My Hotel Choices.........Maybe

So I have my flights booked for April.  Now I need a place to sleep.

Maybe I'm a bit early to be booking rooms, but I enjoy the process.  I will watch the rates for a while, see if any good offers drift in, and be ready to jump on the right rate.

I have made a bit of progress though, and thought I would just share.

I'm pretty cheap, to begin with.  My standards for a hotel room are pretty lax.  Here's what I need:

• Location
• Clean
• Comfortable
• A good greasy breakfast, preferably with a waitress who calls me "Hun."
• A good bar, with a good TV setup and a barman who calls me "Chief", or "Boss", or something like that.  I hate it when barmen call me sir.
• Cheap (did I say that already?)

So, yes, as far as customers go, I'm easy like Sunday morning.

Since I have such simple tastes, staying in places like the Cosmo, Wynn, Venetian, or any of the high-end places would be pretty much wasted on me.  Nice places all, lovely even, great to visit. But not worth the money, not for me.

I had it in my head that Hard Rock or Tropicana might be good places to try, but a quick check of rates crossed them off my list. Tropicana, in particular, was ridiculously high for my dates, which is too bad because I really like gambling there.  Hard Rock wasn't as bad, but it is also off the strip, and I'm pretty sure that I'm not really cool enough to stay there.  So cross those places off my list.

MGM's MLife website doesn't work, so I can't even check rates.  Guessing they really don't want me to stay there.  Too bad, Monte Carlo was pretty high on my list of possible spots.  Not eliminating it completely, but not looking good right now.

I've always been happy enough with the CES hotels, having stayed at both Planet Hollywood and Bally's.  I liked them both, Bally's a bit more.  I'm getting good rates right now at both Flamingo and Harrahs, at the moment I'm leaning towards Flamingo.  But not ready to commit yet.

I could get a great rate at the Quad, (used to be Imperial Palace), but there is construction there, and the reviews on the place are mixed, at best.  I'm cheap, but not that cheap.

I'm also considering staying downtown.  I like the Fremont Street area, and have stayed down there before.  Rates at the D Resort (used to be Fitzgeralds) seem pretty good right now.

As of today, that's where my thinkings at.  But my thinking will probably change.

I'll throw out another of my favorite links, www.vegaschatter.com  Check it everyday, it's constantly updated.


Thanks for reading.

My Stay at Planet Hollywood

Took a bit of a break, but will try to post a bit more.  I'm working on it.

I stayed at Planet Hollywood July 2-5, on the first leg of my trip out to the Desert Paradise.
I got in the cab at McCarran Airport, told the driver my route (you have to do this in Vegas, or they will screw you.)  The driver, who was hopped up on caffeine it seems (or at least I hope it was caffeine) was nice enough to offer to take me to the best strip club and the best massage parlor in town.  When you are a single guy in your forties riding a cab in Vegas, this is quite common. No thanks dude.  He then proceeded to tell me the various troubles he has undergone lately, I don't know if this is a way to get a better tip or if he was just talkative or if he thought I'd care.  I really didn't, but he got overtipped anyway, as he got me to the hotel quickly and with minimal hassle.  I pretty much overtip everywhere.  It's an east coast thing, I'm told.

Check in at Planet Hollywood was quick, although there was a woman there who didn't seem to understand that there was a line, and she was expected to get in it.  She had a lot of bags, so apparently she thought this should let her bypass.  Um, no, deary.

The rooms at PH are themed, every one is tied to a movie in some lame-o but kind of cool way.  I was in the Good Will Hunting room, perhaps the desk guy heard my Boston accent and thought I'd be more comfortable there.  They had Robin Williams' shirt hanging up there.  Thankfully, it was under a thick plate of glass.  Otherwise the room itself was a standard king.  I took a picture, didn't come out great.

The bathroom, however, was pretty cool.  Stand-up shower stall, toilet was in a tiny little water closet, and I had a big-assed bathtub.  Under a picture of Matt Damon.  I have no idea if looking up at Matt Damon is supposed to enhance your bathing experience, but there it is.  Actually it was pretty cool having a tub there, even though I never actually found the time to use it.  As always in Vegas, there just isn't enough time.

