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Trip Report - June 29-July 4
Trip Report - June 29-July 4
First, a bit of pre-trip advice: everything bad you hear about Buca di
Beppo is probably true. Their "marinara sauce" consists mainly of
small chunks of diced tomato with an attempt at spices thrown in
(although I did enjoy the meatball). I should have sensed something
when one of their signs mentioned "friends (in Italian, 'paisanos')".
(For the record, Italian words don't end in "s"; the plural of
"paisano" is "paisani".)
Anyway, this is a multi-city vacation (SF to Columbus to Vegas and
back to SF), and the only reasonably priced non-stops from Columbus to
Vegas I could find when I booked (in January - just before USA started
its "$25 for each checked bag after the first" policy) were at 9 AM
and 9 PM, so I arrived at LAS at about 10 AM Pacific, but by the time
I got my luggage, found the shuttle downtown, and reached the Golden
Nugget, it was about 11:30, and to my surprise, they had a room
available that early. Wanting to make a "drinks run" (translation:
pick up some 2 litre bottles of soft drinks for the room), I went down
near the El Cortez to get a pizza for lunch, and happened to see the
only goal in the Spain-Germany European Soccer Championship final
while waiting. (Uncle Joe's Pizza - pretty good, especially for the
price.)
After checking in and getting some rest (I got up at 3 AM Vegas time
that day), I headed down for some craps. 90 minutes of strictly $5
pass bets with $10 odds later, I am down $15 (including tip - I always
make straight tips rather than "bets for the boys"), but (again to my
surprise) I get a comp to the $22 buffet without any hassle. The only
problem is, Sunday is seafood buffet night at GN, and I am not much of
a seafood man, although they did have a roast turkey station (is it
that much to ask for two slices of turkey breast at once?) and some
form of sliced beef that I can't exactly describe.
Day 2 - lunch at Burger Bar, followed by an afternoon at the Pinball
Hall of Fame at Tropicana and Pecos.
Question: is the Lady Luck open? I walked right by it on the way to
get the Deuce bus, but I didn't see any way of getting in, and didn't
see any action around it.
Anyway, dinner was at Hennessey's; I ended up having the salmon
special with cheese fries and a Guinness. Nothing particularly
spectacular.
The Deuce buses downtown were getting full around 4 PM (there were
three of them, one after the other, with the first two already full
when they got to the stop on Tropicana).
That night, I found what appear to be the only full pay 25-cent VP
machines in all of Vegas at the California; I ended up down about $20,
and even that was after a four of a kind.
Day 3 - July 1; I was told a few weeks earlier by someone who works
for the Mirage's restaurants that BLT Burger would open on July 1 at
11 AM, and to show how much the Mirage spread the word, I got there at
10:45 AM to discover (a) it really is about to open in 15 minutes, and
(b) there was no one else in line. 15 minutes later, at the front of
a line of about ten people, I was the first to be seated in BLT Burger
at the Mirage. (For those of you who want to live the experience when
you are there, it was at table 59, facing the casino. During my meal,
somebody actually came by to adjust the spacing between tables, going
as far as to put his fist between them.) To be honest, the burger
wasn't as good as Burger Bar, and I have a feeling the fact that they
use shredded rather than leaf lettuce played a part in that. (Also,
if you order the BLT Burger, note the "BLT Sauce" is more like Russian
dressing rather than barbecue sauce.)
Later, I decide to break one of my Ten Rules of Gambling and put $20
into a dollar Wheel of Fortune machine (a 2-credit machine where the
second credit enables the progressive and the wheel feature (I didn't
realize the wheel only worked with max credits) but doesn't increase
the other payouts); about ten spins in, I get a wheel spin and it
comes up $125. (I followed that up with a $15 gain on a quarter
Jeopardy machine, although I eventually did lose $25 between a Price
Is Right and a Deal Or No Deal. Yes, there is a pattern there, isn't
there?)
