Trip Report: 12/10 - 12/13 - Days 3 & 4

Vegas Report: Days 3 & 4, Barbary Coast

Wake up and linger in the quite pleasant shower for a while. D’s moving slow, so I head downstairs for a while. It’s back and forth at the blackjack table for a while. I think I finish down $10, maybe. Get coffee at the Seattle’s Best that’s on the casino floor. That’s another nice thing about the BC; it’s small, so everything’s easy to find and nearby. Have I mentioned yet that I like this place?

For breakfast we foolishly decide to do the Paris buffet. Foolish because it’s now 10 am. We figured on a Monday…no, it was still busy. Rather than wait an hour, we do the little walk-thru place next to the buffet, JJ’s Boulangerie. I get a fancy Crossan’wich, she gets a muffin. I use the restroom, and it’s just like being in Paris. The part of Paris where all the disillusioned arsonists live, that is. Surprisingly gas-station-ish for a place trying this hard to be fancy.

After breakfast we hit the Las Vegas Premium Outlets. They have some decent stuff, and D is happy. Then we go back to the strip; time to watch the penguins. We head over to the Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat, which is a bit grandiose for a courtyard with some birds. They had flamingos, penguins, peacocks, and a few other waterfowl. The penguins were pretty cool though, very photogenic, seeming to pose at times. They’re just such goofy animals, you can’t help but smile watching them waddle and hop around. The handler came and gave a very rehearsed presentation; you could tell she thought she was the coolest penguin-feeder in town. And she probably was, but tone down the smarm a bit, lady.

Another thing about the Flamingo: they had this game I hadn’t ever seen before. It was some kind of computer roulette, where you could sit down in front of your own computer screen. They had a screen where the animated roulette wheel would spin away. Basically it was a way to make a game with poor odds go quicker and require less social interaction. The slot-ification of roulette, if you will. Good times.

Back to the BC. D heads upstairs (again, tired and not feeling well), I hit the casino and tear through a hot dog. I play blackjack, break even, then hit the craps table. Good, good energy there. I buy in and 30 minutes later color up $140 richer. Not bad for betting as conservatively as I was.

Dinner was at Rosemary’s. It’s a little ways off the strip, which was nice; it’s good to get away from all that over-stimulus. I had a $25 gift certificate (thanks again, Vegasbound), and I did the 3 course menu. I got the fois gras appetizer, the house salad, and the filet mignon. D got the brick chicken. They give you an amouse-bouche first, which is a very small starter, maybe two small bites. It was some crab-goat cheese thing that was tasty. Then came the fois gras. I’d never had fois gras before, and just wanted it because I watch Iron Chef and they’re always throwing it around. It was really good. It has an odd texture, kind of like oysters but softer, if that’s possible, and of course it’s very, very rich. It was accompanied by sweet brioche, candied nuts, and mango sauce, and I got a glass of some fancy sweet wine. Yum. The salad was quite good, as were the main courses. Someone else on the board said that Rosemary’s tends to be heavy on the salt, which I agree with. I like my steak salty, and think most places under-salt steaks, but this was actually a bit too much salt. It wasn’t bad, really, just more than I would have liked, and when I got some of the caramelized onions in the same bite, it killed that saltiness. D, who’s a salt freak, loved her chicken. Our waiter and busser (yes, they work as a team, it’s that kind of place) were very nice, even bringing D a different amouse-bouche when she didn’t touch the first one. She’s a very picky eater, and this tends to make her a bit uncomfortable at fancy restaurants. So I got to eat this new amouse-bouche. Score. It was some duck thing, and it was good too. The total, after three glasses of wine and a lot of food, was $150-ish after tax and tip.

We go back to the BC and D’s up to playing, so we hit the blackjack table. We had a good time for a while, but then the luck turned and one of the guys at the table started hitting on one of the women there, despite her being married and having a kid. It was annoying, it was late, it was time for bed.

Day 4

Woke up and went down to play. Surprise, surprise, but this time I shouldn’t have. I was tired and wasn’t in the mood to lose. I sat at a table and the people were getting to me. One woman kept playing wrong and getting lucky, and that’s fine. I’m not someone who will tell someone else how to play, and I don’t think someone else’s luck affects mine. You play how you want and best of luck to you. But this morning I was not in the mood to here this woman talk about how she just felt that she should stop on 15 with the dealer showing a 10, etc. I honestly don’t understand how people can play games for money when they don’t understand how best to play them. And as I said, I was in the mood to win. Usually when I gamble, I’m in the mood to play, and because I don’t risk much money, I can still have fun even if I lose. But the combination of grogginess and annoying table-mates was making this a not-fun session. I made back some of my losses and D called to say time for breakfast, so I managed to extricate myself from the table. Better late then never.

We ate in the Victorian Room, the BC’s coffee shop. It was breakfast, reasonable and good. After, D wanted to put one last $5 in a slot machine. Sure, honey, let me just see if they’ve lowered the craps table back down to a $5 minimum. Oh, they sure did. I’m in a better mood since my belly is full, so I buy in and am the only one at the table. I start out slow, then have a decent roll, good enough to make back my losses from before breakfast. And on that note, it’s time to say goodbye to Vegas.

Overall:

Cons:
There was a lot we had talked about doing that we ended up not doing. The Shark Reef, the Elvis Museum, etc. I think it’s for the best we didn’t cram too much stuff in, but still.
D being sick. She was good about it, but I wish she could have done more. I don’t know, maybe she just wanted more time alone with the plasma TV.

Pros:
I did well gambling. Hip hip.
The (low-rent) hotels we stayed in. They were good values for the money, especially the Barbary Coast.
We didn’t try to do too much, which meant we could actually relax, play things by ear, and have fun.
The people we met. The guys we met the first night were a real highlight of the trip, and almost everyone we talked to was really friendly.

Sorry this is so long. I didn’t have time to write a short trip report.

 

Being sick is no fun especially in Vegas. Nice to see you won some money gambling. The Barbary Coast is a good deal with a great location.

For sure you have to plan another trip now to do the things you missed out on.

 

Good trip report: I too am a fan of BC and am glad it didn't disappoint. For some reason, my partner has been sick our last two trips as well, so I empathize!

 

Sorry to hear the soon-to-be Mrs. didn't feel well. Sounds like you both made the best of it and had a good time anyway. Glad you were able to use the Rosemary's GC.

 

Very entertaining trip report...funny too. Thanks for the good read.