Back To the Future TR
March 9-23, 2011
The year is 2031. Father Time has not been kind to the Westies who now reside in a semi private room, shared with Max-the-Schipperke, in the Snake Eyes Zumba Parlor and Nursing Home. Their idea of entertainment these days involves being wheeled to the community room to watch reruns of Jessie Ventura's Conspiracy Theory or Days of Our Lives: the first 65 years. What passes for fine dining is an evening meal of overdone mystery meat, reconstituted potatoes, a pureed vegetable du jour and a slice of prune pie ala mode. Their sole gambling activity involves Metamusil and the distance to the nearest bathroom.
When we were younger, so much younger than today,
We never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now those days are gone, we're not so self assured
Now we find we've changed our minds, but someone's locked the doors.
On a dark and gloomy evening in early March, a spaceship from Planet Dementia landed in the used car lot immediately adjacent to Snake Eyes. The leader, wearing a black Stetson hat and toting a 6-string guitar, entered the nursing home and made his way to the Westies' room introduced himself as Garth Vader.
After a few minutes of pleasantries, Garth offered the Westies an opportunity to take a pill that would transport them back in time and space to Las Vegas circa 2011. The only condition was they had to agree to take a second pill two weeks later on their return to Hartford. Since neither of them could remember having visited Las Vegas in the past, they did not hesitate to accept the offer. The following trip report is based on their shared recollection.
03/09 On arriving in Las Vegas, we took the shuttle to Alamo in the consolidated rental facility only to discover they were out of Deloreans so we settled on a Hundai Accent with 4,732 miles on the odometer. Traffic was relatively light so the drive to Sam's Town, where we were staying for the duration of this trip, took little time. Check-in went smoothly and we were assigned room 391, a nonsmoking room with a king-sized bed and expansive views of the beautiful roof top. http://www.samstownlv.com/
After unpacking, we were off to Boulder Station's Havana Lounge where we enjoyed a pair of merlots courtesy of LVA coupons. Our next stop was the Oyster Bar at Palace Station where we stood in line for about 15 minutes until a few stools became available.
http://www.palacestation.com/dining/oyster-bar/menu.pdf We each ordered the combination pan roast that included crab, lobster, fish, shrimp and a generous portion of rice. The pan roast is prepared in front of you and it proved to be both delicious and filling. ($6, Points, 4 Spoons out of a possible 5)
We stopped at the Wal-Mart immediately across from Sam's for sundry items before calling it a night.
03/10 I woke up at 2AM this morning ready for some FPDW (full pay deuces wild) action. Over the following 4.5 hours I managed to hit 2 quad deuces, each paying 1,000 coins.
Our first breakfast was the buffet in Sunset Station using a coupon printed from the Station Casino's new http://www.weluvlocals.com/ website. This breakfast buffet is one of the better ones in a locals casino and the current pricing, $4.99, makes it a down right steal when combined with a 2/1 coupon. I enjoyed a breakfast of OJ, skim milk, grapefruit sections with strawberry yogurt, easy over eggs and hash browns. ($5.39, 2.5 Forks)
We then drove to the Paseo Verde Library in Henderson where we purchased 3 hard cover books and quickly checked our email.
In the early afternoon we returned to Sam's in time to catch the Variety Talk of the Town show which is free for B Connected slot club members. Today's show was hosted and starred Poperazzii, a 3-member group that sings Italian popopera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VWoFwxkLjc They sang 6-7 songs including Boccaceli's "Time to Say Goodbye". Other performers included Mark Giovi (Bite) who performed both solo and with Genevieve Drew, Mr. Freddie B (jazz) and Alex Christopher (a 17 year old local singing sensation). The latter performed two songs including a wonderful rendition of Tom Jones' "Green, Green Grass of Home". http://www.youtube.com/user/AlexChristopherLV (4.5 Claps)
Ann won $10 playing VP in the late afternoon shortly before we departed for Boulder Station where we enjoyed a pair of merlots before heading to Summerlin for dinner at Technique in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School. www.techniquerestaurant.com
This student-run restaurant offers a 5-course tasting menu that costs a mere $15 per person. We started off with a glass of Ross Estates "Light Out Bound" shiraz and chose the same 5-courses: 3-cheese onion gratin soup, endive, frisee, duck confit, and lobster with apple dressing, Caesar salad, miso salmon over Asian vegetables in a wonton wrapper with roasted pineapple and sesame vinaigrette and pumpkin crème brulee. Service was excellent and everything we sampled was good with the highlights being the onion soup and salmon. ($31.48, Restaurant.com (R.com), 3.5 Forks)
We were both exhausted so on our return to Sam's we retired to our room.
