Trip Report Part 3
29th December – Took a walk around the downtown – checked out the loud bar at The D – wasn’t as loud as I had read – maybe they crank it up at night. They were still renovating and some of the upstairs - VP was under plastic while a crew painted the ceilings. Had a coffee at Binions and then back to our room to await a phone call. Our friend John Curry had sold his construction company in New York and moved to Vegas with his family. John has been doing well playing poker and decided to make the move to Vegas where he has a better chance of turning pro. He invited us to his new house for lunch and he called to let us know he was at the hotel. He drove us out to Summerlin to his home – very nice in a gated community with communal pool, gym, sauna, media room etc. We met his wife and son – both super people, and the boss of the house was Jacko the dog – a huge Bull Masiff. We had an enjoyable lunch. John told us that he was playing poker a few times a week but until the house in NY sold he was limiting his time and had been very lucky to land a part-time job doing VIP security – he is ex-US Military which is exactly what they wanted. 3 weeks ago he was security for Paul McCartney at a private concert, and New Year we was security for Beyonce – it’s a tough life ? I always play poker when I go to Vegas but I had a really lousy cold this trip and didn’t want to inflict it on a poker table. (Still have the cold – home sick right now). After we got back to the hotel we played some VP and then went to check out the bands on Fremont Street. The Stones tribute band and the Queen tribute bands were both far better than I expected – they had the sound pretty much nailed, and the look was also good. Stayed about 90 minutes, quick VP and couple of drinks in 4Queens and back to MSS for the night.
1. 30th December - tried Golden Gate again for breakfast and it was back to their usual standard – must have caught them on an off-day last time. Checked out the Plaza, looks quite good but couldn’t find any decent JoB Poker. Back to MSS, get the Eagles tickets out of the safe and catch free shuttle to Sams Town. I have heard good reports about that place but the waterfall in the indoor garden must be heavily chlorinated as the smell hit us as we entered. I’m glad we checked it out because I know I couldn’t spend much time there. Got the shuttle to Harrahs then went and did the Strip tourist thing. Gave a few casinos some play to keep the cards active, toured the Christmas displays at Wynn, Encore, Palazzo, Venetian, Bellagio. Bellagio Atrium was impressive but not as much as the last couple of years. Took the free tram from Bellagio to Monte Carlo then through NYNY to MGM Grand. They are renovating MGM Grand – don’t know if that is why the place was so thick with smoke – I used to stay there before the resort fees kicked in and was never bothered by the air quality before. Huge line for the buffet so had a salad in theGrand Cafe then headed to Garden Arena. When the concert started at 8:15 the arena was just over half full – I never understand this about Vegas – people pay hundreds of dollars for tickets then stay in the bar until the concert is halfway through. By 9:00 the arena was full. The Eagles put on an amazing concert – the ultimate pros. Here is the setlist
Seven Bridges Road (Steve Young cover)
How Long
Take It to the Limit
Peaceful Easy Feeling
I Can't Tell You Why
Lyin' Eyes
Walk Away (James Gang cover)
Witchy Woman
The Boys of Summer (Don Henley song)
In the City (Joe Walsh song)
The Long Run
Life's Been Good (Joe Walsh song)
Dirty Laundry (Don Henley song)
Funk #49 (James Gang cover)
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Encore:
Hotel California
Encore 2:
Take It Easy
Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song)
Desperado
Joe Walsh is my favourite Eagle – I saw him in concert in July at an 1100 seat ampitheatre at Mill Bay Casino Wa. And he was excellent. Really good to see him back with the Eagles though. I have noticed that the older the bands get, the more people they need on stage to nail the sound. The Eagles had 9 people – Last time I saw the Beach Boys they had 14. But it’s OK as long as they nail the sound – and they did. I definitely rate it 5 stars. Back to MSS for some VP – had only been playing 10 minutes when I hit a Royal. I know the odds are about 1 in 44,000 hands and I don’t play that many hands but have been very lucky to hit Royals 3 years in a row.
31st December – cold was much worse so stayed in bed until mid-afternoon – then ate at MSS and played VP. One big surprise at Main Street Station – they closed the buffet for a private party on New Years Eve – I thought that was pretty bad. Being one block of Fremont it is as though they don’t try to compete – I see a big opportunity there to host the “Other” downtown party – Jazz Quartet, easy listening, appetizers served in the casino, dancing in the buffet area after the buffet closes - but they did nothing. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening alternately watching TV or playing VP. 10:30 we went to the Fremont party. It was pretty cold and they didn’t even give propane heaters for the bands. Some of them were in overcoats with woolen hats and gloves with the ends of the fingers cut off. I saw a security guy pass a handwarmer to a guitarist his fingers were so cold. The bands were all good – very impressive. The Mayor and Oscar did the NYE countdown. There was a great presentation of the year in review on the canopy and there was a live firework show inside the canopy – I really didn’t expect that – it was very well done and combined with a canopy show at the same time it was vintage “over the top” Vegas. We listened to the bands for another hour or so then headed back to MSS to pack for the airport next morning. We counted up how we had done – I was the one well ahead this trip and had won enough to cover the car, meals, show tickets and some left over. My wife lost about as much as I won so we did OK – MSS was comped as were some of the meals, Aquarius is a bargain anytime, car was just over $300.00 all in for 12 days. One air ticket was a $100.00 companion fare – so it was a bargain 12 days. Flight home was miserable – flying with blocked sinuses is never fun. Deplaned in Kelowna to find 2 inches of snow on my Jeep! Several years ago we used to really enjoy The Las Vegas Hilton but haven’t stayed there for a while and the offers dried up. Just before Christmas the LVH sent us comped room and free/discount meals – so we are already booked to return – Easter 2013! That is about it – thanks for reading.