I'll post a bit about the casino, restaurants and bars later, but I suppose I should mention the pool two.  I wonder how all the architects and designers and everyone else who built a big, beautiful multi-million dollar hotel could have come up with the design for such a crappy pool area.  There are actually two pools at PH, with a large lounging area between them.  And boy do those pools suck.  They are way too small and are so completely surrounded by the cabanas that you can barely get to them without stepping on some big spender.  I assume smart people designed this place, but boy did they screw up here.  Let me say it plain - the lounging area is OK, the pools suck, and I think if you pay big money for a cabana or a day lounger you will really, really feel ripped off.  There, you are warned.  Also, although there was a bar at the pool, there was no cocktail service.  What?  Yeah, no cocktail service at the pool, at least when I was there in the afternoon.  Maybe they didn't want me lingering.


BTW, I'm way to cheap to pay extra for a nice view, but I was kind of high up, so here's the view from room 2494.  Not terribly exciting, but it worked for me.

Overall, it's a very nice place, and aside from the crappy pool, I had no complaints about the room or the service.  Check out was quick, bill was accurate, and the guys who hailed the cabs were nice and quick. 

Would I stay there again?  Maybe, if the price were right, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get there again.

Anyway, thanks for reading, fell free to ask any questions, and stop by again sometime.  I promise I will post some more of my semi-salacious details as my booze soaked memory allows.

And have a good day.

Bags are Packed!!!

Getting on the plane in a little while, hopefully the thunderstorms in the midwest won't slow me down.

Because I'm way too cheap to pay a resort fee or pay for my internet at the hotel, you will have to wait until I get home for all of the salacious details of my trip.  If you are truly interested (and I can't believe you would be), you can stalk me on twitter - @seanbeh3

Wish me some luck. 

And, as always, thanks for reading.

I Want to See What's Up at the D

In downtown Las Vegas there is a hotel and casino that used to be Fitzgerald's, now it's "The D."  Kind of a lousy name for a hotel/casino, but apparently it's now a "resort".  As in "The D Resort".  Still a lousy name.

I liked the old place just fine, it had a fake/creepy Irish theme and a nice balcony bar upstairs that looked out on the Fremont Street Experience.  It was a fun enough place, good dealers at least.  I stayed there once years ago, the rooms were fine enough in a Howard Johnson-type way.

Last year, Fitzgeralds was bought out by the guys that own the Golden Gate.  I haven't been there since, but these guys did a great job fixing up the old Golden Gate, so I'm optimistic here.  They built the Long Bar, supposedly the longest bar in Nevada (and who am I to argue), which looks like a pretty cool place to hang out in the pictures.  I'm also excited about Sigma Derby and "vintage" gaming on the second floor (Vegaschatter.com  tell you what sigma derby is).  If nothing else, the news coming out of the place makes me damn curious.

Oh, and Vegaschatter also reports that The D is hiring 100 party pit dancers.  Which also makes me curious.

But I think I'll still call the place the Fitz.

Places I'll go in Vegas, part 6

A bit more than a day to go, a long flight, and I'll be in Fabulous Las Vegas, NV.  So today I thought I would make a quick post in my amazingly unpopular series, Places I'll go in Vegas.  

I will take some time during the day and head off the strip to visit the Palms, the Rio, and the Gold Coast.  Why, you probably didn't ask?  Because I have never been there.

The three casinos are clustered a little ways off the strip.  Way too far to walk, but there is a free shuttle bus that leaves from Bally's.  I honestly don't know much about them.  I know the Palms is a classy, upscale joint for the hipsters, I know that Rio has a popular nightclub for the over 40 crowd, and I know that Gold Coast is part of the Boyd group, meaning it's a decent low-roller place.  I've also heard that the buffet at Gold Caost is cheap and pretty good, so maybe I'll do that too.

Oh, and I've heard that the cocktail waitresess at the Rio wear very skimpy outfits.  I will investigate this rumor thoroughly.

So, once again, as a free service to all my stalkers, here is my itinerary thus far:

1. Holsteins at the Cosmopolitan
2. The Mob Museum downtown
3. Margaritaville at the Flamingo
4. Public House at the Venetian
5. Canevale at the Palazzo
6. Rio/Gold Coast/Palms

Well, once again, thanks for reading.  And wish me some luck, eh?

