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First Vegas TR 07/09-07/13

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by MiamiE, Jul 15, 2009.

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  1. MiamiE

    MiamiE Tourist

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    My Trip Report

    Well my first time in Vegas was awesome to say the least. I cannot wait to go back in the winter hopefully. We left Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) on Thursday at 8am. Got into Vegas at 10:20am after a rather uneventful flight (good thing). :) Got our bags quick and headed for the cab line which was empty and moved real quick at 10am. Told the guy we were staying at the MGM and he went up Paradise and west on Tropicana. Fare was $13 and change. Not bad I guess. I was honestly amazed with the massive size of the MGM Grand. Never seen anything that big down here in Miami, and we have some real nice hotels, just nothing that size! There was already a 3-4 person line at every check-in station, but we were real glad to check in early as we found out later the lines are up to an hour long! Didnt feel like wasting $20 so I didnt try the trick. Didnt see anyone else doing it either. My room was a Grand Tower Room that was good size, the view sucked as it was only of the PH Westgate, Monorail, and MGM Signature. We got into the room right away, went down to eat. The MGM Buffet was pretty good. Nothing spectacular really. We ate there checked out the pool and shops. We then went by the Luxor to check it out, nice outlay but old hotel it looked like. On the way back to the MGM we passed by Tix4Tonight and got tickets for Fantasy. Then we went back up to take a nap. At night we ate at Diegos mexican restaurant in the MGM. Real nice place with decent Mexican food. We used the $50 dining credit we had here. Paid the bill and off we went to the Luxor to watch Fantasy. The show itself was nice, as there isnt much you can say thats bad about boobs and women dancing. My wife was not real impressed though. We would have rather seen Carmen Electra at the Crazy Horse or Holly Madison at Peepshow, but the Tix4Tonight tickets were $27 so we went with it for our first night! Saw the show at 1030. Walked around the Luxor, Excalibur, and NYNY some more and called it a night.

    Friday morning we ate at the MGM Buffet again. Not to bad but not as good as another one we went to later on. Pretty pricey to be honest. I would just walk down to the Planet Hollywood which has an AMAZING buffet for $14.99. After we ate we headed down to pool, which we did every day of our stay. It was SCORCHING hot every day. With temps in the 105-110 range. Pool was great each and every day. Friday afternoon we decided to walk to the north part of the strip. We saw the Mirage, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Paris, Ballys, Casino Royale. All nice but the CP for US was the king. Great looking pool and shops, so we will be staying here next time for sure. The Forum Shops was awesome as expected. Lots of stuff out of our price range but its still nice to gawk at! We made reservations at Mon Ami Gabi and went back to the MGM to rest a bit and get dressed. Mon Ami Gabi was one of the best restaurants we went to. I had the steak with blue cheese sauce which was awesome and my wife had the steak bernaise which was equally awesome. We had an escargot appetizer and some wine and the bill was with tip $100. Not bad at all. We highly recommend this restaurant. Lots of food, which I noticed was a theme in Vegas. Everyone serves a good amount of food! We went to the CP to gamble at some slots and at the Big 6 wheel. We won some cash and then proceeded to lose it all! :thumbsup:

    Saturday was a good day. We woke up and went to the MGM Grand brunch Buffet. $50 for two people and not that good. Went to the pool till 100-130 then we headed off for the Mandalay Bay. Got to the MB and the atmosphere was UFC as the fights were that night and we were attending. We got there around 200 and headed for the Shark Aquarium, which was real nice. By the time we were done we grabbed a couple pizza slices and went into the MB Event Center for UFC 100. Fight was awesome, but the seats in the MB are very tight with little to no leg room. Not an issue really, we still had a lot of fun. We didnt leave the fight until about 10-1030 and we headed to the casino there, where we won some and lost some of course!

    Sunday we decided to head to the PH Buffet in the AM. Our strategy so far was to eat like kings in the AM, skimp on lunch, and eat a nice dinner. Worked for us. The PH Buffet for us is right up there with the Bellagio buffet. Maybe even better. The breakfast selection and freshness was awesome. The price was awesome also! $14.99 on sunday before 1030. We ate there, headed back for the MGM pool. After some pool time we headed way to the northern strip. To see the Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn, and Encore. These are Top 4 I think in terms of decor. The Wynn/Encore was my wifes favorite of course. We rode the gondolas at the Venetian, which was nice. Played some Big 6 at the Palazzo and Wynn. We ate that night at the Bellagio buffet which was real nice with a BIG selection of food! We ended the night playing slots and Big 6 at the Bellagio and CP.

