Hello LVA Group. I am once again giving a trip report, doing so in the spirit of those who have so generously shared their experiences and advice on these posts in the pasts.
I found by reading these that there is a way I like how some others have broken down their reports into specific activities. Such as: food, entertainment, gambling, etc... I will attempt to do so as well.
My wife wanted me to play in the Seniors' World Series of Poker tournament being held on Friday, June, 19 at the Rio, as all WSOP tourneys are held of course. The entry fee for this particular event is $1000. Since I had made that much playing poker during the past year I thought I would go out to the desert and give it ago, having played in the WSOP Main Event in 2012. The Senior's event has a much smaller entry fee and a smaller field. The field this year was over 4100 players. Last year the field was a little larger.
As we are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area we decided to fly Southwest(always try to avoid American Airlines if possible, even though its sure fun to pay their $200 change fees and pay extra for luggage!) even though its about 20 minutes further from our house. The wife needed a break and its always fun to try something that makes you feel alive, at least for a few days! So here it goes!
Car Rental: We decided fairly last minute to get a car. The cheapest way we saw to go was to do the Hotwire thing again. Other similar priced sites had you going through rental agencies such as: Firefly, Payless, Fox, etc... I read pretty much saw nothing but bad reviews about these places. We had used Fox before and were not impressed. At Fox, its further out. The car we got through them had more than 15K mileage and had a sour milk-like smell in the car. The Hotwire selection had us going to Hertz in the Rental Car building. We took the shuttle over and there was only one other in line at the Hertz counter. Of course the guy at the counter tries to upsell us on insurance, or bigger car for more. They were going to charge us $11.87 plus tax to have my wife drive the car! lol Our total cost for the 6 days was $122.47 through Hotwire. It would cost close to that much just to add her. No thanks! He tried to get me to upgrade to a mid-size car but I said I am tall so at this point it simply won't matter. He gives us our parking spot for the car and it was a black Nissan Sentra-a mid-size car. Go figure. Ha! That has been my experience with car rentals. Go for the cheapest price and usually wind up with a mid or bigger sized car anyway. After all of the running around we did in the Sentra it still only took 8 gallons when we filled it back up before getting to the airport. It was scorching hot while we were out and Vegas and we sure appreciated them giving us a BLACK car! 3 stars out of 5.
Hotel: My wife wanted to stay at a place that had some sort of kitchen, with microwave, and fridge. And, if possible a washer/dryer. The Palms Place, at The Palms was the place she selected through Southwest Airlines package we opted for. I read hit and miss reviews for this place. But since it was close to The Rio I thought it would be fine. Overall I was somewhat disappointed with Palms Place. When checking in I asked the desk clerk for a room with a washer and dryer. She said that all suites had washers and dryers. I told her that I had read online that only some of them have them. "Nope, they all do", she insisted. Well, get to our room and of course there was no washer and dryer. I called down there and somebody else answered the phone and said that our room does not have a washer and dryer. Duh! But we can upgrade to a room with one for an extra $50 plus tax if we would like. My wife didn't want to upgrade to a bigger room just for that. Especially since they are charging us a very generous(cough, cough) resort fee of $25 plus tax every night! There are NO lamps near the bedsides. No overhead lighting above the bed or in the center of the room. So to read you needed to do it in the day or not at all if in the room. The hotel staff, we thought were very pleasant and cordial during our stay. They gave us free spa passes for a day during our stay. Very nice facilities in which they outfit you with a nice, comfortable robe, shower shows, bathroom amenities, etc... They also have a sitting room with fruit, and other light snacks and citrus drinks. Usually this perk costs $25 if you don't have passes. Much nicer than I was expecting. They have two flat screen TV's side-by-side? There is only one premium channel-HBO. For supposedly being such a premium place you would think there would be more TV channels, including premium. We personally liked: Rush Tower at Golden Nugget, MGM Signature, much more than Palms Place. Will not be back. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Entertainment: The only show we went to see was "Legends in Concert" at the Flamingo. It is located in the "Donny and Marie" showroom. We got a Groupon deal for the show. I first remember seeing this show at Imperial Palace about a quarter of a century ago. Yep, its been that long! My wife had never seen it. Acts on this evening were: Brittany Spears, Steven Tyler, Barry White, and Elvis. The show was better than I remembered. I thought the Barry White imitator sounded exactly like the late Barry White himself. Elvis came and sat with a few of his bandmates and did requests from members of the audience. Overall, I would give the show 4 stars out of 5.
