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Semi Live: Mandalay Bay and Tropicana (11/18 - 11/22)

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by gs32794, Nov 18, 2018.

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  1. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Sorry for the typo! I had wanted to do Camelot to try it out, but they are closed tonight. Will be going to Tender for the 2nd time. Tender is pretty good. Very good filets. Nice room. Excellent, not haughty service.
     
  2. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Tender is better anyway, imo. Lol
     
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  3. Lady Fortuna

    Lady Fortuna Blessed with luck and ignorance...

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    Great report! And it was really nice meeting you at the M&G!
     
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  4. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    I really lucked out. I came with the Camelot reward, not Tender. I had read on Facebook MyVegas group that PopSlots lets you buy "forbidden" rewards while in Vegas. It worked for me!
     
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  5. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    I hope you hit lots of quads..but not a Royal...no one ever wants to hit a Royal for 250 coins vs 800...it’s just wrong.
     
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  6. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Duplicate
     
  7. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Dinner last night was great. With the MyVegas deal, Tender is a good value. Started off with a hefty Chivas. Then a shrimp cocktail, served with mango. House salad with chardonnay. Small filet with asparagus and a shiraz.The steak was very good (Best I've had was MarkJoseph NYC)there was a nice little crust and it was moist. The asparagus was a little underdone for my taste, but not horribly so. Finished with a drambuie. Still came up $10 short of the required $150 spend, so got a cheesecake to go. The drinks really hit me. I went to my room, laid on the bed and woke up at 140 am.

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    Last edited: Nov 21, 2018
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  8. Craps all day

    Craps all day Low-Roller

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    Scrumptious looking food, which must've tasted amazing after that stiff Chivas pour.

    Thanks for posting up!
     
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  9. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Steakhouses usually give a good pour on whiskey, but at a price. Just looked at my receipt, that was only $14!
     
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  10. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Between jet lag and meet and greets, I got off kilter and never seemed to have time to keep up with posting.

    WEDNESDAY: Very lazy day after the huge Tender meal. I had breakfast at Bacio. Usually, I find eggs benedict too heavy and cloying. But was intrigued by the smoked salmon eggs benedict. Risked it and glad I did. Delicious as was the Lavazza coffee. Total came to exactly $25, which was my F&B daily allotment.

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    By noon I roused myself out of the rooms and down to The M again since I had done fairly well (aka. not loosing too much.) Down there Tuesday. Someone was on "my lucky machine", and the one I was able to get at the bar was not paying well at first. I was initially playing $1 max, but tthe $40 I put in was vanishing pretty quickly and I switched to Quarters max. When I inserted $100 I then switched to $1 single for better paytable.

    Usually I have 5 or 6 heartbreakers on a trip. This was my only one on the whole trip.... I WAS EVEN PLAYING MAX!

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    The cedits were more slowly vanishing until I hit 4 Aces. That got me up to $148 and a little ahead, so cashed out and headed back to Tropicana.

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    Met up with @Lady Fortuna at Whiskey Down at 4:30. We walked & trammed our way to Skyfall. I have been meaning to go for the past 3 trips and finally made it! Unfortunately they have discontinued their happy hour. Eveything was full price, but worth it for the view. My cam doesn't take good nighttime pix, but here are a couple.

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    We arrived at the My Vegas Meet & Greet at Park MGM at about 7. There were games and gift exchanges. I met 3 people with whom I had interacted. Nice. LF and I took turns playing $1 BP at the bar just for fun for about 20 mins. $20 in, $20 out. Unfortunately @WelshBlonde wasn't at this one. :(

    At 8 we had dinner at Bavette's. Wonderful company in a great space. However, service was meh. The waitress was seriously MIA for the first 15 mins, didn't apologize and was scattered after that. The salads were great! I usually get Caesar, but went for the wedge. Best wedge I've ever had (ok LadyFortuna.... No comments!) Pefrect thick cut bacon, obviously house made dressing with blue cheese was more sweet and creamy than salty to balance the bacon. We both had Steak Frites. We were split. LF preferred the steak to the fries and I was the other way round. LF snapped the pix and hopefully will post in her trip report. We parted ways in front of TAP at MGM and I went to go pack and prepare for my 5 am wake up call.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2018
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  11. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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    Nice report!

