Superman's Balls, June 16-22

Superman’s Balls
Vegas 6/16/07-6/22/07
Chronological edged out topical in the poll, so here it is. You can rate whether you approve or not:evillaugh

Not many photos, but posted here: http://travel.webshots.com/album/559630211GPmFzT

The basics:
Flights: Southwest, RDU-LAS non-stop
Hotels: Golden Nugget, 2 nights free; Planet Hollywood, 4 nights Resort Vista $149 each (cnew7 promotion)
Transportation: rental car (6 nights full-size Alamo, Chevy Impala, $146 taxes & fees included), taxis, walking
Entertainment: Strip club, Rat Pack is Back, Spamalot, “Oâ€, spa morning, pool time
Gambling: Nickel slots, $5 & $10 minimum craps
Food: mostly middle of the road this trip, Pullman Grill & Second Street downtown, Mon Ami Gabi, Palm for lunch, 1 breakfast and 1 dinner buffet at Planet Hollywood (2 for 1 coupons with our room rate)

Saturday 6/16/07
Woke up early, too excited to sleep. Off to airport early, had some lunch there. Met a guy who gave us a booklet of Southwest drink coupons. CoasterKikky had already sent me some, so we were all set on the ride out! Of course, one of us (me) had to be sober enough to drive once we got to Vegas, since we rented a car this trip. I HATE planning to be sober in Vegas, which is why I don’t like to rent a car, but we had some errands to run this trip and the cost-effectiveness analysis favored renting. Our flight was a half hour early, so we had to wait on the tarmac while the other plane finished loading and left our gate area. When we were on the tram over to the main terminal, we ran into the guy who gave us his drink coupons. He asked us if we had enjoyed them and gave us another booklet (they’re the old style that expire at the end of the month). Our first win in Vegas! Our luggage arrived quickly and we got on the shuttle to the car rental facility. Alamo has a kiosk so we didn’t even have to wait in line—just scanned my driver’s license and credit card, walked me through my reservation (I avoided the up-sell to an SUV and all the extra coverages, just barely) We were then directed up the escalator to the lot where we could pick whatever car we wanted out of the appropriate aisle. We didn’t have a lot of options, but we’ve rented the Impala before and liked it so we picked a silver one. We picked up a map and directions to the interstate from the person checking the cars at exit. It wasn’t difficult to find our way there—we were doing a lot better (in terms of being in the proper lane) than half the other drivers around us. Hubby was driving so I was oohing and aahing over all the new constructions (there’s always new construction in Vegas, right?) and he was jealous because he had to pay attention to the road. We ended up at the Golden Nugget valet around 4:30. We checked in (sadly, not in the VIP room this time) and received a North Tower “deluxeâ€, king nonsmoking (which is what I’d asked for—the clerk couldn’t tell me what tower it would be in though) Our room was on the 10th floor and we had a view overlooking the pool. Much time was spent with binoculars looking out over pools this trip. After we checked in we went to get a gallon of water at Walgreens, stopped for a couple of microbrews to go from Four Queens ($3 each), dropped our stuff in the room and gambled a bit. We had dinner reservations at 7:00 at Pullman Grill at Main Street Station so we headed over there a little early and were seated promptly. There was one large group in the restaurant (about 40 people?) and a couple other tables—otherwise the place was pretty empty. Especially for a Saturday night. Despite the seeming emptiness of the room, the large group screwed up our service and no one warned us our dinner salads/soup would be served before our appetizers were. A small detail, but still. We had a bottle of California zinfandel ($30 montevina—tasted like a chianti, nice), shared the seafood medley appetizer ($11), enjoyed the bread basket, and each had a version of surf & turf. I had steak and shrimp scampi ($28) and chose the seafood bisque as my starter (very rich, somewhat bland) The steak was good, shrimp slightly overcooked, but not oversauced, which was a nice change. Hubby had the petit filet & lobster ($45.95) and chose a salad starter. We enjoyed the meal (total $121.53 plus tip) but decided we don’t need to go back there again. No desserts or coffee—we couldn’t even finish our wine (which NEVER EVER happens to us). I had received a text message from CoasterKikky that she ate at California and was going to gamble there. We were about beat but walked over to say hi and thank her for the drink tickets—met outside Lapperts ice cream at California so I had to get some (single scoop, $2.50) After chatting a bit, we went to bed and CK went on to win a little money (if I recall the next text message correctly).

