I was originally planning a mid-July trip to Las Vegas with a side-trip to Reno to visit some friends, but whenever I try to schedule things too far in advance, something always seems to interfere with my plans. Anyway, I didn't plan on celebrating my birthday (May 27th) in Vegas this year, but I was able to reschedule a week long trip to my favorite town over the Memorial Day holiday.
My trip started out on a good note, but I ended up catching a nasty cold bug about mid-way through my trip which was real a bummer. Needless to say, it's no fun being on vacation when you're sick ...cough, cough ...sniffle, sniffle...
Day 1, Wednesday May 21:
The day before my departure, we were being hit with some severe T-storms, but luckily the weather cleared by morning. I made advance reservations with Echo Limousine service to get to OHare airport (ORD) and the driver arrived about 30 minutes early. As I mentioned in my October trip report, Echo is very reliable and for me it's worth the extra cost over taking a taxi, bus and/or train to the airport.
Since I was traveling during the week of Memorial Day, airfare was high on all of the major airlines. So, I went with American which was about $100 lower than United for a nonstop/roundtrip flight. Southwest had some lower fares, but they only fly out of Midway airport (MDW) which is farther from my location. The cost savings would end up going toward the higher limo or taxi fares getting to and from MDW.
I arrived at ORD about 2.5 hrs. before my flight. I checked in via the self-service kiosk and noticed that my boarding pass had "TSA Precheck" printed on it ...Cool! I was able to go through security without having to remove my shoes, belt, jacket, and I only had to pass through the metal detector and not the body scanner. Although, my belt set off the metal detector ...LOL ...so I had to take it off and go through the detector again. Oh well, on my return trip I made sure to remove my belt ahead of time and stuffed it into my carryon.
With about 90 minutes to kill, I ended up at McDonald's for breakfast and spent the extra time checking my email, twitter, etc...
Well, after about an hour delay, my flight departed for sunny Las Vegas! It was a pretty uneventful flight and the only problem I had was that my noise-cancellng earphones died. Oh well, watching movies on my iPad was a bit noisier than usual using regular earphones, but I survived. Before leaving home, I loaded the movies Last Vegas, Hangover, What Happens In Vegas, Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon onto my iPad. I watched "Last Vegas" for the first time and it was a pretty good movie with some interesting characters.
After arriving at LAS and getting my checkin luggage, I headed to the shuttle bus for the car rental center. I reserved a Mustang convertible from Hertz, but they didn't have the car ready when I arrived. They did offer an upgrade to a high performance Mustang GT500. It's an awesome looking car, but I wasn't going to pay an extra $800/week ...LOL.
A Chevy Camero convertible was also available for no extra cost, but I decided to wait and received this very nice, cherry red 2014 Mustang GT convertible. It was an upgrade from what I originally reserved which was standard V6 model, but they didn't charge extra since they didn't have it ready on time. The GT has a V8 engine, but gets pretty good gas milage.
It was close to 2pm when I left the car rental center, so I stopped at Albertson's for some supplies (Water, Diet Coke, Redbull, etc.), then headed to the Orleans to checkin. There were about a dozen other guests ahead of me, but the line moved pretty quickly. I was staying at the Orleans for 5 nights (all comped) and the resort fee was also waived. The offer also included $25 in food credit for use at any of the restaurants at the Orleans. On past comp offers, I was usually given a deluxe room, but they gave me one of their newly remodeled rooms (they call it a premium room, but it's just a deluxe room that's been remodeled) with new furniture, new bed/mattresses, new wallpaper, etc.
Oh, and what a bad time for the ice machines to be down! About half of the ice machine in the hotel were not working and being repaired. One of the fellows I was talking with on the elevator said they've been down for last couple of days. I was on the 18th floor and had to go down to the 13th floor whenever I needed ice. It took another 2 days before they were all fixed and everything was back to normal.
Deluxe (Premium) Room@Orleans
The safe use to be located in the bathroom, but now it's in the cabinet under the HDTV.
View from my room...
