MB & Encore 2/7-2/10

Sat 2/7

Flew into LAS around 7pm local time. Airport was pretty empty, no line at the cab stand. Took the short ride to Mandalay Bay and talked to the cab driver about all of the flooding the received that day and how bad Vegas is hurting right now (this turned out to be a common theme, in fact, I don’t think we talked to a single cab driver or bartender the whole trip without having this same conversation about the drop off in visitors). I had two free nights at MB and asked about an upgrade at check in. No problem and we got a room on the penthouse level (60th floor).

We had been booked at MB for about a week and just before we flew out, we received an email for 2 free VIP tickets to Michael Bolton. Now I’m 26 and my wife is 27, so needless to say the last thing I thought I’d ever do in my life would be to go to a Michael Bolton concert. But we figured we had to stop in. We had some time to gamble before the show and my wife hit a nice win on her favorite Goldfish machine and I had 2 4OAK’s and a 4OAK A’s in about 45 min of VP. We went into the concert pretty late and got to our seats (which we fourth row). I’ve got to say, I’ve never had more fun at someplace I didn’t really want to be (does that make sense?). The un-intential comedy was at an all time high. The Bolton fans are hard core and were going crazy. We had an absolute ball people watching, even though we were only there for the last ½ hour.

We headed to Luxor to try to find someplace to eat. I had been wanting to eat at Cathouse and when we got to the door there was a guy in a suit, I asked about getting some food and he said (and I quote in his almost embarrassed voice), “Actually, this time of night this place turns into one of those club/ultralounge placesâ€. Okay then. They had the velvet ropes all set out and not a single person in line. I’m guessing it would have been a smart business decision to let us come in and sit at the bar and order some food and I think the kid working the door felt the same way, by the way he was embarrassed to turn us away for food. We found that every restaurant in Luxor was closing their kitchen at this time of night. So we ended up at Burger Bar in Mandalay Place and it was pretty good. I can’t think of anything else that night, but I know it involved a lot more drinking & gambling at MB.

Sun 2/8

Woke up and headed to the sports book to see if there was anything worth betting on. We are big Cavs fans and were looking forward to the Cavs/Lakers game later on, but I didn’t care for the line at all. We headed out and ended up walking to PH, while gambling a little along the way. Had lunch at Trader Vic’s and pulled up spot in the little Extra Lounge to watch the game. Afterwards we made the trip back to MB to get ready for the night. We had Zumanity tickets and headed to NYNY beforehand. I pulled up a spot at the new center bar and had phenomenal drink service and also had a nice VP run. Side note – NYNY is often our home base as we usually stay here or at MGM and I had heard a lot of complaints about the new layout (we hadn’t been since last June), we actually thought it was great. Went to the show and had a fun time. I doubt we’ll be seeing it again, but it was enjoyable. We are not big Cirque fans, but we have seen most of the shows. Other than Love (which we have seen 4 times and could see it every trip), we are pretty lukewarm towards Cirque shows.

Headed back to Luxor to give Cathouse another chance. Very cool place and atmosphere. If you are with your significant other, it is a comfortable place because you get to sit in a little curved booth and you don’t feel like you are jammed up against other table’s like a lot of Vegas restaurants. The food was good, but it didn’t blow us away. Server was quite full of herself. We tried to play at Luxor, but for whatever reason I have no attraction to the place. I definitely like the direction they are heading, but it just doesn’t do it for me yet.

Then we went back to MB. I started out at a craps and it was not that great. The people at the table were not fun and there was very little interaction with the dealers. So after about an hour, I cashed out about even and bummed out for not having much fun. I proceeded to have my third loosing session at blackjack and figured it was time for bed.

Mon 2/9

We checked out of MB and took a cab to Encore. From the time you step out of the cab you are treated like royalty. We got a room on the 55th floor with a view of the Echelon fiasco. The room was fantastic. I have stayed in a lot of nice rooms in Vegas because I host a business event every year and I always host a party on the last night in some suite. Every one of them has been huge and nice, but the stock Encore room was ‘nicer’ than any of them. I can’t even imagine what the suites are like, but I plan to find out on my annual business trip this summer.

