Diva21's Trip Report - VERY long and detailed

This was a ';girls getaway'; trip. My 14th trip and my friend Paula%26#39;s 2nd. She was in Las Vegas last November, but didn%26#39;t see much due to the weather, so it was almost like taking a newbie with me.

Day 0.5

Our USAir flight left Boston at 5:45pm on Saturday, March 21st. We had exit row seats, which except for the fact that they don%26#39;t recline, were wonderful. Plenty of room. Flight was uneventful, with some mild turbulence over the Midwest. We arrived about 20 minutes late in Las Vegas, roughly 9:05pm LV time (just after midnight East Coast time).

Luggage came relatively quickly (under 15 minutes) and we were promptly on the Rental Car Shuttle. This was my first time renting with Avis, so I had to wait in line like everyone else. 3 clerks on, but they kept taking breaks so there were really only 2. After a long wait, I got the clerk who spoke very little English who couldn%26#39;t quite comprehend that (a) I didn%26#39;t need any insurance, thanks to American Express and (b) I had no use for a convertible, since my hair would be a rat%26#39;s nest with a convertible. A few minutes later we were in our red Pontiac V6 G6 with 21,000+ miles on it. It was a nice enough car, roomy trunk, great stereo, etc. My only complaint was that the electronic sideview mirrors didn%26#39;t work, so we had to manually adjust them. Not a big deal. Hopped on the road and were at the Rio in less than 15 minutes.

Rio was very loud and crazy crowded when we arrived. I%26#39;ve been at the Rio during the opening days of the WSOP and I%26#39;ve never seen it as crowded as it was when we arrived. The late games of the NCAA tourney were finishing up and the nightclubs were in full swing. You couldn%26#39;t get near a table and conversation was out of the question over the noise and the music on the casino floor.

That said, check in was very quick. Only 2 people in front of us - but they had no more rooms with 2 queen beds. The clerk was nice, but she didn%26#39;t seem to get the fact that Paula and I each wanted our own bed! Paula volunteered to sleep on the couch, so we were off to our king room in the Masquerade Tower, room 31010 on the 31st floor.

Room was nice, but considerably smaller than the rooms in the Ipanema Tower that I normally stay in. Had a nice view of the Strip from Bellagio south, great view of City Center, the Palms and the foothills in the distance. The room also has the window in the shower that allows you to watch TV or look out the window at the view. I am 5 foot nothing, so I couldn%26#39;t even see out the window at all! We threw down our bags and were off in search of food.

By this time, the only thing open was the All-American Bar %26amp; Grill on the casino floor. A very long wait, even though there were plenty of empty tables. We got pushed back once by a Diamond level player and I had to explain to Paula how the Harrah%26#39;s hierarchy works. Her response was ';well, why aren%26#39;t YOU Diamond?'; I had no answer for that one! Food was average, but fine that late at night. We were close to 3am East Coast time by that point. Potato skins, chicken quesadilla and french toast ran us $31.

I lost $40 playing some 8/5 DDBP in the Masquerade casino and then it was off to bed. 1am in Vegas, but 4am to our tired little bodies.

Diva21's Trip Report - VERY long and detailed

Day One

We were up at 6:30am, and out the door by 7:30. Collect the car from the valet (very quick, as always) and we are off to Green Valley Ranch, one of my absolute favorite places. I show Paula around GVR, sign her up for the Boarding Pass there (she got a whopping $3 in free play!) and then it is time for breakfast at the Original Pancake House. GVR has done away with their Grand Cafe and the Pancake House is now in the spot where the Grand Cafe was. We walked right in and were seated immediately. 2 delicious Dutch Babies, 2 orders of bacon and a soda were $30. Service was very good. When we walked out around 9am, there had to be 20+ people in line waiting for a table. We%26#39;d gotten there at just the right time.

We wandered around GVR for a while, playing Happy Days, the Glinda the Good Witch version of Wizard of Oz, Survivor, Blazing 7s, etc. Put a ton of points on my Boarding Pass and ended up down $30. We took a walk out the pool area and the wind was really howling. 50-60mph, according to the weatherman. It was quite overcast and we had planned on going to Hoover Dam that day. We grabbed an iced coffee ($4) at Coffee Bean %26amp; Tea Leaf and decided to tempt fate and drive out to the Dam anyway. As we got to the car it started sprinkling rain, but when we got near Lake Mead there was nothing but clear blue skies (and the 60mph wind!). They%26#39;re doing a lot of road construction near the Dam, so the last few miles were slow going, but it is very scenic, so you hardly notice it.

