Las
Vegas
November 10 - 23, 2008
"I'm a goin' to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains."
(Harry McClintock, 1928)
What? Nothing but plain old Las Vegas? Yep. Circumstances conspired to
prevent a more ambitious trip, so I consoled myself with a mere thirteen
days in Sin City.
Starting a couple of reports back, I added Mr. TLTG - tacky little tourist guy:
. Mr. TLTG points out especially tacky or only-in-Vegas sights. Earlier reports suffered from a TLTG deficiency; I've resolved to make up for that deficit from now on.
I've
placed most of the photos, and some of the longer individual reviews,
on separate pages. Click on the specified link, and a new
window
will open; close that page, and you're back where you started.
Lastly, a plug for my other site. If you're tired of wading through my
reports, and really just want information on Las Vegas, go to Larry's Guide to Las Vegas. It summarizes my trips into a weird sort of guide, with a heavy
emphasis on (1) restaurants, (2) outdoor activities and (3) the odd or
unusual.
| Quick Links to
the Sections |
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Hotels
In 2007, Harrah's non-gambling revenue accounted for 18 percent of its total revenue. For MGM Mirage, the figure was 58 percent.
(based on an Associated Press article, 9/27/2008)
It started with yet another stay at the Flamingo (aka The Pink Chicken).
The major reasons to choose this hotel are location and price. As a
place to rest, it's more than adequate; just don't expect anything
fancy in the way of rooms, restaurants or in the casino. Instead, be
smug in the knowledge that you have a location that can't be beat, at
half the price of the Bellagio or Caesars.
Some Flamingo rooms have been renovated. The annoyingly named Go Rooms
feature upgraded electronics, fancier bath rooms, and a louder (I
mean more vibrant) color scheme. They're gotten generally good reviews,
although some people have complained about the translucent glass in the
bathroom, which allows light into the bedroom area during those middle
of the night forays. I won't go into any more details, other than to say that my overall
experience was like prior trips, such
as this 2005 Flamingo visit.
At the last minute, I received an inexplicable offer from the Palazzo
for three free nights. They must be desperate! Not wishing to look a
gift horse in the mouth, I immediately tacked this onto my vacation. For
those of you familiar with the Venetian, the Palazzo is pretty much a
clone, although marginally fancier. It isn't as nice as Wynn Las Vegas,
but I'd always be happy to stay here. Here are a few pictures of my room at the Palazzo.
Activities
"The distinguishing mark of true adventures, is that it is often no fun at all while they are actually happening." (Kim Stanley Robinson)
·
Rock
Scrambling
"You
mean you went rock scrambling again?" Yes. Twice, even. It's fun (if
you don't fall). It's healthy (if you don't fall). And no, I didn't
fall.
To
repeat myself from prior trip reports: rock scrambling, or just plain
old scrambling, is a little like rock climbing, and a little
like
hiking. There are
rocks, huge boulders and even small cliffs to climb, but none are so
difficult
as to require ropes. No previous experience is required, but
you
need to be in pretty good shape. I don't view it as
particularly
dangerous, but
there's always the chance of injury or of getting lost, so don't go
alone. I
highly recommend Neil Sobelson of Hike
This!. Neil, a licensed guide, has been doing this
for a long
time, knows the
area very well, and is just a whole lot of fun to be around.
He'll tailor your scramble to your interests and ability. Oh
yeah, he also does hikes if you're so inclined.
The
first scramble of the trip was to Kraft Mountain at Red Rock Canyon
National Conservation Area. Why? Because I hadn't done it before. Click here
for details of
the Kraft Mountain rock scramble.
Valley of Fire State Park is a little more than an hour from town, and
is well known to tourists. Compared to Red Rock, VOF doesn't offer the
variety of hiking or scrambling opportunities, but that's not to say
there are none. I'm aware of only one scramble, in an area called Fire
Canyon, but had done that already. The solution? Go exploring: try to
turn the normal out-and-back trip into a loop. Click here for details of the VOF rock scramble and hike.
· ATV Excursion
I figured that, compared to last trip's dune buggy adventure in the
Amargosa Dunes,
an ATV ride near the Valley of Fire would be a nice relaxing trip. Click here for all the details.
· Go-kart Racing
...or Karting, as it prefers to be called. Pole Position Racewayoffers
indoor racing using electric karts that have a top speed of 45
mph. I stopped by in the middle of a week day, and it was pretty dead.
Four people were in a race when I got there, but that was it. Maybe
I'll try again during a busier time. Here are a couple of pictures.
·
Pinball Hall of Fame.
3330
East
Tropicana
Avenue. This is one of the few things I visit every time I'm in town. With some 200 machines of all ages, the Pinball
Hall of Fame (PHoF)is
better than any penny arcade I've ever seen. This is not a museum - you
actually get to play these machines. They're kept in good repair, and
shaking is of course allowed. Kudos to owner Tim Arnold. Here are a few pictures.
Shows
and Sights
"I didn't like the play, but then I saw it under adverse conditions - the curtain was up." (Groucho Marx)
·
Bette Midler.