03/11 In spite of a pair of natural straight flushes, including one dealt to me, and my #3rd quad deuces, dealt to me on the re-draw, I lost money.
Breakfast was a cup of coffee for Ann and a shared apple fritter at Ronald's Donuts on Spring Mountain Road. ($2.89, 3.5 Forks)
Our next stop was the Orleans where we each used a Las Vegas Advisor (LVA) play $10, receive $10 in free play coupon. Ann cashed out at $3.75 while I made $10. The next stop was the Gold Coast where we played similar coupons with Ann winning $17.50 and me a paltry $8.75. Our grand total was $40, 2 bottles of water (Ann) and 2 bloody Marys's (me).
It was now lunch time so we headed east on Flamingo to 9091 LA Style. This restaurant offers limited outside seating and serves Korean-style tacos so we ordered a special that included 4 tacos (1 pollo and 3 with Korean BBQ beef) plus a 20-ounce diet Pepsi. The beef tacos were superior to the one with chicken. Each included a medium sized portion of thinly cut, crispy, sweet potato fries. ($5, KSHP, 3.5 Forks)
I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading (5%) and napping (95%). In the meantime, Ann hit her first quad deuces of the trip.
In the late afternoon we watched the first half of the UCONN (men) versus Syracuse basketball game before heading off to the South Point Casino for the Friday night happy hour featuring $2 drinks. We started off with merlots ($5, 2.5 Sips) at the Silverado bar and then upgraded both physically and quality wise to Tequila Mockingbirds (tequila, triple sec, blue Curacao and pineapple juice) at the upstairs Tequila Bar. ($5, 4 Sips)
Dinner tonight was at Sabor, an upscale Mexican restaurant that we first visited last September.
http://www.thesabor.com/ We received complimentary house made tortilla chips with two delicious salsas and a black bean dip plus small bowls containing cumin seeds and coriander that have been roasted.
We started off sharing a nopales salad (not so crispy cactus with diced tomatoes, sweet corn, pearl onions and cilantro that was dressed in light vinaigrette and finished with queso fresca and pine nuts).
Ann chose the Quajillo scallops as an entrée; scallops with a spicy quajillo chili rub that were sautéed and finished with sweet corn, caramelized onions and sundried tomatoes. Not to be outdone, I ordered Mole Negro Oaxaqueno (a large portion of grilled chicken covered in Mom's, actually his mother-in-law's, deep brown mole and fried plantains). We concluded this bountiful feast by sharing a flan Napolitano with homemade caramel and whipped cream. ($41.78, R.com, 4 Forks)
03/12 Last night was an early to bed and I rose early this morning so I was hopeful I would be wealthy and wise today. I am not sure of the being wise part, but I did manage to hit #'s 4 and #5 quad deuces.
Our destination for breakfast was Addiction in Rumor Boutique Hotel. http://www.rumorvegas.com/ The small dining room, done in various shades of white, was serviced by only one waitress. Ann chose the silver dollar Butterfinger & mascarpone pancakes with maple syrup and a coffee. I selected an egg white scramble with spinach, roasted red peppers, and sundried tomatoes that were accompanied by breakfast potatoes (lukewarm) and sourdough toast. The food was pretty average so it is unlikely we will be returning in the future. ($16.97, R.com, 2 Forks)
We made the short drive to the Planet Hollywood parking garage in order to tour the new the Cosmopolitan. http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/ The 3-story Chandelier bar is impressive as is some of the public art, but what will probably have us retuning will be one of their reasonably priced, by Strip standards, restaurants. (3.5 Claps)
On returning to Sam's, we each put in a short losing VP session.
