June 26 - June 30

First off, my wife and I come from Eastern time, so sometimes we keep weird hours in Vegas. Also, this was my first trip in about 18 months. That was my longest drought since I took my first trip there eight years ago so you know we were excited to get back. We flew Delta, leaving the ATL at 11:00 am and arriving in Vegas just before 12:30. We walked out of baggage claim and stepped right into a cab (no line), which was a pleasant surprise. In was only $13.20 for a ride to the LV Hilton. Even though was arrived at 1:20, they let us go straight to our room. We arrived during the SHRM (20,000 participant HR conference) so the Hilton was mainly booked. We ended up in the Central tower. Yes, the bathroom is not in great shape and the toilet didn’t like to flush all the time, but I was only paying $25 per night, so I wasn’t going to complain unless there was a major problem.

I told my wife that morning after breakfast that the next food I put in my mouth was going to be Vegas Food and I meant it. Of course that meant I was freakin starving by the time we got to the Hilton, so we headed for the Buffet. The Hilton Buffet seemed like it was about 50% desserts, which I did not enjoy so much, but the wife loved it. They had three stations of regular food, Chinese (which was good), Traditional/American (just OK), and Mexican (which was awful). It was a pretty so-so meal. I don’t think I’ll do it again for lunch or dinner.

After linner (a combination of lunch and dinner) we headed to the casino for some HOT gaming action. I was down $300 in about two hours and told the wife I needed something else to do for a while before I busted out on the first night. She was having moderate success at BJ, so I invested another $100 in 3-card poker. I was glad I did. I nailed 3 flushes, 2 straights, and then hit 3 kings to recoup all my earlier loses. Pretty sweet.

Remember what I said about Eastern Time? Well the wife and I headed up to the room at 7:30 for a “nap†that lasted until 3:30 a.m. Now we needed breakfast, but no one is serving until 6 so we are left with the Hilton Coffee shop, the 24-hour Paradise Café. Pretty ironic name since nothing about the place really says “Paradiseâ€. Or maybe it’s just that way at 4 a.m. Please ignore the dirty dishes and hair in your food. Still we had food in our bellies, so we were off to wonder the strip at 4:30 a.m.

We found our way into the Sahara where we got our first exposure with the new three-card bonus bet at Let It Ride (the wife and I love to Let It Ride!). The bonus adds a little more fun to the game I think as it increases the win frequency. Plus, hitting another three-of-a-kind (this time 5’s) didn’t hurt either. Once the roller coaster was open we decided to give it a ride. Speed the Ride as they call it is short, but pretty intense. After three rides I had all I could stand. It was time for lunch anyway. Today lunch would be at the Sahara Buffet, which I had only heard bad things about (and the fact I still ate there means I don’t put a lot of stock into what I read here I guess, but whatever). I didn’t think it was as bad as the reviews I had read. I actually preferred it to the Hilton buffet. Far fewer desserts, however, so the wife was not impressed.

After lunch, it was nap time again, but we set the alarm this time because we had tickets to the 10:30 Zumanity show. We had to make a pit stop though on the way at the Barbary Coast (Bill’s what? Nope, it will always be the Barbary Coast to me.) to grab dinner at the Victorian Room. Now I have had dinner there several times before and the $14.99 prime rib special is always fantastic! The wife wasn’t thrilled, but I love this place.

I thought the Zumanity show was pretty danged entertaining. The wife was not impressed, however. We were front row center on the Duo Sofa and we both slapped an Italian guy on the rear-end before the show even started (didn’t really do much for me, but he seemed to enjoy it, so I was glad I could make him happy). I think the show overall was a little bit of a disappointment because it was too much sex and joking and not enough Cirque De Soliel. We wanted a Cirque show, only with topless girls, but that’s not what this show is. I still had a pretty good time, the wife however, left very disappointed.