After settling into my room, I was getting hungry so I decided to drive over to the In N' Out Burgers over on Maryland Pkwy which is near the UNLV (Firehouse Subs, another one of my favorites is also located in the same area). This is one of my traditional stops whenever I visit Vegas, since we don't have any In N' Out Burgers here in Chicago. I ordered the Double Double Combo meal (and I forgot to take a photo ...LOL).
On my way back to the Orleans, I decided to take a drive down the LV strip to see what has changed since my October visit. Still lots of construction being done, but a few new places are now open such as the Linq, High Roller, Cromwell, etc. I plan to visit as many new places that I can during the week.
Back at the Orleans, I spent a couple of hours playing slots and VP. I didn't have too much luck and spent my meager winnings on this ...mmmmm, ice cream!
Day 2, Thursday May 22:
I was still on Chicago time, so I woke up at 6am even though I went to bed rather late (I think it was 2am) so I only got about 3-4 hours of sleep. I'm not really into breakfast buffets, so I decided to stop by the Courtyard Cafe and ordered one of their breakfast specials called "Deuces Wild" for $6.99 ...2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 sausages, 2 slices of french toast, and hash brown potatoes. The Cafe has pretty good food and it's open 24 hrs. (I really need to remember to take more food porn pics. I always seem to remember AFTER I've eaten ...LOL)
Next on my agenda was to pick up my ticket to Zarkana (a MyVegas reward) at the Aria box-office. It was still early, so I valet parked at the Monte Carlo. I wanted to see the new renovations and also walk down the LV strip towards City Center to take some photos.
I dunno, the new entrance to the Monte Carlo is still overshadowed by Diablo's and it isn't very impressing. I miss the old classic entrance to the Monte.
After picking up my ticket to Zarkana, I gave Aria some playtime. I found the $1 Megabucks slots and I fed in $100. Surprisingly, it lasted for about over 2 hrs. At one point, I was ahead by about $150, but as the old story goes, I fed most of it back in and cashed out with $50. Maybe one day I'll hit the big Megabuck jackpot so I can retire! LOL!
Back at the Monte Carlo, I was getting a bit hungry so I stopped by the food court and had a slice of pepperoni pizza at Sbarros before leaving. I also needed to buy a new set of noise-cancelling earphones, since my old one died a sudden death. They're not only good for listening to music/movies in noisy environments, but if you have noisy neighbors it works great when used for sleeping at night. Anyway, I drove over to the Best Buy store on Maryland Pkwy just north of Flamingo. The best model that they carried is made by Bose which isn't cheap, but it should last for years. It is also designed for the iPhone/iPad, so it has remote controls and a mic for hands-free use of the iPhone.
That evening, I met up with a local friend for dinner at Koji's at the Orleans. We both stuffed ourselves with Sushi ...LOL ...then spent a good part of the evening playing slots/VP. The best luck we had was on the multi-wheel WOF. It's a penny slot, but it's $3/spin if you bet the max. Anywho, I netted about $40. My friend did a lot better and I think she won over $200.
Day 3, Friday May 23:
I wasn't too hungry, so I just stopped at Java Vegas Coffee at the Orleans for coffee and a muffin for breakfast.
Later that morning, I visited the Shelby Heritage Center. The Shelby factory and visitors center use to be located at the Las Vegas Speedway, but they built a new facility just off of the south end of the LV strip. For anyone who is a Mustang enthusiast, this place is a must see. Carol Shelly passed away in 2012, but his legend continues. They have daily tours of the Heritage Center and Factory. They also have a gift shop with some cool clothing and souvenirs. I purchased a Shelby GT 500 polo shirt to add to my collection. Our tour lasted for about 1.5 hrs. and was very informative. Photos are allowed in the Heritage Center, but not in the Factory. They also have a wall in the factory that visitors can sign ...yup, my signature is now on that wall!
Shelby Heritage Center
6405 Ensworth St.
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm
Closed Sunday
Tour Hours: M-F 10:30am and 1:30pm, Sat 10:30am
Our tour guide ...I forgot his name, but he's very knowledgeable on everything and anything related to Carol Shelby.
Shelby Cobras
Various models of Shelby GT500 series
Shelby GT500 SuperSnake ...I wouldn't mind having one of these!