$7 to park at the Dam and it was very crowded with families. We walked from Nevada to Arizona and back again, took a bunch of pictures of the new Dam bypass bridge that they are building, hit the gift shop and that was that. We hit the A%26amp;W drive in in Boulder City on the way back for root beer floats. Yum!

We took Boulder Highway back and I pointed out Sam%26#39;s Town, Eastside Cannery, Arizona Charlie%26#39;s and Boulder Station to Paula, who couldn%26#39;t believe that we were still in Las Vegas. We made our way back to the Rio and played away the afternoon. Took a walk out to the pool, which was closed, not even any water in it. Played some VP, Monopoly, Hexbreaker, Tabasco and Goldfish. We made reservations for an early dinner at Matarauno%26#39;s and they have a $50 per person cancellation fee! If you cancel your reservation within 3 hours of your reservation (after 3pm for a 6pm ressie, for example) they charge your credit card $50 per person in your party! Yowza!

Anywho, we arrived promptly at 6:30 and were seated at a nice table in the middle of the dining room. I was surprised to see several other tables full at such an early hour. The restaurant is in a lovely space. Round, with a nice skylight and a view of the pool area at Rio. Sinatra playing in the background. I had a beer (some strange wheat beer from Wisconsin as they didn%26#39;t have a true hefeweizen), Paula had a glass of Chianti. We split the South Philly Cheesesteak appetizer. DELICIOUS! Super lean, incredibly tender rib eye in a creamy provolone sauce on a crusty baguette. Having been to Pat%26#39;s and Geno%26#39;s in South Philly, I can honestly say this was the best cheesesteak I%26#39;ve ever eaten. I had the bucatini cabonara and Paula had the chicken parmagiana. Both were very, very good, though my pasta was a bit too al dente for me. We shared some canollis for dessert. Service was excellent; friendly and efficient. Including tip the meal came to $140.

After dinner we went back to our room to watch The Amazing Race. We were overstuffed from dinner and couldn%26#39;t fathom going back to the casino, so we called it a night and watched TV in our room for a bit before going to sleep.

Diva21's Trip Report - VERY long and detailed

Day Two

I was awake, showered, dressed and out of the room by 6am; Paula was still sleeping. I hit the Starbucks in the lobby and put $20 into a Survivor machine in the Masquerade casino. Played until I got the bonus, cashed out up $40 and moved to a penny Dean Martin machine. Put my feet up on the chair next to me, kicking back drinking my coffee, playing Dean Martin and hit the bonus for $221. I was happy! I cashed out and headed off to wake up Sleeping Beauty.

We checked out of Rio using the express checkout on the TV. Downstairs to get the car from valet and off to the Peppermill for breakfast. Paula loved the kitschy 70%26#39;s decor of the Peppermill. The neon lighting, mirrored ceiling and velvet booths had her laughing. She even bought 2 of the funky sugar dispensers and 2 bags of the colored sugar that Peppermill has on the tables. I don%26#39;t recall what we had for breakfast, but I guarantee you that we both fell well short of finishing the huge plates of food. I believe the bill came to $26 for the two of us.

From the Peppermill it was out to Red Rock Canyon. We did the scenic drive through the conservation area. Paula took a lot of pictures, but I mostly stayed in the car. I%26#39;ve been there before and it was MIGHTY COLD out there that day. The wind was whipping too. Tons and tons of people hiking throughout the canyon. We have nothing like those beautiful rock formations here in New England. After the scenic drive, we popped into Red Rock Casino for a while. Played for almost 2 hours on my original $20 buy in on a penny Goldfish machine. Kept getting bonus after bonus after bonus. No big hits, but I like getting a lot of play for my buy-in. Paula had the same luck on a Love Boat machine. She got the ';Date with Doc Bricker'; bonus at least 15 times. She ended up cashing out ahead, while I burned through my buy-in and then lost $60 on a 10/6 $1 JOB machine, getting a few sustaining hits, but nothing noteworthy.