In the late afternoon we again made our way to Boulder Station where Ann enjoyed a merlot while I sipped on a really bad frozen margarita before ordering a draft beer. ($3, LVA, 2 Sips)
We then made a relatively traffic-free drive to the Cannery in North Las Vegas where we held dinner reservations at Waverly's Steakhouse. http://www.cannerycasino.com/files/Waverlys_combined_menu.pdf
The room is tastefully decorated and service throughout our meal was excellent.
We decided to pass on appetizers/salads in favor of an order of delicious sautéed spinach. We each chose grilled halibut for an entree that came with au gratin potatoes. Everything was excellent though our halibut was overdone and dry. We did not return the fish because we were under tight time constraints since we would be seeing a show immediately following. ($45.15, R.com, 2.5 Forks)
As we exited the restaurant, I was amazed by the long line snaking across the casino for the Legends of Motown Old School Tribute show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv1qtSWgKps The large cast of impersonators covered songs by Gladys Knight & the Pips, O'Jays, Al Green, Temptations, Four Tops, Spinners, Marvelettes, James Brown plus a few others. The impersonations ranged from pretty good to mediocre. After 2 hours, my butt was in serious pain from sitting on the very hard fold-up chairs. ($9, KSHP, 2.5 Claps)
03/13 During an otherwise forgettable VP session, I drew the 2 cards needed for my first royal flush of the trip.
We decided to celebrate our new found wealth by having brunch at Bernard's Bistro by the Lake in MonteLago Village at Lake Las Vegas. We arrived at 10AM only to discover they now start serving the brunch at 10:30AM so we decided to visit the spa at the recently reopened and renamed Ravella Hotel. Business this morning was slow so an employee gave us a personal tour of the beautiful facilities.
http://www.ravellavegas.com/features-activities/spa.asp
The weather was in the low 70's so we decided to sit on the patio. I was a bit taken back by the increase in menu prices, approximately 35%, since our last visit in December. Ann again ordered the quiche Florentine with petite salad while I chose the Cordon Bleu omelet served with breakfast potatoes. Both dishes were deftly executed and delicious. ($22.30, R.com, 3.5 Forks)
As we were enjoying our meal and the balmy temperatures, approximately 30 high-priced sports cars entered the plaza After exiting the patio, we enjoyed viewing the many Lotus', Ferraris and Porches on display.
On our return to the room we read the newspaper before putting in relatively long sessions at the FPDW machines where I registered a small loss.
At approximately 5PM we made our first of many visits to the beautiful Ellis Island Casino Resort and Polo Club (Ellis). In rapid succession I ordered a merlot followed by a Weiss draft while Ann stuck with merlots. ($2, ACG, 3 Sips)
Dinner tonight was at M&M Soul Food Café. http://www.usmenuguide.com/mmsoulfoodmenu.html
We received complimentary cornbread pancakes – delicious. Each of us ordered fried chicken as an entree with me choosing dark meat and Ann white. Mine was moist and delicious; Ann's was dry. I enjoyed the crispy crust, Ann didn't. Each came with a choice of 3 sides. Together we sampled macaroni and cheese (3), green beans (1), collard greens (4), fried okra (3) and sweet potatoes (3.5).
The restaurant was in process of closing for the night as we began to exit so the biggest, baddest-looking security guard I have ever seen opened the unlocked door and watched as we got safely in our car. If things turn ugly between me and Garth Vader, I want this guy with his Glock on my side.
($16.53, R.com, 3.5 Forks by Westie, 2 Forks by Ann)
On our return to Sam's we beat a hasty trail to Roxy's Lounge to listen to a few sets by Mark Giovi and Genevieve Drew. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxZ9Hb0A9n4 A few of the songs they covered were Chicago, Unforgettable, Fly Me to the Moon and L-O-V-E. (4 Claps)
03/14 Holy horseshoe Batman, I was dealt 4 deuces on the redraw again making it a total of 6 quad deuces and a royal flush in the first 5 days of this trip.
I made a dumb mistake by driving to the Fiesta- Henderson for breakfast this morning thinking Denny's had closed and it might as well have given the few customers in restaurant. We each ordered a short stack of what turned out to be very mediocre pancakes. Oh, how I miss the old coffee shop at the Reserve, in fact I miss the Reserve. ($1 points, 1.5 Forks)
Following breakfast we made the short drive to the Paseo Verde Library to check our emails and purchase yet another book for Ann. We also visited the Henderson Multigenerational Center to view a small exhibit of paintings by Glen Haywood, a local resident. (1.5 Brushes)
On our return to the room we shared a piece of sweet potato pie from our dinner at M&M Soul Food. (3 Forks) After reading the newspaper, we parted ways. Actually Ann parted for the VP machines while and I stayed in the room and napped.
