Vegas.....

[In/PE/Out]

My wife and I went to Vegas September 2017. We were actually planning to go to Florida, but a hurricane changed our plans...

We stayed at Luxor. We had a single king tower room, which didn’t have much of a view, thanks to the advertisement plastered to our window.  Not that we spent much time looking out the windows or anything. It was a hotel room. Not much to say about it, other than the bathroom had a nice size bathtub, suitable for soaking in, and a separate shower stall.

Maybe it was just us, being from the Midwest, but we weren’t really in to the Strip. We had more fun on Fremont Street. Better people watching, cheaper drinks, cheaper food, cheaper...everything, really. 

We cancelled our Hoover Dam bus trip because we found out the elevators going down into the Dam had been closed down indefinitely a couple days before we arrived. And we had paid for the extended tour. That was a bummer. I think we took our rental car and drove out to California for the day

Anyone have tips on how to deal with pushy timeshare salespeople? Other than telling them to, “piss off?”

TL;DR: skip the strip, go to Fremont Street. 

 

[mudpuppy]

@mudpuppy- what were some of the Better places to eat at Caesars?

I f’d around and waited and all the. Or al times are booked at Hell’s Kitchen

I know you're not big on buffets, but Caesars buffet is one of the best.

For dinner, Nobu is supposed to be really good for japanese/sushi.  Also really expensive.  Old Homestead is supposed to be a good steakhouse (also really expensive.)  I haven't eaten at either of these, but wouldn't hesitate to try them if I wanted to drop a few c notes.

Joe's Seafood Prime Steak and Stone Crab is supposed to be really good too.  It's in the forum shops attached to Caesars.  Wilheldp's review above wasn't the greatest though.

For the next tier down, we tried Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill and liked it--I had lamb chops and they were tender and juicy.  Beijing noodle was fine for Chinese food--maybe a cheaper lunch option.  I don't know much about Rao or Seersucker.

I've heard bad things about Gordon Ramsay's Pub. Also stay away from Mr. Chow based on many of the reviews I've read--it's just way overpriced Chinese food.

Restaurant Guy Savoy is one of the fanciest restaurants in the world.  For $355 to $550 per person you got some fancy looking stuff the French call food.

To venture a little further, for breakfast I'd recommend crossing the Blvd to Linq and try either Guy Fieri's or Hash House a Go Go.  They both have excellent breakfasts and bloody marys.

Anyone have tips on how to deal with pushy timeshare salespeople? Other than telling them to, “piss off?”

TL;DR: skip the strip, go to Fremont Street. 

Sucks about the Hoover elevators!

As for timeshare people, we just ignore them and keep walking.  It feels rude to us midwesterners, but they're used to it.

 

[Road Guy]

thanks MP! - I think I have convinced the wife to give the buffet a try-

We normally head to an Egg & I off the strip for breakfast, i don't recall which one but its north of town - well worth the escape usually -

I just hope it warms up enough for some pool time and day drinking pool time.. I plan to give a report of the clothing optional pool at Caesars

 

[tj_PE]

thanks MP! - I think I have convinced the wife to give the buffet a try-

We normally head to an Egg & I off the strip for breakfast, i don't recall which one but its north of town - well worth the escape usually -

I just hope it warms up enough for some pool time and day drinking pool time.. I plan to give a report of the clothing optional pool at Caesars

i hope it's warm enough for pool time for sureeeeeeeee like whats the point of going at all if it's not????

 

[leggo PE]

A friend of mine was in Vegas last week and it was warm enough for pool time then... So I think you should all be good. Does the temperature there vary that much on a daily basis?

 

[Road Guy]

We’re supposed to get our spring blizzard tomorrow so I will be at the pool next week regardless!!

 

[Road Guy]

Soon

 

[Exengineer]

Las Vegas......the ultimate tourist trap.  A place where you can't sit down in a hotel lobby without being in front of a gambling machine.  Where you pay 50% more for the same drinks you would get elsewhere in Las Vegas outside the Strip.  The shows are the only part of Las Vegas I would ever go back for but I could skip the hotels, bars and restaurants in the tourist zone.  You don't find the residents wandering around there for good reason.  They know better.

 

[P-E]

Las Vegas......the ultimate tourist trap.  A place where you can't sit down in a hotel lobby without being in front of a gambling machine.  Where you pay 50% more for the same drinks you would get elsewhere in Las Vegas outside the Strip.  The shows are the only part of Las Vegas I would ever go back for but I could skip the hotels, bars and restaurants in the tourist zone.  You don't find the residents wandering around there for good reason.  They know better.

 

[Bot-Man]

I was supposed to be in Vegas right now. Last minute meeting came up scheduled for tomorrow that I can’t miss. No way around it. Have to be there, in person. The missus was great in understanding. She took her mom. They’re getting massages today.

 

[Road Guy]

That sucks- you gonna make a late appearance?

I’m ready for overpriced drinks and tourist traps- lol I don’t think our friend from Canada has ever attended one of cosmos after dark pool parties

 

[P-E]

I wish Vegas was closer.  Been a while. 

