Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our Vegas trip.

I don't know why I say “our” since this was a solo trip. Except every other day was getting together with friends, so it there was lots of opportunity for socializing!

This was the shortest trip I have taken to Las Vegas – 4.5 days. The trip report, however, is 9 pages in Word, so be ready for a lengthy read – skip around as desired!

My trip was from December 8 through late night on the 12th. This is right in the midst of the National Finals Rodeo, so if you are picturing any of the stuff I describe, make sure you put in several cowboys in hats and boots in that mental picture (well, maybe not when I’m describing my hotel rooms…)

Transportation:

I flew Delta airlines, first time in years. I was very impressed with them – they sent me an email reconfirming flights rather than my having to do so; but most importantly the ground and flight crews seemed as if they were genuinely pleased that you were flying with them. I have never met such a bunch of pleasant, friendly folks, on 4 out of 4 flights.

With all this talk of reduced flight schedules I expected packed planes. But my little Embraer jets had open seats (Rochester -> Cincinnati; JFK -> Rochester) and the big 737’s had lots of empty middle seats. Thank goodness, especially for the redeye home!

Flying out was a bit challenging. 13 degrees and snow at 6:25 am meant a deicing delay in Rochester; then freezing rain in Cincinnati meant a 30 minute holding pattern before landing. And wow, that pilot really put on the reverse thrusters when we landed in Cincy – everyone had their hands up on the seatback in front of them. Guess he did not want to take a chance of that little jet skidding on the icy runway! It was a little disconcerting to see lots of flashing red light vehicles all around the runways. But it seems everyone landed safely. I had a 45 minute connection – but the departing flights were delayed too. So I made it to the LAS bound flight, watched the movie, and a little over 4 hours later landed in cloudy Las Vegas., and only an hour late.

The return flights were very smooth, leaving Vegas we literally taxied away from the gate and took off at 11:15 pm.

I rented a car from Payless. The car was fine for my needs (a Toyota Yaris) – I really only needed it two days, but it was still cheaper to rent than the taxi’s back and forth from the airport plus other trips. Total of $91 for 4.5 days. But I won’t rent from Payless again. They definitely harangue you about the additional insurance – if you don’t get this insurance, the polar ice caps will melt, dogs and cats will start sleeping together, and Las Vegas will get 3 inches of snow, shutting down the roads and the airport.

Oh-oh.

Moving right along, folks

My first task on my Monday arrival was to Daisy for lunch. Bippy had kindly called her to let her know of my delay, which was no problem. Daisy wanted to meet at a place called “Sweet Tomatoes” which I think was in Henderson. It’s a gigantic salad/soup/pasta/bakery buffet. Think make your own salad, then some special made to order salads, then about 5 different kinds of soup, about 4 kinds of muffins and focaccia, and 3 kinds of pasta, and beverages. I think they had a few desserts, but I never made it to the desserts. All for about $8 and all very, very fresh.

It’s a chain we don’t have around here, wish we did!

Thank you Diamond Daisy, for the recommendation - and for the lunch!

Daisy and I parted ways (I knew where she would be playing vp later that night at the Flamingo) and I headed to the IP to check in, about 2 pm. Non existent line; I was booked for 4 comped nights and the 5th night (Friday) at $55, but when the clerk checked me in as 5 nights comped. No problem with that! Got my usual front tower/strip view room. Only problem – the key card did not work. Back down to the front desk. Second set of keys did not work also. Flagged down a housekeeping person, who let me in the room so we could call the front desk, they sent the technician to reprogram the lock (not the keys) there was no problem after that.

Then – decision time. Go to the grand re-igniting of the Mirage volcano at 4 pm? Or head over to a meet with friends from another board, at Caesars’ Seahorse Lounge?

I was dehydrated – all that flying, a girl’s gotta have a drink!

For any of you who have not been to a meet before, it’s an interesting feeling. You’re approaching a public place, looking for a bunch of strangers you’ve never met. Kinda like a blind date. I was a little nervous – especially when I saw there were several likely groups at the Seahorse Lounge. Which one should I approach?

