Last weekend I went to Vegas for a friend's bachelor party. Watching the game was important to him, so that was the reason for it being last weekend.
The best man/brother got us a very good rate at Aria, $195 a night. The guys were showing up on Friday but I wanted to get in a little early to play poker, so I planned on arriving on Wednesday. As far as the bachelor party part goes we had Top Golf planned, dinner at Carnevino and a sports bar on Sunday. The groom had no interest in a strip club, he's 50 year old. I also had no interest, at 56 I just feel stupid with a 20 something on my lap. But the brother/best man and his best friend were all for it, they've been married for years. I thought that was funny!
I had a morning flight from JFK on JetBlue with the TSA Pre upgrade, arrival was supposed to be at noon. The flight was delayed a few hours, which sucked, arrival became 2:20. Also, there was no Direct TV, so that was a little annoying. But they gave us $25 credits, so that was good! I decided to try Lyft, that worked out well. The guy arrived in a few minutes and the walk to the pick-up area was easy enough. Lyft was great because I got a sign on bonus so it cost me $2 total. I like to ask drivers how they ended up in Vegas, unfortunately I had to hear about the driver's divorce. Oh well. I got to Aria around 3:00 PM and I had did mobile check-in, so no line! Plus I requested a high floor and they gave me that, the 36th floor, with a great view of the mountains. They looked so beautiful in the morning with the snow and clouds. I wanted to get a quick meal so I went to 550 pizza and had a slice and 2 local beers. Not much to report, the pizza tasted good and the beer was good.
I then walked over to MGM to play poker. I was seated immediately at a $1-2 game. I'll say this, I played badly, in fact I played badly in all 3 sessions that I played over the next couple of days. I was just not aggressive enough. I won this session but it was because of a hand that I think I played badly pre-flop. So even though I won that session, up $150, my confidence was low. I got very lucky and knew it. After poker I wanted to get a bite to eat. I went to Todd English's PUB at Crystals. Honestly, I want to like PUB. I have gone a few times but the food does nothing for me. I had fish and chips and it was blah. I should have went to Yard House at the Linq, even though it would be a long walk. After dinner I was beat and went to bed.
On Thursday I went to Jean Phillips and had a ham and cheese croissant and coffee. It's one of the places I like to visit in Vegas. Afterwards I went to Bellagio to see the Conservatory display. It was nice and all, I got to take a picture of a giant rooster, post it on Facebook with the comment, "That's a big cock". I still like the Christmas displays they do the best. I then played the Rolling Stones slot, and cashed out for 21 cents. I meandered around and ended up playing poker at Flamingo. The game was weak but like I said, I was not playing well. I lost $250. I then waked back to my room and got a late lunch at Jullian Serrano at Aria, the happy hour specials. I had yellowtail "tiradito" which was really tasty, braised oxtail which was delicious but totally opposite the yellowtail. I was still hungry so I got tun tartare in cones which was okay but my least favorite. I also had sparkling sangria, which was refreshing but not sweet, so I liked it. I then went up to the room to meditate. I had plans that evening to have dinner with my friend who lives in Vegas. Before he picked me up I went to the Lift Bar, one of my favorites, and got a beer. I played max coin VP and they comped me, they would have comped me another drink but I was saving my liver for later. I had a great conversation with a guy my age who was also an east coaster and had lived in NYC too. A good guy who was inspiring in some ways. My friend picked me up and we went to check out Lucky Dragon. My impression matched what others have reported. The casino is really small and I liked the look. It made me think of a Korean-American woman I had dated, lol. I put $20 into a machine at the bar and played Boner Poker. I ordered Tsingtao, of course! My friend payed for his gin and tonic. The bartender was friendly and we got 2 drinks each, both of mine were comped. I ran my $20 up to $80 but went down to $25 when we were ready to leave. So I gave the bartender $5 and my drinks were free. My friend wanted steak so we decided to try Golden Steer, which is next door, and is on my Vegas to do list. We sat in the bar area and the vibe is classic. For appetizer we split the toasted ravioli, it was okay. I had the bone-in ribeye and my friend had the filet. For sides we had french fries and creamed spinach. My steak was cooked perfectly but it was average. I know people talk about the steak at places like Golden Steer and Circus Circus being just as good as the expensive strip places, but it wasn't. The vibe was great though. My friend dripped me back at Aria and I fell right out. I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache, perhaps it was the steak!
