Live from Las Vegas

I just wanted to get part of this done now while it's still fresh!
I was scheduled to fly out of Sioux Falls to Vegas via Minneapolis and Milwaukee, not great connections, but I was in first class. Got to the airport, they had overbooked the flight, wound up getting a flight through Minneapolis that got in an hour earlier, plus I got a free RT ticket.
Landed in Vegas about 10:30, while I was waiting for my luggage I checked into the Paris via the airport check-in..no line, took 5 minutes.
I had reservered a Monte Carlo from Avis for 2 weeks, they offered an upgrade for a price..for $13 a day I could get a Caddy or a convertible. I opted for a brand new Sebring convertible.
Since the room wasn't going to be ready for a while, I popped downtown to wander for a bit..didn't do anything exciting, and didn't gamble. Got my room key at the Paris and headed up..I reserved a room with a view, I got room 2111, I had a great view of the Bellagio, but that darn Eiffel Tower blocked the center view.. .
Decided to have dinner at Mon Ami on the patio. It was great for people watching and had a nice view of the fountains. Had their pork loin and a cpl of french martinis. Service and food were both great.
Headed over to Bally's for some craps, min bet was $10...had a cpl of really friendly dealers that were pretty chatty. Played for a cpl hours and wound up only $10 down. Not bad after tipping the dealers and drink lady.
Sunday I woke up wayyy too early. Hit the Paris buffet..it was very good. I wanted to get an omlette, but was stuffed after eating a crepe. Wandered over to the Aladdin since I've never been there..the shops were all closed since it was so early, but it was neat walking around inside. Took a walk up the strip...stopped at the IP, Frontier, Stardust, Circus Circus, and the Sahara. Since it was such a long walk, I took the monorail back down the strip. Personally I like the monorail..it's quick and you don't have to deal with traffic...the big downside is that the drop off locations aren't that great.
Didn't really do much the rest of the day, hit the Bellagio buffet for dinner, it was good, but I should have gone for a sit-down meal.
Checked out in the AM..headed to my new hotel for the week..the Holiday Inn Express in Henderson...it's right across from Sunset Station. I like staying there, the rates are pretty constant, and the suites are nice. And since my class was a cpl miles away, it's perfect for me.
Last night I decided to book a Jr. Suite at the Plaza since I'm bringing the wife there in May. Check in was a breeze...got room 1012. I really liked the room, it was getting a bit worn down..but it was clean, and there's a lot of room in there. I also loved the balcony, since I was on the 10th floor, I could easily look down Freemont Street, but I was even with the canopy so I couldn't see the shows.
Had dinner at the Center Stage. I loved the glass dome, and the way they shut down the lights so you could watch the Experience. The prices weren't bad, I had the carpaccio for an apettizer, new york strip, and tiramasu for desert...it came to $46 or so I think.
After dinner, I headed down to the casino for some craps..there was a very interesting group of dealers, some were semi-friendly, some were downright grouchy....one at the far end of the table had some issues..he took forever to do payouts..he couldn't count or something....a lot of the players were heckling him, and he finally moved on. Had an ok run..played for a good 3 hours and doubled my initial $50. After all that fun I headed down and got a big football filled with a Pina Colada slush....don't rememember much after that...woke up in my bed the next AM and headed back to Henderson.
Friday I'll be finishing up here and staying at the Venetian for a cpl nights before driving up to San Jose..I'll be back in Vegas the 17th staying at the 4 Queens..if I get in early enough you might see me for some madness...more to come next week...I'll also get my pics uploaded.

 

All this and you're going back for the Madness? Yikes. Sounds like a good trip though, so far...

 

It's been great here so far...I love this weather too..not too hot, not too cold.
We'll see if I make the madness...depends on what time I get back to town..it's on my list though to at least make an appearance at MSS.

 

Nice start to your trip.
Did you need reservations for Center Stage & what time did you dine there ?.

Thanks.

 

Nope, didn't have reservations..I got there about 5:45, I think I was the first person actually seated..but the time I left the place was pretty packed. Since it gets dark fairly early, I was able to catch the Experience.