The Vegas Skinny...
I've put this off long enough, and in a couple more days I'll forget to do it completely, so here goes. This will be mercifully short since the notes I took while I was out there are stuffed in the front of the Ty Cobb biography I'm reading.
My original intent was to go with a blow-by-blow recap of the trip (whether I had the notes in front of me or not), but I think I'm going to go with the bullet points version instead...
Friday night:
-bumpy flight, landed about 11:20, took 35 minutes to get luggage. Got stuck behind the drink cart on the plane and ended up talking to some crusty older woman about poker in the galley while we waited to get back to our seats.
-Cabbie on the ride to the Luxor was a Mets fan. I feel a special kinship with them. Talked a little about NASCAR too...I guess they have a couple races in Vegas every year. Boogity boogity.
-Checkin line wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (especially after reading tons of reviews saying it would be dreadful), got nice room in West Tower. Called Rob, he popped in to say hello, but he and Renee had been sleeping and he didn't stay long.
-Went down to casino, lost a little at craps and a lot at blackjack. The only reason I play blackjack is to recoup craps losses...I hate the game. Grabbed drink in lounge and then headed back upstairs...sacked out at about 3 am.
Saturday:
-up by 9 (late late, tsk tsk) and grabbed some decent Eggs Benedict in the Luxor Cafe. Renee's a big eggs benedict fan too as it turns out. Hit craps tables, started out up but finished down. Scoped out Excalibur (really cheesy and tacky, way too many damned kids running around) and grabbed a bite at a burger place in Mandalay Bay, then walked over to Bellagio. Found a really nice tie in Hermes that K wanted to buy for me...but there's no sense in buying a $135 tie for a guy who wears one maybe 4 times a year though. Sometimes I wish I was an investment banker so I could play dressup.
-Dinner at Emeril's Delmonico in my favorite place on the Strip--The Venetian. Simply amazing. I was picturing a clubby old-school steak joint like Gene and Georgetti's, but it's not like that at all...very modern and sleek, plenty of talent working there. My NY Strip was outstanding, paired good with a couple bottles of Kenwood Cab. They also have creamed spinach to die for...which was so creamed that Rob joked it should be considered a dairy product instead of a vegetable. Might be the best meal I ever had.
-Saturday sportsbook action: took the under in the Cubs-Sox game. Lost.
-After dinner, more craps. More losses. Too giddy on wine to care. Went up to Rob and Renee's room for traditional 4 person poker game. Won.
Sunday
-Smarting from gambling losses, spent most of the day wandering, giving K and Renee the chance to see some of the other places on the Strip...went to Mirage, Caesar's (which has great froo froo drinks on the patio but no exit on the north end much to our chagrin), MGM Grand, New York New York, Treasure Island. Caught the famous bellagio water show, which I had managed to ignore in all my previous trips out...it was cool, but not THAT exciting.
-Gambled a little at Paris. Lost. Detecting trend yet? Paris has the best table staff on the Strip though.
-Dinner and fireworks at top of Stratosphere...cool revolving restaraunt and good sea bass. K paid way too much money for pictures of us at the table. Fireworks were amazing..only the 2nd time in my life that I have looked down on them instead of up at them. Pictures to follow. Stratosphere itself is kind of a hole--no good shops, and seedy clientele like you'd see downtown. Caught end of Sox colossal choke job before leaving for dinner.
Monday
-Craps and breakfast at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. More losses. Wandered back to Luxor and decided to try baccarat just for shits and grins...I think I've found my new game of choice. Won back 65% of what I'd lost the past 3 days. Still don;t understand the game entirely (time to do some reading), but any game where you get a scorecard is alright in my book.
-Rob and Renee bolted at 1 to catch their flight. K and I walked up the Strip for a while just to people watch, gambled a bit at Bally's and then took a cab downtown. I stayed in downtown Vegas at Fitzgerald;s once, and that was all I needed to see, but K wanted to see the light show, which has gotten cooler but way more commercialized since my last time down there 5 years ago.
-Drank a bunch of beers at Fitzgerald's and watched Eric Gagne blow his first save in 2 years, grabbed a couple drunken cheeseburgers at McD's (first time I'd eaten a burger there in a couple years) and then headed back to the Luxor, grabbed our bags and shipped off to the airport.
Quote of the weekend, from Rob: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas--except for marriage and STDs."
