Vegas Trip Report: 10/12-10/16

[Apoc]

Girlfriend had a medical conference in Vegas this past weekend, so I figured I'd take the opportunity for some reimbursed room expenses and join her. Apologies if this is gonna be long, but I'll try to break it up by category so you can only read what you want.

Prologue: Getting to Vegas

We booked out trip from Oakland to Las Vegas on Southwest Airlines Vacation site. Reasonable deal for roundtrip airfare for two plus four nights at the Mirage, but let me warn you that using SW Vacations means getting paper tickets. I can't even remember the last time I had paper tickets and having to check-in at the airport sucked as much as I remember and basically guarantees that you're in the C boarding group of the cattle call that is Southwest Airlines.

In a moment of weakness, we decided to take public transit (BART) to the airport. For those of you unfamiliar with Oakland, this entails lugging our bags onto the free shuttle to the BART station that goes around our city, dragging our bags onto the train, and cramming them onto the bus that shuttles folks to the airport from the BART station. Big mistake, as everybody and their brother apparently decided to do the exact same thing. Fortunately, our flight was leaving from the less busy terminal, so we flew through security and made our flight with a few minutes to spare. Side note: I managed to talk the TSA guy out of confiscating my hair gel because it was in a 4-oz container (instead of a 3-oz container), which was quite the coup. =) Unfortunately, my gf did not fare as well with the liquid/gel nazis.

Act 1: Settling In

Finally arrived and taxi-ed to the Mirage. Upon checking in, I tried the $20 trick with the front desk woman and just like that, we were upgraded to a deluxe room with a nice view of the Strip. For some reason, it made me feel a little James Bond to be "bribing" hotel employees, even though everyone does it, but the gf got a kick out of it.

After the half-hour long walk through the Mirage casino to the elevator, we unpacked and headed back downstairs for some dinner. The girlfriend and I are no strangers to gluttony (as you'll see later) but we decided to stay close to home and ate at Stack, the Mirage's casual steakhouse. Surf and turf for the lady, seabass for me, a side of sauteed mushrooms, plus a bottle of Cab, and somethig they call "Cones" for dessert, which is basically mini-Drumsticks ice cream cones. Overall grade: B-, wine was good, lobster was a little overdone, seabass was excellent, mushrooms were drowning in their juices but tasty otherwise, and dessert was playfully delicious. So, fat and happy, we spent another hour or two wandering the Strip, taking in the sights, until getting to bed since she had to wake up super-early for the conference.

Next parts to come: Poker Is Fun; Mmm...Delicious Food; and How to Get Married In Vegas Without Really Trying

[DayTripping]

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I tried the $20 trick with the front desk woman and just like that, we were upgraded to a deluxe room with a nice view of the Strip.

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Isn't Deluxe room the standard at Mirage?

Looking forward to rest of report.

[KurtSF]

Keep it coming.

[Apoc]

[ QUOTE ]
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I tried the $20 trick with the front desk woman and just like that, we were upgraded to a deluxe room with a nice view of the Strip.

[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't Deluxe room the standard at Mirage?

Looking forward to rest of report.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, sorry, slip of the finger. Meant Tower Deluxe room, which was on one of them fancy floors that you need a key to access. Room seemed the same, but with a nice jacuzzi tub, double sink and vanity (which my gf seemed to appreciate), plus a better view, I guess.

Next part of the trip report to come...

[Arbitrage]

Nice, the Mirage has always been my favorite hotel. Part 2 please!

[Apoc]

Act 2: Let's Play Some Poker!

