This trip was sort of scheduled at the last minute. I got a decent offer from Mandalay Bay and really needed to take a break from work so I decided to go. I departed on August 13 and returned August 17.

Transportation and Hotel
I took the early morning flights from Chicago and my upgrades came through both ways, one of the perks of taking 7AM flights.

I didn’t get a car on this trip. I traveled solo and my intentions were to gamble and relax. I had no desire to go off-Strip.

The offer I got was $350 in free play and $250 in food credit plus a comped room. They put me at The Hotel which I love and I had a room on the 37th floor facing the Luxor. It was nice, comfortable, and quiet. I think The Hotel’s rooms are the nicest in all of Vegas.

Gambling
This was by far the unluckiest trip I’ve ever had. My luck couldn’t have been any worse. It was a total flip from my lucky trip in April. Maybe it’s the casino. Mandalay Bay has plenty of offerings in terms of VP but those machines just aren’t kind to me. I’m not sure I’ve ever won at Mandalay Bay. I complained the last time about the VP choices at NYNY but I always seem to win there. No matter what I tried, VP, blackjack, craps, Wizard of Oz machines – I won at nothing.

I didn’t have one winning day. I saw FOUR MOVIES on this trip – that’s how bad my luck was. I also went for a lot of long walks and went to the pool each day in the blazing hot sun, just to get out of the casino. I have to admit, the wave pool and the lazy river at Mandalay Bay are very nice. But there were way too many screaming kids and that sun was EXTREMELY hot!

Video Poker: You know when you’re playing Triple Play VP and you get 3-of-a-kind and you hope for that 4-of-a-kind? And you know that sometimes – just sometimes – you GET that 4-of-a-kind? Not me. I had so many 3-of-a-kinds that never converted to 4-of-a-kind that it got just downright sad. Toward the end of the trip, whenever I got 3-of-a-kind, I didn’t even pause for a minute to talk the machine into giving me a 4-of-a-kind. No, I just figured it wouldn’t happen, hit the “draw” button and it didn’t. I think I got more 4-of-a-kinds when I held a pair and the other 2 cards popped up. No joke.

My biggest thrill was when I held a Jack, King, and Queen of Clubs and the machine zinged when it dealt me my remaining 2 cards – I thought I hit a royal, until I realized it had dealt me the 9 and 10 of Clubs to give me a straight flush. Oh well –at least I got a straight flush!

Craps: I made 3 trips to the craps table and probably lasted about 10 minutes each time. I usually stand there and watch to see how the table is doing and whether or not people are winning. Each time, I felt like William H. Macy in “The Cooler.” I’d walk up to the table, plunk my money down, and watch it, along with everyone else’s money, disappear quickly.

Blackjack: I’m not sure why I bother with blackjack. I never seem to win. I practice all the time on my computer and do really well. At the casino, it’s just a disaster. And I know basic strategy really well! I can’t tell you how many times I’d be sitting there with a 19 or 20 and the dealer has a 6 and draws to a 20 or 21 and beats me. Arrgghhhh!!!

Wizard of Oz machines: None of them were paying. Dorothy and Glinda must have been on vacation because they never showed up.

Shows
In addition to the movies, I managed to get a ticket to see Celine Dion – one of the joys of traveling solo, you can sometimes get a single ticket to a hard-to-see show. I sat about mid-way back in a side section. The seat was fine. The theater was PACKED. She certainly can pack them in at some steep ticket prices! I saw the show on the 14th and it was her last show until December 28 so I guess I was lucky to see it while I could.

I enjoyed the show. It was much different from her previous show. It was more like Celine in Concert as opposed to Celine performing with dancers and acrobats. She had a full orchestra on stage and did a lot of different types of music, not just all her hits. She took a lot of elements from Cher’s show (the lighting, the moving orchestra platforms, the special effects) and dialed them up a bit. There was a very neat effect of her image singing on stage and the real Celine appeared in the audience and did a duet with herself. There was also another part where she sang along with old film clips of herself (when she was VERY young) that were synchronized perfectly. I also enjoyed some of the clips and music she dedicated to her family (she did a BEAUTIFUL rendition of Billy Joel’s “Lullaby”). Other sequences, like a medley of music from James Bond movies, were a bit strange and out of place. The show climaxes with the theme from TITANIC with some very interesting special effects involving a lot of water. I have to say this show was much more satisfying than her previous show.

Dining
As usual, I didn’t hold back with the dining. Although I’d recently lost 15 pounds, I wanted to treat myself and after all, some of the very best dining in all the world is in Vegas. The only thing I DIDN’T indulge in were Krispy Kremes.