From Red Rock, we went to the Hard Rock (like to keep the Rocks together, ha!). What a mess at the intersection of Paradise and East Harmon! Construction everywhere, roads all backed up. Yuck. We were ';forced'; to use the parking garage at Hard Rock (I%26#39;ve always used the self-park lot) which was poorly laid out and a bit rough to navigate. You come into the Hard Rock near the Rock Spa and Carey Hart%26#39;s Hart %26amp; Huntington Tattoo Shop is going in directly across the hall. We actually saw Carey Hart in the Starbucks at Hard Rock, but he was on the phone so I didn%26#39;t want to bother him. I met him at H%26amp;H 2 years ago and he was incredibly nice (and a total hottie). Cuba Libre is gone from the Hard Rock. That area is now their very dark poker room. I played a few hands of $25 BJ at the Hard Rock (3/2) and got a dealt blackjack on the first hand. Cashed out $150 ahead after about 20 minutes. Hit the gift shop and we were off to the Mirage.

Dropped the car with valet at the Mirage and were in the check-in line at 3:30. Took 5 minutes tops to check in. Room 15-027, with a great view of the volcano, TI, Wynn, Palazzo and Venetian. The redone rooms are really lovely. Beds are super comfortable, the 37 inch hi-def flat screen TV is great and the decor is just very serene and nice. The bathroom is small, but very well appointed. Loved the mirror with the hidden lights behind it. Water pressure was INTENSE! I almost fell over the first time I turned on the shower. We dubbed it the ';Silkwood Shower'; after the contamination shower in the movie Silkwood. Also, something I didn%26#39;t know, was that the windows in the Mirage open. Only about 6 inches (the bottom pushes out) but it allowed a nice breeze to come in.

We unpacked and relaxed a bit, then took the tram over to TI to play some and catch some of the dreadful Sirens show. The show is really bad, but they still pack in a crowd. Paula wanted to eat at Kahunaville (bluck), so we did. We had gotten a 20% off coupon from someone on the casino floor (they were handing them out to everyone) so our meal of 2 foo-foo drinks, cajun chicken pasta and bbq ribs came to $55 after the discount. Food was mediocre, drinks and service were good. The bar area was SRO and the dining room was crowded as well. Took the tram back to the Mirage, played some Price Is Right and Lobstermania slots and called it a night around midnight.

We were up and out of the Mirage by 7am. Walked over to the Venetian and made our way to Bouchon for breakfast. We were seated right away with a lovely view of the Venezia Tower pool. The restaurant is lovely and the service is top shelf. The food is down-right exquisite. Thomas Keller is one of the top 3 living chefs in the world and Bouchon really upholds his reputation as a master chef. I had the sourdough waffles with bananas, candied walnuts and Tahitian vanilla bean sweet butter. Paula had the French Toast (which is more of a bread pudding). Iced coffee and orange juice. Total came to $34 and it was worth every penny. Our only complaint was that the waiter never stopped back to see how our meal was (the empty plates probably told him all he needed to know) or to ask if we wanted anything else. But he pronounced my often-mangled Italian last name perfectly, so all was forgiven. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough for a special breakfast, or for any special meal.

From there we walked through to the Palazzo, which I had not yet seen. I like it more than the Venetian, but I found some of the design elements to be very similar to Wynn. Especially the floating umbrellas under the skylight. Very similar to Parsol Up, Parasol Down at Wynn. But I liked the casino, much brighter and easier to navigate than Venetian. Played some here, hit a nice bonus on Hot Hot Penny Gem Hunter and moved on to Wynn. Played some $1 9/6 DDBP at Wynn that was good to me. Lots of full houses and trips, but no quads. Put a lot of points on my Red Card doing that, then played some penny machines. Walked over to Encore, which I had not yet seen as well. Did not like Encore at all. Love the butterflies in the terrazzo floor and in the carpets, but the casino itself was not impressive. Too dark, too small, too RED. Everything is red, red, red. Enough Steve! Played a bit over here then headed back to Wynn for some ice cream at Sugar %26amp; Ice. 2 scoops in a waffle cone was $6. The lemon tart ice cream was very good - tart lemon cream ice cream with chunks of graham cracker crust in it. Very tasty.