Fortunately I chose the right group. and had a fantastic time chatting with the ladies and gentlemen. Lots of Harrahs drink coupons were floating around, including 2fers for any Jose Cuervo drinks. The Seahorse does not make margueritas so I asked the CW for suggestions. Got a JC and Seven with a wedge of lime. Very tasty. Very, very tasty.

Eventually the men all went off to other activities, and two of the other women and I had a wonderful round of “girl talk.”

As we went our separate ways, I looked around Caesars and I think it hit me that I was really in Vegas – and I hadn’t gambled a dime yet!

After 3 (or 4?) of those JC’s I didn't feel up to VP decision making, so I scouted for the latest slots. Played the Happy Days slot, got a nice bonus, and cashed out about $30 up. Played Star Trek, and cashed out about $40 up. But I broke the machine. They had to call a tech to get the thing to print out my TITO. (Hmm – first the hotel room lock, now a slot machine?)

I’m sure I played a few others, but it's a bit blurry now. Okay, it was a bit blurry then, too – but a happy blurry!

Eventually made my way back to the room for a brief nap, then over to Flamingo to join Daisy in some DDB VP. While I never hit a really exciting quad, I got enough full houses and straights and flushes to grind my way up from $20 to about $130. It was just a lot of fun to sit with a friend and play REAL videopoker (can’t get that around here!)

Got back to the room and was surprised to see the Carneval Court music stopped at 1 am. That’s okay, I can sleep in a quiet room!

Tuesday morning, woke up really hungry. Gee, wonder why? Oh yeah, only had Jose Cuervo and then late night trail mix and snacks in the room for dinner. So off to Harrahs for the Flavors Buffet.

Despite many cowboys in town, this is the only time the whole week I waited in line – and it was only about 10 minutes, at prime 9 am breakfast time. I really enjoyed my breakfast here – just doing the typical buffet grazing, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. The smoked salmon (or was it lox?) was really tasty, the mini bagels were beyond stale so I just enjoyed the salmon with the cream cheese and capers. The chicken fried steak was tasty, and the fresh fruit very nice.

I headed next door for Casino Royale and picked up my coupon sheet (members can get one once every – oh, I think its 30 days.) Played the $50 freeplay on the special machines, no cash result of course. Then sat down for Bonus VP – and a few hands in, hit quad 8’s – which meant I also got to use the coupon for the $40 bonus! Yippee! Moved on to the Wheel of Fortune, and hit a spin for 60 quarters – which meant using the coupon for a $25 bonus (any wheel spin of 40 coins or higher) Well couldn’t stop there, so went on to a $1 WOF, which always seems like a bargain to me, because the Niagara Falls $1 WOF takes 3 coin, and Vegas only 2 coin. Hit for $80, and I was out the door!

My next stop was the Mirage to visit the Secret Garden and play a little. Unfortunately, what Casino Royale gives, the Mirage taketh away. Well, not completely. But I couldn’t win anything there.

That’s okay. I really enjoyed my visit to the Secret Garden, seeing the adorable baby dolphin, mom and grandmother dolphins – and then the 5 tiger cubs. They are all from the same litter, but two are white with stripes, two are white with no stripes, and one is orange with black stripes. It was feeding time, and the hundred pound “babies” were very energetic!

Okay, time to make a quick hike over to the Casino Formerly known as the Barbary Coast to see Big Elvis’ 3 pm show. Daisy was holding a table – not easy with a bunch of rowdy cowboys moving chairs around! But she held her ground, and the show was enjoyable as always. Many have written about Pete Vallee’s weight loss – first time I had seen the show in about 3 years, and what a difference! Sure, he can now move around and dance a bit – but I think he also sounds even better. The man can now breathe.

Still with me? This is still Tuesday. Daisy and I trotted over to Bellagio to enjoy the spectacular Christmas display. I especially liked the pecan reindeer and the white carnation snowman snowwoman and snowchild!

