Summer of Cal Nev – Day 39
The Main Street Station visit was only for the one night and that turned out to be a good thing. Though the room (they gave us a handicapped room, which was okay as the bathroom is much larger) was nice, the traffic from I-95 as well as the steady stream of trains going by (they seem to run mostly at night and the early morning) was just a little too much.
We packed up and headed for Starbucks to post the trip report and the “mystery” man was there once again. Some of you suggested that I should have snuck a picture of the couple as perhaps someone would know who he was; to be honest, I did and I have it, but I don’t feel right about posting someone’s pic without their consent, and if he is someone important in the community, than that could possibly result (admittedly far-fetched) in trouble. Today he was just alone and everyone seemed to leave him alone. It occurs to me right now that with a med school in the complex here (there are constantly students in their scrubs grabbing coffee and snacks) that he might very well be an administrator or something of that ilk, which would explain everything. Oh well, the mystery remains.
I finished the report and Cindy realized that she had left her phone charger plugged into the outlet back at our room at the Main Street Station. So, we quickly loaded the computer back into the car and headed back to the hotel. When we pulled into the parking lot,
I reached for my coffee…it wasn’t mine. Where was my coffee? Damn! I put it on the roof of my car when I put the computer in the back seat, I apparently forgot left it. I have no doubt people looking out the window from Starbucks had a good laugh as I pulled away and my coffee went spilling onto the ground somewhere.
The clerk at the registration made us a new key and thankfully the adapter was still there. Today was playing tourist day, so we drove to the Orleans to pick up Cindy’s daughter and her boyfriend as they wanted to visit the Palazzo and the Venation Hotels. Before that we made a stop at the famous Las Vegas Sign so they could have pictures there. Waiting for us was Big Bird and Elvis hoping to have pictures taken with them for the usual tips (these costumed beggars are everywhere!). We pulled into the underground parking lot at the Palazzo and made the long walk through both casinos. I didn’t take many pics here for you because I had made this trek just a few days ago and everything is pretty much the same. We did learn that the new pricing for a ride on the gondolas in the Venation is $18.95 per person or $75 for a couple who would like a private ride. We also stopped for a small bite to eat in the food court and I thought that the prices were fairly reasonable for the location.
Cindy and her daughter, Danielle at the Palazzo registration area.
We did play some games at the Palazzo, which was a mistake as we all left a little lighter in the wallet. We had been walking all day and the kids just wanted to go back to the Orleans, so we drove them back and then headed for Ballys as it was time to check in.
I pick Ballys over the other Caesar’s properties because I like the easy-in-easy-out of the valet and the rooms are always nice as there are floors dedicated to only Diamond players, which are large and comfy. After checking in at the Diamond registration and we were given our room, I talked with one of the hosts-of-the-day asking him about my tickets for the Donny and Marie show that I have reserved tomorrow. I asked him what I should need to play if I wanted that picked up when I checked out. He said they don’t do that anymore (another cut back—no doubt because I’m just a measly diamond card holder) and that I’d have to use my comps. Actually, this is okay as I have plenty of comps to cover it and now I don’t have to worry about playing enough. But it does just stick in my craw a little that Caesars continues to take away many of the perks we used to take for granted…but what is important, of course, is that the CEO continues to be the second highest paid casino CEO in the industry even though he continues to drive this corporation into deeper debt (the highest in the industry)—okay no more whining.
The room was excellent. It’s on the 20th floor and faces the Bellagio Fountains.
The room at Ballys
View from the room...they should remove that one tower as it obstructs my view
We had just finished unpacking and were looking forward to just hanging in the room for a while when my sister texted me and said they were all ready for dinner and could we come over. My mother and father are at the Orleans for a bowling tournament and my sister came along was well. My step-sister’s husband is celebrating his birthday and they are here as well, so we’re going to all meet up at TGIF at the Orleans for dinner.
We drove over there and the group was already seated. Most took advantage of the Early-Bird special Steak and Lobster ($13.95) and I had the Dragonfire Salmon (not sure why it’s called that—it wasn’t spicy at all). Thankfully, everyone’s steak was quite a bit larger than the one I had at Silver Sevens and all said they were very good.