I've put this off long enough, and in a couple more days I'll forget to do it completely, so here goes. This will be mercifully short since the notes I took while I was out there are stuffed in the front of the Ty Cobb biography I'm reading.
My original intent was to go with a blow-by-blow recap of the trip (whether I had the notes in front of me or not), but I think I'm going to go with the bullet points version instead...
Friday night:
-bumpy flight, landed about 11:20, took 35 minutes to get luggage. Got stuck behind the drink cart on the plane and ended up talking to some crusty older woman about poker in the galley while we waited to get back to our seats.
-Cabbie on the ride to the Luxor was a Mets fan. I feel a special kinship with them. Talked a little about NASCAR too...I guess they have a couple races in Vegas every year. Boogity boogity.
-Checkin line wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (especially after reading tons of reviews saying it would be dreadful), got nice room in West Tower. Called Rob, he popped in to say hello, but he and Renee had been sleeping and he didn't stay long.
-Went down to casino, lost a little at craps and a lot at blackjack. The only reason I play blackjack is to recoup craps losses...I hate the game. Grabbed drink in lounge and then headed back upstairs...sacked out at about 3 am.
Saturday:
-up by 9 (late late, tsk tsk) and grabbed some decent Eggs Benedict in the Luxor Cafe. Renee's a big eggs benedict fan too as it turns out. Hit craps tables, started out up but finished down. Scoped out Excalibur (really cheesy and tacky, way too many damned kids running around) and grabbed a bite at a burger place in Mandalay Bay, then walked over to Bellagio. Found a really nice tie in Hermes that K wanted to buy for me...but there's no sense in buying a $135 tie for a guy who wears one maybe 4 times a year though. Sometimes I wish I was an investment banker so I could play dressup.
-Dinner at Emeril's Delmonico in my favorite place on the Strip--The Venetian. Simply amazing. I was picturing a clubby old-school steak joint like Gene and Georgetti's, but it's not like that at all...very modern and sleek, plenty of talent working there. My NY Strip was outstanding, paired good with a couple bottles of Kenwood Cab. They also have creamed spinach to die for...which was so creamed that Rob joked it should be considered a dairy product instead of a vegetable. Might be the best meal I ever had.
-Saturday sportsbook action: took the under in the Cubs-Sox game. Lost.
-After dinner, more craps. More losses. Too giddy on wine to care. Went up to Rob and Renee's room for traditional 4 person poker game. Won.
Sunday
-Smarting from gambling losses, spent most of the day wandering, giving K and Renee the chance to see some of the other places on the Strip...went to Mirage, Caesar's (which has great froo froo drinks on the patio but no exit on the north end much to our chagrin), MGM Grand, New York New York, Treasure Island. Caught the famous bellagio water show, which I had managed to ignore in all my previous trips out...it was cool, but not THAT exciting.
-Gambled a little at Paris. Lost. Detecting trend yet? Paris has the best table staff on the Strip though.
-Dinner and fireworks at top of Stratosphere...cool revolving restaraunt and good sea bass. K paid way too much money for pictures of us at the table. Fireworks were amazing..only the 2nd time in my life that I have looked down on them instead of up at them. Pictures to follow. Stratosphere itself is kind of a hole--no good shops, and seedy clientele like you'd see downtown. Caught end of Sox colossal choke job before leaving for dinner.
Monday
-Craps and breakfast at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. More losses. Wandered back to Luxor and decided to try baccarat just for shits and grins...I think I've found my new game of choice. Won back 65% of what I'd lost the past 3 days. Still don;t understand the game entirely (time to do some reading), but any game where you get a scorecard is alright in my book.
-Rob and Renee bolted at 1 to catch their flight. K and I walked up the Strip for a while just to people watch, gambled a bit at Bally's and then took a cab downtown. I stayed in downtown Vegas at Fitzgerald;s once, and that was all I needed to see, but K wanted to see the light show, which has gotten cooler but way more commercialized since my last time down there 5 years ago.
-Drank a bunch of beers at Fitzgerald's and watched Eric Gagne blow his first save in 2 years, grabbed a couple drunken cheeseburgers at McD's (first time I'd eaten a burger there in a couple years) and then headed back to the Luxor, grabbed our bags and shipped off to the airport.
Quote of the weekend, from Rob: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas--except for marriage and STDs."
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