A general plan for the first night....

When I go to Las Vegas, I don't like to overplan.  It's a vacation.  One of the things I like most about Vegas is that it's a 24/7 town, more so than any other place I know.  You can loung at the pool, make a run at a craps table, settle in at a bar, take an afternoon nap, whatever.  And you don't feel like you are missing anything.  It's wonderful.

So, unlike flying into some places, I'm not worried about arriving at ten o'clock at night.  The cabs will be there, the hotel will be ready to check me in.  The town is just barely waking up at ten o'clock.

So I have a general, and very flexible, plan for my first night.  After my long confined flight, I want to do two things when i get off the plane: walk alot and eat.  So I'll settle into my hopefully super-cool room at Planet Hollywood and then run out to eat.  Since I'll be so hungry that a quality meal would be wasted, I'll eat for fuel rather than satisfaction.  I'm thinking that I'll walk over to the brand-spanking new Metro McDonald's on Harmon Ave.  I have my doubts that it's any different than every other McDonald's on earth, but I'll let you know.  When I'm sufficiantly stuffed with greasy fast food, I'll start walking.  Generally, the plan is to cross over to Caesars, move south to the Cosmopolitan, where I'll sit at the Chandelier Bar and watch the beautiful people walk bye for a bit.  Last on my list for night numero one is the Monte Carlo, I like the front bar there.  A few rounds of video poker, a beer or two, by that time the adrenaline will have worn off, and I'll start feeling the long day.  Maybe 1:00 AM, I'll have one (or two) more beverages at a bar at PH, see the club girls and the other cool kids walking by, see if I can spot the working girls.  And then to bed.  Call it a bar crawl if you will, it's more of just a walk.  With beer stops.  Like I said, all plans are flexible, and I'm easily distracted, so there are no guarantees.

Since my body never quite catches up with the time change, I'll probably be up at 6:00 AM or so, looking for that big over-the-top breakfast, one of my favorite things about Vegas.  And then we will go from there.

Thanks for reading.
 
*BTW, spellcheck doesn't seem to be working.  Forgive me.

One week away............

Only one week until I take the long flight out west to my favorite desert paradise.  I've been terribly busy with work, so it hasn't really sunk in yet, but I'm sure that by this weekend it will.
Of course, as my luck tends to run, there is a hurricane moving up.  I'm pretty sure that it will be gone by next week, but just another thing to worry about.
If you've been following, I split my stay for the trip, three days at Planet Hollywood and two days downtown at the California downtown.  It might seem a bit crazy, moving from hotel to hotel, but it makes sense for me, and many of my fellow posters on Tripadvisor do the same thing.  it gives me the sights and restaraunts and such on the strip, and the better gambling downtown.  Same city, but the two areas have different "vibes" to them.

Anyway I've been posting a bit here and there, will be fine tuning the details of my trip in the next week or so.

Thanks for reading!!

Places I'll Go in Vegas, part 5

Hey - I'm back with another update in my trip-to-Vegas itinerary.  Today's addition is Carnevale at the Palazzo.  This is a brand new thing apparently, or at least something I've never heard of.  It lasts pretty much all summer, and is a nightly show that includes a parade nightly through the Palazzo and Venetian casino, ending by the gondola rides out front (here's a map )  at 8:00 and some kind of light show hourly starting at 9:15.  There is also some sort of "complimentary" party at the Azure club nightly starting at 9:00, I'll probably skip that though, as it's not really my scene.  They also list children's activities and say "price varies", meaning it probably ain't cheap to keep the kiddies busy. 

So it appears to be a free way to kill a bit of time.  Judging from the pictures, the theme seems to be "Renaissance" Carnevale, rather than the crazy semi-nekkid street parties of Rio Carnevale.  A bit of a disappointment, to tell the truth, but it looks worth checking out anyway.  And hey, its free.  What's better than free.

So, as a service to any potential stalkers, here is my itinerary thus far, in no particular order.