We picked up Daisy’s car at the Flamingo and drove down to Mandalay Bay to meet Jeff and Patti for dinner at the buffet at MB.

I’ve never heard too much about this buffet.. The food was tasty, there were decent split (cold) king crab legs, nice peeled shrimp, seared scallops, osso bucco that was really good, and some nice lamb chops. They also had made to order pasta, and a lot of other dishes I couldn’t get to. The desserts were pretty good – nice mini pecan pies and lemon meringue pies. I enjoyed the meal, but the best part was the company.

After a few rounds of video poker together at MB (very much like a huge vacuum cleaner - $20 bill? What $20 bill?) we parted ways, and I did a quick survey of some of the south end casinos. I really don’t like what they’ve done to NYNY, so just made a pass through to see it with my own eyes. Then headed over to see the lions at MGM – and the Lions Progressive machine.

Do you know about this machine? Its an old coin out progressive that MGM can not remove from the floor until the progressive is hit. It is over $2 million. It’s a 3 coin dollar slot – kinda feels like giving Mega Bucks a shot. I think I invested $40 – actually hit one lions head and worked it up to maybe $80 – but I wasn’t there at that machine to take home (or cash out quarters!) $80! So I donated to whoever will FINALLY hit that progressive.

And about the “real” lions – I remember thinking that the two lion handlers inside with the large male lion seemed awfully laid back in their interactions with the animal, compared to the professional activities at the Secret Garden. It was right after the 8 pm feeding. Well, the next night one of the handlers got bit on the leg during the feeding. Guess those tourists got quite the video (the trainer needed stitches, he’s okay.)

Took the monorail to Bally’s – walked out to see a few fountain shows across the street, while enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate. Fun, a few Christmas tunes. Then finally back to the IP, after a long and fun day.

Sound exhausting? Well I knew I would recover the next day, since Wednesday was Spa Day!

Actually, Wednesday was my all Luxe day. A treatment at Qua Spa at Casears, then checking into the Wynn for one night.

Ah, Qua. I had the same treatment and requested the same ‘artisan’ as last May. The Sand and Foam vichy shower treatment. But before my 11 am appointment, plenty of time to soak in the Roman tubs, lounge on the heated stone chaises, breathe in the eucalyptus in the steam room, bask in the cedar dry sauna, admire the snowflakes in the artic room, and eat breakfast (coffee, banana, pretzels) in the lounge area. Then in for the BEST BODY TREATMENT EVER. My skin still feels soft! Ah, Qua – ah – ah AHHHHH!

(sorry, just had a spa-gasm.)

Lounged around some more, napped on the cushioned loungers in the Roman baths room (subdued lighting, sound of rushing water, so relaxing!) then slowly ambled back to the IP to pack an overnight bag.

On to the Wynn.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about the staff at checkin. I had a positive experience. There was a bit of a line, and they had a young woman engaging folks as they waited and pointing you to the next available agent. You felt like you were getting VIP treatment.

I didn’t ask for an upgrade, just a nice view and was pleased - I was on the 31st floor, directly centered over the lake of dreams. What a pretty, pretty room. I had a few problems, though. The TV didn't work. It took about 20 minutes to get a engineer to the room (accompanied by a personable security person.) The HD cable had been disconnected, probably by housekeeping – so it was a 2-minute fix. I was also surprised to see there was no wastebasket next to the desk – the only one was in the bathroom. And, the “bedside remote controls for the drapes” – well, maybe if your arms are 4 feet long. But those are little issues, and I really enjoyed the room and the property. I took a brief nap (afraid I would fall asleep and not wake until morning, losing the whole experience!) but I did revive after about an hour. All that spa relaxing had been hard work!

Down to the casino to see if that $150 freeplay that came with the offer could be turned into real money. Yep, it could – but not on VP. Could not hit anything on VP. But Glinda, Alfred Hitchcock, and a few other slots helped me maintain my bankroll, eventually cashing out at $100 in real money. And there was no lack of cocktail servers, either. (Cadillac Margaritas, yum!)

