In all my previous trips to Las Vegas, I’ve always come in the “off” periods. I’ve never been here when the strip was packed with people. Coming for New Year’s eve seemed to be a good way to experience a “high” period. Especially since, if you believe the Mayans, we will not see a New Year for 2013.
Stayed at the Mirage again. Very good rooms. Very good people. Excellent location.
Moved in. Put my wallet and stuff in the wall safe, set the combination and closed the door. Tried to open it again. Oops! The door won’t open. A call to the front desk got a Security person in my room in 15 minutes who opened the safe and determined the battery was dead. They put in a call to Engineering to replace the battery. Engineering arrived an hour and a half later. As he replaced the battery he explained that they all were going nuts fixing shower faucets in the suites. Seems a lot of people new to suites were checking in and couldn’t figure out how to turn on the shower. The fancy handles in the suites require you to pull out the handle, then turn to get water. The newbies were just turning the handle. When they got no water, they tried to lever the handles up. Then they got water. Lots of water. Engineering had to replace the handles and train them how to turn on a shower.
Another maintenance note: The concierge directed me to Ben Bridge Jewelers in the Fashion Show Mall for repair on my broken watch. Their watch repairman replaced both spring pins for $15 and had me on my way in 20 minutes.
So far, everything I touched had broken. Time to break the bank.
Played some 8/5 JoB but couldn’t get anything started. Thinking to myself that I hadn’t had a Straight Flush in years, I hoped this trip would break my streak. Tried some $0.25 DW and got five Straight Flushes in 45 minutes. Of course, they don’t count for spit in DW. I was beginning to get an ominous feeling about this trip.
Tuesday night, I went to see Absinthe outside Ceasars. The women in the ticket booth warned me that they pick on audience members. Having flown for five hours, I really wasn’t in the mood for that, so I just hit the bar before the show. As the lights dimmed, an announcer’s voice said “If you can’t stand the words s**t and f**k, you’re in the wrong f**kin’ show.” Valid warning. I can’t remember ever having such a good time at a Las Vegas show. Sitting 20 or so feet from the stage gave a new power to the awesome balancing and gymnastics acts. The comedy sketches made me laugh until I cried. PC people should not go anywhere or see anything, especially this. For all the rest of us, this show is a must! (Oh, yeah. Only the people in the first row get picked on.)
Wednesday morning found me at Aria since the LVA QoD practically guaranteed me a Megabucks win there. Keyword: practically. I did get to play for about an hour on $40. Then, off to lunch at the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere. (The Double Duece buses were packed, as usual. However, the Gold Line drops off right across the street from the Stratosphere.)
Good thing Barbara had made reservations, because the place filled up fast. Seeing the 360 degree view, I could see why. Doubtless even more spectacular at night. I got the butternut squash soup (delicious) and the petite filet and lobster tail. The filet was very good and the lobster was, well, lobster. Altogether, a very nice lunch. We took the opportunity to go to the observation deck at no extra charge (with meal). Nothing we hadn’t seen while enjoying lunch.
I went back to the Mirage and went back to the $0.25 8/5 JoB progressive. $40 bought me two hours of play before I held the Q 10 J K and pressed Deal.
Took me another hour to play out my remaining $30. Suddenly, I had a whole new outlook on this trip.
Time to head over to China Poblano at the Cosmo. I was a little nervous since I had talked Barbara and Press into the place based on Eating Las Vegas (2012). Needn’t have worried. The clerk at the store next to China Poblano told us to get the guacamole. He was right. It’s made to order, chunky and served all three of us. Delicious. The spring rolls were also very good. I had a Singapore Sling, just like they make at the Raffles Hotel. (Like I would know.) It even went well with the food.
I tried the recommended Like Water for Chocolate (fried quail, dragon fruit, chestnut sauce). Absolutely fascinating combination of flavors. A dish you will have to try since I can’t describe it. The Ocean Nest (pan-fried noodles, scallops, shimp, king crab) was declared delicious. As was the Shrimp Mojo. (Shrimp Mojo hint: don’t eat the orange peppers. They are HOT!) The Coconut Tapioca Balls was the perfect desert, light and fascinating. (Passion Fruit sorbet, coconut foam, tapioca.) And, service was nothing short of excellent. The Manager even came around twice. We’ll definitely be back.
Thursday, Press and I decided to win some money at Blackjack. Our first stop at O’Sheas was a quick dose of reality. Even at a $5 table, we hit our loss limit in about 10 minutes and left. At Casino Royale I managed to leave with an extra $100 after four straight hours of play. Press had lost quick at BJ, but moved to Roulette and came away with extra $100 for the day. So far, we were both having a winning trip.