1.  Holsteins Shakes and Buns at the Cosmopolitan
2.  Mob Museum downtown
3. Margaritaville at the Flamingo
4. Public House at the Venetian
5. Carnevale - at the Palazzo

Well, until next time.  And thanks for reading!

Rebuilding the Lady Luck

Really?

I went to the Lady Luck once. After a having a good time on Fremont Street, I'm a bit hazy on the fine points, but mostly I remember the place was smoky. 

One of the sites I check pretty regularly is Vegaschatter.  It's a great site.  Today there was an article about the old Lady Luck, which was recently rebranded the Downtown Grand.  Personally, I think Lady Luck is a way better name, but so it goes.  The article talks about how the place is being refurbished, and offers some speculation as to when it might open up again.

I'm sorry, but I just don't believe it. 

The Lady Luck closed for renovations in 2006.  It hasn't opened the doors since.  Anyone who has been downtown has seen it, it's big, white, and takes up a whole lot of space between the Fremont Street Experience and the new Mob Museum.  Whenever I'm downtown, I walk by the place just to see what's happening.  I've never seen much.  While work has certainly taken place on Third Street in front of the old hotel, I've never seen any real action at the hotel itself.  I haven't been there in a year, of course, so my observations are dated, but if the owners really are gearing up for an opening, they are certainly taking their own sweet time.

Maybe this wouldn't bother me so much if the owners didn't keep saying they were working on it.  People understand why the Echelon and the Fontainebleau were mothballed, people get that the money doesn't add up to reopen the place.  But these guys just keep throwing out plans, artists renditions, and pretend re-opening dates (vegaschatter sites five different dates).  Ex-Mayor Oscar Goodman has called the place a "blight", a "rotting corpse", a "disaster" and a "carcass"  Through it all, the owners, Third Street Gaming,  have kept talking about renovations, reopenings, rebrandings, and all the great things that were coming.

And yet the place still sits. Empty.  Hulking.  Just plane ugly. 

I hope I'm wrong.  When I go in July, I'll again walk down to the old Lady Luck.  I'll look for trucks, cranes, some signs of life.  Then maybe I'll believe.

Maybe.

Five Hotels in Vegas, part 3

Hi all, this is the third part of my tour of Las Vegas hotels and casinos, five at a time, and my general and completely biased thoughts on them. Some places I've spent a lot of time in, some places very little. Some places I like a lot, some places not so much.  My lame-o maps, BTW, are made by screwing around on google docs drawing.  They are pretty much the limits of my graphic design skills.

Traveling north on the Las Vegas Strip, starting today at the intersection of LV Blvd and Harmon Ave.  I'll also note what players' club the place uses.

1. Cosmopolitan (Identity) - I still think of this as a new place, and it kind of figures to be the last new place built on the strip for a while.  It's owned by a bank, not a casino company, and it wouldn't surprise me too much if the whole place got sold at some point.  But that's another story.
   The Cosmopolitan is absolutely an upscale place, and if money were no object I would love to stay there.  They got so many things right here, the place is just beautiful, and gets prettier the more time I spend here.  The place is essentially built around the Chandelier bar, which anybody who comes to town should stop by for a drink.  The fancy drinks are supposed to be awesome, since I'm pretty much a beer drinker I can't really say.   The Chandelier bar is also Cougar Central on the Las Vegas Strip.
   Holsteins Shakes and Buns is a great upscale burger and beer place, I described Holsteins earlier on my list of places I'll go .   Holstein's is also a nice place to watch the beautiful people queue up for the Marquee club, which is always interesting.  The restaurants are first class, and the staff is pretty nice.  I had a problem with a slot machine once and had a friendly and efficient slot manager take care of it for me.   Even though this is a very upscale place, I've never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome at the Cosmopolitan, despite being a first-class low roller.
  For all the things that Cosmopolitan gets right, they seem to have missed something about the casino.  Everyone loves the place except the gamblers.  Cosmopolitan gets the party crowd, the foodies, the five-star hotel seekers, but the gamblers just have not shown up.  The casino itself is nice enough, but compared to the rest of the place, it seems rather plain and generic. 