Shopping: My wife wanted to go to the Outlet Mall in Primm, about 40 miles south of Vegas to do some shopping. It got to about 111 degrees that day! I heard about the rollercoaster rides they have in Primm, but why anybody would want to ride those in this heat? It has to be more daring than riding on the coasters themselves! We left the Primm Outlet Mall(they had to restock some purses after the damage my wife did) and go back to Palms Place to take a dip into their pool.
Food: After we picked up our car from Hertz we made our usual trek to Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd. Picked up an assortment of stuff, including a case of bottle water for a little over 5 bucks. Would last the whole trip and not have to pay gift shop prices for H2O.
We had seen a "Parts Unknown" Anthony Bourdain show about Vegas. I am sure some of you have seen this particular episode as well! We decided to visit two of the places he visited, "Lotus of Siam", and "Bootlegger Bistro". Lotus of Siam actually deserved the hype in our estimation so much that we paid them a second visit later on during the trip. They may have one of the finest German white wine collections in the country. I have not been to the thousands of Thai restaurants all over the world so I can't say its the best there is. But it was the best we had ever had. It is pricier than most Thai restaurants I think due to the quality that you get. Could be the hype machine for the prices as well, but the food and wine list was not exorbitant like steakhouses and the like. Our two favorite dishes were: Crispy Duck in Panang Curry, Garlic Shrimp. I asked for an extra bowl of Panang Curry so we could use it to cover our sticky rice. The menu is large. I think this sets it apart from most others. Its hard to get burned out on the same favs because they have so many other things to explore. Well run and managed. Will go back to Lotus again. My rating would be 4.5 stars out of 5
We were disappointed in "Bootlegger Bistro". I guess our hopes were high after our Lotus of Siam visit. It does not have the "old school Vegas feel" to me because its set in a shopping complex area. "Battista's Hole in the Wall" has the old Vegas feel. Bootlegger has better food, while Battista's has the better atmosphere in my opinion. Bootlegger's food was decent but too high for what you got. It too is a well run establishment. My wife's Veal Parmesan was overcooked. The server brought the manager to our table and agreed that it was overcooked and promptly tried to get the situation corrected. My wife never asks to take something back, so it must have been pretty bad! The next Veal dish was not overcooked but the Veal was dry, and she ate very little of it. I had the Osso Buco, which was 6 small pieces of veal in a brown sauce. I thought it was very good. The singer on the Bourdain show only performs on Sundays' from 5:30-9:30. We were there on a Thursday, and was crowded. Reservations here are a must, as others were being turned away and told the wait would be about an hour. There was a pianist performing and would go up to tables and ask for requests. While good, we couldn't hear his voice well. Don't know if it was because of the acoustics, sound system, etc.. But when I went to the bathroom I could hear his voice from that sound system perfectly! I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of Bootlegger even though I have been coming to Vegas for almost 30 years! It is opened 24/7. We came, we saw, we ate... But will probably not return, even though I really wanted to like this place. My rating would be 3.5 stars out of 5.
Mirage lunch buffet. We used our LVA coupon to go to this buffet. The total cost was a little over $25 total for both of us. I want to be impressed with place but just can't. Sorry about that readers. Smallish selection of food for such a big place, and the food just doesn't measure up to so many other similar places. Don't think we will be back, even though I have ate here a dozen times or so. 2 stars out of 5.
Wicked Spoon: this place has been on my hit list for a couple of years now, and finally tried it. We used the LVA extra for this place at the Cosmo. We went to the line and got to the Cashier after a few minutes waiting and she told us we had to go back downstairs to the promotions booth to get a voucher issued to us to take back to them. At least now some of you will know! And thanks for those who said that the expiration was extended to the end of the year! We thought the food was good, coming in small dishes. At $43ish total for the both of us we thought this represented good value. Wouldn't spend $40+ per but would with coupon a definite yes. They also give you %5 back when you use your Cosmo card. More food for thought for some of you! We still think Bellagio, Wynn, and Caesars are better quality overall. If you are not used to getting in and out of the Cosmo parking garage it can be similar to getting out of a hall of mirrors. But when you break it down in price that will have to be a decision one will have to make concerning some of these buffets. 4 stars out of 5.