Wake up late on Friday the 13th (oooohhh, scary) and gf has already left for her conference at the Venetian at 6:30 am, so I take my sweet time getting ready and finally make it across the street at around 10. Like a moth to a flame, I happen to go in the door right next to the poker room and the siren's song is too great, so I check out what they have to offer. Only one table running, 1/2 NL, and I'd only played limit poker live, but what the heck. No time like the present to get baptized in live low limit NL poker. I buy in for a $100 and play pretty tight, watch a lot of people push all-in on flush draws, and manage to tread water. Only memorable hand was against a local pro who knew all the dealers and floor staff. A few limpers to me in the SB with 87o and I complete. Flop comes A96 rainbow. I check, and pro in MP bets a little less than the pot, and only I call. Turn is a blank, and I check call a half-pot bet. Just as I call, the pro says "You're open-ended, right?" to which I truthfully respond "yes" (oh, I'm so tricky with my double-reverse psychological mind games). River comes the lovely ten, completing my draw. I bet the pot into him, and he hems and haws and finally calls, saying how I could easily bluff that card since he called it. I think he felt a little better seeing that his read was right, but not as good as I did stacking up a nice size pot. A few hands later, the gf calls and it's time to head to our lunch reservation at Delmonico's. NET RESULT OF POKER +$73

Delmonico's was pretty empty at noon on a Friday, which I guess is par for the course for many Vegas restaurants at lunch. After getting seated and gorging ourselves on the obligatory bread and butter, we settle on the BBQ shrimp for appetizers, with the blue cheese ribeye for her and the spicy sirloin for me. BBQ shrimp were awesome (we were sopping up the sauce with the rest of the bread), my sirloin was excellent, but her ribeye was well past the medium rare that she ordered and had almost no marbling (we thought ribeye's were supposed to be flavorful and fatty). Overall grade: B, service was excellent, food was good but not mouthwatering.

After lunch, she had a little more conference fun, and I headed back to the poker room to find a 4/8 limit game going. Sounded good to me, as my bankroll is not really big enough for even the smallest of NL games. After 5-6 hours of the table telling me how tight I am, it's time to head back to get ready for dinner and because my gf just called to say that she found a used pizza box that wasn't ours in our room - um, gross. At least my tightness saved me some money, as several folks would make their flush or two pair on the turn or river and simply check call my bets, claiming they were afraid I had a better hand. I guess I can count that as a theoretical win. Oh, and the gross pizza box turned out to be leftovers that the people before us had left in the minibar fridge but hadn't been found until after we had checked in. Sidenote: Saw something which I had never seen before during this session. Went to use the bathroom, and while I was using the urinal, a handicapped guy rolled his wheelchair right up to a urinal nearby and started using it. Now, I know better than to stop and stare at dudes using the urinal, but this brought up all sorts of logistical questions in my mind. How does that work when you get to the end of the stream? Hmmmm...I'm still wondering, so if any of you have any light to shed on that important life question...anyway, NET RESULT OF POKER +$14

Dinner reservations were at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris. They have outdoor seating that was first come, first served, but we got our reservations on OpenTable for indoor dining, which turned out to be a good idea since the wait for outdoor seating was over an hour and it had started to rain. After a few minutes wait while they prepared our table, we sat down in the hopes of reliving some of the deliciousness that we had experienced in France for a vacation a couple of years ago. Mon Ami Gabi did not disappoint. The place was lively, but not so loud that you couldn't carry on a conversation. After downing our French bread, butter, and complimentary cous cous (did I mention that we really LOVE butter?), we settled in with a nice bordeaux. After oysters for appetizers, my gf decided to go appetizers all the way and ordered the French onion soup, the charcuterie plate (assorted meats and vegetables), and the duck leg confit. I went for the Beef Wellington. Holy crap, that was a good choice! Perfectly done, incredibly tasty, two big thumbs up. French onion soup and cured meats was equally scrumptious. My gf was so stuffed that she actually cancelled her duck confit order since it hadn't been placed yet. At the risk of being unable to get up and leave, we split the chocolate mousse, which was as super as expected. Overall: A, great service, incredibly delicious, nice ambience. We'll definitely be back.

After dinner and a quick trip to the Walgreen's on the Strip (for replacing some of the liquids and gels confiscated by the airport police), we made our way back to the hotel casino and settled into the slot machines and video poker games that my gf loves so much. Ugh, major league waste of money and time, but a little quality time pretending to be enjoying myself goes a long way to letting me actually enjoy myself later in the trip.