Dinner was at the T-Bone Buffet special at Main Street Station; the
special is $3 more than the normal buffet, and if you ask me, it
tasted like a $3 piece of meat. (They had nerve calling it a T-bone,
as there was barely any meat on the filet side.)
GN had some big to-do going on at their pool that night; I am not
entirely sure what it was for, but there was a "media area" as well as
a silent sports memorabilia auction.
Day 4 - I had reservations that night at Samba followed by a ticket
for Spamalot, so I spent the entire day downtown dressed in slightly
better than casual wear...in 114-degree-in-the-shade heat.
Lunch at Stripburger; the burger was a little charred, especially for
"medium", but still better than what I had at BLT.
I went for the all you can eat meal at Samba where the waiters come by
with various meat dishes and slice off the meat onto your plate;
although I had heard various things about this, mostly bad, I thought
it was an excellent meal.
One word of warning if you are a Monty Python fan: prepare to be
disappointed by Spamalot (the Vegas run closes this month, but I think
it's still on a nationwide tour). There are a number of things
missing, including Castle Anthrax, the witch ("She turned me into a
newt! I got better..."). the three-headed knight, and the whole
Bridge of Death scene, and the whole thing does tend to be a bit campy
with a number of in-jokes.
Day 5 - after all of the walking I did in dress shoes on Day 4, I
pretty much slacked and nursed a pull of some sort in one of my legs.
I did have a "world famous Binion's burger" (note: both the deli and
the snack bar are called "snack bar", but only one has deli
sandwiches), but it was nothing to write to AVLV about, and I finished
the trip with some chicken and fries at 777 at Main Street.
Speaking of which, for some strange reason, all beer tastes alike to
me; the 777's special that night, "raspberry cream ale", tasted pretty
much just like every can of Budwesier (or Foster's, for that matter)
that I've had.
I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
going to Vegas first.
-- Don
First, a bit of pre-trip advice: everything bad you hear about Buca di
Beppo is probably true. Their "marinara sauce" consists mainly of
small chunks of diced tomato with an attempt at spices thrown in
(although I did enjoy the meatball). I should have sensed something
when one of their signs mentioned "friends (in Italian, 'paisanos')".
(For the record, Italian words don't end in "s"; the plural of
"paisano" is "paisani".)
Anyway, this is a multi-city vacation (SF to Columbus to Vegas and
back to SF), and the only reasonably priced non-stops from Columbus to
Vegas I could find when I booked (in January - just before USA started
its "$25 for each checked bag after the first" policy) were at 9 AM
and 9 PM, so I arrived at LAS at about 10 AM Pacific, but by the time
I got my luggage, found the shuttle downtown, and reached the Golden
Nugget, it was about 11:30, and to my surprise, they had a room
available that early. Wanting to make a "drinks run" (translation:
pick up some 2 litre bottles of soft drinks for the room), I went down
near the El Cortez to get a pizza for lunch, and happened to see the
only goal in the Spain-Germany European Soccer Championship final
while waiting. (Uncle Joe's Pizza - pretty good, especially for the
price.)
After checking in and getting some rest (I got up at 3 AM Vegas time
that day), I headed down for some craps. 90 minutes of strictly $5
pass bets with $10 odds later, I am down $15 (including tip - I always
make straight tips rather than "bets for the boys"), but (again to my
surprise) I get a comp to the $22 buffet without any hassle. The only
problem is, Sunday is seafood buffet night at GN, and I am not much of
a seafood man, although they did have a roast turkey station (is it
that much to ask for two slices of turkey breast at once?) and some
form of sliced beef that I can't exactly describe.
Day 2 - lunch at Burger Bar, followed by an afternoon at the Pinball
Hall of Fame at Tropicana and Pecos.
Question: is the Lady Luck open? I walked right by it on the way to
get the Deuce bus, but I didn't see any way of getting in, and didn't
see any action around it.
Anyway, dinner was at Hennessey's; I ended up having the salmon
special with cheese fries and a Guinness. Nothing particularly
spectacular.