Day three we sleep all the way until 5:30 so we are able to do the breakfast buffet at 6. Much better breakfast than lunch at the Hilton buffet, I thought so anyway. We then bolt off to the Harrah’s to do some gaming (I required gaming at a Harrah’s property as I aspire to be a platinum member some day, though I only have 624 of the 4000 tier points I need for this year). I took a real beating at Harrah’s then headed over to the Caesar’s food court for lunch. I had a decent Bar-B-Q sandwich and they still serve the world’s best potato salad here. I’m a southern boy and consider myself something of a connoisseur of fine potato salad so it’s hard to imagine the very best being found in Las Vegas, but this stuff is great! If anyone knows how I can get the recipe, please let me know.

After another quick nap, then we were off to the Rio. First, to be star struck by all those amazing poker stars playing in the WSOP. We saw stars like..

Howard Lederer



Jon Juanda



And Greg Raymer



They would all go home disappointed though as it was the King who took home the TOP PRIZE!...



After that, we headed to the Penn&Teller Theater to take in those fellas’ show. We were at the end of row #4. These guys put on a great show. Fine comedy mixed with amazing magic. The wife called it “the best show in Vegas!†While I thought it was very good, I still rate Carrot Top’s show a little higher. After the show, we hung out for a bit with Teller…



I guess we shouldn’t have waited so late to eat, cause by the time we decided it was time for vittles, nothing was open. We were stuck back at the old 24-hour Paradise Café. I had a burger. It was better than breakfast and the service was really good, but this still isn’t one of the top places to eat in Vegas.

Friday, we decide to check out the half priced tickets at Tickets 4 Tonight. Nothing was really blowing our skirts up so we decided to pass. We did find ourselves right in front of the Peppermill so we headed in for lunch (this was following a few hours of shopping which I won’t bore you with the details of). Just like with Ellis Island, the folks here are spot on with the Peppermill. This was my first trip and it’s a great place for affordable eats. Had a steak with a side of fettuccini (I thought Carrabah’s was the only place that served that). For entertainment this evening we decide to do the NYNY roller coaster. It was fun, but I banged my shoulder a bit so we only rode once. Then we headed over to Hooters for gaming and dinner.

We had dinner at Dan Marino’s. Dan cooks up a mean Mahi-Mahi, for sure. The wife had rigatoni, which I tried and wasn’t crazy about, but she liked it, so whatever. If you have been wondering if Dan Marino’s is worth a try you should check it out. We were more than pleased with the joint.

Got my Three-Card-Poker on again in the Hooter’s Girl pit. I don’t think being good at math is a requirement for a Hooter’s girls. I started out by getting $115 in chips for a $100 dollar bill. Then anytime I hit anything above a pair the girl pretty much just looked at me and waited for me to tell her what I was supposed to get paid. I hit a sweet straight flush for a $450 win and left a happy man. Bad math skills or not, mark me down as a big fan of Hooter’s Casino. I used to love the San Remo and now I love Hooter’s!

The final day started with a muffin at the Hilton Coffee stand. This place serves delicious coffee by the way. Then we check-out of the Hotel and head to Bally’s for the “Price Is Right!†(we have 12 hours to kill before our flight leaves). We got registered and got our name tags and then decide to kill the next hour with a little lunch. We wondered into some Italian place in the Bally's-Paris Promenade (Can’t remember the name, Le Procado or something like that). No matter what the name of the place, they serve some pretty good eats. I had Chicken Parm and the wife had some kind of potato stuffed pasta. We also had a little pizza as an appetizer and that was pretty good. I would have no problem recommending the joint to someone else.

The “Price Is Right†thingy was ok for killing a couple of hours, but could have been better. There was too much talk, talk, talk, from the announcer and the host. They could have probably fit in another two or three contests if they would cut out all the talking. We came for a game show, not for a stand-up comic. After the show we hit the slots at Bally’s then, did a little gaming at the Hilton, then we were off to the airport for the long flight home. Overall, it was a great trip! One of those where you didn’t want to leave! I hope we get back soon!

 

Great TR. It sounds like you had a real good time and you definetly cleaned up the the 3 card poker; and, congrats on your huge WSOP win LOL

 

Great report and pics! Thanks for sharing.

 

Your TR was really entertaining. The part about spanking the Italian at Zumanity had me laughing.

I think your wife and I have the same philosophy about what makes a good buffet - lots of dessert!