jillmn
High-Roller
My husband and I, along with my mom and my brother flew out of MSP on USAirways on Sunday afternoon, 12/21. Checked in and through security in less than 30 minutes, bonus!
We arrived in Vegas at 4:20pm and were off to Planet Hollywood for 4 nights. No wait for check-in. We had rooms 1406 and 1408 standard rooms. We like the big bathrooms with separate tub and shower and I love the beds here and slept great the whole time.
Once we got settled, we realized that we were starving, so we were off to our first ever visit to Ellis Island. My mom and brother decided to stay behind to gamble…they were jonesin for some slots, so just my husband and I went. The walk wasn’t bad at all, we left PH and walked through Paris and Ballys, then over to EI. Our plan was to go where ever they had the shorter wait- The Restaurant won out over the BBQ- 15 minutes vs. an hour and a half. They seated us in a booth, and we ordered a couple beers- a stout for J and a Hefe weissen for me. For dinner, J had the steak special with fries. He loved all of it, and I really liked the garlicky green beans that came with it. I decided on the Fish and Chips which was hot, crispy and really good. The service was fine- I was expecting worse from stories I’ve heard. Dinner for two, with 2 beers was only $19 and change, plus tip! SWEET! We will absolutely be back to EI, and we really want to try the BBQ.
After dinner, we headed back to PH to catch the end of the late football game and to play some VP. We wandered around the Miracle Mile shops for a little while, had a few more beers. By then we were wiped out from a long day of traveling, plus the 2 hour time difference, so we were off to bed early.
Monday 12/22
We woke up at about 7am (hey…it’s 9 at home!) and went to the Spice Market Buffet at PH for breakfast. We used a $5 off per person coupon that we were given at check-in. They had all the basics, plus flame broiled tri-tip, kielbasa, tons of pastries, omlette station, fresh Belgian waffles, crepes… We enjoyed it, and left really full.
I wanted to go see the lions at MGM so we walked over, and my mom called just as we walked in. She wanted to come and meet up with us and hang out; my brother was still sleeping after a drunk night. J and I wandered around a little while we waited for her to walk over. She made a friend along the way who gave her a flower and then took off his bandanna and bowed down to it. She was freaked out and ran when she spotted us. We went over to the Lion habitat, but they weren’t there yet. The three of us decided to go down to the Luxor to see Bodies. We walked through NYNY and Excalibur along the way to show Mom the sights. At the Bodies box office, they asked if we had AAA and we do so we got 10% off! We really enjoyed Bodies and thought it was interesting and super cool. We saw it last year at the Trop, and we thought it was smaller this time around, but still neat for us nerds.
By this time, my mom and I were ready for a pick-me-up in the form of a Fat Tuesday’s slushie. Whaddya know, there’s one right there in Mandalay Place! We got the souvenir mugs for $10 apiece. Mom had Margarita and I chose Bellini- YUM! We kept our mugs for refills later. My mom got looped pretty quick because, as she said, she had “eaten coffee, cigarettes and advil” that day so far. We stopped off so mom could get a Krispy Kreme. Breakfast of champions. By this time, my brother had called us to say he was up and hungry, so we walked back to PH. Mom and brother went to have some much needed lunch at Cheeseburger Las Vegas in the Miracle Mile shops. J and I went up to the room to clean up and relax before we went Downtown for dinner and Monday Night Football. We all met up a couple hours later and made our plans for the evening; Mom and brother were gonna gamble a bit, then meet us downtown.
J and I got a cab and headed DT right away. We had them drop us off at Main Street Station where we had dinner at the Triple 7 Brewpub. I just have to say, I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! We started with a couple beers- a Blackchip Porter for my husband and the Brewmaster’s Reserve selection for me, which was a Belgian Sour Cherry brew. We really enjoyed the beers, and loved the atmosphere here. My husband ordered the Brewmaster’s burger, a patty topped with Canadian bacon and four cheeses and I ordered a Cheeseburger with avocado slices. We, again, ate dinner for about $20. While we ate, we pondered where to watch MNF, and decided that we loved the Triple 7 and wanted to watch the game there.
After dinner, we played some slots until game time, then bellied up to the bar at Triple 7. My mom and brother joined us just as the game was starting. We got raffle tickets for prize drawings, and put our names in to win a flat screen TV, ordered some drinks (3 Lagers and a Blackchip) and settled in for the game. The drinks flowed, mostly beer, but I mixed it up with some vanilla vodka and coke (or is it pepsi at MSS?) and we had such a great time. They had a shot girl with some Jack Daniels downhome punch shots for a buck apiece, so we indulged…even my mom did a shot with us! The balloon animal girl, Kari, is my new best friend, and she made me a dog on a leash balloon animal, and made my mom a stripper on a pole… During the trivia game, my husband won a Jack Daniels hat, and my brother won a T-shirt in the raffle. Everything at 777 was awesome, the staff was the friendliest anywhere and we felt like we were at our own neighborhood bar. I cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed ourselves here. I don’t even remember much about the game, but I know we had a fantastic time. We took good care of Ronnie, the bartender, and he returned the favor. After the game, my mom and brother wanted to see the light show, and we headed back to PH. We played some slots, got some wraps from Earl of Sandwich and headed up to the room. We ate our wraps, and then went to bed.