We reunited and on our drive out the Boulder Highway that evening we saw a woman run across the highway pushing a walker – what's that all about?
Our destination this evening was Red Rock Resort in Summerlin for T-Time at T-Bones Chophouse.
http://www.redrocklasvegas.com/dining/tbones.php This nightly happy hour runs from 5-7PM and includes a large menu of $5 appetizers and drinks. As bonus, the cocktail waitresses and female bartenders in their slinky black dresses and high heels are drop dead gorgeous. There were also 4-6 suits milling about whose function I never figured out so they must be management.
We started off with drinks; Ann chose Peaches (4.5 Sips) (absolute peach vodka, Pama Pomegranate liqueur, elderflower syrup, fresh peaches, Rock Candy syrup, fresh line and a sugar rim) while I chose the Blue Mojito Devil (4 Sips) (Bacardi Razz, Hiram Walker blue Curacao, fresh blueberries and fresh mint topped with club soda). We than shared the TBones Steakhouse salad; a large portion of romaine lettuce, bacon, avocado, gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes and white French dressing. (3.5 Forks)
Our third order included a glass of Rodney Strong merlot and Chicken Pot Pie for Ann while I chose The Cocktail You Gave Me Last Time; Montecristo 12 year rum infused with fresh pineapples, vanilla beans, cinnamon, pineapple juice and brown sugar topping (3.5 Sips) and Beef on Weck; a healthy heap of prime rib sliced thin on a roll served with French Fries, au jus and 3 horseradish sauces (3.5 Forks). The bill for our drinks ($20) exceeded our food ($15), but it was all covered, minus a $6 gratuity, by Ann's points.
On our return to the room we shared a peach cobbler from our dinner at M&M Soul Food. (3.5 Spoons)
We then retreated to the VP machines for a short session with me breaking even and Ann losing.
03/15 This morning's session was notably boring with me effectively breaking even.
We headed west this morning for the South Point Casino where we rendezvoused with Buddha (Open Vegas Board) and Nancy at the breakfast buffet. They were on their way to the airport after enjoying a week's vacation. Our leisurely breakfast lasted almost 2 hours during which I consumed a Bloody Mary, OJ, grapefruit with strawberry yogurt, carved ham and a huevo ranchero. ($6.19, LVA, 2.5 Forks)
PS – thanks Jim for the leftover coupons. I played all 3 of $5 MPs at Sam's, but only broke even.
On exiting we drove to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and toured the Treasures of Egypt and other exhibits I used a 2/1 coupon that was printed off their website. http://www.lvnhm.org/ ($8, 2 Claps)
Once again I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading the paper and napping before putting in a very abbreviated VP session.
In the late afternoon we drove to the Clarion Hotel, formerly the Greek Isles. A large sign was posted advising of a $10 parking fee so we parked on a nearby street. The bartender told us the parking fee is imposed whenever there is activity at the nearby Convention Center.
To be kind, this casino/hotel has seen better days, but the staff is friendly and the drinks (merlot) were free using ACG coupons. The bartender ran out of merlot when we ordered a 2nd round so she had to call security to obtain another bottle. Talk about tight inventory controls. (2 Sips)
We then made the short drive to Palace Station where we dined at the Broiler. http://www.palacestation.com/dining/broiler/dinner.pdf We each ordered the 8 ounce filet mignon done medium rare. All entrees include the soup and salad bar. The filet was cooked to perfection and turned out to be better than I expected. ($9, LVA, points, 3 Forks)
It was back to the Clarion for the Shades of Sinatra show in the intimate Wolf Theater http://shadesofsinatra.weebly.com/ The 4 performers sang over 30 of Frank's greatest hits accompanied by pre-recorded music. It is unfortunate, given the quality of their voices and stage presence, that the sound system is as rundown as the hotel itself. ($15, 2 Claps)
03/16 This morning's 4.5 hour session yielded a 2nd royal flush.
