Las Vegas Forum: Trip Report Feb 7-11th

WEDNESDAY

• Lesson learned

o I should have known better than to talk to people on the streets – but this guy made it sound like we’d get free tickets to a show just for looking at the “hotel” rooms at the Cosmo since it just opened up. I flat out asked if it was for a timeshare and he said ‘no’. But when we found ourselves in a lobby full of people waiting and were asked to fill out a sheet full of info - including a question “do you understand this is a 90 minute timeshare presentation”, we finally slapped ourselves in the head – DOH! We tore up the sheet and headed out, lesson learned. Didn’t waste much time since we were headed that direction anyways and we skipped seeing the Cosmo since were annoyed at that point. But yeah, I know better than that – we all forget ourselves sometimes.

• NYNY

o Walked along what I considered to be a boring section of The Strip (well, since we didn’t go into any of those hotels or the City Center – didn’t even realize that’s what it was, heard from others that it is neat).

o Stopped at NYNY and ended up having the breakfast buffet at Chin Chin. Maybe an odd choice, but had the 12.95 breakfast buffet. Small, but plenty of options (including some spring rolls, potstickers, fried rice and things of that sort). We enjoyed our meal and the service was great.

o Signed up for our mLife cards here and spent some time in the casino. Not sure why as I didn’t have much luck, but I rather liked the casino and the feel of NYNY. Checked out Nine Fine Irishmen but decided not to imbibe just yet. (still kicking myself for not buying one of the clauddaugh rings at the gift shop – you always think you’ll go back and then never do)

• Luxor

o Made our way down through Excalibur and eventually landed at Luxor.

o Used our $5 off coupons for the Titanic exhibit. Thought the price was a bit high, but did enjoy the exhibit. Lots of info and it was interesting to learn about different passengers. You’re given a card with a passenger’s info and at the end you look on the lists to see if your passenger survived (mine did) or perished (my husband’s did).

• Mandalay Bay

o Thought this place was rather nice looking and spent some time on the slot machines there. Somehow my husband who hardly ever gambles has turned into a slot addict.

• Strip walking

o Crossed the street and started making our way back towards Bally’s. Stopped at MGM to see what it had to offer but didn’t make it past the casino and the waitresses insisted we have some beers so we obliged. Decided to drink our way back –whether courtesy of the cocktail waitress or a quick stop at the ABC store or Walgreens. Husband just loved that he could buy a big can of Coors Light to walk around with.

• Tequila Bar

o Got back to Bally’s and freshened up for dinner. Decided to try the $2 tacos and margaritas at the tequila bar – both were delicious. (hubby enjoyed a burger and beer)

• Terry Fator

o Made our way to The Mirage to pick up the tickets and had fun at their casino for a while. Too late to see the garden area.

o Doors opened for Terry Fator at 7:00 and there was a fun dj playing samples of songs while we waited. He did a fun little dance number before Terry came on stage. Everyone really enjoyed Terry’s show. He did have a couple of sentimental numbers, but overall it was just hilarious. And what impressed me the most was how great of a singer he is – even when not moving his lips – how does he do that?

• TI

o After Terry Fator we grabbed some Starbucks and walked over to TI for the Sirens show with my brother & sis-in-law. Show was cheesy, but we had a good time standing out there and the guys enjoyed the scantily clad Sirens (us girls enjoyed the six-pack abs on the pirates too).

• Bally’s

o Walked our way back to Bally’s. Tried talking the husband into stopping along the way but he was worn out from all of our walking and anxious to soak in the tub. I stayed in the casino and played for a couple of hours. Was just about to head up to the room and spotted a Gigantic Dragon machine that I like to play back here in WI. Put a $10 in and nothing so broke my rule and took at $10 out of my spending money and lit another smoky treat. The three dragons came up and the bonus initiated, spinning a green dragon and two reds. Held the two reds and went for it – 3rd red dragon hit! At first I wasn’t sure what I’d won since I only had a 40 cent bet but it came up to call attendant - $800 jackpot won! My first ever hand pay!!! Seemed like forever for the attendant to arrive but well worth the wait and now we have a vacation fund for next year 

FRIDAY

• Hash Hash a Go-Go

o Our plan was to get up early and head downtown again, but my late nights got the better of me and I slept late – past 9:00 at least. So we made our way over to Imperial Palace, this time we were able to find it. 25 minute wait that went fast and we were seated at Hash Hash a Go-Go. Menu was a little pricey, but very interesting and portions were huge. I had a restaurant.com certificate to use and did not regret this choice of restaurants one bit. My chicken/corn/pepper/mozzarella scramble could have used a little more flavor but the buttermilk biscuit with fresh peach marmalade more than made up for any disappointment. Hubby isn’t a huge breakfast food fan so he fell head over heels for his fried chicken with maple reduction, mashed potatoes with bacon, fresh fruit and I think there were eggs and a biscuit on that platter too. Tried a bite of the chicken and it was delicious.