Caesars Palace Colosseum.
"Years ago, my audience was on drugs; now they're on medication."
(from Madame Tussauds
Wax Museum)
You'd
better like Bette Midler a lot, because the price of admission is very
high - and I don't just mean the cost of the ticket. This was my first
time at the Colosseum, and my evaluatin is that it sucks! Just getting
to your seat takes patience. The lines are long; they're also slow, as
everyone must go through a metal detector. Worse yet, all cameras must
be checked, and it can be a real pain to retrieve your camera
afterward. OK, after finally going through all this, I got to my seat.
It was decent, but the large size of the place means that the distance
from most seats to the stage is pretty great. Don't expect to see
facial expressions unless you're clear in.
Perhaps the above rigamarole is why the show started 20 minutes
late. In any case, not a good start. Was it worth it? For me, not
really. The show wasn't terrible, but it felt a lot like a
retrospective. My favorite piece: a nicely choreographed version of
Bette Midler's mermaid character, Delores DeLago. This time, there were
over 20 wheelchairs in a version reminiscent of a Busby Berkeley
production. Still, I left after about 45 minutes, as I had nodded off
more than once.
·
Liberace Museum. 1775 East Tropicana Avenue.
After
years of thumbing my nose at such schlock, I've decided to make a
concerted effort to appreciate that which is quintessentially Vegas.
Hey, one day some of this stuff will be considered a national treasure.
Or not. In any case, the Liberace Museum seems to fit into this category pretty well. Off I went. Oh, you really want to know more??? Read on...
·
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
Venetian.
A museum - does this count as culture? Madame Tussauds
describes itself as "an interactive 'must feel' attraction." Yes, it's
OK to touch the figures. Tussauds takes great pride in the
verisimilitude of its creations. Ready for some pics? Click here.
·
The World of Coca-Cola. 3785 Las Vegas Blvd South.
Well, not really. The World of Coca-Cola, a mini museum of sorts,
closed in 2000. However, the Everything Coca-Cola store remains. This
is your chance to taste 16 drinks offered by Coca-Cola around the world. Click here.
·
The Imperial Palace Auto Collections
Located
on the fifth floor of the Imperial Palace garage, The Auto Collections
is has about 250 cars on display. If cars interest you, it's a pleasant
way to spend a few minutes - or more. Click here.
Gambling
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." (George Carlin)
Craps.
The terrible economy has been kind to craps players. Table minimums
were decidely lower this trip. Wynn had a $10 table on a Saturday
night, and most casinos had $5 tables. Some players jokingly asked the
dealers if they were going to compete with Casino Royale and offer $3
tables. The only difficulty is that there were fewer dealers, meaning
fewer tables. Tables were frequently full. A cost cutting action, I
guess.
Food
"I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol." (Steven Wright)
I've eaten at so many places, so frequently, that it's become a bit of
a problem in writing these reviews. How do I refer to past
visits
to the same place? How do you know in which trip report to
look? I've decided to take all of my restaurant reviews, for
all
trips, and combine them. This should make it a lot easier to
find
what you want, as well as providing more details for those places I've
visited multiple times. Click on Larry's
Las Vegas
Restaurant Guide, and a new window will open.
You can still see the reviews from this trip below. However,
the
eagle eyed may notice that the links lead you to a different
web site (including "lasvegasvacation" in the url). I'm using
that location for the new restaurant reviews.
Key:
 =
A restaurant
that
I have not reviewed in prior trip
reports. |
CUT.
Palazzo. I got to the door of CUT last trip, only to find out that it
was closed for a special event. This time I actually got to eat there. It's very good, and very expensive.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
·
Restaurant Charlie / Bar Charlie.
Palazzo. I fell in love with Bar Charlie last trip; to return was
inevitable. Bar Charlie is still hideously expensive; it's also still
great.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
·
Okada.
Wynn. A required stop; as good as ever.
Click here
for a full
description of my meals
Aureole.
Mandalay Bay. I'd been meaning to visit Aureole for years, but somehow
kept postponing it. This restaurant is famous for its huge and high
tech wine cellar facilities, but its food has gotten mixed reviews. I was favorably impressed.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
Yellowtail.
Bellagio. This is a replacement for Shintaro, but is trendier and less
formal. It also has no sushi bar. I wasn't hopeful, but was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sushi.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
·
Payard
Pâtisserie.
Caesars Palace. Payard Pȃtisserie
is the latest super bakery to open. I ate my way through much of the
breakfast menu last trip. This time, I continued the journey. It was as good as ever.
Click here
for a
full description of my meals
·
Lenôtre.
Paris. When I first went to Lenôtre, it was in a class by itself.
Nowadays, it competes with several top quality pâtisseries,
but it's still a worthwhile destination.
Click here
for a
full description of my meal
Raku.
Featuring robatayaki cooking and other more adventuresome fare, this
out of the way restaurant recently opened to rave reviews from food critics and other chefs. It's a keeper.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
Aloha Island Grill.
