This will probably be my shortest trip report ever. My horrible luck continued from what it was during my last trip in August, although I will say at least I had ONE winning day and saw “only” 3 movies on this trip (versus NO winning days and 4 movies in August).

The Good News: Transportation and Hotel
My upgrades came through for both of my flights. I stayed at Bellagio on this trip and they upgraded me to a junior suite. I had originally requested a lakeside room but the woman checking me in told me about the suite (which was at the end of the hallway) and was on a corner, facing South (views of Aria, Cosmopolitan, and the Bellagio pools) and West (views of the Palms and Rio). She told me to check it out and if I didn’t like it she’d put me in a lakeside room. While it was a REALLY long walk down that hallway, the room was lovely and QUIET. The views were great and the bathroom had a large window so I take a bath and look at the lights of Vegas. Plus the bathtub had Jacuzzi jets. Sold!

The Bad News: Gambling
My luck was just awful. I just couldn’t catch a quad playing VP. My first day was a DISASTER and I dug myself a hole early and deep. At least on my last day I hit Quad Aces with a Kicker early in the morning and made sure to secure some sort of profit for the day.

My trips to the craps table were extremely short. Blackjack wasn’t much better. I did so bad at the Wizard of Oz machines, it felt like the house fell on ME. I did enjoy and have some minor luck on new video slots for THE HANGOVER and GHOSTBUSTERS. The GHOSTBUSTERS machine was very impressive, with very neat special effects on the screen and a seat that vibrated when you’d hit bonus symbols.

Shows:
In addition to the movies, I did the backstage tour of “O” and saw the show later that night. This backstage tour was much more satisfying than the “Love” tour. We got to go under the stage to see the pool from down below and see the breathing apparatuses and underwater lighting. It was interesting to learn that the glass there is 4-inch plexi-glass. When they first built the theater, they originally were going to use 2-inch glass but changed their minds. They showed an example of 2 vs. 4 inch glass. Then they showed one of the panels where a light had fallen against the glass and the glass started to melt. It might have proven disastrous if they had used the 2-inch glass.

We then went up one level and saw the backstage area and got to walk across the back of the stage and see the theater from the stage. There were rehearsals going on for one of the acts in the show. We also saw the massive costume room. Then they took us up to the catwalk to see where some of the performers dive from (it’s WAY up there!) and then saw the control room. The guide was a Russian diver who had performed in the show for 12 years and recently retired. He was a great resource and seemed to enjoy answering all of the questions I asked.

I’m very glad I did this tour. I have to thank JMT once again for turning me on to this. I hope they do a KA tour in the future.


Dining
I treated myself to some meals at my favorite places CraftSteak (filet mignon and fries, excellent as always), SeaBlue (lobster pie appetizer, sea bass with crispy mashed potatoes entrée), and RM Seafood (halibut served in a bowl filled with fava beans, clams, pieces of chorizo, and a tangy tomato sauce – absolutely excellent).

I ate at the Bellagio café for breakfasts but 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.

M Life Express Comps
I’ve been a longtime, faithful MGM customer and they instituted their new M Life Players Club about a year ago. I saw that I had a bunch of these things called Express Comps accumulated but I didn’t know what they were. Apparently, you can use them to pay for everything you charge to your room in the MGM family of hotels. They pay for everything except tips so I was able to get all my meals paid for with these comps. It made the sting of the gambling losses a little less.

Great trip report! I LOVE Bellagio!! I missed dining there this time because we were so rushed but we'll definitely make it on our next trip. That lobster pie sounds wonderful! I forgot to put Hash House A Go GO on my trip report. We did stop in there for an appetizer. I had the Blue Crab Cake and pasta salad and it was superb! But those brown sugar pancakes sound scrumptious enough to make me put it on my list for New Year's eve. Today I'm on my veggie diet to try to erase some of the lbs. from the weekend and prepare for my cruise to Hawaii on Friday.

Thanks Mike. It was really short for you. As always you did an excellent job of whetting my appetite. Just FYI, there is a new Egg Works on Rainbow, just south of 215, if you happen to have a breakfast jones on the southwest side of town. It's only been open about 2 weeks. I like it better than the one on Sunset.

That junior suite sounds nice. I don't like rooms near the elevators.

I'm glad that I got to play a small part in the one of the good times you had. I think that I had the same tour guide that you did. His wife is still in the show, and drops in from the ceiling at the start of the show. I'm surprised that they let us down there where the 4 inch lights were. Nobody is allowed down there during the show. And there is a lot of high voltage and high current devices an uninformed tourist could trip over. Did you see any show acts practicing in the pool when you were down there?

I think that behind the scenes tour of O is worth every penny. And I have been on a backstage tour of Ka. As elaborate as that show is, the backstage area is small and boring. There just isn't much to see. Interesting, yes. But certainly not overwhelming. There are the stages, which are stowed. There is the spinning wheel thingy and aback up one. There is a cork cleaning machine. There are some other props, but most everything else is costume and fun facts. I think that I am more excited about the new Love tour.

BTW, Cirque week starts on Thursday (tomorrow). That day has Q&A with the O team. If you have any lingering questions about O after taking the tour and seeing the show, I'll be happy to see what I can find out.

Vickie - the brown sugar pancake is worth every calorie!

JMT - yes, there was an act practicing above the pool when we were touring. It was the act that looks like a pirate ship that swings back and forth while the acrobats do their thing, flinging each other from one side to the other. It looked like some of the more experienced acrobats were showing newer ones the moves. No one fell into the water. Interestingly, when they were done rehearsing, they were lowered onto a platform and then paddled their way to the side so they wouldn't get wet! I also felt the water which I think they said is 88 degrees - it was really warm!!

Mike, You always eat well in Vegas, and this trip was not different! Sorry to hear the gambling gods were not so nice to you again.
Is the Bel, your new home when in Vegas or are you still searching?

So???? when is the next trip?

Thanks so much for sharing. I do enjoy these so much!

Lee - I've been alternating between Bellagio, The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, and New York-New York. Bellagio is probably my favorite place but I have a soft spot in my heart for NYNY and my luck there is usually really good. The downside of NYNY is that the VP choices have gotten really limited and I like to play where I stay. As far as The Hotel goes, I've been getting really good offers from them (probably because I've dropped so much money there!) and I love the rooms - not crazy about the casino but I love those rooms!

Next trip will probably be in April for my birthday. NYNY usually sends me a birthday offer with free rooms, meals, and free play that I can't turn down!

Our best shot at a next trip is April as well. Who knows, maybe we can have a top end meet at Craft Steak or Mesa Grill?

I love "the Hotel", but never had any luck in the joint. But free nights are a heck of a motivator! LOL

Okay - we'll stay in touch!

What other shows have backstage tours and how do you find out about them?

JMT from this board recommended the backstage tours to me. They have one for "O" and one for "Love." They can be purchased through Bestofvegas.com

Jubilee had two different backstage tours. And I think Phantom has some kind of VIP package with a backstage tour.

And Cirque Week isn't technically backstage tours, but loaded with info to make you want to see the show again.

I wasn't even aware that there was a backstage tour for O. Sounds like something I would enjoy.

Thanks for posting.