Lodging…
Luxor Deluxe Tower Room
Encore Resorts Suite
Orleans Deluxe Room
Food…
Luxor- T&T, Pyramid Café, Food Court
Wynn & Encore - Okada, Sugar & Ice, Encore Café
Caesars- Beijing Noodles No. 9
Orleans - Koji's Sushi Bar & Chinese Bistro, Courtyard Café, Seattle's Best, Food Court
Planet Ho - P.F. Chang's Chinese Bistro, Starbucks
Venetian - Bella's Panini
Palms - 24/7 Café
Red Rock Resort - Food Court
In N' Out Burgers
Shows/Entertainment/Sidetrips…
Gambling - A losing trip, but fun! (but gambling wasn't the main focus of my trip)
Fantasy @Luxor
Le Reve @Wynn
Peepshow @Planet Ho
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince @Brenden Theatres/Palms
Fremont St. Experience
Red Rock Canyon
Pinball Hall Of Fame
"An Interesting Encounter" @Planet Ho
Friday, July 10 (Day 1): Viva Vegas!
Departing from Chicago…
I was planning on taking a taxi to the airport, but my friend was kind enough to drive me to OHare and also pick me up on my return. Thanks to light traffic on I-90 and no accidents along the way, I arrived at Chicago's Ohare International Airport at around 6:30am, well over 2 hours before my departure time. My American Airlines flight was scheduled to depart at 8:50am and arrive in sunny (and HOT!) Las Vegas at 10:34 am (Vegas time).
I normally don't book 1st class tickets, but since I have a surplus of frequent flyer miles that I've accumulated over the years (via business travel), I decided to splurge. Oh, and flying 1st class does have its privileges, even a separate line going through security.
After getting through security, I headed to the food court and ordered an Egg McMuffin value meal from Micky D's. Of course, I forgot that I was flying 1st class and that breakfast was being served on this flight, so I ended up having 2 meals. On the plane, we had a choice of a cheese omelet or cereal. I chose the omelet which came with some sort of potato concoction, fruit, and a biscuit or bagel. For airline food, it wasn't too bad.
Oh, and those 1st class seats were amazing compared to economy. I wish I could fly 1st class on every trip! They also showed a movie onboard, "Race To Witch Mountain", starring Dwayne "the "Rock" Johnson, which was pretty good. The fellow sitting next to me was also heading to Vegas for a long weekend, so we started comparing notes on things we were planning to do during our stay. Between watching the movie and discussing our Vegas adventures, time flew by rather quickly so I didn't have time to read "Duma Key". On many of my flights, I'm usually seated next to someone who doesn't say a word during the entire flight …Booooooooooring!
Flying over the Grand Canyon
Arriving in Las Vegas…
My flight arrived at McCarran on time, however there was a delay at the baggage claim area, due to a worker who started pulling our luggage off the carousel and setting them aside, prematurely. There were at least 15-20 of us who were waiting for our luggage to show up on the carousel and they never did. So, we started walking over to the opposite side and low and behold, a worker was removing luggage from the carousel. One guy was really ticked off and started shouting and arguing with the guy. Anywho, I found my bag and headed straight for the shuttle buses to the rental car facility.
Car Rental Facility…
This trip, I rented a Mustang (not too surprising, eh?) from Hertz's "Fun Collection", since I had a $300 certificate via my credit card rewards program which covered most of the cost for an 8 day rental. Of course, this wasn't a Shelby Mustang like I rented on a couple of previous trips, just a standard 2010 Candy Apple Red, 6-cylinder Mustang hardtop. One thing that I like about Hertz is that when you reserve a specific model from their "fun collection", you get the exact model that you reserved. This one was fully loaded with a premium sound system, Sirius Sat. radio, and lots of other options.
VIP Check-In at the Luxor…
Before checking in at the Luxor, I made a stop at the grocery store (Albertsons) over on Maryland Blvd for supplies (Diet Coke, Bottle Water, Red Bull etc.). Needless to say, I was totally ticked off when I made the turn off of LV Blvd on to eastbound Tropicana and found out that they were doing roadwork. Traffic was a nightmare for several blocks. Anyways, I made sure to stay off of Tropicana (east of LV Blvd) that entire week!