We went to lunch at Peppermill and my wife put it perfectly, “It looks like Vegas threw up in here.†The food was huge and great. We loved it and will definitely be back.

After lunch we spent the early afternoon at Encore gambling. I finally had a nice, long, winning blackjack session with a great dealer. After getting ready for dinner I wanted to sneak some more Craps in. Two for two on an unfun table, but to make matters worse I lost money this time. So at this point I’m not really feeling craps, which sucks because usually it is guaranteed fun. We headed to Palms Place for dinner at Simon. Simon is a fantastic place with a great setting and even better food. There was just one problem…there were maybe 8 other people in the entire restaurant. It really bummed me out. I understand it was a Monday night, but still. I felt bad for the waiters (who were great, by the way). The place was so quiet it was eerie. But, as I said the food, setting and service were all top notch. We took the tunnel/people mover thing to Palms and the whole time (it must be a 10 minute trip if you just stand there) we didn’t see ONE person. Super eerie.

We made our way to Rio for Penn and Teller. I can’t stand Rio (no offense to anyone), but P&T is probably my favorite show. I loved Penn’s old radio show, his Penn Says videos and of course BS on Showtime. I finally got to see the Red Ball trick that Richard Abowitz wrote about a few months ago (look up the article, it is great). After the show we headed to Venetian and just slowly worked our way back to Encore, gambling away.

Tue 2/10

Had breakfast at Society. The reviews I’ve read on this place are spot on, it has great, expensive breakfast food and really slow service. We are happy we went though, some of the best Eggs Benedict I’ve ever had. We started wandering down the strip and played slots/VP at TI, had a fun little craps session at Mirage (things are looking up), then found ourselves at Bellagio. I played VP for a solid three hours with phenomenal drink service. I basically treaded water the entire time, hitting a few 4oak’s to keep me in the ballgame. Once I caught up with my wife, she was up pretty big on the darn Goldfish machine, I don’t know how she does it.

We then went to Bill’s for some hot dogs to hold us over for dinner. I found a loud craps table and thought, what the heck. It brought back all my faith in craps. Fun dealers, really fun/loud players and the next thing I know it is 3 hours later. Made lots of friends and had lots of drinks. I only cashed out up about $100, so it wasn’t a crazy hot table, just tons of fun all around. We stumbled our way slowly to Wynn, hoping to eat at Okada (since our favorite Sushi place, Social House, is closed on Mondays & Tuesdays). We apparently just missed being able to get food (common theme of the trip), even though the restaurant appeared pack. No big deal, we just went across the street to Ra Sushi and it wasn’t too bad, but I doubt we’ll be back as Social House is still our favorite. But Okada is on our must try list.

This was one of those Vegas nights where everything seemed right with the world. Time was not an issue, friendly faces all around, drinks flowing and we even made a little money. I’m still not sure how we were able to make our 9am flight, but somehow we did. We are now in the midst of a bad Vegas hangover and we can’t wait to get back.

 

Very nice TR. Enjoyed the read. Thanks for posting.

later, GVJ

 

Sounds like a great trip........I love when you hit those run tables with a great feel of commeraderie; if you don't win, at least you have a lot of fun trying!

 

Sound like a great trip and you guys sound like perfect vegas traveling companions. Nothing better than being in Vegas with family or friends that enjoy Vegas as much as you (if that is possible).

 

Sounds like a great time.

Was your Encore room booked on an offer?

 

Great report and I think I'm leaning towards staying at Encore this summer. I keep getting offers I just can't get away.

 

great tr GO cavs

 

Yes I'm one of the many people who played at Wynn once a few years ago and started to get these great offers. I believe it was $129/night with $150 in Freeplay. I'm hoping I played enough this trip to warrant better future offers.

 

I had some friends stay at Encore over super bowl weekend, we ate at society for breakfast one day and it was amazing. They had these little mini steak sliders that were AMAZING! Thier fries could of been better, way too thin and stringy. But it was a great little brunch place.

Is it weird that I couldnt stop staring at the amazing red chandeliers?! lol!

 

nice TR. Would like to play craps some but I can't stay away for the slots!

 

I wish someone would teach me craps!
They always look like they are having a blast!!!