TR Westward Ho and Beyond (Sep 1-5)

Hey gang,

Here's a rundown of my recent trip to Vegas. This was my third visit and my wife's second. We traveled with 6 others, all of them Vegas virgins. We decided to stay at the Westward Ho because we were all on an extremely tight budget.

Sep 1: Arrived at McCarran at 9 pm, grabbed our luggage, caught a cab and made it to the Ho by 10 pm. Check in was a breeze, of course, and my wife and I actually had a non-smoking room. Catching a shuttle from the casino to the room was a nightmare as it was still 92 degrees out and sitting in a stifling van is tough on us Canucks. The shuttle driver (Aussie Bob) deliberately drove slowly so that he could finish telling us stuff about Vegas that I already knew. Anyway, the room wasn't that far away at all. It was certainly walkable, even with some luggage to carry. Needless to say, none of us ever used that shuttle service again. Amazingly enough, our room was somewhat decent. The carpet was old, the bed spreads were old, but the sheets were clean and the shower and toilet looked clean enough for me. The carpet could have used a good power vacuum and steam cleaning, though. Despite all the reviews we read on-line, the air conditioning worked like a charm - even good enough for us Canadians.

So after throwing our bags into the rooms we headed down to the casino for some 99 cent Heineken's and hit the road. The first timer's wanted to walk down the strip a bit to check out some sights so my wife and I agreed. We walked down to Treasure Island - it didn't seem so bad because we all had cold drinks. Got there just in time to see the Sirens show start. I had already seen it and thought it was boring the first time. However, it didn't seem so bad this time around even though it was the same show. After this we headed to the Mirage to do some gambling. Saw the volcano erupt as we were walking in. The Mirage became home base for the first night and we all split up and did our own gambling. Actually had significant luck on the slots here but ended up breaking even when it was all said and done.

My wife and I then headed across the street for some cheap gaming at the Casino Royale. I love this place. What can I say? Cheap roulette, everyone's drunk, just a fantastic atmosphere all around. The dealers are hilarious. Played for nearly an hour on 20 bucks and realized it was almost 2 am. Since we had spent about 16 hours traveling we decided it was time to get some sleep. Walking back to the Ho was painful. Like I said before, coming south didn't seem so bad but walking north was tough. Had no adrenaline left, I guess. Got to bed at 2:30 and by 8:30 was back on my feet.

Sept 2: The night before we had arranged to meet at the Ho Margarita bar at 1 pm so my wife and I headed across the street to the Riviera for the breakfast buffet. The selection was great, but the food quality was poor. Overall, I'd give it 5/10 which makes it 5 times better than the Sahara. After filling up on dry french toast and tasteless watermelon, we decided to sign up for the Riviera slot club. We toured around the Riv playing a game here and there. Let me tell you, this was the best cocktail service in town by far. My wife and I each put a buck into a penny VP machine and the waitress came by about 4 times in less than an hour. We were hardly doing any gaming but managed to leave the Riviera with several drinks packed in our bellies.

We crossed the street to the Circus Circus and walked around there. I thought about playing craps but decided against it since I knew as soon as I started my wife would want to leave. I signed up for the One Club and then we walked through Slots A Fun - not much to report about this place. It smells bad, is crowded at the front, empty at the rear. I stayed away from it for the rest of the trip. Then it was on to the Stardust sports book (my favourite place in the world) to place wagers on baseball and college football. Man I love this place - so much action, yelling back and forth between patrons. Everyone sharing their picks. It was a great time just bantering with everyone about who would win and why. My wife couldn't take the smoke in there for long, though, so we headed back to the motel room for a quick nap. Got down to the Ho Casino to meet everyone at 1 pm as planned the night before. Two people were missing but had mentioned if they were gone they'd be at the ESPN Zone in NYNY at 5 pm.

The plan was to cab it down to the Mandalay Bay and work our way up the strip gradually.

Problem number 1: We had six people and the state law says only 5 per cab.
Problem number 2: Some people were too cheap to go 3 per cab!
Problem number 3: Two people bus and four people cab and plan on meeting in Mandalay Bay. Hahahaha... I smelled disaster right away. You don't just meet someone in Mandalay Bay without specifying exactly where in MB. This would prove to be the day when all 3 couples nearly got divorced.

I have to go now but will finish up later on.

Cheers.

 

After spending time at the Ho a few years back, I can relate to your experience in and around that area. You've nailed things pretty accurately. I lke to hear more about remainder of trip. Please continue.

 

I will be staying at the HO in October on my 2nd trip to Vegas, so I am loving your TR. Can't wait for the rest!!