On the way to breakfast we dropped off our dirty clothes at our usual wash and fold before continuing on to Einstein's Brothers where Ann ordered a coffee and we shared a bagel plus a BYOOJ (bring our own orange juice) in the car. ($4.87, 3 Forks)
I dropped Ann off at Elements Massage for a Swedish massage and then killed the following hour by filling the gas tank and reading the newspaper. http://touchofelements.com/henderson ($60, Groupon, 3.5 Hands)
It was senior day at M Resort so we chose to have the ½ price lunch at Studio B buffet this afternoon. We arrived around 12:30PM and took me just over an hour in line before I reached the cashier. After being shown to a table, I headed for the free wine and just as I was returning to the table I bumped into former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Fortunately for him, I had drinks in both hand or else I would have given him a good trouncing.
This buffet remains one of the better ones, but IMHO it has slipped in quality since our last visit. http://www.themresort.com/dining/studiob.html I managed to fill up a wide variety of salads, side dishes, a pair of fried shrimp, cioppino, cappuccino and a dozen (a slight exaggeration) desserts. ($16.20, 2.5 Forks)
On exiting the buffet, we joined the crowd at Revello Lounge where Mark O'Toole now performs on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30-5:30PM. http://tinyurl.com/64nlgh5 Mark covers a wide variety of music including songs made famous by the likes of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Barry Manilow and Nat King Cole. Though he sings to pre-recorded music, his voice and the sound system are excellent. (4 Claps)
Before retuning to Sam's we picked up our clothes at the wash and fold. ($11, 4.5 Folds)
Later that evening I stopped by Roxy's Lounge in Sam's where Mr. Freddy B was performing. I saw one lady sitting alone at the bar and asked if she was a VegasBabe (member of Everything Las Vegas Board), if looks could kill they would have buried me on Boot Hill the following afternoon.
03/17 It was St. Patrick's Day and I had green in my pocket after hitting my 8th quad deuces of the trip.
We decided to celebrate by having breakfast at the Le Village buffet in Paris, the casino, not the city. http://www.parislasvegas.com/casinos/paris-las-vegas/restaurants-dining/le-village-buffet-detail.html This buffet at one time was arguably the best in Las Vegas, but it has continued to deteriorate under Harrah's ownership. My menu included OJ, Lyonnaise potatoes (terrible), strawberries with yogurt, a variety of cheeses, a hard boiled egg Benedict (yuck) and Andouille sausage. ($16.20, LVA, 2 Forks)
On our return to Sam's I played 3 rounds in the senior's slot tournament recording lower scores on each successive round.
In the early afternoon we drove out to the South Point for the Dennis Bono radio show. His guests this afternoon included Clint Holmes, Corrie Sachs (Country Stars Tribute Show), Wendy Edmead (Pointer Sisters and a variety of Broadway shows), Carmine Mandia (Shades of Sinatra) and 2 members of Sha Na Na. (3.5 Claps)
On exiting I joked with Carmine that I couldn't get away from him and he invited us (and everyone else he talked to) to see him perform at the Bootlegger Bistro on Sunday, but we declined because we had tickets to see Sha Na Na.
We then used our ticket stubs for a pair of complimentary mudslides (2 Sips) at the Grandview Lounge before returning to Sam's to watch the UCONN versus Bucknell game in our room.
At around 8PM we drove over to Spring Mountain Road for dinner at Bosa I, a highly acclaimed Vietnamese restaurant, only to discover it had recently closed. Our Plan B was the nearby HK Star Cantonese restaurant where we shared orders of shrimp in black bean sauce and chicken chow fun. http://vegasmusings.com/?p=4133 ($25, 2.5 Forks)
03/18 Within minutes of sitting down, I was dealt 3 to the royal and drew the remaining 2 for my 3rd royal flush of the trip. Though this was the first time I have had 3 royals on the same trip, I want to assure of this TR that I have not knowingly ever used performance enhancing drugs though at one time or other I may have been injected with flax seed oil and/or arthritis cream.