Cindy, Pop, Mom, Everette (Pop's friend), Donna, Pam, and birthday-boy, Rick at TGIF
After dinner we said our goodbyes and Cindy and I headed back to Ballys and after checking the car into valet, walked directly across the bridge to Caesars to check out what’s new going on there. We did make a fast stop to check out the menu of Serendipity, which is in front of Caesars and Cindy’s daughter wants to eat here before they leave.
Menu for Serendipity...anyone up for a $10 hot dog?
This shrine sits in front of Caesars with four kneeling prayer areas around it
Caesars continues to be the big Casino for the company. It’s simply massive and they continue to add things. The big allure appears to be Gordon Ramsey’s new restaurant which took over the space that used to be Ogden’s and they completely remodeled it as an open-air restaurant and the place was jammed with people waiting (personally, I can’t stand the guy). The other big draw was the newly opened buffet which was also packed with people waiting to get in…the Diamond line had no one in it. I don’t believe there is any restaurant good enough that I’d be willing to wait and hour to get a table.
The dogs were barking and we needed to sit down for a bit, so we headed over to the Caesar’s Diamond lounge. A couple of changes along the way as well: a new bar has been put in along with the café at the registration area, and the Diamond Registration has been moved to where the 7 Stars registration is located. The Diamond lounge is the same as it was back when I first came here about four or five years ago. It wasn’t very busy (the stopped serving the hot food at 6 (hot food—chicken wings—only served from 4 to 6—save those pennies). There were some salad fixings, chips, and little desserts. We had a drink (Cindy’s lemon drop martini was yum-yum) and just hung out for a good long while. The service in this DL is excellent and if I were a drinker, I’d probably never leave.
We next walked across the bridge to the Bellagio to see the summer exhibit in the atrium. As usual, it was amazing with the theme apparently was Wonderland.
Bellagio's Atrium...a little blurry...but still purdy
I suspect a Wonderland theme, though it's not clear to me.
Not sure how this fits into the theme, but impressive and beautiful
We then walked around the corner to the chocolate store and the very cool chocolate fountains.
The chocolate fountains continue to draw crowds.
Beautiful all-chocolate model
Pic as you head across the pedestrian bridge between Bellagio and Ballys
Finally, after a long day of walking, walking, and more walking, it was time to go back to Ballys and call it a day.
More tomorrow.
The Main Street Station visit was only for the one night and that turned out to be a good thing. Though the room (they gave us a handicapped room, which was okay as the bathroom is much larger) was nice, the traffic from I-95 as well as the steady stream of trains going by (they seem to run mostly at night and the early morning) was just a little too much.
We packed up and headed for Starbucks to post the trip report and the “mystery” man was there once again. Some of you suggested that I should have snuck a picture of the couple as perhaps someone would know who he was; to be honest, I did and I have it, but I don’t feel right about posting someone’s pic without their consent, and if he is someone important in the community, than that could possibly result (admittedly far-fetched) in trouble. Today he was just alone and everyone seemed to leave him alone. It occurs to me right now that with a med school in the complex here (there are constantly students in their scrubs grabbing coffee and snacks) that he might very well be an administrator or something of that ilk, which would explain everything. Oh well, the mystery remains.
I finished the report and Cindy realized that she had left her phone charger plugged into the outlet back at our room at the Main Street Station. So, we quickly loaded the computer back into the car and headed back to the hotel. When we pulled into the parking lot,
I reached for my coffee…it wasn’t mine. Where was my coffee? Damn! I put it on the roof of my car when I put the computer in the back seat, I apparently forgot left it. I have no doubt people looking out the window from Starbucks had a good laugh as I pulled away and my coffee went spilling onto the ground somewhere.
The clerk at the registration made us a new key and thankfully the adapter was still there. Today was playing tourist day, so we drove to the Orleans to pick up Cindy’s daughter and her boyfriend as they wanted to visit the Palazzo and the Venation Hotels. Before that we made a stop at the famous Las Vegas Sign so they could have pictures there. Waiting for us was Big Bird and Elvis hoping to have pictures taken with them for the usual tips (these costumed beggars are everywhere!). We pulled into the underground parking lot at the Palazzo and made the long walk through both casinos. I didn’t take many pics here for you because I had made this trek just a few days ago and everything is pretty much the same. We did learn that the new pricing for a ride on the gondolas in the Venation is $18.95 per person or $75 for a couple who would like a private ride. We also stopped for a small bite to eat in the food court and I thought that the prices were fairly reasonable for the location.