When I arrived at the Luxor, there was a massive crowd at the check in area. However as I made my way over to Players Club invited guest check in line, there was only one couple ahead of me …Nice! I asked the lady if I could get an upgrade to a suite, but unfortunately, there were none available. So, I was in a Deluxe Tower room for 2 nights. I like the Luxor, but the only gripe that I have is that the lighting in their rooms is awfully dim. I'm sure you could tell from my room video which came out sorta dark, even with all the room lights turned on (the total the opposite of my Encore suite).
Next on my agenda was to explore the Luxor and see what changes they've made since my last visit (April 2008) and to stop by the Players Club booth to get my freeplay ($100). I also received $100 in food credit good at any of the Luxor restaurants.
The Luxor has changed a lot, since the old days, now the Titanic and Bodies exhibits are the new attractions on the atrium level. The arcade, King Tut exhibit, and Imax are history. The casino area has also undergone a makeover with several new bars and nightclubs, some of which were still under construction on my last visit. I spoke to one of the casino hosts and asked if they planned on doing more de-themeing and she said that they're not really de-themeing, just changing the Luxor from old Egypt to a modern Egypt, if that makes any sense.
I won't bore you with what I did for the latter part of Day 1, since I drove out to have dinner with some relatives who live nearby. They did understand that I was in town on vacation and that I needed my "Vegas Time" …LOL.
When I spoke with a host earlier, I was also able to get a comped ticket to see "Fantasy" for that night. I returned from dinner just in time for the start of the show at 10:30pm. The show was really good, in fact, I thought it was much better than "Peepshow" which I saw later that week at Planet Ho.
After the show, I did spend some time playing the slots before turning in for the night. My $100 in freeplay lasted for about 15 mins and things didn't improve very much as the week progressed. During my 2 days at the Luxor, I was playing some of the traditional reel slots (my favorite 3X4X5X, Wheel Of Fortune, etc.), as well as some of the newer video slots like the Wizard of Oz. I also discovered a new video Blackjack machine which was rather cool. I tried playing some VP, but I usually suck at VP and never had any significant wins in the past. No wins on this trip either. The Star Trek machines were always occupied, so I didn't get a chance to play them until I visited the Palms later that week.
Saturday, July 11 (Day 2): The Day of the LV4E Mega-Meet!
Well, my body was still on Chicago time, so my eyes opened at 4:00am (6am Chicago time). When I'm in Vegas, I rarely get to sleep before 2am and usually average about 3 hrs of sleep per night (if I'm lucky), so by the end of my trips I'm usually like a zombie!
So after showering, etc., I headed over to the Luxor Food Court and the only place opened that early was Micky D's. I think the Pyramid Café in the casino is also opened 24 hrs, but I decided to just order the Hotcakes and Sausage at Mick D's and sorta loosely plan my schedule for the day. Actually, I was flying by the seat of my pants for most of my trip and just did what I felt like doing at any particular time of the day. One of the nice things about doing Vegas solo and not having any schedules to follow!
Later that morning, I met up with a friend (I'll call her "L"). We spent a few hours meandering through the casinos and shops on the southern end of the strip (Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, MGM, NYNY).
For lunch, we headed back to the Luxor to check out T&T (Tacos & Tequila), Luxor's new Mexican restaurant located on the atrium level. For starters, they served the traditional chips and salsa (both hot and mild). We also ordered the Guacamole which was excellent, so good that we had to order seconds …LOL. Since I was going to be driving later, I ordered my usual Diet Coke and "L" had a Strawberry Agave which tasted pretty good (I had a sample …LOL).
Unfortunately, the lighting was dim in the atrium as well as in other areas of the Luxor, so most of the pics came out dark.
