Trip Report - 11/16 - 11/21

I was back in Vegas at the Riviera for the semi-annual backgammon tournament. This is always a highlight of my year as the backgammon event is really well run, the stakes are higher and I get to play around in Vegas for 5-6 days. Here are some highlights of my trip.

I was traveling alone this time as my wife couldn’t make the trip due to her schedule at work. I flew in on AirTran on Wednesday morning. The flight was uneventful and I got a good price of $218 from Atlanta. Delta wasn’t competitive on the price so AirTran got the nod. The new Recaro seats on the 737 were pretty comfortable (as airline seats go).

A short wait for the $5 shuttle bus got me to the Riviera cheaply and I was the 2nd stop. The shuttles are clearly the way to go if traveling alone. I paid $10 extra for VIP check-in which probably saved me 20 minutes and I got the room location/format I wanted on the 19th floor of the Monaco tower. The room was very clean and functional and the maids did an excellent job each day, ($25 tip at the end of the trip). This was also the right location because the backgammon action was in the penthouse of the same tower just 5 floors above. This is a great venue for the tournament and the view of all of LV is excellent with windows on all sides of the ballroom.

I won my first scheduled afternoon match in the Super Jackpot. That evening I walked over to the Peppermill and had a decent swordfish dinner. It was a bit dry, but now that I’m on a low-fat diet, it was a good choice, I headed downtown where there are some good 2-deck blackjack games I wanted to play. I took a cab, but later in the week when I used the Duece I realized that the bus is a great option from the North strip to downtown. It’s only $2 and
it didn’t make that many stops. If you were going from Mandalay Bay, however, you might get annoyed as I’m sure it would be stopping 20 or 30 times. The buses are brand new with comfortable seats and a good view from the upstairs. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep them clean.

First I stopped at Fitzgerald’s for the Spanish21 game where you can double-down three times on the same hand. I got to do that once, but lost the hand. I was busting everything and lost $240. This was luckily one of only two really bad sessions the whole week. I might be swearing off of this particular ’stunt’-blackjack game from now on. I tried out the Blackjack-Switch game which is sort of fun. You get two hands, and can switch the top two cards before playing each one out. They only pay 1-1 on blackjacks, and if the dealer draws to 22 you push. It’s still a low edge game and gives you more things to do to make the game a bit more interesting. (more…)

Left Newark Sun. 11/13 7:20 am, arrive in LV 10:10 am. First time staying at Mirage. The room is very nice. Bathroom is a little small, but doable! Only one complaint about the room…the lighting! The lighting in the bathroom and vanity area is yellowish. Very hard to put make-up on in that shade of light, but I survived! My father-in-law and his girlfriend were to meet us around 11:00 pm later that night, but their plane had an emergency landing in Albuquerque, NM due to a cracked windshield! All the emergency vehicles were along side the landing strip just in case! They were scared, but all went well! They arrived in LV 2:00 am.

We ate a late lunch or early dinnner, at the buffet, Cravings. It was good, but not outstanding at all. Was very typical. I’m used to Bellagio so maybe I’m a little spoiled..LOL! Then we got ready for our first show; Celine Dion at Caesars! Wow! What a show, what a voice, what a talent! I love Celine, but I had no idea her voice would sound better live than on a CD! She hit every note with ease! If you like Celine, whether it’s a lot or a little, go see her show! Worth every dollar! Went back to hotel to wait for my father-in-law, gambled, lost then went to bed.

Monday my husband went for a massage at the spa while I met my dad-inlaw for breakfast at the buffet. Again, was typical buffet food, but good! We all met up by 11:00 am and went over to Wynn’s! Very beautiful, very elegant and classy just like Bellagio. Someday I’d like to stay there too! Went back to hotel to get ready for dinner and show. Dinner at Sambas was good. Love the Rodizio experience! Meat..and lots of it! Recommend going there! The show was the Rat Pack Show at Greek Isles. Frank, Dean, Sammy and Joey! They were excellent. They sounded just like them, and funny too! Oh, and Marilyn stops in too. She’s just as beautiful as Marilyn Monroe was! Greek Isles is a very small casino, only a few slot machines and that’s it. No table games. There was a karaoke singer who was dressed like Elvis, but oh my god…he was awful. What a riot! He thought he sounded good! After the show, we walked to Stardust because of lack of taxi’s at Greek Isles. We were lucky there! I won $145 on Video Poker, hubby won $250 from craps, dad inlaw won $25 blackjack and his gf won $35 in craps! Now we like the Stardust..LOL! Back to Mirage for bed, we’re tired.

