Please ADD your own Las Vegas Trip Report. Date of Trip: October 02, 2005 to October 06, 2005 Hotel Stayed At: THEhotel/Wynn Report by: ktinca <> From: Bay Area, Ca.

Checked out of THEhotel around noon and took a cab to Wynn. We were staying at Wynn on a comp offer in my wife’s name, so she had to check in. This is our 3rd stay there so she knew exactly what to ask for. High floor, golf course view, south end of the building. The reason you prefer the south end is you also have a view of the pool, instead of the parking garage. Request made with $20 tip on counter. We were given room 5622.

Because the reservation was in her name, and she checked in, the clerk gave us 2 Red Cards (both room keys and slot cards) with her name on them. I was told I could still charge things to the room, and later we went to the slot desk and was told it didn’t matter, as we were linked in the system. I still had the card from our last stay, but didn’t use it.

Minor glitch; the desk clerk ordered our fridge on her computer screen, but after 20 minutes we had to call housekeeping and repeat the request. This is the 2nd time this has happened to us at Wynn, obviously a flaw in their system.

Went downstairs to pick up our tickets for that nights show and sneak a look at the new Broadway Theatre. Beautiful theatre holding 1200, built specifically for Avenue Q and other Broadway shows. There was a rehearsal going on so we got out of there, headed up to the room to catch part of the afternoon ball game.

Time for my wife to christen her nickel video WOF machines, and I was curious to see how 2 cards with the same # would work. It was kind of strange. We both sat down, put in our cards and both machines say “Welcome Eileen” and show 1060 points. As we play both of us are showing point totals increased from 1060 points and adding our current play. When I took my card out the computer stored the info, then when my wife took her card out and put it into a machine again it added the points I had earned. So we have no idea how many points each of us earned this trip, as they were all put in her account.

Played WOF and VP for a while, losing a little, and went for dinner around 7pm. We had checked earlier at Red 8 and found they do not take reservations. We were told to come around 7 and there is no wait, but they get crowded around 8pm.
This was our 1st time at Red 8. We very much liked the décor, although I really don’t like restaurants where you can see the casino. Food and service were both good, but a little on the pricey side, wife thought $7 for a pot of tea was a little out of line. Dinner with tip (no drinks) was $64.

On to the 10pm performance of Avenue Q. We had perfect seats Row L seats 101,102, 11th row, center section on the aisle. All the center seats have 3 digits (101,102,etc) all the sides seats do not. Also there is a flat section in front, so you do not want to sit in the first 5 or 6 rows. The better seats start around row F.

What can you say about Avenue Q? First off, we liked it! The play is 2 hours with an intermission. Both puppets and actors are on stage, and it is a nice blend. It is definitely for adults, with adult themes. Yes, there really is heterosexual puppet sex on stage.
They also include homosexuality, racism, and pornography.

Some may be offended, and my wife believes that some people may have not returned after intermission because of this. Personally, I believe more people would be offended by Zumanity, than by Avenue Q.
I would recommend it, but not for everyone.

After the show we went to the Drugstore Café for dessert, then up to the room around 1:30-2:00. Tried to sleep, but the young guys in the next room had the TV cranked up too loud. My wife dozed off, so I kept trying to sleep for around an hour, then the noise woke her up. I am fairly easygoing, but keeping others up at 3:30 is a little too much.

So, I told my wife I would be back in a half hour or so. Met the young men, who were typical boys enjoying themselves in Vegas, and of course at that age quite full of themselves. A discussion ensued, and they decided against a confrontation, and promised to tone it down.

Now, I couldn’t sleep so it was back downstairs. Played some $1 JOB, and couldn’t get a thing, so I took a walk. Found myself at a Pai Gow table with one other player. 4:30 AM Wednesday morning there wasn’t a lot of action going on, so the pit boss was hanging around trying to keep the game going.
Sat down and gave him my Red Card (which had my wife’s name) he said “This is the wrong card, I know you’re not Eileen”
I explained the comp was in her name, so it was put on both cards.
He laughed and said “Well your wife is about to get rated”.
BTW: if you want to play Pai Gow Poker he said he lowered the minimums to $15 around 3am to attract players.

After sitting down I realized I hadn’t taken any money out of the safe and only had what was in my pocket. Found $300, not much of a stake at a $25 table. So I started playing between $25-$50 per hand. Started losing immediately and was down to around $125 when a new player sat down. Things started to change. I pushed against a really good hand, and then won a couple in a row still only betting around $35. Another push when the dealer had a great hand.
The new player had lost 4 hands in a row, so he decided to bet on my spot, so he put down around $150. I got a nice hand and we both won. So I increased my bet to $55 and we won again. Up to $65, with $5 for the dealer, got a bad hand but pushed.
Won the next hand. The other player on my spot then raised his bet to over $400, playing $10 for the dealer. I picked up the tiles and found a hand that could be played 2 ways. I told the dealer I wanted the other player to see the tiles, he agreed, the player chose the “house way” and we all won the hand.