Dinner that night was at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. The view was still impressive and, despite the fact that there was not a cold seat in the room, service was excellent. Even Barbara’s request for a black napkin (to prevent white napkin lint on her black clothing) was fulfilled without pause. I started with the Caesar Salad with anchovies and caper sauce. Yes, I like anchovies. Light and very good. The Rib Eye steak with escargot was absolutely excellent. (It certainly beats the steaks over at the Range.) And, my Grand Marnier soufflé was a perfect end to the meal. Barbara and Press had the recommended Pistachio soufflé and declared it “excellent.” Unpaid plug: If you don’t already have a copy of the 2012 Eating Las Vegas, order it now.
Friday, Press joined me at the Cosmo, so I could get a chip. We walked by the two $10 crowded craps tables and played $10 BJ. After about half an hour they changed the plates to $15, but assured us we were “grandfathered” at $10. About an hour later, they changed the plates to $25. We continued playing at $15 since we were actually winning a little. After another hour, we took our winnings and prepared to move on. We walked by the craps tables which were still crowded. One had reset to $25 and the other was reset to $1,000 minimum bet. (That’s not a typo!) We both checked the chips thinking everyone was grandfathered at $10. Nope. They were playing with bananas and chocolates. Ah, just another weekend in Las Vegas. Certainly above my loss tolerance.
We headed over to Bill’s for a quick $100 loss at $5 craps. Then, over to the new Margaritaville casino in the Flamingo to pick up a chip. We played $10 BJ for about three hours. Should have walked after two hours when we were both slightly ahead. But, we were too busy chatting with the dealer. He admitted that, in seven years dealing, he had never before heard of a $1,000 min craps table in a public casino.
Since there was no wind, we sat outside, under the heat lamps, at Mon Ami Gabi for dinner. The food and service there have never let us down, even though the place was mobbed. My Dover Sole with Sancerre wine and Crème Brulee was very, very good. No complaints from the others as we people-watched an ever thickening river of people flowing by.
Saturday, the last day of year, Aria and Mirage let me know there was nothing more to give. They took every dollar I offered, with nothing in return. I vowed to quit gambling for the rest of the year.
We went to Spago, in the Forum Shops, for a 5:00 PM dinner so we could hit the strip for New Year’s fireworks. Sitting on the plaza, we enjoyed the people parading by. Barbara and Press were not impressed by the calamari. Much better calamari at Bonefish Grill. My Caesar salad was a few pieces of lettuce with a few sprinkles of blue cheese and an anchovy. No sauce. That anchovy was no happier with that “salad” than I was. Fun fact: calamari sauce makes a good lettuce dressing. Press was hooked with steak described as “well marbled, triple seared and grilled over mequite hardwood.” What arrived may have been that steak, sliced, lying on a “vegetable medley” and covered in brown gravy. Barbara declared it just expensive pot roast. And, not in a good way. My meatloaf was very good; but, was supposed to have gravy on it. Barbara’s wagu burger was good. Even allowing for New Year’s night, service was not good. After asking 3 times, Barbara’s request for a black napkin was filled with a brown napkin taken from a bread basket. And, coffee was delivered with a dirty coffee cup. After this second mediocre Wolfgang Puck experience in a row, we won’t be back.
We walked around trying to find a bar where we could drink and people-watch until time to hit the strip. In Caesars, we found them building fascinating ice bars to serve champagne. They told us they would last for 7-9 hours.
Every bar not charging a $75-150 cover was packed. We wound up in a surprisingly empty Caesars Sports Book sipping champagne brought from the ice bars. At eleven, we went out onto the strip and walked up to Planet Hollywood to watch. Foot traffic on the strip was not too bad, but was building by the minute. We couldn’t believe the number of so-called “parents” pushing strollers into this drunken mob.
The fireworks were great. Us Florida folks think even Disney would have been impressed by the show. Then, we realized our mistake.
We should have positioned ourselves in front of the Mirage instead of being way down the street. We managed to stay together for a little ways. In front of Paris we encountered the first choke-point. Even though we had come to a stop, the mob behind just kept pushing harder. One woman came at me with this look of abject terror on her face as her husband was pushing her to the center median to get clear of the crowd. I managed to clear a small space in front of me to clear a way for her. Just as we started moving, we stopped again as the so-called “parents” with strollers started screaming to give their babies room. The crowd push was causing people to topple over into the stroller spaces. I managed to squeeze to the left to get around. Barbara and Press were squeezed to the right, and I did not see them again.
