Las Vegas Trip Reports

A buddy and I just got back from a weekend at Circus Circus. I’ve stayed at the better properties on the strip (Bellagio, MB, Venetian) and was a little leery of CC, especially with all of the negative posts. Some event on Saturday was causing Friday room rates to go through the roof so we settled on a Tower room which was much better than I expected, it was on par with any of the older properties on the Strip. I dunno, maybe CC rooms used to be much dumpier but perhaps recent renovations have fixed that. The bathroom counters were granite, the towels were fluffy, the water was hot and had a lot of pressure. This is not something which can be consistently said for even some of the newer mid-level properties. (I’ve had some bad
experiences at places like Monte Carlo and Luxor).

One nice thing about CC when compared to other older properties is that it knows what it wants to be. The circus is supposed to be a little seedy, right? CC upholds that theme in the public areas and all of the screaming kids running around only enhances the surreal circus experience. All you need are some evil clowns roaming around to complete the picture. Can anyone tell me what the theme is at Ballys, Riviera, Sahara, Stardust, or Tropicana? Those places used to be the class act in their day but now are just generic low-roller propeties.

I can’t comment on the food at CC as we didn’t eat there. I do remember from a prior visit a few years back that the Steak House is very good.

I did have a fun time rolling the dice at CC. Even though the odds there suck at 2x, the “homeboys” at the table knew how to have a good time, yelling, joking, and trading sarcastic barbs with the table crew. Earlier that evening I was at the Wynn LV and held the dice for 15
minutes. I wasn’t making a lot of points but I was rolling all of the other numbers. Everyone at that table was so somber and non-emotional that I had to sarcastically ask if “anyone was having a good time”. All I got was blank stares and so I felt a certain self-satisfaction
when I finally seven’d out.

So that’s my 2 cents on CC. It might not be the nicest place but it certainly is good value for $135 a night (or the even better standard weekend rate of $100 per night). Don’t get me wrong, I love places like Bellagio and Mandalay Bay but they cost 3 to 4 times that of CC.
Do they really provide 3 to 4 times the level of quality? I think it was the late Benny Binion who said when it comes to gambling, “a joint’s a joint”.

July 4, 2005 I packed up the ’74 Ford Crestwood Wagon, added a quart of oil, filled the tank (I miss the leaded stuff), and rounded up the ankle biters and my live-in girlfriend (who pops kids out quicker than you can say “Trojan Man”). It was 4am and we had an additional 30 minute drive to pick up her mother who rarely ventures out of the 1 bedroom apartment she shares with six cats and 10 years of Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes envelopes. There were a total of seven of us going:
Me, Girlfriend Lulu, Girlfriend’s Mother Verna, Dusty (10), Daisy (Cool, Leroy and Laquicia (4yr old twins).

I had been anticipating this trip for a long time, and have been using the LVT board for ideas and tips while planning. I got a smoking deal on the strip at a Resort called Circus Circus. In addition to a Manor Room for $29 (who’d ever think I could afford to stay in a Manor!!), they gave us four 2f1 buffet coupons!! May not seem like much but when you think about it, this fed us for free for 4 days ‘cause Verna is on a tapioca and jello diet and Lulu is still breastfeeding the twins. Also, they only charged us an additional $10 for the crib and two rollaways. I know, I know, you’re saying to yourself, there’s one bed short…they did make a mistake and gave us a King instead of 2 dbls so Verna slept with me and Lulu. The bed was bigger than I’m used to, so it wasn’t a real big deal except Verna’s a little old fashioned and insisted on sleeping between us ‘cause were not “officially” married. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.

By 6 or 7am I’m in Wickenburg and we decide to grab a quick bite at this truck stop. Wouldn’t be much to note except while I was there this dude a couple tables away is eating a big old Tbone and egg plate, reading a romance novel, and mumbling to everyone (it was just us and the waitress) that he’s “The Real Mr Vegas”. And get this, he’s drinking some high fallutin’ fancy handcrafted ale…at 7am!!! Geez, it takes all kinds huh?! I figured he was headed to Vegas ‘cause he was wearin a “Don Ho Vegas 1980 Tour shirt, and I was gonna make small talk but about then is when Leroy dropped a load in his pull-ups that’d make Nagasaki run for cover. Read the rest of this entry »