7 Iconic Experiences LV poker players should experience at least once.

[PokerPaul]

1. Play one higher limit buyin tourney at Bellagio and get to play up close against some known pros (they offer good sattelites to get in on the cheap)

2. Eat one meal at the best buffet in Vegas (which changes every couple of months). Right now in my opinion thats Wynns.

3. Take in a good Magic show. Penn & teller or lance burton.

4. Also experience the WORST buffet. its a vegas icon. Long lineups, crappy food, cheap price. And it will always be at Circus Circus.

5. Hit a cheesy lounge act. Classic Vegas corny-ness. try the crazy girls at riviera. Its truly horrible, but you'll get to see some T&A.

6. Try to hit LV during a major sporting event, like a marquee boxing match, superbowl, or final four, NBA allstar game. Its unlike anything anywhere else

[Edge34]

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I think this list is tilted to old school, but you did ask for iconic

1. Tip a Maitre D' for Good Seats

With assigned, high-priced seats the norm now, this may be tough, but not impossible. At least a couple shows still had seating by the maitre d' when I saw them, including Mac King (worth seeing) and La Femme at MGM. Just fold up a bill, hand it off discreetly, and enjoy your seats up front.


2. See a Jiggle Show

Yeah, I love lap dances too. But do it once at least to say you did. La Femme at MGM is very good, and easy to convince women to go to because it has that air of Parisienne sophistication to it. Plus, you can knock #1 out at the same time.


3. Eat at Hugo's at the Four Queens

I think The Ranch at Binion's may count also, here, but I am going with Hugo's Cellar. When you eat here, you will be rushed back into a dining time warp to the 70s, when waiters prepared baked alaska table side, and someliers wore spoons around their neck.


4. Schedule an Early Morning Massage for a Night You Plan to Be Out Late

Getting a massage is pampering anyway. Do it for the night that you plan on crawling back to the hotel anyway at the crack of dawn, and you'll be re-creating the acts of the Rat Pack while they filmed the original Ocean's 11.



5. Gamble, -EV Style

Don't spend all your time in the poker room. Take a shot at the tables. If you have not experienced a craps table when it gets hot...well, you may gain an appreciation for why people play -EV games.


6. Order Champagne

Do it bottle service at a club, or in your prime seats at a show, at the Peppermill Fireside Lounge, or by room service with someone who is going to be special for the next hour or so. Find a context and do it.


7. Lounge at the Pool and Bet on Ridiculous Things

If you're walking the Strip in the middle of the day, you're doing it wrong. It's too damn hot, and too full of fanny pack tourists with their kids. You did not come here to gawk at the gamblers, you are one. So have cocktails at the pool, enjoy the fauna, and make prop bets on coin tosses, how well guys will do trying to pick up various girls, which directions waitresses will turn, and anything else.

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Quoted one more time simply for the fact that it is AWESOME.

This is now the basic itinerary for my next trip out to Vegas, whenever that will be (possibly as soon as January, especially since it would be a LOT better than winter in St. Cloud, Minnesota).

[Ignignokt]

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4. Also experience the WORST buffet. its a vegas icon. Long lineups, crappy food, cheap price. And it will always be at Circus Circus.

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Aww man! I thought I was done with this requirement when I ate at the IP buffet.

[Borst]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Play one higher limit buyin tourney at Bellagio and get to play up close against some known pros (they offer good sattelites to get in on the cheap)

2. Eat one meal at the best buffet in Vegas (which changes every couple of months). Right now in my opinion thats Wynns.

3. Take in a good Magic show. Penn & teller or lance burton.

4. Also experience the WORST buffet. its a vegas icon. Long lineups, crappy food, cheap price. And it will always be at Circus Circus.

5. Hit a cheesy lounge act. Classic Vegas corny-ness. try the crazy girls at riviera. Its truly horrible, but you'll get to see some T&A.