Two drunks decided that a fist fight in the middle of the crowd would settle who was shoving who. The crowd fixed that problem by squeezing them apart. I had no sooner broken out of that pack than I was caught up again in front of Caesars in an even worse pack. This time we were completed stopped. A gang of thugs decided it would be fun to kick and punch their way through the crowd, against the flow. I managed to get hit in the hip and kicked in the calf, but worked my way away from the gang. Then the real pushing began and the feel of the crowd began to change. Just before complete crowd-panic set in, the log jam broke and I finally staggered up to the Mirage. Three hundred thousand drunks are not a mob. They are a force of nature.
At least I can say I’ve “been there, done that.” If I ever go back to the strip for New Year’s, I will definitely stay right in front of my hotel for the fireworks.
New Year’s Day found me standing in front of the Megabucks machine, ready for my life to change. An hour later, my life was pretty much as it was, except I had a couple hundred extra dollars to spend. Some video poker took care of my dollar surplus.
While waiting for Press to win enough to put them in one of Wynn’s Fairway Villas, they like to hang around the Encore and Wynn. So, we tried the Society Café at Encore for dinner. The blackberry margarita was very good. The bread was soft pretzels and a delicious mustard butter. My shrimp cocktail was four huge shrimp. (OK, they were $4 each, but, still hit the spot.) The 18oz Rib Eye steak rivaled that in the Eifel Tower and was almost twice as big as I could eat. The strange sounding mac-n-cheese bits were pronounced quite good. And the rest of the food was just as excellent as we had hoped. Service could not be faulted. We couldn’t decide if we really liked the combination of an elegant décor restaurant with screens all over the place showing the night’s college football game. But, it actually worked. We could eat very good food without any pressure to live up the décor. I thoroughly enjoyed dinner there.
A night revisiting Mystere at TI topped off the first day of 2012. I had seen it twice before and still enjoyed myself. After having seen all the others, Barbara and Press declared themselves delighted with the show.
My last day in Las Vegas I spent non-stop gambling. Fortunately, the games let me play. Unfortunately, the games didn’t let me win in the end.
Orson Welles noted that “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” All in all, my trip ended happily. I won some, and broke even at the end. I enjoyed many great meals. (Despite the derision, I still maintain that Panda Express has good food.) I enjoyed great company. I left ready to leave. And, still, ready to come back.
Stayed at the Mirage again. Very good rooms. Very good people. Excellent location.
Moved in. Put my wallet and stuff in the wall safe, set the combination and closed the door. Tried to open it again. Oops! The door won’t open. A call to the front desk got a Security person in my room in 15 minutes who opened the safe and determined the battery was dead. They put in a call to Engineering to replace the battery. Engineering arrived an hour and a half later. As he replaced the battery he explained that they all were going nuts fixing shower faucets in the suites. Seems a lot of people new to suites were checking in and couldn’t figure out how to turn on the shower. The fancy handles in the suites require you to pull out the handle, then turn to get water. The newbies were just turning the handle. When they got no water, they tried to lever the handles up. Then they got water. Lots of water. Engineering had to replace the handles and train them how to turn on a shower.
Another maintenance note: The concierge directed me to Ben Bridge Jewelers in the Fashion Show Mall for repair on my broken watch. Their watch repairman replaced both spring pins for $15 and had me on my way in 20 minutes.
So far, everything I touched had broken. Time to break the bank.
Played some 8/5 JoB but couldn’t get anything started. Thinking to myself that I hadn’t had a Straight Flush in years, I hoped this trip would break my streak. Tried some $0.25 DW and got five Straight Flushes in 45 minutes. Of course, they don’t count for spit in DW. I was beginning to get an ominous feeling about this trip.
Tuesday night, I went to see Absinthe outside Ceasars. The women in the ticket booth warned me that they pick on audience members. Having flown for five hours, I really wasn’t in the mood for that, so I just hit the bar before the show. As the lights dimmed, an announcer’s voice said “If you can’t stand the words s**t and f**k, you’re in the wrong f**kin’ show.” Valid warning. I can’t remember ever having such a good time at a Las Vegas show. Sitting 20 or so feet from the stage gave a new power to the awesome balancing and gymnastics acts. The comedy sketches made me laugh until I cried. PC people should not go anywhere or see anything, especially this. For all the rest of us, this show is a must! (Oh, yeah. Only the people in the first row get picked on.)