Sunday morning I actually managed to stay asleep until 7 or so, very unusual for me in Vegas (2 benadryl tablets might have something to do with that!) Careful Kitty’s at El Cortez was on the menu for breakfast—the best biscuits & gravy I’ve found in Vegas, possibly anywhere. I ordered that and a side of hash browns. I think Dane had the egg/bacon/toast special. The total (including juice, coffee) was $17.76 plus tip. I’m looking at the receipt now, and they have their address spelled incorrectly—it says Freemont, with two “eâ€s. That’s funny to me. But it’s been a long day and I’m easily amused. Moving on…..They are widening the sidewalk and putting up some neon signs in the median on the stretch of road between the canopy and ElCo. I think it will look really nice. We gambled until it was time to go to the outlet mall (opens at 10am) and then we drove over. Hit the shops, bought a new knife, some clothing. Left right around noon as it was getting hot and crowded! Most of the rest of the day was spent gambling. Except for the time out to get the half-price tickets for the Rat Pack is Back at the kiosk in Four Queens. We did VERY well at the craps table, and I wasn’t losing at nickel slots either. Additionally, cocktail service was very good! I think we snuck down to Golden Gate for a shrimp cocktail and beers at one point (I know we did while we were downtown) but I don’t have a receipt and that day is pretty hazy in terms of a timeline. I know we showered at some point and headed out to dinner before the show. The original idea was to go to Triple George, because we had such a great meal there, but when we got there, we realized I hadn’t done my homework thoroughly enough and they’re closed on Sunday. Some bikers were having a bbq sale on the sidewalk and invited us to join in but we declined and headed to Fremont to see if we could get into Second Street Grill. They were just opening their doors and sat us immediately. Dane had a glass of shiraz ($8) and I stuck with water, as the lingering effects of the yard of mudslide and afternoon of Coronas wouldn’t wear off until Monday morning. I ordered the whole flash-fried snapper ($27.95) I had last time—again, one of the most perfectly prepared fish dishes I’ve ever had. Dane ordered blackened ahi ($26.45) that he said was delicious. Total $66.62 plus tip. We caught a cab over to Greek Isles and picked up our Rat Pack tickets at the box office and waited in line. So we’re drunk & full at this point, and I’m standing on heels. Yeah, that’s a good feeling…..So I really enjoyed the show. It wasn’t crowded (most of us moved seats after about 5 minutes) There is cocktail service during the show. I think it lasted an hour, hour and a half? I really liked Dean Martin, though I realize many think he’s a weak link in the group. That’s ok; I think he’s cute! After the show, there aren’t any cabs. Anywhere. People are just milling around clueless. Finally, we went to the street and tried hailing them—they started coming in eventually. So we got back to the Nugget, I changed my shoes and we gambled a little more…..Then we passed out.