• Scoot City tours

o Van picked us up right on time at 12:30 and we were on our way to a nice suburb to get into our tiny little car – probably shouldn’t have had such a huge meal beforehand. There is a combined weight max of 450 – and while we’re under that limit, it’s not by much. So the car was cramped – we’ll just call it romantic. I’m guessing if you’re tall this ride might not be that comfortable. Still, we had a blast, only wished more of the group would have joined us as this would be more fun with people you know (there were two other couples with). The tour guides did a great job – even on the way there they were pointing out Vegas whoops (death ray at Aria, new hotel that isn’t up to code that needs to be imploded, etc.).

o Red Rock Canyon was pretty neat and I’m sure we got a better appreciation for it in the scooter cars than had we just zipped through in the rental car. I’m not going to lie, I think green grass, rivers, etc. are much prettier than dessert and rocks, but I still enjoyed the canyon. We spent plenty of time there and the guides were more than willing to take our photos at each stop and had a good sense of humor. Best of all the little car didn’t blow up even with that breakfast in our tummies weighing it down.

• Nathan’s

o Got back to Bally’s around 5:30 and tried to calm the wind blown hair (resulted in a ponytail instead of wasting precious time on doing my hair).

o Headed downstairs to Nathan’s to use the buy one get one 50% off and split hot dogs and cheesesteaks for dinner. (our eating frenzy has begun). Food was good and the staff was friendly there.

• Paris

o Met my brother and sis-in-law and headed over to the Eiffel tower ride using our 2-4-1 coupon. Think it ended up being $8/person and for that price it was worth it. Enjoyed the views from the top and watched the 8pm Bellagio water show. That really is magnificent. Guy next to my brother proposed to his girlfriend during the show which had my sis-in-law and I tearing up from the romance in the air. (at which point my husband declared it was time for more beer)

• Sugar Factory

o Stopped at the candy store in the Sugar Factory – very fun! Picked up shirts for the kids, souvenir mint tins and sampled some of the candies. (hey, maybe I’d forgotten what gummy worms taste like)

• Bill’s

o Headed back to Bill’s for slot machines and more drinks. Only this time we signed up for players cards and were given $5 comps at the bar so I was drinking 7 & 7’s and at one point the cocktail waitress brought me a huge glass of white zin. Those drinks were a little stronger than those cheap margaritas and bad decisions began to be made.

• Tequila Bar again

o That bad decision came about 11 pm when we decided that even after the loads of food we had consumed earlier in the day – we should probably attempt those massive nachos to soak up some of the alcohol. I’ll have to post a picture so you understand, but this plate of nachos is HUGE. We barely made a dent before declaring defeat.

• Paris

o Husband decided he’d had enough gluttony for the day and decided to head to bed. I made him promise not to soak in the tub given how many Coors he’d finished off and he agreed that going to bed would be the safer choice.

o Had a fun time playing the slots and listening to the band over at Paris. Had a little luck but gave it all back to the Ghostbusters. Somewhere around 1-2 my bad judgment came back and I couldn’t get those frozen hot chocolates out of my mind. I thought I had ruled them out but they just sounded so good and how could I leave Vegas without one? (forgetting we were there until the next afternoon). So I ventured back to Sugar Factory, after stumbling around lost for a while, and ordered one from the counter at the candy shop. Double chocolate with whip cream ($6 with total rewards card discount). It was good – and it probably would have been delicious had I had any room left in my already bulging stomach. Headed back to Bally’s and tried to get my sis-in-law to help me with it but she was full from their trip to Nathan’s – can’t waste $6 so I finished it. Played slots with a gut ache until 3 AM and finally called it a night. Creepy guy on the elevator was eyeing me up (some guys like that big belly look I guess) and I honestly contemplated how if he followed me off the elevator my only defense would be vomiting on him. Lucky for both of us that didn’t happen.

Somehow got these out of order..

THURSDAY

• Hoover Dam

o Made our way out to Hoover Dam by 8:30. Stopped in Boulder City for breakfast at The Coffee Cup and enjoyed our meal. We’re from a small town so it was nice to getaway from the city for a while.

o Did the Dam tour ($30) and the tour guides were very informative. I had been there in 1995 but it was still interesting and my husband really enjoyed it. Only suggestion is bring a sweater as it’s chilly down in the dam!

• La Hacienda

o Casino/hotel is right off the highway on the way back so we stopped to use our 2-4-1 coupon for the buffet lunch (they said to keep it as the casino was running a 2-4-1 special anyways). Casino was small and uncrowded and the cocktail waitress was very attentive – I enjoyed a few diet cokes since I was the DD for the drive back. We had the $6.95 lunch buffet. It reminded me of hospital cafeteria food but the salad bar was good and there were enough options to fill up on. Service was good and for $7 total for both of us to eat lunch we were happy. Won a little on the slots so left with more money than we came with so that made us even happier!