2. Planet Hollywood (Total Rewards) - Hey, this is where I'm booked for my July trip.  I've never stayed here before, but I've been to the casino.  The more I look at it, the more I like the place.  Maybe I'm just buying into all the hype since I'm booked there, but the rooms look great, and the place  consistently gets good reviews on a couple of websites I check.  I'm liking the restaurants, Yolo's, Pink's Hot Dogs, Planet Dailies.  Not sure if Cabo Wabo is my kind of place, but I've been to PBR Rock Bar for beer and apps and it's a good spot.  I have no real interest in the shopping mall, but might take a look at the Stripper Bar back there.  I'm thinking it will be a bit too tacky for me, but we will see.  Blondies sports pub is another place that gets good reviews, but I'm not sure I'll make it there either. 
   As to the casino, it's bright, it's loud, way overstimulating, it's everything a Vegas casino should be.  I haven't spent too much money here, just some VP and a bit of slot play.  Oh, and the go-go girls are super-hot.  The bars are a wee bit fancy, but not so fancy that I can't find a spot to fit in.  The Cougar count at the Heart bar was kind of high, and I did spot a few working girls hanging around the last time I was there.
  This is a place for the young party crowd.  Being neither young nor much of a partier, we will see how I do here.

3. Paris (Total Rewards) - It's just like the real Paris, only it's fake.  A nice place, very good restaurants, and people rave about the food choices here. For whatever reason, I just don't feel the "vibe" here, somehow the place just isn't for me.  Last summer, I was staying at Bally's, and had a view of the pool, which looked very nice but also very crowded. 

   The casino, like the rest of the place, is very pretty and overall a fun place to play.  It's a reasonably upscale place, but not ridiculously so.  The last time I was there, the hooker count at the casino bar was pretty high.








4. Bally's (Total Rewards) - If your Dad got to pick your hotel, he would probably pick Bally's.  It has clean, comfortable rooms, a fine if rather plain pool, good bars, a big and somewhat nondescript casino, a couple of good restaurants.  Tequila Bar and Grill might not have the best tacos on the strip, but I'm pretty sure they have the best two dollar tacos on the strip.  I'm a big fan of the sportsbook here, like the rest of the casino, the decor is pretty forgettable, but it's bright and I like that it is somewhat separated from the rest of the casino.  There is a nice little bar there, and it's a comfortable spot to watch a game. 
   I stayed at Bally's last summer.  My check in was late, and I was told there were no more smoking rooms available, so they put me in a suite for the night.  People like me don't get to stay in suites very often, and boy was it nice.  Big living room, two bathrooms, a hot tub.  It was sweet.  After one night there I was back to reality, which was a south tower room.  The south tower is the older part of the hotel, but there was nothing wrong with the room. It was slightly bigger than most rooms, the toilet worked, the TV worked, the bed was comfortable, the shower was hot.  That's pretty much everything I need in a hotel room.  I had a nice view of the front door and the strip, it might have been a great view if I was higher up. 
  Maybe the best selling point for Bally's is that it is an affordable place with a great location.  Seriously, Bally's might have the best location on the strip.  For the price.

5. Bellagio (Mlife) - If Bally's is your Dad's casino, Bellagio is the place for your Mom.  On my first trip, I had heard of the fountains and thought it seemed kind of lame.  When I saw it, I was amazed.  It really is that cool.
  Anyway, the Bellagio has everything your Mom would love.  A somewhat sedate crowd, a big, splashy casino, first class rooms.  The restaurants and bars are all just a bit fancier than they need to be.  There is a conservatory and botanical garden there, which is a nice way to take a break from the craziness of the strip for a little while.  Bellagio is a huge property and a bit confusing to walk around in. Overall it's a bit fancy for my taste.  Nice place though.
  There is a tram way in the back of Bellagio that will take you to Aria and down to the Monte Carlo.  It's free and a cool way to get a different view of the city.

So there are my five for today, bringing my grand total up to fifteen.  Stop by again sometime.

Places I'll go in Vegas, part 4

This one just came on my radar, but it looks so good I had to put it on my list.  I need to add some new things, nobody wants to fall into the rut of just hitting the same places over and over again.  I don't know how new this place is exactly, but it's new to me!!