Some vintage Shelby GT350 models
This Blue Shelby GT1000 is a real beast! 1100 HP and street legal in 49 states, except California. It'll also set you back a small fortune. I think the price tag is somewhere around $250K and is only available by special order.
In his early days, Shelby modified some Chrysler models too.
I left the Shelby Heritage Center around 1pm and decided to venture downtown. I valet parked at Mainstreet Station and played some VP, but again, no big wins. After an hour or so, I took a walk down Fremont St. over to Container Park.
I wasn't too impressed with Slotzilla from watching a few folks zipping down that section of Fremont St. It looks too tame ...LOL. I think the Voodoo Zipline at the Rio may be more fun to try.
After leaving Container Park, I went to Pizza Rock for a late lunch. They have 2 sections of the restaurant. In the main restaurant, they don't sell pizza by the slice. You have to go to the counter section to order slices. Anywho, I dined in the main restaurant and ordered the following...
NAPOLETANA - 900 DEGREE WOOD STEFANO FERRARA
MARGHERITA 17
(Limit of 73 Made Per Day) World Pizza Cup Winner Naples, Italy
Dough Hand mixed using San Felice Flour
Proofed in Neapolitan Wood Boxes
San Marzano Tomatoes, Mozzarella Fior di Latte, Basil, EVOO and Sea Salt
Their pizzas are excellent! Pizza Rock is going to a regular stop on future trips to Sin City.
On my way back to Mainstreet Station, I stopped at the Plaza and signed up for their players card. As a new member, I was entered in a slot tournament and was given a voucher for a free slice of pizza. Since I was already stuffed from eating a whole pizza at Pizza Rock, I didn't have room for anything else ...LOL. As for their slot tournament, they give you 3 minutes of playtime on one of their slots and you need to accumulate a minimum of 3500 points to be eligible to win anything. I barely made 1200 points, so my bad luck continues.
Back at the Orleans, I spent some time playing the muti-wheel WOF. Other than the $1 Megabucks slots, it was the only other machine that I had a few nice wins on during the week. No big wins, just a few ranging from $40-150.
Day 4, Saturday May 24
I had breakfast at the Courtyard Cafe again. This time I order a cheese omelet with toast and coffee.
I wanted to see the Linq, High Roller, and the Cromwell, so I valet parked at the Quad. Getting to their parking area, both the self park and valet, is like a maze. I remember when I last parked at Harrahs, it was just as bad ...LOL. I walked through the Cromwell and the casino area looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos inside the casino.
Afterwards, I needed to rest a bit, so I spent a couple of hours at Harrah's playing VP. I was playing $0.25 JOB and found one machine that kept on hitting, so my $20 last for over 2 hr. before I cashed out with about $120 more than I started with. That was the best run that I had playing VP during my trip.
I was debating whether to go on the High Roller, but I think the view would be much better at night so I decided to save that for a future trip.
I had a ticket to Zarkana for 7pm on Saturday, so I spent most of the afternoon in my room at the Orleans resting up for that evening. At around 5pm, I valet parked at the Aria and killed some time playing the Megabucks slots until the doors opened. Still no luck hitting the big jackpot, but I cashed out with $210 in wins.
I had a premium ticket via MyVegas and they gave me a front row seat, just to the right of the stage ...excellent view! These are some pre-show photos. No photos are allowed during the main show. I thought the show was pretty good, more like the classic Cirque shows of the past.
After the show, I was debating where to eat. I didn't want anything to heavy, so I drove over to Firehouse Subs which is near the UNLV. A friend introduced me to this place during my October trip. They make some of the best subs in town. I had the premium roast beef sub which was really good.
Day 5, Sunday May 25:
I woke up feeling lousy. I thought it might have been my allergy acting up, but as the morning progressed, I knew it was a darn cold bug. I started getting a sore throat and then my nose started running. I stopped by Walgreens and picked up some cold meds and throat lozenges which helped.
I didn't feel like eating at a restaurant, so I went to McDonald's for breakfast after stopping at Walgreens. I went to the Walgreens and McDonald off strip, so they were not busy like the ones on the strip. Afterwards, I went back to my room at the Orleans and watch the Indy 500 on TV. I really didn't feel like doing too much and needed the rest, so I spend the day hanging out at the Orleans.
