One Night In Vegas

Yes, I may be a masochist, but I am flying out to Vegas (by myself) from the East Coast next Friday night. I intend to go straight to bed. But the time period stretching from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon is blocked off for whatever kind of amusement I might find for myself.

So you, dear members of the forum, plot out your recommendations for what you would do if you were like me and were going to spend "One Night In Vegas." Gambling? Food? Drink? Entertainment? Needlepoint? Any combinations of the above, including the whats and the wheres. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

A weekend by yourself doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to me but you may be the kind of guy that can reminisce with strangers. When I'm by myself there, it's been for, say, a Wed and Thu before buddies get there for the weekend, but to each his own!

I would overdo the one thing you like best about Vegas, whatever it is ... poker, craps, BJ, VP, strippers, clubbing, fine dining, whatever. When I have a day or two to myself there, I'll generally do what I know my buddies won't want to do, like drinking at the Strat bar at sunset, expensive dinner, drive vacant tracts of land and dream of developing them, etc.

Vegas is best when visiting alone.

Agreed. My first trip was with a big group and that kind of sucked. The second was a divorce party with just me and the guest of honor and that was okay. But my last two trips (and my third upcoming) were solo ops and a blast. I like to be able to do what I want, when I want and there's no shortage of drinking buddies to be made in Vegas. The one drawback is dining alone, but it's not so bad at buffets and bar tops.

Whatever you do avoid sleeping.

Quote: CrappedOut

Yes, I may be a masochist, but I am flying out to Vegas (by myself) from the East Coast next Friday night. I intend to go straight to bed. But the time period stretching from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon is blocked off for whatever kind of amusement I might find for myself.

So you, dear members of the forum, plot out your recommendations for what you would do if you were like me and were going to spend "One Night In Vegas." Gambling? Food? Drink? Entertainment? Needlepoint? Any combinations of the above, including the whats and the wheres. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

There's a "King of the Cage" Mixed Martial Arts bout at the Eastside Cannery the weekend of March 4-5. If you are into NASCAR, the "Sam's Town 300" is going on that Saturday too. Have fun and let us know how it turns out!

(Edit): I just noted the opening of the "Las Vegas Mob Experience" at the Tropicana on March 1. More info here.

Great suggestions here!

MMA - my favorite description of this was "Human Cock Fighting." Heh.

It's Called Soccer - what places would you suggest for fine dining, strip clubs, clubbing, or gambling?

Progrocker - what buffets and bartops would you frequent on your own weekend?

Whatever you do, be sure to give us a trip report or provide updated posts in the appropriate threads (restaurants, bars, strip clubs, or whatever).

Just a thought - it's been a long time since I set foot inside a strip club, but isn't part of the experience going in the company of one's friends? I might have to cross that one off the list.

I flying out on a Friday and my family is meeting me on Saturday
evening.

I am considering Neon Boneyard and an easy hike at Red Rock
Canyon out on Charleston. Or going to a casino I've never been
to before, like Aliante or M. I haven't decided yet.

I'll have a rental car so I can get around.

Maybe some more ideas will come up on this thread.

Quote: CrappedOut

Just a thought - it's been a long time since I set foot inside a strip club, but isn't part of the experience going in the company of one's friends? I might have to cross that one off the list.

While going solo does increase the 'creep' factor, it seems like whenever I'm at a strip club there is still a fairly decent portion of patrons there by themselves. I think there are certain times it looks more normal, like a guy hitting a club after work for a couple drinks & some interaction before he goes home for the night. But for me it is more fun going with my friends, hanging out, trading opinions on the dancers, etc.

Quote: CrappedOut

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So you, dear members of the forum, plot out your recommendations for what you would do if you were like me and were going to spend "One Night In Vegas." Gambling? Food? Drink? Entertainment? Needlepoint? Any combinations of the above, including the whats and the wheres. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Get a room at a mid-strip casino and gamble, gamble, gamble.

Have the buffet at Bellagio, and a Double Double animal style, fries and a shake at In 'n Out.

That's all, folks.