Monday morning—hubby wanted Krispy Kreme. We went to Fitz and ordered a half dozen ($5.49) a coffee for him ($2) and water for me ($3) We sat outside in their little eating area because it wasn’t nuclear hot yet. After breakfast we gambled a little then I said we had to try the pool before we left GN. So we changed, hit the water slide, looked at the shark tank, and exited. Very cool to look at but so many dang kids. That’s the problem with the new pretty, fancy pools—too many kids! They don’t want to hang out at a concrete hole filled with water, so that’s where I’d prefer to be. GN was packed all weekend—good for them—but lots of families. We checked out of the hotel (so sad, except it was lovely to have them say “your balance is zeroâ€! We had errands to run so we headed southeast. Hubby got his stuff, we got provisions at Walmart, then made it to the airport just in time to get our friends. We took them to Lee’s Discount Liquor to stock up. Then we drove over to Planet Hollywood, hoping it was late enough we’d be able to check in. Gave the poor bellman all our bags (cooler, liquor bottles, and so on) and got in line. We lucked out and our room was ready—a Resort Vista on the 17th floor (1779) Our friends room wasn’t ready yet but it was on our floor so we all went to our room and had our bags delivered. We were all a little hungry so Heidi and I went to find some food in the mall. We picked up our coupon booklet and had a 2 for 1 at a place called Tacone—lots of wraps (around $7 each?). So we did that and went back to the room. The boys set up the hospitality suite and were drinking while ogling girls in bikinis with binoculars. We had a great view—the pool directly below, Bellagio fountains to the right and City Center construction across the street. Heidi is an architect and my husband loves construction so they were in heaven….Monday was the day we planned to go to a strip club—every time we go to Vegas with these friends, we say we’re going to do it and then we run out of time. So Brian calls Scores, which was recommended to me by people on this board (happy hour, better looking women than some other places, a feeling I’d be more “comfortable†there, etc) So Brian asks about happy hour and then he asks about a cover charge—free if we drive ourselves but $30 (each) if we arrive in a taxi or limo. I’m too cheap for that (and there’s no way we’re driving ourselves….) so we start to look for another club. I’m having a hard time remembering names so we’re trying to look up stuff in the yellow pages and realize we’re missing the entire “E†section (we figure entertainment, could be “exoticâ€, not sure, but it was all missing) So then we call down to see if the other room is ready, and it is, so we send the boys down to get the key. While our room had not been renovated at all, theirs had some “Hollywood†stuff on the walls, including a foam Conehead we had to cover with a towel because it was so disturbing and creepy. We find some other listings and call Cheetahs. Brian asks about a cover and they say there isn’t one (before 9?) And Brian clarifies—even if we come in a taxi? And the guy says, hell, you can come on Superman’s balls, there’s still no cover. None of us are quite sure what that meant but it amused us highly all week. Lap dances were $10 before 7 too, so definitely a frugal strip club. Not the hottest girls but that’s ok, we were happy. We took a cab over, got a table by the main stage and ordered our drinks and let our eyes adjust to the darkness. Heidi ended up getting 3 lap dances while the rest of us were happy with a single lap dance each. They called a cab for us and we headed back out into the night, supremely happy we’d finally made it to a strip club in Vegas. And, now I know what the stripper smell is that so many of you talk about…..Back at PH we roamed around and checked out the table limits ($10) and decided we wanted some food, but nothing much. We got a little pizza at a place in the mall—Aromi d’Italia café, $15 for 2 pizzas. After dinner we gambled in the casino. I didn’t stay long—I was hot (the casino didn’t have enough air flow—not sure what they screwed up—was almost like some of the air exchanges weren’t working because not only was it really warm, it smelled smoky, which Aladdin never did) Everyone else played craps for a while but I fell asleep early.

Tuesday morning we had breakfast at La Salsa Cantina. Dane had the $3.95 2 egg breakfast special and I had a breakfast quesadilla ($6.45) I called Wynn to see when we needed to pick up our Spamalot tickets for that night (9am to 1 hour before the show) and we decided we’d drive over after breakfast. Our friends were in the casino and they decided to come with us, and we said we’d take them to Golden Nugget to play some craps. Took about 40 minutes to get our car from valet. What a mess! Quick trip to Wynn, in and out just picked up the tickets, then down to Golden Nugget. Well, the craps table was NOT so nice to us that day—very sad. But our friends said that GN looked cool and they might consider staying there on our next trip. Yippee! Feeling hungry so we hopped over to Binions and grabbed a quick bite at the snack bar. I think my husband had nachos and Brian & Heidi shared a turkey sandwich (no clue how much the nachos cost but the turkey sandwich was about $6.75 and swear to god had about a pound of turkey on it—I nibbled some turkey and some nachos but didn’t eat a full meal myself) Got the car from GN valet (about 10 minutes) and headed back to PH to impound the car again. There was some gambling, then some showering, and we took a cab back to Wynn around 5:15 or so. Decided to get a quick bite to eat at Zoozacrackers (though Red 8 was tempting!) I had a half-sandwich and soup ($10.50) Roast beef and chicken noodle soup. Hubby had latkes ($7) and he says mine and his are both much better. The chicken noodle soup was really good though. We still had some time before the show so we signed up for player’s cards and played some nickel slots, then headed over to the show. Seating at Spamalot was quick and painless, and our seats were amazing! We had the front row of the balcony, smack dab in the center. I tried not to sing along out loud (until the end, when they encouraged us to do so!) After the show we grabbed a cab back to PH and gambled with our friends on the mezzanine level for a while—great cocktail service because the slots there are right next to the high limit area and there aren’t many people up on this level.

Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the Spice Market buffet (we had 2-for-1 coupons with our room rate and our friends didn’t want theirs, so we ended up with two coupons) Breakfast is $14 so it was around $15 with tax. It was very nice—only thing I didn’t like was the link sausage. But the apple bacon, smoked kielbasa, smoked salmon, and eggs benedict but with crab cake were all yummy. Their fruit selection is extensive and all so perfectly ripe. Joy! After breakfast I headed to the spa-I had a 9:00 am massage booked and wanted to exercise first. The gym opens at 6am but the spa doesn’t open until 8am. I checked in and got my locker then went to exercise. 20 minutes of cardio, 25 minutes with the free weights on the stability ball, and I was ready for my massage! I showered off and waited for Sharon to pick me up. I got a lime & ginger salt scrub ($75) followed by a quick shower (in the treatment room) and then a 50 minute Swedish massage ($115) that included an extra 25 minute (not really!) foot massage (normally $25? But I had a coupon from the Miracle Mile shops coupon book) By the time she was done with me I could barely move and didn’t want to! I headed for the steam room but that didn’t last long—I never can breathe in there. So I rinsed off and sat in the Jacuzzi for a while then lounged on a lounger in that room, reading, drinking teas & juices, until I had enough energy to go in the sauna for a while. By then it was almost noon so I figured I better clean up and head back to the room—Mikey was coming over around 1:00 for lunch & pool time. I got to the room a little bit before my husband and our friends, who had been down at the pool for a while. They continued to watch the bikini hotties with the binoculars through the window while I called in a to-go order to La Salsa Cantina (I don’t remember all I ordered but the total was $51) I went down to pick the order up and didn’t even have time to finish my beer—the order was ready by the time I got there. Nice! Our friends were having lunch with some family who were in town so they were in and out of our room, trying to get ready in their room but each calling each other back to come look at a new bikini. Mikey showed up and we all had a few more cocktails (one of the nicest aspects of the Resort Vista is the LONG counter/vanity in one section of the bathroom—that has always been our bar set up. We had a cooler and we also got a fridge—for “medical reasonsâ€) ate some Mexican food, chatted about our lives, and watched hotties in bikinis some more (sadly we only had 2 pairs of binoculars—wonder how many we’ll have to bring next trip??) After we ate as much as we figured we could, we filled up our Go-Cups and headed to the pool, after making sure that my cue balls had sunscreen on! We immediately got in the pool—there’s no way I’m sitting outside in 110 degree sun—I’m not a slow-roasting pig! I prefer to marinate, thank you. We chatted with some people in the pool (sadly, the Wicked Weasel chick had left by the time we got down to the pool) and finished our drinks…..I couldn’t stay too long without a drink, but I think we lasted an hour or two? Geez, time flies when you’re drunk…..Back in the room we took turns showering and drinking some more and Scott came up in his slippers to say hi, have a drink & chat, and Mikey’s brother showed up too. Brian & Heidi might have come back at some point too….The wine-drinking group eventually headed out (Mikey stopped drinking at some point because they were going to move his truck to Mirage I think) and we Bellagio-bound people headed over around 7:00 to see “Oâ€. As I expected, I didn’t enjoy it. I’m amazed and interested for about a half hour, and then I’m ready to move on. I don’t get it, I don’t like it, and I don’t want to pay that much money for any Cirque shows ever again (I fell asleep in Zumanity, which I had to be forced to see, and I was coerced into seeing “O†too, but I put my foot down on the way out of the theater) We did have nice seats—loggia, just off to the right—so no one to block our line of vision, great view of the stage. I’d recommend the seats but I cannot recommend a Cirque show. I’m a Broadway chick. I need a plot, and preferably, good music & lyrics too! After the show we went to Mon Ami Gabi. Though it was 9:30 the wait for the patio was 45-60 minutes so we decided to sit inside and were seated immediately. The bread was amazing, butter nice, but we still haven’t figured out the little couscous dish they brought with the baguette. We ate it—it was good—but it just didn’t seem to fit. Hubby had the steak Roquefort ($23.95) and I had 2 appetizers—chicken pate ($9.95) and French onion soup ($7.95). Heidi had stead béarnaise ($23.95), and Brian left to gamble some more and ate leftovers later. Food was great—I couldn’t eat all mine. After dinner we gambled more at Planet Hollywood then headed to bed.