We both wanted something light for lunch, since we sorta filled up on Guacamole, so we ordered the Crab Tostadas from their "small plates menu". The portions were larger than your normal appetizers, but much smaller than a full sized Tostada. They served 3 small Tostadas per order. The Tostadas were topped with a chilled mixture of crab meat, mixed with fresh crispy veggies in a mild sauce. Very tasty and they weren't skimpy with the crabmeat! However if you have a big appetite, I would definitely recommend ordering from some of their other selections. Service was also prompt and our servers were very friendly, so they received a nice tip!
Oh, and I forgot the food porn pics! That happened a lot during this trip, so you'll all have to make do with my plain old "text" version of food porn and your own imaginations.
The LV4E Mega-Meet at Harrahs…
One of the big highlights of this trip was attending the Mega-Meet and meeting members from the LV4E board. Although I've attend a few meets in the past which were not related to Vegas boards, this was the 1st Vegas board meet that I had attended. Oh, and I'm happy to report that none of the attendees turned out to be "axe murderers" …LOL. Everyone was as friendly and nice in person, as they are on the board. A great group of folks! It was a pleasure to meet each and everyone of them!
I didn't take any pics at the meet, since several others were shooting pics/videos and I knew they would post them on the board. Also, I was going to tweet from the meet, but my iPhone 3GS battery died and would not hold a charge.
I arrived at Harrah's early (about 3:00pm), since I was hoping that I would have better luck playing slots at Harrah's before the start of the Mega-Meet which was scheduled for 5pm. However, Harrah's was worse than the Luxor. At least at the Luxor, I would hit an occasional "small" win before feeding it all back into those machines. At Harrah's, every slot that I played was like a giant vacuum cleaner, taking but not giving anything back. After losing around $150 on various quarter slots, I moved to the penny machines for their entertainment value. They weren't producing any significant wins either, just enough hits so that I didn't have to keep feeding them more $$.
At around 4:30pm, I made my way over to the Piano Bar in Carnival Court to see if there were any early birds arriving for the meet. When I peeked inside the bar, I saw some familiar faces gathered in the corner. I recognized Blonde right away and she came over and gave me a big hug. From her initial comment, I believe she had me pictured as being much taller. HM also recognized me and said she saw me passing by the bar earlier. That must have been when I was searching for some of my favorite slots. We all exchanged greetings, as more board members began to arrive.
Here's the list of the 23 members who were present: Blonde, HM, Tania and V, Mercin, Claire and her cousin Mary, IlVegasLover, BC Canuck and Shirley, AntiqueGambler, MikeZona and Doris, KelleyDee, Paul, SoCaLGirl, JackinCols, TrawnaJack, Eyes of Quantum (along with her new hubby and maid of honor), Kyds (a lurker on LV4E and a poster on other LV Boards), and yours truly (a.k.a. ShelbyMustangGuy).
I think it was close to 5:30pm when we were told we could head up to the Range Piano Bar and that's when the festivities began. One of the highlights of the meet was the gift exchange and JackinCols was the lucky fellow who received Mercin's "Horse Poop" (a.k.a. Horse Apples). Actually, when Mercin first posted about Horse Apples on the board, I had absolutely no idea what the heck they were. So, I did a quick "Google" search and it actually came up with something completely different than what Mercin told me at the meet, so that was a big surprise.
Doris picked my gift which was a set of coaster with various Chicago logos printed on them. By chance, I happened to pick the gift that Doris brought which was a small Indian Wedding Vase.
There's an interesting legend behind the Wedding Vase which Doris PM'ed to me after I returned home.
"Wedding Vases were widely used by many Indian tribes in America. Many believed that as part of the ancient marriage ceremony the medicine man would prepare a special potion for the young lovers. The mixture signified the promise of deep love and eternal happiness for the couple.
The Brave and Maiden then sealed the promise by drinking simultaneously from the vase, each using one spout. Wedding vases thus became a symbol of happiness and remain so to this day."
