Short Trip, Long Report, part 2 – Aug. 2-5 The Rio, The Golden Tiki & SLS

We just “go” to the Voodoo lounge. I’m just going along at this point. I’m sorta drunk now so the fun elevator ride is lost on me. We ordered the stupid signature drink, which was the weakest drink of the whole trip, but now we can say we did it and at least we were smart enough to just split one instead of getting 3. DJ was really good and the sound system was great. Customers seemed mostly Europeans and/or “people our age”. There is something liberating about being older in Vegas. You’re never going to impress anyone with your dance skills, or be the hottest one in the room, so you can just go to the second tier clubs and enjoy yourself, as long as you don’t dance in a way that someone gets hurt or something LOL. It was nice to see my one friend loosen up. He’s a cop and is always stressed out, but then his song came on. Anyway, the view was just so good, we stayed til last call, when incidentally yours truly just happened to be getting a final g&t and a water, so when I come back to the dance floor I get a shout out from the DJ for being double fisted LOL. My friends eventually send me to my room, and that is the end of day 1.

 

Despite getting in at 3am, I woke up at 7am of course. Surprisingly I felt ok. Couldn’t do algebra or even long division probably, but ok. I knew I had to eat, so brother and I head to Hash House a Go Go. Our waiter makes the mistake of commenting on my brother’s Steelers hat, and the “what do you think of the team this year” from the waiter is met with this long breakdown of each player and trade blah blah blah LOL. Poor guy didn’t know what he was getting into. I was happy to see my brother relaxing too, another totally stressed out worker. I decided to get the meatloaf, with eggs and toast. It was ok but for the Asian inspired gravy, I wasn’t too keen on that. Eggs were perfect.
Then the pool. My brother has forgotten his swim trunks, so I head down first. The pool is about all I can handle. We get a spot out of the sun, which was no easy task. I had a theory that Vegas hotels designed their pools in such a way that they were shaded. Not so I guess. But oddly, the water was too cold for me. I suppose my condition was a factor in that. I didn’t want to go into shock lol. So mostly I hopped from the hot tub to the chair and back. The hot tub is my place. I don’t meditate but I might have reached “empty mind” for a bit there. Eventually I got my sea legs and we were ready for the strip.
We wasted a lot of time doing recon on Tender, because my brother didn’t listen to me when I said to bring 1 business casual outfit. Along the way we scouted for cheap pai gow poker. Didn’t find it, even at the low end M Life. We are looking for really low minimums LOL. Turns out Tender was ok with a lot of casual outfits, although they draw the line at swimwear. We had the $75 off $150 MyVegas reward, so he got a $75 3 steak special, and I got a cheese plate, free range bison, and we split a dessert. I was definitely not drinking!
My friends are aiming low tonight as they leave early tomorrow, so we meet them at MGM. They are seeing KA as their last hurrah. My one friend is winning on OMG Kitties! She is up to $130 after putting in $20 so she is happy. The rest of us aren’t doing so great. I wasn’t too into slots this time. After no early luck, I just kinda lost my zest to play slots. I’d rather do other things with my money. Plus I had spent a lot more than I am used to the night before. My brother of course hits a quick pick for $100 instantly, so that was nice. We get back to the Rio, and we are both ready to sleep. A normal night for me!

 

My last full day is here, I get the red eye home right around midnight. After midnight if I know Jetblue. Today’s mission is to play Pai Gow Poker and maybe visit the SLS. Earlier I bought B1G1 free monorail passes. They really saved us a lot of walking. I love to walk but not in brutal heat when it’s crowded. Plus I have wanted to check out SLS so now I had a chance to do it. They only had $15 pai gow at the Rio so we went to the Gold Coast. Found a $10 table. The first dealer was from Bulgaria and she was patient with my brother not knowing how to play and such. Then we got a new dealer, Vietnamese guy, who was also good and funny. We kept getting hung up on what to do with 2 small pairs, so the dealer helped my brother. He had a thick accent but he looked at his cards and said. “Two pair but no ace, King but no ace so you split, so you gamble, you gamble!" pounding his fist the whole time! This was funny cuz my brother is such a straight edge, it was good to hear someone besides me tell him to take risks. He won too. We started to get hungry when 3rd player arrived, Asian guy, regular, lays down a bunch of cash. Gets 7 black chips then the rest are red. Dealer almost gives him 800 total but he’s $20 short. An honest mistake but the floor gives them both crap (just kidding) then the new player says “You give me extra $20 I go home now winner. Met you in parking lot and we split it.” LOL. I will never get rich playing pai gow poker but it’s so easy going and casual, you’re just lucky or you’re not. None of this second guessing or “you shoulda taken one for the team” crap. Now we’re hungry so we each book a win, and then I convince my brother to eat the Gold Coast buffet, saying even if we just get fruit it will still be cheaper than a coffee shop. Not bad if you’re not shooting for the moon. We just wanted enough grub to keep us fueled.

