Pre-Trip Report: October 9-14

I'm going to Vegas!!!

Who: Me, solo for 2 days. And then semi-solo for 3 days when my folks come in to town.
What: Somewhere around my 18th trip. Eating, gambling, drinking, shows, sightseeing, everything but a lot of sleep.
Where: 2 nights at Bellagio, 3 at TI.
When: Late Sunday night to Monday morning, 10/9-10/14.
Why: Do we ever need a reason?
How: Got my wife to say "Why don't you go? How many chances do you get?".

Here's my Vegas "to-do" list. Every trip I get to take a few more off, and every trip I come up with more things to add. Besides, there are always new ideas coming from this board. Bold items are where I'm going to focus, besides my usual activities. Rest are in no particular order. Let's see what I can get off this list.

Buffets

• Paris buffet breakfast (only been there for dinner before)
• Wynn Dinner Buffet (only been for breakfast)
• Pig out on all-you-can-eat meat (no jokes please) at a Brazilian restaurant - Samba Grill, Rum Jungle, Yolie's. Only been to Samba before.

Other Restaurants

• Grand Lux Cafe. Never been before.
• One really fancy restaurant (under consideration: Charlie Palmer's @ Mandalay/Four Seasons)
• Capriottis for a Slaw Be Jo
• Biscuits & Gravy, Hash Browns, Bacon @ Peppermill (not necessarily in on meal)
• Get a fried twinkie @ Mermaids
• Get a 1 1/2 pound burger at The Plaza Diner (although I was warned against this by Mikey)
• Sam Woo Bar-B-Q
• Sonic (only been there once before)
• Try Schoop's for a burger.
• L&L Hawaiian Barbecue on Maryland Pkwy
• Tacos Mexico on W. Sahara
• Eat 'Em Sandwiches on E. Sunset
• Kilroy's at Flamingo and Grand Central Pkwy, or Charleston at Buffalo)\
• Fatburger, give them another try after a not-so-great first experience
• Famous Philly Cheesesteak on Fremont near 6th.
• Roberto's Taco Shop (A Mikey recommendation)
• Del Taco
• Joe’s Stone Crab – Caesar’s Forum Shops
• Try a non-buffet Wynn restaurant
• ESPN Zone @ NYNY

Drinking

• Isla @ TI for tequila
• Monte Carlo for beer (raspberry wheat, Silver Stout), try to get them while gambling
• Ellis Island for beer
• Check out the Freakin' Frog for a beer or two
• Main Street Staion for beer (High Roller Gold, pale ale, Royal Red Lager), try to get 'em while gambling
• Chicago Brewing in Four Queens for beer (blueberry, brown ale, IPA)
• Red Square @ Mandalay Bay for vodka
• Shadow Bar @ Caesars

Gambling

• Play some Hold 'em. I've played 7-card stud in the casinos, but never Hold 'em.
• Play more blackjack

Shows

• We Will Rock You @ The Paris
• Vegas Museum @ Tropicana
• X @ Aladdin Dessert Passage
• Forbidden Vegas (if it ever reappears somewhere)
• Wonders From Down Under @ The Hilton (Are they still there?)
• Barry Manilow @ The Hilton
• Penn & Teller
• Zumanity (Not sure about this one. I'm open minded, but I can't tell from reviews if this is entertaining or not.)
• Ron Lucas @ The Rio
• Haunted Vegas Tour (www.hauntedvegastours.com)
• Phantom of the Opera @ Venetian (2006)

Other Things To Do/See

• Ride the monorail at least once
• Watch the whole fountain show at Bellagio (only seen pieces of the show before)
• Spend some time people watching, probably at Harrah's Carnival Court or The Forum Shops
• Valley of Fire
• Garden of Eden sanctuary at The Flamingo
• Watch some Kereoke at Tequila Joe's (not enough liquor in Vegas to get me to participate)
• Gambler's Book Store
• Get a specialty drink somewhere - like a yard of some really strong drink somewhere
• Go to the Atomic Testing Museum
• See the Freemont Experience (been to the old one, prior to the new high resolution version)
• Bellagio Gallery of Fine Arts
• See an IMAX movie at The Luxor
• Visit the wine cellar for a tasting at The Rio
• Go to the top of the Stratosphere and avoid the rides at all costs.
• Wildlife walk at The Tropicana
• Go to Neonopolis (is it still there?)
• Lake Las Vegas

Only If I'm Nearby

• Bacchus Show at the Forum Shops (Just saw pieces before while walking by)
• Great Hall Epic Battle at the Forum Shops (Same as Bacchus show)
• Thunderstorm at the Desert Passage
• Sky parade at The RIO (saw it once before, and enjoyed it)

Casinos

• Visit Riviera before it goes away
• Visit Stardust before it goes away
• Visit New Frontier (don't think I've ever been in this one)
• Visit Sahara before it goes away
• Visit Bally's before it goes away
• Visit Las Vegas Hilton (haven't been there for a long long time)
• Visit Circus Circus before it goes away
• Visit Stratosphere (never been in)

 

The Paris breakfast buffet is absolutely awesome. You won't be disappointed.

Try to get there between 10:30 and 11:00 and that will allow you to be there when they switch over to their lunch menu.

 

Sounds like a another great trip is planned.