The first stop this morning was for a coffee and shared bagel ($4.65, 3 Forks) at Einstein's before I went to a Super Cuts to have my ears lowered. ($15, 2.5 hears) Ann became jealous and demanded equal treatment so I drove her to Hair Clips for a wash and blow dry. ($22, 2.5 Shears)
Lunch was at Spicy Pickle in the same mall. We each ordered a ½ Bastille Panini (portabella mushroom, roasted red peppers, provolone, red onions, tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and sundried tomato mayo) plus a cup of Redrock seafood bisque. I would return for the bisque, but the MSRP of the Panini seemed high. http://tinyurl.com/65cctsw ($6.25, Groupon, 3 Forks)
We returned to the room for a couple of hours before it was time to head over to the Gold Coast to listen to the Joe Darrow trio who are currently on break from their world tour of convalescent homes. Old jokes, old music, old larynx and a decidedly old audience summarizes their performance. (1 Clap)
We enjoyed a few merlots at Ellis before departing for dinner at Swish, a Japanese restaurant specializing in Shabu-Shabu. http://www.usmenuguide.com/swish.html We have dined at this restaurant in its former location several years ago so we new pretty much knew the drill. We shared orders of scallops and shrimp that also included udon noodles, Napa cabbage, onion, mushroom, broccoli, scallions and rice.
We cooked the seafood and veggies in a hot pot filled with seawater and then dipped each in either of two sauces which may be customized for one tastes by adding of chili sauce, daikon and/or garlic. The ingredients were uniformly fresh and the overall experience enjoyable, but the amount of seafood was ridiculously small in relation to the price. ($23.84, Livingsocial, 2 Forks)
We both put in short VP sessions and read before retiring for the evening.
03/19 I once again hit the quad deuces (#9) on the redraw.
At breakfast this morning at Ellis, Ann ordered the cinnamon French toast (slightly overcooked) while I had the easy over eggs, sourdough toast (chewy) and breakfast potatoes (amazingly good). Service this morning was excellent. ($8.14, ACG, 3 Forks)
On exiting the restaurant, we each played $10 in one of the few remaining 9/6 JOB machines and then redeemed ACG coupons good for $10 each in free play on a future visit. I lost my entire $10 while Ann cashed out for $7.50.
Our next stop was the Las Vegas Premium Outlets where we bought a Welcome to Las Vegas T-shirt for our grand niece and picked up a billfold for me to store our winnings. LOL
I lost a few dollars in an afternoon session before attending a drawing. My name was not included in the 5 names drawn, but it was nice to be invited.
Our pre dinner drinks at Boulder Station included a merlot for Ann (LVA) and a $1 bottle of Budweiser for me.
We adjourned to Carve at the nearby Eastside Cannery. Though it was Saturday night, the room was less than ½ full which is disappointing given its high quality/price ratio. http://tinyurl.com/2az9mgq
We shared a delicious warm spinach salad which included mushrooms, red onions, hard boiled egg and a sweet bacon dressing. We each ordered junior (12 ounce) cut prime ribs which were perfectly cooked, tender and delicious. Each was accompanied by au jus, a tangy horseradish-based sauce, grilled tomato and choice of starch (A=mashed potato, W=sweet potato).
The maître d comped us each a dessert as an apology for not comping Ann in December when we dined at the restaurant on her birthday. Mine was a slice of dense chocolate mousse while Ann's was a very heavy, dense chocolate bomb. ($33.40, R.com, 3.5 Forks)
I played $5 in free play in a short-pay JOB (Jacks or Better) machine and cashed out at $3.75. We then went to the slot booth and redeemed our remaining points for $71 in cash.
The UCONN men were again playing so we watched the last half at the sports bar. Low and behold Elvis was in the house and seated only a few chairs away from us. He is not the real Elvis, but he has the wig, the boots, the wardrobe and he performs almost nightly at Ellis Island's karaoke bar.
After the game, we visited the Marilyn's Lounge where Next Movement (R&B) was performing, but there were no seats available so we only listened to a few songs before returning to Sam's. http://www.thenextmovementshow.com/ (4 Claps)
03/20 I had my worst session of the trip this morning and that is all I am going to say about the subject.
