Orleans and The Tuscany.

[The Stig]

Sat 29th Oct



So, this is trip 14 for me and my 4th trip this year. I flew with Thomas Cook from Manchester the flight was very quiet in fact there was only 94 people on the entire plane. I flew in Premium which just gives me a little extra room to spread out. I landed in Vegas about 11.30am and there was a slight queue for immigration as a flight from Mexico had landed a few minutes in front of mine.

Once through immigration I collected my luggage and headed out for a taxi. I had split my hotels this time around. My first two nights were at Orleans then moving to Tuscany for 6 nights. I wanted to have the whole time at Tuscany but they were booked up over the weekend.

I arrived at Orleans this was the first time I had stopped here. In fact, I had never set foot in the place before. Check in was easy and they had my room ready straight away. I was on the 16th floor and had a room facing the Strip.

The only thing was my room was about a mile from the elevator. I got freshened up and with only 2 nights here decided against unpacking everything. I made my way out into the casino and didn’t realise how big this place was. I played VP for about 30 mins before heading out for a walk.

The beige mile


Looking at the Rio I thought it’s walkable so I set off for a walk. It is walkable just a little further than you think, but everything in Vegas is like that. Once I got to the Rio I had a look around and called in at Count’s Tattoo’s to have a look then I had a look around the Kiss place they have there.

I walked across to Gold Coast and had about 3 drinks in there. I called in at Subway for some food before heading back to Orleans. Once there I head to one of the bars and watch the World Series game. After the game I have a couple more beers before my tiredness kicks in and it’s time for bed.

 

[M0rtyC]

Looking forward to the rest of your report headed out 2nd weekend of Dec

Really looking forward to Your impressions of Pub 365 @ Tuscany

 

[The Stig]

Sunday 30th Oct

Early morning sun over the Strip





I woke up about 11am and got showered and dressed and headed downstairs. I got a player’s card and started to play and did about an hour on the VP. I got a cab over to Mandalay Bay and had a look around the memorabilia store there before having a beer at Ri Ra. I walked through Luxor and Excalibur to NYNY. I got a hot dog in there before heading over to MGM. I had a wander around and looked in the memorabilia store that opened this year before getting a drink at the Centrifuge bar. I played on the VP and $40 in and $80 out so not bad.

I got a cab back to Orleans and got changed and headed over to Downtown. I went in the D to watch the World Series game. It was busy in there and I sat at the Long Bar. I was only drinking not playing and sometimes the service can be hit and miss here depending on where you are sat. I was sat further up the bar nearer towards where the players club is.

There were 4 staff on but they didn’t seem to spread along the bar. The worst wait time was about 10 minutes and in that time the guy had acknowledged me a couple of times. To be fair to him though he did give me the drink for nothing. I went to the bathroom and lost my seat at bar so ended up stood at the bottom of the bar near the entrance and had no problem getting served as there were always staff around.

After the game and the disappointment of the Indians getting beat I walked up to Golden Gate and had a few drinks in there and chatted with the staff. I then headed back to Orleans for a few drinks in there before bed.

 

[The Stig]

Mon 31st Oct



I was up about 11.30am for a 12 check out. I packed the few bits that I had unpacked and headed down to checkout which was quick. I headed out and got a cab over to Tuscany. I wasn’t sure if the room would be ready but it was and it wasn’t long before I was in my room. It was a second-floor room in block O which is set back so you don’t get traffic noise.

I unpacked and went to the café in Tuscany for something to eat before going out for a walk around. I stopped by the PBR bar for a drink then a bit more of a walk before heading back and getting changed before heading out Downtown.

I started at Golden Gate and had a drink or 3 in there and chatted to staff before walking out on to Fremont St. It was busy as usual for Halloween and I eventually got to the D. The bar was busy so I didn’t bother with a drink. Instead I headed to Coney Island for some food. I went for the Gyros or as we call it a kebab.

After that I went back on Fremont to take in the atmosphere. Some great costumes on show and I was pleased to see two guys dressed as Ricky Wild Thing Vaughn from Major League. I walked around a bit more and watch a couple of the bands before heading back to Golden Gate for a few more drinks.

I got a cab back to the Strip and landed in O’Shea’s for a couple of drinks before crossing over to Tilted Kilt for a few in there and chatting to one of the girls behind the bar who remembered me from before.

After there I headed back to Tuscany for late drinks before bed.

