Vegas trip 2/25 - 2/28

I'm back! Had a great time, as usual.

Where to start?...at the beginning I suppose...

Dropped the kids off Monday morning (one at school, one at daycare), and hit the road. About two hours into the drive I saw the one thing you never want to see....red and blue flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. Damn. The old motorcycle cop behind the bush trick... hate that. He had me fair and square, so I couldn't get mad (and wasn't about to ruin my vacation). We were both polite, and just got on with it. My favorite quote..."I'm assuming you didn't see me, since you started going even Faster after you passed me!" hahahahahaa!! He only gave me a ticket for 80mph, which was nice...I guess that qualifies me for ticket school, so it won't go on my record (or insurance). Got that over with, and got back on the road. Stopped in Victorville for lunch, then in Barstow at the Huge factory outlet mall (always stop here when I go with the wife)...still an hour and a half from Vegas, and I am WAY behind the curve on cash outlay versus winnings! hahahahaa Come over the top of the last hill at dusk, and see Vegas lit up before us....Man, I just love that. Get off at Tropicana and cruize the Strip to Harrah's. At check in I tell the clerk that the last time we stayed there the Manager put us in the computer for an upgrade (they were building The Venetian, and it got loud early in the morning)...it's not there anymore, which doesn't surprise me, but I ask if she will upgrade us anyway, and she does. So now we have a mini-suite for $39/$39/$29... things are looking up. We get to our room, and can tell that it has been recently renovated. We have a view of the Mirage volcano. Excellent. I was surprised to see a coffe maker in the bathroom...I guess it was just that one hotel that had their's pulled. There was also a fridge inside a cabinet that matched the armouire (sp?), which was nice since the sodas in the mini-bar are $1.50 per can. So, we get settled in, call to check on the kids (having fun with Grandma and Grandpa), and decide it's time to eat. We look through the phone book, as I don't feel like a buffet. We decide to check out Kokomo's in the Mirage since I've heard good things about it, and it's in our favorite casino to gamble in. Call and ask about reservations and dress code (yes, you need one, and the dress is casual). Great. Walk across the street and check out the menu before going in....hmmm....didn't really want to spend over $100 for dinner, and my idea of casual (dress shorts and a polo shirt) seems to be a little more casual than what I see inside. We decide to just go to the buffet, so we can start gambling. Had to laugh because the buffet was ok...this is funny to me because I remember when the Mirage buffet was Amazing, and always had a huge line. Now there are others that make it pale in comparison, and there was No line! hahaha So, we eat, and are ready to go. I remember my promise to Sonya, and go to join the slot club prior to any gambling. Go to sign up, and find that there are two cards, one for slot club, and one for table games. You get the table game card at a table, and you have to be playing $25 minimums....uh, looks like I'll just be needing the slot card. My wife goes off to play black jack and I try my hand at Video Poker (another suggestion of Sonya's). Playing VP, you get one slot club point for every $30 through the machine....the 100 points for a line pass to the buffet just doesn't seem like that great a comp, but I want to activate the card to get the mailings. I put $20 in a machine, and play it for about an hour and a half...hey, this is pretty cool! It's not until later that I find out you can also play $20 in five minutes! hahaha! Spend the rest of the night playing black jack with my wife at a table where we know the dealer (and he us) from previous trips.

This is getting long....gonna take a break and put the rest of the trip in a seperate post. And yes, I'll be briefer..heeheehee

T.

 