Off to the SLS we go! It’s an easy trip from the Rio to the Monorail to SLS. I wish I had taken some photos but imo there is no daytime danger in going from the Monorail to the SLS, it’s all enclosed in a monorail walkway. I suppose at night the walkway might have a random vagrant, but most stations seem staffed. I would feel ok doing this alone.

I really liked SLS. Like I said before, crowds annoy me, so SLS is my kind of space. It was slow, but not dead. More like relaxing. Good drink service, friendly staff, good deals at the restaurants. Even the gift on gift day (Sunday) was decent – 2 SLS pilsner glasses for 250 points. My brother racked up at least 100 in an hour playing video blackjack, so it can’t be hard to hit. Pai Gow Poker ($10 minimum, yes!) didn’t open until noon, so we waited a bit. Played for a few hours on $100, and the pit actually took our players cards, so maybe we’ll get an offer. I wish we had been hungry enough for lunch, because the beer garden had a free draft if you spend $10, but we were so full, and it was super-hot. Love the space. I understand that the rooms may be small, but I’m still willing to try it out sometime.

 

Back to the monorail and to Bellagio. I am seeing the Picasso exhibit, while my brother plays roulette. I’m glad I took the time to see it. I wish I had taken the audio tour guide, but the headphones creeped me out – I always have bedbugs on the brain in Vegas. I think I took a bit away from the show even without it. Small exhibit, but worth the time.

We finish up at Crystals and do an early dinner at Wolfgang Puck. Got my linguini and clams fix and one last cocktail called the Basillico – prosecco, St. Germaine and basil infused simple syrup. Just right.

We make it back to the Rio but I am too destroyed to rally for a last hot tub trip, so just TV and spacing out. We say our goodbyes, I get the shuttle to Harrahs and use the rest of my TR credits at the Fulton Market. The Asian section was too busy so I just got a sandwich to go. Hopped on the monorail to MGM, ate in the food court, decided I didn’t really have enough time for even an hour of poker, so I hopped on the WAX and home I went. Remind me to avoid the seat that does not recline on the red eye.

Final take aways…

~Rio was fine, although the exterior needs paint! And the Twilight Zone machine is gone 
~Having a Keurig in the room is great
~Golden Tiki is a great new bar, allegedly within walking distance from the Rio. I wouldn’t try it at night, but they are open 24/7 so maybe next time. Still prefer Frankies because I’m more familiar with the drinks.
~In the future I will be willing to break off some slot money for cabs.
~Glad I went to the Voodoo lounge!
~Tender was good, but too far away for me.
~Loved having cheap pai gow in a place as nice as SLS
~Wolfgang Puck at Crystals is a nice, mellow place for a last meal.

ok, that was long as promised Thanks for reading!

 

Nice report!!!

Wouldn't the headphones wake up the bed bugs?

 

Ha Ha! Well it was an art tour, the bugs might be sleeping!

 

Enjoyed The report. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
.

 

Great report and photos. I actually prefer a report that is not live. Less fragmented. Seems you had a fine time.

 

Nice report! Glad you had a good time!

 

Very nice report....thanks for sharing!

I was at the Rio 7/31-8/5, and was playing blackjack at GC on Tuesday morning. Small world!!!

 

Wow! I was at the GC Tuesday AM, I must have walked right past you! Guess I will get the VMB bracelet for next time!

 

Thanks for the Golden Tiki info, Frankie's still sounds cooler, but it sounds like the new joint is worth a visit.

 

Yeah that was my takeaway. It is, however, very close to the strip and Rio. I wish I knew more about Las Vegas "Chinatown" - (it still doesn't compute as a "chinatown" to me visually, as our local one has very old buildings and no sun) if I did I would shop, do lunch, then the Golden Tiki, all during the day. Both bars are good in their own way.

 

Nice report, thanks for sharing.