 

[The Stig]

Tues 1st Nov



I was awake about 12 o clock and got ready and headed out to the café for something to eat. I had the Eggs Benedict which is always good in here. I then headed out for a walk and walked through Cromwell and there was nobody sat at the bar. I went into Flamingo and walked through there. I have walked past the wildlife habitat every time and never gone out to have a look at it. This time I decided to have a look at it.




After that I walked through the LINQ and Harrah’s and towards Venetian as I had decided to have a look at Madame Tussauds. I first went into Walgreens before going to Tussauds. I didn’t get anything and as I walked out a manager called me back. At first I thought he was going to accuse me of stealing something so I was on the front foot. He then asked me if everything was ok, I answered yes and that they didn’t have what I was looking for. Again, he just said as long as everything was ok, I replied yes and walked off, god knows what that was about.

I went into Tussauds and I hadn’t been in here since 2008. Some of it looked similar to the one in Orlando that I visited last year. I liked the Hangover part and the room with Vegas icons in it. There was an anomaly though in the room with Vegas icons. Criss Angel was in it I mean come on








After looking at the wax figures I went over to Mirage and had a look around the memorabilia shop in there before walking around to Caesars Palace. I found a gallery there that had some interesting things in it. The sculptures are all made from recycled parts and they let you take pictures as well.



I walked around a couple of memorabilia shops and then headed over to Cromwell for a couple of drinks before returning to Tuscany. I get changed and head to the casino bar to watch the World Series. The good thing about Tuscany is it’s a local casino so you get to chat to some of the locals. I got chatting to an Angels fan who was up for the Cubs.

She guessed right that my support for the Indians was from the film Major League. After another bad game, I went over to the LINQ to drown my sorrows. Although my disappointment was made slightly better as I was $60 up on VP. I started in O’ Shea’s with a drink or 3 then headed across to Tilted Kilt for a few beers. I headed back to Tuscany and tried out Pub 365.

By this time, I’d had a few beers and I went in and asked what they had, the guy probably thought I was winding him up. He handed me a beer menu and I picked Firestone and it was very good. They were closing early though as they didn’t have enough staff to stay open. I went to the casino bar for a couple more before bedtime.

 

[The Stig]

Weds 2nd Nov



I was up for about 1pm I tend not to do mornings in Vegas. First call was the café for something to eat and then headed out for a walk. I ended up in Paris and had a couple of beers in there. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking about as I readied myself for game 7. I went back to Tuscany and got changed and went to the casino bar to watch the game. We all know how it ended so let’s just move on.

I got a cab and went Downtown and hit the Golden Gate for a few beers and I wander around Fremont before back to Tuscany for a few drinks before bed.

 

[The Stig]

Thurs 3rd Nov



I was awake about 1pm and got ready and hit the café before heading out. I was meeting up with Tony and Elaine (Pebbles). They had text me and said they were in the Cromwell. We had met once before and it nice to meet up again. Elaine was trying out the cityzen app and managed to get a free drink for me in the Mexican place next to O’Shea’s. I’m not one to turn down a drink. We then went to Tilted Kilt for a drink and a chat. It was good to meet up and hope we can again sometime if we are in Vegas.

When we went our separate ways, I headed back to Tuscany to get changed and get something to eat. I had got a ticket for X Comedy at Flamingo. I had a couple of drinks in Flamingo before going into the show. It was very funny, John Bizzare and Nancy Ryan are good both together and on their own. Another comedian also did a spot but I can’t remember his name. I had seen John Bizzare before at X Country so I had heard some of his material. There is a lot of interaction with the audience from Bizarre and Ryan. I would recommend it as it is a very good show.

After there I head over to O’Shea’s for a few drinks before hitting the Tilted Kilt for a few more before heading back to Tuscany for some more late night drinks.

 

[The Stig]

Fri 4th Nov



I was up for about 1.30pm and got ready and hit the bar for some VP for about 3 hours before getting something to eat at the café. I went back to the room to get changed and headed out for a drink. I had a ticket for X Burlesque at Flamingo. I went into Tilted Kilt for a couple of drinks before heading to Flamingo for a drink before getting in the queue.

I was sat towards the side of the stage similar to where I was sat when I watched Piff the Magic Dragon. X Burlesque was very good and I enjoyed the dancing and the different types of music, having already seen X Country I just need to see X Rocks now.

After I come out of the Flamingo I went over to O’Shea’s for a drink or 3 and to listen to the band that were on. Tilted Kilt was next for a few drinks before I go back to Tuscany for some late drinks before bed.