Played until the short run ended, getting back all my losses for the morning and a $165 profit. I enjoy playing Pai Gow, but don’t get to do so very often anymore.

It’s now 5am I go up to the room and find my wife is not there, she couldn’t get back to sleep either. Find her at the Triple Play VP machines, we play for around an hour and finally call it a day at 6am. God, we’re too old for this!

WEDNESDAY 5TH: Sleep in till 9:00. This is supposed to be another spa day for my wife, so we decide a quiet breakfast at Country Club Grill will be a nice way to start.
Great place for breakfast alongside the golf course. It was actually fairly crowded, nice to see that this place is finally getting discovered.

Wife changed her mind about the spa, so our day was spent playing at Wynn. She started with her WOF machines and I mostly played the 9/6 JOB. Nothing very exciting for me, she got one jackpot for 2000 coins on her nickel machine, and in the afternoon we were playing quarter JOB and she hit a straight flush. She had a good day and her TITO slowly kept growing.

About 4:00 the hours started catching up with us. So we went to the concierge to have our boarding passes for the next day’s flight home printed, and then up to the room for a nap before dinner.

Went downstairs to SW Steakhouse around 7:45 and requested an outside table. As we were waiting in walked 2 Sumo Wrestlers, dressed in full regalia, along with another couple. Of course, they attracted attention! And then just like any other tourists at SW, they went out on the patio and had their pictures taken by the lake. I don’t know why, but this struck me as really funny.

Having stayed at THEhotel, we knew MB was hosting Sumo Wrestling that weekend, but didn’t expect to see them at Wynn. Naturally their party was seated right away (who would make them wait?). We were talking to another couple that mentioned they went to the buffet at MB that morning, and a whole table of the sumo wrestlers were there.
As a person who frequently thinks in one-liners, this again struck me as really funny.
I mean, you knew you didn’t want to be at the end of THAT buffet line.

So now a table is ready for us on the patio---right next to the wrestlers. Normally I figure it’s none of my business what anyone else has for dinner, but in this case curiosity got the better of me. The chef came out and spoke to them personally before they ordered. They had a large number of special appetizers and a few fish dishes. While it was funny seeing this tiny appetizer in front of this huge man it was a little disappointing that they weren’t served a humongous steak. I may have actually eaten more than they did.

Dinner at SW is truly a dining experience. We were going to try Alex this trip, but didn’t want to pass up the chance to eat at SW again. Not only is the food outstanding, the service is impeccable, with the courses perfectly timed. Never being rushed, or having to wait, dinner took 2 hours and 15 minutes. If this is not the best restaurant in a city of fine dining, it is certainly one of the best.

Because people frequently ask about prices of nice restaurants here is our bill:
2 Iced Teas: $9
2 Crabcakes: $36
1 Simple Salad: $11
1 Asparagus Salad: $16
1 New York Steak: $45
1 Rack of Lamb: $42
1 Potatoes Au Gratin: $8
1Veg. Jardiniere: $8
2 Coffees: $8
1 Crème Brulee: $10
1 Not Another Ding Dong: $10
Total with Tax: $218.73
AND COMPLETELY WORTH EVERY PENNY.

After dinner it was time for more $1 VP. Both of us did well, getting a few 4OK and consistently adding to our totals. Both of us took a couple hundred in profits and called it a night.

THURSDAY 6th: I guess nobody can really sleep in late the last day.

Finally got around to using the buffet comps earned in May for breakfast. The Wynn buffet is exactly what you expect and will never disappoint.

Leaving at 1:00pm for the airport, gives us a couple of hours to kill at the machines. Back to $1 VP once again consistently adding to our totals. Then my wife gets dealt another straight flush.
She now has her original $20 ticket from the day before up to almost $800.
Plays it down to $700 and cashes out. Walks over to a nickel multi-line double diamond machine just to kill the last hour. Accidentally hits 15 coin in, and naturally wins 700 coins, Isn’t it great when things are going your way?

Every trip must come to an end, and this one ended too soon.
It was a winning trip for us, as I won around $300 and my wife over $500, which pretty much covered our expenses.

While I still don’t like switching hotels during a 4 night trip, at least they were the two best hotels in town. Once we checked in we never left Wynn.

If it seems that I had a few nit-picking complaints please understand, these are both outstanding hotels and we thoroughly enjoyed our stays. If you should have the opportunity, I highly recommend them both for a relaxing Vegas experience.

Some trips to Vegas are full of activity, with many things planned and new things to see.
Other trips, like this one, are just to kick back and relax a little.
Either way, we enjoy them all.

This was our 3rd trip this year, and unless something unplanned arises our last, as the winter chill creeps in.
But like many of nature’s wonders, we will bloom again in spring when the weather is to our liking.

Thanks for reading.

ktinca <> - Bay Area, Ca.    2713

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