Nove(at The Palms) We once again used our $50 LVA comp to dine at Nove. I hear this place can be hit or miss but our two times being here has been a hit. We wouldn't dine here without the comp as the bill can easily approach $100 per without trying too hard. We had the Calamari/with banana peppers as an appetizer. The calamari was perfectly tender, as one would hope. I ordered the Seafood Spaghetti. The seafood in this dish was flawlessly tender and just what one who enjoys seafood would desire. My wife had the Risotto w/Scallops. We both agreed that it was the best risotto based dish we had ever experienced. Perfecto! The price of this was Market Cost, which was $42. Expensive but worth it. I had our server give compliments to the Chef for a job well done.
BLT Steakhouse @ Ballys: We ordered a Groupon certificate online for a $100 voucher for the price of $69 for this new joint. We sure missed Bally's Steakhouse and wanted to see how this measured up to one of our favorites. I did hear that they have 241 deals at places like Tix4tonite or similar. Don't know how it would break down with the fees involved with those places but I would expect it not to be too dissimilar. Our secret play for this place is to go during Happy Hour(4-6 p.m.) We arrive at 5:30 and get half off drinks. ALL the drinks are half off, not just the stuff on their bar menu. My wife got a glass of wine and I got a Martini. You can use the Groupon for drinks as well as food, but you do have to order a food item of some sort involving the groupon. We got the Poppers(bread type thingies that come free with the meal), Spinach Salad to share, Wagyu Burger to share, potato skins. The total bill was only $85. We were stuffed to the gills so we declined dessert. We watched the Warriors/Cavaliers Game 6 on one of the many flat-screens the bar had. This place has a more contemporary feel over the old Bally's Steakhouse. I was told that about ten of the previous wait-staff from the old place still works at the new BLT place. The food was very good.With Groupon or similar, we would come back during Happy Hour only. 4.5 stars out of 5.
I wanted to mention that we went to the liquor shop inside the Orleans. After gambling there, I wanted to make some Gin & Tonics one night back in our room. I checked out the liquor shop just to see how much they would gouge me before deciding to go somewhere further off the Strip. I was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices they had for their products. And, if you use your players card you get a further discount on top of that. Somebody at Orleans has it figured out. Kudos to them!
This report had gotten longer than I intended. I will make a Part II and discuss the gambling adventures and any final observations we gleaned from this trip. Thanks to all of you again for sharing!
Fred
I found by reading these that there is a way I like how some others have broken down their reports into specific activities. Such as: food, entertainment, gambling, etc... I will attempt to do so as well.
My wife wanted me to play in the Seniors' World Series of Poker tournament being held on Friday, June, 19 at the Rio, as all WSOP tourneys are held of course. The entry fee for this particular event is $1000. Since I had made that much playing poker during the past year I thought I would go out to the desert and give it ago, having played in the WSOP Main Event in 2012. The Senior's event has a much smaller entry fee and a smaller field. The field this year was over 4100 players. Last year the field was a little larger.
As we are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area we decided to fly Southwest(always try to avoid American Airlines if possible, even though its sure fun to pay their $200 change fees and pay extra for luggage!) even though its about 20 minutes further from our house. The wife needed a break and its always fun to try something that makes you feel alive, at least for a few days! So here it goes!
Car Rental: We decided fairly last minute to get a car. The cheapest way we saw to go was to do the Hotwire thing again. Other similar priced sites had you going through rental agencies such as: Firefly, Payless, Fox, etc... I read pretty much saw nothing but bad reviews about these places. We had used Fox before and were not impressed. At Fox, its further out. The car we got through them had more than 15K mileage and had a sour milk-like smell in the car. The Hotwire selection had us going to Hertz in the Rental Car building. We took the shuttle over and there was only one other in line at the Hertz counter. Of course the guy at the counter tries to upsell us on insurance, or bigger car for more. They were going to charge us $11.87 plus tax to have my wife drive the car! lol Our total cost for the 6 days was $122.47 through Hotwire. It would cost close to that much just to add her. No thanks! He tried to get me to upgrade to a mid-size car but I said I am tall so at this point it simply won't matter. He gives us our parking spot for the car and it was a black Nissan Sentra-a mid-size car. Go figure. Ha! That has been my experience with car rentals. Go for the cheapest price and usually wind up with a mid or bigger sized car anyway. After all of the running around we did in the Sentra it still only took 8 gallons when we filled it back up before getting to the airport. It was scorching hot while we were out and Vegas and we sure appreciated them giving us a BLACK car! 3 stars out of 5.