Tuesday we went to O’Shea’s to gamble. We were there for hours. Won, lost , won, lost. Who cares, we were enjoying ourselves! We liked it there. They play good music while you gamble! Walked around some more, sightseeing, etc. Went back to Mirage and gambled more. I play Let it Ride, Paigow Poker, Roulette and slots. I did play blackjack at O’Shea’s, but it’s not really my favorite. Hubby plays Blackjack and craps. My dad-inlaw plays only $5 blackjack, and his girlfriend only plays craps. She could win a marathon playing craps! She just stands there for hours and plays! Amazing! At 3:00 pm went to see the Big Elvis show at Barbary Coast! My god he sounds just like Elvis! We sat at the bar and drank while we listened to him. He doesn’t move much being so big, but he sounds great. Recommend seeing his free show! Back to Mirage to get ready for our dinner at Circo in Bellagio. I love it there. Always go there for my rack of lamb whenever I’m in LV! As usual, the lamb was excellent. Everybody’s food was good, and service is excellent! Watching the water show while we ate was awesome! The conservatory was, as usual, breathtaking! They had a Fall/Thanksgiving theme with a working water mill! Back to Mirage, took mini tram to TI with dad-inlaws’ gf. She won in craps, I won in Video Poker, was fun. The mini tram is convenient! Back to Mirage to gamble a little more, (lost what I had won in TI), then bed!

Wednesday we ate breakfast in the coffee shop. Muffins were huge and tasty. Dad and gf visited friends who live in LV, hubby and I went on a Hoover Dam tour! Loved it! Everybody should do this at least once in their lives. I’ve flown over in a helicopter, but this was our first time being there. Back to Mirage, had dinner at buffet with in-laws, gambled a little then said our goodbyes. The in-laws went back to Florida. We’re staying til Sat. morning. Now we get ready for our 10:00 Amazing Jonathan show at the Sahara. The Sahara is not the cleanest place I’ve been in. They really need to clean it and fix it up a bit. Jonathan’s show was the same show we saw on TV so we were not surprised by anything he did, but he’s funny. Not for everybody though, he’s got a weird sense of humor! Back to Mirage, won in Let it Ride for $250, went to bed!

Thursday I brought up donuts and coffee to the room for breakfast. We went to Flamingo to see the wildlife exhibit, then to the monorail (1st time on it) to MGM to walk around. Then off to Luxor to get gifts for my daughter who is in love with anything Egyptian. Gambling in each casino, a little bit. Losing mostly, but still having fun. Back to Mirage, get ready for dinner and show downtown. Dinner was at Lillie Langtry’s in Golden Nugget. Was very good. I had no complaints here. Service and food were both very good! Then off the see the new light show downtown. Miss the old one! This one has better pictures, but I miss the songs of LV, like Sinatra singing Luck be a Lady Tonight! Or Elvis’s Viva Las Vegas! We saw the patriotic show. Not much to it really! Off to Fitzgeralds for Larry Jones show. Was fantastic. I loved it! My stomach hurt from laughing so hard. He picked on my husband which was very funny. He sings, dances and is very funny. I recommend seeing him! Walked around downtown, drank, listened to the outdoor musicians (very good), then back to Mirage. Gambled more, won $400 on video poker..yeah!!! We were hungry and went to Caribe Cafe for a very late night snack. Was good. I had chicken salad in a croissant and he had blueberry crisp with icecream, yummy!

Friday we slept late, ate at Caribe Cafe for breakfast/lunch cos’ it was noon. Then off to Palms. My hubby has never been there so we went to check it out! He won playing black jack, and I lost on the slots! So far we are not doing too well in the winning department, but again…we’re having fun! Back to the strip, walking around with my gigantic strawberry daiguari I bought at IP, with the extra shot for $1 in it! Definately felt that drink…Weeee! Ok, now to go back to Mirage cos’ we have dinner plans for Michael’s at Barbary Coast. Wow! Very very good. Food, service and ambiance were excellent! Very expensive but worth it! I recommend going there! Back to Mirage, gambled some more, but was very tired and went to bed before midnight! Unusual for LV! We packed cos’ we were leaving next morning.

Saturday we finished packing. Went to see our host, Bob, to thank him for comping our room for the whole week! Was very nice of him. We’ll probably stay at Mirage again. NO complaints from me! Back to Newark, hop a cab and back home within an hour from landing. Miss LV already. Making my plans for next time…Ka…Barry Manilow…Avenue Q; here we come!!!!

Hope this wasn’t too long or boring for ya. I enjoyed my whole week there.

Thanks Cindy

Posted by Cindy on EverythingLV