Act 3: Putting in the Quality Time

Saturday morning, wake up a little late again, and head over to the Venetian with the gf so that she can sign in for the conference and then leave. (She finally caught my laziness after many years.) With that done, we wander over to Bouchon to check out their brunch menu, but we're just a few minutes too late as they're closed preparing for lunch. Not dazzled by their lunch options, we decide to head over to Caesars for lunch at Mesa Grill -- Bobby Flay's restaurant which we have heard some good things about. Lunchtime slowness in Vegas restaurants is apparently true on the weekends as well, as we are seated immediately. Bloody Mary for the lady and a carrot/mango juice for me, followed by the tuna tartare for appetizers, the chilaquiles for me and some crazy egg and ham dish for her. Bloody Mary wasn't very tasty (according to gf...I can't stand them personally), but juice was muy delicioso. Tuna tartare had some serious heat and was great. Entrees were good, but not fantastic. Gf liked hers a lot better than I liked mine, but she deserved a yummy meal. Skipped dessert for brunch, as we were pretty stuffed. Overall, B+, great service again, super appetizer and great flavor, good entrees with a different flavor from the usual steak and seafood places that seem to dominate the Strip restaurant scene.

Rest of the day was spent wandering throughout the Forum Shops. I am excellent at carrying shopping bags, as if I didn't already know that. I am terrible at slots and video poker (knock me over with a feather). Gf kept getting angrier and angrier at her luck on the slots. She was spoiled by a big win on our last trip (won almost $600 on quarter-slot machine), so now her expectations are way, WAY out of touch with reality. But she enjoys the "free" alcohol while she's playing. Anyway, finally back to the room for a little nap time.

After becoming one with the comfy mattress and pillow for an hour or two, it was time to meet up with gf's work friends at Tao for a few drinks. It was early enough in the evening that Tao wasn't super-crowded, so we got a nice seat in the corner for the 8 of us. A few tasty martinis and some good-natured ribbing at my expense because I like the fruity drinks (mango martini makes me happy, so shut up!), and it was time for some of the folks to get for dinner. We're not even remotely hungry yet, so gf decides she wants to see the Treasure Island Sirens show on the Strip. Whatever...show sucks and is packed (like, hand on wallet at all times, not for the claustrophobic kind of packed), at least the girls seemed hot from the many feet away that we were. It's good for a few mocking laughs if you need them.

After rubbing up against the two million people who were apparently watching the show, we decide to check out the Wynn, since we had never been there. We wandered around for a little, enjoying the scenery, played a little more slots and video poker, and then decided to hit up the Wynn Buffet for dinner. It was pretty late, so there was no line, so we were immediately seated and sent off on our grazing fest. Gf came back with a pile of king crab legs, cuts of beef, pork, and a mound of shrimp and clams. I went for sushi, octopus ceviche, jerk chicken, and some tom young soup. Everything was pretty darn good and the variety was excellent. Wish I had been hungrier to try more stuff. Only complaint is that dessert wasn't very good or diverse. I'm a HUGE dessert fan, and I didn't finish any of what I brought back because it just didn't taste right -- a little stale for some of them. Overall, B+, good seafood choices, tender cuts of meat, but lacking in the dessert area, at least when we were there.

After dinner, we wandered back to the hotel, where I tucked in my gf and wandered to find some good action with the night owls at the poker table.

Still to come: All Night Long, Running Hot, Engagement Ring Soft Sell

Stay Tuned!

[CanIPlayII]

Damn; You can EAT!!!! I thought I was Good.
You don't have the BR for 1-2NL and every meal is a 4 star Restaurant and Tao?

[MrBrightside]

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Damn; You can EAT!!!! I thought I was Good.
You don't have the BR for 1-2NL and every meal is a 4 star Restaurant and Tao?

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I was thinking the same thing, hell when I go, I'm hitting the cheap downtown buffets but playing $200 tourneys [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[DayTripping]

Sounds like the only thing missing from you fancy culinary tour was a trip to Binions coffee shop.

[Yads]

Good report so far, keep it coming.