The Deuce buses downtown were getting full around 4 PM (there were
three of them, one after the other, with the first two already full
when they got to the stop on Tropicana).
That night, I found what appear to be the only full pay 25-cent VP
machines in all of Vegas at the California; I ended up down about $20,
and even that was after a four of a kind.
Day 3 - July 1; I was told a few weeks earlier by someone who works
for the Mirage's restaurants that BLT Burger would open on July 1 at
11 AM, and to show how much the Mirage spread the word, I got there at
10:45 AM to discover (a) it really is about to open in 15 minutes, and
(b) there was no one else in line. 15 minutes later, at the front of
a line of about ten people, I was the first to be seated in BLT Burger
at the Mirage. (For those of you who want to live the experience when
you are there, it was at table 59, facing the casino. During my meal,
somebody actually came by to adjust the spacing between tables, going
as far as to put his fist between them.) To be honest, the burger
wasn't as good as Burger Bar, and I have a feeling the fact that they
use shredded rather than leaf lettuce played a part in that. (Also,
if you order the BLT Burger, note the "BLT Sauce" is more like Russian
dressing rather than barbecue sauce.)
Later, I decide to break one of my Ten Rules of Gambling and put $20
into a dollar Wheel of Fortune machine (a 2-credit machine where the
second credit enables the progressive and the wheel feature (I didn't
realize the wheel only worked with max credits) but doesn't increase
the other payouts); about ten spins in, I get a wheel spin and it
comes up $125. (I followed that up with a $15 gain on a quarter
Jeopardy machine, although I eventually did lose $25 between a Price
Is Right and a Deal Or No Deal. Yes, there is a pattern there, isn't
there?)
Dinner was at the T-Bone Buffet special at Main Street Station; the
special is $3 more than the normal buffet, and if you ask me, it
tasted like a $3 piece of meat. (They had nerve calling it a T-bone,
as there was barely any meat on the filet side.)
GN had some big to-do going on at their pool that night; I am not
entirely sure what it was for, but there was a "media area" as well as
a silent sports memorabilia auction.
Day 4 - I had reservations that night at Samba followed by a ticket
for Spamalot, so I spent the entire day downtown dressed in slightly
better than casual wear...in 114-degree-in-the-shade heat.
Lunch at Stripburger; the burger was a little charred, especially for
"medium", but still better than what I had at BLT.
I went for the all you can eat meal at Samba where the waiters come by
with various meat dishes and slice off the meat onto your plate;
although I had heard various things about this, mostly bad, I thought
it was an excellent meal.
One word of warning if you are a Monty Python fan: prepare to be
disappointed by Spamalot (the Vegas run closes this month, but I think
it's still on a nationwide tour). There are a number of things
missing, including Castle Anthrax, the witch ("She turned me into a
newt! I got better..."). the three-headed knight, and the whole
Bridge of Death scene, and the whole thing does tend to be a bit campy
with a number of in-jokes.
Day 5 - after all of the walking I did in dress shoes on Day 4, I
pretty much slacked and nursed a pull of some sort in one of my legs.
I did have a "world famous Binion's burger" (note: both the deli and
the snack bar are called "snack bar", but only one has deli
sandwiches), but it was nothing to write to AVLV about, and I finished
the trip with some chicken and fries at 777 at Main Street.
Speaking of which, for some strange reason, all beer tastes alike to
me; the 777's special that night, "raspberry cream ale", tasted pretty
much just like every can of Budwesier (or Foster's, for that matter)
that I've had.
I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
going to Vegas first.
-- Don
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
"Don Del Grande" <> wrote in message
> I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
> probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
> last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
> going to Vegas first.
>
Very nice trip report Don. Thank you for taking the time to write up and
then posting it here. I did not know they put a new place in the Mirage.
Where is the BLT located at? And I too would like to try Samba's. We eat at
Ohana's when going to Disney in FL and really loved their grilled meats.
Once again, thanks for the report and congrads on your win.