On Friday I decided to try Eggslut for breakfast. There was a bit of a line but I decided to wait in line rather than just get Starbucks or something I've had a million times. I ordered the Slut and a coffee. It was good, kind of fun to eat, and the coffee was good too. I then made my way down the strip and played poker at Bally's, I lost, lol. I then walked to Wynncore looking to check it out and get a quick lunch. I ended up in Jardine at the bar and had a crab cake with fries and a glass of white wine. Excellent, of course. I talked to the lovely bartender about Society becoming Jardine and that there was a few items that we both missed. Bt it was still delicious because Wynncore is the greatest place in the world. I lost $20 at VP and then walked back to Aria to meditate and get ready to meet up with the guys. My introduction to 2 of his friends, former college football players, was at PUB when they were about to do the 7 second beer challenge. They did it in 4 seconds. That may sound like they were gavottes, but they were really nice guys. They later did the challenge with similar results. I ate the chicken tacos, which were fine. I got pretty drunk, as we all did.
On Saturday I went to meet the guys at the buffet but I was running late so I went to the cafe and had eggs. It was okay. The plan was to go to Top Golf. They do not take reservations and the wait was 3 hours. I was feeling a little hungover and the idea of sitting at a bar for 3 hours did not appeal to me. We decided to go to Speed Vegas to drive cars. It was fun, I drove pretty well and for $195 it was worth it. But I was feeling it. On the 4th lap I was sweating a ton in the helmet but I held tight and finished the 5th lap, lol. But afterwards the guys were going back to Top Gold and I headed to my room to nap. My focus was on Carnevino later! I recovered between napping, water and Pepto Bismal. Dinner was set for 9:15, I walked to make sure I was hungry. Carnevino did not disappoint! I had the dry aged rib-eye and it was delicious, just enough funk! Dinner in general was great and treated us well. Afterwards we went back to Aria and drank, of course.
On Sunday we met at Starbucks and then headed over to TAP at MGM. Their deal was $275 for a table and everything included other than tax and tip. It's expensive but they treated us very well. There was not one point where we were looking for the waitress to get something. She was very attentive and hustled. Unfortunately I had Patriots with the under, no biggie but one win would have been nice since I was down on my gambling, lol. Afterwards we went back to Aria and drank.
On Monday I met with the groom, his brother and a friend. We went to the Blueberry Diner, really good straight ahead diner. I recommend it if you have a car. I got dropped off at the airport and went to the gate. The flight was a little delayed but not too bad. Unfortunately I could only get a middle seat, but the flight was fine.
All in all I had a great time. The groom was very happy. Carnevino was amazing, I drove a car at 133 mph. I could have used a few more days, lol.
The best man/brother got us a very good rate at Aria, $195 a night. The guys were showing up on Friday but I wanted to get in a little early to play poker, so I planned on arriving on Wednesday. As far as the bachelor party part goes we had Top Golf planned, dinner at Carnevino and a sports bar on Sunday. The groom had no interest in a strip club, he's 50 year old. I also had no interest, at 56 I just feel stupid with a 20 something on my lap. But the brother/best man and his best friend were all for it, they've been married for years. I thought that was funny!
I had a morning flight from JFK on JetBlue with the TSA Pre upgrade, arrival was supposed to be at noon. The flight was delayed a few hours, which sucked, arrival became 2:20. Also, there was no Direct TV, so that was a little annoying. But they gave us $25 credits, so that was good! I decided to try Lyft, that worked out well. The guy arrived in a few minutes and the walk to the pick-up area was easy enough. Lyft was great because I got a sign on bonus so it cost me $2 total. I like to ask drivers how they ended up in Vegas, unfortunately I had to hear about the driver's divorce. Oh well. I got to Aria around 3:00 PM and I had did mobile check-in, so no line! Plus I requested a high floor and they gave me that, the 36th floor, with a great view of the mountains. They looked so beautiful in the morning with the snow and clouds. I wanted to get a quick meal so I went to 550 pizza and had a slice and 2 local beers. Not much to report, the pizza tasted good and the beer was good.
I then walked over to MGM to play poker. I was seated immediately at a $1-2 game. I'll say this, I played badly, in fact I played badly in all 3 sessions that I played over the next couple of days. I was just not aggressive enough. I won this session but it was because of a hand that I think I played badly pre-flop. So even though I won that session, up $150, my confidence was low. I got very lucky and knew it. After poker I wanted to get a bite to eat. I went to Todd English's PUB at Crystals. Honestly, I want to like PUB. I have gone a few times but the food does nothing for me. I had fish and chips and it was blah. I should have went to Yard House at the Linq, even though it would be a long walk. After dinner I was beat and went to bed.