I felt better after taking a nap, so I went down to the casino and play some slots. I ended up loosing my winning from Saturday playing VP. After dining at Koji's (I had the Hot & Sour Soup and Mongolian Beef which was pretty good). I turned in for the night, since tomorrow I was moving to the Encore for my last 2 nights in town.
Day 6, Monday May 26:
I stopped by Java Vegas Coffee again for a light breakfast ...coffee and a bagel with cream cheese before checking out of the Orleans. It was still too early to check in at the Encore, so I drove out to the Red Rock Casino. It's been awhile since I gave them some playtime, so I played the slots for about an hour and had lunch at Fat Burgers before driving over to the Encore. No significant wins to report, but at least i didn't lose too much ...only about $50.
I checked into the Encore at around 2pm and they gave me a King Resort Suite on the 9th floor. The Encore is one of my favorite places to stay in Vegas. The suites are very nice and comfy. Their entire staff is very friendly and they treat their customers very well. My comp offer was for 2 free nights with $150 in free play. Upon checkin, I was told that there's no resort fee and other amenities like in room internet access, etc. are charged a la carte.
View from my room...
Well, my cold was getting worse so I really didn't feel like doing a lot of things that I originally had planned. I spent most of my time hanging around the Wynn/Encore, since I didn't feel like doing too much walking. I spent more time in the casino than usual ...LOL. Luckily, I didn't loose too much earlier in the week, so I still had a nice bankroll and $150 in free play with my Encore offer.
For dinner, I dined at Wazuzu at the Encore. It's a pan-asian restaurant that I dined at during my October trip. This time I had the Tonkotsu Ramen and a side order of Pot Stickers. Everything was very good.
Day 7, Tuesday May 27:
This is my last full day in Vegas and it's also my birthday! It's nice celebrating my birthday in Vegas, but it's no fun when you're sick. I wasn't feeling much better than yesterday, so I had a light breakfast at the Encore cafe ...Ham, egg, and cheese croissant with coffee.
I originally planned on walking the LV strip, but I wasn't in the mood, especially when the temp was suppose to reach close to 100°F. So, I decided to take a scenic drive and headed toward Red Rock Canyon. One disadvantage of traveling solo is that you don't have someone who can take photos while you're driving.
While driving down Hwy 95 towards the Amargosa Valley, I came upon the Area 51 Alien Center which is full service travel center with a gas station, store, and diner. I stopped for gas and went inside to use the restroom, Interesting place ...LOL. I discovered that it's owned by Dennis Hof, the infamous Bunny Ranch brothel owner. Can you guess what that "pink" building is behind the green Alien Center? That's a legal brothel called the Alien Cathouse ...and no, I didn't check it out ...LOL.
It was late afternoon when I got back to the Encore and after resting up for awhile in my room, I walked over to RA Sushi which is located at Fashion Show Mall. This is another one of my favorite Sushi bars on the LV strip.
While walking through the Wynn Esplanade, I was surprised that "Sugar & Ice" is no longer there. I use to stop by for Gelato on past trips. I spent the rest of the evening in the Wynn/Encore casinos using the remainder of my free play.
Day 8, Wednesday May 28:
Another Vegas trip is almost history. My flight home is scheduled to leave at 12:25pm today. After checking out of the Encore, I took a final drive down the LV strip and headed toward the rental car center. LAS was busy as usual, but checking in via the self-service kiosks was quick and easy. The security lines were also moving along rather quickly, since I was in the TSA precheck line.
No delays, so far ...but as soon as we boarded the plane, we were told that there will be a 30 minute delay and then the 30 mins turned into an hour. We were told that the delays were due to weather related issue in the mid-west which were causing backups at ORD. Anyway, my flight didn't takeoff until after 2pm and there were no other delay when I arrived in Chicago.
Overall, it wasn't too bad of trip despite catching a cold. At least the first half of my trip was good. Gambling wise, this was actually a winning trip ...not by much, but I netted about $50. Considering that my lodging was free, I can't complain ...LOL.