So...day two. We get up and hit the breakfast buffet at Harrah's...pleasantly surprised by the selection and quality of the food. We get the car and head out. My wife drops me off at the Callaway Center so I can hit balls while she goes down the street to the Belz factory outlet mall. There is a notice in the golf shop that the Callaway Center has been rated as the #1 practice facility in the U.S., and I believe it...I absolutely love this place. The driving range is so good (with real greens, bunkers and water hazards), that it's almost like playing rather than practicing. I decide to just hit balls rather than play the nine hole course. I do, however, call one of my buddies at work and let him know that there is plenty of room at the range for him. He's grateful for the info. After a couple of hours the wife picks me up. Back to the room for a quick shower (seems like I average two a day in LV), and it's back to the tables where I discover my new favorite game...Paigow Poker. Very cool. If you like poker, I definitely recomend this game. More to think about than black jack, and there is a lot of pushing, so you can play for a long time on your buy in. After a few hours of gaming we head off to dinner at the Bellagio buffet. Again I laugh, but this time it's because I'm thinking about all the posts on this board about walking to various locations on the Strip....we drive from Harrah's to Bellagio...gotta love that valet parking. It's pretty chilly (mid 60's during the day), and we just don't feel like making that cold walk back after dinner. I felt bad for the family from Alaska that posted here, and is in LV at the same time...they were looking for warm weather, and I don't think it's as warm as they were hoping for. Anyway, the Bellagio buffet is Spectacular, as usual. After dinner we gamble a little, then head over to The Improv at Harrah's, where we got our tickets for $11 each with the coupon from the Harrah's website (instead of $35). The comedians absolutely Kill us. Very good. Great way to spend an hour or so. After the comedy show we go next door to Casino Royale and play at the "mini-craps" table. Great game for people learning craps, as my wife is. Mini craps is like half a normal table, and it has seats like a black jack table, which limit the number of people that can jam onto the table. They have a $2 minimum, again, great for beginners and people who want to play without breaking the bank. We buy in for $60 each, and play for over two hours with a really fun table of people. We leave with almost all of our buy in and call it a night.

The next morning we skip breakfast, because we are going to try the lunch specials at The Palm, which were highly recomended here. After some gambling we head over to the Forum Shops and look around for a while (ok, and buy some stuff). Finally we walk over to the Palm. The lunch menu looks as good (and as good a deal) as discussed on this board....but...the restaraunt is completely empty, and more formal than I anticipated. We decide that being underdressed in a restaraunt with five or six staff watching us eat does not sound optimal. Instead we walk down to the Cheesecake factory, which is packed... lots of happy people and energy, and eat there. The food, atmosphere, and service were great, and the chocolate peanut butter fudge ripple cheesecake didn't suck either!! Back to the Mirage for more Paigow Poker and Black Jack, then it's back to the room for a shower (ok, so I like to be clean! )and change of clothes before heading off to the Luxor. We check out the Luxor for a while, then walk next door to Mandalay Bay. We gamble for a few hours, then hit the buffet (hey, it's been like eight hours since lunch!)...it's good, but not top three. We decide we're going to stay at Mandalay Bay sometime soon...most likely in the summer so we can take advantage of the pools. Back to the tables for some gambling and a couple of beers to get me in the right frame of mind for Blue Man Group at 10:00. Sixth row center. Awesome. I highly recommend this show. Be aware that it is Very loud, so if you don't like that, you might think twice. I don't want to explain the show, as you should experience it with no preconcieved notions... just go. Back to Harrah's to put the car away, and then over to Mirage for one last round of gambling....ended up sitting at a black jack table with my wife way too long (but we were winning, and Hey, it's Vegas!).

Got up the next morning and drove home...no ticket this time.

Can't wait to go again!!

Terry

 

forgot to mention that on day two we went out to the Ethel M factory before heading back to the hotel. If you like chocolate and you have a car while in Vegas, you might check it out. You get a free piece of chocolate at the end of the tour (and of course there is a Huge selection of factory fresh candy to buy), but we went for the ice cream...it's great! They have a cool cactus garden you can stroll around while eating your ice cream. Only takes a little while, and it's something different to do.

 

Sounds like a great trip Terry. Obviously you come from someplace warm, because we thought the weather was beautiful. It was a little chilly at night but still better than Toronto.

 

Great trip report. Thanks for sharing it. I was expecting to hear more from you about BMG, but I know how hard it is to write those trip reports and remember everything.

 

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Sonya:
I was expecting to hear more from you about BMG, but I know how hard it is to write those trip reports and remember everything. <hr></blockquote>

Actually, I was purposely vague on BMG....I would hate to spoil anything for the people who go see it...definitely best seen with a buzz, and no idea what is about to happen!

 

Well, BMG have already appeared on the Drew Carey show--it can't be THAT much of a surprise anymore, can it?

 

Trust me, until you see them live in their theater, you have not seen the full deal. I saw a couple little things on tv before I went, but that just gives you an inkling....it is a full sensory experience, and a Blast!

 

Great trip report. I got some good tips on there.