I had a great time at the meet and met some very nice folks. I hope I get the chance to see them again and perhaps others at future meets. Also, I have to thank everyone who helped in organizing the Mega-Meet and all the folks who captured the event in photos/videos. I'm not going to list names, since I'm liable to forget someone …LOL.
After the Mega-Meet…
I don't recall the exact time the meet ended, but I pretty much stayed until the end. I bid farewell the same time as HM. I really didn't have any specific plans for that night, so I roamed around the strip for awhile. I eventually ended up at Caesars and had dinner at Beijing Noodle No. 9
The place was fairly crowded, but I was able to get a seat at the counter. The décor is really impressive. The first thing that I noticed when I walked in was the row of goldfish tanks! The entire dining area is all done in white and they have an open kitchen, so if you're seated at the counter you can watch the chefs prepare the meals. I love noodles …LOL …so I ordered one of their specialty dishes, Beijing Noodles with Sliced Pork and Mushrooms which was yummy! The Beijing-style noodles are fresh and handmade by the chefs.
It was starting to get late, so I walked back to Harrahs to pick up my car from the valet and headed back to the Luxor to see if my luck would change. I sorta got hooked on that new video Blackjack machine, but after about an hour of play, I just barely broke even.
Sunday, July 12 (Day 3): Moving on to the Encore, Yeah!
Hmmm, what day is this? Oh yeah, Day 3! Seems that I always lose track of time and forget what day it is, after being in Vegas for awhile. Luckily, I've managed to take good notes of my daily adventures, otherwise writing this report would be a major disaster!
Well, I was able to sleep in a bit later this morning. Woke up at 5am instead of 4am …LOL. The first thing on my agenda, after having breakfast at Pyramid Café was to find an Apple Store, so I could try and get my iPhone repaired. There's one at the Fashion Show Mall which was convenient, since I was moving to the Encore, after checking out from the Luxor that morning. Oh, and I had a cheese omelet with hash brown potatoes with coffee, nothing too fancy.
After breakfast, I finished packing and checked out of the Luxor. My total hotel bill for those 2 days was $0 and I was also able to use up most of my food credit …Nice!
It was only 9am, but I decided to drive over to the Encore and used the self-parking lot. One thing that I really like about the Wynn and Encore is that their self-parking lots are very close to their casino entrances. After wandering through the Encore and Wynn, I made my way over to the Fashion Show Mall.
The Encore
Well, I found the Apple Store, but they couldn't replace the battery in my iPhone, since they didn't have one in stock. However, the fellow suggested that I could buy the Mophie Juice Pack for $80 which is an iPhone case that contains an auxiliary battery. It basically doubles the battery life of the iPhone, but it adds considerable "bulk" to the iPhone when installed. After trying it out in the store to see if it worked (and it did), I bought one, so at least I now had a working phone.
The Wynn
Ahhhh, and I also remembered that there's a Tiks4Tonight booth at the mall, so I stopped by to see what shows were available. Wow! When I checked the screen, Le Reve seats were available. I wanted to see that show on my last trip, but I ran out of time, so I bought a ticket for the 7pm show. Oh, and I also remembered that I had a coupon for $2 off.
A short time later, I made my way back to the Encore's Invited Guest check-in to see if I could check-in early. No problem with early check-in, but they didn't have a suite available. So, they took my cell number and said they would give me a call as soon as one becomes available which turned out to be ca. 1pm.
In the interim, I decided to take stroll over to the Palazzo and Venetian. I was going to walk over to Serendipity 3 at Caesars for lunch, but I never made it that far. The Vegas heat was really zapping a lot of my energy, so I wasn't able to do as much walking outdoors as I planned. I tried to keep my LV Strip walks for the early mornings and at night whenever possible.
The Palazzo
Surprisingly, I didn't give the Palazzo or Venetian any play time on this trip, so I probably won't be receiving very many offers from them. Oh, and apparently, HM spotted me at the Venetian, but she didn't shout out to me, so I didn't find out she was there until I read her post on the board when I returned home.
