Las Vegas go hard or go home thread

[closetojumping 62010]

I’m heading to Vegas with my wife in about a month. She set up reservations for Le Cirque and Piero’s, which are awesome, and, based off of a strong recommendation from one of her friends, the Mayfair Supper Club. This friend is not someone I think of when I’d like food recs, but she definitely enjoys eating. Anyone ever been there and have an opinion? 

[Armybrat 40559]

On 4/12/2023 at 5:05 PM, PorscheGuy said:

Long overdue trip to Vegas was a blast.

First time staying at the Bellagio. Will be my go to moving forward. Newly renovated fountain view room was great. Service was always on point.

Highlights

Sky bar window seat reservations. This is a must. Great view overlooking strip. Calm, attentive service and great drinks.

Prime. Get a fountain window view table. Food, service and atmosphere were perfect.

Mon Ami Gabi. Brunch outside in the patio. Great people watching. Eggs Benedict with andouille sausage and a few bloody Mary’s to shake off the cob webs.

Tao Asian Bistro. Our server was a little spastic. Loud as fuck but fun. Drunken lobster noodles were fantastic. Sushi was well above average. Rest of the food was good not great. Not sure if rush back.

Saw O again. Still my favorite show in Vegas.

Went by Resort world to check it out. Not sure what the fuss is about. Left after 30 minutes. I’m pretty sure they are aiming at the under 30 crowd.

You can really tell which properties clean up during Covid and which did nothing and look horribly run down

Had to cut the trip short and fly back early so we missed out on a few spots/things we had reservations for.

Mon Ami Gabi Is one of our go-to spots….

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Armybrat

[RPM 26098]

The place I never miss when I go to Vegas is Lotus of Siam.

[kevwun 15341]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

I’m heading to Vegas with my wife in about a month. She set up reservations for Le Cirque and Piero’s, which are awesome, and, based off of a strong recommendation from one of her friends, the Mayfair Supper Club. This friend is not someone I think of when I’d like food recs, but she definitely enjoys eating. Anyone ever been there and have an opinion? 

We just went to Mayfair a few weeks ago  Extremely disappointing especially for the prices.  The best thing I tried at the table was a mashed potatoes side dish.  I got a NY strip that was supposed to be prime.  It was really chewy and under-seasoned.  My wife had lobster thermidor and one of the lobster halves tasted like it was shipped in the back of a pickup from Maine during a heatwave.  The lounge act while you're eating also isn't my thing.  I would find another place.  We really liked NoMad.

Edited May 18, 2023 by kevwun

[ChiTownDoc 20907]

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

I’m heading to Vegas with my wife in about a month. She set up reservations for Le Cirque and Piero’s, which are awesome, and, based off of a strong recommendation from one of her friends, the Mayfair Supper Club. This friend is not someone I think of when I’d like food recs, but she definitely enjoys eating. Anyone ever been there and have an opinion? 

It sucks for food.  Decent show that has gone downhill from what I heard.  Went when it opened and the eye candy was on point but even then the food was average at best.  
 

Heading to Vegas this weekend.  Gonna be a hell of a crew.  Taking Miami talent to Vegas but these days Vegas is BYOB imo - unlike Miami which is crawling with ass all over.  
 

Hate festivals w a passion but helicopter to a table on main stage can’t be THAT bad.  Wish me luck gents.  

Edited May 18, 2023 by ChiTownDoc

[SamsCorner 395]

3 hours ago, CowboyFred said:

I land in Vegas next Friday around 11am…did you have any delays with the runway situation?

Arrived in town yesterday, no problems.

[Buzzrock 14785]

I land in Vegas next Friday around 11am…did you have any delays with the runway situation?

Zero. But the Strip at night is a complete shitshow with the paving for F1. Sat in a cab for half an hour trying to get from Venetian to Aria and said fuck it. Cabs can’t get anywhere because there is construction on the alternate routes too, so EVERYONE is walking.

Sushisamba was good for dinner and Flight Club is cool. Like Top Golf for darts and the tech works really well.

[Skipper 5969]

6 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Zero. But the Strip at night is a complete shitshow with the paving for F1. Sat in a cab for half an hour trying to get from Venetian to Aria and said fuck it. Cabs can’t get anywhere because there is construction on the alternate routes too, so EVERYONE is walking.
 

Thanks for heads up.  I was thinking about doing Piero's this Friday dinner for old school Vegas vibe but sounds like we would waste a ton of time in a cab/uber trying to get there and back from center strip.