Cheryl
"Don Del Grande" <> wrote in message
> I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
> probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
> last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
> going to Vegas first.
>
Very nice trip report Don. Thank you for taking the time to write up and
then posting it here. I did not know they put a new place in the Mirage.
Where is the BLT located at? And I too would like to try Samba's. We eat at
Ohana's when going to Disney in FL and really loved their grilled meats.
Once again, thanks for the report and congrads on your win.
Cheryl
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
C. Nicholson wrote:
>I did not know they put a new place in the Mirage.
>Where is the BLT located at?
Where the "free" white tiger exhibit (as opposed to the Secret Garden,
which still has the tigers but charges a fee) used to be - from the
main entrance, turn left just past Carnegie Deli. I think it's also
pretty much just inside the entrance near the road that separates
Mirage from Caesar's.
-- Don
C. Nicholson wrote:
>I did not know they put a new place in the Mirage.
>Where is the BLT located at?
Where the "free" white tiger exhibit (as opposed to the Secret Garden,
which still has the tigers but charges a fee) used to be - from the
main entrance, turn left just past Carnegie Deli. I think it's also
pretty much just inside the entrance near the road that separates
Mirage from Caesar's.
-- Don
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
"Don Del Grande" < wrote in message
>
> Where the "free" white tiger exhibit (as opposed to the Secret Garden,
> which still has the tigers but charges a fee) used to be - from the
> main entrance, turn left just past Carnegie Deli. I think it's also
> pretty much just inside the entrance near the road that separates
> Mirage from Caesar's.
I'll have to tell son and a few other that. One of the times we were in
Vegas was the week they closed the exhibit. The next time we were there, it
was just empty, then the last time we were there it was all covered up. I
never did think to ask what they were doing with that part of the property.
Thanks for answering my question.
Cheryl
"Don Del Grande" < wrote in message
>
> Where the "free" white tiger exhibit (as opposed to the Secret Garden,
> which still has the tigers but charges a fee) used to be - from the
> main entrance, turn left just past Carnegie Deli. I think it's also
> pretty much just inside the entrance near the road that separates
> Mirage from Caesar's.
I'll have to tell son and a few other that. One of the times we were in
Vegas was the week they closed the exhibit. The next time we were there, it
was just empty, then the last time we were there it was all covered up. I
never did think to ask what they were doing with that part of the property.
Thanks for answering my question.
Cheryl
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
In article <nvrt64d798nbs1asnlp4g8h91qrl2mgufp@4ax,com >, Don Del Grande
<del grande news@earthlink,net > wrote:
>
> I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
> probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
> last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
> going to Vegas first.
Thanks for the report and congrats on your gambling win.
Many of us plan to be in Vegas the first weekend of next Joone; you're
welcome to join us.
--- Walt
In article <nvrt64d798nbs1asnlp4g8h91qrl2mgufp@4ax,com >, Don Del Grande
<del grande news@earthlink,net > wrote:
>
> I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
> probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
> last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
> going to Vegas first.
Thanks for the report and congrats on your gambling win.
Many of us plan to be in Vegas the first weekend of next Joone; you're
welcome to join us.
--- Walt
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
Walt wrote:
> Don Del Grande wrote:
>
>> I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
>> probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
>> last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
>> going to Vegas first.
>
>Thanks for the report and congrats on your gambling win.
>
>Many of us plan to be in Vegas the first weekend of next Joone; you're
>welcome to join us.
Thanks for the invite, but that's too early for me - my Columbus trip
is the last week in June. so Vegas has to be either the week before or
the week after if I'm combining the two.
-- Don
Walt wrote:
> Don Del Grande wrote:
>
>> I ended up about $100 ahead, thanks mainly to that WoF slot win. I'll
>> probably be back same time next year, since I'll be in Columbus in the
>> last week in June again - of course, there's always the possibility of
>> going to Vegas first.
>
>Thanks for the report and congrats on your gambling win.