Since I had $250 in food comps, I mostly ate at Mandalay Bay restaurants:

RM Seafood: One of my favorite restaurants. I’ve eaten there a lot. It’s nice that they’re open for lunch so you can get many of the same dishes for half the price at lunch than you would pay at dinnertime.

I had a delicious halibut dish. It was served in a bowl filled with fava beans, clams, pieces of chorizo, and a tangy tomato sauce. There were multiple flavors going on in that dish and it was heavenly.

Their Caesar salad is among the best ever. I had it twice.

I had a Copper River Salmon which was good but not great. (There’s a place in Chicago that has excellent Copper River Salmon and nothing can compare to that. I should probably never order it anywhere else.)

I learned one lesson here: It was lunchtime and the waiter told me about one of their specials which sounded great – de-shelled crab and lobster served in a cream sauce over orzo. He said it was one of their house specialties and is on the menu only rarely. Sold. I loved it – it was absolutely delicious. However, I neglected to ask him the price. I almost died when I got the bill - $70 for this dish – at lunchtime! Oh well, lesson learned. Ask the price next time

Fleur: Formerly Fleur du Lys, this is a Hubert Keller restaurant. He’s a great chef and I’ve seen him on TV a bunch of times. In fact, one night he was in the restaurant with his wife. Seems like a nice guy.

I had eaten at Fleur du Lys in the past and was never crazy about it. It was similar to Aureole and I just thought the food at Aureole was better. But they closed Fleur du Lys, re-designed the restaurant, and re-opened it as Fleur. The atmosphere is much more casual now. The bar is nice. The menu is more of a “tapas” type menu, with a lot of smaller dishes, allowing you to try more. I ate there twice and sampled:
- Croque Monsiuer which is a fancy French name for grilled ham and cheese – absolutely excellent.
- Lobster Mac N cheese – very good
- Grilled shrimp over risotto – great
- Some fancy, schmancy cheeseburger and fries which was incredibly excellent (Hubert Keller also owns The Burger Bar in Mandalay Place).

I ate at Raffles restaurant for breakfast a few times which was decent.

I also made one trip to Hash House a Go Go at Imperial Palace for their brown sugar and banana pancake which is one of my favorite things of all time.

Other
Not much else to report. It was just an unlucky trip. I did enjoy my stay at The Hotel and slept a lot more than I usually do on my Vegas trips. Maybe that was a good thing!

I’m not sure where I’ll stay the next time. My bad luck at Mandalay Bay sort of left a bad taste in my mouth (plus that casino gets incredibly NOISY at night). The video poker situation at NYNY hasn’t gotten any better. I did a swing through the place again and the VP choices stink. I’m guessing I’ll end up at Bellagio next time but who knows – I’ll see what offers come my way.

Thanks Mike. Four movies...Ouch. As you know, you'll bounce right back. It is a pretty wild slap to get hit like that though.

I'm hearing much better reviews on Celine's show these days. I turned down free tickets time and time again on her first show. I still don't think much of her as a person, but I might not turn down a freebie on this round.

I've always thought the casino was too loud and busy. I don't really feel comfortable like I do in many other casinos.

I'm glad you didn't skimp on the meals. You always seem to explore territories and open up options that I never think of. Thanks for sharing the details. Due to dental issues, I'm eating baby food for the next few months. When I get my real teeth back, I have a lot of catching up to do.

I thought Copper River Salmon had a very tight fishing season in the spring, and anything else was either frozen or not the real deal. I might be wrong on that though.

Bellagio has finished stage 1 of it's remodeling of rooms. It should all be completed by the end of the year. If you book there anytime soon, be sure to inquire.

Thanks again for a very enjoyable trip report.

At my place in Chicago, Copper River Salmon showed up around the beginning of June and lasted just until early July. It's usually there during the month of June, give or take a few weeks. Last year it lasted almost 2 months. I believe what I get at this restaurant is the real thing. I question whether what I had at RM Seafood was in fact real Copper River Salmon.

It's always fun to write trip reports. Glad you enjoyed it!

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I must add though, I have never had much luck @ Mandalay Bay. I do however agree that "the Hotel" has the best rooms in Vegas. At least the best room I have ever had!
You always eat good in vegas! RM seafood is a favorite of ours, althought I must admit the others you mentioned I have never tried. We've sort of taken Hash house ago go, off of our favorite list. Poor service and too much food!
Any good movies to recommend???
Your a couple trips ahead of me this year. Life keeps interupting my Vegas dreams!
Thanks for a GREAT report! and Better luck, next time!

Lee - The movies I generally like are independent and foreign stuff and those types of movies don't usally play in Vegas. Most of what I saw was big studio, summer fare type of stuff like CRAZY STUPID LOVE, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, and 30 SECONDS OR LESS. Those were all okay, nothing bad, nothing great - just time killers between my losing sessions!