Not-So-Lame Trip Report

We flew out of PDX on Alaska Airlines: their service is a cut above
Southwest, it seems less "cattlecar," but I bitch at paying twenty
bucks each to check two bags.

It amazes me how McCarran is situated so close to the strip; so
convenient; this proximity has paid huge dividends over the years for
the strip casinos.

Before checking in at MGM, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I grabbed a post-
flight dinner at Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay.

Quick service and a great burger; we had both the thin fries and the
fat fries, and both were damned good.

Last trip out we stayed at the old West Wing at MGM: it had been
spruced up a bit but was confined and not close to the casino.

This time they comped us a room in the Grand Tower, which was light
years better; easy access, roomy, nice marbled bathroom floor and a
comfy bed; not that I got much sleep this trip: Mr. V is a gamblin'
man.

We took the monorail Thursday, and I was impressed.

Very easy to use, quick, convenient, but expensive: c'mon, twelve
bucks for a day pass?

We had to walk quite a distance from the closest stop to Wynn, but the
weather was great so it was sort of fun.

We had the lunch buffet at Wynn, and it was okay, but not up to the
standards of Bellagio: not quite the quality or the variety.

I liked the pot stickers and pork / shrimp dumplings; my wife had some
tough carved beef.

Wynn and Bellagio both have a Five Thousand dollar slot: I always
visit the high limit slot rooms, and usually make some play there, but
never over fifty bucks or so a pull.

Encore was a letdown: tacky, red chandeliers and not much "there"
there.

NYNY was lively, but the bloom is off the rose for that joint for me:
too damned noisy!

Tried playing craps and had to shout to be understood; I love the
pounding electronic music though.

In fact, electronic music is now the norm at night in many casinos,
and that is not a bad thing.

The music, the constant yelling of the bettors, the flashing lights,
the movements, the sounds of the machines: about as stimulating as it
gets.

Tried to eat at Top of the World at Strat, but my danged wife got
queasy from the subtle revolving of the tower, so we had to scrub that
one.

Dinner at Mon Ami Gabi was pretty good, but I wouldn't go back; the
Pomme Frites were too crispy: I couldn't easily eat them with a fork
(reminiscent of Durkee potato sticks, which are good but not what you
expect to find in a French bistro), and using my hands made me feel
like a plebian.

Good bread though.

Thursday and Friday nights I did my usual solo casino crawl, staying
out til sunrise, scratching that damned gambling itch.

Highlight: bought in at a craps table at Bellagio; placed the six and
eight.

The shooter had a medium roll, but of his fifteen or so numbers, most
were sixes or eights.

After he sevened out I colored up with a $361 profit on that roll.

The MGM is a reasonably classy joint that fits me like an old shoe; I
just feel comfortable there.

Too bad I usually lose.

In fact, this was a rough trip for me overall, mainly because I have
strayed from the purity of the craps shooter and have become a slot
whore; gotta put this damned house in order.

A few whores propositioned me, which I enjoyed immensely.

Walking the strip at night near PH and vicinity, it seems the porn
slappers make you run a gauntlet, or is it a conga line?

Aria was busy at 5AM, and it is beginning to warm up on me a bit, at
least the unique design and styling is; still haven't discovered easy
access to and from the strip, and the fact that the construction crane
was doing a concrete pour in the middle of the night didn't make
access any easier.

One of the more poignant moments came late at night, walking from
Bellagio toward the strip to go to Paris: following the path along the
fake lake, looking through the trees up at the edifice of Bellagio,
thinking "Christ, these guys are good!"

No, I wasn't in Italy, and no, that isn't Paris acroos the street from
me, but for just a moment I could suspend my disbelief and dwell in
the land of make believe which is the strip.

Unique in my experience.

Better luck next time on the gambling side of things !

Good commentaries in your Trip Report.

What happened with RaleighCraps?

Quote: MrV

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I grabbed a post-flight dinner at Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay.

Leo McKern used to use that line in Rumpole of the Bailey to discuss his wife. I was surprised to find out that Rumpole was quoting it from a novel published in 1887. She was written by the author of King's Solomon's Mines.

I enjoyed this very much MrV. Your closing on the Bellagio "lake walk" struck a familiar chord with me, as I have shared that same sense of wonder. Thank you.