Public House at the Venetian.  The Venetian is a great place to walk around, it really is a beautiful property, and I've always found it less pretentious than it appears to be.  The last time I was in town, I had a great lunch at First Food there, a terrific spot with a nice view of the strip.  It was pretty empty when I was there, and there was a great bartender who let me try a couple of local beers they had on tap.  I'll probably stop in there too, but Public House has really caught my attention.  The Venetian is certainly a high-end place, but they do have a few restaurants that are very good and don't have outrageous prices. 

Looking over the menu at Public House, it is certainly fancier than your average pub food.  They call themselves a "Gastropub", which I really think means slightly fancier pub.  They also advertise that they have "Nevada’s first certified beer cicerone – the equivalent of a wine sommelier."  I think this means that the staff knows their way around the beer taps.  I love craft brews, and like to try the local brews when I travel, so I often ask for recommendations from the barman.  I'm guessing the people here can help me out.  Keep the flair bartenders, please, give me someone who knows what "hoppy" means.

So, if you are keeping track, or planning on stalking me, here is the list so far.

1. Holsteins Shakes and Buns at the Cosmopolitan
2. Mob Museum downtown
3. Margaritaville at the Flamingo
4. Public House at the Venetian

The worst casino in Vegas just got a little worse

Many years ago, I used to like the Las Vegas Club.  I liked the gambling, I liked the sports memorabilia, I liked the Great Moments restaurant upstairs, and the friendly staff.  I liked the bar with cheap drinks and good bartenders, where you could sit for a while and watch the crowd on Fremont Street.  Later I liked the R & B singers in the back lounge.

Alas, all those things are gone now.  Every time I visit, one more piece has disappeared.  The bar is still there, but nothing else, and the staff generally seems like they would rather be somewhere else. 

I just found out that Tinoco's Restaurant is closed.  It was a very good place, crammed into the back of a very bad casino.  The room was bright and pleasant, the portions were big, and the price was good.  I'm not saying the food was the best in town, but you could tell that the people at Tinoco's cared about their product, their restaurant and their customers.  Everything the Vegas Club seems to have lost interest in.  And now Tinoco's is gone.

The Vegas Club is owned by the same people who own the recently remade Plaza across the street and the recently closed Western Casino on the far end of downtown Las Vegas.  The Vegaschatter website has speculated a bit that the Vegas Club might be in line for a makeover as well.  They also noted that the hotel portion mostly seems to be closed.  All the activity by the owners on the three properties makes me think that the owners maybe actually have a plan.  Maybe.

As of right now, the Vegas Club casino has one thing going for it: location.  It's on the corner of Fremont and Main, surrounded by the newly remodeled Plaza, the expanding Golden Gate, and the never-ending luau that is the California.  Maybe they will sell the place, although I can't imagine who would buy it as it is. 

The sad fact is that the place is falling down, and no one seems to give a crap.  Not too long ago, the same could have been said about the Plaza and the Western.  The owners fixed the Plaza and closed the Western, so I'm guessing some kind of change is coming soon for the Vegas Club. 

Maybe.

Five Hotels in Vegas, part one

Having nothing particular to write about today, I thought I would just start a walk across Las Vegas and give my random thoughts on the hotel/casinos I've been to.  I've spent a lot of time in some, barely any time in others, so I'll just throw out the things I liked or didn't like and general impressions.  I'll also note what player's card is used in each different place.

Just for structural purposes, I'll go five hotels at a time, starting on the south end of the strip and generally working north.

1. Hooters - (Owl Rewards) - I've actually stayed here twice.  It's very cheap, and has a decent location. But yes, you get what you pay for.  Rooms are standard and a bit run down.  Pool is OK,  a bit small, but the pool bar is a fun place.  Actually, all of the bars are fun.  As you would expect, the place is downscale, casual, and unpretentious.  Never ate at the actual Hooters restaurant on site, but I've had a couple of good breakfasts at the Mad Onion restaurant there.  Nice cheap crap tables.  The place has new owners, if someone were to drop a bunch of money to update the place, it would be a good budget option.  I might go hang out there again, but I think I'm done with staying there.