Cindy and her daughter, Danielle at the Palazzo registration area.
We did play some games at the Palazzo, which was a mistake as we all left a little lighter in the wallet. We had been walking all day and the kids just wanted to go back to the Orleans, so we drove them back and then headed for Ballys as it was time to check in.
I pick Ballys over the other Caesar’s properties because I like the easy-in-easy-out of the valet and the rooms are always nice as there are floors dedicated to only Diamond players, which are large and comfy. After checking in at the Diamond registration and we were given our room, I talked with one of the hosts-of-the-day asking him about my tickets for the Donny and Marie show that I have reserved tomorrow. I asked him what I should need to play if I wanted that picked up when I checked out. He said they don’t do that anymore (another cut back—no doubt because I’m just a measly diamond card holder) and that I’d have to use my comps. Actually, this is okay as I have plenty of comps to cover it and now I don’t have to worry about playing enough. But it does just stick in my craw a little that Caesars continues to take away many of the perks we used to take for granted…but what is important, of course, is that the CEO continues to be the second highest paid casino CEO in the industry even though he continues to drive this corporation into deeper debt (the highest in the industry)—okay no more whining.
The room was excellent. It’s on the 20th floor and faces the Bellagio Fountains.
The room at Ballys
View from the room...they should remove that one tower as it obstructs my view
We had just finished unpacking and were looking forward to just hanging in the room for a while when my sister texted me and said they were all ready for dinner and could we come over. My mother and father are at the Orleans for a bowling tournament and my sister came along was well. My step-sister’s husband is celebrating his birthday and they are here as well, so we’re going to all meet up at TGIF at the Orleans for dinner.
We drove over there and the group was already seated. Most took advantage of the Early-Bird special Steak and Lobster ($13.95) and I had the Dragonfire Salmon (not sure why it’s called that—it wasn’t spicy at all). Thankfully, everyone’s steak was quite a bit larger than the one I had at Silver Sevens and all said they were very good.
Cindy, Pop, Mom, Everette (Pop's friend), Donna, Pam, and birthday-boy, Rick at TGIF
After dinner we said our goodbyes and Cindy and I headed back to Ballys and after checking the car into valet, walked directly across the bridge to Caesars to check out what’s new going on there. We did make a fast stop to check out the menu of Serendipity, which is in front of Caesars and Cindy’s daughter wants to eat here before they leave.
Menu for Serendipity...anyone up for a $10 hot dog?
This shrine sits in front of Caesars with four kneeling prayer areas around it
Caesars continues to be the big Casino for the company. It’s simply massive and they continue to add things. The big allure appears to be Gordon Ramsey’s new restaurant which took over the space that used to be Ogden’s and they completely remodeled it as an open-air restaurant and the place was jammed with people waiting (personally, I can’t stand the guy). The other big draw was the newly opened buffet which was also packed with people waiting to get in…the Diamond line had no one in it. I don’t believe there is any restaurant good enough that I’d be willing to wait and hour to get a table.
The dogs were barking and we needed to sit down for a bit, so we headed over to the Caesar’s Diamond lounge. A couple of changes along the way as well: a new bar has been put in along with the café at the registration area, and the Diamond Registration has been moved to where the 7 Stars registration is located. The Diamond lounge is the same as it was back when I first came here about four or five years ago. It wasn’t very busy (the stopped serving the hot food at 6 (hot food—chicken wings—only served from 4 to 6—save those pennies). There were some salad fixings, chips, and little desserts. We had a drink (Cindy’s lemon drop martini was yum-yum) and just hung out for a good long while. The service in this DL is excellent and if I were a drinker, I’d probably never leave.
We next walked across the bridge to the Bellagio to see the summer exhibit in the atrium. As usual, it was amazing with the theme apparently was Wonderland.
Bellagio's Atrium...a little blurry...but still purdy
I suspect a Wonderland theme, though it's not clear to me.
Not sure how this fits into the theme, but impressive and beautiful
We then walked around the corner to the chocolate store and the very cool chocolate fountains.
The chocolate fountains continue to draw crowds.
Beautiful all-chocolate model
Pic as you head across the pedestrian bridge between Bellagio and Ballys
Finally, after a long day of walking, walking, and more walking, it was time to go back to Ballys and call it a day.
More tomorrow.