Las Vegas has many restaurants serving local Hawaiian food. Aloha
Island Grill is often rated near the top of the bunch (alohavalley.com
gives it 4.4 out of 5 shaka's). I'd meant to visit this place several
times, but never got around to it - until now. Of the Hawaaian joints I've visited, this is the best.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
Mainland.
Palazzo. When Palazzo first opened, I poked my head into Mainland, took
a quick look at the menu, and decided to skip it. Who changed my mind?
John Curtas, a local food critic. Mr. Curtas' approach to restaurant
reviewing is somewhat quirky, and he's sometimes wrong (wrong being
defined as disagreeing with me...hey, it's my web page!), but he often
points out real winners as well. He was right this time. Sadly, Mainland closed just weeks after I went.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
·
Burger Bar.
Mandalay Place. Another it-was-good-last-time-and-I-want-to-return restaurant.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
·
FIX.
Bellagio. This is as close as I get to having a regular bar. I returned once again.
Click here
for a
full description of my meals
·
Bouchon. Venetian. Another required stop - breakfast stop, that is. This time, I also stopped by for dinner.
Click
here for a
full description of my meals
· Postrio. Venetian.
I had eaten lunch at Postrio once before, and thought it was OK but
nothing more. However, I continued to read favorable reviews, and
decided to give it one more try.
Click
here for a
full description of my meal
·
Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill. Harrah's.
I first went here just after it opened, and decided a return visit was
not in order. So what happened? A menu change is what happened. Toby
Keith's now has deep fried Twinkies and deep fried Snickers.
Click
here for a
full description of my meal
espressamente illy.
Palazzo. Espressamente illy is an Italian chain of cafés serving
coffee, light meals, gelato and other desserts. I had some very good gelato.
Click here
for a full
description of my meal
· Canyon Ranch Café. Venetian. I fell in love with their granola last time around. What about this time?
Click
here for a
full description of my meal
Construction
"We have decided to delay construction of our Echelon project on the Las Vegas Strip due to the difficult environment..."
(Boyd Gaming 2nd Quarter Results, 2008)
"The [6,700 room] Plaza project is on hold until the current economic issues improve."
(VegasTodayandTomorrow.com, 4/29/08)
"[Australian] plans to build a $5.2 billion casino with American partners had been thwarted by the global credit crunch."
(Sydney Morning Herald, 6/5/2008)
Even before the recent economic
woes, it was clear that far too many hotels, condominiums and casinos
were being proposed. Take the two things together, and the result:
dozens of construction projects have been delayed or
cancelled. Despite all that, there's still
plenty of construction going on.
· Encore.
If Wynn Las Vegas wasn't fancy enough for you, then Encore will be the
place to stay. Due to open by the end of the year, this $2.2 billion
addition looks pretty close to completion. It will be interesting to
see if Steve Wynn goes ahead with his plan to replace the golf course
with two more hotels, a convention center and a lake larger than the
one at Bellagio.
· Project City Center.
There have been some hiccups along the way, but the project seems to be on track - all $9+ billion of it.
· Echelon.
The $4.8 billion replacement for The Stardust was well under way (to
the tune of about $500 million), when it was put on hold. Maybe it will
start up again in 2010. Maybe not.
· Cosmopolitan.
This $3 billion condo development went bankrupt. Deutsche Bank
foreclosed, and is now running the show. It's apparently still
scheduled to be completed early in 2010.
· Fontainebleau. The condo-hotel-casino is scheduled to open late in 2009. Price tag: $2.9 billion.
· The Plaza.
No, not the downtown hotel. This $5 or $6 billion (who can
keep track) successor to The New Frontier was put on hold months ago.
Next, the owners of the downtown Plaza sued for trademark infringement.
The good news for this project: the (Strip) Plaza can keep its name.
The bad news: it's still on hold. The investors swear it will be built;
we shall see.
· Other stuff.
Caesars is working on a new tower; nothing major, just $1
billion. The Hard Rock has a $750 million expansion underway. The
Mirage Volcano upgrade is nearly complete; cost too trivial to mention.
Here are a few pictures of ongoing construction.
Miscellany
"When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat." (George Carlin)
· Commercial Affection Department.
Readers may recall that, last trip, I was approached by a
gentlewoman whose interests were of a financial nature.
Nothing like that this time, but it's worth reporting that porn
slappers have gone high tech. Some of them wear lit billboards at night, in case you somehow managed not to notice them.
· It's the economy, stupid!
As I write this, the economy is going to hell in a handbasket (I've
always wanted to use that phrase in a trip report). If you're one of
the fortunate few who can still afford a vacation, then you're doubly
fortunate: hotel rates have plummeted, restaurants are offering more
specials, and I've read that the hoi polloi might even be allowed into
some of the top night clubs.
· Not so!
Las Vegas must have more myths than hookers. A lot of the stories are
fun, and I'm not sure I even want to know the truth. However, the
cantankerous old man in me gets annoyed about some more mundane errors
presented as fact. Since this is my web site, I get to bitch about
them. Here's a starter set.
Highlights
Rock scrambles at Red
Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire
Bar Charlie (at Restaurant Charlie) - again!
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