I eventually made my way back to the Encore to get my suite assignment, then unloaded my luggage from my car and headed up to the suite. Their guest elevators can be a bit confusing, if you've never stayed there before and I ended up on the wrong one, as did another couple who was following me. I went up to the 19th floor (I was in suite 41 on the 19th floor), but no 41! I went back down and asked at the Bell desk and she told me the elevator I needed to take was behind the café, so we all headed for the other elevators.
When I opened the door to my suite, Wow! Absolutely, beautiful! So far, this was one of the nicest suites I've had in Vegas.
Later, I headed over to the Encore's players club booth to get my $300 in free play which I could use at either the Encore or Wynn. I also found the Star Trek machines, but there are only 2 at the Encore and they were both occupied. Anyways, I ended up losing $100 on the Wheel Of Fortune $1 slots, so I headed over to the Wynn. On my last trip, I didn't come home with any W2Gs from the Wynn, but I did hit a nice win on the 3X4X5X Megabucks $1 slots for $750 (if I remember correctly). No such luck this time, but at least this machine was a little more forgiving, so I made back the $100 that I lost earlier in about an hour of playtime.
Le Reve at the Wynn Theatre & Dinner at Okada…
For those who like water shows like "O", I'm sure you'll like Le Reve. It's not a "Cirque" show, but very similar in many ways. The stage is circular with lots of performances, both in and out of the water, and from above. There's a big advantage of having a seat higher up in the theatre rather than closer to the stage, since you'll have a bird's eye view of everything! Like most Vegas shows, Le Reve is about 90 minutes long and there really wasn't a dull moment in any part of this show.
Oh, and do bring your camera to the show, even though the sign says no photography. The usher told me that if I had my camera to feel free to take pics before and after the show, but NOT during the show, mainly for the safety of the performers.
After the show, I headed for Okada for dinner. Usually the worse time to dine is either before or after a show …LOL …since the nicer restaurants are usually packed and require reservations. Okada was pretty busy and I didn't have a reservation, but I was able to get a seat at the sushi bar which was just what I wanted. I started out with a bowl of Miso Soup which was excellent, followed by a variety of Nigiri style sushi. The tuna and salmon sashimi just melts in your mouth! The ambience at Okada is exceptional and so is the sushi. Definitely some of the best I've had in Vegas and their sushi chefs are top notch! If you happen to be a sushi connoisseur, be sure to give this place a try. You won't be disappointed!
With most of my freeplay still intact, I decided to spend a couple of hours playing slots at both the Wynn and Encore. I went back and donated $200 to that Megabucks 3X4X5X slot once again, hoping that I'd come home a millionaire, so I could retire early! No such luck! So I took a stroll over to "Sugar & Ice" for dessert before heading back to the Encore.
Well, JackinCols mentioned that he had terrible luck at the Encore on his last visit and it looked as if I was on my way to having a similar experience. I also did not see any "hand-pays" while I was playing in either the Wynn or Encore, however I didn't spend as many hours in the casinos as I've done on previous trips. By the way, I did manage to stick to my gambling budget this trip and didn't hit the ATMs too often …LOL.
Monday, July 13 (Day 4): Wow! I finally made it to the FSE!
Another early start! Yeah, up at 5am again! So, I headed down to the Encore café for a light breakfast which consisted of a Swiss cheese and Ham croissant and an ice tea. Very good croissant, by the way. After checking my email and taking some notes image, I was off to Red Rock Canyon!
Red Rock Canyon…
After losing all of my freeplay the night before, I decided to take a drive out to Red Rock Canyon, so I wouldn't get tempted into trying to win back what I lost …LOL. I've taken that scenic drive a couple of times before, but it never seems to get old. The scenery at Red Rock is really beautiful. Of course, it was too HOT to do any sort of hiking, so I just sorta meandered around a bit and took a bunch of pics.
I tried to include some people in these pics, in order to show some perspective on how huge those rock structures are...
I met up with a friend at the Red Rock Resort for lunch. We didn't feel like eating anything fancy, so we ended up at Villa Pizza over in the Food Court. I never stayed at Red Rock, but their casino is very nice. If it wasn't located so far from the LV Strip, I would consider staying there.