 

[The Stig]

Sat 5th Nov


It was a late start for my final day in Vegas and I didn’t surface till about 2.30pm. I went to the casino bar and hit the VP for a couple of hours before I was getting hungry. I hit the café again for some food and returned to my room to get changed. Tuscany are doing a promotion in Nov called Stick or Pick, you got a ticket for every 200 points on your card. I had ended up with 8 tickets in the drum but you had to be there to win. So, before I went out I hung around for the draw. As expected I wasn’t one of the five who got drawn out. You got $750 just for having your ticket drawn out. Then you could stick with that or pick one of six cases that contained between $250 and $3000. I stayed around to see if anyone went for it.

Two of them did one won $1000 and the other picked the $3000 case. You take the money or have it free play with another 10% on top. I got a cab to Downtown and got dropped at El Cortez. Amazingly this was the first time this trip I had gone here. I had a bit of play on the VP and profited $20 out of it.

I had a walk over to Golden Gate and had some drinks in there before I went back to the Strip. I headed into O’Shea’s for 3 drinks and then across to Tilted Kilt for some more drinks and talking to one of the staff. I then head back to Tuscany for my final drinks before heading to bed.

Just one of the near misses.







Sun 6th Nov



I woke about 10.30am and got ready to leave. I packed my last things and checked out and got the cab to the airport. The flight was on time and was a lot more busy than coming out here. I landed in Manchester at 7.30am on the Monday morning and back to reality and cold weather. Hopefully back in Feb 2017.

 

[The Stig]

Another thing I noticed with being around the LINQ is the weird thing that they have started doing. Dim the lights and play music and light up the wheel and the fountain. Think they may have got them ideas from somewhere.

 

[tringlomane]

Nice report! Sorry about the Indians. And Firestone Walker is usually a good choice for craft beer. I'm disappointed I didn't get to Pub 365 last trip. But sounds like it was fairly dead. Did they have 7/5 Bonus at least?

 

[Blonde_4_ever]

Enjoyed your report. We probably passed each other downtown on Halloween.

 

[carolineno]

Thanks for sharing, nice report! I needed to go to the Shoppes at Mandalay Bay last trip and I really liked the looks of Ri Ra and RX Boiler room but it was still early and they weren't open. I like that shopping area and how it ushers you into Luxor.
I might try out this cityzen app too, curious...

 

[kevin853]

Love the report, Stig.

Funny how you don't get going till 1pm. Sometimes I'm in bed early then back out drinking in the casino at 5am and other times we don't go bed till then. Never can seem to get our body clocks right from the moment we arrive in Vegas.

Looks like you had lovely time.

 

[The Stig]

Nice report! Sorry about the Indians. And Firestone Walker is usually a good choice for craft beer. I'm disappointed I didn't get to Pub 365 last trip. But sounds like it was fairly dead. Did they have 7/5 Bonus at least?

They do at casino bar, I can't remember in Pub 365 as I'd had a few by the time I got in there.

Enjoyed your report. We probably passed each other downtown on Halloween.

Yeah we probably did, I do like Halloween on Fremont St

Love the report, Stig.

Funny how you don't get going till 1pm. Sometimes I'm in bed early then back out drinking in the casino at 5am and other times we don't go bed till then. Never can seem to get our body clocks right from the moment we arrive in Vegas.
Looks like you had lovely time.

I'm usually out till late in Vegas apart from the first night when I'm trying to get my body clock on Pacific time, My getting up time starts around 12 ish and gets later as the week rolls on.

 

[pebbles]

It was good to see you again. I'm glad you had a good time.

We have used the Cityzen app once or twice since then. It's good for a few drinks each day but Tony isn't a big drinker as you may have noticed. We haven't used it to it's full potential.

We are back 30 March to 15 May. Maybe we can meet up again then.

 

[kkinwi]

Thanks for your report! Did you enjoy Tuscanny?

 

[The Stig]

It was good to see you again. I'm glad you had a good time.

We have used the Cityzen app once or twice since then. It's good for a few drinks each day but Tony isn't a big drinker as you may have noticed. We haven't used it to it's full potential.

We are back 30 March to 15 May. Maybe we can meet up again then.

I will probably miss you then as I'm planning a Feb trip then will be end of May. If you are there about end of Oct again I will be there then.

Thanks for your report! Did you enjoy Tuscanny?

Always like the Tuscany, great spacious rooms and a good casino and café.