• Budget Rental

o If I did a review on Budget based on the am experience it would be glowing. $27.10 w/taxes for a Chevy Cruze, shuttle picked us up at Bally’s at our requested 7:30 am pickup time. Shuttle driver was very friendly and pick-up went smoothly. Confirmed that no issue dropping off early since we didn’t plan to keep the car overnight.

o If I did a review solely on the drop off, it would be horrible. We filled up the tank on the way back and dropped the car off before 4pm. Budget employee questioned where our gas receipt was as we’d gone under 75 miles so needed so show a receipt – which we were not aware of and the pay at the pump had not printed one. We assured him we had filled up – I even showed him my receipt for sodas/cigarettes (which were cheaper there than at home) that I had purchased inside at the gas station. He seemed hesitant and gave us a lecture but let it pass. (we really had filled up, I even yelled at my hubby for topping it off, why waste the $?) So we made our way to the booth and requested a shuttle back to Bally’s. Well, we were informed that the shuttles stopped running already. I voiced some concern and was sent upstairs to stand in line to speak with a manager. Again, he said the shuttles had stopped and that our $27 receipt made it hard for him to comp a taxi. Um, yeah, I pointed out that not only had I asked about drop off when I made the reservation, but had called again to confirm, and had asked about it that morning at pick-up and at no time had I ever been told there was a cutoff time and since it was only 4 pm – that seemed ridiculous for us to assume there wouldn’t be shuttle service – and that had I been made aware of that we would have kept the car until morning or rented elsewhere since that $27 was no longer a deal if I had to pay for a cab back. While a “shuttle” did bring us back in the form of a Budget employee in a rental car. Friendly guy, though I did have to help him find Bally’s. He let it slip that this happens all of the time and people are stuck paying for a cab back.

o Overall – happy with the pick-up service, but ensure you’re actually able to get a ride back to the hotel.

• Big Elvis

o After finally getting back to Bally’s we ventured over to Bill’s to catch the tail end of the Big Elvis show. Another guy was singing when we got there and he was quite good as well. Big Elvis is big and he does sound like Elvis. I had thought it was in a separate room, but it’s just a lounge in the corner of the casino. I had some $2 margaritas that were tasty and husband used a 2-4-1 domestic beer coupon and drank his beers while I enjoyed the show (mainly the drunks near the stage that he was sure would lose their dresses the way they were dancing). Wish we had gotten there earlier as I did enjoy the music.

• Strip walking

o After Bill’s we took off and made stops at O’Sheas (fell in love with frozen Bailey’s, $3/glass) and Casino Royale (sign up for card and get promo play on lame machines and 2-4-$1 weak margaritas). The margaritas were tasty but we ventured on and just happened to be by the Mirage volcano as it was about to erupt. Guy next to me commented on my double-fisted drinking – somehow he guessed we were from WI as he’s from Door County himself. Watched the volcano spew fire and made our way down the strip, stopping at Walgreen’s for more big beers. We were looking for Imperial Palace but didn’t see it wedged between the other casinos. Made it as far as The Palazzo and decided we were on fancy turf and should turn back since we had a “breakfast” date to keep at 11 pm. (you’ll note that our eating frequency increases in the coming days)

• Bill’s again

o Made our way back to Bill’s and met my cousins for 11pm steak and eggs special for $6.95. I had the 3 egg/bacon/hashbrowns/toast for $4.95. The place was busy but the food was satisfying and cheap. Won $60 on a buffalo machine on the way out and headed back to Bally’s to finish out the night.

SATURDAY – DEPARTURE DAY

• Bellagio/Caesar’s

o So many things on my “to-do” list that just did not get done. But we made it over to the Bellagio conservatory to see the Chinese New Year display (beautifiul) and walked through Caesar’s Palace. I enjoyed the aquarium in Caesar’s.

• Flamingo

o Somehow ended up having breakfast at the food court. Only bad meal I had as it was cold, think Banono’s or something like that but my husband liked the Chinese food he had (told you he wasn’t into breakfast food)

o Watched a drunk guy try to smuggle crown royal and three bottles of grey goose in his pants from a gift shop. Was too nervous to see how that was going to play out but entertained us for a while

• Departure

o Made our way back to Bally’s, lost some more money in the slots and then caught the Showtime shuttle back to the airport.

o No problems with our departure and made it home as scheduled to 18 degree weather with windy conditions (little fish tailing on the landing)

Yeah, now that you've read my first novel....

Overall, a great trip and again, thanks for the answers to my quesitons and the general advice you guys put out here.

Very organized and well written. Thanks for sharing. I didn't realize Chin Chin had a buffet offering. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the new info! :)

Good trip report,enjoyed reading it especially the bit about NYNY,we stay there for the first time next month

Well, I didn't know I was considered a Hillbilly because I am from the South. Learned something new . . .

Glad you enjoyed your visit to Vegas. Thanks for sharing your TR.

Thanks for the very entertaining TR! Loved the part about the creepy guy on the elevator and your only defense against him, LOL.