Quote: CrappedOut

Progrocker - what buffets and bartops would you frequent on your own weekend?

I stay at MSS, so the Triple 7 Brew Pub is the best choice for a solo eater. Great food, great beer, friendly bartenders and big televisions. Last trip I ate solo at Firefly in The Plaza at the bar and it was a great meal, but it is closed. I don't know where the other location is, but I would be keen to go again. There's no good tapas in Fort Worth and Firefly basically ruined me, because now I cannot regularly get a meal of many different delicious small portioned items and the craving for one comes often. If I get lucky at the VP or craps table I may try some of the nicer downtown places next time (April 17th-20th), like Hugo's Cellar.

From what I hear, most of the nicer strip restaurants also have bars to sit at, but I couldn't name you any names as I'm a downtown guy.

As far as other stuff, I don't know if I would do anything but gamble if I just had one day. I restrict my gambling to Vegas as the Oklahoma casinos blow and I never feel like driving to Shreveport. On my three night trips I'll usually spend one afternoon at the pinball museum on Tropicana and one at a low-rent strip club (Chicas Bonitas or Palaminos). The non-UFC MMA promotions that someone mentioned are usually pretty fun, though. You normally get to sit a lot closer and those guys try really hard to get noticed by UFC scouts. Also, famous UFC fighters may be in the audience.

Quote: progrocker

From what I hear, most of the nicer strip restaurants also have bars to sit at, but I couldn't name you any names as I'm a downtown guy.

A guy on another board used to recommend the Light Group restaurants in the MGM properties for bar eating. Fix, Yellowtail, and I think another one. Bet they're expensive though if you don't have a comp.

Quote: progrocker

I stay at MSS, so the Triple 7 Brew Pub is the best choice for a solo eater. Great food, great beer, friendly bartenders and big televisions. Last trip I ate solo at Firefly in The Plaza at the bar and it was a great meal, but it is closed. I don't know where the other location is, but I would be keen to go again.

The other Firefly is out on West Sahara past Ft. Apache. Here's an idea of their menu HERE. While you're out that way, be sure to hit Red Rock Casino.

Quote: JohnnyQ

Or going to a casino I've never been to before, like Aliante or M. I haven't decided yet.

I'll have a rental car so I can get around.

Alianté Station has more favorable slot return for the player, if that's what you're into, but M Resort is an architecturally beautiful complex, like Frank Lloyd Wright designed it. And M has the best buffet in town with complimentary beer and wine included. M is easier to get to since it's a few miles south on the Strip. Alienté is about as far north into the hinterlands as you can get, it's so new those streets that far north aren't even included on the GPS maps yet.

Quote: teddys

A guy on another board used to recommend the Light Group restaurants in the MGM properties for bar eating. Fix, Yellowtail, and I think another one. Bet they're expensive though if you don't have a comp.

Light Group is in the news here lately because they seem to the front-runners in buying the Rio Hotel, which has been up for sale a few years now. The Light Group was also sued a couple days ago by a former cocktail waitress who's upset that her bosses wanted her to schmooze the highrollers by drinking and doing lines of blow with them, and if the clients wanted sex, she was urged to comply for which she was paid $1000's per night. ("$500 a night was a really bad night", she said). Story is HERE.

There is some great stuff in this thread - keep it coming!

Johnny - I've done an easy hike through Red Rock. I think it's a great idea and a lot of fun so long as the weather is pleasant. As between Aliante and M, they are similar setups in a lot of ways, including in their gambling offerings. The wine cellar at M with the little machines that allow you to try 100 bottles of wine by the ounce is really cool, and the sushi bar on the top floor had a good bar food promo for sushi for like $10. I've never eaten at Aliante, though I am told the MRKT steakhouse is pretty good and reasonably priced.

Toes14 - Creeps in a stripclub? Really? I have never heard of such a thing!

Mr V - mid strip casinos are best, I think for doing everything other than gambling, don't you think? The rules and paytables tend to be poor and the limits tend to be high compared to some outlying places. The Bellagio buffet is superb, of course! I was never much of a dinner buffet guy, but I went to the B buffet on a Saturday night and the food was like a five star restaurant. All it lacked was the five star atmosphere!