[CowboyFred 1130]

58 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Zero. But the Strip at night is a complete shitshow with the paving for F1. Sat in a cab for half an hour trying to get from Venetian to Aria and said fuck it. Cabs can’t get anywhere because there is construction on the alternate routes too, so EVERYONE is walking.
 

Sounds like a cluster fuck. Thankfully we don’t really have anything too far away from the Palazzo aside from dinner at Beauty and Essex at the Cosmo on Saturday night. 

[closetojumping 62010]

2 hours ago, kevwun said:

We just went to Mayfair a few weeks ago  Extremely disappointing especially for the prices.  The best thing I tried at the table was a mashed potatoes side dish.  I got a NY strip that was supposed to be prime.  It was really chewy and under-seasoned.  My wife had lobster thermidor and one of the lobster halves tasted like it was shipped in the back of a pickup from Maine during a heatwave.  The lounge act while you're eating also isn't my thing.  I would find another place.  We really liked NoMad.

 

2 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

It sucks for food.  Decent show that has gone downhill from what I heard.  Went when it opened and the eye candy was on point but even then the food was average at best.  
 

Heading to Vegas this weekend.  Gonna be a hell of a crew.  Taking Miami talent to Vegas but these days Vegas is BYOB imo - unlike Miami which is crawling with ass all over.  
 

Hate festivals w a passion but helicopter to a table on main stage can’t be THAT bad.  Wish me luck gents.  

Good feedback. Never been to Beauty and Essex either and we’re switching out to give that one a shot. 

On a separate note, does anyone know when the F1 shit is over?

[kevwun 15341]

The race isn't until November 18th, so it will be causing traffic problems sporadically from now until then.

[Francisco 2.0 32225]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

 

On a separate note, does anyone know when the F1 shit is over?

 

Never.  Because every year from here out, there will be repaving.  F1 isn't going to allow the city to put down 3 inches of new asphalt in 2023, and call it good for the rest of the decade.

 

 

[bigup2dahorns 3340]

Good feedback. Never been to Beauty and Essex either and we’re switching out to give that one a shot. 
On a separate note, does anyone know when the F1 shit is over?

I posted the whole schedule on post # 4196 if you scroll up

[bigup2dahorns 3340]

It sucks for food.  Decent show that has gone downhill from what I heard.  Went when it opened and the eye candy was on point but even then the food was average at best.  
 
Heading to Vegas this weekend.  Gonna be a hell of a crew.  Taking Miami talent to Vegas but these days Vegas is BYOB imo - unlike Miami which is crawling with ass all over.  
 
Hate festivals w a passion but helicopter to a table on main stage can’t be THAT bad.  Wish me luck gents.  

EDC weekend is so awesome. Had a friend do the helicopter and said it was pretty cool.

[ChiTownDoc 20907]

52 minutes ago, bigup2dahorns said:

EDC weekend is so awesome. Had a friend do the helicopter and said it was pretty cool.

We had done Memorial Day for a couple decades with the same crew.  Finally switched over to EDC weekend and definitely no regrets.  Love Miami but still nothing feels like landing in Vegas, stateside anyway.  

[Zepol87 9029]

6 hours ago, kevwun said:

We just went to Mayfair a few weeks ago  Extremely disappointing especially for the prices.  The best thing I tried at the table was a mashed potatoes side dish.  I got a NY strip that was supposed to be prime.  It was really chewy and under-seasoned.  My wife had lobster thermidor and one of the lobster halves tasted like it was shipped in the back of a pickup from Maine during a heatwave.  The lounge act while you're eating also isn't my thing.  I would find another place.  We really liked NoMad.

Damn that sucks. I hit Mayfair 2 years ago and it was great. On that trip STK was big meh 

[Armybrat 40559]

[TornACL 7654]

I went to that arena for that terrible Texas Stanford basketball game a couple of years ago. The bar at the top of the lower level in the concourse where you can still see the floor/ice ...I would probably never leave that area if I ever went back there.

[Buzzrock 14785]

Testing out the exterior of the death sphere

[Buzzrock 14785]

Sounds like a cluster fuck. Thankfully we don’t really have anything too far away from the Palazzo aside from dinner at Beauty and Essex at the Cosmo on Saturday night. 

Talking to colleagues, it sounds like it has a lot to do with how creative your cab driver knows how to get. Some of them were taken across and/or down the freeway to get where they needed to go.

[Buzzrock 14785]

After a week in a Venetian suite: they really need to update their rooms. Lighting was very dim and the TVs are shit. Casino is stale. Wynn and Encore are much nicer.

[bigup2dahorns 3340]

After a week in a Venetian suite: they really need to update their rooms. Lighting was very dim and the TVs are shit. Casino is stale. Wynn and Encore are much nicer.

