Please ADD your own Las Vegas Trip Report. Date of Trip: May 14, 2006 to May 19, 2006 Hotel Stayed At: MIRAGE/MANDALAY BAY PART II Report by: ktinca <> From: california

TR—MAY 2006 A “RESTFUL” TRIP WITHOUT MUCH SLEEP II

Tuesday 16th. Up again at 6:30am. Some trips I can make the vacation adjustment and sleep later, but not this time. The body knows when it’s 6:30 and knows it’s time to get up. A smart person would adjust when they go to bed, but it doesn’t work that way in Las Vegas.

Because we were switching hotels today, no morning pool. We had asked for a 1pm checkout so we wouldn’t be rushed. We weren’t really hungry, but decided to try Cravings for breakfast. We’re not big buffet people, but we do like breakfast buffets. We don’t go to the cheaper buffets, usually sticking to Wynn, Paris, or MB (our favorite) so our expectations are fairly high. Cravings breakfast buffet cost $12.50 about the same as MB.

Walked into Cravings and my first thought was “My God, how did we end up in Laughlin?” A bunch of cheap metal tables and chairs. I think this décor is supposed to be considered modern or cutting edge, but didn’t work for me.

Cravings is set up with a number of different stations, and there is nothing wrong with the concept, but with the exception of an omelet station, none of the stations are used for breakfast. The food is just laid out on both sides of the room like most buffets. I will say the pastry selection and presentation was very nice, but the fruit selection was lacking (no berries of any kind) and we were not impressed with buffet overall.

Contributed a few more dollars to MGM’s bottom line and went up to pack and make the move to Mandalay Bay.
I appreciated the fact that I could check out using the TV at 12pm, some of the hotels systems do not allow this if you have a later checkout time.

Like many people I check hotel rates constantly when I have a trip booked, and for some unknown reason MB had been sold out for this day for over 3 weeks, so I knew our room choices might be limited. We decided we wanted a strip view this stay, so I requested a room in the Fiji wing further down the hall (MB hallways can be quite loud). After a $20 tip and a frantic search by the clerk we were offered a smoking room with king, a pool view, or a room on the 28th floor with 2 beds. Smoking is not an option for us, so my wife chose the room with 2 beds.
We have stayed at MB a number of times but never in a room with 2 beds. We had seen these rooms but forgot the difference between these and the king rooms. The room itself is a little larger to accommodate 2 beds, but there is no chair and the larger space makes the bathroom smaller. The bathroom in the king room is much nicer, so if you have a choice always ask for one of those rooms.

This was our 1st stay in the MB rooms in a couple of years (had stayed at THEhotel the last few visits) and we were surprised at how rundown they had become. The rooms are being renovated later this year and need it badly.
The original carpeting is badly worn and stained in places, and the room just looks tired. There were lightbulbs out in one of the closets and above the vanity in the bathroom. I did call and the bulb was replaced while we were out, but this should have been noticed and attended to before we checked in.

My wife had a vendor’s show & reception to attend this afternoon (not the purpose of the trip, which was already booked, but when she found out it was at MB she made arrangements) so I had the afternoon free. So it was down to the poker room for me.

I love the poker room at MB, it’s extremely comfortable and gets a good mixture of veteran and inexperienced players. But, I told myself on our last trip that I didn’t want to play there anymore because they don’t play a true $4-$8 game. They actually play $2-$4-$8 which draws too many players into the pot with bad hands. This forces me to adjust my play and I don’t really enjoy that type of game. But it was Tuesday afternoon and I didn’t want to go scrambling around looking for a decent game somewhere else.