Fremont Street…
Hmmm, what to do next? It was around 2pm when I left Red Rock and having no specific plan, I decided to drive in the direction of Downtown. I valet parked at Main Street Station, since I wanted to check out their casino and try my luck at playing some VP before hitting Fremont St. Well, at least I'm consistent. My bad luck at playing VP continues. After losing about $40 in 45 min of play, I crossed over the bridge from MSS to the California Hotel and then walked towards the Plaza over on Fremont St.
I've been visiting Vegas since 2000 and this was my first trip downtown …LOL. Needless to say, I had an awesome time! Fremont St. is definitely going to be a regular stop on all of my future Vegas trips.
The Summer of '69 Festival was still going on, but unfortunately none of the big named bands/entertainers were scheduled to play that week. However, I did listen in on a few lesser known bands that were playing some '60s & '70s rock, Elvis tunes, and a fantastic Saxophonist (Carl Ferris) who I thought was the best performer on Fremont St. during my visit.
Here's a little slide show that I put together. The background music is "Wag Your Tail" by Carl "safe-sax" Ferris...
Tuesday, July 14 (Day 5): Exploring Off-Strip Casinos
Wow! I didn't get back from downtown until about 3:30am and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. By the time I woke up, it was around 10:30am. I skipped breakfast, since by the time I was showered and dressed it was already time for lunch.
The Palms and my new Star Trek addiction…
One of the many things on my "to do" list was to explore some of the off-strip hotel/casinos that I've never seen on previous visits, so my first stop (which turned out to be my only stop) was the Palms.
They had a promotion for new members, so I signed up for their players card. They have a machine where you swipe your card through to see if you've won a free gift, freeplay, or cash. I won $20 in cash which covered the cost of my lunch at the Palms 24/7 Café. I had the Fish & Chips and a diet coke which was pretty good.
I still haven't been able to get on one of those new Star Trek slots, so I searched through the casino and found the ones that NMChop mentioned in his daily trip reports. Darn, all 4 machines were occupied! So, I headed over to the Brenden Theatres to check out their IMAX schedule and see what shows were playing that week. Transformers was the only IMAX show on their schedule. Being a Harry Potter fan, I also noticed that the new Harry Potter movie was also playing, but not in IMAX. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Oh well, I'll keep them in mind for perhaps Friday, if I happen to be in the mood to see a flick.
Now back to those Star Trek machines! Wowza! All 4 machines are unoccupied! Yeah! Remembering the code that NMChop posted, I logged on as "KIRK1234". It took a few minutes to figure things out, but man are those Star Trek slots addictive! I lost track of time and must have been playing for over 3 hours! Oh, and I also added a few more medals to the collection.
I didn't win anything significant, only around $5 after all was said and done. At that point, I really didn't feel like making the trek over to the M Resort which would have been my next stop, so I decided to head back to the Encore. But first, I had to make my traditional stop at an In N' Out Burgers for a doubles combo.
The Mirage Volcano…
Later that evening, I headed over to the Mirage to check out the new Volcano! I arrived at around 8:30pm and the first eruption wasn't scheduled until 9pm. Anywho, getting there early has its advantages, since I was able to get a good spot to capture the show on video!
Afterward, I walked around the strip for awhile "people watching" (it's amazing all the characters you'll run across on the LV strip when you least expect it). On my way back to the Encore, I also made another stop at "Sugar & Ice" at the Wynn for more ice cream!
Wednesday, July 15 (Day 6): I don't want to leave my Encore suite!
After spending 3 nights in that luxurious resorts suite, I really did not want to move to that deluxe room at the Orleans. However, my final 3 nights at the Orleans were free, so I really can't complain too much.
The ham and cheese croissant that I had at the Encore café the other morning was really good, so I made a repeat visit and had another one for breakfast. After checking out, I walked over to the Tiks4Tonight booth at the Fashion Show Mall. I was hoping to get tickets for Terry Fator or Love. However, Terry Fator was already sold out by the time I arrived and Love was blacked out. Since I also wanted to see Peepshow at Planet Ho, I was able to get a ticket for Thursday's show at 9pm.