>
>Many of us plan to be in Vegas the first weekend of next Joone; you're
>welcome to join us.
Thanks for the invite, but that's too early for me - my Columbus trip
is the last week in June. so Vegas has to be either the week before or
the week after if I'm combining the two.
-- Don
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
"Don Del Grande" <del_grande_news@earthlink,net > wrote in message
news:nvrt64d798nbs1asnlp4g8h91qrl2mgufp@4ax,com ...
> First, a bit of pre-trip advice: everything bad you hear about Buca di
> Beppo is probably true. Their "marinara sauce" consists mainly of
> small chunks of diced tomato with an attempt at spices thrown in
> (although I did enjoy the meatball). I should have sensed something
> when one of their signs mentioned "friends (in Italian, 'paisanos')".
> (For the record, Italian words don't end in "s"; the plural of
> "paisano" is "paisani".)
>
Don,
What does your marinara sauce consist of? I basically thought it was just
small chunks of diced tomato with a few spices thrown in:
http :// www ,it alianchef,com /marinara.html
Anyway, Buca Di Bepo reminds me of Batista's, except it's a chain, which
means it's not that good. The thing is the kids LOVE the place and wind up
getting us to take them a couple of times a year. I do love that big
meatball though.
Enjoyed the rest of your report and am glad you walked away a few dollars
richer.
"Don Del Grande" <del_grande_news@earthlink,net > wrote in message
news:nvrt64d798nbs1asnlp4g8h91qrl2mgufp@4ax,com ...
> First, a bit of pre-trip advice: everything bad you hear about Buca di
> Beppo is probably true. Their "marinara sauce" consists mainly of
> small chunks of diced tomato with an attempt at spices thrown in
> (although I did enjoy the meatball). I should have sensed something
> when one of their signs mentioned "friends (in Italian, 'paisanos')".
> (For the record, Italian words don't end in "s"; the plural of
> "paisano" is "paisani".)
>
Don,
What does your marinara sauce consist of? I basically thought it was just
small chunks of diced tomato with a few spices thrown in:
http :// www ,it alianchef,com /marinara.html
Anyway, Buca Di Bepo reminds me of Batista's, except it's a chain, which
means it's not that good. The thing is the kids LOVE the place and wind up
getting us to take them a couple of times a year. I do love that big
meatball though.
Enjoyed the rest of your report and am glad you walked away a few dollars
richer.
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
"Don Del Grande" <del grande news@earthlink,net > wrote in message
news:nvrt64d798nbs1asnlp4g8h91qrl2mgufp@4ax,com ...
> First, a bit of pre-trip advice: everything bad you hear about Buca di
> Beppo is probably true. Their "marinara sauce" consists mainly of
> small chunks of diced tomato with an attempt at spices thrown in
> (although I did enjoy the meatball). I should have sensed something
> when one of their signs mentioned "friends (in Italian, 'paisanos')".
> (For the record, Italian words don't end in "s"; the plural of
> "paisano" is "paisani".)
I've never eaten at a Buca... and only once at an Olive Garden. Italian
food is too easy to cook well at home... and if I get the urge to eat it in
a restaurant, there are so many reasonably prices local restaurants that
avoiding the chains is usually pretty easy. One exception... I have had a
few good meals at a Macaroni Grill... but again, I've been to one maybe 5
times in the past 10 years.
> Question: is the Lady Luck open? I walked right by it on the way to
> get the Deuce bus, but I didn't see any way of getting in, and didn't
> see any action around it.
Nope... not open but is should be next year.
http :// insurancenewsnet,com /article.asp?n=1&neID 080702290.2 067101102c665d9b
The Lady Luck and the Plaza are two of the biggest disappointment is
downtown. WIth a little investment and promotion, they could be brought up
to Golden Nugget standards and give the downtown area some "better than
average" properties. I have hopes for the Lady Luck... but doubt that the
Plaza will ever see any improvement under the present owners.