Progrocker - if you're a downtown guy, one thing I did on a previous solo trip was to hit the Redwood Restaurant at the California, they have a porterhouse steak meal special for something like $18.95. Salad, steak, sides, dessert. And a nice room, not the most elegant but very pleasant. Also one of the finest value for money steaks I ever had was in Binion's Steakhouse, the bone in ribeye was simply excellent, I don't remember the exact price but recall it was a good deal. I agree that the microbrews at MSS are good - I like the drink them when I'm playing their $5 minimum, 20x odds craps game.

Teddys and zippyboy - yowza, that article about the Light Group cocktail waitresses is a Vegas story writ large! Maybe I should just skip the stripclub and hit JET? Heh. I'll have make a reservation under the name Mohammed in order to get "extra special" service.

Quote: zippyboy

The Light Group was also sued a couple days ago by a former cocktail waitress who's upset that her bosses wanted her to schmooze the highrollers by drinking and doing lines of blow with them, and if the clients wanted sex, she was urged to comply for which she was paid $1000's per night. ("$500 a night was a really bad night", she said). Story is HERE.

VERY interesting read, thanks for posting it !

Quote: progrocker

On my three night trips I'll usually spend one afternoon at the pinball museum on Tropicana

Yes, if you are an ex arcade rat at all, the Pinball Hall of Fame is a great place to kill a couple of hours. For $10-$20 bucks worth of quarters you can play dozens of great pinball machines and classic arcade games. Well worth a visit if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Quote: CrappedOut

I intend to go straight to bed. But the time period stretching from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon is blocked off for whatever kind of amusement I might find for myself.

I'd change up the schedule to stay up both Friday and Saturday nights and sleep Saturday 9am-4pm. No matter what time I get to Vegas, I'm full of so much excitement and energy that I can't sleep the first night, anyway.

Beyond that I think I'd just walk the strip and stop whenever I find something that catches my eye. I'd probably go downtown one night and grab a jug 'o beer at the 4 Queens Cigar Lounge and take it along as I wonder Freemont street. Remember that Vegas has no open container law so you can carry you drinks from casino to casino or down the strip.

Quote: GenWyzgy

Yes, if you are an ex arcade rat at all, the Pinball Hall of Fame is a great place to kill a couple of hours. For $10-$20 bucks worth of quarters you can play dozens of great pinball machines and classic arcade games. Well worth a visit if you enjoy that sort of thing.

This is ABSOLUTELY true. I'm no ex arcade rat, but I went here on a visit a year ago and just loved this place. It is one of Vegas' best hidden gems.

Quote: kp

I'd change up the schedule to stay up both Friday and Saturday nights and sleep Saturday 9am-4pm. No matter what time I get to Vegas, I'm full of so much excitement and energy that I can't sleep the first night, anyway.

Beyond that I think I'd just walk the strip and stop whenever I find something that catches my eye. I'd probably go downtown one night and grab a jug 'o beer at the 4 Queens Cigar Lounge and take it along as I wonder Freemont street. Remember that Vegas has no open container law so you can carry you drinks from casino to casino or down the strip.

I've never heard of the 4 Queens Cigar lounge. An excellent tip!

Let me offer one up in return. Lovo Cigars, a small spot just west of El Cortez on Fremont, has excellent and well-priced hand rolled cigars. When I am out there I usually stop in, check out the merchandise, and stock up on smokes that I bring back to my humidor at home.

So how did it go? Good? Bad? Ugly?

Quote: CrappedOut

Yes, I may be a masochist, but I am flying out to Vegas (by myself) from the East Coast next Friday night. I intend to go straight to bed. But the time period stretching from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon is blocked off for whatever kind of amusement I might find for myself.

So you, dear members of the forum, plot out your recommendations for what you would do if you were like me and were going to spend "One Night In Vegas." Gambling? Food? Drink? Entertainment? Needlepoint? Any combinations of the above, including the whats and the wheres. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

I believe we need to know where you will be spending Saturday night