I caught a few Lake of Dreams shows, cute as always (or bizarre, depending on the show. They are diverse, to say the least!) then realized it was midnight and I was hungry!

Zoozacrackers is now the Wynn’s late night dining spot. I enjoyed a spectacularly good cheeseburger with cheddar and bacon – done just as I requested, tasted just as you imagine a juicy burger should taste – and a side order of latkes, or potato pancakes. I managed one of the pancakes, and took the rest back up to the room. Put them on ice, and enjoyed them for breakfast!

Which reminds me – yes, there was a turndown service. Bedcovers turned down, two chocolates on the nightstand – and ice in the ice bucket!

In the morning, I had an interesting view from my room. They were dismantling the sign for the New Frontier across the street, and shipping it down the Boulevard piece by piece. I learned later that parts of it are headed for the Neon Museum – and that Steve Wynn helped pay to get it dismantled, he was sick of it being across the street from his nice, fancy places.

I definitely enjoyed the stay at the Wynn. Actually, my pajamas enjoyed it so much they refused to come home with me! I did the classic, left them hanging on the back of the bathroom door. They were in the Wynn lost and found when I called – and they are going to ship them home to me (gee, hope a charge doesn’t show up on my credit card for that!)

Back “home” to the IP, and a little relaxing playing at the IP and Harrahs. And, I made a last minute call to the Palms spa to see if I could book a facial. I had that infamous 50% off coupon. Yes, they had a 4 pm appointment! So I grabbed it, and threw my suit and hairbrush in a satchel.

But first, I decided to catch the 1 pm Mac King show at Harrahs. I’ve seen the show before, but enjoyed it even more this time. His big theater was under renovation, so the show was in the much more intimate Improv Theatre. No one more than 3 rows away from Mac. If you have not seen his show – go, go go! It is funny and amazing and just full of good feelings. And your ticket includes a drink. Since I had only had 2 potato pancakes for “breakfast” I had a nutritious Mudslide (calcium, right?)

Of course then the problem was mudslide on a near empty stomach, and appointment time approaching for the Palms facial. No way was I getting out the rental car. But cheapo me decided to take the Harrahs shuttle to the Rio and walk over, rather than a taxi. Fortunately a shuttle was just about to depart, and I had no problem getting to the spa with time to enjoy the amenities.

It’s a pretty small spa, but has all the necessary stuff – hot Jacuzzi, private showers, dry sauna and steam room. One nice feature, all the areas had frosted glass windows, so there was daylight in the sauna when I first arrived. Another really nice area – an outdoor Jacuzzi and deck, overlooking the pools. This is a spa where you definitely want to bring your swim suit. I didn’t use the outdoor Jacuzzi, but it was fun to step out there in my robe, after my facial, and admire the lights of Vegas.

This was my first facial ever, so I don’t have a basis to compare. But it was definitely a great experience. It’s been a week and a half, and my chronically flaky skin has stayed smooth! And “facial” is really a misnomer. You are lying on a massage table, covered with the usual drapes. And your face, shoulders, neck, ears, arms and decollate (how do you spell that – you know, the chest above the bra line) all get treatment. While your masque or moisturizer is doing its thing, you get a scalp massage. Mmmm.

I wandered around the Palms for a bit, got my free play for joining (I think it was $20, it just vaporized quickly) and then wandered over to the Gold Coast to join JMT for dinner at the Cortez room. I did have to call for reservations, right at 3 pm when they first open to take them. For those who have not been to the Cortez in a while, it is now located in the former Italian restaurant space. The reservation agent was quick to tell me “But we don’t serve Italian!”

Who cares, when you can get a really wonderful prime rib with all the fixings for under $20, in a really nice setting? This included a raw veggie relish tray, fantastic loaf of sourdough, soup or salad, and side dish – I had a baked sweet potato. Joe enjoyed the larger cut of the prime rib, came with one of the ribs attached. To me, the location is one of the best balances of value and atmosphere.