On Thursday I went to Jean Phillips and had a ham and cheese croissant and coffee. It's one of the places I like to visit in Vegas. Afterwards I went to Bellagio to see the Conservatory display. It was nice and all, I got to take a picture of a giant rooster, post it on Facebook with the comment, "That's a big cock". I still like the Christmas displays they do the best. I then played the Rolling Stones slot, and cashed out for 21 cents. I meandered around and ended up playing poker at Flamingo. The game was weak but like I said, I was not playing well. I lost $250. I then waked back to my room and got a late lunch at Jullian Serrano at Aria, the happy hour specials. I had yellowtail "tiradito" which was really tasty, braised oxtail which was delicious but totally opposite the yellowtail. I was still hungry so I got tun tartare in cones which was okay but my least favorite. I also had sparkling sangria, which was refreshing but not sweet, so I liked it. I then went up to the room to meditate. I had plans that evening to have dinner with my friend who lives in Vegas. Before he picked me up I went to the Lift Bar, one of my favorites, and got a beer. I played max coin VP and they comped me, they would have comped me another drink but I was saving my liver for later. I had a great conversation with a guy my age who was also an east coaster and had lived in NYC too. A good guy who was inspiring in some ways. My friend picked me up and we went to check out Lucky Dragon. My impression matched what others have reported. The casino is really small and I liked the look. It made me think of a Korean-American woman I had dated, lol. I put $20 into a machine at the bar and played Boner Poker. I ordered Tsingtao, of course! My friend payed for his gin and tonic. The bartender was friendly and we got 2 drinks each, both of mine were comped. I ran my $20 up to $80 but went down to $25 when we were ready to leave. So I gave the bartender $5 and my drinks were free. My friend wanted steak so we decided to try Golden Steer, which is next door, and is on my Vegas to do list. We sat in the bar area and the vibe is classic. For appetizer we split the toasted ravioli, it was okay. I had the bone-in ribeye and my friend had the filet. For sides we had french fries and creamed spinach. My steak was cooked perfectly but it was average. I know people talk about the steak at places like Golden Steer and Circus Circus being just as good as the expensive strip places, but it wasn't. The vibe was great though. My friend dripped me back at Aria and I fell right out. I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache, perhaps it was the steak!
On Friday I decided to try Eggslut for breakfast. There was a bit of a line but I decided to wait in line rather than just get Starbucks or something I've had a million times. I ordered the Slut and a coffee. It was good, kind of fun to eat, and the coffee was good too. I then made my way down the strip and played poker at Bally's, I lost, lol. I then walked to Wynncore looking to check it out and get a quick lunch. I ended up in Jardine at the bar and had a crab cake with fries and a glass of white wine. Excellent, of course. I talked to the lovely bartender about Society becoming Jardine and that there was a few items that we both missed. Bt it was still delicious because Wynncore is the greatest place in the world. I lost $20 at VP and then walked back to Aria to meditate and get ready to meet up with the guys. My introduction to 2 of his friends, former college football players, was at PUB when they were about to do the 7 second beer challenge. They did it in 4 seconds. That may sound like they were gavottes, but they were really nice guys. They later did the challenge with similar results. I ate the chicken tacos, which were fine. I got pretty drunk, as we all did.
On Saturday I went to meet the guys at the buffet but I was running late so I went to the cafe and had eggs. It was okay. The plan was to go to Top Golf. They do not take reservations and the wait was 3 hours. I was feeling a little hungover and the idea of sitting at a bar for 3 hours did not appeal to me. We decided to go to Speed Vegas to drive cars. It was fun, I drove pretty well and for $195 it was worth it. But I was feeling it. On the 4th lap I was sweating a ton in the helmet but I held tight and finished the 5th lap, lol. But afterwards the guys were going back to Top Gold and I headed to my room to nap. My focus was on Carnevino later! I recovered between napping, water and Pepto Bismal. Dinner was set for 9:15, I walked to make sure I was hungry. Carnevino did not disappoint! I had the dry aged rib-eye and it was delicious, just enough funk! Dinner in general was great and treated us well. Afterwards we went back to Aria and drank, of course.
On Sunday we met at Starbucks and then headed over to TAP at MGM. Their deal was $275 for a table and everything included other than tax and tip. It's expensive but they treated us very well. There was not one point where we were looking for the waitress to get something. She was very attentive and hustled. Unfortunately I had Patriots with the under, no biggie but one win would have been nice since I was down on my gambling, lol. Afterwards we went back to Aria and drank.
On Monday I met with the groom, his brother and a friend. We went to the Blueberry Diner, really good straight ahead diner. I recommend it if you have a car. I got dropped off at the airport and went to the gate. The flight was a little delayed but not too bad. Unfortunately I could only get a middle seat, but the flight was fine.
All in all I had a great time. The groom was very happy. Carnevino was amazing, I drove a car at 133 mph. I could have used a few more days, lol.