Hotel: My wife wanted to stay at a place that had some sort of kitchen, with microwave, and fridge. And, if possible a washer/dryer. The Palms Place, at The Palms was the place she selected through Southwest Airlines package we opted for. I read hit and miss reviews for this place. But since it was close to The Rio I thought it would be fine. Overall I was somewhat disappointed with Palms Place. When checking in I asked the desk clerk for a room with a washer and dryer. She said that all suites had washers and dryers. I told her that I had read online that only some of them have them. "Nope, they all do", she insisted. Well, get to our room and of course there was no washer and dryer. I called down there and somebody else answered the phone and said that our room does not have a washer and dryer. Duh! But we can upgrade to a room with one for an extra $50 plus tax if we would like. My wife didn't want to upgrade to a bigger room just for that. Especially since they are charging us a very generous(cough, cough) resort fee of $25 plus tax every night! There are NO lamps near the bedsides. No overhead lighting above the bed or in the center of the room. So to read you needed to do it in the day or not at all if in the room. The hotel staff, we thought were very pleasant and cordial during our stay. They gave us free spa passes for a day during our stay. Very nice facilities in which they outfit you with a nice, comfortable robe, shower shows, bathroom amenities, etc... They also have a sitting room with fruit, and other light snacks and citrus drinks. Usually this perk costs $25 if you don't have passes. Much nicer than I was expecting. They have two flat screen TV's side-by-side? There is only one premium channel-HBO. For supposedly being such a premium place you would think there would be more TV channels, including premium. We personally liked: Rush Tower at Golden Nugget, MGM Signature, much more than Palms Place. Will not be back. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Entertainment: The only show we went to see was "Legends in Concert" at the Flamingo. It is located in the "Donny and Marie" showroom. We got a Groupon deal for the show. I first remember seeing this show at Imperial Palace about a quarter of a century ago. Yep, its been that long! My wife had never seen it. Acts on this evening were: Brittany Spears, Steven Tyler, Barry White, and Elvis. The show was better than I remembered. I thought the Barry White imitator sounded exactly like the late Barry White himself. Elvis came and sat with a few of his bandmates and did requests from members of the audience. Overall, I would give the show 4 stars out of 5.
Shopping: My wife wanted to go to the Outlet Mall in Primm, about 40 miles south of Vegas to do some shopping. It got to about 111 degrees that day! I heard about the rollercoaster rides they have in Primm, but why anybody would want to ride those in this heat? It has to be more daring than riding on the coasters themselves! We left the Primm Outlet Mall(they had to restock some purses after the damage my wife did) and go back to Palms Place to take a dip into their pool.
Food: After we picked up our car from Hertz we made our usual trek to Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd. Picked up an assortment of stuff, including a case of bottle water for a little over 5 bucks. Would last the whole trip and not have to pay gift shop prices for H2O.
We had seen a "Parts Unknown" Anthony Bourdain show about Vegas. I am sure some of you have seen this particular episode as well! We decided to visit two of the places he visited, "Lotus of Siam", and "Bootlegger Bistro". Lotus of Siam actually deserved the hype in our estimation so much that we paid them a second visit later on during the trip. They may have one of the finest German white wine collections in the country. I have not been to the thousands of Thai restaurants all over the world so I can't say its the best there is. But it was the best we had ever had. It is pricier than most Thai restaurants I think due to the quality that you get. Could be the hype machine for the prices as well, but the food and wine list was not exorbitant like steakhouses and the like. Our two favorite dishes were: Crispy Duck in Panang Curry, Garlic Shrimp. I asked for an extra bowl of Panang Curry so we could use it to cover our sticky rice. The menu is large. I think this sets it apart from most others. Its hard to get burned out on the same favs because they have so many other things to explore. Well run and managed. Will go back to Lotus again. My rating would be 4.5 stars out of 5
We were disappointed in "Bootlegger Bistro". I guess our hopes were high after our Lotus of Siam visit. It does not have the "old school Vegas feel" to me because its set in a shopping complex area. "Battista's Hole in the Wall" has the old Vegas feel. Bootlegger has better food, while Battista's has the better atmosphere in my opinion. Bootlegger's food was decent but too high for what you got. It too is a well run establishment. My wife's Veal Parmesan was overcooked. The server brought the manager to our table and agreed that it was overcooked and promptly tried to get the situation corrected. My wife never asks to take something back, so it must have been pretty bad! The next Veal dish was not overcooked but the Veal was dry, and she ate very little of it. I had the Osso Buco, which was 6 small pieces of veal in a brown sauce. I thought it was very good. The singer on the Bourdain show only performs on Sundays' from 5:30-9:30. We were there on a Thursday, and was crowded. Reservations here are a must, as others were being turned away and told the wait would be about an hour. There was a pianist performing and would go up to tables and ask for requests. While good, we couldn't hear his voice well. Don't know if it was because of the acoustics, sound system, etc.. But when I went to the bathroom I could hear his voice from that sound system perfectly! I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of Bootlegger even though I have been coming to Vegas for almost 30 years! It is opened 24/7. We came, we saw, we ate... But will probably not return, even though I really wanted to like this place. My rating would be 3.5 stars out of 5.