The game wasn’t very exciting and I was tired, but it was a good way to kill the afternoon. Unlike the day before, I didn’t get all that many cards to play but made enough hands to stay slightly ahead. Then came the hand that made the difference.
I was in seat #10 and the player behind me in #1 was one of those that plays every hand (only $2 remember) and will stick around for any kind of draw. A couple of players came in and I called with pocket 10’s, player #1 raised $4 from the button, the other 2 called and I called with my 10’s. I had been playing on this table for over 2 hours and while player #1 was obviously a loose player, this was the first time he had raised before the flop. The flop came A, Q, 10. The betting then went, check, check, I bet ($8), player #1 raised, fold, fold, I re-raised, #1 raised again and I called. Next card was a small card, so I checked and #1 bet. Because there were a couple of players on the table I may play with again, I turned over my pair of 10’s and said “It’s a good thing I’m too tired to do the math, I fold”.
Player #1 then turned over his AA and took the pot.
The dealer complimented me on making a good lay down and I said “Yeah, when I go to sleep tonight I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing I played well, but didn’t win. That’s why they call poker gambling.”

Played a few more hands winning 1 small pot, and then it was time to meet the wife, so I left $9 behind.

Neither one of us was really hungry so we decided on the Noodle Shop for dinner. This is one of our favorite restaurants in LV, we even go there on trips if we don’t stay at MB. Very reasonably priced and we have never had a bad meal there.

Then it was over to Luxor so my wife could play some of her favorite nickel video WOF (MB doesn’t have any of these machines). I sit and play next to her to keep her company, and you know what happens. My wife can’t hit a thing and I have a machine that is not only giving me play, but actually racking up credits. So after like 45 minutes, I’ve had enough and I cash out having turned my $20 into $75. So my wife, who had already stopped playing her machine, took over my machine. Naturally the machine now started eating money. I felt so sorry for her and it was painful for me to watch. So we tried some VP and that didn’t work either.

We made sure to get to Chocolate Swan in Mandalay Place before they closed at 10pm for dessert. Eclairs and Death by Chocolate, a very good way to end the day.

The Chocolate Swan upstairs has always closed early, but if you wanted a late dessert you could always go to the 2nd location on the ground floor of MB at the entrance to Mandalay Place, which stayed open later.
That is until now.
In their infinite wisdom the corporate honchos at MGM have closed the 2nd Chocolate Swan and replaced it with A STARBUCKS. Just what the world needs ANOTHER STARBUCKS. Have these people no pride?

Wednesday 17th Another day of planned rest.
Didn’t sleep well and woke up around 4am. Stayed in bed trying to sleep again until about 6 and then gave up.
Decided I hadn’t been to Excalibur in at least a couple of years and should go take a look (after all what better time than 6am). Didn’t know if the tram ran that early and didn’t really care, decided I wanted to take a walk so I just went through Mandalay Place to Luxor and then through to Excal.
If it’s changed any in the last few years I couldn’t tell, but it certainly was peaceful that early.
What does amaze me is that even at the Excalibur the VP sucks. You would think the lower end places would offer better gambling to entice us to stay, or at least visit. Couldn’t find anything to play so I just walked around for an hour.
Stopped and picked up pastries and coffee at the Orchid Lounge to bring upstairs and then it was on to the MB pool.

The Mandalay Bay pool is the reason we go to Las Vegas. My wife considers this the happiest place on earth. Give her a lounge chair alongside the MB river and a $12 pina colada and she is truly on vacation. This is her retreat from the outside world.

But once again the MGM corporate fiscal philosophy has reared its ugly head, and changes were made to the area around the river during the winter.
Like thieves, acting in the middle of the night, during the winter 80% of the trees and foliage were removed from the river area. The reasons for this:
MB has a beautiful beach and river area, but only the guests could see this, because the trees blocked the view from the public areas. Now everyone can view this area from the large windows in the walkway heading towards the convention areas and Shark Reef, thus creating interest, which will lead to future hotel guests.
Oh, did I forget to mention that in place of the foliage on the island in the middle of the river MGM put 6 ugly canvas cabanas, which rent for $250 per weekday and $350 on weekends?
MGM considers this making improvements.

I left around 11:30 and went up to start my day. My wife had an appointment at the spa for 1pm, so she would go right from the pool.