Another visit to Einstein's for our usual ($4.65, 3 Forks) bagel and coffee which we consumed at one of the bars inside Sunset Station while watching the UCONN Women's basketball team play the University of Hartford in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The game became so lopsided that the network cut away in favor of some other programming shortly before the half so Ann headed to the FPDW machines while I checked the inventory of playable games using a printout from VPFree2 website. http://www.vpfree2.com/casinos/by-region/las-vegas.html
Prior to returning to the room, we stopped at Pepe's Tacos on the Boulder Highway for nourishment. http://www.pepestacoslasvegas.com/ This is a very popular (Why?) casual restaurant where you order at the window and wait to be called to pick up the food. We ordered a total of 4 street tacos; 3 with dried out pastor and 1 with tasteless pollo. Our plates included industrial taco chips, tasteless Spanish rice, ugly refried beans. I did enjoy the complimentary carrot and onion escabeche. ($7.84, 1 Salsa)
I spent the afternoon digesting while Ann read and lost a few $$ playing VP. In the late afternoon we headed off for the South Point for an evening of drinks, dinner and a show. As we approached the South Point I realized I had left our tickets in the room so I hauled a$$ back to Sam's. I had planned to fill up the gas tank after the show, but the gauge was now registering empty so I put a few gallons in on our way back to the South Point.
By the time we parked at the South Point I really needed a drink so we headed directly to Miguel's Tequila Bar for the nightly (Wed-Sun) tequila happy hour.
http://www.southpointcasino.com/press/09-tequila-time.php We each ordered a tequila mocking bird on our first round. For the 2nd, Ann chose a Patron margarita that was recommended by another patron while I settled on Baja Gold (anejo tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice and soda). ($10, 4 Sips)
Dinner was at the adjoining Primarily Prime Rib restaurant. http://www.southpointcasino.com/dining/primarily-prime-rib.php Since we hadn't had prime rib in ages, we each ordered the South Point cut done medium rare with me opting for blackened Cajun style. Our dinners included a house salad tossed tableside, a bread basket and a choice of potato (mashed for me, baker for Ann) or rice pilaf. The prime rib was smaller than at Carve, but pretty good.
($5, LVA, Points, 3 Forks)
With our bellies filled we proceeded to the show room to catch the Sha Na Na show. http://www.shanana.com/ This group has been performing old time rock & roll for 40 years and, though their voices are not impressive, the show is very entertaining. The high point of the evening came when Ann was led rather reluctantly to the stage to participate in a contest involving a hula hoop, the limbo and the twist. Based on her performance, or lack thereof, she received a gold medal (paper pie plate) that was autographed by each member of the group. ($35, LVA, 3 Claps)
On exiting we used our ticket stubs for complimentary beverages before returning to Sam's.
03/21 This morning's VP session was better than yesterday's, but not as good as tomorrow's.
Using another weluvlocals.com 2/1 coupon, we dined at the Feast buffet at Green Valley Ranch Resort this morning. This buffet used to be very good, but both the size and quality have diminished over recent years. ($5.39, LVA, 2 Forks)
We again made the short drive to the Paseo Verde library where we checked our emails, donated 3 books and purchased yet another book for Ann. She has managed to read a total of 5 books on this trip while I am on page 73 of the book I brought with us.
In the afternoon I turned $5 in free play at Boulder Station into $20. I have no idea how or why I received the free play, but it was much appreciated.
While enjoying a pair of drinks at Ellis this evening, we realized we did not have sufficient time to dine off premises so we joined the polo set at the in-house barbecue restaurant. We each ordered ½ a rack of baby back ribs (tender and delicious) that included ranch beans (undercooked), corn on the cob (previously frozen and mushy), coleslaw (tasty) and toast (cold). ($12.72, LVA, 2.5 Forks)
On exiting, we made the short drive to the Saxe Theater for the Vegas The Show show. http://www.vegastheshow.com/ We had a certificate good for 2 tickets that I purchased online at http://www.crowdsavings.com/las-vegas, but neither of boothlings was familiar with it. Initially one of them thought it was a 2/1 and attempted to charge us $98, but after a call to someone in the know we received a pair of general admission tickets. We then were offered the opportunity to upgrade to reserved seats which we declined.
We were then directed to a line that had formed outside the theater and subsequently were told we would be admitted ahead of the others if we purchased drinks. We declined. At about 10 minutes before show time, the line began to move, but before entering they made one more attempt to pick up a few extra dollars by having people pose for photos. We again declined.