>Later, I decide to break one of my Ten Rules of Gambling and put $20
>into a dollar Wheel of Fortune machine
WOF machines are a good reason why I don't carry a gun. There is nothing
more annoying than playing blackjack and hearing that damn "WHEEL - OF -
FORTUNE!!!!" blaring out every 47 seconds. After the first twenty times or
so, I am ready to put a .45 hollowpoint into Pat Sajak's forehead.
Thanks for a good report. I'm glad you had a good time and came out ahead.
George L
"Don Del Grande" <del grande news@earthlink,net > wrote in message
news:nvrt64d798nbs1asnlp4g8h91qrl2mgufp@4ax,com ...
> First, a bit of pre-trip advice: everything bad you hear about Buca di
> Beppo is probably true. Their "marinara sauce" consists mainly of
> small chunks of diced tomato with an attempt at spices thrown in
> (although I did enjoy the meatball). I should have sensed something
> when one of their signs mentioned "friends (in Italian, 'paisanos')".
> (For the record, Italian words don't end in "s"; the plural of
> "paisano" is "paisani".)
I've never eaten at a Buca... and only once at an Olive Garden. Italian
food is too easy to cook well at home... and if I get the urge to eat it in
a restaurant, there are so many reasonably prices local restaurants that
avoiding the chains is usually pretty easy. One exception... I have had a
few good meals at a Macaroni Grill... but again, I've been to one maybe 5
times in the past 10 years.
> Question: is the Lady Luck open? I walked right by it on the way to
> get the Deuce bus, but I didn't see any way of getting in, and didn't
> see any action around it.
Nope... not open but is should be next year.
http :// insurancenewsnet,com /article.asp?n=1&neID 080702290.2 067101102c665d9b
The Lady Luck and the Plaza are two of the biggest disappointment is
downtown. WIth a little investment and promotion, they could be brought up
to Golden Nugget standards and give the downtown area some "better than
average" properties. I have hopes for the Lady Luck... but doubt that the
Plaza will ever see any improvement under the present owners.
>Later, I decide to break one of my Ten Rules of Gambling and put $20
>into a dollar Wheel of Fortune machine
WOF machines are a good reason why I don't carry a gun. There is nothing
more annoying than playing blackjack and hearing that damn "WHEEL - OF -
FORTUNE!!!!" blaring out every 47 seconds. After the first twenty times or
so, I am ready to put a .45 hollowpoint into Pat Sajak's forehead.
Thanks for a good report. I'm glad you had a good time and came out ahead.
George L
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
Excellent report.
I am like you and several others in the disapointment I feel each time
I see the skeleton of the Lady Lack and the Plaza.
These two hotels have enormous unfulfilled potential.
DD
Excellent report.
I am like you and several others in the disapointment I feel each time
I see the skeleton of the Lady Lack and the Plaza.
These two hotels have enormous unfulfilled potential.
DD
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
On Jul 5, 12:59 am, Don Del Grande <del grande n...@earthlink,net >
wrote:
.
> That night, I found what appear to be the only full pay 25-cent VP
> machines in all of Vegas at the California;
Huh, you could have walked to the Elco down the street or gone to a
dozen off-strip places and found full-pay.
On Jul 5, 12:59 am, Don Del Grande <del grande n...@earthlink,net >
wrote:
.
> That night, I found what appear to be the only full pay 25-cent VP
> machines in all of Vegas at the California;
Huh, you could have walked to the Elco down the street or gone to a
dozen off-strip places and found full-pay.
Re: Trip Report - June 29-July 4
Don Del Grande wrote:
>/snip/
> Lunch at Stripburger; the burger was a little charred, especially for
> "medium", but still better than what I had at BLT.
/snip/
Good report Don.....where is Stripburger located?
Thanks.
Don Del Grande wrote:
>/snip/
> Lunch at Stripburger; the burger was a little charred, especially for
> "medium", but still better than what I had at BLT.
/snip/
Good report Don.....where is Stripburger located?
Thanks.