After getting ready to head out, I went in search of our maid. The do not disturb sign sits on our door in the morning while we are at the pool, but I wanted to make sure our room was cleaned in the afternoon.
We had met the maid the day before, said hello, and realized she didn’t speak any English. I now found her cleaning the suite at the end of the hall.
Our ensuing conversation could be a skit on Saturday Night Live.

“Can you please clean room 28211 before 3 o’clock?” in English.
Quizzical look in return.

“Room 28211?” Repeating the number didn’t help. At least I am smart enough to know speaking louder doesn’t help either.

“28211” this time in Spanish. Growing up in SF I learned how to count & make change in ½ a dozen languages.
This time I get a smile.

Now I pick up her room list and point to our room number.
She smiles.

I hand her $5 and say “Before 3 o’clock”.
She smiles and says “Yes, next”.

I’m sure she is a very nice lady and she does her job well. But if you ever leave a note for the maid requesting something special, and you think you were just ignored, this is probably the reason why.

My wife wanted to see George Wallace tonight so I walked down to tickets2night next to the Coke store to pick up tickets.
BTW: This was the 1st time I have ever seen a ticket for a top flight show for sale there. They actually had 1 ticket for Celine up for sale, row 8. It was not ½ price but was discounted. Did not sell in the 15 minutes I was there, as no one wanted to buy a single ticket.

Then I walked up to Flamingo to exchange the voucher for real tickets. You will notice I’m doing all this walking while my wife is suffering through an Aromatherapy Massage.

Another afternoon to kill and the same problem as yesterday, where to find a decent poker game. Decided on Bellagio today. After a 20 minute wait got a seat in a $4-$8 game. Bellagio is comfortable and the players are usually more competent than in most strip poker rooms.
Within 30 minutes I got one of those “ouch” hands. I had the small blind, there were no raises and I called with Ad/4d. The flop came 7d,Qd,Qc. I check, blind bets, 1 player calls, and so do I. Turn comes 5d, so I have the top flush. I check, blind bets, other player folds, I raise, blind re-raises, I call.
River is a blank. I figure the blind has the Q and I want a call so I bet, he raises and I call. He had Q, 7 and had flopped the full house.
The rest of the session was pretty standard, played for another couple of hours and ended up $56, but it was a tough small win due to the early loss.

Was in the mood for seafood so we went to RM Seafood for dinner, the more casual area downstairs. It was fine, but like most LV hotel restaurants, I wouldn’t rush out of the way to eat there, as there are so many good places to eat. Chefs have a habit of trying to be creative and different, often with mixed results. We both had clam chowder, and it was not your standard fare. Very thin soup with lots of diced vegetables, and a generous amount of diced plank bacon. The combination worked very well. For entrees my wife chose grilled salmon and I had crab cakes. The crab cakes had some unusual seasonings, which were a little exotic for my taste (creativity again). We had sides of asparagus and mashed potatoes with chives, which were quite good. Dinner with coffee came to $102, which we considered reasonable.

George Wallace’s show starts at 10pm and he has an opening act, his cousin Justin. I didn’t think much of him as I don’t like comics, but he was well received by the audience.
I saw an interview years ago with one of the icons of comedy (possibly Sid Caesar) in which he explained the difference between a comedian and a comic. He said:
“A comedian says funny things and a comic says things funny.”
Based on this Justin is a comic and George Wallace is a comedian.
We enjoyed George’s show very much, and the audience loved it.
Stopped and played a little Pai Gow Poker at BC for a ½ hour with the expected results. So we walked over to Bellagio to check out the conservatory but it was closed to make the changeover to the summer patriotic theme (this happens to us frequently on our May trips).
Decided it was time to call it a night, much too late once again.


“Hey, doesn’t this guy ever stop talking?”
“He must be one of those people in love with the sound of their own voice.”
“Damn trip report is going to be longer than the whole trip”.
“Yeah, doesn’t he know we have real lives, and better things to do than sit around reading trip reports all day?’


OK, only one more part to go. Just be thankful this wasn’t one of our longer trips.

ktinca <> - california    3124

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