6. Try to hit LV during a major sporting event, like a marquee boxing match, superbowl, or final four, NBA allstar game. Its unlike anything anywhere else

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I've done everything on your list except #1 which I hope to do sometime. Worst buffet I went to would have to be the Saraha brunch back in 1997. Also #6 should be up on the list, I've been in Vegas for several big sporting events but the superbowl was the best, we paid $50 and went to a party at Paris in thier 1200 seat stadium and the game was projected on a 40x40 foot screen. It was like being in a stadium cause you watched with 1200 people and they had all you can eat and drink stadium food like hotdogs, nachos, pretzels, beer, I want to go back this year and do it again.

[StevieG]

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Also #6 should be up on the list, I've been in Vegas for several big sporting events but the superbowl was the best, we paid $50 and went to a party at Paris in thier 1200 seat stadium and the game was projected on a 40x40 foot screen. It was like being in a stadium cause you watched with 1200 people and they had all you can eat and drink stadium food like hotdogs, nachos, pretzels, beer, I want to go back this year and do it again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sadly, this won't be the same experience.

In 2004, the NFL put casinos on notice that they would consider any venue that displayed the game on a screen larger than 55 inches and charged admission would be in violation of their copyright of the game.

The result was chilling, and rather than face a lawsuit from the NFL just about every place scrapped plans or abruptly changed them (for instance, refunding admission and bringing in dozens of small TVs rather than show the games on a theatre screen).

The NFL sent another letter out to casinos in November of last year reminding them and qualifying their stance. Basically, any venue that resularly shows sporting events (like the sportsbook or bars) was in the clear to show the Superbowl. But nothing special, and nothing using the term "Superbowl" to publicize.

Yes, this absolutely sucks.

[AlienBoy]

No numbers, categorized instead:


DINING:

There are two kinds of food in Vegas. Sh*t and Superb. Personally, I recommend avoiding the Sh*t, as it exemplifies the very worst food, harkening back to your high school cafeteria. One example is the food service at Circus Circus. However, the Sh*t is pretty cheap. $6 prime rib dinners abound at places like Binion's and other down-town dives.

For superb, try: Michael's at Barbary Coast, SW at the Wynn, And Prime at Bellagio.


WOMEN:

For the $$$$ experience, take a limo out to the Chicken Ranch in Paraump and have sex with the lady of your choice.

For the basic strip club, the iconic one is the "Crazy Horse Too" on Industrial road behind Circus Circus.


OTHER GAMES:

Play some craps, blackjack, and put some money in the slots. Get a players card, and see if you can churn $5000 through the slots. On average you should lose about $300 on that play, but you ought to be able to get a FREE buffet pass! YUM!

POOL:

Hang out at the pool and drink fancy drinks with little umbrellas in them.


SHOWS:

Too bad the Lido is no longer at Stardust - that was the basic "Vegas" show to see. Today, there are actual *good* shows, like Circe de Solei. But for the old classic Vegas silliness, see "Jubilee" at Bally's or "Splash" at Rivera.

MISC:

* Take the motorized walkway INTO Ceasars, and find that there's no way out!

* See the man-eating white tigers at Mirage.

* As I recall, Westward Ho is defunct so no more cheap hotdogs there. And San Remo is now Hooters so the $5 primerib is gone. But Cal. Club still has the 99 cent shrimp cocktail I think.

* Watch the "Freemont Experience" light show, and then wonder why you just spent $30 in round trip cab fare to see it.

* Play video poker for free drinks at the bar (-EV but fun... See how many drinks you can get on your $20 buy in).

* Visit "Gambler's General Store" - great book selection, chips and everything else you might need to support your gaming.




AB

[Matt Flynn]

Lol no warp core breach?

[samjjones]

8. Kick Danny Gans in the nuts.

[growlers]

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Lol no warp core breach?

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Oh man I loved that thing!

[MicroBob]

I've been to St. Cloud in the winter-ish time when I did radio for the hockey team at Miami-Ohio and we played a weekend up there.

I would be looking for places to go as well.
Good hockey fans though.