From there we walked back to the Mirage, changed into our pool gear and headed down to the pool. At about 2:30 in the afternoon, the pool was very crowded. We ended up with 2 loungers way in the back near the path to the hot tub. There was someone ';famous'; in one of the cabanas. All the waitresses and various other females kept going up to get their picture with this guy. He was kissing everyone and talking on his Crackberry. I took a picture of him and even magnified I can%26#39;t figure out who he is - and I know my celebs! We kept moving from chaise to chaise as the sun sank lower and better seats became available. We finally ended up under a palm tree in full sunlight, drinking our $20 pina coladas. The glasses are huge - 32 ounces, but frozen drinks are $20 each and a 32 ounce glass of beer was $14. The pool area closes at 6pm, but we headed up to the room around 5:30 to shower and change.

Got the car from valet and drove down to MGM. I cannot get over how big City Center is. The poor Jockey Club is totally dwarfed by the towers. Anyway, we valeted at MGM. I put $100 into the Lion%26#39;s Share Progressive. The jackpot is now $2,192,428.16. They did move the machine, but it is easy to find. It is tucked in the corner by Tabu, sort of behind where it used to be. So I put my $100 in, hit for $15 9 times, and $60 twice. Put it all back through the machine, but no jackpot for me. MGM was pretty deserted for some reason. We wandered through, looked at the lions (who weren%26#39;t doing anything but looking at the people looking at them) and made our way out to the Strip and over to M%26amp;M World. I hit M%26amp;M every trip for some silly reason. We bought some souvenirs and some M%26amp;Ms and walked back to MGM. Played a little Sigma Derby, still the hottest casino game EVER! Silly game is so much fun it%26#39;s just ridiculous. Making our way back to valet, Paula decides to put $20 in the Lion%26#39;s Share. 3rd spin she hits for $150! Beginner%26#39;s luck. She decides to cash out and we had to wait for the attendant (anything over $100 on the Lion%26#39;s is a handpay), but he only took 5 minutes or less to show up.

Got the car from valet and it was off to my favorite Las Vegas restaurant - In and Out Burger! Even at 10:30pm on a Tuesday night there was a crowd at In%26#39;n%26#39;Out! Paula was surprised to see taxis and limos going through the drive thru and a stretch Hummer limo in the parking lot. She was even more surprised at how spotless the interior was and how organized the mob inside was. I don%26#39;t eat hamburgers, but I love, love, love the In%26#39;n%26#39;Out grilled cheese off the ';secret menu';. A grilled cheese, a Double Double, 2 fries and 2 shakes was a whopping $12.20. Paula proclaimed her Double Double to be the best burger she%26#39;s ever had and that girl likes her burgers! After our delectable meal, it was a slow, scenic drive up the Strip to the Mirage and we were off to bed around 1am.

I was up and out of the room by 7am, but Paula was still sleeping. I left her a note telling her I was going to the casino and to call me when she was ready. I hoofed it over to TI to hit Starbucks (they%26#39;re putting a Starbucks in Mirage near the Carnegie Deli, thank god, because the coffee at the Roasted Bean is wretched), since the tram doesn%26#39;t start running until 9am. Got my iced coffee and hoofed it back to Mirage. Visited the concierge desk and asked them to check us in for our flight home. They charge $2 per boarding pass printed. Took less than 5 minutes and the concierge was very nice. Looked at the pretty fish in the giant aquarium, took some photos in the atrium (so much nicer with no one around!) and made my way over to the $1 slot area in front of the Cravings buffet.

Found a $1 Game King machine that had very favorable Video Blackjack rules. Put $20 in and cashed out 30 minutes later with $85. Took that ticket over to the Beatles area outside the Love Theater. This is my favorite area at Mirage. Beatles music, phenomenal drink service and a decent selection of games. I put my ticket into a Dean Martin machine and 15 minutes later, that jerk had taken half my winnings! Ha! I moved over to a Lucky Meerkats machine and it was love at first sight! Lucky Meerkats is very similar to Lucky Lemmings. The meerkats look more like puppy dogs than meerkats, but who am I to quibble? I put my $40 ticket in and played on that machine for about 40 minutes before Paula called to say she was on her way. In that time I hit the bonus no less than 10 times, never getting less than $15 per bonus round. One bonus was $75! The bonus is cute, with several different bonus-within-a-bonus options. It plays MC Hammer music (You Can%26#39;t Touch This) which is more than a little annoying, but that%26#39;s a small price to pay. My $40 ticket cashed out at $188 and I put at ton of points on my player%26#39;s card.