2. Tropicana - (Trop Plus Players Club) - A few years back, new owners put a lot of money into fixing this place up, and boy did they do a fabulous job. The theme is "South Beach", but I've never been to South Beach so I don't know if it works or not.  I like the casino, it's bright and fun.  The cafe by the pool is good, prices are a bit steep but portions are huge.  People seem to love the pool, I've never been to it, but it seems like a hip party pool where the beautiful people hang out.  Thus, it's not a place for me.  Overall, a pretty fun place.  Good cocktail service.  I actually wanted to stay here when I went out this summer, but couldn't get a good enough price.

3.  Excalibur - (MLife) - An MGM property.  Originally built to attract families, now has go-go dancers and a male stripper show.  I ate dinner at the buffet once, was no terrible, but not very good either.  A lot of kids walking around, which annoys me a bit.  I found a 5 dollar craps table here once with some great dealers and had a very good time.   If I go back here, it will only be because of the memories of the good times I had at the craps table.  Free tram to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay.

4. Luxor - (MLife) - Another themed property owned by MGM.  Alas, once you get inside, it's damn hard to find any evidence of that theme, making the coolest building in Vegas from the outside remarkably generic on the inside.  This was actually the first place I ever stayed in Vegas, but I really can't think of anything there that would bring me back.  Not that it's a bad place so much, but.........uninteresting.  Free tram to Mandalay Bay and Excalibur.

5. Mandalay Bay - (MLife) - The classiest place on the south strip.  I love their breakfast buffet.  Once I was wolfing down my third plate there (I like to get my money's worth) and the Miss Universe contestants came in.  8:00 in the morning, they were wearing high heels and the sashes.  Boy, those girls sure loved that omelet bar.
  This place is a bit too hipster for me to spend too much time in, but I like the Ri Ra Irish pub, when I was there last there was a great Irish band from NY playing.  The Burger Bar gets great reviews, I might make it there someday, I've tried before but the line is always out the door.  People on the Tripadvisor forum consistently say this is a great pool to bring your kids to.  Which makes me not want to visit the pool.
  Whenever I'm there, there seems to be a big convention of some kind.  Overall, this is an awesome property, but a bit too upscale for a simple man like me.

Well there's numbers 1-5.  When I'm inspired to do 6-10, I'll keep moving up the strip.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice day.

Places I Will Go in Vegas #3

Well, I'm still a good ways away from my July trip out to Sin City, and maybe I'm over planning, but I am ready to reveal spot number three on my lame-o Vegas trip.

Margaritaville casino at the Flamingo. I'm no Parrothead, although I can really rock a God-awful Hawaiian shirt.  I've been to the restaurant, the food is overpriced and generally OK, but the drinks are good and the view is fantastic.  Mostly, what is drawing me to the place is the Five O'Clock Somewhere Bar.  I like me a good bar.

I'm mostly a beer man, but the drink menu looks promising.  They have "flair" bartenders, which I find mildly entertaining. 

As I said before, I like bars.  The 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar, like so many good bars in Vegas, is open 24 hours.  In Las Vegas, on vacation, with my body clock stuck on Boston time, I've been known to indulge a wee bit before lunch.  So, maybe this is a place for me.  Either way, I'm looking forward to finding out.

So, to update, here is my list so far:
1. Holsteins Shakes and Buns
2. Mob Museum
3. Margaritaville Casino

Stay tuned, see how things change.

   *picture stolen from Margaritaville website

Oh, the Places I'll Go, #2

This is item numero dos on places I'm planning on visiting during my July trip to Las Vegas. 

The Mob Museum - It seems like it took forever to build this place, but apparently it's ex-mayor (and ex-mob lawyer) Oscar Goodman's dream come true.  People seem to be saying it's worth the trip.  Hey, it won't be the first time in Vegas history that the mob livened up downtown.

I really have no idea what to expect, and I'm certainly no mafia-groupie or anything, but it actually looks pretty cool.  I've scheduled this for my travel day (also known as my sobering-up day).  I have a late flight and generally plan to just hang around downtown for the day, and this seems like a good way to kill a couple of hours before hopping on a plane and heading back to my real life. 

