idea who Cook E Jar is, but had to Google him, lol! After that, headed to Bally's, played slots a bit, then went to bed.

Sunday morning, got up, and packed. Hubby went down to see if we could get anything taken off our bill. We had an upgrade fee for our room (email offer). We also had some room charges, including Giada, on our bill. After using our reward credits, they took off an additional $120. It never hurts to ask!! Headed to the airport and came home to a lab who acted like we were gone for a year. Our son (11) was happy to see us, but wanted to know what we got him, lol.

Was an over all great, yet exhausting trip! I love spending quality time with my husband and we are already talking about our trip next summer! (next trip in November, the half marathon. Not quite as fun but fun nonetheless)

 

Sounds like a blast, besides the chili dog I made that mistake once at some place in the old IP years ago at 3am, never again! I loved Absinthe too. Nice report

 

Good report! Sorry about the hot dog experience though. My g/f felt the same way about the Casino Royale hot dog...:evillaugh