Paula came downstairs and we had breakfast at the Carnegie Deli. Huge portions. I mean, HUGE. The side order of bacon was at least 15 slices of bacon, no lie. We each had an omelet, not realizing that we easily could have split one. 2 omelets, side of bacon and 2 juices was $38. Service was average, but the food came quickly. After breakfast, we retrieved the car from valet and drove down to Planet Hollywood. Dropped the car at valet at PH (valet area is still a mess with construction vehicles) and walked over to Bellagio. Took a stroll through the Conservatory, which was as lovely as I%26#39;ve ever seen it. All decked out for Spring with a live butterfly habitat, tulips, poppies, hyacinths, etc. Just lovely and it smelled heavenly. Popped over to the chocolate fountain to take a few pictures. Played a bit here and there, losing $40 along the way. Walked out to a random mid-afternoon fountain show (';One!'; from A Chorus Line). Turns out they were testing the fountains and the fog machines. Watched that for a bit and walked back to Planet Hollywood.

Played VP ($.25 DDBP) at the Extra Lounge in Planet Hollywood for over an hour on a $20 buy in. Kept hitting trips and full houses, but nothing bigger. Played it out and put in another $20, but no hits. Lots of points on my A-List Card though. Drink service was excellent and Paula had fun playing Caveman Keno. Hit the gift shop and snickered at the guy in front of us in line. Designer clothes, Dolce %26amp; Gabbana sunglasses, the Mr. T Starter Set of gold chains, you know the type. Has 2 credit cards declined for a purchase totaling $22! Finally finds a card that works and then he%26#39;s in front of us at the valet stand getting his big old honking Lincoln Navigator from the valet and DOESN%26#39;T TIP! You really do see all types in Las Vegas.

Back to the pool at Mirage. Called home and it was 22 degrees and sleeting in Boston. Awww, that%26#39;s too bad! Pool area was super crowded, but we lucked into 2 loungers in the sun. Had a few cocktails, picked on some people who apparently don%26#39;t have mirrors in their rooms (if you get my drift), read, relaxed and planned our last evening in Vegas. We headed inside at about 5:30 and the fire alarms inside the casino were going off. They%26#39;re doing construction on 2 of the 3 guest elevator banks and the dust from the construction had set off the fire alarms. Nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately, when the fire alarms go off, the elevators automatically shutdown for a certain amount of time. Security was waiting for us at the elevators and took a small group of us on a little field trip through the back of the casino, down some long hallways and onto the service elevators. I joked that we were being ';back roomed'; and one of the security guards tried to tell me they don%26#39;t do that anymore. I said ';sure, you do'; and he smiled and said ';no, that%26#39;s just in the movies'; and gave me a dramatic wink. We showered and changed and when we left our room, there was a security guard at the end of our hallway to take us back down in the service elevator. It could have been a big hassle, but it really wasn%26#39;t. By the time we returned later that night, the guest elevators were back up and running.

We walked over to Harrah%26#39;s and played around a bit. Made our way up to Toby Keith%26#39;s place for dinner. Place was packed to the gills. We waited about 10 minutes for a table. Had a few drinks (highly recommend the ToadSuck Pond), bbq ribs, chicken, no dessert. I think it came to around $60. Service was very friendly and efficient. The live entertainment (didn%26#39;t catch the name of the band) was truly excellent. There was a VERY drunk, very obnoxious, VERY loud woman at the table next to us. Mid-40%26#39;s, I%26#39;d say. Now I can swear with the best of them, but this woman was unbelievable. F-this and F-that and blah, blah, blah. She cussed like a sailor, as they say. Her voice was piercing and just so loud. There were kids and older people around her and her language was just totally offensive and uncalled for. I was getting ready to go to the host to say something when her party finally packed up to leave. She stood up to go and our entire half of the restaurant started cheering and waving goodbye!