I took this picture years ago before they started construction.  Pretty building, eh?



So if you are keeping track(and I can't believe you would be),  my list so far is:

     1. Holsteins Shakes and Buns



     2. The Mob Museum

Changes in downtown

Late night on Fremont

One of the great things about Vegas is that it changes all the time.  While the big construction projects won't be happening again for the foreseeable future, things still change there, and pretty quick too.

Half my stay will be downtown, and there have actually been a lot of changes since I was there last summer.  Here's what I'm curious about:

The Plaza - Recently renovated, new restaurants, new food court.  I am curious to see how they fixed (or tried to fix) what was probably the most low-rent, smoke-filled, depressing casinos downtown.  That distinction now belongs to the Las Vegas Club, which is actually owned by the same people.
     I always thought that the Plaza could have the best sportsbook downtown - it's big and well laid out, so I'm hoping they got the redo right there.

The D resort - Used to be Fitzgeralds, which was a decent enough low-roller place.  I stayed there once years ago, rooms were good sized, I had a decent view, Howard Johnson-like decor.  The whole place was bought out by the people that own the Golden Gate.  These guys did a great job spiffing up the GG, so I'm excited to see what they have going on down at the old Fitz.  I know they put in a big new bar that looks interesting.
Incidently, I searched "D resort vegas" on both google and bing, niether brought me the new website.  It's here, www.thed.com , if you are looking.

Golden Gate - Always one of my favorite places to play, by the time I get there in July they should be finished with their renovation/expansion.  I don't see anything really breathtaking in the plans, but I'm interested in seeing it anyway.  Between buying and rebranding Fitzgeralds and the expansion here, these guys have been busy.

Drink & Drag - Last time I was downtown (actually, for the past ten years or so) Neonopolis has been a big empty hulk of a place in the middle of Fremont Street.  Now it actually seems like it actually has some life to it, with a whole bunch of new businesses.  One of them is Drink & Drag, which just opened this month.  It's a bowling alley, with dartboards and everything.  Staffed by drag queens. 
     No, it doesn't make sense to me either, and it's not really my scene, but where else on earth can you go bowling with drag queens?  I can't say I know a lot about drag queens, but it's hard to imagine they put on the bowling shoes.  We can file this under "Only Vegas."

I've also been reading about new bars opening up at Binion's and the Golden Nugget, neither of which look particularly exciting to me, but I'll certainly check them out.

www.fremontstreetbars.com - A good website about the bar scene, and downtown info in general.  www.vegaschatter.com  also has some good info on downtown once in a while.

Until next time............

A list of places I'll go in Vegas

I'm not going out for three months, so this list will be expanding and evolving with time, but here we go:

1. Holsteins - Cosmopolitan Hotel

I first went to Holsteins a short while after the Cosmo opened, mostly just because I was wandering around and hungry.  All I ordered was an appetizer, the Philly Cheez Steak Spring Rolls.  Oh boy were they good.  They also have a good beer menu.  And, of course, good looking waitresses.  Next time I'll certainly get a burger.

You should feel honored, Holsteins - you are first on my list.

Picture was stolen from their website, BTW.
  

Why did I pick the California?

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm splitting hotels for my July trip - three nights on the strip, two nights downtown.  For my downtown stay, I picked the California.

I'm not from Hawaii.  I'm from Boston, which is close to as far as you can get from Hawaii.  So why would a grumpy Bostonian choose a hotel that pretty much caters to Hawaiians? 

I looked at a few different places downtown - the Plaza, The D (formally Fitzgeralds), the Gold Spike, and all of the Boyd properties - Fremont, Main Street Station, and the Cal. 

As I said before, I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to hotel rooms.  I decided that I wanted a pool, especially since it will be towards the end of my trip, so I might need to wash some of the booze out of me. 

In the end, it came down to price.  I had a good deal from the Boyd companies through the Bconnected players' club.  I've stayed at the Fremont before, and liked it fine.  Boyd might not have the fanciest properties, but I've always gotten such good service there.  I was about to book the Fremont again, but just figured I'd try someplace new. 

So I'm set - three days Planet Hollywood, two days at the California.  It feels nice to be a bit settled.