Thursday morning we had breakfast at Ocean One bar & grill in the miracle mall shops (formerly Max’s I think) I had the egg breakfast special ($5.99) and hubby had the French toast ($5.99). Ok, but the $3.95 breakfast special at La Salsa Cantina was tastier. We gambled after breakfast because I had to use the computer at 11 to check in for our Friday flights and we didn’t want to leave the casino. We roamed between craps tables, slots, and our room for some drinks & binocular-voyeurism (Hubby counted 20 or so construction cranes outside the window and said the concrete plant for City Center is bigger than the concrete plant in our town) At 11 I ran down to the business center at PH and listened to some women bitching about having to pay to use the internet and why couldn’t the hotel check into their flights for them and so on, mentally screaming “it’s 11am and I need my “A†boarding pass!! They finally left (never did pay the $5 to use the computers) and I hopped online and checked in--#21 & 22. Paid my $5 (no charge for printing the boarding passes) and went to the room, dropped them off and picked up hubby for some shopping at Caesars. He got some tennis shoes at Nike and lotion at Kiehls, I got a jacket at St John, then we were ready for lunch at the Palm Restaurant. We both had the businessman’s lunch--$19.50 each, choice of salad or soup, entrée, coffee/tea. We each had the fish of the day (Halibut with a brown butter & white wine sauce) and Caesar salads. I had a glass of pinot grigio and Dane had a pint of Fat Tire amber. Total was $59.53 before tip. The meal was great! Service a little slow at the beginning but it picked up. We had a couple more stores in the Miracle Mile shops to hit and then we dropped our stuff in the room and I’m pretty sure I fell asleep for a while. Afternoon a little hazy. We packed too. I’m sure eventually we woke and drank more. We had dinner in the buffet (using that last coupon, dinner was $25 or so) Played some more craps after dinner, and headed to bed not too too late.

Friday morning we got ready, checked out, and waited for our car at the valet (about 25 minutes this time) We took the “scenic†route (down Las Vegas Blvd) to the turn off for the rental car facility. Took us about 15 minutes to drive from PH to the rental car place. I paid the $20 to check our bags at the rental car place—I know how crazy long the Southwest line at McCarran can get, so by checking the bags all we had to do was wait in the security line (bad enough on its own!) We had plenty of time for breakfast in the Mexican place—jose cuervo tequileria, breakfast burrito ($7.99 each). Flight home mostly uneventful.

Overall:
*I came home with $400 more than I started with, in terms of gambling
*Planet Hollywood—though the casino started to grow on me, it’s no longer my happy place the way Aladdin was. Golden Nugget has taken the lead in that area.
*We love to go to Vegas with Brian & Heidi and can’t wait for the next trip with them. It was nice to see some friends IN Vegas and meet a couple more from the board too
*Spamalot was great. Cirque to Soleil won’t get any more of my money…..

 

Very nice to see you & Dane again, Kelly. Congrats on the $400 winnings!

BTW, more than one Southwest flight attendant has told me that the "expiring" coupons never really do - they will take them forever. Which is a good thing because at least 60% of the time I give them a coupon they wave it off and give me the drink gratis.

 

They changed their pricing though--now, all drinks (beer or alcohol) are $4 and the beer used to be $3, so the old coupons reflect that--the flight attendant told me they were still accepting the old style coupons at that "cheaper" rate. Oh well. I was bummed that you can't get the mini or the entire can of soda anymore, so we stuck to cans of Heineken.....

 

Great TR Kelly - nice pics too!! The PH facade looks like a clusterf... or maybe it's just in the early stages of development. Love that "Casino Entrance" sign though .

Nice

 

Spamalot is a great show. I nodded off at "O" but Cirque best shows are Mystere,Ka and Love was very good although I was not sure if I would like it going in. Nice TR

 

Great report.

"O" was a snoozer for me too. After a long day of golfing, lunch, getting married and a dinner party it was a bit boring after the first 100 or so dives into the water. Like you said, cool for the first 30 minutes of so, then it just seemed repetative and boring.