We wandered around the Gold Coast for a while. Gee, if I thought there were cowboys on the strip – the GC was one of the host facilities. I felt very underdressed without a hat and boots. Lots of fun.

I made my way back to the Rio to play tourist again. Saw the new show in masquerade village casino – I liked the stage show, but the floats in the sky just seem bizarre with sexy dancers. The floats are so obviously Mardi Gras, then you’ve got hip hop going on. Just seemed a strange match.

Following this, the announcer directs you to a show of the Rio’s flare bartenders. Two guys really doing a juggling act with the bottles, not making drinks. But it was fun. They end with one of the guys pouring shots into the mouth of anyone forking over a tip.

What really cracked me up is that these guys are doing amazing, complicated juggling routines with open bottles of Malibu rum – and one of them keeps glancing at the TV screen behind the bar to check the football game!

I waited around for another show, played some DDB and hit my only quad of the trip that was not 5 through King – got a quad 3’s. I can’t tell you how many times on this trip I was dealt 3 aces during DDB, and they never could make room for their 4th friend!

Finally made my way out of the maze that is Rio, to the shuttle bus. After dropping stuff off in the room, I decided I had better try and see the new Mirage volcano. I found out from a security guard outside the Mirage that it only “performs” on the hour, from dusk to 11 pm, and it was 25 minutes past the hour. Well MGM/Mirage had not been very generous with me earlier so I crossed the street to Harrahs, and had some more fun on the Star Trek machines. Not profit, but fun.

The volcano show is really amazing now. If I hadn’t known the new effects were designed by the same firm that did the Bellagio fountains I would have guessed it – the coordination between music and flame was so much fun!

And speaking of fountains - I had not seen enough fountain shows at Bellagio – my passion. It was a warmer evening (well, to this Rochester girl!) so I trekked down the street to the “B” once again. It was a treat to enjoy several shows in a row without friends or family ready to move on.

I stretched out my final full night in Vegas as much as possible, enjoying the silly “Dealertainers” at the IP while finding various machines where I could donate to their salaries.

Friday morning my last day in Vegas ☹. But I still had a full day ahead of me, since I was flying out on the 11 pm redeye.

I have a hard time remembering breakfasts on this trip – I think the only “formal” one I had was the Harrahs buffet. This last morning was Starbucks – (ginger latte, very very tasty!) oh I think before that I had a Baileys and coffee at a Harrahs video poker machine – and some pasty or other.

Then it was off in the rental car to my reserved tour of the Boneyard – by the folks at the Neon Museum. Their location is a ‘secret’ to try to minimize vandalism. They send you directions when you make your reservation. For those who don’t know, its near downtown.

I work in the museum field, so I had arranged to show up a bit early to enjoy shop chat. Then it was off across the street to tour the Boneyard – many old neon and other types of signs that have once graced Las Vegas’ landscape. The tour group had about 15 of us – some locals, some visitors. Our guide kept us pretty much corralled and shared the history of the signs, the plans for the future of the Neon Museum, and gave us plenty of opportunity to take photos (you must sign a waiver saying photos are for personal use, not commercial.)

They hope to break ground this winter for the actual museum – the lobby of the former La Concha motel is onsite and will be the visitor center.

If you have any interest in Vegas history, or would just like to see this stuff close up, I highly recommend the tour.

I was especially moved to see the pieces of the Stardust sign.

After the tour, being so close to downtown –well I was running out of time so I had to choose between El Cortez and Main Street Station. Lee’s Treasure Chest video poker machines were calling my name, so off to MSS it was. Wow, I forgot how pretty that place is! I also forgot the Treasure Chest machines are bill in, but coin out. That was fine, except one time I accidentally hit the cash out button – when there was $90 plus in there. What a nostalgic experience – had to wait for a hopper fill! Anyway, I hit 5 quads, got 5 scratch off tickets – every one was $2 but an extra $10 is always appreciated. While I never hit a “big” hand – I did cash out $80 up.