    But FYI, max quarters at 7/5 Bonus (98.01% + prog.) has a slightly better percentage return than one quarter at 8/5 Bonus (97.93%). I wouldn't one coin dollars unless the paytable is 2+ "notches" lower at quarters.
     
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  12. Lady Fortuna

    Lady Fortuna Blessed with luck and ignorance...

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    Thank you for the great report and your sweet words!! :kiss:

    I had a wonderful time, from the moment we met up at Whiskey Down, until our goodbyes! You are the most warm, personable and engaging person and I am so glad I have met you! I hope you got home safe and that we will have a chance to meet again in the future!

    :wave:
     
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  13. Lady Fortuna

    Lady Fortuna Blessed with luck and ignorance...

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    Oh, and the pictures:

    Skyfall:

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    [​IMG]



    Bavette's:

    RIBEYE STEAK FRITES - 10oz, sliced prime ribeye, hand cut fries
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    We both had the ribeye medium rare and it came with two sauces - béarnaise and aioli something - and steak salt.
     

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  14. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    THANKSGIVING DAY: Up at 5 am. A quick Starbucks and a shower and off to the airport at 615. It had rained overnight and the mountains looked good with snow. Did not get pix. Little vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The Delta kiosks were nearly abandoned. However, the TSA precheck had a line of about 20 and there was no one in the regular line. I've had that happen at Tampa, too. Although tempted to switch, I knew better.

    Flight to Detroit was full and they were begging 30 to check carryons. Since I was group 2, not worried they'd snag me. Got to DTW 20 mins early. Good thing. Even using the tram, I got to my gate just 10 mins prior to boarding for my GSO flight. It's been years since I was in DTW. I was a NW flyer before absorbed by Delta and when living in VA and NOLA went through DTW many times. It's much improved. Nice restaurant selection. But no time to try any of them. One great touch was a live jazz pianist playing between the Chi-fil-a and the Gordon Biersch. He was playing a mix of xmas and pop standards. Really a nice experience, so I tipped him.

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    The GSO flight left on time and arrived 20 mims early as well. The garage was dead and had no attendant for cash transactions. No problems, just backed up and switched lanes. The two hour trip home was uneventful and with no stops Well, except all the new traffic lights they've installed on US 220!

    Will post reviews of Mandalay Bay and Tropicana in this thread soon.
     
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  15. bubbalv

    bubbalv Low-Roller

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    I hadn’t heard this. What are “forbidden,” rewards??
     
  16. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Many MyVegas awards are unavailable (forbidden) to purchase once you are there. The program is primarily geared toward tourists and the apps use location detection to block any one in the LV area from purchasing certain rewards. Examples include show tickets, free plays and buffets.
     
  17. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    MANDALAY BAY:

    Had been wanting to stay here because it has so many fans here and elsewhere. Luckily, a week or two before my trip the MB 2-Night reward showed up on MyVegas. Cancelled Park MGM and booked MB. Checked in at about 830 pm. The clerk was rather cool, but did work to get me a room with a view. The room (19-222) itself was very nice and very clean. The view was ok. I think a pool view would have been better on a lower floor. Coffee is way more important to me than a mini-fridge; so the Keurig was really appreciated. I brought my own supplies. (Thanks Spicole for the heads up.) The safe was the vertical sort. Below is a pic of the AV connections.

    First night was very good. However, on the second night, a family moved in. Since it was a connecting room I could hear quite alot of the rambunctiousness and parental correcting. Luckily, I was double booked that night at Tropicana and had checked in there that afternoon. I packed up and moved over there. (I've had trouble once before with connecting rooms at Trop, but it didn't cross my mind at check in.) I did come back the next morning to take a bath in the soaking tub. Although the tub was not as big and deep as those at Red Rock, it more than sufficed. After the bath, I checked out. The clerk was fairly rude. For example, not making eye contact and perfunctorily asking how my stay was as she turned her back on me. Not impressed with the overall customer service I received from the desk. I did not have the opportunity to interact with housekeeping, but they did a nice job on tidying the room.

    The casino was very interesting compared to those more centrally located. It was very spacious, airy and, because my stay was weekdays before Thanksgiving, sparsely populated. Having quite a few MyVegas dining awards, I did not get to sample any restaurants down there. In the past I have eaten at Charlie Palmer and Ri Ra. Both were great. The menu at Hussong's Cantina looked good and Burger Bar has a good reputation. May check those out in the future.

