We just arrived back a little over a week ago from our yearly trip to Las Vegas. We seem to enjoy it more every year.
We stayed at the Encore, which was a beautiful property. The rooms were very elegant and possibly the best hotel room I ever stayed at in Las Vegas. I loved the floor to ceiling windows and we were lucky to get a full view of the strip on the 37th floor. I particularly enjoyed the suite with the sitting area. The mirrors on the walls made the room appear larger and it worked! The flat screen HD in the main room that cleverly swung around to the sitting area. Loved the tv in the bathroom that I could watch in the morning while my Husband was still sleeping at 4:30AM, when I was wide awake!
We saw 2 shows this trip: Lewis Black and Bette Midler. As many of you know, Lewis Black is a Comedian and this is the second time I have seen him. Each show is different and funny. He has a great sense of humor and his opening act is great as well. Bette's show was a real Las Vegas show. The comedy and dancing was so enjoyable and the opening screenshow was memorable. The graphics and imagery was unexpected and captivating. We had good seats for both and purchased tickets before we left on our trip.
We visited all the outlets. We have them at home,but no time to shop leisurely! The Primm outlet is my favorite, but the traffic going there and coming back on a Sunday was heavy. I loved the exhibit of Bonnie and Clyde history and the car and news articles in the casino at the outlets.
We walked the entire strip. It looked close, but I thought I would pass out by the time I reached M&M world! It was like the oasis in the desert. I thought I could just connect from hotel to hotel,but it was much further than I had planned. The building of the new structures was interesting. What a difference a year makes! Imagine: we saw the Encore being built last year and this year we stayed there!
We ate in diffent restaurants: Wazuzu in the Encore, which is a Japanese fusion style restaurant. Small and open, but every morsel was delicious and diffent. Two other quick meals prior to the shows at Cheesecake factory, always good. We also ate at the classic Joe's Seafood and Crab with a wonderful meal of steak and seafood. Service is excellent and so is the food. We ate at the Wynn buffet each day for breakfast and the selection was phenomenal and the quality as well. We did have dinner there the first night as well. We had dinner at the M Casino on the way back from Primm. What a buffet. Very modern and chic. Food selections were exactly as described by JMT---endless!
Mainly we just relaxed and took more pictures of the same sights. It makes us feel like we were there for the first time! The volcano was spectacular, but so were the crowds around it and I could hardly see and I am 5'9! We went down the street to the flamingo and walked around the outdoor habitat and I was amazed at the different world it is back there. I never realized the amount of land.
Overall, a great time! Did not win much money,but it is all about having fun!

Sure sounds like you had a great time. Sorry to hear the gambling wasn't the best for you, but it sounds like you still had what I call a winning vacation. You enjoyed yourself! And isn't that what a true vacation is?
As I get older, I find I have less and less to shop for. But I do understand the "no time at home" thing.
Now, just a few questions???
How where the crowds? The M buffet, was it a mad house as discribed? Where your shows sold out? Lewis Black is one of my favorite "comedian complainers". I always enjoy his slant on things.
Thanks for the Great report! We need more of these! I cut back my travel this year, and I miss Vegas so much. Thank You, for my vegas fix!
Lee-PA

Now that's a vacation! And it sounds like you had a blast. Are you thinking about more than one trip per year? I've always enjoyed listening to Lewis Black. When I saw him, his opening act was a comedian that worked with the mannerisms as Lewis, almost as if he was an impersonator. I had mixed emotions about that.

I get a lot of great room and show offers in Primm. I almost never go there because of traffic.

I've been wanting to try Joe's. What did you eat there?

It's great that you got around and stayed at a new place, ate at new restaurants and did new things. There are many people that surround themselves in a comfort zone and miss out on half the fun. I have comfort zones myself, and sometimes I have to force myself to go try a new restaurant or show.

Thanks for the trip report, and hurry back!

Lis - What a nice trip report! I'm glad you liked Encore. I stayed there back in March and really enjoyed it. Your room descriptions were spot on - I think I was on a similar floor with a similar view!

I want to try Wazuzu - it looks really good. I'm glad you liked Joe's - it's VERY good. JMT - their crab legs are probably the best thing on the menu.

Now to answer all of your questions!
I am glad all of you enjoyed the report. I enjoyed vacationing in Las Vegas. I wish I could take more than one trip to Las Vegas. I told my Nephew when he turns 21, I will take him there. He only has 10 years to wait. Maybe I will take him sooner even if he can't gamble! I took him to one of our local casinos and he had a great time even though he couldn't put his sneaker over the line!
The M resort was so much more elegant than I had imagined! Yes, the line was long as it was Memorial Day weekend. Who would think so many people would not be having cookouts? The seating area is large, so maybe we waited close to an hour.
At Joe's Seafood and Steak: My Husband had steak that was cooked to perfection and I had scallops, we shared Asparagus, had crabcakes as appetizers, salads, and shared a key lime pie for desert. You can say we had a full meal. Our waiter was telling us that service is priority at this restaurant and they only assign 3 tables per waiter! He was there and we never had to ask for water or more bread.
The beauty of each of the casinos makes you truly feel like you are in another world! I miss it already!

RE: The beauty of each of the casinos makes you truly feel like you are in another world! I miss it already!

Amen, sister!

I'm sorry to be so late to comment, but my excuse is that I was packing for my own trip<vbg> .. I guess you planted the idea of a stroll thru the Flamingo gardens .. thank you!

It's interesting to read different takes on the same show .. I enjoyed Lewis Black a while back, but I thought his opening act was rather lame at best .. probably a different fellow but that opener had no effing act without that F word.

Your dinner at Joe's sounds fantastic - crabcakes, scallops, asparagus & key lime pie - those are all favorites.

BTW, the lines were down at the M buffet last week! LOL, the lines were also down at the slot club, possibly because they stopped giving away the free buffets?