Agree. I’ve spent a bunch of time there. Casino was sold to private equity a few years ago and they are already implementing changes on the casino floor and elsewhere but we also stayed in a stale looking suite recently.

[Incredulity 11197]

21 hours ago, Armybrat said:

thats Flamingo at the bottom, correct?

[Armybrat 40559]

1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

thats Flamingo at the bottom, correct?

Yes it is. 
That pic looks like it had expanded quite a bit from the first time I saw it in 1957. 
We stayed at the Sahara which looked like this from our rooms… and out front.

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Armybrat

[Incredulity 11197]

God bless whoever owned all that vacant dirt in ‘64.  Probably kick themselves for whatever they got out of it versus what could have been.

[Angry Gorilla 1748]

Anyone going for F1 race? I’m not a whale by any means but I usually get my room and another comped at Cosmo when I go. I emailed my host and she said someone on my same level paid $8k/night for 3 nights for their most basic room with a view of strip. I can get a non strip view comped and I assume for that price I can get into a club area on the strip with a better view.

[Knoxtnhorn 5908]

So when's this runway going to be fixed?  I don't mind getting delayed coming back; however, I'm not as big of a fan traveling to Vegas.

[bigup2dahorns 3340]

[Skipper 5969]

We did Pieros Saturday night and it was awesome.  It's been on my list for a while now based on recs in this thread and it lived up to expectations. 

 

Only issues we had with traffic were getting to center strip from Airport on arrival.  I think our cab driver must not have known alternative routes but one of those side streets as down to 1 lane and it was a mess.  Other drivers we had seemed to know which streets to avoid.   I can't imagine what a shitshow it will be for F1 though.  When I flew in back in February it was also a mess with Rock and Roll Marathon or whatever shutting down the strip.  I can't fathom what they are going to do F1 weekend with thousands flying in and trying to get to the strip. Going to be a complete mess.

Stars game outcome was terrible, obviously, but first time in that arena and I'm a big fan.  Really great atmosphere outside at bars pregame and in-arena.    Great 24 hours in Vegas despite the game and cold craps tables.

[kevwun 15341]

Even if it wasn't going to be insanely expensive, there's no way in hell I would go for the F1 race.  Everything is going to be jam packed with no way to travel anywhere that you can't walk to.

[ChiTownDoc 20907]

On 5/18/2023 at 12:14 PM, bigup2dahorns said:

EDC weekend is so awesome. Had a friend do the helicopter and said it was pretty cool.

So it was worth it.  We did two choppers and threw extra girls on a party bus. It was 2 hrs each way.  Chopper worth it.  Here’s a pic of the party bus at 9am.  

[Scary Stranger 1711]

That one looks dead. Did you kill a hooker?

[conVINCEd 21468]

8 minutes ago, Scary Stranger said:

That one looks dead. Did you kill a hooker?

One is not our standard.

[Chewbacca 7629]

It sucks for food.  Decent show that has gone downhill from what I heard.  Went when it opened and the eye candy was on point but even then the food was average at best.  
 
Heading to Vegas this weekend.  Gonna be a hell of a crew.  Taking Miami talent to Vegas but these days Vegas is BYOB imo - unlike Miami which is crawling with ass all over.  
 
Hate festivals w a passion but helicopter to a table on main stage can’t be THAT bad.  Wish me luck gents.  

Did you just give us a Bring Your Own Bitches?

Keep living the dream, man.

[Armybrat 40559]

A friend’s comments about the current vibe of Las Vegas….

Quote

I lost my Vegas drive a while ago. I don’t like the corporate run casinos and their gimmicks with shitty games that gives you terrible odds. I don’t like the “machine” gambling element that doesn’t have any personal human qualities that just tries to get you addicted and play faster.  BJ is meant to be played with a dealer not a video dealer!  Everything seems to be about eliminating the human experience and when you do that there’s no interaction for me. It’s just a cold, mind numbing repetition that doesn’t keep me interested.  As B. B. King would sing “the thrill is gone”…

 

[closetojumping 62010]

1 hour ago, Armybrat said:

A friend’s comments about the current vibe of Las Vegas….

 

I was in The Bahamas last week and stayed at Baha Mar. The casino there is high quality for a non-Vegas locale, IMO. What struck me while playing there was that it wasn’t quite like the Vegas experience, not that I really expected it or wanted it to be. Nonetheless, I was trying to figure out what made me think that and it hit me - less of the corporate bullshit and mechanizing of every single thing. BJ still paid 3/2 for getting blackjack. They shuffled cards. Someone claimed a missed payout on craps and they’d get paid after the next roll without argument (happened a couple of times, once to me). 