Wednesday morning found me at Aria since the LVA QoD practically guaranteed me a Megabucks win there. Keyword: practically. I did get to play for about an hour on $40. Then, off to lunch at the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere. (The Double Duece buses were packed, as usual. However, the Gold Line drops off right across the street from the Stratosphere.)
Good thing Barbara had made reservations, because the place filled up fast. Seeing the 360 degree view, I could see why. Doubtless even more spectacular at night. I got the butternut squash soup (delicious) and the petite filet and lobster tail. The filet was very good and the lobster was, well, lobster. Altogether, a very nice lunch. We took the opportunity to go to the observation deck at no extra charge (with meal). Nothing we hadn’t seen while enjoying lunch.
I went back to the Mirage and went back to the $0.25 8/5 JoB progressive. $40 bought me two hours of play before I held the Q 10 J K and pressed Deal.
Took me another hour to play out my remaining $30. Suddenly, I had a whole new outlook on this trip.
Time to head over to China Poblano at the Cosmo. I was a little nervous since I had talked Barbara and Press into the place based on Eating Las Vegas (2012). Needn’t have worried. The clerk at the store next to China Poblano told us to get the guacamole. He was right. It’s made to order, chunky and served all three of us. Delicious. The spring rolls were also very good. I had a Singapore Sling, just like they make at the Raffles Hotel. (Like I would know.) It even went well with the food.
I tried the recommended Like Water for Chocolate (fried quail, dragon fruit, chestnut sauce). Absolutely fascinating combination of flavors. A dish you will have to try since I can’t describe it. The Ocean Nest (pan-fried noodles, scallops, shimp, king crab) was declared delicious. As was the Shrimp Mojo. (Shrimp Mojo hint: don’t eat the orange peppers. They are HOT!) The Coconut Tapioca Balls was the perfect desert, light and fascinating. (Passion Fruit sorbet, coconut foam, tapioca.) And, service was nothing short of excellent. The Manager even came around twice. We’ll definitely be back.
Thursday, Press and I decided to win some money at Blackjack. Our first stop at O’Sheas was a quick dose of reality. Even at a $5 table, we hit our loss limit in about 10 minutes and left. At Casino Royale I managed to leave with an extra $100 after four straight hours of play. Press had lost quick at BJ, but moved to Roulette and came away with extra $100 for the day. So far, we were both having a winning trip.
Dinner that night was at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. The view was still impressive and, despite the fact that there was not a cold seat in the room, service was excellent. Even Barbara’s request for a black napkin (to prevent white napkin lint on her black clothing) was fulfilled without pause. I started with the Caesar Salad with anchovies and caper sauce. Yes, I like anchovies. Light and very good. The Rib Eye steak with escargot was absolutely excellent. (It certainly beats the steaks over at the Range.) And, my Grand Marnier soufflé was a perfect end to the meal. Barbara and Press had the recommended Pistachio soufflé and declared it “excellent.” Unpaid plug: If you don’t already have a copy of the 2012 Eating Las Vegas, order it now.
Friday, Press joined me at the Cosmo, so I could get a chip. We walked by the two $10 crowded craps tables and played $10 BJ. After about half an hour they changed the plates to $15, but assured us we were “grandfathered” at $10. About an hour later, they changed the plates to $25. We continued playing at $15 since we were actually winning a little. After another hour, we took our winnings and prepared to move on. We walked by the craps tables which were still crowded. One had reset to $25 and the other was reset to $1,000 minimum bet. (That’s not a typo!) We both checked the chips thinking everyone was grandfathered at $10. Nope. They were playing with bananas and chocolates. Ah, just another weekend in Las Vegas. Certainly above my loss tolerance.
We headed over to Bill’s for a quick $100 loss at $5 craps. Then, over to the new Margaritaville casino in the Flamingo to pick up a chip. We played $10 BJ for about three hours. Should have walked after two hours when we were both slightly ahead. But, we were too busy chatting with the dealer. He admitted that, in seven years dealing, he had never before heard of a $1,000 min craps table in a public casino.
Since there was no wind, we sat outside, under the heat lamps, at Mon Ami Gabi for dinner. The food and service there have never let us down, even though the place was mobbed. My Dover Sole with Sancerre wine and Crème Brulee was very, very good. No complaints from the others as we people-watched an ever thickening river of people flowing by.
Saturday, the last day of year, Aria and Mirage let me know there was nothing more to give. They took every dollar I offered, with nothing in return. I vowed to quit gambling for the rest of the year.