I fully intended to go get a Golden Gate shrimp cocktail, but the clock was ticking, my suitcase was still unpacked, and I have to admit I am still a Strip girl at heart.

So back to the IP to pack everything up and have one last Strip crawl.

I thought of going to the PH buffet (haven’t been since the place changed hands) but Mon Ami Gabi called my name as I walked by. It was a lovely evening, and patio seating was available immediately. So I toasted my final night with a nice glass of a sparkling dry rose’ as the fountains did their thing across the street. Started with a butternut squash soup that had a lovely presentation. They brought out a soup plate with a dollop of crème fraiche in the middle of the plate, sprinkled with chopped chives. The soup was then poured at the table from a wide spout teakettle. Lovely fragrance of the soup with this method! I moved on to the classic steak frites – and of course had to have a dessert. Crème brulee.

As the full moon rose behind the Paris Eiffel-ish tower, enjoying dining al fresco in December (!) was the perfect way to end my shortest trip ever to Las Vegas. 4.5 days is just not enough for me!

If you made it this far, thank you for reading.

While I didn’t have any big wins on this trip, I recycled a lot of the same money, and came home with half of my puny bankroll unspent. And did spend great time with friends – a winning trip in my book!

Kes - what a GREAT trip report! Thanks for giving me my FIX for the day! You certainly seemed like you had a grand time - I'm glad to read you treated yourself to a few spas and so many nice meals. I enjoyed reading all of it. Thanks!

Whew, you've got Daisy beat!! I'm really going to have to take a nap now. You fit more stuff into 4+ days than anyone I've ever known!!! You also had dinner at my favorite place in Las Vegas.......Mon Ami Gabi........
Great trip report, thanks for sharing! As a fellow penny machine player, have you tried Survivor? I just discovered that one..........never can get a thing from your Glinda, never watched even one episode of Survivor, but love those machines!!!

I don't know if I could ever beat a Daisy style escapade. Remember, she was doing a Reno/Vegas/Reno trip - I was only doing one city!

And since I don't get to your city as often as I like, I try to cram things in. But I still managed to take 3 naps on this trip (okay, one was in Qua Spa - but it still counts!)

I saw alot of the Survivor machines, but didn't get a chance to play them. I played a lot more vp on this trip than penny machines - I think because I have good opportunities to play penny machines around here (the racino, the Niagara Falls casinos) but not so much a choice of video poker around here.

I did enjoy the Star Trek and Glinda machines for the entertainment value! And I got a Glinda spin that might have been more than my win last May - 4 of the 5 reels turned wild. But the last reel came up with low value symbols, and I was only betting 60 cents. So it was a $79 win. The spin in May was 3 wild reels - but the two remaining reels each came up with a wild spot and with high value symbols - and it was on a $3 max bet, for a $1k payout.

I did notice it wasn't very difficult to get a seat at an Oz machine. People are discovering they are fun, but if you don't hit a really good bonus it is an expensive machine.

Great trip report. I really enjoyed reading it.

WOW! You really know how to get a good time into 4 days. Great trip - you really know how to make one "antsy" for Vegas. Hope we can catch you there in the "not too distant" future.

There's way too much activity for a short trip; this one was merely "time-challenged."

We'll have to return to Sweet Tomatoes; I want you to re-count the soups and breads<vbg>. I wish we had one here in my neighborhood too, but I also like taking time out to eat there in Las Vegas since it's so relaxed and so off the beaten tourist path.

BTW, Kes is not kidding when she said we "trotted" over to the Bellagio - I finally had to swallow my aging pride and ask her to slow down<g>.

WOOHOO! It's nice to hear someone else got good service at the Wynn; I've felt like the Lone Ranger around here. Did that lady at the check-in line just point you to the next available clerk, or did she walk you over and introduce you like you were her long lost sorority sister? That's what happened to me the last time, and I was hard put to not break out laughing. And, speaking of laughing, did your pajamas make it home yet?

I'm sorry I wasn't there for dinner at Mon Ami Gabi - I just might have flown back from Reno for that butternut squash soup.