29th December – Took a walk around the downtown – checked out the loud bar at The D – wasn’t as loud as I had read – maybe they crank it up at night. They were still renovating and some of the upstairs - VP was under plastic while a crew painted the ceilings. Had a coffee at Binions and then back to our room to await a phone call. Our friend John Curry had sold his construction company in New York and moved to Vegas with his family. John has been doing well playing poker and decided to make the move to Vegas where he has a better chance of turning pro. He invited us to his new house for lunch and he called to let us know he was at the hotel. He drove us out to Summerlin to his home – very nice in a gated community with communal pool, gym, sauna, media room etc. We met his wife and son – both super people, and the boss of the house was Jacko the dog – a huge Bull Masiff. We had an enjoyable lunch. John told us that he was playing poker a few times a week but until the house in NY sold he was limiting his time and had been very lucky to land a part-time job doing VIP security – he is ex-US Military which is exactly what they wanted. 3 weeks ago he was security for Paul McCartney at a private concert, and New Year we was security for Beyonce – it’s a tough life ? I always play poker when I go to Vegas but I had a really lousy cold this trip and didn’t want to inflict it on a poker table. (Still have the cold – home sick right now). After we got back to the hotel we played some VP and then went to check out the bands on Fremont Street. The Stones tribute band and the Queen tribute bands were both far better than I expected – they had the sound pretty much nailed, and the look was also good. Stayed about 90 minutes, quick VP and couple of drinks in 4Queens and back to MSS for the night.
1. 30th December - tried Golden Gate again for breakfast and it was back to their usual standard – must have caught them on an off-day last time. Checked out the Plaza, looks quite good but couldn’t find any decent JoB Poker. Back to MSS, get the Eagles tickets out of the safe and catch free shuttle to Sams Town. I have heard good reports about that place but the waterfall in the indoor garden must be heavily chlorinated as the smell hit us as we entered. I’m glad we checked it out because I know I couldn’t spend much time there. Got the shuttle to Harrahs then went and did the Strip tourist thing. Gave a few casinos some play to keep the cards active, toured the Christmas displays at Wynn, Encore, Palazzo, Venetian, Bellagio. Bellagio Atrium was impressive but not as much as the last couple of years. Took the free tram from Bellagio to Monte Carlo then through NYNY to MGM Grand. They are renovating MGM Grand – don’t know if that is why the place was so thick with smoke – I used to stay there before the resort fees kicked in and was never bothered by the air quality before. Huge line for the buffet so had a salad in theGrand Cafe then headed to Garden Arena. When the concert started at 8:15 the arena was just over half full – I never understand this about Vegas – people pay hundreds of dollars for tickets then stay in the bar until the concert is halfway through. By 9:00 the arena was full. The Eagles put on an amazing concert – the ultimate pros. Here is the setlist
Seven Bridges Road (Steve Young cover)
How Long
Take It to the Limit
Peaceful Easy Feeling
I Can't Tell You Why
Lyin' Eyes
Walk Away (James Gang cover)
Witchy Woman
The Boys of Summer (Don Henley song)
In the City (Joe Walsh song)
The Long Run
Life's Been Good (Joe Walsh song)
Dirty Laundry (Don Henley song)
Funk #49 (James Gang cover)
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Encore:
Hotel California
Encore 2:
Take It Easy
Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh song)
Desperado
Joe Walsh is my favourite Eagle – I saw him in concert in July at an 1100 seat ampitheatre at Mill Bay Casino Wa. And he was excellent. Really good to see him back with the Eagles though. I have noticed that the older the bands get, the more people they need on stage to nail the sound. The Eagles had 9 people – Last time I saw the Beach Boys they had 14. But it’s OK as long as they nail the sound – and they did. I definitely rate it 5 stars. Back to MSS for some VP – had only been playing 10 minutes when I hit a Royal. I know the odds are about 1 in 44,000 hands and I don’t play that many hands but have been very lucky to hit Royals 3 years in a row.
31st December – cold was much worse so stayed in bed until mid-afternoon – then ate at MSS and played VP. One big surprise at Main Street Station – they closed the buffet for a private party on New Years Eve – I thought that was pretty bad. Being one block of Fremont it is as though they don’t try to compete – I see a big opportunity there to host the “Other” downtown party – Jazz Quartet, easy listening, appetizers served in the casino, dancing in the buffet area after the buffet closes - but they did nothing. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening alternately watching TV or playing VP. 10:30 we went to the Fremont party. It was pretty cold and they didn’t even give propane heaters for the bands. Some of them were in overcoats with woolen hats and gloves with the ends of the fingers cut off. I saw a security guy pass a handwarmer to a guitarist his fingers were so cold. The bands were all good – very impressive. The Mayor and Oscar did the NYE countdown. There was a great presentation of the year in review on the canopy and there was a live firework show inside the canopy – I really didn’t expect that – it was very well done and combined with a canopy show at the same time it was vintage “over the top” Vegas. We listened to the bands for another hour or so then headed back to MSS to pack for the airport next morning. We counted up how we had done – I was the one well ahead this trip and had won enough to cover the car, meals, show tickets and some left over. My wife lost about as much as I won so we did OK – MSS was comped as were some of the meals, Aquarius is a bargain anytime, car was just over $300.00 all in for 12 days. One air ticket was a $100.00 companion fare – so it was a bargain 12 days. Flight home was miserable – flying with blocked sinuses is never fun. Deplaned in Kelowna to find 2 inches of snow on my Jeep! Several years ago we used to really enjoy The Las Vegas Hilton but haven’t stayed there for a while and the offers dried up. Just before Christmas the LVH sent us comped room and free/discount meals – so we are already booked to return – Easter 2013! That is about it – thanks for reading.