We went to Spago, in the Forum Shops, for a 5:00 PM dinner so we could hit the strip for New Year’s fireworks. Sitting on the plaza, we enjoyed the people parading by. Barbara and Press were not impressed by the calamari. Much better calamari at Bonefish Grill. My Caesar salad was a few pieces of lettuce with a few sprinkles of blue cheese and an anchovy. No sauce. That anchovy was no happier with that “salad” than I was. Fun fact: calamari sauce makes a good lettuce dressing. Press was hooked with steak described as “well marbled, triple seared and grilled over mequite hardwood.” What arrived may have been that steak, sliced, lying on a “vegetable medley” and covered in brown gravy. Barbara declared it just expensive pot roast. And, not in a good way. My meatloaf was very good; but, was supposed to have gravy on it. Barbara’s wagu burger was good. Even allowing for New Year’s night, service was not good. After asking 3 times, Barbara’s request for a black napkin was filled with a brown napkin taken from a bread basket. And, coffee was delivered with a dirty coffee cup. After this second mediocre Wolfgang Puck experience in a row, we won’t be back.
We walked around trying to find a bar where we could drink and people-watch until time to hit the strip. In Caesars, we found them building fascinating ice bars to serve champagne. They told us they would last for 7-9 hours.
Every bar not charging a $75-150 cover was packed. We wound up in a surprisingly empty Caesars Sports Book sipping champagne brought from the ice bars. At eleven, we went out onto the strip and walked up to Planet Hollywood to watch. Foot traffic on the strip was not too bad, but was building by the minute. We couldn’t believe the number of so-called “parents” pushing strollers into this drunken mob.
The fireworks were great. Us Florida folks think even Disney would have been impressed by the show. Then, we realized our mistake.
We should have positioned ourselves in front of the Mirage instead of being way down the street. We managed to stay together for a little ways. In front of Paris we encountered the first choke-point. Even though we had come to a stop, the mob behind just kept pushing harder. One woman came at me with this look of abject terror on her face as her husband was pushing her to the center median to get clear of the crowd. I managed to clear a small space in front of me to clear a way for her. Just as we started moving, we stopped again as the so-called “parents” with strollers started screaming to give their babies room. The crowd push was causing people to topple over into the stroller spaces. I managed to squeeze to the left to get around. Barbara and Press were squeezed to the right, and I did not see them again.
Two drunks decided that a fist fight in the middle of the crowd would settle who was shoving who. The crowd fixed that problem by squeezing them apart. I had no sooner broken out of that pack than I was caught up again in front of Caesars in an even worse pack. This time we were completed stopped. A gang of thugs decided it would be fun to kick and punch their way through the crowd, against the flow. I managed to get hit in the hip and kicked in the calf, but worked my way away from the gang. Then the real pushing began and the feel of the crowd began to change. Just before complete crowd-panic set in, the log jam broke and I finally staggered up to the Mirage. Three hundred thousand drunks are not a mob. They are a force of nature.
At least I can say I’ve “been there, done that.” If I ever go back to the strip for New Year’s, I will definitely stay right in front of my hotel for the fireworks.
New Year’s Day found me standing in front of the Megabucks machine, ready for my life to change. An hour later, my life was pretty much as it was, except I had a couple hundred extra dollars to spend. Some video poker took care of my dollar surplus.
While waiting for Press to win enough to put them in one of Wynn’s Fairway Villas, they like to hang around the Encore and Wynn. So, we tried the Society Café at Encore for dinner. The blackberry margarita was very good. The bread was soft pretzels and a delicious mustard butter. My shrimp cocktail was four huge shrimp. (OK, they were $4 each, but, still hit the spot.) The 18oz Rib Eye steak rivaled that in the Eifel Tower and was almost twice as big as I could eat. The strange sounding mac-n-cheese bits were pronounced quite good. And the rest of the food was just as excellent as we had hoped. Service could not be faulted. We couldn’t decide if we really liked the combination of an elegant décor restaurant with screens all over the place showing the night’s college football game. But, it actually worked. We could eat very good food without any pressure to live up the décor. I thoroughly enjoyed dinner there.
A night revisiting Mystere at TI topped off the first day of 2012. I had seen it twice before and still enjoyed myself. After having seen all the others, Barbara and Press declared themselves delighted with the show.
My last day in Las Vegas I spent non-stop gambling. Fortunately, the games let me play. Unfortunately, the games didn’t let me win in the end.
Orson Welles noted that “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” All in all, my trip ended happily. I won some, and broke even at the end. I enjoyed many great meals. (Despite the derision, I still maintain that Panda Express has good food.) I enjoyed great company. I left ready to leave. And, still, ready to come back.