I’m sure it will change down there as well, and I still love going to Vegas, but it was nice. 

[Armybrat 40559]

On 5/22/2023 at 3:22 PM, ChiTownDoc said:

So it was worth it.  We did two choppers and threw extra girls on a party bus. It was 2 hrs each way.  Chopper worth it.  Here’s a pic of the party bus at 9am.  

The helicopter ride up & down the Strip at night is indeed awesome, did that 20 years ago, but somehow I’ve missed the party bus scene. 
 

[Angry Gorilla 1748]

I was in The Bahamas last week and stayed at Baha Mar. The casino there is high quality for a non-Vegas locale, IMO. What struck me while playing there was that it wasn’t quite like the Vegas experience, not that I really expected it or wanted it to be. Nonetheless, I was trying to figure out what made me think that and it hit me - less of the corporate bullshit and mechanizing of every single thing. BJ still paid 3/2 for getting blackjack. They shuffled cards. Someone claimed a missed payout on craps and they’d get paid after the next roll without argument (happened a couple of times, once to me). 
I’m sure it will change down there as well, and I still love going to Vegas, but it was nice. 

I had the exact same experience at Baha Mar in March. It was refreshing not having to search for the hidden 3/2 BJ tables since they were all 3/2.

[Wally Pryor 5213]

2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

A friend’s comments about the current vibe of Las Vegas….

 

Spend some time in the El Cortez. 

[Armybrat 40559]

[CowboyFred 1130]

Lotus of Siam still slams and goes hard.  Tried the duck curry and it was great 

[Brisketexan 103656]

Lotus of Siam still slams and goes hard.  Tried the duck curry and it was great 

The duck curry and the garlic prawns are two absolutely standout dishes.

[CowboyFred 1130]

Lakeside at the Wynn was great for dinner last night.  The little shows on the lake if you get outdoor seating enhances the overall experience.

[Armybrat 40559]

WSJ just now getting around to explaining why gamblers are losing more on the Las Vegas Strip.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-youre-losing-more-to-casinos-on-the-las-vegas-strip-73f6f3ab

[thunderlounge 7642]

Because of a paywall? 🤷‍♂️

[Buzzrock 14785]

Here ya go

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-youre-losing-more-to-casinos-on-the-las-vegas-strip-73f6f3ab?st=5jcg9vwtxxmtqdz&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink

[thunderlounge 7642]

Funny. That’s pretty much what I keep telling my hosts when they ask for my thoughts on my experience. 
 

Every time it goes pretty much like this:

”While I fully recognize that this is a business,  and that until such time as UNICEF gets into gambling, there is no charity. However you still need to make the customer feel like the money they lost at least had entertainment value. If I come in with a grand, and it’s gone in 90 minutes or less, I feel very taken advantage of. How much did I get to play in that 90 minutes?
 

OTOH, if I had played 4 or more hours on that same thousand and still lost, I would feel much more entertainment value and more likely to keep coming back for the time being.”

 

Some nights it just isn’t your night. I get that for sure. That is significantly different than squeezing every nickel out of every bet you can, as quickly as you can.

 

[CowboyFred 1130]

On 5/26/2023 at 7:23 PM, CowboyFred said:

Lotus of Siam still slams and goes hard.  Tried the duck curry and it was great 

 

The duck curry, garlic prawns, Tom Kha soup were all fantastic.

[Celery Man 20607]

On 5/22/2023 at 4:22 PM, ChiTownDoc said:

So it was worth it.  We did two choppers and threw extra girls on a party bus. It was 2 hrs each way.  Chopper worth it.  Here’s a pic of the party bus at 9am.  

[Skipper 5969]

20 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

Funny. That’s pretty much what I keep telling my hosts when they ask for my thoughts on my experience. 
 

Every time it goes pretty much like this:

”While I fully recognize that this is a business,  and that until such time as UNICEF gets into gambling, there is no charity. However you still need to make the customer feel like the money they lost at least had entertainment value. If I come in with a grand, and it’s gone in 90 minutes or less, I feel very taken advantage of. How much did I get to play in that 90 minutes?
 

OTOH, if I had played 4 or more hours on that same thousand and still lost, I would feel much more entertainment value and more likely to keep coming back for the time being.”

 

Some nights it just isn’t your night. I get that for sure. That is significantly different than squeezing every nickel out of every bet you can, as quickly as you can.

 

Exactly why when we were in town for Knights/Stars game 2, we just headed over to Ellis Island to gamble after dinner that Sat night.  The Craps table was cold but I only lost $300 over 2 hours instead of over $1K.   Gambling on the strip just flat out sucks post-Covid.