Wedding, Pete Rose and 15-buck Margaritas Sept 2-4

Spent a couple days in Vegas early in the Labor Day weekend. Starting with an early flight on Southwest to Vegas with a bar stop at the Phoenix airport. Even though it was an 8am departure I ordered a Bloody Mary on the flight, which promptly got me the look from my wife. Hey we were going to Vegas. Flight and connection proceeded with no problems.

During the bar stop in Phoenix we decided to rent a car. Tried carrentals.com which worked out like a charm, and the raate was great. Upon arriving at the Budget counter I was notified I did not have a reservation, upon further review I reserved from Thrifty. Oops my mistake. A couple moments with the smart phone and wala I return to the counter and tell the nice attendant I now have a reservation.

As it was just about lunch time and heck we had a car I tell my wife we are going to the try the M Resort buffet. Again I get a look like we are going where. I assure her it will be worth the drive, or at least that is what I have read and heard. Again the smartphone and google maps come into play and I get directions to the M. See it off in the distance and keep driving. Why is it everything looks so close yet is still a few or more miles away in Vegas. Other note when they say south strip they mean way south strip as to the location. Arrived at the M, parked easily and found the buffet. After a short wait and $14.95 each we are seated. The buffet provides a good atmosphere. Pleasant and comfortable and a bit upscale without the hoity toity attitude. I will go on record and claim this is the best buffet I have had in Vegas. The selection was wide, there was something for everybody. Food was not the typical buffet fair in terms of throwing massive amounts of food onto the serving line. Presentation and quality was much better than most buffets. Did I mention wine and beer are included in the price. Though the selection of beer is limited and you have to retrieve your own, that is still a nice perk.

We stayed at Harrahs and it was as expected. The room was clean with plenty of room, the bed was comfortable. We had a view of the pool area which was an improvement of most the views I get in Vegas. The only downfall was with the curtains open the air conditioning had a difficult time keeping the room cool. But hey it was $30 a night for a Thursday and Friday, I cannot complain at all.

We met some friends at Parasol Up at Wynn for a cocktail hour the night before the wedding. The Wynn is a fine place, though a bit beyond my comfort zone. After cocktail hour which lasted almost two and a half hours we headed out to a late dinner with friends about 10 of us. Destination was Dos Caminos at Palazo. We were seated right away, as it was not very crowded, service was good. Group thing said a round of margaritas, which were served, we toasted and later upon receipt of the bill found out were 15-bucks for a small margarita. OK the drink was good but 14 of them added 210 to the bill. (Not all for me, I had only one.) The margaritas where not 15-buck good. I ordered tacos and was delivered three appetizer sized tacos on soft shells. Well the meal suited the purpose, food was ok, yet the company and quality time made for a great evening. One plus was the restrooms, with each being its own private stall.

We stumbled back to Harrahs and called it a night.

Still being on Central Time I was awake early. A friend was coming in Friday morning so after some shopping with the wife, we swung by he airport and retrieved him. He being a Vegas Virgin was in awe, so of course I had to take him for a quick tour of the strip.

We spent the day doing a strip walkabout. Starting at the IP and over to Caesars, and then through the forum. This is where we stumbled accross Pete Rose. Who would expect Pete Rose to be signing autographs at a table with a Racing Forum and a screen showing the ponies running. Hey is this the guy with gambling issues. Line was not long and we made it no longer, but did watch for a moment or few. Oh it is Vegas.

Continued the walkabout, though the Bellagio. Hey "follow me" I tell them, we will take the tram to Monte Carlo. "Yah but the exit is over by the front desk" one of the crew calls out. "Yah lets take the tram, don't cost nothing." So as typical we just miss the first tram and wait. Look around at the tram stop with the back lot feeling. Why is it they spend the money on the tram and shove the stops in places which look like an after thought. Anyway, we skipped city center and headed to Monte Carlo. With a beer guy in tow, I knew I could catch his attention with the beer tap lineup at the Pub at Monte Carlo. Of course we stopped and had one or was it two. Anyway we took are beers and set off. I love that they let you walk about town with your beer. I think we set our glasses down at NYNY.

ESPN Zone still closed and there was not much to see from the Pub to NYNY, till we stopped by the black jack tables and watched the marvelously delightful gogo dancer. OH, my she was a sweet find for mid afternoon. We ogled for a bit and then moved on.

Found our way to the MGM and looked at the sleeping lions. A couple days later one of those sleeping lions played with a trainer. I always miss the good stuff. Made our way up the strip, past the card slappers and into Paris. A walk around and through the halls to Ballys, a quick walk through Bills and Flamingo and we were back.

A photo with a wandering Elvis happened after he prompted us. He Elvis thanks for the photo, though I am sure he wanted a tip.

The Wedding was Friday night at Wynn. After a pregame drink at Paraso we headed over to the wedding. Like most things in Vegas we started on Vegas time. The Wedding was beautiful and the venue very nice. The only downfall as the wedding chapels are located to the left of the entrance off Las Vegas Blvd and Sands, and not totally buffered from road noise. The wedding party provided a reception at one of the Wynn restaurants and it was fantastic. We were alter invited up to their suite for a few more cocktails and beer. Oh my, it was the nicest room I have ever seen in Vegas. The curtains opened to a strip view overlooking the mysteries of Wynn.

We decided it was too far to stumble and cabbed it back to Harrahs. I awoke early to do a little gambling. I quickly find out my Total Rewards card is not working and find the Total Rewards boot is closed from 10pm to 8am. I guess there thought is people to not gamble at these times.

All in all good times. Best of all I return in October for Buffett and Aria.

 

I think Pete Rose has a cot in the back of that store & just lives there, LOL. He has been there EVERY trip that I have walked through the forum shoppes, and that is quite a few1

 

I have heard that from someone else also. I guess it beats a regular job.

 

Nice trip report...

 

It's pretty funny, but Pete Rose makes a few million a year just signing autographs at Field of Dreams! Then he blows it all plus another million on top in the sportsbook. My good friend puts all his bets in every day in the Caesars racebook.