Next stop was the Orleans. I pulled into their parking lot at around 11;30am and was able to check in early, so that worked out nice. I then headed over to the players club booth to get my freeplay ($65) and the offer also include $50 in dining credit.
Paul already posted a video of his Orleans room and mine was a carbon copy of his, except I was on the 10th floor with a partial view of the pool. However, here are a few pic of my room.
…and who were all those sexy women wandering around the hotel? Ahhh, there must have been a beauty pageant going on somewhere, since they were all wearing their state banners. I'm not exactly sure which pageant was being held, but there were a bevy of beauties meandering around the hotel during the first 2 nights of my stay ...Nice!
Okay, it's 1:30pm, so what's on my agenda for the remainder of the day? Absolutely nothing! I could check out the Atomic Testing Museum or perhaps the Pinball Hall of Fame or ???
So, I jumped back in my car and started driving. Oh, and where did I end up? Downtown! I didn't have time to wander through all of the shops and casinos when I was there on Monday, so I made a return trip. I also had another 2 for 1 coupon for those GG shrimp cocktails.
This time, I didn't stay for the lightshows and returned back to the Orleans at around 8pm or so. I decided to cool off at the Baskin Robbins with a Hot Fudge Sundae, checked my email, and also jotted down some notes for this TR.
A bit later, I tried my luck at playing some VP at the Alligator Bar and blew through my freeplay in less than an hour with no significant wins. The story of my life on this trip!
Thursday, July 16 (Day 7): A Very "Interesting" Day, to say the least!
Geezzzzz, I was up at 5am again! So I headed down to the casino and stopped in at Seattle's Best for coffee and a bagel w/cream cheese. Unfortunately, their Espresso machine was down, so I had to settle for regular coffee.
I was also meeting my friend "L" later that morning here at the Orleans, since I wanted to see her again before I returned home on Saturday.
Anywho, later that day we went to Koji's Sushi Bar & Chinese Bistro for lunch. It's one of my favorite restaurants at the Orleans. They serve both Japanese and Chinese cuisine. Their food has always been consistently good, as well as their service. Usually when I'm dining solo, I sit at the sushi bar and chat with their sushi chef. They have a friendly crew working there.
We both ordered from their lunch specials. "L" isn't into sushi, so she ordered the Won Ton Soup and the Sweet & Sour Pork which comes with either fried or steamed rice. I ordered their California lunch box which included Miso soup, Cucumber Salad, a California roll, and 3 Nigiri style sushi with tuna, salmon and shrimp ebi. I'm happy to report that our food and dining experience was excellent!
Planet Ho, Peepshow, and an "Interesting Encounter" during dinner...
Well, I bid farewell to my friend after lunch and drove over to Planet Ho. Although Peepshow was at 9pm, I wanted to roam around the Miracle Mile shops and also check out their casino. I never gave Planet Ho much playtime in the past, but I found another set of Star Trek machines that kept me occupied for awhile. I was able to log on as "KIRK1234" and ended up drawing a small crowd when one woman happened to see "My" medal count …LOL. She was rather LOUD in congratulating me on winning so many medals that everyone nearby had to see what was going on. Ahhh, if they only knew the real truth!
I'll call this one my "Macker Moment at P.F. Chang's". I'm not young like Macker and I certainly don't have his "Rascal Flat's" good looks, so you can imagine how surprised I was when this very attractive lady sat down next to me while I was sitting at the bar at P.F. Chang's having dinner. She ordered a drink and then started up a conversation with me.
Well, the first thing that came to my mind was ...ahhhhh... "Working Girl". However, it turned out that she wasn't. She was a marketing exec in town for a conference and also a Vegas newbie traveling solo.