    Monday came and it was time to say goodbye. We packed our bags in the AM and headed down for one more MGM buffet! My wife had blisters so we didnt want to keep walking and go down to the PH buffet. We ate, grabbed our bags, checked out, and grabbed a cab for LAS. Flight wasnt till 4 so we had to hang out at the terminal for a bit. Overall the trip was a BLAST. I loved LAS and we definately both said we will be back SOON! Hopefully once a year trip! We agreed also that staying center strip is important.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    sounds like a great first trip....yes....you will be back at least once a year!!!!!! :beer::beer::beer:
     
  3. LAURLUVS2BOWL

    LAURLUVS2BOWL Low-Roller

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    Thanks for posting this MiamiE!! Sounds like you got a great overview of the great LV Strip!! I'll be back at MGM in 10 days. glad to hear the cab from the airport to the hotel wasn't an issue since at one point i heard there was construction on tropicana. i'm guessing the heat was not so unbearable that you didn't enjoy your time at the pool? did you walk straight from MGM to Planet Hollywood and if so, did the heat become an issue for you at all?

    good to hear about Mon Ami Gabi - planning to go there for the first time this trip! how were the lines for MGM buffet? even with your review we have an all-inclusive type thing included with the room so we'll be there once a day at least.

    thanks again and glad you had fun!!
     
  4. MiamiE

    MiamiE Tourist

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    The heat was real dry IMO for the first day. I am used to humid temps. The walk to the PH in the morning when the hotels are still blocking the direct sunlight is not bad. Dont know how bad it will be when you are walking it at 12pm-5pm though! The line was not bad at all. Theres (2) 1-2 person lines and (1) 4-6 person line. Something like that. Obviously the 1-2 person line moves a lot quicker!
     
  5. MiamiE

    MiamiE Tourist

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    The pool was awesome but the lighter complex crowd found themselves baking quite quickly. I am used to the sun so it was not bad at all. I got a real good tan actually.
     
  6. marcianofan

    marcianofan High-Roller

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    nice TR , tks for posting. The MGM is HUGE, I agree, especially for someone who stays downtown in las vegas, but it is a neat hotel/casino.
     
  7. ez369

    ez369 High-Roller

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    good first trip out there! The eating a big breakfast and holding you over to a good dinner is about the smartest thing anyone can do in Vegas to prevent from overeating with all 3 meals and overspending at Vegas prices. lol
     
  8. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    Great Report , glad you and your wife had a lovely visit ........and yes the MGM is huge, as someone posted in another thread, one might have to hire a sherpa guide to weave your way thru that hotel lol
     
  9. ant1433

    ant1433 Low-Roller

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    Nice job on the TR, Did you sit outside at Mon Ami Gabi? I love sitting out there and watching the Bellagio fountains. Always a must for me(so is the Sangria).How was the heat out there if you sat out there? Always wanted to go in the summer but the temps sound unbearable.
     
  10. DBear

    DBear VIP Bear

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    Nice TR! Did you buy your UFC tickets in advance? How do you get 'em?
     
  11. Dean Martin

    Dean Martin VIP Whale

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    I enjoyed your TR:thumbsup: Seems like everybody has to do that first trip "look around" to figure out what part of the strip and what hotel you like best....gald you two found your future Vegas "home":beer: - Dino
     
  12. zerofan

    zerofan VIP Whale

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    Very cool. You look like a nice couple. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
     
  13. ghetto71

    ghetto71 Tourist

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    Nice TR!:peace:
     
  14. MiamiE

    MiamiE Tourist

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    We sat inside at Mon Ami Gabi. Too hot outside. We also got the UFC tickets right there off of someone. ;)
     
  15. Bralo20

    Bralo20 Low-Roller

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    Nice report, thanks for sharing!
     
  16. VermonterJohn

    VermonterJohn Low-Roller

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    Nice TR, MiamiE

    Glad you had a great time. Sounds like you packed a lot into your trip.
     
  17. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Happy to hear you enjoyed our first Vegas experience and will be joining the ranks of Vegas Addict:thumbsup:
     
  18. gmoney590

    gmoney590 VIP Whale

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    it looks like another Vegas Virgin has become an addict like the rest of us. I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip and you found out where you want to stay and where the good inexpensive breakfast buffet is.
     
  19. gotavegasjones

    gotavegasjones VIP Whale

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    Enjoyed reading about your first Vegs trip. Thanks for posting a TR.

    later, GVJ
     
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