    The tram helped with the isolated location, especially going to Tropicana and MGM. But, going further, was a pain. Walking from Excalibur through or around NYNY and Park MGM to the Aria/Park MGM station, tramming to Bellagio and walking through it to get to Cromwell was a bit of a hassle. Also, as an early riser it didn't help that it began operating at 9 am. I have used the monorail on several visits and actually prefer it.

    We all have our individual preferences, priorities and experiences. I can see MB has many virtues (spacious, uncrowded, newly renovated) and why it is a favorite of many, but it just didn't work for me. Its location was the main drawback. Also, I have received better, friendlier customer service at most other Las Vegas hotels from Linq and Tropicana to Mirage, Caesars and Palazzo. In the future if I do an MLife property down there, I think it will probably be MGM because of the monorail. Now if Mirage would only update their rooms...

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    Last edited: Nov 26, 2018
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  18. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    TROPICANA:

    This was my fourth stay at Tropicana. All on comps with no resort fee. First time with $75 FP and $75 F&B. Check in is at 3 pm and I arrived on the dot. The clerk at invited guests was very pleasant. Without the $20 trick, I asked for a complementary upgrade to End of Hall in Club Tower. I always get this room as it has a little more space and windows on two walls and I like that the Club Tower is quieter. She said that it would be +$25 per night. I simply stated "They done it for me with no charge." She then said "I can do that." Unfortunately, she informed me that they will start charging resort fees on comps. Date TBA. I tipped her, grabbed my two cookies and headed up to the room.

    This particular room (1871) was on the Luxor/LVB end of the building. The other 3 times, I was on the MGM end. It was good to get a different view. However, there was more helicopter noise and sirens than rooms on the other end. There was no fridge this time. Not a big deal since I don't use it, but still a surprise. The room itself was a little more beaten up. Rumor has it that they have begun renovations. It's time.

    Housekeeping was an issue this time. Never had any problems before. There were streaks of soap residue on the shower. Normally not a big deal, but this time it was right where I would rest my head and arm when bathing. The tub itself was clean. Found the maid and told her my complaint. Said it wasn't her room, but that she would contact the supervisor. I tipped her $2 for her effort. I also called housekeeping and reported it. I left a note on the sink asking for the shower and tub to be cleaned, and another on the bed with the tip. When I returned that evening, it looked better. Maybe just a stain. Nope, I was able to flake it off. Decided to clean it myself and just have it over. Also, the trash can by the desk was not emptied on any of the three days.

    Dining is still an issue because of limited options. It seems when a new place is opened, they cut back hours on existing restaurants. When Robert Irvine's opened, Bacio was cut back to breakfast only. When Red Lotus opened, they cut the buffet back to brunch only. On the plus side, Red Lotus is moderately priced and has a good selection of Asian beer. Food was very good with sizable portions. Even though it gets pretty good reviews, I have never eaten at Oakville as I have always had a MyVegas reward or Groupon for a better steak deal.

    Gaming options were poor for me. The lounge was closed for renovations and with it the bartop VP. Not a huge loss as the pay tables were crummy, but I did enjoy going in there to run a few bucks through and getting a night cap. Although the casino has been updates, the machines were tight. The biggest impact was the removal of the bank of quarter Wheel of Fortune progressives. These were my go to there because I could grind away for hours accumulating points. All these changes pretty much forced me to gamble outside the property. I went to Cromwell for an hour or so for VP, The D for slots and Sigma Derby one day and The M via shuttle for VP the other two.

    ROOM TIPS:
    - Paradise Tower. Directly above the casino. Very possibly easiest/closest access to strip as the elevators are about 150 ft from front door.
    - Club Tower. Quieter. Bit of a walk to casino. Direct access to pool. To get views similar to those below, get any odd numbered room in the Club Tower. Any floor 8 and above should give decent view. Of course, the higher the floor, the casino roof will be less prominent. The higher the room number series the closer to MGM.
    - Smoking floors. Paradise Tower 2nd Floor. (Only the 2 rooms on the end closest to NYNY do not look directly onto roofing.) Club Tower 18th Floor.


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    Last edited: Nov 27, 2018
  19. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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