After all this Mickey Mouse stuff, I was prepared to not enjoy myself, but enjoy myself I did. The show is a celebration of the golden age of Las Vegas entertainment from Follies Berge-type production shows, to the Rack Pack, Elvis, Louis Prima and Keely Smith, a pair of excellent tap dancers, Lance Burton, a Liberace marionette, Elton John and more. The overall quality of the show was perhaps epitomized by the backing band which was Jerry Lopez's Santa Fe and Fat City Horns. ($81, 3 Claps)
03/22 I was dealt yet another quad deuces bringing my total for the trip to 10.
After a sharing an apple fritter plus a coffee for Ann at Ronald's Donuts this morning ($2.89, 3 Forks), we headed Downtown.
We parked at the El Cortez and proceeded to the slot club where we gave the booth ling our ACG $10 free play coupons. We downloaded the free play at the bar top 8/5 bonus poker machines where Ann cashed out at $10 and yours truly for $8.75. We then walked to the Four Queens, but upon entering I realized I had left our LVA coupons in the car. Dummy!
We then proceeded to the almost shuttered Plaza and found an employee, almost the only employee, who worked at the slot club and tendered our ACG $5 free play coupon. The best VP we could find was 8/6 JOB which we played with Ann losing her entire stake and me cashing out at a whopping $5.25. Last stop was the Vegas Club with 2 more $5 free play coupons Ann and I turned into $5 and $6.25, respectively. We existed Downtown with an extra $35.25 courtesy of the ACG and a bit of luck.
For lunch we dined on street tacos at La Mexicana on Decatur. We ordered 3 pastors and 1 pollo. Though the tortillas are on the small size, they are delicious and filled to overflowing. ($5, 3.5 Forks)
In the same tiny, rundown strip mall is Botanas La Michoacana that sells house made ice cream and other frozen treats? We each ordered a single scoop with Ann choosing pistachio and me mango. The flavor was very good and there was little after taste. ($2.70, 3.5 Spoons)
On returning to Sam's we went to the slot club booth to redeem Ann's points which we applied to our room bill. The hotel clerk called a host to see if something additional could be applied to our bill, but was told no because someone (moi?) had done too much damage to Boyd's first quarter bottom line.
In the late afternoon we watched the first half of the UCONN Women versus Purdue basketball game in the room and then journeyed to Ellis for a pair of merlots and the conclusion of the game.
Dinner tonight was at Mount Everest India's Cosine on W Sahara. http://www.everestcuisine.net/
We received pappadum plus delicious tamarind and mint sauces to begin our meal and after an exceptionally long wait we received our aloo tiki, deep fried mashed potatoes, which were overdone and virtually inedible.
A few minutes later the remainder of our meal, chicken makahani, lamb saag, plain basmati rice and kabuli naan (stuffed with raisins and nuts) appeared. The naan was flat as a pancake and the filling was very bland. Both entrees were large and delicious though the lamb was on the tough side. We concluded the meal with a shared portion of carrot halwa which was a bit too sweet.
Service, other then by the busboy, was abysmal from start to finish. The sole waiter, I am guessing the owner, sat in a booth across the room from us playing with a cell phone and never once looked in our direction to determine if we or any of the other diners needed anything. I had to call the busboy over to get our check and then it took the waiter an inordinate amount of time to process the payment. ($16.99, R.com, 2 Forks)
I put in a quick VP session resulting in a small profit before calling it a night.
03/23 I broke even during my final VP session of the trip. At around 6:30AM I returned to the room with a trio of Dunkin Donut donuts and a coffee for Ann. ($3.99, Funbook coupon, 2 Forks).
The Westies discussed their future at Shady Acres on the return flight and both agreed their future was pretty grim; so Westie deposited both of the remaining pills in the first receptacle he found on exiting the plane.
Summary of our gambling:
3 royal flushes – the most I have ever had on a single trip.
A total of 11 quad deuces including 1 on the initial draw and 3 more on the redraw.
This was our 13th profitable trip in the past 16.
A big thank you is extended to everyone who took the time to read this TR. Please feel free to add your comments and/or questions. Until next trip, may the force be with each of you.
Marty McFly: Doc, we better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
Dr. Emmet Brown: Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
-------------Back to the Future (1985)-------------
Anyone interested in viewing the related photos may find them at:
http://tinyurl.com/6aomq7t
