Vegas Trip Thoughts
Profit & Loss
On checking back it looks like I dropped (poker-wise) something in the order of $500 or so overall...some of the recollections are a bit hazy...and, of that, $300 was on the first night in the first Mixed Cash Game.
Over just two weeks that"s very acceptable to me.
When I Lay Me Down To Sleep
On the hotels front, both the Flamingo and Orleans were more than acceptable. In both cases I was on a high floor so there were no external noise issues and noise from other rooms wasn"t a major issue either.
Flamingo.
The "GO" room at the Flamingo was very nice but it"s a step up from their standard "Deluxe" rooms so, normally, it would be more expensive. Fortunately, having a degenerate gambling brother help on that front. NO RESORT FEES
No coffee in the room and I suspect that the small fridge may not be standard but if it is that"s a bonus.
Wi-fi was c.$15 a day (per laptop) so that mounted up.
Total Cost (room + wifi) for 7 nights: £160 (between two of us) but this took into account significant comps.
On the downside, I felt that the walk to just get out of the casino was quite long which can be annoying.
The Poker Room was so-so although it"s possible I"m jaded by the beats that I suffered. The dealers seemed competent if unenthused. Floor management was adequate. Waitresses on the older side.
I don"t recall eating in the Flamingo so I can"t comment. I have eaten in their buffet before and it was fair.
Orleans
The room (for one person) was quite large with a huge "King" bed, desk & chair PLUS sofa, easychair and coffee table. No flatscreen (as per the GO room) but that"s not a big thing to me. Coffee-maker in the room with enough supplies for 4 cups if that"s what it takes to get you started. There is a $5 a day Resort Fee but that gets you the coffee and a "US Today" newspaper available in the corridor. Seems fair.
On the plus side, they give you a bunch of discount coupons when you check in that give you money off for eating in their restaurants &/or using their other services (spa/fitness centre etc).
Wi-fi around $14 a day (per laptop).
Total Cost (room + wifi) for 6 nights: £240. TYVM.
There was a handy "shortcut" to the Poker Room from the lifts so that you didn"t have to cross the whole casino to get to it which was nice.
The Poker Room (area) is quite large but generally only 50% of the tables are used for cash games. The others generally only get used for their tournaments.
Dealers were friendly and competent (and Omaha 8 is a b*tch of a game to deal) and, given the grumpiness of their standard O8 players, remarkably patient. Floor management (given that they have no electronic table management) is top-notch. Waitresses very attractive and quick. Once they got to know me I rarely had an empty bottle in front of me.
The variety of the restaurants and other options (the multi-screen cinema for instance) make this an ideal choice if you"ve had enough of the Strip.
Up, Up And Away
Virgin Atlantic are not my preferred airline as I have masses of points with United but they do fly direct and that cuts a good 6 hours off the journey. The "Premium Economy" seats are nice but don"t compare with true Business Class and if you get one of the un-refurbished planes (as I did on the way out), then having to wait for the next movie to start can get a little wearing. Perhaps a minor niggle but there it is.
The flight attendants were superb as always...can"t say enough nice things about them.
Clean Your Plate
I"ve detailed where I ate for your enjoyment but a couple of places stand out. The Hash House A Go Go in the Imperial Palace is a real gem. You HAVE to try it.
KGB Burger in Harrahs is also a very good choice. I"m told there are better burgers in town but this place is always near the top of all the lists I"ve seen.
TGI Friday at the Orleans...believe me, it"s nothing like the TGIF in the UK you might have experienced. Very reasonably priced food (which comes pretty quick) and a nice range of draft beers. If you haven"t tried Blue Moon...you should. Oh, and they have happy hour twice a day.
I spent several hours at the bar in TGIF and chatted to a couple of the bar people. They love to talk and a couple do that "flair" bar-tending thing too.
The Rest
Just the Mirage & Venetian poker rooms to comment on really. Both were excellent in table management and getting you into a seat. The Mirage requires you to swipe in and out (they don"t have Bravo yet) whereas the Venetian does so no swiping is necessary.
Dealers were competent in both places. I think you could say that the Mirage dealers were a little older and, some, more set in their ways but I know that this is one of the areas the Poker Room manager (Chris Coffin) is in the process of dealing with.
The Venetian was in the throes of a Deep Stack Extravaganza and had, I think, over 70 tables in operation but they ALL have auto-shufflers. The only downside of the Venetian for me is something they can"t fix. It wasn"t close enough to my hotel. That"s something I"ll have to fix next time around.