We made our way down to the dueling pianos show at Harrah%26#39;s. The sisters always put on a great, great show. Their rendition of ';Joy To The World'; (the Three Dog Night version) is a lot of fun. Watched that for a bit, played some slots here and there and made our way back to Mirage. Paula and I decided to split up at the Mirage. She was tired and I knew she wouldn%26#39;t last long. She went off to play penny slots and I went back to my Love Theater area. Put $20 in my Lucky Meerkats machine and immediately got the bonus for $70! Ordered a Kahlua and milk from a gorgeous waitress. Tipped $5 when she brought it to me no more than 3 minutes later. She seemed genuinely shocked at the tip. From there on out, she brought me a new drink - without my asking - every time she made a round. I tipped $2 for every drink thereafter. She asked me if I%26#39;d ever tried a Toasted Almond. I hadn%26#39;t, so she brought me one, and a regular Kahlua and milk in case I didn%26#39;t like it. Toasted Almond (Kahlua, milk and Amaretto) was very yummy! My new nighttime gaming drink!

Anyway, the Meerkats were loving me this night. Bonus after bonus. Was playing 20 lines at 3 credits for $.60 a spin. Hit the 4 Scatter symbols for $65. Had my $20 buy-in up to $200+ when the machine went cold on me. Damn Meerkats. I tipped the waitress for my last drink and she told me that a lot of people are stiffing the waitresses these days. $.50 tips, no tips, etc. That%26#39;s just wrong. I cashed out of my Meerkats machine at $160 and took my little self through the throng of people waiting to get into Revolution Lounge to a $1 video blackjack machine. Ordered a Toasted Almond from the waitress there. She brought me 2! One was pink (pink?) the other looked normal. She said the bartender makes it differently than the waitresses do. Bartender insisted she bring me both and let her know what I think. They tasted almost identical, but the pink one was too sweet. Told the waitress and gave her my tip. She gave it back to me! Said that round was on the bartender. Whoo hoo! 4 Toasted Almonds later, my $160 ticket was $210 and I was falling asleep at the machine. I tipped the waitress and went off to the room. I was shocked to find that it was 2am! Paula was sound asleep and I had to be up in 3 hours to go to the airport! Set the alarm and crawled into bed.

Day 4.5

Alarm went off at 5am and we were up, dressed and out of the room by 5:30. Got the car from valet. Tried to convince the valet that he should give me the lime green Ferrari Maranello that was parked out front, but he wasn%26#39;t having it. I would have totally looked cute in that car! Took the long, empty drive down the Strip, past the Welcome to Las Vegas sign to the car rental return. Dropped the car, hopped on the shuttle and were at the airport in record time. Crazy broad with a stroller ran up the back of my flip flop in the airport. Stretched my flip flop all to hell. I wanted to deck her. Barely muttered a ';sorry'; at me. I don%26#39;t like people, especially at 6am. Flight left on time and we landed back in Boston 25 minutes early.

So that is my trip report. I am sure I forgot a bunch of stuff (seems impossible, doesn%26#39;t it?). Feel free to ask questions. I am already booked at Mirage for 4 free nights in December, the 5th-9th. But I%26#39;m thinking I might need another trip before that!

Here%26#39;s the link to my photos (there are a ton): diva21slasvegastrip2009.shutterfly.com/

Thanks for reading!

';some strange wheat beer from Wisconson';

That has to be Leinenkugel! Sunset Wheat...mmmm one of my favorites. First drank one out there about a year ago and was so glad to find it when I got back home. Now it is pretty easy to find

Wow! I loved reading your TR!

One quick question; you mention an Game King machine with ';favorable video blackjack rules;'; do you recall what was different about it from the typically lousy VB rules?

Thanks!

Great Report!! I%26#39;m so excited for my april22nd trip now!

nice trip report-thanks for sharing!

Great TR thanks for sharing :) Nice pics

Thank you for the detailed TR...loved it. Sounds like you had a great time. The pictures were really good. My April vacation isn%26#39;t working out as planned, so living thru other TA friends will have to do for now. Thanks again.