Thanks for a great report and some great company too!

Daisy, the lady stood and chatted with me for a while - she did introduce herself and welcomed me, but just pointed me to an agent who was available, as other guests were arriving in the lobby at that moment.

I had the impression Steve Wynn is trying to avoid the appearance of a "line" - but I wonder what its like when its really busy.

Yep the pajamas were delivered on Christmas Eve by UPS - we actually had to sign for them. The day before I got the automated UPS phone call giving me a tracking number. I looked online and discovered my pajamas got delayed in Las Vegas because of the snow storm.

I enjoyed your company too - and everyone I was fortunate to see on my whirlwind trip!

LOL, you didn't get the full treatment! My young lady introduced herself, asked my name, we chatted - then she walked me over to the next clerk and introduced me like an old friend. I did have a difficult time keeping a straight face, but the young ladies were very gracious, so I behaved myself too.

You might be onto something about Steve Wynn and lines - I think Mike had a most unpleasant experience when he arrived in a busy time - no line, mass confusion and everyones temper flaring.

I guess Santa arrived Christmas Eve at your house.

Daisy - you have a good memory. Checking into the Wynn was a very frustrating experience and not one I ever want to do again. That said, I have a conference coming up there in March. And I'm dreading the check-in process again.

LOL, my memory gets me in trouble almost daily.

Kes, Great report, it just took a while until I had time to sit and read it all in one sitting.
Yaris, it that the Toyota thing that looks odd, sort of rounded off everywhere?
If so, what did you think of the ride and handling?
You stated you met some friends from another BB, It's always nice to put faces with the names, isn't it? It's also funny how people never look like they type! LOL
Oh, don't think that I haven't hit the cash out by mistake on those treasure chest machines, more times then I care to count. Usually right after the cocktail server comes by!
Was Wynn what you expected? My take was a let down, I just expected a more special room for all the hype on the place. I will Give Wynn the nod on the best mixed drink delivered from a cocktail waitress.
Thanks for the long trip report! Had a great time just reading the thing!
SO, I got to ask....next planned trip????

kes-did you have time to go to the new parking area at the welcome to las vegas sign? you do keep busy and your reports are always great to read not like wendells report which has set the bar for shortest report!!

Dag - I did not get to the new parking area. With all the things listed in my report, its amazing the things I did NOT do - did not walk through the gardens at Flamingo (blame Daisy for keeping me glued to vp at the Flamingo!) did not get over to Planet Hollywood to see if my local friend was working, and I STILL have yet to set foot in the Monte Carlo.

Lee, the Yaris is kinda weird looking - especially the interior.

The speedometer and all the other gages are centered in the dashboard between the two seats. I could see how that would mean no re-tooling for the British or Japanese market, or where-ever else they drive on the left side of the road. It did not take long to get adjusted to looking slightly to the right to check the speed.

I put so few miles on the thing, I don't really have an opinion on its handling. i don't think I ever even went on an expressway. So, for my surface street driving (yes Daisy, all streets have a surface I know!) I did not notice any issues.

But its basically a small car.

Wynn was very nice, but I was surprised at a few things I noticed (think I put them in the report) - a missing waste basket by the desk, very, very difficult to find a outlet near the bed to plug in my cpap machine. There was no plug at the side tables. I actually had to pull back the very heavy mattress to access the plug in the wall centered behind the bed.

I am certainly not the only guest that has to plus something in where they sleep, can't imagine why they don't have a plug there. At Seneca Niagara there is an outlet built into the base of each bedside lamp.

Actually - if Seneca Niagara rooms had a soaking tub (they only have showers) I would say their rooms are just as nice as Wynn- maybe a bit nicer.

But i agree about the mixed drinks delivered gameside, had a lovely cadillac margarita. And I really did enjoy that burger at Zoozacrackers.

Unfortunately, no trips planned in the foreseeable future. We've had some unforseen expenses. So I don't really know when my next trip will be.
But I always say that.