Anyways, she decided to order dinner and we chatted for quite awhile. She also had a ticket for Peepshow that night, so we ended up seeing the show together and hanging out afterward. I guess this is where Macker's stories always seem to end in the ole' …yada yada yada. So did my story end the same way? Hmmm, well, I think I'm just gonna keep you all guessing!
As for Peepshow, considering all the hoopla on how good this show was suppose to be, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. The theme revolves around Holly Madison's character, "Bo Peep", and although she is a very attractive lady, I'm not sure if it's worth paying full price (which I didn't) to see this show. I would have to say that this is one of those "if you're able to get discounted or comped tickets, it would be worth checking out kinda shows".
Friday, July 17 (Day 8): Yikes! It's my last full day in Vegas!
I really didn't have anything special planned, so while having a late breakfast at the Orleans Courtyard Cafe, I started browsing through my "to do" list. Meanwhile, my friend calls to see if I'm still alive. Anyways, I was thinking of paying a visit to the Pinball Hall of Fame, so we decided to check out that place together, since he didn't know such a place even existed in Vegas.
The Pinball Hall Of Fame
If you're into those old style pinball machines, this place is a must see and a must play! We spent about 1.5 hrs playing various games and we had a blast.
It's not a huge facility, but they have a nice variety of machines. My favorite was the "Spiderman" pinball machine. I didn't take any photos of the inside, but I recall seeing a YouTube video that was posted on the LV4E board not long ago which provided a nice "virtual" tour of this place.
A Return Trip to the Palms…
While we were trying to decide what to do after we left the Pinball Hall of Fame, somehow we ended up at the Palms …LOL. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at their food court (Pizza) and checked out the show schedule at the Brenden Theatres. Eventually, we decided to see the new Harry Potter movie. Good choice on our part, since it was a very good movie. For those who haven't seen the movie yet, I won't spoil it for you and reveal any details.
Back at the Orleans…
I had dinner at Sailor's favorite spot, "Big Al's Oyster Bar". I have to agree that their New England Clam Chowder is really good, as well as their Shrimp Cocktails. This was actually the first time that I ate at Big Al's and I'm sure that I make a repeat visit in the future.
I still haven't won anything significant playing either slots or VP. I was actually down by about $500 which wasn't too bad, but I was hoping to at least win enough to fund a future Vegas trip. So, I decided to give it one last try, since I was returning home in the morning. Well, the gambling gods were not very nice to me this past week and my last night at the Orleans was no different, I'm sad to report.
Yeah, I did hit a few small wins, but then fed everything back into those machines hoping for a bigger win. In the end, I only lost another $200 or so, but I had fun trying.
Oh, and inbetween feeding the slots and VP machines, I made my way over to the Baskin Robbins and ordered another Hot Fudge sundae …Yummy!
Saturday, July 18 (Day 9): Leaving Las Vegas
I was up 5am again and my flight back to Chicago was at 11:25am, so I still had few hours of Vegas time before bidding a fond farewell to my favorite desert paradise. I headed down to Seattle's Best for a coffee and a blueberry muffin and did some "people watching" before checking out.
Like on previous trips, I took my traditional drive down Las Vegas Blvd. to take in all of the sights for the final time before heading to McCarren.
My flight home was pretty uneventful, although the fellow next to me was pretty wasted …LOL. He and his buddies across the aisle were out clubbing until 4am! Anyways, they all fell asleep as soon as the plane took off. I sorta dozed off myself for part of the trip, since I think I barely got 3-4 hrs of sleep per night during those 8 days!
When I arrived in Chicago, we were flying around in circles over the city for over an hour waiting for our turn to land and then we sat on the tarmac for about 15 min waiting for our gate to clear. However if I had parachute, I could have been home in a couple of minutes, since our plane flew almost directly over my house while we were circling over the city! I could have jumped out of the plane and landed in my backyard!
In conclusion, this was a very fun trip and the Mega-Meet was definitely one of the big highlights of my adventures. This trip almost didn't happen due to my work situation, but I'm glad that I decide to go, since I really needed to get away from the stress of job hunting for awhile.
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