Live from Mandalay Bay and elsewhere Oct 5-11

Hi all:

Before this unspeakable tragedy occurred, I already had a flight booked from China to Vegas for a 6 night stay, with the first three at the Delano. For a minute, I thought about cancelling my trip, but knowing that there's nothing any of us can really do to avoid these tragedies, I decided to go ahead with it. I also seriously thought of changing my reservation from the Delano - not out of fear of safety - but to get a little separation from recent events. I even waited on hold to change my reservation to another MLife property. But after some more thought, I decided to stick with it - and if things are too intense or somber, I will just spend my days in other casinos.

Here is my plan - 3 nights at the Delano, 1 night at the M Resort, 2 nights at Palazzo with a budget of about $1,000 day. I'm returning from an 8 month backpacking trip in Asia, so I expect there to be some growing pains on my reintroduction to American life - though I know what is best about America will be on full display since, say what you want about us, we come together in times like these. And, I'm not looking forward to the long flight or jet lag, that's for sure.

If there is a memorial, I will definitely attend to pay my respects and make a donation. I'll also be writing a little bit about the mood at Mandalay and Vegas. But other than that, I plan to approach Vegas as I always do, with lots of drinks and slot porn. If you think that's inappropriate, I totally respect your view - but I've made the decision to live my life as normal, please try to respect that as well.

Hopefully this will be a live trip report, but that depends on me being able to find a SIM card for my iphone, since I cancelled by US cell plan a while ago. If you have recommendations on where I can find one, I'd love to hear them.

Cheers,
Bboy

 

Thank you.
Wishing you safe travels and a very meaningful trip.
Good luck.

 

i am guessing you will not notice much of anything once you get there. In any event, enjoy your trip. We love the MB complex.

 

I use a T-Mobile pay as you go sim whilst in Vegas. Have had the same number for several years now. I have nothing to compare it to, but it works for me, so I recommend one of these.

Have a good trip, we fly out next week and hope things will be back to something like normal by then.

 

Good luck bboy. Have fun.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Safe travels and Have a great trip!

 

Have a safe travel have a great time as well... bboy Are you taking direct flight to Vegas? Over 13 hours in flight?
Btw not familiar with sim car questions but there are several cell phone stores around, I know there’s cell phone store for SURE inside Miracle Mall you may want to stop there and ask; sorry couldn’t be more help. MB has some shops attached to property so they may have cell phone store you should double check.

 

Thanks for the well wishes and the simcard tips! Unfortunately, no - it's a not direct flight. Shanghai to Seattle (11.5 hours) and then Seattle to Vegas (2.5 hours). The layover in between isn't too bad at least. Not looking forward to the flight, but I figure vegas is a good place to recover from jet lag, since there's always something to do if I can't sleep!

 

Have a great trip, stay safe, and good luck. Looking forward to reading your report.

 

Glad to you decided to go ahead with the trip. Enjoy yourself and good luck!

 

Safe travels. We too arrive on Thursday, planning and pre trip excitement will not be the same but we must try to keep going.

 

Both ATT and Tmobile have good pay as you go plans. Either one will work equally well, so whichever is closer to you I guess.
Have a nice welcome back trip!

 

Safe travels, I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

This is probably ridiculous, but I just shortened my Delano reservation to one night and booked into Cosmopolitan for the weekend. To their credit, Cosmopolitan was able to accommodate me with a weekend comp at the last minute, and Mandalay/Delano shortened my reservation from 3 nights to one with no problem and are still letting me use the freeplay and resort credit under the offer. So now, I'm staying in 4 hotels in 6 nights (!!) This seems just a little ridiculous, but I did want to stay at Delano to support them and to use the amazing pools, but I just wasn't sure what to expect, so 3 nights seemed like a gamble.

 

Credit to you, most people would have cancelled completely.

 

The day has finally arrived! And after a few days of blahness, my excitement for going to Vegas has completely returned. After just a quick 1 hour cab ride to the airport, 2 hour wait at the airport, 12 hour flight to Seattle, 2 hour layover, 3 hour flight to Vegas, 15 minute cab ride to Delano, and 30 minutes on the treadmill to stretch my legs, I'll be dodging waves in the wave pool at Mandalay Bay and then slotting it up for the rest of the night (assuming i can get some sleep in on the plane or in the airport. Today has THIRTY NINE hours for me. eek!).

Wooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooo

After 8 months on the road in Asia, here is what I'm looking forward to:

Slot machines
Blackjack switch
Pai gow
Only having to think about one currency
Not always being the tallest person in the room by about 6 inches
Not trying to have to figure out how to say "I'm sorry, I only understand a little X. Can you speak English?" in a foreign language before starting a conversation.
Having a great solo meal at Mandalay tonight (Any recommendations? I've only been to Stripsteak, Borders, Red White & Blue - or whatever its called now, the sushi bar, and the noodle joint. I'd love to try something new).
Beer that doesn't taste like water.
Not sleeping in hostels with stinky teenagers.
Cocktails at Alibi Lounge
Finally sucking it up and ordering a Verbena @ the Cosmo
Walking the strip
Checking out the Chinese themed casino by Sahara before it closes down.
Winning shitloads of money.

 

It sounds like you have great plans! And definetly credit to you for staying at Delano for a bit!

 

Wow, what a cool trip. Hardly anywhere more American than Vegas, great reintroduction. Kudos for sticking with Delano.

 

Maybe too late for a restaurant recommendation and maybe not the type you’re looking for (high end vs casual) but I like Burger Bar. I thought it was you that posted you were looking for a classic American meal after being overseas. How about a burger and fries? I like their zucchini fries and all their burgers are great.