More to come...
We arrived in Vegas at 4:20pm and were off to Planet Hollywood for 4 nights. No wait for check-in. We had rooms 1406 and 1408 standard rooms. We like the big bathrooms with separate tub and shower and I love the beds here and slept great the whole time.
Once we got settled, we realized that we were starving, so we were off to our first ever visit to Ellis Island. My mom and brother decided to stay behind to gamble…they were jonesin for some slots, so just my husband and I went. The walk wasn’t bad at all, we left PH and walked through Paris and Ballys, then over to EI. Our plan was to go where ever they had the shorter wait- The Restaurant won out over the BBQ- 15 minutes vs. an hour and a half. They seated us in a booth, and we ordered a couple beers- a stout for J and a Hefe weissen for me. For dinner, J had the steak special with fries. He loved all of it, and I really liked the garlicky green beans that came with it. I decided on the Fish and Chips which was hot, crispy and really good. The service was fine- I was expecting worse from stories I’ve heard. Dinner for two, with 2 beers was only $19 and change, plus tip! SWEET! We will absolutely be back to EI, and we really want to try the BBQ.
After dinner, we headed back to PH to catch the end of the late football game and to play some VP. We wandered around the Miracle Mile shops for a little while, had a few more beers. By then we were wiped out from a long day of traveling, plus the 2 hour time difference, so we were off to bed early.
Monday 12/22
We woke up at about 7am (hey…it’s 9 at home!) and went to the Spice Market Buffet at PH for breakfast. We used a $5 off per person coupon that we were given at check-in. They had all the basics, plus flame broiled tri-tip, kielbasa, tons of pastries, omlette station, fresh Belgian waffles, crepes… We enjoyed it, and left really full.
I wanted to go see the lions at MGM so we walked over, and my mom called just as we walked in. She wanted to come and meet up with us and hang out; my brother was still sleeping after a drunk night. J and I wandered around a little while we waited for her to walk over. She made a friend along the way who gave her a flower and then took off his bandanna and bowed down to it. She was freaked out and ran when she spotted us. We went over to the Lion habitat, but they weren’t there yet. The three of us decided to go down to the Luxor to see Bodies. We walked through NYNY and Excalibur along the way to show Mom the sights. At the Bodies box office, they asked if we had AAA and we do so we got 10% off! We really enjoyed Bodies and thought it was interesting and super cool. We saw it last year at the Trop, and we thought it was smaller this time around, but still neat for us nerds.
By this time, my mom and I were ready for a pick-me-up in the form of a Fat Tuesday’s slushie. Whaddya know, there’s one right there in Mandalay Place! We got the souvenir mugs for $10 apiece. Mom had Margarita and I chose Bellini- YUM! We kept our mugs for refills later. My mom got looped pretty quick because, as she said, she had “eaten coffee, cigarettes and advil” that day so far. We stopped off so mom could get a Krispy Kreme. Breakfast of champions. By this time, my brother had called us to say he was up and hungry, so we walked back to PH. Mom and brother went to have some much needed lunch at Cheeseburger Las Vegas in the Miracle Mile shops. J and I went up to the room to clean up and relax before we went Downtown for dinner and Monday Night Football. We all met up a couple hours later and made our plans for the evening; Mom and brother were gonna gamble a bit, then meet us downtown.
J and I got a cab and headed DT right away. We had them drop us off at Main Street Station where we had dinner at the Triple 7 Brewpub. I just have to say, I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! We started with a couple beers- a Blackchip Porter for my husband and the Brewmaster’s Reserve selection for me, which was a Belgian Sour Cherry brew. We really enjoyed the beers, and loved the atmosphere here. My husband ordered the Brewmaster’s burger, a patty topped with Canadian bacon and four cheeses and I ordered a Cheeseburger with avocado slices. We, again, ate dinner for about $20. While we ate, we pondered where to watch MNF, and decided that we loved the Triple 7 and wanted to watch the game there.
After dinner, we played some slots until game time, then bellied up to the bar at Triple 7. My mom and brother joined us just as the game was starting. We got raffle tickets for prize drawings, and put our names in to win a flat screen TV, ordered some drinks (3 Lagers and a Blackchip) and settled in for the game. The drinks flowed, mostly beer, but I mixed it up with some vanilla vodka and coke (or is it pepsi at MSS?) and we had such a great time. They had a shot girl with some Jack Daniels downhome punch shots for a buck apiece, so we indulged…even my mom did a shot with us! The balloon animal girl, Kari, is my new best friend, and she made me a dog on a leash balloon animal, and made my mom a stripper on a pole… During the trivia game, my husband won a Jack Daniels hat, and my brother won a T-shirt in the raffle. Everything at 777 was awesome, the staff was the friendliest anywhere and we felt like we were at our own neighborhood bar. I cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed ourselves here. I don’t even remember much about the game, but I know we had a fantastic time. We took good care of Ronnie, the bartender, and he returned the favor. After the game, my mom and brother wanted to see the light show, and we headed back to PH. We played some slots, got some wraps from Earl of Sandwich and headed up to the room. We ate our wraps, and then went to bed.
More to come...
It was HOT in here, though! They seem to crank up the heat in most places during the winter in Vegas, but the 
before we headed back through the Casino to the Mezz level.
Thanks...