I've seen Mystere twice and it's a much better show but if you're looking for a story and plot then you've probably drawn the right conclusion to just skip Cirque shows.

Skip Phantom too. I was very unhappy with the hack job they did on the story to get it to fit their 90 minute 'Spectacular".

 

I've seen Phantom in London and New York so I don't feel the need to see it in Vegas. I'm bummed I missed out on Hairspray for the 20 minutes it was playing at Luxor and if Producers is still playing next time, that's on my list.....It's easier for us to catch a "Broadway" show in Vegas than it is to go to New York or catch a touring show locally....

 

When I'm checking in for my Southwest flights, I never print the passes until I actually get to the airport. I check in online - on my cellphone - and "reprint" when I get to the airport. Just the act of checking in holds your spot in line for your A pass, you don't need to actually have your boarding pass in hand.

 

I know that, and I could have printed the boarding passes at the rental facility when I checked my bags in as well, but since I was using the computer to check in, AND it was free to print, I went ahead and did it. I've done the reprint thing in the past, when the hotel charges extra for printing.....

 

Nice report, Hoya. Thanks! And thanks for the tip on the biscuits and gravy.

 

Thanks for the TR Hoya and for the warning about all the kids at the GN pool. I will now scratch that off my list of hotels I wanted to stay at mainly for the pool.

Sounds like it was a great trip! Maybe next summer we can coordinate before booking our trips. :wink

 

On a prior one nighter for a convention I had the concierge at Paris check us in and print our boarding passes. We were a couple hours late and still got lucky with "A" passes. I've heard most will do this service for you and not charge a dime. Of course you can tip them for doing it. $5 straight to an employee is better than $5 to the business center in my opinion.

 

Next time I'll tell that to the women who were complaining in line in front of me at the business center. I'd personally rather pay the $5 straight and do it myself, but then, maybe I just don't appreciate the "art" of being a concierge....

Angy--I'm thinking next time I might try May or September for GN pool--once most of the kids are in school? Rates are higher then, of course....I think we're going to try it in February after our business trip on the Strip. It says the pool is supposed to be heated for year round use....Not sure how keen I'll be on that (or if it'll turn out to be the case or not) After Feb 2008, I'm not sure when our next trip will be, but we definitely need better coordination!

 

Quote of the year!!

And Brian clarifies—even if we come in a taxi? And the guy says, hell, you can come on Superman’s balls, there’s still no cover.

Hoya- priceless!

That is a classic Vegas line if I have ever heard one. I couldn't stop laughing after I read it. I don't quite know what to think of it but I know it was funny. Great trip report and glad y'all had a great time!

 

Great report Hoya! It was nice to be able to spend the day with you and Dane, and next time you guys are here, I'll try to remember to bring my own set of binoculars.

Thanks again for the grits, cigars, GooGoos, and lunch! Oh yeah, and all the booze that day, too.

Mikey

 

binoculars

I seriously have to ask, how many " Peeping Tom's" bring binoculars to Vegas ...now the question is to close or not close your drapes at night

Great report Hoya

 

Loved the TR! I agree with you on Cirque shows too-never been to one and have no desire too either. everyone keeps telling me i'm missing out, but i just don't want to go--plain and simple. thanks for sharing. i was waiting for it. great pics too!


Andrea

 

Great report and another classic line to add to my repertoire

Love it and the pictures were good too.

 

Thanks for the great read We always say we're gonna do a strip club too but never seem to make it there.... we've always had the same question re; which one would feel the most comfrortable for couples. We swithced all of our Vegs trips to spring or fall a few years back just because of the "kids in Vegas" thing. I'll still never understand people brining their children to Las Vegas... the kids have so little to do (in comparison to "real" family destinations) and it REALLY sucks for the parents who want to have some "adult" fun. We just got back from Biloxi and won't do that again in the summer either...sceaming curtain climbers everywhere at the pool.....grrrr

Great photo shot w/ you and Rat Pack BTW...

 

Great trip report. You were there the same time we were and I was wondering how you would feel about Planet Hollywood. We really liked the casino there, but it could be because we had some luck!! Our next trip will probably be out to Red Rock or Green Valley Ranch as we really like the hotels out there.