[doctor_al]

Posted a different TR elsewhere, will just hit the highlights here...

Stayed at 3 places - LV Hilton for a night (buddy got a great rate here), El Cortez for a night (tower room, $27.50 after tax + $5 slot credit +$5 matchplay + $5 dining credit), and Wynn for two nights (159/nite, + 50 in dining credit + 25 slot credit). Room rates are the #1 greatest thing about december trips.

Hilton was ok - didn't get one of the renovated rooms b/c I didn't want to spend an extra 50/nite! Book here is great for racing, and they turn the Theatre into NFL central on Sundays - $2 beers and dollar dogs. Great time there. Took a little money off a Pai Gow table, gave it back to the slots and VP.

El Cortez is a fave of mine. Love breakfast at Careful Kitty's, and prime rib at Roberta's, but this time they were out !? Hit on a couple NFL bets (placed here after breakfast but watched at Hilton), busted on the blackjack matchplay (top five worst dealer ever) even on the slot credit. Saw Jackie Gaughan even.

Wynn is a nice place to stay. I mean you know that going in, but still, service level, the bathroom, the views, very nice. Main complaint is the lack of lounges, basically just parasol Up (which is great, though).

Couple things I've never done in vegas:
1) play golf - went out to Angel Park and got around 9 for 25 including a cart (the after-2pm rate). Not the best condition course I've ever played, nor the hardest, but nice. JW Marriot and Suncoast look pretty nice from the outside...
2) saw a show - went to Mac King in the afternoon, fun and funny, but towards the end there seemed to be a fair amount of filler. "free with a drink" = $18/two tickets and a couple slushy drinks. would've seen more shows but wound up just hanging out with friends most of the time, and that's not all bad.

Also saw Big Elvis, and the Con Te Partira fountain show at Bellagio. Also saw a towering column of smoke coming from around Hooters - turns out somebody torched a small (defunct) storefront near there. Once we knew it wasnt serious, we joked about what happens when you put too many hot women too close together...

Lotsa construction. City Center and Wynn's Encore are starting to get off the ground. Venetian's Palazzo is mostly framed up. Trump's condo tower is up and almost completely faced. Westward Ho is now just a flat piece of ground. Nothing's happend to Stardust, except that there is a wall around it. Aladdin's casino is half converted to Planet Hollywood, lots of brown/black and white - lots of construction mess, stay away for a while.

Ate at Cafe BaBaReeba (spanish tapas, pretty good but not superlative); robertas (good but not great porterhouse); Ellis Island (ok steak, good for $5 but tending towards tough); Wynn's Buffet and also Cafe for breakfast (great, especially the cafe).

Overall, a very nice trip. Much as I like the El Co, I could get used to that Wynn thing...