• Tacos Mexico on W. Sahara Try the Tacos al Pastor
• Kilroy's at Flamingo and Grand Central Pkwy, or Charleston at Buffalo)\ It’s Grand Canyon Pkwy (I may have butchered that in prior post, I get ‘em confused).
• Fatburger, give them another try after a not-so-great first experience I think FB has lost its glory, I had it in July (flamingo rd. location) and it was so bad I will never give it another thought. Just a burnt, sloppy, stale mess.
• Roberto's Taco Shop (A Mikey recommendation) Good choice! I've tried several menu items and everything has been tasty.

Assuming you’ll have a car…If you looking for a lunch special, try PT’s (Spring Mountain/Arville) 11-2pm, 7 days a week they have a double cheeseburger that includes fries and drink for $4.99. You can substitute type of cheese. Great value and very tasty. We eat there weekly ever since I stumbled on the special.

• Get a specialty drink somewhere - like a yard of some really strong drink somewhere. La Bayou, baby!
• Go to Neonopolis (is it still there?) Neonopolis is still there. Unfortunately, not much happening there. Great place to catch a movie, though.

 

If it's anything like my last trip, you'll do about 60% of that stuff then the trip will take on a life of it's own and take you places you never knew you wanted to go. But you'll be happy once you get there!

 

I believe I saw the X show listed on the Goldstarevents.com website if you want discount tickets.

You'll have to save Barry for another trip. He's not in town that week.

I will be in town at the same time w/ my sis and will be going to some of those places, so wave it you see me!

 

Hey Dave...

The Vegas museum at the Tropicana is long gone, but the Titanic exhibit is there--heard it's pretty good.

At the Peppermill--skip the biscuits and gravy--it's just so-so. Go for the Chicken Fried Steak or the Eggs Benedict!

As far as visiting the Riviera and Frontier go, don't waste your precious Vegas time...

Mikey

 

The original museum closed, but a new one has taken its place. The Las Vegas Historic Museum - Daily from 9am-9pm Admission is $6.95 for adults and $5.95 for seniors. Must be 18 years or older or accompanied by an adult to enter museum.

 

Sounds like I hear a second. I think I'll have to make a definate trip to Roberto's. And yes, I will have a car, so I'll add PT's to my list to.

I saw the Titanic exhibit during my last trip, and you're right, it is pretty good. Definately worth a visit if you have any interest at all.

Thanks for the tip on the biscuits and gravy. I'm still looking for some good ones in Vegas. The cafe at TI wasn't bad, but not up there at "excellent". I'm not a chicken fried steak guy. I think this goes back to my childhood where I had some really really tough chicken fried steak. Since then, I've never had it by choice. And as far as eggs go, I'm funny there too. They've got to be scrambled or in omelets. No poached (eggs benedict) for me. But.... I've had places make eggs benedit for me with scrambled. That may be an option.

Thanks everyone for the additional tips and info. The King probably summed it up right in saying the trip will take on a life of it's own. But if I don't get to everything on the list, who cares? As long as I have a "to do" list, there's a reason to go back again and again.

 

Well, the root of your problem may be trying to find good biscuits & gravy in Las Vegas....I mean, it's not a city known for its great southern cuisine, is it?


How about combining a "chi-chi" restaurant with a desire to eat at a Wynn restaurant that's not the buffet? Then you can kill two birds with one stone. Check out one of the 1/2 price ticket places (for X, and any other show that might be on your list) You could do that when you're at Peppermill since there's one outlet just next door. We combined a monorail ride with a visit to the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, and a Warp Core Breach at Quark's bar. Couldn't see any other reason to take the monorail, and hubby had been wanting to see the Star Trek experience (we did get 1/2 price tickets--at the Coke bottle/M&M place on the way to MGM to catch the monorail) Can you tell I'm all about multi-tasking??? Much more efficient enjoyment of Vegas that way.....Until I drink too much and forget everything I wanted to do and only have the ability to sit at a Texas Tea nickel machine before passing out....
Hope you have a great trip!!

 

You're right. Maybe finding good biscuits & gravy in Vegas is like trying to find good pizza.

You're right about the multi-tasking thing. It'll really help me get through the list. Except for the MGM Grand monorail thing. Last time I was in Vegas, I had that idea. I walked from The Strip all the way back to the MGM Grand monorail station (after getting lost a few times). When I got there, all the token machines were on the fritz, and no one was around to help. So, no monorail ride and then a walk all the way back to The Strip.

 

Hi Dave, an All....

Today, it is T-30 for me.... going Oct 15th to 19th.
My to do list is not as long as you, but I hope you can scratch as many things off as possible.

A few musts for me:
-Wynn buffet
-A meal at the Peppermill
-Tickes 4 Tonite for a cheap show
-A visit downtown
-And of course... drinking and gambling!

 

The reason those places are going away is to save you the trouble of visiting them.

....

 

Yeah, I know. I know. But it's more for nostalgia than to actually gamble, eat, drink, etc. in these places. And maybe to pick up a souvenier chip.

I haven't been to most of these places in a long time. But once upon a time, I enjoyed the Riviera buffet. I hit my first Royal Flush at The Stardust. I remember years and years of a workers' strike at The Frontier. Circus Circus was the first casino I stayed at in Vegas. Bally's.... Well, nothing to say about Bally's.

If I want to see any of these places one more time, it seems like I have to do it now.