 

[tj_PE]

10/10 would recommend spa day on the "cheap" 

i paid for an 89 dollar pedicure at the venitian (canyon ranch spa) - got "complimentary" bubbly, and you get to keep your bottle of nail polish!!!

for spending >$50 in services, we got access to the rest of the spa for the entire day. Lounged all day and loved every second of it. Will go again next time I'm in vegas, for sure!

 

[Bot-Man]

That sucks- you gonna make a late appearance?

I’m ready for overpriced drinks and tourist traps- lol I don’t think our friend from Canada has ever attended one of cosmos after dark pool parties

The meeting was smack in the middle of a 6 day trip. We’re planning another for June. 

 

[Road Guy]

So we had a great time, but man was Vegas crowded last week - I don't think I have ever seen it like that before - and it didn't seem to be the spring break crowd, more like lots of 35-50 year olds trying to enjoy the weather (which was awesome)  I also think there must have been some staffing issues - we didn't actually check in until 6 PM (which wasn't a huge deal to us since we just went and started drinking) but I could tell it had peeved off many.   Since we had a group we ended up renting a cabana at Caesars, ($650!!!!) But I have to say it was completely worth it. The pool waitresses were slammed but we never had to wait for a drink (actually we just walked over to Fat Tuesdays to fill up most of the time since we didn't have to worry about losing our spots)- I totally recommend it if you have friends to share the cost with.

While I didn't hit every casino it was tough to find an open seat at a black jack table, even the higher betting tables were packed with people waiting to play, maybe they got hit with a larger crowd as there were open tables, just no dealers.  We played a few hands at the Stratosphere but the group I was with was in a hurry to get back to our hotel (Caesars) and dragged me off of a heater .  The Strat is a little run down and was extra extra smokey and I think it was annoying the girls..

Ended up +100 bucks at the Craps table (I cant bring myself to bet big money) but it was fun and I walked away a little ahead (minus all the other vegas expenses!)

Looking forward to going back to see buffet in October, but the wife has some non vegas stuff planned so well probably just do one night of actual "vegas" stuff (heavy drinking)

 

[MA_PE]

Ended up +100 bucks at the Craps table (I cant bring myself to bet big money) but it was fun and I walked away a little ahead (minus all the other vegas expenses!)

You left Vegas with the trip covered and some coin in your pocket?  That's a huge win!

Sounds like a fun time.  Did you ever ride the High Roller?  I was at a conference and got a free ride in the bar car.  That was fun.

 

[Road Guy]

no, no, no just up $100 in gambling - I still had to pay for everything else.

I keep telling myself if I can turn $40 into $140 could I have turned $400 into $1400?

We had fun playing craps with a group of us, I highly recommend it. plus the dealers were fun and didn't chide us too bad for throwing the dice off the table (which apparently is mega bad luck)  I think I made a little more but I kept spotting my friends $5 chips when they would run out, I kept telling them not to bet on the "field"

We all had full intentions of ridging the cable jump thing down the Strat but we all chickened out once we got there (plus the line was like a Disney ride it was so long)

 

[mudpuppy]

Sounds like a good time.  I used to stay and spend quite a bit of time at what used to be called the Stratosphere and enjoyed it.  I liked the dealers there at the time.  I would expect it to be busy this time of year, but weird you couldn't find any open tables.  I was in Vegas for NYE and it was super busy but there were still spots to gamble.  I think there's always room at the $100 BJ tables!

I love craps, but I've had a couple bad runs (losing $400 to $700 on a $5 table), and I hesitate to jump in now.

That Sky Jump at the Strat is insane.  I can barely stand to walk on the observation deck at 1000', let alone think about jumping off it.

 

[Road Guy]

I think you should get a patch just for riding the elevator!   We saw a lady coming down the sky jump and it looked like she had maybe thrown up on her shirt, that's when I decided I didn't need to try that drunk.

We only looked for BJ at the casinos near us (Caesars, Paris, and PH) - Craps tables at Caesars were all $25 so we were playing at PH - Even though that place is a little trashy I like it. But I had memorized that "basic strategy" and really wanted to give it a whirl.  I am trying to get a group of people to go to Blackhawk so maybe Ill give it a shot there. 

They also had swim up black jack at the Caesar pool but those were $25 minimums.

If I make it there without the women next time I am going to go back to the stratosphere , I thought it was a fun casino and the minimums were my style ($5)

I play fairly vanilla craps, just mainly bet the pass line and then the Big 6/8 every now and then. I probably haven't done near as much as you but so far my boring style seems to keep you even keel, but its a slow game. There was a dude showed up next to me, dropped $500 and started throwing chips everywhere, he was done in around 45 minutes - probably walked away with less than $100 of his original. - I also still like that machine craps we played the last time we were there but it was also full - & full of some strange ass people..

 

[Road Guy]

What's a good off strip hotel that has some good amenities?  When we go in October were just going to do 2 days at MGM and then head to Antelope Canyon and then come back and stay a night off the strip and avoid the chaos of the strip (wifes idea)