Mirage lunch buffet. We used our LVA coupon to go to this buffet. The total cost was a little over $25 total for both of us. I want to be impressed with place but just can't. Sorry about that readers. Smallish selection of food for such a big place, and the food just doesn't measure up to so many other similar places. Don't think we will be back, even though I have ate here a dozen times or so. 2 stars out of 5.
Wicked Spoon: this place has been on my hit list for a couple of years now, and finally tried it. We used the LVA extra for this place at the Cosmo. We went to the line and got to the Cashier after a few minutes waiting and she told us we had to go back downstairs to the promotions booth to get a voucher issued to us to take back to them. At least now some of you will know! And thanks for those who said that the expiration was extended to the end of the year! We thought the food was good, coming in small dishes. At $43ish total for the both of us we thought this represented good value. Wouldn't spend $40+ per but would with coupon a definite yes. They also give you %5 back when you use your Cosmo card. More food for thought for some of you! We still think Bellagio, Wynn, and Caesars are better quality overall. If you are not used to getting in and out of the Cosmo parking garage it can be similar to getting out of a hall of mirrors. But when you break it down in price that will have to be a decision one will have to make concerning some of these buffets. 4 stars out of 5.
Nove(at The Palms) We once again used our $50 LVA comp to dine at Nove. I hear this place can be hit or miss but our two times being here has been a hit. We wouldn't dine here without the comp as the bill can easily approach $100 per without trying too hard. We had the Calamari/with banana peppers as an appetizer. The calamari was perfectly tender, as one would hope. I ordered the Seafood Spaghetti. The seafood in this dish was flawlessly tender and just what one who enjoys seafood would desire. My wife had the Risotto w/Scallops. We both agreed that it was the best risotto based dish we had ever experienced. Perfecto! The price of this was Market Cost, which was $42. Expensive but worth it. I had our server give compliments to the Chef for a job well done.
BLT Steakhouse @ Ballys: We ordered a Groupon certificate online for a $100 voucher for the price of $69 for this new joint. We sure missed Bally's Steakhouse and wanted to see how this measured up to one of our favorites. I did hear that they have 241 deals at places like Tix4tonite or similar. Don't know how it would break down with the fees involved with those places but I would expect it not to be too dissimilar. Our secret play for this place is to go during Happy Hour(4-6 p.m.) We arrive at 5:30 and get half off drinks. ALL the drinks are half off, not just the stuff on their bar menu. My wife got a glass of wine and I got a Martini. You can use the Groupon for drinks as well as food, but you do have to order a food item of some sort involving the groupon. We got the Poppers(bread type thingies that come free with the meal), Spinach Salad to share, Wagyu Burger to share, potato skins. The total bill was only $85. We were stuffed to the gills so we declined dessert. We watched the Warriors/Cavaliers Game 6 on one of the many flat-screens the bar had. This place has a more contemporary feel over the old Bally's Steakhouse. I was told that about ten of the previous wait-staff from the old place still works at the new BLT place. The food was very good.With Groupon or similar, we would come back during Happy Hour only. 4.5 stars out of 5.
I wanted to mention that we went to the liquor shop inside the Orleans. After gambling there, I wanted to make some Gin & Tonics one night back in our room. I checked out the liquor shop just to see how much they would gouge me before deciding to go somewhere further off the Strip. I was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable prices they had for their products. And, if you use your players card you get a further discount on top of that. Somebody at Orleans has it figured out. Kudos to them!
This report had gotten longer than I intended. I will make a Part II and discuss the gambling adventures and any final observations we gleaned from this trip. Thanks to all of you again for sharing!
Fred
